The metal beams form a grid of two-foot squares, and there are only a handful of inches of clearance above my head, making the only option for forward motion an army crawl on my stomach. To my far left is a wide metal tube used for heating and cooling that is probably the reason we have as much space as we do. And there are tangles of wires running alongside it.

Ash points forward in the soft glow of his phone, which to my relief has us moving away from the ballroom and not over it. Aarya gives him a thumbs-up and we slowly and methodically crawl in the direction of Ash’s dim phone screen.

My elbows and knees press into the metal as we scooch along and I’m certain we’re all going to have bruises tomorrow. We move as fast as we can while still remaining silent, and I look over at Ines, who is carrying the pinecone branch in her teeth. We’re only a short distance along when Ash holds up his hand, telling us to pause. He lifts the corner of a tile and peers beneath it for a split second. He points to his right, slightly changing our direction, and we follow along behind him.

Ash pauses again, lifting up the corner of another tile, and this time I hear a group of adults recapping their evening at a gala and laughing. Ash waits, continuing to peer down through the sliver of space. I hear the ding of an elevator, and as the doors close, the chatter is abruptly cut off. Ash holds up his fingers, counting off—three, two, one. The instant his last finger falls he pushes the tile aside, grabs the metal support beam, and swings himself down. I’m next, and by the time my feet hit the ground Ash is already three doors down and pressing the button for the elevator.

Ines drops with Aarya right behind her. The elevator doors open and we fly inside the empty space. Ash pushes the second-floor button, and as the doors close behind us, Ines offers me the branch, which I gladly accept. The air between us is tense with the fear that the guard has likely checked for us by now and found us missing. None of us says a word as the elevator climbs and the doors reopen.

We step out, do a fast look both ways down the hall, check the room numbers, and reorient ourselves. No one has to tell us to hurry, we all just start running, taking a corner faster than is safe, down the hall and to the room we changed in. Aarya does a quick knock on the door. She presses her ear up against it and, after three grueling seconds, concludes that no one is inside. Ash whips out his lock-picking tools, and the instant it clicks open, we pile in.