"I think it's down here," I say as I look up from my phone and turn us into the side street.
"Why is this place so hard to find?" Bella asks, huffing with annoyance.
All I can do is point ahead and nod encouragingly as I lead my friends down the street, hoping that we've found the right place. We've been walking around Central London for far too long now and are about to miss our entry time for the escape room.
Luke playfully nudges his big shoulder into Bella. His overbearing six-foot frame sends her off-balance. "It's meant to be a challenge, right? Makes sense that the place is hard to find."
Beside me, Chia nods, shaking the long dark hair that frames her face. "Maybe we've already started the game." She widens her eyes in mock horror.
"Right," I say. "Then we're definitely screwed." After another attempt to make sense of the Google map, I see a tall black gate on our right. "That's it. The email said the entrance is a black gate."
"Great," Bella says, excited now. "Now we can finally resume the Birthday schedule."
I smile at her, thinking how great it is to spend the day out with my friends. The summer holidays had been pretty uneventful so far, on account of a lot of rain and enough clouds to make us forget what season it was meant to be. But we'd always said that we were going to make the most of today, my birthday, and somehow it seemed like the weather gods had blessed us with some decent sunshine. Although we were about to spend the next hour locked in a room, anyway.
I had chosen an escape room as I figured this was my last chance to do something that could come across as childish for my birthday. Next year I was going to be twenty, and so would probably have to start doing more mature things from here on out. Plus, I always liked an excuse to hang out with my friends.
Bella's curly hair shakes as she bounces and claps her hands together. "I can't wait."
Luke puts a large arm around her and kisses her lips. "I love it when you get excited, baby."
That sounds funny coming from Luke, who hardly ever shows anything other than indifference and boredom, let alone excitement. It's one of the odd things about him and Bella that make them somehow work well together.
As I scan through the confirmation email to check our next steps, I can't help but feel that familiar, quiet pang of loneliness that's been eating away at me all summer. It looks nice to have someone wrap their arms around you. Luke and Bella look so happy together.
A hand slaps my shoulder and grips hard. I jump and yell as a jolt of shock shoots through me.
"Oh, sorry," someone says. "Didn't mean to scare you."
A tall boy with blond hair comes into view in front of me. I try and steady my breathing with a hand to my chest.
"Will, you made it," Luke says, shaking his hand. It's one of those manly hand slaps that shows off muscled arms, which they both have.
"Sorry I'm late," Will says, nodding a hello to Bella and Chia.
I'm still trying to control my breath from that stupid squeal I made. Why did I have to look so lame in front of Will? He looks as gorgeous and humble as always, in a light-blue jean jacket and white t-shirt. The one good thing about Bella dating a gym-buff like Luke was that he could make gym-buff friends and invite them to my birthday days out. I didn't believe Luke when he'd told me that Will said he was actually looking forward to seeing me again. I hadn't really talked to him that much before - but here he was.
"Thanks for letting me join you guys." Will's blue eyes settle on me. "Happy Birthday, Andi. Welcome to the nineteen club."
My huge smile doesn't begin to express the warmth that spreads through me. "Thanks."
"So," Chia says, "do we need to figure out how to open this gate ourselves?" The shortest one of us - and at eighteen, also the youngest - she looks up with her big, tilted eyes full of doubt and hesitation.
"Oh," I say. "Ah, yeah, the email says to just press the white button to be let in."
A long alley of brick and concrete can be seen beyond the gate, covered in dim shade where the sun doesn't reach. Is this really the right place?
Luke reaches out and presses the intercom button.
A low buzz of static comes from the little speaker. Something is coming from within the crackles, but I can't make out what it is. I lean in closer, trying to hear over the street sounds.
"What is that?" Bella asks.
I put my ear closer to the speaker. The low static pops and fades in and out.
A shrill scream bursts from the speaker, igniting the air. We all jump. The scream is cut off suddenly and now we don't hear anything else.
My heart is racing hard as I look over my friends.
"What the hell was that?" Luke asks.
Bella takes her hands away from her mouth. "Was that real?"
Chia lets out an awkward laugh. "Come on, guys. That's obviously just part of the game."
Bella frowns at me. "Andi, is this a scary themed room? You know I don't like scary things."
"It's not. It's not advertised as scary. It just said there were thrills and surprises."
"Oh, great." Bella throws her hands in the air. "Just great." Her smooth, tanned skin has flushed with a hint of red.
I'm still trying to shake off the shock from the scream when I catch Will looking at me. There's a little smile on his face as he turns away.
"Yeah," Chia says, "the surprise is that it's actually a really scary room."
Luke tries the gate, which opens inward. "Hey, it's open, anyway."
We step through and make our way into the alley. Two tall buildings are either side of us, with little else around. The sounds of the busy main road fade away as we head further in.
A shiver runs through me, although I don't know why. That scream had sounded so real. Like someone was calling out in pain. I can't help but wonder if that scream sounded familiar; like I knew the voice. But I'm probably just being crazy. Chia was right that it's just a part of the game experience. These escape rooms usually like to include elaborate background stories to set up the theme, like a comet coming to earth that needs to be stopped, or a murderer that needs to be discovered.
"You guys done these escape rooms before?" Will asks.
"We did one last year," Bella says. "Smashed it in forty-five minutes."
"Forty-eight," Chia corrects.
Bella shrugs. "Same thing."
"Cool," Will says. "I haven't done one before. Looking forward to it."
"We'll be gentle with you on your first time," Bella says and gives me a cheeky wink.
We come to an old antique shop on our right. The windows are dusty and it's dark inside.
"This can't be it," Luke says.
Bella frowns. "Looks like it's been closed for ages."
"Looks pretty good to me," Will says, shrugging. "Looks legit, doesn't it?"
Bella points at the old shop. "You mean this is the escape room?"
"Yeah," I tell her. "I think it is, actually. It must be. This is the right address. I think." I look over the confirmation email.
"Cool," Chia says. "And if we break anything, we have to pay for it."
"You sure, Andi?" Bella asks, digging into her big curly hair nervously.
I nod, trying to come across as decisive. "Yep. Definitely." I step to the door and turn the handle. The door opens easily and a big whiff of stale, dusty air hits me. I wave the rest of them in, trying to act cool and brave to make up for my previous scared squeals. I don't want Will thinking I'm some little girl who can't look after herself.
The shop is filled with grandfather clocks, tables, cabinets, and lots of trinkets and random things scattered around. Dust motes float through the dim light coming through the dirty windows. Most of the room is either covered in shadows or an indistinct gloom.
"Ah, guys," Bella says. "This is, like, an actual shop. This can't be the right place."
I shrug. "My guess is that they've used an actual abandoned antique store as the front for the escape room, for extra authenticity."
"Right," Chia says. "When I was in New York, we went to a speakeasy bar whose entrance was in a phone box, which was inside a hotdog shop. You had to dial a number in the phone box and then the wall opens up, and the bar is on the other side. It was so cool. But, they asked for ID, so I couldn't get in."
"That sounds cool and stupid," Luke says. "How is anyone meant to find that bar? All that theatrics is a waste of time."
"Remember last year?" I say, feeling the need to prove Luke wrong. "At that Fright Night at Thorpe Park? We had those zombies chasing us. That was cool theatrics."
Bella shudders visibly. "How could I forget. I think I peed myself."
The four of us had so much fun that night. It was always pretty much just us four. But we were five today, with Will joining. And I had no problem with that at all. I begin to think about him joining us more regularly. What if he and I really got on well together? I'd get to see all those muscles under his jacket.
I brush up against someone and see that I've bumped into Will in the gloomy darkness. He puts a hand on my lower back as he gestures to let me go on ahead. His hand is so gentle and sends a shiver of excitement through me. He smells really nice.
"Hey, over here." It's Chia's voice.
After a few more paces, I see her in the far left corner of the shop, where space has opened up a little. Chia is standing by a large hole in the ground. Stairs lead down into what looks like a basement room. Through the soft white light coming from the room, I can see shelves with more old trinkets.
"Storage room?" Luke says as he comes closer with Bella.
"Oh," Chia says. "I bet this is where the escape room starts."
"What? Really?" Bella says, raising her brows. "No way. I'm not going down there."
Luke looks around us. "This isn't right. Why is there no one here?"
It's then that I notice a plate on a table beside the entrance to the basement. Five round pastries are on it. I pick up a folded piece of paper next to the plate.
"Hey, look at this," I tell them all. "The note says, 'Let's play a game.'"
"See," Chia says. "Told you. The game starts down there."
"These must be welcome treats for us," Will says, stepping to the plate.
"Pastel de natas," Bella says. "Nice. I love these."
Chia pats her belly. "I had a big breakfast. And I want to save space for lunch."
Luke shakes his head. "I'm off sugar."
"I'm not really hungry," I tell them. We have a table booked for lunch after this so I can just eat then.
Will has already picked one up. "Well, I'm having one. Anyone else?"
Bella picks up a pastry. "I'm in. Never say no to free food."
They both make pleasurable noises as they finish the pastries.
"Bit stale," Bella says. "But pretty good."
I find myself staring into the basement, feeling a strange, cold shiver run through me. It seems odd that there's no one here to greet us or to explain any rules or anything like that. I consider saying something to them, but I don't want to come across as being scared. I made the plan to come to this escape room and I wanted to be sure that everyone had a good time. It wouldn't do any good to start worrying them when there was no reason to.
"So, are we going in?" Chia asks.
I exchange looks with her and Bella. I can't tell if they seem excited or nervous. Are they having second thoughts about this like I am?
I swallow, willing myself to be cool and strong - especially with Will there - and I nod. "Let's do this."
2119 words
*****
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