It feels like we've all been standing over the open basement door for an hour.
"Well, go on then," Bella says, nudging Luke.
"Oh, hell no," he says, shaking his head. "Haven't you ever seen a horror film? The black guy always dies first. No way I'm going down first."
Even Chia - who is usually the most easy-going and first to make a joke - looks uneasy and hesitant.
"You guys are ridiculous," I tell them, trying to inject confidence in my voice. I begin stepping down into the basement and add, "Do you seriously think something bad is going to happen? I'm telling you, it's just a game. I booked the thing, I should know. Now, come on, you big babies."
I enter a low-ceilinged storage room with clusters of antiques and random trinkets. The fluorescent lights feel very bright and hurt my eyes, after having gone through the dark shop upstairs. The air is warm and stale, with a strong mix of dust and old metals. I turn as Will comes down the steps. I take it as a good sign that he was the first to follow me down. The others soon follow and look around the room.
"See," I tell them. "Nothing to worry about."
A metal desk is on one side of the room, beside a tall filing cabinet. The opposite wall is mostly taken up with a large framed image of the world map. I step around a box of old clocks and see there is a door in the far corner.
"So how does this work?" Will asks. "We figure out how to open that door?"
"Something like that," Luke says, eyes scanning the room. The area is just about big enough to fit us all among the boxes of antiques without it feeling too cramped.
"Take everything as a clue," Chia tells him. "Leave no stone unturned. But you probably don't actually have to pick up any stones."
"Cool," Will says as he picks up an old book and starts flicking through it.
There are so many random objects in the room, surely we don't have to look over each and every one of them for a clue? I decide to check the desk. There's a stack of books and an old typewriter, beside a tall lampshade that has a flowery pattern. Everything looks pretty old and long-unused, but then that's probably normal for an antique shop storeroom.
There's a big padlock on one of the desk drawers. The other two drawers are empty. "Okay," I say out loud to everyone. "There's a four-digit code on this padlock. So, we'll need to find four numbers somewhere."
A rush of air precedes a huge boom as the basement door slams down. We all jump and our heads spin towards the sound. The steps now lead up to a thick metal door. No way out, now.
"What the hell?" Bella says.
Luke is the closest to the steps. He goes up and tries the door, but finds it firmly shut. "Looks like it's locked."
"Do you think someone pushed it?" Chia asks. She seems more excited than worried.
"I don't know about this, man," Luke says, shaking his head.
"It's fine, right?" Will asks. "I mean, the whole point is to unlock that door in the corner, anyway. It's not much of a challenge if we can just leave whenever we want."
I nod. "Yeah, you're right. Seriously guys, I know it's weird that no one was here when we came in, but I'm telling you, it's just an escape room. Look." I pick up a business card from the desk and show it to them. "This is the name of the place. Desk Apes. That's who I booked it with."
"Desk what?" Luke asks.
"Oh, I get it," Chia says, smiling. She always loved puns and was at her happiest when she figured one out. "Desk apes. Like, escapes."
"Yeah," I say. "I guess something like that."
Luke points at the basement door. "That's some heavy-duty trap door. Proper thick reinforced metal. That isn't just some simple basement hatch."
"Okay," I tell him. "So, it's a thick door. So what?"
He shakes his head as if he's given up arguing. "Alright, fine. Let's get to it, then. Bring on the clues."
"Try and contain your excitement," I tell him.
"Andi's right," Bella says. She rubs my shoulder. "Sorry, hun. I know we've been freaking out since we got here. But it's your birthday. Okay, from now on, it's nothing but hardcore puzzle-solving fun. Let's do it."
I smile at her as we go back to searching the room. I just wanted us to have some fun. I spare a quick glance over at Will, hoping that he's able to enjoy the escape room and not get freaked out like everyone else. I don't want to be known as the girl that booked the really crappy escape room.
"I've got something," says Luke. He's pulled out a folder from a cabinet.
"What is it?" Bella asks, going over to him.
Luke flicks through several sheets of paper in the folder. "Looks like flight details. Lots of flights. Here, some of the routes are highlighted." He hands out the sheets as we come closer.
I check one which has a list of flights within the U.S. None of them really look like a specific clue to anything, except that one route is highlighted in a yellow marker.
"What do the highlighted ones mean?" Bella asks.
"I guess those are the clues," I tell her. "Which one is highlighted on your sheet?"
Bella hums as she scans the paper. "I've got: Stockholm Arlanda Airport, to Tripoli International Airport."
I notice the large world map over Bella's shoulder. "Over there. Look."
We go over to the map, where we can see that one line has already been drawn. I trace my finger over the line which stretches from Jamaica to China.
"Oh," Bella quickly says, "we draw the route of the highlighted flights. Right?"
"Yeah, I think so," I say.
She points at the existing line. "What's this mean? Jamaica to China."
"I think it's just an example," I say.
She points her chin at Luke. "Babe, you're from Jamaica, right? Originally?"
Luke looks like he's just smelt something bad. "I was born in Jamaica, yeah. But was raised in London since I was, like, two."
Bella looks over at Chia. "And you're from China, right?"
Chia gives her a deadpan, unimpressed look. "You know I'm Japanese. Racist."
"Here's a pen over here," Will says, holding up a black marker. He looks over the list of flights on his piece of paper. "I've got one here, but there's like six connecting flights."
Luke reaches over and takes the pen from him. "You figure them out while I write Bella's one down. What was it again, babe?"
Bella reads out the airports and they draw a line straight down from Sweden to Libya.
"That's a one," Luke says.
"Okay," Chia says, "you guys work on that and I'll keep looking for other clues."
I nod and lift up my paper to Luke. "Great, we're on a roll already. Mine just has flights in the U.S." I read out the highlighted flight that starts from Sheridan County, Wyoming, stops over in Houston County, Minnesota, and ends in Midland International, Texas.
"Whoa," Bella says. "That's a seven." She smiles at us, looking satisfied. I'm glad that she's started to enjoy the game.
Will takes the pen from Luke and starts connecting all of his flights on the map. It looks like there's a lot of them and he goes to several countries. Before he's even done, however, it's clear what number he's making. "Eight," he confirms.
I look back at the padlock on the desk drawer. "We need four numbers altogether."
Luke shuffles through a few more of the sheets in the folder and eventually pulls one out. "Here's one. Babe, can you draw the lines while I read them out?"
"Sure," Will and Bella both say.
Will smiles sheepishly. Bella snatches the pen from him and gives him a little smile.
I look over and see Chia searching behind a painting frame. Now that we're solving puzzles, I feel myself relaxing a little. Everyone seems to be into it now, anyway. I take another look at the thick metal door that's locked us in the room and try to hold back a feeling of claustrophobia. I was starting to realise how trapped inside this room we were. But then, I have to tell myself, that's what an escape room is all about.
Luke reads out, "Kazakhstan to Mongolia. Then to Pakistan. And then to Buh... Bhutan."
Bella struggles to find Bhutan on the map, but then she connects the last one. "There. It's a zed.
Will frowns in thought. "Or is it a two?"
I point at the padlock. "There's four digits, so it must be a two."
Luke bends down and inspects the padlock. "Okay, so we've got four numbers for a four-digit code. But what's the order?"
We all look around the room for an answer. I take another look through the flights on the paper I'm still holding. There must be something we're missing.
"Try in numerical order," Will says. "See if that works."
Luke tries that but it doesn't work.
"Andi's onto something," Will says. "I can tell by her thinking face."
I feel my face blush as I smile at him. Had he been looking at me? "Oh, ah, actually, I think I do have something. All of the flights have dates on them. We should try and go in the order of departure date."
Will beams at me. "See, I knew you had something. I could tell."
We lay out all the papers on the desk and scan through the highlighted flights. Chia has joined us now, saying she's got bored of looking for other clues.
"There's two in 2009," Bella points out.
Luke runs his finger over the flight details. "Yeah, but one's in February and one's in June."
I go over to the padlock and ask them to call out the numbers to me. We work out that the number seven we drew was first, followed by the number eight. The numbers one and two follow. I spin the wheel combinations to the right numbers and the padlock clicks open.
"Yes," Luke and Chia say in unison.
I open the drawer and find it surprisingly empty. The only thing inside is a folded piece of paper. I'd been expecting a lockbox or a key or something.
I unfold the paper as the others gather around me and read out, "Look, it's a bell and he will chase you."
We all exchange looks, trying to decipher the words.
"What the hell does that mean?" Bella asks.
Chia throws her hands up and slaps them on her legs. "More clue-finding, looks like. I bet we'll find something else that helps us with that code. Ooh, ooh, look for a bell."
The others begin to look around the room some more. Luke checks the locked door in the corner, running his hands around the edges as if he'll find something useful.
I find myself staring at the paper. Look, it's a bell and he will chase you. Did that sound familiar? I didn't think so, but then something did sound strangely like I'd heard it before.
"What do you think, detective?"
I startle - only a little - and see that Will has come up beside me. I hope he didn't notice my jump and think I get scared all the time. I look into his blue eyes, feeling myself drawn into them.
"I think," I say, drawing the pause out. "That it's a puzzle."
He smiles. "Can't get anything past you. Hey, thanks again for inviting me. I know birthdays are more of a friends and family thing."
"Oh, of course. I'm glad you could make it. I didn't know if you would come in the end." I'm conscious of the others being so close to us and overhearing, but they all seem to be focused on their clue-finding. Bella runs a hand through her big curly hair. She's definitely listening.
Will shrugs. "I figured an escape room sounded fun. And it was a good excuse to hang out with you guys. Me and Luke don't really see each other much outside of the gym."
I hoped that he was really saying he wanted to hang out with me, but that was probably reading too much into things. I check the paper again as an excuse not to get lost in his eyes.
Look, it's a bell and he will chase you. That almost sounded threatening.
"How do you all know each other, anyway?" Will asks.
A part of me wonders why he isn't looking for clues, but I wasn't complaining that he wanted to talk to me.
"From school. Me, Bella and Chia have known each other since Primary school." Something clicks in my head. Bella. Bell. Was there something there?
"That's really cool that you guys are still friends after all this time. That seems quite rare these days."
I'm only half paying attention to him now. Bell and Bella are running through my head.
"Oh, and..." Will says, drawing my eyes to him. "Remind me later to give you your birthday present."
My heart melts and I smile at him. "Oh, you didn't have to get me anything. Really."
He shrugs. "Of course I had to. But, now's not the right time, I guess. So, remind me later."
We share a moment of looking into each other's eyes. There is a quiet confidence about him that's quite frightening.
Luke is still by the door in the corner. "Hey, I've got something," he calls out. "Look, there's five panels on the floor, against the wall here." They're hard to notice at first, but once he pointed them out they were easy to see. It looks like the panels lead towards the door. "I think they're pressure sensitive."
Chia is the closest to him and she steps on a panel next to his. Nothing happens.
"Come over here," Luke says.
We all stand on the panels and a red light comes on beside the door.
"See, I knew it," Luke says. "I think we just need to figure out the right order to stand on."
Will points at the panels. "Let's try this. I'll go here with Andi. Then Chia, Luke, Isabelle."
"It's just Bella," she tells him as we begin to shift positions.
"Oh, right, yeah, sorry," Will says.
Something in my brain clicks again. I look back at the paper in my hand. Thoughts and ideas stream through my head. I feel like I know what I want to say but I just need to mind to catch up to my tongue.
Look, it's a bell and he will chase you.
"Oh, oh, I've got it," I tell them, bouncing on the spot. Then I frown as the answer fully hits me. It can't be...
"What is it?" Bella asks.
I'm now a little frightened to tell them. My heart is pumping so hard it feels like it's going to burst out of my chest.
"Andi, what?" Chia says.
"Chia," I say to her. "What's your full name again?"
She frowns at me. "You know this. Chiasu."
My throat feels like I've swallowed concrete.
"So what's the answer?" Bella says.
I hold up the paper. "Look, it's a bell, and he will chase you. Luke. Isabelle. Andi. Will. Chiasu."
A moment of stunned silence comes over us.
"Whoa," Luke breathes out.
"Wait," Bella says, "how do they know all our names?"
"What's going on, Andi?" Luke asks, sounding angry.
I shake my head, trying to make sense of this. "I... I just gave them my name when I booked. I didn't give anyone else's names."
Luke snatches the paper from me and holds it in my face. "Then how do they have our names?"
Bella puts a hand on his shoulder. "Back off, babe. It's not her fault. We don't know what's going on."
"How did they get Will's name?" Chia asked. "We didn't know he was coming until this morning."
"I didn't even know myself I was coming until I decided last night," Will tells us.
Silence comes over us as we all look at each other. A sinking feeling creeps into my stomach.
What the hell kind of escape room is this?
2764 words (4875 total words)
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Thank you for reading!
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