We're in a long and narrow room that I can only describe as a science lab. There are counters with test tubes, Petri dishes, and other scientific instruments beside clipboards and paperwork. I can't help but wonder what all these rooms are doing underground, and what they would have been used for. It feels like we're going deeper into a maze whose center we do not want to see. This lab doesn't look as grimy and run-down as the kitchen, but it doesn't seem to have been used for a long time. A thick metal door with a small window is on the far end of the room.
We drop Bella into the corner by the entrance, with Luke watching over her. She complains about being very hot as she takes off her jacket, leaving herself in her black, low-cut top.
"It's gotta be food poisoning," Luke says, looking up at us. "From those pastries at the start."
Will, Chia, and I are scanning the area, but we all seem to be too distracted to look for clues or do whatever is needed to get out of this room. For me, anyway, it's hard to think clearly.
"I don't think so," Will says. "I don't feel anything, and I had one."
"I dunno man," Luke says, rubbing Bella's back. "She hasn't had anything else today."
"Maybe only some were poisoned," I suggest. That doesn't really help, though.
"Maybe it's something else," Will says. I can't read anything in his pale blue eyes.
"Oh, hey," Chia calls out. "Check this out." She's by a counter on the left wall. There's a large glass unit on the counter with a keyboard attached to it. As I get closer, I look through the glass and see there is a syringe held up in the center.
"Whoa." The word escapes me in a big breath.
"What do you think?" Chia says. I can see the glint of hope in her eyes.
My first thought is that one of us needs to inject ourselves with whatever is in there. Then it hits me. Is this what we need to help Bella? Now that I know this isn't a regular escape room, I really don't know what to think anymore.
Will steps closer to us and says, "Thirty minutes until the end."
I follow his eyes and see the sticky note stuck to the side of the glass unit. 30 minutes until the end. There is a crude pencil drawing of a pastry that looks like the ones Bella and Will ate.
"Oh, god," Chia says. "Thirty minutes from the time they ate them? Or thirty minutes from now?"
Will and I check our watches.
"How long has it been since the pastries?" I ask.
Chia asks Luke and Bella, who are further away in the corner and lost in their own concerns for each other. No one has a good sense of when exactly they had the pastries but we estimate it's been between twenty and twenty-five minutes.
"Whatever it is," I say, "we don't have much time left."
We all agree that the syringe has to be the cure for Bella's pain and that we needed to give it to her soon. Sweat is covering her distressed face. I can't bear to look at her in such pain. She's shivering now, and Luke places her jacket over her back.
"What's this?" Will says. He's pointing to a large framed photo on the opposite wall. It seems to be a photo of this room, taken from the entrance. I'm glad that Will seems to be able to keep a good head and not break down.
He and I study the photo. It's just a photograph of the room we're in. My heart is racing as I try and figure out why it's there. "I'm sick of these fucking puzzles," I tell him. "We don't have time for this." My head feels like there's thick mud clogging everything up.
"Maybe this isn't a clue for anything," he says.
My head darts back and forth from the photo to the room. There must be something. This has to mean something. I go and stand by the entrance door and scan the room and the photo. There has to be something-
"There." A jolt of adrenaline flushes my system as I notice something. I make my way to a table and pick up a large flashlight. "This isn't in the photo. It's the only difference."
Will nods and smiles. "Great work, detective."
I smile back at him, feeling a genuine sense of comfort and calm, despite our circumstances. A faint glimpse of a thought comes to me. He and I are making a good team. "It helps that it's bright red," I tell him sheepishly.
Chia has been searching the other side of the room, but she comes to us now. "A light?"
Luke calls over. "That's a blacklight."
Chia takes it off me and finds the 'on' button. She shines the dark purple beam over the walls. "There should be something to find in the light."
Luke says, "We don't know what the hell kind of rules this place has."
He's right, I think, but also not right. "So far we've had clues for puzzles that have worked with logic. I don't think there'll be any tricks to trap us just for the sake of it. I think, in its own twisted way, this is still an escape room. With some rules and logic."
"Right," Luke says. "Tell that to the hole in my hand."
I grimace at the hard look he gives me, feeling a shiver run through me. I feel so bad for bringing us all down here.
"Oh, here. Here!" Chia says excitedly.
She has the beam on a wall between the shelves of a metal unit. The word 'the' can be seen on the wall.
I call out to the others that we have our first word. Will scrambles around for a pen and paper.
"Another one," Chia soon says, shining the light on the side of a cupboard. "It says 'type'."
A gasp from Bella draws my attention and I turn in time to see her vomit on the floor. She's pressed a hand down to support herself but has dropped it into the puddle of vomit.
"We have to move fast," I say to Chia.
The beam of light wavers over the room, moving too fast to see anything clearly. Chia starts to panic. "I... I can't." She looks at me with a big frown, on the brink of tears. "You do it."
I reach out and take the flashlight, giving a supportive nod. Her hands are shaking and she looks defeated. I can understand that there's too much pressure to keep going, but I force myself to be strong. I have to be.
Will has gone over to check on Bella. She seems to be getting worse, now. Oh god, she could die right here. I shake the thought away with a violent shudder and focus on the light beam. Something catches my eye near the metal door. "Here. It says 'for'."
Will goes to a table where he's laid out a notepad and pen and scribbles down the word. The smell of Bella's vomit reaches me, making me gag. The air has begun to feel too stuffy.
A beeping sound comes on in the room. The sudden sound silences us all. My eyes dart around until they pinpoint the source.
There, above the glass unit; a timer display has begun counting down from three minutes. Large red numbers tick away with each beep that sends a pounding thud through my chest.
We all exchange uncertain looks. Chia begins to emit whimpering, distraught noises.
"What the fuck is that?" Luke asks, although I can tell he suspects the same as us. We don't have long to get that syringe in Bella.
Chia spins towards Bella with her hands buried in her hair. "Oh god, Bella. I'm so sorry for everything. I've been such a shitty friend. I never deserved your friendship."
Bella looks too exhausted to give a response.
I'm racing around the room now, shining the blacklight over every surface. Will is by my side, letting me know if he spots anything I miss. My heart is thumping so hard it feels as though it will explode from my chest.
The timer continues its incessant, inevitable beeps.
Chia goes over to Bella and Luke while Will and I find two more words. 'Antidote' and 'this'. Finding each word sends a lightning bolt through me. After another quick scan of the room, we both agree that we've found all the words there are to find.
Will reads out the list of words. "The type for antidote this."
My brain spins in overtime. "Uhh... this antidote..."
"The type of antidote," Will suggests. "No, that's not right."
The timer reaches two minutes.
"The antidote for... this... Ugh!" I cry out in frustration. The beeps are boring into my skull.
I watch as Chia rushes over to the keyboard on the unit. She jumps on the wheeled stool and sits there, ready to type something in. "Are we sure we have all the words?" she asks.
That question hits me like a truck. I don't know if we do.
Will nods enthusiastically. "We've searched everywhere. This has to be everything."
I have to hope that he's right. This type of antidote... The type for this antidote...
Chia shrieks with fear and turns on the stool. "Bella! I really am so sorry. You have to believe me. I was so stupid to go behind your back. I've hated myself ever since. If you could just-"
Bella whips her head up. "The next words out of your mouth better be 'I'm sorry' and 'Here's the antidote.'"
A furious maelstrom of thoughts crash through my mind. I feel like only five words exist in the whole world. Five words to determine Bella's life.
For the antidote... Type this... Type this... for... Type this for the antidote!
I scream it out as though they're the magic words that can teleport us to safety.
Chia gives me a puzzled look for a second before her eyes widen with realisation. "Just type that? 'Type this for the antidote'?
The timer hits the final minute.
I tell her yes and lean over her shoulder as she types. Both her hands are shaking as she types with her index fingers. Will pats me on the shoulder as he comes to us. I look over at Bella and see her with her eyes closed, face tight with discomfort. Luke is rubbing her back and looks more distraught than I've ever seen him.
The unit emits a positive beep and the glass section raises up, exposing the syringe. I spin as the metal door at the end of the room also slides open. This is it. We did it. There's no time for relief, however.
Chia snatches the syringe and charges over to Bella. She stumbles to a stop, hesitating now.
"Do it," Luke shouts.
The red numbers are still counting down with each beep. Less than forty seconds now. Why hasn't it stopped?
Chia drops to her knees beside Bella. Tears are in her eyes as she holds the syringe up. Everything feels frozen in the moment, even my heart.
"Do it," Bella says weakly, barely able to open her eyes.
Chia cries out and plunges the syringe into Bella's thigh. Bella screams wildly, as does Chia. For a second they both stare at each other, screaming.
The timer is still going.
"We have to get out of here," I call out urgently.
Luke pulls Bella's arm over his shoulder and lifts her up, leaving the empty syringe to drop to the floor. Will rushes over and helps him with her. She still looks exhausted and I can't tell if the antidote has helped or not.
I don't know why the timer is still counting down, but my fear is that the door will close once it reaches zero.
Ten seconds left.
We all charge towards the door at the end of the room. I reach the door and usher the others through, helping the boys with Bella.
To my horror, I see Chia running back into the room. Before I can say anything, I see her scooping up Bella's jacket she had left in the corner.
A strong arm yanks me back and I stumble out of the room. Will puts his arms around me as I reach out for Chia.
"Quick, quick!" I shout at her, urging her on with everything I have.
"Come on!" Luke yells.
Chia sprints to us, desperately reaching out. I snap my hand back as the door slides shut with a sudden slam. She hits the other side of the door and looks at us pleadingly, terrified, through the glass window.
My lips are quivering as I can only look back at her, unable to do anything. Chia has a hand pressed against the glass. Tears fall down her tortured face, twisted with grief.
We've lost her.
2192 words (14217 total words)
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Thank you for reading!
Oh no, they're one member down! What do you think will be Chia's fate now?
Any major thoughts you have around this point?