ESCAPE

Chapter Three

We arrange ourselves on the floor panels in the order of our names from the clue. Luke stands closest to the door, with Bella behind him, followed by me, Will, and Chia. I still can't understand how the escape room company knew all our names, or why they would use them in the game. A very disturbing feeling has begun to build up in my stomach but I don't want to voice my fears and worry everyone even more than they have been.

A green light comes on beside the door and mechanisms shift inside it. The door opens slightly, inviting us to go through.

"Okay, next room," Luke says. The hesitation and fear in his voice is clear. It feels like we're about to walk into a room with a chainsaw-wielding maniac ready to chase us. Only for real, this time. I get images from horror films flashing through my mind.

Luke pushes the door open. We follow him into a narrow corridor with pipes running along the ceiling. It looks like a kind of underground tunnel, dark and grimy. The air is thick and hot, mixed with something possibly rotting nearby.

"Where are we?" asks Luke as he leads us down.

Thin strips of lights are in the top corners of the tunnel, but otherwise, it's pretty dark and the way ahead is hidden in an eerie gloom. Our steps thud dully on the filthy ground, sounding loud in the quiet tunnel.

Something squeaks and scuttles by Bella's foot. "Oh my god, a rat!" She shrieks and bumps into us. The little blurry thing darts into a crack in the tunnel. Luke puts a comforting arm around Bella. His tall build always made it look like he was enveloping Bella's curvy frame when he held her.   

"There's no timer," Chia mumbles under her breath.

"What's that?" I ask.

Chia's long, dark hair is framing her face, hiding most of her features in shadows, but I can see she looks concerned. "There's no countdown timer to tell us how long we have left. Usually, it's an hour time limit. But I haven't seen one yet. Have you guys?"

We all tell her we haven't.

"So that means..." Bella says, gulping. "That there isn't a limit? We could be trapped down here?"

Luke shakes his head. "We don't know anything yet. Let's just be cool until we have a real reason to worry." His voice sounds strained and I can tell he's trying to sound confident and authoritative, but he's probably just as concerned as the rest of us.

"Andi, where did you find this escape room?" Chia asks.

We come to a simple grey door on our left. Luke tries the handle but finds it locked.

"I saw it online," I tell her. "It had loads of good reviews. I swear, it all sounded good and legit. They've been around for years. Here, I'll show you the email."

I bring out my phone and notice I have no reception. "There's no signal down here." I can't open the confirmation email without it. This must be the right place, though. The business card of the company was in the first room. We went to the address I was given. I can't understand where I went wrong. If we have, indeed, gone to the wrong place.

The others check their phones and confirm that they don't have a signal, either. Bella starts to stress out and make whimpering noises. I put a hand on her shoulder and give her a look that says everything is going to be alright. At least, I hope that's what it looks like.

Several steps ahead on our right is another door. Luke tries the handle and sees that it's not locked. He pauses and gives us all a firm nod, his eyes telling us to be on our guard, then opens the door.

We go into what looks like an office. A long desk is against one wall of the square room, beside a tall filing cabinet and a wooden shelf unit. The floor is carpeted and makes the place feel the warmest and most comforting so far. But I take little comfort from our situation.