Escape Room Read online

  “Yeah, Three-One-Four Newgate,” the driver said. “This is it.”

  Chance eased out of the car and frowned. Beyond the buildings, the dark waters of the Patapsco glistened. The smell of salt water and diesel fuel filled the morning air. Seagulls circled, screeching warnings.

  Chance glanced again at the gold envelope in his hand, confirming the address on the invitation. He squinted up at the green hangar. The number 314 had been painted in white beside a heavy gray door. He turned back to the car, but the Uber driver was already pulling out of the lot.

  Taking a deep breath, Chance approached the building. He wore the same basic outfit he always did — jeans, T-shirt, plain gray hoodie — but he was suddenly self-conscious about it. He often felt this way in new situations, with new people. Writing was easier. It was solitary and creative, and nobody gave a crap about what logo was on his clothes.

  He opened the door and stepped inside.

  Chance had had no intention of going to the escape room. After the science fair, after the conversation with his father, Chance had spent the week in a haze. He attended his classes, but remembered little from the lessons. He was on restriction, obviously, sentenced by his father to his house arrest. He had tried writing, but even that outlet failed to distract him.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about his mother. He spent his afternoons in the shed, studying her canvasses in a different light. Did the slashes of thick color come from a troubled mind? Were the swirls of paint a reflection of his mother’s innermost thoughts?

  It wasn’t until he was searching his desk for lead for his mechanical pencil that he caught sight of the gold envelope. It fluttered from the corner of his desk to his bedroom floor.

  He picked it up, opened it and read the invitation again. The date on it was the next day.

  What the hand, dare seize the fire?

  The interior of 314 East Newgate Lane was nothing like the water-stained industrial park outside. With a single step, Chance entered what seemed like a different world. Gone were the hulking cranes, the whir and clang of machinery and the faint stench of fetid salt water. Steel beams and giant shipping containers and the stench of diesel fuel from a container ship at the wharf were forgotten.

  Chance found himself inside the foyer of a luxurious home. The carpet was plush and purple and looked new. There were no windows, but thick curtains on either side of the front door rendered the illusion of them. Black matte wallpaper, decorated with a pattern of fleur-de-lis, covered the walls. A crystal chandelier hung from a 12-foot ceiling.

  Antique bookshelves and couches lined two corridors spread out to the right and the left. Glass sconces mounted to the walls lit the passageways. Chance heard the murmur of voices emanating from the ends of both corridors.

  A young woman with blonde hair tied up in a bun sat behind a desk in a small reception area. Above her desk, words were stenciled into the dark gray wall:

  YOUR ESCAPE BEGINS NOW.

  Nice touch, Chance thought.

  He looked beyond her into a room, the door slightly ajar, with a bank of black-and-white monitors. A man with his back to Chance sat in front of the displays, watching. Suddenly, he turned and locked eyes with Chance. The man had a slightly crooked nose and eyes hooded like a hawk. He slammed the door shut.

  “Welcome to Escape Room,” the young woman said, her face brightening. “My name is Carrie, and I’d be happy to get you all signed in and ready to go. Are you ready for your escape adventure?”

  “I guess so,” Chance said, stepping to the desk. “I’ve never been before, so I’m not really sure what to expect.”

  Carrie pushed a pair of dark-framed glasses back up to the bridge of her nose and smiled. She was older than Chance, perhaps in her mid-20s, with a pleasantly round face and a bobbed haircut. She said, “Even if you thought you knew what to expect, you’d be wrong. Name?”

  “Chance. I, uh, got this ticket.” He pulled the invitation from his jeans pocket and handed it to her.

  “Chance Matthews, of course. We’ve been expecting you.” She slid a legal-size form across the desk. “Please read, then sign and date at the bottom.”

  “This is some form. Seems a bit long for a one-hour escape room challenge.”

  Carrie laughed. “I know, right? I said the exact same thing to Leo, and he just blamed the lawyers. I guess you can’t do anything without a form or 10 these days.”

  Chance scribbled his signature and slid the form back to Carrie. “Leo?”

  “Leo is your Game Master. You’ll meet him in a few minutes, when the others are all here.”

  “Others? How many are coming?”

  Carrie stood. “There will be five of you in all. You’re the fourth to arrive. I’ll show you back to the staging area and make some introductions.”

  She led Chance down the left-side corridor until they reached what looked to be a Victorian-era living room. A pair of high-backed sofas sat against the wall, with curved arms lined with red upholstery. Four leather wingback chairs and an ornate coffee table filled the rest of the room.

  Three faces looked up when Carrie and Chance approached. “Everyone, this is Chance Matthews,” Carrie announced. “He’s part of the team today. Get yourselves acquainted. We’ll be getting started shortly.”

  A guy wearing a vintage Guns N’ Roses T-shirt was the first to stand. He had skin the color of caramel and close-cropped hair. “Hey, Chance,” he said, extending a hand. “Robert Wolfson, but everyone calls me Wolfie.”

  “Guns N’ Roses fan?” Chance said, gesturing at the T-shirt.

  “What, a black man can’t like himself some rock and roll?”

  “I’m sorry,” Chance stammered. “I didn’t mean—”

  Wolfie started to laugh. “Dude, I’m just messing with you. Relax. I’m a musician, working on a rap-classical thing right now. But I wear the shirt because it’s, like, ironic. You know what I’m saying?”

  “No, Wolfie. Nobody knows what you’re talking about. How can a T-shirt be ironic?” A girl smiled at Chance without getting up from one of the wingback chairs. “Never mind him. My name is Tahoe, by the way.”

  Chance gave her a quick wave. She was wearing jeans, torn stylishly at the knees, and a tank top that had a picture of what looked like a urinal on it. A set of heavy boots rested on the coffee table. She exuded an easy confidence, not least of which came from a streak of purple in her otherwise dirty-blonde hair. Chance wanted to ask about the strange design on her shirt, but the third member of their group suddenly stood and approached, extending a slender hand.

  “Jenny Chen,” she said. “Nice to meet you.”

  Try as he might, Chance could not help but stare. The young woman before him was stunning. Dark hair reached down to the small of her back. Her eyes were brown half-moons, shaped like almonds, framed with stylish black glasses. Chance had to force himself to look away to avoid embarrassing both of them.

  “Well, well, look at everyone being so uber-polite,” Tahoe said. “I wonder when the first fight will break out.”

  “What do we have to fight about?” Wolfie asked.

  “Five strangers, locked in a room. You’re right, what could go wrong?”

  Chance eased into one of the chairs, glanced over at Jenny. She held a small, leather-bound journal in her lap. She smiled demurely at him.

  “Do you want me to take your picture with her?” Tahoe asked suddenly. Chance’s face reddened. He didn’t think he had been that obvious.

  “Don’t sweat it, Chance,” Tahoe said. “Looking ain’t a crime.”

  Jenny acted like she hadn’t noticed the exchange.

  Wolfie turned to Tahoe. “You were about to tell us about where your name comes from.”

  “Oh, yeah. My mom works there. She’s the general manager of one of the big casinos, right on the lake. Big job. Gets to book all of the big concerts; Adele, the Killers, Neil Fuckin’ Diamond. Ever been? Because it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. Water and mountains a
nd fresh air. She always dreamed of living there, so she thought it would make for a cool name. I have to say, I agree with her. Tahoe is a badass name.”

  “If you don’t say so yourself,” Wolfie muttered.

  “I’m sorry, what was that, Wolfie?”

  This girl was a spunky one, Chance thought. He had known her for two minutes, and he already liked her. She had a nose ring, he noticed, and it looked like an actual emerald. A hint of black ink peeked out from just beneath her crop top, on the right side of her ribcage on the right side.

  “You’re a quiet one,” Tahoe said, turning to Jenny. “Silent Asian type, huh? Super smart, I bet.”

  Jenny smiled politely but didn’t respond.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt your meditating session,” Tahoe said quickly, then looked at the others. “Down Dog over here.”

  A laugh escaped from Wolfie. “I think Down Dog is yoga, not meditation.”

  “Whatever.”

  “I’m not meditating,” Jenny said. “I was only —”

  Just then, a figure entered the waiting room.

  “What the hecking heck,” Tahoe said.

  The man was dressed like a gentleman from the 1800s. Dark gray suit with tails, neatly pressed white shirt, maroon tie, top hat. He carried an ivory-handled walking stick, and a pocket watch hung from a chain at his waist. The period clothes made him look older, but he had a clean-shaven face and the slightly mussed longish hair of a surfer. He wasn’t much older than the rest of us, Chance thought. He held an iPad, which rendered his outfit somewhat incongruous.

  “Everybody, if I could have your attention,” he announced dramatically. “I trust you’ve had a few moments to acquaint yourselves with one another. That’s important, because today you will all need to work together.”

  “Nice outfit, buddy,” Tahoe said. “Who might you be? The prime minister?” Her mock accent made the last word sound like ministah.

  “My name is Leo,” he responded. “And I am the Game Master.”

  FOUR

  “From the moment you stepped through the front door,” said the Game Master, “you started an adventure that we call Escape Room. We know that none of you have ever experienced an escape room before, so permit me to explain.

  “In a few minutes, we will lock you inside a room. Yes, we are really, quite literally, locking you inside the room. To escape, each of you must work together to solve a series of puzzles. There will be clues all around you, some obvious and some not so obvious. You will have exactly 60 minutes to escape.”

  “Or what?” Tahoe asked. “We have to stay in there forever?”

  Leo laughed. “No, no. If you fail to escape after the allotted time, I will come and escort you out.”

  “What kind of puzzles are we talking about here?” Wolfie asked.

  “No hints, I’m afraid,” Leo replied. “You have to figure it all out on your own once you’re inside, just the five of you.”

  Tahoe made a dramatic show of looking around the waiting room. “Wait, five of us? I’m no math genius, more an artist type myself, but I’m only counting four.”

  “Ah, well, yes. We’re expecting a final member of the group shortly. We will begin as soon as she —”

  As if on cue, the front door banged open. They all heard Carrie’s pleasant voice greet the newcomer, and the receptionist appeared seconds later with the fifth member of their group.

  It was another girl, dressed in pair of loose-fitting jeans, a white V-neck and a pair of old-school Converse Chuck Taylors that were frayed at the seams. A jean jacket was tied around her waist. Her hair was mussed, as if she had rushed to get here. She wore no jewelry or makeup. She hardly needed either, Chance thought. She was attractive in a low-key way, like she didn’t want to draw attention to herself.

  “Uh, Leo,” Carrie said. “This one signed in as Kate Winter.”

  “Live and in the flesh,” the new girl said. “Hey, everyone.”

  The Game Master glanced down at his iPad and tapped out a few keystrokes. When he looked back up, his face was pinched, as if he was puzzled by something.

  “Welcome, Kate,” he said. “Do you have your golden ticket?”

  Kate handed it over with a smile. “Here you go. Sorry for being late. That’s not going to cause a problem, is it?” Her eyes darted to the others.

  Chance caught Leo and Carrie exchange a furtive glance. He wondered what that was about. She wasn’t that late.

  Leo’s stern expression broke into a welcoming smile. “No problem at all,” he said. “Now that you’re here, the team is now assembled. If everyone could take a seat, I will start the mission briefing.”

  Chance found a seat next to Jenny on the couch, while Tahoe, Wolfie and Kate dropped onto the wingback chairs. Leo stood before them, Carrie a few steps behind, observing.

  “One of the greatest scientific minds in history has gone missing,” began the game master. “British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace has recently returned from a field expedition in the Malay Archipelago but has not been seen or heard from in nearly a week. He was last spotted on his way to visit a professional colleague, Mr. Charles Darwin.

  “Darwin, as you surely all are already aware, is one of the world’s most esteemed biologists. In a few moments, you will enter his study. He has been busy putting the finishing touches on a new book that he believes will change the course of history. It is called On the Origin of Species. He was just about to send the final draft to his publisher when Wallace paid him a visit. Investigators from Scotland Yard need your help to determine what happened to Wallace.”

  Tahoe raised her hand.

  “Yes?” Leo asked.

  “The butler did it,” she said. “It’s always the butler, guys. Boom. Solved.”

  Chance laughed. Cocksure, bit of a spitfire. She seemed to be everything he was not.

  “Rapier wit, Tahoe,” the game master said. “Rapier wit. Alas, the butler has an airtight alibi.”

  “I’m sure it’s a black guy then,” said Wolfie. “We’re always the bad guy. Or we die. Guilty or dead, those are really the only options for black folk.”

  “What about all those movies with the Rock?” Tahoe said. “He’s the black hero.”

  “The Rock ain’t black,” protested Wolfie. “That dude is Polynesian.”

  “Really?” asked Tahoe. “Is Polynesia even a real place?”

  The game master cleared his throat. “Polynesia is indeed a real place. In fact, it is part of the Malay Archipelago, where our missing scientist has spent the better part of the past few years studying its native biogeography and ecology.”

  Chance silently commended Leo’s smooth transition back to the game.

  “There are a few ground rules,” the game master continued. “First, there are no clues and no puzzles associated with the electrical outlets in the room. For insurance purposes, we can’t have you poking around in live electrical current. Consider them off-limits. Second, there are red herrings everywhere. What might at first seem like a clue will sometimes turn out to be nothing but a dead end. Adapt, regroup, press on.

  “During the course of the game, you may feel things move. It’s all part of the adventure, so don’t concern yourself too much. We have another room in this facility where motion is all too real. If you enjoy yourselves today, you should come back and try your luck in that one. So, if you feel any motion sickness, it will pass, I promise. But if you do get seasick, please do not vomit on Darwin’s desk. He’s very particular about his work space.” Leo laughed at his own joke.

  “Hilarious,” said Tahoe dryly.

  Kate, who had been observing with a bemused look on her face, asked, “If the object of the game is to escape the room, can’t we just bust the door down? Like, just kick it down with those shit-kicking boots?” She pointed with her chin to Tahoe’s thick Timberlands.

  “I can get behind that idea,” Tahoe said.

  “Perhaps there’s a time and place for brute force, but where’s the s
port in that?” Leo said. “Solving the puzzles, figuring out the mystery, that’s the heart of this escape room.”

  Wolfie said, “Okay, so don’t mess with the outlets, watch for red herrings, don’t kick the door down. Anything else?”

  “One last thing: As your Game Master, I will be keeping an eye on you. There is a small camera mounted in the corner of the room, so I can track your progress. If at any point you want a hint or a little nudge in the right direction, just say ‘survival of the fittest!’ and I will give you a little help.”

  “So you can see us and hear us while we’re inside the room?” Chance asked.

  “Yes, there is a microphone hanging from the ceiling. I will be just down the hall in the control room. Of course, you should try to escape on your own, but you should not feel shy about asking for help.”

  Everyone nodded. The rules seemed straightforward. Chance felt himself getting excited about the mystery, searching for clues, solving the puzzles. He realized he was grateful for the distraction.

  “Any last questions?” Leo asked.

  Tahoe’s hand shot up. “Yeah, just one. Do they pay you extra to dress up like that? I mean, come on, you look like the Monopoly guy.”

  Everyone laughed, Leo included. “Rapier wit,” he said again. “Now, if everyone is ready, let’s begin.”

  He escorted them to an unmarked door in the corridor and opened it.

  One by one, they stepped inside.

  FIVE

  The room resembled a study in an old English country manor. The wall opposite the door was covered with a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, filled with cloth-bound volumes. A slightly angled ladder on rollers stretched to the top of the bookcase. A fireplace was set into the short wall on the left. There was no wood, but the hearth looked burnt black. An ornate mantel surmounted the fireplace, bedecked with several framed photographs and two small figurines. In the center of the room, a leather couch and two wingback chairs faced surrounded a large tan-colored globe.