“Wait.” I tilted my head. “Six—and six.”
I walked over to the safe and dialed six three times. It immediately popped open.
“Creepy…” Chloe raised an eyebrow. “What’s in it?”
“A piece of paper with another three digit code. I bet this goes to the door.” I handed it to her.
Chloe punched the three digit code into the door and the lock clicked.
“Well that was pretty easy.” Chloe pushed the door open and we walked outside of the closet.
“I think they get harder from here. Do you want to try another one, or was this enough of an adventure for you?” I looked over at her.
“Another one might be fun.” Chloe grinned. “It’s kind of nice working together to figure it out.”
We walked into the next room and it was set up like a medieval dungeon. The room was much larger than the closet. It also wasn’t clear which one of the puzzles in front of us would actually open the large wooden door. Unlike the closet, there was no keypad for a code. I did a little investigating and found a spot for a key, which appeared to be the only way to get it open. Finding it was definitely going to be a challenge.
“Well this room is interesting.” Chloe walked over to a human-shaped metal box with spikes on the inside, commonly known as an Iron Maiden.
“Yes. I wouldn’t get too close to that thing…” I quickly closed the distance between us and stared at the metal box. “Hmm, the spikes are dull, and—they’re attached to springs.”
“Wait a second.” She reached out and gently pushed on one which caused it to disappear into the metal. “What if someone has to get inside it to unlock a clue?”
“That would be quite terrifying for some people.” I pushed a spring and confirmed that it didn’t appear to be capable of causing harm. “I guess it’s worth a try though.”
I stepped into the Iron Maiden and tested each spike on the door before pulling it closed. Thankfully, there were none near my face or eyes, which would have probably hurt, even if the pressure pushed them back into the metal. Once the door was closed and all the spikes retracted, I saw pin sized holes drilled into the eyes that were focused on the rack directly in front of the Iron Maiden. Even though it didn’t have the ability to actually hurt me, the Iron Maiden still felt like a coffin, so I was happy when I pushed the door open.
“The rack.” I pointed across the room. “It’s the only thing you can see once you’re inside it.”
“Okay, then that has to be a clue.” Chloe walked over and started to fiddle with the leather straps.
“Well, I’m certainly not getting on that thing.” I chuckled under my breath.
“What? You don’t want me to tie you up?” She winked and saved a leather strap at me.
“Not if that is all you can do for the next three months.” I took her hand. “Besides, you’d be the one tied up—not me.”
“Fine, I guess you convinced me.” She turned to the rack and climbed on it.
The rack was very sturdy and had metal supports underneath the wood, which was totally unrealistic for a medieval torture device. I couldn’t suppress a smile when I attached the leather straps to her wrist and watched her pull on them. I let my hands drag along her body and down her leg before I started working on the ankle straps. Whoever designed the room had a twisted way of solving puzzles—not that I would have minded having my date all tied up if we weren’t planning to abide by the rules and abstain from chasing our desires until the time period was up.
“If you feel any sort of pull, let me know.” I reached over to the crank and gave it a slight nudge.
“Nothing.” She shook her head back and forth.
“Okay.” I nodded and slowly turned the crank, watching as the wood beneath her spun. “Yeah, the straps are attached to the metal support underneath it, not the crank. It’s safe.”
“I guess I didn’t need to let you strap me to this after all.” She giggled and looked over at me.
“You were a little too eager.” I traced her stomach and then leaned in for a quick kiss.
“Yes, I suppose so.” She gasped when my lips pulled away.
I gave the crank a few turns, and she looked around the room. There was nothing that obviously pointed to the next clue. If the rack was meant to be the next one, then it wasn’t as simple as looking up from position like it was in the Iron Maiden. After a few more cranks, I noticed something—a number carved into one of the pieces of wood that rolled. I stopped turning the crank with it exposed and leaned over.
“There’s a number carved into this—three.” I tilted my head to the side.
“It can’t be part of code since there’s no electronic lock.” She leaned to the side and looked at the number. “Okay, get me down from here.”
