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What’s the worst that can happen? He sends nudes to my family after using my dead fingerprint to open the thing… I’m not going to be taking the rap for that, so who cares?
Okay, so that’s probably a little morbid, or dark, who knows? But with our phones secured, he turns around, leaving the two of us to stew in our thoughts until we arrive wherever the hell it is we’re going.
A long way away, that’s for sure. Too far for either of us to remember the route, and I guess that’s half of the point as, finally, we drive under a set of roller shutter doors, the rest of the guys from home standing from their chairs as the engine idles before finally shutting off, the four of us climbing out.
Oliver and I join everyone else, two guys in plain black masks moving to stand in front of the doorway as the rollers slowly but surely make their way down, slamming against the concrete with finality.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen, and thank you for joining us.”Like we had any choice.“Today, we have a fresh challenge for you. It’s going to need teamwork and determination, and unsurprisingly, you’re against the clock,” our masked leader states, moving to stand in front of two doors.
He nods as we’re separated into two teams, more of their faceless masked security doing their bidding. Jacob ends up on the other team from me, but at least Wyatt is with him—that’s a good sign. Unfortunately, that lands me with Leo, but also Taylor and Oliver. A decent group, I suppose… depending on what we’ve got to do.
“Today, you’re going to be undertaking a series of escape rooms, and we’re going to begin with two teams of four. They’re reasonably straightforward, providing you can work together well, but there will be sanctions for those that can’t. The first team to leave their room goes free, the second one moves on to a second, and then third room. Good luck, boys.”
The doors open and silently, we step up, each one of us receiving a laminated card as we do so. The door lock thuds behind us as a countdown timer bursts into life above what I assume to be the exit door.
Oliver tries the door behind us, and then the one opposite with a shrug. “Just checking.”
It’s almost as if we’ve stepped back in time as I look around, the hideously pattered burgundy carpet old underfoot, the musty smell of aged wood permeating the air, and the click-clacking that echoes around the room.
“What the hell is this?” Oliver grumbles, turning the card over before reading it. “Welcome To Timeless Trains nmbr 4702.”
The floor begins to move underfoot, and instinctively I reach out for one of the tables, hoping for something solid to ground me. There are two tables, and benches on either side of them lining the right-hand side of the room, with windows above them and scenery flying past at speed. It’s almost as if we are hurtling down the rails ourselves.
“There has been an escap at a Local penitentiary, a murderer is on the loose,” Leo reads. “Fucking great.”
“He’s coming your way wth only An hour to spare,” Taylor says with a roll of his eyes.
“The clues are Hidden in plain sight,” I continue. “So there’s no need two gt a fright. Seriously, it’s as if they couldn’t even be assed to spell-check it properly.”
“This is an urgent announcement, courtesy of Timeless Trains,” a voice begins, crackling over an ancient sound system. “A madman has escaped from a local penitentiary and was last seen crossing onto one of our trains. We have been unable to contact the staff on board, but this is no time to panic. As a precaution, each of the carriages has been locked for one hour, at which point, we hope to have more information.”
“Great,” Oliver grumbles, moving towards the bar that lines the left side of the room, leaning up against it. “Glad they could confirm the shit they already told us.”
“Once the timer runs out, he could be coming your way,” the voice continues. “Solve the clues to exit the carriage, and do it before time runs out on more than just the clock.”
An ominous sound crackles over the system before it goes silent, with nothing but the click-clack and the rocking of the room to console us.
“I fucking hate puzzles,” Leo gripes, looking around the room, but his casual indifference doesn’t last. “Okay, there’s a lock over here,” he says, crossing the room to pick up a padlocked box resting on a shelf beside the bar optics. “I guess that means we’re looking for four numbers.”
The other three of us look less than convinced, but after he waves his hand around the room, irritatedly gesturing for us to look around, he puts the box on one of the tables and makes a start looking around too.
“Those cards have probably got some kind of clues in them,” Leo continues, gesturing to where we abandoned them. “But I guess we can’t decipher them until we have more to go on. If we put everything we find together on that table, we can work it out between us. Just remember to keep it simple, yeah?”
“Who made you God’s gift to escape rooms?” I ask, attempting to get my bearings.
“Yeah, why should we be paying any attention to you?” Oliver asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Are we looking for something like this?” Taylor asks, ignoring our bickering and picking up a teacup, upending it, a letter written underneath.
“Yes, exactly like that,” Leo agrees, completely ignoring the pair of us. “But this lock wants numbers, not letters. So, I guess we’ve got to find the lock that goes with those too.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, turning and looking around, not a clue where to start until the lights flicker. “Check the artwork,” I suggest, looking at an ancient depiction of some sweet chocolate box landscape pinned up between the fake windows. “There’s a number two hidden in the chimney of this one.”
It’s not obvious, and I’d have missed it if it weren’t for the flicker of the lights and the jolt of the train we aren’t really on, but now I’ve seen it, I can’t unsee it. Leo nods, gesturing for me to hand it over as I unhook it from the wall, checking there’s nothing else on the back before giving it to him.
Who died and made him in charge, I have no idea, but he’s gathering stuff together in some kind of planned and organised manner, and whilst I have absolutely no desire to find out what happens if we don’t make it out of here in an hour, I’ll be damned if I’m going to get in his way.
Before long, we have a reasonable collection of items, but no idea how it all goes together as Leo takes the letters we found, putting them into a wall lock before the door clicks open, a red piece of paper inside. “This Lock is Complete. Only Two More To Find,” he reads.
