Page 89 of Knight Moves

“Sounds like someone wants us to build our own flashlight,” Jax offered. “Apparently in the dark.”

“Hey, there’s furniture in here, too,” Kira suddenly said. “There’s a chair and desk.”

“Any chance there’s a lamp on that desk?” Hala asked.

“Not that I can feel,” Kira replied. “Nothing is on the desk that I can tell.”

“Well, keep looking for a light source,” Bo said. “Mike, can you build a flashlight in the dark?”

“Not without more stuff. It’s hard to see what’s in this box in the dark, but at the very least, I’d need electrical tape and wires.”

“Hey, I think I found a door,” Wally said.

“Where are you?” Jax said.

“Over here,” he said.

Jax must have made his way over because he said, “Confirmed Wally found the exit. There’s something on the door in place of a handle, but I’m afraid to touch it without being able to see it.”

“Oopmph,” Hala said, followed by a loud thump and what I guessed was swearing in Arabic. “I just tripped over another box.”

“Are you okay?” Bo asked.

“I’m fine.”

“What’s in the box?” Mike asked excitedly. “Can you check it out?”

There was a rustling noise, and then Hala answered. “It feels like wires and switches.”

“Perfect!” We could hear the excitement in Mike’s voice. “Can you push that box toward the sound of my voice?”

While Hala was doing that, the rest of us kept searching fruitlessly for a light switch. Bo, Kira, and I made a couple of passes along the walls, running into Jax, who was standing guard at the door. We found plenty of paintings or photographs or whatever the heck was hanging on the wall, but no light switches. Frankie told us she was moving around the room waving her arms, hoping that maybe a chain or a string would be hanging from a light in the ceiling, but she didn’t have any luck, either.

“It looks like we’re supposed to build a flashlight in the dark,” Jax said.

“I don’t think I can do that,” Mike said. “I need to see the wires.”

“Why don’t you just take the boxes back through the corridor to the door entrance where there is light?” Frankie suggested. “We left the door open, right? As long as you don’t step on the white platform and close the door, you should be able to build it there.”

There was complete silence, then someone—it might have been me—did a head slap.

“Frankie, that’s the smartest thing anyone has said all day,” Mike said. “She’s right. Someone needs to help Hala and me take these boxes back to the opening.”

“I’ll help,” Jax said. “I can put together a flashlight, too.”

“Me, too,” I added.

“Okay, the rest of us will keep looking for clues or hopefully a hidden light source,” Bo said. “Just whatever you have to do, make it fast.”

“We’re on it,” Jax said confidently.

I managed to find Hala in the dark and fumbled around until I had one side of her box. We made our way back to the entrance and put the boxes close enough the door so we could see, but not too close to the white platform. Mike knelt in the middle of the narrow corridor and began to examine the contents in the boxes, making a small pile of things he could use.

“See if you can find me more batteries,” Mike instructed the rest of us.

Hala and I sorted through the items, looking for batteries, while Jax used his teeth to strip a couple of wires. It took us only minutes to discover there was only one battery, but I found a roll of black electrical tape. I tossed it to him, and he added it to the pile.

After a moment, Mike and Jax started putting together a flashlight. Electronics wasn’t my specialty, but I knew the mechanics of what they needed to get things working. So, I squeezed in next to Mike, offering suggestions and handing over wires and tape. In fairly short order, the four of us constructed a workable LED flashlight. Unfortunately, when Mike attached it to the battery, it flickered, indicating that there wasn’t much juice left.

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