Page 90 of No Escape

I returned to face Clarissa and Winston, who were standing arm in arm. I took Clarissa’s hand, lifting it to my lips. “Clarissa, I’ll always be in your debt. Your brilliance, and that of your husband and daughter, is much appreciated.”

I hugged Vittoria and gave her a kiss before facing the rest of the team. “Everyone performed beyond expectation. I don’t even know what to say, and those of you who know me well, understand that is most surprising. It’s truly an honor to have completed this challenge with you. I’m proud to call you friends and family.”

At that moment, the gamemaster walked into the room. His gaze flicked toward the open door of the map room as he headed for the scale. He carefully checked the scale balance and the weights before turning to face us.

“Congratulations,” he said. “Once again, I’m astounded by your excellent performance.” He handed me a golden disc with the number forty-five engraved on it. “You should know that over the years, others have solved this escape room, but you are the first to have done it by solvingallthe puzzles. How is it that you, a family without a single Nobel prize or scientific award among you, has managed to do something many of the brightest minds in the world have failed to do? Bravo.” He then turned to Father Armando and dipped his head. “I see you were a valuable addition to the team, Father. Most impressive.”

“It was my pleasure,” the priest responded, smiling. “Sincerely.”

“Well, thank you for those generous accolades, Brando,” Clarissa said, fanning herself. “However, if we’re done here, I’m hot and tired and greatly looking forward to relaxing and enjoying a wonderful lunch prepared by that genius chef of yours along with a glass of exquisite Italian wine to go with it. I’m quite famished.”

“Of course, my lady. Your lunch already awaits you in the dining room.” Brando swept out an arm toward the door. “Please, after you.”

Everyone filed out of the room, but I hung back a bit and fell into step with Brando. “So, did the other team solve their escape room?” I asked.

The gamemaster glanced at his watch before giving me a smile. “We’ll find that out in about six minutes.”

Chapter Forty-Two

Lexi Carmichael

We waited in the dining room while the gamemaster took the other team away. Ten minutes later, he returned and led us toward the front of the castle, down some stone stairs.

We stopped in front of a metal door with a keypad next to it. He punched in some numbers, and the door swung open. “Please, everyone, enter carefully. It’s dark.”

I stepped into the room, which was lit only by red lights coming from hidden fixtures. It took a minute or so for my eyes to fully adjust. The walls of the room were a checkerboard mix of black and mirrored tiles that gave the room an eerie atmosphere. One wall had a scorpion made entirely of red mirrored tiles.

Weird.

The room had only one piece of furniture: a small metal keyboard mounted on a pole and attached to a raised chair in the center of the room. There were two metal rings around the base of the chair that appeared to serve as steps. The chair faced a large video screen that was currently dark. Brando turned on the screen with a switch on its side before walking to a closed door on the left side of the room and pulling on it, apparently confirming it was locked.

The video screen jumped to life. A small, elevated track with three shoebox-size, radio-controlled cars came into view. The elevated track was hilly and curvy as it wound back and forth through a room about the size of a one-car garage. The narrow track was not much wider than the cars, and there was a drop of a couple of feet from the track to the ground, meaning the slightest mistake would cause the car to fall off the track. A raised platform with a ramp from the track was at the end of the track.

“Lexi, as the designated gamer, I ask you to take a seat in the chair,” Brando said, sweeping his arm out toward the chair.

I climbed up the metal steps and sat down. A control console swung up from the side of the chair and in front of me. Hooked on one side was a pair of high-tech headphones.

“Okay, that’s pretty cool,” I said.

“Indeed,” the gamemaster agreed. “Now, Lexi, you may not leave this chair until it’s time to exit the room. I’ll explain further in a minute.”

I ran my fingers over the console buttons, getting familiar with them while the gamemaster continued.

“This challenge has two parts. The first part is a combination of skill and problem solving. The second part will test your teamwork, powers of observation, ability to communicate, and willingness to learn from your mistakes. To complete the first part of the challenge, Lexi must navigate at least one of the radio-controlled cars onto the platform at the end of the track. Doing so will unlock the closed door to my left so you may begin the second part of the challenge. To succeed at the second task, Lexi must navigate you to the platform at the far end of the room, where you’ll find the code to exit this room. Be warned, you’ll be able to hear Lexi, but she’ll not be able to hear you. The room efficiently absorbs sound.”

It sounded odd, but at least it appearedrelativelystraightforward…so far. However, since the challenges had become ridiculously harder, I doubted it would be easy.

Brando picked up a cloth bag off a thin counter that ran just under the front of the screen. He asked everyone except me to hold out their right arms while he affixed a small plastic bracelet around each wrist. When he finished, a dim red glow outlined the edges of the bracelet.

“Only I can remove the bracelet with a special tool after you exit the room,” he said. “The purpose of the bracelet is to notify you when you’re eliminated from the challenge. This will happen if you get to the second half of the challenge and step off the path in the far room. At that time, your bracelet will flash red, and a door will be illuminated on the side of the far room. You are to proceed to that door and exit the challenge. The bracelet will provide just enough light for you to safely exit the room. Until you do, the control room lights, cameras, and microphones will be inoperative. So, any delays will cost your team valuable time. You will then proceed and wait outside the entry door until the challenge is over.”

“So, team members can actually be eliminated, and we can still win the challenge?” I asked.

“That’s correct. I will explain further in a moment.”

He put the bag that held the bracelets on the counter under the screen and picked up two more items that looked like flashlights. “These are strobe lights. You’ll need them to complete the challenge. I warn you, however, they have an extremely limited battery life. So, if you attempt to use them for any other purpose, like to navigate the walkway, they’ll not have sufficient battery life to accomplish their intended purpose.”

“But there are only two strobe lights and six of us,” Juliette said. “Who gets to use them?”

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