Page 92 of No Escape

Slash jumped down from the chair. “Brilliant idea, Oscar. Let’s see if we can pry one of them off the wall.”

Everyone began pulling at the tiles.

“They’re not coming off,” Mia complained.

Suddenly Tito gave a whoop as one of the tiles popped off. “I’ve got one. How are you going to use it, Lexi?”

Slash held it up behind me, and after fiddling around and trying to sit sideways in the chair and work over my shoulder, I remembered I could pivot the chair. I rotated the chair, facing away from the screen. After Slash repositioned the mirror a few times, I fired up the final car and drove it onto the track.

“It’s working,” I said, making rapid progress.

“Don’t get cocky,” Tito warned.

I easily made it past the section with the four switchbacks and approached the final, sweeping turn right before the ramp to the platform. I drove confidently and was almost over the rise before the last turn.

“Stop!” Oscar suddenly shouted.

Chapter Forty-Three

Lexi Carmichael

I used the brake trigger and quickly brought the car to a halt, although it almost skidded over the edge. My heart pounded at the close call.

“I’m sorry about scaring you,” Oscar said. “But there’s a problem with the final turn. I can’t tell for sure in the lighting, but I think the track in the curve is banked away from the turn instead of into it. If you aren’t creeping along that corner, you’re going to slide off.”

“I didn’t know you were so well versed in car games,” Juliette said to her husband in surprise.

“I may have played a time or two with the boys, just for fun,” he said, his cheeks reddening.

“You’re actually pretty good, Oscar,” Slash said. “You surprised all of us with your need for speed.”

While the others laughed, I peered at the spot where Oscar had pointed. I wasn’t sure, but since it was the last turn, I wasn’t going to take any chances. I slowed to a crawl. Sure enough, the track banked away, just as Oscar had suspected.

I blew out a breath. “Great save, Oscar. I’d have gone right over the edge if you hadn’t warned me.”

Easing around the turn, I hit the final stretch and gunned the car up the ramp and onto the platform. Amid the cheers from the others, a red light came on over the platform, and the side door in the control room slid open. The big video screen went dark and, simultaneously, a new set of buttons illuminated on the console.

We’d made it through the first part of the challenge. Unfortunately, I’d eaten up a lot of time.

Slash set the mirror aside and carefully stepped into the darkened room. “It’s a complete blackout situation with only the first few feet of the floor revealed by the red light of the control room,” he said. “The edges of the door are highlighted with the same thin ribbon of light as the edge of our bracelets. What’s next?”

Not sure, I pushed one of the buttons on the console and the screen illuminated, although this time in black and white and much dimmer. The view gave me an overhead shot of the room. Most of the screen was dark, with the circle of a single spotlight showing me a small section of the floor. A meandering path cut across the pool of light and into the dark shadows beyond. The lighted areas and borders of the path shone on my screen in an eerie white—infrared—just like the gamemaster had said.

“The edges along the path must be heated slightly or have a mild current running through them to make them stand out under the infrared,” Slash commented. “That could also be part of the alarm system if someone leaves the track.”

I pushed the next buttons in succession, and as I did so, the prior light turned off and a new one lit up. I was able to walk the lights down the length of the room and around a corner, where I could see a raised platform. While the first two-thirds of the path was contiguous, the latter third had two large gaps. The second of those gaps was just in front of the platform at the end of the room. To cross those gaps, the team would have to take large, accurate steps, or even jump in the dark and solely on my instructions.

Jeez.

“Guys, come look at this,” I said, tapping on the screen. “I want you to see these large gaps. They’re going to be a real challenge. You should study these spots the best you can, so you’ll know the length and general angle you’ll need to step, or jump, over to get to the other side.”

Everyone studied the map, but I knew it would be hard for them to figure how that would play out when they were standing in the dark on the actual path. I shone the last light, nearest the platform, but unfortunately, it did not light up much of that area. I could vaguely make out something round hanging on the far wall, but that was it.

“It looks like I won’t be able to help whoever makes it up the platform. And remember, I won’t be able to hear you. But I’ll get you there.” I glanced at the clock. “We have just over an hour left. Let’s get our plan together. Slash, what do you think we should do?”

“I don’t think you’ll have time to direct everyone individually, so I think we should split into two groups,” Slash said.

“How will that be faster?” Juliette asked. “She’ll still have to give separate directions to everyone.”

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