Twenty-Eight
Blaine
There are around twenty of us gathered in a conference room, each wearing a slightly concerned expression.
“Do you know what this is about?” I ask Ethan.
He shakes his head. “No, I asked Colleen, but she’s being very tight-lipped about it. All she said was that it's going to be fun.”
I narrow my eyes. “Fun for Colleen could be anything.”
Hell, we could be going shopping for all we know.
His lips twitch, fighting off the laugh that I know he’s holding back. “Let's just wait and see, eh?”
We received an email last week from the Thunder PR team stating that we’d be filming a segment for the ‘Off the Ice’ series on the team’s YouTube channel, and to ensure we wear comfortable team attire, but that was it.
There was no information on what it was, where it would be, or what we would be doing.
Just what to wear and to be in this conference room after morning skate.
We’re heading off on a five-day road trip tomorrow, so the last thing any of us want to do is spend more time away from our loved ones.
Hell, I’ve never grumbled about that before…
“Hey, boys. Thanks for coming today.” Colleen smiles, walking to the front of the room holding a clipboard.
“You’re probably wondering why you’re all here today.
We wanted to do something fun for the holidays, so the latest segment we’re doing for the channel is an escape room!
” Colleen grins evilly as we all let out collective groans.
“You’re going to be split into four teams of five and the first team to escape the room in the fastest time, wins. ”
Elliot raises his hand like a pre-schooler. “But what do we get if we win?”
Several guys nod, muttering their agreement.
“Yeah, I wanna know the prize before I agree to do it. I don’t wanna be locked in a fucking room with four of these dickheads for a shit prize.” Petford grumbles under his breath.
I roll my eyes.
Can’t the dude be fucking nice for once?
“The team that wins will get to choose the team mascot…”
There’s a moment of silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, before a chorus of shocked gasps.
“We’re getting a team dog?” Elliot asks.
Colleen laughs and nods. “Yes! So whoever wins will have the honor of choosing which dog from the rescue center will become the Thunder mascot.”
“It’s fucking on!” I rub my hands together excitedly, like a happy otter.
“I wanna choose the dog!” Mitch whines.
“I better fucking win!” Elliot grins over at me, bouncing on his toes.
We’d always wanted a dog growing up, but our mom constantly refused, saying she didn’t want anything distracting us from hockey. Now, with my schedule being so hectic, it’d be cruel and unfair for me to get one, only to end up having to put it into doggy daycare every time I go on the road.
“Also, I must remind you that we will be filming everything, so please be mindful and use respectful language so we don’t have an entire episode of beeps.”
Oh, this is going to be so much fun.
We head downstairs and board a waiting bus that takes us forty minutes north of Chicago to an old, derelict school that’s apparently been converted.
“Before we head inside, I’m going to draw names from an online generator to assign your teams,” Colleen announces, retrieving her iPad from her bag. I get the dream team: Ethan, Mitch, Zach, and Elliot.
I high-five Zach and throw my arm around Elliot’s shoulders. “We’re gonna get the fucking dog!”
“I wanna call it Bruce!” Elliot slaps my stomach.
I let out an oof and rub my hand over the spot. “Bruce?”
“Yeah! Like Bruce Wayne, duh!” He rolls his eyes.
“But he hasn’t got anything to do with Thunder. Surely we should call it something like…”
“Thor,” Zach chimes in.
I point finger guns at the d-man. “Yeah!”
Ethan shakes his head. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll worry about naming the dog once we’ve won the damn thing.”
“Okay, mister sensible.” Elliot mimics.
We’re directed to the room we’ll be escaping from.
It’s done up like a prison cell, except much nicer than the ones you see on TV.
There’s carpet on the floors, several photos on the walls, a cabinet, desk, toilet, and sink, and a bed in the far corner of the room.
It’s dark, meaning it’s hard to see, and given that there are five of us in here, the room suddenly feels very small.
“The previous inmate planned his escape but was moved to a high-security prison yesterday. It’s now up to you to escape within sixty minutes using the clues he's left inside the cell. There are several padlocks to unlock, which will lead you to further clues,” the instructor explains.
“If you need to get out at any point, wave at the camera, and I'll come get you.
But once you're out, you cannot re-enter.”
We all nod when he asks if we’re ready to start, and the second the door locks, the lights go out and we’re in complete darkness.
“Oh shit, I don’t think I like this,” Elliot mumbles beside me. I can sense he’s fidgeting, and ends up bumping into me. He lets out a loud shriek. “Fuck’s sake, Blaine, are you trying to kill me?”
“I didn’t do anything! I was just standing here!” I argue back.
“Fuck, I just swore,” I hear him slap his forehead. “Fuck, shit! Colleen, I’m sorry!” He shouts then mutters under his breath that Colleen is going to kill him.
I roll my lips, trying to stop myself from bursting into laughter.
“Shut it, Olsen,” Ethan grumbles as the TV flickers on in the corner.
Oh man, here we go.
It seems like a long time before we manage to get the keys we need to get out of here, only to find out we still need to go through a tunnel.
“You can go in first.” Zach playfully shoves me. “You're smaller than me.”
I peek my head into the tunnel. It’s fucking narrow. I have no idea how we’re going to fit.
“We’re gonna have to go on our hands and knees and crawl.” I nudge Mitch forward. “It’s your time to shine, rookie.”
He lets out a defeated sigh, dropping down to crawl through it, and comes back with a piece of paper with an L and an A written on it, with some lines underneath.
Ethan takes over. “There’s a theory behind this.”
He explains how the number of lines equals where the letters are in the alphabet, then points to where similar marks are etched into the wall. “So up there you have A, C, E, and R.”
The three of us look at him, dumbfounded as Ethan crouches down to where Mitch is still sitting cross-legged in the tunnel. “Is it five letters?”
“Yeah.”
“Try ‘clear’.”
We wait as Mitch disappears back inside the tunnel to try the lock, then we hear a cheer.
“We’re out! We’re out!” He shouts.
“Puppy dog time!” Elliot pumps his fist in the air.
After a quick clap of excitement, we make our way through the tunnel one by one, only to find we’re not out.
We’re in another fucking room.
“For fuck’s sake! We’re never gonna get out of here. If we don’t get to choose the puppy, I'm gonna be really sad, guys.” Elliot crosses his arms over his chest and pouts.
I head to the computer in the corner and read the clue on the screen while I notice the login screen photo is the Loch Ness monster.
A place you would go on vacation.
Easy. I type in Scotland, and voila , the computer unlocks to reveal another clue.
Zach’s shocked voice comes from behind. “How the fuck did you know that?”
“Dude, the monster!”
He laughs, shaking his head in disbelief. “What’s the next clue?”
“It says, ‘Take the time on the clock in twenty-four-hour time format, divide by the cell number, and multiply it by three.’”
It’s signed by Coach Harris, so we know this has to be the last one.
Right?
We enter the number and the last door unlocks. We all cheer in celebration.
“Fuck yeah!”
We run out of the room and back to the waiting lobby, and standing there waiting is Coach. He’s wearing a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Well, holy shit. I should have thought it would have been you boys to escape first, eh?” He chuckles, then looks at Elliot, his eyes widening in alarm. “I thought you were gonna cry at one point.”
“I nearly did, Coach.” Elliot sniffs dramatically. “I nearly did.”
I can’t stop smiling because we’re finally getting a dog, but I’m even happier that I can finally go home and spend time losing myself in Alex in more ways than one before I have to leave him again.