Raya picked up the sheet and scanned it quickly. She started laughing.
“Benny—you got a work order from N. Bates to go to a remote motel with a busload of random strangers?Norman Bates? A motel?No alarm bells there?” she said, grinning.
“Why would there be? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Wow. Okay.” Raya passed the sheet around. “I guess you’re not a fan of old movies. Have you seriously never seenPsycho?”
Benny’s face fell as he put the pieces together. Clearly, hehadseen the murderous horror movie set in the remote Bates Motel. The implications weren’t totally lost on him. He plonked himself on the edge of the bed and scratched hard at his bald spot.
“It’s a joke, right?” Jade said as she read the sheet. “I mean, this just shows that someone’s messing around. Like a prank or something…”
“Or we’re trapped here by a nutjob with an ironic sense of humor and a taste for vintage movies,” Raya said.
“No, listen. Jade’s right.” Jax snatched the sheet out of Jade’s hands. “Think about it.Psycho’s a movie, right? A movie—that’s gotta be a clue. We’re playing a so-called ‘game’. We got cameras everywhere filming everything we do? Guys, this proves my point. It’s YouTube! It has to be. And whoever’s doing this spent serious money on this set-up. Trust me, this isn’t some small wannabe influencer. Not naming names, but this is big. I’m talking like a hundred-million-subscribers kind of big,if you know what I mean.” Jax lit up, proud of his wayward logic. He beamed radiantly for the invisible cameras. “Guys, smile. We’re about to get famous.”
“Oh my god. Jax, you’re so right,” Jade said, all smiles suddenly. “It makes perfect sense. I was wondering whyIwas invited, but now I totally get it.”
The mood in the room lightened instantly. At least this half-baked explanation didn’t involve getting murdered.
Jax was practically bouncing up and down with excitement.
“This is brilliant!” he shouted, turning around to random corners of the room and flashing his full-kilowatt smile. This was his fantasy, the push he needed to project himself into the social media A-list. If he made a good impression in front of millions of viewers worldwide, he would get verified. “Game on. Let’s do this.”
“Oh my god, tomorrow is going to be so much fun.” Jade was glowing with excitement. “Wait, I need to pick my outfits and my make-up—it’s got to be perfect. There’s so much to do. Jax, come!” The two of them hustled over to the door, on a mission.
“Norman Bates…cool,” Caden mumbled, following them out.
“So, y’all figured it out. Now can I get some sleep?” Benny grumbled, pushing himself back on the bed and plumping up his pillows.
The conversation was over. Time to go to bed.
But as they stepped outside into the cool night air, Ana looked at the remaining people. Raya and Alex were quiet. Ellis was deep in thought. Were they thinking what she was thinking?
It would be so easy to choose to believe Jax’s theory. After all, maybe he was right. Was it any more ludicrous than the idea that someone was planning on killing them off one by one?
There was just one small problem.
What if Jax was wrong?
What if they all went to bed, then woke up bright and early, put on their cutest clothes and counted down to the start of the game, only to find out that it wasn’t a prank? What then?
They’d have thrown away their one chance to escape.
“I still think we need to leave,” Ana said quietly.
“Agreed.” Ellis stepped forward and turned to face them; authority restored. “Maybe Jax is right, maybe it’s a game—but I for one am not staking my life on his theory.”
“Do you think someone will come for us?” Raya asked. “What about our parents? Someone’s going to wonder where we are, aren’t they?”
Ana shook her head. “It was on the invite. It said that the retreat would have limited cell service, so not to worry if we are out of contact for a while. Whoever brought us here made sure we won’t get rescued for at least the next few days.”
“Fine, so what’s the plan?” Raya asked. “Head off down the road now? Walk through the night? See where we get to?”
Ana did the math in her head.
“The last thing I saw along the road was an old gas station, about half an hour back. At about seventy miles per hour, that would be about thirty-five miles from here. It would take us maybe eight, nine hours if we walk fast. Plus, there are no guarantees it would even be open—it looked kind of deserted.”
“No freaking way!” Raya declared. “No way in hell am I walking thirty-five freaking miles. Especially at night in the middle of nowhere, with who knows what kind of wild animals waiting in the dark to eat us. We’ll probably get lost and die out here. They’ll find our bones picked over by vultures…”
