“Yikes,” said Fitzy, grimacing. “I forgot to mention the snag.”
“You’re kidding,” Sierra said.
“Team Dread has chosen to target you with our very first snag of the season. Because they were the fastest to figure out the element numbers in the last round, they’re allowed to give a rival team an error penalty. Be forewarned: the Game Master has slipped in one nasty punishment if you get a particular part of the room wrong. Best of luck!”
“Great,” Adi muttered, putting on his blindfold.
As they were guided toward the escape room, he tried to shake off their terrible morning and get into the puzzle-solving mindset. It wouldn’t be easy. He was hungry. And thirsty. And so tired.
A door closed behind them. Adi picked up the scents of earthy incense, wood recently sawn and stained, the lingering aroma of paint.
Fitzy’s voice came through his earpiece. “Team Helsing, you may take off your blindfolds and begin in three . . . two . . . one . . .Escape!”
THE
ESCAPE GAME
SEASON FIVE
Round One: Fortune Favors the Brave
FIVE TEAMS REMAINING
17
Adi
The room was roughly the size of his bedroom and decoratedwith old-fashioned maroon wallpaper, jewel-toned silky drapes tied back with golden tassels, and eclectic rugs underfoot. They had entered through a wooden door that was now shut tight, its surface intricately carved into an image of an old man in long robes holding a walking stick and a lantern. There was a large keyhole beneath the lantern.
Adi approached a table and rapped the top of a crystal ball, which felt like plastic. The moment he did, the fogginess cleared inside the ball, revealing a projection of a cliché fortune teller with enormous hoop earrings and a shawl around her shoulders.
“Greetings,” she said in a dramatic voice. “If your freedom should await, choose three cards to learn your fate. I am trapped deep inside, so let intuition be your guide . . .”
Let intuition be your guide.The same clue the Game Master had given.
But Adi was more annoyed than intrigued. “Romani stereotyping. Classic Hollywood.”
Carter snickered.
Adi glanced at her, lips twitching in an almost-smile. “There are spaces here for three cards,” he said, trailing his finger along rectangular outlines on the tablecloth.
“Tarot,” said Beck, gesturing at the door. “That carving looks like the Hermit from the classic Rider–Waite deck. A card that represents a period of solitude and being guided by our own internal wisdom.”
They looked at him.
He shrugged. “I went through a phase.”
“All right,” said Sierra. “Enough goofing off. Let’s find these cards.”
They began scouring the room, calling out their findings.
Above the door was a red clock—the room’s official timer. They’d been here only forty-two seconds, but it felt like it was ticking way too fast.
A lantern hung directly over the center table, unlit and identical to the lantern held by the Hermit on the door.
Twelve small paintings were spaced around the room, based on the Western astrology signs—the ram, the scorpion, the twins . . .
A trunk in one corner was locked with a four-letter code.
