“I’ll decode the next page,” Sierra said, returning to the book.
“So . . . where does the sodium hydroxide go?” asked Carter.
Adi glanced back at the rotating pictures, then pointed at one that showed a temple with a Buddha statue. “I think that might be in Thailand. Or . . . Indonesia?”
Beck looked at the map. “There areXs on both of those. Choose one.”
“Thailand?”
“Thailand it is.” Carter put the sodium hydroxide on the map.
They waited, hoping for a flashing light or the click of mechanics.
Nothing.
“Um,” Carter said.
“Maybe it’s Indonesia then,” Beck said.
“Or something is wrong,” murmured Adi.
“Are we sure this one is in Brazil?” asked Carter, pointing. “There areXs on Mexico and Peru, too.”
“I’m sure.”
Four more blue lights turned purple. Four more cities down. How many had the other teams lost? Carter liked to think they were solving this part of the game quickly thanks to Adi’s geographical knowledge, but the time wasted in the front room could be their downfall.
Suddenly, the screen showing the disasters flickered. Carter held her breath, hoping it wasn’t about to turn off. If they had to rely on memory to place these objects—
But the screen didn’t turn off. Instead it changed from a picture of the pyramids to a picture of . . .
“Sierra?”
“What?” said Sierra, looking up from the notebook. Her attention landed on the screen, and her expression froze. “What the hell?”
There was Sierra’s face, a screenshot taken from a post-round interview in season four. Then the screen glitched again and changed to an image of . . . Cruz Fernandes, one of Sierra’s teammates last season. But he was replaced by a photo of Fitzy’s playful grin. Then Louis Augustus Russell. Followed by another of Sierra’s old teammates, Missy Mizuno. Then Ranielle Russell. Alicia’s teammates. Elijah Kua. Vera. Then it started from the top again. Sierra. Cruz. Fitzy. Louis—all suspects in Alicia’s murder, their photos flashing by faster and faster.
Until the images stopped—and they were staring at the beautiful smile of Alicia Angelos. A voice, distorted by auto-tune, rasped, “I know the truth. Have you figured it out yet?”
Then it was gone, and the slideshow of landmarks was back.
“What. The. Actual,” whispered Adi.
Beck smacked his lips, frowning thoughtfully. “That voice—”
“Don’t,” said Sierra, a tight line between her eyebrows. “Not here. Stay focused. We’re almost done, I can feel it.”
But with that creepy video turning in her thoughts, Carter felt like they were suddenly playing an entirely different game.
“Got it,” Sierra said, grabbing the pitcher of now-murky water and pulling out a dripping crystal. “Adi,” she said, tossing the crystal across the table to him. “The book says to replace the radio batteries with this.”
Adi grabbed the radio and wrenched open the cover to the battery compartment. There was a divot where the crystal fit precisely. The voices from the speaker fell silent. Around the room, the tiny lights on the map stopped blinking and turned their solid colors.
“What happened?” Carter said.
“We blocked their radio communication,” Sierra said smugly. “They won’t be destroying any more cities.”
“Yes!” Beck offered her a fist bump, which she begrudgingly accepted.
