Page 5 of Lost Hours
Nolan had to admit that last bit gave him comfort in playing this game. One thing was for sure. He would find out who planned this night. And then what? Tell them it wasn’t fun for a group of former law enforcement officers to be put in a small room with the goal being to escape? At least not Nolan’s idea of fun, but the others were smiling as they entered the room, so he went along with them and stepped inside.
Gabe pivoted beside Nolan. “A blast from the past.”
Abby pointed at a handmade poster by the punching bag that saidThe fight may be tough, but so are you! “Sounds like someone’s idea of a motivational pitch.”
Hayden tapped the movie posters one at a time. “Men in Black,The Avengers, andThe Hunger Games. We saw all of those right after we graduated from the police academy.”
Jude cast a quizzical look at the wall, then turned to take in the rest of the room. “Is this a mashup of a dorm room, the fitness room, and student lounge at OSP Academy?”
They had all graduated from the Oregon State Police sixteen-week training academy for law enforcement recruits in Salem. Took some doing, but they’d timed job hires so they could attend together.
“You are very perceptive, sir.” Smythe set the bag with their phones on a small table just inside the doorway and rested his hand on the doorknob. “Please call me if you have any questions.”
He pulled the door closed, and Nolan listened for the deadbolt, as it seemed the others were doing as well. No sound, but he couldn’t leave it at that and be able to relax and enjoy this game. He crossed the room and grabbed the knob. The door opened.
Satisfied, he turned to his team. “I guess the first question is, do you really want to do this? We can leave now if you don’t want to stay.”
“You kidding?” Jude asked. “The gauntlet has been thrown down. We’re not the type of team to run away from a challenge, even a pointless challenge like this one.”
“Anyway,” Reece added, “it could be fun.”
“I say we go for it. Minus the heels.” Abby kicked off her shoes. “Everyone knows since we started the business we don’t have much time for fun. Seems like we’re always working to pay the bills.”
“Okay, I’m in,” Gabe said. “Not sure if I want to do it, but I’m up for a challenge. Besides, I’ll show you all the way to the finish.”
“Ooh.” Reece rubbed her hands together. “Challenge accepted.”
Nolan loved to do puzzles and ciphers. Always had. And his past escape-room experience had told him that they would have to be creative and able to solve puzzles to find their way out.
“You should know,” he closed the door, “escape room creators rarely put anything in the room that doesn’t have to do with the solution. Not that on the surface the item will be a direct clue, so when you find a lead, it won’t necessarily make sense at the time. It’s only when we put a bunch of the clues together that the solution comes to light.”
“Sounds intriguing,” Abby said.
“It can be a challenge,” he said. “Let’s split up and look for clues. Bring everything you find to the table with the box, and we’ll try to figure out what it means.”
They broke up as if they were exiting a team huddle and began searching.
Speakers mounted near the ceiling suddenly started blasting out, “Stronger,” sung by Kelly Clarkson.
“I remember this song,” Reece yelled above the music.
“How can you not?” Jude asked. “It was played on the radio nonstop.”
Nolan liked the song, but at this volume? It wiped everything out of his brain, and he could barely think.
The melody played three or four times and stopped as suddenly as it started.
Jude stared up at the speakers. “What was that all about?”
“Could just be to get us in the mood for the game,” Gabe said. “Or further emphasize the time frame like the posters and other memorabilia would indicate.”
Jude shook his head. “I don’t buy that. If so, why not keep playing it?”
“So, is it the words?” Nolan asked. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. What is it referring to? What might kill you or make you stronger?”
“The poster.” Abby pointed across the room. “The fight may be tough, but so are you!Could it be the punching bag or even a sports game where you had to fight to get one of the trophies in the case?”
“Could be.” Nolan turned his attention to the trophy case. “What about the trophies? They all signify someone doing something great.”
