Leo pointed. “It’s a trapdoor!”
Monty gave the rope one more yank and a large wooden hatch flipped over to reveal a hole in the earth. The car alarm blared louder.
“This is so cool,” said Leo. “I feel like Indiana Jones.”
Happy beamed. “Good work, team!”
Cheryl stepped up to the hole and stared down into the darkness. The thought of climbing down into the earth filled her with dread. She’d watched a film once about a child trapped down a well and it had always stayed with her.
“Look,” said Alfie, pointing at the hatch lid and alerting them to a message painted on the underside in black tar. It read: ENTER & BEGIN.
“This must be the escape room,” said John. “Good work.”
“Did you know it was underground?” Cheryl asked uneasily. Her stomach was in knots, and she had to breathe deeply to stay calm. She could not — could not — freak out in front of these people. It’s just a game, she told herself. Be a grown up.
John shook his head at her. “All I knew to expect was a room, and that if we fail to escape it in ninety minutes, a member of staff will release us and take us to the hotel.”
Cheryl swallowed a lump in her throat. An hour-and-a-half trapped underground? Okay, don’t freak. Don’t freak.
Everyone glanced around, but there were no members of staff anywhere in view. If they didn’t have to be there for over an hour though, they could easily be close enough to get there on time.
Leo placed his hands in his coat pockets and flapped like a bird. “The ninety minutes has probably already started. We should get moving.”
Cheryl shivered as a gust of wind buffeted the inside of her denim jacket. “I’m not sure about this.”
“Me either,” said Alfie, clutching himself in the same way that she was, “and I’m freezing.”
“Can we just shut off that bloody alarm?” said Maggie, still covering her ears. “I’m going to have a goddamn epileptic fit.”
Leo rolled his eyes. “Not how that works, Maggie.”
“I really don’t wanna go down there, man,” said Alfie, restating his fears.
“Pussy,” said Monty. “What you scared of?”
“Your mum’s tits. They look like two bags of rice.”
“I’m willing to go first,” said Happy. “If it will make everyone else less nervous.”
Monty kicked dirt off his loafers and stepped up to the hole. “I don’t get nervous, bruh. You lot just try to keep up.” He took a moment to examine the entrance, then carefully got down on his hands and knees before crawling backwards onto a ladder he found inside. He descended the first couple of rungs, then paused before going any deeper.
“You okay?” Cheryl asked. She had to shout over the car alarm.
Monty smirked at her, but it was an unconvincing display. “Yeah, luv, I’m just enjoying the anticipation, innit? Monty’s gunna win this thing, you get me?”
Cheryl wondered if he was panicking. He had stopped abruptly, as if the fear had suddenly seized him. She didn’t blame him in the least. “It’s not a contest, Monty,” she said. “We win or lose this together.”
“Keep telling yourself that, luv.”
Leo tapped his wrist despite not wearing a watch. “Come on, dude. The clock’s a-ticking. Get in the hole.”
Monty hesitated one more moment, then got moving again. Soon he disappeared out of sight, hidden beneath the ground. Covered by darkness.
Like a grave.
Happy shouted into the hole after a minute. “Are you okay down there, Monty?”
No reply. Perhaps the car alarm was too loud for him to hear. Likewise, would they be able to hear him if he shouted up to them?
John paced back and forth beside the hole. “Monty? What’s down there?” He raised his voice louder over the alarm. “MONTY?”
No answer.
Cheryl’s stomach churned. She was both excited and anxious at once. Was it fun she was having? It had been too long to recognise the feeling.
Leo spied the hole suspiciously. “Why isn’t he responding?”
“I don’t know,” said John, hands on his hips. “He best not be pissing around.”
Cheryl moved towards the hole. Whatever was down there, she’d rather find out and get it over with. Any more anticipation and she would puke. She peered into the hole but could make out no details besides the dull glint of the ladder’s first rungs. “I’ll go down.”
John looked at her. “You sure?”
She took a deep breath, preparing to descend into the earth. Here’s me having fun. See, mum, nothing to worry about.
Absolutely nothing at all.
A bright light blinded her and she almost stumbled right into the hole. Leo grabbed her arm and pulled her back just in time. “Whoa! You okay?”
“Yeah! What is that?”
John yelled into the suddenly lit shaft. “Monty, is that you? Did you switch a light on?”
Over the din of the car alarm, Monty finally gave a reply. “Yeah boss, it was me. You need to get down here and see this — and quickly. The clock’s ticking, bruh.”
After almost falling into a hole in the earth, Cheryl’s enthusiasm waned. As it was, both Leo and Alfie went down before she did. Happy placed a hand on her back. “You want to go next?”
“Yeah, um, sure.” Her nerves had recovered slightly, and she still wanted to get it over with, so she tightened her ponytail, pulled her jacket around herself, and stepped up to the edge of the hole. “Will you help me, Happy?”
“Of course.” He offered his arm, and she used it to keep herself steady as she descended onto the first rung of the ladder. It felt hollow and sent vibrations through her foot. As she started down, the car alarm really got inside her skull. Why was it still blaring? Had Monty not discovered the source? If not, then what had got him so excited?
My head is about to explode.
After descending several more rungs, a hand landed on her back and caused her to yelp. “It’s okay,” Leo assured her over the blaring car alarm. “You’re at the bottom.”
She looked down and saw the ground two-feet below her. Descending one more rung, she hopped onto a metal floor. The echoless thud of her landing was ominous, and when she peered back up the ladder, she estimated she was fifteen feet underground.
“Look at this place!” Alfie shouted. “Look at it!”
She turned away from the ladder to see what all the fuss was about and found herself inside a tunnel constructed from half-a-dozen shipping containers placed end-to-end. Separate rooms lay off to each side, their entrances sliced into the steel walls of the containers and barred with gates. A line of bulbs swung overhead and gave light while hot air pumped in from somewhere near their feet. In several places between the lights, fan blades rotated sluggishly, letting in clean air. Remarkable. “How on earth did they get all this underground?”
Leo shrugged. “It’s only a few buried shipping containers welded together.”
“Oh, come on. This place is impressive, admit it!”
“Yeah, okay, I suppose it is pretty cool. They must have built it first and then put soil over the top.”