Chapter 11

As much as Jack wanted ti stay behind, and grieve for Ann, he couldn't. They only had about thirty five minutes left to escape. If they didn't, everyone would die, and there was no assurance that they wouldn't if they escaped. "Wait-I think I found something, guys!" Harley said, turning to them, and squinting. She held a book in her hands. "We have to put these in order." She pointed to the plates of fake food. "First, it's the steak." Oliver picked the plate of steak up, and set it on the island, in the number of spot. "Next, it looks like lamb." Jack placed it on the second spot. "Third, is spaghetti." Oliver did the honors. "And, lastly, it's the bowl of soup." Once Jack set the bowl down, the fridge opened, and he looked inside. Another bowl. He picked it up, and looked inside, thinking there would be some type of clue, or something like that. But, instead, there was blood, and inside laid a piece of paper. "Do we really have to reach in there?! This is some fucking messed up bullshit!" Harley cried, inching away. Oliver pulled her into a hug, scowling. "Whoever did this is some fucking, batshit crazy physcopath!" Jack rolled up his sleeve, and reached into the bowl of blood, then pulled the paper out. But it was blank. "There's nothing on it." Right then, something clicked, and he looked at the stove, finding a flame on one of the burners. "Wait..." He held the paper over the flame, and watched as words appeared. But it wasn't a clue to the escape room. There's something else in that bowl. A gift. Jack didn't like the sound of that. But he went back to the bowl, and reached in, feeling around until he found something. Something soft. He picked it up, not caring that the others were telling him to stop, and realized he was holding a head....wait, it was Alex's head! The brown hair, the one blue eye...."Put it down, we need to m-move o-o-on to the ne-next room!" Harley said, stuttering, which wasn't like her. Had this gone past her limits of usually being calm and centered in any situation? He dropped the head back into the bowl, unfazed, and they moved onto the next room, which was their last. Before they did, though, Jack looked at the clock. They only had twenty-nine minutes left. Twenty-nine minutes to see if they could escape....or die.