by David Clark
Robert didn’t understand Bob’s question, but answered anyway. “Yes, why?”
“You get used to doing this on a small scale if you play with or against someone on the same monitor, the game splits the screen in half. I have watched my boys play like that at times. Usually one of them accusing the other of cheating if they look at the other screen.”
“Splits it in half? That would be too distracting to me.” Robert had never played this with or against anyone before in the same room and definitely not on the same screen.
Doug shook his head in agreement with Robert as he stood up to stretch. “It is weird at first, but you soon learn to use it as an advantage. I have a few other friends that I get together with to play games. Everyone brings their own game unit and monitor. We all sit in the same room and work together like this. It is some of the best fun I have ever had.”
“So that is how you do it, Doug. I was wondering why you were calling out threats and opportunities like it was nothing, and every time I look at all the screens, I get confused.”
Mary assured Robert he would get used to it.
They dominated every match that afternoon. Game after game with the same result in a non-stop pace, only pausing every so often for someone to retrieve a piece of pizza or something to drink. Christopher disappeared for minutes at a time off-and-on throughout the afternoon, but always returned before the next game started. Most hardly notice, but Jill commented on it several times to different members of the group and eventually asked, “Christopher, is everything okay, I notice you keep leaving. Are we keeping you from anything?”
“Oh no, not at all. I was preparing to show you all something I’m working on later, so just checking to make sure everything’s ready.”
Michelle got up, “Is it ready? I have been dying to see it since you told us about it.”
Christopher motioned with his hands for her to sit back down. “There is plenty of time for that. It’s almost ready. It’s hot back there so trying to get it to cool down before we go in. Let’s play more. It’ll be ready soon.”
Another two hours and thousands of dead opponents later, Christopher left the lobby of the game and suggested a new activity. “All right, it should be cool enough now, how would you all like to take a break and see my project?”
Michelle, who had been eager to see it since they arrived was the first to agree, “Absolutely, it is about damn time, let’s go.”
“Alright, follow me.” Christopher rolled his wheelchair through a door to his bedroom, which was as fantastic and industrial décor-inspired as the rest of the rooms. There was no ceiling to the room, like the others, but the back wall of this room did go all the way up to the rafters of the warehouse, creating a separation. This made sense to Robert. It would be impossible to heat or cool the entire warehouse and, if he did have cars in the attached garage, you don’t want any fumes in the living space.
“Okay, it is right through this door.” Christopher pointed to a door in the back of his bedroom. “You go on through. There’s another door that’ll lead to some stairs; just stop at the door. I need to go down the elevator. When I get down there, I will turn on the lights and tell you when to open the door and come down the stairs. See you in a few minutes.”
Christopher wheeled out of the bedroom and back through his living area. Kevin opened the door and motioned everyone toward the opening. He bowed and with the worst English accent ever attempted he said, “After you, your majesties.”
One at a time they walked through the door and into the darkness. Mary went first and Kevin pulled up the rear. He closed the door behind them sending the group into complete darkness.
“Kevin why did you close the door? It is completely dark now.”
Doug chided, “Jill, are you scared of the dark?”
“Yes, and a little claustrophobic.”
“Now you tell us. Kevin, can you open the door until Christopher gets everything setup for us?”
“Robert, I wish I could, but it’s locked. The doorknob doesn’t even turn.”
Jill grunted and asked, “Mary can you move up a little?”
“No, I’m up as far as I can go at this end. I hope Christopher hurries. I’m starting to feel a little uncomfortable too.”
A very loud groan echoed through the darkness.
Bob tried to loosen up the tension by imitating a vampire’s voice, “Aww, the girls are scared of the dark.” He failed. The only reaction was several deep sighs of disapproval from the trapped and increasingly uncomfortable group.
Seconds became minutes as the temperature rose in the room.
“Guys?”
Mary responded, “What?”
“You don’t think this is a big joke Christopher is playing on us? We aren’t just stuck in a closet for his amusement, are we?”
Bob replied, “Some joke.”
Robert thought for a second; it was possible, but why?
Another couple of minutes passed, they were hot and completely over this. Jill struggled to stand still and Mary turned around and around, taking deep breaths trying to relax. No one had said much for the last few minutes, but the groans and sighs coming from all of them signaled everyone was beyond tired of this. The enthusiasm they once all shared was gone.
Doug was the first to break the silence. He banged on the wall calling out to Christopher, “Come on, Christopher, enough is enough! Open either door and let us out.” But there was no response from outside. “Kevin, is there any way you can force the door open?”
“Let me try.” Robert heard the solid sounding thuds of Kevin’s shoulder ramming the door. “Doug, it is solid. It won’t move at all. Mary is there any give in your door?”
Mary did not respond.
“Mary?”
Still nothing.
“Kevin, I think she’s freaking out. Let me try to change places with her and I’ll check the door.”
Robert heard movement in front of him and felt people bumping into him as Doug squeezed around Mary. A few people let out a “Hey”, followed by a “Sorry” from Doug as he pushed the first four people into one another as he moved.
“Alright, the doorknob is solid and locked. Let me try to put my shoulder into it.” There was a big impact, then another, and another. Robert could feel the thuds reverberate through the floor as Doug put all he had into each shot. After several attempts the door stood firm.
“It’s solid, but I think I hear something on the other side. I hear something that sounds like machinery. Christopher must be in there. Everyone yells, let’s get his attention.”
They banged on the walls and yelled; making a huge racket. Robert again felt the vibration through the floor. Where they suspended in the air? He joined in and jumped up and down to create even more noise. It produced a large vibration felt through the entire room. They continued this for what seemed like an hour but in reality, it was only a couple of minutes.
“Everyone stop, so I can listen at the door again.”
Robert pushed his ear up against the wall as well to see if he can hear anything. There it was, the sound of machinery like Doug said. “I still hear it. Start again.”
“Wait, I’ve had enough of this. Not sure why I didn’t think about this before.” Suddenly a light illuminated the space. Michelle had her cell phone out with the light on. “Is everyone okay?”
Mary broke her silence, “I am better now, thanks Michelle.”
“I’m done with this game. I’m calling for help. Maybe Christopher was trapped in the elevator or something.” The light dimmed as she and tones of her dialing 9-1-1 echoed in the room.
“Fuck! I have no signal. Does anyone else have their phone?”
Robert felt stupid, his was in his pocket. “I do, let me try.” He turned his on to check and like Michelle’s. “No signal either.”
The rest of the group left their phones out where they were sitting. The mood in the tight room went from aggravated to hopeless. Michelle kept her phone on to provide some
light. For the first time, Robert saw the cramp quarters they were trapped in. It was a simple plywood box. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all a type of plywood normally called OSB: Oriented Strand Board.
He looked to the front and was startled by what he saw, “Um, guys? Look at the door to the front? It’s not a door.”
What they thought was a door was only a piece of plywood with a doorknob attached. Doug slammed his fist into it as hard as he could; producing a thunderous sound that was only over-powered by him yelling: “WHAT THE FUCK!”
Robert continued his detailed survey of their surroundings. He looked for any nail or screw holes indicating where the studs were, thinking he might be able to kick through in between them, but instead of screw and nail holes he noticed the walls had rows of holes about a quarter inch wide. They occurred every four to six inches for the entire length of both walls. The ceiling was a solid piece of plywood with no seams, nails, or screws. These must be custom-built pieces of wood. Robert knew from working on his uncle’s construction crew a few summers ago, that OSB came in four feet by eight-foot lengths. There should be at least one seam in the walls and ceiling.
He looked down for any kind of break or seam in the floor, but noticed something even more shocking. Someone cut a series of large slits in the wood. They were twelve to eighteen inches in length.
“Everyone move to one side or the other. I want to see the floor.” The group shuffled, clearing the center of the floor and taking notice of what Robert saw.
“Robert, what the hell are those?”
“No clue Kevin, I have no clue.”
The slits lined the entire floor from front to back, alternating in rows of four or five slits across with maybe six inches in between each row. “Look at the walls too, there are rows of holes drilled into them. It looks like hundreds of holes.”
Michelle used her light to look through one of the holes in the wall. “Are they air holes? It has to still be dark outside or we would have seen a light coming in through all the holes in this thing.”
These discoveries led Robert to a confusing conclusion: this was deliberate. All of it. They were lured here to be trapped in this box. Everything that happened over the last few months, he wondered, was it all a setup and why? There was time to think about that later, now they need to get out before they find out what was planned for them, because whatever it was, it would not be good.
“Does anyone see a seam or any screws or nails? I have been looking, but I don’t see anything.” Robert saw Doug’s head looking around at the floor and walls.
“No, nothing. I’ve been looking for that. I work in construction and use this type of board all the time. I’m in shock there are no seams. These boards are normally no longer than eight feet.”
Robert agreed, “I know. I’ve built a few things with my uncle and was thinking the same thing. If we can find a seam on a wall or floor, I have my pocketknife. I can try to cut the corner a little and then we should be able to kick it through.”
“Can you try cutting through those?” Michelle says, pointing at the rows of cuts in the floor.
“If I can’t find anything else, I’ll try, but I don’t think I can. This type of wood is almost impossible to cut through without a rip saw. Does anyone see anything else?”
Heads moved about looking at the floor and walls. Everyone then looked at Robert and shook their heads. There was only one option left and Robert knew it had next to no chance of success. He pulled out his pocketknife and flipped out the blade while crouching to the floor. He looked at the slits in front of him wondering if it mattered which one he chose; they all looked the same.
He picked the one closest to him. If he can cut a line connecting two of them, they should be able to kick and stomp on that area enough to make it break the rest of the way through. That should give them a good-sized hole to get out. Tilting the blade slightly to force the contact with the top edge of the slit, he ran the blade up and down at a furious pace, applying light pressure against the floor. He tried to cut as fast as he could. His arm and shoulder started to burn but he did not stop; he was on a mission. He forged on for the next few minutes until his forearm and hand gave up the ghost and could no longer hang on to the knife anymore. The knife fell from his hand, but the muscle cramps and spasms wouldn’t allow his hand to open. Using his other hand, he tried to massage the pain out of it. After a few seconds the pain died down to a tolerable level and Robert checked his work.
“Nothing. Not even a damn splinter!” He did not expect a large cut but hoped there would be something more than a small indentation where the knife blade cut into the edge of the wood.
Frustration from the outcome and the desperation of their situation became a dangerous combination in Robert’s mind, causing logical thought to give way to raw emotion. He picked up the knife, now with a completely different purpose and began stabbing at the floor over and over as hard as he could. Mostly out of anger, but there was a method to this madness. If he could splinter the surface, he may be able to use his knife to drill through the floor. It would be a small hole, but it would be a start. Wildly stabbing, hitting random points inside the same foot-wide circle did nothing. The wood appeared to be wet and each strike of the blade point did nothing more than make an indentation before bouncing off. The ferocity of each strike increased with each bounce as he saw no progress. He was swinging out of fury.
He hated the wood.
He hated the box.
Only a metallurgical breakdown interrupted his efforts when the blade snapped in half at its mid-point.
The metallic ping of the blade breaking made everyone jump and then sigh in depression. Robert didn’t think this would work, but he couldn’t think of any other options. They were officially trapped now. Without a signal on either cellphone, they couldn’t call for help. They had no way to help themselves escape. Robert sat down and leaned back and staring at the opposite wall. His mind was miles away from this place at the moment; trying to escape on its own.
The rest of them followed suit and either lean against the wall or sit.
“Michelle, what time does your phone say?”
Michelle checked the display on her phone. “It is 5:03, Mary. My God, I think we’ve been in here for three hours.”
“Three hours? I was supposed to pick up my kids from the sitter’s an hour ago!”
“Mary, do they know where you were going? Does anyone know where any of you were going today?” Robert thought Doug may be on to something with his line of questioning. Amy was at work, so he didn’t tell her where he was going, but one of the others probably told someone and they would eventually start looking for them.
Jill responded, “I did. My husband knows I was coming to see a friend, but he doesn’t know the address.”
There was hope in Doug’s voice, “Jill that’s great! How long before you think he’ll start looking for you?”
“I am not sure. If I wasn’t home before he went to work tonight, I’m not sure if he would know I was missing until the morning.”
“He wouldn’t try to call you or expect you to call him when you got home?”
“No, he’s not allowed to have his phone while on the floor.”
Dejected by Jill’s answer, Doug asked the others. “Dammit! Anyone else?”
Most of the others lived alone or told no one where they were going. Robert remembered Michelle had children. “Michelle, who has your kids?”
“They’re with their dad for the weekend, and not due back ‘til Monday.”
Either no one would realize they are missing or those that would, don’t know where they are. Robert zoned out again staring through the wall. There was no way out. They had to wait for what was next.
Silence overtook the group for the next hour with only the occasional rustling of someone moving to get comfortable. Their only source of light flickered off thrusting them back into darkness.
“Sorry, my phone is dead now.”
Robert reached
into his pocket and pulled his out. “It’s okay, I have mine. Looks like we can run it for another thirty minutes or so.” He flipped on the light and laid it on the floor.
That light lasted for no longer than thirty minutes and went out about the same time the adrenaline of the situation started to wear off. Robert’s mind battled to stay awake, but his body had other ideas and succumbed to the exhaustion. Before he dozed off, his mind got one passing shot in and rolled over and over the details of their current situation. There was no way this was an accident. This box they are in proved this was intentional, but why? His body shut down and he joined the others in their sleep, before his mind could realize there was no answer, yet.
9
Robert’s body jerked awake with his mind feeling cloudy and groggy. It took several minutes for him to recognize the dark void and stale air of the small wooden box. Buried in the silence of the box there was a mechanical hum. That must be what Doug heard through the door before. Only now, in the complete silence, Robert heard it. If he focused, he could even feel a slight vibration in the floor. There was another sound or rhythm underneath the hum, but he couldn’t make out the source before it stopped and then—there it was again. Maybe an air conditioner cycling or something.
Robert leaned forward to stretch his back. A stiffness radiated from his legs all the way up through his neck as he pushed himself up from the floor. He was half up when a blinding light invaded the box through all the holes and slits. Shielding his eyes from the glare with his right hand, hoping his vision adjusts, Robert stumbled to his feet and leaned against the wall. After a few moments, his eyes adjusted to see the entire box illuminated by light seeping in through every hole in the wall and slit in the floor. Looking up at the ceiling, he saw the negative image of the floor cast by the light coming through the slits.
“Um, guys. You might want to wake up.”
Kevin was the first to stir. “What is it…” He stopped his reply in mid-sentence having noticed the light. “Oh, never mind.”
Mary asked, “How long has that been on?”
