Is this destiny?

They all agreed to meet in the lounging area on the 53rd floor and go together for lunch.

Of course, Sarah and Aiden were late.

Aiden regretted this \'let\'s-go-together\' plan when Sophia and JoAnna started scolding Sarah because they made them wait.

Sarah shoot Aiden a side-glance, and he knew that she is telling him silently that it\'s his fault that they are late, but the smile at the corners of her lips told him that she has no regrets.

"OK, ladies… relax.", Aiden wrapped his arms around Sarah protectively and looked at Sophia and JoAnna. "We got delayed because Mathew called us for a last minute chat. And every minute we stand here, the more late we are."

He knows that pregnant women are emotionally unstable, but… this is too much. Even the always calm and timid Penny was looking grumpy and impatient.

Luckily, his explanation worked, and everyone started making their way out.

Sarah hugged Aiden and spoke softly, only for him to hear: "My knight in shiny armor."

He smiled smugly and responded: "Always."

…

The lunch passed quickly. No one was interested in staying longer than necessary and chatting because they were all excited about the escape rooms which are next in the schedule.

The escape rooms were a hit. Out of the people interested in escape rooms, they divided themselves into four groups of five and six people, and Sarah made sure that no group has more than one pregnant woman.

The company which organizes escape rooms converted a massive warehouse into an entertainment area for people who crave for an adventure.

Each room was different, and they drew lots to see who will go into which room.

...

Sarah and Aiden were in a dungeon-like room with Vincent, Ashley, Russel and Anita. Anita is one of Ellie\'s friends from the fashion industry.

Sarah was observing the room: cold and wet walls, chains dangling on the side… it reminded her of her VR experience, and she was taking mental notes what else she could add. There were old-looking wooden boxes, a drain large for a person to crawl through, bricks which when you push open secret compartments with clues, it was exciting. Ashley pushed one brick which made water start pouring in the room, and they discovered that there are traps as well. Anita was the one to find a lever which stopped the water.

"Why don\'t you talk to her?", Vincent asked Russel while doing eye-signals toward Anita. He saw how Russel is sneaking glances at Anita.

Russel cleared his throat awkwardly and ignored his friend.

Aiden and Sarah deciphered a message which told them how to open the secret door which led them to the next dungeon-like cell.

…

Jasper, Ellie, Ben, Penny, Brian and Curt (Jasper\'s friend from Chicago) were in a room which looked like a bedroom after a fire: burn marks on the wall, messed up furniture, paintings dangling off the wall…

When they discovered that part of the floor is creaky and does not look stable, Ben didn\'t allow Penny to move around. He told her to sit on a sofa (which he tested previously as safe) and to stay put. When they find some clue, she can contribute (mentally). Penny found herself in Ben\'s protective embrace few minutes later when Curt moved a painting and the lights went off, revealing clues written with a glow-in-the-dark paint which is not visible in the light. And they all got startled when an ancient-looking Nokia rang with an eerie ringtone.

…

Jeff, JoAnna, Paulette, Henry (Jasper\'s friend) and Luna (Ellie\'s friend) were in a setting like a deserted hospital. Jeff frowned at the sight of all sharp medical instruments laid out on the table in front of them. And the beds didn\'t look clean.

"Are these bloodstains?", Jeff questioned while visually inspecting the walls.

Henry glanced at Paulette and Luna and smirked. Yup, this will be a good two days.

Henry observed the room and decided to leave an impression: "Our goal is to find a way out into the next room. Unless we make our way through the wall, the only way out is one of those two…", he pointed with each hand toward one of the doors.

They tried opening the doors and found that both of them were locked, or a better description might be that both doors are jammed. One is a two-panel sliding door, while the other one is a regular door which opens to the side.

…

Sarah and Aiden were in the second room (out of three) when both of them felt reckless.

"Isn\'t this taking too long?", Sarah whispered to Aiden while they watched Russel and Anita who were trying to decipher carvings in the wall. On the other side, Vincent and Ashley made repeated attempts to find a clue in the way different chains are laid out on the torturing table.

Aiden nodded in agreement.

All of them came here to experience a fun adventure, but Sarah\'s and Aiden\'s competitive nature took over and they started thinking about shortcuts because it\'s NOT fun if they don\'t win.

They know that out of the two passages, one is the exit, because the other one is behind them and they used it to get into this cell.

"Cover me…", Sarah demanded while she made her way toward the metal bars which obstructed the lock and gripped them with her left hand.

…

Sarah and Aiden led the way out of their room with big smiles, confident in their victory. After all, they literally crushed their way through the second and third stage.

They all paused when they saw Felix\'s confident grin. Sophia, Charlie, Emma and Ava (Ellie\'s friend) were also there, confirming that their team completed the challenges first.

Heck! How come Jeff, JoAnna, Paulette, Henry and Luna are also there?

Jasper, Ellie, Ben, Penny, Brian and Curt were right behind Sarah and Aiden.

"How did you get out so fast?", Aiden asked in disbelief. "There are three rooms to figure out."

"Hehehe…", Sophia giggled while hugging Felix. "My hubby is awesome."

"Seriously… how did you get out?", Sarah asked suspiciously and continued while looking at the other people present: "The brochure says that it takes at least half an hour in each room, and we ended all three in less than one hour."

Sarah knows that she has a super-cheat, but what about the others?

A staff member approached them and addressed Aiden and Sarah: "Mr. White, Ms. Hill… Your security deposit is voided."

"What?", Sarah could not believe it. It\'s not about the money, but the security deposit is voided if something is broken on purpose. Well, she and Aiden maybe broke few things, but they made sure that cameras didn\'t catch it… or so she thought.

The staff member kept his poker face while explaining: "It will be used to repair the damage done. Purpose of our rooms is to provide a thrill of an adventure while solving clues in an environment which appears dangerous. If someone is not interested, they should not participate."

Sarah and Aiden exchanged confused glances, why is the man looking at everyone present?

"Can you tell us what happened?", Sarah asked.

The man glanced toward the group which includes Felix and Charlie. "They reverse engineered their escape by opening up the mechanisms and rewiring the system."

Charlie and Felix exchanged smug glances. Well, both of them are engineers.

The man turned toward the group which includes Jasper, Ben and Curt: "They pulled the cables from the chandelier in the ceiling and used a cell phone provided in the scenario to give an electric surge to the locks and disable them."

Jasper, Ben and Curt didn\'t feel guilty at all. Engineers (again).

The man turned to the group with Jeff and JoAnna: "They used medical equipment from the scenario to remove locks and latches from the doors completely."

This was JoAnna\'s turn to lift her chin proudly. Medical instruments can be used for more than just examining and cutting up patients. And Jeff helped.

Finally, the man looked at Sarah and Aiden. "As for your group… I don\'t need to explain what you did, do I?" He ended in a mumble: "Even thought I don\'t understand how you did it..."

Sarah didn\'t feel regret for taking a shortcut, but she could not believe that she is surrounded with rule-breakers!

Aiden burst into a hearty laugh first and a second later, others followed.

The event was a success: everyone had fun (in their own way).

Sarah exhaled helplessly and turned to the staff member whose poker face broke a while ago, and he was unable to hide his irritation.

"I am sorry.", Sarah hoped to pacify the man. "With all this, the damage is probably more than our security deposit. Feel free to send us the bill. Can we have the security footage?" At least they can use it as a funny video, for after the wedding.

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