Jennifer sat in an overstuffed chair, staring at the faint cracks in the white leather. She settled her glasses on her nose out of nervous habit, awkwardly ignoring the other two girls in the room. Her arm stood out in stark contrast against the chair, her skin as dark as burnt mocha.
The young woman stole a quick glance at the other two girls - Emily and Madison - and then bent back down to picking at the lines in the chair. She silently cursed her mother for making her come and then quickly apologized to her in the same mental breath.
Stanton Community College, the all girl's school she went to, had decided to select three students as "Young Leaders". No specific background was given for how they selected but, looking at the other two girls, it's was obvious. Madison was the track and field star. Blonde hair, perfect complexion with long legs and a lean frame, she'd won State every year in high school. Jennifer was intelligent and, well, nerdy if she was honest with herself. Her advisor had bawled when she'd learned Jennifer had misplaced her college applications, missingthe deadlines. So now she was in the local community college until next year.
And, Emily? Emily was... popular. That's all Jennifer could figure out. Emily Tanaka was slim and pretty with an infectious smile and an easy going personality. She wasn't particularly intelligent but also not stupid. Jennifer didn't know her very well but she knew
of
her. Their spheres of social cliques had just never overlapped. Ever.
Jennifer picked at a loose piece of leather, frowning with her eyebrows furrowed.
So they have the STEM group and athletics group but did they seriously just pick a popular girl, too? Is she, what? The social media darling? Or did they just need an ethnically diverse group? Oh, god, they didn't just pick me because I'm black, did they?
Jennifer sighed and then looked up as a side door opened.
A young man in a stereotypical hunter's camouflage outfit strode in. He wore a plastic rifle (complete with orange barrel plug) slung across his back and a name tag (Alex) on his orange safety vest.
"Good evening, ladies," Alex drawled. He seemed only slightly older than the three of them and was attractive enough to make Jennifer blush and look away. "We're doing a final walkthrough to ensure everything is setup correctly. I brought drinks for everyone while you wait and we appreciate your patience."
Alex placed a small try on the table in the center of the room. Three cups were arrayed on the tray, their dull copper finish seemingly absorbing the overhead light. Jennifer blinked at them - each cup was cast in the shape of an animal paw print. She reached for a cup with the other two girls.
Oh, right,
Jennifer thought. In addition to recognition at their school, they were each given gift cards to the local Steak House as well as tickets to the local "Escape The Room" business that had just opened. Although, this particular one styled itself as "Escape The Forest". And so the odd cups made a sort of strange sense.
"The door will open when everything is ready," Alex continued. Jennifer sipped her drink (cool, clear water that tasted slightly sweet, she noticed) with the other two girls. "Everything is automated and you'll have sixty minutes to finish. Since you're our first group, we'd appreciate if you'd take the time afterwards to give us feedback."
He smiled brightly at each of them before collecting the empty cups and tray. "Good luck, ladies!"
"Well, he's cute," Emily said as the door clicked close behind Alex. "Can't be worse than the guys that message me online. 'Oh, you're just like a tiny geisha!' and 'Do you watch Attack on Titan?' Ugh. Unless he's really a hunter then, pass. Anyone that can look Bambi's mom in the eye and still pull the trigger isn't my type."
"Yeah, he's alright," Madison yawned. "I like them-"
"Tall," Emily answered at the same time as Madison. "I know. We all know. Giants for the Amazon queen. You're awful quiet, Jenny. You okay over there?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jennifer lied, blushing again and reflexively fixing her glasses.
I just get super nervous talking to people. Especially popular attractive people that I have nothing in common with. No big deal.
"Just thinking about my classes."
The large door facing the three girls opened with a faint click.
Jennifer leaned forward to look into the room from her seat. However, despite the faint light from within, she couldn't make anything out. She looked up at the other two girls when they stood and then she stood with them.
Madison took the lead with Emily second and Jennifer nervously taking up the rear.
The room was painted pure black, fading to gray near the ceiling where fake stars glowed with their own dim illumination. A large full moon was painted low on the wall in front of them and it seemed to be providing light in some way.
Jennifer blinked several times and then gasped as the door they'd just entered clicked shut behind her. She felt a small measure of guilty satisfaction when Emily jumped, too. As her eyes slowed adjusted to the room, she noticed dark clouds painted on the wall. To her right, a huge fake tree stood out from the wall, it's roots twisted and gnarled before it. The ground felt spongy and uneven and the entire room looked like the entrance to a forest.
"There's writing," Madison said quietly. "Look, just under the moon."
Jennifer stepped close to the other girl, squinting at the wall beneath the moon. Cursive letters shined faintly.
"'Whoever drinks water from a wolf's paw print'," Jennifer read in a whisper. "'Shall become a wolf at the first full moon. You've entered the forest with a hunter at your heels. The moon begins to rise and you feel the changes. You know you must escape within the hour or you'll be lost to the wolf forever.'"
"Huh," Emily said. "That's weird."
"Oh hell, I didn't even see the door," Madison said, walking forward. A simple door was set in the wall beneath the writing. It fit neatly into the wall with barely any visible seams. A small doorknob and keyhole were on the right of the door. Madison jiggle the doorknob and then shrugged. "Locked."
"So, we find the key?" Emily asked. She strained her neck forward with a strange grimace. Frowning, and rolling her head, she stood up straight, scratching idly at her cheek with her long nails. "It's too dark to see anything. I can't even read the stupid words on the wall."
Jennifer blinked her eyes and then shrugged uncomfortably.
Overdramatic, I guess. It isn't even
that
dark.
The young girl tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She looked around slowly while rubbing the inside of her ear with her thumb.
Madison stalked around the room carefully with her arms out. "No joke, I can't see shit in here. Is that- Is that a tree? I can't- oh, hold on, I think I've got something in my shoe."
The track star leaned against the wall to undo her shoe. She tipped her shoe upside down, shaking it in case a rock had made its way in. Satisfied, she pulled off her ankle-length sock and grabbed her small foot. Her slim fingers slid along the graceful, soft arch of her foot and before catching on the rough skin of the ball of her foot. She frowned, scratching at the the callus she felt.
Ugh, guess I should buy a pumice stone after all,
she thought to herself.
A small, painless spasm shot through Madison's other foot and the young girl put her bare foot down to catch her balance.
"Oh, wow, I think they put actual grass down. It feels nice." She ran her small, bare foot through the cool grass, thrilling at the way it felt on her skin. Tendons stood out on the backs of her toes briefly and she dug her toes into the ground. "There's even dirt. Crazy."
Movement caught Emily's eye and her lips peeled back to bare her teeth. Goosebumps rose along the back of her neck and faint hairs lifted with them. "Did you guys see that?"
"See what?" Jennifer asked. She turned to where Emily was looking. There were small holes in between the roots. She could see dirt within but nothing moved. The other girl seemed incredibly focused and slightly hunched. She radiated... something. Jennifer shivered. "By the tree roots?"
"Those are roots?" Emily asked, licking her lips. "I can't even see- something moved over there. I will scream if it's a mouse. Someone look for me."
Madison walked over, carrying her shoe with the sock stuffed inside. She knelt where Emily pointed, feeling around. "Oh, yeah, there are some holes here. Hold one. Yup. Here we go."
"Is it a mouse? Maddie, please," Emily whined. She backed away, her upper lip trembling as she showed perfect white teeth. "Please don't pull out a mouse. I- I'll seriously freak out."
"No, dummy," Madison said, standing and dusting herself off. She pulled at the bottom of her shirt and shifted her shoulders uncomfortably. In her hand was a shiny metal object. "It's a key. Come on, let's move on to the next room."
The two girls followed Madison again as she unlocked and opened the door. Jennifer looked over the tall girl's shoulder to see into the next room as they slowly filed in. Light golden flecks appeared in the black girl's eyes and her pupils widened to collect the light. There were three doors in front of them and more writing beneath another full moon that seemed to be slightly higher than the one in the previous room. More fake trees lined the walls.
"It's so dark," Emily complained, holding onto Madison's shoulder.
"No, wait!" Madison said as the door closed behind them.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked.
"Ugh, I left my shoe in the last room," Madison ran her hands along the door they'd just passed but there was no keyhole on this side. "Dammit."
"I'm sure they'll give them back at the end," Jennifer said. She turned back to the door ahead of them and began reading. "'The moon rises higher'-"
"What?" Emily asked.
"It's- I'm reading the words over there," Jennifer pointed. Emily squinted, looked at Jennifer and then walked to the wall in front of them.
"You can see this all the way from back there?" Emily asked. She scratched at the little hairs on the back of her neck while grinding her teeth.
"Y- yeah," Jennifer said. She continued. "'The moon rises higher. You feel the beast pulling at you and the forest comes alive with prey. Your changes continue and your growing hunger gnaws at you.'"
"I don't get it," Madison said. She rocked back and forth on her feet, digging her bare toes into the grass and dirt lining the room. She knuckled her toes into the ground, pawing at the dirt. Faint hairs sprouted from the back of her toes. "This is awkward. I'm just going to go barefoot."
The tall blonde girl pulled her shoe and sock off, sighing in relief as she freed her foot. She put her sock in her shoe and set them by the wall, grumbling about getting them back later.
