A motorized camera cart pushed out through the double doors that led to the small arena housing the Puzzle. Behind the cameraman came Minda and her co-host Serena, with a grinning Jason Copeland wedged between them. They stopped in the lobby under a row of skylights.
“Seven minutes and thirty-six seconds,” Minda said for the viewers. “Early in the Puzzle rounds, Jason Copeland of Illinois has set an amazing benchmark for the other contestants to beat. What do you think, Jason? There are seventeen more competitors. Do you think that time will hold?”
Jason gave a confident smile. “I think it’ll be hard to beat. I plan to go into the Battle with a strong lead.” Only the fastest twelve competitors in the Puzzle went on to the Battle tournament, and only three proceeded from the Battle to the Obstacle.
Lara saw Minda’s assistant, Serena, head for their group. A knot formed in her stomach. It was time to face the viewers and talk about Kirsten’s death. She would have rather had her back teeth extracted.
The pretty brunette touched her arm. “We need you for some camera time before your turn.” It wasn’t optional.
Lara followed her over. As Jason moved out of the camera’s eye, he winked and whispered, “Go get ’em, killer.”
Lara bit back a response and kept moving. She stepped into the spot where Jason had been and gave the viewers a shy smile.
Minda introduced her again and summarized her win in the Challenge. Then the director turned to Lara and said, “That was Monday afternoon. Tell us what happened Monday night.” Minda pushed the mic at her.
Lara looked right into the camera. “While Kirsten was packing to go home, I went out for a short run. When I came back, Kirsten was on the floor, right inside the door to our hotel room. I’m a paramedic, so I immediately checked her pulse and discovered she was dead. It was a shocking moment.”
“The police arrested you later that night, why?”
Lara had thought about what she would say, but hadn’t really settled on something. It was too late to reconsider. “The police believe Kirsten was attacked with a stun gun. Unfortunately, I have a stun gun in my luggage. I carry it out of habit because my job is sometimes dangerous, and because I used to be a police detective.” Some viewers would find that sympathetic; others would not.
“They released you on bail, so the case against you must be weak.”
“They have no case. I just happen to be Kirsten’s roommate.”
Serena, the assistant, cut in. “Tell us about the argument you had with Kirsten before you went out.” Her tone was more investigative journalist than reality TV host.
“I wouldn’t say we argued.” Lara struggled to hide her irritation. The viewers had probably seen the clip ten times by now. “Kirsten had been drinking and she was upset about losing, so she made some negative comments. I sympathized with how she felt and tried to diffuse the situation. But then she grabbed me, so I reacted in self- defense. It’s part of my training. A few minutes later, I left so she would have time to pack and leave.”
“Have the police dropped the charges against you?” Serena asked
“No, but I expect they will. It would certainly make it easier for me to focus on the competition.” Relieved to change the subject, Lara continued. “I’m excited to participate in the Puzzle. Jason’s time will be hard to beat, but I’ll do my best.”
Minda took over the interview. “Do you have a strategy?”
Lara laughed softly. “I suppose I’ll try some of the obvious solutions first, but other than that, all I can say is that I plan to think and move fast.”
“Are you surprised to still be in this competition?”
“I’ve only completed one phase and I’m grateful to have won it. I expect to solve the Puzzle and go on to fight in the Battle.”
“I like your determination. I hope it serves you well in the next phase. Are you ready for the Puzzle?”
“Let’s do it.”
Minda turned and waited for the cameramen to come around front, then they all moved through the double doors into a giant high-walled arena made of the same plastic-metal blend. The space contained three, twelve-by- twelve, cube-shaped rooms, each with an elevator-style door operated by a keypad code to the right.
“Please leave your bag with Serena and step into the scanner,” Minda instructed.
Lara did as instructed. The machine was similar to those used in airports and ensured that no one entered the puzzle with tools sewn into their clothing. She waited for the beep and walked back to Minda. The cameras followed her every move.
“Lara Evans is about to enter the Puzzle,” Minda said to the viewers. “Which room has she been assigned?”
An electronic scoreboard on the wall flashed a red neon
“Room B it is.” Minda gestured and they moved toward the middle cube. With a few clicks on the keypad, the director opened the door. “The timer starts when the door closes. If you don’t get out in fifteen minutes, we’ll open the door for you. If you want to exit before that, simply say to the camera: ‘Exit, please.’ Of course, if you make that choice, you’ll be booted from the Gauntlet. Please do not touch the camera above the door, or you’ll be disqualified for that too. Ready?”
“Yes.”
“Good luck.” Minda stepped aside.
Lara squared her shoulders, grinned for the fans, and strode into the bright white cube. The electronic pocket door slammed closed behind her. She stopped and took in the room’s details with a sweeping glance of her trained eyes: solid walls made of the same electroplast as the outer arena. No busting through sheetrock to get out. Light came from a recessed narrow perimeter along the edges of the ceiling, but otherwise the ceiling looked blank as well. The walls were completely bare except for a single electrical outlet to her right.
A small metal table and plain wooden stool occupied the middle of the room. The table held an assortment of items, but nothing that would plug into the wall socket.
Lara spun and examined the door. A small wave of panic rose in her throat. There was nothing on the wall this year! No key mechanism, no coded fingerpad. In past Puzzles, contestants had used the provided items to create keys that would unlock the door.
She ran to the door and tapped along the perimeter, just in case appearances were deceptive. No luck. She spun back and took five strides to the table. Her heart sank as she inventoried her tools: a short piece of thin nylon cord, a straw hat, a tube of chapstick, a tube of superglue, a bar of soap, a stick of gum, a clump of steel wool, and a room key card.
For a moment her mind went blank, the stress and fatigue of the last few days making her feel overwhelmed. Lara forced herself to focus, looking at each item and determining its properties. The glue and gum each had sticking power, but what was she supposed to stick together? The soap and the chapstick could be molded, but into what? The hat made no sense at all, simply a distraction. Lara decided to approach the Puzzle backward. The door was electrical and would only open by triggering an electrical mechanism. She glanced at the wall socket. Was she supposed to stick something in there? It couldn’t be that simple. Past Puzzles had required using multiple items.
The recessed florescent lights were the only other things that were electrical. Should she break through their thin plastic barrier, looking for a switch? That would require putting the stool on the table and dragging the combination around the perimeter of the room until she found the switch. There wasn’t a switch, she told herself. That went against the nature of the Puzzle. Lara hurried to the wall with the outlet and began to scan up and down. She moved quickly around the room, scanning for small bumps, recessions, anything. The walls were perfectly smooth.
She ran her eyes across the ceiling and stopped directly in the middle. A faint circle about four inches in diameter was visible in the vast unbroken white. What could it be? A recessed ceiling sprinkler? Why would a Puzzle room need a sprinkler? The only thing that triggered a sprinkler was heat from a fire.
Four minutes had likely passed. If she wanted to win this, she had to take a chance and get out in the next two minutes.
It was time to start a fire.
