“So how are we supposed to know which is which?” Miguel asked. “If we choose one of the wrong ones first, wouldn’t that only make us more lost?”

“Not exactly,” Kylie said. “As long as we pay attention to the map itself as we try out whichever route is outlined on it, we’ll be able to make our way back here to retry as many times as we need. The real issue is going to be time. We really need to beat this game before nightfall.”

“So let’s try one right now,” Matt said, goose bumps flourishing over his arms and back at the idea of being in the maze after sunset. “Let’s hurry while still being careful.”

“Follow me,” Kylie said, raising her chin bravely, and Matt felt proud of her for facing her fear so head-on.

They tried the map with the red route first, which led them straight into a dead end. Then they tried the map with the green route, and just as it started to look as though this might be the real map and escape was imminent, the path closed off in yet another dead end.

“That means the blue map has to be the one,” Miguel said as they all followed Kylie back to the clearing with the treasure box to try it. “We’re going to get out of here, and soon.”

Sure enough, the map with the blue route led them farther than either of the others had, and eventually, the path finally opened up into an exit, causing everybody to cheer. But Matt noticed almost immediately that they weren’t back near the house at all—the map had led them to the other side of the maze completely.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Miguel asked in exasperation. “How is this really an escape if we’re still this far away from the house?”

“I’m guessing it has something to do with that,” Kylie said, pointing to an old iron gate nearby that was overgrown with various flowers. Matt looked over to what she had found there, his mouth opening in surprise when he spotted it.

There, hooked over one of the sections of the flowery iron gate, was a big silver lock. Attached to the lock, there was a folded-up note, the all-too-familiar GM symbol stamped over the front.

Becca

“What are we supposed to do now?” Frankie said, looking around in panic for alternate ways to get out of the house. “We can’t just be locked in here forever!”

“Let’s check the windows,” Becca suggested. “And see if there are any more doors in the house that we could try besides the front door.”