The City of Amer

Chapter 7: Dates and Rebellions

TW: Swearing

"So. Where are we going?" Hans said Saturday evening. He had just arrived a few minutes earlier. It was as quiet as usual in Amer, but with the newfound discovery of the Grandmaster's schemes, it seemed more ominous than comforting. Wilt and Hans seemed to have both distracted themselves from the subject, as Hans had always been good at controlling his expressions and Wilt's mind bounced from subject to subject like a squirrel.

"Well, I heard that the Social Sciences are doing an escape room. We could check that out," Wilt replied.

"I'm up for it," Edric agreed, his mind still following the embezzlement path. Maybe this would help him stop thinking of it. Just Hans, Wilt, and him. If anyone could distract him from his thoughts, it was probably them.

The Social Science section was small because it was a rather exclusive one. Social Science didn't need that many people to run it, so usually they only invited one or two people into their section every year. The area itself was a motley collection - a tall, marble building resembling a bank for Economy was the exact opposite of the short, squat, tan structure of Anthropology.

Hans led them to the Sociology building, a complicated construction job seemingly carved from pink quartz to create the uncanny twists and turns of a human heart. Once inside, a woman in a light pink suit and long, orange hair asked them politely if they were there for the escape room. Hans nodded for them, grabbing Wilt and Edric's hands as he followed her.

The woman, her name tag reading Renata, walked ahead of them, her modest black shoes making soft tapping noises on the cool floor. Then she stopped, standing in front of a door. Other doors were standing around it, assumingly all decorated for the escape room. "Okay, so this is how it works. You are a group of detectives, and have one hour to find evidence against his possible fraud charges and a way out of Arcus O'Connor's office. Failing to do so will surely lead to your deaths at the hands of this vile man," Renata said, her lilting voice echoing slightly in the hall. Then she opened the door and the three walked in before it was closed again with a click.

The room was like every other stereotypical office, with a large set of windows taking up the entire fourth wall and sparse furniture. A desk sat in the center, behind which a bookshelf stood. A glass cabinet was the only other piece of furniture. A short grey rug sat under the desk.

Wilt immediately gravitated towards the desk, looking in the drawers (at least the ones he could open). Hans took the bookshelf, carefully observing the titles and knickknacks. This left Edric with the cabinet, nearly empty except for a golden key that presumably could get them outside. He looked back at Hans and Wilt, who seemed to have made progress. Hans had found several papers in a book - presumably the evidence - and Wilt had managed to open a drawer.

Edric crossed over to Hans' papers, unfolding them from their envelopes. Each one was sure proof of 'Arcus's' embezzlement. A letter to a friend who was helping him. A contract to someone, paid to keep silent. A bill to a construction worker, for an extension to his home.

Edric couldn't help but seeing the similarity between this escape room and the reality of Amer - and it looked like Hans, who was currently reading the papers, was noticing the same thing as well.

Wilt seemed to be the only person triumphant at their successful infiltration of what's-his-name's office. The other two were deep in thought, the parallels between the two situations at the moment racing through their minds. Wilt noticed this, but instead of questioning them simply grabbed their hands and walked out.

When they got home they immediately got ready for bed. Wilt suggested staying up and watching a movie, but the other two said they needed to think, so Wilt ended up going to bed early as well. Hans ended up staying the night on their couch. He no longer made excuses ('It's too dark to go home!' 'It's supposed to rain today!'), just plopped down there. They had a store of Hans-clothing that he eventually brought over, because at this point what was the purpose of sleeping at home, not when there was Wilt and Edric to wake up every morning here?