PUZZLER (mystery fic)

003. clue.

CHAPTER THREE.

miles' pov.
??? , SOUTH DAKOTA.
. . . the first clue ☎️.

AS EVEREST opens the clue, we all sit in anticipation. I'd thought through the options, and I wasn't really super suspicious of anyone yet. I was paying close attention to Alora because I wasn't sure if she was just genuinely self-absorbed or if she has something to hide, but it appears she's just obsessed with herself.

Everest reads the clue out loud, and I immediately get to thinking about what it could mean.

"This first clue might not get you far, but at least you've determined what you all are.

like pieces of a chess board, you can only move in certain ways. This first clue may make you feel as if you're in a maze.

you're on the clock, so try to work fast, you don't wanna end up behind or you may not get past.

There's a box that will be handed to one of you, and once you open it your time will start. Remember, your skills may be helpful, and you're on the clock." Everest mutters, setting the letter down.

Stevie hands a small box to Danielle, who looks around at us before she even considers opening it.

"You guys ready?" She asks, and when everyone nods, she opens the box.

As she opens it, a giant timer is projected on the wall. We've got one hour to solve this clue.

"They said a lot about clocks, what from a clock could assist us in this?" Silas says softly, his eyebrows drawn in since he's focusing.

Danielle takes a small screwdriver out of the box, holding it up to the group of us.

A screwdriver? What could that be needed for?

I look around the room, but I don't find anything that could need a screwdriver. Suddenly, Jade's eyebrows raise.

"The clock." She says immediately, her voice in sync with Silas's, who's also looking at the clock.

"We can take it off the wall and unscrew the back. Maybe there's something in it?" Silas suggests, and his sister nods.

Lizzy. I don't know why I automatically got nervous when she smiled at me, but it was messing with my head. I never got nervous, but somehow she disturbed that algorithm.

"Yeah. Is anybody tall enough to reach it?" Lizzy asks, and I look around the room.

Selina speaks up a second later. "Silas, Everest, or Brody have the best chances at reaching it, since they're all the tallest."

Brody grabs the clock off the wall, handing it over to Jade, who snatches it from him and takes the screwdriver from Dani, unscrewing the screw on the back and opening the clock's battery compartment. Low and behold, there's a small paper.

She takes it out and without looking up from the clock, she holds it out to Everest, who takes it from her and opens it.

"It says we gotta use the parts of the clock to help us solve this." He mumbles, and i furrow my eyebrows.