B.O.N.D.E.D.

2. Owen: Proof Part 2

"What the hell is that!?" Darissa shouted back.

"It's one of the oldest type of training rooms... all of them have some sort of major flaws, that's why I thought they have all been shut down already..." Ernest took a step closer to the controller, "The objective of these rooms is to find a way to get out. It usually involves finding the key and Bonding with it... but they usually require about four or more experienced Bonders to succeed in escaping these rooms..." his expression turned fearful, like he suddenly realized something, "Wait... guys, don't move!"

As soon as he uttered these words, a tiny ball-shaped object was shot out from the wall to the left of Owen and almost hit Nestor on his forehead.

"These rooms have sensors that can sense motion of humans, and provide obstacles to distract them from achieving the main goal," he sighed, "I think it's best if we stay still for now."

"Isn't there a button we can press to stop the game?" Darissa was, again, surprisingly calm compared to everyone else.

"No..." Ernest replied, "That's exactly the problem with these rooms: the only way to get out is to escape from it, or let people from the outside stop the game, since all the rooms are connected to the controller at the front desk. I guess it's to increase the intensity of these games, but it's also the reason they got shut down."

"So... there's no way we can get out?" Owen asked.

Ernest slowly shook his head, "No... we'd have to wait until their other group notices that we are missing... can you guys contact them?"

Darissa pulled out her phone. With a sigh, she said annoyingly, "There's no service."

Ernest's head dropped down in defeat, "Well... I guess we'll be stuck here for a while."

And that was how they ended up stuck in an escape room, standing as still as they could so that they wouldn't be shot by bullets.

A few minutes had passed from the original shock, Owen gradually found serenity admits of all the chaos. He had experienced sufferings way worse than this, and he was not going to let a simple room mess up his mind.

It was situations like these, situations in which strangers were forced to face challenge together, that truly brought out the inner persona of human beings. Everyone reacted to stressful environments in their own different, unique way, and having no one they were close to, no one they could depend on only added onto the pressure. Although Owen clearly felt threatened by the claustrophobic vibe of the room, he thought it befitting that as a self-proclaimed psychiatrist, he could use this opportunity to study the people around him.

Blaise was standing in the corner, squishing herself against the wall. She was slouching her back, grabbing onto her left sleeve with her right hand, and looking down at the floor.

Ernest was looking utterly depressed. Part of it was probably because he realized that he might get fired for letting his group of Bonders get stuck in an escape room, and another part of it, Owen suspected, was because he really wanted to attempt solving this escape room. For him, this room was probably like a old, classic action figure that wasn't sold on market anymore.

Darissa, on the other hand, was far less scared than either of them. She repeatedly pulled out her phone to check the signals and pressed random keys in distress. Although all these signs could be attributed to nervousness, Owen thought that the main cause of Darissa's behavior was none other than boredom.

Just to mess with her, Owen asked, "Is there signal yet?"

Darissa responded impatiently, "No."

After a moment, he asked again, "Is there signal yet?"