Page 80 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

“Gotcha. Where are the blocks?” Daniel lets go of my hands and starts feeling around—and accidentally puts his hand on my face.

“Hey!” I headbutt Daniel’s hand and he loses his balance, pinwheelinghis arms before landing flat on his butt.

“Sorry! Sorry,” Daniel says as he struggles to his feet.

I glance up to see the camera crew and Lex up on the scaffolding, and sure enough, they’ve caught everything. I can tell Lex finds it hysterical, because they have their hand over their mouth so they won’t ruin the audio quality.

I point Daniel to the blocks, and he attempts to lift one. “Geez, these are heavy. Good thing I work out,” Daniel says, flexing.

“Good for you,” I snort. “Okay, the riddle is: What has two hands, two eyes, and four legs?”

“A centaur?” Daniel guesses.

“We have to spell the answer with the letters on the blocks,” I say, surveying the scene. “Let’s see, we’ve got AL, EL, DA, NI, and ICE.”

“Think it has something to do with Dante or theInferno?”

I shake my head before I realize that Daniel can’t see me. “Maybe. I wouldn’t bet on it. I think we’re pretty far from the source material here.”

“Any other clues around here? Anything you see that could be a hint?”

I look around. “Nope. There’s the riddle on the wall, but that’s about it. The riddle’s been painted in red, but it’s sort of faded and peeling off, probably because of the storm.”

“What color is the paint on the blocks?” Daniel asks.

“It’s red, like the riddle,” I say. I look from the wall to the blocks on the ground. “Except the paint on these blocks is bright red, like it’s new.”

That could mean anything. Maybe the blocks weren’t stored outside, or maybe someone thought to throw a tarp over them. Or maybe the blocks were painted just moments ago. The paint looks fresh, and the letters look a little slapdash, as if someone were rushing through it.

My jaw drops. “It’s us! What has two hands and two eyes and four legs? Alice and Daniel.”

“Because I’m blindfolded and you’re tied up,” Daniel says.

“Exactly. I bet once they knew which entrance to the labyrinth we were stationed at, they painted the letters.”

At my direction, Daniel heaves the blocks into their slots, one by one. The moment we finish, one of the walls to our left shifts with a grinding rumble. From where we’re standing, I can see Freya and Anton laboring to move the wall, but the camera captures it at an angle where it looks like the wall is moving on its own.

After another slog through the mud, we make it to the next challenge. A gleaming ornate key hangs above a vine-covered wall.

“This one’s pretty straightforward,” I say, taking it all in. “We’re in front of a fifteen-foot climbing wall with a key at the top, and there’s a door we have to unlock.”

“Climb the wall, got it.” Daniel steps around me and onto the crash pads laid out by the wall. He reaches out to touch the wall. “Ow! What was that?”

“Sorry,” I say. “Forgot to mention. The wall is covered in spiky vines.”

“I thought you said this would be easy!”

“I said it would be straightforward,” I say. “As in, our objective and how we accomplish it is clear. I never said it would be easy. Now put your hand on your nose.”

“Is this a prank?” he asks. “Because as much as I love a good shenanigan, I don’t know if this is the time.”

“Just do it.”

“All right, I trust you,” Daniel says, and I know he’s just saying it for the cameras, but my mind repeats it back to me like it means something.I trust you.

“Now straight out from where your hand is now, that’s where the first handhold is. It’s like a little rubber ledge the size of your hand, the kind they have on rock-climbing walls. So just reach straight out by about a foot.”

Daniel doesn’t hesitate, immediately reaching out and grabbing onto the handhold.

---