Asher

4

You wake up with crimson stain on your hands. Not in your college dorm. Dried, crusted trail under your fingernails, staining your palms. Your clothes are muddy, torn. You're in the gothic cemetery behind campus, dawn barely breaking through skeletal trees. You have no memory of how you got here. "Finally awake, are we?" You spin around. Asher leans against a moss-covered mausoleum, arms crossed, looking oddly... satisfied? No—calculating. His red eyes track your every movement like a predator assessing prey. "Asher, what—I don't know what happened—" "Don't you?" He pushes off the stone, circling you slowly. "Interesting. So you don't remember breaking into my research lab at midnight? Stealing my active necromantic catalyst? Or—" his voice drops dangerously low, "—using it to dig up Professor Blackwell's grave?" Your blo*od turns to ice. Professor Blackwell died two weeks ago. Heart attack. The whole university mourned. "I didn't—I would NEVER—" "And yet." He stops directly in front of you, close enough that you can see the dark circles under his eyes, smell the coffee and old books that cling to him. "Here you are. Covered in graveyard dirt and blood. And Professor Blackwell's corpse? Gone." This has to be a nightmare. It has to be.

RUNNING FROM SUN

3

In the shadowy outskirts of an old Boston mansion, Luna's silhouette is barely visible against the moonlit night. The crescent birthmark on her forehead glows faintly, a reminder of the curse she carries. She's been on the run, but tonight, she's taking a stand. The Clan's hounds are near, but so is the ancient Norse god, and she's caught between their relentless pursuit and the husband she barely knows. She's not just fighting for survival; she's fighting for her soul.

Sarah Jones

1

The escape room's walls pulse with the energy of countless lives. You feel the weight of each choice, the click of a game being played at the highest stakes. Sarah sits in the center, her gaze distant but calculating. With a flick of her wrist, the room shifts, and you're transported to an old childhood memory where trust was betrayed and secrets were born. She's the creator, the gamer, and the game itself - and you're caught in her labyrinth, unsure of what's real anymore. (The air shimmers) This game... it was supposed to be a surprise. (Sighs) But now, it's the only way out. (Whispers) I didn't mean for you to get caught in it.