The Alcatraz Escape by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Author:Jennifer Chambliss Bertman [Bertman, Jennifer Chambliss]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781627799645
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Published: 2018-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

20

“HAVE ANY OF YOU noticed the clock in this room isn’t working?” Matthew asked.

Everyone turned and Matthew hissed, “Don’t all look at once or you’ll tip everyone else off!”

“The one outside the dining hall wasn’t working, either,” Emily remembered.

Matthew nodded. “It was stopped at two forty and this one is stopped at eight twenty. It might be a coincidence, but if we find another clock and it’s also stopped, then maybe—”

“They’re part of a coded message?” James said.

Emily was simultaneously impressed with her brother and disappointed in herself for missing what he’d noticed. When Matthew had pointed out that first broken clock, she hadn’t considered it to be anything more than what it appeared.

“Let’s go on a clock hunt!” James said.

“I’ll keep track of the different times,” Nisha volunteered, holding her sketchbook in the crook of her arm.

“Write down the location for each one,” Maddie said, “in case the numbers need to be put in a certain order.”

They made their way to the dining hall exit, keeping an eye out for more clocks as they went. Emily noticed people subtly (and not so subtly) nudging one another as she and her friends passed. When they had been listening to Mr. Griswold and Errol Roy explain how Unlock the Rock would be played, Emily had felt for a moment like a regular player in a regular game. She loved being in that mind-set of narrowed concentration on a task and thinking about game strategy. She’d forgotten all about the threatening notes that had been tucked into her locker and backpack, and the gossip on the Book Scavenger forums that pegged her as the player to beat. Knowing that someone in this crowd wanted her out of the game was worrying, but it annoyed her, too.

What kind of person would want to win a game by intimidating a competitor out of playing? How satisfying would it actually be to win that way? It seemed like winning by default, to Emily. You’d always know deep down you didn’t deserve it, even if you pretended otherwise. It would be like flipping to the back of a puzzle magazine for the answer before you’d even given the puzzle a chance.

It especially bothered her that she’d let the person’s scare tactics chip away at her own confidence. Not to mention, if a competitor fixated on Emily and her friends, assuming they had an advantage, there were other contestants who’d fly under their radar. Contestants who might be even better competitors, like Mr. Quisling, Miss Linden, Bookacuda, and plenty more people at this event.

“There’s another clock.” Nisha quietly indicated one hanging just before the exit to the dining hall and next to an old, peeling staircase that was roped off. This clock also wasn’t working, and it looked brand-new and very out-of-place, which made it seem likely Matthew was onto something.

“What about up here?” James asked, leaning into the staircase to look up. A cord ran from the rusted pipe handrail to the opposing wall, dangling a sign that said AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

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