THE MOMENT
"60 seconds....," the voice counted down while Turbo and Riot strategized. The two teens were in an empty room the size of a bedroom. White ceiling, floor, and walls surrounded them with a single red door waiting to be opened. They stood in front of the door waiting for the signal.
"I wish we had Keys for this...," Riot commented while appraising the black metal lock attached to the door.
"We'll be fine," Turbo nodded in agreement even as he reassured Riot. He was busy studying the rules on the Slate hovering in front of him.
Keys would have been handy, but, they would have to get along without him in this particular challenge. "Besides, we're the only two Calaveras participating; I think we still have an advantage."
"The locks are voidsteel, and the rules say we have to unlock each door we want to go through," she reminded him by twirling the single key they started with. Getting out of the first room was meant to be easy, it was just a starting point. The real challenge was finding enough keys to make their way out of the maze.
"I don't know...," Turbo shrugged. "I feel like there's a loophole in the rules. It keeps talking about 'unlocking' the doors, but it doesn't mention the keys nearly as much. It's almost like they're not as important."
"15 seconds...," the voice continued.
"Wait," Turbo stopped Riot. She was about to insert the key just to make sure she was ready to open the lock when the counter reached zero. "Do you think you can rip off the lock?" he asked.
"Huh...," Riot grabbed the lock in her hand and hefted its weight. Voidsteel was a dense metal that no normal person could lift, though it was only extraordinarily cumbersome for Calaveras. If the lock had been affixed to a normal door it would have pulled it down to the floor already; but, the door stood upright and solid. Riot pulled gently and twisted the lock to try and get a feel for it.
"It's braced; but, yeah," she nodded. "I mean... I probably could if it wasn't so quiet in here," she said.
"Five seconds....," the voice counted.
"Can I get permission to make some noise?" Turbo asked with a smirk. "I think ripping a door's lock out or breaking its hinges also counts as unlocking it. For this challenge at least," he said. "I hope."
"Four seconds...,"
"Yeah, that'll help," Riot nodded. "Just... quietly?" she giggled.
"Three seconds...,"
"I'll yell as quietly as I can," Turbo nodded. "And, the buzzer should help too. Get ready," he said.
"Two seconds...,"
Riot grabbed the lock with both hands and braced herself, ready to pull.
"One second...,"
"GO RIOT GO RIOT GO RIOT GO RIOT!" Turbo started yelling at the top of his lungs trying to make as much noise as possible. It wasn't enough at first, a faint orange glow enveloped Riot; but, she didn't feel strong enough to pull yet. Not until the buzzer sounded, filling the room with even more of a ruckus.
"BZZZZZZZZZZZZZT"
"RIOTRIOTRIOTRIOT!" Turbo added what he could as Riot's glow turned brighter and she got stronger. She gave a grunting heave and pulled with all her might. The look came off the door, along with a tall bracing bar that was yanked out through frame. Then, the door disintegrated into white powder and she dropped the lock; it cracked the floor.
"I don't think that's gonna keep working for me...," Riot shook her head as she followed Turbo out of the room and into a white narrow hallway. "I'm sorry, it's too much noise," she said.
"That's alright, we're still a key ahead," Turbo smiled and patted her shoulder. "We'll figure something else out along the way. We're off to a great start, so thanks," he said. He chose a direction and moved with Riot close behind.