Countdown

Tick Tock Tick Tock. Arlo and Nelly, childhood friends, sat on the floor in front of a table in the dining room. They focused on a screen showing the wooden block puzzle connected to a transparent box with a time bomb inside it. They had only ten minutes left to slide the stuck car to the exit, but the wooden block pieces around it were difficult to move and open a path for it.

Arlo ruffled his hair and frustrated, “This is ridiculous! How come I return to the starting point?!”

Nelly checked the puzzle and noticed there was an empty spot on the right side of the car. “Maybe we should open the path first before we move it.”

“Wrong, you should focus on the main block instead and keep sliding it while opening the path at the same time.” Jude replied while sipping a tea behind them. He sat on a chair reading a book.

Arlo turned and snapped at him, “Jude! Stop giving us clues if you aren’t helping us! ”

“I’m helping. It’s better to have a clear mind to see the bigger picture.” Jude flipped another page.

“We only have ten minutes! If we fail, we will be perished!!”

“So? We have plenty of time to solve it,” Jude responded calmly, and Arlo had enough bickering with him.

“Arlo! I managed to get it halfway!” Arlo turned to Nelly and saw the wooden block piece almost near the exit. They only need to move a block in front and side of the car, blocking the way, “Good job, Nelly. We just need to figure out how to solve the last obstacle, and we are done with this.” Nelly nodded and continued helping him.

They thought about how to move the one in front of the car because it has other block pieces in the way. So, they started to rearrange the places of the pieces without going back to the starting point.

“Stupid Jude, if he hadn’t broken the challenger puzzle, we wouldn’t be in this spot,” he complained while keeping opening the path of the car with Nelly’s help. She glimpsed the time clock and noticed they had five minutes left. “Don’t worry, we will solve it.” he sounded firm while focusing on the riddle. Nelly agreed and returned to focus on the challenge in front of her.

Jude watched them struggling to solve the puzzle for a while until Nelly cried, realizing that they had two minutes left. “We failed. All paths are blocked, and we are short on time to redo them from scratch.” Arlo turned to her and assured her, “Have you forgotten? We are troublemakers puzzlers faced dangers and solved the hardest puzzles. We shouldn’t lose hope until the end.”

Nelly calmed down, but felt hopeless, “How so? The only way we have is to redo the steps once again, but with time left, we won’t able to solve it.” Arlo remained quiet and struggled to find an answer. Jude had enough for listening their conversation, closed the book, and approached them.

“Step aside” His tone was intense, and his friends moved aside without thinking. He sat in front of the puzzle and swiftly moved the blocks pieces in a light speed. His friends watched him in awe and confusion until they heard a click. The time ran out faster, “JUDE!!” “Geez, you guys are noisy” His friends saw less than a minute left, and they closed their eyes and hugged each other terrified.

Jude enjoyed the game and opened the path for the car sliding it to the exit. Clear word appeared on the screen, and the locker opened. He felt relieved and turned to his friends.

They remained in same position, and he smirked approaching them closer, “BAM!” They screamed and blocked their ears, but then they heard Jude’s laughing.

They opened their eyes and saw him feeling proud with a key in his hand, "Puzzle cleared”.

They cried relief, “Jude!! You scared us!” he patted their head, “You did great job. Without your help, I won’t be able to solve it.” he stood up and stretched his arms, “So let’s celebrate for survivng another day, and this time, you guys decide where should we have meal. You deserve it for working hard in this tense situation.”

“Thank you, Jude” Nelly showed a gentle smile, removing her tears and standing up. “And I’m sorry for lashing out at you” Arlo stood up too and felt bad for what he did, and Jude teased him, “Eh?~ Rare for you to say that. Have you hit your head at one point?” Nelly chuckled, and Arlo snapped, “Fine! You won’t hear these words anymore!!”

“That’s Arlo I know. Well then, let’s leave before we find ourselves trapped again” his friends agreed, and they walked toward to the exit. Another day has ended, and their friendship reminded strong as ever.