Read Online Jack in the Box by Michael Shaw - Free Book Online

a compass in one of these rooms, just like I found the paper . The idea seemed like it could be true, but I'd have no idea when to give up searching. What if I never found it? What if it weren't even there? I could never know.
    Then I had a different idea. I walked to the center of the room . I bet each compass direction matches a door . It made sense. Four doors. Four directions. Now I knew why this paper was even around. It was to help me. Either to help me figure out my way around the rooms, or to lead me through the rooms to some destination. Once I got the compass, I could see if the directions lined up with the doors.
    At that point, I didn't know what else to do. I had to get a compass. Hopefully it would help me figure things out. But I wasn't sure if I coul d figure things out. Was there even a way to navigate through the place? Was there some sort of "system" that this would lead me to? I felt like maybe when in the test there was no possible way to know which room was which. Maybe there was no secret. But if there was no secret, how could Brian know how to travel around? How would he get himself back to my room? Could he work outside the boundaries of the test?
    No , I dismissed the idea . He told me himself. He's bound by the rules too . But even then I wasn't sure . He could've lied. He could've just said that to fool me.
    Granted, Brian had only told me the truth about everything else. Or at least, as far as I knew. But everything he warned me against was right, namely the things that got me attacked and forced to unconsciousness by some invisible man. So, I had to trust him. He was the only person I knew that I could trust in some way. Actually, he was the only person I knew, but it still counted for something.
    I exited the room . Well, I guess the rest of this day will be like the ones before, unless my hopeful theory is right and I come across a compass. Other than that, nothing will happen.
    And then something happened. I walked straight into my room. It actually made me jump a little. "Whoa!" I said quietly. It was hard to believe. I was actually back in my room. How'd that happen? I still had no way to understand where I was going in this ridiculous place, but somehow, I was there, in my room. With its bed, and table, and chairs, and desk. . .
    I don't have a desk. . . I approached the foreign item. No papers. No books. Just a desk. A desk with one drawer compartment underneath. I examined the drawer. Tried to open it. Locked. A keyhole was centered on the front of the drawer.
    "You'd probably need this," Brian said. He was standing right behind me.
    I tried to act like I wasn't surprised. Purposely made no reaction. I turned around slowly. "Oh yeah?"
    He held a key at chest level. Smiled. "Yeah."
    "So when'd you have this desk put in here?" I gave off a lighthearted tone. "You're stronger than I thought!"
    "Oh, that's been there," Brian said bluntly, putting the key in his pocket. He wasn't smiling anymore.
    My eyes followed the key. I was confused now. "Wha-"
    "This is my room, Jack," Brian put his hands in his pockets.
    I took a step back. Looked around me. "Oh. . ." I could tell now. The covers on the bed were a different color. The table in the center of the room was round, not square.
    "But, I'm going to go, now," Brian started toward a door. "Lunch is in ten minutes."
    I raised my eyebrows . Wait, so he's going to my room to have lunch? Couldn't I just follow him?
    I tried to, and it worked. He was obviously aware of it, but he acted like nothing was happening. He casually walked from door to door, turning his head back periodically to see if I was still there.
    I was clueless without following Brian. Every time he changed directions, I wondered what he was using to give him guidance. There were no clues in the rooms. He wasn't using any tool. He just knew. He got us to my room with no problem.
    We sat down. Lunch was already there for us. Sandwiches. Hadn't had one of those since, well, I couldn't