'This isn't what I meant by spending a weekend together...' I mused, observing the old, spooky mansion situated at the end of a very long drive, through the rain sprinkled window of Matt's car. The huge house slowly filled my entire field of vision as the car crawled to a stop. 

A low whistle of appreciation made me stop staring at the lofty, time-worn building and follow my boyfriend's gaze towards a car parked not far from ours, and the tall blonde wearing a scandalously short skirt and a pair of vertiginously high stilettos despite the coldness of the late November's night, and the remote location of this house. I looked at my worn out jeans and my favourite warm winter jacket which made me look twice my size, then asked Matt before he could precipitate himself out of the car, "Who is that?"

"It must be Ron's new girlfriend, I think her name is Yvonne." He said, getting out of the car but leaving the headlights on.

'Right. Of course he knows her name...' I shook my head following him outside, cursing myself for agreeing with this crazy weekend trip. It was yet another of the endless, silly ideas of Matt and his two adrenaline junkie friends, Ron and Eric. Ever since we started dating a few months ago, he dragged me into the craziest adventures and competitions he or his friends could find online. Spending a weekend in an escape house did not sound too bad compared to... some other things. 

'At least Sara is here...' I sighed, approaching Eric's girlfriend, who got out of another car parked in front of the old house when she saw me. In the short time since I joined this group, we became close friends.

"Hi." Sara said, embracing me. "So here we go again... Will they ever grow up?" She smiled. 

She always said that, and complained about our boyfriends' childishness along with me, but I knew she was only doing it to please me.  Sara loved Eric so much that she would follow him to the Moon if he asked her, and I was pretty sure he would do the same for her. The question was why was I still trailing behind Matt... 

'Could it be... Nah... stop being silly, Maya. You've just seen his newest girlfriend.'

I laughed at Sara's words like I always did, trying to ignore my inner monologue, then we both turned around as we heard someone approaching us. Matt and Ron, 'Goodness gracious me, he's even more... gorgeous now than the last time we met!', led the stunning Yvonne towards us, her arms interlaced tightly with theirs as her heels sank deeper into the gravel with each step she took.

"Meet Yvonne, girls," Ron said, smiling at us, as the girl snaked her arm around his waist and leaned into him for support.

"And where's Eric?" Matt asked Sara while I smiled back at Ron weakly. 

His eyes locked into mine, not letting me look away while Sara replied, "He said he would look around..." 

Even as she said that we all noticed a moving cone of light followed shortly by Eric coming towards us from behind the corner of the house, and the headlights of a car appearing at the distant end of the long driveway.

We only managed to say hi to Eric when the car skidded to a stop nearby and a very short man dressed in a dress suit nearly as dark as the night surrounding us, got out of the back seat.

"Welcome, my friends," he grinned, producing a bunch of keys from his pocket. He stopped next to Matt and let the keys drop in his hand. 

"So," he continued then, "from our electronic correspondence I know that you have a vast experience with games like these, there's no need to explain... Just a reminder then. It's Friday, and you'll have until Sunday night to solve the mystery of this escape house. The moment you enter, you'll be locked inside-- none of these keys will let you out. Only one of you can win. We will be watching."

'Gosh... I've had enough of these things...' I mused, staring first at the short man standing in our midst with an unctuous grin plastered to his lips, like some evil troll from the forest encompassing the house. 'And I had had enough of Matt...' I realised as I watched my boyfriend searing this Yvonne's clothes off her body with his look, instead of listening to the instructions. 

The man chuckled and I realised that he had been staring at me while I stared at Matt... I looked away from him, walking back towards our car and grabbing my bag from the back seat, then storming towards the house.

"Off you go, follow your friend." I heard the man say, his voice laced with barely suppressed laughter. "Have fun!"

Feeling a hand pressed to the small of my back I looked up, ready to scowl at Matt but it was Ron, smiling down at me, making me smile back at him.

Then the others reached us and Matt, Yvonne still clinging to him for dear life, unlocked the front door, the tail lights of the leaving car faintly illuminating the lock.

We stepped into a small, furniture-less hall, bright lights and four cameras positioned near the ceiling in each corner of the room coming on the moment the door slammed shut behind our backs.

"Right... " Matt said, pointing at the front door. 

On this side, it had no knob or lock. "We have ten keys here. Which means, ten doors to open by Sunday. And, the moment we find the kitchen we'll have food, heating, running water and the rest of the instructions, as the email said. Until then..." he grinned excitedly, making me sigh again. 

'Had he been annoying like this from the beginning?' I mused as I mumbled, "Let's find the kitchen then. The sooner the better." The windowless corridor was chilly, and had that typical odour of houses long shut. It smelled of humidity, mould and cold.

I shivered and Ron put his arm over my shoulders, making me look up at him inquiringly. 'Just what is he up to...?'

"This was too easy!" Sara called, sounding disappointed, while I still stared at Ron. 

By moving a small carpet, the only thing that could be moved in this room, she discovered a trapdoor. Matt was already on his knees, attempting to find the correct key.