It was now the 12TH day since the beginning of Linda's game. Elias found himself in the final room. Linda was also in there making it the 1ST time any of the kids had seen her in person.

"So, we finally meet in person Linda" said Elias.

"Indeed. Congratulations on being the final remaining player. You did what 11 others couldn't. You survived" said Linda.

"Now that the game's over you can let the other kids go. There's no way they're dead. You'd have to be crazy to kill 11 children & broadcast it worldwide. Nobody would be stupid enough to do that" said Elias.

"That's where you're wrong. The other kids were all killed for not being saved at the end of each round. They're not returning home" said Linda.

"If this is your idea of a sick joke it's not funny. Let them go" said Elias.

"Looks like I have to prove that they're dead" said Linda as she pressed a button. The corpses & remains of the 11 other kids then appeared. Elias was horrified to see that Linda had killed the other kids & vomited in horror.

"YOU'RE CRAZY. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS? ONCE THE AUTHORITIES CATCH YOU IT'LL BE A 1 WAY JOURNEY TO DEATH ROW FOR YOU" yelled Elias.

"That's not happening. The game isn't quite over yet either. I have 1 final challenge for you. You have 12 minutes to find the 4-digit code required to open the door that'll take you to freedom. Each of the 4 digits must be retrieved through the completion of 4 mini tasks. The tasks include breaking open a series of orbs to find 1 of the digits, solving a Sudoku puzzle & using the leftover number as the 2ND digit, manoeuvring a metal hoop from 1 end of a wire to the other without letting them touch each other to retrieve the 3RD digit & holding a weighted rope for 1 minute to retrieve the 4TH digit. Once you get all the digits all you must do then is figure out the correct combination on the door. If you get it correct it'll open revealing the cash prize as compensation for what you went through as well as your freedom. I should also mention that there are bombs in each room & after every 60 seconds, a bomb will detonate starting with the 1ST room & working down towards this 1. If you fail to escape in time you'll be blown to smithereens. Sadly, I won't be around to watch you. It's time for me to leave this world. Goodbye Elias & good luck" said Linda as she pulled out a knife & slit her throat. She dropped to the floor having bled to death almost instantly. As soon as this happened the 12-minute countdown began. Elias began working on the mini tasks to get the digits needed to escape. He started with the orb smashing task. There were 100 orbs & only 1 contained a digit. Elias began breaking the orbs 1 by 1 to try & find the digit. Soon 1 minute passed & the bomb in the 1ST room detonated. Elias worked frantically to find the digit in time. The bomb in the 2ND room soon detonated causing Elias to pick up the pace. After smashing every orb, he finally found the digit. It was the number 6. The 3RD room's bomb detonated as he found it.

"1 down 3 to go" said Elias as he moved on to the Sudoku puzzle. Elias worked on 1 3x3 square at a time as he progressed through the puzzle placing the corresponding numbers in the right place. It took 3 minutes for him to solve the puzzle during which time the 4TH, 5TH & 6TH room bombs detonated. The 2ND digit was the number 8.

"Halfway there" said Elias as he moved on to the metal hoop & wire task. He made sure to be as steady as possible to get the hoop from 1 end of the wire to the other without letting them touch. Elias went at a slow & steady pace & finished the task in 2 minutes with the 7TH & 8TH room bombs detonating during this time. The 3RD digit was the number 5.

"I'm almost there. 1 more task left" said Elias as he went to the weighted rope. Elias quickly found that the rope was tied to a 50-pound weight. Although he felt the strain he took deep breaths & put intense focus into holding up the rope. He successfully held the rope for 1 minute allowing him to retrieve the final digit. It was the number 3. Just as he retrieved the final digit the 10TH room's bomb detonated.

"I better hurry. There's not much time left" said Elias as he ran to the door & began inputting different 4-digit codes. It proved to be easier said than done as there was no indication of which numbers went where. As Elias frantically worked on the code the bomb in the 11TH room detonated. Only 1 minute remained.

"I can't give up. I'm almost free" said Elias as he continued working on the code. As the final minute ticked away Elias thought of every code imaginable. Soon only 10 seconds remained. As those 10 seconds ticked away Elias finally got the right combination: 3856. He opened the door & shut it behind him. Just as the door shut the 12TH & final bomb detonated.

"That was close. I'm glad I'm free. Now I have to figure where I am" said Elias.

Behind the final door was a long tunnel. A briefcase containing $1,000,000,000 was left by the door which Elias grabbed & took with him. After a few minutes of walking down the tunnel Elias came to a stairway with a door at the top. He climbed up the stairs & opened the door. Behind the door he found himself in what appeared to be a closet as there were clothes hanging up. When Elias turned on the light he saw that the clothes included white long-sleeved t-shirts, blue, red, white & yellow vests, blue pants & various coloured pairs of socks. It was Ryder's closet.

"This is insane. I can't believe I'm in Ryder's closet. I bet he probably doesn't even know about the door & tunnel. He'll be surprised to see me" said Elias as he emerged from the closet. He then exited Ryder's room & went over to the Lookout elevator. He found Ryder on the top floor about to call the pups. When Ryder saw Elias, he was shocked.

"Elias is that you?" asked Ryder.

"It sure is. Good to see you buddy" said Elias.

Ryder ran over to Elias & gave him a hug. He was glad that Elias was OK.

"Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you" said Ryder.

"It turns out that the rooms Linda was holding us in were accessible via a tunnel behind a hidden door in your closet. We've been there the whole time" said Elias.

"You have to show me. Everyone will be so happy to see you again" said Ryder.

Elias & Ryder returned to Ryder's room where Elias showed Ryder the entrance to the tunnel. Ryder was shocked as he had never seen the door or the tunnel behind it before. The pups were called into Ryder's room & were ecstatic to see that Elias was OK. They then investigated the 12 rooms & the tunnel that connected them to the Lookout. All they found was charred human remains.

"I can't believe that you guys were under our feet the whole time" said Chase.

"This is 1 of the last places I'd ever think to look" said Marshall.

"That's probably why Linda hid down there. She never would've expected us to look for her here" said Rocky.

"It's sad that those other 11 kids were killed. Their families will be incredibly saddened by this news" said Rubble.

"I'm just glad that we'll be able to get some form of closure on this" said Skye.

"It's good to have you back Elias. Things weren't the same without you" said Zuma.

"I missed you all too. I better get home. See you guys later" said Elias as he left the Lookout & returned to his mansion. As soon as he walked through the door everyone became happy as they cried tears of joy.

"ELIAS YOU'RE OK" cried Angel as she ran over & jumped into Elias' arms.

"Believe it or not Linda's "game" was being held in a series of rooms connected to the Lookout by a tunnel which was hidden behind Ryder's closet. Linda & the 11 other kids are all dead" said Elias.

"I was scared we'd never see you again. I'm glad you made it home OK" said Ella.

"We all are. It's good to see you" said Ethan.

"For the last 12 days everyone's been looking everywhere for you. We never stopped looking" said Harry.

"Now that you're home we can all breathe a sigh of relief. I love you Elias" said Kelly as she kissed Elias.

"I feel bad for the families of the other 11 kids. They must be absolutely heartbroken knowing that their kids are gone" said Susie.

"No matter what they'll always be in our hearts & minds. We'll never forget what happened" said Terry.

Everyone proceeded to eat dinner. They talked about what Elias had gone through, how he planned to put the money he won to good use & how good it was to be back home again. As Elias went to bed that night he thought about the insanity of the last 12 days.

"For just under 2 weeks I've had to endure a dozen crazy challenges. It was like a reality show gone horribly wrong. Linda's lucky she took her own life. If she hadn't she'd more than likely end up on death row for what she did. Although it's not exactly a happy ending for everyone I'm just glad that I was able to escape & bring closure on this ordeal. I hope this kind of thing never happens to me or anyone I know ever again" thought Elias as he fell asleep.

THE END