Page 22 of Solo Stan
Kai
Kai and Elias ran the block it took to get to Second Chance Records, glancing around nervously, hoping no one was watching them.
Throat raw and chest burning, Kai beat Elias to the door of the unassuming little shop, which was sandwiched between a corporate building and a hotel, with no differentiating features other than a small sign that’d be easy to miss if he didn’t already know it was there.
At the exact moment Kai’s fingers curled around the handle, relieved they’d made it on time, the familiar background sounds of the outdoor concert that had followed them all night abruptly went silent.
“Good night, Ral—” was all the performing artist managed to say before her microphone was cut sharply, and the latch bolt clanged loudly within the doorframe—the disappointment of its rattle traveling through his body.
“Locked,” Kai said, his chest heaving. “The eleven o’clock noise ordinance. We’re too late.”
“Shit,” Elias said through heavy gasps of air as he crouched down, trying to catch his breath. “This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have ignored my phone.”
Kai scanned the store desperately, taking in the rows of records in raw plywood cases plastered with skateboard stickers and wheat-pasted posters, the reality of their failure not quite setting in yet.
“Elias!” Kai called when someone appeared from the back room, a middle-aged man with a full white beard, wearing a band tee.
With a semblance of hope restored, Kai stood optimistic. Elias, who had emerged beside him, did as well. The man came to the door and opened it only wide enough to stick his head out and say, “If you’re here for the scavenger hunt, I’m ’fraid you’re a little late.”
Elias swallowed a gulp of the humid air and steadied his voice. “We won’t tell anyone if you let us in,” he said, twisting an imaginary key in front of his mouth and throwing it over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, it wouldn’t be fair to the other group I just turned away,” he replied. “You boys have a good night.”
“Wait!” Kai said before the door shut all the way.
“It might not be fair, but the whole point of this scavenger hunt is to spread kindness and love, right? Maybe you could consider giving us a little break and showing my New Yorker friend here some of the Southern hospitality he keeps hearing about?”
The man was thoughtful for a moment before wordlessly relocking the door and disappearing behind a few shelves of records.
Kai and Elias exchanged a glance, wondering if they’d been had.
But a few moments later, the man returned, holding something in his hands—a metal device of some sort.
“I can’t let you in, but I don’t see why I can’t give you this,” he said, handing Elias the object.
“Maybe you can figure out how to open it without the clues inside the store. Not many people figured it out even with the hints, so good luck.” With that, he shut the door, purposefully turning the lock with a loud thunk , the finality of which rang in Kai’s ears.
“Thank you!” Kai yelled through the door, making a megaphone with his hands.
“For nothing…” Elias muttered under his breath as they examined the device. It was brass, shaped like a cylinder with a series of dials. “What the hell is this?”
A reverse image search told them it was called a cryptex.
“A cryptex is a kind of puzzle device made up of a series of rotating discs,” Kai read aloud as Elias continued to fidget with it.
“Each disc features a letter of the alphabet. When aligned in the correct sequence, the puzzle device will open to reveal a hidden chamber inside, where a small item can be stored.”
“Did he give this to us as a joke?” Elias asked, trying to forcibly twist the discs. “I bet I can break it.”
“Relax, it’s not a pepper grinder,” Kai said, “and it looks like it’s already broken.”
The discs were jammed and didn’t turn smoothly. It seemed they had been overextended, and whatever internal components were inside were likely bent or broken.
“Great,” Elias said, throwing his hands up in surrender. He sat down on the curb and folded his arms. “Not only do we not have the sequence to open the thing, but even if we did, it probably wouldn’t work anyway.”
“We still have some time left,” Kai assured him. “CYPHR’s post said we can figure out the location without this clue. Let’s just keep doing the other tasks.”
He sat beside Elias, and, together, they took inventory of all the numbers they’d earned so far: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21.
Still, whatever message CYPHR was trying to get across wasn’t obvious to Kai, and based on Elias’s expression, it wasn’t obvious to him either.
Though he was still pouting, Elias did agree to continue on to the next task:
Random Act of Mindfulness
Your next location is one that isn’t always there,
But tonight, you’re lucky to enjoy the open air.
Head there before the sun makes it disappear,
and absorb the history of Raleigh as you near.
“We’re still in the game,” Kai said, nudging Elias lightly. “ Open air. Sun takes it away. The answer is the Night Market. We have fifteen minutes to get there. Come on.”
Elias kept his head hung low, not moving from where he sat on the curb.
Scanning the block until he spotted what he needed, Kai walked a short distance, lifted a scooter off its stand, and rolled it back to Elias.
“We can ride a scooter like you wanted,” he said, trying to lift Elias’s spirits. He placed Elias’s phone in the handlebar holder for the GPS, then went over to Elias and gently tugged at his arm. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”
Elias reluctantly stood up, his arms remaining firmly folded. “How much time do we have?”
Kai smiled, glad to see Elias slowly warming. “Shall we?”
“Fine,” Elias conceded. “But I want to be in front.” He stepped onto the scooter, his back against the controls and elbows resting casually on the handlebars.
“Shouldn’t you face forward?” Kai asked, stepping onto the back of the scooter.
Elias looked up at Kai with a playful smile. “I can’t see you if I face forward,” he said, motioning him closer. “And we’ll be more aerodynamic if you come down here with me.”
With a laugh, Kai put his arms on either side of Elias and positioned his head so his mouth was against Elias’s ear. “This isn’t part of the agreement.”
“The agreement was that you get to know me,” Elias said, the proximity of his voice making goose bumps erupt all over the back of Kai’s neck. “This is me.”
Elias’s phone buzzed suddenly against his back, making him flinch violently like he’d had a bucket of cold water dumped down his shirt. He hid his apparent embarrassment at having been so easily startled in the curve of Kai’s neck.
Trying to comfort him, Kai wrapped an arm around Elias. “Don’t worry about the show, by the way,” he cooed. “I’ll ask Bobby. He knows everything.”
“No,” Elias said, raising his head suddenly. “Don’t ask Bobby. I want us to figure it out.”
It was clear Elias felt threatened by Bobby in some way, but Kai suspected it had less to do with Bobby and more to do with Elias’s own pride.
He’d seen the same reaction when the customer at the store had chosen Kai over Elias.
Still, the jealousy intrigued Kai. No one had ever been jealous over him before.
Though misguided, it was oddly flattering.
He only wanted Bobby’s help so Elias could see CYPHR anyway, so with a nod, he agreed to keep the scavenger hunt between just the two of them.
They took off down the street together on the scooter, wobbling like a baby deer, and every time they hit even the slightest pebble or dip, it felt like they were about to flip over.
Elias proposed that they each get their own wheels, keeping the scooter and leaving Kai with a bikeshare instead.
Kai preferred the bike to the scooter but couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d somehow offended Elias.
Surely, Elias wasn’t upset just because he’d suggested asking Bobby for help.
“Are you okay?” Kai asked Elias as they came to a traffic light. A car idled alongside, leaving him in a veil of exhaust when the light turned green.
“I’m good,” Elias replied. He was back to reading off his usual script.
I’m fine. I’m good. I’ll manage. Though it was obvious he wasn’t being entirely truthful, Kai didn’t press.
The thought of confronting Elias about being jealous, only to be wrong, would be an embarrassment he’d likely never recover from.
Downtown, the bars and restaurants were filling up with people who were eager to kick off the weekend with a few drinks and some good down-home cooking from one of the local late-night mom-and-pop spots.
The air was thick with the saccharine aroma of maraschino cherries, the kind that lingered at the bottom of drained bourbon glasses.
Kai pointed out the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, the large state capitol building surrounded by statues of presidents, and the City of Raleigh Museum with its large metal globe at the entrance. Elias remained quiet, however.
They rode the rest of the way in silence until finally they came to the Night Market.
It was on a modest street, enclosed by zigzagging string lights suspended between two buildings.
Canopy tents and tables adorned with various handmade crafts and goods lined the cobblestone street.
Live music and the tempting smell of sweet treats coming from the food trucks mixed with the conversations and laughter of people shopping at vendor stalls or sitting on blankets in the grass.
Kai was drawn into the market like a cartoon character floating toward a pie on a windowsill.
Though time was limited, he couldn’t resist pausing at a few booths to compliment the vendors.
As an artist himself, he understood how undervalued their work could be.
Elias, however, seemed distracted, continuing to twist the cryptex and quickly showing Kai the number 34 and the newest quest the moment it appeared: