“Death is probably one of them,” Kai suggested.
Elias suddenly grabbed Kai’s arm and exclaimed, “Ben Franklin!” His grip tightened as he added, “Taxes!”
“Wait—Death & Taxes is a restaurant,” Kai realized. “We have ten minutes. Let’s go!”
18
Elias
9:49 p.m.
Before Elias and Dakarai could get to the restaurant, they had to maneuver through crowds headed to a concert at the large outdoor amphitheater Red Hat. A DJ was in the middle of a pre-show hype-up, and the music boomed through the streets. Elias and Dakarai quickly walked by couples holding hands, groups of friends laughing, and overturned e-scooters in the grass. Despite the activity, there was a stillness and calm to the city that Elias enjoyed. Most of the stores had up their neonClosedsigns. The rumble of passing cars felt meditative, and he would catch little bites of conversation from passersby. Elias had a hard time ignoring the romantic charm.
When they arrived at Death & Taxes, Dakarai took Elias’s arm and brought him around to the back of the restaurant, where there was a large mural depicting a maze made of fire escapes. The mural started with a painted window at the top, followed by an intricate network of fire escapes that culminated in a single ladder at the bottom, leading to the ground. They had to navigate from the painted window of the mural to the real parking lot below, all within their remaining three minutes.
Dakarai traced the air with one finger, like he was making a painting in the sky. Elias watched him, his cool demeanor still unshaken and a low hum coming from deep within his throat though the time was dwindling. Dakarai wore the same expression he did as when he drew Elias, completely focused, only furrowing his brow or twitching his lip when he hit dead ends. The painting wasn’t coming together quickly enough, and he dropped his arm in frustration, looking to Elias for rescue.
Elias closed his eyes, rubbing his temples as he visualized the mural in his mind, mentally climbing up and down the metal steps and ladders, searching for a way to the bottom.
“Got it,” Elias said after a moment. He stepped behind Dakarai, gently sliding his hand over his. “May I?” he asked, and Dakarai nodded. Elias then guided Dakarai’s finger through the air, tracing the correct path—up and down, left and right—until they both reached the bottom of the maze together.
“Your mind is so rare,” Dakarai said, his sincerity making Elias’s face flush with heat.
“Tch, whatever,” he replied, playfully pushing Dakarai away.
They huddled over Elias’s phone, their shoulders brushing as the light illuminated their faces. With steady hands, Dakarai traced the correct path through the maze, solving it and submitting with just seconds to spare.
They received a number3for their efforts, which meant as little to Elias as the last number, and somehow even less than the word puzzle from CYPHR’s social media post. Deciding not to waste time pondering, Elias and Dakarai agreed to move on and go over the post and all their gathered clues after earning a few more.
Elias read the next one quietly to himself.
Random Act of Joy
Take a picture of something beautiful.
Dakarai’s head tilted upward toward the maze again, but his long lashes brushed against his cheeks as his eyes remained closed. This touched Elias. It wasn’t often that others tried to see the world from his point of view.
In a maze more to his liking, Elias’s eyes trailed down the slope of Dakarai’s nose, resting on his lips for a moment before continuing down his neck, across his shoulders, and finally to the hand that hung freely at his side. Elias clenched his own fist, remembering just how surprisingly strong Dakarai’s hand felt. Elias shut his mouth, catching himself gawking.
Without disturbing him, Elias discreetly captured a candid photo of Dakarai framed against the backdrop of the fire escape mural.
Dakarai turned around slowly, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Did you just take a picture of me?”
Without hesitation, Elias said, “You drew a picture of me. Why can’t I take one of you?”
“Was it for a task?” Dakarai asked, craning his neck to peek at Elias’s phone, which Elias held against his chest. Dakarai’s smile broadened. “It was, wasn’t it? Let me see.”
Not wanting to repeat the struggle they’d had earlier over the drawing, he took a deep breath and handed over his phone.
“Take a picture of something beau—”Dakarai began but stopped short. He shifted and wrung his fingers together. “You don’t mean that. People don’t look at me the way they look at you.”
“I don’t even want to hear it.” Elias folded his arms. “You don’t remember the girl from work who wanted a comic recommendation? She took one look at you and left me with my book in my hand. You really don’t think you’re good-looking? If you don’t say yes then you’re a liar, and my mom warned me about boys like you.”
“Fine, I do!” Dakarai said with a laugh. He took note of the new number,5, then opened the next task.
Random Act of Love
Find a heart and take a picture of it.
