A volt of eight very different people were surrounding the dark oak desk in the middle of Aunt Mary's study. The dark green walls with floor-to-ceiling bookcases loomed over us with a sort of superiority. Not a single person took their eyes off of whatever was on the desk when we entered, but I recognize the faces.
    There was Aunt June and Uncle Ashe, a pair that you wouldn't expect to see together, since small blonde June looks like she might snap in half if you look into her crystal blue eyes, that holds a shadow of haunting for her thirty-eight years of age. Uncle Ashe is the complete opposite, with twenty years more than her in age, his tall broad shoulders and black hair makes him look like a Russian mob boss. Aunt June has her own beauty line and Uncle Ash, ironically owns many 5-star Russian restaurants. 
    Their children and my cousins, Tom and Harrison stood a little away from the group. Tom's short,and despite being twenty, he looks younger, with light brown floppy hair and soft brown hair. He is a small time actor and model on the side. Harrison is his other half, with his dirty blond hair and deep blue eyes. His athletic build comes in handy for when he is running around on errands for Tom, since he is his assistant and a part time model also.
    Then there are the twins, who are my second cousins. Their parents got disowned for something that was before my time, but the twins are still welcomed as part of the family. I am the closest with them since they are only a year to my junior. They share the same short brown hair, green eyes, and 5'8 height. James is the star quarterback on his school's football team and Jenna is the captain of the school's academic decathlon team, together they are the president and vice president of their class.
    The last people in the volt are my second set of aunts and uncles, Aunt Cassandra and Uncle Ezekiel. Cassandra has vibrant red hair with green eyes that hold a large sense of adventure. Ezekiel is from Asian descent with black hair and dark brown eyes. They are both world famous archaeologists who have found some important tombs in Egypt, a Scythian Tribal temple in Asia, an ancient burial ground in the Gobi Desert, and many more that I can't remember.
    These people have nothing in common except for the Davis family name, so what brought them all here, my house of all places?
    Bruce came into the room, wheeling a large gramophone behind him, "I'm glad that you were able to come. Can I please have your attention?"
    "What is this about? I had an important meeting that I skipped for this nonsense!" Uncle Ashe demanded harshly.
    "I'm not quite sure, sir, I just have strict orders from Ms. Davis to play this for you all if a gold box was found in the garden. Miss Gwen found it, so I am following my instructions," explained Bruce calmly.
    All eyes turned on me and I shuddered under all of their gazes. Dean put a protective arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side protectively. This made my face go red, and I looked up long enough to see Jenna smirk at me because she knew about my crush on my protector.
    "Well girl, do you have any idea as to what this is about?" Uncle Ashe demanded once again.
    "No, this is just as surprising to her as it is to you. And I would like you to not speak to her with that tone Ashe," Dean gave my Uncle a small glare and clutched my body tighter.
    Uncle Ashe started to say something else, but Bruce cut him off by pressing play on the gramophone and a voice spoke that I thought I would never hear again, "welcome everyone. This is the last will and testament of Mary-Anne Josephene Davis. I have brought all of you here to collect your inheritance."
    Gasps rang out like bells throughout the room, but were silenced as Aunt Mary continued, "however, I am not just giving it to you, you all will have to compete in teams in four challenges, where the loser team will be eliminated. Not literally of course, but you will receive only one thousand dollars. The winner will be take all or none between the last two teams standing. The teams are Tom and Harrison, Ashe and June, Jenna and James, and finally Casandra and Ezekiel."
I frowned because she didn't say my name. I guess since I don't have a partner, I can't compete. I don't even want the money or the company, I just want the thrill of the challenge.
           Aunt Mary's voice continued, "don't worry Gwen, I didn't forget about you. Since Gwen is my only relative that stayed to take care of me, or cared about me at all, she gets to pick her partner. And as an added bonus, her partner doesn't need to be part of the family. The competition will begin once you find the secret door in the wine cellar behind the last wine rack. Once they find it, Bruce play the second record on the player in the room. There will also be no help from Google, so all of the signals from your phones are jammed and will not function at all. Oh, and this is perfectly legal, my lawyer witnessed it and approved it. Good luck."
          With that last line, the record stopped and everyone looked at me for a second time, but I only looked at Dean, "well bestie...wanna be my partner?"
           Dean's face broke out in a grin, "Umm, yes! Dude, we are like the dream team, I'm athletic and you are like super fricken smart. We will definitely win!"
    We made our way down to the wine cellar. The room in question is in our basement, and I am absolutely terrified of it. The cold stone walls that have water dripping down them like streams of blood match the floor. The cellar has no windows, so the only light comes from large bronze oil lamps that line the wall, giving off a creepy glow that gives everything a shadow of a ghost. The musty air is suffocating and the slight stench if alcohol shows the room's purpose. Since I can't drink, I obviously don't come down here a whole lot; the wine hasn't been drunk since the 1900s. There are three racks that each hold seven barrels, but most are rotted from age.
    The last rack is in the far left corner from the door. Dean, Tom, and Harrison pushed the heavy rack away to reveal the wall behind it. The wall had no immediate deformities or anything nonuniform, but taking a closer look, one of the stones in the right corner seemed slightly more raised than the others. Ezekiel must have noticed the same thing because he stepped closer and slightly pushed on the stone. The wall swung inwards and a plume of damp air floated out, making us all cough.
    We went into the room and I skillfully deduced that this was just a smaller version of the wine cellar. A large gold gramophone commanded the room and Bruce stepped forward to place the new record in.
    "Congratulations," played Aunt Mary's voice, "you have made it to the first challenge, you must search the house to win the challenge. The clue is... 'the ides of March twas his fall'. Whoever finds what the clue is talking about is safe, but whoever finds it last is eliminated. I'm putting Bruce in charge of determining who is eliminated and who is safe, plus he knows all the correct answers. Good luck."
    'The ides of March twas his fall?' What does that even mean? I pondered. It had to be something from a book or history because Aunt Mary loved that stuff. The more I thought about it, the feeling that I knew what it was grew. 
    The respective groups split up and talked amongst themselves. Most were eyeing each other, hoping to get a clue off of their fellow kin.
    "Any idea brainiac?" asked the boy by my side, then joined my family in eyeing each other.
    I shook my head. Logically, it has to be an object in the house, but then it could be anything and anywhere, I thought. "How could I have been so stupid?" the answer hit me like a ton of bricks.
    Dean looked at me with expectation, "do you want me to answer that or are you going to tell me what it is?"
    I grasped a handful of his blue shirt and brought his ear in touching distance of my lips. I realized the proximity of our faces and I blushed, "'the ides of March twas his fall.' It's obvious! A soothsayer told Julius Caesar to 'beware the ides of March.' She told him to warn him that something bad was going to happen to him. The ides are the thirteenth of the other months...unlucky. One of Caesar's closest friends, along with seven others, literally stabbed him in the back on March 15, or the ides of March."
    Dean, seeming unbothered by the lack of space between us, scoffed, "I knew that...I was just testing you."
    "Sure...whatever you say," I smirked, "but how do we get out of this room without anyone following us?"
    "That, little nerd-of-mine, is my area. I am the star quarterback after all," Dean boasted and gave me a pat on the head.
    I slapped his hand, he does unfortunately have the athletic upperhand to me, "all right then, Mr. QB, what do you suggest that we do?"
    Dean quickly surveyed the room and its occupants, "the southwest door is off limits because of Jenna and James. The north is the same because of Tom and Harrison and south because of Ashe and June. That leaves the east door, which we are thankfully closest to."
    "Good job Sherlock, but how do we slip away unnoticed?" I asked, but slightly pausing after calling his Sherlock because Cassandra and Ezekiel are missing.
    He glanced around again, "there isn't really any people by us and everyone is wrapped up in their own little worlds."
    However, we didn't need to think of a way to make our escape; the world provided one for us by slamming the floor-to-ceiling windows shut. While everyone was distracted by the windows, I grabbed Dean's hand and slipped quietly out of the room, into the main hall.
    "You never did tell me where our Mr. Caesar is," commented Dean as I tugged him down the hall.
    "Aunt Mary is obsessed with history and books. In the main hall, she has, like twenty some busts of all of her favorite historical figures and authors," I explained, a little breathlessly, while still gripping Dean's hand.
    He looked down at our intertwined hands and I turned a bright crimson. Dean only smiled and I quickly dropped his hand in embarrassment, "don't get any ideas."
    We raced to the main hall, sliding around corners, like in the Breakfast Club, on the sleek hardwood floors. Sliding to a stop, we faced the four-foot bust of Julius Caesar's head. Unfortunately though, Cassandra and Ezekiel were already there, she offered me a small wave and I returned it.
    "Well done, you are the first two teams to finish, Cassandra and Ezekiel first, then Gwen and Dean," Buce announced as he stepped out of a set of doors.
    I smirked at Dean when Bruce said my name first, but he just shook his head playfully and rolled his eyes.
    After a few minutes, Jenna and James came, then a little later, Tom and Harrison. June and Ashe were the last to finish, (and that was only because they followed Tom and Harrison.)
    "I'm sorry to say...though not really," Bruce said with the last part under his breath, "that June and Ashe are eliminated, your car is outside."
    I stifled a laugh when Uncle Ashe's face turned as red as his tie and steam practically shot out of his ears, "I demand to see a written copy of the will! This cannot possibly be legal! I'm warning you, you will be hearing from my lawyer."
    The pair left and a heavy silence followed, then all at once, the rest of us broke off into hysterical laughter. "Well, if you will all follow me," Bruce said in between snorting laughs.