Let’s hope the bad guys didn’t take copious notes!
Were you skeptical of your chances?
ENGLISH KING(a clinical audiologist): A lot of people were certainly skeptical we could win.
Credit: Guy D’Alema/CBS
Our main strategy going into this was to use as little technology as possible.
We knew that was going to be what the hunters would use to find us.
We utilized phones but in a strategic way.
Annette Brown/CBS
STEPHEN KING(stay-at-home dad): We sometimes felt helpless, not knowing every little thing.
We just kept moving and staying off their radar as much as we could be.
We didn’t send an email or get on social media the whole time we were on the run.
LEE WILSON(escape room business owner): We were definitely optimistic but it was a level-headed optimism.
But we had confidence in ourselves and our ability and skill set.
you’ve got the option to’t win a cat-and-mouse game if you are afraid.
HILMAR SKAGFIELD(IT consultant): Prepping for the show was so wild, thinking through every scenario.
How dangerous is it?
You plan for everything.
You feel like this escape artist.
Thinking through our community strategically in the southeast and how to play a game of chess and not checkers.
You have to respond by creating new options that are happening without you needing to be there.
We had people who were coming to rally against the hunters to defend.
Was there ever a day the hunters got too close?
ENGLISH KING:It’s difficult to put into words.
You find yourself over-analyzing even the smallest decisions in terms of what road we are walking down.
The unknown was so mentally challenging each and every day.
LEE WILSON:You play the game very cognizant they can catch you at any time.
It’s impossible to keep track of all the variables to keep yourself completely safe.
That said, we were very confident.
There was never a point at which we felt they were right behind us.
HILMAR SKAGFIELD:The first three days were absolutely critical and a head trip.
That was when the trail was so hot, we were freaking out.
We had to start quantifying what they had access to, just to chill out.
We were just so tense.
You are expecting them to pull up at any time.
STEPHEN KING:On some level, yeah.
Hunters are basing their search on human nature.
Moving on and starting over is really hard to do.
But that’s what we chose to do.
ENGLISH KING:I think the hunters really expected and underestimated our ability to not contact our children.
It was a matter of leaving our lives behind.
We grappled with the fact that we are essentially kind of a splinter cell.
We were talking through that, the moral conundrum.
We don’t think by any stretch of the imagination that real fugitives can learn from us.
That’s the biggest takeaway.
This is a very difficult task.
LEE WILSON:The Orlando moment was really huge for us, it set everything into perspective.
We were going up against 32 incredibly capable people but they had limitations with their resources.
