Canvas & Keys

7. I'll Just Sneak Around A Bit And Try Not To Get Caught...

But a click, so soft I could have missed it if the rain hadn't lightened up just then, sounded from the direction of the bathroom.

I paused before slowly sitting up, seeing a light moving from under the closed door to the bathroom. Tucking the flashdrive into the pocket of the pajama shorts I'd borrowed from Flannery, I grabbed my knife sitting beside me on the floor and made my way for the bathroom door.

Another low thud, almost like something heavy being dropped to the floor.

Knife in hand, I reached for the door handle and paused before throwing it open.

Kenna jumped, hands coming up in front of her like she was going to karate chop me in half. "Jesus Christ, Hattie. Way to scare the shit out of me! What the hell are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" I whispered. "And you were scared? You went out of the room ten minutes ago, not in here to the bathroom!"

She put a finger to her lip, shushing me as she closed the door. "So...I want to show you something that I probably should have told you about the first day you were here. You know, you wanting to be a cyber-terrorist and go after the Order and all that shit? And I totally approve, by the way, and thanks for not doing it before I could do my own terrorist-y stuff with them and Big Brother..."

"Kenna," I sighed. "What are you talking about?"

When she clicked on a small light on the countertop, it was then I noticed she wasn't in her pajamas like I could have sworn she was before. Instead, she was dressed like she was going for a hike with boots, jeans, layered t-shirts, and a rain jacket. The thud I'd heard before was a stuffed backpack she'd put on the floor.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking back up at her. "You leaving?"

Kenna nodded, half-smiling. "Yeah, I'm getting the hell out of here. I told Flannery before she went to bed."

"And you didn't think to tell me? I thought we'd become sort-of friends."

That got her to smile. "We are friends, Hattie. That's why I didn't tell you. Because if you know what could happen in this bathroom, you'd want to come with me."

"Why are you making that sound dirty?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're just as bad as Cruz," she snorted, turning to pick up her backpack and set it on the counter. "But...I'm not sure what you're going to think when I show you this."

I didn't say a word as she stepped away and pulled the bathmat back...

Revealing a small trapdoor underneath.

"What the hell?"

Kenna snorted as she dropped to her knees. "I'll make a sailor out of you any day."

Kneeling down beside her, I watched as she spun a small four-number combination lock embedded into the wood, landing on 9, 3, 7, and 1. Once she had the combination in, it took a moment before what sounded like large tumblers slid out of place underneath and it opened.

"What the hell?" I said again, this time in a whisper as I peered down the dark stairwell.

She turned her flashlight down, illuminating the darkness until the light couldn't reach.

"This is the reason I got this place," Kenna explained. "I don't know why, but the previous owner who built the house thought it'd be useful to put an escape route. It comes out about three kilometers north of here into some random ass farmland. Pretty useful...especially since I'm going to be using it now to get out of here."