Counting Stars

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO - POLE

Dedicated to ChanelSabrah .
I haven't heard from you in AGES!
Enjoy, people.
~ Mel

After I made the list, breakfast that morning consisted of an amazing variety of...Pot Noodles.

Apparently, no one was getting my ingredients that quickly.

After that, everyone retreated to their own rooms to be antisocial for the rest of the day.

Of course, I didn't have my own room, so locking myself away from the world wasn't an option (unless I counted the bathroom).

So I decided to explore the tree house instead.

My search turned out to be fruitful when I found their internet source.

At least that's what I think it was.

I wasn't entirely sure what to make of the tangle of multicoloured wires, but I assumed it was their connection to the internet as they went through a hole in the floor under the tree house. I remembered the bathroom also had a similar hole in the ground to let out the pipes.

The good thing was that if they could get a signal here then we must not be too far away from civilisation.

It was either that, or Labrador's IT skills went beyond measure.

I was sincerely hoping it was the former of the two.

It also meant there must be phone service around here...so now all I had to do was get my hands on a phone. I had lost mine in the melee when Mr Robber Guy had tried to overpower me.

Key word being tried.

Feeling better now that I had a purpose, I set off in search of something to aid my escape.

Then the strangest thing happened as I walked past the bathroom...I my sensitive ears picked up on the low hum of someone talking quietly.

I backtracked my steps and stuck my head through the bathroom doorway.

There was no one there.

But then I heard the voice again.

Where the hell was it coming from?

Venturing further into the bathroom, I looked around.

Nothing.

But...there it was again!

This was getting really frustrating.

There was nothing fucking there!

Unless...

Striding to the far wall, I pressed my ear against it.

The distinct sound of Mr Robber Guy's deep voice reached my ears. This time, I could hear him much more clearly. Before, the sound had been muffled, as if I had been underwater the whole time, but now it seemed I had just broken the surface as his words reached me clearly.

"No...what do you want me to do about it? I make people disappear, not resurface. It's not my job to find her."

My heart started beating a little faster.

I had a bad feeling about this.

I pressed my ear harder against the wall, intent on getting every word.

"Yeah, I know, but...seriously, what harm could a retired agent do? Okay, wait, don't answer that. I know what this means. I'll do it," I heard him sigh.

"So, what did you say the name was? Uh huh. Fine. You owe me...big time. And you know I always come to collect."

My blood ran cold as dread slithered through my gut.

Who had that been? And more importantly...

Mr Robber Guy was an assassin. That much was clear. Generally, this did not mean good things for any victim. For me, it was even worse.

I had to escape.

The sound of a beep and footsteps jerked me out of my reverie. I ripped myself away from the wall and stumbled into the hallway, heading straight for the back of the treehouse.

If I were a trained assassin, I would definitely keep a secret escape route in case of attack. Especially if this was, as I suspected, essentially a safe house.

So where would I put it?

I bent down when I came to the mess of wires for the so-called internet source. Parting the wires, I caught sight of the glint of a silver pole underneath the tight mesh of cables.

Bingo.

When I first discovered the wires, I thought it was odd to have it situated at the back of the house, away from prying eyes. And why leave them all on the floor like that? I get they were messy, but even for them, this was going a bit far.

It wasn't as if they were expecting to kidnap an innocent teenage girl, so why would they have to hide it?

I was betting that the real internet router was kept securely in Labrador's room, where it belonged.

I stared at the escape pole intently.

Now I had my escape route.

All I had to wait for was my chance to use it.