The Chest of the Lost

Chapter 6: The Escape Plan

He turned to me. "Well," he said nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just blown up a giant stone door. "Shall we go?" He was dusting off his hands, which were covered in debris from the door's remnants.

I nodded slightly, not taking my eyes from the large opening that used to be the massive door. He grabbed my arm and pulled me through it, stepping carefully over the large shards of stone that sprinkled the ground.

"How did you do that?" I asked, as he peered around the corner down a long hallway.

"I told you, I can't tell you," he replied. "The coast is clear. Come on." He yanked me into the hallway and we crept over to a small door at the end of it.

"It's locked," I said, noticing the padlock that hung from the handle.

"Yeah, I see that." He clasped his hands around the lock and a blast of air swept through his arms and into his hands, splitting the lock in half.

"Of course," I said, slightly annoyed.

"Just get in here." He dragged me through the now open door and shut it quietly behind him, making sure it didn't make a noise that would draw attention to us. I glanced around the large room. In the center was a long rectangular table with two dozen chairs tucked neatly into it. On the wall opposite where Griffin and I were standing, was a large painting that covered most of the wall. Just below it, was a small armchair with a table and a lamp, which stood right beside it. Cabinets lined the wall to our left. I guessed that it was some kind of conference room and I hoped desperately that no one had a meeting scheduled for anytime soon.

I turned to Griffin. "You owe me an explanation."

"I saved your life. I don't owe you anything," he replied.

I sighed in annoyance. "You don't just blow up a wall and expect me just to ignore it."

"First of all, it was a door." I rolled my eyes, and he continued, "And second of all, I didn't say you had to ignore it, I just said I'm not giving you an explanation, so you might as well just let it go." He quickly locked the door from the inside, though I knew it wouldn't stop anyone who was trying to get in here.

"Ugh, what are we doing in here anyway? What if someone comes in?" I asked.

"That's why we're getting out of here. Too bad there are no windows." He glanced around the room, looking for something we could escape through. "Wait, there's a vent." He pointed to a big air vent mounted to the wall above a tall cabinet.

"Are we going to climb through it?"

"No, I just pointed it out because it looked pretty," he said sarcastically.

"Okay, okay. No need to get feisty." I said, walking toward the air vent.

"Here, I'll give you a lift onto the cabinet, then I'll climb up." He held his hands out and I stepped into them, hoisting myself onto the tall cabinet. It was dusty and I brushed my hands off after touching the top surface. Then with one swift move, Griffin jumped up beside me.

I rolled my eyes playfully.

"What?" he asked, innocently.

I laughed.

"Seriously, what did I do this time?" he asked, staring at me.

"You know this cabinet is like six feet tall, right?"

"Yeah. So?" He started unscrewing the vent lid from the wall, then peered into it to make sure it was safe. His breath echoed softly off the metal walls of the vent shaft.

I laughed again. "So, normal people don't just jump six feet in the air," I said.

"Well, I must not be normal then." He winked and crawled into the vent, with me on his heels.