32

“Kate and I will sneak through the window. Emily, you stay here with Kate’s backpack. If anything happens, get back to your grandfather as quickly as possible.”

You sneak towards the shed, using the forest as cover. The last few yards between the forest and the shed is open ground, but it is towards the back of the house and there are no windows looking out. You climb up to the roof of the shed and help Kate up.

Kate sits dead still, listening intently. You remain as still as you can, but the adrenaline coursing through your veins makes you fidgety. Then you hear it, the sound of a television coming from downstairs.

Kate gestures for you to follow. She points at herself and then the first window, then at you and the second window. You nod.

Kate moves catlike towards the first window, not making a sound. She tries to lift the old wooden window and it emits a soft creaking sound and opens a little. She gently slides it up further, just enough for her to get through. You sneak past her. You need to do a bit of climbing to get to the second window. There is a narrow ledge between the two windows. It looks sturdy enough and you tentatively put your right foot on it. The aged timber gives way slightly but holds your weight. You grab onto whatever handholds you can find and shuffle across towards the second window. The next it is tricky, you use one hand to hold onto the timber that forms the wall of the house, and the other to try the window. Like Kate’s, this window opens noiselessly. You carefully slip through the window, pushing the curtains out of your way.

You find yourself in an empty room. There is a desk with a chair and an open door, showing a dark passage with stairs leading down. The sound of the television is much louder now, the sounds of a gameshow blaring from a set of cheap speakers.

You cannot believe your luck! On the table is a set of keys and the memory stick. You take the memory stick and the set of keys. You go back through the window and shuffle back towards the first window, using the ledge. You are halfway across, the timber under your foot snaps with a loud crack.  You barely manage to hold on, one leg dangling down. You tighten your grip on the handholds between the timbers, splinter digging into your fingers. Your other leg at least is still on an intact piece of the ledge.

The televisions goes silent. A sleepy voice mumbles something. Another voice answers and some footsteps can be heard. Kate, her head out of the window, looks at you in horror. She ducks out of the window, grabs your hand and pulls you onto the shed roof.

“Run!”

Both of you jump down the shed roof and run towards Emily. You jump over the low wall. You glance back and see two men, both armed with rifles, piling out the front door. The fake security officer lowers his weapon. The crack of a bullet hitting the wall behind you signals that they are very serious in getting the memory stick back.

If you:

Continue down the road towards your car, go to chapter 34

 

Run into the woods and try to lose them there, go to chapter 35