Making sure I have my letter and my bags done up tight, I move on to the most challenging part of my plan. Escaping our property without being seen.
CHAPTER FIVE
WREN
Right before I try to pull open the front door, I hear the lock click back in place and jump back in surprise. When nothing else happens, I frown, turning the bolt again, unlocking it. But it just clicks back over before I can pull the door open.
“Stupid technology,” I grumble, trying again, unsuccessfully, to escape this place. Why my brother had fancy locks on every door, I’ll never know.
Probably to keep you from leaving.
I shake that thought away, and before I can try to turn to the deadbolt again, all the lights inside turn off at once. The back of my neck starts to prickle in warning.
What is going on?
A single light turns on somewhere down the hall, grabbing my attention, and when I don’t hear any footsteps, I slowly creep my way toward it. I end up in the mudroom that leads into the attached garage.
I hear the lock click and jump back with a gasp as I wait to be caught. But nobody comes in. After another tenseconds of silence, I move to the door and very slowly turn the knob. When the door opens, I let out a small breath of relief and decide this could work as an escape route.
The garage is dark and silent as I make my way across it to the door on the far side. I believe it leads to the side of our property. I still need to make it to the front gate.
Then what? Are you gonna scale the twelve-foot-tall iron gates?
“Shut up,” I grumble to my internal pessimist. “I’ll figure it out.”
Luckily, the side door isn’t locked, and I’m able to step outside into the night. This side of the house has no lights, which makes it an ideal place for me to exit.
“Let’s just pretend this was plan A all along, and forget I ever tried the front door,” I whisper to myself.
Staring toward the edge of the property, I know there’s an eight-foot fence the whole way around, one I have no hope of climbing. Could there be a hole in it somewhere?
Deciding I have no choice but to look, I take a peek both ways, and when I see no guards, I run the hundred-foot distance to the side fence. Luckily, the fence line is hidden in about fifteen feet of trees and bushes. I slowly creep toward the back yard, praying for some way out of here.
“Is someone there?” A guard yells from behind me, and I freeze.
I’ve been spotted!
Suddenly, a loud alarm sounds from the house, startling me.
“What’s happening?” The same man asks.
I open my mouth, unsure what to answer, when I hear a reply over the radio.
“That’s the front door alarm; someone’s trying to break in.”
“On my way!” The man yells as his footsteps grow distant. Slowly, I turn just in time to see him disappear around the front of the house.
I use it as my chance to move and start jogging along the fence, keeping my eyes peeled for a way out. Maybe an animal dug a tunnel under it somewhere.
I make it all the way to the back before I see it—a gate.
I never knew this was here!
I grab the handle and am relieved when it opens easily. Seems like an easy way for someone to break in, but what do I know? It may be locked from the other side.
I close it behind me and move quickly through the trees. I have no idea where I’m going. Is this a forest? I’ve never seen anything beyond the trees during the day. As I move, light starts to shine through the trees, telling me there is something up ahead.
Soon, I find myself at the edge of a dark street, lit by the glow of street lights. There are houses close together on the other side, but none on the side I’m on. I glance up and down the street, wondering which way to go.
