GREGOR

d the sheets, the duvet cover, even the h

ing from hunger, but the ra

ive fabrics into long strips. A nail broke,

nough and long enough to get me from

t, and a cold fear whispered that this

ught me when I was a child. It was one of the few "

tying the strips together, pu

on my forehead, from exerti

end to the heavy, carved bedpost, yankin

ered something. For fire safety, the architect had installed

ring inspection of the manor as Luna. A secr

to pry open the tiny, hidden pan

ick, the windo

ht air, smelling of damp earth and f

iled, just reaching the lawn

windowsill. The two-story drop made my

t into the open air, and felt the cold ston

and trusted my entire weight to the ro

, and my heart lea

d, hand over hand, inching my way do

otsteps and voices from

y flat against the cold

ing just beneath my feet. My heart hammered a

p shadow of the building'

ed the rest of the way down,

touched the so

it. I

weakness in my legs, I untied the rope

ing. I just knew I had to ge

edge of the estate, a section of the t

d the trees wer

dergrowth, until the sounds of

endless sea of identical tr

beam of light cut through the tre

's t

ng. A man in a patrol uniform was appro