A/N: This chapter has been re-edited with the correct numbers. My apologies to those I confused.
Chapter 3
Footsteps in the hall woke Sherlock. The sleepy boy felt minor alarm and disorientation until he remembered where he was. Sitting up in the dark room, he listened. The footsteps were quiet, but each step was accompanied by heavy breathing.
The footsteps stopped at the door, and the faint light of a candle shone in. A heartbeat later, a small dark shape rustled at the bottom of the door, temporarily blocking the glow. When the rustle stopped, the footsteps padded away, the faint light dimming until it disappeared.
Curiosity at this strange event overpowered what little desire Sherlock had in returning to sleep, and he leaped off his bed. Snatching up the little piece of paper, he fumbled around for a candle and some matches, stubbing toes as the bed reappeared unexpectedly. The smell of sulfur and hot wax accompanied the excitement that Sherlock felt with the kindly light of the candle.
Revealed, the paper held a long string of numbers:
13 5 5 20 - 13 5 - 9 14 - 20 8 5 - 7 1 18 4 5 14 . 3 15 13 5 - 1 12 15 14 5.
Sherlock wondered if he was the victim of a joke. Then, remembering something Mycroft once told him, he grabbed a pen, slowly working out the message.
A/N: I'm going to be evil and turn you into Sherlock while I work on Chapter 4 . If you don't have the time to try to solve it, or you can't see the spaces in the numbers due to the way the .net text sees the "tab" spaces, shoot me a PM, and I'll send back the message. I also plan to make it obvious in the scene development in Chapter 4.
