Chapter 12
Shadow:
I quickly crouch down in the shadows with Alley next to me. I watch as Abe slowly swims back and forth. He doesn't seem to be paying attention to what's happening in the library. It almost looks like he's pacing. I carefully creep out of hiding, staying as low as possible. Alley is right on my tail. I start heading for the stairs. I am going as quietly as I can.
When did this room get so long? I wonder.
After what seems to be an eternity, we make it to the base of the stairs, and we quickly run up them.
"Hello? Is someone there?" we hear Abe ask below us.
We quickly run past the door that we know leads to the top of Abe's tank. We make it to the end of the hall. Luckily, there's a door left ajar. We quickly slip in and hide. After a very long time with no sign of Abe, we slowly crawl out from our hiding space. The room we're in is lined in green tile on the floors and walls. There's a long narrow table made of metal in the center of the room. There is a counter with cabinets and drawers underneath all along the walls, all made of metal. The room smells of cleaning chemicals and it makes my nose itch. It's also very cold in here. This place gives me the creeps.
"Ok, genius," I hiss at Alley, "now what?"
"Now we find the rat," she answers quietly. Even though we're trying to keep our voices down, they still seem to echo off the tile.
"And how do you suggest we do that?" I ask her. "The rat's not just going to appear because we want it too."
"How about we go into the kitchen again?" she asks, her ears perking up.
"No thanks," I say. "Remember the guy with the knife? Besides, how would we get there? If we go through the library again, Abe will be sure to catch us."
She sits there thinking a while, occasionally scratching at her bandages. I start to think about the times we've seen the rat. It was probably in the kitchen for food. But rats need water, too.
"Abe's tank," I say.
"What?" she asks.
"The only other place we've seen that rat has been the top of Abe's tank," I tell her. "I bet it goes in there to get water."
She stares at me for a bit.
"You're right," she finally concedes. She starts heading for the door, "Let's go."
"Wait," I say, stopping her. "What if Abe comes out of the water or something?"
"We'll just be extra careful," she says as she peeks out the door to see if the coast is clear.
"Did mom drop you when you were younger?" I growl at her.
She just glares at me, and then she slips through the door.
"I still think this is a really bad idea," I grumble as I follow her out the door.
Luckily, no one is in the hallway. We quickly sneak back down the hall to the first door. We quietly slip into the room. Alley heads for the far side of the tank. I follow, glancing at the water, hoping that Abe doesn't notice us up here. Alley quickly finds the crack that the rat has been using to get in and out of the room. I point out a dark shadow we can hide in until it shows up. We take up our station, and wait.