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I flush the toilet and then use the seat to push myself up. My feet wobble, and the world spins around my head. I hold my arms out by my sides, trying to keep my balance. They flail a bit as I walk over to the sink and wash my hands. I try to wash some of the blood and sweat from my body, but it’s no use. All it does is smear.
I decide to focus my attention on my face, thinking I can at least wash enough off, so my eyes no longer sting.
“I said macaroni and cheese, not cheese pizza,” a soft voice says.
I turn the water off, my ears perk up, and my eyes search the three stalled bathroom for the source of the voice.
I throw open each of the stalls, but the room is empty.
Speak again, I beg the silence.
Did I just imagine that sweet little voice in my head?
“You are so incompetent. When I get older, I’m going to get you fired,” the sassy voice says again.
I grin as I look up at the vent directly above me.
Rose.
She’s here.
Right above me.
My heart flutters, coming alive again with true hope I didn’t know I could feel anymore. Rose is here. She’s alive, and from the sound of her voice, it sounds like she’s giving them hell.
This all won’t be for nothing. We will be able to get her back. Maybe sooner than we think?
I consider my options to get to Rose. Leave the bathroom, find the stairs, count the doors to her room, and then try to sneak in. That’s a lot of things that would have to go perfectly for me to be able to find her.
Or?
Or I climb up through the vent.
My time to make a move is running out. We only had a twenty-minute break. This could all fail miserably, but my gut tells me I have to try.
I can still hear Rose’s voice, but it’s softer now. I can’t make out her words.
I have to try.
I run to one of the stalls and climb up on the toilet. I look around for my next move and decide the best option is to climb up onto the wall of the stall. I stand on my tiptoes, barely able to reach the top of the wall while I balance on the top of the toilet.
I grab hold of the top of the stall, and then I clamber up. I slip and slide, but somehow I manage to hang on until I can hike my leg up onto the top of the wall.
The ceiling is tiled, so I push up on one of the tiles. It pops open. I grab onto the cheap ceiling tile and toss it to the floor. Finally, I pull myself up into the opening.
I take a deep breath. Climbing up into the ceiling won’t help if I can’t get into the ducts and up to the floor above me.
I crawl across the ceiling to the vent I saw. When I get to it, I pop the opening off before sliding up inside. I hold myself up with my arms and legs bracing against the sides of vents.
“I asked for milk, not soda,” Rose says.
“We don’t have milk,” a man’s voice grumbles back, clearly annoyed.
I smile. Rose has this man wrapped around her finger.
“The least you could get me is water. Soda is so unhealthy.”
“Fine. I’ll get your damn water. I’ll be right back.”
