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
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