This is a piece of a story I'm writing that I just had to share.
I hid in the first room that was unlocked, cowering in the far corner of the room hidden in the shadows. I waited for the inevitable to happen, to have someone open the door and find me trapped like a rat with nowhere to run. The seconds slipped slowly by in silence and my hope bean to rekindle as no one came. Then, I heard footsteps coming down the hall towards the door. They were not the fast thudding footsteps of a man searching that I expected. The footsteps were the slow calculating click of a woman’s heels coming closer towards the door. Then, someone shouted in the hall just as the woman had grabbed the handle to the door and then all I heard was the woman running away. I listened to my heart beat for a minute before I remembered how to breathe, and then I could hear what caused the sudden commotion. I could hear sirens.
The panic began again as I realized that I could not be caught here. I raced from my hiding spot, back towards my exit. The rope leading to the roof was still there and I grabbed hold and began to climb.
“Hold still, it will be faster if we pull you up,” said a familiar voice from above.
I smiled as I saw Jules and my mother above me as I was pulled to the roof. “Thank you,” I hugged my mom and Jules, “now let’s get out of here.” We grabbed the ropes and ran. Our exit was smooth as we repelled down the wall and jumped into the waiting van. I looked back towards the museum and watched as the police pulled up in front and jumped out of their cars. I sat back against the wall of the van watching Jules smile and shake her head and my mom put her arm around me and held me as the van drove on. For the first time since I arrived on the East coast, I finally felt like I wasn’t alone.
