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It was another hallway

I blew out the breath I’d been holding

A hallasn’t etting a little repetitive Hallway Rooreater purpose here--spying on the girl who’d adopted me as a best friend

Okay, put that way, it didn’t sound so noble

Morally questionable or not, I still had a job to do I walked inside and closed the door behind ated shadow shrink around the corner as she h the hallway, and then down another set of stairs into what I guessed was the baseh it didn’t look olden light and iron sconces The ceiling was different, though Instead of the vaults and do here was lower, flatter, and covered in patterned plaster It looked like a lot of work for a basement

The stairs led to another hall I followed the sound of footsteps, but only made it five or six feet before I heard another sound--the clank and grate of metal on metal I froze and sed down the luhtened my throat I wanted to call her name, to scream it out, but I couldn’t seem to draw breath to make a sound I forced myself to take another step forward, then another, nearly junash of ain

Oh, screw this, I thought, and forced s to work "Scout?" I called out "Are you okay?"

When I got no response, I rounded the corner The hallway dead-ended in a giant metal doorand she was nowhere to be seen

"Frick," Ielse that would help, and ood look-see

It was ginorh, with an arch in the top, it was outlined in brass rivets and joints In the iant flywheel, and beneath the flywheel was a security bar that must have been four or five inches of solid steel It was in its unlocked position That explained the metal sounds I’d heard earlier

I wasn’t sure I wanted to knohat that door was keeping out of St Sophia’s, but Scout was in there Sure, we hadn’t known each other long, and I wasn’t up on all the coroup, but this seemed like troubleand help was the least I could offerto do--kick amore, here I coed, but the door wouldn’t open I turned the flywheel, clockwise first, then counterclockwise, but the movement had no effect--at least, not on this side of the door

Frowning, I scanned the door fro for another way in--a keyhole, a nuottenSo much for my rescue mission

I considered my options

One: I could head back upstairs, tuck into bed, and forget about the fact that iant locked door in an old convent in don Chicago

Two: I could wait for her to coe of lanced back at the hallway froe back to safety But I was here, now, and she was in there, getting into God only knehat kind of trouble

So I sat down on the floor, pulled up my knees, and prepared to wait

I don’t knohen I fell asleep, but I jolted awake at the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door I jumped up from my spot, the flip-flops I’d pulled off earlier still in my hand, my only weapon As I faced down the door with only a few inches of green foaht be a stranger--and not Scout--on the other side of the door

My heart raced haers clenched into the foaan to turn, the spokes rotating clockith a ht entrance to the convent basean to open, hundreds of pounds oftoward me

"Don’t come any closer!" I called out "I have a weapon"

Scout’s voice echoed froet out of the way!"

It wasn’t hard to obey, since I’d been bluffing I stepped aside, and as soon as the crack in the door was big enough to squeeze through, she slipped through it, chest heaving as she sucked in air

Sheto rail on you in ahwith ideas about what, exactly, she’d left on the other side of the door, I stepped beside her With both pairs of hands on the door, ars outstretched, we pushed it closed The door was as heavy as it was high, and I wondered how she’d gotten it open in the first place

When the door was shut, Scout spun the flywheel, then reached down to slide the steel bar back into its home We both jumped back when a crash echoed froes in response

Eyes wide, I stared over at her "What the hell was that?"

"Litter," Scout said, staring at the closed door, as ifto breach it

When the door was still and the hallas silent, Scout turned and looked at me, her bob of blond hair in sha from one shoulderand fury in her expression

"What in the hell do you think you’re doing down here?" She pushed at the hair from her face, then pulled up the loose shoulder of her jacket

"Exercising?"

Scout put her hands on her hips, obviously dubious

"I was afraid you were in trouble"

"You were nosy," she countered "I asked you to trustyou about a secret liaison is one thing Trusting you about your safety is so else" I bobbed my head toward the door "Call it community improvement if you want, but it see nasty I’et hurt"

"You’re not reed "But I’m your new BFF"

Her expression softened

"I don’t need all the details," I said, holding upto need to knohat the hell was on the other side of that door"

As if on cue, a crash sounded again, and the door juet it already!" she yelled "Crawl back into your hole" She grabbed an to pull o"

I tugged back, and when she dropped my ar down the hall, and I had to skip to keep up with her "Is it an axe murderer?"