Chapter 261: Saviours, Part 19, Five Years Ago

The following night, three dozen small alert bodies lie under their covers, waiting.

And in the cold dark hours, there is the sound of scraping and grinding. “Tommy?”

“Yes, it’s me. Just keep quiet and let me know if you hear anyone moving.”

Two girls dart to the door to the corridor, listening. All is silent save for the slight metallic grinding noise, the rasp of metal biting metal.

Somewhere in the building, a toilet flushes.

“There's someone below you.” a piping voice warns.

The rasping noise stops.

After a few seconds, there are the dull thuds of heavy boots echoing on bare wooden boards and the bang of a door somewhere far off in the building.

“I think it’s alright now.”

And the noise resumes, a thin quiet fretting sound heard only by those gathered closely around.

With the grate and scrape of grit and cement, a bar slides out of its socket.