One hundred and thirty-eight

Talia's POV:

Rat-tat-tat! The burst of gunfire above startled me, and I climbed down even faster, my breathing hard and erratic. As soon as my feet touched the floor, I stretched out my hands in front of me and began to grope in the darkness, searching for the wall with the drain pipe.

More gunfire. Yells. Screams. My heart was pounding so hard, that it sounded like a drum in my ears.

Something squeaked underneath my feet, and tiny paws ran over my bare toes. I ignored it, frantically searching for that drainpipe. Rats were nothing to me right now. Somewhere up there, Nicholas was in mortal danger. I didn't know if he was by himself or if he brought reinforcements, but the thought of him being hurt or killed was so agonizing that I couldn't focus on it now. Not if I wanted to survive.