Aiden smiled from ear to ear at her cheery farewell before nodding a silent goodbye. He knew damn well that laughing might very well give them away, so he chose to refrain. As he watched her go, he wondered if a sense of normalcy would ever return, with the freedom to laugh and say whatever he liked. Whatever the future may hold, there was one thing he was sure of: having Carina around made it seem possible.<br/><br/>He lingered for a time to make sure she was well away before heading back himself. Later, lying in his bunk, the thoughts of escape made it almost impossible to sleep. Just as he was about to drift off a frightening thought gripped him: what if Carina wanted to separate after they got out? He pushed the unwanted thoughts from his mind and rolled over, wishing for sleep.<br/><br/>In some ways it felt like the week dragged on, even though the days seemed to individually fly by with errands and lists in his head to complete. When lights out finally was called on Friday Aiden was on pins and needles. Adrenaline seeped into his bloodstream as he descended to the basement and located the plumbing closet. He sat in the darkness and listened for several minutes before switching on his flashlight. When he did, Carina was already there. He jumped.<br/><br/>â€œWow, you are quickâ€¦ how did you get down here soâ€¦ oh nevermind. I guess you are full of surprises.â€ Smiling, he pointed towards a manhole located in the center of the closet floor and silently picked up his crowbar. â€œWeâ€™re both going to have to work together to get this open, and quietly.â€<br/><br/>Moments later the heavy cover had ben slid aside as quietly as possible. Below the manhole opening was a tiny access tunnel barely big enough for one person to crawl through on their elbows and knees. The unfinished concrete walls were clean and new, but as rough as sandpaper. One side of the tunnel was taken up by a massive insulated pipe that gave off quite a bit of heat.<br/><br/>â€œItâ€™s a steam pipe. Try not to brush up against it, OK? Itâ€™s hot,â€ Aiden said with a haughty smile, stating the obvious. â€œOnce we both get in we are going to have to slide the cover back. Itâ€™s going to be tight in there, somehow weâ€™ll have to work together. Ready?â€