"So what else do you need? I've got to pop into the hardware store anyway to get some superglue."
~~~~~
Flynn admires Cinnamon's quick work with the heater.
"Thanks for that. I wouldn't say we've got all that much space at the moment though unless we're going to store things inside the house - have you seen the amount of stuff in that garage?"
As Cinnamon questions the presence of the bears, he calls back up to him.
"Perhaps that's how Al was smuggling the soda - inside the bears."
After checking to see that Ryyn is OK, Flynn starts moving the boxes of bears out of the way and stacking them on an empty bit of floor.
Argent wrote:With the cat's help, Cinnamon's able to clear the hatch... but it's latched on the other side. "Of course, it's for access from the house! I could unscrew the hinges from this side, I suppose, Hey! Flynn! I found a way down into the house! Is Mr. Porter back yet?"
He scrambles headfirst down the rope, and flips onto a box of bears. "We found a trapdoor! You remember any doors in the ceiling this end of the house you couldn't open? You got a ladder? I was going to pull the hinges but I figure if you got a ladder we can find it from this side it has to be somewhere upstairs this end of the house."
"He's not back yet. I haven't seen anything but then I haven't been upstairs much either. I'll go inside and see if I can work out where it is. Bang on it for me, will you, and I'll follow the sound."
Flynn heads inside the house, stopping briefly in his room to collect the other pair of leather gloves, and climbs the stairs to the second storey. He walks donw the hallway towards the garage end of the house, keeping his eyes turned to the ceiling, looking for any sign of the trap door. Walking like this, he doesn't notice Joan exiting her study and walks straight into her.
"Oof. Oh, er, sorry Mum. I didn't see you there."
"That's OK, Flynn. No harm done. Just watch where you're going next time. What's so interesting about the ceiling up here? I thought you were exploring the garage?"
"We are. Sixtoes has found a trap door in the attic over the garage which we think leads to the house. I'm trying to find it on this side."
"Ah. OK. Just don't go hurting youself trying to climb things to get up to it. Wait... when did Sixtoes get here? And how? It's quite a way from the clinic."
"I won't. He got here a just before Dad left. He must have walked, I guess. See you, Mum."
Flynn continues his walk down the hall, hearing Sixtoes starting to bang but still seeing no signs of the trapdoor. Reaching the end of the corridor he finds a cupboard built into the wall form which the sounds seem to be emanating. Opening it, he finds it's a fairly spacious cupboard, about a yard deep and 5 feet long with a hot water cylinder in one end, shelves in the other and from the wall in the middle several rungs protrude allowing access to the darkness overhead. Pulling on the string dangling near his ears, Flynn looks about the cupboard as the fluorescent tube overhead blinks and flicks its sluggish way to life. When it's on, Flynn looks up and sees a trapdoor overhead. This is where the banging is coming from.
Climbing the rungs and praying for more success than he had on the rope, Flynn manages to reach the door. He manages to undo the stiff latches and then calls up to the pets above to stand back so he can try to open it. Bracing himself against the rungs he heaves upwards and promptly slips off the rung with a yelp, leaving him dangling by his front paws. After a few moments of scrabbling for a rung for his hind paws he hooks his arm more firmly through the top rung and heaves on the trapdoor with his shoulders. The hinges groan in protest as the heavy door creaks upwards.