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Saff waited, listening for any noise that was out of place. After a few moments, she shook her head. "I don't hear anything."
"Come on." She tugged her arm forward, urging the girl to move with her.
Then, as they neared the end of the hallway, Saff began to hear something as well. Scratching, like twigs rustling against a window. She slowed as they reached the end, where the hallway opened to a kitchen and living room lined with windows, light streaming in.
Then she saw the source of the noise.
"Do you hear it?" the girl asked again.
Saff shined the flashlight into the kitchen towards the noise and instantly found it.
Rats crawled through the kitchen, with most of them hovering around one source.
A dead body, or skeleton, would be a better word for it. They crawled in and out, gnawing on the bones as their claws etched against them.
"What is it?" the girl asked, her grip tightening around her arm.
Saff watched them for another second, then turned to the living room. "Rats."
The girl's grip slackened as she loosed a breath.
Saff led them towards the door, avoiding the littered items strewn everywhere on the floor. When she reached the front door, she unlocked it, then jiggled it open.
They stepped out into the bright sunlight, and Saff clicked off her flashlight, returning it to her side pocket. Beside her, the girl squinted, shutting her eyes, then she unhooked her sunglasses, pushing them back onto her face.
Saff guided them to the top of a small flight of stairs that led to the ground floor.
"Stairs," she muttered.
They slowly descended and reached the bottom floor where a gate stood in front of them, and beyond it, the main street.
They went through the gate, then strode down the sidewalk, keeping close to the buildings at all times. They continued like that in silence for the next few blocks until the girl cleared her throat.
"How did you know about the light perception?" she asked quietly.
Saff glanced back and forth as they came to the end of the block. "Step down," she muttered.
They quickly crossed to the other side.
The girl cleared her throat again. "So? How’d you know?"
Saff looked up across the street, scanning the rooftops of the new buildings beside them. "Med school," she muttered.
The girl nodded, then went silent again for a few moments. "Makes sense now."
Saff gave her a sidelong look. "What does?"
"You're good at this," the girl answered, nodding down to where her hand gripped her arm. "Guiding. Explaining. Most people aren't."
They continued in silence, until after a minute or so, the girl spoke again. "I'm Maddie, by the way."
Saff didn't respond, letting the information hang in the air. She didn't care to know the girl's name. Actually, she preferrednotto know.
The girl cleared her throat awkwardly. "So, what's your name?"
She grunted. "Doesn't matter."
The girl paused for a beat, then scoffed. "Seriously, you won't tell me your name? Don't you think that's a littledramatic?"