Go searching

The rain was pleasant to look at, but being sopping wet was the last thing Lucy wanted right now. She looked closer at the tables and chairs to be sure her clothes weren't there. There wasn't a thread in sight.

Lucy considered Kate's plans. If Kate were planning something, then she would probably be hiding somewhere, and there was a good chance Kate would have hidden her clothes somewhere. There weren't many areas in the diner. There was just the dining area, the restrooms, the kitchen, the basement, and a few smaller rooms like the pantry. Lucy would merely need to be cautious while searching the diner if she wanted to find her clothes without letting Kate find her.

The Asian girl peeked her head around the corner and into the kitchen. Predictably, no one was there. Her bare feet pattered against the cold tile. Searching the room, Lucy couldn't find any sign of her clothes. She checked the pantry, the freezer, and the back room, but neither her friends nor clothes were there.

Lucy reached for the basement door and noticed the attic hatch was slightly open. Weird, no one ever went up there. Lucy pulled up a chair to stand on and opened the door to the attic. She hoisted herself up into the dark room. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the lighting inside. It looked like nothing was up there, either.

Then she had an idea. There were several gaps in the ceiling of the diner. She could totally bypass any trap from Kate.

Lucy reached down and pulled the attic door shut. Carefully, she started crawling to the far end of the attic. Well, "attic" may have been a strong word. It frankly was just rafters in a short space. The only reason anyone came up here was to work on the ventilation or wiring for the lights.

Lucy peaked into every gap she could find. Her eyes scanned the kitchen and other rooms she had gone through. It wasn't until she reached the dining area that she realized her mistake. A pile sat next to the bar by the serving window. Someone had moved the clothes into a heap behind the counter for safekeeping, meaning this wasn't one of Kate's schemes.

Lucy slapped herself in the face for not noticing the pile of clothes sooner. She must have completely overlooked them. Too bad Kate didn't have something planned. Wait, Lucy wasn't honestly excited to participate in Kate's antics, right? She was just confusing her words.

Returning to the attic door, Lucy pushed it down. It wouldn't budge. Maybe it was jammed. Lucy pushed harder, but it still won't yield. In her third effort, Lucy remembered. The latch for the attic door is on the other side. She was only a few feet away from being fully clothed again, yet she was stuck in the attic.

Does Lucy dare call for help? Maybe she can find an alternative way out of the attic.