I climbed the fence, slowly, my tongue catching smells and tastes from the air. It was a chilly night to be sure, but I needed to get inside. Durc was inside. So I had to go.
I did not see any guards, but cameras, tons of cameras, pointed at the fence, at the path, at the building and at the sky. A part of the outer area looked like an aviary, completely encapsulated in strong fences. The buildings stood high and to be honest, quite intimidating. The windows cold and dark, no light source to be seen.
For a second or two, I balanced on top of the fence before silently sliding down and hitting the ground. I immediately ducked behind some bushes and waited a minute or two until I was sure my break-in had not been noticed. I then hushed across the path and crawled along a wall until I reached an entrance - an open window one floor up. I extended my claws and began climbing up. Luckily, I was a good climber. I had some trouble squeezing through the narrow gap in the window, as it was secured with more bars. But, finally, I was in. I landed on the floor a bit loudly, and my claws made a scratching and clacking sound, trying to balance me. I stood still for a while, while looking around the room. It was quite big, and had a few toilets, sinks and two showers in it. As my eyes adapted to the darkness, I heard a faint "helloo...?" from one of the stalls. "Is there somebody?" I instinctively crouched and snuck to the stall. Through the gap between door and wall I could see a little girl in a simple white dress. Her eyes were wide and she looked around nervously, holding her tail close. She couldn't see well in the darkness
"I won't harm you", I breathed. She flinched at the sound of my voice. "Why are you here in darkness when you clearly can't see?"
"We are not allowed to leave our rooms at night", she whispered, "but I just couldn't hold it! Please don't tell them! I am always a good girl, I promise!" I relaxed a bit and backed off.
"It's alright. Come out." She opened the door shyly, her arms reaching the handle only barely.
"Who are you?", she asked. I did not answer.
"Which way to the Aviary? My friend is there", I asked instead. "If you help me, I might get you out of here." Her mouth formed a perfect O. And then she shook her head.
"No, I will stay. I wouldn't survive out there. I'm just a rat. But I will help you get to the Aviary. Who is your friend?"
"Durc, a Harpy Bird." I listened to the hallway a bit. "We need to go. You point the way."
"Wait, what's your name? I need to call you something. I'm Zola." I hesitated for a second.
"Call me Ecks."