Adventure of the desk hobb 1

Beneath the desk, dust lies in careful ridges around your hiding place. Beyond the desk legs, the exterminator carries a taped plastic nest toward the front door, its occupants shifting inside.

He sets the sealed nest beside the entryway, then returns with a flashlight and a clipboard. His boots stop inches from the desk's edge.

The flashlight beam slips beneath the desk, catching the grey, burlap-like wrinkles of your skin and the loose strands of your hair. The exterminator lowers himself into a crouch.

His gloved hand reaches toward the sealed nest within your grasp, while the flashlight fixes on your hiding place. The inspection is seconds from finding you.

Your hand claws fold inward beneath the desk. In the narrow shadow, you carry out the quiet act, and one finger is no longer attached. The moment passes without graphic detail.

The exterminator sees the sudden movement and jerks his hand back from the sealed plastic nest. The occupants shift together inside it.

He angles the flashlight lower, searching the floor beneath the desk. His clipboard taps against his knee while the front door remains only a few steps away.

The beam pauses beside your hiding place, then slides toward the sealed nest. The plastic bundle rests within reach, its occupants muffled behind the tape.

Your injured hand claw closes around the sealed nest despite the missing finger. You yank it free, twist past the flashlight, and slash the exterminator's leg with your other claw.

The cut forces him back, and you launch through the open window with the taped nest clutched against your chest. Your shoulder strikes the sill hard, leaving a hot scrape as you clear it.

You land outside in a roll, the sealed bundle protected beneath you. The house wall rises behind your small body, while the window frames the exterminator staggering inside.