Change Of Season by A.C. Dillon

visit.”  Miraj grinned, leaning against the wall.  “Surprise!”
    “How did you get here?  Aren’t your parents pissed?”
    Miraj shrugged. “I got fed up.  I ran away a few days ago.  Found a job at this tiny diner in Mississauga already.”
    Autumn frowned.  “But where will you stay?  And what about school?”
    Miraj rolled her eyes.  “It’s covered, Red.  Now, can we get moving?  I didn’t come all the way out here to stare at five stairs and a grungy door.  What’s in here, anyway?”
    “Best I can tell, a service corridor that will take us up into the theatre.  That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Autumn explained, descending gingerly.  “How’d you find me?”
    “Good timing. I was looking for a place to squat for the night, figuring I’d ask around in the morning and find you.  Your hair is pretty vibrant in moonlight.”
    “Fuck,” Autumn spat, pulling open the door before them.  “Should have worn the hood up.”
    “Yep.  Good thing I’m here to refresh your memory on the tricks of our trade, huh?” Miraj teased.  Stepping into the tunnels, she whistled low.  “Well!  This is going to be an adventure.”
    “I can’t sleep.  I have time.” 
    “She never sleeps,” Miraj hissed, winking at her reference to The Ring .
    “Shut up before I make you watch my favourite home movie.”
    Autumn swung the light each way, studying the tunnels.  The right tunnel seemed to extend at least fifty feet down, its walls lined with pipes and what was most definitely mildew.  The left tunnel, also fairly disgusting, seemed to have a right turn shortly ahead – which would take them further beneath the theatre. Evil goes left, again .
    “This way?” Autumn asked softly.
    “Agreed,” Miraj replied, marching forward fearlessly. 
    Autumn’s eyes adjusted quickly to the dimly lit surroundings, taking in pipes misted in condensation, a series of wires that might be telephone-related, and a door marked as an electrical closet.  The right turn led to a series of short and branching tunnels, some sort of grid pattern she couldn’t decipher.  Her light moved side to side, her steps growing more hesitant.
    “I feel lost already.”
    “You’re overthinking it, babe.  We’re under the building now, right? We need to find a stairwell up.   No big deal.  We’ll be just like Angie and Winona in Girl, Interrupted .”
    “And I assume you’re Angie?” Autumn retorted, smiling.
    “Uh, yeah.  I’m the bitch with a heart of ice in this duo.  You care too much, Red.”  Miraj studied their first junction, then shook her head.  “Next one.  No doors here.”
    Their feet lightly splashed as they bypassed the first turns, pausing anew at a second branch.  Casting the white beam down the right corridor, Autumn spotted a steel door near the end of it. 
    “Let’s try here,” she murmured, striding quickly towards it and yanking hard upon the handle.
    Nothing.  Locked.
    “Let’s try behind door number two,” Miraj suggested, jerking her thumb behind her.
    Autumn spun, her light catching a similar door down the opposing corridor.  “Of course.  Evil goes left.”
    “You and your fucking video game theories!” Miraj laughed as they doubled back.
    “If that door opens, it’s more proof that I’m right, and you’re just pissed I noticed it first,” Autumn countered, flipping her hair back out of her eyes.  “And now, let’s see what we have…”
    It took several tugs, the last with her foot planted against the door jamb for leverage, to open the door, its hinges squealing in protest.  With a triumphant hum, Autumn jerked her head towards their find.
    “Yeah, yeah.  Let’s see where they actually go,” Miraj replied, taking the dusty steps two at a time.
    The next doorway, situated to their left on the first landing, was locked with a Medeco cylinder which, as Miraj pointed out, was near impossible to pick.  A second short flight of stairs carried them