Over the last year, Luan had figured out how to escape the facility. It had taken him a lot of careful practice and observation to figure it, not to mention patience and a lot of luck. Still, Luan had never tested his plan in completion because once he got so far, he couldn't turn back without consequences.

Obviously, the facility was covered in cameras and personnel, so Luan had to travel somewhere he would not be seen. Like a classic novel spy, he turned to the air vents. The design of his room left the vent too high for him to reach standing and away from his furniture. To reach it, Luan had to stand on his school textbooks. In the past, he had spent several hours pulling at the screws until the channel they rested in was smooth. Luan could then carefully take the grate off with the screws attached. It allowed him to keep the outside of the vent looking the same for when others came in his room and it could be quickly placed back on.

Luan deliberately built the book pile higher than normal before taking off the grate and placing it on top of the pile. Unlike when he came back to his room, Luan wanted to be able to pull it back into the wall before leaving. Hoisting himself up, Luan slipped into the ventilation. It was a tight fit despite Luan having a small, slim build. At best, Kaipo would get stuck at their waist and Kane wouldn't even make it that far.

He was in the ventilation head first, so he wriggled around the tunnels in a square to come back to his room headfirst. Carefully, Luan reached out and grabbed the grate. With some finessing, Luan coerced the grate back into the wall. Next, Luan traversed backward through the tunnels until he could turn himself forwards again. 

Now, he had to get through the tunnels silently. It was always hard, but Luan was confident he could be quiet and wouldn't fall out of the ceiling from experience. The scariest part was when he had to lower himself down from one floor to another. Furthermore, Luan knew he had a terrible sense of direction. his past experience included him getting lost in the labyrinth; the tunnels were even more similar than the plain hallways. Thankfully, the instance had given Luan the foresight to draw sharpie arrows dictating his path.

He still felt anxious. Luan decided to also mark his way with his scent, so he'd know if he came back to the same tunnel. Surely the only ones who could smell it were the other patients and they would mark it off as him having passed by outside.

As always, the way through the tunnels was slow to ensure minimal noise. Nevertheless, the little scuffs from his slippers kept him on edge. He hoped that if anyone heard it, they would write it off as nothing. If he was caught, he doubted he'd ever be given another chance. According to a book he'd read, Lady Luck only helps once.

His own ears were tuned into the noises around him. The whoosh of air and walls covered most of the noise when he wasn't next to a vent, but he still caught snippets of conversation. Nothing interesting was heard. Maybe he would have learned something if he knew more science jargon. Usually, what he learned came from gossip used to distract him. He still hated getting his blood drawn or anything requiring needles.

Eventually, his journey through the tunnels came to an end. Luan had reached the underground garage. The next part of his plan would be trickier. He had to get down from the ventilation, put the vent back, and get under a car quickly enough a security guard didn't see him on a video feed. Luckily, the ventilation on this floor was near the bottom of the wall instead of the top.

Luan pushed against the vent with increasing pressure until it finally gave way with a screech. Maintaining his hold on the vent, Luan slipped out and practically shoved the vent back against the wall. He then rolled under the nearest car.

As the minutes ticked by, the vent didn't fall back down and no alarm sounded. Luan let out a disbelieving sigh. At best, no one would notice him missing until morning. By then, it would take them hours to go through the feeds to find which vent he came out of. It had taken him an hour to get this far, but he'd hopefully be out within the next hour.

One of the doctors, Dr. Kilby, had complained about how his car refused to lock the trunk a week ago. Luan knew Dr. Kilby's assigned parking spot was against a wall from past observations. Even better, Dr. Kilby parked with the back of the car near the wall, so the cameras shouldn't show him messing with the trunk. Luan only had to traverse halfway across the long room. Surely the cameras would not see him moving under the cars.

He crept his way across the room. Unlike the vents, the ground was less clean and scratched against his bare hands. His light-colored clothes were probably being stained, though Luan didn't really care. They would be his outfit for at minimum several days and were bound to be stained sooner or later. 

As he reached Dr. Kilby's car, he got on his knees to peer into the window. The inside was mostly empty besides a few bags, a water bottle, and a couple of other things. Dr. Kilby drove a van with 2 rows of seats in the back. Luan planned to hide under the row of seats furthest back.

Slowly, Luan pulled on the trunk handle. It didn't open. He tried again. The door still refused to budge. Did Dr. Kilby get the door fixed? Did he have the wrong car? Panicking, Luan yanked on the handle only for the trunk door to slam into his face. Rubbing his nose with one hand and keeping his the door from opening too far with the other, he figured force was his problem.

Cautiously, Luan slipped into the trunk while doing his best to keep the trunk door low enough to evade the cameras. With another hard yank, the door was shut. He slipped under the back seats. It was a tiny bit tighter than the tunnels and his feet didn't quite fit under. Even so, Luan decided he wouldn't have too much trouble getting out. All that was left for him to do then was wait.