Eliza followed, barefoot, across the creaking wooden porch. Orion headed toward an overgrown corner of her yard, where an old ventilation grate jutted from the foundation. She’d never paid it much attention, assuming it led to some crawlspace or disused duct system.
She watched in amazement as Orion squeezed through the narrow opening, tail swishing. Pressing her ear to the grate, she could hear him meowing somewhere below. Anxious about losing him again, Eliza peered inside. Darkness filled the narrow passage, and a musty draft brushed her face.