The man on the phone had not been lying when he had said that Sandalwood Road was only a few blocks from where they were. It was relatively close to town and a few convenience stores, although the further down they went, the more secluded the place felt. The house they stood in front of now was small and grey, with the shining brass numbers two fifteen nailed to the wall next to the door.

"This place?" Ezio frowned, looking it up and down. "It doesn't look very abandoned to me."

"It's abandoned." Altair looked down at the key in his hand. "Trust me."

"How did you know about this place?" The second eldest of their group eyed him warily, and Altair swallowed heavily under the scrutinizing gaze.

"I just did, alright?" He gripped the key tightly in his fingers, and very slowly made his way up to the front door. It was a large cedar door, with black peeling paint, and a very small triangular window towards the top. Altair took a deep breath, and shoved the key into the small golden lock that sat a few inches over a dirty metal doorknob, and turned. It was an effort to get the lock to turn, but after a while it opened with a thunk, and Altair was able to pull the key out. He looked back at the group of kids who stood a little ways behind him, and slowly pushed the door inwards and stepped inside.

It wasn't a nice house by any stretch of the imagination. It looked as though it was ready to fall apart at the hinges at any second, and crash all around them. When the man on the phone had said 'not exactly five stars', Altair had at least expected three stars. Maybe two and a half.

"This is where we're going to squat?" Ezio walked in behind him, running a hand on one of the water stains that lined the walls. "Its um… nice?"

"This place is a dump." Connor walked in ahead of him.

"Yeah, well…" Altair folded his arms. "Its safe here, at least."

"How do you know that?" Ezio frowned at him.

"I just do, okay?"

Connor and Aveline both began to poke around through the living area, and began to explore the hallway that connected to it. Ezio walked up beside Altair as he shut the door, and Altair felt Desmond's small fingers close around his pant leg. He put a hand on top of the child's head, and looked over at his friend who was staring at him with folded arms. Altair sighed and shook his head.

"Look, its got running water, electricity… a heating system…" He looked over at the heater on the wall. "Sort of."

"Yeah, I know, Altair but…" Ezio sighed. "We're not going to stay here long, are we?"

"I don't know, Ezio…"

Then suddenly they both heard Aveline let out a shrill cry, and the girl tore from the back room, running through the hall and grabbing onto Ezio, hugging him around the knees and burying her face into his stomach. Ezio gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, and Altair looked up prepared to be horrified by whatever was back there that had made the girl run… When Connor came running out, holding something small and furry in his hands.

"Look! I found a rat!" He beamed, running his hand along the creature's fur. "Can I keep it?"

Ezio stared down at the rodent in Connor's hands, and then turned to look at Altair, with a look that spoke exactly what the younger boy was trying to convey. Altair just sighed and put a hand on Aveline's head, patting it, and looking back up at Ezio.

"Not too long, I hope." He muttered.