The Trapdoor

[royya]

There were worms in the jar I smashed earlier.
Doug says as he walks to the shelf again
Could it be the same ?

[Mr. Handy]

"That's possible," says Irene. "These things looked like centipedes. Are there any more in jars?" She tends to her bruised arms, and at least one of them feels better.

[Laraqua]

There are several more worms floating within some of the jars. Other jars seem to have pastes or other concoctions, all marked with an esoteric symbol upon its discolored label.

[Mr. Handy]

Irene peers at the worms to see if they resemble the parasite she had seen downstairs.

[Laraqua]

It's hard to say. These are segmented but they lack any sign of sharp edged legs or a visible maw. It might be easier to see if she extracted one from a jar and placed it under a microscope.

[Mr. Handy]

If someone were going to do that, it wouldn't be Irene. "Best to leave those for the boffins," she says. "Too dangerous for us to mess with. I think we'd better make our way upstairs. We need to find out where Florence and the others went, and that's the only other way out of here."

[aine]

John watches Irene with the centipede jars with suspicion. He then says to Doug, " I could have a look at the lock on this door that goes upstairs but my tools, they were down in that room." He examines the lock and door anyway.

Roll,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4210614/]1d100=15[/url] for trying to open the door either via the lock or hinges. (Locksmith 1%, mechanical 60%)

[Laraqua]

It would be a simple process to remove the hinges but he does require some tools to do so.

[Mr. Handy]

"And mine are back in the ambulance - unless it's been bombed to flinders by now," says Irene. "Maybe we can find something suitable in this room." She begins looking around for tools.

OOC,[b]Doug[/b] does have the Locksmith skill at a pretty good level.

[aine]

John has a general poke around the shelves.

ooc,Does he recognise any chemicals from his explosives training?

[royya]

LockSmith (1d100=7) - Less then a 1/5 Success.

Let me check the lock.
Doug says as he kneels beside the door.
Bahh, that is an easy one, I picked in the past .. hmmm... I mean, that is a simple one ... let me have an hair pin ... I did it, I managed to open it.
*Click*

[Laraqua]

The jars aren't labeled correctly but are likely to contain preservative chemicals such as formaldehyde.

It's odd, though. One might expect the sound of fists pounding against the doors or at least an effort to open them but everything seems so ... quiet below.

The door unlocks easily, revealing another set of stairs, though this time they appear to be what one might expect would lead up to a normal house. There's even wallpaper.

[Mr. Handy]

"Well done," says Irene, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders now that she has taken out the hairpin to give to Doug. "Let's carry Mr. Hewitt upstairs. I know the air raid may still be going on, but I'd rather take my chances up there than stay in this place."

[aine]

John leaves the jars and watches Irene's loose hair as if it is a creature in its own right, almost as if he expects it to rear up like the mouth-worms. He shudders and says, "Mr. Hewitt, I can carry you." With that he crouches and picks up the American, putting him over his shoulder but straining a bit under the weight, "But not for long." He waits to follow the others up the stairs, he's not too concerned about what happened below; it is a blank in his memory.

[Laraqua]

OOC,So who's going up the stairs first? I know who'll be last.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Well, I don't intend to go first.

[royya]

Doug leads the way, he is on alert, ready to swing the butcher's knife at anyone unfamiliar.
I hope we'll find a way out of here. It is odd that William and Florence were gone unless it was unwillingly by someone who is connected to the doctor.

[Mr. Handy]

"I agree," says Irene quietly, following Doug up the stairs. "Let's be careful and avoid making noise."

[Laraqua]

The following door is unlocked, at least, and opens up beneath another set of stairs that heads up to the first floor. The door itself opens up onto a corridor with a front door and a back door, both blacked out. There's a telephone sitting on a little table by the door and Florence is busily talking to s omeone on the receiver. "Yes, we're...." She turns to look at them, waving them over. "Irene! You're alive! I've managed to get through to the police. The lines were busy, you know how it is, but clear now. William went looking for a better weapon.

Show,did you leave Hewitt down there?

[aine]

John struggles up the narrow staircase with Hewitt. When he gets to the corridor, he slides Hewitt onto the floor with his back resting against the next staircase. He eyes Florence with suspicion. "Which way did William go?" he says aloud.