Railway Station Waiting Room

[Mr. Handy]

"That''s right, you weren't here earlier," says Kate. She takes out the letter and shows it to him. "Mr. Hagan found this amongst the saddlery. It was a warning intended for someone unknown. I don't know whether it would be more dangerous to remain here or to take the train, but there's also the option of doing neither once we get out of here and going back into town. I don't know why were locked in here, but I think it was to keep us from interfering with something. Say, did anyone ever use the telegraph in the Station Master's office to alert someone and get the Home Guard out here? My guess is whoever chained the doors also cut the telegraph line, but it's worth a try."

[Laraqua]

The letter:

The ink is faded though the paper appears pristine and brand new. It is quite a short read: You are not the first. You are not the last. لم تكن الأولى. لم تكن الأخيرةIf you are reading this than it may not yet be too late. Know that you are not the first and that, for the war to end, you will not be the last either. The train will arrive at 8:30 but it is essential that you miss that train and return home as soon as you are able. You are not the first. You are not the last. لم تكن الأولى. لم تكن الأخيرةThe longer you linger in the station before that point, the more difficult it will be to escape. You are not the first. You are not the last. لم تكن الأولى. لم تكن الأخيرة I came here to help arrange matters and to assist with the vital preparations necessary to allow the glory of Great Britain to succeed and I have willingly and gratefully assisted my Egyptian allies in fighting off the Nazi threat but their methods are cruel and You are not the first. You are not the last. لم تكن الأولى. لم تكن الأخيرة

[RhinoRat]

Frank Durant

"Thanks Miss", Frank said as he finished rereading the letter and handed it back to her, "but I did have a chance to look at it already. I am afraid that is part of what made me a bit jumpy earlier."

"Miss Lacey, you seem to be a very independent woman. I mean, very sure of yourself, and intelligent. I mean that in a good way. Do you understand any of the mess that has been going on? I have been around and seen lots of things in the world. Wars...killing...disasters...and they all made a lot more sense than what is going on here."

Frank hesitated then spoke again, "One more thing Miss Lacey. About the Station Master. I know I mentioned his scars, or lack of scars. And I know Mr. Alden said this wasn't the Station Master. But....I think it is him. I think somehow his scars were healed. What other explanation is there?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, sir," says Kate, returning the letter to her handbag. "I don't fully understand what's happening, but if this letter is to be believed, it's all to do with the war. My best guess is that there's some act of sabotage underway involving the train, which would explain why it hasn't left yet, and why nobody has come to investigate the station's doors being chained up and the Station Master's absence." She examines her patient's face. "It's difficult to heal scars, but it is medically possible. Skin grafts are one way I can think of. We use them to heal people who have survived being burned. However, with a skin graft there would be evidence of the graft - some sort of discontinuity between the original skin and the grafted skin. There's no way it would be completely undetectable. Where exactly were his scars?"

[Charlie Hagan]

Charlie, deciding not to interrupt their conversation, checks to make sure his bags are in order then heads into the booking office.

[Ritterton]

Artemis walked down the steps leading back down to the waiting room. His walking stick tapping out a steady rhythm to his descent back to the larger group. When he came to base of the stairs, he looked about trying to determine who remained downstairs knowing that Aston and the Countess were still upstairs.

[Laraqua]

Kate and Frank stand near the unconscious station master. There's no sign of Mr. Hagan, though the door to the station master's office is a little more ajar than usual.

[RhinoRat]

Frank Durant

"Mr. Richter", Frank said, noticing as the man came back down the stairs, "What's going on upstairs? I thought someone was supposed to be outside opening the door?"

[Ritterton]

"Sir, I can hapoly report that Jonathan is outside on the platform and has been fir some time. " Richter remained standing at the base of the stairs as he spoke. "However, after descending from the upstairs via the rope we made, he found the doors chained and locked. He said the train was stopped as well.

Artemis then walked to where the two were standing. He loward his voice and said, "the upstairs is in a state of disarray, and both ladies seem rather affected by the place. Ms. Aston wants to leave right this moment through the same window. I just came down to let you know that something odd has been going on this place before we stepped in. "

[RhinoRat]

Frank Durant

"Was there anyone on the train that he could see? Anyone getting off to investigate why there is no activity at the station? Maybe the whole situation has me weirded out, but should some of us fellows go check the train before we put the ladies in a potentially dangerous situation? And we can't leave the station master, so should we write a note for when we leave with the train and someone comes tomorrow wondering what is going on?"

Frank finished his tirade of questions and noticed he was actually feeling a bit more relaxed now that an exit had been found. He didn't feel as much like the proverbial rat in a trap, and even if there was danger outside it would be better than sitting here with no options.

Frank continued after a brief pause, "I know Mr. Hagan mentioned some dead rats upstairs that sounded like they had been tortured. Do you think we should take photographs as evidence of whatever is going on here? I have my camera right here. I think if we show up with a mentally disturbed station master, with stories of the door being chained, the authorities might have some serious questions for us."

[Ritterton]

"Pictures could be helpful of some of the rooms, as it does appear that some pretty strange things are happening, Mr. Durant. But, I am uncertain whether we should even think of getting on that train if I remember the letter we found correctly." Artemis shrugged and shook his head. He let out a loud, audible sigh. " I think we could get back upstairs and call down to Jonathan to see what he has discovered. Ms. Aston was pretty adament about leaving the building, and she may have already. The Countess was just following us about."

He looked about and still hadn't seen Charlie.

"I don't see Charlie, and I think we should talk a bit more about what he saw up there. I also am curious if anyone has tried opening the locked doors down here to see if there are any other clues as to what has been going on."

[Charlie Hagan]

Charlie leans out of the booking office and sheepishly asks, "Is it three dots for an S or three dashes?"

[Ritterton]

"I think three dots, then three dashes, but I haven't had to think about that in years, Charlie." Artemis responded. "Charlie, we got a rope tied, Jonathan is outside already, and said the train isn't doing anything at all. Not sure, but something is really odd upstairs."

[RhinoRat]

Frank Durant

Now that things seemed to be settling down, Frank's curiosity was getting the best of him.

"No idea on the dots and dashes. But I haven't been upstairs yet, so what exactly do you mean by odd? I know there was talk of dead rats, and cultists, but what exactly are we dealing with?" Frank asked before pausing to catch his breath.

"And maybe if one of you would stay with Miss Lacey and the Station Master here, to make sure he doesn't have another episode, the other one could come upstairs with me to show me what you are talking about, and I can take some pictures as evidence for when we get out of this mess."

As he was talking he bent down and opened his case, pulled out his camera and a few rolls of film, and relocked his case.

If you peer into his case,If you try to peak in you see a few packs of cigarettes, a cigar case, more film, some cloth, some books....nothing too exciting or valuable looking.

[Ritterton]

"Well, I agree we should check back upstairs. Do we want to try to leave the building or search about down here? Anyone open the restaurant? Anyway, I do think getting some pictures makes sense, too. " Artemis paused, shifted his weight onto his walking stick for a moment. Actually, Frank, it might make sense to also snap a few pictures of those of us here... that way we have that too. As to upstairs, the room with the rope is covered in clothes of all types and styles. Someone papered the floor with the bible, and the bed...um...uh..." Artemis noticeably cringed and shivered at the thought of it and the wardrobe. "One of the rooms is rather well kept, ... eally odd.

"Yea, some pictures might make a lot of sense. We can also yell down to Jonathan to see what is going on on the platform. You know, it's kinda odd that the Countess hasn't come back down here. Artemis turned and looked back up behind him taking the time to turn on the flashlight and waive it about the stairwell.

[Laraqua]

The stairwell is cast in gloom from being set back on the wall beside the fireplace but even without the flashlight he can tell that it is empty. So why does it feel so ominous? Why do the shadows take on a life of their own when he casts his flashlight away from it? Almost as though there were someone there, crouched and waiting, enjoying his discomfort. He can almost smell the scent of rancid butter ... though perhaps that's from the Station Master's office.

[Ritterton]

Artemis couldn't see anything in the darkness, nor in the slice of light from the flashlight. But, something was there, the hairs on his neck told him something was there in the shadows, or it seemed to be. The odd odor didn't help and he had that feeling that he had gotten in the trenches in France, during that one odd visit to NYC when Jackson had been killed, and when he was in Berlin for the Olympics. Something bad was a foot, he needed to be cautious, calm, and focused.

"Charlie, hey if you are done in there, Frank and I are thinking two of us should head back upstairs to see if we can talk to Jonathan outside, and check on the ladies up there. Do you want to join us? Artemis raised his voice towards the door where he had seen Charlie vanish back into earlier. "Ms. Kate, do you think we could leave him and see if we want to all climb out of this place and onto the platform with the rope?"

[Charlie Hagan]

Swinging the door shut behind him, Charlie returns, "Hm? Yeah sounds good. Best not to leave them alone too long. Just one question for the pretty nurse." He turns to Kate and casually asks, "that buttery gas, how bad of a sign is it that I'm getting a headache?"

[Mr. Handy]

"We can't leave him here!" protests Kate. "We'll never get him up the stairs either, so we've got to get those doors open. If we had some tools, we could remove them from the inside, but if people are already out there, they might be able to get the chains off more quickly, either by breaking or picking the lock." She smiles at Charlie "Thank you, Mr. Hagan. You should recover from the butyric acid exposure, just don't expose yourself to it any further. If you go back into the booking office, wear your gas mask. Is the telegraph actually working? I'd have thought cutting the lines would be the first thing saboteurs would do. I know a bit of Morse code. My brother's in the Royal Navy, and he taught me. S is three dots, and O is three dashes. With that, you could at least send SOS. Better still, get them to send the Home Guard. Also, I know that V is three dots and a dash, like the opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. V for victory."

[Laraqua]

There's the sound of heavy footsteps in the corridor above. Almost as though a bowling bowl were being dropped upon the ceiling, one step, than the other, slowly and steadily making its way down.