IC-On the Grill(Rosie/Charlie Moon/Ashley/Lynne/Thomas)

[Mr. Handy]

In the fallout shelter-
Even before Thomas picked up the Grease gun, the tumblers finally clicked into place and Lynne opened up the padlock and flung the gate open. "Quick, let's pick up the crates again and drag them through, then lock it behind us!" she hissed.

OOC,[b]Lynne[/b]'s Locksmith roll (48% skill) trying again to pick the lock: [dice]0[/dice]

[Silver Priest]

That worked for Thomas- he goes to lift up the same crate once again and hurry through the gate.

[Mr. Handy]

9:35:24 AM
In the fallout shelter-
Charlie and Lynne grabbed their crates, while Beth helped Thomas with his, and they scampered through the gate, which Charlie shut once they were on the other side, temporarily setting down his crate so he could reattach the padlock. It would seal them in unless Lynne could pick the lock again, but hopefully it would keep anyone else out. Just past the gate, the corridor rounded a corner to the left, and they vanished out of sight as the sound of footsteps on the stairs got louder behind them. There was little light from the stairway in this dark hall. The screams were clearer now. No doubting them. There were human screams. And something else. The moaning and hunger of something not quite human anymore.

OOC,Everyone, please roll Spot Hidden.

[Silver Priest]

Thomas breaths a sigh of relief at having eluded Horst and his friends for the moment, but the sound of those screams reminds him that he's not out of the woods yet. Even worse, some of them did not sound human. was there some kind of animal down here? If so, Thomas had never heard this one before. But it hardly sounded friendly.

He tries to keep an eye out as they go down the corridor.

spot hidden 44%,[dice]0[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

9:35:36 AM
In the corridor-
Charlie instantly saw a switch box on the wall and opened it. The thing did not seem to have been opened in a long time, its hinges squeaking as he opened it. Inside he found a lever. "There's also a few signs here near the gate," he said quietly, his eagle eyes able to see in the near darkness. "The top one says: 'Welcome to the Geronimo Federal Detention Center. Use of Deadly Force is Authorized.' The middle one says that the facility was built in 1953 by the Department of Defense and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The bottom one says: 'Reminder - This is a TOP SECRET facility of the U.S. Government. Failure to abide by all TOP SECRET protocols is subject to felony prosecution and imprisonment.'”

“So what do you think about the lever?” asked Lynne.

OOC,[b]Charlie[/b]'s Spot HIdden roll (25% base skill) in the corridor: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Lynne[/b]'s Spot HIdden roll (67% skill) in the corridor: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Beth[/b]'s Spot HIdden roll (50% skill) in the corridor: [dice]2[/dice]

[Silver Priest]

"What is this place doing down here?" Thomas asks, confused. "I don't really know if we should go any further. I don't want to trespass on federal property- especially if they'll use deadly force to prevent it. But we do need to find out where that screaming is coming from. Someone's in trouble and we might be able to help."

[Mr. Handy]

9:35:48 AM
In the corridor-
"Relax, this place hasn't been in use for decades," said Charlie, throwing the switch. "Earl's family bought the land from the Feds. The only prisoners here are whoever they might be keeping locked up." Then he hoisted his crate once more.

The lights began to come on slowly down the hallway, flickering on and off, then a bit stronger until the lights became steady. One bank of lights went on and then another, as if the facility were an old man getting out of bed feeling its bones creak as he wakes up. The hallway was lined with tiles, and they went down at an incline toward an office at the bottom of the low slope. Now the signs Charlie had mentioned were visible to all of them.

"And us," said Beth in a soft tone. "I mean, we can't exactly leave now."

As the lights continued to go on, for a moment both the screaming and the strange moaning seemed to stop.

[Silver Priest]

"We should keep moving. If they can get through that gate, we're sitting ducks here. Hopefully if we go a little further in the complex we can lose them completely. Even of not, we'll have the time to fully arm ourselves.

"That's strange, the screaming stopped." Thomas wanted to shout out to the voice to tell them where it was, but he also did not want to alert Horst that anyone was down here. Hopefully the man would see the locked gate and decide no one had gone this way. "We should head for that office and see if anyone's in there. We should get armed first though; that animal might be hostile, given the screaming."

[Mr. Handy]

9:36 AM
In the corridor-
"Yeah, we better keep moving," said Charlie. They all carried their crates down the hall toward the office at the end of it.

The lights came on and the detention center began to buzz.

"What's the deal with this underground detention center?" asked Beth quietly as they walked.

Lynne shrugged. "Don't ask me," she replied. "I never heard of this. And my folks were Indians around here and we didn't know about it."

"Neither have I," said Charlie.

Beth looked around and touched the dust on the wall as she went past. "It looks like it's been abandoned by a long time."

At that moment the screaming began again from somewhere in the facility.

Soon thereafter began a mournful wailing that wasn't quite human.

"Apparently not quite abandoned," she added.

In the reception office-
The group proceeded down into the reception office. Beth kicked the door shut behind them. A doorway at the back of the office led down a hallway to what seemed to have been a guard room. There were two other doors on each side of the hallway. The reception office contained a desk, bare bookcases, and filing cabinets.

[Silver Priest]

"At least we should be able to lose them in here," says Thomas. "Do you guys think we should move a bookcase or two in front of the door? It blocks our way out, but it will also buy us more time if they get through the gate.

"Can anyone hear where the screams are coming from?" As he asks, he cocks his own ear to listen.

listen 25%,[dice]0[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

In the reception office-
The screams were coming from somewhere down the corridor, in the distance.

Thomas,[b]Thomas[/b] could tell that the screams were coming from somewhere beyond the guard room at the end of the hall. He could also hear several people back past the gate, even with the door closed behind him.

[Silver Priest]

"Guys, they've reached the gate. I hear them back there. At least they've apparently not broken through it yet."

"I thin the screams are coming from somewhere past the guard room. Not sure where yet though, we'll need to get closer."

[Mr. Handy]

9:37 AM
In the reception office-
A single gunshot rang out back the way they had come, and Thomas could hear footsteps entering the hallway behind them. "Let's go, fast," hissed Lynne, leading the way down the hall ahead of them.

In the central hallway-
The group passed what looked like a staff room to the right. A few bunks were visible through the open doorway. Across the hall from it on the left was another open doorway, through which what seemed to be a mess hall could be seen. They hurried past another pair of doors on either side of the hall, both of them closed. The screams were coming from further ahead, so the group proceeded down the hall, into the guard room.

In the guard room-
The guard room contained two bunks, a desk, a table, and a filing cabinet. Beth shut the door behind them with her foot again. Another door led onward ahead of them, this one closed. The screams and moans were coming from somewhere behind it.

[Silver Priest]

"Wait!," says Thomas. "We should try and barricade the door. Might buy us a few minutes." First he checks to see if the door can be locked. Then, if others are willing, he tries to move a bookcase in front of the door. If no one else seems willing to help he will abandon the plan and hurry into the hallway.

[Mr. Handy]

9:38 AM
In the guard room-
There was a lock on the guard room door, but it was designed to be locked from the outside, as this facility was clearly designed to keep people in rather than out of it. However, there was plenty of furniture they could use to barricade the door. There were no bookcases in this room, but the four of them set down their crates temporarily and pushed the desk against the door. Then they stacked the filing cabinet and the table on top of it.

Beyond the now barricaded door, Thomas could hear a door opening and footsteps approaching. They were now in the reception office.

[Silver Priest]

"Nice work," Thomas said, his heart pounding. He grabs one of the grabs one of the M3A1's and starts to clean and load it, wanting to have some weapon if things went south.

"We should keep moving. Charlie, I think you better go first. And be ready to fire. Whatever animal is making those sounds sure doesn't sound friendly."

[Mr. Handy]

9:39 AM
In the guard room-
Thomas picked up, cleaned, and loaded one of the Grease guns, and Lynne did the same with the other one. These submachine guns looked simple enough to use, though they were decades old and they lacked a fire selection switch. The were capable only of fully automatic fire, not of single shots. Meanwhile, Charlie took the remaining M-16, cleaned it, and loaded it. All of the weapons had attachable straps that allowed them to be slung over the shoulder. As they did so, they noticed that the walls of the guard room were decorated with 1960s pinups. Beth tried the door at the far end of the guard room and opened it, poking the barrel of her own M-16 through the opening. On the other side of the door was what looked to be an interrogation room. The room was empty except for a table and two chairs. One of the chairs seemed to be equipped with restraints. There was a rather strange electrical generator in the room as well, and an empty bucket once used for water. At the far end was another door, this one closed. It was beyond that door that the screaming and moaning could be heard. Beth picked up her crate and slipped into the room.

Beyond the barricaded door, Flip's loud voice could be heard: "Where'd they go?! They were just here. I heard 'em, boss." Then there was a pause before he shouted again: "Open it! Now, you dotty bird!!"

In the interrogation room-
Beth tiptoed through the interrogation room and sidled up to the door at the other end, setting down her crate, positioning herself against the wall beside the door, and gripping her M-16.

[Silver Priest]

Thomas slips into the interrogation room, waiting for Charlie and Lynne to join. He stops at the door at the other end of the room, takes a deep breath, and then opens it.

[Mr. Handy]

9:40 AM
In the interrogation room-
Lynne helped Thomas carry his crate, while Charlie managed his on his own. Thomas opened the door, which was unlocked. It revealed a hallway stretching into the distance. Twelve doors lined it, six on each side. The doors were made of solid metal, though there was a sliding panel at eye level on each of them and a narrow slot at the bottom for sliding a tray of food underneath. Each door had a number stenciled on it from 1 to 12. The odd numbered doors were on the left side of the hall, and the even ones were on the right. The numbers started at one and two and increased as they went. At the far end, a doorway led further. Everyone proceeded into the cell block with the crates.

In the cell block-
Beth shut the door behind them. The screams were getting louder and more desperate. The hallway echoed with them, and it was difficult to tell exactly where they were coming from.

OOC,Everyone, please roll Listen. The base skill is 25%.

[Silver Priest]

Thomas tries to listen and pinpoint where the screams are coming from.

Listen 25%,[dice]0[/dice]

He shakes his head. "I can't tell where the screaming is coming from. How about you guys?"