Play@YSDC

Lionel continues crawling towards the sound, trying to determine precisely from where it is coming. "Don't be afraid," he says. "I'm getting there."

"Oh no!" Dahlia looks up from her laptop in fright.

"Lionel! It's a trap! He says there IS no kids in here...it must be that machine thingy!"

"She's not a flesh and blood girl like you," says Lionel, "but she's a child all the same and she needs my help. She is one of the wet children, the ones with the Grey Lady. She let me and Brianna out of the cold room in the hospital when we were stuck, during the war. She must have come back to our time with us. She's been here with us for years, but she couldn't show herself while all three seals were intact. Tell Daniel that, and see what he says. Also ask him if there's some other way around that big monster or if we have to get past it."

Dahlia begins to tap the keys quickly and emphatically, hoping the louder she types, the more Lionel will realize what a BAD idea this is.

"It's a wet kid! Lionel is trusting it! And he's gonna go rescue it! We met them before and I almost got stuck in a room with one. Then my friend Jason got stuck with one cause he refused to help me...I haven't seen him since! Quick, Daniel, what should I do???!!!!"

OOC: There are multiple counters. Imagine a very large laboratory, you got the cupboards lining the wall, and cupboards and machines within the room itself. The child is currently hidden amongst the other things in the middle of this last room.

"Hold on, young one," says Lionel. "I can't risk touching that water, or it might drive me mad. I'm going to try going the long way around. I'll go down this counter to the other end of the room, then cross to the counter on the other side and backtrack. Hopefully I'll be close enough to you then to get you out. Dahlia, follow me, please. We need to get across this room anyway, and you can wait at the other end if you'd rather not come back and help me."

Dahlia rolls her eyes and smirks. Just like Lionel to be all weird about it....really!

"Ok if you say so..."

As they crawl along, a mechanical trolley rolls down one of the aisles, its wheels creaking with rust as they rotate.

"How very odd," says Lionel as he crawls onwards. "Did you do that, little one?" Then he pauses and reaches out to stop the trolley. "Wait, maybe we can use this to reach the child and free her."

Dahlia holds her breath nervously. This all seemed to be just out of some creepy movie she watched at the last slumber party she went to.

"Who did that?" she hissed out into the dark room, feeling very much like a cat on a hot tin roof. This was not looking good.....

"I don't know," says Lionel, puzzled. "Perhaps the child moved it with her mind to help us. Let's see if we can find a broom or some other long object. Then I could use it to propel and steer the trolley by pushing its end against the floor without touching it, like a rowboat." He searches around for something suitable, but without much luck.

As Lionel draws it towards him, his fingers come away sticky and wet. Flinching back and drawing his fingers towards himself, he sees a few red droplets of blood. In the little light they have, he can see that he had reached out and touched the part that someone else had - a bloodied handprint cools on the metal pole, steaming in the cold air. The rest of the trolley seems to be untouched.

"Oh, dear," says Lionel, taking out his handkerchief and wiping off the blood from his hand. He then wraps the hanky around the pole and uses it to grip the pole without touching it with his bare hand. "Yes, this will do quite nicely, thank you." He gets on top of the trolley. "I can use the pole to move this trolley over to where the child is trapped. I think there's room on here for both of us, Dahlia, but I'll understand if you'd rather not ride on it and choose to remain on the counter. If anything happens to me, save yourself...and remember what I asked you to tell Sarah when you find her."

"Oh my god!!!! Is that blood!?? What're you thinking???" Dahlia pulls her knees up to her chest and stares at him, terrified. "Are you just trying to die and leave me here all alone? Maybe it's occurred to you that this is a REALLY bad idea by now??" Dahlia looks at him incredulously and cringes at the look of him, then shakes her head emphatically, "There is just NO way I'm getting on that trolley thing....you're on your own!"

"Dahlia, I do not want to die," says Lionel, looking right at her. "I know Sarah is very close, and I shall do everything in my power to live to see her again. I know you and she are both depending on me to live so I can protect you. Yes, this is blood. I'm a doctor, and I've seen my share of it.

"It's very sweet that you're so concerned about me, but I shall proceed with the utmost caution. We've been in this room for a while now. If this were a trap, if there were really something nasty in this room, it had ample opportunity to get us and would not need to resort to any trickery. No, this is a child, a little girl. I know her. She helped me and my friends before when we were trapped, and now she is trapped and needs my help. She's not a monster, she's a child like you, just...different, like someone from another country. It's very important that I find her and save her. I'm a father, and my daughter has been in terrible danger when I couldn't be there to protect her, so others have had to save her. Now her daddy isn't here to look after her, so I need to do it. I'm all she's got. What kind of father would I be if I just abandoned her to be trapped alone in this cold, dark place? How could I look Sarah in the eyes knowing I had done such a terrible thing?

"I understand that you're afraid, but please do not be. Our fears are what make us vulnerable, especially now that they can be made real. I promise that I shall be careful and that I shall do my level best to return to you alive once I have rescued the child. The best thing you can do to keep me safe is to not be frightened. I will do my utmost to come back in one piece so I can find Sarah again and lead you both to safety, but I must save this other girl too. You are a wonderful child, Dahlia, and I know you can be brave for me. Sarah will be so very happy to see us again, and I will be even more overjoyed when we are reunited with her. But first I must do my duty." He gives her a hug, then uses the pole to propel himself towards where he had heard the child's voice. "Help is on the way, little one."

Dahlia buries her head in her knees and starts to sob at Lionel's words. She only wanted this to be over. And 'do not be afraid' was easier said than done.