Charet
Alive
Sproink? Bolth of you?
Posts: 23
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Post by Charet on Dec 8, 2011 19:12:37 GMT -5
"That gun ain't worth nothing. Who knows how many others you got layin' 'round these parts." And with those words her finger depresses the trigger of the revolver, The thumb of her right hand between the hammer and the weapon itself. She gently slips her finger free and decocks the weapon without it going off.
"My suggestion to you lot is you leave me in peace during the night. I ain't about to trust anything further then needed. I hear a noise at night I'm liable to put a round in it just to be safe ya hear me? When your boss guy, owner whatever gets back I'll see how all this feels to me. If he gets back." Molly's gun is kept in her hand and her eye locked onto Ben himself for a few moments.
"Watch yourself old man. You keep yourself on the level and we'll be alright. I ain't going to tell you that I don't plan to kill you and take whatever I can manage. That ball is in your court. You want to try something silly then I'll take what I feel is owed and leave you here without a second thought. Be a shame to kill that lass back there." She nods in the direction Madison went. "I ain't in the business of killing people for fun but don't let your little morality bit get in your head as fact. Good people have already died. Whats a few more that try to push things understand?" Her voice is barely above that of a whisper the whole conversation. It appears perhaps that she doesn't want anyone else to know her exact feelings on the matter.
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Post by Winters on Dec 8, 2011 23:17:19 GMT -5
Knowing full well that the situation was serious, Ben stood up from his seat, and stepped around the room while Molly spoke. The both of them were just trying to cover all the bases. Nobody wanted to kill unless they had to, but nobody wanted to stay weak and trust eachother a little too much. With that, Ben folded over his glasses and set them on the table in the front room by his gun, and looked at Molly. "Well, im glad were on the same page then..." Moving down the hallway to an room not far from the living room, Ben pushed open the door, and turned on a small lamp. "...Sleep well, or dont sleep at all. Door has locks on the inside if you need to use them. Just turn out the light here in the living room when your done, trying to conserve as much power as we can, the solar panels can only hold so much." He would have said a proper goodnight, but it just didnt feel appropriate at the time. Moving down past the living room, Ben have Molly an understanding look before slipping into his own bedroom. He never expected Molly to trust him, trust was never just given, it was something that had to be earned.
Closing the door behind him, Ben looked over a the bed across the room, and seen that Madison had been asleep. He didnt know exactly what is was, but something set her at ease tonight, and it looked like the both of them were going to actually get some shuteye, and hopefully for more then just an hour or two. Silently walking over to the bedside, Ben listened to the light breathing, and knew that things were better. Finally, he lay down beside her, above the covers, and closed his eyes. Tomorrow would be the day the decided their future. They could wake up to a fresh start with the newcomer, and hopefully get some help with collecting supplies, or they could wake up to find everything looted. What happens, happens. Thats just the sort of risk Ben was willing to take, because he a good feeling about Molly.
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Charet
Alive
Sproink? Bolth of you?
Posts: 23
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Post by Charet on Dec 9, 2011 20:22:47 GMT -5
Molly quickly found the switch that extinguished the lights in the living room yet she didn't head off to the bedroom that was indicated by Ben. She spends a good twenty minutes staring down the hallway which he disappeared down. Allowing her eye adjusting to the darkness of the room, Millions settled into the chair Ben had previously occupied. Her Browning is left with the box of ammunition on the table while her revolver lays on her lap.
A light sleeper she never really was. The boat trip overtook a lot more out of her body then her mind allowed her to consider. Within about five minutes of settling into the chair she was well and truly dead to the world. Despite her boasts and words a train could have passed through the room and she'd have been oblivious to the whole thing.
She'd spend the rest of the night like that. Her gun falling from her lap shortly after she passed out and landing safely on the floor. The snores from the living room are actually quite loud considering her frame but you can't judge a noise maker by its size it appears.
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Post by Winters on Dec 9, 2011 21:32:06 GMT -5
The piece of paper flapped back and fourth against the door. A light gust of wind lifted up into the air, and nearly peeled off the note completely from the outside of the house. Ben snatched it up quickly, and then put on his reading glasses to see what it said.
Thanks for the supplies, ill make sure its put to good use. The words read aloud through the back of his mind, but the sound of a door slamming back and forth caught his attention now. Peering down near the small dock, the supply shack door had been wide open, both of the main doors completely exposing the inside of the building. Fearing the worst, Ben crushed the paper and tossed it to the ground, taking off into a ran toward the shack. Looking inside, he seen that the place was almost completely empty, save for a few boxes left in the corner, enough for maybe a weeks worth of food. Where the three and a half months of supplies used to lay, emptiness.
Wide eyes now turned to anger, and Ben looked around the corner of the shack to see that Freddys boat wasnt there. But at this point, everything made perfect sense. Rushing back to the house with nothing but disappointment and anger inside of him, Ben opened up the front door, and closed it behind him, still caring not to wake anybody up even given his emotions. Walking into the living room to grab his handgun, he seen Molly laying in the chair, and then all of his frustration became instantly channeled. Spending the night worrying about the newcomer taking off with the supplies, or even worse than that, only to have the thought stripped away. He put his trust in the wrong person, and in the end, it came back to haunt him.
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Charet
Alive
Sproink? Bolth of you?
Posts: 23
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Post by Charet on Dec 12, 2011 21:05:42 GMT -5
And a few hours later Molly awakens herself. The sun had finally hit the perfect angle to shine into her eyes from where she slept. A few grumbles and a raised hand to shield her bloodshot eye from the sun. "Go away ya twit. I'm comfy." she curses at the invading light. Millions has a piercing headache and her neck is stiff from the angle in which she slept.
Her mind clears enough to remember what has happened over the evening though. Her left arm shoots for her lap in which her gun is no longer resting. Scanning the room carefully she leans down to retrieve the fallen weapon. With the gun held onto but not in a threatening way her voice calls out amongst the foreign surroundings. "Oi! Which of you lot is up?"
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Post by Winters on Dec 13, 2011 8:04:52 GMT -5
Since the others had still been sleeping, and Jericho still wasnt back, Ben took it upon himself to gather up the remaining supplies they had and made another inventory count. They had 95% of what they needed yesterday, the last five percent wouldve came easily enough. They wouldnt have even had to go far for it, whether Jericho came back or not. But the incident put them into a pretty dark hole, and with the approaching snowfall, dirt was already starting to shovel in on top top them.
Fifteen cans of soup, the last of their preserved meat in the cellar, two medical bags, one of which put together out of scavenged materials and was missing some vital things, ammunition hadnt been touched, water filters were running out, and on top of all of that, their entire supply of gasoline was missing. There was enough gas in the boat for a trip across to the docks, and then not even a quarter of the way back, and that wasnt even taking into consideration they supplies they would have with them. The winter was going to be be the death of them, and even if they went out to collect supplies at this exact moment, they wouldnt have enough time to get enough before the first snowfall. There was at least another two weeks worth of scavenging, and the temperatures were already cold enough that it shouldve snowed yesterday.
When Molly had called out to see who was awake, Ben moved into the room, cleaning off his glasses with a small cloth. He wasnt really quite sure how to tell the newcomer that they had been robbed of nearly all of their supplies, not without sound desperate. But this was the least of his concern, it was Madison. All hope that she had for making it past this winter on the island was gone, they couldnt stay here no matter how hard they worked. Looking over at Molly, Ben just came out and said it. "Freddy took the majority if our supplies over night. Ive known the man for nearly a month now, and even if he had a good reason, it leaves us with nothing to prepare for the winter. Jericho isnt coming back. I need to go into town and gather up as much as I can before the snow falls. If you could come with me, id appreciate it. Or even stay here with Madison. If your not interested in helping, then..."
Pausing mid sentence, Ben immediately walked out of the living room, and opened up the front door. He paced back and fourth now, just trying to keep a level head. It never helped anybody when they lost their cool, especially when there was a lot of work to be done if they even wanted to have a small chance of survival. His mind was going back and fourth, trying to think of all the places that they havent searched yet. Since Jericho had the map, Ben had to rely on his memory, and under pressure that was a little easier said than done. Pulling out a pencil from his pocket, he began to sketch a small plan of the town and surrounding area, just a basic layout, marking off the places they were sure have been checked, and which places they were sure havent. It was obvious as this point that the man was under enough stress to drive someone insane, but he was handling it the only way he could, but blocking out everything except what was most important at the moment.
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Charet
Alive
Sproink? Bolth of you?
Posts: 23
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Post by Charet on Dec 14, 2011 5:30:53 GMT -5
The sleep still fresh in her head, Molly takes the rather desperate situation extremely well. She was looking at a situation similar to this anyway. "Wanker splits eh? Robbed ya blind and ran?" Her gunhand subconciously lifts her shirt enough to lazily scratch at her stomach. She watches the older gentleman as he appears to be nearly losing himself at the delimma that has fallen the two.
As Ben is busy sketching his map Moll watches. The door is left sitting open and letting the chill of the day invade the warm shelter they share. Her voice is silent as each mark is made on the paper. Half-way into his task she finally speaks up. "You are thinkin' like a naft. You got all the supplies you need already packed up. The prick that ran off got a winters worth of gear right? Takes a long time to move that much stuff. Ya'll been here a while right? How many places can he run with that much stuff in a single night?" Her revolver is placed the table, right on top of the drawing. The action itself while minor in movement, is massive when it comes to showing she might indeed be willing to let her guard down. "Course it'll cost you a few bullets to get your stuff back."
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Post by Winters on Dec 14, 2011 7:03:07 GMT -5
While still marking places on the new map, Ben was listening to Molly, and trying to understand what she was saying. Slowing his pace down when she implied the last part, he picked up pace quickly and then responded. "Lets say he only left an hour ago. We get the boat in the water, fuel it up with our last reserve, and give chase across the lake. Theres four different places he could cut through to get over to the mainland, and theyre all pretty much spread far enough apart for us only to hit one of them. It would be a waste of precious fuel, even if we did catch up and put a bullet in his head. We just dont have the resources to go after him at this point, not unless..."
The thought crossed him mind, revenge. But it wasnt as simple and straight forward as Molly suggested, it would still involve them going into town, and getting to the radio tower. The top floor do the Hawk Building, Jericho made sure that theyre radio transmissions still worked, even over long distance frequencies. "When we came to the island a month ago, we came by helicopter. A friend of Jerichos, says he always made contact every couple of months, to relay information across to places in the United States. The radio tower in town cant reach the towers anywhere near the USA, but the airspace is still applicable. I could contact that chopper, and we could track down Feddy..." At this point, it seemed a little crazy. Ben wasnt the one who made contact with Jerichos friend, nor did he like the whole idea, or at least condone it on a personal level. But the thing was, this was personal now.
It wasnt that he was dismissing Mollys idea, it was brilliant, they deserved the supplies that they all worked hard to get. As for Freddy, he deserved a bullet to the head. Going after him in a boat wouldvce been a good idea, had he known exactly where the man was headed, but at this point it was too much of a risk to use up the rest of their fuel. Ben ran back into the house, not waiting for Molly to give her input on his idea. He needed the frequency, Jericho had it somewhere around the place, written down for emergencies. After rummaging through drawers and flipping through notepads, he finally found it, and then memorized the numbers. Running back out of the house, Ben wrote down the numbers on the new map, and then scanned the entire thing over, making sure everything looked accurate enough to follow.
Finally, he rolled it up, and then stuffed it into his pants pocket. Resting his arms on the railing of the house, Ben felt wide awake, and back in control. The only thing left for him to do now was wake up Madison, and explain what was going on. He felt like there wasnt enough time to waste, they needed to get out as soon as they could, while the sun was in the sky. Darkness fell even faster which each passing day, and it only gave them five hours to get into town, set up the transmission, and get back. It wasnt that difficult of a task, but they did need to pick up more fuel while they were there, and he knew exactly where it was stored. "Molly, can you go inside and tell Madison to get the travel bag ready and meet me by the water? Im going to get the boat into the water and fill up. Unless you dont mind using yours..."
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Charet
Alive
Sproink? Bolth of you?
Posts: 23
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Post by Charet on Dec 14, 2011 23:33:28 GMT -5
"Righteo bleeding Action Man." It was to fine a day for Molly to rain on anyones parade. Ben's scramble about the campsite drew a wicked grin across Moll's face. The scramble of another person locked in a terrible situation. Perhaps it is wrong to find joy or humor in such a thing but that is her way. She snaps up the revolver from the table and points it toward the sky.
A muted click as the hammer is pulled back is the only warning before the bullet is fired up into the sky. It will eventually fall down over the lake somewhere, but the bark of the handgun is crisp through the still air. The echo carries across the sea for what could be a mile or two. The grin across her face breaks into an ear to ear smile as she looks on Ben's expression. "The lassy isn't deaf. She ought to be awake now so unless you plan to row -my- boat isn't a great option."
Her emphasis on the word 'my' is a very clear indication that she has no claim to the boat other then she stole the thing from the shore to get across. She uses the few moments after the shot to dig out a replacement bullet and replace the fired one from her revolver. She flicks the now empty casing out toward the waters edge but it falls short, laying discarded and alone.
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Post by Winters on Dec 15, 2011 11:29:37 GMT -5
So many thought were running through Bens mind at this point. How they were going to get into town, how bad it actually was, what sort of materials they would need to gather if the transmission tower was broken, how long the entire thing would take, everything was being thought out and planned at the same time. If Jericho didnt come back, then its a good indication that maybe town isnt as safe as it used to be, for whatever reason. But on the same mental note, this would be a good opportunity to look for him, or at least announce their presence if hes wounded or whatever else is stopping him from coming back to the island. The entire thought process came to a stop when the gunshot was fired off behind him. Quickly turning around to see the gun point upward, Ben listened to what Molly said, but without responding, he darted off into the house.
By the time he got inside, Madison had already been in the living room with her handgun drawn forward, ready to shoot. "Everything is fine, dont worry, it was nothing. Get our bag, and come meet us outside, dont ask questions." Thought he may have come off a little harsh, Ben had his reasons. They needed to move while there was daylight. After grabbing his own bag, the old man left the house, and began walking toward the shoreline. The rowboat would be big enough, and with both Madison and Ben rowing, it would only take them twenty minutes to get to the out side of the lake. In the long run, saving fuel was the smart idea. It always was, and always will be so long as it remained a commodity.
When Madison had come out of the house, he had a bag hanging over her shoulder with a rifle sticking out of the top. Ben was dragging the larger boat down the shoreline when she got into view, but she was confused when she looked around and couldnt find Freddy. "Wheres Bowman? Why arent we taking his boat?" After the boat was in the water, Ben looked at Molly, and then finally up at Madison. "He took off with our supplies... Last night, just left with everything. Even left a nice little note. Were going into town, the Hawk Building. Radio for some help, maybe even try to communicate with Jericho." Madison rubbed her eyes, still a little tired from the sudden wake up, but she could tell that Ben knew what he was going. Looking over at the new girl, Molly, she spoke to her. "Your coming too, right? Youve been out there, you know how to do this sort of thing."
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Charet
Alive
Sproink? Bolth of you?
Posts: 23
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Post by Charet on Dec 16, 2011 7:20:11 GMT -5
With a raise of the hand Molly disappears into the cabin. A minute or so passes before she re-appears. The revolver is tucked in the front of her jeans while a bulge in her jacket showcases the 9mm Browning. The sleep shaken from her body as she trots back to the boat. "Why not. Worse comes to worse I can take my leave of you bolth and be on my way."
She then shows the fact that despite the eye-patch and the many pirate jokes she's been the butt end of, A boat hasn't been mastered. Her haphazard attempts to enter the rowboat could easily be viewed as comedic but it gets the job done.
She does make it quite clear by her seat however rowing is something she doesn't intend to do. She takes her place at the front of the small boat and awaits the others to join her. Her mind gradually turns toward what is important. "Guns and ammo. What do you have? How much?" Her tone doesn't suggest they are questions however, more like orders.
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Post by Winters on Dec 17, 2011 15:16:30 GMT -5
As Madison got in the boat as well, she instantly grabbed for the ores. She didnt exactly have the most upper body strength, but it was obvious that Molly wasnt going to do any work, which didnt bother her much. She didnt want Ben to row, because it would only tire him out, old age kicks in at the worst possible times. When Molly asked how much guns and ammunition they had, Ben was finally stepping into the boat. "Both of us have police issue 9mm pistols, and theres around one hundred and twenty five bullets in my bag, thats including the seven magazines two of which held twenty five each while the other five held fifteen. The rifle is for hunting, but it gets the job down if we need to take an infected out at long range. We only have about thirty of those larger rounds, didnt want to overload the bag..."
The guns werent his priorty, but they certainly helped. Ben would rather just run from any danger, or at least use the machete trucked in his bag inside the sheath. Guns were loud, drew attention, and ran out of bullets eventually. Firing off rounds at the infected was only in emergencies, when it was absolutely nessicary. But he didnt need to tell Molly this, shes stayed alive this wrong, so shes not stupid. While the boat had been rowing, Madison added onto what Ben had to say, is if to both remind him and confirm that she was right. "Jericho set up safehouses around town too, didnt he? Hidden caches of ammunition and supplies just in case he was ever stuck somewhere?"
When Madison spoke, Ben looked at her with a little hint of a scowl, but then just figured that it would be fine if Molly knew about them. Had they gotten separated, or decided to split up, she would be more then welcome to ask Ben for the locations of the nearest supply cache. "...Yeah, he hid some supplies around town, place that would wouldnt even think of looking. Theyre really for emergencies, and even im not sure where most of them are, but if you need extra supplies just let me know. Rather be prepared, right?" It was all about the small details that made it clear that Jericho knew exactly what he was doing, and it was no wonder how he stayed alive this long, and how he was so confident in his survival. But this made it even more confusing when he never returned to camp, because almost every single precaution was taken.
When the boat reached the halfway point, a good fifteen minuites had already passed, and Madison was showing signs that she was getting tired. Putting his hand on her, Ben gripped onto one of the ores, and then started to help her row. He knew his limits, he wasnt that weak. The physical exsercise would do him, being out on the island for so long softened him up. "Zombies and monsters out there, debris littering the road creating unsafe driving conditions, food rationing which leads to slight malnourishment if not properly monitored. If I have a heart attack rowing a boat, karma has a terrible sense of humor..." Ben smirked, looking at Madison as she chuckled to herself, allowing him to row and keeping up with his strokes.
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Charet
Alive
Sproink? Bolth of you?
Posts: 23
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Post by Charet on Dec 18, 2011 19:36:56 GMT -5
The boat is propelled closer and closer to the far shoreline. Along the way Molly grows more and more conscious of her surroundings. Her head swivels in the boat as every inch of the hostile ground is scanned, then rescanned, then yet once again scanned with her piercing gaze. "Good." was the singularly simple spoken word.
The two hang-ons as she had taken to considering them appears to have the brains to venture into the unknown armed well enough to handle adverse situations. The woman appeared to be a bit to optimistic and weak willed for her tastes but even that worked into her tactical favor. Worse comes to worse Millions assumed with decent certainty that she could outrun the old man and that would at least distract any pursuing undead with a new meal, or any living issues with his own struggles to survive.
A long exhale in the boat puts her mind fully at ease. The immediate landing area appears to be clear of those walking death machines and even if it wasn't simply turning the boat around would be a simple yet effective strategy. A glance back at the two as they work the oars gives a cause for a raised eyebrow. "You two alright? Shouldn't be long till we hit shore."
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Post by Winters on Dec 19, 2011 11:58:09 GMT -5
By the way that Molly had been dead quiet, it was pretty obvious to Ben that she was thinking hard about something, and judging by her constant look at the shorelines, it was preperation for when the hit. This was good, because it only backed up the knowledge that she knew what she was doing, but at the same time, she didnt seem to really care much for how things were going down.
A life like this out on the island for four months is enough to change somebody. When your out in the real world now, your constantly taking chances. Life was all about taking chances, and searching for a way to survive. The island was perfectly safe, at least from the infected. It was the humans that caused any amount of problems, but there hadnt even been five since they took up camp. Molly was the only one who stayed overnight, except for Freddy, but he as always in his boat. He came back and fourth, always was a drifter, and in all honesty, nobody really taken the time to get to know him because he was always so distant.
But there had to be a reason that Molly was with them right now, doing this. She had her own motives, her on plans for survival. Ben and her were contrasting eachother, which in turn was pretty good combination, it worked. Ben hadnt even seen an infected in over three months now, so this was different for him. Molly was probably the exact opposite. Its been two months of non stop encounters, while the last day or two had been perfectly safe, and the whole thing was just hard for her to get her head around. Ben was getting weaker the longer he stayed away from the infected, it forced his mind to cut out a lot of what if scenarios. The problem was that he could live both lives, taking care of Madison came first, even before his own survival. He was old, and didnt have anything left to live for. He would probably die from something else before this outbreak is cleaned up, and he was okay with it.
"Were fine, your right. Should only be another five minutes, you can see it from here. Were landing on a different coast then the main road, its shorter to get to the highway, and probably house a vehicle. Jericho took the truck that was parked on the other shoreline, so were gonna have to make do with whatever we find. This side of the island was barely touched by looters, probably the reason were still able to scavenge so much food for ourselves. The odds of any vehicles just laying around having gasoline in them was pretty good, but if not, we should be able to cover half of it at least..."
The boat finally came into shore, and Ben was the first to jump out with his pant legs rolled up, and pulled the boat as close as the rocks would allow. After Madison onto shore, he wanted to do the same for Molly, but figured it would be better to just leave her be, she didnt seem like the type to get the special treatment. Madison wasnt too scared, because this wasnt the big city. The population out here before the outbreak was like ten people. But once they got into town, it would be another story. Getting out the two bags and can of gasoline, the small group moved up from the rocky shore, and closer to the back of the house, which acted as another checkpoint. "Madison, go inside and see if you can find anything, yell if you fine any walkers. Molly and I were going to search for a vehicle." The land was big enough to house a truck or car anywhere. Maybe the garage, maybe beside the barn, inside the barn, hidden under tarp.
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Charet
Alive
Sproink? Bolth of you?
Posts: 23
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Post by Charet on Dec 25, 2011 16:27:26 GMT -5
"Yer the boss mate. You be keeping an eye out. You hear something then take it." Her off-hand reaches into her belt and draws the fighting knife from its resting place. "Do be a good chap and do it quietly." She turns her head toward Madison and surveys her carefully.
'Hopefully that lass has some actual use. I ain't in the habit of playing hide and seek' are her initial thoughts but she pushes them to the back burner. 'Course if she dies that's less people to feed so maybe its for the best.' that thought can't help but pipe up one time before the whole process vanishes. She has things to do.
"I got the garage." Molly declares and trots off in that direction. The building is separate from the house with two massive bay doors on the front. Small glass windows allow a peek inside but not much of an entrance. She carefully circles the concrete structure and finds a small side door. A gentle turn of the knob suggests as she figured with a place way out here it was unlocked yet she chooses not to open it.
Having gone back to the garage door itself, Millions stands on her toes for the extra inch needed to get a good look through the small openings. Something under a tarp in the corner but it looked like a hitch underneath it. Darkness otherwise obscures most of the interior but no obvious movement which is what really worried her.
Making her way back to her selected entrance point she raps three times on the door and waits a moment for any noise which in a lucky way does not come from beyond the entrance. Finally she opens the latch and gives the door a shove, stepping back several feet encase something might be feeling a little bitey.
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