18:20 - GERALD SILVERMAN - THE ENGINE ROOM

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Kristi is prescribed skeletons

You were right on Harriet's heels as she dashed through a door on

the back wall. Just a step behind. Her flashlight blinked, once, twice.

You heard a sudden rushing sound, and a cascade of water rushed

over you, nearly knocking you flat.

The water is icy, swirling around you. It tries to pull the flashlight

from your pocket, tries to pull you under.

What do you do?

((No need to roll yet.))

[Kristi is prescribed skeletons]

I relaxed and swam with the current, a decision based on what I'd read about rip tides, but would the same strategies that applied to the world outside work here?

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

The water is foul, stinging your eyes and your injured arm. There are few

chances to gasp for breath, and your body is slammed into pipes and walls

as the torrent takes you lower and lower...

You awake, choking, spitting up horrible black water. You're in a dirty bathtub,

in a clean bathroom. Grey afternoon light filters through a small window.

You are floating in a few inches of filthy black water, in the bathtub of the

Bedford home.

[Kristi is prescribed skeletons]

I got up out of the tub, not caring to sit in sludge, and checked over myself for injuries.

Gerald -
"That sound before. That's what I heard. Brought back to the start..."

How many hours ago had that been? Time didn't seem real with the sun going up and down at will.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Your arm was still badly cut, especially stinging now with this gross water

getting into it. Otherwise you are banged up and uncomfortable. Probably

going to be immobile come tomorrow. Inventory check-- you seem to have

everything except your flashlight.

[Kristi is prescribed skeletons]

Gerald -
"Of course."

I didn't know what to do about my injuries. Certainly no clean water would come from the sink faucet. Maybe bats at snakes. This couldn't actually be the real house. I went to find a window. More red skies?

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Outside you saw a grey, overcast Detroit day. A crow flew by and

landed in the branches of a bare, dead tree.

[Kristi is prescribed skeletons]

Wasn't the sun already going down when we arrived at the freighter? It should be nighttime, shouldn't it? I didn't trust this sky any more than the red one.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Sadly, you didn't have your phone on you to check the time.

If you had a watch, well, you were going to need a new watch.

[Kristi is prescribed skeletons]

I headed downstairs, not knowing what to expect.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

You stepped into the hall, wound still stinging. The walls were bare, unmarked by

spray paint. The room across from you was open, two made beds, some folded

laundry in a laundry basket. No decor, no shreds of destroyed toys.

[Kristi is prescribed skeletons]

I knew this wasn't right. Was it a trap? How do I get out? I continue to carefully move downstairs, whatever good that'll do me.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

The hall is likewise unmarked, and bare. No family pictures and the

wallpaper has been painted over with white paint. Downstairs, you

smell cooking meat, and hear a rustling from the kitchen.

[Kristi is prescribed skeletons]

I'd find the kitchen, but I sure wasn't in any hurry.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

You saw the back of a woman with a black ponytail and a grey sweatshirt.

She was stirring something in a sauce pan. On the counter was a large

roast pan covered in tin foil. The woman didn't turn to look at you.