forbidden (illicitus) wrote in the_colony, @ 2010-10-23 19:59:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 21, derek miller, molly williams, thomas galloway |
Week 21: Wednesday
Characters: Tom, Molly, and Derek
Location: Grants Pass, by the airport
Summary:Tom, Molly, and Derek scout the National Guard Armory.
Rating: PG
They’d had to cut the padlock off the gate to get the truck into the parking lot of the armory, which Tom took as a good sign no humans had been there since the plague. The perimeter fence was lined with concrete highway dividers, and he made a mental note to look into how those could be moved to the farmstead. Maybe the guard building would provide more than just weapons and gear.
He was still a bit leery about bringing Derek and Molly along with him, Derek because the man was so obviously on the edge and Molly simply because she was young and didn’t have the kind of strength a full grown adult would have. But both of them were smart and Molly had that teenage energy going for her, so it could have been much worse.
“I’m seeing animal tracks but no treadmarks or footprints so I think we’re good to go.” Tom told the others, gesturing at the several inches of fresh snow that had fallen over the past week. “Stay sharp though, just because there aren’t people doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous.”
Despite trying to stay focused on the task at hand, one of the first important tasks ever really bestowed upon the girl she found that her mind still wondered back to the meeting the night before. She still thought that she could feel the tension radiating off of Derek and while she had long since decided to support Tom in whatever he chose to do with that mess, she wasn’t sure how she actually felt about Leo’s return and thought to stay quiet.
Molly simply nodded as her eyes scanned the area, just in case there were anything that Tom could have possibly missed. She’d doubted there was of course, because Tom seemed to have an exponentially greater skill in this sort of thing than anyone else in the group.
“It’s good this place stayed pretty much off limits. More for us.” She said with a tight lipped smirk.
Derek didn’t feel much like talking and hadn’t since learning Leo was in the area and likely to be welcomed back. Knowing he was out there made Derek’s skin crawl, like a perpetual itch he had no way to scratch. The only reason he was out today was to put some distance between himself and the Seven, though it wasn’t doing much to clear his head. Derek didn’t do more than make a noise of agreement, dividing his attention between being aware of their surroundings and keeping a watchful eye on Molly.
“We’ll see.” Tom didn’t want to get the girl’s hopes up too much. “The guard was ridden pretty hard the last ten years or so, what with Iraq, Afghanistan and god knows what else, and I don’t know what the deployment schedule was for the battalion this unit was attached to. Still, even a threadbare infantry company just back from overseas should have some goodies we can use.”
He tried the door and found it locked, unsurprisingly. He went back to the truck and returned a moment later with a crowbar. “This should do the trick.”
Molly wasn’t sure what to do while Tom went to get the crowbar, she had hardly been trusted with anything terribly important with in the farm, and the extent of her knowledge on this sort of activity came from watching Tom and action movies. She smirked a little when Tom came back with the crowbar and set to work on the door, her mind immediately flashing through an extensive list of movies. Molly found that she really wasn’t sure what to say or how to act, and instead stayed silent and waiting for the door to come open.
It took some elbow grease and a few choice swear words, but eventually Tom was able get the door pried open. The hall beyond was dark and empty, and he glanced at his companions. “Just because it looks deserted doesn’t mean it is. Stay sharp.” With that comment he unholstered his pistol and thumbed the on switch to his flashlight. Maybe they’d be able to find a few night vision goggles along with weapons.
Derek drew his own weapon as well, purposefully slowing so that Molly was walking between Tom and himself. “You okay?” he asked the girl.
Molly pulled out her weapon too, as she moved into the space Derek allotted her. She squinted slightly as she followed behind Tom, her eyes adjusting to the dark and the thin beams of light from the flashlights. “Right as rain, why?” Molly flashed Derek a smile that might not have been easily seen in the current lighting.
“Just checking,” Derek answered, falling quiet again. Molly shot him a slightly confused look, but continued following Tom, making a mental note to check on Derek later.
It felt like he had entered an Indiana Jones movie as Tom led the way deeper into the armory. The ground was covered in a year’s worth of dust and the spiders had been quite busy during the period as well. Animal tracks and a musky scent mixed with the dust had him even more on guard, though the tracks looked old.
“The armory should be downstairs, this level is all offices and public spaces. Keep an eye out for the stairwell.” The elevator would be useless and he wouldn’t have wanted to use it even if they had power.
“Righty-o.” Molly said softly in acknowledgment. She knew that she should really be more cautious or nervous, but honestly she had a hard time believing there was a threat here. Maybe its because she rarely left the safety of the farm, or because the dust and grime here made it look like nothing had been touched in a long, long time but she wasn’t as worried about an attack as she knew she should be. She stumbled a couple of times over things that had been knocked to the floor by whatever tiny animals could get in, but never fell and when it came to the stairs, she reached for the wall or a rail to hold onto as they walked.
Derek kept an eye on Molly. He still wasn’t sure the girl was old enough for something like. It was more than possible that was hypocritical since Searle wasn’t much older than she was and Derek thought he needed more responsibility. Whatever. He followed along.
The trio continued deeper into the guard facility to scout out the actual armory room.