Hmm, agreements? They don't move stories along, you need tension for that ;-)
An agreement The quickest way to the engine room stairs was across the decks; we left the Entertainment lounge and skirted the shuffleboard deck, where several other 'passengers' were gathered. They eyed us as we walked past but left us alone; we'd all sorted out agreements on amicable living by now. From there it was a short corridor to a single flight of stairs, then out onto one of the sun-bed decks, now empty and (as usual) slightly bloodstained. Even the rain hadn't managed to shift all that yet. Just before we reached the door to the crew part of the ship and the stairs to the engine room there was a commotion from a few decks up; muffled shouting and what might have been a disagreement. Kraulik and I glanced at each other. "Think they found Chuckles," he said. "Wonder if he's still alive or not," I said, but I knew what I expected.
Wherever Chuckles had got the deck plan from, it agreed with the structure. It took a little bit of effort at first to work out what room was which, but once we'd turned the page around so that it was oriented with our position on the ship it was easy to match up compartments and rooms, and we quickly went through each of them. Kraulik looked disappointed as we moved into the last-but-one. "Nothing really here," he said. "Just what's on the map." I pointed at a blank wall in front of us, just beyond where Kraulik had pulled the mats up and found the thing that had nearly killed Chuckles. "What? It's a wall." "According to the map there's supposed to be a doorway there," I said. "Which there clearly isn't." "Show me!" He took the page and studied it, holding it close to his eyes and then further away as though it were a Magic Eye picture which needed to be in just the right place to come into focus. "Definitely a door marked there," he said. "You're right. But... this is a ship, it's not like you can just brick a door up and cover it over. People would notice." "Would they?" I said. "Crew might, but do you or I know what that would look like?" Kraulik looked at the wall, and I understood his apprehension. To check it out we'd have to walk over the design on the floor, even if it was covered by the mats. "Think that that design was a burglar alarm of some kind?" he asked. "If it was, the question is 'does it need resetting after it's been triggered?'." "I hope so," said Kraulik, and walked across the mats. I was tense, ready to... jump out of the way, I guess. I wish I could say I would have jumped to grab him and pull him clear, but I don't think I'm the hero type. But he reached the wall with no flashes of light or sudden collapses, and he ran his hands over it. "Lumpy," he said. "doesn't feel right. But... it's solid too. He tapped the wall and it thudded hollowly. "We could probably break through." I sighed. "Why's the burglar alarm covered up by the mats? I mean, if it only works when it's exposed, why wasn't it always exposed?" Kraulik paled a little and came back to me, still walking like he was on eggshells and didn't want to break them. "Always with the difficult questions," he said, shaking his head. "Can't be an alarm exactly then." "No," I said, with a sense of resignation settling over me. "It's got to the be the door-opening mechanism, hasn't it? Which means there's something really important behind that door, and we weren't supposed to find it." I shook the paper map. "But I think Chuckles was about to get there too, and I definitely think he knew more than his books and papers are telling us."
2 comments:
Hmm, agreements? They don't move stories along, you need tension for that ;-)
An agreement
The quickest way to the engine room stairs was across the decks; we left the Entertainment lounge and skirted the shuffleboard deck, where several other 'passengers' were gathered. They eyed us as we walked past but left us alone; we'd all sorted out agreements on amicable living by now. From there it was a short corridor to a single flight of stairs, then out onto one of the sun-bed decks, now empty and (as usual) slightly bloodstained. Even the rain hadn't managed to shift all that yet. Just before we reached the door to the crew part of the ship and the stairs to the engine room there was a commotion from a few decks up; muffled shouting and what might have been a disagreement. Kraulik and I glanced at each other.
"Think they found Chuckles," he said.
"Wonder if he's still alive or not," I said, but I knew what I expected.
Wherever Chuckles had got the deck plan from, it agreed with the structure. It took a little bit of effort at first to work out what room was which, but once we'd turned the page around so that it was oriented with our position on the ship it was easy to match up compartments and rooms, and we quickly went through each of them. Kraulik looked disappointed as we moved into the last-but-one.
"Nothing really here," he said. "Just what's on the map."
I pointed at a blank wall in front of us, just beyond where Kraulik had pulled the mats up and found the thing that had nearly killed Chuckles.
"What? It's a wall."
"According to the map there's supposed to be a doorway there," I said. "Which there clearly isn't."
"Show me!"
He took the page and studied it, holding it close to his eyes and then further away as though it were a Magic Eye picture which needed to be in just the right place to come into focus. "Definitely a door marked there," he said. "You're right. But... this is a ship, it's not like you can just brick a door up and cover it over. People would notice."
"Would they?" I said. "Crew might, but do you or I know what that would look like?"
Kraulik looked at the wall, and I understood his apprehension. To check it out we'd have to walk over the design on the floor, even if it was covered by the mats.
"Think that that design was a burglar alarm of some kind?" he asked.
"If it was, the question is 'does it need resetting after it's been triggered?'."
"I hope so," said Kraulik, and walked across the mats.
I was tense, ready to... jump out of the way, I guess. I wish I could say I would have jumped to grab him and pull him clear, but I don't think I'm the hero type. But he reached the wall with no flashes of light or sudden collapses, and he ran his hands over it.
"Lumpy," he said. "doesn't feel right. But... it's solid too. He tapped the wall and it thudded hollowly. "We could probably break through."
I sighed. "Why's the burglar alarm covered up by the mats? I mean, if it only works when it's exposed, why wasn't it always exposed?"
Kraulik paled a little and came back to me, still walking like he was on eggshells and didn't want to break them.
"Always with the difficult questions," he said, shaking his head. "Can't be an alarm exactly then."
"No," I said, with a sense of resignation settling over me. "It's got to the be the door-opening mechanism, hasn't it? Which means there's something really important behind that door, and we weren't supposed to find it." I shook the paper map. "But I think Chuckles was about to get there too, and I definitely think he knew more than his books and papers are telling us."
Greg - hey, I didn't say who the agreement should be between. Or whether or not both parties keep their side of it...
Hmm. Very much looking forward to discovering what is behind that door. I have faith that these two will get there, one way or another.
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