Night 43: Walk-In Refrigerator

[gald_digger]

[from here]

It was chilly inside the refrigerator, and Anise paused to rub her arms together before shining her flashlight around the small room. "Um, so what about you, Sync? Ever been to the basement?" she asked, still not quite able to get used to talking to the God-General casually. Maybe he knew what the entrance looked like, at least. Anise didn't bother asking Dahlia. It just seemed way too unlikely that a frail girl like her would have gotten this far before. If the basement was as dangerous as Anise had heard, it would probably be hard to protect her down there, too. There just wasn't a single good thing about this night, was there?

"I'm pretty sure the passage is supposed to be in here, but I don't know where exactly." She panned the light along the walls and floor, hoping something would end up standing out.

Comments

[godforsaken]

If Dahlia hadn't been present then Sync wouldn't have hesitated calling Anise a waste of time. Honestly, what did she even do when she wasn't too busy crying over Ion?

The God-General hid his scowl, instead nodding slightly at Anise's words. He opened his mouth reply, but promptly shut it the moment the intercom went off. Like the Guardian, the teen could only listen with mild confusion as the automated voice droned on those numbers. It was only until the noises were replaced by a low hum did he react, shaking his head lightly.

"This place just gets crazier each night..."

Sync wasted no time slipping into the next room, unable to suppress a shudder at the blast of cold air that hit him. Nonetheless, he moved forward, even when Anise asked him if he'd ever been down there before.

"I've been to the basement once so I know where the passage is."

It had been a coincidence to find out earlier that week that Guy and Claude had the same plans, though he nearly scowled again when he remembered the time he wasted trying to follow them. Why were they so useless?

"Follow me," Sync began, hiding his exhaustion as they made their way deeper into the refrigerator. "There's a trap door in the far corner so if you pull up the tile it'll lead to a set of stairs."

[dahliahasthorns.livejournal.com]

Thankfully, the wall of cold that blasted them as they entered the... walk-in fridge (what the hell?) only hit Sy-Sweetie and not her. Still cold, yeah, but, ha! She drew her arms a little tighter around his neck, trying to shuffle herself closer in order to preserve some form of heat between them. If this was how it was going to be, Dahlia suddenly didn't mind this piggyback ride from hell, her forehead stuck to a mess of hair aside.

The intercom going off? Not something she cared about. If they were trying to scare her, they were failing at it. News flash: a malfunctioning computer was never scary. It was just annoying. That's why you never lost your cool when it broke down; you just tossed the piece of junk away. Hmph. It was disgusting that she was trapped in a place that could raise the dead but couldn't frighten a child.

But aww, it sounded like Sync was getting tired! That was his own damn fault for not getting her out of the way in time, the useless twerp. She tapped on his chest with a shivering finger. "Are you okay, Sy...? I'm so sorry for all of this!"

[gald_digger]

So he'd been there once before. Anise wondered how much Sync knew about what was in the basement, but she supposed she was going to find out one way or another.

Once Sync pointed her in the right direction, it wasn't long until she noticed one tile that seemed just a little bit off. She crouched down, setting her mallet on the floor beside her as she pried the tile away, revealing a dark hole beneath it. When she shined her flashlight at it, she could see stairs. "This is it!" she announced excitedly.

As much as Anise hated getting pushed around by Sync, she really was curious about seeing the basement for herself. From what she heard from Guy, it had to be pretty amazing. It was just too bad she had to go there with such lousy company.

Mallet in hand once again, Anise carefully started down the stairs. Once she was down a few steps, she shone her flashlight over near the top, so Sync could see. Stairs had to be especially hard with Dahlia still on his back, and the last thing Anise wanted was for the two of them to fall and roll right into her.

[to here]

[purgatio]

[from here]

A more complete darkness awaited him here, and even Albedo had to admit this. A hand slid into his right pocket, dragging out the flashlight hanging there. A click, a yellow beam, and smokes of breath floated upwards. There was something familiar about something like this. Perhaps the cold, or the empty silence, fortified by frost. Within him, something stirred, waking with a rumble; stretching sluggishly and fueled by a kind of hunger. That calm shifted and settled, the easy irritation dripping away.

The light swung around to illuminate a tile misplaced, and Albedo ducked down, crouching to eye it carefully. How quaint. A trapdoor. The light didn't show the bottom, but he peered downwards even so, snared by something he didn't know. A mystery, perhaps? Ah, wasn't this turning into an adventure indeed. If only, if only. Chest aching, and fighting the responses too easily coming, Albedo looked back. "Want to play hide and seek?" he asked sarcastically, keeping up the theme.

Inside something was in pain. Want to hide, perhaps, should have been the more appropriate wording. The influence hadn't fully taken over yet, and the link was still valid. His contradiction might yet be caught, but he would deny it. Oh, he would. Giving more kindling to be burned upon? Albedo thought not. Tonight, at least, he would deny these things. This pain. He would deny Rubedo.

[falseblack]

Whatever that had been ended quickly. As was often the case and in more than one sense of the word, Nigredo left it alone, choosing instead to stare at the hand pressed against his collar bone. The amount of pressure applied was enough to turn knuckles to white. He doubted enthusiasm was behind that strength.

It wasn't until the others had moved into the freezer that Nigredo followed, eyes still trailing to the dark spots. The dip in temperature did nothing to ease the raw feeling, though it did help to sharpen his focus and force down the smell of blood. And inhibitions, as evident by one brother.

"Rubedo," he spoke without looking up. "Are you certain this is the way out? It looks--" Eyes stayed rooted to his shoulder. "--more like a death trap." There was no sarcasm meant by the comment, surprisingly. Nigredo just wanted absolute certainty before venturing down said "death trap".

[udo-retrovirus.livejournal.com]

He should have guessed Albedo wouldn't let him go without another sarcastic comment (or two, evidently), but the redhead let the first go without a retort. The temperature difference was striking, especially when he was used to carefully controlled, moderate climates and environmental bugs. It didn't help the creepy feeling that something was going to jump out at them, and it definitely didn't help when Albedo decided to up and ask about hide and seek.

Sure. You go hide under your bed, I'll come seek you out once morning comes, was what he wanted to say, but instead opted for a quick, firm "No," answering both brothers' questions simultaneously.

"You don't have to tag along," he commented, heading over to also examine the misplaced tile. "You can go back if you're scared." Unfortunately, he didn't have any absolute certainty to give the youngest variant, but he also seriously meant what he said, even if it wouldn't have sounded that way. He wouldn't have held it against either brother if they just let him go down by himself, death trap or no.

Not that he particularly wanted them to take the flashlight with them. It looked really dark down there, and there wasn't a guarantee that he'd be able to see once he reached the bottom (though he thought he could catch a glimpse of something, or that nothing would attack him on the way down, while he couldn't see. However, with all that said and done, he may as well back up his words with action. Stupid action, but action nonetheless. After a moment's hesitation, Junior slipped down into the opening created by the displaced tile and started slowly heading down the stairs, feeling around to make sure he didn't slip and fall.

[chainsaw-royal.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/711261.html?thread=58844765#t58844765)]

Hime's breath steamed in the chill air of the refrigerator, proving she was warm-blooded if nothing else, though she gave no other indications of noticing the temperature. As luck would have it, for Kagura at least, there did appear to be a freezer section. The princess's attention was much more drawn to the tile in the back, specifically how it appeared to have been lifted out of its normal place. Shining her flashlight on it revealed not flooring, but a hole and a ladder. Some kind of secret passage?

"What do you suppose is down there?" she asked the girl even as she walked towards it, knife at the ready.

[16hitmagnum.livejournal.com]

And Kagura was satisfied-- VERY SATISFIED-- to have found a gallon of ice cream which she started eating with her hands. She didn't bring any kitchen utensils with her and she wasn't planning on eating it with Hime's knife. She stood behind Hime and tiptoed to look at the hole.

"That looks dangerous," she said, her cheeks smeared with ice cream. "Do you want me to check it out?"

But it looked dark and scary and dangerous down there.

"After you."