The digging sound continues.
"What's with the door numbers? Do they give tours to school groups in a mausoleum?" John mutters.
Kenny whispers to John "Do we wait here or check the door? Whoever is in there must know someone is out here."
"Wha? Oh. I say we take a peek. In for a penny and all that." John replies. He walks slowly but determined towards the slightly opened door with the sound of digging coming through it, and peeks through the crack,...
"At lease we will have a head start towards the stairs if need be" Kenny responds.
Peeking through the door reveals,...
...an ungainly figure, the same one that the group followed, bashing and scrapping out the brick wall with what appears to be a short piece of iron pipe.
John looks at Kenny and points through the crack in the door.
"Bit overdressed for demolition work, isn't he?" John whispers breathlessly.
"WHat could he possibly be looking for? Some family heirloom?" He adds almost silently. John continues to watch the figure and his remodeling, occasionally looking around for anyone else but them. But his earlier fear appears to be forgotten in the face of this curious behavior.
"Maybe we can lure him outside, double back and find out what he is doing in here. He dosen't walk real quick, so it might work."
John nods and whispers back, "I like that idea better than tangling with him. When I saw his face,... it was wrong!" He shakes his head, unable to explain any better.
John looks around the basement.
"Maybe one of us could just hide here while the other leads him away and then circles back around? That way we'd get to the searching part quicker?"
"I'll wait if you want to lure him outside." Kenny cannot stop thinking about the contents of the book he brought from Arizona. These thoughts are impeding his judgement and usual cowardice.
John gives Kenny a quick glance up and down.
"Yeah,... I guess I'd be the one to do that. Alright. Find a hiding spot. I'll try to get him to follow me outside, then try to lose him and get back to you guys."
JOhn doesn't look happy, but he looks determined. He waits for the others to find hiding spots, making 'shoo' motions to hurry them up.
Kenny checks for a spot underneath the stairs. Failing that he looks for a dark corner of the room.
"oooohhhh, johhhn, are you sure?!" Miss whispers, stunned at the bravery, and more than slightly impressed. However, Miss does NOT offer to go with John, and joins Kenny in searching for a hiding spot.
"oooohhhh, johhhn, are you sure?!" Miss whispers, stunned at the bravery, and more than slightly impressed. However, Miss does NOT offer to go with John, and joins Kenny in searching for a hiding spot.
John gives Edith a suave smirk.
"Yeah. No. Not really." he admits as she turns to find a hiding spot.
"I just figure if we need a runner, The someone whose ran an obstacle course before is a logical choice." He shrugs.
John takes a look to see if everyone is decently hidden,...
Kenny gives John the 'thumbs up' gesture and then withdraws into his hiding spot.
John nods solemnly at his hidden companions, then opens the door fully. He waits to see if there is any reaction from the well-dressed digger, then coughs. Twice.
"Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help me?" He starts to say,...
All through the whispered conversation, the digger makes no sign of having heard anything. When at last John speaks loudly, the man ceases his digging and cocks his head. Then he slowly turns.
"Uh." he says, his lips barely moving. There is a real lifeless quality to his face and his eyes seem strangely unfocused. Then with alurching step he moves towards John.
"Heelpp." He says in what is almost a wheezing groan. John is not sure if he is asking for help or calling John the help. Either way he is brandishing his pipe above his head like a club and lurching at John as if to attack.
John takes a step backwards, wary of the pipe.
"Help. Yep. One of us needs it that's for sure." He mutters in a low voice, clearly troubled by the man's vacant expression.
"Why don't we go and find some help for you?" He asks, backing up and waving the man to follow him. And turning and running at the first sign of aggression.
The man lurches forward, brandishing his pipe, but John easily scoots out of the room ahead of his attack.
John pounds up the steps, slowing only enough to make sure that the strange man is indeed following him. He careens out the front door, sliding to a stop in the snow, his breath coming in frozen gasps more from adrenaline, and fear, than exertion. Yet.
John looks around, decides on a direction that will take him under the trees and takes a step. He curses aloud. How is he supposed to lose his pursuer when he leaves such an obvious path in the snow?!? How did he not think of that? John glances at the door, almost expecting the man to be on top if him by now. He gets an idea, and starts following the tracks they all made when they approached the cemetery.
"I shoulda' listened to those Rangers more when they were braggin',..." He grumbles aloud. But he cannot get that strange, vacant expression out of his head. He shudders again, and it's not from the cold.
When the freakish man leaves the cellar to follow John, Kenny steps out of the shadows. He walks to the door that the ambler left and stands in front of it to peer inside. He does not step in until he can see what is inside the room.
;P
John keeps moving, trying to keep the odd man in sight, while staying OUT of sight,...
The man does follow John out of the room, lurching almost drunkenly as he walks. He moves up the stairs but as John reaches the top, he realizes the man is not behind him.
Kenny, waiting till the man is on the stairwell, moves into the door of the room. It looks like a classroom in a small country church. As Kenny begins to make out details he is aware of the sound of movement behind him. The lurching man has returned. He stares stupidly at Kenny for a moment, his eyes seeming to have trouble focusing.
John waits for a moment, waiting for the strange man to catch up. Then he waits another moment, and another.
"Aw. Cr@p." He grumbles.
John starts making his way cautiously back into the crypt, not wanting to be bushwacked by the man,...
Is there anything that can be used as a weapon in the room?
Without making a spot check, Kenny can see folding chairs leaning against the wall.
Kenny sees the folding chair and thinks back to the many nights of his youth that he wasted watching professional wrestling. With that he grabs a chair and attacks the shambling man.
Kenny misses badly with the chair as he picks it up and it tries to open on him. (Wrestlers make it looks so easy.)
The man lunges at Kenny with a backhanded attack to the face.
slam:
Confirm Critical:
damage
The attack, slams into Kenny's jaw, lifting him off his feet.
As his feet slam back into the ground, Kenny is a bit surprised he's not dead, the man is incredibly strong and the blow felt like it should have broken his neck.
John peeks carefully into the crypt, aand when he doesn't see the digger, mutters, "Kenny? Girls?" And starts back down the stairs,...
John hears Kenny cry out.
As Kenny stumbles and tries to regain his balance his thoughts are a stream of incoherence. He is aware that he is in great danger but cannot focus on his surroundings. A man just hit him and is going to again. Where am I?What is going on? he wonders.
When his blurred vision resolves into the picture of his attacker, Kenny realizes that he is unarmed and searches for the chair. He decides that is too far to reach and instead he fakes an attempt to retrieve it. If this guy moves to block me I will run around him and out of this room. I don't want to die here. Where is this place? he thinks to himself.
At the scream, John reaches for his hip. Then realizes that in the excitement he left everything useful as a weapon back in the room. The only thing he is armed with right now is his small pocket camera. He glances around the room for anything that might make a decent blunt weapon,...
John spots a box of tools to the corner, with a hammer besides it. He also sees, on one wall, a fire extinguisher and, in the main room, besides chairs and tables, there is also a large, ancient looking, percolating coffee maker on one of the tables, probably big enough to hold five gallons worth of coffee. .
JOhn looks around, and runs for the wall. He slides to a stop and grabs the fire extinguisher from it's wall mount. He pulls the pin, holds the extinguisher in both hands, and moves back towards the other room, and Kenny, and the creepy moaning guy,...
Still here also.