“Don’t we need light?” Stephen said.
“Let’s find out,” Michael said. He took a small step towards the opening, and then a bigger, bolder one.
When he crossed the threshold of the dark space, lights flickered on, revealing a long hallway of big gray block walls, with pipes and cables snaking their way up and down them.
“I guess not,” Michael said.
They headed cautiously down the tunnel, the lights coming on as they approached the edge of the lighted area and switching off before them.
“That’s convenient, I guess,” Stephen said, as they rounded the corner. “And here I was thinking you’d have to pull a flashlight out of your jacket or something.”
Instantly, they were plunged into darkness.
“Thanks so much,” Michael said.
“Hey! The lights came on as we were walking, and they shut off in response to something I said,” Stephen said. “Don’t you see? Somebody’s watching us. Somebody’s obviously paying attention.”
“If somebody’s paying attention, it sure isn’t you,” Michael said. He unbuttoned his jacket and began fishing around the inner pockets. “Hold this,” he said, handing a cool metal canister to Stephen.
“What’s this?” Stephen asked.
“Blowtorch,” Michael said.
“I thought you were joking.”
“Why would I joke about carrying a blowtorch?” Michael asked.
“So, you’ve got a grappling hook in there, too, then?” Stephen asked.
“Why would I have a grappling hook?” Michael asked.
“Well, you’ve got a blowtorch,” Stephen said.
“Technically, it’s a butane cutting torch,” Michael said.
“What the hell do you use a butane cutting torch for?”
“Cutting butane,” Michael said. “Ah, here we go.”
He pulled out a small LED flashlight and an even smaller pen light, which he handed to Stephen.
“Keep that ready but keep it off,” he said, taking back the torch. “I don’t know how good the batteries are.”
“How about yours?” Stephen asked.
“It’s a wind-up,” he said, cranking it.
“This whole thing’s a wind-up, if you ask me,” Stephen said.
“Well, then I won’t,” Michael said.
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Look, everybody! Two updates in a row!
Ah… my favorite protagonists. I laughed out loud at this:
“Cutting butane,” Michael said. “Ah, here we go.”
Twice in an hour, AE, you’ve reduced me to laughing so loud others come over to see what’s the matter.
You’re on a roll.
“So, you’ve got a grappling hook in there, too, then?” Stephen asked.
I think(?) that has one too many commas.
I love reading Stephen and Michael bicker, hee.
Shouldn’t
I think that’s the correct amount of commas for the number of clauses involved.
You could write “So, you’ve got a grappling hook in there?”
and “You’ve got a grappling hook in there, too?”
and “you’ve got a grappling hook in there, then?”
So to make them one sentence, yes, you need that many commas. In fact, I think “So then” is one clause, separated by the others.
Excellent storytelling. Am I mistaken, or is this the same kind of hallway as whatshisname went through to try and save his daughter? Interesting.
Also, AE, your story feed lists this as chapter 3.17, not 3.18. Thought you’d like to know.
Matt.
Yes?
Get the monkey gun.
Is that a gun for shooting monkeys, or a gun that shoots monkeys out of it? Because we don’t have either.
“What’s this?” Stephen asked.
“Blowtorch,” Michael said.
“I thought you were joking.”
“Why would I joke about carrying a blowtorch?” Michael asked.
“So, you’ve got a grappling hook in there, too, then?” Stephen asked.
“Why would I have a grappling hook?” Michael asked.
“Well, you’ve got a blowtorch,” Stephen said.
Those have to be the best lines ever. I think i’m starting to like this series a little more than MU…is that even possible?!
The cutting butane line was so funny, I shared it with my office mate.
Ozias:
This has been my favorite of her stories since I started reading it. And it just gets awesomer and awesomer…
“switching off before them”
Should be “switching off behind them”?