Have you ever been through an image of you're being in an apocalyptic travel with some zombies and this kinda think of and did you have an imagination or a dream that you're fighting your way through to find a cure out of it and make your own story...
It's quiet, and of course that makes sense, but at the moment it's actually making me quite jittery and jumpy.
"Okay, so what are we looking for again?" I ask. I can't remember all of the sudden if Griffin told me or not.
"We're looking for anything out of the ordinary."
I let my shoulders sag. "We'll that's helpful, Mr. Everything-will-be-alright! I haven't been in here for years. I won't be able to tell if anything's out of the ordinary or not."
"Yes, you will. Because I mean not if something has moved. I mean if something's where it shouldn't be, or broken or missing."
I stare at him.
"Well," Griffin sighs, "Just follow me and look for big things. I'll look for small things."
"Deal."
We start by heading over to the furniture and it all looks pretty normal to me. I mean, the stuff is old, but that's not out of the ordinary. Mr. Potter's warehouse is full of old things made new. That's the entire point of the store, after all.
"All of this stuff, " I say. "It seems so odd. Otherworldly almost. Where does he get it all?"
Griffin shrugs as he wipes his hand across the arm of a wooden chair. "I don't know. It's sent out to him, obviously. There's nowhere around here to get such stuff."
"I think it looks kinda cheesy, know what I mean? I wouldn't buy this stuff. Look," I grab one of the faded price tags. "Fifty smith for this chair."
"I'd buy it," Griffin says. I look at his face to see if he's joking but I can't tell, as usual. "I think it's unique. I wish there were more places like this. What would you call all this stuff, anyway? It should have a name."
"Hmmm..." I am getting tired and feeling distracted so I don't have an answer. That is to say, I'm not putting much thought into it, anyway.
"Hey, I think I'll go look on the other side of the store, save us some time, k?"
I don't wait for Griffin to answer but swerve my way in and out of isle until I come to a section with china and jewelry. None of the jewelry seems to be stolen, nor even some of the more expensive looking china. I gaze at the numerous accessories and wonder if there is actually anyone in Ash who can afford to buy this stuff. Although I can't see the price tags, I figure they aren't as much as they look. After all, they definitely aren't real rubies, emeralds or even diamonds.
"Hey Griffin!" I yell across the room, "It seems to me that they haven't stolen anything valuable. Did Mr. Potter report anything missing?"
"No," I hear Griffin call back. He's moved on to the far end of the warehouse now. "He just said they broke in and vandalized the place."
I feel my forehead crease. "But everything looks fine. Are you sure Mr. Potter hasn't come in already and cleaned things up?"
"He hasn't been in since the break in, though."
"How do you know?"
Silence.
"Oh, I see." I continue to make my way down the isle until I come to what I now realize is the vandalism Griffin was talking about.
"Uh...I think I found something."
"You sure?"
"Just come here!!" I stare at the mess and suddenly Griffin is next to me, and I mean right next to me; his breath on my neck makes me shiver.
"Why, it's a bunch of books!" I've never heard Griffin sound surprised until this moment. It is surprising though. Finding books in Ash is like finding a ruby among coal. They are extremely rare, and even when you find one it's always either something like an old telephone book, atlas or machinery manual. The books before us now number seventy or so.
"It looks as if they wanted something in particular. I wonder if they found it. We won't know unless we find out how many books Mr. Potter had originally." I'm surprised that of all they could've taken, it was most likely a book. Books aren't special.
"I already told you," Griffin says. "Mr. Potter distinctly said that nothing was stolen. Besides," I watch him pick up one of the books, "What would anyone want with a oven manual or old housekeeping magazine?"
I nod my head in agreement but stop suddenly. "What if...what if the book they were looking for wasn't just an old manual or pamphlet?" I must sound ridiculous but it's the only explanation I can think of.
"What? That's impossible. What else could it have been?"
"I don't know...like a how-to book or...yeah."
"Like a manual."
"No! Like how to do something, like...knit." Griffin just stares at me. "Well, not really knitting but, you know, something like that!" Yep, this still sounds stupid, especially coming from my mouth.
However, Griffin actually seems to be trying to follow my train of thought. "Like knitting...so crochet?"
And the train has crashed. "Oh...never mind." We leave the books, and though Griffin doesn't think it's important, I'll come back to my idea later, because something about it just makes sense. I'll need to sleep on it though.
We've just about finished looking the place over and Griffin tells me we had better leave before anyone shows up or sees us leave.
"Alright," I say. "I just wish this would've proved helpful." I give Griffin a pointed look and he just shrugs.
"Hey, I only told you I thought it would be a good place to start," he states casually.
"That is not what you said!" I think I see him smile and it's hard not to laugh, yet I've had years of practice hiding my emotions so I manage. "Let's just leave before Ofelia notices I'm gone. I hope she didn't decide to make me an early morning breakfast in bed."
"Ooo, wouldn't that be the pits?"
I punch his arm but not hard enough, I fear.
"Hey," Griffin adds, "I want to check one last thing, by the front desk. Can you wait a second here? Keep an eye out by the back door, make sure no one comes in."
"And if they do?" I ask.
"Beat them up." He smiles. He actually smiles.
"Fine," I relent. "Kick 'em where it hurts, right?"
"You know it!" I watch him run off and walk to the door and peer out through the glass. I can see the sun blinking over the roof tops and start to get antsy. I hope whatever Griffin is doing, he does it fast.
I pace back and forth until I'm sure ten minutes ha gone by. I decide I'd better go check on him but on my way back I slip on something slick and fall to the cement floor. Though I don't cry out I wince at the sharp pain shooting up my leg.
"What-?" I look at where I landed and feel my pants slowly getting damp. "Is that water?" I try to stand up but it hurts so bad I have to drop back down on my butt again. I look to see where the water is coming from and notice it's dripping from the ceiling...but it's not raining outside. So then...?
"Oh no."
The lenses.
"Griffin!" I yell, but it's too late. The alarm is already buzzing and making my ears ring.
"What'd you do?" I hear him yell from across the room.
"I didn't do anything!" I call back. "It's the lenses; they're thawing. There's water everywhere!" I manage to stand up and walk towards the front of the store but all of a sudden Griffin's behind me and is pushing me forcefully to the other side of the room.
"What's going on?" I ask, but he doesn't answer. We come to a dead end where a bunch of random furniture sits; one being a large armoire. He opens it with a bang and starts pushing me inside, and I'll tell you it's not very big at all. The only open space is where it looks like a computer would sit.
"I can't fit in there!" I squeal at him, pushing back as he's pushing me forward. "I won't be able to breathe."
"Just get in!" He hisses through his teeth. I turn my head slightly to look at him and see a look come across his face that's half piteous and half disappointed.
Even a bit scared.
"What's going on?" I say again, this time more seriously.
"Adler...please!"
"I've got to trust someone besides myself because there are just some things you can't do alone."
I step up into the armoire and take a deep breath as Griffin slams the doors shut. I am engulfed in darkness. I hear his footsteps run off and I'm terrified that he won't return...also that I might be locked in...but mostly that he won't return. Suddenly it's dead silent and all I can hear is my own tiny pattering heart, barely staying afloat inside my chest.
Then I hear a loud bang and several shouting voices, deep and angry.
"I don't see anyone," someone says.
"They're in here alright," another voice answers. "My alarm's don't lie."
Mr. Potter. Did he know we were coming here?
"I'll search the premise, sir."
"No need. I'm here."
It's Griffin's voice this time and I'm about to faint. Although, that might just be the lack of air, too; not just the fact that I'm going to kill him if we get out of this mess un scathed.
"You?" Mr. Potter says, half disbelieving. "You're the one who broke in? Get outta here, Griffin. I don't know who you're trying to protect, but it's worthless. I'll let you leave if you go now."
"Well you'd be letting not only a vandal go but also a thief go, too." I hear a metallic clang on the floor.
"What's this?" Mr. Potter asks.
"Hey!" the other voice says. "That's my temperatureonic spray. You're the one who nabbed it. Right from under my nose, too!"
The spray! Oh, Griffin, no. Please no.
"Sir," yet another new voice adds, "We found several puddles of water around the warehouse. They seem to be dripping from various holes in the walls and ceilings."
"You froze my lenses!" Mr. Potter yells. "So that's how you got in the first time without me knowing. Well, it looks like you were a little to long this time, boy." There's a scuffle where I hear something crash to the floor. "Take him out, men...oh, and you'll be paying for that pot, too."
A door opens and I think everyone's left when Griffin shouts out, "You won't want to put me in the slammer Mr. Potts. Not when I've got something that's yours. And may I tell you, if anyone found out what it was...our places would be unalterable switched."
Silence. What one earth is he talking about?
"You don't."
"Oh, Mr. Potts, I do."
More silence then Mr. Potter, very calmly, says, "Gentlemen, I think I'll accompany you to the 'slammer'. There are a few question I would like to ask this boy myself."
Now the door slams shut and I can't hear anything else.
I don't waste anytime. I kick open the armoire and jump out. I control my desire to run, though it's incredibly hard to do so. On my way to the back door unexpectedly I feel something slick and lumpy under my feet. I almost trip but balance myself on the wall before I have time to go down. Looking under my feet and lifting up my shoe I see that it's caked with a wet brown substance.
"Ugh, is that...mud? Where'd it come from?" I look up and glance to my right where the source is plainly located.
"There's what they came for." I say under my breath.
In a small back room, the door still wide open, are bags and bags of dirt. It liters the floor and covers everything it can't stick itself to.
"Dirt...what in the world?" And I'm flashed back suddenly to a similar incident in my all too familiar home.
It's time to leave and I don't wait a second before I run off.
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Well, that's all for it for today's chapter story and I hope you guys all like it... and if you did, don't forget to smash that Vote Button at the top right corner right there. Leave some comments down below and let me see of what you think about the story and also this chapter... but, thank you all guys for reading and as always what I said, oh bye there...
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