[It gets stronger with every step, that smell - as if to say turn back now, now, now.
The staircase creaks beneath her feet, and Rabbit's as he follows behind her. As her penlight darts to and fro, tracing over the corners of the space, the pipes and breaker boxes tell what this place might have been before the poison struck. A utility cellar, maybe, or low-rent apartment space. Water drips from condensation on the pipes, and rats scurry underfoot. The smell is strong enough now to block out conscious thought. And then...
Barrels. Robins-egg blue 55-gallon plastic drums, dozens of them, are stacked floor to ceiling in this basement and duct-taped shut.
It's easy to pick one out for investigation, but it's heavy, and the contents slosh around with any maneuvering Lindianne or Rabbit might undertake to make it easier. The duct tape seal is no match for a knife the kind either of them might have.
Acid isn't the be-all and end-all to body disposal that some might think it is. Even a strong acid like HCl takes several days to dissolve skin and connective tissue, and several more to dissolve bone and teeth. In the meantime, the remains form a kind of biologic sludge, the scent of which is overpowering.
As the barrel is jostled, a few fragments of bone are stirred up, along with some teeth, and sink down further into the acid.
Now that they're down in the basement proper, the two of them can see a door that wasn't visible from upstairs. It's locked - and, if you squint, you can see a glimmer of red light leaking out from underneath.]
no subject
The staircase creaks beneath her feet, and Rabbit's as he follows behind her. As her penlight darts to and fro, tracing over the corners of the space, the pipes and breaker boxes tell what this place might have been before the poison struck. A utility cellar, maybe, or low-rent apartment space. Water drips from condensation on the pipes, and rats scurry underfoot. The smell is strong enough now to block out conscious thought. And then...
Barrels. Robins-egg blue 55-gallon plastic drums, dozens of them, are stacked floor to ceiling in this basement and duct-taped shut.
It's easy to pick one out for investigation, but it's heavy, and the contents slosh around with any maneuvering Lindianne or Rabbit might undertake to make it easier. The duct tape seal is no match for a knife the kind either of them might have.
Acid isn't the be-all and end-all to body disposal that some might think it is. Even a strong acid like HCl takes several days to dissolve skin and connective tissue, and several more to dissolve bone and teeth. In the meantime, the remains form a kind of biologic sludge, the scent of which is overpowering.
As the barrel is jostled, a few fragments of bone are stirred up, along with some teeth, and sink down further into the acid.
Now that they're down in the basement proper, the two of them can see a door that wasn't visible from upstairs. It's locked - and, if you squint, you can see a glimmer of red light leaking out from underneath.]