Re: Hell or High Water
The salvager from the town, Joe, moved over to the abandoned raft. He checked the compressor's fuel tank. "Yep, she's dry. We can see if Tinsdale would part with a compressor. Considerin' what ya'll have done for us that won't be no nevermind." He gathered the two shotguns, looking dubious at the fact that this firepower was useless against... whatever took the scavengers.
Conscious that his thermal would not penetrate water, Trask checked the building and surrounding trees and ruins poking above the dark surface. The humid air was still cool from the night, but there were no observable hot spots. He leaned in and checked the floor, what he could see of it. Thermal and low-light did not reveal any recent footprints of either the missing salvagers or anything else. It looked like the air hose stretched towards a propped-open fire door. However, he could visually see scuffmarks on the floor and in the thick layer of dust covering it that looked new.
Once inside they determined the floor was clear. The air hose led to a set of fire stairs, then down into the water. Trask could tell that one set of dive boot prints went from the entry to the stairs and down and did not come out. That would be one of the salvagers. He did not find tracks from the second salvager. But he did see something disturbing. A set of bare footprints led out from the water, dragging something up. Then something was set down, and the tracks continued out the window, then back to the stairs. However, the bare footprints did not go back down into the water but went up the stairs carrying something heavy. Whoever it was was obviously soaking, as was his burden.
Looking down the stairwell they could see the surface of the black water a few feet below them. The dark stairs above them seemed to be largely unblocked until it got to the top a few floors above.