{Sixth Case} It comes with the territory

[passes_out]

[Ichabod found a candle that he could use in case they needed the extra light in their search through the apartment building that he and Elizabeth were staying in. He also found two thin pieces of metal and decided that lockpicking wasn't a crime if the residents were not there to protest. He learned this skill as an investigator when landlords

Comments

[In person]

[passes_out]

As do I, darling.

[He takes his seat at the table and unfolds the letter. One by one he looks up the words and one by one, he writes them down. The whole decoding process could take an hour. Once he was finished, he read it off.]

"For the attention of the residents of Prypiat! The City Council informs you that due to the accident at Chernobyl Power Station in the city of Prypiat the radioactive conditions in the vicinity are deteriorating. The Communist Party, its officials and the armed forces are taking necessary steps to combat this. Nevertheless, with the view to keep people as safe and healthy as possible, the children being top priority, we need to temporarily evacuate the citizens in the nearest towns of Kiev Oblast.

For these reasons, starting from April 27, 1986 2 p.m. every apartment block will be able to have a bus supervised by the police and city officials at its disposal. It is highly advisable to take your documents, some vital personal belongings and a certain amount of food, just in case, with you. The senior executives of public and industrial facilities of the city has decided on the list of employees needed to stay in Prypiat to maintain these facilities in good working order.

All the houses will be guarded by the police during the evacuation period. Tovarishchs, leaving your residences temporarily please make sure that you have turned the lights, electrical equipment and water off and shut the windows. Please keep calm and orderly in the process of this temporary evacuation."

[In person]

[the_tudour_rose]

[When he sat down and began to work, Elizabeth stayed out of his way, not wanting to distract him. Instead, she made herself comfortable, and spent the hour imagining what the letter would end up saying, or what they could to pass the time until the weather improved.

When he turns around and begins to read, she turns her attention and listens intently. As he reads, she realizes none of it means anything to her, other than something had given reason for mass evacuation]

The power station? Radio..what?

[In person]

[passes_out]

[The words were just as lost to him as they were to her. He had no idea what any of it meant only that the implication must have been serious enough to cause them to leave the city and never return.]

At least we know that no one died here.

[In person]

[the_tudour_rose]

That's true, and it's a relief. Perhaps it means that whatever drove them away has also left the city

[In person]

[passes_out]

Or has long since been considered no longer a threat. Still, it explains little to what this radiation is. I shall look this up.

[He looked up radiation in the dictionary and his brow furrowed.]

It says here:
-noun
1.
Physics .
a.
the process in which energy is emitted as particles or waves.
b.
the complete process in which energy is emitted by one body, transmitted through an intervening medium or space, and absorbed by another body.
c.
the energy transferred by these processes.
2.
the act or process of radiating.
3.
something that is radiated.
4.
radial arrangement of parts.

This is not very helpful at all. This explanation is just as vague as the letter.

[He sighs and rubs his temple.]

[In person]

[the_tudour_rose]

[Elizabeth listens closely as he reads out the list, her mind going over every definition again and again]

Something is radiated..given off, and absorbed by another body--

[She suddenly takes the letter off the table and reads it over again quickly]

Power plant..there was an accident..they were concerned for-

The accident caused something to spread throughout the city - something dangerous, that must have been the radiation that the letter mentioned

[She stops mid sentence]

Of course, that's only my opinion, or, a theory if you will. I still don't understand a lot of it..

[In person]

[passes_out]

[His eyes tore from the dictionary and to Elizabeth. A smile came to him but it wasn't a condescending one. It was one of realization and understanding now that he wasn't looking at the concrete but now at the physical.]

Of course! Since something gave off radiation...which could be either heat or something far more sinister in nature akin to poison, that would stand the reason for the evacuation.

[He stands up and gives Elizabeth a bow.]

Well done.

[He straightens up and looks out the window with his brow furrowed.]

Still the question remains; what poison could cause this entire city to become a wasteland and why are trees growing on rooftops? Perhaps this radiation confuses things over time?

[In person]

[the_tudour_rose]

Perhaps..although one of the descriptions stated that it rearranged parts..maybe it simply changed the ways things developed and grew? That would explain the tree's on the rooftops

[She was enjoying being useful, and having a chance to challenge her mind; it was also a good feeling, believeing that they were getting closer to figuring out what happened here]

[In person]

[passes_out]

So it did.

[He thinks back to the description.]

Hm,

[He taps his finger to his chin.]

despite the precarious nature of our endeavors here, I do believe that in order to survive it, one should not leave events to chance. Do you think it possible that some minds have been rearranged in the process? Or rather, do you believe we were brought here by the Author for her pleasure to invite fear?

[In person]

[the_tudour_rose]

[She nods in agreement]

I think that's more than likely, yes.

[In person]

[passes_out]

[Ichabod was certainly feeling the pinch of their increasingly dire situation. The weather was bitter and it was getting worse by the hour. He resigned to the truth that the radiation was still the cause of their current wasteland but he never entirely understood the properties. It was a scientific endeavor that could take years to figure out. It was time that they didn't have to discover the truth.]

I am vexed by this situation yet curious enough to endure the study. Care to join me?

[He smiled and held out his hand toward the seat across from him.]

[In person]

[the_tudour_rose]

[She smiles and nods, following his gesture and sitting across from him]

I'd be glad to. Anything to distract from this Godforsaken weather.

[In person]

[passes_out]

[They would have to share the dictionary but the means to have another pair of eyes decoding books was definitely something that was needed. And at the same time, he was learning the language and some of the words stuck.]

Agreed.

[He smiled.]