The cables that attached to the tripod were all neatly bundled together, and they all joined up at the same boxlike generator in the corner of the van's interior. The generator was oddly quiet considering how much work it was doing, and the control panel on its front was blinking with serene green lights. The controls seemed basic enough, and the power button was easy to spot. There was even a convenient switch labeled "Emergency Shut-down", so it looked like that part would be very simple. On the other hand, it also meant that Goldenrod would be able to return power to the light very quickly, unless something else was done to slow them down.
Just turning off the light seemed much too simple and easy, but Honor decided that would be what she did before wrecking the wires to the light so they couldn't be fixed quickly. She smiled faintly at her plan, quite proud of it and herself. The smile didn't stay for long though as she started to look around for something she could use to preferably cut the wires in half. She knew she couldn't take too long though, seeing as someone might walk back into the van and see the guy laying on the floor.
The only object in the van that looked even vaguely useful was a case on the wall containing a fire extinguisher and a small hatchet, presumably there in case of a fire or crash. There was a device on the case that would no doubt trigger an alarm bell, but it was possible that, if Honor was touching it when it went off, her soundlessness would apply to the alarm as well and keep it silent long enough for her to retrieve the items and break the alarm mechanism.
She searched around the van for a minute or two before spotting the box, walking over to it silently to try to figure out if the alarm that was clearly on it would be able to be silenced by Ernie's power. Either way she didn't have much of a choice she decided as she held a hand tightly over the alarm and pulled the case open. Bracing for the alarm to start up under her hand.
It did, instantly. The case buzzed with the sound of it. But….there was no sound. It was like watching a silent film, and the other members of Goldenrod seemed to experience the same thing, because none came running to investigate.
Honor grabbed the hatchet out of the case, keeping a firm hand over the alarm so it didn't make any noise. Now she just had to stop the alarm from going off if she let go, and then to cut the wires to the light. It sounded simple, but turned out to be much harder as she started to try to gently pry the alarm off the case with the edge of the hatchet.
After a moment it suddenly popped loose, rocketing across the van and colliding noisily with the equipment on the far wall. There was an abrupt silence outside, as if everyone had paused to wonder what on earth was going on in there. It was probably only a matter of minutes before someone came to find out.
"Crap," She hissed, watching the piece come loose. Honor yanked herself back to reality soon enough though and rushed over to the emergency button, pressing it and watching as the light from outside the truck went out as the light shut off. The first part of her plan worked, she decided as she tightened her grip on the hatchet and started on the second part. Swinging the hatchet down hard to try to bust through the wires and make it harder for goldenrod to fix it.
They were quite tough, but the hatchet was also very sharp since it had never been used before. Soon the cables had sizeable chunks missing from them and a few were cut clean through–definitely nothing that could be repaired too quickly. However, there was now a lot of shouting going on in the darkness outside, and Honor was sure to be discovered before long.
Once she was satisfied with the damage she had caused, Honor set the hatchet by the unconscious worker and decided it was now a good time to get back to the others. She could hear the commotion and chaos outside of the van, and she just hoped it would be a good enough distraction for her to get away, even with her invisibleness. There was no way that the light would be able to be up and running any time soon. She reminded herself over and over as she scrambled out of the truck and made use of the darkness to start on her path back to the other two.
The area was now swarming with people, all either rushing to attend to the light or fanning out to search for intruders. None of them saw Honor though, even when a pair of agents almost ran into her as they dashed towards the van. Someone shouted that the other stations should be alerted in case they were attacked as well. All in all, it seemed that Ernie's plan was working so far. Goldenrod was well and completely distracted.
"Oscar, Ernie, time to go!" She yelled as soon as she was close to the abandoned lot. Honor hadn't wasted a minute, running the entire way back to the truck fast enough that even she was winded. The familiarity of her truck made her slow a little though, reminding her that her part in this was done as she slowed down next to the passenger side and looked to see if Ernie was sitting there and she would have to jump in back or if she could take the seat.
Oscar sat crouched in the bed of the truck, his hands gripping the sides, while Ernie stood about a foot away, his form rippling oddly like the heat haze over concrete. "Good work, Honor," he called. "Hop in, quick, then duck down and cover your eyes and ears!"
Honor nodded, running back to the bed of the truck and scrambling in quickly. She climbed into the back and did as Ernie said, curling into a ball of sorts and pressing her eyes shut tightly. Her hands clamped over her ears and she waited nervously for whatever was going to happen, feeling a rush of excitement that she had just pulled off damaging Goldenrod equipment, without being caught.
At first, nothing happened. Then there was a deep thrum through the ground that traveled through the tires of the truck and made the entire thing tremble. It wasn't a sound, exactly—more like a physical change in the way the air molecules moved. A light slowly built up, centered around Ernie and growing more and more intense until it was impossible to look directly at him. Even with eyes closed, the light was searing. All around them, the twilight dew evaporated and roosting birds took flight in panic. Now a new sound came, like thunder and metal twisting and inhuman voices all at once. It was a sensory overload, quickly becoming almost painful. The truck rocked and jolted as if it had been thrown into the air.
She pressed her eyes into the side of her arm as the light shone brighter and brighter. It stung her eyes but that wasn't the part that bothered her the most. The truck shook and rocked around, making it hard to stay in place and adding to the overload of things and sounds. Honor gritted her teeth and tried to block out the noise with her hands over her ears even higher, but it didn't help much. It almost felt like the noise was in her head and she absolutely hated it especially as she started to groan in pain from the cacophony of noise and the ringing in her ears that came from it.
The chaos lasted just long enough that it felt as if it would become unbearable, then…..stopped. The truck quit shaking with a thud, and utter silence fell. The change was so sudden and jarring that for a minute the sound and the dancing lights seemed to linger. But now, the only noise was some distant crickets and the faint rustling of the wind through the grass.
"Honor?" Oscar called hoarsely from outside. "Are you okay?"
It was the worst experience in her life. Honor was sure of that. Her head physically hurt and when the noise suddenly stopped, it seemed to go on for another minute in her mind. "No, my head hurts," She mumbled in response, not opening her eyes or moving her hands even as she was sure the noise was gone. She needed time to recover from that chaos, even if Oscar and Ernie didn't need as long.
(I gotta work all day today, back tomorrrow)
It sounded like Oscar was scrambling out of the truck. "You hurt her," he snarled distantly, speaking to Ernie.
"I did everything I could to shield her," Ernie protested. "I'm sorry…. Humans aren't built to be that close to a Manifestation. But she should feel better in a few more minutes."
Oscar didn't reply, instead opening the passenger door and leaning in to talk to Honor. "Is it bad?" he asked quietly, sounding worried. "Can I do anything to help?"
(Sounds good, see you tomorrow! :D )
"I'll be fine in a bit, just need some quiet. Noise makes my head pound," She whispered, slowly opening her eyes and trying to look like she wasn't in pain. In reality, though, her head was pounding and her ears wouldn't stop ringing, coupled with the fact that every word she said or heard sounded like someone was yelling in her ear, she wasn't feeling the best. Honor glanced over at Oscar for a moment, then just laid back on her seat and tried to relax, finding the tolerance to mumble one more sentence even if it hurt, "Where are we now?"
"Not sure…..it's really dark out here. I think we're on a gravel road in the middle of a bunch of fields." Oscar moved back to give her space, shifting with nervous energy. "You can rest for a bit. We'll keep watch. Just let me know if you don't start feeling better soon."
Honor nodded slowly in response, listening to the soft rustle of the grass in the fields around them. It didn't take long for her headache to start going down, or at least the pounding whenever any noise was too loud. "I'm feeling a little better, let's get going," She mumbled, relaxing considerably when her words weren't any echoing in her mind. Slowly, she opened one eye, trying to sit back up even as it made her headache spike again, "We need to keep moving, before Goldenrod catches us."
"They won't track us down again for quite a while," Ernie said comfortingly. "I took us very far away. I go here a lot when I need a breather–there are almost no humans for miles. But if you want, we could find a place to spend the rest of the night. I think there's an old barn or shed around here somewhere."
"I'll let you and Oscar decide on that. I don't care either way," She said quietly, resting her head in her hands. Honor massaged her temples, mumbling something quietly about needing something to drink as she did her best to slip off the seat and stand up normally, "As long as it's quiet and safe you two can choose."
Ernie and Oscar glanced at each other. "Let's just stay here," Oscar decided. "It's not cold, we can sleep in the truck or something. Ernie or I will notice if anyone's getting close to this place and we'll be able to hide in plenty of time. I don't think we should do any more wandering around in the dark." Looking back at Honor, he added. "Are you sure there's nothing I–we–can do to make you feel better?"
(I gotta go to bed, seeya)
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