Twisting Shadows
Closed starter for @malcolmgaunt
Wind gusts through shattered windows, creating a soft yet cavernous wail as it buffets the rusted metal structures within the abandoned warehouse. Broken bottles and other detritus, left behind by squatters or the previous unsavory tenants, roll around aimlessly. Most evidence of the recent criminal activity here has been hastily cleared away for reasons unknown. But the echoes of it still remain in the form of empty crates, overturned shelves, and spare furniture. Mysterious dark stains--blood, most likely--mar some of what was left behind. Everything within creaks in protest of the gale; if not for its solid construction and sheer size, it'd be easy for someone to feel like the building might blow away entirely.
On one of the upper levels, Lou shivers, one gloved hand clasped around a flashlight. The pitch-dark hall yawns before him. Even here, in a somewhat central location that isn't close to those massive, leaking windows, the biting chill of the wind is getting to him.
I just need to find the right room... They can't have taken everything with them when they fled, he thinks as he pushes open yet another metal door, sweeping his light over the interior. At first, the banged-up desk and the mouse-eaten chair behind it don't inspire much confidence, but he pauses on a metal file cabinet, noticeably newer than the rest of the room's contents. Eyes widening, he strides toward it and immediately starts rifling through each drawer, hoping to find something useful, possibly even incriminating. He's completely engrossed in this task, unaware that he is not alone.
