#2 Orchard Woods

Frank considered Emilias words. Her father was probably dead, which should have been clear to her. She was either in shock, or an imbecile. Possibly both. Frank raised his voice and spoke more slowly, "Sorry Emilia. I think your Papa is not OK. You must prepare yourself for the worst". Before she had a chance for her feminine emotions to fully engage with these words, he quickly followed with "Though the lights have gone out making it hard to be sure of anything. Do you know how to get them back on? Perhaps there's a room with a large metal lever that could be manipulated to reengage the electric lighting?".

Frank paused to try and recall the other urgent problem nagging at the back of his mind. He quickly added "Also, perhaps the same room might have a small plate of biscuits or cheese that I, I mean all of us, could perhaps make use of to help settle our nerves?"

“ Oh... Oh no. ”

Charlie wasn't exactly pleased with the words that Frank decided to share with Emilia. They needed her and her insights for the situation, and exposing her to this knowledge straight away wasn't the best course of action. Yet, it was fair; she deserved to know and not be tricked into anything. She took a deep breath and placed a hand on Emilia's shoulder to comfort her in this difficult situation. However, Emilia seemed to be in quite a fighting mood, trying to recall what had happened here and if there was anything else she could do to help. Somebody hurt her family, and she had to take action, catch the killers.

“ Yes, yes... There is a generator that we own. ”

She responded clearly, being quite composed, yet still in shock. Was that adrenaline rushing into her veins, making her ready to go help the siblings in this situation? They were on her side, and the last thing she wanted was to lose them. Then, the next question from Frank absolutely angered Charlie, and she looked at him, her eyes narrowing.

“ Are you out of your mind, moron? It might be unsafe here, yet all you can think about is food! ”

As Charlie was angry at her brother, Emilia left, seemingly to find the generator in the cellar and bring it back to working order.

@Frank Flower

Frank tried to make out the expression on his sisters face. It seemed like a familiar expression, but it was too dark to be sure of anything. She was probably scared and afraid and looking to her wise brother for reassurance. Frank announced "Well then! I think the situation is in hand and we have a logical next step. Emilia shall show us the way to this generator. Perhaps I can then find a lever to throw or dial to twist". Frank paused to consider what a generator might look like and whether it was the sort of thing that would have dials or levers. Frank continued "Of course, there are many modern advancement in generator technology so I can't be entirely sure that this is of a sort that I am familiar with, but I have a knack with these sorts of things and can likely have it figured out in a jiffy".

Frank started walking in the direction that Emilia had gone, rather hoping that her path didn't bring her into contact with the macabre scene of death. Frank instructed his sister "Charlie, please follow me and Emilia. It isn't safe for us to split the group up when we may yet run into hoodlums or demented badgers." Frank tried to find a walking pace that seemed fast enough to be decisive, yet slow enough to give Emilia a chance to engage the generator without his assistance.

Then the future has been sealed, and Frank, together with his dear sister Charlie, marched towards the generator in the basement. The cellar in Orchard's Wood Cottage looked like something out of a horror film, yet, there was no way that Frank and Charlie could expect it to look any different. It was just meant to look this way, yet Emilia felt right at home and led them down the steps and into a machine — a large, noisy machine powered by internal combustion engines. The generator is fueled by coal, and there is a small deposit of it next to it. A bulky structure with exhaust pipes, gauges, and a lot of clanking parts. Hopefully, Frank will be able to make it run again? Charlie decided to stay upstairs and not descend into the darkness.

“ I'd rather wait upstairs, brother. Just in case, I will trip on the stairs! ”

Frank smiled with satisfaction to hear his sisters cowardly confession. She might enjoy berating her brother from time to time, but while Charlie was a thinker, Frank was the dooer. And also a thinker. Frank called out to Emilia as he descended the stairs, "Young miss! Please be careful, and perhaps you might offer me some specific details on the operating procedure of this specific generator. I must confess that of all the many modern mechanical marvels that I have a deep and impressive knowledge of, this is an unknown model to me". Frank considered how best to proceed and carried on, "About the lever I was suggesting from earlier? Or perhaps some coal needs shovelling into the furnace?". Frank paused before risking burning himself on the strange machine in the hope that Emilia might offer up some useful information.

“ I apologize, but my pa was mainly responsible for this. I'm not familiar with its operation, but I'm aware it's here!”

Emilia appeared confused, perhaps a bit saddened that she couldn't be more helpful in this situation. The atmosphere was tense; she longed to unravel the mysteries of the house and her own lost memories. Although she recalled more with each passing moment, the full picture remained just out of reach.

The generator appeared complex, yet if Frank possesses any knowledge of such machinery, he should be able to bring it to life. They often share similarities, from model to model. If not, maybe he could try his luck in this situation?

“ Perhaps it's the coal! You should shovel some into it, sir.”

Despite the darkness in the basement, Frank's eyes adjusted, revealing rough shapes—switches, levers, and, of course, coal and a shovel.

Frank was slightly deflated as he realised that Emilia would be of no use here. He had hoped that even in her state of obvious madness, she might provide some value to this mission but she was insisting on playing the part of a damsel in distress. Frank rummaged around in his brain for some useful ability to draw upon. No, not driving cars. That probably wasn't going to be useful in this instance. But of course! The answer became suddenly clear to him. Frank was a reporter and he would use his reporter insintict for finding the truth to determine the correct way to approach this mecahnical beast. Frank stares into the gloom, hoping to detect a likely lever to pull. Why, perhaps if he found the right lever, not only would the generator burst into life but his parents would be suddenly be revealed to him via an opened trap door!

Frank rolls for spot hidden