[ matt stops immediately upon her don't and karen tries not to feel... not satisfied, because that's a bit too harsh, but she does relax a marginal amount. she's not in a place to have this conversation, not right now, not when they need to get out of this. and once they're safe, and free of the slowly rising water, they can return to whatever it is what matt had planned on saying.
or maybe they won't. maybe they'll get outside this glass and matt will just disappear, again. karen hates that her mind immediately goes to that, to the after, to what it is she's supposed to do with that after- but then she shoves the thought away. they have to get through the now, first.
matt follows her to the spread of desks, and Karen lets go of him when he feels it's safe enough that he'll stay close, shuffling through the drawers, pulling free notes and folders. she tries tor read them, blinking and shaking her head when the notes start to read a bit too familiar, knowing how this goes. knowing that it's not right. even so, the words pull her, thoughts and angry words she's only told herself in the safety of her own head, or the darkness of her bedroom.
a code matt's voice breaks through her thoughts, jerking her out of the stillness that had threatened to settle over her. she looks back to where matt is fumbling around on the desk, confused at what he's looking for, and she's about to say as much when he lifs what looks like a plastic folder. ]
What? [ she asks, closing the distance back over to him and pulling the sealed package from his hands. ] Where did you find this? It's- [ she scans the pages, checking over the lines, the shapes she sees. her eyes widen when she realizes she recognizes them, her gaze turning back to him. ] This is it. This can- [ she turns it over in her hands, starts to read some of the additional instructions along the back, as she distractedly grabs his arm and starts to walk them both towards the window. ]
You found it. This will open the window, but- [ she stops, reading the line over and over again. she tries not to sound panicked when she continues. ] The panel- it's outside, around the back. We need. [ a beat, she swallows, and then exhales. ] We need someone outside to do it.
YES DESERVEDLY!!!!
or maybe they won't. maybe they'll get outside this glass and matt will just disappear, again. karen hates that her mind immediately goes to that, to the after, to what it is she's supposed to do with that after- but then she shoves the thought away. they have to get through the now, first.
matt follows her to the spread of desks, and Karen lets go of him when he feels it's safe enough that he'll stay close, shuffling through the drawers, pulling free notes and folders. she tries tor read them, blinking and shaking her head when the notes start to read a bit too familiar, knowing how this goes. knowing that it's not right. even so, the words pull her, thoughts and angry words she's only told herself in the safety of her own head, or the darkness of her bedroom.
a code matt's voice breaks through her thoughts, jerking her out of the stillness that had threatened to settle over her. she looks back to where matt is fumbling around on the desk, confused at what he's looking for, and she's about to say as much when he lifs what looks like a plastic folder. ]
What? [ she asks, closing the distance back over to him and pulling the sealed package from his hands. ] Where did you find this? It's- [ she scans the pages, checking over the lines, the shapes she sees. her eyes widen when she realizes she recognizes them, her gaze turning back to him. ] This is it. This can- [ she turns it over in her hands, starts to read some of the additional instructions along the back, as she distractedly grabs his arm and starts to walk them both towards the window. ]
You found it. This will open the window, but- [ she stops, reading the line over and over again. she tries not to sound panicked when she continues. ] The panel- it's outside, around the back. We need. [ a beat, she swallows, and then exhales. ] We need someone outside to do it.