The Path Before Me (A Crowd-Pleaser)

Pg. 5: Maintenance

Derek looks straight into the eyes of the balding man with a warm smile. "I imagine that running a place like this must take a lot of work. I'm willing to do the nitty gritty maintenance so you don't have to."

The bald man keeps his serious face, but he nods simply at the offer; Taye's smile gets even bigger; and the woman even seems to lift one side of her lips as well.

Good, it seems like he made a good choice. If these people were kind enough to rescue him from the harsh desert then he wants to do everything he can to repay them.

"So," Derek pipes up again. "Where are we?"

The balding man's face changes to a look of childish glee. "This is my home." He looks around the office with a smile. "I've been preparing for years. I knew this day would come. I've got everything from toilet paper to machines guns. Only the select few are allowed inside so..." His glare returns and he walks closer to Derek to emphasize his point. "I will be keeping a close eye on you. Make one wrong step and I won't hesitate to take you out with whatever is closest to me."

"Don't be so harsh on the guy, Chuck," Taye places his large hand on Chuck's shoulder. "We haven't had a single accident yet."

Chuck gears his glare at Taye. "That's because I've been careful."

The light tap of high heels proceeds the woman stepping in between the men. Her face is still poised and shows no sign of fear or frustration at the men's banter. "Gentlemen," the woman speaks with a smooth, calm voice. She turns her wrist to look at a watch that is upside down. "We are approaching time for lights out."

"Fine." Chuck rolls his shoulders. "I'll go check that the posts are filled." He turns toward the right door where Derek could have chosen earlier. "This one spent his whole day sleeping," he points at Derek. "So send him to the kitchen to check on the stove. Let's see how much maintenance he can really offer. Taye, go with him; keep an eye on him."

"You got it, boss!" Taye beams as if Chuck hadn't just snapped at him moments before.

Taye reaches out to Derek, taking his arm around Derek's waist as he had done before, and begins to follow the woman toward the door on the left.

As soon as Chuck is out of the room, the woman stops and turns around and looks at Derek. "Can you really do maintenance," she asks directly.

Derek nods. "Nothing too fancy, but I did help my dad build a house once. I know how to do basic wiring, plumbing -"

"I think you should come with me," she interjects. She slightly turns her head toward the door where Chuck had just left. When she turns back to Derek, she speaks in a hushed tone. "I have a different job for you."

"Suze..." Taye responds awkwardly. "He's barely got any strength left. We can't send him down there."

"Our window is closing," Suze responds after looking at the door again. "This is our only chance to get experienced hands down there before Chuck finds out." She turns her attention to Derek, urgency slightly showing through her calm face. "Please," she asks Derek directly.

Where should Derek go?

1 - Go the kitchen like he was directed

2 - Go to the forbidden location