Phoebe's words hung in the air between the four coworkers until she dismissed the dialogue box with a thought. Igor, Phoebe, and Leo exchanged looks of uncertainty like they'd just learned the rules of euchre.
"A customer?" Igor asked, looking at Phoebe for confirmation of her augury.
"Go get 'em, boss man," Angie said, distractedly glancing at Igor. She'd gotten sidetracked multiple times before they'd managed to get her to join them at the table in the break room. Now, she was picking at something on the underside of the table.
"Aren't you two the cashiers?" Leo asked, looking between Angie and Phoebe.
"We're on break; besides, it's just one customer," Angie replied, not knowing or not caring that Phoebe's break had just ended.
"I don't think splitting up is a good idea," Igor said sheepishly.
"No, he's right. We should stick together. Besides, it's not like that door would slow anything for long," Leo agreed.
Angie stood up suddenly and walked to the counter with the microwave on it; she pulled open a drawer and removed a butter knife like it was the prize at the bottom of the cereal box.
"I mean, yeah, weapons are a good idea, but I don't think a butter knife will cut it," Leo said, half joking, half confused.
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Angie didn't respond as she returned to the table and sat on the floor beside her chair, where she resumed her efforts to peel free a wad of ancient gum.
The rest of the party stared at the girl for several seconds, waiting for any indication she'd registered the strange looks she was getting. By way of apathy or ignorance, she weathered their stares until Igor picked up the threads of the conversation.
"You're right," He said, considering their options. "We probably could use mops, brooms, shovels, and such as clubs or staves."
Leo gave Igor a skeptical look. "You really think you could take down a giant-ass rat with a mop? Red over there got lucky with the sign, and it had a weighted base with an actual edge. Even then, I'd be surprised if she could pull the same trick off twice. The city is like six feet away; you can't tell me the manager doesn't have a gun in his office."
"Feel free to call him and ask for the code then," Igor shot back, annoyed at Leo's dismissive attitude to ideas not his own.
Leo might have taken Igor up on the suggestion, except phones had been spotty even before the vortex had locked Forest Lake in a time loop. Their party had already tried multiple times each to call loved ones, emergency services, and, in one case, a rat exterminator. "What? Angie had said, "That's a big fucking rat, I just wanted to get an estimate." Only when she'd failed to connect for the third time had she been willing to concede there wasn't better reception atop the table.
"Fine, but we should at least sharpen one end," Leo said, conceding the point.
"I got it!" Angie announced happily, holding up the crusty piece of gum.
"You're not going to eat that, are you?" Phoebe asked with concern.
"What? No, it was just bugging me. Anyway, did we ever help the customer?"
"We're making a plan. Feel free to contribute," Leo said, his patience with the checker waning.
"Oh, thanks! Umm, how about chairs? Phoebes and I might be a little too small for that, but Phoebe can use the toaster as a flail, and I can use a knife!" Angie demonstrated the last by stabbing at empty air with her blunt blade.
"Chairs are a terrible weapon; they're too bulky," Leo said dismissively.
"Wow, I for sure thought your problem would be with the toaster flail," Angie said, still unconcerned with his tone. "There's probably bleach in a spray bottle under the sink. Put it on stream mode and aim for the eyes. You blind 'em, I'll stab 'em. You know, if they're bad guys and not just looking for gum or something."