[attr="class","gleeframe"]

[attr="class","glee2reescroll"]
[break][break]
It was roughly an hour and a half past noon, at least, that's what it felt like. The sun was in the sky bearing down upon Gleeford's shoulders, which was a pleasant relief. It was chilly out, so that smidgeon of warmth was appreciated. Having just entered the property, Gleeford scanned the surroundings. As far as he knew, the wood he was collecting was for firewood so it didn't have to be overtly sturdy. That was probably a good thing. He didn't imagine that subsurface lumber was going to be prime building material, especially if it had been there for awhile. It should burn, thought. That much he was inexplicably confident about.

[break][break]

"Eenie... Meenie... Miney... Mo! That's the winner right there." Gleeford was hoisting the shovel up horizontally. His arm shook under the added stress of trying to dance the shovel around, pointing from one grave to the next. He wasn't particularly nervous about the actions he was about to take. He had never robbed a grave before, but in a collapsed world it didn't seem all that bad. Especially since it was technically going towards a good use. It was very easy for Gleeford to convince himself that nothing he was doing was wrong.

[break][break]

Standing above the headstone he had decided on, Gleeford gave it a solid kick. It hardly shook, which set off a little burst of frustration. He hadn't even started working yet, and he was already getting annoyed. Kicking forward several times more, he eventually managed to dislodge the large slab of granite. Snatching the shovel in a huff, he began to slam it into the ground under where the stone had been. Having never been to a funeral, he didn't quite grasp that the coffin wouldn't be directly below the headstone. After several exploratory jabs, he eventually realized his mistake and adjusted his starting point a few feet back.

[break][break]

"Huff... Round two." The sun was slowly drifting through the sky as he actually got to actionable work. It had taken longer than he would be willing to admit for him to realize he was digging in the wrong spot. He'd be angrier, but he was already winded. This was time to be cold and assertive. Get the job done, get his reward, and forget about his fuckup. With a firm stomp of his foot, he pressed the shovel into the ground. One scoop, two scoops, craaaack. Huh? Crack? Looking down, Gleeford winced in sheer disbelief. The shovel's worn down handle had split at a weird angle. Why was this so hard?!

[attr="class","gleeframe2"]

[attr="class","gleeframe"]

[attr="class","glee2reescroll"]
[break][break]
Standing on the wooden surface itself, Gleeford began carving out the edge of the pit around it. He needed to get the muck at the sides cleared, otherwise he would never be able to lift it. It was lodged into the hole, even though the top was uncovered. Pressing down to get tracking, he began scraping out the sides with the shovel blade. The process was going smooth, but groans from the wood started to alarm him. It was creaking and flexing under his foot. Deciding to reassess how to do this, Gleeford put his elbows on the rim of the hole and pressed down to bounce up and hoist himself out. It did not go as planned.

[break][break]

"Agahhh! No! No! Not like this! Get off me, get off me..." Gleeford's ankle was 'clutched' by the lid of the casket that had broken under the weight of his foot. He had breached the surface, and in a panic began yanking at his foot. He could feel objects crunching as he flailed his foot around, until another split in the lid allowed him to yank his foot free. There was a whitish gray dust coating his shoe and pantleg after it emerged from the hole. He wanted to quickly pat it off, but he wasn't brave enough to get it on his hands. Instead, he waved his leg around in the air, trying to shake off any particles of human dust.

[break][break]

"... Teach you to make me look like an idiot. Fricken stupid junk. How shittily was that made? I ain't that heavy..." Gleeford dropped back into the pit with some fervor as he gripped at the edges of the crack he had made. Using aggressive levels of force, he began to break off large splints of wood. The lid broke apart easily enough using cracks extending from the vulnerability he had made. Eventually, he managed to wedge off a large corner of the lid, then another, and then he had cleared the top. The pieces of wood were larger than he was expecting. He wouldn't even need the whole casket to get a whole load. Keeping at it, he wedged a foot against the top edge of one of the sides of the casket. Pressing forward at an angle from above, the miscreant managed to crack it inwards, and splinter the side down.

[break][break]

"Yes! Cracked this bastard!" Having a little success, Gleeford rounded the edges of the casket repeating the process. He now had two long planks from the sides, and two shorter ones from the top and bottom of the vessel. Gleeford reveled at his prizes, taking special care not to stare at the body too much. He wasn't grossed out, considering it was mostly mummified and bone, but it was still unnerving. Instead, he managed to free a few more chunks of wood before concluding he had enough. With the fragmented lid, the shovel handle, and the planks he had formed from the sides, he was content. He wouldn't have to dig out any more of the coffin to finish this mission. Lucky.

[break][break]

"Tch, too easy." Wiping some sweat from his brow, Gleeford recoiled at how cold the liquid was. He was warm from moving around all afternoon, but it was chilly out. Looking to the horizon, he was alarmed by how low the sun was. It was barely a sliver of crimson in the distance. Hunching over, Gleeford scurried to gather up his wood, only stopping when he heard a noise. It was coming from the pit he had dug. He figured the coffin must be breaking more, or perhaps the sides of the pit were caving in. Taking a glance over the edge, Gleeford was 'greeted' by a desiccated head rising towards him with a silent intensity. The eyes cloudy and dried out didn't seem to 'see' him, but still the head was facing him as the body climbed from its chamber. In a panic, Gleeford took what lumber he had, and sprinted out the gate without looking back. He made a mental note not to mess with graves for awhile, as he ducked and weaved through streets towards where people gathered. He would never admit that he had been scared half to death on this little excursion.

[attr="class","gleeframe2"]