Through the Slotted Grille

I climbed up from the sub-floor cavity through the edge of the metal vent frame, stepping out onto the open carpet. The blue plastic pen cap I had spotted earlier lay upright against the wool pile, barely half a body length away. I reached out and tapped its hollow tube; it resonated with a clean, light click. Working both arms around its clip, I leveraged it loose from the carpet fibers. It is surprisingly rigid, with a cylindrical interior that could easily store small salvage or act as an acoustic funnel for checking hollows behind the wall.