A/N: This idea popped into my head after watching a walkthrough of Amnesia. (Playing it once was enough…for now. :3). I began to wonder if the voices Daniel heard at points were all in his head, or if there really were ghosts haunting Brennenburg. I mean, the place is the epitome of Big Creepy Castle, why not? :3 At this point, I really just enjoy kicking Daniel around. That, and I have a morbid fascination with the Arsonist XD. I hope you enjoy!
Amnesia is owned by Frictional Games. I don't own a lantern, let alone a tinderbox.
Warning: T for Torture and G for Gruesome!
Groaning, Daniel sank to his knees. His mind was reeling with memories, with voices, that overwhelmed him and consumed him. And they should, Daniel thought, tears welling in his eyes.
He looked up, looking at the Judas Cradle without quite seeing it. It would be so easy to lay down here, to close his eyes and slip away into oblivion…
Tremors shook the castle to its core, faint roars echoing somewhere in the distance. Unbalanced with exhaustion and hunger, Daniel pitched forward. His lantern slipped from his hand, landing with a clatter on the floor.
The light went out, and suddenly everything was much, much darker. Gasping for breath, Daniel crawled to the nearest wall, slamming himself up against it. Tears trickling from his eyes as Brennenburg continued to tremble. The Shadow was creeping ever closer…it would only be a matter of time before it caught him…Beleaguered, Daniel closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.
"Oh, do get up."
"What do you mean? Let him lie there and die like the dog he is!"
"Hush, William, you don't mean that."
"Like hell I don't."
"We need him! He's the only one—"
"Shush! The both of you. I think he's coming around."
"Mister Daniel, sir?"
Insanity had dogged Daniel's footsteps from the moment he had awoken, so Daniel was more than inclined to attribute the voices that hovered near him now to his weakened mental state. But the last voice to be speak had been that of a mere child, a clear, innocent voice that he was certain he hadn't heard before.
Half-expecting some demon to be standing in front of him, Daniel opened his eyes.
What he saw instead was a crowd of people, men, women, and children, all staring at him expectantly, and all clearly dead.
Daniel shot straight up, biting down hard on his hand to keep himself from screaming.
"Calm down," the man closest to him reached out with a transparent hand, "we're not here to harm you."
As the hand touched Daniel, he winced, feeling as though he had been dunked into a bucket of icy water. The unpleasant feeling was shoved to the back of his mind as another man crossed his arms over his chest. "Speak for yourself," the ghost growled, glaring at Daniel with the intent to kill.
"Who…who are you?" Daniel whispered.
The ghostly man close to him shook his head sadly. "You don't remember us—oh, of course not. Not after drinking the amnesia mixture. We thought, perhaps, that a decent haunting would stir your memories…if not…"
The ghost who seemed ready to kill Daniel stepped forward. "Perhaps this will refresh your memory."
Daniel's scream carried throughout Brennenburg, probably alerting more than one grunt to his location, but for once he did not care if he was discovered.
The crowd of dead had swayed as though caught in a wind. As one, their whole bodies decayed, limbs cracking, blood spurting, faces twisted into hideous mockeries of humanity.
The belligerent ghost went slack as his limbs shattered, his chest caving in. One woman screamed as her limbs dislocated. Another became gaunt from starvation. A man choked and spluttered as water filled his lungs, while his companion whimpered as his skin was torn to ribbons. Yet another was split almost in two, his innards spilling across the stone floor. And the one closest to him, the kind one, couldn't help but to sob as blood trickled down his legs.
The one that arrested Daniel's attention, however, was the small girl in a smudged blue dress, who stared at him with wide eyes as blood ran from the gash on her forehead.
"I—I—I—" There were words, the proper words, stuck somewhere deep in his throat. But for the moment all Daniel could do was stammer uselessly, fear choking his words and a horrible realization burning like acid in his stomach. "What have I done?"
"You've caused the deaths of more than one innocent." The belligerent ghost snapped himself back together with little effort. "Your selfishness is the reason that child is dead!" He pointed to the girl with the blue dress, taking a step towards Daniel.
The kind ghost flung his arm out, stopping his fellow as Daniel sank back to the ground, heaving. "Enough, William. Too many memories will destroy his mind…and we need him."
"No one elected you leader, Phillip," William spat.
Phillip didn't reply, save to give William a frosty glare. The rest of the crowd backed away instinctively as the two dead man stared each other down, tensing as though they could still draw each other's blood.
The girl in the blue dress, meanwhile, had crouched down beside the now-forgotten Daniel, resting her cool little hand on top of his warm one. "Mister Daniel, sir?"
Daniel looked up a bit at the girl's voice, his eyes dark and haunted. "I am so, so, sorry." His voice was hoarse. His throat was raw and bloody, as if someone had taken a knife and scraped around the inside of it. 'Sorry' was hardly the right word…'sorry' could not sum up all of his regret and sorrow…'sorry' was not going to make anything better.
The girl in the blue dress smiled, reaching out to touch his hollowed cheek. "You're going to get the bad men, right?"
William began to speak up, but Phillip jabbed him sharply.
"You'll get the bad men, right?" The girl in the blue dress repeated, her smile faltering at the look on Daniel's face.
Daniel glanced around the crowd of spirits, and beyond that, the Judas Cradle. So many thing he deserved to be punished for…So many things that needed to be put right… Two men were going to pay for their crimes tonight, and this time, they were truly guilty…
He closed his eyes, hand curling into a fist. "Yes," he whispered, "I'll stop the bad men."
....
Daniel awoke with a gasp, heart pounding, hands shaking. He sat up a bit, groaning at the way the world spun. The bloodied Judas Cradle winked at him in the darkness. Not trusting himself to stand just yet, Daniel fished around blindly for his lantern.
Soon the cool metal was warming under his tight grip, and the faint glow emitting from the lantern offered a friendly bit of sanity in a world gone mad. He stood.
Daniel let out a breath of air as he gently pushed aside some oddly-placed rocks in one corner of the room. A piece of orb glimmered maliciously as he picked it up, studying it before shoving it into his bag. He'd found one piece, only a few more to go…
I'll do anything! I'll do whatever you want! I'm innocent!
Daniel jerked his head towards the Judas Cradle, breath quickening. The voice sounded so familiar…
You'll stop the bad men, right?
"I'll do whatever it takes." Daniel announced aloud, not sure if he was talking to himself or if there actually was anyone listening. Nevertheless, the action was oddly comforting, and Daniel felt relatively sane as he exited the room.
Unbeknownst to him, he was followed by more than just monsters.
The little girl clutched Phillip's hand even as she looked up at him expectantly. Her eyes were solemn and searching.
"We have to trust him." Phillip assured her, his eyes flickering upwards as Daniel stumbled a bit. "He's the only one who can stop Alexander now."
William turned away, face darkening. "Poor unfortunate bastard."
Kids. I have such a hard time writing kids. *facepalm*
So I'm thinking about writing a multi-chap fic (roughly around 20 chapters) detailing the non-adventures and horrors of Phillip, Benji, William, and the rest of the prisoners trying to survive in Brennenburg. The ending is a forgone conclusion, but it'd be fun to write, and to flesh out the characters that are bouncing around my head right now. Thoughts, anyone? I know my wonderful beta reader Bel gave the the green-light, and I always take her advice into consideration.
As always, I owe a huge thank-you and internet cookies to Belphegor, who patiently puts up with all the weird and wacky fics I send her. Thank you, Bel!
Thanks for reading! And remember, reviews are love.
~Chaos