"Ok."
Who is that?
Justine looked for the source of the voice, but she could not tell exactly where it was coming from. She listened in curiosity.
"While I've never been the uh…bitest – brightest bulb in the drawer or anything but, um…I guess I just didn't realize that after you-"
The voice stopped for only a moment but continued as if it had skipped over nothing.
"So…after about uh…twenty more minutes of stacking boxes and all that stuff, I am back here and have done everything I have done up until this point."
How long have you been following me?
"I know I probably didn't need to say any of that, but I just thought I'd like you all to know: I fucked up."
'All'? Who else is with you?
"Anyway…"
The voice was not coming from where Justine had escaped Basile, so she went forward to confront whoever owned this voice.
"Back to the dungeon…"
A phonograph was waiting next to the door out. Justine briefly debated whether or not to continue first but decided if nothing else it would assure the voice she had not noticed it yet and that there was no need to worry. She cranked life into the machine and listened to the voice from the past.
"I'm sure you have figured out how it all works by now."
"Oh ho, certainly."
"Are you enjoying my quips?"
"Not really."
"I think they are quite clever."
"I don't."
"Not that I ever was much of a conversationalist, poetry has always been my forte."
"And mocking the shit out of you is mine."
As is annoying me.
"But I digress. You should press on, it will all be over soon."
"Thank God!"
"Also, the police are here,"
"Oh, are they – wait…"
"…maybe they can help you."
"No…because no…you said this was a recording from the past! So unless it's the not-so-distant past, that means jackshit! And unless the police are here and you had time to walk down here, place your little recording thing – after recording the messege! It – ugh – fuck it."
Gladly.
Justine opened the door and saw another one down a small section of stairs and surrounded by water.
As if this dress wasn't enough of a hassle already.
"Oh! Oh thank Christ, water. I was wondering when this part was coming."
Who and what are you?
The door led to a large area filled with water that came to Justine's waist. Large machinery she knew nothing of filled the room and seemingly nothing else save some chains and doors. Justine closed the door and moved on.
"Close – ok."
The voice was obviously less than pleased with its predicament, as if it were worse than Justine's. A tear in the stone ceiling above was letting in some light.
"More wall-ginas…"
Excuse moi?
"All the wall-gina."
I'm going to begin shunning you now.
Through an open archway Justine soon found another door.
"Blah, blah, blah, door – locked."
Great.
"Something will probably break out of there and try to kill me."
Well this just keeps getting better and better!
Justine took a nearby barrel and placed it in the archway.
"I just get the feeling, so I will block his path. 'Cause monsters can't walk past barrels."
It's better than nothing.
"I think…I don't know, let's move a bunch of stuff in his way."
Justine took a floating box and put it in the archway as well.
If another one of them is going to come it better be out of this door.
"Just to annoy him."
Forget it; it'll all just float away.
On the other side of the room was a door that would open.
"That is if there's no monster in here."
I can tell I won't like you.
"I wonder if there's any meat around, 'cause then I can just throw it and distract them."
These are men, loosely speaking, not animals. Unless they are starving and would do anything for food I don't think that would work.
Soon there was another door that led to a smaller room.
"I like doing that – ah, fucking pull doors, why can't there all be push doors? Make me running around so easy…"
That is why they're all pull doors, Mr. Voice. Also, if you don't tell me who you are I'm afraid I'll have to name you myself, and given how annoying you've been I won't be kind with the name.
"Uh…what've we got?"
We've got floating boxes and half submerged shelves.
Justine tried jumping onto one box for a better view and found it near impossible with a dress weighted by water. A larger box was behind her in front of one of the bookcases so she tried to jump on it instead. Her first attempt did fail but she saw an envelope on the top shelf.
"More boxes…oh a letter."
She made it up her next try and tossed aside the box that was on top of the envelope.
"Take that, box! Ah, what've we have…?"
We have an annoying voice and an unopened letter.
Normally Justine read quietly to herself, but the voice seemed very enthusiastic about reading. In fact the voices it used were very fun. It started plainly.
"Monsieur Florbelle-"
Then it groaned with absolute disdain in its low voice. It seemed as if the voice would become the next foe but before any measures could be take it loudly continued reading using the mock vocal patterns of an individual with a rather hefty case of mental retardation.
"MY NAME IS DANIEL, A FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE OF PROFESSOR HERBERT!"
Justine stared at the paper at a loss for words. The voice groaned again and continued reading in a combination of a testy tone, as if any moment he would find this Daniel fellow and pummel him into oblivion, and a mock tone of a British prat.
"As I have come to understand, you are among his most trusted friends and confidantes, therefore I shall reveal my predicament in hope that you can shed some light on the matter. You see I am a coward and have been wetting the bed since I was five."
The last line was blatantly impromptu, but it made the voice more likable. The voice began again, racing through the words in a normal tone, occasionally drifting into a whisper.
"Earlier this year Herbet and I set out on an expedition to the deserts of Algeria. While looking for the legendary tomb of Tin Hinan we happened upon a cavern temple buried deep beneath the sand. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, extensive cowardice, blah, blah, blah, murdering people…. I have since lost all contact with Herbert and I find myself deeply troubled by the whole affair. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, killing more people, child killing, yadda, yadda, torture, Daniel."
The voice groaned.
…well that was a lovely reading. Given your obvious distaste for the fellow, I think I'll call you Daniel.
A rat squeaked and Justine continued her exploring in a slightly better mood.
"It's ok little ratty-rats. 'Cause those tormenting words are gone now."
I'd rather like to meet this Daniel, he sounds like a funny fellow to be around. He must not be much of a gentleman though; he did not even sign his last name on the letter asking for assistance. I'd be amazed if anyone helped him.
There was nothing but boxes in the attached room and once back in the main part of the smaller room Justine saw a broken lever on a table.
"What an interesting room – oh! Duh, why wasn't that the first place I looked?"
I guess hearing you read is more interesting, Daniel.
Justine took the lever with her. There was a place for it back out in the main area.
"There's a giant cudgel…giant lever on the table."
Air from a misaligned pipe blew onto Justine as she left.
"What's blowing at me? Shut up pipe!"
Yelling at inanimate object, Daniel, and I'm the crazy one of us. That does not suit me well.
Daniel's entity and Justine's physical self were at the heavy metal door where the lever had to go.
"Ok, now if I know much about these games, which I like to think I do at this point, the moment I put that lever in there something's gonna come at me, so I'm gonna open it…and, uh…close it – if I can on the other side…hopefully…hopefully I can."
Justine firmly locked the lever into place and neither heard nor saw anything come.
I guess you don't know much about these 'games', Daniel.
"Nothing yet…"
Up the lever went, slowly up the door crawled, and quickly called the monster.
Viens m'enculer.
"There it is!"
Justine rushed into the next area and pulled a lever to reclose the door.
"Hey, another lever. Let's uh…pull that shut."
The beast complained but was now trapped behind a metal blockade.
Ha, I'm safe.
"Sucker! I am so smart – again! Now what? Um…"
The room was very strange. There was a lifted platform and four stone pillars surrounding it, torture cages hung from above and floated in the water.
"I should probably start looking for something."
Justine went through an open doorway to the left and the following wooden door. Inside was a mess of machinery she did not understand past seeing a free place for a cogwheel.
"Ok, this is one of those gear rooms, um…with nothing."
To the right room it was.
"Man, that monster must be big 'cause it's playing its drums loud."
I hear no drums, Daniel, but I suppose that means this one is Malo. Odd though, you think you would hear a violin.
"Oh good, a push door."
Praise the heavens, Daniel.
"I do so prefer those. Now if I was right there's one cogwheel missing so I need to find one in another-"
In the only other room, immediately across from Justine, was a large cogwheel resting on a table.
How convenient.
"Ok, there's one. I'll take that one."
Justine took the large cogwheel in hand and made her way back to the gear room.
"Let's move quickly."
Malo was beating against the door.
"OK, let's move very quickly! Run faster little girl."
I am a grown woman!
To gain better footing Justine ran across the platform when she reached it. Unfortunately the weight of her soaked dress slowed her down more than simply being in the water did.
"We'll use this, 'cause it'll move you faster or slower – slower I guess, huh?"
Malo continued hitting the door. As each hit grew louder Justine was convince he was bending and ripping the metal with the force of his hits.
Why is the violinist this strong?
At last Justine got the cog on and Malo hit the door even harder. Any moment he would be here. She ran for the door.
"Oh, wow, he's uh…moving pretty fast now, actually. Time to get through this, uh…"
Malo was in, he had broken the door and Justine felt like a sitting duck as she pulled the lever.
"Come on, grab the handle, bitch. Shit."
Shut the fuck up, Daniel!
Justine had no time to wait for the door. She ducked down neck-deep into the water and went under the door the second she could. Once on the other side she pulled the lever and closed Malo out.
"Ok, um…"
There were turn wheels everywhere and Malo was beating the door down much quicker than he had the first one. There was no time to think anything through and Justine turned the first wheel, closing the metal door to protect the police man inside from Malo.
"Close it faster, girl."
The damn thing's rusted, Daniel!
The door was closed and Malo was now inside. Justine ran for the main door out but rather than a quick lever her door had a turn wheel as well.
VIENS M'ENCULER!
She tried to turn the wheel but it would not cooperate no matter how hard she tried. Malo had to be closing in. Justine turned to run and buy time but Malo was already there. He clawed at her chest, forcing her head to hit the turn wheel on the way down as she bled out into the water.
"Ah, DAMNIT!"
"I want you."
Justine's vision faded to black as she lost consciousness and life. The last thing she felt was Malo taking her flesh as his own, and the last things she heard was Malo's chewing and Daniel speaking.
"Ok…let's try that again."
