Thank you to everyone who has stuck with the story thus far, it means a lot!
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She was going to kill him. No, no that was a bit much. She still needed him for answers. Maybe a nice broken nose wasn't out of the question. Sophie wasn't a violent person in general but Dr. Jimenez set her blood a boil. It was his letter that put her in this predicament. She could look past that, being a rational person and all, if it wasn't for the fact that he had lured her to Beacon Mental Hospital under false pretenses. If what Ruvik said was true, Dr. Jimenez has had ulterior motives towards her since the beginning. 'Our subject.' That's what Ruvik had said. Now Sophie was going to find out exactly what that entailed.
She placed the briefcase on the ground gently. She didn't want to approach Dr. Jimenez with it. He may try to take it away from her and it was the only clue she had to all of this craziness. She rose slowly from her hiding place behind the crate. The doctor's back was turned away from her to view the zombies below.
"Doctor Jimenez," she whispered to him. He gave a violent start and turned around, his face white from fear.
"O-oh, M-Miss Burke…It's nice to see a friendly face." He stammered out. She wanted to tell him that he shouldn't jump to such conclusions but she kept her mouth shut.
"Doctor, I believe that we need to talk," she said in her best diplomatic voice possible, but she couldn't fully disguise the anger the welled up inside her. "I have some questi…"
"H-have you seen anyone else? I just lost track of Leslie but I haven't seen the detectives." Dr. Jimenez said, interrupting her. It was a weak attempt at changing the subject and she wasn't going to allow him to prevail. She approached the doctor slowly, purposefully. She felt like a predator stalking its prey.
"Matter of fact, I have, "she said in a nonchalant voice. "I ran across the police officer's corpse not too long ago but I have also encountered a very interesting man." Beads of sweat started to run down his face at her words, he wiped them away with a shaking hand. "He says his name is Ruvik." He let out a large rush of air, as though she had just punched him in the stomach.
"I-I've never heard of him." He said, turning his back to her. Avoiding her probing eyes. Sophie folded her arms over her chest. This man was a terrible liar. She hoped that he would retain that trait throughout their talk.
"We should find a way out of this place, Miss Burke," he said in a strained voice. Another weak attempt to steer the course of conversation to safer waters. She ignored him and continued on with her questioning.
"Ruvik seemed to know you, doctor. He claims you were partners and that I was to be your subject. Now what could he possibly have meant by that?" She asked him, anger lacing each word. He abruptly turned to face her.
"That man is insane! You cannot trust anything that he says, Miss Burke." She took a deliberate step forward, a sickly sweet smile overtaking her face.
"Oh, I have no doubt that he is not in complete control of his faculties, Dr. Jimenez. But I thought you hadn't heard of him." The doctor turned green at her words. Good. She wanted him to be uneasy. From the corner of her eye she could see the detective running through the courtyard below. She was running out of time. She decided it was time to cut to the chase. "I need answers, doctor. Why did you bring me here?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about." She slapped him.
"I am not a fool! I saw you try to hide your briefcase from me and you have been nervous and evasive ever since we met. From one human being to another I am asking you to be honest with me." He returned his gaze to the zombies below, conflict in his eyes. He let out a sigh and approached her, grasping her arm painfully.
"You have to understand, what we did was done in the name of progress. I didn't mean for it to go as far as it did but he went too far, They wanted him to go too far." They? Who the hell was they? He let go of her arm and he started to pace furiously. It was obvious that he was letting go of years of turmoil. "It started off simple enough. Some lives were lost but they were insane, they were no loss to society. So what was the harm? But I underestimated Ruvik's genius, his insatiable lust for knowledge. He started to experiment on normal people, people with lives. People who would be missed. He was drawing attention to our work and They could not allow that. So They allowed me to get rid of him. To turn him into the next great step in our project." The doctor's eyes were wild as he spoke. He looked half crazed.
"What does any of this have to do with me?" He looked at her with surprise, as though he had forgotten that she was there.
"You were part of the project. You were to be joined with Ruvik, after Leslie, that is." Joined with him? What on Earth did that mean? He walked back over to her and grabbed her shoulders, his nails digging painfully into her skin.
"I warned them after he was connected with Mr. Rankin. They didn't believe me, and now we are paying the price." A door abruptly opening and closing and loud curse words signaled the entrance of the male detective.
"Ruvik cannot get Leslie! Nothing is more important than this!" He whispered urgently. "If Ruvik gets him it will mean the end to all of us, especially you, Miss Burke." The woodened steps echoed ominously as the detective climbed the stairs, "Don't tell any of this to anyone! I don't know who works for Them. If They found out you knew anything of the project you may be killed…or worse." He stepped away from her and looked toward the stairwell as the detective entered from below. The doctor called out to him but the detective must have been spooked because he turned his gun on Jimenez.
"Don't shoot! We're living!" The doctor said. The detective looked the doctor and Sophie over before moving forward.
"You two were in the ambulance, right? Have you seen anyone else around?" The doctor nodded at the detective's inquiry.
"My patient Leslie ran through those gates," the doctor said, pointing toward the opposite end of the village. "I was chased all the way here by those things. I believe Miss Burke said that she came across the body of the police officer, isn't that right Miss Burke?" Sophie didn't respond, she was still trying to process everything that the doctor had just told her.
"Miss Burke?" the doctor asked again and Sophie snapped out of it.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"It's ok, I know Officer Connelly is dead. I had to take care of him myself. He turned into whatever those things are out there," the detective said, unknowingly giving Sophie a bit of a reprieve.
"I think you should take a look at this, detective," Jimenez said, indicating for the officer to follow him to the balcony. Sophie stayed in the main part of the building, contemplating her next move.
She would have to lose them, at least temporarily. She needed to get the briefcase open and take the contents without either of them knowing. After what the doctor told her, she knew there was no one for her to trust. One of the detectives could work for Them. Whoever the hell that is. There was a barn about two houses down, it had to have something in there for her to pry the lock open with. She just needed a way over there.
"One of us can lure them away while the other tries to get the gate open. You're the one with the gun…" Sophie heard the doctor say to the detective. That sounded like a good plan to get everyone killed.
"You can't be serious." Sophie said, finally speaking up.
"What's wrong with my idea," the doctor asked indignantly.
"A few things, actually. First of all, if you go out there whooping and hollering then you're going to make them all swarm around you. In case you haven't noticed, these particular zombies are very capable of running. Do you really want about twenty of those things chasing after you? Second of all, there isn't exactly a whole lot of room down there. You would have to double back to the gate and hope to God the detective has gotten it open by that time. Which brings me to my third point. One of those things is guarding the gate with a gun. He's also on a stairwell which gives him a pretty good vantage point."
"I can always shoot him." The detective said, trying to redeem their plan.
"Which would garner the attention of the zombies and make them come after you instead. I thought you would have learned that bullets are a no-no after your last run in with a group of those things." The detective's eyebrows furrowed at her words.
"How did you know I encountered a group of them?" He asked suspiciously. Sophie was taken aback. How could she be so stupid? She couldn't say that she was right behind him before Ruvik transported her. She didn't know if he could be trusted.
"I-I was on the other side of the embankment when I saw you run across the bridge. I found a boat to take across." She hoped to God she was more of a convincing liar than Jimenez. The detective nodded his head but there seemed to be doubt in his eyes.
"So what do you suggest we do, Miss Burke?" The doctor inquired, obviously miffed that his plan had been torn asunder.
"Well, there is a barn not too far away from here. How about we sneak over there, grab some rope, and then use a house close to the wall in order to climb over." The detective smiled at her words.
"That sounds like a good plan to me." He said, slapping her on the back in congratulations.
"The barn?" The doctor asked meekly, the blood draining from his face.
"What's wrong with the barn?" The detective asked him.
"Oh, it's just that…I think that someone should remain here. To warn the others in case those things approach them or to cause a distraction if need be." The doctor was lying again. Sophie looked at the detective through her peripheral vision. He seemed to be perturbed by the doctor's words.
"Sounds good," the detective said, his words clipped in irritation. "Take this, I am sure it'll prove to be distraction enough." The detective handed him a grenade. Jimenez's eyes widened from fear and surprise.
"Where on Earth did you get this?" The doctor asked, reluctantly reaching out to take the deadly device. The detective grinned at him.
"I found a bunch of them, actually. They were in a crate by the river." It was Sophie's turn for the blood to drain from her face. What if the doctor went looking for weapons in crates while she was gone? He might find the brief case. She didn't have time to move it though.
"Please keep a good watch while we're out there, doctor. I would very much like to not die today." Sophie said, hoping that would be good enough to keep him from snooping around. Jimenez nodded and went to his post on the balcony. Sophie gave a nervous look towards the crate concealing the brief case before following the detective to the stairwell.
"What is your name? Given the circumstances, I'd feel a bit weird if I were to call you 'Miss Burke' throughout whatever the hell this situation is." Sophie brightened at his words. She may not be able to trust him but he seemed like a decent enough guy.
"It's Sophie."
"I am Sebastian, although I'd prefer it if you called me Sebs." Sophie smiled, even though he couldn't see it.
"Sebs it is then." When they reached the bottom of the stairwell he turned to face her.
"What kind of weapons do you have on you?" He asked, scanning her over with his eyes.
"Unfortunately, nothing at the moment." She said sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders. She really hadn't seen anything useful besides some bottles, but those wouldn't do much for what they were up against.
"Here, take this." He handed her a hunting knife. The blade was only about five inches long but it'd do in a pinch. "I wish I could give you something better but I only have the one gun." Sophie shook her head.
"I don't know how to use a gun and, like I said before, I don't think a gun is a good idea around these creatures. They seem to be drawn to noise."
"I must admit, I am glad you're the one coming with me," he said, moving toward the back door, checking behind every corner for any stray zombies.
"Why is that?" she whispered, her heart racing as what they were about to do started to sink into her mind.
"That man is obviously a coward. That's not the type of person I want watching my back." They reached the door and he paused, his hand suspended in the air. He looked over his shoulder to her. "Are you ready for this?" Sophie swallowed hard, even though her entire mouth had gone completely dry.
"I am as ready as I'll ever be." With that Sebastian opened the door slowly, the hinges protesting loudly from the movement. Sophie couldn't help but cringe at the noise. It seemed to echo into the night air. She hoped this wasn't an omen for the rest of their little journey.
They stepped out onto the porch, no zombies in sight. That was a good start. They moved off of the porch and onto the ground, the soft dirt yielding gently beneath their feet. A soft wind drifted by Sophie bringing with it the moans of the damned and the stench of their rotting flesh. She tried not to gag as the foul smell filled her nostrils. It was a smell she would not soon forget. At least the ghosts had never smelled.
When they reached the back of the second house they realized they had a problem, the house went right up against the wall. They would have to go through the house. Sebs let out a curse at their predicament and turned toward her. His eyes widened and he moved to her quickly, tackling her to the ground. Sophie awkwardly craned her neck to look behind her. A zombie with spikes through his body lumbered by them. He was carrying a rather intimidating looking scythe. Sophie looked up at Sebs and mouthed "Thank you," to him. When the creature finally moved away, the duo stood and quickly brushed themselves off. That was a close one. They really needed to get themselves some cover. They made a beeline for the door. Sebs opened it slowly, thankfully this door didn't make a noise. About a quarter of the way through opening it, he stopped. He looked back at her and shook his head.
"How many," she whispered. He held up four fingers. Well that was a no go. He closed the door quietly. "I think we should just go for it from the front, the barn is right there," she said, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. They had to, though. They didn't have any more options. He looked doubtful but nodded his head. They crouched down as low as possible and made their way to the front of the building. Sophie's palms were sleek with sweat from apprehension, making it difficult for her to grasp her knife.
Sebs put his hand out to halt her when they reached the front. He looked both ways and gave her a signal to move forward. They moved as fast as possible to a haystack near the barn. They ducked behind it, both of them breathing heavily from their mad dash and fear. When they were certain none of the creatures had seen them, they started to move again. This time, they headed toward an outdoor stairwell connected to the barn. There was probably a smaller chance of zombies being up there.
As they drew closer to the barn a savage growl emanated from within the wooden structure. The primal noise filled Sophie with dread but based on the look that overcame Sebastian's face, she would bet it scared him even more. Did the doctor know there was something even more intimidating in the barn? Is that why he didn't want to come? That's when what Ruvik said came back to her. 'Fortunately, there are beings here who are still independent of me. Unfortunately, for you, those entities are much more dangerous than what you just encountered.' Could the thing making that noise be one of those independent beings that he spoke of? Sebastian grabbed Sophie's arm and quickly hauled her up the stairs, casting nervous glances at the barn's lower entrance. When they reached the upper level he raced to the railing and looked below into the barn. Behind a wooden barrier, a huge man wearing some sort of mask was heavily chained to the walls. He shook himself back and forth, trying to break free of his metal shackles. So he was the one making those unnatural snarls. She didn't hear anything intelligible, though. Ruvik would be upset by that.
"I've met him before," Sebs said, pointing a wary hand at the creature. "Believe me, you do not want to get anywhere near that thing." Sophie didn't need to be told twice, that man down there was viciousness incarnate.
"Let's look around for the rope and get out of here. I think we'll be ok to split up on this level, it's open and there don't seem to be any of those things up here," Sophie suggested. Sebs frowned at her proposal. He obviously wasn't a fan of her idea.
"Ok, but we have to stay within each other's line of sight. I am only agreeing to this so that we can get away from that man before he breaks loose." With that, they separated. Sophie went to the left, there wasn't that much to see, just a small alcove. Sebs had the rest of the U-shaped niche to explore. Sophie approached a small workbench. There didn't seem to be any rope but something as equally valuable presented itself, a tool box. She greedily opened it and looked inside. There was a cornucopia of tools inside but the two that got her real excited was a hammer and a thick chisel. She now had a way into Jimenez's briefcase! She quickly put the items in her book bag and stood up. She looked over to where Sebastian was on the opposite side of the barn. He was looking down into the lower level with a sour look on his face. It looked like his search didn't turn up any rope either.
She started to walk to him with a gleeful bounce in her step, although she kept her face passive. She didn't want to share what she just found with him. As she walked past the doorway to the outside stairwell a loud 'thump' caught her attention. The sudden noise made her jump and set her heart racing. She cautiously moved to the opening and looked out into the night. There, collapsed on the upper landing, was a female zombie holding a large knife. It looked like someone had snapped her neck. She looked down the stairwell and out into the courtyard. No one seemed to be there. Who could have done that? She doubted it was Dr. Jimenez. Even if it was, why would he run away after he saved her? She rubbed her arms as she turned away from the dead woman, goose bumps forming on her skin. She was getting really sick of this strange place.
She closed the distance to Sebastian, the bounce now gone from her step.
"You found nothing," he said as more of a statement then a question. His gaze was still glued to the lower level.
"Unfortunately," she affirmed, following his gaze to see what enamored him so. There, right next to the caged man was a length of rope. "If you want I can go down there and get it," she volunteered. Even though the thought of approaching the figure in the cage made her heart jump into her throat with fear. He looked at her and quirked an eyebrow.
"What type of cop would I be if I allowed you to go down there while I waited up here?" he said, giving her an uneasy smile. "Listen, in case something does happen, I want you to have these." He handed her three grenades.
"Don't you think this is a little overkill?" she asked, her voice full of reservation. He moved to a nearby ladder and started climbing down.
"Believe me, if you saw what that that thing is capable of, you would know that three grenades is not nearly enough." With that he disappeared as he started his descent. Sophie moved to the edge and watched his progress. The entrapped monster seemed to sense his approach because his howls and attempts to escape only increased in ferocity. Sebs jumped the last few steps and ran towards the rope. As his hand enclosed around the cord, a familiar shiver ran its way slowly down Sophie's spine. Her head snapped up to the opposite side of the barn. Ruvik was standing there, starring at her.
"Well, Miss Burke, can you understand the Sadist?" He asked, his voice coming out like a purr from deep within his chest. Her eyes darted down to Sebastian, he didn't seem to realize that Ruvik was there. She returned her eyes to the figure before her.
"No. I am sorry." She was sorry. Not because she knew it would upset him, but because of what he might do because of it.
"How disappointing. I expected more from you." He smiled at her over the vast expanse, raising his right hand into the air. "Perhaps, it is time for a variable to be introduced to this experiment." He snapped his fingers and disappeared once again. Below, the heart stopping noise of chains being ripped from the wall sounded throughout the barn. Sophie looked over the edge in horror. Sebastian had just reached the ladder but had hesitated at the sound.
"Move!" She yelled down at him. Just as a new and even more terrifying sound took over the noise of the loosened chains. The Sadist had a chainsaw.
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I apologize that my chapters tend to follow a pattern of bringing Ruvik in at the end. I hoped that hasn't made them monotonous. I think the next chapter will be from Ruvik's POV but I am not sure yet. Please leave reviews or comments, they are greatly appreciated!