Peter, Sally, the two little girls and Susan crept slowly down the
hallway heading towards the Pain Room. Peter shook his head slightly. It
seemed like they had been walking forever down here and with his wife off
some place with the others trying to stop a fire, he had to admit that he
was worried.
"Dr. Gottreich can change things down here," Mary said quietly as she looked up for a moment before turning to scan the corridor once more,
shivering slightly. She wanted her brother and Antubis and for this to be over before anyone got hurt. She let out a slight giggle as she thought of the other group. She definitely wanted to get back to them before Dr. Lona had her baby. She didn't want to miss seeing that.
Susan motioned to the others to stop with a frown. She could feel the sick, dark feeling pressing in from all around them, not exactly like it had done before that lunatic doctor had appeared but like his influence was surrounding them. She closed her eyes as she concentrated, trying to sense what they were looking for. It had to be that room where she was getting those horrible feelings but....
"This way." Susan motioned them forward after a moment, moving with her eyes closed this time. If Gottreich was somehow changing things to keep them away from the second bell then maybe....
"That's it," Sally whispered as suddenly they were standing in front of what seemed to be one of many doors in this strange place. Yet,
there was something different about it, something evil. Sally shivered as she stared at the room. She had been here before, she didn't quite remember it but she knew she had been here before. She slowly backed a step away from the door not wanting to be so close, knowing that if she entered, she would recall something that was best left alone.
"It's okay," Mary said softly as she reached out and took Sally's hand, turning the door knob with the other. "It's just a memory, you know.
Memories can't really hurt you, not if you don't let them."
"Well, at least Paul's not in here," Peter said as they stepped into the room. He looked over at Sally with a worried expression.
Something about this place was bothering her, well bothering her more than what he would have expected. The turned, looking around the room as he did so for any sign of a hiding place for the second bell. "Anyone got any idea where we should start looking?"
"I don't know," Susan said quietly, barely able to force herself to stay on her feet, let alone move in this room. The aura of evil was so overpowering it was all that she could do to stay there. What in the world had happened in here in the past? Or were bad things continuing to happen here? She closed her eyes, trying to center her focus. She could feel the second bell just slightly but the sense of evil was too overwhelming,
covering it up so that she couldn't zero in on its location.
Sally slowly looked around the old room, her eyes drawn to something on the wall, a glass case with a fire hose inside and.... She walked across the room, reaching out and gently touching the red axe hanging beside the case. 'In Case of Fire, Break Glass.' Something, she felt something a vague memory starting to form as she closed her eyes fighting against it. Whatever had happened to her here, she didn't want to remember.
"It's okay," Mary said as she moved to Sally's side again and took her hand, leading her away from the glass. "We have to find the second bell now, though."
"A bell," Sally shook her head, knowing what Mary was talking about but at the same time caught with her thoughts in the past. She paused for a moment, looking down at the little girl as if seeing her for the first time. "You were there, weren't you? Ringing your bell?"
Mary nodded as she once more led Sally across the room to where Mona and Peter were looking at the tank where Paul came to recharge.
"That's bad, very bad, isn't it?" Susan asked. She couldn't stand to get to close to it. She wasn't sure exactly what that thing was but she could feel the dark magic, something like she had never felt before.
"Paul has to go there to recharge his powers," Mary said, glancing around to make sure that the mere mention of his name hadn't brought the vampire boy into their presence.
Mona frowned at the mention of that awful boy's name before looking from the tank over to the axe on the wall. If Paul had to recharge, did that mean he was kind of like a battery used for something even worse? But what could be worse that him? Mona didn't think she could even imagine what something worse than that boy could be. She slowly crossed the room and tugged at the axe.
"What's she doing?" Peter asked Mary curiously. He wasn't entirely sure of the situation with Mona. Even when he had been unable to speak in the New Kingdom, he could function fine here but for some reason,
that didn't seem to hold true in Mona's case.
Mary walked over to her friend, watching as Mona finally tugged the axe lose and then gestured back towards the tank. "I think she wants to see if we can break the tank," Mary said after a moment. Breaking the tank? Could something like that work? She shook her head as she and Mona joined the others once more. It sounded like something that should work but was it maybe such a simple idea that it wouldn't?
"Well, we'll never know unless we give it a shot." Peter motioned for Mona to hand over the axe, what he believed the little girl was thinking slowly sinking in. If Paul had to recharge in this thing, that would make him like some sort of battery. Break the recharger and then when the battery ran down, it would be dead.
"Do we have time for this?" Susan asked, glancing around the room as she spoke, barely able to keep from visibly shivering.
"If it might stop Paul we'll have to make time," Peter said as he slowly circled the tank with the girls following trying to see if there was a place that might be better to strike a blow. He looked with concern over at Sally, standing there staring off seemingly into nothingness. He was going to have to ask Mary some questions about that when they got out of here. Sally obviously knew more about this place than even she realized and Mary had to know even more.
"Wait." Susan suddenly straightened, forcing herself to pull her nerves together once more. She closed her eyes for a moment. There was something, something moving towards.... Her eyes shot open and she darted across the room, throwing her arm up in front of Sally's face just as Gottreich appeared out of nowhere, one of the ice picks heading for Sally's head.
Sally's eyes moved from the ice pick, knocked out of Gottreich's hand by Susan's blocking move, to Gottreich's face. Memories, memories were coming back now, racing towards her at the speed of light. That face looming above her, something being pressed over her nose and mouth, the ice pick.... She closed her eyes, wanting to force it away but at the same time knowing that she had to remember after all of these years.
"Find the bell fast!" Susan shouted as she dove for the ice pick,
Gottreich right after her, the second pick swinging over her head and barely missing. She chanced a glance up at Sally, who was standing still paralyzed in shock. If Gottreich thought to turn and go after her.
Susan's hand groped on the floor, finally seizing the ice pick and swinging it up, blocking a second swing from Gottreich.
Sally blinked, forcing her mind back to the present situation as she heard the clang of rusted metal on metal. She shook her head to try to clear it, only partially succeeding as she looked at Susan struggling against Gottreich, Mary and the others staring helplessly not sure of what to do. Sally felt herself crossing the floor in a daze, not quite understanding what she was about to do but at the same time knowing that she had to end this. End it like she had so many years before? Why did that thought come to mind?
She reached out, taking the axe from Peter's unresisting hand,
slowly lifting it. It felt as if her mind was detached from her body,
watching both the current scene and something older, a little girl with the same axe years ago. This time as she swung, though, instead of the sound like that of fruit hitting the floor, there was a shattering noise.
Suddenly Sally's mind and body felt joined again and she stared in shook at the axe buried not in Gottreich's head but in the glass of the tank. She backed away followed by Mary, Mona and Peter as the tank started to shake and seconds later, burst open, a bright green light shooting up, smashing into the ceiling as the building begin to shake.
"I don't think that's good," Mary whispered.
"Dr. Gottreich can change things down here," Mary said quietly as she looked up for a moment before turning to scan the corridor once more,
shivering slightly. She wanted her brother and Antubis and for this to be over before anyone got hurt. She let out a slight giggle as she thought of the other group. She definitely wanted to get back to them before Dr. Lona had her baby. She didn't want to miss seeing that.
Susan motioned to the others to stop with a frown. She could feel the sick, dark feeling pressing in from all around them, not exactly like it had done before that lunatic doctor had appeared but like his influence was surrounding them. She closed her eyes as she concentrated, trying to sense what they were looking for. It had to be that room where she was getting those horrible feelings but....
"This way." Susan motioned them forward after a moment, moving with her eyes closed this time. If Gottreich was somehow changing things to keep them away from the second bell then maybe....
"That's it," Sally whispered as suddenly they were standing in front of what seemed to be one of many doors in this strange place. Yet,
there was something different about it, something evil. Sally shivered as she stared at the room. She had been here before, she didn't quite remember it but she knew she had been here before. She slowly backed a step away from the door not wanting to be so close, knowing that if she entered, she would recall something that was best left alone.
"It's okay," Mary said softly as she reached out and took Sally's hand, turning the door knob with the other. "It's just a memory, you know.
Memories can't really hurt you, not if you don't let them."
"Well, at least Paul's not in here," Peter said as they stepped into the room. He looked over at Sally with a worried expression.
Something about this place was bothering her, well bothering her more than what he would have expected. The turned, looking around the room as he did so for any sign of a hiding place for the second bell. "Anyone got any idea where we should start looking?"
"I don't know," Susan said quietly, barely able to force herself to stay on her feet, let alone move in this room. The aura of evil was so overpowering it was all that she could do to stay there. What in the world had happened in here in the past? Or were bad things continuing to happen here? She closed her eyes, trying to center her focus. She could feel the second bell just slightly but the sense of evil was too overwhelming,
covering it up so that she couldn't zero in on its location.
Sally slowly looked around the old room, her eyes drawn to something on the wall, a glass case with a fire hose inside and.... She walked across the room, reaching out and gently touching the red axe hanging beside the case. 'In Case of Fire, Break Glass.' Something, she felt something a vague memory starting to form as she closed her eyes fighting against it. Whatever had happened to her here, she didn't want to remember.
"It's okay," Mary said as she moved to Sally's side again and took her hand, leading her away from the glass. "We have to find the second bell now, though."
"A bell," Sally shook her head, knowing what Mary was talking about but at the same time caught with her thoughts in the past. She paused for a moment, looking down at the little girl as if seeing her for the first time. "You were there, weren't you? Ringing your bell?"
Mary nodded as she once more led Sally across the room to where Mona and Peter were looking at the tank where Paul came to recharge.
"That's bad, very bad, isn't it?" Susan asked. She couldn't stand to get to close to it. She wasn't sure exactly what that thing was but she could feel the dark magic, something like she had never felt before.
"Paul has to go there to recharge his powers," Mary said, glancing around to make sure that the mere mention of his name hadn't brought the vampire boy into their presence.
Mona frowned at the mention of that awful boy's name before looking from the tank over to the axe on the wall. If Paul had to recharge, did that mean he was kind of like a battery used for something even worse? But what could be worse that him? Mona didn't think she could even imagine what something worse than that boy could be. She slowly crossed the room and tugged at the axe.
"What's she doing?" Peter asked Mary curiously. He wasn't entirely sure of the situation with Mona. Even when he had been unable to speak in the New Kingdom, he could function fine here but for some reason,
that didn't seem to hold true in Mona's case.
Mary walked over to her friend, watching as Mona finally tugged the axe lose and then gestured back towards the tank. "I think she wants to see if we can break the tank," Mary said after a moment. Breaking the tank? Could something like that work? She shook her head as she and Mona joined the others once more. It sounded like something that should work but was it maybe such a simple idea that it wouldn't?
"Well, we'll never know unless we give it a shot." Peter motioned for Mona to hand over the axe, what he believed the little girl was thinking slowly sinking in. If Paul had to recharge in this thing, that would make him like some sort of battery. Break the recharger and then when the battery ran down, it would be dead.
"Do we have time for this?" Susan asked, glancing around the room as she spoke, barely able to keep from visibly shivering.
"If it might stop Paul we'll have to make time," Peter said as he slowly circled the tank with the girls following trying to see if there was a place that might be better to strike a blow. He looked with concern over at Sally, standing there staring off seemingly into nothingness. He was going to have to ask Mary some questions about that when they got out of here. Sally obviously knew more about this place than even she realized and Mary had to know even more.
"Wait." Susan suddenly straightened, forcing herself to pull her nerves together once more. She closed her eyes for a moment. There was something, something moving towards.... Her eyes shot open and she darted across the room, throwing her arm up in front of Sally's face just as Gottreich appeared out of nowhere, one of the ice picks heading for Sally's head.
Sally's eyes moved from the ice pick, knocked out of Gottreich's hand by Susan's blocking move, to Gottreich's face. Memories, memories were coming back now, racing towards her at the speed of light. That face looming above her, something being pressed over her nose and mouth, the ice pick.... She closed her eyes, wanting to force it away but at the same time knowing that she had to remember after all of these years.
"Find the bell fast!" Susan shouted as she dove for the ice pick,
Gottreich right after her, the second pick swinging over her head and barely missing. She chanced a glance up at Sally, who was standing still paralyzed in shock. If Gottreich thought to turn and go after her.
Susan's hand groped on the floor, finally seizing the ice pick and swinging it up, blocking a second swing from Gottreich.
Sally blinked, forcing her mind back to the present situation as she heard the clang of rusted metal on metal. She shook her head to try to clear it, only partially succeeding as she looked at Susan struggling against Gottreich, Mary and the others staring helplessly not sure of what to do. Sally felt herself crossing the floor in a daze, not quite understanding what she was about to do but at the same time knowing that she had to end this. End it like she had so many years before? Why did that thought come to mind?
She reached out, taking the axe from Peter's unresisting hand,
slowly lifting it. It felt as if her mind was detached from her body,
watching both the current scene and something older, a little girl with the same axe years ago. This time as she swung, though, instead of the sound like that of fruit hitting the floor, there was a shattering noise.
Suddenly Sally's mind and body felt joined again and she stared in shook at the axe buried not in Gottreich's head but in the glass of the tank. She backed away followed by Mary, Mona and Peter as the tank started to shake and seconds later, burst open, a bright green light shooting up, smashing into the ceiling as the building begin to shake.
"I don't think that's good," Mary whispered.