Hole in the Wall

Daniella couldn't go back to sleep. She didn't even bother to try. Not after all she'd been through tonight... Not only would she not be able to, but she was afraid to. She was convinced that nobody in this place was safe. She had returned to her room to take off the torn nightgown and put her clothes back on, but she had promptly left after that. She wandered the halls aimlessly, not entering any of the many rooms to her sides. After finding that torture chamber, she didn't want to know what was behind those doors. She found it hard to believe that Fendari and his master were the only people who lived here. This place was huge. There was no way only two people lived here.

Poppy walked alongside her, yawning. The dog had probably been through all these passages a hundred times. Daniella made sure he stayed close to her at all times, afraid that somebody else would come after her. Suddenly, she stopped. In the middle of the hallway, a large, dark circular hole was cut into the wall. Cautiously, she peered into it. There was light on the other side... but she had no idea where it led. She looked down at Poppy, then back toward the hole. She hated to admit it... but she was curious. She wanted to know what kind of a place this mansion was, and whether there was anybody else living here.

Well... nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose, Daniella thought as she approached the hole. Turning around, she told Poppy to stay, unsure if he knew the command... but the moment she said it, he sat down.

"Good boy," she said, petting him. He appeared exceptionally smart for a dog...

She slowly slid into the hole, bringing her legs in after her, taking care not to scrape the bullet wound against the stone. The tunnel was big enough for her to crawl on her hands and knees, and she made it to the other side fairly quickly. Before coming out, she took a look around the room at the other end. There was nobody in it, and she couldn't decide whether this was a disappointment or a relief. She came out of the hole, swinging her legs around and landing feet-first on the floor.

The room appeared completely secluded, seeing as there was no doorway in it, just the hole she had come in. A shelf, littered with notes and equipment, lay in front of her, and behind that, a big machine of some sort stood against the back wall of the room. She got closer to examine it. There was a small gold tray on the left side, and a compartment to put things in near the middle of the machine. She opened it up, seeing that there was already an object placed inside. It appeared to be a medallion of some sort... but what did it do?

Daniella noticed a lever on the side of the machine, and decided to pull it, just to see what would happen. The compartment holding the medallion snapped shut immediately, causing her to jump back, and a glass compartment above it sprung to life, filled with what looked like marbles spinning in sockets, stopping at random intervals. By now she was thoroughly confused, yet somehow intrigued by this strange contraption. Finally, all the marbles came to rest. Some were white, many were black, there was even a blue and a green one. The machine made a noise, and something to the side caught her eye.

A bag of small green beads fell onto the gold tray. She approached it and picked it up, wondering what it could be. Studying it, she had no idea. They almost looked like peas. She took it with her, looking around the room once more. She heard Poppy whimpering outside the hole, and called to him, saying she was okay. She wanted to look around the room more, but had to get back out to the dog. She walked back toward the hole, pocketing the beads, when she looked down at the shelf with all of the notes strewn about. Something glinting on the top caught her eye... it appeared to be a small gold key. She had no idea where she could use it, but got the feeling it may come in handy... The note under it read Effects of known alchemic concoctions. She stared down at it, remembering that strange dream she'd had. Alchemy? Is that what this was? It was a forgotten science, practiced in ancient days. Surely that machine...

She examined it more closely, taking note of the many substances listed. She found one that fit the description of the beads she had obtained, and read it aloud.

"Recreatio... A powerful concoction used to cure fatigue and heal one's stamina..."

Almost forgetting about Poppy, she stared at the list for a few moments longer, then went back toward the hole, taking the key with her as she climbed into it again. Something about this seemed very strange...

Weston lay on the ground in the torture chamber, unmoving... but conscious. His eyelids jerked open. He felt none of the pain of the nails. In fact, he wasn't even aware of them. He sat up, groaning. He didn't know who he was, or where he was. He eyed the gun on the floor, examining it. A vague, fragmented memory came back to him... He remembered that girl, chasing that girl, wanting to kill that girl... Wherever he was, that girl was here.

He grabbed the gun and held it in front of his face, looking at it as though he had never seen it before. He stood, mouth hanging open, a blank expression on his face. He started forward, only one thing certain to him, one thing that remained in his distorted, warped mind... He needed to kill that girl.