The Uninvaded Door

Daniella walked through the corridor toward the torture chamber, lack of sleep now threatening to overcome her. She didn't know how long she'd been passed out, but knew it had probably been less than an hour, because it was still dark outside. As she walked beside Poppy, who was also looking a bit drowsy, she thought idly about herself. Who was she, really? That was the whole reason she'd come here, to find the answer to that question. She knew what mercury, salt, and sulphur were by the way they looked... if she were just a clone, how could she possibly know some of this practical knowledge? And that dream she'd had seemed quite a bit like a memory... there were still a lot of questions waiting to be answered.

She had thought about it, and decided she had to go back to that awful place, whether she wanted to or not. She had to keep reminding herself that she needed to find the truth. On the bright side, at least she wouldn't have to see the body again, face down and dripping with blood from what she had done to him... on the not-so-bright, said body was now up and trying to kill her. She shook her head and stepped in front of the small stone stairway cut into the wall, the doorway at the bottom still wide open, beckoning her inside... She shivered, and started down the stairs.

"Come on, Poppy," Daniella called quietly. The room still made her feel as if she were being chased. Poppy walked through the doorway ahead of her, remembering this room. He ran down toward the doorway, running over the loose brick and setting off the trap once more. Daniella had thought herself ready for it, but still jumped when she heard them hit the wall. He never seemed to notice the nails at all, just kept walking... Daniella noticed that there were now quite a few nails beginning to collect on the floor. She absolutely hated this place, and tried her best not to look around at all of the horrible equipment stored here. Cautiously, she stepped over the brick, still ducking just in case. She tried to avoid looking at the blood stains on the floor, those of both she and the agent, but found herself staring at them anyway, thinking back, remembering the indescribable fear of knowing that she was going to die...

Poppy barked, rousing her out of her dark memories, and she shook her head, starting toward the red-painted door, emblazoned with that gold symbol. She found the keyhole, and slowly stuck the key in. The door clicked, and swung open. She stared at the room before her... it looked exactly like the skeleton room, except for the fact that there were no skeletons. Just a simple stone altar in the middle, holding another crest, this one triangle-shaped and red. She looked warily around the room, remembering what had happened to her last time... but there were no slats at the bottom of the wall, no holes from which unspeakable things could crawl, no tunnel outside the door... just an ordinary, small stone room.

Although she still didn't have a good feeling about it, Daniella decided that she had to go in if she ever wanted to get out of here. She slowly walked into the room, Poppy close behind, looking about cautiously. He too, apparently, remembered last time... She stepped up to the dust-covered stone altar, looking the same as the other one except for the crest in the center, this one with "MERCURY" carved into it. She hesitated for a moment, then quickly pulled it out of the depression, dust flying everywhere. She waited for the door to close, to lock, like last time, for something to happen... but nothing did.

After waiting a while, Daniella sneezed, relieved, then crouched down and pet Poppy, smiling at him.

"Come on, boy. We're going back to the nice big garden room!"

Crest in hand, she walked back outside of the room with Poppy, who walked onto the brick yet again... but this time, no nails shot out. Maybe the crest had something to do with it... Not taking any chances, she stepped over the brick, hoping she wouldn't have to come back into this room again, when Poppy began growling. She saw the shadow almost immediately afterwards, silhouetted in the light coming from the stairway... and she knew from the stature and the unmistakable shape of a gun in his hand that the agent was standing at the top of the stairs.

Daniella looked around frantically for a place to hide as Poppy began growling louder... the room was very dark, maybe if she hid in the corner he wouldn't be able to see her... but it was lit well enough for her to know that this was not a good idea. Suddenly, something on the other side of the room caught her eye, and she knew what it was... the Iron Maiden. A hideous device shaped like a coffin, people were put into it and impaled by spikes that came out of the sides. It was hanging open, the spikes retracted. It was her only chance of hiding... but if he found her... She spotted the lever on the floor in front of it. All he would have to do would be to pull that, and it would all be over. But she had to do something...

She looked at the shadow, he was still apparently standing at the top of the stairs, and Poppy had not moved, but was still growling fiercely. She took a deep breath, then dashed to the other side of the room, hoping he couldn't see her, and threw herself into the Iron Maiden, trying to close the door quietly, but it still made a loud clang when she shut it. She saw the shadow of the man, who undoubtedly heard the noise, begin to move through a hole in the front, and saw him appear in the doorway. Poppy stood in the middle of the room, his growl rumbling threateningly. The man didn't even spare Poppy a glance, and after a few seconds, entered the room.

The dog began circling around him, preparing to attack, but the agent seemed not to notice him. Daniella knew the only thing he cared about now was finding her, killing her. He looked around the room stupidly, and she tried to keep the sound of her heavy breathing as controlled as possible. Every time she looked at him, she saw the nails in his head, the dead eyes, and knew that it was her fault. She tried not to look, but she had to know if he was getting close to her. He began walking in her direction, his eyes on the Iron Maiden. She ducked down so he could not see her through the hole, placing her hands over her eyes.

Daniella heard him approach and stop near her, imagined him pulling the lever. He would do it, and she would be dead... But he didn't. She heard him moving away from the Iron Maiden, heard her dog barking viciously, hoping the man continued not to notice him... She slowly stood back up, being careful not to make a sound, and saw him looking at the passageway heading toward the room she'd gotten the crest from. She watched as he began moving toward the passage... he would step on the brick again, and it would all be over. He'd never survive two times... He put his foot onto it... but nothing happened.

She had forgotten already... she must have deactivated it when she took the crest. She knew she couldn't stay in here, next time he might find her... She waited a few seconds, until she was sure the man was in the other room, then kicked open the steel door of the Iron Maiden, yelling for Poppy, and running as fast as she could toward the stairway that led into the hall.