Author's notes: We've almost reached the end of this act. I will post a very short chapter tomorrow with which I will end this act. I hope you enjoy this chapter:
Chapter 13: Silver
I was never left so conflicted in my entire lifetime. I can feel a turmoil of pain, doubts and fear shriek throughout my whole body. Words cannot describe the amount of despair that makes me wish I want throw up my whole body. It is hard to focus, hard to write, but I should start from where I left it off.
By that point in time, I was armed with a sturdy crowbar and an array of chemicals in glass containers. The only thing left for me to do was find my guide, my only companion throughout the whole state of affairs. Since the moment he graced the unsettling silence with his voice, no matter how horrifying his ramblings could be, I felt like I had a goal I must reach. I was in pursuit of answers to the questions I couldn't even imagine asking. I presume I wasn't even supposed to answer them, but my curious nature got the better of me. And because I didn't comply with the requests of a dead man, I ended up in this predicament.
Silver was waiting for me in the northeast part of Section C, and the only location that matched up with that description was the incinerator. I snuck past the ferals as carefully as possible, reasonably timid as to not let myself become a daredevil. The door leading to the incinerator was jammed, and needed some prying to open. Thank Chaos I had that crowbar with me, otherwise this would have been more than a hassle.
The corridor was dark, the only exception was a dim red light coming from the ceiling, behind a large fan. At the end of this corridor, I saw the last obstacle between me and Silver, a giant pile of rubble, much like the one I saw earlier, which I promptly destroyed with a barrel of TNT. Naturally, unlike the first time, there was no TNT in the vicinity, forcing me to rely only on my wits and the chemicals.
On the left side of the hallway was another passage, but this one's floor was completely gone, and in its place a large abyss leading into the void. Whether it was Silver's or someone else's doing, there were planks bridging the gaps between the remaining parts of the floor, now standing up like pillars.
It was an uneasy, unsteady passage, but it was the only way I could go at the moment. I balanced on the planks, utilizing my flashlight to study the environment. I recalled that, ever since I set foot outside of the fishermen's boat, I had a few red flares, left undisturbed for a long time. I decided it was finally time for them to take a role in my endeavor. I placed the flares on the pillars of stone, planning to rely on them on my way back without worrying about the flashlight's battery consumption.
The passage lead to what I could only presume to be a chemical lab. It had the essential chemical equipment: a Bunsen burner linked to a propane tank, a flask, and a fuse I could use to delay the explosion. There wasn't much else in the room related to chemistry, let alone anything else. I suppose only the arbitrary equipment could remain. After all, the mine itself is derelict, it wouldn't be astonishing if this part of the mine wasn't picked clean before the complex was abandoned.
Referring to the knowledge written in the explosives book, I was to make an Armstrong's mixture, a sensitive chemical explosive comprising of easily acquirable elements, red phosphorus and a strong oxidizer, like barium. I had both of these chemicals in my possession, I just simply had to decipher the labels to find them.
This was the easy part. I turned on the Bunsen burner and simply added the two chemicals in the flask. I ended up with a purple mixture letting out a cloud of equally purple vapor into the air.
The hard part was bringing it back to the cave-in whilst being mindful if its volatile characteristics. The mixture was akin to nitroglycerin, if not even more powerful. Any wrong move and I would most likely be in a far worse shape than if I was devoured by the ferals. And as it is customary, this part was rigged to be the most dreadful experience of my life. I had no choice but to proceed sluggishly, not just so I could gently handle the mixture, but also to avoid making any wrong step and fall into my doom.
A few close calls ridden with anxiety later, I carefully placed the mixture into the weak spot of the cave-in. All I needed to do now was add the fuse and light it with my zippo lighter.
I ran all the way back to the Section C door and observed with awe as the pile of boulders reduced to dust, and the deafening sound of the explosion reverberated throughout the whole area. I approached the dust cloud as it was clearing up, revealing a flight of stairs descending deeper.
Taking my last steps forward, I ended up in a big, empty room. My attention was immediately pointed at the door in front of me. This particular door was the most contemporary one I've seen in this whole mine, and I could only imagine what laid beyond.
Unfortunately for me, this door was also jammed a bit, but besides that, the sound of electronics could be heard in the vicinity, which meant that the door had an electronic lock put in place. I suppose it made sense, judging by what I went through.
There was a locked door on the left side of the room, and a passage on the right. Naturally, I went through the passage on the right.
It lead to a room illuminated by nothing but a ominous red light. There was a robust contraption in that room, with many large pipes, instrument boards and many more. The centerpiece was the giant metal crate shaped object, emanating an ominous, fiery aura. There was no question as to what it was. It could only be the incinerator.
Once I entered the room, my ears were greeted with a familiar voice. The voice of a man who revealed more than I could digest. Silver spoke to me, his tone of voice elated. I think that we were both euphoric to finally see each other, no matter our differences. Except I haven't seen the looks of him anywhere in the room.
"You-you actually came. There is so much wishes to leave my throat box, but as my mind, words elude me. But you came, you are so pretty, and I have to send my sincerest apology to you.
You see, the reaper had long been knocking at my door, so to speak. I suppose one more misdemeanor wouldn't make a difference. It was not the guiding light that brought you here, but false pretention. I cannot give you the answers you seek.
There is one thing I have to utter, for the sake of our beings. The great metal door in reality beckons you, but you must not be lured, for the life that awaits you there is much more tainted than the one I am offering you. You might have heard of the name Chaos, and you could be familiar with the artifacts which bear his name as well. The immense power is far more powerful and far older than Chaos, and the harbinger of it awaits for you behind that door, offering nothing but a fate worse than death.
No, the key stays with me. It has been long since I could engage in comradery. You should prove to be an abnormal replacement.
You might be wondering why is the large metal box speaking with the voice of Silver, for it is I, your companion, residing within.
You see, for a long time I have yearned nothing but death. I tried to act upon this, but they forbid it... parts of my head aren't my own. It is against the rules, for a lack of a better word.
Please, all I wanted was a friend, but now, the time for chit-chat is over. The reaperman has been knocking on my door for so long. Let me feel the blazing heat of my mistress. Please, let the reaperman invite me for tea."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He requested me to kill him. After all this time, him leading me here, talking to me, promising me peace or whatever, he expects me to accept his wish and end his life. I can't fathom doing that in the slightest. I can't do that.
I tried. I tried desperately to call out to him. He was just silent, like there was nobody there. Maybe there isn't, and I have just gone mad. Maybe this was all a trick made by my brain, to forget that I was alone, and now I have to kill him so I can keep believing he was a real person with a body and everything.
I tried to open the incinerator, but it wouldn't even budge. I don't think Silver even sensed that I tried to do pull him out. I didn't want it to be like this. Why does he want to kill him? What does he know that I don't? What do his words mean?
Alas, there was nothing I could do. I approaches a panel on the incinerator. There was a big red button with the label "Ignition" above it. I was shaking with fear, I felt many tears coming out of my eyes. I hesitated for an eternity, a long, horrid, eternity. In the end, I reluctantly pressed the button.
The second I did, I was paralysed by shock as the harrowing, painful screams echoed from within the incinerator. Silver shrieked in agony as his flesh and fur became charred. I could only imagine how painful it must have been, as I watched the fire emanating from the top of the incinerator.
He was there, banging on the incinerator walls, surrounded by scorching fire. I don't know if I was going mad, but I could distinguish him saying "turn it off!". And I tried to stop the machine, I did, but it was following its last set of instructions and there was no stopping it.
After a few eternal seconds, there were no more screams, no more banging on the walls in desperation. Even the fire has died down, much like my spirit. I was crying, I think. I don't even know, I just felt like crying, my eyes hurt so much. Everything hurt so much, much more than any injury. It was the spider guy situation all over again. I could only hear their cries of pain as they suffered a slow and painful death. I opened the incinerator, this time having no issues with the lid.
Ashes, all that remains of my only friend. And among them, a key. Was he keeping this from me as a secret, or did he really try to protect me from an unimaginable threat? Nevertheless, I picked up the key and went back to the room I came from, opening the locked door on the left.
The room I entered must have been his makeshift living quarters. It reeked of bodily odor, and it looked decrepit.
Among the first I saw was a desk with a radio device on it. I can imagine him here, speaking into the microphone, guiding me through the mines. Without him there, I felt so alone, so isolated from the rest of the world.
I saw some scribbles on the wall. Many words written on top of each other, most of them a variation of the word "death", all written with a black marker. I felt so sorry for him at that moment. I hope I helped him find some deserved peace, at least.
He had a shelf with a plethora of books stacked on top of each other. Survival guides, textbooks, collected works of Shakespeare, and many more. No wonder he spoke so unusually. He must have been so hungry and tired, he forgot who he was. All he had were these books to drown the pain he was in, forced to eat slugs and insects.
The matress he had was putrid, stained with filth and covered in sweat. I didn't know how he slept. I don't know if he slept.
The adjoining room had a hole he used as a toilet, judging by the smell of feces. Among other things was cage with a slug, most likely his last meal, and above a single chair was a noose hanging from the ceiling. I can't help but wonder how mich time he spent with his head around it, just trying to end it all. I wish I could have done something more for him, but deep down I know what I did was the only thing I can do to help him.
Wandering around the gloomy room, I couldn't help but hear buzzing coming from behind a shelf. Pushing it aside, I revealed an electrical panel in the wall. I unscrewed the lid on the panel and cut the wires in it. With that done, I assumed that the electronic lock wouldn't pose a problem anymore.
I was right, for better or for worse. With the help of the crowbar, I pried the door open and ventured forward. I couldn't get the screams out of my head, despite knowing that I showed him mercy.
If there is one thing I'm sure about at this moment, it is that all of this was only symptomatic of whatever laid beyond this threshold.