Darkness and dust.
That was the first thing Charlie sensed when he tried to open his eyes. He was lying on his left side at an awkward position. Something was digging painfully into his side. The feeling was so uncomfortable that he had rolled onto his back without a thought.
Almost instantly he was assaulted by a coat of dust and debris settling on his face. It filled his nostrils, made his eyes tear up even before he could open them fully. He raised his hand to try and wipe it off but that made the weight distribution change. Something under him creaked threateningly, something sharp cutting through his blazer, scraping skin. Charlie hissed out a breath, almost choking on whatever was filling the air. He moved back to his side, preferring the dull pressure on his side to the cutting edge.
Where was he and what the hell happened?
He felt like waking up from a nightmare only to realize it was reality. There was the memory of dread and pain but it was drowned out by confusion.
Wasn't there a place he was supposed to be?
Somewhere warm and comfortable, somewhere safe.
His eyes opened, tears running down his cheeks. Charlie risked moving again, reaching up and rubbing at his eyes. His face felt grimy as he tried to clear his eyes. He could feel a cut on his eyebrow bleeding sluggishly, which hardly helped the matter but perhaps it explained his current confusion.
Charlie cleared his throat and blinked.
At first he couldn't see a thing.
Fear gripped him tighter.
Did he lose his sight? Or was he trapped in some windowless room?
He was trying to come up with a memory of what he was doing last, while also figuring out his current state. He let his eyes slip closed because the dust was irritating them something awful. Dust. Why was there so much dust? And what was that dank smell?
He felt wet, mouldy bricks and concrete. He could almost taste rust on his tongue and he could swear there was sand or old paint cracking under his teeth as he clenched them.
His fingers splayed wide, slowly and carefully feeling around himself.
Metal and rocks. Sharp edges and hard surface. His fingers paused at what felt eerily familiar. An edge of a metal stair.
The memories slammed into him faster than the floor did. The call, the bike. The bloody asylum and the bloody stairs!
It was only now that Charlie started paying attention to the sounds.
The occasional clink of something small falling, rolling down like a pebble from a rocky hill. A creak of metal high above. The barely perceptible voice of a child wailing in the distance. He should have heard that right away, but it was too far away and reminded him too much of the wailing wind trapped in a chimney. There was something strange about it. Repetitive.
Charlie felt a pang of worry and guilt. He should be up there, trying to find the boy. Instead of lying there in a heap, wondering...
Charlie's breath hitched. How could he have forgotten?
He wasn't alone.
He wasn't alone in the building and he wasn't alone when the staircase fell.
A sound not unlike the wail of that child escaped his throat as he attempted to sit up.
It was a mistake.
He realized that only when he heard a voice.
Someone was calling his name.
He was lying on the ground and what used to be the staircase landing. He knew he tried to get up at some point, but everything had vanished for a moment. Or an eternity. It was impossible to tell time when one was in darkness, traipsing on the edge of consciousness.
"Charlie? Bill! Answer me, damn it!"
It was almost a reflex.
"B-boss?" Charlie called out, turning his head upwards. Was it his imagination? Or did he really see some light breaking through the settling dust?
"Charlie!"
Lawson must've heard him, because the relief in his voice was unmistakable. Charlie felt touched, the emotion almost chocking him up. Or perhaps it was the dirt.
"Bill?" Lawson called out again and Charlie startled when for the first time since the fall he heard movement nearby. There was a pained groan, then a familiar and gruff "Here!"
Charlie could hear Lawson's responding chuckle. The outlet of relief upon both of them being alive.
"Bill," Charlie said, his own voice hoarse. "Bloody hell," he let out.
"Any of you hurt?" Lawson asked and Charlie grimaced. It would have been a miracle if they weren't hurt really, but he knew the question was really different. Were they hurt badly enough to need help getting out?
Charlie wasn't sure.
He was just getting some semblance of his own body. Everything hurt, but after a fall like that, he could say the pain was hardly severe. As far as he knew, none of his limbs were broken.
Slowly and carefully, suddenly aware of the debris lying all around, Charlie forced himself into sitting position. He grimaced as his side gave a protest and he felt a familiar twitch in his ribs. Of course. Why wouldn't he bruise a few of them. Though he guessed that perhaps this time they weren't broken. His head was a bit fuzzy, and his right wrist tender, but overall... he felt surprisingly hale.
"Just bruised," Charlie called out after a moment, happy for once not to be in need of immediate medical care.
"Bill? You okay?" he asked when he realized the man hadn't spoken. Though he could hear grunts and movement, followed by a pained hiss.
Charlie felt his gut clench.
"Bill!" he struggled up to his feet, sneezing and coughing as his movement raised a cloud of dust.
Bill cursed but Charlie at least knew where to look for him. It was still dark and even though Lawson kept shining the torch downwards, most of the light was still blocked by the dust and some debris. A dark shadow looming threateningly above their heads.
Charlie didn't really want to look upwards. So he followed the sounds Bill was making.
"Hobart! Report!" Lawson barked, then cursed. Charlie startled as he heard something fall mere inches from him. Even though it was most likely just a loose piece of mortar, he didn't want to be pelted by more debris. He could already feel his hair was matted with it all.
"Boss!"
"You alright there?"
"Yeah. Just... be careful," he called back, then turned towards his original quest. "Bill? What's wrong?"
Bill gave another curse and it was clear he was trying to move around but something was causing him pain.
"My leg. I think it's broken," he finally uttered through gritted teeth.
Charlie grimaced. While a broken leg was still better than a broken back or a spurting artery, he was just reminded too closely of the accident with Lawson and the car. The throbbing in his side wasn't helping to push back the memories either.
"Let me see," he muttered, ignoring Bill's responding snort.
"Sure. You have night vision?"
Charlie didn't respond. He knelt down next to what he was pretty sure was Bill. A hand grasping at his wrist as soon as he touched flesh was evidence enough.
"Bloody hell Davis!" Bill let out, obviously startled.
"Sorry. Uh... what... which leg?" he asked, trying not to cringe at Bill's bruising grip. At least he didn't grasp his right hand. That would've been worse.
Bill seemed to hesitate only for a moment. Above them, the light from Lawson's torch danced over the debris, breaking through the once again settling cover of dust. Charlie was now able to see Bill's figure at least.
"Charlie? What's going on down there?" Lawson called out, his voice betraying his growing worry.
"Give me a minute!" Charlie responded, trying not to sound too irritated. "Bill?"
Bill let out a sigh, then kind of nudged Charlie's arm towards his right leg. Charlie reached down, touching the knee first.
"Shin," Bill growled and Charlie soon encountered that indeed, Bill's leg was most definitely broken or badly bruised at the least. In any case, he could feel some malformation and swelling already.
"Doesn't seem like an open fracture," Charlie said with relief, even as Bill was trying hard not to clock him one.
"Splendid!" he hissed and Charlie let go of the appendage. Actually, it was good. Last thing he wanted was having to deal with an open fracture. Never again.
"Can you feel your foot?" Charlie reached down a bit, pressing on the top of Bill's shoe. The man grunted, moving his leg marginally in test.
"Yeah," came a rather disgruntled reply.
"Any other injuries?" he asked, trying to sound as if the leg wasn't such a big deal. He was sure Bill wouldn't really appreciate shows of compassion or care right now.
"Bruises. I have a huge one right on my ass... do you want to kiss it better?" Bill said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Charlie let out a chuckle.
"You're one big ass. We don't have that much time anyway," Charlie responded and was heartened to hear a responding chuckle, even though Bill was trying to mask it as a cough.
"Davis! The minute is over!" Lawson called out, clearly losing all his patience. "What the hell is going on down there?"
"Boss seems a bit tense," Charlie noted with more humour than he really felt.
"I wonder why," Bill added sarcastically.
Charlie nodded, even though no one could really see it. Then he looked upwards, squinting, trying to make out Lawson's figure. The large shadow hanging and slightly waving in the air just above their heads was in the way though. Charlie felt his throat go dry as he realized what it was. Not a shadow at all. The part of the staircase, hanging precariously on some bolts and a prayer. Nothing else.
The creak made it clear the structure was far from stable.
Charlie felt a shiver of apprehension run down his spine.
"Boss? I think we might need to call for help," Charlie called out, ignoring Bill's sudden protest of 'I'm fine, Davis!'
There was a suspicious silence and Charlie frowned.
"Boss?"
"How bad are the injuries?" Lawson asked instead of a reply.
"Possibly broken leg, " Charlie noted. "But there can be more. I'm not a doctor. We also still need to help the kid-"
"I very much doubt there is a kid," Lawson said and hearing that, even Bill stopped grumbling.
"What?"
"What's going on?" Charlie and Bill asked almost in unison.
"I'm pretty sure it's a recording. It's... on a loop."
Charlie frowned. He tried to listen. There was silence... then shortly after the wailing and call for help resumed, albeit much more muffled now that they were a floor down. For all he knew, it might've been just the wind crying through the staircase.
"Are you sure?" Charlie asked, uncertain.
"Pretty much. The slashed tires and the broken radio in the car are proof enough. This was a trap."
And just like that, Charlie felt as if he was doused by a bucket of ice water.
"What?"
"Slashed tires?" Bill repeated, as if worried he misheard.
"Someone out there is trying to make sure we won't call for help. Or return to the town anytime soon."
"Why?"
"I don't know," Lawson admitted. "Either they want to keep us out of way for some reason, or this is some elaborate sick plan to take us out. I can't be sure right now."
Charlie gritted his teeth, suddenly feeling like it wasn't just the building conspiring against them.
"We need to get out," he thought, then repeated it out loud. There was just too many things that could go wrong, too many threats lurking in the darkness. Not to mention... Lawson was a floor away... unarmed and alone. With who knew how many bad guys around. And there was no way to call for help.
"Have you seen anyone, Boss?" Bill asked, startling Charlie out of his grim thoughts.
"No. But I doubt it were kangaroos messing up the cars with a knife," Lawson grumbled.
"Wouldn't put it past them," Charlie noted only half in jest. He had no love lost for the critters for some reason. They did tend to jump in front of his car at the most inopportune of moments after all.
"You need to watch out," Bill warned Lawson.
"I'm aware. Don't worry about my hide. We need to get the two of you out first and foremost."
Well, that might be just a bit of a problem, Charlie thought, looking up into the darkness. Theoretically... they might be able to jump up and grab the bottom of the staircase, then climb it up to get back to the first floor. But of course that was just theory... and a stupid one at that. Especially seeing how unstable the staircase was in the first place. Hearing a warning creak... Charlie was pretty sure the thing would collapse right on top of them with the slightest touch.
Hell... it might happen in the next few minutes without them even breathing on it.
"I've got the rope from the car," Lawson called out, as if reading his thoughts. "But it's too risky for you to try and come up here. It sounds as if it might fall any moment," he warned, voice filled with concern.
Charlie nodded, even though no one could see him.
"We can try the staircase in the other wing," he noted hesitantly. That would after all mean that he and Bill needed to walk through the unknown underground floor of the asylum, in total darkness and with Bill's messed up ankle. Charlie shot a look towards where he thought the door to the floor might be. All he saw was utter blackness... all he felt was fear. And the smell of mouldy decay.
"Can you get there?" Lawson asked slowly, as if thinking it through.
"Sure," It was Bill who answered, sounding way more certain than Charlie. But then... Bill probably thought Lawson's only concern was for his leg halting their movement. While Charlie was worried about other things. Hidden in the shadows... waiting.
Charlie shook off the feeling of dread. Or he tried to. No. He read too many scary stories as a kid, that was all. No monsters, no ghosts existed. Darkness after all was just the absence of light, nothing else.
Still... absence of light in this case was a rather big problem. If the bad state of the staircase was anything to go by, the rest of the building was most likely in horrendous shape. Not to mention the little fact that there just might've been traps or people lurking around, waiting for the right moment to attack.
"Light. We need some light first," Charlie grunted, feeling slightly panicked when he thought about them traipsing through the building in total darkness... either them or Lawson, because there were no more torches in the cars.
Next to him, Bill started moving around. Charlie wanted to tell him to stop and stay still, but he was somehow hoping that Bill managed to keep a hold of his torch. No such luck obviously or they wouldn't be still fumbling around in the dark.
"What's going on down there?" Lawson called out nervously.
"Looking for the torch!" Bill called back, disgruntled even as his hands were reaching around. Charlie joined in the effort, hissing as he discovered sharp edges and rough stone. There was a moment of silence, filled only with the sound of their movement and hard breathing, the occasional clearing of the throat as they were becoming more and more irritated by the settling dust. And the ominous creaking, joined with the wailing sound from far above.
"If you don't find it, I'll throw you mine," Lawson said determinedly.
Charlie shook his head.
"No. Not leaving you alone and in the dark, boss," he said with a grimace. "We had two, damn it. They must be somewhere here..."
The light from up above moved to a different angle, in a slow circle. It didn't make everything clear, because the hanging staircase was in the way, but some of managed to shine through.
Charlie stopped patting around for a second, just sitting down on his heels and squinting around, trying to make out the shapes in the shadows.
'There!' he thought as he saw something metallic glint. It was silver instead of the rusty red. He got up on his feet, hunched over and gritting his teeth, pausing momentarily as things crunched under his feet.
He was still hopeful as he leaned over and pulled out the familiar shape from under the debris. That was until his fingers felt the shattered glass. Still, he tried to turn it on, hoping at least for a flicker. Nothing.
"Damn it!" Charlie cursed, forcing back the urge to throw the thing against the wall in a sudden jolt of anger. Only thing stopping him was the thought even such a small crash might be enough to send the metal hanging above them toppling down on their heads.
"Davis?"
"Found one. It's broken," he admitted with some defeat. He was about to call out to Lawson and admit defeat, perhaps ask the man at least for some matches they could use.
Hobart made a strange sound.
Charlie paused, then with a hiss closed his eyes as light hit him right in the face.
"Well, aren't you a sight," Hobart said and there was an obvious smirk in his voice.
Charlie didn't care. He was too ecstatic to actually have a working torch to complain about it being pointed in his face.
"We got one!" he called out to Lawson and could practically feel the relief of the man when he realized neither of them will be stuck in total darkness. At least as long as the light worked.
Before throwing away his useless torch, Charlie took out the batteries, figuring they might still work in case of need. He stuffed them in his pocket, then crossed the small space back to Bill's half lying, half sitting form.
Hobart was shining the light upwards and Charlie couldn't help but look. He really wished he hadn't. Suddenly, getting away from the place seemed much more pressing. There was no way that staircase would last long.
"We should move," Hobart spoke, his voice just a bit choked. Charlie agreed.
"Yeah. We should," he knelt down next to Bill and reached for the light. Bill didn't release it though, instead aimed it at the surrounding walls, towards the black hole in the wall.
Some time ago there most likely used to be a door, just like upstairs. Right now there was nothing, only a darkened corridor behind. Charlie really didn't want to go that way but knew they had no other choice.
"You better get moving!" came a warning from upstairs.
Charlie leaned down and with a grimace as all his bruises protested, he helped Bill up to his feet. Or rather, one foot. They stood there for a few seconds, both breathing harshly. Bill was leaning against him with his full weight, the torch in his hand shaking wildly. Charlie let him regain his composure, ignoring the colourful curses filling his ears when Bill tried to take a step.
"Careful. Move with me," Charlie said through gritted teeth and took a few steps with Bill's weight on his shoulders. They were almost by the door when they paused.
"Meet you at the other side, Boss!" Charlie called out. "Stay safe!"
"Yeah yeah. Just get your ass moving!"
Charlie snorted and felt Bill's frame shake, a chuckle hidden in his chest.
"All heart... that man," Charlie said as they reached the entrance to the corridor. They paused at the door frame as Bill swept the light around.
It was an uninspiring view... one that sent shivers down Charlie's spine. His feet felt frozen in place... but there was the sound of a creak and a sharp snap. Charlie and Bill stumbled into the corridor without knowing how. They made it several meters when there was a loud crash behind them. A cloud of dust and debris flew at them, propelling them forward a few steps, until they came to a total halt. Eyes wide, heart thudding wildly in their chests.
The rest of the staircase had just collapsed.
Only thing separating them from a nasty death was a minute or two. Too close. It was too close.
"What are we going to do?" Rose asked and Blake grimaced. It was a good question, one that was hard to answer. One thing was clear to him though.
"We are not doing anything. Last thing I want is to get you involved when we don't know the situation," Blake told Rose, though he made sure to glance at Jean too. He wasn't really prepared for the narrowing of two pairs of eyes, even though he expected it.
"What do you mean? It's my uncle and... Charlie. I have all the right to be there."
Blake sighed, glancing at Danny as if to ask for his help. Danny had a rather sheepish look on his face though. It seemed that years spent in the presence of Jean and Mattie had taught him to be wary. Something that Blake should've perhaps learned too.
Blake waved his hand in an appeasing manner, although he noted it barely seemed to work. Rose's lips stayed pursed and her arms were crossed over her chest, while Jean was looking at him questioningly. Clearly at least giving him the chance to explain.
"Let's not argue right now. We need to figure out what's wrong and how to help."
Rose huffed, but settled down on the couch. Danny's stance seemed to relax marginally and Blake would almost find it amusing if not for the situation.
"What's your plan then?"
Blake shrugged.
"I think me and Danny should head out to the station and see what's the situation."
Rose opened her mouth to protest, but this time Jean beat her to it.
"Are you really planning to just 'walk' inside? Without any backup?"
"No, of course not. That would be stupid," he quickly amended, shooting a look towards Danny. The boy was already frowning, clearly thinking of something.
"Danny... you know some of the officers who are off duty now?"
Danny nodded.
"Yeah. I was already thinking about it. Do you know who was on duty for tonight?"
"I'm pretty sure Bill was scheduled. Don't know if there was someone else besides constable Thompson though..."
Danny was shaking his head, grimacing.
"Damn. I was hoping we could get Hobart... but if he got caught up in the situation, it's not good."
Blake couldn't but agree. Bill might've been a hot head and sometimes trouble to deal with, but he knew the station and people working there better than anyone else. Not to mention, if someone managed to take out him, Lawson and Charlie too... the situation was indeed dire.
"Call up whomever you can, Danny. Let's meet at the parking lot around the corner from the station, as soon as possible."
Danny nodded and headed to the hall to start phoning. Blake wasn't sure how many people he could get... not to mention most of those coppers wouldn't have weapons. After all, the guns were locked up at the station.
"So that's the brilliant plan?" Rose asked, rather in disbelief.
"We can hardly do much else until we see what's going on."
"Maybe try calling the station again and try to get information out of the constable?"
Blake shook his head.
"No. He sounded nervous enough. I really don't want to make the situation worse for him. Whomever is there might lose their nerve and hurt someone. Or they might get suspicious and we would lose the element of surprise."
"Element of surprise?" Jean raised her eyebrows. "Pray tell, how do you want to surprise them?"
Blake shrugged.
"We will see," he said, adding a small smile to ease the tension. Rose still didn't seem convinced.
"I want to come with," she muttered but Blake was already shaking his head.
"I really don't want you to get into danger. Not to mention... we will need some actual back up."
Rose paused.
"What?"
"If we don't get back to you within an hour... I want you to call the Bendigo station and tell them everything you know. Ask them to send help."
"Any reason why you are not doing that right now?" Jean popped in.
"I think it's best to... keep it local. Depends on how many men can Danny get, but it would be best to have people who know their way around the building."
Rose's eyes narrowed once again, her lips pursed.
"That's not all though. You don't want this to go out. To protect uncle Matthew?"
They all knew that Lawson's position was a bit more precarious, not least because of all the trouble Blake managed to get himself into. Maybe this was just a misunderstanding... or maybe a huge disaster. Blake would prefer knowing which one first though before involving outsiders.
"Something like that," he admitted. He was expecting Rose to keep on protesting but he noticed Jean had settled herself next to the girl and gently squeezed her hand, giving her an undecipherable look. Rose didn't look happy but didn't say anything else.
Blake wasn't sure if it calmed him or not. But he didn't want to lose time pondering about when they had bigger issues at hand.
"I'll go see how's Danny doing," he muttered and headed out into the corridor. Danny was busy talking to someone and gave Blake a nod as he passed. Blake headed upstairs and towards his office. He took out a key from a desk drawer and unlocked the cabinet. He took out his gun and checked it over, grabbing some ammunition as well. He hoped there will be no need to use it, but it was better to be prepared. He also grabbed his medical bag. He worried one of those two things will get some use tonight.
When he returned downstairs, Danny had just hung up.
"Well?"
Danny shrugged.
"I managed to get hold of three guys. They will try to call a few more whose numbers I don't know, but I'm not holding my breath. I think most of the guys are out having a beer or something."
Blake nodded. Three people weren't much, but perhaps it was better the less people got involved.
"Alright. Let's head out and see what's going on."
Danny nodded and grabbed his jacket.
"Just like old times then?" he quipped with a smirk as they headed towards the door. Blake couldn't stop the chuckle.
"Don't tell me you didn't miss this."
Danny rolled his eyes.
"What... the danger and crazy situations? Nah," he shook his head and threw a look at the two women who now stood in the hallway, watching them with rather strange looks on their faces. It was a mix of worry and anger and both Danny and Blake cringed, expecting another barrage of comments.
Jean sighed, then handed Blake his hat and kissed him.
"Be careful," she said simply and Blake smiled, once again reminded of the fact he loved his wife very much.
"What, I don't get a kiss?" Danny teased Rose. She rolled her eyes and huffed, not moving from her spot. Jean pulled Danny into a quick hug and pecked him on the cheek. Danny sputtered, surprised.
"I meant-"
"You better go. Before you will be the one in need of rescuing," Jean advised him and Danny quickly scrammed towards the door.
"Right. We better move, Doc," he said as he passed by. Blake snorted.
"One hour, alright?" he said and Jean nodded.
Blake left with mixed feelings. On one side, he hated telling Jean she shouldn't come along, on the other hand he really didn't want her anywhere close to danger. Knowing she and Rose were home safe was one thing less to worry about.
"Well... they are gone. Want to tell me why I should just... sit around like some damsel?" Rose asked as soon as the car with Blake and Danny pulled out from the driveway.
Jean rolled her eyes.
"No one said anything about sitting around. But you need to pick your battles. And Lucien was right. He shouldn't be worrying or arguing with us right now."
Rose's eyes narrowed. It was clear she was suspicious.
"You don't seem upset at all. Don't tell me you don't want to go after them."
Jean shook her head.
"Of course I do. I just don't want them distracted by it."
"What?" Rose blinked, confused by the sudden change. Jean gave her a pointed look, then nodded towards the window.
"If I remember, you do have a perfectly fine car parked just outside," she noted and she had to bite down on her tongue not to laugh when she saw the look of consternation on Rose's face.
For the sake of the situation, she ignored the colourful curse that followed. Of course, Rose might've actually forgotten because her car had been parked here for the last day. It had broken down before her trip to Bendigo but Charlie drove it back from the garage as soon as it was repaired.
"The keys?" Rose asked hopefully and Jean pointed towards the small bowl near the door. Rose grabbed them with a satisfied smile and a ferocious glint in her eyes.
"I would give them a few minutes of a head start," Jean noted. "We know where they are going and there's no need for them to notice us trailing behind."
Rose nodded and shot a look at the clock.
"Five minutes. I'm not waiting any longer," she said resolutely.
"That's fine. Just the time I need to get changed into something more appropriate for a bit of detective work," Jean said with a wink and headed upstairs. There was something to be said for living with Lucien Blake. Her days were never boring.