A.N.: Happy New Year everyone! Sorry this chapter took me so long, I got hit with the writer's block something fierce. I'm thinking that there will be around 15-16 chapters in total for this fic so that's something to look forward to for those of you who are interested. It's also going to be the last battle-focused chapter I'm going to do for a while since things are going to start kicking off into explanation/introspection-land from here on out. Again, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it!
Sebastian had thought he had seen everything that the world had to offer. Thought he had experienced all the mind-numbing horrors that Ruvik had in store for him. But this? This was new, very new. Trudging waist deep through bloody corpses and visceral remains, Sebastian struggled to stay upright. Despite his experiences as a cop and investigator hardening him for whatever chilling brutalities he might have faced on a case, being dunked head first into the seething mass of bodily residue was enough to turn anyone's stomach.
Refusing to give Ruvik the satisfaction of seeing him squirm, Sebastian shuffled in place to pinpoint any possible exit out of the vat that lead to dry land. Thankfully, all of that tossing and turning paid off as he found an extended platform a few feet away from his location. Bounding over to it, he placed both his hands on the railing above and half-pulled, half-jumped his way out of the pit of nightmares and back onto solid ground.
As he took stock of his inventory and made sure everything he had was intact, Sebastian took a moment to antiquate himself with the newest room he had arrived in. It was a spacious and unsurprisingly dark place that reeked of decades old mold and rusted metal with an eerie quiet that seemed to penetrate every corner of the compound. It was the same type of quiet that had set the detective on edge back in the village.
Just like it had back then, Sebastian felt his heart jump into his throat as a migraine burned its way into the front of his brain. A creeping premonition took hold of him along with the feeling that he had been here before. Had been here before and, just like back in the town, had died in an ambush that caught him off guard. This vision was enough to put a light into his feet and tell him that he needed to get the hell out of dodge before history ended up repeating itself. There was a lone door on the farthest reaches of the room that looked like it was the only place to actually leave the area. Trap, or not, there was no way that Sebastian was going to ignore the disturbing vision that he was hit with twice in a row now.
After a few more minutes of fumbling around in the dark, Sebastian's end goal was finally in sight. He embraced the feeling of relief as he approached the door and gripped the handle; giving it a swift tug to open it up. He felt the door buckle slightly but still remain shut, adamant on denying him entry to the outside. He gave another, stronger pull the this time and watched as the door buckled once more... and as the handle popped right off the ticked by before Sebastian gave any sort of reaction. There were no words to describe the sensation he felt in that instant. None to explain the slightly despair filled chuckles that slipped past his lips as he pinched the bridge of his nose and turned the metallic knob around in his hand.
"What's wrong? Feeling frustrated?
The blood in Sebastian's veins froze as he spun to face the pale man standing behind him at the foot of the steps.
"Because I've been experiencing those exact same emotions whenever I have to deal with you. After all, I hate it when perfectly laid plans are upset by vermin who don't understand the bigger picture."
If looks could kill, then Sebastian would have long since burst into flames from the heated death glare that the man was giving him. There was a rare glint of something else in the eyes that were throwing daggers at him, but he couldn't place it to an emotion before Ruvik vanished from sight. In place of the silence from before, a low hum echoed throughout the room that sent the detective into a defensive maneuver. Bubbles surfaced in the lake of blood as bodies emerged and started taking themselves to the raised platforms; all of them arriving with the intent of killing the only living being left in the room. This time, they weren't going to let him escape, Ruvik's cryptic message was enough to make sure he understood that.
Happy that he decided to not disable all of the bombs, Sebastian retrieved his revolver and aimed it at the explosive on the far right-hand post; firing and detonating it as soon as a few of the creatures drew close. The resulting explosion was effective at thinning the numbers a bit, but wasn't enough to completely quell the crowd that was gathering at the far end of the hallway. Ensuring that their focus was solely on him, Sebastian hustled across the broken dock that conjoined the rooms while taking care to duck under the chest-high trip wire that dangled just out of sight. A pang of fear grew in the pit of his stomach as his speed slowed to a crawl, but he immediately brushed it off as he broke from his crouch and leaped across the edge of the railway. Safely on the other side, Sebastian didn't even have to turn around to hear the blast being set off as one of his pursuers blindly stumbled into the trap meant for him.
Sprinting towards the door at the end of the hall, the detective didn't waste any time removing himself from the vicinity; the low drone of monsters telling him that there were reinforcements emerging from the liquid. After thrusting it open, he slammed the door shut as soon as the rest of him was through and used the few seconds he stole to catch his breath and think of a way out of his current situation.
Those few seconds were all he had to work with though as the sound of groaning intensified behind the locked entrance. Sebastian swore under his breath as he racked his brain for an answer. He needed a way out of this mess, and he needed one fast. Exhaling, he let his eyes wander up and around the ceiling carving lazy circles into the cracked canopy. A flash of red and yellow alerted him to a set of barrels that hung near the corner of one of the walls. Looking closer, he could see the words "Warning" and "Explosive" written on the sides in bold lettering. If there was any chance he had of gaining the upper hand in this battle, this was it.
As he scrambled to get to the canisters, the clawing at the door grew louder and more frequent as it began to buckle and strain under the assault. Bolts loosened and flew from the sockets as a multitude of hands reached in to tear the door off of its hinges and toss it off to the side. The room was filled to capacity as the monsters swarmed the area, buzzing about in a form of controlled chaos as they continued to hunt for their target. They only stopped their motion when the sound of metallic clanging turned their heads to a red barrel lying haphazardly in the center of the floor. Puttering forward to inspect it, they hopped back once again as another, similar container landed next to it. The creatures stared at the two for a moment, shocked at the sudden intrusion of the objects. They were so closely focused on their target that the sound of a harpoon being fired didn't even set them off; that is until said harpoon exploded, taking the farthest half of the group out and sending the remaining ones staggering off their feet.
Sebastian took advantage of the confusion to launch another explosive bolt to the far left of the crowd before jumping down into the open clearing, just out of range as the other bolt went off and sent the crowd into another dazed spiral. He prepared and fired another bolt into the center of the now diminished crowd, confident that his last round would be the one to finish them off for good. Unfortunately for him, the target he had in mind was wise to his plans and ducked out of the way at the last second. Just his luck. He barely had time to barrel roll out of the way at the mob crashed down where he once stood. Operating in unison, they tried to pin Sebastian against the wall but he kept dodging out of the way at the last second. Every time they surged, he sidestepped them as they ran past. Every time they picked themselves back up, Sebastian was already moving to a spot where they couldn't corner him.
Dodging from another assault, the detective knew that he couldn't keep this up forever. His only human endurance was going to give out eventually, but he just needed to last a little bit longer if he wanted to get out of there intact. Now nearly adjacent to the open hole where the door used to be, Sebastian once again moved to duck out of the way when he felt a leather boot connect squarely with his stomach, knocking the wind from him and sending him flying across the floor. It was a low blow, one that caused him to double over and gag from the force of the impact. He struggled to get to his feet but the pain in his chest sent him back down to all fours once more. The damn thing must have broken one of his ribs and, by the sound of it, seemed quite pleased with its efforts too. With options dwindling and panic growing, Sebastian grit his teeth and kicked out with both legs, trying to put a small gap between himself and the surging crowd. The detective didn't get very far with his efforts, but he did manage to hit something hard with his foot that gave him a smidgen of hope. The explosive barrels from before were perfect for a distraction when he needed it the most, and it looked like he would need them again if he wanted to leave this place with his life still intact. The feeling of wind whooshing past his left ear made the opening that he was looking for. Rolling over to avoid the fist that came for his head, Sebastian once again grabbed his revolver, aimed, and pulled the trigger just as the crowd came crashing down on top of him.
The resulting blast ricocheted throughout the room burning everything in sight and catapulting the detective through the opening and back outside. The sound of tumultuous wailing followed by bodies hitting the ground let the detective know that his plan was a successful one. It was a risky, bold, and incredibly stupid plan but WOW did he feel awesome doing it. There was always a sense of relief that came from an agenda coming together and Sebastian wasn't about to let that feeling pass, not when he barely escaped by the skin of his teeth.
Seconds turned into minutes as the weight of the world came trickling back down to the dazed man on the floor, making him realize that Ruvik could come back at any moment that he pleased and simply off the detective with another horde if he wanted to. Sebastian wasn't about to stick around for that horror show and he tentatively started to peel himself from his place on the floor. With the way finally open and no other beings to fight, the detective resumed his pace to the door all while taking slight glances to the left and right for good measure.
At the door, he extended his hand to take the knob once more, turning it to find that yes, it did stay on this time and yes, he could push it open without any surprises jumping out at him. He was happy to put this whole mess behind him and leave, but there was a sense of foreboding about what Ruvik had told him. A sense that things were about to go south in ways that the detective could never even begin to imagine.