Chapter 8 – Here We Go Again
God, I really needed a cigarette. Already, the withdrawals were kicking in – made worse by the amount of emotional trauma I had experienced in just the past few hours. My head was pounding to the point where it was becoming disorienting. Fatigued, I stumbled down the steps of my front porch.
The wind blew my auburn hair into my face and it seemed that no matter what I did it couldn't be helped. I angrily spat out the strands that had worked their way into my mouth, the taste of blood on my tongue from where it had splattered. I was frustrated, exhausted physically and emotionally – in other words, I was a complete wreck. My uniform was forever destroyed, soaked with blood, sweat, and other bodily fluids. Holes and tears dotted the hem; to my chagrin, some were even in not-so-decent places. With my shotgun strapped to my back and various other weapons protruding from my pockets, I was the picture of a post-apocalyptic survivor.
Struggling to keep going, I trudged on through the muck of the front yard toward the road that I knew should have close by.
Visions overtook me. No matter what I did, it seemed as though he couldn't escape my thoughts. I would have given anything to just forget, but he wouldn't leave. Like a parasite, he remained to suck the life out of me. I dreaded his return, which I knew was inevitable. Silver eyes flashed through my mind like a sudden bolt of lightening in a pitch black sky. I shook my head, biting my lip as I refused to let him in.
Images of the barn appeared before my eyes. Sunflowers. A large mansion. A little girl with pigtails hugging a young boy of significantly greater height. A fire. Screaming. The barn burned while the boy cries for his dying sister.
"Stop it!" I shouted while clutching my head, doubled over in agony.
After the pain had eased, my eyes fluttered open to find a whole new world. I was on a dirt path surrounded by gigantic trees. A rod iron gate closed behind me, squeaking as it did. I jumped at the sudden sound, letting out a squeak of my own. As I turned around, I discovered that I was in fact alone. "Where am I?" I whispered as I searched for some clue to my whereabouts. With nothing to help, I began to walk forward; luckily for me, it wasn't a minute later that I finally heard a familiar voice.
"Hey! Alice!" I heard a male call from behind me.
I spun around to find the detective running up to meet me.
"S-Sebastian?" I wrung my hands, knowing that Ruvik wouldn't want me around the others. "Where did you come from?" I asked.
His pace slowed. "It's a long story. Where have you been?" he asked upon reaching me.
My hand went to the back of my neck to scratch it, eyes darting away in an attempt to dodge his question. "It's a long story," I replied with a meek smile.
He eyed me carefully, but nodded in understanding. "Well, you're safe. That's all that matters."
I nodded, still unable to look at him directly. "Do you know where we are?"
"Not a clue. Let's have a look around." He held his gun at the ready and walked toward a light to the right of where we stood. The two of us searched the area and found stone ruins. Wooden barrels and crates lined the section still containing a wall. We halved the ammunition that we found and continued on down the pathway.
The further we walked, the more foreboding the place became. The trees loomed over us as if warning of our impending doom, yet beckoning us to continue towards it – ever watching. In the distance, I made out a wrought iron gate between two stone walls. I furrowed my brow and crinkled my nose as memories of my childhood flashed before my eyes once more.
Sebastian was the first to enter, pushing the gate open to allow us access to the other side. "Wait. I've seen this house before. What is this place?" he asked to no one in particular.
"The Victoriano Estate," I replied dully as I followed behind, sickened that now I would have to be inside of Ruvik's own home – or former home. I though it strange to see the place, I had heard that it burned down.
"You've been here before?" he asked, surprise and suspicion not-so-subtly lacing his voice.
"Only a few times," I answered. "Only when his parents weren't home."
Sebastian suddenly stopped and turned around to face me, eyes widened as he searched me for answers. "Him? You mean…You knew that Ruvik guy?"
I shrank under his intense amber stare. Even under the circumstances, I found myself gushing over how handsome he was. "He used to be my best friend," I replied curtly. Leaving the detective to stare blankly behind me, I continued forward without him.
"Hold on," he called. "What?" He grabbed my shoulder to spin me around, but I shrugged it off and pushed his hand away.
For the detective's benefit, I stopped and turned around to face him. "Unforeseen circumstances separated us when we were young. I haven't seen or heard from him until this point."
Ever so slightly, he turned his head to the side as he contemplated the words with narrowed eyes. "You've been with him, haven't you? Do you know what he wants from us?"
"No," I answered. "All I know is that he's pissed about Dr. Jimenez betraying him. What he did to him and what all that entails, I don't know."
Detective Castellanos seemed to accept this as a decent answer. "C'mon," he instructed, waving for me to follow behind. "Stay close."
As my eyes gazed over gigantic mansion, I found myself in awe of its magnificence. A pathway led to a round courtyard with an intricately detailed fountain in the center – no longer in working condition. Vines wrapped around it in a tight embrace, disguising the beauty I knew to be underneath. The mansion itself was enormous, looming off in the distance like a bad omen. Two large columns marked the entrance to the decrepit, Edwardian style mansion, both cracked and enveloped with ivy. Dead and dying trees surrounded the place; the beautiful garden I once knew had overgrown from lack of care. Having always admired it, almost saddened me to see it in such a state.
"It's strange, I've never been here before but…," Sebastian whispered.
"Yeah," I answered back, knowing what he meant. The pull from the mansion was strong.
We walked toward the front entrance and opened the enormous doors. The inside was just as eerily beautiful as the outside. A marble floor gleamed under the dim light of the candles. A set of stairs led up to the second story balcony, lined with hardwood. Two vases sat underneath them on the back wall next to a set of elaborate, mechanical-looking doors.
"Hey!" Sebastian called out suddenly. "Stop!" Up ahead the doctor and Leslie walked through the foyer through a set of double doors located under the stairs, but the detective's pleas were futile; the doors slammed behind them. He walked up and attempted to open them, but to no avail.
"Great," I muttered angrily. "Now what?" I crossed my arms, fingers tapping over them.
"I guess now we have a look around." Sebastian continued toward the door to our left, shoes clacking against the hard floor. We walked to the dining room. A large table sat in the center, surrounded by cushioned chairs and draped with a white table cloth. A china cabinet filled with china stood at the far end of the room.
Hissing came from the area to our right.
"You heard that, right?" I asked with my gun aimed toward the direction of the noise.
Sebastian grunted in recognition and moved into the pantry area. He crouched and peered around the doorframe to the other side to find a haunted with his back turned with a knife in hand and a bomb placed on the wall. He turned to me and placed a finger over his lips for me to stay quiet, pulling out the knife he kept in his belt. "Stay down," he mouthed. Sneaking up behind it, he reached his arm around the neck and stabbed it in the head.
With that one down, he took the risk of deactivating the bomb. I watched from afar as he did his handiwork, aligning the spinner within the the thin, blue area. Once the deed was done, he took the necessary parts from it and placed them on his person for later use. He waved me over.
I did as I was instructed and crouched beside him, his head pointing toward the direction of the kitchen.
"There's two more in there," he said with a frown. "And another bomb."
I saw as two of the haunted were devouring a corpse, tearing bits of flesh away with their claw like fingers. "We can take them easy," I replied in confusion. He looked back at me with uncertainty. "Trust me, my aim has gotten much better since we last met, Sebastian," I drawled as I rolled my eyes.
He nodded and charged forward, taking out the one nearest to where we stood as it attempted to attack. True to my word, I came up behind and took out the last one with a headshot (albeit it was just a lucky shot.) He crawled to the other side of the antique kitchen to disarm the bomb, taking the parts just as he had before. I walked toward the room off of the far wall. Metal shelves lined the walls with various tools and equipment. A light in the far corner beckoned me forward, leading me to a desk with a severed head along with terrifying looking machines. I yelped, which urged the detective to follow after.
"What is it?" he questioned, gun ready to fire at anything that he deemed a threat. Upon seeing me alone, he lowered the weapon and moved to see what had caused such a reaction. His face contorted into a look of utter disgust.
"What is this thing?" I asked him, fighting to not gag.
"No clue," he replied before pressing buttons to see what would happen. A metal, arm-like mechanism emerged from its resting position and maneuvered itself in front of the severed head. A woman's voice begging for her captor to stop as she struggled played on the tape recorder on the desk.
"Subject Number 58. Test 92A. Electrode placement in M-33 pain region, ineffective. Anticipate greater results with stimulation of section F-7, the "consent" region of the neocortex," the voice of Ruvik spoke. Upon hearing him, my fists tightened at my sides.
The woman shouted and screamed, begging to be released before a distinct squish silenced her cries. I closed my eyes, trying not to imagine what was done to her.
"Subject imprint only partially successful. Individual personality traits still linger," he replied unhappily before a click alerted us of the recording's end.
Sebastian looked to the paper to his left, studying the area Ruvik had specified. With a grimace, he grabbed onto the metal arm, placing it over the desired location of the severed head. "Here goes nothing," he said with palpable uncertainty. A needle-like object was injected into the area, blood oozing out around the newly made puncture. A beep followed by a stream of red liquid that traveled through the clear tube and into the wall alerted us of his success.
"Great. What did I just set in motion?" Sebastian muttered under his breath.
"Is this what you call your inner sanctum? A research lab of your own, I am most impressed," a male voice said.
The suddenness of apparition's voice startled the detective and me. Our eyes widened as we realized the man who had just spoken was Dr. Jimenez, albeit a much younger version of him. He looked about the room with keen interest.
"Why are you back? I didn't give you permission," a young Ruben replied, unsure of the man's intentions.
"Come now, we're both men of science. Men of science are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. You can show me your experiments, I can show you things." He pointed toward the boy with a smile for emphasis.
The boy stepped forward motioning towards the doctor. "You wouldn't like them. You'd think they're gross."
"In science, one must do any number of things a lay person may find…disgusting. I've done things that others would consider…distasteful." Jimenez turned away, a look of resentment on his less wrinkled face.
"You think…I'm some kind of a monster." Ruben motioned to himself and looked down at his feet in shame.
The doctor sighed, returning his eyes back to the boy's. "You concern yourself so much with your appearance." He bent down to his level and pointed to his head with another smile. "But that mind of yours - that's all that matters."
"That's Marcelo," Sebastian suddenly spoke. "Is that Ruvik with him?" He turned to me for confirmation.
I nodded, shifting my gaze to my feet and wrapping my arms around myself. Seeing the boy again hurt; it served as a reminder of the innocence he lost and the maniac he had become. Conflicting emotions resurfaced once again as we walked back the way we came.
Sebastian noticed my change in demeanor, eyeing me carefully. "What is it?" he asked.
"It just hurts…to know who he used to be and see who he's become," I whispered. "He wasn't always this way."
The detective chose not to respond, though I never expected him to. He never knew him like I did, only what he was then. He gave a soft grunt, alerting me that he understood. A mechanical clanking and hissing came from beyond the dining room. "Do you hear that?" he asked me.
"Yeah," I replied with a concerned glance in his direction. We darted out the door and found that the red liquid had traveled from the "inner sanctum" into the a container attached to the metal doors in the foyer. Cogs spun as the machine was beginning to run. I raised a brow at the other two empty containers.
"So we need to fill the others with that red liquid," Sebastian spoke, echoing my thoughts.
"That's what I'm guessing." I studied the pipes that led to different areas of the house. "This way," I called as I ran up the stairs to follow one.
We walked through the doorway to our left into the library, where mountains of books surrounded us on dusty shelves. In the center of the rotunda sat a desk, books and papers piled high on top; a typewriter stocked with paper waited to be used. The dead roamed amongst the shelves with weapons ready to kill. Quickly, the detective and I got to work disposing of them. I attempted to follow in Sebastian's footsteps and stealthily take the one closest to us, tiptoeing closer with knife in hand. The creature growled deep within its throat while it stood unaware of my approach. I snaked a hand around its rotting throat and jabbed the knife into its skull, blood oozing from the wound. I couldn't help but grin at the fact that I had actually done it.
Sebastian circled his way around to the ladder that led to the top level and ascended. Once on his feet again, he spotted the haunted on the other side. I watched, hoping to God that he would get the job done without being injured. The creature spun around at just the right (or wrong in Sebastian's case) moment, and pointed with a gangly finger in the detective's direction. He muttered a curse and stood to his full height once again, pulling the gun from his belt. I whipped my own out and held it to fire. Luckily, the detective took the haunted out with a single headshot; brain matter flew in all directions. I let out a sigh of relief.
He moved his way toward the lone painting, the bottom half missing. A metal box underneath the frame caught his eye. Reaching to open it, he pulled out a knob. "Is this a dial?" he asked as he inspected it.
"Let me see," I called.
He descended the ladder and held the object towards me. I took it and observed the markings along the edges. "We better keep this," I said while handing it back to him. He placed the dial into his pocket. "This will probably come in handy for something really important."
We continued toward the next door that we came across. Sebastian carefully cracked it, allowing us to peek through to the other side. More haunted hunched over a corpse, devouring the flesh. "One of them will spot us if we try to take them out one at a time," he said with a furrowed brow of concentration.
"So, we go in there guns blazing?" I asked, preparing mine for the attack.
"If you say so," he replied.
The detective kicked open the door, and fired away. I came in behind and took out the other, this time not as conservatively as I would have liked with my ammunition. Their corpses now joined the one that they had been feasting upon.
"C'mon," Sebastian instructed.
We found ourselves down a narrow hallway lined with only a couple of doors. I let out a disapproving grunt as memories of the place revealed themselves to me. "I remember this place. These are their rooms," I said to myself, eyes darting to each one with mistrust. A pang of sadness overtook me while looking at Laura's old room.
"They?" he asked.
"You know…Ruvik and Laura," I replied, turning away from the sight.
Sebastian's mouth formed a thin line while he contemplated on what to do. He scratched his chin. "I think we should go inside. Just to see if there's anything useful."
I nodded and followed as he slowly opened the door nearest to us. The room was decaying, but remained trapped in another time. A perfectly made, four poster bed sat in the corner; at it's feet was a desk with various notes and books. Out of curiosity, I observed the state of the room compared to when I had last been inside while Sebastian rummaged through a set of shelves – it remained almost exactly how it had been around twenty-seven years ago.
On the other side of the bed, I noticed a chair sitting in the very corner; a sheet of paper rested on the seat. With a shaking hand, I picked up the piece of paper and read the words scrawled upon it.
I saw her there again, standing at the end of the hallway. Long black hair, beautiful as ever, streaked with moonlight, eyes dark pools in her porcelain face. She wore her favorite red dress, like a crimson sunset. Like a streak of blood in the waning light. Laura, of course you couldn't be dead.
I bit my lip and passed the note to Sebastian, not wanting to look at it any longer than I had to. He took it from me and quickly skimmed before placing it in his pocket. "Let's go," he said, ushering me into the next room over.
We passed through the open doorway that connected the two rooms and had a look around. It too seemed trapped in time, but starkly contrasted with Ruvik's. The room was brightly colored, cheery even, whereas Ruvik's had been dark and decayed. I folded my arms and walked behind the detective while he inspected every crevice for something that could help. It was hard to look.
The door that led back out into the hallway burst open, a haunted ramming its way through. We jumped, however Sebastian blew its head to pieces with two shots and returned to his digging. "Nothing but matches," he sighed before shutting the drawer. His jaw tightened as he stuffed the matches on his person. "And we're running low on ammo."
I chewed on my lip, fearing that we wouldn't find any.
"So, I guess we keep going," he replied before turning on his heels to walk out the door. I followed behind. "You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," I muttered. "I'm fine." I readied my weapon.
Further down the hall, we turned the corner to find a small sitting area across from the bathroom. "I've never been down this part of the house," I explained to him. "They were never allowed to go to the end of the hall. It was off limits."
Sebastian grunted, continuing forward. Suddenly, the gigantic double doors behind us opened, a claw-like device grabbing his ankle and knocking him to the ground. The detective muttered a curse as it began to drag him into rotating spikes, ready to chop him into tiny pieces. Panicking, I fired at the device, hoping that something would make it stop. The detective too pulled out his pistol and shot the machine, but to no avail. Just as he was about to be shredded, I aimed for the red light, finding that to be the answer. Groaning, he rose to his feet and nodded a thanks in my direction.
Continuing where we left off, we made our way down the corridor to a door at the very end. The room was empty, save for an enormous four poster bed, a dresser, a writing desk, and a huge fireplace that extended deep within the wall. "I wonder what's in there," I whispered, getting on my hands and knees to crawl inside. After checking everything in the room, the detective followed me inside. Soot and ashes littered the metal floor, turning our hands and knees black. To my chagrin, cobwebs clung to my face, causing to spit in a very unattractive way to remove the silky threads from my lips; Sebastian, on the other hand, was spared from my fate due to me taking all of them for him. Once on the other side, we discovered a set up similar to what had been in the inner sanctum. A severed head sat, once again, exposing part of the brain. A strange machine stood behind, waiting to be used.
"This again?" the detective groaned. I allowed him to pass in front of me, not wanting to be anywhere near the thing. I watched as he got to work, the tape recorder began to play.
"Subject Number 12. Test 71B. Electrode Placement A-2." A man whimpered in the background. "Stimulation of amygdalae, seat of emotion and memory allocation; the fear center of the brain." The man continued to whimper before crying out as a squish erupted through the speaker. "Subject feels as I do. But this vessel is far to weak to withstand the psychological weight I myself bear daily." With that, the recording ended with a familiar click.
I shuddered as Sebastian began to do his work, moving the arm into the right position to inject the needle in the brain. A beep alerted us of his success. The machine roared to life as the red liquid pumped through the tubing. "Okay, that's done," he said with a sigh before turning around to head back toward the tunnel.
We crawled through the soot, stopping as an all too familiar voice echoed from the other side. A shaky exhale escaped his lips as the apparition stood hunched over his deceased parents, knife in hand. The detective stepped out first, and I quickly followed behind.
"Oh father…Did you actually think if you locked me away, I would just cease to exist? "Out of sight, out of mind?"" His voice shook with a number of emotions. I timidly approached, hand covering my mouth at the sight. "You did…You did, didn't you. Well you were never out of my mind. I hope you're proud of yourselves." He released another trembling sigh before disappearing, leaving the corpses of Ernesto and Beatriz behind to rot at the foot of the bed.
I bit my lip, drawing blood as I fought to keep tears from welling in my eyes. I sniffed and turned away toward the door, quickly walking out and away from the detective.
"Alice!" he called from behind, rushing to find me. I stopped just outside of the door, staring into black space. My fists tightened, nails digging into my palms. No matter what I did, it seemed that I couldn't stop the tears from coming. Ruvik's words to me when we first spoke after twenty-seven years of separation echoed through my mind.
"…he locked me in the basement for six years. Even going so far as to keep me a secret from my mother because he was too ashamed of the disfigurements..."
I angrily wiped them away, not allowing myself to cry. Sebastian stood behind, unsure of what to do. He gently placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, just letting me know that he was there. There was nothing to say, nothing that would make it easier. "He killed my parents," I whispered to the detective. I sniffed. "Why does it still hurt to know what he suffered?" I turned to face him, almost expecting him to answer. He could only shake his head, concern painting his features.
"I don't know, Alice," he replied.
I looked down at my feet. "I wanted to believe there's just a shred of good still in there. That the boy I knew is still there, just hidden under years of hate. But I know it's all gone." I shook my head. "He's gone." My eyes continued to stare just ahead, not really at the detective though he was in my line of sight.
Sebastian gently squeezed my shoulder, giving me the most understanding look he could muster. "We should go," he reminded softly. I nodded as we turned to continue down the length of the hallway. A painting of a young girl pointed to our left, urging us to continue forward. Passing corpses along our way, we found a door at the very end.
Suddenly, it burst open, revealing Ruvik standing on the other side. Face dour and downcast, he stalked up to me. Sebastian whipped out his gun and began firing, but to no avail. Silver eyes momentarily glanced in his direction with distain before landing on me. I backed into the wall, knowing that no matter how much I fought back it would do no good. A marred hand reached out and grabbed the collar of my dress.
"Alice!" Sebastian called out before we were transported into another area of the house.
Ruvik's hand dropped from my collar, I fell onto the ground with an "oomph."
"Just leave me alone," I snapped, hands pressing into the ground to support myself. Unfortunately for me, I received no response from him; he only continued to stare back just as before – unaffected. "Ruvik, go away!" I shouted.
His brows furrowed, eyes narrowing. "You think that I am the one at fault." He stated it as though it intrigued him, ever so slightly turning his head to the side. "But you're wrong."
My jaw tightened as I stood back up. I readjusted my uniform, pulling it further down my legs to keep from revealing anything I wouldn't want to. It took all I had to not start screaming at him. "And why shouldn't I? We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." I poked a finger in his direction. "I trusted you and you betrayed me."
He scoffed. "You know nothing of betrayal," he spat.
"Oh, I don't?" My voice began to grow shaky, eyes threatening to fill with tears that I refused to release. "I came to you thinking that you were just the innocent victim of my father's hatred for your family." My gaze shifted down to my feet as I let out a heavy, grief-stricken sigh. "You act as if you care for me, but if you did….you…you would have let them live." It came out in a whisper.
The corner of his mouth twitched in what appeared to be a frown. He allowed a brief moment of silence to hang between us while he studied my reaction. "Do you know where you are, Ali?" he suddenly questioned.
I looked back up at him quizzically, thinking this was his attempt to dodge my questions. I crossed my arms, raising a brow. "You said that this is a world that you created – whatever that means."
"I told you of my research before Jimenez's betrayal. It's known as STEM – in short, a machine that links minds together in order to create a shared plane of consciousness. However, it is only functional when I am connected. When Mobius gained control, they defiled it." He frowned. "The device is now a perversion of my own. What it should have been."
I cocked my head to the side as I tried to comprehend what he was saying. "So,…what you're saying is that we're connected to you? Like inside of your head?"
He raised his arms from his sides to gesture to our environment. "Everything that you see is a blend of each person's consciousness that has been linked to STEM – including yours."
My eyes widened, façade falling for a brief moment. "…I'm contributing to this craziness too?"
"In a way," he replied with a nod.
I shifted uncomfortably, eyes darting away briefly. Something about hearing the words had me feeling completely exposed. "How do we get out?"
"The boy…Leslie. He is the key." He pointed a finger in the air for emphasis, slowly pacing around me. "So long as he makes it to the beacon, we can escape."
Once again, I found myself completely lost. "Leslie? What's so special about him?"
"That's not what matters," he curtly replied.
His hesitation to answer me caused me to frown in anger. "It does," I barked back.
He stopped in front of me, hands behind his back. "I've found that he and I are compatible. With that, I plan on escaping through him."
I raised a brow. "Through? What do you mean?"
"I no longer have a body, therefore I plan on using the boy's as a conduit."
"What?" My eyes once more grew wide. "Wait, how can you not have a body?"
"It was taken from me. Mobius – the organization that expressed interest in my work – found my methods "unsuitable." And in the end, I was only pawn. Easily expendable. They picked and prodded, tearing away at me bit by bit. And I was aware of it all as they severed each nerve. Flesh from bone. My husk of a body gone, left with nothing but a brain."
I shook my head, cringing at his morbid description of his own death. With all that I had, I pushed down any unwanted emotion that threatened to break through. Instead, I projected the anger that was so prevalent inside. "This changes nothing between us," I whispered. "I've run out of pity for you, Ruvik."
He leaned in close until his face was merely inches from mine. "Your pity is not what I desire."
My eyes narrowed as I leaned in even closer to him, his breath gently sweeping my face. I locked my eyes onto his, attempting to show that I wasn't afraid. My nostrils flared. "I hoped that there was still a man behind the monster, but it appears I was wrong." I stood up taller, tensing under his sharp gaze. "What happens to Leslie once you take over him?"
To my chagrin, he didn't back down; however, I refused to either. "He remains," he drawled, "however I will be the one in control."
"Two people in one body…," I stated.
He gave a slow nod in return.
"And then what?"
His hollow eyes bored into mine, angered disappointment painted on his face. "I had hoped that you would be by my side willingly, Ali. But it appears that I was wrong."
It was my turn to scoff. "Oh, you ruined any chance of that, buddy," I spat bitterly, tempted to poke a finger to his scarred chest.
He grew more somber, an sadistic gleam flashed in his silvery eyes. He drew in even closer, his lips so close to mine. "In that case, I suppose I will have to use other methods…"
I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?" I asked.
He vanished.
"You've got to be kidding me," I grumbled, pounding a fist against the wall behind me.
To say that his mind games were tiresome was an understatement…
Phew! That was long. ^^ (I couldn't really check for mistakes or anything like that because I've only got a few minutes to post this, so hopefully it's okay ^^;) Okay, so thank you to those who favorited, followed, and reviewed! Y'all are the bomb!
Pearl, I couldn't send you a PM thanking you, so I'll do it here. :D Here's that update!
Enjoy!