Chapter 3 – Madness Incarnate.
As he stepped foot inside the burnt out remains of that once proud place, Seb's hair immediately stood to attention. Something wasn't right. Maybe it was something to do with the bomb that had been attached to the front door, or the fact that there were signs of recent human habitation – but either way it wasn't right. There were tins scattered around the place, and he could smell something strong – booze. There was no mistaking that smell – cheap and dirty vodka, more likely to give you liver failure than a hangover due to the amount of pure poison that is added to it – and that's without the alcohol!
The aroma of cheap booze seemed to permeate everything, like the smell of Seb after one of his marathon sex sessions in his younger days. No matter what you did, the smell never completely left. As Seb looked around the entrance hall, he noticed two things. Firstly, the place looked like it was laid out in the exact same way as it had been in the STEM. Something good did come out of that infernal device, Seb mused. The second thing that he noticed was that everything was burnt. Burnt beyond saving – but everything was still standing. Apart from the banisters on the staircases and a couple of doors, everything was still largely intact. Seb tried to remember the layout of the place, and thought about where he should go first. However he never got around to making that decision because he heard shouts coming from outside. Snapping out of his reverie, he remembered the team of agents that were apparently out to get him. Despite the fact that their comrades lay dead outside, Seb knew that it wouldn't slow them down much – if at all. He didn't feel like taking on a team of angry men who all had military spec armour and weapons – not unless he had a real advantage. He had an idea, and followed the smell of cheap vodka. He went through the door to the left and into the dining room, passing through until he was in what remained of the kitchen area. There in the corner by the remains of the stove, was a mattress. And on that mattress lay a snoring, wasted wino. Seb almost felt sorry for the guy, he was going to wake up to a lot of noise, that was for certain.
He listened more, and heard a commotion. It sounded a lot like they had found the remains of the previous team. Seb mentally thanked whoever had placed that trap – it gave him a much higher chance of survival. Sensing that he had not much time left, Seb knelt down in front of the sleeping wino and with his free hand prised the half empty bottle of vodka from his grip. Seb looked at the bottle – he couldn't read the label as it was so covered in grime and dirt –and took a swig. The liquid burnt his throat and made him cough, but most of all he could taste the added alcohol. It would seem this wino had made his own, stronger version of the brew. Seb could use that. He holstered his pistol for a moment and grabbed a blanket that was laying on the floor next to its inebriated owner. Tearing a strip off and putting most of it inside the bottle, Seb tilted it upside down for a moment holding his hand over the top so nothing would spill out. Turning it back up rightways, he admired the homemade Molotov. Turns out those days in New Jersey HAD paid off after all. Smirking to himself, he grabbed the lighter out of his pocket and crept back towards the entrance hall. As he reached the dining room he chanced a look around the corner and saw a few shadows in the dim light. They were close. He got closer and saw that they were moving towards his position – two were taking the lead while the other two were scouting around under the staircases. He waited until the first two were in the doorway and then lit the Molotov. He waited for a second more, took a deep breath and stepped out into the open.
"Hey, catch this".
He could only imagine the looks on their faces as he stepped out of nowhere clutching a Molotov in his hand. With a feeling of satisfaction that Seb knew he shouldn't have, he threw it at the ground right in front of the two agents. The fire spread quickly, consuming both men and the doorframe – if the others wanted to have a go at him, they would have to get past a veritable wall of flames and the other two human torches – Seb felt safe, for the moment anyway. Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet and sent sprawling to the ground as a mass thudded into his midriff and tackled him to the ground knocking the breath out of his body. As Seb looked up he saw the wino from the kitchen. He was breathing heavily and held an old revolver in a shaky, sweaty hand. He obviously didn't realise what was happening, all his attention was focused on Seb and the replacement of his precious bottle of booze. He levelled his revolver at Seb's head, and shouted above the screams of the burning men;
"Give me back my bottle, you…"
Seb could imagine what the last word was, but he never heard it as a wave of gunfire went out and a stream of bullets thudded into the poor man. He buckled and screamed as his body was torn asunder by automatic weaponry but he didn't fall. Seb saw an opportunity and seized it. Unholstering his pistol in one smooth motion, he grabbed the dying wino and used him as a human shield. Yelling at the top of his lungs, Seb discharged four rounds into the nearest man who wasn't burning. Blood flew high and bright as Seb's shots took him in the neck and chest, dropping him to the ground like a tonne of bricks. All the while more bullets were being deflected by the now lifeless body of the wino who was now deadweight to Seb. Abandoning his bloody shield, he doubled back to the kitchen feeling bullets hiss past just above his head. As he took cover behind the door, he took the backpack off and grabbed the shotgun out of the top. Not bothering to aim, he waited until the man in black ran in and unloaded two shells into his back at point blank range. The force of the shot threw him into the far wall where he lay motionless. Seb pumped the shotgun again and walked over to the body, ready to fire again if he tried to play dead like those fuckers in the STEM had. But there was no movement, just the steady puddle of blood forming underneath the mass of flesh that Seb had just torn apart. This one was dead, he was sure of that.
A barrage of gunfire suddenly ripped into the wall beside Seb, who dived as far away as he could. Turning to face the gunman, he saw a sight which he knew he wouldn't forget. The agent standing in front of him was black as night, his flesh was peeling from his face and by all rights should have been dead. But he was still standing. Seb fired once into the guy's neck and he saw it explode, the shot landing square on the windpipe and shredding through, essentially beheading the guy. Who dropped down, this time not getting back up. He took a deep breath, looking at the scene of carnage around him. The smell of burnt flesh was back, and it made Seb's throat burn as he retched involuntarily again. Once he was done, he got down to the business of restocking. He went to the man by the far wall and relieved him of his weapon. After all he wasn't going to need it anytime soon!
Taking off his trenchcoat, Seb emptied the pockets and tucked it away inside the door of the ruined oven. It might get dirty in there but it wasn't clean anyway, plus it would hinder his movement. But damn it did look cool.
He looted the guy who he had shot in the back, as it was his gear that wasn't burnt or had holes in. First was his ammo belt – more than enough room for the extra magazines and shells that had been inside Seb's trenchcoat. On closer look Seb found a grenade in a side pouch – that would come in handy! He debated whether or not to take the assault rifle, but decided that it was too much weight for now, plus he shouldn't have a reason to need such a big weapon. He checked the magazine and saw that it was nearly full. So about 20 or so shots left? It could be useful. Still, he stashed the man-with-no-back's rifle in the oven along with his trenchcoat. Good getaway plan in case he needed it.
Taking the sling off the rifle of the burned man, Seb made a makeshift sling for his shotgun and slung it across his back. If he needed it all he had to do was reach for it. Going into his bag, Seb grabbed all the extra ammo he had packed and put it into the pouches. There was more than enough room for what he had brought along with him, which Seb viewed as a very fortunate thing. He even found a place for the water on his person too but he had to eat the food now else it would have to be left behind. Seb wolfed down the snack foods as fast as he could, not even taking the time to chew properly. As an afterthought, he reloaded the nearly empty shotgun and checked his pistol too. Eight rounds left in the first magazine. As he did one last check to make sure the bag was empty, he realised he had nearly forgotten his hip flask. That immediately went into the pouch alongside the grenade he had found. The familiar feel of it comforted Seb, but was soon forgotten under the weight of the ammo he now had to carry. Doing a mental count, he realised he was carrying just shy of 80 rounds of handgun ammo and about 25 of shotgun ammo, not counting the ones he had reloaded the shotgun with. That was a lot of weight. But deep down, Seb knew that he might well need it all before the day was out if it continued like this.
Not wanting to hang around with the burning smell anymore, Seb left the kitchen and headed to the entrance hall. Going up the stairs, he stopped just outside the door to the library. Hearing nothing on the other side he entered, and looked around. The library looked like it had in the STEM, just more burned and without the haunted who had tried to butcher him numerous times. As he went up to the desk that was strewn with paperwork, he spotted a file with the MOBIUS logo on it. He grabbed it and looked through it almost frantically, hoping against hope to find something to tell him about his friends or Myra. But it was merely Ruvik's plans and ideas for the STEM – it was talking about different ways it could be operated. One way mentioned a 'plug' into the back of the brain and another about a 'wireless transmitter that works at a high frequency'. So just like the noise he heard in the STEM? Was that the noise he was hearing, him being re-attuned?
His thoughts were interrupted by a noise from down the hall towards the bedrooms – a mournful, wailing sound that saddened Seb to his very core. He seemed to walk entranced, still holding the file in his hand as he walked down the hall and stopped outside what was Laura Victoriano's bedroom. The noise was coming from that room, Seb was sure of it. He didn't want to get caught off guard, so he grabbed his pistol and listened at the door for a beat. The noise was a mixture of wailing and crying, a wracking sob similar to the one Seb had done when he had broken down on the EMT just outside of Beacon. The voice was saying something between sobs, but Seb couldn't make it out. He went to open the door, but hesitated. The familiar feeling of fear crept up his neck, immobilising him. Who, or what could be behind this door? The whole family were dead and the only inhabitant of recent times was now dead in the dining room thanks to Seb – so whoever or whatever was making the noise was to be treated with a high degree of hostility. Taking a deep breath, Seb went to kick the door in – but remembering what had happened at the front door decided that wasn't the best approach. Instead he opened the door slowly to ensure it wasn't trapped. When he was satisfied that it wasn't he open the door fully and crept in, his pistol trained on the figure who was kneeling by the bed.
It was a small person, someone who was evidently very troubled. They were grabbing the soiled bedsheets and hitting their head against the bedframe, saying three words over and over again.
"Pain. Laura. Stop!"
Sebastian's heart caught in his throat, he recognised that voice anywhere by now. He knew who it was. Leslie Withers, the boy who was special, the boy who had survived being linked to Ruvik, the boy who had somehow evaded over 30 officers to escape from Beacon undetected. Declared missing at the scene, nobody had found him yet. Well, nobody until now.
"Leslie, is that you? It's me, Sebastia…Errr… Detective Castellanos. I'm here to help you."
"Help you, help you, help you..."
Seb put his hand on the kid's shoulder and said it again. Leslie turned his head so he was looking at Seb. He had a pained expression on his face and tears were streaming down his cheeks onto his hospital issue clothes. The soles of his feet looked cut and raw, there were bald patches where he had evidently pulled his hair out in a frenzy. What could have caused this? Then Seb remembered the words of the agents earlier on. Ruvik had somehow survived. What if…?
The idea was too horrible to comprehend, and as Seb looked into Leslie's albino eyes he saw no hint of the evil that lurked within, the monster just hiding behind the surface – but why would he? If Ruvik was in there he would hide, let Seb think he hadn't escaped. But Seb wasn't going to take any chances. Quick as a flash, the cold hard muzzle of his pistol was trained on the front of Leslie's head. Leslie didn't scream or cry now, he stopped and looked at Sebastian, almost expecting him to pull the trigger. Then again, maybe he would – it would be a mercy, after all. Seb spoke to Leslie in a calm yet authoritative tone;
"Okay Leslie, I need you to do something for me. I am going to ask you a question, and I want the truth. If you give me the truth I can help you."
"Help you, help you, help you…"
"Where is Ruvik, Leslie? Is he inside your head?" Seb asked.
Leslie didn't reply, just started shaking and screaming like his head was being split in two. Seb shouted again "I said, where is Ruvik Leslie? Is he inside your head?" but he got nothing, instead the screaming got louder. Seb cocked the hammer of his pistol and held it firm against Leslie's forehead, an unknown force from within willing him to pull the trigger…
"WHERE IS RUVIK LESLIE? TELL ME NOW OR I WON'T HELP YOU!"
Sebastian roared as Leslie's screaming reached a fever pitch. It carried on, getting louder still and Leslie looked at Seb and back to the gun that was held against his head. He screamed and clutched his head, then all of a sudden he stopped screaming. His eyes widened and he began to mutter in hushed tones.
"Help me, help you, help us."
He repeated this over and over, his eyes widening more. His voice was so wracked with emotion that it made Seb feel sorry for the poor kid. Speaking at a volume similar to that of Leslie's, he asked;
"Leslie, do you know where Ruvik is?"
Leslie looked up at Sebastian with those wide albino eyes, giving him such a sad look that it made Seb lower his gun.
"I'm right here Sebastian."
Leslie replied. But it wasn't Leslie that spoke. It was a different voice, the same but different – no speech issues, no repetition – it came out as one sentence, so cohesive and natural it was almost beautiful. But the voice had a sharpness to it that Seb recognised all too well, the voice that had tormented him all that time in the STEM. The voice of the man who had made the STEM his very own twisted reality, the man who had killed countless innocent people for his own gain. The man who should have been dead and rotting alongside the STEM project. It was impossible, surely – but regardless, it was real. Seb's worst fears had materialised and been given flesh. But worst of all, it meant Ruvik was now here in this world!
Frozen to the spot, Seb was powerless to defend himself. Suddenly hands were against his throat, closing round and choking him. Seb tried to aim and fire his pistol but Ruvik/Leslie slammed his head against the wall with such force it made his head spin and drop his pistol, he tried to claw at it's eyes instead in an attempt to get free but his arms became dead weights, all the while he could breathe less and less, he was fighting for his life and he was losing. As the blackness began to creep into his field of vision, all he could see was the face of Leslie smiling Ruvik's cold, sadistic smile that he only saw when he knew he was getting a thrill. Seb's mind drifted back to the first time he had seen and conversed with Ruvik in the STEM, and what Ruvik had said to him;
"I know who you are, 'Seb'. I know what you crave, what you fear… Will you be able to live with yourself knowing what I'm going to make you do? You're mine… to do with as I please."
As all light left the world and darkness consumed him, these words were echoing in Seb's mind. A small part of him was glad it would be over soon; glad that he would finally be reunited with Lily and Myra. As everything faded to black around him, Seb could see their faces in front of him, and they were both smiling.