Descent Into Darkness
It was as though my body knew something that my head did not, some primal instinct buried beneath morals and courtesy, one that said don't continue - don't move. Stay put, and nothing bad would happen. While my head disagreed, it said move - keep going. The only way to survive is to get out. My body was a war zone, one that had mortal consequences if the wrong side won.
WARNING: SPOILER ALERT
DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE GAME OR YOU DON'T CARE TO FIND OUT
THANK YOU
Wow, hello reader! Long time, no update, huh? Terribly sorry about that - truly. ; v ; Well, aside from the fact that it has been over TWO YEARS since I last updated, I hope that you will be happy to hear that I will be resuming this project and hopefully will have the next chapter ready in the next month or so. I know I have been keeping you guys waiting long enough. I have gone through and updated the prologue and this chapter just to, maybe make the flow between writer me two years ago, and writer me now.
Also, yes, thank you so much for the great reviews and I am so glad to know that there are a few people out there who enjoy this series. You have no idea how wonderful it is to get great feedback over such a big project. So, THANK YOU!
Amnesia: The Dark Descent © Frictional Games
I OWN NOTHING!
Enjoy!
Ch. 1
The archway opened up into a much larger forier, one decorated with hanging linens, a large and dimly lit chandelier, and two looming statues of armor. I stared at them for a while, a little wary. Something about statues had always upset me... well, at least I think they had. The gray atmosphere definitely did not help in lifting the mood of the statues, either way.
Straight across the archway was another entryway and, from here, I could easily see that it too had caved in. It seemed that I might have to watch my step, otherwise there could be more cave-ins like that one. I gulped down my panic, which rose suddenly from my chest. I had no clue where I was, what was happening, or how I got there. That was not much to go off of. For all I knew I could be stuck in this castle with some psychopath murderer who gains pleasure from seeing my pain - not exactly comforting circumstance.
I clenched my jaw, trying hard to fight the welling panic that made me sweat and hyperventilate as I advanced forward, keeping my eyes toward the ground as I tried fervently to ignore the the statues - their presence only making my chest tighten even more. It was as if they were staring at me, watching me with their ghastly faces hidden in the shadow of their helmets while they snickered evilly as I proceed toward my impending doom. The closer I got to them, the worse it seemed. My chest heaved and I began to shake profusely. I did not like this - did not want this. It was too much. I felt my limbs get heavy and my head the opposite, I couldn't stay upright. My legs gave out and I felt my self giving into the panic as I crawled forward, as best I could, away from the disturbing armors - my heart pounding uncomfortably loud in my ears.
Why was I acting like this? They are just a bunch of statues, nothing more. They have no eyes to stare at me with, no feeling or thoughts - inanimate objects. Was it something about them - the atmosphere here? Or perhaps it had been just my own thoughts that had given them some malicious life? I swallowed, trying to quell my fear, which had rendered every fiber of my being useless. This was ridiculous. I was honestly frightened by a couple of statues! Was the person I was before this truly such a coward?
I slowly rose to one knee, concentrating on my breathing. In and out, in and out. Calm down. Stand up. And I stood shakily, my knees threatening to give out. In and out. I put one shaky leg forward and started towards the closest exit. Anything to get me away from those statues. In and out.
The nearest exit happened to be largest one - two immense doors, probably the ones at the front of the castle judging by their enormity. Was this my way out? Was it really this easy? I reached out, grasping the cold metal handle with a palmy hand. I breathed in before giving it a great tug, the door unmoved by my efforts. Blast! It was locked. As soon as I retracted my hand a loud and horrid sound resounded throughout the entire castle - a sound so vile and in-human that is caused a hard lump of dread to fall into my stomach and my skin to prickle. It howled like some malformed beast that had been twisted over years of horror and decay, and it was so loud it made the entire castle shake and groan in response. I froze, my breath catching, what was that sound? It sounded very close yet... far away. As if tucked away in some dark, damp hole deep inside this castle, it's screams amplified by the empty rooms and hallways that made up this fortress.
As the shaking subsided and the last bit of dust settled I remained glued to the spot, unsure of whether to continue or not as I inhaled repeatedly, trying to slow my racing heart. I couldn't - I just couldn't do this. I turned and leaned against the large door, slowly sliding down, resting my head on my knees. What was this feeling - this dread - in the pit of my stomach that would not go away? Why did it debilitate me to the point of physical incapacitation? It was as though my body knew something that my head did not, some primal instinct buried beneath morals and courtesy, one that said don't continue - don't move. Stay put, and nothing bad would happen. While my head disagreed, it said move - keep going. The only way to survive is to get out. My body was a war zone, one that had mortal consequences if the wrong side won.
I sat in vigil contemplation for a while after that. Should I listen to my head - my logic, my morals, and my values? Or listen to my gut - my instinct - the irrational part of me? Apart from unnerving statues and eerie howls, I hadn't really seen anything that would lead to me to believe that it was too dangerous to continue. Hell, for all I knew that elixir that I might have taken could have caused a hallucination - a side effect, of sorts, that caused me to hear that strange noise. The paranoia of the statues could also be attributed to side effects of the it/ I laughed, for all I knew this could all be just some insane hallucination that my body could be producing. Of course, there was no way to find out unless I magically woke up or snapped out of it. If there was anything to really snap out of.
I sighed; there were so many ifs - if this was real, if I was insane, if I had actually heard that or saw that or felt that, or even if I was actually who I thought I was - which I still did not actually know. I groaned and lifted my head, gazing forward at the ground while making sure to not make eye contact with the looming statues ahead of me - I scoffed; as if they would have eyes to make contact with...
Frowning, I traced the pattern of the rug on the floor with my eyes. As my eyes swept over the ornamental rug my gaze caught on the same pink substance that I had stumbled upon earlier. Splotches of the mystery liquid dappled the once grand carpet and trailed its way off into the open doorway off to my right. If I had taken the elixir, then that must be the trail to where I had first taken it, right? There were so many questions that, if answered, would probably raise even more questions. It was an ongoing loop of questions with no end. What was I supposed to do? Where was I suppose to go? I was sure that if I didn't get any answers that I would go mad due to the constant questioning of all things. So I did what I thought was best to do. I stood, - gathered my determination - and turned on my heels towards the open archway to my right, following the trail of pink elixir.
As I got closer to the archway I felt my determination waver once again and I swallowed nervously. This place had a way of draining me of every ounce of bravery in a span of a few seconds. I reluctantly stepped through the doorway and warily glanced around. It opened up into a long hallway with a large painting at the far end and, as with the rest of the castle I had seen, it was also sparsely lit by a few scraggly torches mounted on the wall. To my left was a large mahogany wardrobe and off to my right was another doorway.
As I stepped towards the wardrobe - with the intent to open it - the loud clunk of a lock unlatching sounded behind me. I froze, my insides doing a somersault. Was something there? Were they hiding in that room, waiting for me to walk by so they could kill me? My breaths increased sevenfold and I warily glanced behind me; without delay the door swung open with such force it slammed against the stone wall beside it, it's rusted hinges squeaking unnervingly. I yelped and turned towards the door, which now opened up to a dark room.
I stood motionless as I waited for something, anything, to happen. When nothing occurred I exhaled silently, straightening my back and gathering back the strands of courage I had lost. I did not know why this place frightened me so much. It probably was just a stray breeze that had caused the door to open - I had absolutely nothing to worry about. There was no monster lurking on the other side of the hall, no phantom ghost howling in my ear. This was nothing but a dark, eerie castle - that was all. Nothing to be afraid of. Nothing at all. Those thoughts reassured me, at least a little bit, and I was able to gander the courage to cross to the other side of the stone hallway.
I leaned close to the cold stone wall, as close as I could, the sharp edges of the stones digging into the small of my back, and I inched towards the open doorway - one small step at a time, listening intently for any sounds. When I reached the edge of the wall I peered cautiously into the dusty room, pausing there as I searched for any signs of movement - anything that would have caused the door to open as abruptly as it did. I noted a small candle resting on the top of a modest table. Perhaps the candle had caused the air to heat up and rise suddenly? Maybe that was the cause of the door opening? No - that was absurd. A tiny candle like that would not put out enough heat to do something of that scale. I sighed, pushing myself away from the wall. I ambled into the room, more curious than frightened now, and searched for the cause of the gust of air that had opened the door. A fireplace stood to the upper-right of the room - a more logical cause of the disturbance. It seemed that it was large enough and was putting out enough heat to cause the air to move. That must be it - I smiled, pleased that I had been able to debunk anything paranormal.
Casually, I plopped down in one of the nearby chairs that sat next to the aforementioned table, a bit more relaxed now that I was sure nothing unnatural was going on. I leaned my head back and let out a relieved chuckle, running my hands over my face - trying to rub away the remaining tendrils of fear. I was being absolutely ridiculous. There was nothing out of the ordinary going on here - nothing that a little bit of modern science couldn't explain, at least. I sniffed and sat upright, leaning my elbows on the table with a long sigh. I rested there for a few heartbeats before I stood, pressing my lips together tightly. I should not linger here. The safety of this room was comforting and I did not want to leave it. But still, onward I marched - and hopefully, onward towards the answers.