First chapter of 2021. I will tell you up front right now that updates for any story I have are going to be delayed. Things have recently happened in real life that are going to make updating difficult. There have already been some days that I can't sit down and focus on writing a chapter of anything.

The poll is still up. If you haven't checked it out, please do. This will help me plan for this year. I'll keep it up through March and then I'll go from there.


The tinny sound of a clock chiming startled me. I looked around in a panic before I realized I was in the archive room of the safe haven.

"Sebastian?" I called, hoping he was right there with me.

There was no answer.

Since I was here, I thought it would be a good time to check on how I was doing with collectables. The first thing I noticed was the open safe sitting on the table. Photographs and paperwork were spread out in front of it. The paperwork was near indecipherable because of the large blood splatter. I found the splatter odd. It wasn't on just one paper, but several and it was a single splatter, like someone had the papers all spread out and then had their head bashed in.

There was a neat little stack of papers on the corner of the table with the file folders I was using to sort the collectables. Sebastian must have come through here already and dropped off the collectables he found. I started with the collectables to get caught up on what I missed. The first thing was a wedding invitation with beautiful script.

DETECTIVE SEBASTIAN CASTELLANOS & DETECTIVE MYRA HANSON

JOYFULLY REQUEST THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY AT THEIR WEDDING CELEBRATION

SATURDAY, THE SEVENTEENTH OF SEPTEMBER, 2005

AT HALF PAST TWELVE

THE VERANDA HOTEL

KRIMSON CITY

RECEPTION TO FOLLOW

I put the invitation with the rest of Sebastian's documents and went to the newspaper.

MISSING PARISHIONER FOUND IN MENTAL HOSPITAL.

"THESE CLAIMS ARE ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS."

PARISHIONER FERNANDO CABRERA, MISSING FOR EIGHT YEARS, FOUND COMMITTED IN BEACON MENTAL HOSPITAL. CLAIMS PARISH WAS "CULT".

I moved on to the missing person poster. The picture was more of a door to a cell than the face of the person.

MISSING: FERNANDO CABRERA.

PSYCHIATRIC PATIENT ESCAPED FROM BEACON MENTAL HOSPITAL. HE IS SERIOUSLY ILL AND IN NEED OF CONSTANT SUPERVISION.

"Eight years?" I muttered. "Why didn't they just up and kill him? Probably didn't want a good test subject to go to waste. Poor guy probably was sane, or at least he was until Beacon got a hold of him."

I turned to the map. It was slowly being filled in and with ten pieces now it was now a little easier to read. I could see Randall's Crossing and Elk River next to each other to the north, Krimson City itself southeast of them. Most of the west side of the map was still missing and a good portion of the south.

"Welcome back."

I screamed and turned around. The nurse was standing in the doorway, her face blank as usual. She was carrying a newspaper.

"You don't look well," she said. "You should take better care of yourself." She placed the newspaper on the table.

"You'd be, too, with everything going on," I said.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are merely players," the nurse said, walking out of the room. "They have their exits and entrances and one man in his time plays many parts."

I frowned. "The hell was that about? Quoting famous poets now?"

I picked up the newspaper. This one had a large blood splatter on it, but it didn't stop me from reading the headline.

CHURCH FLOOR COLLAPSES.

NO INJURIES; "WITNESS SAYS MIRACLE".

BIGGEST CHURCH SCANDAL TO DATE.

FLOOR OF CEDAR HILL CHURCH COLLAPSES DURING RENOVATION. PARISHIONER SAYS IT WAS A MIRACLE NO ONE WAS INJURED.

"Depends on who you ask," I said.

I put the newspaper with the rest of them and turned my attention to the photographs spread across the table. I recognized one immediately as the statue that was in the town square that Kidman had turned the spotlights on. Others were of brick buildings falling apart. One was of a church. The final one was of a stone block floor that had caved in and was a gaping hole.

I felt drawn to the photo. I kept looking closer and closer. My heart pounded in my ears. Something flicked at the edge of the hole. I thought I was imagining things, but it did it again. An inhuman hand reached up through the floor.

The lights went off and everything went black. I stood still, not daring to even breathe loudly. When nothing happened, I went reaching for my phone. I turned on the flashlight app. I was still in the archive room. I slowly walked out of the room and went over to the lockers. I had a single key, I might as well use it now. I opened up a locker and found sniper bullets.

Something creaked in another room. I put the bullets in my pocket and waited. When nothing else happened I walked out of the locker room. A wheelchair was sitting in the middle of the walkway. I pushed it out of the way and it creaked.

I went out to the reception desk. The lights were out there as well. The nurse wasn't behind the desk. I went looking for her. I opened the door to the cellblock. My flashlight caught dozens of bugs crawling on the walls. There was a light at the end of the hallway lighting up the mirror on the wall and silhouetting the nurse. She turned and I could see she was holding a lantern. She walked off to her right and disappeared.

"Hey!" I called after her.

I ran down the hallway and found there was now another hallway to the right. I went down some steps and pushed opened a barred cell door. I walked around a gurney and heard a loud bang. I looked up and saw a light at the end of the hallway.

"Nurse?" I called.

A large form came stomping towards me. That was not the nurse! It was a massive man with a boxlike head.

I staggered back and fell.

I was no longer in the hallway, but it was still dark. The floor here was polished wood, not linoleum in the safe haven. I held up my phone. The flashlight glinted back at me off a gold breastplate. The breastplate was on a mannequin. I shined the flashlight around. There were more mannequins dressed in Roman armor. I had seen this earlier.

"Crap, I'm back," I whispered.

A bright spotlight turned on. I lifted my hand to shield myself from the light. Squinting, I could see I was on the theatre stage with a dozen or more mannequins dressed as Roman soldiers, the colosseum as the backdrop.

Something snarled and I jumped back. The lion walked out from the wings, staring me down with its one eye. The other, destroyed eye had stopped sparking.

I looked behind me and saw the way backstage was blocked by the colosseum scenery. I reached out and grabbed a sword from one of the mannequins. I was surprised by the weight of the sword. It was actually real!

I held the sword out in front of me, pointing it at the lion. It growled and crouched.

"Come on, you son of a bitch," I said. "Let's dance."

The lion pounced. I jumped back and ducked behind a mannequin. I pushed it forward and the lion grabbed it instead of me. I stepped around and hit the lion with the sword. I hit metal and my arms shook. All I managed to do was leave a cut in its hide. The lion came around and I swung the sword like a baseball bat. I caught it in the mouth, but didn't hurt it. It bit down on the sword and ripped it out of my hands, tossing it across the stage.

I ran behind another mannequin for cover. The lion knocked it aside and I felt its claws graze my leg. I grabbed another sword and turned to face the lion. I was hit to the ground and saw the lion's mouth open and coming for my head. I stuck the sword in my hand up. There was the horrible screeching of metal and something sharp sliced into the same arm. I screamed in pain. The heavy body of the lion fell on top of me and didn't move.

It stared at me blankly. The sword had punctured the speaker and gone down its throat. I pushed at it with my uninjured hand, but the body was too heavy. I lifted my injured arm and found blood dripping from two deep cuts. The lion's paw was also bloody. I lifted the head up and tried to pull myself from under it, but I was pinned. I gave up and laid back on the floor.

"Élan? Élan!"

I opened my eyes and was blinded by sunlight. When had I closed my eyes? Sebastian and Joseph were kneeling over me. The lion was gone and I was free to move again. However, the two detectives had another idea for me.

"No, stay still," said Joseph. "You're bleeding pretty bad."

Sebastian was also looking at my arm. "What did this?"

"Lion," I answered tiredly.

Both their eyes widened.

"It's dead now," I told them. "At least I think it is."

"What did you kill it with?" asked Sebastian.

"A sword," I replied.

"A sword?" repeated Sebastian.

"Eh, when in Rome."

Joseph turned to Sebastian. "I think she's delirious from blood loss."

"I didn't lose that much blood, did I?" I asked.

"Right now we need you to stop losing more," said Sebastian. "You have anything in your bag?"

"Dunno."

Sebastian sat me up. "Up you go, Élan." He took my bag off and went through it.

Joseph helped me to stay sitting up. "Anything?" he asked his partner.

"Stuff for scrapes and bruises. Nothing for deep cuts." Sebastian reached back and took something from his waistband. It was one of the healing syringes. "I was saving this for an emergency."

"Think this constitutes?" I asked.

"The way that's bleeding, yeah," said Sebastian. "You better look away."

I nodded and turned my head to Joseph. A second later I felt Sebastian injecting me. I cringed then relaxed as my arm stopped throbbing and perked up.

"Thanks. I owe you a syringe."

"I'll hold you to it," said Sebastian.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and we'll find a key that opens a locker with one in," I said. "Find any recently?"

"Yeah, right before I met up with you again, I found one in a locker on a bat's back," Sebastian told me.

"Huh?"

Sebastian nodded. "That spider woman jumped out of a body when I went to check the locker. I went back after I took care of her and found the bat in the locker. It flew around the room with the statue on its back."

"That's crazy," said Joseph.

"Sounds like par for course at this point," I said.

"I found another before I met up with Joseph, too," added Sebastian.

"Good. Makes our chances better." I got up and looked at my arm. The cuts were now closed and were pink.

"Here," said Joseph. He picked something up and handed it to me. "I think this fell out of your pocket."

It was a monocular. I hadn't seen this before. It was black with a matching wrist loop. On the side was a little red logo of a lion. I turned it over and looked at the lens. It reminded me of the lion's undamaged eye.

"Let's rest for a minute," Sebastian suggested. "We can't keep going at this pace."

"I-I think we've got to get out of this place as fast as we can," Joseph disagreed.

Sebastian pointed behind us and up. "What about the tower there? We might be able to get a lay of the land."

There was a loud bang. Both detectives went on guard, Sebastian putting his hand on his pistol and Joseph holding up an axe. I turned and looked at the two large doors held shut by a heavy wooden beam.

"Anything's got to be better than staying here," Sebastian added.

I noticed a weapons case on the table behind Joseph. "Is there anything in here we could use?" I asked.

Sebastian opened it up. Inside was a sniper rifle.

"I got ammo for that," I said. I reached into my pocket and took out the sniper bullets. I gave them to Sebastian.

"Thanks," he said.

I checked the table to see if I missed anything. I had. "Hey, Sebastian." I picked up a syringe and held it up.

Sebastian smirked. "Didn't think you would pay me back so soon." He put the syringe away. "Okay, Joseph and I are going to start making our way to the tower. I want you to stay behind, Élan."

"What? You're not leaving me behind!"

"We're not leaving you behind," said Sebastian. "You don't have a weapon. If there's another horde of these things you won't have a chance against them. We'll come back for you."

"Okay," I said. I could understand their reasoning.

Sebastian went first with his pistol drawn and Joseph followed him with the axe. There wasn't much I could do, but sit and wait. I took my phone out and checked on how many collectables were found.

AUDIO TAPES 2/10.

DOCUMENTS 5/16.

KEYS 12/45.

MAP FRAGMENTS 10/28.

MISSING POSTERS 4/15.

NEWSPAPERS 8/21.

PERSONAL DOCUMENTS 5/16.

It didn't seem that any collectables were missed. That key in the locker on the bat's back had worried me, but Sebastian had taken my advice and kept looking everywhere.

I leaned back against the wall and felt something really hard in my bag. I pulled it around and opened it up. The larger cassette player was still inside along with the cassette tapes. I felt like I should listen to tapes again, maybe in order of entry, but the player didn't have a headphone jack, not that I had a spare set of headphones. There were six of Jimenez's audio journals. I started with the oldest.

"After months of secrets, subterfuge, and indoctrination, they brought me into their fold. This place is . . . elaborate to say the least. Despite the modernistic visage, the research they have been doing here seems to date back to over a century ago. This place has history and from what I can grasp, this facility is only one branch of many. Institutions, powerful families; their reach seems grand, and therefore the possibilities for me seem equally as rich. Clearly my own unique methods at Beacon have piqued their interest.

"Most of what the researchers have been working on, however, seems archaic by today's standards.

"They told me budget is of no concern; results are the only thing that matter. Juggling duties here and at the hospital seems manageable, but Ruben . . . Comparatively insignificant, but even at his young age, his studies are remarkable. Perhaps one day he will even assist me with my work here."

This was when Jimenez got in with Mobius. Mobius had been around for a long time and had their hands everywhere. And Ruvik, well, Ruben, was just starting out. Jimenez already saw his worth and was no doubt making plans even when Ruvik was young.

The next entry was #215, quite a time gap from #16 I just listen to.

"They've refocused the efforts of the other programs to support our research. STEM priority has seemingly overridden other departments' individual research. Chemical and botanical studies are focused now on tempering, priming subjects for their inevitable connection.

"Now that the prototype is up and running, experiments continue. Upon their return from STEM integration, patients are interviewed extensively. While their particular pathologies inform their experiences, there are commonalities. They all experience the same settings, the same occurrences. The 'world' they inhabit becomes larger with every new visitor. This suggests that shards of each user's consciousness are left behind inside the STEM, creating a community. It's as if, internally, a new world is being built."

The first STEM.

"Patients emerging from the STEM are becoming more erratic. Their pathologies seem to be amplified by the experience now. Even worse, patients now seem to experience each other's psychological trauma. It's as if the users' deepest fears linger within the encephalon of the system, even after the session is over.

"The most concerning thing are their most recent statements. Every single patient claims to see a hooded figure slowly approaching them. Could it be him? His consciousness existing as a ghost in the system?

"My curiosity has never been piqued like this. I want to know. I want to see what they see. But it's too risky . . . for now."

This was after Ruvik was trapped in STEM. Somewhere between entries #215 and #229 the event happened that Ruvik was imprisoned in his own creation. I know what happened wasn't pretty. Psychopath or not, he didn't deserve what Mobius did to him. It made me wonder who the real enemy was in all of this.

"I'm afraid that the fragile mental states of the subjects are limiting our studies. Mobius wants us to move past Beacon patients and on to more 'stable' people. They want to get STEM closer to its intended use.

"Would they see the world in the same way? Would a 'sane' mind weather the psychically draining experience?

"I had that dream again. I entered the STEM myself . . ."

Jimenez got his wish. He was here now, wherever he was in STEM.

"Something else is even more harrowing . . . our subjects are . . . dying. They come out from STEM abruptly passing with looks of horror in their eyes. The ones that do survive are catatonic; babbling incoherent messes that we can't properly interview.

"We've done nothing to the process to cause this change. It must be the ever-growing collective consciousness of the STEM system. These patients seem unable to take the strain of the exposure. We need more 'sane' subjects, perhaps to cleanse the system. At its current state, the system is unsustainable, something Mobius will not approve of. This time, only I am to blame for this.

"Our new prototype in Beacon is almost ready. When it is, I will start its conversion to the wireless system. Even if the original STEM experiments go awry, I will show my worth to Mobius with its next generation."

This was the STEM we were in now. For a brief moment, I wondered how Ruvik was in this system if this was separate from the original STEM. The Administrator told Kidman that this STEM was activated without permission, that Jimenez went against them. Then again, the Administrator was a lying bastard. Mobius could have planned this whole thing.

"Today was something truly surprising. He was one of the last groups of test subjects . . . Just another patient I expected to babble and maybe even die. Patient 105: Leslie Withers. Ruben had singled him out as a useless subject . . . but he must have known. He knew I would read his notes. What else was Ruben lying to me about?

"But this Leslie . . . he emerged cognant, calm, and able to report fully what he'd experienced inside. His unique pathology allowed him to successfully navigate his STEM experience with little repercussion.

"They know nothing of his existence, but no doubt he will be the key. If we all share the consciousness, then with him I too will be able to experience the STEM, potentially even suppress the more unsavory aspects of it.

"With him I can be the master of the very technology I helped create. Mobius will see my worth and let me rise even higher in their ranks."

Yeah, Ruvik knew and he was trying to hide it from Jimenez and Mobius. Not that it did much good. Jimenez found out anyway, which Mobius also found out, and now we're here.

"Élan? It's clear!" Sebastian called.

I shoved everything back into my bag and hurried to catch up with them.

"Stay close to me," said Sebastian. "There could be more."

We went around and approached the tower. Sebastian used the scope of his sniper rifle to get a better look at the tower. I grabbed my monocular and did the same. The tower had four bump outs about halfway up that were covered in metal. I looked higher at the top of the tower and noticed something small and gray. It was a statue.

"Sebastian, top of the tower," I said. "There's another statue."

Sebastian looked through the scope. "I think we can spare the bullet."

He fired and the statue shattered. I could see the key fall down to the tower door.

Metal screeched loudly. I looked at a bump out and saw the metal had slid up and there were Haunted manning a spear launcher. It began to fire spears at us.

"Watch out! They're shooting from above!" Joseph warned.

"Take cover!" Sebastian shoved me over to a wall. He raised his rifle and fired a shot. "Got it!"

The window fell back down.

Another one opened.

Joseph ran across a rickety wooden bridge to get out of the way. The spears landed behind him. He tripped and fell, hanging over the side.

"Joseph!" shouted Sebastian.

"Help!" yelled Joseph.

I heard the window close and another one open. "Shoot them! I got Joseph!"

I ran across the bridge hearing the spears landing behind me. Sebastian shot the Haunted. I grabbed Joseph's hand.

"Élan, what are you doing?" Joseph asked.

"Saving you. Come on! I can't do this myself."

Joseph was able to get himself back up on the bridge with my help.

Sebastian took out the last Haunted. He jogged over to us. "You two okay?"

"We're fine," I said.

"Good, because I'm out of sniper bullets," said Sebastian.

"And I don't have any more," I added.

"Let's keep going," said Sebastian. "We're almost at the tower."

He took lead and led us down the stairs to the ground. He walked through a doorway and the sliding metal doors slammed behind him, separating us.

"Sebastian!" I yelled.

A chainsaw started up. Oh, no, not chainsaw man again!

I beat on the door like I could open it that way.

Joseph pulled me back. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Sebastian needs us!" I looked around frantically for another way around.

An explosion went off on the other side of the door. Joseph and I stared each other in horror. There was a second explosion, this one louder, and a man was screaming. This time we both turned back to the door and tried to pry it open. The chainsaw stopped. A second later the doors opened. Joseph and I went charging through.

Sebastian was standing over the disintegrating body of the chainsaw man. He looked at us wearily.

The door the tower was open. Sebastian turned and walked up to it. He bent down and picked up the key.

The inside of the tower was dark. Sebastian switched on his lantern as we walked around. There was an elevator shaft in the middle. Joseph tried to call of it, but the elevator didn't come down. A rhythmic squeaking and banging began from above us.

"The elevator is stopped at the top," he said, looking up. "Let's look for another way up."

I looked around. "There's the stairs." I pointed to the stairs that went along the wall.

We went up to the second floor.

The elevator was stopped on the second floor. The door kept trying to close, but the body of a Haunted laid in the way.

"This is what the hold up was," said Joseph. He reached down and pulled the Haunted out of the elevator.

My watch vibrated and the compass needle was glowing brightly. I followed it around the corner and found a map fragment.

A door opened and I heard a piano playing. I looked over my shoulder and saw Sebastian going into another room. The door had the Beacon logo on it. I followed him inside. He picked something up from an overturned locker and turned to the mirror. It cracked and began glowing. I felt it pulling me in.

"How much longer am I needed here?" the nurse asked.

I stood in the reception area. She was sitting behind the desk.

"As long as you're needed," I answered.

I went over to the newspaper stand and picked up the paper.

KCPD OFFICER MISSING.

SEARCH UNDERWAY FOR MISSING DETECTIVE.

KRIMSON CITY POLICE DETECTIVE MYRA CASTELLANOS, 36, HAS BEEN REPORTED MISSING. THOUGH SHE WAS ON DUTY AT THE TIME, A POLICE SPOKESPERSON DENIES CONNECTION TO ANY INVESTIGATION SHE WAS INVOLVED IN. HER HUSBAND AND SUPERIOR OFFICER, SERGEANT SEBASTIAN CASTELLANOS, HAD NO COMMENT.

I signed the log and went around back to the archive room. As I did, I saw Sebastian sitting in the upgrade chair.

In the archive room, I noticed that the safe and the bloodied papers were gone and there was a new collectable that Sebastian had picked up. It was another page from his journal.

MAY 17, 2006

EIGHT MONTHS SINCE MYRA AND I WERE MARRIED AND YOU, LITTLE LILY, ARE THE RESULT OF OUR LOVE. I CAN'T WAIT FOR TWO MONTHS TO PASS SO THAT I CAN FINALLY MEET YOU. . .

BUT I MUST ADMIT THAT I AM SCARED. I'VE FACE COUNTLESS DANGERS IN MY JOB, BUT KNOWING THAT I'M GOING TO BE A DAD IS THE SCARIEST THING OF ALL.

I PROMISE TO LOVE YOU AND TO PROTECT YOU WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING AS LONG AS I AM IN THIS WORLD. I WILL ENTER THIS STAGE OF MY LIFE THE SAME WAY I DO EVERY IMPORTANT TASK: WITH A FULL HEART AND THE DESIRE TO DO THE BEST THAT I CAN . . . JUST KNOW THAT YOUR MOTHER AND I LOVE YOU ALREADY AND CANNOT WAIT TO WELCOME YOU INTO THIS SOMETIMES HARSH WORLD . . .

Myra was with Sebastian as of May 2006. There was no date on the newspaper to indicate when she went missing, but it was after this, much later if I remembered correctly.

I turned around to the map and held up the fragment. As soon as it was in place, I was pulled out of the safe haven. Sebastian was next to me. We walked out together and entered the elevator with Joseph.

Sebastian reloaded his sniper rifle. He must have gotten some ammo from the lockers.

The elevator came to a stop and we got off. The path led outside to a stone bridge that was partially covered by metal grate cover. The bridge spanned over the water flowing out into the lake. On the other side was another great stone wall and tower with a wooden gate.

"You think Kidman's okay?" Joseph suddenly asked.

"I don't like that they used her as bait," said Sebastian. "Almost like someone's toying with us . . ."

"'Toying' isn't the term I would use," I said. It didn't feel like Ruvik was toying with us as much as he was using us to get to Leslie.

"What would you call it then?" asked Sebastian.

I shook my head. "I don't know. I just feel like if he was toying with us it would be a lot worse."

Joseph started to cough.

"Hang in there," said Sebastian, starting to cross the bridge. "Just a little further."

We were halfway across the bridge when we heard terrified screaming to our left. On the edge of the cliff was a guillotine. Two Haunted were holding a man's head down on the block. The blade came down and the screams stopped.

Joseph came around us. "There are only two. We can take them." He ran across the bridge.

"No! That's not . . ." Sebastian called after him.

Joseph stepped on a tripwire. He realized it and looked back. A buzzer went off and the bridge exploded. I went flying onto my back and had the wind knocked out of me.

"Joseph!" Sebastian yelled.

I rolled over.

Sebastian was already on his feet with his sniper rifle. He ran out onto the wooden platform over the water and aimed the rifle. He fired two shots. "You okay?"

A moment later, Joseph called back, "I'm fine. No need to worry."

Sebastian turned to me. "Élan?"

"Yeah, I'm good." I got to my feet. A strand of black hair tickled my nose. My hat had fallen off. I found it behind me. I picked it up and pulled it back on, not bothering to shove my hair up under it right now.

Joseph grabbed a long plank and laid it across the gap of the platform and the cliff.

I jogged after Sebastian and we crossed over together.

"You should have just left me," Joseph said coldly.

Sebastian looked at him. "Huh?"

Joseph grabbed the pistol from Sebastian and jumped back. He put the barrel to his temple.

"The hell?" yelled Sebastian.

"Joseph, stop," I said. "Don't do this."

"It's just a matter of time . . ." Joseph said. He backed up when he saw Sebastian trying to get closer. "It's better this way."

Sebastian tackled him and he dropped the gun. I ran forward and picked it up by the handle. I kept it pointed down and my finger away from the trigger.

Sebastian got up and saw the gun was safely away from Joseph. He turned to his partner. "What the fuck?" he snapped.

Joseph sat up, panting. He kept his back to Sebastian.

Sebastian shook his head. He took his pistol from me.

Joseph stood up and watched Sebastian walking away.

The rasping growls and snarls of the Haunted could be heard from the other side of the bridge. We saw a horde of them running across the broken bridge.

"Cover me!" Joseph told us. He and Sebastian started running for the wooden gate.

I ran a different direction, towards the plank we used to get over here. The Haunted were already running across the platform. I grabbed the end of the plank and started to pull it back. The other end came off the platform as the Haunted reached for it. I pulled it back more and then let it drop into the water. That would buy us some time. I ran back to see Joseph opening the gate with the crank.

"Nice work," commented Sebastian.

"Thanks."

"Hurry, this way!" Joseph said.

We ran through the gate. Sebastian turned around and then shot the crank. The gate dropped back down with a heavy thud.

"Joseph, are you . . . all right?" Sebastian asked.

We all knew that was a poor choice of wording.

"I . . . I . . . Yeah," Joseph finally settled on.

We walked down a path and pushed open an iron gate. Crows cawed as we looked around the new area. There were many stalls with tattered awnings, crates, boxes, and barrels grouped together close by. Strands of lights hung across everything so it could be lit up at night. In the middle of it all was a familiar statue: the angel with her head down. Things were different though. There were no spotlights surrounding it.

"This looks like some kind of a marketplace," said Joseph. "It looks deserted, just like everywhere else."

"Let's see if we can find supplies," said Sebastian. "Ammo, matches, stuff we can use."

"On it," I said. I started checking different stalls and around boxes.

"Stay close," Sebastian ordered.

"I won't go far," I told him.

I didn't find much as I checked the different stalls. I found a bullet here and there, but nothing I could use. I really needed matches. Or a weapon. I would take a pocket knife at this point.

My watch vibrated and the compass needle pointed to two small boxes up against a wall. I inspected them and saw they were blocking a small opening in the wall. I pushed them aside and crawled in. There was a narrow gap between two walls and at the end was a statue. I smashed it and took the key.

I crawled back out and continued searching for supplies. As I walked by a table, I saw a tape recorder sitting on it. I pressed the play button.

"Father was a stern man," said Ruvik's voice. "Proud, and I thought intelligent. But he was also pious. A believer. Somehow he always supported the church, no matter what the newspapers said. He waved away the allegations as if they were infallible. The wretched, the vermin, the stern . . . all were taken in by that church. They were promised salvation and eternal life. But there's nothing they could promise that I couldn't take away."

"Does it seem a little harder to move lately?"

Joseph's random question made me jump. I spun around and glared at him.

"Scare me like that," I hissed.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I just feel . . . weird."

I frowned. "Weird how?"

"It feels like I'm trying to move through pudding," Joseph replied.

"I mean, I'm tired and wanna go to bed," I said. "I'm not finding it hard to move though."

Joseph sighed. "Okay."

We cleared the marketplace and came up on another gate. Sebastian pushed it open. It was a cemetery. There were ornate raised tombs with rod iron fences around the different levels and buildings. Behind us, Joseph started coughing.

"Where do you suppose we are?" asked Sebastian.

"More like 'when'," replied Joseph. "The architecture seems straight out of the middle ages."

"Yeah, but there's electricity, elevators," said Sebastian. "This place can't be real."

"It's like jumbled up memories," said Joseph.

Sebastian took the lead again and we walked through the cemetery.

Joseph began coughing again and leaned up against a column. He spat up some blood.

Somewhere nearby was the sound of Haunted moaning and moving about.

"Shit," swore Sebastian. He grabbed Joseph and put his arm over his shoulders. "Let's hide out in here for a minute."

We quickly went around a fence and into a small building that was missing part of a wall. Joseph stumbled away and fell against a wall, coughing. He sat down and continued to hack.

I looked around the building. There were coffins, a table with piles of flesh, a scale to weigh, a desk, and writing on the wall in one corner. This was the undertaker's.

I turned back around and saw Sebastian had a pocket flask in hand and was giving it a shake to hear how much was in it.

"Is this what it was like, Seb?" Joseph asked. "After the accident?"

"Well, I never put a gun to my head," said Sebastian.

"No, of course not," said Joseph, his head lolling over in Sebastian's direction. "Just quietly sank into a bottle."

"We can't all be perfect. It never affected my work," Sebastian defended. He stepped closer to Joseph. "But hey, you read the IA report."

"You know I didn't report you because I was worried about your work, Sebastian," said Joseph.

Sebastian grunted. "What else is there?" He went over to the window and looked out. After a moment he turned back. "We don't have time for this. I need my partner here." He reached down and pulled Joseph to his feet. "I'm counting on you."

I noticed something sitting on top of what looked like a cage for small livestock next to the table of flesh. I picked it up. It was a map fragment.

"Cedar Hill Church," I read.

"What?" asked Sebastian.

"This fragment, it says 'Cedar Hill Church'," I said. Both detectives were staring at me. "Does that mean anything to you two?"

"It sounds familiar," said Joseph. "Yes, I remember hearing about it. There were rumors that it was a cult."

"And the church floor collapsed," added Sebastian. "You think that's where we are?"

"I think so," I said, looking at the map. "Geographically it looks right."

Joseph turned around and started looking at the writing on the wall in the corner.

"Find something?" asked Sebastian.

"Maybe," Joseph replied. "It's all symbols. Perhaps the rumors were right about some kind of cult. Could be useful." He took out a notebook and started copying the symbols into it.

"You do that and we'll see if we can find anything else," I said.

Sebastian and I split up and started searching the room. I opened a cabinet and found a syringe.

"Need another?" I asked.

"Keep it. We won't know when we'll need them," said Sebastian.

I stuck in my bag along with the map piece.

We went into another room and heard music playing. There was a door with the Beacon logo on it. We went inside and found a mirror broken and glowing. We were immediately pulled in.

Sebastian and I were both in the archive room. He was standing over the desk looking at the photos and suddenly jerked back.

"You okay?" I asked.

He seemed a little disoriented. "I'm fine." He looked at the map. "I see that's starting to fill up."

"Yeah, but it has a long way to go." I took the fragment out. Like the other ones, it ripped out of my hand and put itself into place. I heard Sebastian gasp behind me. "Come on. Let's check the newspaper rack."

We went out to the reception. There was a newspaper in the stand.

PASTOR UNDER INVESTIGATION.

PARISH MAY HAVE BROKEN CHURCH BYLAWS.

PASTOR SALVADOR GRACIANO DENIES ALLEGATIONS OF FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETY. CHURCH OFFICIALS INVESTIGATING LACK OF RECORDS ON CASH DONATIONS AND SPENDING BY THE PARISH.

"Looks like they had more trouble than a collapsed floor and cult rumors," I said.

Sebastian hummed in agreement. He looked over at the bulletin board. There was a missing poster up as well. The picture was faded, but I could see the headdress and robes of the pastor.

MISSING: PASTOR SALVADOR GRACIANO.

PASTOR GRACIANO AND SEVERAL PARISHIONERS AT CEDAR HILL CHURCH ARE MISSING. THE CHURCH HAS BEEN LOCKED UP TIGHT SINCE THEY DISAPPEARED.

"And it looks like they took the money and ran," added Sebastian.

"Could have." I took the paper and poster from him. "I'll put these in the folders. I have another key for the lockers, too."

We went back together and I put the collectables away. We then went over to the lockers. I picked a random locker and opened it. Inside was another syringe.

"We don't need that right now. We can come back for it later," said Sebastian.

"Right."

We ran out and to the sinks where there was a mirror. It cracked and glowed and we were back in the undertaker's.

"I think I'm okay," Joseph said from the other room. "We should probably get going."

We walked out together and heard a scream.

"Hold on a minute," said Joseph. "Let me climb up here and see if I can get a look ahead."

"I'll come with," I said, getting out the monocular.

There was a ladder on one of the raised tombs. I climbed up first and was startled by the body laying on top. Joseph followed me up. He was almost at the top when the ladder broke under his weight. I reached back and grabbed him, but he was already pulling himself the rest of way.

"You all right?" Sebastian called.

"Yeah," Joseph replied. He stood up.

We looked in the direction we heard the scream. The cemetery was a labyrinth of tomb walls leading up to a church in the distance. I saw movement on the steps of the church. I held up the monocular.

Kidman and Leslie were running up the steps.

"Hey, that's Kidman," said Joseph. "Who's that she's with?"

I turned around. "She has Leslie with her," I told Sebastian.

I noticed Joseph picking something up from the body. It was a sniper rifle. He checked the sight and see if it was loaded.

"Look what I found," he said to Sebastian. "It seems to be in working condition. Go on ahead and I'll cover you."

Sebastian took about two steps and the side of the undertaker's caved in. He turned back to look before continuing. He stepped out from around the fence and a gunshot went off. He pulled himself back.

"They're shooting!" Joseph said. "Find cover."

Sebastian peeked his head out and darted to hide behind a couple of tombstones.

I looked through my monocular. I saw the reflection of light off a scope from the other side of the graveyard. Joseph saw it, too, and shot the Haunted trying to snipe Sebastian.

"Good shot," I said quietly.

Joseph glanced over his shoulder. "You should stay down." He gasped and shot again. "Sebastian! That should lead you out near the path to the church! Keep going, I'll cover you!"

I turned my attention to the labyrinth and saw Sebastian had entered it. There were also several Haunted that Joseph was picking off one by one.

Something roared in the labyrinth. A Haunted in a clown mask was pointing at Sebastian. A second later its head was knocked off by a giant Haunted. It stepped out, chains hanging from its wrists. It reached down and picked up a stone column and held it like a club.

"Oh, boy," I muttered.

Sebastian fired his shotgun and it and ran off.

There was a second roar and I saw another giant Haunted coming around another way. After that I lost sight of Sebastian. I had an idea of where he was judging by the twin giants gathering around the same area. Joseph tried shooting them, but it seemed to do very little. However, Sebastian had explosive crossbow bolts and was firing them at the giants. After several explosions, both giants fell down dead.

The path ahead was blocked off by large pieces of debris.

"Shit, a dead end?" I heard Sebastian say.

"I'll look for another route," Joseph called. "Let's meet up by the horse statue there!" He pointed to a grave flanked by two rearing horses.

Joseph and I jumped down from the tomb and went down into the labyrinth. The three of us met up by the horse statue.

I noticed something laying on the steps leading up to the tomb. It was a note. I reached down and picked it up.

"What did you find?" Sebastian asked.

I read the note aloud. "'Walt, I've gone to get Donna back. I saw how to get into the wolf's den and I'm getting her back. I won't let her be a sacrifice. Don't follow. Just stay and watch the family. I'll bring her back. Daniel.'"

"So there was cult activity here," said Sebastian.

"Looks like it," I said, tucking the note away.

"Wait," said Joseph, getting our attention. He was looking at the horse statues. "There was something about a horse in that house back there . . . Let me see what I wrote." He took out his notebook and looked over it. He then grabbed the one leg of one horse and pulled. It bent at the knee and the tomb slid back to reveal a hole.

"I guess we go down," said Sebastian.

"I guess so," Joseph agreed.

Sebastian went first, jumping down. He didn't land on his feet, but fell back and hit his head hard.

"Sebastian!" we both yelled.

He didn't move.

Joseph climbed down next and I went after him.

Sebastian groaned and started to move.

"Are you all right?" Joseph asked.

Sebastian got up. "You don't need to worry about me," he brushed off.

We were underground and there was a manmade tunnel. We walked through and into a room with bags hanging from the ceiling. Cell bars divided the room on one side and there were hanging bags moving on a conveyor belt. I passed by one of the bags and it began to squirm and grunt frantically.

"There's someone in there!" Joseph grabbed the bag and tried to tear it open.

Sebastian took his knife out. "Move." He cut into the bag.

Blood and viscera went splashing on the floor. We jumped back to keep it from getting all over our feet. Sebastian pulled the edge of the bag back. Inside was a decaying body, the face frozen in terror. The smell was putrid! I gagged and spat up on the floor.

Sebastian and Joseph looked at the mess and said nothing. We walked away from it and into another tunnel. There were barred windows in this one where we could see the body bags being transported on the conveyor belt.

We entered a chamber. There were four platforms with candles placed in the corners, some with bloodied bags on them and some hanging above, all writhing. Next to each altar was a lever. At the other end was a tunnel that was blocked off by spears from the ceiling. Next to it was a bunch of numbers written in what could be blood. 3, 5, and 9 all had lines cut through them while 7 did not.

My watch vibrated and pointed over to the left. The body bags were coming down the conveyor belt. I went over and checked them out. One of them had something clinging on it. A statue! I kicked the statue off the bag and it shattered on the ground. I picked up the key.

Sebastian was looking at me when I turned around. I held up the key to show him what I found.

Joseph went over to the wall. "What do you make of this writing?"

Sebastian and I joined him examine the writing.

"Doesn't mean anything to me," said Sebastian. "Should it?"

"Hold on a second. I jotted something down earlier," said Joseph, going for his notebook again. He checked what he wrote down. "It seems the 'sacrifices' need to be lowered onto the proper alters and the 'safe way to him' will be opened."

"Okay, shouldn't be too hard," I said, turning to the altars.

There was a 3 written in blood on the top of the one to my right, a five on the one in front of me. I ran back and found 9 behind 3 and 7 behind 5. 5 and 9 were empty and 3 and 7 had body bags on them.

"Okay, 3, 5, and 9 need to have something on them and 7 needs to be empty," I told them.

"Are you sure?" asked Sebastian.

I nodded. "Positive."

I went over to the lever to drop the body on the altar. I then went to the adjacent altar and lifted the small sack up.

Sebastian lowered the final body bag.

The spears pulled back from the tunnel and there was a loud clunk, like a mechanism locking into place.

"I heard something," said Joseph.

I started for the tunnel. Sebastian grabbed my shoulder.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Positive," I replied.

I walked into the tunnel, keeping an eye out for the spears to move. I was sure I had enough time to either move or influence them if they started moving. I made it to the next chamber without incident.

"Safe!" I called.

A large birdcage came up from the pit in the middle of the room. Water drained from it and there were bodies inside it. The door slid open once it was the whole way up.

"It seems that was correct," said Sebastian. "Nice work, Élan."

We got into the elevator and it started ascending.

I looked up and saw there were chunks of bodies hanging from the roof. I didn't think they were human by the size of them; just too large.

The elevator stopped at the next floor and we got off. We followed the tunnel into a laboratory.

Bulletin boards had diagrams and equations. Person size tanks were against the walls. One held a mutilated body. Two others had brains and spinal cords attached.

"More than a cult," I said. "They were doing experiments down here."

Sebastian went over to the desk and picked something up.

I joined him, but I found diagrams of twins. Parts of the skulls were cutaway and different angles of brains were drawn above them. Next to it was the anatomy drawing of two large males. They were the twin giants from the cemetery.

Sebastian handed me the paper he had been reading and I took a turn with it.

IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN GOD'S WILL THAT THESE TWO TWIN ORPHANS SURVIVED. THEY WERE BAPTIZED AND GIVEN MEDICINE. NEUN AND HIS BROTHER, ZEHN, QUICKLY RECOVERED, BUT JUST AS QUICK DID THEIR ABERRATION PROGRESS. . .

OF COURSE THEY ARE TWINS, BUT FOR SOME REASON THEIR GROWTH PATTERNS EXHIBIT IDENTICAL VALUES.

12 HOURS AFTER SERUM ADMINISTERED

NEUN: 122.4CM, 28.2KG

ZEHN: 122.4CM, 28.2KG

BODY TEMPERATURE ELEVATION, PAIN IN LOWER EXTREMITIES EVIDENT.

24 HOURS AFTER SERUM ADMINISTRATED

NEUN: 128.8CM, 29.4KG

ZEHN: 128.8CM, 29.4KG

VITAL SIGNS STABILIZED, SLEEPING IN SHORT INTERVALS.

36 HOURS AFTER SERUM ADMINISTRATED

NEUN: 138.9CM, 34.0KG

ZEHN: 138.9CM, 34.0KG

SEMICONSCIOUS, SPEAKING TO IMAGINARY PERSON.

48 HOURS AFTER SERUM ADMINISTRATED

NEUN: 145.7CM, 46.9KG

ZEHN: 145.7CM, 46.9KG

AGITATED, ADMINISTERING SEDATIVE.

If my math was right, Neun and Zehn went from four feet at twelve hours in to 4'9 and gained about 40 pounds and it was probably more.

"We should keep moving," said Joseph.

We went out another tunnel. As we progressed, something started growling and it kept getting louder.

"What is that sound?" I whispered.

Sebastian's lantern light caught something on the ground. I picked it up. It was another note.

"Hey," I hissed. I motioned for them to come back.

EVERY MONTH "OFFERINGS ARE BROUGHT ABOVE GROUND TO THE STONE SARCOPHAGUS THE OWNER CALLS THE "ALTAR". TWO BODIES, FOUR BODIES, THREE BODIES, FIVE BODIES, FOUR BODIES, SEVEN BODIES, SIX BODIES. . .

THE CHURCH GUARD DOG HAS BEGUN TO CHANGE. JUST LIKE THE TWINS, THE ABERRATION IS PROGRESSING.

IT DEVOURED SIX BODIES TODAY AND ALREADY, IT HOWLS FOR MORE. IT HAS BEGUN TO STRESS ITS BARS AND CHAINS IN ITS FERVOR. I DON'T DARE TAKE MY EYES AWAY FROM THAT ANIMAL. IT MAY THINK I'M ANOTHER OFFERING. . .

I looked in the direction of the growling. There was a light at the end of the tunnel and it was shining on a large cage. Something was inside and it looked like it was asleep.

Sebastian tapped my shoulder and we quietly approached the cage. There were chains holding something in place. What it was was a massive canine that was missing entire sections of fur. The face and head were twisted, the muzzle turned up and the skull looked flattened. Heavy barred wire and giant metal rods were driven into its body. That was the guard dog. And it was experimented on just as much as the twins and this one had a taste for human flesh. Great.

We went around the room and down another tunnel without waking it. We got to the end and found a heavy metal door. I noticed a part of the floor next to it that was slightly raised. I stepped on it and the door lifted. We were outside again, but we couldn't go far. The gate in front of us was chained shut. On the other side was an area between the gate of the cemetery and the gate of the church.

Sebastian began to inspect it when we heard a loud sound of metal screeching, like a large metal door opening.

"Can you get it open?" Sebastian asked Joseph.

Joseph stepped around and took out some lock picks. He picked the lock and the chains came undone.

Stone crashed behind us. We whirled around and saw the guard dog wasn't in the cage anymore. The head was turned up like it was howling and to the right. It charged. We ran, but it quickly caught up to us.

I heard Joseph yell and then he was airborne. He hit the ground and the mutated guard dog stopped turned. It had one oversized eye on the left side of its face and a second mouth on its neck. The neck mouth opened and it roared.

Sebastian took his shotgun out and started shooting at it. He had its attention on him.

I got low and hurried to Joseph. He didn't seem too hurt and he was missing his glasses.

"Joseph," I hissed in his ear.

A loud explosion made me jump. I saw Sebastian had his crossbow out and was shooting explosive bolts.

"Joseph, you have to get up. You have to get up right now!"

Joseph started to stir.

"Élan, is he alive?"

Sebastian startled me. I looked around for the guard dog and found it down.

"Yeah," I answered.

Sebastian reached down and put Joseph's arm around his shoulder. Joseph groaned and regained consciousness. I grabbed his other arm and we dragged him over to the church gate. It was locked but two of the iron bars were broken off to make a gap to slip through. I went first and guided Joseph in and Sebastian came in last.

Sebastian looked back at the guard dog.

Joseph came to stand beside him, staring at the area.

Sebastian glanced at him. "What is it?"

"I dropped my glasses back there," Joseph said.

We all looked at the guard dog that was now back on its feet and pacing around.

"Fuck," swore Sebastian.

The guard dog roared.

Joseph needed his glasses. I looked on the ground near where Joseph was tackled. I could see the glasses laying out in the open.

Sebastian loaded up his gun.

I went around him and slipped out through the gap.

"Élan, wait!" he hissed.

The guard dog was walking around the perimeter, but its left side was to me. The eye on the wolf head seemed to be blind. I ran into the brush and waited for it walk around me.

A bottle smashed.

I whipped around to see a glass by the gate. The guard dog roared and bounded over to it.

"Oh, no, no, no," I muttered frantically. I needed that path clear so I could run back, but now the guard dog was over there.

I dashed for the glasses while the guard dog was distracted. I picked them up.

"Élan!" Sebastian yelled.

The guard dog roared. I looked up and saw it charging right for me.

"Oh, shit!" I screamed and broke to the left.

The guard dog overshot me and I sprinted for the gate.

Sebastian ducked through the gap and started shooting at the guard dog.

"Come on!" Sebastian called to me. He stepped away from the gate so I could squeeze through.

I got through the gate and Sebastian followed behind me after one last shot. He must have wounded it severely because it didn't follow us.

I handed Joseph his glasses.

"I'm sorry," Joseph said. "It's not just about being able to see . . . It's about . . . feeling normal." He put his glasses back on.

I nodded.

Sebastian patted his shoulder. "It's all right. Let's focus on finding Kidman."

We walked up the church steps and up to the door.

I steeled myself for what was coming next. Everything was on track right now and I just hoped it would stay that way.


I'm actually really excited for the next chapter. The entire cut scene with the church was one of my favorites. If you remember the scene, you know who's about to show up. I'll leave it up to your imaginations right now to what's going to happen.