This chapter was supposed to be done last month for Halloween, but it is now Black Friday, one month late. I will look at it this way: while you're waiting in line for a cashier, you have something to read. So enjoy.


There was a short hallway in front of us and at the end was a ladder leading down. Behind it, the crosses were painted in red. Sebastian started down the ladder first. I followed after him. The walls changed from simple concrete to chain link panels over the concrete. It was a long way until we got to the bottom.

"How many have you killed, Ruben?" Jimenez's voice asked.

"Ruben? Doesn't he mean Ruvik?" Sebastian asked. He looked at me.

"Jimenez knew him as a child," I said.

We walked towards the voices. The concrete walls were cracked and falling apart. There was a doorway framed out of chain link panels.

"They received as they themselves gave."

We walked into a room. Directly across from us was a door with the Beacon logo, marking a safe haven. We turned to our right and saw the misty, ghostly forms of older, bandaged Ruben and Jimenez.

"And they served a higher purpose; they furthered my research," Ruben explained plainly.

"This was not mere research," Jimenez said, a note of horror in his voice. "The things the papers say were done to those people . . . Those traps . . ."

"These vermin? These microbes?" Ruben got in Jimenez's face. "They're mine to do with as I please. But you are correct, this was not 'mere research.' I am close to perfection . . ."

"This is abhorrent," said Jimenez.

"This is my will," Ruben countered slowly.

The apparitions disappeared.

My watch vibrated. I looked down to see the compass needle was pointing behind us. On a desk shoved in a corner was a piece of paper sitting next to a typewriter. I picked it up.

MY CHILDREN HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM ME. WAS IT FATE? WAS IT SOMETHING HE DID? SURELY NOT MY PERFECT SON. IT WAS THE FIRE. IT RUINED EVERYTHING, TOOK EVERYTHING. THE CHILDREN ARE NOT THE SAME. AND NEITHER IS ERNESTO. HE SAID HE WAS TAKING CARE OF THEM. THAT THEY WERE SAFE. BUT NOW HE SAYS THEY'RE GONE! HOW COULD THAT BE? A MOTHER WOULD KNOW SUCH A THING. I STILL HEAR MY DARLING BOY'S VOICE. HIS LAUGHTER. AND ALWAYS FROM THE BASEMENT. IT CANNOT BE. A MOTHER NEEDS HER CHILDREN!

This was clearly written by Beatriz. I tucked it away.

Sebastian went over to the door marked with the Beacon logo. He pushed open the door and I heard the music playing.

"We were just there," Sebastian said to me.

"Yeah, but I have something else to add to the files," I said. "Less I have in my bag, the better."

Sebastian nodded and we approached the glowing mirror hanging above a sideboard.

I crashed into the reception desk, Sebastian nowhere to be seen. The area looked the same as it did minutes ago. The nurse wasn't behind the desk and I was right next to the log book. I signed my name in it.

"That was weird."

I turned to the door and saw Sebastian walking out of the cellblock, the nurse trailing behind him.

"What was?" I asked.

"That guy in one of the cells," Sebastian replied.

The nurse walked behind the desk. "Detective Castellanos needs to not agitate the other patients," she said coolly. "It would be best for everyone to leave the other patients undisturbed."

Sebastian gave her a suspicious look and then glanced at the newspaper rack. There was a new newspaper there. "Élan."

I walked over to read it over his shoulder.

WEALTHY LAND OWNER AND WIFE DIE IN CAR CRASH.

NIGHTMARE FOR FAMILY.

BODIES OF ERNESTO AND BEATRIZ VICTORIANO FOUND IN WRECK. SON INHERITS FAMILY FORTUNE.

"Someone outside of the family must have known that Ruvik was alive," said Sebastian.

"I don't think Ernesto could change his will without Beatriz knowing," I said. "He told them both children were dead. Must have caused a stir when Ruvik reappeared."

"I wonder what his story was," Sebastian said.

"Probably said he was in some sort of hospital recovering from his injuries and didn't want people hounding him about the fire or something like that," I said. "One thing I learned is that Ernesto was a proud man. He probably didn't want the world knowing about his disfigured son."

"And he would lie to his wife?" asked Sebastian.

"His wife cared more for her children than appearances," I said. "She loved her children from what I gathered from what I found. She wouldn't have cared about Ruvik's visage. She would have been happy to have one child alive."

I took the newspaper and we went back to the archive room to file the collectables away.

Sebastian sighed.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Huh? Uh . . . yeah."

"No, you're not," I said. "What's wrong?"

He gave me a bland look.

"Let me rephrase that: What's bothering you right this second?"

"Honestly? I get the feeling we're about to walk into something a lot worse than what we faced," said Sebastian.

"We'll be fine," I told him.

"You sound sure of it," said Sebastian, surprised.

"We can do this," I insisted. "We'll get through this."

We went to the closest mirror and passed back through. For the first time, I noticed a human shaped cage with a mannequin inside and another, broken cage laying on the floor. We left the room and continued down the corridor. We walked by a massive saw blade and down a set of steps followed by a ladder. Sebastian lit his lantern so we could see where we were going as it became progressively darker the farther we went, which was a good thing as there was a tripwire connected to a panel of spikes in the wall that we easily could have walked into in the dark. Sebastian disabled it and we explored the room next to the trap. He picked up a discarded bolt for his crossbow and my watch beeped. The compass needle was pointing to the crates in the corner of the room. I inspected the crates and noticed there was a gap behind them. I climbed up and shined my cellphone flashlight and saw the light reflect off a rounded shape.

"There's something back here," I told him.

I jumped down as Sebastian started shoving the crates aside. He reached back and pulled out a statue.

"How did you know that was back there?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I just check everywhere for stuff. You never know where something of use can be hidden."

He smashed it on the floor and picked up the key. He put it in his pocket and we left the room for the next one.

There were red lights that lit up a thickening haze eerily. Sebastian disappeared down a narrow alcove and tried the metal door there. It was locked. On the other side was some wet grunting before a saw started up. The grunting turned to a wet gurgle and the saw shut off. Then it was silent. Sebastian and I looked at each other. Neither of us even wanted to peer through the small window in the door. We tried the other door on the opposite side. This one was locked as well. Someone screamed from the other side before it was cut off by the sounds of the person being strangled. We turned back and continued on.

There were more mannequins in cages against the walls and hanging from the ceiling, mannequin parts and iron from cages scattered about the floor. The hallway ended at a doorway leading into near pitch blackness. There were a couple of small red lights near the floor and a torchlight slowly moving. Sebastian pulled me down into a crouch and turned his lantern off. The torch was being carried by a Haunted shuffling across the room. As my eyes adjusted, I noticed there were a lot of waist high walls and the red lights attached to them were bombs.

Sebastian took out his knife and crept forward, intent on sneak killing the Haunted. He was just about to stand up to stab it in the head when a loud alarm rang and bright lights turned on, blinding me. Accordion music began playing a creepy carnival tune. I blinked the spots in my vision away and saw Sebastian trying to line up a shot with his pistol. I saw something coming around, just clearing the tops of the pony walls.

Blade!

I grabbed Sebastian by the belt. "Get down!" I pulled us both to the ground.

The spinning blade sliced the Haunted's head off.

"Thanks," said Sebastian.

I peered up and only saw one blade the radius of the room spinning around. It was attached to a carousel that had empty, human shaped cages swinging from its canopy.

"Stay low," Sebastian told me.

We both crouched down so the blade would pass over us. We made our way to a doorway. There were a couple large windows, but it didn't look like there was anything on the other side. We made it to the door and started to stand up. There was a loud crack and the glass shattered.

"Shit, get down!"

We both dropped to the floor again.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Stay down." Sebastian got out his sniper rifle and shot something in the carousel room. He set himself up for another shot and waited.

I stayed where I was on the floor, waiting. Was there a second one?

Sebastian fired and stood up.

That answered my question.

"Come on," he said, reaching out to me.

I followed him back a dark hallway and we nearly ran into a Haunted that was wandering around. Sebastian made quick work of it and I set the body on fire for good measure. We began to move the next area, but rapid beeping stopped us. We both dropped into crouches and Sebastian disabled the bomb on the wall.

"These things are everywhere," he muttered. "Stay low and you won't set them off."

I nodded.

We found a ladder and climbed up to the second level. It was a little brighter up here, but two Haunted patrolled it. Sebastian signaled for me to stay hidden and he took out his knife. He waited until both of them had their backs turned and sneak killed them. He went forward after killing the second Haunted and looked into the next room.

"Clear," he called to me.

I ran to join him. The room seemed to be an office area and there was a large battery pack sitting on the desk.

"I get the feeling we're going to need that," I said.

"You carry it and I'll clear the rooms," said Sebastian.

"Works for me," I said, taking the battery pack.

We went back downstairs and into the carousel room again. Two Haunted crouched under the blade, clearly smarter than the others. Sebastian shot them both, causing them to stand up and the blade beheaded them. He then shot through the window and took out another Haunted. Several more Haunted came in through the doorway, but they all walked into the blade, not even making an attempt to duck.

"Stupid," I muttered, shuffling forward.

Sebastian grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Less than a step ahead was a tripwire. Sebastian disarmed it and moved to the door the Haunted came from. We stepped over their bodies and through the corridor. After disarming another bomb, we found a generator room. There was a spot in the wall for the battery pack I was carrying. Sebastian and I inserted it together and an alarm went off. We ran back and saw there was another door open in the carousel room. We dodged the blade and ran over to the open door.

"Stay here," said Sebastian. "Let me clear the area and then I'll come back for you."

"Okay."

Sebastian disappeared around the corner.

I leaned back against the wall, glancing around for any Haunted that might pop up. The carousel continued to spin and play its music. The melody would swell higher and higher before falling back down and repeat.

"Élan."

I blinked and noticed my arm was outstretched in front of me. Sebastian's hand was around my wrist.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"I . . ." Was I okay? My back was against the wall still and I was in no danger of walking back into the carousel room and getting decapitated. "What was I doing just now?"

"It looked like you were drawing in the air with your finger," said Sebastian. He let go of my wrist.

I frowned. Drawing? No.

"Like this?" I asked. I let my finger go up and down in time with music.

"Like that."

"Conducting," I said absently. I saw the confusion on his face and clarified. "It's something I do when I listen to music sometimes. I follow the notes when they go up and down. I know it's not actually conducting, but that's what I call it. Anyway, what did you find?"

"The hallway ends and there's a ladder going down, but there are monsters down there," said Sebastian.

I frowned. "More Haunted?"

Sebastian shook his head. "There's something else, something big."

"Great," I groaned.

Sebastian handed me something. "Found that in a side room when I was clearing it."

It was a map fragment. I put it away.

"I'm ready."

I followed Sebastian down the hallway to the ladder. He went down first before motioning for me to follow. I climbed down and landed in blood. I grimaced, but we didn't have to walk through it for long as there were some steps leading out of it.

Sebastian made me stay back as he checked for Haunted. He stopped in front of one doorway and looked bemused.

"What?" I asked.

He nodded at the room.

I looked inside. There was a ceiling spike trap hanging low. At the far side of the room was a statue.

I remembered this trap. It was actually very simple to get around. It was all about being quick enough to get the key before the trap fell. Done correctly, one could get it and be out with seconds to spare.

"I got it," I said.

Sebastian's head whipped around. "What? Are you crazy?"

"You shoot it and I'll crawl in there and get it," I told him.

Sebastian stared at me.

"Just do it." I knelt down by the doorway and waited. And waited. I looked over my shoulder at Sebastian. "Well?"

"I am not doing it," said Sebastian.

I sighed exasperatedly. I got out my slingshot and a bullet from my pocket. I lined up the shot.

"Hey, Élan! Wait!"

I let go and the statue shattered. I crawled across the floor, hearing the trap's gears creak ominously. I grabbed the key and the unspent bullet and rushed back out. I just cleared the doorway when the trap slammed down behind me. It kicked up a puff of dust. I got to my feet and dusted myself up.

"See? All good," I said, putting everything away.

Sebastian shook his head and moved on.

There was a solid metal door with a lever in front of it. Sebastian went up and pulled the lever, but it wouldn't budge.

I looked around. There was a smaller door off to the left. Sebastian came over and pushed the door open. Immediately he crouched down and turned the light off. I followed his lead. He turned around and put a finger to his lips, then pointing. The area was sectioned, but there wasn't anything to hide behind. Through a barred window we could see Haunted walking. Sebastian hurried to the doorway and waited for the Haunted's back to be turned. He snuck around and stabbed it in head. The sound of a proximity sensor to a bomb went off and Sebastian was quick to crouch again. He looked at me and motioned for me to stay put. I nodded and waited. He disappeared from sight, but I could hear the sounds of shuffling and bodies hitting the ground.

It felt like I was waiting for hours before Sebastian came back and got me.

"Stay low," he told me. "I didn't disable all the bombs on the walls. I'm pretty sure I got all the tripwires."

I nodded and followed him through the maze of empty rooms, stepping over bodies. Sebastian pointed over to a shelf. There was another battery pack. I picked it up.

"I think it goes back here somewhere," said Sebastian. "I haven't checked."

I nodded. I followed behind him as we navigated the rooms. There were no Haunted back here, but in the dim light I could make out that sections of walls had metal coils or spikes.

"Back here," Sebastian whispered. He crouched down and crawled through a hole in a chain link panel. I crawled through behind him only to bump into him.

"Shit!"

"What?"

He looked over his shoulder at me with a glare. "Trap. And I almost fell into it."

"Oh, sorry," I quickly said. I caught a glint of long spikes sticking out of the wall.

Sebastian disabled the tripwire and stood up. "Here."

I came through and saw where I could put the battery in. I hoisted it up and Sebastian helped me slide it into place. Immediately the power came back on and an alarm started going off. We crawled back through the gap. I saw the coils on the wall were glowing orange and could feel heat coming off them. I ran through the door and saw two spinning drums of blades that spanned from floor to ceiling.

A fat Haunted came charging forward.

"Sebastian!" I screamed.

Sebastian shot it with his shotgun. It only stayed down for a second before jumping up. Sebastian shot it again. I reached back and grabbed the box of matches. I struck it and threw it on the Haunted. It thrashed as it burned. I had no time to take a breath as Sebastian was firing his gun again. I lit the next Haunted that fell down on fire. Sebastian got the last one. I picked up the axe one of the Haunted dropped. Another Haunted came around the corner. I ran back from it. A metal panel slid up to reveal another spinning blade trap. I hit the Haunted in the head with the axe and pushed it into the blades. I checked around the corner for any more.

A large metal door raised up and there was a spinning drum and a large humanoid creature. It was pale, its face nothing but bloody, sagging skin, and it had a broken beam bolted into its back and arms, grappling hooks on each end. Its one arm was free and it charged out, scraping the hook against the floor.

"Watch out!" Sebastian yelled. He fired his shotgun, but it didn't seem to do much. "Run, Élan!"

I looked around for where I could run. One of the blade traps lifted and lowered in front of a doorway. Several Haunted dropped down from the ceiling. One reached out and grabbed for me. I ran back and dove under the blades as they lowered. The Haunted was cut up and I rolled away until I was next to a heated wall panel. It slammed forward into the adjacent wall before pulling back and slamming again. On the other side was a doorway. The heated panel slammed again and I noticed there was space behind it and a statue in the corner. There was enough space that someone could slip through and not be hit, but only if they could run to the back wall where the statue was.

The blade trap lifted up and another Haunted was running at me. I didn't have time. The panel was just slamming into the wall when I started running, ducking my head so I didn't hit trap's sliding arms. The Haunted got caught in it on the retraction.

I turned to the statue and smashed it with my foot. I grabbed the key and tried to figure out what was next. There was the door that was now on the same side I was, but it was very close to the panel's impact zone. I would have to run right up against the heated panel to make it to the door before it pulled back and got me. Already I was being seared by the heat of the coils.

One, two, three.

The panel slammed into the wall.

One.

It started pulling back.

I had about a second and a half to get through.

I got right up next to it and waited.

One, two, three.

It moved and I started running with the panel. It hit the wall and I dashed through the doorway. It started pulling back and my foot brushed against it.

"Ah!" I cried, my shoe burning. I looked down and found I was not on fire, but part of my shoe had melted and my pants had a hole burned in it.

"Élan!" Sebastian shouted. "Get back to the door! Get back to the door we found!"

I kept going, running around a doorway. At the far end of the next room, another heated panel slid across the floor and blocked my way, followed by another, much closer, and then two more. I jumped back so I wouldn't be hit. Unlike the last one, these stayed pressed against the wall. I ducked down to see if there was something behind them. There was a small recess in the corner. I crouch walked under the panel's arm and found a ladder leading up. I climbed up to the second level. There didn't seem to be any Haunted up here as I crept around the darkened area.

I had to crouch down to get through a low ceilinged area. Light came up through the floor and I saw it was a couple of large chain link panels. I had to step on the chain link. I carefully made my way across. I looked down and saw another of those creatures with the hooks stagger beneath me.

Trauma. They were called Traumas, the physical manifestation of young Ruben's pain and torment.

The Trauma stopped and looked up as best it could at me. It titled its shoulder up and I saw the hook aimed at me.

Move!

I jumped across the rest of the chain link and hit the floor. The hook hit the chain link, making a loud jingling sound. It came displaced and now lay askew across the other panel and the edge of the floor.

That had been way too close for comfort.

I got on my hands and knees and crawled across the floor, trying to find a way out. My wrist vibrated and I saw the compass needle glowing brightly and pointing to my left. Clumps and piles of dirt were all around the edges of the area I was in and I saw something sticking up, a corner of a tile or something. I pulled it out and found a map fragment. I put it away and noticed light to my right. I crawled over and saw a ladder going back down. I climbed down into the darkness. I stayed low as I reoriented myself to where I was. I was back where the barred windows and empty rooms were.

I poked my head around the corner and saw Haunted patrolling along with another Trauma. I would have to wait for Sebastian, wherever he was.

"Hey," he whispered from behind.

I jumped. "Scared me," I hissed.

"Sorry. You okay?"

"Yeah. But we've got company."

Sebastian took a look. "Those big ones can take a beating. Luckily they can be stunned or frozen."

"That's good to hear."

"I want you to stay here while I clear the way," Sebastian told me.

"Okay," I said with a nod.

Sebastian went ahead. It wasn't long before I heard electricity buzzing and explosions and gun shots.

I sat back and waited. As I did, my watch lit up, but not with the compass needle.

CHECK.

Check? Check what?

I got my phone out and checked the collectables list.

AUDIO TAPES 6/10.

DOCUMENTS 15/16.

KEYS 30/45.

MAP FRAGMENTS 19/28.

MISSING POSTERS 8/15.

NEWSPAPERS 14/21.

PERSONAL DOCUMENTS 9/16.

I also noticed there was more beneath the list.

LETTER SCRAPS 8/16.

PERSONNEL FILES 3/6.

RESEARCH DOCUMENTS 7/15.

These were from my time with Kidman. This was good that I had a counter for this, but why hadn't I seen it earlier?

CHECK.

The message remained at the top of my phone.

I started going through my events and notes and then I saw it.

LEARN THE SECRETS. SOLVE THE MYSTERIES. UNDERSTAND. ESCAPE WITH YOUR SANITY.

Oh, that did not sound good.

"Élan."

I looked up from my phone and saw Sebastian motioning me to follow him. I got up and rushed to get to him.

"Your phone is working?" he asked.

"No reception, but sometimes I can pick up some weird frequency," I lied.

"Like that high-pitched ringing?" he asked, leading me around the corner. There was a barred door with a wheel crank next to it. Sebastian turned the wheel and opened it. "Or maybe something that could help us?"

We went through the doorway.

"Sometimes I get voices, but it's like trying to pick up a radio station in the middle of nowhere. Nothing really helpful."

A few more turns led us to a spinning blade trap that blocked our way. There was a lever next to it. Sebastian pulled it and it raised up enough that we could crawl under it. We were now back in the room with the solid metal door and lever that wouldn't work. With the power back on, the light next to the lever was now green. We ran up to it and Sebastian pulled the lever. The door swung open and revealed a narrow corridor.

"Come on," said Sebastian, breaking into a run.

I ran after him.

We were about halfway through when a giant form dropped down from the ceiling of the room ahead of us. The Amalgam Alpha roared, sending a red pulse at us. We were knocked back a few steps and then there was silence.

I took a moment to look around. We were in a new area, standing in a concrete corridor with metal railings on either side. The high ceilings had industrial size fans that turned lazily, casing shadows on the floor. Behind us was solid concrete, a purposeless barred window set in it. Long cables laid about along the railings.

I let out a sigh. The irritating and anxiety inducing alarm was gone now. I hadn't realized how much it affected me until now. Now it was quiet.

"Great," muttered Sebastian. "Now where are we?"

I looked ahead of us at a tall window. "Maybe we can look out and see," I said, pointing.

Sebastian led the way. We didn't get far before we saw something large crawl up the outside of the window.

"What was that?" hissed Sebastian, reaching for his pistol.

Laura.

I reached out and put my hand on his wrist. I didn't want him picking a fight with her now.

"I don't think she knows we're here," I whispered.

"Let's keep it that way," said Sebastian.

We continued forward, but didn't see anything else in the window. When we got to it, I looked through the glass. It was foggy, but I could make out a lamppost that was on.

"I can't tell if it's the mansion, Beacon, or another hospital," I said.

"Maybe this can give you a better clue," said Sebastian. He was looking through the doorway next to the window.

I turned and saw it was corridor full of gurneys, wheelchairs, and an orderly's body on the floor.

"I'm leaning more towards Beacon," I added.

We began stepping our way around the gurneys and the wheelchairs. The corridor pulsed red and the equipment levitated up to the ceiling. With our path cleared, it was easier to move forward, but we did so cautiously.

We walked into a room filled with beds and equipment. This area didn't look like Beacon, but the other hospital we had been in. My watch went off at the same time Sebastian noticed an audio tape on a bed. He pressed the play button.

"Everything I have, everything I am, has been taken from me since the 'accident' by those who seek to consume me," Ruvik said. "There in the darkness, with only the phantoms of my mind to comfort me, to haunt me, I nearly lost myself completely. But then I saw her. Deep down I know she was only an apparition, but I would regain my face, recover what was taken from me. Restore her, my beloved sister, Laura." The tape clicked to an end.

Sebastian said nothing, just took my hand and pulled me away. We didn't walk much farther before we heard music. The Beacon logo could just be made out on a door in the poor light. Sebastian pushed it open and we went over to the mirror. There was a page sitting on top of a piece of hospital machinery that he picked up. As soon as he did, the mirror cracked and we were pulled through.

We stood in the cellblock hallway, the mirror winking at us from the other end. We walked into the reception area. I scanned the desk to see if there was anything there and there was a newspaper article. I picked it up and started reading.

HOME DESTROYED BY FIRE.

DAUGHTER OF POLICE OFFICER AMONG VICTIMS.

THE BODIES OF LILY CASELLANOS, 5, AND BABYSITTER JUANITA FLORES, 56, WERE FOUND IN THE CHARRED HOME. BOTH OF THE CHILD'S PARENTS ARE POLICE OFFICERS WITH THE KRIMSON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT AND WERE ON DUTY AT THE TIME OF THE FIRE. POLICE ARE STILL INVESTIGATING AS A POSSIBLE ARSON.

I looked to Sebastian, who had been reading over my shoulder. He turned away.

I felt like I should try to say something comforting. "If it makes you feel any better, they both would have been gone by the time the fire reached them."

He glared at me.

"The smoke," I went on. "She wouldn't have gone like Laura. Or Ruben."

Sebastian just walked over to the bulletin board to get the missing person poster

Yeah, that was a bad attempt on my part.

"Speaking of Ruben," Sebastian said, walking back over while reading the poster. "Look at this."

MISSING: PATRICK HIGGINS.

LAWYER FOR THE VICTORIANO FAMILY. LAST SEEN MEETING A MAN BELIEVED TO BE A CLIENT.

"Wonder who that could have been," said Sebastian. "Ruvik?"

"Possibly," I replied. "Everyone thought he was dead. Or it could have been Jimenez."

"Jimenez?" repeated Sebastian.

"We both know he's slimy," I said. "He was stealing from Ruvik, bribing and blackmailing him. If he wasn't so much of a coward, I'd peg him for killing the lawyer."

"Him? Not Ruvik?"

"If Ruvik had use for the lawyer . . . or Mobius," I added quietly.

"What?" asked Sebastian.

I shook my head. "Let's go. Stock up while I put this away." I took the poster from him. "I get the feeling things are about to get a whole lot worse before they get better."

I ran back to the archive room and started filing things away. Sebastian came in behind me and slipped his journal entry into its proper folder.

"Here." I handed him the keys that I picked up. "Get something good."

I waited for him to leave for the locker room to look at the journal entry.

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

I'VE WATCHED FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES DIE BEFORE – PART OF THE JOB THAT I'VE TAKEN. AND IT'S NEVER EASY. BUT NOTHING CAN COMPARE TO LOSING YOUR OWN CHILD. I'D DIE A MILLION TIMES OVER TO PREVENT IT, BUT I CAN'T. I FELT SO HELPLESS WHEN THEY LOWERED THAT TINY COFFIN INTO THE GROUND. THE PAIN IS UNBEARABLE. I KNOW I SHOULDN'T, BUT DRINKING IS THE ONLY THING THAT'S LET ME SLEEP FOR THE LAST FEW WEEKS . . .

I'M WORRIED ABOUT MYRA. THIS HAS BEEN EXTREMELY HARD ON HER, AND HER WAY OF HANDLING IT HAS BEEN UNNERVING. SHE WANTS TO BE ALONE, HAS TAKEN TO STAYING UP ALL NIGHT. SAYS SHE'S DOING WORK TO KEEP HER MIND OFF OF THE TRAGEDY, BUT SHE SEEMS TO BE CLOSING HERSELF OFF TO THE WORLD. I KNOW WHAT TENDS TO HAPPEN WHEN COUPLES LOSE A CHILD AND I HOPE THAT WE'RE STRONG ENOUGH TO AVOID IT . . .

I heard Sebastian coming back and quickly shoved the entry back into the folder. I turned to the map and started filling it in with the fragments.

Sebastian walked in. "Krimson City and the area around it."

"Yeah."

"Where do you think we are?"

"On the map?" I asked.

Sebastian stared at it for a moment more. "Never mind. Let's go."

We left the safe haven and we were back into the hospital-like area. We went back into the hallway only to be met with a set of metal double doors. Sebastian kicked them open. Vent fans continued to turn and cast shadows, but we could see something moving ahead of us. Sebastian stepped forward, the light from his lamp illuminating the area around him. In the middle of the room was a shaft made of chain link panels. Climbing around inside was Laura, her dress gone and her mutated body covered in burns. She looked at us and continued to crawl around.

Sebastian reached back and grabbed my hand, his other hand holding his pistol. "Come on," he said out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes not leaving Laura.

We walked around to a staircase and went down. The shaft continued down as well. I looked around and saw we were blocked in. Sebastian went over to a lever and pulled it. A buzzer went off and a panel started to rise slowly. Laura climbed down and started tearing open the chain link.

"Élan, run!" Sebastian ordered.

I slid under the gate and started running. Glancing back, I saw Sebastian following and Laura hot on his heels.

The next corridor I ran in was almost the same from earlier with the gurneys and wheelchairs. There were windows on the right side.

"Go!" Sebastian yelled.

I ran forward. Glass shattered and everything was pushed to the left. I stumbled into a gurney, but stayed on my feet. I ran to the doors and found another corridor, this one with cell doors on either side. The way straight was blocked off by gurneys and wheelchairs piled up on each other and the cell door burst open to reveal a Haunted. I took a turn to the right and saw an open door.

A door to the side of it opened and another Haunted came out. I ran around it and through the open door. Sebastian was right behind me. He tried to slam the door shut, but Laura tried to push her way through, giant hands and long fingers grabbing at us. I slammed my body against the door. The door closed and locked itself.

Sebastian and I backed away from the door.

"That was too close," I said, leaning over with my hands on my knees.

Sebastian was checking his weapons. "Élan, when she shows up again, I want you to hide."

I opened my mouth.

"I mean it," he cut me off. "I don't know how you got away from her the first time, but I don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay."

We crossed the room and opened the next door. The floor and walls were made of brick and we were hit by a wave of heat. The first thing we saw were the chain link panels and then to our right, fire streamed down from a row of gas valves.

There was a lever by the chain link. Sebastian pulled it. On the other side, a metal cage elevator lowered.

"I was hoping that would shut the fire off," said Sebastian.

I noticed a statue sitting on the other side next to the elevator.

Oh, great. This was going to be tricky. In the game, you could only get that key if you killed Laura. You could escape her, but it would trigger a cut scene of running into the elevator and Laura chasing after you. Killing Laura was possible, but difficult. Maybe I could get the key before we had to get on the elevator.

Sebastian got close to the fire, looking through the pipes. He fired his pistol and the flames shut off.

"That works," I said.

A little farther forward was another fire trap. I looked around the other side and saw that the way to the elevator was completely blocked off from here. We would have to face Laura for sure.

"What is this place?" asked Sebastian as we walked across the brick floor.

"My guess," I started to say.

There was a loud bang and something fell from the ceiling. Laura crawled out.

Sebastian gave me a shove. "Run!"

I didn't need to be told twice. I ran away, ducking under a bomb's sensor as I went. I noticed the oven doors built into the brick.

I was going to say crematorium.

"Where did she go?" Sebastian was behind me, looking around.

I glanced around and saw another lever. "I got the lever." I jogged up to it and pulled it.

Laura screamed and burst out of an oven. Sebastian started shooting at her.

I ran around one of the large pillars.

"Élan!" Sebastian yelled in panic.

Laura flickered into existence in front of me and hit me with her hand. I went flying. I hit the ground and coughed. Sitting up, I saw I wasn't in the crematorium anymore, but next to the elevator. My way back to Sebastian was blocked by fire.

"Well, I wanted to be here," I said to myself.

I jumped up and ran around to the statue. I smashed it open and grabbed the key. I then went for the ammo sitting next to it. My hand got a little close to the chain link and electricity sparked.

"Whoa! That's still live!" I stepped back, careful to keep distance between me and the fencing, not that there was much room.

"Élan!" Sebastian shouted.

"I'm by the elevator!" I screamed back. "I'm okay!"

Laura howled in agony. Sebastian must have used a fire trap on her. This was followed by an explosion, possibly from a grenade.

I noticed the electricity stopped and I ran to get on the elevator. Moments later, the curtain of fire stopped and Sebastian came running with Laura right behind him.

"Come on! Come on!" I waved at him to hurry.

Sebastian ran in and we pulled the door shut. Laura reached through bars and wrapped two hands around Sebastian. She slammed him back against the bars.

"No!" I grabbed at her fingers around his neck.

Sebastian smacked at the side of the elevator, hitting the buttons. The elevator began to move down. Laura screamed in pain as her hands were severed. They flopped to the floor, twitching for a brief moment.

Sebastian gasped for air and slid to the floor.

"Are you okay?" I asked, worried.

He coughed. "Yeah."

The elevator jerked to a stop. I helped Sebastian to his feet. Smoke filled the space outside the elevator. Ruvik stepped out from it.

"Who do you think you are?" he asked coolly. "I know who you are, 'Seb'."

The doors of the elevator were ripped off and tossed behind Ruvik.

"I know what you crave, what you fear." Ruvik stepped into the elevator, causing us to back up. He was focused on Sebastian, moving slowly so he was uncomfortably close. "Will you be able to live with yourself knowing what I'm going to make you do? Poor little Joseph couldn't. Too bad they dragged you into this. But either way, you're mine . . ." His eyes flicked in my direction. "To do with as I please."

He leaned forward and vanished.

Sebastian looked around for any sign of him.

The elevator started up again and descended.

Sebastian turned to me.

"I'm okay," I answered his unasked question.

Ruvik had said the same thing to Sebastian as he did to me – we were his to do with as he pleased. Ha, we'll see about that.

The elevator came to a stop again and we got off. It was the foyer of the Victoriano Manor again.

"Shit. Back here again?" growled Sebastian.

The great metal doors were gone and it was just a simple hallway.

"No way but forward," I said with a shrugged.

Sebastian got out his pistol. He wasn't taking any more chances.

I noticed something up against the door that led to the powder room. It was a map fragment.

"Grab that," Sebastian told me, noticing it as well.

I picked it up and followed behind him. The hallway went back into the rooms we saw young Ruben working. Once we were through those rooms, we went down another hallway and Sebastian pushed open the door.

It was a lab area belonging to the previous hospital-like area. Leslie was on a table and steeped in about an inch of water from a couple of pipes, his head in some sort of device. Next to him was Jimenez, working on something on a computer.

Sebastian aimed his pistol at Jimenez. "Doc. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Trying to save us," Jimenez replied. He picked up a clipboard and walked around the table Leslie was on.

"Really . . . 'Cause it looks like you're making another monster to me," said Sebastian, following him.

"I don't have time for this, Detective," Jimenez said shortly.

Sebastian pulled the hammer back on his revolver. "Neither do I."

Jimenez turned, seeing the gun pointed at him for the first time. He lowered the clipboard. "Leslie has been here before. And made it back. He survived being linked to Ruvik. The only patient ever, as far as I know." He started writing on the clipboard again.

"Wonderful. What does that have to do with any of this?" Sebastian asked.

"He's our way out, Detective," said Jimenez. "Our only way back."

Jimenez walked over and slowly turned a dial on the machine. The high pitched sound began and Leslie began to scream. Sebastian grabbed his one ear, trying to keep his gun pointed at Jimenez. Leslie began to let out inhuman wails, sounding like something electronic.

"No – it's working," said Jimenez.

The room began to change, fading into a brightly lit room with rows of windows. Leslie wasn't on a table, but in a tub now. There were more tubs in a circle, all of them wired to something in the middle of the room.

"Oh thank god it's working," Jimenez said in relief, ignoring Leslie's screams.

There was a loud buzzing noise and everything stopped. The room faded away. On the table, Leslie whimpered.

"Leslie, you all right?" asked Sebastian, moving over to the table to help him up.

I walked over to Jimenez, who was frantically checking things on the computer.

"It should have worked," he said. "Why didn't it?"

Something was breathing heavily. Jimenez and I slowly looked over.

The Amalgam Alpha was standing in the room, watching us.

"That's it," whispered Jimenez. "That's why."

Sebastian was pulling Leslie away from the monster. "Doctor! Élan! Run!"

I looked around. I could probably duck behind the machine, but I didn't want to make any sudden moves. Not that it mattered; the Amalgam Alpha was going to end Jimenez here and now.

"Of course," Jimenez breathed. "He wants the same thing as us. He wants out!"

The Amalgam Alpha raised a giant arm to squash Jimenez, just like in the game. But then something else happened – Jimenez grabbed me! He pulled me in front of him like a shield.

"Élan!" Sebastian cried out.

"You son of a bitch!" I screamed, struggling to get free.

Jimenez laughed maniacally. "You wouldn't hurt her! You want her. If you hadn't you would have killed her already!"

The Amalgam Alpha hesitated, looking with its multiple heads at how to get to Jimenez without apparently hurting me.

I struggled again, trying to slam my foot down on Jimenez's toes. Jimenez kept stepping back, dragging me with him.

The Amalgam Alpha had enough and slammed its fist down on the floor. The shockwave that came off destroyed the room and sent us flying. Sebastian and Leslie disappeared, passing through the wall behind them like it wasn't there. Jimenez didn't let go of me as we flew out of the room as well.

We hit the ground and rolled. Jimenez let go and I rolled again. I winced and got up. Jimenez was on his feet, swaying.

"Bastard fuck!" I snarled. I punched Jimenez in the face. My hand throbbed, but I didn't care.

Jimenez stumbled back and held his jaw. "What was that for? I just saved us!"

"You used me as a shield, asshole!" I screamed.

This was so bad. Jimenez was alive! He was supposed to die just now, but the Amalgam Alpha hadn't squashed him like the insect he was! Now I had to deal with a canon break and I didn't have time to deal with!

"Well, it worked," Jimenez said, checking for blood. Too bad there wasn't any. "And you should be thanking me."

"Thanking you? You used me to save your own miserable hide!"

"You need me to get out of here," argued Jimenez.

"I need Leslie, not you."

"Without me you would be trapped here forever," Jimenez said.

"Oh, shut up! You'd leave us all behind, you piece of shit!" I snapped. "You got to get back so you can beg for Mobius for forgiveness and continue to pass off Ruvik's work as your own!"

"This again?" asked Jimenez, exasperated.

I let out a scream of rage. "This is all because of you! You did this to us!" It sound scarily similar to when Ruben yelled the same words.

Several bright lights turned on, blinding us. I threw up my hand and blinked to clear my sight. We were on the stage in the theatre!

There was a loud crash behind Jimenez and he jerked, eyes wide. He choked, spitting up blood. His body was lifted off the floor. Something was coming out of the stage behind him. His dead body was flung into the seats, revealing a giant scorpion tail, the stinger a blade.

The floor broke up as the tail's owner forced its way to the surface. A pair of giant pincers came up followed by the rest of the scorpion. It was almost the size of the lion! It looked black, but the light caught swirls of color, like it was glazed. It snapped its massive pincers.

I bolted for the backstage door, knowing exactly where it was. I heard its metallic footsteps chasing after me, but they faded a little, like it couldn't keep up. I turned the corner and saw nothing but a wall. The door wasn't there! I looked around for a place to hide. There was a ladder going up to the catwalks. I could go up there and find another way out. I climbed up, the scorpion now catching up to me. I looked down and saw it was confused. It didn't know where I went.

I quietly made my way across a catwalk. I kept an eye on the scorpion, which was skittering around, confused. It couldn't see me up here because of the stage lights. All I had to do was cross the catwalk which led to the other side of the stage and find a way out through the lobby.

There was a loud screech and the catwalk shook. The scorpion swung itself around and appeared behind me. It snapped its tail out. I fell back and scrambled to get across the rest of the catwalk. It chased after me.

I looked back and saw it was in striking range. I jumped over the catwalk railing, hitting the ground hard, but remembering to tuck and roll. I got back up and ran out a side door. I spotted an exit sign hanging from the ceiling and followed it. The fire exit door was ahead and the scorpion was catching up to me. I hit the crash bar with my full weight and slammed the door shut behind me. The door tried to open under my hands, but I pushed hard, trying to keep the scorpion inside. The door shut. The blade of the tail came through the door in front of my nose. It pulled back and then nothing.

That was way too close.


And scene. I have no idea when the next chapter is going to be. I literally just finished this chapter and put it up. I'm having problems with figuring out how the plot is going to go because there's going to be a lot going on all at the same time. It may be in 2022, I can't promise anything sooner.