Chapter 5: From Hell

The one thing Ada REALLY liked about the lab was 'The Box.' Doctor Octavius had introduced her to it on her third day and whilst it was simple, it was very cool.

The box was a clear 'glass' case, made from a material that was Shatterproof, bulletproof and even (as Otto said) bombproof. Inside were four small 'claws' not unlike Otto's that could be controlled from outside the box by various buttons and two 'joysticks.'

Ada would have had to describe it as one of the trickiest claw grabbing machines she'd ever tried. Though luckily, she always had a knack for those and after two days, picked it up like an expert.

The Doctor had been impressed.

She still felt a little giddy at his praise and carefully manoeuvred the claws over the ball inside the case.

She'd already set up a camera across the way, taped her sheets of experiments planned to the whiteboard and written up the first set of notes for Otto.

"Testing, testing," seeing everything was working, she quickly turned to the camera with a curt nod, "it is ten pm, Monday the fourth and the first test is about to be conducted. I will be attempting to press a series of buttons and hoping nothing blows up straight away, but from what I can tell, it's not an EMP. Or at the very least, I hope not, because if it is, all electrical devices will shut down….as well as the lights in the lab. Doctor Octavius, if you see this and everything goes black…please try not to laugh at me tomorrow."

She turned back to the case, just as a 'Ping' sounded from the lift.

She looked over her shoulder to see an unfamiliar individual wearing the familiar overalls of the janitors in the building. He got to the door, seemingly unaware there was anyone there and proceeded to dance to the music on his Walkman as he pushed against the glass.

And pushed.

And kept pushing, until he turned around and looked at the door in confusion.

Ada tried to hide her laughter and quickly got up, swivelling around and waving to the guy. Once she had his attention, she pointed to the little ID pass she could see attached to his pocket.

"You have to swipe it to get in."

He arched his brows and pointed to his chest.

"Oh… never mind," she smiled and got up, choosing to be polite instead of just mouthing instructions he apparently could not hear.

She opened the door and let him in.

"New guy?"

"Started this morning," he shrugged and gave her a pitiful look, "is it obvious?"

"A little. You'll get used to it. Just remember, if you can't get in, use your ID to swipe across the screen," she pointed to the small security box outside the door but held it open for him anyway, "you can bring your stuff in."

"Thanks. Need anything cleaned now or do you want me to come back later?" He wheeled in the small trolley that held all his cleaning equipment.

"You don't have to clean this one today, it's spotless. The trashcan needs emptying, and the toilet needs some bleach and a new roll, but that's it," she made her way back to her chair and continued with the experiment, "you don't have to use a card to get out, so you'll be fine."

"I'll be out of your hair shortly, darling," he drawled in a thick accent, but she was already making sure her full attention was on the ball.

Since she was aware of his presence, she chooses not to talk about the experiment out loud for the camera until after he was gone. She didn't want any other interruptions recorded for the camera.

She rotated the ball three times, using the magnifier to see if she could read any sort of inscriptions on it. It took a good three minutes of looking before she gave up.

She noticed the quietness and looked up towards the bathroom door and was surprised to see the cleaning trolley and full trashcan outside the door.

She turned around again to see if he'd stepped outside for a cigarette (which technically wasn't allowed, but as long as Norman didn't find out, no one cared) and found him standing behind her, looking in at her work with a strange, curious smile on his face.

"Fascinating creation isn't it," he almost couldn't take his eyes off the ball, but Ada shifted around and hid it from his view.

"It is. I'm sorry, but we're not allowed to let others view this, we're helping the police-"

"What's it doing?"

She turned back at his worried gaze but found the ball in exactly the same position as when she'd left it.

"I don't see anything."

She was still staring at it when she felt a sharp, pain in her head and a strange 'THUD' echoing through her skull.

The impact was so strong, she fell sideways, straight off her seat and crashed onto the floor below.

She just had time to brace herself from the impact with one hand, but the wind was knocked out of her and on instinct, her other hand came up to cradle the sore spot of her head.

She felt dizzy and sick and hot all at once.

Something grabbed her roughly at the back of her coat and forced her to turn over.

She was still hearing a ringing in her ears when she brought her hand up and touched the place where she had been struck.

She was aware of weight over her hips and stomach but could only register something wet and warm flowing into her hair.

She moved her hand around and tried to focus as she felt something pull at her shirt.

Blood.

Her adrenaline kicked in. She could hear her own heavy breathing, but everything around her came back into focus.

The weight on her was the janitor and the pull at her shirt was him attempting to tear it from her skin. He had a hungry, frightening look in his eyes.

She didn't know who he was or why he was doing this, but she knew his intentions with that look.

What he didn't know, was that she was a fighter. Surviving a shark attack had made it impossible for her to just sit back and let fate happen.

Despite the pain, she screamed and struggled and hit back at him. He tried to get another grip on her, but she moved fast and hit him right in his crotch as hard as she could. Winded, he struggled to get away from her and once she had room, wiggled her legs free and used her legs to kick him away as hard as she could.

'Think quickly. Get help. Phone? Scream? No. Raise the alarm. Panic button!'

Once he was some distance away, she scrambled as quickly as she could to her feet and ran straight towards the other end of the table. Norman had discreetly told her about a silent button underneath the table which would send an alarm directly to security and himself, letting them know there was trouble. He had intended it for Otto, encase something ever went wrong with his experiments or his claws again. But it turns out, that the good doctor not only knew about it but had the alarm send him a notification as well, encase anyone was breaking into his lab.

Ada put her hand underneath and, on the button, and just had a chance to press it down once before something grabbed her around the waist and violently pulled her away.

He held her up and tight to him, her legs off from the floor. One arm around her waist and the other attempting to grab one of her arms as she battered at him.

'Swing back like in self-defence class!'

Ada had attended those whilst in college and remembered one move the instructor taught her. She used her elbows as points and one well-aimed hit struck him in his head. He loosened his grip enough for her to hit him again in the stomach and once she fell to the floor, turned around and gave him her most powerful kick to the gut.

He fell backwards again and this time, she ran away and straight out the door of the lab.

She looked up at the elevator screen but saw it had been called all the way back down and wisely choosing not to merely wait for it, turned back and ran the other direction, towards the emergency stairs.

She flew out the door, down the first flight and had just turned sharply when she saw him following her.

Not looking anymore, she ran down as fast as she could, jumping almost two steps at a time. But she could still hear him. His tapping footsteps as he gained on her. His heavy, excited pants. The sickening laugh as he seemed to enjoy the chase.

She'd just reached another bottom step, but before she could turn, his sudden weight came fast against her back and she was thrown forward.

Her head and body collided with the wall opposite, and his sharp fingernails dug painfully into her shoulders.

He threw her, back down to the floor and climbed back on top of her.

This time, he grabbed either side of her head and slammed it against the ground beneath her.

She could feel herself, being used like a baby's rattle, her skull beginning to crack and the back of her head beginning to bleed.

He slammed it down painfully against the ground four times before he saw she was weak enough not to fight back.

Then, his hands made two hard fists and began to pummel her face, back and forth, repeatedly hitting her eye, cheek, and mouth.

Ada weakly tried to shield herself, but he pushed her hand away. With one last burst of energy, she reached up and desperately dug her nails into his face, clawing at him.

That seemed to be enough for him and he stopped hitting her.

But his hands unfurled and immediately wrapped around her neck, squeezing and choking her.

Ada tried to struggle and fight, but her entire body felt numb. She could barely feel her hands and hoped they were trying to pull away from his own. She could feel the blood in her mouth though. Slipping down her throat.

She could only see out of one eye, but her vision was beginning to blur.

And when she began to pray to some unknown deity, she felt her body slip away. Slip through the ground. She began to fall, slowly, into a dark abyss where her vision was still above her.

It was like falling down a rabbit hole and she, Alice, could only see his grinning face.

And then, the falling stopped. She floated. The pressure around her throat disappeared and she could breathe again. His face vanished and she was dimly aware of hearing voices shouting out above her. Was she dying? Someone was calling her name; she was sure of it.

'ADA!'

There it was. Above the rabbit hole.

And suddenly, another face appeared, looking down at her.

'Doctor Octavius.'

"O…O…Ot-"

"Shh, don't try to speak, it's alright," she felt gentle hands holding either side of her head, "Miss Daly…Ada, help is coming. Stay with me."

'I….I saw his face.'

"Face," why weren't her words coming out properly? She was trying so hard to convey everything to him, but the trauma to her head was too great. What had that sick bastard done to her?

And then, despite the darkness closing in around her and the agony of her body, she remembered what she had been doing. Recording the experiment.

"Doctor…the….camera," was all she could manage.

And finally, she began to fall down the rabbit hole again, this time allowing the abyss to wash over her and take her away.

But even as the thick, black oozing tentacles engulfed her, she heard his voice. And felt his hands on her face. And she was comforted.