CHAPTER 3:THE DOCTOR’S BASEMENT
651 Words
POV: CAPTAIN ELIAS VANCE
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The water was ice-cold. It seeped into my boots as I stepped forward. My weapon light cut through the dark, reflecting off rusted iron cages.
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[ Bravo: Cap, I'm down. This place smells like a grave. ]
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Bravo landed with a heavy splash behind me. He leveled his shotgun, scanning the rows of cages. This wasn't a ward. It was a dungeon.
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"Jace! Give me a sign!" I called out.
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No answer. Only a distant, rhythmic thump-thump. The asylum's heartbeat. It was getting louder.
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[ ...Elias... help... ]
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Jace’s voice. It was faint, coming from a steel door at the hall's end. It was labeled: SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.
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"Move up. Diamond formation," I ordered.
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We reached the door. It was covered in frost. Before I could kick it, it creaked open on its own.
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Inside, Jace was strapped to a rotted chair. His gear was shredded. His eyes were wide with terror. But he wasn't alone.
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A shadow stood over him. It wore a blood-stained apron and held a long, rusted needle.
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"Get away from him!" Bravo roared, firing his shotgun.
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BOOM.
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The salt-spray passed through the shadow like smoke. The entity didn't flinch. It turned its head 180 degrees. Its mouth was stitched shut with silver wire.
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“The procedure... has already begun...” a voice rasped. It came from Jace’s mouth.
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"He’s possessed! Jace is a vessel!" Bravo yelled.
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"Don't fire!" I grabbed Bravo’s arm. "If you hit the host, the entity wins. Use the Mercury-Vapor!"
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I tossed a silver canister.
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HISS.
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A shimmering cloud erupted. The shadow shrieked. The mercury mist was acid to its form. The shadow began to peel away from Jace’s skin.
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"Now, Bravo! The UV-Flare!"
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The room exploded in purple light. Under UV, the shadow became solid—a mass of black veins.
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I lunged, slamming a talisman onto Jace’s forehead. It glowed blue. With a violent jolt, the shadow was ripped out.
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The entity crashed against the wall. Its stitched mouth tore open, revealing needle-like teeth.
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"Jace, wake up! Move!" I hauled him up.
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Jace gasped. "Cap? The needle... it’s not for me. It’s for the building!"
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Before I could ask, the walls began to bleed black, bubbling fluid. The cages rattled.
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"The Doctor... he's not one man," Jace choked out. "He's the collective pain of this place. He's the asylum itself!"
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The floor tilted. The water swirled into a vortex. Pale, surgical-gloved hands reached out from the depths, grabbing our ankles.
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"Exit! Now!" I fired my rifle at the hands.
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We scrambled for the door, but it slammed shut.
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CLANG.
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The feminine voice giggled in my ear.
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[ ...the doctor says you’re a difficult patient... he needs a bigger blade... ]
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A massive bone-saw emerged from the ceiling, its rusted teeth spinning with a deafening grind.
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"Back to the wall!" I yelled, shielding Jace.
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Bravo emptied his shotgun into the ceiling, but the saw kept lowering. We were being cut out of existence.
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"Jace, the frequency disruptor! Use it!"
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Jace fumbled with his tablet. "I have to bypass the signal! Give me ten seconds!"
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"You have five!" I shouted as the saw grazed my helmet.
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I saw a face forming in the black blood on the wall. A giant, screaming face. This was the Doctor’s true form.
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"Got it!" Jace screamed, hitting a button.
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A pulse of white noise erupted. The saw vanished. The walls stopped bleeding. For a second, the asylum looked normal again.
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"Go! Before it reboots!"
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We kicked the door and ran. As I glanced back, I saw the Doctor standing at the hall's end. He wasn't chasing. He was waiting.
- Writer
