Project S.T.A.T.I.C. Part 5: The Asylum

Beth opened her eyes and stretched as she got out of bed. She looked around the small room that she and Pam had claimed for themselves. One of the private rooms in the lower levels of Eclipse, one of the many, had been converted into living quarters for their group. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing. The small, almost cramped, quarters of their room left a lot to be desired, but it had everything they needed.  It had taken a few days to get everything moved around, converted, and set up properly, but they’d managed to turn the club into a base that felt almost like home. Almost being the opportune word.

Beth stretched as she walked over to the box where she’d been storing her clothes and equipment to rummage through them and grab what she needed. While she was getting dressed, she thought about everything that had happened over the last thirty-one days. After their fight across worlds and dimensions, they’d landed in a warped version of their home, their city. Jason hadn’t been exaggerating about when he had told them about what the Brunswicks and their minions had been up to. 

The city had been converted from a thriving metropolitan haven into a demented slave-state that rivaled what Goth had tried to do. The biggest difference was that the city wasn’t some sort of BDSM state. People were treated like resources at best, but more often they were tools to be used. Those that resisted were taken and either turned or sent away. The bulk of the city had been converted into labor camps, warehousing, or production in some form or fashion. Different districts were each overseen by someone on Eva’s board of directors. The problem was that they still didn’t know everyone involved.

It was a safe bet that Amelia was involved as well as Anna Murray, but the scale of the operation was far too wide to be just them. The zombified Courtney Tellar was still out there; they’d seen her infected minions either working or patrolling the streets while they were out scouting. Jason had warned them of as much, but even over the course of the last year, he’d barely managed to uncover much more about the other players on the board. Whoever they were, they tended to keep themselves hidden. 

Beth rolled her neck after putting her jacket on. She fastened her holsters and put her twin pistols away. Lastly, she checked her belt and the bullets lining them. Once that was done, she crossed the room to the table on her side of the bed. A small rested on the far end and she opened it to reveal the gun she’d taken from Ashley’s world. She grabbed it from the box and held it in both hands for a moment. Beth spun the cylinder as she looked it over before tucking it into the back of her pants. She could already feel it trying to connect with the magic  bonded to her. Her knives and other armaments were stored elsewhere in the club.

Beth sighed as she prepared to face another day in the hellscape that had become her home. She walked out into the hall to join the others. She knew Pam was already awake, but she wasn’t sure if Jake and the others were yet or not. Jason and Rebecca were also likely away, but Jake had been pushing himself more and more over the last few days. Ever since they’d opened the door to send Courtney and Jake back to Courtney’s world, he’d been going nearly nonstop since.

It was difficult to think about the fact that they’d lost two capable and reliable fighters, but they needed to find their own way. Despite Jake’s affliction with Ashley’s vampiric curse, Courtney had insisted on staying with him. She wouldn’t let go of him, and that was something that both she and the rest of her group could understand. It didn’t matter to her that he was suffering from vampirism; she’d already lost him once and she wasn’t going to do so again. However, going back to his world wasn’t an option which meant there was no sufficient cure. So they’d sent them back to Courntey’s world.

That was another thing that Beth was struggling to cope with. Someone as good as the woman that helped save her had come from a world where she had turned into a sociopath that was both ruling and slaughtering a city she once protected. Maybe she shouldn’t have been surprised considering how close she’d been to something similar after Jake had first given himself over to Goth. Still, to hear the stories from Pam and Courtney about who she’d become was harrowing. She could imagine it was similar to what Ashley must have felt after seeing what she’d become in that other world. In spite of what they were going to encounter back in her world, Jake had been content to return to Courntey’s world.

Despite Jake’s struggle with his newfound hunger, he and the rest of their group had managed to keep a low enough profile to take Eclipse for themselves. As it turned out, not every ruffian and gang member answered to the Brunswicks and their subordinates. There weren’t many that openly defied the city’s new masters, and those that did were holing up in places such as Eclipse. There hadn’t been too many of them hiding out in the club, but they’d been well-armed and had a moderate amount of supplies. They’d had to fight for it, but it was a fight to claim their base, but the group of them had managed to fend off and put down the opposition. They wouldn’t have been able to do it if it hadn’t been for their interdimensional friends.

The seven of them had opted for a much quieter approach to taking the club. It had taken longer, but the last thing they wanted was to draw unnecessary attention to themselves that early. Both Jakes, along with Courtney and Jason, had snuck in first through the hidden entrances. They’d picked off the ones they could before the firefight ensued. It hadn’t been easy, but they’d managed to do it without wasting what little resources they had. Sadly, none of the gangbangers had been willing to join them. Jaosn and Beth had executed them to save the others the grief.

That had been a little over four weeks ago by Beth’s count. The days that followed were spent cleaning, organizing, and turning the lower levels of the club into what it was now. The weeks that followed were spent with them splitting into small groups and taking turns scouring and surveying the city. They’d taken a handful of places throughout the city to use as safehouses for themselves to use in case they were out when the walls went up. It was primarily apartments scattered throughout the city they’d cleare and taken, but they needed places off the ground. There were a handful of other locations that they’d taken that were off the ground, but it was rare that they used them.

“Good morning, Kitten,” Pam greeted Beth as she walked into the main chamber to find her finishing up breakfast on the hotplate, “I thought that you might sleep a little while longer.”

“It’s hard for me to sleep alone these days,” Beth replied, adding as she walked over to the bar, “If we’re being honest, it’s been hard for me to sleep without you since we got together. It’s just…hard to sleep now because of the shit show that’s happening above us.”

“Your open admission of vulnerability is truly touching, Elizabeth,” Rebecca’s voice came from the side and earned a frown from Beth, “It’s a refreshing change from the bravado and bluster that I remember.”

“Rebecca, don’t start this early in the morning,” Pam sighed, pushing the eggs onto a plate.

“Is my observation such an annoyance?” Rebecca asked, seemingly genuine in her confusion.

This was another thing that Beth had been struggling to make peace with since they’d stopped to slow down and plan. Goth, Rebecca as she now called herself, was as confusing as she was frustrating. Admittedly, Beth still harbored a great deal of hate and bias towards the amazonian witch, but she had yet to give her any reason not to trust her. She’d had their backs time and again, she’d helped get them home, and she’d even helped to send Courntey and Jake back across time and space. However, she still held her superior attitude, that condescending tone, and that air of perfection that Beth couldn’t stand. It was worse whenever they interacted one on one, yet on more than one occasion she would stop whenever somebody checked her.

Beth had been trying to take her interactions with one another with a grain of salt, but it was often easier said than done. It helped having Jake and Pam around to call Rebecca out, or to remind her of the possibility of her reading more into things than she needed to. Still, she wasn’t sure that she would ever be able to call Rebecca a friend. The two of them would often butt heads and argue over mundane things and disagreements. Either one of them were guilty of starting the arguments, but more often than not their spats required an intervention from one of their friends. 

“You two already starting in on each other?” Jason asked, walking in from the upper level carrying a duffle bag, “Tch, if I’d have known you two were going to be starting your shit again, I’d have stayed out there longer.”

“We’re not-” Beth started, sighing and shaking her head, “I was just trying to talk to Pam.”

Pam rolled her eyes as Rebecca walked past them in silence. She grabbed a plate with some eggs and carried them over to Beth. She set them down and turned her attention to Jason, “Don’t make things worse, Jason. Neither of them have started anything yet. I trust that you had a successful outing?”

“Please tell me you got something other than water in that bag to drink,” Beth sighed.

“You’re in luck,” Jason scoffed, setting the bag down reaching in to retrieve a can and toss it to Beth, “I had to spend the night in a damn semi, but luckily it was loaded with supplies. One of the rouge factions staged a raid on a convoy by the look of things, but the poor bastards were wiped out by something big. I didn’t see what it was, but it happened recently. They hadn’t sent a squad to clean it up before the walls went up. That was lucky for me because it meant I could scavenge what I could for us. No bullets or weapons this time, but I’ve got us some more supplies to last us.”

Beth caught the can and looked it over. “Thank you Jay!” she beamed as she popped the tab and took a drink, “Mm, it’s the little things that we take for granted…”

“Yes because soda trumps freedom,” Pam rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Beth frowned, “Do you have anything else to report, Jay?”

“A little caffeine and you’re all in for business,” Pam smiled.

“As a matter of fact, I think I might have something,” Jason nodded, walking over to the computer tables they’d set up, “I’ve got a handful of places that I think that we could take for ourselves, but more importantly, I’ve found an area of the city that patrols have almost completely abandoned. Ugh, stupid piece of junk...where is Blackridge?”

The system of computers and electronics that they’d compiled and rigged together was a hodgepodge of different laptops, phones, and other pieces of salvaged tech. It had taken both Jake and Beth a few days to break down and splice the tech together into something workable. It was far from perfect, but they worked well enough and operated off of a unique private network that their enemies couldn’t trace. The downside was that what they had built was, in Rebecca’s words, somewhat temperamental. It worked, but it took a careful and fine touch. 

“I’ll go see if I can rouse him,” Rebecca offered, walking off towards the living quarters.

“Tell him he’s going to want to hear this,” Jason called, walking away from the computer with a disgruntled sigh.

“Come and eat, Jason,” Pam motioned for him to take a seat, “You can sit down, rest for a moment, and get something on your stomach.”

Jason nodded and walked over to take a seat at the bar, “Thanks, Pam, don’t mind if I do. Anything new to report here since I left?”

“We’ve been rearranging what we can down here,” Beth answered between bites, “We haven’t gotten much more done, but it’s at least a start. We’ve gotten most of the private rooms setup with all the spare beds, mattresses, and other themed pieces that fit. We’ll be ready when we bring the others back.”

Jason bit his tongue to hold back his cynicism. Over the course of the last year, he hadn’t heard much about any of their old group. The only ones he knew anything about were the ones trapped at Blackridge Manor. However, he wasn’t even sure if they were still alive. Dutchess and her sociopathic sisters were equally likely to either kill them or keep them clinging to life. Unlike him, Beth was convinced that the others were out there and alive. She wasn’t so naive as to think they were anything close to well, but she wouldn't let go of the notion that they were alive.

“Good,” he said, gesturing to the open floor, “I noticed the lack of tables. How about the weapons catalog coming?”

Beth smiled as she finished her plate, “Lucky for us, Sam was pretty set on building up a stockpile. Two shotguns, one pump and one semi automatic, a few rifles ranging from bolt action to bust, some flashbangs and frags, about eight handguns of different calibers, and I’m still working on getting an exact count of the ammo. All in all, we’re in decent shape when we combine it with the guns we got off the assholes that were squatting here. It could be better, but I still think that we haven’t found her entire stash.”

“We’ve been here for roughly a month,” Jason reminded her, “I think we would have found it by now. That’s assuming those gang banging dick-bags didn’t find them first. What makes you so sure there’s more here?”

“I just got a gut feeling is all,” Beth shrugged, “Same thing with Sal and the others. Sam went through hell while we were busy dealing with those culty freaks the first time, Jay. Some things leave an impression on you. They’re the kind of things that make a person do things they might not normally. Sometimes that’s stockpiling weapons, other times it’s-”

“Destroying your apartment and deciding to start murdering criminals,” Pam interjected with a wry grin, “She has a point, Jason. I’m not saying that she’s right about there being more weapons hidden somewhere around here, but Samantha was put through more than she said. She, much like someone else I know, keeps her feelings bottled up when she’s around others.”

“I take it you could sense what she was hiding?” Jason asked.

“That and I spoke with Zoey more than once,” Pam replied, “SHe and I became quite close between emergencies. She was a good friend, and I found her insight into conditioning refreshing.”

“Okay, can we not talk about this?” Beth sighed, “I get that it’s a thing that you and other dommes do, but it doesn’t mean I’m comfortable hearing about it. It makes me feel like an animal.”

“Sometimes you are, Kitten,” Pam teased, reaching across the table and pinching Beth’s cheek.

“Stop,” Beth whined, pulling away and trying to hide her blush.

“Alright, you two can take this shit to your room or knock it off,” Jason rolled his eyes, “I’m glad you two can be happy in this shitty new world, but it doesn’t mean the rest of us want to see it.”

While Beth and Pam were savoring the brief reprieve together, Jake was just starting to rouse from some much needed sleep. He’d been awake for half an hour at least, but he hadn’t moved from his bed. His body was still sore from his last outing. He’d spent two days in the concrete jungle that was once his city. Jason and the others were focused on finding supplies and building up their safehouses, Jake spent his time trying to gather as much information as he could. It wasn’t as simple as beating tips out of thugs anymore, though. No, the fights he found rarely resulted in anything other than aches and pains for him. Anything he learned came from stealth and recon.

Truthfully, he’d managed to survive his last excursion without much fighting. The soreness he felt came more from a series of unfortunate mishaps than anything. He’d been running for cover from a wave of drones when he’d slipped and fell over the ledge of a rooftop. He’d been quick  enough to save himself with a careful shot from his grappling gun, but that had resulted in him breaking through the window of a nearby office. The desks and tables he’d crashed into had given him a fair share of bruises and pain, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. The problem was the ambush that he’d ran into.

The office was mostly empty and looked abandoned, but some of Courtney’s more rabid turns had found their way inside. Whether they were being corralled there, or if they’d simply wandered in by chance. Whatever the case, they were quick to turn on him shortly after he crashed into the desk. The fight had been grueling and taxing, but thankfully he and Ashley had managed to work through their differences. After everything that they’d been through since his untimely death, they’d finally returned to their common ground. It was a good thing too because the threats surrounding them were numerous, and surviving was taking their combined strength.

It had taken him the better part of the night to stave off and dispose of the stragglers. Even with the combined might of himself and Ashley it was still an uphill battle. It didn’t help that by the time he’d come crashing through the window he’d been up for seventeen hours. Jake had managed to avoid getting bitten, but he’d had to fight over a dozen of the infected. None of them had been able to discover a way to cure the people that Courtney turned. This meant that Jake’s only choice was to put them down for good. These were people that called his city home, people that had never asked for this. Whether they were technically undead or not, killing wasn’t easy for him.

In some ways he envied Beth. Whereas he struggled with the morality of putting criminals down, Beth had taken to it without hesitation. Admittedly, it had taken her witnessing and going through more than her fair share of trauma, but still she had adapted incredibly well. Ashley was willing to take that next step, but Jake wasn’t able. He wasn’t able to let go of that side of himself, he couldn’t given everything that had happened. So much had happened over the last year and a half, but it was important for him to hang onto some semblance of who he was. There were times it couldn’t be helped, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

Jake sighed and rolled over onto his side. It was insane to think about where he and the rest of them had ended up. He’d gone from living in a mansion on the far end of town to hiding out in a BDSM club with his friends, a rival, and an ex. Eclipse was the type of place that he’d have visited before, but he’d never envisioned spending long periods of time here, let alone living in the basement. However, here he was doing just that and plotting a war with sociopathic elites with superpowers. All the while he was doing it alongside a woman that he never thought he’d see again: Rebecca.

He could still recall bits and pieces of his time in Hell as Lilith’s plaything. Those memories were fragmented at best, but he could remember when Rebecca suddenly appeared. He’d thought that it was another of Lilith’s disgusting games to break him, but that hadn’t been the case. He’d hoped that the one saving grace he’d have found in death would have been seeing Rebecca again, but Lilith used her as a ploy time and again to strain his psyche. It had made it so that when she finally arrived he had scarcely been able to believe it. Granted, he had been in a near catatonic state by the time she arrived. 

Since he and Ashley had finally managed to move past what had happened after his death, he hadn’t spent much time with Rebecca. It was due in part to his inability to slow down given what had happened to his home, but that wasn’t all there was to it. The only person that knew the truth was Ashley, and the truth was that a large part of him was nervous. He was afraid of taking a chance and letting himself get close to her. While she seemed more like the woman he remembered from their time alone, but he'd been fooled on more than one occasion. The last thing he needed was to let himself end up at her mercy with everything that was happening above ground.

To her credit, and to both his and Ashley’s surprise, Rebecca seemed to be tempering her approach with him. She was far more cordial than either of them expected. However, Jake could still see and hear the possessiveness in her eyes and her voice. It bled through in subtle motions and interactions. The look on her face whenever it was his turn to go out, the way she came to his defense when Jason chided him, and the way she made it a point to stand close to him when they were meeting. She was trying to keep from being overbearing, but old habits were hard to break. It irked Ashley to no end, but that was mostly because both she and him could see the effort she was making.

Truthfully, Jake was thankful that Ashley was keeping most of her opinions to herself; most being the key word. She made her disdain and feelings towards Rebecca clear, but she hadn’t been outwardly aggressive whenever Jake spoke with her or thought about their past and possible future. For that, Jake was more grateful than he could put into words. It may have been because of everything he’d been through, or it could have been because things were falling apart outside. Whatever it was, Jake was glad that Ashley kept the majority of her feelings to herself whether they were alone or in the group. She had kept her word and was doing her best to trust him and his decisions.

A knock at their door broke him from his thoughts. “Jake, are you awake?” Rebecca’s voice called out from behind the door.

“What does she want?” Ashley asked, her tone annoyed yet calm.

“The others are probably up and brainstorming,” Jake sighed, looking over at his redheaded queen, “I’m guessing Jason made it back.”

“You need to rest,” Ashley shook her head, choosing not to let her bitterness overshadow her concern, “We have been pushing ourselves too hard, you have been pushing us too hard, Jake. We can’t save anyone if we’re dead, and I don’t think that breaking out of Hell will be quite as easy a second time.”

“I didn’t think it was easy the first time,” Jake rolled his eyes, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, “Ash, I’m fine, I swear.”

“Shared body, shared mind, remember?” she asked, “Why do you insist on trying to lie to me?”

“You know I’m not lying,” Jake countered, “I’m as close to being fine as I can be. I’m not gonna sit here and say that I don’t need to rest, but we both know I can handle worse than this.”

“You’re a stubborn idiot,” Ashley sighed, “But you’re my stubborn idiot. Promise me that you won’t leave the compound today, and I give you my word that I’ll let it go.”

“I don’t like making promises I can’t keep,” Jake frowned, “That said, as long as nothing major happens, I’ll agree to your terms. However, if things take a turn, we’re attacked, or there’s a new development, I won’t sit on the sidelines.”

“Fine,” Ashley conceded, “Do what you must, but don’t expect me to stay silent if you break your word. I don’t care how pressing matters are, it’s bad enough I keep quiet when she is around.”

“You know I love you,” Jake grinned and stretched, “Even if you are highly opinionated.”

“Don’t be an ass,” Ashley rolled her eyes, “I love you too. That’s precisely why I have to remind you of how reckless you often are. It’s not about my survival, it never has been. My concern is your wellbeing, Jake. That is why I am the voice of reason in your adorable little mind.”

“I’m not sure if you’re insulting or complimenting me,” Jake frowned, getting to his feet, “I’m gonna choose to believe it’s the latter.”

He took a deep breath as he got to his feet and crossed the room. He was still sore, but he could stand and walk without issue. He opened the door and offered his usual smile to the amazonian woman behind the door. It was still breathtaking to see her in person. Porcelain skin, long ebony locks, and those striking violet eyes. Rebecca took a step back and put her hands behind her. She looked almost timid as she gave him a small smile of her own. Seeing her like this would always baffle him. 

“Good morning, Jake,” she greeted him, “I hope that I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Annoying know-it-all,” Ashley scoffed from off to the side, “As if she could hear what you and I discussed. Her arrogance knows no bounds.”

“Ash,” Jake warned, “She’s just trying to be polite.”

“If you say so,” Ashley rolled her eyes, raising her hands, “I won’t say anything else.”

Jake shook his head and decided not to press the issue further, “Nah, I was just lounging. Ash is being pretty adamant that I take it easy after our last little adventure. I try not to go against the people that care about me anymore.”

“It is rare that I agree with her, but I believe she may be right,” Rebecca said, “I hate to disturb you, but Jason needs you for the computer that you and Elizabeth have constructed.”

“She agrees with me?” Ashley frowned, “Hmm, I believe we may be dreaming, Jake…”

Jake rolled his eyes at Ashley’ comment, but chose to ignore it. Rebecca saw his reaction and sighed, “I take it she’s taking another jab at me.”

“That obvious, huh?” Jake chuckled, stepping aside to give her room to come inside, “She’s surprised, to put it mildly. Come on in, Rebecca. I need to get dressed, but I’ll come see if I can get the system up.”

Rebecca smiled and nodded her head. She followed Jake into his small room. His back was to her, and she looked him over with hungry eyes. However, her sense of lust was quickly quelled when her eyes found the scars on his middle and upper back. She knew those markings and wounds all too well. Most of them, at least the most defined ones, were from her and her favorite toys. Many of them were born from fits of extreme rage that were spurred on by demonic influence. Jake’s body had been marred by scars and wounds since she had found him, but they’d nearly doubled in the short time since he’d given himself over to her.

“So, did Jason find anything useful while he was out?” Jake asked, rummaging through a box looking for clothes.

“Food and water mostly, but I believe he has an update regarding our efforts to secure another safe zone,” Rebecca replied, shaking off the stupor brought on from old memories.

“We need to be getting ready to strike back, not build another hole for us to hide in,” Jake sighed.

“We can’t fight without a foothold,” Rebecca reminded him, surprised at his frustrated and brazen attitude, “It’s not often that I say this, and I would beg that you keep this between us, but Elizabeth has made a good point. If we are going to succeed then we need supplies, more than one base, and allies for us to rely on. Do not tell her that I said that.”

Jake couldn’t help but chuckle and smile at Rebecca’s point. “What’s gonna happen if I do?” he asked.

“Jake,” she warned in a stern tone.

“Relax, I’m not going to say anything,” he assured her, “Besides, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t believe me if I did. Honestly, I can hardly believe it myself. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that Hell’s frozen over.”

“Ha-ha,” Rebecca crossed her arms, “Contrary to what most everyone believes, I don’t completely hate the girl. She and I have more differences than I can count, but that doesn’t mean that I despise her.”

“If you say so,” Jake shrugged, “Maybe one day you can explain it to me then. For the record, I know that you’re both right. You, Beth, Ash, and Pam are all telling me the same thing. I just…I feel like everything that’s happened here is my fault. Sam, Sally, Kait, Zoey, and everyone else in this city that looked to me for protection are all suffering because I was careless. I let Courtney live because I couldn’t live with my mistakes, but that cost me and so many others their lives. I could have ended it, or let Beth, but instead…instead I held onto this stupid notion that I could still save her.”

Rebecca swallowed and stepped forward. Ordinarily, she would have kept her distance, but she couldn’t bear the sight of the man she loved spiraling like this. So she put her hand on his shoulder and tried to calm his nerves. “Jake, that’s enough,” she spoke in a soft tone, “It’s because of your heart and that side of you that so many people, myself included, have had the opportunity to find redemption. You cannot blot out wickedness, but it’s because of the light from people like you that people like me have a chance.”

Jake stopped and looked down at Rebecca’s hand. She retracted it and looked away before she stepped to the back. Jake was tempted to reach out and take her hand, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The awkwardness between them was palpable and heavy. It was uncomfortable, but was regrettably commonplace between them. It was only a matter of time before it set in whenever they were alone together. Both of them wanted to close the gap, but neither of them wanted to take the first step. Anytime one of them tried, it left them trapped in an all too familiar awkward silence like now. 

“We…we should join the others,” Rebecca cleared her throat, “I’ll give you some time to finish getting ready. Pamela has prepared breakfast too, so try not to delay too long.”

Jake nodded, “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Rebecca. I’ll, uhm, I’ll be out soon.”

Rebecca offered a sincere smile before turning to take her leave. Jake let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding once he was alone again. “I despise that woman, but even I think that was incredibly awkward,” Ashley rolled her eyes from her spot on the bed.

“Yeah, you’re not wrong,” Jake scoffed, bending down to grab a shirt, “Come on, let’s go see what’s going on.”