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

Rebecca landed with Jake still wrapped tightly in her arms on the filthy floors of the decrepit basement floor. They’d only just managed to escape the guards and the strange, mutated infected from the kitchen. Jake pulled away from Rebecca as their feet touched down. He looked up at her in the darkness in awe. He could practically feel Ashley scoffing in response, but he couldn’t help admiring the woman before him. She’d conjured a pair of ethereal, purple wings spread out from her back. She looked like some sort of demented angel clad in black.

“Don’t make me gag,” Ashley rolled her eyes from the shadows, “Comparing this harpie to anything other than a filthy rat is utterly preposterous. She is nothing more than a necessary evil; a tool to help us survive, Jake. Nothing more, and nothing less.”

“Ash, you’re giving me a headache,” Jake sighed, watching as Rebecca’s wings began to dissipate and disappear, “Let’s just put the bullshit aside while we figure out where we’re at and what new hell we’re dealing with, yeah?”

“Hmph, I’m entitled to my opinions,” Ashley quipped before sighing when Jake shot a pleading look at her, “But I will keep them to myself for now while we deal with whatever this is…”

Rebecca sighed and held up her hand. A ball of light formed in her hand which she tossed into the air. It hovered above her shoulder and illuminated the chamber they’d found themself in. They were in a large room that was covered in thick layers of dust and debris. There were puddles of what she hoped was water on teh ground, and there were a few large tanks not far in the distance. Neither of them were sure what was in them. They looked like boilers, but they could have been vats of some sort. Most notable was the stillness and silence that blanketed the basement.

“Do you have any idea what that was back there?” Rebecca asked, walking closer to Jake and surveying the room, “Perhaps more importantly, do you have any idea where we are?”

Jake shook his head and looked around, “I’ve got a theory, but it’s not great. The obvious bit was that those darts had something in them that caused them to change. The question is, what was it and how much more does Murray have?”

“Considering those guards were carrying dart guns filled with them, I would wager more than we might like,” Rebecca crossed  her arms and sighed.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” Jake frowned, “As for where we are, it looks like a boiler room. I guess it makes sense considering we’re under the kitchen. Having a map would be great right about now, but it looks like we’re going to have to wander on this one. Maybe we can find a dumbwaiter, or an elevator shaft that can take us back topside. There’s bound to be a stairwell somewhere, but I’m almost afraid to take it. The odds are that we’ll run into more of her orderlies or her patients waiting for us.”

“Then we deal with them should the need arise,” Rebecca said, looking around for anything useful, “There’s a door over there. Shall we move this along?”

Jake looked over where Rebecca was pointing to see the steel door with a large metal arm attached. “Looks like it’s the only way forward,” he shrugged, moving towards the door, “Let’s try to be careful and quiet. There’s no telling what’s down here, and I’m not overly fond of finding out the hard way.”

“Or running headlong into another meaningless scuffle,” Ashley pointed out.

“I will do my best to follow your lead, Jake,” Rebecca conceded, surprising both Jake and Ashley, “I am not foolish enough to think that we can best these things, and this sociopath, by running into the fire. In another life, with another version of myself, perhaps that would have been an option. However, I am not so arrogant as to believe that I am still a living Goddess.”

“Hmph, I believe the temperature in Hell just dropped several degrees,” Ashley scoffed, “I detected some genuine humility from that whore. I suppose there’s a first time for everything. Let’s see if it’s true or false, shall we?”

Jake ignored Ashley’s skeptical remarks. He nodded at Rebecca and made the decision to take her at her word. He put his hand on the handle and pushed against the door. The metal groaned and whined against Jake’s weight. It seemed to get hung on the ground for a moment. Jake frowned and pushed harder in response. Within a matter of moments, the door swung open. The stench of rot came swept through the air and through the crack. Rebecca’s purifying spell was still in effect and worked to fight off the stench, but it was powerful enough to break through her barrier for a brief second.

The door scraped against the floor as Jake finished pushing it. The orb of light from Rebecca’s spell helped to cut through the darkness, but it paled in comparison to what they found beyond the door. The powerful stench was coming from various bodies decaying and rotting corpses that were scattered across a large open area. Jake paused in the doorway with Rebecca on his heels. There scattered along the ground among the bodies were a plethora of glowing fungi and filth. They emitted an almost translucent and iridescent glow that bathed the room in hues of amber, green, and gold. There was an almost unnerving beauty to it that was overshadowed by an undeniable sense of foreboding terror.

“What the hell?” Jake whispered, looking around as he took his first tentative step into the room.

Ashley appeared beside one of the bodies on the ground. She knelt beside one of them and watched as its rotting skull moved in a silent and stiff manner. A large multicolored worm slithered through its eye socket before burrowing into a hole in its cheek. “Make sure that her spell won’t fail,” she said, leaning back and frowning.

“Huh?” Jake asked.

“The purifying spell she cast back in the kitchen,” Ashley clarified, looking back at Jake, “We’re going to need it. These are the results of Devil Burrowers that have taken root and started to breed. I read stories about them cross-breeding with plants and other species in deep, dark caverns. I lost squads and patrols on excursions into mines centuries ago, but I always assumed that the stories were exaggerated.”

“What stories?” Jake asked.

“The glow is from a rare form of spore that these creatures emit,” Ashley explained, “They thrive in darkness, and act as a sort of psychoactive drug. The toxin that Courney used is derived from pheromones within the worms, but these spores are airborne and far more potent. As much as she annoys me, if that masking spell fails, then we are going to be in for a far rougher and more difficult time. Ask her, Jake.”

“How long is this masking spell you cast going to last?” Jake asked, turning back to Rebecca.

“It’s a concentration based spell,” she replied, looking around the room, “For a novice, it requires constant thought. However, I can maintain it with minimal effort for upwards of one hour with ease.”

“Her piousness truly knows no bounds,” Ashley rolled her eyes, “At least we know that the spell will hold. All the same, I don’t think it wise for use to spend more time than necessary down here. We need to move and fast.”

“What is it, my Raven?” Rebecca asked, sensing the sudden surge in nervousness from Jake and his other half.

Jake noticed the possessiveness that Rebecca managed to slip into her question. He wasn’t sure if she’d meant to do it, or if it had been something out of reflex. Whatever the case, he made a note in the back of his mind. He could already feel Ashley’s disgust bubbling up and brewing beneath the skin. While he thought that a lot of her comments and feelings were either over-the-top or misguided, he couldn’t deny that it didn’t sit well hearing her address him as hers. There was a part of him that longed for and missed belonging to her, but he wasn’t so naive to overlook how she’d treated him while he was under her thumb.

“The glowing fungus here,” he started, choosing not to ignore her more possessive comment, “Ash recognizes it. It’s a spore form of the parasites that are controlling the infected. These things are old, almost ancient even. She’s a huge part of how we found out about them back when Courtney first reappeared. According to her, these effervescent fungi are what happens when the worms are left in the dark and mix with…what? Ugh, that’s disgusting.”

The sound of bats chattering and squealing in the distance confirmed what Ashley had just suggested to Jake. “Guano,” Rebecca surmised, “It is a component that has been utilized time and again for different alchemical purposes because of its hallucinogenic properties. These nasty little worms would likely flourish in conjunction with the residue from the bats. Combine that with whatever Doctor Murray has been using to enhance these things, and I am sure it is a cause for concern.”

“Hmph, I’d be impressed if she wasn’t so damn arrogant,” Ashley scoffed, watching one of the bodies in the corner, “However, we have more important things to worry about than a pompous witch. These things are still alive. They’re stiff, but they parasites are still active. The longer we stay here, the more likely we are to rouse them from their stupor. Tell her to shut up and follow you, Jake.”

Jake shook his head and grabbed a flashlight from his belt. Rebecca’s light orb was still hovering around them and trailing behind her just above her shoulder. “Yeah, that pretty well sums it up. The combination of chemicals, darkness, and bat shit is basically a perfect storm. We’re not alone down here, though. The worms and parasites can still force the bodies to move as long as their brains are still intact. The longer we’re around them, the more likely they are to catch our scent and come after us. Let’s look for a way out.”

“Lead the way, please,” Rebecca remarked, gesturing for Jake to take charge.

Jake wasn’t sure if she was being genuine or patronizing. He supposed that it didn’t matter much as long as they were working together. He turned his attention to finding the way out. The room was bigger than the one they’d been in previously, but it wasn’t what either of them would consider massive. Jake looked around the infested and filthy room in search of a door or a path forward. The bodies of discarded and failed experiments were tucked into the corners and scattered around the room. The colorful glow was somewhat hypnotic, but the threat was clear and present in the back of his mind.

Jake spotted the outline of another steel door across the room. It was slightly obscured and hidden behind another wall of fungi, but it was the only way forward he could see. There were discarded tanks, gurneys, and barrels scattered around the room, but it looked like most of the space had been used to discard old and forgotten equipment. He nodded in the direction of the door and took the lead. Rebecca was quick to follow behind him, keeping close by in case anything tried to catch them by surprise. 

As they got close to the door, a faint gasping and groaning could be heard as they got close to the door. Jake did his best to ignore it and concentrate on the task at hand. He was glad his suit had gloves when they got close to the door. The fungus had blanketed the door in its entirety. He’d almost missed it, but the hinges had given it away. Unlike the door they’d come through, this one didn’t latch. The sickening fungus worked to keep it locked in place. All it took was a little effort and a firm push for it to break free with a faint, high-pitched squeal. The groaning grew in volume as the door creaked open and they stepped through.

The familiar, colorful glow filled this room as well, but it was laid out quite differently. There were a number of large, stacked washers and dryers lining the walls and a couple of massive tankards could be seen around the corner. The room was certainly larger, but it was also clear that it hadn’t been used in quite a while. There were mounds of dirt, debris, and what Jake guessed were clothes scattered around the room near the machines. Unlike the last room, Jake didn’t see anywhere near as many bodies or remains around. 

The room was set up more like a maze than anything, but Ashley’s warning about the threats of dallying was fresh in the back of his mind. He wished he had a better idea of where he was going and what he was looking for, but sadly he was forced to work off of instinct and faith. Of course, it wasn’t as though Rebecca had any better ideas. He crept forward at a steady and deliberate pace to avoid alerting any of the infected to their presence. They made their way between the aisles of machines and towards the corner where the tanks were resting.

The sound of their boots crunching the dirt beneath their feet was almost unnerving as they made their way through the iridescent maze. The sound of more groaning and growling could be heard echoing in the distance. The pipes above them and behind the cement walls added another layer of unease to their journey. Rebecca’s spell worked to filter out the toxins and stench in the air, but there was a heaviness to it that was undeniable all the same. Jake kept his senses on high alert as he watched and listened for any signs of movement lurking in the shadows.

He stopped and held up a fist when he heard the sound of something shuffling nearby. It was faint, but it was clearly out of step with them. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on edge as he waited to see what was coming their way. He could see the shadow of something vaguely humanoid lumbering towards them from around the corner. Jake grimaced as one of the more sickening and rotted things that Jake had seen since Courntey had first reappeared.

The body of a long deceased woman, at least that was his guess, stumbled forward. She was wearing a filthy gown like one of the old patients, but her flesh was discolored and decayed in several places. There were clear gashes and cuts in multiple spots ranging from her neck, her arms, legs, and her stomach. Her skull was exposed and one of her eyeballs was hanging out of its socket. Her jaw was rotted out, but that wasn’t the most disturbing part of it. No, what gave him pause was seeing the copious worms and slime oozing and dripping from her wounds. There was a trail of slime that was dripping out behind her as she lurched forward. The worms slithering in and out of her wounds had that same colorful glow.

The hungry, hollow eyes of the infected woman landed on Jake and Rebecca as she staggered forward. She raised her arms and picked up her pace with a guttural growl. It was clear that this thing didn’t have the same cocktail of chemicals that the ones they’d encountered back in the kitchen, but it was clearly different from the typical infected they’d encountered. Jake crouched down to prepare for an attack, but Rebecca beat him to the punch with a quick blast of magic. A beam of violet energy cut through the air and zapped the upper torso of the zombified woman. Her flesh was sizzling and smoldering, but she didn’t falter.

“What in the world?” Jake frowned as he looked on in horror and disgust.

The fresh burn wound from Rebecca’s attack was smoking, but Jake’s light illuminated the supposed wound. His stomach turned as he watched a flood of worms burst through the cut and start to pull her flesh back together, or rather what was left of it. It was nauseating to watch as the colorful worms wriggled and writhed to pull her flesh back. She stumbled to the side and her shoulder brushed against the wall that was coated in teh colorful fungus. To Jake’s horror and amazement he watched as particles of the fungus fell from the wall and somehow began to fuse with her body in a sickening sort of bandage.

“Curious,” Rebecca remarked, readying another spell in her right hand, “Hold position for a moment and wait for my signal. You will know it when you see it, before you ask.”

“Back to barking orders,” Ashley rolled her eyes, “Let’s just cut this thing down, Jake. This woman clearly deserves to be put out of her misery.”

Jake wasn’t overly fond of falling back into step and obeying the woman that had literally controlled his life, but he reminded himself that this wasn’t anything like being romantically involved with her. He guessed that part of his tension was Ashley’s apparent feelings on the idea of reconnecting and reconciling with Rebecca. Despite the evident apprehension, he made the decision to trust Rebecca that this wasn’t some sort of power play. He remained in a crouching position and waited for Rebecca to make her move.

A sudden rush of cold air surged through the room. Jake could feel the temperature drop for a split-second before Rebecca lobbed a ball of ice at the stumbling rotter approaching Jake. It slammed into her, and in an instant her body started to become encased in ice. It spread from her chest down to her waist and up her neck to her head. Jake wasn’t entirely sure, but both his gut and his vampiric other half seemed to agree that was the signal. He leapt forward with a spinning kick that connected with the center of the woman’s chest. She let out a growl of frustration as she fell back and her body shattered into several chilled pieces. A handful of the worms spilled out onto the floor before they burrowed into the ground.

Jake shook off his disgust and tried to make sense of what he’d just witnessed. “Jake, the head!” Ashley snapped, but stopped when another blast of violet energy surged past him, “Ugh, nevermind, I guess. It would seem she’s good for something after all.”

“I’m not sure if this is a deliberate experiment from Murray, or if this just happens to be a happy accident for her,” Jake shook his head, “Whatever the case, I doubt that was the last of  those things we’re going to see.”

A startled and annoying alert series of growls could be heard in the distance. Some of them echoed from behind them, but there were others that reverberated off the walls ahead. The sounds of their brief scuffle and battle had clearly alerted others to their presence. His idea of sneaking through the colorful burrowers and infected was clearly going by the wayside in the wake of whatever these things were. They’d managed to take out one, but he didn’t relish the thought of taking on a group of those things that could heal in such a unique and revolting manner.

“It would appear that we have roused the fallen,” Rebecca said, looking back from where they’d come, “I believe stealth may not be an option for us any longer.”

“Yeah, screw it,” Jake sighed, preparing to break into a mad sprint, “I don’t know what we’re running into, but keep your spells locked and loaded.”

“On your mark, Raven,” Rebecca nodded, keeping close to Jake.

The two took off into the darkened halls filled with glowing fungus. The growth was ever-present as they rounded a nearby corner and passed the tanks. The growling and snarling was getting louder as they made their way deeper into the basement level. Jake kept his flashlight out and was working to scan for any signs of a way out. He didn’t care where they ended up as long as they could avoid getting boxed into a corner. Jake was so focused on finding a way forward that he failed to notice the body of one of those worm-riddled bodies that had seemingly fused with the overgrowth on one of the tanks.

“Over there!” Jake shouted, pointing at another door at the end of the hallway, “Ugh, what the hell?!”

An arm that was dripping with puss and slime broke free from a nearby wall and latched onto Jake’s shoulder. The bones of the hand were exposed and more of those malicious worms were slithering towards him. Jake looked down in time to see them crawling towards him and jerked his shoulder free. He pulled a birdarang from his belt and sliced the decaying tendons of the arm. The edge of his birdarang cut through the arm like butter. A sickening flood of creepy, crawling worms spilled out and splattered to the ground as Jake pulled away from the wall. He looked over to see a skeletal face of one of the glowing zombies trying to break free from its hold from the wall.

Rebecca pushed past him and placed her hand on the forehead of the rotting body. Another surge of arctic air rushed through the air as she channeled another cold spell from her hand. The snarling creature snapped its jaws at her, but it was becoming stiffer as ice encased its body within seconds. She jerked her wrist once it was frozen solid and snapped its head from its shoulders. Rebecca threw it back down the hall they’d come through and looked back to Jake to make sure he was okay. 

“Thanks,” he nodded, turning back to the door and pushing it open.

“Anytime,” she shrugged, watching their backs in case there were any more of the monsters making trying to catch them by surprise.

Jake threw his shoulder into the door and it crashed open. He scanned the room with his flashlight to see what they might be walking into. There were dozens of barrels that were covered in dust and grime scattered around the room. A few of them toppled to the ground with a thunderous crash. The now familiar glow was still present, but it was nowhere near as constant as the previous two chambers they’d passed through. There was a stairway leading up in this room, but there was another set of doors on the opposite side as well. A light was cutting through the darkness coming from the stairs, but Jake wasn’t sure if charging up was a wise idea or not.

He was trying to figure out the best course of action when the doors on the opposite wall burst open. A group of those strange, warped, and decaying monsters shuffled and shambled through the doors. There were at least four of them, maybe more lagging behind. Jake frowned and looked around for something that he could use to stop the incoming horde before they got too close. He took a deep breath and caught a whiff of something other than the purified air and rot. The smell of chemicals was hiding behind Rebecca’s spell.

Jake stepped into a puddle of something that stunk like cleaning liquids. At first he had thought it was more of the fungal slime, but he saw that one of the barrels had been knocked on its side. He knew that smell, and he got an idea that might help them deal with their incoming guests. “Rebecca, throw one of these at those things coming in!” he shouted, pointing at the barrels.

He hoped that he was right about it, but more than that he hoped that Rebecca would continue listening to him like she had been. Thankfully, she seemed more than willing to follow his lead. With a simple wave of her hand, two of the barrels were engulfed in a purple glow. They were lifted from the ground and sent flying towards the doorway where the rotting shamblers were slipping in. They crashed into the frame and landed on the ground in front of them with a powerful thud. The liquid inside started to gush out before they hit the ground and cover the shamblers.

Jake readied his birdarang for his one shot. He needed to time it right if his plan was to succeed. They likely wouldn’t have another opportunity like this, and even if they did, he didn’t have the equipment to spare. He let out a shaky breath and flicked his wrist to send the projectile flying across the room. It flew past the rotters and scraped against the stone and steel behind them. The edge of the blade created a series of sparks before it went crashing to the ground, but that was exactly what Jake had been hoping for.

The sparks rained down into the puddle of cleaning solvent coating and surrounding the rotters that were trying to make their way to them. The sparks fell into the liquid and ignited a brilliant flame that grew faster than either of them were prepared for. The orange light of the fire burst forth before it was tainted and skewed with the colorful hues of gold and green from the infected masses in the room. The black smoke was marred by a murky green hue, and Jake felt more grateful than ever for Rebecca’s magic. He could only imagine how horrendous that smoke smelled and what sort of effects it might have.

The growls turned to screams of pain and fury as the fires spread throughout the room. Jake watched with morbid fascination as the burning bodies of the infected were engulfed in flames and their parasites tried to stitch them back together. The chemical fire was too much and burning too fast, though. The sound of screeching from the worms could be heard over the roar of the fire. Jake tried not to focus too much on the sounds, sights, and smells that were filling the basement.

“Let’s go,” Jake shook his head, pointing at the stairs, “I’m not sure what we’re running into, but we need to get out of this petri dish.”

“Let me take the lead,” Rebecca said, stepping forward, “You can save your strength in case there is another ambush waiting for us.”

“Ordinarily, I’d take offense at that suggestion,” Ashley said from behind Jake, “However, I’m not opposed to the idea of using her as a shield against these incoming freaks. Let her take point, Jake.”

“Fine, but we need to go now,” he conceded, watching their backs as Rebecca stepped forward.

Rebecca’s hands were glowing as she took the lead. Jake trailed behind her by a few feet while he watched their backs. The fires were continuing to spread, but the pipes groaned as the sprinklers tried to activate. They’d managed to make it to the first set of stairs when the sprinklers started switched on. They hurried up the steps as the water started to pour down and out of the sprinklers. Jake couldn’t help wondering if it was actual water that was pouring down onto the bodies, but then again maybe it didn’t matter. There were more pressing things for him to worry about.

They raced up the stairs and broke through the doors back to the first floor of the asylum. A set of double doors flew open as they stepped into a large hallway. Jake wasn’t sure where they’d ended up, but there were several doors on both sides of the halls. However, the hallway was strangely empty while each of the doors were open. Unlike the first hallway they’d walked through, every one of these doors were open and seemed locked in place. There were green lights above each of the doors, and there were fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling. The emptiness was somewhat alarming and disarming, but Jake and Rebecca tried not to focus on the eeriness before them.

The sound of growling and snarling could be heard behind them. “Stand aside,” Rebecca said, pushing Jake forward and slamming the doors shut, “Give me a moment to seal this.”

Jake nodded and did as he was told. He let Rebecca work while he walked down the hallway. He looked into the various rooms as he passed through them. With each one that he passed, he started to understand that they’d made it to the residential wing of the facility. Each room had the same basic set of furniture: a bed, a table, and a toilet. However, the rooms were dirtier than anything he’d seen before now. There were claw marks and filth on the walls, and Jake’s guess was that this was where Murray had been storing the infected denizens of the asylum. 

He’d made it halfway down the hall when he stopped at a door that was shut. Unlike the other rooms, this door didn’t have the same light above it. There wasn’t a window on the door either. Jake gave the handle a slight twist and pushed to test it. To his surprise, it opened with ease. The door swung open and he stood to look in while Rebecca finished what she was doing. Jake peered into the room that seemed somewhat clean compared to everything else he’d seen. It was a small kitchenette with small appliances, a table, chairs, and a television tucked into the corner. It was a lounge of sorts.

Jake could hear Rebecca’s boots clicking against the floor as she approached. “Did you find something?” she asked as she came up behind him.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, walking into the room and looking around, “There might be something in here. Gimme a second.”

“We might only have a few minutes,” Rebecca reminded him, looking around, “The basement might be sealed here, but there could be more of those things and guards on our heels.”

Jake nodded and walked over to the television that was sitting on the counter near the sink. The television had a VCR attached to it. The small bubble-glass television was one that he hadn’t seen in a long time, but it stood out to him because there was a videotape sitting beside it. He pressed the power button to see if the television would come on. The screen flickered to life and a staticy screen came on. The tape was unmarked, but he felt compelled to give it a watch. Jake frowned as he grabbed it and pushed it into the slot. He wasn’t sure what he was about to see, but something told him it was something he needed to see; he just hoped that they had the time to see whatever was on it.