Chapter Eleven: The Mad Doctor's Lab
By Richard LeBlanc
After his bizarre encounters with the other various places in the psychotic circus - Calloway was a touch hesitant to enter the Lab. In his mind he remembered - the undead werewolf that just wouldn't stay dead and hoped - that whatever awaited him in there would not prove as taxing.
"After this - only one place left to go," he muttered to himself as he leaned against the lab wall. He tried to tell his brain not to imagine what was behind the lab door in fear he might guess.
"What about that spot over there?" a voice asked. He frowned as he looked over at the ghost. "You know that wishing well thing," he added.
"I checked it out - and I am not in the mood to dive in and see some thirty foot giant ghouled alligator or something equally nonsensical," he added.
"Alligators are in sewers," the ghost corrected. Calloway frowned at him. "What? I had some Nosforatu friends," he justified. He shook his head as he opened the door. He blinked. The room beyond the door seemed like a normal lab. "Problem?" he asked. He shut the door for a moment - waited and then opened it again. It looked the same.
"Something about this is not right," he said to himself.
"How so?" the ghost asked poking his head through the wall as though it was but an illusion. "Seems normal enough," he added. Calloway opened the door again and slowly stepped inside. Unlike the other places - the door did not slam shut.
"I'm getting paranoid," he muttered.
"You think?" the ghost piped in.
"This doesn't make any sense. He said that this place was designed to test. I can understand the other places," he began. It was then that the lab began to shake. "Oh shit," he muttered. The lab seemingly fell four feet down then stopped. The two beings looked over at the doorway that was now completely useless.
"Well - I think I see part one of this trap," Luther remarked. Calloway hurried over to the doorway and tapped his fist against the wall that was blocking it.
"Have to find another way out - sounds like a mix of metal and cement," he muttered as he looked around the lab. He hurried over to a file cabinet. It wasn't locked - nor was it trapped. He skimmed through dozens of folders that had simple names on them.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Luther asked.
"I don't know - but I will know when I find it," he replied as he stopped at a file labeled Skamms. His mind then flashed back to when he was confronting Slap Happy. He remembered seeing the sick bizarre pranks that a vampire had done and how the Primogen said that the person that did it was Progeny of Doctor Jest.
"Find something?" he asked.
"The name - it was at that spot in the Warzone," he replied as he put the folder back. "What I seek is not here," he began as he looked over at the row of computers. He reached in one of his pockets - hoping that the vampire he met in the mirror maze did not take the disk - he sighed when he pulled out the bloodstained CD ROM disk.
"You might want to wash that off," the ghost suggested. Calloway shook his head as he made his way over to the computer. He sat down at it and tried to figure out how the thing worked.
"Maybe pushing the power button?" the ghost suggested.
"Shut up," Calloway muttered as he pushed the button. He watched as the Operating System kicked in and displayed a Malkavian Logo. It was then that the CD-ROM drive opened up. "This - feels wrong," he muttered as he put the disk in. the drive began to close. The monitor began to flicker and look like a snowstorm. It blinked - the back of a chair could be seen. "Badness," he muttered. The chair slowly turned around - it was a computer-generated version of Doctor Jest.
"Welcome to my Lab! Feel honored - few get the privilege. You might be wondering what the score is here. I mean if you went to the ball pit - there was the giant squid - no one ever expects that. If you went to the haunted house - that kick ass vampire hunter - a real freak - but an okay guy if you get to know him. The big top - hey - then you are playing with fire cause that was an embraced elephant. Mirror maze equals a sociopathic kindred that gets off killing people - my toy box has a werewolf - and then you came here? Well if you came here first - BOY did I fuck the element of surprise up the ass!" the animated Doctor said with laugh.
"Get to the point," Calloway muttered.
"But you probably want me to get to the point - and I don't blame you. Do yourself a favor - look to the far end of the room - go on - do it - it's fun," he suggested. Hesitantly Calloway turned around and saw nothing of interest. "Oh you aren't looking! Get up walk over to where the chemical table is," he suggested.
"This guy is beyond sick and twisted," Luther mused. Calloway hesitantly got up and made his way to the back of the lab. He looked at anything that might be a clue.
"You still don't see it? Well - that is just peachy. Okay smart guy. Can you see - the gas - valve?" the animated Doctor asked in a patronizing way. Calloway looked over at the Bunsen Burner and saw that it was on. "Now you're cooking with gas! Get it?" it asked with an evil smile.
"This place is filling up with gas," Calloway muttered as he looked at the roof.
"I know what you must be thinking. The place just dropped a bit - the roof is probably at ground level - I made sure that the roof was extra tough - just for you rugged tough guys," the animated Doctor stated. Calloway scowled as he looked around for possible cameras or anything that might be giving his enemy some clue as to what he was doing or thinking.
"You think the place is bugged?" Luther asked.
"I have a reason to think otherwise?" he replied. It was then that he heard a sound of someone knocking on glass. He looked over at the monitor and saw the Doctor supposedly knocking on the monitor from the inside to get their attention.
"Here is the ticket. The key to this trap - is time. Something in this lab - will ignite the gas. If it does - well - you get toasted in a serious way. In the center of the room - be a sweetie and head there now," he requested. Calloway frowned as he did as he asked. There he saw a loose floor panel. "You see it - go on and lift her up," he suggested. The vampire hesitantly did as he was told.
"I can't see anything," Calloway muttered. It was then that two large inhuman eyes lit up. Other lights kicked in to light up the bottom of the pit that had to be at least three stories straight down. "You have to be joking," he muttered. As he looked at a demonic clown face with a large open mouth.
"I call him Smiley cause he has a beautiful smile - much like me. To make this trap even more interesting," the animated Doctor began as he pushed a button on his desk. A loud engine below got his attention. He turned pale as he saw a small fountain of sparks shooting up from the mouth of the clown. "If you don't find a way out of there - in time - the Lab - or should I say everything in it will fall down. Physics class in session here - room full of gas - pillar of sparks," the he continued as his image was replaced with that of a nuclear explosion - complete with mushroom cloud. The image was pushed aside as though it was a display card. "The question now becomes - where is the eye of this hurricane - by the roof," he began as he looked up at the roof. Calloway did the same. "OR - somewhere down there," he continued as he looked over the desk in the direction of the open floor tile. "The clock is ticking - enjoy the game," he concluded as his image was replaced with a broken mirror.
"This should be interesting," Luther remarked. He mused as he watched Calloway carefully unplugging every appliance in the room. "I think he has an idea. Going to tie yourself to the roof?" he asked.
"No - that would be too easy - even with a nuisance like you around. Even if only the floor falls - the impact would knock that tile loose - enter the sparks - big fucking fireball flies up and scorches the roof," he explained.
"I never thought of that. I was too busy thinking of the other swing of the pendulum. You know - you spend all your time trying to figure some way to get down to that sparking clown - then the place falls down - crushes you first - if you survive that - THEN crispy," the ghost stated.
"That is a chance I have to take," he stated as he removed his shirt and placed it over the open gas valve. He looked around the lab again to see if there were any appliances he had over looked.
"Kind of makes you wonder what would have happened if you didn't get that disk," the ghost stated as Calloway looked at the hole in the floor.
"No warning - fall down - big boom - dead vampire - hard mystery," he rebutted as he looked at the long drop and at the way the floor sloped towards the open mouth. "That psychotic fuck probably has that thing greased," he muttered as he began pacing.
"Too bad you don't have rope," the ghost suggested. Calloway took it out and began to lower it. "Too short - pity that," he mocked.
"I need more length," he muttered as he looked at the appliances. "This will either work or kill me quickly. The ghost watched as he began to rip the wires and cables from all of the equipment and appliances.
"You can't be serious. There is no fucking way that will support your fat ass," the ghost mocked. Calloway looked over at the ghost and shook his head.
"Have to work with what I have," he rebutted as he focused his energy on tying all of the wires and cables together. Within moments he had a very odd looking cord that he believed would be long enough to reach the bottom.
"This I have to see," Luther remarked. Calloway shook his head as he secured one end of his rope to a bolted down desk. He made sure the knot was secure whispered a quiet prayer to Set and then with the excess rope and cable in one hand - the secured end in the other - he lowered himself into the hole.
"Slowly," Calloway muttered as he slowly slid himself down the rope - being careful not to knot up the rest of the coil. He looked up at the hole in the floor as it got smaller and smaller. He then looked down at the pillar of sparks that was getting closer and closer. He looked passed the sparks and could see to large metal rollers bumping and scraping against each other.
Just then everything shook! He looked up and saw the floor loosening a bit! He shook his head as he lowered himself a little faster. He was now beyond the rope and was climbing down his series of cables and wires. Luckily they seemed to be holding.
"Time - time - time," he muttered as he lowered himself a little faster. He looked around at the walls - the floor that was getting closer by the second. The pillar of sparks was flying all around him. the light bothered him - but it didn't seem to burn.
"See anything?' Luther asked - hovering in the air inches away from him.
"Not a damn thing," he answered. The roof shook again.
"Running out of time," the ghost taunted. Calloway touched his foot to the floor - true to his suspicion - it was oiled or greased. "Looks like you guessed wrong," he added as the floor of the lab began to slowly fall a few feet. Calloway climbed to keep from being lowered into the grinding mouth of the clown.
"Shut up - the answer is here. Thinking to normal - have to think like a freaking idiot," he muttered.
"If you want to be stupid - kiss Smiley. Can't get much dumber than that," the ghost taunted. Calloway was going to reply when something about the suggestion hit him. he looked up at the still shaking roof above - and then at the sloping floor that led to the jagged metal teeth. All of the teeth in the smile formed points - all except three. On those three spots there were seemingly flat spots about four inches wide.
"I can't fucking believe - I am taking your advice," he muttered. Just then the roof made a clicking noise and then began a free fall. Calloway released the cords and wires. He extended himself out so that he was parallel to the smile. Then he quickly reached out slamming his open hands onto the flat spots. He slammed his feet back where he thought the flat spot was - and impaled them both. "AH!" he strained. He did his best to maintain his grip. He looked over his shoulder and watched as the floor slammed down two feet above him. then tensed up as the gas in the chamber above ignited!
"Doesn't that hurt?" the ghost screamed. Calloway looked over at the ghost, between the explosion and the grinding below - couldn't hear him. just then - the gears below began to slow and then stop - the pillar of sparks went out. "I said - doesn't that hurt?" he repeated mocking - pointing to his impaled feet.
"Hurts like hell," he muttered.
"So where to now smart guy?" he asked.
"I hope this works," he muttered as he let go. The ghost watched as he fell onto the two hot metal rollers and groaned as the vampire managed to slip between them into a smaller room below. He splashed into a ankle deep pool that was a shimmering red due to the fire fountain above.
"He falls into a small sewer of blood," the ghost muttered. It was then that they heard a low throaty growl. Calloway did what he could to concentrate on his wounds - which were many.
"You said sewer," Calloway muttered.
"I did?" the ghost mused as the blood began to ripple as though something was heading their way - something big.
"You mentioned that alligators like sewers?" Calloway muttered as a large albino alligator surfaced. "I hate you," he muttered.
"Like I put him here?" the ghost retorted.
A short while later - by the wishing well - a tired - Calloway climbed up and pulled himself out. He flopped down to the ground gasping.
"Pity you didn't go down the well first," the ghost piped in.
"Oh - shut - up," Calloway muttered. He slowly sat up as he looked over at the last obstacle between him and the Doctor - the Maze of Cards. "You are running out of places to hide Doctor," he muttered as he slowly got up and made his way to the last testing area.
To Be Continued...
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