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| Chapter Six: Having a Ball | |||||||||||||||||
| By Richard LeBlanc | |||||||||||||||||
| In the large gymnasium sized room that was labeled Ball Pit - Calloway looked around the platform he was on. A little high up and across the room was the only other door out of the place. | |||||||||||||||||
| Straight-ahead before him about fifteen feet away was a small circular platform that was connected by way of a wire like rope. | |||||||||||||||||
| He looked to the right - almost thirty feet away - by the wall and saw an octagon shaped platform. It was lower than both the platform he was on and the circular one before him. Along the right wall - about ten feet away - was a thin ledge that was beside the only other platform in the room which was shaped like a triangle. | |||||||||||||||||
| What disturbed him more than the seemingly deceptive level of simplicity this trap seemed to exude - was that the floor before him was completely covered with hundreds of blood stained white balls. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Oh this looks hard," the ghost mocked as he hopped up floated to one platform - then again over to the triangle - then up to the west wall then over to the exit. Calloway frowned. "If I can do it," he mocked. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Shut up," he hissed. He looked back at the door he entered - it was bolted shut. He laid down on the floor and pressed his cheek against the platform. He focused his attention on the platform connected by the wire-like rope. "Shiny - have a hunch," he remarked he sat up and removed his shoe. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Want to play catch? I'm open," the ghost mocked. Calloway ignored him as he tossed the shoe gently to the platform. As predicted and expected - it slid from the slicked surface. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Oiled surface," he muttered as he looked at his shoe that was balanced on the floor of balls. And I still have no idea what lurks beneath that," he muttered. The ghost hopped up and vanished into the ball pit. It then surfaced and mockingly giggled. "A switch maybe?" he pondered as he looked around the room for anything that might be a switch - but nothing caught his attention. | |||||||||||||||||
| "I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out," Luther remarked - floating among the balls. Calloway shook his head and sat up. All that he had was what the Mook didn't take away from him and what was in the room. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Balls - lots of them - platforms and - the tightrope," he said to himself as he. "About fifteen feet of rope - I want," he stated as he sat up. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Oh then my all means take. I'd like to see how you go about that," the ghost mocked. Calloway smiled as he took off his other shoe. "What the hell are you up too?" the ghost asked. | |||||||||||||||||
| "The Mook got my weapons - but he didn't search too thoroughly - I hope," he muttered. He popped the fake heel from his shoe and smiled when he saw the detached knife blade that was hidden there. "Missed one," he said with a smile as he laid down on the platform. He looked over the edge to see if there was any trap linked to the rope - but it seemed to be clean. | |||||||||||||||||
| "And what good is that going to do you?" the ghost asked. | |||||||||||||||||
| "That psycho said this is a test. That means that there is a way to solve it - but only if every piece of the puzzle is used," Calloway stated as he began to carefully use the blade to saw through the rope. "Translation - I will need the rope," he said as the blade cut the rope. He held it up and then realized that another problem was confronting him. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Okay smart ass - so how do you get the other end free?" Luther mocked. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Shut up," he muttered as he let go of the rope - watching it fall down to the balls below. He muttered a quiet string of cursed as he put his shoe back on. "I just know - I am going to regret this," he muttered. He slowly got up and then dived down to the ball pit below. | |||||||||||||||||
| His hands gripped the ripe he had dropped as his bodyweight smashed him through the layer of balls into a red sea of liquid below. The balls rippled - reflecting the watery surface beneath. | |||||||||||||||||
| Luther yawned as he saw the tension on the rope. He knew that he was still hanging on. He watched as the blood soaked Calloway pulled himself up from beneath the sea of balls. He looked down at the balls and shook his head. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Only a fucking Mook would think of a place like this," Calloway spat. Carefully he pulled himself up. Instinctively he reached up to get a grip on the platform. His hand slipped - he fell back down and splashed back into the pit. Luther quietly laughed and shook his head as he watched the tenacious Setite once again pulled himself up. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Oh be careful that platform is greased or something," the ghost mocked. Calloway glared at the ghost and the returned his attention to the task at hand. He knew that as soon as he cut that part of the rope - there would be only one direction - down. "Out of curiosity - under that sea of white balls - is blood right?" he asked. | |||||||||||||||||
| "A very large - tainted supply of it - yes," Calloway said as he took out the blade he had used before. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Okay - so - you can see though that goop?" the ghost asked. | |||||||||||||||||
| "It is as clear as looking through ink," Calloway muttered as he began to cut. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Funny you should say that," Luther remarked. Calloway stopped what he was doing and looked over at the calm looking ghost. "Oh - pay no attention to me - no one really does anyway," he added mockingly. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Bullshit - fuck," he hissed as he resumed cutting. Luther looked at the back of his hand as Calloway cut through the rope and fell into the sea of blood. The balls rippled for a few moments and then were deceptively still. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Oh - watch out for that giant squid - oh - I knew I was forgetting to say something," he mused as floated up to where the exit was. One of two things would happen. One - he would find a way around the squid - or through it. Two - the squid would kill him and at long last he would be free. | |||||||||||||||||
| In the thick pungent sea of red. Calloway looked around. Light filtered through the white balls dimly lighting the depths - making it seem as though he was trapped in a red fog. He threw a punch - to see how much slower his reflexes were - he muttered a curse. It was like throwing a punch through a wall of Jell-O. | |||||||||||||||||
| Just fucking great. He thought. It was then that a body leaped out from the fog and grabbed at him. He spun around coiled his thin rope around the neck of whoever was attacking him - and in one fluid motion - using all of his potence-induced strength beheaded his attacker. He watched as the body or what was left of it began to float to the floor. I hope this useless fuck had something on him. He thought as he searched the deteriorating body. A smile crept across his face as he found two things one was a disk-like object. The other was a small metal key. | |||||||||||||||||
| More pieces of the puzzle. But now he had another problem - he was down there in the bottom of a pit of blood - at least twenty feet deep. It was then that he remembered - what the annoying ghost said when he himself made reference to ink. Slowly - he looked around. One of the walls - seemed to move. | |||||||||||||||||
| Something is over there - something big. He thought. He took out the blade - his only weapon. As he drew closer - he could see a mound - a dark mound that was about eight feet tall and wide. He froze. He realized he was standing in the presence - of a squid - a giant - ghouled - squid! Back away - slow and easy. He thought to himself - moving away. It was then that a large glowing eye opened. Oh shit. He thought. | |||||||||||||||||
| Up above - Luther was humming to himself. It was then that the balls erupted. The squid seemingly screamed out as it flung Calloway like a doll across the room. The ghost watched as the vampire soared - and slammed into the unforgiving metal wall by the exit. | |||||||||||||||||
| "That gotta hurt," the ghost mused. Calloway fell limply to the platform and almost flopped back into the ball pit bellow. Only his quick reflexes allowed him to grab the ledge. Luther looked down at the vampire and could see that he wasn't altogether there. "You okay hero?" he asked curiously. Calloway panted as he looked down at the rippling surface of balls below. He then began to laugh insanely. "Oh dear - must have had too much of that tainted blood," he added. | |||||||||||||||||
| "That - retarded - sick - perverse - twisted little ass monkey - ghouled a fucking giant squid!" Calloway screamed while flailing about in sheer disbelief. Luther nodded. | |||||||||||||||||
| "You mean that beastie that is coming over here to finish you off?" he asked - motioning to the way the balls were rippling - indicating that something big was heading their way. Calloway gasped as he frantically pulled himself up. He then curled up on the platform holding his head. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Voices - ah - screaming!" he strained. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Wounded - hurting - so near and yet so far," Luther began as the head of the squid popped up from the sea of balls. "And junior still wants to play," he added. Calloway panted as he sat up and glared at the squid down below. Luther could see that just by the look in the vampire's eyes that he wanted to jump in and finish him off. "Holy fuck your brain must really be gone," the ghost laughed. | |||||||||||||||||
| "You want a piece of me you little bitch?" Calloway shouted - baring his fangs - as if to dare his prey to fight him on his level. Slowly - the squid disappeared back into the pit. "That's right you pussy! Run! Ah - head killing me," he gasped. He slid down to the platform - pushing his back to the wall. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Out of curiosity - how did you get that squid to toss you up here?' the ghost asked. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Hurt it - threw me away - pain - voices - rage," he muttered incoherently. | |||||||||||||||||
| "That must have been one fucked up blood bath you were soaking in. if only our esteemed master could see you now - in all your stark raving glory," Luther mused. Calloway covered his ears. He squinted as he looked frantically for some way - any way out of that place. | |||||||||||||||||
| "So fucking bright," he strained as he traced his hands along the wall. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Mmm heightened senses to the extreme. I wonder if there will be any long term side affects from your little soak," Luther pondered out loud. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Shut up - shut up - shut up!" Calloway shouted. He punched at Luther. His fist made a clanging noise as it hit the metal wall on the other side. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Well - I guess you showed me - huh. Go on - teach me - put me in my place," he goaded. Calloway cradled his now broken hand. The pain from his hand overriding some of the insanity that he was drowning in. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Fuck that hurt," he muttered as he looked around. He smiled as he came to the realization - the conscious realization - that he had made it to the other side. "Get me the fuck out of here," he slurred as he limped towards the door marked exit. He pulled on the door - locked. | |||||||||||||||||
| "I hope you didn't drop the key in the pool," the ghost mocked. Calloway turned pale at the thought. He frantically fished through his soaked pockets until he pulled out the items he had retrieved from the deranged kindred he encountered down below. He looked at the blood soaked CD ROM disk and the rusty key. | |||||||||||||||||
| "Please work," he strained as he began to work the key into the lock. It wasn't going in - due to the caked on blood and rust. But eventually - it slid in. he muttered a silent prayer to Set as he turned the key. He heard a click! He pulled the door - it slowly creaked open. "One down," he muttered as he staggered out. The door slammed shut behind him. The first trial done - he pondered - just what else lurked in this circus? What other horrors hid in the mind of the Malkavian known as Doctor Jest? | |||||||||||||||||
| To Be Continued... | |||||||||||||||||