London Darkness- Infernal Inventions

by Christopher Stocking

  Wendell stared at Ryker with wide eyes. “What the bloody-hell was that about?” he exclaimed.

  Ryker glared at Clive with rage-filled eyes. “Payback.” He reloaded his revolver and returned it to its holster. “We’re not going to find anything here. Let’s head to my lab. There are a couple of things I’d like to get from there.”

  Chapter 17

  Ryker and Wendell returned to street level and made their way toward Ryker’s lab. “Adelina appears to be quite the inventor, eh?” Wendell said. “She did a great job on your watch.”

  Ryker looked at his palm-watch. “She certainly did,” he answered. He flashed a half-smile. “She’s a fantastic inventor. She’s very interesting.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Wendell said with half-interest. “Did Celia manage to get any business last night?”

  “Unfortunately, no. She said—”

  “Do you smell that?” Wendell interrupted.

  Ryker sniffed. “It smells like smoke,” he answered. He looked up at the clock tower in the distance. A plume of thick black smoke filled the sky next to the tower. “Fire! Let’s go!”

  Ryker and Wendell sprinted down the street. The smell of smoke burned their nostrils as they neared the tower. They turned the corner and came to a sudden stop. They stared at the blazing building, awestruck. “My lab!” Ryker cried.

  “Where are you going?” Wendell shouted as Ryker ran toward his burning home.

  “Stay here!” Ryker called back. He burst through the door and coughed and choked as the smoke filled his lungs. The heat from the raging fire was almost unbearable, but he continued on. He dodged a falling piece of flaming debris and dashed up the stairs.

  The fire had fully engulfed his generator. He dodged another piece of debris and ran to his desk where he grabbed the cane, and Creator Desmond’s communicator. He turned around and took a step, but stopped. He glanced back at the top hat on the corner of his desk, snatched it, and ran back to the stairs.

  When he was nearly at the bottom, his generator exploded and blasted Ryker out the front door and sent him rolling into the street.

  “Ryker!” Wendell shouted. He ran to Ryker and dragged him away from the raging fire. “Ryker, Ryker!” he called. When they approached a safe distance Wendell leaned Ryker against a building. “Come on, Ryker, wake up damn it.” He tapped Ryker’s cheek with his palm and looked at him closely.

  His face was spotted with black ash, and his clothing had torn and ripped from the explosion. Smoke rose from the charred portions of his clothing, and he smelled of smoke.

  Ryker coughed loud, hacking coughs and slowly opened his eyes. “I’m getting pretty sick of being knocked unconscious,” he groaned.

  “Let’s go,” Wendell said. “We need to get back to the lab.” He helped Ryker to his feet and they ran toward Adelina’s lab.

  ***

  The lift lowered into the lab and Wendell assisted Ryker to a metal table. Ryker set the items on the table and sat down. He grunted and rubbed the sore muscles in his right leg.

  “What happened?” Celia exclaimed. She ran over to Ryker and knelt in front of him. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine,” Ryker answered sternly. “I can’t say the same for my lab.”

  “What are you talking about?” Celia asked. She began examining Ryker for any serious wounds.

  “You didn’t hear that explosion?” Wendell asked.

  “Apparently not,” Celia answered. “What happened?”

  “Someone burned down my lab,” Ryker said grimly. He coughed. “My generator exploded and nearly killed me.”

  “That’s terrible!” Celia exclaimed.

  “I managed to get in there and grab a few things though.” He rested his elbows on his knees and his forehead in his palms. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He coughed again, still feeling smoke deep in his lungs.

  “Ryker Mayson,” Celia shouted. “You ran into a burning building? You must be crazy!”

  “Only when the situation calls for it,” Ryker answered. Celia sighed and shook her head, her face was stern. “Where are the others?” Ryker asked.

  “They went back to the League Headquarters. Shamus said he forgot a few things.”

  “And you let them go out there?” Ryker snapped.

  “Relax, Ryker. There are three of them and they took a Spear Bot with them. They’ll be fine.”

  “I guess,” Ryker sighed.

  Celia walked to the table and looked at the items Ryker retrieved from his lab. She picked up the top hat and examined it. “Why did you bring this?” she asked curiously.

  Ryker looked up at the top hat. The top of it was charred slightly. “I’m not really sure,” he answered. “I just… grabbed it.”

  Celia flipped the hat between her hands.

  “What’s that?” Wendell asked. He snatched the hat from her and reached inside. He dug around for a moment and pulled out a small folded piece of paper.

  Ryker groaned as he stood and limped to the table as Wendell unfolded it and set it down for everyone to read. “It’s a note from Creator Desmond,” Ryker said.

  Something terrible is coming. I’m being followed, and I feel as if my time is limited. I don’t know how much longer I have. Partum Chaos. I have reason to believe they are from Terial. There were survivors; the numbers were wrong. Now they’re trying to rise up. They’re going to kill all of us. I have to warn someone, but I’m terrified to go outside. I don’t know if I’ll make it in time. I see shadows behind me all the time. I feel as if I’m going mad. I hear… sounds… footsteps… the spinning of a revolver cylinder. I know something is coming. I don’t know what will happen if I can’t warn someone. I feel the League of Inventors won’t make it, and all will be lost.

  The hiss of the pressure release directed their attention away from the note to the lift. Shamus had a bolt-action rifle resting on his shoulder, and carried a large box of ammunition with his mechanical arm.

  Adelina held a large crate of machine parts. She also had gears and other miscellaneous parts that wouldn’t fit in the crate attached to her clothing.

  Livvy stood on Shamus’s right. She carried more machine parts; parts that Adelina couldn’t carry.

  They stepped off the lift and set everything down on a table. “Welcome back,” Shamus greeted them. “Did you find anything?”

  “Clive and Caroline were dead when we got there, and there were no real clues as to who did it,” Ryker answered. “However, their snake tattoos were cut from their wrists, and Caroline said something about failure not being tolerated. I have a feeling Partum Chaos had something to do with it, and the blowing up of my lab.”

  “They blew up your lab?” Adelina asked, shocked. “That’s terrible. I can’t even imagine what I would do if I lost this lab. I’d be… crushed.”

  Ryker shrugged. “At least I’m alive,” he said grimly. “I’m going to miss that place though.” Adelina put a hand on his shoulder. “And, Wendell just found this note inside Creator Desmond’s hat.”

  “Let me see that,” Shamus said. He took the note and read it quickly. “He had been acting strange a few days before he was murdered. But, it doesn’t make any sense. We checked Terial’s census and we counted the bodies. There shouldn’t have been any survivors.”

  “You said it was a ‘mongrel town,’ correct?” Ryker asked. Shamus nodded. “I’ve heard rumors in the past that Terial housed a lot of criminals.”

  “Yes, and?” Shamus asked.

  “Well, would it be safe to assume that perhaps Terial was housing criminals who didn’t live there? Criminals in hiding, perhaps? Now, maybe it’s my keen eye for the criminal mind, but it looks like the League didn’t predict that.”

  Shamus narrowed his eyes. He got close to Ryker. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

  “Shamus, don’t,” Livvy said. She stepped forward but Shamus extended a hand and kept her back.

  Ryker’s hand slowly drifted to his revolver. “All I’
m saying is you missed something. You should be used to it by now. And, because you missed something, you’ve put yourself and all of London in danger; not to mention you’ve lost some of your best creative minds.”

  Shamus gritted his teeth and grabbed Ryker’s shirt with his mechanical arm. He lifted him into the air and reached his other arm back, but stopped. Something was poking him in the stomach. He looked down and saw Ryker’s revolver barrel pressed against his abdomen.

  “You’re dealing with one of the fastest trigger fingers in London, Shamus,” Wendell said.

  Shamus smirked and set Ryker down. “You’re not so clever. At least you recognize the best minds in the city.”

  Ryker flashed a smile. “I said your best creative minds. Not the best creative minds.”

  “That’s enough,” Livvy said sharply. She stepped between Shamus and Ryker and glared at them both. “We have plenty to worry about without the two of you squabbling like children.”

  Ryker returned his revolver to its holster and limped back to the table. He leaned against it and closed his eyes. “How are we supposed to find these Partum Chaos members? They’re practically ghosts. They don’t leave any trails; nothing.”

  “Look at this,” Shamus said. He turned the note over. “It looks like an address in the northern part of the city.”

  “Let me see it,” Celia said. She took the note and read it. “This is Vic—, Ishbelza’s address.”

  Chapter 18

  “Are you sure you’re up for this?” Ryker asked as they walked up the path to Ishbelza’s house.

  “If anyone can get through to her, or get anything out of her it’s me.”

  “Are you sure she’ll even be here?” Wendell asked.

  “I know my sister. She’ll be here. You guys wait outside.”

  “Alright,” Ryker answered. “You’ve got your revolver, right?”

  Celia felt the cold revolver tucked into the back of her belt and nodded.

  Ryker armed his own revolver and Wendell pulled his rifle from his shoulder and stood on either side of the door.

  Celia swallowed hard and opened the door. “Victoria?” she called. She walked into the front room and entered the common room. “Victoria?” she called again. A trail of blood led from an open window, through the common room, and into the kitchen.

  “Victoria.” Celia said in a relieved tone. She sat at the kitchen table across from her sister.

  Victoria stared into a steaming mug in front of her. Her wounded arm was soaked in blood, untreated. She raised her eyes and gazed upon her sister. “Celia,” she said quietly. She smiled and extended a soft, bloody hand and set it on her sister’s. “I haven’t seen you in so long. How are mom and dad?”

  Celia’s eyes dropped. “I’m… not really sure. How are you doing, Victoria?”

  Victoria glanced down at her arm and then looked back at Celia with a smile. “Fantastic!” she said excitedly. “I’ve made some wonderful new friends.”

  “What new friends?” Celia asked. She gave a fake smile and put her other hand atop her sister’s.

  “Many of them show up here, and I read them. I see things about them. It’s great. It’s amazing. Many of them are sad, sad people. But,” she paused. “Actually, I saw you in a vision. A man named… Ryker. Who is he?”

  “He’s just a friend, Victoria. Tell me, do you know anyone by the name of Desmond?”

  Victoria looked back into her mug. “I think I remember a man named Desmond. He had some interesting theories, when he was alive.”

  “What did you see when you read him?”

  “Read him? I talked to him with a wonderful man. I believe his name was Caiden.”

  Chapter 19

  Caiden stood on the roof of his manor and gazed out over the city. The city he hoped would soon be his. He paced along the edge of the roof. Despite the manor’s small square footage, it had four stories; which gave it a tower-like quality, and gave him a good vantage point to watch over the city.

  The wooden trap door in the center of the roof swung open and Caiden’s skinny assistant climbed out. He approached Caiden and looked up at him, for he was nearly six inches shorter than his master. “What is it?” Caiden demanded. He never turned to look at his scrawny underling.

  “Sir.” He paused. “The one known as Ryker, his lab has been successfully destroyed.”

  Caiden slowly applauded. The loud claps echoed off the cloudy sky. “And what of Ryker? Is his body charring inside?”

  The skinny man hesitated. “Well, no, sir,” he answered timidly. “It seems our Pyrotech set the fire without actually checking if Ryker was in the building first.”

  Caiden sighed. He gazed upon the city for a moment longer, and then turned around and grabbed the scrawny man by the shoulders. With ease, he lifted the terrified man into the air and ripped off his chipped mask. He dropped the mask on the roof and it shattered into tiny pieces.

  The man’s face was wrought with terror and fear as he trembled beneath Caiden’s powerful grip. “My specific orders were to ensure that Ryker was inside the lab when it was destroyed. Why were my demands not completely satisfied?”

  The minion spoke very quickly. “Sir, I assure you it’s not my fault. I gave the order exactly as you said it. I promise you, please sir.” Caiden turned around and dangled the small man over the edge of the roof. “I beg you, please have mercy.”

  “Why should I waste my mercy on you when you can’t ensure that a simple task be completed?” Caiden’s voice was powerful, but low.

  “It won’t happen again, sir. I promise.”

  Caiden turned again and dropped the small man. He grunted as he landed on the roof. “You’re lucky our numbers are still small,” Caiden said sternly. “Otherwise you’d be nothing but a bloody mess on the doorstep. Now leave.”

  The skinny man scrambled to his feet and ran back to the trap door. He slammed it shut as he descended the ladder.

  “It appears I may have to take matters into my own hands,” Caiden said quietly. He grabbed the chin of his mask and pulled. The section of the mask that covered his mouth slid out, revealing a thick goatee. He reached into his pocket and took out a black pipe. The pipe had engravings all along it. And the tip of it was carved into a snake’s head. He lit it and took a deep drag. As he exhaled slowly, he watched the smoke dissipate into the sky.

  Chapter 20

  Celia stared into her sister’s eyes. She gripped her hand tightly and felt the blood smear between her fingers. “Victoria, do you mean Caiden, leader of Partum Chaos?” she asked. Victoria nodded happily. “Are those the friends you were talking about?”

  “They are the best friends I’ve made so far. Real troubled lives they’ve led. I’m quite happy to be assisting them.”

  “Victoria, how are you helping them? What are you doing for them?”

  Victoria cocked her head to the side. “I use my gift. I read them. I tell them what I see. What lays ahead for them in the future.”

  “Where can I find Caiden?”

  “You want to be friends with him too?”

  Celia paused. “Um, yes, I do,” she lied.

  “In the four-story manor in the center of the—” A gunshot cracked and Celia felt the warmth of her sister’s blood spray onto her face. She stared in awe as Victoria fell forward and slammed onto the table. “No!” Celia cried. Tears stung her eyes as she stood up and drew her revolver. She heard the front door burst open and Ryker and Wendell charged into the kitchen.

  “What happened?” Ryker demanded.

  “I don’t know,” Celia answered. Tears streamed down her hot cheeks. “Someone shot her! There!” She pointed out the window in the common room.

  “Here we go again,” Ryker said. He climbed out the window and chased after a tall man wielding a scoped bolt-action rifle. He chased the man through several alleys and across several streets. The man climbed a ladder onto the roof of an apartment building.

  As Ryker jumped from the top of the ladder onto
the roof he slid to a stop. The tall man stood at the edge of the building, facing Ryker with his arms spread wide. “Who are you?” Ryker shouted.

  The man laughed from behind a mask that covered his eyes and nose and slowly tipped backward. “No!” Ryker shouted. He ran toward the man, but before he could reach him, the tall man fell. Two women screamed as the body crashed onto the street in front of them.

  Ryker peered over the edge of the building, but made sure he was out of sight of the women lest they accuse him of throwing the man over. He was growing more and more confused about these masked people. The first murderer, who didn’t even wear a mask, shot himself in the face, and now this one jumped from a building. He glanced at the body one last time, watching as a pool of blood ran into the street, and climbed down the ladder to return to Celia.

  “Are you alright?” Ryker asked Celia as he climbed back in the window.

  Wendell stood next to Celia as she sat on the kitchen floor with her sister’s head in her lap. She wept loudly and stroked her sister’s dark hair. She raised her head and looked up at Ryker. Her eyes were full of hatred and sadness. She sniffed loudly and wiped the tears from her face. “Did you kill that son of a bitch?” she asked angrily.

  Ryker hesitated a moment. He stared at Victoria. She had a large exit wound in her forehead, and blood covered her face. “Yes,” he answered quietly. “I assure you he felt as much pain as possible. Come on, we should get out of here.”

  “No!” Celia cried. “I’m not leaving her here. Not like this. She didn’t deserve this.”

  “What are we supposed to do, Ryker?” Wendell asked quietly.