He saw what they were doing to people inside—therapies that seemed more like torture. Multiple examples of mistreatment could be seen through the various windows that did nothing to drown out the agonising screams of pains.
One man was strapped down to a table, his head facing the window. Instead of a scalp or hair, Adrian could see the exposed brain, the top of the man’s head cut away cleanly. A group of orderlies stood close, taking great interest as one of them pushed needles into the creases of the unprotected matter. The poor man enduring the torture did not kick or scream or fight, he merely stared up to the ceiling, evidently catatonic.
In the next cell, darker than the last, a screaming patient was strapped to a wooden chair in the centre of the room—only the chair was upside down, secured to a thick pole. It slowly rotated, again and again, with the man begging for it to stop—his face purple from the blood that had rushed to his head. Adrian could only guess at how long he had been left alone like that.
In another room, a poor man was tied to a chair and had a large, metallic contraption secured to his head. The device held two oversized screws on each side that were being turned and tightened by orderlies who turned the lengths of metal, twisting them in, so that the thick ends exerted pressure to the temples of the patient’s head. He, like so many others, was crying out in desperate pain. Blood ran from his nose as the orderlies continued to increase the pressure, and another stood by, taking notes.
A larger room contained multiple patients, these all wearing plain uniforms with arms that wrapped around each other, fastened together at the back. The men in here looked painfully thin, almost skeletal, and their eyes were blank, lost, and dejected.
Absolutely hopeless.
One man lay motionless in the centre of the room, his eyes a glassy, blank stare. He was clearly dead.
Adrian quickly realised where he now was—Ward A. He knew nothing good would come of his stay here.
Adrian was wheeled into a room that was bare, save for a single chair in its centre, one that tilted backwards and had a foot and headrest, so that the user could lie back. A thin metal stand was next to the chair.
The room stunk of stale sweat and urine.
Adrian was turned around and now saw the orderly who had been pushing him through the hallway—and he recognised the man immediately. There was a dark purple lump on his cheek from where Adrian had punched him down in the underground ward.
The orderly touched a finger to the cheek. ‘You’re gonna pay for this, boy.’ Adrian didn’t answer. The orderly then walked from the room and called out to someone unknown. ‘We’re ready.’
It didn’t take long for more of his colleagues to join him and, with no further fanfare, the group freed Adrian and wrestled him from the wheelchair and into the tilted seat. Adrian tried to fight back, but was struggling against too many people and was quickly overpowered. Thick straps were fastened around his ankles, wrists, throat, and waist, securing him to the chair.
‘Now what?’ one of them asked.
‘We wait,’ another said. ‘The director will be here soon to guide us in the required treatment.’
The orderly with the lump on his cheek chuckled and leaned in to Adrian, bringing his face close enough so that Adrian could smell his rancid breath.
‘Oh yes,’ he said, ‘you really are going to pay. Believe me, this is not going to be pleasant.’
32
Brother Jonathan Stevens felt a coiling in his gut. Something was changing inside of him.
He could feel it.
Ever since that creature had punctured his eye with its tongue and emitted its blood into him, he had been aware of the continuous change. His body felt—and looked—swollen and bloated, with sores developing over his greying, rubbery skin.
He knew what he would soon become.
And it terrified him.
Jonathan believed in the cause, always had, but could now see how unimportant his devotion truly was. The director had ordered him imprisoned down here, and Brother Jones had been all too eager to comply.
Then Jonathan had been thrown in this cell, like one of those monsters he could now hear around him, and was left alone in this dark, hellish dungeon.
But now he had an opportunity—for escape and revenge.
Brother Andrew Ellis, a good friend of his, had been killed by one of the creatures in the cell next to Jonathan’s own. Andrew’s ruined body had fallen directly outside of Jonathan’s door, close enough to reach. And, while a melee had broken out between his brothers and some escaping patients, Jonathan had used the distraction as an opportunity—he had reached his hand through the grated door and retrieved his brother’s keys from his belt before sinking back into the darkness.
He would no longer be a prisoner down here, to the Church he once gave his life to. He would not be cast aside as something to be locked-up and experimented on.
He would get his revenge.
33
Dr. Reid and Director Templeton made their way to Ward A, where Adrian James and his fellow would-be escapees had been taken. And, per Templeton’s orders, they would be increasing the administration of the medicine in this ward as well.
Dr. Reid walked at Templeton’s side, completely silent. The encounter with the entity below weighed on him. Even if he was not wholly devoted to the cause of this Church—which he wasn’t—he was now questioning himself.
And that was a start, he supposed.
‘Penny for your thoughts, dear Doctor?’ Templeton asked.
Reid was slow in responding. ‘I’m not sure I can make sense of my thoughts.’
‘Understandable,’ Templeton said. ‘I know how overwhelming it all is. And believe me, I wish things could have been different. But, as you can appreciate, there is no easy way to reveal this kind of truth to people.’
‘Why even reveal it at all?’ Reid asked. ‘Why couldn’t you have just left me in the dark? Why did you have to bring me here in the first place?’
‘Because we need someone like you, someone with your expertise.’
‘But why? If you believe in what you say you do, then what good is my knowledge to you? Isn’t it primitive and useless to you and these… gods?’
‘In all honesty, when we know more, I expect it will be. But so far, our greatest findings have come through study and experimentation. It has always been that way. In fact, it was your predecessor who helped in our breakthroughs here at this facility. But as you can imagine, getting people with the requisite knowledge to join our cause is somewhat difficult. They usually find it hard to accept when we show them.’
‘So why me? What made you think I’d be any different?’
‘Frankly, desperation,’ Templeton said. ‘You were in a position where you had few options, if any. And that was to our advantage.’
‘So you preyed on me.’
‘If you want to be that dramatic about it, then yes. But let us not pretend that you are a victim here, Dr. Reid. You were cast out from medicine through your own actions, and I offered you a path to redemption. But now surely you realise that the things you can achieve with us here are orders of magnitude beyond anything you ever expected? Never lose sight of that.’
‘And if what you are saying is true, then what do you hope to get from that thing in the basement? If it is as powerful as you say, what use are you to it?’
‘It needs our help to continue in what it is trying to do,’ Templeton said.
‘And then what? You think you will survive it? You can’t trust that thing.’
‘We don’t need to. We just need to learn from it… for now.’
‘For now? What happens when you lose control?’
‘We won’t. This is a breakthrough the likes of which my organisation has never known: constant communication with one of these Great Beings, carried out through the vessel it inhabits. I am well aware there will be a time when things perhaps go too far, in which case there is a fail-safe.’
‘Which is?’
‘We burn the vessel. Scorch the link.’
‘That will work?’
‘It will.’
‘But then your connection with this Great Being will be no more.’
‘Which is why we need to learn as much as we can in the time we have.’
‘By turning patients into monsters?’
‘By learning how much the human body, and more importantly the human mind, can withstand. And then we wish to discover how to push beyond that barrier. To ascend.’
Reid stopped in his tracks. ‘Ascend? You mean to become one of those things?’
Templeton smiled and drew to a halt as well. ‘Possibly. I wish to gain their power and knowledge. Why restrict ourselves to these mortal coils? I believe that there is a way for us to evolve into one of these beings.’
‘You want to be a god?’
Templeton chuckled. ‘And you don’t? Regardless, I feel we are on the edge of something great. Increasing the distribution of the Great Being’s blood should lead to some interesting results. Time to pick a side, Dr. Reid. You can either stand with those who turned their backs on you, or join us in forging a new future for mankind. But choose quickly; this offer is not indefinite.’
The two walked on in silence until they reached their destination. Reid could hear the cries of the tortured and tormented in the ward around him. It was this torment, he knew, that the Great Being fed on, and drew strength from, thanks to the spread of its blood. The director felt a tingling in his body.
He had some of the sacred blood in his own veins, as all the believers here did. Not as much as was administered to the patients, but a sample nonetheless. Enough to give them a glimpse of the truth and power the entity possessed.
It was clear that Templeton’s orders were being carried out, and the medicine was administered with greater frequency and enthusiasm than ever before. He saw many drips—filled with that black liquid—connected to the patents as they walked down the corridor. The sight made him remember a term he had heard during his studies in school: that blood is life.
That may be true, but now he knew there was more to it than that, at least concerning the substance that was so coveted in this place.
The blood was the truth.
They reached the cell where Adrian James was being kept, and even though the man was restrained to the chair, a group of orderlies stood by to make sure there would be no repeat of his attempted escape.
‘Mr. James,’ Templeton said as they entered the room. ‘I want to say that things didn’t have to be this way. I was prepared to take things slowly with you, but you brought this on yourself. I guess I was wrong about you—I think you are very much a man like your father. More animal than human.’
Adrian glared at him, but did not respond.
‘What do we do with him?’ one of the orderlies asked.
‘First, what of the others who were with him?’
‘They are currently being treated,’ another orderly answered.
‘Excellent,’ Templeton said, clapping his hands together. He took a step closer to Adrian. ‘You know, I’m well aware that you did not tell me everything there was to know about you during our sessions. Killing your father was only the start of your misery, and there is more that you haven’t shared—that you are desperate to keep secret. Well, know this, when the blood is in your veins, as it already is, there are no secrets from the Great Ailing One. It already knows everything about you… about what you’ve done. I have a feeling that you are going to face that unpleasant truth very soon, in ways you can’t imagine. It will likely destroy you. I want you to remember that as you lose consciousness, Mr. James. I want it to be the last thing you think of while you leave this world and arrive… somewhere else. All because you dared to cross me.’
With that, Templeton swung his hand and struck Adrian across the cheek. He then turned to one of his colleagues.
‘I think it is high time we make use of the device we recently received, don’t you?’
One of the orderlies smiled and nodded before running from the room, taking another two with him. Templeton turned back to Adrian. ‘I have not had the chance to use this as yet, you see. Bit of an experimental method where volts of electricity are pumped into your body. The power of the surges can vary, I’m told, depending on the condition one is treating, and I think that yours is most serious. So, let us see just how high the device will go, shall we?’
The director smiled as fear crossed the face of Adrian James. Soon the orderlies returned, wheeling in a control board filled with switches and dials. From this board, multiple wires ran out, with electrodes at the ends. The orderlies took their time taping these electrodes to the patient’s head, chest, fingers, and even his groin. Reid knew what this would do, and also assisted in the placements of the electrodes after seeing the haphazard way the other orderlies were applying them. This drew a smile from Templeton, and Reid felt a momentary sense of pride.
Then he admonished himself—was he really trying to please this man?
‘No, don’t do this,’ Adrian James pleaded. ‘I’m sorry, I really am.’
‘Too late for that,’ Templeton replied and stood at the controls. Each electrode could be activated individually, so he chose the one connected to Adrian’s left temple and turned it up, not all the way, but enough for a good shock. Adrian convulsed, his body jerking up and down, and veins formed on the man's face as he tried, and failed, to push out a scream.
‘Oh, I like this toy very much,’ Templeton said, and flashed a smile over to Dr. Reid. ‘Shame I don’t have time to utilise it. There is too much to be getting on with. But I will leave it to my colleague.’ He waved over one of the orderlies to take over. ‘I have work to do,’ he said. ‘And so does everyone else. Get to it.’
There was a buzz of activity as those not needed left the room, with only two orderlies remaining. Reid and Templeton left as well, as Mr. James screamed in agony—the sounds of pain accompanied by the crackling buzz of electricity.
Reid looked up to Templeton, who was smiling, as some orderlies gathered around, making Reid feel distinctly threatened and uncomfortable.
‘Well then, Dr. Reid,’ Templeton said, ‘what is it to be? Are you with us, or are you against us?’
34
Adrian was in agony.
Seething, white-hot pain stabbed through his skull and threatened to burst it open.
He was faintly aware that he had been left in the company of a single orderly now, and that the man was controlling the device that sent waves of agony coursing through Adrian’s body. So absolute was the torture, that it was hard to focus on anything other than the pain.
Eventually, however, the suffering subsided, and Adrian was allowed the opportunity to scream. He felt drool running down his chin.
‘Please,’ he mumbled, but he could tell that his speech wasn’t clear. The orderly laughed—a spiteful, mocking chuckle.
‘Sorry, friend,’ the man replied, ‘under strict orders here. Can’t say I’m not enjoying it, though. But I’ll vary things a little bit for you, how does that sound?’
Adrian didn’t answer.
Instead, he tried to ready himself for the pain that was coming; but no matter how much he braced, when it came it overwhelmed him completely. And this time the relentless, pulsating shocks did not explode into his skull—instead they centred on his groin, causing excruciating spasms, as if a thousand stinging needles were penetrating his testicles. Adrian bucked and writhed involuntarily before vomiting down himself.
No pain that he’d ever previously experienced could have prepared him for this.
And then it increased.
The orderly sent volts coursing through Adrian’s arms and chest, but did not let up on the pain centred on his groin. Adrian wanted to call out and beg for this to end, to kill him if need be, but to just stop the torture. Yet speech was impossible, as he could barely control a single muscle in his body.
The orderly then turned down the electric c
urrent, but the effects remained with Adrian, and he continued to convulse. His vision slowly came back into focus, and he saw another orderly staring over him, fixing a clear bag of black liquid into the drip stand. Somewhere in his tormented mind, Adrian knew what that was.
The medicine.
A large needle was lifted to Adrian’s arm, ready to penetrate his skin to fix the cannula and administer the poison into his bloodstream.
But the orderly stopped.
‘What the hell was that?’ he asked.
Adrian had heard it too. It was an almighty roar, coming from somewhere outside the room. Then other voices could be heard, panicked shouts and screams, as well as other inhuman noises, reminiscent of what Adrian had heard in the underground ward.
‘Go and see what’s happening,’ the orderly at the controls ordered. ‘I’ll stay here with him.’
The second orderly seemed to hesitate, but did as instructed and walked out to the hallway.
‘Don’t think you are getting out of this so easily,’ the remaining orderly said. ‘I’m still under orders.’
He switched on the electricity, and Adrian’s pain began again, this time throughout his whole body.
The pressure and pain that built up inside him penetrated to his very core, to his bones, and he was sure he would die.
To add to his humiliation, Adrian felt his bladder release.
Thankfully, this round of torture, while the most extreme yet, did not last as long. When he was able to refocus, finally, Adrian saw that the other orderly was back, and he looked terrified. He was speaking to his colleague in frantic tones.
‘What do you mean?’ the first man asked.
‘I don’t know how else to describe it, but I’m telling you it’s true. We’ve lost control. It’s hell out there.’
‘It can’t be.’
‘I’m telling you, it is,’ the second orderly insisted. ‘We have to go. If we don’t, we’ll die.’
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