F
U T U R E B A R R I E R
( The
3rd Novel )
Secret Technology,
Unrequited Love, Absolute Vengeance
© May 2018 Written by David Wicker
Please do
not reprint without permission
CHAPTER 50 -
"Demise Of Stefani"
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CHOOSE A
DIFFERENT
CHAPTER TO
READ ]
* * *
This chapter is Rated: TEEN
Back with Dev, because of his mark of "Stroyka," he could indeed play the carnival games free of charge. But like most carnivals, the games were indeed rigged, and here in hell, apparently doubly so.
Lorraine kept in step with Dev but when he finally got tired of the carnival, she pressed. "If you're done here, let's continue. We have a ways to travel and I have business with the 'Perfection Engine.' "
Returning underground at Arkos, Stefani's hope for escape was in sight by seeing the simply lit green sign worded, "Exit."
But she didn't want Daniel to come with her. She had no reservations that his words could cast an ugly shadow of doubt over herself and her position in Arkos.
Walking up the ramp there was a control console. She looked it over carefully and saw what she wanted, two buttons. One marked, "Raise Ladder" and the other, "Lower Landing."
She quickly hit both buttons. At the time, Daniel was sloshing through the muck to join Stefani but saw her evil actions by seeing both the ladder to the observation chamber above being retracted and the ground starting to descend again, placing him deeper in the muck.
He kicked his legs hard to grab back on to the ladder, but just missed it. Looking to Stefani, she greeted him with a sneer. Then she spoke. "Oh dear, sweet, trusting Daniel. You didn't really think I was going to let you escape, did you ?"
He sighed and returned back to his lever. He did not seem to be the list bit perturbed. "I had hoped - I could trust you." he said simply.
Stefani tilted her head to look at him. He - was up to something, but what ? All he had was one of the levers to raise the floor and that must be in tandem with her own lever.
"Well, I'm leaving you then." she said and started towards the exit but then noticed when she selected "Lower Landing," it also lowered hers. The "Exit" sign was two dozen or more feet above her now.
Growling, she hit the button again to try and return it, but not before Daniel took his lever and pulled it in the opposite direction, clockwise.
Suddenly large panes of heavy acrylic plastic shot down to surround Stefani on her precipice around the controls. But the moment they hit the ground, Stefani's control panel suddenly snapped off.
Sensing danger she quickly jumped off of the landing and twisted her knee in the process, but now the acrylic plates were surrounding her.
Daniel continued to hold his lever and the plates moved closer to Stefani.
"I was only kidding !" she yelled back at him seeing them move even tighter around her.
He nodded tersely and spoke back, "Fool me once. Shame on you. Fool me twice ? Shame on me. Fool me three times ? Well, I must be a total jackass to let that happen."
Now Stefani was babbling, saying anything and everything to get out of the predicament she was in. But he was unmoved by her actions and words and watched carefully what happened next.
The acrylic plates continued their inexorable movements pushing Stefani in the middle, additionally causing the muck to surround the body up to her neck.
"It's food, it's just food !" she was frantically saying.
The plates moved closer and her body disappeared in the compression of waste. A moment later you could hear a muffled gurgling shriek and a popping sound, followed by a new trail of red appearing inside the acrylic walls.
Daniel then tried to pull the lever back to its default position, but it was stuck ! He used both of his hands to mightily pull on it when it snapped off in his grip.
The walls of acrylic tried to compress further but were at their limit. There was a terrible sound of grinding gears. Daniel lowered his head when there was an almighty explosion of both panes attempting to push against each other, then silence.
He lifted his head to look. Both acrylic walls had cracked and one was fortuitously making a ramp to go to the same area Stefani was earlier. The ladder had lowered too, apparently the machine that raised and lowered it was broken too.
But Daniel was ready to leave. He quickly left his post sloshing through the muck and started to step up onto the acrylic wall that was now a ramp. He looked down at as he crossed and for a moment thought he could make out a broken and bloody human skull, its face forever locked in a frightening visage.
He hurried his steps and bypassing the control console completely, took the exit.
Back with Tyr and Lilly, the police did indeed arrive at the Seaside apartments at room #102 and, with the help of the on-duty janitor, they unlocked his door.
They tried the handle but it wouldn't open. It was clear he had his deadbolt on.
"Police, open up !" one of the sergeants outside the domicile yelled.
He waited for a reaction inside. There wasn't one. He sighed to himself, always the hard way.
* * *
"Okay, guys, get that door open."
Two officers approached with a modern battering ram and with two solid hits, the deadbolt broke and the door swung lazily open on a broken hinge. The janitor stepped nervously from foot to foot hoping the landlady wouldn't hold their actions against him.
Outside an ambulance was standing by, also at the ready.
Everyone poured inside except the janitor to look. The first thing they noticed were all the bits of paper taped on the walls.
"Is he a bomber ?" one of the police asked. "Are these plans for a bomb ?"
The sergeant came close to look. "No, these are timetables for something. But would you look at that !" and he pointed to the neighbor lying face-forward on the ground, blood all around his misshapen head.
"That's a crazy mask he has on." one policeman commented.
The sergeant nodded. "Yeah, maybe this was some ritual he was doing ?"
The officer reached down to pull the weird mask off but as soon as he touched it, he jerked his hand away.
"That's ... impossible ..." he said, muttering to himself.
"What's up ?" one of the attendants from the ambulance said.
The officer was shaking his head and backing away, clearly frightened.
The ambulance attendant now spoke, "Is he alive, did you at least check for a pulse, man ?"
Not getting an answer he reached for the neighbor's hand to search for any sign of life. "No, he's dead."
the 2nd attendant now spoke, "Get that mask off of him. Let's see if it was self-harm."
The attendant reached to pull off the mask and, like the sergeant, jumped back as if bitten.
"What's the matter with you two !?" the sergeant asked angrily who watched both of them jerk away.
"Is the mask wet or something ?" The sergeant pulled out some forensic gloves from his pocket and, snapping them on, reached for the mask on the head.
"Strangely warm." the sergeant said and pulled, but the "mask" didn't budge.
"What the hell !?" he yelled and let go to step back.
There was a moment of silence until someone said fearfully, "That's isn't a mask, is it."
The attendant shook his head, "No. I guess it isn't."
"Turn him over." someone offered.
The sergeant, feeling not quite so shocked now, turned the man over. The front of his head looked much like the back, a perfect Rubik's cube except for the impossible eyes and mouth appearing recessed in the surface from some freaked out horror show.
"That's not a mask." someone else quietly offered.
The sergeant yelled, "No, alright !? Christ ! We already established he's not wearing a mask !"
The 2nd officer was checking the premises for any sign of entry and had returned.
"Report." the sergeant said when he came close.
"No sign of entry. All windows are locked. The front door, as you know had the deadbolt on it. Whatever happened - here - well, he was on his own when this - occurred."
"How do we mark it down ?" the ambulance attendant asked. "Accidental suicide ?"
The sergeant stood up and rubbed his hair starting from the front to his back. "Hell if I know." he said muttering in disbelief.
Without a word the two attendants left to return with a gurney.
"Any further examination ?" they asked the sergeant before they lifted him.
He shook his head, "No. No ! Get that thing ... I mean him, get him - out of here, will you ?"
They put him on the gurney but quickly covered him over with one of the thick reflective sheets. The janitor was standing outside to prevent anyone else from barging in, but no-one did.
He saw them exit with the gurney and spoke. "What happened ? Is he dead ?"
The sergeant followed behind and answered him, "Accidental suicide. Now clear the way !"
The janitor gave a weird look of confusion. "How do you accidentally do away with yourself ?"
The sergeant was tired. Lord he was especially tired after what he saw. "I don't know - look, just - keep out of the way. Don't let anyone in. We're still investigating this. There still could be a motive or culprit involved."
The janitor nodded. The sergeant then took out a roll of tell-tale "Police: do not cross" and taped wide over the door making a big X over it.
With that the two police cars and ambulance left as the Janitor made some repairs on the door and locked it closed again.
END OF
CHAPTER 50
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