The Soul Reaver

       Chapter 34: Homecoming pt.2

 That slaughter was a lot more therapeutic than I thought it would be. I should still head back to the- “Hey.”

        “GAH!” The tires from the car screeched as I slammed my foot on the breaks. I turn to the back and find Louis sitting there with a grin on his face.

        “Glad to see you got the sample.” He held out a hand, “Hand it over and I’ll send it back to my vaults.” I stared at the hand for a moment, before pulling out the vial of the croatoan and placed it into his hand. “There. Now,” He put the vial inside a pocket on his coat, “I’ve recently found out that there’s another scientist in the woods nearby.” My mood had darkened at the thought. “I wouldn’t worry about her. She was on A.N.G.L.E.’s chopping block before she escaped. So she has no love for the organization. Find her and see what you can learn. I’ll be watching.” He finished, disappearing from sight.

        I sighed, and put the car back in drive. I drove for about ten minutes before the forest finally came in view, it gave off a sense of strange foreboding, but nothing new to me, to be honest. Most forest’s have that feeling about them. I turned the car off, letting the silence of the night take over. Nothing but the sounds of chinchillas and owls filled the night air. Shaking my head, I step out of the car and begin my trek into the forest.

        Hopefully I don’t have to search for too long.

        Silence is very unnerving, I’ll be the first to admit that. Usually means something is gonna happen, but you have no idea when and where it’s gonna come from. For about… twenty minutes, I’ve been walking through this damn forest for twenty minutes. Thankfully, I got some results in the fact that I saw a cave in a nearby hill. It’s possible she could be in there… well, only one way to find out, I suppose.

        I silently creep towards the mouth of the cave, making sure not to step on anything that would give me away. I managed to reach the mouth, and I hid at the edge of it. I searched for anything to I could throw, and found a fist-sized rock. It’ll do. I picked it up, and I chucked it inside the cave, quickly clinging to the walls to avoid being seen.

        Almost immediately afterwards, there was a shout, and I saw a long, sharpened stick fly out of the cave and embed itself halfway into a tree. Strength. Great… Alright, may as well walk in. “Hello Neighbor! Would you mind terribly if I borrowed a cup of sugar?” My words echoed off the cave walls as I walked in, feeling myself tense, just in case she decides to jump me.

        There was a pause, then she shouted, “Leave! I don’t want anything to do with anyone, just get out of here!”

        “I would, but you seem to be fairly interesting to me.” I stood there, not moving, “I know you worked for A.N.G.E.L., and I know that Sarah was the one you all tormented.” I paused, “Thing is, I’ve met at least another Scientist who felt remorse. Now I need to know your story.” May as well be courteous.

        “Get the hell out of here!” She shouted, “I don’t need to remember any of that, I worked too hard to forget it, I don’t need it coming back again!”

        “I wasn’t asking.” I told her, “Quite honestly, I want nothing more than to smear each scientists corpse on the ground and use it as fertilizer, but I’m not going to do that. That isn’t what I want to do. I want to know your story.”

        “Why?” She asked frantically, “Why not just kill me? I can’t do it myself, why not just do it for me? It’s much easier, a lot quicker, why not just do it? Huh?”

        That’s… actually a fairly good question. I shrugged, “I don’t know to be honest. Maybe I’m sadistic like that. Or maybe I want to actually listen to the story, figure out your problem.”

        Another stick embedded itself in the ground in front of me, “My problem is that I couldn’t save her! My problem is that I was powerless to stop any of them, and it led to Sarah.... It....” She fell silent, and I heard the sound of something heavy hitting the floor, “God dammit just leave already....”

        Ah. That’s why she sounds very, VERY fucked in the head. She was one of the few scientists that took great exception to what they did with Sarah, and tried to save her. She couldn’t do it, so she ended up escaping herself. Looks like she obviously feels guilty about that. “I see.” I guess I should tell her… “Well, Sarah is still alive. Technically, anyway. And out of the facility.”

        Another spear hit the ground, “Don’t lie to me! There’s no way she could have gotten out of there, it’s impossible! I saw it myself, there wasn’t a single way she could’ve gotten out!”

        “And what would I gain by lying to a psychotic hermit in the middle of nowhere? Three seconds of entertainment? Out of all the people I picked, why lie about Sarah?” I shook my head, “Nah, hard to lie about her. Despite her quirks, she can leave quite the impression on people.” I can attest to that. Seriously, the hunger is a bitch.

        “Prove it!” I heard her shout, “What’s the number carved into her back? What’s it mean!?”

        I deadpanned, “And why the fuck would I know that? I don’t go around looking at peoples back for no apparent reason. Hell, this is the first time I heard she had a number on her back. I can tell you I know she’s an albino and a cannibal.”

        “She’s not a fucking cannibal! Don’t you dare label her as one!”

“Than what would you like me to call her?” I asked calmly, not bothered by her shouting, “If you have another term for someone who eats people, please, let me know.”

        “Don’t lump her together with that psychotic alter ego, she isn’t the same as that thing, she never has been- and don’t try to convince me that she is!”

        “So then you know about the Hunger?” I asked her. “Now we’re getting somewhere. What can you tell me about it?”

        “No, I refuse to speak about that- ask me something else if you really have to- leave that one alone!”

        “I’m trying to figure out how to get rid of it.” I continued, “From what I’m seeing, it’s more of a mind sort of thing if anything. But,” I paused, “I don’t think that’s the case…” I whispered to myself, “I get the feeling you know a lot about it. So no, I won’t stop until you tell me.”

        “Either stop asking or leave, I’m not talking about it!”

        “One track mind, huh?” I sighed, “Alright, I’ll just talk by myself than.” I leaned against the wall, “From what I saw with the Hunger, I’m guessing Sarah created it herself, to deal with whatever it was that happened in that place.” Refuse to even say the name. “Another thing, it seems to have it out for Sarah. Either Sarah did something to it, or there’s more to it than I’m seeing.”

        A spear stuck into the side of the cave, inches from my face, “Stop talking about it! Please, just stop... I can’t fucking take it....”

        “I’m not hearing any negatives or affirmation, so I’m going to go with affirmation.” I said with a shrug.

        “And how the fuck would you know!?”

        “Then fucking answer me!” I yelled back at her, “You said that you tried to save Sarah, well I’m giving you the fucking chance at least take a step in the general fucking direction!” I was snapping, “I for one don’t care if you’re going to sit here feeling sorry for yourself that you couldn’t do it, if you’re not going to help, then what the hell is the point of this conversation?”

        “Why are you asking me!?”

        Fuck this. FUCK IT. “You know what? I’m done.” I began to walk away, “If you won’t  She shouted back, “I’m not the one who went looking for you, just so I could hound you about the demons of your past! What the fuck makes you think that I want to talk about the people who spent sixteen years of my life torturing me!?”

answer my questions, I have no reason to even bother any more.” This is utter shit. “I’ll figure this shit out on my own.” I said, mostly to myself.

        “You only have consideration for her then!? I was willing to speak about anything other than that alter ego of hers, I said I would! I would love to talk about Sarah- she’s the last person I ever had in my life. But you just wanted to talk about the monsters that tormented us for all those years- ask her about her time there and see if she doesn’t act the same way I did!”

        I stopped for a moment. I sighed, this would take up more time than I would like. But then I’m gonna feel guilty. “Alright.” I turned back around, “Tell me about Sarah then. Nothing to do with the facility, nothing about the monster, just her.”

        There was a moment of silence, then she finally stepped out of the cave to where I could see her and what the fuck. She has a metric shit-ton of scars, kinda like Sarah, minus the albinism. A bloody rag wrapped around her right eye, while the visible one looked like a baseball hit her there. I can at least tell the eye color is blue, but it kinda looks like a blood vessel… or a few, popped there. I’m just… yeah, I’m not going to go into what she’s wearing. Lets just say I didn’t know hair could be used as thread, and leave it at that.

        “Wait... I think I know you,” she said, “Dean Marcelo?”

        “Only on weekends, rest of the time I’m Felix Bartell.” I told her. “But yeah, I am Dean Marcelo.”

        Instantly her demeanor changed, and she stepped forward and held a hand out, “Clémence Duval, I’m a former associate of the Professor.”

        So many showers after this. So many. I shook her hand, “Nice to meet you.” I think.

        “Sorry about before,” she said, tilting her head to the side, “if I’d known you were someone who knew the Professor, I would have been more open to speak with you. I tend to keep things about that place... secret, so does the Professor it seems.”

        My eye twitched, “Are you fucking.” I can’t even finish the damn sentence, “The Professor set me up with this…?” I don’t like being set up for anything. At all. Whatsoever. I sighed and facepalmed, “Whatever… anyways, yeah. Just tell me about Sarah. I need to figure out how to deal with… well, you already know.”

        “One moment.” She stepped back into the cave, then came back with a small, bloodstained notebook. She handed it to me, “I took notes on the effects and cause of that... thing, incase I could ever find a way to help Sarah get rid of it. This should hold everything you need to know.”

        I grabbed it and looked it over. “Well damn, that’s a lot of notes.” I chuckled, “Looks like I’m gonna be busy.”

        “Very likely....” She trailed off, then asked, “Sarah... is she really out of the facility?”

        I paused, and gave a small smile and nodded, “Yup. She’s out of there.”

        She sighed, “Good, good.... I would have gotten her out of there when I escaped, but... there was too big of a risk- we would have both died had I tried it.”

        I sighed and shrugged, “Hell, you can at least say you tried to help her.” I’m pretty sure if she saw the state the facility it was in, she would have easily gotten through it no problem to find some answers.

        “Yeah....” She looked off to the side, “Where is she now?”

        “Ah…” I shook my head, “Believe me, if I could say, I would.” I scratched the back of my head, “You believe in other worlds? It might help believing what I have to say.”

        “I work with the Professor, other worlds aren’t that hard to believe. Besides, the universe is infinite, if there weren’t another world with life on, that’d be preposterous.”

        “Oh, well good. That makes this easier then!” I grinned, “She’s on another world working for Death now.”

        “Alright.... I’m willing to believe that, I suppose. It’s not the strangest I’ve ever heard.” She sighed, “Is there any way I could get in contact with her? Not right now, I mean, there are still a few things I need to do before I can speak with her again, but still... it’d be nice to get to see her again.”

        And there’s the rub! “None that I can think of, sorry.” I shrugged, “Death doesn’t want us to connect with anyone from our old lives, raises too many complications with people panicking.”

        “Ah, that’s... well it’s not fine, but I can understand that, I guess....”

        “Believe me, if I could, I’d be talking with my family and friends.” I shook my head, “But besides that,” I gave a small gesture of thanks and began to leave, “I have to get going. I’m needed back on another world and I have a job to do. Try to stay safe, huh?” I told her as I left.

        “Right....” She trailed off, then suddenly asked, “Don’t mention me to Sarah, please? I don’t think it’d be the right time for her to know I’m still alive....”

        I nodded, “Alright. I’ll do that.” I paused and turned to her, “And tell The Professor that he’s an ass.” I sighed, “Could have told me about this.” I shook my head, “Whatever, be careful.” I told her once more and finally left the cave. I made my way back to the car, and began to drive away from the forest. “Well that was interesting.” I told myself.

        I made it back to the safehouse without much of a fuss, nothing seemed to find the safe house. I walked into the place, and I felt myself collapse into the chair in front of the fireplace. It’s been a long two days.

        “For you, maybe.” I turned to the right, and saw Louis sitting in the other chair. “That was a lot quicker than what most of my vassals would accomplish Dean. I have to give some applause.” He was very, very flippant about a lot of things. This was no exception. He even gave condescending applause.

        I rolled my eyes and sunk into the chair, “Yeah, whatever… So what, you sendin’ me back tomorrow?”

        Louis nodded, “Yes, and you will be pleased to find that everything in your house is in order. The rooms no longer move, and the wine cellar is now an area where you can store your regents for various spells. I’ve also taken the liberty of installing a pantry where you can keep souls, and I’ve filled it. The library is also filled with copies of books that you had collected in your own library, as to better keep you prepared in your research.” He smirked, “Think of all this as payment for doing the job. Now then, it is best that you rest, you have a rather busy day tomorrow as well.” Once again, he disappeared from sight, leaving me to myself.

        I took the chance to go over the notes that Clémence gave me, hoping to better understand what exactly it is that I’m going to be dealing with.

        Hopefully I can figure things out before then.