Romander wheels around in the operating room, using his machine’s large grotesque robotic arm to operate on one of his failed experiments. The corpse splashes black sludge all over his hexagonal metal body. He wheels over to the operating table, reaching for an instrument.
He stops as he hears the monitors beeping loudly. He wheels over and pulls it closer. He sees that three of the petals on the barrier have become dim.
“THE LOST SOUL SHOWS PROMISE. BUT I NEED TO SEE FOR MYSELF.” Says in a robotic voice from its old crackling voice box.
Flint slowly regains consciousness while lying on the stage floor. His breaths become more raspy and rapid as his body trembles uncontrollably. Using all his remaining strength, he lifts his coat sleeves. He finds his arm has turned from his once fair skin into the same shadowy black from the figures he has freed.
Despite his ill condition, he slowly rises from the ground, using his trembling arms as his support. His trembling legs and the black sludge rushing through his veins make it unbearable to stay standing.
He reaches for the ammunition box in his inner pockets to reload his revolver. He takes an excruciatingly long time to reload his revolver so he doesn’t drop the bullets. He shambles over to the radio on the side of the stage. He lifts it off the ground despite his trembling hands.
As he places the radio on his back, he can feel its weight dragging him down. His legs tremble even more and the speed of the black sludge flowing through his body speeds up.
Despite his pains, he still powers through and shambles through the halls. With each step he takes, he feels closer to death’s door. But he keeps shambling down the halls as the dark void encroaches behind him.
He reaches the two locked doors at the farthest end of the hallway. He is undergoing such pain and agony that he cannot think clearly. He slams down his arm on the heavy lock chains in his clouded-mind state. His eyes widen when the locks immediately break.
Regardless, he pushes the two large sliding doors and shambles into the area. He finds himself in a dimly lit security room. Like the previous ones, it is ruined beyond any possible repair and covered in black sludge.
His breaths become heavier, quicker, and raspier. His legs buckle and he crashes onto the ground. He screams in agony feeling his body stretch and corrode away.
Serena finds herself in the mirrored casino area. She leans against a machine, gasping for breath after walking for so long. She still has the frying pan in her right hand and the flashlight in her left.
During her entire trek around the facility, she still radios in on Sercas, hoping that he’s still alive and well. But not only just Sercas but Flint as well. She can only hope that she can find him in good health.
In the area where she is resting, she notices an area of slot machines that are utterly ravaged. She takes a moment to examine the damage and black sludge stains all over the machines, noting that they are recent. She grips the frying pan tighter as she approaches the open set of double doors.
She wanders the halls of the new area, which reminds her of her childhood home. Serena radios Sercas one last time, hoping that he will respond. As if by some miracle, she faintly hears her voice coming down the halls. Serena rushes down the halls towards her voice.
She stops mere inches before the kitchen, catching her breath. She radios in again and hears her voice coming from the kitchen. She leans towards the door and her eyes widen in shock, finding Sercas lying there on the ground.
She immediately rushes over and kneels to the ground.
“Sercas? Sercas you alright? Are you there?” she asks, on the verge of tears.
Sercas lies there, not responding.
“Sercas…please be okay…damn it please…” she asks, letting the tears fall from his eyes.
Her worry immediately breaks when she hears him snore loudly. She feels overwhelming relief and wipes her tears. Sercas slowly wakes up from his nap as he feels the warm embrace from someone near and dear in his heart.
As he opens his eyes, he finds Serena on top of him, giving him the tightest hug he has ever received.
“Woah there…isn’t that too much PDA at work?” he jests.
“Even when I was worried about you, you’re still joking.” Serena tells him. “Please never change.”
Serena lets go after she hears Sercas wince and groans in pain. Serena takes out the first aid kit from her vest, lifts Sercas’s heavy vest, and unbuttons his shirt. She lifts his undershirt and finds large bruises and small cuts all over his abs. She takes out the first aid kit and lathers his wounded abs with an antibiotic ointment. She takes great care in lathering it gently so Sercas does not feel any discomfort.
“How did you get these wounds?” Serena asks.
“It’s a long damn story…” Sercas responds, groaning as she lathers the ointment.
Serena hears about the horrid abomination Flint and Sercas have encountered and the injuries they have sustained from him. As Sercas finishes his recollection of events, she has already finished wrapping his wounds up with the bandage.
“So Flint’s still in here?” she asks him.
“Yep, and I don’t think he intends on leaving until he finishes this damn case.” He replies. “Do you know that fire he once had? I saw it again just as he left me here to recover.”
His statements surprise Serena. But after all those years of morbid cases, how is this the one that sparked Flint’s flame again? Regardless of that question pondering in her mind, she is at least happy to hear that about Flint.
“Sercas, I know what I’m about to say is incredibly stupid, but I can’t just let Flint wander around alone for any longer. Even though I have no combat experience, I can at least tend to his wounds.” Serena tells Sercas.
While Sercas does not want Serena to follow after Flint, she does have a valid point. He sighs, knowing that he isn’t in the best condition to follow after Flint.
“Alright, but if anything dangerous happens, you run straight back up to here,” Sercas tells her.
She nods and takes the first aid kit and stuffs it in her vest. She stands up from the ground and firmly holds the frying pan in her right hand. Sercas just notices it as she is about to exit the kitchen.
“And for the record, you’re cleaning it when you’re done using it!” he jests.
Serena lets out a giggle before leaving the kitchen. Sercas continues resting there on the ground, now feeling better after having a moment with Serena and having his wounds patched up.
“Stay safe, Serena.” He mutters.
Serena stands in front of two open push doors at the end of the backstage corridor. She finds the broken chains and locks lying on the ground in front of her. She slowly enters the room, with her frying pan at the ready.
She flashes the light around the dimly lit security room. She finds the same ruined state she has seen in the previous security rooms. As she enters the room, she almost slips on something wet on the ground. She flashes the ground, only to find a puddle of fresh black sludge reaching up to her soles.
She takes slow, careful steps over the sludge with the light still shining down on her shoes, ensuring she does not slip. She flashes the light back to her eye level. The light shines upon another set of wide open doors leading to a dark area. She approaches the doors, holding the frying pan tightly in her hands.
She enters a reception area for a restaurant. Several geometric benches and wooden chairs are aligned on the walls with dark oak flooring underneath. There is a reception desk, almost of similar size to the desk Serena uses when she is at work. The light from the flashlight refracts from the dangling glass droplets hanging from the ceiling.
Not finding anything else of interest, Serena walks down the walkway to the main dining area. The large main dining area has a simple contemporary design with dark oak walls and several paintings and other simple directions hanging from them. The clean metal tables of varying sizes with a wood top and the simple black metal chairs are aligned in straight rows and columns.
The light from her flashlight shines upon the various corpses lying on the floor, whose skin is akin to the shadowy black sludge she has seen throughout the facility. She carefully trudges over them, not wanting to further desecrate those poor souls by accidentally stepping on their brittle and sludgy bodies.
As she approaches the back of the dining area, she hears the clanging of pots and pans and the slicing of food gradually becomes louder. She stands in front of two opaque circular glass decorations at the end of the dining hall, hearing the busy noises of the kitchen coming from behind it.
She shines the light upon the area of the wall, finding larger grooves forming a rectangular outline around the glass decoration. She approaches closer to the wall and presses her hand against it. The portion of the wall jiggles back and forth like a push door.
She applies more force and one side of the wooden wall slowly opens. She enters the large dark room behind the wall.
She enters a large kitchen with the area to her left containing aisles of stove tops and ovens while the area to her right has messy countertops with knives, ingredients, and various stains all over them. The kitchen greets her with a strong musty scent, to which she almost pukes in reaction.
She walks down the aisles of stoves and ovens, finding various-sized pans and pots in the ovens or on the stoves.
She opens the lid of a nearby pot on a lit stove. Her nostrils are bombarded by a rancid and spicy scent emanating from the pot. She stumbles back, knocking over several pots and pans and coughing loudly.
She immediately stops as she hears the opening of two doors coming from the other side of the room. She lowers herself to the ground, hoping not to be spotted.
See hears the low moist growls echoing through the room. She slowly crawls out from the middle of the aisle of stoves and ovens to their ends. She peers from the corner of the end to find the source of the noise.
Standing by one of the countertops is a tall figure adorned in a chef’s garb that is embedded in her shadowy petrified skin, which oozes out black sludge. The figure’s jaw hangs slack on her corroded visage, showing sharp mandolins and peelers aligning the inside of her mouth and throat. Various kitchen utensils such as forks, spoons, and ladles protrude from the figure’s lanky arms and thicker legs. The figure uses her long petrified fingers to adjust her appearance and her chef’s hat on her head.
The figure’s lifeless eyes peer around the room as if looking for something particular. Serena turns off her flashlight and grips her frying pan tightly. Serena hears the figure’s crooked feet scrape across the floor like nails on a chalkboard echoing throughout the kitchen. The sharp, screeching low growls get closer and closer to her.
Then she hears it stop. The figure lunges over the stoves and countertops into her aisle. The figure crashes into the overs in the aisle, making the pots and pans fall on her. Serena stands up and quickly backs away from the figure. The figure slowly stands up with various food stains and burns all over her clothes and body.
The figure lowers her jaw further and screeches loudly at Serena. The mandolins and blades embedded within her throat jiggle and scrape against each other, making the noise even more overbearing.
Serena covers her ears from the horrid, cringing noise as the figure keeps shrieking at her. Serena hears the figure stop screeching. As she looks up, she sees the figure lunge at her.
Serena immediately dodges out of the way as the figure crashes into a shelf storing pots, pans, and various kitchen utensils. The knives and other sharp utensils stab into the figure’s skin, making her screech loudly.
Serena quickly exits from the kitchen where she has entered while the figure is injured. She runs to her right in a panic to create more distance between the figure and herself.
Halfway through her sprint, the figure bursts out of the kitchen looking for her. The figure sniffs the air and looks around the dining area for Serena. Serena does not stop and finds herself stop to a halt as she reaches a dead end, a solid oak wall.
She hurriedly turns on her flashlight and shines the light on the wall, hoping to find another rectangular outline of grooves. She hurries her search as she hears the figure’s crooked feet scrap against the wooden floor.
In just the nick of time, she finds a rectangular outline of thicker grooves compared to the ones on the wall. She bursts through the doors into a dimly lit sterile hallway.
She backs away from the doors, hearing the figure rushing after her. The figure bursts through the doors and crashes into the sterile wall, splashing a splotch of black sludge on the area of impact.
The figure recovers from her sudden crash and rushes over to Serena. However, instead of running away, Serena grips the frying pan in her right hand tightly.
The figure lunges at her again. Serena steps to her side while the figure is in mid-lunge. Dropping the flashlight to the floor, Serena uses all of her strength to bring down the frying pan. The frying pan bashes into the figure’s head. She hears an audible crack from her strike, making her cringe.
The figure crashes onto the ground in front of her, staining her clothing and the floor with the thick black sludge.
“Aw…these are my favorite clothes…” she pouts.
She steps away from the unconscious figure and wanders through the dimly lit sterile hallways.
Flint slowly wakes up in a dark void. He finds his wrists and ankles chained down while he is in a sitting-down position. He tries to move and budge, but he struggles to do so.
“Help! Someone…damnit someone help me!” he screams.
His voice echoes throughout the dark void. He tries breaking free from the chains, but their grasp tightens the more he struggles. He stops struggling, wincing in pain.
He looks up and finds the tall shadowy humanoid figure standing in front of him.
“You have fought hard detective, but the ailment has taken control.” The figure whispers into his ear.
“No…I. It can’t be…It can’t!” he shouts. “Damnit…I made a promise to all those people…I can’t….I can’t let them suffer.”
“Detective, I am sorry that I cannot help you in your predicament. But detective, do not falter. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. You are stronger than you think detective. Your job is not done here. You will find a way.” The shadowy figure again whispers into his ear.
The shadowy figure walks away from him, disappearing into the void.
Flint violently shakes on his chains, trying to break himself free.
“Help! HELP!” he screams.
Serena stops in place when she hears the faint screams for help while wandering the sterile hallways. Despite the faint voice, it feels familiar to her. Serena listens closely to the voice, trying to approach its location.
As she approaches closer to the destination, she hears loud bangs and inhuman screeches gradually becoming louder and louder. She grips the frying pan in her right hand tightly as she gets closer to the cries for help.
Serena stands in front of the door of the room, where she hears the cries for help and those other loud noises. She takes a deep breath and opens the door, getting her frying pan at the ready.
Her eyes widen at the figure she finds inside the room. The figure in the room smashes around the laboratory, smashing the shelving full of surgical equipment and operating tables with a spectral revolver in his right hand. Serena notices a radio embedded in the figure’s back, but that is not what stands out to her. What is most notable is the figure wearing Flint’s clothing.
The figure stops smashing around and turns over to Serena. It towers over Serena with his long, petrified legs and arms, his skin like the figure she has just seen, oozing the same black sludge.
“HELP!” Flint’s voice crackles through the radio.
“Flint?” she asks.
Serena’s voice echoes throughout Flint’s mind. Flint looks around while his wrists and ankles are chained to the ground. He again struggles more to try to break free.
As he does, he feels the chain’s grip become unbearably tight on him. However, they do not loosen. Flint screams as the dark energy from the chains flows into him. He feels an unbearable, aching pain as the chain’s grasp on him tightens.
“AGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!” he screams.
Serena is startled when she hears his voice screaming from the radio. She looks back at the figure, staring at him dead into his eyes. The figure shambles towards her, rattling his arms and legs as he approaches closer.
Serena backs away, holding up the frying pan in her hands. The figure screeches loudly and raises his revolver at Serena.
*BANG*
Flint hears the ringing of the bullet coming out of his revolver. He breaks out in a cold sweat, knowing that Serena is also there in the room. He struggles out of his chains harder, hoping to break them off from him.
He struggles to breathe as feels the dark energy filling his lungs. He hacks and coughs loudly within the dark void. He tries screaming out, but the dark energy continues to bombard his lungs.
He screams in desperation.
Serena has blocked the bullet with her pan as the figure stands there, screeching in place. He rattles his entire body with a heavy violent rhythm.
“I will not let anybody get in my way! I will solve this case!” Flint’s voice screams from the radio.
The figure lashes his limbs at Serena. She ducks and dodges out of the way as the figure’s limb crashes onto the floor.
Flint cannot believe those words have left his mouth because he didn’t even intend to say them at all. He feels the dark energy slowly take control of him, but he still keeps on trying to break free from his chains.
Serena blocks the barrage of his from the figure’s arms with the frying pan.
“Flint! It’s me, Serena! You don’t have to attack me!” Serena shouts the figure.
The figure does not stop its continuous barrage. However, as he lashes his right arm, Serena finds the perfect moment and strikes it. The back of the pan is stained in a thick black sludge. The figure backs away and screeches loudly after being hit. The figure aims the revolver at her.
*BANG*
*BANG*
Flint’s breathing becomes more erratic and his body falls limp. He tries so hard to break free, but the dark energy from the chains has complete control over him. Tears stream down his eyes. He is unable to free himself.
“Do not stop me you wretched person!” Flint shouts from the radio.
Serena has dodged all of the figure’s shots. When the revolver clicks empty, the figure lashes it at Serena. Serena deflects the strike with the frying pan.
“Flint, I know this isn’t you. Something terrible happened to you, but you can’t let it take over you!” Serena shouts at the figure.
The figure keeps screeching loudly, as it keeps bombarding her with blows from his arms. Serena parries each of his blows, slowly backing away to gain distance. She again strikes the figure’s right arm before it strikes her.
“Flint, I know you’ve been pushing us away. But I’m not going to leave you here. I won’t let you give up! I know you can keep fighting! So fight it, Flint!”
Flint hears Serena’s words echoing through the dark void. The dark energy has almost complete control over his body at this moment. But he does not let her words go in vain. He knows why he is here, and as she has said, he will not let this darkness corrupt him any further.
Despite his erratic breathing and limp body, with the last of his strength, he tugs on the chains one last time.
“I will free them from this darkness,” Flint mutters weakly.
He breaks free from the chain’s grasp. He sees the entire void being filled with a bright light.
Serena stands there, seeing the figure stopping his assault. She sees the figure writhing in pain as he brings his hands to his face. She sees the figure crash to the ground.
Serena, full of worry, rushes up to the figure.
“Flint? Flint, please be okay…” Serena says, panicking.
Serena cannot help but let her tears run down from her eyes. Her tears fall on the figure’s body. Serena sees the figure slowly move again.
She moves away, gripping her frying pan tightly.
Serena hears a low growl coming from the figure.
“Serena…thank you…” Flint mutters weakly from the radio.
Serena sees Flint slowly rise from the ground. Flint takes a good look at his new corrupted appearance, but he is overall unphased after all he has seen. Before he can say anything else, Serena runs up to him and hugs him tightly.
“Flint…thank goodness you’re okay…” she tells him.
Flint lets her embrace him for some moments more before she eventually lets go. She sees herself and the pan heavily stained by the black sludge, but she doesn’t mind it for now.
Flint sees Serena lower herself on the ground in a sitting position after her brawl with him. Feeling tired as well, he sits next to Serena. The two of them take the moment to finally catch some respite. Serena wipes off some of the black sludge from her clothes and from the pan. The room fills with silence.
Flint looks over to Serena, seeing her breathing heavily and letting the frying pan rest in her lap bottom-side up.
“I’m surprised you managed to survive, and with a frying pan no less,” Flint tells her over the radio.
Serena laughs after hearing his comment.
“I just happened to be very lucky. I regret not asking Sercas for any combat training before this.” She replies.
The room fills again with silence. Flint eyes over to Serena, seeing her still resting and trying to relax. Flint tightens his hands into a fist and exhales. His low sludge-filled screeches echo through the room.
“Serena. I’m sorry for pushing you and the others away.” He tells her as his voice crackles over the radio.
Serena is surprised to hear that coming from him.
“Flint, I know you never meant to hurt us.” She replies. “It’s clear to me and Sercas that you just want to protect us. But, you’ve never worried about yourself. Why?”
Flint sits there, staring off. He reflects on the earlier comments he made to the young kid. Serena lets him take his time to gather his thoughts.
“When I was young, I only had my dad around. We never talked much to each other than the few times he, ‘lectured’ me.” Flint’s voice mutters from the radio.
Flint, despite his now corrupted body, can still locate those areas on his body that carry the lessons from his father’s lessons. Serena keeps quiet and lets him continue.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“He told me that there are two things in life I could be a winner or a mistake. If I cried, he pulled me aside for a special ‘lecture’. If I failed he’d constantly remind me of my failures, just waiting for me to cry. I never wanted to be a detective, but I knew that if I became one my father would finally stop hounding me. I’d never have one of his ‘lectures’ ever again. But when I was in the force, it was all the damn same. They were right to tell me to have a spine and bottle everything up so I could get the case done. But their words kept on bringing me back to those days when my father ‘lectured’ me.” Flint’s voice crackles over the radio.
Serena still notices him eying those very areas on his body. She can see him shivering and sitting there emotionless.
“I know you’ve always looked up to me Serena. But I’m not the great detective you think I am. I never wanted to be one in the first place. I’m weak. I’ve hurt you all. I’m a monster. And…and I’ve failed you all… It’s better if I stay far away from you all.” Flint’s voice crackles on the radio.
Flint notices Serena resting her hand on his.
“Flint, you’re no monster. You’ve been shown and told all your life to be a big strong man. You’ve always felt you had to bear it all because you’re weak. I know the horrors of all your cases Flint, I’ve had to file them, you know? You don’t have to bottle your trauma and feelings, Flint. Your father isn’t here anymore, your other colleagues aren’t here. You have me, Sercas, and your family Flint. You don’t have to push us away, we’re here for you.” Serena tells him.
Flint sees Serena stand up from her place and stand in front of him.
“Flint, you and I both know you aren’t a perfect detective. You may think you aren’t a great detective, but your failures only define you if you never try to get back up. I’ve seen you fail and fall so many times, but I have never seen you stay down. And the Flint I know will never let his falls crush him. He will keep standing, no matter how tempting it may be to just keep lying down. And even though you never wanted to be a detective, even after all this time, I don’t think you regret it, Flint. I know you will keep pushing on. You care about the livelihood of those suffering because you know their suffering when they have to hide their pains behind a mask. I know you’ll keep pushing on to find the truth, to free them.” Serena tells him with confidence.
Serena extends her hands to his.
“Then at the end of the day, he can go back to something he never had in his childhood, a home,” Serena tells him.
Flint takes her hand and slowly rises from the ground.
“I. I made a promise to those poor victims in this facility, and I intend on fulfilling it.” Flint says from the radio, now filled with determination.
Serena cannot help but cry tears of joy, seeing the fire burning deeply within Flint. Flint walks ahead of her and exits the lab room. Serena follows closely behind.
Serena sees Flint at work while wandering down these halls, seeing him enter several lab rooms down the hall. She sees him inspecting every tabletop and cabinet with great effort.
They are currently in a smaller lab room. An operating table rests in the center of the room while surrounded by cabinets and tables containing scalpels and other experiment instrumentation.
“Flint, what are you looking for exactly?” she asks him.
“A report file.” He replies, his voice crackling from the radio.
“Why a report file anyway? Wouldn’t you want to find some other evidence for this case?” she asks.
“It would be a while for me to explain. But the short answer is that I need to know the entity’s identity on this floor.” He tells her, his voice crackling over the radio.
Serena is confused by his response. The identity of the figure she has seen?
“But why would you want to know that thing’s identity?” she asks.
“Because mister will free her.” A young voice mutters from the radio.
Serena jumps back at the young boy’s voice coming from the radio. Flint turns to the door and finds the spectral figure of the young boy standing there. Serena turns around and is frightened by the sight.
“Who the hell is that?” Serena asks in disbelief.
Flint places his large corroded hand on her shoulder to ease her fears.
“Mister promised he would free us, miss.” The young voice explains to Serena.
Serena looks at Flint, who nods in confirmation.
“Mister, I’m sorry you were hurt by the others. I didn’t know…”
“Don’t worry about my current state, kid,” Flints says, cutting him off. “I don’t stay down for long. It won’t stop me from freeing you and everyone else.” He tells him.
Flint and Serena see the figure of the young boy slowly disappear.
“Mister, thank you.” The young voice mutters as he has fully disappeared.
Flint sees Serena staring at him, knowing she wants a deeper explanation.
“That figure is a victim of Romander’s heinous experiments. I have encountered three previous victims and freed them.” He explains.
Serena is disgusted by Romander’s depth of depravity. She feels the same drive Flint has when he is working on a case. She stands there pondering while Flint continues to search the room. An idea pops into her head.
“You know, why don’t we just look for a filing room down here? It wouldn’t hurt to try looking for one before we have to resort to looking through all these labs.” Serena suggests.
Flint stops his search and turns to Serena. He nods in agreement. They both leave the room, searching for the filing room as they wander down the sterile halls of the laboratory.
After wandering the halls and passing by many lab rooms, Flint and Serena stumble across a door made of the same fine dark oak in the dining area. Serena opens the door and they enter the room.
The large bookshelves surround the small oak desk in the center. The room is too cramped to fit both Serena and Flint. Serena enters the room while Flint keeps watch outside, reloading his revolver.
In a matter of seconds, Serena comes out with a report of interest in her hands.
“Damn. With your skills, you should have landed at a prestigious company.” Flint notes.
“True, but I rather work alongside you and Sercas than work at those boring and laborous companies.” She replies.
Flint nods and takes the report from her hands. On the top right corner of the document is a female with tanned skin and medium-curled brown hair. Most of the text on the document is unintelligible ramblings. However, a portion of the document stands out to him as the only intelligible thing on there.
Subject Name: Hell’s Chef (RPG)
Notes: “This new method has finally produced the results I need. With this, I shall finally find the proper vessel for you, Alaya.”
Behind the report is a missing poster of the same woman, wearing a plain red t-shirt in the photo.
Name: Rayne Pastel
Age: 24
Status: Missing
Last Seen: ???
Flint grips his corroded hands tightly onto the report and missing poster. This woman, Argus, Toby, and Christie’s lives have been taken away by this deranged man, Romander, all for the sake of reviving his dear life. He will not let them suffer anymore. Yet even after all these flashbacks, the question remains in Flint’s mind of how Romander can conduct these experiments for this long.
Flint takes a moment to calm down. He gives the documents for Serena to hold. As Flint takes out the camera, he finds a recent photo added to the camera’s storage. It is a photo of Christie Astas standing next to the corrupted version of herself, Madame Broadway.
Flint takes a photo, making sure that his large corroded hands do not block the camera lens. As the camera’s light flashes onto the documents, his camera screen starts flickering as a new photo is being formed on the screen. It shows Rayne’s body slowly corroding away as she desperately cooks a meal.
Serena is still blinking her eyes after the flash. Flint puts away the camera in his inner pocket.
“Serena, was there by any chance a photo attached to these documents?” he asks as his voice crackles from the radio.
“Oh yes, there was. Here.” She replies.
Serena hands Flint a photo of a woman from her pocket while holding the other documents. The fair-skinned woman has short black hair and is dressed in a black leather jacket and a white shirt. She has a confident smile in the photo.
“Is there a reason why you need it?” Serena asks him.
Flint looks at her after finishing his inspection of the photo.
“These photos are of people close to the victim. This photo is important to freeing the figure.” He replies as his voice crackles from the radio. “Now, the tricky part is how to free them. Usually, it has something to do with their hobby or career.”
Flint stands by the office, pondering as to what he can do. Despite the amount of time he has been on this floor, he has not seen the figure. While Flint is distracted by his own thoughts, Serena enters the office again. She places the documents in her hands on the table and approaches the shelves.
Within mere moments she finds the section of the shelf she is interested in, recipes. She takes out the file folder and spreads out the documents on the table. Flint hears Serena’s commotion and enters the room.
Flint notices that she has laid out several recipe cards on the table. He looks up at Serena who motions him to go to her side of the table. After awkwardly fitting through the small passage to the seat-side of the table he starts inspecting the recipe cards.
“Is there a reason for this?” Flint asks as his voice crackles over the radio.
“I’ve met the figure that you’re looking for, Flint. I first encountered her in a kitchen where she was cooking all these odd foods in pots and pans. That and she is wearing a chef’s uniform.” She tells him.
Flint nods as he continues inspecting the recipe cards. After moments of inspecting all of them, he finds one that stands out. He grabs it with his corroded large hands. Unlike the other recipes, the words on the recipe card are handwritten.
Breakfast Barbecue:
Pork Shoulder
Banana Ketchup
Soy Sauce
Calamansi
Garlic Powder
Dark Brown Sugar
Salt
Lemon Soda
White Rice
Garlic
Eggs
-For you, Rina.
“This is our recipe,” Flint’s voice mutters from the radio.
Flint notices Serena bringing over a map of the floor and lays it out on the table. Serena points toward the location of the kitchen on the map. They both find a VIP dining area, hidden away. Serena mentions she has seen the figure come from the area where she has hidden.
Flint and Serena look at each other and nod in understanding. They start devising a plan on how they will free her.
Flint and Serena hear the harsh noise of metal scraping echoing throughout the sterile hallway. Serena grabs the recipe card and the photo of the girl. Flint bends his body as he exits the door with the spectral revolver in his corroded large right hand.
He encounters Hell’s Chef at the end of the hall. She twitches erratically with a butcher’s knife in her hand. She screeches loudly and charges at Flint.
“I will not let these fresh ingredients escape me this time!” a loud, but timid feminine voice shouts for the radio.
Flint allows Hell’s Chef to lunge at him. They both crash to the ground, both releasing their weapons. Flint flails his arms at her, preventing her from shoving him into his mouth. During his struggle, Serena bolts out of the room.
Hell’s Chef sees her running out and gets off of Flint.
“You! I won’t let you escape this time!” the timid feminine voice shouts from the radio.
Hell’s Chef chases Serena down the halls dragging her crooked feet as they scrape the metal loudly on the ground. Flint quickly lifts his corrupted body from the ground and picks up his revolver after stretching his long right arm for it.
Flint aims the revolver at Hell’s Chef’s legs.
*BANG*
A trail of bright green flame erupts from the nose of the gun as the gunshot rings throughout the sterile halls. The bullet pierces through her left arm. Hell’s Chef’s screeches of agony echo throughout the hall. Black sludge and shards of kitchen blades from her gunshot wound are splattered all over the sterile flooring.
Flint manages to catch up and pistol-whips her to the ground. Hell’s Chef tumbles around the pool of black sludge and shards of blades. Her metal-scraping screeches ring through Flint’s ears.
Serena has not stopped bolting through the halls. After several moments of wandering through the halls, she bursts through the doors she has used to enter the laboratory area. Despite her winded state, she proceeds to the kitchen to fulfill her part of the plan.
Flint has been keeping Hell’s Chef pinned to the ground. She continues screeching, struggling to get off the ground. However, her body becomes too slippery for Flint to keep a proper grip on her. His corroded hands slip off her corroded body.
Taking this opportunity, Hell’s Chef shoves Flint off of her. Flint slides back as his corrupted body crashes to the ground. She slowly rises from the pool of black sludge and approaches Flint.
“I will not let you go anymore. I shall cut you up into fine ground meat!” the timid feminine voice exclaims from the radio.
Using her right arm, she forces it down the deep bowels of her gaping mouth. Her left arm becomes covered in blades and cut marks.
She gags loudly as she pulls out another butcher’s knife out of her mouth. She lifts it and brings it down with substantial force. Flint screeches loudly as the knife is stabbed into his chest. Hell’s Chef dislodges the butcher’s knife and raises it again. Black sludge bleeds out from his chest wound and he starts to breathe erratically.
Before she can bring down the blade again, Flint kicks her in the legs. Hell’s Chef falls into the pool of black sludge. The butcher’s knife goes flying off. Flint slowly rises from the ground, covering his chest wound with his free hand.
Realizing that he has bought enough time for Serena, he shambles down the sterile halls. Flint hears Hell’s Chef slowly rise from the ground, scraping her feet against the ground.
“No! Stop! You are the perfect ingredient! I need you!” the timid voice exclaims, desperately pleading for him to stop.
Flint rushes down the halls as Hell’s Chef chases after him with the knife in her hand. Despite the pains in his chest and his erratic breathing, he bolts down the hall.
Flint bursts through the doors and into the dining area. He peers around and finds the area of the kitchen doors. Flint bolts over there as Hell’s Chef tails behind him.
Flint bolts through the kitchen doors and rushes to the opposite end of the room. Flint passes by limbs of other corrupted victims and vegetables on the aisle of countertops. Flint finds the countertop where Serena has put the ingredients, the recipe card, and the photo of the woman.
Flint lowers himself to the ground and lowers the volume of the radio. He hears the kitchen doors burst open from the other side. He hears the low growl of scraping metal blades echo through the kitchen.
“Please…please still be here…” the timid feminine voice whimpers from the radio, only at a volume that Flint can hear.
Hell’s Chef scrapes her feet across the room’s flooring. Hell’s Chef looks around trying to find Flint, but the scent of cooking pots and fresh ingredients bombards her olfactory senses. Flint covers his ears as the grating noise strains his ears.
“Please…please be here…I only want to impress her…” the timid feminine voice whimpers from the radio.
Flint taps the supports of the countertop where he is located. Hell’s Chef hears the noise and approaches the area. Flint, as quietly as possible, crawls away.
Hell’s Chef gets a whiff of fresh and familiar ingredients nearby. She shambles toward the countertop with the ingredients on the recipe card, and the photo of the woman.
Hell’s Chef senses a familiar aura emanating from the card and photo. She brings both of them close to her face. Despite the blurred sight from her eyes, she recognizes the figure of the woman in the photo.
“Rina…” the timid feminine voice mutters over the radio.
Hell’s Chef pins the photo on her jacket.
Flint peers over and sees Hell’s Chef busy at work preparing the meal. He hears the flames on the stove tops behind him crackle and spark loudly. The air is filled with an appetizing aroma as she fries the rice and garlic in a large wok, frying the eggs on a small pan, and grilling the marinated pork shoulder on the grill.
Hell’s Chef plates the food on a simple platter, creating a mound of garlic fried rice, two over-easy eggs, and two skewers of pork barbecue stacked on each other. Flint peers over, impressed and salivating from the meal.
Hell’s Chef takes the plate of food and brings it out to the doors leading to the VIP area. Flint slowly stands up and follows closely behind her.
Serena is seated at one of the lavish booths of the VIP area. She has been waiting there for what seems to be hours for herself. Hell’s Chef exits the kitchen with the meal in her hands. Serena takes a deep breath, easing her nerves.
Flint enters moments after Hell’s Chef does, raising the volume of the
She approaches Serena as her feet scrap against the velvet carpeting of the room. She places the plate of food on Serena’s table.
“I…I made this for you, Rina…I hope you like it…” the timid feminine voice mutters over the radio.
Serena sees Hell’s Chef anxiously waiting for her to take a bite.
Serena uses the spoon and fork on the table and pulls off a piece of pork barbecue from the skewer. She cuts one of the over-easy eggs, bursting its rich dark yellow yolk on the plate. She shovels some garlic fried rice on her spoon and consumes all three pieces together.
She tastes a rich combination of flavors as she swallows the food.
“So Rina…do you like my food?” a timid feminine voice mutters from the radio.
“I…I do.” Serena replies.
Serena shovels in more food, enjoying its wonderful taste. Serena looks up and sees genuine joy emanating from Hell’s Chef’s corroded visage. Despite her hanging jaw, Hell’s Chef does her best to form a smile.
“I…I finally did it…” the timid feminine voice mutters from the radio.
Flint approaches Hell’s Chef from behind, resting the nose of his gun behind her head. She does nothing as she is filled with happiness from this occasion. He pulls the trigger.
*BANG*
A bullet that is surrounded by a bright green flame pierces through Hell’s Chef’s head. A great bright light erupts from her bullet wound. Serena covers her eyes as she takes cover under the table.
“Finally…I had the courage to make her this dish…” the timid feminine voice mutters from the radio.
The room is enveloped with the same bright light as Hell’s Chef’s body fades away. Flint covers his eyes from the blinding light as his surroundings slowly change.
Flint’s eyes open as the light slowly dissipates. Instead of the lavish VIP dining area, he is now in the kitchen of a small restaurant. The aroma of freshly grilled meats and spices enters his nostrils and the frying of some food in the deep fryers causes him to salivate.
He finds Rayne in the kitchen, dressed in a gray chef’s garb and a simple baker boy cap over her medium-curled brown hair. She is busy walking back and forth making sure all the foods are being cooked and keeping high quality control. She ignores Flint like he isn’t even there at all.
As he is in the kitchen, he doesn’t feel as tall as before, nor does he feel that his limbs are lanky and sticky. He looks at himself and notices he has returned to his original human form.
Flint turns around and finds the owner entering the kitchen The owner is a large man with a smile always on his face that is surrounded by his fluffy white beard. He wears a simple polo shirt and khakis.
“It’s good to see you working hard Rayne!” the man jovially exclaims. “Might you need any help?”
Rayne does not answer him and keeps focusing on the work at hand.
“Well…I suppose you don’t need my help then. I’ll be in the front of the house if you need me.” He tells her.
The man walks out of the kitchen and lets Rayne continue working. Flint sees the time pass by quickly, seeing Rayne performing her job with all her effort and best capabilities.
At the end of the day, Rayne checks everything in the kitchen, making sure all the equipment is cleaned and turned off. She peers out of the window on the door from the kitchen, seeing some of the waiters and the owner relaxing and talking to each other after their work.
Rayne quietly leaves, clocking out. Flint notices his surroundings slowly change around him.
Flint is now standing in a small apartment bedroom. There is barely enough room for him to walk around as the shelves full of various plush toys, the twin-sized bed with many pillows, and the work table occupy most of the space in the room.
Rayne Pastel enters her room wearing a plain red t-shirt and black shorts. She crashes into her bed and surrounds herself with the many pillows on her bed.
He hears her loud sighs as Rayne sinks into her comfy bed. Flint notices her turning herself up and facing the ceiling. She lies down on her bed, reflecting on her colleague’s gathering after her shift.
“Should I have joined them?” she asks herself. “No…I shouldn’t. It would be a waste of time if I did.”
Rayne looks over to her culinary arts degree hanging on her wall. Suddenly memories of her past flood her mind. She remembers how everyone disregarded her, and ignored her very existence. They told her she wouldn’t make it, that she wasn’t good enough. They never have given her a chance, and she doesn’t give them one. She sighs heavily and looks back to the ceiling.
“It would waste my time from my cooking. You have to show them, Rayne, show them what you’re capable of. I have them that I exist, that I have actual skills!”
Flint looks at her with a face of concern. He sits down by the side of her bed, trying to comfort her. He knows her pains all too well.
He sees his surroundings fade away. They slowly transform into a medium-sized dining area, which has neat rows of metal chairs and tables, of the restaurant that Rayne works in. The restaurant is fairly empty. The owner is standing by the small reception stand by the entrance, He hears the front door of the restaurant open.
He finds a fair-skinned woman casually strolling into the restaurant, flaunting her short black hair, sleek black leather jacket, ripped jeans, and a clean white t-shirt.
Flint recognizes her as the woman from the photo. The owner approaches her and greets her with a firm handshake and a large smile.
“Good to see you again Rina!” he greets her.
The man leads Rina to her usual seat. She sits casually down on the chair.
“I’ll have the usual boss,” Rina tells him.
The owner writes down her usual order, barbecue skewers and coleslaw.
“Anything else?” the owner asks.
Rina boldly takes the order ticket from the owner and writes something down on it. She gives it back to the owner.
“Let her read what’s on it,” Rina tells him.
The owner catches her drift and brings the ticket to the kitchen. Flint follows closely behind.
In the kitchen, Rayne, in her usual chef’s attire, makes sure the grills and fryers are heated for any possible orders. The owner and Flint enter the kitchen. The owner places the ticket on the countertop for her to read.
Rayne takes the ticket as the owner leaves the kitchen. She takes a look at the ticket, and her face turns red when she reads on the ticket.
Table 4
Barbecue Skewers
Coleslaw
You and me tomorrow after your work, cutie~
Rayne immediately puts aside the ticket and feels her heart ready to burst out of her chest. She walks back and forth in the kitchen, trying to get the meats and other ingredients ready to prepare the food.
Flint observes her struggling to prepare the meal as she cannot stop thinking about Rina’s bold approach. Even though she has only seen Rina from a distance, she cannot help but feel an attraction towards her.
“No…just stop it, Rayne. Do you know what these feelings are? They’re distractions. They won’t help you at all. Just focus on your work, and get it done. Show them that you are capable. That you deserve to be a chef.” She mutters to herself.
Flint stands there as Rayne shakes her body and tries to focus on making her food.
“Please, Rayne. Don’t end up like me.” Flint mutters.
After several minutes, Rayne has prepared Rina’s meal. She puts the plate on the pass and calls for the owner. The owner walks in, with his usual genuine smile on his face as he gets the plate.
“You know, if you need to get off work early tomorrow, just let me know, alright?” he tells her.
Rayne focuses on cleaning her station, acting as if she doesn’t hear him. The owner leaves with the plate. After hearing him exit Rayne secretly sneaks up to the door, with Flint following her.
They both peek out the round windows on the doors. Rayne cannot stop blushing as she observes Rina eating the dish she has prepared in the dining room. They both see Rina’s satisfied expression as she consumes her meal. Rina notices Rayne looking out from the kitchen door. She winks at her, before going back to her meal.
Rayne backs away from the kitchen door with her visage now as red as a tomato and feeling as hot as the flames heating the grills. Flint again notices her trying to suppress these feelings by distracting herself with her usual duties in the kitchen.
Flint feels his heart sink as she sees her do this.
“Please Rayne, if you can even hear me, don’t do this to yourself. Once you enter that dark road, it will be so damn long for you to find the light. Please…don’t end up like me.” He says out loud.
Flint sees his surroundings slowly change. His surroundings form into Rayne’s apartment bedroom. He sees her sitting down in her chair on her desk. He approaches her and peers over her shoulder.
He sees her with a blank recipe card, tapping her pen on her table. Even though Rina and all the other customers are always happy to eat her cooking, that isn’t her food.
Rayne will never prove to them that she is an amazing chef if she can’t even serve her own food. Yet despite this motivation, she struggles to write down anything on the card. Because it isn’t about that motivation for her. Rayne becomes frustrated as her affection for Rina clouds her judgment and thinking.
Rayne has always found her attractive in both her looks and personality, but as she keeps telling herself, love will get in the way of her pursuit of showing everyone she isn’t one to ignore.
Rayne sighs as she finds herself writing down the ingredients for her special dish, even writing a cute message for Rina at the end. She gets into bed, hoping that her slumber will make her forget about her actions.
Flint’s surroundings change again, this time to the kitchen at night. He sees Rayne standing there by the pass. Flint notices that all the ingredients for her special meal have been prepared on the countertop. He can see the uncertainty in Rayne’s expression as she looks at Rina’s usual order and recipe card.
“Damnit…why is this such a difficult decision?” Rayne mutters to herself. “Just cook the order…stop looking at your dish…this isn’t what she wants. My dish isn’t something anyone wants. It’s not good enough, and you’ll get fired! You…just cook what’s on the order. Throw away all the crap you have on here.”
Flint sees tears stream down Rayne’s eyes as she throws away all the fresh ingredients she has prepared. She wipes her eyes and focuses on cooking what Rina has ordered. But every time she tries to cook the meal, she ends up burning the meat or screwing up in making the coleslaw.
Flint tries to stop her, despite knowing his efforts will be in vain. Each mistake she makes her feel worse and worse. Instead of proving them wrong, she’s proving them right. She cannot handle the pressure in the kitchen. Flint follows her as she rushes outside of the kitchen.
Flint sees Rayne leaning against the restaurant, wiping her tears.
“They’re right…I’m not good enough. I’m letting my affection for Rina cloud my mind. Damn it…I don’t need love! Love has no place in my life! Because what will love do for me if I want to succeed? Nothing! That’s why…that why’s I’m a failure…they’re right…” Rayne mutters.
Flint cannot hold back his tears any longer as they stream down his face. He is reminded of his time in college. But unlike Rayne, he is lucky to have Ronlo break down those walls so he can feel the true warmth of love. Oh, how Flint misses him so. How after all of this, he cannot wait to return and mend his bonds with his family and closest friends.
Flint hears the soft steps of someone approaching. Flint turns over and his eyes widen to see Romander, now old and decrepit, still in his filthy clothing. Rayne is too distraught to notice him approaching her.
“Look at this poor soul suffering. I do not wish to hear your cries, young one.” Romander tells her.
Rayne looks up and notices Romander standing in front of her. Not recognizing the old man, she immediately backs away.
“What do you want?” she asks.
“Oh lost soul, do not run away from me. For I am here to guide you to redemption.” Romander mutters to her.
“Get away from me!” Rayne screams.
Before she can run any further, Romander suddenly teleports in front of her. She ends up tripping as she is halted in her escape attempt. Romander teleports behind her and puts her in a chokehold. She falls unconscious.
Flint tries to stop Romander from dragging her away to his van. Romander throws her unconscious body into his van and it drives off. Flint hears someone else running to the back, he turns around and finds Rina looking around.
“Rayne? Are you here? I heard you crying, are you alright?” she asks out loud into the night.
No one responds.
“RAYNE!” Rina screams.
Flint is engulfed in darkness. A large bright light suddenly illuminates the large kitchen in the facility, where Rayne is strapped down in a chair in the middle. Instead of her barker boy cap, she wears the stereotypical tall chef’s hat. The straps on her legs and arms have needles that are connected to a large container of a shadowy malevolent thick fluid.
Rayne slowly wakes up and panics seeing herself strapped down in the chair. Flint and Serena hear the crackling of a loudspeaker. Flint stands there, knowing he has to witness one of Romander’s horrid experiments again.
“This experiment shall test the final iteration of the FMNL-X serum. I pray that this subject will react positively to this iteration.” Romander announces over the loudspeaker.
“Let me out-”
Rayne is interrupted as the needles are forcibly injected into her body. She winces as the shadowy liquid flows into her body. She tries breaking free, but she cannot.
After all the liquid has been injected into her body, the straps loosen. She immediately gets off the chair. Her breaths become heavier and her steps become sloppier.
“If you so wish to earn your freedom, follow the instructions on the card. Experiment #590: The Meal.” Romander announces.
Rayne finds the card on the countertop and her eyes widen when she finds her recipe for breakfast barbecue. She looks around the kitchen and gathers woks, knives, and fresh ingredients.
She places them on the counter and starts prepping them. However, before she can turn on the heat, she starts screaming in pain. She feels the shadowy fluid in her body constricting her nerves. As she looks at her body, her once tan skin has now slowly become dark and shadowy, like fluid flowing inside of her.
Despite the pain, she turns the heat on for the grill and wok. She prepares the marinade as the pain worsens throughout her body.
“Make it stop! Make it stop!” she screams as she continues preparing the food.
She struggles to slice the pork shoulder as her hands continuously shiver, causing the knife to be lodged in the meat. She is not satisfied with her cuts and discards the pork shoulder for another fresh one.
She feels a sharp pain coming from her right arm as she is doing her best to cut the meat cleanly. She notices her right arm slowly corroding away, and stretching. She screams in agony as she feels the bones breaking in her body as they too corrode and melt away.
She manages to cut the meat properly and put the slices in the marinade. As she puts the rice in the wok, she collapses to the ground as both of her legs undergo the same transformation as her arms. She slowly rises from the ground, despite her shaky legs and the sharp pains she feels from them.
She sloppily chops the garlic and places it in the wok as the rice is fried. At this point, her left arm corrodes and stretches just like her right. She still powers through the pain as she puts the marinated pork onto the grill.
Rayne feels her chest corrode and stretch away, the pain becomes too unbearable for Rayne and she collapses to the ground. The food starts to burn, and there is nothing she can do about it. She’s a failure.
Rayne lies there and screams in agony as her jaw falls slack and stretches downward. Then it all stops. Her now corrupted body stays there, motionless.
Then, she slowly moves. She slowly stands up and despite her new form, she retains her timid and unsure nature as she gazes upon the burned food. She cries and whimpers, failing to create something great.
“Experiment #590: The Meal. Success. The perfect vessel shall be found for you, Alaya.”
The entire room becomes surrounded by darkness, which engulfs Flint. In the darkness, he sees a white transparent distorted cloud. He sees the cloud slowly refigure itself into a humanoid shape. Flint sees the cloud form into Rayne’s figure. There are injection marks on her arms and legs.
Flint grips his fist tightly, seeing that Rayne has befallen the same fate as him. All because of that bastard Romander.
“You freed me…you freed this failure…” Rayne mutters.
Flint looks up at her and shakes his head, disagreeing with her notion.
“But I am, mister. Throughout my life, I was always told I wasn’t good enough, that I was worthless. In grade school and high school, I got average grades, and in college, my classmates questioned why I was even there at all. I needed to show them that I was better than they thought. I needed to show them that I deserved respect and deserved to be there. And so, I spent day and night honing my cooking skills and creativity. Nothing else mattered because it won’t let me get better. That is, until when I got my job at that restaurant. My boss was so kind and caring, yet I kept my head down and only talked to him when necessary. As I kept working there, I saw a beautiful woman there, Rina, and my mind couldn’t get off of her. I couldn’t let my affection and love cloud my mind. Love won’t help me get better and love wastes my time. But it was so hard to bottle it up. And when I finally forsaken her love, I felt so lost and defeated. Out of everyone in this world, Rina and my boss were the ones who gave me a chance, and I ignored them. I just wish one day I could apologize to my boss and Rina. And one day…I hope I can go on that date with Rina. But…even though I haven’t met you, I feel you understand my pains, like you have gone through something similar. Mister, don’t waste your opportunity to be with the ones you care for. Don’t end up like me.”
“I won’t Rayne,” Flint replies. “And I promise you, that you will finally be with Rina again. You will be from your pains.”
Flint sees a humanoid figure beside Rayne, placing its shadowy hand on her shoulder.
“Rayne, you have spent all your life honing your craft to show that you matter. Now it is time for you to use your honed craft to bring those who care about you closer to you. But I cannot guide you just yet.” The figure whispers into his ear. “Trust in this detective’s words. He will free you from this hell.”
Rayne looks at Flint and nods.
“Thank you…” Rayne mutters.
The humanoid figure guides Rayne away.
“Detective, your job is far from over. There are still so many you must save. But rage, rage against the dying of the light. You will free them.” The humanoid figure whispers into Flint’s ears.
“I will.” He determinedly says.
Flint stumbles around, feeling his body and eyelids become heavier. He falls to the ground, passing out.