CHAPTER SEVEN:
Three months later…
Sky switched off the ignition of the car. This was the place, much to her surprise. She checked the GPS function on her smart watch and confirmed it, just to be sure. The asylum was abandoned, had been for the best part of the last century. Arlow Asylum. An interesting coincidence with the respected family that once owned the now destroyed Encarta Island. The two families and properties were however not in the remotest related. Arlow Asylum was situated on the outskirts of the Black Forest in Germany. It was set upon once impressive grounds, a large expanse of land that was now run down and in utter disarray. The once proud fields that probably helped rehabilitate the mental patients were now lush jungles of wild grass and wilder flowers. The asylum itself was a tall harsh building, very gothic in texture. Perhaps it had once looked foreboding, before the guts of the place fell inwards. With its broken windows and extensive disrepair, it now looked sad and forlorn.
Quite why the signal had blipped here whetted Sky’s curiosity.
It had been three months since Encarta Island had blown up, a giant overblown tragedy that had dominated the media for the better part of a week. Rain Corporation had not only lost a giant asset, they had also attracted great criticism and suffered something of a public fall from grace. Now Rain Corp had become synonymous with the deaths of innocent civilians. There was not a single survivor of the event, everyone had perished. It was a significant toll and it had rocked the corporation’s foundations.
The government had helped cover the whole affair up, helping point blame for the terrible tragedy on a power meltdown. It was in their best interests to keep Rain Corp afloat when their entire “clone” assets were still nestled deep within the company. The tragedy was a very sad incident and had impacted very hard onto Rain Corporation, yet it hadn’t been the death knell some had feared.
There had been huge financial ramifications over Encarta Island, both fines and compensation expenditures, but they’d weather it. In time they’d accumulate the money lost. The greatest loss they’d suffered was they’d lost all the data from the Island, apart from the barebones framework emailed over long before the outbreak. There was very little hope left from the small salvage crews operating on the site, they only seemed to find more human remains instead of useable data.
The death toll was tragic and grim, most of the dead’s bodies still to be recovered. But everything about it was further soured when all the employee‘s work had gone up in flame. It had made their unfortunate deaths entirely meaningless.
Encarta Island was a terrible tragedy that Rain Corp as an entity desperately wanted to tie up and move on from, which they had taken great effort to do so. They indulged in a lot of charity work in an effort to cleanse their image of the tragedy. They’d generously compensated the families of those lost. They’d held countless press conferences and maintained a carefully manicured veil of transparency. It had worked too, for the public opinion was softening. The stocks were slowly beginning to rise.
So while it was a very tense and precarious time, it certainly appeared things were slowly on the rise. Even the government officials who had begun covertly working to disentangle the clones from the corporation eased off, it seemed it had all turned a corner.
But then something very strange happened, which demanded the Corporation’s attention. Three weeks ago the Sky clone recovered from the Island escaped the treatment facility and seemingly vanished into thin air. The recovered clone had spent two months being rejuvenated in stasis, her wounds had long been healed but her mental state was seemingly deeply fractured. Every attempt to rouse her and rehabilitate her had been too much, she had broken down within hours. She had become upset, neurotic even. So each time they returned her to the stasis tank and prayed whatever neurological damage that had occurred could be remedied. Nobody knew what had transpired on the island, but it had to have had an extensive damaging psychological affect on the clone. They just didn’t know what it was. What had she seen that had fractured her so?
They still had no idea what had happened on the island, their sole witness was Sky. They only knew the little snippet shared moments before communication was lost. They wanted to know what Rain had done, but they were still waiting on those answers…
Since her escape the clone had managed to keep an incredibly low profile, somehow avoiding the governments far reaching eyes and remaining completely off the radar till she surfaced briefly right here at the rundown Asylum. Sky was sure that it meant the clone, now dubbed Rogue, was travelling somewhere. Why else would she have left the UK? Quite why she was running this new Sky didn’t know, nor could she understand why. What did Rogue have to flee from? Where was she heading to? So many questions to whet her curiosity. The appetite for answers niggled at her more than it should because it seemed so uncharacteristic for the clone…
Sky should know, they were one and the same after all.
Sky had been brought out of stasis and then prepped rather quickly. She had been in and out of conditioning for a few months now, but this was her first true operation out on the field. It was quite exciting. The corporation wouldn’t normally have trusted such an important mission to a rookie, but they knew if anyone would be able to track Rogue down it would be Sky. Or rather the Sky the 2nd…
So here she was, staring at a decrepit asylum wondering just why the clone had pinged up here. A momentary blip from the microchip in the clone’s neck had been all it took to leak her location. Sky glanced up at the evening sky and wondered if her own microchip lodged under her skin was broadcasting her exact location via the satellite too. She couldn’t feel the small plastic pill embedded in the skin at the base of her neck, but she knew it was there. How had Rogue managed to keep the satellite from picking up on her microchip? It was an interesting question. Just as interesting was the question of how Rogue had learnt to at all…
Sky climbed out of the range rover, leaving the key in the ignition. She hadn’t passed a single car in the last ten minutes, she didn’t think it was likely her car would be stolen anytime soon. Especially on a little dirt lane off the main road. She slammed the door shut and appraised the rundown asylum again.
Why would Rogue come here of all places? Unless she was just travelling through? Keeping to the quiet roads and staying out of sight… If Rogue was indeed just passing through here, then hopefully Sky would pick up a trail. It was less than thirteen hours since the unexpected ping. It was highly unlikely that the clone would still be here, but she would have to rule it out. Not a stone was to be left unturned on this mission, she wanted to make a good impression… She couldn’t imagine why anyone would set up base here though. The clone had to be on the move… She anticipated she would find evidence of Rogue’s presence, pick up a trail and be on the road once more before the evening drew dark around her. It didn’t feel like the type of place that anybody would deliberately seek out, let alone a fleeing clone…
Sky was dressed in dark cargo pants, tall black boots, a deep maroon vest-top and a dark purple leather jacket. Her hair was loose and it hung around her shoulders. Her white fringe was tucked behind her ear. It was a very casual attire, but not entirely defenceless. She had a combat blade wedged inside one of her boots and she had one of her beloved Sig Sauer’s in a holster under her left armpit. It was concealed beautifully within the jacket.
Casual, yet deadly still.
She approached the heavily rusted wrought iron gates and tested them. They were secured by a chain and padlock, a modern and shiny padlock attached to a rusted chain. Nothing particularly extensive, the gate was more of a deterrent than actual security.
The gates came apart enough for Sky to slip through easily.
Definitely more of a deterrent…
The fields were tall and dense, towering and spilling onto the misshapen gravel drive that led to the building. The front door stood half rotted off the hinges. Dirt, dust, litter and debris had collected in every corner the eye could see.
She took a breath, she wasn’t sure if the smell of neglect was welcomed after spending so much time breathing clean and filtered air of a lab. She scanned the giant hall looking for any leads, none stood out. There were two grand doors to her side, another and even grander door before her under the stairwells. She couldn’t tell how many doors lined the first floor balcony. The doors were all carved from thick darkly polished wood and were ornately fashioned. The wallpaper had faded, the colour long lost and had fallen away in uneven patches. She turned right, for no particular reason, and headed into the next room. She disturbed a small pack of mice as the doors swung open. It was a long and very weathered empty room that Sky suspected might once have been a dining room. She could picture it in her mind’s eye, the long table in the middle of the room. She trekked through, ignoring the small piles of litter, foliage and dust that circled the room. None of the windows had survived and the wind whipped coldly through the room. The next room was small, too small for her to understand its purpose. The next was a dirty kitchen, it was curious seeing such an old fashioned kitchen. How accustomed to modern life Sky was when she sorely missed running her eyes over such simple pleasures like a kettle. She had a brief flash of her own simple little apartment on the training facility grounds. The little apartment that sometimes felt more of a playhouse than her actual abode. The next few rooms were just as empty and dirty as the previous ones. She retreated back to the main hall. So far no evidence of Rogue’s visit.
She thought about taking the room opposite, but decided to postpone that in favour of the one beneath the stairs. The heavy door resisted her push a little but eventually conceded. It groaned open and she was met with a long thin corridor. The same discoloured and faded wallpaper greeted her, so too did the identical dirty floor tiles. Multiple rooms branched off on the left side, in rows ahead of her. The furthest end of the corridor finished in a heavy door. The row of windows lining the wall alongside her right were high and square, offering light but no view outside due to their height. Warped wooden panels lined the wall and cast a strange atmosphere, it was a peculiar choice.
She was prepared to try each room one by one but something caught her eye. A small scuff mark on the floor when there was no door to open to cause it. Just another wooden panel, like all the others that lined that particular wall. She surveyed the other panels but noting seemed amiss amongst the rot and neglect, but that didn’t stop her pressing against the one nearest her. When it clicked and slid under her touch she felt like she’d just stepped into a ghost story. It opened up a little, just enough for Sky to prise it open. The secret door met with a little resistance from the floor and she concluded that was how it was scuffed. She was ready for a secret closet, or even a secret room. Instead she was greeted by a secret stairwell. How very peculiar…
The mystery thickened as she headed into the opening and descended the steps slowly. It went deep, with rather steep steps, before it then curled back on itself. Natural light was lost and she had to remove the torch from her trouser pocket. She clicked it on and headed deeper.
The smell of damp was stronger than it had ever been.
It felt a little suspicious that the Asylum had a secret basement, she wondered whether the patients would steal down here themselves. She stepped into a large room that was lined with odd looking furniture poking from under yellowed dust-sheets. She ignored the furniture that filled the room in sporadic piles, there seemed little point to removing the dust sheets to reveal antiquated furniture. She was about to retreat and call it all a waste of time when she spotted something glisten faintly in the torchlight. It drew her in like a lighthouse to a sailor.
Upon closer inspection it was a key card. It had the company name of “C3LL” emblazoned upon it. There was nothing else on the white card, the ID photo had been scratched and peel away. It was very much out of place and incredibly suspicious, very suspicious. She took the key card and placed it in a pocket, it might come in handy later. Had Rogue dropped it? But why did she have a C3LL Keycard? Why had she come down here?
She glanced around, then decided that she ought to give this basement a thorough exploration. She headed deeper into the basement and was eventually greeted by a modern set of steel doors. It was a stark surprise to find. How very odd…
Now she partially understood why Rogue had come here, but it didn’t explain why there was a heavy metal door in the secret basement of a rundown asylum.
She glanced around, but there was no other modern trappings to be seen.
“What are you doing here?“ She found herself asking the door. Her soft English voice, with that posh little twang, echoed softly around her. She studied the door closely; it worked via key card. She pressed the dropped key card up against it and the door unlocked.
That was nice and easy…
Too nice and easy?
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The other side of the door was like stepping through a looking glass. The corridor that greeted her was pristine and neat. Mint-green paint was coated on the stonework and shiny metal doors reflected the artificial lights overhead. It was the complete opposite of the decay she’d left behind. She could smell a strange, almost industrial smell. What was this place and what was it doing underneath the asylum? Had someone built a whole new wing under the asylum? If so, who?
She quietened her disbelief for a moment, there was much to understand here.
She cautiously crept forward and realised the shiny doors were actually cell doors, the long corridor before her was actually lined with prison cells. Had somebody repurposed the old solitary confinement cells? Mystery was rife in the ventilated air.
She dared a glance in the nearest one, peering into the viewing window built into the door. She wasn’t sure if she should expect someone on the other side. She almost jumped at the sight of an inhabitant in the room.
A male dressed in military garb was sat in the corner of the room shaking and whispering to his hand. He was frantic in his conversation, a conversation he was holding solely with himself. Should she speak? Or was it better that her presence was unannounced?
“I didn’t kill him ma’am… I loved him” the soldier whispered emphatically to the wall. It struck Sky as a definitive sign of madness.
Why was there a solider imprisoned here? She didn’t know what was odder; the mad soldier or the super modern wing built onto a rundown and decrepit asylum.
The next cell contained another solider, he was naked and stood with his back to her. Gibberish had been finger painted on the walls with his own faeces. Sky’s stomach rolled when she saw the man was chewing on a shitty finger as he contemplated the writings before him. She glanced at every cell she passed and saw more and more soldiers, all at varying stages of madness. What the hell was going on here? When she reached the last cell she’d counted twelve. Twelve mad soldiers… Why?
She exited the corridor through an automatic doorway and found herself in a new main hall. She had emerged on a first floor balcony. White matte doors lined the walls next to her, and the décor was the same shade of crushed mint. She glanced over the rail and saw this new main hall had a similar split staircase as the asylum. The flooring was speckled white tiles and the woodwork was painted white. It made the entire hall look fresh, yet cold. This was an incredible sight to behold, an entire facilit
y had been built underneath the Asylum.
She stopped and reflected for a moment. Who the hell had planned this? Who on Earth had decided to build all this?! Who had had way more money than sense…?
She stepped forward, the proportions and layout of the Hall were strikingly reminiscent of the asylum. No, it was identical. Everything about the hall was identical, except the colours. She was looking at a thoroughly modern clone of the asylum above her.
But it was underground…
She glanced to the ample number of windows, they were frosted and tinted but clean warm light shone through. A simple parlour trick to simulate an outside world.
In the middle of the hall’s floor laid a logo she recognised. “C3LL”. Their logo and symbol was made from three C’s. Why had they built an asylum underneath an asylum…?
C3LL was a biological powerhouse, but it wasn’t Rain’s biggest competitor. She was surprised their pockets were deep enough to fund something like this… She was amazed that someone had wanted to build it at all. Maybe the sheer incredulousness and audacity of the build was a means of its protection? Nobody would ever consider something like this. So that begged the question, what did they have to protect down here? What were they up to? She doubted this build was purely to satisfy some warped architect‘s desires.
Sky began to head for the stairs, ignoring the doors she passed. So this secret complex was why Rogue had come here, but what she doing with C3LL? What business did she have with them? She glanced around the hall, this was almost utterly crazy. Its entire existence was hovering on the edge of absurdity. A new thought came to mind; where was everyone?
She halted and reflected on that. Yes, where was everybody? Had this facility been abandoned? Abandoned save for the demented soldiers in the holding cells? Hmm…
Sky descended the stairs and headed for the front door. She was curious what awaited outside the front door of an underground complex, but it was locked and her key card didn’t have the appropriate clearance. Undeterred she headed instead for the door beneath the stairwell. She was curious to know what exactly C3LL were doing down here. The door opened before she reached it.
The Rain In The Sky Page 12