Beyond The Coral (A Luberto Story)

Chapter 13- The Doctor's Plan

TW- I don't even know anymore, creepy/disturbing imagery

Darkness filled the room.

Nobody knew where this room was. Nobody knew what building the room was in. Nobody knew where the building was. That was exactly what he wanted. It was all going according to plan.

The doctor swept his long, greasy hair away from his eyes. He could feel the grime continue to layer on his forehead as strands of his hair fell down on his face. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he last had a bath.

Near the door, the doctor kept a large, complicated piece of machinery that was bolted to the wall. It included a large, electronic screen that had an adjustable map of Genova. In front of the screen, the doctor kept an outrageous amount of phones, which were all connected to the large machine. This was the tracking device that the doctor and his team could use to track phones all across the city of Genova. Any call made to or from Genova could be recorded and listened to right in this very spot. The doctor was pleasantly surprised with how well it worked. Mr. Beckett had truly outdone himself.

He remained focused on the task at hand and stumbled around the dark room, keeping his body leaned against the wall to not trip over anything. He finally reached a tiny table and grasped something that sat on top of it. The doctor knew it was a radio, so he turned it on and adjusted it to the correct channel. Even though he couldn't see, he had adjusted the radio's knob so much that he didn't need to see. He had developed muscle memory for adjusting to the news channel at this point. It started to play audio that was crackling and distorted.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. WELCOME TO THE 8:00 PM EVENING NEWS. TONIGHT'S BIGGEST STORY INVOLVES LOCAL MAYOR ALFRED BECKETT, WHO HAS WON REELECTION FOR MAYOR WITH A LANDSLIDE VICTORY. GENOVA CAN NOW LOOK FORWARD TO A BRIGHTER AND BETTER-

The doctor turned off the radio before the news story finished. He had heard everything he needed to hear. Mr. Beckett could stay in office, which means his operation could continue as well. It was all going according to plan.

Suddenly, a door connected to the room opened forcefully, emitting a burst of light into the dreary atmosphere. A fine layer of dust was visible on almost everything in the room, but it quickly disappeared as the door slammed shut.

While at first, the doctor was frustrated with the sudden entrance, he soon realized that his assistant Lesley had dropped off a gift, the exact one he had asked for. Oh yes, oh yes! It was all going according to plan.

Using the little vision he had, the doctor approached the door slowly, kneeling down to pick up what had been left. It was a small syringe, filled with a peculiar green liquid. The doctor grinned, his body shaking in anticipation.

It
was
all
going
according
to
plan

The doctor made his way back over to the table with the radio and grabbed the other object that sat next to it. It was a lantern, one that could only be fueled by actual flames. The doctor pulled out a match and matchbook from
his coat pocket and set the lantern ablaze, immediately giving him the light he would need shortly.

He walked over to the end of the room, which had an ancient-looking curtain that hung from a metal bar on the ceiling. Whatever the curtain was hiding, it was certainly what the doctor was looking for. The curtain was stained with something resembling the gravy you'd eat with mashed potatoes.

The doctor pulled back the curtain and lit up the mysterious secret corridor. It was obviously an old shower, but it had not been used for years. There was a drain on the floor and a dented shower head that was still somehow bolted to the wall. But those were not things the doctor cared about.

What he did care about was the stretcher that he kept behind the curtain— specifically, what he kept on the stretcher.

It was a body.

Not a sea monster, but a human body. It was a woman who had clearly been dead for quite a while. Her lips were swollen, and the hair on her head was starting to fall off. The color of her skin was fading, turning into a deep blueish-purple color. Her skin was also covered in strange white blemishes. The nails on her fingers and toes were gone, leaving behind only small, grotesque stumps. The worst part, however, was her eyes. Her eyes remained wide open, staring at the ceiling as if there was someone there. But there was only the doctor there, who was staring back at her. And while other people would be horrified at the sight of her, the doctor was enthralled. The sight of the poor woman seemed to give him a sickly feeling of hope and motivation that he lacked.

The doctor held the syringe in the palm of his hand and lifted it into the air, squeezing out the air bubbles. He looked down at the woman, his eyes glued to her face. Gently, he grabbed her right arm and injected the liquid into her bloodstream. A white blemish appeared in the spot where the syringe entered. His eyes remained glancing at the woman's face as he patiently waited for any movement. Any movement at all.

...

Nothing.

The doctor yelled at the top of his lungs, throwing the syringe against the stained wall. It shattered into little pieces, spreading the syringe's contents across the tiled floor. It quickly drained through the drain in the floor.

He ran his fingers through his greasy hair, taking in deep breaths that gradually became shakier. Pacing around the room in frustration, the doctor tried to calm himself down. Taking in deep breaths wasn't helping like he had been told before.

The doctor set down the lantern and walked to the other corner of the room, which he knew had a phone that was hidden somewhere in the darkness. The farther away he got from the lantern, the more the darkness consumed him.

Fumbling with the number pad, the doctor dialed the number he had called a million times before.

'Yes, Doctor?'

"Lesley..." the doctor paused, elongating his words. "Mark test 576 as incomplete."

'Of course. Is there anything else you—'

The doctor didn't bother to listen to the rest of that. He hung up the phone and carried on with his frantic pacing around the room.

Out of nowhere, the phone rang once again. The doctor growled in frustration and sloppily grabbed the phone as his fingers stumbled with the cord.

"What?!" He growled.

'Sorry, doctor. I just wanted to let you know that I've gotten in touch with Mr. Beckett. He is ready to supply you with the Marine gear you need. In fact, we can get our divers in the trenches by... tomorrow night'

The doctor didn't answer and instead hung up the phone. He didn't care about that right now. He couldn't care about that right now.

He solemnly looked over at the woman once more. Suddenly, as if on command, he calmed down. No longer breathing spastically or throwing random objects at the wall, the doctor walked back to the curtain and took a seat next to the woman.

He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but no words came out. Instead, he delicately grasped the woman's cheek, rubbing it slightly.

"I... will... bring you back," the Doctor said softly, a long pause between each word.

"I'm so sorry, my love.." the doctor clenched his fist. "I wasn't prepared then, but this time is different. I have a plan. I— promise."

The doctor stood up and paced around the room once more. He stopped as he started to face the direction of the woman. A glare with the fury of Satan appeared in his eyes, and he spoke with a tone that was motivated solely by anger and resentment.

"Sea monsters destroyed our family."

"And I'm going to do everything I can to bring you back. Once and for all."

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