PSYC Ward: Explorer

World 4, Part D: Setting Off

"Hello Flannery." Isidora said.

She turned her head to look at Chairman Casterwall, who simply had his big grin back on his face.

"She was very insistent." He said.

Isidora let out a huff. Before anything else could be said, the Chairman opened a door that had been hidden at his left side, and let himself out of the car. Isidora wasn't about to let him get away, so she followed him out. The redhead - apparently Flannery - followed them. Rachel looked around the car. No one was there.

"Kyle, what the hell? Why the sudden change of heart on this?"

Kyle raised her head and looked at Rachel, taking off her black, fingerless glove and holding it out towards Rachel. Rachel gently took it in her hand, and allowed the vision to pass through her.

Kyle stared out from behind the piece of pyrex glass at the world outside. A massive whale swam across the scene, one of only 13 blue whales left in existence. She was in a secret place - the place Xarkon took her to after he saved her. All she even knew was that it was deep in the ocean, and that she wasn't ever allowed to tell anybody what she did know about where it was.

It was late at night, not that the light from the sun penetrated this deep. She could tell because the lights in the halls were all dim. They were set on a 24 hour timer, dimming, brightening and even changing color based on the time of day. She shouldn't be up, but she couldn't sleep. She was worried that Zyz was back. She had spent the night wandering around, and had gone deeper into the facility then she knew she was allowed. She held her blue bunny doll tight in her arms as she saw the whale swim off.

The whale was so lonely. Kyle wanted to be friends with it but it didn't entirely understand her. She followed it down the left side the hallway, moving to the next window. When she didn't see it there, she kept moving until she came to a large, steel door in the now darkening halls. Usually the walls of the place were white, clean, and sterile. Like the lab. It made Kyle a bit uncomfortable, but she liked it. But down here, they had subtly given way to gray and now black tiles that were far more uninviting. She went to the door and pushed it open.

Inside she didn't find a single pane of glass. And she certainly didn't find any whales. What she found was a room with neat shelves, reaching further and further back, loaded with all sorts of odd things. One was a music box, with an arcane rune etched into it that gave off a subtle blue glow. Next to that was a stuffed doll of a black fox. Beaten up, with one of its eyes missing, and several parts of it re-sewn from being overly loved, What made Kyle curious was that it had nine tails, each with a little bit of fluffy white at the tip. Next to that was the head of a crocodile carved from sandstone, with two tiger's eye gems for eyes. A hinge existed on the head, allowing it to be opened. Even though it was just a sculpted piece of rock with intricate detailing because of its origins, Kyle felt it watching her.

In fact, it was. There were minds in there. Kyle reached out to them, to try and figure out what was going on, but all at once it overwhelmed her.

"HELP US."

"MONSTER!"

"DON'T TRUST THE EYE!"

"LET US FREE!"

The voices were loud, screaming. And beneath them, Kyle heard the burning of flames and it was followed by a low, rumbling laughter. There millions of them, each begging for help. Kyle panicked, and swung open the jaw, thinking that would set the spirits free.

She was very wrong.

"Little one, little one, the time of your judgement has come."