Play Testers Wanted Pt. 12

Further on the damage varied and seemed to have been inflicted in a series of several attacks over time. Some of the spray paint appeared faded while some looked much fresher and brighter. Daniel's footsteps could be heard above them as he moved around inspecting the second floor. He returned to the group and gave his report long before Svetlana made an appearance. The second floor was in much the same condition as the first. Svetlana had found the cells in the basement. She described them as having exposed stone walls, floor, and ceiling. The odd thing was how little damage had been done and even the bars and doors to the individual cells were intact.

"Excellent! Lead the way," The Professor stated with a gesture of her right hand while her left was never far from her newest favorite student. "How are you enjoying your first outing Gwendolyn?"

"It is all very interesting." The short athletically built blonde replied clearly distracted.

"What is bothering you?" The taller dark-haired woman asked.

"I keep thinking of my friend that disappeared after the battle at New York Harbor. I am worried about him." She said and the Professor flinched as if slapped.

"Keep your mind on the here and now. I am sure he'll be fine. Besides, I am here." She purred and when the younger woman didn't immediately react the way she expected she grew upset. "Fine! Go help bring in the supplies from the truck!"

"Sure. That'll help me keep my mind in the game." Gwendolyn said cheerily and that seemed to upset the Professor even more.

"Let's go!" She snapped at the others. Her other students noticed how the newcomer appeared to resist the Professor's advances and the reaction it provoked.

"Remember why we are here," the Professor intoned. "Mr. Tohl vanished while in the custody of Arkham Asylum. How did he get out of a locked cell? Where did he go after his escape? Gerald you've done some research on this subject. Enlighten us."

"Yes of course! I decided to take a two-track attack on this subject. First, I went to folks that lived near the asylum back when Tohl was a patient here. In most cases it was children or even grandchildren of the homeowners. I also went to retirement homes and interviewed patients there. Sure, most of the stories were either second or third hand or just rumors. Next, I dug through the hospital's archives and using freedom of information requests to verify what I could. Mr. Tohl before his incarceration... well... involuntary stay here... was an upstanding member of society. He never had a single run in with the law. On the day of his breakdown a naked woman appeared in the middle of the street. He took her in..." he was interrupted when several of the students made rude comments or noises. "...anyway, a neighbor was quoted as saying that she infected him with her madness. They were both taken to the asylum on the same day. He was diagnosed with a rare form of dementia. She was classified as an uncontrollable nymphomaniac."

"No shit!" Willem exclaimed. "Was she cute at least?"

"Stunning, well according to the admitting psychiatrist Dr. Atwood. His files describe her as a healthy attractive woman barely out of her teens. She believed that if she had sex she could travel to other dimensions. And I am quoting him here, 'the better the sex the better the realm'. He became fixated on her after she escaped her cell on numerous occasions after profound masturbation. She disappeared after a visit by a Mr. Dark to the asylum."

"How is it possible you are quoting from Atwood's notes?" The Professor asked her voice steely cold and her eyes narrowed. "You found them! Where are they?!" He replied by handing her a thumb drive.

"I scanned all the relevant documents regarding Tohl and Lustgood, that was her last name by the way. The same as yours Professor. Is there a family connection?" He asked and her reaction was vicious and visceral.

"Just stick to your report!" She snapped. "Pray continue," she said after mastering her rage.

"She went off grid as did Tohl. He vanished from his cell nearly a year later and was never heard from again. A cousin of his inherited the house and continued the bloodline to this day. Sadly, the brother committed suicide a month or so ago." He paused for a moment and announced that he had finished.

They reached the cells and just as Svetlana had said they were mostly untouched. Gerald seemed to be watching the Professor closely and didn't miss two distinctly profound reactions from Professor Lustgood. The first was when she went straight to Tohl's cell. How did she know? The cells weren't marked in any way. The second was when everyone else huddled around Tohl's cell she drifted to the next one down and lovingly stroked the bars, the bars to the cell of her ancestor Druuna Lustgood. He had seen the single photo taken of Druuna. The image was slightly grainy but clear enough to show her features quite clearly.

Gwen and Winston arrived with the first load of supplies. Gwen carried an armload of lumber over one shoulder while Winston had a toolbox in either hand. The girls gave Winston a hard time about letting a girl carry such a heavy load. Gwen insisted that she didn't mind. The group made two trips back and forth from the truck and soon everything they needed was outside Tohl's cell. Melissa produced a well-worn leather case with a full set of lockpicking tools. She went to task and soon had the cell's door open. The students started their work and before nightfall had a wooden frame to brace the ceiling to keep it from collapsing as they opened the rear stone wall of the cell.

The engineering student examined the stones looking for signs of tampering and a possible escape tunnel. They began near the floor, but it wasn't until they reached the center of the wall. One of the stones showed signs of intricate scratches. Melissa took out her camera to chronicle the marks. As she sighted to take the photo the marks suddenly shimmered.

"Hey, it glowed." She cried out. Others had seen it too. "Why did it do that?"

"It reacted to something... or someone." Willem stated. "Everyone walk by the brick." One by one each of the students did but it wasn't until Gwen stood before it that the scratches blazed to life forming a distinct arcane symbol. "I've never seen that symbol before. Touch it Gwen."

"Typical guy, go ahead and touch it, it won't bite," one of the girls giggled and the good Professor let this one slide. "What do you think Gwen?"

"It seems strangely familiar." Gwen said trying to figure out why it felt so familiar. Impossible, but it had to be, it was a design on Ghost Fire's mask. She never hesitated. Her hand reached out and the rune flare and an open doorway appeared and beyond a chamber. Gwen stepped into the small ten by ten chamber. The mural covered the entire space and appeared to have been drawn with chalk. The wall opposite showed what could only be Avenger's Tower and a figure falling to its death. "The other Tohl," Gwen gasped. To the left of the tower were a cluster of icebergs and things inside of them. Above the icebergs at the top corner of the back wall was a figure riding a dragon and it was breathing fire on the hoard of creatures below it. "That just happened! How did he know?"

"Why not ask him," Winston said pointing to a skeletal figure tucked into the other corner. "I guess he didn't escape after all."

They photographed the interior of the room wondering if any of the events the images represented hadn't occurred yet. It would take time and research to discover. Gwen stared at the left wall and the single figure depicted upon it. The jackal headed man wasn't Anubis, it could only be Ghost. He was alive! Fuck this noise she thought. If he was out there Spider Gwen was going to find him. Why was she still here?!

"Gwendolyn! Where are you going?! Get back here, we have work to do." The Professor called out to her. Gwen lifted her hand and shot her the bird. The collective gasp from her fellow students was music to her ears.

"I have more important things to do. Ciao!" Gwen replied as she raced up the steps.

Fade to Black: