[FIC] The Creature - part 1/4 - Sam/Gene, Sam/Annie
I'm posting this before LJ stops working again. XD I will cross post this to lifein1973
THIS is my Halloween fic. AND it's complete! I am so happy with myself. A chapter a day, before Halloween. Enjoy!
The Creature - part 1
Author: lunadeath02
Fandom: Life on Mars
Pairing: Sam/Gene, Sam/Annie, Chris/? (It’s a secret ^_~)
Rating: Brown Cortina (will be)
Warnings: AU (very AU), attempt at humor, slash and slight het
Notes: It being October and all, and Porntober, I figured something Halloweeny was in order. I won’t say where I got this idea from because I don’t wish to spoil it, but if anyone catches the reference, they get a cookie.
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, the lovely BBC and Kudos does.
~**~
Thunder roared in the sky and lightning lit up behind the castle, illuminating it for a few short seconds before it all went dark again.
“You sure this is the place?” Doctor Sam Tyler asked, pointing a wary finger up at the old, spooky looking castle.
“Yes,” said Annie Cartwright, his lovely assistant. “This is it. Says so right here on the map.”
“I was expecting something more… I don’t know… municipal.”
“It’s not so bad,” said Annie. “I’m sure it’s beautiful inside.”
They made it to the double doors, and Sam used the giant knockers on the front to knock. After a minute, no one answered.
“Anyone home?” he shouted, and he was about to knock again when one of the doors creaked open. A face peered out just as the lightning flashed, revealing the person’s looks, and it made them jump. The man was a bit short, and his nose was big, his chin pointy, and his eyes were huge as he stared ominously.
“Good evening,” he said, grinning toothily. “Whom may I say is calling?”
“I’m Dr. Sam Williams Tyler,” he said as straight-faced as possible, willing himself not to be scared. “I’m the new owner of this land and this… stronghold.”
“Please, we call it a castle,” the man said, rolling his eyes. “And who is this fine looking lady?” He eyed Annie lewdly, and Annie blushed.
“This is my assistant, Annie,” Sam introduced. “Now, can we come in, please? Before it rains, at any rate.”
“Of course,” said the man, and he opened the door wider to allow them entry. “By the way, I am Christopher Horace Ryan Igor Skelton. But you may call me Chris for short. I am the caretaker of the land.”
“Pleased to meet you, Chris,” said Sam.
The moment they entered, their eyes widened. It wasn’t as beautiful as Annie had hoped it would be; there were cobwebs lining the walls and ceiling, dust covered nearly every surface, and when Chris threw the giant light switch on the wall, bathing the room in light, it sent the cockroaches and rats scurrying.
“Well…” said Annie after a moment of staring in horror. “It just needs a woman’s touch.”
“More like a punch in the gut,” quipped Sam.
Chris took their bags and started up the stairs. “Walk this way.”
They followed him, even though Annie was looking a bit reluctant. Sam took hold of her hand and gently urged her forward. As they reached the top of the stairs, there was a giant spider web covering the entire doorway. The door had been long gone, it seemed, the hinges looked as if they were rusted through. Sam had no idea how they were going to get through it without getting webs all over them, but then Chris touched a spot on the wall and a secret doorway opened to their right.
“Through here,” he said, gesturing with his head. “Phyllis doesn’t like her webs destroyed.”
“Who?” said Sam, eyebrows flying up.
“Phyllis,” explained Chris casually. “She’s the resident spider. It’s best not to cross her. Come.”
They followed him into the small secret passageway, mostly because they had no choice. Annie held Sam’s hand tighter with both hands, shivering at the thought of a giant spider lurking about. Sam saw her uneasiness, so he pulled her closer as they walked along. He rubbed at her arm to try keeping her calm and to warm her up; she was shivering.
Chris touched something on the side of the wall to his right again, and another door opened to let them out of the passageway. Sam was so relieved to get out of that cramped space.
The room he brought them into was huge. There were some cobwebs here too, but not as much as the entrance hall. There were candles lined here and there, and some were lit, some were not. In the middle of the room was a giant, metal table with arched metal fastenings. On the other side of the room was science equipment and instruments that only someone like Sam would appreciate. Annie knew some science, enough to get her by, but even she wouldn’t know what to do with all this stuff. Sam actually geeked out at the sight, and he practically bounced with joy as he strode over to the equipment, put on his glasses, and peered at it all in astonishment.
“It all belongs to you now, Master Tyler,” said Chris.
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” said Sam absently, still staring at everything. “And please, call me Sam.”
“Of course, Master Sam.”
Sam laughed. “No, just Sam will do.”
Chris bowed, smiling politely. “As you wish, Master.”
Sam shook his head, smirking, and went back to ogling the scientific devices. It was all so magnificent; he couldn’t wait to begin his experiments.
“This place is a mess!” said Annie, walking around cautiously. “It’ll need some heavy duty scrubbing.”
Sam turned to Chris suddenly. “Where’s the library?”
Chris’ eyes quickly moved about guiltily, never landing on Sam. “What library?”
“You know what library,” said Sam, pocketing his glasses. “The library that I heard so much about. The one with those books that once belonged to the previous owner.”
“Oh, that library!” said Chris as if he just realized what Sam meant. “It’s upstairs.”
“Then that’s where I shall go. Annie, if you wouldn’t mind, could you start cleaning up the place? This room, mainly. Don’t want my experiments to get contaminated.”
“Of course, Doctor.”
“After you, Chris,” said Sam, sweeping his hand forward. Chris nodded, obeying, and led Sam up another flight of stairs toward what should be the library. Along the way, Chris took one of the large candles out of its holder-one that was lit-and then proceeded ascending. The higher they got, the darker it became.
The door creaked as Chris opened it, and Sam peered around him to see what was inside before they entered. It was dimly lit, but he could just make out the bookcases that lined the walls. They stepped inside, and Chris used his candle to light a few more that had gone out.
“I’m afraid not all rooms have electricity, Master,” explained Chris as he lit the last candle. “So you’ll have to get used to old fashioned lighting.”
“Not a problem,” said Sam politely. He gazed happily at all the books, taking out his glasses once more. There were some books there that were so old, he didn’t think he’d ever see a copy of it in his lifetime. But as he checked bookshelf after bookshelf, he’d come to realize that these weren’t the books he was looking for. He turned to Chris, who was watching him closely with his big, round eyes.
“Not satisfied, Master?”
“This isn’t the library.”
“Of course it is, Master,” said Chris nonchalantly. “Look,” he pointed. “Books.”
“No, no, no!” Sam raved, pulling at his hair. “I meant the previous owner’s private library! The one that held all those otherworldly books; the ones about how to reanimate tissue! Books that encouraged the intellect and tingled the spine! Notes, records, and books of long gone sciences, medieval practices, and things once proclaimed as witchcraft!”
Chris stared. “The… infamous books?”
Sam threw his hands up. “Yes! Those books!”
“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”
“I did say so!”
“I’m sorry, Master Tyler, but I have no clue where this library you speak of is.”
Sam stared at Chris disbelievingly. “You’ve got to be joking.”
“I’m not, Master.” Chris hung his head. “Sorry, Master.”
Sam sighed. “Well, guess I’ll just have to start exploring.”
“I don’t know if you should do that.”
“And why not?”
When Chris didn’t answer, Sam continued, “If you remember, I’m the new owner of this place now. So suffice it to say, I have the right to look around. I don’t know why you’re not being cooperative, Chris, but I don’t appreciate it.” Despite the itch to start reading through some of the books, he made his way back to the laboratory. HIS laboratory. That thought sent pleasant shivers down his spine.
“I’m sorry about that, Master,” said Chris as he followed Sam back out. “I’m only looking out for your well-being.”
“Thanks, Chris, but I don’t need a babysitter. Although, I wouldn’t mind another assistant.”
“Of course, Master. I’d be delighted.”
~**~
An hour later, Annie and Chris were busy cleaning up the laboratory as he sat in his armchair reading one of the books he had Chris fetch for him earlier. He wished it had been a book that talked about other sciences, but he had to make do with what he had at hand. Every time Sam looked at Chris, and they made eye contact, Chris looked nervous. That made him realize maybe Chris wasn’t being truthful, or he was keeping something from him. Chris would obey whenever Sam would ask him to do something, but there was something shifty about his nature. He wondered why, because as far as he knew, he had the right to everything in the castle now. So why was Chris keeping the infamous library’s location from him?
Worrying about that was beginning to put him off his book. He marked his place and set the book aside, deciding to read more of it later before bed. He stood and made his way over to where Annie was bent over some equipment as she dusted everything off carefully. He startled her when he wrapped his arms around her.
“Sam!” she squeaked, and then melted into his embrace when he gently kissed her neck.
“You can take a break if you like, Annie,” he murmured into her ear.
“Oh, I can, can I?” she said in amusement.
Chris stopped doing what he was doing and watched them. Sam didn’t notice his ogling as he continued to kiss Annie’s neck and run his hands up and down her body. He’d been after Annie ever since he met her and hired her on as his assistant, which had been almost four months now. She enjoyed toying with him, but he was getting impatient with her cockteasing; every time he held her close and tried to kiss her lips, she would back away and say…
“Not now, Sam, I’m busy.”
Sam groaned in frustration. “Annie, I may be a man of science, but I’m still a man. I have needs.”
“I know,” she said softly, and Sam thought she was finally going to give in to him, but then she pulled away from his arms and said, “What you need is for this place to be spotless so that you can do your experiments.”
“You’ve been working so hard, love. Please, let me caress and worship that perfect body in which nature had given you.”
“And here I thought you didn’t have a romantic bone in your body,” she quipped.
“Annie, please…”
“There’s work to be done, Sam,” she said more sternly. “Why don’t you rest a while? It’s been a long journey.”
Frustrated by her rebuff, Sam set out to find that secret infamous library in which Chris was refusing to show him. He was sure that Chris knew of it, even if he said he didn’t. But that was okay; this way he had a chance to learn about his new place, which could be considered his home now.
He remembered there was another set of stairs when they walked into the entrance hall. But then he remembered that to get there he would have to find the secret place on the wall that opened the passageway. After running his hands over the wall for a while, he finally found the right stone and the secret door opened.
“Going somewhere, Master?” Chris said, suddenly at his side. It startled Sam so badly he almost dropped the candle he was holding.
“I’m going to see where those other stairs go that I saw when I first came in,” he explained.
“Allow me to come with you,” said Chris. “Otherwise you might get lost.”
“You do know that I’m looking for the other library.”
“Of course, Master.”
“Look, why don’t you just save me some time and tell me where it is?” said Sam, trying not to sound too rude.
“I’m sorry, Master, I can’t do that.”
Sam felt his temper rising. “And why not?”
“Told you. I don’t know where it is.”
“You’re lying.”
“I swear, Master, I really don’t know.”
“But you know there is one?”
“Yes, Master,” he bowed. “I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know its location.”
He decided to just let the matter drop for now and believe him. Besides, it was quite possible that Chris was actually telling the truth. Perhaps the previous owner had moved the secret library to somewhere else in the castle so that even his groundskeeper didn’t know of it. Paranoia must have run deep in the family. Yet, Sam could relate; there were times when he himself felt paranoid about his workshop enough that he’d make sure no one else would enter. After all, if anyone saw what he’d been experimenting on, they’d toss him in the loony bin.
He followed Chris through the secret passage out to the other side. Phyllis’ web was still there, but this time it looked as though she caught something in it. The bug struggled and wiggled with no avail. Sam almost felt sorry for it.
“This way, Master,” said Chris, and he led him over to the staircase on the other side of the room. Thankfully, there wasn’t another giant web blocking the doorway, but it jammed when he tried to open it. He needed Chris’ assistance in getting it open, and together they rammed their shoulders hard against it. They didn’t know their own strength and the top hinge broke off. It swung heavily to the side, pulling at the other rusty hinge at the bottom, but otherwise stayed put.
“This place definitely needs maintenance,” said Sam.
It was a long hallway with doors lining it. Chris stayed near as they walked down it, almost as if he were scared. For himself or Sam, he wasn’t sure. As he walked down the hall, he tried door after door, but they were locked. He’ll have to ask for a skeleton key if he were to going to be living here for a while.
Finally, they got to the end of the hallway and came to the last door. Sam paused, hoping that they finally found a door that would open. Gently, he placed a hand on the knob and-after sharing a look with Chris-slowly turned it and pushed inward. It opened. Sam nearly whooped with glee.
“Careful, Master,” said Chris.
Sam opened the door just a crack and peered inside. It was dark, so of course he couldn’t see anything. He remembered he had a candle in his other hand, so he cautiously moved it closer to see if he could notice anything. When nothing happened, he opened the door even wider and walked forward with the candle held in front of him. Chris stayed behind him, grasping onto the back of his shirt.
“Master?”
Then suddenly, there was a flurry of movement and high-pitched squeaking sounds. A swarm of bats-literally thousands of them-flew at them and out the door. Chris screamed in fright, but Sam just stood still and allowed the bats to pass by. They never touched them as they left. When it was over, Sam looked down at Chris, whom was crouched on the ground behind him, holding onto his legs.
“You’re such a girl.”
Chris slowly stood, hair in a disarray, and tried to steel himself. “Apologies, Master, but I don’t like bats.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Sam grinned.
He moved his candle back and forth along the walls, trying to find more candles. He found some at the back and started to light them.
“Here, Master,” said Chris, and then suddenly the room was bathed in electric light. Sam sighed.
But he wasn’t annoyed for long. He stared in awe at the room, and then smiled so wide his eyes crinkled. He found it! The room was smaller than the other library, but this was definitely it. He set the candle down and excitedly went through the notes on the desk. Then he saw a book sitting in the corner on a bookstand. He was shaking, he was so excited. He ran his quivering fingers over the cover of it, wiping filth and dust from it. His eyes misted over as he stared at the book, still unable to believe that he found it. Then, after wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he noticed the words that were written on the cover. With his other sleeve, he brushed it free of grime to read it.
“This is it,” he whispered, choked up with emotion as he stared. “I can’t believe I found it.”
TBC
THIS is my Halloween fic. AND it's complete! I am so happy with myself. A chapter a day, before Halloween. Enjoy!
The Creature - part 1
Author: lunadeath02
Fandom: Life on Mars
Pairing: Sam/Gene, Sam/Annie, Chris/? (It’s a secret ^_~)
Rating: Brown Cortina (will be)
Warnings: AU (very AU), attempt at humor, slash and slight het
Notes: It being October and all, and Porntober, I figured something Halloweeny was in order. I won’t say where I got this idea from because I don’t wish to spoil it, but if anyone catches the reference, they get a cookie.
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, the lovely BBC and Kudos does.
~**~
Thunder roared in the sky and lightning lit up behind the castle, illuminating it for a few short seconds before it all went dark again.
“You sure this is the place?” Doctor Sam Tyler asked, pointing a wary finger up at the old, spooky looking castle.
“Yes,” said Annie Cartwright, his lovely assistant. “This is it. Says so right here on the map.”
“I was expecting something more… I don’t know… municipal.”
“It’s not so bad,” said Annie. “I’m sure it’s beautiful inside.”
They made it to the double doors, and Sam used the giant knockers on the front to knock. After a minute, no one answered.
“Anyone home?” he shouted, and he was about to knock again when one of the doors creaked open. A face peered out just as the lightning flashed, revealing the person’s looks, and it made them jump. The man was a bit short, and his nose was big, his chin pointy, and his eyes were huge as he stared ominously.
“Good evening,” he said, grinning toothily. “Whom may I say is calling?”
“I’m Dr. Sam Williams Tyler,” he said as straight-faced as possible, willing himself not to be scared. “I’m the new owner of this land and this… stronghold.”
“Please, we call it a castle,” the man said, rolling his eyes. “And who is this fine looking lady?” He eyed Annie lewdly, and Annie blushed.
“This is my assistant, Annie,” Sam introduced. “Now, can we come in, please? Before it rains, at any rate.”
“Of course,” said the man, and he opened the door wider to allow them entry. “By the way, I am Christopher Horace Ryan Igor Skelton. But you may call me Chris for short. I am the caretaker of the land.”
“Pleased to meet you, Chris,” said Sam.
The moment they entered, their eyes widened. It wasn’t as beautiful as Annie had hoped it would be; there were cobwebs lining the walls and ceiling, dust covered nearly every surface, and when Chris threw the giant light switch on the wall, bathing the room in light, it sent the cockroaches and rats scurrying.
“Well…” said Annie after a moment of staring in horror. “It just needs a woman’s touch.”
“More like a punch in the gut,” quipped Sam.
Chris took their bags and started up the stairs. “Walk this way.”
They followed him, even though Annie was looking a bit reluctant. Sam took hold of her hand and gently urged her forward. As they reached the top of the stairs, there was a giant spider web covering the entire doorway. The door had been long gone, it seemed, the hinges looked as if they were rusted through. Sam had no idea how they were going to get through it without getting webs all over them, but then Chris touched a spot on the wall and a secret doorway opened to their right.
“Through here,” he said, gesturing with his head. “Phyllis doesn’t like her webs destroyed.”
“Who?” said Sam, eyebrows flying up.
“Phyllis,” explained Chris casually. “She’s the resident spider. It’s best not to cross her. Come.”
They followed him into the small secret passageway, mostly because they had no choice. Annie held Sam’s hand tighter with both hands, shivering at the thought of a giant spider lurking about. Sam saw her uneasiness, so he pulled her closer as they walked along. He rubbed at her arm to try keeping her calm and to warm her up; she was shivering.
Chris touched something on the side of the wall to his right again, and another door opened to let them out of the passageway. Sam was so relieved to get out of that cramped space.
The room he brought them into was huge. There were some cobwebs here too, but not as much as the entrance hall. There were candles lined here and there, and some were lit, some were not. In the middle of the room was a giant, metal table with arched metal fastenings. On the other side of the room was science equipment and instruments that only someone like Sam would appreciate. Annie knew some science, enough to get her by, but even she wouldn’t know what to do with all this stuff. Sam actually geeked out at the sight, and he practically bounced with joy as he strode over to the equipment, put on his glasses, and peered at it all in astonishment.
“It all belongs to you now, Master Tyler,” said Chris.
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” said Sam absently, still staring at everything. “And please, call me Sam.”
“Of course, Master Sam.”
Sam laughed. “No, just Sam will do.”
Chris bowed, smiling politely. “As you wish, Master.”
Sam shook his head, smirking, and went back to ogling the scientific devices. It was all so magnificent; he couldn’t wait to begin his experiments.
“This place is a mess!” said Annie, walking around cautiously. “It’ll need some heavy duty scrubbing.”
Sam turned to Chris suddenly. “Where’s the library?”
Chris’ eyes quickly moved about guiltily, never landing on Sam. “What library?”
“You know what library,” said Sam, pocketing his glasses. “The library that I heard so much about. The one with those books that once belonged to the previous owner.”
“Oh, that library!” said Chris as if he just realized what Sam meant. “It’s upstairs.”
“Then that’s where I shall go. Annie, if you wouldn’t mind, could you start cleaning up the place? This room, mainly. Don’t want my experiments to get contaminated.”
“Of course, Doctor.”
“After you, Chris,” said Sam, sweeping his hand forward. Chris nodded, obeying, and led Sam up another flight of stairs toward what should be the library. Along the way, Chris took one of the large candles out of its holder-one that was lit-and then proceeded ascending. The higher they got, the darker it became.
The door creaked as Chris opened it, and Sam peered around him to see what was inside before they entered. It was dimly lit, but he could just make out the bookcases that lined the walls. They stepped inside, and Chris used his candle to light a few more that had gone out.
“I’m afraid not all rooms have electricity, Master,” explained Chris as he lit the last candle. “So you’ll have to get used to old fashioned lighting.”
“Not a problem,” said Sam politely. He gazed happily at all the books, taking out his glasses once more. There were some books there that were so old, he didn’t think he’d ever see a copy of it in his lifetime. But as he checked bookshelf after bookshelf, he’d come to realize that these weren’t the books he was looking for. He turned to Chris, who was watching him closely with his big, round eyes.
“Not satisfied, Master?”
“This isn’t the library.”
“Of course it is, Master,” said Chris nonchalantly. “Look,” he pointed. “Books.”
“No, no, no!” Sam raved, pulling at his hair. “I meant the previous owner’s private library! The one that held all those otherworldly books; the ones about how to reanimate tissue! Books that encouraged the intellect and tingled the spine! Notes, records, and books of long gone sciences, medieval practices, and things once proclaimed as witchcraft!”
Chris stared. “The… infamous books?”
Sam threw his hands up. “Yes! Those books!”
“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”
“I did say so!”
“I’m sorry, Master Tyler, but I have no clue where this library you speak of is.”
Sam stared at Chris disbelievingly. “You’ve got to be joking.”
“I’m not, Master.” Chris hung his head. “Sorry, Master.”
Sam sighed. “Well, guess I’ll just have to start exploring.”
“I don’t know if you should do that.”
“And why not?”
When Chris didn’t answer, Sam continued, “If you remember, I’m the new owner of this place now. So suffice it to say, I have the right to look around. I don’t know why you’re not being cooperative, Chris, but I don’t appreciate it.” Despite the itch to start reading through some of the books, he made his way back to the laboratory. HIS laboratory. That thought sent pleasant shivers down his spine.
“I’m sorry about that, Master,” said Chris as he followed Sam back out. “I’m only looking out for your well-being.”
“Thanks, Chris, but I don’t need a babysitter. Although, I wouldn’t mind another assistant.”
“Of course, Master. I’d be delighted.”
~**~
An hour later, Annie and Chris were busy cleaning up the laboratory as he sat in his armchair reading one of the books he had Chris fetch for him earlier. He wished it had been a book that talked about other sciences, but he had to make do with what he had at hand. Every time Sam looked at Chris, and they made eye contact, Chris looked nervous. That made him realize maybe Chris wasn’t being truthful, or he was keeping something from him. Chris would obey whenever Sam would ask him to do something, but there was something shifty about his nature. He wondered why, because as far as he knew, he had the right to everything in the castle now. So why was Chris keeping the infamous library’s location from him?
Worrying about that was beginning to put him off his book. He marked his place and set the book aside, deciding to read more of it later before bed. He stood and made his way over to where Annie was bent over some equipment as she dusted everything off carefully. He startled her when he wrapped his arms around her.
“Sam!” she squeaked, and then melted into his embrace when he gently kissed her neck.
“You can take a break if you like, Annie,” he murmured into her ear.
“Oh, I can, can I?” she said in amusement.
Chris stopped doing what he was doing and watched them. Sam didn’t notice his ogling as he continued to kiss Annie’s neck and run his hands up and down her body. He’d been after Annie ever since he met her and hired her on as his assistant, which had been almost four months now. She enjoyed toying with him, but he was getting impatient with her cockteasing; every time he held her close and tried to kiss her lips, she would back away and say…
“Not now, Sam, I’m busy.”
Sam groaned in frustration. “Annie, I may be a man of science, but I’m still a man. I have needs.”
“I know,” she said softly, and Sam thought she was finally going to give in to him, but then she pulled away from his arms and said, “What you need is for this place to be spotless so that you can do your experiments.”
“You’ve been working so hard, love. Please, let me caress and worship that perfect body in which nature had given you.”
“And here I thought you didn’t have a romantic bone in your body,” she quipped.
“Annie, please…”
“There’s work to be done, Sam,” she said more sternly. “Why don’t you rest a while? It’s been a long journey.”
Frustrated by her rebuff, Sam set out to find that secret infamous library in which Chris was refusing to show him. He was sure that Chris knew of it, even if he said he didn’t. But that was okay; this way he had a chance to learn about his new place, which could be considered his home now.
He remembered there was another set of stairs when they walked into the entrance hall. But then he remembered that to get there he would have to find the secret place on the wall that opened the passageway. After running his hands over the wall for a while, he finally found the right stone and the secret door opened.
“Going somewhere, Master?” Chris said, suddenly at his side. It startled Sam so badly he almost dropped the candle he was holding.
“I’m going to see where those other stairs go that I saw when I first came in,” he explained.
“Allow me to come with you,” said Chris. “Otherwise you might get lost.”
“You do know that I’m looking for the other library.”
“Of course, Master.”
“Look, why don’t you just save me some time and tell me where it is?” said Sam, trying not to sound too rude.
“I’m sorry, Master, I can’t do that.”
Sam felt his temper rising. “And why not?”
“Told you. I don’t know where it is.”
“You’re lying.”
“I swear, Master, I really don’t know.”
“But you know there is one?”
“Yes, Master,” he bowed. “I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know its location.”
He decided to just let the matter drop for now and believe him. Besides, it was quite possible that Chris was actually telling the truth. Perhaps the previous owner had moved the secret library to somewhere else in the castle so that even his groundskeeper didn’t know of it. Paranoia must have run deep in the family. Yet, Sam could relate; there were times when he himself felt paranoid about his workshop enough that he’d make sure no one else would enter. After all, if anyone saw what he’d been experimenting on, they’d toss him in the loony bin.
He followed Chris through the secret passage out to the other side. Phyllis’ web was still there, but this time it looked as though she caught something in it. The bug struggled and wiggled with no avail. Sam almost felt sorry for it.
“This way, Master,” said Chris, and he led him over to the staircase on the other side of the room. Thankfully, there wasn’t another giant web blocking the doorway, but it jammed when he tried to open it. He needed Chris’ assistance in getting it open, and together they rammed their shoulders hard against it. They didn’t know their own strength and the top hinge broke off. It swung heavily to the side, pulling at the other rusty hinge at the bottom, but otherwise stayed put.
“This place definitely needs maintenance,” said Sam.
It was a long hallway with doors lining it. Chris stayed near as they walked down it, almost as if he were scared. For himself or Sam, he wasn’t sure. As he walked down the hall, he tried door after door, but they were locked. He’ll have to ask for a skeleton key if he were to going to be living here for a while.
Finally, they got to the end of the hallway and came to the last door. Sam paused, hoping that they finally found a door that would open. Gently, he placed a hand on the knob and-after sharing a look with Chris-slowly turned it and pushed inward. It opened. Sam nearly whooped with glee.
“Careful, Master,” said Chris.
Sam opened the door just a crack and peered inside. It was dark, so of course he couldn’t see anything. He remembered he had a candle in his other hand, so he cautiously moved it closer to see if he could notice anything. When nothing happened, he opened the door even wider and walked forward with the candle held in front of him. Chris stayed behind him, grasping onto the back of his shirt.
“Master?”
Then suddenly, there was a flurry of movement and high-pitched squeaking sounds. A swarm of bats-literally thousands of them-flew at them and out the door. Chris screamed in fright, but Sam just stood still and allowed the bats to pass by. They never touched them as they left. When it was over, Sam looked down at Chris, whom was crouched on the ground behind him, holding onto his legs.
“You’re such a girl.”
Chris slowly stood, hair in a disarray, and tried to steel himself. “Apologies, Master, but I don’t like bats.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Sam grinned.
He moved his candle back and forth along the walls, trying to find more candles. He found some at the back and started to light them.
“Here, Master,” said Chris, and then suddenly the room was bathed in electric light. Sam sighed.
But he wasn’t annoyed for long. He stared in awe at the room, and then smiled so wide his eyes crinkled. He found it! The room was smaller than the other library, but this was definitely it. He set the candle down and excitedly went through the notes on the desk. Then he saw a book sitting in the corner on a bookstand. He was shaking, he was so excited. He ran his quivering fingers over the cover of it, wiping filth and dust from it. His eyes misted over as he stared at the book, still unable to believe that he found it. Then, after wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he noticed the words that were written on the cover. With his other sleeve, he brushed it free of grime to read it.
“This is it,” he whispered, choked up with emotion as he stared. “I can’t believe I found it.”
TBC