Chapter 36: Chapter 36
It was evening already and gradually, the world would plunge into darkness.
The secret underground basement was a labyrinth of narrow corridors and dimly lit rooms, a place where the air hung heavy with the stench of misery. The walls were lined with rusted chains and shackles, ominous reminders of the unspeakable horrors that had taken place within those walls. It is within these walls the Lady from the Coasters carries out her unsightly activities. The walls where the doors can't be opened unless she does. The place where the masks and the coasters originated.
In the main room is a lady lying motionlessly on a flat iron table, her skin pallid and cold to the touch. The table is stained with dark, dried blood, and various instruments of torture and dismemberment are scattered haphazardly about the room.
The table itself is a grotesque sight, its metallic surface warped and dented from years of use. It is clear that this is no ordinary table, but rather a crude device designed for one purpose: to inflict pain and suffering on its unfortunate occupants.
The question now is? Who is this lady and what's all this about the masks and the coasters?
What grudge or aim does she have against Daisy Louis?
Just the sickening appearance of the room runs shivers down anyone's spine. This is a place of pure evil, a place where nightmares are made real and the boundaries of humanity are pushed to their limits. You can only imagine the unspeakable acts that have taken place within these walls, and not ever want to bear witness to them.
On the far end is a casket where the body of Josh had been kept to be used against Daisy in case things don't go as planned.
For the lady lying on the table, despite her state of unconsciousness, her senses were slowly starting to return. The muffled sounds of footsteps and the distant voice of a woman speaking eerily to someone on the phone also gradually became clearer, and the lady on the table struggled to piece together what was happening.
The woman speaking on the phone is the Lady from the coasters and as she continued to speak, her voice grew more and more chilling, each word sending a shiver down the lady's spine making her heart tremble. Earlier this afternoon, she had countered that she was not scared of death, but this woman had proven to her that death could be so painful and unbearable. The woman seemed to relish in her own sense of power and control.
The footsteps grew louder and closer, and the lady's heart began to race. She wanted help. She so badly wanted to get out of this wretched place. Thinking about her encounter with Andrew this afternoon, her eyes watered. Three months ago, she had lost ownership and authority over her life and now she can only do what she's ordered to do. What the lady from the coasters orders her to do.
She had never seen the face of this evil lady no matter how she tried cause she was always on a monster-like mask. The few times she has tried to see the face behind that mask, they had not ended well with Sarah. She had had to suffer and pay dearly for trying to.
How did she end up like this?
Sarah tried to move, to fight against the restraints that held her down, but her body was weak and unresponsive.
The masked lady was speaking to Richard over the phone. The one who had watched and treated Daisy while she was at Rose's place. He obviously is from the Lady from the coasters.
"If Daisy does not lose her mind and go insane or mentally degraded in a few days, I would use Josh's corpse against her," she said to Richard while she glanced at the casket at the other end of the room covered in white clothing.
"I have a report about her current mental health," Richard also said. People would believe especially if they find out she is mentally ill.
"I'll make it seem like her dad hid it from the public, she's sick, cheated on her boyfriend and even killed someone to cover up. No sane person would act that irrationally.
Suddenly, something came to her mind and her eyes flashed evilly.
"That doctor, the Louis family doctor, I don't trust him to stay clear of the threat and not try to reveal something to Daisy's father. Take care of him tonight."
Getting her point, Richard could not help but smirk on the other end of the call.
"Sure, I'll take him out," he replied.
The call then came to an end and then she walked slowly towards Sarah. As the footsteps approached, the woman on the table felt her heart race terribly. She watched the masked lady approach her with cold and calculating eyes and she knew that there was no hope for escape.
She closed her eyes and braced herself for what was to come, resigned to the fact that her fate was no longer in her own hands.
Outside, it wasn't really dark yet. It was not even 8 pm yet but dark clouds had gathered in the sky. A gentle breeze picks up and the first droplets of rain begin to fall. The pitter-patter of the raindrops then gradually began to grow louder and more insistent, as if they are on a mission to wash away all the evil that has been happening.
And even as the sound grew louder, in the main room underground, it only sounded mildly over them and even at that, the masked lady still groaned feelings pissed. She hates anything good, even the rainfall.
The rain had began to fall. The sound was like a whisper at first, a gentle reminder that something was coming. It seems there would be a downpour
On one of the long tarred roads of South Yarra, the doctor drove home late at night. His shift had ended and normally he would be excited to go back to his wife and granddaughter but this time around, his mind was consumed with guilt and regret. He couldn't just shake it off his mind that he had been threatened to contribute to his friend's daughter's misfortune. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as he tried to focus on the road ahead, but his mind was elsewhere.
He really wanted to do something. This strange person seem to have an eye on him and his family and it scared the wits out of him.
How would he be able to let Louis know that there's danger ahead for his daughter?
The night had become dark and stormy, the rain coming down in sheets and obscuring his vision. He cursed feeling angry with himself and everything happening. Well, for now, he just wanted to go home. Before thinking further, he would just go home. If only he knew he would not be getting home.
Suddenly, he felt the car lurch to the side, the wheels losing traction on the slick road. He tried to correct it, to regain control, but it was too late. The car spun out of control, careening off the road and hurtling towards the bridge.
In a moment of sheer terror, the doctor realized what was about to happen. He braced himself for impact, his heart pounding in his chest. And then, with a sickening crunch, the car smashed through the barrier and went flying over the edge of the bridge, plummeting towards the water below.
Time seemed to slow as the car hurtled towards the water, the doctor's mind racing with fear and regret. He thought of his family, of all the things he would never get to do with them again. He thought of Louis and then Daisy, and the guilt of his earlier mistake consumed him. He thought of the threat and whoever is behind all this.
Now he would no longer be able to see the family he tried to protect by putting Daisy in danger.
And then, with a bone-jarring impact, the car hit the water, the force of the impact throwing the doctor forward. The cold, murky water rushed in, filling the car and dragging him down. He struggled against the restraints of his seatbelt, but it was no use. The water was too strong, too cold.
As the doctor's vision began to fade, his mind filled with so many things
"This is definitely recompense," he muttered as his eyes closed and darkness consumed him.
The rain intensified, pounding the ground with a ferocity that seems to signal an end to the darkness, washing away the dirt and grime of darkness.
And even as people scurried for cover, seeking shelter from the deluge, it still beat their cover.
It beat the enemy's cover.