NOVEL NEXT LXII. A Carver's Serenade
Unlike the other corridors in the house, this one seemed like it had been constructed rather haphazardly. Its walls were still comprised of solid stone surrounded by a wooden frame, no efforts had yet been made to make its aesthetic similar to the remaining rooms... Perhaps even purposefully. Worn rags covered the cold, dusty floor of the dark hallway, lit only by a couple of torch sconces on either side of the walls, and an eerie glow coming from the laboratory ahead.
Rel (hushed): Any plans you might wanna tell us of beforehand, Punjo?
Still traumatized from their previous encounter, Rel wasn't fond of the idea of playing the role of bait yet again.
Punjo (hushed): None yet... Just keep yer eyes and ears peeled fer now.
And so they did, as they cautiously proceeded through the gloomy passage. A single wooden door stood at its very end, sporting three iron sits through which some light shone through from the adjacent laboratory room. Several colours shone through the opening ranging from dark-green to crimson, at an irregularly slow yet noticeable pace... But light wasn't all that betrayed what laid beyond. Getting closer, the trio notices that some fumes were also escaping through the gaps between the poorly-installed door and the wall, making their way into the corridor and lingering near the laboratory's entrance.
Tyssa (hushed): It smells horrible here...!
The smell was nauseating, reminiscent of boiling viscera and bile. Tyssa instinctively covers her nose, yet before anybody else had a chance to react, a muffled yet audibly agonizing bestial wail bellowed from within the laboratory, faintly echoing throughout the corridor.
Voice: Shh... Not yet, my dear.
They were followed by the voice of a man, seemingly attempting to soothe the hurting creature. His words were promptly accompanied by the sound of blade piercing flesh, as the man let out a short grunt. Whatever he did, the wailing seemed to cease immediately after.
Rel (hushed): The hell was that scream...?!
Punjo's widened gaze locked onto the door's slits as he continued his approach, while signalling that Rel and Tyssa keep their distance. Their curious nature overpowered their better judgement, however, guiding them onward to the laboratory as well.
Punjo (hushed): That weren't the sound of man nor beast...
In truth, there was yet no name for whatever awaited within. Not even Dmitri himself had thought of a name appropriate enough... He felt no words existed that could adequately capture the essence of the fruits of his labor.
Voice: Sever the ligaments with pinpoint precision... Slice the bone at the perfect angle. We've had a lot of time to think. This has to be the perfect cut...
The sound of flesh and bone being sawed could be heard beyond the door, alongside the man's mad musings. With the constant dripping of blood onto the floor as a backdrop, the squishing and serration of meat being butchered could be heard more and more vividly, as they got ever-closer to the frail door that separated their reality from whatever hellish dimension seemed to lurk ahead.
Punjo (hushed): Aight, here's yer plan...
A concerned Punjo stopped moving, turning back to face the increasingly nervous Rel and Tyssa.
Punjo (hushed): Ya kids will be stayin' back for this one. I've a bad feelin' about it.
Predictably, it wasn't a plan either of them was fond of, despite their apparent agitated state.
Rel (hushed): N-no way Punjo, we're in this together. We're all going!
Punjo (hushed): Not a chance, Rel. Not this time.
Abruptly, their discussion was interrupted by the bone-chilling noise of what resembled a hungry animal feasting aggressively, alongside the loud rumbling of a stomach digesting limb-sized chunks of meat.
Voice: Accept it... Yes. Beautiful amalgam, my finest work... A marvelous specimen. Unique. Otherworldy. Stronger, faster, taller... Beyond human. Nature's insufficiency could never...!
Letting morbid curiosity take hold of them, the three of them approach the door at last and peer through its rusty slits...
Tyssa: Oh my god...!
A bloody tarp covered what resembled an oversized corpse, underneath which slimy black tentacles slithered and reached out to the severed body parts that the scientist eagerly offered them, as they rapidly and desperately attempted to assimilate them into their own frame.
Dmitri (Voice): Who's there...?
Dmitri asks, faintly hearing the sound of Tyssa's surprised voice... Yet it wasn't long before the tentacles yearned for more, and the wailing re-commenced. Distracted by the horrific cries of pain coming from his creation, Dmitri reached out for a large, bloody syringe.
Dmitri: Hush... You grow more and more unrestful. Just wait a bit longer...
He stabs it through the tarp deep into the creature -- it was the same sound they had heard initially, followed by a similar small grunt. After administering whatever chemicals were contained within the syringe, the being beneath the tarp moves around erratically, reacting violently to the foreign liquid that was just injected into it. Almost instantly, its tentacles recede and it quiets down, returning to sleep.
Dmitri: You're not yet ready... Neither is the outside world. Not yet... I need more. One more. Just one more...
Dmitri's attention returns to the voice he had just heard, yet he doesn't seem fully committed to discerning the identity behind it, instead focusing on the myriad bottles of chemicals that were currently under boil in a nearby alchemy station, releasing the ever-more-pungent fumes that assaulted the party's nostrils.
Dmitri: Is that you?! Stop dragging your feet and get it in here already, time is of the essence!
With Dmitri's back turned to the door as he is kept busy by his concoctions, Punjo seizes the opportunity before him and grabs the door's bloodied handle.
Punjo (hushed): 'Ight... That's my cue.
Yet Rel and Tyssa were not about to let him simply barge in...
Tyssa (hushed): Punjo, no-
... Not that he would let them keep him.
Punjo (hushed): STAY, BOTH OF YOU.
He wasn't joking. Petrified, Rel and Tyssa remain in the corridor, as a fearless Punjo confidently enters the laboratory and closes the door behind him.
Dmitri: Put it on that table...
Dmitri points toward a vacant bloodied table, not far from the tarp-covered table where his experiment rested. Still occupied with the synthesis of his precious chemicals, he pays Punjo little mind. Leveraging the situation to the best of his abilities, Punjo slowly but confidently steps in his direction.
Dmitri: Won't last much longer without more sedatives... Should have adopted regular intravenal administration from the beginning. If only I knew... If only.
As the footsteps behind him close in on his own position as opposed to the table's, Dmitri's suspicion rises.
Dmitri: I said the table THERE! How daft are you?!
As he turns around to face who he believed to be his guard, Dmitri jumps back in fright, surprised by the large unfamiliar man that stood before him.
Dmitri: S-stop right there! Who are you?!
Punjo stretches his neck from side to side as he cracks his knuckles.
Punjo: Dun' worry 'bout my name -- not here ta be friends, mister Dmitri... Here 'cos you got somethin' I need.