Part 56: Last Night- Page 54

Why not?

>Iadabaoloth
That's not a verb I recognise.

Hmmm... I think it's misspelled.

>Ialdabaoloth
The blasphemous syllables crawl loathsomely from your lips. The word lingers in the air like a cyst -- just hearing the sound of it makes you nauseous. Nature itself seems to draw back from the sound, as though horrified by your very voice.

>look at door
It's a sturdy-looking wooden door, padded on the inside. There is a tiny observation window about five feet up. The door is closed.

It looks like the door might be hanging a bit crooked on its hinges.

That's a fun party trick. Miranda will have to try that at the next family reunion.
Buuuuuut, it didn't do anything to the door.


Miranda isn't really into Metal, but it may help clear her head.

>headbutt door
That's not a verb I recognise.

>hit door with head
You can't see any such thing.

Bah.



I should have thought of this, but forgot to do so in time of Thunder. It IS, however, interesting and I went back to to a previous save to try it...


Seems there's no indication or thunderclap inside this cell, which is a pity.
Sooo. Screw it! Kick the door!

>kick door
You take a few steps back, draw a deep breath, and hurl your body at the door. It shudders violently, and you thought you felt something give.

Miranda it now kicking the door with her shoulder. An expert move she learned in Contortionist College.

>kick door
With a defiant shout, you launch your body at the door. Something snaps (the door? you think incoherently, or your shoulder?), and the door flies open, sending you sprawling out into the hallway.

Hallway
A grim hallway of concrete and industrial green tiles. This is the north end; the hallway runs south from here. Doors lead east and west, and a narrow, barred window to the north looks out onto the dark corner outside.

A shard of glass from the broken window lies on the floor.

Something on the ground?

>look at shard
The shard is triangular, about two inches long, and very sharp.

An itch strikes you suddenly, just under your right shoulder blade. For the next minute or two you can only clench your teeth in agony, powerless to scratch it, until the wretched sensation goes away on its own.

Something to take?

Miranda must quickly distract herself. After all, the thought of being unable to steal something would drive her into a madhouse...
...again.

>look out window
Which do you mean, the observation window or the broken window?
Thanks, Game. I didn't realize there WAS an Observation window.

>broken
You can see a storm raging outside; wind and rain lash the trees ruthlessly, some of it blowing in through the broken pane.

You hear strange, gibbering laughter coming from down the hall.

God. She's can't stand it any longer!
Miranda must STEAL!

>take glass
(the shard of glass)
Painstakingly, you get down on your knees and very, very carefully pick up the shard of glass with your teeth.

>look at tiles
The tiles are pale, bland, non-color green, specifically designed to be as soothing as possible. Just looking at them makes you want to smash your head against the wall.

An itch strikes you suddenly on the inside of your right elbow. For the next minute or two you can only clench your teeth in agony, powerless to scratch it, until the wretched sensation goes away on its own.

What have I missed?

>look at barred window
Building maintenance is obviously not a big priority at this institution. The wall around the window casement is cracked in several places -- some of the cracks are quite large. The window pane itself is broken in, probably by a misguided bird sometime in the recent past.

Huh. Place is a mess. Well, let's try across the hall.

>west
You can't, since the closet door is closed.

And there's a closet. Nice to know, game. Good to see you're telling me everything.

>look

Hallway
A grim hallway of concrete and industrial green tiles. This is the north end; the hallway runs south from here. Doors lead east and west, and a narrow, barred window to the north looks out onto the dark corner outside.

A sudden flash of lightning from outside momentarily etches the room in sharp black and white contrast.

An itch strikes you suddenly, right behind your right ear. For the next minute or two you can only clench your teeth in agony, powerless to scratch it, until the wretched sensation goes away on its own.

>south

Hallway
A grim hallway of concrete and industrial green tiles, running north and south from here. Doors lead east and west.

*** ka-WHAM!!! ***

A monstrous clap of thunder rolls across the sky, shaking the whole town to its foundations.

Maybe we can see the people inside these cells?
Miranda's hoping to find the bum or someone similar.

>look at doors
You can't see any such thing.

Except there are no doors anymore.

>look east
You see nothing special to the east.

You hear strange, gibbering laughter coming from the eastern cell.

Alright, Game, now you're just messing with me.

>look into east observation window
Inside the eastern cell you can see what must be one of the asylum's old inmates, prancing and cavorting around the room. You are mildly disturbed to see that he is wearing no strait jacket.

I'm sure glad he's locked up in there.


Yup.


No need to worry about him.







>west
(opening the west cell door first)
Unfortunately, that would require the use of your arms.


>south

Hallway
A grim hallway of concrete and industrial green tiles. This is the south end; the hall runs north from here. Doors lead east and west, and a doorway to the south leads to the top of a stairway.

Something about the observation window in the western cell door catches your eye; it looks like it has blood on it.

>look at observation window
Which do you mean, the west observation window or the east observation window?

Don't TOY with me, Game!

>west
The thick, reinforced glass of the tiny observation window is shattered, with only the criss-crossing reinforcement wire holding it together. It bulges outward slightly, as well. An ugly brown smear of dried blood obscures the inner surface of the glass. With mounting disgust, you notice several strands of dark hair still stuck to the congealed stain.

Ah, someone's tried the "Headbutt" idea already with lucrative results.

>south
You are stopped halfway to the stairs by a loud banging noise behind you.

You turn around -- there it is again. A loud, shuddering bang, like something heavy slamming into something wooden -- and you see a cell door halfway down the hall shiver in its frame.

Looks like someone else is trying out your brilliant escape plan.

The door is hit a third time, the latch snaps and the door flies open, and a filthy, ragged man staggers out into the hall. You have just enough time to notice -- with no small amount of disquiet -- that the man is not wearing a strait jacket, and then he looks up at you and grins an utterly psychotic grin.


The madman lurches after you.

Shit.

>Hello, madman
As soon as you open your mouth, the shard of glass drops to the floor.
That's not a verb I recognise.

>ask madman about himself
"That's me," sings the madman. "That's me all over, inside and out. Soon you'll be inside, too -- say hi to me when you get there..." And the madman opens his mouth and laughs and laughs and laughs...

A burst of lightning from outside sends a brief flicker of illumination through the hall.

Miranda's Glass!

>get glass
(the shard of glass)
Painstakingly, you get down on your knees and very, very carefully pick up the shard of glass with your teeth.

*** ka-WHAM!!! ***

A monstrous clap of thunder rolls across the sky, shaking the whole town to its foundations.

Time to get out of here.

>south

Top of Stairs
You are at the top of a stairwell leading down to the asylum's ground floor. A hallway lined with doors leads north.

The madman hops awkwardly toward you, giggling and dripping saliva from his blood-smeared chin.

>down

Bottom of Stairs
You are at the bottom of a stairwell leading up to the asylum's second floor. A hallway leads north.

The madman hops awkwardly toward you, giggling and dripping saliva from his blood-smeared chin.

The humming fluorescent light overhead casts a disjointed blue glow throughout the echoing stairwell.

>north

Darkness

You hear something thumping toward you in the dark, breathing wetly.

You can hear the madman thumping around in the dark.

>north
You stumble forward blindly...

Darkness
It is pitch dark, and you can't see a thing.

You hear something thumping toward you in the dark, breathing wetly.

Alright, this isn't working.
Miranda needs a torch of somekind if she wants to escape this place.

>south

Bottom of Stairs

The madman hops awkwardly toward you, giggling and dripping saliva from his blood-smeared chin.

>

Well, we have a friend, at least. He most likely wants to do terrible things to Miranda's body, but there he is and we have to deal with him.
What would YOU do? Whould you do it in Bold?

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