Amnesia: The Dark Descent [Part One]

One day I will return

"Hello?" Daniel whispered, his voice filling the room. 

"Hellooooo?" He called out, a little louder. When nothing replied he found the courage to stand up and peek around the rocks he had been hiding behind. His eyes had adjusted to the dark which made it easier for him to see what was there, mostly dirt, barrels and other bits of debris.

He ran his hand along the wall as he made his way around the room, partly so he was less obvious to anything that may be lurking nearby, and partly so he could steady his shaking body. His foot connected with something hard and he shrieked, flailing his arms around to try and steady himself. The sound of metal hitting the ground made him wince, some kind of liquid sloshing inside it as it rolled. He searched the floor for the source and saw a container lying nearby, oil leaking out of it onto the floor. He gasped and reached out to salvage the precious liquid, filling his lantern with the remaining drops. He sighed and dropped the empty canister on the ground, cringing as the sound echoed through the air. 

"Right." He said to himself, straightening up and brushing the dust off his clothes. "I am done with this game. There is nothing here," He muttered bitterly as he headed directly for the doorway on the other side of the room, scuffing the dirt with his foot. "There is nothing here, I'm imagining things, because I'm a crazy man." He said, trying to convince himself that he really was safe. Still, he kept his voice little low just in case.

He descended the stone stairs into a strange room. It was hard to explain it's layout other than saying it was a kind of T shaped area. "Wow..." He mumbled as he gazed across the shelves of brightly coloured liquids. He turned to the right and headed towards a table covered in different apparatus, beakers that seemed to lead into one long tube that had a rusty tap on the end. 

"What do you know." He said, picking up a loose piece of paper covered in neat, black handwriting that he didn't recognize. 

The lack of a chimney to properly vent the fumes from my most recent experiments has taken it's toll on many of my less stable ingredients in storage. Some seem unaffected, but many are stained by the fumes and will be difficult to salvage. I shall do what I can and move them to the wine cellar.

Daniel sighed, reading over the note again in exasperation. "What's the likelihood of me needing those chemicals for something?" Shaking his head, he turned around and continued inspecting the room. On the shelf opposite he saw another can of oil which he hurriedly used to fill his lantern to the brim, a drop fell from the side and splashed on the ground. 

Daniel turned and made his way along the shelves to the other side of the room. He noticed there was some kind of red grating in the middle of the floor. This made his eyebrow raise, but he assumed it was just a drainage system for whatever chemicals were used in here. As he passed over it however, his head started to pound and his vision blurred slightly as he prepared to witness another memory.

"Hmmm... There should be more Cuprite." Alexanders voice mumbled. Daniel looked around, seeing a desk on the other side of the room. He walked over to it, it seemed to also be the source of the voice. Surprised he could move normally even while in this state, he continued to listen to Alexander.

"Let me see, let me see... And one part Aqua Fortis." And just like that his vision returned and his head stopped pounding. He looked over the desk, shuffling the loose notes Alexander must have left. He didn't bother reading them, lest he learn what terrible things they might do. Shivering for no particular reason, Daniel started exploring the draws.

"Well, at least there's something useful here." He mumbled tiredly as he took out two more tinderboxes. He had no idea how long it had been since he'd last slept, no idea how much time had passed. He could have been in here for hours or for days, not that it made much difference, he was still dead tired.

Dead tired, ha, that may be literal soon. Daniel shook his head, he couldn't afford to think like that. He opened the cupboard and his eyebrow raised. A little silver canister with a vivd blue stone embedded in the lids centre sat innocently inside the old wooden shelf. It's metal casing was covered in strange, alien hieroglyphics and without thinking Daniel reached out with his hand.

As soon as his fingertips came in contact with the stone his eyes were blinded by a flash, he tried to pull his hand away but it was bound there by an invisible force. He found himself staring into a black void, unable to move as a voice spoke.

One day I will return. 

The voice was strange, ethereal. Daniel couldn't figure out if it was a male or a female, or if it even had a gender at all.

If it wasn't for the thought of you, my love, I wouldn't be able to go on. When I find myself doing terrible things, I take comfort in you.

As long as I am able to think of you and long for a life together, I know I am better than the others. I weep for them, they lust for power without restraint, where I only crave fair judgement and a safe return.

Daniel's world flashed white again and his legs crumpled underneath him, he fell to the floor with a loud thud, his lantern clattering to the ground. He briefly opened his eyes, finding he was once again able to see. However the voice, or message or memory or whatever it was, had drained him to the point where just the thought of standing made his breath laboured. Giving in to the pull of sleep, he let his mind wander as he laid on the cold stone in the corner of the Laboratory, hidden inside the vast castle of Brennenburg.