Amnesia: The Dark Descent [Part One]

Mix and Match

Daniel was still trying to get the feel of the spider off his face as he organised his thoughts, trying to stop his eyes from searching the ground for the arachnid. 

"It was a spider. You survived a monster, you can survive a spider." He shivered and scanned the room. In the right corner was a table covered with equipment. There were little glass pots all connected by a tube which was sealed with a two valves at the end. Daniel put it all together.

"Okay. Put a chemical in each pot and mix them together. Easy." Daniel took the chemicals out of his jacket and lined them up on the counter, admiring their colours. He picked up the first chemical, Aqua Regia, and gingerly poured it into the far left pot, watching as the last drops dribbled out. He did the same with the others, Cuprite, Calamine and Orpiment. He waited for something to happen, waited. He waited some more before curiosity got the better of him and he turned the first valve. Little sparks shot up under the pots and made the chemicals bubble and pop in the heat. Daniel coughed as a strange smell filled his nostrils, making them crinkle. 

He needed something to hold his little mixture in. Daniel remembered the glass jar on the other desk and quickly grabbed it, his feet scuffing the slightly damp tiles as he placed the container under  the tube's spout. He turned the second knob and watched as the mixture of colours poured into the glass. He tilted his head. Something deep echoed in the distance, too quiet to be in the same area but too loud to be his imagination. He listened out, nothing. All clear. 

"Alright Daniel, no need to get your pants in a knot." He mumbled, holding the container of acid in his hands.

"No lid, okay then. Strong acid filling a container with no lid. Here we go." He barely took a step when a loud crashing shook the room. He yelped and fumbled with the jar, trying to put it down carefully. The shaking stopped and Daniel shot a dirty look at the castle in general, brushing off his jacket. Alexander wasn't wrong when he said the foundations were unstable. 

His jaw almost hit to floor when he saw the state of the room outside. The dust that was still settling tickled his nose, making his sneeze. The stairs...

"Oh for God's sake, what do I have to do to get out of here?" He kicked at the ground, sending a plume of dirt into the air. He used his free hand to waft it away, putting the container on the floor. The amount of things that go wrong here, you'd think he was in a twisted game. 

He looked around the room, there were stacks of barrels and boxes everywhere. "Well, this shouldn't be too hard." He spent a fair amount of time dragging barrels and boxes of different sizes over to the stairs which were now missing the majority of their bottom. The start of the stair case was just above his head, too high to reach. He tested out his makeshift stairs and although they wobbled slightly they were stable enough to climb. He tentatively stepped onto the original stairs, slightly pale but still grinning. He looked back down when he realised what he'd done and the smile slowly faded from his face.

"Damn." He looked longingly at the acid container sitting in the corner of the room, willing it to fly to him. It sat there innocently, as if to say "So, when are you coming back for me?" 

Muttering curse words Daniel stomped as hard as he dared down his barrels and boxes to grab the container. The trip back up was slightly harder minus an arm, but he managed without spilling any. He didn't wait to head back up the stairs and out to the entrance hall. 

Up the stairs, across the platform, more stairs, across the room, down the stairs to the Refinery door. Daniel knew it off by heart now. He stood an arms breadth from the plants, trying to steady the pot as he readied himself.

"Three, two, one!" He flicked the contents of the container towards the matter, he felt his grip on the container loosen and gasped, jumped back as he dropped it all on the floor. He looked down, none of the acid had reached the plants.

"No! No no no no!" He scrambled along the floor, trying to salvage as much of the acid as possible. He picked up the container, it was still half full. He yanked one of the roots off the plant and frantically tried to wipe up the acid, flicking it towards the plants covering the door. Almost immediately the root had all but disappeared, along with chunks of the plant where the acid droplets had landed. Why did he have to be such an uncoordinated klutz? At least the acid was strong he thought as he tipped the rest onto the plant. In moments he was watching the acid eat away until it was all but gone. He waited for it to stop dripping before he slipped through to the other side. 

"Well then. I guess it's time to go." He gave one last look behind him before pushing open the heavy red door and disappearing into the Refinery. The door slid shut behind him, sealing him in the darkness.