Death's Breath | Assassin's Creed Syndicate Fanfiction

Chapter 7

The pair hurried to the Asylum, a big building that almost seemed mysterious and forbidden. A man with a white beard stood in front of the black iron gates, struggling to open an umbrella in the pouring rain. After several attempts, he cursed at the umbrella and let it blow away in the wind upon noticing Ruby and Jacob.

"Mr. Frye! And who might this young lady be?" Charles Darwin asked, turning to Ruby.

"Ruby, sir. I have heard a lot about your work," Ruby introduced herself, trying to contain her excitement.

"I hope that my books have inspired you. Mr. Frye, I trust that you had a productive meeting with Mr. Owen?" Darwin asked.

"Oh yes, we had a most wonderful chat," Jacob answered, smirking.

"Please don't tell me you killed the poor man?" Ruby asked hesitantly, knowing that Jacob's idea of a 'chat' was to torture his subjects into submission.

"I may have damage his carriage. Slightly."

"Jacob!"

"I got the information we needed! The man behind Starrick's soothing syrup is John Elliotson," Jacob informed Darwin, lowering his voice slightly.

"John Elliotson? Why I haven't heard that name for a long time! He was a brilliant heart specialist, until he became obsessed with phrenology and mesmerism. It ruined his career," Darwin informed them sadly.

"Phrenology and mesmerism?" Ruby asked, not knowing what those words meant.

"Phrenology is the study of the shape and size of the brain in relation to one's character and mental abilities. Another word for mesmerism is hypnotism," Darwin explained quickly, before turning back to Jacob.

"Mr. Frye, how should we proceed?" he asked enthusiastically, rocking on the balls of his feet.

"With all due respect, Mr. Darwin, I believe Ruby and I should proceed alone. We wouldn't want to attract any unwanted attention," Jacob hinted, holding up a hand apologetically.

"Sounds very wise. Good luck to you both. Oh and should you ever find yourself with some free time, please do call on me!" Darwin patted both of them on the shoulders, as he began leaving.

Ruby watched the old man leave, who was whistling cheerfully to himself.

"What an interesting man," she mumbled to herself, before turning to Jacob.

"Where to?"

"Now to find the doctor," Jacob informed her, walking into the big building.

Carefully sneaking through a window, Jacob and Ruby quietly crept through the hallways of the Asylum, trying not to get caught by the security personnel. They walked to the second floor and stopped in front of a large window, where they saw several doctors crowded around John Elliotson and a patient. Ruby and Jacob each peaked out from one side of the window, observing the commotion that was happening below them. The patient that was lying on the table was squirming in pain, as Doctor Elliotson was pressing something deep into his skull. The sound of metal scraping against bone filled the room and the agonising screams of the patient sent shivers down Ruby's spine. The patient shook as Elliotson twisted the device around, until the patient suddenly fell still. Elliotson sighed before pulling the device out of the patient's skull, a splatter of blood hitting the window. Bits of brain matter were scattered around the table and it took all of Ruby's strength to keep her dinner from appearing at Jacob's feet.

"As you've just witnessed, the application of too much pressure can sometimes result in unexpected outcomes. Unfortunately, it appears that I have ruined the organ," Elliotson nonchalantly informed the room.