BATIM: Memory's Twisted Lane

Chapter 7

The first thing I remember is hearing my dad's voice. He's talking to Joey.

"Alright, Joey, I'm here. Let's see if we can find what you wanted me to see."

It must be a flashback, like in the story. Dad must be that boy. I can't believe it. I've been listening to Uncle Joey as he told me where my dad was all these years, and I never truly knew that he was telling the truth.

I open my eyes to see the doors to the elevator. I pull myself to my feet as the doors open. I see a sign that says "Level S." I've seen every floor to this place, but I've never seen Level S. I don't think the elevator was intentionally built to go down or up this far. Wherever I am, I guess I'm where the boy in Joey's story would've lost Boris.

I'm scared for Boris, and my dad. I don't know what happened to them. What if Alice got them both? What if she killed them? It would all be my fault. I feel sick in my stomach.

I limp down a hallway until it splits in two directions. To the left, I see a door that's missing a valve. I go right and follow the hallway to a room that has countless phrases of graffiti on all the walls.

"Time is money."

"Taxes."

Even amounts of money are written on the walls.

There's a desk in the corner to the right with an audio log on it. I record it only expecting Gran Cohen, since he's in charge of the budgets of this place. I hear him alright, but not with words. He's suffering. I don't know what's happening to him. It sounds like he's choking or drowning. Something shatters and Grant screams one last time. The last thing I hear is a distorted moain before the recorder clicks off.

I've never been so disturbed in my life. I don't know what happened to him. The only thing I can think of is a Searcher. The Searchers keep making a moaning sound, similar to the one in the audio log. He probably mutated into one of them like Susie turned into Alice.

I find the valve in a hole in the wall. I put it back on the door and open it. On the other side of the door, I see a group of ink statues posing in front of this giant Bendy statue, as if they're worshipping it. Geez, did Sammy convince these guys to worship Bendy too?

I walk passed the strange setting and enter a library. I find five books slightly farther out than the rest of them. I remember this from Joey's story. Dad had to push five books back in place to open the door.

I search the library for these books. I push three books back in place before the room starts to shake. I turn around in shock and see my Dad leaning against a table in the center of the room. He seems scared, lost. A moment later he disappears. All is calm once again.

This was another vision. All those visions and flashbacks must be from the first time my dad had to go through this.

I calm down as I push the rest of the books back in place. I go through the doors and walk into an open cave area. There's bridges built along the walls of the cave, reaching over a long drop into darkness. There are cages hanging from the roof of the cave. I can see a cable car bridge across the cave. One of the cogs are missing from the switch.

I go down another hallway to a small room with a large pipe reach from the floor to the roof. I pull a switch and the pipe opens, exposing a pool of ink. I turn a valve and a Swollen One pulls his body out of the ink. I remember Alice's need for the thick ink. She said it could hold together. I reach into the pool and take a handful of ink with me. I return to the lift and see some sort of machine. There's a wheel with pictures on it; a bone, a cup, a cog, and a radio. I have the cog picture exposed as I start up the machine. Moments later, a blob of ink is thrown out of the machine and forms into a cog.