Glockenspiel's Experiment - The last Exquisite Corpse of 2018 (Part 5)

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The Story till now: @bennettitalia introduced the beautiful corpse, Elizabeth Lightwood - the first one anyway. It was brought to Doctor Ludwig Von Glockenspiel's residence by Lord Thimbleberry of Darbyshire upon Wexley-Haversham East and assorted hangers on- Inspector Posthaste of Scotland Yard, Lieutenant Jameson McWhisk, Edmond Dantish and Pugnacia Arabesque; so that he may revive it. @blueeyes8960, @fromage and @blockurator revealed that Elizabeth could indeed be revived but not by pre- industrial age almost scientific methods but by Pugnacia. Pug and Liz were part of a futuresque hi-tech immersive game. But before Pug could do anything Liz gets her head blown off, ditto for Doctor Ludwig Von Glockenspiel. There is a sniper in the game- and he is gunning for the players. Pug is on the run, she decides on a dice roll and wins, a passage opens up for her and she enters it in a hurry to get away, only to find the passage narrowing down.

Pugnacia fumed inwardly, she had obviously missed the opening somewhere behind. She crawled in reverse cursing every time she scraped her shin and bumped her head, all the while feeling with her hands all around the passage for the doorway. She could still hear steps, sometimes sounding near and the occasional thunks and crashes muffled by the thick walls, and so many feet of earth. He or she or they were tracking her somehow, but she was not so worried because she had invoked a "secret" passage, impossible to find inside the game and time consuming to hack from the outside because the outlets were random. After about four minutes of reverse search she found the knob hidden in a corner of the ceiling.

Lord Thimbleberry of Darbyshire upon Wexley-Haversham East was the last of the guests to leave the Glockenspiel estate. And now he had returned to look for Pugnacia Arabesque, too ashamed to have forgotten her altogether. He drove the carriage through the open gates and up the drive way . He did not expect any lights in the grounds in this dark night and the continuous rain but there were three lanterns lighting up the the steps and the main door. He stopped the carriage in the glare of the lanterns and hopped down immediately not noticing the bullet which zinged by his ear. The second bullet hit the frame of the carriage while Lord Thimbleberry crouched in the rain and rushed up the steps.

Pugnacia climbing out of the passage right beside the door saved Lord Thimbleberry from the third bullet. He was so shocked at the sight of the lady emerging from the ground that he missed a step and fell, while the bullet thwacked into the marble column by the door. Pug immediately recognized what was happening and dived down the steps as another bullet hit the brass hinges with a loud whang. The two of them collided and got entangled as they rolled down. " Quick. Under the carriage" Pug shouted dragging the lord by his frayed collar. "Computer. Infrared scan for possible attackers." After a moment the system replied. "Four humans and a lycanthrope. One human is in the kitchen, One is in the basement, One is just entering the main hall, One is on top of the boundary wall. The lycanthrope is climbing the stairs to the main hall." Two killers, Pug thought, one inside and one outside. Somebody has gone through a lot of pain and a lot of credits to make this happen.

"Madam Uh! Can you let go of my collar please?"Lord Thimbleberry said sounding embarrassed and confused. Pug turned to focus on him. "Lord, we can die if we make a wrong move." "Surely I can handle myself with sword and musket. Who is the miscreant that has stooped to threaten fair maids?" He puffed up but started as a bullet hit a stone nearby and sharp splinters of the disintegrating stone hit him in the face and chest. "What in the Devil.." Pug caught his words. "Yes my lord. This be devil's own work and we need to move to save our souls. Can you lead the horse to the corner?" "Er. Yes. Yes." "OK Go. Keep yourself this side, in the shadow of the carriage."

Pug crawled on all fours, keeping under the carriage. They moved towards the corner, despite the regular whacking of bullets, till the horse got shot and bolted. Pug leapt for the hedges beside the paved road but Lord Thimbleberry was left standing. And in the next moment two bullets hit him almost simultaneously. One from the window and another from the boundary wall. Pug was racing for the corner as the computer announced. "Emergency protocol two. Warning! Game data corrupt. Evacuation points activated. Repeat. Emergency protocol two. Data Corruption." At last! Pug thought as she rounded the corner, someone noticed all this shooting. Dirty, wet, cold and hungry Pug headed for the kitchen. The light spilling out of the kitchen window was the only light she could see in the dark rainy night.

The door was not locked and Pug entered the warm dry kitchen with a sigh of relief. The huge coal ovens were still radiating heat and the smell of fresh bread permeated the air. She noticed bottles of wine lined on a shelf, picking one she collapsed into a chair. She opened the bottle using a knife, hands and teeth and took a huge gulp, savoring the taste as alcohol warmed her mouth and throat. What next? thought Pugnacia. "Computer elaborate Protocol two."

OK let's see how this pans out. Will Pug stalk her killers or will she escape or won't she? Next episode by @quillfire .

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019 TO ALL STEEMIANS