Chapter Text
Act I: Batteries Not Included
The life of a risk-taker never appealed to Mary. She liked things being predictable and quiet. She was raised to turn her nose up at the prospect of thrill-seeking and venturing into the world in search of some greater purpose or meaning. She loved her peaceful life in the heart of Arkham. Married to the love of her life and with a beautiful newborn cradled in her arms. She never would've thought that anything bad could happen to her. Everything was perfect the way it was.
Which was why Joseph crashing his car came as such a surprise.
He was on his way back from work when the accident happened. Hearing the news and rushing over to see the wreckage was the worst thing in her life. She saw the night lit up with flashing red lights, the air filled with conflicting voices and weeping. Mary thought that him being carted away into the ambulance would be the last time she ever saw him.
Mary trailed them back to the hospital, where she now sat in the waiting room, trying her hardest to keep it together. Joseph was having surgery done on his spine. It was dangerous and had a high risk of complete failure, but there was no other choice. She was never told to come in and watch. Stuck out in the lobby, trying to keep her daughter still and silent while she herself fought back tears.
What had they done to deserve this? Mary went through her life doing nothing wrong. She prayed every night, went to church on Sunday, treated her neighbours with kindness and respect, loved Joseph unconditionally, and never once considered the idea of defying anything. The law, the Lord, her friends and family, even strangers she couldn't bring herself to be rude and malicious to. Joseph she knew well enough was the same, if not better. Their life was going so well, only for this tragic event to rear its ugly head in.
She looked down at her baby, her precious Judy. Her body was swaddled tightly in a cozy wool blanket that she knitted for her. She was on the verge of falling completely asleep, nestled up against her mother. She made little coos and sniffles as she snored.
Mary couldn't help but feel for her. It was way past her bedtime. She was in a cold, strange environment. The walls were sterile and blank. No decorations were in sight; not even the smallest house plant. It was frigid, as though the room was only a couple of degrees above being able to see your own breath. Her father was missing and her mother was sitting there, equally as tired. Her mother's mascara and makeup was stained on her cheeks, dried up from when she was crying only hours earlier. She couldn't understand what was happening, only that it was something very, very bad.
Mary hugged Judy closer. Judy deserved to have a loving, caring family. It was the one wish that Joseph had, to do better than his parents before. He was the most gentle and sweet man she had met. He cried when he first saw Judy, and while unusual for a man to do, Mary knew in that moment that he was the one. He wasn't afraid to show how much he loved them. More than anything, he cared about them and wanted them safe and happy.
She couldn't fathom a life without him. She reflected on those memories they shared. Their first meeting at a university party followed by a tender and warm first date at the docks. Laughs and jokes were shared as they walked around parks for date after date. When she moved into his small, yet comfortable and snugly house. The Christmas where they went to a friend's party, only to then meet up on the rooftops and stare at the stars. They chatted and talked before he pulled out "one final gift" for her. He got on his knees and lifted the box, revealing a ring with a stunning diamond. She remembered his declaration of love and how she was the only one who he felt could truly love him for who he always was.
She didn't want to lose him. Mary loved him. She loved him more than anybody else in the world. He deserved to live a long, happy life. He didn't deserve this fate.
Yet, she couldn't do anything but sit there, hopeless and useless. A mere bystander who can only pray in hopes that he'll make it through. He must. The doctors are good, lawful people. They were trained for emergency surgeries like these. He'll survive. He'll live. He has to...
Then, not too far away, she heard the faint sound of footsteps. They echoed through the otherwise empty and lifeless halls of the hospital. She looked up to see that, right down the hall and coming towards her, was none other than her family doctor.
"Good morning, Miss Mara," Dr. Fisher said. "I'm terribly sorry for the wait. Shameful to leave you in the dark like this."
"I couldn't care less about that," Mary replied, "please, tell me he's alright."
A small, warm smile stretched over his face. "Your husband is alive. Joseph made it through the procedure. From what I was told, he was in steady and stable condition."
Mary's heart fluttered. Hope and joy flowed through her. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she choked back a sob, trying to contain herself. "Thank you..." she ended up saying.
"Oh, don't thank me. Thank the surgeon, Doctor Ludwig, for doing all this. He was just about to clock out for the evening when he came in. Stayed past his shift just to help you. From what he said, Joseph will make a full recovery in no time."
Mary couldn't contain herself. She shed a single tear. That man must have been an angel. To spend hours of his time in the dead of night working tirelessly to keep Joseph alive. This man, this Ludwig...she couldn't even form the right words to describe how thankful she was for his service.
She got out of her seat, clutching onto Judy. "Where is he? Am I allowed in there?"
"He's in good enough condition for you to visit him, I believe." Fisher held onto his clipboard, turning his back. "Follow me, Mary."
She trailed after him. "Why is he not here with us?"
"He left soon after he was finished. Something about an emergency of his own had struck. I actually caught him in his little office not too long ago. He was busy packing things in a small messenger bag. Now that I think of it, he also had a black garbage bag in there too... I think he was trying to clean up a bit before leaving."
"Clean? Why?"
Fisher sighed. "Doctor Ludwig is, well, an eccentric man to say the least. Some things about him you can't really explain. You haven't been around long to see, but he's certainly quite the character. He's reserved and, if you pardon my language, a bit of an ass."
Mary blinked. "What makes you say that?"
"He's one of the best surgeons in this building, but he's definitely the least tolerable man I have ever seen. He refuses to have any sort of assistants or other surgeons help him. He insists on taking on even the most difficult of surgeries himself, saying that it is a 'waste of my time to deal with others'."
"Isn't that illegal?"
"Surprisingly not around these parts." Fisher shrugged. "He's also not the greatest coworker to be with. I've tried making small talk with the man, but he either flips the conversation to be entirely about himself or is blatantly obvious that he doesn't care enough to talk with me."
She chuckled awkwardly. "Sounds like quite the prick." She clasped her mouth. "Goodness, I don't know where that came from. Terribly sorry..."
"Nah, don't be. The man deserves it if you ask me. Still, best surgeon that the likes Saint Mary's has ever seen. I've never once seen a patient of his that didn't get back up on their feet in a week like nothing happened. Couldn't have had a better doctor work on your husband's spinal cord."
"I suppose the world's geniuses are also the world's strangest people," she said.
"Couldn't hurt to be a lil' compassionate though, would it?" Fisher laughed. "I kid. Not really, but still."
Mary held Judy closer to her heart. "I'm just thankful that he saved my Joseph. I can't stand the thought of him leaving us this way. So young..."
He tisked. "Suppose I can't argue with that there. Still, something about him just isn't quite right... Ah well. I'm sure he'll be back soon enough for you to thank him. Good lord does he love it when people do that."
She followed after Fisher in silence, not particularly wanting to talk any longer about this surgeon. Clearly, there was some bad blood between the both of them. Though, Fisher had a tendency to exaggerate and resort to hyperbole. Maybe this Ludwig fellow was just a bit off, sure, but overall a good person. After all, why would a vile man work as a surgeon of all things? Counterintuitive at best.
She just was relieved to hear that Joseph was alive. She didn't care who did or how he did it. If he was breathing steadily and still able to look at her with those loving eyes...it'll all be fine.
After twisting and turning through the labyrinth that was the hospital for a minute or so, they stopped at a door. "Right this way, Mary," Fisher said, opening the door.
She followed inside, being greeted with a quaint and peaceful room. A window let in the morning light through, basking the otherwise lifeless white walls with pinks and oranges. A small table and a couple chairs were tucked into the corner. Pressed up against the wall was a bed, a heart-rate monitor, and an IV bag standing next to it.
Yet, Mary couldn't help herself but feel on edge. The monitor beeped incessantly, the screen display showing waves forming in quick succession.
"Mister Mara? Joseph? Are you awake, sir?" Fisher called out. "Strange. Patients aren't usually this active after surgery. His heart rate is far quicker than normal."
Mary's eyebrows furrowed. "What? Is everything alright?"
"It should be. Perhaps he's not taking the medicine too well. Or maybe he's stressed because he was abandoned in a hospital room without so much as a nurse to take care of him."
Mary set Judy down on the chair, tucking her blanket a bit tighter. The atmosphere grew thicker as she approached the bed. The blankets covered him head-to-toe. When she looked closer, she noticed it was hard to make out details. His legs, chest, arms, everything. If her eyes weren't deceiving her, why, she'd almost say he was flat as a pancake.
Then, she noticed the bedside table. A pot of fresh flowers and a card. Black dahlias she recognized. She picked up the card and opened it up. Inside was a sentence that simply read:
"Thank you for the souvenir!" All with a little smiley face and a couple hearts doodled around it.
She turned to the pearly-white blankets, fear present in her eyes. "Joseph? Are you alright?"
"Mister Mara? Are you quite- OH MY GOD!!" Fisher had pulled back the sheets. Mary could not believe what she saw.
She knew her husband. She knew what Joseph looked like. He was a sturdy man. Not the strongest or most athletically gifted, but he was firm and a little muscular. The thing that stood out the most was his eyes. Hazel and held a warmth that was like shelter from a frosty blizzard.
Mary would not have thought this thing was her Joeseph if it weren't for those eyes. They were unmistakably his.
It was a mass of writhing flesh. Twitching as the nerves in it tried to move in any direction. The skin was stretched and flabby. It had no shape. It didn't resemble that of a human, but more like a gelatinous blob that was haphazardly tossed into this bed. His eyes were sunken and they stared at him, struggling to focus on her. She could see his pain. See his terror. See his agony.
Mary gagged, holding herself back from fainting. She clutched onto the bedframe to support herself. She couldn't bear to look at the mass any longer, yet the image of what was now her husband was burned into her mind.
"My god," Fisher whispered. "His entire skeleton... How is he still alive!?"
"His-" Mary struggled to form the words. "His skeleton?"
"It's missing. Every bone in his body from the looks of- oh god, that just looks horrific." Fisher turned away.
Mary's eyes widened. "His what!? How could he... Why is this happening to him?! Who could have done such a thing?"
A floor below the chaos and pandemonium was the quiet garage. It was small, able to fit in about three ambulances. Two of them were out with the paramedics, answering panicked calls of heart attacks and freak accidents. They were in so much of a rush that they had left the door open, leading out into the desolate parking lot and freezing city. Only one ambulance now sat in the cold, unmoving.
Until it roared to life. In a flash, the floodlights turned on, filling the dark room with sudden light. The engine whirled and hummed as it regulated itself.
And inside was a man with a crooked smile.
Ludwig cackled as he twisted the key, feeling the car surge with life. He had never been able to drive one of these. Far too long was he shafted in the back or chained to the hospital walls. He was in the driver's seat now with not a soul to stop him.
Unless you count the pile of bones currently in the passenger seat. Ludwig sure didn't. That was but a mere souvenir, a relic from the job he once had.
"Oho!!" He turned to the skeleton. "Tell me this isn't the most fun you've had in YEARS, mein Freund!" He grabbed the skull, inspecting it. "But, ah-ah! That was only the beginning. This? This is where the real fun begins..."
Without hesitation, he floored the gas pedal. The tires spun for a moment before catching on. It launched forward, speeding away into the morning light. He swerved through the parking lot without care. Narrowly dodging car after car. Mere inches away from completely totaling them.
Then, the gate. A simple white and red barrier gate that could be moved. It was made from cheap plastic and was thin. A little way before was a noticeable speed bump.
The corners of Ludwig's mouth tightened into a wider smile. He looked at the pile of bones. "Festhalten!" he yelled.
The ambulance went over the bump, flying into the air. The bottom half of the ambulance crashed into the gate, shattering it and setting off the alarm. The car landed with a jolt. Ludwig didn't lay off the gas pedal. Instead, he pressed it down even more.
"Aha!!" He glanced in the review mirror towards the hospital. "How's that for an exit!? Auf Wiedersehen, Dummkopfs!" He laughed maniacally.
Ludwig didn't randomly decide to go mad. That's what the press will surely paint him as. He could see the headlines already. "Insane doctor steals skeleton of local man, drives off to the middle of nowhere New Mexico." Perfect! He wouldn't want it any other way. The last thing he wanted was to go quietly into the night.
No, he deserved more. If he was leaving this mind-numbingly dull job for the opportunity of a lifetime, he wanted a little show. Leave an impression. It wasn't like that family mattered anyway. This man's skeleton would be more valuable and meaningful than any action he ever made.
"Never even cared for them, didn't you?" Ludwig turned to the bones. What was the man's name again? Johnny? Jones? Something like that. Eh, who cares? "You'll be much happier in New Mexico than this place." He lifted the skull, resting it on the dashboard. "Don't fall off now! I don't need to go steal another skeleton if you break."
Ludwig, at best, had a...estranged relationship with ethics. He never saw the point in them. Pointless rules and made-up codes that abided by some imaginary rulebook. Moral instincts. He wasn't particularly familiar with that. He saw their fears of "going too far" or harming others for the sake of science as childish. How can one truly call themselves a doctor without a desire for progress? Progress cannot be made with controlled and safe tests. No, they're done by tearing into your test subject and doing what no man has done before because it's too "unethical".
Unfortunately, he had to keep his opinions and thoughts to himself. All those years working at that hospital. Every single one was wasted on doing little more than live-saving heart surgeries and transplants. He would do it differently, going about it his own way, but he was never allowed to do anything drastic. Nothing fun or stimulating.
But, finally, he was accepted to a place where he could do that. Tonight was his last shift. He could do anything and it wouldn't matter.
And there is nothing more empowering than being a man with nothing to lose.
He turned onto the highway. He flicked on the sirens, instantly lighting the road in flashing red. Cars moved out of the way for him, forming a clear path for him. Ludwig chuckled as they did so. They were so helplessly and foolishly unaware. Such a rich and lovely feeling to deceive so many and have them bend to his will.
Arkham was a nice city. He had lived in it since he was young, going to the university for a while before making a quiet exit after barely dodging the murder and kidnapping accusations. Didn't have a medical license though. It wasn't like Miskatonic had any sort of information he couldn't learn from his experiments. So, he forged his own and was gladly accepted into Saint Mary's Hospital.
Yet, it could never compare to this new job. Being a mercenary for Reliable Excavation Demolition, or RED for short. He would be a "Medic" as they called it, fighting against another group of hired killers.
A mercenary? Oh, it was all he could ever dream of! Now, his job revolved around the one thing he was never allowed to do: brutally murder people for his amusement. Getting paid was a mere bonus (although it certainly made the deal even more sweet).
He would be free from the law. Free from these useless rules and codes. He wouldn't have to pretend to care and like people. He could easily live out his desires of live autopsies, exotic animal organ transplants, and other such things that would land him right in the electric chair had he done them here.
It was perfect. It was the life he was destined to have.
He made the turn-off to leave the city. From the sprawling city of Arkham to the tiny town of Teufort.
Here I come, New Mexico.