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.
Ruby filled with rage, shocked at how emotionless a doctor could be towards his patient.
"Well it looks like that patient's phrenology is out of order," Jacob tried to lighten the mood, noticing Ruby's distress.
"Be quiet, or I will throw up in your top hat," Ruby threatened, breathing deeply.
"Noted," Jacob mumbled, placing a hand protectively over his hat.
A moment of silence passed between the pair, as Jacob observed Elliotson and Ruby fought her nausea.
"Alright, here is the plan. We both split up and find a way to sneak into that room unnoticed. If anything goes wrong, I will meet you outside," Ruby ordered, after her stomach had calmed down.
She still had to search the Asylum for clues, not forgetting the mission she had on hand. All she needed to do was to get Jacob preoccupied so that she could snoop around.
"I don't like plans but we will attract too much attention if we go together. Meet you outside in twenty minutes," Jacob agreed, before running out of the corridor.
Ruby sighed in relief and took out I.B from her satchel.
"Alright I.B. We have twenty minutes to search this place. No messing around, I mean it!"
"No," the robot answered as soon as it switched on.
"No? I think you have mixed up your no's with your yes'."
"I want to sleep."
"Too bad, you are working wether you like it or not!" Ruby whisper-shouted at the robot, not in the mood for his arguments.
I.B latched himself onto Ruby's shoulder and the pair walked through the Asylum, trying to find Elliotson's office. The eerie stillness of the rooms and the haunting stares of the patients made Ruby feel very uneasy. She kept pushing forward, examining every room and strategically avoiding every doctor, nurse and guard stationed around the Asylum. Ruby was searching through one of the offices in the basement, when she heard the spine chilling screams of a patient. She crept out of the room and into another, where several patients were cowering against the wall and looking at two doctors holding down a patient, wide-eyed. What the doctors were doing to the patient was the basis of every Asylum-based horror film. Ruby watched as large waves of electricity were applied to the patient, shocking him over and over again. She gritted her teeth, unable to take any more.
Ruby picked up a brick in each hand and snuck behind the doctors. Lifting her arms, she struck, knocking the doctors out. The patient was shaking on the table and Ruby switched the machine that was shocking him, off. She held a finger up to her lips, signalling for the other patients to remain quiet. They nodded, looking at her scared and confused.
Sneaking back out of the room again, Ruby searched the Asylum for Elliotson's office. The Asylum was too big however, and Ruby cursed at herself when she found herself in the same corridor that she had just been in.
"I.B, I need you to scan the area and tell me which office belongs to Dr. Elliotson," Ruby whispered, almost begging the robot.
To her luck, I.B followed her orders and began leading her to the correct office. She had just unlocked the door, when a patient ran past her, screaming at the top of his lungs in a sing-song voice.
"Elliotson is dead! Ellitoson is dead! No more pain! Elliotson is dead!"
Ruby wanted to punch a wall.
"Dammit Jacob! That was not twenty minutes!" she cursed, frantically searching the room for any important documents that stood out.
"I.B help me!" she begged the robot, opening every drawer and cupboard.
"As much as I would love to search through endless drawers, I am afraid we are getting company," I.B informed her, flying over to the door and noticing several guards.
"Ugh why can't he just follow the plan?" Ruby hissed, slamming shut a drawer and plucking I.B from the air.
She ran to a nearby window and ripped it open, climbing outside just as several guards burst into the room.
"You there! Stop!"
Ruby ignored the guard's command and began sprinting across the lawn, jumping over small bushes and hedges. She felt someone grab her hand and pull her into the shadows.
"You seem out of breath, my dear," she heard Jacob whisper to her.
"Can you for once, just once, follow the plan?" Ruby hissed at him, yanking her hand out of his grip.
"What is the matter with you? The source of Starrick's soothing syrup is eradicated, you should feel slightly happy."
Ruby shook her head, too tired to fight.
"I don't have the strength for this. Can we please just go back to the train?"
Jacob stared at her for a minute, before shrugging. The pair walked back to the train station in silence. Ruby was angry at Jacob and herself, annoyed that she didn't have the time to find anything. Now that Elliotson was dead, the Asylum would be heavily guarded by the police and she would have no chance of getting back inside. Anything of worth inside, would remain a mystery forever.
Once they arrived back at the train, Jacob walked straight to the bar to drink with his Rooks in celebration, while Ruby slumped down onto her bed, exhausted and angry at how events turned out. She was moving further and further away from her mission, further from the people she was supposed to contact, yet she felt no remorse for what happened to any of Starrick's men.
Could it be that she was actually beginning to enjoy going against Starrick with the Fryes?
A/N
Chapter 7 complete :) hope you enjoyed it!