The Story Of The Windlenot Museum Chapter 17 (Kolchak)

Attention: Shivers is property of Sierra. Richard Cale is my character, and is used in other fics with my blessing. Michael McNeal is a creation of Mike N, who has fics posted on fanfiction.net as well. Carl is Carl Kolchak from the Kolchak: The Night Stalker franchise.

============================================================

The Story of the Windlenot Museum

Chapter 17: Slide To Victory (Audio)

Michael McNeal looked at the symbols on the blade, and realized that he was sure the others figured what they meant as well. They had all seen those two symbols on the round stone in the final room. Before he could say what he realized, his friend, Richard Cale, said the words on his mind. “We need to get to the last room. I’m certain that the remaining part of the Electric Ixupi vessel is in there.”

He watched as Richard started to make his way to the final room. As they followed, he heard Carl Kolchak say, “You know, that riddle chain is the work of a diabolical genius. How many times did we scale up and down this building just to find the next riddle. I do hope this is the last. If another riddle shows up in that last room, I’m going to collapse from exhaustion. It’s been years since I pulled an all-nighter like this.”

Michael understood. There had been rare occasions at school that he pulled all-nighters studying for tests. This had been different though. This one had been a fight to stay alive. As they progressed to the final room, he was glad they had figured out all the puzzles earlier. He didn’t think his mind was sharp enough to work out anymore puzzles. “Agreed, but the adrenaline rush has kept us going. So, you think this will be our final stop?”

He was stunned when Richard opened the final door again, and stopped. “I think this will lead us to the final part of the Electric Ixupi’s vessel. Once we have that, I think we’ll have to head down to the basement to capture it.” Michael and Carl both groaned on that, but he could see Richard was starting to look a bit revived at the rush of this night soon being over.

Michael then looked in the room, trying to see where the item could be hidden. As he looked, he noticed Richard entering the room. He started to move forward, but he then heard Richard say, “Wait. I don’t think there is anything dangerous in here, and with the number of Ixupi down to one, I think it might be alright if one of us does something alone. Besides, I’m sure the secret is linked to that stone circle.”

He wanted to argue with his friend, but Carl placed a hand on his shoulder. “He has a point. Windlenot’s puzzles have never been malicious. They just seemed that way because the Ixupi were about. I would not be surprised to see a panel open up in the wall, containing the last item we need.”

Michael sighed, not really up to arguing the point, since they had been up all night. “Fine, just be careful. For all we know the panel that opens may be a..” Before he could finish the thought, Richard had turned the stone, and a trapdoor opened up. He went to run forward to his friend, but was stopped as a barrier went up. “Good grief, we need to follow him.”

Before he could react, the stone turned back upright, and the trapdoor shut. When the barrier went down, he ran over, but couldn’t turn the panel. He then turned to see Carl heading out. He quickly ran to the reporter, who only said, “Maybe it was set up so that once activated, it shuts for the next group to solve the riddles. Besides, I think I remember an off color panel down in the main lobby.”

He thought for a moment, and realized what it meant. “That must be where Rich will come out. Let’s hurry down there.” At that moment, he felt another rush of adrenaline going through him, waking him up at what ever ungodly hour it was. He ran as fast as the reporter could keep up with, and made his way through the exhibits before stopping in the Inventions room.

As Carl went to the door, he went to the mock pyramid display, and opened the secret panel. As they entered, he immediately turned in the direction opposite the elevator. As he moved, he heard Carl say, “Wouldn’t it be easier to take the elevator?”

He was halfway down the steps when he responded. “Do you want to take the time to solve that puzzle?” Soon, the reporter was next to him, rushing through the secret passages. He had noticed prior that the puzzle had gotten a bit more difficult each time someone did it. While Richard always had the patience for puzzles like that, with the situation the way it was, they didn’t have the time.

Soon, they emerged from the passage in the Curses room. They quickly bolted out the door, and looked over the railing to see Richard had come out right where they thought. He also looked no worse for the sudden slide. As they ran down, Michael glanced up, and noticed for the first time, a camera that was high up on the wall had swiveled to follow them. However, as they neared Richard, he was thankful that they could not be seen by the camera.

When they got close enough, he was glad to see Richard turn around with a big grin on his face. He quickly realized why when his friend held up an ancient looking item. It looked like a small statue of a scorpion, but he quickly realized what is was as Richard said, “Look what I found.” He felt a new wave or relief go through him, realizing their night of terror would soon be over.

Richard quickly got up when the others had reached him. He was thankful when they had gotten there, especially when he had moments earlier noticed the lid to the Electric Ixupi’s vessel. It was a boon to find, especially after that slide. He was certain that the slide would normally be a fun trip, but it hadn’t totally been fun this night.

He got up, and started towards the door to the Strange Beasts room, with his goal being the Mysteries of the Deep room. As he moved, he heard the others keep up with him, asking about the slide. The first to ask was Carl, obviously picking up on something. “Hey, are you alright? You look a little shook up.”

He wanted to shrug it off, but decided not to. “It was a bit unnerving, since as I slid down that long slide, I heard the Electric Ixupi taunting me. There was the occasional light along the slide, and I think it was trying to flash me images of a horrid fate.” He didn’t say more after that, since he didn’t think the fate he was being shown was his own.

As they entered into the Mysteries of the Deep room, he quickly got down the steps and headed over to the hiding spot the rest of the vessel was in. He then heard Michael speak. “It won’t help you not to mention it. It could be better to talk about it real quick.”

As Richard picked it up, the pieces fused together, and it was ready to capture the Electric Ixupi. He then got up, and started back to the main lobby, but spoke as he moved. “It was horrible. This thing with a huge blade was looming over, and it’s face appeared to be a horrid merger of all our faces.” He glanced back just in time to see both cringe a bit, but continued moving.

As they passed into the lobby, he knew exactly where they would have to go. He was certain the Electric Ixupi would only be in one place now. The only place that would have enough of the element it needed to hide. It had to be in the generator in the Power room.

When they reached the library, he heard Carl say, “That does sound on the weird side, almost like a real life Frankenstein’s monster. However, I have a feeling none of us will have worry about that. In fact, I think we are about to write the last word on this one.”

As they started into the secret passage, he heard Michael agree with Carl. “I think you’re right. This nightmare will soon be over, and we solved a fifteen year old mystery. However, I’m not sure we should mention everything.”

After hearing that, Richard paused and looked back at Michael. “We need to tell. For fifteen years, people have accused Professor Windlenot of killing those two. They thought he fled town. We know the truth, and we have evidence. Also, when we were up in Windlenot’s bedroom, I noticed that Geoffrey, the Professor’s son, had written him. He deserves to know the truth.”

As they continued, he heard Carl say, “He does have a point. I know this will make an excellent story, and the truth here, like most of my other stories, should be known, and I hope it will be known.” Richard knew Carl had a few reasons to think that, but with the anniversary of the disappearance being now, he was certain no one would stop the story.

With all the talk, he almost didn’t realized they were in the power room now. He walked over to the door to the generator room. He then paused, and looked at the others. “Who’s going to have the honors then? I mean we each captured three of them. Who should have the final capture?”

After a moment of silence, he was a bit surprised when Michael answered. “Honestly, I think you should, Rich. You’ve always been fascinated with the place, so it should be you.”

Richard looked at both of them for a moment, and said, “Are you sure? I mean, Carl, this would be the best ending for your story, if you caught the last Ixupi. And Mike, with all the horror movies you’ve seen, this would be almost like living the ending in most of them for you.”

He watched as both nodded, and then Carl spoke. “That may be true for us, Richard, but I think Michael is right. You have always been fascinated with this place, as I’ve learned this night, and I’m sure it would be better if you did it.” He then felt the reporter nudge his shoulder. “And I bet when you tell the tale to Yvette, she’ll like hearing that you caught the last one.”

Richard blushed a bit when he thought about that. He then nodded and said, “Alright, here we go then.” He quickly opened the door to the generator room, and the sound it made was almost deafening. It almost drowned out the sound of the sparking live wire that was exposed. As he neared it, noticing the others keeping the door open, he heard an extra sparking sound, and saw the sparks on the wire had a green tint. Soon the creature came out of the sparks, and was ready to strike. Richard held up the last vessel and smiled. “Time to go back to your prison.”

He watched as the Ixupi tried to retreat, but it was too late. However, as the creature got pulled into the vessel, he heard a staticky voice say, “You will still die, and if not, you’ve seen your fate.” The last words worried him, and he wondered if the others had heard. However, the roar of the generator grew louder, and he realized what the live wire now meant. The generator was going to blow.

Carl had just taken a picture of the final Ixupi’s capture, and could barely hear Michael’s cheers of joy. He lowered his camera, realizing that the long night was soon over, and figured now they would be able to leave Professor Windlenot’s Museum of the Strange and Unusual. He almost relaxed until he felt Richard push them both out of the doorway.

Once they were all out of the doorway, Carl heard the rise in sound and realized what Richard had done. He looked over at the power room door, and shouted. “Over there, the generator is about to blow.”

As they all ran over, he heard Michael shout, “That thing must have been generating a lot of electricity just for that last Ixupi to hide in. I just hope we’ll be safe over here.” He then saw Michael start to turn the door knob. “You know, it might be better….”

Before the young man could complete the thought, or action, a loud explosion rocked the entire room. Carl looked back to see the door to the generator room fly off its hinges, and part of the wall start to crumble. Other than that, Carl was sure the room was a mess, but nothing else followed.

He took a few deep breaths, walked over, and looked in through the now open door. Just from that view, he could tell that Professor Windlenot had invested wisely when the building was built. Even with the gaping hole in the wall, the building seemed stable, He breathed a sigh of relief at that. He hated to think they had survived capturing the ten Ixupi only to be done in by a collapsing building.

He was then stunned when he heard a voice shout, “That sound came from over here. Come on.” In that moment, Carl motioned for the others to come over, and watched as four teenagers, who he was sure had been Michael’s friends. He could also tell that none of the teens had noticed them yet, talking in awe about the explosion.

He remained silent and watched as Michael shouted, “You can stop gawking, and help us all over the rubble and out of here. I’m not alone in here.” The statement had obviously been enough to catch the others attention.

It was that the one of the young men in the group spoke. “Mike, how the blazes did you get in the museum. We were looking around the grounds for a bit until we heard the explosion.”

As they helped Michael out, he heard the other young man say, “Yea, how did you get in, and did you cause this explosion?”

As one of the girl’s, a blonde helped him out, he heard her ask. “We are also sorry about all this. We didn’t know anyone else was on the grounds. It was only supposed to be Michael here on the dare. I suppose you guys didn’t also have another guy there, named Richard. I know his girlfriend is worried about him.”

He looked back and saw Richard making his way over the rubble, still holding the one vessel. He then heard the young man say, “Yes, I was here too. We will have to let her know I’m alright. Just help me out a bit.”

He watched as the other girl, and Asian girl quickly helped, although she didn’t seem happy. “I’ll help, since everyone else is busy. Did you find the ghosts, or mad old Windlenut?” He glanced back, and watched as Richard just pointed to the gap in the wall, which he could see gave a clear view of the corpse of Beth Ann Nelson. Almost as if expected, he heard the Asian girl gasp in shock before finally uttering, “Oh…..” The rest of her statement was cut off as sirens started to fill the air, and the police arrived.

Once they were all out of the museum, and the police started coming over, Carl pulled out his recorder, and made a quick audio note. “Like some stories in the past, it ends with the police arriving on the scene. They might be receptive to the story, seeing as it closes the fifteen year old missing persons case, but given the circumstances of the deaths, it is possible they might not acknowledge the cause of death. However, if my guesses are right, the truth might actually get told this time.” He then watched as the police walked over, some obviously flocking to Richard, whom given events, might have been reported missing.