1923: Orient Express Chapter 19

WESLEY’S DIARY - PART 3

CONSTANTINOPLE - FEBURUARY 20th 1923

Alive, Captured, And Tied To Gravestones
The bitter, shocking aroma of smelling salts jolts me back to consciousness from the peaceful and painless oblivion to which the grazing bullet wound had sent me. Aptly, I am trussed to a gravestone, the dull pain of multiple injuries coursing through my nervous system. A cursory glance to the left and the right reveals that several fallen companions are in a similar state: Alive, but wishing they weren't. Before me is a scene surreal beyond all of the experiences I have witnessed thus far: The forms of multiple twisted, contorted and shattered corpses still lie strewn generously between the epitaphs; smoke and cordite still lingering in the chilled night air.

My eye is drawn to a group of figures busy disposing of our weapons into an empty grave. Approaching us from among them is another of these hideous patchwork freaks of flesh; as he nears I can make out that he has a hand comprised of different fingers clutching a scoped Mauser rifle; no doubt the marksman who shot me in the back. He has one blue and one brown eye, both of which fix my stare with a look of contempt and twisted amusement. Through the haze a group of hooded and robed figures approach. At their center is their leader, carried in a sedan chair by his disciples. I conclude that this was most likely the illusionist amongst them who had caused Donelly's hideous but luckily fictitious injury.

Tied To A Gravestone

Cemetery Trap
Suddenly, a bizarre creature appears, driven forth by the robed fanatics. Closer inspection reveals that this monstrosity is comprised of twelve small children, each with various non-lethal wounds whereby their skin has been stretched, cut, and torn and then stitched in such a manner that they are all joined together as if they have become a single organism. The pain and fear that reflects from their tortured faces transparently describes their recent experiences. Wildly gesturing, the leader of the cult of lunatics summons another group of fanatics, between them carrying three huge bronze tubs which appear to contain some foul steaming liquid. With a sense of utter horror, I suddenly realize that the scene being played out before us is entirely for our benefit: A cruel and evil theatrical performance with its last act no doubt containing the scene of our painful deaths.

The hooded acolytes bearing the tubs begin without hesitation to pour the boiling, fuming, scalding liquid over the children. Their shrieks of pain and shock are acknowledged by mocking laughter from their tormentors. I attempt to press my eyes shut at this dreadful sight, but the steaming aroma of burnt flesh reaches me, and it is with a sense of despair that I await the outcome of this cruel ritual. Anticipating my demise, I involuntarily open my eyes to witness the traumatic and painful death of the children as their flesh is destroyed by the boiling liquid poured onto them. As it does so, a transformation begins to take place. The consumed flesh and form of the children is contorted into the shape of a single hideous entity: The Skinned Beast. Its movements suggest that it will now dispose of us much the same as the monstrosity from the grave attempted to bring about my demise previously. The helplessness of our situation and the cruel deaths of the children heighten my sense of despair. The beast is almost upon us when I suddenly hear cries of anger and confusion from the fanatics.

Attack Of The Bear
In the blink of an eye, the huge form of a bear is suddenly locked in combat with the skinned beast - somehow, Donelly and Irma are armed and firing. The Hindoo has also managed to get his hands on to a machine pistol and fires a full cartridge of bullets into the abominable fiend. The giant bear, which has fought valiantly against the monster, finally succumbs to its deadly attacks and falls to the ground, mortally wounded. Meanwhile, Irma casts his spear at the hideous skin monstrosity and it is down! And not before time: Initially panicked by the surprise attack, the brothers are returning.

A Turkish man who appeared to have brought the bear suddenly implores us to run - with no time to lose, we quickly recover our weapons and begin to make a break for it in a fighting retreat.

Skin Monster In The Grave

Escape From The Cemetery And Feyal's Fate
Simon Grand attempts to fire a flare into our pursuers, but the flare gun jams. As they rush us, the Hindoo fires off another salvo dropping four more of the fiends. This appears to have deterred another wave of attacks and we are able to break out from the cemetery, making our way as swiftly as possible down to the docks along the Bosporus. At the docks we are surprised to meet our guide, Feyal. We learn that he deliberately led us into a trap and had been working all along for the flesh frenzied fanatics: "But I had to! They would have killed me if I didn't carry out their orders! You don't know how evil they are!!!" Remorselessly, Grand plunges his knife into the bladder of the traitor and then kicks him into the water.

In all, at least 50 of the fiends were killed in the battle of the cemetery.

Aktaar's Story And Pini's Battle At The Hotel
As we consider how best to return to the other side of Constantinople across the Bosporus, we take the opportunity to discover who are unlikely savior was. Aktaar, who had worked as a spy for Ataturk and is a fanatical Turkish nationalist, explains to us the tragic story of how he had to kill his own daughter after having rescued her poor tortured and amputated form from the Brothers of the Skin after she had been kidnapped. Aktaar also tells us that he can help us get into the Shunned Mosque, as he still hopes to have an opportunity to avenge his daughter yet. He tells us of the vast cisterns and canals beneath the old part of the city and that he can guide us in via a secret entrance he has found: With our help he hopes to gain entrance to the chambers where the kidnapped children are kept and rescue them - and he hopes we will also be able to get our hands on the scrolls with which we can destroy the Simulacrum.

We commandeer a boat and make our way back across the water. Throughout all of the events of the night, we had not found a moment to consider what might have become of the Rabbi and the rest of the Simulacrum following our betrayal. It is with heavy hearts that we make our way back to the hotel. Police and medics are bringing two bodies out of our hotel. A battle has obviously taken place here. Rutherford meets us at the scene and informs us that Pini put up a desperate battle against the brothers of the skin and only just managed to escape with his life; but, alas, without the Simulacrum which is now in their hands. "This elderly fellow put up quite a struggle," says Rutherford, gazing in awe at the wizened Rabbi, "It is a wonder that there is anything left of the hotel standing at all!"

Pini Fights Back

Entering The Shunned Mosque
After undertaking some cursory first aid on the multitude of injuries we have accrued, we arm ourselves - taking care to insure that we have enough concealed knives, grenades, and firearms lest we fall into the hands of our enemies a second time. Unfortunately, there is no time to waste, with the Simulacrum now in the hands of the Brotherhood. Aktaar meets us down by the water in the old town, and we board a small boat. In the distance, the outline of the twin minarets and dome of the shunned mosque can be seen silhouetted against the evening twilight, a blood-red crescent moon hanging in the sky above it. There is a sense of further impending disaster, but with everything that is now at stake, including the lives of more children, we cannot delay.

With Aktaar to guide us, we are rowed silently into the underground network that leads to the secret entrance to the Shunned Mosque. The darkened forms of carp can be seen moving slowly beneath the surface in our torchlight as we proceed. We reach a small landing stage where Aktaar ties his boat.

"This is it, kind gentlemen, down this trap door and along the passage and you will be within the Mosque. I will follow you - into hell if necessary!"

We make our way down a narrow spiral staircase, which ends at a passage way. At the end of the passage we reach a door. Irma attempts to open the door as quietly as possible, but it squeaks on its un-oiled hinges, alerting the single guard behind the door who attempts to attack Donolly as he enters the room. The guard is taken down by a number of swift knife strokes. A closer examination of him reveals that he is yet another of the hideous flesh mutations with knives for hands and small surgical holes surrounding his now lifeless eyes.

The Way In

Death And Explosives Beneath The Dome Of The Shunned Mosque
Through another door, there is a short passage which ends at a curtain. Aktaar goes forwards and reports to us:

"There is a star shaped like a man," he says cryptically, "and there are hundreds of men in robes within!"

We move cautiously forwards, and sure enough, on the other side of the curtain there is a large gathering of chanting fanatics, intensely concentrating on the evil ritual. Children also appear to be in their midst. No doubt another hideous transfiguration and sacrifice is on the cards again. Pini and I move back to the embalming laboratory to ensure that we cannot be ambushed from behind and that our escape route is secure.

Meanwhile, Aktaar takes several sticks of dynamite and attempts to blend into the crowd before planting them at opportune positions. What happens next is an outbreak of absolute bedlam. As the chanting reaches its crescendo, the dynamite is detonated and a suffocating mixture of stone, dust, blood, and body parts is blasted in every direction - absolute panic sets in, in the eerie silence in the immediate aftermath of the explosion. Irma casts a grenade into a tightly packed group of fanatical acolytes within the room killing 18 of them! Grand throws another which kills another 22!

The Attack Of Aktaar

The children escape under a barrage of heavy gun fire!
A Turk bursts through the curtain and attacks me, wielding some kind of scimitar, I get a quick shot in but fail to take him out and a hand-to-hand melee ensues as more burst in behind him! The Hindoo successfully accounts for three of them with a volley from his machine gun, whilst Donelly discharges a devastating barrage of lead from his BAR eliminating still more of the rabble. In the confusion, some of the children, led by the young Rutherford, make it through to us and Simon Grand is able to direct them towards the secret exit where we hope they find safety.

The Brothers Regroup And Attack!
Despite the mass carnage, we still have a sizeable battle on our hands as there seems to be no end to these crazed disciples. They rush us and attempt to grapple us. I attempt to head butt one of them but succeed only in painfully damaging the provisional stitching to my recent facial injuries.

Surprise, Surprise: We Are Betrayed Again, As Aktaar The Actor Reveals His True Identity.
Soon I am overwhelmed, others of us too, as the fanatics continue to swarm like maggots in a festering wound, into the domed chamber. As I once again recognize the futility of our struggle, I spot our friend and helper Aktaar as he suddenly becomes one with the simulacrum! We have been tricked and cheated once again! Whether it is a cruel twist of fate, or a measured reward for our blind and repeated stupidity, is now irrelevant. We have played into the hands of our primary foe, whose face undergoes a number of metamorphoses from one recognizable traitor (Aktaar, the man with one eye, etc.) to the next before settling finally on the form of Mehmet Makryat. The old man who was at the center of the sinister chanting ritual is suddenly grasped by Makryat and mercilessly slaughtered before his shocked followers. Indescribably, Makryat is growing in stature and power:

"No longer will the Brothers of the Skin need to hide their presence!"

Betrayed AGAIN......

"You are even more brave and resourceful than I thought you were," he scoffs as we are bound and searched.

Captured And Shackled For The Second Time In 24 Hours.
We are dragged up the stairs of the Mosque into one of the minarets up a spiraling stairwell. A small cell awaits, into which we are thrown and then chained to the walls by our arms. The room stinks of a pestilent decay, and I can but ponder the origin of such a dreadful stench. The horrifying realization that Makryat can now utilize the full power of the Simulacrum sends my thoughts wildly running through a labyrinth of despair: But there is still worse to come.

Professor Smith We Presume?

We Meet Professor Smith Again.
As my eyes grow accustomed to the dim light of the cell, my vision is drawn to the source of the terrible stench. A bundle of rags in the corner suddenly begins to move, in a terrible, jolting fashion. It is a torso and a head, with no limbs and no eyes wearing what appears to be the soiled remains of a suit jacket. The voice, despite its tortured weakness and desperation, is unmistakable: "Is there . someone there? Any - one there??? It is Professor Smith: Our journey has turned full circle and we have now reached the end of a long path of deception and betrayal.

To be continued.