Richard crashed through the heavy Laboratory door into a hell more vile than even the worst of his nightmares. Nothing could have prepared him for the horror of that ghastly chamber.
The air was fetid with the terrible stench of gore.
Then he saw:
The tilted operating table,
Rita’s strapped down body slumped forward in death,
The pool of blood and hair at her feet,
The top of her head missing.
Then he saw:
Sir Clive, his white surgeons gown soaked through with blood,
a scalpel in his left hand and a long-handled spoon in his right.
The surgeon from hell was chewing something.
A frown of annoyance creased Sir Clive's his forehead as he saw Richard, his mouth moved and shouted indignantly,
“You man! What the devil are you doing in here? Get out! Can’t you see I'm working!” Sir Clive’s outraged manner changed abruptly when he realised that it probably wasn't a good idea if he allowed Richard to leave. Richard was backing up, pale and trembling, he had expected to confront Eve, not this horror.
Sir Clive moved towards him with unmistakable menace,
“No you don’t! Stop right there! Come here! You can’t leave now...” Sir Clive lumbered forward, scalpel in hand, a dribble of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Richard had almost backed up to the door when Sir Clive leapt at him, knocking him over backwards. Sir Clive fell on top of Richard pinning him down and stabbing at his face, “...I’m glad you dropped in after all, I have an interesting experiment in mind!”
Shock and fear had made Richards movements sluggish, it was Tsuba's training that came to his rescue. With a powerful twist he rolled Sir Clive off, punching him in the face at the same time. He rose to his feet breathing hard and staggered backwards towards the door. Sir Clive, making a last desperate attempt, leapt again at Richard embedding the scalpel high in his chest.
Recoiling in pain, Richard violently shoved the older man backwards causing him to fall on his backside. With a groan Richard stumbled through the doorway and slammed it shut. He rammed home the bolts and sagged with his back to the door.
He was trembling uncontrollably and close to fainting when the twins appeared out of the gloom, they ran to his side, helping him to stand,
“Oh Emm, look!” Philippa pointed in distress at the scalpel sticking out of Richard's chest,
“It's a good job we decided to, be brave-” They rushed to him,
“Hold him tightly!” Emm quickly but carefully extracted the blade, the red patch on Richards shirt instantly spreading much further. Richard groaned in pain and cleared his throat before demanding,
“Get me some nails, and a hammer!...” He motioned towards the heavy door, “…Nobody's ever going in there again!...” The twins gaped at him, doing nothing, he waved them away impatiently, “…Go on! Hurry!” He yelled at them as a muffled thumping began on the other side of the door. The girls turned as one and vaulted up the stairs.