Fan Fiction: Short Stories
The Mystery of the Mad Doctor
by Greg Daulton
Chapter 5: The Final Showdown
The next night gave way to an intense rain as an obscure, slow moving vehicle trudged through heavy fog, down a dark road at the edge of Brooklyn. As the vehicle moved through the haze, it picked up speed, eventually pulling through the unforgiving vapor. As it turned right, onto a wide bypass leading out of Brooklyn, a brilliant streetlight shown on the automobile revealing a bright yellow taxicab that appeared brand-new.
As the cab drove on, it came to a gloomy, veering side road. It rapidly turned into the access road and followed a long, meandering, dark path. Finally, the lone taxi came to a round cul-de-sac, stalling in front of a dark but massive castle-like fortress of a mansion. The place looked as if it belonged somewhere in Eastern Europe, with its perennial cathedral-like charm, but also gave off an evil, dangerous vibe.
From out of the taxi stepped The Shadow, clad in black from the brim of his fedora to the tip of his sinister cloak. As The Shadow stepped away from the cab, it suddenly pulled away. The Shadow knew his driver, Moe Shrevnitz, would be ready if it was necessary.
Quickly, The Shadow paced to the entrance of the impressive monolithic structure -- a heavy iron-wrought door -- only to find it locked. The door was firm and unwavering. It appeared that The Master of Darkness would need to find another entrance. As rapid and sly as a snake, he traversed to the side of the fortress, pulling out palm-sized suction cups from beneath his cloak. Applying the pads to his gloved hands and feet, he began to scale the towering exterior. Upon reaching what appeared to be a stained glass window, he pushed it ajar and calmly climbed inside.
Once inside, The Shadow was surrounded by an eerie darkness. Retrieving a small flashlight from his cloak, he illuminated the dark area in several glowing hues.
The room appeared bare, and apparently was nothing more than an old, filthy attic. The Shadow beamed his light around the room, noticing old furniture and a few dusty, wooden shelves harboring the remainder of a few candles. Taking a step forward, an aperture in the floor creaked beneath his feet. Looking down, he noticed it was a trap door.
With great haste, The Shadow gripped the lid of the door, assuming it was the only way out. Swinging open the door, he dropped into the shady opening.
Again, The Shadow was surrounded by darkness. With flashlight in hand, he beamed the light around the mysterious room, noticing it was considerably larger than the previous. Hearing a creak behind him, he whipped around. But before The Shadow could execute a quick draw, he was lifted into the air and then tossed by his neck across the dark room. The flashlight was lost fromTthe Shadow's grasp, rolling into a corner, giving partial illumination to the room. Before colliding with the floor, he arched his body and tumbled. Immediately raising to his feet, he drew both automatics.
Standing before him was a bald, burly, brooding man in a red ceremonial-like robe. Suddenly he spoke.
"You're comin' with me Mista Shada'. The Mad Doctor is a' waitin'. "
"You cannot frighten me… I know," The Shadow declared with a terrible hiss.
Smiling with a stupid, devilish grin, the man quickly pulled a machine gun from under his robe. But before the goon even had time to aim, The Shadow's automatics started flaring, the projectiles flashing across the darkness of the room. As the man was hit, his body danced across the floor, before finally collapsing.
The Shadow quickly moved across the spacious area, stepping through a large doorway and into a hall. Looming down the dark hall, he noticed a grand staircase. Arriving at the long staircase, The Shadow descended into a well-lit lobby. As soon as he stepped out of the darkness, he rendered himself unseen, as if terrified of the light.
Suddenly laughter was heard from all around the lobby. This particular laugh was unfamiliar however, for it was not the sinister cackle of The Shadow. The laughter was far less distinct than that of the menacing master of darkness. The Shadow wasn't seen, but was surely present, as he noticed the sounds of laughter being projected from atop the staircase.
A small, frail, deformed monster dressed in a typical white lab coat with receding gray hair and beady eyes stood at the top of the stairs… The Mad Doctor!
"I know you are here Mr. Shadow. I have been expecting you, for your name rings throughout the underworld with great contempt. Allow me to introduce myself… My name is Dr. Jonah Winters… Learn the name well; for it will bring you doom Mr. Shadow. Yes, unexplainable doom," exclaimed the crazed madman in an awkward, shrill New York accent.
Dr. Jonah Winters, a former scientist, was once involved in medical nuclear studies at NYU. Two years ago, he was caught in a horrible explosion that took out the science wing of the beautiful campus. Declared dead by the authorities, he was sent to a local morgue. But in reality, he wasn't dead. He escaped from the morgue, and wandered for a while until finding this abandoned mansion. It became his haven of solitude and a base where he could conduct his mostly unethical experiments. He performed surgery on himself to the point of being able to function normally again. Only as a result of the surgery, as well as some brain damage from the lab accident at NYU, he went insane.
Suddenly, from out of the corner of the massive veranda at the top of the staircase came a familiar laugh. It was Carlos Zerrini. He hadn't taken care of Zerrini after their last encounter the night before. Now, he stood in the middle of the veranda at the top of the staircase.
"I wasn't gonna let you get away that easy you bastard. You busted up my boys Shadow. For that you'll pay," Zerrini uttered angrily.
"Get him Carlos," ordered the Mad Doctor nervously.
"Shut up old man! I'm through with you. This is personal."
"Quiet, both of you! Where is the Mayor, Dr. Winters? What have you done with him?" The Shadow demanded, still invisible, somewhere at the bottom of the stairs.
"Oh he'll be along,"
"Show yourself, you idiot," Zerrini insisted. "No more games Shadow… tonight you die," he continued, racing down the marvelous staircase as if in pursuit of the invisible avenger.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha… Tonight I die Zerrini? You are gravely mistaken. If anyone dies, you will be the first to go," The Shadow declared in a weird hiss.
"Ahhh, come out and fight, you coward."
"You want me? Here I am," assured The Shadow.
Suddenly a swoosh of wind overcame the room and from out of nowhere a rush of wind embraced Zerrini as The Shadow punched him left and right. Zerrini was knocked left and right as if going into convulsions. With each attack from The Shadow, Zerrini's body danced violently across the lobby floor, until finally the poor gangster collapsed from a mighty knockout.
Without forewarning the sound of clapping came from the top of the stairs, catching The Shadow off guard. Gradually, the Mad Doctor paced down the stairs.
"Hee Hee Hee Ha… Well, you took out Zerrini, but you won't take me alive. Now, as I promised, the Mayor will be unharmed… but you must find him first. You will have to be one perceptive and astute individual to find him Mr. Shadow, for it will not be easy. He's around here somewhere… Here are the rules to our little game. I hold in my hand, a radio detonator. It is set for fifteen minutes. When the countdown is over, this whole place will go up in one hell of an explosion. If you haven't found the Mayor by that time, then surely you and the Mayor will have a fitting death. Now, if you don't mind; I will now take my leave...DEATH TO THE SHADOW!"
With the Mad Doctor's final words, he rapidly pressed the button on his handheld detonator and the timer began. Quickly, the Mad Doctor fled up the stairs and raced out of sight.
Still invisible, The Shadow's mere silhouette moved hastily up the grand staircase. But his objective quickly changed when he realized the Mad Doctor was nowhere to be found.
Re-entering the dark confines of the eerie mansion, The Shadow once again became visible, with guns drawn just in case he ran into any trouble.
Moving from room to room, it appeared that The Shadow was having no luck locating the Mayor. Moments went by as he patrolled the top floor. Then, moving down he carefully examined the second floor. As he descended back to the lobby, he noticed he only had five minutes left.
Suddenly, behind the ostentatious staircase, The Shadow noticed something: an elevator. Hidden from view by the sheer size of the staircase, the elevator lift had been overlooked. For the Mayor's sake, this had to mean that this regal castle-like fortress had another floor or floors that were yet to be explored. The Shadow, in his full black garb, opened the lift gate and climbed aboard the elevator. Manning the controls, The Shadow was hurled downward with great force.
A few moments later, The Shadow stepped off the elevator and was greeted by a dim hallway, made entirely of cement, which led to a steel door. The darkness and dampness of the air implied that The Shadow might very well be underground. As he approached the door, he knew he didn't have much time. He opened the heavy steel door with considerable ease and ran into a large vividly lit room. The room was similar to a laboratory with expensive, heavy machinery everywhere and in the center was a large stainless steel table…like an operating table. But strapped to the table was the Mayor of New York City.
The Shadow ran to the Mayor, who was bound and gagged, and apparently unconscious, wearing five sticks of dynamite. Around his neck was a stopwatch. The Shadow looked at the watch. There were only three minutes left. The time on the watch correlated with the amount of time until the total destruction of the place. But where was the Mad Doctor? The Shadow thought to himself. The Shadow needed to worry about the Mayor first.
As the Shadow began loosening the Mayor from the table, he heard footsteps and a few clicks of a gun. Swiftly he turned, answering his own question. For directly in front of the Master of Darkness was the Mad Doctor, aiming a short revolver.
"Dr. Winters, get out of my way. You'll be killed too," The Shadow warned, his voice as sinister as ever.
"I don't care. As long as I get to see you go to the grave. It appears you're going to ruin my brilliant plan. I can't let that happen."
"Winters, you're mad. Get out of here now!" The Shadow demanded.
"With all due respect, that is why I am the Mad Doctor. And you are dead," the Mad Doctor uttered with passion in his voice, pulling the trigger on his revolver.
The Shadow lunged out of the way, then as quick as lightening drew his automatics and fired a round into the crazed madman. The Mad Doctor fell to the ground, hacking.
Abruptly, The Shadow finished untying the Mayor, cutting the sticks of dynamite from his chest. Then, with all his might, he threw the Mayor over his shoulder and made a mad dash for the elevator, leaving Zerrini behind.
Once he reached the elevator, The Shadow opened the lift gate and placed the Mayor inside. Glancing at the stopwatch, he manned the controls. The stopwatch read a minute and a half.
As the elevator arrived at the main floor of the mansion, The Shadow furiously opened the lift gate. Grabbing the Mayor, The Shadow darted out from behind the staircase. He quickly reached the main entrance and with one gloved hand, quickly unbolted the heavy steel bolt from the entrance. Barely able to open the heavy iron-wrought door, The Shadow heaved the Mayor out of the entranceway and outside into the cold blackness of night.
Stationed just outside the colossal mansion was Moe Shrevnitz' bright yellow taxicab that appeared brand-new. The Shadow lugged the Mayor to the car and put him in.
"Get us out of here Moe," The Shadow ordered, ominous as ever. "The place is going to blow."
With that, The Shadow entered the automobile, and slammed the door. As the cab sped away from the massive castle-like house, Moe Shrevnitz heard a loud boom and suddenly the place went up in a bright flash of flames.
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