The inside of this concrete mansion proved just as strange as its exterior. There was an inglenook, but no living room on the ground floor. The furniture was unpainted wood with monochrome cushions. The kitchen had an ice box instead of a refrigerator. When put together, this home felt more like a medieval castle.
the John paid this no mind; he was familiar with the cover house, anyway. He instead fished through his utility fanny pack, retrieving a flashlight and a can of pepper spray before venturing further from the threshold.
"Most of his stuff is gone, and there are empty boxes strewn about. Did the Asylum change wardens? HELLO! DR RICHARDSON!"
MEEEEEOOOOW!
"The doctor doesn't own a cat..."
This unexpected response came from upstairs. Climbing the steps in a silent fashion, the John arrived.
There was a singular hallway in front of him. On the left side were two doors, each etched with a fanciful design. They looked like museum pieces, but he knew hidden behind them were just simple bedrooms.
On the right was another door, but it contrasted significantly in design from the others; it looked too normal, like the door to any average teenage girl's room.
Finally, at the end of the hall was a fourth door, one which was currently ajar.
"Something's in the doctor's office..."
MEOOOW!
The creature that emerged could hardly be called a cat. If it weren't for the ears and tail, he would have mistaken it for a pit bull instead.
"Good kitty, good kitty. How did you get in here?"
The cat-like abomination bared its fangs and, like a low growl, a voice emanated from within its maw.
"The name's mister Whiskers... What have you done with the others?"
The three doors separating them rattled on their hinges.
"I don't even know what others you are talking about. I'm a professional hero here on an investigation, would you like to see my license?"
A letter opener flew out from the office behind the mister Whiskers. It grazed Dmitri's shoulder, revealing a star tattooed underneath.
"You lie! What hero has tattoos like that!"
"Hah, I am a big fan of church; let me just show you my license."
Dmitri slowly made his way towards the stairs while saying this. Mister Whiskers, however, noticed.
"You stink of lies, human! Bring me the others, now!"
The three doors separating them slammed open, and what little personal affects remained inside came floating into the hallway.
"I didn't bring equipment for a psychic beast of this strength."
Upon making that judgment, the John performed his most famous move: the vamoose! He didn't even take the stairs down, preferring instead to jump right over the side closest to him. Before he had hit the ground, an tornado of junk blew through the stairs.
Splinters erupted in every direction, striking the John as his back slammed on top of a dishwasher. He bounced onto the kitchen floor with a groan, but didn't stop fleeing. He scurried across the floor like a roach rather than waste time standing up.
This proved life saving as, less than a second later, his previous location was impaled with every piece of silverware in the drawers.
"Ha, a hero? What hero runs away so well? Where did you take the others, mafioso!"
"But I am a hero," he exclaimed while crawling under the dining room table.
"Enough! I can smell lies!"
"I think that's just how I normally smell," he retorted, rolling away just before it collapsed under a falling chandelier. More items were already flying towards him, so Dmitri bounded into the inglenook. Approaching the fireplace, he wall kicked between it and the now destroyed stair case.
"Please tell me you forgot to clean out your daughter's crap!"
He repeated this line over and over again in his head, like a prayer to some unknown power.
"Ah, so you finally chose to show your true colors! Come back to attack a helpless kitten, you cad!"
Thank the lord he was halfway through lunging into the door on the right, otherwise he would have had no choice but to stop and slap his own face. Already weak in the hinges, the door simply collapsed under his shoulder bash. Rolling into the room, the John shot towards the closet.
"Oh, please Jenna! Please tell me you kept that cat in secret after your dad said no!"
Removing a fake panel in the closet, the John found a stack of unused pet supplies: kitty litter, cat food, sealed cat toys, and the object he needed!
Taking the bag, he ran towards the hall. He had to drop to a power slide mid-way, as the door was already off the ground and coming right at him.
RIP!
"Take this!"
He chunked the open bag at mister Whiskers, a cloud of green spices spilling out of it.
"AH! Catnip! My only weakness..."
the abomination's speech became slurred, and it staggered left and right. The various floating objects under its control fell, and the beast did too after walking into a half opened door.
The John promptly threw a small canister at mister whiskers. It exploded on contact, showering the beast in a sticky goop.
"I knew it. You took them. Where did you take them?"
"Haaa... Haaaa... Give me a minute, I'm out of breath."
the John leaned against the wall opposite mister whiskers, and slid down it to the floor.