Ruby Quest: Chapter 19

"Smash it down, fuck the card key."

">Smash it down, fuck the card key." The card-key-locked wooden door is no match for Tom and his crowbar! Take THAT, logical progression of puzzles! The door turns to splinters.

"Check the bulletin board before going through." "Look into room before going in!" "Have Ruby scold Tom for such harsh actions."

">Check the bulletin board before going through." There is no bulletin board here. Perhaps you are retarded. ">Look into room before going in!" A spiral staircase leads upwards. ">Have Ruby scold Tom for such harsh actions." Actually, she's pretty impressed. Ruby compliments Tom for his harsh actions. Tom seems pleased.

There's light coming from upstairs, but after Ruby calls, there's no response. Tom shivers warmly, as an after-effect of his RUSH OF MANLINESS.

"Check the other entrance to the bombed out room." "Maybe set a new frequency for walkie talkies"

">Check the other entrance to the bombed out room." What other entrance? ">Maybe set a new frequency for walkie talkies" A clever idea! Tom and Ruby set a new frequency together to avoid being listened in on.

"Wasn't there an entrance next to RED's hideout?"

">Wasn't there an entrance next to RED's hideout?" The room with Red's hideout and the monitors is blocked by a collapse of debris! Both that room and the room with the bomb are inaccessible, at least for now! The consensus seems to be either to go upstairs or go to the boarded-up hole in the other room. Who should go where? Remember, now that they have walkie-talkies they can split up and work faster while staying in touch! WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

"TOM: Crowbar to the boards." "RUBY: Take the stairs."

">TOM: Crowbar to the boards." ">RUBY: Take the stairs." With their WALKIE TALKIES in hand, the two split up. While Tom goes off to pry up the boards, Ruby heads upstairs. Because the staircase curved around, this new room is directly above the room Ruby and Tom were just in.

"Look at the FETUS THING." "Tell Tom what you see, and have him report back to you once he opens the boarded up hole."

">Look at the FETUS THING." There is a fancy glass display case here. Inside is a strange STATUE of polished, smooth green stone. It resembles some kind of almost fetal creature. It is very unsettling. Inside the glass display case, there is also what appears to be a SEVERED FINGER. ">Tell Tom what you see, and have him report back to you once he opens the boarded up hole." Ruby reports her findings to Tom, who acknowledges them with concern. He tells Ruby to be careful. Ruby promises.

"Describe what's at the far end of the room, please. A door? A dispenser of sorts?"

">Describe what's at the far end of the room, please. A door? A dispenser of sorts?" Ruby examines the room: There is a ladder leading up, with a sealed metal hatch at the top and on visible means of opening it. There are two doors to the north, both with a symbol above them. There is a FRAMED PICTURE on the wall, with some sort of illegible, archaic writing on it. To the east, there is a heavily-reinforced metal door with an inset card reader. There are two PLAQUES on the display case. The top one is illegible due to blood and rust. The second appears to be a request and/or warning label. A key card slot is set just underneath this second plaque.

"Open the door without the blood and the feeling of screamingly imminent doom."

">Open the door without the blood and the feeling of screamingly imminent doom." The door on the right is unlocked. It opens into a small closet. On the north wall is a large glass-front installment, like a vending machine, filled with all manner of pills and medicinal vials. There are two shelves here. On one shelf is a HIGH-TECH FIRST AID KIT. On the shelf above it is a PRESSURIZED OXYGEN TANK with an oxygen mask attached.

"May we see what TOM is doing?"

">May we see what TOM is doing?" Tom is making his way to the boards. This room is very strange.

Ruby takes both items and adds them to her growing inventory. The first aid kit has a FINGERPRINT LOCK on it! How high-tech!

"Experiment time!"

">Experiment time!" Tom begins breaking off the planks. He tosses one into the pit. It doesn't come back.

"Is that a hole in the wall I spy?"

The glass on the vending-machine device is too sturdy to be broken like that! Apparently whoever designed it expected that to happen. ">Is that a hole in the wall I spy?" There IS a small hole in the wall of the closet.

Tom finishes opening the hole down. There is a distant light from the other end.

"Attempt to bump the vending machine." "Poke cane into hole."

">Attempt to bump the vending machine." Have you really never used a vending machine before? That won't work! ">Poke cane into hole." Great. It's stuck.

"Go through the hole."

">Go through the hole." Tom arrives at the other end of the hatch. Tom feels strangely turned around.

"Radio Ruby about this development posthaste." "examine fucking everything."

">Radio Ruby about this development posthaste." Tom radios Ruby. Ruby hears his transmission, but there's some sort of strange echo....perhaps he's nearby. ">examine fucking everything." There is a MEDICAL DIAGRAM on the wall above a stained MEDICAL EXAMINATION TABLE. On a small surface next to it is an ANATOMICAL EYE MODEL. Some sort of diagram is on the west wall. To the south, there is a locked door. There are some papers on the EXAM TABLE. There is also a SET OF MEDICAL TOOLS lying on the table.

"TOM: Check the object in the upper left corner of the room." "RUBY: Check third eye...see if it feels like it is still there."

">TOM: Check the object in the upper left corner of the room." It appears to be a camera. ">RUBY: Check third eye...see if it feels like it is still there." It hurts.

Ruby and Tom, realizing they're somehow on opposite sides of the same wall, work together to free the cane.

Tom inspects the ANATOMICAL EYE MODEL, it's just a plastic standee model of an eyeball, like the kind they have in medical schools. HOWEVER! When Tom picks it up, he finds a single COIN underneath the base, which he then pockets. The DIAGRAM in the back is that of an eye with some sort of strange script annotating it. It seems very archaic. Tom picks up the PAPERS on the exam table... [CUTSCENE moment, give me a minute to draw the papers and such]

...Tom is not sure what to make of this letter.

There's an attached photograph at the end of the letter.

"Give coin to ruby. Use coin on vending machine. Get the damn key already."

">Give coin to ruby. Use coin on vending machine. Get the damn key already." This is too much to take in right now. Tom hastily pockets the letter and the photo. There will be time to sort this out later. Tom shakily passes the coin to Ruby through the wall, thankful she can't see him like this.

Ruby uses the vending machine and the coin to retrieve the GOLD KEY someone stashed there. Ruby noticed the door from the room outside to the medical room Tom's in now was locked -- perhaps this is that key.