Survive The Insanity: Tues., Week 2 – Happy Hollow Asylum – The Secret Room

In our last chapter, the Director of The Circle Asylum designated their house as a celebrity home, but since no celebrities lived there, they all got the “Poser” moodlet. Viviana takes a vacation day, and they travel to the Municipal Muses Museum in Willow Creek for an art talk. It is raining when they get there, and Viviana and Hannibal both get struck by lightning and miraculously survive. Viviana meets a famous celebrity, Kayla Flemming, and gets to know her better and gets her autograph.

In the last chapter of the Happy Hollow Asylum, Louis has a dream, or maybe it’s not a dream and he’s sleepwalking. Is there a secret passageway to Selvadorada in their house? 

Tuesday, 2:09 a.m. Summer. It’s raining and there is mysterious weather predicted for today. Lot Traits (randomized): Chef’s Kitchen, Gremlins, Penny Pixies, Household Funds: $2,244 (How the heck did they get so many simoleons?) Checked everyone’s inventory, some had spoiled food, which I took out. Krysta had a “Hip To the Max” cardboard dancefloor, so I put it out where the carpet used to be in the living room. As I loaded the game, Louis is out in the rain, and his moodlet is uncomfortably wet. All his needs are green, though.

And so begins the day…

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Louis woke up with a start sweating profusely. He had dreamt he was back in Selvadorada. In a temple. In front of a statue that held a secret to a passage through a gateway. And somehow Louis knew the secret and entered the gateway. But the weird thing was that the passageway was located here, in the house. Louis didn’t remember seeing any of that when he had explored the house, and he had explored it pretty well when he first got there. Maybe he should explore again. And then he found that “door”. It was that locked door near the pool area. Louis decided to call the Director.

“Hi, yeah, Director, yeah, Louis here…I think there is a secret passageway to Selvadorada inside this house….” said Louis.

Perhaps calling the Director at 2:09 a.m. wasn’t the best idea that Louis had. The Director told Louis that Louis had just had a dream, but that the Director would be over the next day and discuss his progress.

“But…you’re not listening to me…there’s a door…it’s locked…it leads to Selvadorada. Near the garden…there’s a door,” insisted Louis. But the Director seemed to dismiss him and told Louis to remember his cooking therapy and perhaps making a nice omelet would help.

“Beating those eggs will help chase away those bad thoughts,” said the Director assuring Louis he would be fine and he would be there tomorrow. The Director then promptly hung up.

Louis stared at the phone in his hand. “He doesn’t believe me.”, thought Louis, “Well, when he comes here tomorrow, I’ll show him. He’ll open that door and I’ll show him!” Louis stood there for a moment longer looking at the locked door and then decided that making an omelet was actually a good idea. The others would be getting up soon and it would be a nice surprise for breakfast.

Louis cleaned the kitchen before starting to make breakfast. Will you look at that grody coffeepot? No wonder the coffee tasted bad all the time!

And making that omelet maxes the Cooking Skill! Yes, Louis! Perhaps now was a good time to check and see what the others were doing.

Rocky and Sonny had just come home from work and made $11 and $12 simoleons each. Hmmm…not the best day, I guess. I see that Rocky had the “stressful workday” moodlet.  Sonny was also up to his usual hijinks and swiped a book from work, “How I Dumped Your Father”, which I removed from his inventory and placed on the floor.

Sonny sat down at the computer and tried to hack the Landgraab Systems. Sonny’s skill in Programming is level 4 and Mischief is level 2. He has the highest programming skill in the house. I have a feeling I know how they got all those funds. Way to go Hacker Sonny! Apparently, Sonny is not the only hacker in the house. Veta tried to hack the Crumplebottom Servers but was unsuccessful. Deirdre, however, did hack $162 simoleons from the National Sims Security Agency. This is all done by the sims themselves, as one of the club activities is “hack”.

Rocky, Krysta, Randall, and Midge decided to have a dance party. Rocky is showing off some robot moves. Deirdre, Midge, Veta, and Randall have all maxed the dance skill with a little help from the power of club activities.

Rocky also gets a call from Barbie. Obviously, Rocky’s chat with the towel love guru helped. He decides to play it cool and says no to the date. Wow! Barbie is persistent!

Deirdre is modeling the latest fashion. I think she wants to be the new Style Influencer for the house. Don’t you just love those random Maxis generated outfits?

And Veta is asleep on the couch. Louis works from  9 am – 5 pm so we will join him afterwards unless anything exciting happens in the house or I get a pop-up.

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Louis returns home from work earning $128 simoleons. Shortly afterwards there is a knock on the door and in walks Dr. Scrubs De Reve. Dr. De Reve is here to do some…er…tests on the residents. Part of their routine check-up. Louis introduces himself, and Dr. De Reve says that the Director is very, VERY interested to talk to Louis. Dr. De Reve chuckles as he turns away to chat with Veta.

 Before Louis can say another word, in walks the Director, Dr. L’Ernitage.

“Louis, how are you today? I heard you had a bit of a bad dream last night. Let’s talk about it, shall we?” said Dr. L’Ernitage as he took out a notebook and prepared to take notes.

Louis gave Dr. L’Ernitage a suspicious look.

“It wasn’t a dream. I told you. There is a locked door near the pool and beyond that door is a passageway. A passageway to Selvadorada.” Louis said firmly.

“Really, Louis? Now if the door was locked, how did you get down to that passageway? That seems quite a puzzle, don’t you agree, Dr. De Reve?” said Dr. L’Ernitage raising his eyebrows and looking at Dr. De Reve.

Louis was getting angry. The doctors were making fun of him and still didn’t believe a word he said. “Well, come and see for yourself. Open the door and we’ll see who’s right.”

“Alright,” said Dr. L’Ernitage quietly.

Louis led the way to the door with Dr. L’Ernitage and Dr. De Reve following behind.

When they reached the doorway, Dr. L’Ernitage gave a startled gasp. He looked at the door and fingered the vines that covered the building. He knew this door.

He jangled some keys and finally found an oddly shaped skeleton key. When he tried to put the key in the lock, he noticed that the door was ajar. The door was open! “It’s not possible. How did this get open?” he mumbled to himself in a low voice.

He tugged at the door and the rusty hinges creaked as the door swung open. The interior was dark and Dr. L’Ernitage fumbled with the wall switch. A dim light came on overhead from a bare bulb. The air was musty and there was vegetation growing in from some of the wall cracks.

“Dr. De Reve, get the lanterns from the truck. We will need more light before we proceed,” Dr. L’Ernitage shouted. When Dr. De Reve returned, he held out two field lanterns. They proceeded with caution down a flight of stairs holding the lanterns high in front of them. No one spoke a word.

Louis looked around and saw the skeleton picture and the door with the sign and words he didn’t understand. He was breathing too fast. He felt his heart pounding loudly in his chest. His palms felt sweaty, but he knew, he knew, he had been here last night. It was real! It was REAL!

Once they descended the stairs, Louis turned to Dr. L’Ernitage. “This is the place. I recognize this place from my dream, or my sleepwalking or whatever it was. I was here last night. The passageway is through this door. I told you. It’s all true. It’s real, I tell you, real!” 

Dr. L’Ernitage noticed the change in Louis. He could detect the early signs of a panic attack. “Louis, are you sure you want to continue? Perhaps this is too much for you and we should go back upstairs. Dr. De Reve could give you something to help you relax…”

“No!” shouted Louis firmly, “No, I want to show you. I know what I saw.” Dr. L’Ernitage and Dr. De Reve looked at each other and Dr. De Reve nodded his head to continue.

Dr. L’Ernitage took the last key from the set of keys on the wall and opened the door. The musty odor of the sealed room assaulted their nostrils.

Dr. L’Ernitage stepped aside and allowed Louis to enter first. Louis rushed past him, but when Louis stepped into the room, things seemed quite different than what he remembered. He turned in a circle and looked around and banged on the wall in front of him.

“It was right here. Right here. There was a passageway. An ancient statue. I knew how to get past the statue and I went into the passageway….” Louis said out loud banging again on the wall, “Right here!”

“Yes, yes. I am sure you saw a passageway “in your mind’s eye”, but as you can see there is no passageway in here, Louis. There never was. I’m sorry, Louis.” Dr. L’Ernitage said as he surveyed the room. Dr. De Reve went over to ensure Louis was alright.

Dr. L’Ernitage continued to look around the room, “But it is interesting that you had a flashback in this room. This VERY room. This vision you saw…it might be a breakthrough for you, Louis, remembering something of your past. And that’s something that this room holds a lot of…memories of the past.” Dr. L’Ernitage said as he casually walked towards the desk.

Louis didn’t quite understand what he had just heard. He turned around and looked at Dr. L’Ernitage, “What did you say? You knew of this room?” Louis asked incredulously.

“Yes, everyone on the Board knows of this room. I had a tour of it when I was just an intern. It belonged to the owner of the house. His name was Henry Simovitch, an entrepreneur who revolutionized the automobile industry. This house was just one of many he owned. Henry was very wealthy and was always promising himself to take a vacation. Well, he did finally book a “world adventure” and became obsessed with archaeology. In fact, he became quite the famed archaeologist in his time…and was one of the first archaeologists to uncover the tombs of Al Simhara…” Dr. L’Ernitage said as he looked around at the books piled on the desk. He picked up one of the books and handed it to Louis, “Here is one he wrote.”

Louis glanced at the title, “Backpacking Through Al Simhara”. 

“And he lived here? At the asylum?” Louis asked, not quite understanding.

“Well, actually, it was not an asylum at the time. This was his office. The locks on the door were not to keep him in but to keep others out. He had many priceless artifacts in the room and his research notes. His research notes were very valuable in finding a cure…” said Dr. L’Ernitage.

“A cure? A cure for what?” wondered Louis.

“A cure for the Mummy’s Curse,” whispered Dr. L’Ernitage.

“A curse?” Dr. De Reve was quite shaken by that word.

“Yes, a curse. Rumor has it that he died of the Mummy’s Curse. It was a very long time ago in the roaring ’20s, and he was on an archaeological field trip to Al Simhara when he disappeared. But there is no way to prove or disprove how he died as his body was never found. Some sims believe he was erratic and there never was a curse. They believe he became ill from exposure and wandered into the desert and was lost. No curse. Just in his mind, poor fellow, just in his mind. It is still a great mystery. All his belongings from his last field trip were packed up and transported back here to his home. His “Last Will & Testament” stated that this room would remain intact with all his research and books. His passing was a great loss to the archaeological community.” Dr. L’Ernitage sadly shook his head.

Everyone was very quiet after Dr. L’Ernitage had told them the story and then they heard some voices coming down the stairs. It was the other residents.

“I better go and get them all back upstairs. I still have to do the “tests” on them,” said Dr. De Reve, “We want to make sure they’re ready.”

“Well, maybe it’s a good thing they all came down. I believe it’s time to tell them,” replied Dr. L’Ernitage.

“Tell them…I mean…us…what? Ready for what? Why are you doing “tests” on us?” implored Louis.

“Louis, I wanted to talk to you about this first, but it seems I will be telling everyone at once. Dr. De Reve and I believe you have had a breakthrough by what you saw last night. And we want to escalate your recovery. And discovering this room. It’s a sign. Yes, definitely a sign. We feel you are ready for the next level of trauma-treatment. It’s time for everyone to head back to Selvadorada. It is time for an intervention. Yes, most definitely to return to the scene of the trauma.”

“What? You want us to go back to the jungle?” Louis spat out. Oh my plumbobs! How could they do this? Didn’t they know what the jungle was like? And they wanted us to go back there? How was this therapy? And they thought Louis was erratic!

But Louis seemed to be talking to himself and when he turned around, he realized he was.

Louis heard Dr. De Reve speaking to the other residents and telling them about these “tests”. “There will be a schedule to follow to get your resistance up,” Dr. De Reve was saying, “You will all be working on problem-solving exercises and participating in fitness workouts. And then you will be ready to return.”

Dr. L’Ernitage looked at everyone and they were very quiet.

Midge was the first to ask, “Ready to return where?”

“Return to Selvadorada, of course”, replied Dr. L’Ernitage with a smile on his face, “To have you remember, my dear.”

The reactions to Dr. L’Ernitage’s statement were mixed. Midge almost cowered in fear from those words. Louis had never seen her so scared before.

Veta screamed in horror and kept repeating something unintelligible over and over again.

Deirdre clutched at her chest and Dr. De Reve thought she was going into shock and went over to steady her.

But it was actually Krysta and Randall who collapsed when they heard the news.

Deirdre waved her arms around and started making a dire prediction and said they were all doomed. “Doomed! Doomed! Forever doomed! Yada Yada Yada.”

Dr. De Reve felt it was best if he helped them all upstairs and tried to calm them down again. Perhaps a cup of tea would help. Some calming chamomile or healthy green tea would do the trick.

As Dr. De Reve brought the residents upstairs, Dr. L’Ernitage and Louis trudged up the stairs behind them. At the landing, Dr. L’Ernitage turned to Louis and asked where Rocky and Sonny were. Louis told him they were at work and wouldn’t be home until 3 am. Dr. L’Ernitage nodded his head.

Dr. L’Ernitage assured Louis that everything would be fine and Cop and Llama were upstairs if their help was needed. Dr. De Reve came downstairs again and they were ready to leave. “They are all fine. They are more relaxed. They are talking amongst themselves.” said Dr. De Reve. “We will return in the morning to give everyone their “tests”. Tonight is not a good idea as they have already been through a lot. Tomorrow morning is better.” Dr. De Reve shook Louis’ hand and bid him goodnight.

Dr. L’Ernitage went to shake Louis’ hand as well, but before he did, Dr. L’Ernitage looked Louis straight in the eye and said he needed Louis to do him a favor. Dr. L’Ernitage needed Louis to tell Rocky and Sonny what was going on before they heard it from someone else. And with that, Dr. L’Ernitage walked out the door.

Louis couldn’t believe this! HE had to tell Rocky and Sonny that they were returning to Selvadorada? Unbelievable! Louis felt he needed something stronger than tea to calm him down.

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The hours ticked by rather slowly waiting for Rocky and Sonny to return home from work. Louis needed to stay awake and brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Deirdre entered the kitchen while he was there, but didn’t speak to him.

Louis was tired, but he needed to stay awake. He decided to read the book that he had brought up from the secret room.

“It is a curious thing that at my age -fifty-five last birthday- I should find myself taking up a pen to try to write a history. I wonder what sort of a history it will be when I have finished it, if ever I come to the end of the trip!”

(Author’s Note: These are the opening lines from the book, King Solomon’s Mines by H. Ryder Haggard)

And finally, they were home. They both seemed to be in a good mood since Sonny had been promoted to RingLeader. He also swiped another book from work, “Seduction By The Sea.” At this rate, they’ll have to buy another bookshelf to hold all those books that Sonny keeps…umm…borrowing.

Louis told them he had something to show them and led the way to the secret room. When they got there and looked around, Louis told them the story and the “tests” that they would have to take. But more importantly, Louis told them that they would be returning to Selvadorada.

The reactions from Rocky and Sonny were not what Louis had expected. They both let out a loud “No!” when he told them.

Rocky said he wasn’t going and it was final. He went on to talk about the lack of toilets in the jungle and how he had gotten a rash from using one of those pee bushes the last time. And where was the Charmin toilet paper when you needed it? And the mosquitoes? Darn bugs were the size of his hand. No way he was going back to the jungle.

And Sonny said it was dirty in the jungle. He really didn’t want to get grass stains on his good white pants. He had to maintain his image, you know. And sleeping in a tent or tarp shelter? Forget that!

But then Sonny thought about it and figured that the Board would be paying for this. It would be like an all-expense paid vacation. “They’re gonna put us up in some fancy lodging, right Louis? Yeah, yeah, we’ll be living it up at the Hilton. Give me room service! Lounge in the hot tub. Get a massage. Now we’re talking. Better than those hard as rock beds we sleep on now. Ok, I’m in.” beamed Sonny. Rocky wasn’t so sure about the room service but liked the idea of going on a vacation.

Louis tried to explain to them that it wasn’t a vacation. But it was useless, they weren’t listening and talked about fishing and partying all night long. “Have me some brewskies.  Oh yeah, count me in!” Rocky said as he slapped Sonny on the back and they made their way upstairs. Geez! These two! Louis was too tired to argue with them further and headed to bed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sonny went up to the kitchen and thought about his escapade last night. He had spied that door near the pool during the big storm. Everyone was inside around the fireplace, so no-one saw him sneak out during the storm and pry that door open. He figured there must be something valuable behind that door to keep it locked. But when he descended the stairs and looked in that room, all he found was a bunch of old, dusty books and papers. Nothing of value. Sonny thought he had closed that outer door shut, but it was pretty windy, and it must not have caught the lock. Who knew that Louis was a sleepwalker and would somehow open that door? And now there was a big hoopla over Louis’ “vision” and going back to Selvadorada and into a temple. Well, Sonny couldn’t remember much about what happened when he was there the last time, but this he knew. If they were going into a temple, there must be a treasure in there. And Sonny was going to be the one to find it. And keep it. For himself. He smiled at that thought as he poured himself a coffee. Yep, he was going to be rich.

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Author’s Notes:

Sonny is smiling in the last photo because he has the “Near Misery” moodlet. This means he is happy because everyone else is miserable. He gets this happy buff as it is part of his  Evil trait.

Henry Simovitch is a pre-made Sim who lived in Roaring Heights (Sims 3). He was the richest sim in town. The addition of Henry being an archaeologist was my fabrication. Although with all his simoleons, Henry could quite easily have funded his own archaeological field trips to Al Simhara.

George L’Ernitage is a pre-made Sim from the Sims 4 Get to Work promotional trailer. Scrubs De Reve is also a pre-made Sim from the Sims 4 Get to Work and Malpractice trailers.

Al Simhara is one of the “worlds” that you can go on vacation in the Sims 3 World Adventures. And, yes, there is a Mummy’s Curse. If your sim is untreated, your sim can die within 14 days, turning to dust.

Just to let you know, the “secret bunker” idea evolved when Karababy52 submitted her first sim, Ridge Everest who lived in a bunker. I had a look at her Itty Bitty Bunker build and the idea of a possible “secret” passage to Selvadorada in a secret, underground room was born. It only took me this long to get to it! Thanks for the inspiration Karababy52.

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