Year End Wrap Up Part 4: A Recent History Lesson

 So, in the last post, I mentioned several events in my new project's timeline that were more recent and that because of that they deserved their own post. Today is the day for a recent history lesson.

One of the first events that's ongoing at the start of the project was actually mentioned early on in the last post: the Second Crusade Against Heresy. Since the majority of the last post was about it, I won't revisit it here.

The next event that's ongoing is the Lemming Pox Outbreak. Yes, it sounds cute and light-hearted. It isn't. Characterized externally by small sores, Lemming Pox is a magical disease that was never intended to get out but it did and things have gone downhill from there, especially since sufferers are rendered very susceptible to suggestion. I'll let you ponder for a moment how very bad that can be. The country of Uthauvania is enduring this outbreak and trying to deal with it, though this is made much more complicated by the Chieria Gold Rush.

The Chieria Gold Rush is, as the name suggests, a rush of people into the nation of Chieria following the discovery of gold. Most of the people entering Chieria are citizens of the volcanic nation of Othary and the previously mentioned Uthauvania. 

Chieria is just striking out as far as luck is concerned. Chieria, you see, finds itself in the very beginning stages of a revolution, the Marked Insurrection. The people are rather displeased with the royal family for allowing the imperial guards to kill unarmed protesters. 

And finally, the most recent event, the one that actually starts after the project does: the War of Broken Pacts. The whole project idea started with the idea that a diplomat from Preycia, Sarai Arnuanna (son of Keyleth Arnuanna), visits Vesmain in an attempt to negotiate a treaty that works out heavily in favor of Preycia, but things go wrong and, following an attack on the meeting, Preycia and Vesmain are officially in a state of war. 

Those are the most recent, ongoing events in the fictional history of this project. At least, that's as far as I've gotten so far. This project is still ongoing as I've decided to add more countries which will mean more index cards, more long curses, and more current events. 

Hope you've enjoyed this little fictional history lesson. There will be no post next week as I'll be taking a break from posting to enjoy the holidays. Posts will resume in January. Have good holidays, everyone.

Year End Wrap Up Part 3: A Continued History Lesson

 In the last post, I said that the country of Vesmain from my newest writing project has continued their history of expansion through conquest and said that that was a history lesson for another post. That's this post. 

The first country that Vesmain conquered during their Second Crusade Against Heresy (which they started following the Prophecy of Heresy) was the nation of Struydan, which was enduring a plague at the time and in no condition to fight an invading army. Following that, though, Struydan did make several medical advancements, both mundane and magical. 

The next target of the Vesmain Empire was the city-state Bohl, which was still recovering from the Battle of the Drained Sea, where they fought against the nation of Zethea over salt resources. Being a small city-state and recovering from a very recent battle, Bohl didn't stand a chance. 

Of course, Zethea was having its own problems following the Battle of the Drained Sea. Not everyone had approved of the battle with Bohl so Zethea was dealing with an uprising. This gave Vesmain the perfect opportunity to invade and conquer, which made the whole battle between Zethea and Bohl moot. 

The next nation Vesmain went after was the southern country of Sasnya, which suffers frequent severe droughts and is prone to wildfires. The War of Burning Plains is used as an example in the Vesmain military of why it is important to know the weather and climate of the place you are invading as they were unaware of this at the time and attacked a field with their newest invention: flamethrowers. The Vesmain army did not expect the fire to spread as far or as fast as it did, and a temporary truce was called so both sides could combat the fire. In the end, though, Sasnya became yet another part of the Vesmain Empire. 

Of course, Sasnya didn't just willingly submit to Vesmain's rule. A city in Sasnya, Chason, rebelled and began to gather support from outlying towns and villages. Vesmain couldn't have that and quickly crushed the rebellion by destroying the city. The ruins have been left untouched, a reminder of what will happen to those who fight against the might of the Vesmain Empire. 

Meanwhile, other nations have watched the Vesmain Empire's conquest. One of these nations, Fleyye, requests to join the empire through a treaty and thus avoid a war. The ruler of Vesmain agrees and the Treaty of Ma'az is signed in Fleyye's capital. 

Fleyye's neighbor to the north, Askington, is less eager to join the empire. The presence of the Vesmain army in Fleyye increases tensions and leads to the Vesmain army invading Askington during a lunar eclipse which starts what becomes known as the Battle of the Eclipse. The battle raged for several months until finally, Askington requested a treaty. The treaty, signed in the capital of Askington, is officially known as the Treaty of Knosk but has the nickname amongst Askington natives as the Treaty of Extortion due to how heavily it favored Vesmain. 

For awhile, Vesmain's conquest ceased. Following the Treaty of Knosk, the Deathbell Curse, a long curse that targets a family line was levied against the family of the current ruler of Vesmain, Katyr Lurona. Long curses are something that Vesmain specializes in. There were no witnesses to this curse being cast. Months later, Katyr Lurona was assassinated and her assassin (Valida Durthane of Obriona) attempted to frame Wistari Qidan of Preycia, the brother-in-law of the then-leader, Azaki Arnuanna. After investigations revealed the truth, Wistari was permitted to return to Preycia and the new leader of Vesmain (Ruvyn Syljeon) cast a long curse against the country of Obriona, Curse of the Hallowed, which would take a long time to come to fruition. This is when the tensions began between Preycia and Vesmain.

During all of this, Preycia has been making advancements to ships and airships. The leader of Preycia, Azaki Arnuanna orders steel-hulled ships invented and, following the discovery of helium reserves, orders airships for luxury travel. This worries the country of Obriona and prompts Eremon Strakeln to assassinate Azaki Arnuanna which leads to his son, Keyleth Arnuanna, ascending the throne. Keyleth, unlike his father, encourages a focus on military advancements such as weapons for their ships, aircraft-carrying capabilities for their airships, and submarines. 

The most recent country added to Vesmain's empire is the country of Iutharia following the Assault of Fasad, which was an attack on their capital city where the Vesmain army destroyed a statue of a beloved Iutharian leader.

Shortly after the conquering of Iutharia, Vesmain received the Prophecy of War, which spoke of a war that would consume the world. 

Obviously, these are not the only nations involved and there is more history that's been left out such as the discovery of a planet, the Chieria Gold Rush, the Marked Insurrection, the Lemming Pox Outbreak (which is not as cute and light-hearted as it sounds), and the War of Broken Pacts. Those last four are more recent history (as in, ongoing at the time the project is set to start) so I think that those warrant their own post. 

I will, however, end this post by stating that only in nations that aren't part of the Vesmain Empire is it possible to learn about or even mention that there has been a new planet discovered. In the nations that are part of the Vesmain Empire, that knowledge is suppressed. 

Year End Wrap Up Part 2: A New Hobby & A Fictional History Lesson

 Over Thanksgiving, after an impromptu art lesson I hadn't planned on participating in, I discovered that I rather enjoy painting. One sketchbook purchase later and it turns out that I'm pretty good when it comes to drawing if I look at a reference photo. 

I'm pretty proud of how my frog turned out. I'm going to continue nurturing my art skills now that I'm not spending my time looking at my work and comparing it unfavorably to others' as I did through my youth. I spent a long time hating that my art wasn't like this person's or that person's, but now, I've realized it's okay. I'm proud of what I can do when it comes to drawing. My fiancé wants me to sketch out things on their canvases when they paint and our roommate wants me to draw a frog on a canvas for them too.

I mentioned that I finished the timeline for the random project that I started in November. I'm now in the process of culture building. First, though, I think I should mention a couple important events from the timeline. It's still lacking dates, but it's in order.

The first event: The creation of the national religion of Preycia, one of the main countries that is involved in the main conflict at the start of the novel. The Oracles of the Attuned is a polytheistic religion that preaches that the ruling family, the Arnuanna family, are blessed by the gods above all others and the Oracles of the gods.

Preycia is a country on a peninsula in a northern portion of the world. They have a large navy, which following the discovery of helium reserves, includes airships that also serve as airborne aircraft carriers (which is based on the USS Akron and USS Macon, which were operated by the United States Navy in the 1930s). Preycia also pioneered the invention of luxury ocean liners and airships. While they have a substantial navy, they don't have much in the way of an army. They have royal guards, but no real army.

The second and third event, which blend together: The creation of the national religion of Vesmain and the creation of the nation of Vesmain itself. The Order of the White Wolf is a monotheistic religion that focuses worship on the god, the white wolf Fenris. It forbids graven images of animals and people (with the exception of the white wolf depicted on their flag) as creating the images robs Fenris of his worship. 

At around this time, Aeson Vesmain, the founder of the Order of the White Wolf, led his army on The First Crusade Against Heresy. Those who would not convert and could not flee to neighboring countries were killed. By the end of this bloody war, Aeson Vesmain declared the land his army cleared as their nation and named it Vesmain, after himself. 

Vesmain, as a nation, kept its military and religious history. They have a large standing army and maintain a military dictatorship with strong ties to the church. They have also continued their history of expansion through conquest. But that is a history lesson for another post.

Year End Wrap Up

Goodness, where did the year go?

Figured I'd kick December off with a year-end wrap-up. 

November 23rd, one of our ducks laid their first egg and we're very proud of them. They're all grown up now and it's been quite an experience raising them from little ducklings to full-grown ducks. 

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and I spent part of it working on The Agency. Thanks to a lovely writer whose Discord group I joined (shout-out to Liz Bloom!) who shared the website Neural Blender, I now have a cover that I am rather fond of. 

Regarding The Agency, the current word count is sitting somewhere around 83 thousand and I'll be sharing a couple more entries in January. I'm also going to begin working either finding a publisher or getting things together to self-publish.

Now, I didn't win NaNoWriMo and didn't spend the entire month writing. That is because I spent the latter half of the month working on creating a map and timeline of a fictional world because I got it into my head that I wanted to write an alternate history (which, being fair, some of the stories from The Agency could be seen as that) after November. That led to me realizing I don't actually have enough knowledge of history to be able to write an alternate version of it which led to me going, "Well, fine, I'll just write a fantasy setting involving technology on par with World War I and throw in magic because I can." 

Well, that led to me needing to know which countries are involved, where they are, what was invented when, what wars happened when, and other important events. Soon enough, I had so many index cards scattered around me and color-coded that it looked like I was studying for a history exam except I was the one making the history. 

That also meant that I made a map. At first, I did the "cheating from Earth" method listed in The Magical World Builder's Guide that I've shared before. Well, I wanted to see the full continent so that led to me taking pieces of the coastlines and mashing them together. It worked pretty well, in my opinion. Of course, then I started thinking about where the countries were in relation to each other. I still don't have one of the main countries listed on the map quite yet. I'm going to be doing a fair bit of work on the map still. Mostly making several versions of it to show the geographic features and things expected to be seen on maps, roads, railways, the extent of the empire, the country borders, and a variety of other features. 

I've just finished the timeline with a whopping 53 index cards. 

It still needs dates, but at least the important events are listed. I was having difficulty visualizing my timeline until I used the index cards that I had saved up from my college days. (I tend to hoard office supplies, a bit like a dragon hoarding gold.)

I've been working on this for half of November and will continue working on it until other ideas call to me. This wasn't even supposed to be as big a project as it was. I wanted to write a simple war story (though what war story is ever simple?) and that led to wanting to write an alternate history and that led to this whole project. I'm having a fair amount of fun with it and trying to blend magic and technology. I'd like to think I'm doing a good job. 

I'll be sharing more of this throughout December.

In this latest entry for The Agency, we learn a little about the Pied Piper and his infamous flute. This entry contains child murder and the disappearance of large numbers of children. If this particular topic bothers you, please don't read any further. If not, however, enjoy.

Artifact 0145HF

History & Description

Artifact 0145HF is a rather legendary item. It is so well-known that it has been featured in many fairytales and stories. The artifact is known in those stories as the Hamelin Flute, and it belonged to the Pied Piper who led the children away from Hamelin in 1284. This much is true and known based on firsthand accounts from witnesses to the incident.

            The artifact appears as a wooden transverse flute with engravings of rose vines encircling the length of the flute. The only unusual facet of Artifact 0145HF is that the rose vines will change from blossoms to roses to wilted roses to bare vines when the artifact is played. Omicron researchers are attempting to work with Xi musicians to determine what this could mean.

Testimony 1284-06-26 (recorded 2014-06-26)

Arch. Doyle: Statement of Patrik Hopf, a witness to the first instance of Artifact 0145HF, initially given to Archivist Lennard Stoltenberg on June twenty-sixth, 1284, after the incident and translated by archival assistant Darryl Campbell. Recorded today on the seven-hundred-thirtieth anniversary of said incident by Archivist Miah Doyle. Statement begins:

            All the adults were at the church so they didn’t see him. I don’t know if they would have seen him anyway. They didn’t see him before when he took the other children away, but then…they never really paid attention to the other children anyway. They were orphans. No one cared or noticed, but I did. The other children did. We all saw him in his pied clothing when he led the orphans into the Weser River and we watched as they drowned. He went to the mayor and demanded payment for fixing the rat problem, but the mayor refused. The mayor was the only one that ever spoke to or seemed to see him. The piper left as silently as he’d come and we knew we hadn’t seen the last of him.

            When everyone was at the church for Saint John and Paul’s Day, he came back. He wasn’t colorful anymore. He was dressed in green like the hunters do and he was playing his flute. Everyone followed except me. Even Elias with his twisted legs crawled after him. Ulric was deaf and he still followed. Ludwig was blind and followed as best he could. Everyone followed but me.

            I don’t know why I didn’t follow. I heard the music, I heard how wonderful it was. I wanted to follow, but…he didn’t want me to. Even though I wanted to, the music and the piper told me to stay. I had to stay as a…I think he said reminder. A reminder to the town about what will happen when deals aren’t honored.

Arch. Doyle: Statement ends. Patrik Hopf was merely twelve at the time and the son of the mayor’s daughter. He was the only child left in town after hearing the music from Artifact 0145HF. The other children were never seen again nor were their bodies found. The people in town knew that the mayor had requested help with the “rat” problem and were angry the mayor’s grandson had been left alive while their children were taken. The mayor, his daughter, and Patrik Hopf were murdered by the furious townspeople, all three burned at the stake for, according to historical records, “making a deal with the devil and not honoring it.”

Testimony 2014-06-26

Arch. Doyle: Statement of Kerry Hayes, a witness to an incident involving Artifact 0145HF. Statement recorded direct from subject by Archivist Miah Doyle.

Hayes: I don’t really know what I saw. I just…it’s all so strange. So odd. Everything is hazy, like a half-remembered dream.

Arch. Doyle: It’s okay. Take your time. Just tell me what you remember.

Hayes: It was a normal day, just normal. I was at the park, enjoying the summer weather, sitting on the bench and trying to read a book. There were children playing on the playground nearby and I’d look up every so often to watch since my son, Logan, on the slide.

            It was just…such a normal day. Wispy clouds drifting lazily across the clear blue sky. Everything was normal. The noise from the children playing provided background noise to my reading. I checked on Logan, he was fine.

There were dozens of people there that day. Parents sitting on benches while their kids played. Joggers. A vendor selling hotdogs and soda. Everything was…there were so many people there. It was like a normal summer day.

I had just returned my attention to my book after checking on Logan again that I noticed how…quiet everything was. No birds. No distant cars. No children playing. No talking at all. But I did faintly hear music. I looked up and…everyone seemed frozen. The vendor was in the process of handing over a hotdog to someone, but there was no movement. Everything was so still and so silent, but I heard…I thought I heard…I thought I heard music. Just faint flute music.

I tried to get up, tried to get Logan’s attention, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t get off the bench. I couldn’t speak. I could turn my head, but I couldn’t do anything else. Logan was standing at the bottom of the slide, frozen like everyone else. All the children were still, motionless. They all…their heads were all cocked to one side as though listening. They all heard the music, I’m sure of it. Then, they all began walking.

I tried to follow them, but I still couldn’t move. The music got louder and I saw a man dressed in green, playing the flute. Our eyes locked and…it was like staring into a black hole. Just…blackness and emptiness. He…it…smiled and kept playing the flute. The children all gathered around him. Logan was standing front and center, right in front of him.

The tune changed and the children began marching off in front of him. He lingered with Logan right in front of him for several minutes. Then, had Logan walk over to me and sit on the bench with me. Finally, the music stopped and the man vanished, leaving the flute behind.

Sound returned. Movement. Then the parents began to panic because their children were gone. Many people called the police. I called them too as I held Logan closely to me. After a few moments, the park was swarming with police and then one of the officers made a call. At the time, I assumed it was to the FBI to start an investigation of the missing children. Now, I’m inclined to believe that it was to your agency, but I don’t know for sure.

Your agents showed up then and asked me about the flute that had been dropped at my feet. I told them about the man vanishing and they told me to come here to give a statement. I said I would, but that I wasn’t leaving Logan at home or out of my sight. He’s out in the lobby with one of your agents, and I’d like to go to him now.

Arch. Doyle: Statement ends. Artifact 0145HF is currently residing in the museum and being studied by Omicron researchers and Xi musicians, though I do not see any wisdom in permitting someone to actually play the artifact. I will say that I am surprised that the artifact has been recovered on seven-hundred-thirtieth anniversary of the first incident.

Testimony 2018-06-26

Arch. Doyle: Statement of Curator Theo Hunter, regarding an incident involving Artifact 0145HF, recorded direct from subject by Archivist Miah Doyle.

Cur. Hunter: I don’t know what happened. Artifact 0145HF was in its designated spot in the museum. I was taking notes, observing it. The vine engravings had been bare when we acquired the artifact, but whenever support team Xi members played it, the engravings changed. They cycled through the lifecycle of a rose. Most recently, it had been left on the full rose. I was just observing it to see if the designs changed when it wasn’t being played and then I looked up from my notebook to check the designs and the artifact was gone. Vanished. Like how Artifact 0037LH and Tome015S vanish at times. I knew then that there would be more children missing soon.

            I was right. Collector Jasper Case returned with Artifact 0145HF and told me about the incident. Fifteen elementary-aged children on a field trip vanished. None of the chaperones saw or heard anything, but the artifact was found near a copse of trees. The design reflected bare vines, though I noticed that the vines seemed thornier than they had before.

Arch. Doyle: Statement ends. The fifteen children that vanished haven’t been found. Neither have the children who vanished from the park the day we first recovered Artifact 0145HF. It’s unlikely that they ever will be. The information about the changing vines is odd, but not on its own something to fear. Still, perhaps it would be best that support team Xi musicians refrain from playing Artifact 0145HF until we know more about how the artifact works.

Testimony 2020-06-26

Arch. Doyle: Statement of Collector Grant Cross, regarding the capture of Inmate 064 and an incident involving Artifact 0145HF, recorded direct from subject by Archivist Miah Doyle.

Coltr. Cross: We caught him. We finally caught the bastard. I don’t…I don’t know if it’s the same one from 2014 and 2018, but we caught one of them. Fucking…he’s a millionaire or a billionaire, one of those. Maximilian Hester. Yeah, him. He lured kids away this time, but I don’t know about the other times. I don’t think we’ll find those kids either.

            When Artifact 0145HF vanished this time, we were ready. We’d had so many support team members—Beta and Tau, mostly—monitoring different gatherings of children and different locations where children would likely be. Support team Tau member Chloe Key found it. Maximilian Hester was hosting some kind of party involving children. We got there as soon as we could, but it was too late. The children were gone, but this time, the Piper hadn’t vanished.

            Hester was there, holding the flute and looking appalled. When we told him to come with us, he begged us to keep Artifact 0145HF away from him. He came quietly and we handed him off to the wardens. I returned Artifact 0145HF to the museum.

Arch. Doyle: Any sign of the children? Did he say anything about them?

Coltr. Cross: No. He didn’t seem to know what happened any more than the parents did. Of course, maybe he does know something since he seems afraid of Artifact 0145HF. You could try interviewing him.

Arch. Doyle: Statement ends. It is…reassuring to know that Inmate 064 has been apprehended. It would be nice to know where the children are and what happened to them, but I don’t think we’ll find them. Hopefully, with Inmate 064 in containment, Artifact 0145HF will cease traveling and the disappearances of children en masse will as well.

This isn't the only entry involving the Pied Piper and the flute. There is an accompanying Inmate entry, "Inmate 064" which will possibly be shared.

Corbin Cove: Town Council

The last and most important organization present in Corbin Cove is that of the Town Council. Made of thirteen entities, the Town Council has existed at least since the founding of Corbin Cove, possibly even longer. The entities are unusual and nigh immortal as only their progenitors and fellow Council members can harm them. 

They have multiple forms, including humanoid ones. In their normal form, they are ethereal masses of eyes, tentacles, teeth, and void, the sight of which can cause people--even those used to the strangeness of Corbin Cove--to go into gibbering madness or utter catatonia. Their humanoid forms mimic that of normal humans, though without hair or genitals and with skin colors that are beyond those found in humans. At times, they also bear traces of their eldritch nature in human form, such as multiple eyes or tentacles or sharper than normal teeth. 

The majority of the Town Council avoids interacting with humans and the other residents in Corbin Cove if they can help it. Those who have the most interaction with mortals are The Devil’s Advocate, The Resourceful Scout, The Taciturn Soldier, The Peerless Prosecutor, and The Obscure Scholar. 

The Devil's Advocate is the youngest member of the Town Council, being only a few hundred years old. She acts as the representative for refugee demons seeking safety, he housing authority, and the one who meets all new residents when they move in. She also will sometimes deal with legal cases, taking on the role of public defender. She loves mortals, but hates their short lifespans. She has endured much teasing from the older members of the Town Council regarding her fondness for mortals. 

The Resourceful Scout is the second youngest and is the leader of the Scouts. He enjoys his job and loves mortals, though hides this fact from the others for fear of facing the same mockery The Devil's Advocate endures. He deals solely with the Scouts and all that entails: merit badges, a Scout gaining a new rank, and of course, candy selling. He knows how The Devil's Advocate feels about mortals and makes sure that the Scouts always carry her favorite Scarab Truffles when candy-selling season comes around. 

The Taciturn Soldier is older than The Resourceful Scout and The Devil's Advocate, and handles the law enforcement side of running Corbin Cove. He is in charge of the constables and the secret police. He is stern and rather cold in his external personality, but will let his guard down around The Devil's Advocate. He does love mortals, but hates this fact because previous members of the Town Council killed mortals on a whim whenever they wanted. 

The Peerless Prosecutor is approximately four hundred and handles the legal side of Corbin Cove. If any resident has a legal battle they want fought, they come to him. He is passionate about his job, but easily frustrated with mortals, especially when they hide information or lie to him. He acts cold and distant, but really enjoys debating with The Devil's Advocate when she steps into the courtroom. 

The Obscure Scholar is a mere three hundred years away from one thousand. He is one of the older members of the Council. He is stuffy and very proper, and in charge of education and the library. He is the only one capable of calming the Librarians when they are in a fury. He isn't a fan of mortals, preferring to keep his distance and only pass on information to the school board through letters. He does visit the library and is the only person that is known to have seen the Librarians and lived.

Artifact 2427E

Much like with "Artifact 0535C," this is entry from The Agency is written by my fiancé and shared with their permission. Initially, they planned on having this be an item to find in a Dungeons & Dragons game, but decided that it fit better with The Agency. 

They wrote the time-stamped section from the unlucky researcher and I framed the rest of this entry around it. Once it was finished, I decided to post this for our anniversary.

Artifact 2427E

Description

The artifact appears as a scaled egg, roughly the same size as that of a goose egg. It is off-white in color and was found inside the throat of a corpse, which was found riddled with holes from what appeared to be scavenging insects. When exposed to heat and carbon dioxide, the scales open so that the artifact resembles a pinecone. The “scales” are in fact human teeth, incisors. The teeth vibrate at ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit. What follows after this is documented in Testimony 2020-02-17.

            Containment protocol requires that the artifact be kept in a sealed, transparent box kept at a temperature of no higher than ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit. Curators, Omega scientists, Omicron researchers, and even Zeta janitors are required to exercise extreme caution when interacting with the artifact.

Testimony 2020-02-17 (recorded 2020-02-19)

Arch. Crane: Statement of the late Omicron researcher Ezra Price. Statement recorded by Researcher Price and recovered by a team of collectors after the incident. Read by Archivist Omari Crane. Statement begins:

            0430: I’ll get this all typed up in proper format later. For now, cataloging. Artifact 2427E is an egg. That’s it. Just a scaled egg, about the size of a goose’s. It’s off-white in color, and it was reportedly found inside the throat of a corpse. As for the corpse, it was riddled with holes from scavenging insects and who knows what else. Time of death was put at two weeks ago. So far, no tests have yielded anything unusual—no magnetic fields, no delta or theta wave interference, no temperature changes. No signs the egg is rancid, though, either.

            0923: After running several more tests, something finally happened. Exposure to higher levels of carbon dioxide and heat have caused the scales to peel slightly. It resembles a pine cone more than an egg now.

            0931: Those aren’t scales. They’re teeth. Human teeth, or at least it looks like it. Incisors, over a hundred of them, all sticking out and vibrating ever so slightly. It’s most prominent at around ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit. That can’t be a coincidence, can it?

            1211: One of the teeth shed onto the table, like a child’s baby tooth. There’s something pinkish-red beneath it, with a pocket where the root would be. I’m not getting any closer without a hazmat suit.

            1345: The teeth are shedding one by one. About half have fallen away now, leaving behind a viscous, fleshy mass underneath. If I’m being honest, I’m scared to go any closer. This is wrong on so many levels. I’ve gotten my hazmat gear on, but it was designed for your basic toxins and pathogens, not…whatever this is.

            1349: Scared or not, I have to investigate. It’s my job.

No, you didn’t, Ez. That’s not your job. That’s for collectors and Betas. You are—ahem, were—an Omicron. You didn’t have to investigate. You…you could have…ahem. Right. One more. Just…just have to read this last entry and then I can…I can never think about this again.

            1927: Inside. They’re inside me. I can feel them, crawling in my veins, scraping the inside of my skull.

            I looked closer at the holes in the mass. Touching it with tools knocked most of the rest of the teeth off, and I pried open one of the root pockets. One single compound eye stared back at me, then the whole thing started to pulsate. They erupted from it like a plague of Egypt, like…No. No time to get flowery.

            It’s too late now to save me. I can feel it growing inside, can feel them growing. Breathing is getting hard.

            Sarah, if they ever let you see this, I’m sorry. You said this job was too good to be true, and you were right. I love you, don’t forget that. Okay? And take care of Mom, tell her I love her too.

            Goodbye.

Arch. Crane: Statement ends. Ahem. That was…that was the last thing Ezra—ahem—Researcher Price ever wrote. He was found…found…God. I can’t. It was…I’ve seen the photos. They’re in the file. He…he was found dead with…with holes burrowing into—or out of—him and a…a scaled egg in his throat. The egg is currently in the museum with strict precautions in place. Too bad those precautions didn’t come sooner. Then Ezra might…might still….

So, that was another entry mostly written by my darling fiancé. I've got to say I'm rather glad they decided it fit better with The Agency. It was such a joy to transcribe what they wrote and write an entry around it. I hope they'll be writing more entries.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a nice day. Try not to think too hard about the teeth currently rooted in your mouths and what 

Corbin Cove Location: Gahanna Bowling Alley & Navarino Skating Rink

Welcome back to Corbin Cove, readers! Continuing our tour of this lovely coastal community, we'll visit two of the more popular recreation facilities the town has to offer: Gahanna Bowling Alley and Navarino Skating Rink.

These two facilities share a parking lot which acts as a dividing line and battlefield for them. The bowling alley and skating rink are the Hatfields and McCoys of Corbin Cove. They feud frequently, usually over the parking lot. Many citizens have been caught in the crossfire during their battles. Depending on whether the sanitation workers are on strike or not, the parking lot is often littered with the bodies of these unlucky citizens.

We're not sure how the feud started. All we know is that one day the two decided to stage a war that seemed to be over the parking lot and the temporary fatalities climbed. No one, not even The Devil's Advocate or The Peerless Prosecutor, could help solve the issue between them and the fatalities continued. Their war waged on. 

Anyone visiting either location risked being killed or wounded in the war between Gahanna and Navarino. Those who were able to enter, though, had the time of their lives and were able to enjoy glow-in-the-dark bowling or skating depending on which place they went to. In addition, they are able to enjoy a variety of foods such as nachos, fries, pretzels, burgers, and hotdogs, and popular music. Both locations provide a fun family atmosphere.

Gahanna Bowling Alley boasts several bowling teams and has a league night where the teams compete to win a trophy and bragging rights. Many of the teams sport scars from their narrow escapes and encounters with the Navarino Skating Rink roller-derby teams who act as soldiers in the war and try to prevent the bowling teams from practicing. Of course, the bowling teams aren't innocent in this and can often be found injuring or maiming the roller-derby team members and patrons of the skating rink. 

The war so far has been contained to the parking lot and not spilled over, though it isn't uncommon for a bowler to give a skater a dirty look when their paths cross and the skaters will often blame bowlers for anything that happens to be an inconvenience to them that day. 

That's all for this tour of Corbin Cove. The next time we'll be taking a look at the last organization in Corbin Cove worth noting: the town council. 

Location 078U part 2

This post is the conclusion to "Location 078U" where we hear from actual agents from the agency about what happened in this location. Do they know what the event was? What the creatures are? Read on to see if these questions are answered.

Location 078U

Testimony 2013-04-11-A

Arch. Cross: Statement of Collector Asher Steele regarding the clear out of Location 078U. Statement recorded direct from subject by Archivist Declan Cross. Statement begins.

Coltr. Steele: My team and I—

Arch. Cross: State their names for the record.

Coltr. Steele: You have their names on file. In my file, in Ingrid’s file, in Josephine’s file. You have their bodies—or what’s left of them—in autopsy right now. I don’t think you need me to state their names.

Arch. Cross: It is procedure, Asher. Full names, if you would.

Coltr. Steele: Fine. Ingrid Schmidt, Josephine Roth, Natasha Cash, Arthur Fox, Jacob Meyer, and Grayson Collins—my team. We went to Location 078U where the containment division was in the process of setting up a perimeter fence and signs. Custodian Gregory Everett informed us that we would be looking for survivors and we’d be joined a member of support team Zeta, Brady Simmons, who had been sent there to assist. He’s also the one who requested that, if possible, we try to bring one of the things back alive. I suspect he’ll be getting a lovely bonus and maybe a reassignment to Warden, won’t he?

Arch. Cross: I’m not sure. That doesn’t concern either of us.

Coltr. Steele: We passed through the perimeter and entered Location 078U. It was a bit like entering Location 024C, except hotter, drier, and with less fire. We were confident this would be a quick mission. Clear the area, rescue any survivors, head out before dark. Of course, we weren’t properly prepared. We hadn’t listened to what the survivors—Kit Spence and Nadia Gibbs—said about what happened there yet, but we’d been reassured that our training would be sufficient to deal with whatever was present in town.

            We continued down Main Street. Meyer and Fox were making jokes about visiting a ghost town in the making. Collins was talking to Simmons, trying to keep the kid calm. And Simmons was a kid. I think we all forget the human part of the support team. Simmons, despite being a support team Zeta member, was just a kid and wasn’t cut out for what we do. He shouldn’t have been there, but hey, he was just a member of support team Zeta. He wasn’t important, right? He was expendable.

            Cash was supposed to take the lead, but she was focusing on the landscape. I mean, it went from a small, thriving town to an abandoned, decrepit rubble heap practically overnight. Only two survivors in a town of two thousand? That’s not normal. Even natural disasters of epic scales have a few dozen. We figured there would be at least one or two more, probably more. Cash focused on the area, though she was more interested in the landscape than in looking for survivors.

            Roth and Schmidt were more alert, though Roth seemed a bit distracted. She never liked Zetas. She even snapped at Collins to stop telling Simmons such personal information—he was reassuring him, telling Simmons about his family, telling Simmons there was nothing to be scared of here because he’d protect him. That was just how Collins was. He cared about people and Simmons was about the age of his oldest.

            I think if there had actually been a survivor, we would’ve shot them. Given how tense we were, how ready for something to leap out at us, we would’ve shot anything that moved. When we heard the first creature moving around behind one of the abandoned and burning cars, we all had our guns trained on that car and Collins was shielding Simmons. It came around the car and...it looked at us.

            It was human in the same way a mannequin is human. It was just human enough to be unsettling. It looked at us and cocked its head. It was black, like the absence-of-light kind of black. Except its teeth. Those were so white they practically glowed. It looked at us for a moment, cocking its head side to side like it was trying to figure out what we were, then dropped to all fours and ran off.

Arch. Cross: It looked at you? Could you describe its eyes?

Coltr. Steele: I don’t think I need to, considering we did what Custodian Everett wanted and brought one back. You can see its eyes for yourself.

Arch. Cross: Please. For the record. What did the eyes of the one you saw in Location 078U look like?

Coltr. Steele: They were amber and swirly, kind of like flames. We didn’t see them from that distance at first. We saw them when we tracked it down, hoping to capture it. Because Custodian Everett wanted one alive, we began tracking it. Simmons was against this idea, but Roth snapped at him that this was part of his job, if he didn’t want to do this then he was perfectly free to go back to prison. He didn’t argue after that. Collins glared at her, put an arm around Simmons, and reassured him.

            We followed it to one of the houses. Fox and Meyer went around the back, Cash and Roth took one side, Schmidt was with me in the front, and Collins went with Simmons on the other side. Fox and Meyer radioed they were in position, followed by Cash, Roth, and Collins for both him and Simmons. Schmidt and I went inside and began our sweep of the front room. It was destroyed, utterly trashed. Furniture was smashed, the TV screen was shattered, the couch cushions and pillows were shredded. The kitchen was a war zone of destroyed dishes. We heard snuffling sounds from the kitchen so we made our way in there.

            There was one in there. It wasn’t the one we had followed. It was smaller. It rooted around in one of the cabinets, sniffing and digging around. It was acting like it was hungry and looking for food. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t kind of cute. Schmidt must have thought it was because she lowered her weapon and began to approach. I tried to call to her without arousing the thing’s notice, but she ignored me. Then it looked at us. Schmidt was about five feet from it at that point. Its eyes were green, but swirling with amber. Like they were changing even as we watched. Schmidt stopped for a moment, then began speaking to it in German. She only does that with her kids, you know. I have no idea what she was saying to it, you’d have to ask her. She kept approaching it, talking soothingly to it in German.

            It began to approach, cocking its head at her words. As she approached, it grinned. Its mouth opened wide in a grin. Its teeth were so sharp and white against its black skin. It stopped and waited for her to approach as she seemed intent on doing. She reached out a hand to it and its grin widened. I snapped out of whatever trance I was in and shot the creature before it could take her hand off. She was furious at me and let me know very loudly. She stopped, though, when we heard a sound from upstairs.

            Glass shattered and Cash radioed that the thing was fleeing, asked for permission to pursue it. I told her no, we weren’t going to go off on our own until we learned more about what these creatures were capable of. I radioed to Collins and told him to mark this area for the support team to come in to retrieve the creature’s body. He did, then we began tracking the creature that escaped.

            As we tracked it, the whole town was silent. There weren’t any sounds at all. No birds or wind or anything. It was so quiet. Just our footsteps, echoing through a dead town. We hadn’t seen any bodies, but then, we didn’t need to. With how silent it was, death was the only explanation. Simmons was scared and jumpy, but didn’t say anything, more scared of being forced to go back to prison I think. Collins kept close to him, protective. Collins also shot glares at Roth whenever she looked at Simmons.

            I suppose it was then that it occurred to me that we were in over our heads. I mean, yes, we were trained and we were sent on some of the more dangerous missions. You know that. You’ve got the records. You’ve got our statements, too, from debriefing after missions. I don’t know why exactly I got the feeling that we were in over our heads, but I got that feeling then.

            We arrived at the church and graveyard. The dirt was disturbed, the church crumbling. I was on edge. One of those, a juvenile, had managed to hypnotize Schmidt. We had no idea what an adult could do. We didn’t even know what these things were.

            Collins went down first. Pretty sure he’d shielded Simmons from the attack. One of the creatures pounced on Collins, biting and tearing into him. No idea where it even came from. Behind the gravestones, maybe? Maybe it burst from the ground, from one of the graves. I don’t know. One moment, we were alone in the graveyard, the next we were being attacked by these things. We all started shooting. We didn’t even care that we could hit each other or that Custodian Everett wanted one alive. We just wanted to make it out alive.

            I was by Collins’ side, checking him over. The wounds were bad, he wasn’t going to make it. After all, I had limited knowledge and medical supplies with me. He asked me to look out for Simmons, made me promise that I would. That’s what I intend to do.

Arch. Cross: Statement ends. Collector Steele left abruptly and refused to pick up where his statement left off so I will have to hope that Schmidt and Roth provide more insight. Collector Steele will be returning to the field within a week after he recovers from the injuries he obtained in Location 078U.

Testimony 2013-04-11-B

Arch. Cross: Statement of Collector Josephine Roth regarding the clear out of Location 078U. Statement recorded direct from subject by Archivist Declan Cross.

Coltr. Roth: I’m transferring, you know. Archives. Seems a lot safer than field work. After Location 078U, I’m not going back into the field. Don’t see how Steele plans on going back to it. I suppose you want me to pick up from wherever he left off?

Arch. Cross: If you’d be so kind. He left abruptly, right after he began telling me about the graveyard attack.

Coltr. Roth: Ah, right. Nothing else happened of note aside from Collins sharing personal information with support team Zeta member Simmons.

Arch. Cross: You didn’t like Simmons, did you? Collector Steele mentioned that you never liked the Zeta support team.

Coltr. Roth: I don’t. I think it’s a foolish idea to allow them out, even if we have them monitored and prevent them from leaving site unless they’re working with a field team. I know they’re microchipped. I know they’re monitored. I don’t like working with them. We have other support teams, better support teams than Zetas. They should all be locked up. They’re all monsters. They just wear human skin. But you’re not really interested in hearing my opinions on Zetas. You want to know what happened when we were attacked in the graveyard. I suppose Steele told you about Collins being the first down. What he didn’t tell you, because he didn’t see it, was Collins pushed Simmons out of the way. It should have been Simmons that died in that graveyard. But that doesn’t matter, does it? He got what he deserved.

            Collins went down and we started shooting. Steele was over by Collins once we got the thing off him. I don’t know what Collins said to Steele, but Steele nodded. I think we all knew that Collins wasn’t going to make it. His throat was ripped open for fuck’s sake. The creatures retreated and we placed a marker for another team to come in for body retrieval. That was when Steele did a head count and drew attention to the fact that Simmons was missing. Cash said that she thought she saw one of the creatures drag him off during the chaos. I said he probably took the opportunity to run.

            We went looking for him, against my advice. We were all wounded and needed to figure out how to capture one of those creatures, but instead we were looking for a Zeta. We shouldn’t have been wasting our time looking for him. He’s a Zeta. He’s replaceable, all Zetas are.

            Fox and Meyer brought up the rear, guarding us in case the creatures attacked. It was silent, again. That silence you find only in horror movies when places are deserted, but the monster’s hiding in wait.

            I don’t know when Fox and Meyer were grabbed, but when I looked back, they were gone. I saw the blood trails leading to one of the houses we passed. It was just Schmidt, Steele, Cash, and me. We found Simmons. He was surrounded by the creatures and...one of them was on top of him. It was...absorbing him, I guess, is how best to describe it. It was quite a painful process if Simmons’ screams were anything to judge by.

            We were ready to start shooting, but Cash advised against it. She wanted to study the process. Always the scientist. I agreed with her. Schmidt and Steele were against it, but Schmidt eventually came around. Steele was still against it, but he waited to do anything. The absorbing process carried on, slowly. Simmons kept screaming and crying. It must have been extremely painful. Cash kept recording it.

            I think he saw us then. He looked in our direction and begged us to help, tears in his eyes. He pleaded with us to do something, anything, just help him. Steele intervened, blew our cover. He shot one of the ones that was standing guard while the process went on which startled the thing absorbing Simmons. Schmidt provided cover fire, though I noticed she didn’t seem eager to shoot the smaller ones that were edging closer. She hesitated when one got close to her and Cash. That’s how Cash ended up dead. Neither her nor Schmidt shot the small one before it pounced and ripped Cash’s throat open and tore off half her face. I shot it when I saw what was going on, but it was too late for Cash at that point. I saved her recording of the process, though, as you’ve likely seen.

            Schmidt, when she finally seemed to be aware of her surroundings again, radioed for backup, radioed that it was urgent. Steele was over by Simmons and the thing that was absorbing him, trying to get it to stop. I remembered that we had tranquilizer darts just in case and I shot the thing. By that point, the thing had practically absorbed Simmons entirely and there wasn’t any part of Simmons that wasn’t part of that thing now.

            Our backup got there, support team Alpha, and got us out of there. Most of the creatures retreated when they arrived. Scared of the Humvees, probably. They got the Simmons creature loaded into the transport cage, retrieved the bodies of Cash, Fox, Meyer, Collins, and the dead creatures, and got us bandaged for the moment, then we left. Came back to headquarters for debriefing and medical attention. Now, if that’s all, I have to put in my transfer request.

Arch. Cross: Statement ends. Collector Roth will begin archival assistant training as soon as possible. Given her previous field experience, she will likely be better able to handle some of the more complex and hazardous tasks required of assistants. The recording she provided from the late Natasha Cash depicts exactly what Collector Roth described regarding the absorption of Brady Simmons. It is...quite unsettling to watch and listen to, especially when Simmons begins pleading for help. A copy of the recording will be filed with the rest of these statements.

Testimony 2013-04-11-C

Arch. Cross: Statement of Collector Ingrid Schmidt regarding the clear out of Location 078U. Statement recorded direct from subject by Archivist Declan Cross.

Coltr. Schmidt: I’m through. I’m done. I’m retiring and there’s nothing that anyone can say or do to change my mind. I’ll sign whatever damn non-disclosure agreement Superior Read puts in front of me. I’m. Done.

Arch. Cross: I understand that, Collector Schmidt. We just need your statement for the record regarding what happened in Location 078U, then you’re free to go talk to Superior Read and fill out your exit paperwork and the non-disclosure agreement.

Coltr. Schmidt: Right. Where did you want me to start?

Arch. Cross: With what happened when your team first entered the house the creature ran into. When you and Collector Steele entered the kitchen to find the smaller creature.

Coltr. Schmidt: We entered the kitchen and there was a small creature there, rooting through the cupboards for food. It was so small. Then it looked at us and it...I couldn’t look away from it. It looked like one of my kids and very clearly scared. I began talking to him soothingly in German. That always calms down my children when they’re scared. Then Steele shot him and it was a creature again.

            It was the same with one of the smaller ones that was guarding Simmons during the merger. It looked at me and it looked like my daughter. She got closer and closer, then attacked Cash. Roth shot her and she was a creature again. After that, I radioed support team Alpha for backup. They arrived, got us, got the sedated Simmons creature, got the bodies of our team and the creatures, and we left. That’s all there is to it. Can I go now?

Arch. Cross: Yes, I think that’s everything.

Coltr. Schmidt: Good.

Arch. Cross: Statement ends. Thanks to Collector Schmidt’s statement, we now know that the creatures—the juveniles, anyway—are able to hypnotize humans into believing that they are children, specifically children that are in some way connected to the person who is hypnotized. This is useful information that we likely wouldn’t have otherwise as Inmate 056 is an adult creature and those do not seem capable of the hypnosis. This information will be passed onto Omega scientists while they continue to study Inmate 056.

So that's the conclusion of "Location 078U." Regarding Inmate 056, there are plans for an interview with him to be written in the future and that story may involve my fiancé Myrrh's character Ellis. Once it's written, I'll be sure to share it here. 

In the meantime, happy Halloween to everyone and happy almost-NaNoWriMo to those who participate in that month-long novel-writing endeavor. Stay spooky, readers.

Corbin Cove: Scouts

 This week's entry about Corbin Cove involves something that is a staple throughout the United States: the Scouts!

The boy and girl scouts of Corbin Cove are very much like the scouts found elsewhere, though there's no real division between boy and girl scouts. The scouts go out into the wilderness to earn their survival badges and rise through the different scouting ranks and sell candy at the start of autumn. It is a well-known fact that The Devil's Advocate adores the Scarab Truffles sold by the girl scouts and will buy several boxes whenever they're available. 

The scouts are led by The Resourceful Scout, another member of the Town Council and the one that gets along best with The Devil's Advocate. He's the second youngest member with only The Devil's Advocate being younger. Unlike many of the older members of the Town Council, The Resourceful Scout enjoys spending time with the residents of Corbin Cove which is one of the reasons why he leads the scouts. 

One of the things that the scouts are best known for is their candy selling. Scarab Truffles are the best seller, helped by the fact that The Devil's Advocate will buy a hundred boxes at a time, but there are three other candies available: Blood Pops, Gloworms, and Saltwater Taffy Squid. Blood Pops come in every blood type and are a favorite among blood-drinking residents, though anyone can enjoy them. Gloworms, a gummy worm-like candy that glows, are a favorite treat to pass around at sleepovers and campouts due to the slight blue hue. Saltwater Taffy Squid swim through their boxes and change their colors much like real squids will. Despite the fact that Soren detests all squid and octopus related dishes, the Saltwater Taffy Squid is his favorite candy. 

Some of the badges scouts can earn include fishing, hiking, archery, capitalism, necromancy, camping, astronomy, fire resistance, curses & hexes, medicine, navigation, metalwork, nuclear science, advanced summoning, cannibalism, angelic blade techniques, invisibility, grave robbery, and sailing. These badges are able to be earned by every scout and help them advance in rank. The capitalism badge is one of the easiest to earn as it can be achieved by selling more boxes of candy than other scouts during candy-selling season. 

Joining the scouts is a relatively painless procedure. Parents with children who fall in the age range for the scouts and who are interested in joining the scouts will find the forms to join behind the curtains in their living room. From there, it's just a matter of filling out the forms and placing them in the mailbox to be collected by a delivery raven. 

Next time we discuss Corbin Cove, we'll learn about a pair of locations involved in a long-standing feud and how this has effected their business and the town itself.

 Kicking off the sacred spooky month of October is an excerpt from The Agency that was inspired by the short story "The Night Wire" by H.F. Arnold that was first published in 1926 and the creepypasta story "The Disappearance of Ashley, Kansas." This one is going to be told in two posts. The first post, this one, will feature the background of the location and the testimonies of civilians. The second post will feature the testimonies of the agency team that was sent to investigate the location. 

So, kick back, relax, and enjoy "Location 078U."

Location 078U

Location 078U

 

Location Description & History

Location 078U is or rather was a small town in the Mojave Desert. Due to the events outlined in Testimonies 2013-04-11-A, -B, and -C, Location 078U is under strict containment protocols with custodians having strict “No Trespassing” signs posted in an attempt to keep people away from the site as well as detaining any trespassers. The trespassers who survive Location 078U are either invited to become part of the Agency if they are determined to be capable or forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement and offered a substantial sum of money to guarantee their silence.

            Many of the new recruits claim that Location 078U is Area 51. This is incorrect. Area 51 is a United States military installation under the control of the United States government. What they do at Area 51 is not the concern of the Agency, though they sometimes will call in a field team if things get a bit out of the realm of what their training covers.

            Location 078U is the small town that used to be located near Area 51 where those who worked at Area 51 lived. Much like the town of Pripyat after the Chernobyl meltdown, Location 078U is now abandoned. At the edge of Location 078U, the custodians set perimeter fences and guard stations. No one enters Location 078U without the proper gear.

            Inside the borders of Location 078U, the buildings stand derelict and the main street is cracked. The bank, town hall, jail, and shops are rundown. The jail is the best of these, the cells still completely intact. The houses appear to have been maintained despite having been abandoned for the same length of times as the rest of the town. The church is less so. The chapel itself is crumbling, little more than rubble. The graveyard contains soil that appears freshly disturbed.

            At approximately seven in the morning of April 7th in 2013, there was an earthquake of a comparatively low magnitude (2.4) centered in Location 078U. There was little damage done to the buildings and everyone arrived at church or work with only minor delays due to being shaken by the earthquake. It wasn’t until that afternoon that people realized that their phones no longer worked. No one was particularly worried, though. They just assumed that phone lines had been damaged by the earthquake and would be repaired soon. Their cell phones were still functional, though those who received calls from people in the town reported that there seemed to be the sound of rushing wind and the call cut in and out.

            Around three that afternoon, a dense fog appeared in the graveyard of the church. This was a bit strange as fog isn’t common in the area. The fog began spreading from the graveyard and soon enveloped the church, growing in height to cover it completely. It continued spreading out from the graveyard until it enveloped the town as a low-hanging mist by seven o’clock. At eight o’clock that evening, a fire broke out in the vicinity of the church.

            Witness statements (Testimonies 2013-04-08-A and -B) provide information regarding what transpired in Location 078U beyond this point, as far as they know.

Testimony 2013-04-08-A

Arch. Cross: Statement of Kit Spence regarding the events leading up to the desertion of Location 078U. Statement recorded direct from subject by Archivist Declan Cross.

Spence: Does that mean I tell my story now?

Arch. Cross: Yes, you can tell your story now. Start from the beginning if you can. From when the fire started at the church.

Spence: I don’t know much ‘bout that. I havta be in bed by eight on Sunday ‘cause I have school in the morning. But I saw the glow of the fire from my window when I was fallin’ asleep. I heard Momma tellin’ Grant—that’s my second daddy—that if the fire got any closer, we’d havta leave. I fell asleep and dreamed. I dreamed of the earthquake and the fog and voices. Daddy’s voice. I heard him talking in the fog but I couldn’t see him. Then I heard screaming and I ran and I ran and I ran and then I fell and I woke up. I was on the floor and the house was quiet and it was dark. It wasn’t the quiet of everyone being asleep. It was the quiet of everyone being gone. Like they left without me. I was alone.

Arch. Cross: What happened after you realized you were alone?

Spence: I cried. I cried for a long time and then realized I could still hear the screaming from my dream and the fire glow was still in my window. I ‘membered what Daddy said when I was sleeping.

Arch. Cross: What did your daddy say?

Spence: He said to run. Go out the window and run, run until I’m not in town anymore. So I did what he said and started putting together a to-go bag. You know, a bag that you put things in before you leave a place in a hurry. I took my homework out of my backpack and put my favoritest teddy that Grant gave me, a coloring book Daddy sent me for my birthday—I’m five now, and the stuffed heart Momma hand sewed for me in it. I got dressed—I dress myself all the time, but Momma picked out my clothes—and got my blanket and my pillow and a flashlight that Grant gave me to keep the monsters away. He also gave me Monster-Be-Gone spray, too, and would spray my closet and under the bed every night before bed. I hope Daddy knows about the spray. He probably does. They talked all the time. They said good night every night when Daddy called to talk to me about what my day was like, like how Momma and Grant would call whenever I visited Daddy.

Arch. Cross: What did you do after putting your things in the backpack and getting dressed?

Spence: I put the Monster-Be-Gone spray in my backpack with everything and then opened the window. I tossed the pillow out, then climbed out with my blanket and my flashlight. I picked up the pillow and started running. I ran the opposite way of the church. I ran and ran and ran until I didn’t think I could run any more. That’s when I saw Ms. Gibbs’ truck. I know I’m not supposed to get into a car with a stranger, but Ms. Gibbs’ is my teacher and she was leaving town, too. She even had her aminals with her, all her aminals, and she has a lot of aminals. She has Ed the horse, Murry Purry the kitty, Spot the puppy, Jack the donkey, Sergeant Shooper the sheep, Nannie the goat, all her chickens and ducks, and the class fish Finster. She put me in the front seat even though I’m not supposed to ride up front and then we left town and went to Area 51 where Grant worked. They didn’t want to let us in, but Ms. Gibbs’ yelled at them until they listened to her and let us in. Then they gave me a granola bar and some juice and told me they’d call Daddy.

Arch. Cross: They did. He’s on his way here. His flight will get in soon. You can take a nap in the waiting room now if you want.

Spence: Thank you. I’m tired. Good-bye. It was nice to meet you, Mister Archivist.

Arch. Cross: Statement ends. Kit Spence’s father Lucas Spence arrived and took Kit back to his home in Maine where he lives with his significant others, Simone and Patrick Thomas. Had Kit not gone out the window and instead gone through the house, he would have seen his mother Bethany and stepfather Grant Levine encountering the creatures, likely being killed or at least mentally scarred for life.

Testimony 2013-04-08-B

Arch. Cross: Statement of Nadia Gibbs regarding the events leading up to the desertion of Location 078U. Statement recorded direct from subject by Archivist Declan Cross.

Gibbs: I live further out than most, closer to the town sign. There’s more space for my farm there. It’s not really a farm, but the kids think it is. I suppose it is in a way. I’ve got my horse—an old gelding named Ed, like the show—and my donkey, Jack. I trail-ride in the summer and on good days in the fall. Sometimes Spot, my dog, comes with me. He’s an Anatolian Shepherd. I let the kindergarten class I had when I got him as a puppy name him. Anyway, I’m getting off topic. I went to bed that night after putting up the animals. I distantly saw the fire at the church as I settled into bed. Spot was by my bedside, which was unusual for him. Usually, he’d be outside or laying in the kitchen near the door. Murry Purry, my cat, curled up on the bed near my head. She’d usually be on the desk by the window or out hunting, but anyway. It was an eerie night.

            That night, I dreamed and it was a strange one. I dreamed of the earthquake and the fog. I was in the fog and I could hear screaming, then I heard the voice of Annika Middleton, a friend of mine from college. She’s a principal at a school in Maine and has invited me to teach at the school before. I suppose I’m going there now. In the dream, I heard Annika calling me and telling me to grab my things and run.

            I woke up and instantly got ready to leave. Murry Purry got in her carrier without trouble. Spot helped me gather the chickens and ducks, though they weren’t a problem. Ed, Jack, my sheep Sergeant Shooper, and my goat Nannie went into the trailer without any fussing. I put the chickens and ducks in the bed of the truck in their crates. Spot hopped in the truck and I put the carrier in. I almost just drove out of town, but had to go to the school. I needed to get our class fish Finster.

            As I drove, I kept seeing these shapes in the fog. Nothing very clear, fog was too thick. They were these dark shapes. Dark, tall, spindly shapes. Too long limbs. Too dark. Only their eyes and teeth stood out. Eyes were flame-like and their teeth too white, though that could have been because of how dark their bodies were. Ever been in a cave in the dark? It was the same kind of blackness with these creatures. I saw one. It was lying on top of someone—I wish I could tell you who, but I couldn’t see the face, just hear the screams—and it was...it was merging with that person. Absorbing them like magnetic slime pulling in metal. It looked at my truck as I drove past, but it didn’t do anything. I don’t think it could do anything, being in the middle of that as it was.

            I broke into the school and my classroom, getting the fish tank. I buckled it into the back with the others and off we went. I drove and kept hearing the screaming, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t stop until I saw Kit Spence—he’s a student of mine—running in the road, heading out of town like I was. I stopped, let him in, and drove to Area 51. I yelled at the gate guard until he agreed to let us in and radio someone to check on the town. Well, I suppose they sent you here to see if what we had to say is worth investigating before they send someone out there.

Arch. Cross: You said you heard screaming. Where was it coming from?

Gibbs: Everywhere. The church, graveyard, houses. It was all around. I couldn’t really see anything because of the fog. I would’ve hit Kit if it weren’t for his light up shoes. Are they going to send someone to the town for survivors? What caused this?

Arch. Cross: I don’t know, ma’am. A team is being dispatched to the town and a perimeter fence is being put up to keep things contained and look for survivors.

Gibbs: Good. I hope there are more survivors. I hope Kit’s parents are okay.

Arch. Cross: Statement ends. Nadia Gibbs waited until Kit’s father arrived from Maine before she began the drive there with her animals. Her animals all seemed to be throwing more of a fuss, particularly the chickens and ducks. It appears that whatever caused them to change their behavior and cooperate to leave town has ceased to affect them. 

The next post will be the conclusion to this entry and more information will be shared about what precisely is going on in this unnamed and now deserted town.