Artifact 0535C

 I mentioned in my last post that I have a significant other. My significant other, Myrrh, is an artist. They paint, do ceramics, crochet and knit, and make soap. They're truly amazing. They also write. When I first began The Agency, I read "Artifact 0037LH" to them. They were inspired by it to write their own entry, "Artifact 0535C," and have granted me permission to share it here. So, here is Myrrh's story for The Agency.

Artifact 0535C

Artifact Description

Artifact 0535C, a brass coin with a hatched border found on the desk of Warden Gregory Everett and bearing his likeness on its front. On the back, letters have been scratched into it which read, “PEREDO,” with three vertical lines beneath. The coin seems to have appeared mysteriously and bears no fingerprints save for the clear right thumbprint of the Warden on the side with his image. Warden Everett has yet to be found. One Curator has also gone missing in the presence of the artifact.

No other records of such a coin have been located at this time.

Testimony 2014-03-07

Arch. Lucas: Statement of…

Cur. Matthews: Curator Robert Matthews.

Arch. Lucas: Yes. Statement of Curator Robert Matthews regarding his experience with Artifact 0535C. Anytime you’re ready.

Cur. Matthews: Thanks, I guess… Um… God. Where to start?

Arch. Lucas: The beginning, please.

Cur. Matthews: Right… right. The beginning. The coin was found on the desk of Warden Everett, though I bet that’s probably written down somewhere already… We don’t know where it came from, or really much about it. Jonah- er, Curator Myers… He was the first one assigned to investigate it. We still haven’t found him, but I heard him scream. It… It was cut off. Not like he was choked or something, but more… well, more like his vocal cords just vanished in the middle of making sound. That’s the closest I can get to describing it. I don’t think he’s still alive, wherever he is. The rest of us drew straws to see who was going to go in and look, and I’m glad I drew a long one. I don’t know what Curator Lee witnessed, but she came out looking like she’d seen a ghost and I didn’t ask. I think she’s new… I think she may need to see a Medic or have some kind of evaluation or-

Arch. Lucas: So, the coin?

Cur. Matthews: Right, sorry. I don’t like thinking about that thing. I was the unlucky sod who replaced Curator Myers in researching it, you know. I was holding it – with gloves and a full hazmat suit, I’m not suicidal – to get a better look at Jonah’s face on the coin when a Librarian whose name I don’t remember tried to get my attention. Considering I was looking at a perfect rendition of a missing friend’s face on a coin that may have killed him, I don’t think it’s too surprising that I was on edge. I startled and dropped it. It bounced, but that doesn’t explain why the face I had been examining was gone when I picked it up.

It turned out that the Librarian was just there to tell me that the scratched word on it was Latin. Roughly translated, it means “to eat” or “to waste.” But something tells me it’s closer to “devour.” I think it ate Warden Everett and Jonah. And I think I might be next.

Arch. Lucas: What makes you think that?

Cur. Matthews: I’ve been dreaming. Not like my normal dreams, these are too vivid. There’s something I’m being pulled towards, a force I can’t break free from. I’m on the streets of a ruined city, and I’m marching toward… something. Something in the center. And every night, I get closer. I didn’t sleep last night. I don’t want to dream anymore.

Arch. Lucas: Maybe you should see a Medic.

Cur. Matthews: I-I will. I just… I just have to go do my shift, and then I’ll go.

Arch. Lucas: Statement ends. Cur. Matthews was admitted to the Infirmary. He vanished from his bed between 0330 and 0345 on March 5^th, and CCTV records show him entering the Museum at 0357. He did not come out, and a thorough search has yielded little. Of note, though, are reports that Artifact 0535C was discovered out of place and once again bearing an image on the front.

That was "Artifact 0535C" written by Myrrh. There may be some more stories from them in the future, but the next story from The Agency is going to be another one from me.