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. 

Corbin Cove Locations: The Spine Mine & Obelisk Library

 Welcome back, readers. Last time we visited Corbin Cove, you were introduced to the librarians and the book club. I suppose it's only fitting then that I give you a tour of the two favorite locations for avid readers. Be warned, there's a little gore, but if you've read some of the entries posted for The Agency, the amount of gore present here barely earns a mention. Still, you've been warned.

The Spine Mine is a bookstore where one can by new and used books, some of which include spell-books, some of which still bear the writing and bloodstains of previous owners. There are also a few books that change every time they're read, which has caused numerous fights at book club. Book club, due to being banned from most other locations including, most recently, Hallowed Grounds Coffee Bar due to cursing the employees for running out of pumpkin scones, meets here every Tuesday night.

One of the things that sets The Spine Mine apart from other bookstores is its clever use of recycled shelving. The shelves, you see, are made of actual spines. This has caused it to draw some unwanted attention from Remains to be Seen, especially after their legal battle with Imagi-Knit. Remains to be Seen has begun making arguments with The Peerless Prosecutor regarding The Spine Mine; however, The Peerless Prosecutor has made the very good point that Remains to be Seen focuses on remains that are meant to be seen and making them into art pieces while The Spine Mine is not teaching people how to do anything with the spines nor are the spines meant to be the focus of the shop, and thus is refusing their case.

The Spine Mine is convinced Remains to be Seen will keep trying. 

Moving on from a place where you can buy books to one where you only have them for a short time, lest you incur the wrath of a librarian, we come to Obelisk Library

This monolithic, one-floor building is shaped like an obelisk made of pure obsidian. The bookshelves presumably go all the way to the top of the obelisk but no one has ever been up there and the library is so dimly lit, no one can truly see the top of it when they're inside. Library patrons do say that it is larger inside than it is outside, though.

The librarians call the library home and are never seen, but always helpful if someone is seeking a particular book. The librarians love people who enjoy reading and some of their favorite and more frequent patrons tend to vanish inside the library at times.

Previously, the book club met here, though the librarians were strongly against it. While they love people who read and seek knowledge, they aren't particularly fond of shouting or talking in their library, especially not heated discussions and carelessly-flung curses. Thus, the librarians ousted the book club, though it took several months of discussion, bloodshed, strikes, and involving The Obscure Scholar before the book club agreed to leave the library in peace and sought new locations for their get-togethers.

So there you have it, a little more about Corbin Cove revealed. The next Corbin Cove entry will feature two more organizations that call the charming coastal town home: the Boy and Girl Scouts. Until then, stay strange.