DECEASED  - - -  QQ 

Publish or Perish

     Lady and Daughter (Tabitha) walk in to Apocrypha and say the girl and two friends were playing in an abandoned orphanage. They saw a shadow and ran. One boy, Clayton, got "taken". Max doesn't remember any of this anymore.

     (Lib Use)Father Neil Zilner -> suicide 1 month after orphanage closed. Orphanage closed after orphanage. Neil caught red handed. Died before trial. Killed orphan. Link between Daren (this) murder and three others prior.

Cardinal Herashio Doemelt was the spokesperson who said "this is a church matter, let the church handle it". Will try to get a hold of him in the morning.

     The Cardinal said Neil was giving man, good with kids, touched a lot of lives, and treated children as his own. Asked him about 3 lost children, Cardinal seemed touchy about this (Psych) began to lie, notices that I noticed. Blamed poor reporting of Apocrypha. (Spot hidden) He has copy of Apocrypha on desk. Ask him what would have become of Neil, Doemelt said there would have been litigation, but the end result would have been prayed upon to decide. Got the feeling he is hiding something.

     Robert and Grant went to talk to some nuns that helped run the orphanage. The one said she would talk to them about what she knew. She said that most people would forget things in the orphanage, but she seems to retain her memories. Said at least 10 kids went missing, not 3. After talking with them, she said a prayer over them. They then went to talk to the Cardinal, but he didn’t want anything to do with Robert. After a little bit of a social Mexican standoff, Robert and Grant leave.

     We entered the orphanage. We had the intent of looking for the lost child, but came with supplies to burn the place down, as Robert mentioned that fire my harm whatever lie within where bullets and fists wouldn't. I felt more ill at ease than Parker and Robert, likely because they had been blessed by a nun and not I. Robert warded the entrance and attempted to bless me. Grant lit a road flare for light and left his kerosene lamp at the door. I turned on my flashlight and brought up the rear.

     We find the tracks of the kids in the dust among the many that were there. We follow the tracks to the basement. (listen check) I hear what sounds like rats, but not rats that ebb and flow like waves. In the basement we saw where the kids used their hands to touch the walls to feel where they were going. We find our way to a room with about 20 skeletons worth of bones in it. Grant lights another flare and tosses one onto the pile and the sound stops. Eerie smoke/steam comes off the bones in the light. There was a small closet and on one end. We prepare for the worst, but there was nothing inside. We hear a scraping on stone outside. I toss a Molotov in the room as we leave to burn the bones.

     We go outside and after checking another hallway and hear the scraping behind us. We whirl around to see an extremely gaunt, pale and malnourished naked boy behind us. We call out to him but no response. He is slowly walking towards us. Robert tosses a Molotov and splashes some on him. He then ignites him with flash powder. Grant tosses a flare, but it goes out as it hits him. I shoot hitting him in the shoulder, (Shotgun) but that barely slows him down. Grant feels an icy slash across his back. We see more children slowly ambling behind Clayton. Robert plays on his trumpet to try and turn the boy against the others while I drop a cocktail in the hall between the kids and us. As I start to run, a tendril of shadow slashes a chill across my chest. We dashed back towards the stairs.

     In a cafeteria type room a huge blob of darkness falls from the light fixtures. Grant’s mind cracks and he starts screaming and sprinting for the exit. Robert and I follow as close as we can. While running I toss my flare back at it in an attempt to distract it. The flare strikes home, (Throwing) but the creature grabs my head with a tentacle and pulls me towards it with little effort. Robert seemed to hesitate, but I yell at my friends "GET OUT! I'LL SLOW IT DOWN!!!" It tries to bite me but I dodge it. (Dodge) I light my last two cocktails and say "How about a nightcap… on me?!" I smash them together, burning the abomination along with myself. It shrieks in pain and crumples to the ground while dissipating. With the last shreds of conscience I see several of the naked children, half on fire descend upon me, hungry teeth gnashing for my flesh.

- Fin.

X = Occupation Skills

Publish or Perish