Arc 8: Break Gently

The winds howled over the tents, shaking the fabric like the souls of the damned were on Organ’s side. Glowing screens stacked along one wall showed a plethora of satellite imagery, drone footage, and telemetry data from the battle. Staff members of all different organizations moved about, giving orders and rushing to deliver fresh intel. […]

The sound of a deep vibration, a thrum, like the lowest notes of an organ woke me. My cheek pressed against a cold, hard floor. The thrum was so low it hurt to listen to, like I shouldn’t be able to hear it and yet the vibrations were forcing themselves to be heard. It seemed

I wondered if Conrad had any family or friends. Was he a different person when he was off the clock? I would never know now.  We had draped a white tablecloth over his body. It didn’t feel like enough. Even though we’d had our conflicts, I respected Conrad’s drive, his fervor for justice. It wasn’t

The paranoia, the racing thoughts, the tremors and hallucinations. It was all connected to the Broken-Neck-Man. The talk with my mom had bought me a reprieve. I’d calmed down enough to start thinking clearly. The symptoms were directly linked to my state of mind. Like an accelerant on a fire, any heightened emotions would spread

I wanted to cry. I wanted to curl up in a ball in the space behind the stairs and just sit there until I turned to unfeeling stone. Instead, I did what I always did. I just kept moving. My attention settled on the strip of flesh that snaked from the second floor to the

“Your face is slipping. Keep it on with nails and tack.” I flinched as the words were hissed from just beyond the rosewood walls followed by the scuttling sound of clawed feet. It felt like the Aberrant had access to my subconscious, sifting through it to try and find something to hurt me. A dark

What just happened? What the fuck had just happened? The strange man was gone. Eaten. Entirely absorbed into my person. His crumpled clothes lay on the floor like he’d been raptured. I braced myself, waiting for the memories to hit me like a tidal wave. My heart was banging on my ribs so loudly it

We pushed deeper into the manor, looking for any signs of Organ’s presence. Each room we passed through was utterly quiet. Lounge chairs sat expectantly while the ornate picture frames held visions of people and places I didn’t know. We padded softly over richly thick carpets, the dirt that fell from our boots disappeared into

The door swung open, revealing a dark interior and Kay’s butterflies flowed past me, carried on the wind that blew into the room. The meagre light from outside cast my shadow across an antique couch with green upholstery and gold floral patterns inlaid into the wood. Large bookcases stood menacingly in the shadowy corners of

Wide eyes and an open mouth, the soldier’s final expression as they became an adornment on the elk’s head. A look of shock at Fir’s sudden betrayal? Or maybe this is just what anyone would look like when they were pierced by antlers. Her expression wouldn’t tell me what I wanted to know, but I