Dread of Brockway

Driving upstate New York one might expect a pleasant, quiet drive. Far from the city, there are long ranges of mountains and wooded areas. It’s always a bit colder up North, but the locals have grown used to it and has attracted tourists looking for a winter get away. Driving up North one might find themselves going up Route Fifty-Six, driving right by the Raquette Boreal Wild Forest and the Carry Falls Reservoir. Between Sevey and Stark rests the popular winter town of Brockway, a cozy community with a population of roughly a thousand or so, based at the foot of a mountain. The town mainly is popular in the winter for winter-based sports and the lovely scenery.

At least, it was a lovely place for tourists to come. In the recent months there has been something…off about the town. A mysterious illness with no real discernable cause has been spreading, making people feel sick, giving them nightmares. A few people have actually gone up and missing, not a word before they left. If they left. Tourism has since plunged with the rumors of the town, though the occasionally visitor comes by, only to be met with a lingering sense of dread that hangs in the air. Many of the locals have been trying to move, but selling their houses in such a condition is an effort in vain. A mysterious town where people go missing or get sick and all dream the same nightmare, it’s far from a good selling point.

The town once prided itself on a quiet coziness, but especially in the last few weeks there has been…not a noise, but…a broadcast? People’s radios all over the town have been picking up on a strange station late at night. It sounds old and the local radio stations all have no interference with this surprise broadcast. Each night a strange voice and old music can be heard, and with every passing moment of listening that feeling of dread sinks further in. Some say that somewhere in that broadcast familiar voices can be heard, the voices of friends, neighbors, and family as they’re…well, no one really knows what happens, but some of those who report hearing those voices also report that in the following day those people go missing. Those who were heard that do turn up have no memory of what had happened the night before, but for some unknown reason are terrified beyond words, and the most information that can be gathered is through sleep talking when they have their bad dreams.

Even more recent, in the last few days, rumors have spread about the abandoned school. It’s not actually abandoned, but that’s what the kids are saying. Ever since the strange sickness has spread and people have gone missing all school activities have been cancelled. Late evenings, however, the school seems far from abandoned. That radio program, that music, and that voice can be heard from within the school, echoing through the halls and the classes. Investigations from the police haven’t turned up anything and even some outside professionals have been brought in, but as it stands it is all a mystery. A few students have gone ahead and broken in in these last few days and all of them have gone missing or have turned up worse for wear.

The only leads have been narrowed down to a strange club of people who believe in the occult, though most evidence shows that they are harmless. The only real evidence is a collection of radios and related books, but that was inconclusive. Some of the members of the club have mentioned a name, the Host, which to many is absurd. To those who know of the Host, he’s just an old urban legend, a thing to scare your friends with and that’s all. That’s all.

It’s a cold night in Brockway, the people of the town staying locked up indoors, their radios turned off. Though, no sleeps. The town is very much alive and awake, lights shining from their houses and filling the dark streets. The streets are not quiet though. From the high school the sounds of radio static can be heard, it also fills the streets and homes of Brockway, and it fills those living there with dread. From outside the school a small group of cops remain, waiting for orders, and hoping for some form of guidance. Leading them is an outside source, Detective Wellson from NYC. This is a case like no other, though, and he is far from prepared for the terrors of tonight. Soon, old timey music is played, distorted but obvious enough. The Host’s show is just beginning and tonight will be one hell of a show.

The stench of home brought the devil hunter to Brockway. For the first time in a week, Rai felt like she was in Dis. Grimmorah’s hooves crunched into the snow below the Reaver as she lurks down the odd streets. She could almost feel the fear radiating off the humans in the home. They hide from monsters here as well.

She couldn’t help but notice armed human guards around the streets as they shulked away from the devil woman. Odd to use humans for protection in her mind, however she had come to realize the humans of this world didn’t have reavers to rely on for their protection. They had the occasional supernatural being like herself or other humans.

The feeling was all too familiar, the eerie prickling of the back of the neck, the way the air condensed as people around her breathed in a method that was thicker than the cold. There was a demon loose in this town, Rai could feel it in her very being. No tiny little demon would have this town in such a panic, this one had to be pretty strong.

Rai stops her horse and just listens for the moment. A strange screeching in her ears rang as the radios all began to drone on in town. Rai once again kicks her horse into a light trot toward the sound of the horrible screeching. Trotting turned to a lope as she definitely found herself growing closer to the source. The feeling of dread grew within her, warning her she was closer. However Rai felt dread differently than humans. Humans tended to react to the tell tale aura of a demon with fear and wanted to run away, Reavers were drawn to it, rage bubbled within them, and they wanted to run toward it. On instinct, her kind hated demons.

She finds herself before a building, old and in tatters. But radiating that sickening stench demons did. No doubt there’d be trouble there. However it did rather shock her to see a group of humans before the building as well. She dismounts, pulling her Estoc off her saddle and stowing it upon her back. She takes her whip and hangs it to her belt and then dispells Grimmorah into the void.

The demon hunter moves to the police, believing them to be the one in charge. Rai finds herself before Detective Wellson, trying to work her words into english the best she could. “I am here to kill your demon.” Rai’s voice rings with a strange accent, alien to this world. Some would say she sounded easter European, others would say greek. But her tone was rather plain and somewhat enraged as she couldn’t help the pure spite growing within her for the horrors of this town.

Detective Willson, in his many years of service to the NYC service and to others around the country, had encountered strange beings before. He was well indoctrinated into the new meta-society, understanding that these heroes were some of the only forces that could rightly subdue the supernatural and immensely powerful threats that the planet now encountered. He did not like this, however, and he certainly, out of all the metas that could've arrived tonight, was not expecting this one...if she was even meta. To him, she looked as though she could've been the source of these problems and part of him suspected so. She was here to kill this "demon" if it was that and not a strange empowered person flaunting their ability, but that could very well be a set up for her to say she was doing so and just bolster her ability.

He didn't like this, not one bit, and showed on his and on the deep frown that he wore. He lifted a hand and took a long puff from his cigarette. He eyed over this..."hero", though he thought that word with a great deal of sarcasm. He took a deep breath and then flicked away what remained of his smoke. "Mmm." He started with a grumble. While he did not like the idea of working with a meta, and he never did (minus a few polite ones who addressed him with respect), he understood that he might need one in this case and he wasn't going to let suspicions be the reason he declined one. Especially when the town needed a solution. A quick solution. He turned away from her and looked at the building. "I bet you are." He would have to choose his words carefully if he was going to proceed. "I don't know how much you rightly know or why you want to...as you say, slay this demon...but I can tell you what little info we got." He looked over his shoulder at her, wondering how she would proceed. Regardless, he would go on, looking straight ahead again. "Some of the boys think the music...the sound that's coming from the school right now is the reason people 'round town are getting sick...feeling...off. Honestly, I am feeling that way now too, not too serious. Some of the boys here say so as well, but I ain't about to send some stranger in alone solely because she wants to do our job for us." He reached into his pocket and pulled out some spare ear plugs. "Put these in, all the boys are wearing 'em right now and they help, just a bit, but any help is needed. We'll let you go in first and follow suit. I am guessing if we follow the sound we'll find whatever is causing this ordeal. I am with the law enforcement and I am heading this case, so that means I am in charge. So if I give an order, you better follow it or you'll be up to your ass in officers looking to arrest you, got it?" He eyed her carefully, his words said in a deep, serious tone.

From inside the school, hidden away somewhere deep in the bowels of the school, the Host continued to play his music, to put on his show. The music that would reverberate from the school would be his own brand. The kind that would make one sick. It was the Frequency, the scratchy sound beneath the music that would, with enough time, cause one to start getting dizzy. The school itself was a trap. A way to lure people into the winding, and more importantly, echoing halls. They would search for him, trying desperately to find where he was hidden, and when they were sick and ready to collapse, he would emerge and drag them into his own, special hell.

The school in itself would be rather average in terms of how schools went. Long halls with classes, a large cafeteria, auditorium, and, of course, offices. While he wasn't out the loudspeakers, a radio was there, sitting on an old chair right by a mic so that the broadcast would go out even louder. It didn't need it, he was producing it himself, allowing it to echo through the halls, but...it certainly helped and it would only waste their time as his frequency would chip at them. That's if...they decided to go in.

(https://www.superhero-rpg.com/t12216-the-host this is the host! If ya wanna read his abilities to get an idea of what he does/how he does it...well, here ya go!)

Rai couldn’t help but be interested in the fact that humans were willing to fight here. Humans never fought in Dis. They sent in their Reavers and hid in their homes. She didn’t want to have to explain this though, all she knew was this man was in charge.

In her mind she saw him more as a clergy of Dis than anything else. They enforced laws, enforced reaver behavior and sometimes did accompany reavers on their outings to ensure there was no cowardice. Therefore in her mind, if she messed up, this man may just burn her. She’d have to stay sharp and not let her weeks of relaxation affect her behavior. “Understood. Your men are correct. I’ve seen demons set up nests, we could be walking into a cesspool.” Rai thinks back to the many clear missions she had to do for lower demons. However she had no experience with demons like this. But she did have her suspicions about this being a trap. Reavers, however, were stubborn creatures. They’d walk right into traps intentionally, spring them and fight their way out more often than not. And if they didn’t make it out, another would go in until the nest was swarmed. “Stay behind me. I will take any initiation from whatever is in there.” Rai offers herself as a shield. She was hard to kill and knew it, she just needed to make sure humans wouldn’t have any quarrels with utilizing it.

She takes the earplugs in a bit of confusion but copies him and moves to put them in her ears. “I am Rai, killing demons is my job. If I go down, please don’t proceed without me. I’ll get back up.” She states bluntly. She pulls her scythes from her belt to move toward the door. The reaver was used to taking pointe on these kinds of things as she was pretty swift at reacting, so she moved to the door. Snow crunched under her boots as she approached, noticing the music didn’t seem to be affecting her nearly as much as the humans. She didn’t feel physically sick at all, although the music was bouncing around in her head like angry bees. It was more annoying than anything else. At least so far it was.

She hooks her left scythe under the chain, pulling back with the blade and pushing the door open with her right boot. She wasn’t all loud with it though as her ‘kicking down the door’ was really more of a gentle shove so she could get her weapons back in front of her should something unpleasant be waiting for her.

Detective Wilson looked over the woman careful as she so willingly accepted her assignment. While his face showed no signs of change, internally he was quite pleased and impressed with this sort of motivation. Usually heroes were the ones who tried to bark orders at the cops, making them second place. Not here, not with her. It was a nice change of pace, one that he would give her some leeway with.

“Alright Rai, well, if killing demons is your job, then have at it. We’ll be behind you, if I need to pull my boys I will, but I ain’t planning on dodging out until this is down, so I’ll have my eyes on you the entire time to make sure what you say is true, don’t let me down.” He gave her a strong look, his eyes narrowed, as if he was trying to read her like an open book. Whether or not he approved of her or her reasons for being here, again, didn’t show on his expression. Emotions rarely showed on his face. And, as she went in, Wilson and the small squad of eight followed in behind her.

It was a total of ten, ten lives entering into the school. Somewhere, deep in the bowels of the school, the Host wondered how many contestants would leave here tonight.

As the doors were opened, the waves from the Host’s sound would be more present, finding it easy to travel down the long empty halls, little to block the progression of the sound. An earie darkness hung in the hall, only somewhat broken by the lights of the officers who shined their lights this way and that, trying to find any source of the sound. The detective looked to Rai, waiting to see what this so called demon hunter would do. Would she go charging in at a random direction? Would she search out the demon slowly, but methodically? So far, however, there would be nothing waiting for them, just the present tone of that static, traveling down the halls.

The entrance hall would diverge into a few different directions. Straight ahead was hall, lined with lockers, some open, some closed, and the doors to classrooms, all of which hung open (sound always traveled better that way), then at the far end, a good sixty or so feet down, there would be a T-split, where even more classes would line that hall. To the group’s left there would be a small hallway, this one leading the offices and at the end a bend which would later lead into the hall that held the cafeteria. Finally, to the right there would a pair of doors which lead to another hall, though lined with less classes, rather at the end there would be the auditorium on one side and the large gym on the other (I can draw a quick sketch if needed).

The sound, as it was, echoed through the halls, making it hard to pinpoint its exact source, though the effects would slowly sink in to the officers, slowly touch down into their heads (Exposure after 1 to 3 minutes: victims experience mild nausea and very slight light headedness.). Soon, though, a voice would echo from the halls and surround them, mock them. It came across as a jumble of different radio personalities, each letting out a single word before switching to another, though coming together to form a disjointed sentence. “Ten. Contestants. Enter. Fear. In. Their. Eyes. My. Noise. In. Their. Hearts. Who. Will. Perish? Who. Will. Survive?” Then voices broke away into a disjointed song, something old, showy, as if it was an old broadcast before an entertainment talk show began on a radio.

Rai’s pace slows as she ensures her human allies can all keep up with her. She appreciated Willson, Commanders in Dis were not nearly as kind. She half expected to be referred to as ‘girl’. The reaver understood that he may wish to pull his men if it got too hairy, she was just impressed humans were willing to breach with her at all.

She takes slow, smooth steps once in, making sure that no corner was left unexamined. She would occasionally look up to the ceiling to make sure nothing was crawling along it. Demon nests could make a reaver paranoid real fast if they didn’t keep their head screwed on right. She did have to admit, the insistent noise was making it harder to think.

The reaver looks to the ground to try and determine which direction got the most foot traffic. Coming to realize either direction would likely be equally as rough. The looks back to the men behind her realizing that going for a more open area would make it harder for her to cover for them. She chose to go to the left, she thought they'd be better able to defend from the front down that hallway, but the cafeteria seemed like a good place to fight should she need to.

Rai’s eyes lift at the introduction of words, her scythes raise again to prepare for a fight if she must. “He’s toying with us.” Rai snorts at the stink of demon magic. Your men still alright to fight? She asks in a low tone. The noise clattering in her head was beginning to get annoying to her, she couldn't imagine what it'd be doing to a human at this point. They'd have to clear it fast.

In the immediate area, there would be no sign of whatever this demon was. No trace through the walls or in the surrounding halls. The only real sign of his current or nearby presence was that of the sound of static, echoing, though perhaps a bit further off, though with the halls and the current location of the group, it’d be hard to tell where. To some degree, it sounded like it could be coming from a few different points, making it even harder to tell the direction in which the Host was hiding.

The halls, although dark, would hold signs of…previous encounters. A few of the lockers appeared to have had something carved through them, like claws made of knives. At point further down there was a lone gun, a strange and abnormal sight for a school to have. To the right and towards that hall, there would be a lone shoe laying in the middle of the floor as well as a flashlight that flickered still, but it’d be impossible to say how long it had been on and laying there. To the left…well, the left would relatively empty and free of signs of conflict. All in all, the Host was well hidden.

Detective Wilson gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “We just got in here, don’t count us out yet.” He said this, and although he showed no real signs of strain, a few of the other cops had sweat dripping down their forehead, either through stress or through the effects of the sound. For now, they seemed to be good to go. “I can have my boys split up, search for him, but that does put us at a disadvantage, depending on who finds the bastard first. Sticking together, though, means more time exposed to this potentially.” He looked to Rai, “I don’t like asking, but I don’t mind a professional second opinion.”

Rai couldn’t help but crack a warm smile at the fact the humans didn’t seem too keen on running. She fully expected to have been alone by now. Humans here were tougher than home it would seem.

She couldn’t help but notice a few of the objects lying about, and the gouges in the lockers. “Splitting up could mean getting picked off one at a time and facing a demon with fewer men. This is the demon’s home, and it knows the place better than we do. However, the longer this takes, it could mean having no men left when we do find the inhabitants.” Rai toes the gun slightly out of the way of the hallway as she creeps along, realizing that this could be one of many many traps. She turns to the men behind her, trying to get a read on how they were feeling.

“If you wish to split, you may. Watch ceilings closely, and if something appears to be placed in a manner to grab your attention, don’t walk into that ambush.” Rai suggests, eyes glimmering their own light in the darkness. “You’re all much braver than any men I’ve met.”

The reaver nods to the detective as if to say he was free to give whatever orders he pleased. She did, perk at the flashlight. Her eyesight couldn’t tell it was flashing, but she did recognize it as a human artifact. Rai was immediately on guard. That looked pretty suspicious to her. “Those who are sticking with me, We need to do a fast yet efficient sweep. Things like that-” She nods toward the blinking flash light. “Should be noted as possible traps.” She resumes her very slow, yet methodical search, eyes darting to the ceiling every so often and checking each room she passed as she approached the end of the hallway.

While they would seem resilient, strong in their seeming determination to stay, most of the officers did feel at least some sense of dread. There were certainly the early effects of the Noise affecting them and how long they would really last, even with those earplugs it was hard to say. They would have to solider of regardless, they had a job to and with Wilson there they felt strangely more sure of themselves.

The officers listened as best they could to the Detective and to the strange ally, though some struggled due to the earplugs, but for the most part they got the drift of it. There was certainly a welling of pride as they were complimented by this otherworldly being and it did a number to bolster the morale they had lost from entering. Detective Wilson, however, did not show any change of that stern look of his. He simply raised his hand and made a few gestures, pointing to a few, and slowly, in groups of three to four, the cops began to split up, keeping in mind any traps.

The detective and one other officer, a larger built man who was tall and a slight gut, followed along with the reaver as she started down the hall, watching her back as she checked rooms and tested for traps. There would be none, though, at least in this first part. Just that continued Noise that would wear them down eventually, and although he wouldn't show it, Wilson did start to feel slight dizziness start to overtake him. He did well at keeping it under wraps, not even showing the slightest bit of a stagger.

As they reached the end of the hall, there would be a tension, at least felt by the two that had followed the Reaver. Something surely had to happen. Something would emerge or would-

There would be a sudden scrapping noise as something was dragged across the floor in the next room, it sounded almost like a desk being pushed by something...it was hard to tell what, but it made the officers raise their guns and lights to the door to left. Wilson shot Rai a look and motioned for her to take a point, moving to the side of the door himself while the other officer took the other side. As they took the position, Wilson would eye Rai, waiting for her to make the first move, ready to move in when she was. Upon entry, though, if entered...there would only be...an empty classroom.

Rai didn’t much like the idea of these men getting picked off like flies away from her in a labyrinth, however there weren’t many better options. The way she saw it, the longer they stayed the worse this feeling would get for them. Even she was beginning to feel like there were cat’s claws scraping along the inside of her skull, a violin’s bow strumming across her eardrums and even rattling her eyes in their sockets.

She shakes it off with a visible twitch of her slightly elongated elf-like ears before taking a deep breath, letting out a foggless exhale every bit as unnecessary as the inhale. Rai continues, scythes up and ears constantly twitching to attempt to hear the others. Her eyes watched them as their souls passed behind walls and grew dimmer with each wall between them until she couldn’t see the other men anymore. She only had to hope they were alright.

A simple memory passed through her mind from the last nest sweep she had to do with other reavers. It was a nest of gargoyles that had raised a town and claimed a local church as home, laying eggs and everything. They were keeping the local children alive to use a bait and lure in some gung-ho reaver who couldn’t reason. She remembers watching a newly fledged reaver take the bait right off the bat, only to get his head ripped clean off his shoulders by a poised bat-like abomination. She couldn’t let herself and up like him.

Just in a few seconds her attention perks to a dragging sound… no human soul in the next room from what she could see through the wall, her scythes raise up, left point dipping down as she takes point, motioning to Wilson and their comrade to keep watch behind them and in the hall in front of them.

Rather than a violent break and enter, Rai simply pushes open the door in a quiet and collective manner, keeping her scythes up for a counterstike but finding nothing. An empty room. “This screams trap” She whispers under her breath, glancing through all adjacent walls looking for unfamiliar souls or incoming demons. Empty.

Not only were they dealing with a demon… they were dealing with a smart demon.

Rai signals to back out, assuming the hallways were safe since she had asked both men to keep any eye out for danger behind them. She was refusing to be baited fully into a room that easily.

By all means, was this an obvious trap. Detective Wilson knew that. He also knew, however, this was the only way they would go forward and find whatever was doing this. Traps weren't always meant to kill, and even if it was the beast would have to come and claim its prize from the trap. Though as Rai signaled them, telling them to back off he gave a firm shake of his head. He once more signaled to the hero, a very simple and clear signal. Him and her were going in, and the other would stay back and watch their flank. It wasn't the best plan, but he wasn't going to be left in the dark.

As he signaled this, from their position a new sound would be made. A loud clatter, metal hitting stone, as something was dropped from the ceiling to the ground. If it was inspected it'd be clear that something in there had just dropped one of the metal chairs in there. Though, as it stood…the frequency, that terrible noise, sounded a bit louder from this side of the school which made his gut churn. It also told him that whatever was making it was nearby. They were on the right track and he’d be damned to turn around now.

However, from here, he’d wait for the hero to make her move. He knew what he was capable of and what a hero was capable of. Despite his knowledge and skill, he would not be able to compete with the damage that someone like her could do. So he waited for her to breech, though if she did, if she followed the orders and signals, he would be right behind her, entering into that empty room where the sound seemed to come from.

Rai does follow Wilson’s signals, just as she is about to accompany him into the room another clattering noise catches her attention. It had to be leading them to a kill floor with these. However, Wilson was clear in his instructions, she’d have to breach the door.

Relaxing her shoulders a bit, Rai stands straight, choosing to clear her mind before going back to her previous, guarded stance. She moves to further cover Wilson and his companion in order to defend a wider area. They definitely were closer to the source of the noise, and if her suspicions were correct, it wanted them to come to it.

She once again chooses her gentle method of entry. A scythe, slicing up between the crack in the double door and getting them back up to guard while she toes the door open. Blades gleamed a ghostly green in the dark, she breathlessly awaits whatever horrors they’d just walked into.

The room, as they entered, appeared to just be a normal classroom. Whiteboard, desks, teacher’s desk, a backdoor into a closet, and windows with the shades closed. Then, of course, there was the chair that had fallen from the ceiling and an open pane in the ceiling that led into…darkness. Even as they entered and as Wilson shone his light up into the pane, it looked dark. There was wipes and wires which casted shadows from the light that shone upon them, making it hard to make out anything discernible.

Wilson looked over to Rai, giving her a nod and holding his light still. “What do you think?” He asked in that raspy, deep tone, but it was quieter now. For a moment, it looked as if he was going to stagger or fall, but he held himself still. The noise was still echoing through the halls, the static making it hard to focus and keep upright.

As he came out of that stagger and once more firmed his grip on his flashlight, he looked up and stared into the pipes. He wondered how to proceed. He didn’t like the idea of going up there himself and there surely wouldn’t be enough room for him either, but…it had to be checked out. They couldn’t leave any stone unturned, but…he didn’t even want to send a meta up there to check it out. This thing they were against was dangerous and to put someone up there surely would’ve meant doom. So, he turned his head back to Rai, referring to her judgement.

It was the next moment, though, he found himself turning once more and pointing a gun towards the door. He could’ve sworn that he had heard something from there. In a whisper, he started, “Private? You there? Report.” He commanded in that quiet tone.

And there was no reply, no sound, just that static in the air.

If Rai had to be honest she was getting mental whiplash from the suspense. Just when she thought breaching one door would lead her to a confrontation, there was no one to be found. It was exhausting. Part of her wanted to get the ambush over with already, however that could spell disaster for her human companions. She was certain she’d be alright if she got hit by surprise, however she was taking notice her companions' strength was beginning to wane. Their souls flickered with static like a broken screen. She was on borrowed time in ending with all these people alive. I think I need to carve out an advantage for us or else we'll be led into the abyss and swallowed by it. Simply following the noises like lemmings wasn't working.

Her attention was turned to the ceiling pipes, eyes scanning for either souls or demons. Only then did she catch the glittering shine of human blood seeping down the walls in the dark. “There’s blood. It’s in the ceiling.” Her eyes narrow as she turns to the other officer. “I need a spare light so you can follow along. I’m going up. If you see anything at all, whistle for me or shoot at it.”

Luckily the other officer had an extra small light, which she turned on. It flickers against her faintly demonic pressure, but stays lit as she fastens it to her belt before tossing her scythe up into the rafters and warping right up to it. Landing on her boots like a cat, the feeling had her skin prickling and a low reptilian snarl emanating from her throat. There was blood everywhere and the smell assaulted her nostrils, but she did finally see her target.

That burning feeling of hate and fury burned itself into the back of her crackling mind, teeth gritting with such force they almost threatened to chip. “non adprehendet vos?” Her language falls back into the chopping dialect of the reavers in her fury, but no doubt it was a threatening taunt. She raises her scythes, moving to dash right into it.

She had only one goal, to force this creature to fight her directly.

The ceiling above would be cramped, to say the least. There was more space up there than one may have assumed for a school, but still, one could barely stand and would have to be slightly hunched. Further, the only stable ground up there was the piping that lined the ceiling, though even they would creak under the weight of the hunter. It was obvious that ceiling wasn’t made for standing, let alone fighting, but it would suffice for the time being.

Blood was everywhere, and the beast or demon that made the mess didn’t seem to have any regard in being clean about it. Among the blood and gore there would be a single hand with a gun still clutched in its fingers, pointing further down the way. At first, there would be nothing at all. Just the darkness, only permeated by the light of the flashlight, the blood that stained every bit wall around the hunter, and dust, so much dust. Then, almost seeming to come from one of the larger pipes there would be a hand, a long thin and sleaved hand stretching up and reaching for another pipe. It would pull itself up, all in one quick motion, the creature seeming to have fit itself in that impossibly narrow place, and then revealed itself to Rai. A sickening grin that showed a row of jagged teeth grew on the now revealed creature.

“Good evening, ma’am!” It said it boisterous tone, yet its voice sounded like there was radio static distorting it, “Are you in the market for contests, my dear?” It plopped itself down on the pipe, bending slightly so his head wouldn’t brush against the top. He sat a good fifteen feet down the way from her, its head crooked and that grin persisting. “Oh, but where are my manners? Such a laugh! The name is the H̸̡̢̡̛̖͉̹̰̣̼̜̻̝̦̬̖͉̬̱̞͕͔͚͎̟̙̮̫͕̦̥̠͍̃̇̓͑̿́͋͊̇̃̐͌͛̿͐̿̋͜ơ̸̢̧̢̪̱̥̞̰̙͎̱̬̹̟͕̮͖͈̪̰͑͒̾̂̐̒͌̀͛͂͋̈̌͒̕͜s̴̭̦͚̺̪͈̬̜̗͓̲͓̣͍͙̻̘̉͊̍̾̐̀͗̾̇̈́̅̀͂̂ͅͅt̵̛̲͖͖̩͙͓͓̗̩̱̹̀͛͝! And it is a pleasure to meet you!” Even as it said its name, that sound he was emitting seemed to intensify for a moment, “Please, there is no need for senseless violence, and besides, I’ve already eaten.”