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jack_babalonThey arrive at the lodge. Car doors slam. Footsteps in gravel. The mist has turned to fog and a cold comes with it not natural to an April in Terminus. Steel shutter rattles open as it slides up. The smell hits them first. Rotten meat and burnt hair. Nicky doubles over on the wharehouse landing and starts dry heaving. Katherine closes her eyes, and breathes in deep fighting back the gag reflex, she counts slowly holding her breath, focusing on a bright red triangle in front of her minds eye, letting it grow and glow slowly. She exhales and the sickness washes over her, past her and around her. She opens her eyes and finds them tearing up from the stink.
That's when it hits her. There's something else in the air, something that doesn't smell right. She sniffs and...
She's walking home from school. Sad and perfect lost little day. Empty streets and no sun in the sky. Streetlights flickering. One of those days when you think your whole lifes been a dream or that your the last person on Earth and no ones around to prove your wrong. She stops to tie her shoe and sees it in the gutter off the side of the road. It should be dead but it's not. A thick orange tabby, gurgling and purring at the same time. It's been hit and it's lower legs & spine are twisted at the wrong angle, she looks into it's eyes and...
She's back and Katherine fights down the need to vomit. This isn't her memory at all, this happened to someone else a long time ago. Suddenly she can hear that Nicky's not dry heaving anymore, now she's on her knees sobbing. Katherine draws her pistol and turns towards the open door.
"Nicky listen to me. Remember your training girl."
"Kathy where are you?" she says in a whimper.
"I'm right here. I'm not going to leave you but I need you to try and focus on the sound of my voice OK?"
Nothing. The mist swallows Nicky in a gust.
"Ok?" she repeats a little firmer,letting her eyes adjust to the darkness in the doorway before her.
"Y-y-yeah ok."
"Good girl. Now listen. Something very bad has happened in there. Something thats left more than just..."
Nicky starts retching again.
"C'mon girl stick with me.."
"MmmmmKay." She sounds like she's going to hyperventilate.
"Breathe slowly. There's a white light. Okay? Warm and soft, gently flowing in and out of your breaths, flowing deep into your muscles now, can you see it?"
Nicky coughs and sniffles. She gets up and stumbles in the fog. Katherine catches her and she straightens out.
"Alright. There you go."
"I..I ..what happened?"
"Like I was saying, certain kinds of trauma can produce a phenomena where memories seperate from a personality. These disembodied memories float around waiting to reattach to a compatible nervous system. Some OP's call 'em 'Memory lanes' some people mistakenly call 'em ghosts. It can be unsettling the first few times. You never really get used to it, but in time you'll learn to let it pass over you."
"Riiight." Nicky says lighting up a Camel with still trembling fingers.
"So this is it. The Lodge whatsitcalled?"
"Yep. Lodge Geburah. OTO wannabes with hints of chaos magick to spice it up a bit. Least that's what the intel says. You smell that?"
"Burnt rubber smell...?"
"Yeah. Bad Magick."
"Black Magick?"
"Noooo... BAD... as in basic rookie fuck-up"
"What's that?"
"Don't call up anything you can't put back down. That's the smell- back in the old days they called it 'brimstone', but in actuality it's residual Orgone energy. Definetly some kind of invocation."
"Pfff. Typical male magick huh? All theater and poorly mumbled Latin."
"Something like that. A breach in the circle or a forgotten name and.." Katherine snaps her fingers ".. it all goes to hell. Or hell goes to you. Depending on the nature of the work."
"So whatcha thinking?"
"I'm thinking that we're not gonna get any answers standing out here like a couple of twats. Draw your pistol and stay behind me. We're going in."
That's when it hits her. There's something else in the air, something that doesn't smell right. She sniffs and...
She's walking home from school. Sad and perfect lost little day. Empty streets and no sun in the sky. Streetlights flickering. One of those days when you think your whole lifes been a dream or that your the last person on Earth and no ones around to prove your wrong. She stops to tie her shoe and sees it in the gutter off the side of the road. It should be dead but it's not. A thick orange tabby, gurgling and purring at the same time. It's been hit and it's lower legs & spine are twisted at the wrong angle, she looks into it's eyes and...
She's back and Katherine fights down the need to vomit. This isn't her memory at all, this happened to someone else a long time ago. Suddenly she can hear that Nicky's not dry heaving anymore, now she's on her knees sobbing. Katherine draws her pistol and turns towards the open door.
"Nicky listen to me. Remember your training girl."
"Kathy where are you?" she says in a whimper.
"I'm right here. I'm not going to leave you but I need you to try and focus on the sound of my voice OK?"
Nothing. The mist swallows Nicky in a gust.
"Ok?" she repeats a little firmer,letting her eyes adjust to the darkness in the doorway before her.
"Y-y-yeah ok."
"Good girl. Now listen. Something very bad has happened in there. Something thats left more than just..."
Nicky starts retching again.
"C'mon girl stick with me.."
"MmmmmKay." She sounds like she's going to hyperventilate.
"Breathe slowly. There's a white light. Okay? Warm and soft, gently flowing in and out of your breaths, flowing deep into your muscles now, can you see it?"
Nicky coughs and sniffles. She gets up and stumbles in the fog. Katherine catches her and she straightens out.
"Alright. There you go."
"I..I ..what happened?"
"Like I was saying, certain kinds of trauma can produce a phenomena where memories seperate from a personality. These disembodied memories float around waiting to reattach to a compatible nervous system. Some OP's call 'em 'Memory lanes' some people mistakenly call 'em ghosts. It can be unsettling the first few times. You never really get used to it, but in time you'll learn to let it pass over you."
"Riiight." Nicky says lighting up a Camel with still trembling fingers.
"So this is it. The Lodge whatsitcalled?"
"Yep. Lodge Geburah. OTO wannabes with hints of chaos magick to spice it up a bit. Least that's what the intel says. You smell that?"
"Burnt rubber smell...?"
"Yeah. Bad Magick."
"Black Magick?"
"Noooo... BAD... as in basic rookie fuck-up"
"What's that?"
"Don't call up anything you can't put back down. That's the smell- back in the old days they called it 'brimstone', but in actuality it's residual Orgone energy. Definetly some kind of invocation."
"Pfff. Typical male magick huh? All theater and poorly mumbled Latin."
"Something like that. A breach in the circle or a forgotten name and.." Katherine snaps her fingers ".. it all goes to hell. Or hell goes to you. Depending on the nature of the work."
"So whatcha thinking?"
"I'm thinking that we're not gonna get any answers standing out here like a couple of twats. Draw your pistol and stay behind me. We're going in."