#gargoyles are said to keep away evil spirits and I can’t think of anything more evil spirited than those that create hostile architecture | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

marveldc-imagines-hub · 5 years

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Imagine Going Trick-or-Treating With Sid and Your Son:

@bitweird1 said: “Maybe one where (The reader isn't one of the "Monsters") It's in the future and Sid is playing around with his and the reader's little kid with his super speed and it's super fluffy and cute?❤”

A/N: This is an old-ish request but it’s spoopy season now, I haven’t written creatively since this semester has started, and the last season of Gotham is officially on Netflix; I haven’t finished it yet, so I don’t know exactly what happens at the end, but “one of Gotham’s darkest times” used to mean the beginning of the blackout but now means the return of Jeremiah after the chemicals accident, so this takes place a few years after the show ends. Also, yes, I turned Gotham into a festive Halloween town; let me have this.

[Y/S/N] = your son’s name

Happy Spoops!

~~~

“Ah, Halloween,” Sid murmured, a small smile gracing his pale features, “The one time Gotham seems to be at peace. The place must have been made for it.”

“Pretty sure it’s the other way around,” you replied teasingly, “Halloween was made for Gotham. That stuff about Halloween existing before it was founded? Conspiracy. Gotham was never founded, it just appeared one day in olden times and with it the spirit of Halloween. And the spirit of weirdos in flashy attire who like to rob people.”

Sid snickered before briefly getting distracted by a large, lit up witch balloon that was posted outside of a high-class suit shop.

Gotham was often considered the city of darkness, of pollution and corruption; on Halloween, however, it was--unknowingly, to the outside world--the city of life and laughter (for once, not the bad or chemically-induced kind). On a regular day, it already looked like someplace out of a gothic Halloween film, with its tall, dark buildings, its year-around fall-like weather, its abundance of gargoyles, and its high population of crazies sporting fashion that fit into the categories of both classy and absurd. When Halloween came around, that aesthetic was cranked up from eleven to thirteen; the gargoyles were polished, string lights of various Halloween icons hung from every awning and window sill, cobwebs were draped across light posts, and it appeared had all crime and evil in the city had stopped--even though even the most clueless person in Gotham was aware that was not so. Regardless, it was a rare time where Oswald Copplepot, the notorious Penguin, would genuinely smile at children--he even kept candy at his clubs for trick-or-treaters--and you were sure that at one point you saw The Riddler, shiny green suit and all, helping a smaller-than-average child sneak more than one candy from a public ‘Grab one!’ candy bowl that was just a little too tall for them.

You and Sid were walking hand in hand through the crowded streets of the city, blocked off by the GCPD to allow people to roam without worrying about traffic. The two of you gently glided through a sea of costumed children and adults alike, scurrying like rats to their endless destinations of the night. You yourselves had a mission, and it took the form of a little boy trotting ahead a yard in front of you, in a vampire costume that was much too expensive but absolutely worth it. He was a carbon copy of your partner in features, down to the slightly larger than average ears and a jawline noticeable even through still-present baby fat, with your eyes and jaw-length hair a couple shades lighter than your own, currently slicked back in classic Dracula fashion. He was a few years old, born during one of Gotham’s darkest times but raised well and loved fiercely. Love was a trait well passed on to him, too; it showed in the copy of his father’s impish smile and the gentle kindness when he helped another child, dressed as a fairy, pick up their candy after tripping.

Unfortunately, for a speedster, your son was clumsy. He’d started running soon after he’d started walking, which, if Sid wasn’t a speedster himself, would result in far too many random and bizarre injuries for your liking. Still, over the course of raising a meta-child, you’ve gathered a special form of anxiety every time your child tripped or lunged or made any sort of jerky movement; you could never tell whether it was going to be a small knee scrape or you child disappearing and reappearing on the other side of town with a twisted ankle and a bloody nose in a matter of seconds.

Now was one of those times.

Not long after the fairy child had gone on their way and the three of you started walking again, [Y/S/N] himself tripped; apparently, Gotham needed to touch up the cracks and potholes in its roads. When your son got spooked, his instincts, and thus powers, kicked in and this was no exception. One minute he was stumbling ahead in front of you, the next he was gone and no one but you and Sid noticed anything more than a breeze.

As the world for [Y/S/N] sped up, your world slowed down; you didn’t have superpowers running through your veins, just the fear of not knowing where your child would end up or if he would be able to stop himself without hurting himself. You were suddenly far too aware of your own spiking heartbeat and the clamminess of your hands, and you were so distracted by the spot where your son had been that you didn’t notice Sid’s hand was no longer in yours.

Only when you got a text did you notice that not one, but both of your boys had disappeared.

Sid: He’s alright. Scraped up hands and knees, and missing a shoe, but he’s alright. Ended up in the garbages behind Gotham Bar. Almost scared Bullock to death, but now we have his entire candy stash as reward for ‘one good prank.’

Then another ping.

Sid: Grab his bag, I think it’s time we head home.

Relieved but still overwhelmed by parental worry, your hands shook as you picked up [Y/S/N]’s discarded bag of candy and began quickly making your way through the crowd.

At home--a reasonably sized cabin-style house in the forested country outside of Gotham--you leaned against the bathroom door frame as you watched Sid take care of his and your son. [Y/S/N] sat on the closed toilet seat, wrapped in a hooded towel with his hair damp from the bath he’d finished a few minutes earlier but his fingers sticky from the partially melted candy bar he was currently eating, while Sid knelt in front of him. Having already patched up [Y/S/N]’s hands with brightly colored bandages, and bandages on the bridges of both their noses in speedster solidarity, Sid was working on double-checking [Y/S/N]’s knees for any stubborn flecks of dirt or debri that had refused to be scrubbed away in the bath. Seemingly satisfied, your partner’s concentrated scowl turned into a pleased smile, and he added a couple more bright bandages to your son’s collection. At the same time, [Y/S/N] finished his candy bar and Sid took an extra moment to wipe the excess chocolate from his fingers.

“Now,” he said, rising to his feet and smoothing the gathered wrinkles out of his sweater, “if you are capable of standing--”

[Y/S/N] interrupted by half-jumping and half-falling off the toilet seat and landing in a superhero pose, hands on his hips and chest puffed out. “Heroes are always capable of getting back up after a fight!”

Sid shot an exasperated look your way, your reply being a snicker, before continuing “--and are willing to walk safely to your room to get dressed, we can put something on the television and eat some of our hard-earned winnings.”

[Y/S/N] grinned and straightened his towel like a cape before trotting to the doorway where you stood. He briefly stopped, seeming to think about something, before he hugged you and nuzzled his face into your stomach. “Sorry for scaring you.”

You and Sid shared a soft smile, then you ruffled the boy’s hair. “No problem, kiddo, you’ll get the hang of it soon. Besides, Halloween’s about spooks, isn’t it?”

[Y/S/N] looked up at you with large eyes that matched your own and grinned again. He detached himself from you--you almost didn’t want to let him go--and you moved to let him pass, watching him as he began trotting down the hall to his room.

Then a different pair arms wrapped around your waist from behind, and you leaned back to rest your head on Sid’s shoulder. He nestled his own into your hair.

“We did a good thing,” he mumbled, and you shivered slightly at the feeling of his warm breath.

“We did a great thing,” you replied, a goofy grin appearing on your face. You pointed down the hall, where [Y/S/N] paused to pull another candy from the hood of his towel--when did he hide those there?--before carrying on his way. “That thing? Great. A good thing right there.”

Sid snorted. “Dork.”

It was silent for a moment, two parents relishing in each other’s embrace and the idea of watching TV in a warm house with their child rather than running around outside until the late hours of the night. It was a warm and soft and safe little space the three of you inhabited together-- until the sound of your child’s footsteps began speeding up. Then they kept speeding up until you no longer heard them; instead you heard and felt a quick gust of wind, accompanied by a muffled crash--then an also muffled “I’m okay!”--coming from [Y/S/N]’s room at the end of the room. Normally such a sound would be concerning, but [Y/S/N] liked stuffed animals over any other toy and you and Sid had learned early on to make accommodations for your speedster son. While your heart still pounded, you were overall a lot less worried when it came to [Y/S/N] speeding around inside the house.

“Well that lasted a whole of a minute,” Sid said with a chuckle, releasing you from his embrace and starting down the hall; you whined at his leaving before smiling and trailing after him.

“Can’t keep a hero down, I suppose.”

“Yeah, what is it about that?” Sid questioned. “If he’s a superhero, why did he choose Dracula? Why not Batman or something?”

“Because Batman is just a fursona, and also doesn’t have super speed,” you answered, then cackled at Sid’s confused look forming over the word ‘fursona.’ “It would have been really cool if he had dressed up as Batman, though, and then Batman saved him before he scared Harvey to death or something. Talk about meeting your heroes.”

Sid’s confused look deepened, then turned into one of disbelief. “You don’t believe that Batman is real.”

It was your turn to return the look of disbelief. “Of course he is?”

“He’s so obviously a myth created by the GCPD to keep criminals in check. And failing miserably, might I add.”

“Obviously?” You were sure your eyes were bulging out of your head now. “You can be experimented on by a crazy doctor who literally brought people back to life, but Batman’s a myth?”

“Who would call themselves Batman willingly?”

“I mean, fair,” you paused, “but Penguin’s a genuine person.”

“He didn’t call himself that willingly, though” Sid pointed out matter-of-factly. “He embraced the insult and made it his own. Plus, we’ve actually seen the Penguin.”

“People have seen Batman too!”

“Rumors and shadows.”

You floundered for an argument, but the end result was your mouth opening and closing with no words coming out.

Sid grinned, and you scowled. “You’re joking right now, aren’t you?”

“No, he’s definitely not real,” Sid chirped, “You’re just cute, believing your ghost stories.”

“He’s so totally real! And who says ghosts aren’t too?”

This argument continued until the two of you reached [Y/S/N]’s room, where your son was already back on his feet and changing into a bat onesie. Naturally, he sided with you, and soon the two of you were able to force Sid to accept defeat.

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skeletonpunching · 7 years

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Vatican Miracle Examiner book 6 recap - Laplace’s Demon

I recently read the sixth Vatican Miracle Examiner novel, Laplace's Demon, and it was a wild ride, even by VME standards. I wrote up a (rather messy) summary/recap, because I wanted to share how gloriously bizarre it was.

A lot happens in this novel, both in terms of the standalone plot and things that affect the overarching storyline of the series. Below the cut are many spoilers for things not covered in the anime. Also some of my personal reactions to said things. And translations of scenes that I couldn’t bear to summarise.

As is usual with VME plots, the actual case they’re investigating is rather confusing and riddled with weird twists; I feel like I’d have to do a reread to properly understand and explain what actually happened, so I don’t go into that much detail about it. I mostly focus on the character moments instead, because those were a lot of fun. Name spellings are my best guess.

The publisher’s official summary for this novel:

Volume 6: Laplace's Demon

A young congressman, who is candidate for the next president of the United States, is struck by a dazzling light while in church and dies mysteriously. Rumours circulate that the congressman was possessed by a spirit of the dead; the government, viewing this as a serious matter, requests the Vatican to investigate. Hiraga and Roberto, together with their old acquaintance FBI agent Bill Suskins, infiltrate a haunted house that is said to contain evil spirits. It turns out that this is a place where prominent financiers hold exclusive seances, and further shocking events occur!

This does not really indicate just how weird the novel gets.

The book opens with Edmond Marini - the Republican Senator of Colorado, and a presidential candidate - giving a speech in a church. An ominous grey cloud appears overhead, there’s a flash of dazzling white light, and when the light fades, the senator is found dead.

Our old friend, FBI agent Bill Suskins, wakes up at home with a hangover. He realises that he’s naked, and that he can hear a woman humming and the shower running. He panics, because he’s single and lives alone and can’t remember what happened the previous night. He eventually recalls that he was out at a sports bar, and the Denver Broncos won, and he was celebrating with a woman he met, who was a fellow Broncos fan. They drank a lot at the bar, and then went back to his place to drink more scotch. He remembers that this woman’s name was Catherine, but has no real impression of what she looked like other than that she had brown hair and was pretty. He decides that if he slept with her, he has to propose marriage, as a good Catholic boy. (He’s also distressed that he doesn’t remember losing his virginity.)

When Catherine gets out of the shower, he proposes marriage, with great lines like “I'm a single man with no history of divorce. I work as a public servant and have a stable income, so I think I'm not too bad as a spouse…” She laughs at him, and eventually tells him that he just took off all his clothes, asked her if she could sleep on the couch, and went to his own bed. Bill apologises for not having taken the couch himself. She laughs at him more and leaves.

Bill then gets notified of Senator Marini’s death and is put on the case. A few days before the senator died, he attended a seance at a haunted house in the Rocky Mountains; this house was apparently built by a former US president for summoning useful spirits. Bill is assigned to investigate this, and is told that he’ll be working with priests from the Vatican.

Over in the Vatican, Saul tells Roberto and Hiraga about their new mission to investigate the haunted house. Bill’s reaction to hearing about the haunted house was basically “first I’ve heard of this”, and Saul mentioned “I’m not familiar with the details” when he brought it up, but the instant Roberto hears about the case, he knows the exact house being referred to. (Of course.) Apparently it was built by a weapons manufacturer, the Raytheon Company, presumably commissioned by the US president.

Roberto invites Hiraga home for dinner. The novel spends over 2 pages describing the fine dinner he cooks, and half a page talking about how Roberto has adjusted his cooking to suit Hiraga’s palate, by using less olive oil and less fatty meat, and incorporating more ingredients like tofu. (I appreciate this important information.) Then there are over 10 pages of exposition on history and science, during which Roberto points out twice that Hiraga has gotten so distracted he stopped eating. Hiraga is apologetic.

Bill gets an autopsy report from Dr. Maggie Walker, an eccentric genius scientist working at Rising Bell Laboratories. Apparently she was a radical socialist in her schooldays. Her personal life is a mystery; there are rumours that she’s a lesbian, and there are rumours that she hates people.

(picture by the novel’s official illustrator)

This is her first interaction with Bill:

"It's been a while, Dr. Walker."

"28 days, 3 hours, and 40 minutes, Agent Suskins. Your face has a high degree of symmetry, which fortunately makes it easy to remember. Among animals, females observe the symmetry in male features to judge that they carry high-quality genes, and have a statistical tendency to be attracted to them."

"Do you mean that as a compliment... Thank you."

Dr. Walker tells Bill that there were holes in the palms of the dead senator’s hands. Bill compares this to Christ’s stigmata, and Dr. Walker says "You're the type to worry about omens and put stock in divination, aren't you? Things like that are only drugs, clouding people's eyes and causing errors of judgement." Bill feels called-out, because he does indeed check the newspaper column every day to find out his lucky colour, and chooses his socks accordingly; he’s not the only one to do it in this dangerous line of work, okay. :(

Roberto and Hiraga arrive in the USA. Roberto is excited by the sight of the gargoyles at the Denver airport. Bill is all dressed up in a nice suit when he meets them; Roberto is mildly surprised and comments on the change in Bill’s style of clothing. Bill gets embarrassed and explains that it’s just that he’s going undercover for this - he’s posing as Tom Barry, a high-ranking official from the Department of Justice.

They go to the haunted house, which has spiders on the wallpaper and is generally spooky, and is really labyrinthine to keep guests from navigating it on their own. Our heroes seem pretty terrible at being undercover - they discuss the investigation in a crowded room, and people turn to look suspiciously at them multiple times. Hiraga stares intently at a mirror, and Roberto worries because he feels like Hiraga is being drawn into the mirror by a magical power. Roberto maybe needs to chill a little, but he doesn’t get the chance to, because then the seance starts.

The masked person leading the seance begins chanting, and Roberto is startled, because he recognises it as an ancient incantation that he thought was only recorded in the Vatican’s library.

Hiraga, meanwhile, is really excited at the prospect of seeing spirits summoned. But he’s also wondering why all the lights are on for a seance, and thinks "Aren't we going to hold hands?" (He speaks my mind.) Then he hears voices - first it’s the voice of his late grandmother singing to him in Japanese, and then it’s a male voice telling him to go to a specific doctor in Colorado if he wants Ryouta to get better. Hmm.

“Roberto, did you hear anything?”

“Yes, I did. I heard many voices talking. What surprised me was that mixed among them, I could hear voices speaking in ancient Greek and Aramaic. Honestly, I’m a bit confused.”

Roberto whispered this; his face was slightly pale. Perhaps he had heard something unpleasant.

And then, his gaze dark, Roberto turned towards the wall as though something was visible there.

“Evildoer, begone.”

Hiraga heard Roberto mutter in Latin, in a low voice.

Then a humanoid spirit appears, and Hiraga starts hypothesising about how it could be a holographic projection. The spirit knocks over candles, and passes by Hiraga and tells him “Hurry, do what you must”. Hiraga concludes that it can’t just be an image. He reacts by nervously trying to drink the tea in front of him, but it’s cold (and possibly frozen). This does not help with his distress. The seance ends, and our heroes discuss it.

“I heard the voice of my late grandmother, and a Japanese song that she liked to sing to me. And then, I heard advice concerning my relative’s illness.”

When Hiraga said this, Roberto’s brow twitched.

“What is it?”

“Ah, no… At the start, I heard mingled voices speaking in several languages, and then it was my late relative’s… that is, I heard my late father’s voice. He gave me a message that only I would understand. And I saw him with my own eyes.”

Roberto replied in a deliberately cheerful voice.

But from the pallor of his face, it was easy to guess that this had been a dreadful experience for him. His hand, resting on the table, clenched tightly, the knuckles whitening.

Hiraga wanted to take away this pain, even if just a little. He gently squeezed Roberto’s hand for a moment.

Roberto’s fist loosened slightly.

...so we get handholding after all!

What Bill heard at the seance was... a Superbowl announcer. He seems embarrassed about this. Roberto can’t help but laugh.

Hiraga has a nightmare about everything turning into spiders (he really does seem prone to nightmares, especially on missions). Bill investigates the haunted house, looking for forensic evidence of what happened to the senator, and has visions of blood splattering and hears creepy noises. He goes to Hiraga and requests that Hiraga purify him; fortunately Hiraga has actual holy water with him this time. Then it’s time for another seance, where Roberto has a vision of his father staring hatefully at him with bloodstained hands.

"You are a child of sin. Your mother had an affair and hid it from me. You know, don't you? Don't act innocent. Her partner was my colleague Wyatt. When I wasn't around, they often met with each other. Roberto, you know, don't you? That's why I killed her. Me, and your mother - we're both sinners. So you're a sinner too."

Brono's voice seeped into his ears like poison.

Roberto desperately shut out this voice.

And then an elderly man at the seance vanishes into thin air, like water draining out of a plughole. It turns out that this was the Colorado police chief, Danton Meyer. The people running the seance explain that he’s been taken to the spirit world. Everyone kind of panics.

Our heroes decide to leave the haunted house and investigate elsewhere for a while. Bill calls his boss, who basically says that this isn’t going as planned, but since Denver is Bill’s hometown, if Bill feels like taking some vacation time, his boss can’t control what he does on his own time. I guess this calls for a sleepover at Bill’s family home!

Roberto and Hiraga meet Bill’s family - his father Jack, his mother Emily, his younger brother Tom, and Tom’s (pregnant) wife June. (They also have two golden retrievers, sadly unnamed.) Bill’s family is really warm and welcoming; they ask the priests to bless Tom and June’s unborn child, which they do. Then they settle down for a meal. Bill is really excited at getting to eat his mother’s cooking, especially since he usually just has cereal for breakfast.

But to the gourmet Roberto, American cuisine was an object of horror.

Roberto is suffering because he hates American food. It’s too rich and has too much cream. He can’t handle mac and cheese. But he knows his hosts prepared this with a lot of effort and sincerity, and he can’t slight that. (He does like the wine. Bill’s dad goes on about how great Colorado wine is.)

Hiraga’s not doing well either - he’s gone all pale. He’s not used to eating this much. Roberto swoops in with an excuse about how as priests, they typically eat plain and simple meals, and aren’t accustomed to so much deliciousness. This seems to work.

Back to the investigation! They review footage of the senator’s death in the church, etc etc. This culminates in a truly beautiful exchange:

Roberto: "Surely you aren’t saying that Senator Marini was killed by aliens?"

Hiraga: "There's no proof to the contrary, is there?"

~*~VME~*~

They’ve been watching videos of the senator’s death for ages. Hiraga, who’s on a roll, asks Bill to show him the recordings of the seances as well. Roberto mercifully cuts in and suggests they all take a break before that. Bill has a momentary expression of “I’M SAVED”. Hiraga firmly replies that he’s not tired and will be fine. Roberto and Bill decide to investigate other stuff, and leave him to it.

Hiraga also confirms that the Colorado doctor that the voice mentioned actually does exist, and has done some groundbreaking research into curing bone cancer. He’s really excited about this, of course.

Lauren emails Hiraga: “How are things over there? Now that we've had to postpone the game, the boredom is endless.” Hiraga sends him the data so he can take a look.

The next day, our heroes go to Senator Marini’s funeral service, which is at the same church where he died. (First, Roberto and Hiraga politely consume some extremely sweet doughnuts and coffee provided by Bill’s mother.) They meet Father Nick Ezekiel, a priest at the church and an old friend of Senator Marini.

Investigation stuff is happening (we learn that Roberto can lip-read, because of course he can), and then as Roberto’s talking to Nick Ezekiel, we get blindsided by SUDDEN ROBERTO ANGST:

He was the type of person who wouldn't let his guard down around others. Roberto understood this well, because he himself was like that.

Roberto carefully observed the priest’s appearance.

There was a smile on his face, but it was a professional, manufactured smile. It did not reach his eyes. His eyes were cold, like a snake’s.

This man bore darkness in his heart. Roberto sensed this intuitively.

Hiraga, meanwhile, is doing some pretty smooth questioning: "Father Nick, why did you become a clergyman? I'd like to understand this resolve, so I can become a fine priest." This really throws Nick off; he escapes to work on the funeral arrangements, and Bill remarks that he’s behaving oddly. During the funeral, Nick is giving a speech when there’s a blinding flash of light and he collapses dead, the same way Senator Marini did.

Meanwhile, eccentric genius scientist Dr. Maggie Walker is up to something. Bill calls her and tells her about the new death (and the way the police chief vanished into thin air at the seance). Dr. Walker then takes some time off, disguises herself as someone else, and goes to a secret hideout where she reads a children’s book she inherited from her mother. She also builds bombs in the secret hideout, and thinks about how she wants to bring about the world her mother dreamt of.

Bill has to go back to Washington DC for a bit, to sort out some administrative stuff and report to his boss. He tells Roberto and Hiraga to think of his home as their own while he’s away.

He received an email from Father Hiraga that was as short as a telegram - "Thank you for your kindness" - and a polite email from Father Roberto.

Father Roberto's message was as follows.

"Since receiving your message, 'I hope you will make yourself at home', Father Hiraga is truly spending his time as comfortably as if he were at home. That is to say, he's shut himself in his room and is rooted to his computer. He'll probably be in this state for quite a while. Everyone in the Suskins family is undoubtedly surprised, but there's no need for concern. I would be glad if you could put in a word as well. Of course, I will also give an explanation to your family. With affection,"

Bill calls home and finds his mother worrying about Hiraga and how he hasn’t come down to meals. Bill explains that it’s fine, seriously, Hiraga is just busy, they can talk to Roberto if there’s an issue.

Hiraga, meanwhile, is going over the recordings of the seances. He does not like what he finds.

(Not just me, but the voices that other people heard - they should be in here too, shouldn’t they?)

With this question in mind, Hiraga checked the voice recordings many times.

However, there were too many voices; he simply could not distinguish between all of them, to identify which were or were not present.

While repeatedly listening, Hiraga’s attention happened to be caught by one line.

“You are the child of sinners. You are not fit to stand before the gates of heaven.”

He was certain he heard these words spoken in Italian.

Could this be… If these were the words that had fallen on Roberto’s ears…

Just how badly had they hurt him?

These were not words that should be said to Roberto.

If someone said such things to him, Hiraga would strike down those words and refute the opponent.

Hiraga remembered that when they were in the mansion, Roberto had behaved bravely, but his gaze had been dark.

Father Roberto Nicolas was an upstanding priest with a kind heart.

To hurl such words at him - that assuredly could not be the work of a divine spirit.

From this moment, Hiraga bent every nerve towards figuring out just what deception was at work in the seance.

(ง •̀_•́)ง Hiraga will fight ghosts with science for talking shit about Roberto! He’ll prove the seance is fake because he has to defend Roberto’s honour! HIRAGA…

Oh, right, there’s a case going on. Anyway, the investigation progresses. Roberto interviews Senator Marini’s widow and finds out that she saw a suspicious person (who looked like an evil spirit) in the days leading up to her husband’s death. Bill does a lot of legwork and finds out that Senator Marini and Father Nick Ezekiel were terrible people who, when they were younger, engaged in crime and Satanic rituals, and brutally murdered a family in Miami. The only survivor of the crime was the son, Harrison Onsager, who was five years old at the time, but his testimony was rejected. Danton Meyer (the Colorado police chief) was a detective working the case at the time, and botched it somehow.

Harrison Onsager has been missing for years, and is known to be a mathematical savant. Basically, Harrison Onsager killed these people to take revenge for his family. But how? Through SCIENCE, of course.

At this point, Hiraga (talking to Roberto) just starts dropping pages and pages of SCIENCE exposition about… Nikola Tesla. And the amazing properties of electromagnetism, and how it can create optical illusions (e.g. the alleged Philadelphia Experiment). And how the US military is testing plasma weapons at Area 51. It turns out that Lauren has been helping to find out this stuff by hacking US military secrets. Roberto expresses concern.

"Did Lauren discover this too? Isn't this sort of hacking dangerous?"

"If you ask Lauren, he says there's no problem."

"Well, fair enough."

Speaking of Lauren, Hiraga gets an email from him.

“More information from Lauren?”

“Ah, no. The sender is Lauren, but it’s not a message about the case. It’s the next move in the ‘Game of Angels and Demons’.”

“What, you two are playing the game even at a time like this?”

Roberto shrugged his shoulders.

“Yes. But somehow, Lauren has been strange lately. For some reason, when I make a move, there’s no resounding response… And the moves that come in aren’t like him.”

Hiraga doubtfully closed the window. Roberto watched him intently.

“What’s the matter?”

“No, it’s nothing. I was just thinking that when you’re messaging Lauren, you’re really serious.”

“Is that so. Am I strange?”

“No, I’m not saying that. That aside, how about going out for a bit? It’s been a while since we went out to eat.”

They go out to eat. Roberto wraps vegetables in tortillas and puts it on Hiraga’s plate while they’re talking.

There’s... another 25 pages of really dense exposition, including Hiraga explaining the concept of Laplace’s demon. Bill returns at some point, and Hiraga and Roberto casually mention to him that former US presidents have been members of the Illuminati. Bill is confused and distressed. “Something like this - that’s just the plot of movies or TV shows.” He believes in the USA!

Hiraga and Roberto show him photos from the haunted house, and how it was decorated with the ancient Greek words for “light”, “control”, and “universal illumination”; Roberto points out that this is very evocative of the Illuminati. Was the haunted house built as an Illuminati setup in the first place? Maybe? Like Bill, I am very confused about this.

Bill gets a call about having found Harrison Onsager’s hideout, and they go there. The walls are covered in equations, like on all the crime shows. Even Hiraga doesn’t understand all of them, and is really excited about this. Roberto, with his unerring homing instinct for OLD BOOKS, finds an old manuscript. It’s a children’s story - the same one Dr. Maggie Walker was reading. Roberto identifies it as being in Albert Einstein’s handwriting. There’s a letter with it, in a child’s handwriting - it’s signed “Charlotte Walker”.

Hiraga says he can now explain all the mysteries of the haunted house. Roberto says he now knows how not to get lost in its labyrinth. Bill is suitably impressed by all this beautiful genius. They also figure out that Harrison Onsager is probably hiding in the haunted house.

First, though, they return to Bill’s home for a bit, where the family is having a birthday party for Bill’s sister-in-law June. Bill’s dad also brags about how Bill was a college football champion back in the day. Bill gets terribly embarrassed and blushes, and is like “dad, of course I remember, you really don't have to tell them about it". Then the three of them retreat to discuss their plan for returning to the haunted house.

Hiraga has sent Harrison Onsager’s wall equations to Lauren, who replies “I’ll consider it, but I think it will probably take several years to reach a solution”. Roberto has drawn a map of the house, based on clues in the children’s story.

Bill is kind of worried that returning to the house might be too dangerous for the priests.

Hiraga: “It is the duty of the priest to protect the lamb.”

Bill: “By 'the lamb'... do you mean... me?”

Roberto: “Not just you - all the faithful are the lambs of God.”

Bill asks what they’ll do if they run into the culprit; Roberto and Hiraga look at each other and answer simultaneously “Persuade him to turn himself in.”

Full of bad ideas, they return to the haunted house, where they witness another seance. This verifies Hiraga’s theory, and he drops 5 pages of SCIENCE exposition about how the seance was faked by inducing hallucinations through electromagnetism, etc etc. He then takes the time to pause and carefully explain that there is nothing wrong with Roberto.

“In other words, people who have strong visual memory, or are sensitive to such memories. And that’s why… Roberto.”

As Hiraga said this, he gazed squarely at Roberto.

“The reason why you saw your father is not because you are cursed or anything of the sort. That was simply a hallucination caused by the electromagnetic field. You do more visual work than we do, and so you have a more highly attuned visual memory. Other people instead testified that they heard voices - but you come into contact every day with symbolism, iconography, and classical art, and you work to decipher these. And so it’s easy for your lingering traces of memory to be perceived as visions.”

[…]

Roberto smiled as though relieved.

There’s more SCIENCE exposition about Bose-Einstein condensates, etc etc. The conclusion of all this is that the culprit created a tiny black hole and used it as a murder weapon to make Police Chief Meyer vanish from existence at the seance.

I was honestly convinced that I was just misreading it and hadn’t been following the science exposition closely enough, but then Bill straight-up says “But to have created a black hole - what a frightful criminal” and Hiraga seriously responds “Yes, that’s right. The misuse of his intelligence has led to something outrageous.”

To reiterate, the genius scientist criminal created a black hole and used it to murder someone at a seance.

~*~VME~*~

(The other two victims were, apparently, killed by sending a highly targeted surge of electricity directly at their hearts. So it wasn’t aliens, but at this point, aliens might make as much sense as anything.)

Having concluded that there is a murderer who can CREATE BLACK HOLES lurking in the haunted house, our heroes naturally split up to explore this house, like beautiful idiots who have never seen a horror movie in their lives.

Bill finds the room where Harrison Onsager tortured Senator Marini and presumably drilled holes in his hands.

Roberto gets hit on the back of the head and passes out. WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING.

He wakes up and finds himself facing the masked person who ran the seances. They’ve taken away Roberto’s map of the house. Guess who’s under the mask!

Long platinum blond hair cascaded down. Deep emerald green eyes appeared. Pale skin as smooth as white porcelain. Pink lips. An oval face with beautiful features as delicate as a woman’s.

A beautiful devil...

[crosses off the “suddenly, Julia” square on my VME bingo card]

“Just what is your goal?”

Julia handed the map he was holding to the man in the black cloak. He drew close to Roberto and gazed into his face.

“Ah, yes. Perhaps my goal is to torment you...”

“Enough with the bad jokes. There’s no way that’s what you’re after.”

“Heh. After I captured Harrison in the room of ‘Those that Dwell in Deserts’, who do you think I was hoping would show up? If the one pursuing Harrison had been Agent Suskins, he has combat experience, so it would have been a bit troublesome. If it had been Father Hiraga, there probably wouldn’t be enough time to seize his heart, and even if I tormented him, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy his reaction. But you are different. If it's you, I can play an enjoyable game. Each and every one of your anguished expressions is extremely interesting. The things that you’re thinking, the dark emotions which churn under that mask of hypocrisy - I understand them perfectly.”

“I wish you’d stop your half-baked rambling. What do you know about me?”

Roberto glared at Julia.

“I do know. Because you and I are very similar.”

“What?”

“Because you’re a real liar, aren’t you?”

“…”

A laugh once again rang out from Julia’s throat.

“You’re silent, I see. I hit the mark after all. I still have some way to go before getting what I want - including you and Father Hiraga - but this time I’ll make do with these results. After all, I have no time.”

Julia let out a dejected sigh.

“No time?”

“Yes. My subordinates discovered a large number of time bombs set up in the power room and foundations of this mansion. It seems that someone plans to blow up this mansion. They’re rigged to explode if someone tampers with them, so there’s no way to disarm them. The time limit is 5 o’clock, at dawn. That should be exactly an hour from now. I have to escape quickly.

But perhaps this could become a bit of a challenging game for you. Your map has been taken away, and while you were unconscious, I had the rooms moved around a little. I’ve also injected you with a drug, so you won’t be able to walk for 30 minutes. This is a game of whether or not you can survive. Don’t you think that’s interesting?”

Julia bore the bold smile of a devil, as he swiftly stepped back from Roberto.

“Au revoir, Monsieur Roberto. Or should that be ‘adieu'? If it’s ‘au revoir’, you will have passed the test. Galdoune awaits you.”

(picture by the novel’s official illustrator for all your “Julia murderously flirting with Roberto” needs)

Looks like it’s time for the obligatory Roberto-in-peril scene! [crosses off the “Roberto whump” square on my VME bingo card]

Roberto decides that he has to warn Hiraga and Bill about the bombs. He does this by taking off his cassock and “underwear” (this caused me INTENSE CONFUSION for a moment, but I figure it's referring to his undershirt and he isn't actually taking off all his clothes), and then he bites his finger until it bleeds, and writes a warning on his shirt in his own blood. (Roberto, don’t you have a Sharpie or something.)

His logic is that there must be some way to monitor all the rooms from the central control room, so when Hiraga and Bill meet up there they'll see the warning on the cameras. (I think the deeper logic going on here is that the author really wanted Roberto to be shirtless while in peril, but I’m not complaining.)

Hiraga makes it to the control room, sees Roberto on the monitors, and freaks out. (His voice shakes!) Bill arrives too, and more unexpectedly, Dr. Maggie Walker shows up. It turns out she’s destroying the facility so that its powers can’t be misused. She didn’t expect to find them there, but calmly informs them that she’s set up 200 bombs which will be going off in 20 minutes, and if they take the elevator they can get to the building entrance and escape the blast radius. Hiraga cries out that his friend is trapped and has lost his map, so he can’t get out. Dr. Walker looks at where Roberto is, and tells Hiraga that they’ll never make it to him in time and will all die if they try.

“Somehow… There must be some way to save Roberto…”

Hiraga muttered this with his eyes squeezed shut, and grabbed Dr. Walker’s hand.

Hiraga comes up with the idea of saving Roberto by programming electromagnetic transmissions. (Dr. Walker is impressed with his SCIENCE skills.)

Bill is concerned and asks if Roberto will really be alright. Hiraga’s response is sweet, but also seems worryingly like him using denial as a coping mechanism again.

“Father Roberto is an intelligent person. He will definitely realise.”

There was not the slightest trace of doubt or unease on his face.

Roberto looked at his watch ticking onwards.

It was exactly 4.50.

He’d regained movement in his legs, but even now, moving quickly was a struggle.

Finding the exit was impossible.

As long as Hiraga and Bill had escaped safely, it was fine…

Roberto, absentmindedly recalling the times he had spent with Hiraga, smiled a little.

(We’ll never meet again, huh… Goodbye, Hiraga.)

As he softly whispered, he heard footsteps and a voice.

---Roberto. Over here.

It was Hiraga’s voice. Roberto sprang to his feet, shocked.

“Hiraga? Is that you? It’s dangerous - run away!”

He headed towards the room where the voice had come from. Before one of the doors stood Hiraga.

It was only for an instant, but it was definitely Hiraga.

When he approached, Hiraga swiftly vanished beyond the door.

Roberto didn’t really understand what was going on.

This was an illusion he was seeing before he died, wasn't it?

But, Roberto thought, if it was an illusion of Hiraga, he wanted to be together with him.

Roberto, in the grip of something that was neither logical nor rational, rushed into the room where Hiraga had disappeared.

---Over here. Roberto.

Once again, he heard Hiraga’s voice, and saw his figure vanish into another room.

Roberto, in a trance, chased after him.

And so, while pursuing the vision of Hiraga, he passed through an unknown number of rooms, and the elevator appeared before him.

The doors were open, as though awaiting him.

Bewildered, Roberto boarded the elevator, which stopped at the fourth floor of its own accord.

And again, as the doors were opening, he caught sight of Hiraga’s phantom.

The phantom disappeared into the right-hand door, and there was the echo of a voice calling him. “Roberto!”

Desperately pursuing this, Roberto exited three rooms, and suddenly saw a window before him.

(It’s a window…)

He looked at his watch.

It was 2 minutes and 15 seconds before 5 o’clock. Maybe, just barely, something could be done.

At this moment, he heard voices from outside the window.

“Roberto! Are you there, Roberto!”

“Father Roberto, if you’re there, please respond!”

The frantic shouts - those were Hiraga and Bill’s voices.

Roberto wrenched open the window and looked out.

Under the window was a car. An unfamiliar woman, Hiraga, and Bill stood there.

“Jump out! I’ll catch you!”

Bill dashed forward.

Roberto crossed himself, and leapt out of the window.

With characteristic excellent athletic ability, and with the soul of an investigator, Bill Suskins firmly caught him.

The FBI motto he had pledged to uphold was “fidelity, bravery, integrity”.

BILL FOR MVP.

(Also, I’m crossing off the “TRUE LOVE SAVES THE DAY” square on the VME bingo card.)

Dr. Walker drives them all away in her car, and is pleased with herself for how well her building-demolition calculations worked. Bill reflects that it’s the first time he’s seen her smile. She explains that her mother - Charlotte Walker, who met and corresponded with Einstein - was her predecessor as the head of Rising Bell Laboratories, and helped to develop the technology in the haunted house. She tells Bill that his simplicity is a virtue which may backfire on him someday, and also asks him to keep secret the fact that he saw her here, or she’ll have to kill him.

Meanwhile, Roberto and Hiraga are talking about all the drama that just happened.

Next to them, Roberto was asking Hiraga a question.

“So, well. I believe it was you who saved me, but how on earth did you do it?”

Almond-shaped jet-black eyes gazed at Roberto, and then blinked. Long eyelashes fluttered in the breeze.

“I used a method of communication that couldn’t be used outside of that mansion.”

“Method of communication?”

[Hiraga explains about using the electromagnetic fields to induce visions]

“I see… So those were illusory sounds and sights produced by the electromagnetic field…”

[Roberto reflects on how the Hiraga he saw in the mansion was a hallucination, because he was thinking of Hiraga, and so his past memories and present reality combined to produce an image of Hiraga]

“Did you see a hallucination? …I’m sorry. If I made you see an unpleasant vision again, I apologise.”

Hiraga spoke dejectedly, as though contrite.

Perhaps he was worried that Roberto had seen a spectre of his father again.

“No, no, far from it. I saw a wonderful vision. Thank you.”

Roberto smiled.

“Really? If so, I’m glad. Then, what kind of illusion did you see? I'd like to know the details for the sake of future research…”

“That’s a secret. All I’ll say is that I saw the figure of the Saviour.”

“That’s…"

Roberto, please.

Roberto tells Hiraga about Julia beating him up and taking his lunch money map, but unsurprisingly, he doesn’t mention the bit where Julia called him a liar and said they were just alike. Roberto, PLEASE.

Hiraga concludes that all the voices in the seance were fabricated by Galdoune, but Roberto thinks Hiraga should still go talk to the Colorado doctor that the voice mentioned.

“But, Father Julia…”

“He’s not a mere liar - he’s a great liar. And so, to you, he should say something true.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying it, so it's certain."

I’m pretty confused too. I think Roberto has bought into Julia’s suggestion that their lies are similar, and therefore feels like he has special insight into Julia’s weird, weird thought processes, which… uh.

They then discuss how Julia even managed to navigate the house to find Harrison and Roberto in the first place. Roberto says that no map of the house existed before he drew one, and the only place it could have been copied is… Bill’s home. UHHHH.

Bill calls his boss, who tells him that the mission was a washout and instructs him to take some non-optional time off, and wants to just sweep all this under the rug. Bill heatedly objects that there’s more to it, and gets upset that his boss might have just been manipulating him all along. Roberto pats him on the shoulder to get him to calm down.

Bill goes home distraught and hugs his mother, and tells her he’ll be returning to Washington DC soon. Then his father sees him looking upset and invites him for a chat.

“Actually, I’m thinking of quitting the FBI…”

As Bill spoke, he looked up at his father.

His father was leaning against the cupboard, and in the mirrored section of it, Bill saw the reflection of something unbelievable.

On the door of the study hung some antique brass decorations. Bill knew that these had been there for a long time, and he’d always thought that they were just some meaningless patterns.

But reflected in the mirror, they became decorative words - ancient Greek for “light”, “universal illumination”, and “control”.

Of course, without Father Roberto having taught him, Bill would not have understood the meaning of the Greek words.

Bill’s grip tightened on the glass.

“What is it, Bill. What about the FBI?”

Jack, smiling, made his enquiry.

“Ah… nothing… it’s nothing.”

Bill downed his brandy in a single gulp, as though oblivious to how his hand was trembling.

“Is that so? That’s good, then. Don’t say anything about wanting to quit the FBI, Bill. You don’t want to make your father sad, do you? Our family has always loved and supported each other, and we must fulfil our responsibilities to each other. If one of us starts saying selfish things, our family harmony will be destroyed all at once. That’s right, isn’t it?”

Jack’s words were oddly laden with meaning.

Cold sweat ran down Bill’s brow.

“That’s right. I think so… I was feeling a bit tired just now."

VME’S EVIL DAD QUOTA: ACHIEVED. And I think that’s a bingo.

Bill leaves to find his brother Tom, tells him that their father is part of an evil cult, and asks Tom to get their mother and Tom’s wife away to safety. This doesn’t go great.

“Brother, what are you saying after all this time?”

“Eh…?”

“The fact that Jack is a frightening person whose real identity is unknown - I realised that long ago. Brother, you were Jack’s favourite and he was fond of you, so you never suspected him. But why do you think that, unlike our friends’ houses, our home doesn’t have a single picture from when we were babies? Didn’t you think that was strange?

[…]

I’ve always thought - why did I feel like our family wasn’t normal? And then when I was in high school, I eavesdropped outside Jack’s study, and I found out. He isn’t our father - he’s a stranger who’s been posing as Jack Suskins since I was three years old.

It’s strange, isn’t it? Our mother calls that man Jack. ‘He’s your father,’ she says. Even Mom doesn’t know what kind of person he really is.

When I learnt this truth, it was like I went mad. But after I thought about it properly, I realised that with our home under that man’s protection, it's actually the safest place in America.

So, brother. If you’re thinking of going against Jack - no, Dad - please stop. If you do nothing, we’re safe and happy. But if you lash out clumsily, I don’t know what will happen. So it’s better not to know anything. I’m begging you - June is going to give birth to our child soon. Please don’t bring misfortune to that child.”

As Tom appealed to him, Bill, stunned, fell to his knees on the ground.

SO. That’s a thing.

(I like how this novel successfully got me invested in Bill just so it could HURT ME. Well played, VME.)

This isn’t even the novel’s final form. Still 5 more pages to go! Meaning it’s time for another curveball!

Roberto is back home in the Vatican, when Hiraga shows up on his doorstep.

“May I come in, Father Roberto?”

Hiraga looked at Roberto, his gaze pensive.

“Of course. Please do.”

Hiraga nodded jerkily, and took his usual seat at the table.

Roberto placed a steaming espresso in front of him. But Hiraga did not stir; he sat still, his face ashen.

Roberto suddenly had a feeling of foreboding.

“Something’s happened, hasn’t it. Is it about Ryouta?”

“No, Ryouta is fine. The problem is… it’s about Lauren.”

“Lauren? He didn’t get caught while doing some reckless hacking, did he?”

In response to Roberto’s words, Hiraga silently shook his head. And then, a few moments later, he lifted his head as though setting his resolve.

“Roberto, I must apologise to you.”

“What’s this, all of a sudden?”

“The truth is, I’ve been keeping a secret from you all this time.”

Roberto laughed lightly and patted Hiraga’s shoulder.

“That’s nothing. There’s no need to apologise for having a secret or two. So, this secret has to do with Lauren?”

“Yes… but if I talk about this, it will bring you tremendous trouble and many difficulties. Even so, will you listen to what I have to say?”

Hiraga spoke in a miserable voice, as though wringing out the words from the depths of his throat.

“Whatever trouble and difficulties there might be, if something is bothering you, I’ll listen. The option of not listening never existed in the first place. If right now, you’re about to jump into a tricky and dangerous situation and need my help, that’s all the more reason for it.”

As Roberto said this, his gaze turned serious, and he sat down next to Hiraga.

“Roberto, you really are…”

Hiraga trailed off in the middle of saying something, and his expression clouded with worry. Then he took a deep breath.

“The fact is, Lauren has left the Vatican.”

“You’re saying he resigned from the intelligence division? Well, that must be quite a shock to you, but he’s free to lead his life…”

“That’s not it,” Hiraga said, interrupting Roberto mid-sentence.

“When I say Lauren left the Vatican, I don’t mean that he resigned from his job, I mean that he broke out.”

“Broke out? What, then that makes it sound like Lauren is a convict who’s been imprisoned by the Vatican or something, doesn’t it?”

Hiraga carefully nodded at this.

“Yes. That’s exactly it, Roberto.”

[Hiraga explains the Lauren situation, about Lauren being a teenage criminal mastermind in Vatican IT jail, none of which Roberto knew]

“And so, he must have broken out because he was tired of such a restricted life - the Rome police and ICPO officers, and even the psychiatrists, unanimously say so. I explained that Lauren wouldn’t run away for such a reason. There must be a deeper cause behind it, and so we should carefully protect him and listen to his words. But no one believes what I say. And now, the Rome police and the ICPO have classified Lauren as a dangerous terrorist, and adopted the position that they want him dead or alive, and they've started moving... There's nothing else I can do on my own…”

Hiraga’s voice rose, trembling.

“Wanted dead or alive - those are rather extreme words. Hearing Lauren’s charges is probably going to make me a little uneasy. But well, I won’t ask. In any case, Hiraga, what you want is for the police to not kill Lauren or hurt him. If possible, you want to go behind the backs of the police and find Lauren on your own, and you want to protect him… Is that it?”

Hiraga abruptly nodded in response to Roberto’s words.

“Please lend me your strength, Roberto. You are the only one I can rely on.”

“All right. But first I’d like to hear this. You’re the one who knows Lauren best. What kind of move do you think he’ll make next?”

“I… This may seem surprising, but I think he might contact me once. Is this naive of me?”

Hiraga asked this uneasily.

Roberto nodded as though satisfied with this answer.

“No, in fact, I agree. He’ll certainly make contact with you. When, or how, I don’t have the slightest clue. Until then, all we can do is track the police activity and search the items he left behind, to pick up some hint of the trail.”

“Yes… That’s right. Since it’s Lauren, I’m sure he’ll be safe.”

Hiraga murmured as though in prayer.

And that’s it. It ends right there, because I guess the author decided this was enough plot twists for now.

In conclusion, everything happened SO MUCH.

(One last note: in the books, Sinfonia takes place after this.)

#vatican miracle examiner #translation

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homelesshaunts-blog · 7 years

Photo

The Welcome Mat by Carl Marcus

A dark black cloud shows itself in a driveway, and there it takes the form and the shape of a man; heading towards a house that may within it have more then what it appears.

Welcome to Homeless Haunts. I'm Lavel Wideman, your Bloghost of Horror.

The Welcome Mat written by Carl Marcus, is a story that’s unsettling. It's a tale about a man who warns an old woman about a killer on the loose. There’s absolutely no one to trust but him. You readers better lock your doors and keep your eyes open, and make sure you stay quiet before you enter and read this small excerpt of a story. But wipe your shoes on the bloody door mat. You don't want to leave any tracks, but if you do, meet me in the Alley of Fear.

"...And police are intensifying their efforts to locate the patient who escaped from the Graham State Hospital this afternoon, after killing one of the staff. Again we've been asked to repeat an earlier warning: although appearing harmless, the escapee is capable of becoming extremely dangerous when aroused...More details on this story, and an eye-witness account of an attractive blonde in a bizarre filling station holdup, immediately after this important message..."

He waited until the commercial had begun before he knocked. Immediately the animated jingle was cut off. Now there was only the stir of light footsteps within the house, then silence.

Although he knew that the screen door was unlatched when he had rapped on it, he saw that the inner wooden door was closed. He assumed that a preliminary inspection of him was now being made through the peephole. Nonchalantly he glanced about, then down at his feet. He saw the blue door mat with THE FIELDS printed on it in white block letters.

No one answered the door, and when he'd waited the proper interval he rapped again patiently.

"Hello," he said. "It's Gorgon. Bart Gorgon. Bellamy's new's hired man. He sent me down the road to borrow some tools."

Again he heard the sound of light footsteps, and a moment later the inner door opened. A small woman with dark hair peered out at him.

"Mrs. Field's?" he asked through the screen.

"What was it you wanted?"

"I'm sorry to bother you on a night like this. I'm Bart Gorgon. Bellamy's new hired man. He sent me over to borrow your husband's set of tools. The one with all the socket wrenches. Bellamy said your husband would know which set."

He saw Mrs. Fields frown as she pushed a lock of hair away from her cheek. "Well, I don't know--"

"I don't blame you being suspicious, not having met me before. I just went to work for Bellamy today. But if you'll let me talk to your husband, he'll know about the tools. Bellamy set it all up with him."

"My husband--he's not here right now," Mrs. Fields said.

Gorgon rubbedd his chin. "Well, maybe I can wait around until he gets back...."

"No!" Mrs. Fields said quickly. Then she smiled. "What I mean is, I'd rather you come back in the morning. My husband will be home then." She started to close the door.

"Mrs. Fields, could I bother you for a glass of water before I go?..."

"Of course. I'll get it for you."

...He was standing in the kitchen doorway when she turned away from the sink with glass of water.

Fright widened her eyes and a bit of the water leaped out of the glass. Angrily she said, "Nobody asked you into this house!"

"Please don't get sore, Mrs. Fields. I don't intend to do you any harm."

"You scare a person to death, sneaking up behind them like that."

"I know," Gorgon nodded, while a smile tried to brighten his ugly face. "I know what you're trying to say. I'm big and ugly and not very smart. You can go ahead and say it because I've heard it all before. Lots of times."

"I didn't mean it that way, Mr. Gorgon, really I didn't. And I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about your--the way you look. Here's your water. And then leave. Please..."

"You know," he said, "you shouldn't be here all alone on a night like this--"

"I'll be all right. Now if you'll just leave--"

"--especially when I heard them announcing how that patient slipped out of Graham today. That's not too far from here and he could have traveled that stretch by now. And they get awfully mean at times. You just can't tell what they might do, finding a person all alone."

"I believe I can take care of myself, thank you. Now if you'll just leave me and let me lock all the doors, I'll manage fine."

Gorgon frowned and shook his massive head. "You don't understand at all, Mrs. Fields. Doors and windows don't stop them when they make up their minds to get something, or go somewhere...and they can break and tear, and kill. And yet they're no different in looks than you or me...Why, you could see one walking down the street, coming right towards you, and you wouldn't think anything about it."

Gorgon tried to reassure her with a grin. "What I'm trying to tell you is that the one that got out of Graham today could come right to your door, and you'd probably let him into the house because he wouldn't look mean or wild-eyed...They're so unpredictable."

As she set it into the sink Gorgon said, "I sure appreciate the way you've put up with me, Mrs. Fields...

Mrs. Fields smiled. "Well, you're welcome to stop by and chat any time--"

When the urgent knocking began at the front door he saw her stiffen with fright, while panic glazed her eyes. Suddenly she began whipping her head from side to side, like a trapped animal searching for a means of escape. Her mouth opened to let out a scream. Gorgon lunged forward his huge hand smothering most of her face...

Slowly he slipped his hand away from her face, and then he took her arm. Gently he moved her forward so that both of them came out of the kitchen together and walked into the front room.

He stopped then, and Mrs. Fields continued walking towards the door. Through the screen he could see distinguishing the figure of a slim blonde girl.

"...Who is it?"

" I need some help with my car. I've got a flat out on the highway."

"Come in, my dear."

Gorgon stood quietly, watching the girl as she entered. She was young, wearing a black sweater and slacks. The soiled and wrinkled trenchcoat was open in the front, and it was way too big for her...

"This is my husband," Mrs. Fields said. "Perhaps he'd be good enough to change it for you..."

The girl said, "Oh, that would be sweet of him." She smiled at Gorgon. "You're a doll..."

Gorgon's face reddened. She'd called him a doll but he could tell she didn't mean it. They never did. Fighting the anger in his voice he said, "You women are all the same. Smile and sweet talk a man when you want some dirty work to be done for you. But when an ugly guy like me wants to talk to you, just to be friendly, you run scared...Lady, you can get somebody else to change that tire."

When the girl's right hand came out of the trenchcoat pocket it was holding a revolver.

She pointed it at Gorgon's chest. "Okay, Buster, if that's the way you feel about it!...Now we'll take your car. Mama comes too..."

ALLEY OF FEAR

When blondie wakes up from that punch, she’ll find out who really was the lady of the house. The one upstairs with a knife in her heart.

Once you read the story, the story will let you know, not everyone from Graham State Hospital are large stocky crazed men. But they might be frail, tiny grandmothers. Little old ladies who could tear your head off if aroused. So we are not here to arouse them, okay folks.

The little old lady without a home, had to find a place to lay low while the police are looking for this crazed killer who pretends to own what isn't hers, and just for a little while.

But comes along a handyman named Gorgon. A real character, too. The one who appeared from out of the darkness, a bidding from his master (boss). Going to a home to retrieve tools to take back to his boss. When he hears news that a mad man is on the loose, wanting to be the good guy, but one thing stops him from really fulfilling that role. It’s his looks.

So what is a gargoyle?

Gargoyles: A waterspout in the form of a grotesque human or animal figure, projecting from the roof or eaves of a building.

ThisGorgon in the story, gives a prime example of the strong protector type. He wants to protect women like Mrs. Fields, but all she wants him to do is go away. He’s a man hung up on his looks, and does the best thing a Gargoyle in heart do, is to protect.

In France and England, Gargoyles hang majestically on churches tops, and sometimes if you look up in the clouds, in the day, it seems dark and gloomy around these statues. They are constructed to ward off evil spirits.

In the book of Revelation, Church metaphorically means Woman, so we must equate it to this story, and you'll see how the gargoyle fits. Look and read very carefully and you'll see two elements of surprise once you get through and understand it.

The Gargoyle...I meant to say Gorgon has a really hard time facing the truth about the way he looks, and he hates people looking at him for what they see in front of them, and not who he is on the inside. But if we live like Gorgon, we'll be doomed. No one should ever place themselves inside a prison, if people cannot see them for who they are. Our human hearts can only take so much. So the mistake Gorgon shown is what's going on in his life, forgetting his job. His duty was to bring back tools to his boss.

For now we'll place Gorgon the statue here in the Alley of Fear. It was he that came out of the darkness first on that fateful night and we have to make sure he no longer shows street-like behavior, just because he wasn't born with a kisser face. Not everyone has that kind of luck. Because all he was sent out to do was his master's bidding, and not show what's on the inside of stone.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, in your own homes, and if you have one?

Homeless Haunts bringing the world of the poor to your door.

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