Q Cell Future/Perfect

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Introduction to Future/Perfect

 

Q Cell Future/Perfect

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Jun 28, 2015
Posted by: Keith

Do not whisper to the wind,
For wind winds far and deep,
Deep down into the shadow land
Where evil creatures sleep.
The echo of thy uttered word
Can wake them, make them creep!

To: Agent Carmichael

From: Samantha Ryan

Re: Recent Activities

Now that the “official” reports have been filed (AC – All reports are official… even your more descriptive missives), it’s time for me to give you the usual unofficial report. As per your instructions, we headed to Chester, Ohio to further investigate Arthur Hunt, his electronics empire, and the other strange happenings in and around the Chester area.
First, let’s cover Arthur Hunt. We found, in his museum, some strange communication devices. Those have been placed in the warehouse Green Box 76, and we have left a suitable replacement “fake” in place in the museum. I would suggest, if there is any more curiosity (the place is a mess) about Arthur Hunt, that a small donation be made to the museum, and someone pay some attention to its curator. She’s quite chatty, and if you wanted to send someone out to make sure that we captured everything, it would be relatively easy to send an “intern” to help her. She has made quite the study about Arthur Hunt – she is even writing a book about him.

The second portion of the mission was very much NOT easy. Let’s cover the facts as we know them.
First, about the killer that we were sent to profile. Obviously, that investigation was improperly handled, and the suspected killer wasn’t the suspect. I am unsure if it was because the authorities at the time wanted a fast resolution to the case, or if there were things that were (and possibly are) more nefarious in nature going on. Current local Law Enforcement was very cooperative in regard to furnishing us with the material evidence relating to the case that they still possess.

The Cult – New Star Crusade – that worships at the Adena Mounds is another matter. They are most definitely NOT cooperative, and were decidedly unhelpful and very litigious. I think, based on my conversation with Danan Ignus; he really does believe that the end of the world is coming, and that as high priest he and his will become … at the want of a better word, relevant. Whether or not they are enemies (AC: Us, or the mound creatures?) is another thing. I did catch a feeling that he was very concerned about what hunted around the mounds. I have no direct knowledge about whether or not he knows what it is/was. I will say though, that if he realizes that there’s no longer a sharp-toothed supernatural threat there that he might become bolder, and his true intent may become more obvious. My personal feeling is that when I called his compound asking whether or not his was missing any followers is that he had some idea about what was happening. He bears further watching.

As stated, I contacted a Native American Shaman – get name – to assist with figuring out what was going on. His help proved invaluable. Subsequently, I let him know that at the very least the immediate threat had been eliminated. My suggestion is to retain his assistance in keeping an eye on the place (AC: Good to keep an eye out for friendlies, especially ones with skill). Things were disturbed there, and given the histories related to it, I don’t believe that leaving it unwatched is a good idea. I think that he and his are uniquely suited for that purpose, and should prove willing, since in the dim past they were involved in the creation of them to begin with.

On the topic of the mounds: If you look at them from the top down, you notice that there are three lumps. If the verbal history is right, and the people drove the snake people in there, then, if there are three lumps, were there at least three of the monsters (AC: Why just three? Those mounds are rather big.)? If so, then there is almost certainly one more to worry about.

The lizard man that we killed was a clever hunter. Whether or not he possessed more than human level intelligence is up for debate. Here’s what transpired:

After all of our conversations were exhausted, we drove out to walk around the mounds and take a look around. We were not being particularly stealthy and were discussing the mounds, the case as we walked. A little girl (see attached photo of missing child) who looked very much like one of the missing people appeared in the woods, naked, giggled and ran off. That’s when I called the cult to find out if they were missing anyone. The area is far too remote for a naked little kid to be running around in. In hindsight, the snake man was probably trying to lure us to one of his favored kill spots. When that didn’t work, he ran off. No doubt Agent Fox has mentioned that the thing that lay down changed shape and mass when it moved off. Then, it seemed to move fairly rapidly in the direction of the town. I think it was once again trying to lure us into chasing it.

It then slowed down, and I think that it was stalking us. When we got near our car (returned without a scratch, I feel obligated to report! – AC: Mrs. White will be pleased) things started getting weird. FattyB got really quiet, and then said something about going into the woods. I kicked him in the back of the head, and knocked him out. We drove off, and later, Fatty told us that he had the feeling that the creature was in his mind, and that his perspective had shifted to the creature’s. I understand why he was freaked out—I have experienced the same thing, though not in this case. I credit Professor Xavier’s school for wayward agents for that (AC: I won’t tell the honorable Dr. Wooton you said that). So, after some thought on the way back to the hotel (I saw no reason to continue trying to find the thing in the dark), we decided that it would be a decent idea to talk to the shaman again, and at least let him know that the creature had some telepathic ability. You have to know that the shaman was part of my back up plan…in case we didn’t succeed. Plus, it was pretty obvious if we were going to go hunt the thing that Fatty B had to get some sort of protection.

We went out again the next morning. It took some walking, and a combination of Agent Fox’s tracking skill coupled with my ability to detect life to find it (another point: The thing could hide from detect life—I need to learn that skill), but we did. I think it became somewhat frustrated when it realized that it wasn’t going to be able to attack us from stealth. Our battle plan was simple: Unload on it with firepower. It attacked FattyB first; I think because he was closest to it. Modern weaponry seemed to do adequate damage to it—it started running. This time, we chased.

Eventually (thanks in great part to Agent Fox’s tracking skills) we tracked it to a cave (noted on the map). The cave, of course, had another exit. FattyB volunteered to track it through the cave. We gave him the tracking round, and a flashbang grenade, then and followed him from outside. This thing had proved to be a cunning hunter, and if his healing capabilities were as stated by the Shaman, I thought it very probable that it would be staging another ambush for us.

It was, but this time we were able to get the drop on it. Agent Fox took a vantage point with his rifle, and I snuck around as close as I could get without being spotted. FattyB remained inside the cave, close to the back door entrance. The reptile man was apparently waiting for FattyB to emerge from the cave.
Agent Fox fired, missed, and the reptile man dove back into the cave. FattyB threw a flash bang at just that time. As close as I can get to what actually happened, I think that the flash bang stunned him, and whatever else FattyB did (he said something about “Bigby’s hand of proctologic something or other”) it knocked the reptile man out of the cave. Fox fired, hit, and I think it was dead when I unloaded my rounds into it. Just in case, I cut the head off (I’ve seen lizards grow back tails and stuff, but I’ve never hear of them regrowing a whole head before).

That’s about it. As far as our adventures go, it wasn’t the most complicated of them. I think though, that things could have gone really badly, and I’m left with a few questions.

First, the question about what that teenager was doing outside of the cavern with the portal to the past was doing. I’ve heard that he doesn’t remember anything, which could stand to reason, if a powerful telepath was controlling his mind. Is it possible that there’s a snake person shaman running around loose? (AC: Our internal investigation did not reveal that. Seems like a third party is involved.)

Second on my list of things to know is what was in the containers that Hunt sent to the Middle East when he was moving his company. (AC: Probably not realistic at this time. It was done way before those records were required to be kept…)

Third, what’s the connection with the mounds and the portal at Death Valley? Is there another portal someplace? Like maybe where Hunt had the crates shipped.

(AC: Perhaps our current investigation into Duxbury will fill in the rest of the blanks.)


 

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