Fresh from their holiday at the North Island Sanatorium, this investigation brings together the usual suspects;
Mike McDowell - No longer made of Metal, more pliable these days
Reginald Appleton - Still bitter about someone else drinking from his hip-flask
Horatio Montague-Campbell - a jock with a speech impediment, incomprehensible
Colorado "Scarface" Smith - More nicknames than a men's shower room
and introducing
"Woody" Winklestein - Photographer, journalist and story teller. Sometimes calls himself Willy
THE PLANTATION
Early on a summer afternoon Mike, Colorado and Reginald receive a phone call from Officer Danvers. He was the lead officer on the Corbett House case they were involved in six months earlier.
Apparently, authorities in Arkham had picked up a person believed to be Walter Corbett wandering naked along the Miscatonic River a few weeks previously. They needed to drive to Arkham Sanatorium the following day to meet Officer Danvers to try and identify this person.
Not wanting to miss out on a possible story Woody and Horatio decided to tag along for the ride. Too many for one auto-mobile they decided to take both Woody and Mike’s vehicles on the short drive to Arkham.
On arrival they met up with Officer Danvers and a man in a dark suit, introduced to the investigators as Agent Smith from the United States Bureau of Investigation. The group where asked to leave their weapons at the front desk and where led by an orderly through the massive building until they arrived at a cell door.
Colorado, remembering what happened last time he got close to a cell door decided to stay well back.
“Is this Walter Corbett?” Asked Officer Danvers sliding back the inspection cover on the door.
Reginald peeked through the slot at the small, old man rocking backwards and forwards, clutching his knees tightly to his chest.
“Yep, that’s him”
It turns out he was found almost two weeks previously, wandering naked under the West Street bridge. When confronted by local police officers he became violent and was eventually brought to the Sanatorium for sectioning.
“Isn’t he suppose ta be deed?” asked Horatio confused.
“Umm no” replied Officer Danvers, while a puzzled Agent Smith shook his head behind him.
“So you are sure it is him” asked Officer Danvers turning to face Reginald.
“99% sure”
“That’s enough for me” interjected Agent Smith, “I’ll take it from here, thanks for your assistance” he said pushing past Officer Danvers and shutting the inspection cover.
The party where led from the building by Officer Danvers, picking up their firearms on the way, only stopping so Woody could take a photo of the most insane looking inmate he could. His bright flash causing a bit of an uproar among the inmates and staff.
The investigators decided to search the area around the bridge for clues on where Walter Corbett had been for the last 2 weeks.
Finding nothing of interest they headed back to their vehicles, with a plan to park up at the old church and watch the bridge for anything out of the ordinary.
By this time, the traffic in Arkham had built up and the four block drive to the church was slow going. When suddenly, from out of nowhere a small, coloured child ran out in front of Woody’s car.
Applying his brakes he managed to swerve to avoid the child, not before he clipped the boy with the wing of his car, sending the small defenceless child spinning onto the tarmac.
“What the fuck!” shouted Woody, clambering from his vehicle “What have you done to my car?”
Seeing that there was minimal damage to his bumper, Woody turned to the small child rolling around on the road in pain.
“Where did you learn to cross the road?” he shouted at the oblivious child.
By now a small group of people had assembled on the side of the road and where beginning to take interest.
“Can you help me? I need to find Master Albert Gist” pleaded the young boy. “My sister’s in a peck of trouble” the boy explained. “I was hopin’ to find Master Gist up here. Somehow I just know he’d be willin’ to help”.
Mike, trying to be helpful, approached an onlooker. “Do you know an Albert Gist?”
“What?” replied the puzzled man. “Leave me alone”
After a quick assessment of the boys wounds and noticing that he was only dressed in tattered clothing and not wearing any shoes the investigators decided to help the boy to find Mr Albert Gist.
As Joe’s tale unfolds the investigators learn that he has travelled up from South Carolina in search of Albert Gist. Remarkably, Joe had covered the 950+ miles by train, car and on foot, in little more than a week.
“Somethin’ bad is goin’ on back home. I have to see Master Albert right away. Master Caleb’s up to no good.”
Although he didn't know where Albert Gist lives he leads the investigators straight to his front door. A remote farmhouse about 30 minutes drive from Arkham, a model T Ford parked outside.
Sensing a trap, Colorado suggests slashing the car’s tyres so its owner can’t escape. Ignored by the rest of the group, who walk up onto the porch of the house and knock on the door.
MEETING THE PROFESSOR
The door is opened by a man in his mid forties, well dressed with a look of puzzlement on his face until he notices Joe.
“Joe!” exclaims Gist. “What are you doing here?”
As Joe begins to spill his story, Gist gives his injuries a cursory examination, something the investigators failed to do.
“He ran in front of my car” explains Woody. “Didn’t even look!”
Gist accepts their explanation and offers refreshments. “It’s quite a long drive out and I want to properly thank you for helping Joe.”
The professor then ushered the group into his study and goes to prepare the refreshements. Checking the bookshelves Woody and Mike notice a number of books on the occult and psychology.
“Any books on vampyres?” asked Mike.
After Gist returned with the coffee he asks Joe to tell them what has happened.
“Its Master Caleb, Sir. He’s been messin’ around with a new mojo man come to the plantation from down south somewhere. Master Caleb and this man been doin’ somethin’ secret and now there’s talk of holdin’ a special ceremony down in the swamp by the old Obeah stone. They got my sister, Master Albert. They came right into the house and grabbed both her and my ma. Now he’s holdin’ ‘em prisoner. They tried to catch me, but I was too fast for ‘em. I lit out across the swamp and didn’t stop runnin’ till I hit the highway.”
Joe paused for a minute and the investigators noticed Albert’s face had turned pale and tense.
“Thank you Joe, please go wait in the kitchen”
Once Joe had gone, Gist apologised to the investigators.
“I'm sorry you have had to hear about this. Judging from what Joe has told me it sounds as though my younger brother Caleb has commited some grave errors of judgement. My brother has for a long time amused himself with the study of ancient forms of magic, a study that until recently I've not taken seriously. Caleb, although an unscrupulous sort, never seemed to show more than an amateur’s interest. Now I learn this”
“The Gist plantation has been owned by my family for generations, Joe and his family work there as sharecroppers. My brother Caleb, after a dispute we had years back, lives there by himself running the plantation at little or no profit, I might add. I visit the place usually once a year, but relations between my brother and I are, shall we say, strained, and I do not stay very long.”
“For the last year or so I’ve heard rumours about Caleb’s behaviour but now I’m convinced something is amiss. I don’t know about the things little Joe’s said, his people are a superstitious lot and you can’t always believe everything they say – but certainly Caleb’s foolishness and bad management have gotten entirely out of hand. It seems almost certain that Caleb is terrorizing the sharecroppers for his own amusement and, worse yet, has gotten himself involved in some sort of unsavoury religious practise. I’ve even heard rumours of trouble with the police.”
“It’s time someone put a stop to Caleb and I suppose it’s my responsibility.”
With that Albert called out to Joe telling him to prepare to travel down to South Carolina in the morning.
Joe peeked around the corner with tears in his eyes. “Are these people going to help us?” he asked imploringly.
“No, I’m afraid not, I’m sure these nice men don’t want to get involved in our business.”
With that there was a knock on the front door.
“Probably one of my students” Gist explains. “They sometimes visit without notice”
Excusing himself he left the room to answer the door.
After a minute or so there seemed to be loud voices coming from the front room.
“Ah know he’s in there, bring him out now before ah gits mad!”
“Something bad is going to happen” said Joe softly, a look of panic spreading across his face.
Before the group could act, Joe ran off to the window and struggled to open it. Suddenly out of nowhere gunshots rang out and bullets came crashing through the window from the back yard. Sending broken glass and shattered window frames into the room.
Joe dived under the couch for cover. Reginald and Woody dived for cover, drawing their pistols as they went. Colorado and Mike dived to the floor, successfully avoiding the bullets and broken glass.
Horatio, expecting trouble from the front room stood his ground near the study door and drew his Mauser, lucky not to get hit by a stray bullet.
Reginald and Woody returned fire from their positions while Mike and Colorado crept along the floor as low to the ground as possible. Horatio stood his ground, pistol ready should anyone come through the study door.
Then, as quickly as it had started, the gunfire stopped.
Woody and Reginald peeked out from their hiding spots but could see nothing in the darkness outside. Horatio decided to switch off the lights in order to even the odds on their attackers. Mike and Colorado still crawling towards the front door and window respectively.
“I think I hit one” said Woody.
“Me too” replied Reginald.
“Let’s go outside and check their bodies.”
“OK”
Mike and Colorado decided to check on Albert Gist while Horatio checked Joe for injuries.
“That was Big Rafe Bodeen” whimpered Joe, “He’s the overseer at the plantation”
Mike and Colorado found Albert Gist huddled on the front doorstep, unharmed but visibly shaken.
“He claimed little Joe stole money from him and wanted to see him. I wasn’t about to let the ruffian in, of course, obviously was a part of some vile plan. Lord help poor Caleb. I had a feeling that I’d need help in any dealings with brother Caleb, after this disaster I’m sure of it. Thank God you were here, or we might have been killed.”
After about thirty minutes the police turned up. Mike went outside to greet them, much to Reginald’s dismay.
After pointing out that all 3 of the cars outside now had slashed tyres the police officers searched the area and took statements from all present. Woody making sure to pass out as many business cards as possible, while also attempting to copy the officer’s notes while taking he was taking statements.
Horatio decided transparency was the best policy and explained all of the details of the day leading up to the shooting. The only details from his day not divulged where what he had for breakfast and his thoughts on racial equality.
Much to the shock of his companions.
The investigators were told by police not to leave the county until further notice, so with them graciously accepting Albert’s offer of a bed for the night, the investigators got some much needed rest.
The next morning they were woken by the same police officer as the night before explaining that all of their stories check out and they were free to travel as they saw fit. The officer also mentioned reports of a large group of men arriving in Arkham the previous morning. Apparently they were also responsible for an automobile that had been stolen from in front of the station.
THE JOURNEY SOUTH
The group had decided that for various reasons (a good story, adventure, guilt and money), they would accompany Mr Gist and Joe to South Carolina to help search for Joe’s sister and see what Caleb Gist was up to.
After packing their gear and readying themselves the group then met Joe and Albert at the Arkham train station where Albert had already booked tickets for their trip down to Charleston. From there, they would meet with a friend of Albert’s named Elihu Winsworthy, who would take them to Walterboro and then on to the plantation by car.
The group found their carriage without any concern and packed away their belongings in time for dinner. Woody, Reginald and Colorado in one room, Mike, Horatio, Albert and Joe in the adjoining room.
At dinner Horatio thought he was being watched, looking up he saw a scraggly dressed man, watching his party from the other end of the dinner car. He stood up and approached the man, who was by now pretending to look out of the window.
"Ye got a problem laddo?" asked the burly Scotsman
"Nope, do you?" replied the stranger.
"Ye seem to be taking a keen interest in me and my friends." countered Horatio
"No I'm not" was the reply.
"OK then" said Horatio, returning to the table.
By the time Horatio had returned to the table the stranger had disappeared.
With dinner consumed, the investigators, Albert and Joe returned to their rooms.
Later that evening, while Reginald and Woody dozed in their cabin, Colorado thought he heard a strange sound coming from the passage outside his cabin. Leaning closer to the door he could hear a strange dragging and scuffing sound.
Without warning, the entire door of the cabin burst inwards with such force that pieces of the destroyed door smashed the reinforced window opposite with a terrific crash.
Standing in the doorway was a brute of a man, with a glazed look in his eyes, similar to that of a week old corpse. Without a sound it turned and reached for Colorado's throat, lurching forward in the process, able to only snag its long, broken nails on Colorado's shirt, ripping it to shreds. Colorado instinctively reached for his pistol, firing a shot into the brutes abdomen.
Roused with a shock, both Woody and Reginald drew their firearms and fired at the hulking figure. Next door, Horatio and Mike jumped to their feet and drawing their weapons leapt from their room into the passageway. Taking pot shots at the back of the brute as it entered their companions room.
The monstrosity, angered by it's feeble attempt to rip Colorado's head off instead grabbed him around the neck, lifting him off his feet and with barely a sound lifted him towards the smashed open window. It took all of Colorado's strength to stop himself from being flung out of the moving train.
Again, Woody and Reginald fired their weapons at the brute. Reginald's shot passing through the right hand side of the abomination's skull destroying its eye and showering Colorado with brains and gore.
Shocked at such a site, Colorado lost grip of the window frame and fell backwards out of the window and into the darkness, luckily avoiding a broken neck and managing to roll with the impact, leaving him out of breath and prone on the bank running alongside the train tracks.
"Pull the fucking brakes!" Shouted Woody, as the brute turned to face him. No sooner had he shouted it when the entire train ground to a screeching halt. Just as Woody, Reginald, Mike and Horatio fired shots into the brute, sending it stumbling backwards out of the window where Colorado had just exited.
Leaping from the train the group quickly found Colorado lying on the side of the tracks. They also found the remains of what had previously attacked them. Just then a conductor came running down the side of the train with a flashlight.
"What the hell happened? Did you fall out of the train?" Shouted the conductor, out of breath.
"Yeah" replied Colorado weakly.
"This thing attacked us in our room and threw him out the window" said Reginald, prodding the long dead body with his boot. Just as Woody took another photo.
"Bull-pucky!" replied the conductor, temporarily blinded by the flash. "This poor fella has been dead for days, probably some unfortunate soul who decided enough was enough and jumped in front of a moving train. Happens all the time."
"Leave the body and get your asses back on the train, damned city folk!" fumed the conductor.
The investigators returned to the train just as it started to pull away. Colorado decided bed-rest was the best option and returned to his new temporary accommodation. Meanwhile the others decided to search the rest of the train for anyone looking suspicious.
All they managed to find was an empty coffin in the luggage car at the back of the train.
On arriving in Charleston the group decided the best option would be to get the hell out of the station before the authorities where summoned by the angry conductor. Again, on exiting the train the group had the feeling they were being watched. At the other end of the platform where two men. dressed in dungarees and looking sheepish, staring directly at the group. That was until Reginald alerted their presence to a Transport Police officer claiming they had something to do with the damaged carriage.
The officer gave chase, giving the group enough time to leave the station and try and find a hotel for the night, while they waited for Elihu Winsworthy to collect them the following day.
The group spent the rest of the day doing a variety of things.
Reginald visited the local church and queried the vicar on strange goings on at the Gist plantation without any luck.
Woody visited the local library where he was able to dig up two newspaper reports that mentioned the Gist Plantation, one was about a detective whose body was found washed up in the Edisto river, south of the plantation. The other report was from over one hundred years previous that tells of a raid by police officers on the swamps near the plantation fearing that ungodly practises where being carried out there.
Mike bought half a dozen walking sticks.
Horatio drank coffee at the cafe across the road from the Hotel.
Colorado slept, recovering from his injuries.
Albert bought clothes for Little Joe who had spent the last 24 hours practically naked....
JOURNEY TO WALTERBORO
The next day Elihu Winsworthy picked up the group and after stopping for lunch drove the group to Walterboro, about fifty miles West of Charleston.
In Walterboro the group decided to buy some more equipment that might be suitable for their stay in a South Carolina swamp. They met with the local Sheriff, Virgil Trucks. Who warned the group about getting too involved with the locals, claiming their stories about people disappearing the swamp as superstitious nonsense.
In the County store they met a surly shopkeeper who charged double rate for "City Slickers" and laughed off Woody's haggling skills. They also met local reverend Isaac Hillson, who claimed the plantation was the "Pit of Satan" and didn't seem to like any of the Gist family.
After some arguing, Albert decided he would deal with the shopkeeper while the others waited outside.....
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