Thunder cracks in the distance.
Rain roars down as if God had called it forth as punishment.
Most people would be inside at this point, but Purgatory was a city that never slept. Amber Faust walked to the scene, followed by the Purgatory police. They called her in, as they often do, to investigate. She had political clout in the city, as the town’s leader. She clenched her umbrella and walked into a scene like new management taking over a business that needed changing. In one moment, her presence stalled all other actions, in the next she directed it into where it should have been to begin with. “Alright you Muskrats!” she shouted towards the police officers following her, “get that tent up over this mess! I don’t want all our evidence down the sh!tter, not like this town ain’t already gone to sh!t…” She held a large umbrella in her arms, keeping her dry, though she didn’t like holding it, the wind making it a battle more than anything. She had a tight yet fashionable all black pantsuit and jacket, but no shirt. You could see her skin in a number of places, but she maintained a serious composure. Her face was quite soft, with short hair and tiny lips, but she had the devil’s eyes piercing down anyone in her way.
The police mobilized around her. They had already begun to set up rods to hold the tent, but they were still having trouble with the intense weather. Many of them wore rain parkas, but many parts would accidentally flutter in the wind. She gave daggers to them as they had gotten a little lazy as she was coming. They should know better. As some were assembling a tent, others had been scouring for any information or evidence. They were effective in their own right, but it was a little difficult, considering the weather conditions.
She looked over the mess before her, water wiping out any hope for solid evidence, she could see the blood drenching down the vents. The walls had been covered by blood as well, but some of that was slowly being taken away by the water. The blood was the least of her concerns, the biggest concern being… all the pieces. The nondescript man had been flayed, splayed, and sprayed across the ground and walls. The arms had been separated in fifty different ways, the legs in one hundred, the stomach in many more, and you get the picture. There was no real semblance of an intentional pattern, it was like an animal---had the animal had rabies, rampant bloodlust, and little care to leave any food. It was savage and disgusting. Inhuman, absolutely inhuman. The body was in chunks. The only evidence available, was the wallet the man had with them. “Daniel Forrester, aged 46; long-time resident. He owned a bar if I remembered rightly, bad wine, though,” she extrapolated.
“What happened to him---err, outside of murder what can you get out of it, Constable?” one of the detectives inquired.
“I don’t have to say much about this: He became a brutal orgy of blood and body parts. You’d call this otherworldly, but knowing this city, there is probably something very real about this,” she remarked, looking at her notepad before shutting it, “Well, I gotta say, this alleyway needed some redecorating. Unfortunately, I don’t think the redecorator was much good, might be good to rehire. We can’t find anything much with this mess. I say we call a town meeting; we can’t hide this, and the people shouldn’t be left in the dark.”
“You sure?”
“Do I tell jokes?”
“A lot, actually. Mostly depressing jokes, I hate your sense of humor. But… I respect your leadership. ”
“Good to have a base-line. Now get that tent up, muskrat, and see about finding anything else. Keep your flints out in case something goes down.”
”I did it! I actually did it! I took someone’s life; it felt so good, so empowering!” the strange person shouted. He stares down at his hands, they were covered in someone else’s red essence. They gave him or her a sense of pride. There was something beautiful in it. ”this stuff is amazing!” the crazed individual cackled, ”just one dose and I feel like I could destroy this city. With one dose, I am a God! With more… and more… and more… I could even become something to surpass God!”
The individual seemed sleep deprived, their hands were manic, they couldn’t see straight, and they had delusions of power. They didn’t even know what was going on around them. Inside their empty room, they looked as if they would fall unconscious, but the person was overjoyed…
EPISODE 1: TRVAG, SO IT BEGINS…
The city continued to rain down, the water coursing through the streets like veins in the bloodstream. There was a fine mist laid out on the street, just around leg-level. She gave a sad sigh was she looked at the town hall. Well, it is known as town hall, but it really has more of a gothic cathedral feel. It had the elaborate pale glass window in the top, the door was surrounded by a hallway of doors. It was used as a town hall, but they never seemed to hold any religious hearings… It was an odd building. She had the bells rung eight times, sequentially, to signal people for a meeting at town square.
The great fire, the fire in the center of the city, was not affected by the rain. It burned as bright as ever. It was loved almost religiously, but it is also safeguarded by a set of barriers; these barriers were put in place so that people didn’t try jumping in it… it was one way to kill yourself… so it was something to stop. Buildings surrounded the fire, as if tepid campers keeping warm in a scary forest they know little about. It was reasonable to be afraid. For whatever warmth there was here, there was only a cold feeling beyond it.
The bells could still be heard from the cathedral. They rang loudly, then echoed. It was a sound that repeated. The sky hung up above the cathedral, ominously reminding the people that they were alone. Remember that childhood dream? The one where every star represented a chance for another people. The eternal hope for an answer to “is anyone out there?” Not in Purgatory. The air was crisp but solitary.
The police were still arranging a number of things in the background. The investigators were cataloging information. the policemen had moved to place up a tent, but barely made it in time. One of the detectives came in with a more extensive list of everything that happened at the incident. Amber reviewed it quickly, making a couple edits to the speech before just chucking the things and just going off the cuff. Why dawdle? It was people’s lives.
Amber stood at the front in a podium, she looked at the crowd, and waited for others to show up. “well, I always hate these meetings; not my thing, but also never a happy meeting…” she mumbled to herself, “why can’t I do a happy meeting! What about a painting… in the museum?” She paused for a second, thinking about that speech, “no, that would just be pretty boring.” She then realized the error in her ways. It felt a little disparaging, but she isn’t here to tell good news, she had a motto to deliver the tough news and get past it. As she looked over the fire, she gave a slight yawn, “I need a drink after this… maybe a good person to visit.”
