Insight for Neophytes
Eyes for the Wise
August 21st, 2018 / Innsmouth, Massachusetts
Early that morning It was a cold, dreary morning as it typically was in Innsmouth. The sleepy Massachusetts town was made even more so. The cloudy, overcast skies were something those who grew up here were used were used to, though and affected them fairly little. About this time most people would have been inside, sleeping. Those up at this hour could rightly be assumed to be up to things better left to the imagination. Of course, such things were left in the realm of fantasy, now weren't they? Even so, very few awake at this hour were unlikely to be up to anything reputable...save of course, you were one of the few brave enough to traverse the darkness and find that which lay in its depths.
Or you were a foolish teenager who didn't know the meaning of the word 'Keep out'.
"Ugh, I'm so going to kill my friends for this." Greg grumbled, the rattling of the fence making his presence obvious to any in the vicinity. With the recent disappearance of one Suzanne Moore, rumors had abound in the teenage cesspool known as 'High School'. His friends? Well, they were a buncha assholes who really liked to play pranks, practical jokes, and take on stupid dares. He was probably just as stupid for actually
agreeing to break into an old abandoned fish processing plant. "Actually, no, I'm going to kill myself for agreeing to this stupid dare."
He grumbled, shaking his head as he fiddled with the recording camera he bought with him. The dare in question? Break into an old abandoned fishery and take at least a twenty-minute video in there to prove that he had, in fact, gone. An unfortunate side effect of being the guy with the expensive recording equipment because of his film-hobby. You think with the mysterious disappearance people would keep their noses clear of this sort of thing, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on some people as imaginations ran wild with ideas of what could have happened.
Well, enough standing around. He pulled hist jacket closer around him, making sure he was alone and there wasn't any sort of security before walking towards the large abandoned building and trying the front door. The door of course, refused to budge. Locked as expected. He frowned, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a set of tools that would
probably get him into a whole hell of a lot of trouble if he got caught with them. A few seconds later, the doorknob on turned and the lock clicked open. Once inside, he was immediately assaulted with the smell of fish and...something else he couldn't quite place. Something Metallic?
"Blegh, and you think they'd have gotten rid of all the fish before leaving..." He covered his hand with his mouth, turning the camera forwards, getting a good view of the old place as his flashlight in the other hand lit up the room in front of him. A long, dark hallway stretched before him as it lead down into the actual processing area further down. Doors on either side of the hallway seemed to lead into office areas or other various now disused rooms. Whatever. He wasn't too interested. He just wanted to get the footage and get out before something inevitably bad happened. Felt like he was in a bad horror story.
Greg moved forward slowly, poking his head into each of the rooms as he passed. Terry and Ethan would give him shit if he didn't at least make an attempt to explore, and he wasn't going to deal with their bullshit. Eventually, his steps carried him into the main processing area, or at least what remained of it.
CrrrrackThe teenagers eyes widened as a loud snapping and cracking noise echoed through the supposedly empty room.
"...rusty old pipes, right. Probably just some water and stuff." His attempts at reassurance were quickly dispelled. There was the sound of something wet and disgustingly flesh sounding tearing and ripping. Something cutting it.
"Pretty little eyes...enough, enough." He blinked. That...was definitely
not his voice...but it also wasn't the voice of something he'd attribute to some sort of monster. In a normal situation he'd be absolutely terrified, but the voice...it was music like, and it flowed like sweet honey and birdsong. Whatever fear he might have felt, was quickly dispelled by the voice of whoever was speaking.
"Hmm, still missing something. Needs...ah?" The voice suddenly silenced itself as he approached. That was likely a bad sign, but he couldn't stop himself by now. His curiosity was getting the best of him, and slow unsure footsteps carried him forwards. What he found was a grizzly scene. A pile of at least thirty or so fish dead in a pile. The oddest part? They all had their eyes removed with seemingly near surgical precision. He stumbled backwards, resisting the urge to puke. Just what had he stumbled on?! Then he became keenly aware of something breathing
behind him - he could feel it on his neck. Despite all logical judgement, he turned slowly.
"Ah...now, what is a curious little human doing here?" Greg immediately stumbled backwards into the pile of fish, dropping his camera to the floor. He would have screamed if it wasn't for the soothing tone with which it spoke. The creature was hanging upside down from one of the large conveyor belts as its frail looking appendages grasped it firmly, giving him quite the good view of it thanks to his flashlight. It's 'hair' hung almost to the floor. Despite it being hair, it was clearly slimy and seemed to be some sort of filmy substance that reminded him of seaweed. Its body was covered in pale blue, clammy skin and its body was covered only by a dingy, overly long hoodie. The most horrific part though, was its face - or perhaps its lack of one. Where its eyes should have been, they were instead sewn shut with what looked to be thick barbed wire. Wordlessly, it released its grip, falling to the floor with uncanny silence as it regarded Greg.
"Hmm...don't worry, human. This one has no desire to harm." Despite the weirdness of this situation, Greg's mind seemed to accept it easily.
"It is rare this one converses with humans." Even if he wasn't questioning it, he was still at a loss for words as the creature began crawling across the ground towards his camera. It regarded it only for a moment before picking it up - and smashing it against the ground, easily breaking it.
"Hey what are-" Before he could finish that sentence, it shoved a clammy hand over his mouth.
"Ah-Ah. I am La-Zha, Greggory. This one knows many things and secrets to answer your next query." His mind was racing, and it had so many questions but he still couldn't feel frightened or anything other than curiosity. The creature removed its hand from his mouth, and he sat up, trying to wrap his mind around what he was currently experiencing. La-Zha, the creature, moved over to the pile of fish and began the process of gutting them.
"What are...
you?"
"Ah-Ah. You are not ready, human." It replied, pulling a skull bone from a fish.
"But...perhaps you will be soon?" It chuckled to itself, black claws scratching against the bone as it etched something into it. "Take it." Without explanation, it shoved the fish-skull into his hands.
"Now...forget that we met. When you are ready...perhaps we will meet again?" "W-ait, what?"
"Heh...seek answers in the tide, human. A rain is coming, and you would do well to listen to its song." Before he could question it further, La-Zha turned and left, leaving only a confused Greg and a fish-bone talisman of some sort with him. The teenager got up, rubbing his head confusedly. Well...this was...interesting, to say the least...but his curiosity had been peaked and maybe he'd give it a look.
August 21st, 2018 / Innsmouth, Massachusetts
Evening, Camilla's House "What do you mean you 'lost it'?." Camilla frowned behind the wheel of her dark blue 2016 Hyndai Sonata as she pulled into her driveway. "I don't care
how or
why just make sure you have them by tomorrow!" She hung up the phone, angrily pressing the red hang-up button repeatedly just to vent a little frustration. The woman grumbled as she left the car, slamming the door shut behind her as she walked up to her suburban home and stepped inside, slumping against the door tiredly. "Ugh, the judge is going to have my ass on a gold plate hanging above his stupid bald head that reads 'Incompetent'. This is why doing things myself is always-annnnd why do I smell fish?"
The answer was rather obvious as she walked inside and up the stairs outside of the small foyer. Sitting on her table, was none other than La-Zha holding a large jar of something suspended in a dirty yellow liquid. Ugh, she'd have to clean that. Of course, she coudln't show any disrespect to it. That would surely earn its ire.
"La-Zha...it is rare you visit me directly these days." She said as she pulled off her heels, tossing them on the floor. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you let yourself in."
"Easy to slip in," Placing the jar of fish eyes on the table.
"Slip through the cracks when the tide is high." La-Zha hopped off the table.
"These are...fish eyes?" Camilla inquired as she inspected the jar. It was something she was familiar with - she had used them before, though nothing in this quantity before. "This is quite a bit. Their purpose?"
"For a ritual of rain." It replied.
"That...doesn't help."
"This one can not divulge all the secrets of the Oceans." It headed to the back door of the house. Camilla furrowed her eyebrows in mild frustration. Cryptic as ever.
"Will you be back for the evening? Or will you be elsewhere?"
"Perhaps, this one will return to the reef, or perhaps it will be swept away by the tide and explore that which lies beyond. Depends on how many little fish this one finds." In other words, if it found something or someone to occupy itself with it won't, and if it doesn't then it might. Well, that was great. Camilla sighed, taking a seat in a chair and resting her head on her hand as La-Zha left.
Ah...today was going to be great and now her house smelled of dead fish.
Xaltwind,
datadogie,
TruthHurts,
Yankee,
Renose,
BabyKaiju,
Double,
Crusader Lord,
Savo,
Dragonfly 9
