Fall From Grace
by Graham Swanson
*Unchecked Emails. An address you seldom used. Your friend who vanished years ago after his wife shot herself in a bathtub has left a series of messages that have been sitting unopened for five years.*
Hey, Richard! It’s been a while. How’re you? You missed all my calls, they must have you over a barrel over at that mill. Ha! Well, there’s no rush. You will find these messages. You’ve been looking for me? That’s my boy, always got my back. I’ll let you know where you can find me just don’t tell anyone else. Remember that place that caught fire some time back? The one where we said we’d meet up as kids? That’s the place. Right by the accident. Broad daylight, dry as bones, leave all your money and belongings behind. You won’t need them here.
I almost found it, Richard. What I’ve been looking for all these years. Just one more day and it will be in my grasp. You don’t know what I’m talking about. I never told you. I never told anyone. You really think we’re here in this place just to idle and toil? It’s something that’s been cutting me up for decades. I didn’t used to believe it. I didn’t want to see it neither. Then after that night… and ever since then, it’s been my utmost desire. Did you tell the cops? Or the family? God, keep them all away from this. I knew I could trust you.
When the vault opened I heard her voice. First man that went in, she spat out his bones. A pile of skulls at the gate! No one has been here in maybe… centuries or more. Now its time for the moon to open, and for the age of the rodent. I want to speak of the fallen hero who rose from the grave. He will lead a revolution of the undead, and marry those long dead bones to the Maidens of Yroh. Did you ever read that book? Richard, there’s so many things I want to show you…
Come closer….
Run, you fool! Why aren’t you running?
There’s a stranger smoking in the alley.
There’s a light on in the abandoned building.
There’s a man coming for you down the hallway
Leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave leave!
She's beautiful, Richard. At first I was scared of her tail and shiny mask. All those arms, the eyes bulging from her neck. The way she drew my blood with her tongue... the way her tongue sapped the marrow of my bones... now I can see things for what they really are. Once you've seen her, you too will be her eternal servant.
Richard. We can wait no longer.
Richard. The time is now. The bell rang, and the bats flew into the clouds. We are coming, and you will be taken. Tell your wife and kids to leave, or they too will be betrothed to her rotten gallery of the obscene.
Oh Richard! You came, but did not stay. Those men who followed you. Where did you find them? She is not happy with you for bringing them. She tore her scales off until the veins in her teeth were exposed to the moonlight. She says you stole from her. You entered her sacred grove and robbed us of the very souls we protected.
Did you get them back? You did. Even the dog. But you left me. You left me. I know you saw me because I saw you. I know you remember the way I always smelled stale like old flour on the floor. I know you felt me scratch your palm. It was me who drove that screw into your foot. You still escaped though. But for how long?
When you die, you will all belong to us, and will be our slaves on the Otherside.
So this is what you do with your power? Governor Richard, you had them build the new prison over our graves. They tore down the grove, removed the corpses, and paved the entire square area. Did you not think of what they will do to those inmates? Maybe you hope that we will stay quietly confined like the thieves and ne'erdowells and rapists. Such a foolish innocence! You have changed since we first met. Sorry that your horses all died in that fire. Condemn us if you want to, but soon we fill find one prisoner who will listen to our call, and she will appear to him. Then we shall shake the walls down, and unleash the oppressed onto this forsaken land!
Your ban has failed. They still talk to us. We showed them the Otherside and the beauty of it's limitless devastation. Soon, Richard, you will be unable to hide.
You were going to have them eradicated. We found the poison, and the cops you entrusted with those secret orders now belong to us. Your farmland will be watered in blood. Once we spill this story, your head will be on a pike in the middle of Memorial Stadium along with your children. We will take care of this now.
Richard. Did you hear about the mass suicide? Those souls you kept under your boot are with us now. Before your goons could act. Those who didn't hang themselves or drown themselves in the toilets were met by your doom squads. But all they found in those cells were bodies ripped apart and smeared over the cell. Some of them refused to open their cells, so we reached in and pulled them out bit by bit. Rumor is the prison you built isn't going away. You're going to send in the refugees and exiles from foreign lands. Those with no homes to return to.
She is happy with what you've done. With the prison under our influence, we have no shortage of souls to feed on. she says if you keep the trains coming in that she will end the nightmares, and let you and your kids live without our pleasant visits. But be aware, Governor Richard, that you too will die. On that day, however soon, you will come face to face with her again, and this time, she will prevail.
P.S. Sorry about the passing of your wife. She was always kind to me. Makes me sad that she had to go in such a painful way. There was not a moment in which she got to reflect peacefully on her loved ones. She saw the other side, and was blinded by its wonders. She fought and screamed until the portal closed around her. We only took a foot and a fistful of hair. We still have them. She wears them around her neck. You could've just told her the truth, you know. Why didn't you?
Richard. The prison. It's in ruins. You can't trust your party secretaries. They know not. However, as your closest advisor, I can let you know what really happened. These was no wine in the back of the toilet. There was overcrowding, but that was intentional. As soon as they discovered the catacombs under the prison, they beat the guard to death and threw the American flag down. They broke into the warden's office, trashed it, and scaled the fences until the gates finally came down. I need you to round them up. Do not let them escape, or they will tear down this prison, and YOU will be exposed.
Put the gun down Richard. Put the gun down. Put the gun down. Put it down. Put it down. put it down put it down puttdownputitdownputitdownputifdownputitdownputitdownputitdownputitdownputitdownputitdownputitdownputitdownputitidwonputitdownputitdownpititdownputitiwdputitdownputitdiwnputitdownputdownputdownputdown...
Hello, Emily. I was a friend of your father's before he became the governor. We go aways back. Everything your family went through is such a tragedy, but to have your father survive a suicide attempt, and them vanish like that from his hospital bed only brings immense pain to my heart. I want you to know that he is safe and happy where he is now. There's a beautiful place where I've been waiting for him. So much as has changed in his life, but I still remember when he was a kid playing with the AUTOPEN and tricking me into thinking the District Attorney was going to arrest me for not showering and drinking all of his pop. I just want to talk about those old times again. It's like that all the time here. Free and young forever. Life has been hard for you too. First the kidnappings, the beatings, the nightmares, the losses, the controversy, the protests, the abortion, then losing your first election, the internment, the divorce, losing that money, the drugs. I just want you to know that you will always have a friend here. All you've got to do is reach out to me... Call out in the daylight so I can see you. Be somewhere in the open so I can find you. Make sure you hold a candle. We will bring you to that place on a trail of silver grass, and should you enter her covenant, you will be rewarded with unfathomable powers. Come to us. Come to us. Come to us. Come to us....
Emily, it's your father...
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