Chapter 7: Different Point of View
My name's Tom, Tom Farnwald. Mr. Crocker said I should relate my side of the
story to you occasionally, where it becomes necessary. Considering the events which took
place while he was god knows where, it certainly is necessary.
I had gotten an invitation from this hot goth girl, Nadine, to go to one of the local parties. Parties are the universe's gift to teenagers. There's no other place where you can get messed up on lots of different things in a safe place surrounded by your favorite kids of people. I love booze, pot, and hot girls, and because this was a goth party, there'd be plenty of other interesting things.
The town was its usual quiet self. It was getting colder by the second, but I had
gotten used to it. I was sure at the time that whatever problems this town was having, it
was probably the government's fault. My theory at the time was that they were
experimenting with new technology in the region without any regard for people's lives.
My theory was about to proven very wrong.
I'd walked for what seemed like days down Bloch Street towards my destination. I
passed by some... boring landmarks. I don't know why anyone would build a store
devoted entirely to selling chainsaws. I passed by a run-down church. It was the only
church I had seen in any part of the town, and it looked like it had been abandoned. For
some reason that did not sit well with me.
There was a paper nailed to the door of the church. Wanting to know the reasons
for the its abondonment, I decided to take a closer look. "This building condemned by
order of the Mayor." People didn't knock over churches without a very good reason. The
cracks in the ceiling and walls looked like good enough reason for me.
Loud blasts of electric guitar cords hit my ears as I approached the house Nadine
had told me about. Every house I passed looked identical. None of them had garages,
instead, residents were intended to park in alleyways that housed multiple garages. It was
a weird design, why would anyone want to walk a block just to get to their car in the
morning.
I knocked on the door and a familiar face answered. It wasn't Nadine, it was the
guy me and Mr. Crocker had seen when we first got to town. He looked like even more of
a mess than the first time I saw him. I could tell he was high, drunk, and possibly tripping.
"Who the frigin hell er you... an outsider or shhhomething...?"
"Uhh... I'm Tom... Nadine invited me."
"Nadine... com'here, I'm shooo, oh godsh..."
He stumbled back into the house. I thought his entire performance was funny, but
what the hell did he mean by outsider? Then again, these are goths, they're weird, no
matter what town they live in.
It was a bit dark inside. There weren't as many people as I expected, other than
Nadine and the wasted dude, I counted four guys and five girls. They were all dressed
similar to Nadine, with various piercings, tattoos, and huge gobs of makeup. Surprisingly,
I noticed there were no pentagrams or inverted crosses.
"Heeeyyy Toooommm....", slurred Nadine as she came to give me a hug. At first I
thought she was just happy, but her pupils were enlarged. Oh well...
"Hey you", I said as I hugged her back. I liked her for some reason. Maybe it was
because she seemed so sweet and innocent, yet also was into the same stuff I was. That's a
rare combination. Only difference, I was more into studying the occult, she seemed more
into practicing it.
It was a weird party. Not many people seemed up to having a conversation.
Feeling no need to get drunk, I sipped casually on my glass of wine. I've never been to a
college party where the only alcohol being served was red wine.
Eventually, some guy crawled up to me and asked, "Heeey, wannnaa tryy some
PTV...?"
"What the hell is PTV?"
He held up a bag of white powder, then snorted a line off his arm. I had never
heard of PTV before, I guessed it was some new club drug. Either way, I didn't like
messing around with anything but weed and booze.
As usual, I got drunk without realizing it. Nadine took this opportunity to take
advantage of me. I had no idea why, but she grabbed my arm and started dragging me
somewhere. I suddenly found myself in the backyard, and she started kissing my neck.
"But I thought you had a boyfriend...", I objected.
"I only said that because you're an outsider. You won't be very long."
I was too drunk to consider her words, so we started making out. It was pleasant,
unfortunately I don't remember much about it. I do suddenly remember a plant suddenly
growing very fast out of a plastic table and a swarm of bees being released as the flower
bloomed and then flying into the shape of a triangle.
"What the hell... o shit!"
Reality as I formerly knew it began to dissolve. I felt my soul rip away from my
body. Suddenly, I felt as though I could taste the color of Nadine's hair and smell the
sounds of the party. Fearful as to what was happening, I somehow managed to stumble
out the back fence and into an alleyway.
It was obvious later, though I had no idea at the time, that somehow had slipped
something into my drink. It was that PTV stuff, some sort of intense hallucinogen. As I
stumbled out of the alleyway onto the street, I began to enjoy my experience. It wasn't
painful or unpleasant, just weird.
Nadine had followed me, and I stumbled into her. She laid me down on the
concrete and smiled.
"How do you feel?", she asked.
"Like I've met god..."
"You have, although you should not call Him by that name."
All the parties patrons had gathered around me. Each one was wearing a black
robe over their usual attire. Two of the larger ones walked towards me, holding a large
gold container over their heads. Nadine forced me to my feet as they took positions to
pour whatever was in that thing over my head.
A pair of rough hands grasped me from behind and pulled me towards its source. I
fell into something and felt soft leather hit my back. Then, I was suddenly moving rapidly
and the goths disappeared from view. Mr. Crocker had pulled me into his car.
"We're leaving...", he said as he closed the door behind me.
"That sounds pretty, talk more, I like you.
"What the hell's wrong with you boy!"
He grabbed my face and forced my eyelids open. He stared directly into them and
jumped back in shock.
"What have you been up to, eh?"
"Partying!"
"It sure looks like it. Someone probably drugged you up with that White Claudia
crap. Everyone in this town is nuts. Everything in this town is nuts. We're getting out of
here!"
Suddenly Mr. Crocker was forced to slam on the breaks as someone jumped out
into the middle of the road. We swerved about and just barely missed running into the
person. Luckily, we didn't crash. I was still tripping at the time, so I am now relating what I was later told.
An elderly man had intentionally stepped out into the road. He had long white hair
on his head and his face. He wore a long brown robe tied together with a purple sash. On
the robe were several symbols Crocker had never seen before.
"What the hell's your goddamn problem!!!", Mr. Crocker screamed.
"Do not flee yet, said the man. Your prescence is still desired."
"Who are you and what are you talking about...?"
"The darkness friend. The darkness that consumed this town and is now
consuming your unclean soul."
"Do you know what's going on in this place?"
"All will be revealed shortly. As for now, your prescence is requested at the house
of knowledge."
"That's great, but I have no time for this. You can deal with the darkness, I'm
getting out of here!"
I heard the door slam as Crocker got back in the car. I had curled up into a ball in
the back seat. We seemed to drive for hours, even though the tunnel was only a few
blocks away. Once again, the car suddenly came to a screeching halt. Red lights flashed on
and off from a multitude of police cruisers. It was then that I heard something that chilled
me to my bones.
"What do you mean all roads out of town are closed!"
My name's Tom, Tom Farnwald. Mr. Crocker said I should relate my side of the
story to you occasionally, where it becomes necessary. Considering the events which took
place while he was god knows where, it certainly is necessary.
I had gotten an invitation from this hot goth girl, Nadine, to go to one of the local parties. Parties are the universe's gift to teenagers. There's no other place where you can get messed up on lots of different things in a safe place surrounded by your favorite kids of people. I love booze, pot, and hot girls, and because this was a goth party, there'd be plenty of other interesting things.
The town was its usual quiet self. It was getting colder by the second, but I had
gotten used to it. I was sure at the time that whatever problems this town was having, it
was probably the government's fault. My theory at the time was that they were
experimenting with new technology in the region without any regard for people's lives.
My theory was about to proven very wrong.
I'd walked for what seemed like days down Bloch Street towards my destination. I
passed by some... boring landmarks. I don't know why anyone would build a store
devoted entirely to selling chainsaws. I passed by a run-down church. It was the only
church I had seen in any part of the town, and it looked like it had been abandoned. For
some reason that did not sit well with me.
There was a paper nailed to the door of the church. Wanting to know the reasons
for the its abondonment, I decided to take a closer look. "This building condemned by
order of the Mayor." People didn't knock over churches without a very good reason. The
cracks in the ceiling and walls looked like good enough reason for me.
Loud blasts of electric guitar cords hit my ears as I approached the house Nadine
had told me about. Every house I passed looked identical. None of them had garages,
instead, residents were intended to park in alleyways that housed multiple garages. It was
a weird design, why would anyone want to walk a block just to get to their car in the
morning.
I knocked on the door and a familiar face answered. It wasn't Nadine, it was the
guy me and Mr. Crocker had seen when we first got to town. He looked like even more of
a mess than the first time I saw him. I could tell he was high, drunk, and possibly tripping.
"Who the frigin hell er you... an outsider or shhhomething...?"
"Uhh... I'm Tom... Nadine invited me."
"Nadine... com'here, I'm shooo, oh godsh..."
He stumbled back into the house. I thought his entire performance was funny, but
what the hell did he mean by outsider? Then again, these are goths, they're weird, no
matter what town they live in.
It was a bit dark inside. There weren't as many people as I expected, other than
Nadine and the wasted dude, I counted four guys and five girls. They were all dressed
similar to Nadine, with various piercings, tattoos, and huge gobs of makeup. Surprisingly,
I noticed there were no pentagrams or inverted crosses.
"Heeeyyy Toooommm....", slurred Nadine as she came to give me a hug. At first I
thought she was just happy, but her pupils were enlarged. Oh well...
"Hey you", I said as I hugged her back. I liked her for some reason. Maybe it was
because she seemed so sweet and innocent, yet also was into the same stuff I was. That's a
rare combination. Only difference, I was more into studying the occult, she seemed more
into practicing it.
It was a weird party. Not many people seemed up to having a conversation.
Feeling no need to get drunk, I sipped casually on my glass of wine. I've never been to a
college party where the only alcohol being served was red wine.
Eventually, some guy crawled up to me and asked, "Heeey, wannnaa tryy some
PTV...?"
"What the hell is PTV?"
He held up a bag of white powder, then snorted a line off his arm. I had never
heard of PTV before, I guessed it was some new club drug. Either way, I didn't like
messing around with anything but weed and booze.
As usual, I got drunk without realizing it. Nadine took this opportunity to take
advantage of me. I had no idea why, but she grabbed my arm and started dragging me
somewhere. I suddenly found myself in the backyard, and she started kissing my neck.
"But I thought you had a boyfriend...", I objected.
"I only said that because you're an outsider. You won't be very long."
I was too drunk to consider her words, so we started making out. It was pleasant,
unfortunately I don't remember much about it. I do suddenly remember a plant suddenly
growing very fast out of a plastic table and a swarm of bees being released as the flower
bloomed and then flying into the shape of a triangle.
"What the hell... o shit!"
Reality as I formerly knew it began to dissolve. I felt my soul rip away from my
body. Suddenly, I felt as though I could taste the color of Nadine's hair and smell the
sounds of the party. Fearful as to what was happening, I somehow managed to stumble
out the back fence and into an alleyway.
It was obvious later, though I had no idea at the time, that somehow had slipped
something into my drink. It was that PTV stuff, some sort of intense hallucinogen. As I
stumbled out of the alleyway onto the street, I began to enjoy my experience. It wasn't
painful or unpleasant, just weird.
Nadine had followed me, and I stumbled into her. She laid me down on the
concrete and smiled.
"How do you feel?", she asked.
"Like I've met god..."
"You have, although you should not call Him by that name."
All the parties patrons had gathered around me. Each one was wearing a black
robe over their usual attire. Two of the larger ones walked towards me, holding a large
gold container over their heads. Nadine forced me to my feet as they took positions to
pour whatever was in that thing over my head.
A pair of rough hands grasped me from behind and pulled me towards its source. I
fell into something and felt soft leather hit my back. Then, I was suddenly moving rapidly
and the goths disappeared from view. Mr. Crocker had pulled me into his car.
"We're leaving...", he said as he closed the door behind me.
"That sounds pretty, talk more, I like you.
"What the hell's wrong with you boy!"
He grabbed my face and forced my eyelids open. He stared directly into them and
jumped back in shock.
"What have you been up to, eh?"
"Partying!"
"It sure looks like it. Someone probably drugged you up with that White Claudia
crap. Everyone in this town is nuts. Everything in this town is nuts. We're getting out of
here!"
Suddenly Mr. Crocker was forced to slam on the breaks as someone jumped out
into the middle of the road. We swerved about and just barely missed running into the
person. Luckily, we didn't crash. I was still tripping at the time, so I am now relating what I was later told.
An elderly man had intentionally stepped out into the road. He had long white hair
on his head and his face. He wore a long brown robe tied together with a purple sash. On
the robe were several symbols Crocker had never seen before.
"What the hell's your goddamn problem!!!", Mr. Crocker screamed.
"Do not flee yet, said the man. Your prescence is still desired."
"Who are you and what are you talking about...?"
"The darkness friend. The darkness that consumed this town and is now
consuming your unclean soul."
"Do you know what's going on in this place?"
"All will be revealed shortly. As for now, your prescence is requested at the house
of knowledge."
"That's great, but I have no time for this. You can deal with the darkness, I'm
getting out of here!"
I heard the door slam as Crocker got back in the car. I had curled up into a ball in
the back seat. We seemed to drive for hours, even though the tunnel was only a few
blocks away. Once again, the car suddenly came to a screeching halt. Red lights flashed on
and off from a multitude of police cruisers. It was then that I heard something that chilled
me to my bones.
"What do you mean all roads out of town are closed!"