How Drunk Was I?

[AceofSpades]

I saw something that isn't supposed to exist.

My therapist says it was either the alcohol or the PTSD leftover from Afghanistan, and I guess out of the two, I'd take drunk over crazy. But I'd only had two drinks that night and I hold my liquor pretty well these days. Wasn't much like the flashbacks, either. I think I really saw something and, hey, you guys look like you believe in that sort of stuff, so it's worth a try.

It was two weeks ago, Saturday night. Like I said, I'd had a couple drinks at Mo's, the bar I go to, and I got to thinking about the guys who never came back from Afghanistan. All of a sudden I was tired of all the noise and the people, so I figured I'd swing by the cemetary, maybe drink a few in their honor. Sad way to spend a Saturday night, I know, but I've been doing it a lot lately.

Anyway, I get to the cemetary. It's closed at night and on weekends, but I can get in over the fence just fine. After all, the taxpayers paid through their noses to make me one of the nation's finest. Should be good for something. There were eight of us in Afghanistan. Brad and Matt are buried here, or what's left of them is. It isn't much, and I can say that with authority, since I saw them die. Didn't take me too long to get to their graves, especially since I could pretty much sleepwalk the route. I'd brought along a bottle of Jack from the bar and I settled down against the tombstones to get more familiar with it.

I'm pretty sure I'd only had a couple sips when I saw something moving a couple rows over. I get kind of jumpy these days when something startles me, so it damn sure caught my attention. I was pretty annoyed at myself for freaking out, but at the same time I wondered who else would be wandering around the cemetary in the middle of the night. To tell you the truth, I kind of think of it as my time and I felt a little cheated, so I kept my head down and crawled in that direction to get a better look, keeping a good hold on my bottle. All I can say is that it's lucky I know better than to give myself away when I spot an enemy, because otherwise I would've shrieked like a little girl when I saw what I was sharing the cemetary with.

It had partly dug up the grave and I guess it had gotten the coffin open, because there were decaying body parts scattered around and the thing was munching down on them like it was Thanksgiving. I've seen a horrible thing or two, so I guess that didn't bother me as much as it should have. What did bother me is that there's no way this thing was human. No way. I mean, maybe once upon a time, but it was down to skin and bones, and in a years-dead way, not a starvation victim kind of way. Maybe I caught my breath or something, because it turned around way too fast and it saw me. I always figured if you're close enough to touch the bad guy, then you're way too close, but I had one of those fight or flight moments, and for me, that pretty much always comes up fight. I lunged at the thing and tried to fucking brain it with my bottle of Jack, but it wiggled away and I only smashed the bottle on its arm. Then the thing took off and I was left alone in the graveyard with a pile of rotting gnawed-on people parts. Oh, yeah, and my Jack was dribbling down into the grave.

So there you have it. That's what happened. My subconscious is pretty messed up, but I don't think it came up with this. I guess if it doesn't sound crazy to you, let me know.

[Ron Caliburn]

Well you have 2 options.

1) You're not crazy. That thing was real and you've just met a bunch of people who deal with this sort of thing time and time again.

2) You're crazy and everyone else here is crazy too.

Jury is still out on this but I recommend picking the one that gives you the most comfort.

[Cybermancer]

The area would have to be investigated and forensic evidence gathered. Then a determination as to your inebriation might be made.

[AceofSpades]

Huh. Well, I think gathering the forensic evidence would be tough, since it was mostly eaten and then got drenched in whiskey before I kicked it all back in the grave. I guess it's probably still there. As for the inebriation, I'm not arguing that. I just don't think I was that drunk. Overall, I think I'd rather take Caliburn's option one. Jury's still out on you all, but I'm gonna go with me not being crazy. So if I wasn't, then what'd I see?

[Cybermancer]

Evidence should still be gathered before any declarations of identification are made. On the surface, it would seem to be some sort of undead.

It is possible that whatever it was could be encountered in that vicinity again.

As for PTSD. Having it does not make one 'crazy'. PTSD is not something to be ashamed of. But most importantly, it is treatable with an amazingly high ratio of success. We've come a long way since the post-Veitnam days. It takes time and it takes therapy. What it does not need is self-medication with alcohol.

You seem to be seeing a therapist. That's a good thing. Keep it up.

A little education on this particular subject may be of great help to a lot of people on this site. I think I may write an article about it later. In the meantime, check out this link.

[AceofSpades]

Look, I appreciate the concern, but I know what's wrong with me and how to deal with it just fine myself. If you're interested in checking out where this happened, it was at Marshall Cemetery in DC. I don't remember the name on the grave that the thing had dug up, but if you go down the cemetery's main circle and then up towards the hills, it was by the little copse of trees.

[Cybermancer]

You don't sound like someone who knows what is wrong with them nor as one who knows how best to deal with it. But if you do not want help in that regard, there is nothing to be done for you.

In any case, I'm not in the DC area and don't plan to be. It will have to be someone else who investigates the situation.

[Ron Caliburn]

I know the place.

[Doctor Boggs]

You want any company checking it out Ron? It's not a far drive and I'm not exactly busy.

[Ron Caliburn]

Fine. I'm more a shooting type than a finding answers type.

[Doctor Boggs]

Perfect, I'll find something and you can shoot it, heh.

[Hannah]

Be careful Dad, Doc. Cemeteries are okay to visit once in a while, not so fun to stay in.

Hannah

[AceofSpades]

I went back yesterday to take a look, just to make sure that I saw what I thought I saw. This time, I found a place in the trees to watch the whole night and I definitely saw the same thing again. Actually, I saw more than one of the same thing. I didn't try to do anything to them, cause I sure as hell don't know how to kill them and I don't want to be mobbed by those things. Especially cause I think they'd eat me afterwards. But they were definitely there. Caliburn, if you go back, mind if I come? Don't worry, I know enough to keep the hell out of the way when I don't know what I'm doing, but I want to see what you do.

[Ron Caliburn]

Multiple tangos huh?

Definitely good if you show up. That will help us find these things. Just so you know, if things get hairy, someone with combat experience like yourself might find himself put to work.

[AceofSpades]

I can handle that.

[Grace]

Is this an all boys party?

[Ron Caliburn]

Ace, see you at the cemetery, 23:00

If you're coming Nem, don't waste too much time on your make up.

[Grace]

Make up or not, I can out shoot you, old man.

[Ron Caliburn]

Yes, but you takes three times as long to get a round off as I do. Waiting for perfection isn't always something we can afford in this line of work.

[Grace]

I've been known to move fast when I need to.

It's not a crime to look good while doing it.

[AceofSpades]

2300, roger that.

[Hannah]

Thanks for watching Dad's back Darcy.

Hannah

[Doctor Boggs]

Well now, sounds like it'll be quite the little party, won't it? Seeya there.

[AceofSpades]

You all may not remember me, since it's been a while. Last year, I ran into some creatures eating bodies in a graveyard. Ron, Nemesis, and Dr Boggs offered to come take a look and I tagged along. I've got to say, it was good to see the things die. I met the others outside the graveyard and armed up. Can't say I wasn't feeling a little weapon envy, but I figure if you can't be the guy with the big gun, the next best thing is having that guy on your side.

We hunkered down in a little stand of trees for an hour or so before the critters showed up. It was pretty obvious that I was the only newbie on the block, since Doc and Ron figured out pretty much right off that they were ghouls. We decided that Ron would flush them out, since he had the biggest gun. Nemesis--never did catch whether she called herself anything else--found a good vantage point to set up a crossfire and Doc and I circled around to cut off escape routes.

It was one of those fights where there's a lot of build up, and then everything actually goes pretty quick and easy. Kind of thing where you've got to remind yourself to stay alert afterwards, because otherwise you might relax too much, it was that smooth. Ron opened up and it was like shooting fish in a barrel. The ones that didn't get mowed down in the initial barrage rabbited for the nearest exits.

I know I put one down and then I finished off another one that someone else had winged. I caught glimpses of Doc doing pretty much the same thing. I didn't see Nemesis doing much of anything, but some of the ghouls just dropped dead out of nowhere, so I figure that was her. Before I knew it, they were all dead. We took care of what was left and then went our separate ways.

I guess that's a lot of explanation, but since things worked out well last time, I figured I'd give this another try. On Friday night, I went to the Corner. I knew the owner, Jimmy Sutton, in the army and he gave me a job bouncing a couple months ago. The Corner's not a biker bar or anything like that. More of a working class watering hole, although we do get a pretty wide variety of people coming in. There're some fights, but nothing that's caused me much trouble. I think I've actually spent more time throwing out the drunks at closing and mopping up the puke than I have breaking up fights or anything like that.

Friday night was different, or I wouldn't be here. Everything was pretty much normal until maybe 10 PM or so. Bunch of the regulars were there, as well as some tough guys, but they were keeping to themselves. Then all of a sudden, one of the regulars gets up and starts screaming at one of the tough guys and throws a punch. A minute flat, and there's five or six guys into it, going at each other with everything they have.

So I wade in to break it up and everything got really weird. The last time I lost my head in a fight was years ago, but all of a sudden, all I could think about was how much I wanted to pound the other guys into pulp and when they didn't go down fast enough, I just got more and more angry. Then it just stops and I'm standing there just as confused as everyone else. Jimmy wasn't very happy, but there wasn't much damage, and nobody had more than a black eye or a broken nose, so we just did our best to forget about it.

Then, Saturday night, the same thing happens again, except this time, almost everyone in the bar gets in on it and at the end, we've got multiple broken bones and at least someone had pulled a knife. Jimmy was worried about insurance and wanted to call the cops, but that sort of thing causes trouble and he decided to hold off.

Thing is, the second fight was a lot worse than the first one and I still don't know why the hell anyone--much less me--was fighting in the first one. I know two doesn't make a pattern, but I'm worried that if it happens again, someone's going to die. This can't be natural and you guys were dead on with the graveyard thing, so I figured I'd ask here again. I just need to know if this is something weird and what it could be.

[Ron Caliburn]

Fortunately with the graveyard we had something that was fairly tangible.

This one, I have to wonder about.

A few years back I helped rid a building of a thing that caused negative emotions, but its effects were not as sudden as what you are talking about.

Might sound odd, but have you noticed any pigs around?

[AceofSpades]

Pigs? Now that you've got to explain. There's a couple guys who could've fooled me, the way they wallow around, but I haven't seen any curly tails, so I guess they're out.

You're right that it was sudden. I don't know. Maybe I'm being paranoid and it was just a normal bar brawl gone out of control. I probably would've thought that in the first place if I hadn't gotten pulled into it as well. I've never been that angry before. I literally couldn't think, I was so angry. Sorry I can't give you something more concrete than that.

[Ron Caliburn]

Yeah, a Pig.

Ran into a pig that was causing emmotional problems for people about 6 years back. You can read about it here.

[Hannah]

Dr. Lazlo theorized about a number of spirits and beings that feed off of human emotional energy. A few them may have evolved the means to trigger the emotional outbursts needed to get the most sustenance.


Perhaps it is something like that, akin to the pig my father found in Los Angeles.

Hannah.

[AceofSpades]

Jesus, Ron, that pig thing is a hell of a story. All pigs aside, though, you're right that the weird behavior sounds a lot like what's been happening at the bar.

Hannah, if it is something making anger to feed off it (if I'm getting what you're saying right), is there any way we'd be able to tell other than the fact we all go batshit crazy? As in, is there any way to detect or confirm whether that's the problem?

[Gotham Witch]

Someone sensitive to these things might be able to figure it out - either someone who knows what to look for, someone versed in the right psychic abilities, , or... well, an arcanist - yes, those answers went from odd to bizarre.

I used to know a couple of the latter in your area, but I haven't seen them about in awhile. If you're in desperate need, I suppose I might be able to look into it for you - I'm only 3 hours away by train.