Sorry if I had anyone worried the last few weeks, as I said I was in the deep mountains of West Virginia for work.

I haven't really posted this, but I have taken a job with a security/investigation company. While we mostly deal with the normal things a company like that deals with, the owner has an interest in hunting the things we deal with on this board.

I was originally hired on as a field technician, doing little more than working with the security systems and supporting the tech used in the field. However, since the owner realized that I have a gift for tracking the supernatural he has started training me on investigation.

This all started when I was sent on a job.

Thanks for keeping us up to date.

You always find some scarey stuff, so it is good to know you are dealing with it alright.

He has an axe to grind against one thing in particular, but wants to be rid of all the horrors of the night.

The job started fairly simple. The company had installed a security system for logging company in lower West Virginia, the day before it had sent a phone call into our office saying it had a failed component. As per the contract, the company sent me out to replace it and check over the rest of the equipment. I was supposed to be down there two days.

The drive in lower West Virginia was fun as always. The interstates in WV are windy and mountainous, and the state and rural routes are even more fun. If you manage a quarter mile of straight road you have seen a small miracle. At least you do not have to worry about falling asleep while driving there because you are always doing something.

The town that the company was in was small, and most of the people that lived there worked for the company or ran one of the small shops to support it. It was literally a one red light town. I found the motel that I was to stay in during my visit and got myself checked in. The entire time that I was doing so, though there was this feeling of wrongness. It was as if someone was watching me even when no one was around.

When I couldn't shake the feeling, I went ahead and added my handgun to my bag along with the 5 clip I had. I felt a little silly doing so, but better safe than sorry. I then loaded up the rest of my gear and headed to towards the main offices of the company.

When I arrived at the main office building everything seemed to be normal. I still had that feeling of something being wrong, but i just chalked it up to being in such an odd place. The manager of the office seemed to be in a good mood. He did not realize that the equipment was even down and joked that it was really not even necessary. We chatted and I told him that I was still required to make the repair.

Everything seemed to be good until I went to go to the failed sensor. As we approached I noticed that the manager moved a half step behind me. It was a few seconds more when I heard the click of a gun being cocked.

This is why I always wear body armor.

Thats why I always carry my sword.

Body armor is good for protecting the body, however I don't think it would have helped stop the gun pointed at the back of my head. And while I didn't have a sword, I did have a decent knife. The problem was the sound made me hesitate just enough for him to get a grip on my arm.

Without a word, I was ushered towards a shack guarded by two men in flannel shirts. They seemed to be staring at nothing as we approached. It seemed surreal as I thought that only British palace guards could stand that still. We were about halfway there when I heard the gunshot and felt the hand holding my arm release. The guards up ahead instantly showed that they were in fact alive. They moved towards me, one carrying a sledge hammer and the other a chainsaw that just came to life.

I started back-pedalling and turned to see that two other workers were approaching from the direction I came from. They looked just as unhappy as their two friends and I pulled my gun out of my gear back as I told them to stop. The chainsaw guy broke into a run at me and I shot out his knee. It was then that the hidden gunman shot again, taking out the man with the chainsaw. More people were coming up the road to join the remaining two.

I figured that the gunman could have shot me twice now and had not, so I ran in the direction that the gunshots had come from.

Agreed.

GhostSpider wrote:Thats why I always carry my sword.

Bert_the_Turtle wrote:This is why I always wear body armor.

Must make it intereting when either of you guys bring a lady home.

Like I have time for dating between all the women I supposedly meet on the job

Busy Bert.

With the gunman taking shots at anything that came close I made it to a hole in the fence line. I also noticed that this was roughly where the failed equipment probably was supposed to be. The remains of some of it were hanging from the fence I was now climbing through.

Despite the gunfire, the people behind me were still following. When they realized that getting too close was bad for their health, they started throwing whatever they could get their hands on at me. I took a rock in the shoulder and was just missed by a hammer before I got out of range. They stopped at the fence, as if they knew they would be easy targets while going through it.

By the time I reached the gunman, I was out of breath and scraped up. I offered a breathless thanks and glanced up at the person who had been giving me cover fire. He was in a flannel shirt, dirty blue jeans, and boots. As soon as he saw I had some breath back in me he waved me towards a four-wheeler.

"Come on, we need to get moving before they catch up. We can lose them in the woods." He turned and started it up, and I quickly ran to catch up as he started to let the thing move.

"What the hell is going on?"

"I will tell you once we get somewhere safe. We are too close to the town for us to relax out guard. For now just hang on and try not to fall off." His advice was good, because for the next 15-20 minutes it was all that I could do to keep from losing my seat.

Wow, damn. So who was this guy?

He makes me nervous. Damn good stories!

When we finally stopped we were at a very old looking cabin. There was another man in a sheriff's uniform outside and as we approached he picked up a shotgun. When he saw me he pointed it in my direction and looked at the man.

"Who is this? And why the hell did you bring him here?"

"Relax Jim, he wasn't bitten. I got him loose before they got him to that think." He turned towards me. "Name's Oliver. I am afraid that you can't get back to town and there is no easy way for us to get out of the valley otherwise."

I gave my name and we started to exchange information. I soon discovered that the problems started a week ago. The owner of the company had been overseas on a trip and brought something back that he showed his friends. They left his warehouse not quite the same and instisted that their friends/family see it. Oliver and Jim left that morning to go hunting like they always did in the mountains.

Oliver and Jim had been hunting out here at the cabin as they always did. The first time they knew something was up was when four people came to the normal hunting cabin they stay in. They came with guns and when Oliver and Jim decided to stay instead of going back they opened fire on them.

They went into town to find out what was going on and were attacked again. Ever since they have been trying to find a way to sneak out of the area to go get help. Cells didn't work in the area and the townspeople had knocked down the main phone & power lines in the town. There was something in the warehouse of the logging company, but they couldn't get in to see without being attacked.

By the time we finished it was getting late. They offered me some water from the spring out back and a little of the food that was there. We then tried to figure out what to do.

A mindolar. Great, those things play games that are deep and far reaching, and their control of their puppets, and cunning in their use makes them one of the greatest threat I have ever matched myself against.

Fortunately it appears this one knew nothing of subtlety, that or the "rescuers" were a sham.

I do hope you were able to destroy it Darknyht, those things are an accursed abomination.

Damn I cannot wait to hear about its demise.

Don't think that this thing was not being sneaky. It managed to almost completely take over a town without anyone being the wiser. It was rash in attacking Jim and Oliver, but other than that one mistake it took over 180 people without took much fuss. I think it didn't think through what would happen if someone showed up unannounced.

Had I been paying more attention, I might have noticed the lack of artificial lighting in the town. But it was midday and everyone just had windows opened. The generators at the logging company was just part of the noise there. It had the saw mill going and people working.

Anyway, we decided to try to do something about it. We knew whatever it was, it was located in the warehouse. Jim had some trouble agreeing at first because the people that would get hurt were his friends and family. However, the thought of them never being themselves again convinced him to go along.

We had to find a way to see what was in the warehouse.

Uhh, Mindolars suck.

That's some motivation alright.

I believe I sense a ka-fucking-boom coming.