Cherish

by Dave Allsop

A SLA Industries short story published by Jageeda Publishing, copyright 1996, All rights reserved.

Stigmartyr File 3960A. - 'Phyliss Gren' Record #1
Interrogator 2A - Nina Calibon

"We found Phyliss Gren three months ago in an 'Alice' Den in Newtown. Gren lost her job as a secretarial worker for Power Projects back in November of last year. When we took her to Main Office she had blood on her lips and neck. After we pumped her stomach, Forensics said she'd been eating groinal organs, tissue reports indicated that of a Dark Finder.

When we asked Ms. Gren why she had killed the Dark Finder, she denied all knowledge of it. soon I realized I was no longer talking to Phyliss Gren, but something else.

Three months ago, Gren had 5 Cloak Division investigators questioning her for subversive history. Stigmartyr commissioned me to carry on the inquiry myself after three interrogators committed suicide and the remaining two are seeking therapy in Bethlehem Asylum.

Phyliss Gren is a very special case. In the two and a half months I have talked to Phyliss, the more I believe that she is actually dead, her soul has left her body and a new person has taken root. A person SLA industries does not understand.

During our conversation, Gren goes by a different name. It's name is 'Apathy.'
Apathy is a visitor to Mort.
It has come from a place we know as White Earth.
The true intention of it's visit remains vague other than "to destroy all of Slayer's Creatures."
And when I try to understand what Apathy wants and serves, it smiles and peers inside me and says -

"Something you will cherish, Nina, cherish always..."

Inquiry One - First Contact

N.C.> "Phyliss?..... Phyliss Gren?"

A> PHYLISS IS GONE. APATHY REMAINS.

N.C.> ".......What are you, Apathy. What do you want?"

A> I AM A TRAVELER. I WANT TO PLAY WITH YOU.

N.C.> "Play with me?...."

A> I WANT TO PLAY WITH YOU, ...... IN SPECIAL WAYS......

(Pause)

N.C.> "Play with me? Like the way you played with the Dark Finder in NewTown?"

A> NO. BUT PLAY I WILL. YOU AND I. GO TROTTER TROTTERING IN DEEP FLURRY. FLIES DESCEND ON DELIUSA WINGS. GOBBLE EYE. SICKY LIPS ON TROTTER TROTTER.

N.C.> "........ You say you are traveler. Where are you from, Apathy?"

A> GRAIN OF SAND ON BLOODY EYE. BEAT FIST ON THE GROUND CUSS CUSS. SCREAM AT FAST SKY. DISOTATE THE TROTTER TROTTER.

N.C.> "How long have you been here....."

A> WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE, NINA. I COME FROM WHITE EARTH. PLAY TROTTER.

(Pause)

N.C.> "Thank you. I will speak with you soon Apathy."

A> SOONER THAN YOU THINK.

* "Phyliss Gren (aka Apathy) is immediately moved to a high security Ebb Cell. Within a day, the Glyph patterns and Stasis Pillar rot and decay. Apathy may leave and escape, yet remains in the Holding Cell. She-.... it's seems happier in it's filth. When we forced it to move, Apathy killed two members of the Black Chapter. Stormer 313 SCL 3a 'Brow's body was almost unrecognizable.

Apathy remains in the Ebb Holding Cell. The stench is revolting." *

Inquiry Two - "Separate Lives"

(Security has increased. I am than twenty feet away from Apathy.)

N.C.> "Good Morning, Apathy."

A> .................

N.C.> "Shall we continue where we left off?"

A> YOU SPEAK AS THOUGH WE ARE FRIENDS. BUT YOU FEAR ME, DON'T YOU NINA?

N.C.> "Should I fear you, Apathy?"

A> AS YET NO. BUT AS MORE KNOW YOU. FEAR ME THEN YOU WILL AND MORE OVER.

N.C.> "Why should I fear you, Apathy?"

A> .....................

N.C.> "Apathy?"

A> TOO EASY, NINA. PLAY TROTTER TROTTER. FALL INTO OPEN ARMS. I'LL WHISPER IN YOUR EAR. I'LL MAKE YOU OH SO HAPPY.......

N.C.> "Trotter, Trotter....... Did you play 'Trotter Trotter' on Phyliss Gren?"

A> NOW AND THEN AGAIN. PHYLISS IS GONE FROM TROTTERING. YOUR DARK FINDER STOLE HER. SHOT HER IN THE CHEST.

(Nina looks confused, flicks through her paperwork)

N.C.> "We have no record of Phyliss suffering any injuries? ........."

A> APATHY KNOW THE TROTTER WAY. HID THE WOUND.

(Apathy opens her dirty shirt to show a 12mm bullet wound in the chest. The hole is foul and rotting.)

N.C.> (disgusted) "........nrrph........"

A> SEE MY PRETTY MARK, NINA?

N.C.> "............where.........is the shell?"

A> HIDDEN IN TROTTER TROTTER, HA HA!

(Apathy squats before Nina, laughing as Calibon runs from the room violently sick.)

- Second Inquiry Ends -

"I have not visited Apathy for several days, during which time Phyliss Gren's body has seriously deteriorated. Apathy seems unpreturbed by the rapid decay. So little progress has been made. Apathy's true nature and forms remain a complete mystery. It has no Ebb presence whatsoever, ruling out all possibility the being is of Necanthrope origin. Any of the Ebb race who have been in close contact with Apathy grow terribly ill, a sickness from within. They sense a darkness deeper than any Necanthrope. A hideous Incarnation.....

The Inquiry continues and I start afresh."

Inquiry Three - "Deep Flurry"

A> HE WANTS ME TO OFFER YOU A SLICE OF PIE, NINA. HE WANTS YOU TOO.........

N.C.> ".......... Who wants me, Apathy?"

A> THE WALKER. THE WALKER WANTS YOU.

N.C.> "Why....... who is the Walker?"

A> ............ TIME WILL TELL TROTTER TROTTER.

(Nina flicks back a few pages of her notes.)

N.C.> "Apathy, why did you choose Phyliss Gren?"

A> WHY NOT?

N.C.> "You could have infected anyone on Mort, why her?

A> WE LOVE ALL THINGS. GREAT AND SMALL. EVERY SEED, RAPED AND SOWN.

(Pause.)

N.C.> "Did Ms. Gren ever visit White Earth?"

A> ......................

N.C.> "Apathy?"

A> YES.

N.C.> "How is that possible? Phyliss Gren has never left Mort in her life."

A> THEN WHY ASK APATHY?

N.C.> "I just - "

A> PHYLISS GREN HATED LIFE. LIFE DICTATED BY SLAYER. SHE CAME TO US, AND WE WALKED IN DREAMS. SHE WAS LONELY. THE WALKER GAVE HER APATHY...... A GIFT UNTO DEATH.

N.C.> "............. and what now, Apathy?"

A> LOVE ENDS IN TROTTER. BLOOD GLISTENS ON A DEEP FLURRY, WE WALK THE WAY OF WAKING TEARS, FLY AND DRIFT UPON RAINY SKIES. WAIT.

N.C.> (anxious) "Wait for what, Apathy?"

A> FOR THE WALKER TO RETURN HOME. LONG TIME FOR TROTTER TROTTERING.

N.C.> "Home, as in White Earth?"

A> NO, HOME IS HERE NINA.

N.C.> "The Walker is from Mort?"

A> MORT IS FROM THE WALKER.

(Pause)

N.C.> "......... What are you Apathy? What are you really?"

A> THE FIRST OF MANY.

"Two weeks follow the third inquiry, in which time Apathy has become sluggish and abrasive towards questioning. It refuses to answer any questions relating to the character known as 'The Walker'. I fear that this commission is close to finishing without resolution. Apathy is truly worlds apart from us, I'm led to believe that Apathy is a messenger with a darker purpose. It's message tells of a person on White Earth called 'The Walker' who appears to be of some importance. Apathy says that soon he will 'return' to Mort and have revenge upon the World of Progress. Beyond this, Apathy will say no more, not even why 'The Walker' is so bitter.

Yet, the more Apathy speaks of White Earth and the relentless 'Walker' the greater I comprehend the universal fear of this place. The place nobody speaks of. As an entity, I'm afraid of Apathy, though for all it's dark threats and insane ranting I know now that is a small chapter in a large book I fear has been written by 'The Walker'. Is this who lies behind it all? Is this what Slayer has been hiding all these centuries? What does it all mean? Where do we, the common people, fit into their big picture?

The fear of subversion looms over SLA everyday, but deep down I feel that this is the one that counts. Apathy, as yet is the only key we have, then again, this malevolent being could also be a trap. Apathy is powerful and intelligent, to smart to be captured so easily.

Apathy wanted to be caught. And here I am, dancing to it's tune."

Inquiry Six "Something to Cherish"

N.C.> "Hello again, Apathy. Shall we try to talk a little more today?"

A> ...................

N.C.> "Apathy, we have to - "

(Phyliss Gren sits before, angelic and alive, as if nothing ever happened.)

P.G.> "Please, ............ Ms. Calibon, call me Phyliss."

N.C.> "My, my ........... Phyliss, how - "

P.G.> "I don't know Nina. I'm so sorry, so terribly sorry...."

N.C.> "Phyliss, I don't know how long we have together, so you have to tell me everything you know about what happened to you."

P.G.> "I understand, Nina."

N.C.> "How did you meet Apathy?"

P.G.> "I don't really remember, it was so long ago. Like a dream....."

N.C.> "Can you remember how long ago, exactly?"

(Pause.)

P.G.> "............. It must have been nearly ten years since we first met."

N.C.> "Oh my god............ Phyliss, was Apathy with you when you worked for SLA?"

P.G.> "Yes, I'm sorry........ oh god, he saw everything......."

(Silence.)

P.G.> ".......... but it doesn't matter now. I don't think it ever did. You see, it's just a game....... it's just between them."

N.C.> "Who is them? Tell me, Phyliss."

(Phyliss begins to cry.)

P.G.> "Oh god, Nina......... he's made me do terrible things........ Just terrible."

N.C.> "......... It's alright, Phyliss. It's all finished now. You just have to tell me - "

P.G.> "But it's not over! They are everywhere....... when I lived, I could see them. They are everywhere, Nina. They're just watching us, ....... and people don't know they're there......"

(Nina can smell the scent of peach blossom. A scent she has never smelled before. Phyliss seems to grow more spectral.)

N.C.> "Phyliss, ........... tell us, what can we do to stop him? The one they call 'The Walker'?"

(Phyliss begins to scream hysterically, clasping her hands over her ears and throws herself to the floor. Nina runs up to the glass and peers through.)

N.C.> "Phyliss! Phyliss! Fight it! What can we do?!"

(Phyliss looks up with tears in her eyes.)

P.G.> "Kill the ones you love, Nina. Because if you don't, The Walker will find them and...... and......."

N.C.> "Phyliss, have you met 'The Walker'?"

P.G.> "..............yes........."

N.C.> "Tell me about him, please Phyliss. This is so very important, for everyone......."

(Phyliss crawls back to her chair and stares bleary eyed at Nina.)

P.G.> ".......... I was only sixteen when I went to White Earth. I was no permitted to look upon him. He......... he was dressed in tattered robes, covering but his mouth and hands. The Walker looked down at me and reached out to me......... and he spoke to me........ with bloody lips. I........ remember......... the distant cry of seagulls, and waves against the rocks...... but there was no shore, no sea........"

N.C.> > (anxiously) "Phyliss, what did he say to you? ........"

(Phyliss stares into the middle distance.)

N.C.> "What did he say, Phyliss?"

P.G.> "He only ever whispered one word to me, .......... before it all fell away for me."

N.C.> "................"

P.G.> "..........Imagine........"

N.C.> "Phyliss...........Phyliss?"

(Phyliss grows short of breath.)

N.C.> "Phyliss! Stay with me Phyliss!"

P.G.> ".............Nina.........."

N.C.> ".............Phyliss?"

A> ANOTHER MERCY KILLING, NINA! ANOTHER PIG HUNG UP IN THE TROTTER HOUSE NICE CHIT CHAT HAVE YOU HAD? READY TO PLAY MORE GAMES ON A DELIUSA WING?

N.C.> "Phyliss! ............. No! ........... no ............

(Nina burst into tears.)

A> NINA! ............ NINA, LOOK AT ME. WHAT DO YOU SEE WITH GOBBLE EYE?

(Nina looks up and screams in horror. Apathy is in it's natural form. A naked, diseased corpse with a huge, disshapen pig's head, bloated and rotten. It's eyes are black and lifeless, gnawed away by flies. Apathy rubs between it's legs with trotterlike fists.)

A> A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR YOU TO CHERISH, SWEET NINA.

(Nina runs stumbling from the room. The air fills with a noisy din, a chorus of screeching pigs.)

A> RUN AWAY FOR NOW, LITTLE NINA. GO TROTTERING AS HAVE I. IT MATTERS NOT. PIGS IN GOBBLE EYE. YOU ARE ALL PIGS. ALL IF YOU PIGS!

February 14th 3:03AM
Nina Calibon's (SCL 2A) Apartment
1439A Harbren Block
Sector U9.

A> WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD. THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU SHALL LOOK UPON ME, THE FIRST OF MANY FOR NOW.

(Nina awakens with a start, nearly falling from her sofa. Apathy is on her television screen, the backdrop is a changing collage of violence and murder.)

N.C.> " Apathy how-"

A> I TIRED OF YOUR WORLD'S HOSPITALITY AND I AM A TRAVELER AM I NOT? AND I STILL HAVE SO MUCH GOOD WORK TO DO. YOUR COMPANY WAS AMUSING, I WILL MISS TROTTERING WITH YOU. SUCH A SHAME YOU COULD NOT PLAY WITH ME. THEN AGAIN, WE STILL MIGHT. IN THE END.

N.C.> "The end? Apathy........"

A> COME NOW NINA. HAVING FORGOTTEN ALL THAT APATHY HAS TAUGHT. 'TIL THE NEXT WE MEET."

N.C.> "Wait Apathy? Where will you be? You can't just run away from SLA Indu-"

A> AH POOR SWEET NINA. 'WE' ARE TOUCHED BY A HIGHER POWER. IT IS THE ONLY POWER THAT COUNTS.

N.C.> .................

A> AND WHERE I BE? IT'S ALRIGHT NINA. I'M RIGHT BEHIND YOU.

N.C.> "Apathy......(gasp)!"

(Nina felt the Ethereal enter her and hide itself away deep inside, a sickness from within.)

"Agent DarkFinder Corliela to speak to Jacob Vaide.......... hello sir? Yes, we've reached the home of Miss Nina Calibon.......... No, sorry sir, we lost her, she's gone. I understand....... sorry? No, she didn't take anything with her, she just up'ed and left. Y-yes, sir, we'll organize a BPN straight away sir, yes, the first competent squad I find. Don't worry Mr. Vaide, I'm sure we'll have 'retrieved' her before nightfall."

Nina Calibon SCL 2A Human Investigator (Stigmartyr)

* D-Notice * D-Notice * D-Notice * D-Notice * D-Notice * D-Notice * D-Notice *