Page 26 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

THE RESPONSE

doesn’t tend to find Prometheans that observe the Pilgrimage The Loyalists of Thule, as an organization, seek redemp-
carefully. They find the ones that are obviously inhuman, the tion for their part in bringing the Nazi Party to power. Of
Centimani, and usually mistake them for demons. The hunters course, most modern-day members had nothing to do with
can dismember and burn such creatures free of guilt…at least what happened in the 1930s and 40s. The Loyalists of today
until they finish the job, and they find the decaying human are occult scholars who search for secrets. What greater mystery
remains that made up the monsters. could there be than the secret of creating life?
From the Archives: It is possible for a man to die and rise The Loyalists, unlike other hunter organizations, approach
again. We know this, for Our Lord raised Lazarus from the dead. And the Created from a cerebral perspective. They are likely to run
yet, for all we may believe in miracles because we read them in Scrip- across the notes that led to the creation of the Promethean,
ture, we don’t always believe in them. We never expect to see them. rather than the Promethean itself. An ordinary person, even a
Fergus Mailer was dead. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning gifted scholar, reading the journal of a demiurge would prob-
in his garage. It was an accident, though some at the time felt it might ably believe that author mad (or gifted); the Loyalists can recog-
have been suicide. Whether or not Mr. Mailer intended to die, he did, nize obsession when they see it.
but this was not what brought the case to my — our — attention. The Since the Loyalists generally take a pragmatic view of the
man who worked at the funeral home was one of our congregation, and supernatural, they are unlikely to interfere with a Promethean
he reported to myself and Mr. Williams that a hearse had been stolen, just going about its life — unless, of course, Disquiet sets in. In
and then recovered, but without the body. that instance, the Loyalists of Thule can be one of the more
And so we searched for Mr. Mailer, all the while wondering why dangerous groups to cross, because they tend to have the ability
someone would steal a corpse, putting from our minds the worst possibili- to dig up information on the Created, as well as contacts with
ties. And then, Mr. Williams and I found ourselves entering an abandoned other, more martial, organizations.
house, supposedly haunted by the ghost of its previous owner (it was indeed From the Archives: NOTE: TRANSLATED FROM THE
haunted, though obviously not by a ‘ghost,’ since we know that human GERMAN.
souls depart upon their deaths to Paradise or Perdition). In the basement of Using the bodies of the young is critical. Using the bodies of any-
that house, we found a great quantity of blood, photographs of Mr. Mailer, one over the age of 21 will doom the experiment to failure. All of the
a number of herbs burnt black, and curious handprints on the wall. bodies so far collected have been between 12 and 15. My research indi-
A week later, we saw Mr. Mailer again. He was at a bus stop, cates this will be the best course. The poison in their systems should not
buying a ticket. I was there meeting a friend. I saw Mr. Mailer in inhibit the process. They must have good teeth and their skins intact.
the line. He bought the ticket — I don’t know where to — and turned The current must be at least 2500 volts. I do worry about our genera-
around. He didn’t look dead. He looked alert, perhaps even a little tor’s ability to produce this much. More equipment may be necessary.
on edge. He had a bag on his shoulder, and he scratched at his side I do not wish to hear about budget! I do not wish to hear about the
as though he had a bug bite. He walked to the buses, and I thought war! We are doing as ordered, here, and this might well turn the tide
perhaps I should stop him, but why? in our favor!
The Lord moves in mysterious ways, after all. I waved goodbye I think that, with a little luck, I can find the subjects I need
to him as the bus pulled away, and he waved back, a delighted smile and begin assembly within a few days. The voltage remains a concern,
on his face, as though embarking on a strange and wonderful journey. however.
— from the records of the Midway Church of God, 1983 — recovered from an unmarked building in Upper Bavaria, 29
April 1945
The Loyalists of Thule

Atonement is a strange thing. I suppose everyone looks back on Network Zero
what they were and feels some kind of...regret? Maybe that isn’t the People don’t listen to me when I tell them about ghosts. They
right word. But how many times have I heard people use the phrase: “If want to believe what they want to the believe. That want to believe
I knew then what I know now, I’d have done things differently.” Well… that ghosts are the souls of the people who have died. But I don’t think
obviously. How could things be other than they are? that’s true.
Looking back on what one was and wishing to change it is futile. Maybe it’s because I see the Furies. They look human. They look
And so, I think, is “atonement.” If not for the mistakes we make, how human enough. They have arms and legs and hair and screams — like
can we learn from a “mistake?” This doesn’t mean that we can’t wish so many ghosts. But I look at people, and people don’t have spirits
for absolution, but I believe the only way to truly gain absolution is to living in them, not the way a lot of other things do. So when we go
forget the mistake entirely, and this, I think, would remove its wisdom. hunting ghosts, sometimes the people with me want to try to talk with
Could a mistake be so heinous as to make the harm it did unworthy them, get answers, help them move on.
of the wisdom it conveys? I suppose so. But that isn’t really the question, I think that when a ghost moves on, that’s all it really does. It’s
is it? I have learned much from the damage the Furies have wrought. still there, but you can’t see it. It’s like deleting a computer file. Which
Has the harm they’ve caused outweighed the wisdom I’ve gained? What, you’d think modern ghost hunters would understand, but they still
really, is the point of that question? The damage is done. think it’s a huge accomplishment to help a ghost move on.
— from the journal of Orestes Vrettos — from the journal of Orestes Vrettos

25