Ghostbusters: Etherium

Stygian Pages

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
- April 4th, 04:30

Grace entered an alleyway sometime after the altercation with the Djinn was over. A light flickered, revealing someone else within it. He was a humanoid with reptilian traits, most notably a small fin on his forehead, a series of gills on his neck, and black, soulless eyes. His skin was a light turquoise color, with a serpentine texture to it. He possessed an elongated tongue and fangs that were still stained red from his latest victim. His hands and feet were both webbed. He reeked not of fish or water, but of goat and livestock all the way from upstate. He clutched a cigarette in his hand, something he only did when he was ridden with worry. " Chimali, where is the Book of Black? You promised me you'd be able to deliver on your end of the bargain. "

The cryptid shook his head. " I had the uh, the thing, I swear to it. But some gringo took it from me. I can't bring it to you, but I can show you where it is amiga. "

He spoke in a heavy Latin American accent, occasionally throwing in slang. Grace grit her teeth at him, clearly very annoyed that something like this had happened. She didn't want that man to die for nothing, not when she was so close to finding out the truth of her past. " I'll politely decline for now, but I'll be sure to call you if I reconsider. Of all the chupacabra in this city, I can only wonder why I ended up with a lousy friend like you. " She sighed, crossing her arms.

" We're more alike than you think, amiga. We're both freaks. It's just that you're normal on the outside..."

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
-April 4th, 07:30

The efforts to restore the firehouse were underway by Samuel and Kylie respectively. While Kylie tried to salvage whatever was left of the information that Spengler left behind, Samuel was at work trying to get the Ecto-1 up and running again. Both were surprised when Grace had arrived in the building, looking around at their efforts. " I want to help you guys. I'm not letting that man die in vain for saving my life. "

Kylie walked on over to Grace, raising an eyebrow at her. She handed the woman a broom so that she could help sweep up the mess that had been made on the floor. " If you want to help, you're going to have to be honest with us. Can you do that much? " She asked.

The almond haired woman hesitated, but eventually relented as she nodded. Kylie handed the broom over to her, and she began to sweep the floor. " What do you want to know? "

" You were deprogrammed from that cult...what exactly did you do while you were in it? "

" I...don't remember too much if I'm being honest. It sounds hard to believe, but it's like my mind shut off those memories after I was deprogrammed. All I know is that I have an affinity for recognizing the supernatural now. The reason why I contacted the Djinn was because I thought that they could give me answers. "

Kylie glared at Grace. Even if she was desperate to find her past, she had definitely crossed a line by aiding these beings. " What did you expect to happen after you gave them your map? That they'd keep it as a souvenir? "

Grace shook her head. Each question felt more and more like a reminder of all the mistakes she had made. " I planted the map with only somewhat accurate information. They'll be verifying my intel for a while before they make a big move...I thought that in the meantime I could take measures to keep them at bay...but I realize how presumptuous I was. "

Samuel glanced over at Grace. " Why is your past so important to you? It's not like who you were then is going to affect who you are now. You should start moving forward, think about your future, for all you know, it's right here. "

He grabbed a wrench from a toolbox, continuing to work on the vehicle. He treated the automobile like it was a canvas, carefully attending to each little detail while deeply afraid of chipping off any more paint than it had already had chipped off. Grace placed a finger on her forehead, and shook her head once more. " My past is my future, I'm afraid. Every night I go to sleep, I am cursed with the same dream. I'm at this gateway...and there's this woman who reaches out to me...but everything just goes black after that. I've tried everything, even hypnotism to stop that dream, but nothing has worked, it's like I'm stuck on a loop. I never see more than I want to see, as if something's blocking me. "