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Display a printable version The Inspiration of Insanity
"I'm here to see Charity Carter." "Oh? Part of the little ritual thing this afternoon, eh?" The bored guard now looked at her with real interest. Part of her wanted to explain that she was requested to do this by her manager. That she was not doing this of her own accord. That she did not believe in this sort of thing. Instead, she just nodded. He waited for a moment longer to see if she would expound on her role in all this. When she remained silent, he went through the rest of his normal routine with visitors to the insane asylum. Then, he hit the button to open the heavy gate. It was at this time that most people commented at the ponderous movement of the gate but Miss Wilson did not. She seemed lost in thought. Even her 'thank you' was absently spoken. He figured it was because she was nervous. People were always nervous the first time they visited the Crazy House. The guard was right. Karen was nervous - about a lot of things. She did not want to be here but her job within the Emergency Services Call Center occasionally called for PR work with the community. At first, she did not understand why the Emergency Services PR people decided that it was a 911 Operator who needed to do this job until after her boss spoke to her about it and she felt she could not say no. On the way home, Reginald had called. It had been his doing. He had set everything in motion and made sure her name came up on the computer search for an appropriate person. Everyone knew who Charity Carter was: Wife of the renowned horror author Richard Carter. Three years ago, she had suddenly gone insane and tried to kill him. It was like a plot out one of his novels. Charity believed she was someone else. Someone named Somnia who had been forced into Charity's body for some unknown purpose by a ritual Richard had performed. So now, three years later, the doctors at the Kendrick Home for the Mentally Insane had decided to take a new approach to Mrs. Carter's case. She insisted that if she could perform a certain ritual, Somnia would be free again and so would Charity. As Charity had been the soul of sanity except where Somnia was concerned, the ritual had been discussed and approved. "You mean to tell me Charity Carter is not insane? She's possessed by someone named Somnia? That Richard Carter did perform a ritual to put her in his wife's body?" "Yes. That is exactly right. It has taken me this long to put everything in place so Somnia may be freed. She is needed by the people of Kendrick. She should never have been trapped in the flesh. The Ritual needs to be performed by Somnia, a friend to Somnia, a person who does not believe, a person in authority, a creative person and a person who represents the city of Kendrick. This will be Somnia, one of the orderlies, one of her doctors and you who represent both the creative person and the city of Kendrick." "What is Somnia? Why is she needed?" "She is one of the minor muses that dwell here. He trapped her and now only he hears her inspiration." Reginald and she had spoken a bit more about the concept of the minor muses. Apparently, one of the reasons that so many artists, writers and creative people came from Kendrick was due to the fact that a small group of minor muses lives in the city. It has to do the high magical content or something like that. Karen still did not quite understand how they manifested but they seemed to be based around certain activities like driving, taking showers or going for long walks. If someone did one of those things and would listen to the inner voice whispering, they would be inspired to great things. It sounded insane. Then again, most of Karen's life seemed insane these days. After all, she was working for the 'Master of the City,' friends with a woman who had a pack of gargoyles to do her bidding, was dating one guy who was part of a magical cabal and dating another who had seen just as many weird things as she had. She had to stop murders, thefts and destruction of sacred sites. She had to arbitrate between enemy magicians and she really did not want to think about what the Order of the Sacred Eye might or might not be up to now. Her random thoughts on insanity and what was truly insane came to an abrupt halt as the Kendrick Home for the Mentally Insane came into view. It was an old two story building that vaguely reminded her of a school for some reason. The whole building was surrounded by trees and she did not see any bars on the windows. The nervous knot in the pit of her stomach twisted tightly. She parked her car in the small visitor lot and headed up to the front gate. A balding man in gold rimmed glasses and a white doctor's coat was waiting for her on the front steps. "Karen Wilson?" "Yes." She offered her hand. He shook it. "I'm Dr. Salton. Thank you so much for coming. I had not expected the city to send me a 911 operator. I thought they would send a city official but when I thought about it, you really do represent the city and its people more, don't you." "I do? Yes, I guess I do. I help people every day, even the ones who call with frivolous stuff who really just want to talk to someone." She paused as they walked inside. "There are no bars on the windows." "Miss Wilson, our patients are not animals." He chided then conceded, "There is a metal mesh grating within the glass. It is just as effective and is not as disturbing." "Oh. Sorry. I've just never been... you know." "Yes, some patients are dangerous and we have them isolated. But, by and large, our patients are mostly just people with a different perspective on life that unfortunately precludes them from living with the rest of society." 'There, but for the Grace of God, go I.' She thought, feeling very uncomfortable. She pushed away the nagging wonder that she was crazy, too, and belonged here. What if Reginald was just made up and all of the weirdness was only in her head. Something she overlaid on top of reality and the reality of her friends. Would she wake up one day and discover none of it was real? Was that why she did not want to be here? It was hitting too close to home? Karen shoved all of her fears and doubts away and concentrated on what Dr. Salton was telling her. "... not that you believe the ritual but that you appear to believe it. For Charity's sake. We have a theory that she needs the approval of a group of people to let go of this identity that was created when she had her breakdown. She will get this by performing this self made ritual. We believe that this is her way of paving the road back to herself and to get through the guilt of what she almost did to her husband." "Why isn't he here for this ritual?" The doctor paused at a door. "She didn't want him here." "Oh." "It makes sense. He is the object of her guilt. She cannot send away her false persona if the reason for it is in front of her." "That makes sense." She agreed on the surface. Inwardly, she thought if Reginald was right... and he usually was... Charity did not want Richard here because she really was Somnia and she did not want him knowing she was about to get free and did not want to give him the opportunity to try and stop it. They walked into the room. It looked like a sparsely furnished dorm room except for the all bare white walls and tile floor that had been written on. A petite blond woman and a large man with a military haircut and a green hospital worker uniform sat on the floor around a ritual circle. Karen recognized some of the symbols as the same ones she saw in Bacchanalia and other places around Kendrick. Even if the magical and philosophic beliefs differed, the magical writing seemed to have many similarities. "Charity, this is Karen Wilson. She is an artist and she..." "... Represents the city of Kendrick. Yes. I know. I recognize her." "You do?" Karen asked. "Yes. I'll tell you about it later. We have work to do right now." "Manners, Charity." Dr. Salton chided then gestured to the big man. "This is Steve. He's one of the orderlies here." Steve nodded. "Hi. Thanks for coming." Karen nodded back. "So, what do I do?" The blond woman gestured across from her. "Karen, you'll sit there. Doc will sit to my left and Steve will remain on my right." She waited until everyone assembled. "Steve represents my friend and a person in authority. Karen is an artist and represents Kendrick. Dr. Salton represents my unbeliever, as is his right, and a person in authority." She gave them each a stone and a small bag of something. "Put the stone on your left knee or hold it in your left hand. Either will do but it needs to be on your left side." Karen opted to hold hers, hematite, in her left hand to make sure she did not drop it. She snuck a glance at Steve who smiled reassuringly at her. "This ritual is simple but powerful. It has two parts. The first is recognition or not. Steve and Karen will recognize me. Doc, you will choose to or not as you will. The second is to free me. All of you will need to agree to free me. Can you do that?" Charity, who was also Somnia, looked around the ritual circle at the nodding heads. "Ok. I will speak then Steve, then Karen and then Doc. I've already coached Steve so just follow his lead." Karen could tell the woman was barely holding back her desire to get this done. It was like watching someone trying to sprint for the finish line now that it was in sight. She would feel the woman's need and impatience. Charity looked once more to each person to be certain the stones were on each person's left then began. She opened her bag and took out a pinch of sand and dropped it to the middle of the circle. "I am the muse Somnia, trapped in mortal flesh. Do you recognize me?" Steve dropped a pinch of sand in the circle. "I am Steve. I recognize you, Somnia." Karen mimicked Steve, dropping a pinch of sand to the middle of the circle. "I am Karen. I recognize you, Somnia." Doctor Salton dropped sand into the circle and said, "I am Peter Salton. I do not recognize you as Somnia." Charity smiled at that. Karen felt a sudden sense of disorientation that reminded her of traveling through the transitory tunnel. The ritual had begun and power was growing. She looked at Steve again to see if he was reacting to anything or if what she was feeling was all in her head. She was gratified to see that he had a discomforted look on his face. If he was reacting as well, then it was not just her. 'Unless, of course, you are seeing what you want to see on his face to reassure yourself.' She quickly pushed the thought away. Somnia turned her bag of sand over, dumping out the rest of its contents into the center of the circle. "I am Somnia, trapped in mortal flesh. Will you free me?" Steve repeated the dumping gesture. "I am Steve, your friend and a person in authority. I free you." Karen dumped out all of her sand. "I am Karen, an artist and representative of Kendrick. I free you." She forced her hand still to keep it from trembling. There was a pressure growing that felt like a thunderstorm. Steve seemed to feel it but the doctor did not. Doctor Salton dumped all of his sand on top of the mound of sand in the center of the circle. "I am Peter Salton, your doctor and, believe it or not, your friend. I free you." Somnia gathered up two handfuls of sand from the center of the circle and tossed it in the air. "Then, I am free!" She cried. To Karen, it was like hearing hundreds of doors unlocking all at once and chains falling away. She sat there for a long moment with the rest in silence. Dr. Salton looked nonplussed at being covered in sand. But, Steve looked as if he had sensed the same things she had. It had all happened so fast. Just like that, the ritual had begun and now was done. It made Karen's head spin at the thought that magic could be so quick and powerful. "Thank you. Oh, thank you." Charity said. To Karen, she seemed to speak with two voices. "You're welcome." She looked at Dr. Salton who had stood up to brush the sand from his clothing. She and Steve both stood as well. Charity remained sitting on the floor, smiling. She seemed so happy. For a second, Karen thought she saw the woman's form blur showing two women in the same place. "I will escort you out, Miss Wilson." Dr. Salton opened the door to the hallway. Karen turned from Charity and followed him in silence. The silence continued until they reached the parking lot. "Thank you for all you have done, Miss Wilson. With this silly ritual out of the way, I hope that Charity will be able to face what she tried to do and her recovery will be swift now." He touched her briefly on the shoulder. "I know that Charity's husband is a rich and famous man. Many people, reporters, would like to know what happened here today. I would appreciate it if you would not speak of it at all until we make an official announcement... if we do." Karen nodded. "Did you feel anything during the ritual? Anything at all?" He smiled a gentle but condescending smile at her. "No. But, if you did, and I'm not saying that you did, it is not unusual. The mind can be vulnerable to suggestion when it is put in unfamiliar surroundings and in strange or unusual circumstances. Human beings are very creative creatures." She nodded and again. "I see. Thanks." She got into her car and headed home. She could not decide if she pitied or envied the doctor for his inability to see the world that lived on the outside edge of his perception. She could not decide if she would rather be like him or not. It was something she would spend many hours pondering. Elsewhere... Todesengel watched the evening news. "... tonight's breaking story. There has been an escape from the Kendrick Home for the Mentally Insane today. It is a story stranger than fiction..." The News woman in front of the familiar home for the criminally insane was saying, "... one of the Kendrick Asylum orderlies simply opened the locked door to Charity Carter's room and let her go free. When asked why, as he was taken into custody, the orderly, Steve Bellingham, was reported to have said, 'She was right. She wasn't insane. She didn't belong here. So, I let her go.' Three years ago, Charity Carter, wife of Kendrick's own honored horror author Richard Carter, attempted to kill her husband by..." "There you are." Praetor interrupted. "Did you hear on the news?" He gestured at the TV. "Never mind that. It's of no concern to us." He handed the assassin a box. "What's this?" Todesengel opened it up to reveal large punch dagger. "Your next assignment. That will kill the Guardian of Changer's Claw. The Claw is the harpoon tip of one of the harpoons the Makah tribe used to use when they hunted whales. The Legend is that this harpoon belonged to Ho-ho-e-ap-bess or the Two-Men-Who-Changed-Things. All that is left of it is the tip made of sharp mussel shell blades and bone points. It doesn't matter if it is true or not. The Makah believe it is and that is what matters. Changer's Claw is the last artifact we need for the ritual. Guardianship of Changer's Claw is a hereditary position in a family from a very special bloodline. You know of what I speak." "Yeah. I do. How the hell is this supposed to stop one of those things?" "I would not send you to die. The blade is designed to kill them. Make sure you hit it in the guts with that. It will die. Maybe not immediately, but it will die and you won't have to worry about it sniffing after you to retrieve the Claw. Todesengel lifted the punch dagger out of the box and turned it over. It fit easily in his hand and it had the symbols he was looking for on the other side. He smiled an unpleasant smile. "It will be done. Where do I find the Changer's Claw and its Guardian?" Praetor beckoned him close and began to speak in low tones, pointing to a map of Kendrick.
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| Last updated on 6/14/2006 5:21:53 PM by Jennifer Brozek |
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| Other documents at this level: 01 - Caller ID: Unknown 02 - Eye of the Engraving 03 - Arbiter 04 - Forgotten School Days 05 - Sacrificium Memoriae 07 - The Running Feeling 08 - Afternoon Tea 09 - Sins of the Brother 10 - Burning Bridges 11 - Betrayal 12 - Warfare & the Rite 13 - Beginnings and Endings 14 - Heart's Desire 15 - Burn 16 - Many Happy Returns 17 - Many Unanswered Questions 18 - Concessions 19 - Blue Moon Revelations 20 - First Blood 21 - Transcript 22 - Ultimatums Part One 23 - Ultimatums Part Two 24 - Too Little Too Late |
Karen drove up the long winding drive way of carefully manicured and cleared land. 'Better to see escaping crazies, I guess' she thought then immediately regretted the callous mental comment. Up ahead was the barred gate to the enclosed land belonging to the Kendrick Home for the Mentally Insane. She stopped at the small guard booth to sign in.