Worlds long lost, p.21
Worlds Long Lost, page 21
I walk the perimeter and find that the triform temple is aglow now, brighter than the moon that shall one day burn to a cinder and fall from the sky as Yiyath wills it. The temple swells beneath the false moon, the triform luminescence a soft violet that paints the farmland and the orchards beyond. Yiyath must walk amidst His fields soon, He has waited for so long, He has created time and been slave to it so that the harvest may ripen but now it is ripe now it is ready for now the triform temple is unearthed and now the alarm is about to sound. Yiyath, He of the Eternal Faces, is summoned by the orb of His mind and the cube of His body and the stele of His intent. He will come to judge all as equal and enjoy the flesh enjoy the faces enjoy the dreams.
I have walked the perimeter of the temple three times, and now I imagine that I hear the felicitous clash of bells and ululations, the slave chants that shall be offered to the unchanging stars. Soon the alarm shall sound, and I walk these fields in anticipation and kneel before the triform temple, preparing my soul for the Resurrection.
In the first days among the dead stars, when matter was of the mind, there did bold Yiyath order up His mind and His body and His intent and from thence did He create His objects and did He entice worship and did He make the stars sing and the darkness perfect and the glow of His eyes will fall upon every last one of us in our turn. Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!
re: something strange
Cassidy R
To Daniel
Oct 21, 2022, 11:39 pm
ddkkkklafja;fjakdsfjadffdsajfoaiejakfd
dddd
yiyathyiyathyiyathyiyathyiyathyyathyyaathathyyyyyiathayyathyiyathyiyathyiyath
[Dr. Hart returned Ms. Randall’s call at 11:47 pm. She did not pick up until his third attempt at 12:11 am]
Daniel: Cassidy?
Cassidy: Whuh? Hmmmf, what the fuck?
Daniel: You’re awake? Cassidy?
Cassidy: I’m awake now, you asshole. What?
Daniel: What the hell do you mean, what? What the hell were those last e-mails you sent? They scared me to death.
Cassidy: Um, the one about the cube thing?
Daniel: If you’re getting cute, I swear to God—
Cassidy: Hold on, hold on, hold on! I’m looking at—Jesus, hold on, okay?
[several minutes of breathing. at some point, crying begins]
Cassidy: What the...fuck? Oh my what, what the fuck is that? Who wrote that? What?
Daniel: Listen to me.
Cassidy: No, shut the, shut up! No way, oh my God. Oh my God. Who did that? Who the fuck wrote that?
Daniel: You’re telling me you don’t remember writing that?
Cassidy: WHAT DO YOU THINK “WHO THE FUCK WROTE THAT” MEANS?
Daniel: Stop yelling!
[Cassidy screams]
Daniel: WHAT HAPPENED?
Cassidy: I STUBBED MY TOE, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK? I AM FREAKING OUT.
Daniel: Okay, calm down.
Cassidy: I’m getting out of here. I’m going to—oh shit my car doesn’t run. Um, screw it, I’m going to just run for it! I’m going to get out of here!
Daniel: Hold on! Cassidy, wait.
Cassidy: What do you mean, wait? Either I wrote some batshit poem in my sleep or someone snuck in here and, like, sent you e-mails on my computer! Neither of those is good!
Daniel: If someone else is really there, you being in the middle of the woods with no car isn’t going to help. And if the problem is you, which is much more likely, you’re safer in a familiar environment. All right?
Cassidy: Okay. Fine. Fine. So I’m reading the stupid e-mails. Oh God. You guys never found a cube or an orb, did you?
Daniel: No. That’s all new information. What about those noises you mentioned? Do you hear anything now?
Cassidy: No, just my heartbeat and you being an asshole on the phone. Sorry. I’m scared.
Daniel: I know. Now think carefully. What’s the last thing you remember doing before you fell asleep?
Cassidy: Okay, I, I remember checking out the cube. Uh, I remember writing that e-mail to you, the first one. I think I was watching some videos on YouTube, like some cat ones, and then...Oh shit.
[screams]
Daniel: Cassidy? Cassidy!
Cassidy: I hear it, I hear the thing! The noise, the whub, the Star Trek noise, I hear it! Can you hear it?
Daniel: Let me listen. Quiet! Cassidy, no. I don’t hear anything. Oh my God...
Cassidy: I think someone’s outside! Someone’s trying to get in the house!
Daniel: Hang up and call 911. Did you hear me?
Cassidy: I gotta, I think my grandpa’s old gun is in the hall closet, I don’t know, I’m gonna get it, I—[unintelligible]
Daniel: Hello? Cass, do not get a gun. Do not get a gun! I’m going to call the police for you. They’re going to come see you. Cassidy, are you—?
[call ended]
[Phone records show Dr. Hart called the Moorlock Police Department at 12:16 am. The following is a text sent to Ms. Randall at 12:22 am]
Daniel:
Hi Cassidy,
Please call when you see this. I’m worried about you.
Police are on their way. I didn’t want to get into anything specific, so I said that you thought a prowler was on the property and were too scared to call. That’s the story when they show up.
Let me know when you’re with the police.
Daniel
[Dr. Hart texted Ms. Randall again at 12:47 am]
Daniel:
Hi Cassidy,
Are you all right? Are the police there yet?
Daniel
[Ms. Randall responded at 12:48 am]
Cassidy:
yo! omfg i just saw this
you called the cops?? they never showed!!! i’ve been hiding in the broom closet for half an hour
i just tried calling the cops an theres only dial tone??!?11
Daniel:
I’m calling the police back. You may get better reception outside the closet. Has anything else happened?
Cassidy:
no it’s quite
quite
QUIET
ducking autocorrect
Daniel:
Good. Go wait in the living room until the police arrive.
Cassidy:
ugh thanks dad
still using periods in ur texts huh?
[Records show Dr. Hart called the Moorlock Police Department at 12:49 am. The following is a voicemail left for Ms. Randall at 12:57 am]
Daniel: Cassidy, pick up. Pick up. Fine, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were hiding out. Thank you so much for playing this game with me, but I’ve had enough for one night. So I spoke with the police, and apparently they are very confused. They sent a car to see you over half an hour ago, and not only did they speak with you, they said that you were pleasant and in control. They said that you told them you didn’t know a Dr. Hart, and that it sounded like I was playing a trick on them. When I spoke to them again, they were extremely annoyed. I guess they thought I was some idiot college kid pranking them or something. This is, really, this is my fault. I knew I shouldn’t get caught up in your stupid games, and I fell for them anyway. That’s on me. So, ah, I don’t like to get angry, but I don’t want to hear from you again. All right? Please take your medication and stay out of my life. If I see you calling again, I’m not going to pick up. Just...that’s it. Okay? I have had enough. I have spent the last six months dealing with your nervous games and your bitchy, I don’t know, I just can’t take this anymore. I cannot play your games anymore. Don’t call Kaitlyn or me ever again. Yes? Good. Go away. Go to hell. I’m done.
[call ended]
[Ms. Randall attempted to call Dr. Hart seven times beginning at 1:03 am. Dr. Hart appears to have turned his phone off. Ms. Randall left three voicemails in rapid succession. Two are completely unintelligible. The following are fragments from the third voicemail]
Cassidy: [inarticulate sobbing]
Dan...? Oh God, why don’t you...?
[sobbing, what sounds like pulsating static]
—ARE YOU? HUH? WHERE ARE YOU? I DON’T KNOW WHO THE POLICE SAW. IT WASN’T ME. IT WASN’T—
[another wave of static]
...someone’s on the...
[words too fuzzy to make out]
...okay? He’s here. Outside the house. Oh my God oh my God...
[unintelligible]
Help. Help me. He’s coming in. The light is everywhere! I can see the blood! It’s everywhere! WHY IS IT SO BRIGHT? WHY—
[call ended]
[Twenty minutes after this voicemail, Ms. Randall called and left another. This one was also unintelligible, but there was no static. All that’s audible is slow, steady breathing, and what seems to be a pulsating noise in the background.]
re: something strange
Cassidy R
To Daniel
Oct 22, 2022, 2:06 am
Hi Dan,
First, I wanted to say I’m sorry for scaring you earlier. Mom was just here and explained everything to me. I don’t know why I got so weird, everything makes sense. Everything’s okay now.
Mom sat me down at the table and told me about Yiyath. You guys had it wrong. The sites aren’t burial grounds, and they’re not really temples. I mean, they sort of are, but they’re more than that. They’re like alarm clocks, you know? They’re supposed to go off one by one and wake up Yiyath.
See Yiyath is the God of Eternal Faces, and He came through to our world thousands of years ago and saw that we weren’t ready for harvest yet. So He set up all these different alarms all over the world that were set to wake Him up when our planet was ready. Guess what? We are! We’re going to see Him soon, and everything’s okay now.
Mom says that before the Resurrection can begin, every alarm needs to go off. In order to do that, there needs to be a sacrifice at each site. The glowing purple metal means that the alarm is waking up, and needs the sacrifice to activate. That’s when the cube and the orb show up as well. As soon as the sacrifice is made, the alarm will go off and the next one will start to wake up. When they’ve all gone off, Yiyath will awaken and He will come to harvest and walk amidst His fields and everything’s okay now.
Mom was so nice about it that I started crying like a baby. Dumb, right? Anyway, I wanted to let you know that everything’s okay now and you don’t have to worry about me. The light is beautiful, and the triform temple is growing. Soon the sacrifice will be made, and I’ve been chosen! Isn’t that so cool? No one ever chooses me for anything. No one ever did. You didn’t, my dad didn’t, my mom only did because nobody else would, but Yiyath chose me. So many people out there and He chose me. It made me cry when she told me that.
I feel really good for the first time in my life, so I wanted to let you know that everything’s okay now and you shouldn’t worry. Get ready for the harvest! He will walk amidst His fields and all will lift their faces to Him and all will give over their faces and He will be pleased.
Everything’s okay now!
Love,
Cassidy
[Dr. Hart called Ms. Randall at 3:57 am]
Daniel: Cassidy?
Cassidy: Hi, Daniel. How are you?
Daniel: I’m good. I’m good. Is your mother still there?
Cassidy: Oh no, she couldn’t stay. I’m sure she’ll be back later. Do you have a message you’d like me to give?
[no response for a moment. Dr. Hart cries.]
Daniel: Um. I called Lee. She wanted me to say hello.
Cassidy: That’s so sweet! Thank you.
Daniel: Yeah. Yes. She’s getting the first flight she can. She should be home by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.
Cassidy: Oh, she didn’t need to do that. I’m fine. Yiyath’s keeping me company.
Daniel: Is he? Oh God, um, can I talk to him?
Cassidy: No, he’s walking outside right now and I don’t think he wants to talk to anyone else. He’s been really fun, though. He’s shown me all his different faces. He has so many of them. Sometimes he’s me, and sometimes he’s Mom, and sometimes he’s Lee and sometimes he’s you. It’s not totally him yet, of course. He’s still waking up. But part of him’s already awake, and he’s taking me through everything. He’s so nice.
Daniel: You sound okay. You...[sobs] Sorry, you sound calm.
Cassidy: I feel so good right now. Yiyath told me all about the sacrifice I need to make, and I’m ready.
Daniel: No! Cassidy, please don’t hurt yourself. I want you to, shit, please just go sit down and wait while I call 911. Okay?
Cassidy: Why would you do a thing like that? Why do you sound so upset?
Daniel: I, uh, fuck, I want the ambulance to come and...and...
Cassidy: I don’t need an ambulance, Daniel. You sound upset. I feel like you’re not happy that Yiyath and I are hanging out together.
Daniel: That’s not it.
Cassidy: I think it’s really unfair that you could go off and dump me for someone else and then when I find someone I like being with you act possessive. It’s not even like that with Yiyath. This makes me not want to talk to you anymore.
Daniel: Okay. Okay. Sorry. I won’t call 911. Okay?
Cassidy: Good.
Daniel: Listen, I...Cassidy, I’m sorry. Okay? [crying] I’m sorry about your mother, and I’m sorry you’re alone right now. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Kaitlyn sooner. I, I’m sorry that I made you feel stupid and annoying. You were right, I was the one who asked you out in the first place. I know, I know we’re not good together but it was something that I really needed at the time. I think you needed it, too. We never made sense but you helped me, and I’ll always be grateful. We’re friends, right? We can be friends. I’m here for you, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself. Okay?
[Lengthy pause]
Cassidy: Thank you for saying that. I appreciate it.
[call ended]
[Dr. Hart contacted the Moorlock Police Department at 4:10 am, then the local hospital, Ms. Randall’s psychiatrist, Lee Williams, and Kaitlyn Donovan.
Dr. Hart then called Ms. Randall again. When the call was picked up, she did not speak. A metallic grating noise was heard. It continued for forty-seven seconds while Dr. Hart cried before he hung up.]
[EDITED TO ADD: Our lab has tried to analyze the voicemail. Every agent who has listened to it for a sustained length of time has required medical leave for nervous hysteria.]
re: something strange
Dr. Daniel P Hart
To Cassidy
Oct 22, 2022, 5:57 am
I called the police back. They say that they checked the property again and found nobody there. I managed to speak with your doctor, and he’s adamant you shouldn’t be alone right now. Lee is on her way back to town. I’m getting in the car right now and I’m driving to you. Google says I should be there in just under four and a half hours. I should be pulling up by ten thirty.
I hope you’re all right. I’m not going to abandon you again. Whatever’s happening to you, we’ll get through it. You’re not alone. I’m sorry if you ever felt alone. God, I’m sorry about everything.
I’ll see you soon.
Daniel
[This is the final communication. No one has heard from either Dr. Hart or Ms. Randall since this e-mail was sent.]
[EDITED TO ADD: We have received information from the Moorlock Police, which we are adding to this file.
Ms. Lee Williams arrived at the farmhouse that afternoon at 12:42 pm. She immediately called the police.
Dr. Hart’s Toyota was found parked beside Ms. Randall’s car. Both the vehicle’s front doors were open. The keys were still in the ignition. Dr. Hart’s phone was lying in the mud outside. We’re unsure if he was trying to call someone, or if he was attempting to take a photo. We will likely never know, as the phone is dead and nothing can be retrieved from it.
Dr. Hart’s car was unable to start, though the battery was charged and the tank still half full.
The only footprints we discovered belonged to Ms. Williams. Neither Dr. Hart nor Ms. Randall left any prints outside, despite the recent rain. In addition, no fingerprints were discovered anywhere. Though Ms. Randall had been living in the house for over a week, the entire area was clean. It was as if no one had ever been inside the house.
A thorough inspection was made of the grounds. There is no sign of any stele, cube, or orb. There is no indication any such objects ever existed.
Though there was no evidence of physical wrongdoing at the farm, police and our agents were disturbed by one additional finding. All fifty-seven trees in the orchard are dead. No one is certain how or why this occurred.
This concludes our file on the Randall/Hart disappearance, though our investigation into the origins of the Yiyath cult is ongoing.
Caspar Nilsson
Director of Operations
International Institute for the Study of Preternatural Ethnohistory (IISPE)
cnilsson@IISPE.org]
[EDITED TO ADD: We have received word from colleagues in New Zealand. Apparently a small monument has been discovered twenty miles from a Norwegian scientific outpost in the Antarctic. It has been described as a purple obelisk covered in strange pictographs. Report to follow.]
THE SLEEPERS OF TARTARUS
David J. West
One of the things that comes with putting together an anthology is there are so many things that can happen dealing with so many authors, be it existing commitments preventing their participation, or personal issues meaning they need to back out. Writers are human, and life can happen.
This story was originally written with a spot in Baen’s Sword & Planet anthology in mind, and things just didn’t manage to come together in time. So, when David J. West said that, with some retooling, it would fit in perfectly in this anthology, we were excited to see it.
