Mountain Ghost Story

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Mountain Ghost
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Been a while since the skinwalker saga, things have kinda gone back to normal
>People came back to the town and set up like nothing had fucking happened
>kinda weird but it's not like the town has a secret cult or something
>no, we just have a /k/ult
>/k/ultists never moved out after the skinwalker incident
>Some of them went home, but a contingent remained
>This was their payment for helping the town
>Mayor did not return as stated, so the town made the militia Sergeant the new mayor
>he is still the Sergeant also
>He decides to just make put the town council in charge until next town election
>People are still cleaning up from the skinwalker's literal "wave of bodies" attack
>But none of the trenches have been taken down; the /k/ultists even turned one part into a shooting range
>like, the kind of shooting range made for AT guns
>they somehow managed to get a Pak 40 in town without anyone noticing
>and of course they also magically have ammo for it
>They keep they shooting to daytime thankfully
>back to patrolling the roads
>I was hoping that everything would go back to normal
>but gf is still following me
>"There are more doctors here now, and less wounded, so I have the free time. Also it is more interesting to follow you around Anon"
>"you don't know what it was like before gf, it was pretty boring"
>"Well then I'll just have to hope extra hard something will happen Anon"
>I really ought to see if gf is fucking clairvoyant or some shit
----------
>Go down to morning meeting
>morning meeting is only 30 mins due to nothing really happening
>Go to get truck
>get shit from HMG-bro for gf still being around me
>gf responds
>"Oh shut up, you're just jealous your pet bird hasn't given you any yet"
>shotsfired.mp3
>this shuts HMG-bro up
>well sort of, he's stuttering a little
>"sh- SHE'S NOT MY PET BIRD!"
>gf gets her "I'm a crazy sadist grin" on and responds after a good second of silence, in a softer, gleeful voice
>"oh yeah? I heard you two in the hospital; I. heard. everything."
>HMG-bro goes from a "little-less-than-calm" to "visibly mad"
>"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? FUCKING BULLSHIT MAGIC?"
>crazy sadist grin gets bigger, she responds in a calm but loud manner
>"No, you just told me with your reaction"
>HMG-bro goes from mad to an "oh fuck I did what now" face to fucking embarrassed
>doesn't say anything in return, just shuts up and goes to get in the truck
>gf losing her shit chuckling
>knew for a fact she was lying her ass off but didn't intervene because he deserved it
>Fudd looks on with a mixture of astonishment and respect
>"uh, how about you ride in the back with gf and I take shotgun Anon?"
>"Yeah, that sounds good"
>In the back
>"gf, if you could shut him down like that before why didn't you do it before?"
>"well, I didn't have anything good before"
>"what do you mean by that?"
>crazy grin returns
>"the other night when I was on my way back from gathering, I saw him sneaking in the back of rape-bird HQ"
>oh
>"when did they become a thing?"
>grin goes to genuine smile
>"I don't know Anon, but they do make a cute couple"
----------
>by now we're well out of town limits
>because the other town is kaput we have to patrol out even further from town
>Also have to drive on a newly made access road because rogue National Guardsmen decided the dead town was free real estate for a new military
>pricks won't even let us use the fucking highway through it
>anyway we be cruising along
>HMG-bro still sulking
>I'm sitting next to the truck's GPMG
>no use trying to stand up and actually man it because the town bypass is a half-assed access road that makes even the most rough logging trails look smooth
>fucking guardsmen with their tracked vehicles
>gf is looking out from the truck intensely
>"looking for ingredients"
>she's really just bored
>"hey guys!"
>jump a little out of surprise and bang my head against the truck cab
>Fudd and HMG-bro look through the back
>HMG-bro makes himself smaller (gf starts chuckling again)
>Fudd looks surprised
>"Oh, what are you doing here Ostwind?"
>"You guys are out of range of the radio so they sent me here with a mission"
>"what would that be Ostwind?"
>Some caravan had been making their way over the mountains
>this caravan had a long range radio and sat-phone
>they had been holding off until after the skinwalker situation was resolved
>deep in the mountains
>in the winter
>they were very vocal about their dissatisfaction with the situation
>so they were very glad to be able to move again
>called in an emergency an hour ago
>something along the lines of "FUCK FUCKING WE NEED SOME GODDAMN HELP"
>we were already heading out their on our truck, and were the furthest ones out, so it'd be our duty to head out to get them
>of course we're out of radio range because the trucks only have shitty shortwave radios that are susceptible to dead-zones, so they sent a harpy out to tell us
----------

>"Ok, just add another three-plus hours onto our patrol, great, thanks for the good news"
>"Oh come on, this is your job; besides, I'm just the messenger"
>"yes, why is that?"
>turn to gf
>that fucking smile
>she's so bored she's going start some shit with Ostwind now
>"you're not a carrier pigeon, you're the lead harpy, correct?"
>Ostwind is perturbed
>"yes I am, and I decided to bring the news to you guys cause we are friends"
>Shiteatinggrin.overdrive
>"Oh, I thought it was because you wanted to retrieve your breeder?"
>Ostwind does respond with the hasty embarrassment of HMG-bro
>"I don't know what that has to do with anything; why do you care? you already have your own mate"
>Shiteatinggrin.hyperdrive
>"oh so you are in a relationship?"
>HMG-bro looks red
>at least as red as an ork can look
>Ostwind is flummoxed
>"YES. WHY DO YOU CARE? WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?"
>gf points in HMG-bro's direction giggling like the mad-woman she is
>"I was hoping for a reaction like that"
>Ostwind looks at HMG-bro, then sighs and rolls her eyes
>"How bored are you?"
>"Very. Why is he that embarrassed about it anyway? He's like a catholic school boy being called out on jerking off!"
>Ostwind sits down in the truck bed
>"You must not understand much about orc culture"
>HMG-bro explodes
>"FUDDANONPLEASESHUTTHATWINDOW"
>He slams the back window shut by himself before we can even do anything
>gf laughing
>"HAHAhaha*deep breath*please explain Ostwind, please explain!"
>Ostwind is now annoyed
>"No, you know what, you probably already knew, didn't you?"
>"So what if I did, maybe Anon needs filling in?"
>"NO, I'm sure he can figure it out. I'm going to refuse you the satisfaction"
>gf moves back to the first pressure point she tried
>"oh don't be like that"
>"LIKE WHAT?"
>here we go
>"Don't pout just because your mate is too embarrassed to talk to you!"
>the two start going back and forth
>I haven't had enough coffee for this
>decide to try cleaning my gun to tune it out
----------
>Be an hour later
>we're further up in the mountains, can see some snow around
>guns nice and clean, ready to go
>and gf's guns
>and Ostwind's guns
>they've stopped arguing at this point, but they went on for quite a while
>gf is really good at pissing people off for her own amusement
>But Ostwind has a higher level of endurance; eventually stops responding
>gf eventually got bored and tired, currently sleeping while leaning against me
>crazy lady
>Eventually Ostwind breaks the silence
>"How do you deal with that Anon?"
>"You realize that sometimes I act dumb around her for a reason, right?"
>Ostwind looks unimpressed
>"and that works?"
>"It's not funny for her when you don't have a reaction for her to laugh at"
>"...oh"
>the truck window opens back up
>"How far out was that caravan?"
>"AND IS ANON'S GF GONNA GIVE ME A BREAK"
>"SHHH she's asleep HMG-bro; she wouldn't laugh if you didn't react, I'd have thought you of all people would know how this kind of game works"
>"It's a sensitive topic too me ok Anon?"
>mfw an orc is embarrassed he is in a relationship because his girl is a rapey bird-woman and this implies he is not dominant in said relationship
>Fudd's tired of this shit
>"guy's let's focus; how far out were they Ostwind?"
>"I don't know, they could only give an estimate of "an hour out" to us. they weren't responding further, so that was an obvious red flag"
>I pipe up
>"Is that why you were so vague on what they said they needed help with?"
>"well yeah; I think the running theory was something sudden like an avalanche"
>"that would make some sense but there isn't that much snow- hey HMG-bro why did you stop?"
>"look, we're here guys"
>In a clearing off the road we see the caravan vehicles and what looks like a camp
>but no people, and clearly no avalanche
----------

>The caravan consisted of a couple of semi-trucks and a few cars, plus one RV
>there were a few tents pitched with a makeshift fire pit
>RV is an old winnebago, with a bunch of metal walls bolted along the edge of the top and a giant antenna sticking out
>everything looks like it was just put up, but everything was stock still and lifeless, a thin layer of snow being the only sign of inactivity
>"Maybe they're asleep in the tents?"
>look at my watch
>"yeah cause they would totally sleep in past 12:00 in this cold"
>gf wakes up
>"who... I'm not asleep, what?"
>jolts herself up quick enough for her hat falls off
>"We found the caravan camp but not the caravan gf"
>she looks over at the vehicles after grabbing her hat and putting it back on
>expression of sleepiness goes away immediately
>"Pretty Spooky Anon; let's go check it out guys"
>grabs her guns and jumps over the side of the truck
>walks towards the camp
>everyone starts getting out to follow
>I decide I want to jump over the side of the truck
>foot lands of some ice
>whatthefucktherewasn'ticebefore
>nearly fall on my face but catch myself
>still caught HMG-bro's attention
>look at him
>...
>"I did that on purpose to make you feel better about earlier"
>"Ha, sure Anon"
>he looks closer and notices the small patch of ice
>"Hold on, there wasn't ice before?"
>"yeah, I know right?"
>It's cold enough for snow but it had been dry before, so the ice was weird as there hadn't been any rain or water on the roads
>just a random patch of ice
>we both blow it off as something to worry about later and walk toward the camp
----------
>On closer inspection there were some signs that the camp had been lived in
>the fire pit had some recent bits of ash and charcoal in it
>burned that morning, still warm; by the pit is an old fashioned percolator
>still has coffee
>coffee is still warm
>"hey guys do you think they would care if I took some?"
>get a "you're being stupid" look from everyone except Ostwind
>Ostwind is giving me a "Really?" look
>"I mean that's not a no"
>Eyes roll
>pour a bit into the mug from my mess kit
>coffee is weak as water
>god damn old-person coffee
>keep drinking it because it's warm and I don't want to waste their coffee
>resume look around the camp
>more signs of their having been life
>key word "been"
>some weird signs also
>tent flaps unzipped, bags of varying states of unpacking/repacking; belongings all over
>car doors unlocked, and the windows on the truck cabs are unfogged, meaning noone is in there and they are unheated
>chains for the one of the trucks are laid out as if they were prepping to put them on
>"I see they noticed they ice too"
>Fudd speaks up
>"maybe the ice was further up the road?"
>"but then why would the chains be off?"
>eventually we gather at the RV
>all the vehicles are stone cold, and seem to have dead batteries
>no people
>the RV is the only vehicle that has fogged windows
>meaning that someone might be in there
----------
>"ok, how do we go in?"
>HMG-bro tilts his head in confusion
>"what do you mean Anon? Why not just enter?"
>Ostwind makes a suggestion before I do
>"What if they're batshit crazy or paranoid, like John? Remember John? You know, when he nearly shot you through the door with a double barrel"
>"o-oh, yeah, maybe shouldn't try my luck again huh?"
>gf while listening to this exchange starts getting a small smile
>I lean over and whisper in her ear
>"come on gf is now really the time?"
>she whispers back
>"of course not now Anon, later!"
>"what are you two talking about? Do you have something?"
>before I can respond "WHAT NOTHING" gf chimes
>"what about a flash bomb guys? I have a couple of those"
>HMG-bro looks excited
>"A flash-bang? how'd you get one of those?"
>on a side note if HMG-bro wasn't constantly fantasising about HMGs I would've called him Operator-bro
>he has his M4 with ACOG and canted sights and Laser-sight and Tac-light and rails and rails he has yet to fill
>he has this with a m240 that he's put a red dot on and duct-taped another laser to
>gf clarifies that these are homemade semi-magical flash bombs and crushes HMG-bros dreams of playing R6 Siege IRL
>Fudd interrupts
>"won't that send the person, if the are in there into even more of a panic?"
>Ostwind gets a grin
>"Not if I'm on point and handle them like John"
>we (by which I mean us guys) express concern at the prospect on injury to the person being charge by a bird-woman
>the girls don't really seem to care
>we come to a compromise by having us warn the possibly non existent people/person in the RV that we are coming in before entering
>By which I mean we yelled a hasty warning as gf threw a flash bomb in and Ostwind shoved us from the door to clear her path
----------
>BANG
>Ostwind rushes in, but aside from the angry bird-woman noises we hear some high pitched screaming
>"DRIVING CABIN CLEAR, MAIN CABIN CLEAR"
>rush in behind her HMG-bro leading
>trying to be as operator as he can with his M4
>Ostwind is staring at him from outside the bathroom
>the screaming is coming from the bathroom
>it is high pitched, and happening in intervals
>almost like whoever is doing it is forcing a scream
>Ostwind is what the fucking at the noise
>We all just sort of sit there in amazement
>eventually the screaming peters out
>...
>"so should we ask th-"
>Screaming starts up again
>HMG-bro is tired of it
>the screaming has ruined his his R6S larp
>walks up to the bathroom
>"fuck it"
>shoots the lock a couple times
>push kicks the door in
>doesn't even keep the gun up, just starts yelling at them
>"OH MY FUCKING GOD STOP SCREAMING WE'RE HERE TO HELP"
>walk over and poke my head around the door frame
>see a guy in a position like pic related
----------

>Guy continues to scream in a fetal position between one of the walls and the toilet
>He is half clothed (wearing pants) clutching a .308 AR
>he is crying about something through the screaming, but his screaming is making it too incoherent
>gf eventually enters the bathroom
>with a long old-timey medical syringe
>like the needle is 2.5 inches and the whole thing is made of metal old timey
>she sticks him with it in the arm and he's knocked out immediately
>"ok, do we want to tie him up like john as well?"
>everyone looks at the guy for minute
>Ostwind is the first to vocally concur
>"Probably want to gag him also"
>We do so with rope from the truck and a towel from the RV
>don't have anything that we can secure him too, so we try to keep an eye on him
>"How long is he going to be out gf?"
>"Well that dose should keep him under for at least a half-hour"
>"time to wait then"
>we search the RV
>basically like your average mid-sized RV
>but modified with a small kitchenette, bunks, a large cabinet and a large "radio room" in the back
>also a ladder and trap-door to the roof inside the vehicle
>This was definitely the "command" vehicle
>we open the cabinet; it was definitely used to store their weapons
>some ammo was left, but no guns were in there
>can't search anymore, so we're sitting around speculating just what the fuck happened to everyone
>Ostwind is first
>"I say something drew them away from the camp, one by one...."
>Fudd's next
>"Maybe the skinwalker?"
>"No, they were talking to us after that, so it couldn't be the skinwalker"
>HMG-bro add in
>"Maybe it was a WENDIGO?"
>I see I'm not the only one who browses /x/
>we all look at him like he's stupid, though not for his theory being invalid but for suggesting we'd have to deal with another horrific supernatural entity after dealing with a skinwalker
>The guy starts to stir
>"well let's see if we can get some info out of screamer here"
----------

>the guy starts trying the screaming again, but it's really muffled with the gag
>"Sush man, we're from the town, we're here to help you guys but we need to know where everyone is. Can you tell us?"
>he continues anyway, probably hasn't heard any of what I said
>look at the rest of us
>what do guys
>gf, "let me try Anon"
>gf walks to where the guy is sitting
>It's one of those table and bench set-ups
>she sits down across from him, pulls out a large leather thing rolled up
>collects herself, takes a breath in
>the guy quiets down a bit but is still making noise
>"Ok, look. We'd like to help; We'd like help you, and we'd like to help the caravan, and we don't really want to hurt you"
>He finally shuts up, is paying close attention to gf
>"BUT, our priority is the CONVOY; it's hard to help the CONVOY if we don't know where the CONVOY'S PEOPLE are."
>He's sweating a little
>"I'm sure something very traumatic happened to make you so worked up but I need you calm the fuck down and fill us in on what the hell is going on, or else..."
>she then un-rolls the bundle to reveal that it's holding a bunch more of those syringes with various liquids in them, along with some tools
>"We'll have to make you calm"
>everyone kinda freaks a little at the sight of these "torture tools"
>I know better, it's just a bunch of painkillers and meatball surgery tools
>the guy starts whining a little bit, breathing fast again
>"shhhh you don't need to freak out, just be calm; none of this will be necessary IF you KEEP CALM, UNDERSTAND?"
>he nods his head, trying to slow his breathing
>"Ok; Ostwind, if you would be so kind as to remove his gag?"
>the gag gets removed and the guy has to fight to keep from hyperventilating
----------
>"Now, where is everyone else?"
>he takes a second to collect himself
>"I- I I don't know..."
>very helpful
>"ok, well, did they leave or disappear, or what?"
>he takes a minute to think, he starts breathing hard again
>"th-they walked off, but not as a group, it uh, it started with that one guy looking for his partner, and then when he didn't come back someone else went looking, and they just-"
>he stops for a second, genuinely fighting off a panic attack
>"do you need something for that?"
>"f-fo-for what?"
>"your breathing; would you like something to relax your breathing?"
>"U-uh, I, don-dunno, I"
>gf doesn't care pulls out another pouch from her magical webbing
>pulls out another, more modern looking syringe
>leans over the table
>"wh-what are you"
>shutupiamdoctor.html
>sticks him with it, shushing him, then pulling it out and bandaging the injection site
>pulls another needle out of the pouch, then starts taking his pulse off of his jugular
>leans back after a bit, content that his heart rate is going down enough to not hyperventilate but also that it isn't going to stop dead
>"wha-what did you do?"
>"stopped your panic attack, at least for a while; please continue.
>he takes another minute to recollect his thoughts, and to actually take a few full breaths
>"normally we would've just left if someone wandered off or wasn't ready to leave, but the guys who missed role call was the RV driver; we noticed he was gone at roll call, so we asked where he was..."
----------
>basically some time in the early morning some guy wandered off after "a noise"
>dumbshit #1 decided to go wandering into the woods AT NIGHT after some ill defined "noise" in the snow
>at least he told people where he was going
>intentionally left his car and tent and other shit in the way so they would have a harder time just leaving without him
>eventually two more guys, we'll call dumbshits #2 and #3 also decided it was a good idea to go looking for him in the dark and snowy night
>by six in the morning a couple caravan guards decided that they would go looking also
>this included the RV driver, who also took the keys.
>at this point half the people in the caravan were off looking for each other
>remaining people; 4 guards, a truck driver, and a guy who was going on a hunting trip in Montana
>these people in a much more clear-headed move, decided to wait around for them to stumble out of the forest or come back up the road
>they're in a valley, so if they are lost they can just walk downhill and they'll hit the road
>hunter lights a fire so that they can maybe follow the smoke back
>everyone except the caravan leader and trucker is chill
>caravan leader is paid per crossing, so his time is being wasted
>trucker is already late due to the skinwalker, so he's going to get shit already
>eventually daylight breaks and there's a bit of fog
>still no missing people
>trucker and caravan leader take a guard each and go in opposite directions down the road screaming their heads off for the missing guys
>leaves the hunter and screamer
----------
>hunter offers screamer some coffee, screamer doesn't like weak boomer coffee so he goes into the RV to get some
>through the window, he could see the hunter sitting with his boomer coffee, and halfway into the road
>pouring himself a nice strong cup of coffee when he notices the hunter is saying something
>sees a figure out in the fog, across from the camp in the road
>they both hear a really hoarse "help" before the figure limps off across the road
>FuddyMcFuddFace walks off after them
>Screamer puts down his coffee and grabs the first aid kit
>Then hears the hunter yell
>"HEY WAIT WHAT ARE Y-"
>POP
>Screamer gets a bad feeling, but writes the silence off
>when he gets to the road though, he could see the hunter on the ground
>with his head at a gross angle, twisted
>looks up
>sees the figure further across the road
>"he-help me"
>He noped the fuck out of there
>ran back to the RV, shut the door
>threw first aid kit back in the bathroom
>grabbed last gun from the cabinet
>tossing mags into the bathroom
>KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK
>freezes
>"he-help me, please"
>runs into bathroom, cowers in there until he passed out
>was woken up by the flash bomb
>and was sent into a panic attack upon realizing that he hadn't actually locked the RV door
>not brit-bong but these were the words that came to my mind at that point
>fucking muppet
>after a bit he was knocked out by gf, and that brought us to current events
----------

>He's shaking a little, but is otherwise breathing slowly
>gf has at this point made him stop a few time to drink some water
>Ostwind is the first to speak up after his storytime
>"You're new to being a mercenary aren't you?"
>"I- I'm not a mercenary, I just guard the caravan-"
>"but you are new"
>he takes a minute
>"How do you know?"
>She shakes her head
>"My girls and I have been operating on this highway for several years now. We've looted, raped, murdered and done jobs as convoy guards even, and I can tell you we've seen many weird things in that time. This is one of them."
>what
>HMG-bro asks for me
>"You've seen this before Ost?"
>gf tries and fails to suppress a snort
>Shoot a "Not fucking now" look at her
>Ostwind chooses to ignore this
>"Well, It was a chance encounter before; not even really that..."
>ohgodanotherstorytime.wav
>"A several years back, we caught a guy on the highway"
>"almost this far out, come to think of it; he was worse for wear and armed with a handgun"
>"we overcame him easily, his gun was actually empty but kept pointing it an pulling the trigger"
>"when we finally got him on the ground and tied up we were debating what we were going to do with him; we decided he wouldn't make a good breeder, didn't have much, and didn't look like good eating..."
>the screamer looked suddenly at the harpy, then tried to scoot away from her
>"...he had been mumbling but he started getting louder at that point; we thought it was us saying we'd eat him but we actually started paying attention to what he said:"
----------
>"DON'T LET HIM GET ME, HE'S GONNA GET ME PLEASE LET ME GO HE'S COMING FOR ME"
>"We decided to question him, because we thought we could hold him ransom at that point"
>"but all we got was HE'S COMING, HE ALREADY GOT ELUKKA"
>"decide to explore up the road, had some girls take him back to our roost"
>she ignored several interrupting queries of "what did they do to him" from screamer
>it's obvious at this point screamer has never been to the mountains, let alone spent time away from a city he knows so little
>Ostwind continues
>"we made our way up the highway just a bit, and found a crashed car; I'm sure actually it's a bit further up the road in fact"
>"less than six feet from it was a Drow, covered in tattoos and piercings; all sorts of compensatory bullshit"
>"ELUKKA was literally tattooed on his forehead, which we could see despite him being on his stomach, because it was twisted around 180 and at a 120 degree angle to his spine"
>"we took what we could from the car, then headed back to our roost"
>"upon further interrogation of the one guy, we got some crazy story involving them getting kicked out of a caravan for being edgy, stealing, lying pricks"
>"they were eventually picked up by another car with a lone man"
>"naturally, these guys being the ungrateful pricks they are murder the man horrifically and steal his car"
>"after a while the drow sees a person on the road
>swerves into tree"
>"when the human comes to, he sees his friend getting his neck snapped by the undead version of the guy they murdered horrifically, so he runs non stop through the night"
>"only to be captured by us harpies; prick should've taken the ghost"
>cue a dozen more questions from screamer
>She ignores them
>"ever since then we occasionally found people dead like that out here, usually when they were camping and for some reason wandered into the woods"
----------
>We take a minute to let the story sink in
>Fudd is the first to talk
>"You never thought of telling anyone about an angry, murderous spirit in this part of the mountains?"
>Ostwind shifts a little uncomfortably
>"well, it was free stuff every time someone died, and their cars could easily be sold for scrap..."
>She looks up to see four dirty stares and one horrified one
>"WELL I MEAN THIS WAS AFTER YOU ASSHOLES THREATENED TO BURN DOWN THE FOREST IF WE LOOTED ANYMORE CONVOYS AND IT'S NOT LIKE MANY PEOPLE TRAVEL OVER ON THEIR OWN ANY MORE"
>She stops and takes a minute to think
>"If it helps any we didn't eat any of the bodies, we buried everyone we found and gave them a proper grave marker"
>everyone is silent for a bit
>except screamer, he's freaking out
>"YOU EAT PEOPLE, AND DEAD BODIES?!?"
>gf "tries" to "calm" him
>"Oh, please, we eat them too"
>Gets a stare from Ostwind
>"You've eaten Harpy?"
>gf tells her Harpy soup story
>"huh, I'll have to remember that then next time one of our own dies; do you have a recipe?"
>Screamer now looks green
----------

>We've spent about an hour talking at this point
>"Guys, can we get back on topic; what are we going to do about the missing people?"
>Ostwind looks back to me
>"what are we going to do Anon? they're probably dead"
>"Oh so we're just going to drive back to town and say they were all killed by a ghost, also we don't have any bodies? They're going to say we didn't really do anything"
>"well we have the one guy Anon"
>"Oh yeah, the panicked guy who is half nude"
>"look, we can't exactly go looking for them; even if the 'ghost' wasn't a problem there's only six of us, including screamer here"
>I sigh, a little frustrated
>I really don't want to deal with some other bullshit supernatural thing, but I know we'll get shit for not taking care of the problem
>"If we do say it's a ghost, there going to want to know what we did about it; they're not going to like it if we just took some guys word for it without confirming it, cause they're going to want to shut the pass down again"
>this gives people pause
>gf speaks up
>"we could radio in using their set-up at least, maybe ask them for advice?"
>sigh
>"yeah, not sure how much they'll he-"
>I'm interrupted by screamer, living up to his name by starting to whine his ass off
>See what he's whining about upon looking out the window
>fog
>and a figure
>Fudd closes and locks the door
>Looks at us
>"what do?"
>...
>all collectively pass around dumb looks all asking "what do?"
>Screamer, despite being tied up, vaults the bench and rushes back into the bathroom
>shuts and locks the door
>gf is the most perturbed by this
>"IF YOU HAVE ANOTHER PANIC ATTACK I'M NOT COMING IN THERE TO SAVE YOU FROM CARDIAC ARREST YOU DAMN COWARD"
----------
>his response to this is to unlock and open the door a bit, but not come out
>whatever, like he's going to be much help to us
>gf is the first to offer a suggestion
>"Here"
>pulls out a crucifix
>slaps it on the wall
>it sticks (presumably because magic)
>"that'll keep it out"
>cue more blank stares
>I facepalm
>"what? It's a religious sign, those keep spirits at bay?"
>"Maybe spread some salt while your at it too gf"
>"Good idea Anon!"
>gf runs over to the kitchenette and grabs some salt, begins lining the walls with it
>Fudd is staring out the window
>"it's just standing there, not moving; is it even a threat guys?"
>look out the window
>he's right; it's completely still, just staring at us
>can barely make any details out aside that it's a guy
>something around the neck
>ragged clothing
>turn to Fudd
>"Better work on contacting the guys in town, not much else we can do now"
>"ok Anon, I'll get on thinking about what the fuck I'm going to tell them"
>visually follow him across the room, then take my pistol carbine back off safe and look back
>the figure is gone
>oh, where'd it g-
>KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK
>jump back from the window, tactically shit myself
>"H-help me, please"
----------
>Screamer lets out something between a moan and a howl from the bathroom of the RV
>gf finishes spreading around the salt, sighs, and grabs another needle of liquid sleepytime to put screamer out
>everyone else has their guns unshouldered and unholstered
>couldn't see because it as standing behind the door
>it's voice alone is enough to unsettle; some cross between a hoarse whisper and a wheezing
>I decide to try something
>"Help you how?"
>get bunch of weird looks
>what else are we supposed to do guys?
>fucking shoot it? Kill it a second time?
>"l-let me in"
>people continue staring me down shaking their heads
>yeah I'll totally let a fucking ghost inside guys
>come on
>"I'm afraid we can't do that, but if you can tell us another way we may provide 'help,' it would be appreciated"
>"let me in, please"
>great, it totally is listening to me
>"why do you want in?"
> minute's pause
>"so I c-can get h-help"
>ok so it is listening
>"what kind of help?"
>another minute's pause
>"g-getting even"
>Ostwind decides to join in
>"if it helps those who killed you were themselves killed"
>"n-no, all must share my pain"
>wat
>the "doorknob" (or whatever it is on RVs) is jostled a little bit
>stops and we hear a really long wheezing noise
>"WHY WON'T YOU HELP ME"
>this is followed by five minutes silence
----------

>"Is it still there?"
>"I don't know, I can't see from the window"
>"you can't see from the window!?!"
>"THE DOOR IS A FUCKING BLINDSPOT YOU ASSHOLE HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO SEE IN A FUCKING BLINDSPOT?!?"
>"Oh, I don't know, maybe I should open the door and check!?"
>"NO ARE YOU RETARDED ANON?!"
>"I was being facetious; of course I am not going to open the door!"
>"I could always shoot a couple rounds through the door guys"
>everyone looks at HMG-bro and shouts "NO" in our own ways
>Ostwind goes more into depth about her opinion on shooting it
>"WHY WOULD WE PUT A HOLE IN THE DOOR? FUCK HOW WOULD SHOOTING A FUCKING GHOST EVEN WORK!? CAN WE EVEN HURT IT WITH BULLETS!? IF WE COULD "HIT" IT, WHAT WOULD WE DO, KILL IT AGAIN!?!"
>"well we killed a skinwalker, didn't we?"
>gf's turn to tell him how he's being stupid
>"The skinwalker is a thing that is STILL ALIVE, and was only being kept alive using it's own magical ability; once it's magical ability was nullified with ENCHANTED BULLETS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT PURPOSE it could be killed because it's STILL A LIVING THING, not A FUCKING GHOST"
>HMG-bro looks at his feet and thinks about what he's going to say next
>Only noise is Fudd fucking with the radio, trying to hail the town
>HMG-bro looks up
>"well, we needed special bullets to kill a skinwalker, maybe if we have special bullets to kill a ghost?"
>facepalm
>for someone from a warrior culture, he seems to have trouble grasping the core concept of BEING FUCKING DEAD
>Ostwind surprisingly doesn't straight up tell him how stupid he's being
>she is also rubbing her temple though so I can tell she thinks it's stupid also
>"That's so retarded it might work with some rephrasing"
>turns to gf
>"you're the only person with even the most remote expertise on the supernatural; can we get rid of a ghost by blessing an object and sending it flying through it?"
----------
>gf takes a second to process this
>"Uh... I..."
>sits on the bench and gets really pensive
>Ostwind isn't going to wait for her to finish thinking
>"How does one usually get rid of ghosts?"
>gf.exe is not responding
>"...well? Please tell me you know something about this!?"
>gf finally looks up
>"well?"
>looks at Ostwind
>"maybe"
>"WHAT?"
>gf has her thinking face on
>"Usually, you get rid of a ghost via "cleansing" or an exorcism; the mechanics of how either works, beyond calling upon a higher power or using certain items in certain ways is beyond my knowledge"
>"SO YOU DON'T KNOW?"
>gf ignores this and continues on in a calm tone
>"No, I know how to do a cleansing, as well as some materials that happen to repulse the supernatural; the problem is that these things only work to REPULSE the supernatural, it doesn't get rid of them"
>"So, that's a no to the bullet idea?"
>"not quite; we could imbue bullets with the materials the repulse ghosts, and theoretically it will repulse them, but only repulse them"
>"And the caveat to that is?"
>"I couldn't tell you what the ghost will do upon being 'repulsed,' whether it will run away or get closer or just step to another spot..."
>HMG-bro pipes up
>"well, if it's repulsed by it it has to be hurting it on some level, right? Maybe if you hit it enough it'll piss off"
>Yeah, and maybe if you poke a hornets' nest enough they'll leave it
----------

>Ostwind pipes up
>"Well, it's not going to hurt to have something even if it does nothing; could you make some ghost-repellent bullets gf?"
>She starts pulling shit out from the magic webbing
>"yeah, yeah... you guys are lucky I hadn't taken my stuff for this out of my away pack. I'll see what I can make with what I have"
>I decide to check in with Fudd
>"Have you gotten a hold of them yet?"
>"Yeah, but they have yet to advise us on the situation Anon"
>"Did you tell them we're stuck in the RV?"
>"No Anon, I told them we wanted to camp out up here; of course I told them about what was going on. Don't blame me if they don't take it seriously"
>fucking christ
>"so what did they say exactly? They wouldn't have just said nothing!"
>"they said to hang on while they get back to us"
>fuck
>great
>we just have to sit in this RV while waiting for them to get back to us
>HMG-bro just sits in the front of the RV
>I guess on lookout
>Fudd gets to just wait on the radio
>Ostwind is hovering over gf's shoulders barraging her with questions about making magic bullets
>gf is doing her best to ignore Ostwind and not jab her with a knock-out syringe for some quiet time
>I decide to watch screamer
>walk into the bathroom
>the guy is still asleep; he's curled himself into a ball
>probably not more than early twenties in age
>wonder what circumstances have him working as a convoy job at this age when he obviously hasn't had any post-merge forest experience
>gf calls back to me
>"Is he still unconscious? Can you check his pulse? We should make sure he hasn't gone into a coma from the combination of shock and drugs going through him"
>grumble
>take pulse, it's normal
>"Breathing normal, pulse normal; are you sure that's the only things you need to check for?"
>"what do you mean Anon?"
>"coma means unresponsive, not dead, right? shouldn't we check if he's responsive?"
>"..."
>"...I mean if you want to deal with him panicking Anon"
----------
>oh yeah, I was calling him screamer for a reason
>decide to wait for him to wake up instead
>go out of the room to join Ostwind in bugging gf
>realize that since I live with gf and bothering her in her work would probably have consequences, decide to bug Ostwind instead
>"Ostwind why are you so curious about the magic bullets and the process of making them?"
>get a cranky look
>"I kinda want to know how the stuff I'm using works, don't you Anon?"
>"So you're still not confident in this idea?"
>"NO ANON, I'M NOT 100% CONFIDENT, SO I'M ASKING QUESTIONS TO TRY AND BE MORE CONFIDENT"
>"Jesus, no need to be like that Ost-"
>"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANON; I'VE SEEN WHAT THIS FUCKING THING DOES. IT BREAKS YOUR FUCKING NECK. I'VE SEEN THE BODIES OF DOZENS OF PEOPLE WHO'VE HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF COMING ACROSS THIS THING, SOME ARMED TO THE TEETH, SOME WHO HAD OBVIOUSLY PUT UP A HELL OF A FIGHT, AND NOTHING STOPPED THIS THING FROM BREAKING THEIR NECK"
>wait because I figure she's not done
>"I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO NOT BE KILLED BY A FUCKING THING THAT I CAN'T EVEN SHOOT OR STAB OR HURT ANON"
>everyone's looking at her at this point
>this doesn't affect her countenance, but she addresses the whole room now and not just me
>"Look, it's not the dying part that scares me guys, it's that fact that I won't be able to make sure I'm taking the fucker with me"
>"Well, can you not bug gf as much? She didn't ask to be in this situation either, and you pestering her isn't going to change the quality of the bullets"
>[Disgruntled Birdwoman noises]
>"She wasn't bothering me that much Anon; I like to thought of it as payback for the trip out anyways"
>HMG-bro decides to break the tension
>"It's been a while since lunchtime, and we missed lunch; hungry people are irritable people, so we should probably eat"
>God and the /k/ube bless HMG-bro
>even if he is an asshole and says the dumbest shit at times
----------

>We all start pulling out our food
>gf takes a break to pull out another homemade lunch for her and I
>HMG-bro pulls out some MREs and makes one for himself and Ostwind, who I guess has never used one before
>he tries ignoring the shit-eating grin gf is giving him from across the room
>Fudds munching on his Elf-ration, thing
>what are those even
>all I know is that they give non-elves massive shits
>hear screamer stirring, having worked the sleepytime out of his system without entering a coma
>"Hey HMG-bro, got any extra MREs?"
>"Sure Anon, why do you think I pulled out three?"
>grab the MRE and walk to the RV bathroom
>see screamer sat up, rubbing his eyes
>practically throw the MRE at him
>"Wake up, Eat, don't make any more noise"
>uncalled for, but he hasn't really done anything except give a vague info-dump
>he walks out into the main area and looks at all of us chilling and eating
>looks out the window
>"I-Is it gone?"
>"We don't know, not going to chance it"
>"A-AND YOU'RE JUST SITTING HERE EATING?"
>"People were getting cranky without their food"
>"BUT THERE'S A KILLER GHOST OUT THERE! YOU'RE JUST GOING TO SIT HERE DOING NOTHING?"
>"OH LIKE YOUR DUMBASS HAS DONE ANYTHING; YOU'VE ZERO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN YOU BITCH-MADE GREENHORN"
>Damn, never heard that out of Ostwind before; she must still be hungry
>screamer shrivels at that
>gf adds onto that
>"To say we're doing nothing is to be too harsh; we're working on some 'anti-ghost' bullets, and to get some help or advice"
>explain the "anti-ghost' bullets to him
>his hopeful look goes away when gf emphasizes that all they'll do is repel the ghost, not 'kill' it
>"A-and then what, we run to your truck and drive off?"
>...
>"we hadn't actually thought that far ahead, but that's what the plan is probably going to come to"
>"But the Harpy's story said it got some guys in a car"
>"I said the car crashed and it got one guy; we got the other"
>"WHATEVER THE FUCK; HOW DO YOU GUYS THINK THE CAR CRASHED!? I THOUGHT YOU GUYS SAID YOU WEREN'T CHANCING IT?!?"
----------
>...
>he's right damn it
>don't want to admit it
>gf is going to shut him up again, this time verbally
>"Ok, then, Mister 'make a perfect plan,' what do you think we should do?"
>"WHAT?"
>"What. Should. We. DO?"
>Screamer sputters and then collapses onto the bench
>"Go eat your food, the grown-ups are talking"
>god, we're being pretty harsh to him aren't we?
>actually the ladies are being pretty harsh on him
>Fudd jerks up from gnawing on his keebler food and grabs at the radio
>"What"
>"WHAT"
>"BUT DIDN'T YOU HE-"
>"YES WE MEANT IT SERIOUSLY, BU-"
>"UHuhoh..."
>"...ok, well how will we know when they get here?"
>"Hello? HELLO?"
>He leans back mumbling
>"Goddamn lazy bums, not staying on the line, they just blurt out what they want but never listen..."
>looks at us while lifting his keebler kipper back up to his mouth
>"What?"
>"What do you think? We want to know what they said Fudd!"
>"oh, right; they're sending the harpies to get us"
>...
>screamer decides to risk further ridicule
>"How... How will that work?"
>Ostwind is still cranky
>"How do you THINK it's going to work? We're going to SWOOP in and grab you with our TALONS, and FLY OFF with you"
>cue whimpering
>"I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU ASK 'ARE YOU GOING TO EAT US' I'M GOING TO HURT YOU; NOW SHUT UP BEFORE I DO IT ANYWAYS"
>whimpering stops
>HMG-bro picks up from where we left off
>"What about the truck?"
>"What about it?"
>"It's going to be left behind"
>"well then be sure to lock it"
----------
>"Don't we have to be outside for them to get us?"
>"T-there is the roof"
>all turn to screamer
>"There's a ladder to the roof, maybe the ghost can't get there?"
>all a little stunned he finally contributed something useful
>gf takes this info and actually does something with it
>"no, it may be able to get up there, but if we're quick enough we could spread salt around to keep it off the roof. From there we can use the bullets to keep it away from the RV"
>”Ok, so when do we want to do that?”
>”I don’t know, when will the Harpies get here?”
>cue multiple looks in Fudd’s direction
>”You were listening to me weren’t you? They didn’t tell me”
>Ostwind looks a lot more chipper
>”I wouldn’t worry, they’ll tell us when they’re here; it’s more important to be ready for them when they get here”
>”But how will they-”
>”SHUT UP AND LISTEN”
>everyone shuts up and listens
>get briefed by Ostwind on what’s going to happen
>extra bags get put off to the side for other harpies to get
>everyone will get into a line and crouch down
>person at the front of the line will stand up and put their arms out in a T-pose
>two Birdwomen will grab your arms and fly off with you
>repeat until everyone is evacuated
>All guns will need to be secured tightly or put with the bags
>gf has to shove her hat in her webbing
>Only detail left is when and where we’ll put salt around the roof
----------

>”Well, obviously sooner is better than later, right?”
>gf points out a problem
>”Well, this is salt were talking about, it can easily be disturbed by wind; we don’t want to risk it and put it down too early”
>I think of something no one’s thought of
>”how much salt do we have left?”
>get a bunch of blank looks
>tacticalfacepalm.jpg
>”Ok, can we take a quick stock on the amount of salt?”
>we take a quick inventory
>only one of those cardboard can things left all told
>fuck.fuk
>”ok, let’s not panic; gf, how’s the ghost repellent coming?”
>”Almost done”
>”how many bullets can you coat”
>”maybe 100?”
>sounds like a lot, but keep in mind this is being split up between 5 people
>maybe 6, I don’t want to test screamer’s shooting ability, if only due to the definite fact he’s had three panic attacks today
>also because I don’t honestly think he’s fired a round in anger his whole life
>doubt he’s even fired a round at all
>HMG-bro has a 30 round mag (M4)
>Ostwind has 10 round mag (SKS)
>gf has a 20 round mag (FAL)
>I have a 30 round mag (G3)
>Fudd has a five round mag (because Fudd)
>95 rounds required, 100 available
>Barely enough bullets to go round
----------
>”Maybe we could use the ghost repellent in addition to the salt?”
>”Once it’s laid down it’s going to stick, due to the bonding agent”
>Ostwind looks happily surprised
>”Well, why not just do that? We’ll have a “secure” landing pad well in advance of my people getting here”
>gf glances around the perimeter of the RV’s ceiling
>shakes her head
>”we’d still have to use some salt”
>”I don’t see what the damn problem is just put the repellent stuff in front of the ladder!”
>”It’s a ghost, do you honestly think it needs to use ladders?”
>”...”
>come up with an idea
>”gf, do we need to have salt spread around if the cross is on the wall?”
>she thinks for a minute
>”I guess not, the salt was overkill…”
>”Could we sweep it up and reuse it gf?”
>”As long as I don’t have to sweep it up Anon”
>decide to have screamer be useful and sweep the salt up
>now we have two cardboard can things of salt, enough to line the roof
>coat bullets in ghost repellent
>”five rounds left”
>gf looks at screamer
>screamer is back in the bathroom trying not to hyperventilate
>”....should we give the bullets to him, or….?”
>small debate on this
>ends with us giving him a Hi-Point with 5 rounds
>he exercises trigger and muzzle discipline when it’s handed to him, check the safety
>at least he knows how to handle guns
----------

>Ok, now for the roof plan
>talkover the order in which we’ll head up the ladder
>resolve to go HMG-bro, gf, myself, Ostwind, Fudd, and screamer
>me and gf spread salt around the roof while everyone else keeps a lookout for the ghost
>if they see the ghost they’ll shoot at it and hopefully it will do something
>aside from just pissing the ghost off
>decide to do this now in order to just get it done
>get everyone lined up on/near the ladder
>HMG-bro gets to oper8 some more
>”Everyone ready”
>”yes, we’re all lined up and ready to go up, just go whenever you’re re-”
>”3, 2, 1, BREACH”
>HMG-bro had the hatch open and was on the roof in a split second
>gf stared blindly for a second before scrambling up after him
>up we go
>get up there, gf is already spreading salt in front of the external ladder go over and we spread the salt around the edge of the RV roof in opposite directions until we meet on the roofs opposite end
>”Ok roof secure; where’s the ghost?”
>look around
>”I don’t see it, do you guys see it?”
>collective answer of “nope”
>realize screamer isn’t on the roof
>fuck
>run across the RV roof
>slip on a patch of snow
>nearly impale myself on the long-range radio antenna
>land flat on my stomach with my head looking down the ladder
>screamer is just standing at the bottom of the ladder
----------
>god not this shit again
>”you coming up?”
>he looks up
>looks like he’s going to panic again
>have to verbally coach and coax him up the ladder
>when he gets up on the roof he just sits in the center with his legs to his chest
>just let him do that
>busy looking around the RV for the ghost, and in the sky for the harpies
>slight fog has lifted, the sky is clearing a little bit
>still cold
>we wait a while on the roof looking around but not seeing a ghost
>everyone is all the more tense because we don’t know where it is
>and if we do see it we’ll have to make shots count
>don’t know how to do this, seeing as we don’t know what the ghost will do when hit it
>spend 45 minutes in the frigid mountain air ready to crap ourselves in fear
>Nearly shoot reflexively when we hear a new noise
>look around the tree line
>nothing
>”WHERE IS IT”
>get slapped by someone
>don’t know if it was gf or Ostwind
>”look moron”
>look up
>oh it’s the Harpies
>making raucous birdwomen noises
----------
>practically get squawked at by Ostwind into line
>Harpies in the sky start squawking at Ostwind
>Ostwind starts squawking back
>[incomprehensible birdwomen noises]
>”SCREAMER STAND UP WITH YOUR ARMS OUT”
>he slowly does so, kinda hesitating
>suddenly is grabbed by two harpies and carried off
>fucking muppet drops his Hi-Point as they do
>it spins a bit in the air where his hand had been a little before falling like a fucking cartoon
>can hear him starting to make noise as he’s carried off
>”Great, don’t have to deal with him anymore; Fudd, you’re next”
>Fudd slung his rifle before standing up and also being carried off
>next gf, then me
>insists HMG-bro goes last
>as I’m being carried off I notice Ostwind is helping carry HMG-bro
>Hear snickering
>I guess gf noticed too
>get even colder as we are flown back to town in the mountain air
>man, that was pretty anticlimactic
----------

>flight back is as boring as the drive out
>would be scared from the height I’m at
>if the Harpies’ grip didn’t feel so tight
>just tight enough for cramping, not so tight I’m actually losing that much blood flow
>this combined with the cold means I’m pretty numb
>try talking to the harpies
>one of them looks at me but doesn’t say anything
>other one doesn’t acknowledge me
>do they even speak english, or just bird-speak
>eventually hear some more bird noises and they fly lower to the ground
>get back to town eventually
>land
>my arms are too numb
>my arms are dead
>inb4 gotta lift faggot
>try hanging from two really constricting points around the shoulder and armpit
>not being able to move
>while having a frigid airstream going around you
>we all go home and warm up
>...
>Iwish.avi
>Actually get herded back to meeting hall
>Sergeant is there
>gonna get chewed out by militia sergeant while still freezing
>get grilled for another couple hours about what the fuck happened
>Tell about what we did, have Ostwind tell her ghost origin story
>harpies back Ostwind up
>have Screamer recount what happened
>don’t have to drug screamer up because the cold
>still takes him two hours to tell his side of the story
>After it all the sarge looks frustrated
>”Well, you guys might as well go take a break and get warmed up”
>”you’re not going to reprimand us?”
>looks at me
>”for not risking your guys’ lives over a POS truck with a POS radio and an old beat up M60? No, I wasn’t planning on it; why would you think I would?”
>”you… you still sound pissed sir”
>Sarge is rubbing his temple
>”I am, but only because right after dealing with the bullshit of a skinwalker coming out of nowhere and opening the pass back up, now some other bullshit comes out of fucking nowhere and closes it again”
>Ostwind butts in
>”Why would this close the pass? This thing’s been out there for years, and it’s not like the road was blocked up.”
----------
>Sarge stares daggers at the harpy
>”We didn’t know about it before; before whenever we found abandoned shit we assumed it’d just been you vultures killing them. Now that we know it’s not you buzzards, and now that it’s hit an actual caravan, we have to close the pass again and take care of it.”
>Ostwind sharpens her tone in kind, but is still more confused
>”Why, it’s not going to threaten the town or anything, and no one here goes over the pass. Why waste the effort?”
>before anyone of us can explain why
>”BECAUSE WE’RE PAID BY THE SHIPPING AND CARAVAN COMPANIES YOU DAFT DUCK”
>The Sergeant doesn’t like swearing when he can help it so he’s really stretching for insults to sling at Ostwind at this point.
>The fact he isn’t swearing means he’s more stressed than pissed
>Ostwind looks perplexed; doesn’t know how to take that
>”Look, you birds might make your money by being mercs and mugging, looting, kidnapping and the such, but the town makes its money from being paid to keep the road clear by caravans, either through contractual pay or tolls per caravan. The longer the pass is closed, the more we lose out on tolls, and the more likely we are to lose out on contracts.”
>He rubs his head for a minute
>”Look, just, go somewhere else, I gotta think about what the hell we’re gonna do… think I’m gonna just say there was an avalanche or something...”
>Screamer gets hauled off to the hospital
>Fudd fucks off home, mumbles something about grandma fudd
>Decide to go home with gf
>Ostwind and HMG-bro follow us home for some reason
>gf lets them in
>hope this is her being polite and not her wanting to be an asshole to cure boredom