Of Sorrow and Clay.P2 Conclusion

Blaine 38yo (Robert), Eugene 40yo (Mikc), Lorelei 37yo (Arbor), 19yo twins: Pistol (Mike) and Faith (Bill)

Summary: Even the older kids (Blaine and Lorelei) didn’t know much about Pa’s first wife (Sadie) gone missing 45 years ago. Other than rumors spread while waiting for the corn mash to ferment in the stills. Some say how she done run away pregnant and wanting an abortion (against Pa’s wishes). Others described their constant fighting. Whatever; gone and forgotten and soon replaced by our mother, Annabelle. She died barely 2 years after the twins were born. But come to think about it, the older kids don’t remember seeing her pregnant. They remember those 9 months she spent at her mother’s house being cared for through labor. But now to hear there are even MORE siblings?!

Noon, Sunday, March 30^th: Seeing their deformed siblings in the cave was shocking enough. Birthed by none other that some unholy version of Sadie!! But to see Jack blasted by Eugene and turn to ash that floated away was damn frightening! Hell yea they ran away; at least Faith/Pistol/Blaine. All the way to Jinny’s shack where the witch told how Pa was off to kill Sadie in the swamp!! And that’s when they heard Jack’s voice behind them, “Don’t listen to that ole witch!”

Faith and Pistol turned to face the voice, only to see a version of Jack in rotting clothing whose exposed face and arms were more shifting debris and muck! Faith raised Pa’s rifle and fired the single bullet. [extreme- 20 damage] Even Blaine turned at the blast sound to witness the hole in Jack’s chest that seemed to fill in with muck and debris! [Sanity check]

 [20% loss = BOM: fear of guns] Blaine ran to distance himself from the scene. Pistol stood flabbergasted, "You're supposed to be dead! What are you?!" Jack responded in a gurgling voice, "Jinny put a hex on you. I am the protector of your kin." Jack then lunged at Faith jabbing his fingers into her mouth and nose. Faith gasped for air as the fingers became muck trying to suffocate her. Jinny rushed into her shack.

Meanwhile, Lorelei led Eugene and her deformed siblings toward Jinny's place and saw Blaine approach, "What happened? I heard a gunshot." Blaine shrieked as he ran, "Jack is back!" Eugene tackled the man and grasped his collar, "Explain yourself."

Meanwhile, [POW- extreme] Faith coughed and spit and snotted to dislodge the muck and mud, then ran after Blaine. And that's when Jinny stepped back on her porch holding an odd-looking twig as she called out, "Come inside for safety." Only Pistol was around to comply. He watched Jinny stride toward Jack and wacked him with the twig. The form of Jack collapsed into a pile of muck that absorbed into the ground. She then directed Pistol, "He's gone for now. Get your kin; they ain't safe out there."

Meanwhile, Blaine calmed down enough to explain what he'd seen. Till he saw Lorelei holding Eugene's rifle: he bolted. As she gave chase, she directed her husband, "Get the kids to the shack. I'll get my brother." Easier said than done... almost a half hour chase. Lorelei watched her brother plow through a pillar of mud (Jack) in his rampant run. It wasn't till Lorelei dropped the rifle that Blaine finally let her approach. They skedaddled back to Jinny's shack.

At least Eugene was able to stop Faith and turn her around. The kids wouldn't go beyond the ring of mason jars. Thus, Faith and Eugene left them to enter the shack where their sense of smell was assaulted by an assortment of pungent odors. [Like Pistol, Faith had to pass a POW check to enter per Jinny's ward against the swamp evil that was part of the Taft blood.] They reeled at the sight of blood in a bowl on the table.

Jinny explained, "You're Pa is trying to fix the evil he created years ago before he dies of cancer. He went into the swamp to kill whatever remains of Sadie. As for Jack: it's some ancient evil that has been keeping Sadie alive per their unholy bond of procreation. I've found many of their dead offspring which I bury in the cemetery. Your Pa was caring for those that lived out there at his still. I think the ancient evil is trying to create a surviving host to enter so it can leave its swamp prison. You were lucky Faith to have expelled its attempt to take over you. Any one of you, to include one of those outside could be its escape host."

And that's when Blaine entered and held the door against Lorelei trying to get in. To Eugene's protest, "No, she's got a gun!" Fisticuffs that resulted in Eugene's broken nose till Blaine snapped out of his paranoia.

Magical Weapon: "How do we fight this thing? How can we help Pa?" Jinny explained the dagger she'd crafted for Pa, "I'll need a rib bone." Lorelei offered hers till Eugene talked her out of it. [Persuade- extreme] "Are you crazy? You could bleed out. I'm not going to care for those... those kin of yours outside!" Pistol stepped forward to offer one of his. He winched at the sight of the chisel/hammer/sharp knife Jinny laid on the table. "Be gentile."

Swampfest: It was another hour before the magical rib-bone dagger was crafted. Surprisingly, Pistol survived the ordeal with no crippling injury. Faith tore straps of cloth and plugged her nose and ears, "In case Jack tries to invade me again." They left their deformed siblings behind.

It was another hour before they arrived at the swamp where they saw a crude hut on an island. They could see movement around a campfire. Faith called out for Pa who responded, "You kids get outa here!" Pistol explained, "Not after I gave up one of my ribs to help. Like you say, we're family."

Cautioned about getting snagged by sunken branches, they began to wade across. And that's when they saw the mass in the form of a woman rise out of the water to confront their Pa. Carson (Pa) pulled out his dagger in defense but hesitated when Sadie vomited a blob at his feet. "Waa. Waaa." The cry of a newborn shook their sanity!

Pa raised his dagger to strike but Sadie was faster:  She skewered him with a branch. "NO!" [20% Sanity loss= BOM] Faith took off running. Eugene tried to run but was pulled underwater by something. Blaine staggered in psychosomatic blindness.

Lorelei wadded toward Pa hoping to save him, only to find him dead. Pistol wadded across and plunged his dagger into Sadie's head. Sadie opened her mouth and expelled a horrific scream yet still fought on, holding Eugene underwater with her 10-foot extended arm. Thru sheer willpower, Eugene broke free and shook off his madness. In defense of her husband, Lorelei picked up Pa's dagger and plunged it into Sadie's heart.

Sadie decayed before their eyes: her skin peeled off revealing a mass of wiggling maggots that fell from her bones that also collapsed into a heap on the island shore. [Sanity- BOM] Pistol's leg gave out on him (psychosomatic loss of limb). Lorelei gained a phobia fear of spoiled meat.

Just in time to see a vague form on the edge of the swamp about to cross over to them. Jack! Lorelei readied her dagger as Blaine screamed in blindness, "What's happening?!" Pistol tried to stand, "I'm crippled." Faith... was still running back to Jinny's cabin.

Those on the island realized Jack was coming for the newborn. Laying nearby, Pistol plunged his dagger, coupe-de-gracing the newborn. Jack unleased his own unholy scream before melting into the swamp. Lorelei cried as she slipped the lifeless newborn into the swamp. Only then did they inspect the hut to find 72 hashmarks: 72 unholy Taft offspring that included themselves, those left outside Jinny’s hut, and those buried in the cemetery! Eugene set the hut on fire.

Long minutes before they braved crossing the swamp to return to Jinny's cabin and home. Lorelei forced Eugene to carry Pa's body to be buried next to Annabelle.

EPILOGUE

Eugene protested as Lorelei led her 20 siblings towards their house, "Wasn't it enough I let you bring the twins into our house?! 20 more? Hell no, they're not MY kids. I want a divorce!" A move that actually gained Eugene 2D10 Sanity return.

Pistol woke night after night with nightmares of a baby's cry cut short with his dagger. It wasn't long before he was awarded residency in an asylum. His madness heightened during rainstorms that turned the courtyard into a muddy swamp.

Blaine inherited Pa's cabin. It took some cleaning before it was livable. And like Pa, he collected charms to hang facing outward to ward off the swamp thing that still lurked in these Appalachian lands.

Faith stayed with Lorelei to help care for her new found siblings. Family sticks together. That's what Pa always said and what Lorelei extolled.

DARK SECRET

The Skin Crawler was an ancient being banished eons ago to the Kentucky swamp. Too weak to leave on its own, it sought another means of escape. Which came when Pa (Carson) tried to drown Sadie in the swamp. The evil heard her drowning gurgle pleas and struck a deal. She became a semi-living birthing vessel of their unholy union.

When Carson's new wife Annabelle proved to be sterile, Carson and Annabelle accepted Sadie's offspring as their own. But once Annabelle died, over the years, Carson realized the error of his ways. It took the threat of his own death to prompt action.