Page 56 of Sinistram
“It’s a bit north of the city. Nowadays, it’s got a lake and is popular for picnics and boating. But it’s built on reclaimed land that has 422 capped oil and gas wells and 53 coal shaft mines. Oh, and there’s an abandoned missile silo at one end too,” Brent said.
“That’s a lot of potential firepower all in one place.”
Brent nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. And it’s haunted. Abandoned cemeteries, a creature with red eyes, a woman in white, and soldier ghosts. Plus green orbs and white flashes. Spooky.”
“Setting off the wells there might not kickstart the entire Apocalypse, but it would definitely be a good start,” Travis said.
Brent skimmed the page he was reading and quickly jumped to a couple of other sites. “Wow. I guess the surprising part is that there hasn’t been an apocalypse there yet.” He let out a low whistle. “Apparently, the area that is now the park has had a shadow over it for a long time. This article says that the first tribes talked about a place where the ‘ice fingers,’ glaciers, left barrows filled with ancient monsters.”
“Barrows?”
“When glaciers push up a bunch of loose rock and leave it behind when they melt, those piles are called ‘moraines,’ hence the park name,” Brent said. “According to the lore, people have said for a long time that there’s powerful, primordial magic deep in the land that has a darkness to it. I guess people with abilities have avoided the area for a long time. And a couple of legends said that the power of the land’s magic made it a locus for a final reckoning,” he read from the screen.
“Yeah, but that didn’t stop the railroads, the oil or gas companies, or the coal mines,” Travis countered.
Brent shrugged. “Think about it. In a way, all of those very dangerous types of work might have actually beenattractedthere if the land wanted blood. Those jobs all have a lot of fatal accidents.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Travis agreed. “Plus, the jobs didn’t pay well, so that would lead to other problems.”
Brent nodded. “The small towns that are under the lake now had a reputation for fights, drinking too much, and suicides. Anyone who could leave, did.”
“What else?” Travis asked, intrigued. “I’ve lived here my whole life and never heard any of that, although people have mentioned the park for things like company picnics and weddings.”
“Nowadays, that’s how people think of the area,” Brent confirmed. “Did you know that back in the first half of the 1900s, there was even an amusement park on the land that’s now under the lake? It had rides, a dance hall, skating rink, bandstand, and picnic pavilions.”
“Let me guess, things didn’t go well?”
“There were accidents and deaths.” Brent skimmed the text. “People started to say it was unlucky or cursed. When it shut down, arson burned most of the buildings, but the metal rides were out there in the woods for a long time.”
“There’s nothing creepier than an abandoned amusement park.” Travis shivered.
“I’ve got to agree with you,” Brent replied.
“All that’s gone now, right?” Travis asked.
“When the wells and mines petered out, the railroad stopped running, and there weren’t any jobs, so people left.” Brent chuckled. “Interesting phrasing, people called the rich men who owned the mines, wells, and railroads, ‘vampires’ because they sucked the life out of the communities.”
“They weren’t wrong.”
“Then in the 1950s, the land was bought to create a park and build a lake. What was left of seven towns was razed and flooded, including all but a few cemeteries.” Brent sounded excited about his findings. “Locals still said the area was haunted. People drowned in the new lake, and campers said there were ghosts and vampires in the forest.”
“Sounds a lot like what we went up against at Livermore,” Brent added. “Is there a haunted town under every man-made lake? It sure seems like it.”
While Brent talked, Travis did some searches of his own. “Huh. The chat boards for apocalypse watchers have glommed onto Moraine. They’re chock-full of stories of omens, sightings, and predictions from psychics.”
He fell silent as he read for a moment. “According to the chatter, between the natural dark magic and all the death and destruction, it’s fed the area’s power, with the park and the lake as the nexus. One person wrote, ‘all that was buried will be revealed.’”
“That’s not worrisome at all,” Brent replied.
“It’s a good reason for the park to be the ‘where’ for the disaster,” Travis said. “There’s inherent dark power, a history of tragedy, angry ghosts, and maybe some ties to vampires.”
“And releasing all the stored power of those capped wells and mines, and the twisted magic, would certainly feel like the End of Days to anyone nearby,” Brent agreed. “Might even be enough to trigger other explosions, set off some sort of chain reaction.”
A knock at the door broke off their conversation. Jon stuck his head inside.
“Travis, there’s a man standing outside beyond the wards like he can’t cross them. He’s dressed like a monk and says he wants to speak with you.”
Brent turned to Travis. “A monk?”
