Shadows in the Fog

(Benedict Baker's Journal)

It has been a long time since my last journal. I intended to write "many days", but sunlight does not exist in the fog. I do not know how long I have remained prisoner here. I have met my demise more times than any sane human should, and for so long I have found nothing to help me get out of this never ending nightmare.

But, today (if that phrase even means anything after another awakening) I believe I may have discovered a piece of the puzzle. I cannot be sure, but my instinct tells me that I must be. The puzzle is one of the Killers. At the last hunt, I met another one of the hellish fiends that stalk us. I traveled down a path in the woods (one I am certain I have traversed before, but there is no rhyme or reason to the fog) and it lead me to what appeared to be an enormous castle. Many of the locations within the Entity's realm are decrepit ruins, but this castle seemed to be well kept, with many torches lining its walls. I tried to navigate its sprawling courtyard, but the fog was thicker there and the moon dimmer.

Never before had I seen something like this within the fog. I began to think that this is giant castle may be home of the Entity itself. But then I saw one of those generators that are tied to the gates. Someone was working on it, alone. I thought about approaching, about helping her as is sometimes necessary, but I saw the mist darken as something came out. I saw its eyes before I saw it. The beast came out of the mist and slashed at the poor soul, whom, evidently new to the hunt, had not even seen it coming. Despite the scream being piercing, I barely heard it.

The fiend that came out of the fog was a woman of imposing height, whose red eyes glowed with the hellish Stain that all the Killers bore. Shadows seem to leak from her like ink in water. In her hands was a long, dark blade that dripped the blood of her prey. Her clothes caught my eye. They were the clothes of an aristocrat, a person of noble standing in old London. I knew the passage of time within the Entity must be different from back home. I couldn't begin to fathom how long this mistress from hell had resided here. She was smiling. It was not a hellish grin of a deranged lunatic but a simple smile of someone pleased with their work. I knew that many of the beasts did not come to the Entity willingly. They had to be convinced; tortured until their was not a trace of their soul left in them. But this...woman...she had not shied from the Entity's dark touch. Much like the shape with the rubber mask, she came here of her own accord.

I knew what was coming...or at least I thought I did. Usually, once you are caught by one of the fiends, they drag you towards the meathooks, where they hang you until the Entity comes to claim you. I have seen this many times, and been a victim of it many times more. The creature sheathed her blade, reached down, and grabbed the unfortunate soul by the neck and lifted them up to her face, paying no mind to their struggles. She opened her mouth and...I'm not sure what I thought she was going to do, but she seemed to breath deeply. The victim's frantic resistance diminished and I could see something being pulled from their body. I do not know what, but it seemed as an essence of some kind was being sucked right out of them, as if she were devouring their very soul. The beast closed her eyes and seemed to be indulging herself. The victim struggled weakly for another moment before going limp in her hand. The dark one took one more long pull from their weakened prey before dipping her head back, her eyes closed, a look of savoring and satisfaction etched on her face.

It was then that I should have left. There was nothing I could do for the poor soul, but I could save myself. But I couldn't bring myself to. Most of the beasts waste no time taking their victims to the meathooks. This didn't seem the case with this one and I couldn't help but wonder as to what would happen next. The fiend opened her eyes finally, smiled at her slack prey, and, with one quick move of her arm, threw them over her shoulder as I had seen done countless times before. The poor fellow (I still could not tell the gender of the person) seemed to realize what was happening and flailed their arms weakly in a vain attempt to latch onto something to pull themselves free. It did not matter. One of the hooks was mere meters away and soon enough the ritual began with its signature scream.

The old scenario opened itself to me once more and once more I was unsure of how to proceed. Once more a soul hung five feet off the ground with a witness standing mere feet away. I could help the person. But I was unfamiliar with this fiend. I had encountered many of the others, some multiple times; I felt as if I could predict their patterns, their movements. But I didn't know her and I wasn't sure I wanted to. If I stole her prey she'd find me and I'd be thoroughly more acquainted with whatever she had done to the poor soul before throwing them onto the hook. She had not yet left, but seemed to be admiring her work, watching the prey squirm as they attempted to wriggle off the hook with no avail. I could see the ritual taking its affect. The long appendages of the Entity slowly came into being atop the meathook. It seemed to spawn with some new eagerness that it had not displayed before (except when down in the dungeons with the hooks below). Perhaps the Entity had some connection with this maiden of hell. I shuddered at the thought and decided that the matter was lost. I had born shame once, I would again as I turned to make my silent escape.

"Leaving, are you?" I froze in my tracks. "How sad. Do the lives of others mean nothing to you? Or are you a mere coward?"

The voice continued to keep me glued to where I was, my heart beginning to race. A part of my mind screamed to run and keep running until I either escaped or her cursed blade tore me down. But my legs seemed to be stuck and I couldn't move them. I slowly looked back through the shrubbery. My eyes met hers immediately; those horrible red eyes that illuminated her face. Her smile widened ever so slightly as my gaze met hers. I felt my body tremble from her stare.

"Come out here." She said simply. I didn't move. My legs still refused to listen to me. But I could feel myself slowly regain my senses from the shock of her voice. Soon I would start my flight for cover. "Run, if you must. But it will not make any difference. I have captured men a thousand times more capable than yourself. You will not get far. Spare yourself the futility."

My legs remained immovable as my mind continued to swirl. No thought could manifest. I had been a pawn in the Entity's game for what seemed like an eternity, facing death at every corner, tasting blood, and forever being tortured by it and its Killers. But this one, this...Shadow; the Killers only existed to hunt and kill, nothing more. Never before had they spoke to me, instead only grunting and breathing heavily. I heard more of their heartbeats than I did of their voices. No heartbeat emitted from this dark maiden.

When I finally could I forced myself to rise from the shrubbery. The Shadow before me raised a hand and beckoned for me to approach. With little other options I did so slowly, stopping about ten feet from her. I did not want to be in range of her blade. Up on the hook, the Entity's appendages grew and stretched, almost fully spawned.

"Kneel." She commanded.

I did so, and while I bent a thought occurred to me. I might die now, but death meant nothing here, or at least it had not for the longest time. Whatever I might learn from this Shadow I had to take the chance.

"Who are you?" I asked her.

A soft laugh. "You forget your place," She said. With one quick movement she drew the sword from its sheath and held it to my neck. "Shall I remind you?" I did not say anything more. My gaze was directed up to the meathook just in time to see the appendages strike down. I and others have managed to hold off the Entity's advance while on the hook, but this one was too drained to do anything. The Entity swiftly collected them and I shuddered watching the poor soul being taken up into the sky. I knew I had been taken up there and I still had not a single idea what occurred up in that terrible place with the Entity. I only knew that I would be joining that poor victim soon.

"Get up," The Shadow instructed me. "We're going for a walk, you and I."

"If you're going to kill me," I said. "Then just get on with it."

"Get up." Her hands grabbed the back of my neck painfully and wrenched me to my feet. The gauntlets on her hands nearly ripping my flesh. She shoved me forward, forcing me to walk. "Try to run and I'll find you another hook. There's plenty out here, you know."

And so we walked. We walked through the sprawling courtyard, following the stone paths. I saw some more of those generators, some of them showed signs of repair, but I saw nobody else. For a moment I wondered if there was anyone else. But patches of dried blood spatter upon the stone made me feel isolated.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, knowing she might kill me for it. "Are you taking me to the Entity?"

"The Entity?" She said, sounding amused. "Is that what you call it?"

"Do you have another word for it?"

"Perhaps. But it matters little." She paused for a moment. "It tells me things. It told me about you."

"About me...?" I suddenly dreaded the answers that might come from her. How much did the Entity know?

"Indeed," She said. Her gold gauntlet fell on my shoulder and I felt her presence as she leaned close to me. "It does speak to us. Sometimes just a whisper in your ear." She drew away, chuckling lightly. "Of course, the others only have a rudimentary understanding of its voice. Their fault, really. It's voice is quite clear if you listen properly."

"What does it want with us?" I asked her. "What do you want with me?"

"Just move."

We reached the Castle. As we went inside, I dared look back to her, meeting her eyes. I got a clearer look at her face. The fog and the Stain from her eyes had obscured it slightly, but I made out her features. It was a face I had seen before, but in my apprehension I couldn't clear my mind long enough to place where. Unlike many of the Entity's locations, this one was in much better condition. There were torches on the walls, knights armor displays, high glass windows some of which were stained with extravagant art, the signs of wealth from whatever life before being claimed by the Entity was everywhere. On some corridors were large silk banners displaying some kind of insignia.

Finally, she stopped me and motioned for a room that was labeled with a plague on the wall that read, "Study". I opened the door and we entered. The room was massive. At the far end was a mahogany desk with two great windows on either side, letting in the bright light of the full moon outside. On one side of the room was a huge bookshelf almost filled with tomes. The other wall was covered with mounted trophies of animals over a large roaring fireplace. At least I assume they were. Some indeed were, but others were species that I was certain never walked on Earth. And then, there was a large oil painting...a portrait of her. It finally hit me.

There were two lavish chairs before the fire place.

"Take a seat," She bid, motioning towards one of them.

"I asked who you were earlier," I said, sitting but never taking my eyes of hers. "But now that we're out of the fog I know exactly who you are."

"Oh?" The Shadow replied, looking amused.

"Yes," I took a breath. "You're Charmaine Von Brandt. This is your father's castle. Hundreds of years ago, you killed your family and all of the servants working for them. The crown sought to arrest you, but you were never found. The Castle burned down after you went missing."

"Yes," She replied. "But while what you see is merely a recreation, I assure you it is much finer than the real thing." The Shadow paused. "I must say: I am impressed. You are the first to be so knowledgeable about me. I'm really quite flattered."

"I did a piece about your family," I said. "On the anniversary of the events. What you did was terrible. But I suppose that's why the Entity wanted you. So it could corrupt and use you for its own evil purposes."

"Corrupt?" The woman replied. She closed her eyes and suddenly the constant stream of shadows that leaked from her ceased and when she re-opened her eyes the red stain in them was replaced by pupils, irises, and white. Human eyes. Cold, sadistic eyes, but human nonetheless. "Whatever do you mean?"

I was taken aback by her now. A moment ago she had resembled a fiend from the darkest depths of Hell itself. Now she looked the high ranking aristocrat that she was before. The bloody events of the Von Brandt Castle had happened over a century ago. Yet her appearance had not changed from the oil paintings I had seen of her in the history books.

"I've seen the other Killers of the fog," I said. "Many of them bear scars of the Entity. You do not."

She didn't respond for a moment. Merely smiled at me in her cold way. "It is true what you say. It really is a shame. It can show you such wonderful things, grant you such fascinating powers, even grant eternal life. And it asks for so little! I cannot fathom why some would squander such an opportunity. Not all of them are foolish enough, though. The fellow in the rubber mask wasn't. Nor was the Crooked one, for that matter. I suppose it's of little consequence. They come around. They always do."

I didn't respond. She had said, "in life". I didn't know what that meant. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know, and I didn't think she'd tell me.

"Some even began where you have," She continued. "Philip Ojomo was one. He tried to hide in the woods after killing his employer. He was very stubborn; very short sighted. Much like you, I suppose. Eventually, he could take no more. I brought him here...to this very room, where he sat where you are sitting now. I spoke to him. It spoke to him...firmly. Then, I presented him with the bell..."

A stark horror was filling me. I suddenly could sense the Entity closer to me than before. It was not just that I could feel it in the rustle of the leaves of the woods or smell it in the air, no. I thought I could feel its very presence in the room with us. I shuddered. And yet, I could also feel anger brewing inside me. Anger at what had been done to so many unfortunate souls brought into this hell, this never ending nightmare.

"If your intention is to persuade me, you may as well place me on a hook now." I said, doing everything I could to keep my voice steady. "I would rather die than kill my fellow man for the Entity's pleasure."

She laughed softly. "Oh, you needn't worry about that."

Forgetting my brief moment of bravery, I screamed as she reached for me, the cold metal of her gauntlet digging in the flesh of my throat. She lifted me up to her smiling face.

"You see, I know who YOU are. You're Benedict Baker. The writer of this lore." She held up a leaflet of pages that I instantly recognized. Pages from my journal that I had ripped out and left behind for my companions in the fog. A guide of sorts. I had first thought it was a pointless decision, but I have met others who have come across my pages, recognizing my name. Now she held the pages. "The truth, Mr. Baker, is that we've been watching you for some time. All of you. Many of you have learned much. You've adapted to this realm. You've gotten...comfortable. And that simply won't do. The Fog is very flexible. It can adapt too. And when it does, all that you think you've learned will prove fruitless. That's why I brought you here: to remind you of your place."

She threw me to the floor. I cried out as the merciless stone hammered my tired body. Then, she stepped over me and walked over to the desk.

"Do you truly believe the Entity listens to you?" I asked, painfully climbing to my feet. "You and I are not so different, you know. We are both just pawns. Nothing more. Once the Entity is done with both of us it will cast us aside."

"You know nothing." The Shadow replied, turning back to me with that ghastly smile. Her gaze returned towards the desk and it was then that I noticed the vase of roses upon it. The vase was polished and black, glimmering in the moonlight. The roses were dark red and glowed with the Entity's touch. "Besides, the Entity can be persuaded by anything. You just have to Offer it something. You've done it, I've done it, everyone has. It's part of the game, you see. This game is inherently unfair. You have to tilt it to your favor in order to have the greatest chance of victory. It can change the entire game for you. You just need to have the right bribe."

She produced something from a drawer of the desk and then turned back to me. In her hand she held a chain that was a dark as the woods outside. At the base of the chain was a human skull. Its empty eye sockets stared at me and its jaw hung open in a silent, yet piercing scream. With a quick thrust she tossed the abominable thing into the fire, which consumed it eagerly. Dark smoke floated into the room.

"Grant me the favor of killing one!" She called to the smoke.

A voice responded. A horrible low moan of a voice. I did not understand it. I don't think any sane person could. But it broke my paralysis and I hurried for the door. Before I could reach for the knob, however, black appendages exploded across the jamb and guarded it. In vain I tried to pry the door open, but the Entity held fast, biting at my hands, drawing blood.

I turned in time for her to grab my throat once again. The shadows had returned as well as the horrible stain in her hellish eyes. She smiled at me once more and led a finger from her free hand down my check with with affection. I could not breathe and her grip was unfathomably strong. I thrust my hands forward without knowing what I intended to do with them. And I was never able to discover. In a swift move, she drew her demonic sword and its cold steel pierced my belly. My mouth opened to scream but I found that I could not. My lungs lacked the air, my body lacked the energy. I could only feel myself growing weaker and weaker. When on the hook, once the Entity has impaled you with its appendages, it peels off your flesh and bone and leaves only the soul that it then takes. This very thing happened to me as I when I gazed at my hands there was only a ghostly apparition of them.

The Shadow smiled at me for a moment and then opened her maw. I her heard her inhale deeply and I was suddenly drawn into her gaping mouth, into the dark abyss that was within her. The last thing I heard before losing my senses was the beating of her wretched heart and the soft rumbles of her belly.

And horrible, horrible screams that echoed ceaselessly.

Now, here I sit. Once again writing in the glow of the campfire that I once again awoke next to. Another death, another awakening. But now, more than ever, I find myself hesitant to leave the safety of the fire. The words of the Shadow echo in my mind, as well as the bone chilling screams that seem to exist within her. The Entity feeds off our suffering and the brief fleeting false hope that we feel each time we open the gates or find the hatch. Is it possible that this Shadow feeds much like the Entity? I do not know. What is clear though is that the trials will become more grisly in the future. I feel I must try to write a new lore, a new warning for all who arrive here. But until I know for certain what the Fog has in store, I must wait.

There is something that gives me hope (as always seems to be the case here). I cannot be certain, but the feeling is inescapable.

I feel that the very heart of the Entity resides within the Von Brandt Castle.

Perhaps something they can set us free...