World of Darkness

“I see you. ® You go about your life like nothing ever happened. You think you’re safe now that it like a problem that’s youdone, ’ once and for all.ve solved You’re wrong. I remember what you did. Ghost Stories ™ You might have killed me, but I’m not gone. I stayed behind and I won’t go until you’ve paid.” This book includes: • Your first opportunity to play mortals as characters with the Storytelling System • The mystery of the World of Darkness grows with five ghost stories to play around your gaming table • A great prequel to Vampire, Werewolf and Mage chronicles For use with the World of Darkness Rulebook Game Studio ® WW www.worldofdarkness.com 55400 1-58846-483-0 WW55400 $24.99US ® By Rick Chillot / Matt Forbeck / Geoff Grabowski / Matthew Mcfarland / Adam Tinworth / Chuck Wendig 1 “Only the hand that erases can write the true thing.” — Meister Eckhart Someone had sliced open Ted’s forearms from wrist to elbow They had pulled back the skin and pushed aside muscles and tendons torn through nerves and blood vessels until they exposed the yellowwhite of bone They had filled the cavi ties with carpet tacks sewing needles shards of a glass and razor blades Then they had squeezed muscle tendon and sinew back together pulled the skin tight and sewn it all together again without leaving a single stitch mark Now Ted could feel the hundreds of jagged edges and merciless needles tearing into his arms as he typed ripping into him like tiny teeth He pushed himself away from the desk massaging one wrist and then the other “Carpal tunnel syndrome…” Ted muttered “Should have its own telethon like MS” He checked the clock He’d been typing for two hours That was an improvement A month ago five minutes at the keyboard would have left him in pain for the rest of the day It seemed the vitamins and wrist exercises were actually helping Opening the FedEx box Arnie had sent made Ted forget about his condi tion for a while According to Arnie’s last email a realestate contact had hooked him up with a welloff widow preparing to move to an oldfolks’ home A widow usually knew the value of her own treasures but could easily be talked into unloading her husband’s stuff at a fraction of its actual price “For grave robbers we’re pretty lucky” Arnie had once said “We don’t even get our hands dirty” By late afternoon Ted had priced several flyrod reels and sent email queries to three collectors who’d fight for them like hyenas over a dead antelope He’d listed 01 mintcon dition LPs for online auction He’d thrown out six wa terstained copies of Reader’s Digest (What was Arnie thinking?) And he’d closed back up a desk lamp three fountain pens seven por celain figurines and two wrist watches for later appraisal 2 Chapter 2- ATTRIBUTES The final bundle was a tubeshaped newspa percovered package As he pulled off the twine and tugged at the wrapping Ted tried to guess at what was inside Too short for an umbrella Perhaps a pool cue disassembled in its case? That might be something worthwhile if it was an antique and in good shape Ted knew a newly retired doctor who was setting up a billiards room… Then he realized what he was looking at Under all the newspaper was a lifesized elbowtofingertips human arm and hand He almost dropped it altogether before he realized it was just a sculpture Ted pulled the remaining newspaper down like a sleeve It was made of some sort of ceramic a light terra cotta color not dissimilar to human flesh Ted let the wrapping fall to the floor The hand and fingers were anatomically correct if somewhat simplified Fingernails and wrinkles were suggested by creases but not completely defined He laid the arm on his desk palm up The hand and fingers were curled as if grabbing at something As if the arm had been alive and moving a moment be fore and would again if he turned his back After cursing Arnie one more time Ted retrieved pieces of newspaper He considered boxing the piece back up for later, but decided to research it instead. The sooner the it was gone, the better. And if he didn’t rewrap it he didn’t have to touch it again *** Ted handed Judy a spare pillow which she dropped on the couch “Are you sure you don’t want the bed?” Ted asked again Judy clucked her tongue “I’m sure! Don’t worry about it” She was fishing through her duffel bag for her alarm clock “Seriously my race is Saturday and then I’ll be out of your hair Hey I saw you on that antiques show last month That suit you were wearing was awful” “You saw that?” Ted walked across the living room and looked out the win dow The street light on the corner flickered It was late Most of the other houses on the street were lit by weak yellow porch lights It was good Ted thought not to be alone for once “Judy— ” “Yeah?” She was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed at the ankles flipping through a copy of Bicycling magazine “Nothing… I guess I’d better let you get some sleep” “I’m getting up at six for a ride I’ll try not to wake you” she said *** “Let go of me!” Ted tried to say the words but no sound came out of his mouth He wasn’t sure where he was only that there was something clamped hard around his right hand Something that squeezed 3 his fingers in a cold inflexible grip His hand was being pulled and he had to follow All around him were tall shapes against dark ness Columns No trees Black trees in a forest of night Ted could feel his feet tripping over roots and branches “Let go” he said again this time forcing a whisper from his throat He pulled away but something pulled back Something dragged him unceasingly into the dark “Ted! Ted!” Ted pulled his hand out of Judy’s grasp and blinked Her face was red in the light of the digital clock by his bed “Wake up” “Wha…?” His mouth was dry He was sweating “What’s…?” “You were shouting” Ted rubbed his eyes Had he been dreaming? Something about a… No it was gone Judy was crouched next to the bed She massaged his wrist “Is your carpal tunnel acting up?” “No” he muttered “Sorry… sorry I woke you” “You didn’t” she said standing “I came up to use the bathroom By the way I walked past your office and that saw that creepy hand thing on your desk It scared the shit out of me” *** “It’s just business” Ted explained again as he scanned the road and changed lanes to pass a sputtering pickup truck “Hey here’s the turn” he announced and sig naled a left onto a cracked and potholed asphalt road Judy stared at him as he adjusted the rearview mirror and tried to ignore her “We don’t do anything illegal” he finally said “If people don’t know the value of what they’ve got that’s their problem It’s how I make a living I buy things low and sell high” Judy spit her gum into a tissue and wadded it up “Like that?” She cocked her thumb toward the back seat “It’s the ugliest thing I ever saw” Ted adjusted the rearview mirror and saw the hand sculpture on the back seat He had placed it palm down on a thick towel It looked like the fingers gripped the fabric like a baby clutching a blanket The thing had made him nervous the day before but now it seemed sort of elegant and charming in its simplicity “Arnie and I had an interesting con versation about it this morning Have you ever heard of Manuel Diaz?” “No” “He was a sculptor who died about a year ago He was a distant relative of Mrs… A lady Arnie visited the other day Anyway since Diaz died his work has really been selling I talked to a few dealers and they told me he’s on the verge of gaining a national 4 Chapter 2- ATTRIBUTES following” “To bad he didn’t live to see it So that’s his hand?” “Yeah He was really interested in hands or something I guess they show up in all his work By the way did you call your friend?” “Yeah she’ll get back to me later So this guy’s house…” “There’s all kinds of legal and tax disputes going on Mean while it’s just sitting there I think—” “You think there might be more art lying around? Like maybe a match for lefty back there?” “Okay so it’s a long shot—” “It also blows your ‘We don’t do anything illegal’ argument Anyway what’s the rush? You find all this out this morning and bam — we’re in the car by lunch We’ve known each other since the eighth grade I’ve never seen you so impulsive” “Sometimes an opportunity comes along and you just have to take it” Ted reached for the pack of gum on the center console Judy anticipated his movement and took out a piece for him *** The house was set at the end of a gravel road with an empty field on one side and a scrap yard on the other It looked like it had once been a sturdy reliable place but time had sagged its roof and filled the gutters with debris The boards over one of the windows were easy enough to pull off Inside the front room was revealed by sun light from the forcedopen window Ted found that he didn’t need his flashlight There was no furniture or carpeting and nothing on the walls Thick dust was piled in the corners and trash was scattered everywhere Judy crossed her arms and wrinkled her nose “Yeah I’ll bet there are some real treasures here” Ted walked down a dingy hallway into the kitchen The boards on the windows there had wide gaps between them making the place almost as bright as the front room Ted took a few more steps and noticed a side door It was around the corner not visible until one was completely in the kitchen He pushed it open There was light beyond that door as well A single window was set in the room’s opposite wall Half of the boards outside it had fallen away revealing a floor covered with dismembered arms pink hands and curling fingers Ted grabbed at the doorframe as his head swam and his vision dimmed

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