Every psychiatrist that has interviewed Henry Joseph Rodgers agrees that he is insane. He claims to have witnessed the end of the world. Not in dreams or visions, but that he was actually present when the Great Old Ones came through.
The police arrested Henry when he was found wielding a gun on the steps of a local church. He claimed the pastor was ‘The Black Man’ and would open ‘The Way’ for the return of ‘The Great Old Ones.’ The pastor, Reverend Douglas, declined to press charges, but the local police held Henry on: Disturbing the Peace; Reckless Endangerment; Illegal Possession of a Firearm; and Discharging a Firearm within City Limits.
Henry claims that he and three friends were drawn into the opening of ‘The Way’ as the Great Old Ones were entering. Henry and his friends apparently spent some time in ‘The Void’ before returning to either an alternate dimension, or an earlier point in time of a now slightly altered world.
Henry killed his three friends when it became obvious that they were possessed by ‘Things from Out There.’ As a result of his first interview with the police psychologist, the police found the bodies, and charged Henry with the murders.
Other than well documented psychiatric interviews, there are no records of Henry J. Rodgers . . . He was not born, he did not marry, he never drove a car, he never voted . . . He is a non-entity as far as the government is concerned. And like Henry, the dead friends are similarly non-existent.
Possibilities
1 Henry really is insane. In his paranoid state he falsified his identity: Henry Rodgers is not his real name and does not exist.
‘Henry Rodgers’ may be of use to the investigators: he once was an investigator and may hold information useful for them. Unfortunately, he is quite mad, and quite dangerous.
2 Henry is insane, but he is also for real. Everything happened (or will happen) as he said it did. If the investigators are familiar with his extensive ramblings they may notice similarities - such as a blood moon on the first of the month, a nil-nil superbowl result, and so on.
But when you know the end of the world is nigh, what do you do?
3 Henry is a cult lure, designed by slightly-rational cultists to see who their enemies are. They will wait to see who checks out Henry Rodgers’ story beyond the usual detectives and shrinks. Then, they will kill any investigators they identify.
Of course, this is not all bad news. The investigators may encounter other investigators looking into Rodgers’ story, and perhaps together they may survive the cult’s onslaught.
© M. J. Aylor
The police arrested Henry when he was found wielding a gun on the steps of a local church. He claimed the pastor was ‘The Black Man’ and would open ‘The Way’ for the return of ‘The Great Old Ones.’ The pastor, Reverend Douglas, declined to press charges, but the local police held Henry on: Disturbing the Peace; Reckless Endangerment; Illegal Possession of a Firearm; and Discharging a Firearm within City Limits.
Henry claims that he and three friends were drawn into the opening of ‘The Way’ as the Great Old Ones were entering. Henry and his friends apparently spent some time in ‘The Void’ before returning to either an alternate dimension, or an earlier point in time of a now slightly altered world.
Henry killed his three friends when it became obvious that they were possessed by ‘Things from Out There.’ As a result of his first interview with the police psychologist, the police found the bodies, and charged Henry with the murders.
Other than well documented psychiatric interviews, there are no records of Henry J. Rodgers . . . He was not born, he did not marry, he never drove a car, he never voted . . . He is a non-entity as far as the government is concerned. And like Henry, the dead friends are similarly non-existent.
Possibilities
1 Henry really is insane. In his paranoid state he falsified his identity: Henry Rodgers is not his real name and does not exist.
‘Henry Rodgers’ may be of use to the investigators: he once was an investigator and may hold information useful for them. Unfortunately, he is quite mad, and quite dangerous.
2 Henry is insane, but he is also for real. Everything happened (or will happen) as he said it did. If the investigators are familiar with his extensive ramblings they may notice similarities - such as a blood moon on the first of the month, a nil-nil superbowl result, and so on.
But when you know the end of the world is nigh, what do you do?
3 Henry is a cult lure, designed by slightly-rational cultists to see who their enemies are. They will wait to see who checks out Henry Rodgers’ story beyond the usual detectives and shrinks. Then, they will kill any investigators they identify.
Of course, this is not all bad news. The investigators may encounter other investigators looking into Rodgers’ story, and perhaps together they may survive the cult’s onslaught.
© M. J. Aylor
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