Crossing Kevin's Crossing

Hello Dear Readers, Part 1 I didn’t think I’d have new information about that contents of the almanac so soon.  But I do!  Most unexpectedly I got an email from Jan March!  Apparently, it is that time of the month!  Hooray for menstrual cycles!  She says that she still isn’t sure about sharing her journals with me but that she had a vision with pressing information.  This vision filled her such a sense of dread and foreboding that she contacted me as soon as she woke up!             Her vision was about the destruction of Kevin’s Crossing!  In it, she saw the town underwater with torrential rain.  Then everything began to shake and the ground split open and more water came out!  In water dark shaped could be seen swimming out of the cracks in the earth.  She didn’t know what they were, but she said she could feel their hostile intent.             This dream/vision mirrors the events in the 1887 Newton Almanac so closely as to make me extremely nervous.  While disastrous and

Hello Dear Readers,             I have good news!  The benevolent and enabling Robyn was able to give me a ride to the library so I can finally get my hands on the 1887 Newtown Almanac.  I believe she wanted to distract me from brooding about Daniel Lister (A.K.A. the Vandal).  Hooray for the pit!  Hopefully, with the almanac, I will be able to find out what the Dwellers Below, who are probably the Tribes Below, failed to take over, that led to the Treaty of 1887 with the Representative of the Screaming Skies and Whispered Rooms.  Perhaps even who the Vandal was possible an agent of.  Boy, do I love good a recap!             I went to the front desk of the library and announced my presence.  I was told to wait while the head librarian arrived to escort me to a specialist room.  The head librarian turned out to be a tall, elderly dark-skinned gentleman with white hair.  He led me to a room in the basement of the library.  The fact the library has a basement is very interesting to m

Hello Dear Readers, Today I received a shocking email from my friend Yusuf!  It’s been a while since I’ve seen or heard from him. Vic had told he’s doing much better since the last time we met.  Turns out its true!  Apparently, there’s something that he feels I needed to know. His email contained only a single link to an article from the Kevin's Crossing Herald, the charming local newspaper.  When I began reading it my breath caught in my chest.  The article said that the identity of the young man killed in a hit and run accident several weeks ago (the Vandal!) had been determined!  Though the identity of the driver of the car is still unknown (frowny face). Before going any further, I must tell you, dear readers, this was very difficult to read.  It re-ignites many emotions I had thought I’d put to rest.  The death of the Vandal, may he live forever in the sun, was very hard on me.  Since then I’ve buried myself in my research (and snack cakes).  This information re-opens t

Hello Dear Readers,             On my way back from the viewing the petroglyphs in the woods, where all the teenagers hang out and do unsupervised teenager things, Tim began telling me the story of Teackle Street.  It was really more of group effort since Tim’s friend Karen and a very pale kid that went by T-Bone, frequently interrupted to add their incites.  So instead of giving you the complete, jumbled transcript, I will summarize the story into something comprehensible.             Apparently, many years ago there was a road named Treakle Street.  It was the only road that lead to the on-ramp for the old highway US 1 that brought most of the traffic and commerce through town.  It was lined with business, shops, warehouses, and hotels.  But the new bypass was put in on the far side of town and traffic began to slow.  As the traffic on Treakle Street dwindled, so did the business around Treakle Street.  A few sleazy motels, rundown diners, and old warehouses stayed because some

Hello Dear Readers, So, becoming known in town for an interested in the strange and unusual has continued to be a mixed blessing.  On one hand, people are far more willing to talk to me about things now, on the other hand, people know who I am and want to talk to me all the time.  Recently I was contacted by way of email. It was Tim, the teenager from Historical Society. Fortunately, he and his friends have not yet tried to play the elevator game.  They invited me to a secret place somewhere in woods outside of town to show me something he thinks I will find interesting. (Susan, remember when we were kids and we used to go into the woods and eat mushrooms, until the incident with Henry Burrows?  May he live forever in the sun.) Apparently, they have rocks they think I should see. Well, rock does beat scissors. Again I fear being taken out into the middle of nowhere and hunted for sport. But if that is the price that I must pay for mystery, then so be it! So Tim picked me up

Hello Dear Readers,     For those who are keeping track of the multidimensional structures depicted in the codex, so far there are two confirmed sightings and one possible sighting.  I saw one around the ghost of Horatio Grey and another on the painting my sister made for me years ago.  Both were revealed when the mystery bulb was shined on them.  Also, in Otto’s story about his friend Johnny, there is a description of a strange image carved into the top of a wooden box that fits the description. So that's two, maybe three structures, out of a total of eight. I’ll keep you updated.

Hello Dear Readers,             Today was a sad and strange day.  I had to make the decision to get rid of the former tomato, now purple pod plant.  The roots were beginning to grow out of the pot and along the shelf.  I was starting to hearing things moving around inside the pods.  So with sadness in my heart, I threw it into my building’s dumpster and prayed that it doesn’t attack the next person who uses the dumpster.             After that, I decided to move the mystery lamp out of the closet.  After seeing the strange mutations it induced in the tomato plant I was hesitant to place it anywhere nearby.  Then I figured I can always just unscrew the mystery bulb and leave the regular light in place.  I decided to place it underneath an abstract painting, my sister, Susan did of the beheading of Anne Boleyn.  I moved the card table I found next to the dumpster from the closet and placed it beneath the picture.  I placed the lamp on it when suddenly one of the legs gave out.  The

Hello Dear Reader, So I must confess that I have not been accompanying Gemma and Vic on their trips to the junkyard.  Though the idea of Nano enhanced rats is appealing to me, I feel that there are other, less trash-strewn mysteries out there for me to discover. But after their last outing (still no bottles caps though) they called and said needed to meet right away.  Unfortunately, Robyn and I were busy at the time.  I was able to meet with them later that evening at Muriel’s.  When I entered the diner they were already sitting in a booth, a strangely excited look on their faces.  They clearly had not showered since their trip to the junkyard.  In the middle of the table sat a strange metal box, its black paint chipped.  It had a rounded top with a gauge and a hole about the size of quarter underneath it. I stared at it for a moment, perplexed, “What’s -” “We think it’s a Death Clock,” Gemma blurted out.  Vic slid over to make room for me sit down. “Death Clock?” I asked.  

Hello Dear Readers,     I had a most unexpected encounter today.  At the bus stop of all places.  I was returning from a trip to Ziggy’s to buy beef sticks when I strolled past the bus stop.  There was a nurse seated at the bus as I approached.  Not just a nurse, but THE nurse that gave me the eye when we were visiting Otto at the hospital.  She was sitting there holding her purse and had earbuds in.  I stared at her as I approached.  As I walked up to her she looked up.  It took a moment before a look of realization crossed her face. “You,” she said. “Yep,” I didn’t really know how to respond.  I slowed to a stop.  We stared at each other wordlessly for a long moment.  Her name tag said, Janice.  A neuron fired in the back of my mind.     “Hi, sorry about the other day,” she said, holding her purse on her lap, breaking eye contact.  “It’s just that I’ve seen you before.”  I nodded.     “I do walk around town a lot.  I want to get a bike, but I can barely afford rent and sn

Hello Dear Readers,             I finally had a chance to catch up with my friend Officer Eric.  It’s been awhile since we’ve seen each other. We met yesterday at the Steaming Mug.  He told me that his absence was not entirely accidental! Apparently, his superiors have encouraged him not to speak with me!  It seems that I am getting a reputation around time for being involved with strange things. How exciting! I don’t think I've ever had a reputation before.  I hope it's good! Fortunately for me, Officer Eric has had a most unsettling experience that has caused him to seek out my company, against the wishes of his superiors. He feels that I may be more receptive to what he has to say that other people.  We got coffees, his black, mine with foam and caramel drizzle. He began by telling me off multiple visitations he has experienced over his lifetime by an entity he dubbed the Pale Sandwich Man. The most recent visit by this entity had been the previous evening.  Which pro

Hello Dear Readers!     I sat in the passenger seat of Gemma’s Volkswagen as we made our way across town to the Telford Memorial Medical Center to visit Otto.  Apparently, he had collapsed two days before and had been rushed to the hospital.  Upon arrival, it was discovered that he had a severe case of pneumonia. It’s evening and the sun is beginning to set.  I found myself looking out the car window as we drove.  I had never been to this part of town before and was trying to take it all in.  Gemma was in the middle of complaining about customers at the Steaming Mug when I saw a strange building on a hill.  It was just barely illuminated by the dwindling light.  It was squat and rectangular, the only detail I could make out was the outline of a door. Me: What’s that? Gemma: Huh? Me: That! Gemma:  Oh, that’s the lodge. Me: Like the kind of lodge a secret society would meet at? Gemma:  You would guess that first. Me: What kind of lodge is it? Gemma: I don’t k