Ashes In Your Mouth 2 : Report 02
Location: Pet Cemetery and Surrounding Boglands, Barrow, Pennsylvania
Date: [Redacted]
Subject: Children of the Swamp, Maternal Apparitions, and a Particularly Damning Cookie Debrief
Initial Contact with the So-Called Children
Upon arrival at the cemetery, we were greeted by fog, silence, and five children who looked like they’d crawled out of a Southern Gothic fever dream. They approached slowly. No threat posturing. Just eerie, uncomfortable confidence. Naturally, nobody in the group made a move. We were too busy perfecting the art of collective hesitation.
The children introduced themselves as the offspring of Bobby Lee Green: Cletus, Sonny, Sarah, and the Twins. Each one looked like they’d been dressed in someone else’s past—Remy’s past, to be exact. She recognized several articles of clothing as her own, hand-me-downs she hadn’t seen in years. The realization hit her like a gut-punch.
They informed us their “momma” was waiting in the bog and that Remy ought to visit. Brodie, curious as ever and utterly lacking in social grace, pointed at nearby graves and asked which toy belonged to which child. The answer was both direct and disquieting: “We ain’t dead. Those are our siblings. They weren’t good.”
Additional details surfaced. Bobby beat these children. Kept them in a shed like feral animals. Never let them in the house. Remy, with no small amount of effort, gave them permission to return indoors. It was the first moment of tenderness she’d shown all day. Ander, in a characteristically weird gesture, handed over his colorful hat. The kids reciprocated by giving Remy a faded photo of herself, age ten, smiling at a life that clearly didn’t smile back.
Descent into the Swamp
Following the directions of these highly probable not-ghosts, we entered the swamp. The terrain was all ankle-deep water, oversized insects, and moss that squished with a little too much emotional baggage. That’s when the lily pad arrived.
It floated toward us. Large. Deliberate. Covered in algae. With a face. A face. It gurgled incoherently.
Ander, in his usual psychic meddler way, connected mentally. The creature introduced herself as Irene, and Remy recognized her instantly. Emotionally, everything went sideways.
We asked what happened. Irene showed us:
- Running from Bobby.
- Falling. Breaking her neck.
- Bobby finding the body and dumping it like trash.
But of course, that wasn’t the end. The entity we encountered in the house—the fake Floyd—had preserved Irene. Kept her consciousness or whatever passed for it in this place. Together, they spawned the Witherkin: twisted bog-spawn Bobby was then forced to raise. Not exactly your standard court-ordered penance.
More visions. Remy and Caleb. Happy childhood snapshots. Remy stated Caleb had died in a mining accident. Irene’s presence suggested otherwise.
Then a voice cut through the fog like a bad punchline:
“Ain’t family reunions a bitch?”
Enter Hazel Fisher. Swamp witch. Local legend. The very woman Bobby had been hunting. She didn’t sneak. Didn’t hide. Just appeared like a warning.
Ander broke the psychic link. Remy gave a hushed goodbye to her mother, who smiled (or possibly just bubbled) and drifted back beneath the surface.
Hazel Fisher’s Hospitality
Hazel led us to her hut. Hidden from the outside world by a network of spells and good intentions. It was the arcane equivalent of a no soliciting sign with consequences.
Inside, she offered us cookies. Homemade. Questionable. Angel, Remy, and Brodie accepted. Ander declined in favor of jerky and suspicion.
Hazel, never one for small talk, spilled it all:
- Bobby got cancer.
- Asked Hazel for help. She declined.
- He went to Barrow. Struck a deal.
- They offered remission in exchange for Caleb.
- Bobby handed over his son.
Caleb didn’t die in a mine. Barrow took him. Worse still, they scrubbed Remy’s memories. Neatly. Completely. She’d believed the lie like it was her own.
Now the cancer’s back, and Bobby’s looking to make another trade. This time? Remy.
To say she took it badly would be putting it lightly. There was silence. Then shaking. Then that quiet, dangerous kind of rage that settles in deep.
Current Status
As if on cue, a shout rang out from the woods:
“Hazel, you old bitch, I know you’re out there!”
Bobby. And the same two Barrow & Locke goons from the diner. They were close. Armed. And calling out like the rules didn’t apply to them.
Hazel didn’t flinch. Reinforced her wards. We braced. This wasn’t over.
Operational Notes
- The Witherkin are real and extremely unpleasant. Function unknown, but sentience confirmed.
- Irene exists in a liminal, bog-bound state—half memory, half maternal regret.
- Bobby Lee Green has officially graduated from tragic figure to monstrosity-in-progress.
- Remy is emotionally compromised, but dangerously functional.
- Hazel Fisher may be the only person in this region with reliable context. Collaboration remains essential, if unpredictable.
Filed By: Investigator Maurice
Supervising Officer: Also Maurice
Clearance Level: Just trust me
