Apocalypse How

Who: Nia Lehrer and You!
Username: n.lehrer
Warnings: compulsion/mind control

[It's a familiar face that appears on the off-worlders' private network; though, one that hasn't been seen around ADI headquarters in recent weeks. Nia Lehrer's eyes gaze into the camera as though trained upon the viewer, her expression as intense as ever. She's looking worse for wear with a halfway healed cut above one eye and the collar of her shirt bloodstained. It's hard to see much of the room from which she's broadcasting. The space is unlit apart from the light of the phone screen on her face, the rest of the room cloaked in shadow. There's just the vague impression of dingy plaster walls and a water-damaged ceiling.]

Hello, everyone. I know this is a little unusual, but I suggest you listen because this may be the most important thing any of us do here in this world– in Gloucester.

[She glances off-camera at something or someone, mouth tightening a little with some suppressed emotion before she gives a little nod. And then–]

You must come to the house at the center of Dogtown. Immediately.

[Her eyes seem fathomlessly black for a moment as those words drown out all other thought, seeping deep into almost every viewer's mind and taking hold of their hearts. There's something wrong here, something deeply wrong, but knowing that does not diminish the sudden inescapability of the order she's given. Those who have heard it and feel the power know with dread certainty that they will enter Dogtown as bidden to seek out the house at its center. And for those who are able to resist or who didn't see the broadcast? Those are people who must be brought. You must bring everyone with you into Dogtown.

Nia sits back and lets out a tired little sigh.]

There's a ritual brewing here, and we must destabilize it–or maybe the opposite, considering it's the Spiral behind all of this. I've found my way in, but I don't have enough manpower here; I need you to come join me so we can finish this. There's a safe path through Dogtown, just not a straight one. Follow the spiral, keep turning along with it whenever you brush up against the edges of what's safe. It'll bring you here, to the center. You'll have to get past the fence after that. Normal means won't work; you have to come at it sideways somehow.

You'll know more when you get here. There's too much to explain like this, but I'll tell you everything I can once you find me. Then we'll put an end to this together, once and for all. This is the big one. The last one.

[With another tight nod, she cuts the video feed. It seems, though, that her account is still active. Perhaps she'll remain long enough to answer a few questions.]