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“Ghost Unlaid Forbear Thee” by Tiberius Rings & Fruitz (part 1 of 2)
Halloween has come to New York City! In the year 1900, two boys, Simon King of London and Peter Gray of New York City, hear about a reward for any information on the infamous Spring Heeled Jack. Once thought to be a demon from London, he has been seen haunting New York and scaring its citizens.
Will these two street urchins be able to uncover the mystery of who this person is, or will they bite off far more than they can chew?
Tonight’s story is the first of two parts of “Ghost Unlaid Forbear Thee” by TiberiusRings and Fruitz, With Special guest character Peter Gray, from The Adventures of Peter Gray by Domus Vocis / Nate Hopp.
Read for you by Rob MacWolf — werewolf hitchhiker.
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https://thevoice.dog/episode/ghost-unlaid-forbear-thee-by-tiberius-rings-fruitz-part-1-of-2
Transcript
You’re listening to the Ghost of Dog
Speaker:on The Voice of Dog. I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,
Speaker:and Tonight’s story is the first of two parts of
Speaker:“Ghost Unlaid Forbear Thee”
Speaker:by TiberiusRings
Speaker:and Fruitz, With Special guest character Peter Gray,
Speaker:from The Adventures of Peter Gray
Speaker:by Domus Vocis / Nate Hopp. Read by Rob Macwolf,
Speaker:Werewolf Hitchhiker.
Speaker:There is a ritual quality to the holiday of All Hallows Eve. The masks, the lighted hand carved effigies.
Speaker:And of course Trick or Treat.
Speaker:But ritual, after all, is merely a pattern of
Speaker:action repeated, that comes with a meaning attached.
Speaker:It does not care if those who repeat it
Speaker:know not what they do.
Speaker:As in the case of two boys,
Speaker:no different than any other impoverished youth,
Speaker:whose incognizant ritual is already underway.
Speaker:Please enjoy “Ghost Unlaid Forbear Thee”
Speaker:by Tiberius Rings & Fruitz, Part 1 of 2. A ferret, seemingly in her sixties, had just turned around the corner when she encountered it.
Speaker:She needed a second to register what it was, but as she did,
Speaker:her mouth opened in a shrill scream that pierced through the night.
Speaker:In front of her stood a horrifying tall figure cloaked in mystery,
Speaker:looming above its hapless victim!
Speaker:The old ferret stumbled backwards
Speaker:and fell right on her rump.
Speaker:She got up quickly and ran, hurriedly, down the road
Speaker:and around the corner,
Speaker:making all the tittering sounds one would expect from such a surprised old lady.
Speaker:The figure, after watching the woman disappear into the distance,
Speaker:began shaking its shoulders as it
Speaker:burst into laughter.
Speaker:“What a sight!” I said as I opened the long coat of the figure from the inside,
Speaker:peeking out from it. I was seated on my best friend’s shoulder
Speaker:and the coat we had found was draped over the two of us.
Speaker:Together we were taller than most people and with
Speaker:my arms raised up.
Speaker:We must have looked scary.
Speaker:“Simon! You didn’t need to scream that loudly,”
Speaker:my friend Peter said from below me as
Speaker:he crouched down and let me climb off.
Speaker:I was still wearing the oversized coat and grinning from ear to ear like an
Speaker:idiot. I fixed my oversized hat on my head.
Speaker:“Aw, she’ll live, Peter.
Speaker:Don’t worry nothin’.”
Speaker:I looked up at the taller boy.
Speaker:A wolf with handsome gray fur and a hat much like mine, though his hat actually fit him
Speaker:like a glove. “Scared her almost half to death, you mean!”
Speaker:He was trying to sound serious but soon he was also giggling, and we were leaning against one another
Speaker:and laughing until our bellies ached.
Speaker:Normally we wouldn’t be picking on old ladies, but on a day like today, everyone was fair game.
Speaker:After all, today was Halloween!
Speaker:“Peter, we should—” My friend’s sentence was cut off by the scrill whistle of a copper.
Speaker:Our fur stood on end and we looked left, then right,
Speaker:and saw the wolf wearing the crisp uniform of the police.
Speaker:“You boys! Stop right there!”
Speaker:he shouted at us as he blew his whistle.
Speaker:We turned tail and ran,
Speaker:at first bumping into one another,
Speaker:as we tried going different directions.
Speaker:I let my arms fall back and the jacket slipped off.
Speaker:I didn’t mind, of course, since it was full of holes anyway and
Speaker:would do us no good.
Speaker:“Follow me, I know a shortcut!”
Speaker:Peter said over his shoulder, flashing a big, toothy grin.
Speaker:“I ain’t jumpin’ in the river this time!”
Speaker:I shouted as the wolf boy in front of me skidded and almost slammed into a brick wall,
Speaker:using the change in direction.
Speaker:I reached out and grabbed him by his suspenders,
Speaker:using him as leverage
Speaker:and kept running.
Speaker:Behind us we heard the sound of a very big wolf
Speaker:hitting a very strong wall.
Speaker:Followed by a litany of profanities.
Speaker:We still didn’t stop.
Speaker:I knew the city like the back of my hand,
Speaker:but it was Peter who knew his way like a rabbit in a warren.
Speaker:He was always finding new passageways and hidey holes, new places to explore and find treasure
Speaker:(not always). He also knew how to get us into trouble
Speaker:(more often than not)
Speaker:but it was always so much
Speaker:fun! We ran hard, jumping over trash cans, ducking under parked wagons,
Speaker:sliding through puddles like idiots, and then scurrying up the fire escape on the side of a building
Speaker:and into an open window.
Speaker:Peter fell onto his back and panted, his thin chest heaving up and down
Speaker:as he gulped down big breaths of air.
Speaker:I flopped down and laid next to him.
Speaker:I was sweaty and tired, but I was enjoying the excitement we had.
Speaker:So was Peter. “Say, Simon,”
Speaker:Peter panted, his tongue lolling out of the side of his muzzle,
Speaker:“you ever thought you’d be doin’ this
Speaker:when you came here?” “What,
Speaker:you mean gettin’ into trouble with an American bloke?”
Speaker:I sat up on my hands, swishing my tail behind me.
Speaker:“Never. But I can’t say I hate it.”
Speaker:Our initial encounter
Speaker:was maybe just as sudden and unpredictable.
Speaker:Without too much of a sob story, Peter had found me wandering near the docks one cold wintery day.
Speaker:I had snuck aboard a ship leaving London
Speaker:and had managed to keep my head down the whole way over to the United States.
Speaker:I was processed through so easily I almost couldn’t believe it.
Speaker:I was twelve years old and
Speaker:on a whole new continent.
Speaker:I also didn’t know a single person. I was
Speaker:just about to follow some older boys when Peter appeared,
Speaker:putting an oversized hat on my head with a smile.
Speaker:He said that he knew the bestest, kindest bakery in town, and that I should come with him.
Speaker:We had been inseparable ever since.
Speaker:A pair of street urchins who didn’t need anything but each other.
Speaker:Peter got up from the floor and stretched his arms.
Speaker:He was always so thin;
Speaker:we were always hungry, but we made do with what we had.
Speaker:“You don’t have to
Speaker:always stick ’round with me, you know,”
Speaker:he said. “A kid like you, you could probably find a nice fox family to adopt you in no time.”
Speaker:I waved a hand dismissively. “No one in jolly-old London wanted a whelp like me, so who would want me ’ere?”
Speaker:“Well, you do have that accent going for ya.”
Speaker:Peter smirked and then puffed out his chest,
Speaker:standing taller with an arm behind his back like a proper gentleman.
Speaker:“I do say, you could be taken in quite proper and such, pip,
Speaker:pip cheerio and what have you!”
Speaker:I rolled my eyes and got up onto my own feet and stretched.
Speaker:“Quit it! You sound silly and not in a charming way, Peter.”
Speaker:We were soon playfully tackling one another,
Speaker:rolling around in the dirt and the dust,
Speaker:and of course Peter winning just by virtue of him being bigger than me.
Speaker:He helped me up to my feet and we heard
Speaker:whistling. Peter’s ear perked and
Speaker:he walked over to the window,
Speaker:peering out and down into the street.
Speaker:It was still midday and things wouldn’t get too exciting for a little while longer.
Speaker:“It’s that fox! Fizgerald!
Speaker:He’s whistlin’ and tossing that knife in the air!”
Speaker:Peter was hushed and motioned me over.
Speaker:I peered outside and into the street, and sure enough,
Speaker:there he was—a black fox
Speaker:like me, but what distinguished us apart the most was that he had golden-yellow eyes as opposed to my green ones, and that
Speaker:the tip of his pointy right ear
Speaker:was missing a small piece at the tip.
Speaker:Mr. Fizgerald was a city legend.
Speaker:Everyone knew he did knife tricks. He once
Speaker:threw a knife right into an apple on Peter’s head,
Speaker:after which Peter’s hat was sticky for a while.
Speaker:But what that fox did beyond that was anyone’s guess.
Speaker:We knew he went deeper into the city
Speaker:and was sometimes gone all day,
Speaker:coming back well into the early morning,
Speaker:whistling and tossing his knife.
Speaker:“I heard he works for the gangs,” I whispered up to Peter.
Speaker:“You know, the Black Sock Gang?
Speaker:He’s their…you know…”
Speaker:“What?” my friend said, frowning.
Speaker:When I drew a line across my neck to indicate murder,
Speaker:Pete’s eyes widened.
Speaker:“No way! He’s too nice for that!”
Speaker:“He doesn’t say much, though.”
Speaker:I looked down some more. Mr. Fizgerald was not heading into the city it seemed.
Speaker:Did he have the day off?
Speaker:He vanished into a shop and came out with a package not too long after,
Speaker:no more knife-throwing, but we could see it tucked into the sheath on his hip.
Speaker:“He’s just odd…his brother, too,”
Speaker:Peter continued. “The one who works at the patent office.”
Speaker:“What’s a patent?” The wolf shrugged.
Speaker:“Iunno. Something to do with patting things down, I guess?
Speaker:I never talked to him much. They’re
Speaker:quiet except during block parties.”
Speaker:I was about to turn away and go deeper into the building when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.
Speaker:It was a tiny wolf cub and a stocky coyote boy…they were sneaking down the road, hiding behind this and that,
Speaker:trying not to be seen…they
Speaker:weren’t terribly far behind Fizgerald.
Speaker:“Well, look what the cat dragged in!”
Speaker:Peter muttered as he cupped his hands around his muzzle.
Speaker:But I beat him to it.
Speaker:“HEY GAVIN AND AVERY!!! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!”
Speaker:I shouted at the top of my lungs. The two
Speaker:boys below jumped in sudden shock,
Speaker:Avery falling down and
Speaker:Gavin whirling around with his fist up.
Speaker:When he saw us, giggling, he scowled.
Speaker:“YOU DAMN MUTTS!” “I ain’t no mutt!”
Speaker:Peter shouted back, still laughing.
Speaker:The taller coyote boy, Gavin,
Speaker:and the shorter wolf boy, Avery—who still looked a little spooked
Speaker:—quickly hurried over to the side of the building and were
Speaker:up the ladder and inside the abandoned room quicker than you could blink.
Speaker:Gavin growled and Avery was staring, wide eyed.
Speaker:Avery, not Gavin, was the one who spoke up
first:“You could have got us caught! And on a day
first:like today? C’mon Simon!”
first:I was trying not to laugh anymore than I had, but it was hard not to.
first:Gavin and Avery were two friends of ours from the neighborhood.
first:Peter had told me, at one time,
first:he and the coyote had gotten into a lot of fights and hated one another. Those days were long gone.
first:Gavin sighed and lowered his fists.
first:“I swear, you mutts, you’re gonna be the death of me.”
first:“Why you followin’ old man Fiz?”
first:I asked, plopping my rump down on the floor.
first:“It’s Halloween,” Avery said matter-of-factly.
first:“There’s a rumor,”
first:Gavin continued, leaning in closer and speaking quietly,
first:“that Old Man Fiz is a cold-blooded killer.
first:He also plays with his victims, if you know what I mean. Heh-heh.
first:But, on Halloween,
first:people say he works for free
first:because he can ‘cut loose’
first:so to speak.” “What do you mean?”
first:I asked, gulping hard.
first:“He’s a demon. From the depths of hell itself.
first:He only acts like a regular mortal because his
first:‘brother’ has a curse on him, keeps him bound you see.
first:But tonight? No chain.
first:He’ll sprout wings and
first:fly into the darkness,
first:and tomorrow there will be a
first:ton of dead bodies all over the city.”
first:“And why on Earth would you want to be close to him
first:if he turns into a murderous demon?”
first:Avery dug into his pockets
first:and pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper.
first:He held out to Peter and I.
first:It was a cutout of a newspaper advertisement that was large enough to cover half of an entire page of the paper. On the
first:top of the cutout was the name of the newspaper—Crossbell Chronicles—and right underneath were the following words: ————————————————— ATTENTION! Good citizens of Manhattan,
first:please be advised that while this Friday,
first:October 31st, is Halloween,
first:we have had many unfortunate accidents these past few years.
first:Please be on the lookout for any suspicious characters
first:and report anything odd to your local constabulary.
first:Be on the lookout for the following character——
Name:Spring Heeled Jack
Species:Fox Fur Color:
Species:Believed to be Black
Eye Color:Red Appearance:
Eye Color:Black with a cape and razor-sharp
Eye Color:bladed fingers. Suspect has been believed to be able to leap as tall as a building
Eye Color:while slashing at his victims.
Eye Color:Do not approach if seen.
Eye Color:Anyone with any information to the whereabouts of this masked figure
Eye Color:will be entitled to the reward
Eye Color:of $ 50 dollars. ————————————————— “Fifty bucks…”
Eye Color:Peter said softly.
Eye Color:Avery grinned from ear to ear like a fool.
Eye Color:I had never seen so much money.
Eye Color:If they could catch Fiz… “We’ll
Eye Color:help!” Peter said, putting his arm around my shoulders and hauled me in close.
Eye Color:“Split it four ways, even stevens.”
Eye Color:“Why would we do that, mutt?”
Eye Color:Gavin scowled at Peter as he crossed his arms over his broad
Eye Color:chest. “Better to split the reward two way than four.”
Eye Color:I pushed my way in front of Peter and glared up at Gavin, smirking.
Eye Color:“Fine! But when we catch him and get the reward I don’t wanna hear a lick of whinin’ from you, Gavvie.”
Eye Color:“You two couldn’t catch a
Eye Color:cold,” Gavin said with a smirk and a hard slap on my shoulder.
Eye Color:“But may the best canine win!” —-----------
Eye Color:It was cold and foggy,
Eye Color:enough to make a boy shiver under his coat.
Eye Color:It reminded me of London as I brought my hands up to my muzzle and
Eye Color:blew warm air across the pads, giving myself a moment of warmth. It had
Eye Color:been nice and warm for months but now winter was coming and that meant being very cold.
Eye Color:Peter was tucked up nice and tight
Eye Color:in his coat as well.
Eye Color:We had decided to follow Mr. Fiz.
Eye Color:He had been hard to find at first…he
Eye Color:seemed to be going to random places,
Eye Color:double backing on routes and once, I swear,
Eye Color:he jumped across the roof of some buildings.
Eye Color:Thankfully Peter and I were expert trackers
Eye Color:(don’t argue with the boy telling the story!)
Eye Color:and we were able to stay close enough to keep an eye on him
Eye Color:but not too close that he knew what was going on.
Eye Color:By now the sun had long set and we were in a part of the city that I hadn’t been to often.
Eye Color:Peter was looking around, tail twitching as we stopped at a corner and peered around it.
Eye Color:“This is the bad side of town, Simon.”
Eye Color:“I mean, it’s New York.
Eye Color:How bad can it—” “Bad ’nuff that I don’t come here ’less I got a good reason to.”
Eye Color:Peter crouched down and watched the people.
Eye Color:They were drunk,
Eye Color:or rather well on their way to drinking.
Eye Color:These were older buildings and we were far from anyplace someone would live who didn’t sleep on the street.
Eye Color:We had been following a very simple plan, follow close and wait a few moments
Eye Color:before turning any corner Fiz took.
Eye Color:It wasn’t the best idea,
Eye Color:but we were street brats, and no one
Eye Color:would care two licks where and what we were doing.
Eye Color:We were sneaking up to the next corner.
Eye Color:It made me gulp in hesitation.
Eye Color:“Don’t like this dark alley, Peter,”
Eye Color:I whispered up to the taller boy.
Eye Color:“You go first.” “You coward,” my friend teased
Eye Color:and turned to walk down into it,
Eye Color:stopping and then slipping back toward the corner where I was still crouched against.
Eye Color:Peter looked like he had seen a ghost.
Eye Color:“What’s wrong…?” “He’s uh…”
Eye Color:The wolf gulped. He then peered around the corner briefly and snapped his head back.
Eye Color:“He’s there. But…it’s not Fiz…Spring
Eye Color:Heeled Jack…Simon…let’s
Eye Color:go.” “What, no way!
Eye Color:We need proof that he’s Fiz,
Eye Color:and if we can’t get it, Avery and Gavin will never let us forget that we ran our mouths.”
Eye Color:I sighed and crouched closer and peered around the corner.
Eye Color:“Besides, you probably are just seeing things…”
Eye Color:You know when you’re talking about something and you know you should just stop but you don’t because you feel like you couldn’t be wrong but you end up being wrong?
Eye Color:That was me. I did not expect to see what I saw and to this day it
Eye Color:still sends shivers up my spine.
Eye Color:Cloaked in shadows was a man.
Eye Color:He stood in the darkness with some beams of moonlight hitting his form.
Eye Color:He stood tall and proud with his chest puffed out.
Eye Color:His shoulders were wrapped in a cloak of some kind and on
Eye Color:his head was a top hat.
Eye Color:What really stood out was the metal claws.
Eye Color:Long, sharp, razor like talons glittered from his hand,
Eye Color:catching the light as he wiggled his fingers.
Eye Color:His face seemed to be made of metal
Eye Color:with glowing red eyes.
Eye Color:I had never seen anything like it.
Eye Color:It was like a demon had burst free from hell and stood in the alleyway.
Eye Color:I pulled back but my foot hit a bottle.
Eye Color:When it broke I saw the…thing…turn
Eye Color:its head.
Eye Color:Has it seen me?! I felt Peter pull me back and slam me against the bricks,
Eye Color:my breathing heavy
Eye Color:but he put his hand over my muzzle.
Eye Color:We heard the sound of feet running toward us.
Eye Color:I felt a chill shoot up my spine. This was stupid.
Eye Color:No amount of money was worth this!
Eye Color:I looked about in a panic,
Eye Color:heart thudding in my chest.
Eye Color:I was preparing to die
Eye Color:when Peter let me go and grabbed a discarded coat.
Eye Color:He put it on me and then bent down…
Eye Color:We were really going to try and scare him?!
Eye Color:I was lifted into the air with the coat pulled up and the hat tucked down as far as it could go.
Eye Color:Peter was shaking.
Eye Color:So was I. But I stood
Eye Color:(or sat) as tall as I could with
Eye Color:my chest puffed out.
Eye Color:When the man…the
Eye Color:demon turned the corner
Eye Color:he was looking down where Peter’s head was and took a step back as if confused.
Eye Color:It worked! The thing had expected a boy,
Eye Color:but instead a very tall man was standing there.
Eye Color:I didn’t hesitate and
Eye Color:slammed my foot as hard as I could into its face.
Eye Color:I heard a groan of pain as Jack staggered backwards.
Eye Color:“Let’s go!” I yelled and
Eye Color:leaped off Peter’s shoulder,
Eye Color:running down the alleyway at breakneck speed.
Eye Color:We rounded corners
Eye Color:and alleys, skidding and almost falling,
Eye Color:hearing something following us.
Eye Color:When we came to a dead end that feeling of uncompromising dread flowed through me.
Eye Color:Peter, though, was brave. He saw what I didn’t,
Eye Color:a small window barely big enough for a person…and
Eye Color:us being skinny little things, it was just enough.
Eye Color:He leapt up and hauled himself into the window.
Eye Color:I watched as his tail flicked and swayed and vanished into the darkness.
Eye Color:For a moment I was left in the alley
Eye Color:with Spring Heeled Jack and I turned around.
Eye Color:I could see his shadow beam down across the street from the moonlight.
Eye Color:“Psst! Simon!” I leaped up and took the wolf’s outstretched hand.
Eye Color:I scrambled up the wall
Eye Color:and was pulled into the dark building.
Eye Color:It was long abandoned
Eye Color:—the smell of mildew and cold was everywhere.
Eye Color:It looked like an old factory of some kind.
Eye Color:We tumbled to the ground and sat there as still
Eye Color:as can be, Peter holding me close with a hand curled over my muzzle again.
Eye Color:It was so quiet I could hear our hearts beating.
Eye Color:I wanted to take deep breaths, but I knew that if I did I would make too much noise.
Eye Color:I had to be quiet. I had to be still.
Eye Color:I had to hold myself as steady as I could lest I give us away.
Eye Color:We heard footsteps outside the window,
Eye Color:the shuffling of fabric
Eye Color:and the growl of someone angry.
Eye Color:There was the sound of claws across the bricks and a snarl of rage.
Eye Color:“Gone!” was all we heard,
Eye Color:followed by the sound of heavy steps
Eye Color:walking away shortly afterwards.
Eye Color:We remained in place for a few more minutes until we were certain he was gone.
Eye Color:Finally my friend let go of my muzzle and gulped,
Eye Color:wiping his nose with his hand. “Eheh…
Eye Color:maybe we shoulda gone with Gavin and Avery.” “This
Eye Color:is stupid, Peter!”
Eye Color:I shuddered, looking into my friend’s eyes.
Eye Color:“We gon’ get our tails cut off!”
Eye Color:“Relax, Simon,” Peter said with a calming tone. “Have
Eye Color:I ever got us in so much trouble we couldn’t get out of it?”
Eye Color:“Yes!” I answered without any delay.
Eye Color:The wolf shrugged. “Well…this time I think I got what we need.”
Eye Color:“You hit your head? We didn’t get a lick of evidence.”
Eye Color:We were slipping back out through the window,
Eye Color:Peter helping me down first and then himself.
Eye Color:He dusted his shirt off and fixed his suspenders and
Eye Color:straightened up. “I saw something flash under his cloak,”
Eye Color:he explained. “It looked expensive.”
Eye Color:“Let’s get out of here before we start talkin’ about it, okay?”
Eye Color:I took Peter’s hand and started to lead him down the alley.
Eye Color:I was starting to relax as we got back onto the public street and
Eye Color:hearing the light noise of life even at this hour.
Eye Color:I felt my chest finally start to unclench.
Eye Color:“I am going to sleep
Eye Color:so well. Do you know of a good place to—”
Eye Color:The sentence was cut off when I bumped into someone and
Eye Color:fell down on my rump.
Eye Color:I groaned and looked up.
Eye Color:“Oy! You should see where you’re
Eye Color:—” It was Fiz. Standing there with, of all things,
Eye Color:a churro in his hand and
Eye Color:looking passive while he ate it.
Eye Color:He stared down at me with those golden eyes of his that looked like two full moons in the dimness of our surroundings,
Eye Color:slowly chewing and taking lazy bites.
Eye Color:This was the first of two parts of
Eye Color:“Ghost Unlaid Forbear Thee”
Eye Color:by TiberiusRings and Fruitz,
Eye Color:read for you by Rob Macwolf,
Eye Color:Werewolf Hitchhiker.
Eye Color:Tune in next time
Eye Color:to find out how Simon and Peter discover the truth
Eye Color:behind the infamous Spring Heeled Jack!
Eye Color:As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Eye Color:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Eye Color:Thank you for listening
Eye Color:to The Voice of Dog.
