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its preservation—along with a burgeoning black market for
Darkness artifacts, known as Obscuruum. A hopeless project
to be sure, the official preservation effort had been abandoned
years ago. Yet most of the structures still remained, though
they were largely shunned by all but the biggest cities and
universities.
I happily sorted through hundreds of bizarre baubles
before finding my signpost. In a box marked monsters, I
recovered yellowed newspaper clippings tracking the antics
of persons referred to by certain medical professionals as
Noctu-psychotics, or Noctupaths—individuals possessed
of such Post-Darkness insanity that they proved capable of
inhuman feats. It was speculated that they evolved a mental
equilibrium with the Darkness, tapping into vast storehouses
of human potential. Unfortunately, when the Darkness
concluded, so too did the functional nature of the strange
adaptations, abandoning affected persons to a world no
longer capable of making sense of them, or to them. Her near-
impossible feats of murder placed Black Molly on a short
list of killers suspected of being Noctupaths. The articles
detailing her exploits were many and varied, not to mention
enthralling. But one stood out above all others—the tale and
location of her fist recorded kill. She would have abandoned
much of herself to such a place, clues she’s since learned not
to leave behind. And many of her doting well-wishers would
likely flock to such a place—beginnings often overflowed
with power, and few were stronger or more compelling than
that of Black Molly Patience.
Likely due to its proximity to New Victoria, Coldchester
housed a train station—though it was so run down I could
scarcely believe any trains still called upon it at all. And the
complete lack of travelers did little to bolster that belief.
So when a train did indeed make its scheduled stop, I
was happily surprised. The interior seemed oddly lean, as
if the small number of commuters had caused its belly to
narrow from malnutrition. I took a seat in a dark corner, the
84 | Mark Anzalone