Poison City

 

For anything abnormal or obviously supernatural, usually Tae Kuo would be the one to ask. But there were many reasons that she would not turn to him for help right now. For instance, Tae Kuo did not like to divulge too much information regarding the paranormal, even though he had known Gloria for a while. He was warm and kind, but still guarded.

 

But this was not an issue for her - she had another person she would turn to for this kind of help. Gyuu Park, the official clergyman in charge of the Fragrant Chrysanthemum Temple. It was a little far away from where she lived, and it was a little too run down for her taste. And apparently the man himself had a bit of a drinking problem. If not for these factors, and the fact that the temple was almost completely bankrupt, she would have been going there more often.

 

“Hey. My dear Clergyman Park, I brought your favorite drink. And then some.” Knocking on the rickety wooden door with a rusty metal frame, Gloria called to the man she came to visit.

 

“Oh god, I thought you were not coming.” A ruggedly looking man just barely older than Gloria with an unshaven face and uncombed hair answered the door. His eyes lit up when he saw the plastic bag in Gloria’s left hand with a tall bottle and several metal cans inside. “And you brought more stuff with you. Good! Come on in!”

 

“Thank you. I closed the coffee shop early today, just so that I can get these for you.” Gloria chuckled and raised another small bag in her right hand: “And I brought some snacks for you - you know, because you’re so great.”

 

“Yeah, you have any ghost troubles? Or you wanna venture into some sensitive knowledge?” Gyuu Park shrugged and led Gloria into the yard: “I am not that cheap, you know? I am still an official member of the Association of Local Churches.”

 

“Inside this very humble but neat looking bag, is a piece of prime steak.” Gloria smiled: “Cooked to medium, pre-sliced, with the black pepper sauce you like. And added smashed purple yam per your usual special request.” 

 

“You know me so well. What can I say, no?” Gyuu Park pulled out a hay mat and threw it on the floor: “Go ahead, ask away. As always, things stay between us, and anything I say to you, you didn’t hear it from me.”

 

“Of course. I am here only for some gossip and chat between friends.” Gloria put the alcohol and food down on the ground. The dirt got on the bags but Gyuu Park wouldn’t care.

 

“Okay, what do you need?” Gyuu Park twisted the tall bottle open, gulped down almost one third of the entire bottle, then asked Gloria after a comfortable and content “Aaah”.

 

“Okay, first off, how common are Nine-legged Worms? And - uh, what would happen if one was possessed by it for a prolonged period of time?” Gloria nodded at Gyuu Park - she decided to start off with some relatively simple questions.

 

“Well, not super common, but it’s not rare either.” Gyuu Park shrugged: “They normally appear around water and places with a lot of vegetation, and could only infect young children, old people or just folks that are prone to bad temper and resentment, and if untreated or the host was not able to reject it, it could make the host more violent and easily irritated, more susceptible to outbursts - what, you saw one?”

 

“Yeah, just now, actually.” Gloria shook her head: “At the coffee shop. It was wrapped around a customer’s neck. And it was bigger than usually described. Much, much bigger. It’s like a snake already.”

 

“Wrapped around the neck? That’s - not good. ” Gyuu Park frowned, his hand froze: “Describe it, what is it like?”

 

“About as thick as my thumb, very ugly and somewhat ferocious looking.” Gloria raised her right hand: “Length-wise I don’t know, but I think it’s wrapped three or four circles around her neck. It could choke her if it wants.”

 

“That’s definitely on the dangerously longer side.” Gyuu Park looked down, still with the frown on his face, seemingly thinking about something. Then after a short moment, he looked Gloria straight in her eyes: “Did you notice anything unusual about it? Like - features that would not normally appear on a Nine-legged Worm?”

 

“I - I’ve never seen one that big.” Gloria shook her head: “The only one I saw before today was just a very small one, like a thin hay, barely moving. If not for the customer’s strangely aggressive attitude and temper outburst, it wouldn’t have come to me to check on her. It was kind of a surprise so I didn’t get a good look.”

 

“What kind of customer was it?”

 

“Some tourist from a tour bus. Maybe in her mid forties. Looked like they came from the South-Western District.”

 

“South-Western District, huh?” Gyuu Park nodded, then after a short moment of consideration, he continued: “I’ll need to check on something - I think the district is relatively more vulnerable to Nine-Legged Worm infestation. But - it’s still strange that one could grow that big, and still remain on someone in their forties.”

 

“Okay, what do you know about this weird thing about a 15 year cycle? You know, of abnormal, even terrifying things happening. ” Gloria tried to ease into the question.

 

“Hmm, where’d you hear that?” Gyuu Park raised his left brow: “That’s - well, not a safe thing to know.”

 

“I kinda promised I won’t say.” Gloria sighed.

 

“I respect that. And I appreciate your secrecy.” Gyuu Park chuckled: “But like I said - it’s kind of - dangerous knowledge, or should I say theory.”

 

“Okay, do tell then.” Gloria giggled.

 

“I guess I don’t have to tell you, how much trouble people get into for investigating the cruise ship incident 15 years ago.” Gyuu Park looked Gloria straight in her eyes: “And the mass disappearance 30 years ago. I haven’t looked too deeply into it further, of course. But it’s definitely a thing, and in case you’re wondering, things do tend to ramp up to it. And it’s getting to that time again. So - I’d stock up on talismans, blessed artifacts and maybe those wine soaked threads.”

 

“But what kind of ramp up do you mean? I was thinking maybe the Nine-Legged Worm…”

 

“Yeah yeah yeah, I get it now.” Gyuu Park put down the almost empty bottle of wine: “I’d say it’s very possible, but I can’t say for sure unless we know how long that worm’s there around your customer’s neck. Smart move though. Real smart move there Gloria. Too bad I don’t have enough money to put you on payroll.”

 

“Keep that precious intel coming, and I’ll keep bringing you the good stuff.” Gloria laughed out loud, then she brought her serious face back: “So, if the cycle is a thing, what would you advise me to do? Aside from, you know, stocking up.”

 

“The next thing I’d advise you to do is to hit one of the community archives. And probably not the one around here, but the central one.” Gyuu Park thought for a brief moment, then handed a small wooden plaque to her: “There, not sure how much this will help. But go there and check some historical paranormal records.”

 

“Thanks. But - as you said, it’s dangerous knowledge.” Gloria took the plaque and put it into her jacket: “What if they refused?”

 

“Then - ” Gyuu Park looked up at the sky: “I’d hope it wouldn’t come to that - just try your hardest to find things out either from the city’s archives or the community collective archives. If neither works - then, I can’t believe I’m gonna say this - maybe try the old ruins.”