The first rough of the whistling old man.

The Whistling Old Man

I will always remember that haunting broken sound, the sound that keeps the world at bay and the insanity from ripping through the thin fabric of the ethereal plane and tearing at the very sanity of the world. As I sit alone in my house on the dark nights I feel as if I can still hear the sound of the whistling coming from his lips as the wind slides through the tree branches. The cold air brushing through the cheap little house I rent on the dilapidated streets of this lower class suburb, chilling me to my core.

I remember I was a college graduate at the time when this all first happened. A proud member of those leaving that year from a small Midwest college along the Kansas/Missouri line. I had left my family that summer near fall and begun looking for work in the New England area which I heard was plentiful.

I soon found however, others had already beaten me to many of the jobs in the local area. Knowing not what to do and unwilling to swallow my pride and return home I did what many collegiate do and seek help from various institutions of higher learning. After enquiring to the strange flabby mouthed bus driver for a few minutes he told me he could arrange take me past a town called Innsmouth and through Arkham if I was willing to take a days ride and pay for the expense of doing so.

I checked my funds and though slim I felt I would be able to do just that. Settling in he began and ended the trip in silence, finally pulling into a dilapidated little town bearing a worn white sign proclaiming it Innsmouth, the finest fishing preserve in the United States. Getting off the bus I watched the man set my bags down and then proceed to talk to another heavyset and grey faced man, probably a relative. He pointed to me and indicated that I wanted, it seemed by his gestures to go upstate. Sitting at the bench waiting while the transaction took place was less than pleasant. It seemed the local color was out today and visitors were at best a rarity.

The town itself of course had seen better days but coming as I did from an area of trailers, pink flamingo yard stickers and beer opening garden gnomes I lacked the ability to pass judgement on the people here. However their flat eyed stares gave me a deep feeling of intense disgust and dread that I could not place and was only more than happy when the man summoned me in front of his kin and handed me my bags. “This is my cousin Elias, he will take you the rest of the way up through Arkham to Miskatonic for the price agreed” said the grey faced bus driver bluntly and then held out his hand looking at me expectantly.

Taking out a few new gold dollars and some bills I pushed them into his clammy flipper like hand. His eyes seemed to sparkle around the image of the gold imprint on the coin and he was, it seems barely able to take his eyes from the metal before taking my luggage and undelicately throwing it into the back of an old model station wagon, the wood of which seemed to be fading from the harsh sea air around the town, as many of the houses seemed to be similarly effected.

Bidding my flabby companion a good day I leaned to get into the vehicle and shut the door. I proceeded to spend most of the next few hours trying not to stare at the small slits around the drivers neck. I gathered they were some odd form of scar or birth mark, maybe received as a boy. I spent the rest of my time making idle and almost one sided conversation with the driver asking him varied questions on the area.

He seemed only interested in a few topics but was quite enjoyable company when I brought up the sea and ancient mythology, taking a great deal of pride in his own accomplishments at catching lobster and swimming. He was also, after a while of cajoling quite amiable to speak of specific fishing spots and cooking certain local recipes. The conversation did not stray much outside of these things but it seemed that I had unlocked what was the core of this man’s being and it seemed he relished getting to speak of his own joys to an outsider as he referred to me several times.

I also spent part of the time noticing many of the unusal sights of the local towns of Arkham and Dunwhich, where after taking a wrong turn we nearly got lost but eventually righted outselves. Pulling up on the Outskirts of town my driver drove me to a place he knew of in the area. “You just tell em you comes from Innsmouth and that Elias sent you” he croaked at me in a deep froggy voice. “ They will set you right up with a nice room much better than what you would get in town for that price”.

With that we pulled up to the Gilman hotel of Miskatonic outlying, the car sputtering in a way that I was sure it was broken at the very least. Taking my bags he wished me well, seeming almost like he was taking time not to cut this human interaction short, that it was something he missed when in his own town. However he finally waved one last time and started the car, with a loud bang from the tailpipe leaving a trail of dark smoke behind him as he leaned his bulk over the steering wheel looking all the world like the cross of a hunched frog and a man. Taking my bags I walked inside and talked to a slim man of graying hair and dark recessed eyes.

I told him what I had been recommended by the gentleman from Innsmouth to this hotel. Smiling widely, almost Cheshire he told me the rates would be rather decreased for my stay and if I needed anything but to ask. I requested that a newspaper be sent to my room along with a shaving kit and a bus schedule to the campus the next morning. I paid him and added a small tip on to the gratuity to the man, Danforth.

His grin never faltering as I walked away to the second story, unlocking my room with the large antique style brass key given to me. Opening the door I placed the do not disturb sign on my door and using the black classic keypad phone I called down to place a wake up call for the next day at 8 am. Setting the lock on the door as I had been careful to do since my early days of traveling and hearing of how those of the criminal element would often take advantage of those alone in their rooms for burglary or worse.