Art Pack Preview-William

The list of odd occurrences in Echo is a mile long, but nothing could prepare William for what he'd find at the end of this missing persons case

“Alright, lets start from the beginning.” William Adler said in an exasperated tone, staring own at the papers spread out across his desk as if he could intimidate the evidence into confessing their secrets. “A few months ago, folks started reporting their food going missing. A real problem in a town like Echo, except there were no leads in town or the surrounding area.”

“Right!” Todd nodded from he stood on the opposite side of Williams desk. “With no sign of anyone breaking in to peoples homes, we’d chalked it up to vermin, or people losing track of what they had or hadn’t eaten. It could happen to anyone, after all.” The otter chirped, carrying the usual chipper personality he always displayed, even in the midst of an investigation. William, ever the dry witted coyote, looked up to his deputy with a raised brow.

“In all my years, I don’t think I’ve ever lost track of my food.”

“Well of course you haven’t, Will. Just take a look at you!” Todd rebutted, gesturing to the older canine with both hands appraisingly. “Yer about as fit as they come around here… Minus a few of the miners, but they’ve got bulk that you don’t.”

“Not that I don’t appreciate the compliment, but I think we’re getting off topic.” William said, prompting Todd to chuckle before muttering an embarrassed agreement. “Regardless, there was nothing we could do about it without any further evidence. But then all the victims of the ‘disappearing food’ case started going missing themselves.”

“Nik, Jim, James Hendricks, Yao, all sorts of folks from all over town. In the end over 25 men in town went missing.” Todd continued, helping himself to the file of paper holding accounts of each person involved in the case, making a face looking at their photos before adding on “Not that they were all gone for very long…”

“That they were not, though it’s hard to believe if you looked at them now.” William said, sharing in Todds uneasy grimace as his mind trailed back to the state him and Todd had found them. “At 5 sharp yesterday morning, every last person involved was found on the mainstreet of town, delirious, nude, and… Morbidly obese.”

That was putting it politely. The clinical description of all the men William and Todd found sprawled across the beaten down road, utterly unrecognizable with the hills of fat that weighed them down and made it damn near impossible to move them. Most of the victims seemed to have been recently stuffed, their massive bellies gurgling as they moaned and belched when prodded. Only Nik and Yao were coherent enough to say anything, though none of their explanations made any sense. And neither did the fact that both men, now built like boulders of blubber with more hopes of rolling than walking, seemed convinced that they were utterly starving after speaking with William himself.

“You really shouldn’t have given those boys pie after I was done with them.”

“Well, maybe not, but they seemed to be hungry,” Todd reasoned, looking away as his face glowed with a light blush. “After what they went through, I figured they earned something nice.”

“”With the state they’re in, they need anything but pies. Just aint right…” William said with a shudder, remembering the twist in his own guts when he’d been forced to push the tubbs of lard down to his office. “Besides, if the others start talking, they’ll probably start begging for sweets too. That’s a lot of pie to bake, even for you.”

“Weren’t you just talking about us getting off topic? Why are you telling me off for my pies now?”

“Because I’m going to be gone for a bit, and I don’t want you caught in a game of ‘Hungry Hippos’ while I’m off.”

…

William blinked to awareness with a groan, feeling a dull pulsing on the back of his head. He’d been hit by something hard… A wood plank, maybe?

The recollection of his situation came into his mind like a rolling stone, slow at first, but quick in gaining momentum. He’d left his office to go out to the spot each victim of the disappearances had last been seen, a small grotto just off the nearby lake. He’d searched the area for what had to have been an hour, finding no sign of a bandit encampment. William had nearly given up when he’d found tracks he recognized as Niks. He’d followed the trail, leading him to a crevice in the earth. He’d just begun to head back to town for back up when he’d blacked out.

The culprit of the disappearance and reappearances of the men him and Todd had found, no doubt.

Unfortunately, William had seemingly fallen victim to the same trap they did. Meaning he was just as likely about to experience whatever had turned them all into the balls of lard they’d been found as. 

“Like hell.” William thought stubbornly, testing the restraints that held his arms up over his head. It was stubborn, but not without a bit of stretch to it either. Though the most curious thing was how cold it was. How wet it was. How… Slimy it was. “Just what in the world is this?” The coyote muttered under his breath, grimacing as he’d felt a drop of whatever it was drip down on top of his head.

That indignation quickly turned into worry as the darkness of the cave quickly filled with blue and purple lights, showing hills of bioilluminescant slime sliding along the cold cavern floor, some carrying bits of what undoubtedly was the townfolks stolen food. Like a pack of animated jelly, the slimes began to gather together, all surrounding the bound and defenseless William.

“Oh shit-!”

…

“What the hell is taking him so long… He said he’d be back by nightfall.” Todd muttered to himself, pacing back and forth in the sheriffs office as he had been all throughout the night. Coffee helped him stay awake for those long, dark hours, though it did little to help with his nerves. In all likelihood, it actively just made them worse. 

Seeing the dark hues of night turn the crisp gold and yellows of dawn, the otter had finally had enough of waiting. Marching down the hall and past the cells, Todd was just about to grab his gear when he heard the door to the office creak open, followed by the thuds of heavy footsteps.

“Will? Is that you?” The otter yelled, quickly turning on his heels to run down the hall. He was just about to turn the corner when something soft, fuzzy, and warm bumped him back. Stumbling on his feet, the otters excitement turned into disbelief at the sight of the utter boulder of fat hanging off of Williams bare, shirtless torso. William, blushing red, clutched his gelatinous middle with a huff as it shook and bounced from Todds impact. “W-William? What the hell happened to you?”

“I-UUURP!” The coyote started, only to be interrupted by a belch that rattled the very foundations of the office. “Found our culprits for our recent crime waves. We’re, ah, going to need to get some volunteers to clear out the rest of them.”