Ep 13 - Jinx

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All in all, I can access over $3,500 in annual value with benefits and eligible purchases across travel, entertainment, and more. Learn more at americanexpress.com slash explore dash platinum. Enrollment requirements, monthly, and other limits in terms apply. Welcome to Ghost Wax, a Far and Tall Tales production. The following story may contain graphic content. Listener discretion is advised. Episode 13, Jinx.

Damn, Owen. What was that thing? I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps I acted a bit hastily. Are you kidding? What were you gonna do? Ask it its name? It looked like... Ugh. And those claws. Did it have no eyes? I don't think so. And unlike some creatures I've encountered that don't have eyes, I don't think it could see. It may have been injured. I believe it heard us entering and attacked. And then you vaporized it. Remind me not to piss you off. Too much. I did not vaporize it.

I simply utilize the same technique I employ to repair flesh, but in the rapid reverse. Hey guys, there's a body in here. Damn, too late. Well... let's at least get some answers we will prepare the deceased check that pile of mail for a name we begin the evening's recalling We are, actually, first on the scene, thanks to a successful demonstration of Philippa's ability to hone in on large amounts of otherworldly phenomenon. Thank you. Thank you.

I must also credit Luca's ability to pick locks. I keep being surprised by the things I need to learn for this job. We have discovered the body of Liam Mathers, age 35. Ugh. Blood. At least it's not mine this time. Mr. Mathers appears to have died of severe trauma and blood loss, undoubtedly attacked by the creature we encountered as we entered the domicile.

Mr. Mathers was discovered in his bed, covered in some quite vicious raking claw marks. It does not appear he was able to put up much of a struggle. We were unable to positively identify the creature. Because you disintegrated it. I was startled. Luca, I suggest we call off the surprise birthday party.

We will inquire with the deceased and learn what transpired here before our arrival. Jinx? Jinx? Mr. Mathers, do you mean a jinx as in bad luck? No, my cat. Jinx. I'm not... I wasn't superstitious. I never knew it was true. What is true, Liam? That black cats are unlucky, or that anything could be unlucky, or cursed, or whatever was happening. I mean...

The way I found him, obviously he wasn't the luckiest thing. The name was a joke. It was ironic. I named him Jinx because I actually thought he was a-

Actually lucky. Lucky I was there to find him that day, the last month. During our first big snowfall, I was shoveling the front steps of my apartment when this really nice... car like old timey with silver trim comes barreling down my street i really honed in on it and found myself watching it and then i realized why it's belching steam out the side window because

The window's open and all the heat's getting out, and I'm standing there with my shovel like, what the hell is this guy doing with his window down? Is he trying to heat the outside? And then, black furry shape just... Like this guy just wings it out the window and disappears into a snowbank. Never seen anything like that. You always hear about how...

People just huck cats they don't want out moving cars, but holy shit, you don't expect to see it. I shouldn't have done what I did, but I was just so mad. This car passes in front of me, I hucked my shovel right at him. Kind of... javelined it you know to the side door right under the window that was rolling up and man that was really dumb sure i was mad but what if it broke his window or

went through the window and, like, chopped his throat or something. Nah, it's stupid, I guess, but still could have caused a real accident, and that would have been really, uh, disproportionate, right? Well, anyway, people are stupid, and I'm definitely stupid. You'll get just more of how stupid I am later. Anyway, my shovel like danged a big ding in the car, which...

I'll admit was pretty satisfying, but a car doesn't stop, it just keeps going. Way too fast for how much snow was all over. So I ran over to see if this cat was okay. Like, hey, hey, are you okay? I'm asking like this cat's gonna talk back, right? Then I remember how my mom used to make these high-pitched kissy sounds to get her cat Geraldine Ferraro. I know, I know.

She'd use it to get her to come to her, and so I did that, and... Over the snow, which was a few feet, I guess, I see these two little black triangles pop up and sort of... radio dish to the sounds i'm making and then i kissy sounds again and this time just a little noggin pokes up and i can barely see these two Big, yellow, green eyes, pupils dilated, looking like a cartoon character in a Ghibli film, and it locked onto me. I guess the cold was more motivating than its fear, because...

It hops over the snow towards me and poof, disappears again into another drift and does it again and again. Hopping up and vanishing under the snow over and over and over again and I'd forgotten all about how mad I was at the car and just... seeing this big hopeful face and saucer eyes popping up and over again out of the snow it was i was a goner i never stood a chance and by the time i scooped it up in my arms and it tried to crawl into my parka it was

My cat. And so Jinx was lucky or unlucky. And I found it, but I found this cat. Shivering, abandoned. How do you take that? You can look at it either way, and if I hadn't been outside, I probably would have frozen to death, but because I was outside, it was safe. Lucky. However, somehow it wound up in the kind of person that would...

chuck it out a window in the first place, which is pretty unlucky. Maybe lucky for the cat, and unlucky for me. If I hadn't been outside and seen the cat, taken it in... I'd be alive. I'm not really mad. Isn't that weird? Even after everything that happened, I think he's a good cat. Not even mad at Jinx even after what happened, even though I think it killed me? Or was cursed and that killed me. Seriously? That's awfully easygoing.

Did the cat brainwash you? Uh, Philippa, typically we let the dead tell their story uninterrupted. Well, that's... questions so they get to the point? This is their very last chance to be heard. I'm not interested in rushing them. That's not what I meant. Just so they focus on the pertinent information, you know? Don't...

Leave out details? The dead speak using the Reclaimer's mind. Their own is no longer firing. He's sort of loaning his synapses out for them to use. During this process, he can steer them and... filter all the information we need. The dead will have their say is the Reclaimer's motto. Super crappy motto.

Another motto is, this is incredibly difficult to do, and distractions and errors in the process can cause brain damage. So let that be the last of the distractions, please. Please continue, Liam. There won't be any further interruptions. No problem. You should have seen me and my dad try to keep me and my sister in line. They are not my children. Hush, father.

You promised no more interruptions. So, yeah, like I said, I pretty much loved this cat right away. Hadn't been living in my new place long, first time being on my own. I'd been sleeping really... really badly and right away I was grateful for the company. I called the vet but they were going to close pretty soon so I got him an appointment to be seen. The lady on the line was all sighs and gasps when I told her what happened.

She said I could feed him some turkey or ham or something for the night until I could get him to the pet store, what with the snow. And she instructed me on how to use shredded newspaper or bird seed as litter. The bird seed I found gross for some reason. use any box with a trash bag lining and I got him through the night I tried feeding him everything she said would be okay in my fridge to feed him but he was not having it I figured he should be hungry but

Guessed he was just only used to cat food and didn't think about it again. Little guy was stuck to me like glue all night. Always wanted to see what I was up to and crawled into every cupboard I opened to check out the interior.

never wanted to let me be alone stood sentinel outside the bathroom and he'd sneak inside if he could and sit on the sink or hide inside the bathtub and peek out so i was checking my emails for work the next day he got up in my business which i've heard cats do but he wasn't interested in tapping on the keyboard or he was watching the screen

Even after I stopped typing and the cursor stopped moving across and his little head was still scanning back and forth across the screen. I laughed to myself, but it really did look like he was reading my emails. Then I got on the phone with my friend, former roommate, and Jinx got right up on my shoulder and shoved his head in, like he was trying to listen to the call. I laughed and told Ray that my new cat was snoopier than my ex, and we laughed.

What kind of cat is it? What do you mean? I asked. I don't know. Cats had kinds. Like, what's it look like? Oh, it's all black. Small, with big eyes. I almost named him Studio Ghibli because he looks like that cat in Kiki's... Oh, all black? Yeah, all black. What's... Oh. Which is familiar, dude? Ray said. Which is... Familiar with what? I said. And see what I mean about me being stupid, and there is more of that. Yeah, it's probably Lexi's evil familiar sent to spy on you.

As possessive and invasive as Lexi was, I didn't like him talking like that. Dude, I said, letting the incredibly versatile word do its work. You're right, you're right, Ray said. Practicing magic probably takes a little smart, so definitely not, Lexi. Dude, I said again. Okay, sorry, but seriously. Don't let that cat sleep with you until you get it to the vet.

could have parasites and shit, he said. Jinx seemed clean enough to me, but didn't seem like a bad idea. So that night when I went to bed, I made up a pile of blankets for Jinx and laid him in it and headed to my bedroom. Jinx was trotting along behind me a second little shadow before I even made it halfway to my room. He looked absolutely betrayed when I went to close him out.

So I... practically jumped out of my skin and that sounded crazy i looked at my door and i saw a dark spot under the door and jinx scrabbling under the door reaching and reaching with his cat arms I shook it off and cats make weird noises. So I laid down and was just starting to feel the sleep aid kick in when I heard it again.

A chill ran down my spine and shook me right awake. He was nuts. I went groggily to the door and opened it, and Jinx mowed at me like a normal cat, pranced right in. Jeez, okay, you win, man, I said to him. He was already cuddled up on the warm spot on my bed. I scooted him over a little bit and laid down. Jinx laid his head on my arm and stared at me super intently.

As I was falling asleep, I would open my eyes and he was always staring at me, not blinking. I remember thinking right before I fell asleep that something seemed off about his eyes. I had the same nightmare. I'd been having every night since I started sleeping on my own. I woke up in bed, but the blankets were made out of something soft and warm like skin and pulled so tight.

I couldn't move. I looked to the doorway and something was standing in it. But looking away from me? Then it would start walking towards me. while still looking away, and I'd realize that its head was on backwards. That's when I'd wake up, with it staggering towards me. But tonight... It got to the end of my bed and started crawling up when I woke up. I was sweating. Jinx had scooted up and was staring right into my eyes.

My heart was already racing from the nightmare, but seeing Jinx like that made it do a double jump. Jeez, what are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack! And it was like that. every night for a week jinx was the best buddy i could hope for during the day followed me around always interested in what i was doing watched me play video games or watched movies with me

Like, actually watched them. Stared at the screen practically the whole time. Then at night, when I'd go to sleep, things would get weird. I came in one night and found... All my sleep aids were gone. Found them under a pile of clothes in my closet. And I guess they rattled around, so Jinx could think they were fun to play with, but it's still weird.

He refused to do anything but stare at me until I fell asleep, which was really unnerving. But if I tried to put him out, he'd make those ungodly person noises until I let him back in. So strange to start to become afraid of something that the vet said weighed 10 pounds. My nightmares were getting worse. The twisted head things in my dream had started in my hallways.

making it into my bedroom, and I was in the doorway making it into my bed, and then one night it was on top of me, and I could hear a snapping and stretching, and I realized its head. was turning around. And I also just knew, the way you know in dreams, that if I saw into its eyes, it would suck all the life out of me. I couldn't breathe or...

Maybe I was too scared to breathe. I jerked awake and found Jinx nestled on my chest staring into my eyes digging his claws into my chest. His mouth was pressed against mine like Like he was breathing my breath in. I panicked and tossed Jinx away, but his hooked claws took a chunk of me. I bled all over the shirt I'd worn to bed and...

hurried to the bathroom to get the bandages. I hadn't been there a minute before Jinx was scrabbling at the door. I hadn't imagined it that time. It sounded like a person. I was so scared. So tired. I thought about the black car and how it'd thrown Jinx out. Why had it done that? Had they been haunted by a twisted head thing in their dreams? Was Jinx howling in an almost person voice for them to let it in? Was Jinx causing it?

Was the cat causing it? Or was it cursed? I couldn't think straight. I bought a cat carrier for the vet visit. I had to sleep. I had to. I opened the door and the inhuman sounds immediately turned to Catwins. I picked Jinx up and he immediately began to purr. I gave him some treats and... while he was eating got the carrier and ambushed him and stuffed him in it he had gone into his carrier so easily before but this time he fought smashed against the cage door

I'd never seen him like that. Oh. My. God. Oh. My God, what are you? I asked, but Jinx was just pulling on the carrier door and trying to open it. I stuffed him in a closet and shut it, trying to ignore the sounds Jinx was making, and I went back to bed. I couldn't believe how quickly I felt tired again. Was it the sleeping pills? It was hard to imagine feeling like I could fall asleep again so soon.

All adrenaline was draining out of my body just so quickly. It's fine, a voice in my head said. Just get some sleep. You've got a lot to do tomorrow. The second I dozed off, the dream started. But it was different. The twisted head thing came sprinting through the door and leapt on me. A dream I had never. had before. The thing's arm had hooked claws at the end and they wretched into my chest and stomach and I could hear the other side of its head.

slowly turning around. I heard a crash from the hallway. The thing's head twisted around. Its face wasn't at all what I was expecting. Then a small black shape launched up onto my bed and latched into the side of the thing that was killing me. Jinx's claws dug into the black suns of its eyes. The thing screeched and reared back, trying to tear the cat loose.

Jinx screamed and hung on. The creature's claws dug into Jinx's back, but it couldn't pry him off. Something in the thing's eyes, I don't know, broke? It's hard to describe, but when it happened, it howled and it ran out of sight. And that's when Jinx finally let go. I don't know when I woke up, or if I did. I heard everywhere, and I was gushing blood.

jinx jumped up on the corner of my bed and stared at me gasping through its little mouth and crawled over to me i don't know if my dream attacked me or cat did while i was dreaming Both. I'm still so tired. Well, you will get as much sleep as you need before you dream again. I believe your next dreams are likely to be much sweeter. Is Jinx okay? Was he hurt, or is that just in my dream? I am sure it was injured. I am unsure how badly.

liam i don't believe the animal ever meant to harm you you said that you had not been sleeping well since you moved into your new apartment that is because you had contracted a let us call it terminal nightmare sometimes they lay dormant in a location for years waiting for a compatible mind which it seems you have or perhaps you had contracted it somewhere else and it simply waited

for you to be vulnerable. Your friend Jinx could sense this infestation, which is why it never wanted to leave you alone. Why it scratched you awake. And the night you found it breathing your breath, I believe it was trying to draw this evil out. That's really good to hear. I knew he was a good cat. Good indeed. He managed to blind your murderer.

I imagine that's why it was still here when we arrived, rather than having fled off into the darkness to cause more havoc. We dispatched it. Your friend saw you avenged. I found the cat. It's under the bed. Take care of him, will you? He's lucky. Lucky after all. I promise. You can get that sleep now, Liam. Cat won't come out. It's freaked. Understandably. Hmm. What is it? I was just thinking about how wrong we mortals almost always are about things.

Although his friend Ray, who he spoke to on the phone, was right about one thing. And what is that? The cat is indeed a witch's familiar. No kidding. No kidding. likely its patron died without passing it down very irresponsible but it happens then i imagine whatever party came to care for it and abandoned it out the car window had no idea how precious it was. Rude. Of course it goes right to you. I am more of a dog person.

Whoa, did you hear that? I'm sorry your friend did not survive, but you made a valiant effort to save him, and helped us get a good kill in proper vengeance. well my small furry friend it just so happens i am in the market for a new familiar luca you already have luca you can have lots of familiars i am not one though We can discuss terms and details once we have patched you up. What shall I call you? All right. Jinx it is.

Thank you for listening to Ghost Wax, a production of Far and Tall Tales. Find us at farandtalltales.squarespace.com. Ghost Wax is an independent podcast, so if you liked the show, Please rate and review, and consider joining us on Patreon at patreon.com slash farandtalltales. Also give a listen to our fantasy roleplay show Could Have Been Heroes for something completely different.

Ghost Wax is written and directed by Robert Knudsen. Production and editing by Aaron Schoenrock. Our theme song is by Bo Hoover. This episode features Robert Knudsen as Von Sid. Aaron Schoenrock as Luca, Stephanie Olson as Pip, and Dave Kavam as Liam Mathers. Special thanks to Portion, the cat, for contributing the purrs for this episode.