Monday, September 10, 1926, and the day started in a most unexpected fashion at Jules Polack Fine Antiques even before the store opened. The doorbell at the entrance up to Jules' apartment rang, and when Jules opened, he was greeted by a strange, or even grotesque, sight: a muffled individual, all wrapped up in scarves, wearing a dirty overcoat and an equally dirty hat. The person moaned monotonously, and despite these strange accoutrements, Jules all of a sudden that he was standing in front of Burlington Jones! He ushered in Burlington, locked the door, and relieved Burlington of his garments. And what a shock that was! Burlington Jones had turned into a misshapen lump of flesh, a mere parody of his former handsome self.
Mrs. O'Flaherty did provide Burlington with a breakfast and a bath, and although she was startled, she claimed to have seen worse. Meanwhile, Jules called over his old friends for breakfast to discuss what had happened. It was to become something of a reunion, since they had all been busy with various projects and activities, from studying to well-needed recuperation. Once breakfast had been served, the intrepid investigators went through a knapsack that Burlington had been carrying. The contents were, to say the least, varied:
The intrepid investigators also decided to get in touch with Burlington's mother, both for closure and clarity. The young man had, after all, been missing for quite some time.
The contents of the knapsack did not give away any immediate leads, but both Moira Baker and Dr. Emmet Brown were asked to provide a more thorough analysis on a molecular level. Both Baker and Brown were their, well, usual selves, and they promised that they would get back to the investigators next day or so after being handed samples of Burlington's belongings.
The investigators continued to discuss the case of Burlington Jones throughout that dreary Monday. There were trips to the Miskatonic University Library, including a confrontation with the notorious potato chip lady that guarded the stacks, and there was some discussion with the Arkham PD. Polish newspapers? A rosary? A key that (after asking a locksmith) seemed to be for some sort of security door? A government issue canteen? Everything came together next afternoon, when Dr. Brown could report that he had found traces of kobolttorium-G. Pleasantville and the polish mining community that had provided kobolttorium-G to the Topsville power plant where the Mi-Go were building some form of intra-dimensional portal. The mine had subsequently been closed, and the population re-located.
Moira Baker had more grave news, though. Poor Burlington Jones would probably not last long, since his mutation rate was increasing at an unforeseen rate. It was just a question of making sure that he didn't suffer, and taking care of mrs. Jones. Mrs. O'Flaherty would take care of the latter, while Franz Alter addressed the former.
So, what was really going on up in Pleasantville, and what was the "Shaft Z' that the Polish miners had whispered about? The intrepid investigators decided to take a road trip up to Pleasantville in two cars filled with of a plethora of equipment. However, Howard Lake did not show up, and although he picked up the telephone, he claimed to be ill. There was some concern that he might have been contaminated by Burlington Jones, but Mackie simply rolled her eyes and hinted at some nameless V.D.
Pleasantville was reached late that Wednesday afternoon, September 12. The small, wretched village was indeed deserted, but the mine itself seems to have been guarded by the U.S. Army. The buildings did seem to have been deserted in some haste, and the rooms were in a sad state.
Now, were the intrepid investigators actually going to venture into the mine itself? There was some discussion regarding that question, but eventually they all decided to venture into the dark unknown. There was initially very little of interest: a mine with some structural issues and a few dangerous sink holes.
This passage did, however, end in a much more exotic, or even alien, setting. There were hints at something weird, pillars with inexplicable angles and functions, a weird greenish shimmer from luminescent discs that didn't give off any heat, and disturbing mists hovering a foot or so over the ground. The intrepid investigators saw some similarities with both the forbidden factory in Central America and the Topsfield Power Plant, so the investigators checked their weapons an extra time.
One of the passages led deep into the mountain, and the presence of alien characters and inscriptions became increasingly prevalent. That particular passage ended in a bizarre laboratory, a nightmarish parody of science in which humanoid shapes seem to have been grown in tanks that by now seemed have to had fallen into disrepair. There were conventional signs in English mixed with alien displays, and whatever experiments the government might have been conducting seemed to be revolting at best. An ample amount of emergency signs, levers, and buttons seemed to indicate that the experiments were far from harmless.
Any sane individual would have left this unearthly setting in utmost haste, but the intrepid investigators decided to press on, perhaps with some aid from Jules' hip flask. They arranged themselves with Felix Jeremiah taking point, and then after height, so as to provide as much firepower as possible. This would indeed be needed, as a locked door further down into the complex seemed to contain the fruits of the unethical experiments. But what were they? Mere biological debris? Scientific castoffs? It could not be determined, but their aggressiveness and wailing clearly indicated that conversation wasn't an option.
The human detritus was intent on chasing down and utterly destroying the investigators, that was clear. A fierce melee followed, shots were fired, and sticks of dynamite were flung. The investigators finally managed to break free and flee for their lives in a running fight that took them all the way up to the surface while being pursued by a very loud and terrifying horde of what once had been men. An incendiary device was improvised and thrown down the shaft, while investigators desperately battled a few of the obscenities that had made it to the surface.
Shaft Z did seem to have been disabled in a flaming pyre, but was there any guarantee that the man-made horrors would remain in the strange tunnels around Pleasantville?
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