Carroll #105: The Jabberwock
rating: +27+x

RAISA FILE: Group of Interest [DEFUNCT]
GOI-001: Chicago Spirit

FILE CREATED: c. 1920
FILE LAST REVISED BY GOI: March 1930
FILE RECOVERED: August 1933
[TEXT REPRODUCED BELOW]1

Carroll 105: The Jabberwock

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Carroll #105 as Randall Murray. None of our pictures can show just how yellow the eyes on this thing are.

Where It Is

Wherever Chappell needs it to be. If you're supervising it, we'll meet with you and we'll make sure you know. If you aren't one of those guys, stop stressing about it. Stress can kill, you know.

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Marco and Luca Romano of the Colombo family. The Jabberwock was Marco here, but it's since taken Luca and a dozen others.

Who Knows About It

It's fundamental to us that only a few people know about this thing. If you're seeing this, you're either keeping tabs on it, looking for its lair, one of the big guys that run this whole business, or one of their bodyguards.

If you snitch, not only will we know, but so will the Carroll. And this thing can perform a few disappearing acts that leave no traces.

How We Found It

It's more fitting to say this thing found us.

We were transporting another Carroll we had found back to a warehouse of ours when it revealed itself. One of our men was acting like he did every other day, when he suddenly turned into some monster and started ripping through our men, before taking the case the Carroll was in and flying off. We tried tailing it, but it disappeared into some woods past the city.

Cut forward to a month later. We get a call from some of our men, saying that they managed to corner something they believed was the creature from before. It attacked at night, disguised as one of them, but one of our men was wearing a cross necklace and the creature's skin started to burn away when it touched the cross. From there he pushed it into a church, slammed the door behind it, and called for us. He said it was scratching and screaming like hell, but the door still held.

Chappell, Sawteeth, and the rest of his confidants headed to the church, where they managed to strike a deal with the Carroll.

What We Use It For

We don't know as much as we would like to know about this thing, but we knew enough to see its potential and make a deal with it.

The Jabberwock isn't human. It won't tell us what it is, where it's from, what its name is, or where it keeps disappearing. We're sure it's some sorta demon, but we're not sure if its from any one religion. Any sorta religious imagery or magical weapon seems to actually hurt it. It can heal from normal wounds almost instantly, but anything holy, unholy, and magic seems to stick with it and burn away its disguise.

From what we've seen, wounds left by magic or religious stuff reveal large, starved-looking purple flesh that replaces whatever was there before. Its fingers become claws, and its head becomes covered in a skull-like bone with horns. We know that underneath the camouflage, it also has some sort of tail and wings, but we've never had a good long look at any of this because the Jabberwock tends to flee in states like this.

The Jabberwock preys on humans and human-like creatures, gaining their trust and affection before butchering them. It's incredibly sadistic, actively relishing in causing pain or killing. It seems to know a bit of necromancy, it can charm anyone who talks with it, and it's far stronger than anything it can take the form of.

It has killed many people, but it only takes the forms of those it eats the heart of and drags to that forest. It can transform into a copy of something in a matter of minutes, perfect aside from its gleaming yellow eyes. It keeps their memories, abilities, clothes, and more, meaning its the perfect spy, assassin, and fighter.

With our deal in place, we're making sure it has a steady stream of people to feed on, and we have people to make sure no one gets close to killing it.

In return, it goes undercover for the spirit. Cops start feeling unsatisfied with their hush money? The Jabberwock will be there to make sure they stay down. Competition is getting too successful? The Jabberwock will move through their leadership like a plague. Double crossers, anomalous religious orders and tech companies, even the foundation, none of them will be ready for the Jabberwock. It's a shame we only know the one Jabberwock, to be frank. An army of super spies like this would've won us a monopoly.

We have other spies to keep an eye on the Jabberwock to make sure it doesn't betray us or get hurt, but aside from the supervision, we leave it to its own devices because we can tell this thing likes doing what it does.

Everyone who knows about this thing must get their bullets blessed or cursed or in some way enchanted. In most cases, we'll have them enchanted by an unholy priest, but as long as it can hurt the Jabberwock, it doesn't matter. This thing is willing and able to work with us, but we don't trust that it'll decide to stay loyal, so we gotta make sure we have that failsafe.

We've managed to record the names of hundreds of forms it takes, and we've done our best to describe the forms it takes that aren't human. Some of you are also tasked with following this thing back to its lair. Make sure it doesn't find you, or else this whole operation might be done. There's a lot of risk when it comes to this, but anything we can use to control this thing is reward enough.

Dear Mr. Chappell,

I'm very happy to announce that I have decimated the Purple Gang outpost I have been monitoring. Although the gang as a whole is far from gone, this was their greatest stache of anomalies, and now they won't be able to hold a candle to yours.

I'd love to stay and chat, but I have three new bodies that I would like to get into, so I'm afraid I'll have to grab those and take my leave.

Don't worry, I'll be back in Chicago by tomorrow and you can do whatever you wanna do. I'm sure your boys are on your way already, so let me know if you find anything interesting.

Enjoy,

"The Jabberwock"

Hey Chappell,

I've found something funny while searching through this Purple Gang place. I'm sure the Jabberwock already looked through all the Carrolls before leaving, so I don't think it knows. While checking out and packing up all the Carrolls, we found a hidden safe. We blew the thing open, and we found one of those magical metal things that the Jabberwock stole from us a while ago. I don't think the Jabberwock is the type of creature that would donate, so this has to mean there are a bunch of these things. What do you want me to do with it?

- Monty Smith.

From The Desk of Richard Chappell

Monty,

If no one saw, hide it and keep that to yourself. If people did see, gimme their names, hide the Carroll, and I'll take it from there. But the Jabberwock cannot find that hunk of metal. It can't even know about it. Once you come back, meet me in my office. Don't keep me waiting.

Chappell,

Momper and I are getting close to wherever the Jabberwock goes in the forest. Every time it comes back, we get a bit more precise, and I think we're close.

We're approaching an area where the plants start to die, animals run, and there's always a bit of fog. Every now and then we find drawings scratched into a tree or rock or dirt, drawings of giants and eyes, and wings and horns.

We left our own markings on certain trees so we can find our way back and forth. We'll come back to restock supplies, but once we're back in the forest, this monster will be under your thumb.

- Aria Gassman.

Dear Mr. Chappell,

I'd just thought you'd like to know that I know what you're doing. I've seen those men of yours in the forest, following my trail, leaving their little marks on the trees in my territory.

You and I are both secretive creatures, Chappell. We've got a good deal going, and I expect that you uphold your end of the bargain like I have mine.

Tell your men to get away from my territory, and we can go on like nothing happened. I want to trust the Spirit, Chappell. Give me a reason to.

I'm sure you'd love to know what I am, but for now, I'm

"The Jabberwock"

From The Desk of Richard Chappell

Jabberwock,

Know your place. You are a Carroll, albeit a Carroll who's enough of a nuisance that we have to tiptoe around you and monitor you to make sure you don't betray us or act like a dumbass.

You want to feed on people, we want a good spy, and none of us want to get hurt. That's the deal. If we want information, that's what we'll get, and we're not gonna stop because you start whining. And don't think your mind control will work on me. Like you said yourself, we both have secrets.

I don't care what you want. This is my world, and you're working for me. Stop telling me what to do, shut the hell up, and do your fucking job.

Chappell,

It knows we're after it. I was following our path of marked trees. The first few were fine, but as I kept going, I realised that all the trees nearby had been scratched and carved by something sharp, and all of our markings were gone.

I tried going off my memory, and kept going. The trees stayed like that for a while, until I came upon a clearing. All the plants and trees were dead or gone. No animals ran by. The dirt looked grey, and the only tree that stood in the clearing was barren, made from spiky, black, dead branches.

A normal tree was laying at my feet, right at the edge. It had been completely uprooted, ripped from the ground in one piece. I pushed it out of the way, when I realised that one of my markings was on the other side.

I looked back up to the center of the clearing, and I saw some sorta cave by the tree. It was just a black pit with a stone path, going down into the ground. I got a bit closer, but I looked back inside and saw those yellow eyes staring back at me.

I don't know how I'm still alive after it saw me, but I hightailed it outta there. It knows we're looking for it, and it's angry. I can't find Momper anywhere. What do we do now?

- Aria Gassman.

Monty,

I found the Jabberwock's hideout in the forest, but I'm sure it's still somewhere nearby. It hasn't returned to the Spirit since the Purple Gang raid. Whatever it's guarding, it has to be something big. Meet Momper and me by the edge of the woods, and we'll find whatever it's hiding.

- Aria Gassman.

UPDATE: The Jabberwock isn't ours anymore. It ran off to its forest after it massacred a Purple Gang hideout, and hadn't been seen since. It killed Edgar and Aria after catching them in the forest, before luring back the men who were supposed to watch it. One of 'em, Monty Smith, knew about a Carroll that he gave to Chappell to keep away from the Jabberwock. Once the Jabberwock ate his heart, it learned of the Carroll through his memories and began making its way towards Chappell's place.

It wasn't quiet, but it didn't need to be. It broke into the place, ripping guys apart with its bare hands. When people started shooting, it reanimated the dead and started returning fire. It ran throughout the building leaving corpses, wraiths, and zombies in its wake, before finding itself up against Chappell.

Chappell won't say much about what happened afterwards, but I've attached what he has said below.

From The Desk of Richard Chappell

The thing came into my office alone. I think it was wearing a mismatch of different victims, because its left arm was scaly and blue, its human parts were in patches from multiple people, and it had a tail.

I started firing at it with my tommy gun, but the piece of shit kept dodging or blocking the bullets. It ran at me when I was out, and lifted me by the throat with one arm. Thinking on my feet, I took that magical hunk of metal out of my pocket, shaped it into a dagger, and stabbed it into the Jabberwock's arm.

It let go and began shrieking, shrieking like something not animal and not human, yet so close. I didn't give the treasonous bastard a chance to breathe and I rammed the blade straight into its skull.

Its skin began burning off, outwards from its head, showing me the real creature underneath. I won't say much aside from the fact that it was an ugly piece of shit.

It smacked me, pushing me into my desk and throwing the shard out of a window to the ground below. I grabbed a pistol from my desk while it was distracted by the ingot and shot it in the back. It ran to the window, leapt through, and flew off. The silver shard was gone too.

UPDATE: We've got rid of the undead since the attack, but the Jabberwock, the metal, and the lair have since vanished. Seven of our guys are left unaccounted for. Whether they're dead, undead, charmed, defecting, or a disguise for the Jabberwock, they're being added to the list.

The thing is still too much of a threat for everyone to know everything about it. Our men now have access to updated lists of all the skins it wears. Tell them to wear their crosses or stars of david or whatever damn symbol makes them feel right, and tell them to put a blessed bullet between those subhuman yellow eyes. Tell them that, and nothing else.

This traitor must die. Remember, the Spirit doesn't fear demons. Demons fear the Spirit.

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