This time tunnel journey has been something. I remember being in the art-filled world of Midian, where each death was followed by an awakening to three knocks from Mortis, and now I find myself in Connecticut, in 1998, as Rebecca Owens. Wait, I know that by entering the time tunnel, I never know what or who I may become, where or when I may end up, or my objective, but a woman in the late 90s? Well, things could have turned up a lot worse, I guess. So I will embrace being Rebecca Ownes. If only I could figure out what I needed to do here, that would be fantastic. Well, Rebecca, do your best to talk with the woman across the table.
So the woman across from me is my grandmother, who doesn’t like that I am…I mean, Rebecca has taken a position at River Fields. I am not sure what that is, but at least it seems my grandmother is proud of me for working hard. But what’s wrong with River Fields? What bad things have you heard, Grandma? Why am I talking about death? And why am I receiving a review…tomorrow?
There was a strange feeling as I approached the River Fields Mortuary, as I felt something was wrong in the air. I am not sure if it was the simplistic wooden doors to the place, the sky with the violet setting, or the emptiness of the parking lot. But when you start hearing weird low-key piano music start to play, that doesn’t help the situation, I confirmed my feeling as soon I walked through the doors, and having that weird silent feeling where you can only hear your heart beating, didn’t make me feel any better. I guess Rebecca chose this field for a reason and I can see why it would freak most people out.
As I walked into the restroom, I noticed that the plumbing was finally fixed after we had a problem with it last week. I was glad to see that some of the supplies were filled. As I was trying to go back to see what I could help out with, there was a note from Zoey telling me to grab a pencil from her desk. Being the only woman here can sometimes add some extra stress, especially assisting in a morgue. As I opened the door and entered the hallway, I felt like some fresh air would be a good idea, so I decided to open all the windows. As soon as I entered the room, there was a dead body on the table and that is when my old teacher, Mr. Delver, called out my name and asked me to wheel the body back to cold storage and bring Mrs. Page. Nothing like wheeling a dead body back only to get another dead body as you are waiting to hear about your review.
It looks like I have to check out Mrs. Page and discover any injuries she may have from head to toe and write them down on my pad. notate it in the system and then prepare the body. Seems simple enough. Unless you look into their eyes, you can almost feel them calling out to you in a way that could make anyone pray like there is no tomorrow. Preparing the body takes some tools to make everything work correctly, but I just hope that whatever I am doing, does not affect Rebecca’s review as I feel that is part of why I am here, and the other part I am not sure about yet, but something seems off.
We all have that one friend that we talk to about anything. And for Rebecca, it seemed to be Megan. I hope whatever I say doesn’t startle Megan in any way. But as we were talking, another call came in from Mr. Delver, who, by or by Rebecca’s expression, seemed to close up any doubt I may have had. But he wants me to come in tonight. The rain was coming down as I pulled back into the parking lot of River Fields Morturay with the moon was shining brightly through the clouds, almost as if it were a warning.
I don’t know if I was so excited that I almost forgot to shut the car door, which would have been a fantastic ride home. As I entered those doors again and headed towards the back, the doors locked, almost trying to keep me inside. Since there was no way they could have locked it, it startled me and I thought about leaving. That was until the phone rang and it was Mr. Delver. Trying to explain that someone was outside, Mr. Delver continued, but something told me to go to the door, and I did not like what I saw. Mr. Delver told me he would unlock the doors in a minute. However, even though I was scared, I was told to calm down. How is this person going to calm down? He would call me again when I got to the embalming room. The embalming room is the last place I want to go.
He said he left some things for me on the desk. Two keys and a tape recorder. What are these keys for and why a tape recorder? As I entered the embalming room, the phone rang. It was Mr. Delver telling me that I don’t have to believe, but to save myself, I have to banish a demon. A what? I am starting to agree with Rebecca. I can’t do this. But I was told that I had to learn the demon’s name. First, I don’t even believe in demons, much less try to know their name. Then I have to bind it to its chosen body and then burn it in the retort. And how is this person going to say that they wish they could do more for me and not even be here? I know I wanted to have a good review, but burning a demon seems a little over the top seems to be a little more extreme than necessary. And now he has left me cassettes that have the instructions on what I need to do and you won’t be calling again? What is this? Am I some sort of sacrifice? Either way, I have to listen to the tapes, learn the demon’s name, and burn the correct body. Then you are going to apologize and say that you are sorry this had to happen. This is turning out to be some first day.
While making my way back to collect a body, I found myself uncertain about a potential conflict between Rebecca and me, as I had a feeling that she had already secured it from that spot. But as soon as it sat up, that’s when I saw it, the entrance to the time tunnel. I am not sure if it was the courage that Rebecca needed or whatever it was, but it seemed to work. But before I stepped through, I reflected on my experience here in Connecticut in 1998. Even though Connecticut seemed to be a little on the safe side compared to how it is now. Maybe this is an intentional event in a way to not focus more on everything, but to focus more on the situation at hand. And with that situation, the way the sounds from the recorded messages to hearing the doors open to even wheeling the bodies down, seemed to be, again, more of the focal point and if that is the case, then I can say job well done. And I guess what I learned is, that we may wish upon a star in hopes that our wishes will come true, but we have to remember, be careful what we wish for, or we may end up getting what we want in more ways than one.
- The Mortuary Assistant is out now for the Nintendo Switch on the Nintendo eShop, PC on Steam, PlayStation 4 & 5 on the PlayStation Store, and Xbox One & Xbox Series X/Series S on the Microsoft Store. A review code was provided.
- The Mortuary Assistant – The Definitive Edition includes new Haunt Events, an endless embalming-only mode, new bodies, additional lore, a new Valentine’s Day seasonal event in February, performance improvements, and more is available for the Nintendo Switch on the Nintendo eShop and PC on Steam.
- For more information about DarkStone Digital, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on X, follow them on Instagram, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
- For more information about DreadXP, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on X, join their Discord, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
Until our next journey through the time tunnel, remember that you are appreciated, happy gaming, and remember to game through time.
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[…] or who I’ll become But becoming Rebecca Owens and dealing with what had to be faced at the mortuary, was something else. Emerging from the tunnel, I found myself in a top-down 2-D world. The music […]