Table of Contents

• Home
• Introduction
• Where Goths Come From - Neef
• The Watcher - Hobbes
• The Resurrection Shuffle - Barbarella
• Cassandra - Cosey Mo
• Drunken Old Bastard - Sandro
• Alcohol - Trayce
• Shadows - Entrippy
• Entropy - Kage-Ryu
• Is There A Point - Trajik
• Whispers - Kitsune
• Confessional - Sandro
• Garden - Entrippy
• Radio - Cam
• Cold Spell - Nikolai
• Slices - Neef
• A Bottle of Something Strong - Jraff
• The Light Fades - Tim
• Rain - Tim
• Self Help - Gothic Gallae
• Cato - Trajik
• Addiction/Fragment - Trayce
• Heal Thyself - Nikolai
• Shattered - Hobbes
• Travelling Song - Solitaire
• Distance - Stranger
• Legacy - Stranger

Self Help

"Harry" I said in acknowledgment. Dave came into the room a minute later. He was big, bigger than Eddy, and hairier. He was also wearing a style of clothes that I'd thought had gone out with the 70's.

"Hello everyone! Aha!" he said, seeing me next to Eddy. "You must be new. Afraid to change I bet, waiting to see what it's like. My name's David anyway, Dave for short, nice to meet you." Dave made an even bigger grin than Eddy had.

I couldn't help but warm to Dave, despite his bluster and overbearing good cheer.

"How many you expecting tonight?" Dave asked.

"Don't know, there's two in the Change room. They should be about through by now." said Eddy. As if on cue, the door to the room at the end opened. Another large, hairy man lumbered into the room. I thought I could see someone or something else, but the outside door opened and banged shut before I could make out the details. With this, a blood curdling scream came from the direction of the playground.

"My friend's a purist" said the newcomer. Dave and Eddy exchanged knowing smiles. I must have looked puzzled, because Eddy said "It's OK, there's no one at the school, the other side's an office and no one can see from the road." There was the sound of another howl.

I got up and went outside. The playground was badly lit, and it took some time for my eyes to adjust. Someone was moving about in a noisy fashion. Then I saw him. He was naked, but also covered in coarse hair from heat to foot. As he came closer I could see dirty long fingernails and what appeared to be fangs. He was growling and throwing bits of wood and shrubs about.

He caught sight of me and made a direct line to where I stood. Then he was growling and making a grimace at me, barely a metre away. Rather than shrink away in terror, I felt new sensations arise in me. Not anger, not bravado, but I wanted to respond in kind! I broke out in a sweat but stood my ground. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two cars coming up the driveway. But I daren't divert my attention from this, this madman in front of me. I could make out his face quite clearly in front of me. It seemed somehow different from a human face, though I could see that too. The nose was large and shaped differently. I noticed this and a hundred more details, and I was mesmerised by it all.

I don't know how long we stood there, grimacing and growling at each other. It could have been hours or seconds. Then I felt a thick hand touch me on the shoulder and Dave's voice say "There, it's alright, you'll get your turn. Just go inside and have a cup of tea." I pulled back slowly, and did as he said. As I moved away I heard him talking to the wildman. "Now come on. It's Gerald isn't it? It's OK..."

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