Messenger

Messenger takes place in 2005 in Vireohaven, Washington, USA. Over the past 2 years, there has been an intense rise in missing person's cases throughout the city. Many of these missing people have been those involved in the religious scene of the city, including some priests. Much of the young people of the city have not paid much attention to this news, or news in general. Jared Wheeler, a budding young musician-by-night, was one of the young individuals. Jared is the vocalist of a band named Devil's Tattoo, an experimental metal band that has started to gain popularity. The band formed in 1997, and has been steadily active in the local scene ever since. Recently, the group had been contacted by a music label interested in signing them. Finally, the band was gaining the recognition it needed for them to do music full-time— however, Jared didn't have confidence that this would go well.

Jared had trouble with accepting when good things happened to him, because they very rarely did. A turbulent childhood and history of mental illness had led him to believe that this potential label adoption would not turn out well for them. Brooding on this, Jared eventually got the idea to approach a local psychic. She was known as a quack by many other locals, but Jared chose to ignore it. When Jared approached her, she gave him advice on what to do; crystals, candles, all kinds of items that he would need to acquire. After getting all of this, though, Jared stumbled upon an article.

One became two, two became five. The common theme between all of those articles: Demonic Soul Contracts. Musicians, Actors, and other people requiring a level of fame being reported to sell their souls for the industry for higher profits. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, and Jared already had the materials to get started. That's exactly what he did; summoning that demon, he talked to them about what he wanted. The demon would be able to grant his wish, but Jared needed to agree to the contract.

Jared didn't read the fine print; of course not, nobody reads the terms and conditions. Agreeing to the contract, Jared immediately felt himself falling. He fell for what felt like hours into an alternate reality called the Distortion. Everything looked the same, but abandoned and dark. It was like there hadn't been signs of life for months, other than the strange plants growing everywhere. Except, there were some things that were associated with the living; sounds of voices, breathing, some music. But as Jared ventured further, he discovered that these were not people, they were entities.

Back in reality, the rest of Devil's Tattoo: Jamie Ramirez, Gus Vysotsky, Cody Lunis, and Tyler Scott, are all wondering what sparked this sudden change in Jared's demeanor. He'd always been a daredevil, but he didn't act as if the state of his body didn't matter to him. He almost looked paler, sicker, and much more tired, like he was working his body to the limit. This wasn't normal. After inspecting Jared's house and his computer, they discovered the articles, and seeing the state of his room, they could hypothesize what happened. Now, they were tasked with getting Jared back.