The Infernal Furnace

 is one of the locations within Lorwich, Virginia, the principle location where Alone in the Dark: Illumination takes place.

Author Text
The growing tremors and random cave-ins were as disconcerting to Carnby as what he had just seen in the catacombs. This wasn't an unstable mine collapsing under it's own weight. These quakes were not of natural origin. Some...thing was close by. Something huge. Something ancient. Something that should have stayed buried.

He had drained the pump room and bought himself some more time, though to what end? He was at what appeared to be another dead end. It seemed again like there was nowhere to go. he sat down, closed his eyes and attempted to quiet his mind. It was a technique he had been taught long ago. His teacher had told him he had special gifts. He could hear destiny. He just need to shut out the world and listen.

Carnby's thoughts turned to the Old Ones. The tales of them dated back to the dawn of mortal civilization. Myths of unthinkable leviathanic beings, for all intends and purposes outer-dimensional Gods, they roamed the earth billions of years before man had even begun to evolve. To them, this was their world first. Now, legend said, they slept, some outside of our reality, some hidden away in remote, inaccessible areas of our planet, waiting for the day they would eventually awaken and reclaim was was rightfully theirs. For humanity it would mean the end of days. It was nothing personal. The Old Ones view humanity as a person does a flea.

Carnby knew first hand these legends were not merely myths. Not all of them. A lifetime of paranormal encounters had seen to that. Upon further reflection Carnby realized that many of the creatures he had just faced glowed with something eerily familiar. Years ago Carnby (among others) had faced an Atlach-Nacha; it had the body of an arachnid but with the eyes of his fellow man. That day ended in triumph, but not without cost. One of his proteges died. Another went insane. None were left unscathed. These shadow-vermin were different, less-powerful, but like the Atlach-Nacha, there was a hint of something once human inside some of them.

Carnby opened his eyes and pulled out his pocket watch, a gift from a friend long ago. As he caught his reflection in the glassy face of the timepiece he noticed something impossible behind him. A bird? A raven! It stared at Carnby for what seemed like an eternity, then squawked and flapped away. Carnby leapt to his feet and followed.

If it knew the way in, it knew the way out.

- The Author