Laura saw the hesitation in Rosemary’s features and quickly dropped her gaze, berating herself for even asking the question in the first place. It was obvious now that the other woman was more disturbed by the bodies than she had originally thought. “Thank you,” Laura said softly, even though those words didn’t feel like enough to fully express her gratitude. “Maybe you could turn around just before we get there so you don’t have to see it again?” Laura suggested as she readjusted her backpack on her shoulders. She began to walk towards to the excavation site, her steps more hesitant and slower than usual, dreading having to go back to where the bodies were.
rosemary took a deep breath, and subconsciously placed a hand on her chest to steady herself. “no, it’s fine. we need to investigate what’s happening here. justice must occur.” she straightened up, following the younger woman back towards the grave (although she hesitated to call it that. the word grave implied a certain amount of respect, something that was in no way relevant to this catastrophe). she was slightly unnerved by how transparent she had been in front of laura - she didn’t know the girl that well, after all. but there was something strangely comforting about her soft tone and lack of overt sympathy that rosemary found herself soothed by. she stayed close behind her, wanting to focus on anything but her own thoughts. she settles on staring at her feet, noticing the way they moved the gravel of the path.
Laura chewed on her lower lip for a moment forcing herself to hold her tongue. She felt guilty now for pushing the issue and quickly tried to think of something else to say. “You’re probably right, I just want to get it over with quickly though so I can try and not to think about it ever again.” She paused for a moment choosing her next words carefully “I was wondering if you’d come back there with me? I know it made you upset but I really don’t want to go there alone. I could ask someone else if you want though.”
rosemary felt her breath catch at laura’s suggestion. no, she had no inclination whatsoever to go back, and see the piles of mangled bodies being excavated. if it had been anyone else asking, she would have refused point blank, but something about laura’s tone made her reconsider. really, it was no place for someone as young as her. “oh, um -” she took a deep breath, biting back the tears that had sprung up in her eyes again - she had to get a hold on her emotions. this case had really hit close to home, and she was feeling more vulnerable than she ever had in front of the team. “i - yes. okay.” she snuffed out her cigarette and straightened up, pulling her coat tighter around her body. “let’s go before i change my mind.”
“ having that attitude at least it better than getting your hopes up. i’ve learnt not to do that anything. just leads to disappointment at times. ” sighing she inhaled her cigarette not even wanting the thoughts and memories that have caused her to think that way. instead she focused on the answer to her question wanting to know her opinion. katherine didn’t know too much about the other woman, but she was a little surprised that she wasn’t religious in anyway. she kind of just assumed people who believed in demons etc were. though katherine hadn’t made her mind up about how she felt about the ‘demon’ subject. “ right. they are more powerful and malevolent. obviously not something you want to run into. ” at her question back to katherine about why she asked katherine shrugged up her shoulders. “ i was…uh…just curious is all. ” she took a big drag of her cigarette, this wasn’t really the best time to go talking about everything that katherine herself has and still is experiencing; even though rosemary would probably be a good and knowledgeable person to discuss it with.
rosemary could sense the other woman’s surprise, although at what part of what she had said, she couldn’t say. she reasoned with herself - it wasn’t a pleasant topic for discussion, she couldn’t exactly expect katherine to be thrilled by the knowledge she had imparted. “no. ‘running into’ them is certainly not on my bucketlist. but looks like we may have no choice - this isn’t looking like an easy case.” rosemary knew the other woman was hiding something, there was certainly more than just curiosity in her question, but she didn’t have the desire or the energy to push it any further. “right.” she mirrored katherine’s action, inhaling deeply from her cigarette. feeling the smoke curl down in her lungs had always been comforting for some reason, and this time was no exception, and rosemary felt some of the tension loosening in her shoulders. “if you’re sure? we should probably get back.” she wasn’t thrilled at the idea - in fact, she had no desire whatsoever to revisit the site, but she knew she had little choice in the matter when there was such a dangerous case going on. She threw her cigarette onto the path, grinding it down with the heel of her boot.
Laura noticed Rosemary’s hands shaking and a look of concern quickly passed over her features. She knew that this was hard for all of them but she pushed aside her own feelings for a moment and tried to focus on someone else’s. “Are you sure?” she asked softly. Laura knew she was pushing her, but the last thing wanted was for Rosemary to suffer alone and not have anyone to talk to. “Yep,” she said with a nod, injecting a false sense of composure into her tone. “I’m scared if I don’t get footage soon all the evidence will ‘mysteriously’ disappear.” Laura didn’t trust that the people who went to this church wouldn’t try and hide the bodies before she had a chance to get there and film it for herself.
rosemary knew the girl meant well, so bit her tongue before she snapped her response back. she took another deep drag on her cigarette to mellow herself before speaking. “yes,” she replied simply. she looked up at laura’s next words. “i wouldn’t worry about that, it won’t. there’s too many witnesses. but it’s still a good idea to document it in the state it was found.”
After the bodies had been discovered, Laura had instantly run from the area feeling sick. The only other dead body she had seen was high school biology class when they watched an autopsy being performed, and even then she had to turn around so she couldn’t see. Now, she stood in the snow outside the church, leaning over and breathing in the fresh air. Her stomach settled down and Laura managed to stand up straighter. After a few more minutes, she convinced herself that someone had to go back in there and get some video footage of the scene and that could only be her.
She walked back the way she came, her boots crunching on the gravel. Once she was a couple of metres away she took a deep breath in, trying to calm the nerves swirling around in her stomach. Laura saw Rosemary nearby and moved towards her, glad that at least someone else was here and she would have to film this alone. “mhm” she managed to mutter clutching her camera against her like it was a shield “Just a little shaken up, are you okay?”
rosemary took a shaky breath, before nodding. “yes, i’m alright.” she couldn’t stop the shaking in her hand though, as she lifted it to take a drag from her cigarette. “are you going back? i suppose we might need some footage.” she indicated the camera clutched in front of laura’s chest. she felt the rage boiling in her chest again, and squashed it down. this was an absolute fucking disgrace, and rosemary bemoaned the fact they had to respect the church and the staff while they were here, when they were more interested in preserving their own reputation. she reached the end of cigarette, and ground it into the path with the heel of her boot, lighting up another immediately.
she had to agree with what rosemary was saying, she was the expert in this type of field anyway so she trusted her in most of what she said; now and in the past. a shiver went up her spine of even the word ‘demon’ or maybe it was the cold either way she couldn’t help to feel a knot inside of her whenever the subject of demons were brought up. she wasn’t religious in anyway, but even she believed that there were somethings much worse than just ghosts alone. the thing that was haunting her most of her life she couldn’t tell if it were a ghost or some other type of entity. part of her didn’t want to know. she had to push the thoughts out of her head, but it was difficult at times. “ ‘fucked’. i am loving your attitude on this. even if i believe it to be true as well. ” katherine bit down on her lip for a moment wanting to ask the expert something that related to her experiences with her dark shadowed friend, but she wasn’t sure…oh fuck it. “ rosemary…do you believe demons are those from say the bible or do you think they are some sort of…i don’t worse type of spirit not related to religion at all. ” she took another deep drag of her cigarette waiting for some sort of answer if she even did.
“it’s the only attitude to have when things look like this.” rosemary took a long drag on her cigarette, and exhaled slowly before answering the other woman’s question. “i don’t believe in god. i’m not religious.” she bit her lip between her teeth, thinking about her words carefully. “it’s hard to say. i know how to detect them, how to exorcise them, but i don’t know where they come from. i think they are more than spirits - more corporeal. but different. physically, they can produce worse effects in this realm, but i wouldn’t say they are necessarily ‘worse’.” she took another deep drag, letting the smoke curl in the frosty air. “why do you ask?”
“ just cold? sure. ” she could obviously tell that wasn’t all that was clearly bothering her, but katherine didn’t want to pry into whatever reasons were bothering rosemary. being honest she couldn’t be bothered to have the back and forth of katherine asking and the other saying she was ‘fine’ or ‘cold’. she nodded at the statement bringing her cigarette up, but replying before taking another much needed drag. “ it is. if it were me i would be pissed right off and i wouldn’t hold back. ” she shook her head at the situation they were currently dealing with. “ besides it is just gonna get worse and even though i hate church i guess we gotta stop it before it gets too bad. ” katherine shrugged up her shoulders. “ i don’t think some of them will go too peacefully though. ”
“yes, i am sure.” to her absolute frustration, rosemary felt her voice crack on the last word, as tears pooled in her eyes. she looked to the sky, praying the other woman was focused on her smoking as she blinked furiously to keep them behind her eyelids. she blew out through her lips, trying to calm herself down. “it seems to me there’s more than just straightforward spirits here. let’s pray there’s not a full demon infestation. if there is, coupled with the angry ghosts who’s energies have been trapped for so long we are, to put it mildly, fucked.” rosemary felt as though the church deserved all of this for what they had done. if it was up to her, she would let the spirits tear the god-forsaken building to the ground. but it wasn’t up to her, and she knew they had to uphold their reputation. she just wanted it over with as quickly as possible. she took another drag on her cigarette, absent-mindedly fiddling with the lapel of her coat.
The discovery of the mass grave had shaken the team to their core, each member holding back silent traumas brought on by it. Thea was a self taught expert in switching herself off to pain or anguish. Some might have judged her cold for not batting an eyelid to the news, yet those close may have noted a distinguished lack or colour to her typically humorous tone.
Crunching loudly on her apple the brunette stood, staring blankly at the team exhuming the bodies. It was mesmerising, and she couldn’t help but allow her mind wander in morbid fascination. As a teenager, Thea excelled in science, human biology being her strongest suit. She had intended on becoming a pathologist, gaining her grades with each test the school threw at her. Then came the December of 1978, and suddenly her interest in the physical side of death slipped through her fingers like sand. Suddenly it all came rushing back, that nausea, the blinding headache ringing in her ears. Thea’s apple fell to the floor with a thud, tears welling up in her eyes. Next thing she knew Thea was running, as far and fast as her Doc Martins would allow. Collapsing against the nearest wall that offered cover she exhaled deeply, suddenly missing the anti anxiety pills she hadn’t needed in over five years.
The voice startled her to say the least. Thea sniffed, inhaling every broken emotion that had attacked her. “Good.” She said, back facing Rosemary. She breathed again before finally facing her friend. “Well, good given the circumstances.”
despite her own state, rosemary felt a pang of sympathy for the other woman. “are you sure? you don’t look good... no offence” she fished into her pocket and brought out her packet of cigarettes, offering them to thea, at the same time replacing the burnt out stub between her own lips. there were only two left in the packet, which had been fresh this morning. either someone had helped themselves, or rosemary had been getting through them at a much quicker rate than usual. she felt she had some sort of excuse, childhood trauma and all that, which she still couldn’t ignore. the outstretched hand still shook visibly, and her temples still pounded. at least her breathing had returned to normal before she had been joined.
the news that everyone had just received wasn’t exactly what they wanted to hear, but at the same time it started to make everything that had been happening start to make sense. if she had been buried along with over 200 other people who were just left unidentified and forgotten then hell she would be pissed as hell too. she almost didn’t blame the entities for what they were causing, but she knew it couldn’t carry on as it is and it was likely to get worse. a cigarette break was definitely calling katherine right now as she made her way out to a good spot for one. she barely even noticed anyone else was around til she turned the corner and saw rosemary leaning up against the wall. even katherine could tell something was wrong with her as she walked closer it became more apparent. “ everything okay with me? is everything okay with you? ” katherine brought the cigarette to her mouth, lit it and took a deep drag blowing out the smoke before talking again. “ you look like you’re about to pass out. ”
rosemary couldn’t stop herself rolling her eyes slightly, even as her hands shook when she raised them to take another drag on her cigarette. “i’m fine. it’s just cold.” she wrapped her coat tighter around her body, then shook herself slightly before turning to face the other woman. “no wonder they’re mad. it’s a fucking disgrace.” when she heard her teeth grinding slightly, she noticed she was clenching her knees and jaw, something she only did when she was really stressed, and forced herself to relax them. she raised the cigarette to her lips again, slowly inhaling.
rosemary felt sick to the pit of her stomach. the discovery of a mass grave - over two hundred bodies. all unidentifiable and unmarked. with a shaking hand, she made notes in her case file; ‘over 200 bodies. unidentified. angered spirits - destruction, spectral voices, threatening behaviour’. she would like to pretend it hadn’t affected her, but the discovery of so many disgraced individuals hit too close to home - her father had been buried a criminal. now, she had reason to believe he was possessed. then, she simply believed she hadn’t known him at all.
she leant back against the cold exterior wall for support, and lit a cigarette, her other hand pressed to her chest as though it would provide some comfort. the cigarette was good, it helped steady her breathing. she let her eyes flutter shut, before she heard footsteps approaching on the gravelled path and quickly snapped them open. “everything okay?” she heard herself say.
[sarah paulson | female | she/her] Every time [rosemary bosch] walks into a room, I get a little shiver down my spine,is that weird? The [thirty five] year old is [bisexual] and the [demonologist] of GPRS. What reminds me of [her] is [battered books full of post it notes, layered necklaces constantly twisted around pale fingers, spilt bottles of ink. contrast - flowery dresses and leather boots, snow falling outside with a crackling fire.]
Rosemary grew up in the most wonderful household you can imagine - her parents loved each other deeply, their house was large and spacious but incredibly homely at the same time. They lived in a small New England town, where her mother owned a small bookshop, and her father taught history at the local college, and was well renowned in his field for his numerous published essays.
Rosemary excelled at school in many subjects, particularly philosophy and history. Part of this was due to her father’s influence, but also because she yearned to understand the world through as many lenses as possible. She was well liked at school, mainly down to the fact she was endlessly kind and helpful. She was the kind of girl you would go to when you needed a shoulder to cry on.
Despite all of this, she had always felt slightly out of place, like she understood things on a different level to others. She had always felt the ability to connect with what she learned later in life was the realm of demons and spirits - she often caught flashes of emotions that weren’t hers, and nightmares plagued her right into adulthood.
When she was seventeen, Rosemary was on a school trip to New York, revelling in the lights of the big city. However, when she returned her life had changed forever. In the two week that she had been gone, her father had murdered her mother, then died of a supposed heart attack - too much stress to his system, from unknown causes. But for the first time in her life, Rosemary knew for a fact there was more at play than met the eye.
She lost that sense of warmth within her, and learnt to build walls around her heart to ignore the cruelty she endured from other teenagers. She lived with her aunt in her hometown until she was 18, then she moved to England to attend Oxford University. Here, her abilities got stronger and more difficult to ignore due to the immense history of the place, and she began to research into her predicament.
After her graduation, Rosemary started work at the largest library in Oxford, and continued her studies. Here, she came across articles and testimonies for the Glasgow Paranormal Research Society, and at the age of twenty-seven, she uprooted the life she had built for herself and moved to Scotland.
Within the team, she is among the most reserved with both her emotions and her past, and no one really understands. She has an incredibly strong sensitivity to demon activities, and she has never predicted incorrectly. She is also meticulous in her research, and invaluable for this reason as she can always be relied upon to have kept detailed files on whatever may be needed.
She feels the constant need to prove herself, but attempts to hide this, and thus can come across as rather cold and detached. Every so often, you will catch a flash of terror, anger, or sadness behind her eyes, but it will be gone so quickly you will doubt yourself.
