Amelio Carlisi

Amelio was born and raised in Connecticut where the majority of the family’s factories were, watching as each of his older brothers were sent to oversee factories in the midwest as they grew up. He attended a private school and was popular amongst students, though he never made close friends with his peers.

Amelio was an unruly son who often disagreed with his parents over the lifestyle they’d chosen for him: following his brothers west to manage the growth of the company. When the time came, Amelio was sent to Syracuse, Kansas, to shadow his eldest brother. Instead of cooperating, Amelio chose to spend his nights getting friendly with the locals, charming them with his Brough Superior (bought with his father’s money, of course) and entertaining them with mostly made-up stories about life in the “Big City”.

One such local was Francine Romanovska, an impoverished farm girl caring for her mentally ill father. She was sheltered, but Amelio was quickly taken by her sweet personality and adventurous outlook on life. The two began a fling that stirred up quite a bit of gossip amongst the small town. Amelio was excited by the prospect of having someone he could take care of, not knowing just how far over his head he was getting.

Later that year, Francine’s mother was accidentally shot by a young hunter’s stray bullet. She survived but was left in a vegetative state, her mind lost somewhere between life and death. The young hunter’s family paid the Romanovskas handsomely so charges would not be pressed, but Fran was left to care for both of her parents as well as the farm. Amelio did his best to support Francine during this time, but began to have the suspicion that something on the farm was amiss.

It should be noted that the gun used to incapacitate Francine’s mother was a Carlisi rifle.

Instead of feeling fulfilled by having a family, Amelio found himself feeling disgusted. The farm was falling into disrepair since Fran could not manage chores, caring for her parents, and caring for a child. He tried to help, but he wasn’t used to farm work, and the kind of work needed to keep Fran’s mother alive was vile. Most of all, Amelio could not bring himself to love Rose, who cried constantly and did not want to be held by anyone but Fran.

The final straw was when Amelio uncovered two malnourished, abused, full-grown lions chained up in the Romanovskas’ basement, a product of Fran’s father’s mental illness. Fran turned wild and desperate, clearly suffering some sort of psychological breakdown. Late at night, Amelio left the hellish farm behind, leaving Fran with some cash and a rifle to put the lions out of their misery. He left for Connecticut, ready to admit to his parents that they were right.

After being publicly humiliated by his parents and brothers, Amelio attempted to put in the work to manage his (reduced) sector of the company. He found it increasingly difficult. One day, he was approached by a mysterious figure who offered Amelio a way to live the life he’d always wanted while ensuring that the company would thrive without effort. Entranced by the mysterious woman, Amelio accepted and was given instructions to conjure a spirit who could assist him with his efforts.

Though Amelio did not believe in spirits, he was willing to entertain the idea to spend more time in the woman’s company. He was met with surprise when a creature shrouded in black fur and an emotionless Venetian mask crawled out from beneath the floorboards of his hotel room, whispering in a thousand voices about how perfect the deal would be for Amelio. It smelled of hot sulfur and walked on cloven hooves, but Amelio did not register it as the Devil.

Coerced by the woman, Amelio signed away his soul to the creature. He woke up the next morning to his workers informing him that production and sales were both through the roof, and that his parents were incredibly pleased with him. He outsold both of his brothers within a month, and realized what the creature had promised became true. Amelio left for a long-term vacation the next day, ready to explore the eastern Hemisphere with the help of a few loyal employees.

Having pushed Francine from the corner of his mind, it was surprising when he began to see her now-deceased and rotting parents everywhere he went. He couldn’t bring himself to believe his own eyes until more and more corpses started to follow him. No matter where Amelio fled - France, England, China, South Africa, literally an outrageous number of places - there was always a corpse with a piercing bullet wound trailing close behind.

Paranoid, Amelio attempted to conjure the creature again to discuss their deal, but he was left alone. Not even the smell of sulfur lingered anymore. Though he is becoming aware that there's nowhere to run, Amelio has resolved to travel the world looking for someone who can save him. But time is running out, and the corpses are only getting faster.