The Mud Man: Franz Rock Terror

Chapter One

1.

Poem posted on PinCloudz, Nov. 4, 2037, Author anonymous.

Poor Old George Ottomeyer

Consumed by ice, consumed by fire

He built a man

With his own two hands

Out of spit and mud and wire

The Mud Man came to life and was mad as hell

It killed ten people down in Pottsville

Bashed their heads right in

Torn them limb from limb

Then disappeared as darkness fell

He was seen nevermore

But what’s that pounding on your door?

Fists of rock, head of stone

The Mud Man’s found you all alone

2.

From the Herald News.com, October 2, 2016.

Miracle Mason Survives Scaffolding Collapse

Emerges Unharmed From Beneath Ton Of Bricks

By Mary Wallace—Herald Staff

A construction worker is lucky to be alive today after a scaffolding collapse in downtown Paterson left him trapped beneath a pile of metal and bricks for several hours.

Bricklayer George Ottomeyer, 61 of Franz Rock, was buried under approximately 2,000 lbs. of bricks when scaffolding at a Washington Avenue construction site collapsed shortly before 9 a.m. this morning. Ottomeyer, who was wearing a hardhat and protective vest, sustained only superficial injures, despite standing directly beneath the collapse. Construction workers and EMTs worked for two hours to remove Ottomeyer from the rubble.

Ottomeyer, a member of the Mason and Bricklayer Union, was treated on the scene before being transported to Franz Rock Memorial Hospital. A hospital spokesman said Ottomeyer was treated and released by doctors at Franz Rock Memorial. Calls made to the Ottomeyer residence in Franz Rock were not returned.

OSHA is investigating the collapse.

3.

From the blog, Franz Rock Monster: Rural Legend or Real-Life Nightmare, last updated: September 4, 2018, 01:17 pm EST.

According to legend, a spirit—either angelic or demonic, depending on whom you ask—communicated with George Ottomeyer when he was trapped beneath the pile of bricks. It told George how to reanimate cremated remains using his masonry and sculpting skills. (Ottomeyer was a prize-winning sculptor when he was a student at Sussex County Community College.)

4.

Transcription of interview with George Ottomeyer by Detective Walter Lewis, Franz Rock Police Department, November 14, 2016.

The bricks looked like rose petals as they fell. I heard the scaffolding snap above me. I looked up and saw the bricks. The sun made them glow red, and I thought, ‘They look like rose petals.’ It was kind of pretty.

5.

Excerpt from the script for MAN OF STONE, Lifetime Original Movie, written by Martha Rhymes, directed by Arthur Dalage, airdate: September 14, 2023.

INTERIOR. BENEATH A PILE OF BRICKS. DAY.

C/U on GEORGE trapped beneath the bricks. He’s unable to move. He is disoriented but not seriously injured. A BEAM OF LIGHT shines down on GEORGE’s face.

ANDROGYNOUS VOICE

George! George listen!

GEORGE

Larry? Who is that? Help me. I’m trapped. I’m hurt.

ANDROGYNOUS VOICE

The rescuers are coming, George. They’re digging by hand but they’ll be here soon.

GEORGE

Who are you?

ANDROGYNOUS VOICE

Angels, George. We’re your guardian angels.

GEORGE

You aren’t doing a very good job. I’m trapped under a ton of bricks.

ANDROGYNOUS VOICE

But you’re not seriously hurt, so we must be doing something right. This is a miracle, George. That’s what people will say after you’re rescued. It’s a miracle you survived.

GEORGE

I-I can’t die. My wife ... Maggie. She’s sick. She needs me.

ANDROGYNOUS VOICE

We know, George. That’s why we’re here. We came to give you a true miracle.

GEORGE

Do you have a cure for ovarian cancer? That’s what Maggie needs.

ANDROGYNOUS VOICE

No. We’re sorry, George. We can’t save Maggie. But we can bring her back. Listen, George ... listen ...

6.

Interview with Sarah Stickler by author Jeremy Haines, BEHIND THE MAN OF STONE: The True Story of the Pottsville Massacre and the Franz Rock Monster, 2033, Scanlon Press.

My father never claimed angels spoke to him when he was trapped beneath the bricks. He told my mother he heard a voice—a soft, soothing voice—that offered him ... words of encouragement. The voice gave my father hope when he was trapped. It gave him the strength to carry on. But he never specifically told my mother the voices belonged to angels, at least not according to what she told me.

Years later, I asked my father whom he thought the voices belonged to. He told me thought they belonged to an old willow tree out in our back yard. He said, ‘It was the tree, Sarah. It was the tree talking all along.’ So, I’m pretty sure any voices my father heard while under that pile of bricks—or anytime after that—came from inside his own head.

7.

Interview with Dr. Morris Williams, Oncologist, Franz Rock Memorial Hospital, by author Jeremy Haines, BEHIND THE MAN OF STONE: The True Story of the Pottsville Massacre and the Franz Rock Monster, 2033, Scanlon Press.

I was with Maggie Ottomeyer the day of George’s accident. Maggie had surgery earlier that week, and she was recovering at the hospital when we got the call they were bringing George in.

Maggie Ottomeyer was an amazing lady. She had such spirit, despite being so sick. She really was a joy to be around. She lifted the spirits of the other patients on the floor, as well as the staff. Maggie could talk, you know, and she was an even better listener. There was a light inside that woman, and she wasn’t afraid to let it shine. Beautiful, beautiful lady. A truly wonderful person.

I didn’t feel the same about her husband, George. He could be a little gruff. But I didn’t blame him. He had a hard time accepting Maggie’s condition. He was losing his wife and he was unprepared. Maggie was under my care for ovarian cancer, but it metastasized to her liver. We removed part of her liver that week, and once she recovered from that, she was due to start another round of chemotherapy. Maggie’s prognosis wasn’t good and George was scared. That’s was I remember most about George Ottomeyer. I’d never seen a man more frightened. Whenever Maggie and George would come in for a visit, she was warm and hopeful, but George always seemed nervous and scared.

It was a miracle George walked away from that construction site accident. I examined him myself when he arrived at the hospital. Other than a sprained ankle and minor scrapes and bruises, he was fine. It’s funny, I remember discharging George later that day, and Maggie begged me to admit her husband for more tests. ‘He’s talking crazy, Dr. Williams,’ she said. ‘He said he spoke to angels! Maybe he’s got head trauma!’

George got upset. I think Maggie embarrassed him, but she was just worried. Those two worried about each other. It was sweet. Maybe that’s true love—two people worrying about each other more than themselves.

I asked George what he heard when he was buried under the bricks. He said he heard voices, but admitted they were probably the voices of the men digging him out. I ordered a CAT scan for George but he never followed up on it. He wasn’t a good patient. He was very stubborn.

8.

George Ottomeyer, Interview with Detective Walter Lewis, Franz Rock Police Department, November 14, 2016.

Ottomeyer: I was discharged, but I didn't want to leave Maggie at the hospital. The doctor said she could come home on Saturday, but that wasn't soon enough for me. I trusted Dr. Williams, but Maggie had been through so much already, I just wanted to get her home and take care of her there.  

Lewis: You spoke with your wife before being discharged from the hospital, is that correct?

Ottomeyer: Yes. There were a bunch of reporters and news cameras in the hallway. Everybody was making a big fuss over me surviving the scaffolding collapse. I just wanted to see Maggie. We were able to speak privately in her hospital room for about ten minutes.

Lewis: What did you talk about?

Ottomeyer: What do you think we talked about? I’d nearly been killed by a ton of falling bricks. It was a miracle I was alive. Maggie was recovering from surgery and fighting stage four ovarian cancer. We had a lot to talk about.

Lewis: Did you tell your wife you heard voices while trapped beneath the pile of bricks?

Ottomeyer: I don't see how that's any of your business.

Lewis: Did you discuss your wife’s future medical care?

Ottomeyer: (Sighs) Yes. We talked about when she was getting released from the hospital, and how I was going to care for her when she got home. The main house is a ranch, so if Maggie needed a wheelchair we could manage it with a few modifications. We talked about our future.

Lewis: I imagine that's a pretty difficult discussion to have when your wife is suffering from stage-four cancer.

Ottomeyer: You imagine correctly.

Lewis: Did you discuss hospice care with your wife?

Ottomeyer: No. I’d care for her myself. Maggie was going to recover from her surgery, get strong again, and do another round of chemo. Maggie was going to get better. That’s ... that’s what I believed then.

Lewis: Did you and Maggie discuss your daughter, Sarah?

Ottomeyer: We did. Maggie wanted me to call her. I hadn’t spoken to Sarah in ... a long time. Sarah still spoke with her mother, but me ... no. Maggie wanted me to mend fences with our daughter. Maggie hadn’t told Sarah about her cancer yet. She felt it was something we should do together.

Lewis: Did you agree?

Ottomeyer: I ... listen, Detective, that’s not your business.

Lewis: What happened between you and your daughter, Mr. Ottomeyer?

Ottomeyer: That’s none of your business either.

Lewis: You understand, Mr. Ottomeyer, that I’m investigating one of the most horrific crimes in the history of this state.

Ottomeyer: Yes, but I didn’t do it.

Lewis: Maybe. But I think you know who did. Do you? Do you know who or what killed all those people in Pottsville, Mr. Ottomeyer?

Chapter Two

1.

Comment from BillyB3943, from the blog, Franz Rock Monster: Rural Legend or Real-Life Nightmare. Last updated: August 14, 2020, 12:01am EST.

SS knows more than she’s saying. That True Story book is full of shit and so is she. She was married to David Lawrence, and everyone knows he’s the FR Monster!!!!!

2.

Interview with Sarah Lawrence (Stickler) by author Donna DeMarco, Who—Or What—Is Behind The Pottsville Office Park Massacre? Vanity Fair, January 15, 2017.

My husband David Lawrence was a good a man, a man who fought for what was right. He was the best attorney at Cashman and Clarke, and got along well with everyone. Before my husband passed away, there was a ... disagreement with some of the firm’s partners over the handling of a case. Frankly, I think the stress of it caused my husband’s heart attack.

How can David be blamed for the attack on Cashman and Clarke when he was already dead? He didn’t have the attack planned in advance of his death. It wasn’t a pre-arranged retaliation. That’s nonsense, people making up intrigue. My husband didn’t cause the tragedy in Pottsville. He’s not the Franz Rock Monster. You have no idea how much it hurts to even say that. He was a man. A good man who worked too hard. A man who worked himself to death.

3.

Interview author Donna DeMarco, author of the Vanity Fair article, Who—Or What—Is Behind The Pottsville Office Park Massacre? NPR’s Journalist Hour, February 19, 2017.

I think Sarah told me the truth but probably not the whole truth. I interviewed her for two hours and she never let her guard down. She was pregnant at the time, so maybe there was some Mamma Bear defensiveness going on. She chose every word carefully. She’s a smart lady. Does she know more than she’s telling? Probably, but there’s no reason for her to say more. Is she protecting her late husband? We may never know, unless Sarah is willing to write a book or sell her story to Hollywood. I hope she kept my business card!

4.

From Pharmaceutical Weekly, November 4, 2015.

Downing Pharmaceuticals Gets Green Light For Sukodom Trials

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug on the forefront of micro-medicine for stage-three trials today.

Sukodom will allow doctors to treat patients at a sub-cellular level, according to the drug’s manufacturer, Downing Pharmaceuticals.

Sukodom is truly a breakthrough drug, said Downing CEO Kenneth Rawlson. It mimics the structure of a cell’s DNA and alters it. This will give doctors ‘Ground Zero’ treatment options for ailments ranging from cancer to Parkinson’s disease to mental illness.

The Class 1 drug (SOKaDhMn) is marketed under the brand name Sukodom, and could come to market as soon as 2014. Downing Pharmaceuticals attorney, Jacob Cashman of Cashman & Clarke, said the open market date depends entirely on how Sukodom fares during the stage-three trials.

The trials conducted during Stage One and Stage Two were very successful, and we expect similar results during Stage Three, Cashman said. We truly believe Sukodom will change the face of modern medicine.

5.

From David Lawrence’s Inbox.

To: David Lawrence Esq. (dlawrence@cashmanclarkesq.com)

From: Amed Patel (apatel@downingpharm.com)

Subject: Sukodom Trials and Preliminaries

Date: 11/07/2015

Dear David,

It was a pleasure finally meeting you face-to-face after so many months of emails and phone calls. Downing Pharm has worked with Cashman & Clarke for nearly two years to bring these Sukodom trials to fruition. It’s nice to see all our hard work finally paying off! My supervisors at Downing were very pleased with the way the hearings went in Washington, and they’re excited to begin the Stage Three trials. Fingers crossed!

I didn’t have a chance to mention it when me met, but I have a personal stake in Sukodom as well as a professional one. Bioengineered pharmaceuticals are poised to revolutionize modern medicine. They will make stem cells obsolete. Why bother gathering embryotic cells when you can alter life at the genetic level, turning off the genes that make us prone to disease and turn on the ones that promote optimum health? A drug like Sukodom, with its ability to alter the base DNA of cells and mimic their structure, holds enormous promise for curing an untold number of diseases.

I have a six-year-old son with autism. Sukodom may be able to heal the neuron damage in his brain. My mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s. Sukodom may be able to help her as well. Perhaps it’s unrealistic to believe Sukodom will come to market in time to help my son or his grandmother, but I believe it can help (even cure) others with similar afflictions some day.

Thank you and your partners at C & C for your (very big) role in making this happen!

Sincerely,

Amed Patel

Head of Pharmaceutical Research

Downing Labs

To: Amed Patel (apatel@downingpharm.com)

From: David Lawrence Esq. (dlawrence@cashmanclarkesq.com)

Subject: Re: Sukodom Trials and Preliminaries

Date: 11/07/2015

Dear Amed,

It was great meeting you, too, as well as the rest of the crew at Downing Pharm. Honestly, I found your presentation before Congress the most fascinating part of the entire D.C. trip. When I graduated from law school many moons ago, I had an idealistic dream of working on a landmark legal case. Now I’m on a team that’s helping make a major medical breakthrough available to the public. These Sukodom trials are the culmination of a dream for both of us!

I’m sorry to hear about your son and mother-in-law—I’ll hold a good thought for them. Yes, it’s unlikely Sukodom will go public soon enough to help your family personally, but it might help others like them. You deserve all the kudos, Amed. After all, you’re the guy who invented Sukodom; I’m just part of the team bringing it to the masses. It’s a role I’m honored to play.

By the way, you made a comment during your presentation about the chemical reaction of Sukodom in the brain involving the very seat of the soul itself. I have to admit, much of the science you discussed was over my head, but that phrase stuck with me. Powerful stuff, Amed!

Sincerely,

David Lawrence, Esq.

Cashman & Clarke Associates

To: David Lawrence Esq. (dlawrence@cashmanclarkesq.com)

From: Amed Patel (apatel@downingpharm.com)

Subject: Re: Sukodom Trials and Preliminaries

Date: 11/9/2015

Dear David,

Thank you for your kind words about both my family and my presentation. I was so nervous out there on the floor of Congress—I was shaking! The phrase you mentioned referenced the way Sukodom alters chemical reactions in the body. The Krebs cycle, the uric cycle, the methylation cycle, and the ability to break down molecular bonds and release their energy—all of these things affect the areas of the brain responsible for language, memory, and cognitive skills. They are everything that makes us human, everything that connects us with each other and the rest of the human race. I see this most acutely with my son and my mother-in-law. Autism puts my son into a world of his own. His sensory issues and the way his brain processes information puts him in a different reality all together. The same with my mother-in-law. As her dementia progresses, she can no longer string together the moments that create our common reality. It’s all different for her. One day blends