Browsephoto_libraryShuffleshuffle

Sign InloginRegisterperson_add

Sign Inlogin

Haunting 9: SkullDarkness Absolute nothingness surrounded him, as the Wile felt like he was slowly dissolving in a pool of black gold. Such is the fate of souls that get usurped by the man-of-war monster.. As if that wasn't hellish enough, swarms of piranha-like teeth were gnashing him from head to foot. No wounds were shed, no bruises nor blood. The very core of his spirit was under attack instead, the pain of which exceeds that of any other. Aiden genuinely wished for anything to put an end to this, the madness he was slowly sinking into seemed inescapable. The evil spirits had made good on their promise to make his suffering slow and merciless... The Wile was unable to ignite his flame no matter how much he yearned for it to burn, for the body of the collective spirit had completely enveloped him, just enough to not crush him. He had long since gone past the panic stage.. overwhelmed, defeated.. he was too tired to even turn a head. He was forced into a state of isolation within his annihilation, frozen.. without hope… 'What are you doing, lad?!' A strong, yet unfamiliar voice echoed in his brain, which snapped him straight out of his trance. 'You have to keep fighting!' "I... I can't!" Aiden whimpered in his mind. 'Yes you can!' The voice shouted. 'You've done it before! If not for yourself, then do it for--' Just then the Wile heard a nauseating scream. He followed the sound to the best of his ability against the intense pressure of his entire surroundings, when he saw that at least two of the foul spirits had ganged up on something that gave off a faint, minuscule light. Aiden could not understand why, but he had the sudden urge to squirm with everything he had. Pushing and thrashing his way towards the scene, the Phoebe Wile's internal ferocity was starting to build up, and with it the drive to slash his nails, loosening his hand just enough to reach out and grab the foul spirit that had just consumed the speck. With a quick squeeze, ignited with the heat of his mystical fire, the wisp-like blob let out a chilling shriek as the Wile ripped out its very core, revealing the weak essence of what appeared to be a glowing firefly from within. In their combined fury, the surrounding community of the single minded demons pressed down onto the Wile even harder, this time compressing his body to the point that it became difficult to breathe, let alone stay on the surface of the ever increasing black pool. But with a bit of good timing, Aiden was able to slip his arm pass the pressure point. Despite the numbingly intense pins and needles that snagged onto his loose appendage, he managed to grab the hapless firefly and absorb its essence into his body. And with it securely tucked away, and his main source of energy still exposed in the open, the Wile had just enough power needed to start wreaking havoc with his inferno. With his ferality no longer in check, the Wile set out a tremendous scream as he began to set himself ablaze. Aiden's renewed adrenaline gave him the perfect opportunity to push against the mass of blobs for just one second, which was all the time he needed to let loose all the chaotic energy that would make the kings of gehenna proud. ....... The chill in the air intensified as the entire yard became lit with a soft, yet unsettling white glow. Jac had kicked off her shoes and was walking towards her two dumbfounded friends. With each step she took, the grass would grow wildly around her bare feet- every blade of which taking on a dusty white color that gave them the appearance of marble. Her hair had turned a similar shade, and the light from her eyes had made her pupils a disturbing bleach. "Jac... what's happened to you...?" Richard spoke barely a peep. "Don't touch her!!" Jillian screamed. "Please," The witch and Jac's voice said simultaneously. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am called The Witch of the Dawn and I was once the goddess of the land you are standing on. Jac made a contract with me, and has become my host. She is sleeping now, but she will awaken and reunite with you soon enough." Richard had drowned out every word as he held Jac close and rubbed his cheek against her; tears ran down along his face, which had softened the glow of her hair somewhat as it made contact. He didn't care that touching her left his hands numb and caused his skin to crack, he just wanted his best friend back dammit! "Jac... This happened before, so I know you can snap out of it again! Please! I beg of you! Wake up~!!" Richard kept up his tight embrace all while Jac remained largely emotionless. A hint of reflection was spotted in her eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came. She saw the damage done and the visible shaking of the giant's hands, which triggered a reaction that was likely from the possessed herself that caused her to jerk away and jump off onto the grass below. "The elf is right. It's best that you don't touch me while I am active." The witch said. With a renewed burst of rage, Jillian stomped on the ground. "What are you plotting, Witch? What is the purpose of all of this?!" "I came to reclaim what is mine." The witch proclaimed. "Where my long time enemy sought to reap what was left of this land, I choose to make it beautiful once more. I will do away with the industrialized cities that have encroached in my domain for far too long, and bring the forest back to its former glory! The way it was always meant to be!" "Your idea of paradise is a wild unchecked forest with weird looking white plants that don't even look edible and are already half dead. Got it." Jillian quipped. "Leave me out of it." "Talk down to me again elf, and I won't be so merciful next time!" The hair behind Jac began to rise ferociously, as it flowed eerily with the unsteady wind. Jillian remained firm but chose not to take it further, for any rash response could result in injury to Jac. Richard felt just as helpless, if not more so. He stared blankly at who he formally knew as his best friend, as she approached what was left of the cursed tree and began to spread her arms wide. "The time has come for me to reestablish my rightful place in this world! This will be the start of a new era! People will flock to my forest and worship me again...." Hints of tears began to fall from Jac's eyes, but it was unclear whether she or the witch had shed them. "Then my full power will be replenished and I will finally have enough strength to... bring him back to me..." The jewel in front of her chest began to float upward and took on a sinister red glow. The whirlwind then kicked up and surrounded her like a barrier which would have blown Jillian back if it wasn't for the giant hand that had caught her. The wild plants then exploded in size right where Jac stood, rapidly enveloping everything in her surroundings like an infestation of white, otherworldly weeds. "It's not safe here! We have to go!" Jillian shouted. "But... what about Jac?" The words that came out of Richard's mouth stung and the start of tears formed on Jillian's eyes as well. "I know! But we don't have a choice!" No matter what however, Richard wouldn't budge. It took a sudden lightning flash between them to break the Wile giant's fixation of his back-turned Link partner. The electrical current was situated at that very point in the sky before them- Jillian understood right away that this was far from any natural phenomenon, and her fears were confirmed when a ripple through space began to form just above the cursed snag. "Come hither spirits and lend me your power!!!" The Witch shouted with a fiery passion. “We shall take the night this All Hallows Eve!!” All of a sudden, just as the peak of the gusts were whipping, and the opening of the void had made a visible dent in the night sky, she heard a crack. And then another. And then... With a loud smash, the glass oval jewel shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. Immediately after, the storm had quieted and the disturbance had caused the magic to come to a complete halt. This left the Witch absolutely livid. "NO!!! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!! HOW IS THIS--" At that exact moment in time, something caused her to lose her voice, as she, and the others behind her, gave out a series of audible gasps. A set of bony fingers as intense as the surface of the sun appeared from the ripple in the sky. They began to pull it apart, tearing a hole in space just wide enough for it to go through. And out of it came the biggest and most horrifying giant that anyone had ever laid eyes on. A macro being engulfed by flames all over its body, with a torch that bloomed from the top of its skull-like head. Blotches of mass could be seen all over, which wailed individually, and yet all at once in sheer agony, in tandem to the enigma's earth shaking shrill. It sat its foot down, instantly igniting the path it treaded, swallowing up the last of the cursed tree as it made its way towards the haunted house. Jillian screamed as Richard finally broke from his petrified state to scoop her up and onto higher ground. But try as she might, Jac couldn't move. No matter how much the holy apparition screeched in her head, the jewel was no more and the ability to have control over her was destroyed along with it. Jac's natural fear of immense fire kept her firmly rooted in place, as the titanic monster was now just a few feet away. The beast locked eye sockets with the young woman and was about to reach out to grab her with a finishing hand. Against her better judgment, Jillian struggled to break free from Richard's grip and charged head on towards the fiery demon. Her personal safety was put on the sideline in a brief moment of adrenaline and sheer willpower. Just as the infernal being's finger was mere inches from the terror stricken witch's face, Jillian dived as close as she could just behind the wall of flames and began to scream at the top of her lungs. "DON'T HURT HER!!!" Much to everyone's surprise, the giant suddenly paused. "WHATEVER YOU DO! PLEASE!!! DON'T HURT JAC!!" After a moment of tense staring, the surrounding flames caused the girl to overheat and collapse. The hand immediately grabbed hold, but not before its fire was let out, revealing a sun-like glow to an otherwise normal giant hand. Against the ground, the being laid his hand gently over the fainted Jac. And with a light tap of a finger against her chest, a part of her spirit fell out from behind, along with that of the Witch of the Dawn. The Witch desperately tried to get away but it was no use, for the giant instantly snapped her up. With the foul spirit now in its clutches, the glowing giant then proceeded to crush inward while reigniting its hand. With a horrendous final cry, the witch was disintegrated into hundreds of glowing butterflies, each one burning with an intense flame which had made all but one disappear as it's embers went out. When that was over with, the enormous skeletal beast pulled back and looked upon Jac with great concern. In this very position it gradually faded away, and along with it the flames it had left in its wake had all gone out at once. In the giant's place, a multitude of faint white orbs began to float into the sky, as if they were being pulled into the moonlit night. This gorgeous scene was overshadowed by the young woman who lay still on the forest floor, in front of where the tree once stood. Richard wasted no time to return by Jac's side, and with tears anew, he held her limp body to her face, and pleaded. "Please wake up Jac.... please! Wake up....”Haunted 8: Moonlight Jac placed the glass oval stone in the center of the hollow. Just being near this cursed snag made the hair on her skin crawl uncontrollably; the rancorous aura still oozed strong, but had dwindled greatly thanks to the fresh cinders that continued to flare up between the crevices of the wood. With no further delay, the young woman stepped back and stood just a few feet away from the tree, as her three friends watched on from a distance. "You can do it Jac!" Jillian said, "I believe in you!" Richard and Aiden shared in her sentiment. Jac took one more look at them with a quaint smile. She then took a deep breath, sat upon the earth, and began to concentrate. She mentally called for The Witch of the Dawn to assist her with the final spell. The glowing butterfly manifested itself within the confines of the jewel, and with its arrival a voice as vibrant as sunshine echoed in Jac's mind. "You must repeat this incantation exactly the way I tell it, and you mustn't stop until I deem it safe to do so. Now, are you ready?" Jac affirmed her commitment and vowed to do whatever it takes. And with that, the light of her eyes glowed a bright yellow momentarily, before she closed them shut and began her chant. The words were intangible to anyone including the one who spoke it aloud; the lyrics carried with it a divine meaning that felt like a reflection from a far distant past. Jac continuously looped the spell, and with every passing minute, the miasma that had been blown to the edge of the field had slowly parted. A strange sensation washed over Jac as time went on- she began to feel almost lighter than air. Nonetheless she carried on without ceasing, voicing the purification hymn until the voice in her head had come to a complete stop. When she finally opened her eyes, Jac found herself in a strange, misty forest. Everything that surrounded her, from the trees off the distance to the grass beneath her feet, were colored a dusty white. The only object that seemed as natural as she could discern was the full moon that lit up the night sky, its light being the one source able to cut through this thick blanket of fog. "W-Where am I...?" Jac gasped lightly. "I wish I knew..." Said a familiar voice from behind. Jac twirled her head back to find, as she had been expecting at this point, Aiden standing with his hand behind his neck. "Where's Richard and Jill?" Jac cried out. "I think we left them at the yard..." Aiden spoke in a dampened mood. "It's always something, isn't it..." "Yeah..." Jac raised an eyebrow. Even she was starting to grow suspicious about Aiden's sudden appearance basically everywhere that involved the supernatural. "I guess we have no choice but to look for a way out. Notice anything strange?" "Of course! Everything is..." "That's reassuring." Jac sighed. The two friends decided to walk down a path in hopes of finding something, anything, that could send them back. After trekking past the leafy groves in silence for some time, Jac decided that it was about time that she had a little talk. "Aiden, I..." Jac hesitated. She steeled herself before saying the next words. "I think you know more than you're letting on." "How so?" The shrunken Wile had a slight unevenness to his voice. "About ghosts and all kinds of weird stuff! You don't need to hide any of that from us, especially if you think it could help in any way. So tell me, is there anything else you know about all of this that you haven't told us yet?" "I, honestly... wish I had an answer to that." Aiden gave a deep, long sigh through his nose before he had the courage to continue. "It's not like I understand entirely what's going on, but I know that since a certain point in my life, I've been able to see and affect stuff that others can't. To me it's like the normal things you witness every day, so it surprises me... and sucks, when I find out that others don't... and are afraid of me for it." "...I'm sorry." "Don't sweat it okay? That's how it is when you're a Phoebe Wile." "Is that why Jillian...?" Aiden's demeanor changed when he heard her name, and he stopped walking momentarily was he took a deep breath. "I did something the other day that scared the living daylights out of her." "What the heck did you do?!" "I- -" Suddenly, a burst of wind left the two friends with a bitter chill. The two raced in search of shelter, using the moon as their guide. They eventually made their way towards the center of the forest, where they found rows of white stags that stood in an aligned circle. What they witnessed at that exact moment left Jac in a state of shock.. for the first time since this ordeal began, Jac was quivering throughout her entire skin. Near breathless, she finally spoke. "What the hell... is that?" Aiden meanwhile was cowering down on his knees. All the visions from those sleepless nights had manifested themselves in the form he saw before him- it was all of his worst nightmares come true. The Wile was desperately holding back the ferality that was screaming to claw its way out, although he was running on paper-thin restraint at this point. Before them was the titanic Portuguese man-of-war-like monster… the swarm of evil spirits that have merged to form a single entity, confined with strange otherworldly chains to the hollowed tree that the two friends were all too familiar with. And standing right in front of this catastrophe of a creature was The Witch of the Dawn, who was looking upon it with content in her eyes. Not even a moment later, Aiden felt a gut wrenching sensation in his body that caused him to wince even further. He then coughed up a strange, smoky blob that floated up like a magnet to fuse with the rest of the spirits. While helpless to do anything about their situation, the combined entity were seething with infernal rage. "Thank you for bringing me the last of the spirits," The witch said with a calm, gentle voice, "As well as for completing the task, Jac. No one else would have accomplished this so spectacularly. You are deserving of a gift worthy of a god." She turned back to the multi-eyed fiends and added. "It appears that there are only 107 of them left. One of them was completely eliminated from existence, or so I've heard. Which, I won't lie, makes my job easier." 'He was a natural born leader!' A female voice cried. 'When we get out of these chains, Phoebe,' shouted a male voice, 'mark our words, we will burn you to a crisp as you did so mercilessly to our comrade! We'll make sure you'll suffer!' "Oh pipe down, you ingrates." The Witch huffed. "You all will get what you want, so there's no need to complain." "Wait, WHAT?!" Aiden screeched. "W- What's going on?" Jac was quaking, "What are you talking about? What even is this place? And why is...?" "So many questions, Jac! But I suppose you of all people should know." The Witch walked up to the young woman and held a hand to her cheek. The witch spoke these next words with a sweet, almost motherly tone. "I will need a new body to complete my resurrection, but to do this I must have a powerful source of energy that would sustain me for a long time, as well as a sacrifice." She then extended an arm towards the collected evil spirits, as if showing off a grand display. "This demon will provide that energy source. They will get what they want in the end with an immortal host, but rest assured they will have no control over us. Their influential powers will be no more, for my divine essence will eventually eat away at them bit by bit. Poetic, don't you agree?” The foul spirits struggled against their chains wanting nothing more than to charge at the holy woman, but that was all they were really able to do. "And what is this... sacrifice?" Jac was near petrified. What she didn't realize was that her being frozen in place was not of her own doing, and without warning an unseen force slowly lifted the young woman into the air with a tight grip between her chest and neck. Jac's airway was obstructed and she struggled to utter a word, let alone breathe. All the while the witch looked at her with a blank, expressionless face. "JAAAAAC!!" Aiden rushed to her aid, but it was no use. In that very instance white tree roots exploded from the earth and latched onto the shrunken Wile giant, wrapping themselves like a snake's coils around his entire body. He let out an obscene, bone curling scream as he realized that he was reliving his prolific night terrors in real time. The tree roots drew him closer to the evil spirits, who wasted no time swallowing him whole into the massive blob of their gaseous form. "A...A...id... en..." Jac stuttered as hot streams of tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Don't worry..." The Witch remarked. "He'll just regenerate like his kind are known for. This makes him the perfect scapegoat. That lucky bastard." Try as she might, Jac's efforts to escape from her position were fruitless. Every lash, each jostle resulted in her body being squeezed tighter and tighter. And with this came a recollection- she went through this very same feeling that fateful night.. when the vengeful spirit in white rags covered her mouth. “I…It was you ... that night. You… processed me…” The witch was chuffed to finally be acknowledged. “Caught on at last.” She whispered. “You… lied to me…” “I did what I had to to free myself, and by ridding ourselves of the wicked spirits, I'd say I'm well beyond redeemed at this point!” As those very words were spoken, the 107 spirits all wailed in otherworldly fashion as they were slowly being vacuumed into the glass jewel that was still wrapped around Jac's neck. The Witch then approached her with a radiance that pierced through her mind. "The task is complete. As soon as you awaken, you will be immortal, for I will be reborn… as you." Jac's eyes shot open as she heard that statement, yet the witch tried to lessen the blow by wrapping her arms around her. Jac struggled ferociously, but this gentle hug has sealed her fate. "I'm sorry for keeping this from you before, but I knew you would object to it. Do not fret, I will let your soul have control over our body frequently. We shall take turns! I made a promise to the Bean that I wouldn't harm you, and I'll keep my word, especially after all you've done for me." Despite everything, Jac was able to gather as much strength as she could to shout as loud as possible, all while hyperventilating between words. "YOU... YOU USED ME!!" "Immortality is a blessing. You should be honored." "YOU USED ME!!" "I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me." "ENOUGH WITH THAT BULLSHIT!! YOU'RE NOT EVEN LISTENING!! YOU!...USED!...ME!!! YOU USED ALL OF US!!!" At that precise point in time a dazzling white light engulfed the two, completely overtaking the entire witch's domain in its wake. Reality was calling for their return together, and Jac was screaming to the top of her lungs all the while.Haunted 7: SpiritJac and Aiden thought that they would never return to this horrid place again. The haunted house loomed over the landscape like an imposing entity that would cast a shadow far greater than the forest itself. And there stood the darkest part of the shade: a single pitiful tree, its baneful branches appearing to beckon the two as they made their way ever closer. This time Jillian accompanied the duo as they entered this plot of land, and while he remained unseen, Richard was also on standby. Jac was not given much detail as to what went on during Aiden and Jill's meeting with the head of the scavenger hunt, but one thing was certain. The two had barely spoken to each other since then, and they tried their best to not address one another. Sensing the underlying tension in the air, Jac tried to lighten up the mood. "All I got to do is place the jewelry under the tree, say the magic words and be done with it. Simple as that!" "I... don't think it's going to be that easy Jac." Said Jillian. The elf woman's confidence was absent, and her voice was almost as small as if she were at her normal borrower-sized height. "You.. look like you've seen things..." Jac then placed her hands on her hips. "Okay, what happened?" Jillian slowly looked at Aiden before quickly ducking her eyes back to the human. "I don't really want to talk about it." "You can stay here and wait for us, you know." "I can't! Just, stand back and watch my best friend walk into a frying pan! Ghosts aren't my level of expertise, but if I can use my magic to provide some form of protection then, I'll go wherever you need to be." Meanwhile, Aiden was largely silent throughout, as once again the alarm bells inside his head had begun to ring all at once. His nerves were fighting to control his natural flight or fight instincts, which was starting to flare up immensely as the surrounding fog thickened. As the three were on the move, a strange unexplained pressure was beginning to weigh down on them. The more it seemed like they were advancing, no matter how long they took, they barely made any progress as the tree stayed firmly rooted in the same distance from their starting point. "This can't be real! It's like a mirage!" Jac complained. "The miasma is terrible here." Jillian uttered as she covered her nose and mouth with a sleeve. "What's that?" "It's like an extreme imbalance of negative energy. It can cause all kinds of problems if we stand in it for too long..." "You mean...you can see it too?" Aiden gulped. "Wha? No..? You can?" Jillian wariness peaked at that point. "Yeah.. It looks like a purplish smog that's covering the entire yard..." "Y-you're kidding!" Jac exclaimed. "No?" Said Aiden. "You mean you guys, can't...?" His voice grew to almost a whimper as he sensed the growing fear in Jillian's expression. "I'm not surprised anymore..." Jillian said flatly. "There are gaps in the smoke...maybe... I can direct you guys through the least concentrated areas of the stuff." Aiden was hesitating a bit, but his confidence grew with each word. "I don't know if it'll make a difference, but perhaps we can actually reach the tree that way." "So it's like a haunted maze?" Jac asked. "I guess..." "Then it's worth a shot..." Aiden led the way through the narrow gaps between the heavy plumes, the two women careful to retrace his every step. The path was winding and full of twists, yet sure enough, they were finally starting to make progress as they were closing in towards the hallowed bark. Little did they know, there were invisible eyes on all sides taking note of their every move, in particular those of the shrunken Wile. 'The Phoebe is becoming a nuisance' A female voice whispered. 'We warned him not to interfere,' uttered a male's, ‘now he must pay the price.' Just then, something within Aiden snapped and he began to let out a low, guttural sound. Which in turn caused Jillian to slink behind Jac. “Are you ok?!” Jac exclaimed. "They're already here." The Wile snarled. "Don't worry about me! Let's MOVE!! GO GO GO!!" Without further questioning, Jac and Jillian tried their best to keep up with Aiden as he raced the rest of the way through the maze. The closer they had gotten to the barren tree, the thicker the miasma became, and with it the apparitions that were chasing them had become more apparent. "Are those wisps?!" Jac yelled. "No! These must be the..." Jillian started as she fought back a strange burning sensation that had started to overwhelm her. Suddenly, the elf woman grew sickeningly faint and before long she withered back to her regular size of four inches. Jac caught Jill just before the latter was about to plummet to the ground. The human drew her closer, eyes widened from the outcome. "Oh my god, what happened? Say something!" "I... don't know." Jill replied weakly. "I'm sorry Jac..." It was during this exact moment when Jac realized that Jillian had been setting up a magical barrier around the group this entire time, which had now shattered due to this event. Without its protection the miasma was beginning to seep into their lungs, which increasingly made it that much more difficult for them to breathe. "We're almost there! Hang on!" Jac exclaimed as she covered her respiratory canal with as much clothing as she could. She gently placed the drained elf in her pocket as she continued to run after Aiden, with the restless wisp-like beings still in hot pursuit. The setback of inhaling corrupted smog had slowed down their advancement significantly however, which gave the foul spirits the chance to surround them in every direction. The apparitions dived and swarmed strategically around the three friends- a frenzied attempt to outmaneuver them that lasted more than several minutes, with each second exposed to the invisible poisonous fumes being enough to put a dent in their lifespans. Aiden fell over and was dogpiled relentlessly by more than a dozen of these fiends. At the same time Jac could feel the pressure intensifying… but in spite of everything that was trying it's damndest to hinder her, she remained mostly unfazed and was determined to push through it. "I'm not giving up! No matter what you try to do, you can't stop me!" Jac exclaimed as more of a means to psych herself up as she was being bombarded by the cold fireballs throughout her body. She then pulled out her knapsack and threw as much of the magic dust within as she could in the air, which in a flash ignited with an intense bluish-white blast. The sparks were enough to send the evil spirits aback momentarily, and while they were largely unaffected by its burn, they seemed to be blinded by the glow that was emitted. This was enough for Aiden to snap out of his cowering state as he quickly regained control with a swift fiery assault from his nails. The apparitions feared his onslaught, and immediately took off from him, but not before a couple of the wisps had become singed in the process. At the same time both he and Jac felt a sudden earth shake, which would then rumble profusely as the quakes drew nearer. Within minutes the silhouette of a giant cut through the thick smog, which brought everything to a stand still. "JAC!!" Richard bellowed. "Took you long enough! Where have you been!" Jac hollered. "You're here but... I can't see you!" The Wile giant tried desperately to peer his fingers through, but to no avail. "I recognized your magic and came as soon as I could..." "I don't understand Rich..." Jac replied with the first hint of concern in her voice that she had all day. "We must have gotten trapped in between worlds somehow..." Aiden said. “You're kidding…” The shrunken Wile took careful note of the fact that about thirty or so spirits had all gathered to face the new threat that was the other Wile giant, though they were unable to go past the point where the miasma cloud ends. He held his hands to his forehead, his eyes pinching intensely. "C'mon think! There's got to be a--" Suddenly, his panic settled when he saw the knapsack in Jac's hand. His focus then shifted back onto the miasma, and then to Richard. "You two are Linked, right?" Aiden spoke with purpose. "Can you combine your magic powers?" Jac grew hesitant. "We're still practicing that, but..." "Richard! You know a bit of wind magic right?" "Yeah, why?" Richard understandably had hesitation in his voice. "Use the spell to transfer your wind to Jac! And Jac, toss that powder of yours straight at the tree. If you can pull it off, you may be able to blow this miasma away!" "Will that work?!" Jac exclaimed. "I don't know! But it's better than nothing!!" With that declaration the two reluctantly complied. Jac took a deep breath and swiftly got in position for what would have been a few feet away from the Wile giant if they had been in the normal world. She then pulled out a good helping of the pixie dust and held it in her right hand. Concurrently Richard was swirling the air around him, as his magic was concentrated in the tips of his fingers. As soon as the unclean spirits realized what was transpiring, they charged wildly at Jac, but were cut off at every turn by an unusually focused Aiden who took full advantage of his ghost burning ability at maximum adrenaline. Richard chanted the spell, and within seconds a gust of wind blew from his outstretched arms. The miraculous power of the Link caused it to flow in front of Jac's hand, which in turn- despite being much weaker in comparison to her giant- began to stir the smog around her. Their breathing synchronized as did their heartbeat, and with that solid momentum Jac's timing was perfect as she aimed the magic powder directly at the tree, just as she called upon the ignition spell. A burst of hot wind carried the pixie dust into the hollowed bark, and upon impact the tree exploded in a sea of piping cinders that shined a brilliant blue. In an instant, the spirits fell, caught in the tempest that would also cause the smog to gradually dissipate. Jac was experiencing a tremendous amount of pressure to keep her arms upright so that the heavy breeze would keep going, but Aiden helped to lift one arm, and Jillian pitched in with a renewed commitment to regain her human height so she can hold the other. Within moments the miasma had blown to the far side of the empty field, and while the blaze had been blown out, the tree was starting to crumple under its own weight. And as the smoke cleared, the three friends had found themselves back in reality where night had since fallen, with Richard standing clearly right behind them. With warm hugs and a cheerful celebration, the worst of their troubles were seemingly behind them, and there was only one more task left to do.Haunted 6: Shimmering "Where... am I?" Jac opened her eyes and found herself floating, or perhaps submerged underwater.. but she was still breathing somehow. Everything around her was an unsettling black void as far as the eye could see... save for a small, flickering light that emitted from the glass egg that hung from the necklace she wore. Jac could just make out the faint hint of a butterfly pattern from within. "Why do I...?" As soon as she gave the item a tap, the illumination at its core suddenly grew to envelop her entire surroundings with a majestic, white sheen. Jac watched in awe as she saw a mysterious, yet beautiful figure manifest itself before her eyes. She shimmered with a golden radiance that sparkled over her snowy dress. "You freed me..." The being spoke. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done." "W-who are you...?" Jac gasped. "I am called The Witch of the Dawn. For a long time I was the tutelary guardian of this land... At least, until the evil spirits of the hallowed bark destroyed my precious home. You are the first person to succeed in finding my precious jewel! The very one that will aid in my resurrection..." "Uh..." "Don't worry dear. Rest assured that no harm will come to you so long as I'm around. I promised a friend of mine." "Wait! How did I... wind up here?" "WAHHH! ANOTHER ONE!!" Jac whipped her head to the source of that scream just as she saw a familiar red headed Wile literally fall into the strange 'room' they were in, where his descent gradually slowed to a halt. Jac hovered as fast as she could over to his side. "Aiden!! How the hell did you get here?!" "I haven't the slightest idea..." Aiden grumbled as he managed to float upright again. "I was in that guy's house... And it turned out.. he was possessed by one of the evil spirits in my dreams…” "You mean? The head of the scavenger hunt?" The shrunken Wile nodded. “Some stuff then happened and, I ended up here.” He then took notice of the witch again and immediately slinked behind Jac for cover. "Who's this?!" "Do not fret. I am not your enemy." The witch replied, her expression was soft, yet somber. She appeared graceful, yet simultaneously she seemed as though she was searching through the very essence of Aiden's soul. It was almost like he could “feel” her presence tap into him, which didn't help to calm his relentless nerves at the slightest. "Hold on!" Jac exclaimed. "Weren't you the one who led me here? You look suspiciously similar to a certain butterfly I know..” “You would be correct. My true power was locked away in that jewel. Had it not been for my light, you would have still been under the control of that foul spirit.” “Wait… you saved me?” “Correct, dear.” The witch's smile beamed even brighter. “And now you are truly free from that wicked being. It was the least I could do… for freeing me in spite of your affliction. Again, I am eternally grateful.” As Jac was trying her best to wrap her head around all of this, Aiden's mind was brewing as well. His thoughts failed to escape the ethereal witch however, as the infiltration of his very essence quietly continued. "Indeed, it is as you suspect I did know Bartleby… long before he became possessed.” "I wish you had warned me before you read my mind..." Aiden mumbled. “Huh?” Jac was completely lost. “Don't let the stories lead you astray. Before he became broken.. he was a kind man. One who went above and beyond to help everyone he could…” The room fell quiet momentarily, as the witch's eyes began to cloud. The two friends looked at each other before Jac broke the silence. "So you're…the woman from the story?” “You know about that part?” The witch looked down. “...Yes… I was his wife, before I lost everything…” The two friends uttered not a sound, even in their heads. After a brief moment the witch continued. “He didn't want to hurt me. But, the 108 were relentless. They knew I had the power to eradicate them, which is why they came after me specifically.” “The 108…” “That doesn't li- -” Aiden uttered before Jac interrupted. "Wait, I'm confused.” Jac tugged onto the glass egg lightly, noticing then that it was somehow fastened tight. “What is this exactly? And why are the evil spirits using the scavenger hunt to go after it?” “My jewel solely holds the key to completely destroy them. That is why they will stop at nothing to destroy it first.” The witch explained. “Even before they became sealed to the hallowed bark, they cannot touch this jewel, its purity is greater than their dark energy. Unfortunately, anyone who ventures too close.. are ultimately prone to their influence.” “So.. that would mean that they possess people to try to do their dirty work for them…” Jac put a hand to her chin. “And if they succeed?” “I pray that it won't come to that. The 108 must be plotting to stage something elaborate, if they are this desperate after being dormant for so long.” The witch then took a deep breath, and looked towards the great white void that surrounded the three of them. “All Hallows Eve draws near, the time when spirits are at their strongest. It's not a coincidence.. they could pose a great threat to many lives if they are released." Aiden gave out an involuntary squeak. In contrast, upon hearing this revelation, the pit of Jac's core began to boil. She clenched her fist with renewed vigor, determined more than ever to set things into motion. "Tell me what I need to do." She said. “Are you certain?” The witch asked. “Once you embark further on this quest, there is no turning back.” “Positive! The whole world could possibly be at stake here! I don't want to stand back and watch after everything I learned … If there's anything I can do to stop this before it's too late, well.. Then I guess it's worth trying!” “But Jac! It's too dangerous!!” Aiden exclaimed. “We have the tools for it! So it can be done, right?” At first the witch seemed apprehensive towards the idea, but then she saw the sheer look of fire in Jac's eyes. One that showed total conviction to the cause, someone perhaps worthy… to actually succeed. This was enough to make the ethereal witch cave. “Perhaps the stars had aligned for us to meet at this exact moment. Very well then! If you insist on stopping the 108 once and for all, then you must heed to my instructions and listen well!” The witch floated over to Jac's side, resting a hand on her shoulder. The human could feel a cold chill from her touch, signifying that she was indeed not of this world. "You must go to the hallowed bark and place the jewel underneath it. You must then repeat the spell that I will give you at that time. The foul spirits will stop at nothing to make sure that you will fail, so you must stay vigilant!" The witch then turned her head to Aiden, who jerked upon seeing her soft smile once more. "You have the power to burn even spirits. Your fire will come in handy if the need arises. Can I count on you to protect her?" Aiden gulped. "I'll try my best, ma'am." The shrunken Wile still shivered at the prospect of making eye contact with her. It was as if his gut was telling him something important, but he couldn't discern what exactly. Just then, Jac and Aiden suddenly began to lift out of their positions; steadily at first, but at increasing speed, they were being carried off higher to who knows where. “What the?!” Aiden cried. “What's going on?!” Jac shouted. “Your physical forms are starting to awaken. You should remember everything I've taught you here, so don't fret.” The witch stayed behind in her exact spot, yet her brilliant radiance could be seen far in the distance. “Hold on!” Jac shouted as she began to fight in vain against the current. “I still have so many questions!!” As the two drifted further away, the world around them literally cracking in its foundation, Jac was surprised to hear the good spirit speak now in her mind one more time. "Farewell for now. If all goes well, we shall meet again. Stay strong you two, you don't have a moment to lose!” ..... "Jac...? JAC!!" Jac slowly blinked her eyelids awake, and the first thing he saw was a crestfallen, human-sized Richard. As soon as the Wile witnessed her return from the brink, he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her as tight as he could. The young woman could feel the sweat that had previously drenched his skin and shirt, as well as his pouring tears. "Thank God!" Richard cried, before saying nothing else for a long time as the two continued to soak in each other's embrace. Jac gathered as much strength as she could to look around. She realized that she was back at the cemetery as a light rain poured down where they stood. Furthermore, they were alone. "R-Richard...?" Jac said weakly. "Wha… Where's Aiden...?" "Aiden's not here. What are you talking about?" "Oh.... nevermind." She put her hand on her chest to find that the jewel was still present. Everything she saw leading up to this point had all felt like a wild fever dream, but it was obvious that this was anything but. "Let's go home..." Jac said. "I'll… try to explain on the way..." Richard lifted the exhausted woman over his shoulders. As he was about to carry her away, Jac spotted what appeared to be a small piece of yellow paper next to the crater that she had dug up. She asked the Wile to hand it to her, and while she couldn't make out the misshapen writing at first, she was eventually able to decipher its code. 'The final task is a simple one. Bring the necklace to me. If you can't do this then destroy it. You will then receive your prize.' Jac then crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it afar. "Yeah, like that's going to happen." She thought.Haunted 5: GravestoneAfter many delays, the time had finally come. With the wretched sticky note at hand, Jac had set out to the graveyard off the edge of the human district to find the eponymous Bartleby's tombstone that was etched so vividly in her mind. She hated this wild goose chase more than anything- after the events of the previous nights, she felt as if she was being dragged into this otherworldly mess without having any say on the matter. Aiden and Jillian had split off to find the mastermind behind this dubious scavenger hunt, so without the red head's protection Jac had brought along the next best person. Or rather, he volunteered to accompany her while she tried her best to to insist that she'd be fine on her own. "You didn't have to follow me here, you know." Jac said. "You can't technically go any further anyway since this is a human restricted area." "I don't like this at all Jac," Richard spoke rather uneasily. "Tell me again why you have to do this?" "If I don't, then the ghosts will just keep coming back." "Jac..." "I know you don't believe in these things, but you have to trust me on this one! The visits have become more frequent as of late, and every night I get the exact same dream of this woman with white rags pointing her finger towards me..." "You may need some therapy..." Richard mumbled. "After this is all over with, I think I will take you up on that." Despite the fact that the two friends had visited the cemetery during midday, the atmosphere within the area still felt eerily cold. Barely anyone else was present even at this hour, and the scenery throughout appeared misty and hollow. Nevertheless, Jac proceeded to march through the main entrance without losing any of the confidence she had whipped herself into. As soon as she stepped forward, she suddenly felt the Wile giant's finger brushing her shoulder ever so gently. "Wait," he said with a tense voice. "A-allow me." And before she was given the chance to turn around, she witnessed a whitish-blue radiance that blossomed across the yard, illuminating the area in a soft, warm glow. Jac understood right away what this meant, yet it still left her completely stunned. She slowly looked behind her just as the magic had started to fade, and there stood Richard not even a foot taller than her. Jac knew Richard felt vulnerable in this form, and would never think to shrink down out in the open under normal circumstances. This situation must have been truly dire for him. "You! You didn't have to--!" "Don't sweat it, okay?" Richard said after he shook some of his dizziness away. "Let's go, I want to get this over with before nightfall." Jac remained silent, but pressed onward after she snapped herself back to focus. Best not to question his decision, although deep down she appreciated the act more than he realized. Searching through hundreds of different gravestones, most of which have been worn through the passage of time, was no easy task. For the next couple of hours, the two companions decided to engage in small talk to help alleviate some of the stress that had been building up since their arrival. Jac made a passing statement that Richard uses magic much more frequently in her dreams, to which the shrunken Wile replied as being hogwash. The human laughed, only to lose herself in quiet sorrow as she admits to missing such lighthearted night visions. Ever since that fateful night, they've been replaced by the sinister being that seemed to have taken up residency in her head. .... "I... I think I found it!" Jac raced over to Richard's side after he made that declaration. There stood a large tombstone with what appeared to be vines with razor sharp needles wrapped all around it. Engraved was the name of Bartleby Jones, and just underneath was the worn and torn fragment of something yellow that fluttered in the wind. There was no mistaking it. Jac hurriedly pulled out the paper and scanned it frantically..only to drop to her knees, eyes narrowed in utter disbelief. "You.. You can't be serious!" Jac didn't have the energy to shout her fury to the wind. Dumbfounded, speechless, lost, and even more afraid…She handed Richard the note briefly before she slowly got up, and walked away. The shrunken Wile was no less shocked, for a single written word had brought everything to a stand still: ’Dig’ "Screw this, I'm going home." Jac spat angrily as she tore up the note and tossed it into the rubble. "I'll get a medium or the Bean to help me fight this ghost. Destroying private property isn't worth it." "Yeah..” Richard sighed. “Couldn't have said it better myself.” .... Jac was infuriated by the fact that she had wasted her time and energy on this thing, this entire thing. This was looking more and more like a case of a gravedigger's folly that had incurred the wrath of those who should have been left undisturbed. Jac was secretly kicking herself for allowing these consequences to happen to her, and getting her friend Aiden involved only made her overwhelming regret even worse. These were the thoughts that would plague Jac's mind the following evening, and she couldn't shake off the feeling that it was all her fault. The tossing and turning had become relentless. As she began to mentally stew herself in a dark corner of her mind, Jac slowly turned her head. Somehow, subconsciously, she knew it was there. Perched on her left shoulder once more was the glowing butterfly. Jac remained semi-conscious however, so at this moment in time she believed she had already fallen asleep. "Oh. It's you again." Jac said flatly. "What do you want?" The pretty little insect fluttered about as it usually did whenever it was addressed. Jac pinched her eyes shut and tried her best to ignore the slight nuisance, and sure enough the glow had faded. With a quaint smile, Jac turned to lay on her back before she gave out a long, drawn out sigh. And as soon as she opened her eyes again... She saw that the apparition that was by the entrance on previous nights was now hovering right over her head. Jac would have had the start of a scream, if it wasn't for the ghoulish hand which was at this very moment pushing hard onto Jac's face. Using the other hand to restrain her left arm, the otherworldly being had effectively pinned the young woman down. Jac struggled with all her might, but it was no use- in no less than a few minutes time, the human would lose all consciousness... ..... Richard tried calling Jac multiple times. He had a gut feeling that something had gone horribly wrong, for his friend never failed to leave a message or two to give at least some kind of signal to how she was doing. Using his phone's tracking system, he was able to pinpoint the human's approximate location, his eyes widening at what he saw. This can't be… no. He couldn't believe it. And yet, his gut told him to follow. It was half past midnight, and a shrunken Richard wasted no time retracing their tracks at the lowly cemetery. The Wile frantically searched for any signs of his best friend- - Jac's scent, yes!! He whipped his head and was able to spot her from a far distance. Kicking his legs to catch up, Richard's eyes began to tremble as the realization began to set in. His walking slowed, his breath started to labor, as he increasingly became mortified by what laid before him. "J... Jac?" Richard nearly choked up. Jac turned to face him slowly and mechanically, she bore eyes that flashed bright with what appeared to be no signs of any eyeballs in her sockets. As if being pulled like a marionette, the woman slowly jilted her head back and resumed what she was doing. Upon seeing that she had taken a shovel and was using it to upheave dirt, Richard crouched down to the ground, tears dripping without ceasing. To say he was about to throw up was an understatement.. this HAD to have been nothing more than a horrendous nightmare… it's gotta be. And he wanted nothing more than to wake up from it. Then, she suddenly stopped. Tossing the shovel aside, Jac pawed into the crevice that she created and pulled out an object that sparkled against the light of her eyes. A vintage trinket lopped by a piece of string- it resembled an oval shaped gemstone, center as white as snow. The Wile could feel an unnerving and mysterious aura emitting from it, but that was the least of his concerns. Jac suddenly cried, in laughter, and with hysterical sorrow, back to back in an uncontrollable fit.. as she embraced the object close to her heart, the shine in her eyes slowly fading out. A similar light would then reappear inside of the abnormally in her hands, and with this it felt as if a great weight was lifted from her entire body, a euphoria unlike any she has ever felt. And just as soon as she would have regained her sense of self, she would then lose consciousness once more. She would have plummeted to the pit below if it wasn't for a timely catch.Haunted 4: Hex"Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of bog…" "What's a bog?" Aiden spoke with a light squeal. All three of the Bean, Jillian and Jac shushed him at once. The older woman would then resume the stirring of the cauldron, with the mixture soon turning a bright, magical blue. Ahead of this curious event, Jac and Aiden both shared their experiences on the previous nights, their hair (well, Aiden's at least) stood on end upon the realization that they both had what they thought were merely visions at the exact same time. When this was brought to Jillian's attention, the elf woman suggested that the best way to learn if this was not a mere coincidence was to visit the Cunning Woman known as the Bean who lived in the far-side of town. "If anyone can figure this thing out, she can," Jillian said. This "Bean" was a middle aged witch who also went formally by her given name Marigold. Since her track record was solid and she charged fair prices for her services to boot- according to Jillian- she's been the go-to person for finding out the various going ons in the uncharted world of spirits and the mysterious forces that pertain to them. Without a single syllable, Marigold took one upon Jac and Aiden and stroked her chubby cheeks as she gazed into their perplexed eyes. "Oh my my, this is serious!" She spoke in a light tone, "You poor dears! I need to get started with you two right away!" The human and the shrunken Wile both reluctantly followed the Bean to the room where the large cauldron was kept. After stirring the pot for some time, while gazing upon the contents that only she was able to discern, Marigold let out a horrid gasp before turning to the two afflicted. "You have both been visited by spirits..." Aiden gulped. Jac put on the best face she could but she couldn't help but pull on her pant legs a little. They hadn't even gotten a chance to explain themselves yet, so hearing this from the expert herself had more than confirmed their fears. "You!" The Bean addressed Jac first. "You were visited by the ghost of a vengeful woman. She is restless and will stop at nothing until she has accomplished her unfinished business here in the mortal world. While it still won't be easy to remove her presence over you, this spirit is the lesser of the two you should be worried about." She then turned to Aiden, her voice heavy and filled with hints of dread. "I don't know how you did it without help, but you managed to rid yourself of not a ghost, but an evil entity. Beings old and ancient... 108 of them to be precise." "I heard that number before..." Aiden recalled vaguely. "Well! If I did away with them, then that means I'm in the clear... right?" "Wrong!" The Bean exclaimed as a plume of colorful smoke exploded from behind her, giving the witch an almost menacing appearance. "There's at least one of them hovering over you, keeping a watchful eye," she announced, "the spirit is buried deep and it will be difficult to completely remove. So long as it remains there's a high chance of you becoming infested by an awful curse in due time." "Is there anything we could do right now to reverse this hex, and to get rid of Jac's haunting?" Jillian asked. "I will have to continue my research on the young man's affliction before I can determine what will be the best course of action. Yours is a powerful one that is tied to the land itself. Walking in blindly could result in one or more of us getting seriously hurt, or worse..." Aiden's color whitened with hints of a disturbance beginning to rattle his crop. While Jillian rubbed the shrunken Wile's back, Jac sprung up from her chair. "Will she? Will they... come back?" "I'm afraid that'll be hard for me to determine at this point." The Bean replied, "My bet is that it's a high possibility." The Cunning Woman placed a hand under her chin, and contemplated for a few moments before continuing. "I will now try to conduct the spirit world through the window casted by my brew. If I can secure a couple more hours of your time here, I may be able to find a lead." "If it means that we'll be closer to getting out of this mess, then go for it." Jac nodded. She then looks back at the shrunken Wile, and despite not moving from his previous position, Jac could feel that he agreed to this as well. The pot was whipped by the enlarged wooden spoon once more, this time in slow, drawn out stirs. As the hour went by, different colors ranging from green to red hues resonated within the stew. Like a code, the Cunning Woman was able to understand its cryptic message, and after the second hour had passed, her expression went from mild concern to one of genuine solicitude. She looked up to Jac momentarily, which caused the young woman's heart to jump. Without saying anything, the Bean returned her attention to the contents of the cauldron to try and unravel what her previous communication actually entailed. At last, she pulled out a cloth and wiped the sweat that was rolling down her face. With a deep sigh, she announced, "I was able to find a solution.” All three of the friends bolted from their chairs and drew in mere inches from the witch. The Bean tried her best to shake off some of her anxiety, her voice reluctant at first, but firm. "You two will have to return to the source of what caused this mess to begin with." "The... haunted house...?" Aiden stuttered. "The conductor of the scavenger hunt." Jillian said while putting a hand to her chin. Jac and Aiden both looked at her with surprise. "You are both correct,” the Bean replied. "But I believe the presence that is affecting the young man exists nearby, and not in the house itself." Memories of the hallowed tree began to plague Aiden's thoughts again, and he needed to sit back down. "Did you find anything else about my haunting?" Jac asked with a tiny nervous quip to her voice. "If my suspicions are correct, you'll have to complete the task of visiting a grave..." A cold chill formed in the back of Jac's neck momentarily after she heard those words. The visual of the wretched note of Bartleby's tombstone shot up in her mind. "I'll admit, that one is strange. This grave is not hers, but of someone who she may have had close ties to. I can make all the assumptions I want, but this is what my conducting spirits have told me, and I trust their instructions." "Was she...? The one you spoke with?" The Bean wouldn't utter a sound but she nodded her head in reply. After this she went to the cupboard to retrieve two small bags that she would hand to Jac upon her return. "Please take these, they're on the house." The Bean said. "They are special magic dust that will aid in protecting the wearer. They're not full proof, but if you stay one step ahead of these troublesome spirits then they'll work wonders. I will also give you instructions on how to use a spell that is tied to them and when is the best time to conduct them." "Do I... get something too?" Aiden asked meekly. The witch looked into the young man's eyes. Her expression had a smidge of wariness to them, but her composure remained strong. Sensing Aiden's hesitation, she decided to tell him through her thoughts. 'I am aware of your.. skill. There isn't anything I could do that you can't do better. All you need is courage.' Aiden shivered. A part of him accepted her "words" as fact, but that still failed to calm his unrelenting nerves. After all was said and done and the three friends were about ready to leave, the Bean said one last thing. "Please, be careful... The road ahead is full of many dangers. Stick to the plan and watch out for traps." As the Cunning Woman was getting ready to close shop, she turned around to see a glowing butterfly on the seat handle of the very chair where Jac previously sat. It remained perched while fanning its wings ever so slightly. The Bean looked at the mysterious insect with a stern eye. "I did what you asked," She said, "Now promise me that no harm will come to the girl." The butterfly would then take off, fluttering lightly too and frow around the room before slipping right through the door. The witch followed its every move with a sharp eye; upon looking out the shades of her window she spotted the ethereal insect off the distance on top of Jac's shoulder, with the young woman completely oblivious to its presence. The Bean then took a step back and gave out a sigh. "Perhaps I was wrong..." she uttered. "The ancient spirit is not the worse of the two..."Haunted 3: ShadowsThe week since the eve of the scavenger hunt had been filled with restless nights for Aiden. The first couple of days the Wile barely uttered a syllable, and his stomach stayed unusually empty. Through the attempts of comforting words from his concerned friends however, Aiden was able to shake off his initial shock by day three, and thus began his path towards normalcy. By week's end he was eating full meals again and his general unease of mind was beginning to fade away. But all that progress instantly faded on the exact Saturday after that event. The evening was cold and the sky appeared to be starless. What started as a slow, almost peaceful day would end in a treacherous night.. Aiden's dreams would once again bring upon relapses of terror, but this time, they were more intense than any that came before it. Everyday for the past week at exactly midnight, he would startle up from his slumber.. the Wile would then curl into a ball and wrap his arms over his legs, remaining in this position until the rooster crowed. This time however, his body felt as if it was paralyzed by his own sleep, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake himself wake. As he broke into a pool of sweat, the Wile tossed and turned. Tremors began to quake all over his body, and his hands and feet were petrified, fingers stuck in place unable to bend. His eyes were rapidly moving from side to side under his eyelids, the sheer horror of what he was imagining were thinly emoting from his gaping mouth. The tree... It bared no leaves or fruit.It's bark was freshly charred as if it was constantly burning from an unseen flame. Each dusk carried this very same nightmare, but this time there seemed to be no means of escape. It was as if the hallowed wood was pulling him in like a magnet. Or perhaps, it was the other way around. Upon realizing this, Aiden managed to regain half of his consciousness. He was aware he was still in a dream, but at least now he had some semblance of control. With all his might he broke the shackles that were binding him, which was revealed to be strange tree roots that were made visible once the Wile giant had ripped them to shreds. However, like a lizard's tail but at ten times the speed, the tree roots regenerated in an attempt to tie him down again. Aiden's eyes widened in a furious gaze, his pupils narrowed to a slit as his bared fangs spewed out a bellowing snarl. With a resounding roar, Aiden called upon his inner magic to ignite the roots in a furious blaze. He was able to burn away the restraints that were keeping him down, and in this process his magic glowed, almost resembling brilliant red and yellow wings. With these newly obtained appendages, he was able to glide far away from the hideous tree… and back into reality. In that exact moment, Aiden shot out of bed. The Wile looked over his body in a panic, much to his relief there was nothing amiss. A long sigh escaped him. ‘Another night of this.’ He was fixing to curl back up under his blankets, when he felt a cold chill pierce through his entire being as he stared up at the ceiling... Aiden almost forgot to breathe when he saw, or perhaps more accurately, felt the presence of it.. a shadowy blob like creature, with erratic eyes all over its gaseous body. Whatever it was, it didn't feel like a natural force of nature. Just being near this entity left the young man sick to his stomach. With the sound of multiple voices, it grumbled. "You are a Phoebe Wile.." Aiden's hair stood on end as soon as he heard those words aloud. He couldn't verbalize with his mouth, but his mind could be heard by the foul apparition loud and clear. How the hell do you know about that?! "Your power is phenomenal. Your fire can even burn spirits.." A male voice said. "Your kind go through death and rebirth." Said a female. "You are both half alive.." spoke another. "And half dead. " said another voice still. "Due to this, you are in tune with the spirit world." Just who are you? And what do you want from me?! Aiden cries out in his thoughts. "Who we are doesn't concern you..." A dozen spoke at once. "We came for your flesh! A fresh, living body to take refuge in." "But despite being near immortal, we cannot inhabit yours . Your fire will cook us up." "A shame really..." Wait, you were trying to POSSESS ME?! Aiden cried. The spirits remained silent after that remark, which had mostly confirmed the Wile's suspicions. "Our work here is done. There is no need for us to stay any longer." A female voice grumbled. "Just keep this in mind, Phoebe," a male one spoke, "when the time comes for us to pillage the land, we don't want you to get in our way." "We'll leave you alone if you leave us alone, that seems fair, doesn't it?" Aiden could only nod rapidly in response. "If you don't keep your end of the bargain" the voices gathered at once, "then we'll come after you, and you will feel a death unlike any before..” A legion of the blobs would then merge together to form a massive hand that filled up almost the entire room. It then charged at the terrified Wile, stopping short just before it appeared as if it was about to smack him, a finger tip mere inches from the Wile's mortified face. Aiden remained frozen in place as he witnessed the shadowy hand slowly subside into the ceiling. Sensing his plight, the voices all began to cackle at once, steadily increasing in volume until their sinister laughter swirled around the entire house. Aiden was beginning to grow ill from his struggle to endure this, he wanted so badly for it to end, but the euphoria that was spiraling into a chaotic mesh of dread and doom prevented him from entirely ignoring their presence altogether. He just pulled his covers over him and began to count, tears running down his hot cheeks like a cascade. And then... There was silence. Aiden could not bear to bolt awake this time, instead he slowly and reluctantly opened his eyes to the ceiling. Thank god, it had been cleared of the strange apparitions. The Wile giant gave out a tremendous sigh, but he couldn't shake off the fact that he felt completely drained after this ordeal. He looked to the side at the clock to see that it was only half past midnight. ’Another sleepless night... ’ He knew… that nightmare was not merely just that. If his Phoebe Wile instincts were correct, then something horrible had just unveiled itself to him... and it hinted at something terrible yet to come. Normally he would keep his insecurities and personal problems to himself, but this time Aiden felt that this is about to go beyond just him. Like it or not, he needed help, he cannot shoulder this burden alone.Haunted 2: Beacon It had been a week since Jac postponed the scavenger hunt. After that last ordeal with the haunted house, the young woman felt as though the prize at the end (which was kept in the dark as far as she knew) was not worth the amount of effort and energy spent to work for it. She had already gone through a dozen different clues, with each location increasing in difficulty and supposed "spookiness." But with a reward so vague, she felt too tired to bother wasting any more time on it. "If it were a million dollars then I'll be more obligated to go on, that's for sure." She thought. "But since there isn't any indication of that, well..." On the bright side, at least Jac had managed to get farther than anyone else in this game, so she felt that was as good enough of an accomplishment as any. Jac had the weekend off and she wanted nothing more than to spend that time simply relaxing away. It's not often that she would choose to spend her free time alone, but for whatever reason she was feeling more exhausted than usual since about a week ago. She figured it was most likely due to her strenuous work week. Jac trotted over to the fridge to clear her throat with a cold beverage, when she noticed something was laying about in the corner of her eye. The slight breeze that seeped in from the half opened window must have knocked a napkin off of the kitchen counter. She went to retrieve it, when she suddenly realized that this was no disposable paper cloth at all, rather a torn off sticky note. She winced when she saw what was written on the back. ’Your next clue is in the graveyard next to Bartleby's tombstone’ Great. She did not want to be reminded of this right now. Jac stomped her way into the living room and shoved the little piece of paper into the desk drawer. The sooner she can get it off her mind, the better. Later that afternoon, Jac was in a call with Jillian, when the latter had finally brought up the question of what the former was doing the previous week. With a sigh, Jac reluctantly told the elven woman about the scavenger hunt and that she and Aiden were essentially running in circles in a fool's errand. "You need to stop diving head first towards things without first considering what it is you're actually getting yourself into," the voice on the other end sighed. "Yeah, it's a hard habit to break though.." "Still, don't you think that the way the game is structured is a little bit, I dunno... suspicious? It did sound like they wanted you to cause vandalism towards the end." "I was told I was going to get a prize. And.." Jac felt like she was done as she fessed up. "I was bored and I needed something to keep me busy. Games are always fun, so I thought I'd give it a shot." "Do you even know the guy who organized this scavenger hunt? If I were you, I'd ask some serious questions." "I've only talked to him in a chatroom once with a bunch of other participants who gave up before me.. I recall he didn't have a face, but he spoke with one of those cheap, monotonous voices that folks do when they try to be spooky. It's all one big act." "If I was over there, I'd like to give that so-and-so a piece of my mind." Jillian huffed. After clearing some chores, Jac had the remainder of the day all to herself. With a very sweetened Cup of Joe on hand, the young woman was just about ready to listen to her favorite audio series, when the apartment shook with a sudden jolt. It was too loud and too brief to had been an earthquake, which had only meant one thing. Jac looked out the window, and sure enough she saw a shadow being cast by an unseen giant. "Oops! Sorry!" The giant said to the residents of Jac's housing unit, before she could be heard stomping away. Jac was able to see her after the latter was some distance away carrying what looked like construction beams. With a sigh, Jac checked around the unit to make sure that there was no collateral damage; thankfully nothing was amiss save for all of the drawers and cabinets which had swung open ever so slightly. None of the contents spilled, save for a few pieces of paper that had flown out of one of the desk drawers. Jac was in the process of picking them up when one of these managed to give her a paper cut. After putting the wounded finger in her mouth, Jac pulled up the culprit, falling into a near stupor when she realized what it was. Your next clue is in the graveyard next to-- Jac made an audible groan and shoved the wretched sticky note on the bottom of one of the heaviest books on the shelf. Surely she wouldn't happen to come across it again. She's just about had it up to here as far as the scavenger hunt was concerned. The rest of the day rolled on without much excitement, which was fine as Jac felt she's had enough. She felt a sudden headache coming on however, so she took a couple of aspirins and decided to turn in for the night. And while she slept like a dog for the first couple of hours, the next two were filled to the brim with constant distress. She was startled awake by a loud thumping noise, as she realized right then and there that her temperature had skyrocketed. With a pained groan, she slowly looked to the right… to find that the paper cut on her finger was starting to get bigger. The sight of this caught Jac off guard, but her body aches have become so intense that she could barely breathe, let alone get out of bed. Suddenly, another thump... The sound seemed to have come from the unit upstairs as the heavy footfalls made its way from one end of the ceiling to another. It crawled down to her level… like a large, heavy insect… Thereafter came a long stretch of silence, which had unnerved Jac more than she thought it would. Her breathing had intensified, and her heart began to race, but she wasn't sure why. At that moment, she heard a fluttering sound just to the right of her. She slowly turned her head to the hand that was sliced to discover that something was lying on top. She couldn't believe what she saw. A butterfly.. that was glowing with a shimmering yellow light. Jac could do nothing but gaze in awe at its sudden appearance; it rested on the opening of her cut for a bit before it took flight again. And in the blink of an eye, it vanished. Just then… a large thud. Jac turned her head slowly to the bedroom entrance, where she thought the strange butterfly flittered off to, but instead she would witness something unlike anything she had ever seen before. And it made her skin crawl immensely. A hand, much bigger than that of a human's, that was completely devoid of color pigmentation. It was far too bony with long, jagged nails. Jac stared at the apparition for about a minute.. her eyes pierced onto it, not a peep from her mouth. The appendix suddenly jolted to life, as if awakened from a spell. It pointed to her and beckoned her to come closer, before pulling back and out of the room. After taking a deep breath, Jac managed to speak as strongly as she could. And while her voice still croaked, he was able to make herself loud and clear. "NO THANKS! I'M STAYING RIGHT WHERE I AM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" And she pulled the covers over her and refused to emerge from them for some time. When she had regained consciousness, Jac bolted out of bed with a loud gasp. She took a moment to check around to make sure her body was in one piece- without a doubt, there was no indication of aches and pains, and the paper cut wound returned back to nothing more than a thin scab. "A nightmare..." She uttered. It was half past midnight, but there was no chance in hell that she was going back to sleep in her own bed. She felt a cold shiver up her back at the mere thought of it, the likes of which shook even one as stout-hearted as her. She knows that there was one remedy for this.. one she needed to take in order to have some sense of security again. She had to dial a number. "Jac...?" Richard asked on the other line with a groggy voice, "W-what's going on...?" "I'm sorry to ask on such short notice but..." Jac took a moment to gather her thoughts before proceeding. "Is it all right if I meet you over at the border of the human district? I.. need a place to hide for the night." Richard was silent for a moment, but Jac knew from experience that his eyes likely had widened by her request. He understood exactly what she meant. "Are you okay?" "Not really..." Jac replied quietly. "I have nothing to fear with you, so I just... want to be comfortable. Whether it'll be a hand, a pocket, or... you know. I just....Need this right now." "I'm on my way." Richard could be heard shuffling out of bed. "Please, hang in there." "I'll try.. Thank you."Haunted 1With a slight push, the door opened with a loud creeeeeek Jac had made her way inside the abandoned house, as she searched around she took great care to not make a single peep. A flick of her flashlight revealed sheets of cobwebs and dust that blanketed the rooms, a scene that made her scrunch her brow. Beyond that were furniture that felt like relics of days gone by. Not that this was of any importance to her. "C'mon!" Jac spoke in a harsh whisper. "We get the next clue, then we can get outta here. Stat!" "A-xhoo" Lagging far behind her was Aiden, whose sinuses had flared up through the roof. "I don't like this place. It gives me the creeps..." "Well, the sooner we can find that paper, the sooner we can get going!" "Aren't we kinda like, trespassing? Someone might still own this joint..." Jac was mostly wrapped up in her search, the words of her friend bouncing off of her. She was more determined than ever to beat this game they've gotten swept up in.. in her mind, there was no time to get concerned over something silly like this place being supposedly haunted. Unfortunately for the shrunken Wile, Aiden wasn't able to do anything but focus on the eeriness of the house as a whole. When he wasn't clattering his teeth and firmly rooted in wherever he chose to just... stand on, he was sneezing up a storm from all the dust that Jac had kicked up. "What are you doing? Help me out! Look around in any of the other rooms!" "Uh, yeah! I'm on it!" Aiden was actually grateful to have gotten away from that dust cloud. The nearest entrance carried him to a large living room with shelving that was stacked to the brim with old books. On the furthest corner, there was a grand piano that appeared to be playing on its own. Wait... That was probably a prank the guys who set up the scavenger hunt made. 'It's a joke. No doubt about that one. Yep.' Just then, Aiden spotted something sticking out from the top of the piano- a small white sheet of paper. The Wile was just about to lift the lid when he heard a voice reverberating from behind him. It felt like it was breathing down his neck. "I wouldn't do that if I were you~!" Aiden dropped the piano lid and squealed at the top of his lungs. The older gentleman from behind covered his ears. "What in tar nation's!!! Get a hold of yourself, young man!!" Aiden spun around and came face to face with the fellow who came up from behind, a time worn man who greeted him by tipping his black cowboy hat. The latter took a moment to recover his piercing eardrums before speaking. "Mornin' to ya, laddy." He spoke in a ruffled yet strong voice, "I wasn't expecting any guests this fine hour." Aiden let out a long breath, holding his hand to his chest to calm his thumping heart. "Oh thank goodness. I had no idea anyone lived here." "Who? Me? Naw.. I wouldn't dream of it. I just own this plot of land here and I come over to check in on it every now and again." "Uh! I'm sorry for barging in like this-" "No need for that now. I could use some company. Gets kinda lonely for me when I'm here." At that moment the room was lit with a bright orange glow that shone from the large windows that took up half of the room. The sunrise looked marvelous from this view; Aiden couldn't help but stare at it in wonder for a bit. "It sure is pretty from up these hills" the older man said. "I had no idea we were in this house for so long..." "Don't worry about it. You're welcome to stay as long as you like." Aiden was scanning the yard outside when he spotted a small skinny tree from a distance. The bark appeared to have been charred from a fire, and not a single leaf adorned its branches. Aiden's eyes narrowed to a pencil slit, and he started to shiver at the tip of his shoulders. The landowner took notice of this. "While you're here, would you like for me to give you a rundown of the history of this place? I promise I won't take up too much of your time." That snapped Aiden back into focus. "Uhh.. sure? I don't see why not." The older gentleman gave out a long sigh through his nose before he proceeded. "Well this estate used to be owned by a very wealthy man. A cruel and wicked man who had used his money to carry out all sorts of fornication and what have you. Folks who worked for him would tell strange accounts of him harboring evil spirits... But I'm getting ahead of myself." He looked down at the piano, its tune continuing to play. "One day he brought home a woman who looked to be the prime of her youth. She was a sweetheart, her beauty was unmatched both in her appearance and her personality. He made her into the model wife- she cooked and cleaned and did everything for his needs. She loved him and he made himself to be the model man for her, only for her to discover that he was still craving other women behind her back. Before long, she confronted him about it. And that's when he--" The man paused as he shook his head and pinched his eyes. Aiden watched this and drooped somewhat, he sensed where this was going. The landowner turned his head to the sullen tree before he finally spoke. "That tree right there? That was where the man did the unthinkable before turning the rifle on himself." The Wile widened his eyes when he heard that revelation, his stare never parting from the tree in question as the old man continued his tale. "That tree had lost all its luster and it hasn't grown any leaves since then. Rumors spread of the man having housed as many as 108 unclean spirits within him during his life.. who have now manifested this entire area, spreading their influence through the roots. But who can say if any of that holds any truth to it or not." The man then gave one more sigh. "Pardon me for taking up your time with this sad story." "Oh? Oh no. It was... eye opening. To say the least. It gives me more of a good reason to want to get out of here as soon as I can." "Do you believe in spirits?" "I... wish I didn't." The man had to laugh at that reaction. "Well, that's an honest answer! You seem to be mighty keen to them, that's for sure! All right then, that's fine by me if you want to get going. But before you do..." The man then picked up the piece of paper that had flung out of the piano before and handed it to the young Wile. "You'll be needing this, right?" Aiden had completely forgotten about what he had came for at that exact moment, but he was grateful to see the poorly handwritten sticky note when it was given. "Oh! Yeah. Thank you!" "I'd be careful with following the instructions for that if I were you." "Huh?" "Aiden!! What the hell!?" Aiden whipped around to see Jac covered in a fine coat of dust bunnies, and she looked kind of beat on top of that. "Wha? Wha happened?" He replied. "I heard you scream!" "I did?!" "Yeah! Like a little girl!" "Hey! And... uhhh.. I didn't just now? The last time was about... maybe, ten minutes ago?" "No it wasn't! You had just come in here like a minute ago and then you screamed enough to scare the ghosts away!" Aiden took notice of what she had said, and it had just occurred to him at that point that the room was dark in the dead of night. "W-wait.... what time is it?" "It's half past midnight!" Aiden's face colored white momentarily as he was trying to wrap his head around those words. He looked down on his right hand to make sure that he hadn't been hallucinating. Sure enough... "You found it! Thank you so much Aiden!" "Y-yeah." Jac pulled the paper from his hands and held the flashlight onto it. ‘Your next clue is in the graveyard next to Bartleby's tombstone’ Jac let out a very long groan. "I'm tired. We'll pick this up another time. Let's--" Aiden was ignoring much of what was being said, for he was transfixed to what he was seeing when he turned his head to the side where the old man had stood. Or rather, what he doesn't see. He retraced the man's steps in his mind multiple times and followed him as he made his way towards the windows and the side of the grand piano. Dust had covered much of the floor with a blanket of gray, disturbed by the shoe prints of the two visitors as they snooped around. However, no footprints were left where the man stood... "Aiden? Are you ok...?" Aiden remained silent. Jac took on a more comforting approach once she took this as an answer. "I'm sorry I brought you along into this. Let's go home okay?" "Y...yeah..." Jac then gave Aiden a pat on the back and helped him make their way out. As soon as they closed the front door behind them, the piano, which had continuously played its tune on a loop, had finally stopped.gifWhere's the Magic?"How come you don't use magic anymore?" That question cut through the intense focus Richard had, his fingers slowed to a halt at last. His silver eyes peered to the side onto Jac, yet his face remained glued towards the screen. "Hmm... Does it look like I have any use for it right now?" Was his answer. Jac kicked her feet slightly as her thumbs moodily twitched in her pockets. "After work.. or on days off... You don't suppose you could..?" She trailed off before stopping then and there. Richard continued to tap away, expertly filling out a paragraph in mere seconds.. before he paused for a second time. He swiveled around to meet her eye to eye, his face nearly brushing against the miniature form situated on his bookshelf. "Was there... any particular reason why you're so interested all of a sudden?" Jac glanced at her feet and puckered her face. Her smile grew brighter the more she mused, as her excitement bloomed out in the open with a giddy skip. "I miss the wind puffs you used to make!" "Wind... puffs?" Richard's voice remained flat in turn. "You know!" Jac rested her arms atop his nose. "Back when we were in high school, you used to show me all the neat little tricks you could pull off using wind magic." "Oh, yeah." "We used to gather these little weed flowers, and then you twittled your fingers around and then they sprung up in the air, almost like they're dancing with a woooooop! And then they come down with a whooosh!! Puffs everywhere!" "Mmmm-hm." Jac sighed, enthralled by such an enchanting memory. "Oh what I would give to see that again! It was.. well, magical!" "Uh huh." "You don't sound very enthusiastic right now." "I got files piling up, Jac." The Wile spoke with a huff. "This is nice and all but, I really do need to get back to work." Richard pulled back to a more comfortable position on his desk, as he glanced at the high stacks of paper on the side with a slight grimace. "Unless it could get any of my workload done, there's no real reason to do that stuff anymore. I have little energy as is and.. it's hard to expend more than I need to for that sort of thing." Jac sighed through her nose. She leaned back against the much-too-tall books, as she watched her friend steadily wind up like the cogs in a machine. The mere sight of this seemed pitiful to the woman. "Where's your sense of whimsy? C'mon! Don't you want to do it for just a few seconds? You know, for old times sake?" "Jac.." Richard was locked into his files at this point, typing a storm while he spoke. "I guess to you it seems like a big deal, but to us Wiles, what I did there was the wind equivalent of blowing bubbles. We're not kids anymore.." "You can clap your hands to make a gust of wind! That's a bit more prevalent!" Richard groaned. "I don't even see you do basic Wile giant stuff either. It seems... unnatural." Jac looked down again, the concern in her eyes were subtle, but spoke for themselves. Nothing was said between them for a few moments, as the human began to brood over thoughts that ultimately was not what she needed to linger on. 'The modern zeitgeist of the Beanstalk Society runs deep..' Eventually, Jac climbed down the built-in steps to reach the second story shelf. She rummaged through a sprout-sized dresser until she found what she was looking for: a clothed knapsack filled with "pixie" dust. She was running a bit low on it, crud sakes, so she had nothing to show for her efforts. "What are you doing?" Richard finally said. "Going through my things.." Jac replied in a sing song way. "Jac, you're not setting off any sparks in the house. That stuff is highly flammab--" "I know, I know! Yeesh. I ain't gonna say nothin' to set it off!" "Just checking!" Jac gave out a nonverbal hiss before returning to her usual self, her curiosity perked more than ever. "You were the one who taught me how to use this... with the magic energy you gave me through the Link. Does that mean.. you can do spark type powers too? I always thought you were an air elemental.." Richard then hunched closer to the screen, as if to say now was not the time to hear this. Jac placed the bag away before she began to gaze upon the dresser, and soon beyond, for a moment or two. "Why did you give me this to me? What was the purpose again?" Richard took a breath, yet her words were loud and clear despite it's soft utterance. "I thought maybe you could put it to good use. In case a hostile giant tried to attack you or something, then that would usually be enough to make them back off." "Well, if it's ok for me, to borrow your magic, then why should it be an issue when you use it?" "I hate to be cynical... but our size is a contributing factor." Richard steadily slowed his pacing, his fingers barely getting a word in, along with his mouth soon enough. "Just because I'm small it's deemed okay in society's eyes?" Jac exclaimed. "That doesn't make it right!" Richard remained silent. "And here we are just showcasing the double standards this place runs on! Nobody bats an eye when I use magic! Heck, when we first Linked, you gave me my silver eyes through magic!" "I, still feel bad about that.." "Nono, it's fine! I know it wasn't intentional, but, I like it! It's pretty!" Jac put on a wide grin that hopefully got the message across. The giant's eyes remained somber however, but at least he was looking directly at her direction again. Seeing his expression only fueled her frustrations. "It's just... for some reason nobody paid attention to it! Or, at least folks never directly acknowledged it to me. You guys get a lot of flack for something as trivial as having metallic colored eyes." "Or for even breathing sometimes.." Richard began to slump a tad. Upon the human's realization that the mood had soured, she quickly ducked her head in a nonverbal apology. "It's fine.. We needed to vent at some point." "I didn't mean to... I just, don't enjoy seeing you so restricted all the time. It's doing a number to your health." "I know..." Richard squeezed the bridge of his nose before he leaned back on his recliner. "I know what you want me to do. Embrace the moments where I can." "Yeah! And fight the good fight!" "Where applicable." Richard then growled slightly before continuing. "It's never that simple Jac... but..." "But?" "I'll admit, wind magic isn't really something that I take that great of interest in to begin with. Beanstalk Society aside, I find it hard to have any practical use for it outside of the occasional self-defense. And you know how much I value getting some use out of things." "Yeahhh, I know.." "And yet..." "Hm?" "I... wasn't even aware that you liked it so much." "I don't just like it Rich, I loved seeing your magic make petals dance all around me. And to make the sparkly dew float gracefully towards the sky... It's, little moments like these that make life special to me. And.." Jac drew closer to that large face she was so accustomed to, resting a hand against a cheek before the rest of her followed suit. "I know it sounds like I'm only interested in the magic aspect of it, but truth is... I care because you are the one performing it. It's beautiful.. art that you've crafted with your own power. A part of you that should be treasured, and... not locked away entirely." Jac continued. "You care a lot about expending energy and all that, but I think it's good for a person who has magic in their blood to let it out every once in a while. Even if it's just for fun." Richard was careful with his breath, as he leaned in slightly to the tiny woman who nestled against him. His eyes rolled to the side as the bridge of his mouth perked up. Leading to a purr that was barely audible, yet was clear as the dawn for Jac. "Well..." The Wile whispered. "I guess I can't say no to that. Those words you spoke worked wonders." "Does that mean..?" "Yeah. Sorry I was a bit nippy earlier." "That's ok. I know where it's coming from." Jac then side-glanced to the paper tower. "Are you sure you don't want to wait? You said magic can wear you out." "Mmm-hm. Like you said, just a few seconds should be fine. Truth is... the fact that you genuinely cared about it beyond it being just a novelty.. moved me. A little." "Oh?" "If it was just me, for my sake I wouldn't bother. But... it goes beyond that now." Richard perked up as he finally looked directly at Jac's increasing smile. "If it really makes you that happy... then, well. What am I to deny you that right to see it? Cause to see you happy.. that's what I want most of all." "That's what I've been saying all along!" Jac folded her arms in an obviously fake pout. "Sorry, I was thinking about myself at the moment again." "You're fiiine. But, I'm just glad you came around. Because you certainly need to not bottle up so much!" "Y..Yeah.." "Well? What are we waiting for?" The gibbous moon glowed bright across the bed of stars- a perfect backdrop for the queerplatonic couple as they made their way towards the balcony. Jac jumped off of the giant's open palm before the latter began to clutch his fingers together. He uttered a soft incantation, short, brief and to the point. He then flipped his hand around and presented a finger tip to his friend. "Here." Jac felt it, a small yet very present force. She scooped up the invisible spell from Richard, and it was there where she could feel the telltale sign of the wind between her fingers, all bundled up in a compact form. "A wind puff..." Jac gasped in delight. "Richard... thank you so much." "No problem." The side of the Wile's face bore sweat, even such a minor spell did that much. "You were right, I am a bit out of shape." "I'll treasure it as long as I can.. to make up for it." "It won't be long before it wears out, but you can do whatever you want with it until then. Have fun!" As Richard returned to his quarters, no doubt to his remaining papers, Jac began to move the wind ball across her arms. She pulled it along, unwinding the wind like string to pick up every dandelion nearby before setting them up high to greet with the awaiting stars. Jac continued to dance like a ballerina on the porch, nothing else mattered in the entire world at this time. The perfect gift, one of enchantment, fueling her child-like wonder. Grateful to still have it after all these years, even for this brief, yet wondrous moment.The First DayThe bells chimed their melody of eight. As if on cue, the halls came alive with the shuffling of shoes and the clanging of lockers as an increasing swarm of students pooled in, a scene that quickly escalated into a chaotic rush that was typical of the events that plagued every Monday. Far enough away from the stampede to not be swept up by it was Richard, who stood facing his locker on the furthest side of the room where sunlight from the window could not reach. If one were to look upon him, one would assume he was in some kind of trance; in truth, he was deep down the rabbit hole that was conjured up by his own dark ponderings. Among the few neatly organized things kept in his personal storage was a small, round mirror that stood on a pedestal. Richard silently seethed as he gazed into the pool of silver that colored his eyes- his reflection revealing that their sheen lacked the soft, inner glow that normally beamed from the magic within. The slit of his pupils, however, were just as predominant as ever. "Another year of this..." He spoke in a voice that was barely audible, with a tone flat enough to hide the bitterness that was gnawing him. Nonchalance is the front he puts out, for he tries his damndest to hide his true feelings. Why did I come back here? Perridi High doesn't care about the treatment of Wiles, Being isolated is the same as if I don't exist at all... Once upon a time, Richard was proud of his eye color. He used to boast that his silver was a cool shade, not fancy like the bronzes and golds of other Wiles. To him, they were just right. But as he grew older and he began to mingle among the rest of society, his eyes became a burden. Silver gives away a person's status as a Wile, and Wiles are known to possess wild and at times uncontrollable magic. And to others, that spelled danger. Without understanding the deeper meaning behind these abilities, no student dared to look straight at him after doing so once. The hymns and lullabies passed down through the generations among his kind spoke of how the world would treat them- as monsters- but Richard could not fathom that there would be actual truth to these lyrics in this day and age. For civilization at least in this side of the world has become more accepting of the many different types of mystical people of all shapes and sizes, encouraging them to coexist in harmony, or so the ad campaigns claim. But as the cold shoulders of many a passerby have shown, time and time again, he was greatly mistaken. Richard took a deep, sound breath, before abruptly and firmly slamming the locker shut. He had mentally tossed his frustration inside before swinging the door, making an internal scream all the while. So what if they're afraid? They aren't worth my time!! After a moment of pause, Richard placed his hands, one atop the other, facedown in front of his chest while slowly breathing in, and then out through his nose. Through this silent meditation, he quickly calmed down. But not before something, or rather, someone, abruptly broke his concentration. "HEY! WHY DON'T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOIN'?!" A voice, hardly an utterance, but one that his ears could pick up with ease. Richard didn't have to look far to find the source of the near high pitched shriek, for his keen senses were quick to pinpoint, zero in, and lock onto his target. Pacing across the crowded aisle with a look of increasing frustration on her was an unfamiliar student, a human by the look of her. As she stormed her way up the hall and back, it became all too clear to her onlooker that the girl was hopelessly lost. Richard wanted to offer assistance but stopped short at the thought. He would dare not approach her without warning, as that would likely scare her out of her wits. Which is typical of how these kinds of encounters tend to be. His size was an obstacle in of itself, let alone him being a Wile. And yet, Richard could not bring himself to take his eyes off her. The young man pulled out a notebook from his backpack, using it as cover as he continued to watch the events unfold.. upon realizing this, he was taken aback. He felt like he really shouldn't be eavesdropping on the lass, even though his range of sight could span out to see her regardless. But she would repeatedly do something so strange, so bizarre, it... fascinated him, perking up his curiosity. Which in turn made her increasingly impossible for him to ignore. She tried talking to the other students. Students who were ten times taller than her. Students who were all too oblivious of her presence, and could have easily trampled her underfoot if it wasn't for her quick maneuvering skills, which were impressive in of itself. She would continue this exercise of yelling and dodging several times; either the passing giants had failed to pick up on her voice or- a more nefarious thought- she was being disregarded on purpose. As someone who was born and raised in an integrated part of the Beanstalk Society, Richard is used to the occasional appearance of Beansprouts - a collective term to describe the smaller folk, which included elves and humans. His city was built to accommodate them, yet sightings remain rare. Most would not dare to venture deep into Beanstalk territory, no matter what opportunities- or bribes- are given to them. Richard doesn't blame the Sprouts for thinking this way, for he has seen the hostile treatment of some of their people first hand. Which really makes the actions of this bold and seemingly reckless human all the more perplexing. Nothing's stopping him from going over to help her now, right? Since she appears to show absolutely no fear of the larger folk. However, he isn't like most others. Wiles in particular have been known for.. less than appetizing dealings when it came to Sprouts. Once again, his hesitation got the better of him. His muddled musings would cease however, as he started to instinctively pick up a sudden shift in the air. That was when he realized that the tiny human had stopped, for she finally noticed the Wile making side glances at her. Crap! The young man inadvertently ducked behind his papers once again, not that it would make any difference now that the jig has long since been up. In mere seconds, the girl sprinted into the crowd, diving and sliding past the heavy traffic of giant footfalls. The sight of this nearly gave Richard a heart attack. He bolted, opting to meet the crazy girl partway, but she had already made it through the crossroad of the main hall before he could even get a chance to react. She was obviously out of breath, but thankfully all in one piece. Richard had to get his bearings together. The Junior student shut his eyes and counted to ten, this time while braying out a long, shaky sigh. This couldn't have lasted for more than a couple of seconds however. Sensing that the smaller presence was close enough to the verge of being almost uncomfortable, he slowly opened his eyelids, and just as speedily looked down. The new student was now nearly touching the toe cap of his right boot. Richard spontaneously took a step back, giving out a startled, involuntary meep in response. "E...Excuse me..." The girl huffed weakly as she was trying to get air back into her lungs. She was positive she would have to repeat that, for it was barely audible enough for a giant to hear. Which made Richard's response all the more shocking to her. "I... It's ok... Take your time." That couldn't have been what she heard, could it? The girl then craned her neck as high as it could go, realizing right away that the titan had bent down to check in on her. As soon as she made eye contact however, Richard immediately averted his stare. But not before the sophomore caught a quick glimpse of that silver color. She never saw anything quite like it before. Richard didn't mean to be rude by that gesture. Of course he was too afraid to show his eyes to a regular sized person, let alone a Sprout. But upon sensing that the mood had not changed at the slightest despite being fully aware that she was able to see them partially, he slowly eased up as he found his voice again. "You needed help from a Beanstalk?" He spoke after clearing his throat, making sure to not verbalize too loudly. The girl had pulled back some of her long, light-brown hair that had flung to her face during her run earlier, revealing strong, determined eyes that took the young Wile giant by surprise. He paused for a moment and rolled his eyes back to her without realizing it. Even then, her confidence didn't waver, as she put on a stout yet relaxed tone that could only be indicative of someone who treated him as a person matching her own height. No, she definitely wasn't like the others. But he couldn't put his finger on whether this was due to sheer bravery, stupidity, or a combination of the two. Richard began to tilt his head like a bird, a typical habit of Wiles of his variety, examining the small one from head to sneakers. No doubt his inquisitiveness has reached its peak. He would watch as the human girl had closed her eyes, taking a long deep breath and-without further warning-shouted from the top of her lungs. "COULD YOU TELL ME WHERE I CAN GO FOR WORLD LITERATURE ART STUDIES?!!" Richard was forced to drop to his knees in haste, his shoulders quivering slightly. "Yeesh! Not so loud! I can hear you just fine!" He replied in a harsh whisper. "I was about to head over there myself! It's at room B-17." The girl blinked in surprise. She wasn't expecting to get an answer from him at all, much less his first choice of words. "R-really? Thanks! Sorry... I've been practically screaming my butt off all morning and you're the first person who actually heard me." "So I noticed..." Richard was still wincing, which the human scanned over with more curiosity than concern. "Are you all right?" Richard opened his eyes while grumbling something about noise under his breath before addressing her. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just took me by surprise, that's all." "You're the first giant person I met my whole life who didn't have terrible hearing." Richard had to do a double take. Did I just hear that correctly? Of all the nerve! He could not believe the words that just came out of this Sprout's mouth. He would then loom closer and look at her squarely in the eye, his face now completely obstructing her view. "Oh, so bold of you to say that in front of one of them." He crooned. "Well, it's a fact. I've been around Stalks for a few years now and I'm used to shouting to get heard. But I can clearly see, you're quite different." Throughout this conversation, the girl's eyes never loses focus on his. Richard cocked his eyebrow slightly, narrowing his stare as if he had the look of annoyance. But in truth, he was enjoying the moment for what it was as it is the first interaction he had gotten in a while. And furthermore, it was certainly entertaining. Though it became clear to him now that this person had no idea who she was talking to. Which, once this thought crossed his mind, caused Richard to hold back what he wanted to say in response. Instead, he curved a small grin. "What's that look for?" The human girl asked. Richard replied in a teasing tone. "Shouldn't you be keeping your eyes on that clock?" With that revelation, Jac immediately whipped her head around to the timer that was centered at the middle of the halls. The large hand was mere inches from the fifteen mark. "Damn! Uh... Hey! Do you mind if you can take me over there?" Richard's almost menacing smile lessened into a milder one as the calm began to settle in. That wouldn't last. "Sure thing! Think you can keep up?" "Uhh..." The girl replied flatly, "that's not what I mean..." Richard took a moment to completely comprehend what the Sophomore could have possibly implied with that statement before it hit him. Like a wreaking ball. His eyes flung wide open, hair jolting nearly on end. "You want me to do what?! His voice had a slight, shrilly crack to it, though he remembered to speak lightly in spite of his turmoil. Jac couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Didn't they teach you how to pick up Sprouts in school?" "Nooo?! I think it's voluntary, like learning CPR!" The Wile giant was obviously panicking. The girl waved her arms out and grumbled under her breath."Great! And here I thought the education system was supposed to be better around here? Fine... " The smaller student then made her way just under his right hand. She was still lightly fumed, but she didn't let that get in the way of her instructions. "Let me guide you through this," she spoke in a humdrum manner. "It's not that hard. Take out your hand." She was actually going to go through with this. "OH NO NO NO. I'm going to call one of the school officials and they'll --" "We haven't much TIME!" The girl jesters to the clock, which had shown that it was roughly three minutes before the starting bell. "I can't be late on my first day!!" "Okay, okay!" The sooner he gets this over with, the sooner he can alleviate his nerves and get on with his life. Even though deep down he thought his idea was much better. "What should I do?" "Just lower your palm on the floor face up." Swallowing, Richard reluctantly did as he was told. Now that the platform of flesh and skin was resting in front of her, the young woman placed her hands on the tip of his index finger to try to help ease the giant's rattled nerves, though it only aided to increase his shivering instead. She would then suck in a breath before finally jumping on board. It felt as if a dozen different emotions washed onto the Wile Giant all at once; on one hand he was vastly in awe of the sensation of feeling an actual tiny person on his hand, one who would go so far as to entrust her life to someone like him. On the other however, the sheer pressure of holding someone this fragile was beginning to overwhelm him, as indicated by the continuing tremors that rattled the smaller human's form, which seemed to intensify by the second. "H-H-H-Hey! Calm down!" The girl's voice reverberated with the rumbling. "Sorry.." Richard replied with a low whisper, as he slowly brought her closer to his face. "I'm worried about carrying you like this all the way.." Sensing the unease of the situation at hand, the girl had to agree. Time was running out and she had to think up a storm. "How about you cup your hands around me? That'll keep me secure at least." In an instant, largely due to his unrelenting panic, Richard brought his left hand up and clamped onto the human a little too fast. The girl squeaked as she was being squished against his digits, but it wasn't enough to do any damage as the young giant loosened his grip within seconds upon realizing his mistake. From the way it looked, Richard was in a lot more distress than she was. "Daijou--uh, I mean! Are you okay? Did I break anything?" "I'm fine! Calm down! Ok?!" She felt it best to move on quickly than to dwell on the matter, going back to the crash course where she left off. "Just! Keep my body against your palm and curve your fingers over my chest and legs like so. Your thumb should be kept behind my head to prevent--" "Over your what ? No way! I'm not doing that!" "Relax.. will ya? Keep it a loose hold and you'll be alright." The Sprout spoke with a huff. And with that she pulled his fingers in over her like a blanket as a gesture for him to get a move on. Richard was clearly unnerved by this but he didn't have time to react before the girl shouted. "OK! YOU'RE ALL SET! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET GOING! MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!" Richard scattered, returning to his senses just enough to pick himself up and start running (well, more like brisk walking) as he made his way through the massive halls. Wrapping both hands around the small one and holding her close to his torso, he felt the minute and a half it took to get to classroom B-17 to be the longest he's ever had. Keeping his mind focused on the task at hand both figuratively and literally, the Wile giant failed to notice the few students who were still about, eyeing the scene as he walked past. One of them shouted something at him, not surprisingly an insult, but he could not bother to pay any attention to it as he was so engaged in what he was doing and the sheer anxiety that came of it. Meanwhile, the girl was keeping silent while holding on tightly to the giant's paw. No doubt that this was a rougher ride than what she's used to, but all in all it wasn't nearly as bad as she was expecting. Keeping a firm but loose hold on her while stabilizing his hand with the other, the Beanstalk wounded up doing everything by the book. Not bad for a supposed first timer. After turning many corners and passing by what seemed like an endless row of doors, at last Richard had reached their destination at two minutes past the starting bell. Thankfully, the teacher had yet to arrive and the overall atmosphere among the students who were there was still relatively calm. They were early enough, which brought the two a much needed sigh of relief. Richard uncurled his hands and let the small one roll onto the dip of his palms. The Junior student looked down in horror when he saw that the Sophomore had curled onto herself. "Oh my gosh!! Are you ok!!?" She was slightly disoriented, but she wasn't going to let him know that if she can help it. "I'm good. Ya get so worked up over nothin'." She said as she righted herself up. "It was a pretty bumpy ride, but overall, I think you did okay." "This was my first time. What did you expect? " That got a chuckle out of the human. Seeing that she was smiling and thankfully well by the way it appeared, the Wile giant would let the feeling of success sink in, which finally allowed him the luxury to ease up quite a bit. Looking around his surroundings, Richard saw that the majority of the classmates were either Juniors or Seniors themselves.. and yet, he couldn't catch anything that signaled a place where tiny students would go safely. Every desk and chair was normal sized (from his perspective) not a single thing in this room indicated anything that would cater to Sprouts. 'Did I come to the right place?' He pondered. Just then, the class instructor walked in, a giant with a pompous chin and thinning grey hair. He immediately took notice of the young Wile giant, first by scanning down on the girl on his hands and then onto his face... and eyes. Richard knew that look. "Sir! I can explain!" What the teacher did next was not what the Junior had expected. The older Brobdinrang's expression quickly changed from perplexed to a much lighter mood. A wide, cheerful grin would then overtake his face. "Young man, I see that you've brought our newest student! We were expecting you, Jaclyn Fincher!" "Please. Call me Jac. I'm delighted to be here!" "Oh, but that's a boy's name! Don't you like Jaclyn? It's prettier and I think it suits you better." Oh brother. She could already tell she'll be having a swell time here. "I'd much prefer Jac, if you don't mind." "Well in any case, welcome to Perridi High!" He would then address the Wile. "If you would be so kind as to follow me while I show Jaclyn to her desk?" "It's Jac, sir." Richard corrected. "And, sure." Jac looked up at Richard with a thumbs up as he made that assertion. Without further ado, the teacher walked him through the class while Richard continued to carry Jac, making it past the main student body to a spot in the farthest corner of the room. This time all of the classmates had set their eyes on the three, and Richard in particular could feel the pressure of their judging glares tracking his every move. Despite all of this, the Wile giant was more confident in his ability to hold Jac, or at the very least, he didn't pay as much mind to it whether intentional or not. Jac was ultimately thankful for this as he held her without so much as a few awkward sways, being nowhere near as much of a rollercoaster as before. When they got to the spot in question, Richard could only see a bunch of potted tropical plants, nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. Upon further examination however, Jac quickly noticed the small entrance behind one of the giant leaves before the teacher could bring it up himself. When she mentions this, the older gentleman would nod his head, presumably impressed by her observation. "Good eye! Behind here is our state of the art miniature classroom!" The teacher then pulled some of the leaves back, revealing a square metallic box like structure complete with tiny windows and an entryway. Richard could not believe the remarkable detail that was put into it. "I'll give you two a minute to get yourselves ready, and then class will be in session." And with that, the teacher walked back to his desk. Richard was in awe upon witnessing this piece of architecture for the first time. Does every classroom have one of these? And furthermore, why did the folks who constructed these miniatures go through all the trouble to keep them hidden from plain sight? Jac cleared her throat, causing the Wile giant to break out of his trance. "Can you put me down now?" "Oops! Sorry!" Richard laid his hands in front of the entrance to the smaller facility. Jac hopped off and would proceed to make her way in. But not before spinning around and facing the giant once again, whose face was covering her entire view once more. "Thank you for helping me out. Honestly, I don't know what I could have done without ya." "No problem. I only did what I figured was the right thing." "I guess I'll be seeing you around then!" Richard was half expecting this to be the last time they would see each other up close, so upon hearing this, he perked up more than he thought he would. He couldn't help but smile for the first time that day. "Sure! I would like that." "I didn't get your name! I'm Jac, but you already knew that." "Ah. It's.. it's Richard. Richard Yamada. Well, I guess I'll see you later, then!" And with that, the looming giant backed up, spun around and stomped away. Richard was awfully proud of what he had accomplished that morning, for the first time during his attendance at Perridi High School, he felt exhilarated. Even if this was a chance of being just a one-off experience, no doubt this would be a day he would never forget. Little did he know, Jac would, for the first time in this entire morning, have a tingling hint of uncertainty in her mind. She turned to face the door of the Sprout tailored classroom, as she finally let out the breath she held back during this while. She darted her eyes onto her shoes and began to ponder, her thoughts even surprising her. Until this point, Jac had no reason to be fearful of Richard. That was, until she was caught by surprise when she saw his smile up close... really up close. That quick moment was just enough time for Jac to notice the unusually long canines that were protruding from within. She had heard stories of one particular kind of giant that were known for.. And yet.. That initial response, that bit of wariness, would soon pave way for unbridled excitement. 'A Wile giant in this school? So the rumors of this city are true..' Humans had always whispered about not making contact with Wile giants, and yet Richard.. was contrary to everything that she has heard. Typical...The kindest person she met since she had transferred to the Beanstalk Society was certainly someone worth checking out later. "I hope to meet him again over lunch!" She thought. And to that, a smile returned to her face as she charged into the classroom with a a bout of renewed confidence. "I wonder if someone as cool as that would let me be his friend?" Luckily for her, this wouldn't be the last she would see of the mysterious giant with silver eyes.StarsThe forest was still and quiet as pale, full moon lit up the night. A short, brown bat was sitting on a large tree's branch as she looked up at the stars, trying to find the few constellations she recognized. Vivie's ears were laid flat against her head, and her wings were tucked in close to her body. She had her tail in her paws, brushing the fluffy fur on her tail tip as she thought. Would she ever be able to fly high like those she looks up to? Could she ever be the one to inspire others? Or would she fall, fall like so many before her? Vivie hopped off the branch, extending her wings to fly up above the forest, and stood at the very top. She glanced down to see how high up she was and shivered. Would it be worth it to rise up and do the things she'd really like to try? Even if it meant she might plummet all the way to the ground? Or was it better to stay where she was? Safe and comfortable? The brown bat let out a sigh, thinking about how she'd much rather stay where she'd always been. She was safe, and nothing scary happened to her, but... It was also boring at the same time. She hasn't experienced things like her friends or family have. She longed to be able to do the things her friends can do, to go out in the world, and not be chained to her family. The little bat shivered again, thinking about what it must be like going out on one's own like that. How could anyone do something like that? Was that really something she'd ever be able to do? Maybe... Maybe one day she could. Maybe one day she'd gather the courage. She'd like that.flashflashflashflashflashLittle Silver MenNighttime had arrived and with it came the darkness. On the porch of her house, Allison was sitting on a rocking chair smoking a cigarette, the smoke swirling in the air making complicated shapes before they would disappear into the dimness of the night. A simple light was hanging from the ceiling of the porch, its light attracting different insects such as flies and moths. Somewhere around her property Allison could hear the sound of crickets. Further in the distance came sounds from traffic, although there wasn't much of it happening right now because of the time of day. There was some distance between her property and the closest settlement and she preferred it this way. She liked her privacy. The serenity of Allison's night was disturbed by the barking of a dog. Allison could distinguish that it was her own dog, Scott. She got on her feet and extinguished the rest of her cigarette on the ashtray that was placed on the rail of the porch, the tray containing too many cigarette butts already. She whistled into the night as she left the lit porch and waited for her dog to appear. Scott was nowhere to be seen, but he kept barking at something. Allison strayed from the light even more as she followed the loud sounds the dog was making. “Come here, boy!” she yelled into the darkness. And still, Scott continued to bark. It wasn't until Allison was getting close to where Scott was barking when he finally stopped and came to her, tail wagging. The dog was a mongrel about the size of a German Shepherd and to Allison, he was a perfect watchdog. “What did you find, boy?” Allison asked from the dog and ventured further in darkness. She heard movement nearby, a twig had just snapped. Didn't sound anything big, though. She should have got her flashlight with her, she cursed in her mind. Suddenly Scott dashed into the blackness, but stopped not far away and was wagging his tail. Allison could recognize a small figure, even in darkness. “Goddammit, Devon, what are you doing out here this late?” Allison lectured the little boy, feeling a little relieved that it was just her son and not something threatening. “Nothing”, the boy said sheepishly and looked at his feet. “Go to your bed and don't even think you have the right to complain that you're tired in the morning”, Allison said and started to slightly push Devon towards their house. They reached the lit area in no time and Allison urged her son to go inside while she remained on the porch. Annoyed by her little boy's nightly adventures, she decided to smoke another cigarette. Scott settled down on her feet after she had sat down on the rocking chair again, blowing abstract shapes into the air. “Damn that brat”, she mumbled to herself. A sharp and high-pitched noise suddenly pierced her ears, so sharp she felt it in her head. Allison had never in her life heard anything like this and got a little startled by it. Her heart trembling, she remained stationary as she focused on her hearing. Seconds passed but the sound didn't repeat itself. It had been just this single one, like a blow of a whistle. Allison let herself relax after some while, pondering about possible causes for the sound she had just heard. Maybe it was just a group of teenagers clowning around near her property – it wouldn't be the first time. Or maybe it was a really strange noise made by a bird. She didn't think much of it, though, and once she had finished smoking, she prepared to go to bed as well. She wasn't thrilled when the annoying ringing of the alarm clock woke her up in the morning. Early rays of the sun were attempting to infiltrate Allison's bedroom through the small gaps in the curtains. She rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling, her hand on her forehead. “Fuck this”, Allison muttered to herself and managed to lift her body from her bed. She opened the curtains and headed downstairs, starting her day. Her first task was going outside and opening the hatch of the chicken coop, letting out her precious birds. She had a fenced area for them to roam freely during daytime, so she could confidently leave them to do their thing while she was away from home. Allison gave the chickens food before she headed back to the house. She quickly smoked one morning cigarette and went back inside. It was time to prepare breakfast. Once she found her way to the kitchen, she immediately got the coffee maker going. It was bubbling in the background while she made toast for both her and Devon, putting the pieces of bread in the toaster. She also poured a glass of orange juice for the boy. Soon the slices of bread jumped from the toaster and Allison snatched them, putting just butter on her toasts while she spread raspberry marmalade on the ones that were meant for Devon. After this, Allison left the kitchen to wake up her son. The boy was still asleep when Allison entered Devon's room. She stepped towards the curtains and opened them and said: “It's time to wake up.” Devon let out a whining noise and protected his eyes from the flow of sunlight that was now flooding his room. But Allison was having none of it. “I told you don't have the right to complain”, she said as she walked towards the boy's bed. She tapped Devon's body a few times before she left the room, saying: “Get up and get dressed. And don't forget your backpack.” Allison then headed downstairs again to enjoy her breakfast. Her coffee was now ready so she filled her cup with that dark hot liquid and sat down on one of the chairs that surrounded a round table in the middle of the kitchen. She was scrolling news through her phone while eating and drinking and after a couple of minutes, Devon silently joined her. He didn't utter a single word as he took his place around the table and started to munch on the toast his mother had prepared for him. None of them spoke to each other during the breakfast; these quiet meal times were normal to them. Once Allison was done with her breakfast, she finally broke the silence by saying: “Now, get ready to leave while I change clothes.” “Okay”, Devon responded quietly. Allison stood up and placed her coffee cup in the sink, then headed upstairs yet again. She swapped her pajamas to something more decent; she worked as a cleaner so it didn't really matter that much how she looked. She was quickly finished with this task and descended the stairs one more time. Devon was already waiting by the door with his backpack and Allison just grabbed her keys and both stepped out of the house. Scott was left inside. Allison locked the door before heading to the car with her son. Devon hopped on the back seat while she sat down on the driver's seat. The engine roared a little as Allison turned the car on and soon she steered the vehicle on the only road that led out of her property and began their short and quiet drive. The vibrant rural area soon turned into a suburb. Less vegetation and more land shaped by human hand. More and more buildings appeared into the scenery, their familiar forms passing by as Allison drove through the same route as she did every day. Some time later she steered her car at the parking lot of the local elementary school and did a little turn in there. She stopped her vehicle for a brief moment so Devon could hop out. No words were exchanged as the boy stepped out of the car and headed towards the school building. Allison drove away, her current workplace as her destination. This is the pattern where Allison was stuck at. These mundane days, she felt like living in a loop. She would wake up and get ready for work while also preparing Devon for school. She would drop him off and head to work. Excruciatingly slow hours she would have to endure in her workplace that kept changing. Then she would pick up her son and on some days, go to the grocery store. Allison would head home and spend the evening just watching television and smoking cigarettes, having no strength or desire to do anything. Her life kept repeating itself over and over again and while she was very much dissatisfied with it, she didn't really know how to break out of the infinite cycle. The next evening Allison was again sitting on her rocking chair on the porch, blowing strangely dancing shapes of smoke into the chilly air. Scott was laying on her feet, keeping her company. Allison enjoyed the quiet dark evenings, having nothing around but nature. She heard giggling from somewhere nearby. This broke her peaceful moment and she knew immediately who the culprit was. Very much annoyed, she quickly fetched her flashlight from the lobby of her house and walked into the darkness, the bright beam of light cutting through the dimness. But as she was getting closer to the source of the noise, it then stopped completely. Still, she pressed onwards and soon enough, the light beam revealed the small figure of Devon. “What are you doing here again?” Allison asked with a very angry tone. “Nothing.” The boy gave the exact same answer as before, but this time, he said it more confidently. Allison thought nothing of it and grabbed her son by the arm and started to forcefully drag him back to the house. “Go to bed and stay there.” Devon didn't struggle against her. He behaved like a good kid and went inside, heading upstairs. Allison was about to turn off her flashlight when its beam suddenly touched something in the darkness, appearing as a silvery glimmer. She pointed her light at her surroundings, confused about what she had just seen. For a while she tried to find the source of the shimmer, but had no luck. She shrugged and clicked the light off, retreating on her chair again. Her ears were pierced by sharp high-pitched sound. The same sound she had heard yesterday. It hurt her head during the couple of seconds she heard it and then it just vanished. Yet again she was left to ponder what it was, but just like before, she had no answers. She decided to check around her property by morning when there was some daylight. Allison went to rest for the night, still bewildered by the sound that was haunting her. It was odd for the first time alone, but the fact she had heard it twice? It was strange. As the morning came around and she went to open the chicken coop, Allison also made a brief investigation around her property. She decided to check the area where she had found her son sneaking around in the evening, but she found nothing. No source of weird sounds or evidence of what Devon had been doing. Allison strolled around a little bit more, but still, she didn't notice anything strange. Everything appeared normal to her, but for some reason, that was exactly what she was worried about. She figured she could do nothing about it at the moment and just resumed her day as usual. The next evening Allison was prepared for any oddities to occur. She was sitting on her chair, her flashlight on her lap so she could immediately investigate if she heard anything weird. But the night remained silent and still, she could only hear the familiar melody by the crickets resonating in the chilly night air. There was just peace and blackness surrounding her. Allison pondered whether the unexplainable sounds she had heard were just random mysterious occurrences that she wouldn't experience anymore. Odd things tend to happen in life. She returned inside her house and went to bed. In the morning Allison woke up with a headache. It wasn't unbearable, but pretty painful nonetheless. Before eating breakfast, she consumed a couple of painkillers in hopes that it would put an end to her pain or at least make it tolerable. The headache made her very irritated and she found even the sound of Devon eating his breakfast annoying. But Allison simply exploded when the boy accidentally knocked down his glass of juice, spilling the liquid all over the kitchen table. “You fucking brat!” Allison roared as she suddenly stood up and hit Devon in the face. “That's it! No more breakfast for you, go wait in the car!” The boy was quiet and exited the kitchen as unnoticed as a shadow. He had learned that it was best to say nothing to his mother; she would always win. Allison's start for the day wasn't great and much to her dismay, she found out that her headache hadn't been going anywhere, making her work more unpleasant than it already was. Strangely the time tends to move forward as slowly as possible when you're waiting for it to pass, and so Allison's work day was just painful all around. Great was her relief when after a long and exhausting day she could finally go home. Taking more painkillers didn't do anything for her headache. Maybe it just was one of those strange ones that will linger no matter what you do. She simply tried to relax during the evening at home and mostly she was doing fine. As usual, Allison was smoking her last cigarette of the day on the porch when she was startled by the odd high-pitched sound again. It greatly grated her head, it almost felt like somebody was trying to drill onto her skull and she groaned from pain. However, the ache went away as soon as the sound faded and everything was completely silent again. Allison could think about the cause of that infernal noise only for a couple of seconds when something else got her full attention. For a very brief moment she could see something rushing through the darkness, at the edge of the lit area. It had a silvery shimmer in it and without it, Allison would have been pretty sure that it was some sort of animal. As far as she knew, no animal glowed in silver. This was the second time she had witnessed this phenomenon, but she could only guess what it actually was. She fetched her flashlight again and decided to look around a bit. Her guess was that it was just some teens messing around. She wandered around her property investigating, but her light didn't reveal anything abnormal to her. She paused for a moment, just listening to the sounds of the night. Seconds passed, but she didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. This outcome was frustrating to her, because the sounds and silvery shimmer she had witnessed were reoccurring things, not isolated cases. Something definitely was going on, but she wasn't able to find concrete evidence of it. Maybe she was finally going crazy. Maybe she was finally succumbing to her role as the "Cranky Ally", the boogeyman teenagers joked about. With a bitter heart, Allison returned to the house and was heading to bed. She had just brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas and was about to close the curtains for the night, but as soon as she reached the window, she let out a surprised yelp. There was someone behind the window, watching her. Or more like, something. A weird creature that had silvery skin, huge bat-like ears and ridiculously huge yellow eyes and a wide mouth with rows of sharp teeth. It appeared to be about the size of a ten-year-old child. Allison didn't have much time to inspect this critter when it had already vanished. Allison remained on her spot for a good while, heart trembling and shocked. She had no explanation for what she had just seen. And the fact that it had been just outside of her room's window… Her room was on the second floor. That thing had climbed to spy on her. It took Allison a moment to gather enough courage to step towards the window and take a look outside. She saw nothing in the darkness. But she knew, oh she knew, that the strange being was out there. She closed the curtains and dragged herself to bed, still shaken. She didn't rest well that night, she was so paranoid about the entity that it was like glued to her head, unable to think anything else than this terrifying encounter. Allison wasn't sure if the next morning was welcome or not. Maybe the daylight would keep the critter away, but she was so very tired because of last night. But work day is a work day, so she got out of the bed and started to prepare for the day. As she was drinking her morning coffee, Allison noticed that Devon was in an unusually joyful mood. He was smiling and his little legs were swinging back and forth; he even let out a quiet humming noise. It was irritating to Allison. “What are you so happy about?” Allison asked angrily, her voice sounding almost like a growl. “I'm going to meet friends today”, Devon replied. Yeah, some brats from school. Allison thought nothing of it and the rest of the breakfast went in silence. While at work, Allison developed another headache. It started as something rather mild, but it just kept growing worse throughout the day. And strangely, as it got worse, it also made Allison hear things. That weird high-pitched sound she had heard these past few evenings was tormenting her again, although not as strongly. Still, it was making her insane; it almost felt like a horrible hangover. It really was messing with her head and in the end she was feeling so nauseous that she had to leave work a bit earlier. She really hoped that taking a few painkillers and staying in the quiet comfort of her home would make her feel better. But she was wrong. She was in pain throughout the day. But the worst part was the infernal sound she was hearing; it did occasionally go away and Allison was grateful whenever that happened, but the noise would always come back and pierce her head like a drill. She was feeling awful and she started to think about whether she should seek medical help. This wasn't normal. Allison decided that if her condition wouldn't get better by tomorrow, she would visit a doctor. When the evening came around, Allison felt really drained for some reason. She didn't have strength to do anything and was barely able to stand. She followed her night routines and was sitting on her rocking chair again, smoking her last cigarette. While she was trying to relax, suddenly Devon ran past her, heading to the darkness. “Where are you going?” Allison yelled after him. “To play with friends!” Devon answered and soon his small figure got devoured by the surrounding darkness. Allison didn't have the strength to argue with the boy so she just let him do whatever he wanted. She could hear him giggling and whispering something, but other than that, she didn't really pay attention to what the boy was doing there. He would turn into a complete nutcase when growing up, Allison thought to herself in a bitter way. She finished smoking, inhaling the toxins into her lungs one more time, and extinguished the cigarette on the ashtray. She peered into the darkness, trying to spot her son. But she just heard him, although very faintly. Allison retrieved her flashlight and cursed in her head, she started to look for Devon. “Come here, Devon, the playtime is over”, she grumpily shouted into the darkness, moving her flashlight's beams all around to catch a glimpse of the boy. Everything was oddly silent, Allison noted. The owl, the crickets… She heard nothing but her own rustling steps invading the vegetation. Even Devon had gone quiet. But there had been so many weird things happening lately that she didn't really feel surprised anymore. Right now she just wanted to drag her son back to the house and go to sleep. Eventually Allison's light hit Devon; he had been crouching near a gooseberry bush. As soon as the light had revealed his hiding place, the boy stood up and turned to face his mother. “There you are”, Allison said. “Now, get back inside, it's your bedtime.” But to her disbelief, the boy shook his head. “No.” After getting over her astonishment, Allison then turned angry. “This is not a debate, Devon. Go to your room and stay there.” The boy shook his head again, this time even more vigorously. “I want to be with my friends. You go.” “What the hell are you –“ Allison's sentence was cut short when she suddenly heard noises behind her. Something was rustling among the plants – and it sounded like there were multiple of them. She turned around and gasped from shock so hard that she almost dropped her flashlight. There were about six little silver creatures. Exactly like the one she had seen peeking from her room's window. Their huge yellow eyes stared at her in a very unsettling way and they were slowly approaching her, like a pack of predators that worked together to catch their prey. They were making strange clicking sounds and they tilted their heads over and over again, moving in an unnerving way. “What the fuck?!” Allison was instinctively walking backwards and she frantically pointed her light around, maybe even hoping that the beam would blind the creatures. But it had no effect. “Scott! Scott!” Allison had hoped that her dog would come and defend her from the creatures. She heard how something was moving fast toward her location and she was sure it was Scott. And she was right. The dog appeared from the darkness, but he didn't even acknowledge the presence of the critters apart from glancing at them briefly. Scott bypassed Allison and went to Devon, sitting down next to the boy. This shocked Allison; she felt like everyone was against her. “They're here to take you”, Devon said. “Take me? What do you mean?” Allison inquired, her gaze shifting from the creatures to her son. She felt a horrible pain in her head as the high-pitched sound impaled it once more, this time it was the worst one yet. Allison dropped her flashlight and she tried to shield her ears from the horrendous noise. It was like somebody was hitting nails on her skull and into the brain. She had never felt this kind of agony. The pack of weird creatures approached her and they struck their claws on her, grasping Allison by her clothes or skin. She screamed and tried to struggle against her captors, but they were surprisingly strong and flailing her limbs didn't stagger them at all. They began to drag her away, into the darkness of the night. Suddenly a blinding white light appeared and the beings were taking her towards it. Allison looked at her son and her dog that just remained on their spots and watched. She could see that Devon had a wide smile on his face. It was the last thing she saw before she lost consciousness.trophy

first_pagechevron_leftPreviousNextchevron_rightarrow_downwardInfinite