Flashback 206: Humanitarian -Kelly-

"You are hereby banished from these lands for the crime of loving a human. You are to never return and your powers will be stripped away from you until I judge you worthy."

I stared at my brother's angry face and saw no change, "But . . . I'm your kin. You can't do this to me!"

"In addition, for the murder of the high priest and priestess, from this moment on no living being will be able to return you any affections. Until your punishment is complete you will spend your days alone."

Pain tore through my body as my powers were ripped away. It was like five thousand needles were inserted in to my body and then shot with massive amounts of electricity. I fell to my knees gasping for air. I grasped at air with my hands toward where my brother stood, "It was an accident. I had no idea. Please, don't."

"Kelly," His voice was cold and heartless, "it was our parents; you killed our parents. So let me tell you this plainly. I don't care if your punishment ends. If I ever see you again, then I'll kill you dead. You will NEVER have your powers back."

He stood and motioned to his guards who grabbed me by the shoulders and dragged me to the portal's opening. Jason was the high priest now, having taken the spot upon the death of our Father. His wife would be the priest and I would be discarded and forgotten, a painful memory that he would force in to hiding until it became relevant. That was the way of the Succubi and Incubi. The way of my people.

They tossed me through the portal as if I were a child.

I felt the car smash in to my side and the air whooshing past as I flew in to a ditch at the side of the road. I felt the pain and knew I was injured, but being inhuman granted me a certain amount of endurance that was much higher than that of normal mortals. I would live, if I didn't move.

"Oh my . . . call 9-1-1! I hit someone!" The voice was male.

"Will . . . is she going to be okay?" Female. Probably a mate.

"Not if you don't make that call." I heard scuffles as the male made his way down the slope to me.

"It's going to be alright." He breathed, "We're getting help."

Humans were so different from my people. My people have stayed the same for thousands of years, unchanging in their habits, abilities and beliefs, but humans are constantly changing. Long ago they were too weak to battle against us, so all the prominent families had their own human settlements to feed from when needed, but now humans had grown stronger and broken away from our control. My people are heartless and cold toward a person of another species while humans had the ability to escape the confines of their raising, and show affection for someone or something different than them.

The cold of the night air was replaced by the warmth of the ambulance and then the cool of the hospital A/C. The sensations were too much and the pain was making my vision blurry, so I closed my eyes and slept.

When I awoke I was looking up at the face of the man that saved me. Beside him stood a young woman and a small child, both of them looking very concerned. The child had tears in her eyes but started smiling once I started moving.

"You shouldn't move much. The doctors say that even though you were very lucky, you shouldn't move much. You did quite a bit of damage to yourself."

"Where am I?", I glanced at the window but it was closed and the blinds drawn.

"You're at the hospital. You ran in front of my car. I thought that I'd killed you."

"What's your name?"

"Will. William Melahn."

"William." My love's name had been William as well. I expected worse to have become of him, seeing as he's the one that dealt the killing blow to both of my parents. "You saved my life. I think I owe you."

"I was the one that hit you with my car. I'd call us even."

I sat there powerless and injured, staring at the face of a man who had the name of my parents' murderer. Yet for some reason I felt calm, peaceful and safe. I felt . . . human.

I never expected to have anything to do with the Other Lands again.

205: Hartman Tribe -Alice-

I stood there frozen in place as I heard movement all around me getting closer. The Black Baggers were hunting me and I didn't know what direction they were coming from.

I was still in the garden, but my back was against a stone wall with pathways leading to my left and right. On the other side of the plants in front of me, I could hear the Bagger that I had escaped from trying to pull at the plants. For the moment they were holding, but I couldn't be too sure how long they'd stay that way.

From both directions I could hear movement now. I was trapped with out any way to defend myself.

Why had I agreed to this? Had Ben known it would be dangerous? If so, he didn't say anything. I shook my head. No. Ben wouldn't have done that, he wouldn't have put me in danger intentionally unless he had no choice.

The screaming started up again as they got closer. Any second now they'd be visible in the pathway, and soon after they'd get to me. I sat staring to the right, waiting for them to appear.

"Hey!", I felt something hit the top of my head, it was a rope made of sheets. Glancing up I saw a guy's head looking out a window.

"Are you going to stay down there and let them get you, or climb up?" There was sarcasm in his voice, but I ignored it as I grabbed the sheet-rope.

Just as they started pulling me up The Black Baggers appeared in my pathway racing toward me.

"Pull faster!"

"We're pulling as fast as we can!"

I swung my foot out and caught a Bagger in the face as it got close. It fell back, causing the ones behind it to trip into a mess of black bags, arms and legs. When the next group of Baggers got to me, I was too high for them to reach. I grabbed the windowsill and pulled myself inside.

Inside the room stood the guy that helped me and four people. There was a young woman with a young child, a tall, fat guy who was lying on the bed looking at the ceiling, and another tall guy that wasn't as fat as the last, but had some weight on him.

The one who helped pointed to the young woman and child, "This is Stephanie Berthiaume and her daughter, Emily.", he gestured to the one that was lying down, "That's Alex Kayser, and finally this is Vincent Smith. He joined us just right before you did." He held out his hand.

"And I'm Jason Hartman."

194: Two Dollars -Crystal-

Three days had passed since the museum incident and we had barely spoken to one another. We were still at the Hotel. We ran into each other often, but silence was the common language.

Vincent's death had hit everyone harder than you'd have thought. We didn't even say his name anymore, and even if we did I don't think I could say it with out breaking down. I had only lived a short time and all ready I had to deal with the death of a close friend.

It was times like these that I wished I had my Father to run to.

We didn't know whether or not to bury Vincent. Instead, we burned what was left of the bear; a warrior's funeral. It wasn't fair. It could have happened to anyone, and it had to be him.

Vincent had saved my life more times than I could remember. When I was younger, before he came to life, he scared away the darkness just by being there. Then he fought for everyone I cared about till his death. Now he's gone and it should have been someone else. Someone who deserved it; maybe me.

Carl says that he died a death worthy of someone great, but the truth is that he was killed while completely unconscious. He was killed in his sleep, which normally would have been peaceful, but this sleep was anything but. Vincent died terrified, fighting and alone.

I stared in to the toy shop at the arrangements of bears in the window, hoping that one of them would get up and start talking. I had been staring for 5 hours now. I had watched as the lights in the shop dimmed and the owner locked the doors. All I had was this hope, and if I looked away then I would be admitting that he's gone.

I shouldn't be this attached because most of the time I knew him he was an inanimate toy, but he came to life. He was a person that I'd come to know. He was a person that I'd come to trust.

"Crystal," Nick's hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my thoughts, "everyone is wondering where you are."

"My Dad bought him for me.", I wiped the wet from my cheek, "He took me to a small toy store not far from where I lived. The store was super expensive, but my dad wanted me to choose whatever I wanted. I was looking at the dollhouses and fake carriages when I saw him. He was jammed between the biggest dollhouse and the wall, and he looked so uncomfortable, so unhappy."

Nick was silent, and I didn't blame him. Vincent was my bear, he'd been with me most of my life.

"I passed over him. I had my eye on another doll that could learn its name, one that would have put my Dad back $600 while the bear only cost $2. I kept thinking about that bear stuck, looking unhappy. I couldn't get him out of my head. I felt so bad leaving him there while all the other dolls would be sold. I didn't want him to not have a home. I got so confused at what I should do. I wanted the doll, but the bear would suffer and never be found."

I knew I was crying but I didn't care. This museum incident had taken its toll on everyone somehow. After the first night in the hotel, Carl vanished and Ben kept himself locked in his room. Andrew had been shunned immediately and violently, almost made me feel sorry for him until we learned what he'd done to Ben. Will spent the last two days trying to convince Kelly that all this stuff was real, and despite what she had seen it still took a lot of convincing. Nick and I were awkward together at best, and at worst we were at each other's throats.

"I chose Vincent because I didn't want him to be alone and scared, but it didn't matter. He still ended up that way and there's nothing I could have done. What was the point of bringing him to life if he was just going to be killed?"

"He was here for you, Crystal.", Nick tried to comfort me, "He always fought to protect you."

"I spent two dollars killing a good friend, Nick. If I'd chosen that first doll, then he'd never been put in this situation. I should have forgotten about the bear, then maybe he would have found someone normal. Maybe he would have protected someone whose biggest problem was children at a schoolyard. No, life had to be cruel. His life wasn't worth the money I spent. It was worth so much more."

"You're still alive, Crystal," Nick put his hand on my shoulder, "and I bet he would have considered that a bargain."

I heard Nick walk toward the hotel.

I stared at the window for another two hours.

181: Wake Up -Alice-

The world around me came into focus and I found myself staring off the edge of a massive cliff. An old man lay dead to my right, a look of complete agony permanently planted on his face. The sound of begging behind me made me turn to see Ben fighting against invisible bonds as he attempted to reach the three people locked in battle nearby.

Three children just a bit younger than me fought; a blonde, what looked to be a younger Patrick, and a black-haired one with an uncanny resemblance to Ben. It was Patrick and the blonde versus the one with black hair, but even at two against one the black haired boy didn't look like he was losing.


I glanced at Ben and I could see the suffering in his eyes as he fought to get to them. I didn't care about his suffering, I just wanted to know where I was and how I got here. Things were happening too fast and it was overwhelming me.

"You'll be okay, Alice." A kind-looking middle aged man walked over to me from the left near Ben. I hadn't noticed him before, but the amount of new people I'd met in the last hour was getting ridiculous.

"Who are you?", I spoke as though his arrival was nothing new. It might have been rude but being thrown all over the place was getting tiresome.


"Gilfred Odephius Doorstop." He smiled and slowly I began to feel a bit better, "You can think of me as . . . a needed push, or a hint."


"I don't need a push. I need a time machine." I turned to look at Ben again, but this time his face of suffering actually hit home and I felt tears in my eyes, "Where are we?"

"We're in Ben's worst memory. A time when he was imprisoned and unable to help the people he cared about most."


"Why are we here?"


"Because the ignorant retard that put everyone into their worst feared memory didn't realize what he was doing." He turned to me and smiled, "Lucky for us, huh?"


"What am I supposed to do here?"


"There's nothing you can do. Your part comes later, after this is done. Now you should watch and remember this time always.", he walked over to the black haired boy that was dominating the battle so far. "Alice, I have to go. I can't be in two places at the same time."

With that he pulled a spear from behind him and stabbed it through black-hair's chest. The world twisted and spun as both me and Ben were yanked into the sky. The clouds surrounded us making it impossible to see each other.


"Ben?!"

I felt my feet touch ground and I found myself standing at the top of a staircase. Ben was no where to be seen. The smell that came from the bottom of the stairs made my skin crawl. My skin? I looked down at myself to find that I'd aged quite a bit. I looked to be eighteen, but that wasn't the most disturbing thing.

I was alive.

175: Flashback; New Found Purpose -Melissa- (by Crystal Ferguson)

My sweet, sweet Qaliphus was now dead, and all because he felt the need to save this child. A child who had no business being outside. A child who knew better than to be in the road. A child who should have been in the house, under the supervision of his parents--

The parents.

If they were more attentive, their child would not be dead. More importantly, if not for their neglect, Qaliphus would still be alive. My dream would have become a blossoming reality instead of this shattered mess before me.

I clenched my fists in anger, tears streaming down my cheeks. Filthy humans. Weren't the adults suppose to be more responsible than this? What was the point of them existing if they did not protect their younglings?

All I knew in that instant is that they should pay for their ignorance; they didn't deserve to live.

I turned my back to the freshly deceased and zipped my way up and in to the home. The parents were laughing as the remaining two children played mind-numbing video games. How infuriating.

While they distracted themselves with mindless laughter, I took the liberty of pulling out skewers from a nearby open drawer. They were a tad heavy for my size, but I managed to carry them over to the table, letting them drop with a clatter. The couple looked but quickly shrugged it off, and continued with their conversation.

I picked one skewer up and with all my might, I thrust the sharpened end in and through the adult male’s neck. The female screamed in horror as her husband collapsed, gasping for air. She bent over him, her face stricken in panic. I swooped up the second skewer and shoved it downward, repeating the process for the adult female. She too fell over, noises of helplessness gushing out from her lungs. Both husband and wife flailed from the sudden impacts. After a few minutes passed, both became silent and unmoving.

Feeling justified in my act, I immediately left the bodies behind. As I flew away from the house, I heard the cries of their children as they found the dead parents. Some day they would thank me for freeing them from such negligence. They deserved better parents than that.

As I dashed through the outside world, a boy caught my attention. I came to a stop and hid behind a nearby leaf. An adult male was yelling at him, beating him down with his own fists.

“You worthless sack of shit!“, another fist hit the child, “When in the Hell are you going to man up, boy?! Huh, Carl?!”

The man shoved him, spitting at the ground afterward. He grunted and turned to leave him there. The boy just sat there, his head hanging low.

Such treatment sickened me. Were all adults truly this evil? What in the name of all that is human did children do to deserve such consequence? To my knowledge, children were far more innocent and harmless than that of the adults. They needed someone to protect them; not hurt them.

It was then that I vowed to stop this madness at all costs.

163: Emotional Instability -Crystal-

The creature's tongue slowly pushed me down, deeper in to the darkness as my lungs screamed for air. The muscled throat kept me from struggling as my body methodically slid down its gullet.

I was a horrible person for treating Nick like that, and now all he would know was how much I'd hated him. No chance to apologize; no chance to be friends.

Maybe I deserved this. I was supposed to be dead so many times but I kept being brought back, but for what? I was worthless and powerless. I led with my emotions and what I thought was right, with out ever caring about the people I might be hurting in my pursuit of justice.

First it was Peter, destroyed by my inability to just let him have what he wanted. He was one of the many zombie children that had fallen to my hand. Then, Saba had been dragged in to my madness and we'd both nearly been killed. It didn't end there though; because of my stupid actions, everyone was stuck inside this building where they could be captured, injured, or worse.

Perhaps, this was all I was here for. Only here to make everyone else around me fall apart. My own Dad. I'd never reunited with my Dad. I felt the tears come and I opened my mouth to scream, only to be soundless because of the lack of air. This whole time I'd kept away and tried to go on, scared of being shunned. I'd never thought about how my Father could be taking the loss of both his wife and his daughter.

"You bastard!" Nick's voice was so close that it took me by surprise.

Just give up Nick. Just leave me here to rot away. Go help the others.

"Give," I felt the creature shake, "her," another shake and an intense heat, "BACK!!"

Heat, like nothing I'd ever felt before surrounded me, and I could feel air rush past me as the beast screamed in pain.

Why? Why keep fighting for me? I'm not worth all this. Everyone else is more important. Why would you want a monster like me?

"Crystal!" I felt a hand grasp my ankle and my body slide backwards back toward its mouth, "Don't you die! We aren't done arguing yet!"

The world exploded in to light as I was met by a surreal vision. Nick had one foot between the teeth of the creatures bottom jaw and his hand pushing the mouth open. Behind him I could see several people looking on in surprise, including Will.

Nick smiled at me as he lifted me out of the mouth and pulled me close, "Crystal, are you okay?"

Wiping tears and saliva away from my eyes, I turned to look at the creature that had grabbed me. Lying on the floor was a massive beast resembling a cross between a lamp shade and a T-rex. Its skin was sizzling and burned so bad that it hung in places.

I turned to Nick, "I'm sorry."

I felt his arms wrap around me and I started to cry.

123: Bob -Ben-

A plan falling in to place is so exhilarating that sometimes it takes the opposing force to do just the thing that reveals the true depth of the situation, and humbles you in seconds. After Carl's big display on the radio, I could tell that who ever was on the other line was pissed. I knew he would retaliate but I guess I didn't understand in what way. I should have realized.

The loud speaker made a beep, "I apologize passengers, but someone made a huge mistake and has decided that he was going to kill a very large amount of innocent people. I'm willing to give you all another chance, but I first must STAMP out these rebels so that it doesn't happen again. So, I'd like you to meet someone."

A shuffling over the loudspeaker and a different voice came on the line, "H-Hello?"

"Tell them who you are."

"Hi, my name is Bob Koontz and I'm your captain."

"Not just that Bob, tell them more. Any kids, Bob?'

Bob's voice stuttered, "I have 4 children, all of them under twelve. I have 3 girls and a boy."

"COME ON BOB! You need to tell them more. I WANT THEM TO KNOW YOU!"

"Just last week my youngest was born. I haven't even seen her yet. This flight was a homeward flight so that I could see her for the fir-"

A loud bang flooded the plane causing everyone to jump. Several people started crying and Carl went completely pale.

"Do you understand yet? I'm a very serious man, and while I don't like to ruin my shoes, I'm willing to do what ever it takes to ensure that my mission is carried out. I hope the rebels understand and stop their useless actions, but in case they didn't get the picture the first time . . ."

More shuffling, and the sound of sobbing came over the speaker.

"Tell them who you are . . ."

No sound except louder sobbing.

"I SAID TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE!"

A voice quaking with fear and barely keeping itself together through sobs came over the line.

"Hello. My name is Jim Salec and I'm your co-pil-"

BANG!

Flashback Entry 114: Oldest, Youngest -Vincent-

"We can't tell which of them is infected, Vincent! We can't wait for one of them to just get behind us and stab us in the back! No, I say we kill them now, before they wake up." Andrew was right, but I just couldn't. It was my family.

At the time I couldn't tell that he was infected. If only I had.

"No.", I emphasized my point with a glare, "We do it the usual way. We wait to see if they try anything."

Andrew looked upset but put the cleaver on the butcher table, "Fine, but don't come crying to me if this all turns out bad."

It took me 3 hours to fall asleep. I don't know how long I was like that.

"Wake up."

I heard crying and when I opened my eyes I saw Andrew’s grinning face.

"Nice of you to join us, silly. I was beginning to think we'd have to start with out your sorry mug." Andrew's own special brand of slang, a mixture of old and new; laced with hidden meaning.

A glance at myself revealed that I was tied down. A glance around the room revealed that everyone was awake and tied down, except for Andrew.

"Andrew, what are you doing?"

He had the cleaver in his hand.

"I'm doing what you couldn't. I'm ridding us of the trash in order to survive."

"Andrew, they're awake. They are infected."

"Vincent, Vincent. How do we know? They are sitting there crying and afraid, but how do we really know?"

Andrew's eyes had a tint of gold; he was infected. He was free to do what ever he wanted, which probably consisted of killing my family and then me. I fought against my captor; innocent looking duct tape was the only thing that kept me from helping my family.

"Who should go first? Oldest . . . or youngest?"

"Oldest!", my Mother yelled out looking at my dad.

"Youngest!", my Dad yelled out looking at my sister.

"Andrew, we can work this out. We'll test them."

"Too late for that. I'm already curious."

"Andrew, please."

"You didn't ask me why I was curious. That's no fun at all.", his voice was seething with barely controlled lust as he looked at my Mother.

"STOP! ANDREW, PLEASE DON'T!"

"I wonder what their blood looks like."

He raised the cleaver above his head.

106: My Past -Ben-

The darkness of the house was pierced by my flashlight as I made my way to the basement. A blast of cold air hit me as I opened the trapdoor, making me hesitate before entering.

"Mom? Dad?", those words were unusual for me. I didn't know that I was adopted till recently. Saying those words to someone else felt different and odd, "I need to know something about my past. Something only you people would know."

Silence told me that either I wasn't heard, or that the spirits of my parents didn't care. I wasn't willing to take that for an answer so I stepped deeper into the basement.

"A while back a young girl was killed, a Saba Zahid. I know you can help me understand what happened . . . I need your help please."

"You mean Amala Zahid."

"Amala?" I turned to the form of my Mother standing to my left. She was leaning against the wall with her back, her long braid falling over her shoulder.

"Your Dad went on a trip once with you. Brought you to India to meet with a friend of the family there and take care of their problem. While there, you got into some trouble with their daughter."

"I killed her.", I felt a heavy weight on my chest and my breathing became difficult.

My Mother looked at me and smiled, "You did."

Entry 94: Saba's Choice -Saba-

I could still feel that strong power coming off of her, but it had significantly lowered. It was no longer overwhelming my senses to be near her. Even as we both walked up the massive double doors of the mansion, I was slowly beginning to feel more comfortable being around the "aura" she gave off.

Why I had brought her here, I didn't know. I wanted to escape and I'd done that. I could have just killed her and get it over with.

Glancing over at Crystal, I notice her solid gaze on the doors. Seeing someone like her be so serious is kind of scary. Had fear stopped me? No. I'm not scared of her. It's something else. A kind of respect for someone who has dedicated themselves to something. She released me, a very dangerous prisoner, just to figure out some answers. Not the best idea, but she was willing to risk it.

The doors opened as we walked up, and the person who came out made both Crystal and I step back in shock. From her long black hair to her olive colored skin, she was an exact copy of me. I had just walked out of the building in front of me.

"Of all the things I was thinking could happen," Crystal pointed at my perfect copy, "I wasn't expecting that."

"Why are you alive?", the other Saba glared at me with disgust, "I thought Patrick killed all the failed versions."

Crystal glanced at me and then at the new Saba, "I am so confused. I'm looking for Nick. Is he here?"

"No, but that isn't your concern right now.", the air began to get heavy as the other me looked at me, "Right now you have to worry about me. You're evidence that was supposed to be destroyed."

As much as I hated Crystal, this person who had my face was insulting my strength. To think I'd have to worry about her at all! I'll crush her swiftly and then eat her entrails for dinner.

"Crystal, I hate to say this, but you should keep looking for Nick. I'll take care of this."

A glance to my left showed Crystal unmoving, "I'm not going to leave you behind," she looks at me and smiles, "It's kinda my fault we're in this mess anyway."

Something about her smile just pissed me off. I was sure exactly why but, it made me feel . . . happy. I don't like being happy.

I would remind myself later to remove that part of her first. Right now, I have to take care of an over-confident mimic.

Entry 89: For A Reason. -Ben-

Finally I was alone again. A quick sweep of the house told me no one was there. The steps creaked as I made my way up to my room. I slumped down on the bed and let out a great sigh of relief. John had really gotten on my last nerve, and it felt good to have him out of the house.

I reached over and grasped for my book, only to find it missing. I sat up fast and began looking around. I had put it right on the bed when I left. Crystal was the only person in here and I doubt she would have taken it. This was not good, but when has my life ever been good since finding that damn book?

Still, the book has saved me and the guys from plenty of situations. I had to find it.

I stood and walked over to my book case. Had I put it here?

"Where is it?!"

"Right here." A female voice I didn't recognize came from behind me.

There she stood, slightly taller than me with some curl to her black hair. She had an air of power about her.

"Hi.", she bowed, "My name is Melissa Long and I'll be your thieving-assassin this evening."

Entry 62: One down, No more to go -Carl-

I was busy with several of my own zombies when I saw her fall. Her head was completely lobbed off her neck. A zombie caught me by surprise and pushed me to the ground. I hadn't known her long but she was a brave little tyke. I won't deny sadness when I saw her die.

John to my left was completely distracted by it. He stood for several seconds and then ran at the zombie who had found an axe somewhere. The zombie was taken down in one hit and as John stood holding the axe, I could see sadness and anger in his eyes.

I pulled myself to my feet, throwing off preschoolers. I picked up a stray knife and looked at the hundreds of zombies as they flowed in to us.

Entry 56: Taking charge -Ben-

Being stuck in the bathroom with Jay and Carl is not my idea of fun. Being stuck in the bathroom with them ready to tear out each others throats is horrible. Being stuck in a bathroom with Jay and Carl while hundreds of zombie children try to get in to wreck some grade school vengeance on us just makes me angry.

"Just a little research and we would have known that there would be hundreds upon hundreds of little zombie kiddies that would try to kill us if we went into their lair." Carl just wouldn't let it die. Even under these circumstances he was letting his anger control him.

"The research didn't say any thing about this. I had no idea." Jay was sputtering to defend himself.

Was I the only one worried about the tykes right outside the door? I pulled my book out from behind me and began flipping through the pages. Maybe within the book there was some kind of information that would help.

What Luck?! It appears Wilson delved into supernatural creatures as well. I ignored the words scribbled on the sides and quickly read the page.

That's when it hit me: The thing that Jay had put in his pocket. It had to be the herbs. He must have picked them up as he was trying to escape. I was almost about to mention it when I saw Carl. If I were to mention this now, Carl will kill him. I had to get Carl out of here.

I stood and began pacing; my mind racing. There had to be a way, but right now the only way out was a window that opened to the front of the house, and being two stories up . . . it was going to be difficult getting down. Damn it! How would I get Carl out of here?

"Carl?"

"Yeah?"

"Your brother is out there somewhere and is definitely in need of some help. If you could climb out this window you could get to him."

"Yeah, no."

"But it's your brother!"

"Haven't you seen any Zombie movies? They've probably turned him all ready."

"Did they try to bite you?"

"No. Okay, so he might still be alive, but after I get out there to help him, what do I do? I mean, there's hundreds of preschool ghouls out there."

He was right. There was no way that I could persuade him to go out there with out a way of getting rid of these children. I stared out the window deep in thought, and that's when I saw the most unusual sight.

One of the zombie children was fighting off the other children zombies. The small girl was defending John and doing a rather good job. Then it clicked. I knew how to get Carl out of here so I could talk to Jay and it all rested with the book in my hands.

Special Entry 55: Wicked thoughts -Crystal-

Hunting. I could smell the smoke from his cigarette from a hundred feet away.

It was an assault. The Goddess says that they stole something of ours. Something we had to get back or we would never be healed. They were tough, but the Goddess had filled us with what we needed.

First, stop him from alerting the others. Throat.

Then, cripple him. Hair.

Finally, drag him away for safekeeping till we have what we came for. Legs; maybe a blunt object.

More than just me. All of us were there.

We failed and I ended up on the ground, unable to stand up. I tried but I couldn't, and that's when I saw him.

"Hello, my name is Nicholas Brown. Most call me Nick. The more brave call me Nick Brown. How are you Crystal?"

Everything left. Every wicked thought and every evil intention. My mind was returned again and all I wanted was my Vincent. The man pulled from behind him my brown teddy wearing a black jacket and I grabbed it, holding it to my chest.

"I thought you'd want that and you can have it, but I need you to do something."

All around us hundreds of the unusual children were trying to break down the door. Where I was, I felt completely safe and protected from everything. "What do you want?"

He seemed nice enough and he did give me my Vincent. The least I could do was help him out.

"In a few minutes, those children will break down that door, and a few minutes later they will drag out a young man. Crystal, you must save him. He must not be harmed. Do you understand?"

I nodded.

"Good. Also, if he does happen to be harmed and you don't save him- " Mr. Nick turned and began to walk away, "I'll give you back to that Snake Goddess, and you will never see Vincent again."

After a few more steps, Nick vanished as though he was never there. I felt the wicked thoughts bubble up, but I forced them down and as my eyes filled with tears I turned to do what I was told.

Special Entry 54: Crying for Vincent -Crystal-

I was so scared in that cave. In the dark, with that snake and those weird children. It made me think of my favorite Teddy.

I named him Vincent when I first got him and I never went anywhere without him. Well, until that first day of school. I had him in my bag to bring with me but my Mother saw it and told me to go put it away. I didn't want to! So I tried again, only this time Daddy told me that I was being a bad girl!

I'm never a bad girl! I just wanted to bring Vincent with me! I needed something to make me feel safe. Daddy saw how scared I was and gave me his hat for a day. That helped and I did put Vincent back in my room, but I was still scared. I was so scared.

I wonder if this all happened because Vincent wasn't with me. He always protects me and keeps the monsters away, but he wasn't there and I was scared. I cried so much. Vincent was always so strong and tough. He always knew right where the monsters hid and exactly how to get rid of them. I wish I was that brave.

There was a hissing sound and I could hear Peter nearby crying in the darkness. I knew the snake-thing was going after him, but I couldn't move. I was so scared. I listened to the noise he made. At least until he fell silent.

Entry 50: A disaster -Ben-

Today was not a very good day. We barely got out of there alive and it's all Jay's fault. If only he'd told us of its abilities and done some research; maybe we'd have been prepared.

Getting to the Snake Goddess lair was easy. It was an abandoned railroad tunnel a few miles from my home. It must run all the way underneath my town, because the dark was suffocating and there was no light in the distance. Luckily we all had flashlights, but even with flashlights, we still had trouble making our way to where we needed to be. A hole in the side of the tunnel, big enough for a minivan, lead into a series of caverns.

Jay became instantly nervous as we continued to climb through the caverns. Carl got in a fight with John, and all because John wasn't letting him be the head of the group. If only we had been quieter. At that moment our flashlights went out and noises started filling the area.

I heard Carl shout for all of us to get out and I was all too eager to oblige. I heard John's objection get cut off and a loud thump. Jay was nowhere to be heard. I assumed that he had gotten out all ready; stupid coward. Small hands grabbed my legs and yanked me down to the dirt. I fought against them and found my foot connecting with a soft resistance. I heard bones snap and felt a cool fluid spill over my leg. More hands grabbed me, some of them slightly warm, but most stone cold. Their grip was extremely strong and restricting.

Some distance away I heard Carl yell and a reply from John.

They were getting farther away.

I panicked and tried to fight my way out, but the arms were too strong. A loud hissing noise filled my ears as I realized that they weren't leaving me behind. I was being dragged away. I could have sworn I heard footsteps to my right, and I thought I saw the light from a cigarette lighter but I'm unsure. Just then, the arms were yanked off me and I heard yells in the dark as I was flung over a shoulder.

My savior had been John. He had been slightly overwhelmed but had escaped. Realizing that Carl was too busy and that I was being taken, he ran over to help. John and I broke in to the sunlight outside of the tunnel and collapsed on the ground. Carl appeared after; soon followed by Jay.

"Children. Those were freakin' children." Carl was out of breath.

I looked down at my leg and saw that it was covered with reddish brown fluid that had specks of pink through-out it. I lost my lunch all over the ground.

Carl turned on Jay, who was patting his pocket with a small smile on his face; screaming about not doing enough research and how we barely got out of there alive. Oddly enough this didn't effect Jay much. He just frowned and apologized. There wasn't much more speaking as we continued home.

Entry 49: Chaos -Carl-

The thought of facing off against another God makes me sick. Alex, my brother, and I had way too much to handle with Moloch. Yet here I am, planning to take down another one. At least this time none of us are going to end up dead. Still, something is fishy about this whole thing.

First of all, I've never heard of this thing being here till now. I've also never heard of these children that are supposedly going missing, I mean, I don't doubt Jay’s ability; but something isn't right here. We're going to make our move on the nest tomorrow . . . then we'll see if that filthy Minoan beast is actually what Jay heard it was.

I've been training more since I heard of the Goddess; nearly non-stop. I'm exhausted but I'm sure I'll be able to keep everyone safe. It's late and I'm headed to sleep now. Tomorrow is a big day.

Entry 47: My first post EVAR! -Jay-

The name I gave to this post is incredibly stupid. I gave it that name because John was just leaning over my shoulder and suggested it. Any interaction with them is good though; I put it there so they'd think better of me. It's bad enough that they ignore me half the time, and the other half they’re angry about something I did. I don't need them putting the hate on the name of my first post. I've been told that the others won't be able to view my posts so I can write anything I want. Therefore, I'm gonna start with this . . . I hate them all.

John is retarded and doesn't know when to shut up.

Carl thinks he's better than everyone else.

And Ben is just creepy. I mean, his family tree is covered with so much blood it makes Ted Bundy look like a teddy bear.

The only one I could stand was Alex, and because of Carl and John, he's gone. It doesn't matter. I have a plan.

Entry 43: Sweeping up the cookie crumbs -Ben, Carl, John-

 --------------------------------------------Ben---------------------------------
"I know how to stop all this."

They turned to me in surprise. I guess none of them realized I was up.

"Dude, calm down." Carl's voice was rife with caution.

"Let's sit down and talk about it." John was inching toward the nearest thing that could be used as a weapon.

"What's wrong with you guys? You're acting like I'm gonna attack you. I know for a while my delirium made me think of you guys as enemies, but I really feel fine now."

They visually became less tense. Carl kept his eyes on me though. Jay walked over to me with a pile of papers. He was tall and his hair looked like it was covered in grease to keep it straight.

"I was doing some delving and I've found some adoption papers. I guess the rumors were wrong, they didn't have a daughter; they had a son."

I was understanding him and I think my face showed it because he continued, "The son survived and was adopted . . . "

"So he's alive today?"

"Ben, he was adopted by the Wiltshire family. Your family."

My legs gave out and I found myself in a chair that had been dragged over by Carl. This whole time I'd thought that my parents were my real family when they hadn't. I knew I was an only child, so it had to be me. My real name was Benjamin Ashford.

"Oh my God. I never knew. That's why I have the book, that's why this all is happening to me."

"We'd figured out as much. We haven't gone to take care of the problem, because you were possessed. I'm guessing you're not now?", Carl was very straight with me.

"No, I don't think so. I did how ever get to speak to our infamous Mr. Giggles. All that's happened is because he needed to complete some unfinished business."

I relayed what happened in my dream to them and was greeted with loud sounds of sudden understanding.

"That explains a lot." Carl seemed very happy that all the events were coming together.

"So let me get this straight," John piped up from nearby, "Oliver is one of the children that Mr. Giggles, aka. William Schermerhorn, had tried to kill?"

"Yes."

"And he was trying to reach a certain number of children bones in the well? How ever, Oliver killed him just before dieing himself, which put a damper on his plans."

"Exactly, so he possessed Wilson Ashford. How ever, before he could get complete control, Wilson was captured in a room; the room with all those symbols. Which, I think, trapped the spirit in there as well; at least until the symbols slowly faded. Then the spirit was released, so he attempted to get someone to move the bones to end his torment and let him pass."

"Which is you." I'd almost forgot Jay was there.

"Apparently."

"Then let's go." Carl was all ready headed out the door. I grabbed my coat and followed the rest of them out. We all piled into my car and headed to the Ashford house.

When we arrived, dark clouds had covered the sky, making the house look foreboding. We could all feel the danger, but we had no idea why. I was the only person who knew where the bones were. I was the first to the bathroom, but there was something all ready there. A man I didn't recognize stood in the way.

"You mustn't go any further. You need to stop helping him." The man began to fade.

"Who are you?"

"You know me as Wilson. Your father."

I pushed aside my curiosity and began to kick at the wall. By the time the others had arrived, the apparition was gone and a door was revealed. That's when the building began to shake.

A voice filling every area of the house and our minds made us all freeze as the house shook, "Leave now! You don't belong here. You are all evil beings."

We all heard Carl yell as he is thrown backwards into a room. The door slammed as John ran over to help him. No matter how much John screamed and pounded on the door, it never budged.

I ignored the commotion and pulled open the door. The smell that sprang out to me made me sick instantly. I was lucky I was in the bathroom or I would have made a mess on the floor.

--------------------------------Carl---------------------------------------

Since we all experienced what went on in the house, Ben wants us all to write. Most of what happened to me while I was in that room, so I'm going to focus on that.

After the door shut, the room went very dark and silent. I knew John was pounding on the door but it was far off, like miles away. I stood and took my usual stance, prepared to fight any thing that came at me, but I wasn't at all expecting what they showed me.

It was Alex. He came out of the shadows toward me.

"You."

"Alex? What, what are you doing here?" My strength had been sucked away by the sight of him.

"You could have saved me, but you didn't. You could have stopped me, stopped your brother but you were weak, pathetic, . . . human."

"I tried but neither of you would listen. I tried." I'm a tough guy. I won't hesitate to admit that there may have been tears, but I don't remember very well.

"You tried? You gave in at the mention of people dieing. You could have let them die to save me, aren't your friends worth that much? I didn't have to die, you caused it all. It's your fault, all your fault."

He kicked me in my ribs and I took the hit; I couldn't look at him. He was right. I didn't stop them. I had let him die.

---------------------------------Ben--------------------------------------

I grabbed the bones and ran past John and Jay, who stood looking at each other outside. There were words being thrown back and forth but I ignored them.

----------------------------------John--------------------------------------

My pounding was getting me nowhere. I had to try something else so I turned to Jay.

"Jay, help me. We need to get him out."

"He can handle himself. Not like you, you are always in his shadow. You will never amount to him."

Maybe this house had me wired but I just couldn't take that. So I swung, hitting Jay squarely in the jaw. He didn't flinch and my punches aren't weak. Something was going on, and it was affecting us all. This confused me. If the spirit wanted us to help him, why was he trying to stop us? It didn't make any sense.

"Your violence proves my words. You are never going to amount to him; ever. Even Alex saw that you were weak. That's why he gave his life to save you. He knew your weakness and didn't hate you for itm and what did you give him? Death. He died for you. You will never amount to your brother and will always be in Alex's debt."

Possessed or not, he was NOT going to talk about me and Alex like that! When I swung this time . . . he went down.

--------------------------------Ben-------------------------------------

I ran outside the house and made my way to the well and tossed the bones over the side. The man appeared again.

"You fool. Now William will be unleashed. My brother will be alive again."

"Your what?"

"My brother was an evil man. He kidnapped children and kept them in this very house till they were filled with despair, and then he butchered them. He died and haunted me, eventually possessing me. He made me kill my child. Eventually my wife and I got wind of his plans and I was locked up in a room to contain him. My wife watched over me while taking care of our newborn, but she was stricken with an illness and by a streak of luck the baby was found. That's you, Ben."

The ground started to crack around me, which is when I realized I had been duped.

------------------------------------------------Carl----------------------------------

He just kept hitting me and I did nothing to stop him. I could have stopped him from jumping into the pit but I didn't. Instead, I held John back to allow Alex to jump. I allowed that to happen.

"I have waited for years to exact my revenge on you. I regret saving you."

"Please, just forgive me. Please!" Every thing was doused in darkness besides me and him. He hit me again and I could taste the blood on my tongue.

------------------------------------------------John---------------------------------

"He's in there laughing at you. He can see how much trouble you’re having and wants you to die because of your weakness."

I know that Jay can be cruel sometimes, but never like this. Sadly, there was no denying that I was on the ground and he wasn't. I pushed myself to my feet, trying to get a bearing on him, but my vision suddenly blurred.

"Jay, I'm warning you. You'd stop if you knew what was good for you."

The fist came out of nowhere and I was thrown into the wall.

"Alex hates that he died for you. He hates you."

I clenched my fist and swung.

--------------------------------------Carl---------------------------------

"HAAARRRRRAAAAAHHHH!", I screamed as I leapt toward Alex. I wasn't going to die here whether he was right or not.

"Now you mock me by fighting." Alex slapped me aside easily.

"I will not let your sacrifice be in vain, so I will fight even you to make sure I live." I hit the ground and rolled into the door.

"Life is that important? You'd be willing to deny your dead friend’s last request just to stay alive?" The image of Alex slowly changed to that of a young woman.

I stood on shaking legs, "He died to make sure we would live. The only way to repay that is to keep my brother and I alive for as long as I can. His name is something you should be careful to mock."

"You are exactly the type of people I want my son to be associated with. I will leave you now, and I hope you find peace."

I turned and smashed through the door. My brother needed my help.

-----------------------------------------John-------------------------------

The door next to us burst open and Carl smashed into Jay with such power, that he was taken through the wall next to us.

"Carl, I think Jay's Possessed! Don't hurt him too much." I tried to get him to hear but my voice barely rose above the wailing that had started.

I could hear the wet smacks as Carl swung fist after fist into Jays face. The only thing that made him stop was Jay crying out as he was released from the possession.

--------------------------------------Ben------------------------------------

"You mean to tell me that this whole time you've been trying to keep him from succeeding?"

"Why do you think so many ended up dead? We couldn't let him possess them so we had to either kill them or scare them away. I used my knife and my wife contracted her fatal disease. We couldn't kill you though, so instead I gave you my book and hoped that you'd figure it out before this. I was wrong."

"What's going to happen then?" The symbol of Ghat appeared around the well and then disintegrated right before my eyes. My Father’s image was blasted away. I turned to face the well just in time to see a charred hand grasp the edge.

"Thank you, my good Ben, for helping me achieve greatness." There stood William Schermerhorn, my recently revealed uncle; his body charred and cracked but very much moving.

"You tricked me!"

"I was hoping for immortality, but since I was dead, I guess I'll have to settle for alive." He stepped down from the well and made his way toward me, "Now we can go across the country collecting children for your immortality. Wouldn't you like that Ben?"

"You're sick and I'm nothing like you."

"Nothing like me? I killed children, your father killed them and you will too. It's only a matter of time. So let’s cut the chase and just start now. I have this whole new life ahead of me to teach you my ways."

I reached down and grabbed a rather large stick that had fallen from a nearby tree in all the craziness, "I will never take a life."

"You want to kill me right no-" His sentence was cut off in the middle as his head was cut clean off with an axe.

"Maybe he does," Carl laughed, "But I will actually do it." Nearby stood John, who was holding up a very beaten Jay.

The winds died down and we all turned toward the road.

"So that's it?"

"I think so. William is hopefully rotting in Hell and the other ghosts don't have any reason to kill again. So I think it's over."

"Dude," John motioned for my attention. As I leaned in he looked me straight in the eye and said, "your parents suck."

Entry 35: Not a cold -Carl-

I've seen a lot of things. I've seen people torn to shreds. I've seen a person stand up after getting hit by a train. I've seen people slowly deteriorate as their sanity is beaten away; but I've never experienced this. I suspect that something more sinister than a cold is happening to Ben. Just yesterday I was reaching over to pick up his dishes when he whipped out a fork from no where, screaming at the top of his lungs, "You will never find them!"

His eyes seem distant while he talks and the few times we do see some of the old Ben, it is only when he is screaming in pain. He doesn't do that as often any more. In fact, just a little while ago he stood up and complained of how thirsty he was. Of course when I brought him his drink, he promptly screamed at me that he'd said no such thing. I'm not sure what it is, but something very evil is at work here. I feel it in the room; a kind of tingling that is just under the skin.

As for the case we've had to call Tim, our internet guy, to do some research on Mr. Giggles. He didn't find much except for a large amount of missing persons. Now when I say large, I want you to imagine all the children in your city slowly vanishing one by one. That is the magnitude I'm referring to. Apparently they gave him the name Mr. Giggles, because on the walls of every child he kidnapped was some kind of sick humor; somehow tied into the boy's daily life. Though at the time they never figured out what he did to those kids, I think I know. There's a whole well full of proof.

We could really use Ben's help, but until his problem takes its course; we'll just have to wait.