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Chapter Fourteen - 90s Classic Movie Gone Wrong

The group pressing against the doors was being cleared by Agent Brown while Agent Miles kept a quivering gun pointed at the bulging screen. Muldoon lay dead by the cage, his stomach ripped open and gruesomely devoured by a raptor. Others were pacing as though they could see, at least smell the fresh prey in the theater beyond. They felt closer than Trick would have liked. Brandon had catatonic. Since they couldn’t move him easily, Naomi clubbed him in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious to the floor.

    “Come on Trick, we need to get these people to a position of safety,” she said hurriedly.

    “But how? Where,” he asked, bewildered.

    “Up by the projector. Perhaps we can break the glass and get people out that way. Because they are crushing themselves down there. And when the raptors come out they’ll be easy pickings. Plus, Conturbatio can’t come in if they are crushing the doors!”

    “Good point,” Trick admitted. “Hey! Everyone! Climb up to the projector, let’s see if we can break the glass! Mom! Get people moving this way!”

    Susan shouted back to him and told Miles to quickly go up and break the glass to let people up through the projection room. Stacey turned her back warily on the raptor filled screen and proceeded up the steps. Trick might have misread what he saw, but he thought the dinosaurs’ eyes were following the agent. She ordered people back from the glass and shot it. Some big men, including the guy who had threatened to beat up Jed cleared away the glass. Others screamed at the gunshots.

    Trick saw that his mother had managed to get some people away from the doors and they were herding up the steps. The bulge kept getting bigger and terrible screeching noise of metal on cement filled the theater. The raptors started chattering to each other and some else let loose a fresh scream. A fuzzy personage appeared in the film. It looked human, but there was a definite alien feeling to it. Goosebumps covered Trick and he felt the fear he had in that dark room with evil symbols and the werewolves coming through the Door. The same thing was about to happen. Though he had gone through the ordeal once before, he felt even less prepared than before. They were going to set a trap, and had instead fallen into the Chronicler’s.

    People were clambering through the window, some of them getting cut on shards of glass, when a terrible ripping sound filled the auditorium. Trick thought he could see it, a rift opened between Reality and the world of the film, and maybe even the world of the Chronicler. The raptors slipped through like raging water and filed out to stalk the movie goers.

“Mom! Watch out,” Trick cried as Susan let loose a few shots. Two raptors ducked and the other hissed at her.

From above Agent Miles let loose more deafening shots. People ducked and covered their ears, their screams reaching a fevered pitch to match the sound of the firearms. One raptor charged towards the steps and came for a couple of blubbering students. Naomi shot out and jumped feet first into the dino. They collided hard and the raptor hit the wall hard, disorienting it. Trick ran and pulled the fallen Naomi away from the thrashing claws.

He heard a low hiss and saw a raptor right by his head, grinning at him like death. He gave it his own sweaty stare and licked his lips.

“Clever girl,” he breathed.

Shots rang out and he flinched away.

“That’s my son, you bitch!” Susan Brown stalked forward calmly, her gun only smoking slightly.

The raptor fell to the floor, twitching, a large hole where’s its right eye should have been.

The other raptors began howling and jumped onto chairs and tried to encircle the agent and two teens. Susan quickly changed out clips.

“Patrick, Naomi, I only have so many rounds, get up the stairs and get out of here!”

The two of them helped each other up and went for the stairs and to the booth. Someone cried out from above that the door there was also locked.

“Then get something fight with,” Trick found himself shouting.

Naomi threw popcorn at one raptor trying to distract it. It only spat at her and returned its attention to Agent Brown, who stood there sweating. She knew she had to keep an eye on all of them. Four deadly dinosaurs were trying to come at her from all sides, and if she missed one she would be dead in seconds. Agent Miles was reloading her own gun. Two more raptors stalked the patrons. One crept up on those crushing the entrance. The last one walked slowly up the other set of stairs and to the second group of viewers.

Then the entrance door blew open with a multicolored beam    . People were thrown aside and two rode the doors into the encroaching velociraptor, blowing it back through the screen. All three victims slumped to the ground, out cold. The raptors howled and snorted in their high pitched way again as Conturbatio rounded the corner.

“Sorry I’m late,” He shouted to everyone. “Woah there!”

“You mean to tell me you could have done that the whole time,” Jed’s voice echoed over the chaos.

“A little busy now to argue,” the Sphinx said hurriedly.

He aimed his pulse gun at the nearest raptor, which jumped away and eyed him warily.

“Above you,” Naomi called as one raptor tried to position itself on the step to jump him.

The Sphinx spun and blasted the raptor up into the ceiling with the laser beam as another raptor charged him from the side. Trick mother expertly put two bullets through the dino’s eye and one through its snout. It crashed and skidded to a halt right at Conturbatio’s feet.

“Thanks,” he shouted, his ears probably ringing like everyone else’s.

Trick figured they would all be shouting for hearing loss after this fight. He had heard guns fired too close without ear protection now for it to be good for his health. The blasted raptor that had flown into the ceiling, fell with crunching finality. With four raptors out of commission, the others began backing off towards the screen. Trick thought they seemed to be very wary of their actions, as though they were now really scared. The blurry humanoid figure then stepped through the barely seen rift.

The voice a young teen sounded in their ears as it spoke, “At last! I will now be free! The others were fools to not follow me, and I even managed it without too great a sacrifice! We will escape this war!”

Conturbatio shot another beam and tried to nail the Chronicler. It held up a fuzzy hand and forestalled the beam.

“Agent Howard Conturbatio, the one who thinks he can know all secrets, it is futile to fight me. I understand the powers between our worlds too well,” the figure said brashly. “You had a good idea, but it will not work here! I know how to counteract that powerful device, and I have the magic to do so!”

It waved its other hand and the Ghosbusters pack disintegrated. Conturbatio did not miss a beat and drew his handgun. The hand waved again and all three agents had their weapons blown right out of their hands. The figure laughed at their helpless looks. The raptors all screeched and bolted back through the screen.

“No one will stand in my way of freedom! No one! Not that treacherous Tscheapwhetzar or those blind Guardians! None of them! They don’t know the horrors that I have seen; I will not be a part of them! And you will not force me back!”

He took triumphant steps towards the destroyed entryway to the theater, and out to the hall and world beyond. Trick could hear sirens in the distance, and the people in their theater were now clamming up and watching with horrified awe as this powerful creature made its move for freedom. Then Trick felt something. Naomi must have as well, and they both turned to look at an open cup filled with cola. The soda trembled. It trembled in a very familiar way.

The Chronicler stopped for just a moment and considered something when Conturbatio asked, “So, is the Door open? Are you now a being of this plane of existence?”

The Chronicler stopped and tapped its face with a hand. “Oh very well, I will answer those questions and then be gone. Old habits and all that. No, the Door is only cracked, but it will open soon. Maybe I should close it… Secondly, I have real influence here, and I am physical, but not in the same corporeal sense as you would know. Sufficient enough, yes?”

Naomi stood up, “No, there’s one last thing, do you know what will happen in five seconds?”

The voice giggled and said, “Psh! Of course I know! I know everything! What will- Oh no…”

A T-Rex’s head came through the rift and bit down on the Chronicler. It pulled him back and thrashed its head from side to side. A popping sound like bubble wrap getting crushed filled the air as the Chronicler’s body broke in the monster’s jaws. Trick felt oddly comforted at that sound. The rift suddenly sealed up and the feeling of terror passed.

“What just happened,” someone above them asked.

“I think we just got saved by deus ex machina,” Naomi said, sounding shocked.

“I’m going to scarred for life,” a girl muttered.

“What just happened,” Brandon asked weakly, finally waking up.

“Oops, forgot about him,” Naomi said unconcernedly.

“I’ve been living a lie,” Camille shrieked from the back. She tore out her bump, and let her long hair flow as she ripped open her blouse to reveal a nerdy Super Mario shirt underneath. “I actually love Jurassic Park, and I loved every moment we just went through! It was a nerd and horror junky’s guilty fantasy and best dream! Life is too short to waste pretending to be a Molly Mormon! Can you please forgive me!?”

“I forgive you,” Jed called out as he entered the demolished theater.

“No one asked for your input, Jed,” Camille shouted down to him.

Trick just shook his head. “Naomi, promise me that we’ll never come back to Utah. Ever again.”

“Only if your promise to never again take me on any adventures,” she shot back.

“I’m almost tempted to take you up on that offer,” he grinned back at her.

“Seriously guys, what did I miss,” Brandon said, completely lost.

In the following hours, everyone was questioned by police, the FBI, and Homeland Security, who arrived late on the scene. The raptor bodies were removed and confiscated by the late coming officials. Conturbatio mourned that the case would again fall to the competition. However, he now had a mountain of evidence for a strange happening that would need to be tracked and monitored, so that the people of the U.S. and the world could be kept safe from beings like the Chronicler.

Trick and Naomi were weary from all of the questions. His mother had quickly schooled them on what to say and gave them fake IDs. The higher-ups could never know that the Q Files sanctioned using teenagers for an official case. Some of the original investigators now swarmed Brandon and haled him a hero for telling the truth. He was still slightly dazed, and mutter stuff incoherently half of the time.  

Personally, Trick knew how to lie his way out of a paper bag before anyone except his parents, and Naomi did an even better job than him when dealing with boring officials. Soon, they would be on their way home. He had had more than enough adventure in the land of supposed conspiracies. Still, this case had given him a lot to think over. He could do that the next time he was bored at school.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter Thirteen - These Ain’t the Cheap Seats

Trick was thoroughly confused as to how and why there could still be so many college students in a university town right before Thanksgiving. In a city that made itself on the presence of large college, which meant that these kids had other places to be during a holiday, why were they all still there? The others in the rented car had to explain to him that Provo was a black hole for Mormon students, or so they had heard. Their school schedules were different than others in the U.S., and they had such a strong community here that people didn’t want to leave. Plus, they would all be busing getting ready for the next bout of proposals, as Mormons were want to do, especially during a holiday.

    Utah is such a weird place! Trick rubbed his temples.

He looked out the window and watched the tame signs and shops go by. There was a palpable difference to this place, one that he felt he could reach out and touch. He knew he shouldn’t bring it up, though. Conturbatio was itching to go on about possible conspiracies (though Trick hadn’t really heard any yet from the man) in regards to the Mormons. Or was he? After speaking with the mailbox, the Sphinx seemed a little more subdued. Trick wondered what it was exactly that had flipped the switch. Was it the bizarre case? The all-knowing aspect of the blabbermouth? Was it the hint of enemies? Was it the insanity of the whole damn situation!? Trick couldn’t tell what it was, but he knew all of that was weighing down on him. This hadn’t been the adventure he was looking for when he had been bored in school just yesterday.

Had it just been yesterday!? This whole case made him feel like he had been slogging through the unexpected and the unwanted for a month. One magically disturbing month! Not even a full 24 hours! Trick felt like punching something, preferably Brandon.

Soon, they pulled up to the theater and made their way inside. Brandon had come with his folks, and he was already getting cold feet. Apparently the promise of a hot chick’s contact info can only bring a man so far. He and naomi both gritted their teeth, pinned Brandon between them and hiked him inside. Conturbatio bought the tickets.

“I am going to have a lot of explaining to do back at the office. The Budgeting committee is going to gut us even more than we already are…”

Stacey soothed him, “If we are able to prove everything that we have seen here and how it correlates with the last attack, the Q Files will grow in ways we have only dreamed about! Take a hit to win the fight, right?”

The Sphinx smiled at her and Susan said dryly, “Why don’t you pull out those kinds of encouragements more often?”

But then the two women smiled and laughed at each other. Trick concluded that adults were all weird and insane. Once the Sphinx handed them the tickets, we went back to the ca, where a duffel bag with their secret weapon resided. He was going to enter the theater from the back. The inside of the theater felt like an assault from the 80’s punctuated with too many neon lights. College students milled about everywhere, trying to get their popcorn, and dancing their significant others around other couples, and showing off. It was a unique dance and mad house. And the things they were saying were just too outrageous.

“Please Addison! I’m getting married soon, and I need the money. I can’t support a wife on just popcorn!”

A tall and youthful man was almost on his knees pleading to a bearded manager, who looked like sexy carved out of Mount Rushmore.

“You know Jed, some people would come to this country illegally just to work for popcorn, because they don’t have anything else! Are you really going to spurn what I am paying you?”

“I’m basically your slave!”

Addison sighed, “Of course you are! It was in your in employee contract, in bold nonetheless! Plus, you get free movies every week, AND you get to bring a friend! That is how you won her over, right?”

“Mimblewimble,” was what came out of Jed’s mouth.

“Now get your chores done, or there won’t be any stale popcorn for you later!” With that, the manager called Addison marched off.   

    Trick watched the dejected employee, Jed, as Agent Miles and his mother got popcorn. He went over to the entryway to grab up a broom when a gaggle of friends passed through the doors. One girl strode out at the front with her chest out and crowned with bump on her head to make expecting mothers’ pregnancy photos jealous. She wore clothes that screamed to everyone, “I live a conservative lifestyle!”

    “Jed,” she shouted when she saw him. “When are you getting a real job? How can expect to be a good husband and priesthood holder if all you do is languish in  a place like this and work for popcorn! Seriously, it drives the spirit and authority right out of you, and stop slouching!”

    “Yes Camille,” Jed said, clearly flustered.

    “That’s Sister to you,” she shoved a finger under his nose. “Oh come on, Jed, you know I’m joking. But seriously.”

    Trick and Jed both obviously thought this girl didn’t know what a real joke was, not would if it bit her on the butt. She then turned to others of her group and shouted, “What is the movie we are seeing again?”

    “Jurassic Park,” someone from the back piped up.

    “But that movie is PG-13,” Camille gasped. “And this late at night, in a dark theater. So much could happen! We are flirting with sin! Which is sin itself.”

    Trick groaned inwardly. He’d have to deal with Brandon and this bunch of idiots, too? He half wished a dinosaur would come through the screen and eat them.

    “Come on Camille, lighten up a bit. It’s a fun movie,” another girl tried saying.

    “Lighten up? Drop my standards you mean! That’s where it begins!”

    A big guy then sighed and said,”Look, I already got everyone’s tickets. Just please come and try to enjoy yourself.” Camille stuck her nose up into the air and stomped off, as the big guy turned to Jed. “So are you coming by tomorrow to play Smash? Remember, no Villager for you!”

    “No Adrian, you always beat me,” Jed complained.

    Adrian started pummeling Jed and said angrily, “Tell no one!”

    Trick just looked away and whistled. Together with Naomi, they frog marched Brandon into the theater. Sure enough, with a crowd pleasing favorite like Jurassic Park, the place was packed. Brandon said that the theater they were in was on the opposite side of the building where the first attack had taken place. With how many people there were, Trick would never have suspected that an attack had occurred here just days before. Another reminded of how weird the whole situation was.

    He heard Camille come in and still complain about the movie and avoiding the appearance of evil. Naomi also now looked like she had a good mind to go and slap the older girl. For crying out loud, let others enjoy the movie! Brandon began to whimper as they say down.

    “I really don’t want this to happen. I hope it doesn’t happen.”

    “You better hope it happens,” Naomi snapped. “Or you will still have to put up with the stuff that sucked you into a video game.”

    “I had been hoping for an SAO or Tron experience, but I just didn’t get it…”

    “Here, have some popcorn and stuff it,” Trick growled, shoving a large bag of popcorn under the teen’s nose.

Thankfully Brandon obliged and they could enjoy the previews in peace as the lights dimmed. Trick’s mother and Agent Miles positioned themselves right in front of the teens, as to better protect them when things got hairy. Brandon’s own family had decided not to join in, but were waiting outside. Trick’s hands got sweaty as he began anticipating the horrors that could come out of the screen.

The lights dimmed all the way down and the epic first note of Jurassic Park’s opening crashed over them like a wave. The hairs went up on Trick’s arms and neck and he watched as the trees and foliage shifted to make way for the ominous cage holding a velociraptor. Muldoon waited there with his guards to receive the monster. This scene always put Trick on edge, but in the best way.

Despite the fact that Brandon was here to gain access to Naomi’s friend, he still tried to hold her hand. She slapped it audibly away. Though it broke the atmosphere, Trick giggled at it. At least there was something to break the tension, which was continued to mount on screen.

The gatekeeper was on top of the loading cage, and the velociraptor rammed the other side of the cage, rolling it back and knocking the gatekeeper down. The raptor, still unseen, yanked the poor employee into the cage. Muldoon managed to latch a hold of the man and attempted in vain to thwart the murder.

“See, this is just so wrong, I can’t feel the comfort I should be feeling,” Camille whined somewhere behind Trick.

Oh great… She’s close by. This could end up being a very long movie. Trick rolled his eyes and tried to concentrate on the action.

And then the screen bulged, people in the audience gasped and screamed. The cage continued to roll back and it looked like was about to roll into the theater itself. The gatekeeper was swept in and screamed in agony as he was opened up and killed, beyond the sight of the camera. Muldoon jumped back and reached for his gun, firing rounds into the cage. But the horror was only beginning. The doors to the raptor paddock slid back effortlessly More raptors spilled out and began attacking workers.

“But there were only two others,” Naomi said quickly.

Brandon began rocking again and muttered, “We’ve got to go. We’ve got to go. We gotta go! It’s happening again, and it’s all wrong! We’re gonna die!”

Others in the audience began catching on that this was wrong and someone bolted for the doors. They shouted back that the door was locked and it couldn’t be opened. The same proved true for the exits. Panic was rising in the room, and the bulge was getting larger.

Still, Naomi asked quietly, “Why are there more raptors, there should only be three?”

Camille was shrieking her off behind them and the two FBI agents were rising and barring their guns. Something then came to Trick’s memory.

“She developed a pride and killed all but two of the others,” Trick quoted. “Naomi, there were originally more raptors in the cage than three.”

Naomi sucked in air and then said, “And if the heroes could barely deal with three raptors, what are we going to do against more than half a dozen, and with no way out?”

They shared a worried look over Brandon and Trick said weakly, “Sphinx had better get here now!”

The way into the theater was sealed, and Conturbatio could hear the cries of panic from within. He didn’t figure that anyone had been hurt yet. Shouting out to the employee and told them to make sure that the hallway was cleared.

“FBI business. THere is some trouble going on. Call the police! See to everyone’s safe evacuation!”

The employees gave him confused looks. It was only natural, however. He had the large vacuum pack with a gun strapped to his back. He looked really weird, and his badge just looked like he was late to a Halloween party. But the screams from the theater seemed to convince some and they began moving about. As Conturbatio put his back into breaking down the doors, a manager appeared.

“Sir, can I help you?”

“Mr., uh, Addison, there is about to be another attack in your theater. Something is wrong here and I need to get in!”

    “Jed!” Addison called to the hapless giant. “Help this man get inside and escort the people out. I’m going to make sure we evacuate the other theaters. Hop to it, and you’ll actually earn some money for a change!”

    Jed rushed to the Sphinx’s side as the manager ran into another theater himself. The screams were becoming frantic. Conturbatio raised an eyebrow at the thin youth’s frame.

    “I’m much more solid than I look,” Jed said.

    “I hope that is the case,” Conturbatio breathed. “Alright. Let’s get this door open!”

    Together, they threw themselves against the double doors, willing and forcing them to move.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter Twelve - The Best Laid, Reluctant Plans

Conturbatio laid it all out before the Jacksons, after checking to make sure that the Ghostbusters gear was indeed acting like it did in the movie, the very plan he was concocting. The team would escort Brandon to the movie theater, where he would mingle in with other youth, and with his connection to the Chronicler (As they were now calling the entity who had bestowed the “curse.”), they would trap the interdimensional being. The Sphinx hoped that they would be able to study and question the Chronicler later, but he admitted that he was getting ahead of himself there.

    The Jackson were, however, less than supportive of the idea.

    “My son will be suffering for the rest of his life from PTSD after being sucked into a video game! I have half a mind to throw out every single electronic device and game in this house!”

    “Mom,” Tiffany said testily.

    “Are you really the FBI? You have done nothing to fix anything since arriving here! I want to to talk to your director! This is just deplorable,” Mr. Jackson raged!

    “Yes, if it wasn’t for those two sweet boys, my boy would still be lost to us!”

    “A I chopped sui,” Kyle asked.

    “It’s chopped liver,” Naomi corrected.

    “And this idea of yours is so hairbrained, there’s no way it would work!”

    “I can’t let my angel go into your war zone,” Mrs. Jackson shrieked.

    Trick snorted at that. Brandon just rocked himself in his seat. The agents shared hopeless looks.

    Naomi leaned in and said, “Come on, Brandon, if you aren’t going to do this for me,do it for yourself. This is real what is happening here. Let’s end it. Tonight!”

    Brandon’s eyes snapped up to Naomi’s.

    “Why should I do anything for you,” he sneered. “You don’t care about me. You kicked me in the balls!”

    Mrs. Jackson gasped and her husband glowered at Naomi.

    She ignored them and continued, “I make not like you Brandon, but there are some girls out there who would find you attractive. I have a friend, who has no experience with guys, a virgin, who doesn’t get out much but is looking for a good time. How about if you help us tonight at the movie theater, I’ll give you her contact information and give her a head’s up.”

    Everyone at the table suddenly looked very awkward and blushed a little.

    “Are you pimping out your friend,” Trick finally asked, incredulously.

    “Nope, just promising to set up a meeting or contact between two people,” she answered simply.

    “Young lady, that is-” Mrs. Jackson began, but Brandon cut her off.

    “You would do that?”

    Naomi nodded her head stiffly and he licked his lips. “Is she hot? Like you?”

“Gorgeous, like one of your waifus,” Naomi said, her lips jerking.

Trick couldn’t tell if she was joking, but he knew Brandon was definitely considering. Naomi was really pulling the team along this time. He was just the baggage and felt useless. It made him feel even more sorry for her that she had gotten trapped in a video game.

“So, uh, what is the plan again,” Brandon finally asked.

“I forbid it,” Mrs. Jackson screeched.

“Drink your prune juice mom,” he shot back lamely. “Seriously, tell me what I have to do.”

Conturbatio slowly grinned and said, “We are going to the theater tonight. You will go to a showing of your choice, as long as we can say that there will be plenty of young people there, and you will sit down. The Chronicler will try to come through like he did last time when you went. I will trap him with your dad’s now live Ghostbusters’ costume.”

“And then I get to meet this hot chick?”

The Sphinx looked to Naomi, who said, “Yes, and not before we are done and the Chronicler is caught.”

Brandon then jumped up and shouted, “What are we waiting for!? Oh, and you will all be paying for this, right?”

Agent Miles reluctantly agreed and he gave them all a leering, potato-y grin. Trick wanted so bad to deck the guy across the face.

“Then I am going to see the Jurassic Park showing at 8 p.m. It will attract lots of college kids who like that stuff,” he explained. “I think that will work for your plan, uh, whatever your name is.”

“Agent Conturbatio,” the Sphinx said calmly.

“Bless you,” Brandon said walking away. “Alright, well, the movie is only over an hour away. You need to get suited up. Ha! I always wanted to say something cool like that!”

“This is the only time we team up with this guy,” Trick whispered to Naomi.

“Agreed,” she said fervently.  

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter Eleven - Consolidating Information

Trick was so happy to see Naomi back. He could have cared less about the crumpled pile that was Brandon next to her. Vince and Nate shouted with surprise and leaped back, as the game winked out. He dove for her and helped her get to her feet. Naomi cupped his face with her hands. Oh boy, she was getting the wrong idea! He was only happy that she was back, not like that…. She headbutted him. Hard!

    “You owe me for everything that happened! And I lost my sweet sword! For crying out loud, I was going to be Queen of England!”

    Everyone gave them odd looks, but then the two friends started laughing together.

    “But seriously, you still owe me,” Naomi wheezed.

    “I’ll make it up to you someday, I swear,” Trick coughed through laughs.

    It took a little while to bring everything under control. Conturbatio thanked Nate and Vince for their services and handed them each a few hundred dollars to keep them quiet. They assured him that they would stay tight lipped and thanked him for the weirdest game they had ever played. They left talking loudly about the newest quests they had to complete in the real Breath of the Wild.

    The Jacksons all wanted to talk with Brandon, who now squeaked like a mouse, and shuddered more than spoke. The agents decided it wa best to give them some time to themselves. Miles and Trick’s mother comforted naomi, who said that she really didn’t need much attention. She was a little frazzled, and mostly she jokingly complained about not having Excalibur anymore.

    Conturbatio led the group onto the back porch where outside it was raining and snowing. Trick really didn’t like the feel of Utah’s weather. He shudder as Naomi shrugged on her thick coat and gave him a twinkling grin.

    “Oh stop it! This place is totally unnatural! When does it snow and rain outside of a movie!?”

    “Have you ever gone outside during the late winter,” Naomi teased. “Or do you just stay indoors and contemplate social mazes and subtleties?”

    “Har, har,” Trick replied slowly.

“Okay you two, shape up and listen,” Susan told the, but Trick could see his mother’s lip twitching in a smile.

You had better not be getting any ideas, old woman!

Trick folded his arms and tried to look calm and unaffected by the weather as he rested on the house’s side. Conturbatio relayed to the women everything that he and Trick had read from the mailbox.

“It is clear from the blabbermouth that this Tscheapwhetzar is behind what is going on right now. He even controls the man behind the mailbox, and so we couldn’t learn more. It is unsettling that ‘our’ enemies were mentioned. It makes me a little concerned. We’ll need to secure multiple copies of everything we can gather from here. I’m going to make sure that the evidence we collect is kept safe,” the Sphinx finished with a stern voice.

“Your actions could be misconstrued as withholding evidence,” Trick’s mother warned. “You will have to tread cautiously Conturbatio.”

“I will be, I have already been taking precautions.”

“I saw the Tscheapwhetzar when I was coming back to Earth,” Naomi suddenly said. “When I jumped through the portal in the game, there was a time that I saw something strange. I was in a place of blackness, but I clearly saw and heard him speak with the princess Midna, from the Twilight Princess. He was promising her a chance to see Link again, if she swore allegiance to him. He called it friendship.”

“A man at war will make such promises,” Agent Brown said. “It is rare that any ruler actually keeps those promises. This Tscheapwhetzar sounds like a real tyrant.”

“I think he is even more than that,” the Sphinx said weakly. “But I need to learn more.”

Agent Miles then said, “So what exactly will be our plan for dealing with all of this. I think we can agree that the Tscheapwhetzar is beyond our ability to deal with at the moment, but the, er… Blabbermouth, said that we could defeat the chronicler by coaxing him out. How?”

“It really didn’t make much sense,” Trick spoke up. “He told us not to let the Door open, but this sounds like opening the Door. But, things are getting out of hand right now. Naomi and Brandon getting sucked into a video game is no small matter.”

“Speak for yourself,” Naomi grumbled.

“But it requires using innocent people about your age to do that,” Miles protested. “I don’t think I can condone that.”

“Stacey, we have to do it,” Susan said emphatically. “This curse, or whatever it is, is getting more and more dangerous. Just like Harrisburg, we need to take action and stop this Door from opening. The chronicler cannot be allowed to escape. Conturbatio, you trust the mailbox?”

“I do. It knew things only half a dozen other people in the world know,” he sounded shaken. Trick wondered what that case had been that caused the Sphinx to pale. “I think we can trust the blabbermouth’s suggestion. The best thing for us to do, might be to recreate what had happened at the theater.”

“No, that is too great a gamble,” Trick mother now said. “There must be another way!”

“A giant video game tournament,” Naomi suggested.

“That’s a good idea, but it might take too long,” Conturbatio said.

Trick pulled out his phone and had a look at the theater’s schedule. He thought about what Brandon had said about the incident and what he had read. He thought about everything that he had experienced on this case, and in the previous one.

“What if we used the bait as the trap itself,” he suggested. Everyone gave him a confused look. “The theater is going to show Jurassic Park again, tonight. The theater has to keep running after all. Lots of people will go to this movie, because it is a classic, and this is a university town, so lots of young people will be in attendance. Well, what if we get the chronicler to show himself, evacuate the theater, and let a dinosaur eat the chronicler?”

“That is a terrible idea,” Naomi said immediately.

    “That plan has a lot of uncertainty,” his mother said, Agent Miles bobbing her head quickly.

“Look, I’m just trying to throw out ideas,” Trick shot back.

“I have a plan,” Tiffany’s voice rang out.

They all turned to look at the giggling girl. She danced into the middle of the group, wearing hot pink, light hoodie.  

“My daddy has an old Ghostbusters costume. Ever since everything here began, it has felt and even acted like ti does in the movie!”

“Your parents let you watch that,” Susan asked with surprise.

Tiffany giggled, and said, “Yes. If you are going to catch someone, why not use it and catch him? The things we have seen around here act like ghosts, so maybe something that can be used to fight ghosts will work.”

“From the mouths of babes,” Conturbatio breathed. “Tiffany, you and Patrick are giving me an idea that just might work!”

“Patrick? That sounds a whole lot stupider than Trick,” the girl laughed at Trick.

He shook his head and growled, “So can we go inside now? I’m freezing!”

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter Ten - Dark Portals

Brandon was a potato acrobat. Whoever was controlling him this time had him expertly dodging, leaping, and sprinting all over the place. He now had the orc’s giant ax in his small arms and was crushing foes left and right with it, and he was complaining the entire time.

“My body is my own! It’s not to be used as a play thing!”

Naomi really didn’t pay him any more heed. The dead had dropped to her amazements another bomb. She took it and laid in wait for the stone statues to come for her. When the first Anubis statue approached, she threw the bomb just right as his left leg, blowing it away , and causing him to fall into the other stone monster. They both crumbled and dropped a ton of loot. With the orc’s bag, she could now miraculously hold a lot more items. She loaded up on gems, magical items, and some extra daggers. Sadly, she had used up her only bomb. Thankfully, she had found an invigorating potion, and she was back to full energy.

The real problem was now figuring out how to get out of this game. A storm was was forming over Hyrule Castle, and the normally smoky and fiery air was being sucked up into a monstrous funnel cloud.

“Brandon, we either need to get away from here, or brave the palace,” Naomi shouted to him. She doubted it would do much, since he was being controlled, but she could only hope. She could hope that he might die in the game. Then it wouldn’t be her fault right?

To the west, the Tabantha Frontier erupted in stone and darkness. Some of the blackness dropped like goo near them, and people of the Twilight Realm formed from the dark substance.

Oh crap, what is going on now!?

“I think I have to go to the castle,” Nate said. “The girl just suggested it in the text.”

“Sweet stuff,” Vince replied. “And now that you have some materials around you, maybe there is something good for Brandon to use.”

“Hold on a sec.” Nate brought up the menu option and then started exploring. “Hold the proverbial phone! There’s a multiplayer option!”

“No way! Would I get Loink then?”

“Who knows,” Nate shrugged. “We gotta check this out!”

“Multiplayer Breath of the Wild with super hacks!? who wouldn’t play this,” Vince gushed.

Nate kept the game paused, which kept Naomi, Brandon, and all the enemies frozen in place. Vince started looking around for extra controllers.

“Why didn’t I think of that,” Kyle said, smacking his face. “I could have paused the previous game and we might have found a way to get them out.”

“I didn’t think this game would let you do that,” Tiffany said.

“There must be a way setting this up like Smash,” Vince muttered.

“I don’t think it would have worked that easily,” Agent Miles said, trying to sooth Kyle. “I think this indeed game that requires that they play through it to get out.”

“Oh man! I think that this game had brought back Twilight Princess! Dude! Dude! The ships might just sail here,” Nate squealed with delight.

Vince soon got a new pair of controllers running, and the screen split.

“Well, that kinda detracts from the beauty of the game,” Nate admitted.

“But still, this has gotta be the coolest thing ever! We’re going to dominate now,” Vince cheered. He looked at the menu for Naomi and then said, “Woah there! Check this out! I got the girl, and she a sword called Excalibur, and it can be enhanced. Just gotta use some of these items…”

“Dude, that is legit! You gotta kill some stuff and see how it does,” Nate said excitedly.

“And the flavor text says that this sword cannot be broken. So cool!”

And with that, the two boys got to work.

Naomi felt like life had suddenly paused, but she couldn’t explain why. Suddenly, Excalibur burst into radiant light and she started being controlled! She had to agree with Brandon that it wasn’t fun having someone else determine her actions, but she made certain not to complain like him. She was directed towards a group of Blue Lizalfos charging them. The Twili huddled together and begged for protection. Naomi cleaved her way through the lizards like a hot knife through butter. They exploded on contact with Excalibur.

“Alright! Now this is the kind of sword I wanted,” she exclaimed happily.

There was a clunking sound, and a sentinel came lopping into view. Before she knew it, Naomi was racing towards it with Brandon flanking her. He now had a cool halberd instead of the ax. He looked ready to cry, the goober. The sentinel locked in on them, but Naomi deflected the laser blast with her sword. Its light then started winking out. Whatever boost it had gotten, was probably wearing off after that attack.

She jumped and and swung Excalibur through the leg of the sentinel, slicing it clean off. The machine toppled and Brandon thrust his halberd into its eye. The health bar over the machine already showed that they had done significant damage to it. Her limbs being moved by somebody else, Naomi hacked away at the sentinel, even after Excalibur’s boost ended. The machine soon rumbled and blew up in a cloud of smoke and rubble. She and Brandon were then directed to pick up the dropped items.

Naomi looked up at the gathering storm and saw a massive dragon descending from it. It did not look like any dragon she had seen in a Zelda game. It was gray with red armor all over its body and two axes in its claws. Bright blue eyes gleamed from under its helm and it started bombarding the land with fire bombs.

I really don’t want to fight that thing, Naomi thought.

She was then whisked off in the direction of the castle.

“This is going to be a crazy boss fight when we get there,” Nate said.

“But are we ready?”

“We need to see what we are up against and get some resources. Vince, quickly see if you recognize that dragon, or if the internet does,” Nate instructed to his friend.

“Hold it,” Trick screeched, sliding into the room. “I know how to get them out of there! Look, we need to find this portal!”

He shoved the paper from the mailbox into Kyle’s hands, but Kyle directed him to the college students playing on the Switch. “They are in control of Naomi and Brandon right now.”

Trick didn’t bother wasting time asking who they were or where they came from. “Look, in order to win, we need to get Brandon and Naomi to this portal. It says that it is revealed when the Twilight Realm is revealed.”

“Hold on, let me compare maps,” Vince quickly said.

Nate paused the game again to give his friend time. They soon put their heads together to look at the different maps and talked about where the Twilight Realm should be in relation to the new game.

“The Tabantha Frontier makes the most sense,” Nate finally said. The maps say it is so, and that is where we saw the Twili fall from, I think. We need to go there.”

“Better than fighting that boss dragon now,” Vince agreed.

For the next hour, Trick, the agents, and the Jackson family watched and cheered with anxiety as the two strange savior led their loved ones through the bizarre alteration of the game. They led a crowd of Twili and confused citizens through a sea of enemies and towards the fuming wastes to the west.

Naomi had no clue where they were going, but she was certain now that they would make it. Whoever was playing was really good, and was guiding them along well. They had been fighting their way to the dark western horizon. The dragon had pelted them with fire and the storm was growing stronger, but thankfully the further they got from the castle, the storm lessened and the dragon stopped attacking.

During their flight, Naomi noticed that her stamina bar acted more like it should in the game, and she grew weaker less quickly. The same held true even for Brandon. She figured it was a positive side effect of the game now being played, rather than survived by them. The players also regularly boosted and healed her and the potato kid.

As they crested a broken mountain, she saw a land riddled with portals before her. They were all made of either stone arches, or giant behemoths of metal and machinery. She couldn’t fathom why she was brought here, unless….

They must have found a way home!

She shed a small tear at the thought of finally getting free! She and Brandon were led to explore the many portals. She saw curious writing on them, but couldn’t decipher it. Abruptly, she and Brandon were thrown through one portal. Everything started spinning, and she felt sick to her stomach. Then it all slowed, and she was alone in a void.

Feeling lost and abandoned, Naomi looked around. She saw not too far off two figures, talking together. One was clearly Midna, restored to her full glory, and the other was the Tscheapwhetzar! And she could hear them talking.

“I can assure you that you will see Link again, and when you do, you will finally have the chance you never thought you would,” the cloaked and hooded man said in a low voice.

“And if I do,” Midna said slowly, almost anxiously.

“You will be able to do whatever you want, but I will ask the Twili and the people of Hyrule to serve me in the coming war when I have their need,” the Tscheapwhetzar answered. “It is the Contract: your freedom, a chance to be with him again, in exchange for your friendship.”

Midna considered and then asked, “How will this disrupt our worlds? The timelines? You being here, my actions… They could have devastating effects.”

“I will ensure that there are no negative repercussions on your side,” the man assured her. “I stand between your decision and the judgement of the Guardians and all other powers. Seal this Contract, and I will never forsake you. I remember my friends and will always be there for them.”

The way he said that, with so much emotion and force being choked back, even Naomi felt like she could trust the Tscheapwhetzar. But she still wanted to warn Midna. There was something off about this, but as she tried to call out, she found she couldn’t.

“Then you will have my friendship,” Midna declared.

“Excellent,” the Tscheapwhetzar said in a soft hiss like a snake.

He handed the princess a shard of a black mirror, wreathed in red lightning...

Naomi was then pulled forcibly back to Earth and landed with a thud on the Jackson’s living room floor. The next thing she saw was Trick coming to her and helping her up. She was finally back! She took Trick’s face in her hands, and then headbutted him.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter Nine - Breath of the Insane

Naomi and Brandon ran down a pathway, the later gasping for air. He was once again weaponless, after throwing his rock at crawling pile of bones. The stone had been incredible, though. It grew to the size of a boulder in midair and then crushed the bones to dust. But because the crawling bones were so dang slow, it was a waste of a good weapon. Naomi still had Excalibur, but she was concentrating more on running than fighting. The beasts in Breath of the Wild were larger and harder to kill than in the last Zelda game.

    Another problem was that these monsters coming from all sides were definitely not just from this game, but from others as well. She was pretty certain that some even came from books. Weren’t those Cauldron Born coming in from the south? Those kind of undead never stayed dead when you cut them down. There were also two large statues that reminded her of Anubis warriors. Yup, she felt screwed. All they needed now was a sentinel to come running into the mix...  

    Suddenly, a green World of Warcraft orc and a moblin charged at her and Brandon from rise to their right. Brandon just collapsed in the road and begged for it all to end. Naomi snarled and tried to assume a good stance for fighting these monsters. She was not really used to fencing or anything like that. She was at a real disadvantage. The orc reached her first, with the moblin stopping to consider Brandon.

    The orc swung a large battle axe and nearly took off Naomi’s head. She was lucky and managed to dodge it and Excalibur went into the orc’s gut easily. The brute howled and drew back, clutching its stomach. A health bar appeared over its head, and Naomi could see that he had two thirds of his HP still. Grimacing, she went on the offensive, swinging wildly. She managed to score a good number of hits on the orc, who blocked with its axe, but still took damage. Excalibur quickly reduced the enemy to a bloody mess. She turned and saw Brandon in the clutches of the moblin, squealing for help.

    Naomi had half a mind to leave him, but she knew the agents wouldn’t condone her actions. She knew Trick would understand, but his word wouldn’t sway the adults. She heaved a sigh, feeling sore from the exertion and charged the moblin. It pricked Brandon hard, and three hearts popped into being over his head. He was already down half a heart. The moblin grunted with excitement, which turned into a gurgle as Excalibur went through its chest. It let go of Brandon and rounded on Naomi.

The movement wrenched the sword from her hands and she threw herself out of the way to avoid a spear taking her in the throat. She rolled as she landed, and with the adrenaline pumping, she sprinted around the monster. The moblin nearly skewered her again, but managed to get behind him and pull the sword free. She then hacked frantically at the moblin, bringing him down like a sapling.

Brandon gaped at her and then sputtered, “You save my life! I am in your debt! Please, lend me the sword and I’ll repay you!”

“Not on your life,” Naomi spat angrily. “We need to get going. I saw enemies coming after us from all sides earlier. You need a weapon that you can use. Unfortunately, you are not strong enough for that orc’s ax, so take the spear.”

She didn’t bother to check if Brandon was following her instructions or not. She raided the orc’s body of a nice side pouch, that had some medicine and food in it. Even a small, rock grenade. There was a knife too, with a nice belt. Naomi quickly outfitted herself and even took the bloody jerkin. It might help cover at least something. Brandon trotted up beside her with the spear and a rupee in his hand.

“I wonder if I can take this back with me?”

“That’s what you’re thinking about right now,” Naomi shouted. “I can’t believe you!”

“Well, I need a good stone for when I propose to you. Naomi, you are incredible,” Brandon said breathlessly.

Naomi responded with a swift kick to the gonads. As Brandon rolled on the ground in agony, she simply said, “Consider that my rejection.”

“Ooooh! She really got him good!”

Agent Miles gave Agent Brown a big smile before seeing the stern look on the other woman’s face. She then adopted a more subdued look, but with a slight smile. Everyone was watching what was happening on the big screen as Brandon and Naomi interacted. What they were saying was displayed on the screen as in-game text. Kyle was quickly working to get the Nintendo Switch operational in order to help them through the game. Meanwhile, Mr. Jackson was comforting his wife.

“It’s okay, dear. See? Brandon is being protected. Soon Kyle will be able to guide him like he did last time.”

“But she kicked him in the balls! What if he never has children,” his wife wailed.

Mr. Jackson looked as though he personally believed his son deserved the treatment but instead said, “I think we just need to concentrate on getting him back to us.”

Agent Brown regretted that her son was not there to see all of this. She knew Trick would have loved to see Naomi kick the winning field goal into Brandon’s nether regions. She had to bite back the smile that threatened to sweep across her face. This whole situation was terrifying, but it was oddly comical. She wondered what her son and Conturbatio were getting up to with the mailbox when suddenly two college students let themselves into the living room.

“Well hello there! We heard the Legend of Zelda music and thought we’d come and see what is going on. We’re really big fans!”

The speaker was a guy with a short beard on his face with baseball cap depicting a tiger. He looked to be dressed in pajama pants. The other guy was tall and lean with smart glasses on his face, and shirt with Cthulhu on it. Agent Brown rested a hand on her gun, while positioning herself against the two intruders.

“Who are you,” she asked sternly.

The bearded one waved and said, “Oh, I’m Nate, and this is Vince. Sorry for barging in, but Zelda always gets us excited.”

“Dang excite,” Vince added.

“Woah, this doesn’t look like the game I remember,” Nate said with astonishment.

“Well, it is different,” Kyle said hesitantly.

“What kind of glitches or codes did you work into this,” Vince asked with awe, getting close to the screen.

“Er… That’s hard to explain,” Kyle muttered under his breath.

“My brother and the girl he likes are stuck in the video game,” Tiffany said loudly.

“Well that would explain the absence of Link,” Nate said with wonder.

Once Kyle got the Switch up and running, he could again control Brandon, and just in time, too. He was nearly gored by a giant boat that had suddenly ridden through. The large Anubis statues also lumbered into view.

“Kyle, don’t let them touch your brother,” Mrs. Jackson shouted.

“I’m trying,” he shot back angrily.

Nate and Vince shared a confused look and then Nate said, “I am actually a really great player at this game myself. If the other character is there to support me, I think I can get this Brandon- Brandon, right? Yeah him, I can get him out of danger.”

Kyle looked relieved and thrust the controllers into Nate’s hands. The college student sat down with a loud fart and started playing. Sure enough, he got Brandon somersaulting out of the way and taking good jabs at the Boar, while Naomi finished it off.

“Sorry, I toot a lot. Better out than in, though, right? Hm, we need to get this character some better weapons. Oh look! There’s an ax back there!”

As Nate moved the grumbling Brandon (“Who’s controlling me? Get them to stop!”), Vince sat himself down and pulled out a laptop. He asked for internet access and quickly got it going.

“Since this is  heavily modified version of the game, Nate, I’m gonna try talking you through some things.”

“Thanks a lot buddy!”

Agent Brown came up, shaking her head. “What are you two doing? Why?”

“We just really like games and we like challenges,” Vince answered. “It also looks important to you, and so we are going to help, even if we don’t normally intrude like this.”

“It’s a blessing,” someone called from the outside.

Mr. Jackson grumbled, “Damn Mormons….”

Vince then produced an energy drink and said, “Nate, here! Energy and sustenance!”

“Thanks pal! Hey kid, can you open this for me?”

Kyle opened the can as someone else shouted through the window, “Jack Mormons! Have you no shame!”

“Why don’t you take your self righteousness and stuff it up your butt? Maybe it’ll finally put you on the straight and narrow,” Vince shouted back. Nate just let loose a loud burp and fart.

Agent Brown now understood why both Agents Miller and Sanchez had emphatically said that they would never move to Utah.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter Eight - The Blabbermouth

Trick and the Sphinx approached the mailbox warily. The mailman danced for a little bit between watching them and continue his route. Students began pouring out of the nearby BYU campus, and he finally decided to continue on. Trick heard him mutter something like, “They’ll kill me if they don’t hear back from their elders.”

He had no idea what that meant, and he wasn’t even sure why he should bother with this mailbox. Clearly, Conturbatio was trying to distract him. The Sphinx felt up the mailbox and knocked on it a few times. Nothing happened. He opened up the mailbox and spoke into it.

“Hello, are you still there? What do you need to talk to us about?”

Trick then remembered something. He had just seen a really weird Gravity Falls, and there was a short he had come across on YouTube one boring day. There had been a magical mailbox in that show! The paper and the wax seal now all came back to him and made sense.

“Um, Conturbatio, I am very certain that we need to write something and put it into the mailbox,” he said.

“I have to admit, that sounds like it would make the most sense,” the Sphinx said in a low voice. He pulled out a pen and small piece of paper, and grimaced. “I fear that I am also a victim to the modern age where I too do not carry the paper and pens that I should. It was always better for taking notes, but we now all rely on smartphones and tablets. When will the grid and tech fail? Are we ready? The Mormons are getting it right be preparing for all eventualities. They are the counter to the Illuminati.”

“What question are you going to ask,” Trick prompted.

“I am posing a salient question, ‘Who are you?’”

Conturbatio wrote the question down and threw it into the mailbox. Sure enough, it started quaking and the flag went up, before the box stood still. Conturbatio immediately snatched open the lid and drew out the sealed response.  

“I’m going to have to collect and analyze these,” Conturbatio grinned.

Trick looked over his arm and read, I am an interdimensional being, who sees all things throughout the Realms and Reality. I collect all knowledge and wait to impart it on those who seek it. My name is my own, but one enemy of mine once called me a “blabbermouth.” It is a fitting insult, and so I will own it.

“That is a very cramped response,” Trick remarked.

“But if he claims to be close to all knowing, I must test this,” the Sphinx said with eyes alight. He tore of a piece off a receipt, and wrote something down. “Where is Bigfoot?”

“Really!?” Trick threw up his hands and walked off.

The mailbox quickly shook and answered, Bigfoot is a hoax, but the monsters that resemble him are all over the world.

“I was not expecting that,” the Sphinx said with raised eyebrows. “Oh, I’ve got another! What case is in my third drawer, File #2B? Aaaand, what is the truth?”

The case is the mystery of American demogorge, to which the answer is that it is long dead cult that used each other’s fingerprints and faces as clues when they killed. They killed their thirteen victims and then performed a ritual sacrifice on a boat off of Nigeria. Their bodies were never found due to pirates. They wanted to become a chimera-like monster, but in the end all of that death was in vain.

The Sphinx looked shocked and mumbled, “It is all-knowing…  This is really happening. What should I ask?”

“Ask how we’re going t get Naomi out of that video game,” Trick blurted angrily.

“Oh yes, right!”

The answer was quick in the coming: There will be a portal that opens up when the Twilight Realm is revealed. She must go through the portal that reads Origin in Hylian. There was even a copy of what the word looked like in odd glyphs. Before Trick could dash off, Conturbatio caught his arm.

“Patrick, I am not sure for how long this anomaly will allow me to commune with the mailbox, or blabbermouth as he calls himself, but there are important questions that we both need answers to.”

Trick was annoyed. Naomi needed his help now!

“Why are you bringing this up?”

    Conturbatio explained, “I have been chasing the truth for years now. I have known for years now that there were power players and plots on this earth who were unanswerable and unstoppable, at least as things are right now. If I could expose the truth, bring people into the larger world they are a part of, everything could change, and I believe it would change for the better.”

    “Yeah, and?” Trick, didn’t have time for this, and especially Naomi didn’t!

    “We are experiencing that other, bigger world,” the Sphinx said solemnly. “Werewolves and vampires coming through a magical portal, I can buy that in many ways as being a normal, yet covered up phenomena. But here, we are seeing a house overflowing with crazy and unexplainable things. And now there is a mailbox who is answering the questions we need answers to. Think Patrick! There are two common denominators so far: doors and the Tscheapwhetzar.”

    This caused Trick to pause, despite himself. He wanted to know about these things, but were they that important right now?

    “Trick, we need to save Naomi, but she and Brandon being stuck in a computer are a symptom and not the cause. We need to know about the doors and about this strange being.”

    Trick gave the agent a sharp look and then said, “You know something about all of this, don’t you. I caught how you reacted to that weird word. You have brought it up again, even with all the other crazy things. What are you holding back?”

    He barely registered the loud sounds now coming from the house or the people giving them curious looks. Conturbatio sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

    “I came across two references to the Tscheapwhetzar long ago. Once in an old French Revolution letter and something in a Russian missive during Napoleon’s invasion. It was very  strange, but there was nothing more than that. Seeing a word so unique appearing in two different countries around the same time was very suspicious, but there was nothing more. I cataloged it away as one of the many random and useless facts I have filed away. Now, it is coming up again. I want to know why.”

    “But is it really that important,” Trick shot back. “Could it not just all be part of the weirdness or curse that is going on here?”

    “It could be.” The Sphinx sounded so hopeful, it almost sounded pitiful.

    Trick didn’t stop him as Conturbatio wrote down his next question and tossed it into the mailbox. Again, it was seconds before the next answer came: The Tscheapwhetzar is a tribe of Accursed. But really, there is only one Tscheapwhetzar left in existence. He is a being that can invade any story, or world, in the Realms. He collects and corrupts people’s imaginations.

“That would make amazing sense,” Conturbatio finally said after he and Trick had read the answer several times over.

“I’m actually feeling a little lost,” Trick admitted.

“This Tscheapwhetzar is a being that is jumping from story to story. Where did you see him all?”

Trick collected his thoughts and memories and then said, “I think I saw him really in one manga and and in Gravity Falls. But there is probably more.”

“So, if the blabbermouth is telling the truth, all stories are connected. Connected in a separate plane of reality called the Realms. And the Tscheapwhetzar can travel to all realms,” the Sphinx surmised.

Trick quickly took the torn receipt and pen from Conturbatio and wrote down, “What is going on here? How does the Tscheapwhetzar factor in?”

It was a scroll of an answer that the blabbermouth sent back.

“Holy exposition, Batman,” Trick whistled.

The phenomena around the Jackson household is that beings from the Realms are trying to escape into Reality. I am a collector of truth and knowledge, a kind of chronicler. There are others like me, and we work to bring about enlightenment for those who are ready for it. One chronicler is trying to escape.The War between the Accursed and the Abominations is consuming the Realms. It is spilling into Reality more every day. Soon, this world will experience the same upheaval it did when the Second Accursed War was fought, or what you call the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.

This rogue chronicler is linking with the creativity in the Jackson house and is using it as a means to open a Door from the other side. It is very tricky, and many who are working with him will sacrifice their lives, although they don’t know it yet, to make that happen. Ever since the Fountain was activated, this had become a more regular occurrence, and even more so since the Empty God has made his move and is warring with the Accursed.

The Tscheapwhetzar is not involved in any of this, but what you are seeing is what the chronicler has already seen. He is invading many stories and using his magic to create Contracts, a means by which he creates an alternate timeline, but just as real, for that world. Thereby, he is able to harvest the characters and their powers and enlist them to his own cause, because he cannot create things of his own easily.

My colleague has watched the Tscheapwhetzar extensively and is now fleeing because he saw the Tscheapwhetzar found me, and I am now in his employ, so to say. He fears he will be collected next and is running for freedom and to escape the war. He refuses to acknowledge that the war will follow him if he succeeds in opening the Door..He must be stopped.

Trick and the Sphinx shared worried looks. Everything that had just been explained went over their heads, except that they now knew that something big was happening. If there was a massive war that had caused such destruction and death like what had happened two hundred years ago, they needed to stop it from coming to earth. Conturbatio scribbled down the next question and the answer came just as quickly.

To stop the Chronicler, you must invite him to reality by exposing him to young minds, full of energy. It will be like a bright light or a feast to him, like it is to me. He will come and briefly manifest himself in a corporeal form for a brief moment, trying to open the Door. In that moment, he can be killed or have his powers removed.

“What is the Door, though,” Trick fretted. “What are these things, and why are we seeing them?”

Conturbatio wrote those questions down, but now the response was not what they were expecting: I cannot say anymore. Your enemies cannot know the knowledge I possess in this matter. It was escalate the War. I am forbidden to say anymore. You know now what you need!

With that the mailbox shook violently, glowed a sickly green, and collapsed in on itself before exploding. Trick and Conturbatio threw themselves out of the way.

“I guess that concludes the interrogation,” Trick muttered. “Wait! Sphinx! Where was that message with the weird word, or whatever it is, that Naomi needs?”

“Here it is,” Conturbatio said, offering the dirty paper to Trick.

Trick snatched it up and sprinted back into the house, hoping that Naomi was still okay.  

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter Seven  - Pixelated Portal

Naomi began to feel exhausted. Video game characters could just keep going on and on, no matter what the health bar or anything else said. That was one of the things that made video games a kind of escape. It was frustrating to know that she was getting slower, but she had done a good job on keeping the still complaining Brandon safe from the various spears, bombs, and every swooping villain.

    It had been a while since Naomi had played the original Legend of Zelda, but she was certain that Brandon was being led to the starting point for the game. It made good logical sense to go there. It was possible that the old man would be able to give them some information as to what exactly was going on here. They had just crossed a bridge and were entering a “safer” area. There were still plenty of enemies running about.

She had learned that Excalibur could block attacks from her enemies. It was a lucky find. A River Zora had tried blasting her away and she had swung Excalibur like a bat. The attack was simply nullified, but it was much better than what could have been. But now that they were getting closer to some Tektite, she became apprehensive. Their jumping about was difficult to gauge when and where they would land.

What caught her eye was the sign for a shop in the wall of pixel woods. She did have a small fortune in rupees that she had collected from the beginning. Brandon was dragged off, but she ducked into the green wall resembling a forest. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light and naomi saw a long bar displaying different arrows and other items she could buy. Naomi went up to the bar and asked for a bomb.

When she was younger, Naomi had known a lanky kid with glasses who loved the Legend of Zelda games more than his own mother. Just about everything he thought, did, said, and dreamed revolved around the adventures of Link. He had even once, well more than once, pretended to drop bombs by walls and made explosion sounds. He would then sing the music of a discovery. It was a ridiculous image in her mind, But Naomi had always secretly wanted to do that, too. She could only buy one bomb, seeing as how she could only cram so many rupees into her pockets anyway.

Once she walked outside, she then remembered something she should never have forgotten: enemies re-spawned when you were off screen! The Tektites were jumping around like fleas and Naomi put her running physique to good use and sprinted away, swinging Excalibur as needed to ward them off. She even managed to cut one into little bits. Brandon was flying around in circles just over the ground.

“Naomi! I was so worried! Where did you go?”

“I needed to get something,” she explained. “This will hopefully prove useful later.”

“But where are we going? What are we going to do!?”

“I think whoever is playing you is going to take you to the starting point of the game. Relax, you’ll probably get a sword there.”

“Yeah, a sucky one,” Brandon cried.

“And we might find out what exactly is going on with this game,” Naomi finished with a huff. Having to sprint and fight to survive was not helping her patience with Brandon. “I don’t suppose you are getting any more tired? With you getting dragged about and all?”

“Actually, I feel fine,” Brandon said, suddenly brightening. “Thanks for asking.”

Naomi could have stuck her sword in his paunch. She rolled her eyes and followed him as he was directed towards the game’s starting point. The beginning clearing was nice and peaceful, but suddenly something came to Naomi’s nose. She hadn’t really smelled much other than herself and unfortunately Brandon when he got too close. But now there was a smell like rotting leaves on the air. Then a strong gust of wind hit her.

“Please, come inside, it’s not safe!”

Naomi turned around and saw Princess Zelda! She would not have thought such a commanding, yet beautiful voice, belonged to her. Then again, voice acting in video games was not always what you’d expect. Naomi followed the beckoning princess and Brandon brought up the rear.

“Who are you two? I have never seen such people in Hyrule before.” The princess gave them both searching looks.

This Zelda wasn’t as pixelated as the surrounding world, but she wasn’t any newer version of the princess or any other kind that Naomi had seen before. Admittedly, she hadn’t played or watched all of the games. She also noticed how nervous the princess was.

“My name is Naomi, and this loser here is Brandon.” Zelda looked confused at that introduction, but Naomi plowed ahead, “We aren’t from here, but were brought to this place by some kind of magic. Maybe you could help us out?”

“There is a terrible magic running loose,” Zelda said, shaking her head. “I recognize this land as Hyrule, my home, but it makes no sense. It looks and feels so different.”

There was a fierce flash of lightning outside, followed almost immediately by deafening thunder. The inside of the room shook. Naomi looked around and did not see the old man. Things were really beginning to feel out of place.

“Naomi, right? Is that the Master Sword in your hand,” Zelda asked.

“No. It’s Excalibur,” Naomi answered absentmindedly. :What is with this storm?”

“I’m not sure, but something like this storm brought me here from my home,” the princess explained.

“I just want to go home,” Brandon whimpered.

“Same here,” Naomi snapped. “But every thing around here is not right. We need to make a path!”

She gave Zelda the bomb she was carrying and asked her to use magic and light it. Zelda reluctantly complied and once the bomb was lit, She went to the left wall from the entrance. She felt drawn there. The bomb quickly went off and the music of discovery jingled. A hole opened up and the storm streamed through the entrance and blew everyone through.

In a brief moment, Naomi saw the universe spread out around her. Lines connected stars all over and she saw ships of all kinds riding these lines, She saw heroes clad in white and monsters wrapped in darkness going to war. Stars were snuffed out and millions to billions of lives were lost. There was magic, wonder, diverse beauties, and more people and stories than she could imagine. But why was she seeing all of this. It really was a second long, but it was so much that was coursing through and being communicated in that moment, that she knew it was real.

Suddenly, Naomi found herself alone with Brandon near the converted ruins of Hyrule Castle. She gasped as she saw that her previous, momentary wish had been granted. But now, she knew it was not the kind of wish she should have made. They were in Breath of the Wild, and they were in the heart of danger.

“What!? No! What just happened,” Kyle shouted at the computer. Screen.

His mother broke into fresh sobs, while his father and sister looked sheet white. The FBI agents looked lost and confused. The computer went blank and rebooted. Kyle had lost his brother and the poor girl Brandon had developed such a quick crush on. He let his face fall into his keyboard. The the television in the front room blared to life. The game was still on, it had just changed venues.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter Six - Playing the Hard Game

Trick’ mother pulled him away from the computer screen and slapped him, saying, “Son, get a grip on yourself! If you want to get Naomi out, then actually think of a way and don’t scream at the computer! Think!”

    Trick huffed and fumed, but he knew his mother was right. It took him some moments to calm down, during which Kyle and Tiffany sat down at the keyboard.

    “Woah there now! We might know what will happen if we press any keys,” Agent Miles warned.

    “But look, they aren’t moving,” Kyle pointed out.

    “They might not be moving from shock,” Mr. Jackson said weakly. “What is going on here?”

    “I am not sure,” Conturbatio said, striding up to the kids. “You say that this a computer game, right?” If so, then we might just have to play to get them out.”

    Kyle got closer up to the screen and observed a little before saying, “This looks like the very first Legend of Zelda game, and if I’m not much mistaken, this should be world seven. I think I should get them a fairy.” He quickly checked their inventories. “Crap, there’s nothing for them to use! I have to avoid all enemies or they are going to get killed! This is going to be hard!”

    “You can do it son! Do it for Brandon,” Kyle’s mother said, almost sobbing.

    Actually, him we can leave, Trick thought with great annoyance and anger.

    Kyle started punching in keys, but only one person started moving. It was Brandon. There was a little bubble, indicating that he was saying something, but they couldn’t read it. Naomi followed after him.

“I wonder if they really are pixelated in that world, or if it looks real to them,” Conturbatio mused out loud.  

Agents Miles punched him hard in the arm.

Moblins! Moblins everywhere!

Naomi wasn’t sure if she was now living every nerd’s favorite fantasy, or the world’s worst meme. It didn’t matter at the moment, because pixelated monsters were throwing 8 bit spears at her and Brandon. Brandon kept screaming that he wasn’t able to move of his own volition. Now if only he couldn’t speak unless he was told to…

She kept looking around for her pointy eared savior, the all around good guy, Link of Hyrule. However, Link was very much MIA at the moment. Naomi was happy that at least she could easily dodge the spears by ducking. They only got thrown at chest level anyway. This 8 bit world had all the restrictions for its characters that one could expect. At least she wasn’t stuck in the original Doom game.

Being sucked through a computer screen had been momentarily traumatizing, but then realizing she was in Legend of Zelda, she quickly got over that. Until Brandon started getting dragged around that was. The guy looked helpless, get dragged by some overlord this way and that, precariously avoiding enemies. She quickly guessed that the people back on earth were controlling him via the keyboard. She was thankful it wasn’t her was was being taken for a test drive.  

She wished at first that it had been Breath of the Wild or Windwaker that she had gotten sucked into. But then again, the enemies in those games were definitely less forgiving, so she guessed she should count her lucky stars. Not that getting sucked into a video game unprepared was lucky! Her thoughts brought her to the multitudinous shows, books, and movies that existed on the premise of getting stuck in a game. If she was lucky, this was going to be like Log Horizon, and not something that Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash or Sword Art Online; if she died, she would come back to life painlessly, and not suffer a terrible death. For crying out loud! Her life wasn’t edgy enough for this! Well, she supposed if she were living Re: Zero she would at least come back….

Best not to dwell on it.

She dodged another spear, and wondered what would happen if she tried catching one out of the air. She couldn’t see a health bar, and decided it was best not to tempt the fates. Crap, now she knew, if only this were Tron! She knew she would totally own this! Plus, it was one of her favorite concepts for a real life to video game story. Though she hoped that living through this didn’t mean she would be recruited by aliens to fight in some galactic war. Wow! She really was a nerd!

Whoever was controlling the wailing Brandon, who by now was screaming for mom and admitting to every sin he’d ever committed, led her to the lake where a fairy could be found. Naomi breathed a sigh of relief. A fairy could really come in handy.

The fairy rose from the water. The surface of the lake rippled softly and the fairy gave a pixelated smile to both of them.

    “Welcome travelers. It is dangerous to go alone. Take this,” she spoke in a beautiful and melodious voice.

    A sword also rose from the depths of the lake, except this sword wasn’t pixelated. Naomi could’ve sworn that she saw some golden writing on it. The fairy shot the sword towards Brandon with a wave of her hand. Naomi jumped out and grabbed it by the hilt in midair.

    She could have sworn that she heard a voice from somewhere else boom something about how cool that was. If it hadn’t been her imagination, and was a real voice, it was drowned out by Brandon’s complaint.

    “If I’m going to get dragged all over the place, at least let me have the sword! I can put it to good use!”

    “Shut up for once, will you. Gawd, this is why you are still woefully single, you realize that right!? Well, that and you, um, potatoness.”

    “Wait! What was that again?”

    “Nothing,” Naomi said airily.

    Brandon continued to whine as she read the words on the sword’s blade. And there it was! Whoso pulleth this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of all England. The famous words engraved in gold, clear as day. Naomi smiled and shrugged.

    I guess that makes me Queen of England. Set aside Elizabeth! There is a new queen in town, and about damn time, too. Gannon, step aside, because you’re gonna get your butt handed to you by a teenage girl!

    She then stopped and wondered if this Excalibur had all the cool powers that other versions of Excalibur had. Well, there would be only way to find for certain. She charged out of the clearing as Brandon now begged the fairy for something of his own.

    “Do you think that I’m going to give something powerful to someone who can’t even take hold of what is rightfully his,” the fairy scoffed.

    “She caught me off guard! My actions aren’t my own! Please give me another chance! At least let me move around on my own!”

    The fairy just laughed at him and then threw something that Naomi didn’t really see, before she rounded the corner. There was the Moblin, and she cleaved it in two, its body disintegrating into bits. Hey, it even dropped a ruppe! Naomi bent and picked it up and in doing so narrowly avoided a spear to the chest. She rolled to the side and breathed hard as she the Moblin who had done it. Brandon glided over in a resigned fashion.

    “Well, I have a rock now, so that’s a thing… How about we trade Naomi!”

    “Not on your life,” She called to him as she charged the second Moblin and carved him up. “Just sit back and be the damsel in distress!”

    Trick was jumping up and down, nearly knocking Kyle aside as Naomi soared across the screen, killing monsters.

    “Come on Naomi, don’t be an idiot! Play it safe!”

    “I thought you got the Master Sword elsewhere,” Agent Miles said to Conturbatio, who merely shrugged.

    “I have never played these games,” he admitted. “Never had the time, or the drive, honestly.”

    “Your loss,” Tiffany blurted out to him.

    “Kyle, be careful with your brother,” Mrs. Jackson scolded.

        “I’m trying! If someone will get this guy off of me! And I only have a rock to work with! A rock!”

    Agent Brown pulled her son away again and then said to Miles and Conturbatio, “I don’t think that sword is part of the game. Naomi and Brandon look like 8 bit versions of themselves, but not the sword. It looks better animated.”

   “You’re right Susan,” Conturbatio breathed. He was going full Sphinx now, seeing all these weird things happening. “I wonder if that sword is causing this, or if it part of the plan of whoever is behind all of this?”

    There came a tapping at the window, and everyone jumped. Mr. Jackson whirled around and saw the mailman at the glass. He waved at them, but looked disturbed for some reason. Mr Jackson opened the window and asked gruffly what the man wanted.

    “I’m very sorry to bug you sir, but as I was putting in your mail just now, the mailbox started shaking and the flag went up. I had this really bad feeling come over me and everything, but I wanted to make sure everything was okay, so I checked inside the box. Your real mail was missing and there was this note inside.”

    Mr. Jackson took the dirty paper with a strange, broken wax seal on it. Conturbatio went to examine it with him, but Trick just passed it off as more weirdness around the house. He tried to pull closer to the computer screen, where Naomi was kicking some major butt. His mother then yanked him back. Conturbatio then coughed slightly and shoved the paper into Trick's hands.

“What do you make of this,” he asked.

“I don’t know wha-” Trick began, and then he saw what was written.

The note was written in messy and large handwriting. The message seemed really dumb at first, but then Trick saw what made this particularly strange.

Mr. Jackson has no intention of subscribing to National Geographic. Also, he knows that those bills are two months overdue. Please, send out to me some of the people inside. We need to talk.

“How about you and I go and chat with the mailbox,” Conturbatio suggested. “And then maybe Kyle can lead his brother out of certain doom. Don’t worry about Naomi. She is holding her own pretty well.”

Trick felt torn at first, but then sighed as he agreed to go along.

“Just don’t tell her I skipped out again. She might murder me for leaving her along again with that potato.”

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter 5 - From the Horse’s Mouth

Naomi didn’t like to brag to others. Bragging was a tactic of those who were unsure about themselves.

    She was brilliant. She was already doing college work on the side, while fending off offers from some of the most prestigious universities both in and without the United States. She had taught herself how to speed read by the time she was nine years old. But beyond that, she had gained a near photographic memory. With these two abilities, she had read so many classics and contemporary works of art, she was better read than most professors trying to gain her patronage. She like to watch three shows, or read three online articles all at once. She had done it many times when she had free time; just set up three screen, her phone, and she was ready to go. Naomi did admit it to herself that the combo was kind of unfair.

    She also loved to take things apart and put them back together. Ever since she could crawl was she into everything. By eleven, she had already begun building her own computer. But she didn’t like being cooped up for too long, either. So she enjoyed running and camping when the occasion permitted. She memorized trails, smells, animal prints, the clouds in the sky, and more. Eagle Scouts wept at her amazing prowess.

Though she could work people or read them as well as Trick, she knew psychology and cool logic. She knew how to handle herself in social situations. Naomi could also lie her way out of Sing Sing. Seventeen years old, with another year of highschool to go, and she was already a walking PhD candidate in so many areas and a budding diplomat. Yes, she down played this a lot, much to her mother’s frustration, but she didn’t want to be seen as an absolute freak.

But why then!?

Why did being around Trick make her do and say dumb things? Like getting lycan and lichen so wrong!? But her pride refused to let her back down from what she had said. How embarrassing…

And also…

Why did this Brandon guy have to get her so flustered and upset!? He put shivers up her spine, and not the good kind by a mile! She could barely think with him around. He wanted to be so close to her. Touching her. She couldn’t understand why, though she knew the answer was staring her in the face. Why couldn’t she think this easy situation through properly?

This had to do something with Trick! She was going to slug him good for this!

For instance, she knew that everything that she was looking at from these manga volumes, and from the excerpt of the show she saw, everything was a fake. But they were brilliant fakes! So well done, that whoever was behind it was master forger. And all good forgers worth their salt wanted to be found out. There were important clues in every drawing and video. Why had it taken her so long to then demand that copies be made!?

At least they were going to where the adults could now steer the entire process and hopefully bring her back to clarity of mind. Ah yes… See Stacey Miles had that power to elicit a sense of aggravation powerful enough to snap her Naomi out of her funk.

Whew! Even if this next part is a waste of time, at least I’m beginning to think clearly again, even if just a little, and Brandon’s siblings are now making copies of what we have. I’ll happily go through all the clues later. Naomi thought. I know a lot about these different shows and serials, it should be a piece of cake to find where the discrepancies and the forgeries begin, and why they do what they do. Knowing that bit is key to understanding their presence in this house in the first place!

The agents sat patiently with a recorder and notes across from Mr. and Mrs. Jackson at the dining table. Naomi dove for a chair next to Trick’s mom and Managed to pull Trick into the chair next to her before Brandon swooped in to claim it. The proportionally challenged teen huffed and drew out a chair to sit behind Naomi. She closed her eyes and concentrated on not turning around socking him in the face. When she cracked her eyes open a moment later she was glad to see that Trick seemed to be struggling with the same impulses.

Conturbatio began. “Brandon, we’ve talked with your parents about the curse that you claimed to have followed you to the theater. Just how long has this so-called curse been going on?”

    “Oh, it’s so-called, is it?” The teen fired back.

    “Son,” his mother warned dangerously, but Brandon only pouted.

Trick nudged Naomi and shot her glance and a quick jerk of the head back to Brandon. She wished she didn’t understand then. He wanted her to pose the question to him. Conturbatio had hoped that Brandon would open up to Ben, but it was clear that wouldn’t happen. Trick knew that he would, however, answer to her. She sighed.

You owe me, Trick!

“Brandon, please, tell us how long this has been going on. That way we are done and over with this thing,” she said tersely.

“Oh, well, it’s been going on for about three months now. It was small stuff at first, but then things started getting weird and everything started changing! Still, I guess it wasn’t too bad until the things that were changing tried interacting with us! Like characters in a TV show turning and trying to address the people looking in on them. Or emails without addresses asking us to save them from a war. And even… Even shadows of stuff moving and hiding in the corner of our small house. Well, with you here Naomi, we’ll get to the bottom of this,” Brandon said quickly.

He laid a hand on her shoulder and she felt his fingers trying to massage her. Naomi shuttered. Trick’s hand suddenly swept behind her, knocking Brandon’s hand away, and then tapped his mom back.

“Does this sound familiar to any other strange cases from the Q Files,” Trick asked.

Susan Brown shrugged, but Agent Miles answered, “Oh, there are many elements that are similar to dozens of cases, but from what we’ve heard from the Jackson, this is something else entirely.”

“And it seems to revolve around you, Brandon,” the Sphinx said earnestly. “We need to know everything. Every little detail might help us to better understand and stop this odd phenomena. Because whatever it was originally, it is clearly becoming mobile and violent.”

Brandon was enraged by having his hand swiped away from Naomi’s shoulder, for which she was grateful. But she knew that she would have to the one to coax the rest out of him. She turned around and with a straight, bored face, began to grill Brandon for details. Naomi couldn’t tell if the guy was spilling the beans because he really liked her, or because he was intimidated, or if he because he finally wanted to get everything off his chest.

As he had said, things had started off small at first, amanga changing here, an episode of show being slightly off there. Then everything began changing. Video games started coming to life behind the screen, and the characters started doing things outside of their programming. They even talked to the players, talking to them about a war that was coming. And then emails started coming, telling Brandon and his family that the senders wanted to come to their home. They spoke of ways that the family could bring them across. Some of the processes were nothing short of disgusting and terrible.

Conturbatio and the other agents shared meaningful looks at this knowledge. It reminded Naomi of the door…. They had never found out what exactly created that portal, and the case files had mysteriously vanished a few weeks back according to her mom. She had even heard rumors that the Q Files were banned from further investigating the case. She wondered how the agents were holding up. Was that perhaps really why the Sphinx was so keen on coming here to Utah and pursuing this oddball case? If so, he might have just hit a gold vein of a new lead.

Brandon continued to explain, at Naomi’s insistence, that the phenomena, or curse as the Jacksons had come to call it, was first only centered around the house. But then the night came that he went to the theaters to escape the insanity for a bit. But then the dinosaurs came to life and attacked people.

Naomi asked the Jackson, “And you didn’t think of moving earlier? Whatever this is, has clearly latched onto you!”

    “We live around Mormons,” Mrs. Jackson said, as though this explained everything.

    Everyone else gave her blank stares so her husband explained further, “We didn’t want to be the subject of gossip.”

    Agent Brown nodded her head, “I have heard of that. Not all Mormon are like they are in Utah. At least I have been told; a completely different culture.”

    “Sounds fascinating,” Trick yawned.

    “Hey Trick, we have that strange episode we telling you about,” Tiffany called to him.

    Trick made to get up, but Naomi grabbed his arm and shook her head frantically. She did not want Brandon to position himself next to her. It had been hard enough to have him and his stale breath in her face.

    “What is this episode,” Conturbatio asked curiously.

    “It’s an episode of Star Trek that daddy recorded and then got all messed up,” Tiffany explained.

    “I don’t think the agents want to see that,” Mr. Jackson said, clearly uneasy about the whole situation.

    “Nonsense. I think that this might be vital evidence to the investigation,” the Sphinx said pleasantly. “May we please see it?”

    Mr. jackson was sweating profusely, but he nodded his head. They went to the entertainment center and Tiffany popped the VHS into an old player connected with the Blue-Ray player. Soon, the family and agents were watching a bizarre episode with Captain Picard leading the Enterprise into battle against a very, very confusing enemy made of shadows. What made it all even weirder was that Stitch was at the helm of the Enterprise. A velociraptor in heavy armor loomed over Picard and talked about people and worlds Naomi had never heard of. The Enterprise itself looked as though reavers from Firefly had had their way with it, and now it sported massive cannons all over it, perfect for destroying multiple ships. All kinds of space stories were present and helping combat the shadows. It was intense, nonsensical, and very violent.

    “Could this be the war the messages are talking about,” Stacey asked her partners.

    “Based on limited evidence and leads, I think it is a safe assumption to make for the time being, but I would not make it my leading theory,” Conturbatio answered. “We need to know more. We need to know more about these doors, and especially how they might connect all of this. Everything I am seeing here are works of fiction. But what we encountered last time was way too real to be something out of a TV show for the late 80s.”

    “It could be that whatever is behind the doors, is trying to speak to us through our stories,” Trick’s mom suggested. “This might be their best way of communicating.”

    “That is another strong possibility,” the Sphinx admitted.

    “Wait just a moment,” Naomi suddenly said. “There the Tscheapwhetzar. That strange guy with red eyes and a hood cloak who was in a couple of the changed stories!”

    “The what now,” Stacey asked.

    “I’m not sure, but it is someone who has been referenced in multiple changed comics in Brandon’s room. What if he is what connects them all?”

    “I’ll have to have a look at these,” the Sphinx said. His curiosity sounded to Naomi as though it had been replaced with sudden clarity. She wondered why that was, but her thoughts were interrupted.

    “Hey Naomi,” Kyle said as he came into the room. “I was making the copies you wanted, but then a strange message came over the screen of my computer and the copies were halted. You guys might want to have a look at this.”

    “You were making copies? Good girl,” Conturbatio praised her.

    “Let me have a look at this,” Brandon said, puffing out his chest.

    Naomi was not pleased when he snatched her hand pulled her along. The rest of the household followed, and Naomi felt like she was being humiliated. Once in Kyle’s room, they saw there was a message with an intricate Z above it.

    “That looks like the Legend of Zelda,” Naomi said.

    “Oh, you do know it,” Brandon said, evidently pleased at her knowing something that ought to have been common knowledge. “Let’s check it out.”

    “Hey! Let go of me,” Naomi now fumed as he hauled her along.

“Hey pal, listen to her. She’s already uncomfortable as it is,” Trick protested.

“Butt out,” Brandon snarled.

“Son, your behavior so far as been very unacceptable,” his father warned.

“Well what do you expect?! He gets it from your side of the family you know,” Mrs. Jackson huffed.

“Brandon, I don’t think you should touch that keyboard,” Susan Brown said, suddenly looking very intense and alert. “I can’t explain it, but something feels off.”

“Oh this is nothing,” Brandon said, still holding onto Naomi as she struggled with his grip and he pressed a key.  

An odd sensation coursed through her body and the computer screen lit up brightly. The next second, she was pulled through the screen, along with Brandon.

Trick could only watch dumbstruck as his friend and the potato kid were pulled into a computer. While everyone else looked dumbstruck, he ran for the computer and screamed to no one in particular.

“I’m going to kill Brandon for this! Naomi? Naomi! If you can hear me, I’m going to get you out!”

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter Four - The Annoying Boy

Brandon Jackson was a potato with toothpicks for limbs and a pepperoni pizza for a face. His voice was also entirely misplaced, like the dub for Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Hercules movie. He looked grumpy when he first opened the door, and when he saw Naomi, Trick was certain that his jaw would have dropped to the floor if it could have. Naomi seemed to get message really fast that her female charms were working a little too well on this guy. Chances were, any girl at this boy’s front door would probably have elicited this reaction.

Trick then noticed that the weather was getting even warmer. The clouds were parting and the sun was shining brilliantly. Utah was a weird place… He just wanted to get inside, where the atmosphere should be relatively controllable.

But the boy at the door would not be easily bypassed, “What do you guys want? I’m interested in playing along with anyone’s pranks today! I have enough on my plate! So unless you have something you actually want to discuss,” he gave Naomi another eye up and down. “Then I must ask you to kindly leave.”

“Actually, we do have something we want to discuss, with you and your family,” Conturbatio butted in easily, flashing his FBI badge. “I am agent Conturbatio from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, these two, Patrick and Naomi, are accompanying myself and my two partners Agents Miles and Brown.”

“Let me have a look at that badge again,” Brandon demanded rudely.

“Sure thing,” the Sphinx said with a small smile.

“Hmpf! It appears to be in order. But I still think you’re just an act. No federal agents bring teenagers along,” Brandon said imperiously.

“In special cases we can,” Conturbatio began to explain.

“Oh, and am I one of those special cases? Do you guys think I’m nuts enough to have an entire entourage and some sympathetic peers to try and bring me along quietly? I’m not a nut, and I’m not going with any of you!”

“Relax kid,” Trick mother said impatiently. “We have court approval to come here and search the premises and to ask you and your family questions. We are investigating your claims about the attack at the movie theater.”

Brandon flushed a little, but did not give any ground “Let me see your permission,” he demanded once more. “I’m certain that people would love to a good laugh of me if this is a trick. I won’t come crawling!”

Trick was impressed with the guy’s brazenness, but he was also annoyed over the moon with how he was behaving. It was so unseemly. Trick’s nostrils were also assailed by the scent of a youth who hadn’t applied deodorant or probably hadn’t showered in a few days. That combined with his appearance and attitude made him very repugnant.

“Dude, just calm down a little bit! Believe it or not, we have reason to believe what you-” Trick began to say, but Brandon cut him off.

“Oh that’s very rich! You say you believe me, right!? Ha! Saying that tells me you don’t! No, if you did, you would be much more conspiratory and empathetic to what has been going on in my life!”

“Brandon! What are screaming at the door about!?”

A shrill woman’s voice now assaulted their ear, and a man with an unbuttoned shirt and very round belly sauntered in behind Brandon.

“Quiet back there! What’s all this about?”

The man looked grumpy and ill mannered, but Trick immediately noticed the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. There smells of work, booze, and stress hovered over him. Trick suspected that this guy, unlike his son, actually had a reason to be short tempered.

Conturbatio fixed a small smile on his face, but it was Miles who spoke, “Mr. Jackson I presume? We are agents from the FBI. I am agent Miles, and these are my partners Agents Conturbatio and Brown. And these are two assistants of ours. We are here in regard to your unusual complaints for the last few months and how we feel that they might tie in with the statement your son gave the police and Homeland Security after the local theater was attacked. May we come in and talk about this in a more comfortable setting?”

Mr. Jackson gave the woman a level glare, but he then sighed what sounded like a sigh of relief and waved everyone in. Brandon looked indignant, but quickly he looked hopeful as he dogged Namoi into the house. Mr. Jackson asked them to excuse the mess and led them through the short house to a large dining room and kitchen in the back. A frazzled lady with black hair that stuck out in every odd angle conceivable greeted them. There was also another boy and a younger girl at the table, snacking on cold pop tarts.

Trick wondered wildly if Brandon was adopted, because his family looked nothing like him. His younger brother was also a little overweight, but he was well proportioned, and he obviously took care of himself with clean clothes and well combed hair. The sister was very pretty with every hint that she was going to drop dead gorgeous by the end of high school., and she had golden hair that stood out in the family. Naomi tapped Trick on the shoulder and he turned to see Brandon looking creepily over her shoulder, as though he was trying to smell her. Her insistent eyes pleaded for help.

He held back his sigh and gave the smallest of nods, which did not go unnoticed by Brandon, who narrowed his eyes at Trick. Deciding to get the unpleasantries over and done with Trick preempted the agents by declaring their business loudly.

“Actually, the agents are here to make the connections between the theater attack and whatever has been going on at your home. My partner, Naomi, and I will be investigating your claims of odd happening here directly. Could we start with you, Brandon? Please show us what has been going on here.”

“I’ll show Naomi,” the potato bodied boy breathed angrily. “This is my house-”

“We’ll show you,” the girl said happily. “My name is Tiffany! Happy to meet you all of you.”

She tugged at her second brother who got up from his plate and followed. He gave Naomi and Trick both handshakes and introduced himself as Kyle. He followed up with an embarrassed smile. Brandon looked angry at his siblings but finally shrugged.

“Come on Naomi. You can come to my room and I’ll show you what has been going on.”

Naomi took Trick by the arm and pulled him along. The siblings followed. Brandon’s room was not very well lit, even with all the lights on. Posters and hangings were everywhere, even over the multiple book cases, which were stuffed full of comics, manga, DVDs, and action figures. Brandon was not happy about the entourage that followed him, but he knew he couldn’t get rid of them. The room, like Brandon, also smelled as though it needed a good cleaning.

“So, erm, Brandon,” Naomi began. Trick easily caught the expression spreading on the guy’s face when Naomi said his name; it was deplorable. “What exactly has been going on here? What is it that has been happening at your house?”

Trick could hear the adults now talking back in the kitchen. He knew that his mother was going to cut to the heart of the issue as quickly as she could. He figured he should do the same, but it was obvious that Naomi was taking point on this one.

Brandon tried to suck in his gut and puff out his chest. If anything, it made him look more lopsided. Trick was certain that this kid had hated whatever it was that was haunting his family, but with a pretty girl giving him her attention, he was going to act like it was no big deal.

“Well, you see, it all began about four months back. I noticed that some of my newest manga volumes weren’t like what I had seen online. I thought it was a printing error, but I kept them. Who knows what they might be worth later down the road? Any case, it got me wondering if there was anything else I had that might have been misprinted. I started going through my collection, and I saw that certain stories had been drastically altered. Like, I mean, unbelievably different. AND, they hadn’t been that way when I bought them.”

“Can we have a look,” Naomi asked.

“Oh, you can have a look most certainly!”

As Brandon rummaged through his collection for some books, Trick gave the poor guy a shake of his head. You poor idiot. Naomi will never like you. If you were athletic, hot, and nerdy, then maybe you would have something going for you. But a spud out of the Irish famine like yourself doesn’t stand a chance!

Brandon handed Naomi a stack of manga volumes, which she then tipped into Trick’s unsuspecting arms. Brandon gave Trick a furious glance before returning his attention to Naomi with a small smile. She sat down on the ground, which Trick knew was a good statement and idea. Had she sat on the bed, Brandon would have taken it as obvious sign that she was interested in his stuff, and therefore interested in him. But the guy was thick headed and made room to sit down next to her. Trick gladly annoyed the greasy teen by sitting on his bed.  

“Wow, these are completely different stories,” Naomi finally said after browsing through a few. “This was no printing error. Someone had deliberately changed your copies. And you say that they weren’t like this before?”

“No, they certainly weren’t,” Tiffany chirped from the doorway.

“Trick, have a look here,” Naomi handed him the copy of a manga. “This is an unknown volume of Bleach.”

“Of Bleach?” Trick asked skeptically.

“Do you not know the Big Three,” Brandon bellowed.

“The car companies?” Trick laughed.

“No! The anime, and manga! The three stories that inherited the crown from Dragon Ball! Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach!” The potato was besides himself. “How can he not know? What did you bring him for Naomi?”

“Oh, he really is a smart guy, especially when he gets going,” Naomi said with a mischievous, small grin. “Anyway Trick, Bleach was once a very popular manga series about a boy who gained special powers and fought demons and a Japanese version of angels, called Soul Reapers.”

“Shinigami,” Brandon lectured correctly.

Naomi rolled her eyes and continued, “The series came to an end a little while back. I know how it ends, and all of the side stories and everything. But what I am reading here… This isn’t Tite Kubo’s work. This is something very different. And the artwork is exactly like his older style illustrations from the Soul Society, arguably his best.”

“You are amazing,” Brandon breathed heavily.

Naomi ignored him. “That hasn’t been seen from him in years! This could be a copycat, but look! The printing date is from four years ago! I need to see what else you have!”

Trick thumbed through the artwork as Naomi frantically read through other volumes. He had to admit, if even to himself, that the pictures looked really cool. The characters were filled expression, the panels had great action, and the plot seemed nicely complicated. A better story than he would have given it credit for originally. As he read the wrong way through the book, he came to a picture that he thought was the very end. It showed a small group walking through the sky….

There was a triangular, one eyed monster in a top hat, hovering near a man in a trench coat. Then there was a teen in Renaissance-ish clothing, a girl made of blue gems and wings of water. A Tall man with a cloak torn into strips and fluttering on the breeze. Dominating the center was another figure, cloaked and hooded. Bright eyes shone from underneath the shadow of the hood. And a large door took up the background.

A large door….

Trick felt the hair on his arms and back of his neck rise. He felt a power course from the book and into his hands. He almost thought he could hear a calm and powerful voice explain what this bizarre group was doing. Another voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“It’s not just the books that have changed.” Trick looked up to see Tiffany and she continued addressing him, “It is also the shows and movies. Some only change one time when we watch them. Others are more permanent.”

“We can show you,” Kyle offered.

Trick was hesitant to leave Naomi alone, but she was so absorbed in reading the strange volumes that Trick was certain she wouldn’t mind much if he ducked out. Tiffany and Kyle led him to the sister’s room. There, she opened her laptop and showed him an episode of the show Gravity Falls. He had seen an episode or two of this funny show already, so he had an idea of what to expect.

However, he was wrong. The episode he saw was all about the Pines Twins coming back after the summer and fighting a monster that had come back before Halloween. The show now really stressed that Dipper and Wendy might become a couple, which he was sure had not been a thing earlier. Also, he was certain that the evil kid Gideon and some triangle were the show’s villains.

Wait a moment… The triangle?

“Tiffany, isn’t there supposed to be a triangle monster, or something like that? Bob, or…?”

“Oh! Bill Cipher! He’s the best! He’s so funny! He really makes the show, and the relationship he has with Dipper is just so sweet and hilarious,” the girl gushed.

“You and that Tumblr smut,” Kyle snorted. “Did we even watch the same show? Bill tried to kill Dipper a number of times!”

“Yes, but what does he look like,” Trick pressed.

Tiffany opened up another window on her browser and pulled up images of Bill Cipher. Trick was now certain of something. He dashed back to Brandon’s room just in time to see Naomi slap him and stand straight up.

“Where have you been,” she seethed.

“No time for that now! Big break in the case!”

Trick snatched up the copy of Bleach from Brandon’s bed, as the spud sat dumbfounded on the floor, rubbing his reddening face. Trick slid back into Tiffany’s room with Naomi right on his heels. Trick flipped the pages and found the one of the odd group, including… Bill Cipher!

“There! There he is! What is he doing in a Japanese manga? And one that was printed, what? Before Bill Cipher even aired on Gravity Falls!” Trick turned breathlessly to Naomi. “Something is going on here!”

She slapped him.

“Don’t ever leave me like that again!”

Trick was positive that unless he promised to never leave her alone with a creep, there would be a homicide case in a girl’s bedroom. After he hurriedly promised Naomi, she took a greater interest in what they had found out. She read the opening with the strange band.

“I recognize Kelsier from the Mistborn series,” she said softly. Brandon had finally gotten up and slowly made his way to Tiffany’s room, looking star struck. “Then there’s Lapis Lazuli, of course… I think the guy in the trench coat is Castiel… But what is this Tscheapwhetzar?”

“Hold on a second! That odd word sounds familiar,” Kyle suddenly said. “Tiff, go to the last changed episode!”

Tiffany pulled up the episode and sure enough, the Wendip ship had successfully set sail. It was a time jump that showed a nineteen year old Dipper getting married to Wendy. The wedding was a wonderful reunion of the entire cast with a lot of sweet gags and jokes. And then Bill showed up, re-gifting Dipper a head that was always screaming. And then appearing behind Bill Cipher was the cloaked man, eyes glowing red. He introduced himself as the Tscheapwhetzar and said that he had a proposal for the Pines. “To Be Continued…” flashed across the screen.

“And that is the last of the changed episodes for that show,” Tiffany reported.

“There’s more,” Naomi asked incredulously.

Kyle nodded and answered, “Our dad is a real Trekkie, and one of his episodes was changed to the weirdest thing. The Enterprise was in a massive battle for Earth, and Stitch from Lilo and Stitch was on the ship with velociraptors, I think, and maybe even people from the Matrix? In any case, it didn’t make any sense, but it looked kinda cool, despite the lame crossover stuff. Dad refused to watch it all the way through.”

“It’s unnatural,” Brandon said from behind. “Everything that has been happening here makes no sense. Good stories are getting changed. And beyond that, it feels like there are other presences here in the house at times. I sometimes feel like someone is trying to get out through the stories.”

Trick and Naomi exchanged glances. That sounded too familiar to be good. It sounded like there was again a kind of door involved. But now, there appeared to be a lead as to what connected the doors. This cloaked man called the Tscheapwhetzar. Or maybe Bill Cipher was breaking the fourth wall in a very big way?

Susan Brown appeared in the doorway. “Patrick, Naomi, Brandon, we need you in the kitchen to talk some stuff over. If you could please come.”

Naomi turned back to the younger siblings and instructed that they should take all of the volumes from their brother’s room that were changed and to make copies on the scanner of everything that had been altered. She wanted especially any other references to the strange, cloaked figure.

“Also, we’re going to need your dad’s copy of that bizarre Star Trek episode,” Trick requested. “I think if we can find out how or why these things are being done from the horse’s mouth, we’ll have the answers that eluded us last time.”

Susan gave her son an approving nod. It was clear to her that Trick and Naomi were making some kind of progress, even if she didn’t understand it.

Brandon complained, “What last time? You’re making even less sense that this oddball curse on our stuff and house. And it just isn’t fair…”

“What isn’t fair,” Naomi snapped. “That I wouldn’t let you pinch my butt?”

Brandon mumbled something, and Trick just whistled.

“Well, that was sufficiently awkward. Let’s find some fresh air in the kitchen,” Trick said brightly.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

In the Land of Conspiracies

Trick looked out the window and saw Utah Lake shimmering below as the plane touched down. Dark clouds were pouring from the craggy mountains to the northeast. As they landed Conturbatio seemed to squirm with excitement. Trick guessed that the upcoming investigation probably had his hopes up. After meeting monsters coming through a magical portal, Conturbatio must have been convinced that he would see similarly spectacular things at the end of this new road.  

    Naomi leaned into Trick and asked him, “I know that this is probably late mentioning this, but Utah has extreme weather changes. Did you pack warmly enough?”

    “Things get pretty cold in Virginia,” Trick protested. “I packed well enough for this!”

    “We’ll see,” Naomi shrugged.

    The plane ride had been boring for the most part. The Sphinx had not given him or Naomi any extra information on the situation as he had with the last case. All he said was that things seem to come to life around the cursed boy and his family. Maybe the lack of information is what made the strange agent act so oddy? Trick guessed not, because Stacy Miles, his partner, was nowhere near as excited. She also looked bored, as well as his mother. It then struck Trick that the Sphinx’s partners both had similar first names. He wondered how often he got them confused.

    As they exited the airport and made their way to the car rental station, a biting cold seared into Trick’s flesh. It was so sudden that he didn’t even get goosebumps. He hurried inside to find reprieve, while Naomi shook her head in a bemused way and laughed. Of course she had dressed appropriately enough.

Following him inside she said, “It seems as though your impressive research skills into people do not extend to researching things of actual use. Like even something as simple as the weather.”

“There’s nothing simple about the weather,” Trick snapped. “Everyone knows weathermen have no idea what they’re talking about half the time! Plus the weather is constantly changing! And what was with that jab about my researching people? I recall my skills be of tremendous worth during our last case!”

“Don’t yell in here, Patrick,” his mother scolded.

Trick turned beat red as Naomi chuckled, “And who had to help save your butt from a giant wolf? Just watch, I’m gonna own you on this adventure. Try to keep up Trick.”

“And when did this all become a competition?” Trick just couldn’t figure this girl out.  

Naomi didn’t respond, but took out a small notebook and made some tally marks in it. With a satisfied smirk she snapped it shut and replaced it in her bag. Agent Miles was the one taking care of the car as Conturbatio almost danced where he was. To get away from naomi and her weirdness for a minute Trick went over to the tall agent and spoke with him.

“You seem really, and I mean really, excited to be here,” Trick observed.

“I am! Utah is a treasure trove of conspiracies!” The man looked beside himself with glee.

Trick had done a little research (See Naomi! I can do some helpful research!) into Utah and its high Mormon population. The religion was an odd one, being very active all over the world, but had little record of being politically involved. The people were all considered to be really nice, but many suspected that they kept dark secrets. A lot of people posted videos “exposing” the Mormons. The Mormons in turn posted a mountain of musical videos and memes that made no sense to him. It was like they were their own culture altogether.

“Yeah, they are really weird, from what I’ve gathered. People say they have a lot of secrets and that they can be super judgmental with a facade of sincerity.”

The Sphinx held up his hands and said, “Most of the public gets wrapped up in political and social issues surrounding the Mormons that are of very little consequence. Honestly, the Mormons are actually right on most of their stances on just about every issue, and that is really the give away to the bigger things I’m talking about. How does a small religious organization get so many things about the human condition and history right? Most people do not even know their fascinating history! Did you know that the Mormons were already looking to the stars for more life before anyone else? Their doctrine has not changed since its inception, even though people argue that it has, but it really hasn’t. In fact, their knowledge, dating back to the 1830s, supports the greatest scientific, engineering, psychological, sociological, and historical problems of the 20th century and in recent times!

“They claim their founder had a direct connection, called revelation, with God, and through that the mysteries of the universe were made known to him. They display this knowledge all over in their religion, like a treasure hunt beckoning others to come to them. Take for instance their fabled Salt Lake Temple! It-”

“Agent Conturbatio, you should know better than to revive your silly suspicions of the Mormons and their connection to some alien life forms,” Agent Brown said hotly. “Agents Miller and Sanchez in border security are both Mormon and they have answered your questions plenty of times. Everything they have told you does not support your theory. And it is grating on my nerves! My son doesn’t need to hear it!”

“But Susan! We are in the land of the grand conspiracies and withholding of knowledge right now! I want to drop by each temple we can and study it! They hold important clues! Miller and Sanchez are good guys, but they are holding back what they know. I can see it in their eyes. I have done enough interrogations!”

“You’re beginning to rave,” Susan retorted shaking her head. “Respect their privacy. The Mormons are free with their information, but things they consider sacred they will not talk about with people outside of the faith. It is a sign of their devotion and respect to their god. I would hope that an enlightened man such as yourself could respect that.”

Trick felt really embarrassed to get caught in the middle of this.

“Yes. yes of course,” Conturbatio said, turning aside. As Susan turned back to Miles and her paperwork, he whispered to Trick, “But seriously, they took all of the good stuff about the knowledge with them when they were driven from Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois by mobs and by the government. I think that they wielded some greater power in their earlier days, because the violence that both citizens and the government brought against them was incredible and unjustifiable, unless there was something else going on.

“Did you know that Missouri’s Lieutenant Governor, then later Governor, William Boggs issued an execution order against the Mormons that persisted for over a hundred years? Such an order is unprecedented in U.S. history and there is so much about it we don’t know! Not even other hated racial and religious groups received such extreme measures. It makes me wonder what the Mormons have that scared people so much. What knowledge could they still be keeping from us? What-”

“Sphinx, you’re rambling,” Trick said. “People will attack what they don’t understand. I think it is clear that these people in Utah are odd, but I highly doubt that this is a land of conspiracies. I don’t think that we’ll find what you are looking for. I don’t think either that this case will be as big as the last one. I’m sorry, but I had to speak my mind.”

The Sphinx patted him on the shoulder and said brusquely, “Yes, I’m sorry.I can tend to get carried away. And your mother is right, the Mormons are very good people. I just… There’s so much about the unknown to be discovered, and there is a lot that our government keeps back from us, even from those who work to protect it. And people have a right to knowledge that will make them safer and make their lives more beneficial… As for this case, I’m not sure what we will come across. It could be, or it might not be. But, there is something going that we need to investigate, especially if it saves a few innocent lives, don’t you think?”

Trick nodded in agreement.

“Don’t look so glum, Patrick. I’ll try not to get carried, and try to enjoy the investigation! It’s not everyday that you teens get to help with not one but two federal cases!”

Once Agent Miles received the keys and they went to the van the agents had rented, Trick noticed something.

“I swear it’s gotten thirty degrees warmer!”

“It has,” Naomi said smugly. “She shed her heavier coat and showed that she had lighter one underneath. “Utah is infamous for its strange weather. You’ll be fine now, but wait until it starts snowing.”

Trick looked at the darkening clouds and grumbled to himself that she was probably right. The agents all looked as comfortable as ever in their east coast trench coats and suits. He might have to dip into his meager funds for a better jacket soon. Being grounded meant that his financial support had also been cut for the most part.

     They traveled the short distance from the airport to the campus of Brigham Young University, and then they turned south down a pleasant street with narrow houses. Naomi commented how much she appreciated the grid design of the streets and the wonderful spacing and architecture of the homes. Trick thought it all looked a little too cookie cutter for his taste.

    They soon reached their destination and the agents led the way to the door. After they knocked, the door was quickly opened and Trick’s senses were assailed by the voice of a boy whom he would long to slug from that moment on.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter 2 - Burrito Briefing

At least I’m getting a lunch out of this, Trick thought dismally as he got out into the rain. It was coming down harder than before.

    The ground was slippery with wet, dead leaves. Los Robertos shown through through the autumn gloom with its brilliant neon rainbow signs. The friendly sign of a portly Mexican chef beckoned patrons in to enjoy some great Latin American cuisine and a bad case of Montezuma’s Revenge. Trick had had the opportunity to experience both twice before. However, the food was too good to not forgive the imposed bowel movements. But today, he was not feeling the joy of excellent Mexican food; Agent Conturbatio, the Sphinx, was him to work with a geek to solve a case.

Yeah, he could work with Naomi, but that was because she was cool and spoke her mind unlike many of the other nerds he had met. All the others had the tendency to beat around the bush, drag others into long lectures about things that had no real weight in reality, and traded in a sense of fun for extra brain space. If he agreed to this case, which he hadn’t yet, he would have to deal with all three of those annoyances. At least his mother could agree with him. One of the few things they could agree on.

Gritting his teeth, Trick entered the restaurant. The Sphinx was easy to pick out in the sparsely patronized establishment: His trench coat, flashy tie, and shades stuck out like a sore thumb. He stood up as Trick and his mothered entered and gave them both handshakes.

“Thank you for making the time to come and meet with me,” He said genially. “I understand that most people at this time are getting ready for the holidays, but I do have a bit of an urgent case on my hands.”

“That’s okay. It was a boring day at school anyway. How can I help you with this new case?”

“Come over here and order first. My treat! Whatever you want.”

Trick decided that if he was going to suffer diarrhea, he might as well suffer it in style. He ordered the the chalupa with the works and extra hot sauce. The soda he drank along with it really didn’t do anything as the tip of his tongue burned with the tasty contents of the chalupa. His mom enjoyed a taco while the Sphinx chowed down on a burrito and a side of nachos.

“Yum! I love burritos! The idea of wrapping an entire meal into a piece of flatbread bespeaks an enlightened people,” Conturbatio said happily.

“Hm, yes. This place does have great food,” Trick agreed. “But now then, what is it that you wanted to discuss with me?” Please let it not be befriending socially inept nerds!

“Excellent! Now then, Naomi is being caught up by Agent Miles. I believe they’re at McDonald’s at the moment,” Conturbatio mused.

“Really? I could have gotten her! Those two don’t see eye to eye,” Susan said angrily.

“And that is why they needed to meet,” the Sphinx explained. “They need to know how to communicate and overcome their differences in order to work well together. Learning this skill is essential to a successful investigation now and a prosperous and happy life down the road.”

“Did you find that wisdom in rolled in your burrito,” Trick joked.

“No, but it should be. In any case, I hope that Naomi will be joining us. In fact, I am certain that she will. Now then, to business,” The Sphinx said around another bite of burrito. “You have probably heard of the supposed terrorist attack in Provo, Utah. Well, I think that there is more to the whole situation. Though the Department of Homeland Security for the moment has a solid case with those young men having connection to people in Africa, who might be terrorist affiliated, and that they were supposedly carrying a dangerous toxin, there is more to the story that the official reports have not taken into account.

“There is one Brandon Barney, who was there at the theater when the attack occurred.” The agent drew out of his coat a picture of a teen with a round face and thick glasses. “He witnessed what happened and reported to police that the dinosaurs on the screen, they were watching Jurassic Park by the way, that the dinosaurs on the screen came to life. This is not the first time that he or his family have filed reports or complaints of various forms of entertainment coming to life around them. Specifically their house. Brandon thinks they are cursed. I think that after what we saw with the wolves and vampires, it might be possible that they are.”

Trick nodded his head slowly as he took another bite of his chalupa.

“Where I need you and Naomi,” the Sphinx continued. “Is to connect with Brandon and get him talking honestly. Your mother has pegged him as the kind of boy who won’t want to talk to us. Especially, I think, after so many adults haven’t believed him. So, do you think you can help us out really quick, get the job done before Thanksgiving?”

“Uh, erm… I might not be the guy for this,” Trick said slowly.

“Why do you say that?” The Sphinx cocked his head to the side.

“I don’t get along well with nerds,” Trick said defensively.

“But you and Naomi are friends. If she isn’t a nerd, I don’t know who is, or what she is! Besides, you’ll have her there to connect with him on the things you don’t understand, and and you can use your quick speaking ways to get him and others to open up,” Conturbatio argued with a wave of his hand. “And don’t worry about your schooling. I’ll personally take care of the matter!”

Trick didn’t know what he was going to say. He knew that going with the Sphinx again would be another adventure and ticket out of school. And if he declined now, he might not get another chance. Plus, it would probably make Conturbatio think less of him. On the other hand, though, this just didn’t feel like the case for him. And what if Naomi didn’t want to work with him again!? Hadn’t she said she would never go on another adventure with him? He knew he wanted to have her there, but did she feel the same?

His pocket vibrated and he fished out his phone. “Hold on, just a sec.” He looked down and saw a message from Naomi. She had finally contacted him! He swiped his screen and opened the message. He read,

“So Agent Miles says that we are needed in Provo to solve another case. I’m game. BTW, this isn’t you inviting me along, so it doesn’t count!”

How did she read my thoughts, Trick thought as his eyebrows shot up. He then chuckled and typed his response. “Alright Agent Conturbatio. I’m game. I’ll see if we can’t solve your little mystery in record time.”

“That’s the spirit,” the Sphinx said enthusiastically.

“Trick’s mom watched the exchange with a guarded expression as her son finally asked, “But there is one thing I need to know from you. How are we going to deal with the curse if it turns out to be real? Last time, we kinda just got lucky.”

The Sphinx leaned in and said in a low voice, “All we need to do is prove or disprove the existence of a curse. If we can have undeniable evidence, we could possibly free four falsely accused men. From there, the FBI will work on further investigating and breaking the curse. I just need you and Naomi to dive into Brandon’s world and help us find what we need. Also, you youngsters are more in the know when it comes to fads and popular shows, books, and the likes. Well, at least Naomi should be. We boring adults in the FBI are not quite as knowledgeable.”

“Then I guess you are in luck,” Trick said as the bowel movements struck like angry rattlesnakes.

Naomi polished off her her cheap, fake fries as Trick’s response buzzed on her phone. She swiped and the message popped up on her screen. She read with satisfaction:

“But we are still going on an adventure together. It counts!”

So he was also on board. Good. She already knew that she wouldn’t be able to stomach this Brandon guy on her own. The picture Agent Miles had shown her was enough to peg this poor guy. He was going to slobber all over her when they finally got to Provo. She could use Trick as a shield and embarrass him as his quick wit and silver tongue got him nowhere with this brick wall.

She laughed to herself as she took a sip of her Coke. Agent Miles looked up from her phone and asked what was the matter. Yes, this lady was still annoying, but so long as she wasn’t trying to sound intelligible, Naomi and she could get along just fine. They had all throughout lunch.

“Nothing really. We’ll have Trick along for the ride is all. That guy can be quite funny, especially when he isn’t trying to be.”

Agent Miles gave her a knowing look and she responded sharply, “Stop thinking what you’re thinking, because that isn’t it!”

Okay, maybe she and Agent Miles needed to work out more than she had previously thought.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Chapter 1 - Rescued from Boredom

It was the Monday before Thanksgiving and all Trick could do was glumly look around at the half filled classroom. So many people had already skipped town with their folks to visit with family or go on an early vacation. As usual, he had to stay put with his parents. Susan Brown’s work usually kept her occupied all the way to the night before Thanksgiving. It had been years since they even had a turkey! And without half the people here who made this high school semi-interesting, Trick felt like he was stranded on a deserted island.

    There was also the fact that his life was suddenly so normal again. So incomprehensibly and unapologetically boring! For Pete’s sake he had fought with supernatural monsters, helped solve a crime the FBI couldn’t, and defied his parents in the most epic way imaginable! Running off with a girl he barely knew to investigate a case handed to the most dubious and ill-fated division of the FBI, the Q Files. Thinking of which, Naomi was still not talking to him. Not that she was angry with him or anything; she just had a ton of other stuff on her mind and was busy getting three months ahead in her school work and polishing that already glowing application for her future university career.

Meanwhile, Trick was finally free from his recent grounding and the prank he had pulled a month ago was old news. Since then some people had tied egging him on to try the next big thing. He had declined. After solving a supernatural case and using all of his skills to dupe adults and teens alike, pulling a simple prank was beyond sophomoric. The very idea was freshmanoric! Yes, he was going to make that a new word!

He sighed and doodled in his notebook while his teacher presented a boring slideshow on the events leading up to World War II. Seriously, how could someone make one of the coolest subjects in history, the only event that anyone cared about since the American Revolution, sound so boring? The presentation was nearly as boring as his life had become in the last month. Trick had hoped beyond hope that Agent Conturbatio, often referred to as the Sphinx, would suddenly show up and tell him that he was needed for some new, dangerous investigation. But there had been neither hide nor hair seen of the strange man. Trick still couldn’t pin down from which show he had seen Conturbatio’s likeness before.

Now twirling his pen absentmindedly, Trick stared into the middle distance. He half wished that the pictures on the projector would suddenly come to life and interact with him. It was something like what some nut jobs had said had happened in Provo a few days back. But that was obviously a domestic terrorist attack. Not only had his mother confirmed it, but there had been word from the Department of Homeland Security as well. They had a lot of solid evidence in favor of their claims.

He jumped when he suddenly heard his name getting called. I’m not doing anything! He thought frantically. He then saw that his teacher was waiting with a student messenger. There was a note in her shriveled hand. He got up and accepted it. The old hag calling herself Mrs. Hudson glared at him as though he would transform the note into a bomb. If only I could do that. Then maybe this short week would actually be worth something.  

He was even more surprised to see what the note contained. It was a message from his mother that he was going to get picked up in an hour from the front office. He was excused for the day from the rest of his classes. He was going to meet with Agent Conturbatio for lunch and discuss something. It was all he could do to keep his jaw from dropping.

Startling the remainder of the class in their seats, Trick jumped into the air, pumped his fist, and let loose a whoop. “Yes! I’m back in business!”

Everyone started giving each other looks and then darted their eyes to the nearest exit. They all expected something really bad to happen. Fortunately for them, they were too boring of a lot for Trick to waste his time and considerable mental capacity on them. He then realized that the next hour couldn’t pass fast enough.

Naomi’s phone buzzed next to her computer as she typed up a report on the effects of different combustible fuels in cars and how they compared to the newest electronic and computer driven models. Mere child’s play for her; she could have a report like this researched and written to perfection in under twenty-four hours. She was even playing an episode Gravity Falls on a hidden window. That show really made her laugh. She would then switch over to an episode of My Hero Academia once she was done. It was one of the newest rising series out of Japan, and she was loving every bit of it. It was nice to have some privacy for her nerdy exploits, but right now someone was intruding on her personal time.

She raised an eyebrow when she saw who was calling.

“Agent Conturbatio, I thought my mother wanted to screen all future communications between us. Especially after what happened last month.”

“That’s all water under the bridge,” Conturbatio said airily. “I have something that I want to discuss with you.”

“You have piqued my interest,” Naomi admitted. “But can you please be quick? I have an essay to finish.”

“Is that Gravity Falls I hear in the background?”

Naomi flushed a little and answered, “It is. How do you know about that show? Don’t you have a job?”

“I love a good show that has a plot and mystery element that goes way over kids’ heads,” the agent replied smoothly. “In any case, I will be brief. There is a new case that I am taking on. One of the primary witnesses is a teenager, who most adults find hard to deal with. I was hoping that you and Patrick could come with and help mull things over with him?”

“That would be Trick’s area of expertise,” Naomi huffed. “I think you’ll be fine without me. Last time was fun, to say anything about it, but I am very occupied right now. I have a lot to get done before Thanksgiving.”

“I understand of course, but you see, Patrick knows how to talk to people, but you have a greater sense for more, um, technical things. And from what I hear playing in your room, I think you will have some good insight on this case. That is, if you know anything about fan-fictions?”

Naomi grinned behind her cell. “Of course I do. There is a lot I can tell you, and even more about the original source material.”

“There’s a good girl. I’m about to meet with Patrick to discuss the finer details of the case. I wanted to see if you might be interested as well. If so, would you be able to meet up with Agent Miles in half an hour? She’ll come over and treat you to lunch and tell you the particulars.”

Naomi wanted to groan. She wasn’t a fan of the woman, especially after she had been so condescending to her the last time they met. But she figured she should at least the bigger woman and swallow her pride. This case might be interesting, and it sounded like a free lunch after all. She took up the offer. Conturbatio hung up on his end and Naomi pulled out an energy drink.

“Alright. Let’s see about getting this done before Agent Miles shows,” she said, opening the can and then taking a deep drought. With some of this juice coursing through her veins, it should be an easy task!

Trick greeted his mother in the front office. As usual, she looked annoyed and very official. Once they were in and on their way she explained that they would be meeting up with Agent Conturbatio at Los Roberto’s, the only legit Mexican restaurant in twenty miles. The gray clouds overhead finally broke and let loose a soft rain. It was going to be a cold winter, Trick thought. As they drove along, he needled his mother for details about the case he was summoned for. He couldn’t help but let his excitement show through.

His mother gave him a sidelong glance and then sighed, “I’m not sure that you will enjoy this case that much, son. It’s not really your thing.”

“Are you kidding me?” he fired back. “I have been rotting at school for a month now! There has been nothing interesting! Nothing to stretch me! Not after all the craziness we went through. That was amazing. Real life is terribly mundane by comparison. Any case with the Q Files sound better than listening to Mrs. Hudson butcher the Second World War!”

Agent Brown shook her head and replied, “You don’t even know what you asking for.”

“But I do know! Don’t worry mom, this will be just fine. I am surprised that you agreed to this though. I thought you wanted me away from the Bureau from now on.”

“That is true, but Conturbatio made a pretty good argument for bringing you two in.”

“Two?” Trick asked, trying to keep the hopeful air out of his question.

“You and Naomi. You are both needed it seems,” his mother said grimly.

“Why’s that?”

“Because you are supposed to interview an insufferable, anti-social geek and learn everything you can about a curse he believes is stalking him and hurting others.”

Trick paled. This was not something he wanted to do. He could be around nerds and geeks at school. But spending large amounts of time with them beyond the school’s gates. Nope! He had the sudden urge to throw himself from the speeding vehicle and into the cold rain.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Mysteries of the Q Files #2 (The Wrong Address)

Brandon Barney precariously balanced his bucket of popcorn, cup of Red Vines, and Coke as he edged his way down the row of seats. He hated that the local theater had returned to a system of assigned seating for movies. The early birds got the best seats, and he was notoriously a late lark. At least he had gotten the coveted midway row, with the best view of the movie. The best place from which to watch Jurassic Park.

For a week, three classic favorites would be shown to pull in more patrons. Brandon was more than willing to oblige; he loved the theater and he loved a good dinosaur flick. And what better dinosaur flick could there be than the first Jurassic Park after all? Brandon happily settled in his seat, butt wiggling to find that point of optimum comfort. A few rows in front of him, there were some college aged guys teasing some poor, bespectacled nerds. Brandon thought he might even know some of them from his high school. He hoped that they would shut up by the time the movie began.

Unfortunately it was not to be.

Brandon still enjoyed the movie. Jurassic Park was just too good for some jerkwads to ruin with their incessant talking, texting, and pelting others with popcorn. Brandon allowed himself to be swept away by the music, laugh and cry with Dr. Grant as he sees the dinos wandering the park, cringe at the despicable Dennis, and cower before the might of the T-Rex. He stuffed his face with popcorn like a man gasping for air after diving after each epic moment. As the body count began, he knew that Dennis’ undignified and well-deserved death was fast approaching.

As the Dilophosaurus cornered Dennis and let loose its first spray of venom, black goo flew through the screen and hit the pack of nerds. Brandon dropped his popcorn in disbelief. No! It can’t be happening here! I thought it was safe to come! The victims finally began screaming as the Dilophosaurus screeched its victory and Dennis screamed his death throes. Pandemonium ensued.

An hour later, the paramedics had a total of seven victims carted off to the hospital to deal with their injuries. They were all in great pain, suffering loss of sight, and found it difficult to move. The police had taken into custody all five of the college bros for attacking people with the unidentified venom. Brandon had already given his statement to the police of what had happened. He had been yelled and laughed at before being asked to leave the premises. He knew it sounded unbelievable, but it was all true! The dinosaur had come to life and attacked through the screen. He had seen stuff like this before. He had lived with it for over a month now. By now he and his family were pros to surviving this kind thing.

He shakily got into his car and drove home. He wondered if his life would ever be normal again. What would happen to the victims and the falsely accused attackers? What about the theater? There were no answers.

Two days later in Washington DC, Agent Conturbatio addressed his partners Agent Miles and Agent Brown in their corner office, where the Q Files were sequestered from the rest of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He handed them a small briefing and some official reports.

“We will be heading to Provo Utah. A most wondrous land of religious conspiracies and upheavals. And in the midst of the Mormon question, near the heart of their seat of power, there has been a most unusual attack.”

“I heard about this,” Agent Brown said crisply. “This is being labeled at a domestic terrorist attack. Five college students attacked their fellow movie goers with an unknown bio-chemical substance. The victims are still in various critical conditions in the hospital. This is a case presided over by Homeland Security. They basically have their case made out for them. Why would you want to look into this?”

“Look a little more closely at what I have handed you,” Conturbatio responded, pointing incessantly.   

Agent Miles hummed and then said skeptically, “You have given us a number of complaints from one Jackson household. Complaints to their cable company. They say that all the shows they’ve been getting are not correct.”

“You also gave us… Facebook posts,” Agent Brown raised an eyebrow.

“Read them!” Conturbatio smiled his Sphinx smile as he sipped his coffee.   

“This kid is complaining that all of his books and shows have changed. This makes no sense. And he comes across as super whiny,” Agent Brown said.

“I prefer at the moment to think of him as frustrated and unsure of what to do. He’s at wit’s end,” Conturbatio said. “It all makes more sense once you read the statement recorded by the police and written by the kid Brandon himself. Though, it was not included in the official report filed by Homeland Security.”

The other agents took their time reading through it, before Agent Miles said, “So this kid claims that what happened at the theater is the exact same thing that happens at his house. He thinks he is cursed and the one to blame for the attack? I’m sorry Conturbatio, but this does seem a weak lead. Especially considering what we have recently lived through.”

Conturbatio sighed and then said, “There’s even more. Did you miss the medical report?”

“Looking at it,” Agent Brown muttered. After a minute she said slowly, “The doctors are reporting that this poison used at the theater is unknown to them? They say it is similar to certain insect toxins, but it does have… reptilian elements. Like an odd compound of Gila monster and Komodo dragon bites. They wonder if the compound was inspired by the film Jurassic Park… They even think the incident is not a terrorist attack, but an isolated deadly prank.”

“Some prank if that’s the case,” Miles rolled her eyes. “So Conturbatio, if I am understanding your hints correctly, the venom that is afflicting the theater victims actually came from a dinosaur-”

“A Dilophosaurus,” the Sphinx interrupted.

“Yes, that. This dinosaur was brought to life by a curse that is affecting this kid, Brandon Jackson. You want to investigate this alleged curse and see where it leads the official inquiry.”

“Yes, it might save the futures of some innocent, though misguided, college town kids. It could be a step closer to solving the bigger mystery we uncovered just last month,” Conturbatio began excitedly.

“Let me cut you off right there,” Agent Brown said with a sharp gesture. “This is a case that is being led by the Department of Homeland Security. They won’t involve the Bureau. And if they did, it would be minimal and they won’t allow the Q Files to touch it; it would discredit their findings in both political and public spheres.”

“Ah, there we have a loophole,” the Sphinx replied over his cup. “Brandon’s statement was rejected by Homeland Security. He is not a part of their investigation at the moment. Also, we will be looking into the troubles at his house. That way, it is an entirely different job, and the Department cannot say anything about it. Also, after wrapping the Halloween Party Kidnapper case, the Director is eager to get us out of the office right now. He thinks we’ll attract too much attention to an odd case. Shake things up in the office. Well, I would like to the shake things up more with another solid case like the last one. I want to know what those monsters meant by the Doors. I want truth and justice! So, what do you think?”

“Honestly, Conturbatio? This is just before Thanksgiving! And Homeland Security might still think we are invading on their turf. It might take longer than expected. Plus, this Brandon reads like a real piece of work. It’ll be rough I think. Why not take it easy and get back the Director by not doing what he wants us to do,” Agent Brown listed off and argued. “If we even consider this case, let it rest until after the holidays.”

“Oh, I’ve already considered it, Susan. I have a game plan already laid out, and I know how we’ll handle Brandon.” He gave another signature grin. “We’re recruiting your son and his little friend Naomi once again.” He could have choked on the look Agent Brown threw his way.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Beginning Yet Again!

okay, so I haven’t been keeping up with my story has I should have been, but hopefully I’m finally on a personal schedule that will work!

Plus, I haven’t been sleeping too well... I keep dreaming about scary doors and the monsters behind them.

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Mysteries of the Q Files

Epilogue

It was Friday, and a surprise assembly had been called. The teachers and administration tried not to quake in their boots. Whoever had sent them the video they were going to share with the school was blackmailing them in a way they could never have dreamed. How could they have been so foolish to keep their dark secrets on their own computers? How were they discovered? The police and even the FBI never even had a look at their records! But they were caught. They had to show this video. It would bring down their world one way or another.

The students were still reeling from the kidnappings earlier that month and the knowledge that two fellow, unpopular students had been the villains all along. There were nasty rumors of witchcraft, drugs, and attempted mass murder under the school’s theater. Everyone was suspicious of each other. The school was a powder keg ready to blow. This would probably be the spark to that.

Shaking slightly, the principal started up the video and projector once the students were all seated. The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife, it was so thick and heavy! It began. Two teenagers appeared on the screen, a common looking boy with a mischievous grin and a tall black girl with a hard scowl. The school at night was in the background. They began speaking about the kidnappings, calling out people and naming names. They wove a story of intrigue, dating, and lots of bullying and backstabbing. No less than fifty students were called out by name, both popular and unpopular, as being the root of so many problems. They took no prisoners, calling them out on their despicable deeds.

Tears flowed freely. The students were in shock. The teachers were no less affected. The spark had been ignited and the keg was about to blow. But not in the way they were expecting. The doors to the gym, where everyone was crowded in, burst open and men in suits charged in. One man led the way, looking disheveled and puffing away on a dirty cigarette.

“Well, this is quite the scene,” he said is a hoarse voice. “I’m sorry that we have to stop this, but I have a list of names here. Our investigation into the Halloween Kidnappers Case is still ongoing, and we need to speak with the following people immediately.”

He coughed and then called out Billy, Tara, Samantha, and all of the other teens involved in the case, including people like Rachel. They were filed out quickly and two more suits wheeled in a machine with a large light bulb. They were wearing sunglasses, and the smoking man donned on his own pair.

“You kids and your imaginations are so weak,” the agent said around his cigarette and into the principal’s microphone. “You deserve this. Not just for what you have done to your peers, but for simply being you. But don’t worry, you won’t remember any of this. You can just sit back and enjoy the ride into a new world. There, you will finally rise to the same level of your betters. You’re welcome.”

Students were calling out in anger and fear, and they tried to make it to the exits. The teachers remained transfixed and stunned. The bulb flashed. The rising pandemonium stopped. The suits were gone. The smoking man was gone. The video was deleted. The students never again remembered their friends who went missing. There was never again a trace of them found.

The case was closed as unsolvable, and it never again saw the light of day.