Clive Stevens

A young boy sits watching shadows dancing within his room. He doesn’t understand how they could be here, it is nighttime with no moon and there are no lights on within the house. One of the shadows moves closer to him; he can swear it looks identical to a human person, except for its made entirely of smoke. He screams as loud as he can when red eyes and long claws appear within the shadow’s smoke. His older brother is in the room with him in seconds. The shadows don’t abate; instead more appear. The brother says something under his breath, before he throws several small objects at the shadows. They scream and disappear in a puff of smoke, as the objects land before them.

“What were they, Shay?” He asks as his brother sits beside him on the bed and pulls him into his embrace. “I’m not sure, Clive. But we’ll leave here tomorrow. Whatever they are can keep this forsaken house." “Will Father move us though?” Before Shay could answer, the door was thrust open and their father hurried into the room, looking worried. “What happened? Why were you screaming, Clive?” Clive raised his head and stared up at Jack.

Jack was not as fierce and mean as Clive’s true father was, but he was afraid of him just the same. “There were strange beings in my room, they wanted to hurt me. But Shay scared them away.” He said in a weak voice as he huddled more into Shay’s protection. “Shay?” “As unbelievable as it sounds Father, he speaks the truth. I saw them myself, they wanted to harm him.” Jack nodded as he walked up to the bed and sat beside them. Shay had never lied. “Clive, you’ll stay with Tina and me for the rest of the night. Tomorrow I’ll put the three of you in a motel, until we can pack and move. I don’t want anything happening to any of you.”

Shay relinquished Clive to Jack’s care and silently watched them leave. He then stood and walked around the room. Those beings were still here, he could feel them in every fiber of the room. Reaching into his back pants pocket, he pulled out a small notebook and black marker. Walking up to the doorframe, he opened the notebook and began marking runes on the wood. Afterwards, he did the same to the window frames as well, before leaving the room. The runes would keep whatever the beings were entrapped within the room until they moved to a new home.

Justin Tyle

Across the country, the halls of the college were silent, except for the echoing voice of a professor droning on and on about poetry and fiction in an opened classroom. The only thing that could be seen outside in the darkness was an orange flickering light atop a golf cart the faculty used to get around with. A fifteen-year-old boy sits alone on the bench within the halls. He knows he shouldn’t be there, especially that time of night, but couldn’t help it. He was intrigued with this hall and what happened within it at night. The professor finished his lecture and the students began filing out of the classroom. The entire classroom, along with the professor following behind, ignored him. Which he was grateful for, he didn’t have a lie to tell them for his being here.

Justin smiled as the last person left the halls. It was completely and utterly quiet. In moment’s, the lights also shut off. He didn’t have much longer to wait now. Within five minutes, small white and green globes appeared floating throughout the halls. They brightened and dimmed as they moved down the hall toward him. Giggles followed their progress. His smile broadened; the globes turned into small floating beings when they neared him.

He remembered what had happened here twenty years ago, when the college was still new. It was an elementary school then, a catholic all girls one. One morning, when the nuns arrived to open their classes, they found the bodies of twenty missing girls littering these very halls. The girls were beat and raped before they were killed and had been missing for over a year. It was said; their killer or killers were never found. These beings floating through the halls are the lost souls of those girls. He knew they wouldn’t harm him; he had nothing to do with what had happened to them, but also knew he had to remain careful around them. Ghosts were quite fickle beings.

They giggled more as they circled him. Justin could now tell what they had looked like when they were still alive. He tried not to flinch as they reached transparent hands out to touch him. They were just as curious about him as he was about them. Before he could enjoy this encounter more, the light of a flashlight began to shine in his face. He cursed as he raised an arm to block most of the light from his eyes. The beings were gone now, they disappeared the instant the light came on.

In seconds, he could finally see the outline of the officer walking towards him. “What are you doing here, son?” He cursed more as he rose to his feet. Even though the officer was being kind, he knew he was in deep trouble. “I was waiting for a friend to finish class. I guess I fell asleep.” The officer came to a stop before him. “What is your name? And the name of your friend?” Justin sighed deeply, he really didn’t know anyone who went to this college. “My name is Justin Tyle. I was waiting on Alex Cammen. She was supposed to have composition and literature tonight.” The officer nodded as he wrote both names down. “Follow me to the office. We’ll call your parents from there.” Justin agreed and began following the officer out of the hall, there was nothing else he could do, he knew he was screwed the instant the light touched him. Stopping at the doors leading out of the hallway, he turned back to stare down where he had been sitting. Faintly, a globe of green light floated through the space he once occupied.

Nicholai Misha

In the south, a Russian transfer student sits on the grave of his foster mother. It was because of her he was here. She had heard about the difficulties his family was having and offered for him to stay with her while he studied here in the States. She was the one who had set the ball in motion to get him a visa for citizenship, so he wouldn’t have to return to Russia after his schooling was finished. He had just barely turned eleven when the car accident occurred and blamed himself for her death.

She was hurrying home from the store with a gift for him. She hadn’t known beforehand it was his birthday, until her oldest daughter had called her at work and told her. He was excited about what she had gotten him, until the officers knocked on the door. He didn’t understand what had happened, he still didn’t know American that well yet. Her youngest daughters had fallen into fits of tears and hysteria. While the eldest listened calmly to what the officers were saying. Afterwards, she thanked them for coming and telling her and her sisters what had happened. Closing the door, she looked down at him. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she held her hand out to him. After she had led him away from her sisters, she explained to him what had happened.

“Nicholai.” He quickly rises to his feet and looks around frantically. He recognized the voice calling out his name, but it just couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. Turning around, he falls to his knees. A woman was walking towards him, but no one else saw her. People were even walking through her as she approached him. He began to shake slightly as she stopped before him; it was his foster mother. She smiles as she stares down at him. “My death was not your fault, young Nicholai. It was meant to happen. Do not be sad.” Before he could comment, Claire, her oldest daughter, passed through her mother to reach him.

“Nicholai, what’s wrong? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” He didn’t answer as she lifted him off the ground and set him on her hip. “I think its time we leave. I just hope you’re not coming down with something.” As Claire turned from the grave and began walking away, Nicholai stared over her shoulder. Her mother stood on her grave, watching them leave. She was smiling sadly.

Gale Winchester

Several hundred miles away, a girl tosses and turns restlessly within her bed. It was barely past midnight, the living room clock chimed loudly in the quiet house. She instantly awoke and quickly sat up in bed. Her breath was coming out erratically and smoked slightly as she frantically looked around her room. There was nothing in the room but her. She brings her hands up to rub at her eyes; she had to be imagining things. She feels the tingling again, and knows someone is with her. Raising her head slowly, she searches the darkness of her room once again.

This time her search finds a darkened being standing in the furthest corner from her. She blinks but it doesn’t help, the thing is still there. It isn’t moving, just silently watching her. She scoots back against the wall behind her, trying to get a greater distance between them. The aura radiating off the being was pure evil. She didn’t want it coming anywhere near her. It raises its head slightly, as it confirms what she truly is. A boney hand rose in her direction, wasps and scorpions cover her before she can react. She screams as she bats at the creatures, trying to get them off her.

In minutes, her door is broke down and her father rushes into her room. The wasps and scorpions are gone, but not the bites and stings they left on her. Perplexed, her father lifts her gently off the bed and carries her into the living room. Placing her on the couch, he quickly dresses and grabs the keys to his car. He then drives her to the hospital. Her mother as usual doesn’t care and stays at home and in bed. The doctor is just as puzzled as he is when they arrive. She doesn’t understand how the bites and stings can just appear without anything being in the room. After several hours of being in the intensive care unit, she is finally released to a normal room. Her father sits silently beside her bed as she sleeps.

“Mr. Winchester.” He raises his head and turns to the door. At the doctor’s beckoning he leaves his daughter’s side. “You’ve found something concerning what caused her injuries?” The doctor solemnly shakes her head. “No. We’ve found no trace of any type of insects attacking her.” “Something had to, injuries like that don’t just appear.” “This is hard for me to tell you, but we believe she caused the injuries herself.” “Why would she do such a thing to herself?” The doctor shook her head. “We don’t know for certain, maybe it was for attention. I know the names of a few psychiatrists, if you would like to try taking her to them.” He nods as he turns back to stare at his sleeping daughter. ‘Gale, what have you done?’