Ring....ring.....ring
Checking his alarm clock that sat stop his night table beside the bed he saw the time was 2 A.M. in the morning, why was someone calling his house at this time of the night? He threw his covers off of him and turned on the small lamp behind the alarm to give him a little light. Checking to see the phone hadn't woken up his lovely wife, he reached over and slowly picked up the phone and placed it against his ear.
???: Hello?
He paused a moment to hear who was talking on the other end and found it was his neighbor from a few houses down, his voice was very shaky like he had just gone through a traumatic episode and he could hear his wife sobbing in the background.
???: What's going on over there Bob?
He listened the best he could to Bob's babble, but most of it was just that..he couldn't understand much of what he was saying. He picked up a few bits and pieces whenever Bob took a breath and continued talking and from what he could gather something very wrong had just happened to them and Bob could only think of him to call upon for help.
???: Bob your going way too fast for me to understand, try and slow down so I can help you.
The conversation awoke his wife and she turned over to see what the problem was but he just waved her off and whispered for her to get some sleep. After making sure she did what he asked, he turned his attention back to Bob and with Bob slowing his speech was finally able to grasp the meaning of the call. He could feel a cold shiver crawl up his spine with the description of the event that happened at Bob's house and he knew that Bob and his family could no longer tolerate the goingons of that house. He thought a moment of how he might be able to help Bob, but this area was a cloudy fog to him, after all what would the Police Chief of Spokane know about something like this?
Police Chief: Alright Bob just calm down, I will call you back ok? I need some time to think about this and maybe I can finally help you get over whatever is happening there ok? Good, I'll call back in just a moment.
After hanging up the phone he slipped out of bed and threw on his bathrobe, he knew that tonight was definitely going to be one of those nights. Being the Police Chief of Spokane was a very stressful job that has kept him up like this many nights, but the problems presented to him then were cases of criminal activity such as robbery, murder or rape..but this was definitely way out of his league. After heading downstairs to the kitchen and making a warm mug of coffee he sat down on his favorite recliner in the sitting room and went over a few ideas to try and help his neighbor.
He knew some people in the area that could be of service, but it was late at night and he felt that their talents probably would not help in this kind of situation. How is Corey Prescott, the Chief of Police, going to handle this? Sipping some coffee from his mug he looked over at his office and remembered that he had to put a file away he was working on earlier before retiring to bed. He pushed himself out of his comfy chair and walked towards his office grumbling that if he had only taken a few seconds out of his day to put the file away he could still be sitting down enjoying his coffee and his chair, he told himself that he had to work on not being so lazy anymore.
Once he reached his office he bent over his deck to grab the file and when he did he saw something that instantly grabbed his attention...a picture. The sight of it made his heart beat so fast he had to sit down and take slow deep breaths to contain the excitement that was waiting to burst out of him. The picture was of a man he knew could help Bob and his family and lucky for him..he had this man's phone number. Taking the picture out of its frame, Corey flipped the photo over and saw the signature in the back that was written shortly after this picture was taken.
I appreciate you aiding me in protecting my hometown Chief Prescott, if you ever need a favor don't be afraid to call me.
ShadowDM
This was the miracle he was waiting for, not only was ShadowDM one of his all time favorite wrestlers, but he was also involved in just the kind of thing that would help his distressed neighbor once and for all. Dialing the number written on the back he chewed his lip hoping that DM would pick up the phone, he knew it was late but with the kind of stuff DM was involved with he knew he wasn't getting much sleep. After a few moments a deep voiced man answered on the other end and it was unmistaken ably the man he was looking for.
Corey: DM, its Chief Prescott...I'm calling in a favor.
Its been close to two hours since Bob woke Corey from his blissful sleep and now he was standing outside Bob's house with the rest of Bob's family waiting for DM to show up. Corey dressed himself up in a t-shirt and some jeans before coming over and just incase brought his pistol with him, mostly he knew it'd bring reassurance to Bob's family to have an armed officer at their house ready to help, but deep down he knew that he wasn't just going to waltz over there without any protection..he was coming armed and ready to go.
When Bob heard that Corey had found him some help, he burst out into tears on the phone and thanked him over and over again for being there for his family, but Corey shrugged it off as he too is a family man and would hate to have his family sitting outside at 3 in the morning in their pajamas shaking to death, not from the cold but what they just went through. After patient ally waiting they finally saw a pair of headlights turn the corner and creep down the inky black road towards them. Corey asked DM to be as quiet as possible when coming to the home because he didn't want to risk waking anyone else up at the moment, he didn't want the neighborhood involved in this at all.
After DM passed a few houses Corey saw that he drove a black Firebird with all the makings of a car that has just been remodeled and looking in the best shape of its life, Corey wondered for a moment what kind of stuff he had running that bad boy but then put those thoughts aside when DM slowed to a stop outside the house and turned off the car. The car door suddenly popped open and Bob's family watched mouths agape as the tall muscular figure of ShadowDM stepped out of his car then reached in and grabbed something from the passenger side seat. Covered in darkness Corey could only tell that DM was about 6'11" and weighed at best 300 or so pounds, his height and weight was of great advantage to him when it came to wrestling in the ring and intimidating people, even he was intimidated by DM and he has been able to stare down serial killers without so much as a drop of emotion in him..but DM was different.
DM walked towards them with a small black duffle bag dangling from his fingers and with what little light there was he could start tos ee that DM was wearing a long black leather trench coat and a bandana atop his head, what color it was he wasn't sure due to the blackness but it made him look like he was here more for a fight then a meeting. DM stopped in front of Corey and gently slid the bag to the ground allowing him to hold his right hand out towards the Police Chief.
ShadowDM: Chief Prescott, a pleasure.
Corey offered a smile and shook DM's massive hand.
Corey: So good to see you again DM, I see you haven't changed much.
ShadowDM: It hasn't been that long since we last spoke Chief Prescott, you havn't given me much time to change.
Corey: Yes yes, I suppose your right.
DM turned his attention from Corey to the distressed family huddled together in fear of DM's presence, they weren't used to people like this in their neighborhood and weren't too sure how to accept him.
ShadowDM: Are these the people who are in trouble?
Corey: Oh yes where are my manners? DM this is the Patterson family, they were the ones I spoke about on the phone.
DM took a few strides over to Bob and held out his hand to him, their 5 year old daughter shot behind her dad in fear of DM and peaked out behind him as her father slowly shook DM's hand.
ShadowDM: The chief calls me DM, but you can call me by my real name Jory. I'm sorry to hear of your situation.
You couldn't tell by his appearance that DM for the most part was a kind hearted person and Bob definitely wasn't ready for such a kind presence. What Bob didn't know that below that was a deadliness that Corey would rather not witness again..he has seen DM do deeds that made even him throw up all over the ground and he has seen some very bad things. Bob gave a small smile at DM and turned towards his wife.
Bob: This is my wife Trudy and beside her is my 15 year old boy Trevor and the little girl behind me is my precious princess Gabs.
ShadowDM: Mrs. Patterson you have a beautiful family, a shame you must be put through such torture.
Trudy: Thank you Jory, do you think you can help us?
Trudy's voice was still shaky from her ordeal and the look in her eyes said she was too tired and too weak to continue on living in that house without assistance. DM turned from the family to look at the house then ran his fingers over his chin in thought.
ShadowDM: I can only promise you my best ma'am, but I can assure you whatever is troubling you will have trouble of its own on this night.
That brought a small smile to the face of Trudy as DM knelt down and spoke towards young Gabs.
ShadowDM: Hello gabs, your a very pretty girl.
Gabs responded by burying her face into her dad's thigh prompting a small laugh to escape DM, at least someone was in a good mood tonight. DM turned his attention to Trevor and stood his full height looking down on the young teenager.
ShadowDM: Most of the events seem to be surrounded by you, am I right?
Trevor simply nodded and shoved his hands into his pajama pockets not feeling comfortable with the sudden attention.
ShadowDM: It has been violent hasn't it?
Trevor suddenly shot DM a look that wasn't very pleasant, but he could read it like a book and knew that Trevor was hiding something. DM walked over to Trevor and stood in front of him staring down at the top of the head of the young boy.
ShadowDM: Pull up the front of your shirt please Trevor.
Trevor: Hey man what are you a pervert?
ShadowDM: I can understand your uncomfortable about this Trevor but I need to study this to see what the extent of the violence has become.
Trevor looked over to his family to see if they'd offer a plea for his case but they only met him with silence, so he turned back to DM and slowly lifted his pajama shirt revealing nasty cuts placed all over his stomach and chest. Upon the sight Trudy burst out into tears and Bob quickly threw his arms around his wife to comfort her grief while trying to control his. DM knelt to a knee to examine the cuts and traced his finger over one that made Trevor flinch..it was fresh. DM pulled away then stood and looked over at Bob.
ShadowDM: This is progressing very fast, has it done anything physical to any of you aside from Trevor?
Bob: Well we've seen dark shadows in the house, had some terrible nightmares and some very nasty smells but nothing physical yet.
DM turned back to the house and once again ran his fingers over his chin in thought, it was turning out to be very interesting already but he definitely wanted to know what DM thought.
Corey: So DM, what are you thinking of?
DM turned to Corey as if he hadn't remembered he was there then walked over to his small duffle bag and picked it up. DM slid the bag over his right shoulder and turned back to the house.
ShadowDM: I'm thinking this may take a bit, you should probably escort the Patterson's to a safe area so they wont be harmed while I'm investigating.
Corey: Are you sure DM? I could stay and...
Before Corey could finish he saw DM slightly move his trench coat to reveal the sword he carries with him for situations such as this. The sight alone told Corey that this was more then justn some ghost looking for attention.
ShadowDM: Them being here nor no ammount of police will help anything Chief Prescott, please do as I ask.
Corey only nodded then waved over the Patterson's to join him where he stood.
Corey: Well then I wish you the best of luck DM.
DM was already on his way up the steps to the door before Corey could utter anything more.
ShadowDM: I appreciate the words of encouragement Chief, but tonight I'll need more then luck to face this foe.
With that DM opened the front door and walked in to face whatever troubled total strangers to him to see if he can ease their suffering. With a bigger swell of respect for the man Corey turned to the Patterson's and gave them his best smile.
Corey: Come to my place, we'll whip up something to drink and wait to see what happens.
With one last look at their house the Patterson's turned with Corey and started towards his house with their hopes and prayers on the success of DM's venture into their unknown.
The evil of the house quickly shrouded him as he closed the door behind him and entered the Patterson house. Shrugging it off, he set down his bag and slowly scanned the room before him. He was standing in their sitting room that had a couch placed up against a wall to his right and a nice coffee table placed in front of it. A coat rack was to his left against a wall that also held a closet door for shoes or other assortments one might drop off when entering the house. Ahead of him was a hallway that lead to the rest of the house and at the end of it he could see the kitchen with only a dim light on to illuminate it.
It was a nice house so far, why an evil presence would haunt this he wasn't too sure. He had a few ideas but he would have to find the entity and get a few answers out of it to be sure. DM has never actually done an "official" investigation of a haunted house, as a matter of fact this would be his first time, but he has read all sorts of books about this and has had much experience in dealing with the spirits of the dead and so is not too nervous about his first gig as a "ghost investigator".
Using his gift, DM followed the trail of evil from the door towards a set of stairs at the beginning of the hallway that led to their second floor and started up noticing that all the lights on the second floor from what he can see so far have been turned off...but all the lights downstairs are on. Keeping that in mind DM walked up the stairs and stopped at the top where he saw a hallway that went in two directions, to his left there were a few rooms and what appeared to be a bathroom and to his right was a room and on the ceiling was the latch that lead to the attic. DM felt the presence the strongest emanating from the room next to the bathroom and has he made his way towards it he could see that it was Trevor's room, at least when he sees some hockey gear up against the wall he can assume its Trevor's. Peering in he saw a black cloud hovering over the bed of Trevor and he could see that the blankets have been thrown everywhere, possibly from Trevor trying to get the heck out of there.
DM flicked the light switch he felt on the wall but the light wouldn't turn on, the spirit must be draining the energy on the second floor he thought, which would explain why all the lights were off here but on downstairs. He sighed deeply to himself, hoping that this won’t be another dramatic episode with the dead and entered into the boy's room.
ShadowDM: I see you hovering there, go ahead and materialize so we can have a nice discussion.
In an attempt to ward DM off, the spirit tried to gag DM with a stench that smelt a lot like rotting flesh, but DM simply used his gift to wave off the smell and stand his ground.
ShadowDM: I'm afraid simple tricks wont work with me, now lets get this over with so the nice family can get some rest.
The dark cloud lowered itself to the ground and materialized into an old looking man with tight blue jeans on and a bloodied up flannel shirt barely hanging to his skin. His face looked like a car had ran over it, with pieces of his flesh barely dangling from the skin and bones. The entity gave him a wicked glare and pointed a finger out to DM
Ghost: Leave! This does not involve you!
ShadowDM: It "involved" me as soon as I got the call asking me to come here. Now we can either do this the easy way..or the...
In an instant DM was lifted off the ground and hurled forward at high velocity towards a window that overlooked the front yard. Before impact he places his arms and watches as if in slow motion as his body crashes through the glass & window screen and hurls its way down to the unforgiving ground below. The sudden jolt of being thrown against cold solid ground made him lose his breath and feel like his chest had just caved in. It took his brain a moment for him to process what just happened to him and in that time of hesitation the spirit had found its way down to DM and stood over him with what DM was feeling as unquenchable fury ready to explode.
Ghost: I don't like repeating myself human, that was just a warning and now I'm telling you...leave.
Difficulty to breathe left him without much to say back to this friendly spirit, but he didn't need words to finish the job. reaching into his pocket, DM pulled out a small bottle of sage and blessed holy water mixed together to create a powerful substance that entities of this kind can't stand. Because his body was preoccupied trying to recover from the fall, he wasn't able to get a great grip on his gift and he knew that he was now going to have to rely on luck to help him on this one.
It was all he could do to push himself up to one knee but he did it and was ready to make the next move, all he needed was an opening.
Ghost: Stop being slow! Leave now!
The cold hatred in the spirits voice would have sent chills down his spine if he were able to feel it, putting that aside DM popped the top off the bottle and didn't waste a second and tosses the fluid in the spirit's direction and saying a soft incantation under his breath. What followed was a bloodcurdling, spine tingling, stomach-rumbling scream that pierced DM's ears like a knight's jousting lance through his opponents armor. DM fell backwards covering his ears and tightened himself up into the fetus position trying to drown out the hideous noice but it seemed nothing worked, he would suffer for vanquishing the demon this night.
Before the sound went away he heard a familiar voice scream out for him from the beyond, it was frightening for him to hear the voice so soon...too soon. It brought back the recent memories of battles lost & won, blood shed and lives given. The memories threatened to drown DM in a torrent of depression, thoughts he's been trying to be rid of were now playing with his mind and burning away at his resolve..it was only a matter of moments before he would lose control and let the emotions flow wild over him.
A shake of his shoulder brought him back to reality and he realized that he was shivering all over, as if he was naked in the North Pole without any heat waiting for him. Turning over he sees Chief Prescott leaning over him with a worried expression on his aging face..this was one night he was going to have Chief Prescott remember for a good long time.
Chief Prescott: Jesus H. Christ DM! Are you ok!?
DM hacked up a few droplets of blood before sitting himself up and answering.
ShadowDM: Think this is bad, should see the guy who lost.
Chief Prescott gave DM a small chuckle then helped lift the big man to his slightly unstable legs. Upon standing DM noticed that the fall made it feel almost foreign for him to be walking, the feeling was still lost a little in his back so he figured he was going to need to see some kind of specialist about that, but that was going to have to wait.
Chief Prescott: What the hell happened in there DM?
ShadowDM: The Patterson's old friend did, but tell them not to worry now..it's gone.
Chief Prescott: It's gone!? Thank God, I've been losing sleep over this for weeks now.
ShadowDM: Yea, but you weren't the one truly being tormented.
DM broke away from Prescott's grasp and limped back to his Firebird, as much as he'd like to stay and chat with everyone he had other pressing matters to take care of now and needed rest if he was going to do so.
Chief Prescott: Forgetting something?
DM turned and discovered the chief holding DM's duffle bag with a smirk on his face. All DM could do was sigh and walk all the way back to Chief Prescott and snatch his bag.
ShadowDM: Thanks.
Chief Prescott: Who should I send the bill about this broken window?
DM turned away from the chief and headed back to the safety of his precious Firebird, knowing it'd carry him to a destination with less stress and violence, at least for the moment. He tossed his stuff back onto the passenger side seat and turned back to the chief who was still waiting for a response.
ShadowDM: That piece of shit rotting in hell would be a good start.
Slamming the door after getting in, DM revved up his engine and sped off to get away from the house so he could catch a few hours of rest for in just a few hours DM would be heading towards a wrestling federation trying to build a reputation of being the best out there. HCW was calling DM's name and though he enjoyed the peace and quiet of being out of the scene, he also couldn't stay away from the rush he always got going into the ring and putting a hurting on someone in front of thousands of fans..HCW was promising this and something has been searching for since the days of his youth...a long lost part of him.
DM wondered if the family behind him would finally find some peace now that the spirit has been forcibly removed from their home. Why it was there he may not yet find out soon, but what he does know is that the family may never know that what helped rid them of their pain...was a necroscope.