Chapter One
RESIDENTIAL HOSPITAL
CHARLOTTESVILLE VA
"Let's get out of here Charlie!" A boy with blonde hair shouts as he runs down the hall. "What's going on?" the boy Charlie asks. "They're killing everyone!" "What?!" Charlie shouts in disbelief, almost thinking it's a prank Aron is doing again. "PLEASE DO.." BANG. The loud sound cuts off the plea further down the hall and echoes loudly.
"Oh my god, was that Sam?!" Charlie screams as Aron grabs his hand; "COME ON KID! " Aron shouts, pulling him forward. "Hey there's two more!" They then see Mr R, one of the guidance staff, slowly walk towards them. It's alright you two; I promise this is for the best. "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" Charlie says, tripping and falling to the ground. Mr R walks until he is standing a few feet from Charlie. R points the gun towards Charlie, his 6'1 slender frame almost hidden behind the gun's muzzle as Charlie looks up. "Why won't my body move?!" Motionless, tears begin to stream down his face. "I would say i'm sorry, but you were one of the most insufferable residents I ever had" R says as he grins. Good Bye…
BANG!
"Charlie.. Charlie…CHARLIE!" Charlie opens his eyes seeing Aron's face as he stands over him. "What.. happened Aron?" He begins to stand, stumbling as he does so. "Easy.." Aron helps Charlie steady himself on his feet. "You passed out after I shot Mr R." "What?!" Charlie exclaims. Aron hands him a black handgun, covered in blood and cups his hands over it as he puts in Charlie's hand. "Promise me you will get out of here alive.." Aron winces in pain and falls to one knee. "Aron, you're hurt! We gotta get you help! Charlie begins to help Aron up; "No" Aron says, his breathing growing increasingly heavy. "I won't be leaving this place; you have to go on without me" "I heard something down this way!" Come on Ar.." "GO!" Aron shouts, almost coughing the words. "Listen to me C" Aron says as his expression remains stern. "There isn't a hospital for miles; I have lost so much blood, I would only slow you down." "BUT I CAN'T JUST…" "There they are!" Two men shout as they rush down the hall. "Listen to me!" Aron shouts as he grabs Charlie in front of him. "I'll slow them down; promise me you will get out of here alive, and achieve your dreams!" There is a short pause. "PROMISE ME!" Charlie nods as he wipes tears from his eyes. "All right" Aron begins to stand up slowly. "I'll be keeping you to that" Charlie begins to sprint down the hall. Suddenly a loud bang and flashes of flames erupt from all directions. Charlie looks back as he runs, seeing Aron, the two men and everything else become engulfed in flames. Charlie dives out of the window at the end of the hallway. As an explosion sends his body flying like a ragdoll. "Search the entire area! Make sure no one is still breathing!" Charlie hears those words as he fades unconscious.
Chapter Two
"Everything is so dark" Charlie thinks as he regains consciousness. After about 20 seconds he stands up, his eyes at least mostly adjusting to the dark. Suddenly he sees a faint glimmer of light, so faint Charlie would most likely have missed it had he not gotten his eyes adjusted. He approaches the light, getting closer and closer until he arrives at the spot it was coming from; only for it to have seemingly vanished. "What in the.." Charlie looks around confused. "Where AM I?" "Shouldn't that be obvious?" a voice snickers. "Who's there?!" Charlie cries out, frantically looking around. "HI THERE!" Charlie stumbles and falls backwards on his back; in shock as he looks up at the figure who just appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "Who are you?!" Charlie exclaims. The figure walks closer, and Charlie feels a chill throughout his entire body. "I was wondering when you'd wake up" Charlie begins to speak, but is cut off. "Before you ask, no you aren't dead" the figure leans down, examining Charlie up and down. "HEY!" Charlie exclaims, almost jumping to his feet. "Answer my fucking queston!" Charlie snaps his voice getting louder. "Where am I?! and who the fuck are you?!" "Geez kinda rude aren't ya?" the figure says, followed by "all right all right, but honestly i'm surprised you don't know." The figure pauses, and then says "We are in your deepest subconscious" "HUH?! Quit fucking w.." "I'm telling the truth, kid" The figure says as he turns his back to Charlie. "Trust me, I don't like this either" The figure sighs, as Charlie walks a few steps closer. "Have a seat, and I'll tell you everything I know." Charlie looks directly at the being, and realizes something; "I can't see you; it's like something is covering your face." Indeed, the beings face is masked in a shadow like darkness; eerily resembling a shadow but at the same time seeming otherworldly. "That's because I've been hiding it; if you knew what I really was, you probably wouldn't even be talking to me right now; and I needed you calm." The figure pauses, and then explains: "I woke up in this world as an ethereal spirit; I don't remember my name, my past, anything." I was floating around the area where I found you, and I saw you were dying." The figure takes a deep breath, then continues "Ironically enough, I know nothing about myself, but for some reason I know things that you humans consider taboo; namely things relating to exorcism and spiritual possession." Charlie remains silent as the shadowy figure speaks; feeling strangely more at ease now. "I possessed you to keep you alive; and trust me it wasn't easy! You were in such bad shape, it took all my strength just to save you; let alone hiding you." "Hiding me?" Charlie looks at the shadowy man puzzled. "What do you mean?" "Before I decided to possess you I overheard other humans talking about killing anyone nearby; so naturally I hid you to protect you from them" "Wow" Charlie says walking a few steps closer to the figure. He sticks out his hand, curled into a fist. "I had no idea; I owe you big time; thank you." "What are you doing?" the ghostly figure asks. "I was dabbing you up," Charlie says with a big smile. "What is dabbing me up?" the figure asks, clearly confused. "oh sorry; well where I am from its a sign of respect or admiration." The figure responds "I thank you, but I am nothing to be admired or respected." Charlie scrunches his face "What are you talking about? You saved my life; someone you never met before.That alone is admirable!" There is a pause, and the figure responds "Perhaps. But I don't even know who I am; I could be a horrible being for all we know." "Well, even if you were, I wouldn't care," Charlie says with a grin. "But…" Charlie cuts him off; "I'll make you a deal, I will help you find more about who you are and stuff, in exchange I'd like you to teach me." "Teach you what exactly?" "How to be an exorcist
duh!" Charlie says with a chuckle. "You said humans consider it taboo; but they can still learn it right?" "Well yes but…" "Great!" Charlie exclaims; "So its a deal then?" The shadowy figure just stares in silence at Charlie before finally speaking. "Out of all the humans I have watched since I began wandering this plane, you are the most particular and strangest one I have encountered yet." There is a brief pause, and then the figure begins to laugh. "Hahahaha! You know what? I think I like you kid!" The figure says before chuckling for a bit longer. "ALL RIGHT! You got a deal!" "Huh? Hey what's happening?!" Suddenly Charlie begins to float upward; "You wanted out of here right? Well i'm showing you the way!" "Yeah but.." "Dont worry, we will see each other again soon. I gotta get some rest; see ya kid!" "WHOAAAAAAAAAAA!" a blinding light engulfs Charlie's vision as everything goes silent.
Chapter 3
"HEY!" "Oh thank god he's waking up!" "Can you hear me kid? Help is on the way! Charlie opens his eyes to see a man standing over him. "Whoa, hey hey take it easy!" the man exclaims as Charlie squirms away. "Who are you?" Charlie asks as he starts to stand. The man pulls his wallet out and shows Charlie his badge: George Johnson FBI. "Me and my wife found you unconscious while taking a hike" George explained; "Your pulse was extremely low so we called an ambulance." "Honey? The ambulance is on.. Oh my! He's up?" "It seems that way; this is my wife Janet young man; what is your name?" Charlie hesitates for a moment before answering: "Charlie. My name's Charlie." Well Charlie" George says "I hear the ambulance; would you like me to go with you?" "I don't want to cause any attention, but having an FBI agent to chat with might lead me to some clues about that facility; and who was behind it." Charlie ponders; finally he speaks, "Yeah I would like that" George cracks a smile "Ok then; Janet I will call you when I arrive at the ER; are you ok with me coming home a little later?" "Of course! I want this young man to get all the help he needs!" "Well see you at home!" Janet walks away and George and Charlie walk toward the ambulance. "Hey what's the deal?" The call said we had an unconscious kid." "We did, he woke up so I walked him out here to be safe." George explains; "He also wants me to ride with him." "Um sir we have a policy; only family ride with patients." I don't have a family, Charlie blurts out. "Even so.." George flashes his badge; "well you wouldn't want to get hit with an obstruction of justice charge would you; this kid's attack is currently under investigation by the FBI." "Tic!" The ambulance tech scoffs, annoyed. "Fine, guess it's all right; just make sure to let us do our job sir." "Of course" George says as he winks at Charlie.
After Charlie and George arrive at the hospital, Charlie is checked in and given a room. When Charlie mentions how quick the process was, George replies "well I MIIIGHT have used my badge to speed things up" he says with a grin. After being hooked up to the iv and blood pressure machines, George closes the door and begins to speak. "All right Charlie, I know this is probably very much to take in but I do need to ask you a few things. Is that ok?" Charlie nods. "Ok; you mentioned you don't have a family can you tell me the reason?" "Its complicated" Charlie says as he looks visibly uncomfortable; George takes the hint and moves on. "All right I won't push; but can you tell me your last name?" Charlie pauses, and then replies "I don't know my last name" "This guy probably thinks im crazy; but to be fair I really don't remember it" Charlie thinks to himself. George lets out a short sigh, before Charlie adds "I'm sorry I can't be more help; I really don't know it." George half grins before answering "Its all right Charlie! I completely understand." He then pauses, and says "I can find out who you are if you allow me to take a fingerprint; are you ok with that?" Charlie's eyes light up, and he asks "you really could do that?" "Absolutely" George replies. I'll be right back. George walks out and returns a few minutes later with papers and ink. "Just need to see your finger for a sec" George says, and Charlie immediately complies. "Great! Now I can run it through our system; are you ok with me being gone for a few hours?" Charlie nods and says yes; and George responds "ok, but if you need me just have the nurses call me; I gave them my card" He walks out and shuts the door behind him.
Chapter 4
"So I'm back here again" Charlie murmurs to himself as he begins to walk around. "Eyyy so you are finally back!" a familiar voice echoes; as the shadow being once again appears before Charlie. "Oh hey; you get enough rest um.." "Yeah I got enough." "I just realized, I need something to call you." Charlie says. "How about… Gast!" "Huh…?" the being asks. "Well you are kind of a ghost, and you also look kinda creepy, so a word some people use is gastly; so Gast!" "Sigh" "All right fine; that can be my name. Suddenly Gast's tone gets serious as he remarks "Enough playing around; I actually called you down here to discuss important stuff with you Charlie." "Oh all right then" "First, I should show you this" Gast's face suddenly changes and becomes clear; "THIS is my true face." Charlie stares almost in awe of Gast's new appearance; the once unrecognizable almost foggy distortion that was his face is gone; replaced by red skin, black horns, teeth that would put dracula to shame and green eyes. "Whoa! That's cool," Charlie exclaims. "Glad you think so; now listen to me kid, there are a few things you should know about our partnership I guess you could call it." Gast's face turns stern as he explains "As long as I inhabit your body you cannot die; and any wounds you suffer will heal quicker than normal." "Also" Gast continues, "because I am possessing you, I can take over your psyche at any time to use your body temporarily." "Why would you want to do that?" "Well despite you not knowing any exorcist or necromancer skills, I do know quite a bit of their techniques and skills so I could do them through you." "Whoa that's sick!' Charlie exclaims. "The good kind I mean" After an awkward silence Gast speaks "While you may believe my powers are"cool " or"neat " remember that humans fear what they don't understand; if the wrong people found out you could be locked away, or worse." "Oh yeah. Of course; you're right." Then Charlie says "Gast I have been wanting to ask you something; when I woke up everything seemed normal, but I noticed the year looking through the newspaper at the hospital; it said 2024. Was I really asleep for 30 years?" "Yes" Gastly answers. "However you may have noticed you look almost the same; thats because your body technically only aged 10 years." "Wha?! How did that happen?!" Charlie exclaims. "From a variety of factors; mostly due to my power that saved you; its complicated, but long story short it caused you to age slower because I was healing you for so long.Thats the easiest I can explain it for you." Charlie takes a deep breath and exhales "ok I guess that makes sense kind of."
Elsewhere…
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
"Hey Jay, you got the results from those prints?" George asks as he peeks his head in the doorway. "Not yet" Jay says as he turns his chair away from the computer. "Huh?" Jay suddenly turns back to the computer monitor "this can't be right…" he mumbles. "What is it?" George asks as he enters through the doorway. "The database has zero hits for that kid's print." "Huh? Well that's somewhat common in runways and abducted children; check our international data systems." "I have; zero records anywhere; this kid you found is a ghost." There is a pause, and George replies "Probably a longshot, but search all international databases under the name Charlie, black male; also include prison, jail and hospital records." "Geez that's more of a hail mary then a longshot but ok." After about two minutes the screen flashes text: CLASSIFIED INFORMATION; LEVEL 5 CLEARANCE REQUIRED. "Why would a random kids file be classified; let alone at level 5?" George thinks to himself. "Damn" Jay says; "Guess it's above our paygrade." "Like hell it is" George says; "You can hack into those files right Jay? "Whoa Whoa hold on a sec; you want me to hack our OWN database to view White House level documents for a kid you just met? Nah man they would put us UNDER the prison; the SUPERMAX PRISON." George responds "Hey you still owe me for that time I vouched for you when you leaked documents by mistake don't you?" After a brief pause George says "Look make it look like I hacked the files; my gut is telling me somethings not right about this whole thing." Jay sighs "Hey it's your funeral man."
1 HOUR LATER
"Geez I wonder when George will come back" Suddenly the door to Charlie's hospital room opens slowly; "Hey George! Took you long enough man…"
BANG!
Chapter 5
"He's got a gun!" "Oh my god please don't"
Screaming and panic fill the air, along with gunshots. After about ten minutes everything goes quiet. Corpses of doctors, nurses and patients litter the hallway, with trails and pools of blood everywhere along with them. "Sir this is a crime scene." "FBI" George flashes his badge as he walks into the hospital lobby. "What in the fuck happened here?" George says, visibly shaken. "I'm afraid we are not at liberty to share the details at the moment sir; please exit the building immediately." George the young man by his collar and raises his voice "Didn't you hear me?! I am FBI; Like hell you aren't going to tell me what happened!" George raises his voice, basically screaming at this point "I left a young boy who was found abandoned in his room for an HOUR! And I come back to dead bodies and some punk telling me he can't say anything!" George shoves the young man away from his grip. "Sorry I just…" George then notices blood on the man's hand. "It's quite alright sir; although it is unfortunate you got caught up in all this Mr Johnson.." "Drop it." George says as he points his gun at the man who pulled a gun out of his coat pocket while turned away. "My I am quite impressed you caught on so quickly; unfortunately that won't save you." George sees a glimpse of another man get up from a pool of blood with a semi auto handgun. "Shit he was playing possum?!" Two shots ring out as the man begins to fall back down; "Fuck!" the other man yells "POP!" George unloads his shot into the man's skull and he falls to the ground dead. "You ok Mr FBI?" Charlie says as he emerges from around the corner of a nearby hallway. "Charlie?!" George runs and wraps Charlie in a big hug; "Sweet Jesus; you are one lucky kid you know that?" George says as a tear drops down his face. "Luck had nothing to do with it sir; if I was lucky this wouldn't have happened." George let's Charlie go from his hug, and notices blood down Charlie's face. "Shit you're bleeding! Sit down, I'll go get some…" Charlie grabs George's arm and shakes his head "I'm fine; I will try to explain everything when we get out of here."
Charlie and George get into George's car and drive off, "Yes this is special George Johnson with the FBI; a mass shooting just happened at Landover Hospital; one known survivor and he is with me for protection; please send CSI and medical. No, I have a potential beat on the suspects; heading there now. Right, got it." George hangs up his phone and begins to speak "Kid, did you know those guys?" Charlie responds "no; you lied about trailing a suspect didn't you?" "Yes" George answers, his voice shaky. "They knew my name; first and last. I'm worried about my wife." "I understand," Charlie says. "So, tell me what happened in there." Charlie tells George everything; including about the spirit possessing him. "I am not crazy, I even have the bullet from my head right here." Charlie says as he pulls it out of his head wound. "Ok" George says; "Jesus fucking christ what did I get myself into?" George pulls into the Cul de sac where his house is, and stares in horror. "No, No NO!" George screams as he rushes out of the car. His home is engulfed in flames. "Janet?! George yells as he rushes closer to the house; "Janet?!" George yells as he stops just short of the house sidewalk leading to the door. "Fuck, FUCK!" George thinks as his mind races. He kicks down the door as an intense heat is felt and almost knocks him back. George rushes into the house; "JANET!" George gets down on the floor and checks her pulse. "I am here Janet; everything is going to be ok! Just hold on!" Janet! You can't be dead! Janet?! George wraps his arms and cradles Janet's lifeless body. JANETTTT!
Elsewhere
"Here is the report sir." "This says the mission was compromised; what happened?" "The boy befriended a FBI agent who helped him escape; both of our members were killed. But we took care of his wife as collateral damage." "That's all well and good, but we need both of them taken care of ASAP; make all available members active mission looking for those two and eliminating them." Will do sir." Good, the time we have been waiting for is fast approaching; there can be no loose ends."