Episode 8

"Matthew and Genessee, welcome to my game of luck."

Matthew struggled to get off the cold floor, his neck sore from resting on a rusty pipe.  A girl with large eyes and bright pink hair sat closely to him.  She was trembling like a stranded cat in a storm.

"If you haven't already noticed, luck isn't currently on Capri's side."

Matt watched as a brunette woman threw herself against her glass chamber.  A perfect rectangle prison that was slowly filling up with water.

"The key to the locked door is in the tank.  In order to free her, you must turn the correct wheels placed against the walls. Fail to do so, and she will either drown or..."

The menacing voice didn't continue but snickered as if he was enjoying every minute of this.

"I'd guess you have about five minutes before Capri is completely submerged.  Good luck."

"What?" Matthew rubbed his temples, "Argh... What..."
"Snap out of it," the pink haired girl, Genessee, nudged him, "We have to do something!"
"What even is all this? What in the literal hell..."
"I... don't know, but we're going to run out of time," she pleaded.
She scurried over to the wall with several wheels to choose from.  Her hands reached and retracted from each one, unable to make a decision.
"Hurry!" the girl in the tank screamed.  The water was up to her knees.
Matthew tried looking for a clue or hints or patterns, but at this point and with their time limit it was near impossible.  He still wasn't positive he was even awake and this was all a really messed up dream.
"Uh..." Genessee hesitantly grabbed one of the wheels, "I... guess..."
She turned it but not with much gusto.  As it screeched they both cringed and waited for something to happen.
"Hey... It slowed down!" Capri shouted, pounding on the glass in excitement, "Keep going!"
Genessee beamed and searched for the next one.  Matt went to another wall full of wheels and started to turn one, this time must faster.  The more wheels they can knock out in their time frame the better!
Capri got deathly quiet.  For a second, Matt thought they'd succeeded again, but her squeal made his heart sink.
"LEECHES!"
Dark slugs poured out of one of the tubes linking into Capri's glass tank.  She flailed and shrieked.
"Fudge..." Matthew groaned, "Hey, you pick! I pick the wrong ones I guess..."
What else was hiding in these pipes waiting to be unleashed...?
Genessee nodded, turning another wheel at random.  Now Capri was sobbing and gagging.  Another pipe spewed blood into her tank.
"Make it stop!" Capri begged.
The water was to her hips.  Matthew cursed and wrenched another wheel, and another, two at a time.  One wheel seemed to work, slowing the water stream significantly.  Capri was pressed against the walls trying to evade the leeches floating in her now off-pink water.  However, one of the wheels released something big...
A snake's head peeked out from the tube and glided it's long brown scaly body through.  The tubes had to be quite large to let something that massive slither through... the entrance at least the size for a child's head to fit.
That seemed to rattle Capri to her end.  She swayed for a moment and then lost consciousness.  The splash she made froze Genessee and Matt, still hard at work, and they looked at each other with horrified eyes.

Episode 7

Gerald and Ryan drove back to the office in silence.  The suitcase holding the mysterious artifact stashed in the backseat, both of them had tossed their coats on top of it.  Gerald checked his rearview mirror periodically, suspecting some horror-movie scenarios with a demonic face in the reflection.  He shook his head in disgust with his own imagination. 

“What are your plans for tonight?” Ryan asked.

“Asking me on a date?” Gerald replied.

Ryan snorted, “Dude, it’s Christmas Eve! Got family?”

Gerald nodded, “They’re far away, I won’t be making it this year.”

“Ah,” Ryan said softly, “Yeah I’m not doing much either. I was going to head to my girlfriend’s family in Florida, but with this case right now…”

“I’d let you leave for a day or two.”

Ryan shrugged, “Honestly, I want to be here until it’s finished.  Until the creeps are caught.  All of them.”

“I know what you mean. So you believe those kids then? Alaire and Aaron?”

“What do you mean?”

“We couldn't find the actual murderers,” Gerald said, “They look pretty suspicious don’t they?”

Ryan frowned, now sulking in deep thought. The snow hadn't stopped at all that day.  As they drove through the blizzard they spotted several buried cars on the side of the road. 

“Do you not believe them now?” he asked.

“I do,” Gerald said, “But it’s good to ask yourself those questions.”

When they parked the car they noticed another car in their empty lot.  Normally around this time the entire complex was home, well and gone.  Especially on a festive evening.  Gerald glanced at the other car before noticing a light was on in their office window. 

“You expecting company?” Ryan asked.

“Are you?”

Both of them shook their heads.  Gerald had one other receptionist, a part-timer, who would lock up if neither him or Ryan were around.  She either left it ajar or someone broke in.  Gerald and Ryan stealthily entered their office, listening for any disturbances.  

A figure cast a shadow in the dark hallway.  Someone was in Gerald’s office, but with the lights on.  It made Gerald wonder if the intruder was just stupid or perhaps not an intruder at all…  He shook the willies out and pushed through the door quick enough to surprise whoever was on the other side.

“AH!”

“GAH!”

“Aaron?”

Aaron leapt from his seat in alarm.  Ryan let out a very dramatized and relieaved sigh.  

"You...scared me...so bad," Ryan panted.

"Sorry," Aaron grimaced, "It's a long story, I promise I didn't break in.  Shelby, I think her name was, let me in and I told her she could go home."

"What are you doing here?" Gerald asked, "Isn't it like Christmas?"

"Yeah..." Aaron started, "I was on my way home, I was going to stop by anyway to pick up my phone from you guys, but... I think I was being followed."

"Really," Ryan hummed.

Gerald sized Aaron up again.  This man in a leather jacket (and a pretty sweet beard he might add) looked like he could defend himself easily, but there was fear in his eyes.  

Aaron spoke again, "I didn't want to go home, just in case I wasn't just being paranoid, so I came here.  Last thing I need is someone coming to my house... with my mom."

Gerald nodded, "Honestly, it wasn't a dumb decision. You're cautious, but you could've called the police."

Aaron shook his head, "I only want to involve you guys right now."

Aaron spotted the suitcase they carried with them, their coats still draped over it.  Gerald moved around him and set everything onto his desk.

"Find anything?" Aaron beamed.

"Maybe," Gerald said, "And maybe not.  We're going to visit a friend of mine and see if she can dig anything up on this Thanatos worship."

The name made Aaron flinch.  Gerald bit his tongue.

"Let me help?"

Aaron's eyes were now begging.  He could manage himself, Gerald considered, that is if anything terrible happened.

"I'll think about it.  You've already helped."

"I want to be there," Gerald caught a growl escaping Aaron's mouth.

"Just so you know," Gerald warned, "I'm not letting you kill anyone."

Aaron narrowed his eyes but didn't argue.  Ryan stood awkwardly by the door, intrigued by the conversation, "So, want us to give you a lift home? Escort squad!"

"Sure.  I mean... If you guys don't have anything going on, you're welcome to have dinner at our place.  I'd... like to talk about the case if that's ok..."

"Dinner. I'm down," Ryan looked to Gerald for approval.  Well, I guess that was a yes.

Ryan took passenger in Aaron's car while Gerald followed them closely behind.  Aaron explained the complex ways he cooked Christmas dinner meat, "I love to barbecue," Aaron moaned, "Do you have any Christmas traditions?"

"I did growing up," Ryan said, "I can drink eggnog like no one's business."

Their light banter carried on until they drove up to a quaint looking home.  Snow covering the roof and Christmas lights strung about made Ryan's chest feel warm.  The thought of someone sinister following Aaron to this happy looking home unsettled him.

"Aaron," he said, "Did you see what kind of car was tailing you?"

Aaron turned his car off and sat for a moment.

"The street was pretty dark, but I could definitely tell it was a truck.  Looked like a Ford Ranger. Maybe."

Ryan shivered.

Episode 6

Ethan watched the horror unfold before him.  He was still trapped and hanging, his brain slowly turning into a slushy.  The girl with blue hair was hesitantly picking up the knife from the floor.  She still hadn't turned around. Any second now she was going to be prayed upon by the nasty creature locked in the room with them.
He racked his brain trying to come up with an idea.  It was up to her at this point, there wasn't much he could do being strung up like this.  Ethan wanted to tell her to throw something across the room, to do anything!
The blue-haired girl couldn't contain it any longer and screamed as the skinless monster approached her.  The stomping of its frantic footsteps sounded wet against the hard floor.  The gurgled breathing that came deep from its esophagus became violent.
Ethan clenched his teeth, "Hey!"
The monster twitched and spun around, still breathing heavily.  Macy was already running for her life, knife in hand, but stopped when the monster changed course.
Great.
Ethan watched helplessly as the monster now came towards him. The closer it got, the more Ethan regretted being a hero.  The mouth, or the hole in its face since no lips were present, was filled with crooked jagged teeth.  And it had no eyes, only dark pits.  Something dark oozed from the corners of its mouth.  Ethan fought the urge to cry.
Something clanged to the right of Ethan, and to his relief the creature was curious and paused a foot away from Ethan's face.  The girl had thrown some of the tools across the room.  Thank freaking goodness!
As soon as the monster ran towards the tools, blue-haired girl carefully stepped towards Ethan, reaching her knife out to him.  He hastily began sawing at the ropes on his ankles.  It was only when it was too late that he realized he probably should've come up with an escape plan, but he fell onto his back, the air escaping his lungs.  He gasped, but shook off the pain.  The next few seconds were crucial.
Knowing they'd alerted the monster, Ethan threw off both of his shoes as fast as he could.  A card slipped out of the right shoe and he caught it in a death grip.  He was grateful he remembered which door the monster came out of, so he ran while dragging the girl with him to the opposite door.  A card reader was placed against the wall - with trembling hands Ethan tried aligning the card with the card reader. "Gahhhh, come on!" Ethan said.
"EEEEEEAAAHHH!"
Ethan turned and was sprayed with warm blood.
The monster was much closer than he thought. That mouth full of gnarly teeth that Ethan dreaded only moments earlier was now digging into the girl's neck.  The monster forced her onto the floor, and it raised its arm above its head and swung down towards her stomach.  Ethan felt the door move.  If only it opened a second sooner... 
He felt the gravitational pull to help her, she'd saved him after all, but when he dared to turn back and face the beast, with only his small knife and key card, he caught a glimpse of the girl's organs spilling out of her stomach.  A large red something was being crushed in the palms of the monster.  She's gone...
It all happened so fast, too fast.  Ethan felt bile starting to come up his throat.  He staggered backward into the dark unknown that was through the doorway, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the creature.  It was disposing of all of her innards, throwing parts of her ribcage into the air.
Once the door slammed shut, and Ethan was alone in the dark, he ran yelling all the way.

RIP 

Macy Nelson 

Episode 5

Gerald and Ryan stood in line at the Starbucks; their newly purchased antique hidden away in Gerald's suitcase.  It started to lightly snow outside, soft, silent, and peaceful. The coffee shop was filled with teenagers and their frappuccinos, talking about careless matters.  Ryan finally got his hot chocolate, but he was fidgeting as if still incredibly impatient.
"What's up."
Gerald interrupted Ryan's deep thinking, his eyes were glued to the suitcase.
"I'm being paranoid," he said.
"Not a fan of voodoo?"
Ryan rolled his eyes, "If that's a real artifact from the cult it's probably full of dark... magic... garbage."
"Probably," Gerald said casually.
"This doesn't freak you out," Ryan said, "Not even at all."
"Sure it does, why do you think I'm hiding it."
Ryan sighed, his eyes still not looking away from the suitcase.  He hadn't been able to shake this strange feeling since leaving the antique shop.  The atmosphere was suddenly tense, and it felt like someone was watching them.  Ryan could feel stranger's eyes burning into the back of his head.
"Something isn't right," Ryan moaned.
"You gave us the lead," Gerald retorted, "You were pumped about it."
"I was hoping it would further the case..."
"And it will," Gerald said reassuring, "With your lead, I can take this to the next step.  I have a friend downtown, a professor, and she studies criminology but happens to have a specific interest in cults."
Ryan raised his eyebrows, "Really? Who?"
"Maren Smith.  I've been keeping her in the loop but now I have something a little more concrete to show her."
"Nice..." Ryan said, still in thought, "I can't believe you had to pay that much for it."
"That little old lady knows how to market," Gerald shrugged, "Tina... Tina the mysterious shop owner who just happens to stumble upon artifacts when the cult is exposed."
"She said she always had them," Ryan interjected, "Though, that doesn't make her sound any less mysterious."
"No, no it doesn't," Gerald mumbled.
They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying their festive hot drinks while the snow continued to create thin layers atop their car.  Ryan tried enjoying the warmth and sweetness of his beverage, but felt the urge to be alert.  He looked out the window, and through the glass and green Starbucks logo, he spotted a car parked across the street, right by Tina's antique shop.
A pair of eyes were staring back at him.
"Huh..." Ryan scratched his chin.
"What is it?" Gerald asked.
"The shop boy..."
"Dylan? What about him?"
Ryan didn't break eye contact until Dylan finally turned the car on and drove away.
"... He's got a cool truck."
Gerald narrowed his eyes.

*****

Genessee was jolted awake with the need to cough violently.  Oh man...  She pushed herself off of the floor, not remembering how she got in this position.  Her limbs felt cold, probably from sleeping on the floor, she thought.  Wait... 

She didn't recognize this place.  A box shaped room with dark and grimy walls.  Against the walls were several wheels attached to pipes that ran along the floor.  

"Wha..." Genessee slapped her cheeks, this had to be a dream or something, but her surroundings didn't change.  She was still here, and she wasn't alone.  A blonde man was sprawled across some of the pipes.  Genessee would've thought he was dead if not for his light snoring.  He had a short beard and looked friendly enough, but she had no idea who he was or what they were doing here. 

The surprises didn't stop there.

At the other end of the room was a large glass tank, and by the looks of things that's where most of the pipes were congregating.  Genessee's heart felt like someone was grasping it tightly.  Inside the tank was a girl with thick long brown hair, also very much unconscious.  It didn't make much sense, but it also didn't take a genius to figure out what the set-up was built to do.  The tank reminded Genessee of a magic show, where the assistant has to escape before drowning.

Oh boy...

A low groaning rumbled from under the floor.  Genessee flinched.  One of the wheels on the walls was leaking water and started to spray like a mist in her face.  She blocked her face with her hands, and at that moment, the girl in the tank screamed.

The girl's scream was so powerful that even the glass couldn't muffle it out.  Genessee watched as the now awoken girl pressed her hands desperately against the glass.

"Help! Get me out of here! The water!"

Sure enough, the glass tank she was trapped in was slowly filling with water.

Episode 4

"Why do you have that recorded...?" Alaire breathed, "If you do... Then... What do you want from me?"
The man cloaked in darkness didn't move or speak for a long moment.  Alaire twisted in her chair, feeling her nerves begging her to run or strike him.
"They gave it to me," he said vaguely, "But only a recording.  Who killed them?"
Alaire was taken aback.  If her nightmarish memory served her correctly, that's when Thanatos arrived in all of his terrible glory.  Alaire shivered, remembering his dark mass impersonating a human figure and the suffocating aura.
"I heard gunshots," he said.
"Matt had a gun..." Alaire whispered to herself, "We didn't know he was..."
"So Matt killed her?"
"Um..." Alaire bit her lip, "No. Who are you?"
He ignored the question.  But Alaire had another, "And her... Do you mean Taylor?"
It was impossible to tell because his face was covered, but Alaire could feel that he was suddenly angry.  The feeling was powerful and frightening.  His arms shook and his breathing came out like a hiss.
"Did you kill her."
Alaire shook her head, not that he had any reason to trust her, "I swear I didn't."
"Then who!" he bellowed.  His voice was loud and right in her ears.  She cringed and wanted nothing more than to shrink away.  He placed two large hands on her shoulders, his thumbs digging in hard enough to bruise.
"I need to know," his impersonating voice wavered.
Alaire gasped, "Why did you kidnap me for this? I already told you I didn't do it..."
"I heard gunshots, I know you had the gun," he accused.
"She didn't die from gunshots!"
"Who did?"
Alaire hadn't realized her breathing getting rapid.  She tried to calm herself down before responding, "I... Shot Matt.  I had to."  That last part was for herself.  Everyone was free to believe whatever they wanted, and she knew murder was murder.  At the time it seemed like the only thing to do to save themselves.
"If you didn't kill her, and Matt didn't, then Aaron did."
Alaire's chest tightened.  No! He wouldn't have, ever!
The man finally stood up, convinced, and looked like he was about to leave.  Alaire panicked.  What did he need to know for? That's what the cops were investigating, so why did this guy need to go to these measures by himself?
"Wait!" she begged, "Aaron didn't do it!"
The man growled, annoyed, "You can't tell me NO ONE did it."
"It was..." how could she explain Thanatos?  No one else believed them about the creature being.  But she didn't want to know what this man had in mind for Aaron if he found him.
"There was someone else there!" she cried.
"That's not what I heard."
And with that, he shut the door behind him.  Alaire fought back tears of frustration.  No!

*****

Macy literally had beads of sweat trailing down her spine.  She hadn't moved from her spot in fear that the monster would hear her.  Her eyes dared to examine it as it meandered through the room, sniffing hastily at the blood on the ground.  Ethan was turning purple.  Not only was he still hanging upside down, but trying to hold his breath as well.

The beast looked humanoid, standing on two legs.  Except, it's flesh was missing.  The figure glistened in the light from the exposed muscle and veins and gray matter.  It stood at maybe six foot something, and its skull was ominously apparent, though it looked like someone had stepped on it, making it skinnier and longer than a normal rounded face.

It was the most disturbing thing Macy ever laid eyes on.

The breathing was the worst part. It sounded like it was gurgling on its own blood.  The thing also gave off a nasty odor, like meat that's been out too long.  Macy turned her eyes to Ethan again, who was slowly motioning with his hands.  He was pointing back at the tool table.  Macy knew the tools would make tons of noise.  She almost sighed, but swallowed it.

Even as her limbs trembled, she tiptoed towards the tools, keeping her eyes on the beast.  If it got close what should she do? Duck? Press herself against the wall?

All she wanted to do was cry.  It was exhausting having to stay so incredibly quiet.  Her heart skipped when she finally reached the table.  Ethan just needed something sharp, so anything quick and easy to access would suffice, she nodded and reached for the small knife at the corner of the table. 

As soon as her fingertips grazed the weapon, a scream startled them all.  It was coming through the walls and sounded like a woman.  There were others with them? 

The scream shook Macy so bad that her fingers jerked, sending the knife to the floor, where it made a faint thud and clang.

The monster's heavy gurgling stopped.

Episode 3

Gerald and Ryan pulled up to the parking lot by the quaint looking antique shop.  It reminded Gerald of a cabin the way it was styled; mostly made of wood.  It helped too that a thin layer of snow coated the roof.  The building was a relic compared to the little town, most of the strip had been updated.  Starbucks was even across the street.
"Cozy," Gerald stated.
"Right?" Ryan nodded in approval, "I love this stuff.  Think we'll find anything?"
"Nah."
"No?"
Gerald shook his head, "Most of those Thanatos artifacts are probably fake.  It's not difficult to make butterfly or skull designs, ask any tattoo parlor."
Ryan frowned, "So... Why are we here, then?"
"Doesn't hurt to check, plus I'm curious."

Jingle bells hung from the doorknob and sang as Gerald and Ryan entered the room.  They were welcomed with a warm and scented blast to the face.  It was a mixture of the heater turned on too high and smelly roses.
The shopping experience was hard on the eyes.  There were too many objects to take in; clothing, jewels, furniture, tea sets, almost anything you could think of, and they were all piled onto each other.  Not necessarily in a heap, but definitely in an organized mess.
"Hi! Hello!"
A cheery woman's voice called to them from behind some stacked books.  She was rather short and had a gray tuft of hair.  When she approached them, she barely came up to Gerald's waist.
"Can I help you boys look for something?"
"I think the looking will be the easy part," Gerald gave the store one more glance, "It's the finding.  I heard you might have something I need."
"Finding is all part of the adventure here," she smiled, "And you 'heard'? Am I spreading rumors again?"
She genuinely appeared as though she was recollecting something.  Ryan was exploring some of the tea sets, almost dropping a cup, but spastically caught it before it smashed to the floor, "Nice collection you got here," he said while pushing his hair back.
"Thank you!"
Gerald cleared his throat, "My friend stopped by the other day and said you might have artifacts related to the cult that's been on the news."
The woman's cheery face turned serious, but in an almost entertained way.
"Oh yeah... Come. I'll show you."
She led them to the back of the store, dodging shelves with fragile dishware.  Gerald spotted a tall slender figure lifting boxes.
"Dylan!" the woman said, "Reach that trunk for me. Please."
Dylan looked like he could still be in high school or just barely graduated.  He had a youthful and sporty build and thick brown hair.  His eyes were dark chocolate and they stared lazily at the three standing in the room.
"Sure," he said.
He pulled down a black trunk from a high shelf and brought it over to Gerald's feet, "Sorry... there's not a lot of table space."
"No problem," Gerald waved.
Gerald knelt down and opened the trunk.  The trunk itself looked like a decorative piece, probably to conceal the artifacts hiding inside.  He pulled the gold locks open and took a gander at what was inside.
Three artifacts lay comfortably fit inside the trunk.  Two he could already tell weren't authentic, or at least not what he was expecting.  Gerald studied the pictures from his folders several times over and knew almost every detail of the symbol.
"This one," Gerald pointed at the heavy metal torch.  It even had flames that were swirly and silver in color.  Ryan lifted it up to examine it, his hands traced over the designs on the handle.
"These characters look funny," he said.
Gerald tipped the torch upside down for him.  Looking concerned, Ryan observed it again, "It's... Greek?"

θάνατος

"The upside down torch is a common symbol for Thanatos or death I should say.  It represents the ending of a life, but the flame is still there, representing the soul."

******

Not again.

Alaire woke from a daze.  Her eyes adjusted to the pitch blackness around her.  As she slowly regained consciousness, she noticed her body was sitting upright in a chair.  Her neck hurt from flopping over for who knows how many hours.  When she attempted to move, her hands refused.  Tied?

She was tied to a chair, brilliant.  It wasn't exactly like last time, she noted.  Surprisingly, she was scared but not as scared as she expected.  After they escaped The Thanato Project, life felt like a waiting game; waiting for the horrors to return, anticipating every shadow or turned corners.  Now it was like she never left.

That was her assumption anyway.  It would make sense to be kidnapped by the same people.  It didn't look like she was in a game, though.  She was alone instead of with strangers.  They were probably going to finish her off quickly.  Alaire braced herself, trying to breathe evenly.

The sound of a door creaking broke her concentration, and fear overwhelmed her.  The door let some light into the room, blinding her, but she tried getting a good look at her captor.

He was tall, she could tell it was a man by his build, but he wore a hood and a mask.  The mask was all black, making the spot where his head should've been a dark void.

"Alaire." he greeted.

His voice was rough and unnatural like he was trying to disguise it.  Alaire didn't respond.  The dark figure came closer until he was inches away.  He crouched down until they were eye level with each other.

"Perhaps you can tell me about this night."

In his hands was a tiny black recorder.  He clicked it on, "Oh no... He's so very mad at me..."   

Alaire gasped.  It was Taylor's voice, just like she heard on Aaron's phone before she was kidnapped.  That was the night Thanatos appeared in his ghastly form, crushing the skulls of Taylor and Matt.  The night Aaron and Alaire barely escaped with their lives.  The night everyone else died.

"Are you a killer, Alaire?" 

Episode 2

Ethan's world was upside down.  Literally
When he came to, there was an uncomfortable throbbing in his skull and his arms were pressed up against his ears.  He moaned loudly and tried to move.  However, he soon realized he was dangling in the air.  A thick rope tied his feet together and was looped through a fat metal hook.
It took him a minute to figure out if he was dreaming or not until a blood-curdling scream woke him right up.  A girl was shrieking like her arm had been severed off.  Ethan whirled his head around.
He was in a box shaped room, dimly lit, with two doors that possessed no knobs of any kind.  A skinny girl with - BLUE hair was flailing on a table.  Ethan blinked several times, trying to focus on anything but the blood rushing to his head.  Oh my...
He wasn't necessarily alone up here.  On similar hooks, someone was hanging next to him, except this person was in several pieces.  Blood sprinkled down decorating the ground like a gory cupcake.
It took all the willpower in the world for Ethan to not puke his brains out.
The blue-haired girl had wiggled her way off the table and hit the floor.  Her screams were not helping Ethan's headache.
"Hey..." his voice was hoarse, "Hey..."
The girl crawled to a corner of the room, sobbing.
"Hey... Hello... HEY!" Ethan thrashed, hoping to loosen himself from the hook.
The girl sniffled, her bright eyes widening when she spotted him, "S-Someone e-else? THANK GOODNESS, help me!"
Ethan frowned, "GIRL. I am hanging here! I need you to cut me down, first."
Blue-haired girl refused to move from her spot, or couldn't, but Ethan could feel his face turning purple.
"I'm just gonna pass out again unless we get me down, so let's do that, yeah?"
Finally, the girl nodded, mascara streaked down her pale cheeks.  She was about to stand - or crawl when a terrifying voice sounded in their little room.

"Hello. Macy. Ethan." 

Ethan knew this situation was bad, but it was about to get a lot worse.  What jigsaw movie did they get themselves into?

"I bet you're wondering, why are you here? Why am I doing this to you? What... am I going to do to you..."

Macy let out another pathetic sob, shrinking back into her corner.  Ethan desperately wanted to at least be on his feet again.  He didn't want to end up like the guy chopped to pieces next to him.

"Fortunately, I won't be doing anything.  Unfortunately, my friends might."

The voice was charming, like a snake, smooth but poisonous.

"The battle for your life begins here in this room.  Find all the clues, escape the tunnels, and you will walk out of The Thanato Project alive.  Your first task, Macy, by any means you must free Ethan, for he has the only card key to exit this room.  Easy enough, the card is hidden in his shoe.  However..."

"You will not be alone in your adventure.  My friends are restless and want to play too.  They are completely blind, due to some... disabilities, but they can definitely hear you.  And the scent of blood might make them feisty."

"You have ten seconds to think of your next move.  Good luck."

"AW, HELL!" Ethan shouted.
Macy cried, "What d-does he mean? What does this mean? W-what key, I..."
"Just hurry and find something to cut me down!" Ethan said, "Um... there! Over there! There's a little tool table, I think."
Ethan pointed frantically and a small table across the room against the wall.  The tools looked less than friendly, but sharp is all they needed.  Some jagged knives and other instruments were hanging on a shelf, and Ethan spotted a nice pair of gardening scissors.
"He said the key is in my shoe, help me down, and we get out! Ok!"
Macy was shaking so badly she was hardly in control of her body anymore, but she nodded slowly.  She looked like a zombie stumbling towards the tools.  Another startling sound shook the room.  This time one of the doors opened.  It opened quickly with a loud *thunk* and then shut itself again.
"Don't you scream!" Ethan hissed, "Don't make a sound..."
Macy froze in the middle of the room, still halfway away from the tools.  The friend had arrived, and it greeted them with sickening gurgling breaths.  Ethan couldn't feel the pain in his head anymore, only the ice cold fear rooting inside his stomach.
What is that thing...?

******

"I have donuts," Ryan declared as he entered Gerald's office.  

"We're not the po po," Gerald said, "I think detectives are more of a... cigar and beer, kind of bunch."

Ryan pulled out a chocolate covered donut, examined it, examined himself, and then nodded, "Nope, I think I'll take the donut."

Gerald shrugged and took one of the sugary pastries.  They sorted through the messy files that had piled up over the past week.  Once it was apparent that a few students had disappeared, the reports flooded.  So far, six had gone missing, and that wasn't including Alaire.  

After replaying the voicemail over and over, Gerald was more than certain that Alaire had been taken. It was silly to think otherwise, but he understood where the cops were coming from.  Alaire and Aaron were considered "unwell" or "traumatized", and Alaire made the mistake of confessing to killing someone, potentially the actual murderer, but when the police couldn't find the murderers it made her look bad.

Now it was time to see if Alaire's kidnapping and the other students had anything to do with each other.

"Oh! So get this," Ryan said, "I found something I think you'll want to see.  Right by the donut shop is this little antique place, you know where they sell old trinkets and such.  Well this older woman, cute as a button, starts telling me she has artifacts from older Thanatos cults.  It's all over the news lately, so I'm sure she was just jumping to tell the next customer, but I think it might be worth exploring!"

"Old Thanatos cults, huh?" Gerald said thoughtfully, "I was convinced it was a new fad... How old does she claim they are?" 

"Like, not this century old."

"Any pictures?"

Ryan grinned, "Of course." He brought out his smartphone and scrolled through several photos.  He handed it to Gerald, and the first thing he noticed was a black figurine, a butterfly with a skull.  

"Interesting."

"What?" Ryan sounded excited.

"In Aaron's interview," Gerald quickly whips through some papers, "he claims the culprits drew symbols - just like this."

Gerald pulled out a picture that Aaron had drawn for the police.  A butterfly.  Skulls embellished the wings and it had an upside down torch for a body.

"So... Should we visit the antique shop?" Ryan asked.

"Let's do it."

"Alright!" Ryan was already out the door.

Episode 1

Gerald Robinson.  

He fiddled with the custom nameplate on his desk.  Things as a private detective had been pretty slow that year; cases hadn't been as abundant.  That is, until four months ago. 

Fifteen students at a local college were kidnapped, two were somehow the culprits, two escaped, thirteen of them were killed.  Gerald scratched his head, his eyes closed.  How did two punk kids pull off a massacre of that caliber?  

When the police found the bodies and the two survivors, they were out in the woods in some abandoned cabin.  The evidence of whoever put them there was practically untraceable.  There was no sign of struggle, no blood, just a really disgusting old shack and a pile of dead bodies.  The two who made it, Alaire Bowen and Aaron Clement, were both unconscious.  Neither of them seemed to remember how they got there.

Gerald reopened one of the several folders on his desk for the tenth time.  In both of their testimonies, they were last in a hospital, and before that an old theme park.  However, Aaron recognized the abandoned shack and claims that’s where the captors brought him and a few others from the beginning.

Gerald rolled his eyes.  The cops had found out so much and yet so little.  He reviewed the pictures of the victims and sighed loudly.  

Even if someone had killed them at that cabin, the manner in which they were each killed were too bizarre.  One girl had completely lost her head and the rest of her body was mostly bones, her meat had been eaten off.  Cannibals? Unlikely.  However, another boy seemed to have a similar death with most of his body being eaten, except in his case his face was the first to go. 

A girl named Jessica was simply stabbed in a few places, that was easy to interpret, but then there was this kid Spencer who’s body was full of deep holes from... spikes?  He looked like a block of swiss cheese.   Alaire's brother was also stabbed, one girl's head was blown by gunshot, another guy's body was smashed to oblivion,  a kid named Dwight drowned somehow, and one kid even had a huge cantaloupe-sized hole through his chest.  Gerald couldn't forget the girl who's insides turned into a beehive.  What in the hell?

These were crafty, well thought out, and possibly experimental murders, Gerald thought.  The one thing getting in the way of the investigation was the missing bodies of Matt and Taylor.  All the authorities had to go off of was the word of the survivors.  Gerald would’ve been skeptical as well, but when a tiny girl like Alaire confesses to killing someone in self-defense, it makes you wonder what motive she had to admitting such a thing.  The bodies still haven't been found, she could’ve kept it to herself, but she didn’t, in fact, she was quite insistent about it.

Luckily, they were able to confirm that Matt and Taylor were involved in suspicious activity, like false identities and such, which helped pin the kidnappings on them.  The mystery of all the murders was still… well, a mystery. 

Gerald’s office door suddenly burst open.  He was shocked to see Aaron, one of the freaking survivors!  Following closely behind him was Ryan, Gerald’s assistant.

“Looks like you’re not gonna do what you’re paid to do,” Gerald slouched in his large office chair, “Being my guard dog means you don’t let people waltz in, exactly like this.”  He gestured to Aaron.

“Dude,” Ryan’s dark eyebrows rose, “Have you seen this guy? He looks pissed.”

“An even better reason for you to do your job effectively…”

Aaron looked haggard.  Dark bags under his eyes, his beard a bit untamed, and his chest puffed with every breath.  It didn't look like he was in the mood to leave, so Gerald offered him a chair across from his desk.

“Look,” Aaron’s voice was surprisingly calm, “Sorry for being brash, but I’m freaking out and the cops aren’t taking me seriously anymore.”

“You’ve come to the right place,” Ryan said proudly.

“Back to your desk, please,” Gerald pointed to the door.  Ryan’s shoulder’s slumped and walked out of the room.  Now that they were alone, Gerald let out a long sigh and clasped his hands together, setting them on the desk.

“You’re the miracle child?”

Aaron eyebrows pulled together.

“One of the survivors,” Gerald explained.

“Oh… yeah, I guess,” Aaron had a cell phone in his hand, and his hands were shaking, “Something happened to my friend last night.”

“The other survivor?”

Aaron nodded, “Alaire.”

Interesting.  Gerald thought for a moment, why wouldn't the cops be interested?   They’d be scrambling for any kind of lead.

“We were on the phone last night,” Aaron started, “I heard something downstairs so I left for a second, but when I came back our call had dropped.  My phone started ringing again… I figured she was just calling me back or maybe a butt-dial, but… Well, listen for yourself.”

Aaron set his phone on the desk and opened a voicemail from Alaire.  Gerald got closer and waited for a girl’s voice, but instead it sounded like movement.  Someone was struggling, a female. Has to be Alaire.  He could tell by the small gasps she made.  Something was preventing her from being able to scream.  It definitely sounded like a second party was in the room.  Something fell over making a loud thud, and that was the end of the message.

“The cops didn't react well to this?” Gerald asked in disbelief.

“When I went to Alaire’s house to check on her, her parent’s seemed surprised, like they didn't hear anything.  We all went into her bedroom and she was gone and the place was spotless.  Except for a weird mark on her wall and her phone on the floor.”

Aaron took a breath before continuing, “When we went to the police, they started getting suspicious.  OF HER! And even of me.  I thought that was taken care of a while ago, but they think her disappearance is her running away.”

“And you believe she was kidnapped?”

“I hope that’s all she is!” Aaron said, “I just mean… I hope she isn't hurt.  But she might be! I don’t know…”

“You showed them this voicemail?”

“Yeah, and they’re looking for her, I just don’t think they’re looking for her with the right intent.”

“She’s still the victim,” Gerald said mostly to himself, “And you want me to find her?”

Aaron nodded, “Please.  If anything happened to her… I think I’d lose my mind even more.” 

Gerald could tell there was inner turmoil in this guy, a mixture of worry for his friend and worry that he might even be in danger next. Poor kids. And they aren’t even the only victims anymore.  Gerald looked at the blue folder to his left, knowing the contents inside could send Aaron on a trip.

They discussed the terms of their agreement, and Aaron was willing to pay the half up front.  Gerald was pleased of course, but still a bit surprised.  Aaron even agreed to leave his phone for some more inspection, and before leaving he told Gerald, "I think there was some interference with my phone as well... For a second my screen was locked and it was doing something strange.  Check into it if you can."

After Aaron left, Ryan stomped on back bursting through Gerald’s office door again.  Gerald bit his tongue.

“So what happened?”

“We got a job,” Gerald responded.

Ryan sat himself down in one of the chairs and scooted in close.  Gerald watched him with dead eyes.

“No seriously,” Ryan looked excited, “He’s one of the students right?"

“Yes.”

“Does this have anything to do with the new investigation?”

Gerald looked back at the blue folder again, this time he opened it.  A few pictures of young faces were clipped together.

        "For her sake, I hope not.  But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a possibility."   

*****

        Macy felt something drip on her forehead.  Aw man, she groaned, it rained last night, but did her apartment really have a leak?  It sucks being on the top floor!  Even so, she drifted back into sleep, until she felt dripping on her arm.  More leaks?  Ugh!  It was impossible to ignore at this point.  Macy rubbed her closed eyes with the back of her hand.  Huh?  Her hand must've gotten wet too.

        Coming to her senses, the air smelt heavily of rust.  So badly she could almost taste it.  What did her roommate do this time?  Host a welding party in their living room?  Macy opened her eyes, ready to handle the catastrophe.

        Her mouth dropped open.

        She wasn't in her apartment at all.  It was suddenly apparent how uncomfortable the bed was.  Macy was laying on a metal table covered with a dirty cloth.  The ceiling took her a few moments to believe what she was seeing.  Hanging like bait on meat hooks were chunks of a human body, limbs, and even their head.

        Covering Macy's forehead and arms were droplets of blood.  Her body violently shook, she clamped her eyes shut, and then screamed.

Cover

Ghost Brigade #1

Art by: Genessee Robinson

Prologue

    The laptop screen was blinding in the darkness of Alaire’s bedroom.  It was a windy night, and a tree branch was scratching her window making an annoying sound.  Alaire was back home.  Ever since the incident, the press, the investigation, she said goodbye to her campus life and hello to online courses. 

    Nothing helps you escape your thoughts like being alone, Alaire thought with a hint of sarcasm.

    The windows on her laptop were open to her history assignment, but she had several other tabs linked to information about the investigation.  It had been four months since everything went down.  Alaire started seeing a shrink, a really nice older woman with a voice that reminded her of songbirds.  But if she was being honest, her best source of comfort came from Aaron.

    Speak of the devil.  Alaire’s phone vibrated, shaking her desk. They’d kept in contact since a week after that fateful day.  The first week there was complete silence from both parties.  They were too bombarded by questions and cameras and the occasional mental breakdowns.  

    They finally met up again and went to everyone’s funeral together.  All of them.  First, it was Alaire’s brother, Cole, and the rest followed suite. 

    “Hey.”

    “Hey,” Aaron’s voice greeted her, “How are you?”

    “Still a crazy person. How about you?”

    “Probably the same.”

    “I’m starting to have… weird flashbacks.  At least I think they’re flashbacks.”

    “Of what?”

    Alaire looked down at her knuckles, the scabs had completely healed over.

    “When I first woke up in that room… My knuckles were bloody.  So was Taylor’s head.”

    Aaron paused.

    “And…” Alaire continued, “I didn't think anything of it then.  But now I feel like I’m remembering something.”

    “Like, remembering being kidnapped?” Aaron asked.

    “I think so… It’s really blurry.  But I remember my fist hitting someone pretty hard, the pain, and a swoosh of blonde hair.”

    “I’m surprised a little blonde could take us all down on her own…” There was resentment coating his words.

    “I don’t think she was alone…” Alaire said.

    “Well, also the professor, right?”

    Alaire shook her head, even though Aaron couldn't see, “No… I’m not seeing Matt in my head… It’s someone else…”

    In the end, they were all surprised to find that not only Taylor, the deceivingly ditzy blonde and Matt an every-day looking college kid, were the ones who orchestrated their torture.  They kept hidden in the group for reasons Alaire wasn't even sure of.  Later, they revealed themselves to be part of some death cult.

    “Well, we know there’s more of those freaks out there.  Don’t worry, they’ll catch them.”

    Even Aaron’s voice didn't sound too certain, Alaire appreciated that he was trying.  They continued to converse about normal topics for a while, talking about school and work and family.  She continued to search the web for more articles on the investigation.  There was one person in several articles who kept drawing her attention.

“So,” Aaron said suddenly, “There is one thing that’s been bothering me still.”

“Just one?”

Aaron chuckled, “When we were in the room with the bathtubs, and shit hit the fan, there was someone watching us through the glass.”

Alaire bit her lip, “I assumed it was…”

Neither of them wanted to speak the word, now or ever again.  The name of the project, the name of the god they worshiped…

“I did too.  But I’m having second thoughts.”

“Have you told anyone?”

“Not yet.  I definitely think it was a man, that much I could tell.”

“Just another creep I guess…” Alaire said.

“What about that therapist guy?  He's pretty creepy too. I’m surprised he allowed Taylor out of the institution, knowing how freakishly unstable she was.”

“I’m sure he wasn't the only one with a say in it… And she was pretty convincing.”

Alaire thought for a moment and typed into Google for the interview with Taylor’s therapist.  He had basically informed the public why, Taylor specifically, these people were worshipping a death god.

She clicked on the video, and the man’s voice filled her silent bedroom, “The idea of a mortal life is only natural for humans and animals to understand… The idea of death is worse than any conjured nightmare…Everything is justified…”

“What was his name?” Aaron asked.

“Um… It’s Doctor…” Alaire’s eyes darted on her screen.

“Hang on,” Aaron interrupted, “I think my mom is downstairs.  Sounds like she dropped something.”

“Ok.”

Alaire set her phone down, the bright screen with Aaron’s name across, waiting for him to return.  She watched the video again.  Her own therapist told her to avoid obsessing over these articles and videos.  At first, the cops encouraged it to see if either Aaron or Alaire could remember something useful for their investigation.  Now they just wanted to put a stop to the crazy.

Since none of the bodies of the culprits were found, no one knew that Alaire had killed.  They took what she said into consideration, but they lacked the evidence and thought she was losing her mind, her parents especially.  Only Aaron knew.

A sound came from her phone.  It was so faint, that if her room wasn't so quiet she wouldn't have picked up on it.  Alaire held the phone back up to her ear again.  She heard Aaron shouting.

Her heart gave a familiar jolt.  No, no, not again, she soothed herself, just breathe.

“Stop… stop…” Alaire whispered as she patted her chest.  Her breathing was becoming uneven.  He probably stubbed his toe or something.

Her phone started to make a strange static sound as if they were losing reception, still, she didn't move it away from her ear.  She was frozen.

“Thanatos relieves you from the reaper.”

That voice.  Alaire trembled.  It couldn't be, it sounded just like Taylor, but she watched Taylor die…

“Oh no… He’s so very mad at me…”

Alaire chucked her phone at the wall.  No, she was losing it, Alaire cowered in her desk chair, hiding her face in her arms.  She was probably hearing things, being crazy, she should probably call Aaron back and apologize.  

She was about to retrieve her potentially broken phone from the floor, but something in the window had her come to a halt.  In the dim reflection, she saw her own face, terrified, thin, and pale.  Standing behind her was someone taller and darker.

It’s not real, it’s not real… Alaire blinked.

“You’re a killer too, aren't you?”

Alaire had no time to react.  In seconds, her world was spinning again into a deep dark nightmare.