Brilliant sunlight shone down on the little town turning the fallen leaves to gold in its rays. Pumpkins sat proudly outside of the homes, their faces smiling at the world that ran by them. The street is busy with cars, bikes, and the rapid foot fall of kids heading to school. The loud ring of a bell could be heard against the calming air, the school stood tall with red bricks keeping its structure together. The path leading towards the large, multiple story giant was bathed in laughter. Kids of all ages chattering like birds in the warm sunlight of their school day, Halloween dropping from their lips in waves.
"Next week, next week!" Someone shouted out,
"Pumpkin smashing is so gonna happen tonight," Another laughed,
"What're you going as to Steven's party?" One girl asked to another,
The bell screamed out into the daylight once more, doors opening and allowing the teenagers to file in. The words "Urbana High" plastered above the church like doors.
"Look out," He said, shoving past the rest of his peers. His dark hair puffed up on the top of his head, holding a video camera out with excitement in each step. A pure white, old acoustic guitar was strapped to his frame. The words 'Iggy' written in large, sharpie letters against the wood.
"Watch it, poodle head!" Someone shouted at him but he didn't listen, rushing past the memorial that had been set up by the opened library doors, slowing down for a heart beat as he glanced at the handfuls of flowers that cluttered around a picture of an older looking woman with a bright smile and comically large round glasses. Her pinched nose and dimples gave her an innocent look.
Coming to a sudden stop he held the camera up to the memorial, his voice squeaking lightly as he spoke, "This is Mrs. Jackie, she's the latest one! The most recent victim, and when I get proof its paranormal, I'll avenge her and everyone else,"
"Who ya talking to?" A voice startled the man, turning his head to a blonde haired boy with a confused glance. His face dotted in soft peach fuzz, hair lazily pushed to the right; hanging down in his face. He was chubby but had bulk, compared to the thin and wiry man with the camera, he was basically the opposite!
"Oh there you are, Marsh!" he yapped, moving the camera to the blonde.
"Come on, Iggy, this isn't funny you know I hate cameras," Marshall said, pushing the large video camera out of his face, "Couldn't you just use your phone? Why do you have this old thing?"
Ignacio shook his head, closing the screen on the camera. "If I'm gonna be a famous director I'll need to use a real camera!" He insisted, "And make my own background music." He added, nodding to the guitar on his back. "Now come on!" He grabbed at the blonde's hoodie.
The two teens darted between their peers, the hallway growing crowded as the seconds ticked by,
"We're gonna miss the first bell!" Marshall called,
"Mr. Jerk-ins will be fine if we're late. This is important,"
The boys scrambled to the broom closet they had recently started to hang out in, it was large and completely unoccupied! Neither janitors used this one so the two had turned it into a small 'escape' room.
"Look at this!" Iggy practically shouted, pulling his cell phone out. Letting the camera sit comfortably on an upside down bucket. Marshall got closer to the other, blinking at the phone. Shown was a giant monster attacking two men in a bar, Marshall shook his head.
"It's so fake, come on Iggy you can't believe that!"
"I do!!"
"Stop being stupid, we already get bullied for trying to catch the ghost! But everyone in school's seen this and thinks it's fake!" He wailed, pleading with his only friend to stop with his nonsense.
"I don't even believe there is a ghost, people die! It's normal! A ghost can't probably kill anyone anyways,"
"Aw come on!" Iggy squeaked out, "You can't be serious!!"
Marshall groaned when the bell let out another ring, turning to the other with rage in his voice "You're making us miss class" pouting now before getting to his feet and making for the door.
"Come on!! Don't leave! They uploaded a few more videos and I wrote down all the reasons it's real!" He insisted, pulling a notebook out of the backpack he placed beside him. Waving the spiral black book towards the others back who refused to look.
"Come on everyones gonna think you're just like your crazy dad," Marshall snapped, "Besides, I can't keep being late because you want to play 'Slayer' or whatever,"
Hurt flashed over Iggy's face, dropping his notebook to the floor. "My dad's not crazy," he whispered, "And I'm not playing!" His voice rising up now, "I've seen my dad slay! Just cause he's dead doesn't mean he isnt a Slayer"
"Yeah a deer maybe, but not a ghost!" Turning to look at his friend now, seeing the hurt that flooded over Iggy's face, dark eyes welding with tears. Neither could react when someone started smashing their fist violently on the door, both scrambled towards the back of the room, practically crawling over one another to retreat to the safety of the walls around them. Eyes wide as the pounding continued, it started out slow but quickly started to gain momentum. The pounding so loud Iggy felt as if his ear drums would burst
"Hello!" Marshall shouted, but it didn't stop.
"Fuck stop it!!" Iggy shouted,
It stopped.
Both teens stared at the door as if they expected someone to burst into the room at any moment but everything remained still.
"I'm going to see what that was," Iggy whispered to his friend, shoving the camera into the chubby males arms.
"What!?"
"It's what My dad would do! And Abel!", fear flooded through his veins as he spoke. His heart pounding so rapidly in his chest he feared it would burst. Sucking in air to combat the terror that rolled beneath his skin, thinking about what his father would do the teen grabbed the handle of the door. It felt like ice against his tan skin, closing his eyes as he waited for the worst. He threw open the door with such force it knocked against the wall beside him.
Opening his eyes he stared in shock and horror at what was before him, a man towered over Iggy - his milky blue gaze staring directly into the other's face, his jaw hung in an awkward manner, with a large frame he took over the entire doorway. Both teens screamed in surprise as Iggy slammed the door shut on the ghoulish figure.
Silence followed this, the only noise the soft swinging of a single lightbulb attached to the ceiling. Its light flickered softly a few times, letting out a soft buzz. The nick of a moth falling into the glass could be heard every other heartbeat.
"What the hell was that?" Marshall asked, breaking the cold silence between them, Iggy turned towards Marshall. Snagging up his video camera he clambered back to the door, holding the camera up.
"I got it on camera, Iggy! Don't open it again!" Marshall squeaked out in a hushed tone.
Iggy stopped, glancing back at his friend. Adjusting the guitar strapped around his body the man took a few more steps forward.
"If I don't we'll be stuck in here forever," He said dramatically, sucking in air the teen took a few steps forward and ripped the door open. His eyes screwed tightly shut as he did so but when the smell didn't hit him he glanced up to see nothing there. He poked his head around the frame and looked about but all he saw were a few of his classmates racing down the white halls before turning his head back to the other.
"Okay, I believe you," Marshall squeaked out.
***
"He will not stop sending messages," Abel growled, attempting to swipe the message notifications away from the front of his phone screen. It continued to get in the way of the maps, and since the man had found Abel's personal facebook it was starting to make him go insane.
"If he tracked down your facebook maybe it's important,"
"Yeah but I gotta find Nathan, I don't care about this guy's spooky ghost encounter. It's probably bullshit anyways,"
Chamuel chuckled, "Well, I don't think I've seen someone get on your bad side so quickly,"
"Ah, shut up," Abel waved a hand in the air at his friend. Groaning as a call notification paused his music once more,
"Alright that's it!" Abel pulled the car onto the side of the road violently causing Chamuel to let out a soft gasp of surprise. The pair had left Kansas behind only to get a frantic call from Nathan's ex, upon returning to Peter's home they found it had been torn apart. As if someone was looking for something, police had asked them a few questions to which the pair had to quickly lie and cover it up. This followed up with,
"Don't leave town, or else,"
Abel and Chamuel remained in Peter's home for another two weeks unable to go anywhere or do anything. The paranoia of someone finding them grew by the day causing the pair to fight a bit more than usual. Their search for Nathan brought up nothing either, now they were back on the road nearly a month after it all happened. Abel couldn't help but feel an intense anger at being interrupted on their journey.
"I'm gonna rip this guy a new asshole," Abel grumbled, after waking up at Peters early morning the two hadn't stopped driving and the Slayer was feeling it. His legs cramped up under him, his eyes burned from staring at the road for hours. Abel put the car in park, opening his messaging app and hitting "call" on the unknown person's name. His profile picture was just a white guitar.
"Listen man--"
"Hello!? Is this Lancaster Disaster?!" The voice shouted back, causing Abel to flinch from the sudden explosion of words. Chamuel took the phone from Abel, holding it out and pressing the video button. The two men appeared on the screen followed by the teenager who had called them,
"You're too close to the screen" Abel said, watching the frantic teenager.
"Sorry sorry!" Iggy shouted, "I need your help!"
"Yeah I got that," Abel replied, "You spammed us,"
"Well maybe you should answer your messages," The teen huffed
"This isn't ghostbusters kid, what do you want?" Abel asked, though he attempted to keep the irritation out of his voice he seemed to have failed. His mind on Nathan as he watched the teen on the screen.
"Abel stop it!" Chamuel whispered, "Be nice, he's just a kid,"
Abel sighed, "You're right," He whispered groaning softly to himself and brushing his fingers through his hair to attempt and cool his anger.
"What do you need help with?" Chamuel asked, tilting his head.
"Well my town, see, people have been dying at an alarming rate and I think it's a ghost and I think we need Slayers down here and --"
"Take a breath," Chamuel said, "Breath in through your nose, let it out, and tell me calmly what you need us to do,"
Iggy did as he was told, letting out the air with a shake of his head, "Sorry okay," the teenager picked lightly at the skin on his fingers as he attempted to calm his anxiety.
"There's this legend, see, it's been the legend at the school since before I was born," He started, "The rumor is that the pricapel has a spirit in his snowglobe. Okay? And this spirit has to feed on people's souls. This spirit keeps the principal young and whatever-- like a live for a long time."
Abel and chamuel glanced at each other in confusion, "Okay?" Chamuel said, attempting to piece together what this teenager was talking about. The man's sentences were as wild as his hair!
"Anyways! We always have a death around Halloween time, yaknow, cause the demons are always out around this time," Iggy whispered the last part into the phone as if someone would react negatively to what he said.
"Demon's-- nevermind, just keep going," Chamuel whispered, fiddling with Nathan's glasses case. His ex has informed them that the man was blind without his glasses or contacts and to give him his eyewear when they find him. If they find him. The thought sent a shiver through Chamuel as he moved attention back to Iggy.
"But guess what! Five dead!" Iggy held a hand up to the camera in a dramatic fashion, This caught the slayers attention.
"Five?"
"Yeah, all ruled as suicides, accidents, but I know! It's the spirit! And I know you're Slayers, I don't know who else to go too,"
Abel shook his head in disbelief "How do you know we're Slayers?"
"I wasn't born yesterday, I know CGI when I see it." He retorted, holding up the video camera on his desk.
"And just a few hours ago something super weird happened! You gotta come here and help me,"
"Why don't you ask a local Slayer?" Chamuel offered, side eyeing Abel who looked to be deep in his own thoughts.
"We don't have any, at least none that are publicly hunting. Most of them are super careful about even talking about it,"
"What happened today that made you spam me?" Abel finally asked, the boy shook his head. Curls dancing against his face, "I'm not telling you that until you're here."
Abel opened his jaw to argue but Chamuel put a hand up, causing the Slayer to fall silent. Mindlessly scratching at the healing tattoo on his arm causing the angel to bat the man's hand away,
"Don't scratch that," he whispered to Abel before turning attention to Iggy who stared wide eyed at the two.
"Send us your address, we'll see what we can do!" Chamuel finally said, giving the teen a reassuring smile.
Relief flooded over the teenagers face, "you got it, Cham!! Can I call you Cham? I've been following your twitter for awhile now!"
Chamuel smiled, feeling his face flush lightly with embarrassment. He felt almost like a celebrity! "You can call me Cham!" He chuckled,
"You got it Cham!" Iggy grinned, Chamuel gave the teen his cell number and shut off the phone call. Popping the address into the GPS app.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Abel confessed, watching as the time to drive flashed from twenty hours to two hours on their maps app.
"Hey, we've got fans at least," Chamuel pointed out.
***
The two Slayers stared at the house across from them. The app took them to this small blue home, the front yard looked like any american dream. White picket fence, grass, flowers that greeted you with every step you took towards the door. Abel lifted a hand to knock on the door but it flew open inward causing the Slayer to scramble at empty air for a few short breaths, catching himself quickly with a grunt of surprise.
"Abel! Cham! Welcome to my pad!" The boy laughed, the sun was falling behind the home as the three stepped into the warm atmosphere. The teen looked at the two as if they were big time film stars stepping into a world premier.
The strong smell of vanilla filled the air, a large TV stared down from its throne on the back wall, a vivid red couch settled just in front of it with a matching rug, Abel looked at Chamuel and nodded towards the large painting of a baby angel beside the TV. It stuck out like a sore thumb among the electronics that scattered the home.
"Was that you as a baby? You were cuter then" Abel whispered,
"No, that was right before I met you,"
Confusion flashed over Abel's face, unsure if the man was joking or not "What happened?"
"You stress me out. This is what stress does to a person." Chamuel chuckled, pointing to his face dramatically as Abel nudged him lightly with his closed fist.
They continued to follow the teen as he bound up a flight of stairs, Chamuel hesitated as Abel brushed past him to follow the kid, glancing down at the Angel who followed after quickly.
"Just a bit anxious," he whispered to the brunette as they rounded the banister and made for a hallway. The hallway turned again as the group passed a few doors. The walls lined with a few pictures of a family, Iggy settled in between two father's who smiled brightly at the camera.
Chamuel gave a small smile to the picture as they made for a door at the very end of the hall. His smile faded as he noticed one of the dads in the picture seemed to not be in any of their recent pieces that filled the walls. Iggy stopped, looked up and grabbed a string that was hidden among the popcorn ceiling. With a yank the wall opened, stairs greeted the trio,
"Follow me!" Iggy grinned, trotting excitedly up to the attic of the home.
Abel hesitated, Chamuel took a step up and glanced down at the other.
"You coming?" He asked, anxiety sparked through the mans skin as he stared up into the darkness of the attic.
"It's not too high," Chamuel said softly, holding a hand out to the other "Wanna...hold my hand?" He whispered, shrugging.
Abel smiled at the other, shaking his head and batting the mans hand away playfully.
"I'm not scared of heights, Chammy," He replied, "They just make me uncomfortable," he stepped up the stairs past the blonde who rolled his eyes.
"That's called being scared, Abel! I know your caveman brain has a hard time with understanding something like that,"
"You know me, all I know is grunting, woman and eating meat!" Abel called to him as they glanced around the room. A large room without wallpaper, with the floor covered in kicked up dust, the lights of a computer turned the walls to blue in the darkness. The wood covered in pictures upon pictures of newspaper clippings about creatures of all kinds, from Mothman to angels it was as if the teenager had dug so far back some of the paperclipping were in black and white text with ink smudged around the corners.
"If you start making ape noises I'm out of here," Chamuel whispered, turning attention back to his friend.
"I can't believe you're smaller than me!" Iggy laughed, "You look so tall in the videos!" turning his attention to the two, Abel shot him a glare.
"Hey! Remember we're doing you a favor here." He snorted, "Kids have no respect for their elders these days."
"Oh like you respect me?" Chamuel retorted.
"I said respect for elders, not ancients," Abel replied, causing Chamuel to nudge him playfully with a closed fist.
A small bed pushed against the wall with a single window that opened onto the roof. A few vivid pink string lights hung down from the ceiling, knocking Chamuel lightly on the head as they moved towards the computer set up. Abel noticed a few pictures of him and Chamuel as well scattered about from their instagram. Was this how it felt to be famous? The kid was acting like they were his idols. His gaze ran from the pictures to the newspaper clipping about Nathan's disappearance before resting his eyes on the white guitar that had been set against the computer desk. A symbol seemed to be carved into the wood, it looked similar to his crown but sharper. With an angry looking face in the middle that reminded the Lancaster of a snarling wolf.
Iggy held open his arms in a dramatic fashion,
"This...is my room!" He announced,
The Slayers gave each other an awkward glance before Chamuel took the lead,
"This is…"
"Crazy," Abel murmured, grunting as Chamuel nudged him with his elbow.
"Interesting! Uh, I'm sorry, why are we here and not at the school?"
Iggy leapt into a computer chair, leaning back as it spun in a circle.
"Well...I didn't want the teachers to know I ditched," he squeaked out
"You ditched school and invited two strange, almost thirty year old men into your room?" Abel asked, bewildered.
Iggy leaned back in his chair, tapping a pen to his chin.
"Now that you put it that way--"
"Oh my God, Iggy you didn't!"
The men turned on their heels to see a chubby, blonde kid with a large pair of glasses covering his small eyes.
"I told you, Marshall!" Iggy proclaimed, leaping up as if he was on a stage performing an act.
"I was gonna stop that ghost, I even got a plan!"
"Did this kid ditch too?" Chamuel asked, gesturing towards Marshall who stood on the top step of the pulldown wooden stairs.
"What are you? A cop?" The kid huffed, pulling himself up into the room and making for his friend. Pushing past the two Slayers,
"How do we even know these two are the real deal? You can just hire people to do this?"
"Hired? Maybe we should start charging people," Abel whispered,
Chamuel put a hand on Abel's shoulder, shaking his head, "we're the real deal, what's happening exactly?" Chamuel asked, tilting his head with a puzzled expression.
"Prove it, you can trick Iggy but not me!" Puffing out his chest the blonde teen crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at Abel who seemed to post the biggest threat with the baseball bat still slung over his shoulder.
Abel placed the bat down against the wall, "Cham, show em!" He said, crossing his arms with a wink at the angel.
Chamuel rolled his eyes, his hands slowly started the glow. The teens stared for a few heartbeats before Iggy scrambled to pull out his phone. Holding it up and hitting the record button as Chamuel lifted a book off the table, dropping it.
"There,"
"Not good enough"
"What?" Abel and Chamuel asked at the same time,
"Not good enough!"
"B-but I Matilda'd it!"
"Do something else or I'll call the cops and say strange men cornered us in a bedroom," Chamuel and Abel shot each other a look of horror before Abel glared at them, Iggy's eyes wide with wonder as he sat back and watched the group. His smile lighting up his features, "That's so cool," He breathed, holding his phone up on the two Slayers.
"Come on! The wind didn't do that!" Abel huffed, pointing at the book. The phone camera moved from Abel to the book and back to Cham who was rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"No but a string could have," Marshall scoffed
"Oh yeah I came in here, fixed up a string and waited!"
"The cops won't care,"
"You just want something for your video!"
Both the teens shot each other a look,
"Abel stop it," Chamuel said, waving his hand at Abel who scratched at his healing tattoo,
"You want a show, I'll give it to you!" Chamuel said with pride flashing in his voice, Iggy jumped up in excitement.
"Yes! This is gonna be so cool!"
Taking in a breath, Chamuel felt the world around him start to lightly shake. Forcing his mind to focus heavily, the ground under his feet slipped away as he floated a few inches off the ground.
"Holy shit…" Iggy whispered, the lights in the room flashed and flickered on and off as the world shook around them as though there was an earthquake in the attic only. Putting his hands up, they glowed brilliantly against the darkness. The string lights fell to the floor as the wind continued to grow.
Abel could see a look of fear flood the angel's gaze as bright, white light shot from his back in the form of wings. They flickered like light in the darkness before vanishing, turning the room back to it's blue tink as Chamuel dropped to the floor on shaken legs, Abel was on him in a flash. Going under the man's arm to catch him,
"Whoa big guy!" He murmured, chuckling "I didn't know you could do that,"
Chamuel groaned dizzily, "I...I don't know what happened," he admitted, "I...think there's something else inside me,"
Abel looked shocked at this, not sure how to reply as Chamuel leaned into him
"So awesome," Marshall whispered, his jaw dropped
"That was so cool!" Iggy shouted as Chamuel attempted to steady himself.
"I got it all!" Iggy and Marshall turned away from the two, crowding around the phone.
"Wait, so...that was 'something else' just now?" Abel whispered to the blonde, keeping his voice low as to not alert either of the two teens.
"No Abel," Chamuel murmured, blue eyes locking with green, "that was me fighting it from coming out,"
***
The two men parked in front of the busy school, it was early morning. The sunlight blinded them as they stepped from the corvette. Teenagers moving in herds around the front of the school, laughing, chatting, doing homework. They all seemed to be at peace despite the fear Iggy had mentioned to the two last night.
After the two teenagers had calmed down the night before the small group sat together to come up with any sort of plan, as the two teens explained what occurred to them Abel couldn't help but assume it was all imagination. He and Cham promised to act as teachers for the day to do some digging at the school and Abel was regretting it now. Even the ghost they got on film looked like a cheesy horror movie costume.
"It said online all the deaths were strange," Chamuel pointed out as they made their way towards the front of the building.
He wore a sweater vest with slacks, carrying a backpack that was slung around his body. He looked like a teacher, ready for his first day! Abel wore his normal attire, some sort of movie shirt with tight jeans.
"I can't believe we're going to 21 Jump Street this," Abel said, shaking his head.
"Is that the movie with Jonah Hill?"
"God! Cham what the hell, put that on the list!" He stared at the man bewildered, causing Chamuel to roll his eyes and pull out his phone to add to his movie watching app.
"Are you two coming?" Iggy shouted at them, leaping his way out of the parking lot with Marshall following after.
"Wait up!" Abel laughed, following after the boys. Chamuel felt a rush of anxiety flashing through his skin but he knew that his best bet was this plan to figure out what exactly was happening.
The group made their way into the large school, rows and rows of lockers lined the walls like soldiers, kids moving around the four as they made for the principal's office, this was it. Chamuel glanced down at Abel, if the Slayer couldn't be convincing enough they could get tossed out without a second thought. Maybe even get the police called on them, all they had to do was act the part for a day and snoop around a bit. Swallowing back the lump in his throat he focused on what he was going to even say to a class of students if this worked.
"Good luck, guys!" Iggy whispered as he and Marshall ducked into the crowd of people behind them. The principal's door stood tall and red, the color feeling angry as Chamuel went to knock only for Abel to grab the door knob and push inside.
The principal glanced up at the intruders, an older man with light skin, fading hair and a pair of glasses set on the end of his button nose.
"Oh, hello!" He chimed, his voice was pleasant and inviting. On his desk sat a handful of paperwork he seemed to be signing, as well as a small empty snow globe. Chamuel eyed it as his mind pulled him back to Iggy's story. But that was, after all, just a story.
"Can I help you?"
Abel cleared his throat, he'd expected there to be a desk with a pretty receptionist before even getting to the man's desk,
"Erm, yeah," He chuckled nervously, feeling slightly embarrassed, "I'm Pete Mitchell," Abel said with a touch of pride in his voice, "New...Janitor,"
"Oh, uh…" The man said, the nameplate on his desk shone like gold in the light catching Abel's eye, "I don't remember that?" He said, pulling out his cellphone to check his emails.
"Oh yeah, Mr. Vess you talked to me yesterday, something about an extra eye on the kids. Ya'know, with all those weird deaths. Plus I'm great at scrubbin' toilets!"
Mr. Vess looked the man up and down before shrugging, "I guess so, I made so many calls yesterday. Uh, if you want you can grab supplies in the closet down the right hall. Our head janitor is around here somewhere,"
"And who are you?" The chubby man asked, dark eyes moving to the blonde.
"Oh, right I'm uh, Nick Bradshaw, your sub for the day," Chamuel lied, feeling slightly dirty at using a fake name.
Mr. Vess glanced between the two, confusion in his voice, "Why did you come in together?" He asked,
"Oh uh-- I was uh," Chamuel started, feeling his face heat up,
"Oh you know uh--" Abel waved a hand in the air,
The principle nodded "Oooh, alright, I get it,"
Both Chamuel and Abel glanced at each other, "It's okay, we're very gay friendly here! I thought I saw you two drive up together," the chubby principal chuckled
Abel blinked in shock, Chamuels face turned a darker shade of red, "Oh yeah, we're a little shy about it," Abel laughed, running with it scratching at his tattoo in a nervous fashion.
"That's why I offered my help today as well, remember? I swear I mentioned that,"
The man waved a hand at the two, "That's fine that's fine, I'm just so happy you're here Mr. Bradshaw!" The man hopped down from his chair, coming over to Chamuel and shaking the man's hand.
"Come come, Mr. Nettle had to call out today so this is just perfect timing! Do you have your credentials with you?"
Cham nodded, opening his bag to pull out the paperwork that they had photoshopped the night before.
"Perfect, perfect!" He chimed, "I'll get your digital ones later, these are great. World History is what we needed!" The man practically pushed Chamuel out of the door and down the hall. Chatting the blonde's ear off as he went, Abel watched with a sarcastic wave at the Angel who shot him an angry glare.
The Slayer waited for the two men to round a corner before making his way towards the janitor's closet, asking a teen who pointed him in the right direction Abel fiddled with the amulet around his neck anxiously as the door came into view.
He knocked lightly before pushing it open not wanting a similar experience to happen as it had last time. The room opened to a small closet that was devoid of any humans but a few mops, buckets, brooms and cleaners. He scoured the small room for any hints of a ghost, demon or anything of the nature but couldn't seem to find anything when a voice caused him to jump,
"Excuse me!"
Turning to see a chubby man with an irritated glare in his face, facial hair patchy and long, his cheeks rosy against the man's paper white skin.
"Uh, yeah?"
"Who are you?" The man asked with a gruff voice that reminded Abel of a cartoon billy goat. "And why are you here?"
Abel shuffled uncomfortably for a heart beat, "I'm the new janitor. Well, at least for a day or two," he chuckled, holding out his hand to the chubby man, "Names Pete Mitchell, and you?"
The chubby man didn't take the Slayers hand, instead he turned in his heels. "Come on, I'll get you an outfit,"
Abel let his hand fall to his side, "Nice to meetcha too," he grumbled as he followed the other.
***
Chamuel and Abel worked through the day as if everything was normal. The two text each other every so often as they attempted to understand what was happening at the school but seemed to be getting mixed signals.
"She died by sucide!" One student said,
"I think she fell off the roof," another added,
"I didn't know her, but I think she cut opened her wrists,"
"I think she ran into a pole with her car? Maybe?"
Abel even attempted to ask about the hauntings they were told about but most students and teachers laughed it off,
"Sure the few deaths we had are weird, but what 'spirit' lives in a snowglobe? And eats people? That's just stupid," One teacher said as he took a few bites of his lunch.
Abel groaned when the last bell rang, the Slayer pushed into the classroom Chamuel had been teaching in. His hair is a mess with dirt, dust and an oil type liquid. His hands caked in cleaner, he felt almost high from smelling the strong stuff all day. He wore a long jumper suit, with a white name badge on the front with his fake name hastily scrawled over the front.
Chamuel glanced over at his friend with a tired expression as the students filled out of the classroom.
"Anything?" He asked as Abel attempted to smooth his hair back, Chamuel reached forward to push back the bit that flipped out in the front.
"Nothing," Abel grunted, "I think people died and those kids just wanted something cool to post on their YouTube,"
Abel pulled out his phone, showing Chamuel the video.
"We met Chamuel from LancasterDisaster! He's a real angel! (Not click bait)" the title read. Chamuel groaned, "I love the thumb nail," Chamuel said sarcastically.
"Yeah, Iggys face photoshopped over some biblical painting. Looks great. Definitely not click bait!"
"Hey we got more followers at least," Chamuel said, sitting back in a large chair that sat beside the desk.
"Some of these kids are really…" Chamuel started
"Stupid?" Abel scoffed,
"I was going to say special, but I did get this," Chamuel opened the drawer on the desk and pulled out a colorful paper.
Slapping it on the top of the counter Abel tilted his head at it,
"A party invite?"
Chamuel nodded, smoothing the paper out with his hand. The front of the invite was colorful with the words "before Halloween party," printed in bold letters over the front, a picture of a handful of teens in masks posing at the dead center with colorful marks all around it.
"Halloween party?" Abel glanced up at Chamuel with an arched eyebrow,
"No, look," Chamuel pointed to the men again, Abel cranked his neck to try and see what Cham was pointing out. Sitting behind the men, though it was a little blurry, was the picture they'd been looking for.
"Is that?"
"Yeah, I think so,"
"We gonna crash a party?"
Chamuel shot the man a smile, "better hit up a costume store,"
Abel felt a rush of excitement, as a teen he loved parties. The idea of going to one was almost nostalgic.
"Guys!" Iggy shouted, exploding into the room with Marshall close behind him. Their voices glowed with excitement, "we have a plan!"
Abel and Chamuel shared a glance before Cham sighed, "listen guys--"
"Okay, so we come back tonight and use some ghost equipment to find the ghost right an--"
"Hang on now, hang on," Chamuel put a hand up,
"you gotta hear my plan!" Iggy retorted, joy buzzed in the teens voice,
Abel crossed his arms over his chest, "let the kid talk,"
Chamuel bit his lip, leaning back into the chair with a nod towards the two.
"Okay, so you use your EMF equipment to find the ghost right, and then we gotta catch it, right?"
"Actually, according to Nathan ghost ca--"
"I'm not done!"
Chamuel fell silent once again, catching Abel's eye with a humorous grin.
"We trap it, break the snow globe and take the ghost to the police so they can arrest Vess!"
Abel laughed, putting a hand on the teens shoulder. Iggy's face glowed,
"Do you like it?"
Abel felt his heart swell at the others enthusiasm, "yeah kid, I like it,"
"So we'll come here tonight! And find the ghost?"
Abel glanced at Cham who shrugged, it couldn't hurt right? Maybe they could actually get rid of the ghost and send the boys on a fake mission.
"Yeah yeah, we gotta run an errand first and we'll meetcha here,"
Both teens grinned wide at the men, "I'm so excited this is going to be so cool!" Iggy shouted, throwing his arms into the air in a dramatic fashion before wrapping them around Abel in a tight hug. Abel blinked in surprise, returning the hug with a laugh.
"You two are like my heroes, you have no idea," He giggled, "I've been following you since you posted your first video,"
Abel felt a rush of warmth at the teenager's words, Iggy's dark eyes bright with awe as he grinned towards them.
"It's true, he shows me your videos all the time," Marshall laughed,
Chamuel and Abel shot each other a grin, Abel feeling a tad guilty for how hostile he'd been when first meeting the teenager. He was tired, stressed, but the teen needed his help and he knew now that reacting in the manner he had wasn't appropriate.
"And those wings!" Marshall breathed, staring up at the angel with his crystal blue eyes. Causing the angel to feel his face burn from the attention, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
"It's...not that cool," he chuckled,
"I hope I'm not interrupting!" A voice uttered dryly.
Chamuel glanced to the door to see Principal Vess, he grinned at the men with arms folded neatly behind his back. His eyes dark as he looked at the group,
"No sir," Marshall whispered, looking down at his feet.
"We're just asking a question," Iggy pipped up, glaring at the man.
"I need to talk to Mr. Bradshaw and Pete,"
"I don't get a Mr?" Abel asked with a small smile, the two teens shot each other a look before ducking past the man and into the emptying hallways of the school.
"Don't get too mixed up with that Ignacio," The principal said as he made towards the two. He reminded Abel of the monopoly man with his large mustache and deep dark eyes, pale skin seemed almost snow-like. In fact, he looked similar to the janitor that Abel had worked alongside all day.
"Why?" Chamuel asked as snatched the party invitation from the desk, quickly shoving it into his pocket before the pale man could spot it.
"He's a troubled kid," He grunted, "Tells people about demons and angels," Waving a hand in the air, "We practically named our detention room after him," He chuckled,
"He seems like a good kid to me," Abel replied, fiddling with his gold necklace. Vess's eyes moved to the crown, arching an eyebrow at it,
"What's this?" He asked, putting a hand on the gold, sending a cold chill down the Slayers spine. Something about the man was making him uncomfortable but he couldn't put his finger on what it was, Abel placed a hand over the necklace before tucking it into his shirt as if to protect it from the others' gaze. It felt warm against his chest, like a beating heart.
"Is it an amulet?" The man asked, seeming far too curious about it to Abels liking.
"I like to call it a Chamulet," He replied smoothly, causing Chamuel to glance over at him.
"Oh, how cute," The man chuckled, shaking his head, the darkness in his face faded when the necklace was put away.
"Can I ask you something?" Chamuel interrupted,
"Of course, what can I help you with?"
The glow returned to Vess's eyes as he turned his attention to the blonde,
"About these deaths…"
"Oh, so tragic!" He man replied, letting out a small breath, "Yes we've had a few this year, a lot more than last year,"
"Last year?"
"Oh yes, every year this town experiences deaths like this around Halloween! It's not just stuck in this school," He chuckled, "It's as if the place is cursed,"
Abel and Cham shot each other a look before Abel spoke up, "Cursed huh? Why do you say this?"
"Well, it just seems odd so many people die around this time. But it is a scary season! Maybe it's just how it goes,"
"Did you know any of them personally?" Chamue asked, leaning back in his chair. Abel leaned against the desk,
"Oh yes, I know everyone!"
"Did their deaths seem...strange?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, did they all, I don't know, collect stamps? And everyone who collects stamps is suddenly dying around the same time?" Abels eyebrow rose as he spoke, giving him a puzzled expression.
The air grew tense for a few heart beats as the man started to rub his forehead in thought, "Not that I know of, well, they all seemed to have seen the same thing,"
Abel looked surprised at this, tilting his head, "Oh yeah? What did they see?"
"a Demon."
***
"Something ain't right with that guy," Abel said as they got into the car. The two had stopped at a Halloween store, grabbing a few spooky masks on their way to the party.
"Do you think he's killing people?" Chamuel asked, "he was acting..a little strange,"
"I don't think so, I just...I feel like he's lying about something," Abel shook his head as they tore off down the road. Passing large church-like buildings, fancy looking restaurants and handfuls of beautiful homes.
The sun died out, bringing the moon high as the two men stopped in front of a home near the end of the town. Music booms from the windows of the house on every floor, teenagers race around outside. Laughing, playing bar games and smoking, Abel felt the thump of the music roar through his veins as he parked the car in the back.
Stepping out of the Corvette, his boots kicked the pebbles on the ground scattering them in all directions. He wore a wolf mask on his face, a puffy orange jacket over an undershirt and a backpack slung over his arm.
"What are you exactly?" Chamuel asked as he stepped from the car, pulling a screaming ghost mask over his face.
"I'm David, from 'an American werewolf in London'!"
Chamuel shrugged at his, Abel couldn't see his face but knew the man was probably getting ready to roll his eyes.
"awh! Cham,"
"I'm already adding it to the list," he said, pulling his phone out.
The two made for the home, hoping they'd pass as teenagers with the masks hiding their faces. Abel pushed the door open, the strong smell of alcohol, marijuana, and sweat filled the air as they looked around. It was a huge home with a staircase winding up to the second floor, and handfuls of teenagers covered every inch of the space around the two. The humidity in the air made it feel hotter than it was under the masks.
"I think it's up," Chamuel shouted over the music that drummed the ground the pair walked on.
"Let's go--" Abel yanked his friend down to his level causing the angel to let out a frustrated grunt.
"Wait, we can't just go up stairs and steal a painting, that's suspicious as all hell," He said in a low tone, though the angel hardly heard him over the ear shattering bass.
Abel grinned, "What do you want to do then?" Chamuel asked, pushing someone away as they danced into him. "Get drunk and mingle for a bit? We still have to go back to the school! The kids are waiting on us,"
"Not get drunk, just have a beer and look like we're part of the party!"
Chamuel thought this over, the pair had a few eyes on them causing anxiety to prickle into his hands.
"Fine! But only one beer," Chamuel finally said as the pair weaved through the dancing teenagers and made for the kitchen. The red solo cups seemed to glow in the dim lights of the mansion.
"Oh I can do that!" He laughed, making past Cham towards the beer keg.
Chamuel shook his head, he didn't blame the man for feeling the need to run from everything they were not responsible for but he silently wished he would take things more seriously.
Abel appeared a few seconds later, holding out one of the cups to Chamuel.
"Abel,"
"Come on, man, you stick out like a sore thumb,"
Chamuel knew better than to argue with the other, he pushed the mask up and took a quick sip.
"There," he grunted, wincing as the liquid burned his throat
"You gotta learn to party!" Abel retorted with a snort, "I'm going to go hunt around the living room, see if I can find the painting. You check upstairs,"
Cham groaned inwardly as Abel made his way towards a group of teens. Vanishing into a crowd as he went.
"We have to meet the boys!" Cham called after his friend, rolling his eyes he continued to sip the beer as he made his way up to the second floor. The home was dark with only a handful of lights on, people lined the walls and stairs. Chamuel was careful not to bump into anyone as he made upwards. Setting down his empty cup as he attempted to find the picture.
"Hey! Marcus!" The voice boomed beside the angel who was grabbed and pulled towards a group of teens. All holding shots in the air, Chamuel attempted to get away but the drunk teen didn't release his grip. He was an obvious jock with a broad grin,
"I found em!" He waved to his friends who glanced up at the masked Chamuel.
"Shots!" He shouted, shoving a small glass into Chams hands. Everyone holding up their glasses, Cham went to pull down his mask but was stopped, "no no you know the rules! You gotta drink it through the mask," the man laughed,
He and his friends were dressed as Scooby Doo characters. It suddenly dawned on Cham that he wasn't wearing a scream mask but a Scooby Doo ghost mask that was in the clearance bin.
"To the gang!" The man shouted, his orange ascot falling off his neck as he downed the drink. Chamuel glanced around for Abel but knew he was trapped, should I just tell them I'm not their friend? He thought before shaking his head. He didn't want to seem suspicious, shoving the glass under his mask and forcing it down with a groan.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd drank such heavy alcohol. It burned his throat, going to his head almost immediately as it hit his empty stomach.
"Another!" Someone yelled, handing him another drink.
"W-wait I'm not--"
"We can't hear you!" The teen shouted, "bottoms up!" Shoving the man lightly.
Chamuel hesitated, looking around for anything. His eyes spotted an opened door that led into a well lit room, he could see something on the wall and felt a tug towards the door.
"Dude you okay?"
Turning back to the teens he hesitated, if they figured out he wasn't their friend who was to say they wouldn't get mad at him? The alcohol was already causing his head to buzz as he attempted to think of a reason to leave before biting his lip. He took the second shot, it couldn't be that bad, right? He was an angel after all! Right? He could handle his liquor right?
***
Abel tattered lightly as he attempted to walk straight, having joined in on a beer pong game that didn't go great for him this time around. He had to find Cham, he felt guilt flash through him for leaving his friend as he made up the stairs. A blonde with large, round glasses with vibrant red frames knocked into Abel lightly. The blonde gasped out an apology, taking Abel's solo cup and inspecting the man's shirt. He handed the cup to the cowboy beside him, his dark, curly hair danced down his shoulders.
"I'm so sorry," The blonde said, chuckling as he pulled off the bandana around his neck to dab at Abel's shirt.
"Don't worry about it!" Abel laughed, "Partner," He teased nodding to the blonde's cowboy hat. The man grinned at Abel, handing the man back his cup. The pair of cowboys walked past him, Abel glanced down at the beer then back to them. Shaking his head as the man downed the rest of the beer.
After another turn he found the angel, settled among a group of teens dressed as the Scooby Doo characters. Abel silently wondered why Cham had picked such an odd mask but he didn't question it,
"Cham!" Abel practically collapsed on the man,
The teens didn't seem to notice Abel's entrance as they stood around a small table chatting.
"Oh there you are," Chamuel whispered, his words slurred as he spoke.
"Dude...you're drunk!" Abel laughed,
"No way you are," Chamuel laughed in return.
"I'mma be back guys," Chamuel said to the gang who nodded at him, "come back quick!" The Fred said, grinning.
Abel waved to the man, tugging Chamuel away from the ground.
"This way," Cham whispered, nodding to the opened door. The two pushed into the room, closing the door behind them.
They turned to the painting on the wall, scrambling over each other as they yanked it down.
"Get it out!" Abel said, pushing the wolf mask up onto the top of his head. Chamuel went to his knees, Abel followed. They fiddled with the back of the picture frame until it popped! Tossing the backing to the side Chamuel pulled the paper out and held it into the light.
"It's fake," Cham slurred,
"How can you tell?"
"It says it," Pointing towards the bottom of the picture, a logo for a printing company clear as day where the text should be.
"Fuck, why do they even have this?" Abel kicked the cardboard backing.
"Probably found it at a yard sale or something," Chamuel mused, the alcohol doing it's work on his mind. Feeling as if the world was swinging under his feet, rolling the paper up he shoved it into Abel's backpack. The two collected the picture frame, forcing it back together and hanging it up.
"Think anyone will notice?"
Abel had shoved a chocolate wrapped in the frame, grinning
"Maybe tomorrow," Abel replied, "let's get outta here,"
The two left the room quickly, closing the door behind them. Making their way down the steps the Slayers went to the front door but where stopped,
"Hey! You!" Someone grabbed Abel from the back, spinning him around.
A large man dressed as the god father stood towering over him.
"Y-yeah?" Abel asked, pulling his mask back down.
"You're the perfect size!" The man lifted Abel up and threw him over his shoulder, taking the short man into the kitchen.
"Did I just get kidnapped?" Abel yelled out,
"You're the right size for it!" Chamuel laughed, following after them. Forgetting about the boys waiting for them at the school as Abel was dragged outside into the backyard. A large bonfire sat in the middle with teens surrounded it,
"Found someone small enough for the mini beer bong!"
***
"Abel," a soft voice whispered into his ear, a woman. She sounded sweeter than honey as she spoke, a song in her tone.
Abel's eyes flew open, he laid in the middle of a grassy clearing. No sounds could be heard as he found himself looking up at a starless night. Grass under him felt wet with dew, the warm air burned his cheeks softly.
"Hello?" He called out as he sat up, looking around in confusion.
That's when he spotted it, the cobblestone road only a few steps from the spot he had been laying. Getting to his feet he listened, the voice didn't seem to return.
"Hello?" He called again, with light hesitation he started to follow the road, a lantern flickered against the growing darkness; hung on a tree branch the Slayer snagged it.
"Cham?" He called out, heart stopping as he saw it. The white hare. It's black eyes seemed to bore into him, staring the man down.
"Hey, it's you! Little ugly,"
The rabbit turned away from Abel, hopping down the dusty road. Abel felt a tug on his skin, following the creature now. The two walked for what felt like hours before Abel came to the end of the road.
A bunch of trees that stretched high into the skies, with a large round opening between them. Bramble circles the hole, giving the entrance an ominous look. Abel watched as the Rabbit hopped right up to the hole, turned towards him before leaping into the pitch blackness.
"Wait!" Abel called, walking slowly towards the hole in the trees. His hands moved over the bramble, pushing them aside so he could look down inside the darkness.
"Hello?" He called,
"Come down," a males voice shouted back, but Abel didn't recognize the voice.
"Who are you?" Abel asked,
Silence.
"Hello?"
"I'm going to help you,"
Abel pauses, squinting as he tries to see into the depths of the deep every growing cave.
"How?"
"Come down, I'll show you,"
Abel leaned forward more, attempting to get a look at the voice holder. Suddenly he felt something from behind, before he had the chance to react he fell.
Screaming in surprise the Slayer dropped into the blackness.
Abel shot up, pain immediately pounding through his skull as he glanced around him. Attempting to find himself on the floor of the forest but he was in a hotel room. Glancing down beside him was Chamuel who snored loudly, how did they get here? He couldn't remember anything from the night before. His body was sore, as if he'd done too many leg exercises.
The boys.
Abel scrambled to find his phone, falling out of his bed.
"Cham get up!"
"Abel please shut up my head is killing me,"
Abel realized he was in his boxers, which meant his phone might still be in his pants.
"Why am I half naked in bed with you?" Abel asked, finding his jeans on the floor. Grinning as he pulled the phone from the pocket.
"You threw up on my bed," Chamuel groaned, sitting up before it all seemed to sink back to him. Abel turned the phone on and gasped, they had nearly a hundred missed calls. Texts covered his screen. At first it was from Iggy, then it was from Marshall, then it suddenly stopped. The last text reading,
"Please answer!! Quickly!"
Abel went to call the boys when they heard someone pounding on the door. Abel and Chamuel shared a quick glance before Abel tugged a shirt on.
"Hello?" Abel said, opening the door to the motel room. Watery dark sunlight flashed over his face causing him to groan, standing in front of them were two police officers.
"Are you…" the officer started, glancing down at his phone, "either Mr. Bradshaw or Mr. Mitchell?"
Abel felt a small flash of relief washed over him, "yeah, I'm Pete Mitchell,"
"May we come in?"
Abel stepped aside, was this about the painting? It couldn't be right? No one saw them take it. And it couldn't be about the dead man in Mishka's house, they probably would've used their real names.
"What's this about?" Chamuel asked, pulling a shirt on, nursing his pounding headache.
"Sorry to bother you both," the male officer said, clearing his throat.
"Please, sit down,"
Chamuel sat on the bed, Abel took a seat backwards on a small office chair. Letting his chin rest on the head of the chair watching the officers,
"Do either of you remember Ignacio Ernesh?"
"Yeah, he was my student for the day, why do you ask?"
"Do you happen to know what he was doing last night at the school"
Abel froze, Chamuel's face turned a shade of white as he attempted to find the proper words, the other cop watched the two but remained silent. Her gaze hidden behind a pair of sunglasses,
"Yeah, said something about wanting to hunt ghosts," Abel jumped in, Chamuel silently thanking the quick thinking Slayer.
"Tried to get us to help but we got a little busy,"
The cops shared a look, "doing what?" The woman asked, her short blonde hair bobbed as she spoke.
"We went to a bar. It's our-- one year anniversary," Abel gestured to the clothes on the floor, winking. The woman shook her head,
"So you don't have any knowledge on what happened at the school?" She asked
Chamuel shuffled uncomfortably, "no we...had a little too much fun," feeling shame rush over him,
"What happened? You're scaring me!" Abel slid off the chair so he could speak more properly to the cops. The two officers seemed to hesitate,
"Ignacio Ernesh is dead,"