"I... I'm with you." Shelley stuttered.
"I knew you would." Oscar grinned.
"But... But..."
"But nothing. Are we clear?" Oscar raised his eyebrow.
"Crystal."
Oscar nodded. "Great. Let's get back to work."
Shelley left Oscar's office wondering how she was going to break the news to her family. Shelley didn't actually want to join Oscar and Lucas's murder spree, but she felt if she said no he would shoot her dead.
That night, as she lay in her bed, she tried to think of a way to tell her parents. She'd lie and say she was ill, or that she was being transferred again, but she knew that would get her nowhere.
Then, in the middle of the night, she heard the noise. It came as a faint high-pitched screech, but it didn't stop there. Shelley crept downstairs, holding a gun in her hand. When she got to the bottom, she saw the hotel filled with smoke. She ran towards the front doors to see flames and smoke pouring from the windows.
As she stood there, she heard a voice shout, "Die, witch!" She turned around, and saw the wolfman standing behind her. He held a chainsaw in one hand and a bloody ax in the other. He was dressed in black, with a red bandanna wrapped around his head. He shouted again, "Die, witch!" Shelley stared at him, her mouth agape.
"What... What are you?" she finally stammered.
He smiled. "Witch hunter."
Oscar came out of the building, gun in hand. "Wolfman," he said, "Drop the weapon."
The wolfman raised his ax, but the gun went off. The wolfman slumped over, blood gushing from his head. Shelley was in shock, Oscar towards her and said, "Are you okay?" It felt genuine, but then it hit that if both Oscar and Lucas were the killers, then who was this guy? Then she heard it, loud cheering erupted from outside; it came from reporters, and they were praising Oscar's name. "He saved us all, he saved the town!" they were saying. "He's a hero, a real hero!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Oscar said, "Let's go get a drink, and you can tell me all about it over a nice dinner." He looked at her. "Come on."
Shelley followed Oscar through the hoard of reporters and paparazzi, Lucas was keeping them at bay. He stood beside them, a drink in his hand. "Over here," he said to Shelley. Oscar and Shelley entered the nearest bar, sat at a table, and the others stood around it, glaring. "So," Oscar said, "Tell me about it. What happened?" It was a very innocent sounding question, but there was something about the way he said it that made it sound like he knew everything.
"You already know everything, don't you?" She sighed. "It's a long story... I'll tell you some other time."
Oscar nodded. "Sure."
"So," Shelley said, "You're a necromancer, and you have dealings with the dark forces of the underworld."
"Dark forces... yes. Necromancers... no. I'm a mortal, and a pretty successful one at that."
"Is that what you call me?" she asked. "Dark forces? Kind of cheesy."
"Dark minions, then."
"Oh yeah, I see what you mean. Okay, let's just go with that."
So, you... have minions."
"Are you talking about Lucas?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, but... I think he's dead. I think you killed him."
"Actually, he ran into my arms."
"I don't believe you."
"Well, you're not going to shoot me, so you might as well tell me the truth."
"Fine. I'll give you a moment, then."
Oscar left the bar, and went over to Lucas. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm not doing anything. Why?"
Oscar looked around, then lowered his voice. "She's asking too many questions."
"I'm just having a drink... with a friend."
Oscar glanced around again, then said, "With who?"
"Just somebody I know."
"Well, you better give me an answer... or you'll be answering me."
"Oh, that's just great." Lucas muttered. "Fine, I'm with him."
Oscar nodded. "All right. Let's go."
Oscar grabbed Lucas's wrist. "Do you think you can handle your liquor and answer a few questions at the same time?"
"Um... I don't know. Maybe."
Oscar led him over to Shelley, who sat there. "Mind if I have a seat?" he asked.
"Sure."
Oscar sat down across from her, and looked at her. "So, I take it you don't like Lucas."
"Not particularly, no."
"And you're fine with me, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"All right. You can ask your questions now."
"Okay. Why did you start your killing spree? Who came up with it? And also, how did you alter the footage of 'The Munsters'?"
Oscar smiled. "That's a long story... we should get a few more drinks, and then I'll tell you all about it. But first, I have to do something, so excuse me."
"I guess I'll be answering them then," Lucas sighed.
Oscar stood, and left the table. "I'll meet you back here in a few minutes," he said.
"Great. See you soon."
Oscar left, and Lucas was alone with Shelley. "To answer your first question; it was Oscar. He was a fan of your show, but he would always complain how it had gotten stale after season 3, he told me that if he ever met you, he would make you do a death defying stunt, and he would be the one to make it. I think he was just happy to have an excuse to be around you."
"Death defying stunt?" Shelley asked.
"Yeah, something along those lines. I think he's been planning it for a while."
"Jesus..." Shelley was stunned.
"No, he never believed in that." Lucas said.
"That's not what he said, though."
"Well, whatever he said, it's not true. He just wanted to get you to do something and have an excuse to be around you. Anyways, to answer your second question; it was also Oscar, he came up with the idea of having me help him kill and raise the wraiths from 'The Mournland'. I think he was just getting bored with the normals, and wanted something to keep him busy."
"Are you saying Oscar planned this whole thing?"
"Yeah." Answered Lucas.
Shelley sat back in her chair. "I can't believe it."
"Believe what? You do realize you're talking to a vampire who's also a necromancer, right?" Lucas leaned back too.
"I know, but I still can't believe it."
"Well, I'm glad you're not the one planning the death defying stunt... yet." Lucas said with a tone in his voice that he knew something she didn't, like this wasn't just a random conversation in a bar.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Why do you think that back at the hotel that guy in our signature mask tried to kill you? It was an actor we hired, but to make it seem realistic; he had to die. Did he know about that part, no. But his sacrifice was not in vain. Haha!" Lucas admitted.
"That's sick."
"Yeah, it is. But a necessary evil, you might say. Have a little fun once in a while."
"Wait, you're telling me you had a guy pretend to try and kill me so you could make a point?"
"That's the one, yeah."
"So, you knew this was going to happen, this whole thing."
"Of course. Didn't I mention that we planned this from the very beginning? Down to this very conversation."
"I guess so... but you still didn't tell me why."
"Why what? I just explained why..." "No, I mean... How did you alter the footage of 'The Munsters'?"
Oscar walked up, holding a tray with three glasses on it. "Another round of drinks?"
"Sure."
He sat down, and said, "I just put a small device on the camera." Oscar took a glass, and said, "I borrowed it from the technicians."
"That's it? It was that easy?" Shelley took a glass as well.
"Well, I would've had to replace it eventually," Oscar said. "Or just take it back... but what's the point? I could just do it again."
"Kill!?" Shelley spit out her drink.
"Well, you could see it that way." Oscar took a sip. "I can't believe I have to tell you this, but you're on a TV show now. It's no big deal, but you're getting a little too cozy with one of the stars. You're on live news, baby."
"That's... I don't want to hear this." Shelley tried to stand, but Oscar put a hand on her shoulder. "Sit."
"Let go of me," Shelley said.
He smiled, and said, "You should thank him, though. Without him, you'd probably be in a whole mess of trouble." He glanced over to Lucas. "Well, it's a good thing you and he have the same values. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Sit, and drink up. We have a long night ahead of us."
Shelley did as she was told. "So, you two are tight?"
"Yeah, I guess. I dunno, I think he's just using me for my abilities."
"And you trust him enough to use his abilities on live news?"
"He's a vampire, I trust him implicitly," Oscar said.
"He's a necromancer, not a vampire." Shelley argued.
"How many times do I have to tell you two? I am both." Lucas pouted. "I knew you'd catch on eventually. So, what's the plan for tonight?"
Oscar looked over at him, then back to Shelley. "He's probably onto something. I'd keep him around until you find out for sure if he's trustworthy. And if he's not, kill him and get rid of his body. I don't want him turning up on our doorstep."
"You just want me to kill him," Shelley said.
"Yeah... but it'll get him off your back for now. Then, we can use him as we please. Understood?"
"Wait…?" Lucas said.
"So, are you going to tell me what you're planning?" Shelley asked.
Oscar said, "We're going to use the news station to our advantage. We should be able to get our message out, and let people know we're not the bad guys."
"What's the plan?" she asked.
Oscar said, "We have a copy of 'The Munsters' from yesterday, don't we? Well, we're going to use it."
"The what?"
"Never mind. Now, let's go over the plan again, just you, me, and the necromancer."
Oscar left, and went to sit next to Lucas. "Wait. Before we go through with this plan, can I just ask one final question?" Shelley asked.
"Sure."
"Who killed who?" She asked.
Oscar laughed, and said, "That? Haha! Oh, that's an easy one; I did those teenagers in, Lucas then killed the next 3, and I did the final few in the female category. However, for some odd reason; Lucas here decided he wanted to start killing men, completely screwing up our operations!"
"Well... That's all the evidence I needed. Thank you gentlemen, you're on camera." Shelley smirked.
This caught both Lucas and Oscar off guard. "What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I've been recording this conversation the whole time, you're going to jail for the rest of your life."
Oscar stood up, and said, "Wait, Shelley, you can't do that!" Just then, police sirens could be heard blaring as they raced through the streets.
"I can do anything I want, and you know it."
Lucas said, "She's right, we can't let her..."
A police officer shouted, "Hey, you! Stop! You are under arrest!"
Oscar ran over to the officer. He pulled out his gun, but the officer was too quick on the drawl. He aimed his gun, and said, "Now, I'm going to need you to put that gun down."
Oscar said, "But my friend..."
"Now!" the officer shouted.
Oscar dropped the pistol, and he and Lucas were handcuffed and led away. "What's going to happen to us?"
"You're going away for a long, long time." The officer said.
Shelley, however, was free. She leaped up, and said, "Give me a hand with this, will you?"
She grabbed a camera, and said, "Thanks for watching. Tune in tomorrow for another exciting episode of 'The Paranormal Woman'"
They left, and the camera panned back to Shelley standing there. She said, "I didn't do anything."
"You sure fooled me." Kenny said, "Well, I think it's time we wrap this up, don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess so. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you tomorrow night." Shelley said as she left the bar.
The End