The first anyone thinks when they enter Spookane is how desolate it looks. The buildings downtown are all wrecked, and there never seems to be anyone around, even in broad daylight. There’s litter everywhere, and people often trip over the debris scattered on the floor. There’s just something depressingly post-apocalyptic about Spookane that makes people wonder why anyone visits the place—or why anyone lives there in the first place.

This is especially true of the train yard. Since no one ever really goes there, there’s only one line that leads through, while the others remain abandoned. In fact, the only reason people ever think of being in Spookane in the first place is because it’s the last stop before Snowman. The devastated town of Spookane, in fact, has been dubbed ‘Halloween Town’ because it reminds people of old horror movies, especially those that always seem to involve ghosts.

This was the exact sentiment shared by Julian and Peel as they walked through the tracks of Spookane station. While Joshua had never seen horror movies, and thus couldn’t place them in a place like this, the other two were constantly and unconsciously checking their surroundings, just in case someone tried to jump out of one of the abandoned railway cars to scare them.

The trip had not been an easy one. Having no money to buy train tickets, the three children had to walk all the way from Reindeer to Spookane, a trip which lasted a while considering the rocky terrain between the two towns. After spending the little money they had on food for the trip, the three set out at a break-neck pace, if only to conserve food and to make sure Nicholas didn’t run somewhere else.

"Do you think Nicholas came all the way over here on purpose?" asked Joshua absently as he hopped over a piece of debris. "If you ask me, he just hopped in the first train he could to get away from us." Julian nodded as he helped Peel over some uneven terrain. "True. Still, he didn’t seem to be trying to run away very hard until he spotted us. Do you think maybe he’s trying to lead us here?" There was a slight pause as the three contemplated the idea. "Nah." They all said in chorus, then resumed their journey.

Once upon the actual Spookane train station, Julian and Peel sat down to relax, while Joshua began poking around curiously. They had barely sat down, though, when the perhaps-only person in the whole of the Spookane train station walked up to them. "Excuse me…are you Mr. Julian?" he asked politely. Julian nodded. "Yeah, that’s me." The man then took out an envelope and handed it over. "Someone came by a week ago and gave this to me to give to you." The man then bowed gracefully and walked away, just like that, leaving Julian to ponder the meaning of what had just happened.

Julian tore open the envelope and looked at the contents: a photograph and a letter written on a typewriter. The picture showed Nicholas holding up Julian’s prism in one hand, while he pulled down his lower eyelid with the forefinger on the other hand, all the while laughing and sticking his tongue out. The letter read, "Come to the Spookane hotel as soon as you get to Spookane. I mean it. Don’t even stop to rest or anything. Love, Nicholas." Julian crushed the paper in his hand and tossed it to the side, then sprang up called to the others. "Let’s go." He commanded.

***

Spookane Hotel could hardly be considered, or even identified, as an actual hotel, unless someone actually stopped to read the broken sign on the outside. As Julian stepped inside he still wondered whether or not this place was still Spookane Hotel, and whether Nicholas was really here. His questions were answered, though, when he spotted a figure sitting on a table eating a large sandwich. "It’s about time." Said the figure as he chomped on his sandwich. "I’ve been here for a week. Can you imagine how little there is to do in this town? I nearly lost my mind!"

Peel, who had entered the hotel by now and spotted Nicholas, stomped up to him, grabbed him by the collar and began shaking him violently. "What did you do with the prism! You almost gave me a heart attack, you know that?! I’ve been worried sick!" Julian continued munching on his sandwich even as he was rocked back and forth by Peel. He wasn’t very moved by their presence apparently. "Listen," he began as he pried himself from Peel and sat back down. "I’d really like to give the prism back to you, I really would, but the truth is…I don’t have it anymore."

"What?!" Julian clenched his fist and began charging up energy. "You have two seconds to tell me where the prism is." He said coldly, his eyes reflecting pure anger. Nicholas gulped. "South of here. An old house on a hill. Used to belong to the Rosemary family, but it’s haunted now. It’s in there. Somewhere." He blurted out, then slumped into his chair and put down his sandwich. "You have a really short temper, don’t you?" he asked crossly. "I mean, yeesh…" Julian didn’t answer and instead led his friends out of the hotel quickly and silently.

As they left the hotel Peel stopped in front of Julian and stopped him with her hands. "I think you should calm down now." She said, but Julian waved her off and began heading south. This time Joshua stepped in front. "She’s right. We know where the prism is, so there’s no need to get angry anymore, right?" Julian pushed Joshua to the side and kept on walking. A few steps later he called back to them. "I’ll calm down when I get my prism back. If it’s somewhere unprotected, one of those two clowns from before might take it." Then, struck by his own words, he picked up the pace and began walking faster. Peel and Joshua stopped, looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.

***

Much to the surprise of Julian, Joshua, and Peel, Spookane’s suburbs were actually rather nice. Simple wooden houses sprouted from the hilly outside regions of the town and gave a calming feel of isolation to the entire area. Even Julian, who was seeing red ever since he arrived at Spookane, seemed to feel a little better after walking a bit through the cheery, rustic atmosphere. His temper flared up again, though, when he spotted the house Nicholas spoke of: a large mansion on the top of a hill adorned with a sign reading, in large gold letters, ‘ROSEMARY’.

"Whoever owned this must’ve been really rich." Commented Peel as she stepped up to the giant door and ran her hand over it. "I mean, look! The knocker’s made out of solid silver!" her hand went up to the door knocker, a contorted lion face, and touched it with her fingertips. Julian tried to push the door open, but it seemed to be locked, or at least barred shut. "I can’t open the door." He said, then took a few steps back and rolled up his sleeve. "Stand back, I’m going to blast the door!" he called out the Aswer and began charging energy when Joshua stepped out from behind him and clanked the silver knocker a few times. The door slid open quietly, leaving Julian somewhat stunned. Joshua just shrugged. "It seemed like the proper thing to do." He said.

The trio entered the old house carefully. Peel had her flashlight out and began scanning the area while Julian placed the Aswer over his head and made it glow, bathing the entire room in a pale green light. Joshua, frightened and insecure, clutched onto Peel’s shirt. "You don’t have to be scared." Said Peel as she bent down and grabbed Joshua’s hand. "There, there, it’s alright." Joshua gulped and his grip tightened on Peel. "I just…feel something here. Something…out of place."

Suddenly, the door leading to the outside slammed shut, cutting off all remaining sunlight and making everyone jump uneasily. "What was that?" asked Peel, her hand clutching on to Joshua so that the two of them were close together. "I don’t know." Replied Julian. He lowered the Aswer and held it in front of him. "It’s probably just the wind." Peel began breathing rapidly. "Yeah…the wind. Right." She said in an attempt to comfort herself.

All that comfort was lost when a low, profound rumbling made itself present, making the floor shake uneasily. The three children grouped together and stood back-to-back, so as to be able to see everywhere at once. The rumbling became louder, shaking some of the old chairs in the room and jarring some of the old china from the tables. A cup clattered to the floor and shattered into dozens of tiny pieces. A chandelier began clanking against the ceiling. An old chair fell over and broke. Then, as suddenly as it started, the rumbling stopped, and a door in the distance creaked open.

Joshua slowly let go of Peel and walked over to the broken chair, snapping off the legs and holding one in his hand. He then lit it with a blast of PK Fire and lit the other three legs, making some makeshift torches that he handed to the others. Julian, meanwhile, dissipated the Aswer and headed for the newly opened door, which revealed a staircase. "I think we should go down." He said softly, as if not to awaken anything that should be left asleep. The others voiced their consent and followed Julian through the door silently.

Julian set his foot gently on one of the rickety old stairs, and it creaked loudly in response. The deleterious state of the house had by no means seemed to comfort him, and now the added feeling of abandon and isolation made his heart beat just the slightest bit faster. However, the desire to regain his prism as quickly as possible made his legs move ever forward, almost as if by themselves.

Behind him came Peel, her hand shaking somewhat violently as she held up the makeshift torch prepared by Joshua earlier. Although the setting of the house itself didn’t really trouble her, she was confronted with images of spooky houses with haunting ghosts, something out of a horror movie. The fact that this was a spooky house and that this was probably haunted made her connect all those movies with real life. As she marched down the stairs she put her hand to the wall and caught a cobweb in her fingers, nearly making her jump out of her skin, she looked over to Julian just to see if he was still there. He was the only thing anchoring her to reality and keeping her from breaking down and crying.

Joshua, on the other hand, experimented neither fear nor isolation. All he experimented was pure curiosity. His infantile instincts definitely had the upper hand over his animalistic ones at the moment, and he almost felt excited at the prospect of seeing a ghost or otherworldly apparition. He tried to stifle a smile and to keep a stern face as he came down the stairs, but he could hardly manage it. As a matter of fact…he was having fun.

At the bottom of the seemingly-endless stairs lay a doorway, surprisingly clean and ornate. The entryway was lavishly adorned with gold leaves and silver vines that tangled around the frame, while the varnished door was intricately carved with images of birds and other forest wildlife. Not waiting for the others, Julian opened the door slowly and stepped through.

What greeted Julian on the other side of the door was darkness. Complete and utter darkness. He could barely see his body, much less anything in the room itself, even with the light of his torch. "Hey guys?" called Julian. "I think we need more light in here."

"…Guys?"

Suddenly his torch went out and everything was still.

Peel banged on the door, which had mysteriously shut itself tight after Julian went through. "Julian! Can you hear me?" she called repeatedly as she pummeled the door with her fists. "Julian!!" Joshua ran his hand over the frame and stared at the carvings on the door. "I think something is keeping it from opening. I can feel something pushing the door." Peel scowled. "Great." She muttered. "Just great."

Julian felt an icy wind coming at him from all sides, blowing through him and chilling him down to his bones. There was something here, oh yes…something that didn’t want to be trifled with. This was confirmed when Julian felt something smash into his leg, crippling him. He let out a yelp of surprise as he felt more pain in his legs, then in his arms and torso. He began screaming as he felt something close around his neck and lift him off the ground. His eyes bulged and he began kicking his legs. He couldn’t concentrate enough to send any PSI powers forth, and he slowly lost his grip on reality…

"Damn! Julian!" Peel was almost to tears at this point imagining the atrocities Julian was experiencing to make him scream like that. "Julian! Answer me!" she began pounding furiously on the door and her rested against it. Then, suddenly, she jumped back, pulled down her goggles, and extracted something from her pack. "Stand back, I’m gonna blow it open!" she cried, giving Joshua barely enough time to get out of the way before she took out a flare and placed it on the ground. The detonated flare blew the door wide open, taking some of the frame with it. The explosion left a loud ringing in Peel’s ears, but she ignored it and instead barged into the room, wrench drawn and blood pumping.

Peel and Joshua were invaded with the same darkness Julian was upon entering the room. Stopping dead in her tracks, Peel darted her eyes back and forth, searching for Julian and whatever was torturing him earlier. She found neither. She quickly turned to Joshua. "See if you can light the place up." She commanded. Joshua nodded and concentrated a ball of PSI in his hand, then raising it into the air, bathing the room in a weak white light.

Floating in the middle of the basement-like room was Julian, whose limbs hung weakly from his body and whose head was lowered. He didn’t seem to be conscious. "Julian!" cried Peel and ran towards him, but Joshua grabbed her hand and held her back. "No! Don’t get near him!" he tried to tell Peel as he struggled to keep her back. He had felt something very powerful emanating from Julian…and it wasn’t Julian.

The room began rumbling and shaking violently, knocking down Joshua and Peel and flailing Julian around like a rag doll. Joshua conjured up another ball of light and the already-familiar bees began filling up the entire room, large numbers of them grouping around Julian. When they settled, invading the room with a loud buzzing noise, Joshua noticed that the bees cluttered around Julian were vibrating fiercely. "There!" he said, pointing at Julian. "Peel, look! There’s something holding Julian up!" he balled his fist and threw it up in the air. "PK Swarm!" he commanded, and the bees exploded, causing the vibration to interrupt itself and Julian to flop around even more. Peel had recovered by now and taken out her flashlight, as if to try and illuminate the force that held Julian up. She succeeded, to a degree; one could barely make out a wispy figure holding Julian by the neck. It was vaguely anthropoid, with two wisps resembling horns protruding from its ‘head’. Peel tightened her grip on her wrench and swore under her breath. "How are we going to get at it if he’s got Julian?!" Joshua charged up another PSI spell but held it in his hands. His eyes darted back and forth as they tried to find a way around Julian, but to no avail. He would have to hit them both.

"…do it…"

Peel saw Julian’s lips quiver slightly as those two words escaped his mouth. "Do it." He said, a little louder this time, his eyes cracking open. Peel frowned and stared at Julian in desperation. "Are you kidding? We’ll hit you!" Julian coughed and let out a sharp gasp. "…no time…" his eyes bulged and the muscled on his neck strained; the apparition was obviously trying to strangle him. "Kill…it…I’ll be…" he was unable to pronounce the last word and his head flopped back down. Peel screamed. "Julian!" she cried. Joshua held the charged ball of PSI and turned to her. "Should I attempt to hit it?" Peel shook her head, her face wrought with worry and fear. But deep inside Julian’s words had touched her…deep down she began to wonder: would Julian hate her if she hurt him, or if she didn’t hurt him?

Peel steeled herself and looked once more at Julian’s limp form and the ghost behind him. A well-timed shock would hit them both…she turned to Joshua and pointed at Julian. "Do it." She echoed Julian’s word. Joshua looked at her quizzically. "Are you sure?" Peel didn’t answer, but the look in her eyes screamed yes, get it over with…

Joshua held up his hand and the ball of PSI began to glow brightly. Then, quickly, his hand swooped back down as the PSI energy was released. "PK Thunder!" a huge bolt of lightning surged from out of nowhere and enveloped the conglomeration of Julian and his attacker, causing inhuman wails to erupt from their vicinity and Julian’s face to contort into a scowl. Finally, the spectacle stopped and Julian dropped to the floor, landing on his back. Peel immediately rushed over to him and propped him up. "Don’t ever put me through that again!" she wailed through bittersweet tears of relief as she wrapped her arms around him and held him to her, her cheek resting on his head. Julian weakly lifted his own arms and hugged her back. "Sorry." He whispered softly, too weak to speak. As Peel cried, Joshua ambled over to the place where the Specter was and crouched down. Something still wasn’t right. "Hey guys?" he called out. "I don’t think we’re done here yet."

Indeed, on those last words the room began to rumble again. The wispy specter materialized in front of Julian and Peel, taking form this time. It resembled a grayish baby, with two horns and small limbs. There were two red slits where it’s eyes would be. It didn’t attack but instead hovered before Julian. It emanated a strong pulse of energy that dazzled everyone present. <I have been waiting a long time> it began speaking, but in reality it was sending messages directly into Julian’s head, and no one else heard. It continued. <You are the one who will perfect me…yes> it hovered closer. Peel and Joshua tried to place themselves in its way, but the specter threw them aside with a wave of telekinesis. <It is time for us to join…to meld> Julian tried to raise a hand to resist, but he had no strength. What do you want with me? He asked in his mind. What are you?

The ghost slammed itself into Julian’s chest, generating a bright flash. When the flash subsided the darkness in the room had settled back in and silence reigned supreme. Nothing stirred. Nothing breathed. There was pure silence.

***

Slowly, there was a twitch, ever microscopic, barely indicating the presence of anything within the confines of the dreary, deserted basement. The twitch came from the hand of a boy, who gradually regained consciousness as he heaved himself up and walked over to his companions. He laid a hand on the girl, concentrated and watched as she too came back to life. They both stared at each other in the darkness for a while, then they turned to their third…their leader. He did not stir like they did. He was just there, limp and lifeless, as dead as the house they were in. The boy kept his distance while the girl crawled over to him and lifted him up. "Wake up now." She pleaded softly, hoping that her suffering would somehow animate the doll-like corpse in her arms. Was he really dead? No, it couldn’t be—his body was still warm. But he was deathly still. "Come on…don’t just lie there…" the girl begged again. The boy approached her and looked over her shoulder. He tried to say something comforting, but the words wouldn’t come. Maybe he was dead. No, he was too strong to be killed by something like that, right?

Te girl called out his name one more time. "Julian…" she whispered into his ear, but the rag didn’t answer. "Julian…answer me…" still nothing. Hot tears began streaming down her face and dripping onto his face, where they bounced off harmlessly. She cried to herself for a moment, then tried to recall him from the abyss. "Julian…wake up…please, wake up…" Suddenly the girl drew herself back as she felt something. Something cold. The body in her arms had gone very, very cold. Her eyes widened in panic. "Julian?" she called again. "Julian?"

…

"JULIAN!!"