《Marked By Death》


 Chapter 1 A Forgotten Power

    Chapter 1


    It was late into the night, a young raven-haired man stood outside of a house on the front sidewalk. He held a cigarette in one hand and a voice recorder in the other, "I feel we''re getting close to the end of this case... We''re just missing one piece of the puzzle... Tonight we''re going to hold a seance on the property to communicate with the spirits that supposedly haunt the grounds."


    The man paused taking a drag from his cigarette before letting out a bit of a sigh, "I suppose now is as good a time as any for the intro. Uhh, I''m kind of new to this... My name is Chase Stevens. Umm. I''m 24 and I''m a paranormal investigator... Well, I''m a computer programmer in M.I.T but I study the occult in my free time.", He explained being sure to speak clearly into the small silver recorder. Taking another drag from his cigarette he proceeded to sit on the house''s front porch pulling his long black coat tighter around himself as a chilled breeze swept over the homestead. "This is the first case I''ve taken outside the city...", He went on staring up at the starry night sky, something he was not accustomed to seeing, he paused a moment seeming to take it in. "Anyways, a woman named Sasha had gotten in contact with me and told me of her situation. She lives in a small ranch house in the far suburbs of my home city Ame Shigai.."


    As he spoke of his home his pale blue eyes shifted moving across the landscape, watching as the starry clear skies overhead grew rapidly darker and cloudier until he could see a funnel of rain in the distance which seemed to envelop the city every night for reasons science failed to explain. Shaking his head, as if out of a daze, he took another drag from his cigarette, "Sasha lives with her husband Michael, and their four-year-old daughter Amelia. She came to me with some. Unsettling goings on in their home. She spoke of temperature changes, and things being moved around the house and she claims to of even been physically attacked by some entity. What interests me, however, is that upon receiving her request and hearing her out, I informed my team of the case and we ran some investigative footwork on both the family and the house. There wasn''t a spot of dark history on either... The house was newly developed and had little to no time for anything major to happen inside it. Same with Sasha and her family. Speaking to their neighbors and friends we found they seemed like functioning adjusted members of society... For those who don''t know the reason, this matters because entities, especially darker ones, often feed off of negative residual emotions... The fact that there is nothing dark in the family or home history suggests this entity is new to the world and trying to either reach out or is planting its seeds for survival... That''s what we aim to find out tonight with the seance. I should stop using the term seance so loosely... It''s more of a communication ritual I''ve developed. It only targets pre-existing spirits and doesn''t summon new ones as a true seance would."


    Finishing his cigarette, Chase proceeded to die it out on the cement sidewalk at his feet ending his recording as the doorway to the house behind him opened and a short blonde came out. "Chase, the preparations are ready.", She spoke causing the dark-haired man to look back over his shoulder with a nod. "Thanks, Rose. I''ll be in shortly." With that, the blonde stepped back into the house and Chase rose to his feet following suit shortly after.


    As he stepped in he was greeted by the blonde from before along with a tall burly fellow and a short tanned dark haired woman. "Sasha. And Michael I assume?", Chase asked with a nod to Sasha before extending a hand to the man who reached back shaking it firmly. "I''m Chase Stevens the psychic of the group though. I use that term loosely. You''ve met Rose and Paul already obviously...", He trailed off scolding himself in the back of his mind for loosely describing things again. The three were led to the living room where there was a table set up with five chairs around it. "Is Amelia somewhere safe?", Chase asked inquisitively.


    Sasha nodded in response, "Ya, we sent her to my mom''s place for the night...", She explained pulling out one of the chairs so she could sit. Chase shifted his gaze to Michael sensing a disinterest emanating from the man. "Before we get started, can you tell me more about what''s been happening Sasha?", he asked curiously.


    Sasha looked off as Michael approached behind placing a hand upon her shoulder reassuringly, "Well. Between things being moved around the house. Violent outbursts of things being thrown around the kitchen and living room. The most terrifying thing though. It was late one night, I think around three thirty in the morning we woke up to hear Amelia shrieking." Where Sasha trailed off Michael picked up, "Naturally I jumped up and out of bed first sprinting to her room but when I got there... Amelia was floating! Like something was holding her in the air like a rag doll. When Sasha caught up we grabbed her to pull her down but it felt like we were playing tug of war with 10 men.."


    Upon hearing the story of what happened to their daughter Chase raised an eyebrow. "Sasha. Before we begin this ritual might I take a look around your daughter''s room?", Chase asked curiously to which Sasha obliged showing him upstairs to a closed white door with pink and purple flowers painted on it. The door creaked as Chase opened it stepping through the thresh hold into Amelia''s room. His eyes narrowed a bit as though picking up on something right away. He proceeded to look around the room before noticing the edge of a pink book cover sticking out from beneath the white pillow on Amelia''s otherwise pink bedspread.


    Picking it up Chase saw that it was a locked diary, to which he shifted his gaze back towards Sasha and Michael, "May I?", He asked politely. Sasha was about to say something only to be interrupted by her husband, "You want to go through a little girl''s diary?", he spoke quickly, questioning Chase''s integrity. Chase let out a sigh, "Please Michael there might be vital information in this.", He pleaded as Sasha placed a hand reassuringly on her husband''s arm before nodding to Chase, "Honey it''s for Amelia''s safety. Do it Chase.."


    Chase nodded pulling what looked like a little black book from his pocket. Except when he opened it, it revealed a lock-picking kit. To which he proceeded to quickly unlock the diary. Opening the book his eyes grew somewhat wide at its content. It was bad news bears all over as he looked over a collection of grotesque drawings and scribbled phrases like "She belongs to us now." Without saying a word, Chase closed the diary managing to hold his stoic expression to not freak the parents out before looking at them. "Sasha, Michael, I have an important question. Has your family come into possession of any antiques or heirlooms recently?"


    Michael raised a brow, "How could you possibly know that?", He spoke surprised as Sasha nodded stepping forward, "Yeah we bought our furniture set for the whole house at an estate sale. We got it for a nice price... It came with a jewelry box we let Amelia have..." Chase looked around at the mention of the jewelry box before looking at Sasha. "Where is it may I see it?"


    Sasha was about to point at Amelia''s nightstand by her bed before realizing there wasn''t anything. "That''s weird it''s usually on her nightstand...", and at that Chase turned, "Sasha where does your mother live?", he asked quickly, a growing sense of urgency to his voice. Sasha gave him the address before Chase walked passed her, "It''s probably nothing but I need to speak to my crew in private for a moment excuse me."


    Proceeding back down to the living room where Rose and Paul were still setting things up, "Guys outside now.", he spoke walking past the archway to the living room and out the front door. Hearing the tone in Chase''s voice caused Rose and Paul to look worriedly at one another before following him. "Chase, what''s going on?", Rose asked curiously as Paul came to a stop next to her.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.    They watched as Chase lit another cigarette leaning against the side of his car, an old black muscle car of some sort. "I suspect we''re dealing with an entity with the ability to attach itself to objects. And I believe little Melia who is with Sasha''s mother has said item." He explained, Paul looked like he was about to say something as Chase paused but the psychic cut him off, "I want both of you to stay here with Sasha and Michael to do the ritual. If we seal the house now there''s no chance of the entity escaping back to it when I find the jewelry box it''s trapped in... Long story. Don''t ask.", Chase finished unlocking the door to his car as he looked over his shoulder to Rose and Paul, "Guys. I don''t know what''s going to happen. Please be careful and follow the ritual exactly as we''ve practiced.", he went on causing the two to nod assuringly, "Also, don''t mention the threat to the parents. The last thing we need is..", He was cut off as the front door swung open and Sasha came running out with the phone in her hand, "Guys something''s wrong!", she exclaimed frantically rushing up to them, "My mother just called screaming that shes locked herself and Amelia in the bathroom!"


    Chase looked to Rose and Paul who nodded before tending to the distraught woman as Chase quickly hopped into his vehicle, starting it before taking off in a violent hurry leaving nothing behind but the scent of burning rubber and the sound of heavy metal blasting from his speakers faded off into the distance. A few moments after leaving, Chase turned his radio down so that he could think of a plan while he drove, "I''ll require at least 15 minutes to perform any sort of ritual.. If this entity is strong I might not have that much time...", he thought to himself before his radio cut to static. This caught his attention right away, breaking his concentration before, "Look out idiot!", a ghostly voice sounded over the static. Quickly Chase looked up at the road to see headlights in front of him and quickly cut the wheel to his right spinning out into his lane. Though he turned backward he avoided the collision coming to a halt, staring at his radio as he frantically caught his breath narrowly avoiding a head-on wreck. "What the fuck?", he muttered quietly to himself before realizing the lane of people who had come to a stop behind were now in front of him and growing agitated.


    Shaking out of the ensuing daze, he decided to just pull out into the opposite lane when an appropriate spot opened. He didn''t have time to deal with cops then and thought it''d be best to just keep moving. After about another 20 minutes of driving and wondering whether he was going crazy or not, Chase arrived at Sasha''s mother''s house. Closer to the city but still not quite in the city. Looking at the structure, Chase felt an uneasiness sweep over him. Something he had never encountered before. Letting out a sigh, he reached over to the passenger side popping open his glove box, and pulling out a small caliber pistol he had bought from a small gun store only a few weeks earlier. "I''ve never had to use you...", he thought as he made sure it was loaded, "I hope I don''t tonight...", that he got out of the car holstering his weapon on the side of his chest beneath his long black coat.


    Proceeding up the stoop he could feel that something was not right. Cautiously he reached out first knocking on the door only to stop abruptly after hearing something crash to the ground inside. At this point, instinct took over as he lifted a leg planting a foot hard next to the doorknob to kick it inwards but to no avail. He then heard a scream from inside, "Amelia!!!", he shouted worriedly drawing his pistol, and firing into the door knob a few times before kicking it again and finally breaking it open. As he entered the house he saw nearly everything overturned and in disarray. He paused, listening for a moment and hearing nothing as his body grew tense before the door behind him violently slammed shut. Though he ignored it, "You''re wasting your time trying to scare me...", he spoke holstering his pistol once more, "I know what you are..."


    As he spoke Chase reached into his pockets coyly before suddenly ducking, and avoiding a lamp that was thrown through the air by an unseen force. The lamp crashed into the wall behind him shattering before its fragments fell to the ground. Chase looked down at the broken glass now glinting around his feet as a light flickered on in the kitchen, making the living room he was standing in seem even darker now than before. The blue-eyed man cautiously made his way to the kitchen passing through the archway as he scanned the room spotting a trail of blood leading from the kitchen sink towards him and back the way he came. Chase lifted a brow turning back to the dark living room as he pulled out his zippo flicking it open and igniting its flame. He stepped back the way they came, following the blood trail back to the now closed door where it seemed to of paused a moment as a few drops pooled together before the trail moved up the stairs next to the door.


    Investigating further took him up to the second floor into a hallway. Making an immediate right at the top of the stairs, there were two doors on the wall to his right and a third door at the very end of the hall which was cracked open with the interior light flickering as the kitchen had. It was as dark in that hallway as it was in the rest of the house, though chase could still see that the trail of blood led right to that forboding cracked door. His mind raced as he walked towards it extending a hand to push the door the rest of the way open. To his horror, there lay an elderly woman on the floor, blood pooled around her as she lay motionless, numerous stab wounds scattered about her abdomen. Chase raised a hand over his mouth looking away, "Jesus...", he thought to himself, "But where''s Amelia?"


    At that realization, he looked around seeing no sign of her before there was a sharp pain in the back of his thigh. Turning quickly he saw the four-year-old wielding a kitchen knife and displaying glowing golden eyes in place of the natural blues Chase had seen in photos. Immediately he pulled the hand he had in his coat pocket and pulled out a container of salt, dumping it across the floor at the base of the doorway as he stumbled back into the bathroom clutching his leg in pain.


    Amelia let out a shriek of a cackle as Chase watched the line of salt begin to disintegrate. He looked surprised at the line and then back to the little girl as he pulled out a vial of holy water flicking it at her. Though nothing happened, "The mortal thinks were a demon...", her voice sounded deeper almost animalistic as she stepped across the salt line causing Chase to stumble back again now almost climbing on top of the sink to get away from her. "What are you then huh!?", he shouted now in retort trying to hide his fear as best he could by pulling out the pistol and taking aim. "We. Are Zarious...", she murmured before he shouted again, "Where is the jewelry box!?"


    The next few moments were still a blur to the psychic as Amelia charged at him with her knife. There were gunshots and some dry heaving as Chase dealt with the psychological side of what he had just done. He sat now in his car, covered in blood hands shaking as he smoked a cigarette staring off. Not long after getting into his car, his phone rang. It was Rose, he answered it falling silent as he heard a panicked voice on the other end, "Ch.. Chase...", Rose sobbed, "The jewelry box.. It was still here...", she cried in a hushed voice as though she was hiding, "He killed Sasha and Pa.. Oh god no!!", she finished before the sound of bone crushing could be heard in the background as the phone on the other end clattered being dropped. Then there was silence before footsteps could be heard. Chase listened intently hearing Roses''s attacker now breathing on the other end before Michael''s gruff voice came across the line, "We.. Are Zarious...", he spoke before the phone disconnected with a click followed by a long pronounced beep.

 Chapter 2 The World Around

    It had been a few weeks since the incident with Sasha and Michael''s family, along with Chase''s friends, Rose and Paul. He had been on the run since. Local law enforcement wanted him for questioning but they would only say he was crazy and lock him away. Chase ditched his cherished muscle car, and had been roaming the streets on foot in favor of keeping a low profile. He looked as though he hadn''t slept for days. Eventually he found his way to the slums of the megatropolis he lived in. Under a bridge leading onto a free way he sat next to a fire burning in a steel barrel.


    His long black coat was pulled tightly around him. The ramp to the freeway provided some shelter from the nightly rains and kept him dry, though it did nothing for the occasional gust of wind. There was an elderly homeless man sitting next to Chase also keeping warm by the fire. "I''ve been having nightmares...", Chase seemed to mutter lowly to the man who listened intently, "I''ve been to scared to let myself fall asleep.."


    The homeless man let out a sigh patting the huddled up Chase on the shoulder, "That''s perfectly understandable.... While I may not know what you went through. I can tell by looking at ya it was somethin horrible... The type of horrible.. That changes ya...", As the old man spoke Chase''s gaze never left the fire. He stared on with hollowed eyes never moving or even shuddering when a breeze would roll by. "Heck, everyone here''s got their own story to tell kid. Look where we are. Were in an under pass surrounded by examples of people who let their failures control their lives. The hopeless and lost gather here to form the dregs of our fair society, trying to find answers much like you. And some might. But most will not. The real question is, will you be one of these people, who have become stuck in this material purgatory... Or will you be the one to keep moving, and find what your looking for?"


    Chase turned slightly to the man as he spoke, his words provoking much thought within the young man. After a long pause, He looked over to the old timer who seemed to already be staring back, which made Chase somewhat uncomfortable. "Er... Those were wise words.. But uh.. Why are you staring at me?", He questioned quickly without missing a beat, assuming the old man might have been crazier than he initially anticipated.


    The old man grinned raising a finger, "You look familiar and I just realized from where..." The old man stated causing Chase to shrink back slightly, almost seeming as though he were going to bolt away. The old man raised a hand, "Don''t worry Chase Stevens... Your past is irrelevant here. But as I''m sure you know, you made the front page a few weeks ago. The authorities are looking for you something fierce."


    This did nothing to sate Chase''s paranoia as he rose to his feet, causing the old man to rise up as well passively raising his hand, "Wait a moment Chase. You may call me Ivan. Other''s call me V."


    Chase twitched somewhat in disbelief, "Really? Ivan? As in ''Ivan of the Slums''?", He questioned rapidly folding his arms over his chest in a sort of defensive stance, "Excuse my rudeness if this is true but that man died well before I was born. Did you escape the looney bin or somethin?"


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.??Ivan chuckled a bit, showing yellowed teeth through his long white scraggly beard, "No that''d be impossible much like you assume.. These people have taken to calling me it since I arrived here a few long years ago. Shortly after the flash.. I do my best to help them... But ultimately it falls on them to find what they truly need.", Chase looked around at the crowds and crowds of other homeless around them, at other fires all huddled for warmth as the nightly rains dragged onwards.


    Then something dawned on him, and he turned back to Ivan with a raised brow, "Wait you arrived here after the flash that wiped out most of the town square three years ago?" Chase thought back to the news reports, maybe "Wiped out" wasn''t the right wording to use, as there were no damages to the structures or buildings surrounding the epicenter of the "Flash" as well as no bodies. Everyone who was caught in it simply vanished.


    Ivan nodded in response to Chase''s question, "A vast number of these people, including myself cant recall anything prior to the flash. Some can recall anywhere from a few months before, to years earlier. But nothing in between that...."


    Chase grew somewhat wide eyed, "Wait a minute... So your telling me these are all the missing people from that disaster!?", he spoke raising his voice almost in an outrage before Ivan raised his hand again in an effort to calm the young man. He was about to say something but Chase spoke again cutting him off, in a softer tone, "You all have been here all this time and nobodies said or done anything to help!? Have you ever even reached out to anyone in the city? Why wasn''t this ever in the news? If this is true you need to show me some kind of proof because there are to many questions now..."


    Ivan, almost as if out of instinct, raised the dirty bandage that covered his right eye, revealing a fake one. Chase winced slightly as Ivan then plunged his fingers into his socket, seeming to pull it out with little effort. There was a seam through the middle, and Ivan twisted the small sphere in half opening it like some sort of container. "After the flash, I realized I had this..", He explained before finally pulling out a small note which read, "Let them think your dead..", Ivan handed the note to Chase who raised an eyebrow, "I think... The person I used to be wrote this for me. And that is why I''m here. Hiding, much like yourself.", Chase was about to respond only to be cut off by an involuntary yawn. He couldn''t help himself as he was running high on exhaustion having fought off falling asleep at least a few nights by then.


    Chase fell silent as Ivan put his eye back into it''s socket and lowered the bandage back down over it. Letting out a bit of a sigh, Ivan placed his hands into the pockets of his tattered shabby jacket. "Listen... Get some rest and ease your mind tonight. You will be safe here.", and with that Ivan began to walk off before eventually disappearing among the other homeless. Chase took his spot once more this time laying next to the fire. His eye''s were heavy. Ivan was right, it felt like ages since he had slept. For a few moments he stared at the bottom of the fire barrel listening to the crackle of the wood burning inside before quickly passing out from exhaustion.

 Chapter 3 Return Home

    Chase sat up abruptly, or at least tried to. Many icy cold hands reached around him from behind holding him to the ground amongst an endless sea of darkness. He felt as though he was stuck in slow motion, and unable to fight them off from grabbing and digging their long boney fingers into him. One eventually grabbed him by a handful of his hair, yanking hard and slamming the back of his head against what felt like the ground though he could only see darkness. His head throbbed with pain now as he saw little Amelia approaching him brandishing that same knife from before. Her mouth split open revealing a wide toothy grin and in place of her eyes were two empty black sockets. He trembled with fear unable to move as the small girl inched closer and closer until she stood next to him. The hands forcing him to stare at her the whole time. She knelt down next to him raising the knife high over his chest before suddenly her mouth opened wide, seeming to unhinge itself like a snake. The top of her head folded almost the whole way back to her neck as she let out a blood curdling scream thrusting the blade into Chase''s chest over and over.


    He awoke suddenly in a cold sweat, sitting up next to the fire barrel he rubbed his eye''s. The nightly rains had just stopped for the day it seemed. Letting out a small groan he got to his feet. His body ached and was sore all over from sleeping on the ground. Looking around he saw the various homeless people gathered here and there around other burn barrels keeping warm for the morning. But he couldn''t find Ivan anywhere. Chase strolled around for a bit, beginning to think he imagined the man all together. It didn''t take long for him to grow bored causing him to head to a nearby coffee shop.


    Going inside he ordered a small black coffee turning on his phone as he waited. As it came on, it revealed it only had 23% left on its battery life. He then let out a sigh signing into the coffee shops free wifi as he was handed his beverage. An inevitable avalanche of notifications caused his phone to buzz violently in his hand. After paying the $1.30 for his coffee he took his beverage to a seat that was close to an outlet where he plugged his phone in before finally sitting down. The chair was comfortable and he sunk into it as he sat down letting out somewhat of a sigh, his sore body taking some relief from the rest. Taking a sip of his coffee, Chase sat it on a nearby end table before then finally bringing up his phone. After reading and scrolling for a solid 10 minutes or so, he came to a stop, "... Mom?", he thought to himself as he opened the thread quickly. "Hello? Chase? Why are the cops looking for you what did you do!?", Chase fought back tears reading through his moms texts to himself before, "Chase answer your phone!!! HELP ME!!!", He trembled setting his phone down on the table to keep himself from simply breaking it, out of rage.


    His coffee had now cooled and he couldn''t waste his precious time playing the what if game. Drying his eye''s, he slugged back his small coffee like it was a shot, then proceeded to gather his thing''s and turn his phone back off before suddenly leaving. He knew he couldn''t stay in one place long if he wanted to avoid the cops so he decided to head home to his parents house. He would have to hop a bus to the other side of town, in which case he''d be spending his last dollar fifty but it still beat walking. There were one or two people already there as Chase came to a nearby bus stop. An elderly lady and a younger kid, wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up. Though Chase couldn''t really see his face he could see his head bobbing rhythmically, which meant the kid was probably listening to music, so Chase paid him little mind as the bus pulled up alongside the road. Chase grinned a bit, "Just made it!", he thought to himself as he waited behind the other two to get on. As he got on Chase dropped his money in the basket next to the driver and went to the back finding an empty seat. After multiple stops, it was roughly a forty five minute ride before Chase stood up getting off the bus in a small suburb on the outskirts of the city.


    It looked like a genuinely nice white collared neighborhood, though Chase seriously doubted that. There were reasons he had left for so long with out looking back. That wasn''t to say he didn''t worry for his mother however. Their relationship was for lack of a better word "complicated". He would always have love for her, but he had to leave this part of town for his own benefit. In pursuit of his education, though it seemed that was all wasted now. There was a cool breeze as the bus pulled away, causing Chase to snap back to reality, where he walked through his old neighborhood. It seemed so long ago to him that he was there. Admittedly it was a part of his life he simply tried not to think about. But as he walked those streets it was hard not to. He pulled his hood up in an effort to conceal his face more. He had to remember he was a wanted criminal, it''d be a catastrophe if he ran into somebody he used to know.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.??After a few more minutes of walking, Chase eventually stood at the front porch of his fathers house. He closed his eye''s for a moment, taking a deep breath. Almost as if waiting for someone or something to reach out to him. But he was only greeted with silence. Slowly he opened his eyes, "Either she''s still alive or... Somethings keeping her from crossing over...", He thought to himself staring up the stairs of the porch at the front door. The feeling was almost foreboding in a way. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to just turn around and leave. But he couldn''t. Or at least he couldn''t allow himself that luxury this time. He walked up the stairs onto the large front porch of the three story house. It truly was a nice property, however every time Chase saw it, it made him sick. Ignoring that he reached out pushing the button for the door bell.


    It chimed loudly throughout the house and there was a brief pause before the door knob suddenly turned and the door slowly cracked open. "Who is it?", a gruff voice came from the other side. Chase looked up through the crack, "It''s me dad..", He responded in somewhat of a hushed voice. The door slammed shut before the sound of locks hurriedly coming undone came from the other side and the door suddenly burst open revealing a heavier set man with greyed hair and a long scraggly beard. He reached through the door pulling his son into the house before quickly closing the door behind him. Before Chase could say anything, the old man whipped around and was gonna give Chase a hug, however Chase stiff armed the man instead stopping him. "Ew no. What are you doing?", he asked, "You never did shit like that before don''t start now... I''m here about mom where is she? What''s happened?", Chase dug in getting straight to his point.


    The old man looked off, seeming to think for a moment before, "Chase... She died, after the news of what you did to that poor girl and her family...", The old mans voice faltered as tears swelled up in his eye''s. Chase had never seen him this way before. These emotions seemed genuine, but his story didn''t line up with anything Chase knew about already. If her heart gave in why would she text him asking for help? Something didn''t feel right, though he decided to play along. "Dad, I was trying to help that family...," He explained tears swelling in his own eye''s, "And it all backfired so bad... Everything happened so fast, and I didn''t know what to do.. I had to disappear to try and clear my name before I could ever come back here again." If he was gonna try to subvert Chase, then Chase was going to use it* against him.


    The old man reached out putting a hand on Chase''s shoulder, "You could have come to us son...", he muttered lowly before suddenly pulling Chase in and hugging him tightly, "You could have come to us...", to which Chase simply stared off allowing him to do it. After a moment the old man released him. Drying his eye''s he looked Chase over for a moment, "You look like shit kid... Have you eaten anything?".


    Chase chuckled a bit, "Ya that''s more like it old man...", he laughed causing his dad to laugh a bit himself, "Boy, I will whip the shit out of you. Go get ready for dinner.. We left your room how it was.", and with that the old man turned and went to the kitchen. Chase chuckled a bit more walking upstairs, "Fucking asshole.", he muttered, to which a shout came in response from the kitchen, "I heard that!"


    His old room was up in the attic, and he scoffed a bit, "Bet he didn''t wanna change it because he''d throw out his old ass back.", he muttered to himself at the top of the stairs. As he did so he reached up grabbing a pull chord, which dropped a ladder down leading to the attic. Chase climbed up into the room and sighed looking around. There were a few more boxes than when he left but for the most part everything was the same. He walked over to the corner where his bed was, and toppled over on top of it before quickly falling asleep succumbing to exhaustion.

 Chapter 4 Stranger Sides

    He must have fallen asleep, because he awoke to hearing foot steps rushing up the stair case. Chase panicked seeing flashing red and blue lights outside his window. Before he knew it two police officers had him pinned on the ground. He thrashed and struggled before his hands were cuffed behind his back and he was lifted to his feet. They carried Chase out of the attic and out front door. His dad standing nearby. Chase let out a loud roar, "REALLY!? YOU SON OF A BITCH!", Chase''s face turned red with anger as he struggled with the police while they forced him into the back seat of a squad car. His dad stood on the porch, taking a sip from a white ceramic coffee cup as he watched them pull off with him. After a few moment''s, Chase slumped back in his seat still in disbelief, did his dad think he was responsible for his mom too? What was going on? The thought of picking the lock for his handcuffs had crossed his mind. But if he escaped now, he wouldn''t have any information on the matter. But if he waited till after they questioned him it would be much harder to escape. If he wanted to continue investigating, he decided it was best for him to make a get away before they got back into town. Good thing the cops didn''t search him before putting him in the car. He stayed silent now listening to the pair talk back and forth as he began picking the lock on his cuffs. After a moment or two the first came undone. Shortly followed by the second. "Did you see the photo''s from the case he''s involved in? It was an absolute blood bath...", The driver said to the passenger only to be cut off by the sound of gunfire from the back seat. The bullet proof window separating the front from the back cracked as Chase fired three times into it before suddenly planting his foot hard on it with a kick. The whole panel burst forwards into the front causing the driver to swerve off the road. The cruiser hit a small patch of earth causing it to flip over, rolling violently across the ground before coming to a stop slamming side ways into a tree.


    The force of the wreck shattered the windows of the vehicle, allowing Chase to slip out. He looked at the two officers, still buckled into their seat''s, who had been knocked unconscious being unprepared for such a thing to happen. Blood ran down Chase''s forehead as he cradled his right arm, feeling as though his elbow had been dislocated from being tossed around like a rag doll in the back of the car. He propped his knee on the inside of his arm and took a deep breath. There was a loud crack as he used his left hand to yank the right in the opposite direction. He breathed heavily, beginning to smell smoke. Turning he saw the squad car beginning to catch fire and let out a sigh going back to the wreckage. He removed both officers utility belts throwing them outside away from the car before beginning to pull each of them out of the wreckage.


    He managed to retrieve the passenger with no problem and laid him gently on the ground nearby before turning to go back for the driver. It was to late however and the car burst into flames throwing Chase back away from the wreckage. He looked down at the other officer and gritted his teeth, "Damn it... I tried man...", and with that he got up dusting himself off before taking off into a hobbled sprint away from the scene. Chase began heading directly back to his fathers house. It was the only lead he had. If his mother had died, Chase figured that her spirit would reach out to him. But he had heard nothing so he hoped that she was being held by someone somewhere, and he had a feeling his old man knew about it. As he ran Chase could soon make out the agonized screams of the officer he failed to save in his mind. He had to ignore them for now though. "If you seek answer''s, follow me...", He muttered beneath his breath. He had no doubt that other cop would be getting up soon and undoubtedly would radio in for back up.


    He ran for as long as he could before his whole body began to ache with a combination of fatigue and whiplash. "How the hell do people get away with this!?", he thought to himself as he huffed, "This is bulshit...". He stopped leaning against a tree to catch his breath before he heard sirens in the direction he had just come from. Chase gulped desperately trying to moisten his dry mouth before taking off again mustering every bit of energy that he could. "The police will most likely head straight back to my old mans place... Which means I''ll have to find a way to sneak in and talk to him alone..."


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.??Chase thought back to the layout of the house from his younger days, and remembered that there was a side door that lead into the basement. The cops were already inside the house speaking to Chase''s dad as he crept up to the tree line of the property. There was a patrol car with two officers in it sitting out front with another, empty squad car. Chase stealthily crept around to the back yard making sure to stay out of sight. When he got to the side door, he sighed seeing that it was pad locked. It was then that Chase remembered seeing a similar padlock on the door leading to the basement inside the house. Why did his dad start locking the basement? What was going on here? Quickly, he pulled out his lock picks and began to work on the pad lock.


    He lifted the steel door with all of his might. It squealed and let out a loud whine as he hoisted it over his head before he quickly went in closing the door behind him. It was dark and dank down in that old basement. As quickly as Chase closed the door behind him, he realized he wasn''t alone. Hearing an exasperated groan from behind him he turned around quickly. He could hear shuffling across the room accompanied by the sound of rattling chains. Chase reached in his pocket pulling out his lighter and quickly ignited it illuminating a small area around him. As he did so he gasped stepping back, nearly tripping back up the steps he had just come down. It was his mother. But her flesh was decaying and her eyes were dead. She reached out, trying to grab Chase though a rusty iron collar chained to the wall prevented her from moving any closer to the door. Chase doubled over as he felt sick . "W.. What is this? What does this mean!?", He thought before he was suddenly grabbed from behind and yanked out of the cellar.


    "It''s the suspect!", A voice came from behind, "It looks like someone else is down there too. Come out with your hands...", An officer trailed off as another held Chase pinned to the ground. The investigating officer shined his flashlight down into the basement briefly revealing Chase''s decaying mother before there was a sudden force from behind. Chase was now on his back in the basement with the two officers. As he stared up at the storm door he could see his father''s silhouette slamming the heavy metal door shut.


    The sound of flesh being ripped and torn rang out followed by screaming. Chase jumped to his feet seeing one of the officers on the ground with his mother on top of him. Chase stumbled back as she ripped chunks of the mans neck apart taking large bites as the other officer drew his gun aiming a flash light at the woman. He was about to open fire when, "Stop!", Chase shouted reaching out. Though before Chase could reach the man, his mother was biting down on his forearm and a struggle ensued. Chase froze, he didn''t know what to do as he watched the two. Hearing movement on the ground seemed to snap him out of his daze, though it was to light as he was tripped to the ground. Looking down he saw the first officer his mother had bit, climbing ontop of him. Chase struggled holding the man back as he gnashed his teeth uncontrollably in an effort to bit Chase. His heart raced as he wrestled with the now undead police officer. The other officer was still wrestling with Chase''s mother as Chase quickly looked around seeing the other officers flashlight on the ground nearby. Quickly he tried reaching it with one hand while keeping his attacker at bay with the other. He stretched summoning every ounce of strength he had as he did so before...


    The other Officer hit the ground, his mother ontop of the man mauling him as she seemed to go into a sort of frenzy. She clawed and bit his neck as he let out a scream that quickly became a gurgle of blood and spit. Chase was running out of time before his mother would turn her attention to him. He continued reaching for the flashlight finally managing to grab it. Without hesitation he slammed it into the side of his attacker head. The officer toppled over allowing Chase to get to his feet where he finally drew his pistol. By this point his mother had risen to her feet as well snarling like some kind of beast. Tears ran down Chase''s cheeks as he took aim at her. "Mom... I''m sorry...", he muttered softly as she charged at him. The next few moments were a blur as gunshots could be heard through out the area.