ã€ŠRinging In My Earsã€‹


 Prologue

    His brother, Simon, told him that the best stargazing was in Death Valley. His brother was never the ''deep'' type, but he told him that there was something real symbolic about it. "As if you were staring straight in to Valhalla itself from Earth," he said. With that kind of endorsement, Eric decided that would be a good place to work on his lyrics. He had recorded a few ideas on the drive out, but they were tenuous ideas as best. Like the stars, they seemed grouped together and needed a short line to connect, but in reality, light years away.

    It was garbage, on-the-nose ideas like that Eric had to combat. He wanted to be overwhelmed by the beauty of the Valley, but the idea that there was pure garbage written on his phone kept bothering him. He even tried to delete the subpar lyrics, but when he did, they haunted him still. He had to type them all out again.

    He thought this would be an excellent idea while his brother was covering a week of night shifts, but deep down, Eric knew he shouldn''t have been left alone with so much...empty. Then again, he wasn''t sure if Simon''s company would have been much help. Afghanistan had been rough on him.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Eric had realized that getting out of town hadn''t been a cure for his writer''s block within the first couple of days, but he couldn''t leave. Not yet. Simon finally was able to get in with a therapist specializing in military personnel, and he seemed to be making real progress. Eric was able to make sure he went, and make it apparent that it was helping. "For the first time in months, you''ve managed to shit, shower, and shave in the morning without complication. Keep it up, shitheel."

    "Get a real job, jagoff," was his brother''s obligatory response to any encouragement. The first few times, it made him laugh. The next few times were a mere annoyance. The recruiting materials and application form were a line crossed. Eric found excuses to use the apartment''s gym when the badgering was too much, a habit that Simon took and conditioning for boot camp.

    "Eric, he''s so close though. I''ll be out there next month, if you can just help out in the mean time." His mother''s words were growing stale.

    Eric put his phone away and laid down on the bare ground. He tried to find pictures in the stars. He tried to find a comfortable place to lay on the ground. He tried. Instead, the dots taunted him, and a stick or a rock found it''s way in his back.

 Chapter 1

    Sounds everywhere, no purpose, random. Voices, a drum being beaten, over and over, chords played. Slowly the sounds turn into rhythm, a melody. They blend, meshing together, the chords, rhythm, melody, turn into...a song. The lights are bright, flash, change colors. Everything is bright. A faceless mob, out there in the dark, rioting, no cheering? No, cheering us. Us? To the right. A a figure singing, into the microphone, to the people. Behind, drums. Farther off, I hear another guitar. Another? Look down. Hands playing, knowing what to do. The others stop, but these hands continue playing. Closer to the microphone, and a mouth sings. I sing. The first few notes are met by a deafening roar from the audience.

    She jolted up from her desk, her head jerking up from it¡¯s position perched on her crossed arms. She lifted her arms to pull study guides and syllabi off of them, and stacked them with dismay.

    That had been the most vivid vision she''d had in a long time, and the feeling still resonated through her body. Her fingertips felt raw. She found a notebook and started writing down the details she could recall. She wasn''t totally sure why she was doing it, because she was certain she would see it again, from different angles, from different times before and after. She''d see it over and over again until she fixed whatever was broken, whatever was wrong.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    She contemplated starting to do some research, so she grabbed her phone. When she saw the time was 2:37 a.m., she groaned and threw her phone back on the table. Her only concession was putting the notebook on her nightstand before she collapsed in to her bed. Her legs ached and her throat was scratchy.

    She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and was overwhelmed.

    It was as if someone else has rolled in to her bed as well. A musky scent, tinged with peppermint and sweat. She was enveloped in the smell. It held her tightly, and let her go just as quickly.

    It was tremendous, empowering, intoxicating.....

    Terrifying.

    She turned her lamp on next to her bed and covered her face with a pillow.

 Chapter 2

    She was finally roused from her sleep when the morning sun found a gap in her curtains. Her head was pounding.

    She grabbed her laptop and shuffled down to the kitchen. It was quiet and empty. She turned on the small TV to fill the room with something while she prepared her tea. As the water boiled on the stove, she was reminded of her thankfulness for the housekeeper her parents conceded to hire. Violet had argued that between her parents constant work travel and her college studies left no one to keep the house in order. They had rolled their eyes and tried to claim that the main reason she was allowed to live at home, rent-free, was that she would keep the house in order, but after the third time they came home to find the cabinets barren of everything except Oreos and some bags of tea, they finally came around.

    She flinched when she saw the bags of peppermint tea next to the mugs, and opted for the hibiscus instead.

    She started searching for local concerts and skimming the links for any one showing promise. No I don''t want pop music, let¡¯s see... what do we have... Suga Lips? No. Bling- Bling Baybays? No again. Sounds of the Earth? Who would listen to that? Come on, there has to be something..... Wait, what¡¯s that? Dark Alley?

    As she waited for the site to load, she took a sip of her tea. She hadn''t had any more dreams last night, which was good and bad at the same time. When the page loaded, she clicked on ''Meet the Band''. He''s not the lead singer, who could stand to remove four of the five studs in his right eyebrow. He''s not the drummer; despite how cute his unassuming face, blue eyes, and wild and wavy blonde hair were. She was left with the bassist and the guitarist. She picked the guitarist. His full body shot slowly loaded, showing him wearing Converse, light blue stone- washed jeans, and black fitted shirt. He had short, brown hair and an attempt at facial hair. Her body felt warm, almost resonating. Her cheeks burned as the same scent from last night filled her senses.

    The wave passed. All she could think was Has to be. Has to be shadows.

    She read his profile. Ian Jay Edwards, lead guitar/ vocalist, worked at blah blah blah¡­This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    She bought a ticket to their show that evening. She needed to meet Ian, the sooner the better. She had to determine why shadows were concerned with him.

    She called them shadows because that''s what they remind her of. They follow people, like a shadow. They have the whole black wispy look, but they can take on shapes of their own. All of the ones Violet had seen have been animal forms. Shadows seem to influence human emotions. For example, an little angry hermit crab shadow tagging along may make an optimist add a few more than necessary expletives when they stub their toe, but a bunch may make them bite off the head of the person who moved the chair in their way. Some shadows are nicer than others. They attach themselves wherever they have an opportunity. If you were tired of getting dumped you may have a shadow attach itself and give you some unnecessary confidence and go up to the next hot person you see and ask him out for a drink. Odds are you will speak so arrogantly that they will be repulsed and pass.

    The visions Violet had were generally vague except for some sort of location or event, and somehow the magnitude of the shadow was related to how vivid the visions were. The fact that this vision tried to insert herself in the situation, that she could feel it in her bones indicated to her that she needed to do something quickly.

    She was fairly concerned about how vivid the vision was - it told her there was something strong about these shadows. When they were particularly attached and powerful, she could see them on video and pictures. A lot of what she''d discovered about her ability to see shadows was her reviewing past reporting on tragedies and trying to extrapolate some sort of cause and effect. In the end, she concluded that if the shadow wasn''t powerful enough for her to see, the tragedy likely wasn''t caused by it. Her visions were proximity based - even national tragedies weren''t enough to fuel her visions if they weren''t close enough to her. She spent quite a few years and therapy sessions trying to absolve herself from the guilt that she couldn''t stop these bad things from happening, but it was difficult when she couldn''t tell the therpists the real answer to the question, ''Why do you keep fixating on these incidents?'' Actually, she had tried to explain it to the first one, but then out came the prescription pad. She even tried to tell a priest when she was convinced they were demons, but he was convinced Violet was only speaking in metaphor.

    She found a related YouTube page and started watching their live recordings. The recordings went back three years. While thankfully the quality had improved dramatically, the venues tended to be dark, making it difficult to determine what were shadows and what were...shadows.  Hopefully she''d have better luck in person.

 Chapter 3

    The venue was relatively small, and most of the standing room was filling up respectably. The lights were still up, and the groups were clumped and chatting. As she made her way towards the front, her boots sticking to the floor. She reapplied her lipstick reflexively.

    The name Dark Alley was plastered as the background for the performance in white letters with black paint splash and droplets accenting the letters.

    From the left side of a stage, a man came out carrying an amplifier.

    It was Ian.

    Her heart started to pound, thudding against her rib cage. It took all of her strength to keep from gasping for breath. She faintly smelled mint.

    He set it down on the corner of the stage and looked around. Black jeans, white shirt, black tie, black vest. Classic. Simple. She looked up at him, and caught his eye. She gave him a small smile, and he smiled back. The exchanged lingered for a bit, then he left.

    He was clean, for all she could tell. No shadows seemed to cling to him, no smoke clouded his eyes. There were shadows roaming around the dim hall, to be sure, but nothing that gave her pause. She kept scanning the room, confused, and barely noticing when the lights dimmed and the curtains closed. She didn''t hear the emcee thanking everyone for coming out that night, or thanking the local rock station for sponsoring the event. Was she wrong?

    The stage went black. A voice boomed over the sound system. "ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?" The crowd answered affirmatively. "THEN MAKE SOME NOISE FOR DARK ALLEY!"

    As the curtains rose, she heard the first few cords creep out, contemplative. The stage lights came back on, and in the middle of the stage was a pool of viscous black. "Sail on, my lonely son," snapped her focus to to Eric, the lead singer, cradling the microphone tenderly. The pool became a vortex that sucked through the floor of the stage, gone just as quickly has she had seen it. "Soon harbors will burn!"

    * * *

    While the last song was wrapping up, she snuck out of the crowd to find a side exit. She was impressed with the density of the floor at that point. In her experience more people would have left by now, it being a weekday.

    She made her way to the back door and let herself out. She went to the alley near the back, and waited. She shook her head, feeling the vibration that she was in the correct place. While working on homework this afternoon, she had fallen asleep and seen this place. Seen this very encounter in vivid detail. It made her nervous and sick to essentially follow instructions, but she did anyway. Twenty minutes later, Ian slipped through the same door, unbuttoned his vest, and sighed against the wall. "Hey," She called, trying not to scare him. His focus snapped and recognized her.Stolen novel; please report.

    "Hey," he replied. "You''re in the front row?" He cracked open a bottle of water and took a long sip.

    She smiled. "Yeah, the show was awesome. Not inside celebrating? You guys packed the place on a Wednesday, that''s impressive."

    He wiped the sweat off of his brow with his vest. His features were a lot more refined in person than his picture let on. "I''m hiding ''til the Jaeger disappears."

    That genuinely did tickle her. She laughed, and looked down shyly. "I''m Violet."

    He tried to stick his hand out to shake hers, then realized it was a bit sweaty and wiped it on his leg instead. "Ian," he said, and took another drink of water. The move endeared her to him, and nearly broke her heart. She wanted to ditch the script, and looked around for any sign that she could bail. She caught his eyes and smiled. She could bail on it all. She could just flirt. She could just take a step forward, play with her hair a bit, and avoid it all. She bit her lip playfully.

    But the vortex on the stage came back to her, and how close it was to touching the band.

    She stopped biting her lip and smirked.

    "Before the show, Eric ate three bean burritos and Louis, your drummer, said he smelled like a roadside truck stop. When you get back in there, Louis will try to jump on Eric''s back, knocking them both over. Trevor will equate the pile to a dying beluga whale on the beach. Eric and Louis will attempt to shotgun whatever beer was in Trevor''s bag, only to realize shotgunning a sour is a bad idea. The resulting spit takes will prompt your tech Manny to yell ''Free Willie!'' and Trevor will call them both bastards for wasting nice beer."

    He stared at her suspiciously.

    She continued "Listen, I don''t expect you to believe me right now, honestly, if you did, I''d call you crazy. And as you could imagine, I¡¯m an expert in said subject." She closed the space between them, and held out her hand, palm up. He extended his warily. She took it, pulled out her Sharpie, and wrote her phone number on his palm. She blew on the ink gently.

    "Once you''re convinced I''m not entirely crazy, text me. I need your help, but first I need you to believe me."

    She stuck the marker in my pocket, gave a small wave, and walked away, heart pounding like an orchestral percussion section.

    * * *

    By the time she arrived home and emptied her pockets, she had already decided to skip her morning class. It was only midnight, but she was drained, and a little sad.

    She berated herself. Why are you sad? Because you couldn''t flirt with a boy? Boo-frickity-who.

    She kicked her boots off and buried her face in a throw pillow. She focused on her breathing until she was nearly asleep, when her phone buzzed.

    From an unknown number: "I give. You''re a witch."

    "I prefer Wiccan-American, kthnks."

    "Fair enough. Why does a witch need my help?" He was texting back fast, which gave her some hope.

    "Interpreting smoke signals. Meet me at the Sip and Spin?"

    "They won''t even let the band play in that bar since I''m only 20. "

    "Boo. My house?"

    "...Sure. Address?"

    It was almost two a.m. by the time she heard knocking on the door.

    I opened the door and leaned against the frame in smug satisfaction.

    Ian stood shyly, and gave me a small wave with his Sharpie''d hand. It just dawned on her what the ellipses on his last text were asking, but she felt the ambiguity worked in her favor.

    "Hey. So I hope you''re a good liar, cause you''ll need some quality bullshit to tell your friends about this."

 Chapter 4

    She Irish''ed up a couple of coffees and gave him the highlights. Dreams and shadows and the void on stage. She ended by recounting the vision on their encounter in the alley.

    "So you just keep having prophetic dreams every night?" he asked.

    "I mean, not always. Not unless something''s really bad and fairly close."

    "Huh?"

    "I only really get a peg on stuff that happens in my immediate area - like the city I live in, or if I''m going somewhere where something will happen when I''m present."

    He hadn''t changed out of his clothes from the show. His vest was still unbuttoned, and his shirt untucked and unbuttoned at the neck. It made him look younger than his confident presence on stage.

    "And something''s going to happened to me?"

    She rubbed her mug''s handle. "You or you-adjacent. Maybe someone in the band has some bad juju that they need to work out."

    He hunched over his mug and stared at the contents. "But like, this is crazy."

    She sighed. "I know, and if I need to get you more proof I will try to figure out a way. But it''s like..." She trailed off.

    "Invisible, yeah." He laughed nervously. "So do I have any of those shadows on me?"

    ¡°The shadows won''t necessarily cling to you, only if they''re feeling defensive or something. Normally, the just look like animal silhouettes, cats, dogs, foxes, et cetera, and follow you around. Sometimes they may wander, a lot of them are very curious, but they will come back, usually. There''s no one else here for them to investigate, and you didn''t bring any in with you, so I''d say no. But just to be sure." She walked over to the stairs. "HERE SHADOW, HERE BOY! OR GIRL! OR HOWEVER YOU SELF-IDENTIFY! HERE SHADOW!"Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    He laughed, genuinely this time. "So you''re sure?"

    "There''s two possibilities. One is that someone near and important to you is being affected or...it''s inside of you."

    His eyes went wide.

    "I can check though! It''s not at all common, and normally I can see a sign - it looks like black smoke in the eye. I don''t see any in your eyes, but I can check further if you''re comfortable with it."

    "What...what do you have to do?"

    Her eyes darted away again. "If they''re inside, they''d hide near your heart, so I need to listen to it. I just need to put my hand on your chest and I''ll be able to tell."

    She heard him take a deep breath. "Easy enough. Okay, do it."

    She raised an eyebrow at him, "I really can''t tell if you believe me, or if you''re just hoping it''s a weird sex thing."

    He smiled. "There are benefits for either one being true."

    "Oh hush," she chided, standing up and crossing the distance between them. He sat up straight and watched her curiously. She held a hand out and looked at him again. He nodded. She placed her hand on his chest. He could feel the rise and fall of his breath. She synced her breath with his. Her gaze was focused loosely on the back of her hand. Their breaths became deeper, and she could start to feel the beating of his heart, a bit quick. She took a deep breath and sunk in to the beat, it slowing and becoming more steady. She could hear the beat in her ears. The beat slowly receded, until she heard... nothing. No scratching, no tapping, no scurrying, no slithering. Nothing. As the nothing became deafening in her ears, her eyes darted up and locked with Ian''s. Brown. Soft, liquid, chocolate, brown.

    "Shit!" He jumped. "Fuck, your eyes!"

    She pulled back. "What?"

    "Your eyes, they''re gold! Like gold smoke. what the hell?"

    "Huh?"

    "You don''t know?!"

    She snapped. "I don''t exactly have a fucking mirror when I do this shit."

    Abashed, he said, "Sorry. Yeah. But clearly not a weird sex thing." He stared in to his coffee.

    She took a deep breath. Why was she being so defensive? "Good. And you''re clean, by the way. Sorry for scaring you."

    They sat in silence for a beat, and then he asked, "Now what?"

    "I guess I''ve got to tag around with you for awhile. See whose in your life, friends, dates, coworkers, and see if I can peg who has the baggage."

    He nodded. "Well I don''t work ''til the day after tomorrow, and the band''s not meeting for awhile. Eric''s going to Vegas to hang out with his brother - he''s stationed there with the Air Force."

    "I work tomorrow anyway. But, if you come to the gas station on Vinter any time after 3, we can talk about the people in your life. I need the rundown before I run in to these people."

    "Don''t you need to, like, work at work?"

    She grinned. "Have you ever been to a gas station?"

 Chapter 5

    At three on the dot, Ian strolled in to the KwikPlace. Despite his The Killers shirt shirt being heavily worn, she noted the French tuck in to his dark jeans. Violet had finished cleaning and restocking from the lunch time rush and was playing on her phone behind the register. "Hey," she hollered, and waved him over. "Research?" he asked. "Yup, mostly about Jon''s Snow''s parentage."

    "But everybody knows now!"

    She laughed. "Yeah, but because the book hasn''t came out yet, some people are still convinced it''s Ashara Dayne, and I have to know exactly why they are wrong."

    She pulled out another folding chair at set in next to her behind the register. Ian looked around the empty gas station. "Is there anyone else even here?"

    "Marco''s manning the hot food counter, but odds are he''s just baking himself now in the back. Supervisor''s...out? Who the hell knows."

    Ian took that as permission to take the seat. Violet grabbed a couple of coffees from the dispensers and offered Ian one. He took a cautious sip as she pulled out a notebook and let out a yawn. "So at this point I''d suspect it''s something to do with a friend or family member. Have you talked to your family in awhile?"

    He shrugged. "Kinda? I''m an only child, and my parents got fed up with my inability to go to college classes. They finally gave up and retired to North Carolina. I''m supposed to go visit them in a couple of months for Mom''s birthday, provided I can save up for the plane ticket money."

    Violet wrote Parents - nope. "Alright, who do you live with?"

    "Louis and his girlfriend - well, fiancee. Who knows when they''re getting married. There''s both pretty happy people honestly. Louis''s a waiter and Kelly''s an RN. Our only real beef is when Louis forgets to put a sock on the door."

    Roomies - Louis: service, Kelly: healthcare Risks: shitheel customers

    "Is this like a therapist''s notebook, can I read it?"

    She shrugged. "It''s quite literally your life, so I don''t see why not. What about the rest of the band? Trevor and Eric? Manny?"

    "They''re all renting a house together. Trevor and Manny are freelance audio editors, met through some message board. Manny''s been awesome helping us get set up in some of the...less outfitted venues around town. He''s a good dude, he''s helping his little sister save up money to the university here - she''s in San Juan. So''s the rest of the family. Trevor''s a bit...hipster? I mean he''s got a specific way that he likes stuff done and like a Chemex and some shit. Manny just goes with it, but Eric likes to screw with him. Eric''s not the most organized, but he''s a goddam lyricist if there is one in this town. Trevor''s our main songwriter and somehow they make it work."

    Manny - family in P.R., easy-going

    Trevor - type A, irritated by Eric

    Eric - archetypal artist

    She drew a triangle next to their names. "Alright, maybe something there. What about romantic partners? Hookups, partners?"

    He looked in to his cup. "Only two. Last year I dated a girl who designed our new logo. That...ended poorly. But she''s studying abroad in Germany now."

    "You drove her out of the country? Geez man."

    "Neither of us were in a good place!"

    She laughed. "I''m kidding. The other?"

    "For most of high school I...I dated Eric."If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    She circled Eric''s name furiously.

    "What?" He said defensively, "Hey, that actually ended well. After he graduated it just became very apparent to both of us that we make better music than...well you know."

    "No no, I''m not saying that''s the problem, that might just explain why I''m seeing shit so vividly. Ya''lls lives are all intermingled. I mean we still need to look at your work, but -"

    A loud crash sounded, something towards the back of the gas station.

    "Come on." She said, dropping the notebook and hustling outside.

    Glass was scattered near the back wall, a baseball bat lay in the middle of the shards. A bewildered, panicking little boy was frozen right in front of the destruction he caused. A surge of pity shot through her. The poor boy.

    "Sammy" She said softly. His head snapped to awareness, a tear ran down his face.

    "Sammy, come here. Let''s talk." He obeyed. She looked back to Ian and whispered, "Watch his eyes."

    "I''m sorry!" Sammy howled. said through his sobbing. ¡°I didn''t mean to, I don''t know how it happened! I was walking back from practice because mom was late, and I don''t remember coming back here! I''ll pay to repair it, I swear! Mom has been putting me to work so I can get an allowance to pay for everything I''ve broke!" He buried his face in his hands. "I''ll clean it up! I''ll do whatever you want! I''m so sorry." His words were garbled by his sobbing.

    She knelt down to Sammy''s level and looked over his shoulder. A black, monkey-shaped figure was trying to kick a can near the dumpster. Violet knew this one was a repeat offender, and she glared at it.

    She turned her attention back to Sammy and gave him a warm smile. "It''s okay, Sammy. It''s just a window. Are you okay?" The boy looked at me, puzzled. "Did any of the glass hurt you?" He unburied his face and shook his head. "Good. Windows are easy to fix, kids less so." He stared at me, wide-eyed. "This isn''t the first time something''s broken here at the gas station. Actual vandals, but also birds, rocks from passing cars, the garbage person not getting the dumpster down right, all kinds of stuff. There''s no reason for my manager to know it was anything else."

    The shadow-monkey started crawling closer to them, curious by the lack of anger.

    She continued, ¡°I don''t want you going anywhere near that mess, you could get hurt."

    "You''re not mad?"

    "Nah. Plus, you''re one of our best customers - a swirl cone every Friday."

    He nervously laughed. It grew to a genuine chuckle. Soon his care-free face shifted to one of curiosity, bewilderment. Like that of a monkey.

    The shadow had crawled on to the boy, wrapped himself around the boy¡¯s waist, and slowly dissolved in to an indefinite mass of smoke, then into the boy. His eyes became wide, the sea of green being obstructed by wisps of black floating, shifting, flickering. There we go you body-snatching troublemaker.

    She gritted her teeth and lowered her voice. "Listen to me; I''m sick of you taking over this little boy¡¯s body. He is a good kid and you perpetually get him in to deep trouble, just so you can have your little fun and not take the rap for it. You thrive on his misery and punishment. You''re nothing but a leech. You have nothing but your perverse sense of enjoyment. You''re a sadist, you know that? You think you''re better than everyone else just because you think you can do whatever you want. You think that you''re some sort of god because you think you can''t be seen. Well, guess what? You can be seen. By me. And I will hold you accountable for your actions. You have no idea what I can do. If I can see you, what do you think I can do to you? This better not happen again, or else I will make sure this can''t happen again, get it?"

    He nodded, stiffly, the smoke whipping rapidly.

    "Have you heard what happened to the German Sheppard shadow that used to screw with Danny Venkman down at 1347 Maple Street?"

    He shook his head.

    "There''s a reason they don''t like to talk about it."

    His eyes grew wide. The wisps left his eyes suddenly, and the monkey quickly re-materialized. It lept off the child, and ran away, shrunken and misshapen. Sammy blinked. "Let''s go get that cone, I think I''ve got a quarter for you." Violet said, holding out her hand. Sammy took it.

    It turned out she had three quarters, so she got one for Ian as well. Sammy was giving Ian critiques on his batting stance while Violet was making herself a cone. Marco appeared next to her, "Did I hear you yelling at that kid earlier?" Violet raised an eyebrow. "Do I smell you not sharing your stash?" He put his hands up innocently. Violet continued, "The back window''s broke again, can you clean up the glass while I file a report?"

    When Sammy left, Ian looked at me with big eyes. "Okay, I''ve been doing everything in my power to keep from freaking out but geez."

    "Yeah, the black smoke is pretty disconcerting when you can''t tell what''s going on, but I''ve noticed some people can see it when I''m near."

    He shook his head. "I''m mean yes, but your eyes! They were going bonkers with the gold, I could have swore they were glowing."

    "Oh. Yeah, I guess I didn''t think of that."

    He backed up a bit. "But it was pretty cool, too. Like top ten for supernatural eye stuff that''s also not sex stuff."

    She scoffed. "You can list nine others?"

    He opened his mouth, closed it, and pursed his lips together. He held up a finger. "Give me a minute, I got this."

 Chapter 6

    Ian was an intern at a small IT company. He did everything from brewing coffee to basic debugging. His boss had no problem with him bringing a friend along to ''job shadow''.

    Tanset Studio''s offices were a bit run down, but the employees made up for it with an unabashed amount of personal knick knacks, memes posted on the walls, and abstract art made from old equipment and cords.

    "Is this your tag-along, Ian? Davin Cheng, nice to meet you." Violet smiled at Ian''s boss and shook his hand, "Violet Kerrington, thank''s for having me here today." Davin adjusted his glasses. "I''m going to warn you, Ian''s gig isn''t quite as exciting as you might be expecting, so feel free to bounce around and ask people what they''re up to. We''ve got a problem solving meeting this afternoon that I think you might get some good insight from. You shadowing for credit?"

    Violet shrugged. "Something like that. I haven''t really declared a major yet, so I''m just figuring out my options."

    "Fair enough," said Davin. "But, if you find a way to get some credits out of it, shoot me the paperwork and I''d be happy to sign it. Also there''s a Slack group for any good Reddit links that you find, so feel free to contribute."

    "Deal."

    Davin had a point. Ian had to work on Tanset''s website, and fixing broken links wasn''t exactly what Violet had in mind for today. Violet made a few passes to the break room to talk to the more social employees. It was strange. There was a distinct lack of shadows in the office. As a red-haired employee made their way over to one of the desks near the break room, she saw a black blob materialize in to a butterfly and land on the desk. The two teased each other playfully. She watched it absently, forgetting she was stirring a coffee when Ian''s voice roused her. "Having fun creeping?" She turned sharply, not realizing how close she actually was to him. The smell of mint hit her again. "Sorry." She shook her head. "There''s just so much...not going on. You know what I mean. Those two are flirting under the influence, but that''s like it. Ya''ll are way too naturally chill here apparently."

    Ian leaned back. "Isn''t that a good thing?"

    "Things that are good can also be not helpful."

    He closed a browser window. "Team meeting''s in a few minutes, do you still want to go?"

    She nodded. "If there''s something fishy here, it''ll show itself. Meetings tend to do that to people."

    Except it didn''t. Davin happily announced that profits were steady enough to finally open their new development division - apparently the reason it''s a ''Studio'' was that they originally intended to make video games, but strangely enough that wasn''t enough to keep the lights on. They pivoted to IT support long enough to get on their feet, with the promise that employees could start splitting their time on game development as long as the company could remain stable. They would start transition a couple of their senior employees to spend a quarter of their time getting the program off the ground. Davin looked a Ian, "That might mean you getting some more of the day-to-day requests, but if progress stays good, we might get another intern to help out." Davin raised an eyebrow to Violet, but moved on to discuss the main issue at had - user interface testing for a client''s inventory software upgrade.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    * * *

    "Not a damn thing?"

    "Not one. I mean, if there''s anywhere else you frequent, I can check that out, some of the venues and whatnot, but my guess is it''s something to do with the band."

    After work, Violet and Ian regrouped at a cafe. Violet made quick work of her Americano as Ian casually sipped a mocha. She ordered another one.

    "Did you dream last night?"

    "Yeah," she sighed. "Nothing specific, just some repeats of the same stuff. When can I meet the rest of the band?"

    She wanted to change the subject before the dream caught up to her and made her blush. She had a regular dream, not one of the visions he was referring to. She dreamed of Ian, in ways she didn''t want to tell him about. About his laugh, about the way he looked to the side when he was nervous, of his neck when he swallowed, of his delicate, artful fingers clenched around a microphone. She wasn''t surprised she was infatuated with him. The last few days have been filled with minimal sleep, visions, and digging in to the cracks and crevices of his life. It will pass she told herself, not believing it. Regardless, she couldn''t pursue him now. There was real danger she had to uncover, and she owed it to Ian for being patient with her bullshit.

    "Actually, Trevor and Manny are grilling this weekend, a bit of a Sunday Funday. Louis and Kelly should be coming, and maybe a couple of people, so that would be a perfect time. Eric''s not back til next Sunday." He paused contemplatively. "Do you think he''s in danger? Since he seems like our best lead?"

    "Not while he''s out of town. Proximity is a big factor in what I see, and if shadows were going to cause an issue clear in Vegas, I wouldn''t have seen a thing about it."

    A second Americano appeared. "So," he continued, "what do we do until Sunday?"

    She took a sip, "Well I''ve got two shifts and three classes in between then, but if there''s anywhere else you want me to check out, you name it."

    "What classes are you taking?" He asked.

    "Mostly gen-ed fillers. Biology, Social Psychology, Religion in Modern America."

    He was bemused with the variety. "What the heck even is your major?"

    "I mean technically undeclared, but only until I can figure out what college will take my transfer credits from the community college. Some sort of psychology or counseling likely."

    "Seriously?"

    She took another drink. "I''ve got to do something with," she couldn''t figure out what to gesture to, so she just gestured to the ether "this."

    "Don''t you need a break?"

    "Breaks make me anxious. There''s stuff to do."

    His mouth made an O-shape, but he thought better of it. "Have you thought about that from a psychologist''s perspective?"

    She rolled her eyes. "Yes I know that''s not a healthy habit, no I haven''t delved too deep in to it. Not ready to do that much naval gazing."

    "Anyway...how about we go to Massey Park on Friday? I used to be one of those musicians on the edge of the shopping district looking for a dollar and a minute of your time, hey, here''s a link to my EP! I still know a few who congregate there on Friday afternoons. Maybe you''re looking for a different troubled artist besides Eric?"

    "Fair enough. I''ve got a morning shift that day anyway."

 Chapter 7

    Massey Park was a large green space at the end of the Massey shopping district. The shopping district was a mile long stretch of road that was closed off to vehicle traffic, making the whole area a rare pedestrian haven in the city. There were some benches, a fountain, and a some hybrid statues/children''s climbing toys in the park. By the time Violet arrived, a decent sized crowd was milling around, but she quickly spotted Ian, shaking hands with the two dread-locked guitarists near the fountain. He waved her over. They were back to playing when Violet reached him. "That''s Acen and Bailey. They''ve got a whole dualing hippie guitar act that they do here." He threw a five dollar bill in the guitar case at their feet and they started walking. Ian gestured to a snow cone cart and they queued up behind a mother and her two girls. The girls were dancing around to the music. Violet got a cherry lime and Ian a tiger''s blood, specifically because he didn''t know what it tasted like.

    "Tropical as fuck, you''ve got to try it." Ian offered her a bite off of his spoon. She took it, and a small line of syrup trailed down her chin. Ian''s laughter cut off quickly as a uniformed police officer approached them.

    Violet wiped off the syrup on her chin and said, "Afternoon, Officer Giffords."

    The officer slid her sunglasses back to perch on her blonde hair. "Violet, you know you can call me Becky." She said in a low tone. "How''s...uh. How''s things going today?" Violet smirked, "Good. Just got off of work and enjoying a snow cone. You ever had tiger''s blood? It''s pretty tasty."

    Becky didn''t appreciate being teased. "Violet, seriously! Is something going to happen here?"

    "Besides the busting of some funky fresh jams by Acen and Bailey, there will be no havoc caused by supernatural happenstance." The park did have some shadows, but mostly the peaceful type. Some birds and puppies darted around while several butterflies took their time by the fountain.

    Except...

    Violet continued, "But I''d highly suggest offering a bottle of water and a bus voucher to the homeless man on the edge of the park. Tell him some information about the homeless shelter and what stop it''s located by. He needs a little kindness."

    A cloud of flies buzzed around the rough figure, who rummaging around in his ratty backpack.

    Becky nodded, "Easy enough. You take care, Violet. Ian, nice to meet you." As the officer made her way to the snow cone cart to inquire on some water, Ian''s eyes went wide.

    "Are you a police psychic?!"

    Violet laughed, "There may be a few officers who are...aware I know certain things, and they may call me in from time to time to see...what''s up with some people."

    Ian was beaming. "You are a police psychic. This is the best day ever."You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    "Stop it," Violet laughed. "I''m just gonna ditch you with Acen and Bailey and they can deal with you."

    "They wouldn''t have me! They think I''m a sell-out." He took a beat. "However, I just realized I know fuck-all about you."

    Violet took another bite of snow cone. "Alright. I guess I''ve been all up in your business, so fair being fair, ask away." She scooped another bite of snow cone. "But first, realize that cherry lime is a superior flavor in almost any context." She offered the bite to Ian. He took it happily.

    "Okay, where to begin...alright, who do you live with? Your house is pretty nice, there''s no way you rent that thing yourself."

    Violet said, "My parents. They travel a lot for work so I''m basically on my own a lot. We''ve been here for about five years, moved after I graduated high school. Oh, but we do have a housekeeper, Maritza, she''s basically family. She''s why I don''t subsist solely on gas station taquitos and coffee. And have clean clothes."

    "Oh, you''re a slob? I did not expect that, you seem pretty organized."

    "I am not a slob! I pick up after myself. I just...get bored with household chores. There''s always homework to work on or shadows to chase, waiting on the dryer just seems so pointless. Also, I have no ability to meal prep and the grocery store has too many options. Plus I can''t go back to store bought tamales. Maritza sells tamales and the like on the side - I told her I can replace the grocery budget with just me buying more of her food. She just shook her head and said ''pobre chica''."

    Ian was thoroughly amused with her answers. "How''s your relationship with your parents? Do they know about the whole..." He gestured to the ether.

    "They know, but they don''t believe. I''m functional now, so they just kind of...monitor me. I think that''s why they''re still cool with me living with them. I mean, I''m working, I''m going to school, I have friends...kinda? I socialize with classmates. I mean I don''t blame them."

    "What do you mean...functional now. I mean, you don''t have to if you don''t want..." he stared in to the melted dregs of his snow cone.

    "Like...I''ve seen shadows since I was a kid. We all just assumed they were imaginary friends, like all kids have. But when I kept talking about them in like fourth or fifth grade, my parents were like ''she''s too old for this!'', so I talked to some counselors and school psychologists, and like none of them were believing me. I wasn''t dumb, but I wouldn''t do my homework, I wouldn''t do my chores, I was just like talking to other kids and chasing those shadows. Even though I was able to tame the class bully, they thought I was just really emotionally empathetic, but he quite honestly had a monkey on his back. So I stopped talking about them at school. My parents took me to a few more shrinks. Then they took me to a few priests and rabbis. Mind you, they''re not religious. The priests thought I was talking in metaphor, and the rabbis gave my parents referrals to child psychologists." She took the last bite of her snow cone. "I shaped up after that. Toned down the crazy talk and got my homework done. I never denied what I saw, mind you. I just didn''t talk about it unless they asked. I still kept looking for answers. Even tried to reach out to some actual Wiccans, but they thought I was mocking them." She crushed her snow cone wrapper. "I dunno. I guess I could prove it to somebody, like I did you, but honestly, it gets really old trying to explain exactly which of my screws are loose and they won''t just believe me. Anyway. Way too much, I know."

    He shook his head. "Nah man, you just uncovered the Rosetta stone for me, I''m digging it. So when do I get to me your friends? And do your friends know?"

    "Heeecckk no they don''t. I mean, I''ve moved around a lot, so like when I was younger, sure. Since I''ve moved here, I''ve just been hanging out with whoever I''ve been having classes with. But...I guess Modern Religion has an open door policy. If you come next week, we''re talking about portrayals of Voodoo in the media."

    "Done, I''m there."

 Chapter 8

    Modern Religion only had seven students, so Ian''s presence was obvious, but not unwelcome. Professor Bannin''s lecture was easily derailed by discussion of True Blood, which Ian was surprisingly knowledgeable on and contributed a lot more than Violet anticipated.

    When the class was dismissed, Reina flagged down Violet. "I''m starting a D&D campaign tomorrow evening, we''re rolling up our characters! Do you and Ian want to join? Everyone else is said they''d come!" Blake joined her, "Come on, Vi, you owe us for missing N64 night."

    Violet was constructing a plausible lie when Ian said, "We''re in! Where are we meeting?"

    Reina''s low pigtails bobbed excitedly as her and Ian traded contact information, and subsequently sent Violet and Ian a link. "We''re doing 5th edition, so I''d recommend reading up on the classes to have an idea of what kind of character you''d like. But don''t start building them yet! Oh, and I''m getting some boxes of wine too."The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Cool!" Ian said. "We''ll bring some snacks. Preferences, allergies?"

    Blake and Reina proceeded to discuss the various benefits of cheeses versus popcorn. By the end of it, somehow Violet volunteered to make no-bake peanut butter cookies.

    Once they were out of ear shot, Violet blurted out, "What was that?"

    Ian smirked, "What was that? What was with you? You were gonna try and get out of it!"

    "Yeah, but like..we''re in the middle of an investigation!"

    Ian rolled his eyes. "An investigation you said yourself was on hold until Eric''s back. This sounds fun, you need some fun. Let''s hang out with you friends."

    Violet groaned. "Fiiiinne. However, you are going grocery shopping with me because I do not have any ingredients for cookies."

 Chapter 9

    "Dude, is she asleep?"

    Ian stood from his lawn chair and peered over Violet''s curled up body. She somehow was able to get comfortable in the rickety reclining lawn chair, and had indeed fallen asleep. He could hear her breathe softly. "Yeah, she''s a bit of an insomniac." He slipped his jacket off and covered her with it. They had stayed at Reina''s Dungeons and Dragons partyconsiderably longer than expected, which lead to Violet only having three hours of sleep before she worked. She came straight over to the barbecue after work.

    "Damn, Kels was supposed to pump her for the dirty deets once she was good and liquored up," Louis joked.

    "In vino veritas!" Kelly said, raising the empty wine bottle unsteadily. A small fire was flickering in the middle of their circle, so through the dark Ian could see Kelly draped over Louis precariously, sharing a lawn chair that should have been thrown in the dumpster years ago. Louis took the bottle and set it on the ground before Kelly dropped it on him, and she made a face.

    Trevor took another pull off of his pilsner. "So what is your deal, dude? You''ve been attached at the hip since the last show."

    Ian cracked open another beer. "What, you guys don''t like her?"

    Eyes closed and nestled in to Louis''s neck, Kelly said, "Nah, she''s cool man, really sweet. We like her. Can''t hold her liquor for shit, but I''ll take a sleepy drunk over a sloppy one anytime."This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    Louis continued the thought. "What Trevor means is that you two have been hot and heavy ever since, and it didn''t end so well last time things got all heavy with you."

    "What, Hels? That''s different. Helen and I were, fuck, I dunno."

    "Hot then you''re cold, yes than you''re no," sang Kelly.

    Ian took a drink. "Accurate. Yeah we were. Back and forth, super intense then nothing. But like I''ve said a million times, I was in a super shitty place then. We were...oil and water. We should have never kept it up."

    Trevor nodded. "But anger-banging will do that to a person. So you and Violet either haven''t anger-banged yet, or the anger-banging isn''t any good."

    "Come on man, don''t be gross."

    "Oh-ho!" Trevor said triumphantly. "You haven''t banged at all yet. Copy that."

    "Fuck dude!" Ian pleaded with the sky. "I really like her. She''s not another Helen. I want to do this right."

    Louis was trying to reach his beer on the ground, but couldn''t due to the pile of Kelly that was pinning him. Ian grabbed it instead and offered it to him. "Fair enough man," said Ian. "We just don''t want to see you burn out and be a big pile of dead ash again."

    "Ash is inherently dead, babe," came from the crook of Louis''s neck.

    "Pedantry is inherently a buzz kill, love."

    Trevor said, "We''ll drop it, just trying to give you some tough love. Besides, Eric will have the last say on her when he gets back."

    Ian rolled his eyes. "I don''t need his permission to date, that was an eternity ago."

    Trevor shook his head. "Nah, but he''s a master at capturing a scene, and how ever he sums it up seems to stick with you like white on rice."

    Ian chuckled, and looked over to Violet. He saw her chest rise and fall. "Fair enough."

 Chapter 10

    She was surrounded by nothing but stars. Thousands and thousands of stars pin pricked the dark sky. She relaxed her focus and tried to find the constellations, but the patterns eluded her. She took a deep breath and tried to just enjoy the scene instead. She reached her fingers out and stroked the soft grass, but when she turned her head to look at them, she only saw more stars. She tried to lift her hand up, but it was too heavy. She felt panic beginning to climb inside of her.

    Stay calm she thought to her self. The stars won''t hurt me.

    The panic continued it''s slow crawl.

    She tried to ignore it. She looked for the shadows instead, but there were none.

    The panic halted and started scratching at her back.

    No, that''s not panic. She bent her arm around and tried to reach at the scratching, but felt nothing.

    It burrowed deeper.

    She tried to sit upright.

    She couldn''t.

    Ian will help me she thought hazily. He has to be looking for me already.

    She opened her mouth to call out for him when the scratching became a stab, sucking the air from her lungs. Everything went black.

    ***

    She knew she needed to be focusing on her upcoming meeting with Eric, but the sense of helplessness that captured her in her last dream still haunted her.

    Never before had I needed anyone. Called out for someone.

    You''re weak. But more worryingly, you''re going to get him hurt.

    Ian insisted on picking her up, which confused her until she heard his babbling in the car. His mind was jumping around, telling her about previous performances, practices, and lyric ideas he wanted to run by Eric. It finally dawned on her.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "You''re nervous about me meeting Eric. Or about me attending practice? Both?"

    "I wouldn''t call it nervous...Just exciting. I''ve got to see you in your element, now it''s time to see you in mine," he said with a shy smile.

    "I literally saw you guys in concert. Is watching how the sausage gets made that thrilling?" She teased.

    The jab had the desired effect and he continued to babble about the song writing process, the flow of a well-practiced band, and the spark that only a dingy garage can kindle. It felt safer to listen than trying to talk. Ian didn''t need the know about this latest dream.

    As they pulled up to the house, Violet saw that Trevor, Louis, and Eric were already set up in the garage. She was surprised to see Eric decked out as much as he had been at the concert. It seeming to be a lot more effort than a practice session required.

    As they approached, Eric seemed to study her. Violet tried to be nonchalant in her observance of the black blob that rippled on the concrete behind him. She was curious and trepadatious at the same time - it certainly didn''t have the same energy as the thing she felt in her dream.

    "Welcome back dude. This is Violet!" Ian said cheerfully.

    Eric smirked. "You seem familiar..."

    "I was front row at the last show."

    Eric gave Ian a look as if he was impressed. "I wasn''t totally sure if I should have believed Trevor''s account, but I guess I owe him a beer." He grabbed his guitar and slung the strap over his torso. "But later. Vegas sucked so I have a bunch of ''meh'' material we need to get through and separate the wheat from the chaf." He eyed Ian''s empty hands, "You gonna just play air guitar bud?"

    Ian threw up his hands. "Just making plesentries, I''m getting my shit now. We missed you bud." Violet followed Ian back to the car and helped him grab is gear.

    "Don''t mind that," Iam mumbled. "His brother is a bit of an ass about the band, so he''s always a bit extra when he gets back. Once we get a few songs in he''ll chill out and have a real conversation."

    Except he didn''t. He did stop and chat, but mostly about the task at hand. Violet tried to politely ask him about his family, but he gave mostly snide remarks about them. The blob would pulse and wave in response, but shrink when he started singing. A few hours in, Eric showed no signs of stopping, so Violet ordered a pizza. That caused Eric to brighten up considerably, and the blob to recede to more of a small puddle.

    She kept catching Ian watching her. She could see his curiosity burning in his eyes, but she didn''t have much to tell him, so she''d shrug or smile to assure him there was nothing serious present at the time.

    Violet kept trying to talk to Eric, but anything she''d mention would prompt a, "That reminds me, let me talk to Trevor real quick," or "Oh shit, gotta grab Ian."

    She toyed with the idea of just walking home and letting the guys have some space, but the blob still made her nervous. She decided to curl up on the couch instead and read some articles for Modern Religion on her phone. Maybe I''ll get lucky. At the very least, I''ll stop making Eric so on edge.

 Chapter 11

    She had fallen asleep on the couch yet again. Eric had went to bed, still a little distant, and Ian, Trevor, and Louis were trying to figure out the best way to handle Violet.

    "Can''t she just crash here?" asked Louis.

    Trevor shrugged. "Honestly, Eric seemed kind of out of it, so I don''t think that''s a good idea."

    "But she hardly ever sleeps like this, I really don''t want to wake her." Ian bit his lip.

    Trevor rolled his eyes. "Really? The last time we hung out she''s passed out."

    She coughed.

    "Perfect," Trevor said. "Self-solving problem."

    She coughed again, deeper and more grating. She started to stir. Her hands went to her throat. She wore a deep v-neck and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, so there was nothing to brush away, but she tried anyway. She did it again. She scratched and pulled at her neck and she gagged. Her face started turning red.

    Ian started shaking her and calling her name. "Vi, Violet wake up!"

    She gagged and her eyes went wide. "Hey, it''s okay, it''s just a dream." Ian said.

    "No it''s not," she rasped. She sat up abruptly and bolted from the couch, pushing past Ian and ran up the stairs. She heard a creaking, scraping, and a clatter. She jerked open Eric''s bedroom door. A bed sheet was looped and hung from the clothes rod in his closet, and from it, hung Eric. She grabbed his torso and lifted - she heard him gasp and pant. Trevor, Ian, and Louis barged in. Suddenly Trevor was at her side, yanking at the knots in the sheet. When Eric''s neck was free, Violet clumsily laid Eric on the floor.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    That''s when she saw segmented legs emerging from Eric''s chest, struggling to escape. Violet placed her hand on his chest and pushed, her ears filled with manic scritch tickticticTICKSCRITCHSCRATCH, finding the spider''s torso and ripping it out. The spider''s body filled her palm, a black shifting mass.

    Once free from Eric, it flailed wildly. It wriggled and shrieked as if it was being burned, small tendrils of smoke evaporating around her golden hand. It found enough freedom to turn, grab her arm with it''s legs and bite her hand. Her hand spasmed, and the spider escaped. It skittered away and lost shape, turning in to smoke and disappearing through the wall. Violet nearly chased it until she returned to her senses.

    Ian was barking orders over Eric''s coughing "Louis, get the car! Trevor, help me get him up, he needs to go to the hospital."

    Violet helped Trevor get Eric upright. Ian went to take his other side. "Come on, Vi, we gotta go." She did.

 Chapter 12

    Even Violet was talked to by the medical staff when they arrived.

    "I didn''t know him that long."

    "I''m...dating one of his band mates." That was the easiest way to explain it.

    "I''m fine."

    "I just thought I heard something strange going up stairs."

    "Practice seemed to be fine, but I just met him. He was out of town when I started hanging out with his band mate."

    "I''m fine."

    "I mean it was kind of obvious what to do."

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.Eric was being kept overnight for observation. Fortunately, he had only minor damage to his throat, indicating that Violet had just caught him in the act.

    Her phone buzzed. She opened the text message.

    "Where are you?"

    "Outside. Getting some air. Didn''t think I''d be let back there anyway. You okay?"

    "Yeah. Trev and Louis are real freaked out. By the whole thing."

    "Do I need to come explain myself?"

    "Not now. I don''t think that would be a good idea."

    "Fair enough. I''m gonna go home."

    "K"

    That one hurt.

 Chapter 13

    Violet had kept to herself for the next couple of days. She texted Ian off and on, and he kept her up to date on Eric''s recovery. Eric would take a few weeks to recover physically, but despite his doctor''s vocal rest orders, he still practiced warm-ups. His mother flew in and took over his house - Trevor stayed mostly with Ian and Louis to give them some privacy, and Manny was staying with his girlfriend.

    Ian asked her how to make a casserole for Eric and his mom, to which she asked, "What kind?"

    "Uhh, the tasty kind."

    "Want me to just do it?" she asked.

    "I don''t think I can get away right now."

    "I can come to you, unless Trevor and Louis are in the mood to burn the witch."

    "The torches aren''t lit yet, but maybe you should come before they start thinking about it. I tried explaining things to them, but they''re still suspicious."

    "Shit. Kay."

    Violet elected to bring ingredients for baked macaroni and cheese. When she pulled up to Ian''s house, he was already on the front porch of the house. He met her at her car as she had started unloading groceries.

    "Hey," he said nervously. He moved to take some of the bags, not making eye contact.

    She stopped him. "Are...are you mad at me? For not catching it sooner?"

    "What? No Jesus. I - I''m sorry." He looked up at her. His face was pale and there were bags under his eyes. He looked so tired. "This thing fucked me up, I''ve been really out of it. I''m glad your here." His voice started out distant, but she could tell he was trying to come back. She was flooded with relief, so much so that she set the groceries down and wrapped him in a hug. "Fuck. Good." She squeezed him tightly. Her wrapped his hand in the back of her shirt and held tight for a long minute.

    "You saved him. That''s what I keep telling them." He let her go, but held her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "They''re confused. But I know you can explain it to them."This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Somehow that couldn''t phase her much. "Otherwise your casserole will have some nicely crisped witch added to it. Punch up the protein content."

    He looked at her, bewildered.

    She shook her head. "Sorry. I''m pretty fucked too."

    Ian grabbed a few bags and helped her to the front door. Louis had already wrenched the door open before they could reach for the knob. "You''re a psychic?" He asked pointedly. Even his hair looked tired, lacking the normal spikes.

    "Something like that. I have weird ass dream and see paranormal creepy-crawlies."

    Somehow that answer was sufficient to allow entrance. Louis cleared off the kitchen counter to make room for the groceries.

    "You see ghosts?" Louis continued.

    "They''re not that complicated. It''s more like a ball of emotion that takes an animal form. They latch on to people in an unstable state and amplify whatever they''re feeling."

    Trevor was sitting on the couch on the other side of the bar. He hadn''t even sat up at her appearance, but eyed her carefully.

    Ian began unloading the groceries and asked, "So he''s not really suicidal?"

    "That''s harder to tell. I''d say he wasn''t ready to...do it at the time, the spider just went aggressive and pushed him to it. But no, I can''t say definitively that it was just the spider." The words were thick in her mouth.

    Ian stared at the box of macaroni noodles for a moment. "Fair enough."

    Louis nodded. "His mom is already getting him a therapist. We have to make sure he goes."

    "It it gone?" Trevor asked in a low voice. "Is that thing gone and never gonna bother Eric again?"

    Violet rubbed her hand where the spider had bit her. No marks, but she could still feel the pain, aching and baffling at the same time.

    "I don''t know. It''s not dead. It escaped. But I don''t think it''s going to go back to him any time soon. I...ejected it pretty harshly. There was another thing following him too, but it was just like a moody-ass blob. It has to be why I didn''t suspect a second one. The blob followed him but the spider burrowed inside of him. I''ve been analyzing my dreams and they''re all pretty hazy. Not as...visceral as the one I had on the couch. I may have snuck over to the house and slept outside in the bushes of it a couple of times to make sure I''m seeing everything."

    Louis and Ian gave her a befuddled look at that. Trevor stood from the couch and crossed in to the kitchen. He hesitated by Violet for a second before he passed by her to the fridge. He pulled out two beers, popped the tops off, and offered her one. She accepted it gratefully.

    "Yeah, Eric''s mom thinks you''re a total creep," Trevor chuckled.

    She shrugged. "It could have been worse. She didn''t have me arrested."

    Louis couldn''t help himself. "Why did you glow?"

    She took a long drink off of her beer. "If you going to be a crazy psychic you might as well do it with some pizzaz. Fuck, I don''t know why I glow."

 Chapter 14

    Violet still wasn''t sure if her presence would be welcome, but Trevor insisted on it. "If the mac and cheese is shit, I need someone to blame."

    Deidra Black welcomed them in to the house, giving Violet a strange look but accepting the casserole dish anyway. "Eric''s just getting out of the shower, you boys can go ahead to his room." Violet tried to follow, but Deidra said, "Bush girl. Wait a second."

    Violet was marginally betrayed when Trevor, Ian, and Louis obeyed. Deidra was relatively young, but her jet black hair was already showing signs of grey. She was thin as a rail, but her composure argued she''d be hard to break.

    "My sons are messes. Their dad was a piece of shit, but I don''t want to give him any more power than he deserves, so I''m not going to blame that. I busted my ass raising them."

    Violet was taken aback. "No one would say you didn''t."

    "Quiet. What I''m trying to say is that a mom can only control their kid so much. And you hope they can make good decisions and surround themselves with good people."

    She smiled as much as she could. "The boys are good people. And so are you. I wish my other numbskull could find good people to watch out for him." Violet saw tears forming in her eyes, but she wrapped Violet in a quick hug before they could fall. "Thanks." She let go.

    Vioet swallowed. "I...I''m glad I could help. But he''s still got a long way to go."

    "I know. Now go on, I need to take a shower." Violet nodded and trotted upstairs.

    She found them huddled around the TV, playing Super Smash Bros. The bruising she saw on Eric''s neck made her cringe, but he seemed determined and clear-eyed. And unfollowed by shadows.

    Eric hit pause when he heard her enter.

    "Hey," Violet said, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "How are you?"

    "Peachy," Eric said. "Except what the fuck was that thing?" He asked pointedly.

    She took a deep breath. "When I was in high school, I started having dreams about one of the guys in my class. Nice guy, average student, nothing like super notable about him, we just never really talked. But my dreams about him were just filled with dread. So I got to know him, started talking with him, was a partner on a few projects, and it became clear he wasn''t doing well. He just...had no fire in him. No spark, except for swim club. Even when he wouldn''t do his homework, he always went to swim practice. He had a few shadows that would follow him off and on - when he was really happy, it was usually because there was a butterfly there. When he was spacey and out-of-touch, it was a swarm of flies. But normally it was some sort of fish. It was weird, I''d never seen a fish like that before, following someone so often.

    "When he went to school one day and I couldn''t see a shadow on him I got concerned. Now that I think about it, he had some black smoke in his eyes, but I didn''t really know what I was seeing. I thought it was the bad hallway lighting. I''d never seen it before. He left school early that day and didn''t go to swim club. I went to his parents house, and he was there, but his parents wouldn''t let me in. Just said he wasn''t feeling well. He wouldn''t answer my texts. So I went home and tried to sleep, see if I could get a vision on him. I did later that evening, but all I could get was the feeling of drowning and a chain link fence. So I hauled ass to the public pool, and sure as shit his car was there. The pool was closed, but I could see him splashing in the pool. And then he stopped splashing. The gate around the pool was locked, so I had to climb over the fence.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    "I''m really bad at climbing fences apparently." She hiked her skirt up her right leg to expose a long, thick scar running the length of her thigh. She tried to avoid Ian''s reaction, but couldn''t help but see him wince. "Anyway I got over the fence and in to the pool. I pulled him out and tried to do CPR, and it was only then I realized I could reach further in and find shadows that have entered. I ripped a piranha out of him and tore it apart, and he coughed himself back to consciousness. I saw my blood in the water and it freaked me out, so I got us in to the pool office. I called him an ambulance and tried to patch myself up." She let her skirt down and smooth the edge.

    "The doctors convinced his parents to get him in to therapy on my insistence. I didn''t know how to tell him about it - I didn''t realize I could show people. He was unconscious when the piranha came out. And I was really scared of people calling my crazy and trying to lock me up, so I really didn''t know how to explain...anything to him. But I can tell you. I wasn''t able to kill that spider, so you still need to be careful. And you need to talk care of yourself." She finished gravely.

    "But," Louis chimed in. "That guys just fine, right? He''s alive and living his best life? Ya''ll still have brunch on Sundays?"

    Violet looked at the ground. "He...he''s alive. Seems to be doing well based on his social media - he''s even engaged. He manic-pixie-dream-girl-zoned me and it was fucking with his recovery. Made this weird-ass bird keep appearing with him. I even talked with his therapist because the therapist was concerned about how he talked about me. So I...uh...would intentionally piss him off every so often. Try to break any illusions. And when we moved a few months later, I ghosted." She shook her head. "Seriously, I really didn''t know what I was doing there, but just know he still made it even when I fucked up."

    Trevor snorted. "Well, you''re not allowed to ghost until we kill the spider."

    "I am not going to ghost!" She said defensively.

    Eric got up and held his hand out for Ian''s Game Cube controller. Ian surrendered it and Eric in turn offered it to Violet. "Thanks. I''m pretty sure I''ve got to let you beat me a few times in Smash now."

    "You''re going to have to do pretty poorly because I am very bad."

    He laughed and took his spot on the bed. Ian was perched on the edge of his recliner, still processing what Violet had said, but then he snapped to it and scooted over in his seat to make room for Violet. She squeezed in to the spot, slumping to get comfortable. As Eric got a new game set up, Violet leaned her head cautiously on Ian''s shoulder. Ian turned his head and kissed her hair.

 Chapter 15

    Baked Nebraska was finishing their set while Eric was finishing a bottle of water. He honestly did look in decent shape - his piercing were all in place, hair spiked to pin points, and a fire in his eyes. No smoke though. Violet had been vigilant about keeping any and all shadows away from him. He was almost amused at having his own personal body guard.

    Ian and Violet had fought last night over the wisdom of performing in the Summer''s End Showcase. Violet was still concerned that such a large crowd could be a hot bed for shadows. But Ian overrode her. Eric needs this to feel normal again.

    That morning, Violet did her best to keep Ian in bed. It had no effect on him. Instead, he tried to tuck her back in. You''ll feel better if you get some sleep for once.

    Not happening. My dream last night had trees, and the showcase is right next to the park.

    Trees? Vi...lot''s of places have trees.

    Okay, but what if Eric hurts himself?

    The doctors cleared him a week ago to sing. He''ll be fine. And you''ll be right there if I''m wrong.

    Ian was working with the stage manager while Trevor did some equipment checks. A water bottle flew at Violet and hit her arm. Violet jumped. Eric laughed. "You look like shit dude. Hydrate." She tried to smile and scooped up the water bottle.

    It didn''t help that the crowd was a zoo. Snakes, cats, dogs, birds, bees, and raccoons were the ones she could distinguish. Some of them hadn''t taken a definitive form yet.

    Baked Nebraska exited the stage, and Ian hollered "Let''s roll!" Violet grabbed Eric''s guitar case and helped him get set up back stage. She helped him adjust his strap and straighten his lapel. He put a hand on her face and turned her face towards his. "My home is up there. Nothing can touch me."Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    She nodded, and started walking around to scan for shadows. A hand reached out and took hers. "Violet!" It was Ian. She hadn''t really looked at him today, she realized. He was head to toe in black - boots, pants, button down, tie. Sharp. "You look good," she said. "Go kick some ass." She tried to leave, but he wouldn''t let go of her hand. She then raised their clasped hands and kissed the back of his. With that, he released her and she went to find her post.

    Eric was correct - the stage was his home and he was untouchable. However, it was Ian who played front man this time. He introduced the band, transitioned between songs, and played salesman. "We''ve only got four songs to sell you on our sound, so nobody on this stage is messing around."

    The shadows didn''t approach the stage as she feared. Instead, a few of the misshapen ones took form - faintly, birds. They began to flap and circle. The snakes began slither out of the group, to the east of the stage, towards the trees. The dogs nipped at the snakes. Soon the raccoons joined the snakes'' procession. The bees and butterflies tried to dodge the birds. The cats merged in to one large tiger. The tiger bounded to the procession and swiped a massive paw through it. The snakes and raccoons started to dissolve, but their smoke continued forward. Violet saw something move in her periphery, but she whipped around to see only the stage and the support staff. A security guard eyed her suspiciously. No smoke though. Still no approach to the stage. As the fourth song started on it''s last chorus, there were still no shadows approaching the stage. A mass of smoke took the form of a deer and darted in the opposite direction. Only then did Violet start making her way towards the edge of the crowd.

    The procession became less distinct, losing form. Even the tiger was starting to melt. At the edge of the tree line, a black void swelled and began to spin. The stream of smoke was sucked in to it, and as more poured in, the faster it spun. Tendrils broke free of the void, and one by one, planted on the ground, and became segmented legs. The spider pushed upward, and the void morphed in to a body. The legs sprouted spikes, the body a head, and fangs. The fangs clicked together once, and the spider turned about face. The shadow''s body brushed against a low hanging branch, and it snapped.

    She ran.

 Chapter 16

    "Did anyone see which way Violet went?" Ian asked, scanning the crowd for her. The crowd had only dissipated a little in between sets. Trevor had his phone out, calling Violet on speakerphone. Each ring filled Ian with dread. Louis pulled out his phone, "I''ll text Kelly, they might be together." Trevor finally hung up and shook his head. "I''m gonna check the concession stand. It''s hot as balls, she might just need a beer."

    Ian said, "Louis, that cop over their, the blond? Her name is Becky Giffords, ask her if she''s seen Violet." Wordlessly, Louis obeyed.

    Eric was rifling through the haphazardly packed van. Ian''s rage flared. "Not the fucking time, we have to find Violet!"

    Eric slammed the van door and produced a pocket knife. A three inch blade snapped out of the handle. "It''s back. I can feel it." He pointed towards the tree line the with the blade.

    "What the hell?"

    Eric was already striding away and called, "The spider!"

    They crossed the distance at a jog, and as they approached, they could see a hole formed by snapped branches and crushed bushes. They followed the path, until they heard a sickening thud.

    Violet''s body was sprawled out on the ground. Her eyes and hands were glowing gold as she groaned. She pushed herself to sitting and let out a sharp wail. Ian went to her, and tried to pull her to her feet, when he saw her knee was a bloody mess. Eric surged past the both of them, and only then did Ian see the spider. The spider''s body scraped along the lowest branches of the younger trees, but it''s head was dipped. Eric didn''t hesitate. He planted the blade in the head, and spider let out a ghastly screech. It shook it''s head and threw Eric to the side. He stumbled and caught himself on the spider''s leg. On of the leg''s barbs caught him on the arm, and he laughed as blood welled to the surface. The spider turned to Eric.

    Violet braced herself on Ian. "I need to get closer," she grunted. The golden glow in her eyes hadn''t wavered. Ian propped her up against a tree. He found a splintered branch the size of his arm nearby. "I''ll bring it to you."

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    The spider had put it''s full attention on Eric. Ian squared up against one of the back legs and swung at a leg segment. The segment dissolved in to smoke, and spider stumbled. He swung for the next leg, two segments up. The segment dissolved, the branch snapped, but it had done it''s job and the hind quarter of the spider fell.

    Violet threw herself forward and on to the spider''s body and up the abdomen, to the base of the head. The spider screeched again, struggling to push itself up. The knife was still buried inches from the fangs. The spider jerked, but she managed to grab the knife and stay mounted. She took a deep breath and focused on her bloody palm, and her ears were filled with nothing but the screeching of the spider. Her hands were burning, but she pushed deeper in to the feeling, and put all her weight behind the blade. The screeching was replaced by the scritch scritch tick scritch tic clicks, and she pulled the the knife towards her, rending a gash. A viscious, oily fluid spurted forth. She plunged her other hand in the gash - a ball of heat and light. Black steam rolled up from the gash. She grabbed a hard mass inside and pulled. As her hand came out, the mass dissolved and dissipated in to smoke. The spider collapsed.

    "Shape up, Delgado! She''s wounded!"

    Gifford''s voice cracked like a whip at her partner, stunned stiff at the scene. Ian was already climbing the spider''s carcass to grab Violet, her body starting to sag and sway. Giffords ignored her partner''s shock and approached the spider. They eased her body down and Gifford said, "Keep it together Kerrington. Delgado, radio an ambulance. We''ll have to carry her out to the tree line. We also need to barricade off this area until we can ensure there are no more bears in the vicinity."

    Delgado nodded absently. "Bears. Right."

    Ian knelt next to Violet, stroking her face. Eric retrieved his knife from the body of the spider, and as Violet lost consciousness, she heard, "Ian you bastard, you didn''t tell me your girlfriend was a Super Saiyan!"

 Chapter 17

    When Violet woke, she was laying in a hospital bed, an IV stabbing in her arm, and her parents sitting on the couch near the bed. Her father was paging through a magazine absentmindly. Her mother stared out the window, chewing her nails. Somehow, Violet had never noticed the grey creeping in to their dark hair. Violet coughed.

    Almost in a single motion, her mother snapped to attention, crossed the room, and hugged her, a little too tight for comfort. Violet winced. Her dad came over as well and smiled.

    "Vi...we got yelled at by a disheveled boy in black for a solid twenty minutes before we could get in the room to see you. He is very angry at us for not believing you." Her father said, chagrined. Even his suit jacket seemed lifeless.

    "He''s in a rock band, dad. He''s very good at anger." Violet croaked.

    "And he''s right. We saw the...bear. In the woods." Her mother said, shaken. Violet was confused. "What? How?"

    "The police have it barricaded off, but Officer Giffords took us in to see...the body. Ian insisted. It looked like it was melting, or evaporating or something. It was awful." Her father stammered. "To think, that''s what you see all the time -"

    "Not all the time," Violet cut in. "They''re usually smaller. And less...everything. Some of them are even nice."

    Violet''s mother was torn between laughing and crying.

    Violet scanned the room. "Where is Ian?"

    "He went to check on the other guy who was getting bandaged up. I''ll go see if he''s nearby." Her father left.

    Violet''s mother took Violet''s hand. "Your knee is fractured, but otherwise the doctors say you''ll be fine. Mostly just heat exhaustion and dehydration." Only then Violet realized she was freezing. She thought about just gritting her teeth, but then she looked again at her mom''s face. She was still on edge, twisting her wedding ring. She needed something to do.

    "Mom...I''m cold. Can you find me another blanket?"Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    "Of course!" Her mother promptly started rifiling through the cabinets in the room.

    When Ian came through the door, he was the epitome of what her father would qualify as ''disheveled''. Buttons ripped open, tie completely abandoned, and dirt everywhere. There were damp spots on his shirt she hoped were only from rinsing off mud.

    "Hey," hey said with a smile.

    "''I''ll bring it to you?''" Violet chided. "Stupid grandiose boy." He came to her bed and stared up at the ceiling. "This is the abuse I get." She reached out and grabbed his hand. She suddenly became very aware of her parents watching them, but now seemed as fitting time as ever to stifle the shyness.

    She pulled on his hand and scooted to one side of the bed gingerly. His eyes went wide, but without a beat he crawled in to bed next to her.

    Her throat tightened. She didn''t know how she was supposed to say what she needed to next. But she had to.

    "It was a trap. It was a trap for me that whole time."

    "I wondered that for a bit," he said, quietly. "But I didn''t know if you''d believe me. Or if that even made sense, so...I didn''t know what to do."

    She swallowed. "I get it. I''m listening from now on. This is all my fault."

    "Don''t," he snapped. "Don''t start on that path. If we start with that, we also blame me for not saying anything. We blame Eric for having a hard time. We blame procedural cop shows for glorifying a dogged pursuit of of the bad guys, despite the personal cost."

    She half smiled. "Well, we wouldn''t want that."

    Her dad said, "You blame us for not believing you for...years. That...that one you should do."

    "No, stop, Dad." Violet shook her head. "I don''t even want to go there."

    Her dad pressed. "If you can say that, then you can forgive yourself. Everyone''s safe and alive."

    Ian continued. "That thing is dead, and it can''t hurt anyone anymore. It''s literally evaporating in to smoke. Delgado''s watching it until it''s all gone."

    "Poor guy. Giffords owes him big time."

    The room fell in to silence. Her mother finally remembered she was holding a blanket, and covered Violet with it. She started wringing her hands, but finally asked, "So...how did you two first meet?"

 Chapter 18 - The End

    "I''m telling Dr. Skinner on you!" Eric threw a pick at Ian.

    "But you are legitimately out of tune, my dude. Vi, tell Dr. Skinner that his guitar quite literally needs a tune up."

    Violet rolled her eyes. Ian raised an eyebrow. "You did reschedule your appointment, right? No skipping this time?"

    "Yes," she said, exasperated. "Wednesday, 10:30, arrive fifteen minutes early to fill out insurance forms."

    Eric laughed. "How convenient! My appointment ends at 10 on Wednesday, and if you''re not in the waiting room when that''s over I''ll just start calling you until you''re there."

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Violet buried her head in her hands. "And what, pray tell, am I supposed to tell him?"

    Trevor snorted. "Considering that homeboy legit told the doc he stabbed a bear-sized spider and didn''t fire him as a patient on the spot, I think you''re good."

    That was apparently news to Louis. "Geebus dude. That''s some aggressive candor."

    Eric strode over to Violet and put a hand on her back. "He''s a decent shrink. And I do feel a bit better, so like, just try."

    "Fiiiine. I will try."