Chapter 1

 

The clock read 12:50, but that meant little to him. At his age he had, at best, a vague conception of time. Rolling onto his back, he jostled his little legs and kicked off the covers. It was warm tonight, even for him. Looking to his left, he stared at his fluffy brown teddy bear. It had fallen from a sitting position to a crumpled mess next to his pillow. Reaching over, he snatched up the stuffed animal and held it tightly in his arms. Charlie Grant would turn eight years old tomorrow.

Charlie was small for his age. The other kids he played with were much taller than he was. As he lay quietly in bed, he wondered if he would ever grow up. He touched a small scratch on his left cheek and winced. He would show those other kids once he grew up. He knew the cut was an accident, but they didn't have to laugh at him. He didn't mean to cry, it just hurt so much. Next time, he would remember to be much more careful as he slid into second base. Running his hand over his messy blonde hair, he tried to think about something else.

Looking over at the nightstand next to his bed, he began to reach for his glass of water, but stopped. It was empty. Pushing his bear aside, Charlie swung his feet over the edge of the bed. He wasn't supposed to be up right now. It was way past his bedtime. He didn't want to make his parents mad, but he really needed a drink. Sliding off the edge of the bed, he snatched the empty glass from his nightstand and began to walk toward the door.

He stopped. Something didn't feel right. His wide innocent eyes quickly scanned his room. It was the smallest room in the house, but his parents assured him it was just his size. To his left, there was a small window that looked out onto the front yard of their two story house, and in front of him, he could see his toy box, still heaped with action figures from the previous day's adventures. To his right was the closet. Always closed at night. Always.

A small round nightlight was plugged into the outlet next to his door. He didn't really like the light. It always seemed to cast strange shadows across the room; mean outlines of things he didn't like, but Charlie was brave. Clenching the glass tightly in his small clammy hands, he pulled his attention away from the shadows and walked briskly to get some water. His heart began to pound. It felt like something was watching him. Charlie froze. The room seemed to become still almost instantly. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest, but then came another sound. A sound so terrifying, it shook him to his very bones. Slowly turning his eyes to the right, he could see his closet door slowly opening. It creaked and groaned as its old hinges rubbed against each other. In an act of sheer will, Charlie slowly craned his head to look at the closet. The door had been partially opened and was starting to close again. Looking into the closet, Charlie could only see darkness, but then terror gripped him. He wasn't sure how, but before he could even register the thought to run, he was already out of his room and charging toward his parents. Bursting out of the room, Charlie dropped the glass to the floor and dove head first into his parents' bed. The bed shook hard, then stopped.

Charlie's father shot straight up out of bed. Groggy and dazed, he looked frantically around the room. His boxers were hanging down slightly exposing the small gut he had been cultivating over the past few months. Rubbing his hands over his eyes to wipe the sleep from them, he looked down to see Charlie cocooning himself in his blankets. He let out a soft sigh of relief, then sat down on the edge of the bed. "Charlie," he said softly. He could hear his only son breathing heavily, almost frantically. "Charlie," he added a little more sternly. Reaching over slowly, he pulled the blankets away from Charlie's face. He recoiled slightly when he saw the fear in his eyes. "What's the matter, boy?"

"What's going on?" his wife asked as she sat up in bed.

"Mom, Dad," Charlie began as he started to catch his breath, "can I sleep with you tonight?"

Dylan Grant looked over at his wife and smiled. This was not the first time this had happened. He rubbed his thick brown beard as a smile emerged on his face. Dylan was a tall and well-built man. He had medium length dark brown hair that hung to the middle of his neck. It was naturally wavy, which drove his wife crazy. He was closing in on his thirty-fifth birthday, but he didn't feel it. In his mind, he was just a big kid. "I don't know. Cynthia, what do you think?"

Cynthia waved her hand in the air as she scooted back down in bed. "Why can't you sleep in your own room, Charlie?" She was much more petite than Dylan. Measuring only five foot three inches, her forehead barely reached Dylan's chin when they stood next to each other. She had long blonde hair and what Dylan referred to as "sky blue eyes". She used to be afraid to age, but even now, at thirty-two, she was one of the most beautiful women around.

"There's a monster in the closet," Charlie admitted sheepishly, not wanting his parents to know he was scared. After all, he was a big boy now.

Dylan ran his large hand over his son's hair. "I've got an idea."

"What, Dad?"

"Let's go find that monster and flush him out!" Dylan stood and walked across the room toward his golf bag. Hastily looking over the silver clubs, he grabbed a wedge out of the bag.

Charlie started to shake his head. "That's not a good idea, Dad."

"Why not?" Dylan asked, holding the club tightly in his hands. "Your old man's a pro at this. I bet you didn't know that back in college your dad majored in monster hunting."

Cynthia chuckled. "Stop making things up, honey."

Dylan shook his head. "No, it's true," he said with a laugh. "While other kids went out for the football team, I went out for monster hunting."

"Stop egging Charlie on and take him back to bed." Cynthia pulled the covers up tightly to her chin. She had to be up in less than five hours to be at work. She had a major meeting she had to be well rested for.

Dylan knelt down in front of Charlie. "Your mom never was a believer," he said in a whisper.

Charlie laughed. His dad was his hero. They did everything together. Tomorrow was going to be extra special for him. His dad was taking the day off from work to take Charlie to his first major league baseball game. He had even promised to show Charlie how to run the scorebook. Sitting up in bed, Charlie scooted toward the edge and hopped off. When he was with his father, they were invincible.

"Are you ready to go get that monster?" Dylan asked as if he was taking the family out for ice cream.

Charlie nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Then what are we doing standing around here for? Let's go."

Dylan started for the door with Charlie closely in tow. Once in the hall, Dylan glanced across at Charlie's room. The door was still wide open and an empty glass was lying in the middle of the floor. Dylan looked down at his son. "Did you leave that glass there, Charlie?"

Charlie nodded.

"I'm going to let it go for the moment, but as soon as we get that monster, I want you to pick that up and put it where it belongs, okay?"

"Okay, Dad."

Turning back toward Charlie's door, Dylan lifted the club in front of him. It was his sword and he was headed to slay the dragon to bring peace back to the kingdom, or at least a good night's sleep. Taking another step, he stopped. Something wasn't right. Looking down the hall to his left, he caught a glimpse of a dark form moving past the window. "What the hell was that?" he asked himself. Reaching behind himself, he patted Charlie on the head. "Stay here for a minute, okay?"

Charlie looked up at his dad. He was transfixed, staring unblinking at the window at the end of the hall. "Dad?"

"It's okay," Dylan assured him without turning his attention away from the window, "I just want to go look at something. Stay here." Without another word, Dylan began to walk slowly down the hall, his bare feet sinking into the thick carpeting.

Charlie looked at his dad, then returned his attention to his room. He glared into the darkened space. What happened to my nightlight? He began to feel his heart pound in his chest again as he heard a soft rustling noise coming from within. Turning around, he ran back into his parent's room and dove back under the covers with this mother.

Dylan stopped. Turning around, his eyes widened. There was no sign of Charlie. "Son?" The golf club momentarily loosened in his hands. "Charlie!" he said again. An odd sensation passed over him. He felt as if he was being watched. Spinning around, he saw a pair of burning red eyes outside the window peering in at him. Dylan's mouth fell agape as he stared.

The window shattered inward sending shards of glass sailing past Dylan. One of the larger pieces sliced through his upper arm. Blood instantly began to seep from the wound. Slapping his hand on it, Dylan began to stumble backwards through the hall. He kept his vision trained on the red orbs still outside his window, barely noticing the crunch of glass under his bare feet. All at once, the eyes blinked once and a dark object flung itself in through the shattered glass. There was no sound from the creature, only the howl of the wind outside. The dark form undulated and transformed as it moved down the hallway toward Dylan, its form finally settling on something vaguely human. Dylan could swear he was looking at a man standing before him wearing a large flowing black cape, although he could make out no detail in the creature, only darkness and those burning red eyes.

"You will not escape," the being hissed in a low, angry voice.

"Leave me alone!" Dylan cried as he moved faster. "Cynthia!" he cried out. "Cynthia, call 911!" Dylan looked down at his hands and stopped. He gripped the golf club tightly. Taking a deep breath, he lunged forward at the being and swung with all his might, but connected with nothing. The blade of the club sliced right through the middle of the creature without any effect. The force of the swing threw Dylan off balance and he tumbled to the floor. Looking up, he saw he was lying at the feet of the being.

Turning his head to the right, he peered into Charlie's room. To his horror, a second pair of red eyes appeared. "Shit," he muttered under his breath. Pushing himself off the floor, he tried to run for his room, but was cut off by the first shadow. The creature lifted what looked like an arm and pointed it toward him. Four thin tendrils of darkness shot from the hand like coiled snakes and wrapped themselves around Dylan's neck. Reaching up, Dylan tried to tear them off, but they were like steel. Gasping for air, he watched as the second pair of red eyes emerged from Charlie's room and moved toward him. This one was also in the form of a human. He didn't appear three dimensional in nature, rather flat. Its billowing darkness reached out and began to wrap around Dylan. It felt cold and evil. The darkness began to engulf him as it slowly moved up his body.

The second shadow echoed the first's sentiment. "You will not escape." Dylan felt his eyelids becoming heavy. The oxygen was being cut off to his brain; he was dying of asphyxia. A horrid smile crossed the faces of the two shadows as Dylan took his final breath. Retracting the darkness, the two of them ripped Dylan in half. Red blood splattered against the wall in a horrible pattern as his torso fell next to his legs. Reaching down, one of the shadows slid its fingers forcefully into Dylan's chest. It wrapped the darkness around his still beating heart and ripped it from the man's chest. The creature held it above its head to examine. Once satisfied they had what they came for, the two creatures slowly moved toward Dylan's bedroom and entered.

Charlie looked out from beneath the covers at the two pairs of burning red eyes in the darkness of the room. Reaching over, he shook his mom's shoulder in an attempt to wake her up. "Mom," Charlie said frantically. "What is it now, Charlie?" Cynthia asked, still half asleep.

Charlie swallowed hard as he stared at the eyes. "The Shadow People are here," he whispered.

 

***

 

The large office was lavishly decorated. The walls were painted a creamy shade of white that emanated warmth. Pictures dominated a majority of the space, as well as several tall filing cabinets and book shelves. Trophies collected from all over the world sat quietly observing the day-to-day routine. A large brown wooden desk sat to one side with two dark, plush seats in front of it, while a large, round conference table occupied a substantial section of the floor. A huge window behind the desk was letting the soft rays of morning light spill into the room. Two men sat inside, one in an expensive leather chair behind the desk, the other in one of the chairs facing it. Both men were swathed in the usual business attire of suits and ties.

The one behind the desk swiveled his chair around to face the other man in his office. Lifting a small tan folder off his desk, he leaned back in his chair and flipped it open. Adjusting his wire-framed glasses, he began to peruse the pages inside.

"Mr. Bishop," the man began in a light tone, "I assume you know why you've been called in here."

Nick Bishop adjusted his dark gray tie and sat forward in his seat. Folding his hands together, he propped his elbows up on his knees. He was a young man with short, messy dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He was clean-shaven with the exception of a small patch of hair on his chin below his lips. His black suit was hanging loosely off his thin, muscular frame. "I do, Chairman Weiss," he answered in a firm voice.

Thomas Weiss set the folder down on his desk and rubbed his bearded chin. He was sometimes called "the Old Man" of the firm because of his gray hair, but in actuality, he wasn't even close to being the oldest member there. "Why did you want to join the Office of Paranormal Investigation?" Weiss asked after a moment.

Bishop pointed to the yellow folder, "It's all there in my files."

"Yes," Weiss said with a nod, "it is, but I want to hear it from you."

"Is there a problem with my application, sir?" Bishop asked.

A smile crossed Weiss' face. "A little defensive, aren't we?"

"I'm sorry." Bishop looked away from Weiss as he ran his hand through his hair. "This is very important to me."

"I can see that." Weiss pulled off his glasses and set them down next to the folder. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb, massaging the two small red indentations caused by the glasses. Looking back up at Bishop, he started to run his fingers over his beard again. "I just want to know a little more about who Nick Bishop is," Weiss confessed. "I do this with all the new recruits."

Bishop breathed a sigh of relief and slipped back into his seat. "I'm sorry, Chairman," he said again. "You wanted to know why I want to join the Office of Paranormal Investigation?"

Weiss nodded.

"I guess to use a popular phrase, I am a 'believer'," Bishop said with a smile. "I just want to know this kind of stuff is real."

"What," Weiss hated to use the word, "'Stuff'?"

"The paranormal." Bishop sat forward again. "I know these occurrences are happening, and I want to be part of the organization that proves it. I want to take the paranormal out of the domain of science fiction and tabloid magazines, and shout to the world that this is real."

"Those are very high ideals, Mr. Bishop, and something we here at the OPR haven't been able to do in thirty years." Weiss lifted his glasses off the desk and slipped them back on.

Bishop shook his head, "But, sir, I've read some of the OPR's files. You have documented proof of the paranormal. How can the scientific community not recognize that?"

"Easily," Weiss stated with a bit of disdain in his voice. "Unless something can be repeated or quantified under laboratory conditions, scientists won't accept the findings." Weiss leaned forward on his desk. "When I started this organization, I had the very same ideals you have right now. I was hell bent to prove to the entire world this kind of phenomenon was real, but over the years, this company's, as well as my own, ideals have changed. We're not here to change the world, Mr. Bishop, just to study it." He lifted a small blue coffee mug from the side of his desk and took a sip from the warm liquid inside. "We've become the guardians at the gate, so to speak. We have the knowledge, and when the scientific community finally accepts the idea, they'll have to come to us."

"So what is the OPR's mission?"

"The same as it has always been, to collect information, to find the truth," Weiss said as he set the mug aside. "That hasn't changed." He flipped open the yellow folder again. "It says here you were recruited by the CIA, but dropped out a week before you graduated. Why?"

"The Agency just wasn't for me."

"It says here you were among the top of your class."

Bishop nodded, "I can't quite justify my actions. I just came to a point where I knew I was on the wrong path. I wasn't cut out to be a part of the intelligence community. I just didn't fit in.

"Fair enough," Weiss replied. Flipping over a page in the folder, Weiss stopped. "You have a medical condition?"

Bishop ran his hand over his chin. "I wouldn't really call it a medical condition, sir, but yes, I am a chronic insomniac. I assure you it won't interfere with my job performance."

"Very good," Weiss said with a smile. "Let's make sure it doesn't." Closing the folder, he lifted it up and slid it into a drawer on his desk. Leaning back in his chair, he looked over his new recruit. "You don't have a background in science, do you?"

Bishop shook his head. "I don't. I've taken science classes in college, but nothing serious. Why?"

"The OPR is mainly a scientific agency, Mr. Bishop. Most of our members have degrees in various science related fields."

Bishop smiled, "I thought you were just ghost hunters."

"We are," Weiss admitted, "but we chase the supernatural with science and hard evidence. Your lack of a solid scientific background could be a hindrance."

"But my FBI training should more than make up for that," Bishop argued. "I've been trained to correctly interrogate suspects and witnesses, and I have an eye for detail. I may not be an egghead, but my experience as an investigator will be invaluable."

Weiss laughed out loud. "Good answer." Opening the top drawer of his desk, Weiss pulled out a small, stapled packet of papers. Standing up, he tossed them across to Bishop. "In that packet, you'll find all your tax information, as well as medical and insurance forms. Fill them out and have them back to my secretary by tomorrow morning."

"I'm hired?"

Weiss nodded. "Head over to photography after you leave. We need to get IDs made for you."

Bishop stood up and extended a hand toward Weiss. "Thank you, Chairman Weiss. You won't regret this decision."

Weiss shook Bishop's hand firmly. "I hope not." Sitting back down, Weiss removed a small stack of papers from his inbox on his desk. Tapping them on the desk to straighten them, he handed them to Bishop. "Here's the information on your first assignment. I want you to study them thoroughly tonight, then report to office three-thirteen in the morning to meet your partners."