Jason

"I need you to think back. What can you remember from before you died? Anything to start the process of remembering what might have happened." Tom coaxed Jason as he knelt before the boy to be at eye level.

Squinting his eyes and turning his head slightly in a thoughtful pose, Jason struggled to remember his previous life. Memories flashed before his eyes of times when he was happy, sad, angry, and sick.

"I can remember...some things. They're like parts of a movie that I can vaguely remember seeing but can't remember the story." Jason said.

"That's ok. Focus on one of those memories. What's happening in it?" Tom encouraged him.

As he said this, he turned to Jerky and motioned with his head to go get the others. Jerky, understanding the meaning, turned and moved off to get the rest of the team.

"In one of them, I'm out in the sunshine. There's a fence around a yard, and I'm holding a big red ball." Jason closed his eyes now as he remembered. "Mom, Dad. I can see their faces now. Dad is asking me to throw the ball. He catches it and rolls on the ground laughing. I'm laughing now. Running to him. Tackling him and trying to get the ball back."

"Good. What else is happening? We need to help you remember what you went through, and the more memories you can see, the stronger that connection will become." Tom said soothingly to the boy.

"Now, I'm in the kitchen with Mom. She is making cookies. I get to help her with the batter. We lay the dough out on a pan and put them in the oven. There's leftover cookie dough, and Mom lets me eat it from the bowl and spoon. It's so good." Jason said.

"Now we are at the zoo. Mom and Dad took me with another family. We played at the playground and saw so many different kinds of animals. It's shifting again. I'm lying in bed with a fever. Mom is worried. I can see the look on her face. It's okay, Mom. I'm going to be alright."

"Now, I fell off my bike. I'm crying, and Dad is running over to me. He says it's okay to fall and fail as long as I get back up and try again."

"What else?" Tom pushed.

"There's a big screen in the sky. I'm on a walk with my parents, and it's saying something bad may happen. Then a bunch of monsters appeared. Mom grabbed me as we ran. Dad fought off some of the monsters and then followed. We hid in a building. So many people were dying around us." Jason's face strained as the terrible memories started to come back.

"That was the start of the System integration. We all went through that horrific time. Keep going, Jason." Tom urged the boy.

"I don't want to! It's too bad!" Jason suddenly yelled as he put his hands up to his head and held it as though sounds were berating him. "Bad things happened! Bad things happened!"

"What bad things, Jason? I need you to tell me," Tom said to the ghost, wanting to shake him but knowing he would pass through him.

"No! They died! They all died! Nothing could stop them! The goblins were everywhere! And words kept showing up in my eyes. I couldn't see." Jason was crying at this point.

"JASON!" Tom finally yelled to break the boy out of his fit.

Shrinking back from Tom, Jason looked at him with fear and began to turn transparent.

"I'm sorry I yelled. But you have to remember that we all went through this same event. We are here to help you and here to keep you safe. I promise I won't let anything happen to you. They are just memories." Tom looked at Jason with determination and what he hoped was an assuring gaze.

Jason stared into Tom's eyes for a long time. He seemed to be searching for something in his gaze that would show him that he didn't mean what he said. Tom refused to let his gaze falter and found a strength and connection to the boy in that moment he wasn't sure he could describe.

Seeming to find confidence in the look Tom was giving him, Jason slowly turned more solid again. He lowered to the floor and nodded once firmly before he closed his eyes again to continue.

"I can do it. Just...don't leave me," Jason spoke evenly to Tom.

"I'm not going anywhere," Tom said, reaching out to touch Jason on the shoulder to reassure him. He passed right through him. "Sorry, I forgot you were intangible."

Concentrating again, Jason began to relive the worst moments of his life.

"We ran past so many screaming out for help. Dad didn't have to go to work that day, so he took Mom and me to the park. I tripped as we were running. I couldn't keep up. Mom grabbed me and ran to the car. We jumped inside, and Dad drove us away. The sounds were so loud. I had to cover my ears and close my eyes in the back seat. I remember Mom telling me everything would be alright. That we just needed to get home. But we didn't make it home. We had to leave the car and run through the city.

We kept running until we got trapped by a group of monsters. Dad fought them off while we went into a building. Mom hid me in a closet and I heard more noises outside the door. I felt the earth move. It started shaking the walls around me. Then the room broke, and I was stuck under something really heavy."

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Tom stared in horror at what Jason was telling him. It became clear the situation the boy was in, and he was even afraid for him.

"I couldn't move. Everything was dark. I called out for Mom or Dad to help me. But no one came. I don't know how long I was there. I got hungry and thirsty. Then I got really sleepy. I finally fell asleep and woke up able to move through the walls. Then I came here. I didn't know what happened and just wanted to find my parents. But I think I know now." Jason looked at the floor in sadness as he tried to process what he had remembered.

"Jason...I'm so sorry. It sounds like you got crushed under part of the building. I can't believe that happened to you." Tom was still stunned at what he had heard.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault. I just want to find my parents." Jason said.

"I want to try to help. I hope they are still alive, though. If what you say is true, they might not be." Tom admitted.

"I know they are. I can feel them. It's why I came here." Jason said, finally looking up at Tom.

"Feel them? Are you sure? How can you feel them?" Tom asked as multiple questions were fighting to escape his brain simultaneously.

"I don't know how to explain it. I have some kind of feeling in my head that drew me here. All I want is for them to know I don't blame them. And when I think about that, it points me to this building." Jason tried to explain.

"Do you know their names?" Tom asked.

"I think I did. But I can't remember now. I can get the pictures to come in of memories now, but I can't remember that. I want to, but it's not there." Jason admitted.

"That's okay. You did great. I can help from here. If they are here, I promise that I will find them for you." Tom said, staring directly into Jason's eyes.

Jerky returned a short time later with the others, who stopped dead when they saw Jason.

"Hol shit, he wasn't lying," Derek said.

"Oh man, this is so cool," James said, staring at Jason.

"I need someone to get Brian now. We need to see if we can find Jason's parents. He has some kind of feeling that they are here when he thinks about them." Tom said.

"Is he sure it isn't just like, ghost indigestion or something? How could he know that?" James asked.

"I know they are here. I feel the pull to this building," Jason said firmly.

"Okay, okay. Geeze. I'm sorry, but you're like, what, five?" James asked.

"I'm nine, you buttmunch!" Jason said angrily, suddenly flaring with power as his eyes turned red and he moved toward James.

"What the hell?!" James yelled as he began to back away.

He tripped on his own feet and fell to the ground as Jason pounced on him, wrapping his hands around his throat.

"I need to find them! They are here! Why are you trying to keep me from them!" Jason's voice sounded as though he was possessed by something as he began to choke James.

"Hold on, Jason! We are going to find them! I promise! I will do this for you!" Tom yelled as he and several others jumped at Jason to try to pry his hands off.

Unfortunately, they passed right through him. Derek accidentally slapped James across the face as he tried to grab Jason's arm. Jerky jumped into action, grabbed Jason by the waist, and lifted him into the air.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" Jason screamed in pain as Jerky grabbed him, letting go of James' neck in the process and turning to claw at Jerky.

"JASON NO!" Tom screamed at the boy.

Jason appeared to come back to himself at the outburst. His eyes faded back to normal, and he turned to stare at Tom.

"Oh no! What have I done? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Jason said.

Jerky did not let go of Jason still, fearful he would lash out again.

"Jason, we are really worried. We know that if you don't find a way to find peace soon, that you could turn into a monster yourself. We will do everything we can, though. I'm not giving up on you." Tom told him as he motioned for Jerky to let him free.

Releasing his spell, Jerky opened his arms and watched warily as Jason floated away from him.

"And you," Tom said, turning on James, "Go get Brian. You're not helping."

"Fine, fine. I'll go get the Irishman. Be back soon," James said as he walked toward the elevator.

"Is...Is that what was happening to me? I just felt so angry all of a sudden. I didn't even know what I was doing. It felt like something just took over," Jason said.

"I think so. It's dangerous. We were told it could be really bad if you changed. But we will help you. It's what we do. So, I just need you to trust me and stay calm, alright?" Tom asked.

"I can do that. I'm sorry again. And thank you for helping me. I just don't know what to do, and it gets frustrating," Jason looked ashamed as he stared at the floor again.

"Don't worry about it. We know how hard it can be living in this new world. Everything is so different now, and sometimes we just need help. That's why we formed this guild. Give us a little time and we will find your parents for you."