In seventh grade I had this friend named Jason. Maybe Friends was the wrong word. We really only hung out because of his house. He had what every pre-teen boy in the early 2000's wanted. A finished basement with a big screen tv, multiple video game systems, and best of all no parents in sight.

Honestly, come to think of it. I’m not entirely sure his parents existed at all. I can’t remember a single photo in the home or cars ever in the driveway. The upstairs was essentially empty.

With no adults in sight, Jason’s house became the headquarters for all the neighborhood boys. We called it the “party house,” but don’t let the name fool you. We were still the kind of nerds who’d spend a Friday night arguing over which Dragon Ball Z villain was the best rather than throwing ragers or sneaking booze. The answer was Frieza and you're wrong if you thought otherwise.

Instead of the parties, sex, and alcohol that Hollywood sold as the quintessential teenage experience, we indulged in a different kind of vice. Raunchy R-rated comedies, marathon gaming sessions, and guzzling enough Mountain Dew to feed a small island nation.

Amidst the mountain of edgy comedies like American Pie and Not Another Teen Movie, He also had an extensive collection of horror flicks.

One night while I was sleeping over at Murphs, we decided to swing by his house. They had just started watching The Ring.

I’ll never forget the way my heart shot out of my chest when that pale little girl crawled out of the TV.

It wasn’t just her look that terrified me. It was something about the way she felt and the way she moved that my brain refused to process. She wasn’t just a ghost; she was essentially fear itself.

I vowed to myself at that moment that I would never watch another horror film again. I was perfectly fine being labeled a scaredy cat. Yet here we fucking were. Worse, this wasn’t just a movie. This was my real life. I had begun to hate it.

The creatures that stood around me gave me the exact same vibes as the girl in that movie. They seemed wrong, almost like they were designed to feel unnatural.

They hovered just a few inches off the ground, their long robes rustled in the breeze. But, not in the way I expected them to. Something was wrong with the movement. What was it? It was like an itch I couldn’t scratch.

“Hey, what do you see? You better not have shushed me for no reason.” Naomi asked. I jumped at the sound of her voice.

Wow, was I that lost in my own memories? I had honestly forgotten she was there. I have to stop day dreaming like this, it's going to get me killed.

“I see about a half dozen vengeful spirits. They're kind of like ghosts, but way creepier. Alex didn’t happen to tell you anything about them did he?” I asked.

“No, they sound terrifying though.”

“Oh man you would be right. These are some creepy looking fuck… I mean ghosts. Sorry I'm working on cursing less. It's hard.”

“I appreciate you trying to hold back the language. What are they doing?”

“Nothing.”

“What do you mean, nothing?”

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“Exactly what I said. They are completely still. Almost like statues.”

Naomi chuckled, “That doesn’t sound all that vengeful. You sure Alex didn't mean to call them something else, like casper the boring spirits?”

Of course she would joke, she couldn’t see the damn things. If she actually saw them, she'd know how terrified she should be right now.

“He named them because when they come to town, it means bad things are about to happen. Your job is to stop bad things, correct? If so, I suggest you take this more seriously.”

I heard the attitude in my voice as soon as the words left my mouth. Crap, Naomi was just trying to help. It's not her fault she cant see these things.

“I’m sorry. That was rude of me,” I said.

“Hey, don’t mention it, I’m sure this is stressful for you.”

She was right, my stress levels were currently maxed out. That wasn't a good excuse. I had to do better. For now though, I needed to figure out our next step.

Wait a minute, they had moved. The one on the left had been standing right on top of that yellow parking marker. How did I not notice the change? It was so sudden.

I needed to figure out where they were headed.

“Hold on, they moved. Give me a second.” I said.

I waited. Come on you creepy freakshows move.

Oh shit, they moved again. They were heading towards something, but it wasn’t towards us. Something in my brain clicked, I felt immediate relief like I just solved the world's most annoying puzzle. Oh man, like ants to a picnic. It was so obvious! It was as if a lightbulb suddenly appeared over my head. I knew exactly what we had to do.

“Naomi, can you get me out of here? I have an idea of how to find your man.”

“You must be out of your damn mind! No, I can’t just take you out of the hospital.”

“Why not? You need me to find your vampire.”

“Get out of here with that nonsense. Listen, you’ve seen the badge. I’m a civil servant. I can’t just go around pulling kids out of hospitals before they get released by a doctor. I’d lose my job.”

“I’m 18 in a couple weeks. Can’t I just refuse service?”

“Do you see yourself? I mean just look at your leg. You were stabbed! You’re on pain medications, for Christ's sake, you’re still hooked up to that IV!”

I looked down at the IV in my arm. I grabbed the tube and yanked it out. I watched the blood trickle down my wrist. I took the corner of my shirt, to apply pressure. “Alright, that’s taken care of.”

“Heck no you didn’t just do that. Are you freaking nuts!? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? I did not sign up to deal with another crazy teenager with a death wish! Boy, you're as bad as Alex was!

“Listen, I don’t have time to waste. You can come with me or you can stay where you are. I don’t care, but I promise you that at the end of this journey we’re going to find your man.” Without waiting, I started to wheel toward the spirits.

They moved at a normal human pace, but their movements were jarring, like a glitch in a video game. I thought back to my animation classes to try and make sense of what I saw.

In animation, 24 frames per second is the standard for fluid motion. If that was normal, than these things moved closer to 6. It was like playing a person in Halo 2 who still relied on a dial up connection. They jumped around the screen irritating the rest of the players.

I made it halfway down the parking lot before my arms started to burn.

Oh man, this is way harder than I thought it’d be. Stay strong, don’t quit now. Oh what’s the use, there was no way I could keep this up. How do people do this all the time? Their arms must be ridiculously strong or I’m really out of shape. It’s probably both.

“Hey, wait up!” Naomi called out.

Relief flooded over me. “Oh thank God! I really didn’t want to do this alone.”

“Alright, if you’re going to insist on going, I’m coming with you to make sure you’re safe. I can’t in good conscience let you run away from this place without someone to protect you. Just know, I do not approve of this at all! Also, if we get to an end spot, you stay the hell back until we call for backup. You hear?”

I nodded.

“Let's go get this guy! If you push, I'll navigate." I said. With that we followed the creatures, hopeful they'd lead us to our target.