I awoke slowly, painful memories and disgusting sensations plaguing my mind.

My room didn't have a window, something I had grown to appreciate as time went on. It made it a lot easier to sleep when your bedroom could actually get close to total darkness.

There was enough light pouring in from under my door, though, that I knew it was late into the day.

Not exactly a surprise. I would've been exhausted from half of what I did yesterday. I tried to sit up, then realized I was face down on my bed. I rolled over onto my back and had to bite down on a shout of pain.

There were wide patches on my back that I could have sworn had lost their skin and were nothing but exposed nerve endings. Even the slightest brush sent pain lancing through me.

Slowly, and with some uncomfortable similarities to an old man, I pulled myself out of bed. "And my neck hurts too," I said, with a sigh. Well, that's what I get for sleeping on my face.

I hobbl– I mean walked. I walked out of my room and into the kitchen. I thought of the main room of my house as whatever room I currently needed it to be.

And since my stomach was loudly informing me that I had not eaten much the day before, the room was currently a kitchen.

There was no one else in my kitchen, not uncommon. I wasn't often alone anymore, but there wasn't always a ghost nearby. I opened my small fridge and looked around. I tried to ensure my fridge didn't look like that of an eighteen-year-old living by himself. It was decently stocked with eggs, meats, vegetables, and other raw ingredients for cooking. Ben was a surprisingly good cook when it came to eggs. A skill he made sure I learned.

Most people know how to cook one thing decently, and ghosts were more than happy to pass on their recipes. I tossed a pan onto my two-burner stove and cranked up the heat. I got out eggs, ham, and a slice of bread from the counter. After frying the ham and toasting the bread in the fats, I cooked up the eggs before plating the whole affair.

I sat down on my couch and took a bite. Delicious. I got the eggs just right, the yoke cooked until it was hard but pulled off the heat before any of the egg could brown. As I ate, I thought over what I needed to do today. I still had plenty of unanswered questions, but they weren't a puzzle I could solve with the pieces I had at hand. First thing first, I needed to call Rogers. The second something had thrown a giant crab at me. I knew I would eventually need to call the hippie. He was more knowledgeable than anyone else I knew about the supernatural world and the nature part of the word in specific. He loved cataloging different strange and unique animals and phenomena.

I finished my breakfast and set a pot of coffee to start brewing --dark roast; I'm not savage-- then I sat back down on the couch. Taking slow, deep breaths, I began to build a mental image. I started with Roger's shiny bald head, then quickly moved down to his rugged features, kind blue eyes, and a bushy red beard. I sped up even more. His green jacket and khaki shorts that hung loose on his large frame. Tall wool socks and large hiking boots. And finally, a thick leather-bound logbook he held at his side. It only took me a minute to form the picture, which was far faster than my normal speed. With the mental image done, I unveiled my aura and grabbed a fistful of my shroud. It hurt, like trying to run the day after a marathon. And It was a higher amount than I would usually use for this too, I was something of a hoarder when it came to my shroud. But Rogers had been on an expedition he could be a few towns over or halfway across the country. I wasn't going to try this twice, so I needed a large amount of juice to try and reach him.

With the mental image firmly in place, I pushed it out with my magic. It zipped off, vanishing from sight. I waited, then waited. Then waited some more. After a few seconds, I sighed and leaned back on the couch, careful not to push my back into it. "Wonderful." Rogers, it seemed, was out of range. I stood up. I remembered to be careful this time and avoided using my back as much as possible. It was time for plan B.

When I said I didn't have a phone, I meant a cell phone.

I did have a landline. It was necessary to schedule times when I would receive a body, as well as for the occasional call like this one. I had written down the number on a notepad next to the phone. It was a habit Rogers had drilled into me from a young age, "write down important information." I punched in the number and hit dial. The phone started to ring. I was calling the Cagle pack. A pack of werewolves that lived in Bramble Myer, which was a few towns over from silver spruce. They were decent enough folk who owed me a favor. A fact that they were determined to remind me of the few times I had seen them, despite the fact that I had told them that they didn't just as many times.

Werewolves had a strange sense of honor, though, honor that was closely tied in with their pride. I had helped them, saving their alpha from possession. It had been... Five? Yeah, five years ago. Man, I felt old. They had come to Silver Spruce desperate for any spook to help them. They had been directed to me, and I had agreed to help. We had arrived back at their territory just in time to see their alpha, Samantha Cagle, trying to break into a room to get at her family. I had taken care of the possession, a particularly nasty ghost from World

War II, an act that earned me a favor. And a lot of goodwill. Even if I did get in a pissing match with Cagle about whether or not she owed me a favor.

The phone rang four times before a charming female voice answered, "Hello, who is this?" I recognized Cagle's voice. Her tone was slightly suspicious. This was an emergency line for them. "Hey, Cagle. It's Alder," I answered. Her tone changed immediately. "Oh! Alder are you calling in your favor. Are you alright?" I thought about the question for a second before answering. "I'm a bit banged up, but I'm pulling through. And yeah, I am calling about the favor." There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. "I can be there in an hour." I raised a brow, not that she could see that over the phone. If she got here in an hour, then it would be by holding the speed limit laws in total contempt.

"You don't need to rush. I'm not in immediate danger. And I'm not calling you for protection. I need information." Her response was immediate. "Ask." I smiled slightly. There was a reason I had called Cagle. Werewolves could live a very, very long time. As far as I knew, Cagle was in her eighties, but she looked like a woman in her mid-thirties. As I understood it, she would stay looking like that until she died or became truly ancient. There was a very good chance that she or one of the werewolves in her pack knew something about the aquarium, assuming they had been in this area at the time.

"Eliza's aquarium is closed, has been for a few weeks. And there's some... Trouble relating to the place. Do you know anything about its history?" There was another long silence from her end of the line. When she finally answered, it wasn't the response I was expecting. "What have you gotten involved in, Alder?" I pulled away from the receiver and stared at the phone for a second. I had to walk a fine line. I had saved Cagle's family, specifically from her. She weighed that debt as a heavy one, as such things were measured. If she thought I was in too much danger, then her pride and honor would demand she try and help me. I wasn't one for letting others solve my problems for me. I also had more selfish reasons for not wanting to involve her or her pack more than I already was. Her pack wasn't a particularly large or important one, but if they moved on mass through Silver Spruce, others would take notice. That would put more attention on me. Attention that could involve the mage clans.

I would rather get killed by Mr. wards group then get taken by one of the clans. Then again, Mr. Ward's group also wanted to take me. But I would rather be bait than a slave. "Alder? Are you still there?" Cagle asked. I shook my head, clearing it. I had been quiet for too long. "Yeah, I'm still here. As for your question... That's kind of what I'm trying to figure out." Thoughtful sounds came from the speaker. "You obviously don't want to tell me everything. And that's fine; I'm the one who owes you a debt. But if you're asking about the aquarium's history, then you need to be careful. I've been around for a while, Alder, I wasn't actually living in the area when the fallout from that place hit. But I still heard things."

Fallout? The hell was she talking about? "Umm, what?" She sighed in exasperation. "What is now Eliza's aquarium used to be a seafood processing plant, or at least that was its front. The details aren't that well-known. But in the 50s, it was owned by a branch of the Knull clan, a branch that went rogue." I felt my eyes widen, and my breath catch. A branch of the Knull clan going rogue? That was not something that happened often. And when it did, it was almost always ugly. The Knull clan was one of the three great mage clans, they held power across all of the Americas and were generally decent folk from what I'd heard. Their branches worked relatively independently from one another. They were mostly their own masters. The Knull clan's laws were pretty lenient overall. They didn't have too many, but most of them were in place to try and prevent the abuse of power. Which meant when a cell or a whole branch went rogue, it usually meant they had turned towards a darker route. Rogers had once told me of a branch that had gone rogue in an isolated town. They had started sacrificing the town's residence to fuel large-scale Wards in an attempt to create their own power base. It didn't work out for them in the end. But they had accrued enough power that the higher-ups in the clan had to glass the town in order to stop them. By the time they had resorted to that measure, there hadn't been any regular townsfolk left.

Cagle continued speaking, though I was sure she heard my breath catch. "They were running drugs, selling illegal and dangerous wards. And performing inhumane experiments on animals. The details on the whole thing were kept under wraps, but everyone assumed they had been attempts to create some sort of monster. That's usually the first thing idiots try and do." I sat there for a second, trying to process the information. It sounded like a lot had gone down. I wasn't sure why I hadn't heard anything before. Well, I suppose it did make sense that people wouldn't be eager to talk about it. The fifties were a long time ago, and people never liked to talk about branches going rogue. Knull clan mages were supposed to be guardians in their community, by the codes of their own organization. To think about those guardians turning on you wasn't a pleasant thought for most people. Of course, I already didn't trust those guardians. But that was a different situation.

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I needed time to go over what Cagle had told me, but I needed to ask a few more questions first. "You said this happened in the 50s, when exactly, though?" I asked. "52, 53. Around that time." Cagle sighed. "Jesus, I feel old." I laughed, "please, you're a spring chicken by werewolf measures." "Not quite a spring chicken, but you're right. I'm not that old.

That doesn't mean I don't feel it, though." I nodded in agreement before remembering that she wouldn't be able to see that. "I just got a few more questions, then I'll get out of your hair," I said, pausing to gather my thoughts. "All of this got resolved, right?" "As far as I know," Cagle answered. "The place was handed off to a member of the Knull clan who decided to hand it off to someone else. It ended up turning into an aquarium, as you know. One of Silver Spruce's biggest attractions." Cagle paused, and a heavy silence formed. "Can I ask you a question?" I eyed the phone and had to remind myself that she wouldn't be able to hear my heartbeat pick up if I lied; the phone's receiver couldn't pick up something that quiet.

"Shoot," I said. "Why are you asking about the aquarium?" I didn't have a terrible poker face. I could keep my expression blank without much effort. I did have a tendency to start tapping my foot and shifting in place when lying, but Cagle couldn't see that over the phone. I had to remind myself that several times as I readied my response. Rogers didn't approve of lying, and Ben was shit at it, but I had met-- and played poker with --plenty of ghosts who were excellent liars. All of them had taught me that the easiest lies to sell had a decent amount of truth in them. I figured I'd just cut out the middleman and tell her the truth. Just... not all of it.

"A ghost found me yesterday and led me to the aquarium. I found that it's better to research a place that a dead person has an attachment to, I'm less likely to blunder into something potentially dangerous that way."

... Okay." I closed my eyes. She had bought it! I was too busy celebrating to notice that she was about to ask another question, and it took me totally off guard. "Are you alright, kid?" I froze. I opened my mouth to respond, to tell her that I was fine, and her debt was paid. But I stopped when I saw that my hand was shaking. It seemed that one night of sleep hadn't done much to put the memories behind me. I tried to speak again, but the words didn't come. I had to swallow a lump in my throat and take a few deep breaths before I finally figured out how to talk again. What was wrong with me?

"Don't worry, Cagle. Things are busy over here, but I'm okay. Thanks for the info, consider your debt paid." My voice came out like a stranger's, smooth and earnest. It sounded hollow to my ears, and I had no clue how I managed to stop the words from coming out thick with emotion. Cagle had barely said, "okay," before I had slammed the receiver down. I leaned forward, placing my head between my knees, and started to take deep breaths. Contradicting emotions washed over me. Rage, joy, grief, numbness. With them came memories.

My hands wrapped around a woman's throat; I wouldn't take this anymore. It was too much! – Flicker – My back numb, a friend stood above me, weapon raised. – Flicker – "you think this is easy for me?" Jared screamed, spittle flying from his lips. "Do you know how hard I work!?" The knife felt cold behind my back as if ice were spreading from it into me. I wouldn't need to use it, he would never – Flicker – Ben's voice cut through the cacophony. His steady, calm tone like a length of rope stretched out to a drowning man. "Your name is Alder; you are eighteen years old. You own a graveyard. You have black hair. You're not married. Your name is Alder-- My breathing steadied, the barrage of images slowed. Using the mantra, I pulled myself back to the present, one breath at a time.

My name was Alder. Slowly, I sat back up. Ben was staring at me, carefully hiding the worry in his expression. "I'm alright," I said, my voice dry. "I talked to Cagle, got some information about the aquarium. She. She asked if I was all right." Ben nodded slowly, "that can get to you. Knowing that a mostly stranger cares about your well-being." I nodded quietly. I hadn't expected that question hit me so hard, Cagle and I weren't even really friends. We were acquaintances at best. I'd only seen her and her pack a few times, but the question had still gotten such a visceral reaction from me. I took a few deep breaths, then clapped my face. I stood up and turned to Ben. "Okay, so here's what I know about the aquarium, I told him everything Cagle told me, throwing in a few of my own suspicions as well.

Once I was finished, Ben sat down in the air, as if he were reclining in a comfy armchair. "Okay, that doesn't explain why somebody tried to nab you. But it might explain why there's a monster in the aquarium." He didn't mention my earlier lapse, something I was thankful for. "You think they might still be operating out of the aquarium, just better hidden?" I asked. Ben shrugged, "no clue. You know I'm not good with this kind of stuff. I suppose it's possible, though."

It might explain where Mr. Wards had come from, but it wouldn't explain why they wanted me as bait. Or what I would be bait for. Well, a monster most likely, but that didn't exactly narrow it down. I looked outside and noticed that the sun was moving down, not up. I checked my watch at 4 o'clock. Jesus, I really had slept late. "What are you doing now?" Ben asked, standing up from his invisible recliner. I thought about his question for a minute, what was I going to do? I could go back to the aquarium, but well I had a bit more knowledge than before, I still wasn't ready to go back just yet.

Even if I had all the information I needed, I still wasn't properly armed. I had a couple of twenty-twos and the nineteen eleven at my side, as well as the knife I kept in my boot. That was not enough weaponry to protect me from whatever had thrown a giant crab. Hell, that wasn't enough to protect me from giant crabs, either. I would have to go to Barry's and buy some heavier stuff. I winced at the thought. My bank account was already pretty anemic. If I bought some big guns, I was going to have to ration my food for the next couple of paychecks. I would do that later, though. Information was still my first priority right now. Once I had enough of that, I would go by some toys.

Rubbing my temples, I headed towards the door. Slipping on my boots as I did. As I stepped outside, I was immediately smacked with a gust of wind. Not again! Thankfully though sheets of rain didn't come with it. I looked up at the sky and saw that, well, blue overhead, the storm was not done. Thick black clouds still coated the sky in all directions. This was a passing rest bit.

I headed for the center of the graveyard, walking in between headstones with a familiarity born from years spent working here. I made sure not to walk over any graves, I wasn't trying to piss anybody off right now, but I did brush a few gravestones as I walked by. Well, I didn't know most of the people buried here while they were alive. I had met plenty of them after they bit the dust. I reached my destination. A clear spot off to the left of the main road, a thick stump sat with graves all around it.

Many of the graves in this place weren't set up in neat rows. Some faced the wrong direction, some, like the ones around me, were set up in circles. The place was old, very old. Many of these graves were set up before there was a neat system to follow before there were orderly rules and established guidelines. And it showed. I took a deep breath, tasting the scent of pine and wet grass. Of turned mud and the overwhelming scent of ozone. I needed information; luckily for me, I knew quite a few ghosts. I sat down on the stump, perfectly comfortable surrounded by the graves. Then I began to call the dead.

~<>~

Two hours later, I stood up, my muscles aching. My stomach

hurt from getting kicked, and my back felt like one massive bruise; neither of those facts could stop my good mood, though. I had gotten to talk to many ghosts that I hadn't seen for months, some even years. Well, I tried to make sure I talked to all the ghosts in town when making my monthly rounds. Some didn't want to be talked to more than once every couple of months.

The other reason I was happy was because I had gained more information. Not a lot, but some. That information... Wasn't pleasant. It seemed that the rogue branch had been poking around the ghosts of silver spruce before they were shut down. I couldn't get any more specifics than that since no one knew anything more specific, but that was a worrying thing. There were not many mages that dealt with ghosts; it was one of the reasons that the few mages that did live in town mostly left me alone. Silver spruce had a lot of ghosts, more than anyone realized. and I was a calming influence on them. Not that my calming influence did much when a psychopathic ghost was bearing down on me, but I digress. The information I had gained was more worrying than anything. But I still couldn't shake the good mood that had settled on me. It was like catching up with three dozen good friends in one day; it did the soul good. My soul was also pretty tired, though, so was the rest of me for that matter.

Even though I had only been awake for a few hours, I could already feel fatigued, pushing down on me. I had burned a few month's worth of my shroud in just one afternoon, leaving it feeling sore and worn. Normally I would have gone to seek out each of the ghosts, not called them. In fact, I had gotten more than one earful for calling someone who didn't like to move around. Using that much magic had another side effect aside from making me drowsy, I was ravenous. I went inside and started making a sandwich that would have satisfied the most ambitious of stoners--layering it high with meat, cheese, and two thick slices of bread. Ben walked through the wall when I was halfway through making the sandwich. He looked between the family-sized sandwich and me a few times before shaking his head and walking back outside. "Oh, don't give me that!" I called after him. "You don't need to eat!" Grumbling to myself, I sat down. Once I finished my meal, I was going to head to Barry's. Hopefully, I could convince the grumpy store owner to give me a discount or let me loan a gun. Thinking of my next steps made me think of why I was taking them. My good mood took a sharp turn down.

John was likely still in the same spot staring at the aquarium with his empty gaze. I finished the sandwich quickly and went to the door, grabbing my coat and wallet on the way. I paused at the door. Should I change? I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, if the storm hit while I was outside my clothing would offer me little protection. I sighed and quickly got changed.

Throwing on a long sleeve shirt and a thick pair of sweats. They wouldn't do me much better than the jeans, but it wasn't cotton, so at least it wouldn't actively drain my body heat if it got wet. "Where are you off to?" Ben asked, sticking his head through the wall. I answered as I checked my pockets, making sure I had everything. "I told you, didn't I? I'm going to Berry's, gonna try and pick up some actual firepower." Ben nodded, then floated through the wall the rest of the way. "I should go with you." I finished checking; I had everything. And turned to the old boxer. "Ben, look me in the eye and tell me that you can shove another shelf over without going under yourself." Ben glowered at me, opened his mouth to speak, then snapped it closed. "Dammit! I can still scout, and if not me, you should get someone else to come."

I shook my head again, my stance firm. "These people are warded, Ben. The first guy they sent was, and we have no reason to think the next won't be. So, you can't scout. In fact, talking to you might distract me from seeing them. And you're too tired to do much else. Not without some serious consequences." Ben's scowl was furious, turning the man's usually comely appearance into a menacing one. "You could still take someone else!" I walked over to the man and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm worried too, hell, I'm terrified. I'm not used to having humans come after me. But having a ghost with me won't help in this instance, a shelf falling won't do any good if the person is holding me at knifepoint instead of gunpoint. We don't even know if they will come after me today, I'm going to a public place." "The library was a public place too," Ben cut in. I nodded. "Yeah, but it's a bit different than a grocery store. You can actually hide in the library." Ben looked frustrated enough to chew bricks and spit out rubble, but he nodded. "Just... Be careful, Alder." I smiled at the man and turned for the door. "I'm always careful." Ben's long-suffering sigh seemed to follow me out the door.