December 23rd, 2019
Foghills, Arkansas

"What's for breakfast?" Jack tiredly dragged himself into the kitchen where Ash stood at the stove cooking something in several pans.

"Bacon, eggs, hash browns, turkey sausage, toast, and a fruit compote." The man barely looked up from the task at hand as he spoke.

"Damn, what's the occasion? And how long have you been awake?"

Ash shrugged, trying to play it off like it was nothing special. But if he'd gotten up early enough to bake bread, something must have happened. Maybe he had a prophetic dream or some shit. The thought almost had Jack cracking a smile as he made a cup of tea for himself from the steaming kettle of hot water just about to whistle on the stove.

"Did you have any nightmares last night?"

Jack's head shot up. "You took my fucking dream catcher," he accused bitterly. "Do you hate me?" His voice shook a little as memories of his dreams plagued his mind.

"I didn't do anything. I just heard you screaming like you used to."

"Whoa, something smells fucking amazing." Piper stumbled over, taking a seat next to Jack at the counter, while Ash made her a cup of lemongrass tea, her favorite morning pick-me-up.

"Mmm, you said it." Marley appeared groggily in the doorway. It wasn't but moments later before Will and Charley crowded into the breakfast nook beside her.

"This is just about ready. Jack, help me plate up, everyone else, head to the dining table," Ash announced, his voice holding a friendly note that didn't belong.

"Fine." Jack grudgingly let his older brother boss him around, and yell at him for not getting the finicky parts exactly right. "You watch way too many cooking shows," he finally muttered once they'd completed the last plate and started taking them over to where everyone else was still waking up in the dining room.

"Wow, Ash." Marley's mouth dropped open when Jack set a plate in front of her before sitting down himself. "This looks amazing. Thank you!"

"Yeah, thanks, man," Will mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"No problem. Alright, before you guys get too excited, get ready to pack."

Jack's fork clattered to his plate, making everyone jump. "I fucking knew it! You did take my dream catcher!" He narrowed his eyes at Ash, while everyone else stared at him open-mouthed. "We're going out to Wolf Creek Pass, aren't we?"

Ash, to his credit, continued to eat calmly, as if Jack wasn't screaming at him, red in the face. "I didn't take your dream catcher, but yes, we have a job out in Wolf Creek Pass. My buddy, Rodney, called me in the middle of the night, saying his family needs our help. It's serious, guys. There are kids involved."

"Only one." Jack rolled his eyes. If anyone was tempted to ask just how he knew what he did, they didn't show it.

"I'm in." Charley shrugged easily.

"You just got back," Will grumbled, his gaze flickering softly to Piper.

Charley didn't even look up from her plate. "Yeah, and I could use a run of the mill extermination job."

"I don't know if run of the mill is the right phrase for this one." Jack picked his fork back up and started shoveling food into his mouth.

"I can stay behind and keep up with the Interstate Blues search." Piper's suggestion had Ash's face twisting unattractively.

"No. We're all going. Suck it up, princesses, I need all of you on this one. Jack's right it's not a regular job. Finish eating and go get packed. We're leaving in thirty minutes. Make sure all the doors and windows are locked up tight before we go. We've got a long drive back to Colorado ahead of us."

"Aye!" Charley threw a fist in the air overdramatically while simultaneously stuffing herself with food.

It was nearly twelve hours later that all six of them and Keala were packed up in Ash's Blazer, while Jack navigated the snowy dirt roads leading to the lone house at the end of Red Baron Road. It took them forty-five minutes longer than it should have due to the treacherous drive into the backwoods. At some points, Jack wasn't sure Cheech was actually gonna make it, but the Blazer was a beast.

"Guys, was anyone else expecting a run-down cabin in the woods?" Charley murmured, her gaze fixed on the structure in front of them.

"This place gives me the creeps." Marley stared out the window as the dirt road curved into a driveway leading up to an old, renovated cabin. It was a two-story building with a boarded up root cellar and four bedrooms. The backyard had a big garden covered in snow, a small greenhouse, and a chicken coop with chickens. There was an empty barn a little further behind the house and a stable where prized horses had once lived.

"You can stay in the car if you want." Ash flashed her a teasing smirk, while Jack slowed the car to a stop. Almost the second the engine cut off, the front door opened and a man around Will's age jumped down the porch steps with a wide grin on his face.

"I think I'd rather go with you."

"Rodney!" Ash greeted enthusiastically, doing a complicated handshake with the man Jack had never seen before. He was tall and had broad shoulders, dark coffee-colored skin, and an unkempt afro.

"My man, Ash. I knew you'd come through for us." Rodney dropped his hands at his side, while another guy in his early twenties came outside with a teenage girl right behind him, holding a little boy on her hip. "This is my brother, Tommy. And that's our little sister, Lyla, and our baby brother, James."

"Nice to meet you all. This is my crew. We can do all the introductions inside. You said you needed our exterminating services." His tone was almost entirely professional as he gestured to the rest of the family standing around awkwardly behind him.

Rodney nodded his head briskly, motioning for them to follow him up the wraparound porch and into the old house that had seen more renters in the past ten years than any other place in the area, according the research Will had done on the way up. Jack grabbed his backpack and slammed the door, following everyone else, with Keala hot on his heels the moment he whistled.

"You know, I wouldn't a called you if it wasn't a real emergency," Rodney said, leading them into the large front sitting room.

"So what's goin' on?" Ash sat on the couch across from the four siblings, with a large wooden coffee table between them. Will, Charley, and Piper sat down next to him, while Marley claimed the one armchair, and Jack stood back with Keala sitting obediently at his feet.

Lyla's dark brown eyes turned to ice. "Well, first of all, James has been talking to our mom."

"That doesn't sound weird-"

"Our mom's dead." Her words shut Will up instantly.

"How long has this been happening?" Charley's gaze drifted to the boy who couldn't have been a day over six.

"Mom died almost a year ago, so ever since then," Lyla answered, while James sat in silence on her lap, his thumb stuck firmly in his mouth.

Ash's gaze shot to Rodney. "You said it was an emergency."

"Mommy warned us the house was haunted." The little boy slid his thumb from his mouth and stared intently at Jack, talking directly to him. "Daddy didn't listen."

Tommy shuddered, scooting closer to his older brother and away from the younger one. "Look. We didn't know he was telling the truth. We all thought it was kid shit, ya know? But... but he ain't screwin' around. They're getting more and more violent. Lyla was attacked a month ago, and she still has bruises." He grabbed the girl's wrist and slid her long-sleeve up, revealing yellowing marks stained up and down her arm.

"You guys hear noises a lot, like footsteps and people in rooms that are empty? You see shadows of people walking down the hall or standing in your doorway? Feel somebody watching you when you're completely alone?" Jack took a couple of steps closer to the rest of the group. Ghosts were his area of expertise. He knew better than everyone all about the evil little fuckers and their capabilities.

Lyla's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

Rodney grinned triumphantly. "See? I told you I wasn't kiddin' about knowing the best ghost hunters since Ghost Busters."

"Exterminators, actually. Anyway, these are my brothers, Will and Jack. And these are my sisters, Charley, Piper, and Marley."

"If you guys want to leave, now would be the time," Jack warned them gently. He didn't want to scare anyone... well any more than they probably already were. "Things are gonna get worse from here on out before they get better."

"H-h-how long will it take?" Lyla ran nervous, jittery, fingers through her hair.

Jack caught her frightened gaze. "It will take as long as it needs to," he answered, giving the most truthful response he could.

The girl steeled herself, a hard expression adorning her face. "Okay. Let's get started then."

"It's already after nightfall, so this won't be easy. The ghosts are stronger at-"

"Jack, go grab the rest of the gear from the car and do a preliminary check around the property, see if it's not like the job in Johnston," Ash interrupted with a sharp command, which right away marked who was in charge.

"Right. Let's go, Keala."

While Ash set up what he needed inside with Piper, Charley, and Will, Jack trudged outside, Marley on hot his heels. "I'm coming with you!" She shadowed his steps as he stomped down the front porch and back toward the truck.

"Alright, I'll grab the backpack Ash wants, one sec." As he trekked toward the truck, Keala darted off into the dark woods going about her wild ways. Jack snatched the heavy backpacking backpack from the back of the Blazer and slid it over his shoulders before motioning for Marley to accompany him and handing her a flashlight.

"Where are we going?" They followed the dirt road as far as it would let them, and about a half-mile through the trees, stood another house that looked a lot more inviting than the residence they'd just come from. Slipping the pack off his shoulders, he dug around, looking for the ingredients he needed to purify the grounds so they could get rid of whatever was haunting the place.

"We're checking out the property, making sure that we use the herbs to purify the area, because ghosts hate that shit. We have to get all four corners. North, south, east, and west," Jack answered professionally, focused only on the work that had to be done.

Marley grinned. "Oooh, I love this part. Can I do the spell?" She skipped and danced through the deep snow alongside him.

"Sure." A small smile formed on his lips while they trudged through the woods surrounding the house as quietly as possible. He kept his gaze mostly focused on the trees and brush, listening for any hint of a possessed host coming to murder them.

"Why've you been so mad today?" Marley's curiosity broke the comfortable silence they'd fallen into.

The faint bits of happiness that had managed to lift his mood as soon as they stepped outside disappeared in seconds. "Because somebody took my dream catcher." Just thinking about it annoyed him all over again that he'd had to endure the nightmares.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Marley opened and closed her mouth a few times, keeping her gaze and her flashlight fixed on their surroundings, before she finally just changed the subject. "I don't like this place, Jack. It's really creepy." She moved closer to him as they trudged through the gnarled trees along the edge of the property.

"Don't worry, Mars," Jack reassured blandly. "All the dangers are inside the house. Not out here. This is just a precaution, in case they escape."

Marley shot him an icy glare in return. "That doesn't make me feel any better." She watched him crouch down with another bag full of herbs. Getting into a good spot behind him, she quickly helped complete the spell while a cold wind blew wickedly around them.

They hurried to do the other two spells as the moon climbed higher into the sky, doing little to light the cold December evening. By the time they were finished, they felt like their feet were ice cubes, and could barely feel their noses.

"We're back!" Jack shoved the door open and kicked off his snowy shoes in the entryway as laughter bubbled up from somewhere beyond the front hallway.

"Did you get all the stuff?" Ash wanted to know, as Marley and Jack followed his voice into the kitchen.

"Yes, and we did a perimeter sweep." Jack ran his fingers through Keala's fur as she leaned against his legs affectionately.

"Where is everyone?" Marley asked, when Ash and Rodney were the only people around.

"Piper and Will are wandering the house trying to spot spirits with one of Haru's gadgets, and Charley is in the family room with Tommy, Lyla, and James, listening to what's been going on in the last few months since they moved in." As he spoke, Ash finished plating what looked like sandwiches, fruit, and some kind of salad onto ten plates.

"We're freezing our balls off and you're sitting in here making dinner for everyone?" Jack snarled darkly.

His brother shot him a glare that made his blood run cold. "Stop acting like a child, Jack. I need you to be on your game tonight. Let's eat, and then we'll figure everything else out."

"Fine."

"Dinner is served," Ash announced good-naturedly, while James immediately grabbed the nearest plate and began devouring his food as quickly as possible.

"Slow down, kiddo," Lyla scolded lightly, nudging him with her foot. He glanced back at her from where he'd knelt in front of the coffee table, and grinned with his mouth full of food.

"So what's the plan?" Tommy asked lightly.

Ash opened his mouth to respond, but before he could a loud scream echoed from somewhere in the house nearby. "What was that?" His eyes flickered around the room to take stock of who was missing. He met Charley's gaze and both their faces drained of blood.

"Piper," they said in unison.

Jack laughed at everyone's expressions. "She's fine." He shrugged, when every person looked over at him like he was insane, except for maybe James, who had his mouth full of berries. "Will scared her." He rolled his eyes and took a giant bite out of his sandwich grudgingly. "The real scary stuff doesn't happen until later."

"How do you know?" Rodney stared at him with dark, narrowed eyes.

Jack shrugged uncaringly. "I just do."

For a moment, Ash looked like he wanted to jump across the chair that separated them and strangle him, but he quickly composed himself, much to the relief of about half the room. "Stop being an asshole, Jack. I won't say it again," he growled out, right as Will skipped into the room ahead of Piper, laughing while she scowled at his back.

"You're such a jerk, Will." She folded herself deeper into the long gray sweater she was wearing along with light blue skinny jeans. Her cheeks were bright red, and her chestnut eyes were watery. With her head down, her strawberry blonde curls obscuring her features, she walked passed Jack and straight into Ash's outstretched arms, burying her face into his chest, shaking a little.

"What did you do?" Ash glared daggers at Will.

He gulped, sobering up quickly, the shit-eating grin slipping off his face. "I jumped out of a closet and grabbed her arms." He shrugged nonchalantly, and Ash's scowl only grew deeper. "Jack, Will, let's go talk," he demanded, rather than asked, gently squeezing Piper before untangling himself from her.

"Uh... sure." Will followed their pissed off brother, while Jack lagged, catching a glimpse of the rest of the room's worried expressions. In that moment, he remembered that while he knew a lot about what to expect, nobody else did, and his attitude wasn't fair to the rest of them.

The second they were alone in the kitchen, Ash whirled on them, his fists clenched at his side. "What the fuck is wrong with the two of you? We are here to do a job, not fuck around. Act like adults, you fucking morons." Both Jack and Will averted their gazes, looking like sufficiently scolded puppies. "Jack, can you tell the rest of us what we might look out for, without acting like a fucking petulant child?"

"Yeah, sorry," Jack mumbled, feeling like an asshole for the way his attitude had been. Ash was right. They were there to do a professional job, and he'd been acting anything but professional. To be honest, he was scared of getting close to anyone in the house. He didn't want to like them for it only to end badly.

"Good. Let's go." Ash brushed passed them and headed back into the living room. But before he got very far, he turned on them once more. "And for the record, I better never hear of you messing around or jumping out of closets and grabbing anyone ever again while we're working. Piper had a bad experience on a job, so that shit freaks her out." His piercing glare was trained directly on Will.

By the time they returned to where everyone else was waiting, Charley had managed to get Piper smiling again, prompting Rodney and Tommy to start telling a funny story of their childhood as the adopted sons of their older cousin, Frank, and his wife, Bailey.

"He never yelled at us our whole lives, but he was the scariest motherfucker we ever met." Rodney laughed, grinning from ear to ear, while the others offered him sad watery smiles in return.

Lyla nodded along, a serious expression on her face. "I once got caught sneaking out when I was twelve and peed my pants when I saw him." She giggled, blinking back the tears that Jack saw welling in her eyes. Everybody laughed too, brightening up the mood in the room.

"Alright, guys. It's time to get down to work," Ash said, once the chatter had finally quieted down. He stood imposingly in front of the TV so that everyone could see him around the room. "As we've heard so far, these spirits are dangerous, so be on your toes. They're more active at night, so it looks like we'll be having a slumber party."

Jack shuddered, hearing his brother's words echoed in his head from the dream he'd had the night before. The sense of déjà vu made him feel nauseated, as he stood near the arm of the couch, closest to where Marley sat. "Don't go anywhere without someone else. They don't want to leave. Pissed off ghosts are the worst to deal with, so it's best to always have a buddy watching your back." Jack closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep, steadying breath.

The worst feeling he'd ever felt was knowing something was about to happen and not being able to stop it. He couldn't remember everything, but as soon as he walked into the house, he knew bad things were going to occur that night. He'd wanted to urge everyone to move quickly and not wait until the nighttime, but fate had a way of twisting even his best intentions to change the outcome. He would never get used to it.

When nobody said anything, Jack continued. "We're going to put these little pouches filled with a blend of ingredients that will cleanse the house of the ghosts all around. But you have to be careful not to get tricked by the spirits. It sounds like an easy task to place a pouch in the four corners of the house on every floor, but it won't be. They will try to stop you."

"How do you know about this?" Skepticism dripped from Tommy's voice.

"Because I've been able to interact with ghosts for as long as I can remember," Jack answered honestly, prepared for the laughter that followed. His own brothers, who knew he was telling the truth, even cracked a smile. "Think what you want."

"Right." Rodney chuckled nodding over at Ash. "You said your littlest brother was kinda off. You were right, man."

The only one who looked at him with any sort of belief, besides his family, was James. The little boy perked up almost instantly. "Can you see Mommy?" he asked curiously, glancing over his shoulder toward the hallway, just past Ash.

There, a woman stood watching the scene with dark, angry, black eyes. Her blonde hair was pulled back in immaculate bun and she wore a pretty long-sleeved purple blouse and a blue skirt that fell to just above her ankles. Her skin was white and pasty and her lips a dark, blood red color that made Jack's spine tingle in the worst possible way.

"Yes," he answered affirmatively, trying to hold back his emotions to appear stoic, like Ash.

Tommy scowled, balling his hands into fists. "The kid is messed up enough. Don't tell him things like that."

"Hey!" Lyla shot back defensively. "He's perfectly fine!"

Tommy shook his head and rolled his eyes. "There might be something here. But it sure ain't Mom. And James sure ain't talking to it."

Jack shook his head. "No, James sees what he sees. Charley, look in the doorway. Do you see a woman with blonde hair and blood red lipstick?" Charley's head shot up. She'd been deeply immersed in scraping a piece of dirt off her fingernail without scratching her nail polish, hardly paying attention to the conversation at hand.

Charley's sharp gaze snapped to the doorway and she frowned, glancing back at Jack and freezing, the blood draining from her face. "Uhm... no, she's right behind you."

Jack turned around, startled at the sudden proximity of the apparition. Just inches from his face the woman's lips peeled back into a smile as if something were attached to the corners and holding them open. He jumped away at the same time her hand shot out to grab his throat. The woman opened her mouth like she wanted to scream, her eyes were obsidian pools of hate boring straight into his soul, before she disappeared, reappearing right behind her family.

She thought she was watching over them, but really she was doing more harm than good.

"She doesn't want you here," James said sadly, moving closer to his older sister.

Jack nodded his head at the kid. "I know. But we have a job to do. And as much as you love her, she's not really your mom anymore."

James shook his head, tears filling his eyes. "I know that. My real mommy would've never hurt me." His voice shook a little as he rolled up the sleeves on his sweater, revealing purple finger-shaped bruises stained up and down his arm.

Lyla gasped, while Rodney and Tommy both moved forward to inspect the wounds. "When'd this happen?" Rodney demanded, his tone harsh and disbelieving. The boy buried his face in his sister's shirt and answered with a muffled voice unheard by the room.

"What was that, sweetie?" Lyla ran her fingers softly through his hair.

James leaned back and gazed up into his big sister's eyes. "Two nights ago," he answered, before shoving his thumb into his mouth and refusing to say anything more about it, despite his brothers trying their best to coax it out of him.

"What do we do now?" Rodney asked, while the lights began to flicker and a freezing wind blew gently through the room, seeming to come from nowhere.

"Now, we start by purifying the house," Jack responded evenly.

"Why?" Tommy wanted to know, a skeptical scowl twisting his features.

"Because purifying it will force the ghosts to bounce back to the place their bound to. Sometimes ghosts are attached to objects or people or places, so wherever that is, is where they go. Once that happens, we have a better chance at getting rid of them."

"We should split up," Will suggested gazing over at Ash thoughtfully. "I call not doing the cellar."

Ash smirked. "Alright, you and your "buddy" get to do the attic," he ordered stoically, while Jack tried to hide his triumphant smirk. He knew he would get stuck with the basement anyway, but it was fun to see someone else get a shitty job every once in a while too.

"I'll go with Will," Piper offered shyly, despite what had happened earlier that night.

"You sure, Pip?" Ash shot Will a stern glare.

Piper shrugged. "Yeah, it'll be fine. Besides, he'll need a good shot to cover his back," she said lightly, earning an offended scowl from Will.

"Where do you want us to be?" Rodney asked, glancing at his siblings curiously. There were ten of them, and only the two main floors, the attic and the cellar, if they worked together, they probably could get the job done twice as fast.

"Is there a room with only one door and no windows?" Ash asked, curiously.

Rodney glanced from Tommy to Lyla, before he nodded thoughtfully. "The laundry room is in that room behind the kitchen. It's only got the one door."

"Good. You're all gonna hide in there, until it's over, alright?"

Immediately, Rodney and Tommy shook their heads and began protesting. "We can't just sit back and let you guys risk-"

"It's what you hired us to do," Jack interrupted stonily, before Ash could try to calm his friend down. "With all due respect, man, do what Ash says and let us get our job done."

The brothers looked like they wanted to protest further, but Lyla interjected before they could. "Let's just listen to the ghost hunters. Obviously, they know more about this shit than we do."

"Fine," Tommy grumbled. "Let them get killed by whatever angry ghosts live in this goddamn house."

"I call going in the cellar with Jack!" Marley stated, a big shit-eating grin on her face when she caught sight of Jack's scowl.

"Don't you think you'll be safer with us?" Lyla asked before he had a chance to protest being nominated for the worst job, even though he'd known it was going to happen anyway.

Marley opened her mouth to respond, but Ash beat her to it, saying, "No, Mars is part of my crew. It's safer for her to be on the job with the rest of us."

She ginned up at him, before shooting a smirk at their clients. "Don't worry, me and Jack are gonna kick some ghost ass," she told Lyla, whose look of concern never once left her face.

"So, I guess that leaves me to do the second floor, and Charley, you get this floor," Ash instructed, while Rodney and Tommy ushered Lyla and James toward the laundry room.

"Sounds good to me." Charley shot Piper a teasing smirk that Jack recognized from his dream. "I'm totally gonna finish before the rest of you."

Ash rolled his eyes, giving his friend a reassuring nod before the guy disappeared into the kitchen with the rest of his family. "Alright, let's get going. Ya'll know what you've got to do?"

"Yep!" the rest of them chorused back, but the six Exterminators stood around in silence regardless, a heavy feeling hanging in the air.

"This is going to be difficult," Jack finally warned. "Please be careful, and don't drop your guard for anything."

"We won't," Charley answered confidently, and Jack wasn't sure how to get it through to everyone that their night was not going to end well.

"Alright, Jack, Marley, be extra cautious in the cellar. Rodney said the spirits weren't real bad until after they tried to break in. And when I looked into the background of the house, I found that the cellar has been boarded up for the last twenty-five or thirty years, so there's gotta be some nasty shit down there."

"I know," Jack responded evenly, trying not to picture the horrific images from his nightmare the night before.

"Let's go, Jack. You've gotta break into the cellar before we can even get down there," Marley urged excitedly.

"Okay, but stay alert, alright? I don't want a ghost trying to stab me before I can even get through." Jack reluctantly left the rest of the group behind as they all drifted off in separate directions, with Keala right on his heels.

Behind him, as he and Marley walked away, he heard the familiar sound of his family bickering, and the normality of it made him feel optimistic for the first time since he'd woken up earlier that morning.

"Is something bad going to happen to us down there?" Marley asked when she was sure they were out of hearing distance from the others.

"Probably." There was no need to sugarcoat things for his little sister, she'd always been able to handle the truth a lot better than most thirteen-year-olds he'd known.

Marley nodded thoughtfully, gripping the iron knife Ash had given her as tight as she could. "We got this," she murmured confidently, a determined glint in her eyes as they reached the boarded up doorway.

"Jacky, there's something evil down there. I could feel its power as soon as we entered this place. Be careful," Dick Grayson warned, popping up out of nowhere.

Jack smirked. "Didn't you just hear the witch, Dick? We got this," he muttered under his breath, causing a wide grin to break out across Marley's face.

Dick wasn't impressed with Jack's response. "Just don't get yourselves killed." He could feel Dick's eyes as he grabbed a sledge hammer leaning against the wall that Ash had Rodney retrieve from the shed out back when they'd first arrived.

"Back up, Mars," he instructed softly, watching out to make sure he wouldn't accidentally bash his sister's skull. Swinging his arms back, he smashed the sledgehammer into the boards covering the cellar splintering the old wood.

"Way to go, Jack!" Marley cheered, while elsewhere in the house, a scream echoed. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. Let's go, we have other things to worry about." They slowly pulled the broken boards away from the doorway, and Jack shined his flashlight toward the stairs. If he thought the subbasement at Kit's house was creepy, he was in for a hell of an adventure, as the light did little to penetrate the inky darkness.

"Okay." Marley cautiously followed Jack and his loyal dog while they descended into darkness. As they moved closer and closer to the bottom of the stairs, what little light they did have started to flicker and go out.

"Stay close, Mars," Jack warned, as a loud cackling sounded throughout the basement and Keala began to growl beside him.

"Foolish children," a voice snarled, and something strong sent Jack flying through the cellar and into a wall on the opposite side of where his sister stood. "You think you can kill me? Do you know how many people I have here with me?" The voice sounded wispy and detached, like it was coming from all around the room.

Jack slid to the damp floor, coughing and sputtering, while Marley screamed as she was lifted to the ceiling and flung, almost halfheartedly, toward the stairs. She landed with an OOMPF, and immediately jumped back to her feet.

"I know you can hear me, Jacky. Your sister may not, but you sure can. Can you see me too?" the voice taunted. As Jack tried to stagger to his feet, an apparition appeared in front of him. He was wearing formal black clothing with slicked back hair and his eyes were glowing white.

"What... are you?" Jack asked, as ghosts started popping up, flanking the man, though their eyes were the normal black pools that he was used to.

The ghost in front of him laughed maniacally. "I'm the worst thing you've ever encountered." He flicked his hand and sent Jack flying back into the wall behind him. "And you've just let us all free!"

Coughing, Jack narrowed his eyes, unable to move any other part of his body. "You're just another douche ghost."

The other ghosts shook their heads, their expressions never changing from indifferent, at best. "Don't make me show you already. I want to enjoy this. Soon your sister, your brothers, you, you're all going to join me here too."

Jack swallowed back his fear and annoyance at the crowd of ghosts watching on in interest, and clenching his teeth he taunted, "Don't you have to show me how you died first? Isn't that in the torture-the-people-who-can-see-you handbook?" He immediately regretted the suggestion when he thought of how many images would haunt him later.

The White-Eyed ghost looked at him long and hard for a moment, before throwing his head back and letting out a monstrous laugh that made Jack's ears ring deafeningly. "How about I show you mine and send my friends to recruit yours?"

"I like my idea better," Jack grumbled, feeling the pressure tightening around his throat, wrists, and ankles, as he watched the ghosts disappear a few at a time. Only seconds later, he heard a scream that sounded suspiciously like Charley, and she was scared. Cries and pleas for help saturated the house as the trapped spirits laid waste to whatever they could affect.

The spirit disappeared, materializing right in front of his face, causing his pulse to skip. "You want to understand us, Ghost Talker, then just look through my eyes," he persuaded, his voice smooth and inviting, like they were old friends.

Jack really didn't want to, and he almost opened his mouth to tell the apparition so, when he spotted Marley out of the corner of his vision, and quickly diverted his gaze to the spirit. He almost wished he hadn't, except that protecting his sister would always beat out his own self-preservation. Every time.

Glancing around, Jack was no longer plastered to the wall, with very little oxygen passing through his airways, down in the Tolliver's cellar. Instead, he was in what looked to be an old church, with pews on either side of him and an altar at the end of the long red floor runner he stood on.

Before he could figure out what the hell that douchebag ghost wanted him to see, the doors behind him slammed open. A man stormed down the aisle in front of Jack pushing through him like he wasn't even there, an uncomfortable feeling he was much too used to.

"Lord! Please forgive me, but I couldn't sit by and watch them girls act like whores no more!"

"Anderson Reekles!" another older man shouted in return, moving quickly through a doorway behind the altar, his long regal robes swishing as he walked. "What is going on? Why are you screaming in the house of God?"

"Father," Anderson breathed pleadingly. "I wasn't gonna watch them turn into their mother."

The blood drained from the old priest's face, and he started making the symbol of the cross over himself repeatedly, whispering words that Jack couldn't have made out even if he'd wanted to. It had almost sounded like a dead language.

"Tell me, Anderson!" the old man demanded harshly, glancing around surreptitiously when his voice echoed off the ornate walls and ceilings. "What did you do to those poor girls?"

Anderson shot the man a sinister glare. "You're just gonna take their side! I did God's work for him!"

The priest's clear blue eyes widened as he stared at the unstable man before him. Tears filled his piercing irises and he shook his head in disbelief. "No. Please, they were just kids. Bethany was going to be a nurse! And Patricia just sung the most beautiful solo on Sunday. And Mary Alice, she-"

"They disobeyed me! They listen to that devil music. That Elvis Presley," Anderson snarled, stalking toward the elderly priest with a wicked intent in his eyes. "They wore those clothes like whores! And danced around like whores all day!"

"Th-they went to the town Harvest Festival by themselves, Anderson. It's 1956, th-that's hardly a crime!" Tears streaming from his eyes as he stared at the hollow-eyed man in front of him.

Anderson's lips twisted into a grin, showing off his rotting teeth. "You're the one who told them it was okay to go, didn't you, Father Mel? You're the one who let Bethany think she could ever be a nurse, or that my Patricia would be a singer like those heathens?" The accusation was thick in his voice, but in his eyes, his mind had already been made up.

"I-I-I was just trying to help them," Father Mel insisted, his voice breaking. "Please, Anderson, what did you do to your daughters?"

Anderson's grin grew even more menacing. "First, I locked them in the basement. It wasn't hard. I just asked them if they would each go pick a new jar of pickled vegetables that they liked. Then, I locked the door and only let 'em out one by one. First, Bethany. I tied her to a chair and I beat her. I beat them all for disobeying me. I'm allowed to discipline my children. The bible says they gotta respect their daddy. Isn't that a commandment, Father Mel?" Anderson stared at him, waiting for an answer. When it didn't come, he pulled a small handgun out of the back of his pocket and pointed it at the old priest's head.

"Y-y-yes it is, but-"

"There are no exceptions!" He waved around the gun still pointed at the man, grinning when Father Mel jumped. "Bethany cried a lot, but Patricia didn't. She screamed, and the sound was almost like singing," Anderson described softly. Every step he took closer to him, the old man took one backwards, moving toward the altar he'd prayed at every day. "But it was Mary Alice who fought back the hardest. Damn near slipped through my fingers three or four different times, 'fore I had to shoot her in the foot. She wouldn't shut up neither, didn't get it through her head, ain't no one was coming for her." Anderson shook his head and something like sadness flashed in his eyes. "Ain't a soul could hear 'em way out there."

Father Mel's legs hit the back of the altar table, and his hand automatically reached out behind him to brace himself. "What-"

Anderson grinned. "I beat them girls black and blue and left 'em tied up out in the woods for the coyotes to munch on. It's in God's hands now whether they live or die."

Father Mel's hand grasped the candlestick holder behind him as rage built up, drowning out his sorrow, bubbling deep within him and lashing out. He struck Anderson across the cheek first, hearing the satisfying crunch of his bone shattering beneath the solid silver. The second blow landed awkwardly against his nose, and the gun flew out of Anderson's hand and slid across the polished marble tiles.

Jack watched on in horror as the robes slipped off the man's shoulders while he continued to drive the weapon into Anderson's skull until his face was just frayed pieces of skin and bones and blood all smashed in together like a messy pot of chili.

"Stop!" Jack screamed, trying to pull the old priest off the lifeless corpse, but he wouldn't budge. Not that Jack's attempt had any effect.

The old man's shoulders stooped when he lost steam and he dropped the heavy candlestick holder onto the ground, the clattering sound echoing hollow through the church. As he pulled himself slowly to his feet, his solid black slacks and t-shirt dripping with the blood of his parishioner, his eyes were drawn to the crucifix and the sculptures around the altar.

"Wh-what... what can I do?" he cried out, his voice calling back to him faintly. The bells in the church tower began ringing and he jumped for the gun Anderson had been waving around so carelessly. In one smooth motion, with fear dripping from his pores, he grasped the weapon and shoved it into his temple. His eyes shot to Jack and they were orbs of pure white. "See what I've done!" Father Mel screamed and pulled the trigger, gore and brain matter splashing over the unwilling onlooker in the process.

Jack jolted up, his head spinning as he gasped for air. He looked around himself so fast his vision blurred, but he was sitting on the dusty cellar floor, with beads of sweat pouring down his face in rivulets, and not a single ghost in sight. Keala barked happily, licking his face profusely and wagging her tail so hard her entire butt moved from side to side.

"What the fuck?" he hissed, as the ringing in his ears continued and his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"Jack!" Marley was out of breath as she slowly moved out from underneath the staircase. "I think we did it!" She squealed, a grin lighting up her face as she rushed to his side, and helped him struggle to his feet.

"You're sure it's over?" he asked skeptically, but the only presence he felt, was the one attached to the coin, hovering nearby.

"It's over," Dick assured confidently, while they ascended the stairs slowly, Keala bouncing ahead of them.

"Thanks, Jack," Marley said softly, taking the steps one at a time with him more patiently than he'd ever seen her. "Whatever that was, I felt it come after me, but you distracted it. You saved me."

"I'd do it again." Jack grunted in pain as they reached the top of the stairs, to regroup with the rest of their team.

"Jack! Marley!" Charley called, barreling into the pair the moment they were clear from the cellar. "Holy crap! I can't believe you did it! We... I didn't think we'd all make it through this one. The Tolliver girl has a broken arm, and all the boys are pretty banged up except the younger one. He's still missing." She barely took a breath as she dragged them toward the family room where they were all first introduced.

"He's okay." Jack's eyes were drawn to the distraught girl holding her arm and biting her lip, sitting on the couch when they first walked in. "He's upstairs in the closet in his bedroom, he's hiding behind the bin of clothes."

Lyla stared at him for just a moment before she and the brothers bolted up the stairs to see if he was right without asking a single question. When shouts of joy erupted moments later, he figured they'd all been reunited. He didn't even smile at the celebration. He dropped onto the couch that had recently been vacated, with a groan.

"Can we leave now?" He threw his arm over his eyes, while they waited for Ash, Piper, and Will.

"Why don't you guys start to head out?" his oldest brother answered authoritatively as he entered the room. "I'll collect the money, just gather the gear. I don't want to spend a second longer in this place than I have to." He shuddered visibly, looking like he'd taken a beating for the first time in a while. "Good job, team," he praised, while they all started moving tiredly.

None of their experience in the Tolliver House was the same, but not one of theirs was pleasant. All Jack wanted to do was smoke a joint and drown himself in doodles of rainbows and ponies and happy things until he forgot all about Father Mel.

"Jack!" a voice called, when he'd trekked almost halfway to the truck, daydreaming about his Altoid's tin, which had been left in the Blazer. He stopped and turned around just in time for James to streak through the snow and dive into his arms. He didn't even hesitate to drop the bags in his hands and catch the boy, wearing only a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, just as the first rays of sunlight spilled over the treetops. "Thank you!"

"For what?" Jack asked, while Lyla screamed at her brother from the porch.

James lifted his chin up and whispered, "For sending my mommy away. She said you're gonna be a hero one day." Before he could say any more, or Jack could ask him what he meant, he clambered out of his arms and sprinted back to his worried sister, waving at the Extermination crew spastically, before the girl gently pulled him inside.

"That was weird," Marley muttered at his side, making him jump.

"Damn, were you there the whole time?" He stooped down to pick up the bags and walking toward their car again.

"Yep. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone what the Shining kid said. It didn't make any sense anyway."

Jack only nodded in return, sighing in relief when he collapsed in his seat and whistled for Keala to come out of the woods, ready to go to sleep.