December 10th, 2019
Johnston, South Dakota

"Stop." Sophia mimed for them to stay quiet and crouch down as they came upon an animal stall that stunk of rotting souls. Jack wrinkled his nose in disgust, the same way she did, while Marley sniffed the air and shrugged.

"You smell that too?" Jack pulled his shirt up over his nose, even though he knew it wouldn't help. The stench had been pretty rank right from the second they'd entered the barn, but at that very moment it was worse than anything he'd experienced before.

"Unfortunately." Sophia brushed her hair out of her face and accidentally smeared dirt across her bronze skin.

"Why's it so terrible?" He kept his voice to a very quiet whisper, not wanting to draw any attention to them.

The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head irately. "This is what I get for ignoring Stix. I'm pretty sure this is where their grave is."

"Their grave? They all have one?" Marley asked, sounding appalled at the thought. Jack seriously considered throwing up everything in his stomach.

Sophia nodded grimly, her keen eyes focused on their surroundings as she spoke. "I talked to one of the Johnston librarians, and she told me that when they shut down the asylum in the forties and started to move the cemetery, the administrator decided it would be too costly, and instead dug up the bodies, threw them into a giant pit and dumped a truckload of dirt on top. He had someone forge the transfer paperwork. All to keep a few extra bucks in his pocket."

"That's so fucked up," Marley rebuked, revulsion dripping from her voice.

"Jacky, behind you!" Dick shouted in his ear. Jack jumped, whirling around just in time to see a man with obsidian black eyes and a toothless smile, close enough to touch, and he tripped backwards, just barely managing to avoid getting his throat slashed by the frenzied movements of the possessed mailman.

"Whoa!" In a fumbled motion, Jack ripped his knife from his pocket and stabbed the man through the heart. It was the only thing he knew of that would kill something like that. The man was still grinning as he slumped to the ground, eyes wide and bloodshot. Jack stared down at him for a long moment, before he retrieved his knife stoically.

"Nice," Sophia approved grimly, while Marley stood behind her brother, gripping his shirt with one hand frightfully. Jack felt anger coming off her in waves, and her irises glittered with the glowing red flakes hidden in their depths.

"It's alright, Mars," he whispered, gently unraveling her fingers from his clothes.

Marley jumped away from him and scowled defensively. "I know that."

Jack only smiled softly at her in return while Sophia scrutinized his blade. "Where'd ya come across a gem like that?" she asked admiringly, only looking at it for a few seconds, before her attention was back on their surroundings, watching everything.

"My best friend's grandfather gave it to me." There were a lot of grisly memories attached to the blade, but he'd made it a habit to keep it with him always.

"It's solid." Sophia dusted her legs off and regarded the corpse with an exasperated sigh. A lengthy, piercing, two-note whistle echoed throughout the barn and she cocked her head softly. "Your brothers found Stix. He's good. Let's go." She held her gun close to her chest as she looked around aware of everything around them.

"How do you know?"

"Code sounds," Sophia answered Marley's question simply, deftly leading the others through the barn and toward the main entrance.

"There you guys are!" Ash called out, his relief practically tangible as he came up behind their little group. "Found Stix. Now what, your highness?"

"Get out of here and regroup. There are too many of them right now. We have to try and save as many of their hosts as we can." Sophia's gaze was set firmly as she looked Stix over thoroughly for injuries. He seemed fine, though. His black jeans, thick leather jacket, heavy-duty work boots, and beanie had been splattered with mud and what could've possibly been blood, but he looked okay to Jack.

"Aw, Soph, I told ya I was fine, didn't I?" Stix shot her a sly grin as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and looked around like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Yeah, and you said you were fine back when that catfish nearly ripped your arm off in Oklahoma last summer," she snorted back, rolling her eyes and shrugging out from under him. "We have a graveyard to clear, anyway. Let's get moving."

The group started for the front doors to the barn, but in a second Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong stood in their way, their lips twisted into wicked smiles, as their black eyes gleamed with a form of mischief Jack was all too familiar with. "Ah, ah, ah," Mrs. Armstrong scolded, her voice still sounding rather pleasant. "You can't leave without my renowned apple pie, my darlings." She darted forward at an inhuman speed until she stood directly in front of Jack. "This one can see us, I told you I was right." Her mood flipped in a second as all the doors and any other means of escape slammed shut.

"That ain't fair, boy," the man snarled, his eyes flashing with barely contained rage.

"What're they talking about, Jack?" Sophia spoke in his ear from directly behind him, nearly making him jump. As if he didn't have enough creeps popping up on him already.

"They're possessed. I can see them."

Mrs. Armstrong smirked, taking a long fingernail and brushing it lightly over his cheek. "That's very naughty, Jacky." A sick smile twisted her lips upward in an unnatural grin. All of her actions looked like they were forced, as though she were merely a puppet being controlled by its master.

"We lived peaceful with these people," Mr. Armstrong gestured down at himself in disgust, "and then they just had to go calling the Exterminators."

Fire burned in Mrs. Armstrong's eyes and she moved her face just inches in front of Jack, while Ash slowly tiptoed toward her, his finger on the trigger of his gun. "I don't think so, kid." She flicked her wrist and sent Ash flying into the doors of the barn, behind Mr. Armstrong. Turning back to Jack she grabbed his jaw and grinned. "You're worth something. Her too." She pointed a perfectly manicured finger in Marley's direction. "We've heard rumblings of a half-breed, but nobody believed it was actually true." She cackled maniacally, her breath stinking of the rotting soul inside her.

"Oh, Boss would be rather pleasant if we handed over the key to the prophecy, wouldn't he?" Mr. Armstrong's obsidian eyes gleamed with something akin to relief as they plotted.

Will scoffed to Jack's right. "What prophecy?" He rolled his eyes with an air of disbelief around him. "I feel like I'm in a bad computer game."

Mrs. Armstrong's eyes shot from Will to Jack and she snapped her arm out, wrapping her fingers around his neck so fast that he hadn't seen it coming. As she squeezed off his airway, Jack wrapped his hands around her wrists, trying to gain leverage while the psycho spirit lifted his feet off the ground. "You think I won't kill him, like we were gonna gut that swine?" she snarled, gesturing to Stix, who took an involuntary step back as his gaze met hers.

Jack coughed and sputtered, kicking his feet desperately as his vision blackened. "Let him go!" Marley screamed, her eyes wide as the red flakes glowed once more. "Stop!" she wailed, a sound so piercing, everyone in the room fell to their knees, crying out for the ringing in their ears to end, except for Mrs. Armstrong, who, despite dropping him back to his feet, didn't let go of her grip around his neck.

"Now, guys!" Ash's voice sounded far away to Jack, as the black spots dancing around his vision started to take over. Will, Stix, and Ash pulled balls of crumpled paper from their pockets, lighting them and throwing them at the feet of both Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong, causing thick trails of smoke to snake into the air.

"No!" Mrs. Armstrong screeched, tossing Jack like a ragdoll to the side, while she sank to her knees coughing and choking.

"This won't stop anything," Mr. Armstrong snarled, hacking up a thick gray smoke, and falling to the floor of the barn with a THUD.

"Grab them!" Ash's voice was getting closer and closer as Jack desperately sucked dusty oxygen back into his lungs. He felt his brother hoist him over his shoulder the same moment the barn doors swung open and the smell of fresh, cold, air assaulted them, and Ash didn't stop moving until he reached the Blazer still parked in front of the house, where Keala barked viciously, scratching at the windows.

Jack blinked against the dim light of the overcast skies, just as his older brother set him gently against the front left wheel of the car. "The hell...?" he sputtered, almost the same moment Sophia dropped to her knees beside him.

"Are you okay, Jack?" Something close to concern glowed in her dark eyes.

Jack stared back at her starry-eyed. "I-I-I'm fine," he stuttered, his cheeks tingeing pink.

Sophia grabbed the back of his head none too gently and shoved a bottle of water down his throat, forcing him to drink as she muttered, "You're not fine. You almost got killed by a psycho ghost cunt." She pulled the bottle out when he started to cough and her lips twitched into an almost smile. "Way to hang in there, by the way."

"Thanks..." Confusion flashed across his face. "What happened?" Everything he could recall felt like he was seeing and hearing it through a hazy fog in mismatched pieces.

"Sage mixed with a couple of other herbs, repels a ghost real damn quick." Sophia shrugged, sitting back on her heels thoughtfully. "I think we might have to do more than just the barn and the house, Stix." She interrupted the whispered conversation between Stix and Ash.

Stix nodded once, rubbing at the five o'clock shadow on his jaw. "The whole property, little sister? Fuck. Okay," he grumbled, glancing down at the girl as something passed between them, some kind of silent communication.

"What's happening? What's going on?" Mrs. Armstrong frantically pushed Will away from her, while he and Marley attempted to calm her down. "Who are you people?"

"It's okay, it's okay," Marley soothed gently. "Kit sent us to help you." She sounded gentler and more compassionate than Jack had ever heard, there wasn't a single trace of sarcasm in her words.

"Kit sent you...?" The woman trailed off as her husband came to, a grimace on his face, and the same questions flowing from his mouth. "Kit sent them, dear," she offered in explanation, choking on tears as she spoke, "they're going to help us." Mrs. Armstrong started sobbing, relief radiating off the couple in waves.

Grateful tears filled Mr. Armstrong's eyes too, which had returned to their natural clear blue color. "Thank you, guys. Thank you," he repeated, gathering his wife into his arms and pulling her up off the icy graveled road, never once letting her go.

"Don't thank us yet." Sophia dragged Jack to his feet and smirked at the property around them. "We still have work to do, and these spirits aren't just gonna lie down and let us send them on their way. They're gonna fight back as hard as they can, so keep your eyes peeled, and don't let anything stop you from getting the purifiers in the right spot."

Everyone except the Armstrong couple nodded their heads obediently. There was no telling how many spirits had gone off, possessing some poor host, and causing who knew what kind of trouble. "Purify the gravesite, Jacky, and the ghosts will bounce back like rubber bands." Dick appeared on the other side of Sophia and grinning broadly. "But do it quick, before sundown, or you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Alright, where do you want me?" Jack asked, his eyes narrowed determinedly, they had to get it done as fast as possible, and he wouldn't let anything stop them.

"Stix, you take the kid in training on the south side, Ash take Will on the north, and Jack'll be with me, we'll get the east and the west sides of the property," Sophia responded, a decisive glare on her face as she glanced around at the small group of allies.

"Go team." Will checked his bag for weapons as Ash lectured him about the game plan.

Sophia dropped her heavy black backpack on the ground and dug through it, taking out another few rounds of ammo and a pouch full of the sage mixture Ash had used to send the other poltergeists back where they came from. "Have everything you need? This ain't gonna be pretty."

Jack nodded anxiously. They had to get to both the east and the west sides of the property and they only had an hour to do it. Kneeling down, he laced his hiking boots up tighter, before straightening and letting Keala out of the car. "We need to hurry up," he urged quietly, his eyes scanning their surroundings, while Stix weighed down Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong with all the herb mixtures and the words to a white witch's purity spell.

"You're bringing your dog?" Sophia grunted incredulously, shooting him a dark smirk as she shouldered her backpack and zipped up her jacket. She started heading west first, but Jack shook his head and motioned in the other direction.

"Sun sets in the west," he reasoned as they started their hike. "We'll have more time if we take the east side first."

Sophia grinned slyly. "Smart thinking, ghost boy. So, you can see those things, huh?" she asked conversationally while they entered the cover of the trees, leaving the rest of their group behind as they all headed off in different directions.

"You can't?" Jack dared a glance at the stone-faced woman who matched his steady pace evenly. "But you could smell their-"

"Rotting souls?" Sophia interjected with a cool shrug. "Yeah. What can I say, being touched by a demon does have its few perks."

"Oh, you can only smell and sense them then? I have a friend like that, but I'm pretty sure he never met a demon."

Sophia smirked. "You'd know if he had. It killed my entire family before Stix saved me."

"Damn," Jack murmured softly. "How old were you?"

"Six." Sophia's dark eyes glimmered menacingly as she said, "But don't worry, it was fourteen years ago, and Stix and I already tracked him down and avenged our brothers."

Jack was about to respond, when the sound of laughter echoed off the trees. "I don't think so, Jacky! You can't get away from us that easily. The boss wants to have a word with you." A waitress in a ripped, bloodied, dress and bare feet, suddenly stood in front of him, blocking his path.

"Who's your boss?" Jack asked as he held in a scream of surprise, attempting to distract the middle-aged woman, while Sophia darted into the tree cover. Keala barked ferociously, causing him to whip his head around just in time to see a man appear out of the shadows behind him.

"You think that'll work?" the new guy growled, eyes as black as midnight. With an inhuman speed, the man grabbed Jack from behind choking him with his forearm, blocking off his airways, not unlike the way Mrs. Armstrong had.

"Sorry, Sophia," Jack grunted, fumbling to snatch his knife from its holster and imbedding the blade into the guy's ribs. He screamed as he collapsed, and the boy mumbled another apology as he retrieved his knife and drove the iron into the man's heart.

"You bastard," the waitress snarled, in front of him before he could blink. Keala growled savagely, leaping into the woman and sinking her teeth into the lady's arm, before she could raise the wrist gripping a silver blade that Jack hadn't seen before.

"Bad dog!" Sophia shrieked, right as Keala went for the woman's throat.

"Keala. Stop," Jack commanded, staggering to his feet while Sophia lit a paper ball filled with herbs and whispered a spell that rolled off her tongue sweetly.

"Shit!" The waitress screamed, thick smoke billowing from her mouth and dissipating into the earth with a hiss, as the host's body collapsed limply.

"Next time, use the herbs." Sophia's dark gaze zeroed in on the host Jack sliced up. The young woman brushed golden strands of hair from her sweaty face and gestured toward the west side. "Come on, it's about two miles that way, so we gotta get a move on if we're gonna finish this shit."

"Right. Keala!" Jack called out, the k-9 having disappeared back into the trees once again.

"Are you sure that animal isn't feral?" Sophia glared at the dog as she loped toward them with her tongue hanging out and her tail wagging happily.

Jack laughed easily. "Nah, she's just a little on the wild side." His clear blue eyes glittered with humor. "She grows on you." He quickened his pace while the sun sunk further into the sky, just above the tree line, casting long shadows over the forest floor around them.

"I don't know about that..." She paused, and when the silence stretched between them for a few minutes, she spoke again. "So, you been workin' the job long?"

"My first official job was last Monday."

Sophia blanched. "No shit? Ash brought ya'll out on exterminations like this without training?"

"We trained with Lee, Haru, Charley, and Piper for a few days," Jack pointed out absently, keeping his eyes peeled for another attack ghost. "And Mars trained with a white witch named, Emilia."

"So she is a half-breed?" Sophia pried coldly.

Jack grinned, taking no notice of her hostile change in attitude. "Isn't it awesome? She's so cool."

Sophia made a noise of disagreement in the back of her throat. "Almost ten years ago, I was on a job way out in Maine where all of these babies were dying of some unknown disease. All of them were born to single women in the area, with little else in common. Turns out a witch was going around impregnating women with his half-breeds."

"Why would he do that?" Jack asked as Keala darted off into the trees far beyond his view, while he and Sophia hiked the rolling hills toward their destination, and the sun continued sinking.

Sophia shot him a flat look. "To fulfill the prophecy Mr. Armstrong was talking about. A prophecy, which means complete destruction to Annabeth and her carefully, constructed tyranny. A prophecy that also says with the rise of the half-breed also comes the rise of the long dead monsters. The real ones, not just the spell-made memories of them."

"So you're saying Marley goes dark side?" Jack clarified, attempting to wrap his head around all the new information.

"I don't know what that means. But essentially, if the witches don't get to your sister soon, like they did to all those babies ten years ago, she may very well be the half-breed. And that's dangerous as hell."

"But what if she doesn't turn evil or whatever? What if that's a prophecy for someone else?" Jack asked, almost desperately.

Sophia leveled him with a bitter stare. "Then your sister dies. Either way, she doesn't have a promising future." Jack felt like he'd just been kicked in the stomach. "I'm sorry, it's just that, if your sister isn't the prophecy half-breed, Annabeth won't let her live. You've been lucky so far, but I-"

"Sophia, look out!" Jack shoved the woman out of the way, just as a giant, burly, construction worker crashed through the trees, coming straight for her. She didn't even have time to scream, before she'd slammed against a tree, as Jack was hoisted into the air by the obsidian-eyed man and thrown into the growing shadows.

"Fun time is over, Jacky. This ends now," the man growled out, his voice thick and gravelly. Balled in one fist was a heavy steel rod that he brandished with a wicked smirk. Three other giant men, wearing the same bright orange construction uniforms, tore into the clearing they'd entered and all flashed him equally as disturbing smiles.

"Ghosts talk, kid. Sounds like you've been yacking to someone on the wrong side of this war. And when the time comes, you've gotta choose the winning side. Seems the boss wants to talk to ya real bad, but first we get the honor of roughin' ya up a bit for him," a second man growled out, glee flashing across his stolen face. He was enjoying every second of their encounter, which made Jack's stomach churn.

The four of them descended on Jack quicker than he had time to take a step in either direction. He ducked his head, right as the first blows came and then in seconds there were kicks and punches thrown into his ribs, stomach, back, and face, with such force and flurry, he couldn't discern which way was up or down. All he wanted in that moment as he coughed and spit up blood, was for the dark spots to take over completely.

Just as Jack's vision began to fade into nothingness, the four men around him screamed, collapsing to the ground limply. From somewhere close by, he heard his name shouted, and felt something wet dripping down his face. Apparently, he wasn't meant to make it off the Armstrong property without getting his ass kicked by every possessed ghost within a one-hundred-mile radius.

"Jacky, come on, this ain't funny." A hand smacked his face lightly. Jack's eyes fluttered open slowly, much to his older brother's relief. "Thank fuck, man. You took a hell of a beating back there. For a second I thought you were dead, bro."

Jack coughed and sputtered, taking shallow, gasping breaths. "I feel like shit," he finally hissed, sitting up in the backseat of the Blazer, where Ash had probably laid him out while he'd been enjoying the comforts of unconsciousness.

"You just got your ass whooped by four big ass psycho ghost cunts, of course you feel like shit." Sophia laughed, walking toward them at the same time Jack stumbled out into the fresh air, groping his jacket pocket for his Altoids tin filled with joints. Pulling an unlit one out, he stuck it between his lips and cupped his hand against the biting wind to light it, sucking in a deep lungful of sweet smoke, and trying not to cough.

"Any broken bones, Jack? Need a hospital stay?" Will finished packing up the rest of their gear and whistled for Keala, who predictably ignored him.

"No, I'll live," Jack responded blandly, passing the joint over to Sophia. She stared at it for a moment, before shrugging and taking a hit, relishing the feeling of the smoke filling her lungs before she slowly blew it out in thick rings.

"Good. Oh, hey, Jack, come over to my car a minute, I have something for you." With a light nod, Jack followed her, while Will shot him a strange look before being called over by Ash and Stix.

"What's up?" Jack asked, when they arrived at her beat-up old generation VW Beetle. At one point, it had probably been a sleek, sunshine yellow, but in its current state, the paint had faded to a dirty, washed out, faint pee color and in some places had rusted out completely.

Sophia grinned sweetly, pulling out a thick wad of cash. "Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong gave me all the money to divvy out. Here's your cut." Her warm brown eyes shined, and she looked happier than he'd seen her all day. Maybe it had something to do with the weed.

"Thanks." Jack smiled back, his eyebrows shooting up into his hair when he caught sight of just how much money was in his hands and pocketing it almost immediately.

"Ten G's, ghost boy. Don't spend it all in one place."

Jack stared at her slack-jawed. "I don't even think I could if I wanted to."

"You were pretty good out there today," Sophia stated more as a fact rather than praise for a job well done. He got the feeling she didn't dole out compliments often. "If you ever want a break from the douche, the nerd, and the half-breed, feel free to call me up. I already programmed my number in your phone while you were out." She shrugged absently, twisting her long, golden brown hair into a tight bun on the top of her head.

"Your brother would be okay with that?" Jack glanced back at Stix with a bit of healthy apprehension. The way Sophia told it, the man was an ex-boxer with a high pain tolerance and the endurance of an ox, which made him utterly terrifying in a fight.

Sophia laughed heartily, a real from the belly type of laugh that made her snort a little. It was the cutest thing Jack had ever heard. "I'm pretty sure Stix would jump for joy if I brought a frog home and proclaimed him my best friend for life."

Jack whistled appreciatively. "You must get out even less than I do," he teased, earning a punch in one of his already aching arms in return. He winced and Sophia jumped back a step.

"Sorry. I forgot," she mumbled to her feet, while Jack only smiled softly back at her.

"No harm done, Sophie." He grinned down at her, while she shot him a quick glare as she threw the last of her things into her overstuffed car and slammed the passenger door shut.

"Thanks for having my back today, I couldn't have done it without you." She leveled him with a look tinted with concern. "I really hope ya'll make it, not a lot of people do."

"Don't thank me. Except for getting beat up by a gang of borrowed ghost thugs, today was pretty fun." Jack grimaced when he moved the wrong way, but his expression quickly morphed into a smile.

"You're a weird kid, Jack." Sophia shook her head with an amused smirk. "But you should probably get back to your car and smoke the rest of that joint. You're gonna need it." She took his arm even though he probably could've made it on his own, and led him back to the Blazer.

"You ready, Soph?" Stix called, laughing at something Ash had said, while they talked mechanics over his motorcycle.

"Yeah, let's get outta here. We still gotta make it down to the Lockwood place before they sell out of my favorite sleepers." A bitter wind blew through their coats, chilling Jack to the bone, though he barely even flinched.

"Where's Marley?" He pulled himself painfully into the Blazer and leaned his head back as he steadied his breathing so it didn't hurt so much.

"Sampling Mrs. Armstrong's pie. Apparently the ghost wasn't lying when she said it was damn good," Will answered, his face stuck in one of his textbooks, and his laptop opened on his lap.

Jack groaned, lighting his joint back up again as his stomach churned bitterly with the threat of vomit. "You're doing homework?" he questioned incredulously, unable to stop the moan of pain that tore through his lips when he turned the wrong way.

"Yes. I have a test due on Friday." Will ducked his head, so his hair fell into his face, ignoring the goodbye waves from Stix and Sophia before they drove off into the distance, disappearing around the trees and into thin air.

"Let's go, Mars!" Ash called, and a few moments later, Marley burst through the front doors with Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong sidling up behind her, calling their farewells from the safety and warmth of their porch.

"I brought some of Mrs. Armstrong's pie. It's freaking awesome, guys!" Marley gushed, climbing in, with Keala hot on her heels and slamming the door behind them.

"Did you get the money?" Ash started the car, driving slowly until he pulled to a stop at the end of their long, winding, driveway. He glanced back at Marley briefly, before merging into the light flow of traffic toward town.

"Mrs. Armstrong said she gave it to Sophia to split between us." Marley shrugged, more interested in trying a bite of the woman's apple pie.

Ash's hard glare was practically tangible through the rearview mirror. "I haven't seen a cent of that cash," he growled in response, making Marley flinch.

A frown of confusion marred Jack's features. "She said Stix was giving you your cut. I got mine." He shrugged nonchalantly and all three of his siblings whipped their gazes in his direction.

"You got paid, but we didn't?" Ash gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned a sickly shade of pale yellow.

Marley laughed hard enough that she almost choked on her apple pie. "Jack's gonna pay for dinner tonight!"

"You're splitting that money," Will declared, still switching his gaze back and forth between his biology textbook and his computer.

"When I find that bitch I'm gonna rip her fucking throat out." Ash sped through Johnston and onwards towards Kit's house instead of back to the cabin.

Jack just laughed along with Marley, taking another hit and trying to avoid thinking about the nasty injuries he'd sustained. Nothing was broken as far as he could tell, but his head pounded somethin' fierce and he was covered in bruises and cuts practically from his hairline to his feet.