Fear Itself
Quintin Fortune
Copyright 2015 Quintin Fortune
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The Office of the Professional Heroes looked to be in the spirit of the season with a plastic pumpkin sitting on the reception desk and various goofy Halloween decorations scattered the walls and desks. Deadguy was sitting at his desk, feet propped up as always, reading over a horror film magazine. Valkadaidan was filling out paperwork from his last case. Kiri was busy trying to create simple A.I. For a few ghost bots. Jill sat at her desk, discontent.
“Sounds like a scream,” DG muttered. “What's up Boss,” he asked, throwing the magazine behind him.
“Not a big fan of Halloween,” she replied.
“How can you not like Halloween,” Kiri asked. “It's the most funnest holiday of the year.”
Jill scrunched her face at the word 'funnest'. “That's not a real word,” she said. “Besides, we get a lot more prank calls this time of year. It gets old fast.”
Suddenly, the power goes out. “Kiri,” the three others Heroes yelled.
“Not my fault this time,” the Techie squealed.
The lights flicker, then long, lanky creatures with mouths for faces and leathery gray skin stood in front of each of the Heroes desks. They let out a shrill shriek that felt like it deafened them. The lights flickered back on, leaving all but Valk bolted to their seats.
“Sit rep,” Jill called out.
“Here,” Valk growled.
“I'm good,” Kiri exclaimed.
“Scared for life now,” Our Hero declared.
The Professional Heroes sat around the table in the break room. Jill stood at one end. “Kiri, what do the security video show,” she asked.
“Nothing,” she replied, looking over her tablet. “We're just sitting there. The power was on and everything.”
“Which means this was mental in origin. Any idea who could have perpetrated the attack?”
“Chaos,” Deadguy suggested. “Him and his 'Crew' are still missing.”
“Sabanto,” Valkadaidan said. “May have found his way here from Japan.”
“Deadguy,” Kiri ventured. “He could have put something in our coffee.”
“Then why would I drink it too,” DG questioned.
The Techie shrugged. “Your amnesia?”
“Pretty sure it doesn't work like that,” he answered.
“This seemed too organized for Chaos,” Jill noted. “I wouldn't rule out Sabanto, but I have a feeling he's being kept under lock and key. And Deadguy...no. Just no.”
“Then why did you ask us our opinion for,” Deadguy questioned.
“Brainstorming. It's a good leadership function.”
“Way to go, boss,” Our Hero remarked. “I'll put a gold star by your name.”
Jill glared at him. “We're not getting anything done this late in the day. Let's head home, get some sleep, and come back tomorrow to try and figure this all out with a fresh outlook.”
Kiri prepared for bed the same way she did every night; propped up by four pillows as her weary eyes were fixed on the tablet. The soft glow faintly lighting her face. Finally, sleep won out as she turned off the device and stashed it somewhere in the pillow pile. In the darkness, something stirred...
Jill finished texting her sister, one of the few she still talked to, while today still lingered in the back of her mind. The empty darkness of her bedroom was peppered with the lights from the other side of her blinds. The chill of the October night caused her to curl up under the covers a little more. She slowly drifted off to sleep, unaware of the creeping shadows...
Deadguy laid back in his well-worn recliner, staring up at the ceiling. “I should buy a bed,” he remarked. He let out a huge yawn. “I'll get one...off the Internet...tomorrow,” he continued, only half-awake. His eyes drooped, then fluttered shut. The nosy city outside faded away into restful oblivion. Had he kept his eyes open a moment longer, he would have seen the shadows skittering across the ceiling...
Valkadaidan sat in the middle of his training room, preparing himself for his long meditation session. He didn't sleep. He hadn't for quiet a few centuries. It was all the same to him. The thick candles burned away small pockets of darkness, plunging the room into a sepia hue. The remaining shadows danced around the light, drawing ever closer to him...