Archive of Our Own

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PART ONE
Season One: The Original Haunting
A new house, new spirits, and a new frame of mind.

Wait, demons?

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She sits facing the camera, attempting to smooth down her unkept hair. Her eyes are a little droopy but she accepts her looks for the way they are. Staticky, pale and curled hair flips over her head and reaches nearly to her elbows; she’s wearing a blue flannel and a pink tank top underneath.Fairly casual, she muses.“Hey everybody,” she says. Her first words, her first smile, her first impression on the world. A laugh presses against her throat and she raises her hands. “So, I know this is a little strange, but I’m going to make videos, a bunch of ‘em, and hopefully I’ll capture what is going on in this house.”Her eyes brighten, her head tilts forward, and her lips purse. “I am not even kidding you, there is some creepy, sketch stuff going down. Like, really!”She breathes, smiles, and looks up for a moment. “I should probably tell you a little about myself.. before you like, you know, get invested in this video, you should probably know who I am.”She leans forward and blinks. “My name is Sunshine. I’m very interested in the paranormal side of things. I don’t know what I believe, necessarily, is in this house but there is something in. this house. And I will capture it.”Sunshine grunts. “Mainly for my mother, if that is all that is watching this, it will be my mother. You get to see it too though, if you, y’know, sit down and watch this full video and my...paranormal adventure into the life of what is here.”She pauses. “But...yeah. You’ll find out, there’s stuff here.”She reaches forward and switches off the camera.
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Her mother has never particularly loved huge houses, and a two-story home was never something Kat nor Sunshine had imagined. But this was one of the few places left to move in and money was tight. It was cheap. It would have to do until Kat could get herself working again.Sunshine herself, well, she actually likes it. Surprisingly. Her room is small but cozy. It has a warm, inviting feel to it; pink frames the walls and she has a white sheet covering her twin bed (hardly a twin bed at all). A poster of a statue hangs over her head, and she has antiques stacked along the shelves. Two statues, old beer bottles, a 1980’s radio, a wood-woven chest, and most importantly, her typewriter.Maybe it’s the items that have always brought spirits, but Sunshine isn’t so sure. The objects — they were from her relatives, either long dead or a long way away. They’d never complained about odd occurances in their homes. Perhaps they just hadn’t recognized the signs, or maybe had tricked themselves into believing they weren’t being haunted.Or, the simple answer: they weren’t haunted.Now, the rest of her house is fairly spacious. An office sits across from Sunshine’s room and an outstretched balcony looks over the front yard. Stairs curl down to the kitchen, a compact space, but an open window shares the gloomy sight of gray clouds. That’s where her mother often is.Oh, her mother. Kat. A proud, sturdy and independent woman with a distaste toward all the bullshit and lies. She’s honest, always honest, and Sunshine wonders if that’s why she’s always at home, or if it’s why she has no friends. Women — even men, sometimes — they just don’t like to be told someone’s thoughts right to their face. Of course, Sunshine doesn’t mind. She and her mother get along amazingly. She can see some similarities between the two of them. Though Sunshine doesn’t share her mother’s auburn hair, her sharp nose or her almond gaze, they do have a similar frame and body type. Her mother is small, too; like mother like daughter, they say.Perhaps Kat’s brutal honesty has rubbed off on Sunshine, too.And then their living room. Large, wide, tall. Many black chairs dot the outer edges with a large television seated in the corner. A couch faces away from the kitchen, and more windows let light flood through the room. Sunshine likes this room. Hell, she likes the whole house. What could go wrong?
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Sunshine gets the camera out, turns it on herself, and slides down the stairs.“This is my mother!” The screen is turned toward Kat, who looks more or less disinterested. She holds a lax stare and her brows are raised just a little.Or maybe she’s annoyed.“Whatcha doin,” Kat says, voice flat.Sunshine giggles softly. “Capturing the paranormal activity, woman! Since you didn’t believe me —”“Do I look like a ghost?” she questions, moving forward toward the counter. “Turn it off.”“She’s a ghost,” Sunshine whispers. Her mother is probably rolling her eyes. “A lil’ freaky sometimes. I’m not turning it off though.” She smiles.“What, you think there’s a ghost in the kitchen?” Kat asks as Sunshine gives a tour of the room.“Yes, there is,” Sunshine says, exasperated. “Our dining room table, it looks a little lonely, doesn’t it? Mm. Whatever. A little dark and creepy back there.”As she walks into the living room her mother calls to her. “Have you done your homework?”Sing song: “Homework’s for loooserrrs~”⠀
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So. What kind of views are outside of Sunshine’s house?A meth lab trailer by an equally meth-labby shack, a house with boarded windows, and no lights on the street.What a sight.
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She just wanted to make a video on her favorite comfort foods.Instead, a door had to slam. She investigated.No, nope, she didn’t.
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There’s a voice — she can hear it, but she can never quite catch it on her camera.She’s sitting sprawled across the wall, eyes wide.The door opens and her mom walks in with a bundle of clothes in her hands.“Mom!”Kat turns and jumps. “What?!”Sunshine giggles. “You scared the piss out of me! What is with you?”Her mom shakes her head. “I’m sorry!”A pause.“Your Spider-Man underwear scares the piss out of me. Put your laundry up.”Kat sets the clothes down and spots the camera. “What are — what are you recording up here? You’re alone!” Her hands fall to her sides. “Mom!”“What?”“You were making noises. I heard something. I record!”“You record?” Kat leans forward and laughs. “Just, you thought you heard something so you’re just recording random things?”“Yes. Mom! Yes, yeah.”A laugh, then a pause.“Do you want me to leave now?” “Mhm. Mmmmhm. That’d be great.”Sunshine looks at the camera and mouths, “Oh my goshhhhh!”
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The scratching noise never returns.Sunshine vows to keep her camera with her at all times, just so she doesn’t miss anything.24/7.
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So — ugh.Sunshine pulls out her camera, hair tied back in a bun.“So I swear I’m not imagining this. There’s a lady out front who’s always here. I swear, she like, shows up, and then she disappears. She goes down the dark, creepy, long lane and.. look, there she is.”And it’s true. Between two bright, wide trees, a tall woman stands behind the gate. She has waved shoulder-length hair and her face — it’s dark. Unmoving. Her hands are curled at the sides of her hugged gray trenchcoat, black buttons curling up on the side of her shoulder and chest. A black skirt is worn underneath; she has long black socks and midnight shoes. She’s pale, for the little amount of skin she shows.It’s really fucking creepy.“She always dresses the same, she doesn’t come up to the house, just... stands there. Looking odd, and weird.” She flips the camera back to her face, turning away. “I’m very tempted to go talk to her except — I’m too scared. Mmm. Being honest. I’m just afraid of her. She’s... yeah...”When the trees are shown again, the woman is gone.“Creepy.”
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Sunshine can’t play guitar.Why does she even try?She sighs, leans over and sees something out of the window. She can’t exactly put her finger on what it is, but it’s freaking her out. So, what’s the next best thing to do? Go downstairs and explore.Sunshine looks around outside with her dogs, and when she turns to walk back inside, she realizes the door is closed.Great.Now she’s being messed with.⠀
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Her mom sits in front of the camera, looking slightly disgruntled and almost — scared?“Okay, so, um...” Kat leans back, lips tight. “I just.. uh, kind of got on the YouTube page here and watched some of my daughter’s videos. And I’m kind of, um, I’m a little bit freaked out. There’s a lot of stuff that I didn’t know that was going on, and — she would tell me, y’know, some of it, but a lot of it I really.. I really had no idea about.”She shakes her head. “I mean, I didn’t even know about the lady that — like, that’s just standing —” Kat lifts her body and looks out of the window. “She’s not there right now, but, you — you know, this strange woman is just standing outside of our house, outside of our gate, just, I don’t even know, I don’t even know what to do. I don’t know if I should stay home from work and try to catch her and ask her what she’s doing, or if I should call the landlord and ask them if they know who she is, you know, I — I don’t even know where she comes from, we live on a dead-end street and she walks towards the dead-end and — where’s she going?”Kat sighs and looks serious. “I don’t know if I should call the police, I don’t know if I should leave my dog outside, I mean, he’s kind of a wuss but... I guess he could come in and protect us or something. I — I’m really not sure what to do so I’m kind of, a little bit, worried and concerned. I wish there was someone I could talk to about it. I feel like they could help me with this. But... there’s really not anyone...”She turns the camera off.
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Sunshine and her mom are sitting on the couch, watching TV.“Legitimately,” Sunshine begins, crossing her arms, “she was like, ‘You know what shirt I’m gonna wear today?’ This one.”“The ugly one,” Kat chimes in.“This really ugly one. Seriously, her boobs look huge and — I — I shouldn’t be looking at her boobs but seriously, look at that —”Kat wheezes. “How can you not though?”“I mean — OHHH she — she’s a drug addict!”Kat laughs and nods along. “That’s... sexayyy..”“Oh, my god,” Sunshine sighs and slaps her hand to her forehead, “I can’t watch this show, we need to change it.”Sunshine watches her mother change the channel, but Kat becomes serious and looks over. “So, Do I need to worry about the fact that the camera is always recording now?”“No,” Sunshine snorts, running a hand through her fuzzy hair, “I have friends over — no, I don’t, actually.”A door slams.Both women exchange glances and turn their attention toward the source of the noise.“Did you.. leave a window open, upstairs?”“No.. Mm-mm. No, I didn’t.” Sunshine smirks and almost looks snobbish.“You must’ve.”“No! I — It’s winter, why would I have left a window —”Kat waves her hands and pulls a finger to her lips. “Wait...”Sunshine sighs and leans forward. “This is why I leave the camera on.”“All right, let’s check it out.” Kat grabs the camera and stands.Her eyes widen. “But — I don’t want to — I didn’t do it last time, why would I do it this time?”“Because I’m with you.”“But... mmmm-hmm, that makes me feel so much better, we’re both white belts here.”They move across the living room in to the kitchen, staring up at the stairs. Kat leads the way up to the dark and stiffens. “Your door is closed.”Sunshine opens it, looking inside. “Hello...?”Kat grunts. “What, do you think someone’s gonna answer?”“Yeah, I do actually.”“Ghosts don’t talk.”“Yes, they do, Mom.”
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Sunshine tries to listen for the scratching again. No luck.“Hey Mom,” she greets as Kat walks by, sitting comfortably in one of the living room chairs.“What uh... whatcha got there?”Her mother looks down at two baby monitors on the floor, brow raised.“Baby monitors.”“Well, I can see they’re baby monitors —” She sits down, “Why, uh, is there somethin’ you wanna tell me?”Sunshine nods. “Yes, I’m pregnant, having twins.”“Excellent. Why do you have a baby monitor?”“So I can put one upstairs in a second so it can help me hear stuff, y’know?”Kat smirks. “Oh, you just watched Signs, didn’t you?”Sunshine laughs softly. “Yes,” she mouths to the camera.“So,” her mother continues, “what do you think — I mean, I just don’t understand, what do you think you’re gonna hear on this...”“Stuff, you know, so we don’t have another episode like the other night.”“Honey,” Kat says in that patronizing voice, shaking her head, “that was just the door, the wind just blew it shut honey.”“Mom, no, it wasn’t — so, gonna put one upstairs, one downstairs, and it’s gonna work. It’s gonna be great.”A sigh. “Okay, well, I hope you didn’t spend very much money on it.”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “She’s very supportive.”
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Sunshine is proud of herself for catching peanut M&Ms in her mouth.What has her life come to?
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The camera is ready, as usual. Sunshine is sitting on the floor next to her bed. Why not on the bed? Who knows.“So guys, I’m doing a follow-up with the whole Creepy Lady thing because there’s been a lot of chat about that on YouTube so, follow up.” She looks excited, then blank. “Nothing.”“Nothing has happened. Creepy Lady hasn’t come back since I posted that video about her lurkin’ outside the front door so... now I spend like all my time.. standing.. downstairs.. looking out the window making sure she’s not there creepin’ on me anymore!”Sunshine shakes her head and sighs, then waves her arms, annoyed. “And! My mom’s going crazy! She stole my camera, I’m sure you guys have seen those videos, yeah, nice, right? GREAT. Yeah. Gonna hide the camera from now on.”
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She tries to catch voices again on a lazy Sunday afternoon.Nope.Why would the ghosts do anything in her favor?Sunshine decides to investigate — yeah, because that always goes well — and stands on the top of the stairs, looking down.The door slams shut.Did she mention that she’s home alone?
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Her mom is doing another video.“Guess red light means on..”Kat adjusts her shirt and looks at the camera. “Okay, so, uhhh, hi.” She laughs awkwardly. “I don’t really know how to do this. I uh, just heard something, like — footsteps? — or something upstairs, and I’m actually home alone, my daughter is at school.”She sighs. “This is really the first time I’ve had anything happen that made me kind of wonder what’s going on. I just thought that she was being dramatic, because she can be, sometimes, I don’t know if you noticed, but now I’m not so sure..”Kat nods. “I’ve definitely heard something and I don’t know, I don’t really believe in ghosts. So I’m not really sure what... what I’m saying... okay.”
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Sunshine turns the camera off and hears a voice. Right after. Of course.She thinks the camera is egging the ghosts on. She’s not sure she should record anymore — and before she began her videos, the spirits hadn’t been as bad. Now it’s bad. It’s scary. It’s frightening.Sunshine’s had enough of it.
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Update on the baby monitors:Nothing.
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It’s Christmas!God, is she excited.Maybe the ghosts are excited too.
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Sunshine is going to try and be more proactive. She wants to learn the history of the house. She wants to take in everything there is to know, ponder, and decide.Okay, maybe a local expert is a little far, but she still has plans. Maybe they’ll know about other haunted houses. Maybe they’ll know what the hell is going on here and — hopefully — they can reassure Sunshine that Creepy Lady is just that creepy.Would the little old lady a few doors down know anything?Maybe the homeowners would know. She’s sure they’ve had people leave the house for weird shit going down. They’d know best out of everyone. She is just a teenager, though. Maybe she’s completely off.Maybe digging deeper into this mystery is a bad idea in and of itself.
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Why the hell is someone BANGING on the door when Sunshine is home alone?She has her camera out, she’s talking about how she loves the smell of books, and she has to be interrupted by whoever is on her front porch.God, if it’s a ghost —She walks to the front door, confused, until she sees who it is.Creepy Lady.Creepy Lady is standing there.Sunshine pulls back the screen and hesitates, eyes wide. “..Hello?”The woman’s eyes flicker around dangerously. It’s almost like she can’t keep her gaze locked on a certain thing.“Hellooo...” She asks again.“Is this your house..” Creepy Lady asks, voice raspy and low, eyes dark and brooding. Sunshine can’t detect an ounce of emotion within those words.“Mmhm..”A long pause, and the woman finally meets Sunshine’s gaze. “You live here.” Is that a question or a statement?“Mhm..”She looks scared, maybe. Or, is that her usual expression?“Do you know something about my —”“You can’t be here.”The words are like poison. It sends ice through Sunshine’s limbs, flicking at her veins and opening up her chest. She can’t move. “Why not?”What else is she supposed to say?“It’s not safe.”A long, drawn out pause.“Leave this house.”What?“It’s not safe.”Double what?“You MUST leave this house.”What in the world —“But —” Sunshine tries to start.“Leave. You must leave this house!” Her voice raises. “LEAVE! LEAVE! NOW!”Sunshine backpedals and closes the door. The woman immediately turns and quickly walks away.“Um.” She looks at the camera, wide-eyed and uncertain. “I don’t know what just happened, but she’s... she’s frightening and I’m definitely not going to the library, that’s for sure.”
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Follow up on Creepy Lady: Sunshine is hiding in her mom’s room.Yeah, she’s still freaking out. Normal people don’t come up to your door and yell at you to leave the house that instant. No, that’s what crazy people do. Maybe Creepy Lady is crazy. That would actually make a lot of sense. She just feels safe in her mom’s room. A little more.At least Kat will be home soon.She doesn’t want to bring up Creepy Lady.How do you even talk about that?
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Sunshine is kinda pissed that people didn’t like the M&M’s video.What the hell? It was cool!
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She and her mother are sitting on the couch, sharing a normal evening while Sunshine does her homework. This is what normal families do, right?“I’m dying.”Kat looks up. “Don’t die. I’ll miss you.”“Well, terrible.”“The world would miss you.”“They would? My commentary is pretty awesome.”Her mother looks around the couch. “Where are your glasses?”Sunshine sighes and pulls them out from under her shirt. “They’re right here.” She leans her head back. “I feel like such a nerd when I wear them though.”“You are a nerd.”“I am not a nerd!” She slips the glasses on. “I just — people could see me or something and —”“Yeah, who’s gonna see you.”“I don’t know, someone important and stuff.”“President’s gonna stop by.”“Yep, he is.”Kat scribbles something down. “Do you know if you used the rest of the soy milk yesterday?”“All the soy milk is gone — yeah.”Her mother groans. Sunshine returns to her homework.Then, the baby monitor in front of them crackles. The two look up, startled, as it muffles and groans against the speakers. “What is that...?” Kat asks, looking toward her daughter.“It’s the baby monitor.”“What is it doing?!”“It’s going off.” Sunshine takes her glasses off and leans forward. It splutters again and she looks up at her mother.“I just want to point out, I was right.”
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So, Sunshine and her mother visit the beach for New Years. It’s a pretty nice view, though quite gloomy. They’re excited anyway.Even better? The ghosts aren’t here.
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She’s been researching. Sunshine was being truthful when she announced that she was going to dig deeper into her house’s mystery. So, what did she find out?Well, apparently there was a murder here. It’s sort of freaking Sunshine out but she’s able to calm herself.No biggie, right?
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Sunshine is organizing cards when the doorknob rattles.She looks up and tenses. She’s fine. She’s fine. She’s fine.She’s fine.Something rubs up against the door and she realizes she can’t ignore this anymore. Sunshine places her glasses to the side and straightens, shaking. The doorknob creaks again.“Mom?” she calls out, breathing heavier.Why is she freaking out?Scratching. The sound fills the room and Sunshine flinches back. “Mom? Mom! Mom!”Someone knocks at the door, loudly, and Sunshine rears back on to the bed, screaming her mother’s name. She begins crying and Kat runs in, eyes wide. “Honey? What’s wrong? What happened?”Sunshine buries her head in her arms and sobs. Kat shuffles over to turn the camera off.Things are getting worse.
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It’s mid-day, sunny for once, and Sunshine is sitting inside, wondering why such weird things have to happen to her. Last night’s events were definitely shaking. Sunshine can’t get it off of her mind. She can’t forget the jigging door handle, the loud bangs pounding on the door, or the ice that spread through her limbs. She still feels fuzzy. Her eyes are dark and droopy while her face stays pale.She tries to tie up her appearance with a bow in her hair but realizes it probably does nothing. Sigh. She’s going to have to do this video, isn’t she?The camera flashes red and Sunshine adjusts her seat on the bed. “Hello,” she says hazily, tilting her head. “So, update on everything. I want to tell you a little bit about why whe moved to this particular house.” She raises her arms and looks around. “Because,” Sunshine continues, “now, you know, it seems crazy that we’d even pick this house. You saw the outside, and it’s not an attractive place.”She shakes her head and sighs. “So, when we were living back where we.. well, lived, my mom was really busy with work and stuff so she asked me to go and look at some houses.” Sunshine breathes. “I went, drove around a bunch of them, and when I got out of the car at this place.. I had a feeling.” Her eyes flicker. “I don’t know how to describe it. It’s kind of, I don’t know, weird?”Sunshine turns her head to look out of the window. “It’s strange. I looked through the whole house and liked it a lot — the feeling was there the whole time I was here. And I thought it was gonna be for the good, but I don’t know, maybe now it’s.. for the bad, I’m not sure.” She looks down, playing with her jacket. “So, yeah, we picked this house and moved in and you all know what’s been going on. Creepy stuff — like crazy lady.. but, I don’t know.”She shifts upward, staring at the camera with her mouth flopped. “Maybe it will get better.”
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Sunshine is talking to the camera again. People want her to post more but — well, don’t they understand that she has a life? Besides, most of the videos she tapes are pretty boring (She’s still bitter about the M&Ms). What really pisses her off the most is the idea — more than that, the rumor — that her videos are fake. I mean, what’s fake? Is she fake? Is the house fake? Her room, her mother? All the vitamin water she drinks?It’s ridiculous. None of it is fake.Though sometimes she wishes it was.
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“So, guys, I had this thought — it was a dream kind of thing, like —” Sunshine is standing near her door, then visibly stops, hands shaking the camera. “What — is that...”Her face is slick with sweat as she shuts the light off. The camera splutters and a red glitch contorts the view. She turns the screen around and — oh, what, what in the world is that? It’s a white, pale figure with some kind of cloth wrapped around its body, and it’s standing a little far off but it — it terrifies her. The screen glitches loudly and a muffled, demonic voice speaks.Sunshine backs away and runs, heart pumping out of her chest. She tells herself it’s okay, that she can deal with this, that she just needs to stay calm.Yeah, how did that work with the door incident?She practically stumbles down the stairs into the kitchen, closing her eyes, grimacing. But when she arrives in the living room she sees the back door is open. Why — her mother isn’t down here. What the hell is going on?Sunshine nears the screen door, trembling. She can’t see anyone outside, so quickly shuts it and tries to pretend nothing happened. The screen flickers with white and red.Then, the front door opens. Sunshine gasps, wheeling around, green eyes wide. It creaks and lets the cool wind flow through the house, ruffling her hair as she closes in the gap. A demonic scream echoes in her ears when the back door slams open again. Sunshine whimpers, caught between two worlds, fear overtaking her every move and thought.She — she can’t — “Hello?” she calls, voice breathy and quivering. No one. There’s no one there. She reaches for the door when it swipes in her face, causing a scream to shake her throat and her hands to cover her cheeks.“I can’t — Mom! I can’t do this, I can’t —”The screen glitches over her face and her voice, shaping her head to be angled and wavy. Red streaks burst through the camera and it sticks in the same place, stuck on her “can’t”. The screen turns black. Sunshine doesn’t even realize her camera had malfunctioned until later. She hadn’t noticed the static when she was recording. That’s — that’s weird, right? That doesn’t usually happen, does it?Her camera is completely dead now. She figures this out once her mother has calmed her down and kissed her forehead, tucking her in to the bed.The next morning, Sunshine doesn’t recognize the familiar blinking red light so decides to off-load all of the footage from last night. At least, that’s what she’d meant to receive. Instead, a minute long looped picture of her comes through — at least, she thinks it’s her. It’s her face, red and surrounded with shadows, but her eyes — her eyes are black. She looks absolutely terrifying.It looks like she’s gonna need to get a new camera.⠀
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New camera!What’s the first thing she does?Record, of course.
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Wow, her mind is so jumbled. She really needs to vent.Well, for now, she can make a mind file of the things she knows and what happened from that horrible night’s events. For one, she has a nice new camera that hopefully won’t go AWOL like her old one. Her mom wasn’t very happy though. Yeah, Sunshine literally has no money.Next, the house has been surprisingly quiet. It seems to happen every time she freaks out — maybe the ghosts are showing her a little compassion, just chilling. For now, at least, but Sunshine can take that. She’s not quite ready to call in an official, professional person to bless the house or whatever, maybe tell her at least what’s in here, but... she just needs a while. A pastor can always come later, right?Sunshine purses her lips, thinking back to the other night’s incident. She isn’t sure why she’d freaked out so much — she’s a big girl — because the doors opening and closing isn’t exactly a new occurance. In fact, that’s why Sunshine had started the videos in the first place.Well, the figure and the staticy thing — that’s new. Very new, and very unwelcoming.She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. She needs a few more days to screw her head on straight before she starts recording again. Maybe then, she’ll know what to do, and will have a clearer vision on her goal for the house. Because truly, all she wants is to solve this mystery and find out why this house attracts so many spirits and, possibly, bad entities.How bad can it be?
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Sunshine’s at the library. She’s hopeful to find something that will help her on her mission — what better place to look?She picks out a few supernatural books, a spell book, and a haunted places encyclopedia. These will aid her investigation, she can feel it.Well. She hopes so.
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Is it possible that Sunshine has a playful entity in her household?After that whole horrifying night with the doors, she’s not so sure that’s even possible. But today’s experience after the library completely knocks the wind out of her. She’s not scared, really — she’s... relieved. Perhaps the doors had been, in a sense, playful? And things always died down when the ghost(s) realized it wasn’t funny?Maybe Sunshine is just trying to convince herself, but it seems like a plausible explanation. Of course, there are more than likely several spirits in her house, so it’s doubtful that only one is messing with her.Damn.To add to her theory — on her desk, Sunshine has a small unicorn toy by her prized typewriter. Every time she leaves the room and returns, the unicorn is moved to another part of the desk.Crazy, right?Though it does always seem to end up right on the typewriter..Oh well. Just coincidence.
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Sunshine wants to do a fun video. Something relaxing and — well, generally not as stressful as her ghost captures.So, she turns the camera on and decides to go for it. “Hello,” she greets casually, looking around her room as she stands. It’s sunny again — she’s hoping winter will turn over soon enough. “So.” She taps her typewriter keys and squints at the screen. “I am going to — sorry nervous habit — I am going to talk about.. me today in this post; ten random facts about myself that you guys get to know because.. you’re special!”She points at the camera. “So, ten facts. Number one, I am an only child. Number two, I like Jane Austin. A lot. Pride and Prejudice? Favorite book, favorite movie. It’s good — the newer version.”Sunshine lifts her fingers. “Number three, narwhals. Come on, they’re awesome. They’re so cool. Narwhals. Just... leave it at that. Number four, my favorite band is Vampire Weekend.” She mouths ‘They’re awesome’ and gives a thumbs up. “Number five, I screen-print my own t-shirts. Not all of them, but some of them.” She dips the camera to show her shirt. “This is my owl one. You can’t really — ah, my hair, blah blah — if you can’t see it, it’s an owl.” The shape of the bird is golden tinged along a bright purple shirt. “He’s really, really cute. I love owls. It seems to be a lot of what I wear.”She pulls the camera back up and ponders. “Anyways, number six — I like old stuff. A lot. Clearly, according to my room.” Sunshine messes with her typewriter’s keys. “My typewriter, and ma’ books, and my stuff that’s all... old. So, yeah, clearly.”Sunshine nods. “Mm. Number seven, which I can’t hold up that many fingers — photography. I’m obsessed. I love it... a lot. Black and white photography is especially cool.” She breathes. “Hmm, number eight, I drink vitamin water addictively. I love it. It’s so good. It might not be a bad thing that I drink so much vitamin water, but man. Love it. It’s the best drink, ever.”She nods vigorously and continues. “Number nine, I do not speak a foreign language at all. Never. Mm-mm. But I do like to talk in a British accent.” She tries to mimic the words. “It’s rather fun. And I’m a little embarrassed I did that, anyways, aaand number ten — I don’t have any friends here. Yet. Cause I’m not a typical teenager. So... I don’t have any friends..”Sunshine looks a little dejected. “Anyways.”
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So, she’s just found out that children ghosts exist. It hadn’t even occurred to her before her research. Of course it makes sense, and now she’s thinking that the playful entity in her room might be a kid. I mean, if it’s not a demon attempting to trick her or something. She talks to the camera about it, too. “It didn’t even occur to me that there would be... child-like... ghosts.. I don’t know. I just like, thought there were adults and then it just.” She slices her hand down. “Stopped there. I don’t know. I didn’t think it through I guess.” She shrugs, nonchalant. “Made sense to me... at the time —”Sunshine’s bedspread moves and she jerks her head to the side, eyes widening. “Holy crap.” The whole sheet is pulled off. Somehow, she isn’t fazed at all. “I hate things. You guys saw that. There’s nothing here, though.” She picks up the sheets. “I don’t like this. I don’t like when they do this to me. Geez.”
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Sunshine and her mother visit an old fort during the gloomy weekend, attempting to brighten up their lives with a little field trip. Of course, something weird has to happen.She’s pretty sure she’s caught a figure somewhere in there.
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Mom’s back and she’s doing another video.“So, I got on this YouTubey thing and I noticed there were a lot of comments about the witch lady? Creepy — creepy witch lady, I guess that’s what you guys are calling her.” She’s sitting in the dining room, hair curled with a necklace dangling around her neck.“You know, the lady who came to the door and has just been.. staring at the house,” she continues, nodding. “I just wanted to tell you guys that I did actually call the cops and they came out and talked to us. We were gonna videotape it but we felt like that might be a little bit... inappropriate with the police there.” She shrugs and waves her arms. “They looked camera shy so we didn’t do that but, um, they just basically said that she didn’t break the law, there was nothing that they could really do about it — she wasn’t treespassing, she didn’t harass, she didn’t threaten, she just...”She sighs. “I was wondering if we could maybe put, like, a restraining order or something out because she just — stands, out there, but they said no because she hadn’t done enough for that. They just said to keep an eye on it and call them if she came back. It’s kind of a small town, so I think that they’re a little bored and would probably be willing to come back by. I think they’re gonna do some drive-bys to keep an eye out for her but it’s a dead-and street, so..”Her shoulders slump and she looks around. “We’ll have to see, but, anyways, we just wanted to update you on that and tell you that — that I am aware of it, we are keeping an eye on her, I do want Sunshine to be safe, I mean, she is a 16 year old girl so, we are on it.”She finger guns and turns the camera off.
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After all the requests asking her to leave the camera on to catch the toy horse, Sunshine finally decides to use a flip camera to capture the entity.And — after three wasted batteries — the unicorn moves, swiftly but softly, almost like it’s floating on its own. She moves the camera farther back and tries again. The unicorn does the same thing.She’s really starting to think that there’s a child ghost in her room.
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----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine is surprised. In fact, she’s shocked.She finds it so weird that people are actually interested in her life and would like to get invested in her story. How crazy is that? The internet is a weird place.Though, her mother has decided that Sunshine spends way too much time doing her little videos and stuff — apparently she’s quite concerned for her daughter’s health and the fact that she still has no friends, but, hey, her YouTube commenters are her friends!Oh, she also thinks she should buy some new and updated paranormal gear and equipment. Well, more like her mother will buy such things, but — oh! Wait, she could sell t-shirts. That’s actually a great idea! No. No, that’s stupid. No one would want to wear her logo, or purchase a shirt from her. Wishful thinking. It would be fun, though.
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So, Mom talked to the landlord. The camera is in her face immediately.“What am I doing?” Kat asks, sipping her tea.“Telling everybody — us — about the landlord,” Sunshine explains, sliding into a chair across from her mother.“Oh! Oh, the landlord, okay.” She actually looks excited. “Alright, so, our landlord is — am I talking to you or to them?”“Mm, both.”“Can you move that a little bit, you’re like right there — perfect.” Kat grins. “Okay, so, the landlord is notoriously hard to catch up with.” She squeezes her hands and grits her teeth. “They’ve been, vacationing in Hawaii,” her mother says fancily, then pauses. “Is there anything on my teeth?”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “No, can you continue?” “Alright, so I finally got a hold of them and — you’re right. Do you know how many people have lived here?” Kat points to her daughter.“Yeah?”“Like a bajillion.”“A bajillion, that’s a large number.”“A lot,” Kat continues. “They cannot keep the house rented and when I asked them why, they don’t know. They’re like, ‘Oh, well, no one tells us why. They just.. don’t want to stay here.’” She squints her eyes.“They just leave,” Sunshine snorts. “Yeah, that’s logical.”“Right? So I — I have a feeling that they know more —”“Than they’re letting on,” Sunshine whispers, finishing the sentence.Kat nods. “Yeah, that they didn’t want us to move out ‘cause they like it that we pay rent on time and..”“And cause we’re awesome!”“Yes, so.. then, I asked him about, specifically, remember when the neighbor was telling us that — that she thought there’d been a murder, or something, and the landlord played dumb. He was like, ‘Well, no, there’s never been a murder there’ —”“Was she blonde?”Kat sighs and looks to the side. “Uhhh.” She smirks. “I dunno. I was on the phone with them. Um, so, I think we’re gonna have to do a little bit of digging more in the neighborhood ourselves because I don’t think the landlords can tell us much other than that.. yes, a lot of people have moved in and out, there’s been a lot of — they’ve never been able to keep anyone for very long. And even that was kind of pulling teeth, to get him to say even that much.”She moves her hair behind her ear. “So, not a lot of concrete information, but definitely — other people have not liked living here. Which I wouldn’t say that we don’t like living here because actually I think —”“I think we like it,” Sunshine agrees, nodding.“We like it. Other than the..”“Paranormal side of things..” Sunshine sighs.“At least you have friends,” Kat points out. Sunshine turns the camera to her face and mouths, ‘I don’t have friends.’“Even if they’re dead,” her mother goes on.She makes a face. “We’re good, thanks Mom.”
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“Hey guys, so I have a specific comment that I am deciding to respond to, and I have printed it out and I am going to read it, and you’re going to find out, and it’s going to be —”Sunshine is facing the camera, ready to reply when she pauses, hears the water continue running. Her brows furrow. “...awesome. My mom has been downstairs with the water running for forever..”She walks out of the room, moving down the stairs. The camera glitches, contorting her face for a mere second. “Weird..”Sunshine slips into the kitchen, the evening sun dappling the counters with golden rays. “Mom, what are you doing?” She sounds almost exasperated. Kat is standing over the sink, water running and a large, thick knife in her left hand. Sunshine looks at her mother’s blank face. “Mom.”She looks down and jerks. Her hand is covered in blood, spilling over her wrist and palm, dribbling down the side of the sink. Kat is perfectly still, almost as if she’s in a trance. “Mom!” Sunshine screams, dropping the camera and rushing to her mother. “MOM!”“What?” Kat asks breathily, blinking. She drops the knife and begins to gasp heavily, screaming.Sunshine cries and the two go out of view from the camera. The screen begins to move as if it’s being dragged, and turns on its side before flickering black for a moment. The water continues running. All goes quiet.⠀
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Sunshine is sitting on the couch, Kat right beside her. “Okay,” she begins, looking at the camera, “Mom is fine, she’s fine.”Her mother shows her bandaged hand, face pale. “It didn’t even — it didn’t even take stitches.”Sunshine grunts. “It needs stitches. So, I showed her the film and she remembers... nothing.”Kat nods. “I don’t know what happened, I don’t know how I got cut, but... I was just, doing the dishes and — I do think I heard something.”Sunshine turns toward her mother. “You heard something?”“Like, a noise or something, and then I don’t.. I don’t remember anything, and then she was there —” Kat motions toward her daughter, “and I was bleeding all over the kitchen. So.” She sighs. “It may not have anything to do with anything, I may have just.. cut myself. I mean, it happens. A little bit of a klutz.”Sunshine looks tired. “Yeah, a klutz.” “It may not mean anything.”She narrows her eyes. “It means something.”
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The duo attempt to distract their minds from the knife situation, so take a field trip around the woods and travel to a ruin.Sunshine actually feels happy.
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So, Sunshine is conflicted. She’s not sure whether she should continue the videos or not.Originally, she’d had no reason to want fans and such. In fact, she’d only made the series so her mother would realize that Sunshine was telling the truth about the ghosts and weird occurances. But now, since her mother believes her, she’s... kind of done. Right?She’s done everything she’s needed to do. She’s proved her mother wrong and allowed them to have an understanding with the creepy things in the house. She’s even captured Creepy Lady on camera, twice! So. The videos are over.Kidding, of course, she can never. She’s way too addicted to stop her little series. And she likes the fans. Is that bad? Hopefully not. She just enjoys talking to her fans and having support for once in her life.It’s nice. Sunshine doesn’t want it to stop.
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It’s a cloudy day today. Rain patters along the window next to Sunshine, sliding down and creating puddles on the ground. She’s in the living room, head ducked with a blue beanie and her glasses on. She’s doing homework, like a responsible teenager, and has her camera on just in case anything crazy happens.She hears a voice upstairs but shakes it off.When Sunshine continues to her work a little girl’s laugh fills her ears. She shivers. “Did you guys hear that?”The giggling continues and Sunshine stiffens, peeling her glasses away from her face. “It sounds like — like children. Upstairs.”Great.She moves to lift her camera. “I just want to point out, leaving the camera on was a rather good idea.” Sunshine trudges up the stairs, lips pressed in a firm line. “I should be scared,” she says, “but I don’t think I am. I mean, I don’t feel frightened. I don’t know. Maybe I should be.”Light floods through the door to her room, spilling across the carpet. She doesn’t hesitate to near the edge of the hallway, until the closest downstairs door slams.Okay. Is this a child ghost being annoyingly rude, or is something darker lurking here?She turns, blinking a few times. “I said I was going to do this. I’m gonna do this.” She breathes out. “I’m gonna go downstairs, and see what it was.”The stairwell is dark and shadowy blankets cover the edges of the screen. Sunshine reaches forward to open the door. Luckily, nothing is standing there. She slips into the kitchen and looks around. “There’s nothing.”Woah. Wait.Sunshine pads to the living room table and sees — oh my God, actually? It’s — it’s the unicorn, sitting right by her papers. Her jaw drops. “It was all the way upstairs..”She shakes, turning the camera to face her. “I guess we have some... rather playful ghosts.”
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The next few nights pass by quietly, until she’s sitting upstairs in bed and the power clicks off.First thing of order? Turn on her phone camera and record what the hell is going on.It’s probably nothing. No reason to be scared. But Sunshine doesn’t want to admit that the camera makes her feel safer. So, perhaps, taking it downstairs with her isn’t a terrible idea. A little extra comfort for the dark.“Hey guys, so the power went out and I’m using my phone ‘cause it has better light, so.” She slides down the stairs easily, flashlight reflecting off of the white painted walls. “Mom?”“Honey, where are you?” Sunshine jogs toward the sound of her mother’s voice, eyes narrowed. Kat comes in to view, wearing a thick gray plaid shirt and navy pants. “What is going on?” Her mother walks by, hair flying back.“I don’t know,” Sunshine murmurs, looking around.“Wait, is the whole neighborhood out?” Kat peers through the front door’s window. “I don’t know, I can’t tell,” Sunshine says, coming up from behind.“Honey, no, it’s not the whole neighborhood.” Her mother looks alarmed. “It’s just us.” She pauses. “It’s not — I guess it’s kind of stormy..”“Maybe, just, our power went out,” she suggests, peering through the living room. “I don’t know.”“I paid the bill —”Sunshine gasps, goosebumps crawling over her exposed arms. She can hear scuttling across the walls. It almost sounds like an animal, but — it’s inside the house. And it’s close.“What? Did you hear something?” Kat places a hand on her daughter’s shoulder.She directs the camera toward the bathroom door. The knob is jiggling. It sounds like someone is trying to roughly pull it open.
“Daddy, please help me!”
Sunshine and her mother exchange shocked glances. Was that — was that a little girl? Why would someone be in their bathroom? More importantly, why the HELL can she not get out?She bites her lip. No way it’s a ghost. This is far beyond a normal sighting.“Is there somebody in there?” Kat’s hushed, panicked voice cuts through Sunshine’s thoughts. They shift closer to the door.“I need help,” the child says, voice cracking.“It sounds like a little girl..” Her mother trails off when the doorknob begins to shake again.
“It hurts!”
Kat bites her nails. “We need to go in.”“It’s okay.”“It’s not okay! We need to go in!”“Shh...” Sunshine is staying remarkably calm for the current situation.
“I don’t know where I am!”
The door knob tries to turn again. She can hear the child crying inside, desperately trying to barge their way out of the bathroom.
“HELP ME! HELP ME!”
The voice sends shivers down Sunshine’s spine. Her mind is doing that thing again — where, where she feels fuzzy. She can’t think. Impulse takes over. She needs to act, now. “We need to go in!”Kat looks terrified. “I don’t want to!”“We have to!” Sunshine turns to her mother. “We need to go in!”“No, we need to get out of the house!”“No, Mom —”
“Help me!”
“We need to go! Sunshine, we need to go!”A sob catches in Sunshine’s throat, causing her breath to quiver harshly. She barrels toward the door, hands shaking.Kat runs forward. “What are you doing?! Don’t go in there!”The child bangs on the door, screaming louder and louder for help. Her mother’s desperate voice and the yelling override Sunshine’s senses. She can’t feel anything, really. She just wants the noise to stop.So, Sunshine throws open the door, and both women gasp loudly. However, the area in front of them is empty. Sunshine sways her camera around the bathroom, touching the shower curtain and ripping it open.“Okay, what is making that noise?!” Her mother sounds like she’s on the verge of tears. “No one’s in here,” she says, wheezing. “What is this? What’s on the door?”Sunshine turns around and screams. It rakes against her throat, clawing its way out of her mouth. Her heart pumps out of her chest and her vision becomes blurry with tears. The door is covered in blood, red drops spilling from the words “HELP ME” written all over. Hand prints have scratched the door and — oh, God, Sunshine can’t handle it, she’s literally going to collapse, what the hell is going on —Kat drops to her knees, staring at the door. Her voice breaks. “What — what is this?” Toward the bottom they can see holes dented from where a child would have kicked. “Th — Those are scratches and I — I think that’s blood.” Tears spill down both of their eyes. The door slams in their face when her mother tries to touch the door. Sunshine screams and nearly collapses, hands trembling so badly she can barely hold the camera. The door is locked.“Let us out!” Kat yells, gripping the door and attempting to swipe it open. “I can’t open it!”The door suddenly swings wide, almost knocking Sunshine back. She gasps, voice hoarse and raspy. She sobs and flees out of the room, the lights flickering on around her. “I’m done. I’m — I’m done!” She flips the camera toward herself, eyes teary. “This is beyond us. We need help. I don’t know what to do.”Her legs buckle beneath her, and Sunshine is left wondering what a normal life even is.

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When Sunshine awakes, she finds that a warm towel has been pressed to her forehead. She blinks drearily, head lifting slowly. She gazes her surroundings before realizing that she’s — she’s in her room. In her bed, as a matter of fact.Sunshine groans, clawing her fingers through her tangled hair. She needs a shower. And — and then the recognition of last night’s events dawn on her, and Sunshine is left gripping the blankets strewn across her body for comfort.She doesn’t think she’ll ever forget those screams. Those — those marks on the door, the bloody handprints, the dents where a child had obviously kicked.Sunshine purses her lips, hands shaking. She’s feeling better, but must have — have fainted. She can recall a blurry image of the lights curling around her unconscious body. Everything after that is black.Is her mother okay? She worries for a moment, and wonders if the inside of the bathroom door is the same. Maybe she’ll check later. Maybe not. Probably the latter.A sigh wrenches from her lips and she tucks her head in to her pillow, ignoring the light of noon speckling her sheets. She needs to upload the video and get a — a professional or something in here. That’s the best thing to do.Though she’s not sure if anyone will be so willing.
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“Hey guys, so clearly I don’t feel well,” she says to the camera four days later, trying to smile. “I look like crap, don’t I? Whoo. Anyways, so, um, the video — this is my follow up to it.”She pauses and blinks slowly, trying to think of her words and how she can get them out of her mouth. “We are really worried about it — I know you guys are worried about it too — we’re not, you know, happy with it either, but uh... I think my mom’s gonna get — well, we are going to; my mom’s on the phone right now — but, we’re planning on getting a priest in here to bless and.. maybe get some paranormal people and stuff. I don’t know. We’re really concerned right now, so... we’ll keep you posted, guys. Thanks for your concern. Bye!”She shuts the camera off, turns on her side, and cries.
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Sunshine doesn’t want to admit that she’s been having nightmares. It’s hard to leave her room. She doesn’t — she doesn’t want to go downstairs. She doesn’t want to relive the memories.It hurts. Her heart aches with the pain of that little girl’s screams. She clutches her chest in agony when the blood-stained door flashes in her mind. God. She should’ve convinced her mother to call someone earlier so she wouldn’t have to go through this.Unfortunately she can’t change the past. But if she could, Sunshine would in a heartbeat.
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So. Creepy Lady is here. Why does she never have her camera readily available during these events?Sunshine runs upstairs, turns the screen on, and quickly makes her way back down. “Alright, so the creepy lady from the other day who dropped by and she was all freaking out and stuff —” The camera grows staticy for a moment. “She’s here. She’s outside — I left her outside so I could come and get you guys, and, be my witnesses in case I die today and all that.”She rushes out of the hallway, sliding down the stairs. Sunshine jogs through the kitchen then stops dead in her tracks, eyes wide. “She — she’s in the house..”Yep. She is. When the camera is turned, Creepy Lady is there in all her glory, standing still and upright with a box tucked between her hands. There’s some kind of brown writing — or, symbols, maybe? — around the sides. It’s weird. What’s even weirder is that this woman is in her house. Without permission.That’s not normal behavior, is it?The camera flickers as Sunshine nears the woman. “What are you doing in my house?” she says, voice defensive. Creepy Lady is — well, you guessed, wearing the same thing as always.There’s a long, drawn moment of silence as the woman stares at Sunshine. “I have something for you,” she finally replies in that monotone voice of hers.“You... brought me.. a gift?” She looks uncertain.“It will protect you.”Creepy Lady extends her arms, holding the box to Sunshine. She creeps closer, examining the paintings all over.“..Thanks?”Creepy Lady is quiet, lips pressed in a firm line. “You must never open it.”“Wh — why not?” Sunshine reaches for the lid.“Never — NO!”The camera glitches and spirals, streaks of color coating the screen. Creepy Lady’s dark blue eyes widen as she holds out her hand.“I just —” Sunshine tries, but is cut off.“Don’t ever open it!”“Well, what’s inside it?”“It will keep you safe.”“Well, for —”Creepy Lady shifts, inching her head and wide eyes to the camera. Sunshine can hear her mother near the room.“Hi mom, this is —” She hesitates as Creepy Lady continuously grows closer. Sunshine backs away.“What is this?” the woman asks, almost hissing. She waves her fingers over the screen.“It’s a camera,” Sunshine says, raising a brow.“No.” Creepy Lady jerks away as if she’s been burned. “No. No. No! NO!” She turns and sprints out of the house, trenchcoat waving behind her. Kat jumps forward, blinking as she watches the woman run away.“Honey, what is —” Her mother turns with concern, pulling the door shut. “What is going on?”“She brought me a box.” Sunshine looks down at the large black circle on top, enclosed around a looped cross shape. “It’s supposed to.. protect me and keep me safe.”“What’s in it?” Kat sets her purse down and leans forward.“Don’t open it!” Sunshine rears back.“Why —?”“She said never to open it!”“Why?!”“I don’t know! She said it’d protect me and keep me safe!”Kat turns to look out of the windows, brows pressed down. She sighs. “Honey, I think we better open it —”“No! We are gonna go put it in my room.” Sunshine makes that her final decision, spinning on her heel.That’s that.
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So. What the hell does she think is in the box?Well, it was dropped off by the sketch lady so it’s probably just as sketch. And judging by the drawings marked on the top and sides, Sunshine can back that idea off quite easily.Her conclusions? She wants to find out what the symbols mean — they must mean something, right? It’s rather heavy, maybe bulky. There’s definitely something inside.The weirdest part? Nothing has been going on around the house. All the creepy shit that happened before the box came? It doesn’t happen anymore. None of it. She’s even been able to catch good sleep since the two nights Creepy Lady arrived to the house. That being said, Sunshine is pretty sure she believes it will keep her safe, but her only question is — how?The strange woman hasn’t been standing outside, either. A plus. A very, very large plus. No Creepy Lady lurking around the house. She’s never felt more comfortable in her life.Sunshine is also motivated to not open the box. Being protected is kind of awesome. She doesn’t want to ruin that. She definitely won’t, not anytime soon.Things are good.
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Still no ghost activity.The box must be doing its job.
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Sunshine rolls her eyes and motions toward the camera. “Go ahead,” she announces. They’re sitting on the couch, bright windows sparkling behind them.“What?” her mother asks.“Tell them. Tell them, this is like a therapy session, go ahead.”“You want me to —?”“Talk to them, yes. Talk.”“Like, to the camera?”“Mhm.”“Why?”Oh. Did she not mention that the box is sitting right between them?“Cause we’re bonding.” Sunshine nods and looks at her mother.“This doesn’t feel like bonding.”“Just — just tell them how you feel about the box.”Kat groans and waves her arms. “I hate the box!”“She hates the box.”“Okay, alright, so just —” Kat sighs. “I’m gonna look stupid.”Sunshine laughes. “You’re not gonna look stupid, they’re gonna love it.”“I hate cameras.”“She hates them.”Kat shakes her head, breathing out. “I hate the box more than I hate the camera. I don’t — I — I wanna open the box! Can we open the box?”“We’re not opening the box.”Her mother makes fists with her hands. “Okay, so, this lady brings this box — we don’t know this person. So, then she brings this box, this gift, and tells us not to open it because it will protect us.”“Which it has been!” Sunshine points to the camera.Kat motions toward her daughter. “She says that not much has happened since we... got the box. So, I guess, in that way it’s good. But, I want to open it. And Sunshine doesn’t, and —”Sunshine rolls her eyes.“I don’t know why she’s choosing to believe the lady over her own mother.”Sunshine looks like she’s going to laugh.“Have I steered you wrong before? Have I lied to you? Have I endangered you in any way?”“Yeess,” Sunshine says dreamily, waving a fist in the air.“Outside of... this house, which you picked by the way. I’ll remind you of that.”Sunshine looks offended for a moment then smiles at the camera. “I did indeed actually pick the house.”Kat goes on. “So, now whenever she leaves the house, she hides the box.” Her mother looks exasperated. “She knows I’m going to try and open it.”“She does!” Sunshine exclaims, scowling. “She like, searches the room all the time which, I have now found some very good hiding spots.” She smirks.Kat grunts. “I’m not searching just for the box. Drugs. There’s other things that teenagers might have.”Sunshine rolls her eyes again. “You know I don’t have drugs. Anyways, so, update, box — smells.” She holds it up to her mother’s nose and she grimaces.“The box really smells,” Kat agrees. “Which is another reason why we should open the box!”“We’re not opening the box.” Sunshine shakes her head.Her mother sighs. “Can we at least put it outside?”“We’re putting it outside. We’re putting the box outside! Look!” Sunshine stands, walking to the back door. “Compromise! Whoo!”“I am the mother,” Kat calls from behind.“She’s a little cranky,” she whispers to the camera.“Cranky cause the box smells!” her mother says back.Sunshine lets the warm winter air shift over her exposed skin and lays the box on the grill. “There, it will lie.”She sighs. “The box. Good. We’re done.”
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----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

So.Literally nothing is happening. It’s boring Sunshine to death.She — she misses the ghosts. And it’s.. weird, to her. Because these spirits have given her nightmares, they’ve made her terrified of the dark and afraid to sleep in her own bed.But there are good spirits too, right? Maybe the bad ones are getting to her. Ugh.She just misses it all.
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They’re opening the box.“Okay,” Sunshine says for the camera, sighing. “Go ahead.”“What?” Kat asks in a murmur.“Tell them.” Her voice is clipped.“You want me to?”Sunshine looks bewildered. “Yes! You! You’re the one that’s deciding to open the box, you get to tell them about it!”Kat scratches her head. “Okay. So, the box.” She leans forward to take it in her hands.“Smells,” Sunshine adds, then covers her nose.“The box has gotten really..” Her mother makes a face of discomfort when the box is pulled closer. “Really ripe. Worse than it was before. It’s — it was in the backyard and it was smelling up the whole house. Inside the house, even though the door was closed. We didn’t even go in the backyard. It smells.. upstairs, it smells in the basement. It smells out front! And — and the neighbors are starting to complain so..” She pushes her hair back. “We don’t know what to do.”Sunshine looks annoyed as Kat continues. “The lady hasn’t been back, so we can’t ask her about why it’s smelling. So.. we decided — we decided we’re gonna open the box.”“We,” Sunshine mutters, rolling her eyes. “So, here goes nothing. We’re opening the box.”The camera is angled toward the lid. Kat begins unraveling the top, lifting it slowly. “No curse on the house, no blowing up — okay, that’s good. Good sign.”“I thought something would happen.” Kat places the lid to the side. In the box, there are crumpled newspapers thrown in, with pictures of — wait.“Is that a picture of me?” Sunshine growls, leaning forward.“Where is this?” Her mother picks up the photo, which has a cross with a curled top circled in black. It’s of Sunshine — she’s standing outside, camera in hand, most likely videoing something.“Is that on the back porch?” Sunshine’s voice drips with panic.“I think it is... what, what are you doing?”“Filming but why — why’s that circled, why’s that sign on there?”“I don’t know what that means,” Kat murmurs, turning the photo over.“Why is it in the box?!”“I don’t understand.” Her mother sounds just as confused as she is.“I’m not liking this.” Sunshine turns the camera towards herself and raises her eyebrows.“Are there more pictures?” The newspapers have speckles of red on them, growing more crimson the lower they are.“Is that blood,” Sunshine asks, voice shaking.“I think it is..”“Oh. I don’t do blood. Mmm.”Kat peels away the papers, and a large splotch of ruby sifts through. “Oh! Just —”“There’s a lot of blood,” Kat whispers.The more they explore, the more there is. And then, hidden in the corner of box, is — is — is a heart. Sunshine thinks she’s actually going to throw up.“Okay, all right, we’re done.” Her mother drops the newspapers back inside and throws the lid on. Sunshine is still with shock. “That’s sick...”“Just — we’re just gonna put it —” Kat stumbles as she pushes it away on the table.“Pretend we didn’t open it—”“I think, I think we should just put it out — out back in the back storage shed and... we’ll just, tell the neighbors a cat died, or something, something underneath the house. I don’t know what else to do.” Her mother looks just as horrified as she is. “Why — why does it smell so bad? What, what is that picture?”“I don’t know.”“Do you think the lady did it?”“No, it’ll be fine, mommy — it’ll be okay.” Sunshine is pretty sure she’s just trying to convince herself of that. “I promise. And, and, what would —”The lights flicker off.Kat gasps. “Was — was that the lights? What? Where’s the flashlight?”Sunshine stumbles. “It’s — it’s up in my room.”“Why is it in your room?!”She chokes back the words she wants to say, the words she wants to scream. But they clog in the back of her throat and die down with her rumbling fury. Her nightmares are still there! She’s terrified of the shadows that consume her at night! Why wouldn’t she have the flashlight in her room?“Because I was using it!” she instead lies, jumping up. Kat breathes in heavily. “Where’s the breaker?”“It’s — in the kitchen, I think.”“All right, let’s go see if we can..”“I don’t — I don’t like the dark.” She can’t admit to the fear wrapping up her spine, or the goosebumps crawling over her arms, and the flashes of red she sees in her gaze.“This is cause we opened the —!”The lights flash back on. Sunshine stands, eyes wide. “We shouldn’t have opened the box. We shouldn’t have opened the box.”Kat doesn’t respond.“We’re not opening the box. Ever again.”
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That night is sleepless. Sunshine can hear something clawing at her door, but she ignores it anyway. Plays it off as a nightmare. Maybe she’s lucid dreaming. This can’t be real.Fuck. They shouldn’t have opened the box.
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The next few days go by with lower activity than expected. Sunshine is still having trouble with falling asleep. Maybe doing a fun video will help, y’know — something she enjoys.“So guys,” she greets the camera, tilting her head as she stands in her room. “I’ve decided I’m gonna do an entire post about pandas! Like —”A scream from Sunshine’s mother echoes from downstairs. She whips to the side, lip quivering. “It’s — it’s my mom.”She can hear Kat crying. “Oh no! Oh, god, come here! Honey! Come here!”“Mom?!” Sunshine yells, standing at the head of the stairs. Everything below is dark. The lights have gone off again — but, seemingly, only on the bottom floor.“Mom! What’s wrong?!” She races down into the kitchen, everything shadowy. Her mother cries and cries, begging for her help.“Mom?!” Sunshine jerks her head around, attempting to spot Kat. She can see that a light is on in the living room and hesitates. Why — why did the noise suddenly just stop? Why is her mother silent now?Horrible, gruesome pictures come to her mind. She throws herself into the living room and — and, her mom is standing in front of the television, her back illuminated by the lamp, eyes closed. Unmoving. Quiet. Is she even breathing?“Mom what’s wrong?” Sunshine pauses then nears her mother, sucking her teeth anxiously. The screen glitches red, contorting. “Mom, are you okay? Mom!”She still doesn’t move.Sunshine’s eyes burn. She flicks her hand up to claw at her face until — until she realizes that she’s crying. She’s so, so scared. There’s a heavy breath behind her. It blows down her neck, wrapping around her skin and sinking into her bones. She whips around, a gasp flying out of her throat, teeth clattering. Another noise sounds behind her, in the living room. And when she turns, her mother is gone. Empty space is left. It’s as if — as if Kat hadn’t even been standing there. “She — she’s gone.”Sunshine stumbles forward, heart lurching out of her chest. “Mom? Mom...” Her legs bend beneath her and she drops the camera, a sob echoing around her.“Honey, what’s wrong?” The voice is so, so soothing. She cries out and drops forward, until warmth hits her like a fuzzy blanket. Her mother’s arms wrap around her and pull Sunshine in to her chest.She just sobs.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine doesn’t want to think about it.Her mother doesn’t ask many questions. Just puts her daughter in bed and checks on her every few hours to make sure she’s okay.Sunshine isn’t okay.
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It’s been three days since she uploaded the video of her mother — or, or not her mother — and Sunshine realizes she needs to do a follow up. To convince her watchers that she’s feeling fine. Maybe she’ll even convince herself.(No one needs to know about the nightmares.)“Hey everybody,” she greets the camera, trying to sound chipper. “So, my goal for right now is to track down the creepy lady because.. I’ve decided things were much better when she was around.” Sunshine nods. “Because.. I don’t think she’s as.. creepy as I decided she was. I mean, you know, she gave me the box with the.. animal, I guess, body parts, I don’t know. Animal.. creepy.. things..”She laughs a little. “I mean, when she gave me that with the picture of me I was — I was much more afraid. It was much more frightening. So.. I think, I think I need to find her, ‘cause, it was still creepy, but better when she was around and we hadn’t opened the box.”Sunshine grunts. “Yeah. Blah.”She shuts the camera off.
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Sunshine gets something weird in the mail in the days following her latest video.It’s a small envelope, and when opened, a paper clearly says “THEY ARE WATCHING YOU” in a large, slanted sentence. A picture is tucked behind it, black and white and depicting what appears to be a man with a hand around his daughter. He’s wearing a tuxedo and a striped tie, while the girl is in a dark dress curled around her body.That’s not what’s creepy, though.It’s the fact that both of these people have white bags — maybe cloths? — over their heads.Of course, it disturbs Sunshine. She’s pretty concerned, and some part of her itches to know more. She’s wondering who gave her the letter in the mailbox — seeing as she hasn’t told anyone in her neighborhood about the ghosts (well, aside from Creepy Lady, but who knows where she lives), and she hasn’t had her address leaked on the internet, so it’s definitely weird.Sunshine isn’t sure it actually is Creepy Lady. She’s more of a “go and do it” kind of person, rather than acting mysterious and unknown. But maybe she’s wrong. Maybe it is Creepy Lady sending her some kind of message. It’s definitely possible. Or, the most plausible answer, is that it’s a prank. Sunshine doesn’t really want to think about it, seeing as it’s so conveniently timed with the other shit going on, but she knows she can’t trust it. Hell. Maybe she can’t even trust Creepy Lady.Well. She’s going to think on it more. Perhaps it’s good news. This could mean she doesn’t have a demon in her house. Maybe her mother really is fine. Just having a bad reaction to the weird things going on.She purses her lips and sighs.When will things ever get better?
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Sunshine finds a Ouija board at the toy store.Maybe she should use it.
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To distract from all the other terrible shit, Sunshine is finally selling her shirts. She’s actually really, really happy. It’s kind of awesome.
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Sunshine makes a friend.He doesn’t stick around that long, but it’s nice. Having someone to talk to other than her mother and her camera.Not that she doesn’t like it. Sunshine just... wants something new. She’s a little lonely, even if she doesn’t like to admit it.The nightmares aren’t as bad. That’s another plus, right?It seems like — dare she say it, it seems like things are getting better. Knock on wood.
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Some girls at school try to spread rumors about her.Joke’s on them — no one knows who Sunshine is.
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The more she thinks, the more Sunshine wonders. What if the — the spirit that had clawed and pounded on the door that one night had actually been the girl in the picture?Maybe it’s a long shot, maybe she’s way off, but Sunshine can’t determine it out to be anyone else. The only question is why she’s wearing a cloth over her head.Weird. Sunshine has decided that the photo isn’t fake, either. Especially if these are the ghosts haunting her. Still. The bags are a little unnerving.Oh well. She’ll have to keep pondering.
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So the creepy lady — Sunshine is going to refer to her as Creepy Lady now — has been pacing around outside. Sunshine goes to grab the camera as quickly as possible before she loses the woman. She needs this on camera.A breath through her lips. Eyes closed. She’s going to talk to Creepy Lady.Sunshine creeps next to the door and watches the bleakly-dressed woman circle closely around the street. She lurches forward and sprints through the front yard, gasping and throwing herself through the gate. And when she turns, Creepy Lady — she’s all the way down the street.What the hell. She was just over here. Literally, Sunshine just saw her. There’s no way she could’ve made it all the way over there in five seconds or less.It greatly unnerves her.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine’s been job hunting in mid-March.How depressing.I mean, she guesses it’s not that bad. Just babysitting. But no one wants to hire a cute 16-year-old girl for some reason. Ugh.Sunshine also realizes that the ghosts have been around for almost four months now. At least, making themselves apparent. It’s crazy. Time has passed so quickly.Who knew she’d be making videos about terrifying spirits come next year?
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So.Sunshine catches some footage while watching TV with her mother.It scares her — a lot. But she still wants to share it with her followers. For the people that have always supported her. They deserve that, at least, right?She’s honestly — ugh. She can’t even speak.The video is Sunshine and Kat — sitting on the couch, a blanket wrapped around their legs, smiles on their faces. Of course, she always keeps the camera on now, but she’d never expected to catch this.In the background, unbeknownst to both women, a tall man in a tuxedo is standing. His head moves slowly, fingers curling, and he’s — he’s almost transparent against the kitchen wall.And guess what’s on his head?He seems to dissolve before reappearing closer to Sunshine, chin curved toward her.Then, just like that, he’s gone.Sunshine is speechless.
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Sunshine is smiling at her mother.“Should we show ‘em?”“Yes,” she grins. “Well I’ve already talked to them about it.”Kat nods. “So they’re not gonna be surprised when we go WHAAAA.” They lift the Ouija board on the table.“No,” Sunshine answers.“Can I just say, I thought this would look less cheesy.” Kat raises a brow as she inspects the board box. It’s painted blue and purple, with large letters spelling “OUIJA.” Then, up top, it reads: “The Mysterious, Mystifying Game.”“Yeah, well, we bought it at a game store,” Sunshine defends, placing a hand on the lid.Kat pauses. “Good point.”Sunshine looks at the camera. “I mean, I was — I was there, she wasn’t, so I should know. So —”“It’s just my credit card. Awesome.”“It glows in the dark though,” she continues, pointing to the cover. “Still love that.”“Should we turn the lights off?” Kat smirks then laughs. She claps her hands as if the bulbs will go out just like that, then pouts. “It didn’t work.”Sunshine looks over the board. “Mistifeeing — mistifeering — mystifying,” she laughs, “would be the word I’m looking for.”“How’s that public education workin’ out for you.”“It’s terrible.”Kat tilts her head. “I don’t understand what’s the big deal about this.”Sunshine grunts. “One two three four five six..” She turns it over to show the camera. “That’s all a Ouija board is apparently, guys.”In the background the camera flickers and muffles. The man in the tuxedo walks into the frame, standing behind the kitchen counter as they sit in the living room.“I just think this is dumb,” Kat continues. Neither notice the little girl with the bag over her head sitting over the dishwasher. Both father and — most likely, daughter, — watch the duo.“Thank you.”“I don’t think it’s gonna work,” her mother says, raising a brow as they read the back of the box. She smirks and uses a mystic voice. “Ouija knows all the answers~”Sunshine chuckles and mimics the voice. “It’s only a game, isn’t it?~” Kat throws the board down. “I don’t know. We’ve decided, we’re not gonna use it.”The spirits in the kitchen flicker away as the Ouija board is placed back inside the box. “Let’s just watch Easy A!” Kat laughs. She smiles as her mother stands up. “Apparently we’re done, guys.” “That’s dumb,” Kat calls as she walks away.
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Sunshine is filming. She’s explaining her busy weekend then sighs, scratching her head. “Another reason I’m gonna do a video is to talk about.. the picture and.. the lurking ghosts.”She looks unnerved. “They’re clearly getting stronger. Much much stronger. But — ghosts can’t hurt, people, right..? No? Right?”Sunshine isn’t sure if she’s convinced on that yet.“Anyways,” she goes on, “I’ve decided that the people in the photo — the ghosts in the photo — are my ghosts that are lurking about the house trying to... do mean things. Uh, my last question is why did I have the picture? I mean, they’re in my house, but why.. did I get it — like — why did they give it to me?”She shakes her head and looks around. “I don’t know. A bunch of mysteries. Anyways. Blah!”
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“Mommy, I have a question for you,” Sunshine begins, turning the camera to her mother in the kitchen. She’s sitting in the dining room, looking especially happy today. “No.”“Why, Mom?” Sunshine’s voice grows annoyed. Kat sighs and puts her phone down. “What.”“It’s important, it’s about the stuff,” she points out, blood bubbling in her ears when her mother looks out the window and stuffs her hands in her jacket pockets. She’s not even listening!Kat turns her head, glaring at Sunshine. “About your homework?”“No.” She makes a face.“T — turn it off,” her mother snaps, waving her hand in exasperation.“Why?!”“Why do you need it on?”“Because I —” Sunshine’s voice cracks in disbelief, “I’m asking you a question that relates!”“I’m tired of it.” Kat’s face falls blank.“Mom..!”“Just.. turn it off.” Her mother turns and begins walking toward the fridge.“Mom! What is your problem? You’re like, freaking out!”Kat ignores her.“Mom!”She turns, clearly aggravated. “What?”Sunshine stammers. She’s not even sure what to say. “You need to focus on your homework,” Kat says, filling the drawn silence and facing her daughter. “Why?”“This is taking up too much time.”“It is not.” Sunshine curls her fingers.“Yes it is.” Kat’s voice becomes clipped.“Mom.”“Your English teacher called me today and said you did not turn in that project. The one that you spent all that time on is what you said. Were you really just on YouTube?”“No!”“Then why did you not turn it in?” Her mother sounds tired. Very, very tired.“I did.”“Why would he say that?”“Mom! You’re gonna believe the English teacher, not me?”“At this point,” Kat growls, “yes.”“Excuse me?”Silence. “I don’t — I just — I don’t want you doing..” Sunshine gets up to return to her room. “What — where are you going?”“Yeah, whatever,” Sunshine spits.
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So. Her mother is pissed. Like, really pissed. Shocker. But.. well, Sunshine made the mistake of showing her the video — the Ouija board one — and well, she was already kind of cranky. Bad idea.Her mom’s planning something. Sunshine’s not sure what it is, exactly. Probably something about moving. That being said, she’s cutting Mom out of the deal. They won’t be talking about this, she won’t show her any more damn videos, they’re done. Done.Well. She’s not sure she can keep her mother off YouTube.Oh. Hiding her computer. Not sure how she’ll do that. It’ll be interesting, though.She’s gonna find Creepy Lady. Mom doesn’t need to know now, though. Nope. It’s all a big secret.Shh.
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“Alright, so I talked to the landlord.”Sunshine is sitting on the couch, iPad in her hands. She looks confused and turns her head up towards her mother. “Why?”“I gave her our notice.” Kat sits beside Sunshine, whose jaw promptly drops.“E — excuse me?”“They — they agreed to let us out of the lease.” She looks like she’s struggling to find the right words. “And.. I gave her our notice. I think we need to move.”Sunshine shakes her head. “Why?!”Kat looks suddenly annoyed. “Why? I don’t know, hmm, let me think, why.. There’s not enough room for us~”Sunshine can’t help but laugh, then grows serious as her mother continues. “I — I’m so tired, aren’t you tired?”“Yeah, but we’re not done,” she insists, inclining her head. “I think we are done.”“We’re not done.”“I think we are.”“Mom!”(Don’t tell her about the nightmares. Don’t tell her about the nightmares.)“Sweetie,” Kat begins in that pompous way of hers, “I know that we’re a team and... we always make decisions together. But, I think in this case, I’m gonna have to pull the mom card.”“Mom! You never pull the mom card.” Sunshine sounds irked.“Well, guess what?” Her mother furrows her brows. “You’re 16. It might be time. It — there’s too much, you’re not focusing enough, there’s just not — it’s too much.”Silence.Kat pats Sunshine’s leg and stands. “Sorry babe.”She watches her mother leave. She’s never been so angry.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Creepy Lady makes another appearance.Sunshine runs to grab the camera, eyes wide. “Okay, so I’ve seen the creepy lady again. I’m determined I’m gonna get her this time, I’m going to talk to her.”She looks out of the front door window. “Is she coming..? Maybe she’s not coming back. Hold on. I don’t know..” Silence, then excitement. “There she is.”Sunshine practically leaps in to the front yard, running out of the gate and stopping in front of the woman, dressed as dull as usual. “Wait!”Creepy Lady angles her head toward Sunshine, eyes narrowed.“I need your help.”The woman’s face is blank. “I already helped you.”“I know, you gave me the box..”“I gave you the box.”“I opened the box.” She feels a little nervous.Creepy Lady’s eyes to wide and her jaw clenches. Horror. “I know, I know, I’m sorry!” Sunshine goes on, fiddling with her jacket. “I shouldn’t of!”“I told you not to open the box.” Annoyance and rage are buried within those words.“I know!”Creepy Lady’s lips press together as she begins to walk past Sunshine.“Wait! I need your help!”The woman stops, still facing away.“Please?”Creepy Lady turns, looking unsure.“Please help me. Please. Bad stuff’s happening.” The woman shifts closer. “What kind of stuff.”“Bad stuff! Like — my power keeps going out, and the ghosts, they’re back. Please help me.”Creepy Lady sighs heavily, shoulders stiff. “Okay.”Relief floods over Sunshine, tingling her limbs. “Thank you,” she breathes.The woman doesn’t respond, just turns and walks away.
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Her mother has set a date to move out of the house. They’ll have a temporary place to stay and.. it all just sucks. Sunshine is pissed, to be honest. Mom is too. Not good. They’re always fighting. Always upset at each other.It’s just not working.Sunshine is more pissed because the creepy lady could come back and she would never get all the answers. Because she wouldn’t even be here.And — and if they move away, she won’t even get to finish her adventure! She won’t get to find out why the ghosts are here and what they want and all that and — ugh!Her little adventure is dwindling down to nothing.It feels horrible.
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She’s hearing noises.Out of impulse, Sunshine grabs the camera and turns it on, slightly comforted by the blinking red light. But her neck hair is standing and her eyes are wide and rimmed darkly and — and she doesn’t know what’s going on.Something claws at the door and she gasps. The screen glitches out with a high-pitched scream. The doorknob turns back and forth. “Go away! What do you want?!”She cries out as the door flies open, swinging to the side and revealing nothing but empty space. “What do you want?” Sunshine closes her eyes, trying to breathe. “I — I have to go downstairs. I have to find out what it is. I don’t want to. I don’t want to, I don’t want to.” She begins to cry but stands up anyway. “Come on. Man up. Do it.”There are a few lights on down below, and she figures her mom is doing — well, something. Maybe freaking out. But it’s fucking terrifying. The screen glitches again and, when it returns to normal, a girl in a dark dress with a bag over her head is standing at the foot of the stairs. Sunshine screams and the spirit runs to the side, out of sight.She’s standing there, shaking, jaw quivering, but she knows she has to continue. She needs to find out what’s going on. Sunshine breathes in and runs down the stairs, waving her camera around.The girl is gone.Sunshine slips in to the living room, then gasps when the front door clicks open. There’s no one outside. Then, the cabinets in the kitchen creak open. No one is there, either. In — in fact, everything in the kitchen is open. The stove, the drawers, the pantry. She’s so. SO SCARED. What does she do?!A thud sounds behind her. Sunshine whips around and starts sobbing when the tuxedo man appears. He’s still and silent. The camera glitches harshly. Then he seems to dissolve in the air. “Go away..!”She turns to the side and a scream claws at her throat. The little girl is standing outside, touching the glass with a curled, outstretched hand. Sunshine blinks, holding the darkness for a few moments, before opening her eyes again.The girl is gone.“Wh — What are you doing here?” Sunshine nears the window, cheeks wet with tears. All of the doors around her open at once and she begins to sob, petrified. She can hardly move. Where is her mother?Sunshine walks around, holding her breath as she closes the doors. The teen looks out on the front lawn, walking outside and letting the cool breeze flow through her hair. “There’s no one out here.”A click makes her jump. Sunshine whips her head around, trembling. The ghost girl locks the door and stands at the window before slipping away. Sunshine cries. She’s locked out.Maybe the back door?(If it weren’t for her mom and her burning curiosity to find out who these ghosts are and what they want, she would’ve ran from the house long ago.)Sunshine runs around the gate, pressing her hands to the glass as she stands on the back porch. It’s locked, too. Panic takes her over.The camera flickers off and on. Sunshine is back in the house. All of the lights are on. “Is anybody here?” she calls out, eyes wet.The bathroom door opens. She stands there, dumbfounded, glaring into the dark room, hands curling around her camera. Can she admit that she hasn’t been back in there since that night? That — that she’s still mortified of going inside? Even looking near the area? “Go away,” she says, voice weak and crackly. “This is my house..”A dark growl echoes in her ears. Sunshine stiffens, then a white, bagged head jerks out from behind her, yelling something in a demonic voice. She screams as hands wrap around her throat, claws sinking in to her skin. Sunshine drops the camera and is shoved into the bathroom, wailing and banging on the locked door.In the fire, the picture of the father and daughter is flickering with embers.
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Sunshine is at her mom’s friend’s house. She’s sitting in the corner, eyes dark and nose snotty from crying so much. She can’t — she can’t concentrate. She doesn’t want to be alone. She’s so. fucking. scared.God. She doesn’t even know how to breathe. The bruises along her neck burn and ache, even with a minuscule action like turning her head. The scratches along her wrists feel like flames are lapping the insides of her skin. She’s not okay. She’s not. But she can pretend to be, for the camera.She starts breaking down when she thinks about being locked in the bathroom. That horrible, horrible bathroom.
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So. It’s been almost a week of staying at her mom’s friend’s house. They’re going home later to get clothes and other things for the weekend and will see how it feels to walk back in.Sunshine isn’t enthusiastic, to say the least.At least her mother promised not to leave her alone after dark. That’s — that’s comforting. It truly is. Maybe she doesn’t have to feel so scared anymore.If they ever go back.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They’re back home, looking through their rifled belongings, when Creepy Lady arrives.Sunshine already has the camera in her hands. “Okay so Creepy Lady’s here to help me,” she says quickly, opening the front door. The woman is standing there, quiet. “Hi.”“I’m here to help,” she murmurs.“C — Come in.” Sunshine steps aside and let’s Creepy Lady walk inside. The woman looks around cautiously before continuing. They share a knowing glance.Out of her pocket, Creepy Lady pulls out a thick sage stick. “I need fire.”Sunshine rushes to the grab the lighter, holding the flame over the herb. The woman is staring wide-eyed at the long plastic stick but says nothing more. Once the sage is crinkling with embers, Creepy Lady blows the smoke and begins sweeping around the house. First, the kitchen; she begins muttering things under her breath, words Sunshine can neither hear nor understand.“Where do you sleep.”Sunshine gapes then turns to the stairwell. “Here.” They travel up, Creepy Lady following slowly. “It’s the last one on the right.”They enter the bedroom and the woman swirls the sage in each corner, letting the wisps of smoke fill the air, continuing to murmur — blessings, maybe?Creepy Lady turns. “We’re going to the bathroom.” Sunshine’s blood runs cold but she follows her anyway. She — she can’t be scared now. Maybe this is how she gets over her fear. By knowing that nothing bad will ever happen in there again.They retreat downstairs and both stand before the bathroom door. The woman is still as she looks around, no emotion crossing her features. Creepy Lady lifts the curtain back and stares at the back of the door, pausing.Blood. Handprints. Holes. Words. They flash in Sunshine’s mind and she nearly crumples to the ground. She wants to get out. She needs to get out.There’s a pause as the woman blesses the door, sighing before pulling it all the way open. “Go,” she orders, motioning out. Sunshine gladly complies.Next is the living room. Creepy Lady turns. “Now you. Be still.”Sunshine looks worried as the stick is brought around her body, smoke filling her senses and burning her eyes.“My work is done.”The woman wastes no time escaping from the house as quickly as possible, throwing open the door and walking down the front yard path.“Thank you...?”
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It’s quiet.So, so quiet. Insanely quiet. It’s unnerving. It’s different. It’s weird. She can’t describe it. Maybe Creepy Lady could end up being her hero.
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They’re sitting on the couch, just like old times, and Sunshine laughs. “Hey guys,” she greets, waving her arms in her mother’s face. “So, update on Creepy Lady —”“Creepy Lady, really?” Kat laughs.“Yeah, that’s her name,” Sunshine breathes, smirking.Her mother wheezes. “That’s not — I don’t think that’s her name. Is that what you’ve been calling her?”“Well, not to her face, that’d be rude.” Sunshine makes a face.Kat laughs loudly. “Creepy Lady, please, come in.”“Come help us~” She shakes her head and pulls her hair back. “No, well, I don’t think she has a — no, she probably has a real name.”“I think she has a real name. I don’t think she was born —” Her mother laughs, “and her mom said, ‘Hey, we’ll call her Creepy Lady.’”“Her name’s probably like.. Lidya or something.”“Mm. Lidya?”“Lidya. That was the name I thought of first.”“Really? I was thinking like... Helena.”“Helena~”“Helena Bottomcurter. Cause her hair’s a little..”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Anyways, back to the point of the video—”“There’s a point?”“Yes, there’s a point of this.” She chuckles. “Um, that, nothing has happened since she came and blessed the house with that stinky stuff. So.”Kat nods and actually looks happy. “It’s been good. Quiet.”Sunshine motions to the both of them. “She’s slept better, I’ve slept better.” “The power has stayed on,” her mother mentions.“Yay for power!” “The uh.... everything, it’s been really — a relief.”“Solid, it’s been solid.”They both make a thumbs up to the camera.“Oh.” Sunshine raises her arms. “So we don’t have to move.”Kat smiles. “We don’t have to move. The landlord is... very happy.”“Yeah. It’s cause they can’t get anyone to stay in this house. BUT. The whole point of making these videos was to convince my mom, so that she would believe.” Sunshine looks over at her mother. “And do you believe, now?”Kat raises her eyebrows. “Believe what?”Sunshine smiles, using her ‘obviously’ tone. “That there are — things in this house? And that, I mean, I’m awesome?”Her mother wheezes. “Oh, I already believed that. Second part. Uh, yeah, I think you proved your point.”“I proved my point.” She nods. “I have.”Kat stares off. “You could have just written me a letter.”Sunshine snorts. “Yeah, whatever. Like a letter would have worked!”
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So. This is goodbye.It’s still been quiet. She’s been getting homework done. Making friends.It’s all been going well.Kidding. This isn’t goodbye. She isn’t done. But, this is just ‘proper.’ She’s gonna continue on this paranormal journey. Of course she is.Nothing will stop her now.

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PART TWO
Season Two: The Oregon Coast Road Trip
Road trip. Should be fun enough, right?

Well. It seems there’s more linked to a haunted hotel and the house than Sunshine might have previously thought.

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It’s been almost a month and a half since Sunshine last said goodbye.She’s been doing — well, she’s actually been doing really great. Ever since Creepy Lady blessed the house with sage the ghosts have been.. quiet. Sometimes her little unicorn will move, but she’s grown used to it. Maybe she even likes it a little. It lets her know that there is still a presence in her house, but — but not the bad one, like the spirit that attacked her.Her nightmares haven’t gone away, no, not completely. But she’s been able to finally talk to her mother about them and — and it’s just good to finally get it off her chest. She’s been able to overcome her fear; the taste of copper doesn’t quite faze her as it once had, and she’s been able to improve on a regular sleep schedule. Of course, Sunshine misses the ghosts. Kind of. After that last experience, where she was attacked, she knows she’s terrified. But she loves the thrill. The adrenaline rushing through her limbs and mind and powering her forward. She loves uncovering the mysteries of the house. It’s really — it’s, just, a terrible addiction.That being said, Sunshine and her mother are deciding to go on a road trip across the Oregon beach, exploring different haunted places and spending more quality time with each other! There will still be that beating fear of the spirits, but at least they have each other, and it’s not like the ghosts are at their house. It’s different. They can’t be followed, and it’s so, so relieving.That being said, here they are in the car. Sunshine pulls out the camera she hasn’t even looked at in almost two months. “Hey kids!” she greets, smiling widely. “It’s adventure time! WOO!” She’s sitting in the passenger seat of the car, bags stacked up around her and the sun shining down on her face.“How ‘bout I just help you here,” Kat’s voices comes through, and Sunshine nods eagerly. “So, helloooo~” Her mother squeezes in to the frame with her daughter, and the two grin at the camera. “In case you couldn’t understand what Sunshine just said there —”“ADVENTURE TIME!”Kat rolls her eyes as she continues on her tangent of words. “Anyone who thinks she’s an actor would realize she could do that a lot better.”Sunshine starts laughing as her mother continues. “Adventure time~ We’re going on a road trip.”“Yep. We are.” She smirks, waving to the bags surrounding the back of the car. “Look at all our stuff.”“That’s aaaallll Sunshine’s crap.”“It is not, it’s mostly hers.” She snorts. “It’s all her necessity though. We need all of it.”“We tell ‘em where we’re going?”“Yes. Yes!” Sunshine smacks her legs. “You get to know. I mean, I don’t know everything ‘cause she’s keeping secrets from me guys —” She points to her mother, “secrets~ But anyways —”“Well,” Kat cuts in, “I think you’ve kept a few secrets, princess.”She cocks a brow and rolls her eyes. “Whatever. She’s, suddenly, cranky. Anyways, we, are going, to, the Organ coaaaast!” Sunshine says the last words in a sing-song voice, then squeals with excitement.“I’ve never heard anyone sing that.”“Oh, I can, I sing everything, I’m very excited, all the time.” She tilts her head and smiles. “Yes, we are gonna document everything.”“Yees.”“And share it with you—”Sunshine points to the camera. “And you’re gonna love it. Enjoy it.”“So.” Kat turns the camera on both of them. “And, just because Sunshine doesn’t know everything, I’m taking her to a few surprises. Including some places that may or may not be..”“Haaaaunnteedd!” Sunshine sings the word again and starts clapping.“It’s gonna be awesome,” her mother smirks.“It’s gonna be great!”“And then — wait, are you just gonna post one huge long video?”She quirks a brow fancily. “Yes~” She pauses. “Get it more on me.”Kat chuckles as her daughter bathes in the sunlight. “More on Sunshine.”“Yes.”“No, you’re not gonna post one long video, are you?”“No! It’s gonna be increments.” Sunshine smirks. “It’s gonna be like —”“That’s a big word.” “In...criments... yeah.”“Is that on the SAT test?”“Yes, I learned it, just to be smart. ANYWAYS. So... it’ll be in small sections and you can watch it. And love it. Enjoy it.”“And hopefully,” Kat adds, “hopefully we’ll uh — share some interesting haunted locations that you too can go visit in Oregon next time you’re there.”Sunshine nods. “Yeah. Look it — now you know where I live.” She gasps and dramatically holds her hand to her mouth.“We don’t live in Oregon.”“Shocking.”“We’re going to visit the Oregon coast.” She groans. “It’s a long drive. Stay tuned.”“Stay excited! YAAAA.”
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“Are we there yet?”Kat looks over at the camera, sunglasses perched on her nose. “Gah, you’re a whiner. Look, we’re getting closer.” Up ahead, the grass parts along the road, pine trees shadowing the sides of the concrete. “Billboards. About the beach.”“Swampland,” Sunshine sings. “Happy happy ecosystem.“And — Tanger Outlets, shopping!”“Oh, good, I was worried.” She rolls her eyes.“It’s really too bad we don’t get sponsors for any of this,” Kat notes. “That would be helpful.”“Yeah, that would.” Sunshine thinks.“That would be. But we don’t.” Her mother pauses. “Yet. Sponsor us.”“YAAAA.” She smiles widely at the camera. “We’ll do road trips everywhere.” “Bye guys!”
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“Mom’s tired of driving. Whiner whiner whiner whiner.” Sunshine sticks her tongue out.“Go on, it’s your turn.”“I can drive now,” she flaunts as she stumbles in to the driver’s seat.“Here, give me the camera,” Kat laughs snobbishly. “Hehe, now I can film.”“Weirdo.”“Yes. Are we there yet?”“Are we there yet?” Sunshine mocks.“You’re driving me crazy.”“You’re driving me crazy.”Kat looks down. “Ooo, look what else I have. Her cell phone.” She smirks. “See who she’s been texting. Oo, that’s really close.” Her mother draws the camera back. “Sorry guys.”Kat begins checking the phone and her brows crease. “No one.”“Yeah.”“That was boring. Okay.” Kat looks over. “Are we there yet.”“Stop it.”“Are we there yet.”“Stop it.”“Are we there yet.”“Stop it.” Sunshine shakes her head at the camera with exasperation. “Oh, I can’t put the gas — I’m not used to driving this car.”“I’m gonna tell you right now, Sunshine is veeeery short.”She looks embarrassed. “Yeah, I just move it up and then over.”“And I’m not that tall.” Kat chuckles.“It makes like a little — eeeeeeeee.” Sunshine mocks the voice of the seat. “Can you hear — oh you probably can, as you move up, it’s terrible.”“What does it do?”“Eeee —” She laughs. “Really?” Kat snorts.“I sound like a llama. Or a goat.”“A llama, um, okay, wait, I need to take you to the zoo ‘cause you don’t know what any of these animals sound like.”“Um, I know what a goat sounds like. Just like—” Sunshine makes a baaaah noise. “—like that.”“Really? I heard a goat once—”“A pigmy goat.”“—once peed on your shoe.”Sunshine bites her lip. “Shut up. That’s one time.” She points her finger up. “One time!”“Yeah but how many people can say that, seriously—” Kat wheezes, “—seriously Sunshine, how many people can say that a goat has peed—”“Um hello, other people are on farms.”“Oh. Good point.”Sunshine looks around to make sure no cars are coming their way.“You’re a very good driver.”“I am.”“There’s no one comin’ now!”“Ohhhh we’re gonna peel out a little bit there. Woo. Yeah.” Sunshine blows through her teeth. “That was fun.”“I’m sleepy. I’m gonna take a nap.” Sunshine begins singing and Kat shakes her head. “Do you not realize I’m still filming?”She laughs loudly, throwing her head back. “Whatever!”
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“We switched back to her driving,” Sunshine begins, “and she’s gonna crash us right here. We’re just — we’re gonna dieeee!”“There’s bugs everywhere!” Kat complains.“Everywhere,” Sunshine sings. She’s in a very singy mood today.“I just killed single-handedly multiple bugs.” Her mother curls her fingers.“Unlike me, who killed none.”Kat wheezes. “Yeah, turns out she killed none.”Sunshine shakes her head. “Didn’t — I didn’t squish them.”A pause. “Are we there yet.”“Aaaa yeah yeah. No, we’re never being there. We’re staying in the car forever and ever. It’s dooooom I tell you.” Sunshine faces the camera back to her. “My stomach kinda hurts. From sitting and leaning over, no, yeah.”She films the trees whirring by before falling asleep.
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“No road trip is complete,” Sunshine says, “without a stop at some fast-food restaurant — here we are at Wendy’s, yes.”Kat turns her head. “We’d like their fries.”She nods. “Their fries are delicious.”“But here’s what, really is interesting.” Her mother takes the camera. “Ready for it.” She turns the screen to the car in front of them, which has a wide red sticker on the back with a smiley face. “Smile!” they both say in unison. “Your mom chose life!” Kat smirks. “The things we see on road trips.”“Ugh.” Sunshine grumbles. “You’ll probably see more later. Bye guys!”She smiles as she turns the camera off.
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----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Okay, I have a question,” she begins, still sitting in the passenger seat of the car. “Why is, on the license plate, you may or may not want to see it—” Sunshine turns the camera to a gray van in front of them, “it beautiful British Columbia and ours is just Oregon, why is it not, like, y’know, Organic Oregon or.. something.. with an O. Outrageous Oregon. Like why is that.”Kat looks over. “That’s a very deep thought.”“I know.” Sunshine nods. “I just — I’ve been pondering it, I don’t know why.” She smiles. “If anyone knows,” Kat says.“Tell us.” She turns the camera back around. “We’re at the oceaaann~! See it past that — large ass truck.”“We did it. We arrived,” her mother says from beside.“Kind of a little bouncy ‘cause she’s a terrible driver.”“Yeah, that’s why.” Kat rolls her eyes. “We’re still not to the hotel, but we are at least to the ocean.”“Which is always important.” Sunshine tries to look over the houses at the rippling waves of the sea. “Oh look, there it is again — it’s kinda hard to see and ohhh there it goes.” A large tan brick house covers the sloping hills. “Behind that house. A very large castle-like house. What is that, that’s weird.”“That is weird.”“I don’t like that house at all, they have weird balconies — bye big truck I didn’t like you, you smell bad.” She sticks her tongue out as the large truck turns away. “Ugh. It really did,” Kat snorts.“Stank. Really. Awful.” Sunshine turns the camera to her then furrows her brow. “The one thing I don’t like about the beach is what people wear here. It’s terrible. It’s like — ‘Ah! It’s freezing cold outside! But let’s look like a skank anyway.’” She gets distracted and smiles when the sand drifts up to the road. The blue water stretches over the horizon. “There it is again guys! I’m so excited. Aaa.”Kat tilts her head. “Wow, there’s a lot of people here. Everybody decided — they said, ‘Hey, we hear Sunshine’s gonna be at the beach!’”“I’m... sure that’s why they came.”“That’s it.”“Exactly it.”Kat takes the camera and and smiles. “It’s definitely the beach. Cause look it — TRAFFIC!”“Yay,” Sunshine says unenthusiastically, gazing at the cars piled behind one another.Her mother sighs heavily. “I think... we’re almost there.”Sunshine grunts. “She’s not telling me where we’re staying, so I just keep guessing — I’m deciding.. Lincoln City Inn.” She nods at the large pale brown hotel across the street.“Yeah, because that certainty looks haunted,” Kat scoffs. “But it does have a nice ocean view if you can see past the Kyllo’s sign.”“Kylloooo’s — no, you really can’t, but it’s actually a really good restaurant, I’ve heard.”They both sigh as the traffic continues slowly. “Well,” Sunshine announces. “I will continue guessing. How about D’Sands Motel? D... Sands? I don’t get it.”“I think it’s supposed to be clever,” Kat explains when she sees Sunshine’s confused expression.“Oh, D’Sands, aaaaaha, like — oh, no, I still don’t get it.”Kat laughs. “Good thing you’re preeetttyyy.”“TUUUUURN,” Sunshine yells at the car in front of them.“Turn already!” Her mother wheezes. “Ohhhh... my gosh... we’re never gonna get there.”“It doesn’t really look haunted,” she notes as they draw closer to D’Sands. “Oh, sweet Jesus —”“Watch your mouth, girl.”“Oh, sorry.”“We’re still a little ways there,” Kat sighs. “If you wanna — pause it so they don’t have to see all this.”“Okay — the Hideaway Motel! That’s it! We’re done! Right there!”They pass it.“Never mind.”
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“She’s gonna tell me? We’re almost there.”“I think... it’s...”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “She thinks it’s up here.” A sigh. “We’re not even close. She’s gonna be like, ‘Oh, right around this corner!’ NOO.”“Now I gotta pee,” her mother complains.“Edge Cliff Motel! That’s where it is, isn’t it? Hhhh, kinda ugly, I hope that’s not where we’re gonna stay. Please say no.”Kat doesn’t respond and instead looks over the road. “It’s gotta be right here.. We’re close..”“Don’t worry, it’s not the Edge Cliff Motel, guys,” Sunshine goes on. “We passed it.”“Not the Ester Lea Motel,” Kat says, looking at the red billboard. “It is the 70th birthday for Linda there..”“Aaa, Linda! Happy birthday!”Kat huffs. “Okay, now that we’ve passed five hundred —”“There’s the ocean!” The day is painted with gray clouds, but the foam along the waves contrasts with the darkness of the sea. “It’s beautiful~”“Or is it the RV Park??!”“Ooooh, we’re staying at the RV Park!” Sunshine laughs.“It’s haunted!”“Wooo!” She pauses. “Ocean Terrance.. condominiums, nightly rentals —” A gasp, “Oh! We’re gettin’ over in the other lane, that means we’re close!”“Wait, okay, okay, if this is it — okay, so, I did some research on the internet,” Kat begins, looking excited, “and supposedly.. this place... is haunted.”Sunshine gasps as they slow down near a dark tan hotel, a large front opening with trees scattered around the middle, fish painting the side walks. “Historic Anchor Inn.”“This is where we’re staying.” Kat smirks.“Oooo. Big cars and trucks. Awww. It’s so preetttyyy.”“So this is where we are staying.. check it out!”“AAAA! Look at it guys. Ooo.”
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Sunshine raises a brow, squeezing in to the frame as her mother holds the camera. “We arrived!” she sings. “Historic Anchor Inn!”“Let’s check it out!”They near the front of the hotel, shoes clanking against the gravel pavement below them. Large, thick orange wooden pillars jut out from a wide front patio, round flower pots scattered around the edges, grass filling in the cracks. A silver bike is resting along the wall and there are mannequins posed in the black benches. A sign reads ‘Bikes FREE. Check out at front desk.’Sunshine is pretty sure she’s on her own with that one, considering how rusty the bike is.The duo continues walking through the patio, a large ‘WELCOME’ sign pressed against the russet bench, a fall-leaf wreath around the door. Sunshine sits next to the mannequin and then jumps up. “Ahhhh.. she’s really creepy, I don’t like her.”Kat laughs as they slip inside, checking out the place. It’s spacious but homey; it seems like there are hundreds of pictures hanging on the walls, lamps dotting the furniture and spilling light in to the hotel. Sunshine wants to keep looking around the front entrance, but is happy to go inside to escape the loud buzz of locusts. They eventually check in and are given the key to the room. The two make their way down the halls, and Sunshine leads the way up a wide set of stairs. She notes how creepy some of these pictures are — weird, wide-eyed families staring back, or dark landscapes speckled over with clouds. Another small white sign reads: ‘Shhh. Please remove shoes.’ Sunshine is pretty sure she doesn’t want to do that, but figures it’s because the wooden floors are so loud and creaky.“I don’t know if this place is haunted,” Kat begins. “But it definitely has character.”There’s an open door around the corner and Sunshine gasps. “Is this our room?? No. But, aww.”When first walking in, there’s a wooden island that sticks out from the wall, chairs seated along the edges. A small kitchen is tucked in the left corner with plates and cups. It looks to be a little communal room. They visit a greenhouse and explore the flowers cluttered around the room. Sunshine likes the feel. Kind of — it’s eclectic? Honestly, she loves it. Ugh. If only they could live here!
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“Which room are we staying in?”“Lillian.”Sunshine turns and shuffles over to the door, clicking the lock — well, trying to click the lock for about two minutes — before Kat does it for her. They enter the room, which has a large black leather chair in the corner, a bedside table and a blue striped bed. There’s a piano in the left corner with many antiques topped above, and a mirror hanging on the wall. “This is so cool,” Sunshine breathes as she avoides another one of those creepy paintings. (The piano doesn’t work, how sad.) “I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to sleep here, this is creepy,” she laughs, looking at a compass enclosed in a circular glass. Kat seems like she’s digging it, though.To the right of the bed is the bathroom, with a small yet creepy hallway that holds the shower, toilet, and sinks. There’s a window perched aside where she can see the swampland behind the wooden fence. “Okay, so supposedly,” Kat begins as Sunshine rolls around the bed, coming out from the bathroom, “I asked the owner for his most haunted room.”Sunshine leans her head back and makes an annoyed face. “Seriously. Okay. Well, we’re not gonna be able to sleep here.”“So what do you feel? Anything?”She pauses, leaning back and raising a brow. “No. Not really.”“Hm. Maybe later.”
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So. They continue to explore the haunted hotel and find another communal hang-out area with plump couches and wooden desks; more long, creepy hallways; empty, open rooms; broken clocks spread along the chests; a DVD room with a TV; random mannequin heads; and, last but not least, more pictures.Creepy. Sunshine isn’t sure how to feel about it.
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“So. Mom’s gonna tell me a the story all about the Haunting of this hotel. And, go.”They’re back in the room, Kat seated in a chair, and she looks up and nods. “Oh. Okay! So —”“You’re seriously eating ice cream?” Sunshine snorts.“It’s yummy.” “Continue.”Kat holds up the strawberry ice cream and takes a bite from the spoon.“No, no —” Sunshine laughs, “not the ice cream.”“Oh.” Kat wheezes and brushes auburn hair out of her face. “Okay, so, we decided to do a road trip to the Oregon coast — I did a whole bunch of research — and I found this haunted hotel.” Her mother motions her hand around the room. “The Historic Anchor Inn.”“Yes,” Sunshine adds, waving the camera around. “Back to me, focus.” Kat clears her throat. “So, apparently, this hotel is built where a house had been.. where a lady mysteriously died.”Sunshine raises a brow as Kat nods. “Aaaaaand?”Her mother laughs then goes blank.“That’s the whole story?” Sunshine begins giggling. “That’s the crappiest story I’ve ever heard of a haunting. Seriously, like..? I got all excited for that... and then I found five dollars, let’s up the ante a little bit, okay, geez.”She shakes her head and looks at the camera.
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They’re still in the room. Kat is sitting in the large, black leather chair, sun pooling across her blanketed lap. Sunshine picks up the camera and angles it forward. “So, mother.” Kat looks up from her book. “Do you think it’s really haunted.”“What’s haunted.”“The... hotel.” She uses that tone of voice, basically screaming ‘obviously!’ in her mother’s face.Kat coughs out a laugh. “The hotel. You didn’t like my story.” She pouts and places the book on the table beside her.“Well it’s ‘cause it’s bad,” Sunshine breathes.Her mother shakes her head and waves her hands around. “So now I’m just supposed to go with that?”“Yeah.”Kat lifts her legs up, sighing. “I don’t know. I don’t — here, I’ll come sit with you.”“Hmmm.”“What do you think?” She sits by her daughter on the bed.“Well, I don’t know..”“It’s definitely creepy enough.”“Mm, and it squeaks.”They sit against the headrest of the bed, camera facing the both of them. “It’s definitely weird and... eclectic?”Sunshine shows her teeth in a neutral sort of grin. “Eclectic.”“But I don’t know that I have any of the — here my arms are longer than yours.” Her mother holds the camera and sighs. “I don’t, have any of the, like, feelings.. that you always did?”“Mhm..”“With the house? So, I think, maybe you’re a better judge of.. if it’s — if there’s anything — if there’s a ghost or anything.”“Well..” Sunshine scratches her nose. “I don’t know. Well, like, if we had the Ouija board, we could use it, except people would kill me.” She huffs. “They were like, ‘No don’t use it..! Ahhh it’s so bad!’”“The people got really intense — you guys got reeaaally intense.” Kat shakes her head at the camera.“Defensive, and..” Sunshine sighs. “Freakin’ out.”“We didn’t even use it and people were freakin’ out.”“I know, we just bought it, kind of as a.. joke sort of, because people were like, ‘Don’t use it!’, so we bought it and they said it again! So..”“But,” Kat points out, “that might tell us something.”“Hey, though! But like, you know like, how on haunted shows they ask questions? To the ghosts? We could do that.”Her mother’s eyes light up. “Like — well, they usually do that in the middle of the night though. Like, dead hour.”Sunshine shrugs. “Yeah, we could do it now.” She looks around and toward the window as the sun begins to set, orange and pink streaks dappling the ground. “Maybe, something, might happen.”Kat furrows her brows. “If any room in this place is haunted, it’s gonnnna beee this one. Because it’s definitely — like, the closet doesn’t even shut. How creepy is that?”“And it creaks open if you try to close it.”“And all these creepy pictures.” Kat turns the camera to the one beside them, of a little girl holding a doll. She then turns the screen back to them. “Would you wanna do that?”“Yes!”“We gotta give you somethin’ to watch!” Sunshine sits up, scooting toward the edge of the bed while looking out over the room. “Okay.”Sunshine sighs, eyes flickering around. “Are there any ghosts... here?”A drawn silence.“Ask if anyone wants to talk to us,” Kat whispers.“Do you.. ghosts.. want to talk to me?”More staticy silence and Sunshine scrunches up her face. “I don’t think it’s working,” she murmurs.“Well,” her mother points out, “it’s still daylight.”“True. Maybe we could wait ‘till it’s dark..”“On the ghost shows they always wait ‘till night time.”She shrugs. “Mhm. Dead hour, or just like, midnight or something.”“Is — is that what they call it?”“Dead time.”“Dead time?”“Mhm.”“Well, we could try it. I might be sleepy though.”“Well.” Sunshine grunts. “I’ll just scream to wake you up.”“Got it.”She smirks. “Blah.”
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“Do you hear that?”There’s a buzzing throughout the room. Sunshine grabs a hold of her camera in the darkness. She turns on a light and looks around, breathing heavily. “It’s coming from the bathroom,” she whispers, heart beating out of her chest. It feels like she’s back at home, back to hearing the claws scratching her door, back to — back to the spirit that attacked her. Sunshine can almost feel the bruises lining her neck.But it’s fine. She’s fine. They’re in a completely different place. Even if something does happen, it wouldn’t be at home. It wouldn’t follow them back.She hesitates, sitting up slowly. “There’s noises outside,” she continues. “But, people might still be awake.” She doesn’t forget about the creaky floorboards, then hums. “It can’t be that late. Except they don’t believe in clocks here.”Sunshine flinches when the bathroom door jolts, and a deep moaning sound comes from within. She looks over to her mother and sighs. “She can sleep through anything.” Ignoring her shaking hands, Sunshine stands, sweeping her body toward the bathroom. “I really hate the dark.”The dark always brings bad, bad things.She steps inside, clicking on the light and creeping down the small, creepy hallway that leads to the toilet. The buzzing becomes increasingly louder, almost like an echo, as Sunshine looks around the bathroom. She begins to tremble as she looks down to the running faucet.Once she turns the handle, everything goes quiet.“It — it’s just the sink,” she tells herself, walking out and back to the main room. She looks to the piano and — and just feels something. She doesn’t know how to explain it. She can’t explain it.“Is anybody there?” Sunshine calls out, biting her bottom lip, green eyes wide.No response. Of course.She creeps toward the door and hears clanking outside. “It — it just sounds like people are awake. It was nothing.”Sunshine cuts the camera and doesn’t fall back asleep.
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Sunshine’s reviewing the footage from the night before. She thinks she hears a voice, but isn’t really sure. So, she cuts those pieces out and loops them; then, she raises the volume on each clip and listens.What comes next is — is really, truly, terrifying.The first clip is from her waking up. “My name is Anna.” It’s what she hears, crystal clear, and it burns her ears like acid. A soft child’s voice, young and girly. How did she not hear it then?Clip #2: She’s standing at the bathroom mirror before turning to walk out. “They are watching you.” Same voice, same pitch, same degree of horrifying.Sunshine remembers back to the photo she was sent in the mail, of the father and daughter with bags over their heads. The same words were written on a piece of paper accompanying the photo.If this is really what’s being said, she’s even more terrified.Clip #3: She’s asking if anyone is there, the bathroom dark behind her. “Don’t trust her.” The girl — Anna? — is speaking again. Sunshine isn’t sure who ‘her’ is, but is determined to find out.(Creepy Lady?)Clip #4: Sunshine walks back to her bed after figuring that people are still awake down the hall, which is where the voices and clattering is coming from. This — this is the one that scares her the most. She doesn’t expect Anna to be so dark. And she doesn’t expect the words to come so soon.
“You will die.”
She throws up.
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Today, Sunshine and her mother are visiting a few haunted places. A lighthouse and more surprises are to come. Of course, Kat won’t tell her anything. Oh well. She’s kind of excited for the unknown.(Should she tell her about the EVPs she found?)No. Better not.
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First, they visit a large, good-smelling library with pumping music above their heads.Kat asks if she likes Twilight. Sunshine really doesn’t.Oh. ‘How To Survive Your Freshman Year’ would have been helpful in 2009.She also realizes she has a lot of these books, but greatly enjoys the paranormal section of the library. ‘Idiot’s Guide To Ghosts and Hauntings.’ Maybe that’s what they need.Guess they don’t need anything from here. There aren’t any ghosts at home anymore. No need to even think about it.She’s still wondering what Anna’s warnings mean.
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Next, Sunshine is driving to Newport with her mother as the ‘tour guide.’ The ocean is beautiful, even if it’s sprinkling and the clouds are fluttering in the sky. She doesn’t really see the ocean that often. Maybe they’ll see a whale.Unlikely.They eventually arrive to the docks and are watching the sea lions. Sunshine names them Bob, Frank, Mikey, Joe, and Nick. She really enjoys this. It’s fun. It’s relieving.No ghosts can be really, really awesome.
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Sunshine hates furries.Basically, anything in costumes.Mascots count.
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They’re standing over the boardwalk as Kat shares Sunshine’s forgotten childhood memories with her.Sunshine loves sea food, so they’re going to eat at Local Ocean Seafoods. Kat also teases her daughter while she’s choking on her food.That’s nice.(Why’s she laughing so hard again?)Oh, right. That furry thing is still freaking her out.
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Sunshine and her mother are standing in the midst of a clutter of trees, overlooking the sandy beach and the ocean. Behind them, a lighthouse towers over the trees. Which is, supposedly, haunted.Not a secret place, but still creepy enough.Once they near the building, they realize the lighthouse is actually pretty tiny. They have to walk through the front of an old house with too much space and too little furniture. There’s a doll in a crib to the side and Sunshine gets out of there as quickly as possible.They slip in and out of a few different rooms, scanning over all the information and making their way farther and farther up. They can see the ocean out of the windows and it’s honestly, just, wonderful.And they haven’t even been to the actual lighthouse!The duo shuffles up the long, winding stairs while tiny rooms pass by their sides. They read up a little on the people that have died here, then decide to go to the basement. A man dressed in a tan uniform stands before several books and trinkets about the lighthouse, nodding at those that pass by. “A long time ago,” the man begins, shifting the green cap on his head, “way back when there was no electricity or TV or video games or anything like that, this lighthouse was abandoned and.. there was no lighthouse anymore. Over the years it kinda got older and older and fell in to ruin. It looked terrible — falling apart.”He leans back. “Way back then, there was a strange ship that came in to town one day, in the harbor down here. Out of the ship came two people — the very handsome captain of the ship, and his teenage daughter. The father talked to some of the local people and said that Muriel needed to stay here because he had to take his ship down to coast. He set his daughter up in a boarding house — or, otherwise known as a hotel of sorts — and said he’d be back very soon.”The man sighs and shakes his head. “Well, that soon turned in to a week, two weeks, and then a couple of months. Muriel had become acquainted with some of the local folks in town, and they decided that they’d have a picnic and come up to the lighthouse. They got the key because it was, of course, all locked up, and they walked around the lighthouse, having their picnic, and decided to go in to check things out.”He tilts his head. “They went in the lighthouse, which was really kinda spooky; there were cobwebs all over the place and no one had been in there for years and years. So they’re walking around and exploring and they find this strange passageway up the top. They looked down and thought it went all the way down to the ocean. Kinda strange, maybe pirates or something. Who knows? They decided they’d leave and all left, and Muriel said she — she forgot her hankerchief, which was kind of an heirloom, very special because her father had given it to her. She ran up and, and one of the boys she was kind of attracted to offered to accompany her, but she said, ‘Oh, no, it’ll just be a minute,’ and she ran on up there and, meanwhile, the group had gone down to their buggy. Then, they heard these — these terrible screams, ‘Help me! Help me!’ They rushed up there and loe and behold, the door was locked.They finally managed to jimmy it, got in, and those steps that you walked up — they found blood drops all down the stairs. And at the top, they found a bloody hankerchief. They reported it later on to the local officials, and they searched and searched, couldn’t find Muriel. But you know what? It’s said that at night — when it’s dark and kind of rainy, almost like today — some people say they can see Muriel, walking around, trying to get out.”The story shakes Sunshine, but then she realizes she’s in a gift shop. The story can’t be real. Obviously. That’s dumb. Just a ploy for money.The story ends and she and her mother go back upstairs to where the rooms are. Kat is excited and turns the camera to Sunshine. “Okay, so now, for the last, like, five minutes there’s been tons of people up here. Right now there’s like nobody.. so..” She looks at her daughter, who’s standing still, face serious and green eyes flicking around the bedroom. “Do you feel anything?”Sunshine nods and squints her eyes, almost like she’s in pain. “It does feel a little different when everybody leaves, huh..” Kat notes. “Not bad though, huh?”“No. Just different.”“Very different.”“You don’t feel alone.”“Yeah..! Well, now of course there’s people downstairs, but..” Her mother sighs. “Very odd.”They keep walking around, looking in glass containers, examining the black and white pictures of the landscape and former homeowners. “Look at the old people who lived here. I love it.”Sunshine turns around to make a witty comment to her mother, then realizes she’s gone. “Mom?” She looks confused as the camera faces her. “Mom left. Okay..” Sunshine almost looks a little annoyed. “I’ll go find her.”She exits the house, to where she finds Kat standing farther along the brick pavement, quickly leaving the lighthouse. “Mom. Mom!” she calls, running after her.“We gotta go,” her mother says, wasting no time as she rushes to the car.“Why?” Sunshine asks, confused. Kat begins running. “Mom. Mom! Could you quit that?”The sprinkles of rain pelt down on Sunshine’s face as she jogs after her mother. This is really freaking her out. “Just come on!” Kat says impatiently.“Okay, it’s not... safe to run down brick!” Sunshine breathes out, brows creasing. “Mom!”“I think I saw your dad!” she says in a hushed tone, turning around and staring at her daughter.“What?” Sunshine stands still, shock numbing her mind. Kat continues sprinting so she runs after her mother. “Mom!”They reach the car and Sunshine quickly slips in to the passenger seat. “Mom, I want to talk about it.”“Talk about what?” Kat’s voice is clipped.“Um, dad? Being, there?” She reaches for the seatbelt as the engine rumbles. “And, in — in there? Mom!”“I don’t want to talk about it!”“Well, I do!”“I don’t wanna — I especially don’t wanna talk about it on camera!” Kat glares at the screen.Sunshine groans.
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So, they’re back at the haunted hotel. Sunshine is sitting on the bed, back to the wall. She sighs and scratches her head, looking at the camera. “Mom just stepped out of the room for a second to go get DVDs so we can watch a movie. So I’m gonna take this... thirty seconds or something.. to go ahead and tell you about my dad — bring you up to speed on as much as I know, which isn’t much.”Sunshine sighs and frowns. “They broke up when I was really young, and Mom never really told me why or, or how it happened, so she doesn’t really talk about. I’ve kind of just learned to deal with that. We don’t talk about it and.. it’s just kind of something that is, there. It’s like the big white elephant in the room. But. Y’know. I get used to it.”She turns the camera off before her mother walks back in.
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“Mom, have you ever noticed how that picture right there looks like a black-eyed kid?”Kat sighs in the black leather chair and looks up at the photo hanging beside her. “Seriously though!” Sunshine continues, examining the painted picture of the little girl. She has dark eyes and is wearing a white dress with black liner.“Okay, it kind of does,” her mother agrees, breathing out.“It does!”Kat laughs. “You are obsessed with that.”“I am not..!”“Have you ever — ever told everybody about it?” Kat shifts in her chair and stares at her daughter. “All your Sunshine people?”“So, do you guys know what black-eyed kids are?” she asks the camera, sitting back on the bed. “I guess you haven’t,” her mother snorts. “Here, let me hold — I’ll hold it, you tell them.”“Oh.” Sunshine grunts and lets Kat take control of the screen. “Okay, so, black-eyed kids. You’re gonna learn about it, right now. It’s like my favorite.. new, paranormal-ly thing.”“Is it new though?”“Well it’s not — it’s new to me.” She shrugs. “But, it’s about these people — witnesses, let’s say — who have experienced this phenomenon where... these kids knock on their door, and ask them..”“Like for help, right?”“For help, kind of, yeah. And then, they — the kids, according to the witnesses — appear to be much more.. I guess, mature?” She waves her arms. “Than, your normal kids for that age. And very demanding? Like, if they don’t get it, they get really upset.”“They like ask to come in or something.”“Yeah, they’ll be like, ‘Can I come in,’ and it’s like, really —”“They’re insistent.”“Why they’re called black-eyed kids is because they have no..” Sunshine motions toward her eyes. “Their eyes — their eyes are like, completely black. They have no iris or anything.”“It’s so weird.. so it’s not ‘cause they like The Black-Eyed Peas?”“No.” She smirks. “So, yeah, and the witnesses reported feeling things of like danger, being afraid, not wanting to let the kids in — and there’s even cases of people that — the person that opened the door has gone missing. Like, later, or had been dead.” Sunshine makes a face. “Been dead. Murdered.”“Been dead. I been dead.” Her mother talks all gangster-like.“So, uh, yeah, I think it’s really cool and I’m kind of friggin fascinated with it right now.”“What if you saw a black-eyed kid?”She thinks. “I’d probably ask them some questions.”“Are they ghosts, or demons, or..?”“They’re...”Kat turns before she can answer and shows the painting again. “That is what it looks like.”“It looks like a black-eyed kid!”“That’s pretty much Children of the Corn right there.”“Aaaaah,” Sunshine says in a mock scream. “Look at all the stuff that we learned.”“I know.”“Sunshine is not a black-eyed kid.”
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“Again?!”The screen is pitch-black before Sunshine clicks on the lamp, looking over on the right side of the bed. “Mom!”“No! What....?!” Her mother groans and rubs her eyes, clearly aggravated. “Ow..!”“Mom, shhh, do you hear that?”“What?”“It’s the sink!” In the background, there’s the same buzzing of water streaming inside of the bathroom. It’s exactly like it was just a couple of nights ago.Sunshine wonders if this is another warning from Anna.“This happened the other night,” she continues, sitting up from the bed, flicking the covers from her legs. Her mother looks confused. “We left the sink running?”“Why would we leave the sink running?”Kat blinks. “Is this what you meant about the other night?”Oh, yeah. She still hasn’t told her mother about the voices she caught.“Yes! Go turn it off.”Kat grunts, slipping out of bed and walking in to the bathroom. She turns the light on and flinches back to make sure no one is there. Of course, there isn’t.There’s a drawn moment of silence as her mother turns the sink off and retreats back in to the room. “That’s really creepy,” she mutters.“I know,” Sunshine agrees, sighing. “Shh.” Her mother stands still and looks around the room. Sunshine hears nothing, so decides to stand up with her mother. “It’s only 8:30. We really need to stop being wusses and going to bed so damn early.”Kat ignores her daughter and shuffles to the door, pressing her ear against the wood. Sunshine narrows her eyes and taps her fingers along her pajamas.“Okay, they’re just watchin’ TV.” She raises her brow in question to her mother’s statement but receives no answer.“Did you talk in the room last night?” Kat continues as she sits on the bed.“Yeah, but nothing happened..”“Do you wanna try again?”“Yeah.” Sunshine looks a little scared and uncertain.“What do you want to ask?”A pause. “Is anybody there?”Might as well go with the basics.“Ask something else,” Kat advises. “I don’t think that’s the right kind of thing to ask.”Sunshine glares at her mother then turns back to the room. “Do you have something to say to us?”Silence.“Give us a sign?”A candle on the dresser fizzles, and a fire sparks to light, flaring the room with yellow. Both women gasp loudly, breaths becoming ragged and hitched.“Okay, that’s a sign,” Kat says, shaking.Sunshine stares at the candle. “What do we do?”Kat looks over at her daughter. “You’re asking me? You’re the one with the power.” That creepy black-eyed kid painting in the back looks even more horrifying now.“Yeah, well I don’t just wanna walk over there and blow it out!” God, she’s scared. She’s so, so scared. The candle flickers and splutters as if it’s being lit again and again.“I have no idea what that means.”“Me either..” Sunshine whispers.“Okay.. we asked for a sign. Now what?”Sunshine stands and nears the candle slowly. She lifts her body up and tries to blow it out. “This is really weird.”Kat begins breathing louder, turning the camera on herself. “So apparently it doesn’t matter where we are. I think it’s just her. We obviously need to... find out more.”Maybe they do.
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She’s reviewing the footage from last night, just like before, and catches more voices, just like before. This seems to be recurring.Clip #1: Her mother sits up and asks if they left the sink running. The same little girl voice speaks. “My name is Anna.” Apparently she likes introducing herself.Clip #2: Kat walks out of the bathroom after turning the sink on. “Don’t trust her.” THE EXACT SAME WORDS. What is going on?! Who is this ‘her’? Sunshine is so, so confused.Clip #3: Her mother walks by Sunshine. Anna speaks in the background. “I’m sorry.” Clip #4: Before the candle flickers to life. “I can’t help you.” This one greatly unnerves Sunshine.Clip #5: Sunshine is looking around the room. “Don’t trust her.” Again. Who is this her?Clip #6: Right after fire laps at the candle, Sunshine and her mother gasp. “She is not well.”Clip #7: Sunshine moves to blow out the candle, staring at the flames waving back and forth. “You will die.” She — she doesn’t know how to feel about this one. The same warning as the other night, and equally as scary.What is Anna telling her?
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So!The surprise. It’s another haunted location. A large wooden and stone house slightly under construction. How great.Sunshine really can’t get her mind off of the EVPs recorded last night. Again. At least she doesn’t throw up. Or — hmm. It kind of looks like a church.They get a tour guide from a man named Kip, who takes them around the building and runs down a little information and backstory. When they first enter, the construction rooms are stuffy and thick with dirt. Sunshine can hardly breathe, so is happy to move on as quickly as possible.Sunshine does like some of these old, large rooms with high ceilings and wide walls. Her favorite is the one with the stained glass window she and the chandeliers hanging down — even if it’s a little cluttered.The upstair rooms feel less ancient and give off more of a 1930’s vibe. The attic is open and light with holes in the wooden slotted walls. They look through the dents and can see the rippling ocean above the cars and the road.Kip gives them a sad history as they descend in to the attic about a man who couldn’t afford to cremate bodies, so instead stacked the dead on wooden pillars and left them to rot. Sunshine is pretty grossed out, but hey, it gets her mind off of Anna’s warnings. That’s good enough.The tour eventually concludes. Sunshine and her mother happily leave, jumping in the car to get away from that place with the horrible backstory. Death, death, and more death.“So! What’d you think, what’d you think?”Sunshine is smiling with a disturbed look. “Let’s go home.”“Aww, let’s go home, what do you mean?”“Ohh, that was so creepy.” She leans her head back.“It was awesome.”“It was really cool though.” Sunshine sighs. “I think my least favorite part was the stain — that came back?”Kat purses her lips. “Ew, the stain. Okay, but, what if I ask Kip if we can come back at night by ourselves?”“No,” is her immediate answer.“No?”“No. I’m afraid of the dark.” She laughs.“We could have one of those lights on your head.”Sunshine shakes her head, acting grossed out. “I don’t wanna talk about this.”Kat snorts. “Did you feel anything? Or just creeped out?”“Just creeped out. Now I’m colldd.”“So, basically, just creepy.”“Yeah. Really creepy.”“Maybe we should make t-shirts that say.. ‘I Survived’—”“The Mortuary?” Sunshine giggles. “I can’t believe you didn’t lay down on the — table.”Sunshine raises her brows. “No! It was cold.”“Cold.”“It was cold.”“Kip rocked it. Thumbs up Kip.”Sunshine winks at the camera. “Go Kip!”
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The trip is wrapping up. Sunshine’s really enjoyed it and she — well, she’s had a lot of fun. She’s enjoyed this fun time with her mother and just hanging out, visiting some haunted places..Of course, Sunshine doesn’t love the fact that she was given warnings by a ghost girl named Anna and that her dad might have been in the lighthouse.And as the two drive home, singing along to the radio and looking over the landscape, Sunshine can’t get those words out of her mind. They eat and eat away until she feels numb. She’s not even scared anymore. Just — just apprehensive.
“Don’t trust her.”
Sunshine is going to figure it out if it’s the last thing she does.
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PART THREESeason Three: The Cult and the Demon

The warnings heeded by ghost girl Anna aren’t going away any time soon. In fact, it seems like they’re coming faster than expected.

What is going on with mom?

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So.It’s been two and a half months since Sunshine and her mother returned back home from the Oregon coast trip.It’s been two and a half months since Anna warned her of bad things to come.It’s been two and a half months with no ghost activity, save for the unicorn moving every now and then.And it’s been two and a half months since Creepy Lady has come back around.Oh. Also, Sunshine has bangs now.She’s thinking back on the black and white picture of the father and daughter. The one where they have the bags over their heads, and ‘They are watching you’ is written on the back? Yeah, that one.The one that burned.It’s clearly her ghosts, as everyone knows. And it’s very, very disturbing. She’s terrified. Granted, she hasn’t had nightmares in at least three months, but now, just thinking about the spirits — it stirs her up. She’s not sure how to feel, exactly.Sunshine just wants to figure out who those people in the picture are, what they want, why they’re haunting her, and why they won’t leave. It’s another mystery to solve, and one Sunshine isn’t sure where to start with.
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She’s fairly certain — pretty much darn sure — that the ghosts are back. She’s been hearing voices around the house, and when she’s downstairs, little scuttles along the wall will jolt her away from her homework.Sunshine doesn’t want to tell her mom; not yet. She knows Kat will freak out and, well, she doesn’t want to go down that road again. Of course, she’ll have to tell her mom. But she just, she doesn’t want to be scared and afraid anymore. It sucks. It really does.Why can’t her life just be normal?
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She’s leaving Barnes & Noble, feet clanking against the sidewalk and brows furrowed with concern. “So I just left the bookstore,” she begins, looking at the flashing red light, “and I have this weird feeling. Like I’m being followed. I don’t know.”Sunshine makes her way to the car and slips in to the driver’s seat, heart flickering in her chest. “It’s a weird feeling. It’s different than normal. Like — like someone’s watching me. It’s not like the ghosts, though. I don’t know. It’s weird.”She breathes through her teeth and scans the parking lot, ignoring her trembling hands. She doesn’t see anyone, and there’s no evidence to show that someone is even following her.Whatever. She’s leaving.
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“Alright,” she begins, sitting across the wall in the living room. “So I found a local guy who specializes in occult history and paranormal stuff..? So — I can’t remember his name, hold on..” Sunshine presses her lips together and sighs. “I think I have it written down somewhere. So, let me go find it, it’s upstairs.”She pads toward the doorway but freezes in the kitchen, forehead creasing. “It’s really cold in here.” Sunshine looks around before shrugging. “Weird..”As she walks up the steps, a gasp wrenches out of her throat when the door at the foot of the stairs slams shut. Sunshine looks at the camera, a knowing look spread all over her face, and shuffles back down to open the door.Sunshine waves the camera around the bottom floor, shaking her head. “Hello?” No answer, of course, she’s an idiot.“I don’t think anyone’s here,” she murmurs, finding her way back up the stairs. She begins to walk to her room before the door slams again.Sunshine turns around, not startled this time; in fact, she looks more annoyed than anything. “They’re back.”
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“I feel like somebody’s... watching me.” Sunshine holds her glasses between her fingers, narrowing her eyes and looking around. She’s downstairs, sitting on the couch, and — and she just feels something. Something wrong.“There’s like a —” She turns her head from side to side. “I have a feeling. I don’t know.” Sunshine grips the camera protectively, standing up slowly. “Hello?” She takes a moment to scan back over the living room. “Is anybody there?” She tries to make her voice firm and determined, but is pretty sure a word cracks there.The buzzing in her head is really starting to aggravate Sunshine. “Do you have something you want to say to me?” she accuses.Anna? Sunshine grunts. No. It can’t be Anna. They left her back at the haunted hotel. Spirits can’t follow people.“Can you give me a sign?” It’s the least these fucking spirits can do, after all she’s been through.In the kitchen, something splinters and breaks and it burns Sunshine’s ears. She breathes in, head raising, hands curling around the camera. She nears the counter, poking her head inside. On the ground, strewn across the red mat, is a wooden spoon.It freaks her out, but it’s — it’s not terrible. Not the worst that has happened.It’s only when Sunshine goes back to review the footage that she sees a dark, transparent shadow standing right in front of her.That’s what really makes her skin crawl.
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Since the ghosts are back, Sunshine wants to perform a smudging ceremony. Her mother doesn’t have to know yet, especially if the sage drives the spirits away.Maybe she can kill two birds with one stone.Sunshine walks around the house, the herb in one hand and a paper of the words she must speak in the other. She’s a little more enthusiastic today; if this works, then everything can go back to normal. A clatter makes Sunshine jump and she turns. “Oh, what is that smell? Are you smoking pot?”She clasps her teeth together, looking a little worried at the sound of her mother’s voice. “I’ll explain..”Kat looks at her daughter, at the sage, and growls something under her breath. Sunshine seats her mother on the couch and sets the camera up on the table, joining her mother. “Yes, please, explain.”“Okay, so..”“So, you’re smokin’ pot, huh?”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Please tell me it’s pot.” Kat holds her hands together like she’s praying.Sunshine sighs. “The ghosts are back..”“What do you mean the ghosts are back?”“They’re back.”“From where, did they take a vacation?” Her mother looks unamused. “Did they go on the road trip with us? What.”“I have no idea. They’re back, though.” She sort of shrugs, trying to play it off.“How do you know?” Kat genuinely looks interested, and maybe even a little concerned. “What’s goin’ on?”“I hear voices and stuff.”“And stuff?”“I feel watched. But it’s okay.”“You are watched.” Kat gestures toward the camera. “You’ve got a stupid YouTube channel.”“Okay, well — that’s different.” Sunshine pulls cat hair off of her jeans.Her mother sighs. “Alright, so, so were you trying to do — what was your plan? What were you doing?”“I don’t know.” She looks at Kat. “Doing the saging thing that we did with the lady. You walked in on us that time too?”“When do you — like, since when do you not tell me stuff? Why, were you thinking you could just take care of this on your own, without talking to me?” Kat raises her hands and seems upset.Sunshine’s eyes widen and she shrugs.“Mom here,” Kat continues, pointing to herself.“Basically, yeah.”“Awesome. Alright, well, do we think that the saging is gonna work, or do we wanna — I don’t know, I feel like we need, we need some help, we need to..” She shakes her head and thinks.“I would call in a, paranormal person.”“What’s a paranormal person?”“The..” Sunshine plays with her braided hair. “Like the TV show?”“No.” She makes a face.“Could we get in that cute kid from Paranormal State?”Sunshine smirks. “No, he’s not that cute.”“I just don’t think we know enough.” Kat frowns.“Yeah, maybe we should do more research.”“I don’t know, I — I think maybe a medium could be a good idea.”Sunshine raises her brows. “Isn’t that just a psychic?”“No, it’s more—” Her mother sighs, “like people, I think the difference is that they can kind of talk to ghosts, so, I mean, obviously — I think to some extent you can talk to ghosts, but they don’t seem to be talking back in a way that is helping us to figure this out. They just are... bothering you, They’re not really... helping us.”“Mhm...” She’s thinking.“So... I think maybe that might be a good option.”Sunshine looks up at Kat. “Let’s do it.”Her mother snorts. “That was it, huh?”“Yeah.”
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Sunshine is doing some research on local paranormal experts to help her out, and manages to find the name of a woman — Bailey Poe — that she wants to call.She dials the number, holds the phone up, and puts it on speaker for the camera. It rings for a moment and Sunshine hangs her head back, waiting.“Hello?” She turns her head when a clear male’s voice comes through, grating across the speakers.“Hi! Is... Bailey Poe there?”“Yeah, this is him.”Sunshine smiles widely, trying to cover a giggle. “Oh, you’re a guy?”“Yeah. Yup.”She nods slowly. “Okay, um, anyways, so I heard you’re the one to contact about paranormal stuff?”A pause. “Yeah I’m familiar with quite a bit, what do you need to know?”“Well, I have this — I’m like, being haunted — but I had this photo mailed to me and it was put in my fireplace and stuff so it’s burned now—” She says this all very casually, “but.. yeah.”“Okay, so... how can I help you?”“I don’t know, I thought we could meet and you could... look at the photo and stuff and.. talk a little about it.” There’s silence for a moment. Sunshine draws her head forward as if to motion him to talk with annoyance.“This isn’t a joke is it?”“No, it’s not a joke..” Sunshine squints her eyes and laughs. “Okay. Yeah, you can come over.”She makes a face. “Like, to your house?”“Yeah, yeah, you can come over pretty much any time, I’m, like — whatever.”She almost scoffs. “I’m not coming to your house!”“Why not?”“Cause that’s weird, I’m a girl, you’re apparently a dude..?” She shakes her head. Isn’t this obvious? “I thought you needed my help.”“How about we meet somewhere public.”A sigh. “Uhh, okay, that’s fine, we can do that. How about the park, like, Thomson Park, do you know where that is?”“Yeah, I know where that is.” Sunshine begins to nod. “Okay, yeah, we can meet there, that’s fine — uh, hey, I have another call coming in, I’ll give you a call back, okay?”“Um, okay.”“Thanks.”“Yeah.” Sunshine hangs up and looks confused, staring at the camera. “Creeper, much? Seriously. Weird.”
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“Hey guys, what’s goin’ on.” She walks down the upstairs hall then pauses. “I forgot what I was doing this video about.”Sunshine looks confused, then recognition flickers in her eyes. “The medium. So, I found a local medium, who.. I think will be awesome and I have his number.” She tramples down the stairs, breathing out. “But I’m gonna talk to mom about it right now. So, yeah.”She walks in to the living room, looking around and then halting in her tracks. Her mother is sitting on the couch, hands outstretched on the Ouija board planchette, face blank but serious.“What are you doing?” Sunshine’s voice is stern and harsh as she marches up to Kat, green eyes narrowed.Kat looks up, curling her fingers up. “What?”“Mom!”She sighs. “I — I just wanna try it. It seems — I don’t know.” Her mother pushes the board away and crosses her arms. “It was kind of calling to me.”“Mom, that’s like, BS.”Kat rolls her eyes. Who’s the mom here, again? Sunshine grunts and positions her camera, sitting down next to her mother.“I can see that the red light is on, why are you filming? Anything here?”Sunshine looks dumbfounded then pats her mother’s leg. “I knew you had to be smart to do what you do.” She sticks her tongue out.“What? Why are we taping?”“Because! Me and everyone else deserve an explanation.” Duh?“I, can talk to you about it, I don’t have to tell.. your people..”“They already saw it, so just, go ahead and explain it.”Kat sits back and sighs as Sunshine makes a face. “What, what do you wanna know?”She points to the table. “Why the heck are you using a Ouija board?!”“Why — we have it, why — if we can talk to the ghosts, if this is... real, which it’s probably not, it’s a game, you bought it at a toy store — why shouldn’t we use it?” Kat shrugs. “If it will actually let us talk to the ghosts, find out why they’re here, find out, why — what do they want? Then why wouldn’t we?”“Because everyone on YouTube says not to use it!” Sunshine uses that ‘obviously’ tone of voice.“Ohhh, if people on YouTube say —”“Okay, I read—”“They also say all kinds of things about you.” Her mother inclines her head forward.“I’m aware.” Sunshine rolls her eyes. “They also say that it’s just not good, to use a Ouija board!”“Then why do we have it?”“Because I was gonna use it and now I’m not, and I just decided, no.”“I don’t — understand, why we can’t try it. Let’s try it together! Let’s—”“No.”Kat groans.“We will agree to disagree.” Sunshine waves her hands.“Okay, well, I’m the mom —”“End of conversation.”
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Sunshine feels like she’s being followed again. She just pulled back up to the driveway and — and just, she has this feeling. Like she’s being watched again. It greatly unnerves her.Maybe it’s a creepy YouTube stalker or something. She’s not sure.(If it’s one of her followers she’s gonna kick their ass.)It’s really weird and she’s kind of freaking out about it. Add being followed to the list of things Sunshine doesn’t like. She grumbles and fiddles with the door, finding it unlocked. Oh. “Hey mom,” she greets as she walks in to the house. “When did you get home?”Sunshine looks around and finds her mother standing in the living room, staring at the wall, completely still and unmoving. She almost walks right past her. “Mom..?”“Mom.” Sunshine quickly moves over to Kat, who is muttering something under her breath. She steps in front of her mother’s face, which looks pale and shadowed. Her eyes are dim and there are black rings around her eyes, like she hasn’t been getting any sleep.What the hell. “Oh my god. Mom.” This — this is reminding her of when her mother cut herself, so many months ago, just standing over the sink as if she wasn’t even breathing. She doesn’t get a response.
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The follow-up to her mother’s weird trance: she’s doing better, she’s doing okay. It’s relieving. And considering that Kat had a really high fever, Sunshine figures it’s just something to do with sickness. It’s been pretty quiet, though. That’s good. That’s always good.
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A few hours later, Sunshine is outside, standing on the trampoline and looking uneasy. “So I found.. what I’m pretty sure is my dad’s number in my mom’s.. phone.” She bites her lip as she looks at the camera. “And I think — I mean, I don’t know, I’m thinking about calling him.”Is that a good idea?“What do you guys think? I don’t know. I’ve just been thinking about it, with mom being sick and everything, and.. if she.. did — you know.” There’s a long hesitation, and Sunshine winces. “Die. I’d be alone. I don’t have anyone. I don’t have like a — everyone else is gone.”It crumples her heart in to pieces. “So it’s just got me to thinking and stuff, so, I don’t know. I’m thinking about calling him. Maybe not. I might. I don’t know.”
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The next day, Sunshine is back facing the camera. “Okay, so I found this address in my mom’s stuff, like an address or something. So I tried to call the number — cause I think it belongs to my dad. So I called but.. he didn’t pick up, and I don’t think it was my dad, so, so yeah, I’m just gonna go, I’m, takin’ the car and, driving there to... the house. So, yeah.”She turns the screen around. “I’m bringing along my lockety thingy that my dad gave to my mom when they were first married, so, it’s a little way of proving that I’m who I say I am. I’m really excited about it.” She laughs. “Really excited. I’ll film everything guys, don’t worry. But it’s gonna be awesome.”Sunshine smiles. “So, yeah. I’ll keep you posted.”
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The light beats down on her as she stumbles around the backyard. Sunshine’s eyes are rimmed dark and red, and her hair is bushing up, as if she hasn’t even bothered to keep it under control.“So,” she begins, crying out, “I’m back from the house.” She whimpers. “Worst day ever. I — I don’t know what that had to do with my dad at all. It was weird.”Her lip quivers and she continues muttering, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t..” Sunshine wants to fall to her knees and cry, just scream at the world until her voice is raw and her throat burns. She doesn’t want to think about it anymore.“I drove all the way home and — who was that man? Why was he there, why did he chase me?” She sobs and clutches her eyes, wiping the wetness away from her cheeks. “It was horrible. It was so bad. It was terrible. I hated it. It was bad. It was bad.” She shakes her head. “And, and it was the worst day ever, I can’t show you guys, it was so bad, it — I cant.”“I can’t.”Sunshine eventually cuts the camera and falls in to bed, hugging her mattress and sobbing until she falls asleep. She doesn’t tell her mom. Her mom doesn’t need to know. No one needs to know.Her followers all want to see it, of course. But — she can’t show them. There’s too much there. She doesn’t know if she should call the cops. Maybe she should.She doesn’t know.She really doesn’t.
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The next day, after the flood of comments she receives, Sunshine decides she’s going to post the footage. She thinks she’s ready, and maybe her subscribers can help her figure out what happened. God, she’s gonna do it.Here goes nothing.
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When Sunshine first arrives to the house, it feels ethereal. It’s tucked in the farthest corner of the overgrown street, surrounded by tall, gnarled and twisted trees. Flowers sprout from the leaves above, fluttering to the ground and dotting the earth. The pale outline of the house blends in with the vines and tangles of bushes, but Sunshine knows this is the right place.Okay. Maybe this is a little creepy. Yeah, the place is hidden behind nature and it seems like no one even lives here anymore, but.. God, it’s so beautiful.When Sunshine exits the car, bird chirping echoes through the forest, the sun spilling through the empty spaces and lighting up the entire area. She walks up to the front screen door, or what she figures is the front door, and hesitates.Does she really want to knock?Ugh. Man up. She has to. This could be the only chance she meets her dad.Sunshine sucks her teeth and bangs on the door, shoulders tensing and eyes flicking around. She can sort of see through the screen, and isn’t sure she likes what she sees. It’s dusty and dirty inside, but the outside is just so pretty. How can she not love it?Sunshine steps back toward the edges of the clearing, wondering why everything seems so overgrown. Maybe her father does live here, but he doesn’t — he doesn’t try to fix the place up? That could be it. That could make sense. Right?She follows a widened trail through the forest and circles around the back of the house. There’s a dark shed nestled between the trees that she doesn’t really want to go in, either. All of the windows are covered in plants so she doesn’t think anyone lives here anymore, but is hesitant to barge in and snoop around.Maybe she has to.Sunshine sighs and picks her way back to the front door, peering through the screen and sighing. She tries the door but it seems to be stuck. She bites her tongue and squints, feeling her hand along the base and shoving it open. Dust clutters to her senses and she coughes, blown back by surprise.No way anyone lives here.Sunshine tentatively enters the house. The first room is dark. Light filters in through the half-shut curtains, but only really reveals the crumpled bed sheets piled on the ground. There are a few wooden shelves perched along the walls, and a chair to accompany, but everything is otherwise empty. God, imagine cleaning this place.Sunshine looks over the bags stuffed with books, grunting. Everything here looks old; based on the carpet below, this house hasn’t been occupied since the 90s. Or at least, that’s what it looks like.Please don’t tell Sunshine this is where her father lives.She turns toward a short hallway, where the carpet becomes hard, compact stone. She’s pretty sure there’s a dead mouse in the middle of the floor. “Hello?” she calls out, blinking, looking worried. No answer.On the right of the hall is an open kitchen, accompanied with a refrigerator, a stove, a sink, and cabinets. There’s a swirled key on one of the counters. Sunshine nears, brows furrowed. She’s not sure what it goes to, but picks it up and stuffs it in her pocket anyway.Sunshine gazes around the small kitchen, while the blue, yellow, and pale green spotted walls glare back at her. Ugly ass wallpaper.Across from the fridge is a jammed door that Sunshine pries open. More dust chokes her as she enters, until she realizes this is the room that leads to the basement. She’s not going down there.Sunshine breathes out, padding in to what looks like a — living room with counters along the edges? There are about three dozen glass jars laying on the floor, facing downward and curled around each other. Weird.On one of the counters is an old, beautiful, black typewriter. An ancient radio sits across, but it won’t splutter on. Sunshine moves the curtains to look out on the forest, plant stems reaching up and tapping on the windows.Sunshine continues checking out the room and finds a disgusting closet with a rat’s nest inside. She rounds her body to the nearest door, but finds it’s locked once she attempts to open it. Sunshine purses her lips and walks in to another open space, with several shadowed closed doors. “Hm, which creepy door to open first?” she muses.Sunshine tries the middle one, which springs open to reveal a dark closet. The left one has a soft, pale light illuminating the bottom, and she can see the dirt floating around the air. Sunshine covers her mouth and walks inside, staring at the piled books and the two cabinets in the middle of the room.On one of the walls, a calendar is hanging. It’s from October of 2000. Eleven years ago. It seems this place has been deserted for just as long.Sunshine hums and looks over the books surrounded by bubble wrap. She turns her attention to the mirror then down to a ‘Family Record’, which is completely empty. Hm. She wanted to find something interesting here.She shuffles back to the calendar, observing the door right beside. Sunshine opens it with little fear, gazing inside another dark closet. It’s void of anything, save for a few hangers.Sunshine shrugs and walks back to the open living area, clicking open another creepy door. It widens to a bathroom, with a rotten sink and a pink, stone-covered shower. She tries the locked door again, but it’s still the same, of course. She works her way back to the first room. “Hello?” Sunshine calls out one last time, shaking her head. She’s been everywhere in the house and it’s clearly abandoned. What else can she do?(Well. She hasn’t checked the basement yet, but she’s definitely not going down there.)She makes a face.Shit.She’s going down there, isn’t she?Sunshine breathes heavily, walking past the creepy knives stuck in the walls and shuffling in to the room before the basement. She grabs a large flashlight next to her and staggers down the steps, gazing down at the darkness, at the shadows that eat away at her mind and promise to bring only nightmares.Yeah. She’s still terrified of the dark.She waves the flashlight around, making it to the foot of the stairs. The camera’s audio splutters for a moment as Sunshine looks down. There are empty plastic bottles and — she begins shaking. A picture of the father and the daughter with bags over their heads. What the hell —A sound behind startles her. Sunshine whips around, eyes wide, head jerking to the side. She quickly runs up the stairs, chest constricting and mind growing fuzzy. She doesn’t want to be here anymore. She can’t be here.Sunshine quickly jogs through the front door and out to the car, adrenaline flooding through her veins. The picture — it was there. Why was it there? Had her father sent her the warning? Is this even her dad’s address?The idea that it could be some random person’s house shocks her. But she tries to ignore it and continues walking through the path, green fluttering around her as she breathes and closes her eyes. She needs to calm down. She’s fine. She’s fine.She slips in to the driver’s seat and plugs the key in to the ignition, but pauses. She’s going to figure this out, sooner or later. Sunshine sighs and begins driving forward before realizing something. The locket. God! What an idiot! She forgot it inside, and it’s the only way to prove that her dad is her dad and — ughhhh. Sunshine wipes her hand down her face. She’s gonna have to go back in, isn’t she.Not to mention that her mother will know if Sunshine doesn’t bring it back.She breathes in and out, then stops dead in her seat. She turns the camera to a tall man that walks out from behind the bushes, dressed in a black suit with a white undershirt, black pants, and black shoes. He has a head of short gray hair, and a stubbled beard along his chin and cheeks.“Hello?” Sunshine begins to shake. The man tilts his head from side to side, staring at her through the car. “I’m sorry, is this your house? I didn’t — I didn’t know.” She can’t bite back the feelings of unease staring at this person, though.This — surely this isn’t her father?He doesn’t reply and Sunshine catches her breath. “Dad..?”The man suddenly lunges forward and scrambles on to the hood of the car, pressing his hands to the windshield and trying to stick his arm through the slightly open driver’s window. “Leave me alone!” She screams, dropping the camera out of the car. “Don’t touch me!” Sunshine floors the gas and throws the man off. He rolls in the dirt and falls on his face, unmoving.“Oh my God!” Sunshine cries and leaps out of the car, running to grab her camera and staring at the man. Her eyes water. “Are you okay?!”She nears him and sees the blood pooled over his hand and fingers. She bends down and touches the man’s arm, crying. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, are you okay? Oh God, are you okay? I’m so sorry.”He jerks up and tries to reach for Sunshine. She lets out a blood-curdling scream and turns, running for the house. She can hear him grunt and pant as he gets on his feet, swiveling his head in her direction.He runs after her.Sunshine rips open the front door and slams it shut behind her. She whimpers and locks it, watching the man run in to the glass. He snarls like a wild animal and claws at the screen, trying to get in, staring at her with dark brown eyes. “Go away!”She can see the blood dribbling down his face now and fear grips her heart. He backs away from the front door, however, and Sunshine whips around. Where does she go? God, she’s freaking the fuck out and she still needs to find her locket and — AGH! Where does she hide?!Sunshine backs in to a closet in one of the smaller rooms of the house. She can hear what sounds like a back door open and shakes, holding her breath. Footsteps echo down the hallways and she can hear things being thrown around. A dark shape moves past the crack of the door and she holds back a cry of fear and anguish.His shoes kick over the wooden floor as he turns around, looking past the closet door. Sunshine watches as he holds a white cloth to his face, then, to her horror, slides it over his head. It’s — it’s just like the picture. The man and the daughter with the white bags over their heads, this is it, this is — this is exactly —The man angrily stomps out of the room and begins throwing more things around. Sunshine looks side to side and decides to make a run for it. She — she can do that, right?Maybe she should wait.Sunshine continues breathing in and out and just sits in the darkness of the closet. Things become quiet after a few minutes and she wonders where the man is. Maybe he’s gone? Left through a secret door that she didn’t hear?She doesn’t know. But she does know she needs to run.A staticy buzzing causes Sunshine to wince, and she creeps toward the door to the room. Is that the camera? No, it’s something in the house. And it’s getting louder as she nears the hallway. It sounds like a mix of wind and someone scratching at a screen door — hell, maybe it is.Oh, no. It isn’t. She gasps softly when she enters the hallway and sees the man on his knees, hands curved at awkward angles at the sides of his face, bag over his head and body jerking every few seconds. He growls and holds the cloth, slipping it off of his head. The noise dulls and Sunshine stands there, staring at this strange man, not able to move. Her body won’t allow it.Then, he slams a hand to the wall and whips his head around. Sunshine screams and slams the door shut, turning and running out of the front door. She jumps in to her car and jerks the keys in, pressing on the gas. The man follows behind and she screams even louder, pulling out as quickly as possible, sobbing.The batteries of her camera die.
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Sunshine does eventually call the police and they look around the house. They report not finding anything and explain that it actually belongs to a family that lives back east. They have nothing to do with — they’re not related to her parents or anything like that. It’s weird.Nothing can really be done unless she knows who the creepy dude was, or unless someone calls in a report of seeing the man. It kind of sucks, but — at least she’s safe. The ghosts are nothing compared to the terror of being chased by that man.Sunshine is fairly certain that’s the guy that was stalking her, though. If so, that’s probably why he followed her out to the house.(Then again, she can’t explain the picture in the basement.)She also noted that, looking back on the footage, the creepy dude looked like he had some kind of weird infection or disease on his face.She’s not sure. She just wants to forget about all of this and move on.Except, of course, her mother finds out. Since Sunshine wasn’t able to retrieve the locket, she can’t really hide the fact that she took it with her to the terrifying house. She really, really did try not to tell her mother. But she just — she didn’t want to go back to the house alone and Sunshine may or may not have confessed to going and now her mother is flipping out and —Everything is just great.Maybe it’s for the better, though.⠀
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“Okay, so we’ve been waiting for a really long time, how long?”Sunshine is in the passenger seat of the car and looks toward her mother. Kat looks over, clearly annoyed. “What are you doing?”She stares at her mother then waves her hand toward the camera, sighing. “We’ve been waiting for probably over an hour.”“For a flake.”“For mom’s friend who used to be a cop.”“Who now is a flake apparently.” Kat tilts her head upward and draws out her lip. “You suck!”“Um, so.” She grunts. “I’m getting bored.”Her mother scoffs. “That’s the concern, that you’re bored, princess?”“Well..” Sunshine drops her hands and shakes her head.“Do you want to go by yourself?”“Nooo, I didn’t like it the first time, clearly!”“Yeah,” Kat mocks, “how’d that work out for you?”“Hhhhheh.” She sticks her tongue out and rolls her eyes.Kat leans her head on the palm of her hand, brushing her fingers through her auburn hair. “I don’t —” She grits her teeth. “Why did you go, why didn’t you tell me?”Sunshine looks away and all emotion drops from her face. “Because you wouldn’t have let me go.”Her mother grunts. “Damn straight.”She rolls her eyes at the camera.After another moment of silence Kat lifts herself up, sighing. “Let’s just go. Roll the camera in case anything happens, how about that.”“Okay.”
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“Okay, this is it, that’s it, right there.”They’ve been driving for about a half hour when they reach the gravel road, familiar enough to Sunshine that she knows where they are. Kat ducks her head and looks around, squinting. She can see the familiar wooden panels of the house expertly hidden behind the foliage and tries to point it out to her mother.“Where?” Kat draws forward, narrowing her eyes.“Right there.” She shakes her head as her mother spots the decrepit house.“Oh.” Sunshine looks around at the beautiful painted greens and yellow spotting the area. “How’d you even find this, honey?”“Very, very carefully.”Kat sighs and stops the car, hands shaking. “You know what,” she murmurs, pulling the gear in PARK and biting her lip. “It kind of does look familiar.”Sunshine’s eyes widen. “Really?”“Just —” Her mother slips the keys out. “Let’s just get it and get out.”She jumps out of the passenger seat, feet falling on the soft grass under, blinking at the more or less familiar atmosphere. There’s the rose bush over there, and she can see the twisted trees towering above their heads. Everything here is so bliss — or, well, was. But after that experience with the creepy dude... she’s not too sure she can see the house in the same light anymore.Sunshine tucks her jacket in to her body and pulls her hair back, following her mother toward the front door. They both whip their heads around to see if there’s anyone — or, more importantly, the creepy dude — lurking around. They’re both on high alert. Maybe that’s good.She instinctively pulls closer to her mother, breathing out heavily as the frame of the house comes closer to their view. “It’s alright,” Kat whispers, squeezing her daughter’s hand protectively. Sunshine really, really doesn’t want to be back here.Kat peels open the screen and stares at the hand prints scraped against the dirty window. Sunshine looks down and her mother doesn’t hesitate to throw the door open. It creaks and rattles and Sunshine winces, thinking back to the man chasing her, to slamming the door, to —When they enter, it looks the same, but there’s an aura of panic and fright here. Sunshine doesn’t like it, and neither does her mother. “Let’s just get the locket and get out of here,” Kat says, moving to the hallway where the man had — had been kneeling with the bag over his head, unnatural movements dancing over his hands. “Where’d you go?”Sunshine stumbles over her words. “All over.” Her throat is dry and her mouth is parched. “The only room that wouldn’t open is that one.” She points to the locked door, pursing her lips.“Okay, so we know the locket’s not in there.” Kat walks in to the room Sunshine had been hiding in. “Did you open any drawers?”She glances over at the 2000 calendar and shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so — I mean, I looked around in the kitchen and stuff and..” She hesitates. “I went in the basement.”She strides to the kitchen, Kat’s footsteps behind her, and Sunshine stares at the basement door before tugging it open. She glances at the chair leaning against the wall. “Yeah, through here.”Sunshine looks through the darkness under the house before realizing something isn’t right. “Mom?” She turns and holds her breath, rushing back through the kitchen and to the hall. Hadn’t she — hadn’t she been right behind her? “Mom?” Her voice has a hint of terror that trickles within. She doesn’t want to be alone.She pries through the front room before realizing the door is open. Sunshine grits her teeth, pushing the anxiety down. “Mom..!” She’s more annoyed than anything now, but feels something darker here. When Sunshine exits the house in to the beating sunlight, her body freezes and her shoulders tense, eyes growing wide. “Mom.” She begins to tremble. “Mama.”She’s no where in sight. “Mom?” Sunshine advances through one of the wide, winding trails, heart pumping way too fast for her little body. She stumbles up to a side door she didn’t know existed and gasps when her mother walks out.“I found the locket,” Kat says, holding it in her hand. “Let’s go.”“What?” Sunshine is confused. Why — why did her mother just leave her like that? Why is she so serious, and rushing out?“I heard voices.” Her mother begins running to the car.“I don’t understand — what?” Sunshine sprints after.“I heard voices! Come on!”“What?!”
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Three days of recurring nightmares later, Sunshine is thinking. Mostly, thinking about the house videos. She has some... unanswered questions that she wants to know the answers to, to say the least. What are they?Well, question number one: Mom is acting weird. She’s completely ignoring the fact that she said she heard voices and she won’t talk to Sunshine about it. It’s kind of.. strange. It leaves a foreboding feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. The other thing, why does Mom have the address to that house? If they don’t know those people, and Kat doesn’t even fully recognize the place or know where it’s located, then there should be no reason it was tucked away in her drawer.I mean, the people that own the house — they live in the east coast. They just have a house here. Strange. Question number two: why was that guy there? Why was he — she, she feels like it’s part of something else. Like, it had something else to do with something else. Not entirely to do with this. Sunshine doesn’t know. But he was there, and it was frightening, and she’s glad she’ll never have to see him again.Question number three: does the house, the address, the phone number have anything to do with her dad, or is it just... nothing? And why was the photo in the basement?! That was creepy and it keeps popping up out of no where. It makes absolutely no sense.Sigh.Sunshine really, really needs some answers.
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Two days have passed and Sunshine is growing more and more worried. Her mother is still acting — well, strange, and she won’t talk to her daughter about the house. She’s just kind of, of ignoring the whole thing like it didn’t even happen. Like she said, it’s weird, and she’s not liking it.Oh. She’s also meeting with the local paranormal cult expert soon — and also a medium! — so that’s something to look forward to. Something...
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Sunshine finds something weird.“Okay, so I was going through my videos, getting ready to post one, and..” she pauses and sighs, brushing her hair back through the cold, outside wind. “Right in the middle of all of them.. there was this video of, of my mom.”Sunshine looks around. “I don’t — just watch.”The video glitches to her mother sitting at the living room table, running her finger down a book page. She looks relatively normal then lifts her head. “I don’t know.” She pauses. “Hang on.”Did Sunshine mention that no one else is in the room?Kat slowly flips through some of the pages, eyes hardened and glued to the words. She leans back and blows out, shoulders tensing. “What about — no, hang on, just a second, I’ll think of it.”She rests on a page and tilts her chin upward, blinking oddly. “Okay.” She slowly nods to the empty seat as if she’s taking in information. “Okay,” she says with finality, understanding. Kat then squints. “You think that’ll work?”Another page flips and she rests her cheek on her hand with a sigh, seemingly listening to someone tell her something. “Okay.” She nods and the camera splutters, reeling as Kat looks at the camera, eyes darkening. It goes black.Sunshine looks at the screen, a little defeated and confused. “Yeah, I’m not exactly.. sure what to, make of that.”
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“So I’m supposed to be meeting.. Bailey..” She’s standing outside, gray clouds melting above her head, wind blowing through her hair and buzzing over the camera. “At this park,” she continues. “And I think I.. see him.”Sunshine begins walking forward, raising a brow. “I hope that’s not him.” In the distance, sitting criss-cross on one of the pale green wooden tables, is who she’s praying isn’t Bailey. “But anyways. I don’t know. He’s gonna talk to me for a little while.. a little first pre-meeting thing. So this should be.. interesting. Get ready to have fun, kids.”She turns the camera around and faces the man. His hands are facing upwards on his curled in knees, back straight and eyes diverted forward. He’s wearing a green striped shirt, black pants and black boots. He has shining black hair wiping over his forehead, and a noticeable beard and moustache wraps around his chin. A pair of amber sunglasses hangs from his collar, swinging over the buttons of his shirt.He’s completely still.“Are you.. Bailey?” When Sunshine speaks, he turns his head, face neutral.“In some circles.” He dips his head, showing the tattoo on his neck. “I prefer to be called LeMaster.”Sunshine snorts loudly and leans forward, not even trying to hide her amusement. She then holds her tongue at his glare. “LeMaster. Right.”“You laugh at me?”“No,” she says, smothering a giggle, “of course not. No.”“Only the fool laughs at a master.”“Oh. Then no, I wasn’t.. laughing.”He nods slowly and returns to staring forward.“So.” She bites her lip. “Right. Ready to, get, started?”He almost looks annoyed and shakes his head lightly. “What? What do you want?”“Well, I thought you were a —”“Shhh shh shh shh.” His voice draws in to a soft echo and he curls his fingers, twirling them around in front of his body. “Listen to the birds chirp. What do you hear?”A pause. “Chirp...ing?”“Secrets. Of ancient past.”“Secrets... is that what I’m.. hearing.”Bailey — no, LeMaster — breathes in and closes his eyes as if he’s trying to control his temper. “They’re there for those who listen.” He pulls his hand to his ear, listening.“Oh.”He puts his hands together and dips his head. “Namaste.”“Right. Nama..ste..”He turns his palms upwards to his knees and reverts to his original position. A sigh. “What do you want?”“Well I thought you were an expert. On.. paranormal and.. cult activity.”“It is true. What do you seek of me.”“Well I’m.. being.. haunted.” LeMaster looks at her. “And uhh.. by probably more than one ghost and, and I think that, y’know, you may be able to help me..?” She pulls out the picture of the bagged father and daughter. “Here’s a.. photo.”He twirls his hands forward and holds the paper out in front of him. LeMaster inspects it before looking up, unamused. “Is this a joke.”“No?”He blinks with displeasure. “Is this photoshopped.”“Of course not!”“This is real.”“Yeah.”He tilts his head and his eyes flicker back to the photo. The man licks two fingers and presses them to his forehead, closing his eyes. He slides the fingers down his chest and breathes in, then out loudly. “I will look in to it.”“Right.” He stares at her. “Okay.”LeMaster circles his hand around his body. “Please exit my space.”“Oh. Okay, well, thank you.” He flicks his hand foreward. “LeMaster.”“LeMaster.”“LeMaster. Thanks.” Sunshine turns and begins to walk away, shaking her head. “That wasn’t weird at all. We’ll be getting back to him apparently.” She smiles in an uncomfortable sort of way and gives a thumbs up.What a day.
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“So I haven’t seen Creepy Lady in a while, as you all know,” Sunshine begins, standing with the kitchen behind her. “And... now, out of the blue, she’s back — I’ve seen her twice today, in fact. So.. I’m not, sure, but you guys — I mean, I would’ve told you if she came back, and she hasn’t, and now she’s back, and... usually means.. something’s wrong.”Things have been fine for over three months. Why does she have to come now?Sunshine sighs. “According to.. the past. So. I don’t know.”Maybe if Creepy Lady comes around again, Sunshine will confront her.A few hours later, she’s ready to go outside and talk to her mom about the ghost situation. She opens the sliding back door and pads in to the yard, smiling at her mother. She’s sitting in one of the chairs, magazine in hand.“Hey mom!” Sunshine greets.Kat hardly looks up. “Hey.”She hesitates but sits down on the steps, deciding to start first. “I was just, uh, wondering if.. I mean like, you know, how’s it goin’ and everything?”Her mother looks up. “Why do you have the camera on.” Her voice isn’t like normal, though. Not curious or interested, or even playfully annoyed. No. She actually sounds like the camera is disturbing her.“Oh, I’m just..” Sunshine trails off, unsure of what to say. “Filmin’ me. You know. Sometimes I put up videos that are just random.”Kat crosses her arms and closes her eyes, pressing her forehead like she’s in pain. She says something in a mutter that Sunshine can’t quite understand.“Um, so,” she continues, “how do you feel about all this.. ghost stuff, you know?”She scratches her cheek. “What —” Kat looks up and looks even more irritated. “I don’t wanna be on camera.”“I mean, do you — do you feel like we should move? The lease is up, in like a month..”Kat rolls her eyes. “No, I don’t think it’s a big deal, I like it here.”“You like it here — Mom.” Sunshine grits her teeth as her mother continues idly turning the pages of the magazine. “Mom, you don’t have to lie to the camera.”She aggressively drops the edges of the book. “Turn the camera off,” she sighs in exasperation.“So — these ghosts, you know?”Kat shakes her head. “I don’t think we have ghosts.”Sunshine’s mouth falls with shock and confusion. They don’t — they don’t what now? Has her mother not been present for the past half year? Is she not remembering all of the shit that happened to them? The door scratches? The knife cut? The bloody bathroom? Even the EVPs recorded at the hotel two months ago?!“All right, well, mmm.” She’s holding back her anger and stands, clapping her hands. “Good talk.”“Don’t post that,” Kat calls as she walks away.“I won’t.” Sunshine turns the camera to herself as she makes her way inside. “See what I mean?”
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Two days later, Sunshine is.. pondering.“I was just.. walking in the hallway,” she says, padding around in the backyard, brows furrowed, “on the stairs, and I hear this really... clear voice. Like, as if you were talking to me, it — it said ‘Don’t trust her.’ And I didn’t have my camera on me, I was walking down the stairs.”She looks annoyed and shrugs her shoulders. “It’s not like I was, you know, filming me walkin’ down the stairs.” Sunshine sighs. “So, I.. sat in the stairwell for a little while and waited — with my camera on — but I didn’t hear anything else.”Sunshine scratches her nose, concern written all over her face. “But I, I don’t know what that means, like.. I haven’t — it was just there, I haven’t heard voices as clear as that. So that really.. concerned me a bit. But I mean like, who do you think it is, do you think it’s Creepy Lady? Could be one of, of the ghosts? I mean it was right here.” She raises her hand to the side of her face. “Maybe it’s something I don’t even know yet. I don’t..”A heavy breath leaves her lips. “What do you guys think?”
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It’s around 1:00 in the morning when something wakes Sunshine up. She quickly throws the covers over her head and whips the camera out, slightly reassured by the familiar blinking red light.“You guys remember how I said I would film everything?” Her face is dark and pale under the sheets, cheeks illuminating with a ruby glow. “Yeah. Something’s happening. Clearly I’m filming.”She holds her breath, turning her head a little. “I heard a noise.” Sunshine freezes when footsteps trickle in to her ears. She can hear her door click, like someone is trying to pry it open, and she closes her eyes, listening intently.A deep growl rumbles through the room. “There it was,” she whispers, trying to hold on to her bravery before it inevitably crumbles away. Out of the little streaks of light shining in under the covers, Sunshine can tell that a dark shadow passes by. The snarl is closer now; almost inches away from her body. She’s shaking.“I should find out what it is.” Should she? Is that actually a good idea? No, probably not, but she has to face her fear of ghosts and the dark sooner than later. “Okay. I got this, I can do it.” Sunshine closes her eyes and curls her fingers around the camera.She lifts herself from the tangle of linen and shines the soft yellow flashlight over the room. The growl chokes her to a momentary freeze, and her heart strangles in her chest, desperately trying to leap out. The glow flickers over a dark shape and Sunshine holds back a gasp, beginning to shake.But it’s — it has human hands. Familiar ones at that. And as Sunshine looks up the person’s gray and white striped shirt and auburn hair, Sunshine realizes who it is.Her mother.Kat’s face is blank and dry with any sort of emotion. Her eyes are dark and far-away. It’s — it’s scary, truly, it is. “Mom?” She blinks but doesn’t look toward her daughter. “Mom!” A horrible, horrible feeling spreads through her limbs like ice. “Mom?” Sunshine’s voice quivers.Her mother blinks a few times in a row then slowly looks around, brows presses together in a confused expression. Kat pauses then turns, stepping out of the room.“Mommy! Mom..”What the hell is happening?
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So Sunshine’s just woken up after last night’s weird events and feels a little ruffled. Actually, she’s not sure how long she slept. Going back to that void is hard to achieve once your mother has walked in to your room growling for no apparent reason.It was weird. So, so weird. She knows that some of her subscribers have — have been talking about stuff. She doesn’t believe it. She doesn’t even really believe people can be possessed. But even if it is real, Sunshine doesn’t believe that it’s happening to her mom.Maybe she can take her mother to the doctor or something. If she agrees, of course. But Sunshine is positive things will resolve on their own.Haven’t they always?
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Thank God, Sunshine’s mom is doing much better. She’s lost her fever and her mood has certainly improved — her personality seems to be coming back. She’s not so.. weird. She’s kind of amused so many people thought her mother was possessed. Funny joke. Doesn’t exist, and Kat certainly isn’t being held by some demon. That’s insane. But now they don’t have to go to the doctor. It all seems to be... good.Oh. It took a lot of effort on Sunshine’s part, but she’s finally been able to convince a very established, well-known medium to come out and look at the place and help them out and everything. So, that’ll be fun. Maybe. Kind of.(Even if he doesn’t really want to come out because he thinks her videos are fake.)It should be interesting because.. well, he’s coming tomorrow. She’s excited.Hopefully only good news is shared.
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Later that evening, Sunshine receives a voicemail from LeMaster.“Greetings young girl, this is LeMaster, paranormal expert.” Sunshine rolls her eyes and ignores his quick, worrisome tone. “I am looking in to the photo that you gave me, I need you to call me back as soon as possible. You are in grave danger.” Her eyes widen with confusion and doubt as his voice shakes over the speaker. “There is a haunting at play.”She blinks slowly, pursing her lips and placing her phone down. Guess she’ll have to call him back.
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“So, whenever you’re ready, it’s on.”Sitting on the gray living room couch is a decently-aged man. He’s wearing a plain, pale tan business coat, with a white undershirt and khaki pants. His shoes are dressy and a tight belt wraps around his waist. His arms are resting along the sides of the pillows in a calm, passive sort of manner, and his light eyes reflect genuine curiosity. His white hair is slick and wavy on his head. “So I introduce myself?”“Yeah, sure.” Sunshine leans back on the other couch, eyes flickering down to the flashing red camera light.“My name is Alistair Turnbull,” the man begins, British accent heavy and grating against his throat. He almost sounds like the narrator on Planet Earth. “I’m a recognized medium and exorcist.” He lifts his hands before they flop back down. “I work mostly in the ancient kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. In fact, the smelly ghost of leper castle is one of my greatest successes.”Full of himself, much?“Haunted Sunshine Girl,” he continues. “Very personable. Very attractive. Very believable. But, I think there is some trickery here.”Sunshine makes a face.“You see — a poltergeist. A poltergeist literally means, in German, noisy ghost. A poltergeist.. generally haunts a specific person, usually a young adolescent. Puberty. Hormones. Racing. And that could explain.” He pauses. “That could explain the unicorn moving, explain the doors slamming, it could explain the noises.”Alistair sighs. “But then in these videos I’m also seeing.. orbs and seeing shadow ghosts, I’m seeing ectoplasm. And I’m seeing full-bodied manifestations. That can’t happen in the same, in the same arena, in the same house as an evil ghost such as a poltergeist. So, I’m beginning to wonder whether Haunted Sunshine Girl is for real.”What is he accusing her of again?He waves a hand. “Now, I think she’s incredibly personable but is this, what we’re really seeing. Or is it phony.”“Right.” Sunshine is growing annoyed. “So you’re good?”“Yes.” He nods.“Let’s get started then.”She turns to her mother, who’s been standing in the doorway, listening intently. Sunshine adjusts the camera to face the two women sitting across from Alistair, who smiles.“Haunted Sunshine Girl,” he begins. Sunshine rests her chin on her knuckles. “You can just... call her Sunshine,” Kat buts in.“Sunshine.” The medium sighs. “I referred to the possibility of some trickery here.” She nods and Kat rolls her eyes. “Let, let me explain to you what the spirit world is. It’s not a world, a physical world per se. This probably — an esoteric world, and a world of electromagnetism of individual vibrations.”Kat looks unamused as he goes on. “The soul leaves the body, the spirit leaves the body at death, the aura breaks away, leaving physical body... finished.” He crosses his arms. “Lighter. And that spirit enters the lower aura of dimension. It hasn’t quite worked out yet, its emotions, its human emotions, its own emotions. Often, unfulfilled emotions — hate, viciousness, sadness, usually the bad emotions.”Hm. Sunshine is pretty sure she’s seen all of these emotions from ghosts. “And it lives in this lower aura, it’s sometimes described as two plates. The human world is a plate, and the lower aura is another plate, and they are revolving around each other, different speeds. In the middle of each is a wrench, is a, a hole, is a method where we can see through each other as they coincide, as these holes coincide. And then that spirit — and especially that spirit — is able to communicate and will start to reach the higher level, a higher aura, we — we call it Summerland.”Kat raises a brow.“Winston Churchill once called it —” Alistair looks up, “going on to our sunlit upland. Reaching sunlit upland, and then those spirits have become more... acceptable as to the new spirit world, and they will begin to part from us, but still there is that lower area of spirits that have not attained the higher level.”Sunshine looks bored.“They are still yearning. Sometimes, wistfully, sometimes with great aging, sometimes with great sadness, sometimes with evil intent — the Ouija board, for example — to communicate with us. Does that make sense?”Sunshine stares at him for a minute before exchanging a glance with her mother. “Mmmhm,” she chirps.“Well let’s see — if we do have a spirit in this house —”“Right! Let’s get this party started! Cool.”Alistair looks at Sunshine and Kat grunts. “I think he’s being serious.”“Oh, yeah. Okay.” She smiles and the medium blinks, looking confused as to how he’s gotten himself in a situation like so. Kat pats Sunshine’s leg and they all stand. Alistair lifts himself to his feet, holding his glasses. “So Sunshine,” he commences, “we shall see if you have a ghost.”“Yeah,” she murmurs, watching him withdraw a white beaded necklace with a cross on the end. Sunshine raises a brow and watches the man glance around.Kat covers a laugh and Sunshine tries not to smile. “This guy’s weird,” she whispers. Her mother wheezes but hides it by clearing her throat.Alistair moves slowly toward the kitchen and Sunshine follows. His hands are outstretched to his sides and his eyes are cracked shut. “I —” He turns, appearing to be genuinely startled. “I feel something.”No shit. Sunshine laughs and the medium walks past her, eyes narrowed. “I feel — no, I can see —” She moves the camera toward the empty curtains, “I can see a man. I see a man, but I can’t see his eyes. I can’t see his mouth. His head is covered.”Sunshine draws in a breath, all amusement gone from her face. What did he just say. “Some old... sack. A burlap sack.” Kat rolls her eyes but Sunshine.. she knows this man is truthful. She hasn’t shown him the pictures yet, and he has no idea about her being attacked by the bagged man twice. One in ghost form, and maybe.. one in human form..? Back at the creepy house?“There’s a — child with him.” Sunshine blinks slowly then looks around, trying to contain her heavy gasps. “The child... can’t see, either. The child’s got a head covered in a sack. And yet, they’re looking over you and your mom.” How is that possible, though? If she — if she was attacked by the bagged man so many months ago, before Creepy Lady blessed the house, and if that man was the man that chased her, then why would they have good intentions? Unless.. unless, perhaps, another ghost had pretended to be the bagged father? Maybe, maybe the man at the creepy house had been someone else completely? Not a ghost, but, but a worshipper of these spirits? Maybe it was her dad?Sunshine’s blood turns to chips of ice. “I’m feeling.. something else,” Alistair resumes, rounding back toward the kitchen. “A dark and sinister energy. I can’t see — I can’t see it, but I.. I can feel it.” He backs away slowly. “It’s closer to Earth, it’s closer to us. It is more evil. Its energy is more malicious.”She grips the camera harder, trembling. “I’m losing sight of the two — the man and the little girl. This energy is becoming persuasive.” The medium’s voice quickens with worry. “It’s becoming — more, more, more overbearing.” He recoils. “It carries with it — great evil.”Sunshine’s throat goes dry. “Great maliciousness. It’s —” Alistair gasps, pressing the cross to his lips and closing his eyes. He leans against a beam for support as Kat stands. “You alright..?” Sunshine watches the man shake. “I, I, I — I need to use a bathroom. Where is your bathroom?”“It’s over there.” She points in the direction to that terrible, terrible bathroom and swallows as he rushes inside.“Are you okay?” her mother asks.“Are you sure.. you’re okay?” Sunshine’s eyes widen as Alistair slams the door behind him.Kat runs over and gapes at her daughter, clearly confused. “That was weird..”“Very.” The two lean against the walls and wait for minutes, but hardly hear anything coming from the bathroom. “He’s been in there forever,” she whispers to her mother.“I can’t even hear anything,” Kat murmurs, turning her head toward the door. “I — seriously, how long do you think it’s been? Over twenty minutes? Thirty?”“At least ten.” Sunshine listens through the door.“Do you think he climbed out the window?”“Why would he do that?!”Kat sighs and knocks. “Are you okay?” Silence. “Mr. Turnbull?”Sunshine taps her foot. “Just — just go in!”“Why?!” Kat shakes her head.She snorts. “He’s clearly not responding!”Her mother sighs and hesitates before pushing open the door, cautiously glancing around the inside. Sunshine walks in first, eyes darting to the sink. She gasps softly at the dribbles of blood running over the edges.“Are you okay — oh my gosh! What —” Sunshine looks in the mirror and sees Alistair sitting, shaking and seemingly convulsing. His lip is bleeding, or maybe it’s blood dripping out of his mouth. “Did you fall?” Kat touches his shoulder. “Here, let’s — help me.”Sunshine reaches forward and grasps the man’s arm. They lead him out of the bathroom and to the living room. “J — just sit on the couch. I’m so sorry.” Kat looks back at her daughter, shocked.Alistair is unresponsive. There’s a dark, horrified look in his eyes as he seats himself, cross curled in his hands. His knuckles are white.“What happened?” her mother whispers, leaning down to his height.“The dark energy,” he breathes out. Kat touches his arm. “As the man and the — little girl were.. disappearing.. forced out by that energy —” He looks up. “Sunshine, can I.. talk to you alone?”“Oh—”“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Kat shakes her head. Alistair stares at Sunshine, like he knows something she doesn’t, or like he — he knows something they both know but Sunshine doesn’t want to admit. “What happened?”The medium is shaking but doesn’t take his navy gaze off of Sunshine. “She turned to me.”Kat presses her lips together. “Who turned to you?”“The little girl.” He blinks slowly and his eyes flicker to her mother, then back to Sunshine. “She said..” Alistair hesitates, hanging his head and wiping the blood from his lips. He slowly lifts his head to Kat, glare unmoving. “Don’t. Trust her.”“Don’t trust who—” Kat begins.“Don’t trust..” Alistair stares at Kat. “Her.”“Who..?” Sunshine has a horrible feeling she knows who it is, but doesn’t want to admit it. The medium sighs heavily and curls his fingers around the beads of the necklace. “She meant —” He definitely doesn’t want to say it. “She meant your mother.”“What?” Kat just sounds confused and offended.“Don’t trust her.”“You — you’re crazy.” Her mother stands and waves her arms. Sunshine stays silent.“Don’t trust her.”“Okay, that is not what she meant, you misunderstood.”“Don’t trust her. Time —”“Stop saying that!”“—and time again. Don’t trust her.”The two glare at each other and Sunshine slowly backs away.“No, you’re saying that!” Kat growls.“I’m only channeling..”“Mom, it’s okay, don’t freak out,” she murmurs.“No, it’s not okay! You’re not only channeling, you’re coming in here to my home and accusing me, and scaring my daughter — you know what, we’re done, you’re out.”“Mom!” Sunshine watches in shock as Kat pulls the front door open, motioning toward the front lawn.“No! My house, my rules, out.”He stands and makes his way toward the front door, but not before stopping by Sunshine. “Don’t trust her.”“Get out.” Her mother glowers furiously at the man. Alistair lifts his coat and stares at Kat. “Go,” she snarls.He walks outside and Kat slams the door on his back, locking it.“Mom, you don’t have to overreact,” Sunshine sighs.“I’m not overreacting,” she snaps back.“You were.” She laughs lightly, but isn’t being funny.Her mother doesn’t respond and stomps to her room.“Well..” Sunshine faces the camera. “That didn’t go well.”
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Sunshine’s not sure how she feels about the little medium situation that went down. Mom keeps referring to him as “the idiot guy.” That’s been... fun. Dealing with her, even more so.Just when Sunshine was starting to think her mother was getting better.On another note, she’s meeting up with the paranormal expert again soon — LeMaster. After that quickened, panicky voicemail she received from him, she’s a little apprehensive as to what he’s going to talk to her about. Something to do with the ghosts? Maybe he’s found a lead?But why is she in grave danger?Hopefully he’ll give her some good information.
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Later that day, Sunshine is back in the park, swiveling her head around as she tries to spot the paranormal expert. She begins to walk forward toward LeMaster, keys jangling in her hand as she strides. He’s standing under a large oak tree, coral-orange sweater buzzing around her eyes. His hair is just as dorky as it was the last time, and he’s pacing around, clearly disturbed.“Hey,” Sunshine calls. She blinks when LeMaster quickly rushes forward, an englarged picture of the bagged ghosts in his hands.“Um,” he begins, voice shaky. He breathes in deeply, hands shaking. “Before I proceed, I — I need to know from you, full disclosure, is there anything you’re not telling me?” He looks — well, he looks worried and genuine. He’s much different from their last meeting.“No.” Sunshine narrows her eyes slightly.LeMaster doesn’t seem relieved. “Okay,” he breathes, swallowing. “I went to my guru and — I found some answers..” He trails off.“Okay,” she urges gently.The man touches his chest. “Can we sit down?”“I — sure..” Sunshine raises a brow but joins him beneath the tree, settling upon the soft grass. LeMaster curls his fingers around the roots of the large trunk and trembles.“I believe this photo..” He closes his eyes and turns the bagged family to Sunshine, trying to calm himself. “Is from.. an ancient order — a, a cult.”“A — a cult?”“The earliest, documented..” He sounds to be out of breath. “Evidence we have of this cult is from the late 19th century. The — the late 1800’s.” LeMaster wipes black hair from his face. “The, the, this cult — the name is a well-kept secret. It’s really just called.. ‘The Cult’ by those not in the know.”Sunshine feels her spine tingle. Where is he leading with this?“But what, but what they would do is, is they fear this demon, and — and this demon, they believe is.. is nurtured, and soothed by the sacrifice of a first-born daughter... in the family.” His gaze trickles with fear. “What they would do is they would put a bag over the daughter’s head — as, as a sacrifice offering to the demon — and, should the daughter survive, there was.. no curse, and the family is safe. Should.. the daughter perish.. the curse has been lifted from the family and the family is now safe for generations.”She bends her head forward and rocks her face in her hands. This — this is where her ghosts came from? The little girl, Anna? She was — she was sacrificed so long ago? But what about the man? The father?“In the 1930’s,” LeMaster continues, voice lower, “the press got a hold of the story and.. the police immediately became involved and, and made it their mission to stamp out the cult and put an end to the order. And they told the public that’s just what they did, it was squelched.”He waves his hands in front of his body. “Well.. that was in the 1930’s. This photo —” LeMaster turns another picture around of a young girl swallowed by thick, heavy shadows. A pale white light illuminates her face. “Is from 1958. And again in ‘72.” He draws the paper back and shows another young girl sprawled out in the sunlight. His eyes water. “And finally.. 1989.” Sunshine’s lip quivers at the sight of the motionless, awkwardly-angled child on a tile floor, head bent backwards and hair a mess over her body. “O — oh my gosh,” she whispers.“So — so it is my belief that the cult is still alive and thriving. They’ve just gotten better at hiding.” He inclines his head forward and pants.“Yeah..?”“Little girl.” He squeezes his eyes shut. “Does your mother know.. about these pictures?” “No? Why —” She stumbles over her words and brushes brown hair back from her face. She can’t forget everything that — everything that’s happened, with her mom acting so weird and aggressive and freaking out and the medium and —“You need to be honest with me, does your father know?” He gazes at her with sharp, intent pools of amber.“I don’t — I don’t like what you’re implying, my dad... isn’t.. around..”He shakes his head slowly. “Okay. Okay, if you’re not gonna be honest with me there’s — there’s no further we can go.” LeMaster looks down and places the photos on his lap.“I’m leaving,” she says, too shaken up to even truly argue. “Please,” he returns, widening his arms to his sides.“Um. Yeah.” Sunshine turns and begins to walk away, but he stumbles to his feet.“Wait,” LeMaster calls, walking toward her with concern. “Whether or not you believe.. does not mean this is real or not real. It is real.” A pause. “I do not wish to be associated with this anymore, please do not contact me again. Goodbye.” He backs away, staring at her. “Goodbye.”“O — Okay..” She watches him turn and quickly lumber off.What the hell just happened?Sunshine makes her way back to the car and numbly falls in to the seat, blinking slowly. “Okay, seriously,” she begins, annoyed. “What is he talking about? I am not part of a cult.” She grits her teeth. “At all! Neither is my mom, my dad, I —”She looks down and shakes her head. “He’s crazy. Did you see what he was wearing?” Sunshine inhales, trying to calm herself. “I’m not.. part of a cult..” She scrunches up her nose. Maybe she isn’t so convinced. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I have to get out of here.”She’s about to jam the keys in the ignition before she freezes. Sunshine turns her head to the side and presses her eyebrows together. “I feel like somebody’s watching me,” she whispers, unnerved. “I — I’m getting out of here.”
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Sunshine gets back from the park and sees her mother’s car. She knows she needs to talk to her, but is a little apprehensive of what she will say. It’s not like Kat has been in a good mood for the past week and a half. Why would it change now?This should be interesting.She enters the house and spots her mother laying on the couch, a pillow tucked under her head and a colored blanket tangled around her legs. “Hey mom,” she greets. “Um, so I had my.. second meeting with.. LeMaster today in the park.”Kat wipes a hand over her face, rubbing her tired eyes. “Who..?”“The paranormal... cult, expert, guy.” Sunshine sighs and sits on the couch across from her mother.“What’s his name?” “LeMaster.”“Oh.” She doesn’t really react.“Yeah, he prefers it.” Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Over his girly name. So.”Kat yawns and Sunshine throws her keys on the glass table.“Anyways,” she continues, looking up at her mother, “he just, uh... kind of frightened me, told me some things about — about uh..” She bites her lip and watches Kat lift her body, facing Sunshine. “About a cult and.. he showed me, showed me dead little girls and..”“What?” Mom’s eyes widen with shock.“Yeah, um.” Sunshine shakes her head. “But uh..”“Why did he show you pictures of dead little girls?”“It had to do with the story or the.. cult thing, so.” Kat blinks harshly. “But anyways, he implied our family had something to do with it, and I was just wondering if you knew.. anything..”“Had something to do with what?” Oh, there it is, the mom voice.“The.. cult..?”“That our family has something to do with the cult.” Kat looks unamused. “Yeah.”“Well he’s a little cray-cray.” She scratches her nose.“Mom... I’m serious.”“I’m serious too!” She stares at Sunshine as her daughter doesn’t respond. “What? Yes — our family, the family tree has a long... standing.. cult activity. I forgot to tell you about that. We die of cancer, we have heart failure, and.” She narrows her eyes. “Cult activity.”“Okay. I didn’t know.” Sunshine throws her hands up in defense and Kat rolls her eyes. “You don’t know anything.” She walks away, grunting. “Seems she’s back to her cranky attitude.”

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Since LeMaster isn’t exactly being too helpful on the current situation, Sunshine is at a loss for what to do next. Her mother’s only gotten worse and Creepy Lady hasn’t shown up. She’s all alone in this mystery now, and it’s up to her to solve it.How, though?Well, obviously the worst thing to do: use a Ouija board.She’s aware her viewers will be angry, and she’s aware this could end badly for her, but it’s her last resort. Clearly there’s no one left to aid her, so she has to take her own path right now.If the medium was right... then perhaps there is a darker presence in the house. And perhaps she can speak to this presence through the board. That can work, right?As Sunshine lifts the board and reads over the small white words covering the front, a soft but quick rapping on the door sends her to her feet. She tilts her head and pads toward the door, curiosity edging her on. “Hello?” She slides her body past the window and looks outside. For a moment it seems there’s no one there, until a gray cloak blinds her view and Creepy Lady is staring back at her with bleak brown eyes.Sunshine blinks in surprise and opens the door, stepping back as the woman walks in. “Something’s wrong.”“Okay.” She raises a brow as Creepy Lady stalks closer.“Are you okay.” The woman’s voice almost takes on an accusatory tone. “Um...” Sunshine brushes brown hair from her face, biting her lip. She gives in to Creepy Lady’s protective glare. “No, not really. I mean.. things have gotten worse with mom and everything.”The woman doesn’t respond and jerks her head in the direction of the Ouija Board, brows pressing together. “What are you doing with this?”“Well, things —”“Why do you have this?”“Things have gotten worse!”Creepy Lady grits her teeth. “You can not use this. Tell me you will not use this. Put this away.” She bends down and grips the lid between her outstretched fingers. “Okay, okay, I won’t use it.” Sunshine crosses her arms as the woman picks up the picture of the bagged family.“Why do you have this?” Her words are at a dangerous low. A shiver runs down Sunshine’s back.“That’s my ghosts,” she responds slowly.Creepy Lady looks almost sentimental for a second. She turns towards Sunshine and flicks black hair out of her face, breathing in. “Can you drive?”“Yeah..”“We need to go somewhere. I need to show you something.” The woman sets down the picture“Uhhh, I don’t know if I’m comfortable with —”“We need to go right now.”“Okay, okay..” Sunshine shakes her head. This should be fun.The car ride to this mysterious place is quiet and awkward. Or, maybe it’s just awkward to Sunshine. Creepy Lady seems lost in her own head; she simply stares out of the window and makes small gestures on where to drive.And now they’re here. A loose, winding trail snakes through a path, surrounded by a grove of trees that twist and curl overhead. Creepy Lady steps out of the car and stands at the path, facing toward the whistling branches and just... standing.Sunshine has no idea where they are. She’s not sure she’s even ever been here before. But Creepy Lady is intent on hurrying and she doesn’t want to piss the woman off, even if she doesn’t really want to get out.How many times has she met this woman again?Creepy Lady comes over and knocks on the window with the edge of her finger. “Yeaaah..?” Sunshine asks, squinting against the sun.“It’s time, we have to go.” “Are you sure..?”The woman doesn’t even blink. “Yes.”Sunshine sighs. “Okay, well.. let’s go, then.” She pauses. “What are we doing again?”Creepy Lady leads the way through the bushes, not even bothering to follow the trail. “I have to lead you to the sacrificing.”“The what? What was that?” Sunshine halts in her walk and stares at the woman. Is this— okay, what the hell is going on here? She’s suddenly very, very suspicious.Creepy Lady whips around, clearly growing annoyed. “The sacrifice sight,” she growls. “Okay, well...” Sunshine jogs to catch up with her. “I don’t think I’m very comfortable with that.”“You must be.”A pause. “Oh. Okay.”Great.They walk in silence and follow a flattened path of grass and woven weeds, bird chatter echoing around them. Sunshine looks around and presses her lips together. Hmmm. What to talk about with this strange, probably-witch woman? “So,” she begins, clearing her throat, “we’ve been uh. We’ve been, walking, for a while.”No answer.“Soooo...” Sunshine thinks, then her green eyes light up. “Do you have a real name?”Creepy Lady, for once, looks amused. “Yes. I have a real name.” She smiles.Sunshine beams. “That’s good.” “It’s..” The woman hesitates and looks down. “Victoria.”“That’s pretty!” she chirps.“Thank you.” Her face falls into a dead line once more.“Yeah.” A hum. “So, uhh, where do you live?” A one-sided game of twenty questions is always fun.Victoria glances over. “Around. I move.”“O.. okay, cool.” Weird. That’s the only way Sunshine can describe this woman. Strange? Odd? Creepy— wait, maybe she shouldn’t call Victoria Creepy Lady anymore.Sunshine stops and stares for a moment. Maybe she should get this question over and done with. “Are you... a Wiccan..?”Victoria looks away, grunts, and continues moving. “I’m more than a Wiccan.”“Oh. So... why are you helping me?”“Because you need my help.” Yup, that’s the aggravated face. “I need to protect you, you need to be safe.”Sunshine has vivid flashbacks to the first real encounter with Creepy La— Victoria. In December, she remembers it clearly. A knock on the door had stirred her forward and there Victoria had stood, uttering the words, “It’s not safe,” over and over again until she’d been screaming.Fun memories.“Okay,” is all she responds with. And it seems that, this time, it’s Victoria’s turn to ask a question.“Why do you carry that thing around with you all the time?” She stares at the camera lens.“I don’t know.” Sunshine shrugs. The answer seems to appease Victoria, more or less.She looks over the teenager’s head. “You know you ask a lot of questions?”“Yeah, my mom says that too —”“Shh.” Victoria stops, feet kicking up gravel. Her eyes flicker around the vibrant forest.“What?” Sunshine whispers.She doesn’t look scared, despite the words she says. “The demon is watching us. We must move.”Sunshine twists her head around to look, still quickly hurrying after Victoria. There’s nothing she can see, but maybe, if Creepy— ugh! — if Victoria has more powers or motive than a Wiccan... she can sense things that would otherwise be impossible to see or tell?Maybe that’s it.The continued walk is fast but silent, much to Sunshine’s dismay. The trees begin to clutter together more and pools of honey-golden light ripple over the grass and undergrowth. The forest becomes laced with shadows as they travel deeper in. Sunshine can hear a stream father off in the distance.Then, they arrive. A decrepit building, hardly standing, faces them. Sunshine gazes at it with uncertainty. Most of the walls have fallen and the roof is completely gone. Only stone lays beneath their feet, layered by wood and rocks. “What’s... this?”Victoria wheels. “This is the sacrifice sight.”“Okay..” Sunshine steps inside and examines the old, broken brick, running her fingers through the grooves. “Aaaanddd...?”“That demon. That demon, that has been following you? He wants to cause you harm.” Her eyes widen as she looks at Victoria. “That’s not good,” she murmurs.“No, it’s not.” The woman looks like this is hard for her to deliver. “There is something you must do.”“Okay..?”A short sigh. “You must sacrifice yourself.”Sunshine splutters. “I must what? Is this part of the whole cult thing? Are you part of the cult?”“No.” Victoria’s word is final. “No. I am not part of that cult.” She looks disgusted, as if she can’t even comprehend someone thinking she’s involved.She pauses and goes on. “But I know about your mother. I know that she is possessed. And if you don’t help me — if you don’t help yourself — he won’t leave. He won’t leave her, he won’t leave your family. You need to do this.”“But..” The words die down in her throat. Is her mother really possessed? That can’t — that can’t be true. How is that even possible? Maybe her viewers are right. Maybe she’s blind to the truth. Or maybe it’s all something orchestrated against her. That could be the case.“Listen,” Victoria snaps. “You’re not — you’re not literally going to sacrifice yourself. But I need you to make the demon think that you are going to do it.” The woman nods along with her words. “That you are going to sacrifice yourself. If you can do that, I will take care of the rest. I will banish the demon and help your family.”“You’ll... banish it?”“Yes.” She sounds sincere. Sunshine sighs loudly. “What if I don’t believe you?” She can’t help but hold those doubts close.Victoria stares for a moment. “I have a way to make you believe. Your mother is possessed, and I have a test. A test that will make you see that this is true.”“A test..? Can we just do it here, right now —?”“No, no, we can’t do it here anymore.” Victoria narrows her eyes. “This sight... it’s no good, it’s too out in the open, people can see it, they know about it. And we have to come back another time. At night. And we have to go much deeper into the forest.”Birds chirp high above. “Well that seems... safe. What is the test, though? For my — for my mom?”The woman bites the inside of her cheek. “Let’s return back to the car. I’ll tell you on the way.”Well. It looks like this is actually going to happen.
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Sunshine really, really doesn’t feel okay. She’s really — she’s really upset. It throbs in her chest and poisons her mind and God, she can’t get away from it, she can’t get away from any of it. How did she go from being a normal, haunted (as normal as that can be) teenage girl to — to being a cultist? And now she has to decide whether or not she wants to be sacrificed or have a demon-possessed mother for the rest of her life. Good options, right? Ugh. Why couldn’t Kat have just sacrificed her when she was a young child?Maybe she should write down the pros and cons of each option. Sunshine grits her teeth. She’s annoyed. Part — part of a cult? Really? That’s what her life has come to? A cult? A demon? Seriously.Oh. Victoria’s test — it’ll apparently help Sunshine face the truth of the situation. As if it isn’t horrible enough. She’s gonna try and give her mother the test as soon as possible, whenever she really can.She’s a little comforted that shit like this really exists, so perhaps she’s not the only one with a possessed mom.Sigh. She really needs the medium back. She believes Alistair now — maybe he’ll come back by, or give her some words of wisdom and share advice on what to do. Unlike LeMaster. Yeah. That’s a good idea. She should call him.Sunshine purses her lips and flips out her phone, dialing the number. The ring muffles the speakers and tingles her senses and she grunts. She’ll be pretty annoyed if he doesn’t pick up. She wonders if he’ll know it’s her calling.A woman’s voice splutters through. “Hello?”She perks. “Hi! Is... Alistair there?”There’s a drawn silence before the woman speaks again. Her voice breaks. “No. Alistair is not, here, um —” The woman crackles through the phone, voice low, raspy, and dripping with emotion. “..who is this..?”“Sunshine,” she answers, biting the inside of her cheek.“Oh, Sunshine, um —” The woman breathes in and cries out. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to tell you this but.. Alistair... passed away yesterday.”Blood. It runs in her ears, pushing away any other thoughts. It drowns Sunshine in a pit of darkness that she can’t seem to crawl her way out of. Her eyes widen and she chokes. “He — he what?”A sniff. “Alistair’s gone. He — he said that, that all of the hauntings you had told him about, and everything he had seen with you, it — it was just, it was just too much.”Sunshine begins to shake.“I’ve actually never seen him like that,” the woman croaks. “He — he couldn’t sleep, so he started taking sleeping pills because he was having nightmares, and..” The woman sobs. “He took too many. And, he, he’s gone now.”Sunshine tries to return a heartfelt apology but she keeps speaking. “And I must tell you, you, you need to be careful, that’s what he said, that you need to be careful. Please please be careful.”She doesn’t have an answer. Any words die down in her throat. Sunshine closes her eyes and pinches her nose, gasping in. “I — I’m sorry, I have to go, I’m sorry for your loss, I — goodbye.”She hangs up the phone and the beep rumbles in her ears. A horrible, sickening feeling wrenches itself between her chest and grasps at her heart with curled, bony fingers. Sunshine cries out and falls to her knees, hands flattening over the carpet. The darkness consumes her mind and tears her open. Blood welts from her skin and she pierces her palms with her nails and sobs and sobs and sobs.He died. He died. He died. He died. Because of her. Because Sunshine had convinced him to come. Because Sunshine hadn’t believed him and had let all of this happen. It’s all her fault.Everything is too much right now. She can’t breathe. Her lungs ache with each breath and the oxygen is hardly filtering through her chapped lips. Sunshine drops the phone and drags herself forward, head falling on her arms. She curls up and the tears flow freely down her cheeks. Her gaze is blurry, clouded and everything looks like painted streaks along her vision.“No,” she moans, knocking herself in the head with her fist. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It’s all because of you. You let this happen. What — how — how did this happen? How did I let this happen? God, I can’t believe Alistair is dead. He’s dead. I let it happen. I should’ve done something sooner. I should have.Sunshine — she hasn’t cried this hard in a long, long time. Everything is consuming her up and any hope is spit out and crushed. Her mother is practically gone. Might as well be dead. She’s not close enough to Victoria to feel any comfort from the woman. She — she doesn’t have anyone. Her father — what if, what if that man at the house had been him? What if Sunshine’s own dad had tried to kill her?It hurts. It burns her heart and smolders it like crackling embers. She reminisces on her childhood. Of her old home, before all of this happened, back to when she awas little. Running through the green fields, honey sunlight pooling down on her, shattering the sky with beams of light. The shadows hadn’t consumed her then. She’d been happy. Now it’s all a facade. A mask. She can’t worry her viewers any more than they already are. She has to keep this to herself for as long as she possibly can.Losing her mother like this — it’s taken its toll. Sunshine can’t see the familiar, humorous reflection in her mom’s eyes anymore. They’re blank and dark, like something sinister swirls below. Maybe something does. Kat hasn’t been okay for weeks. Sunshine’s tried her best to deny it, but — but she can’t anymore. It’s time she faces the truth and bites the bullet. Victoria is right. She has to save her mother, the house, herself. Sunshine can’t go on like this. Not with the fear, with the strangling agony, with the anger and the rage bubbling deep underneath her chest.She needs to bring her mother back. She needs things to go back to normal. Maybe the only way to do that is with this test. With this sacrifice. If Victoria can keep the demon away, then everything will be okay. Right? She — she really hopes so. But even if not, Sunshine has to try. She must. It’s her last hope.It’s time to open her eyes.
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Two days later. Two days pass with thinking and wondering and brooding. She’s a little embarrassed she lost herself like that when she found out that Alistair died, but she.. she’s okay now. She’s doing better, somehow. Getting all of those emotions out — it helped. It’s helping. Maybe crying isn’t so bad after all.Now, she’s decided that she’s going to give her mother the test. Like, right now. This is her last hope. And if her mother isn’t possessed then Sunshine will really be more worried.But without LeMaster here, and with the medium.. dead.. there’s no one else to go to. She has to trust Victoria. She must.“Hey mom,” she calls, perched in one of the living room chairs with her hair tied back, a white bow in her tangled curls. “Will you come here?”Her mother walks out of the kitchen, wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt and jeans. “Hm?”“Well, there’s this like, game thing that we learned in school and I thought it’d be fun to try.” Sunshine looks up as Kat swishes her arms around.“A game thing?” she asks dubiously.“Yeah,” Sunshine chirps.“What do I have to do?” Her mother’s voice seems lighter than usual. Maybe she’s fine. Maybe Sunshine is overreacting to the situation.Or maybe she’s not.“Just, umm —” She slides paper and a pen towards Kat. “Write on this piece of paper.”“Write, what do I write, a love letter?” Sunshine chuckles but can’t ignore the weird vibes she’s getting from her mother right now. Like this — like she’s not being truthful, or real, or like the demon only comes out when it wants to. Maybe it hasn’t truly shown itself yet.“No,” Sunshine says, “it’s like a — a game, like..”“Like MASH?”“Yeah, like MASH, sure.” She purses her lips.“Am I gonna find out who my husband is?” Kat grins.“Yeah,” Sunshine laughs. “Okay, you ready?”“I’m tired of being alone~”She raises a brow. “Are you ready now?”“Oh, yes.” Kat perches the pen between her fingers and lifts her hand over the paper in wait.“Okay, so the first line is — just try to write the whole thing. It’s — it’s easy..” Sunshine bites her lip, unsure if she should say it. Will her mother believe — or, or will the demon believe this is actually a ‘school game’?Kat scoffs. “Yeah, how hard can it be? Alright, what am I writing?”“To this world’s end,” she begins, blinking down at her phone and the lines she’s reading from the possession test. “Is this gonna be Latin or something?” Kat begins to write.“No.” Sunshine rolls her eyes, but feels like a rock is sinking into her belly. Anticipation and — and fear. “Okay,” her mother quips when she’s finished writing the first sentence.“Next line..”“Mhm.”“I am me and me alone.”Her mother is silent for a moment. “So, I just.. write that right here?”“Yeah.” Sunshine watches Kat intently, eyes trailed on her hand. She laughs to play it off, hoping her mother is just being dumb. “Really easy.”“Waiting for the complicated part, okay.” Kat begins writing in larger lettering. “I.. what is it?”“I am me.” She narrows her gaze. “And me alone.”Her mother writes slower and slower, and the words seem to jutter off the page. Since when has Kat had such — such large handwriting? “Okay..”“And the last — err, there’s two more, sorry — next one is With faith..” Sunshine glances up at her mother’s stare, a confused expression but.. it’s laced with something darker. Something knowing.“Kay, what?”“It’s just With faith, Mom.”“Okay.” Her mother looks down and her hands curl around the pen tightly. She presses down on the paper with the entire force of her hand. The letters become shaky and largely curl outward. It’s almost like she can’t write it. Kat keeps ripping her hand off of the page and hesitating, before returning to writing the sentence.Sunshine’s afraid the paper’s gonna tear in half.Her mother breathes out and pulls the pen closer. “Okay, what?”“It’s — it’s the same thing, Mom. With faith.” Her voice shakes and her throat begins to burn. Sunshine forces the tears down. “You can do it.”Her mother sighs. “It — it’s like a, a joke?”“No.” Sunshine forces herself to chuckle. “You’re fine. It’s just part of it.”Kat places her other hand on her wrist, twisting the bones underneath cruelly.“Mom..” Sunshine stares at the pen that’s being forcefully slammed down on the paper. She can hardly write.“I don’t understand,” Kat whispers in a soft, raspy breath. She is able to finish the words, but her hand is trembling and her knuckles are turning white. Veins are popping out from her clenched arms. It’s scary. Terrifying.“And the last line,” Sunshine murmurs tentatively, “is I cast out all who possess me.”Kat’s hand begins to shake violently, tremors running up and down her flesh.“Mom?” She blinks up at Kat. Unless, unless this isn’t Kat anymore. This could be the demon to, the demon she’s talking to right now. Sunshine repeats the sentence, the final one, and prays her mother can finish it. She loses most of her hope when Kat’s ‘I’ slides downward and off the page.Her mother drops the pen and holds her wrist close to her chest, breathing harshly. “Mom. Finish.” Her voice is hard, but Sunshine is pleading. She needs her mother to do this.“No.” Kat’s voice comes out small.“Mom.”Her mother runs her hands down her pants and rubs her palms together.“Mom. Mom, you can do it.” She laughs nervously.“I can’t.” Her words are croaky and Sunshine, she, she can’t even hear her mother in there. It’s not her mother. It’s not.“Mom, yes you can.” A desperate edge slithers into her words.“I think I..” Kat chokes on the air. “I think you have to write it.” She pushes the paper away.“Mom, I can’t. You have to finish.”“I don’t think I can.” Her mother jumps up and rushes around the table, back to the kitchen and to the foot of the stairs. “I’m sorry.”“Mom!” Sunshine watches as Kat walks away, footsteps receding into the distance. She slowly reaches for the paper and pulls it forward, eyes watery. The sentences — they just, you can see that she struggled, you can see the way the pen pressed and the way her hand slipped with each word.She cries.
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Sunshine was finally able to convince her mother to see the doctor.After that little experience the other day — yeah, no, she wasn’t risking anything else happening. Sunshine didn’t forget what the medium — god, the dead medium — had said earlier, either. And he was literally, like, deceased. Because of her house.She felt terrible, but no one needed to know that.Anyway, back to Mom. All the tests had come back as negative. Or... not positive..? Either way, Sunshine isn’t buying it, because how would a doctor find out if someone’s possessed?But uh, yeah, her mother really isn’t doing well. As literally all of her subscribers have seen. And that being said, Sunshine is wondering if she should do the sacrifice, like Creepy Lady suggested. Really, the only thing that could go wrong is that Sunshine dies or something but, then again, would it really be that terrible? Her life is just going downhill at this point, so it seems like a win-win situation.Still... she’s not sure. Like, she wants to. She does. But trusting Creepy Lady — ugh, Victoria, she’ll never be able to remember that damn name — is hard. Trusting anyone is hard. Because if she can’t trust her own mother... why would she believe in anyone else?As Sunshine explains this all to the camera she jumps at a sharp rap on the door. She raises a brow and stands slowly, stumbling over her words. She’s not really expecting visitors.God, if it’s Victoria —Sunshine gasps when she gets to the screen door. She grins like a little kid and jumps up and down, eyes wide. “Uncle Tommy!” Her voice raises in pitch and she feels her heart leap into her throat with excitement.She was lying. This is someone she can trust.“Hey, kiddo!” Uncle Tommy says, smirking as Sunshine opens the door. He has short brown hair and a round, plump face, and looks to be in his early 30s. He’s wearing a green shirt and plaid blue shorts because why not? He has kind blue eyes and a smile that’s always contagious, and is probably, like, 40% gay.God, she missed him. So, so much.“Hey, how are you?”“Good, how’re you doin’?”“Good.” She lies right through her teeth but ignores the pang, because Uncle Tommy is here, Uncle Tommy is here and it’s going to be a good day, Sunshine just knows it.Oh.Right.So, who is Uncle Tommy?“Alright everybody on YouTube.” Sunshine motions toward Uncle Tommy, who is current sitting on the couch beside her. “This is Uncle Tommy.”He waves. “Hello YouTube.”Sunshine squeals with happiness. “Isn’t he exciting?” He laughs and she continues on. “So, I asked Uncle Tommy to come.”Yeah, okay, so she’d said she couldn’t trust anyone, that was true. But seeing Uncle Tommy in person was different from writing him. Now she knew she wasn’t alone. Now she knew that people were actually here for her... because she honestly hadn’t been expecting Uncle Tommy to even come, and the fact that he had come, that he was here right now was just amazing to her.Did she mention how much she loves him?He looks at her and nods. “Yeah, you sent me an email.”“I did.” She smiles and plays with her braided hair, having to do something with her jittery hands.“And I showed up!”“He showed up.”He laughs. “You seem surprised.”“I was a little bit actually,” she admits with a chuckle. “I didn’t actually think you would come.”“You didn’t actually think I would come?”“I don’t know!” She can’t stop the grin from lifting her cheeks because she realizes how stupid she’d sounded. Mental check to apologize to herself for her self torment. “I — I like — have you seen the stuff..?”“Yeah, well, I mean I watch most of ’em, I didn’t watch your vacation and...” He laughs again. “But, yeah, is your — is your mom really as bad as it seems?”Sunshine’s grin fades away and she becomes serious, the dread suddenly weighing heavy in her heart. “Worse, actually, than it seems on YouTube.”Uncle Tommy looks genuinely worried. “That’s not good.”“Mm-mm.” She shakes her head. “She uh... won’t let me film a lot of it, which, y’know, I think is reasonable, but.. still.”He sighs. “So what’s she — acting like?” “She just kinda like zones out, and she like, is always tired and most of the time just kinda..” Sunshine trails off.“That’s out of character for her.” Uncle Tommy furrows his brows.“Yeah. It’s — it’s really concerning, but the doctor said that everything’s fine or whatever, so.” She pauses. “Oh! So we should probably tell them who you are, other than Uncle Tommy!” Sunshine motions toward the camera.Good subject change, anyway.He looks startled for a moment then beams. “Hi,” he says, wheezing out a laugh.“Who...?”“Is not actually your uncle.”“No.” Sunshine shakes her head and smiles. “Not at all.”“No, I grew up with her mom, actually, we’ve been friends forever and..” He looks at her. “Just been there since you were a wee little one.”“Wee little one, yes. And where are you from?” she asks knowingly.“Uh, well, I’m originally from here but I’ve uh... been living in Sydney, Australia.”Sunshine waves her hands. “Ahh!!”“It’s awesome —”“I’m kinda jealous.”“— so awesome.”“I am.”“Right, you’re gonna have to come some time.”“I will have to —”Sunshine’s heart leaps in her throat when a loud clang jolts her from her enthusiasm. Uncle Tommy snaps his head to the side and the sound of banging metal echoes through the house, ringing in her ears.“Uh.” Sunshine doesn’t know what to say. “What was that?” Stupid question, because she already knows the answer.“It sounds like it’s coming from the kitchen.” Uncle Tommy stands up and Sunshine follows.“Welcome to my haunted house.” She grips the camera and follows Uncle Tommy, peering over his shoulder into the kitchen.“Whoa.” He stops dead in his tracks when he sees plates strewn all over the tile floor, pieces of white glass spinning over the slick ground. “Okay.” Sunshine grumbles and looks around.“So, is it always this bad?”“Uhhh.. no, I think it’s just worse cause they don’t like you.”Uncle Tommy looks at her.Maybe she shouldn’t have said that.
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So. Uncle Tommy is trying to talk to her mother, and it’s really not going awesome.“Remember when we went to the town fair and rode on the tilt-a-whirl after we had corn dogs and just.. got sick and.. hurled everywhere?” He laughs encouragingly as he sits beside Kat’s outstretched legs, observing the blanket curled around her shivering body.“Do you remember that Mom?” Sunshine looks at Kat but she doesn’t even move. Her eyes are unblinking as she clasps her hand to her forehead, staring past Uncle Tommy and outside the window.“Or... when we snuck out to the movies that night? We went and saw — oh, it was a horrible movie what was it — hmm...” Sunshine guesses he knows the name but is trying to get Kat to say something. He snaps when she makes no move to speak. “Flintstones... Movie! Remember, with Rosie O’Donnell in it, and..”“Mom..?”“Remember it, Kat?”She tilts her head and stares at Uncle Tommy, then her dark eyes flicker to Sunshine. Those eyes scare her. “Do — do you remember it, Mom?”Kat doesn’t respond and goes back to absently staring over the backyard.“And then — and then there was that time when we — you know, uh.. built that bridge? Terabithia?”Sunshine tries to laugh to ease the grief tearing at both family members. “Haha, don’t you remember Mom?”“Come on, Kat..” Uncle Tommy looks at her pleadingly, but she only covers her eyes with the back of her hand.“We were gonna go to dinner, Mom,” Sunshine continues, glancing at Uncle Tommy. “Do you wanna — do you wanna come? Uncle Tommy came all the way here from.. Sydney, and he..”“Seventeen hours on a plane,” he confirms, trying to smile at his old friend.Still, no reaction.“He really just wants... dinner.”Uncle Tommy looks at Sunshine and shakes his head, frowning deeply. They step away from Kat and she can feel the tears burning at the back of her eyes. She hates this feeling — this helplessness, this heartbreak. She wants to claw the pain away, goddamnit.But...Maybe she can. Maybe there’s a way to do that, the answer that’s been sitting in front of her this entire time.“I think... I’m gonna go find Victoria.”

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So. It’s been decided.Sunshine’s gonna go to the forest with Victoria, at night, and do the ritual. She’s trying to trust her, and trust that it will all go well for once in her life. Victoria hasn’t let her down so far, so maybe this is the right thing to do.She’s weighed the pros and cons. She’s spent nights staring at the ceiling, wondering if she should truly do this sacrifice.Well. Fake sacrifice.But she wants to. She needs to.Uncle Tommy doesn’t need to know, for now. Sunshine’s leaving him a note to tell him where she’s going. And, uh, a note for her mom.It’s kind of sappy.
“I know you got lost in the middle there a little bit, but when you find your way back, you’ll find me.”
It’s enough of a goodbye if she really does die.Which.Hopefully she, like, won’t. It would be hard to post videos otherwise.God, she’s doing it.Here goes nothing.
　　　
　　　
　　　
Sunshine meets up with Victoria in the middle of the forest. The clearing is swathed by swaying bushes and patches of daisies crunch beneath her shoes. The setting sun dapples the sky in blue and yellow, long navy fingers dripping over the horizon. She sets the camera up and squints, ignoring Victoria’s raking behind her.The weight of the situation really sinks in. She’s doing this. She’s doing this, and she’s going to save her mother, if it’s the last damn thing she does.That’s worth something, at least, right?As far as Sunshine can tell, the plan is to start the ceremony when it gets dark, and when the demon comes out and tries to — y’know, attack her — Victoria will banish it, back to.. somewhere. She’s not sure. Doesn’t really care.As long as it’s gone for good.She knows she’s taking a leap of faith here, and she still isn’t sure why Victoria is so intent on helping her, but she supposes it’s a good thing? Without her, Sunshine would be... well, she probably would have messed things up worse with the Ouija Board. And other various things.But, Victoria will know what to do. Right? Yeah, definitely.Sunshine breathes out and thinks back to the beginning of everything, back to when she and her mother had first moved in, back to when her only worry was the floating unicorn.. now it’s all behind her. Now she’s here.Wherever that is.The sun eventually dips below the treeline and an inky black shadow blankets the world. The rain begins to pour right about now, much to Sunshine’s dismay. It ruffles her hair and gets in her eyes, and she tramples around the damp clearing in hopes of finding Victoria.Who seems to have wandered off. That’s great.Sunshine moves in front of the camera, carefully placing an umbrella over it. She jumps when Victoria appears from the side of the foliage, dress soaked in water.“Wish me good luck.”She turns when Victoria orders her to kneel down, a white bag in hand. Sunshine’s uncertain gaze flickers from side to side before she grudgingly complies, legs buckling beneath her. Mud soaks her jeans but she hardly cares at this point.She’s scared.“We must begin immediately.” Victoria shoves the bag over her head and Sunshine loses her breath. “This is very important!”Her hands instinctively fly up to rip the bag off until she realizes this is part of the ceremony. She gulps and shakes as a cold wind passes by, causing goosebumps to shiver down her arms.Maybe it’s not just the wind.“I need you to be still,” Victoria continues, words drowned out by the rain. “And do not remove this bag until somebody removes it for you, okay?” Her voice cracks as she slowly stands behind Sunshine, droplets trickling down her face.“Wait, who’s gonna remove it?!”“I cannot tell you who, that is unpredictable! You have to trust me, okay?” Victoria touches her shoulder.Sunshine begins to cry. “I’m — I’m not —”“I’m the only one that can keep you safe!” Victoria trembles and stumbles off to the side, sucking in through her teeth. “I need you to recite those words for me.”“NOW?”“Now!”Sunshine’s voice wavers between the lightning cracking high above, flashes of white dancing over the forest. “I kneel before you with the gift of my soul. Keep my family safe from your evil ways. Take me now but keep my family safe..”
Victoria picks up a rusted, curled knife and looks around the clearing, heart pounding in her chest.

“..for all the rest of their days,” Sunshine finishes under the white cloth, hesitating. “Can I get up?”

“No!” she snaps back.

Then, a dark shape shuffles in from the side. Victoria grips the blade tightly, knuckles turning white. The demon almost looks red in the pale moonlight, back hunched and neck elongated to show sharp teeth. It’s Sunshine’s mother, but, but it isn’t.

Her face is pale, and her eyes sink back into her head, bringing out the black circles around. Sharp claws stick out from her fingers and fangs glisten as lightning crackles overhead.

The demon makes a move toward Sunshine but Victoria rushes forward, waving the blade. She begins to speak, holy words wavering but eventually reaching the ears of the demon. It screams and hisses, turning and running back into the darkness.

“Is — is it gone?” Sunshine whimpers, head bowed and eyes screwed shut.

“No.” Victoria sprinkles salt around the grass. “But it will be back.”

The shape unexpectedly leaps from the shadows and hurls itself at Victoria. She gasps and cries out when the demon’s claws shred her skin. Blood pools from her arm and she loses the blade somewhere in the mess, then her throat becomes sticky and stings with itching pain. She realizes the demon has cut her throat.

She staggers back over to Sunshine and ignores the girl’s frantic questioning. Victoria chokes and holds her neck, tears dribbling down her cheeks. Her screams slowly fade away and Sunshine begins to hyperventilate. “Victoria?!”

No answer. Just pouring rain.

Sunshine stays silent for another agonizingly long fifty seconds, sobbing into the cloth and blubbering out apologies. She’ll never be able to tell Uncle Tommy goodbye, or share last words with her mother. She’s going to die. She doesn’t want to die. Please, please, if there is a God, don’t let her become a victim of the cult, too.

The bag is suddenly ripped off of her head without warning. She gagges and gasps for air, hands fumbling when she’s shoved to the ground. Sunshine freezes when she hears a familiar yet terrifying voice. It cuts through her mind like a dull blade and she nearly screams at the sight.

“Your spirit is too strong,” the man spits, eyes narrowed through the haze. Sunshine thinks back to the abandoned house in the middle of the woods, about the man that had chased her, and who — who she’d hit with the car, and — and —

Who might be her father.

“The demon cannot take you,” he continues, voice hard and heavy. “You are safe!”

“Who are you?!” she yells, rising to her feet.

“It doesn’t matter who I am!” he growls, whipping around to glare at her. “You’re a Luiseach. We have no power over you. Do not try to contact your father.”

“My father?!” Her heart leaps. This — this man knows who he is?

(And thank God this man isn’t her dad.)

“No good will come of it. None!” The man turns and leaves Sunshine confused and terrified.

Then, she remembers.

“Victoria?” Her voice rings through the empty forest, sobs wrenching from her throat. “Victoria!” She’d heard screams and spluttering, and now her friend is gone, and nothing is making any sense. “Victoria!”

Her voice goes raw from screaming and she loses hope. Victoria is gone. Everyone is gone. She’s alone. She’s alone.

Then — then a voice. And her head snaps up, eyes widening, and she nearly runs toward the dark shape for comfort. “MOM!”

“Where are you?!”

“Mom!” She sobs out of fear and joy when Uncle Tommy and her mother come into view, holding her hands and asking if she’s alright. She can’t answer, no words will come out of her mouth, so she just cries.

“Are you hurt?” Her mother holds her face and Uncle Tommy looks frantic. “No, look at me. Please, are you alright?” Sunshine can’t answer and Kat holds her daughter, crying along with Tommy. “You’re okay. You’re okay. Alright?”

“Let’s get her back to the car,” Uncle Tommy says, and Kat nods. The three stumble out of the clearing, tears fresh and hearts torn open.

Only the rusty blade remains behind.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

So, that happened.She’s recovering, more or less. Everyone’s okay. Everyone’s fine. I mean, she’s not okay. Definitely not. But physically, sure. Mentally? On the downside. Not like that’s new or anything.She’s not sure what to think of it all. Sunshine’s looked back over the footage more times than she can count and it just — none of it makes sense. Well, it does. Kind of. But not really.It’s a little weird, the shift of energy in the house. It’s not as dark, not like before, when her mother had been... well, under the influence of a demonic force (She really doesn’t want to say the word). Uncle Tommy is still here, thank God, and he’s really helping out. Her mother is happy again. Just like old times, and it makes her heart swell, truly. Everything is finally going back to normal, and it’s all she’s ever wanted.But, well, about the video. Y’know. Sacrifice sight thingy. Anyway, she feels... there’s not really a word for what she feels. It’s like a heavy lump in her stomach. Like, like a fat man sitting on her chest. Sunshine remembers when she stood up and the bag was taken off, clearly Victoria was — well, gone — but then she rewatched the footage and her throat was kinda, um, yeah. Slashed? It was a very bloody and frightening sight, and looking at it brings her back to that place, to the rain drizzling over her body and the screams whipping through the wind behind her.She’d gone back, though. For some reason the weird dagger-knife thingy was gone. But Victoria wasn’t there. In fact, there was no trace of the excorcism at all. Anyone stumbling by would just admire the beauty of the clearing.Sunshine, well. All she can think of it is darkness. She never wants to return, and never will.So. Yeah. Victoria is gone. She hasn’t been passing by the house or anything, either. Sunshine wants to find her, but she isn’t even sure where to start. No last name, no given address, no known family... it’s dead ends everywhere. And there’s still that other lingering option, but Sunshine really, really doesn’t want to think of that.Victoria can’t be dead, right?Well. Time to move on.The demon — she’s pretty sure the demon had decided to take on the form of her mother because that’s.. who he was — that damn word, you know it, so his human form looked a lot like her. That was equally creepy, seeing Kat’s face morphed like that, but she knows it wasn’t really her mother. She’s not scared, not anymore.Thank God.Lastly, well, Creepy Guy. She has a lot of questions about him that she needs to answer, but just like Victoria, doesn’t know where to begin. Like, at all.What does she know, though? He’s the same guy from the abandoned house that she’d gone to alone a few weeks back. Very crazy. Insane and disturbing. That’s why she’s calling him Creepy Guy. But she still wants to know why he was at the site. Does he have something to do with the cult? Why does he know so much about her father? That’s — weird. Definitely weird. He kept talking about him, like he knew him.Shit. Maybe he does.And, most of all, why did he call her that word? Luiseach? That must mean something, but she’s not really sure. Sunshine will have to do some digging. Later. Not right now. She still needs to recover and get all of that ghost nonsense out of her mind.Relaxing.Ah. Sounds really, really nice.Oh, why the hell not?
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Uncle Tommy is leaving.But uh, they’re sharing stories on the back porch. At least, her mom and Uncle Tommy are. Sunshine smiles as she listens along, partly because these tales are amusing, but also because she’s so happy to have her real mother back.It’s refreshing. Those months had been dark. Now, everything feels light. Even the day is crystal clear and the soft breeze feels nice brushing against her skin.Warmth. It floods her senses.“So, how are you guys all feeling?” Sunshine questions, crossing her legs and gazing at her two family members. Or, one family member. One, technically not, but he’s still counted as one.“Oh, us?” Kat points to Uncle Tommy and herself.“Everybody else too!” Sunshine quips, waiving her hand across the empty backyard.Her mother rolls her eyes. “I thought you meant them.” She raises a brow at the camera and slouches back in the lawn chair. Uncle Tommy laughs. “All the people out,” he jokes.Sunshine snickers along, gazing across the other side of the vacant glass table. “Rick, Moe, scoot over.”“Yeah.” Kat shrugs but grins. “I feel good.”Who wouldn’t, after being —? Okay, okay. Possessed. She’s finally getting over it all. No judging.“Good,” Uncle Tommy agrees, nodding. “I feel like I came at a pretty crazy time in your life.”“Yeah you did.”“A lil’ bit,” Kat snorts. “Nothin’ like drama for Uncle Tommy.”“Yeah. A — normal.. situation.” Uncle Tommy takes his drink in one hand.“Always happens with us.”“We’re just, always, hectically crazy,” Sunshine continues, wiggling her eyebrows.“How are you feeling?” Her mother looks at her with the mom eyes and Sunshine presses her lips together into a soft smile.“I am good,” she replies, slowly. “I was a little — what’s the word I’m looking for — hesitant..? To.. talk about it more? But I’m better now, so. Yeah.” A pause. “Uncle Tommy leaves tomorrow.” She mimicks a dog whimpering.“I don’t think you should leave,” Kat jokes, brushing a hand through her auburn hair.“Okay,” he agrees.“Okay, I’ll just stay.” Sunshine wheezes.“You came all this way. You should stay longer.” Kat looks at him.“I have to get back for a little while at least,” he says.“Don’t you have like a job or something? To keep you living there?” Sunshine smirks.“Yeah. Whatevs.”“I don’t have one, it’s fine. McDonalds is always hiring.”He laughs. “Maybe I’ll sell shirts, too.”She gasps. “Yeaaah!”Kat smiles. “It’ll say Uncle Tommy.”“So!” Sunshine claps. “Do you have any imparting wisdom? For the little YouTubers?”“Uh oh. Remember they’re young,” her mother banters.“Let me give some good amazeball wisdom here.” Uncle Tommy sits up and breathes out dramatically. “Really, it’s just, you know, make sure that Sunshine is — okay. And if she — y’know —”“Isn’t,” she snorts.“Isn’t,” he smiles, “or if I miss a video and somethin’ horrible happens — email me. Let me know so I can —”“Wait, who email you?” Kat cuts in.“You want everybody to have your email?”He points to both females. “You email me, you email me.”“You just wanna give your email address out there?” Kat cocks a brow and waves her hand to the camera.“You know what, I don’t care, if it keeps you safe, yeah, yeah.” He smiles and leans back, letting the rays of light spray over his face.“That’s.. weird, but I’ll think about putting that in the little box down below. Maybe.” She shrugs. “It’s just so weird to me how this whole thing has come so full circle.” His lips twitch. “What do you mean?” Kat asks.“Well, just — how, you were so into the paranormal when we were kids and stuff.”“Me?” her mother laughs.“You were into the paranormal?” Sunshine grins. Oh, this is entertaining.“Yes,” Uncle Tommy says, while Kat denies it at the same time“Oh, please!”“Whaaat?”“You were totally into this stuff!” He sets his glass down and looks at her, blown away. “You told me the aliens abducted you!”Kat waves her hand and Sunshine bursts out in shocked laughter. “You — do not even pretend!” he goes on.“No! No, he’s a little dramatic,” Kat argues, trying not to smile.“You told me they spoke to you in their alien language!”Sunshine gasps, wheezing. “No you didn’t!” Kat rolls her eyes. “Oh, man.”“He’s — being dramatic.” She looks away, amused.“She is so lying to you!”Sunshine smirks. “So, do you believe in it now?”Kat tilts her head from side to side. “Aliens? No.”Uncle Tommy cracks up.“I’m not — I mean, the paranormal, woman.”“Obviously! Yes.” Again... whole possessed thing.“You know, when I really noticed the big change in you,” Uncle Tommy begins, “was after you got back from your, uh, little disappearing act you did there.”Sunshine chokes. “Her what?”Uncle Tommy’s eyes widen. “She hasn’t told you?” Kat shakes her head in the background and kicks his knee.“You were gone for two years!” he exclaims.Sunshine’s jaw drops.“Your mom disappeared for two years,” he tells her. “She never told you that, hm. Little story for ya.”Kat looks at an invisible watch. “I think you need to go back to the airport.”“Yeah, she was gone for two years and then showed up on my doorstep one day with a little one-year-old baby, guess who that was?”Her mother leans her head back and groans.“My twin,” Sunshine whispers.“Not your twin,” Uncle Tommy laughs.“Are you serious?” she asks incredulously. “What?! Mom, where were you?”She waves her hand and doesn’t reply.Sunshine gasps. “This is when you joined the cult! You’re a cultist!”Uncle Tommy laughs and Kat grunts. “No, enough about the cult! No.”“You and Tom Cruise,” he says.Her mother sighs. “No, I met a boy—”“Ooo, boy.” Sunshine smirks.“Bad decisions.”“Welcome to the club.” She leans back.Kat raises a brow. “But I got you out of it.”“Oh, yay!”“So, there was that.”“Speaking of bad decisions, are you gonna stay away from the paranormal stuff now?” Uncle Tommy stares at her.“Maybe a lil’ bit,” Sunshine shrugs. “You know, back off a bit.” She hesitates. “But I wanna find out what I am.”“What you are?”“The — the word he used! The — thing, the — Louis — Loochichi...”“Honey..” Kat shakes her head.“I think it was, um, Luisecheach,” Uncle Tommy adds.Sunshine laughs and Kat snorts. “I think it was crazy. But, I don’t think you need to worry about it honey.”“Was I a drug baby?!”“You were not a drug baby,” she grumbles. “I just blocked it out.”“Why??”“It — because! It was a crazy time. I was very young, there was a lot going on, I did not disappear.”“You — oh, my God.” Uncle Tommy rolls his eyes.“You did!” Sunshine backs.“No! You guys all knew where I was —”“There are so many stories that your mom has not told you, and you know who’s going to? This guy, Uncle Tommy, right here.”“I was seventeen —”And they continue with their ramblings until the sun sets, and good faith is returned to all of their hearts.Everything is great.
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PART FOUR
Season Four: Paranormal Powers
A strange guy tries to help Sunshine understand what she is.

A “Luiseach.” Whatever that is.

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It’s September of 2011 and Sunshine is wondering what she wants to do next.Well, after the whole possession thing she’s not too sure if she should even be debating on what to explore. But, c’mon, her life is boring without the spirits, and she knows her fans want more. But what, exactly?So, options are:a) stay away from the paranormal like a good girlb) go investigate some haunted house or something, but that’s a little cheesy, even for herc) go on some awesome trip to Hawaii or London or something cool, except neither she or her mother have the money for something like thatWell. It seems like she has to stay here, huh?Oh. Also, she’s been thinking about her dad. Like, a lot. Which maybe isn’t a good thing, but Sunshine can’t help it. After what Creepy Guy said at the sacrifice site and the address in her mom’s cupboard (why did she have that, anyway?), she just — she needs to know more.There’s so many unanswered questions. She feels like he knows something about her, or at least knows she exists, but then why hasn’t he visited her? And Creepy Guy said that it would be a bad idea to contact her father. Why? No good for her, or no good for Creepy Guy? Or maybe he’s bad, or part of the cult, or even a Luiseach like she’s supposed to be.Maybe he knows about the demon.Either way, she’s determined to figure it out, if it’s the last damn thing she does.
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She turns on the camera and is immediately curious as to what the hell is going on right now.Her mom’s outside talking to some random guy she’s never met, but it sounds like she’s just yelling at him. Then again, Sunshine doesn’t feel that bad, because if he’s, like, a sketch fan then he deserves to be shooed away.“There’s no demon in the walls!” her mother snaps, and Sunshine raises a brow because already this conversation is weird.Great.Through the screen door she can see the guy — he’s a teenager and looks to be about her age, with fluffy brown hair sweeping over his head. His face is elegantly shaped and his eyes are kind enough, and she sort of likes his soft, wavering, and pleading voice. Well... she’ll admit, it’s a little pathetic, and the black leather jacket is a bit of a turn off.Probably a freak. Yep.“Okay, random guy. He’s arguing the point that I have demons,” Sunshine casually commentates. “Mom’s wearing purple.”“Annnnd I’m ready to help, and—” he continues.“He’s ready to help.”“I am not comfortable—”“Mom doesn’t want him to.”“I don’t know you!” her mother exclaims.“Mom doesn’t know him.”“Now someone’s figured out where we live.”“Okay—”“You think that makes me feel comfortable?”“Mom’s not comfortable.”“Well — it, it was a simple matter, it’s not difficult,” he explains, waving his hands, “you just triangulate—”“No! That does not make me feel better! Am I gonna have other random people showing up, on my doorstep?”“What I’m saying is — it’s okay, believe me—”“Mom?” Sunshine walks out, narrowing her eyes at the two. This should be interesting.Kat turns around. “Sunshine, I’m dealing with it, go inside.”The weird dude points at her. “Are you Sunshine?”“What, you haven’t seen the videos?!” her mother exclaims, clearly exasperated. “You don’t know who she is? You are crazy!”“Look, all I — I’m just trying to help—”“No.” Her mother turns and slams the screen door behind her. “Just go.”“Mom!” Sunshine complains.“I think that — please,” he begs, “let me — I’ll be very, I will — why don’t we stand — I think she might be the Luiseach!”Kat shuts the door and locks it, sighing as she leans against the door. “Well... that was.. unproductive,” Sunshine grunts.“He figured out where we live,” her mother says, clearly distrusting of the dude.“Well, it’s not that hard, he said something about triangulating and.. knowing something, and..”“You know what I think it is, I think that’s—” She turns her head to the window and grits her teeth, annoyed. “Oh, he’s just gonna stand there. That’s great.”Sunshine looks through and sees him pacing around restlessly.“So what, he knows about the Luiseach? What does he mean by that?” Kat fixes her with an intense stare.“I don’t know!” Sunshine replies, shaking her head. “I’ve never met him before, random guy..”“Here, I’d much rather this be on you, so we’re gonna do this like this, how’s that.” Her mother takes the camera and shows Sunshine rolling her eyes. “What do you wanna do? You wanna talk to him?”She inclines her head forward. “Yeah, kinda! Maybe he knows something.”“You wanna talk to him just cause he’s kind of a cute boy?”She raises a brow. “He’s not that attractive.”“Is he still there?”“Yes.”“What’s he — he’s crying? What’s he doing?” They watch as he shakes his head in the palm of his hand then straightens his back, looking around the front hard.“He looks so hurt,” Sunshine snorts. “I think you scared him. Oh, now he’s watching us watch him.”“Can he do a Creepy Lady and just disappear on us?” Kat smirks. “Cause that would be awesome.”“Oh, oh, he’s exiting.” Sunshine fake smiles. “Come on. Please?”“You wanna talk to him?”She nods.Kat sighs and opens the door, giving the camera back to her daughter. “Alright, random dude, come back over,” she says grudgingly, voice tired.He walks back toward the front door, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets. “Sunshine, this is random dude,” her mother introduces. “Do you have a name?”“Uh,” he says uncertainly, squinting through the rays of light from the sky, “Nolan. Nolan is my name.”“Excellent, well, I’m gonna take this, you’re prettier on camera. Come on down, Sunshine, and meet Nolan. He wants to talk to you, he wants to save you!” Kat speaks dramatically, backing away to show both teenagers in the shot.Oh. Sunshine’s hair is auburn now. She dyed it. Little oopsie on the reminding thing.“Hi Nolan,” she greets, making a face.“It’s a pleasure,” he returns, and the two step forward. Turns out Nolan is like, a whole head taller than her short ass. Great.“Are you Jehovah’s Witness? You’re much taller than me,” she says sarcastically, yet also unenthusiastically.“No. I’m agnostic.” There’s little to no emotion in his voice and it’s a little creepy to Sunshine. Oh well. It seems like he knows something.“Oh. That’s nice.”“Are you Jehovah’s Witness?”“Nope. Nope, mm-mm.”“Oh.”“She’s also not knocking on doors,” Kat notes.He shakes his head. “Okay, so, yeah, I know, it’s weird..”“It’s creepy,” her mother smiles.“It’s creepy, okay, okay, I get it.” He shrugs then looks down. “The jacket probably isn’t helping, but that’s not the point, look — I think I have something that might help you guys. Alright?”Sunshine cocks a brow and twirls her hand. “Elaborate?”“I will, not here, it’s bright..” He looks over his shoulder.“It’s bright? That was your — okay.”“What, you forgot your sunglasses?” Kat snorts.“Well it’s overcast, you can’t wear sunglasses on an overcast day,” he responds seriously, but also maybe a little knowingly. He seems to understand that what he says is stupid, but simply doesn’t care. And maybe he kind of believes in it, still.“That’s true, I agree.” Sunshine scrunches up her nose.“Okay, Nooolan, what are you trying to accomplish here, you wanna come in the house?” She stands with a weighted leg and crosses her arms.“Nol — it’s, the emphasis is on the first part of the..” He trails off.“Nooolan.”“Nolan. It’s just Nolan.”Sunshine laughs.“Okay,” Kat huffs. “I’m just gonna start calling him Random Dude.” She pauses. “So, what, are you trying to get in to see if you can feel something, do you think you have, like, a spiritual gift, what uh..?”“I have, I have information that could help you guys.” He nods along to his words.“Help us what?” Sunshine grunts.His eyes flicker from Sunshine to Kat, back to Sunshine. “Defeat the... monsters?”Sunshine looks amused. “Oh, there’s eyes in the bushes as well. Everyone’s a spy!”The two women go on their usual joking ramble but Nolan doesn’t seem to take interest. “I happen to know that you guys have... a polter..geest.. that’s, uh—”“Poltergeest?” Sunshine echoes, drawing her head forward incredulously. “Poltergeist, poltergist, whatever.”Sunshine giggles under her breath.“This is only gonna work if you say it correctly,” Kat says.“Oh man. This is gonna be..” Sunshine shakes her head.He goes on. “And, I... I think that you might be a little more special, than, any of us had imagined.”“Special,” she echoes humorously.“I know, sounds pointing.”“A little more special than anyone, I dunno,” she smirks.“Well — have, have you ever heard the term Luiseach before?”“Not until..” Sunshine thinks. “Creepy Guy.”“Not until he yelled it out,” Kat nods.“Okay, well.” Nolan clears his throat. “Luiseach. It’s the concept that, uh, you might have a natural predisposition towards being able to.. interact with certain entities and parties that..”Sunshine looks bored.“..may not be privy to others of our.. race.” He looks dubious for a moment then squares his slightly hunched shoulders.“Okay, so that’s what you think she.. is..?” Kat and Sunshine exchange a glance.Nolan’s expression remains the same. Expressionless, maybe a little hesitant. “I don’t know. Possibly.”“What are you, a walking encyclopedia?” “Do you — are you saying, like, you know more about the Luiseach? Is that what you mean?” Kat inquires.Nolan looks down at Sunshine, then tilts his head to the side. “I’m saying that I do know more about the Luiseach, and I’m saying that I can probably help. But I can’t do it if you guys think that I’m gonna come in and.. you know, raid your larders, and steal your.. cattle.”“I’m.. pretty sure we could take him, what do you think, Sunshine?”“Yeah,” she agrees, not intimidated or worried at all. He’s scrawny enough. “We don’t have cattle, by the way.”“Alright, so, thoughts?” Kat purses her lips. “Wanna let him in?”“Whatever.” Sunshine turns and makes her way back to the door.“I guess you’re comin’ in,” she smirks.“We’ve let weirder people in.”“We have?” Kat thinks. “I guess Creepy Lady just let herself in.”“You guys won’t regret it,” Nolan speaks hopefully, following Sunshine.“Sure,” she calls back.“Alright. Excellent.”God knows what will happen next. Let’s hope he really doesn’t raid their larders and steal their cattle.
⠀ ⠀

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They’re all sitting at the dining room table, staring at Nolan with raised brows and dubious glances. He sits closest to the camera, serious but comfortable enough in the house.“So this is the, uh, Sunshine girl camera.” He tilts his head and observes the blinking red light.“..yup,” Kat nods, her expression a mixture of annoyed and weirded out.“It’s nice,” he notes, voice high. “It’s small.” Nolan makes a face and squints. “But it’s nice. I like it.”Sunshine and her mother exchange an amused glance.“I wish, uh.” He scratches his nose and his lips twitch into a small smile. “I wish Victoria could be here. Man.”Kat shakes her head. “Uh yeah, no one’s figured out where she lives.”Nolan stares at her then nods slowly. “Huh. How ‘bout that.” He gives a large fake smile to Sunshine.“Yep, mmm..” she clasps her hands together and awkwardly looks around.“Yeah, we prefer it that way,” her mother continues.Nolan’s smile drops and he rests his arm on the table. “But more to the point — why I’m here. I think you might be a Luiseach.”Sunshine blinks. “Established, continue.”“Mmhm. Okay, so, take — take your minds back, if you will, a couple hundred years..”She drops her head and wheezes. “Oh man,” she mutters.“..right, uh, swords, sorcery, castles, Bubonic Plague, that sort of thing,” he goes on, ignoring Sunshine as she rests her cheek on her hand, looking skeptical. “Luiseachai. Luiseach.. Luiseaches, and uh, they — they fight, they fight the bad guys in a myriad of really cool ways, but the thing that distinguished them from other people was always the fact that they were able to simultaneously attract and repel dark energy.”Sunshine doesn’t move. “What’d you do, Google that.”He pauses. “Close.” Nolan reaches down into his leather jacket and unzips it. “I have the article right here, detailing what I found.” He passes it to the two. “You’ll find everything in there — you know, it’s full of all the important facts.”“Uh, so, do we think that the Luiseach still are around today?” Kat asks, looking over the words intently.“No, well —” He shakes his head and blows out. “I, I think maybe, but they haven’t been seen around in a while.”“Okay.” Her mother quirks her lips. “Is that what you think Sunshine is, I mean..?”Nolan considers. “Yeah,” he says, more or less unsure. “Yeah. I think so. I think maybe.”“Okay..”“I think probably.” Kat shakes her head. “But it says that they usually have a protector..?”“Well, have you had anyone lookin’ out for you or something?”Her mother rolls her eyes, glaring at Nolan. “I thought you watched the videos.”He shrugs.“Is that what Victoria..?”“Probably, Victoria,” he nods. “I don’t know—”“Or do you think you’re the protector, I mean..?”“Probably not, I’m very scrawny, I’m small, that’s, not, that doesn’t sound like..” He pushes his eyebrows together and shakes his head.Sunshine eyes the camera and grunts. “Oh good, I was worried.”“Okay, so there’s like powers and..” Kat trails off as she continues reading.“Am I like a superhero?” Sunshine huffs, looking over her mother’s shoulder at the article.“You do use the word superhero.”“So.. what now?” Kat doesn’t look up as she speaks.Nolan sighs. “I don’t know,” he admits.Sunshine straightens. “I feel like the only logical thing to do would be.. ten random facts about Nolan, I mean, we really should get to know him, shouldn’t we?”Nolan smiles. “Oh, that’s — that’s a good idea.”Kat drops her arms and stares at her daughter in disbelief. “Really?”Sunshine smirks and nods. Nolan just shows a toothy grin to the camera.Her mother grumbles. “I was thinking he’s given us enough information, you can just hit the road.” She narrows her eyes. “The Luiseach are believed to be extinct..”“Hmm. That’s nice.”“You’re extinct.”“Yup.”Sunshine suddenly jumps up to Kat and Nolan’s surprise and picks up the camera, snorting. “He thought I was kidding.” She shows Nolan sitting in the chair, smiling widely. “Ten random facts. Go!”“Alright, so.” He turns his head from side to side, thinking. “Random fact number one, uh, I’m a Cancer.” He purses his lips and nods, staring at the camera. When no one reacts he says, “Astrologically I’m a Cancer.”“Oh.” Sunshine chuckles. “Okay.”“Uhh.” He tilts his head up. “Number two, I never learned to drive a vehicle. I walked here.” His serious expression never changes.“You walked here?” Kat mutters.“It took a long time..” Nolan looks down.“That’s—”“Random fact number three! I’ve — I’ve lived in over 41 different home..s. Apartments.”“How many were haunted?” Her mother snorts.He thinks. “12. I’m just kidding.” Nolan smiles at both of them. “None. Not anymore. Number four, I like long walks on the beach and burritos.”Sunshine giggles under her breath.“At the same time,” he adds. “Number five, I’m an avid reader. However, I — I can’t think of any books that I’ve read.” He rubs his chin and moves his jaw.“You read a lot but you can’t name any books?” Kat raises a brow at her daughter. “Twilight series, whole thing. I know it’s your favorite.”Nolan looks down. “Don’t tell anyone,” he whispers sarcastically. “Number six, uhh, I’m a good cook of macaroni and cheese, quesadillas.. spaghetti.” He grins. “Buttered toast. Apples. I know where to get apples.”“Oh, good,” she laughs.“Number seven—”“You don’t cook apples..”“These are getting more difficult, there’s really not a lot of interesting things about me.”“Only on seven,” Sunshine notes.“Mmhm.”“Oh heavens, come on.”“Number seven, I’m a go-getter. I like to go and I like to get.”“That’s — that’s not—”“Number eight, uhhh, I’m sixty five years old. I use a very rigorous exfoliation method involving lots of different types of mineral deposits and.. soapstone salts, that sort of thing.” He nods, that thing he does when he’s genuinely saying something.“Hmm, jealous,” Sunshine quips.“Nine. Are we at nine?”“Sure. Nine,” Kat grumbles. “Nine, um, when I was five years old I invented my own combination of spices as a — as a special blend, uh, it’s a secret.”“Does it have a name?” Sunshine asks.He raises a brow. “It’s a secret.” He uses that ‘obviously’ tone that Sunshine sometimes does to her mother, or, like, actually a lot, and it makes her realize how annoying it is.“Kentucky Fried Chicken now uses it?” Kat jokes.“No, they only use eleven, I use uh..” Nolan ponders. “The last count there was 45 spices.”“That sounds... gross.” Sunshine makes a face.“And uh, number ten, I have a slight but abiding interest in the paranormal and the strange.” He gives a closed, forced smile.“That’s... very random..”“Wow. Alright.” Sunshine laughs. “Those were... ten.. extra special random facts about Nolan.”Hmm. She’s not sure what to think about him, but does wonder after he eventually leaves. She thinks he’s annoying and kind of obnoxious, but she does want her fans’ opinions on him. They didn’t really learn much from him — his ten random facts weren’t that personal. I mean, yes, they were, but they weren’t deep.Not like she cares much anyway.She guesses he’s useful in the fact that he can Google a couple of things, and he’s almost like an encyclopedia in that manner; definitely a know-it-all. But he has good shoes. That’s always important.Also, he likes spices a lot. That was weird.Talks about himself very fondly, which she doesn’t like either. Hmm. It seems there’s more bad about him than good, and she needs to add the fact that she doesn’t know why he came or what he came for.Hopefully she doesn’t have to see him again. If so, she might actually pull her hair out. Even though he did leave his information and wants her to call him, Sunshine isn’t sure she really wants to. But it seems like he really wants to help.Oh. Her mom also talked to him before he left and, well — apparently he’d found them accidentally? Whatever that means... he’s not as cool as he thinks he is, clearly.Ugh. Too many spiraling thoughts, and too little time to clear them all up.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The next few days go on quietly. She hardly thinks about Nolan at this point, and mostly forgets she has his number. Not like he’s tried to contact her at all, anyway.Then, she gets something in the mail. It’s an envelope with her full name written on the back, which is very unsettling, and inside is a paper with terrible, huge black font.
“It’s not over. This is only the beginning of your journey. They are still watching. They need you to fulfill your destiny. We all do. You must continue to shine light and remove the dark.”
Not weird or creepy sounding or anything.So, yeah. She’s not really sure who’s sending her mail or who knows her full name (please don’t tell her it’s Nolan and his “triangulation” skills). Maybe it’s whover sent her the picture so long ago of her ghosts, the ones with the bags over their heads.But when she thinks of that, she thinks of the sacrifice site. She remembers the rain pouring down on her body and drenching her. She remember the screams echoing in her ears, the terrible snarls of the demon from right beside her.She begins to shake. She — she doesn’t, she doesn’t know how to feel, it’s all coming back, all of those memories, and she needs help, she needs someone, where is her mother? Possessed? No, she’s fine... she’s fine, that’s not, that’s not what’s happening anymore. Sunshine dials the number and waits, breathing irregularly. It rings for a moment before someone picks up, but doesn’t say anything.“H — Hello?” Sunshine whispers, closing her eyes.“Oh. Sunshine.” Nolan clears his throat. “I didn’t expect you to, uh, to call me. What’s up?”“I, I need you to come over.” She tries to calm herself down and thinks about all the good in her life, how her mother is fine now, and how the demon is gone. She’s fine. She’s fine“Gotcha.” And he hangs up.Um. Well. That’s great. So, she waits around for about half an hour until a knock on the door jolts her from her relaxing. Now that she’s calm, she sighs and stands tall, strolling over to the door. And there Nolan is, same black leather jacket, same squinted eyes and pursed lips.“Sit down,” she offers, then grabs her camera, deciding that he can make himself useful while he’s here. “I have Nolan here to ask him about the letter,” she explains, turning the screen to him.He stares at the walls and doesn’t move his head when she calls his name. Sunshine grunts and tries again. “Nolan.” He looks back at her and smiles. “Hey buddy, hey. So.” She slaps the envelope down and pushes it over to him. “Was this you who sent this to me?”He breathes out and takes the letter, furrowing his brows. “Don’t lie,” she adds. Nolan begins reading it to himself. “Take your time,” she says sarcastically.He looks at the envelope then back to the letter, pushing the envelope away. “What are you doing?” she laughs. He doesn’t answer. “Did you or did you—” She giggles. “Not?”“No,” he says simply. “I didn’t write this.”“Oh, you had to read the full thing to know.”“I know what it means though.” His dark eyes flicker back up.“What do you mean you know what it means?”Nolan clears his throat, and here it is, he’s gonna go on his little I’m-smarter-than-you tangent. “Well, obviously, someone’s trying to send you a message.” He nods.“Oh. No way, with the letter, they were trying to send me—”“They’re saying that you.. are..” He inclines his head forward and forces a smile, trying to get her to say it. She’s lost. “The Luiseach,” Nolan finally whispers. “Remember? That’s my, that’s my tag, my tag line.”“Oh, right,” she snorts.He immediately drops his smile and returns to being serious. “You are the Luiseach.”“Yeah.”Nolan points to her.“Mmhm. I don’t think so.”He shrugs a shoulder back. “I think so.”“Why do you think that?” Sunshine cocks a brow.He gazes down at the table and shakes his head. “Many, many, uh, good —” He scratches his nose then throws his arms out. “You’re not the Luiseach, okay? Prove it.”“How —” She laughs. “How am I gonna prove it?”Nolan tilts his head from side to side. “Let’s uh, let’s go somewhere haunted, uh huh?”“Yeah.”“And if uh — if crazy things happen—” He waves his hands around, “and you don’t completley lose your biscuits, then that’s a point in my favor. Hm? What do you think?”“Nooo, that doesn’t make sense,” Sunshine counters. “If you say I’m a..” She pauses. “Luiseach.”“Uh huh.”“And I don’t... lose my biscuits.. then you’d be afraid.”He looks neutral. “That’s — that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”“You’re willing to — be a scaredy pants on camera?”He shrugs for a moment. “Yeah, yeah.” He checks the backyard then returns back to Sunshine, casually leaning back. “Yeah, yeah, it’s not about the camera.” Nolan makes a face. “It’s not about the camera?”“It’s about fighting the forces of evil, just like the letter says.” She can’t tell if he’s being serious or sarcastic.“There’s no fighting the forces of evil in this letter at all.” She picks it up and eyes it.“I didn’t actually read it, I was.. just..”“You were just mumbling to yourself, creepily? That’s good.”Nolan clears his throat. “Let’s — let’s go, we’ll, you know, hang out, spend the night, in the morning —”Sunshine looks at the camera with that ‘stop talking, that sounds weird and disturbing’ expression.“— if we’re not dead — and uh, if you’re not crazy, and I’m not crazy, we can reevaluate, uh, you know, what’s happening.”She doesn’t think he’s trying to lure her somewhere to either seduce or kill her (though she’s still pretty sure she can take him), because he still keeps that serious face, and nothing about him hints at anything deeper than what he says out loud.Maybe she trusts him, just a little bit. Is that bad?“Spend the night? Yeah right,” she says anyway, rolling her eyes. Not happening either way. She snorts when he looks around.“It’s okay,” he says slowly. “You can bring your.. mom.”“Okay. Well. While I ponder bringing my mother on a haunted overnight trip with Nolan, I’ll get back to you guys.”
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By the next day, Sunshine’s decided she at least wants to try with this little trip. She wants to ask her mother to go, though, because they’ve always done this kind of thing together, and she still is wary of Nolan and his intentions.Might as well to ask her right now.She runs into the door on the way down and grunts. “Ow.”“You alright there, princess?” Kat jokes when her daughter walks in the kitchen.Sunshine smiles. “Yeah. Hey.”Her mother’s folding towels on the dining room table for some reason, and when she sees the camera, hardly reacts with any emotion. “Oh, goody. Cause it’s been five minutes since we had the camera on us.”She’s used to this thing by now.Sunshine mimicks Kat’s complaining then eventually leans on one of the chairs. She realizes she has some other questions first. “So. I wanted to talk to you about the Luiseach and how you feel about it.”“Look how good we are at pronuncing.”“Pronuncing? Pronunciating.”Kat sighs. “Yeah, I talk for a living. What uh — what’s the question?”“How do you feel about the Luiseach?”“Oh.” She breathes out heavily. “Um, I don’t know. It could be kinda cool.”“Why is it kind of cool?”“I dunno.” She shrugs. “Maybe that uh — maybe it does kind of explain why things don’t seem to bother you as much as, you know, us mere mortals. I don’t know. I mean, I guess if it was true, it would explain a lot.”“That’s true..”“It seems like there should be more out there about it though.” Her mother frowns. “You know?”“Mmhm.” Sunshine thinks. Maybe they just really are considered extinct, or maybe no one knows what they are anymore. “It’s not very out there, just kind of.. secretetive.”“What?” Kat laughs. “Secretive. Uh, yeah, you know what I wanna know.” She smiles. “Is what’s uh.” She twirls her fingers mysteriously. “Your secret power.”“Oh, so now you believe in it?”“If I did believe in it, what is your secret power?”“I don’t know.” She thinks. “I hope I can fly.”“You wanna fly?”“Yeah.”“I’ll interview you now.” Her mother takes the camera. “How do you feel about the Luiseach?”“Uhhh. I hope I can fly.” She nods at the screen.“That’s what you’re hopin’ for?”“Yeah. I think it would be cool. But they said, according to legend, we may not know for many more years, many more moons—”“Before you find out what your superhero power is?”“Mmhm.”“I think we should try different things, let’s throw you off of a building.”Sunshine chuckles and rolls her eyes. “Light me on fire!” she jokes.“Let’s see, see if that works,” Kat laughs.“I don’t think that’s how it works.”“You don’t think so?”“I’ve found my power!” Sunshine fake yells.“We could ask around.” Her daughter makes a face. “We could just ask random people what uh, ‘Are you her protector?’”Sunshine snorts. “Do you know me?” she goes along.“You know what I wonder is, for a while, you said that you thought, you felt like sometimes somebody was following you or something?”“Mmhm..”“What if that was your protector? Mmm. Deep thought.”“I know. Ponder!” Sunshine taps her chin with her finger and lifts her head dramatically.“Have you asked uh.. the YouTubers what they think?”“No.” She grunts. “Children. Of the. YouTube.”“And adults,” Kat adds.“And adults.” Sunshine makes a weird face. “And anyone between children and adults, how do you feel, about all these shenanigans? Hm? Hm? Hm?” She tilts her head to the other side with every ‘hm.’“And what’s your secret power?” her mother whispers.“And what’s my secret power?” Sunshine echoes louder. “I hope I can like... read people’s minds.”“That might be scary.”“That would be fun.”And she completely forgets to even ask her mom about Nolan.
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By the end of the week, Sunshine’s decided that she’s not a Luiseach. That’s weird and silly and kind of ridiculous, and, she just doesn’t — it doesn’t fit.Unless something drastic and crazy happens that changes her mind otherwise, she’s pretty sure that she doesn’t believe it. That’s stupid.She’s not a child anymore.Neither is Nolan, but he sure as hell acts like one.
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Something weird happened today.“So guys,” she begins, sitting on the couch and faxing the camera. “Something.. weird... happened today.”“No no no, what are you doing, what are you doing?” her mother asks excitedly. “Are you telling? Are you telling? Ooo, are we gonna tell a story??” She sits down beside her daughter and claps like a little kid. “Okay.”Sunshine cocks a brow. “Well, you were there.”“I know! But I didn’t know you were gonna.. share.. cause it’s so weird, I thought it might be weird.”“Okay, well yes, it’s weird, would you like to tell them?”“No, you can tell them, I just wanna be here.” Kat draws her knees to her chest and smiles.“There’s not gonna be any reaction,” Sunshine laughs, waving at the camera. “Forget about that part,” her mother chuckles.“It’s not a live audience.” She claps. “Okay— so, something weird happened today when we were out shopping. Uh.. there was a man who seemed to be following us through several stores, not just one..”“She’s figuring out how to notice if somebody’s following her.”“Yeah, it was, um, weird. Strange.”“It’s like, everywhere we went, he was there.”“Mmhm. And — so finally, I just decided to go up and be like, ‘Hey dude, what’re you doin’?’”“Let’s clarify, I was like, ‘Imma go find out what’s goin’ on!’ And.. then.. she took care of it, cause she’s.. very..” Kat looks at her daughter.“Look at my muscles,” she whispers, then continues on. “But you know, at first I thought maybe it was one of you more creepy YouTube people..”“Cause every once in a while we do think somebody looks at us funny and we’re like, ‘Okay, why are they looking at us like that?’ Or, is it somebody who knows who she is on Sunshine, or whatever, so at first we thought it was that, but..” her mother trails off. “He followed us in every store! Stores men should not be in.”“I mean, you know, it was weird, so I went up to him, he freaked out and was like, ‘Don’t approach me, you’re one of them, you’re one of them, keep away.’ And I was like... yeah.”“And then he just.. ran off. It’s like — it was weird, it’s like she got too close to him or something. It was very odd.”“Very strange. But we didn’t see him again.”“No.” Kat shakes her head in an agreeing manner. “Not at the other stores we went to.”Sunshine rests her cheek on her knuckles. “So, Yes. That’s our weird story for the day. Ta-da.”
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She gets another weird envelope in the mail, same handwriting on the back with her full name.Great.Sunshine begins to peel it open but it’s really stuck, or she’s just weak. What feels like three hours later, she finally takes the letter out and looks over it, humming cheerfully. Then she cuts short.
”GO HERE.”
Below that is a picture of what looks like a warehouse with four garages.Alright. That’s very... direct. She’s not sure how to feel about it.Maybe Mr. Know-It-All Nolan will know what they have to do.Two hours later, Nolan, Kat, and Sunshine are sitting at the dining room table, inspecting the envelope and its contents. Kat and her daughter argue about whether Nolan will know what the letter means, and after looking over it, he tilts his head and interrupts.“Okay, so what this is is, uh...” He clears his throat. “Yeah, no, yeah, so this is a photograph..” Nolan waves the letter in his hands, balancing it delicately between his fingers. “Printing paper, relatively thick.”Sunshine can’t stop rolling her eyes. “Black text, as you can see.” Nolan moves back a little. “Looks like a — Futora font? Maybe?”“Oh my goshh,” Sunshine snaps, annoyed. Can he get on with it? He gives her a look then returns to the paper. “Uhhh. Parking. It’s a parking garage, there’s a drive—”“Okay you have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sunshine sighs and leans back.“Well — no, he’s saying exactly what we already determined,” Kat defends, narrowing her eyes and glaring at Nolan.“Yeah, but —”“What it is,” Nolan goes on, “This is a — this is a loading bay, probably at some sort of grocery store maybe, uh, Wamart, Target, something like that. Uhh, this is where they —” He moves his hands along to his words, “—what this is is they bring in the semi-trucks and they put them into reverse and—” “Okay, please stop talking.” Sunshine and her mother exchange a glance, but there’s a flicker of amusement somewhere there. She then sits up when something dawns on her. “Huh. I have an idea.”She stands up and grabs a pencil. Kat and Nolan watch her, confused. She sits down and begins to use the dull lead to scribble over the back of the picture. “This is where my Nancy Drew training comes in.”“You went to school for that?”“I did.”“What are you — doing?” Nolan peers over her shoulder.“Ooo. Is there something there?” Kat asks, eyes widening.“Wait a minute.” Nolan seems to finally understand what she’s doing and shoves the camera to the paper, trying to read the uncovered words.“Hey, cameraman, back off a minute.” Nolan grumbles and watches Sunshine write down the hidden address.108 E 50th.Looks like they’re going to the warehouse.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Field trip time. They’re going to the warehouse.“We’re very excited and everything,” she tells the camera, turning her head to the back seat. “We brought Nolan.”He grins.“For... protection I guess..?”His eyebrows drop and he turns away, frowning and shaking his head, even more so when Kat laughs.“Hey,” he interjects, taking a swig of Canada Dry. “I’m — I’m decent in a fight.”Sunshine raises a brow. “Yeah. Mm.”Nolan pauses. “I’m not, actually.”“I’d hurt that leather jacket~” Kat teases.“That’s why I wear it, so that I don’t have to fight people.” He nods but Sunshine can tell he’s being sarcastic. Sometimes she really doesn’t know, he always keeps a straight face.“Is that why?” she ponders.He looks down. “It doesn’t work.”Kat snorts. “You just love this. He loves this.”Nolan looks out of the windows, trying not to smile.“He should have his own YouTube channel!”Kat gasps. “Would he get off our’s then?!”Sunshine huffs. “I’m doubting it. I don’t know. What do you guys think? Should he? Maybe? Possibly?”“You didn’t ask him what he thinks.”She makes a face. “I don’t care what he thinks.”“I don’t think it really matters what I think.” Nolan sighs, then beams. “I’m excited, guys. So exciting.” He giggles like a little kid and looks around.“Does he know you’re still taping?” Kat laughs.“I don’t think so.”He drops his smile and returns to his firm stance, and is quiet until they reach the warehouse. Sunshine steps out of the car and stares at the four garages, matching them up with the picture she was sent.“Do you guys think this is it?” she asks. Nolan walks by, hands stuffed in his jacket pockets, and squints.Kat crosses her arms. “Yeah, I mean. It looks exactly the same.”“I don’t get it. There has to be something here.” Nolan twists his head from side to side.“There’s not — there’s nobody even here.” Kat sets her sunglasses on top of her head.“There’s gotta be something!” But when nothing seems to happen, nothing at all, he just sighs. “You can’t even tell what the — the building is..”“Yeah, it doesn’t have like a name..” Sunshine trails off.“Wait a minute.” Nolan seems to come to a realization, and his hands widen to the side in his pockets. “What if it’s nothing?”Kat rolls her eyes. “I — I think we’ve just—”“What if it’s nothing— no, seriously, what if there is nothing here? That can only mean one thing.” He nears the two and waits for them to answer.“That there’s nothing here,” Kat replies, annoyed.He stares at her then backs up, waving his arms near his head. “They’re watching us!” He smiles, maybe nervously or cheerfully because he’s ‘figured it out’. “They’re waiting for us!”“Who’s waiting for us?” Sunshine asks.“They’re waiting for us to come here!” Nolan hops around. Kat blocks out the sun with a hand and looks around. “What, there’s no —”“They wanted to see if we would believe — if we would actually show up, and we did, and they know!” “There’s nothing here!” Sunshine exclaims, looking around. She does feel a little unsettled, though. What if he’s right?“There’s no cameras, there’s — there’s nothing,” Kat agrees, shaking her head.“There’s gotta be something, all right, all we gotta do is look around, trust me — this is, this is big guys! This is — this is evil, okay? And good, and this is them fighting, and we’re in the middle of it!” Nolan smiles. “Just look around, maybe — maybe there’s..”They follow Nolan as he examines the garages, but he stamps his foot down in anger when he can’t find anything.“There’s nothing! Nolan!” Sunshine and her mother stop, but he continues pacing around the area.“There’s nothing,” Kat calls after him.“Check..” He stumbles over his words. “Look, It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter if there’s nothing, okay? They don’t want us to see them, that’s fine, we don’t have to see them yet. But..” He clasps his fingers and breathes out. “I can feel it, guys. Seriously. This is big.”Maybe Nolan really is crazy.“Okay, I don’t trust your feelings, I trust yours.” Kat points to Sunshine. “Do you feel anything?”“I don’t know!” She furrows her brows and looks around the area as well. She does, kind of, but.. isn’t sure if it’s just her being stupid and paranoid like Nolan is. “Maybe there’s something, or.. somebody here..”“Hey!” The two follow Nolan’s gaze toward a silver car that slowly pulls out from behind a tree. He begins to run after it as it peels away. “Hey! HEY!”Kat drops her head into her hands. “What, okay..”Sunshine laughs at the way he sprints. “Why is Nolan running after it, that’s the real question.” He continues to follow it even after it pulls onto the main road and speeds away. “Nolan!” she yells. He must have heard her because he slows down, clearly out of breath, and watches the car escape.“Is he trying to get a license plate?”“I don’t know.” Sunshine sighs. “It went that way!” Nolan shouts back.No shit.“All right, that’s why we brought Nolan, so he’d chase the.. bad guys away, I don’t know.” She flicks hair from her cheeks and faces the direction of the wind.“Okay, that was definitely not a ghost.” Kat throws her hands up. “It was a person in a car.”A person none of them had gotten a good look at, apparently.Great.
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Two days later, Nolan makes himself at home. And apparently he has a proposition.They’re sitting in the leather chairs, a pen twirling in his fingers as he watches the camera. He leans back and sighs, scratching the back of his head. “I mean — you’re the Luiseach or you’re not, right?”“Uh — yeah?”“One of two possibilities.”“Mmmhm, 50/50.”“But we can’t do anything..” He draws his head forward dramatically. “Until we know for sure.”“Okay..”He shrugs. “And I’m gonna propose the same thing that I’ve been proposing. Let’s take a trip to my grandma’s house.”Sunshine chuckles. “Your grandma’s house?”Nolan nods. “My grandma’s house, which is also haunted.”“It’s also haunted? It’s your grandma’s house and it’s haunted?” She smirks.“That’s sort of the reason I got into all this stuff.”“Wow,” she says, hardly pretending to be interested. “Come on,” he continues. “Look — nothing — my grandma’s been living there for fifty years, nothing bad is gonna happen. We just need to know what happens there and how you react.”“Okay..?”“Bring your mom, it’ll be fun. We have, like, popcorn and milkshakes.”“In your grandma’s haunted house.” She laughs.“She’s very hospitable.”“Is she?”“Surprisingly. Considering the... luminousness of the.. decor..” Nolan clicks the pen and stares straight ahead, that thing she’s noticed he does when he’s being more or less funny.In his own terms, at least.Sunshine shakes her head, amused. “Okay, right. So if we go and — we hang out and..”He scratches his chin. “We go, nothing happens, you’re not the — you’re not the Chosen One.” He throws his arms to the side. “We — we go, something does happen —”“Harry Potter,” she laughs.“—it goes to pieces, same thing. But... if you are the Luiseach, it’ll go down. And we’ll know.”Well.Looks like she’ll have to think on it.
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The day after Nolan’s proposition, Kat and Sunshine are going to Uncle Tommy’s apartment.Yep, he’s been back for like, a week, and they’ve actually been trying to get him to come to the house, but he wouldn’t let them film it because he had bad hair.Hope his hair looks better today.Sunshine knocks on the dark green door and Kat playfully covers the eye hole or whatever it’s called on doors. “Here, I’ll cover this so he doesn’t know that it’s us.”“That’s not weird. I don’t think he can even see out of that.”He swings open the door and laughs when they mock yell. “Hey, guys! How are you doing? Get over here!”“Oh, we’re hugging,” her mother comments, but gladly does so after he crushes the life out of Sunshine.“Awkward hugs,” Sunshine laughs.“Hi guys!” he waves jazz hands to the camera. “I’m back.”“And we’re so happy.” Kat grins. “Welcome home Uncle Tommy.”“I’m happy too.” He nods. “Thanks guys!”“And you’re officially here forever now, right?” Kat smirks.“Back in America for good.”After the three go on their usual ramble, Kat moves closer. “Let’s analyze, how does the hair look? Much better today.”Uncle Tommy plays with it a little. “I can’t see it,” he laughs.“Here, wanna see?” Her mother turns it over and shows it to him.“Oh, now it looks like a window,” he laughs when the screen points toward the wall. “You are such a dork.”God, she’s missed him so much.
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Sunshine is pretty sure she wants to go to Nolan’s grandma’s haunted house. That sounds weird, but she thinks it might answer a lot of questions for her.And it might be fun. Not for any other reason than it might be haunted, of course. She also likes the idea of being a Luiseach. It’s like a modern-day superhero. And that’s super cool. Who doesn’t wanna be a super hero? Seriously. She totally wore a cape when she was a kiddo. It just explains so much. Like, why she doesn’t freak out when the ghosts try to be a home-wrecker. Sometimes they go a little too far, but for the most part, she’s really interested in them. She wants to be involved in this.Or maybe she’s just crazy, and that’s another reason. Her mom says she’s ‘special.’ Would that be a surprise at all?Hm. But uh. Well, first she needs to ask mama bear. Who knows what she’ll say to this little trip.Sunshine sits beside her on the couch. “So.” Kat shuffles around before setting her magazine down. “Mom. Stop moving.”She sees the camera and smiles. “Oh! Sorry. I didn’t know what you were doin’.” Kat leans into the pillows and tilts her head. “What’s up?”“So.” Sunshine breathes in. “I was wondering if we could — you and me, you, me — and I guess..”“Shopping!”“Nolan..”“Watch the latest Twilight?”She chuckles. “No, go to Nolan’s grandma’s... haunted house.”Kat pauses and rolls her eyes. “Pretty sure I just heard Nolan’s grandma’s haunted house.”“Yeah. It’s a haunted house, she’s lived there forever. He wants to see if my power works!”“If your power works,” she laughs. “I think that we had come to the decision — during our last family council with Uncle Tommy — that you were gonna stay away from this... haunted-iss stuff.”“Haunted-iss.”She looks to the side.“I’m like a kid with candy, you can’t take me away from it,” Sunshine counters. “Come on. Please?”“It’s — I don’t think it’s a good idea.”“Please?”“Everything weird happens when you get around anything.. old..”“Not everything happens.”Kat shakes her head. “Not a good idea.”“Mom.”“You agreed with me! You said that—”“No, I never said that I’d stay away!” Sunshine shakes her finger at her mother. “Well — maybe you should email Uncle Tommy and see what he thinks.”Sunshine sighs and stands up, walking away.“You know I’m right,” her mother calls after her.“Maybe I’ll just go and hang out with other kids who smoke crack or something,” she whispers to the camera. “I’m sure she’d love that!”Kat grunts. “All right, we’ll go.”Sunshine quirks her eyebrows and turns around, smug. “Will we?”Yes.
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So. Nolan’s grandma’s haunted house.The three are currently in the car, Nolan in the back as usual, and Sunshine turns on the car lights because her camera light doesn’t work, like, at all.“Yeah, this is really safe,” Kat huffs. “Nolan, are we almost there?”He looks pretty serious and is more dressed up than usual. His hair is slicked back, not hanging in front of his face, and he’s wearing a checkered collared shirt underneath his usual black leather jacket. Fancy, for him.“Uh, yeah, it’s right up here,” he responds, squinting through the window into the darkness of the street.“Do you even know where we’re going Nolan?” Sunshine asks.“Uhhh...”Kat interrupts. “I think — it’s his grandma’s house, I think he knows where she lives. Like this? Go up here?”“Gravel road,” Sunshine commentates. “Creepy street light..”“You know what? Hey, give him the camera, let him be the camera guy.”“O...kay..?”“Cause you’re prettier, we’ll put you on camera then.”“I’m not sure how I feel about that..” She looks unsure for once, because she hasn’t ever really given her prized camera to anyone but her mother. But she trusts Nolan, right?“Hold it steady,” Kat orders, more or less light-hearted. “You’ve got this, Nolan.”“I’m gonna do my best,” he sighs.After a little more confusion and Nolan giving terrible directions, they finally manage to pull up to the driveway of the home.“That’s a cute little house!” Kat exclaims.“It doesn’t look haunted at all,” Sunshine snorts.“Well... I know.” Nolan scratches his head, observing the greenery around them. “Okay, so, where’s grandma?” Kat puts the car in park.“Oh, she went away for a while.”“Oh — did she die?!” Kat looks back at him incredulously. “Did you kill your grandma?”“Well — I — wouldn’t tell you if I had. She’s in Cabo now. She goes once every five years.”Kat grunts as all three get out of the car. The house is a dainty little place, white wood panels flowing down and an old school-shaped roof. The porch has bushes spilling through, and yet there’s a very homey feeling about the place.Sunshine glances at her mother through the darkness, who flashes a grin. “Don’t worry, I have a flashlight.”“Do you,” she says, rolling her eyes. “You’re like a Boy Scout.”“Look how prepared I am!” Kat rolls the flashlight through her fingers, clicking it on.“Well I mean,” Nolan speaks up, “there are lights in the house.”“Oh,” Kat wheezes, “I forgot about that. On haunted shows they..”Both teens stare at her.“Okay.” She purses her lips and makes her way toward the porch.Nolan trails after them, observing the house as if he hasn’t been here in years. Maybe he hasn’t. It would make sense, after all, because his directions are just terrible. Either that, or.. he just gives terrible directions. “If you think it’s gonna be more... appealing.. we can keep the lights off, but, honestly, like, that’s — not — a good idea.”“Cause it’s haunted!” her mother exclaims.“So this is, uh—” Nolan pinches his gaze as he looks through the swathing shadows blanketed over the home. “This is my grandmother’s house.”“This is a little sketch.” Kat steps on a twig and Sunshine nearly runs back to the car.“Be careful with the vegetation. It’s alive,” Nolan jokes.“Woah — grandma needs to do yard work.” Kat takes a white flower in her hand and Sunshine steps up to the trees“If you knew my grandma you’d understand.” Nolan waves the camera around the porch. “I mean, I love the lady, but she’s a little— uh— peculiar.”Sunshine stands next to the front door and stares at Nolan, waiting for him to open the door. The place is nice, she can admit, but deep inside her stomach she feels something writhing. Something bad. It puts her off guard and she isn’t exactly sure how to feel. She instead just rolls her eyes at Nolan’s comment and tries to push away her paranoia.He clicks the key in the lock and Kat playfully knocks on the door. “Anyone home? The ghosts can’t let us in?”Nolan doesn’t respond and instead opens the door to the house, stumbling around the darkness. “Alright,” he mutters, squinting.“Do you want me to get that for you there?” Sunshine snorts, “you can’t multitask the keys and the...?”Kat laughs somewhere father off as Sunshine turns the light on.“Sorry, I’m trying to, uh...” Nolan scratches the back of his head and frowns. Light spills over the living room, opening the house to everyone’s eyes. “This is so cute!” Kat exclaims, glancing around at the pictures hanging on the walls. “Yeah, no, it’s a— it’s a nice house.” Nolan genuinely smiles, as if he’s reliving memories from years before. Sunshine smiles at that, too.Her mother pokes her chin. “It doesn’t seem very, um, like your traditional— haunted— facade.” She waves her hands above her head, as if she was stretching out a rainbow.“Yeah! Well... you know what, make you— make yourselves at home, um, we can— have some— do you guys like snacks?” Nolan staggers awkwardly over words, brows pressing together in slight worry and embarrassment. “Did you guys bring snacks?”The two of them look at Nolan. “Grandma doesn’t have food?” Kat asks, while Sunshine questions the same thing solemnly.“Well, um, she has food, but— I— well, see, there’s this thing.” Sunshine grunts and Kat smiles, a mix of amused and confused. “Uh, I tried once to take some of her food when I was six years old—”Mother and daughter exchange a glance. “This is gonna be a long story,” Sunshine groans.“And she didn’t like it,” he finishes.The two laugh at him and amuse the idea of Nolan’s grandmother kicking him out of the house. They eventually turn all of the lights on and keep poking around the house— it’s set up nice and quaint, honestly. When walking in, the house opens up to a living room and spreads into a nice, old-smelling kitchen. Down the hall are a few bedrooms and a bathroom that they haven’t yet explored.Sunshine feels something there. It isn’t anything good, either. That being said, she takes the camera from Nolan and slumps her shoulders, growing relaxed at the familiar feel of the camera in her hands. “Okay guys,” she states, “so we have—” Clattering from the cupboards, “—moved into the kitchen and... Nolan’s in there trying to set up some cameras or something, and mom is raiding the kitchen of food.”Kat walks around the island, holding a Diet Coke in one hand and munching on a protein bar in the other.In the other room, Nolan positions his camera, tilting his head to make sure it can span through the entire living room. He furrows his eyebrows, pushing his dark hair back. “How do you tell if this is... on?” he calls back, swiveling his head toward the kitchen.When no response comes, he wipes his hand over his mouth and suddenly stiffens, pointing a finger toward the kitchen. “Hey, hey, hey! What did I say— what did I say about the food? Nobody—” Nolan gives up and grunts, standing and quickly walking over to the kitchen. “Guys, come on.. please don’t touch anything..”“She doesn’t have anything at all,” Sunshine drawls when Nolan joins them in the kitchen, “she’s foodless— why’s there so many chickens in here, seriously, does your grandma have a set?” She scrutinizes the hanging chicken paintings and fragile decorations dotting an old, brown dresser. Kat pulls out Cheetos. “Here.”“More... chip bags.”“Guys,” Nolan stresses, running a hand through his hair. He stands, unamused, watching Kat open the bag. “Don’t do it.” She pulls out a Cheeto and pops it in her mouth. Nolan presses his lips together and sighs, closing his eyes. Sunshine only laughs and Kat appears to not care. “Alright, fine, you know what? No, that’s..” Nolan sits in a chair next to the chicken dresser. “...that’s fine, just eat then, that’s.. You know.” He tries to shrug it off, nonchalant, but clearly cares very much. “Like I care about, you know, making sure that my grandmother has things that she can eat. You know, she’s frail, y’know, she’s frail and she needs her carbs.”“Her Cheetos?” Sunshine snorts, unconvinced. “Show us this house,” Kat says, turning to wash her hands. Nolan doesn’t move, just stares straight forward, ignoring both of them.“Come on!” Sunshine exclaims, walking toward him.“Well, this is the kitchen,” he says, continuing to stare straight forward. “So enthused.”“Hey, it’s gonna be a great time, okay?” Nolan stands up. “You ever had a slumber party before?”“Oo, a pillow fight,” Kat snickers.“Over here,” Nolan continues seriously, pointing inside a room tucked in the corner of the kitchen, “this is the washer. And the dryer. This is where we do the laundry.”Sunshine turns her head to stare. “This is our dining room table.” He gently pulls out a chair, glancing at both of them to make sure they’re listening. He slaps the chair, “What happy meals we’ve had here, I’ll tell you what.” Sunshine snorts and exchanges an amused glance with her mother. “So thorough.”Nolan turns around and glances into the living room. “Uh, living room.” He leads the two to a white door with a hanging metal star on the top, opening it up. “This is the closet, clothes closet.” He begins to walk down the dark hallway, which stops Sunshine in her tracks. She eventually continues to follow, feeling slightly more comforted by being in the middle.“So, uh, even though we’re not consuming food, or beverages—” Nolan looks darkly into the camera but his expression loosens, “—other than tap water, that’s fine. If you do need to relieve yourself, uh, bathroom is here.” He switches on the light to another small white room, containing a sink, a toilet next to it, and a shower in the back.“It’s very... white..” Sunshine observes.“It has all the necessities,” Nolan goes on, then loudly clears his throat when she and Kat linger.“I’m assuming that means we continue on?” “Yes.” He leads them to the end of the hallway, eyeing a door to the left. “So this is the den. You know why I love the den? I don’t really know.” There are cat pictures and posters hanging on the walls, several plump chairs and couches laid around on the floor. “It’s just cozy.”“Mmhm...” Sunshine cocks a brow at all the clatter lying around on the ground, spilling out of the closet. “This is kind of, um, messy.” “A little bit,” Kat agrees from the door.“Hey.” Nolan stares at her, but continues on his rambling, “yeah, I used to— used to play with this little barn right here.” Sunshine glances down at the wooden toy farm below their feet, a fence surrounding it.Sunshine quips, “Maybe that’s where your grandma’s chicken obsession comes from.”Nolan mutters something unintelligible.“Okay,” Kat says.Sunshine rolls her eyes and exits the room. “We’re walking away from you.”“Anyway,” Nolan continues, pushing past them to lead, “Uh, so, this is the guest bedroom.” He opens the last door on the left side of the hallway, revealing a stark white room with a white bed, old hanging pictures, and a white dresser. “As you can see, it’s, uh..”“It’s cute,” Kat finishes. “I like it.”“Pretty,” he says. “This is where I used to stay.”Sunshine observes the mirror, squinting. There doesn’t seem to be anything that bad here, or at least in her field of vision. Maybe Nolan’s grandma’s house isn’t haunted after all.“Yeah.. I think it’s responsible for a lot of my masculinity.” Now, Sunshine can tell he’s being sarcastic, only because he knows he’s a pussy. He shrugs his black leather jacket over his shoulders, “you know, the strong, silent type that I...” He trails off and turns to the last door on the right side of the hallway.“Agreed,” Sunshine mutters while following.“So, this is my grandmother’s bedroom. But,” He raises a hand, staring at both of them, “in the interest of privacy, I don’t think that we need—” Sunshine opens the door, “—Okay. No, please—” He gives up.“I feel like we need to explore the whole house if we’re gonna really do this right,” Sunshine says in an amused sing-song voice, turning the light on and panning her camera around. It has more mild colors than the continuous white of the other rooms, but keeps the same old lady decor. “I guess I can’t argue with you there,” Nolan grudgingly agrees.“Pretty cute,” Kat adds, and Sunshine finds it hilarious that her mother’s been able to go this long without really talking or making fun of Nolan. Sunshine sways by the tan curtains and eyes the headboard of the bed, “It’s very... nice.”“Very nice,” Kat nods.“Your grandma can decorate.”“Well, yeah.” Nolan shrugs and slides open the bathroom door, “Now. I don’t know if anything’s gonna happen, but if it does, it’ll happen while you’re around. That’s my theory.”“Good theory,” Sunshine says, then turns the camera to show her rolling her eyes.“Strange things,” Nolan goes on, “slamming doors... my grandma’s a total, uh, a total—”“Where’d my mom go?” Sunshine asks, because when she looks around Kat isn’t there. Her heart begins to pump heavily in her chest and it feels like the blood is draining out of her body. Memories of the exorcism come to mind, flashes of fangs and claws, thunder rolling up above and lightning streaking in the clouded skies. No, no, please, please...“Uh.” Nolan doesn’t notice her slight panicking and whips his head from side to side, narrowing his eyes. “Hey, Kat?” They’re back in the hallway now, and no answer comes.“Mom?” Sunshine’s voice comes out high-pitched and slightly broken.“Kat?” Nolan calls again, poking his head into the guest bedroom. Sunshine looks down the hall, past the bathroom and into the living room. Something is wrong. She was right behind us! Attempting to soothe her nerves, “She’s probably in the kitchen eating more Cheetos.”Nolan beguns to walk that way. Suddenly, Kat jumps out from behind the wall and screams, “Bah!” Nolan rears back and nearly throws Sunshine to the ground, hands flinging into the air. He gasps in shock and ignores both women’s laughing, biting his lip in annoyance. Kat claps her hand and jumps around like a little kid.Sunshine doesn’t mention the terror she’d been feeling earlier. Better not.“Hey!” he finally exclaims after catching his breath, following Kat into the middle of the kitchen and living room, “no, that’s not funny, come on, like if that—” His hands drop to his sides and he pushes his brows together, clearly very agitated. “Kat, how are we supposed to find a real ghost if you’re pretending to be a ghost? That’s not—” He waves his hands by his head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”Kat grins and claps again, laughing. “You two, come on,” he orders.“What are we doing?” Sunshine laughs. “Are you gonna tell us?” Kat sits down on the couch and she joins her mother, eyeing Nolan.“Tell you what,” he mutters. “Tell us,” she insists.“Tell you what?” He pulls up a chair and watches both of them.“A history of the house!” Kat begs, “you said it’s haunted!”“It is haunted,” he nods. Nolan leans his shoulders forward and rests his hands on top of his legs. “Probably.”“It’s all you,” Kat sighs.“I’m telling you, guys, you don’t need to— just—” Nolan leans back and scratches his nose, sighing. “Okay, you wanna hear it?” He pushes a pillow to his side and crosses his legs. “You wanna hear it? Alright.” Nolan points to both of them. “But when you hear it, you can’t unhear it.”Sunshine can’t tell if he’s trying to be funny or not. If so, it isn’t working. “Okay,” she responds, just hoping he gets on with it.“Okay,” he finally continues, “So the year is 1947.” Nolan crosses his legs and averts his gaze between the two women. “It’s a nice town, people like each other, white picket fences. You know, all the good 50s stuff. And there’s this guy, his name— his name’s Frederic Loren. Right. And..”Sunshine and Kat exchange a glance. This already sounds... great.Nolan looks away, thinking hard. “He’s— he’s a nice guy, he’s a little bit of an oddball, he has an odd sense of humor, and he has this wife... that nobody ever sees. And— um— you guys don’t want to hear this.” He scrunches up his nose and shifts in the chair, waving a hand at them. “It’s— it’s gross.”“Well, now we kind a have to...” Kat trials off.Sunshine nods. “You already started, you have to finish.”He sighs heavily and dramatically. Oh, brother.. “Alright, so, basically, one day, somebody— somebody anonymously reported the police that they saw this Frederic Loren dragging a body into his house, or what they thought might be a body.”“Into the house,” Kat attempts to confirm.Nolan sucks his teeth. “Uh-huh.”“Wait, this house?”His frown deepens. “Yeah.”“Okay...”“Now, this is— this is a nice town,” he goes on, “everybody knows each other, everybody likes Frederic Loren. Right, so, the police don’t take it seriously. A couple days later, somebody else goes missing. So they have to. So, uh, they send a deputy out and, uh, y’know, they don’t hear back from him. Time goes by and—” Nolan clears his throat, “the sheriff gets worried, so he sends out a, uh, he sends out another deputy that doesn’t do any better.He realizes there’s something going on. So, he, uh, he drives himself and a shotgun to the house and knocks on the door. A thin voice says to him, y’know, ‘Come in!’ Yeah? And he does come in, and there’s a guy in there, a tall, lanky guy, wearing a white mask and coveralls.”“What...?” Sunshine mutters.“And uh, he’s— he’s got these, uh, deputies strung up from the ceiling, and he’s got a blowtorch in his hands, and he’s burning the fat off of these guys into a...” Nolan spreads his hands out. “Into a pot, right—” He laughs, “this is Frederic Loren in his own house, boiling people into pots and he, and he turns to the sheriff and he goes, ‘You should come back later, and I will be done.’ Frederic Loren gets arrested. He’s laughing the whole time they take him to the vehicle, the sheriff calls for backup, and they search the house and they find a trapdoor to these, uh, underground rooms, like catacombs or something, and uh, there’s a very particular layout of these rooms. There’s this skin at the back, like a human pelt, pinned up like a trophy, and in each room there’s a vat of fat.Now, it’s been a while, and one would assume because all of these vats have solidified— bacon grease— the exception of a couple in the back. Which are empty. So the police look around and they find— they find a thin, very thin, little corpse. No arms. No legs. Next to an empty vat. Next to the vat as well, there’s a little note, written presumably by Frederic Loren. It just says, ‘Drink up, my dear, you’re looking thin. Drink the whole thing.’”Nolan shifts in his seat and suddenly jerks back into— well, normal him, not story-telling him, and shrugs. “So yeah, that’s the tale. You’re welcome.”Sunshine’s mouth is dropped open. “Ew.” She repeats this several times as she walks into the kitchen to— what, wash her hands? Nolan rolls his eyes and points his thumb to her.“What kind of Luiseach are you? Come on,” he criticizes.“Ew, ew, ew, ew!”“I’m gonna go get another snack,” Kat grunts.Well. That went great.

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“Ew, ew ew...!”
“All right, all right, it’s okay—” Kat fumbles with the camera and frowns when Sunshine buries her face in her hands, pacing the kitchen. “It’s not dead bodies in the wall, all right?”“It’s skin,” Sunshine retorts and fans herself with a hand.“No, okay, all right, it’s just a story, we don’t know if anything he says is true. He could just be making this up to impress you.”Nolan interrupts them as he wavers near the dining room table, looking off to the side and into the living room. “Question. Nobody listens to me, right?” He off-handedly glances in their direction, but not at them.“Okay,” Kat counters, “that was really a gross story, all right, we’re just kind of thinking—”“It’s not like I made it up!” Nolan says, shrugging his shoulders defensively. “I’m sorry, you guys remember you wanted to know about the.. thing..? And I was like, no, no, no, and you went yes, yes, yes!” He spreads his hands forward and mimics them in a high voice. “And I tell it, and you’re all like—““Yes, we sound like that.” Sunshine rolls her eyes.“No, and you’re a jerk!” Nolan continues mocking, wiping a hand over his mouth. “Well, look, don’t be worried, it’ll be okay, uh.. my grandma has always been...”Sunshine looks at the camera.“..I mean, happy, here. There’s never been, really a— an instance of any great magnitude, you know, it’s mostly just, y’know, little... temperature changes, you know what I mean.” Nolan walks behind them and stands next to the cupboard. Sunshine stares at him. “The house was torn down and was rebuilt.”Neither of them say anything.“Look,” Nolan stresses, “all I’m thinking is that, it’s like, y’know, the victims.” He spreads his arms to his sides. Sunshine drops her hands. “Okay,” she says shortly, “the ghosts, yeah.”“All right, it’s— there’s gonna be—” He pauses, staring into the distance. He’s thinking, Sunshine can tell, and the clear-strung hesitation isn’t making her feel any better. She’s sorry for feeling disgusted at that story, but honestly, who wouldn’t? For starters, she’s literally standing over where there were dead bodies, and now she knows what that deep, pulsing fear in her gut was about. Frederick Loren is making her feel this way.“No, what did you just—” Sunshine sighs heavily and palms her face, stressing out.“You just had a moment,” Kat observes, pushing her brows together.Nolan walks back to the chicken dresser, placing his hands on the counter. “Well, I’m just—” He frowns. “Thinkin’ that— well, I mean, you’re a Luiseach.”“Well.” Kat hums. “We don’t know.”“I think so, I think so,” Nolan continues to ramble, ignoring Sunshine glancing up at him as she leans on her arms. “What I’m— cause I’ve never seen anything horrible here, but... I guess I’ve never had a Luiseach in the house. I’m curious as to whether we run into Freddy.”“No,” Sunshine mumbles. She doesn’t want to run into Freddy.Kat, still holding the camera, puffs out a breath of air. “So what are you thinking— that because she might be this Luiseach, that the more... violent..? entities may come out? Is that what you’re trying to say?”“I think we’re fine, we’re fine,” Nolan says with a smile, but Sunshine can tell he’s just trying to shrug it off and convince himself they’re safe here. Well, news flash, they’re not. God, Sunshine feels sick.“It’s what you thought, isn’t it?” she asks in a low voice. “I’m just saying—” Nolan shrugs again, black leather jacket rippling. “You know, what’s—”A loud bang crashes in the hallway, causing all three to snap their heads toward the sound. Kat sucks in a breath and Nolan freezes. Sunshine can feel her blood become cold, speckles of ice trickling down her spine.“Okay, what was that?” Kat asks.“Don’t worry about that, it’s fine, just stuff— uh. A draft.” Nolan mumbles something incoherent as he strides into the large doorway, poking his head into the hallway. He observes the living room, fingers clenching. “Was there a window open?” Kat demands, padding after Sunshine. “If there’s not a window open, there’s not a draft, where are you going?”Nolan slowly creeps into the hallway, holding out a palm to signal Sunshine to stop. “Stay right— there, okay?” His voice shakes and Sunshine continues walking forward, heart beating out of her chest. The hallway is swathed in shadows, darkness looming over their heads, and she can hear the thunder, see the flashes of lightning over her head, she can see the bloody handprints smeared over the door, and, and—Get it together, Sunshine! she hisses in her head. You’ve been through too much to pussy out now! You’ve seen little children ghosts, you’ve watched doors slam right in front of you, you’ve nearly been a victim in an exorcism with your mother— are you a little bitch? No. No, you aren’t. Come on. Do it. Look down that goddamn hallway with strength. Don’t let the fear overtake you.“Uh, heck no,” Kat growls, hiding behind Sunshine as she crosses to Nolan’s left side. “We’re fine,” Nolan mutters again, staring at the light down the end of the hall. Sunshine doesn’t remember them leaving any lights on. “It’s cool, it..—”“Wait...” Her mother shakes her head, breathing heavily. Nolan leads the way down the hallway, Sunshine close behind, Kat even closer.“Okay, well, that—” Nolan is interrupted.“Why are we going down there?” Kat snaps. “I think it was that doorway.” He rubs his hand down his face again, standing still. “I left all the doors open.” Sunshine can see the light flooding through on one side, then the shut door on the other. “Why are we— ugh.” Her mother gives up.“Just— just—” Nolan turns around and pushes his hands forward. “Chillax. Please.”Nolan takes about thirty seconds at the closed door, anxiously moving back and forth to try and figure out what to do. Sunshine sighs heavily. No biggie, they’re just in the house with a murderous ghost.. “Okay,” he breathes, and finally clicks open the door. The light’s on in the bedroom, too. Nolan turns around with a toothy smile. “We’re fine.” It drops as he turns to enter. “It’s just, a— I told you it was just a draft.”“Okay,” Sunshine finally whispers, not wholly convinced that it’s a draft but too terrified to argue. “It’s just a draft.”“Yeah.” Nolan waves his arm, nonchalant. “Let’s go in the kitchen, I don’t like it.” He hugs his jacket closer to his body, shivering. “Okay. Let’s just close this one.” He clicks the door shut and cringes at the dark hallway, only a stream of light coming from the bedroom across. “Let’s close all the doors! I don’t like any of these doors to be— you know— so—”Sunshine gasps in fright when something whispers in her ear. All she can see is darkness around her, after Nolan closes all the doors, and remembers the ghost— the demon— that had shoved her into the bathroom and burned the picture of the bagged father and daughter. She rushes out of the hallway and into the light, oxygen sliding into her lungs. Sunshine stumbles to the side and the voices around her blur, as does her vision. “We’re fine,” she can hear Nolan say.Sunshine leans against the chicken dresser, breathing heavily.“It’s fine,” Nolan continues, standing in the doorway. “Uh, that was— it’s drafty in there, right?”“A draft doesn’t talk!” Kat snaps.⠀⠀⠀
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Ten minutes later, Kat finally begins a conversation. “This is what we wanted, we said— we said we were coming here to find out if the spirits come out if the Luiseach is here, and now we’re cowering in the kitchen.”Sunshine is holding the camera, which shows Nolan sitting hunched over in the chair, and Kat exhausted, staring forward.“I used to like this place so much,” Nolan whispers, not looking at either of them. He raises his gaze. “You know, it was so—”“This was your idea to come here!” Kat exclaims.“Ehhhhhhh...”Kat leans forward and claps in his face. “Get it together, Nolan, focus!” He sits up and nods along, face determined yet slightly blank. “What are we gonna do? What do you wanna do, do you want to get the Ouija board out of the car, do we want..”“No,” Sunshine says coldly.Kat sighs.“Um, we could...” Nolan trails off.“Okay, on all the shows, they— do— callouts—” Kat continues.“Okay,” he perks up, “what if we provided some sort of offering.” He dramatically looks at them. Sunshine doesn’t like that word.“Like a sacrifice?” Kat says incredulously. Sunshine doesn’t like that word, either.“No—”“We’re sacrificing Nolan tonight, guys,” Sunshine concludes.“I’m talking like—” Nolan drops his arms. “Uh, cookies, like— cheese—”Kat looks back at Sunshine with a confused and stupefied expression. “We’re not allowed to use your grandma’s food, remember?” Sunshine sneers.“This is important!” For once, Nolan raises his voice and leaves both women reeling in shock. Kat quickly gathers herself once more. “You apparently never watch ghost hunter shows.”“They speak to them sometimes! Talk to them!” Sunshine offers.“All right, tell me what— tell me what we should do.” He looks at Kat tiredly. “I don’t know!” she says. “Do we—”“They talk to them— they call them out!” she repeats unhelpfully.“When— when we were at the beach,” Kat looks at her daughter, “and we said—”“I got it! I got it!” Nolan points at the two of them. “Bloody Mary. Have you guys ever played Bloody Mary?”“Bloody Mary?” Sunshine crosses her arms.“I’ve never played Bloody Mary, you know why? Cause I’m scared of it! Perfect!” A pause. “Okay, we— we say Bloody Mary eight times—”“Three,” Sunshine corrects.Kat shakes her head, “Wait,”“It’s eight times!”“It’s three!” Sunshine says.“Come on, we’re never gonna— no ghost is gonna be like, all right, three times, then pop out, otherwise, there would be ghosts all over the place, all right?” Nolan bites his lip. “No, no, no, it’s eight times—”Kat exchanges a glance with Sunshine.“—and then—”“It’s three right?” her mother asks. “Sunshine?”“It’s three,” she confirms over Nolan’s rambling.“It doesn’t matter,” Nolan continues. “Just keep sayin’ it till something shows up, right?”“Okay, but, doesn’t that require, like, a bathroom and a mirror and...?” Sunshine frowns.Nolan grits his teeth. “Well, we have one of those.”Yeah. They’re fine. They’re fine, Nolan keeps saying, as he leads all of them to the back bathroom. They’re fine, Nolan says as they enter the room, preparing to perform an ancient ritual that will apparently summon a demon. Yeah. Fine.“This is my grandma’s, though,” Nolan says anxiously, looking into the bathroom that Kat’s already entered. “She likes this bathroom—”“Go,” Sunshine says, pushing Nolan inside. She follows behind him and ignores his glare. Kat closes the shower curtain— for, y’know, safe measure— wait, “Why do you feel the need to close those?”“I don’t know, I just—” Kat groans and Nolan reaches behind her to shut the door. Great. They’re in a bathroom, ready to speak to Mary Bloody or whatever the hell her name is. Nolan dramatically clears his throat. “Okay, do we have to turn the lights off, is that what we do?” Kat asks.“It’s not much bigger,” Sunshine sighs, wishing they could’ve just gone to the front bathroom instead. But no, this one was bigger. Bullshit. They needed a quick escape if Frank came! Or Freddy! Or... hell, she didn’t even care about his name.“Okay,” Nolan begins, “you turn the lights off, you say Bloody Mary eight times—” “Three,” Sunshine growls.“—two waltzing ghosts come out, all right, and they sing, uh, the song, uh—”“It’s three!” she snaps again.“Wagner! They sing Wagner!”Sunshine can’t help but laugh. “No they don’t!” Kat just stares at Nolan, dumbfounded.“God,” Nolan sighs, “my whole childhood was just a web of lies—”Kat reaches over and turns the lights off.“All right, we’re fine,” he says again. Sunshine needs to start marking how many times Nolan repeats that line.Only the red light of the camera reflects in the dark mirror. Sunshine can’t see anything, but is slightly comforted in hearing her mother’s and Nolan’s voices. She’s not alone, not like the last time she was locked in a dark bathroom. “So... who’s... gonna say it?” Kat mumbles.“You know, I— I’ve heard that if guys say it that it, uh, that it makes it not as effective—”“Okay!” Sunshine sighs with exasperation. “I’ll say it, geez, Nolan.” He begins to exhale heavily, right over her goddamn neck. “Can you stop breathing so heavy?”“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he tries to comfort. Oh, right, he’s only comforting himself.“You’re shaking!” Sunshine replies in an annoyed voice.“No I’m not.”“Yes— okay, shut up.” She sighs shortly and stares at the red ball of light, training her eyes on that and only that. At least she’s holding her camera. Hah. This is... familiar territory. “Bloody Mary—”“Okay,” Nolan intrudes, “wait a minute, wait a minute—”“Oh my god,” Sunshine growls.“I— I just wanna— okay, I just wanted to let you guys know I— I’ve had a really great time, a really great time—”“Nothing’s gonna happen, Nolan,” Sunshine says firmly, “can you just—”“Yes it is! I can feel it!”“Nolan.”“Okay, sorry, go.”“Are you sure?” Kat whispers.“Go,” Nolan repeats. “Do it, do it.”“If I start, I have to do all three, okay?” Sunshine snaps, “I’m doin’ all three now.”“Do it now,” he sighs.Sunshine breathes in again. “It’s good.”She rolls her eyes and relaxes her shoulders. “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary!” Her voice raises in pitch with each word until she’s left shaking to the core.And yet, nothing happens.“See, I told you it wouldn’t work,” Nolan says smugly.“I told you it was three,” she grumbles.“You guys were wrong.”Sunshine sighs and squints when Nolan turns the lights back on.“Okay,” Kat shrugs. “Perfect.” Nolan smiles.“That was really... efficient.” She mumbles. Nolan appears to just be standing at the door, not opening it, and Sunshine’s getting annoyed. “What are you doing?” she and Kat say in unison.“Um—” Nolan’s voice shakes as he pushes his weight against the door. Every time he tries to turn the knob, it clicks back into place, slamming the wind back in their faces.“Okay,” Kat says anxiously, “What was that?”A high-pitched ringing sounds in Sunshine’s ears and deafens the world around her. She recognizes that horrid, gut-wrenching feeling again, anxiety pushing down on her chest. She can’t breathe. She can’t breathe! Something is wrong.Nolan tries the door again, and the lights suddenly cut out. Everyone screams and Sunshine is brought back into the present, heart beating irregularly. “Hey!” he yells. “Hey!”“Turn on the light!” Kat exclaims.“I— I don’t like—” Nolan rams his body up against the door, and the lights flicker back on over their head, the demonic ringing worsening in Sunshine’s ears. She sees flashes of a white-masked face behind the shower curtain, black goggles peering back at her. She screams, tears running down her cheeks, the terror returning. She remembers what this feels like. She remembers what it feels like to be helpless.Nolan barges through the door, Sunshine thinks, so she wastes no time running after him— “Jesus Christ!” he says in a shaking voice— out of the room and through the hallway, stumbling into the living room.“What was that?” Sunshine finally whispers, gripping her maroon jacket and pulling it close to her body. Nolan is angrily pacing somewhere in the kitchen. “Wh— what’s happening?” The ringing is becoming worse, echoing in her ears, and she can’t think.“Sweetie?” A soft hand grips her shoulder and slowly pulls her forward. Her mother. “Are you okay?”“Are we all still alive?” Nolan asks, eyes watering. He’s not completely crying, but his voice breaks with every syllable. His hands are on his head, stressfully pushing his ashen-brown hair from his face.“No, we all died,” Sunshine sarcastically snaps. “It—” Nolan shakes his head and scrunches his face. “It was to be expected. She’s a— we’re fine, ‘cause she’s got the— yeah.”“You okay?” Kat repeats, worriedly staring at her daughter. Sunshine nods but doesn’t completely understand what happened or what’s going on.“My grandma’s gonna be so mad,” Nolan worries, standing near the couch. Anger. “Your grandma’s gonna be mad?” She glares at Nolan. Does he not understand what just happened?Yeah... apparently he doesn’t.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Okay, so...” Kat spreads her hands out as Nolan aggressively rips off his jacket. “No more.. anything. No Bloody Mary, nothing, I think we should just chill for a little while and just— be here. What do you think?”Nolan blows out a gust of air, hunching down next to Kat on the couch. Sunshine sits near the hallway, filming both of them while she perches on a wooden chair.“Okay,” she agrees.“Yeah.” Kat nods. “Yeah.”They spend about thirty minutes kicking back and, well, honestly not doing much. Sunshine grabs the Cheetos from the kitchen and plops down next to her mother, since Nolan has moved to the big wooden chair. Nolan then asks if his hair looks okay and checks it in the mirror.They then talk a little about what happened in the bathroom, but it’s mostly Nolan rambling about his theories and how ‘they’re fine.’ The time continues to tick on until Sunshine grabs her camera, lips pursed into a thin line.“I’m bored,” she concludes. “So, I’m gonna go explore the house.” A pause when neither Kat nor Nolan move. “By myself.”“Oh, wait,” Nolan stirs, blinking open his tired eyes, “don’t go.” He makes no move to follow her, though.Her mother is passed out on the chair, unmoving.Sunshine enters the front bathroom, narrowing her eyes. “Why is this bathroom so white?” she mutters to herself, turning on the light. “I’m officially afraid of mirrors.” She can’t shake away the flash of the white mask and black goggles peering back at her from behind the shower curtain. Even though she’s spent time calming down, it greatly unnerves her. She doesn’t really want to think about it, but here she is, standing in front of another mirror.Wonderful.“Okay,” she breathes out, attempting to calm herself. She leaves a small lamp on and turns the overhead bathroom light off, exiting the room and glancing down the hallway. She frowns at the wide open door to Nolan’s grandmother’s room. I’d rather save the best for last... she remarks sarcastically.“Creepy den,” Sunshine comments, pacing away from the cave and to the guest bedroom — or, Nolan’s bedroom? “I’m not going in there.” However, she decides to not pussy out and does so anyway, looking around at the blue-painted walls and cute bed tucked in the corner. It’s nice, she muses. “I like this room. It’s pretty.”The camera always comforts her, even if it sounds weird talking to... well, herself. She supposed she does have an audience, though, just not right now.Sunshine steps out of the guest bedroom and stares into grandma’s, hesitating. “I’m afraid to go in here.” She kind of hopes her mother or Nolan will grudgingly stand and follow her, but of course, they don’t.This vaguely reminds her of Creepy Guy’s house, except... well, there’s no Creepy Guy chasing her. When she enters the room, that high-pitched ringing echoes in her ears. She hunches over slightly, caught off guard, but decides to continue anyway. Sunshine grips the camera with more force as it faces towards her, a puff of air blowing out of her teeth. She doesn’t like this. She doesn’t like being alone in here. It... it’s unnerving.She’s still happy she did it, and she almost smiles at that, then wonders if she should go into the bathroom. Nolan’s singing in the other room calms her down only slightly. Just kidding. It doesn’t, at all. Is that... Eye of the Tiger? Whatever. She needs to keep going.The closet door closes in front of her and Sunshine can’t help but gasp. She slowly moves forward, breath growing heavier. She pans the camera around the room, palms beginning to sweat, and the sharp ringing has cut off any sort of noise from the living room— all she can hear is herself.Sunshine eventually turns to face the bathroom mirror and cries out when the white-masked figure stands behind the bed, peering into the mirror with her. She whips around, trembling, but sees nothing. Then the sounds of the world come rushing to her. She hears a horrible, loud choking from the living room, and hears Kat screaming for help. Sunshine runs down the hallway— “What?!” — and makes it to the others, where she sees Kat bent over Nolan.He’s writhing on the couch, hands clawing at his chest, and flops to the ground. His soft grunts sound more like pained wheezes, and Kat gapes at him, mouth dropped open. “What’s happening?” Sunshine cries, moving to stand beside her mother. “I don’t know!” Kat exclaims. “He just started choking!” Nolan’s hands move up to his throat, like he’s trying to rip something away from him. However, nothing’s there. “I don’t know what to do!” Sunshine sobs, letting the tears fall. Nolan — Nolan is choking. Nolan is dying! “What do you want me to—”“Do something!” Kat yells.“I can’t do anything!”“Make it stop!”Sunshine feels like she can’t breathe. “Go away!” she screams, hands shaking. Her eyes widen when Nolan’s hands drop and he begins to suck in air, coughing hoarsely. He pushes his forehead into the ground and Kat bends forward, resting an arm on his elbow. Nolan starts to sob. “Wh— what the—” He can’t hold back the tears and lifts his head up, leaning against a foot rest. “It’s okay,” Kat comforts, holding his arms and gently helping him to his feet. “It’s okay, come on. Sit down.” Nolan stumbles on to the table and claws at his head, brushing his hair back stressfully. He looks around, breathing harshly, like he doesn’t exactly know where he is.“Are you okay?” Kat whispers. Sunshine hangs back, unsure of what to do. She... she’s never really had to comfort others during a ghost attack. It was always her. Nolan glances up at Kat in pure terror before it’s masked by something less severe. He palms his way to the couch and furiously rubs at his eyes. “Yeah, yeah,” he splutters.“Nolan,” Sunshine manages in a soft voice, “are you okay?”He shakes his head. “I don’t know, I don’t, I don’t—” He looks down, trying to breathe. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Nolan does that thing where he shrugs it off and tries to appear relaxed and fine, but Sunshine can tell he isn’t. I mean — he was just attacked, for Christ’s sake.“Nolan,” she tries again.“Yeah?” he asks, but doesn’t look at her, trying to shift on the couch. “What, what?”“What happened?”“I’m fine.”“What happened?”“I’m fine!” He glares at her, eyes dark. Her chest constricts. Hurt. “All right? Jesus.”Kat worriedly glances at her daughter.“I was— I don’t know, okay?” he says in a lower voice.“Okay...”The time passes again. It has to be at least five minutes before everyone’s calmed down, but Nolan is still looking annoyed and shocked at what just happened to him.“Okay, so..” Kat frowns. “Nolan, are you— are you okay?”He’s holding his hand to his forehead, the other wrapped around his abdomen defensively. He takes a moment to reply, but eventually offers a small, “Yeah.” A pause. “Yeah,” he repeats louder, blinking slowly.“Okay, so, it’s time to go.” Kat nods, and damn it, Sunshine can see the full Mom Mode come out.Nolan looks around before his eyes land on Kat. “No, come on,” he says.“Yeah.”“Come on! I mean..”“No, we need— to leave.” Kat looks serious, and for once, Sunshine agrees with her. This is a bad place. Fred— he’s got them wrapped around his little dead finger, and she’s not here for it. Not anymore. “It’s not safe here. Obviously.” Kat eyes the place where Nolan had been desperately writhing on the ground.“We’ve got someone with us who can help,” Nolan tries optimistically. Oh. He’s talking about her.Kat frowns. “We don’t know that, okay? I know— I know that you think that she has something special—”“I know that she does—”“—and, no, we don’t, we don’t know that, and— if she really doesn’t have a way to protect us,” she motions to Sunshine, “then we’re just three people who are in a house in way over our heads, with obviously a very, very violent entity.”“Kat. Kat.”Her mother shakes her head. “Nolan— it’s not safe.”“Kat. It’s my grandma’s house, Kat.”“You said nothing happened,” Kat responded, “with your grandma.”“That was before.” Nolan grits his teeth and spreads a hand in Sunshine’s direction. “And now we’ve got something different, all right?”“We don’t know that if your grandma comes back and Sunshine’s not here that— that these things will continue.”“So what do we do, we, we leave? We leave the house?” Nolan looks angry. “Now? Like it is? For my grandma to come back to? No! Come on.”Kat sighs, trying to find a compromise. “You can stay with her, and if something happens—”“I can’t do anything.”A sigh.“You know I can’t do anything!” Nolan’s voice breaks, and Sunshine understands that helplessness. “It’s not— we— we can’t stay, Nolan, it’s not safe, look what just happened to you!”“Come on, it was— yeah, what happened?”Kat scoffs. “You— you were choked!”“I know, I know I was choked, Kat—”“So we need to leave!”Nolan drops his hands. “What happened— what happened?”“You were choked.”“What happened when Sunshine came back?” He stares at Kat, and Sunshine realizes Nolan’s right. She’d told Frederick, presumably, to go away, and he’d listened.Kat’s at a loss for words.“What about that?!”“I don’t think that had anything to do with Sunshine,” Kat weakly says.“I think it did.” Nolan looks determined. “I think it did.”Kat glances at her daughter, who’s still sitting on the floor. “What do you think?”“What...?” Sunshine is confused.“I think we need to leave.”She breathes. “I know I don’t want to, but.. clearly you think we should, so.” Her voice drops, defeated. Her mom’s probably right.“I don’t think it’s safe,” Kat continues.“Then let’s go.”“We’re not done here, okay?” Nolan whispers, eyes wide. “Please?”“We need to go...” Kat murmurs.He sighs. “Fine. Fine. Let’s go, just give me a minute, okay?” Nolan stands slowly, legs wobbling, but he manages to get there on his own. He makes his way to the bathroom, and once out of earshot, Kat frowns.“I’m sorry.”A loud grunt from Nolan and a bang cause both women to jump in their place. Sunshine runs into the hallway and nearly screams when she sees the white-masked figure dragging Nolan to the back bedroom. A loud, staticky screeching rumbles in her ears and she can hardly hear. All she sees is Nolan desperately clawing the wall, and she knows she can’t let this happen.“Let him go!” she snarls.The figure drops Nolan and raises its body up, staring at both of them. Sunshine rushes forward and drops to Nolan, breathing heavily. “Nolan!” When they look up, Frederick is gone.“Are you okay?” Kat gasps. “Nolan?” Sunshine tries again when he doesn’t answer. He’s just staring at the ceiling, twitching slightly. He begins to yell when he sees both of them and starts laughing when he realizes it’s just Kat and Sunshine.“It’s gone,” her mother confirms.Nolan groans— “Wha?”— and lets Kat pick him up by his underarms. He staggers into the wall, trying to position his weight correctly. “What, are you done?!” he yells into his grandmother’s room. Oh. Now he’s talking to the murderous ghost. Wonderful.“Wait—” Kat splutters.“Are you done?” Nolan’s voice wavers as he stands in the doorway to the room.“What are you doing, what is he doing?!” Kat looks back at Sunshine. “Nolan, we need to leave!”He laughs again, slowly limping into the white room, glancing around. The closet door slams shut and Nolan stares at it, ignoring Sunshine and Kat’s gasps.“What?” he sneers, “you think that I’m scared of you? Come on!”“Nolan,” Sunshine yells, “Nolan!”“What?” he growls.“Just... calm down.” She walks up to him, concerned. Nolan buries his face in his hands, trying to suck in air. Kat crosses his side and sets her hand on his back comfortingly. “Come on,” she attempts, “just... sit down, relax.” She shoves a box off of the old red chair and gently steers Nolan into it, “Okay?” Kat looks at Sunshine. “He’s obviously not going anywhere for a minute.”Yeah. Looks like they’re just gonna sit around the haunted room, where the ringing echoes in Sunshine’s ears. But that’s not what surprises her— it’s the whispers of a man, filling the room up like a bowl. It’s even audible over Nolan’s loud whimpering. “Do you hear that?” she asks. No one replies. “You really don’t hear that?”Kat looks at her. “Yeah, I hear Nolan freaking out!” She turns back to him. “Deep breaths.”Sunshine stumbles back. “No, it’s— it’s really loud..” “What is?” Kat whispers, still holding Nolan and trying to stop him from continuously sobbing. She leans up. “What’s wrong?”“There’s a man’s voice,” Sunshine murmurs. Nolan cries out.“Do you mean other than Nolan?” Kat backs away slowly. “What? What’s he saying?”“He misses his wife...” Sunshine whispers, wincing. Nolan looks at her.“What?”“He misses his wife,” she repeats, then steps on the bed. “It’s louder up here.” A pause. “No... it sounds like it’s— coming from down here.” She slowly moves herself to the curtains on the far side of the bed. “I miss my wife,” a raspy voice speaks out.“I think it’s coming from down here...” She looks at the floor and screams when the white mask slowly pushes itself out from under the bed, thick black goggles peering back at her. Sunshine jumps away and scrambles next to Kat and Nolan. “He’s under the bed, he’s under the bed!”“What do you mean he’s under the bed?” Kat rushes to the side.Sunshine begins to cry. “He’s under the bed.”Her arms splay out at her side. “What’s under the bed?!”“The man! He’s under the bed!” Sunshine yells. Kat is about to bend down and take a look, but then the lights cut off, showering darkness over all of them. Sunshine screams when she hears a deep, gurgling moaning from the other side of the room.“What the hell?” Kat hisses“Nolan!” she yells, fearing for her friend’s safety.A pause. “What— what?” he splutters, clearly out of it and not really understanding what’s going on.“Nolan,” Kat breathes. “Okay, listen, you need to go— figure out— the circuit breaker, okay?” she orders. “Okay, okay...”“Get it together,” Kat claps.“Okay.”“Nolan, you’re the man, let’s go,” Sunshine says, hoping he’ll move it. “Do you have some kind of light?” Kat asks.“Yeah, give me a minute,” he murmurs, and the chair shifts as he stands. Nolan flickers his phone light toward the bed.“Okay, okay, good.” Sunshine still can’t see her mother or her— friend? But at least she can hear Kat’s voice. She continues. “Go find the circuit breaker and turn it on.”No movement.“Come on, Nolan!” Sunshine yells.“Okay,” he whispers. “Okay, we’re fine. We’re fine, give me a minute.” His phone light shines on his face as he exits the bedroom. Sunshine talks a little to her mother as they walk, but it’s so dark, she’s not even sure where everyone is. She stops in her tracks and holds her mother back. They should stay in here. She doesn’t want to go into the hallway. Kat silently agrees and sits on the bed with her.“Okay, you know what, we’ll just— we’ll just wait right here,” Kat says, holding her daughter’s hand, “it’s okay, honey. He’s gonna get the light back on.”“It’s fine,” Nolan says in a shaky voice as he pads to the front door. “It’s fine, there’s no one out here.” He puts his hand on the door. “Damnit. Okay.” Nolan swiftly unlocks it and swings it open, then appears to see nothing so steps out on the porch.Sunshine can’t hear him as well, now, but that doesn’t stop his voice from carrying. “What, you think I’m scared of you?” he says, still trembling. “Huh? I’m not.”Sure he isn’t.“I don’t like the dark,” Sunshine murmurs back in the bedroom, pressing close to her mother. It only brings bad memories.“It’s okay, we’re here,” Kat soothes, rubbing her thumb over Sunshine’s. “We’ve got the camera, don’t we? Why does that make us feel safer?”She doesn’t reply, and instead focuses on ignoring the soft words whispering in her ear. Frank— Fred— whatever his name is— is just trying to freak her out. Well, she won’t be scared that easily!“Can you hear him?” she at least asks.“What, honey?”“The voice. It’s back.” Sunshine closes her eyes.“What voice?”“It’s back.”“Wh— What’s it saying?” Kat whispers.She bites her lip. “He misses her.”“What do you mean?”“He misses her.”“He misses who?” Kat grips Sunshine’s hand more tightly now.“I don’t know... he misses his wife, I guess, or—?”“You can hear him say that?”Sunshine turns to her mother, though she can’t even see Kat. “You can’t?”“No, honey, I can’t hear anything but Nolan!”Well, she can’t hear Nolan! “It’s so loud. He’s so loud... you really can’t hear him?”“No...” Kat hesitates. “Nolan! Hurry up!”Nolan enters the house again, scaring both women for a moment. Sunshine relaxes after a moment. “All right, guys, guys—” He staggers over his words. “I don’t know where it is, okay? Okay?”“Nolan!” Sunshine calls.“What? I’m coming!”“Nolan?”“I’m coming! I don’t need to know where a circuit breaker is!”“Nolan,” Sunshine whines as she stands.He lifts his phone up to their faces and yells. Sunshine turns her head along with Kat and sees Frederick standing right behind them. Everyone flees from the bedroom, Nolan fastest of all, but the dark makes it very hard to sprint.They make it to the living room and Sunshine stands next to him, Kat at her side. Nolan shines his phone at the corner and screams. So does Sunshine. They see a dark figure in the corner, bright eyes glinting back, black, long hair flowing down the figure’s shoulders.“Get out of my grandma’s house!” Nolan yells at the entity.“Tell him to calm down!” Kat growls.Sunshine stops in her tracks, heart stopping. “Victoria?”Everyone goes quiet.Holy shit. She’s alive! Oh, god! Victoria is alive! Demon Mom didn’t kill her!Kat smiles. “Victoria, is that you?”Nolan is silent.Victoria moves forward slowly, eyes flickering from Nolan, to Sunshine, to Kat. “I’m not here to hurt you,” she murmurs.“Oh, hey,” Nolan says in a small, scared voice, trembling.“I’m here to help,” Victoria goes on, staring at Sunshine, “I know you need my help.”“It’s a real pleasure to meet you, by the way,” Nolan splutters. “Fan, for a long time.”She just nods at him, then faces the women. “There’s some problems going on right now. And you know what to do.”Sunshine shakes her head miserably. “No I don’t, I don’t know what to do..”“Yes. Yes you do.” Victoria’s voice raises as she stands in front of Sunshine, who turns her head away. “Stop it. Look at me.” Sunshine does. “You know what to do.”“I have to talk to him, don’t I?”“Yes. Yes, you do. You need to make him believe you. Do you understand that?”“Do I have to go alone?” Sunshine murmurs.“What do you think?” A pause, and Victoria’s voice becomes stronger. “You can do this. You have to do this.”Sunshine breathes heavily and rips Nolan’s phone from out of his hands. She walks to grandma’s bedroom again, heart fluttering in her chest. It’s dark, and the only light is that of the phone camera, and she’s absolutely terrified.Somehow, Sunshine finds strength in her voice. “You need to go away.”The doors jiggle and slam open and shut, startling her. A low groan comes from the closet. “He can’t hear you!” Victoria yells from the living room.“You need to go away now!” Sunshine cries, staring at the door that continuous to open and shut. The moaning grows louder. “Your wife’s not here! She’s moved on, and you need to too!”It says something unintelligible. “Go away!” she screams.The groans die down, as do the moving doors. The lights cut back on over their heads and Sunshine gasps sharply, running into her mother’s arms.“Are you okay?” Kat demands.“Yeah,” Sunshine says weakly.“That was crazy.”“Where’s Nolan?”“Right here.” Kat leads her back into the living room to Nolan, who’s scratching his neck. He smiles at Sunshine. “Hey. I’m fine.” He nods, and this time, she can tell it’s true. “I’m fine.”Kat looks around. “Where’s Victoria?”Nolan raises a brow and turns around. “What do you mean, she’s—” There’s no one there. “Oh, she is so cool.”“Victoria?” Sunshine calls out.No answer. Nolan giggles.“She left,” Kat says slowly. “Unbelievable.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

So. That happened.Sunshine’s back in safe territory. AKA, her room. She’s just woken up and decided that a video would probably please her viewers — you know, just talking about her reaction to the events that took place. Because. Um. That was some footage, wasn’t it?Sunshine’s more confused about Victoria than anything. For starters, how the hell did she get into Nolan’s grandma’s house? And second, how did she know they were there? How did she know how to stop Frederick? Then again, Victoria had prevented the demon from completely taking over her mother. Still. She hasn’t seen Victoria since... well. The sighting was brief, but it was a sighting.After that little ‘Get out!’ fiasco with Frederick the dead ghost, they’d booked it out of grandma’s house and returned back home. Nolan... well, Sunshine has no idea where he went. He walked, presumably back to his... house...? Who knows.On another note, Nolan’s grandma was back in the house and confirmed that everything was good and dandy. Pretty solid and all that good stuff. Nolan’s okay, too, aside from whatever lasting side effects might come from being choked and dragged down a hallway by a dead murderer.He is acting a little strange, but he’s fine, she thinks. He’s gloating like crazy, since he was right about Sunshine being a Luiseach or whatever he calls it. Also, about grandma’s house being haunted. Ugh. He’s so obnoxious sometimes, but he’s a friend, and she enjoys his company.Nolan wants to do something else— go explore a haunted house or something of the sorts— and catch it on tape, so Sunshine supposes she’s up for that. She just needs a little... personal time after the haunting they’d experienced.Anyway. Everyone’s good. She thinks. Yeah.
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Holy shit. Sunshine— heard Anna again. She was in the kitchen, baking some cupcakes, when she heard the girl clear as day.“Be careful.”It was really weird, and Sunshine doesn’t like that warning, considering last time Anna had confronted them, it had been at the hotel before her mother’s possession.It’s also unnerving considering neither Sunshine or her mother have heard from Anna in months, so. Strange. It’s gotta mean something. Maybe Nolan will know.
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“Hey guys. So. Nolan has something he wants to... say.”They’re sitting at the dining room table. Nolan has a smirk on his face, his elbow slung across the kitchen counter. Sunshine is slightly confused and waiting for the inevitable— his gloating.Nolan throws his hands out and purses his lips. “Well I’ve... never been one to gloat—”Sunshine raises her eyebrows at the camera dubiously.“you know, patter on,” he dramatically continues, straightening up, “but I would just like to, um, make everyone aware, once again, that there’s this— Luiseach thing, that’s uh—” He sarcastically looks around, “—somethin’ about it was... occurring and everyone was like, ‘Hey, Nolan, you’re crazy! Get out of our house.’”Sunshine rolls her eyes and stares at his dramatic reenactments, nodding. Sure. Okay.“And then,” he narrates dramatically, turning to smile at the camera, “we went to my grandmother’s house.”Sunshine is looking off to the side, lips grudgingly raising into the hint of a smile. He can’t help but rub it in her face, can he?“Well, what happened at my grandmother’s, I don’t remember, it’s fuzzy..” He pushes his brows together and looks at her.She smiles and skeptically says, “You don’t remember?”“Ah, man,” he shakes his head, “what happened?”“Way to rub it in.”“What happened?” He almost looks to be smiling, but it’s not fully there.“No, I’m sure you remember,” she continues, grinning, waving her arm.“Uh huh.”“I’m sure you do, yeah.”“Mm-hm. You know what happened?” He tilts his head at the camera. “Uh. A lot of bad stuff to me, first of all, that wasn’t fun.”Sunshine snickers.Nolan clears his throat. “Uh, but, but—” He raises a finger to the camera, “—as I recall, somebody uh, saved my life, right?” He side-eyes her.She presses her lips together sarcastically. “No, I don’t, mm-mm...”“Don’t you remember that? There was— okay, so, there was this— there was this time uh, when I was being choked by forces of the unseen—”“Forces of the unseen,” Sunshine echoes mockingly to the camera.“And somebody said something like— Stop!” He moves forward and puts a palm out. Sunshine huffs out a laugh. “And then, uh, and then they stopped those unseen forces, and, you know why they stopped? Because Sunshine— defender of the mortal realm—”She giggles and Nolan smiles.“—told them to.”“I want my own action figure,” she smirks.“And, uh, since then, it’s been all, uh, gravy and roses for me.” He scratches his chin.Sunshine squints, appalled. “Did you just say... gravy and..”Nolan talks over her as he points to the camera. “You guys probably have— you’ve never had gravy and roses?”“No.”“You guys have probably noticed by now that there’s something a little different about me.” He looks at Sunshine, waiting for a response, and she raises her brows. “How about you?”“He’s really very conceited,” she whispers to the YouTube people.“Hmm?” Nolan tilts his head, swiping a finger through his hair.“Your.... eyebrows... are.. looking good today,” Sunshine offers.“Hey,” he says, “that was within six inches, so I’ll give her that.”“O...kay?”“I got a haircut.” He smiles.“He got a haircut,” she echoes.“Do you like it?”She grits her teeth in a neutral smile. “It’s okay.” A shrug. “Doesn’t look that much different.”“That’s the same thing the barber said.” Nolan looks past her and at the wall. Oh, there it is again, he’s being funny.She does laugh, though and quirks her eyebrows, but it falls into an awkward, fake chuckle. “Okay. You need to just... calm down a bit there about your hair. Anyway. So. Does everyone feel better now after he’s... gloated?”He leans back to say something again, but a movement behind them catches both teens off guard. On the kitchen counter, a wooden cup with wooden spatulas drags along, then pauses. It suddenly flies to the ground with a crash, startling them again.“Woah,” Nolan remarks.Sunshine grabs the camera and paces toward it. “Um.”“So that happened just now.”“Okay...”Nolan moves near the window, looking down at the spatulas sprawled over the floor. “Oh, wow..”“What are you doing—”“Did you see that? It just—” He moves his hands diagonally. “Shcwoo.”“Yeah, I was... there.” Sunshine rolls her eyes.“Do you have any open windows in here? Huh?” He smirks, because oh, paranormal activity. It drops. “No, you don’t. Nobody does in their houses—” He claps, “—it’s night and it’s fall, you know what this means? What does it mean?”“What does it mean?” She humors him, bored.“Come on, I want you to say it.” Nolan smiles.“Uh. No.”He aggressively crosses his arms and jumps. “Activity of the paramornal.” He points to her. “It’s paranormal— style— that’s what this is, and you know what that means? Further— happening in the house of a—” He tries to sit on the counter but nearly knocks something down, “—verifiable, bona fide Luiseach—”“Can you not break stuff?” she mutters.“You know what that means? Paranormal war! Lord of the Rings style! Star Wars— Empire—”“Oh my gosh—” Sunshine groans.“That’s what’s happening, I can feel it—”“Just cause wooden utensils flew off the counter does not mean—”“Hey—”“—there’s a paranormal war going on.”“An army needs weapons, right?” He spreads his palm and she follows his gaze to the wooden spatulas. Pretty shitty army, if you ask her.“Wooden utensils?” she asks dubiously. “Are you... joking me?”“Yes. I am— joking you— about that particular part, but that means something! Everything means something.” He clenches his hand into a fist. “Sunshine, everything means something.”A long silence. “Okay,” she says.“Yeah.”“Feel better now?” She raises a brow.Nolan bends down and picks up the wooden cup, placing the spatulas back inside. “I’m gonna wash all these, actually.”“You’re gonna wash all of them?”A sigh.“You’re gonna wash our wooden utensils?”“I’ll just put ‘em back in a bucket and put them back on the counter if you’d rather, but I’m a, I’m a cleanly guy, you know?”“Okay. Whatever.” She crosses her arms. “Okay, so what do you wanna do? Now that we’ve... discovered the... paranormal war.”Nolan stands again and slides the wooden cup back into its place. “Well, um, y’know, as—” He clears his throat and looks at her, “—right as I am, all the time, I don’t know everything.”Sunshine nods slowly. “No waaay.”“Neither— does thou, so, what we need to do is we need to find someone with a little more technical knowledge in the field.”“Okay...?”“Do you know any good—” He stops and throws his arms out. “Uh, erm, paranormal— experts?”
Oh, this again?
She knowingly quirks her eyebrows at the camera, exasperated. LeMaster. “The only one I know I... don’t have great experience with, okay? They didn’t— end up— well—” She could talk about the other dead guy as well— Alistair? — but she’d rather not mention him again. Sunshine still feels guilty about all that..It’s okay, because Nolan goes on anyway. “Okay, I’ll tell you what.” He claps. “I’m gonna take off, um, I’m gonna find— I’m gonna figure somethin’ out, okay?”“Are you.”“Don’t worry about a thing—” He smiles and gives a thumbs up, “—I’ve got this—” Nolan stares out the window and blankly points before dropping his hand, walking out of the kitchen. “Okay.”“Okay,” she calls.“See you guys,” Nolan says before closing the front door.Sunshine sighs. He is so weird..⠀⠀⠀
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Anna’s been... well, a little more vocal lately. Right now being one of those times. Sunshine turns the camera on and squints. Maybe it wasn’t her.. She blinks slowly and listens for bangs or footsteps, but can’t hear any. A sudden soft voice from upstairs catches her attention.Sunshine rises to her feet, biting the inside of her cheek. “Is that you, Anna?”She turns the screen around and follows the voice, looking around the living room. No one’s inside. A voice from behind her causes Sunshine to wheel around, but no one is there.. either..“Anna?” she calls again, voice more rough. She knows Anna isn’t violent, but talking to a dead little girl is still kind of creepy.She avoids the bathroom— yeah, okay, Sunshine can’t say she’ll ever get over that one— and gasps when there’s a bang on the wall from upstairs. Sunshine paces into the kitchen, coaxing herself into not being a complete pussy, and makes her way up the stairs.It’s darker up here, but the natural light filtering in through the windows eases the tension, just a bit. Sunshine walks down the short hall, jumping when the door slams at the base of the stairs. Great. “Anna..?”When she turns, Anna is standing at the end of the hallway. She’s wearing black clothes, a white bag splayed over her head. Sunshine blinks, and she’s gone. “Anna?” she tries again.The door clicks open below again, and when Sunshine whirls around, Anna is walking through the kitchen and out of sight. Sunshine runs down the stairs, entering the living room. “Anna? Anna, are you here?”Oh. Um. What is that? Sunshine walks up to the black table wedged between the couches, glancing at the white paper on top. A child’s wet handprint is on top. What. The. Hell.She grips the paper and turns it over, eyes widening at the familiar picture of the bagged father and daughter. The one that had been burned all those months ago by the demon. Well. There it is. She backs away, breath hitching, and wonders what the hell Anna is trying to tell her.
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So. Nolan left a long, windy, and... odd voicemail. She’s not really sure what to think. Sunshine plays it for the camera.“Sunshine. Hello.” It’s Nolan, and he sounds short-breathed and slightly panicked. “Sunshine, so glad I missed you—” She rolls her eyes, “—Um, not, not in the real sense, but just because I now have time to recollect and, uh, figure out what my recollections are and where they’re coming from, and— which is, which is good—”“Which is good,” Sunshine mutters, grunting.“But, you know, I’m really— I’m missing— I’m missing that, that spark of interaction—”She snorts.“—which is important for—” Something unintelligible, “—things that I need to say, that I’m not sure if I have the words or weight or, uh, uh— Listen, I, I would recommend that you stay put, stay awake for a while, don’t go, don’t go anywhere where there might be more doors that you think you might be able to, uh, to open—”Okay. Yeah, this is getting weird. She can’t help but raise her brows in response.“I— I think I can help—” A pause. “I really think I can help, and uh, if this reaches you, um...” He trails off, and Sunshine can hear a dog barking in the background. “Yeah. All right. I’ll talk to you later. Uh.”Then the voicemail cuts off.“Yeah, that was a one minute and twenty four second voicemail right there. That was ridiculous.” Sunshine shakes her head. “But anyways.. it was kind of creepy, right? He talks about doors that I couldn’t open and... being safe and.. staying awake or something, I— I think I heard that in there. I don’t know.”She honestly just doesn’t know what to think. This is weird behavior, even for Nolan, and that’s saying a lot.Looks like this is another mystery she’ll have to solve.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Nolan’s at the house, finally. He’s supposed to talk about the interesting things he found out about. Of course, he looks— not necessarily bad, but definitely not great. They’re sitting at the dining table, Kat’s holding the camera, and Nolan... well. His hair is ruffled and his eyes are darker than usual. He hasn’t shown an ounce of humor or sarcasm quite yet, and to say the least, Sunshine is worried. He can hardly look at the camera. “What was up with that voicemail, Nolan?” Kat asks suspiciously.“Oh, well, I was uh—” He clenches his fingers together and his voice is softer and rougher than usual. Sunshine doesn’t like this. He shrugs his shoulders back and hesitates. “Admittedly, I was a little over-emotional.”Sunshine nods.“A little?” her mother remarks.“Um, yeah, um, but— that’s okay, y’know? People, people make mistakes, hormones, angst, uh.” He clears his throat.“You blame that on hormones, really?” Sunshine raises a dubious brow at Nolan.“Uh, listen, I’m not— I’m not trying to cause any ruckus or anything, I just, uh— I just, I just don’t know exactly what’s going on... right now.” He frowns and appears to be very serious. “You know?”“No,” Kat huffs. “Fill us in. What are you talking about?”“Explain yourself,” Sunshine says.“It’s, it’s not— it’s more difficult to process uh, with tables and chairs and... candles.” He glances at the candles and rocks sitting in a long white plate. He picks up one of the rocks. “Stones, uh—”Sunshine rolls her eyes.“—the point of what I’m getting at is that I, uh..”She nods impatiently.“Am hearing— things.”Sunshine narrows her eyes. “Okay.”“Sometimes,” Nolan goes on, “and, it’s not that—” He grits his teeth, like he’s trying to say something but doesn’t want to tell them, “—and I want to, to make sense of them.”“Like you’re— like, explain, you’re hearing... voices..?” Kat questions.“Yeah. I want to understand what they’re saying. And I— I can almost—” He tilts his head, “get it, I just wanted to make sure when I left the message that you were okay, because, sometimes... they talk about— you.”Sunshine raises her brows. “The voices in your head talk about me.”He bites the inside of his cheek and looks at her. “Yeah.”She looks confused. “Okay..”“I just— wanted to make sure that you were okay, and that you would remain okay, and I just wanted to— I just want to help.” He looks down.Kat sighs. “Okay, well I know one thing that’ll help.” She eyes Sunshine. “You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”She puffs out a breath. This whole thing is coming full circle, just like Uncle Tommy said. “Possession test?”“Oh yeah.”Nolan glares at the camera then it drops to confusion, like he doesn’t exactly understand what they’re insinuating. “Wait, what?”“Do you have it still?” Kat asks.“Yeah,” she grunts.“What’s, uh— what’s a possession test..?”“Get excited,” Sunshine says sarcastically, “it’s real fun.”“All you have to do, Nolan, is write stuff down— write down what Sunshine says, okay? It’s really easy.”Nolan picks up the pen and creases the paper. “It’s like a— spelling—?”“It’s not spelling, no.”“No.” Sunshine snorts. “Just... just a couple stuff, promise, it’s really easy.” A pause. “You ready?”Nolan nods seriously. “Uh, yeah. Just, um— what do I— okay, go, sorry.”“First line,” Sunshine begins, “To this world’s end.”Nolan takes a lot of effort into the paper, muttering the words as he writes them down with ease. He doesn’t seem possessed, but the whole voices thing is weird, and so are the random, cryptic things he’s saying. Sunshine’s been around a possessed person to know that it’s better safe than sorry.He looks up at her.Sunshine straightens as she continues to read from her phone. “Okay, next line— I am me, and me alone.”Kat tries to eye his handwriting with the camera, but he covers up the words. “You’re not gonna let me see, are you?” she grunts.“What— what is the criteria for passing this test, exactly?” Nolan raises a brow.“Next line,” Sunshine says sharply, “With faith—” She inclines her head toward the paper when he hesitates.“Just write it down, Nolan,” Kat mutters.He does so, but his hand begins to shake with each stroke of the pen.“And, last line— I cast out all who possess me.”Nolan begins writing the line, but his hand strains as he does so. He gasps softly and pushes his chin into his shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut, but turns back and vigorously continues.And... he finishes.Sunshine swipes the paper from him and eyes it suspiciously. “Other than it’s written very neatly, um, yeah. You passed.”Kat nods. “Okay, you passed, no big deal.”Nolan sighs and pushes himself back into the chair, eyes still dark.Mom Mode again. “Hey, what’s goin’ on? You’re obviously freaked out about something more than just... voices.”He bites his lip and his gaze flickers from Kat to Sunshine, almost in a nervous manner. He did pass the test, but he’s clearly not completely here. He continues to glance between them and eventually leans back, crossing his arms. “All right.” Nolan looks down. “I haven’t— been— completely honest with you guys.”Sunshine frowns.“There’s something I need to tell you.” Silence.“Okay...” Kat and Sunshine say together.Nolan blinks slowly and hesitates.“Is it a... long story?” Sunshine mumbles.“No,” he says softly, voice growing slightly louder as he leans his elbows on the table. “Yeah, so, this isn’t the first time— uh— the voices have been a thing... for me...” He frowns. “I mean I— I didn’t want to— I don’t like telling people.” His voice breaks. “Because you tell someone that you hear voices, and they think you’re crazy.”Kat sighs. “Yeah...”Sunshine just nods, trying to understand what he’s getting at.“Crazy’s dismissive,” he continues. “I don’t want that. But—” He clears his throat, “But you guys are my friends, and I think you should know. Um, when I was— for as long as I can remember, I’ve... heard things. And saw things.”Sunshine exchanges a glance with her mother.“That people didn’t necessarily see or understand, um, and words were thrown around, like— schizophrenia, uh, hyperactive attention— delusions— crazy.” His voice goes quiet. This seems to really bother him. “But— I’m okay. And I could see things that I’m pretty sure hadn’t happened.”Sunshine’s heart spikes. Wait, what now?“And it was rough for a long time, and my parents... I got sick, and I, uh, I went to the hospital and I was treated with things I don’t remember the names of, and—” He clenches his jaw. “I kept getting sicker, and it hurt, really bad. And— I— went to sleep for a while.”Kat stumbles over her words. “What, like— like a coma?”Nolan doesn’t look at either of them. “Yeah.”“Wow... okay..”He finally looks up and searches their faces for disappointment, but finds none. It relaxes his tension just slightly, but it’s definitely still there.“Okay..” Kat sighs, tone worried. “Nolan, when did all this happen?”“It was like... a decade ago, I think. I would’ve been... 19, at the time.”“What?” Kat mutters.“But I’m fine,” he tries to shrug off, “and I think that there’s a reason for this, and I just— gotta focus.”“Y— you would’ve been what?” Sunshine finally asks, eyes narrowed. Sorry, did she hear that correctly?“Like, how old?” Kat adds.Nolan shushes them and clenches his fists.“Nolan,” Sunshine tries.“Yeah,” he responds, trying to smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “How old would you have been?”“I was about 19.” He shifts in the chair and rises to his feet. “I’ve...”“Okay, so like, you just were sick?” Kat continues.Sunshine nods, wondering why he’s standing up. “You just got sick? Like..?”“Huh?” he asks as he rounds the table, breathing heavily and shaking. He leans on the kitchen counter. “No, uh... what?”“How long ago did you get sick?” Sunshine presses.Nolan looks out of the window, breath hitching. He turns back to them. “I, I gotta—” He points with his thumb toward the front door. “I gotta run. I gotta run, I’ll be— I’ll be back, uh...”“Where are you going?” Kat stands as well, clearly worried for him. Something isn’t right here. Nolan’s acting very strange.“Nolan?” Sunshine asks, concerned.“I’m gonna— see you guys— later, okay?” He swiftly turns and anxiously leaves, slamming the door behind him.“Okay...” Kat mutters. She looks at Sunshine incredulously. “Okay, what was that?”“I don’t know,” she sighs, stressed.“Okay, didn’t he just say he was 19 ten years ago?”Sunshine nods slowly.Great.⠀⠀⠀
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Two days later, Sunshine’s finally gotten a hold of Nolan. A pain in her ass, really. They talked for a little while about shoes, but aside from that, he said he would be bringing over a paranormal expert on Sunday.Yeah, hopefully that goes better than last time. Jeez. That had been... awful. What a joke. It had to have been a joke, right? Seriously...But, y’know. Shoes. Nolan. Expert dude. Pretty sure that’s everything, so— slides covered. Cool. Awesome.
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It’s 6:30 on a Sunday and Nolan said he was going to be here with the— paranormal expert dude— but of course he isn’t. Nolan is late. Wow. What a shocker. She’s still hoping it goes better than last time.“What did he say he knew about?” Kat asks.“He said he was, like, an expert, super knowledgeable in all the Luiseach and... and the war, and.. paranormally-ness—”The front door flies open and startles both women. Sunshine snaps her head to the side to see Nolan flying through, slamming the door shut. He stands rigid, anxiously staring at both of them, like he just ran over a person and needs a place to crash for the night.“Oh. He just. Let himself in,” Kat groans.“Hey, Nolan...” Sunshine mutters optimistically.He breathes heavily, stumbling back. His voice is soft and quiet, but the terror is clear. “Is he here?”“You said you were bringing him!” Sunshine says.“Why isn’t he here yet?” he asks himself, pacing back and forth.Kat is surprised. “Wait, he didn’t come with you?”Nolan walks past Sunshine and into the living room, arms raised to cover his eyes with his hands stressfully. He whimpers and wipes his palms down his face. “Listen,” he says, voice breaking, “to me, guys— I— I know now.”He drops his hands and looks at them. “I know n—” He winces and scrunches his face, like he’s in pain or something terrible is happening. He clenches his hands tightly. “Stop!” he yells to no one in particular.“Woah, calm down, what—?” Kat touches his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”He cries out.“Nolan?” she presses.He breathes out. “I— I—” A knock on the door catches everyone’s attention. “—saying to me...”He trails off and Kat moves to get the door.“No, don’t—”“What, Nolan, Nolan,” Sunshine tries, but he’s not listening to her.“Shh, shh, Kat.” Nolan leans against the door and faces her mother, serious. “Give me one minute,” he pleads.Kat shakes her head. “What, you— he’s here, what?”“It’s him,” he says slowly, appearing to be absolutely petrified.“What’s him?” Kat demands.A man tries to peer through the front door window.Nolan sobs and clutches his face desperately. “Okay, just—” Kat is cut off.“No, no, if you—” He presses his body next to the wall, breathing heavily.“Let’s just hear what he has to say, okay?”“Nolan!” Sunshine growls. What the hell is wrong with him?“He’s here, let’s see what he has to say, okay?” Kat repeats, attempting to calm him down.“Nolan!”“I just— I need—” He lowers his hands and his gaze widens. “I need you to trust me, one time, please...!”“I trust you,” Kat soothes, “I trust you all the time, Nolan, go sit, okay? Just sit down, okay? It’s all right!” “Nolan, just sit.” Sunshine glares at him. He backs away, breathing growing heavier and heavier.“Hi, I’m sorry about that,” her mother says as she opens the door. “Hi, I’m Kat.”“Hi, Kat,” the man says professionally, shaking her hand. He’s wearing a black shirt with a dark gray overcoat, short black hair sweeping over his head.“Nice to meet you, come on in.” Kat motions him inside and steps back.“Nice to meet you.” He looks at Sunshine and smiles.
Oh, HELL no!
“What are you doing here?” Sunshine asks in a low and exhausted voice, brows furrowing.“Sunshine,” LeMaster laughs.“Wait, you guys know each other?” Kat asks.“I’m glad to see you’re still alive,” he breathes.“What, still alive?”Sunshine scoffs.“I— I know, I’m sorry, um...” LeMaster holds his hands together and looks at Sunshine. “I wanted to let you know, uh, I’ve been apologizing—”Nolan is muttering furiously and painfully somewhere in the living room.“—to everyone I’ve, I’ve served before. I realized there was a lot of— errors— in my ways, and I’ve reformed, I’ve shaved my beard, uh, removed my tattoo, and fired my guru, and I’m sorry for being so condescending the last time we interacted, I’m, I’m really just here to help.” He nods. “Hello, Kat.”“Okay...” her mother nods slowly. “All right. Okay?”Sunshine sighs. “Sure,” she snaps.“May I?” LeMaster asks.“Yeah,” she says coldly.“Thank you, Sunshine.” He steps into the home and they all turn to see Nolan writhing on the ground, leaned up against a white beam in the living room. He laughs dangerously when he sees LeMaster.“Nolan,” Sunshine says disapprovingly.He leans his head down and Kat crouches in front of him, “Hey, Nolan, you have to calm down. Okay? He’s here now, he can help—”Nolan wipes his tears. “I’m trying so hard to— Kat— Kat—”Kat turns away and looks at LeMaster. “Can you do anything when he’s like this?”LeMaster sighs. “Well, I— I don’t mean to be rude, I, I understand that he’s having an emotional encounter, but it is affecting the energy—” He widens his arms, “—of the space, and it’s interfering with my perception.”“Nolan,” Sunshine harshly snaps. He’s crying like a little girl. He’s not even hurt! “Stop! Okay? Can you just chill?”Nolan breathes, looking forward.“Get up.”“Th— th— thank you, Sunshine,” he mutters, pushing himself up using his palms, back sliding against the wooden beam.“Sit, okay?”“I’m sorry,” Nolan murmurs.“Okay, so..” Kat turns to LeMaster, who nods. “Where do you wanna start, do you..?”“Well, let’s just start with, uh, this space.” He places a hand on the lamp, thinking. “It’s a normal temperature.” He then touches the desk and spreads his hand over the items on top. “These are healthy candles.” He turns and moves his hands in circles. “This room is clean.” LeMaster moves into the kitchen. Nolan is standing behind Sunshine like a little girl.“Do you want— actually, Sunshine’s room is upstairs, do you wanna... see that?”“Absolutely, I do,” LeMaster agrees, nearing the base of the stairs.Sunshine whips around when he comes even closer. “Nolan, what? Ow!”“Sunshine,” he says, looking at her.“What?”“Sunshine—” His voice lowers. “Sunshine, do you remember when we first met?” He has a small smile, but it’s pained and terrified.“Okay, yeah,” she says, bored.“I was— I was just the Creepy Guy?” He smiles. “Remember that?”“Yeah.” Sunshine huffs out a laugh. “You kinda are, right now, being the creepy guy.”His brows push together, eyes wide. “I said I was here to help you.”“Yeah, I— remember, I was there—” He clutches her arm like she’s his only lifeline. “You’re hurting my arm,” she mumbles, annoyed.Nolan lets go and straightens up. “What?”“I’m gonna keep you safe, Sunshine,” he vows, nodding to himself.“Okay..?”He unzips his black leather jacket and fishes around the inside pockets, narrowing his eyes.“Nolan.” She doesn’t like LeMaster, but going upstairs with them is probably a better idea than hanging around down here. “What are you..?”He pulls out a silver gun.“Nolan!” she whisper-yells. “Nolan, what the hell— Put it away.” He doesn’t make a move to, holding it in his left hand. “Nolan!”“Let me show you down here,” Kat says from the stairs.Nolan shifts in his place, looking into the kitchen, avoiding her eyes.“Nolan!” she tries again. Why isn’t he listening to her? He’s crazy!When they reach the bottom floor, Nolan stuffs the gun in his jacket.“Nolan, just— stop! Just put it away, Nolan!”He leans against the wall, tightly hugging his arms around his body.“Nolan.”He looks at her and smirks, winking.“Nolan, seriously.”Kat and LeMaster reach the living room and she eyes her daughter and Nolan. “You okay?”LeMaster swipes his hand over the arch between the kitchen and the living room.“Mom—” She side-eyes Nolan. “Come over here, Mom.”“What’s wrong?” She walks up to her.“I’m just... not comfortable..”LeMaster tries to follow them but Nolan pushes himself off the wall, standing in front of him. He pulls out the gun and points it at LeMaster’s head.“Nolan!”“What are you doing?!” Kat exclaims.LeMaster spreads his arms out, eyes widening. “I— know— who you are now!” Nolan laughs darkly, hand shaking with the gun. “Nolan, put the gun away!” Kat snarls, then whispers to Sunshine, “is that a real gun?”“I don’t know...” Sunshine murmurs, standing behind Nolan.“I— I am LeMaster—” he tries.“You’ve been scarin’ me for a long time, and I’m not scared of you anymore, you understand?” His voice raises and breaks.“Uh, I— I don’t understand,” LeMaster stammers.“Nolan!” Kat growls.“It’s you,” Nolan snaps, glaring at LeMaster. “It’s you!”“Nolan!”Nolan breathes in. “You’re the one who’s been causing all of this— I don’t know if it’s all you, but you’re there!”“Nolan!” Sunshine says louder.“What?” he says, facing her.“Can you stop?” she whispers. LeMaster’s hands are on his head — he’s not dangerous! “What are you doing?”“Look at him,” Nolan sneers, “he’s not even in the mirror.”“I— I— I think that—” LeMaster stammers.“What?” Kat gapes.“He’s not even in the mirror...” Sunshine turns to the one hanging above the couch, eyes wide. “Nolan.” Her throat goes dry. “Neither are you.”Kat begins to tremble. “What?” “Just—” Sunshine turns back to Nolan, who’s staring at them, looking confused and anxious. He whips to LeMaster. “What are you doing?!” Nolan demands.“I—”“Stop it! Stop it!” Nolan screams, moving forward slowly.“Nolan,” Kat says, trying to soothe him in any way possible.What. The. Hell. Is. Happening?LeMaster bows his head. “Violence is not the answer, uh, let us— let us take a moment—”“Shut up,” Nolan seethes, voice low and cold. It grows louder as he nears closer. “Shut up!”“No! Nolan! Look!” Sunshine points to the mirror.“Put it back!” Nolan continues to yell, “put it back, please!” He nears the two women again.“You don’t want this on your karma,” LeMaster stutters. “I assure you.”“Put it back.”“Put what back?”“Put it back!” Nolan presses his finger closer to the trigger. Sunshine’s wondering how she hasn’t passed out yet. “I— I will, just tell me— tell me what you want me to do.”“Nolan,” Kat says softly.“Nolan!” Sunshine growls.“Put the gun down.” Kat shakes her head. “Why isn’t he listening to you?”Nolan begins to cry. “I’m a good guy.”LeMaster nods hopefully. “You— you’re a great guy—” “I want to help,” he sobs.“Nolan! Just stop,” Sunshine begs, growing aggravated. “Nolan!”“I’ll do anything,” LeMaster pleads.“Get—” Nolan hangs his head, wiping tears away with his free hand.“Nolan, we’re fine,” Kat stresses.“You’re the bad guy,” Nolan spits through his teeth, glaring at LeMaster.“No one’s the bad guy.” LeMaster’s voice shakes. “We’re all good guys here.”“I’m good.”“Nolan. Nolan, listen to me. You don’t want to do this.”“I’m not scared of you anymore,” he seethes.“There’s nothing to be scared of. We’re just gonna set the gun down—” LeMaster continues.“Nolan,” she says. He turns to look at Sunshine and smiles a little, nodding. He whimpers and turns his head back to LeMaster. “Nolan—”He fires. Sunshine, Kat, and LeMaster scream, the bang filling their ears and knocking around their heads. Sunshine staggers but Kat manages to hold on to her. Everything is muffled for a moment, the world bright lights around her, until it all comes racing back.Nolan’s fired the gun at least five times. They’re both screaming at him to stop but he doesn’t. LeMaster holds on to his chest and slides down to the ground, groaning painfully. He slumps face-down on the kitchen floor.Kat begins to sob. Sunshine is too shocked and horrified to say anything.Nolan drops the gun and looks around. “Right,” he mutters. “Right.” He sits down and seems to be— to be calm, calmer than someone who just killed another person should be.“Nolan,” Sunshine whispers. “What did you do?”He doesn’t respond.“Honey, we need to call the cops,” Kat cries.“I don’t— Mom, I don’t know!”“You— no— we have to call the police, where is your phone?”“I don’t know!” Sunshine exclaims.Kat screws her eyes shut and points toward the kitchen. “I think it’s in there. You need to go get the phone!”Sunshine is staring past her, wide-eyed. “Mom.”Kat turns her head to follow her daughter’s gaze, and she stops crying. LeMaster is standing, seemingly taller and angrier than before, eyes dark.LeMaster laughs menacingly, taking slow steps forward. “We do not fear you, little girl,” he booms in a demonic voice. It fills the entire house. “Your powers are nothing compared to ours. There is no escape. We will strike down on you with all vengeance of the seventh world!” His hands raise to his sides. He’s standing too close to them, but what can they do?“And burn your soul with all the fire of hell!” he yells. LeMaster quickly stomps towards them and Sunshine screams, ducking away from him.Nothing touches her.She turns and the front door is swinging open. LeMaster is gone.“Nolan?” she whispers, turning to where he was sitting on the couch. He isn’t there, either.What the hell just happened.

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Sunshine is... confused. She’s sitting on her trampoline, dark gray clouds rolling over her head. The wind swaying branches back and forth nearby drenches her in an icy calmness. She isn’t sure how to feel, not after... well, y’know. That.So. Nolan. LeMaster, or, maybe LeMaster. She doesn’t even know anymore. It’s all just really weird. First of all, Nolan had been struggling with something the days prior — he’d hesitated explaining everything about his past, and Sunshine is determined to figure it out. On top of that, it seemed like Nolan knew LeMaster. Seriously? What’s that all about?Shit. Don’t even get her started on the whole gun thing.She supposes she’s less stressed because— well, no one was really hurt. Sure, Nolan had put a few bullets in demon(?) LeMaster, but then he’d literally jumped from his place on the floor and acted insane. Shouting things at her, trying to destroy her...Ugh. Maybe Nolan’s been right about all of this. Sunshine’s starting to believe she’s a Luiseach. Starting to believe that there’s actually a— don’t laugh— paranormal war going on. That has to be it. Seriously.And on top of that, both LeMaster and Nolan had just— poof! Disappeared! Wonderful. Amazing. Now Sunshine’s left with no answers and absolutely no one to help her. Her mother’s still shaken up about the whole thing, granted, but Nolan’s expertise in the field does help. Now... well. She feels just as alone as she did when Kat was possessed.Maybe it didn’t happen. That would be, well, nice. A drug trip. Maybe Nolan drugged the camera, too. That would be better than believing all of this shit.Even worse, she hasn’t been able to get a hold of Nolan since. It’s... it’s weird, she doesn’t like it, and she needs some fucking answers.There’s only one lead she has to follow. Better now than never, right...?
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Sunshine arrives at the warehouse. She’s bored, tired of thinking, and honestly needs something to give her a little action in her life. It looks the same, dull and lifeless, but it seems like people are actually working here.Still. There’s nothing going on, and no clue of any stray cars Sunshine might need to chase. Yeah. Bad clue. This place sucks.
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Uncle Tommy’s here.So, apparently, he’s— upset about something? She’s not quite sure, but sits down on the couch anyway, facing Kat and her not-uncle.“What are you doing?” Kat groans.“Nothing,” Sunshine says.“Uh. Camera in your hand? Having a conversation? Family?” She waves her hand between she and Uncle Tommy.Speaking of. “Grown up... time?” he tries.Kat drops her arms and glares at him. “Grown up time? It— it involves Sunshine, she has to be a part of this.”“Okay.” He sighs and looks at Sunshine, frowning. “It’s just— I don’t know a lot about this stuff, okay?”“Neither do we!” Kat insists.“Well, you’re the ones that keep inviting it into your house!”“We did no inviting—”He leans forward. “Like, you busted out the Ouija Board back—”“We never even did the Ouija Board and stuff happened.” Kat nods, staring at him. “It is all coming to her.” She points at Sunshine. “It— it’s all her.”Uncle Tommy scoffs. “Coming to her, like the boyfriend?” He shoots an accusatory glance toward Sunshine.“He’s not my boyfriend,” she groans, disgusted at the mere idea of that.“Yes! Exactly like that,” Kat nods. “It shows up on our door, we didn’t invite—”“And showing up with a gun?!” he exclaims, dumbfounded. “And shooting some guy?”Kat’s voice grows quieter. “We did not know he was gonna bring a gun, that was— it was just supposed to be the paranormal expert, he was supposed to stop by—” She waves her hands, “we had no idea it was going to be LeMaster— this is not— we’re not asking for this and you know it!”“After everything that you’ve gone through already, why are you not putting a stop to this?” he asks.“How would you like me to stop it?” her mother counters.“I don’t—” His hands fall. “Tommy, Seriously.”“I don’t know!”“Tell me. Tell me how you think we can stop this. I’d love to hear your suggestion.”He turns his head to look outside, the drizzle of rain pattering against the sliding glass doors.“Maybe...” Uncle Tommy slumps, blinking slowly. “I don’t know, nothing seems to happen when I’m here, maybe I just need to hang out a lot more.” He sassily inclines his head.“Oh, you’re— mmm.” Kat looks at the camera. “Tommy’s gonna protect us.”“I’m gonna protect you,” he nods.Sunshine raises a dubious brow and snorts. “Well, Tommy will be here to protect us.”
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Sunshine has this weird feeling in her belly. It’s a deep, gut-twisting intuition, like she knows today is the day for something weird or insane to happen. Great. Another day in the life of Sunshine Girl...And, wow. As she’s in the middle of spewing these thoughts to her camera, there’s a heavy knock on the door.She furrows her brows and stands slowly. “It is,” she mutters, walking toward the door and peering through the small glass window. Her breath hitches when she sees a familiar, tall teen wearing a black leather jacket. “No freaking way.”Sunshine opens the door. “Nolan,” she calls. His head is bent down, like he’s looking at his shoes, and he mutters something as he stumbles inside. She grits her teeth. God, what now? “Come in,” she mumbles sarcastically, shutting the front door.He walks past her and avoids the camera, which is weird, because Nolan always loves being the center of attention. “Nolan— Nolan!” He slowly makes his way into the kitchen, back to her. “I’ve been worried about you.” Her tone is slightly relieved.“Nolan—” Sunshine’s breath hitches when he turns to look at her. Nolan’s eyes are pure black. He winks and disappears behind the wall. “Nolan!” She follows him into the kitchen and to the base of the stairs, staggering when he isn’t there. What the hell...?There’s another heavy knock on the door and her heart leaps into her throat. “What....? What now?” She makes her way to the front door and stops. “Nolan?”There he is, standing there again with his head bent. “Nolan,” she says, growing slightly annoyed. What’s happening? “What is going on?”“I’m so tired,” he mutters as he walks past her again.“What are you—” She pauses when she sees her mother.“What are you doing here?” Kat asks, tone less than friendly.Nolan glances at Kat and veers into the kitchen, the same way he had earlier.“What is going on?” Sunshine asks again, growing slightly nervous. This isn’t normal. “Nolan,” Kat stresses. “Nolan.” Her breath hitches when he turns to the both of them, pitch black filling up his eyes. He winks again and disappears behind the wall.“Nolan...” Sunshine desperately follows him, but when she gets to the stairs.... he isn’t there. “He’s gone again.”“What do you mean again?” Kat asks.Sunshine sighs. “He’s already done this once.”“Done what?”“Go out and... come back, and...” She groans. “He just— he knocked, and then he did it again.”Kat presses her brows together. “Well— how is he, how is he doing that?”“I don’t know!”She places a hand on her forehead. “I don’t understand..”Another heavy knock on the door.Kat looks at her daughter, eyes wide. “Is that him?”“He’s back,” she nods. Sunshine rushes to the door and swings it open, looking up at him. “Nolan. Can you talk to me this time? Can you—”“I’m so tired,” he mutters again, walking past both women.“Nolan!” she attempts.He turns to them, black eyes and all, winks, and disappears behind the wall again. “What, what?” Kat stammers.“I don’t know!”“Go try to talk to him!” Her mother points toward the kitchen.Sunshine sighs and follows where Black-Eyed Nolan presumably went for the third time, and, oh. Go figure. He isn’t there.“Where is he going?” Kat peers up the stairs, shaking.“I don’t know...” Sunshine mumbles.They both look at the door, but Nolan isn’t standing there.“How many times did he do it?” Kat asks.“That’s three.” Sunshine nears the front door. “Nolan..?” He’s not there.“And he never talked to you?” her mother presses.“Not really.” She looks through the window and over the porch, but... it’s empty. “He’s not there.”Well. That wasn’t weird or anything.
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She’s so confused about what’s going on with Nolan. She read about this thing called a Residual Haunting, where a ghost does a thing over and over and over again— they just repeat themselves. Is Nolan... a ghost...?Has he been a ghost this whole time?God. She doesn’t know.Luckily, she receives a letter in the mail the next day.Sunshine sits with her mother on the couch and opens the paper, raising a brow. “It’s kind of an odd one,” she grunts, turning the camera over to face the words. “Not like all the fan ones...”Sunshine clears her throat, beginning to read.‘Dear Ms. Sunshine.I have recently—’Kat gasps. “Dear Ms. Sunshine.”She rolls her eyes. “Yep.”‘I have recently discovered your videos on YouTube and I wanted to let you know that I, too, have a fascination with Black-Eyed Kids, or Black-Eyed People. I have done a ton—“A lot, sorry.”‘A ton of research on the subject ever since a good friend of mine disappeared after having an encounter with one of these creatures. I think you should come to Portland, Oregon and let me explain to you what it is that we’re dealing with here. All the best,Tom Waters.’“Huh,” Kat tuts. “Portland’s close.”Sunshine raises her brows. “Ish.”“Why does he think, though, that you...”“Are the one to talk.. to..?” Sunshine trails off.Kat frowns. “You haven’t done that much about Black-Eyed Kids, you just said you really liked the..”“The legend.”“The legend,” Kat confirms, “or, whatever.”“I don’t know.” Sunshine bites her nail, contemplating.“What do you think you’re gonna do?”She pauses. “Maybe I’ll write it back, see what he has to say.”Kat nods. “It’s a start.”Sunshine looks at the camera. “Let’s— let’s find out what’s goin’ on with Tom Waters, you guys. Do that first.”“He called you Ms. Sunshine.”“I’m gonna call him Mr. Tom Waters, then.”Kat snorts. “Good plan.”
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Uh. Okay, so, after all of her little YouTube followers’ protests, Sunshine and Kat are back at Nolan’s grandma’s house. Haha... great... memories here..“I’m terrified,” Kat mumbles. “Here we go,” Sunshine quips.They exit the car and make their way over the lawn, night sky blanketing the world in darkness.“I kinda wish we’d been here during the day,” Kat muses.“A little earlier?”Kat smiles at the lights dotting the pathway. “Look how inviting her house is now.”“It is a little cuter,” Sunshine nods.Her mother groans. “I really hate this, a lot.”“Oh my gosh, stop complaining.”“Oh, suddenly you’re all brave?”“No,” Sunshine insists as they step on the porch.“Wait, are you gonna introduce us, or..?”Sunshine shoots a glare. “No, you are.”“Oh. Okay.”She leans forward and knocks on the familiar glass door, looking inside the house. It looks the exact same, except now there are actual lights on.An older woman with a gray jacket, white shirt, and blue jeans walks to the door. She opens the door and curiously peers back at them with a rounded face and soft eyes, glasses perched on top. Her hair is light brown and short, not reaching past her ears. “Hello?” she asks politely. “Can I help you?”Kat doesn’t say anything, so it looks like Sunshine’ll have to be the one doing the introducing. “Uh, hi,” she stammers, thinking of what she should say. Does his grandma even know Nolan’s missing? “Um, I’m Sunshine, and this is... my mom... Kat..” She motions awkwardly toward Mom.Nolan’s grandma takes her glasses off and tilts her head. “Hello.”“Yeah, uh—” Sunshine bites her lip. “Have you seen Nolan? Any... where..?”Grandma appears to be confused. “Nolan?” she says softly. “I don’t— I don’t know anyone named Nolan.”“What,” Sunshine blurts. Um. Excuse me? Huh? Que? “He’s your... grandson..?”The woman raises her brows. “I don’t have any grandsons. I think you’re... mistaken, you must have the wrong house, perhaps you wanted to—” She motions to the right. “Talk to the lady next door.”Kat finally says something. “Have you— have you been in Cabo recently?”Now grandma is even more confused. “Mexico?”“Never mind,” Kat mutters, then louder— “I’m sorry, thank you. Sorry.”“Thank you,” Sunshine nods, turning away with her mother, “for your time.”“Sorry, girls,” grandma calls, “I wish I could help.”“Oh, it’s all right, thank you,” Kat says. “Sorry.” When they’re farther away from the house and near the car, Kat rounds on her daughter. “What the hell just happened?”Sunshine is literally freaking out. She’s not delusional, and neither is her mother, because that was literally the house they’d spent half the night in. Holy mother of Jesus. Had they snuck into some grandma’s house with ghost Nolan? “Nolan kept saying he lived there,” Sunshine splutters, laughing anxiously and sort of stupefied, “we ate that lady’s Cheeto’s.”“That is the right house,” Kat whisper-yells. “What is going on?”“I don’t know.”Fucking hell.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It’s the day after the whole Nolan’s-grandma-isn’t-actually-his-grandma fiasco and Sunshine’s received another letter in the mail. Tom Waters still wants her to come visit him in Portland about the Black-Eyed Kids, so Uncle Tommy and Kat are going to figure out exactly what to do.Sunshine sits across from them, smiling as she holds her camera. Uncle Tommy glances at her, paper in hand, and exchanges a glance with Kat.“I just think he wants her to come visit,” her mother huffs. “I think that’s what’s goin’ on, Tom.”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “How about you just read the..?”Uncle Tommy blinks. “You want me to read it?”“Yeah.”‘Dear Ms. Sunshine,In light of your most recent video I implore you to follow the advice of my original letter and come to Portland, Oregon and visit me. Get the answers you seek on this subject. Not only am I a wealth of information on the subject, but I have personal experience with Black-Eyed People.’Kat raises a brow and glances at her daughter.‘I’m sure it did not go unnoticed in your most recent encounter with the spirit of Nolan that he had black eyes, not unlike the accounts of the Black-Eyed Kids. There’s a reason for this, as well as a reason for your fascination with the phenomenon. It is clear that you did not pick this subject, but just like all the paranormal phenomenon, you deal with it. It picked you.’Kat breathes out and shakes her head. Sunshine really wants to know who this guy is and why he cares so much.‘If you look deep enough into this subject, the subject of Black-Eyed kids, I believe you will not only find answers to the questions you seek about the BEKs, but also answers you seek about yourself and the whereabouts of Nolan. There is no one more suited for this journey than you, but you already know that.Sincerely, Tom Waters.PS. Do not always trust those around you. There are some who are not what they seem.’Silence.“All right,” Sunshine says, “that was a.. thanks.”Uncle Tommy looks at Kat and starts to laugh. “Is that what you meant about it following you guys around?”Kat sighs. “No, I just— I mean, she gets weird letters all the time, that’s... pretty normal. But..”“Just like all paranormal phenomenon it picked you?” Uncle Tommy reads skeptically. Her mother takes the paper out of Uncle Tommy’s hands. “I don’t know, is that something that is always true? I don’t know.”Uncle Tommy raises his hand. “I don’t know anything about this stuff.”“I don’t know. I mean, he seems to really want to help, but she gets so many weird letters.”Yeah, that’s true.Maybe this one actually means something, though.
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It’s later that night, and the lights flicker out above Sunshine’s head. Her heart jumps, her fingers twitch, and she jumps up for her camera. Sunshine runs down the stairs and stumbles when a horrible, demonic roar thunders in her ears. “Mom?” she yells, hardly able to hear over the noise. “Mom!”“What’s that noise?!” Uncle Tommy yells, guiding Sunshine into the living room. Sunshine waves the camera on her mother, whose hands are clenched over her ears.Uncle Tommy tries to turn a lamp on, but to no avail. “What is that?!” Kat exclaims. “It hurts!”“It’s so loud,” Sunshine says, nearly doubling down. “Make it stop!”Everything goes quiet.“That worked?” Kat asks incredulously. She pads over to Uncle Tommy, who’s sitting on the couch. “Are you okay?”“Yeah,” he nods slowly. “Are you?” He faces Sunshine.“Are you all right?” Kat worries, looking over her daughter for any signs of harm.“Yeah,” Sunshine splutters, “I’m fine.” She waves the flashlight across the living room. “Wh— what?”The front door creaks open behind them, and all three turn, gasping in fright. A dark shape slinks through the darkness, and when Sunshine shines the light on the figure, she almost can’t believe it. It’s Nolan. “Nolan?” Kat asks, voice breaking.“Nolan,” Sunshine says, worried. This seems familiar..He turns to them from the kitchen, and his eyes are pure black. Nolan winks and disappears behind the wall. What the hell. It’s happening again!“What are you doing here—” Kat’s breathing hitches when she sees his eyes.Uncle Tommy staggers. “Woah.”“Where is he going?” Kat cries.“Nolan.” Sunshine slides into the kitchen, green eyes narrowing. “Nolan!”Her mother follows close behind, peering up the stairs. “Where is he?” When Sunshine begins to climb the steps, Kat’s jaw drops. “Wait, you’re going up there?”“Sunshine,” Uncle Tommy sharply says from below.“Yeah,” she mumbles, mind swirling. All she knows is that she needs to follow Nolan, or Black-Eyed Nolan, or whoever this is. He’s calling out to her, and she needs to finally understand what’s going on.“You’re here to protect her,” Kat furiously mutters to Uncle Tommy. “You go!”“Hey, be careful,” Uncle Tommy says softly as he climbs the stairs, listening to Kat.“Nolan?” Sunshine calls, ignoring her not-uncle for a moment. “It’s okay,” she finally replies, “I don’t think he’d hurt me.”It’s true. If Nolan pulled a gun on LeMaster just for her, she’s pretty sure Nolan’s gonna, y’know, try and keep her safe. Sometimes, though, finding answers may rely on taking risks. This is one of those moments.Sunshine’s not scared. She swears.“Nolan?” she asks again, rising to her full height when she reaches the second floor. Uncle Tommy breaths heavily behind her, clearly not used to this whole ghost exploring thing. “Nolan?”“Tommy, what’s wrong?” Kat whispers.“Oh, god,” he mutters, placing his palm on his forehead.Sunshine turns around and her eyes widen she sees Uncle Tommy hunched over, coughing. He rushes past Kat down the stairs, yelling through his lips. “Tommy, what’s wrong?!” Kat exclaims.“Tommy!” Sunshine attempts. “What’s wrong?” They follow him down the stairs and into the kitchen.Uncle Tommy hunches over the kitchen sink and opens his mouth. Strands of thick blood leak out, staining the sink crimson. Sunshine can smell the copper, and she’s nearly blown back by a myriad of flashbacks. The little girl in the bathroom, the demon locking me inside the bathroom, Mom standing over me in the middle of the night, the exorcism, Frederic Loren dragging Nolan down the hallway...It’s almost too much. She’s surprised she doesn’t throw up. Her eyes are glued on Uncle Tommy, though, and she can’t help the gasp that wrenches from her throat.“What is that?!” Kat screams.Uncle Tommy begins coughing profusely, more blood leaking out of his mouth.“Ew,” Sunshine cringes, stomach churning.“It’s okay,” Kat soothes, rubbing her hand in circles along his back, “it’s all right.”Uncle Tommy stops coughing and holds his mouth, trembling. “What the hell is that?” He stops. “Oh, it tastes so bad.”“Ew, it smells.” Kat closes her eyes as Tommy washes his hands, spluttering once more.“You all right?” Sunshine murmurs.“Yeah,” he says, moving past her to wipe his mouth and hands with a paper towel.“Okay.” Kat reaches up and brushes Uncle Tommy’s hair back. “Okay.” She anxiously laughs, and so does he. “You’re scaring me.”Uncle Tommy smiles, but it’s pained. “So that’s what it’s like here, huh?”Sunshine feels something in her gut again. She narrows her eyes and turns around, flicking the flashlight near the front door. She gasps when she sees Nolan slumped on the floor, head bent awkwardly.“Oh, jeez,” Uncle Tommy startles.Kat takes a slow step forward. “Nolan?”Sunshine shakily walks toward him, taking note of the black cloth wrapped around his eyes. He also has something wrapped around his hands— he’s bound.“Is he tied up?” Kat whispers.“Nolan?” Sunshine’s voice breaks at seeing her friend like this, because damnit, it hurts. “Nolan.” Her voice is softer than usual. She wishes she could just give the poor guy a hug, but something tells her this isn’t really... well, him. Maybe it’s a vision, or a sign, but something is definitely wrong.It’s a message. Sunshine can feel it.Sunshine stands in front of him, shining the flashlight on his head. He twitches when she calls his name again, but he doesn’t say anything.“Nolan.” Sunshine bends down beside him. “Nolan?” She closes her eyes and breathes out, re-opening them and reaching forward. She slips the black strip of cloth away and her heart jumps when he looks up.His eyes are pure black.Kat yelps and Sunshine staggers back, caught off guard. Nolan cries and splutters out blood, sobbing and screaming. Kat yells and pulls Sunshine back into the darkness.When they look back toward the door, he’s gone.“What the...” Uncle Tommy mutters.“Where’d he go?” Kat whispers.“Did you see him leave?”“He didn’t leave!” Kat glares at Uncle Tommy. “We would’ve heard the door open!”“Nolan?” Sunshine yells, but the world is quiet again, and the house is dark. The pain in her gut slowly recedes. It’s gone.Uncle Tommy opens the door and looks around. “Nolan.”“Tommy, he’s not out there,” Kat sighs. “We would’ve heard the door open.” She shakes her head and glances at her daughter. “He sucks at this!”Sunshine notices a dark spot on the floor and doubles back, shining the light. It’s a pool of the dark substance, and— oh. That’s where he’d... well.“I think it’s what you had in your mouth, Tommy,” Kat murmurs.“Nolan?” Sunshine whispers.“I don’t think that is Nolan, honey.”“Well, I know it’s not Nolan,” she snaps. Sunshine isn’t stupid.At least, she doesn’t think so.⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine’s thinking about everything that happened the night prior, and she isn’t exactly sure what to think. Thankfully, Uncle Tommy is okay. The blood, or— black goo, or— well, whatever that was is... definitely interesting, but he’s fine. No weird side effects or anything of that sort.She still hasn’t heard from Nolan, and the more days that pass, the more worried she gets. She hasn’t actually seen him since October 31, and that was... what, fourteen days ago? It’s just not like him.She honestly wishes Victoria would just show up again. That would be kinda— y’know, handy. Clearly, though, she isn’t going to. Which, well. Sucks.Sunshine talks about her BEK movie kickstarter, but it’s hard to focus when she’s so stressed out about everything going on. Ugh.On another note, Sunshine got the brown— uh, goop?— tested to find out what it is at a local college. Apparently, they’re working on it right now. And since Uncle Tommy’s staying with them for a while, Sunshine can catch him up to speed on everything that’s happened. And talk about some theories.They’re in the kitchen and Uncle Tommy is sitting on the counter, Sunshine facing him as she leans against the sink.“So, I’ve been doing some research,” he explains, “about Black-Eyed People...”“‘Kay,” she nods, stirring up her smoothie with a spoon.“Um, there’s a lot of theories out there about what, like, the eyes themselves represent— lots of it is they’re evil, or a demon, or they just have no soul... I started looking for, just, anything that could make sense of it, and one of the things I saw was about this thing called Astral Projection?”“Okay...” Sunshine narrows her eyes, not entirely sure what that is.Good thing Uncle Tommy continues. “Which is where you’re— projecting your body into another place or time.”She raises a brow, but nods anyway.“And that the black eyes can represent the lack of soul, since that’s not their body, and that, like, a demon can— project— in the form of another human.”Uh. Okay. Makes sense?“So what if it’s— a demon is projecting Nolan here to try and lure you into a trap?”“Hmm.” Sunshine thinks, tilting her head. “Weird.”“But y’know, it makes sense.”“Yeah...” Uncle Tommy takes the smoothie from her, but she doesn’t mind, because she’s thinking. “So does that mean Nolan’s, like, tied up somewhere?”“He could be,” Uncle Tommy insists, shrugging.“Is he... in trouble?” That’s the only thing that makes sense to her right now, because again, Nolan isn’t one to miss the spotlight. Being gone for so long... it’s not right.Uncle Tommy nods. “He could be in danger somewhere, yeah, I mean— a demon possessed your mom, I mean, anything’s possible at this point, right?”“So true,” she mutters. “Hmm. Okay. So demons, possession, astral what..?”“Astral projection.”She looks at the camera. “Astral projection.”Looks like she’ll have to ponder on that one for a while.⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine read a comment that basically told her that she should— well, talk to the spirits. And it’s not like she follows all of the comments, but this one sounds... logical? She’s read up on it and she’s willing to try.“So. Yeah.” She turns the camera around to show the other two on the couch. Uncle Tommy waves. “Mom and Tommy are here for... backup.” Kat looks at Tommy. “That’s you, you’re backup.”He rolls his eyes. “Yeah.” He shows his muscles.“You don’t think anything’s gonna happen, do you?” she laughs.“I don’t think anything’s gonna happen.”“Well that’s cause you’re here,” Kat snickers.“Yeah, I’m... good luck.” He smirks at the camera.“Here.” Kat reaches forward. “I’ll hold this.” She takes the camera from Sunshine— rude— and leans back, getting a full view of the table. They have three candles in front of them. This is a shitty séance, basically. Tommy leans down and rests his arms on the table, rearranging the candles without lighting them. Sunshine looks around, pursing her lips. “Okay,” she breathes, biting the inside of her cheek and shrugging. “Anna...? Are you.. here..?”Silence.“Ask her again,” Kat says.“Anna,” Sunshine calls louder, looking around and ignoring Tommy’s impatient shifting. “Are you present?”Tommy looks back and mouths something to the camera, but jumps when there’s a knock somewhere in the kitchen.Kat’s eyes widen. “O..kay..”“Anna?” Sunshine whispers.“Was that a yes?” her mother muses.“She’s here,” Tommy snorts. “This thing actually works..?”Kat shrugs lightly. “Could’ve been a coincidence.”No, don’t think so, Mom. “Anna, will you knock on the table if you understand?” Sunshine asks.“That’s good.”There’s a knock right next to them, and everyone jumps. “Okay,” Kat mutters. Looks like this is the real deal.“Ask her somethin’ else,” Tommy shakily offers.“What, like what? Like— favorite color?”Tommy glares at Kat. “No, not like—” He rolls his eyes.“She has to be able to knock,” Sunshine sighs. Is she the only one that knows how to do this?“Um.” Tommy leans on his elbow. “Didn’t that LeMaster guy say, like, the ghosts will find you?”She narrows her eyes. “Yeah.”“So maybe... we should ask her if there’s—” He trails off.“How many have found her?” Kat sniggers.Sunshine nods slowly. “Okay.” She thrums her fingers together, attempting to relax her shoulders. “Anna— will you knock once for every spirit that’s present?”And knocking she does. Everyone counts out loud as it happens, and the hair on Sunshine’s back stands up. Anna might be peaceful, but this is still scary as hell.When they reach four, Tommy looks at the camera, shocked and wide-eyed.“What?” Kat mutters.It continues. Eight.“You’re kidding me,” Tommy says, dumbfounded.That dark, twisted gut feeling returns to Sunshine.Ten.“Okay, no,” Kat says shakily. Eleven. “That is not possible.”Thirteen.“I am so done with this crap,” Tommy sighs.Seventeen.“What,” Kat mouths.Twenty-two.“Honey,” Kat whispers, eyes wide. This isn’t— this isn’t normal.Twenty-three.Tommy wheezes out a disbelieving laugh.Twenty-six.“This is absolutely ridiculous,” he giggles, covering his mouth.Anna stops at 34. Sunshine’s batteries die, but— Okay. Wow. That’s a... that’s a lot of fucking ghosts.It’s a good thing Anna stopped there, because Uncle Tommy was gettin’... really crazy. But, still, she’s pretty confident that the kickstart and everything is the right path. Tom Waters is saying she can learn stuff about herself, Nolan and all of that— now is the best time to learn. She needs to understand.It’s good. Things.... things are good, considering.
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Things aren’t good.Sunshine hears a noise four days later on the stairs. She’s kind of hoping it’s Nolan— or, well, astral projection Nolan, but is still freaked out. “Anna?” she calls out, “is that you?” Sunshine crosses into the kitchen and walks up the stairs, looking around. “Anna. Anna? Are you there?” Maybe after the séance, she wants to talk more. Sunshine can handle that. She’s pretty sure she can, at least.Something twists in her stomach and Sunshine whirls around, looking down the stairs. She gasps when a hand slips underneath the stairs— if she’d turned around any later, she would’ve missed it.Fuck. She doesn’t want to go down there. But she has to, doesn’t she? She can do this. She’s— she’s no pussy, right?Sunshine whimpers when she rushes down the steps, terrified the hand will reappear and— like, drag her down or something insane. God, she doesn’t even know anymore. Nothing happens, though, so she stumbles toward the opening under the stairs, darkness blanketing the room. “Is anybody there?” she whispers anxiously.No answer. Sunshine opens the door slowly and screams when a dark shape lunges for her. Nolan. He snarls and lashes out, but before he can touch her, he’s... gone.Oh. Oh. Sunshine nearly passes out when she looks down to see the black goo spread over her arm. “Ew. Ew. Ew!”⠀⠀⠀
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So. This is gonna sound— this is gonna sound really stupid, and she hates to say it, but Sunshine is pretty sure— well—She’s pretty sure Anna spoke to her. She told Sunshine she’d missed something and— well. Missed what?Sunshine sits down at the dining room table and looks down at the photo of the warehouse, the words “GO HERE” splayed on top. Y’know, the one she’d done her Nancy Drew schoolwork on? Where they’d found the address on the back? Yeah, that one.There’s gotta be something else here.She holds the paper up to the light and squints. Her eyes widen slowly when she spots something, so starts to scribble in that area with her pencil.Hmm.“3:00 AM.”Awesome.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine, Kat, and Uncle Tommy are at the warehouse. It’s 3:00 AM and definitely too late to be going on an adventure like this, but Sunshine knows it’s important. She’s always had that gut feeling about the warehouse, and now, maybe she’ll get some answers.“There’s the door,” Kat points, scrunching her nose as she glances around the area.“It looks empty,” Sunshine mutters. The lights are off and there aren’t any cars here but— well. You guessed.“There’s a lock,” Uncle Tommy says, striding up to the glass door. Kat pulls on the handle, as if the door’s just gonna magically open.“Clearly that didn’t work,” Sunshine snorts.Uncle Tommy pauses and motions toward the right. “There’s another one down there.”“Go try it,” Sunshine says.“I don’t even think anyone’s here!” Kat exclaims, but grudgingly follows anyway. Uncle Tommy tries the door handle, but it’s to no avail.“They’re all locked...” She furrows her brows and wonders what the reason for coming here is. Hell, maybe a fan sent a fake letter just to trick them and laugh about it later. God. She hopes that’s not the case.“I’ve been waiting for you.”Everyone gasps and whirls around, wide-eyed. Sunshine flicks her flashlight to the mysterious person’s face and— oh!“Hi,” Sunshine breathes, smiling at Victoria.Thank God.She slowly strides past them, looking the locked door up and down. “Sunshine,” Victoria says.“Y- yeah?”“It’s very important that you develop your abilities. Are you aware of that?”Sunshine staggers over her words. “I.. am now.”“And do you know why?”“No...?”Victoria doesn’t blink. “It’s in order to fulfill your potential.” A pause. “Do you understand this?”“Mhm..”“Okay.” Victoria turns away and walks closer to the warehouse.“Both of the doors are locked,” Kat offers.Victoria opens the door.“What the hell,” Sunshine mutters, but follows anyway. She follows Victoria inside the building, trying to adjust to the pitch black darkness inside. Victoria stops and turns. “Do you know why you’re here?”“Um.” Sunshine hands the camera off to her mom. She dumbly blinks before that feeling returns, constricting in her chest, oozing in her stomach. She hardly has to think about it. “Nolan’s here.”“What?” Kat asks.“Nolan... he’s here.” She looks at the group, eyes brightening. “How do you know?”Sunshine doesn’t reply.“You have to find him,” Victoria nods.Tommy steps forward and looks around the warehouse. “Nolan!” he yells. His voice echoes through the building.“Okay,” Kat mutters.Sunshine winces. “You really feel like that helped?”“No, I don’t.” Kat rolls her eyes, and Sunshine has to agree on one thing— Tommy is bad at this whole ghost exploring thing.“Do you think this is the right way, Sunshine?” Victoria asks from behind. Huh? Wait, she’s meant to lead the way? She only knows Nolan’s here — not where he is. “I— I don’t know.”Kat cuts in, anyway, saving the day. “You know what, it just seems like it would make more sense to go start in the, like, office area or whatever, there’s light there.”Sunshine swipes the camera from her mother and looks around the huge building, biting her lip. Where can she start? There’s so many places to look, and Sunshine has a feeling that if they don’t find Nolan by sunrise, they’ll never be able to find him again.“Let’s keep moving, Sunshine,” Victoria orders. She complies with ease, following her into a brightly-lit hallway.“I like this room,” Kat smiles. “Bright light.” They enter and no one’s inside— only a window of their reflection stares back.“Why can’t he be in here?” her mother complains.They enter another branch of the warehouse, Tommy leading. “Nolan?” he calls again, but not nearly as loud. Thank Christ, they’d wake up the whole world.Now they’re walking through a maze of offices, but all of them are... empty.Kat touches her shoulder softly. “Do you feel anything, honey?”“I don’t know,” Sunshine admits. She can’t tell if it’s actually there, or if she’s just making this feeling up. “Nolan,” Tommy calls again.“He’s not down here,” Sunshine mutters, then pauses when she sees a set of steps. “There’s an upstairs.” She rounds the corner and stumbles back when Anna faces her, white cloth and all. She turns and disappears behind the wall.Victoria is suddenly beside her. “It’s okay,” she says. “She’s there to help.”Okay, well, if Victoria says so.Sunshine follows Tommy up the stairs, narrowing her eyes. The halls are becoming tighter, but she feels less stressed because— well, there isn’t all that space.“Nolan?” Kat says.“Make sure you’re focused,” Victoria advises.Duly noted. “You can do it.”Can she? Sunshine breathes in and something just makes her— speak. “Nolan?”“Really concentrate.”Sunshine looks inside all the rooms, frowning.Victoria hums. “Nothing.”“We’ll find him,” Kat murmurs soothingly.They continue walking until something stirs inside Sunshine again. She knows before it even happens. “Hey.”They turn around— Kat and Tommy much more startled than Sunshine— and see a dark figure standing in one of the rooms, face hidden behind a black hoodie. Blood rushes to Sunshine’s ears.“What do you want?” Kat says in a loud, clear voice.The figure begins to move forward, hands in fists at its sides.“Run, run, run!” Victoria yells. Sunshine wastes no time and whips around, crying out as she speeds away, legs carrying her faster than ever before. Fear propels her forward and she hardly hears the yells behind her, her feet carrying her into another empty office.Sunshine hesitates and turns, waiting for that— that entity to attack her, but nothing’s there. Victoria and Kat are standing around Tommy, who’s on the floor, resting next to the closed door. Oh, wonderful. They’re trapped.“What was that?!” he exclaims.Victoria sighs heavily. “That was a Groundling.”“What?”“A Groundling,” she repeats, leaning against the wall to catch her breath.“What’s a Groundling?!” Kat asks.“It’s a...” Victoria narrows her eyes. “It’s a human servant.”“Uh. Okay.”“It’s a human servant that serves the Markons.”What are all these words again?Kat sarcastically says, “Oh, the Markons.”“What’s a Markon?” Tommy demands.“A Markon is the highest power in the evil realm, and they give power to people like the Groundlings— people who are trying to gain evil power.”“Evil power,” Kat quietly echoes.Well. Wonderful.Tommy shakes his head, confused. “So that guy’s trying to gain... evil power?”Victoria stands to her full height. “Yes.”“How?”“Because the Markons will give it to him, like they have given power to such people as the Black-Eyed People—”Kat gasps.“—The Shadow People, The Mothman.”“So he— he works for them?” Kat whispers.“Yes,” Victoria nods.“Why— why is he here?”Victoria tilts her head to Sunshine. “He’s here for her.”“Sunshine?” Tommy asks incredulously.“Why?” Kat cries.Victoria sighs again, probably fed up with having to do all this explaining. Wait, how exactly does she know all of this again? “The Markons— they take away all power that is good. All power in the paranormal realm that is good, like the Luiseach. They want to take it away, and they want to give that evil power to such people as the Groundling, who is working for them.”“Okay..” her mother murmurs. “Now what? We’re stuck!”Tommy starts to panic. “So he’s here after us and we can’t do anything?!”“We’re totally trapped?” Kat also panics.“We’re not trapped,” Victoria explains. “He’s gone.”“What do you mean? How do you know?!”Tommy laughs anxiously.“He’s gone?” Sunshine whispers.“I know he’s gone,” Victoria says.“How?” Tommy snaps.“They don’t work like that, once we are in a confined space, he can’t come after us. They leave.”Kat shakes her head and looks at her daughter. “Sunshine, what now?”“Sunshine, it’s up to you.” Victoria nods at her. “We have to keep searching, and we have to search now.”Sunshine purses her lips. “We gotta find him.” No one moves. “Come on,” she orders.“You sure?” Tommy inquires from the floor.“Yeah.”“She can do this,” Victoria stresses.“Get up,” Sunshine says in a harsher tone.“I assure you, that Groundling is not out there anymore.”Tommy and Kat stumble to their feet, grudgingly accepting.“What else is?” Kat darkly mumbles.“Sunshine,” Victoria calls, ignoring Kat. “Yeah..?” She turns around, eyes wide.“I want you, just for one minute, to completely focus on Nolan. This is very important. Focus on him, and you will find him.”“Okay...?” she mutters, facing away and stopping in her tracks.“Should we hold hands or something?” Tommy whispers.Sunshine ignores them and lets the world melt like ice around her, dripping colors and voices down her skin. She closes her eyes and breathes in roughly, feeling the rhythm of her heart skipping in her chest. Sunshine pulls that gut feeling from her stomach and tugs at it, focusing on Nolan— his face, his voice, even his soul— and it all comes rushing to her.“He’s—” She splutters, “He’s downstairs.”“What?” Kat says.“He’s down there,” Tommy tries to explain.Excitement and terror push Sunshine forward. She leads the group to the stairs and rushes down them, heart tugging. She can feel the energy pulsing, whispering for her to follow.“Now what?” Kat stands beside her daughter as they reach the bottom floor, suspiciously looking around for any clues. What are they, the Scooby Gang? “Which way?”Sunshine focuses again, but the feeling is less severe and easier to follow. She turns to the left and crosses the brightly-lit hallway once more. “This way.”“What, in the warehouse?” Kat whispers.“Nolan?” she hesitantly calls out. He’s in here— Sunshine can feel it, shaking in her bones.“How are we gonna find him?” her mother complains. “This place is huge.”Maybe Tommy’s yelling will help them out. Just kidding. Kind of.Speak of the devil. “Nolan?” Tommy calls out, the echo quieter this time, but still apparent.“Sunshine, do you know where he is?” Kat inquires.“Maybe,” she murmurs, because she honestly doesn’t know. Sunshine can feel the pull of energy, but it’s dull and only wavers in a certain direction. Unfortunately, it doesn’t zoom into a hiding spot. That would be cool, though. Tommy pushes himself in front of them, leading the way.“Tommy, don’t just go charging off,” Kat grunts.“Nolan!” he yells.There he goes again.“Nolan?” Kat calls out, softer.Sunshine scrunches her nose. “He’s gotta be here.” Her heart rate spikes the further they move. “Do you feel him?”“He’s this way,” Sunshine guides, turning.“Are you sure?”Yes. This time, she is. “Mmhm.”“Do you hear something?”“No. I— feel it.” Her mother probably won’t understand. That’s okay.Sunshine’s breathing grows heavier, the anticipation filling her with lead. She stops in her tracks when she sees a dark shape slumped to the ground.“Nolan,” Kat whispers, horrified when he doesn’t move.“Sunshine,” Victoria says, “be careful.”Be careful? About what? Nolan— he won’t hurt her. She knows it. However, those words make her slightly more anxious. “Why?”“That may not be Nolan.”She pauses, feeling again. There it is. “It’s him.” No demon would want to wear that horrible black leather jacket, anyway. Sunshine stands next to him, heart aching to see the black cloth covering his eyes and the tape binding his hands together. “Nolan?” she whispers, voice cracking. She leans down and and gently touches his head. “Nolan.”Nolan gasps and shoves himself away, covering his head with his hands. Oh, right. He can’t see anything with that— well. “Who’s there?” he demands, but his voice is weak and broken.“Nolan—”“Stop it!”“Nolan! Stop!” Sunshine pats his shoulder. “It’s me.”He lets out a frail whine, like he’s never been happier to hear someone’s voice.“It’s me,” she soothes. She untangles the cloth from his head and he leans back to the ground, blinking up at the ceiling, gaze clouded with terror. He whines again.“It’s Nolan,” Kat grunts. Yep, no one else would sound like that except him.“Sunshine,” he whispers, not looking at anyone. She checks his eyes— they’re normal. No pure black there.“It’s okay,” Kat says, “it’s all right, it’s all right.” Nolan begins to laugh, and it sounds— well, relieved. “Here, Sunshine, help me get this off.”Sunshine helps rip the tape off and leans back again, eyeing him, worried. “It’s okay, you’re all right— here, sit up, it’s okay.” Kat tucks a hand under his head and helps him sit up, which he does so quickly but dizzily.Nolan blinks blearily and glances between them. “What took you guys so long..?” Sunshine realizes he’s been here for almost a full month. She wants to throw up.Kat sighs. “It’s okay, we’re here now.”He squints, eyes red with tears. “I— I left my cellphone.” He looks away, tensing up. “I left my cellphone, if I’d had my cellphone I—” His voice wavers.“Nolan,” Sunshine tries. “I forgot,” he mutters brokenly.“Sunshine,” Victoria says, “your powers are strong, just like your father’s.”“What?” Kat snaps.Sunshine stares at her, dumbfounded. She’s holding Nolan’s arm and doesn’t really want to move away, so Victoria shifts closer. “Like my—?”“Just like your father’s.” Victoria shows the hint of a smile. “Your father was a Luiseach.”Sunshine sucks in a deep breath.“But then he turned over to the Markons.”Markons equal.... bad guys. Shit.“And he’s turned evil.”She doesn’t know what to say. “He— he what?”Victoria breathes out a puff of air. “All you have to know is that you have what it takes.”Sunshine can hardly wrap her head around this. So— so her dad is a Luiseach-turned-Markon? But...? “Why— why are you telling all of this to me?”“Because... soon you’re not going to trust me.” She stops. “When?”Victoria’s face remains blank. “I don’t know when.”“Why am I not gonna trust you anymore..?”Victoria looks down in annoyance, then raises her head slightly. “Because you shouldn’t.”Um. Okay. Cryptic, much?Kat snaps them out of their staring contest. “Where’s Tommy?!” Sunshine whips around. “Tommy!”“Sunshine,” Victoria calls. “There’s not much time. We must go, quickly.”Her mother’s breathing grows more labored. “Tommy!”Sunshine shakes her head and ignores Victoria— “We’re running out of time!” — and instead walks back into the office area, face set into a determined look. Hopefully Nolan’s following them.“We have to find him,” Kat breathes. Sunshine closes her eyes, and feels that familiar tug. “He’s upstairs.”“What? How do you know?”“I just know,” she says with an edge to her voice, rushing up the steps along with her mother.They look around the second floor and Sunshine tenses when she hears a deep cough from a room with a closed door. A high-pitched snarling nearly knocks Sunshine off of her feet, but she pushes the door open with a hand anyway and gasps at the sight.Tommy is being pinned to the ground by— oh, god, is that the Groundling?“Tommy,” Kat whispers, and the Groundling snaps its head, noticing them. It rushes forward and Sunshine feels something deep within her soul. She closes her eyes, braces herself, but... nothing comes. The Groundling is gone.“Tommy!” Kat screams, rushing forward when nothing happens. “Are you okay?” He coughs desperately. “It’s all right, it’s all right— he’s gone.”Tommy looks up and sees Nolan, tiredly standing next to the door. “Oh, my god,” he says. “It’s Sunshine’s boyfriend!” He wheezes out a laugh.Kat rolls her eyes. “Okay, Tommy’s fine,” she announces to the class.“Are you all right?” Victoria asks.He nods slowly. “Yeah.” He pauses to catch his breath, sitting up slowly. “It felt like— like he was trying to pull out my soul or something.”“What?” Kat mouths to Victoria.She frowns. “I’ve heard of Groundlings trying to do that before, but— it’s rare. There’s a possibility that maybe he was trying to put something in your soul.”“What?” Kat exclaims.“I don’t know because of the fact that you are around Sunshine frequently..”Kat looks down at him. “Do you feel like anything’s inside you..?”He sighs. “No more than you do.”“But right now you feel okay?” Victoria questions.“Yeah. Okay.” He stops and glances back at Nolan, pointing. “How did you— how are you okay?”Nolan realizes he’s being talked to and nonchalantly turns his head, shrugging. “Oh, you know. Two weeks in a basement, it’s not so bad. Free meals.”Sunshine doesn’t want to tell him it’s been much longer than that.Tommy laughs at that.“Lots of rest,” Nolan sarcastically continues in a bored voice.“You’re clearly fine,” Sunshine huffs, but inside, she’s relieved.“Clearly,” Kat echoes.“I like this guy,” Tommy giggles.Victoria cuts in. “He’s okay because he’s called an Awaken.”“What?” Kat snaps.“An Awaken?” Tommy asks, stupefied.Wait, Nolan— Nolan is a what? Sunshine glances at him, but he turns his chin away, refusing to meet her gaze.“An Awaken,” Victoria nods. “What’s that?” Tommy whispers.She hums. “It’s basically the fact that he had a near-death experience— he’s had some sort of paranormal—”“How do you know about that?” he hisses defensively.“How do I know about that?” She looks at him. “She knows everything,” Kat mumbles.Maybe that’s why Nolan was in a coma for so long. She still needs to interrogate him about that little bit of information.“All right, I’ll take it,” he finally says.“You now have some paranormal power. Have you been able to hear voices? Been able to project yourself through time and space?”Oh. Holy shit. Victoria’s on to something, here. Maybe Nolan isn’t crazy!“Yeah, a bit, why?” he asks, brows furrowing.“You have those abilities now because... you’ve been hanging around Sunshine.”Tommy blinks. “So we’re, like, getting powers?”“The more and more you hang out with Sunshine, the more you are around Sunshine, yes, that is possible.”“What the—” Kat drops her arms. “That’s totally not fair, I don’t have any powers!” Tommy laughs. “Why do you guys get all the powers? I wanna project! I wanna be able to do something! That’s not fair!” she whines.Tommy smirks. “We’re just that much cooler than you.”She scoffs. “Thank you so much, I’m glad you’re feeling better!” He laughs again. “He’s fine—”Sunshine feels that pulse writhe away. “Victoria?” she instinctively calls out. When Sunshine turns to where she’d been standing, she’s not there.Kat’s eyes widen. “Wait, where’d she go?”“Did she—?” Tommy giggles. “That’s so cool.”Oh, great. Looks like Nolan and Tommy are perfect for each other.“It’s not cool, where’d she go??” Her mother looks around the maze of offices, sighing heavily.Something else— Sunshine feels it. “We have to leave,” she says urgently. “We have to leave.”“What’s wrong?”“Just trust her,” Tommy wheezes as they begin to run down the stairs. “Nolan, come on, man.”“I’m sorry, I’m tired,” Nolan sighs.Well. Leave they do.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

So. Recap on the warehouse.Sunshine is... feeling some type of way. For starters, she’s glad Victoria was able to show up and help them navigate through the building, but Sunshine also wishes Victoria had just kept her mouth shut— she kept talking and talking. She never talks, but now she can’t stop.It’s not like it was bad or— or falsified information, in fact, it was good, but Sunshine doesn’t want to face the truth. It’s insane. Seriously, all of it.In addition, Sunshine’s dad is a Luiseach? Or, he was and he isn’t anymore..? Something crazy, which is truly the only word she can use to describe all of this bullshit. Ridiculous.Oh, and then that dude that was chasing them, y’know, the one that attacked Nolan and Tommy? Oh, haha! He was a Groundling. No big deal, right? Just an evil servant who helps out the Markons which— Sunshine doesn’t even know what that is. She can’t even understand, other than it’s, like, the head of everything, and then they give all their evil powers out to all these legends like the Mothman and Black-Eyed Kids.It’s. Crazy.Sunshine kind of wonders how many Groundlings there are, and how many of those legends started out as Groundlings. Like, seriously, how many have gotten their powers? Mothman was like— ‘Hey! I’m a Groundling!’ and then he’s suddenly Mothman. Wonderful.And then Nolan. He’s an Awaken? Like, somebody who experienced a traumatic event and that event has affected them in a way that they’re now able to—? Have tiny bits of ability of paranormally-ness? She guesses? Oh, and even better, the more Nolan— or any of her family— hangs out with Sunshine, the more powers they’ll develop.What’s gonna happen with Tommy? She doesn’t really want him to get crazy weird or anything, because he’s fine the way he is. However, he did spit up that weird black goo and was attacked by the Groundling, so, who knows. At least he’s okay. He’s doing just dandy, in fact.Lastly... what’s the deal with Victoria? Like, she just shows up and then she’s gone? What does she mean they’re not gonna trust her anymore? Sunshine doesn’t know what that means, and it makes her slightly nervous. Seriously. She wishes Victoria would just...explain.So.Those are all of Sunshine’s pondering thoughts.
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Woah. Okay, so, Sunshine just received the results back from the college. Y’know, about the stuff Uncle Tommy and Nolan had spit out? Yeah, that. And, well, everyone on YouTube is saying it has to be ectoplasm, which. Sunshine doesn’t even know what that is.Oh. Great. So, her research tells her there’s no real evidence of ectoplasm. Like, there hasn’t ever been any real findings on it. So... does it even exist? No. Must not be ghost ectoplasm.Okay, get this. The report the college sent back said that the substance was mostly composed of decomposed plant material. Excuse me. What? Huh? The hell does that even mean? They’re spitting up plants? Or— or dirt stuff? Where is it coming from?It’s weird. Everything in her life is weird now, it seems.
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Sunshine sees Anna at the head of the stairs and starts recording.She slowly ascends toward the second floor, breath heavy as she moves. The full black outfit and white-bagged head freaks her out, as it should anyone, but Sunshine just has to keep telling herself Anna won’t hurt her. It’s fine. Hopefully she brings good news.“Anna?” Sunshine says, biting her lip. “Anna, are you okay?” She makes it to the second-to-last step and hesitates, unsure if she should make the full stride.She does.“Anna?” she tries again, voice quieter. Standing over a little girl ghost is, uh. Weird. “Is there something you— you wanted to say to me?”No answer. She shifts forward and extends her arm, heart skipping. She’s touching the bag. She’s touching the bag over Anna’s dead little head.Sunshine closes her eyes, re-opens them, and tries to control herself. Hell. It’s now or never, right? She bites the bullet and rips the cloth off, and a deep screech pierces her ears. Anna’s head hangs back and she screams, blurring Sunshine’s world into a static of red and gray.She reels back, terrified, and drops the camera to cover her face. Quiet. Sunshine squints through her arms and sees nothing there. Anna’s gone.What. The. Hell.
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A few days after the weird Anna incident, Sunshine’s watching her dogs play outside in the rain. Oscar starts digging holes— shocker— so Sunshine has to clean him up in the bathtub. Awesome. That’s not what’s weird, though. What’s weird is the stuff that was on Oscar’s paws. It was kind of like the not-ghost ectoplasm stuff. The stuff Tommy and Nolan had spit up. The— decomposed plant material..?Sunshine wants to search around in the yard to see if she can figure out what the hell is going on. She finishes cleaning Oscar, dries him off, and lets him roam the house. Sunshine turns her camera on and slips her green hoodie back on, twirling a rainbow-dotted umbrella in her fingers. She steps outside and props the umbrella out, droplets of rain pattering above her head.She wanders, just basically looking for holes. And gosh, there are a lot (thanks, Oscar). She stumbles across one that looks— well, not promising. Okay. Sunshine continues on, humming to herself, trying to figure out where he could’ve dug. I mean, some of the holes look... not hole-ish, and it’s muddy and gross and wet and... yuck. She really doesn’t like the rain sometimes.Sunshine manages to find a deeper, larger, and muddier hole after aimlessly wandering around for another few minutes. She scrunches her nose at the slick substance caked on top, reflecting the gray sky. “What is this?” Sunshine mutters, crouching down and narrowing her eyes.Not-ghost ectoplasm? Maybe.She sighs and reaches her hand forward, scraping through the disgusting mud with her fingers. “Ew.” Sunshine forces herself not to throw up at the feeling on her hands and eyes the substance suspiciously, but uncertainty. “This... kinda looks like it could be some stuff,” she says in a repulsed tone.Sunshine resumes her clawing and feels something metal scrape across her palm. “What is this..?” She groans and pulls out a mud-caked film canister, stopping herself from slipping on her ass. Her eyes widen at the sight and she completely forgets about the decomposed plant material all over her hands. This is the jackpot.The real question is— what’s it doing in her yard? In a hole, of all places?Guess she should talk to Kat and Tommy about it.“All right guys,” Sunshine begins as the group sits around the dining room table, “so I decided to fill them in.”Kat laughs. “I was wondering why we were here.”She whips the film canister out, smirking. “Ta-da! Look what I found.”“Ooooo,” Tommy quips.“Wait.” Kat looks at it, pursing her lips. “I don’t even know what that is.”“Tin.”“Is it a tin?” Kat grips the edges. “It looks like a discus, like—”“No, it’s—” Sunshine rolls her eyes.Tommy mimics throwing a discus.Sunshine snorts. “You didn’t even do track, stop—”“How do you know?” her mother counters.Sunshine raises her brows at her, clearly skeptical.“You don’t know,” Tommy playfully chimes in, then looks back down at the film canister. “Does it open?”“I think it does.”“Not very well.” Tommy helps pull the lid off and they all stare at the reels inside.“Woah,” Kat says.“I found this in the backyard.” Sunshine looks at them.“Wait. Our backyard?”She makes an ‘obviously!’ face. Tommy glances at her, giggling.“No, really?” Silence. “Are you serious?”“Did you use, like, a treasure map or something?” Tommy smirks.Sunshine shrugs. “No. It was in uh, the ground.”“That’s cool!” Kat exclaims.Tommy grins. “Do you know what’s on it?”“Home movies,” Kat says excitedly.Sunshine makes a face.“What?”“I hope it’s not home movies, that would be boring.”“What do you want it to be?”Sunshine huffs. “I don’t know, somethin’ cool.”“Oh. Can’t you get it developed?”“How..?”“I don’t know.”Tommy looks up at her mother. “Can’t they do the, uh— like, there’s a company you can send stuff like eight millimeter stuff away to and get it transferred, can’t you?”Kat shrugs. “I don’t know. Probably.”“We should go online.”Her mother gasps. “Online! We can get things online.”“Everything is online.”“I wanna know what it is.” Kat smiles like a little girl opening a Christmas present. She laughs. “Do you think it’s really expensive, though? I don’t wanna pay a lot of money.”Tommy shrugs. “I don’t— it can’t be that expensive.”“We can do a kickstarter for it!”Kat and Tommy laugh. Sunshine rolls her eyes and drops the lid, looking at the camera with a small smirk. “All right, we’re gonna go look this up.”Tommy inspects the film. “I don’t see anything.” He lifts the rod out and grits his teeth anxiously. “I don’t wanna break it.” Threads of film curl out from the bottom, reflecting a myriad of colors. He extends it and lifts it to the light. “It’s white.”Kat snorts.“It’s white,” Sunshine echoes.“Good story.” Kat laughs.“Now, we need to get that developed,” Tommy nods.Sunshine eyes the camera again. “We’re gonna go get it developed, now that they’re all up to speed,” she sarcastically says.Tommy raises his brows. “Let’s see if you get Christmas presents.”⠀⠀⠀
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So. The film. Uh. Well. That’s an interesting story. To be honest, they’d never actually thought it would be anything about the house, but lo and behold, they were wrong. After getting the footage back, it... well. They’d watched it first, of course, and had been absolutely horrified with the results.Guess what? It has a lot to do with the cult.The film starts out with an adolescent girl dressed in all black with a white cloth mask— Anna— standing somewhere in the backyard, bushes swaying behind her.A man walks in from the side, wearing a black suit and the same white cloth over his head. He pats Anna’s head like she’s a pet and stands next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pressing her close. This is what that old photo looks like—the one of the mystery ghosts.This is them.Anna tightly hugs the man— her dad?— but he retreats out of the film and leaves her standing alone. Whoever is filming stands close to Anna, and suddenly everything is dark. It peers back in on Anna and her father, except the night sky twinkles above them now.Father pats Anna’s head again and motions for someone to give him something. Anna rips the bag off of her head and runs out of the screen.Oh. Oh, yeah— Victoria. She drags Anna back into the film to stand by Father, and she’s wearing the exact same tan trenchcoat she always does. Victoria orders Anna to crouch down, which she does, and gives the cloth back to Father.Father pulls the bag over Anna’s head and Victoria hands him a thick, shining blade. Father moves forward, holds Anna’s head back, and.... well.It’s the sacrifice.Not only is Father slicing Anna’s throat shocking, but so is the fact that Victoria was involved. She’s right— they don’t trust her anymore. How can they, after...?Sunshine.... she’s just glad she didn’t turn out like Anna.
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Sunshine’s been on YouTube for a year.Everyone’s fine and Uncle Tommy’s still living with them, as a... protector..? Sunshine thinks that maybe she should just— stop. Stop with the videos, stop with YouTube, stop with everything.Of course, she’s still going to continue her BEK film, since y’know, they raised $10k dollars for it, and she promised it, but... everything else is starting to get a little ridiculous. A little much for Sunshine, which is saying a lot.She knows her fans won’t be happy, but what can she do? Should she find Victoria? Uncover Nolan’s secrets? Should she do the videos, should she stop the videos? Should she try to uncover more about Anna’s past even though they just saw what happened?She doesn’t know. Sunshine needs time to think. The one year thing is a brighter note. Happy one year— maybe last year— anniversary. It’s been awesome and crazy and... well, she appreciates everyone, especially all of her fans.Now she just... needs to take a small break, is all. Maybe she’ll continue, maybe she won’t.Above all else, Sunshine needs to recover.

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PART FIVE
The Hunt for Black Eyed Kids
Sunshine, Nolan, and new sidekick Andrew set out on an adventure to hunt for Black-Eyed Kids.

Not everything goes as planned.

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On October 21, 2011, Sunshine receives a video that spurs inspiration to take this journey.A man and a woman are in a car, flirting and giggling with each other— definitely boyfriend and girlfriend. They playfully fight for the camera and Boyfriend grips it, trying to snatch it away from Girlfriend. They don’t see the small child dressed in a black and blue uniform behind the car.“What the hell?” Boyfriend spits when he sees the child standing next to Girlfriend’s window. She turns, wide-eyed, and flinches when the child knocks on the glass.Girlfriend rolls down the window. “Are you okay?” She checks the child over for any signs of harm, and doesn’t notice the pure blackness swallowing its eyes.“Can I have a ride to my mother’s house, please? He’s worried.” It looks between both adults.Boyfriend shakes his head. “Kid, what are you doin’ out here, do you know what time it is?”It lifts its brows. “I need a ride to my mother’s house. He’s very worried, and he’s expecting me.”“Turn that off.” The woman bats at the camera until Boyfriend shuffles away, stuffing it into the seat. When they look up, the child is gone.“Hold on, I want to make sure he’s not—” Boyfriend checks behind the car with the camera, eyeing the side mirrors. Girlfriend narrows her eyes. “No, seriously, let’s go.”“That was the weirdest..” Boyfriend runs a hand through his hair. “What the hell?”“Yeah, the kid’s weird, let’s get out of here!”“Hold on—”Girlfriend screams. Boyfriend jumps and whips around to see the child banging on his windows with both fists raises. “I want a ride to my mom’s house!” it demands.“What is he doing?” Girlfriend panics.“What the hell?” Boyfriend doesn’t move.“Start the car, let’s go!”“Hold on, hold on—” The child continues screaming endlessly until its nails begin to scratch the glass, head twisting and spinning unnaturally. Boyfriend and Girlfriend scream, and the video cuts.So, the whole thing is pretty crazy. The fact that it’s real documented footage of Black-Eyed Kids (or BEKs for short) is even scarier. Did Sunshine mention she absolutely loves this urban legend? Yep, it’s her favorite one. She’s totally obsessed.Sunshine’s decided she wants to go on this crazy, cool adventure that’s gonna be so exciting, and they’re gonna make a movie about it (hence the whole fundraising thing from earlier), and— yeah. She’s really excited.Another clip she’s received shows a hooded BEK knocking on the front door of a house. A man opens it and smiles, pointing her in a direction. It’s hard to tell without audio, but he eventually lets the BEK in.Anything else happens off-screen, but when the BEK steps outside once more and glances up at the camera, its eyes are pure black.Someone has to get to the bottom of all of this, and that someone— well. That someone is Sunshine. And— her mom, and Nolan, and the handy-dandy film crew she’s hired.First thing on the list of movie making— meet the cast.Kat.“Let’s meet my mom,” Sunshine says, whirling around to face her mother.Kat passes by her and sits on a black chair, opening her laptop. “Meet me? I’m pretty sure you already know me, sweetie.”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “No, I meant— the viewers, Mom.” She points at the camera that she’s not carrying for once in her life.“Oh.” Kat snickers. “You’re assuming somebody’s actually going to watch your film. Could just... be you’re talking to an empty room.”Sunshine laughs sarcastically. “Ha-ha, thanks, that was nice, mom.”She nods. “Very supportive.” Kat pauses and eyes the cameraman. “That’s gonna take some getting used to, huh?”Sunshine raises her brows. “What?”“Just, the—” Kat wiggles her index finger toward the crew. “Guys and the big camera, I mean, usually it’s just..” She leans forward and motions to Sunshine. “You with the... little flip cam. Now I’ve got, like, men in my house.”Sunshine makes a face.“Bald guy with the camera and... oddly enough, his equally bald sound guy— did you get a shot of them?”She smiles, the idea coming to mind. “No, I haven’t, but that is a super idea.” She uses her small camera to show the two men and pauses when Kat begins walking off. “No, Mom, I wanted to talk to you!”“About what?” Kat grins playfully and strides past her. “Talk about shoes?”“No, not shoes.”“That’s a change..”She looks at the camera. “I do... really love shoes, but, no, I wanted to talk to you about the journey? Our journey?”Kat sits back down on the chair and Sunshine leans across from her on the footrest. “The journey..?”“Where we go and find the Black-Eyed Kids and..?” Sunshine turns and closes the laptop. “Talk to Tom Waters, you know?”“Are we still doing that?” Kat asks, surprised.Sunshine flicks her arm out toward the crew. Obviously! “Yes, that’s why the film crew’s here!”Kat raises a brow. “Honey, I’d hardly call them a film—” She bends her fingers to make air quotes, “—crew. It’s just two dudes.” Yep, these guys are gonna absolutely hate the both of them when this whole filming thing is over.Sunshine blinks slowly. “Okay, yes, but they were all I could afford, no offense, guys.”“So the journey.”“The journey.”“Have you explained the journey to your viewers?”She tilts her head forward. “You mean the empty room?”Kat laughs and Sunshine sassily swings her head. “Honey, I’m sure somebody’s gonna watch your film— at least I will watch your film!”“Oh, that’s very sweet, thanks, that’s... so nice,” Sunshine says sarcastically. “I feel like there’s gonna be five minutes of rambling of me just da-da da-da da-da-da, and nobody’s gonna wanna watch that.”“Well, nobody would wanna watch that.”“Thank you,” Sunshine sighs.“Do you want me to help you?”“Yes.”Kat looks at the camera. “Okay, this is my seventeen-year old daughter. She wants to go find something that doesn’t exist, all because she got a creepy letter from an equally creepy man who says he has information about Black-Eyed Kids, or BEKs for short. But really, I think it was just a ploy to meet her.”Sunshine shrugs. “Okay, yes, I’ve been obsessed with Black-Eyed Kids for a very long time, and yes, I did get a creepy letter from a... very creepy man, uh, but uh— we’re gonna kick this off by going to Portland, Oregon, which is coincidentally a hot spot for BEKs, and also where Tom Waters lives...” She squints. “Anyways, we’re gonna talk to him and— it’s a perfect plan, really. It is.”Her mother smirks. “Good job, Sunshine. Now go and tell ‘em something interesting or you’re gonna lose them.”“I am very interesting, thank you,” she says, placing a hand to her chest, “I am awesome.”“Cute, you’re cute.” Kat tries to brush her hair out of her face.Sunshine smacks her hands away. “Okay, leave it alone.”⠀⠀⠀
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When Nolan arrives at the house, they get comfortable in the office again, sitting in chairs next to each other.“So,” Sunshine introduces, “This is my friend, Nolan.”He’s wearing a cloth black jacket for once, what a surprise, with a black collared shirt underneath. His hair is slicked back and he’s making weird faces at the camera, like he’s some kind of dangerous bad boy. Nolan definitely isn’t. He nods with a smirk. “Hi,” Nolan says in a low voice.She raises her brows at him. “What are you doing?”He doesn’t look away from the camera, still smirking, but tilts his head closer to her. “What?”“Your face, what are you doing?” Sunshine crosses her arms across her long-sleeved blue shirt.“I’m not doing anything with my face—”“Yes you are, you’re totally mugging for the camera.”“I am—” His smirk drops and he pushes his brows together defensively, “not mugging for the camera.” Nolan looks at her. “What?”“Yes you are. If you’re trying to make yourself look more attractive, then it’s totally not working.”He moves his lips but no sound comes out for a moment. “W— well I mean, it’s.. it’s a movie, right?” He motions toward the camera and swings side-to-side in his chair. “We gotta—” He flicks his head and smirks again. “Gussy up a bit.”Who the hell says gussy up?Sunshine rolls her eyes. “It’s not seduce and destroy, Tom Cruise, okay? If you’re not gonna be yourself, I’m kicking you out.” He continues smiling, or smirking, or whatever weird ‘sexy’ face he’s making. “You think I look like Tom Cruise?”Oh, lord. Help her. “No,” she grunts, looking up in annoyance. “I don’t, okay? Just— shut up, can we start over?”Nolan drops his gussy and looks into the camera, clearly devastated he can’t pretend to be cool.They begin again.“This is my friend Nolan.” She points a thumb at him.He smiles. “Hi.”Nolan looks over at Sunshine for approval and she nods, going on. “He, uh. He’s been on tons of paranormal adventures with me before—”Nolan smirks for real, because oh, he’s important, huh? “—um, uh, he’s usually the bad influence but.. yeah.”He looks confused for a moment. “I’m not a bad influence.”She silently nods at the camera.Nolan dramatically leans back and looks to the side. “I’m a rogue. I think outside the box, I... encourage you guys to consider options that you might otherwise find—” He scrunches his nose. “Unsanitary.”“Okay,” Sunshine interrupts, quirking her eyebrows, “well whatever you call it, you’re usually the one that gets us in trouble.”He ponders for a moment then smiles. “Yes, I am the one that gets you in trouble, and I think that’s why I’m perfect for the adventure.”She grudgingly claps her hands. “I have to agree.”Nolan excitedly jumps up, grinning. “So, let’s go catch some BEKs!Sunshine sighs. “You’re really— too excited right now.”He continues smiling. “I’m not too excited, I’m the perfect amount of excited! I’m gonna talk to one—”Sunshine giggles.“—find out what it thinks and feels.”“You’re gonna— you’re gonna talk to one?” she laughs dubiously. “Yeah.”“When I showed you the footage you freaked out, you said you would never talk to one—”He shakes his head, clearly lying. “No I did not.”“—you should’ve seen your face, it was—” She motions to the camera. “Just show it, just show the footage, it’s so funny.”Nolan’s eyes widen. “No, no no no no, don’t—”The clip cuts to the camera dude slowly pushing open the door to see Nolan sitting in the chair in front of the computer, Sunshine leaning in another desk chair next to him.“No, no, no, it’s not safe, go.” He shakes his head at the screen, like these people can hear him. Okay. Sunshine notices the camera man and giggles. “No, stop talking about it, just get out of here. Oh, god.” Girlfriend screams. “They’re gonna die.”“Hm?”“They’re gonna die!” He tenses up when the BEK bangs on the window. “Ah!” Nolan points at the child, amazed. “He has no iris whatsoever!” The video of the BEK ends. “Sunshine, wha—?! No, no, no, we’re not going anywhere near any of those things—” Nolan points to the floor. “We’re gonna stay here, away from them—”“It’s okay, it’s okay, Nolan—” she wheezes. “No.” He leans back, very serious, and crosses his legs. “It’s not okay.”“—I’ll protect you.”“You can’t protect me, nobody can, there ha—” He turns his head to the camera man and stops talking, spinning back to Sunshine. His jaw clenches and he nods slowly. “I’m gonna— well. Okay, so, when we go, I’m gonna make sure that you’re okay, I’m gonna keep you safe. And, uh, what we should do is we should, um— definitely investigate fully and, uh, make sure that all of the... your— your mom, your mom’s coming as well, right?”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “She’ll be there.”“Good, just because—” Nolan tries to appear relaxed but clearly isn’t. “Uh, to make sure that the number of—”“Just shut up, Nolan,” she snickers playfully.Back in real time, Sunshine giggles, not noticing the glare from Nolan.“Okay, well I had a different memory of that,” he tries, face blank.“No,” Sunshine laughs, shaking her head.⠀⠀⠀
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All four of them— Uncle Tommy, Sunshine, Nolan, and Kat— are gathered in the backyard, where it’s overcast, ready to... do what, exactly? Well, first.“You should probably introduce Uncle Tommy,” Kat motions.“Oh, yeah. This is Uncle Tommy.” She points at him.“Hi,” he greets with a smile.“I meant... who he is,” Kat explains. “Not— not his name.”“Oh. Uh.” Sunshine thinks for a second. “He’s not really my uncle, yeah, he’s just.. the closest thing I have other than that woman to, uh, family.”Kat and Tommy laugh, Nolan subtly smiling along. He’s about two heads taller than Sunshine, though, and she really doesn’t appreciate him stealing her thunder. Rude.Well. He’s the tallest out of all of them, actually. Did she mention he also has his black leather jacket back on? Yep. Awesome.“What a sad day,” Kat jokes.Tommy smiles and crosses his arms. “We’re a good family.”Nolan looks around in boredom.“So,” Sunshine claps, “get ready for this adventure, you guys ready?”Kat and Tommy nod. “Mmm,” Nolan shrugs, acting disinterested even though Sunshine knows he isn’t. Ugh. Weirdo.“What do you mean adventure?” Tommy asks, frowning.Sunshine glares at him.“Well, we told you,” her mother says, inclining her head.“What, shoe shopping?”“No.” She laughs. “That would just be a Saturday. No, remember, we’re gonna go help Sunshine... make the movie about the BEKs..? Gonna go talk to the guy in Portland? Ringing any bells?”“I totally thought you were joking about that.”Sunshine leans her head back. Really?“If I was gonna joke, it would be about something else, not that. No. We’re gonna do this.” Kat nods at her daughter. “It’ll be great. So..”“Okay.” Tommy shrugs. “I’m on board.”“All right.” “I— I do wanna say, though, for the record—” He makes a face. “I think shopping would be more fun.”Sunshine rolls her eyes.“I don’t think people make movies about shopping.”“Well, they should—!”“Okay!” Sunshine exclaims. “Okay, guys, stop. We’re going to Portland, we’re going to capture BEKs on film, okay?”Kat weighs her leg. “‘Kay, then why are we out in the backyard?” “It’s so cold,” Tommy complains.“It is, okay?” Sunshine sighs. “Now.... it’s well-documented that.. BEKs are— fast. So.”“So?” her mother hints.“We have to be fast too.”Nolan scrunches his nose and tucks his hands in his pockets. “We don’t have to be fast.” He clicks his tongue. “We just have to be slightly faster than the slowest person.”Tommy laughs and Nolan glances at him, smiling.“Why are you looking at me?” Tommy asks, grin dropping.Nolan looks neutral again and turns away.“So what’s your plan?” Kat asks.She shrugs. “We’re gonna run.”“What?”Tommy giggles again. “Seriously?”“To the fence and back. Okay, line up, c’mon.” No one moves. “Line up.”“You want us to run to the fence,” Tommy says incredulously.“Line up.”Once they’re all in order— Nolan, Tommy, Sunshine, and Kat— Nolan says, “All right everybody, limber up.” Huh? He stretches his legs and leans forward. Tommy crouches and opens his thighs each squat in some weird stretch. “You don’t wanna pull a thigh muscle the day before—”Kat looks over at the boys. “Are you guys really gonna run?”“Yes!” Sunshine exclaims. She moves into position and ignores Oscar barking in the yard. “Ready? Set—”“Go!” Nolan screams, beginning to run just a step behind Tommy.“No!” Sunshine whines, jogging next to her mother.Kat screams. “I’m wearin’ the wrong shoes!”“We could go shopping for them!” Tommy yells back.They all run by the crew, looking like fucking idiots. Wonderful first impression.Everyone touches the fence and begins to run back. Nolan sprints in the front, Sunshine close behind. Tommy is third and Kat is... well. You guessed.They end the— race?— and Tommy leans over, breathing heavily. Kat slings an arm around his back. “You killed Uncle Tommy.”“He’s fine, oh my gosh,” Sunshine snorts. “You’re over-exaggerating.”Nolan slumps on the side, out of breath.“Yeah, it really sucked a lot— yeah, exaggerate, yeah, I never do that.” She looks into the camera. “I don’t run.”“Okay.” Sunshine says.“Ever!”“Okay.”Nolan stuffs his hands back in his pockets. “Oh you’ll run, Kat,” he speaks dramatically.“What?” She rounds on him, throwing her arms in the air.“When the BEKs are after you and me and Sunshine, you’ll run.”Sunshine raises her brows. “I can’t believe you just used her first name.”“This is so stupid,” Kat growls, “BEKs do not exist, and here we are, making fools of ourselves for a film that no one’s gonna see! Because you got some weird idea—”Tommy turns on Nolan. “You know what’s gonna happen, what’s gonna happen is you’re gonna go, and I’m gonna get eaten—”Sunshine raises her arms, stupefied. “No one’s gonna see it, what are you talking about?”Tommy and Nolan continue arguing, but Sunshine isn’t done. She’s not gonna let her mother just walk off again.“This is really important to me,” she says, following Kat, “and you’re like— scrunching up my dream, you’re like throwin it up into a ball and you’re, like—” Her voice becomes high and mocking, “I don’t care about anything you have to say, Sunshine, I don’t even really care about you—”Kat whips around, annoyed. “Yeah, that’s exactly how I sound—”The camera crew turns back toward Nolan and Tommy.“Hey, look, I’ve got my own reservations about this, okay? We can’t quit before we even go.”Tommy crosses his arms, ignoring Sunshine and Kat’s yelling. “You know what we need to do, is we need to find somebody else to add to our adventure pack.”Nolan stares at him, furrowed brows unmoving. “Okay,” he says, “uhh...”“Y’know, somebody that’s, like, crippled or something.”Nolan’s eyes widen. “Jesus!” he exclaims dramatically, looking Tommy up and down. “What?”“What? If it’s survival of the fittest, I want somebody less fit than me along with us!”“What? No! No, no no no, no— no cripple— well.” Nolan pauses, then resumes his defending. “No, we couldn’t— we wouldn’t even be able to find one!”Tommy raises his brows. “Craigslist?”Well. The start to their journey is just beautiful, ain’t it?

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Sunshine’s sitting in her room. It’s the night before the Portland trip and Sunshine is super excited. They’re gonna visit Tom Waters, talk to him about his experience with all the BEK knowledge stuff (which is really exciting), and then they’ll probably go visit some well-known hot spots. Well, she doesn’t really know how Portland knows they’re hot spots— is there, like, a website or something? It’s kind of weird, but, she’s really enthusiastic.A knock on the door jolts Sunshine from her babbling at the camera. “Yeah?”“Hey, sorry to interrupt your... camera time.” Her mother sits on the bed next to her. “How you doin’?”“Good, I’m getting all pumped up for tomorrow.”Kat nods slowly. “I actually came to apologize..”Sunshine’s eyes widen. “I’m sorry, what was that?”Her mother laughs. “You’re gonna have it on film.”“Mm-hmm.”“Mom apologizes. Make that a whole— whole series on YouTube.” Sunshine makes a face. “I think I probably over-reacted a little bit.”“A little? Hmm.” Sunshine leans against the wall and eyes her mother.“A little bit,” Kat echoes. “Uh, I guess exercise will do that to me.”“Yes.”“It’s just that I’m worried.”Sunshine raises a brow. “About what?”“About all of this— about the whole— adventure, and going to Portland, and... all of it.”She yawns. “Why?”Kat scoffs.“I’m tired.”“I see that,” Kat laughs.“It’s late, man— what, what do you mean? I mean, I don’t understand, why is it a bad idea?” She looks down and picks on her fingernails, a bad habit that’s formed lately.Her mother hesitates, contemplating. “I think we don’t know what we would get into in Portland, and there’s too many unknown factors with all of it—”“I’ve researched this for months,” Sunshine counters, “I’ve thought this through, I am ready to do this. I’m very excited and it’s gonna happen.”“I think just hiring a film crew and doing some internet web searches is not preparing for any of this.”“Uh, hello, we did personal experience outside, we were runnin’, that was nice.”Kat sighs. “Uncle Tommy and I have been talking about it.”Sunshine leans her head back and looks at the ceiling in exasperation. “Of course you have, little traitor.”“It’s only because.. we love you, and we don’t want you—”“You still have to put on a fake smile,” she says sarcastically.“It’s not fake, we just don’t— we don’t want anything to happen to any of us.” Kat waves her hand. Sunshine shrugs. “It’s not gonna happen,” she says matter-of-factly, “we’ll be fine.”“We don’t know that.”“There’s four of us, it’ll be fine.”“I don’t think that you’re getting it. I’m saying no. We’re not doing it.”Sunshine does a double take. Wait, what? That’s where this conversation has been leading?“As in we’re not going tomorrow, you can— the film crew can film you running in the backyard.”Well, that would be a stupid movie.“I already paid them,” Sunshine hisses, pointing to the crew, “I can’t get my money back, can I? Can I get my money back?” They shake their heads. “No. I didn’t think so.”Kat lightly shrugs. “I’m sorry.” She doesn’t sound sorry.Sunshine isn’t done, though. “No, you can’t just— seriously. This has been months of preparation, we have thought this through, I had— I had a kickstarter for this! I had to pay these people! Like, you can’t just say no now.”Kat shakes her head and presses her lips together. “I can, I’m the mom. I said no.”Sunshine stares at her, completely baffled. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”“Mm-mm.”“It was gonna be awesome. It was gonna be, like, Veronica Mars awesome. It was gonna be so cool, and you’re like the guy from the WB that just cancelled Veronica Mars out of no where.”Not to mention that Sunshine wants to get her mind away from all the other shit. Victoria’s murder of Anna, Nolan’s strange past, her father being a Luiseach... this is the perfect distraction. She needs it. They all need it!Kat’s jaw drops. “I am not that guy.”“Yeah you are. You’re that guy.” “No—”“Yeah, you are.” Sunshine shrugs defensively, trying to calm her anger. “No, I just said it, it’s— it’s done now. Done. You’re that guy. How’s it make you feel? You feel like crap now.”Her mother raises her brows. “I feel good that my daughter will be safe.”“No.”“Here in her little room.”“Mkay.”“Yes. That’s what I think.” Kat stands up.“It’s just little because this is where we live.” Sunshine motions toward the ceiling. “It’s a tiny house. With this tiny room!” Her mother walks out of the room. “You’re that guy!” she yells. Sunshine’s head hangs. “I feel like crap now.”So.Contemplating.Sunshine doesn’t really know what to say. She feels like this adventure simply isn’t gonna happen. It just sucks that her mother is acting like this. Seriously— what’s she gonna do with the rest of the footage she has so far? It’s frustrating and upsetting and she’s sorry the movie is gonna be so short and shitty.This would usually be the time Sunshine wishes Victoria would come around to help, but oh wait, no. She doesn’t.Ugh. Maybe Nolan will have some ideas.
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Sunshine’s sneaking out.It’s, like, 6 AM and Sunshine’s sneaking out. If this isn’t new, she doesn’t know what is. Look, okay, it’s not Sunshine’s fault her mom doesn’t want to listen or allow her to do this. It looks like she’s gonna have to do this alone, because Jesus, this is happening. Of course, she technically isn’t alone. Guess who’s coming along? Yep. He is.Nolan’s standing in the front, black leather jacket and all, leaning against her white car with his hands tucked in his pockets. “Morning, Sunshine,” he says sarcastically at her annoyed expression.“No, cute, really cute, okay.” She rolls her eyes.“Hello film crew.” Nolan nods at the camera.“Ready? Let’s go.” Sunshine flicks her keys out from her pockets but Nolan doesn’t move.Oh. Yeah. She hasn’t exactly told him that Kat isn’t coming.“Yeah,” he says suspiciously, squinting, “where’s your mother?”She doesn’t look him in the eyes. “Get in the car,”
Sunshine attempts to deflect.Nolan nods slowly, smirking slightly. “Where’s Uncle Tommy?”“Explain on the way, okay? I’ll explain on the way. Just—” She tries to push him and open the door, but Nolan still doesn’t move. Ugh. Now he’s being annoying.He considers his options before moving aside, rounding on the other side of the car. “We haven’t even left the house yet and we’re already leaving people behind.”“Oh my gosh, we’re not leaving anyone behind, we’re just—” She opens the door and sighs. “Get in the car.”
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Something Sunshine’s learned from this little experience— Nolan really likes to lecture her on what she should and shouldn’t do. “It’s not a big deal,” she grunts, gripping the steering wheel tightly.“It’s irresponsible is what it is.” Nolan looks at her from the passenger seat.“The film had to get made, okay?”“Well, okay, maybe, but your mother is probably gonna kill us.” Wow, okay, someone’s scared of Kat.“She’s not gonna kill us, first off.” Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Second—”“Yeah, that’s right, she’s gonna kill you.”Sunshine glares at him. “She’ll forgive me.” She turns back to the camera. “She’ll forgive me.”“She— okay.” Nolan glances out of the window. “She’s not gonna forg— um. Oh, take this right up here.”“Oh,” she mocks.“At the— at the stop sign, just—” He clicks his tongue and points to the right.“Okay, what—?”“Just do it.” He smiles. “Trust me.”“Where are we going?” Sunshine raises her brows.“Ehhhhh. Okay. You see this little guy right over here?” She can see some teenager standing in front of a white house. “I want you to pull over right here.”“I have to— pull over?”Nolan nods. “Just pull over.”“What— why?”“Because we’re gonna take this guy with us.”He’s a lame-looking teen wearing a red shirt with a black and blue jacket over. He has blue jeans on, a black hoodie, and medium-length ginger hair.Fucking fantastic. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She stares at Nolan incredulously.He smiles. “No.”She scrunches her nose to mock him and winces when Nolan jumps out of the car to greet strange teenager dude. “Oh, good, you made it.”“I was hoping you weren’t gonna leave me out here,” the kid says. Oh, he’s also wearing gloves. Sunshine already dislikes him. It’s cloudy, yes, but he’s being a little melodramatic. “Cause my mom dropped me off like thirty minutes ago, and it’s startin’ to get kinda cold out here, you know?”God, even his voice is annoying. High, whiny, bitchy... Nolan’s is tame compared to this. She grudgingly pads to her friend’s side.“Right, okay, that’s fine,” Nolan nods, towering over both of them. “Uh, Sunshine, this is Andrew.”“Hi,” she says with a forced smile.“Andrew, this is Sunshine.” He turns to the bald men. “Andrew, this is film crew. Uh.” Nolan eyes Sunshine, who is staring forward with a very mixed expression. Andrew smiles like an idiot. “We’re gonna go catch monsters with Andrew, okay?”Andrew steps forward. “So— you’re the real life Sunshine?”She flinches back, caught off guard by his— excitement. “Oh, hello, yep..” She grunts and tucks her hands into her pockets.“He’s— he’s what one might term a fan,” Nolan attempts to explain.Sunshine looks up at her friend. “Where did you find him?”“Craigslist.”“You really can find anything—” Her laugh turns awkward when Andrew shuffle closer to her. “—on Craigslist,” she finishes.“Yeah, you can,” Nolan nods and looks forward. Oh, yep. He’s gonna tell a joke in 5, 4, 3... “Except for, uh. A date.”“Mm-hmm. Yeah. That’s..” She raises her brows at Andrew. “So, you excited?”He waves to the cameras and laughs nervously. “So, what are we doing?”Sunshine glares at Nolan. Seriously? He didn’t even tell the guy?“Uh, don’t worry about that now, Andrew, go ahead and get in the vehicle.” Nolan nods. “And we’ll tell you, uh, when we feel it is appropriate to tell you what’s going on, okay?”Andrew snaps his fingers and smiles. “Do I get shotgun?”Nolan stares at him.Sunshine stares at him.“What do you mean, do you get— no.” Nolan shakes his head. “No, hop in the car.”“I’ll hop in the backseat.”“Yeah, there you go.”“Okay, um—” Andrew raises his fingers to count down. Oh no. Does he have, like, a peanut allergy? “I hope it doesn’t involve swimming, because I don’t like swimming or heights. I don’t really do heights either.”“Okay,” Nolan says quickly, “no cliffs or waterfalls, got it. Now get in the vehicle.”“Thanks man, you’re a god.” Nolan opens the door for Andrew and Sunshine backs away, very clearly agitated. Thanks, Nolan. “You— really? This is— we’re—?”“I’m just being—” He swivels to her once he closes the back door. “Just be cool, he’s a nice kid—”She turns away and walks to the driver’s seat. “Stop saying be cool, that doesn’t— that’s not helping me feel any better about your idioticness..ness.”⠀⠀⠀
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So. Tom Waters’s house.“Hey, uh, Sunshine,” Nolan says when she walks by both he and Andrew, who is messing with his camera.“Yes.” She lightens her tone just slightly.“Uh, okay, so—” He’s looking up but eventually cranes his chin to meet her gaze. “We know for sure this is— the— the Tom Waters house, right?”“Yes?”“Good.” Nolan smiles. “Also, we know for sure that....? He knows something valuable about the investigation?”Sunshine raises a brow. “Well, that’s what he said in his letter, so I’m just gonna bank on that there.”“Okay, well, here’s the thing—” He shifts his body from side to side, contemplating. “People can put whatever they want into a letter, and I just want to make sure, y’know, for sure, for my own—” He laughs awkwardly, but the smile drops immediately after. “—piece of mind, that he’s not absolutely insane and planning to murder us.”She stares at him. “You brought your rape whistle, right, so..?” That catches Andrew’s attention. Probably a creep.“Oh, my, my rape whistle—” He sarcastically checks his pockets and grins. “Yeah, yeah yeah, I did. Let’s go.” He jerks his head toward the russet-wooded house.She makes a face and begins to walk toward the door. “Then we’ll be fine.”“Yeah, fine,” he mutters, walking behind her.“Wait, guys?” They both turn to Andrew, who’s holding his camera in his gloved hands. “So we don’t actually know this person?”They don’t reply.“Then why are we going into their... house..?”Sunshine purses her lips and whirls back. “Okay.”Nolan smiles. “Because we’re on an adventure,” he says in a tone like he’s talking to a child, and allows a flicker of annoyance to prosper before it disappears. Andrew doesn’t question it.So, skip boring long intro, but Tom Waters lets them inside and now Nolan’s talking to his camera in the corner like a freak.“Hello, folks,” he nods, “This is, uh, Nolan, and uh, Sunshine makes, uh, me carry around this camera.” He scrunches his nose. “Still, in case the film crew decides to leave or— or dies, or explodes.. um.” He clears his throat. “This is them, over here— they’re setting up for our big interview with this Tom Waters guy.”He tilts the camera over and shows the process for a moment, before furrowing his brows. “And, honestly? I don’t really like this Tom Waters guy. I think he might be a little crazy— a little off his rocker— and, uh, y’know, he has... shifty eyes and difficulty focusing, and I—” Nolan shrugs. “I don’t know, he just bothers me. And I would like to leave this house as soon as I possibly can. Unfortunately, this is Sunshine’s gig, and I have to do whatever she wants.”Nolan makes a face. “I just think that this Tom Waters guy may be.. a little more dangerous than a kid with black eyes.” He shakes his head and purses his lips. “Well, that’s all.”⠀⠀⠀
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When everything is set up and ready for shooting, Sunshine sits in the chair beside Tom Waters. He’s a little different than she’d expected— a stocky guy, a little plumper (not that she has any problem with that) with a graying beard and short hair that slicks over his forehead. He’s wearing a simple pale green undershirt with a lighter kaki jacket, and it’s like he refuses to look at the camera.Creepy, but... whatever.“So— yeah. Uh.” She turns to him. “So, Tom, do you wanna talk about the BEK knowledge you have, I mean..? What do you know about— them?”He bites his lip and breathes in. “I think the real question here is what do you know?”She furrows her brows. “Um, well, I know it’s a really creepy paranormal legend, and I happen to be really—”Tom scoffs and looks away for a moment before glaring at her. “You don’t know anything.” He swiftly stands up and stomps past her.“Um, I’m sorry—?” She glances with wide eyes at the camera and jumps up. “Follow him..!”“You heard me,” he snaps back. “You don’t know anything. You’re just a stupid little girl.”Oh. Haha. Okay. Excuse me?“A stupid little girl—” He lumbers into the kitchen and opens the pantry, pouring alcohol into a glass cup, “who’s stickin’ her nose where it doesn’t belong.” He breathes heavily. “Listen. You don’t want to be a part of this, all right?” Tom exits the kitchen. “You don’t wanna know— get out of my way.” He shoves the cameraman aside and staggers into the living room. “It’s gonna come around and bite you.”Nolan instinctively nears Sunshine, fists clenching. He glares at Tom, dark eyes narrowed. Andrew cowers behind them both, filming with his own camera.“Okay, well, um—” Sunshine stutters, not really sure how to take all of this. I mean, she needs to be professional, right? God, if this were any other time she would be pissed... “If I had known you felt this way, I wouldn’t have come all this way, um—” She backs away slowly when he nears her. Sunshine tries to keep her voice steady and calm and offers a reassuring smile. “I mean, you couldn’t have just sent me a message on YouTube like all the other haters? I mean, Facebook? There’s that option too. Okay..”“Oh, yeah, I could’ve done that,” he says bitterly, taking a sip. “But it’s so much more impactful when you do it in person, don’t you think?”Sunshine nods slowly. “You’re probably right, um. We should go.”“Yep,” Nolan says quickly and angrily, “we should go.”“Thank you for your time..” Sunshine claps her hands.“You’re going?” Tom snarls.“Yep,” Nolan says.“Mm-hm,” she confirms. Maybe they should get that rape whistle out. “What are you talking about?” Tom glares at them. “I thought you wanted to know about the Black-Eyed Kids!”“Not this badly,” Nolan says, then walks past the crew.“I did,” Sunshine tries, following behind Andrew, “but— clearly you don’t know that much.”“I don’t know anything?” He takes a step forward and Sunshine flinches back. “I don’t know anything?!” Nolan crosses to Tom’s side. “Hey, relax, man.”“How dare you?”“Woah, woah, woah—” Nolan puts his hands out and his brown eyes widen.Sunshine glares at Tom. “We should go,” she says in a low voice, not looking away. “Yeah.” Nolan nods and points at Crazy Tom. “It was great meetin’ you.”Tom sighs. “Wait a second, wait, wait—” Sunshine presses herself next to the desk. “Don’t go, all right, look, I’m sorry.” Everyone stops and he wipes his nose. Nolan nears Sunshine again, leaning against the wall. “I’ve got a little bit of a problem with my temper.”“I’ll say,” Sunshine breathes.Tom looks at the cameras then back to the group. “I should probably... show you the footage.”She furrows her brows. “What— the footage? You have real footage?”He stares at her and nods. “Yeah.”“Is this some kind of joke?” Sunshine asks awkwardly. “No,” Tom sighs.“Well then.. yeah. Yeah, let’s see it.”Nolan rolls his eyes.Maybe Tom Waters is only, like, 99% insane.

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Sunshine sits on the red couch next to, though not too close to Tom, Nolan grudgingly leaning on another red couch to their left. She can tell he doesn’t want to be here, and it’s not like Sunshine really wants to either, but this is footage they might need.“I’m a retired state cop,” Tom says, holding the tv changer in his hand. “The footage you’re about to see was taken from the dash-cam of my partner’s vehicle.” Everyone nods slowly. “I had that night off.”He plays the recording, the static buzzing until it clicks to show a park of some sorts. There’s a girl, looking to be around 11 or 12, standing on the sidewalk, staring with dead, black eyes into the camera.“Oh, well, there she is,” Nolan mutters.Sunshine breathes in sharply. If this is real— well. That’s a discovery. “Does she have... black eyes?” Don’t crucify her — the video is grainy.Andrew tilts his head from where he stands. “Yeah...”She squints. “What is she doing? She’s just standing there.”“Well, they tend to do that, Sunshine,” Nolan remarks.She shakes her head. “Mmm, yeah, cause you would know.”“And there she goes.” Yep, she just— steps out of the frame.Wait.Tom turns the television off.“That’s it?” Sunshine asks.Nolan grunts.“Yeah.” Tom rubs his forehead stressfully.“Is...” Sunshine hesitates. “Is your partner okay?”He sighs and shakes his head. “No.”Sunshine’s eyes widen.“Is he dead?” Andrew blurts.She widens her arms in a ‘What the hell?’ kind of motion and glares at the kid. Seriously? Nolan eyes him, like he’s an annoying buzzing fly they can’t seem to kill.“No, he’s..” Tom doesn’t seem immensely bothered, which is fine, but apparently grew furious when Sunshine tried to explain what she knew about BEKs. Yeah, makes sense. “He survived, but, uh— he was never the same after that.”Nolan clicks his tongue, leaning forward with his hands clasped together. “And what does that mean?”Tom doesn’t look at any of them. “He never fully recovered.”“Right..” He nods slowly.“I mean, after this, he couldn’t even put together one coherent sentence, he—” Tom’s voice shakes. “I mean, he really lost it. They ended up putting him in a mental institution for the rest of his life.”“Was he a good friend of yours?” Sunshine tries softly.He looks at her and frowns. “Yeah, we were partners for eight years.” Tom looks genuinely sad, so maybe he isn’t completely insane. “We were pretty close. I wasn’t even there for him that night.”Andrew takes a picture from the table. “Is this him?” It’s a man dressed in a black suit and gold-rimmed hat, metals dangling from his chest.“Yeah,” Tom nods.“Do you visit him?” she inquires.“I used to.”“Used to?”Tom sighs. “The night I went to see him, he uh— he actually seemed to be doing a lot better, like he was recovering, you know? He recognized me, we were holding a conversation, and then—stupidly— I decided to ask him what had happened that night.“He told me, uh, I’m never gonna be able to forget... what you have to understand is that this guy— he was strong, he was brave— in the eight years that we served together, I never saw anything that he couldn’t handle.” There’s a long pause as he tries to find his thoughts. “When he told me, the look of terror in his face.. I’ve never seen anything like that.”Sunshine stares at him, green eyes wide. “What did he say?”Tears flicker in Tom’s eyes. “When I asked him what happened at the car that night, he said— ‘I saw the devil. And they call him Mother. He doesn’t just want the flesh— he wants the very soul underneath. He’s coming for me. He’s coming for all of us. And there’s no way to stop it. He is their mother, and he will rend the flesh of any he pleases.’”Nolan narrows his eyes. “What the hell does that mean?”“I don’t know. But whatever it means, it rocked the very foundations of this man and—” His voice breaks, “turned him into a shell of the person he was before.”There’s still something missing. “You said you used to visit him, why don’t you anymore?” Sunshine asks.“He disappeared.”Wait— “He what?”“He disappeared.. I went to check on him one night in his room and, uh, he was gone.” Tom breathes in and leans back. “Shortly after that, I put in for early retirement. There is an evil out there that we can’t even comprehend, and I don’t want any part of that, and neither should you.”He turns to Sunshine. “Go home. Go home to your real mother and listen to her, because you don’t want any part of the mother that the devil has in store for you. I can promise you that.”⠀⠀⠀
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They leave Tom Waters’s house and head deeper into Portland for more answers. Ominous and chilling story aside, Sunshine... well. She’s not sure what to feel. Nolan suggested they go to a BEK hotspot and ask around, so, looks like they’re doing that.However, it’s pointless.Then, when the sun sets and the darkness of night blankets the sky, they find two homeless women.“Uh, hi, hello.” Nolan sets his palms on his knees and leans down slightly, as they’re sitting on the ground, wrapped in blankets and warm clothes. He fully crouches to meet their height, and Sunshine goes down with him. “Hi. My name is Nolan, uh— this is Sunshine.”“Hi,” she smiles.“And Andrew— uh, we were wondering if you guys have seen anything strange regarding children. Uh, any—?”“Black-Eyed Kids?”“Yeah. Kids with black eyes..?”The blonde woman shakes her head.“You haven’t seen any?” Sunshine sighs.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”Oh. Looks like that’s a dead end.Until the woman with the green jacket looks up. “I have.”Sunshine stares at her. “You have?”“Yeah, I’ve seen some really creepy kids..”“Wait, really?” Nolan asks.“Yeah.”“Where— where did you see them?”She shrugs. “There’s just a spot where I’ve seen some of them around.”“Could you— could you possibly show us?” Sunshine inquires.The woman raises a brow. “Why do you guys wanna go?”“Uhhh..” Nolan looks at Sunshine. “For fun, I—?”“Look, I don’t really know anything about these Black-Eyed Kids, but they are creepy.”“Yes, yeah, that’s true.” Nolan looks down. “But we have to find— we need to find out where they’re—”“Could you please show us?” Sunshine cuts in.The homeless women exchange a glance. Blonde mutters in Greeny’s ear, who says “Yeah,” though not very optimistically. She frowns when Blondie stops whispering. “Would you guys maybe trade for, like, dinner or somethin’?”Nolan nods quickly. “Sure, yeah. We’ll bring food.”“I don’t— I will take you there, but I mean— I’m just gonna say upfront, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I wouldn’t talk to them.”“Right.”“Or approach them, but I’ll take you to where they are.”“Yeah, neither do we.” Nolan points to all three of them. Right, Andrew’s here. “We’re thick, you know? We can’t be helped.” A pause. “We’ll bring food, okay?”“Okay.” Greeny leans forward. “If you guys wanna meet me— do you guys know where Pioneer Square is?”“Yes!” Sunshine says excitedly, because maybe they can finally uncover some of these mysteries!“You wanna meet me there at 10? I’ve never seen any of them, like, until it’s really late at night, but if you want me to be there at 10, I’ll take you to where I see them.”“Okay, definitely, yeah.” Nolan stands, and the other two follow. And the camera crew, she guesses. “Thank you so much. 10 o’clock.”“Yeah. If you guys don’t wanna show, I’ll understand.”“We’ll be there,” Nolan confirms. “We’ll be there.”“We got it, Sunshine,” Andrew laughs when they walk out from under the freeway. She giggles and smiles because yes, finally, a clue! “We got it!”“All right,” Nolan smirks, “let’s find ourselves some Black-Eyed Kids!”
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They travel to a few food stores and order dinner for both themselves and the homeless girls. Nolan somehow successfully rides a small kiddy carousel, and after, they sit down on some wooden benches and tables under a well-lit drape to eat.“Sunshine,” Nolan says, rounding Andrew and nearing the far side of the bench, “next time we go investigate something, let’s go to Hawaii, right? Or Bora Bora. Something cool.”“I’m calling my mom,” she says without really acknowledging him. Oh, this’ll be fun. Hah. With Sunshine out of frame, Andrew looks around. “This weather is pretty crazy,” he remarks at the downpour.Nolan munches on his chicken. “Ah, I’ve seen crazier.”Andrew taps his fingers to the wood for a moment, considering. “Hey, so are you and Sunshine—?” Nolan looks at him and Andrew motions. “You know..?”Nolan stares at him and raises his brows. “What. What?”“Are you dating Sunshine?” Andrew finally manages.“Me—” Nolan splutters on his chicken for a second.“Are you and Sunshine a thing?”“No,” he says simply, looking up at Andrew. “No. Why?”“Okay. Cool.” Andrew smiles and relaxes slightly. “I was wondering if you would let me ask her out.”Nolan awkwardly smiles and nods slowly.“I mean, she’s—” He twists around to look at her on the phone. “She’s perfect in every way.”“Really—?” Nolan dubiously points to her.“I mean, I think we’d be a great pair—”“Sunshine?”“Yeah! And I’d like—”Nolan laughs. “Okay..”“I’d do all the boyfriend things and such.”“Buy her flowers, take her to the movie?”“Yeah,” Andrew nods excitedly. “Yeah.”“Okay.” Nolan is pretty lax about all of this. When Sunshine looks back on the footage later, she absolutely cannot believe they’re having this conversation. “You think you have a shot with her?”“Why not?”“Very well then,” Nolan states theatrically, “I give you my consent.”Andrew grins through his braces. “Thanks.”Nolan can’t stop giggling for some reason. Is it really that funny? “Okay, so..” Sunshine sighs as she walks back over, dropping into the seat on Andrew’s right. “I called my mom, talked to her— she’s pretty pissed, but I told her we’re coming home shortly. So.”Nolan makes a face and looks forward. “Are we actually coming home shortly—” He sarcastically turns to her, “or is that just something you said?”“Just— just depending on your version of—” She moves her hands, trying to explain.“Hey, Nolan, Nolan, it’s okay,” Andrew says softly, placing out a hand on the table.“—shortly,” Sunshine finishes.Nolan closes his eyes, clearly frustrated. He shakes his hands. “Why do you keep lying to your mom?”“Just—” Andrew attempts.“It makes her angrier and I have to hear about it and—”“I’m not lying, I’m just being vague, okay?” She rolls her eyes.“Just leave it alone, okay?” Andrew says.“Oh yeah?” Nolan retorts.“So, how’s the food..?” she mutters, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere. God, Nolan’s being such a baby.“It’s good,” Andrew nods.Nolan’s eyes widen, stupefied. He throws his arms out and looks at the camera, probably wondering why they’re acting like this is all normal. He clenches his jaw.Andrew bites his lip. “So— Sunshine—”She cuts him off. “I know you brought your camera, but—” Sunshine points to Nolan. “You did too, right?”“Yes, I have my camera,” he bitterly says.Sunshine looks at the crew. “I don’t want to be disappointed if you guys bail on us, I mean, no offense, I just— you know.”Nolan stares at her. “Why are you getting on the film crew now? What—?”“Nolan,” Andrew annoyingly says.Sunshine rolls her eyes. God, what’s got him in a sour mood all of a sudden? He looks away and pokes his chicken.“Yeah, and I— have mine— but—” Andrew stumbles over his words. “Are you—?”“I gotta pee, I’ll be back guys, okay? I’ll be back.” Sunshine stands and walks away.Andrew flicks his head to Nolan. “How do you do this?”“Okay, I’m gonna give that about a 6.3.”“I’m sorry..!”Nolan squints. “You did well, you just couldn’t stick the landing, it’s fine.” “How do you— she’s so pretty!”“Okay— I’ll tell you what.” Nolan stops him from talking with a hand. “Just— next time you ask her out, just try asking her out.” He giggles, like he’s the funniest guy in the world.(Seriously. Don’t.)“Shut up, dude,” Andrew laughs.

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Night has completely fallen, leaving behind a dark blanket over Portland. After dinner, Sunshine drives to the park, scanning the area upon arrival. They’re here to meet their— homeless friend— and, yeah. This’ll be fun. Maybe. Hopefully they don’t get robbed.Nolan and Andrew follow behind as she leads the way down the sidewalk. “Let’s try it,” the ginger quips as they enter the park, a huge Christmas tree flashing blue and red lights back at them. “Does anyone see her?” Nolan asks, tucking his hands deeper into his black leather jacket. He’s considerably less moody, but still annoying to deal with.“I think—” She squints, eyeing a figure next to the tree. “I think that’s her over there.” Sunshine makes a face.“I think you’re right.” Nolan charges ahead and dramatically clears his throat. “Excuse me. Miss,” he calls. “Hi. You made it.”“Hey,” she nods, shrugging the green jacket over her head. “Did you guys bring me anything to eat?”Nolan hands her the brown bag and she checks inside, dimples pointing through her smile after. “Thanks,” she says warmly, zipping open her backpack to stuff the food inside.“Yeah. Totally,” Nolan replies.“You guys sure that you wanna go?”“Yes,” all three say in unison. “Definitely,” Sunshine adds.“There’s a place where I’ve seen a couple of ‘em hangin’ out— I’ve never talked to one of them. I don’t think you should talk to them, but...” She shrugs. “I’ll take ya there.”Nolan wants to chat with one of these entities, apparently. Hah. As if.“Yeah, please,” he calmly agrees, but Sunshine figures he’s pissing his pants because they’re actually going to a hot spot. At least, if Greeny is right and not just lying to them. Too late now. Sunshine actually has no idea where they’re going, since they’ve veered away from the park and on to one of the side roads, but— y’know. They’re wandering, so maybe that’ll be interesting enough for her viewers if things don’t happen to check out.They stride near an overpass and Greeny gasps softly, brushing against Sunshine’s jacket and tugging her close. “Woah,” she breathes nervously.“What— you just freaked out—” Sunshine tries to splutter in an annoyed voice, but is promptly cut off.“There’s one right there,” Greeny says, completely serious.Wait, what?“What?” Nolan snaps, glaring at Greeny and peering over her shoulder at the opposite end of the shielded overpass. There’s what appears to be an older kid standing there, completely dressed in black. Nolan ducks down below Greeny’s height. “Shhh!”“Settle down.” Sunshine rolls her eyes at Nolan’s theatrics. This is big— if it is a BEK.“Oh my god,” Greeny laughs when she twists her head back to look, “those are scary.”Sunshine slowly turns and looks at the kid, heart skipping in her chest. They’re standing completely still, staring at the wall with rounded black eyes. Holy shit. Holy shit.“Yep,” Nolan says. “That’s a— that’s a—” He glances back over at it. “Okay, so, uh, game plan. What’s goin’ on..?”“I think we should talk to her.” The idea is just as stupid as it sounds when it blubbers out of Sunshine’s mouth.“We should talk— okay.” Nolan shakes his head sarcastically. “All right, well— yeah. Go have fun, we’ll be back here, tell us how it goes, yeah?”Greeny eyes them. “Wait, it’s for real, though?”Nolan nods and tries to explain their little film crew thing going on as they inch closer to the BEK. It turns away, legs crooked, pulling itself forward limply. “She’s going somewhere,” he grunts. They don’t stop moving. “I guess we’re following her.”Bells toll in the distance as the group nears the BEK, who continues walking in the other direction, past the store fronts.“I don’t think we should get that close,” Greeny nervously mumbles.“It’s okay, guys,” Andrew smiles, “I’ve got the Andy-cam, we’re covered.”Sunshine presses her brows together and looks at the ginger incredulously. “Did you just call your own camera the Andy-cam?”“Andy stands for Andrew—”“Shh!” Greeny shushes, standing closer to Nolan. Her voice drops a few levels. “I just heard of people not coming back,” she explains. “Like, rumors that they get snatched or somethin’.”“Okay, well, that’s just great—” he tries.“Well, you have cameras,” Greeny continues optimistically.Nolan makes a face, as if he doesn’t really believe what he’s saying— or he could be saying it sarcastically. Sometimes Sunshine can’t tell the difference. “Yeah, we should be fine. Of course, the cameras.”The BEK crosses past a wall and Sunshine perks at the familiar tug in her gut. She moves her legs forward and rounds the corner, squinting at the awkward and distorted way it begins to walk. The BEK pauses near the tram stop and slowly inches its head to the side, blinking black eyes at the group.“Oh,” Nolan breathes, anxiously pressing next to the wall. He frowns. “Okay, so. I have an idea.”Sunshine turns to him, but doesn’t keep her eyes off of the BEK. “What?” she mutters.He determinedly looks at them. “When she hits the Max, let’s jump her.”Silence. All Sunshine can think is— Really? The tram?“What?” Greeny asks. Yeah, Sunshine too.“Where’s she gonna take us? She’s on a Max. I mean, it could work—”“Shh,” Sunshine snaps.“Try and corner her?” he goes on, glaring at the entity that’s swaying under the cover of the trees. “It’s just a thought.”Greeny considers. “That’s not a bad idea. You can just ask her questions.”The bells on the tram ring, signaling the arrival of the Max trolley. It rolls forward, spluttering as it slows to a stop.“Well, it’s now or never, I guess,” Greeny shrugs.“It’s your call, Sunshine,” Nolan prompts.She sighs and grudgingly steps forward, nearing the BEK. They watch as it slowly enters the tram and quickly do the same, boarding through the sliding doors. Andrew, Nolan, Sunshine, and Greeny squeeze together on a seat, all eyeing each other and the BEK across from them.“It’s freaking me out,” Sunshine mutters. “I’m already freaked out about the public transportation thing,” she says, glaring at Nolan, “and now this?”“I feel weird inside,” Nolan says, staring at the BEK. It’s standing, arm slung around the handle.“Go talk to her,” Greeny urges.“I don’t want to. Bad idea,” he mumbles. After another minute of staring, Nolan shakes out of his trance, “Okay, I don’t wanna look at her anymore. We shouldn’t have come. We should go back. Let’s go back home.” He shrugs, narrowing his eyes, beginning to freak the hell out. Sunshine stares at the camera, annoyed. “I don’t wanna be here, let’s go.”“We came all this way,” Greeny reasons, “I think you should talk to her.”Nolan widens his eyes sarcastically at her, nodding. “Okay,” he says, “go on.”“I’m not even here to do that.”“Okay, well.” He scrunches his nose and nervously looks out of the window. “We’ll keep our opinions to ourselves.” Nolan bites the inside of his cheek, shrugging his shoulders in. “We’ll— we’ll just wait it out, ‘kay?’“It’ll be fun,” Sunshine says.The BEK looks at them, twists around, and lumbers off of the tram.“She’s getting off, she’s getting off!” Greeny sprints after the entity, everyone else quickly following behind. Two older teenagers standing off to the side look at Sunshine and exchange a glance.“Hey, hey!” the taller one says, stopping Sunshine in her tracks. She grits her teeth and wheels around. Come on, they have to follow the BEK! “Sunshine!”“Um,” she says, not knowing exactly what to do with this situation. She’s never been noticed in public before. “No, I think you have the— wrong girl—”“No, Sunshine,” he insists, “from YouTube?”“No, no, no,” Nolan quickly says, pointing at her, “this isn’t Sunshine, this is LaVern.” She raises her brows and grunts when he hesitantly pulls an arm around her, shrugging her close. “My, uh, girl. My girl LaVern.”She stares forward. Really?“No, this is Sunshine,” he goes on, not convinced. The tram doors close beside them.“No, no no,” Nolan tries again, “I’m John LaVern, we gotta go— uh— to a party—”“Wait, party?” the other teen giggles, following them past the corner. “What?”“Guys, come on,” Nolan laughs, but it’s edged with desperation and annoyance. “Give us a break, one time, please.” They whip around and look up and down the next block, but BEK and Greeny are gone.“Where’d they go?” Sunshine mutters. “She— she’s gone..”“Damnit!” Nolan curses, furiously pacing back and forth through the street. Oh, god. Greeny’s gone. She’s gone, probably abducted, all because they’d been stopped by some fans— No. If wasn’t their fault. They didn’t know, even if there were cameras and... eugh. She stressfully wipes a hand down her face. Shit.“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Nolan loudly says, but is really only trying to soothe his own nerves. “Okay, we find the girl, we—”“We should maybe go back to Tom Waters?” Sunshine says to the camera, frowning. “Show him what we have? I mean, I don’t know what to do.”“This sucks,” Nolan growls.The two fans seem to realize this isn’t the best time and cautiously walk away.“Did anybody see where she went?”Sunshine’s too nervous to humor Nolan and his usual antics. “I think we should go back to Tom Waters,” she repeats, throwing her arms out. What else is there to do?“Like—” Nolan shakes his head disapprovingly. “All right.”“Show him what we have! I mean, it’s worth it, I think.” She sighs and leads the way down the block. “Come on.”⠀⠀⠀
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“Oh my god,” Nolan drawls when they’re back in the car, on the road to Tom Waters’s house. “I can’t believe we actually saw one.”“And we got the footage of it,” Andrew chimes in from the back seat.“I mean—” Sunshine raises her hand and it drops. “I’m a little worried about the girl, but— she’ll turn up, won’t she? I mean...” Her phone begins to ring. Oh, fucking hell. It’s Kat.“I don’t know,” Nolan mumbles.“It’s my mom. It’s my mom!” Sunshine shoves the phone in his hands. “Talk to her.”“What?”“Talk to her!”“Wha—”“Answer the phone!”“I’m never forgiving you for this,” Nolan sighs, answering and lifting the phone to his ear, hand shaking. “Hello?”Sunshine listens intently over the roar of the road under the tires.“Hey, Mrs— what? No, I’m with her right now.” Nolan looks curiously at Sunshine. What’s her mom saying? “She’s driving.” A pause. “Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay, yes, I understand— listen, listen, listen—”Oh, great. Here it comes.“I understand where you’re coming from, okay? I’m on your side—” Traitor! “I just— okay, look, we’re really close, okay? I think we actually— oh! Oh, come on. That’s a little— that’s a little harsh.”What’s happening over there? Ugh!Nolan sighs. “All right. Okay. All right.” He ends the call and plops the phone in Sunshine’s lap.“What’d she say?” Sunshine demands.“Well, Sunshine—” Nolan straightens dramatically, probably ready to complain about having to lie about where they’re actually going. “Your mother’s not happy.”“Well— duh,” she snaps.“She says if— if we don’t come home right now, she is...” A sigh. “Taking you off of your YouTube channel and she’s gonna kill you, probably.”“She’s not gonna kill me, okay?”Nolan looks at her seriously. “Well, I think she might actually take the YouTube down.”Sunshine shakes her head. No, her mom wouldn’t do that. She doesn’t believe it.“You know what that means? No more videos.”“I know!” she stresses. Why does Kat have to make everything so fucking complicated when this whole thing is already crazy? “I know what it means, okay?”“Now, if you wanna do this, I’m with you,” he says. “Okay? But— there are actual consequences that follow from this. It’s your call.”Andrew pinches his lips together. “Your mom is pretty upset though.”Sunshine continues driving, thinking. They don’t have time for this, and if this is the price... well. Fuck it. “We’ll go home when I think that we’ve got it, okay? But I— but I think the— okay, just. We’re doing it.”“Okay.” Nolan shrugs and leans back. This is gonna be fun.

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They’re back at Tom Waters’s house, again. Sunshine slowly steps up on the patio and clangs the door knocker against the wood, leaning back and nearly running into Nolan, who’s being clingier than usual. Ugh.Oh. Oh. The door sways open from the pressure of Sunshine’s palm, a draft pulling the wind inside.“Oh. Well that’s dandy,” Nolan says.Sunshine frowns, heart thumping wildly in her chest. “The door is open,” she mutters, more to herself than anyone, leading the way inside of Tom’s house. “Mr. Waters?”“Are you sure we wanna be in here?” Andrew asks hesitantly.“Mr. Waters!” Sunshine whispers-yells, ignoring Andrew.“Hey Tom?” Nolan calls louder, peering over their heads into the kitchen. As they walk past the living room Sunshine realizes most of the lights are off, save for one in the open study. The static of the box television gives off an eerie, unwelcoming vibe. “The door was open.”“Shhh, you don’t have to yell,” Sunshine grumbles, “What if he’s, like, sleeping or something?” She looks into a side bedroom. “Go look in there.”Nolan shuffles over and pokes his head inside the dark room. “Mr. Waters?” he whispers. No answer.“Sir?” Andrew tries. “Sir, are you there?”Sunshine doesn’t have a good feeling. The closer they inch toward the kitchen, the tighter her stomach seems to clench. She thrums her fingers along her jeans, twitching slightly from the pain.“Okay, maybe he’s not here, right?” Nolan pads up behind Sunshine and Andrew, hesitantly glancing around. “He left his door open, we don’t need to be here when he gets back— let’s just come back later.”Sunshine doesn’t listen. She can’t listen. Something buzzes in her ears and her mind feels like it’s floating. “No,” she replies, but the word feels foreign on her tongue. “I think he’s here.” She doesn’t really know what she’s saying, or what is happening behind her, but can recognize that gut feeling.“Good,” Nolan sarcastically says, “you think he’s here. Great.”Sunshine makes her way into the back hallway next to the kitchen, blinking at the bathroom light streaming in front of her. “Mr. Waters?” She’s not sure why she’s calling out— he hasn’t answered any of them yet.Nolan frowns and checks in another bedroom. Sunshine peers into the bathroom, and Andrew nervously looks down the dark hallway. “Sunshine,” Nolan sighs, “at this point we’re basically just breaking and entering. That’s all we’re doing.”She looks at him, raising a brow. “We’re not breaking in—”A sharp bang jolts Sunshine into place. Her eyes widen and she blankly stares at the slammed front door, blocking their way out of the house. Oh, wonderful.“Every time with the—” Nolan runs a hand through his ashen-brown hair. “I’m just saying doors, in general, I hate them now.”“What was it?” she asks, following him back near the kitchen.Nolan widens his arms to his sides. “It was nothing,” he says with an edge to his voice. “Of course, it was nothing. It’s always nothing. It’s just a—” He scrunches his nose and makes a vague motion. “So he’s not there,” Andrew concludes.“I don’t think so. No, I don’t see any Tom.”Sunshine has to refrain from rolling her eyes. God, he’s in a horrible mood. “Sunshine, let’s go,” he stresses, shoving his hands in his pockets. “No. I know he’s here.” She slowly turns and walks into the kitchen, eyes widening when she sees a figure standing there. Oh! A kid! Wait, why is there a child in here? Does Tom have children? “Hey, kid, do you know—” The kid turns into another brightly-lit closet.Okay, random kid.“Uh,” Nolan calls suspiciously, “who ya talking to there?”“Wait—”“Sunshine, you saw a kid?” Nolan rushes to her side in an instant, puffing out a breath.“I wanna talk to you,” she says, blindly following.“Where are you going?!”“Sunshine!” Andrew yelps, following like a lost puppy.“What happened?” Nolan demands when she stops at a dark green curtain leading to the pitch-black basement.“There was a boy here,” she murmurs. Sunshine feels dizzy and her stomach is flopping like a fish out of water, and god, she can’t think straight—“There was a child in the house?” He throws his arms up. “Did he have black eyes?”“No, I didn’t see his face.”Nolan chews on his lip and closes his eyes in frustration, holding the curtain open for her to pass under. “Sunshine, Sunshine— we have to go, okay? There’s nothing for us here. Please?”“Mr. Waters,” she calls down, ignoring Nolan.“Just for me, not for yourself?”Andrew’s frown deepens as Sunshine begins to descend the stairs. “He doesn’t seem like a guy with a kid.”Nolan groans. “Thank you, Andrew.” He follows Sunshine down into the darkness, stumbling behind her. He hits the bottom floor and tries to reach out for her, but she’s already a few paces forward. “Sunshine, are you sure we should be down here?”Sunshine stops before she can speak and screams, voice raking against her throat. She stumbles back and Nolan catches her, staring with wide-eyes at the sight. “Oh, shit!”Tom Waters is hanging from the ceiling, rope wrapped tightly against his throat. His arms are limply splayed at his sides, eyes rolled into the back of his head, color drained from his face. Sunshine screams and sobs into Nolan’s jacket, who quickly turns her head away into his chest. They rush back up the stairs, camera crew first for some reason, and break back out the front door.Sunshine flops to the ground and gasps in air, feeling the grass crinkle beneath her palms. She’s shaking so badly she can’t even walk, and ends up dropping completely flat on her stomach. Time goes by quickly and, after what seems like moments, she doesn’t really know where she is or what’s going on. She knows someone plops down beside her and comfortingly runs fingers through her hair and a hand over her back, but Sunshine doesn’t know who... she doesn’t even think to wonder.Blue lights flash in her vision and Sunshine groans. Soft hands help her up and she sniffles, sobbing once more. “Shhh,” Nolan whispers, pulling her close to him without even thinking. “Hey, it’s okay. Yeah? It’s fine. Trust me.”Sunshine trusts him, she thinks. She’s confused about the lights and the sirens but comes to realize that the police are here— Andrew must have called. “Ma’am, will you come with me?” a police officer asks. She numbly follows him to the ambulance and sits down, blinking slowly when a blanket is wrapped around her shoulders. But— but Sunshine doesn’t want to be here alone, she wants Nolan, and she wants her mother and Uncle Tommy and— Her throat rumbles with a deep cry.“Sunshine,” a familiar voice speaks. She looks up and sees Nolan, who’s trying to smile but failing miserably. She realizes he’s been crying. “Maybe you should call your mom.”Her mom. Yeah. Kat will want to know about this and know where they are. But... even then..The whole thing seems to fly by. Hours have passed, Sunshine’s pretty sure, and the police have questioned them and are allowing them to leave. Unfortunately she’s the only one that can drive, so promptly leaves the house with a heavy heart and drooping eyes.“Okay, we’re lost,” Nolan eventually mumbles from the passenger seat. Yeah. They are. Sunshine doesn’t even know where she’s going.“I have no idea where we are,” she says.“Yeah. That’s obvious.”“Thanks,” Sunshine snaps. She doesn’t want to deal with Nolan’s moodiness right now, not when that just happened. She does understand where’s he’s coming from, though.“Okay, you know what?” Nolan shakes his head. “Stop going in circles, okay? We’re not gonna find our way out of here— just pick a direction and let’s just go.”“Okay!” she growls, voice raising in pitch.“Okay, okay.”“I get it!”“All right?”“Jeez. Can you just—” She sighs, frustrated and shocked and— agh! “Just calm down for a second?”“Don’t get snippy with me!” he snaps back, glaring daggers at her. “Hey,” Andrew sighs.“Andrew, stop talking,” she says, really only able to focus on one annoyance at a time. Nolan is taking that pedestal.Who feels the need to continue arguing. “I’m not the reason that we’re out here, you understand? I’m glad you’re having fun! Okay?”Sunshine groans.“I’m scared, all right?” Nolan’s voice shakes but Sunshine refuses to look at him. She’s scared too! “I wanna go home—”“I get it.”“I’m tired of all this— first, we find nothing, and then we find stuff we don’t want to find—”“Sunshine—” Andrew panics.“I know!” she snarls.“Sunshine!”“What?!”“Uh,” the camera man says, voice deep and grating. “Up ahead.”Everyone looks forward. Sunshine loses her breath when she sees the Black-Eyed Kid from the tram earlier, staring at them with pitch black eyes. Another one rounds to the sidewalk on the left and the girl slowly comes to the side of the car, tapping on the window with a finger.“Don’t do it,” Nolan says. “Sunshine, don’t open the window, let’s just go!”“I feel like I have to,” she growls.“Sunshine, do not—” Andrew shakes his head. Sunshine ignores everyone else in the car and rolls down the window, staring at the entity. It looks at her, unblinking. “Can you take us to our Mother? He’s really worried.”“Sunshine!” Nolan whisper-yells. “Let’s go.”“No! No, we can’t, no.” Sunshine turns back to the BEK.“We don’t want you to leave us, Sunshine,” it continues.“What?” Her voice trembles and the hair on the back of her neck stands up at the bone-chilling smile the BEK gives. Before anything else can happen, the child smirks and whirls away, running alongside the other entity.“Sunshine, we have to go,” Nolan begs.“No, we don’t.” She wheels the car around, narrowing her eyes.“What? No, no no no— no, no NO! No! We’re not—” She floors the gas, engine rumbling as they begin to follow. “Come on!” Nolan yells.“I do not wanna follow!” Andrew cries.“I wanna go home!” Nolan says, lifting himself up, as if he can fly away from the seat. Haha. Good luck. She’s doing this.Andrew tries to reason with her. “Sunshine, I know you want this, but I don’t think we should go.”“Yes. We need to.”Nolan shakes his head. “Sunshine, this is supremely stupid, all right?”“It’s not stupid—”“It is!”“No it’s not!”“This is how people die in films! Do you understand?” Nolan says in a dark, terrified voice.“Sunshine, this is dangerous!” Andrew barks.“It’s the whole point of the film,” she snaps back. She’s the driver. They’re doing this. “There they are.” She peels the car next to the curb and looks at the two children peering back.“Sunshine, come on,” Nolan says thickly. “We can’t do this, Sunshine. Okay? Not now, not like this. Okay? Nobody knows where we are—”She unbuckles her seatbelt and turns the engine off. “Get out of the car.”“Sunshine— fine! Fine! I will!” He throws himself from the passenger seat. “I’m gonna die today.”The BEKs giggle and run to a dark house. Sunshine swiftly follows, adrenaline spurring her forward. She can see the shapes of the entities in the distance, and then— they’re gone.“Sunshine!” Andrew screams from the distance. Sunshine looks around, eyes wide. He screams as loud as he can, but the echoes of his voice slowly die away, until they can’t hear him at all.“Andrew?” she cries.“Andrew!” Nolan yells. “Andrew!”“It’s coming from that way,” Sunshine says, pointing toward the abandoned house. The camera man turns to look at his boom guy, who shakes his head. They both back away, nearly tripping over their own shoes.Oh, shit. This is what the camera crew bailing on them looks like. “What are you doing?” she demands. “I paid for that! You can’t just— leave!”Leave they do. In fact, they sprint. Fuck!At least Nolan has a camera. She picks it up in her hands and sighs stressfully, closing her eyes and tapping her fingers to her forehead. This isn’t the best situation to be in.“Are we good?” Nolan asks, biting the inside of his cheek.“Can you go?” she sighs.Nolan stares at her but eventually complies, turning and walking toward the house. “Damnit,” he mutters bitterly. “Yeah. You know where Andrew is..”“In the house,” Sunshine mumbles. “Stupid Andrew.”“So now we have to go into the house.” Nolan shrugs his way through the broken fence, the edges rattling around his precious leather jacket. Sunshine follows, ducking and missing the snap of the chain-link across what should’ve been her face, but is now empty air.“We grab him,” Nolan explains as they flank the abandoned home, traveling to the front, leaves crunching loudly under their feet, “fight off whoever’s got him, get him back out of the house, get him home, safe— agh.” He trips over a root and Sunshine can’t help but laugh. “Or—”“Sorry,” she giggles.“Or, you know what we could do?” He faces her in the darkness of the night. “Ouch!” Sunshine complains.“We don’t have to go into the house, you know why?”She looks up at him, raising a brow. “Why?”“We can call— we’ll call the cops, and then we’ll have his release negotiated through a— a megaphone—”“We have no service.”Nolan stops, breath hitching. “What?”“We have no service,” she repeats, “I just checked my phone. This is like a horror film.” Well, it kind of is but this is scarier than anything she’d ever imagined. Maybe Kat was right.“All right. Fine, fine. We’ll go into the house. Just be very— very quiet.” His voice drops into a whisper as he crouches. “And stealthy!”“I’m being very quiet!” she whisper-yells back, ducking down as well for reasons she doesn’t really understand.“No one will know we’re in there,” Nolan says. “I mean, how bad could it be? Just some— kidnappers, with weapons.”“Yeah, just some kidnappers with weapons...” Sunshine leans forward and peers through the dusty window.“Can you see anything in there?”“No, not really.”“Me neither.” He sighs and squints his brown eyes. “You know— we could just leave him. We found him on Craigslist. Right?”“Nolan!” she snaps. Seriously? Why does he even think that’s a possibility? Sunshine shoves his shoulder and he stumbles back. “We can’t just leave him.”“I was kidding.”“No you weren’t,” she mutters, following him up to the porch.“We gotta find a way in. Unlock the door, or a window, or—” Okay, but this isn’t James Bond. “A rabbit— hole. Or something.”“Yes, a rabbit hole.” Sunshine rolls her eyes.God. They just need to get in, save Andrew, get out, and return home.Sunshine’s pretty sure it won’t be that simple, though.Fuck. Looks like they’re doing this the hard way.

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A girl is screaming horrifically. Andrew pushes himself behind the wall, eyes wide and hands shaking as he watches what happens before him. Casey — the homeless girl — is being held down on the ground, chains tightly wrapped around her legs, weighed down by several bricks. “Get off of me! No! No!” Three BEKs move around her sides, two girls pushing down on Casey’s chest to immobilize her. The boy has pink gloves curled up on his arms and pulls a bucket up beside her head, sticking his hands inside.Andrew nearly retches when he realizes it’s blood.“No. What are you doing? What are you doing?!” Casey screams, but her voice is muffled when the boy takes his crimson-stained hands out and drops the thick globs of blood all over her face. Casey is panicking, chest heaving as she tries desperately to escape, but the chains aren’t allowing her to go anywhere. “What is that?!” she screams, sobbing hysterically. “No! I can’t breathe! No!”Andrew leans back and forces the tears out of his eyes, heart beating rapidly against his ribcage. He cringes when he hears, “Why are you doing this?!” but continues to watch, completely lost. What could he do, anyway? Wouldn’t he end up just like Casey?The three children finally cease and lean back, standing up. One of the girls lifts the bucket and they walk into the kitchen, swathed by shadows. Casey jerks up, clawing the blood from her face, hair, and clothes. “Get off me! Get off me!”“Casey! Casey!” Andrew whisper-yells, rushing forward and ducking down so the BEKs don’t see or hear him. “Get off! Get off me!” she cries.“Casey!” Andrew tries again, this time more desperate. “Casey!” She starts to breathe harshly, wiping the blood from her eyes so she can see. “It smells,” Andrew whispers, horrified.Casey looks around and begins to sob. Suddenly, her eyes go wide, like she’s seen something that isn’t really there, and she desperately pulls on the chains. “No! It’s gonna kill me!” Andrew begins to cry as he backs away. “I’m so sorry,” he says.“It’s gonna kill me! It’s gonna kill me! Please!” she begs, but Casey isn’t looking at him. Her eyes snap to the kitchen and she backs up against the wall, legs tucked to her chest and hands splayed to her side.One of the BEKs pushes a man in a wheelchair inside. His dark hair is pushed back and shows his face, which is dark and pale and wrinkled. His shirt is white and his pants are pale blue, and Andrew wonders who this is. The man has blood on his arms and he looks absolutely terrifying, even if he can’t walk(?).The girl circles the wheelchair and wipes blood off of the man’s lip. He’s completely unmoving, dark gaze focused on Casey. And suddenly it clicks in Andrew’s mind and he thinks back to their Portland journey, remembers the video of the cop’s friend. Holy shit, Andrew realizes. Holy shit. This is Tom Waters’s friend — the one that was never the same again! The one from the picture!And Jesus Christ, now Andrew can see it. He doesn’t even look like a functioning human being, just a brain hidden behind a curtain of trauma. But....why are the BEKs taking care of him?“He’s all yours, Mother,” the BEK says, exiting the room through the kitchen.Andrew’s blood goes cold when he remembers what the BEKs said to Sunshine.
He’s their Mother.
Casey shakes her head into her folded legs, crying. “I don’t know why she said that,” she sobs. “I’m not yours. There’s— nothing about me that’s yours.”Andrew looks between Mother and Casey. He’s not talking. How can she hear him? Is it all in her head? “Casey, I’m sorry,” he whispers, and it genuinely pains him to have to see her go through this. But he’s a coward. He can’t face this man or the BEKs. I’m so, so sorry.“No, please,” Casey sobs. Mother stares at her, still and silent.“What is this stuff?” she whispers shakily. “That your kids put on me, what is it? Huh?” There’s a pause before Casey’s hands curl and she looks up at him, eyes glinting. “What kind of twisted parent are you?” She pushes her head back into her legs. “What’s wrong with their eyes?”She sobs. The man in the wheelchair is still silent.“What’s wrong with their eyes....” Casey repeats quietly, more to herself than anyone.The same black-eyed girl walks in, napkin in hand. She stares at Casey before turning toward Mother, wiping his lip once more. She says nothing and leaves the room.⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine frowns as she moves closer to the porch. “Now, I know,” Nolan says, “that you and I have— a repartee, right?— that happens, but, we gotta be a team here, okay? This is gonna work. All right?”“Okay,” Sunshine says in exasperation. “Can you be quiet?” Thankfully, he shuts up. The lawn is dampened by shadows and Sunshine stumbles slightly, trying to find her footing. “Okay, one door,” she says as they make their way on the porch.Nolan asks something unintelligible.Sunshine amuses him. “Okay.”He starts to noisily fumble with the door.“Shh!” Nolan makes the noise again. “What are you doing?!” she whisper-yells. “Open it!”“It doesn’t have a knob!” Nolan defends.“It doesn’t have a knob?” Sunshine asks. “What are you talking about? Don’t be dumb, just open the door!”“Be my guest,” Nolan grunts.Sunshine shoves herself forward and pushes her hand against the door frame. Suddenly she’s thrown back into a whirlwind of memories, and she thinks about that house in the middle of nowhere, where she’d been chased by Creepy Guy. She has to pause for a moment and regain her breath, but Nolan doesn’t notice anyway.It’s then she realizes what Nolan was saying when the door doesn’t move. “It doesn’t have a knob.”“Who the hell builds a house without a door knob?” Nolan asks, almost disgusted.Sunshine shakes her head. “Oh, I don’t wanna think about it,” she quickly says. “Just— let’s find another door. I think there’s one over there.” She motions toward the side of the house where a few more lights are.The two teenagers move in and Sunshine glances at the boards pushed up against the wrap-around wooden porch.“Sunshine,” Nolan says.“It has a doorknob.” She ignores him.“Sunshine, are you sure you want to do this?”She looks at him. “Yeah, I wanna do this.”“This.... I mean..” The light splays across Nolan’s face and he smiles nervously, a thin strand of hair hanging against his forehead. “You know—” He looks toward the door then back at Sunshine. “I— I understand you’re attached to this film, right? And you want to see an ending to it, I understand, I do too, but—” Nolan breathes shakily. “You know what’s gonna happen? We’re gonna get in there and— something’s gonna happen to us, and you’re gonna drop the camera and— and it’s gonna have, like, the perfect angle—” He squints his eyes as if he’s imagining what he’s saying, “—to see me getting chopped up into little pieces to be eaten, and, you know what, maybe the cameras will roll for a while, but, but the narrative of the film is gonna be done, and...”Sunshine blinks at him. “Are you done? Can you shut. up?”He doesn’t say anything.“Jeez, we’ll be fine, okay?” She shrugs him off and walks toward the side door of the house. Nolan follows behind her, practically breathing down her neck. How fun. “Okay, well this one’s already open, better yet it has a doorknob.”They walk into the house and they look around the darkness, trying to figure out where to go first.
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Andrew watches as the man in the wheelchair is silent. “Okay, he’s been— he’s been sittin’ there for a little bit,” he whispers shakily to the camera. Sunshine will probably want some narrative to this, right? For her film? “Every once in a while...a creepy little kid will walk in—” Andrew breathes heavily, “—clean up his chin—” He pans the camera to the homeless girl. “Casey’s just crying. I think I can make it, if I ran past him.”He’s observed his surroundings a bit and found himself in a tight closet. His only way of escape is through the kitchen, and unfortunately that means running past Mother and the BEKs.“Please, please,” Casey sobs. “Please, let me go.”“She— she—” Andrew catches his heaving breath. “She keeps doing that.”Mother makes the first movement Andrew has seen and slowly leans forward, taking great care with his body.“Ah, shit, he’s moving,” Andrew whispers.Mother stands up to his full height, neck bent down awkwardly, as if he isn’t even human. He staggers up to Casey and towers over her, shadow falling over her body.Mother suddenly snaps to his knees and wraps his large hands around Casey’s throat. Andrew jumps. Casey cries and raggedly breaths in his grip. The man rubs his fingers down his arm and down her face, pushing her head up as he pries open her jaw. Casey sobs when he tries to push his hand in her mouth, but she manages to slip away. Mother turns and uses more force. Andrew looks away for a moment, contemplating his escape, and when he returns his gaze to them, Mother’s nearly elbow-deep in Casey’s throat. Andrew sobs and watches as he pulls his arm out, blood staining his pale skin, globs dripping down his fingers and hitting Casey’s face. Mother breathes heavily and staggers back into his wheelchair.Andrew has to stop himself from gagging when Mother licks his hand, blood coating his mouth as he slowly swallows. Nausea rises in Andrew’s stomach and the boy walks in, ignoring Casey’s limp body. Andrew fears she’s dead.The black-eyed girl walks back in the room and wipes Mother’s mouth, wheeling him back into the kitchen. The boy stares at Casey and tilts his head as he pushes the chains off. The girl walks back in and they both heave her toward the kitchen, and it’s then that Andrew knows she’s dead.Then, the girl turns and makes eye contact with Andrew. “Oh, shit, she—” He fumbles with the camera and everything is silent.
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“This counter’s covered with stuff,” Sunshine whispers, eyeing the burning orange glow of the candle. “I can barely see—”“Let’s just focus,” Nolan says, uncharacteristically serious. “We’ve gotta find Andrew.”Sunshine’s having a hard time breathing. Her hands are shaking and she can’t push away the horrid feeling in her belly, like a swirling black ball that’s eating her up inside. She shakes her head and tries to focus. “Andrew?” she softly calls in a whisper-yell. “Andrew!”“Andrew,” Nolan echoes, and this feels all too familiar to Tom Waters. Hopefully they won’t find a hanging body again. “Andrew, are you in here?”Sunshine freezes when she steps in a puddle of....something. “Ew.”“What is that?” Nolan asks, disgusted.“Don’t touch it!” she quickly says.Nolan bends down and inspects the dark liquid, frowning deeply.“Andrew?” Sunshine calls.“Shh,” Nolan says. “We don’t want anyone hearing us.”The rattling of a chain snaps both Sunshine and Nolan into place. “Oh, god,” he says, eyes wide as he looks at the doorframe into another room.A black-eyed kid walks out, muttering something under his breath. “We’ve been waiting for you, Sunshine,” he says, walking past them back into the darkness without stopping. He then turns back around, heading into the room he came from.“What did he say?” Nolan whispers, terrified.“We’ve been waiting for you, Sunshine,” she repeats, and her blood has gone cold. “What?!” Nolan says. He seems to snap himself out of it. “Just— just focus, we’re fine.” Sunshine can hardly breathe.“Andrew!” Nolan whispers. Sunshine walks into the room where the BEK disappeared, Nolan hot on her heels. She jumps when there’s a loud, demonic yell from the other room, and—Andrew rushes past Mother, eyes wide and terrified as he stands in the middle of the room, wheelchair discarded, mouth distorted into a wide yell. He manages to find his footing and stumbles into the hallway, past the kitchen and right in front of Sunshine and Nolan.“Andrew!” Sunshine exclaims. Nolan loudly echoes her.Andrew crawls back on his hands but realizes Mother managed to wrap a chain around his ankle. He pushes himself back, ears ringing before everything becomes more clear. “I knew you guys would come for me,” he cries.“Andrew, you’re not going anywhere, okay?” Nolan shakily says, and he sounds like he means it.“How dare you,” Mother booms, blood coating his mouth as he speaks, “run from me?”. He’s standing on the other end of the hallway in a doorframe, slowly pulling the chain toward him. “I am your Mother!” As he pulls the chain, he slowly steps closer to the trio. “I am everyone’s Mother! It is I who designed who lives and who dies!”Andrew, Nolan, and Sunshine are all sobbing with fear. None of them are able to move as Mother comes closer, mouth dribbling with blood and spit, eyes dark and hollow.“It is I who decides who feeds me! Whose flesh and soul I devour! And tonight, I will take yours, and bring it back to me, for I am your Mother!”“Cut the power!” Sunshine yells.Nolan turns to look at her. “What?”Andrew is only a foot away from Mother now.“Cut the power!” she screams.Everything is black and the house is dampened by silence. Sunshine stumbles to her knees but finds her way back to her feet. “Andrew,” she blindly says.“Shhh,” Nolan whispers.That knotted feeling in her belly is gone. She rubs at her temple and Sunshine can feel a headache begin to grow. “It’s quiet.”“He’s...” Nolan stumbles over his words. “He’s silent.”“Everything’s silent.”“What do we do, Sunshine?”She frowns. “Andrew, are you okay? Can you get up?”A shaky voice responds, “Yeah.”“Get up.”“Sunshine,” Andrew cries, “where are you— oh.” He brushes against her arm, breathing harshly.“Shhh,” she says.A loud bang fills Sunshine’s ears and she gasps. Something connects with her head and she’s suddenly on the ground.“Sunshine!” Nolan shakily exclaims.Andrew screams and Sunshine can hear a body drop to the floor, being dragged away. However, she can’t see anything.“Andrew!” she yells, but the ringing hurts. “Andrew?”Silence.“Nolan?” She can’t bear it if he’s gone, too, can’t bear if she’s alone here—“What?” he whispers, and Sunshine realizes he’s on the ground too.“Get up,” she says, slowly staggering to her feet.“What do you mean, get up?”“Get off the floor.” Sunshine is trying not to cry, but it really isn’t going very well.“I’m not going anywhere,” Nolan says, voice calm before it begins to rise into a sob. “Okay? This is— this is how people die in movies, okay? They start wandering around in the middle of the rooms, and whatever is waiting for them just comes and grabs them and eats them and that’s what happens—”“You’re not gonna die,” Sunshine tried to assure him. “Get up.”There’s a pause. “Okay. Fine. Just— will you please turn the light on?”“The light on what?”“The light on your camera, Sunshine!”“Oh.” She fumbles with it for a moment before clicking it on. Nolan is backed against the wall, eyes squeezed shut as he looks down to the ground. “Open your eyes!”“Is— is it on?”“Yes! Get up!”Nolan opens them and looks up, shakily lifting himself to his feet. “Okay.” He looks around, confused. “What happened to Andrew?”“I don’t know,” Sunshine says.“We lost him again?”“Shhhh.”Sunshine leads the way out of the room they’ve been cornered in, frowning as she shines the light across the clutter left on the floor.“Andrew?” Nolan calls. “Andrew, I’m sorry, buddy.”“Shh,” Sunshine repeats.“We...” Nolan shakes his head. “We shouldn’t have brought him along.”Sunshine looks at a hanging picture of children’s hands making wings for angels, surrounded by a stone-green backdrop. Three angels. “That’s creepy...” When she looks closer, the walls are pale gray, covered in pink roses with green leaves. She turns away and walks into the hallway. “Andrew...?” Here, there are holes dented into the yellow-gray walls, piles of bricks hidden behind the plaster.“Andrew,” Nolan calls. Silence. “This is not good.” They walk into a side room and balk at the blood staining the floor. “Oh my god,” he whispers. “What the hell happened in here?”“Andrew?” Sunshine whispers, trying not to think about that. What had Mother done? The pulling of a chain suddenly garners her attention. “Did you hear that?”“What?” “Where’s it coming from?”“Andrew,” Nolan says.Sunshine nearly trips over a chain, where it leads into the kitchen.Nolan breathes. “Andrew, are you there?”A shape lunges out of the darkness and both teenagers scream, reeling back. Sunshine takes a moment and sees Greeny, who’s clawing and screaming rabidly.“Casey!” Nolan exclaims, crouching toward the homeless woman. “Casey,” Sunshine whispers, then begins to cry.“No! No!” Casey screams, rolling on the ground as if she’s trying to fling something off of her.“Oh, no,” Nolan says.Casey begins crawling on all fours father back into the kitchen, grunting and screaming like an animal.“Casey,” Nolan repeats nervously. “Casey, come back!” She shoves herself into a room, where the door slams shut. His voice rises into a yell. “Casey, we have to get out of here!”“Casey!” Sunshine exclaims.She begins banging on the closed door. “Help. Help!”“W-we have to get her,” Nolan shakily says.Casey screams and Sunshine’s blood runs cold. “Nolan,” she whispers, “there’s nothing we can do.”“This is our fault!” he exclaims, hands going to his head as he steps forward uncertainly.“Nolan, there isn’t anything we can do!”The screaming stops.Sunshine’s heart rate picks up. “Andrew?” she calls, backpedaling and following the chain that had been wrapped around Andrew’s ankle. It leads to a closed white door.“Andrew?” Nolan shakily repeats. “Andrew?”Sunshine pushes open the door and yells when she sees Mother standing over Andrew, arm reared back as he chokes him. “Nolan, do something!”“Well,” he says, “it was good knowing you.” Nolan rushes forward and slams his body into Mother. Andrew is able to crawl toward Sunshine.“Andrew!” she cries.“Sunshine!” Nolan yells. “Get out!”Andrew crawls to his knees. “Sunshine—”She’s not leaving him like this. “Nolan!” she yells, rushing into the room. Mother has him picked up by the neck.“Oh, shit,” he slurs.Andrew wraps his arms around Sunshine and pulls her back, where the door slams in their faces. “Nolan,” she sobs, pushing Andrew back. “Nolan?!” Everything is silent.Suddenly, the door opens and Nolan rushes out, wide-eyed. “Run. Run! Run run run run run run run! Run! Run faster!” She hears Andrew fall to the floor but doesn’t stop, doesn’t even think to.Sunshine screams when she hears heavy footsteps thudding behind them, and she swears this is the fastest she’s ever moved in her entire life. Sunshine throws herself out of the side door and into the lawn, stumbling into overgrown weeds and brambles. She pushes herself to her feet and hears Nolan beside him, following his voice as they run.“Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god—” Nolan says as they sprint away from the house, and as Sunshine stumbles into the dark street, shadows swallowing her whole, she wonders, just for a moment, why Mother wanted their souls so badly.
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It’s early morning and a pale golden haze dapples over Portland, washing the previously rainy and dark streets into light and color. Sunshine is in the passenger seat of the car and points toward a house. “That one.”“Wait—” Kat says, frowning. “What one?”“That one,” Sunshine repeats, looking toward a white home.“That’s a house?” Kat asks incredulously.“Well, yeah.”Kat shivers as she looks at it. The windows are curled by a mint frame and the house is completely decrepit and falling apart. It’s hard to believe Sunshine was just there, screaming and crying as Mother chased after them.Kat pulls into the driveway. “Are you sure you want to go in?”“No, not really,” she mutters, “but...”Her mother shrugs and unbuckles her seatbelt. “All right.”Sunshine hops out of the car. The place looks so much different in the daytime — still, no less creepy. Nolan moves in front of her and explores the junk left on the side patio.“It looks pretty much the same,” Sunshine mutters.Nolan knocks on the door.“Why are you knocking?” Kat asks, rolling her eyes.“Uhh....I don’t know,” he says. “If they’re here, then...” Nolan trails off.“You think they’re just gonna open the door and say, ‘Come on in’?”“Just thinking of— they make any noise, then we go home and don’t have to worry about it.”“The door’s....open,” Sunshine says, shoving her body against the wooden frame and pushing it open.“Honey, be careful,” Kat sighs.Sunshine looks around the house. There’s shit everywhere, piling up around the walls. The wallpaper is so ugly she could puke, and there’s a thickness of dirt present that Sunshine didn’t even notice the night prior.“Oh my gosh,” Kat muttered. “This is what it looked like?”“Mom...” Sunshine grunts. “It was darker, but... yeah.”“Hello?” Nolan calls out. Silence. “You know, it doesn’t seem as bad in the daytime.”“Really?” her mother asks. “It seems terrible.”“Back here,” Sunshine says, stepping into the hall.“Oh, my, that’s a chain,” Kat whispers. “Is that what he was tied up with?”Sunshine and Nolan share a glance. “Yeah,” she says. The chain leads to a red-carpeted room, where Mother had been holding Nolan up by the neck. Clown and nature paintings are pushed up against the wall, wooden statues in front of the broken window.“Wow,” Kat breathes. “What a hollow room.”“Mhm.”“What’s down here?”“More rooms.” Sunshine pauses next to her mother and looks inside the room with blood on the floor.Kat frowns. “Why’s there a wheelchair?”“Oh,” Nolan says, popping his head out from the front room, “that belonged to the, uh, the Mother.”“Mother?” Kat repeats with a raised brow.“Mother, yes,” Nolan nods, trotting up beside them. “Uh, that’s what they called it.” He clears his throat. “This room is a little, uh, old looking. Creepified.” Blinds are covering the cracked windows and the place is just...barren and gray.“Okay,” Kat shakily says, “I’ve seen enough, let’s go.”Sunshine makes a face as she follows them toward the side door. “You sure?”“Definitely.”“There’s nothing to see here, anyway,” Nolan shrugs from behind Sunshine.A chain rattled somewhere deep in the house. She stops. “Did you hear that?”Kat whips around. “What was that?”Sunshine turns around and walks back into the hallway, where the wheelchair has now moved. “Okay,” she says. “I’m done. Let’s go.”“Yeah,” Nolan nods, “we should probably skedaddle.” She leads the way toward the patio.“Sunshine, come on!” Kat calls.“I don’t feel good,” she says, and the nausea is becoming worse and that black feeling is back in her belly. She thinks about Andrew and Casey and how they’re gone now, gone now because of her.“Yeah, I know.” Kat frowns and hangs back, looping her arm through Sunshine’s. “Let’s go.”

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PART SIX
Season Five: Stranger Turns
Sunshine starts to uncover her powers, tries to decipher Victoria’s motives, learns more about Nolan’s secrets, and, ultimately, comes to terms with who she really is.

The ghosts are still pretty bad, though. Oh, great, another demon.

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Sunshine has had some time — well, actually, a lot of time — to think, especially after the Black-Eyed Kids movie that ended just amazingly.She’s been thinking about Victoria recently, and she decided to rewatch Anna’s sacrifice video to really make sure it was her. Loe and behold, it was. Shocker.Sunshine really just doesn’t understand why Victoria was so open about them not trusting her anymore, because it almost seemed like she just knew it was going to happen. Then she was almost — okay with it? Sunshine isn’t sure, but she thinks it’s kind of odd.She feels like she should try to talk to Victoria next time she drops by, if she even does, not that it ever happens. Still. It’s worth a try, right?⠀⠀⠀
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Recap time.Sunshine is sitting on her bed, Beatles poster behind her, and she has a long list of things on her whiteboard that — well, she’ll get to it in a moment.“All right, guys, so it’s recap time,” she says to the camera, raising her hands. “I just thought we would go over the whole— paranormal— hierarchy, as I called it,” Sunshine smirks and wriggles her fingers, “in my nice chart here. Don’t you like it? I spent some time on this too, it’s beautiful. So. Yeah.”

SUNSHINE’S SUPER {awesome}
GOOD vs EVIL
PARANORMAL HIERARCHY CHART!!
by Sunshine
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* LUISEACH = me (paranormal superstar ☆)
DAD?

* PROTECTOR (protects the Luiseach)(do I get one?)
(Victoria?)

* MENTOR (teachs Luiseach how to be Luiseach)

* AWAKEN (tramatic experience brings them closer to the paranormal)

* MARKON (Rulers of Evil paranormal realm)(BAD GUY)

* GROUNDLING (human servants of the Markon)
(trying to get paranormal powers)
(Slender Man, Moth Man)

She points to the header and annunciates each word. “Sunshine’s Super ~Awesome~ Good vs Evil Paranormal Hierarchy Chart— by Sunshine! Yaaah! So, I’ll go through it, one by one.” The handwriting is kind of nice, but could still use some work.She points to the first star. “So the first is the Luiseach, which—” Sunshine places a hand to her chest, “—is me. That’s why it equals me. And, um, that’s like, the paranormal superstar, they’re really cool. We’re like that.” She does jazz hands. “Righteous ones, I guess. And theeeeen we have some questions unanswered of course, that’s why there’s question marks. Sunshine pauses. “Uh, my dad. Possibly? Might be? Hm?”Sunshine quickly moves on. “Next, the Protector. This person — Protector — protects the Luiseach, me, uh, do I get one? Is it Victoria?” She squints. “These are all my unanswered questions I just had to put by the side.”Next. “Mentor. This teaches the Luiseach how to be a Luiseach. How to use the powers, how to— all that function and everything, so that’s important. Again. Do I get one? Is it Victoria?” She shrugs.Sunshine points. “Next is an Awaken. This person— or thing— this human has had a traumatic experience and it brings them closer to the paranormal, so...yeah, it could be anything, like—” She thinks about Nolan. “Got into a coma, got out, and can now see ghosts or whatever, so.”Next. “Markon.” Sunshine frowns. “These are the Rulers of the Evil paranormal realm. And, also, the bad guys. So.”A pause. “Next, Groundlings, they’re the—” She points to the camera, “—human servants— human, key part— of the Markon, uh, they’re the ones trying to get the paranormal powers and this would also be people like Slender Man, Moth Man— I guess they’re not people they’re more paranormal entities— so yeah, that was my beautiful chart, wasn’t it great? So. Good. Everybody caught up now?”⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine’s pretty sure she hears her mom calling her, but she’s not really sure what it’s about. She walks to the head of the stairs. “Honey?” Kat asks. Sunshine raises a brow. “Mom?”“Can you come down here please?”“What— what’s wrong?” She looks down into the dark stairwell and sees her mother standing in front of it in a red flannel shirt. Kat doesn’t answer. Sunshine makes her way down, frowning. “You’re acting really weird, Mom.”She’s looking towards the front door, hands clasped together in silence. Sunshine sighs when she reaches the foot of the stairs. “What?”Kat wordlessly motions toward the front door.Victoria is standing there.Sunshine does a double take and jerks back, breath hitching in her throat. She thinks about Anna, thinks about that horrible occult video and what had happened. It was her. She was there, and she let it happen. Sunshine clenches her hands.“Yeah,” Kat mutters.“Victoria, what are you doing here?” Sunshine asks cautiously. She’s dressed in a pale tan-gray trenchcoat, buttons curling up the side of her chest. Victoria hesitates for a moment as Sunshine walks closer toward the living room. “I need to know something.” She steps in front of the woman. “Sunshine, I need to know if you trust me.”She raises her brows. “Well....not...really..”Victoria frowns and looks down. “I see.” She genuinely looks upset and sighs. “Well then I— I want you to take this.” She reaches out her arm and Sunshine immediately recognizes the blade from the exorcism so long ago, when Victoria’s throat had been cut by the demon. “I want you to take this and— sacrifice me if you must.”Kat looks at Victoria incredulously and takes the camera. Sunshine’s mouth is agape. “Sacrifice— sacrifice you— why?”“Sunshine, this world you’re dealing with— the paranormal— it’s evil.”“Yeah,” Kat grunts.“It’s more evil than you have any idea of, and it will do anything to manipulate you, to make you think things are real that aren’t— please.” Victoria pushes her hands together. “I beg you. Please listen to your instincts, listen to your heart, to your gut— trust yourself. Please do this for me. I know that’s....really silly of me to ask, but I need you to do this, please.” Her voice shakes.“Okay.” Sunshine is nodding her head seriously. Victoria wastes no more time and turns, opening the door to exit. She closes it behind her.“Victoria?” Kat asks.“Okay,” Sunshine says.Kat watches her disappear into the night and swivels to Sunshine. “Okay. That was odd.”Sunshine frowns and places the blade on the black counter near the front door. “Yeah.”“Yeah. Do you think that’s it?”“I don’t know.” Sunshine looks at the blade. She’s pretty sure her mother means, Is this the blade Anna was killed with?She doesn’t want to say that out loud, though.
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“Okay,” Sunshine sighs as she walks into the hallway with her camera, “so last night, for all that happened, I tried to get Mom to talk about it and she didn’t want to, so hopefully this morning I have better luck. So. Wish me luck.”She walks down the stairs into the kitchen, where Kat is standing over the counter. “Mom?”“Mmhm?” she calls without looking back.“So, can we...” Sunshine waves her arms. “Talk about this now?”“About what?” Kat turns and walks to the other side of the kitchen.“About—”“Oh.” Her mother cringes when she notices the camera and makes a face. “Hm. How about no camera, how about that?”Sunshine grunts. “Mom, it’s kinda important.”Kat wheezes dramatically. “Why is it important? I don’t want to.”“Please?”“Fine,” Kat gives in, “what?” Oh. She’s making her coffee.“Well,” Sunshine starts. “It happened.”“You wanna talk about Victoria?”“Yes..?”“Yes,” Kat nods as she shuffles around the counters. She sighs and turns back to her mug, wiping auburn hair from her face. “I don’t know. I mean, I feel like that was a weird— reintroduction to our lives, I feel like—” Kat steps forward and stirs her coffee, “—the only thing that came of that was, the knife, right?” She lifts the blade in its leather case.“Yeah,” Sunshine says.“So...how are we supposed to trust her, just because she gave us the knife and she said we should sacrifice her?”“I know,” she defends, “I don’t— I don’t know, I— I’m glad she’s back, I guess, I don’t know how I feel about....it..” Sunshine sighs. “You know.”Kat purses her lips. “About her being back?”Jesus. Does she really have to say it? “Mm......about—”“Trusting her?” they both say in unison.Sunshine nods. “And trying to kill her, that was weird.”Kat hums and turns back to her coffee machine. “She didn’t say kill, she said sacrifice.”“Whatever.”“No, I think it’s a different thing.”“Okay.” Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Well.” Kat sighs and steps in front of the camera, taking it. “I take this.”Sunshine grunts as Kat turns the camera on her.“I don’t know why this— I think that, probably, the reality is, that, she’s going to— come around again and explain more, but— is it gonna matter? Is it enough?”Sunshine is leaning on the wall and looks down. “Well...”“I kind of want her to have an explanation about why.”“I mean, I don’t think that she’s done anything major.” Sunshine shrugs.“Where— where has she been this whole time, why now? Why show up now? Does it mean something else is gonna happen? Is something else bad happening and she knows it and that’s why she’s here?”Sunshine shrugs.“But... that’s not... that doesn’t make me feel better, that’s not good.”“I don’t know.”“You wanna think about it?”“Yeah.”“You want to ask for opinions?” Kat is talking about the YouTube commenters, of course. “That’s what usually— they give ‘em to us anyway, don’t they?”“Yeah, that’s true.” Sunshine scratches the bridge of her nose softly. “Any opinions, guys?”Kat smirks. “You seem very sure about that.”“Yeah, well....”“Commit to it.”“Any opinions, guys?” she says louder with a fake smile. “Leave them below!” Kat says.

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Sunshine is jerked awake by a scream downstairs. She immediately fumbles for the camera, turns her lights on, and clicks record. “Sunshine!” her mother screams from downstairs.“Mom?” Sunshine practically leaps from the bed, memories rushing back in torrents. She wonders, for a moment, if the demon is back, if the demon is just leading her somewhere with Kat’s voice—No. She can’t think like that. If her mother is in trouble, Sunshine has to help. “Mom?” she calls again, stumbling into the darkness of the upstairs hallway.“Sunshine, come here, help me!” Kat exclaims, closer this time. Her voice turns panicked. “Help!” She begins to sob, then screams from deeper in the house.“Mom!” Sunshine is fully alert now. She runs down the stairs and makes it to the kitchen, wiping her gaze across the empty rooms. She backs away and turns toward the living room, where most lights are off. “Mom?” No answer. “Mom, where are you?”Sunshine makes her way towards one of the back door and frowns. It’s gaping out into the darkness of night, cold air flowing in. “Why is the door open?” she mutters, more to herself than anyone else. Sunshine feels that prickle of adrenaline rush through her veins we she sticks her head in the backyard. “Mom?” The sprinkling of rain is quiet, but Sunshine has a harder time hearing out here.She slides the glass door shut and turns. A gasp wrenches from her throat and she jerks back when Victoria is suddenly standing in front of her.“It’s okay,” Victoria says. “Sunshine.” She shakes her head softly and sighs. “I need you to understand how important it is to determine the difference between what is real, and what is paranormal.”Sunshine narrows her eyes but says nothing.Victoria continues. “That— that wasn’t your mother screaming.”“What do you mean?” she asks, panic rising. “Is my mom okay?”“She’s fine,” Victoria assures as Sunshine backs away. “She’s okay.” A breath. “What I mean is that, there is a difference, and that difference is whether you can hear something or whether you can feel it. And when you feel it, that means that it’s real. Do you understand that?”“Y-yeah,” Sunshine stutters, unsure of what to say. She did notice the lack of feeling in her gut — the hint that her mother’s screaming wasn’t even real in the first place. But she can’t always tell. It’s hard to tell, with everything she’s been through. Sunshine can’t help it if she feels like her mom is still possessed sometimes. “Why can’t— my mother hear us?”“Because I’ve created it so that she can’t hear us. That’s— that’s one of the powers that I acquire.”“W-will I have— that power—?”Victoria nods and gives a small smile. “Yes you will.”“Oh.”“You’ll have— you’ll have many powers.”“Oh,” Sunshine dumbly says again.“You just have to learn them.” Victoria turns away and walks back into the living room.“Wait.” Sunshine starts following. “Victoria, wait!”She turns around.Sunshine’s heart pumps heavily against her ribcage as she stares at Victoria. The question burns on her tongue, and she realizes that she has to ask. If she doesn’t, she...she may never get an explanation. “Why did you help kill Anna?”Victoria’s face morphs into one of grief and distress. “Because... like you, I didn’t know the difference.” Her voice breaks and she swallows hard. “I thought what I was hearing was real. And I was just doing what I was told.” She whirls around and walks through the shadows, opening the front door.“Victoria...” Sunshine whispers.She leaves.Sunshine sighs. I really wish she would stop coming and going like that. She raises her brows. Couldn’t she just knock like a normal person? No, apparently not.
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“So, apparently,” Kat begins as she sits beside Sunshine in the living room, looking at the camera, “you guys like— follow up videos, or something?”Sunshine makes a face. “Yeah, they always have.”“And so— they always have?”“Yeah.”“Okay, so—”“So,” Sunshine interrupts her mother, “this is a— recap.”Kat nods. “Follow up. To last night’s... craziness.”“Yep.”“That was— bizarre. If you didn’t watch it yet, you need to go back and watch it.”Sunshine nods. “Stop watching this one and go watch it.”“Yeah, just go right now.” Kat waves her hand. “Cause, there was some crazy stuff with— Victoria and— she— she’s crazy.”Sunshine raises her brows. “Sometimes.”Kat stutters uncertainly. “I— I don’t know, I don’t know— I don’t know what she is, I don’t know if she’s real, I don’t know if she’s a ghost, I don’t know— but she’s crazy, I know that part.”Sunshine looks at the camera. “She has weird powers.”Her mother nods. “She does have weird powers, she has powers and— like, is she— I don’t understand, is she supposed to be your mentor? Is she—?”“Yeah, I don’t know. Kinda.”“I don’t know that I want her to be your mentor.”“Yeah, should we file in for another one?” Sunshine says sarcastically. “I mean, I like Victoria, but I just...”“I— you do?” Kat’s eyes widen and she looks at her daughter incredulously. “You like her?”“Okay, well.” Sunshine tries not to smirk. “Sometimes. I— I don’t know!” She looks back at her mother. “I feel like you’re judging me.”“No, no, mmm—” Kat sighs. “Please. I’m your mother, I don’t judge you. I— I’m still scared of her. Is that— is that normal? I dunno. And there’s so much we still don’t know or understand about her, and I feel like every time she— appears, we know less, not more.”Sunshine hums. “Yeah, that’s...” She nods. Good point.“Are you scared of her...? You’re supposed to have, like, powers. Maybe you’re not supposed to be scared of her.”“I don’t know.” Sunshine shrugs. “I’m not really...scared of her—”“You’re not really scared of anything,” Kat grunts.“Yeah. Well.”Her mother scoffs and shakes her head. “Crazy.”Sunshine looks at the camera in boredom. “So that was all our thoughts.”Kat purses her lips. “I’m sure they have thoughts.”“Yes.”Her mother points at the camera. “If you have thoughts, share ‘em, I guess.”“There you go. That was nice. Good— good ending.”The YouTube people will be....happy.
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“All right,” Sunshine says, camera in hand, mother beside her. This is going to be one hell of a video. “So...” She’s smirking. “Mom has decided—”“Decided?” Kat looks dubious and amused. She smiles. “Agreed.”“That’s better.”Sunshine sticks her tongue out. “To—”“She has something on me.”Sunshine looks at her mother with a strange look. “To— answer questions on camera. About....my dad.”“I don’t— is that—”Sunshine grins widely.Kat laughs. “I didn’t think it was gonna be about your dad.” She looks down then back up. “Can we talk about something else?” Her voice gets higher. “Let’s talk about boys.”Sunshine makes a face. “No.”“Choose?”“No.”“Please?”“No.”“Okay.” Kat looks away.“So...” Sunshine starts awkwardly. “Dad.”Kat shrugs. “What do you wanna know?”Sunshine blinks. “Was he part of paranormal cult stuff?” she asks obviously.Her mother is silent for a moment. “Yes,” she finally says sarcastically, “that’s why I hooked up with him—”Sunshine makes a disgusted, weird face.“I— no,” Kat says. “No. This is gonna be a really short video. He— was a really, really cute, sexy—”Sunshine jerks back with another weird face, caught off guard.“—bad boy, and I— I was young and stupid, and— it’s like a classic 80s movie story. There’s no— no, there’s no— he was totally— not paranormal-y.”Sunshine stares at her mom like she just said she wants to eat pizza with mustard on it.“He was just a cool— he was just a cool guy that ended up being a total jerk.”She raises a brow.“This story has been told a thousand times.”“So....nothing,” Sunshine finally says, looking at her mother, “to do with the cult.”“No.”“But Victoria said my dad might’ve been a—”Her mother is lost.“—Luiseach at one time....?”Kat sighs. “She also told you to sacrifice her. Do we really believe everything she says? Do you think she knew your dad?”“I don’t know,” Sunshine says.“I barely knew your dad.”Sunshine looks around like she’s been accused of something. “Okay.”“And no, he never said, ‘By the way, I like beer and I’m a Luiseach.’ No. No. I’m sorry. I— what, did you want him to be, did that help you—?”“No, I was just wondering!” she replies, scratching her eye. “Okay? Sorry. Jeez.”“No.”“‘Kay.” Sunshine takes hold of the camera. “That was all guys. So.”“Told you it’d be short.”“There you go.” Sunshine squints and makes a face at her mom.Well. At least Creepy Guy isn’t her dad.
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So, Sunshine hasn’t heard or seen Nolan in a while, but that kid is pretty erratic, so she’s sure he’s doing good. He’s done this before, so. Really, nothing to worry about, he’ll come back around eventually. She is TOTALLY not worried. And she totally does not miss him. Nope. Not at all.Also, her toy unicorn hasn’t moved in a while. She kinda wonders where Anna is. And she kinda wants to name the unicorn. He’s very majestic.Anyways.Everything is going great.Yay. Wonderful. Blah.⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine hears a noise.As per usual, Sunshine grabs her camera, turns her lamp on, and hits record. Except now her lamp won’t turn on. Great. This shit only happens in horror movies, so it looks like she’s gonna die.Luckily she has her flashlight cause she is a nerd and sometimes gets scared of the dark. Whatever. Sue her.Sunshine pans the light around the room, narrowing her eyes. What did she hear earlier? When she flicks the flashlight toward her open door, a face is peering at her, but quickly disappears.Sunshine jerks. “Victoria? Is that you?” She tries to feel for something in her belly, but....there’s nothing. “Victoria..?”There’s a shadow and Victoria slowly walks into her room. “Victoria.” The hair on Sunshine’s neck stands up when she hears the inhuman, demonic growl. “What are you doing? Why are you in my house?”Victoria suddenly screams and runs forward, arms outstretched and jaw widening into a horrific snarl. Sunshine rolls from the bed and cries out, stumbling to her feet and running down the stairs. The adrenaline is pushing her forward and she stops in the kitchen, a scream running her throat raw when she sees Victoria again.“Sunshine,” she says softly. “It’s okay.”Sunshine is crying. She can’t help the tears rolling down her cheeks or her shaking hands.“This is me. This is the real me. That up there was not the real me.” Sunshine can’t find it in herself to respond.“You need to be able to determine what is real and what is not.” Victoria’s tone is serious. “They’re getting desperate. The Markons are getting desperate because they know that your power is getting stronger. Are you all right?”She’s breathing heavily, but at least she’s stopped crying. Somehow, Victoria is managing to calm her down. Great. Wonderful. This is just splendid.“Mmhm,” Sunshine eventually gets out shakily.“Promise me,” Victoria says.“Mmhm.” Sunshine nods.“Okay.” Victoria sighs. “Please, just be careful. Stay focused. Trust your instincts. Be aware of any Groundlings that come around because they are going to.”Sunshine shivers with fear. “Okay...”“Do you hear me?”“Mmhm,” she nods quickly.“This is very important.”“Okay.”“Okay, I’m gonna go.” Victoria turns and walks into the living room, opening and closing the front door behind her.“Okay,” Sunshine whispers, staring out at the empty living room.She’s really too damn tired for this.

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So. Victoria’s here. She wants to talk about.... something. Sunshine isn’t sure what of, but she really hopes it concerns Victoria’s breaking and entering of their house. Seriously. It’s creepy.Sunshine peels open the door and shakily breathes in. “Hi,” she says to her.“Hey.” Victoria walks inside.“Come on in,” she mutters. “Just...seat yourself.”Victoria sits on the gray wrap-around couch.“Uhhh..” Sunshine walks towards her. “Do you want a— water, or juice, or—?”“No.”“I made cookies if you—”“No.” Victoria almost looks amused.Sunshine sighs. “Okay.” She sits to the right of Victoria, turning her body to face her. Silence. “So, uh,” she says. “I just wanted to— invite you here, I guess, and ask you some questions that— I know I’m wondering, but— other people, y’know, are wondering too, so...” She looks down. “Which is, I guess, start with the really obvious ones, uh— do you wanna hurt me?” She says it in an almost fearfully anticipated way.Victoria shakes her head, like she can’t even imagine doing something like that. “No. Of course not.” She pauses, then her voice quiets as she looks away, “I never wanted to hurt anyone.” Sunshine stumbles over her words when Victoria looks back over at her. “In— that video, the one with Anna, and with— how do you know Anna?”Victoria breathes in deeply. “Well. Sunshine, this— this might be hard for you to understand, but, the reason I know Anna is because... she’s my daughter.”“She’s your—” Sunshine’s eyes widen. “She’s your daughter, but— in— in that film, and all the videos—”Victoria closes her eyes with regret and reopens them, staring at Sunshine.“—you— you’re— it’s so old, and you’re young right now..”She nods slowly. “I know— I know this must be very confusing to you, but— I’m stuck here and I did something horrible—” Victoria’s voice shakes, “to my daughter. Something I can’t take back. And it’s hard for me to even understand sometimes, because at the time I thought I knew what was right and what I was doing and— it turns out that I didn’t know anything at all. Anna’s father was....completely evil, and I just went along with it, thinking that it was the right thing, and it was not.”Victoria breathes in sharply as she continues. “And because of me, she’s stuck too, but she’s not as stuck as I am. I can’t move forward. I can’t pass on like she has the option of doing.” Victoria looks down, clearly trying not to let her emotions bleed through. “So....I wanted to somehow help her, protect her in some way, so I made a deal. And...that deal’s that I would...be stuck. But I could watch over her. Try and help her. But I can only do so much. You remember how— how I told you about being an Awaken?”Sunshine thinks of Nolan and nods slowly. “Y-yeah.”“How you acquire certain paranormal powers? As you’ve seen, I have acquired some of those, but I haven’t acquired all of the ones that I need.” Victoria looks up at Sunshine. “But you can help her.”“Help her—” Sunshine shakes her head. “How?”“I need your help, Sunshine,” Victoria says roughly, sniffling. “You don’t realize that you have a lot more powers than you are aware of. You just don’t know how to use them. I don’t have those powers. But— I need your help, so that I can help Anna.”“I— I’ll help, I just don’t know how, I— I don’t even know how to use my powers.”“I’m gonna introduce you to someone. It was my Mentor that— tried to make things a little more clear for me. They’ll tell you what to do.”“O-okay,” Sunshine nods, shaking. “Okay, I—”“That’s enough.” Victoria stands and goes toward the door, closing it behind her.Well.It looks like she’s gonna help Victoria and Anna and meet a Mentor.She’s slightly confused.
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“All right, guys, so.” Sunshine is sitting in the study where she had filmed her introduction with Nolan in the BEK film. And guess who’s sitting right beside her? Yep, you guessed it. He’s wearing a gray sweater over a green shirt and has blue jeans on. At least he’s discarded his black leather jacket for once in his life. His ashen-brown hair is slicked back with gel or something she really doesn’t care about. He’s really trying to hard to be manly, with the way he’s sitting and acting and all that. “Today we’re here with the— man—” She gestures to Nolan. The YouTube people will love this. He waves with a smile, “you’ve been all— wanting to see again— man? Boy? Boy? Man? Are you a man or a boy?” Sunshine looks over at him.Nolan’s smile slowly fades and he scrutinizes her for her comment. “Man,” he says. “I’m a man.”She looks at him dubiously.“I’m a man, why would you ask that?” Nolan’s voice gets high and he shrugs a shoulder back. “A man.” He narrows his eyes.“You just seems like you’re on the— the pathway to becoming a man, you’re not— you’re like on the bridge, like, mmmehh.” Sunshine makes a vague motion with her hands. Nolan looks at her like she’s stupid and he’s needing to prove his point. “No, I’m a man. I’ve been a man since 1967. How can you be 65 years old and not a man?”“That was quick math, that’s nice, let’s clear that up everyone.” She looks at the camera and Nolan looks unamused. “He is not 65.”He looks at Sunshine but side-eyes the camera. “Okay, well you don’t have to tell them—”“He’s not, he was joking, ‘kay?”“Shh, shhhh, shh,” Nolan says as Sunshine again gestures to him. “I wanna be the best looking 65 year old man on the planet.” He swings his head and grins.She stares at him. “You’re stupid.”His smile drops.“So how about you tell everyone where you’ve uh— you’ve been, Nolan. Go ahead. Tell them.”“Well.” Nolan dramatically clears his throat. “Y’know, a boy’s gotta— a man’s gotta eat.”Sunshine raises her brows at the camera and rolls her eyes.“And in order to eat, a man needs to work. In order to— work— a man needs to find a job, I found a job.”She looks slightly amused, trying not to smile. “Tell everyone where you work.”He looks her up and down. “No.”“Yes.”“Wh- why?”“Because. Tell everyone. Just tell them.” They exchange a glance and Sunshine smirks.Nolan mumbles something unintelligible to the camera.“Did you hear that?” she says sarcastically to the camera. “I don’t, I don’t think they heard that.”“I work at a hotdog cart!” he says, waving his hands.Sunshine laughs.“I’m a sausage salesman, slinger of—”“He sells—”“Sausage,” they say in unison. She raises a brow. “Stop rhyming. Or, I guess it’s not rhyming.”“It’s alliteration.”“Whatever. Anyway,” Sunshine says louder, “so while you’ve been gone, selling....hotdogs...”“Mmhm.”“Victoria has come and gone and gone and come and—” She looks at him. “She’s bringing me a Mentor.”Nolan raises his brows and nods slowly. “You get a Mentor?”“Yeah, I do.”He looks jealous. “What do Awakens get?”“Nothing.”“Well—” Nolan looks away, disappointed. “Oh.”“Didn’t you read? Luiseach gets a Mentor and a Protector.”“Yeah, yeah.” He shakes his head and smiles condescendingly. “You’re very special.”“Mmhm. I know. If you were around more often, you’d find out.”“Well,” he defends, “this place is terrifying. Creepy. It’s— I don’t know, it makes me just feel uncomfortable.”“Why do you—” Sunshine jerks when a small, pink-laced drawer falls on her. She groans.Nolan leans forward and touches her arm, then retracts his hand and points toward the drawer. “See, that’s the— sort of thing that I’m talking about, see, with the— falling and—” Sunshine makes her way behind the camera and Nolan stands, putting fallen books back in their places, “ridiculous goings on of the poltergeest.”“Poltergeest? That was your word?”He looks back at her.“Things aren’t gonna happen, okay?”Nolan makes a face like he already knows. “I am aware of that, but it seems to be happening more often recently.”“Oh, whatever. Quit whining.” She pads to her chair. “Well, I feel like this has already been much too long of a video everyone, so.” She sits down and Nolan does too, but he’s out of the shot. “Thanks for joining us. Again.”Nolan sticks his hand in the frame of the camera and waves.Sunshine leans to the side. “It’s over here now,” she says, pushing his hand away, “they probably can’t even see you. Bye, guys.”Nolan waves again.⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine’s casually reading in the living room in the middle of the afternoon when she hears footsteps upstairs. She grabs her camera and listens hard, then hears them again. Oh, shit. Anna?Might as well call out now. “Anna?” she asks loudly. “Is that you?”No answer, of course.She feels like she should go upstairs, but is that really a good idea? No, probably not. The second she makes it to the top the door at the bottom will slam behind her. “Anna?” Sunshine calls again, making her way into the kitchen.Heavy knocking at the door causes Sunshine to breathe in harshly. She narrows her eyes and looks out the window. Oh. My. God.“Hey!” Sunshine says, opening the door.“Hey, how you doing?” Uncle Tommy asks with a bright smile.“Good, how are you?”He walks inside. “Good.”She grins like a little kid getting candy and they tightly hug. “He’s back.”“Hi,” Tommy giggles. “It’s good to see you.”“Good to see you too.”“Whatcha been up to?” He leans against the wall.“Oh, not much.”“Yeah.”“Yeah, I mean.” Sunshine shrugs. “Have you watched the videos at all? Victoria and...”“No, I’ve been watching a lot of Whitney Houston videos actually.” He smiles. “A lot of—” She rolls her eyes. “Makes sense, I guess, I’ll forgive you.”He laughs. “Okay, thanks.”“Yeah, no problem.” Sunshine smiles. “So...yeah.”“So Victoria...?”“Yeah, she’s back and she’s crazy and yelling—”Tommy looks slightly concerned.“—and then she’s fine, and then she’s bringing me a Mentor, and then she’s—”Tommy looks confused and tries not to laugh as he listens along.“—uh, y’know, I have to help her and—”The front door closes on its own.“Oh.” Tommy makes a face as he looks at the door. “Some things never change.”She sighs.Tommy clicks his tongue. “It’s good to be back, kiddo.”“I know,” Sunshine chuckles. Awesome.

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Victoria’s here.Kat crosses her arms as she looks at Victoria suspiciously. Beside her is her Mentor, a well-dressed man in a gray suit and red and black tie. He has a rounded face, blonde hair, and dark blue eyes.The Mentor glances at Victoria then returns his gaze to Sunshine. “Victoria just told me about your running commentary.”“You mean my.... camera? Um- yeah.”“Look.” The Mentor and Victoria get closer. Kat takes the camera. “That machine-” He looks at the screen, “it’s not gonna save you from the Markons.”“I- already figured that out,” she says, looking the man up and down.“Sunshine,” Victoria scolds. “You need to listen to your Mentor. He’s here to help you.”He narrows his eyes and adjusts his tie, circling around Sunshine and inspecting her.“Okay,” Sunshine says, trying to ignore the weird dude, “I’m sorry, I’m listening, I just...” She sighs.The Mentor frowns as he returns next to Victoria’s side. “We’ve got a long way to go.”Sunshine raises a brow. “What, you don’t—” She looks down at her shoes sarcastically. “Like my outfit?”“Sunshine,” Kat says.She grunts and rolls her eyes. “I’m sorry, it’s all so weird, it’s— very formal. I feel judged.”The Mentor sighs. “Well, we can train you soon. Right now, we just need to make sure that you’re strong enough. This demon, it’s very powerful. And- I mean- if you don’t defeat it...” He looks at Victoria. “We could lose Anna.”Demon.Demon as in....Groundling...? Jesus, she has absolutely no idea what’s going on. Seriously, even just that word fills her with immense dread. Sunshine looks at her mother to make sure she’s fine before looking back at the Mentor.“It waits for you as well,” he says. “Wait.” Sunshine looks at Victoria. “Is this the same demon from the ritual?”“No. That- that was a lesser demon,” the Mentor explains, shifting his weight. “This one? It doesn’t care about family history, your ritual, or bargaining. This one- it- it’s patient.”“Great,” she mutters.“Look. Right now, the most important thing is just making sure that you’re powerful enough. Otherwise? We’ll surely fail against this demon.” He touches his chest. “And, if we fail, we could lose you, we could lose Anna.”“Well...so, what should we do?” Her mind is reeling, trying to figure out the best course of action. Sometimes Sunshine really wishes she wasn’t a Luiseach.The Mentor leans closer to Victoria and mutters something, but it almost looks like they’re talking without speaking or something. He nods and shifts away. “I think- I’ll bring over a couple ghosts.”Victoria nods.“What?” Kat says.“Just- just to hone her skills,” he explains gently. A sigh as he looks at Victoria. “She’s gonna be hard to train. She’s young, and she has a lot of distraction. And- honestly- I’m not even sure if she’s the one to save Anna.” He adjusts his tie again. “But, only time will tell.”Victoria nods tersely, looking at Sunshine as she walks by. “She’ll be ready.” They both head toward the front door.“Wait, where are you going?” Kat asks.Neither respond, exiting without another word.“That’s it?” her mother says, turning toward Sunshine. Kat scoffs. “What do you mean send over a ghost or two?”Sunshine cocks a brow. “Did you hear what he said about me?”“Well- yeah, I was here, but.... what?”“I don’t like him already, he’s very nervous and...” She moves her hand. “Fidgety, and...weird, I dunno.”Kat sighs. “Very weird.”Very weird indeed.
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They’re just sitting in the living room, watching TV, when there’s a noise upstairs. Sunshine faves the camera towards she and her mother, frowning.“Do you think it’s Anna?” Kat asks.“I don’t know. Could be anything.”“Try calling her.”Sunshine breathes in. “Anna, is that you?” She stands up.“Wait,” Kat says. “Where are you going?”“Well- we can’t just sit here.”“Maybe this is the training the Mentor was talking about.”“I don’t really think that’s what he meant.” Kat stands up to and flanks Sunshine. “Well, he said he was gonna send ghosts over!”“Yeah, and he said he was gonna hone my powers.” She looks dubious and turns the camera around, walking toward the kitchen.“I think maybe this is the honing part.”“I don’t think so.” She reaches for that feeling in her gut and clamps down on it, thinking about how effortlessly it worked when trying to find Nolan in the warehouse. Now, it seems like a dull flame, trapped and small and unable to even flicker.It kinda sucks, but maybe less so if she can stop seeing Mr. Weird Mentor.They make it to the base of the stairs and begin to walk up, Sunshine leading. “Anna?” she calls again, really really hoping that it’s Anna and not another demon. Yeah, that’s great, let’s get Mom possessed again! “Are you there?” Silence. “I don’t hear it anymore...”Now upstairs, Sunshine frowns. “Anna?” She turns to look at the base of the stairs. “I feel like that door’s gonna close.”“What?” Kat turns as well. “Why?”“I don’t know. I just do.”The door slams and wind sweeps up into their faces. Kat jerks back, caught off guard, but Sunshine manages to breathe in calmly. Okay, maybe her power still works, at least a little bit.Kat looks at Sunshine. “How did you know that?”“I don’t know.” She feels far away, like she can’t even hear her mother’s voice. Everything is rushing to her skull and the headache is growing. “Anna? Are you there? Can you open the door?”“What?” Kat mutters, more to herself than anyone.The door handle clicks and it swings open, gentler than before. Sunshine makes her way back down the stairs, trying to smile. “Anna.”“Get out of my house,” something snarls in her ear, and the door slams shut right in her face. The lights flicker out and Sunshine is knocked off of her feet. A wail rips from her throat and she hears Kat scream as she hits the ground.“Where are the lights?!” Kat exclaims, rushing forward to open the door. Sunshine scrambles to her feet and follows, heart pumping out of her chest as they return to the living room. “What was that?! Why did she turn off the lights?”“I don’t know,” Sunshine says. She stares at her mother and feels... dissociated. Like she’s not even on the same plane as Kat. She didn’t hear what I did. That was a man’s voice.“I don’t think that was Anna,” Kat whispers.“Whatever it is, it’s angry.... much angrier.”
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Sunshine is standing outside because she wants to talk to the camera without her mother hearing. She received a pretty weird phone call from a guy. He left a message but Sunshine didn’t answer. She doesn’t answer numbers she doesn’t know. Safety, y’know?Anyway. She listened to the message and he claimed to know her father and said he really wanted to see her and he was ill and— well, Sunshine can’t even remember all of it, but it was a long message.It was weird. Kinda creepy. She eventually called back and no one answered. They didn’t even have a voicemail.She’s really not sure what to think.
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Sunshine hears a noise at the door. She narrows her eyes when something seems to slide up against it. “M- om?” she asks, trying to control her fear and push it out of her voice. She’s fine! She isn’t a little girl! She’s a Luiseach, she has Victoria and the Mentor and Kat and Nolan and Uncle Tommy on her side.She’s fine.“Mom,” Sunshine says, putting more force into her voice. “What are you doing?”The sliding noise begins again.Sunshine doesn’t think it’s her mom. The door jerks forward like someone is trying to open it. She curls her legs up and stares. “Anna? Anna, what’s wrong?”“Get out of my house.” The lamp beside Sunshine throws itself from her dresser and falls to the ground. She jumps to her feet and backs away, listening for another voice. Nothing. She opens the door and peers outside.Nothing there, either.She really doesn’t know what’s going on.
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Uh, so, it’s super early and Nolan just decided to drop by. He’s acting weird — weirder than usual, which is saying a lot — and has something to tell her.He’s probably just being dumb.“Go ahead,” she says, watching him pace back in forth in the usual black leather jacket.“Sunshine,” Nolan says, continuing to tread in the living room, “I hang out with you a lot, right, on your adventures and stuff?”“Yeah...”“That’s fine. I’m happy to do it, right? You’re my friend. Okay?”“Okay...”“But when I sleep? That’s my time.” He leans forward and stares at her. Sunshine raises her brows. “Okay? When I’m unconscious, I can’t—” He waves his hands around his head, “be worrying about all of this stuff, I need, y’know, to regain my energy. Rebuild— cells, that sort of thing.”She watches him, unamused.He sits down across from her and places his palms together on the table. “I can’t be dreaming about all of this.” Nolan looks around the living room. “Okay? I need a break once in a while, even if that’s in the middle of the night.”“You’re— dreaming about what?”Nolan leans back in the chair and looks at her for a minute, contemplating his words. “About—” He raises his arm and it drops back on his leg. “You. And— your dad. And—” He looks forward, probably imagining it in his head, “a weird— pooch lookin’ thing on the— leash, with horns.”“What?” she asks, shaking her head in confusion. “You have dreams about me? That- that’s a little creepy. You shouldn’t.”He looks at her, saying nothing for a moment. “Yeah, well, y’know, uh. Pfft. Sorry about that.” Nolan leans up again. “Sorry if that offends you. But— I don’t enjoy them either, okay?”“Okay. ‘Kay.”“Look, what went down was—” Nolan clears his throat and stares forward, squinting, “there was your dad.” He pushes his hand into a ball, like he’s holding a leash. “There was a— little dog.”“Okay, a dog.”“With, like, wings and— weird stuff, it was on a leash, and— he kept saying, y’know—” Nolan taps the table with a finger. “‘We’re coming for you.’ Just, over and over again.” He frowns, not looking at her. “I don’t like it. It makes me uncomfortable.”“Okay, I got that,” Sunshine says, glancing back at his narrowed gaze. “Is that it? That was all?”He shrugs. “Yeah, I mean I’m- there- there were other things that don’t, y’know, apply, there were clowns, and—” Nolan scratches his forehead. “I was flying at one point, and— the Grand Canyon—”“Okay,” she tries to interrupt, because she doesn’t really care about this part.“—A lot of it actually wasn’t so bad, it was just, y’know.” He glares at her. “Overpowering. The abrasiveness with which that dream overshadowed all the others.”“Okay, I get it.” She sighs. So Nolan had a dream about her dad and they’re— coming?She really just doesn’t know anymore.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine heard something.The power’s out and it’s late in the night. She holds a flashlight shakily, narrowing her eyes as she tries to figure out what’s going on. This feels oddly familiar, and reminds her of the times when they first moved into the house; when the power would cut out, the ghosts would attack, the bathroom...Crazy to think it’s been a year and four months since then.Sunshine freezes when her flashlight falls on a shape slumped in her chair. Black hair falls over pale skin and, telling by the gray jacket, it’s Victoria.There’s a lump in her throat. “Victoria?” Sunshine says cautiously. “It’s all your fault,” Victoria is crying, looking down at the ground as she mutters the words over and over again.Sunshine narrows her eyes. “Victoria. What’s wrong?”“It’s all your fault....” she repeats to herself. Sunshine frowns. “Victoria...” She makes her way in front of the woman, eyes going wide when she snaps her head up to look at Sunshine.“I will never forgive you for this,” Victoria snarls, “and neither will your father.”The door slams open and Sunshine jumps, caught off guard. When Sunshine looks back at the chair, she’s gone. “Victoria?” Something deep within Sunshine pulses and tells her that...this isn’t Victoria. “Where are you?” What does she mean, anyway, by ‘I’ll never forgive you for this’? How does Victoria know her father?!She shakes her head and stumbles out into the hallway. “Victoria,” she calls again, feeling lightheaded as she walks. Sunshine squints and nearly doubles over when she sees Uncle Tommy standing at the foot of the stairs, face coated in a mixture of blood and — and is that the plant compost?“Uncle Tommy?” she asks, horrified. Sunshine’s hands begin to shake and she takes slow steps down the stairs. Is this real? Or...or fake? How does she even tell?!When Sunshine is five steps from the bottom, Uncle Tommy turns and disappears behind the wall. Sunshine quickly follows, peering through the darkness of the house. “Uncle Tommy.” A whine catches in her throat when she sees him standing in the living room, looking the same.A moan catches in her ear and Sunshine whips around, eyes wide. A woman with long, black hair stands in the kitchen, a pale white dress covering her body. That familiar feeling of fear burns in Sunshine’s chest but she tries to push it away, tries to focus on using her powers or— or something! “Who are you?”“Sunshine,” Uncle Tommy whispers in her ear. She turns and he’s suddenly screaming in her face, voice demonic as it echoes in her ears. Sunshine screams and drops to the ground, throwing her hands on her head.Silence.She stays crying for a moment, but eventually finds the strength to regain herself. Sunshine stands to her feet, trembling, and picks up her camera and flashlight. No one is in the house, at least that she can see.Sunshine makes a sweep through the house— at least, downstairs. No one. She makes her way back upstairs and touches her hand to her chest, feeling her beating heart.Things are definitely changing.
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Yeah. So. About last night.She called Uncle Tommy and he was out of town, so he couldn’t have been in her kitchen cause he was, y’know, gone. So that’s... not comforting in any way. Even if she doesn’t want Uncle Tommy in her kitchen spewing brown crap out of his mouth, it still would’ve been more comforting if it was actually him and not a ghost or a demon or— whatever.Next, the old lady ghost, or, whatever— is she one of Sunshine’s original 32, or is she a new one that the Mentor happened to just drop by with? Seriously, they’re not labeled, it’s not easy to tell.And then Victoria was yelling at her and Uncle Tommy was yelling at her, then they’re both gone, then they’re there, then they’re gone— jeez. Sunshine feels like the tone of things are changing. It’s getting— darker? More sinister?Fuck. She’s got nothing.
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Sunshine’s just gotten off the phone with the guy who called the first time, wondering and saying all this stuff about her dad, and— well, he called back, and this time, she answered.He started talking immediately and said Sunshine was trusting the wrong people. And she was just kinda like: Huh. Who am I trusting that’s wrong? Why are they the wrong people to trust? She thought it was weird.Then the weird dude said, ‘They failed the first time getting what they want from you, they won’t fail again.’ Um. Great.Sunshine doesn’t know what that means, either.
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“So— my Mentor’s here.” Sunshine holds the camera up to him. He’s dressed a little less formal than before, but still looks — well. Formal. “Wh- what is the point of that?” Mentor asks, motioning toward the camera. He looks more annoyed than anything.“What?” Sunshine asks.He motions again. “Your electronic device.”“My... camera..? It’s just for recording stuff.”Mentor raises his brows. “But it doesn’t make you any stronger?”“No, I don’t...think so,” she says, making a face. Seriously, are these people from the thirteenth century or something?Mentor crosses his arms. “Well, then you must get rid of it.”“Get rid of it? You mean, just, focus entirely on the paranormal and nothing else?” Sunshine says this in a bored voice.He nods. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”She snorts.Mentor looks down in slight aggravation. “Look,” he tries, “the abilities that you have— this gift— not very many people in this world have it. Focusing your—” Mentor squints, “skills on trivial things, such as this?” He points at the screen, shrugging. “It’s only going to slow you down.”“I don’t have any abilities, or I don’t feel like I do, other than just being haunted.”“Well then, see, we’re gonna work on that today.” Mentor takes a step back, looking serious. “How have things been?”“Worse.” She puts some venom in her words, making sure he knows he’s causing this— mental breakdown she’s having right now.He smiles. “Good.”
Good?!
“It’ll help out your senses. Now, today? We’re gonna work on your abilities. Now, if you will, walk to the end of the room.”“Okay,” she mutters, setting the camera down.“As Victoria instructed you,” Mentor goes on, “you have to learn to feel. You have to learn to feel trust. This world- this world that you’re so used to, you’re so familiar with—” He sighs. “It’s not how you imagined it at all.”Sunshine stands across the living room, staring at him. “Is that what we’re working on today..?”“Not quite.” Mentor crosses his hands together. “This is must more simple. What I need you to do is I need you to move from there—” He motions toward her position, “to here—” Mentor waves his hand by his side, “next to me, without walking.”“...without walking?”“That’s right. Without walking.”“Can I... jump?”Mentor has that aggravated look again. “No,” he says. “You need to bend the space between you and I, and come next to me.”“Bend the space between us?” Sunshine repeats dubiously. “Like— a gap between us?”“Exactly.” He shifts on his weight.“Exactly, okay,” she mutters sarcastically. “Well. I have no idea how to do that!”Mentor holds out a hand. “All you have to do is concentrate.”“Okay. I’ll concentrate.” Sunshine claps her hands and breathes in, fidgeting. She snorts again because this— this is truly unbelievable. She still has doubts about even being a Luiseach, I mean, what if she doesn’t have powers? Besides, she probably looks like an idiot right now.She starts to laugh.“Look, Sunshine.” Mentor frowns deeply. “Much like your abilities— the light inside you— it just, it’ll happen. This ability, it’ll just happen. And all you have to do...is focus.” He swings his arms out to his side and steps back, more annoyed than before. “That’s it.”“Okay. Okay,” she says, huffing. He turns and walks out the door.Sunshine blinks a few times and sighs, walking over to the camera. “Apparently I have the ability to transport myself places.”Wonderful.⠀⠀⠀
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It’s night again, nearly a week after her ‘training’ with the Mentor, and the paranormal activity is starting again.Sunshine jumps when a lamp clashes downstairs. She narrows her eyes. “Mom?”“Everything’s fine, Sunshine. Come down,” Kat calls back.That doesn’t sound like my mom. Ice flicks through her veins and she pads into the hallway, looking down the dark, creepy stairwell. Is this another instance of— of telling what’s real apart from what’s paranormal? Maybe this is paranormal?“She is mine,” a male voice snarls in her ear, and Sunshine jumps. The door— as usual— slams shut, and Jesus she’s gonna have to face her fears again, isn’t she?Sunshine breathes heavily as she walks down. “Open the door!” she commands, pushing as much force into her voice as she can. It opens in front of her, but now the kitchen lights are off. No one is here.“Mom?” she asks. Sunshine’s eyes widen when she sees the same ghost from before— the old lady in her white dress— hovering in the living room, dark hair covering her face. Dark eyes shine back.The lamp next to one of the windows begins to rock back and forth. “I come from hell,” the demonic male growl returns, and the lamp topples over, showering the room in darkness.“Agh!” Sunshine trips over her own legs and grunts when she hits the floor. In the red light of her camera, she sees the flashlight reflected off the floor. She must’ve dropped it last time and forgotten to find it. Sunshine reaches forward and grabs it, clicking the light on as she jumps to her feet, camera in hand.Again, no one is here.Sunshine groans softly and places a palm on her forehead. “Jesus...” she mutters. The headache has returned, pulsing and beating under her skull, and she could just about fall over and pass out right now. Sunshine turns into the kitchen and screams when Kat, Nolan, and Uncle Tommy stand before her, mouths gaping open into terrifying yells, the plant compost dripping from their jaws.She reels back and runs up the stairs back into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. Sunshine slides into her bed and squeezes her eyes shut when the door rattles. “Who’s there? What do you want?” she asks harshly.Sunshine hears something under her bed. She freezes, turns her head, and screams when pale bony arms crawl from underneath her.
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Sunshine’s fine. She’s totally fine. Everyone really doesn’t need to be here to support her for last night’s events, but...they are.Great.Kat smiles next to Sunshine. “We’ll protect you.”“Keep you company, mostly,” Nolan nods, sitting on the other side of the wrap-around couch. His hair has grown out a bit.“Good,” Uncle Tommy says beside Nolan, pushing his head up by his hand, “you’re not really good for protecting anything.” He laughs and Nolan glares at him.“Neither are you,” she mutters.“Hey!” Uncle Tommy laughs, looking at Sunshine. “I totally saved your life, like, twice now.”Kat sighs. “No, we’re just here to support you. We don’t want you to be.... afraid.” She smiles softly and hugs her. “Last night was scary for you.”“Well, yes, it was. But...” Sunshine shakes her head and pushes her fingers back up to her forehead. Why does she feel so dizzy?“Just to be clear,” Uncle Tommy says, “that wasn’t us, last night. We saw the video and none of us were there.”“I have a perfect alibi,” Nolan nods seriously, looking at Sunshine. “At the time I was— I was in your kitchen— with— stuff in my mouth.” He smiles because oh, he’s funny, apparently.Uncle Tommy laughs and rolls his eyes. “Shut your face, dude.”Nolan grins like a little kid and they both giggle together.“Anyways...” Sunshine says, smiling softly. Something inside her just...feels weird. Feels wrong. She can’t put her finger on it, but it’s making her so tired and she hardly wants to talk to anyone anymore.And now Nolan will be running his mouth off forever and will never leave her side again. Great.“I wonder if it’s something the Mentor sent over,” Kat suggests.Yeah. Maybe. Can she refund that?

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Everyone’s really taking their ‘protect Sunshine’ job way too seriously. Oh, also, she’s sick.“We are protecting you,” Uncle Tommy says. “We’re all here for you,” Kat quips next to Tommy on the wrap-around couch.“We did such a good job last time that we had to come back and do it again.”Nolan is on Tommy’s right, sinking down, hugging a pillow to his chest.“And the time before,” Kat nods.Mhm. “And the time before that,” Sunshine says.“And the time before that,” Tommy grins.“And the time before that,” she repeats.“And then I moved home from Australia.”Kat smirks. “So you really protect us.”Nolan pipes up. “Mostly I just get you in trouble.” His finger pushes up on his eyebrow as he lazily looks around.“That’s true,” Tommy wheezes, “actually.”“Good point.” Kat rolls her eyes.“Remember that time you got yourself kidnapped? That was awesome.”Nolan smiles. “Yeah, it’s not the first time either.”Everyone laughs.Sunshine smiles softly. She’s missed times like these, just sitting and spending time with her family. She just wishes she knew why she feels so tired and distant all the time now.“So,” Tommy says, “are you gonna practice your, thing here?”“Well- I- I think, isn’t that what- that’s kinda what he was saying that she should do,” Kat explains, “like, practice.”“What’s that word... your...”“Mentor,” Tommy and Kat say together.“Yes. Practice teleportation.” Tommy smirks.Kat brushes back her hair. “So....I don’t know how you practice that.”“I don’t know.” Tommy shrugs then looks at Sunshine. “What’d he say?”Sunshine grunts and slowly stands up, walking into the middle of the living room. “He just said to- like- focus and-”“Wait, where are you going?” her mother calls.“I’m— gonna teleport!”Tommy rolls his eyes. “Why don’t you teleport off the couch?”“Well— cause I’m already over here now, so I can’t retel—”“Somebody’s cranky,” Kat mutters.Sunshine feels this sudden burst of anger and there’s this picture behind her eyelids of Sunshine choking Kat to death. Her heart nearly stops and she falters. What the hell? Why- why did she see that?! “Welcome to my world,” she sarcastically says back, trying to cover up her horror.Thankfully, no one seems to notice. Tommy and Kat are too busy talking.“Okay.” Nolan leans up and waves a hand toward the two adults. “Don’t listen to them, just— do ya thing, girl.”Tommy laughs and Nolan cracks a smile. “Have you ever said that before in your life?”Nolan gets comfortable on the couch. Kat sits back, smiling in amusement.“No,” he says with a grin, “and I don’t like it.”“Okay, sorry,” Kat giggles, “We’re gonna be serious.”“Teleport,” Tommy says.“I’m just gonna focus or whatever and...”“Also,” Nolan buts in, “if you— get this to the point where it’s reliable, uh, my friend’s having a birthday party next weekend...?”She stares at him. “Please stop talking. Just— just. Okay. I’m just gonna focus, or something, I don’t know how I focus though, so...this’ll be interesting.”“It’s okay,” Kat lamely cheers on.“Did— did she move?” Tommy asks.Sunshine raises a brow. “No, I haven’t moved. I’m trying to focus. You’re distracting me or something...” She sighs and brushes hair back from her face. Everyone is staring at her. “I don’t know how to do this.”Kat shrugs. “We don’t know how to do it.”Tommy giggles. “You’re askin’ the wrong people.”Nolan wipes a hand down his face.“I know,” she says.“We believe in you.” Kat nods. “You got this.”“‘Kay, I’m focusing,” Sunshine sighs. “I feel like it...looks weird. Sorry, guys.” She makes a face at the camera.Nothing’s happening. This is totally lame.She stands for a moment until there’s a flash behind her eyelids, blurred colors dripping down her vision. Sunshine falters slightly and her eyes widen. Everyone jerks up, caught off guard. Nolan stutters something unintelligible, pointing at her, and turns to glance at Tommy and Kat.“What?” Sunshine says.“Did you—” Kat is staring at her. Tommy and Nolan exchange shocked glances.“What’s wrong?” she says, more worried.Nolan whips around, trying to pretend he isn’t bothered at all. “Nothin’,” he stutters out, waving a palm, “you’re fine, just— just, uh— stay very still.” He puts his hands out in front of him, like he’s a Jedi and can make her stay where she is. Sunshine walks forward. “Uh. Try to—”“What are you guys doing?” Sunshine asks. Her vision— had that been—?Everyone is still staring at her. She continues shuffling forward“Don’t— move— at all,” Nolan says, squinting, “for a second, you’re making my eyes hurt really bad.”“Are you okay?” Kat asks her daughter, concerned.“I’m fine,” Sunshine defends as Nolan looks away, blinking rapidly. Tommy is looking at her like she’s grown a second head. “What are you— freaking out about? Especially Nolan.”“That was...weird,” Kat mutters.Nolan just looks shocked and bewildered. He laughs with a smile.“What?” Sunshine snaps with more force. “What are you—?”“Do you feel anything?” Tommy interrupts.“No.”“Ohhhhhhh God,” Nolan says in a tiny voice, wiping his hands down his face. “I didn’t—” she tries.“Oh, God, it exists,” Nolan talks over her.Okay, well, it looks like she’s gonna start practicing teleportation without them. They’re distracting her and being weird.Jesus.⠀⠀⠀
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“Sunshine, what’s wrong?”They’re all sitting on the couch, watching the television. Kat holds the camera and Uncle Tommy glances at Sunshine. Nolan looks over, brows creased.“Something bad’s gonna happen,” she says.“Honey—” Kat frowns. “We’re just watching the TV, we’re just here together. What’s wrong?”“What do you mean?” Nolan asks.“Something bad’s gonna happen,” Sunshine continues to insist. There’s this twisting in her belly, pushing forcefully against her skin, like something is about to burst. “Bad, like...” Nolan tilts his head, squinting. “Existentially, or...?”Sunshine continues staring forward. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”“What...” Kat trails off when Tommy runs a hand through his hair, and he’s got this look on his face that doesn’t seem to mean anything good. “Tommy, what’s wrong?”“I don’t know, I don’t feel very good all of a sudden.” Nolan looks over, looking even more concerned. Sunshine continues staring at the TV — she’s in a trance, locked in something’s embrace. It’s almost like she can feel black claws curling around her body, suspending her in time, forcing her to stay out of the situation.“What do you mean you don’t feel good?” Kat demands, sitting up straighter.“Just—” Tommy shakes his head. Sunshine finally moves her head, staring at him. Nothing good will come out of this. She knows it. She can feel it.“Okay,” Nolan interjects, ashen hair falling in front of his face, “let’s everyone just calm down for a second.”Tommy drops the book he has in his hands and jumps to his feet.“Tommy?” Nolan’s eyes go wide.“What’s wrong?” Kat stands.“You okay, buddy?”Sunshine jerks up, staggering back against the wall. Tommy rushes into the kitchen, jaws clamped shut.“Hey, hey hey hey hey!” Nolan calls, following Tommy.He’s leaning over the sink and spluttering out something disgusting — plant compost. A horrified gasp wrenches from Kat’s throat as she watches.“Whoa!” Nolan exclaims, hands on his head. “Oh, god!”“Tommy, what is that?!” Kat exclaims.He coughs, more brown globs dripping from his mouth. “It’s that stuff again,” he says.“What stuff?!” Nolan places a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, peering into the sink. No answer. “What stuff?” He looks absolutely disgusted as Tommy spits more of the substance out of his mouth. The lights turn out and Kat’s breath hitches.“What the—” Nolan looks around through the darkness.“Is that the power again?” Kat’s hands shake the camera.“Mom.” Sunshine appears somewhere from the side.“It’s the power again,” Nolan growls, “very original, Ghost!”“Mom. Turn the light on the camera!” Sunshine says, head clearing slightly. When it comes to her damn camera, she always knows what to do.“There’s a light on the camera?”“Yes!”“Where?”“Just give it to me!”“Here!”Sunshine fumbles with the device, heart slowing down considerably. Crazy how things work, right? She clicks the light on and pans it around the kitchen, face drawn into a neutral look. What she doesn’t see is the old woman ghost dressed in white, standing in the darkness, staring at them.“I’m so tired of these dark rooms,” Nolan mumbles. He sighs. “Okay, what are we gonna do? What do— what’s the plan—?”“Nolan.” Sunshine’s gaze slides to his hands. They’re coated in a sheen of blood.“What’s on your hands?!” Kat asks. Sunshine can’t breathe. “Is that blood?!”Nolan lifts his arms, visibly beginning to tremble.“Nolan, what did you do?” Sunshine demands.“I didn’t—” He puts his hands out in front of him and inspects the rest of his body, backing up to the refrigerator.“What, are— are you bleeding?” Kat’s mom mode comes out.“Nolan, what is all over you?” More concern presses into Sunshine’s voice.“I’m fine,” Nolan says, voice shaking, “I don’t know.” He turns, disoriented. “Okay?”Sunshine shines the light and jerks back to see Tommy standing in the corner, blood dripping down his face. “Uncle Tommy!” “Tommy!” Kat yells.He’s staring forward, motionless, eyes bulging out of his head. Crimson covers the entirety of his face. Nolan staggers toward the sink and turns the faucet on, desperately washing the blood off of his hands.“Nolan, what did you do?!” Sunshine says louder, turning to him. “Why is he all bloody?!”Tommy begins to slide to the ground and Nolan turns, jumping forward and trying to keep him steady. “Tommy! Tommy, Tom, Tom!”“Nolan, why did you do that?!” Sunshine’s voice scratches against her throat as she watches, helpless, terrified. Kat bends to her knees and looks horrified. “Nolan!”“I didn’t do anything to him!” he yells, whipping around to glare at her. “Sunshine, what is wrong with him?!” Kat begins to sob.“I don’t know!” she cries back. “Nolan, why did you do it?!”“I didn’t DO ANYTHING—”Sunshine whirls around when the table is pushed forward, creaking loudly as it slides across the ground.“What was that?” Kat is covering her face with trembling hands.“It was just the table,” Sunshine says, trying to stay calm. How the hell is someone meant to stay calm in this situation?“What do you mean, it was just the table?” Kat snaps. “It just moved itself?”“Yes!”“Oh— no, no, no, no, guys—” Sunshine turns and her eyes go wide when she sees Nolan on the ground, gripping the wall as he’s pulled into the living room.Sunshine rounds the corner and flinches when the same old lady ghost stands in the middle of the room. Nolan continues to be dragged and she leaps forward, gripping his hand in hers. Immediately there’s a flash behind Sunshine’s eyelids, the world warping in shapes and color around her.Suddenly, both she and Nolan are in the backyard, in the same positions as they had been inside.Holy shit. Holy shit. Did she just motherfucking teleport?“What the hell was that?!” Nolan exclaims, panting as he looks around, dark eyes wide.Sunshine shakes her head, nearly falling to the ground, feet seemingly unable to hold her weight. “I don’t know.” Screams from Kat somewhere in the house divert their attention. “Where are we?”“I don’t know.” Nolan stumbles up beside Sunshine, leaning on her shoulder. “Your backyard, apparently.” They both begin to run towards the sliding glass doors, but he whips his head around. “Hey, wait, wait, wait. How did you do that?!”“I don’t know,” she says truthfully. Nolan drops the questioning. Both teenagers throw themselves through the open back door, Nolan in the lead.“What’s wrong, what’s wrong?” he asks as Kat continues screaming.“Tommy,” Kat sobs hysterically, “Tommy!”In the middle of the living room Tommy is hovering above the ground, face still soaked in blood. His arms are suspended at his sides like he’s halfway through a jumping jack and he groans weakly.“Oh my god,” Nolan says, horrified.Sunshine doesn’t even know what to say.⠀⠀⠀
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So. Last night.After her flipcam died, Tommy fell to the ground and started laughing hysterically. You know, after he was done levitating. Then he passed out, and doesn’t seem to remember any of it now.So. That happened. Not weird at all.Also, she— she guesses she teleported? Looking back on the footage, that’s Sunshine’s only plausible explanation. She just grabbed Nolan’s hand, and suddenly, they were outside, and then they were running back up the stairs and— jeez.But the one thing she really wants to know is why all of this bad stuff is happening. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before, but — it’s worse.And the Mentor dude isn’t even helping at all. Seriously, what’s he doing? He just shows up looking all dapper but then doesn’t really know anything?Jesus fuck. Sunshine really needs a new hobby.
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The fatigue is back.Sunshine’s in bed, sweating, feeling like she’s just licked a pile of sand. She throws the covers off of her, but seconds later she’ll be freezing again. She doesn’t know what’s wrong. Doesn’t know why she feels this way, why... why...There’s so many things that are wrong. The ghosts are harassing her non-stop; whispers in her ears, scratches on her door, visions of a fire lapping over the house. It’s exhausting. Even more so when she feels so... out of it. So unlike herself. Nolan keeps trying to get her out of bed, but she won’t move. She can’t move. Everything inside of her is a big black mess, leaving absolutely nothing behind. Kat is worried. Tommy is, too. But Sunshine can’t find it in herself to care anymore. She doesn’t care about anything at all.
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“Victoria. I’m sorry, but it’s true.”Two figures stand in the shadows of Sunshine’s dark bedroom. They look over at her sleeping form and share a momentary silence. Victoria’s hands are clenched at her sides, and Mentor is staring at her expectantly.“Victoria,” Mentor repeats. “You must come to terms with the truth of the matter. I know you’ve protected her, but there’s nothing you can do when the darkness is coming from inside.”“It’s not her fault,” Victoria snaps, almost frothing at the mouth. “The Markons have wanted her for years now. This... this...” She trails off and shakes her head in disbelief. “I don’t know how this could have happened.”“It doesn’t matter how. All that matters is that it’s happened. And unfortunately, Victoria, I’m not sure I can help you anymore.”She turns to him, dark gaze boring into his. “You helping her may have been a personal favor, but she is a Luiseach. Perhaps the last of her kind. It’s our responsibility to fix this.”Mentor frowns, crossing his arms. “She’s irresponsible. She cares more for mundane exercises than she does for protecting the spiritual realm.”“It helps her.”“But it doesn’t help us.”“It doesn’t matter.” Victoria stands rigid, heart pounding against her ribcage. “Please. You must help me. I... I can’t let Anna be punished for my actions.” Her voice shakes. “Sunshine is the only one that can save her. But to lead Anna to the afterlife, we must rid the darkness inside of Sunshine.”Silence threads between both of them as they glance back at Sunshine. A shaft of moonlight pours into the room, lighting a crevice of Victoria’s face. She returns her gaze to Mentor. She’s never begged for anything in her life. He must understand how important this is.“Fine,” Mentor finally breathes unhappily. “But I’m only doing this for Anna.”Victoria closes her eyes in relief. “Thank you.”“Don’t thank me yet. We have a long way to go.” Mentor’s eyes darken. “Do you have any ideas?”She frowns. “A few.”“They’d best be good. We only have one chance at this.”Victoria rubs at her face. “We’ll have to tell the mother and the fat man. Nolan, too.”“They won’t be happy.”“I know. But we need their help.” She pushes a breath between her teeth and leans back, darkness completely flooding over her dark form. Victoria wonders how they got here, sometimes. Wonders how she ever let herself get here. But it doesn’t matter now. She has a job to look over Sunshine. She’s going to adhere to that promise.“Do you think she’ll be ready?” Mentor glances at her.Victoria blinks slowly, swallowing air. She brushes her hands over her coat and straightens, nodding. “Yes. Sunshine will be able to help Anna.” Victoria begins to move towards the door, then pauses. “All we have to do is exorcise the demon.”

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To Nolan, this feels weird.He, Kat, Tommy, Victoria, and Mentor are gathered in the living room, sitting across from each other on the wrap-around sofa. Nolan looks over at Tommy, frowning. He’s not sure why Sunshine isn’t here.“So...” Kat tries to find some semblance of words. She’s probably thinking what Nolan and Tommy are thinking. “What is this? Why can’t Sunshine be here?”Victoria and Mentor exchange a glance, silent for a moment. “It’s... imperative that we stay safe,” Mentor says slowly. Kat narrows her eyes. “What does that mean?”Nolan grows suspicious. Seriously, this is weird. They’ve never had a meeting like this without Sunshine. “Is she okay?” Nolan asks, worry bleeding into his voice. Sue him. He’s concerned.Victoria frowns. “I... I’m sorry.”Tommy places a hand on Kat’s shoulder, who looks like she’s about ready to start a fight. “Tell us what’s going on!”Mentor waves his hand. “Victoria. We are wasting time here tiptoeing around the truth. Tell them so we can start to make our plan.”Everyone is silent. Victoria’s dark gaze flickers from Mentor to the family, uncertainty clear there. She breathes softly and her shoulders slump. “We did not see the signs before. I’m truly sorry. But Sunshine is being possessed.”“What?!” Kat exclaims.“I- I’m sorry—” Nolan shakes his head, stupefied. “Did you just say possessed?”Tommy’s mouth hangs open in disbelief. “What... how...?”Victoria shakes her head slowly, frowning deeply. “I do not know. But I believe that the old woman you have repeatedly seen is the catalyst. She— she is not actually a woman. She is a demon.”Mentor nods. “The form this demon is taking on, it’s just a disguise.”Kat narrows her eyes. “Is this demon one of the ghosts you just decided to send over?”“No.” Mentor shakes his head. “I only sent spirits. The demon was here before.”Nolan places his hands out in front of him, trying to understand the situation. “So... so you’re saying Sunshine’s been possessed by a demon, and we had absolutely no idea?”Tommy nods along to his words. “I mean, how, how did you not know? You’re her protectors!” He glares at Victoria and Mentor. “Don’t you know everything about- about the paranormal? You should be protecting her!”“But we should, too.” Kat leans back into Tommy’s embrace, shocked. Nolan wipes his hands down his face. He doesn’t know how this could’ve happened. How had he not seen? Nolan swallows hard. “I...I don’t understand, though. Demons can’t possess a Luiseach.” Kat and Tommy look at him. “Uh. Y’know. I read about it a while back. In one of my....sources.”Victoria purses her lips. “I know. Demons do not have the capability to possess a Luiseach. That is the only thing we do not understand.”“But... Groundlings... can?” Tommy asks hesitantly.Mentor nods. “Yes. However, only a select few have the ability, and they must be blessed directly by a Markon to do so.”“Blessed?” Kat echoes stupidly.“Yes.”“Oh.” She throws her hands out sarcastically. “Right. Blessed.”Nolan thinks hard for a moment. “What if...” Everyone looks at him. “What if this isn’t just a demon?”Victoria frowns. “What do you mean?”“What if— you know, this thing that’s possessing Sunshine— what if it isn’t just a demon? You know, can, could it be some sort of hybrid?”Kat looks at Nolan. “Hybrid? Seriously?”“Yes! Think about it.” Nolan jumps to his feet and begins to pace. “If- if a Groundling was blessed by a Markon, just think about it. Hypothetically, if this blessed Groundling somehow- somehow made a sort of—” He twists his hand, squinting, “a sort of child with a demon, couldn’t that be the thing possessing Sunshine?”Victoria shakes her head. “It doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t the blessed Groundling just possess Sunshine itself?”“Maybe it can’t. Maybe- maybe she was too strong. Until now, years later.” Nolan drops back into the couch, chest hurting for Sunshine. “Until she was broken down.”Kat looks away, tears in her eyes. Tommy rubs her back with a hand. “Is it possible?” he asks when there’s no answer. “Could a Groundling and a demon somehow create offspring?”Victoria looks at Mentor. He sighs. “I...I don’t know for sure. There are strict laws preventing the meddling of Groundlings and demons. It shouldn’t have been able to happen.”“But could it have?”“.... yes.”Tommy jumps to his feet, looking angry. “Why does it matter what hybrid baby is possessing her? This all sounds insane! Can’t we just fix her? How do we fix her?”Victoria stands, too. Nolan follows suit. “We must figure out the entity inside of her so we know what ritual to use in order to exorcise the...hybrid.”Kat stands up, brows furrowing. “Ritual? Like— the one you did for me?”Nolan hadn’t been there during Kat’s possession, but looking back on the videos, nothing good came out of it. Sunshine easily could’ve died, and Victoria was injured. But Nolan swears they’ll succeed again. He trusts Victoria — and he’s learned to stop questioning her. Has she failed them before?Victoria nods slowly. “It will be similar, but not the same. Sunshine will begin exhibiting symptoms of possession soon. That is when we can perform the exorcism.”Nolan straightens, looking determined. “What symptoms?” He’s going to be here for Sunshine. He’ll watch out for her.Mentor rises to his feet, hands clasped in front of him. “She may begin to act unlike herself. Violent behavior is common. The- the demon- the hybrid-” He sighs. “The entity controlling her will begin to try to harm Sunshine.”“Harm her?” Kat’s eyes widen. “You mean-”“She’ll try to hurt herself,” Nolan confirms, voice shaking.Mentor nods. “Yes. Once she reaches that point, it will be time.”“And... the ritual...” Tommy breathes in. “What will we do?”“I’ll tell you when the night comes.” Victoria begins to walk to the front door, Mentor following. “We have estimated that time to be in three days at midnight. You must be ready.”And without another word, they walk out the door.⠀⠀⠀
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“Horrible decision.”Tommy turns his head to glare at Nolan. Kat crosses her legs as she sits in a nearby chair, eyes narrowing. They’re in the living room and boxes are pushed up against the wall.They’re moving, Kat decided. With all of the madness that had gone on in the house for a year and a half, it was best that they left once and for all. She was willing to sacrifice her own health, but Sunshine’s? No. Kat would not ever allow her daughter to be possessed again. And even if it meant leaving Victoria and Anna... well, sometimes life isn’t fair. And if it was Victoria’s mistake, why should Sunshine have to be the one to fix it? Still. Nolan isn’t happy. And Kat knows Sunshine won’t be either after the ritual.“No, it’s not,” Tommy defends. Both he and Nolan are leaning against the wall, looking at each other. “Kat’s making a really smart decision.”“Look,” Nolan sighs, arms crossed, “right now, we don’t need to abandon Victoria and Anna. That’s not how it should work.”“Okay, well what about our safety?” Tommy fully faces Nolan now, growing more frustrated.Nolan shrugs.“Were you not here the other night, Nolan? Because I seem to remember you getting pulled across the floor and me bleeding from the face and levitating.”“Yeah, okay, all right.” Nolan tilts his head from side to side. “So there’s some danger involved, I get that, but running away with our tails between our legs right now is not the answer.”Tommy rolls his eyes.“Yeah, no,” Kat says. “We’re moving.”Tommy nods along. “She’s making a good choice. They can’t get out of here fast enough, okay?”Nolan looks away and shakes his head.“Look.” Tommy’s voice raises. “I’m really sorry about Victoria and everything, but it is what it is. And as far as Nolan’s opinion,” he looks over at Kat, tone harsh, “let’s not forget we really don’t know anything about him.”“Hey,” Nolan calls loudly, narrowing his eyes, pushing himself from the wall.“What?”“What’re you trying to say?”“Okay, I’m sorry, I actually do like you—”“Uh huh.”“—but we really don’t know anything about you.” Tommy’s hands drop sassily. “Okay?”“What’s to know? I live nearby, I sell hotdogs for a living, I look really great in this jacket?”Kat rolls her eyes. The black leather jacket he always wears? Yeah, right.“Nothing else is important,” Nolan finishes.“Okay,” Tommy says slowly, brows furrowing, “how about the fact that you disappeared for a month, Nolan?”His face crumples, but he quickly recovers from the blow. “Okay—”Tommy gets closer. “That we found you in an abandoned warehouse where Victoria just happened to be?”Nolan shakes his head, swallowing, more nervous. “That wasn’t my fault.”“Okay, how about you bringing a loaded gun into Sunshine’s house?”“I was trying to protect her!”“Were you?” Tommy yells. “Because I seem to remember you saying something about having a lot of voices in your head!”Nolan’s jaw clenches and he wraps his arms around his body, trembling slightly. There’s no answer.“Okay, from somebody who’s on the outside,” Tommy growls, “that could really look like you trying to manipulate the situation.”“What are you accusing me of?” Nolan finally snaps back.“How about your grandma’s house, Nolan?”“Stop.” He shakes his head.“That you couldn’t remember how old you are?”“Stop!”“That you just showed up outside their door?!”“You need to stop!” Nolan yells.“Why?!” Tommy screams, “because you don’t have any answers?!”“Nolan has answers,” Kat says, crossing her arms, “he just doesn’t like to talk about it on camera, okay? He’s embarrassed.”“Why?” Tommy says in a low voice, scoffing. “Because he’s crazy?”“You know,” Nolan growls, “for someone who says he likes me an awful lot, you certainly don’t seem to like me very much.”“Can we stop?” Kat sighs.“I could say some of the same things about you.” Nolan looks Tommy up and down and extends his hands, mimicking air quotes, “Tommy.”“Oh, don’t even start with me, I’m the closest thing to family these girls have!” Tommy snarls. “Okay? I would do anything to protect them!”“While you’re not busy levitating and bleeding from the corner.”“Stop!” Kat yells, fed up with their arguing. They both look at her. “Nolan, you should go.”Nolan looks shocked. “Me?”“Yeah, just...” Kat shakes her head. “Just for now.”“Wh— Fine!” Nolan glares at Tommy. Tommy glares back. “But remember that I was just here to help Sunshine, okay? I’ve always just been here to help her. All right?” He shakes his head and begins to walk towards the front door. “They sent me to help her.”“What’d you say?” Kat asks, exchanging a cautious glance with Tommy.“What?” Nolan says.“Who’s they?” Tommy demands.“What are you talking about?” Nolan turns to look at both of them.“You said ‘they’,” Kat says.Nolan looks around, like he’s trying to remember if he did — or pretending that he didn’t. “No I didn’t.”“Yeah you did.”“No I didn’t.”“Yeah you did.”Nolan scoffs and turns. “It— it doesn’t matter, okay? All that matters is that Sunshine stays safe.” He runs his hands through his hair and turns to glare at Tommy, then his gaze slides to Kat. “I’m gonna go check on Sunshine. And then I’ll leave.”“Fine by me,” Tommy mutters.Well. That didn’t go as expected.

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Sunshine is sure this is the sickest she’s ever been in her entire life.Her body feels like a vessel of heat. Flames lap the inside of her chest and scorch her lungs. She can’t force any breath between her teeth, so resorts to sucking in air through her nose, gasping for life, hanging in the balance between conscious and unconscious. It’s been like this for days. Four, she thinks, but can’t completely recall. Tonight has been the worst, though. Sunshine can hear the rain pelting outside, splashing against her window, keeping her awake. Her green eyes slide across the dark room, and panic eats away inside. Why is she alone? Where is Kat? Tommy? Nolan?She begins to sob. The headache is pounding, pulsing angrily in her temple, forcing its way out in a horrific scream. The pain is unimaginable. Sunshine feels something clawing against her throat and jerks up, scratching her skin to try and tear it out. Blood dribbles down her hands and drips on the covers. She’s dying. She’s dying. Something is taking over. She’s not herself!Soft hands suddenly steer her own away from her neck, and a breath stirs in her ear. “It’s okay. Sunshine. It’s okay.” Nolan.She sobs harder and throws herself into his embrace, tears flooding down her cheeks. “I- I can’t-” Sunshine shakes her head desperately. “What’s happening to me?!”“You-” Nolan’s voice breaks as he holds her tight. “Sunshine, you’re possessed. We- we’re doing the ritual tonight. Now. Can you walk?”Shock. That’s all Sunshine feels. She blinks slowly, but the world is blurry, darkness fleeting behind her eyelids. She’s possessed? How long has Nolan known? There’s almost a sense of betrayal, but then comes the terror. She’s going to end up like her mother. End up like a demon. Sunshine begins to scream again, trying to wrench herself out of Nolan’s grasp, but it’s useless. “Sunshine-” He pants and practically drags her off the bed, trying to keep both of them steady, “stay- you have to stay strong, okay?! Everyone is here, we have to go downstairs.”“NO!” Sunshine yells, voice shaking as she fights him. “I- I-” Something comes over her and her arms are suddenly moving against her will, fingernails clawing at her arms. Pain. Pain. Pain. That’s all she can feel.“Stop it. Stop, please.” Nolan’s voice breaks and he rips her arms away from her body, holding them tight. She screams again and fights against him, trying to claw his wrists in order to free herself. Nolan won’t budge.He begins to pull her out of the room and to the stairs. Sunshine shoves her heels to the ground to stop him, but Nolan is stronger and manages to force her down the stairs with him. In the kitchen now, Sunshine begins to cry in pain when she feels something like- like fangs split through her gums. She yells and thrashes harder, head jerking forward uncontrollably to snap her jaws at Nolan.Muffled voices fill her ears and she recognizes the living room. Sunshine is pushed on to a couch in the middle of the room and feels handcuffs click on her wrists, strapping her to the back of the chair. Two more are put on her legs and she realizes she can’t get out of this situation now.Then, out of the corner of Sunshine’s eye, she sees her mother crying. Somewhere deep inside wants to tell Kat that she’s sorry — she doesn’t know why this is happening. But nothing will come out of her mouth except inhuman snarls and hisses, something she’s never heard before except for the first ritual, when Kat had been possessed.But now.... oh, god. Now she’s possessed.Sunshine tries to fight the darkness inside, but it’s spreading, filling up her soul, forcing her hand. What she doesn’t see is the horrified expression of her family when her eyes flicker black and claws slide from her fingers, scratching the wood of the chair.“O-okay,” Victoria stammers, voice shaking as she stands in front of Sunshine. There’s a book in her hand, a silver cross necklace in the other. “It is time to begin the ritual.”Tommy holds harshly on to Kat. Nolan watches with worried eyes, muscles tight, like he wants to jump forward and rip the handcuffs off of her. Victoria stands in front of Sunshine and Mentor rounds the chair, beginning to say something in a foreign tongue. Victoria echoes the words.Hot, white pain sears the inside of Sunshine’s skull and she screams in anger. Her legs kick desperately and she tries to free her hands, but it’s to no avail. It feels like her forehead has cracked and is bleeding flames, but there’s nothing there. Nothing at all.Objects in the room begin to shake. Nolan whips his head around nervously. “U-uhm- guys-?”He’s cut off when a vase flies across the room and crashes into the wall. Kat screams and Nolan jerks back, caught off guard. Tommy drops to the floor and covers his head with hands. Sunshine continues thrashing, and with each scream that rips from her jaws, more objects begin to clatter over like an earthquake is rumbling beneath them.Kat shakes her head and runs forward, trying to pull Victoria’s arm. “Stop! Stop it! You— you’re hurting her!”“It must be done,” Victoria snaps back, then continues reciting the words. Kat’s gaze moves from Victoria, to Mentor, to Sunshine, and in an instant she’s at her daughter’s side, fumbling with the handcuffs. “It’s okay. I- I’m gonna get you out of here-”Tommy finally manages to stagger to his feet and pants out a breath. When he sees Kat, his eyes widen and he grabs her shoulders, jerking her back. “Kat! What the hell are you doing?!”“I- I have to stop this! She’s in pain!”“If you stop the ritual, Kat, Sunshine will...” Tommy trails off. There are tears in his eyes. “She’ll be gone forever.”Kat stares at Tommy for a moment, frozen, truly considering, then finally nods slowly. “Okay. Okay, you’re right.” She retreats back to the sidelines, shaking terribly.After a moment, Mentor stops talking, and Victoria continues the foreign lines. She pushes the cross necklace to Sunshine’s head and the pain is worse now; it feels like her whole body is one giant burning ember. Objects in the room begin to levitate and swirl in circles, nearly knocking Nolan out as a pot slams into the side of his head. He drops to the ground and Kat rushes over to him.Something new comes from Sunshine’s mouth. Foreign words that match Mentor’s and Victoria’s snarl something back, and her eyes flicker from black to red, glowing. Every lightbulb in the room cracks and Tommy yells when one shatters over his head. Nolan is helped to his knees and looks at Sunshine. “Sunshine! Please!” His voice breaks. “Don’t let it take you!”But she can’t do anything. As the pain worsens, Sunshine manages to free one of her hands from the cuffs and slashes claws over Mentor’s face. He cries out in pain and staggers back. Victoria stops mid-sentence, eyes wide, then continues, louder, harsher.There’s a crash somewhere above and a crackle of thunder. Everyone, save Victoria and Mentor, scream and look around. “What the hell is that?!” Tommy exclaims.Smoke begins to billow into the kitchen, heat flaring from the second story. Kat runs to the fire extinguisher but Victoria shakes her head. “You won’t be able to stop it!” Tommy shakes his head and follows Kat, trying to extinguish the fire upstairs.Mentor pushes himself to his feet but is blown back when Sunshine screams hysterically. She can feel something oozing from her body like black pus, and there’s a dark shape that seems to leave the chair, except it isn’t her. Sunshine gulps in air and the feeling of freedom returns. Nolan rushes over, shocked. “S-Sunshine!” The claws that had been protruding from her fingers sink back into her skin, drawing blood, as do the fangs.Victoria watches as the dark shape — the demon, exiting Sunshine’s body — throws itself into Mentor. She roars in anger and rears forward, continuing the foreign words, but Mentor is faster. He slams his body into Victoria’s and knocks her down, and in the tangle of arms and legs, the cross necklace is discarded to the side. Nolan ignores the chaos ensuing and shakily shoves the key inside the lock, clicking the handcuffs open. He extends his arms and moves Sunshine’s wrists, thumbing over them, and in a second she’s throwing herself into his chest, sobbing.With Victoria on the ground, Mentor’s eyes swirl an inky black and claws slide from his fingers. His face morphs into something inhuman and his neck elongates, fangs forming in his mouth. Sunshine, Nolan, and Victoria watch in horror when Mentor plunges the claws into his chest, clawing rabidly, blood staining the floor as he drops to the ground. Victoria screams something and rushes over, but another crack! of thunder stops her in her tracks.Kat and Tommy rush into the room, about to speak, but stop with their mouths agape, wide-eyed. Immediately both run to Sunshine and hold her in a tight embrace, not willing to let go. Sunshine manages to wriggle her way out and coughs from the smoke, but the blaze is extinguished by rain pelting from Sunshine’s broken upstairs window. Victoria is standing still, looking down at Mentor. He’s dead. Sunshine feels a lump in her throat and slowly steps forward, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder, but she jerks out of Sunshine’s grasp. “Do not touch me.”She stares in shock. “Victoria-”She bends down and touches her hand to Mentor’s head. Everyone freezes when his body begins to dissipate, lifeless form disappearing right in front of their eyes. Before Sunshine can even comment, Kat yells, “Nolan. Nolan!”Sunshine whirls around and sees Nolan on the ground, palms face-down on the carpet as he groans in pain. “Nolan.” She rushes to his side, heart leaping into her throat. “Nolan, get up!” “I’m sorry, Sunshine,” he says in a shaky voice.Sorry? She exchanges a glance with Tommy. Victoria turns at the words, watching the ordeal unfold.“I’m sorry.” Nolan leans up and Sunshine slaps a hand over her mouth in horror at the black eyes staring back at her. “But I don’t think I can fix it.”“Fix what?” Sunshine asks, stepping back, gut twisting.Victoria stares at Nolan, and something in her face crumples, turning to rage. “You’re one of them.”Nolan shakes his head, anger swimming in his gaze. “Just because I’m not like you doesn’t make me bad!”Tommy steps forward. “What does that mean? Who are you, Nolan?”Nolan shakes his head and suddenly has Tommy by the throat, pushing him up against the wall. “I’m not the problem!” he screams. “I’m not!”Victoria moves forward in a few short strides and yells something incoherent. The ground shakes and Sunshine nearly falls on her ass, trembling badly. Nolan lets go of Tommy and Kat manages to hold her up, but when all three return their gaze to Victoria and Nolan, both are gone.Silence. Only the sound of rain and the sparks of embers from the now dormant fire fill the room.What the fuck just happened?⠀⠀⠀
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It’s been a week since the exorcism and Sunshine has no idea what to think.So she was possessed by some demon-Groundling hybrid baby, or at least that’s what she’s gathered. She isn’t sure how that happened, or how Victoria and Mentor didn’t know, but she supposes it doesn’t matter anymore. Both Victoria and Nolan have been missing for a week, and to be honest, after their last interaction, Sunshine can’t exactly say she’s sad.Sunshine still has questions, though. Why did the demon jump out of her? Where did it go after it killed Mentor? Where did Mentor go? How did Victoria make his body disappear like that? And what the hell was Nolan talking about, ‘I can’t fix it’? What did Victoria mean when she said he was ‘one of them’?She was also filled in on Tommy and Nolan’s fight and, well, that’s just great.Also. They’re moving.They’re fucking moving.At one point Sunshine is sure she would’ve been angrier, but after everything that’s happened, she just... can’t. Only a year and a half of living here and so much bad shit has happened it’s unbelievable. Victoria is MIA, Nolan has fucked off to who knows where (and based on Victoria’s earlier judgement he doesn’t seem to have the best intentions for Sunshine), Mentor is dead, and the ghosts are gone.Oh. Not to mention there have been two possessions at this house alone. And that’s not even the tip of the iceberg. The cult, the film, Tommy bleeding from the face, Anna’s father, the bathroom Sunshine still refuses to enter, LeMaster, Alistair, and more are just a few things that are wrong with the house.So maybe it’s a good thing that they’re moving. It’s not like Sunshine wants to leave Victoria, Anna, and Nolan behind, but what choice does she have? It’s madness. And it’s something Sunshine never wants to go through again.⠀⠀⠀
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So. Uh. Victoria’s here.Sunshine hasn’t been using her upstairs bedroom (aka the one that was scorched) and is now sleeping on the couch, so she’s the first one to hear the knock on the door.“It’s Victoria,” she says, grabbing her camera.“What?” Kat says.Sunshine opens the door and blinks back at the woman. “Victoria? Do you wanna—?”“You need to leave this house,” Victoria says immediately, looking grave.“What?” both Kat and Sunshine say in unison. They kinda already are, but okay.“You must leave this house, it’s not safe here.”Sunshine looks confused. “Victoria, why are you doing this—?”“Do not call me by my name, girl!” Victoria’s voice raises. “Heed my advice, or suffer the consequences.” She turns and walks down the steps, making her way to the fence — the fence where it had all started, where Sunshine had first seen her standing that fateful day.They’ve come a long way, huh?“Wait!” Sunshine finally manages, opening the screen door. Victoria stops in her tracks. “What about Anna?”Victoria hesitates before turning on her heel, entering the house, staring down at both Sunshine and Kat. “Listen to me.” The screen door slams shut behind them. “None of this can be undone. But it can be forgotten.” A breath. “Anna has moved on.”Sunshine’s eyes widen. Wait, WHAT?“And... I am on my last day here on Earth.”DOUBLE what?Sunshine’s expression must betray her thoughts. Victoria sighs. “The Markons have decided that you are not worth the trouble. They were wrong about you. You are not a Luiseach. You are merely a girl.”Her brows furrow as she looks Victoria up and down. Where is all of this coming from? Why is it so sudden? Last week she’s the last Luiseach left, but this week she never even was?Jesus. This is all so confusing. Maybe she should be glad she isn’t a Luiseach.“...Okay,” Sunshine says through her teeth, voice small.Victoria blinks. “You don’t pose a threat to them anymore. And you cannot help me. Your Mentor...” Her voice shakes. “Is gone. Don’t ever expect to see Nolan again.”Sunshine looks at her mother. Is Nolan in on this, too?“I want you to know that...” Victoria hesitates. “This chapter in your life is coming to an end. And all you have to do now is allow it to end, and start a new one. Do you hear me?” Her tone is final.“Yeah,” Sunshine mumbles, gaze hard.“Goodbye, Sunshine.” Victoria opens the door and walks back outside.Kat scoffs. “Wait...” Sunshine whispers, but it’s too late. Victoria walks behind one of the trees and disappears completely. “What did that mean?” Kat asks, turning to her daughter, clearly confused.“I don’t know...”“Okay, well.” Kat sighs. “I definitely want to find us a new home now.”Sunshine rolls her eyes.⠀⠀⠀
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Two weeks later, and guess who decides to show up?Yeah. That’s right. Nolan’s here.They’re standing in the living room, Nolan by the door, Sunshine to his left. Kat is holding the camera and watching both of them, brows furrowed.“Hey, guys,” Sunshine sighs. “So... Nolan has something he’d like to say.”He looks worse than usual. He’s discarded his jacket, for one, but there are clear dark bags under his eyes like he hasn’t been sleeping. His eyes are sad, and his usual confident self has turned into something completely different. Sunshine wishes she could fix him, but at the same time, she doesn’t even know what to think about him anymore. “I’m sorry,” he says. Nolan looks down, like he’s contemplating on something else to say.“That’s it?” Sunshine demands, looking up at him. “You’re done? Two words? I’m sorry? That’s— that’s all?” She motions toward the camera angrily. “There’s a lot of people out there who love you and trust you and like that you’re in the videos.” Sunshine drops her hands and shakes her head. “I don’t even think you can be in the videos anymore.”“I don’t think I’d allow it anyway, honey,” Kat murmurs.Nolan looks between both of them, appearing completely defeated. “What, no points for comic relief?”“No!” Sunshine and Kat say together.“You lied to us,” Sunshine adds.“I didn’t lie,” Nolan defends, arms slightly hugging his body.“You certainly didn’t tell the truth,” she bites back. “We’ve been through a lot this past year and a half, and I just kind of accepted all of it that came with you and, all the craziness, but, I don’t even think you’ve been telling the truth about...who you are.”Nolan averts his dark gaze, holding back tears. “I don’t know, Sunshine, I don’t know who I am.” He loosely shrugs his shoulders.“Why’d you come to the house.” Sunshine doesn’t look at him.“I thought I could help,” he says.“Then...” She shakes her head. “Explain the black eyes, and the disappearing, and—” Sunshine gives Nolan a harsh look, “your grandma’s house?” Yeah, she’s still not getting over that one.Nolan sighs. “I think I need help.”“Mmhm,” Kat mutters.“I’ve been trying to help you,” Sunshine says, trying to keep her voice even. “No, I mean real help. Like a... professional.”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “What, like a doctor?”“Like a priest.”She looks at him incredulously.“I think she’s right,” Kat adds, “I think a doctor’s what you need.”Nolan glares at her mother. “I don’t know, Kat.”“No— no offense, Nolan,” Kat continues, ignoring the look, “but it seems like there’s a lot of things that you don’t know.”“I know that the Markons sent me here,” he says.Kat inhales. “What?” Sunshine demands.“So...” Kat shakes her head in disbelief. “So, what, you’re a Groundling now?”“No!” He hesitates. “Not anymore...” Nolan looks at Sunshine then his gaze slides to the ceiling. “I don’t wanna be, but...” He swallows. “They won’t let me go.”“Let you go?” Sunshine echoes. “Victoria said they don’t want me anymore.”“They don’t,” Nolan confirms, “but... I made a vow to them, and I can’t break it. Just like Victoria.”“Why are you telling me all of this?”Tears spring into his eyes. “Because I want to help,” he answers truthfully. “And I...” Nolan wipes a hand down his face. “I don’t want to hurt you guys.”Silence.“Look,” he says, “Victoria was indebted to the Markons. Okay? When she found you,” Nolan looks at Sunshine, “she thought that you could help her break free. It’s become clear that you can’t, so things have gone back to the way they were. She’s not evil! She just can’t get free.”“I... don’t believe anything you’re saying,” Kat replies.Nolan clenches his jaw. “I get that. And I deserve it. But think about it, it makes sense, right?” He looks between the two. “Right?”Sunshine still doesn’t meet his gaze. “Victoria said it was her last day on Earth.”“It was.” Nolan frowns. “She’s not exactly human anymore.”She finally looks at him. He looks back. “So you’re a Groundling?”He sighs. “Yes.” A pause. “No! I’m not.” Nolan slides a hand through his hair, stressed. “Sort of, I... I don’t want to be a Groundling, okay? The power is attractive.” Nolan looks at Kat and stammers, gaze falling to the floor. “Good people do bad things. They do. They offered me power and I took it, but I don’t want it. It’s not worth it.”“So..” Sunshine feels emotion well in her throat. “You’ve been lying to us the entire time.”“I know,” Nolan whispers. “I’m sorry.”“I thought you were my friend.”“I am your friend.”Sunshine has an incredulous look on her face. “I don’t have friends who lie to me.”“I’ve been protecting you this entire time!” Nolan exclaims. “Do you have any idea what the Markons wanted me to do to you? Why do you think I was in the warehouse? I was bait.”Sunshine can’t find it in herself to respond. She’s too angry and heartbroken.“Look, you—” Nolan shakes his head. “You may not be a Luiseach, but you’re special. Okay? And they know that, and they don’t want you to know it. So they’re gonna leave you alone. But we don’t know what you are. And that scares them.”“Yeah,” Kat sighs, “I still don’t believe it. Nolan, I think it’s time for you to go.”“Look, if I go,” he says desperately, “I don’t know what’s gonna happen to me, Kat. Sunshine keeps me safe!”“Okay, and that’s our problem how...?” Kat asks. He looks betrayed. Yeah, join the fucking club.“Nolan, we’ve tried to help you, we’ve tried to be your friend, and all you’ve done is lie to us.”Sunshine sighs, fed up with all of this.“Not everything is a lie!” Nolan promises. “Okay? This isn’t a lie.” He reaches forward and grabs Sunshine’s hand, closing the gap between them. “Sunshine.”“What are you doing?” Kat asks, eyes wide.He stares at her eyes, green on brown, and his mouth opens and closes. Sunshine’s heart thunders. “I....” Nolan hesitates and drops her hand, stepping back. “I’m sorry. Uh.” He clears his throat. “I’m gonna...go. Uh. See you on the flip side.” Nolan backs up to the door and opens it, quickly walking out.“Okay,” Kat sighs. “Ohhh, wow...”“Didn’t see that coming,” Sunshine mutters.“Yeah, no. I still don’t believe it.”“We get it, okay?” Sunshine snaps, suddenly angry with her mother. “Everybody gets it. You don’t believe it, okay? Did you guys catch that?” She looks at the camera.“Okay, well, Tommy doesn’t believe him either, honey,” Kat defends. “You believe him?”Sunshine sighs. “Yes. No. I don’t know! I just...”“Okay, that right there, is a great example of why I don’t want people to know where we’re living.”“He found out last time.”“Yeah, with help from the Markons apparently!”“So, what? You believe him now?”Kat shakes her head. “I don’t know. I don’t... I don’t know what I believe.”Sunshine... she doesn’t either.
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Sunshine feels sad. A genuine, throbbing sadness that eats away anything good inside. A parasite.She’s sitting in her room, thinking. Sunshine wants to express how much she appreciates her fans. The ones that have been with her since the beginning. Since the unicorn. Her little adventure is coming to an end. Sunshine hates it.Victoria really threw her off, though. Seriously. Coming in and telling her all these things to help her with her daughter, then yelling at her and telling Sunshine that none of it was true? She’s ‘merely a girl.’ It’s upsetting.She almost feels like she’ll never see Victoria again, or hear from Anna, or even Nolan for that matter. It makes her sad.But no one is merely a girl.Her mother always taught her to be strong and positive, and to always speak her mind, even if it got her in trouble. So what if Sunshine isn’t a Luiseach? So what if she doesn’t have this super cool power that makes her feel stronger or better? Being her was always good enough before she heard the word ‘Luiseach.’ And Sunshine knows she’ll always be whatever she believes herself to be. So if you think you’re merely? You’re always going to be just merely. Be strong. Be positive. Make a change in life.At least Sunshine is Sunshine. And that makes her happy.⠀⠀⠀
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So. They’re leaving.It’s not exactly ending how Sunshine thought it would, but... it’s probably good, considering everything that’s happened. (Sunshine conveniently doesn’t mention that she engraved Dec. 10, 2010 — May 25, 2012 in the wood on the side of the house.)On one hand, she’s sad to be leaving. It’s the end of a chapter, y’know? And she’s sad to know that Victoria will be stuck working for the Markons forever, and that Anna’s stuck here, too.But Sunshine’s really excited. She, Kat, and Uncle Tommy are starting a new phase. She’s fallen in love with the paranormal, and she still has a lot to learn, but she’s sure they’ll have tons more adventures and all of her fans will be there with her.To new adventures... and hopefully new friends.

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PART SEVEN
Season Seven: The Haunted River House
Two months after moving, Sunshine rekindles with Nolan and goes on an adventure to a haunted river house. A few new faces tag along, and things don’t go quite as expected.

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It’s been two months since they moved out of the house.Sunshine is feeling... surprisingly happy. Okay, yeah, the exorcism was terrible, and what happened with Victoria and Nolan was a travesty. But she’s graduated now. She has full time to push toward the paranormal — save for getting a real job, not just posting ghost videos on YouTube — and is looking forward to going on new adventures.Since the old house, Sunshine and Kat visited a cabin in the woods, which turned out to be haunted, and have now successfully moved into their new house. It’s spacious, has two stories, wide rooms, and Sunshine is in love. Yeah, she misses their old home, but to new beginnings! As Victoria said, this is a new chapter in her life. She might as well make the most of it.Until... well.Epic beyond epic news.
Nolan called.
Yeah. He left a pretty strange message, and Sunshine feels weird and has absolutely no idea what to do. She’s telling her fans — but not her mom, because, just no — and hoping to get some feedback on what the hell she should do.Looks like her next little adventure, huh?
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Nolan’s been calling a LOT. Like, way too much for any normal person.Normal Groundling?Anyway, Sunshine’s decided to play one of his voicemails for the camera. This should be great.“Sunshine, hey,” Nolan’s voice comes over the speaker as she raises the phone to her ear, raising her brows at the camera. “I, uh... I understand we’ve been out of touch for a while, but I think I made a lead on something paranormal and awesome.”She rolls her eyes.“Uh, call me back, okay?” And there it ends.Sunshine shakes her head. “See?” she tells the camera. “He has to say things like, ‘I have a lead on paranormal something,’ and I don’t even remember what else he said, but anyways, he knows how to get to me. Remind me to never give my phone number out again.” This should end up looking just wonderful if she decides to actually meet up with him.Oh, so many choices. At least Mom’s not up her ass on this one, though.For now.
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Sunshine’s not allowed to film in the house, so now she’s filming outside. On the roof. Hah.“So I know that you know,” she begins, positioning herself to get comfortable as she sits outside her window, smiling softly at the thought of her fans so eager for Sunshine to contact the weirdo, “that you all want me to call Nolan back and talk to him, and I totally plan on doing that and filming it and everything, but then he... sorta took me by surprise.”She squints, turning her head to shield the sun from her eyes. “He called me while I was driving and I pulled over and I answered and—” Sunshine sighs. “I didn’t have the camera with me so I kinda didn’t record it. Sorry.”Probably best, anyway.“You can all be mad at me I guess, whatever. But I talked to him and everything, and it went... really well, I think. And he really wants to see me. Like, now. Not now, but, soon.” Sunshine can’t control her small smile, because okay, he did betray them, but he could’ve done worse and, like, dragged her to the....underworld or something. She doesn’t know how these things work.“I... don’t know what to do,” she finishes, blowing through her teeth. “I don’t really wanna see him, but I feel like I should. Mostly cause a lot of you are bugging me about it.” Sunshine gives a little glare at the camera, then smiles sweetly. “But... I dunno. I need your feedback.”Is it bad that she’s maybe looking forward to meeting up with him again?⠀⠀⠀
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Okay. Her fans decided.Sunshine’s going to meet Nolan......with a bodyguard.Okay, hear her out. She needs some muscle just in case Nolan decides to do anything drastic, which, in her defense, has happened before. The gun? The warehouse? Attacking Tommy? She has good reason.And it’s not like her ‘bodyguard’ is actually going to hurt Nolan. He’s just tall and kinda buff. Y’know. Nolan may get ideas and Sunshine still isn’t sure whether or not he’s a Groundling, so....Here goes nothing.But first, she needs to tell her mom what she’s doing.Sunshine sighs and walks inside, knocking on Kat’s door.“Yeah?” her mother calls from inside.“Uhhh, so. I’m headin’ out.”“Hey, where you goin?” Kat asks, still shielded behind the door.“I’m... y’know, just going to meet Nolan okay bye!”“What?”Hey, that’s telling her mom, isn’t it? It went really well. She’ll deal with the fallout of that later.Sunshine scampers off before Kat can open the door and runs back outside, Bodyguard following. She hops in the car and starts it, pushing air between her lips as she drives away. They’re meeting in a public place, because, yeah. The park is her best bet, and since it’s the exact place she first met LeMaster, Sunshine finds some sentimental value in it.Not.They hop out of the car and Sunshine begins her trek through the park, making her way to a more overgrown and lush area. Trees tower around, bushes completely covering the ground, and a small stream trickles through the middle. Sunshine balances on rocks as she makes her way through and her breath hitches when she sees Nolan in the distance.He’s sitting on a stone in the middle of the stream, looking... better, than before. His hair is shorter now, less grown out, and his eyes are lighter and softer. Nolan’s wearing a plaid blue shirt and blue jeans, as well as brown boots. His arms are outstretched and dangling lazily over his knees.The trickle of the stream lulls Sunshine out of her slight daze. She makes some clatter by kicking a rock — purposefully — and Nolan looks up. He smiles and Sunshine makes a face, motioning for Bodyguard to go to the side of the stream with the camera. She sits a few feet away from Nolan and sighs. “So,” Sunshine begins, “we’re here, with Nolan, in this... not... public place at all, what is this? This is not public.”He smiles. “It is a city park, there is no more public place than this.”“No, there— there are no people, at all.” People are chattering as they walk by on a path.“There’s people everywhere, there’s—” He purses his lips. “We can’t see them because of the trees. If you do anything untoward they’ll come out with—” Sunshine rolls her eyes.Nolan makes a vague gesture like he’s holding a weapon, “—spears and stuff, very cool.” “There is, there is a person,” she relents.Nolan giggles, looking at the group and waving.“Don’t wave, it’s weird.”“Besides,” Nolan continues, pointing at Bodyguard, “you’ve got your, uh, Rent-A-Giant over here.”Sunshine makes an appalled face and splays out her palm. Seriously? Great first impression here, Nolan. “Rent-A-Giant? Did you really just say—” She shakes her head in apology at Bodyguard, “I— I apologize now for that—”“He seems like a perfectly nice person,” Nolan observes, still smiling like a little kid on his birthday.“—for that horrible behavior.”“Where did you find all of those people that you stacked on top of each other?”Her jaw hangs slack and her eyes open even wider. “I’m just bringing—”“Why are you making such unnaturally tall friends?” She is so fed up with him. Nolan is having the time of his life. “I don’t understand—”“Shh!” Sunshine finally says. “I didn’t feel comfortable with you, okay? I’m just being honest.”

Nolan looks down. “That’s fair.” He nods.“Cause you were kinda weird.”“I get that, well.” He tilts his head from side to side. “It was a weird... situation.” Nolan shrugs.“...Aaaand?”“I feel much better now.” Nolan nods. “I... am at peace—”“What’s different?”“—sitting in the middle of a stream.”“What is different other than the stream?”“I...” Nolan hums. “I sleep regularly, I get lots of fiber, I— go to— go practice— Tuesday, and, Friday, and,” his voice trails off, deliberately growing quiet, “now I’m back on my meds, so that’s good.”“You’re back on your meds?” She raises a brow at him.“I don’t understand why everyone has to just call me on everything I try to glaze over.”“I— I just didn’t—” In her defense, she didn’t know he’d needed meds. Explains a lot though, huh?Nolan sighs. “Yes, I take— I take medication, I have a—” He points to his head, “a brain thing. It’s part— to— uh—” Nolan stammers over his words.Sunshine fills in the gaps for him. “So all the stuff you put me and Mom through, which is, y’know, cool and all, but, was that—?”“I’m— I was the one that was getting kidnapped and dragged around mostly, I was the one that was—”She raises her brows suspiciously. “Pretty— Pretty sure I remember you bringing a gun.”Nolan wipes a hand down his face. “There was the one gun thing and I’m sorry about that, that was a bad idea, I get it, I...”“But that was, because you weren’t,” she frowns, “on your...?”“Unwell, I was unwell,” he offers.“Cause you weren’t on your... meds.”“Yeah.” Nolan inclines his head forward. “I mean, I was, you know. Less than... myself.”She sighs. “So...” Sunshine looks at the camera. Looks like she’s gonna let her fans vote the outcome on this one. She gives a thumbs up and makes an uncertain face as Nolan looks over, “Vote... yes I continue talking to Nolan?” She does a thumbs down with her other hand. “Or vote no, I never associate with this kid again.”“What is this?” Nolan’s brows raise incredulously. “Russia?”“I mean— have you been watching the videos?”He looks like he’s trying to find his words. “No,” he eventually settles on bitterly, “my mom doesn’t let me have the WiFi right now.”Sunshine snorts.“She’s a little upset. I was gone for like.... four and a half months or something.”Sunshine laughs again.“I don’t really— remember—” Nolan’s hand drops in defeat.“Your mom regulates your WiFi usage? You’re living at home?” She gives him a strange look.Nolan looks very much embarrassed. “Currently, yes.”“Well, that’s good, I think...?” She wipes her hair out of her face, trying to show some positivity here. He is doing better, so Sunshine should at least give him a little bit of credit.“Yeah... I do too.”“Anyways, go vote. I think.”Nolan shakes his head at the camera.“Get your friends to vote.”“I don’t understand.”“Your friend’s friends vote.”“Why are you—” Nolan waves his hand at the camera, “turning our video channel into a commune? It doesn’t make any sense.”“Don’t— don’t go for him.” Sunshine points at Nolan.“Hey,” he defends.“What?”Nolan doesn’t have a response to that.“Get your friends to vote,” she says. Does Nolan even have friends?“Do vote for me.” He nods, then throws his arms out. “Why am I participating in this?”“Go do it.”Nolan smiles sarcastically. “Please do it. I’m... I’m begging you..?”“That’s terrible begging.”“I’ll do— I’ll do anything you ask.”Sunshine raises a brow. “Right.”He points to the camera, then to his chest, then gives two thumbs up.She can’t help but laugh.

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So. Mom.They’re on the Oregon Coast to escape the heat. And maybe talk a little bit about Nolan. Luckily Sunshine’s already talked to Kat, so she’s a little less upset than she was before.Also, they definitely were not the only ones with the idea to come to the beach. The shore looks like a fucking colony. “Those are not ants, those are people,” Sunshine quips as she drags the camera across the view.Kat laughs. “I’ve never, ever seen the beach this crazy. Worth the drive, huh?”Sunshine makes a face. “I dunno.”“It’s beautiful.”“Except it’s hot.”Kat smirks at the camera, talking in a baby voice. “The sand’s burning her little feet cause she’s a wuss.”“It is,” she complains.Kat smiles. “But we talked. About Nolan.”Sunshine sticks her tongue out.“And why she met with him. And how it went. Which hopefully you all saw.” She looks at her daughter. “Kinda crazy. So, okay, just to— make sure I understand, maybe you can help me out if I’m wrong— is he saying that everything was because he didn’t take his meds?”Sunshine pushes her lips back into a neutral smile.“Is that...?”She nods. “Yeah.”“Why did he not take his meds?” Kat asks in disbelief, shaking her head. “What was that about?”“I don’t know.”“I just think, it’s like, what is the point if you have meds and you don’t take ‘em...?”“You don’t take ‘em? I don’t know.”“That’s a bad idea,” Kat says, looking at the camera, “for any of you out there that are thinking of doing something similar, we’re gonna call it pulling a Nolan—”“Pulling a Nolan?”“—so don’t do it, take your meds if you’re supposed to, don’t cause grief on the people that care about you — not that we care about Nolan, we’re not saying that—”Sunshine quickly shakes her head. “No, we don’t.”“—but, yeah, so I don’t know, uh, she told me a little bit about the voting thing. I guess I should probably just start watching the videos? A little bit more?”Sunshine nods enthusiastically. Yep, good idea, Mom.“And I think it’s gonna be interesting to see— if Nolan really gets to stay in your life, what that means? Y’know?”Sunshine nods again, this time less enthusiastic.“And— it doesn’t mean you have to take their advice, of course.”“Yeah, I know,” she mumbles.“I also love,” Kat continues, smiling like she just saw two cats cuddling, “that Nolan called it ‘our channel’, that was funny. Like, oh! It’s a Nolan and Sunshine channel!”“No, it’s... just a Sunshine channel—”“You better rename it!”“—and nothing else.”Kat laughs.Yeah. It’s definitely staying as her channel.⠀⠀⠀
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So. This isn’t weird at all.She called Nolan to tell him that the majority of her subscribers voted for them to reunite and stay in contact, and he was so excited he immediately gave Sunshine an address. No idea whose it is, but whatever. She follows it anyway. Bodyguard comes along, too.When Sunshine arrives at the strange house, Nolan (wearing a white shirt for once?) leads her to the door. Wind chimes rattle next to them, sun beaming down on the ground. “Okay,” Nolan says, turning, smiling. “This is the place. Please don’t be too weird.”“Yeah, I’m the weird one.”Nolan opens the door and pokes his head inside. “Mom?” he calls.I’m sorry. WHAT?“Yeah, I’m back here!” a woman calls back. Sunshine steps in after Nolan into a living room. A pug mutt quickly greets them, jumping up and scrabbling its paws over Nolan’s jeans. Sunshine looks around the house, really wondering why the hell she’s meeting Nolan’s mom.Still. Doggie!“Mom,” Nolan says, patting the pug’s head. “I had a very long conversation with Mr. Lazar about our dog.”“Ohhhh,” his mother coos, walking out from the hallway. She smiles sweetly at Sunshine and goes up to Nolan, hugging him tightly.“If it happens again,” Nolan continues through a smile, hugging back, even if he’s probably two feet taller than his mother, “he’s gonna call the police.”Uh. Okay.Nolan’s mother is wearing a black top with white flowers on it and blue jeans. She has red hair, which is quite surprising, and Sunshine sees very little resemblance between the two. “So...?” His mother motions toward Sunshine, tilting her head.“Uh, this is my friend Sunshine,” Nolan points at her, then to Bodyguard, “and her sidekick Tootall.”Sunshine forces herself not to roll her eyes.“Yeah,” his mom says, looking taken aback by the sight of Bodyguard, “you are tall. Right, um.” She laughs and steps forward to her. “Sunshine, um, gosh— okay, I knew he was gonna bring you over to meet me—”She nods.“—but he didn’t say now and I— you know, I can make, I can make some cookies really fast, if you want!”Nolan shakes his head.“I’m fine,” Sunshine giggles politely. “Really.”“You sure?”“Yeah, no, it’s fine.”She motions toward the kitchen and twists her hand. “Cut up some carrot sticks, or...”“Oh, no.” Sunshine smiles.“Mom,” Nolan says, looking in the fridge, “did you eat all the Chinese? Like, all of it?”His mother sighs. “How embarrassing is that?” The pug squeaks its toy at the woman’s feet.“Okay, Morty,” she says, taking the toy. “Okay. Wow! Hi.”“Hi,” Sunshine smiles.“I just wasn’t expecting to meet you.” His mom smiles. In the background, Nolan grabs a glass cup and fills it with water. She leans down and pets the pug. “This is Morty.”“I love him!” Sunshine says with a genuine smile. So cute! Nolan never mentioned he had a dog.“I’m, uh, I’m Marcie.”“Sunshine.”Marcie gives a little side hug. “So— so please, can I get you some water?”“No, I’m fine,” Sunshine nods, “really, I’m... good.”“Okay...”Nolan walks over, glass in hand. “You don’t like water?”“No, I just don’t want any, I’m not parched or anything...”He grins and Marcie fake punches Nolan’s shoulder. “She doesn’t have to. But if you change your mind, let me know. Uh, come in.” She laughs.“Sorry about the camera,” Nolan says, leaning against the wall as they walk over to the couch. “They... like it, a lot.”“Well, it’s okay,” Marcie says, “I just woulda liked to have had a little notice, but...”Nolan clears his throat. “It’s more fun if you don’t, so.”Sunshine points at Nolan. “That was your fault. Um. So,” she picks up a picture that shows little Nolan and his mom hugging, “you were a kid at one time, here?” Nolan grunts from the other side of the room, sipping his water.Marcie laughs. “He was, it’s hard to believe.”“There will be more of this later!” Sunshine mouths to the camera in a whisper, smirking, because she just loves embarrassing the hell out of Nolan.“Look at him now,” Sunshine says.“Shut up,” Nolan calls back, placing his glass down and throwing himself on the couch, hugging an orange pillow to his chest.Marcie laughs once more. “Well, yeah, please, sit down, sit down.”Sunshine relents and drops down next to Nolan. “Sure.”“Um, gosh, it is just—” Marcie sits down across from them, “it’s cool to meet you! I hope you like dogs, cause he’s probably—” She motions toward the couch.“Oh, yes,” Sunshine says.“Morty. Morty,” Nolan says in the dog voice. The pug jumps up and Sunshine pets it, completely falling in love with this cute little puppy.“Okay, well, y’know.” Marcie makes a vague gesture. “Um, this is probably kind of awkward, but...”Nolan leans his head back, laughing in embarrassment. “Oh, Mom, noooo. No way!” He drops his smile. “You’ve known her for five seconds, Mom.”“Shhh shh shh, you don’t know what I’m gonna say.”Sunshine pets Morty, anticipating whatever is coming next.Marcie sighs. “I just know that, um, that he really put you through—”Nolan leans forward and sips his drink, definitely trying to hide his mortification at the subject.“—a lot, and we’ve talked about it, and, uh, he’s my kid so he’s stuck with me, but I appreciate the fact that you gave him the chances that you did—”Nolan looks at Sunshine as they exchange a glance and does some weird face, extending his arms, eyes wide like he’s begging for forgiveness. He looks like a preteen Christian Bale with less angst. Sunshine giggles.“—and I think he’s worth it—” Marcy laughs. “Stop, with that face!”Morty climbs on Nolan’s legs and stumbles.“Thanks, Morty, for breaking the tension. But, uhm, really, it really means a lot to me.” Marcie nods.“Yeah,” Sunshine laughs, looking at Nolan, “no problem.”She scoots up further. “Also, I, um.” Nolan looks at his mom then rolls his eyes. “I know this is kind of, a, a little weird,” Marcy giggles, “I, uh—”Nolan gives his mother a look.She gives one back. “I— I’ll handle it.”He dramatically shakes his hand into a fist. “I’m going to run away from home and join the circus! Ah. Okay.”Sunshine watches the two, trying to keep her giggles in.“He didn’t tell you, I’m assuming,” Marcie grins.“What?” Sunshine laughs.“Okay, well, um, here’s the deal. I am— people say psychic, but I’m really more of a clairvoyant, um—”Sunshine looks at Nolan, smiling like an idiot. He shrugs uselessly. “You failed to mention this?”“Oh, yeah,” he says sarcastically, “it’s the first thing I tell people, golly, gee.”“He’s selective with it.” Marcie smiles. “And I normally don’t say much to people cause I don’t like to freak ‘em out, but if I get a really strong hit on somebody I feel like I should show them.”Nolan drops his shaking head into his hands, looking like he wants the ground to swallow him whole.“And I really see you guys,” Marcie continues, “really developing your friendship, and—”Nolan inclines his head forward and squints at her like she’s speaking in a foreign tongue.“—actually taking it to a different level—”He groans and drops his head back, probably thinking ‘Kill me.’“—um, I’m just getting this huge huge amount of energy, uh—”Sunshine looks at the camera, raising her brows. Interesting.“—coming toward me,” Marcie closes her eyes and reopens them, “telling me you guys need to work together.”Nolan scratches his chin as Morty sits on his lap. “Um, I think there’s some pictures of me when I was five and naked in the cupboard, you should show her those next.”“Oh, don’t worry, I will,” Marcie says. “Seriously, though.”“Um, working, together—? Like, like a job?” Sunshine asks. “Cause I don’t really like jobs.”“Who does.” Marcie smiles. “No, I mean, I really mean it. Think about it, think about it, I’m sorry, I know it’s kinda— but just think about it.”She giggles. “Okay, I— I will.”Nolan looks at Sunshine. “I’m sorry you were just verbally molested by my mother.”“Oh, brother,” Marcie swats a hand and rolls her eyes.Sunshine laughs.She really is glad to have Nolan as her friend again.⠀⠀⠀
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It’s the day after meeting Nolan’s adorable dog — and his mom — and this all feels really right.Marcie was awesome, for one. She made a fruit and veggie tray. Who does that? Awesome people. She’s kinda like a little house wife. And a clairvoyant. How did he forget to mention that? So weird.Anyway, his mom did get her thinking. Marcie talked about them working together, and that’s kind of what Sunshine and Nolan are best at. Working together, like a little fake Scooby gang. She’s Daphne, and he can be.... Scooby.It’s just kind of getting her thinking. There are always so many people who ask her to investigate their house, so... maybe it could be super duper fun.So.Little gears turning.⠀⠀⠀
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Three days later, and Sunshine’s been thinking about what she wants to do next, more adventuriness, y’know. She thinks it would be cool, though, to investigate other haunted places. Start a little Scooby gang, take Nolan, right? Maybe they could take his dog along?Anywho, Sunshine’s been looking into houses people have told her are haunted, and she’s really liking going into their histories. Because maybe she misses that with their old house, just a little bit.For the first house, the owners are currently in Egypt, so it’s not like she can talk to them as of now, but they feel a spirit in the house. That’s about all she knows.The next house has a male homeowner that feels that there is a female presence — no bothering him of any kind, y’know, pestering — but he wants to know more about this ghost of his, so, also interesting.Another house she heard about from a friend of a friend of her hairdresser’s cousin is being sold because something — they said a ghost, but something more sinister — is living there, taking over the whole house kind of thing. She has dealt with two demons, so. Why not take on another?So, yeah. Sunshine looked at all of the houses but some of her addresses were wrong and she ended up at a Starbucks. Probably not haunted. She just thinks it’s a cool idea. Maybe Nolan will have some strong feelings about it, too.Overall, she’s had a long, fun day.⠀⠀⠀
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⠀⠀⠀Someone’s calling. Sunshine’s sitting in her car, talking to the camera, when her phone starts ringing. She raises a brow and answers, putting it on speaker.“Sunshine?”“Yeah! Hey,” she says, recognizing the voice.“Hi, it’s Marcie, Nolan’s mom.”“Oh.” Sunshine smiles. “Hi.” What’s this? More psychic info?“Hi, honey, I know this is kind of sudden, but do you have any free time today? I mean, it can be any time, I’m home all day.”“Uhm— yeah? I do, yeah.”“Would you be willing to stop by the house just for a few minutes? It’ll just take a second.” Sunshine doesn’t know what this is about, but it can’t hurt, can it? “Um, yeah! No, that’s fine.”“Okay,” Marcie says, “that would be great. Um, I’ll— you know what? I’ll make a little fruit and veggie tray.”“Okay, yeah,” Sunshine replies, because damn, she loves them.“That’d be awesome. All right, thank you so much, honey.”“Yeah, no problem.”“See ya soon.”“Okay, bye.”“Buh bye.”Sunshine hangs up and can’t stop smiling as she looks at the camera, a sort of incredulous look on her face. “That was Nolan’s mom.” She laughs. “How did she even get my phone number?”Looks like she’s stopping by Marcie’s house. C’mon. She can’t say no to that fruit and veggie tray. It’s golden.She manages to get Bodyguard to tag along and makes it to the house about an hour later. Sunshine squints as she looks up at Bodyguard. “I’m so sorry we have to do this again.” She steps forward and knocks on the black door.A dog barks and Sunshine smiles. “Morty.” The door finally opens and Nolan looks out at her. “Any time now.”He squints and then smiles. “Sunshine!”“You don’t have to make that face.”Nolan looks up at Bodyguard. “Sasquatch!” His expression drops when he looks back at Sunshine. “What are you doing here?”“Your— mom called me?”“She’s here because I called her here,” Marcie says from the kitchen. She crosses Nolan’s side and smiles. Sunshine waves.“Mooooom...” Nolan says in a sing-song voice. He has this look on his face that’s a mix between weirded out and surprised. “Where did you get their nuuuumbberrr? You’re super weiiiird.”“Come in,” Marcie huffs, motioning for them to come inside. Nolan widens the door and raises a brow at the ordeal. “Um, thanks for coming.”“Yeah,” Sunshine nods. “No problem.”Nolan has a very fake smile as he looks at his mother.She looks back, grinning. “You should really listen to your mother.”He inclines his head forward, continuing to fake smile.“If you listen to your mother,” Marcie continues, “and did what your mother asked, I wouldn’t have had to call her myself. I’m just sayin’.”Nolan nods and puts his hand on his hips, then turns and walks into the kitchen, making a sound of disbelief.“Anyway,” she says, facing Sunshine, “hi.”“Hi.” Sunshine smiles. “How are you?”“I’m good.” In the kitchen Nolan crosses his arms and leans on the counter. Marcie looks over Sunshine’s shoulder at her son. “Do I need to ground you? Do we still do that? Grounding?”He shakes his head and doesn’t respond.“Oh, silent treatment. Okay. Anyway, please, come and sit down.” Marcie leads Sunshine to the couch. “I just needed to see you.”“No, yeah, that’s fine.” Sunshine looks back at Nolan and raises a brow, then seats herself on the couch.Marcie joins next to her. Nolan walks into the living room and sits down, arms on his knees as he watches both women. “Remember when I talked to you, when I first met you, that if I get a big strong hit from something, that I feel like I need to show that.”Sunshine nods.She motions toward Nolan. “And he knows I don’t just run up to people all over willy-nilly saying, ‘I need to share this,’ I don’t do that.”“Yes you do,” Nolan says. “You totally do. All the time.”Marcie shushes him. Sunshine giggles and Nolan wipes a hand down his face, embarrassed. “Anyway,” she continues, “when I said I saw you guys really working together—”“Morty, Morty,” Nolan coos in his dog voice.“—I mean I really see it so clearly, and it won’t leave me alone. I’m, like, dreaming about it and stuff, and so I know this is a big deal.”“We get along so well, and everything,” Nolan adds.Sunshine makes a face. “Right.”Marcie goes on. “I also want to say, um, I have watched all the videos.”Sunshine and Nolan exchange a glance. “All of them?” Sunshine asks, blown away. “There’s... a lot.”“Oh, I know. I’ve watched all of them and I just wanna say I really, really, really know now what...” Marcie motions toward Nolan. “He put you through.”His jaw hangs open and he smiles in bewilderment.“It’s okay, honey, it’s not your fault. I’m just saying.” Marcie nods.“I’m sorry,” Nolan keeps smiling, “did you miss the parts where I was in mortal danger, like, all the time?”“That was, like, twice,” Sunshine says. “Okay?”“Anyway, anyway,” Marcie breathes, “I just want to reiterate how much it means to me that you, uh, have given him another shot.”Nolan runs his hand through his hair and shifts in his spot, tucking his legs close to his chest, grinning with humiliation. “I can’t handle this.”“Yeah,” Sunshine laughs.“Okay, moving on,” Marcie says loudly, steering the subject, “moving on. Awkward.”Nolan hangs his head back.“So, talking about you guys working together, I actually have—” She looks at her son. “What is it, is it a case? Is that what it is, a thing?”“Uhhh...” Nolan makes a face.“We use a thing that you have to— a case,” Marcie nods.“A case... we actually, we actually like to call it—”He’s cut off by Sunshine. “Okay, sure, call it a case.”“—yeah, okay,” Nolan nods, scratching his nose. “A job, a case,” Marcie confirms.“Yeah,” Sunshine says.“Yeah, yeah.” Nolan rocks back and forth on the carpet.Marcie crosses her hands. “A case that I need you guys to help me with. And it’s kind of a big deal, actually, it’s a friend of mine, um, and there is something in that house.”Nolan tilts his head. “I’m sorry, who is this?”“Huh?”“Who—” Nolan shakes his head. “Who?”“Uhhh....” Marcie says.Sunshine stares at him. “Just a friend of hers?”“Somebody from work,” Marcie says, “you don’t need to know, at this point.”Nolan looks between both of them and makes a face, dropping his shoulders in defeat.“I don’t— I don’t wanna spill the beans unless I know you guys are gonna work on it, for sure. Okay? That’s the thing. She’s embarrassed about it.”“I’m embarrassed about it,” Nolan mutters, not looking at either of them.Sunshine rolls her eyes.“There’s something in her house,” Marcie resumes, “and it’s, uhm, it’s pretty powerful, I’ve felt it a number of times, and— I don’t know what to do with it, but I think if you guys put your heads together you could figure it out. I don’t know the next... step. Would you be willing to—” She laughs, “before I divulge any names, would you be willing to help?”“How much are we getting paid?” Nolan asks.“Oh my goodness,” Sunshine says.He raises his hand, clambering to his feet. “Fine! Yeah, let’s do it, it’ll be fun, okay.”“Nolan, seriously,” Marcie tips her head as she looks up at him.“I’m sorry.” He offers his hands.“I mean, I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t mean it.” She outstretches her arms and takes his hands in hers.“Okay.” He dips his head and turns on his heel.Sunshine just laughs.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lil’ bit of news.She didn’t mention this earlier, because it just seemed pointless, but a while back some dudes came to their old house and investigated it because they thought it was all a hoax. They were kinda funny? One peed himself and ate lots of Doritos?...Not ringing any bells?...Damn it.This isn’t gonna work.Rewind time.
The First Haunted House
March 10, 2011
(Roughly set around the time Sunshine opened Victoria’s box)
A bald man is standing in front of the house, positioned before a large camera, one of the two paranormal investigators that doesn’t believe Sunshine’s house is haunted. He’s wearing a tan shirt with a brown tie, and a black slicker on over it. He looks more like a sheriff than anything.“Here behind me,” he says, pointing back, using his narrator voice, “stands the home of an anonymous YouTuber known to the world only as Sunshine. She’s a cute, funny, charismatic seventeen-year-old girl, but Sunshine’s charms are not what makes her unique, no, it’s something else entirely. Something that most people would never expect. According to the videos that she regularly posts on YouTube, Sunshine may very well be living in the most haunted house known to man.”He smiles. “So, I, Gary Thompson, experienced paranormal investigator and my crack team of equally experienced paranormal investigators have come here today to discover the truth behind these videos.”Another man walks into frame. He has longer curly black-gray hair that trickles in front of his eyes, and he’s wearing a black shirt that doesn’t hide the bulge of his stomach. His hands are tucked beneath his armpits and he looks like he’s trying to act tough, but in reality, he looks like a completely pussy.“Is Sunshine really being haunted?” Gary continues. “Or is this just some elaborate hoax? Only time will tell. So let’s begin our journey... into the unknown.” He smirks and turns, then his face drops at the sight of the other man. “Have you been standing here for the whole shot, Lionel?”Lionel realizes he’s being spoken to. “No, no,” he says, motioning, “not the whole shot, just when you told me to come in.”“When I told— I never told you to come in.” Gary looks very much annoyed.Lionel shakes his head, eyes wide. “Yeah, you did. You told me on the ‘hoax’ line, you need to pop in.” He repeats the same weird stance, trying to look rugged and intimidating. “Look tough.”“I— I don’t want you popping in and looking tough. I never said that.” Gary shakes his head.“Uh. Yeah, Gary, ya did. It was right after you talked to your mom and asked her what was for dinner. Right after that, remember?” “Well, I remember talking to Mom about—” Gary clenches his jaw and averts his gaze for a moment. “My— Mom— that’s hilarious.” He clears his throat, trying to shrug it off for the camera. “Can we just cut? We’re gonna have to do the intro again.”“Can I stay in the shot?” Lionel asks.“No!”“Why not?!”“Because it doesn’t make any sense you being in the shot!”“I look tough!”Gary clenches his hand into a fist and walks away.Take 2, and they’re close to finishing with the intro. At least, Gary is. “Is Sunshine really being haunted,” he recites, “or is this just some elaborate hoax? Only time will tell.”From the bushes walks Lionel, trying to look tough again, taking his place behind Gary.Gary doesn’t notice and continues. “So, let’s begin our journey, into the unknown.” He dramatically turns and nearly runs right into his colleague. “Damnit, Lionel!” He shakes his head angrily and walks out of the camera frame.Now in the house, Gary stands beside Sunshine and Kat. Both women have their arms crossed and are looking at him like he’s an idiot. “So I am now standing here,” Gary says, “with Sunshine, the internet star.”Sunshine makes a face and Kat giggles.“And her mom,” Gary adds.“Yep,” Kat says to the camera.“I wouldn’t really... call myself a star,” Sunshine says.Ah. How naive she was in the beginning...Gary sighs and tucks his hands into his pockets.“I would,” says Lionel on Gary’s left. He’s munching on a bag of Doritos, and he definitely has some sort of Southern drawl. “You chicks are hot.”Gary turns to his friend. “Lionel...”Kat and Sunshine are left a little speechless.“Ew,” Sunshine mumbles.“Regardless of your idea of fame, Sunshine,” Gary manages to continue, turning his back to Lionel, “you can’t argue with the numbers. Thousands of people are watching your videos, and then debating the authenticity of these so-called— ‘ghost videos.’”Sunshine nods slowly and raises her brows.“Some have even gone so far as to call you... fake and gay.”The camera zooms into Sunshine’s face, The Office style.“You have a response to that?”“No,” she says, “well— I’m not gay.” Sunshine hesitates. “I do have a thing for Mila Kunis, but... let’s be honest, who doesn’t?” She laughs. Kat taps her shoulder, telling her to back off, but fails and relents.“I’m—” Gary struggles for words. “I’m really more interested in the word fake in that phrase.”“O-oh,” Sunshine stammers, nodding.Kat sighs.“Are your videos,” Gary asks, “fake?”Sunshine squints. “Isn’t that what you’re—” She motions at he, Lionel, and the cameras, “kinda here to figure out, I mean...? Stick around long enough and something’s bound to happen.”“Well,” Gary sighs, “if you are faking it, we will discover your methods. My team and I—” He looks back at Lionel and frowns to see him licking Dorito dust off of his fingers. Gary turns back to the women. “Are— experienced paranormal investigators, and nary a clue—”Yuck.“Nary a clue, I say, will get past us.”Kat nods.Sunshine makes another face. “Great, Sherlock, uhm.” She motions. “Where’s the rest of your... team?”Gary looks at her. “What do you mean?”“The rest of your team, you said you had a team, this isn’t really a... a team, it’s a guy with a camera, and you, and then...” Lionel crunches on a chip. “That one, who kinda smells like Doritos.”Lionel realizes someone’s talking about him. He reaches forward. “Mm? Want one?” he says through a mouthful.Gary hisses quietly, “Stop— offering— Doritos.”Sunshine and Kat lean back and politely shake their heads.Gary returns his gaze to them. “Yes, we have fallen on some financially difficult times, and our team has shrunk a little bit, but—” He grabs a Dorito Lionel hands him and eats it, “rest assured, strong as ever.”“Um. Okay.” Sunshine looks around awkwardly. “Great. Where do you wanna... start..?”He hums thoughtfully. “Well, why don’t you show us where—”A mug in the kitchen shatters on the floor and causes everyone to jump. Gary’s eyes widen and he rushes past the cameraman, throwing himself into the kitchen. “Who’s in here?!” he demands.Kat raises a brow as she walks after him. This is a usual occurrence, so she isn’t too shocked. “Nobody’s in here.”Gary looks in the dining room as if someone’s gonna be hiding there. Lionel walks over the mug and eats his Doritos, looking around. Gary laughs, clearly out of his comfort zone. “All right. Tell us how you did it.”Sunshine makes a face. “Did it? Did what?”Kat points to the living room. “We were in there, with you.”“It wasn’t me,” Sunshine offers, fed up with these amateurs. “It was... probably a ghost, probably Anna.”“Anna?” Gary echoes.Both women nod. “Yeah,” Sunshine says, brows furrowing, “Anna? The little girl ghost that haunts the house? I mean, she’s not the only one, but she’s the most active.”Gary whips his head to Lionel, then calmly looks back at Sunshine, nodding slowly. “We shall see.”Silence.“Okay...?”And so, they wait. Now darkness has fallen upon the earth, shadows spilling into the house. Lionel, Kat, and Sunshine sit on the couch. Gary stands in front of the camera, both excited and nervous to continue.“It is almost midnight,” he declares in his narrator voice, “here in the Sunshine home, and it seems like activity is starting to pick up.”“I think just in general,” Kat says from the couch, “there’s a lot more activity after dark.” She nods.Gary motions toward the camera, silently hinting that he doesn’t want to be interrupted during his scenes. He clears his throat and spreads his hands out. “We have heard a girl yelling, and we have heard footsteps upstairs—” Gary turns, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Sunshine, are we the only people in the house?” He leans down on his knees to their level.Sunshine makes a face, like she can’t believe what she’s hearing. “You’ve been here for, like, six hours. Have you seen anyone else?”“Ah,” Gary says, “clever is the girl who does not answer the question.”“I’m not not answering the question, I’m just trying to encourage a little— critical thinking from you and your—” She looks over at Lionel. “Team...”“Ahh, yes, critical thinking!” Lionel nods, pointing at Sunshine. “I engage in critical thinking all the time.”“Lionel,” Gary sighs, standing, “deciding what bowl of cereal you’ll have in the morning doesn’t qualify as critical thinking.”“You kidding’ me? It can be!” he defends. “You know, every day is a struggle to make the right decision. Like— when my friends and I are gettin together—”Sunshine drops her head in her hands.“—I plan ahead, a’ight? For the big DnD match, I eat four bowls of Wheaties— breakfast of champions gets me to the edge—”“Will you shut up?!” Gary exclaims.“Are you guys always this professional?” Sunshine remarks.“Listen—!” He whirls on Sunshine, who raises a brow in response, and breathes heavily, trying to control his temper. “Listen.” Gary’s voice returns to its normal level. He clears his throat. “Investigating paranormal activities is a serious profession, and I am one of the top professionals in the profession.”Sunshine and Kat stare at him.“I don’t doubt that,” Sunshine says sarcastically.Suddenly, something in the kitchen moves — like a chair sliding across the ground — and Lionel jumps to his feet, eyes wide. “Woah, what was that?” Gary slides past the camera man, peering into the empty room.“It was probably Anna,” Sunshine shrugs, she and Kat beginning to follow. “Or her father.”Gary grabs the wall and uses it to whirl himself around, eyes wide. “Anna has a father?”“Yeah.”“Is he a ghost too?”“Yes, um... he’s typically more aggressive, so I kinda hope it’s not him.”Lionel moves to the base of the stairs, peering up. “More aggressive, you say?” He turns to both women.“Yeah.”A bang upstairs freezes both Sunshine and Kat in place. Lionel and Gary jump, caught off guard. “Okay,” Gary breathes nervously, voice shaking. “We should— probably go upstairs.”Sunshine nods. Gary begins to walk to the base of the stairs, but Lionel pushes him back, eyes wide. “Woah woah woah, do you think that’s a good idea—?” “We’re professionals, Lionel,” Gary says uncertainly, clearly not wanting to go upstairs.“Let’s not do this,” Lionel says, voice dropping several octaves.“We have to do it!” Gary whisper-yells back.Lionel sighs and steps back, running a hand through his messy black hair.Gary turns to the women. “Sunshine, would you like to lead the way?”“No.” Sunshine shakes her head, arms crossed. “I think I’ll let the professionals handle it.”Gary stares. “Right. Of course.” He makes a sort of whimper-grunt and breathes, grabbing his colleague’s shoulder and shoving him forward. “Let’s go, Lionel.”Lionel uses the wall to hold himself in place, terrified.“Just— go,” Gary hisses.Lionel defensively holds out his hands but walks up the stairs. Sunshine makes another face. Gary follows, both men inching their way up, cameraman following.A door slams and Lionel nearly loses his footing. Gary jerks back. “Jesus,” he mutters furiously, grunting. “God.” The door continues slamming back and forth as Lionel makes it to the second level. Gary follows, trembling. “Sunshine?! How are you doing this?!”“Doing this?” she snaps back. “I don’t have super long arms!”“It’s the ghost,” Kat defends.“The... dad ghost?” Lionel asks hesitantly as Gary slowly makes his way through the dark hallway toward Sunshine’s room.“Well... yeah, probably,” Kat says. Lionel leans his head back, terrified. “He’s a lot more violent.”“Whoever is in there,” Gary states loudly, voice shaking so badly it’s hard to understand exactly what he’s saying, “please show yourself!” He breathes and leans his hand against the wall. “Whoever is in there, please stop slamming the door!”It gives one final shove then stops. Silence falls through the house.“Nice one, Gary!” Lionel smiles and pats his friend’s shoulder. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking’ about!” Gary giggles and turns, smiling, hand over his chest. “Thank you!”“See, that’s how we do this!”“Wasn’t that good?” Gary laughs, grinning.“Oh, man,” Lionel nods, smiling widely, “you’re so good.”Sunshine looks at the camera, unamused. Kat looks between the two ‘professionals.’“No,” Sunshine says, curling her lip in disgust.Gary lifts his hand weakly and it drops. “Fine, but...” He sucks in a breath and faces the camera. Lionel nods, following his gaze. “Now, we will finally be able to see if Sunshine is, in fact, hiding someone in her room.”Sunshine and Kat shakes their heads in exasperation.Gary walks down the hallway to Sunshine’s room, hesitating before the closed door. He grabs the doorknob and gasps when the lights cut off. “Who turned out the lights?!”The cameraman flicks the camera light on.“Everybody, downstairs,” Gary orders like an angry dad, but his terror seeps through. “Hurry!”Sunshine and Kat go first. Lionel follows, practically leaping down the stairs. Cameraman is next with Gary at the rear, feet moving faster than he can even think. Lionel moves into the living room, hands on his head, whimpering.“Okay,” Gary demands, still scared, “what just happened?!”“She just likes to do that,” Sunshine says.“What?”“Cut the power!”“Cut— really,” Lionel says in disbelief, “how do you live like this?”“We’ve just gotten used to it,” Sunshine defends.“No, I think it’s worse because you guys are here,” Kat frowns, looking at Gary and Lionel. “I don’t think Anna likes being called a fake...”“Okay, well—” Lionel raises his arms, yelling as he looks at the ceiling, “hey, Anna? Just for the record, I, Lionel, do not think you’re fake, okay? We cool, Anna? Anna, we cool?”“Lionel, shut up!” Gary snaps, exhausted.“So... what now, you guys?” Sunshine asks.“Sunshine, I need you to tell me—” Gary says, desperately searching for an answer, “is this just some elaborate hoax, or is what is happening actually happening?!”“What—” Kat throws her arms out. “She isn’t David Blaine, how could she make all this happen?!”“Shh, shh shh!” Lionel jerks forward, eyes wide, hand on Kat’s shoulder. Everyone looks at him. “I hear something.”“Oh, crap!” Gary exclaims, flinching.“What?!” Kat exclaims.“Oh, I just felt something touch the back of my neck!” he whimpers.“Oh,” Lionel groans, “come on, Gary!”“Hand to God, Lionel!” he exclaims in a shaky voice, raising his arm.“That’s... your left hand,” Sunshine mutters.Kat screams and everyone looks at her.“What?!” Gary demands.She looks around. “Something just grabbed my butt!”“What?” Sunshine looks at her mother like she’s grown a second head.“Yes!” Kat defends, nodding. Everyone looks at Lionel. He realizes he’s being blamed. “What?! It’s a ghost, right?” He shrugs lamely.“Ugh!” Kat shoves his shoulder. “Keep your Dorito paws off me, you freak.”“Hey,” he says, not even trying to defend himself, “what are you talkin’ about, man?” He raises his arms. “It was probably the dad ghost, yo. Dad ghosts always like to grab ass.”The door to that bathroom suddenly slams shut. Gary shouts and everyone else gasps.“Where was that?” Gary says.“The bathroom,” Sunshine responds, trembling.“Uh oh,” Kat murmurs, soothingly laying a hand on her daughter’s shoulder.“Whaddya mean, uh oh?” Lionel asks.“Anna’s father used to lock her in the restroom,” Sunshine nervously answers. “In the dark.”“Oh.” Lionel nods.Kat frowns. “It’s... really bad when it gets like this.”“Perfect.”“Daddy?” A little girl voice chimes from the bathroom. Anna.Sunshine stiffens.“Is that her?” Gary whispers.“Yeah,” Sunshine says.“Daddy?” Anna says again.“The bathroom?” Gary murmurs. Everyone nears the door.“Yeah.” “Daddy, please help me! I need help!”“Oh my god,” Gary says, shocked.“You should try calling out to her,” Kat suggests.“It hurts!” Anna sobs.Gary nears the door, terrified. “Are you there, Anna?”He flinches and shouts when the doorknob begins to jiggle violently. “Go back, back back back!” “No!” Sunshine and Kat say.“What do you mean, no?!”“Daddy!”“You have to open the door!” Sunshine says. “I’m not gonna open the door!”“Daddy, please help me!” Gary shakes his head and throws himself forward, grabbing the doorknob and slamming it open.Silence.Gary desperately looks for someone in the bathroom and runs out, shaking like a leaf. “Tell me how you did this,” he demands.Both women look at him. Seriously?“Lionel!” Gary suddenly snaps. “I thought you had this under control!”Sunshine looks then turns her head away. “Ew...”They look down. His pants are wet. He totally pissed himself. “I did too,” he says, trembling.Gary looks past the women into the kitchen, eyes wide.“What?” Sunshine asks.“Anna,” he whispers.Everyone turns to see Anna staring at them, black gown with the burlap sack and all. She walks behind the wall, shielded from view, and Gary makes chase. He stops at the base of the stairs and looks up at the looming darkness. Anna stands there, staring at him.“She’s waiting for you,” Sunshine says.Gary swallows. “Me?”“Yeah. You’ve been trying to talk to her all night. Now’s your chance to prove all of this is fake.”Gary looks over. “Lionel, come on.”“Woah, Gary—” He puts his hands out. “I can’t. Look, I already went number one on myself. I go up those stairs? It’s not gonna be pretty. You know what I mean?”Gary looks at him in disgust and turns back to Anna. “Sunshine, let’s go.”“No, this one’s all you,” she insists, then laughs. “I’ve lived with Anna long enough to know she doesn’t like to be toyed with. Besides. This could all be a trap and her dad could be up there waiting for you.” Sunshine smiles. “Good luck.”“Well.” Gary breathes harshly. “Tonight is the night that Gary goes from ghost hunting professional to ghost hunting legend.”Sunshine rolls her eyes.“I am about to discover the truth behind Sunshine’s YouTube videos, and discover whether this is all real, or if it is, as so many of you YouTubers have accused her of, if it is all just fake. Tonight, I cement my legend as the greatest ghost hunting professional in the history of the world.” He looks at the camera, completely serious. Sunshine is unamused. “If it’s real, then tonight we will have collected more footage of paranormal activity than any ghost hunter in the history of ghost hunters collecting paranormal activity footage.”Sunshine looks at him. “Are you just gonna keep talking, or are you gonna go up?”“I’m going,” he insists, hesitating. Gary begins the climb. “Anna? I don’t wanna hurt you.” His voice wavers. “I just want to touch you. But— not in a creepy way, I promise.”Anna begins to move backwards without using her feet, darkness swallowing her body as she nears Sunshine’s room.Gary whirls around. “Forget it, it’s real, it’s all real!” he yells and throws himself to the front door. “Lionel, come on, let’s get out of here!” He opens the door and runs out. Lionel quickly follows, nearly busting his ass he’s running so fast.Sunshine watches them leave and can’t help herself.She laughs.So, now that everyone’s all caught up on the situation, Sunshine is getting a shitload of calls from Gary and Lionel.They insist they want to meet with her again, so, hey, it can’t hurt, can it? And besides, they added some ‘comic relief,’ and even if they’re terrible paranormal investigators, maybe they can stick around for Marcie’s job request.Maybe.

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Sunshine’s in her favorite meeting spot. The park. Very, very public. Emphasis on the public. This time she’s by the river, full of little boats being way too loud, and... Well. She’s here to meet Gary and Lionel, the “Real Paranormal Investigators.” And of course, she brought Tootall, because, y’know. It’s always fun to have somebody to talk to after all the madness.Oh.They’re here.“Sunshine, hi,” Gary says, wearing a blue sweater with different colored squares, kaki pants, and... a fedora.“Hi,” she replies with a smile.“Hi, thank you for meeting with— me. Uh,” he looks back, “Lionel couldn’t be here, he’s out at—” Gary gets distracted by the camera. “Oh, good, it’s... filming. Hi.”“Yeah. It’s filming.”Gary doesn’t look particularly comfortable with that, but Sunshine can’t be bothered to care. If the ‘paranormal legend’ can’t even face Anna, he deserves no judgement on her precious camera.Even if it does feel weird not having it in her hands. Tootall’s got her, though. “I mean, the camera, I’m not saying, it’s not—” Gary sighs and drops his hands, pointing back. “Uhh. Lionel— feels bad that he couldn’t be here, he’s at work, uhh, he’s...”Sunshine raises her brows, staring at him strangely as she sits on the wooden railing. “Where does he work...?”“It’s not—” Gary closes his eyes like he’s in pain. “It’s not important, he’s— a male stripper, but—”“Oh!” Sunshine laughs, because that’s definitely not what she’d been expecting.“—but he’s also embarrassed because of the...” Gary glances at the camera when Tootall gets closer. “Hi.” He returns his gaze to Sunshine. “Because of the, ehm, peeing.”“Oh. The... incident. Right.”“Um. Anyway, thank you for agreeing to—” Gary pulls himself up onto the railing as well, grunting as he does so.Sunshine makes a face. “Good job.”“Look.” Gary glances down and picks at a leaf. “After last time, there was— listen, last time was really embarrassing for us, personally and professionally. Since that has been on the internet, there’s been a lot of... we’ve had a lot of negative... press, and a lot of calls, and a lot of emails, to our agency, which— barely exists anymore, we lost a lot of clients, a lot of our regulars don’t want to see us anymore...”Sunshine raises a brow. “Your regulars?” She grins, waiting for his response. And maybe she’s having a little too much fun watching Gary squirm.“Yeah,” Gary says with forced optimism, “because a lot of people have more than one ghost that’s haunting them, or— sometimes it takes more than one— visit to—”She raises her brows, nodding, amused. “Oh.”“Anyway, um, we would really love an opportunity to make it up to you,” he motions toward the camera, “everybody watching, and perhaps establish a little more credibility again if you would be willing to give us another chance, if there’s something— if there’s something that we can investigate with you—”Sunshine smiles, waiting for the big finale on this big huge speech.“—as your— partner, we’d be your team this time.”“Oh, oh.” She smiles and tries to hold back her giggles. “Okay, that’s, uh... interesting thought. What do you guys think?” Both she and Gary look at the camera. “I mean—” She shrugs. “Should I let them? Go on an adventure with me and such?” Sue her, she’s letting the fans vote again. “Or...heck no?”Gary looks between Sunshine and the camera in confusion. “Who are you talking to right now? What kind of...?”She laughs then it dies. “Have you not been watching the videos?”He clenches his teeth. “Some— of them!”“Does nobody watch my channel anymore?” She throws her arms up. “Like, my business is goin’ down. Anyways, so.” She sighs. “I— needed advice, so they vote, yes no—”“Oh.”“—thumbs up means yeah, thumbs down— yeah, no, get it?”Gary’s eyes widen. “So it’s up to them whether or not we can go on the—”“Pretty much.”“—couldn’t you just— couldn’t—” He slams a hand over his mouth. “Okay. May I...? Can I..?”“Sure.” She smirks.“Um.” Gary positions himself and looks at the camera. “Hi, everybody, uh. Please let us go on this, it’s—”Sunshine tries to conceal her laughs, but it’s not working.“—Lionel and I are— real paranormal investigators, and we want to learn as much as we can—” He looks at Sunshine and she quickly puts on her straight face, masking her giggles, “this is real paranormal investigative— top no— top quality, please let us go on this.” Gary leans closer to Sunshine. “And, is it okay if, uh— uh— Lionel’s male stripper friends and the ladies that— work and shop at Costco where I do sales now— can they vote? Is that okay?”Sunshine laughs. “If they have a YouTube, sure.”“We’ll get that vote out,” some of his narrator voice slips in again as he returns to the audience, “please let us join with Sunshine on her next adventure.”“All right, so,” Sunshine giggles, “thumbs up they join, thumbs down they... don’t.”“Thumbs up,” Gary whispers.Looks like they’ll have to see.⠀⠀⠀
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1,800 voted yes.246 voted no.The Real Paranormal Investigators are coming along.They’re back in the park, same spot, and Lionel and Nolan are here. Lionel’s eating Doritos again and Gary sits on the wooden railing behind her.“All right, so we’re here,” Sunshine says to the camera, who is, once again, being held by Tootall, “at my favorite place to meet, the park!”Nolan sits to the right of Lionel on the wood railing, full body on top, resting his arms lazily over his knees as he looks up at the sky, sunglasses and all. “This isn’t a park.”“This is a park. Your idea of park— anyways.” She shakes her head. “So, you guys voted yes, if they come along.” Gary and Lionel clap to themselves behind her. “Yeah. Um. I also brought Tootall.” She clicks her fingers. “So, yeah. I’m gonna fill them in on what I know.”Sunshine turns to both of them. “I know nothing! Well— I’m lying, I know a little bit, just not a lot. Um, I think we’re gonna do the adventure together. I haven’t met with anybody or anything, no nothin’, so. All I know is that, uh, the homeowner works at the same place Nolan’s mom works.”“Where?” both Gary and Lionel say, looking back at him.“It’s a...” He struggles for words. “Midsize, psychic firm. Pretty—”Lionel jumps with recognition and points at Nolan. “Oh! That— wha—”Nolan forces a smile and points back.“They’re perfect,” Lionel declares, smiling, “I use them! They actually told me I was gonna have my next—”“Don’t talk about...” Gary shakes his head.“—job...”Sunshine nods. “Okay.... so, that happened. Um, wait. If she works for the— isn’t she a psychic then? Why can’t she figure this out on her—”“Yeah.” Nolan says.“—own?”“What do you mean? She’s a psychic, not a superhero.” Lionel nods along. “She needs us to do the groundwork, y’know— walking’ around stuff, that’s our job.”“Okay, well.” Sunshine makes a face. “That’s cool, I guess. Um, then— why doesn’t the— homeowner already know that there’s something there, if she works at the— psychic place?”“She’s not— a psychic.”“What is she? She works at a psychic office.”Nolan stares at her and scratches his forehead. “You think that everybody that works at a psychic office is a psychic?”“I don’t know! I’ve never been— yes!”Lionel laughs dumbly.Nolan shakes his head. “What do they teach people, now, about stuff?”Oh, okay, Mr. Big Guy. Sunshine rolls her eyes. “So she’s not a psychic?”“No, she’s a—” He waves his hand and his voice lowers, “cleaning lady...”“Cleaning lady...”Lionel busts out in laughter. Sunshine looks at him.“A custodial professional,” Nolan continues.“It’s not funny.” Sunshine looks at the camera and shakes her head. “Anyways. So, yeah. Tomorrow, we’re gonna start this adventure. Get excited! Whooooo!”Only Lionel follows along with her whooping.Hey. At least two of them are excited, huh?⠀⠀⠀
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They’re in the car and, unfortunately, Nolan’s holding the camera. “Look at this place.” They drive over the dirt road, and out across the land are hills and trees covering nearly every spot of grass.“I don’t think I’ve ever been here before,” Lionel notes. “It’s so close to town.”“So close.” Gary nods.“How’s this place haunted?”“Any place can be haunted, Lionel.”The house is white, sprawling out across the dirt with lots of weirdly shaped windows in weird spots, red-tan bricks on top. Across, there’s a boat, a white Pontiac Grand Am, and a white trailer that looks like it could’ve come out of Breaking Bad.“It doesn’t look sinister though,” Sunshine huffs as they draw near.“They never look sinister,” Nolan replies.“Exactly,” Gary says.Nolan squints. “The sinister-looking ones are just full of old people.”Sunshine doesn’t even have a response to that.“Wow,” Nolan says, clearing his throat as Sunshine’s car rolls to a stop. He opens the door, stretching with the camera. “First thing’s first, we, uh, all get out of the car.”Sunshine turns and glances at the trailer, raising a brow. Yeah, definitely not going in there. She makes her way closer to the grove of trees outlining the forest, looking around curiously.“Uh— homie,” Nolan calls to her, “what’re you doing?” He shakes his head and gives the camera to Lionel. “Here, take this.” Nolan widens his strides to catch up to Sunshine, Gary and Lionel trailing behind. “Sunshine, where are you going?”“What?”“We’ve got a job to do here.”“Is this how they start their investigations?” Gary asks, turning to look at the camera as they clamber up the side of the hill.“Must be,” Lionel nods.On top of the hill, the trees yawn open and light spills through a hole through the center of the forest. Honey-golden sunlight glimmers against the grass and rocks as they walk through a small field of yellow daisies.“Is there a reason why we’re going up here?” Lionel asks.No one answers.Sunshine pushes through the overgrowth and finds a worn trail, huge logs pushed up against trees as they walk.“It’s amazing that there is such great scenery, like, not too long from where we live,” Nolan says with a small smile, taking in the beauty of the forest. “I mean, where we live is just so horrible-looking.”Sunshine makes a face. Where we live?Nolan turns and suddenly startles. “Ahh!”Sunshine jumps, whirling around, blinking when she sees a man that looks like he’s in his mid-40s. Oh. “Hi.”He’s standing near the edge of another steep dirt hill, pieces of firewood thrown towards the bottom. He’s wearing a pale maroon long-sleeved shirt with jean overalls, a cap slugged over his head. In his hands is a small piece of wood. “Who are you?” he calls, voice rough and gravelly.“Uh—” Sunshine shakes her head, at a loss for words.Nolan clears his throat. “Just, uh— uh—”“Georgia— she said we could— is she here?” Sunshine asks, slightly nervous.“Georgia,” the stranger huffs, “she ain’t here.” He glares at them.“Um.... okay,” Sunshine nods slowly. “Well, she said we could look inside the house for any—”“She had an emergency at work, she said she had to go,” he cuts in.“Oh.”“Okay,” Gary pipes up, “sorry to trouble you, do you mind if we—? Just quickly take a look around?”“She had an emergency at work, she had to go,” the stranger repeats.Uh.“Yes, of course,” Nolan says, scratching his head then pointing at the man, “my mom— works with, uh—” He turns to the group, “—one of the people—”“Georgia,” Sunshine says.“Yeah. And, uh—” Nolan turns back anxiously, losing his train of thought.The man just stands there.“Okay,” Sunshine claps her hands, “cool, uh.”“Nice log,” Nolan notes, clearing his throat, pointing towards the piece of wood the man is holding.That wasn’t weird at all.Now they’re in the car, leaving the place because fuck that. They found their new Creepy Guy.Nolan is looking in the back, facing the camera towards Gary. “I like how you don’t have much hair,” Nolan says.Gary closes his eyes, annoyed.Lionel looks toward his friend. “Yeah, job requirement,” he laughs. “He lost it in a bet.”Nolan pans the camera toward Sunshine as she drives, keeping it there for a good fifteen seconds before he starts to whistle, glancing out towards the road.“Okay,” Sunshine speaks up, “I can’t stand it anymore. I’m gonna call her.”Nolan’s brows raise. “Georgia?”“Yeah. I just have to find— somewhere— to call her.” She puts her blinker on and pulls over on the side of the road, car bouncing as she rolls over dirt and gravel.“Okay,” Nolan says as he bounces, “easy there, uh, fearless flyer.”“Abrupt stop,” she smiles. “Sorry.” Sunshine whips out her phone and scrolls through her contacts, pushing on Georgia. She places the phone to her ear and breathes through her teeth. A pause. “Hey,” she says. “Georgia? Yeah. Hi.”Nolan can hear a faint murmur from the other side of the speaker.“Oh. We just stopped by and you weren’t— there.” Sunshine suddenly blinks. Everyone else in the car sits, wondering what Georgia is saying. “Oh,” she says slowly. “Mm-hm.” Sunshine’s brows furrow. “No— no, I didn’t mean—”Silence.Sunshine pulls the phone from her ear and stares in shock at the screen. “She just hung up on me.”“Wow,” Lionel drawls, eyes wide. “That’s pretty rude.”She throws out her hand in annoyance. Well. That didn’t go the way she expected.
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She’s back in the park, alone, standing between lush foliage as a stream bubbles behind her. “Ladies and gentlemen,” Sunshine sighs, holding the camera, “I wanted to tell you what really happened on the other end of that phone call. I didn’t really wanna say it in front of the guys, because it’s sort of— harsh.Georgia was kind of upset— she had a friend at work, a co-worker, tell her that a girl would come into her life and change her life forever, and that there are people around her that can’t be trusted. She was very upset by that, and freaked out, and she kind of thought that the people around were us and that we were the ones that can’t be trusted, and— yeah. So, that’s really what happened. Um. And she did hang up on me.”Wonderful.

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Okay, so.Here’s what’s going on.After yesterday’s fun little fiasco, Sunshine decided to return to Georgia’s house alone— well, not exactly alone, she’s got Tootall here (and she silently hopes he doesn’t resent her for Nolan’s nickname).Anyway, someone’s clearly here with the burn pile going on and smoke pluming into the air, and there’s a car nearby, and all Sunshine wants to do is talk to Georgia without the gang and see if she’ll be willing to continue the investigation.They get out of the car, hot summer air billowing down on the earth, and Sunshine picks her way toward the front door. “Georgia?” she calls hesitantly, hands locked together in front of her. “It’s Sunshine.”Gravel crunches under their shoes as they pass a dark green truck. Sunshine looks back at Tootall, clearly uncertain — she doesn’t know if anyone’s here! Locking her teeth together, Sunshine walks up to the front door, looking at the cherry wood with the numbers ‘3199’ hung over them. After a moment’s hesitation, Sunshine places her fist to the door to knock but— well, it slides open, hinges creaking as it moves inward. Sunshine makes a sort of nervous-fearful face at Tootall. “The door just opened,” she whispers, “I don’t know what to do! I feel weird, and there’s a creepy cat over there meowing—” Tootall pans the camera to a black cat laying underneath the truck, “and it’s scaring the heck out of me!”Sunshine opens the door again and the cat meows loudly.“Shh!” she says, giggling.It meows again.“I’m trespassing!” Sunshine whisper-yells. The cat leaps from its sun basking and weaves through Sunshine’s feet, stopping on a dirty black mat, pale green eyes staring back at the two. Sunshine makes a face and looks around. “Georgia...?” She laughs sheepishly. “I just let your cat in... Um, it’s Sunshine.” After a moment she turns to Tootall, hand still on the door. “Well don’t just stand there!”He follows as Sunshine shuffles through the back room. She pushes open a door with a glass window and frowns, peering into the kitchen. “Georgia? Is anyone home?” The house is quaint enough, a little dated but it has a nice feeling to it. Suddenly, the glass door slams behind them and both Sunshine and Tootall jump. When he turns the camera around Sunshine is staring like she’s about to be caught doing crack. “Okay,” she says quickly, “I don’t feel anything at all, not because the door slammed, I just don’t feel anything, um, and I’m currently trespassing.” She’s also currently rambling. “In somebody else’s home. That I’ve never been to. I’m a stranger. This is weird.”She rushes past Tootall and opens the front(?) door, looking around. “Hope that cat’s allowed in.” Sunshine hops out on to the porch and breathes, attempting to calm her nerves.Well.She might as well give the YouTubing people a vote, right?Thumbs up to call Georgia and beg for her to talk to her and at least be home when Sunshine trespasses?Or thumbs down, just stop the whole adventure. She doesn’t want to, because now she’s invested, but hey, it’s up to her followers.She just hopes Lionel can get his co-workers to vote along.
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Well, her loyal viewers came through.Sunshine is continuing on with the adventure.So, she called Georgia and practically—hmm, which word does she want to use—begged her to meet with Sunshine, and Georgia said she would and even apologized for hanging up on her and said she overreacted and felt bad. So, yeah.Time to meet with her.Sunshine rolls up to the house and shuts the car off, looking through the dust-muddled window toward the house. She sighs and clambers out, closing the door and listening to the gravel crunching beneath her shoes. Keys jangling in her hands, Sunshine walks up to the front door, but stops in her tracks when she sees something glistening against the door knob.Blood.Blood, blood, blood— A soft gasp wrenches from her throat as she’s thrown into memories surrounding blood, horrible, horrible memories that only run for a split second but seem to last hours. Sunshine sees the box, coated with crimson with pictures at the bottom, she sees Uncle Tommy splutter ectoplasm from his mouth, she sees Victoria gripping her neck as the demon slashes the dagger against her throat, she sees Nolan, coughing blood with rope bound around his arms, and then she sees herself—tied to a chair while the world rages around her, books spinning, Mentor dead—“Can I help you?” an annoyed voice fumbles through the layer of memories, and suddenly Sunshine is peeled away from her flashback and finds herself back on the porch.She jumps, startled, and looks toward her left side. The man from the other day is there, staring at her from behind a green trash can, wiping blood from his hands with a white cloth towel. A cap is slung over his head to protect from the dry Oregon heat, and he’s wearing the same jean overalls from last time.Not to mention this guy scares the ever-living shit out of Sunshine.“U-Uhm—” Sunshine stumbles over her words as the man nears her, “I was just, umm, here to, uh, see, Georgia.”She steps away from the porch and the man faces her closely, gaze sharp and shadowy. He’s still cleaning blood from his hands as he nears, and Sunshine can’t help but think this guy just butchered the entire family inside and is trying to lure in his next victim. “Yeah?” he says, still nearing her.“You got a little—” Sunshine points to his crimson-stained hands, “something.” Deflect with humor. Amazing, Sunshine.Surprisingly, the man lets out a mix between a scoff and a laugh. “Yeah. Saw it out here—out in the woods. Just bleedin’ it in the garage.” He nears closer, if that’s even possible, head jerking toward the back of the house. His voice grows low. “Wanna see?”“Uh, no, I’m—”The front door opens and Sunshine jerks back, caught off guard. The man turns his chin toward the porch, a smirk on his face.“Now, leave the girl alone,” a woman chastises, short gray hair tucked over her head, golden earrings looped through her ears. She’s wearing a colorful shirt and jeans, and shoots a menacing glare towards the man. “Come on, sweetheart, come on in.”Thankful to have been saved, Sunshine hops up on the porch, feeling Creepy Farmer’s eyes boring into the back of her head. “Yeah,” she breathes, relieved.When the woman—most likely Georgia—looks down and sees the blood, she scoffs and turns, wiping the blood off with a white napkin. “I swear, one day it’s motor oil, one day it’s deer’s blood.”“You want this?” He dangles the towel, smirking. “I’m done with it.”“No, you go put it where you’re supposed to put it,” she orders, opening the door and leading Sunshine inside. A smile brightens her features and she waves toward the living room. “Please, honey, come on in.”“Right,” Sunshine says, feeling weird and disturbed and awkward. The house looks exactly the same as when she trespassed, so, it seems like she wasn’t noticed. That’s good.“Ignore the mess,” Georgia says, “I didn’t really clean up. Come on in and sit down.”“No, it’s—fine,” Sunshine smiles. It really isn’t messy at all.“Have a seat.”“Thanks…” Sunshine plops herself down on an intricate gray chair and turns to Georgia, who sits down across from her. “You know, I um—I’m not really sure if there’s really something going on here.” The woman nods along to her words. “That’s why I was a little hesitant to have you get involved, to have you all come all the way out here, um—” She thinks. “I mean, there have been the occasional slamming doors, or odd noises, or that sort of thing, but my family’s had this house for generations, and there haven’t been any deaths or mangled bodies—”Sunshine raises a brow. “—or, or anything like that, I mean, if there was really a presence here, shouldn’t I feel it?” Georgia touches her chest.“Yeah, you could, I mean—” Sunshine frowns. “It’s just, your co-worker, Marcy, she just said that you felt something sometimes…?”“Well, yeah, I wasn’t sure, and maybe it’s just an old woman’s imagination, so, well.” She shrugs. “At any rate, what I thought was that maybe you could come on a day—y’know, a few days from now—and just do some exploring and check it out and see what you can find, and see if there’s anything important!”“Yeah, of course,” Sunshine says. At least they’ll be able to do something, right?“You think—you think that’d be alright?”“Yeah! Would it be okay if I brought the whole gang?”“Uh…” Georgia looks uncertain. “Sure. I think so, my co-worker’s usually really good about these things, I mean, her visions tend to be quite reliable, but—but sometime’s she’s off a little, y’know? But I get a good energy from you, so I think if you feel you can trust your friends, then I’ll trust them by extension.”“Oh, good,” she smiles, “thanks.”“Okay?”“Yeah.”“Alright then. That’d be fabulous.” Georgia smiles and stands, as does Sunshine. “Okay.” They begin heading toward the front door. “Do you wanna just go back the same way?”“Yeah, no, that’s fine.” Hopefully she doesn’t have to see the future serial killer. Sunshine walks through the door and walks to her car. Creepy Farmer is nowhere in site.“Drive carefully, now!” Georgia calls. “We’ll see you in a couple days.”“Bye.”“Buh-bye.”Sunshine doesn’t even have words for this entire experience.⠀⠀⠀
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⠀⠀⠀The Scooby Gang is driving to the house, and unfortunately Sunshine’s camera is in Nolan’s hands. He turns toward the back seat, looking at Gary. “Would you like to repeat that, buddy?”Gary looks slightly taken aback by the camera, but continues nonetheless. “I just wanna say, first of all, that I did totally call shotgun, and this is the last time I’ll say it.”Everyone groans.“Oh my goodness,” Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Gary, who cares?” Lionel complains.Her drive with the three stooges continues until they thankfully make it to the house. She scans the area for Creepy Farmer, but when he’s nowhere in sight, she begins explaining. “Georgia’s not here, but I guess her… caretaker…? is here? So, yeah.”“Are we gonna be able to get in?” Gary asks worriedly.“Yeah,” she replies.“Do we have—” Sunshine looks back, sighing. “Okay. Nevermind. Do they have Doritos?”Nolan fumbles with the camera, pointing it toward his feet. “How do you turn this thing off?”Lionel laughs loudly.⠀⠀⠀
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⠀⠀⠀They’re now wandering the woods, back in the field leading up toward where they first saw Creepy Farmer. Nolan is in the lead, sunlight bathing his back as he looks around at the overgrown foliage. “Well,” he says, placing his hands on his hips, looking at a tree, “definitely deciduous. Mostly evergreens.”“Shh,” Lionel hushes, leaning forward.“My guess is coniferous—”Lionel looks at him.Nolan stares back, raising his brows. “Budding?”Lionel slaps his hands on Nolan’s shoulder, wrinkling his gray plaid shirt. “You’re the first to die, then.”“This just got serious,” she remarks.Nolan continues pointing out trees as Gary picks out a daisy, smelling it and twirling it in his fingers. Sunshine watches from the rear of the group, and as Nolan and Lionel turn around, Gary lightly licks the flower. Sunshine covers her laugh with a cough.“Uh, don’t—” Nolan squints through the sunshine, shaking his head. “Don’t… eat anything.”“Teddy bears and…” Lionel waves toward Gary, smirking.“This is a classic sign of—” Gary doesn’t finish and flicks the daisy from his fingers.Sunshine giggles under her breath. “I don’t know what’s going on,” she whispers to the camera.“Costco’s gettin’ to you, isn’t he?” Lionel says.“He really is.”Nolan continues forward, pointing his hands in front of him. “Come on.” As they continue, he walks toward the base of a dark, dirt-soaked hill, staring at a tree trunk and a patch of roots before turning around. “What are we looking for?”“Anything,” Gary says. “Anything that’s not trees or tires.”Nolan walls over a clump of moss, leaves crunching beneath his shoes as he nears a discarded backpack.And then there’s a tug. Sunshine frowns, stilling, looking around. “I think I feel something.”Everyone looks at her. Gary is the first to move. “What?” he says, walking over to her.“I don’t know how to describe it.” She frowns. “It’s just kind of weird.”Lionel nears. “Where’s it comin’ from?”Sunshine makes an appalled face.Nolan keeps looking at the trees.⠀⠀⠀
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⠀⠀⠀So, they eventually make it to the end of the trail, flanked by a road and a river that stretches past. A blue tractor sits in front of them, the rear of Georgia’s house in short distance. There are two garages and a window on top.“Alright,” Nolan says, “who’s up for a little light trespassing?”“Wait, wait.” Gary outstretches his hand. “This is exactly the kind of place where something would be happening.”Nolan makes a face. “It’s a two-door garage.” He starts walking and nearly trips over a stick.Lionel looks at him.Nolan turns back. “What?”Sunshine halts in her tracks and examines the house, frowning. She realizes something. This is the garage Creepy Farmer was talking about!Gary is first to notice Sunshine’s lack of movement. He turns, and eventually Lionel follows. “What’s the matter?” he asks.Nolan seemingly notices the silence and stops, looking back at Sunshine as he stands by the second garage.“Well—” She sighs and Nolan joins the group. “Okay, so last time, when I was here, the caretaker of the house,” she snorts, “kinda came out with… blood, all over his hands.”Gary’s eyes widen. “From here?” He points back toward the garage. Sunshine nods. “Yeah, well I mean, he said he shot a deer—” Lionel nods, “but I don’t know if I really believe that.”Nolan looks slightly worried, but masks it with his version of machismo, pointing his fingers at Sunshine. “Okay. I’ll take that into advisement.”“It makes sense,” Lionel says, throwing out his hands. “The woods, deer.”Nolan nods and Lionel digs into his pocket, throwing a large yellow flashlight to Gary, who subsequently catches it.“So let’s just be prepared for the fact that there might be a dead deer in there,” Gary says, clipping the flashlight in his hand, nearing the garage.“See?” Lionel laughs, referring to Gary catching the flashlight. “Good for somethin’, right?!”“That was… spectacular, man,” Nolan says unenthusiastically. “Yeah, that was… super good,” Sunshine says.Lionel doesn’t seem to notice the sarcasm.“Why do we never use flashlights?” Nolan frowns, looking at Sunshine.“I like the dark.”Lionel leans down and tries to lift the garage door, but to no avail. Nolan steps forward and steeples his fingers beneath before helping Lionel opening it, like, two feet high.“Get in here,” Lionel says, “go ahead.” Gary nods and crawls under into the darkness.Sunshine raises her brows. “Yeah, lemme just… squat under here, this is really fun.” She shimmies beneath it and jumps to her feet, looking around the garage.“What, is this thing made of iron?” Nolan puffs out.Apparently.“I got it, I got it,” Nolan says after he shuffles inside, putting both hands beneath the garage door and keeping it slightly lifted.“Not a word about me, I got it,” Lionel says, getting on his hands and knees, “I’ll handle this, really.”“No, I got it,” Nolan says, turning to the side to allow room for Lionel.As Lionel comes crawling under, he hits his head on the bottom of the door but continues moving through. They let the door drop and the garage is washed in darkness, only a flicker of outside light illuminating the center.“Right,” Sunshine says, finding it amusing how much all three guys just tried to prove their manliness.Well, if she can even call Nolan a guy. He’s more an adolescent boy.“Well,” Nolan says, “now we’re inside the garage.”“Uh,” Lionel frowns, walking forward, “I’m not seeing a hanging deer.”“So, now let’s look for something else that might’ve caused that blood,” Gary suggests, ambling behind Lionel, Nolan and Sunshine bringing up the rear.Lionel suddenly darts backward, eyes wide. He shushes the group softly—even though no one is speaking—and pauses. “You guys hear that?” he whispers, long gray-black hair pushing over his sweaty forehead.Nolan throws his arms up and walks off. “Okay, guys, relax. It’s just dark.”Lionel looks at his partner. “You fart, Gary?” he accuses.“Don’t say that on camera,” Gary replies.Nolan halts. “Woah. Guys.”They all move forward and crowd around a flat wooden table. On top is a large, blood-stained blade.“A machete,” Nolan breathes.“That might draw some blood,” Gary says.Really? Sunshine thinks.Lionel leans forward and draws the machete from the table, clenching it in his fists, staring at the rusty knife.“Woah!” Gary jumps, startled.“Okay, let’s not—” Nolan looks at Lionel, then down at the machete, “touch any of these, put it back.”Sunshine nods. “Let’s not play with those. Especially you.”Lionel doesn’t seem to take offense, placing the blade back down on the wooden table.Nolan pads next to Sunshine, hands on his hips, glancing down at her. “This is a dead end. We’re not gonna find anything in here.”“Well, I don’t feel anything,” Sunshine half-heartedly agrees, even though she hates Nolan being right.“Yeah, that’s what I mean,” he supplies impatiently, “It’s just a garage. Why are we here?”Okay, then.
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They eventually leave the garage and round toward the front door. Nolan jumps on the porch and clangs the brass door knocker against the wood.“Just open the door,” Sunshine sighs.Nolan looks at her, turning the knob. “But—” He pauses when it opens. “Alright then.”Walking inside, Lionel follows and Sunshine regretfully hands her precious camera to Gary. She wants to do some exploring of her own—get a little elbow-deep in the house’s ornaments herself. Plus, maybe she’ll feel something without another extra weight in her hand.As the group moved from the kitchen into the living room, Nolan turns around, slightly worried. “We’re sure no one’s here, right?”Sunshine wonders if Tom Waters is the reason he’s frowning so deeply.“Yes,” Sunshine says, getting annoyed with his antics despite the empathy she feels for him.They continue on into the living room, and Nolan walks over to a white door next to a red wall. “That’s a door,” he says.Obviously.Nolan opens the door and peeks inside, but it just seems like a closet, what with the clothes hanging inside. However, Nolan quickly snaps his head to the left and gives a broad smile. “No way.” He quirks his brows at the group excitedly. “We have stairs.”“He’s excited,” Sunshine notes, slightly amused. Only Nolan would be so thrilled over a set of stairs.Like a child, he begins clambering up the steps, Sunshine following right behind.The second story of the house opens up into a bedroom, blue and white plates hung around the walls. An archway leads into a study where a lamp is on, illuminating Nolan in a haze of yellow light. To the right is another bedroom, not particularly interesting, white-walled with a few lamps.“Are you feeling anything?” Nolan asks, turning around.Sunshine shrugs. “Not really.”“Nothing?” Nolan says, surprised. “Not even a little…” He clicks his tongue against his teeth like he’s calling a dog.Wonderful.Ignoring him, Sunshine stands in front of the boring white room. She spots an open black urn, then turns her attention toward a door, something dangling from the side. “What’s that?” “A half-lock on a door,” Lionel says, fiddling with the lock. “Must be hiding something pretty, uh…” He trails off, letting the implication sink in.Sunshine rolls her eyes, walking up to the door. “I doubt they’re hiding anything.”“It’s probably gonna be able to open,” Nolan says.Sunshine turns the knob. The door clicks open with a groan. She raises her brows. “That was easy.”Nolan smirks. “It’s a design flaw.”The door leads into an attic with oak wood panels arching an upside-down ‘V’ shape over the ceiling, a soft filter of white light streaming in from a window on the other end of the old, dusty room. Lionel turns toward Gary. “You ready for this?”Gary frowns, following after his friend. “This is where we’re gonna find something.”Lionel nods. “Something.”Nolan shushes the group as they clamber down a small set of stairs and looks at Sunshine. “Do you feel anything?”She shakes her head.“Still?”Unfortunately. “It doesn’t feel very safe, but…”The attic isn’t too cluttered, but certainly has an array of older belongings that have seemingly been discarded. Lionel strokes his hair while looking in a mirror, and on the other side of the attic, Nolan is inspecting a few tables with ornaments on top.“Be careful, everybody,” Gary says, “don’t—” He watches Lionel scrutinize the mirror, shifting closer toward the reflective surface, “it’s not—”“What are you doing?” Sunshine asks.Lionel looks at her and backs off from the mirror. “Y’know.”“It’s a mirror.”Nolan picks up a deer skull with brown antlers protruding from its head, then puts it up to his face, looking around at the group.Seriously? Of course Gary laughs.“That’s very nice,” Sunshine remarks drily. Nolan smiles brightly. “Glad you’re having fun.” His smile falls and he sets the off-white skull down.They pass a few iron headboards, and as they make it toward the end of the attic, Sunshine feels slightly disappointed that she isn’t feeling anything. A strike of worry pulses through her chest. What if she can’t feel anything because of the exorcism? Didn’t Victoria say she wasn’t a Luiseach? That she never had been?
What if she’s right?
She tries to push the voice in the back of her head away, but it’s nearly impossible. Sunshine’s happy to be out of their last home, but slightly disappointed because now she can’t test her powers with Anna or her father. And while she loves exploring, resorting to testing her remaining abilities in a maybe-not-haunted-house is not Sunshine’s idea of comforting.Maybe they’ll find something. Maybe she’ll feel something soon. Sunshine can only hope.“Anything here?” Gary asks, looking at her.She shrugs. “No.”“They didn’t even try slamming a door on us,” Nolan says, referring to any ghosts. “I’m disappointed, personally.”Sunshine has to agree.“Yeah,” Gary frowns, “This really was promising.”It sure was.⠀⠀⠀
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Well, looks like they have to give Georgia some bad news. Her house probably isn’t haunted.It’s the day after the exploration and Sunshine is sitting down in the living room, Georgia poised across from her. She’s wearing a blue blouse and has a smile on her face, and Sunshine hates to disappoint her. Oh well. Not like she can just call ghosts here like Mentor Dude.“I’m really excited,” Georgia smiles, golden looped earrings jingling, “so tell me what happened.”“Okay, so it’s sort of a long story,” Sunshine explains, then sighs. “Nothing. Nothing happened. At all.”Georgia shakes her head. “Nothing? Really, nothing?”“I mean— we wandered through the woods, just a little bit, we met your caretaker, um, it felt kinda weird in the woods? But nothing major, and nothing in the house.”“Hmm.” Georgia purses her lips. “Well, y’know, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be sure. So, I’m gonna be out of town this weekend, so how ‘bout if you all just come and then you can stay the night and see— because sometimes things happen at night that I don’t hear during the day—”“Mmhm.”“—so maybe you could stay the night and, and do the things that you do, and see if there’s anything exciting that happens then.” Georgia flips her hand. “The caretaker won’t be here, so you’ll be all by yourselves.”“Cool— yeah, no, that would be fantastic.” Sunshine nods, eager to spend the night. While she was disappointed yesterday, maybe they’ll find something out during the night, just like Georgia said.“Oh, that’s just wonderful,” Georgia smiles, “I so appreciate you being so kind.”“No, that’s fine,” Sunshine smiles politely.“Excellent.” Georgia claps her hands.Guess the Scooby Gang is gonna stay the night.

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So. Sunshine’s picking up the guys.When she rolls into the park, Nolan, Lionel, and Gary are all standing side-by-side, conversing with each other, jumping when they notice she’s arrived.“Oh! Hey!” Gary exclaims. Holding a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal in his arms. Wonderful. He seems way too excited, especially with his suitcase, sleeping roll, and pillow tucked next to his side. He shakes Lionel enthusiastically. “That’s our car! I almost forgot we were going on the adventure.”“Hey, Sunshine,” Nolan greets, hands stuffed in his pockets, sunglasses covering his eyes. It’s mostly overcast, but she’s willing to forget one of the first comments he ever made to her.“Hey, guys,” she greets.“Hi,” Gary laughs, jumping up and down, “Hi!”Lionel grabs his sleeping bag and rolls it around his arm, picking up a huge bag of Doritos, hoisting a strap bag over his shoulder.“So, are you all—you’re all ready?” She looks over their bags as Gary slides his fedora on top of his head, and thinks about the last time she stayed (nearly) overnight with Nolan. At his ‘grandma’s’ house. Hopefully nothing like that happens again.“Yes, we are ready,” Nolan says, walking up to the car. He has absolutely nothing with him.“You got everything?” she asks.“Yes,” Lionel replies, walking with Gary towards the car.Finally noticing Nolan, Sunshine turns her head and frowns. “Um—Nolan, where’s all your stuff?”He looks at her for a moment. “I have everything. Right here.” He reaches into his pocket, pausing, looking at Gary and Lionel, motioning toward the back seat. “Get in the car. Go.”“Shotgun!” Gary exclaims.Lionel glares at his friend.“Yeah, I’ve got—” Nolan continues rummaging around his pockets, pulling out said objects, “A toothbrush—”“Oh, wow,” she says lamely. Apparently he doesn’t know what a bag is.“—got a ballpoint pen, in case I need to write something down. Uh, I’ve a USB charger. Just have to—tie something—”Apparently they’re ready.
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Not even thirty minutes later and the Scooby Gang is at the house, the gravel, as usual, crunching loudly under the car tires. “So, we’re here,” Sunshine quips, rolling into the driveway.Guess who took shotgun? Definitely not Gary.She sort of realizes that Nolan never gives up his passenger seat spot. Not even with Andrew.
(Andrew snaps his fingers and smiles. “Do I get shotgun?”

Nolan stares at him.

Sunshine stares at him.

“What do you mean, do you get— no.” Nolan shakes his head. “No, hop in the car.”

“I’ll hop in the backseat.”

“Yeah, there you go.”)
The memory is fond. Almost. Well, it would be had the BEK investigation not gone to such shit.A sudden loud call jolts Sunshine out of her thoughts. She turns and spots Georgia rounding the side of the house, waving at the team.Jesus.She just called this a team.“Wave, guys,” Sunshine says, “Be nice.” “Hi,” Nolan waves unconvincingly.The group eventually clambers out of the car, Sunshine grabbing the camera and leading the way towards Georgia and past the cherrywood porch. “Hey,” Sunshine smiles. “Did you find everything alright?” Georgia asks.“Yeah!”“Good, excellent!”Lionel is eating his Doritos. Not surprising.“Please, come on in,” Georgia says, waving toward what must be the back door. Or is the porch not the real front door? It’s a little confusing.“Thank you,” Nolan says. Wow, he’s actually being polite.“Chip?” Lionel offers.Sunshine waves him off, grossed out. “No, I’m fine. Thanks.” Another cherrywood porch juts out from the house, this time connected to a small set of stairs. Sunshine clambers up the steps, looking at the cute yellow chairs, following Georgia through the black door. Okay, this must definitely be the front door. “Come on in,” Georgia says excitedly.“Thanks.”“Make sure you close the door behind you, please,” she advises the group. “Thank you!”At least she’s nice.“Now, make yourselves at home,” Georgia smiles. “Feel free to sit anywhere you like. Um, there’s food in the refrigerator—I made my favorite potato soup and lasagna for you, so they’re—” She notices Gary standing at the mouth of the kitchen, holding his stupid teddy bear thing behind his back, probably because he’s embarrassed. Georgia smirks. “Oh, you don’t need to hide it, he’s a cutie, can I—?”Gary laughs and whips out the Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear, offering it to Georgia.She grips the sides and kisses its forehead, which, okay, is kind of weird, but whatever, she is grandmother age. “He’s precious. Oh!” She points behind Gary, letting go of the bear. “Please don’t pay any attention to the little jar of apples over on the floor, that’s for the mouse.”Gary looks at Georgia, eyes wide.She continues on. “Don’t worry about it, he’s very well-trained. So,” Georgia turns back to Nolan and Lionel, “do you have any questions about anything?”Lionel shakes his head but steps forward, holding out his bag. “Chip?”Sunshine nearly drops her forehead into her hand.“Oh, no thank you,” Georgia says politely. “You know, this may end up just sort of being a vacation for you all, I- I really haven’t felt anything specific so I don’t know if there’s anything here or not, but please make yourselves at home, have a great time—” She turns to Sunshine and smiles. “Could I speak with you for just a moment? Behind?”Sunshine freezes. Oh, no. Lionel and Gary have totally made her look ridiculous. At least Nolan has been silent so far.“It’s girl talk, don’t worry about it,” she laughs at the guys, stepping away from the group and leading Sunshine outside. Hot beams of sunlight splatter on to her face as she walks into the humid Oregon air, making a worried face at the camera before turning towards the homeowner.“I, I just wanted to let you know,” Georgia begins, closing the door behind them, “that, um, the thing that my co-worker said—about someone not being trustable, you know, that kind of thing—I, I just don’t think that was the case, I wouldn’t worry about it—”Sunshine laughs with relief. Oh, thank God. “—I think your people are fine, so you can do whatever you need to do. Really enjoy yourselves this weekend, it’s a lovely place.”“Oh, cool,” Sunshine smiles. “Yeah, thanks! No, it’s beautiful.” She admires the river from across the road. “Thank you so much.”“Yes— oh! And, um, the caretaker is not gonna be here.”“Oh, okay,” she says, relaxing even more. No Creepy Farmer, no serial killer worries. “I told him he could go—since I trusted all you, that it would be fine and he could just go away for the weekend.”“Okay,” Sunshine nods.“So, you— it’s all yours! You’re on your own!”“Thank you!” “All right!”“Cool,” she smiles.Time to get started.
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Not long after Georgia leaves and Sunshine does extensive assuring that the homeowner was not upset about the Doritos or the teddy bear, they head out of the house and explore the outside a little more.Now, they’re standing in a field, the sun growing lower in the sky but it’s not quite dusk yet. Nolan is holding the camera, Lionel typing something on his phone behind Sunshine, Gary walking towards a broken fence and a black sign with white painted letters in the background.“Sunshine,” Nolan says, probably standing at least two feet taller than her, “how could anything be haunted in such a beautiful area?” He pans the camera around the scenery, showing the lush, forest-laden mountains, large stalks of heather lining the border to another house. “It’s gorgeous here. It’s like Dr. Seuss Land. Spectacular.” He smiles. “Look at the—!” His voice cracks slightly. “The panorama, man.”She stares at him and gives a sarcastic thumbs up. “Okay,” he huffs, “not a nature kid, I get it.”Up ahead, Gary runs back from the sign post, grass crunching beneath his white tennis shoes.“Sparky, what did you find?” Nolan demands.Gary and Sunshine laugh.
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“I have to show you guys something,” Sunshine whispers into the camera once they’re back inside, smiling endlessly. Outside on the porch (with the stairs), Gary is sitting in one of the little yellow lawn chairs, a colorful blue, purple, and yellow Popples stuffed animal tucked between his arms.He turns to her, noticing movement.“What are you doing?” Sunshine laughs.“Heh.” He smiles softly. “It’s just really peaceful. Just trying to find a zen.” Gary makes an ambiguous hand motion. “I’m not usually around places like this, I’m usually around… Lionel.”They both giggle.He raises his head, looking out at a house across the water. “Like I wonder if anyone lives in that place over there. It would be perfect.”“Yeah…?” Sunshine offers. Nolan’s right. Not a nature kid.“Yeah.” Gary shrugs, taking a sip of his pomegranate vitamin water. “Kinda—find a calm place, be ready for tonight.” He turns to her, brows raised. “You doin’ alright?”“Yeah,” she smiles, “no, I’m fine. Good.” A line of cars race past, filling the peace with an abundance of noise. “It’s very peaceful with all these cars, too.”“Well,” Gary smiles, “I’ll take what we can get.”True, true.
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Now Gary has the camera, and he’s making his own little video away from the group. Wonderful.“Uh, I found the camera back up at the house,” he explains, holding it at the absolute lowest, worst angle possible, “and nobody’s—nobody’s—I looked away for just a couple of minutes, and now everybody’s here on the dock, and I really feel as though there’s a lot more—” He sighs and walks over the dock, water lapping beneath his feet, staining the cherrywood a slightly darker shade. On a nearby boat, Nolan is resting on one of the horizontal wooden platform seats, legs crossed together, arms outstretched against the lip of the boat. On the dock, both Lionel and Sunshine are splayed on the ground, laying down and soaking in the sun.“Guys, I look away for like a minute,” he says, catching only Lionel’s attention, “and you’re sunning yourselves on the dock, I really feel like we need to do everything—”“Dude, this— this—” Lionel tries.“—we need to get ready for tonight!”“Dude,” Lionel interrupts, smiling, dramatically flailing his arms, “this is the greatest vacation, really. I mean, I’m so glad you got me outta Winnetachi strippin’, y’know, I really needed a few days to come out here and just— veg! And just relax!” His voice raises as he looks out over the water. “Look how gorgeous it is out here!”“Lionel,” Gary says, “but what I’m saying is—”“Why,” Nolan groans from the boat, lifting his head, squinting through the sunlight, “Why are you yelling?”“No no no, it’s not about yelling,” Gary explains, “I’m just saying that I think we really need to make sure we’re ready for tonight.”“Yeah, I’m ready,” Sunshine mumbles from the dock, still laying down.“Although it is really—” He sighs and watches the lapping waves of the wide river.“Yeah, there’s really not a lot to do,” Nolan agrees, “you just kinda stand there.”“You just need to take your shirt off,” Lionel says.“Relax,” Nolan chimes in.“Alright, I’m not taking my shirt off, but I just want you guys to remember this if later something happens and we’re not prepared for it.”Sunshine jerks her arm over her eyes. “You can say, ‘I told you so! I told you so!’” she mimics in a high voice.“Nothing’s gonna happen,” Lionel says, “we’re gonna have a great tan!”Nolan sighs. “Do you wanna, like, manufacture weapons or something, what are you looking for here?”“It’s not about— I’m not manufacturing— there’s machetes in the—”“Oh, yeah!” Lionel claps excitedly. “I love ‘em, I love machetes!”“That’s what I’m saying,” Nolan throws his arms out, sitting up, “if we get in trouble we’ll be fine.”“Alright,” Gary says, handing the camera to Nolan, “you know what, here, I’m gonna go— I’m gonna go make sure everything’s— set up some equipment— and just do one final look—” Lionel trails after as Gary starts his way toward the house.Looks like his zenning didn’t work.“Guys,” Nolan sighs, “please don’t mess with their house too much.”“I got a sunburn,” Lionel says.“No, no, no, you guys can stay here,” Gary motions toward Nolan and Sunshine, who’s standing up, “it’s fine, it’s fine.”“Well,” Nolan grunts, “I’m not leaving them alone in that house.” He clambers out of the rocking boat and follows Sunshine across the dock. “Guuuuys,” he calls when Gary and Lionel make it to the top of the ramp, “you’re gonna ruin everything~!” Once they make it to the two misfits, Nolan sighs. “Come on, don’t—Don’t booby-trap anything, okay? Don’t turn anything over, don’t barricade any of the rooms, I don’t—I don’t want to see any nails or boards on any windows or doors—”Well, someone’s bossy.⠀⠀⠀
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The internet is spotty. And Sunshine gets to have a sleepover with a bunch of weird guys. Yay.What could be better?
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Dusk is nearing. Lionel has the camera and he’s standing next to Gary, both men inspecting the outside of the house.“Are you starting filming?” Gary asks.“I am.” Lionel nods.“Okay— sorry,” Gary backs up from the camera when he realizes how close he is, bending down and motioning towards the bottom of the house, where a pile of planks have come undone, leaving a yawning black abyss below the structure, “These are all entryways from which a ghost could come in or out, so.”Lionel bends down, looking under the house. “You have, uh, you have the ghost radar?”“I do! Yeah.” Lionel pulls out his phone and hands it to Gary. “Put the ghost radar on.”“Great, great great,” Gary nods, placing the phone near the discarded planks.“You got service? Make sure it comes in, cause—”“It’s weak.”“It is weak out here.”Gary squints, pulling the phone to his face.“Must be the mountain,” Lionel sighs.From the side, Sunshine jumps to the ground, raising a brow at the dynamic duo.“Hey,” Gary calls to her, “hey.”“What are you guys doin’?” she asks, smirking.“Well,” Gary says, “there’s a few things that we can do when we get to a house that might be— that might have some paranormal activity. We’ve got, we’ve got a ghost radar—”Sunshine makes an appalled face at the camera. “—and, just trying to secure the perimeter, uhh, what are—what are you doing?”She shrugs, looking between both of them, putting a Frito in her mouth, “Eating chips…?”“Okay, great,” Gary mumbles.“Oh-hoh, yeah!” Lionel turns the camera around and grins. “That’s my kinda chick right there! Eatin’ chips! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”“They’re Frito’s,” she notes.“It’s over!” he exclaims.They all laugh.
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Sunshine’s gotta be honest. The guys make her tired. They’re awesome, and all, but she just gets really sleepy with all of them around.They’re a little crazy.But, hey, safety in numbers, and four is perfect, so. Guess that’s nice. Although, she can’t exactly figure out why she wants them around.In the front yard, Nolan, Gary, and Lionel are poised in awkward stances, throwing a white frisbee to each other. It slips from Lionel’s hands and he trips over his own shoes, stumbling to the ground. Sunshine snorts.Yeah.
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The guys are sitting outside, sitting side-by-side. Gary has the camera and moves it toward Nolan and Lionel, who’s eating his Doritos. “Guys,” he says, “I think that, uh, I think Sunshine might be annoyed with us.”“Why?” Lionel asks through a mouthful of chips. Nolan looks completely unbothered. “I haven’t peed myself!”“No—”“I haven’t done anything!”“—which is great, it’s great, but—”“Seriously, I haven’t done anything.”“I know, that’s exactly why I think she might be annoyed with us, because we’re just… we’re just out here wasting time. I took her camera.”Nolan continues watching the river.Lionel laughs and slaps Nolan’s arm. “Oh. What a way to be annoyed! I mean,” he suddenly looks serious, realizing who he’s talking to, “you’re closer to her than any of us, but…”“Yeah,” Gary nods, looking at Nolan, “how do you feel like today’s going so far? You’ve been on more of these with her.”He looks between both of them. “Guys.” Nolan stretches out his arms toward the scenery. That’s all that needs to be said.“Alright, that’s a fair point,” Gary grudgingly agrees.Lionel munches on his Doritos.⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine sighs. So, for the team, she’s decided, since they’ve already been here for, like, hours, to try something.She pulls out the Ouija board.Yeah, she knows. So stupid. But, she’s going to leave it up to her viewers to vote because she’s a kind and caring person, so. They have about a half hour to vote. Use Ouija board? Thumbs up.Never use Ouija board? Thumbs down.She really wants to use it.

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Looks like they’re using the Ouija board.Since it’s daylight, they decide to take advantage of the stuff they already have—which means using the board in the creepy attic. Wonderful.She walks inside, spotting Nolan, Gary, and Lionel near the broad, dust-coated window on the other side. After they sit down, Sunshine walks over and drops the board in front of them, crossing her arms as she watches them debate between each other.“I’ve done the board before,” Lionel explains, looking between Nolan and Gary.Gary nods. “You wanna go over the basics?”“Sure, buddy, have—” Nolan raises his brows, glancing at Gary, “have you ever used a Ouija board before?”“Like, five times.”“Right on.”“You liar!” Lionel says.Nolan clears his throat and slides the top of the box off, flicking it through his fingers before setting it off to the side. “The Ouija board is a game of…” He sighs, looking conflicted as he picks up the planchette. “It’s not really a skill game, it’s not really a chance game, um, it’s not really a game, guys, there’s no competition involved. Basically, the name of the game is evil spirits, right? They like to contact us, I don’t know why, but they do.” He drops the board out of the box. “Um, and—”“Is this gonna be a really long-winded explanation?” Sunshine cuts in, bored.Nolan stares at her for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he finally says, “did you wanna go ahead and teach these guys how to play Ouija?”“It’s fine, go ahead,” she says with mock politeness.“No? Okay.” Sunshine rolls her eyes. Nolan and his attitude.“I’m scared,” Lionel confesses.Gary shakes his head. “Don’t be.”“Now, um.” Nolan angles the board to his liking and fingers with the planchette. “The ghosts, uh, the ghouls, they’re gonna communicate with us through these letters here on the board. There are numbers. Yeah. Basically, what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna stick this right in the center, okay,” Nolan sets the planchette in the middle of the board, “and, uh, Lionel, why don’t you put your hands on it like so.” He demonstrates, outstretching his fingers, brushing over the piece.Lionel follows through with Nolan’s demonstration.“Gary, if you could do the same,” he says.Everyone places their fingers on the planchette. Except Sunshine, of course, but she is holding the camera. “Now.” Nolan clears his throat when all three of them are in position. “No matter what this thing spells, no matter what happens—”“I don’t know what they’re doing,” Sunshine laughs lightly to the camera. She’s really never used a Ouija board before. All her subscriber people usually yell at her for it.“—none of our hands leave this totem, understand?”“How does this—” Gary sits back, raising his arms, looking at Nolan.Nolan stares at the planchette. “You have to keep your hands on—”Lionel shifts around, placing both hands on the wood-panel floor.“Lionel,” he sighs, “keep your hands on the totem.”“I gotta get comfy, hold on,” the black-haired man says, spreading apart his legs so they’re on either side of the board.“But your comfort is making me uncomfortable, Lionel.”“I’m sorry.”“Okay, are we cool?” Nolan looks between both of them. “Is everybody comfortable?” Lionel scrubs his hands together before placing them back on the planchette. “Would either of you like water? Bathroom breaks?”“I’m fine,” Gary says.Lionel lifts his hands again. “So how long we gotta play this exactly?”Nolan puts his face in his hands. “Just, uh, don’t worry about it, I’ll uh, I’ll—”“Heavens almighty,” Sunshine mumbles.“It’ll be fine, okay? Now, just apply gentle pressure, all right, and we’re gonna see where this thing takes us, okay?”Sunshine leans in, intrigued now that Nolan’s twenty minute explanation is over. With all three hands on the planchette, she watches in shock as the totem begins to move to ‘F.’“What a trip,” Lionel says. “Wow.”“Okay,” Nolan nods, “looks like we’ve got an ‘F.’ Thank you evil spirits.”“Wait, there’s more,” Gary points out.The planchette begins to move again, quickly sliding down the board.Lionel shakes his head. “Woah. I can’t even keep up.”“‘R’,” Nolan says.“There’s gotta be more, they can’t be trying to say ‘FR,’” Gary frowns.Sunshine can’t help but laugh. “I don’t think so, you’re right.”“Fra—Frappuccino!” Lionel exclaims.The planchette continues moving.“Okay,” Nolan says, uninterested.“I could go for one of those right about now.”“‘A’,” Nolan whispers.“Fra…” Lionel mutters. When it continues moving, his brows raise. “Oh, this things means business.”The planchette briefly pauses on ‘P.’“Yep, frappe!” Lionel says.It continues moving towards ‘N,’ stopping there.“Not today,” Nolan says. “Frannie… franchise?The planchette spirals around the board until it eventually lands on ‘K.’“Frank,” Lionel whispers.“Frank,” Sunshine echoes, looking up.“How do we know if it’s done?” Gary asks.Suddenly, a toy bike is pushed forward into Lionel’s leg.“Ah!” Lionel exclaims, scrambling back.“It’s done,” Sunshine breathes.“Uh, okay,” Gary says.Lionel nods. “Frank.”Nolan places a hand on the seat and moves it around, seemingly checking to see if anyone is there.Really?“We’re fine, it’s okay,” Nolan says, placing his hands forward. “Everybody calm down, okay?”“Did you do that?” Lionel demands.Nolan blinks. “Me?”“Yeah.”“No, how would I do that?” He shakes his head and looks down at the board, picking up the planchette. “Okay, Frank, I don’t know who this Frank guy is, um, but, uh, you know what? These things—”Gary shifts and looks at Sunshine. “Does it mean anything to you? Frank?”“No.” She shakes her head.“It’s—daytime, we weren’t gonna get a very accurate reading anyway,” Nolan says, brushing it off. Yeah, right.“Well, thank god it’s daytime,” Lionel says, standing up.“Okay, we’ll try again tonight, alright?” Nolan says, putting the board back in the box.Apparently they’re trying again tonight.
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It’s later, but not that much later, and the ‘professional ghost hunters’ are doing their thing.Sunshine heads up the stairs and glances into the main bedroom, raising her brows as the conversation continues on.“…so, just in case a ghost moves something in the middle of the night,” Gary explains, looking around the room, “we need to memorize exactly where everything is so we’ll recognize that something has changed.”“Okay, well, uh, how ‘bout this? How about—I’m gonna walk the room,” Lionel says, eyes tightly shut.“With your eyes closed,” Gary deadpans.Sunshine laughs to herself.“With my eyes closed, that way I know where everything is.”“Oh, that’s perfect!” Gary exclaims. “That way if we have to come up here in the dark, something happens to the flashlight, you’ll still be able to lead us—that’s—” Lionel runs into the bed frame, “—I’m not gonna even say anything.”“Yeah, wow,” Lionel nods as he walks between the bed and the wall, splaying his hands out, “this is pretty tight, so we gotta remember that.” He continues walking and stops at the base of the steps. “I know there’s stairs around here somewhere.”“I won’t let you fall down the stairs,” Gary promises.Lionel laughs. “Ah, thank you.” He turns slightly and starts moving into the side room, not close to the steps anymore.Gary follows. “You’re about to fall down the stairs,” he jokes.Lionel clutches the wall. Sunshine laughs.“No, just kidding, just kidding,” Gary says, patting Lionel’s back. “Am I good?”“Yeah, you’re good.”“You sure?”Sunshine can’t stop laughing. “What are you guys…doing?” “Oh! Hey, Sunshine,” Gary exclaims, startled.“Oh, hey,” Lionel says, opening his eyes. “We’re killing time.”“It’s just—we need to make sure that we’re as prepared as possible if something happens tonight,” Gary explains. “Like last time we were not prepared and it was a fiasco.”A fiasco is right.
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Everyone’s sitting in the living room. It’s still daytime. Sunshine is bored.Nolan is in a wooden chair, glass of water poised against his leg, fist pressed against the side of his head as he sleeps or… whatever it is he’s doing. Lionel is in a large black chair, playing a game on his phone, and Gary is sleeping in a gray chair across the room, vitamin water in hand.“Well,” Nolan suddenly says, lifting his head. Guess he’s not asleep. “I just found out that Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson broke up.” He looks dejected.“No!” Gary says. Guess he’s not asleep, either.“That’s huge,” Lionel nods.Nolan sips his water.“What happened?” He throws his arms up, and after a long beat of silence, says, “I just thought they were gonna make it, that’s all.”“Kinda like… Brad and Jen?” Lionel smirks.Nolan looks over. “Who?”Everyone dies laughing.
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So, Sunshine wants to show her viewers something critically important.There’s really only cell phone service in a certain spot. And, well.She turns the camera and laughs at the three. Nolan is sitting down with his back against a wooden lamp post, Gary and Lionel standing on his side. All three are on their phones.They’ve all just been… sittin’ out there. She laughs. Yeah.
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Everyone’s outside, killing time as usual.“You know what it reminds me of?” Gary asks.Lionel is trying for cell phone service. Nolan is balancing a frisbee in his hand.“What’s that?” Lionel asks.“It reminds me of, uh, that old Johnson place. Remember? Remember the Johnsons? Wearing all purple?”Lionel looks over and laughs. “Oh, the Johnsons! Oh, man, that was great. Hot, hot! That lady was so—”“No,” Gary says, “the Johnsons were not hot. Who are you thinking of?”Nolan practices his frisbee throwing posture.“Ghost Johnson?”“Yeah.”“Remember? The slip under the cover?”“No! Slip under the cover was at the Jones place, you can never keep these straight.”Lionel shrugs. “There’s just—there’s just too many to deal with.”“I’m just saying that it makes us look bad when you can’t remember our client’s names.”“Uh,” Nolan raises his hand, “pardon me. Hi. What do you guys do… here… like in this situation?”Gary and Lionel exchange glances.“What do we do—I’m the tech guy! Okay?” Lionel says, pointing at himself.“Really?” Gary says.“The tech guy,” Nolan repeats.“I’m the tech guy, I got the tech equipment.” He moves his phone through the air, as if he’s stabbing someone with an invisible sword. “Are we throwing a… disco? What’s going on?” Nolan asks, scratching his head.“I got ghost radar right here!” Lionel exclaims. “It’s gonna beam around this whole entire property!”“He’s the tech guy,” Sunshine clarifies to the camera.“Ghost radar on an iPhone?” Nolan says.“Um, doesn’t—doesn’t that need internet?” Sunshine asks.Nolan nods, looking between the two.“Well of course!” “We don’t… get… internet in the house.”Lionel looks at her.“I can tell you if there’s a ghost in there,” Nolan says, pointing towards the garage, “we’re gonna find him for sure. But if there’s a ghost in there,” he looks at the house, “we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.”“Hey,” Lionel smacks Gary’s arm, laughing, “why are we here?”“Small steps, small steps,” Gary says.And… that’s why they’re here.
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Sunshine’s in the bathroom, fixing her hair, and it’s finally starting to get dark. She left the guys alone in the living room and, well.Gary and Lionel are already putting out their sleeping bags. Nolan is sitting in the wooden chair, legs crossed.“What—” She shakes her head.“Hi, Sunshine,” Gary says.“What are you guys doin’?”“We’re settin’ up for tonight.”“Yeah,” Lionel nods.“Uh—”Gary places his stuffed animals next to his blue-and-yellow striped sleeping bag. “We gotta get our sleeping stuff all set up before the sun goes down, if we don’t get this set up and the sun goes down, we may as well pack it up.”Lionel agrees. “‘Cause all the stuff happens after dark anyway, so if we’re in our spot, there’s a zen that goes around, we can actually be more connected to the house.”“That’s exactly right,” Gary nods, “we need to be, we need to be ready when the sun goes down for whatever might happen, not here setting stuff up. It’s—paranormal investigation 101.”“Right.” Sunshine makes a face. “Um, why are you doing it down here, and not in the, like, millions of beds that are…”“Lionel,” Gary laughs, “why are we doing it down here?”Lionel laughs, dropping on his side.“No no, no no, you have never taken paranormal investigation 101, because, upstairs bedrooms are primarily where paranormal activity takes place,” Gary explains. “So if we’re disturbing it with all of our rummaging around and our changing the setup, we need to make sure everyone feels comfortable up there to reveal themselves, and that’s when we spring upstairs.”“Oh,” Sunshine laughs. “Duh. My bad.”“No, it’s fine,” Gary nods.“Yeah, no, um.” She looks over at Nolan and realizes he’s wearing his usual black leather jacket. Oh, great. He’s going back to that? “What about you, there, Nolan?”“Hmm?” he says distractedly, looking at his phone. “I’m good.”“Oh,” Lionel says, throwing his arms out, squinting at Sunshine, “you know, where’s your mom at?”Gary looks at Lionel and shakes his head, trying to give him the cue to stop talking.“You know, I mean.” He motions toward Nolan, “we coulda traded the James Dean look-alike for your hot mom!” Lionel laughs.Nolan stares. “Thank you,” he says sarcastically.“Sorry, I mean—”“Lionel, that’s totally inappropriate,” Gary says, then looks toward Nolan, “and you do kinda look like James Dean.”“Last time—” Lionel sighs. “Ay, I gotta admit, last time I was a little, y’know, I was comin’ onto Mom a little bit, but, uh, and I embarrassed myself, however, this time I do have an extra pair of whitey-tighties! Haha!” He waves the underwear around and another pair falls on Gary’s lap.“Oh.” He lifts the thin, black underwear and raises his brows at Lionel.“Oh, sorry. Stripper… job.” Lionel snatches the underwear back and stuffs them in his bag.“Right,” Sunshine says. “Okay.”Lionel lays back on his side, pulling out the Doritos.“So,” she goes on, “really nice pajamas, guys, yeah.”“Thank you,” they both nod enthusiastically.She glances at Nolan, who’s writing in a… diary? With his left hand? Wow. “Where are your pajamas, there, Nolan?”“Me? I sleep in the nude.”Oh.Thumbs up, he sleeps in the nude.Thumbs down, he leaves his clothes on.

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So. Uh. They just heard footsteps upstairs.She turns the camera around, showing everyone sitting in the living room, eyes upturned toward the ceiling.“Shh, shh, shh,” Gary shushes, turning the lamp beside him off.“What are you doing?” Sunshine whisper-yells.“I want to make them think it’s night.”Lionel laughs. “He’s a genius,” he says in a hushed tone. “That’s why I love this guy!”Gary stands and everyone follows. “This is what we’ve been waiting for,” he says, heading towards a glass door. Lionel follows, bag of chips in hand. “You need the Doritos?” Sunshine asks, unamused, instinctively handing the camera off to Nolan.Lionel doesn’t answer, just digs into the bag, takes a chip, and crunches loudly.Gary turns. “Shhh,” he says, brows furrowed. He then begins heading up the stairs, walking slowly and quietly, glancing around the darkening room. Only a yellow lamp across the bed illuminates the open space.The door downstairs slams.Everyone jumps, Nolan most of all. He whirls on his feet and stares wide-eyed down the stairs, clearly caught off guard.“Of course the door slams,” Sunshine mumbles. Still, she doesn’t really feel anything. There’s no tug in her gut, no whispered words in her ear. It’s weird. Still, she has to distract herself from her feelings with some amount of sarcasm. “Next the power’s gonna go out.”Everyone stares at the lamp.Nothing happens.
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Sunshine and Lionel are playing chess. She’s white, he’s black.“You go up two and over one, or over two and up one,” Lionel explains, sitting cross-legged across from Sunshine, wearing Spongebob pajama bottoms.“Okay,” she says, moving a knight. “Oh, no. Beat that. Your turn.”Gary sighs and slides from the gray chair, laying next to the chess board on his side. He has a stuffed animal clutched in his hands. “Guys, this is very difficult for me to watch. I was the treasurer of my high school chess club, so it’s difficult for me to watch amateurs—”Lionel moves a pawn sideways, capturing Sunshine’s.“You did that wrong,” she points out.“No, actually, that’s right—”“Mmm-mmm,” she disagrees.“—you can—you can kill on a diag.”“Kill is such a strong word for chess. You just take ‘em,” Gary says.“Okay,” Lionel nods.“Just, like, capture them.”“Guys,” Sunshine interrupts, realizing that a certain know-it-all isn’t shoving his chess knowledge forward. “Where’s Nolan?”Everyone looks around. He’s gone.“Where is Nolan?” Gary frowns.“Nolan?” Sunshine calls.There’s a low moan from… somewhere.“What was that?” Sunshine demands. What the hell?“Did you guys hear that?” Gary asks, voice quivering.Lionel shushes them, placing a finger to his lips.Another long, drawn-out moan.“Okay,” Gary jumps up, “all right, there’s definitely something.”“See, I told you, that same thing in the room—”“Yeah yeah yeah yeah,” Gary shushes Lionel, pausing.“Nolan is gone,” the voice groans again.Sunshine smirks to herself, glancing up at the vent.“And he’s not coming back,” it continues, “till I gots me some sweet, sweet Doritos.” The voice deepens towards the end.Sunshine can’t help it and splutters out a laugh.“Nolan,” Gary admonishes. Lionel tucks his Doritos close to his chest. “Nolan, is that you?”Sunshine continues laughing. Nolan continues talking.“No, it’s not funny,” Gary says, picking up the camera and glaring at the vent. “We really—”“It’s a little funny,” Sunshine giggles.“It’s not funny at all, you’re lucky we didn’t quickly take out our equipment and—”“I’m so afraid,” Nolan groans sarcastically, “of you two professional ghost hunters.”“You should be!” Lionel laughs.“Just… amateurs,” Gary tells the camera.Amateurs indeed.
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It’s finally night and, wouldn’t you know it, doors are slamming upstairs. “You guys hear that, right?”“Yeah,” everyone says. As usual, they’re in the living room.Gary frowns. “It’s loud… but this is what we’ve been waiting for. We should take the flashlight, do you have that?”“Yeah,” Sunshine nods, clicking the flashlight on as she reaches the stairs, leading the way upwards.“It’s so dark up there!” Gary says.Hopefully Lionel’s training will come in handy.She continues walking until she reaches the upstairs, shining the flashlight around, trying to discern what’s been slamming back and forth.“It doesn’t look like anything’s happened,” Gary whispers.Sunshine turns toward the front room and pauses, ice rushing through her chest. “Um.” The attic door is open, when it had very clearly been shut before. “Oh. Man,” Nolan curses.“No no no, someone’s gonna have to go in there,” Gary rushes out. “Nolan,” Sunshine and Gary say in unison.“I’m sorry, what?”“You’re up,” Lionel says.“What happened to the two professional paranormal investigators?” Nolan asks.“Well, we can’t afford to lose one of the professionals at this point,” Gary explains.Lionel nods. “Right.”“It’s too early in the night.”“And I went last time, so.” Lionel throws his arms out. “You’re up.”“No, but, I—” Nolan looks nervous, but it’s hard to see in the dark.“Don’t worry, very rarely do people get killed in situations like this,” Gary says.“Fine.”“I’m sure it’s really safe.”“I’m going.”“We’ll be right here,” Gary calls.“You guys suck.” Nolan attempts his best glare. It’s not very formidable.Gary smiles. “Thank you, Nolan.”Sunshine feels a twinge of worry, but there’s no way in hell she’s joining him over there. So, she instead opts to point the flashlight at the door, trying to see into the attic.Nolan pauses at the mouth of the door. “Yeah, we’re clear, it’s fine,” he brushes off.“Go!” Sunshine exclaims.Gary nods. “You have to go inside.”“Okay,” Nolan says, voice cracking slightly, “but stop telling people that get you into trouble!” He practically throws himself into the room, quickly running down the steps and disappearing into the attic.Silence.Silence.More silence.Jesus, what’s he doing in there?Suddenly, Nolan backs up to the door, staring wide-eyed into the attic. “I think we’re okay.”Everyone breathes a sigh of relief, Sunshine most of all. It’s tinged in slight annoyance, though. Does he always have to be such a baby?“Let’s move on,” Lionel says.Sunshine turns and startles when she sees Gary’s Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animal toy on the bed. “What’s that?”“What?” Gary asks, breath suddenly cutting off when he realizes what she’s pointing to. “Pooh!” He picks you the stuffed bear. “What are you doing up here? Scaring us all like that. What are you doing up here—” A pause. “Wait a minute.” His voice suddenly gets serious. “A stuffed animal couldn’t get up here all on his own, could he?”“No,” Lionel says shakily.“…This is getting serious.”“Very.”
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It’s Ouija board time.“We don’t think we did it right last time,” Sunshine whispers to the camera, glancing at Gary, “so he’s reading the directions.”“‘What do I do now’—okay,” he reads. “Players take turns asking questions and all should agree to the question being asked. Ask only one question at a time, ask a question slowly and clearly and wait to see what the planchette spells out for you. Okay.” “What’s a planchette?” Nolan asks.Sunshine raises a brow. Seriously? Even she knows that.“I’ve never heard that word before, but I’m guessing it’s—” Gary points toward the totem.“Oh! The acorn thingy,” Nolan clarifies.The acorn what?“Uh, what is our question going to be?” Gary asks.“Uh, who’s haunting the… house?” Nolan suggests.“Who is haunting the house?”“Or what is haunting the house? Wait, no no no—is there a haunting in the house?”“Is there a haunting in the house?” Gary clarifies.“No, no, no, but we need to know what the haunting is, we already know that there is a haunting.”“Let’s find out—who else besides us is in the house?” Lionel cuts in. “You know what I mean?”“Yes,” Gary nods.“Wait, wait.” Nolan places a hand out. “If you’re gonna start talking to this, guys, you gotta approach ‘em with the proper amount of respect, you understand?”“Yes,” Gary says.“Okay.”“We’re professionals,” Lionel nods. “We get it. Thanks.”Everyone—except Sunshine—places their fingers on the planchette, positioning themselves next to the board. “To whoever listens—” Gary begins.“Close your eyes, everybody,” Nolan quickly interrupts. “You too, Sunshine.”She glares at him. “Oh mystifying oracle,” Gary starts. Sunshine has to hold in her laughter. “Who else, besides the four of us, is in the house right now?”The planchette begins to move but stops when Lionel takes a hand off and eats a Dorito.“Lionel—Lionel!” Gary reprimands. “You have to keep your fingers on the—it’s not gonna work!”“Uh,” Nolan quickly says, “we apologize spirit, um, on behalf of Lionel, he knows not what he does.”“Lionel,” Gary sighs.“Alright! Alright,” he relents.“Clean your fingers,” Sunshine advises.He scrubs his hand back and forth and licks off one of his fingers.“Awhhhhh,” Sunshine says, disgusted. “There goes my… cleanly… ness.”“I dried ‘em!” Lionel says.“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Gary says.Nolan looks at them. “Are we ready to go? Professionals?”“Would you please ask the question?” Lionel asks.“I will again.” Gary nods, clearing his throat. “Oh mystifying oracle—”“I’m sorry, guys,” Lionel whispers.“—same question,” Gary finishes.“Thank you.”The planchette begins to move once more, sliding to ‘F.’“It’s gonna be this again,” Nolan mutters. “This Frank guy… I’m liking him less and less…!”“Maybe he lived here or somethin’,” Lionel suggests.“It just passed the… ‘R,’” Sunshine says.Nolan raises a brow. “This is new.”The planchette slides to ‘A’.“F…A,” Nolan slowly spells out.The planchette quickly moves across the board.“Wow,” Lionel whispers, “this thing is really speaking.”It stops at ‘K.’Next is ‘E.’“Fake,” Sunshine says. “My videos are not fake.”“Okay, now this Ouija board is just being kind of a jerk,” Nolan shrugs.“Well that’s not necessarily what it’s saying,” Gary cuts in. “Maybe… it just… didn’t know how to spell Frank, I don’t know.”Sunshine angrily mutters to herself.“I think maybe we need to try it again,” Gary says, “ask it a different question.”“Frank…Fake.” Lionel shakes his head. “How do they tie?”“This thing is broken,” Sunshine mumbles.Nolan nods. “I hate this thing, it’s never worked for us anyway.” He clears his throat. “All right. I’m going to sleep.”Well, that sucked.
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So, it’s late, and Sunshine’s been awake for a really long time. And, of course, she’s the only one.Everyone is sleeping. Clearly, by the snoring.“Look at Lionel,” Sunshine whispers, pointing her camera, “he has his hand… on Gary’s butt. And then the other one in the chip bag. And he’s snoring.”“You can’t… you can’t…” Gary begins mumbling in his sleep. “No, Pooh, it’s too dangerous, you can’t come. Not every case is appropriate for you… if something happens…”“He’s talking about Pooh,” Sunshine whispers, laughing lightly. She rolls her eyes and turns, showing Nolan sprawled face-down on the couch, one arm hanging off while the other is wrapped around a pillow. “And then there’s Nolan, sleeping like a baby… with his boots on. Who does that?”She snickers and points the camera back to herself, looking around. “I’m glad everybody else can sleep like a baby. Ridiculous!”In the background, Lionel eats a chip.Sunshine laughs. “It’s insane!”
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It’s probably, like, 3 AM now and Sunshine still can’t sleep.She’s gonna go outside because she’s tired of hearing people snore. Opening the door, Sunshine wanders out on the porch, glancing up at the light posts in the distance. It’s quiet, even though the river is nearby, and Sunshine is happy for the moment of silence.“What’s up, Buttercup?” a voice says from behind her.Sunshine’s heart swells and she giggles, turning towards Nolan. “Nothing.”“Yeah?”“Yeah. I just…I kinda wish the house was more haunted than it really is,” she confesses. “Is that bad?”“No,” he says, clearly tired, but for some reason he followed her out here anyway, “but… I mean, not everything is gonna be super haunted. Sometimes, things are just kinda haunted and we just have to make the best of that, you know?”“True…” She says, looking out across the blanket of shadows swallowing the earth.“Wooooooooooo!” Someone suddenly bursts out from inside, like they’re some kind of Hollywood-esque ghost.“What the f…” Nolan turns.“What is that?” Sunshine asks.“Sounded like a… possum or something,” he says.“No, it sounded more like a ghost, but. Sure. Possum works, too.”The minute they step inside there’s snoring.“And they’re still asleep, aren’t they?” she says. “Yeah,” Nolan mutters as Sunshine closes the door behind them. They both head towards the stairs.“I heard footsteps,” she whispers, looking around. Nolan leads the way up, shining his flashlight, frowning deeply. Once upstairs, Nolan stops in his tracks and stares at the floor. “What in the Sam Hell?”“Woooooo!” someone says loudly, crouched on the floor, leaning over the vent.“Hey!” Nolan says. “Hey, what are doing in there?”The person stumbles to their feet and turns around, revealing a white sheet over their body. They groan loudly and Nolan rips the sheet off, and suddenly they’re chasing each other around a white post and Sunshine can’t keep up. “What is going on?” And then Lionel is there!“Stop—stop—come here, now,” Nolan demands, still chasing the person.Lionel cuts off the person from one side and Nolan grabs the man from the other, dragging him into the dark room and shoving him roughly up against the wall. The man groans and writhes against Nolan’s grip, looking around.“What are you doing?” Nolan demands, glaring at the man.“The caretaker?” Sunshine exclaims. What the fuck?“Oh!” The caretaker groans, shaking his hands into fists, “I was just trying to scare her away so I could buy the house for cheap!”Lionel groans.Jesus, this really is like a Scooby Doo episode.“Okay, you have to stop!” Nolan exclaims, keeping the caretaker pressed against the wall. “Please! Just… chill out a little bit, okay?”Gary is suddenly on Nolan’s side.“You need to find a new hobby, okay?” Lionel slaps the caretaker’s shoulder. “Really.”“But…” He frowns. “I was just trying to scare her away so I could—”Everyone begins talking at once, a plethora of, “Yeah, yeah!” and “We got it!” and “Yeah, okay!” filling the room in unison.Sunshine absolutely cannot believe this.“Look, if it happens again we’re gonna have to call…somebody, the…” Nolan sighs. “What do we do with this guy?” Lionel asks.“We’ll call, uh—the CDC?” Nolan suggests.Seriously? The Centers for Disease Control?“That’s—” Gary shakes his head.“Has anybody seen my hat?” the caretaker asks.“Uh… no,” Nolan says.Gary turns. “Yeah, here it is.”“I’m goin’ back to bed,” Lionel sighs.⠀⠀⠀
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It’s nearing dawn and they’re playing cards. Behind them is the caretaker, hat pressed over his head, body bent awkwardly.“Who’s got, uh,” Lionel chews his Doritos, “I’ve got a chicken leg.”“I have… meatballs?” Sunshine says, placing the card in the middle.“This is…” Gary tilts his head. “Open ketchup and mustard.”“I have one of those! Here, you can have two.”Nolan frowns. “I have a children’s drawing of a jester on a birthday cake…?”“Stop it,” Gary says. “Let me see.”“Oo! Me too! It’s shiny, too,” Sunshine says.Lionel holds up a card. “I got a Santa Clause guy eatin’ lunch.”“I have a small white boy eating a sandwich and a large African American gentlemen eating a sandwich,” Nolan cuts in.“Dog eating a sandwich.” Gary places a card forward.“He does kind of look like Santa, though,” Nolan nods.“I have three different anchovies,” Sunshine says.“You have to keep those, nobody wants them,” Nolan says, grinning at her.“You guys know what?” Lionel smiles and eats a chip. “This is the best slumber party I’ve ever had. Honestly.”“The only slumber party I think I’ve ever had…” Sunshine mumbles.Behind them, the caretaker begins to slowly stand up, trying to inch towards the door.“Hey, hey!” Nolan exclaims, staring at the man.“Sit!” Sunshine growls, pointing at him. He quickly sits back down.“I will call animal control on you, sit down,” Nolan says.“We will feed you, don’t worry,” Lionel says, chucking a chip at the man.“Can I have a Dorito?” Sunshine asks.“Yeah,” Lionel nods, giving her the bag.“You know what though? Seriously,” Gary chimes in, “this was fun, we should do this again.”Lionel smiles. “That’s what I love about you, man, you’re always workin’.”“Gummies,” Nolan says.Sunshine raises her brows, looking at her cards. “Me too!”⠀⠀⠀
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It’s the next day and Sunshine, Nolan, and Gary are sitting across from Georgia. Looks like they’re gonna have to break the news.“All right,” she says, frowning, “I know something happened. Something’s different, it feels very different, tell me what happened.”“Go ahead,” Nolan says, motioning towards Sunshine.“Well,” she starts, “there’s no ghosts of any kind in the house.”Georgia raises her brows. “Hmm…” She says, surprised.“But, um…” Sunshine continues, “Your caretaker? He kind of… caused some problems.”She narrows her eyes. “My caretaker? Frank?”“Yeah, unfortunately,” Gary sighs, “he was the ghost, and when we discovered that and confronted him last night, he explained everything to us. He said—” Gary imitates the anguished ‘Agh!’ Frank made, “‘I just wanted to scare her away so I could buy the house for cheap!’”“That was… that was nice,” Sunshine nods.“Thank you,” he says.“Buy the house for cheap,” Georgia echoes, scoffing. “Hmm. You know, he’s been working for me for years and—at one point we were a little closer than we are now, and I was thinking about leaving the house to him in my will!” She leans back in the rocking chair. “Well, that’s not gonna happen now!”Gary sighs. Sunshine really can’t believe what happened last night.Georgia gasps. “And do you know what else I just realized? My friend was right. I did meet a young lady who was going to change my life, and there was someone around who couldn’t be trusted! But it wasn’t someone with you, it was someone with me.”“Yeah,” Nolan nods.“Hah,” Georgia laughs.“Well, sorry about that,” Gary says, “but I’m glad we could help.”“Yeah,” Sunshine laughs.“Yeah. So.” Gary purses his lips. “Good case. Good case, everybody. Although, Sunshine.” He frowns.“Yeah?”“…The Ouija board was right.”

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PART EIGHTSeason Eight: A New Haunted House + A Halloween Haunted Adventure
Strange things start happening at the new house. Later, an investigation goes horribly wrong for Nolan.

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She’s not supposed to be filming in the house.She’s filming anyway.It’s been three days since the wrap-up to their not-so-haunted investigation, and now shit is happening and Sunshine knows she has to tell her subscribers, damn her mother’s rules.So, well, the other night she was asleep—or awake, or half-awake, or maybe she was dreaming—and she sort of thought she saw Anna. Which, is weird, because she hasn’t even been thinking of Anna. You know. Different house, all that.Still. Sunshine has the feeling that something is going to happen soon.
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She can’t get that dream-daze-coulda been real life-thing out of her head.Was it a dream? Did it really happen? Did she really see Anna? She just thinks it’s all so weird. The literal reason she and Mom moved was so that they could get away from all the ghosts. And, yeah, okay, maybe Sunshine hasn’t completely gotten over her exorcism, or the fact that Andrew disappeared and Mentor is dead and Victoria is missing. But her state of mind can’t possibly have anything to do with all this.Right?The other thing is, she’s been having this feeling. One she knows all too well, one that goes back to the old house—a creepy, unsettling feeling that buries itself in the pit of her stomach and doesn’t let go until she screams at the air to go away. Sunshine isn’t stupid. She isn’t naive. She knows what this means, but it still unsettles her. If the house is haunted, what does that mean for her now? “Girl, you better not be filmin’ in there,” Kat calls from the other room.Sunshine laughs to herself despite everything that’s going on. “I’m at the designated wall! I didn’t even flip it around, so they can’t even see any of this room that I’m in! Or…you!” She glances at the camera. “She looks horrible, so it’s fine.”“Oh, thanks,” her mother says sarcastically.Sunshine grins.“They’ll just have to trust that I don’t look horrible. I look hot, thanks.”She rolls her eyes.“You—seriously, though.”Her eyes widen. “I’m at the designated wall! We decided this was a perfect place.”“Okay.”“Blank and boring and… how come I can’t film the rest of the house?”Kat raises a brow. “Why do you think?”“Don’t know,” Sunshine says innocently.“Bald-faced lie, you totally know why.”Sunshine glares.“What, do you—do you want to film, is that what you’re saying?”She nods.“What do you want to film?”“The rest of the house,” Sunshine whispers.Kat narrows her eyes suspiciously. “Why?”“Because! People deserve to know.”“They don’t deserve anything.”Sunshine makes a face. “She’s very cranky.”“I’m not cranky! And I look good, thanks.”“We’ll discuss this later,” Sunshine mocks her mother.Kat just laughs.
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Holy. Shit.She’s freaking out.Just a little bit.Okay, a ton, actually.Uh, so she was walking into the kitchen and she passed by a sliding glass door to the backyard, and Sunshine swears, like serious of seriousness, upon all things that are holy—Teen Vogue, for instance—that she saw Victoria. Like, one hundred and ten percent she saw her. Out there. Standing on the porch.So, of course, she ran upstairs to grab her camera and when she came back Victoria was gone. What else did she expect? Still, she wants her subscribers to know.And as Sunshine explains this long-winded story to the people of YouTube, she hears a set of footsteps and, “Are you kidding me?!”Sunshine winces. “No…? Yes…?”“Just tell me,” Kat says, stomping up, “that that red light is not on.”“It is.”Kat looks exasperated. “What are you doing?”“Filmiiiinnngg!” “I see that—you’re standing in our kitchen.”“Victoria was out therrreee!”Kat makes a face. “Victoria was where?”Sunshine points to the window. “Thereee. Right there.”A pause. “Are you serious?”“Yes! Ask my Teen Vogue…”Kat quickly walks over to the door and looks around, brows furrowed.“She’s not there anymore,” Sunshine says. Obviously.Her mother looks back. “What do you mean?”“We need to film in the house! There’s important things happening, clearly.”“No, there’s not—”“Yes!” Sunshine interrupts.“—important things happening.”“Yes, there are!”Kat sighs.“No, we need to film.”“We’ll talk about it,” Kat says as she walks away.Sunshine groans. “We will talk about it later, don’t you worry.”
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Well.Sunshine heard a door slam upstairs.At first she thought, hey, maybe it’s just the wind. Maybe it was a draft, she could’ve left a window open. But, uh. Then she heard it again, so it’s definitely not the wind.Now she’s sort of waiting to hear another one, and she’s once again breaking the rules by filming in the house—Sorry, Mom—and it’s kind of freaking Sunshine out, especially since she’s home alone.Should she go upstairs?Sunshine thinks she probably shouldn’t, but, hey. She’s never really been smart about these things. Maybe she should just wimp out and hang out downstairs. Still, it’s freaking her out.So, against all better judgement, Sunshine passes through the snug, decorated living room nestled next to the open kitchen, and steps foot on the stairs leading the way towards both she and her mother’s rooms. It’s dark—incredibly dark—and the only source of light is from a lamp across the living room.And, well, the stairs are just as creepy as the old one. Maybe Kat just really loves long, creepy stairwells.At least this one doesn’t have a spandrel.She begins moving up the stairs, slowly and quietly, murmuring to the camera. Suddenly, there’s a loud slam that sends her jeering to the side, ice flicking through her chest. The sound echoes off the walls and Sunshine breathes in, jaw quivering. Yeah. Definitely not the wind.Still, she presses on and makes it upstairs, passing by the guest room and peering into her mother’s. It’s empty, so far, but Sunshine keeps looking behind her back, terrified that someone is going to be standing in the corner. She stops at the door to her bedroom, which has been clicked shut. She definitely left that door open. Sunshine bites the inside of her cheek and shakily opens the door, glancing inside. The bedroom is spacious, surrounded by pink walls and posters on one side. Next to her large white bed is a tall, oak cupboard with a stack of books on top, and at the foot of her bed is a stuffed animal alligator.Overall, entirely cozy. Also entirely empty. “Hello…?” Sunshine calls hesitantly, not really wanting to step inside but feeling like she has to. She glances at her television and peers behind another cupboard, but no one is in here. Just her.She wishes Kat would get home faster.She’ll probably call her.

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So. Sunshine’s here with her mother to talk about things. Mostly, filming in this here house.“So we’re gonna film ourselves in the house talking about filming in the house,” Kat says slowly, deliberately, staring at Sunshine.“Mhm. Yes.”“So…doesn’t that just sort of negate the entire conversation?”“Mmm—I’m not sure what negate means,” Sunshine says, “but yes.”Kat laughs. “Don’t you—” She groans. “Haven’t you liked the peace and quiet of having nothing? Like this is just sort of our sanctuary and not filming it here, haven’t you liked it?”Sunshine sighs. “Yes.”Kat looks at the camera. “You can just flip that around, no one really wants to look at me anyway.”“Yes, but,” Sunshine turns the camera around, “there’s something happening in the house, and whatever is happening—”“You don’t know that!”Sunshine glares at her mother. “You’re gonna doubt me now? After all we’ve been through? Really?”“Okay, fine.” A pause. “I just…”“It’s gonna happen whether or not we film it!”“Exactly! So why film it?”“Why not film it?” Kat shakes her head. “That makes no sense.”“What you said makes no sense!” Sunshine retorts.“You’re using my argument against me.”She laughs. “You’re using my argument against me.”“Why do you think that they even care? Why do you—”“Because they’re invested!” Sunshine says passionately, almost outraged from her mother’s suggestion. “And I feel safer when the camera is on.”“That makes no sense.”“Why does that make no sense? Why? You can’t even—you can’t argue my feelings. That’s ridiculous!”“I think I taught you that.”Sunshine smirks and makes a face. “You did, but, I used it against you. Haha! Anyways, I just…I feel safer when it’s on, and it gives me something to do.” She sighs. “I don’t know.”“Well,” Kat says, “you do have over four hundred videos, so it definitely has been something to deal with.”Sunshine gives a thumbs up to the camera.“What if it’s only—are you gonna care if we have ground rules? Like, you can’t film outside and all that? Is that—you can’t film certain parts of the house? I mean. I kind of like a little bit of privacy, y’know?”“…Yes?”They’ll come back to this.
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So, Sunshine can’t sleep and now she feels like something’s gonna happen. She doesn’t know what, but there’s that clenching in her stomach, warning her that a presence is nearby. Which rarely ends well.Wonderful.She picks up her camera and clicks it on, heading out of her room and passing by the bathroom. “Glad Mom said I could film here because something’s definitely happening.”Sunshine ambles down the stairs and whirls around the side, gasping when she comes face-to-face with her mother, whose side is illuminated by the nearby lamp. She huffs and draws the camera close to her chest. “What are you doing?” The times she’d found her mother standing around in the dark had never ended well, either.“You scared me,” Kat whispers. “Why are you filming?”“Because, I feel weird,” Sunshine says. “Why are you up?”“I’m…I feel weird.”“That’s my excuse.”“I don’t know! I couldn’t sleep,” Kat supplies. “You okay?”“Mhm.”Then, there’s something in the air. At first it’s a low buzz, but it eventually swirls into something more defined, something more human. A voice permeates from somewhere inside the house, soft and light, catching both Sunshine and Kat off guard.“Do you hear that?” Sunshine asks, feeling sick.“What is that?” Kat demands.“I don’t know.” Sunshine looks around the living room, scanning every corner, but it’s almost like her body won’t move. She’s frozen with fear. “Where is it coming from?”Kat shakes her head, then pauses when they stand on the side of the living room. Looking up, both women notice a vent rattling slightly, echoing with a disembodied voice that chills Sunshine to her core.“I think it’s up there,” Kat whispers. “Is that a voice?”Sunshine thinks so. She raises her camera to the vent, straining her ears. The voice is rough but definitely female.“What is it saying?” her mother questions.“I don’t know.”It almost sounds like ‘you won’t get away.’It better fucking not be.
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After the activity abruptly cuts off, both Sunshine and Kat head to bed. The next day, however, both of them are sure that something has returned to the house, and they both know it isn’t Anna.Who, then?Now they’re both on the couch, the camera set up in front of them, and, well. “Mom has a…thought…she would like to share with us all.”Kat laughs and splays her arms out. “Share with the class.”“Everybody.”“Well, say if we’re gonna film,” Kat says, “and I don’t want to talk to you about paranormal stuff, shouldn’t we film it?”“Yes.”“You agree?”Sunshine points to the camera. “There it is.”“It’s—” Kat smirks and shakes her head.“The red light’s on,” she says sarcastically.“Alright. Well, I was just…in the middle of the night last night, I was thinking all of a sudden and—well, insomnia sucks, let’s just say that—all of a sudden I just remembered something I heard, like, a long time ago and I don’t remember where or what or even if—I don’t know, but it was talking about if how sometimes it’s not a location that is haunted, but a person.”Sunshine stares at her mother.Kat stares back.Silence.“Have you never…?” Kat trails off.“That’s horrible,” Sunshine says.“Yes…Do you get where I’m going with this.”She shakes her head. “Mm-mm.” Then a pause as it all starts to come to her.“Like, maybe it’s not—”“The house…”“The house that we’re living in,” Kat nods, “maybe it’s you. It’s a thought. I mean, it kind of does fit in with the whole ‘I’m a Luiseach!’ and ‘No I’m not!’ Right?”Sunshine briefly goes over what the hell a Luiseach is to any new subscribers and looks back at Kat. “Anyways.”“Well, now that you’re done with that, if you’re feeling like there is stuff happening in this new house then there’s really no reason, like, nothing has happened…”“I don’t know,” she sighs. “I just don’t like the thought of me being haunted.”“Well, I know, neither do I, I have to admit, I don’t love that, but…I don’t know, it’s a thought, and it’s just something that I suddenly remembered last night and, well. It’s something. Ponder that in your pretty little head.” Kat pats Sunshine’s hair.“I kinda wish Victoria—she always comes in, pops in like a daisy—would tell me what to do.”“Yeah, right about now is when she’d, uh, knock on the door, but she doesn’t know where you live babygirl. And we don’t even know if she’s alive or…” Kat shakes her head. “I think you’re on your own with this one. Don’t worry, I’m here! You’ve got me!” Her mother smiles. “You’ve got Nolan, you’ve got your Scooby Gang.”“Great,” she says.⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine and Kat are watching TV when the noise returns.She quickly fumbles for her camera and turns it towards the vent, where the chilling voice rakes through.“Seriously, what is it saying?” Kat whispers.“I don’t know,” Sunshine replies. “It’s exactly the same as last time.”“You can’t even tell if that’s English.”Something slams in the kitchen and Sunshine gasps, reeling backwards into her mother. Kat’s eyes are wide as full moons. “Was that in the kitchen?”Sunshine doesn’t respond. She can’t respond. She aimlessly moves towards the kitchen, which is swamped in a blanket of shadows that make Sunshine want to turn tail and run. Still, she can’t do that anymore. She may not be a Luiseach, but she sure as hell isn’t a coward.And then—“Everything’s…open,” Sunshine says, looking around the kitchen, spotting the open cupboards and drawers.“So that answers the question if there’s something here.”Sunshine hesitates. “A…Anna…?”“What are you doing?!”“What?”“Why are you calling out to Anna?” Kat looks at her daughter.“Because I have no one else to talk to!”“It’s a different house!”“So? She could still be here!”Kat sighs. “Okay, well, the OCD in me does not like this.”Sunshine doesn’t, either.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

She had a dream last night.Sunshine was there. And when she says there, she means the sacrifice. She saw it all. Just like the black-and-white footage she found from so long ago.Where Anna’s dad killed her?She’d just been standing, inches from where Anna fell, and her mask wasn’t on. And Anna had looked at her and kept saying, “Help me, help me, why aren’t you helping me?”Sunshine begins to sob.Then Anna’d reached out, desperate for a life-line, but she couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t help because it was a dream.It was a dream.It was horrible.
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It’s a week after the Anna dream and Sunshine isn’t exactly feeling better, but she’s trying.And then—well. As usual, she’d been sleeping when she heard a noise downstairs. She’s going to be stupid and go find out what it is, because why not?The house is swathed in shadows that make it nearly impossible for Sunshine to see her hand an inch away from her face. Thankfully, the red light of the camera slightly illuminates the ground, but doesn’t exactly soothe Sunshine’s nerves.Still, the living room is empty. Sunshine can hear a soft ringing in the background, almost like a microwave going off, and then there’s the voice in the vent and Sunshine can’t move. “Do you guys hear it?” she whispers to the camera. “It’s there again.” She flips the camera around and a figure stands behind her, brows furrowed.“It’s time for you to tell it to leave,” a voice says.Sunshine gasps and whirls around, coming face-to-face with Victoria. Her eyes widen and she takes in the appearance of her—friend?—mentor?—and begins to shake profusely. “Victoria?” She can’t believe it. Victoria is here.Victoria is back.“Honey?”Sunshine whips around to see her mother exit her bedroom, rubbing tired eyes with her knuckles.“Mom?” Sunshine asks.Kat immediately senses something. “What’s wrong?”“Victoria, she’s—” Sunshine turns, but Victoria isn’t there anymore. The only thing that greets her is open air.Kat frowns. “She’s what?”“She was right there.” “Did you have a bad dream?”“No!”“What did you—” Kat walks up to her daughter and brushes hair out of Sunshine’s face.She closes her eyes. “I heard a noise.”“Okay. I mean, Victoria’s, like, in the house?”“Mhm.”“How? The door’s locked.”As if that ever stopped her.“I don’t know.”
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So, after Victoria just kind of showed up the other night, Sunshine is left wondering what to do. And now she thinks she might need her help, but she doesn’t know how to get a hold of her.I mean, she’s not readily available. She’s not in the phone book, not like Santa, she can’t track her with the thing on Christmas Eve—anyway, it doesn’t matter, but Sunshine feels kind of weird doing this and, well, she’s going to just talk out loud.As if Victoria is here or something. God, this is ridiculous.“Victoriaaa…?” Sunshine calls loudly. “Um…I feel stupid…I kinda, I don’t know, I need your help, I don’t know how to get a hold of you—”Knocking on the door.Sunshine’s eyes go wide as she walks up to the door. Guess who it is?“Aaaand that’s Victoria,” she mutters to herself, opening the front door. “Hi.”As usual, Victoria strolls past without a word.Welcome in.Sunshine’s used to this by now, though, so follows Victoria into the living room, sitting across from her. “Um…how did you find me?”“I never lost you.”“Right…” Sunshine trails off, confused. “Well, how do I get a hold of you again? You know, if I need you?”Victoria smiles softly, amused. “I think you figured that one out.”“Yeah. Yeah, I’ve been having—dreams about Anna again.”Victoria nods. “I know. I think it’s time for you to get rid of this ghost.”“The—chanting one?”She looks serious. “Yes.” Her voice hardens. “Get rid of it.”“I don’t know how!”“Yes you do,” Victoria nods. “Why is it here? What does it want from you? If you do that work, you’ll figure it out.”“Alright, research.”Victoria stands, walks across the room, and leaves.So that happened.⠀⠀⠀
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“So,” Sunshine says brightly, smiling at the camera, “I thought I’d show all of you Nolan’s—” She laughs, “apartment.”“Hey, you want some water?” Nolan calls from the kitchen.She giggles. “Uh, no, I’m good.” She can’t stop smiling. Is this really happening? Has his hot-dog selling been this successful?“You mind if I have some water?”Sunshine makes a face. “It’s your apartment.”A pause. “Right on.”She looks baffled. “Anyways, so, here it is in all its…” Sunshine looks around at the white-walled apartment, a lamp illuminating the area next to a blue chair in the corner; Nolan’s bed is pretty small and white, nothing crazy but it’s cozy enough “…tinyness and…glory…” When she turns Nolan is handing a glass of water to her, grinning. “I…don’t really want that…”She takes it anyway.“Thanks…” Sunshine sets it on the counter. “Just put that over here…”“Yeah,” Nolan says, smiling. “This is the place. You like it?”“It’s lovely, um…”“Thank you!”“How do you…feel?”“How do I feel?” He sets his water down as well, walking over to the bed. “Like a new man.”“A new man.” More like a new boy.“Yeah.” Nolan drops down on the bed, tucking an arm behind his head. “Well, I like the old man, but…independently domesticated, y’know?”She raises a brow. “I’m…glad.” Sunshine turns and peers into a bathroom, colored in pastel teal walls. “Got a tiny bathroom over here.”“So, yeah,” Nolan says. “That’s my bathroom.”“Tiny bathroom.” She walks back into the main room.“That’s my bureau.”“That’s nice,” she calls as she pads into the kitchen, “I love that you use the word bureau so liberally.”“This is the kitchen,” Nolan continues, ignoring her.“Yes. This is where you keep…food.”He gets up off the bed and slides past her, standing in the middle of the kitchen with a big smile on his face. He’s so excited. “This is where the magic happens.”“Uh huh.”Nolan laughs then clears his throat. “I’m feeling a little under the weather.”“He’s under the weather,” Sunshine whisper-yells to the camera.“Um, yeah, just thought you should drop by, show you the place, this is it. I know it’s not much, but…but it’s home.”“And you moved out of your mom’s house?”He nods. “I did. Finally.”“That’s nice.”“Finally.”She looks around. “Feel like a new man?”“Yeah!”Sunshine moves from the kitchen back into the main room, glancing over a yellow and red poster with a black cat on it. “So, how’s the…the hot dog stand?”He follows her. “The hot dog stand is…uh, it’s doin’ okay.” Nolan throws a piece of wrapper across the room and sits across from her in the blue chair.“Yeah? That’s nice, I’m glad you’re so…filthy.”“Yeah.”“Lovely.” She pauses. “Well. That’s good. That’s all you have to say?”“I like it,” he says, fingers over his cheeks. “It’s homey. Reminds me of like, what a middle-aged woman would decorate their house as.”“Yeah, it’s not really your style, that’s for sure.”“No, but it’s pre-furnished, so I didn’t have to pay for any of this.”Sunshine raises her brows. “That’s good, because this really doesn’t look like you.”“Well, my style is moderately priced.” Nolan scrunches up his face.“Moderately priced…yeah, especially that throw behind you,” she looks at the brown throw behind him, causing him to turn, “it’s got a nice…detailing, that’s great, very un-you.”“Didn’t even know that was there,” he shrugs off.“Hmm. Well. You’ve got a TV—”“You wanna watch some television?” He stands.“Not…really, no.” Sunshine just now realizes he’s wearing a button-up gray jacket identical to Victoria’s. He’s so weird.“No? Alright.” Nolan plops to the bed on his side then rolls on his back, staring at the ceiling.“It’s a little—it’s a little toasty in here.”“You don’t wanna watch any television?” He continues staring at the ceiling.“No…”Nolan sighs. “Alright, do what you want then.”“Okay, well.”“It’s literally the only thing to do in here.”“Is…watch TV?”“Yeah. Or you could read. I have some books if you want a book, I’ve got, um—I’ve got a book on—”Both teens jump when something crashes in the kitchen. “Hey!” Nolan shouts, jumping to his feet and charging into the kitchen. “What…was that?” Sunshine follows him.He stops in the kitchen, and when Sunshine joins his side, she stares at the floor. A bowl has fallen.“So you have a…ghost, eh?” she says casually.Nolan turns to her, serious. “Get out.”“Why—?”“Get out, get out of the house!”Sunshine laughs. “What do you mean get out?”“Go! Go! Go, nope, nope,” he swings his arms toward her, motioning towards the door. “What?!”Nolan stands in front of her, hands clasped together, staring.“I didn’t do anything.”He smiles and shakes his head. “I believe you. We were both in the living room.” Nolan opens the front door, sunlight streaming into the apartment. “But you know what? Can’t handle it. No, I’m sorry, I’m not gonna—” He jumps and looks desperate. “This place, it can’t become haunted, this is my house now. I don’t want any ghosts just hanging around, talkin’ crazy stuff.”“I didn’t do it on purpose.”“I know you didn’t do it on purpose!” Nolan says. “I’m not blaming you for anything, but…just, come on.”Okay.Well, that happened.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine is at Nolan’s apartment.Nothing is happening.“See?” she tells the camera, “look at this. I just wanted to prove to all of you—nothing’s happening. Look.”She glances around the room then turns the camera around, showing Nolan laying with his back on the floor, staring at the ceiling. He turns his head and looks over at her.“Not…sure what he’s doing, but,” she shrugs, “nothing’s happening.” A pause, testing the air. “Yeah, definitely nothing. No plates, no scary noises, no things turning on—”“Okay,” Nolan interjects.“I’m just stating facts,” Sunshine says.“‘Cause it didn’t happen one time?”She rolls her eyes. “Still don’t really want to hang out here though.” It’s boring.“Well, then—stop inviting yourself over all the time,” Nolan says, rolling on his stomach and pressing his elbows to the floor. “I’m not making you.”Sunshine raises her brows incredulously and looks at the camera. “He invited me over, twice now. It was him,” she whispers.“While you’re here enjoy yourself, or go—” Nolan pauses and inspects a cupboard. “I wonder what’s in here, I actually don’t know.”“Alright,” Sunshine says loudly. “So that was everything.”“Well, that’s disappointing,” he pouts, shutting the drawers.“Apparently there’s nothing in there.”“I don’t know why there would be,” he sighs. “I guess there’s not anything in here that I didn’t put in there.” He lays his head down on the ground.Okay.
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Something’s happening.Something’s happening, something bad.Sunshine can’t speak. Her throat feels like it’s been carved into woodchips, and the traces of red marks bruise into her pale skin. She feels terror thrum through her body but forces herself to calm down, remembering all of Victoria’s training. She’s okay. She’s not getting possessed. She just needs to breathe.And find her mother. She grabs her camera, slides out of bed, and makes her way into the hallway, stepping down the stairs as she breathes shakily. The living room is dark and the kitchen even darker. Sunshine opens her mouth to speak then remembers how badly it hurts to.Well.She opens a drawer and pulls out a piece of paper and a Halloween-themed pencil. ‘I CAN’T TALK’ she writes. ‘MOM?’Sunshine frowns and turns, gasping softly when a white, pale figure stands before her. The darkness dissipates and she relaxes when she realizes it’s just her mother approaching her.Kat can’t speak, either.She desperately moves her hands and tries to communicate with Sunshine, but both women make it clear they can’t talk. A sudden noise from upstairs startles both of them, causing them to look at each other. Sunshine points upstairs and Kat shakes her head.They’ve gotta go up there.Sunshine takes the lead and knows that, no matter how scared her mom is, she won’t let her daughter go up alone—not after the whole demon fiasco last time. Even then, though, both of them are scared, and the pitch black darkness doesn’t seem to help that sentiment. She pokes her head in the rooms but sees nothing. When she turns back to her mother with a questioning look, glass shatters downstairs. Sunshine’s heart pounds in her throat but she quickly slides down the stairs, heading into the living room—then the kitchen. She whirls around to notify her mother that nothing is here, but that’s when she realizes that Kat is gone.Icy, cold terror rushes through her veins. Mom. Mom is gone. Mom is gone and it’s just like the first demon, she’s possessed, she’s—Sunshine breathes. Tries to, at least. She manages to catch her breath and tells herself that Kat is probably fine. Maybe going to the bathroom upstairs, who knows. She’s fine. Everything’s fine. So, with that, Sunshine quietly creeps up the squints through the shadows, trying to find any figure that might be her mother.And then she sees a foot. Sunshine freezes, gasps softly, and runs up the rest of the stairs. When she rounds the corner, she sees her mother on the ground, limbs splayed out and eyes shut. Sunshine quickly leans down and pauses when Kat recites the foreign words she’s been hearing in the vents. Her jaw quivers and she pushes at her mother’s arm, trying to snap her out of this trance, but nothing’s working. Nothing’s working, nothing’s working. Sunshine tries to catch her breath but she can’t. She can feel her heart pulsing against her lungs and staggers back, sliding herself against the wall and pushing fingers through her hair. Tears cascade down her cheeks and she sobs, feeling desperate and hopeless and terrified. All she can hear are those foreign chants coming from her mother’s mouth, and this is all-too familiar of the first demon.Sunshine isn’t sure how long she sits and cries, but Kat finally rises from her trance and notices her daughter in hysterics. Sunshine feels hands and tries to bat them away, screaming at the demon to get away, but nothing is working. Nothing is working and Sunshine is all alone.She’s always alone.
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“How is she?”The voice is low and far-off. Sunshine feels a headache pounding in her temples and groans, rubbing her forehead with a finger. The static of life booms in her ears and she attempts to blink open her eyes, but the world is a blur of sound and color.“Sunshine!” the voice says again, this time closer. She tries to focus on it, tries to figure out who it is. It’s not her mother…it’s different… “How are you feeling?”“Tired,” she mumbles, attempting to open her eyes again. Everything is too bright.“Oh. Shit.” There’s movement and suddenly the light dies away. “Sorry. I didn’t realize the lights would hurt your eyes.”Despite the lights being off, she’s still too exhausted to look at who she’s talking to. Suddenly, realization dawns on her and panic eats at her insides. Sunshine’s hand grabs the other person’s, warm and smooth, and squeezes. “Mom?”“Your mom’s fine,” the voice says quickly, startled by the touch. “Uh…are you feeling…alright?”Sunshine breathes a sigh of relief, then wonders. Is she alright? No, not really. “Yeah,” she lies, but it’s not convincing. “Just hot.”A hand presses against her forehead, then pauses. “You have a fever. I’ll get you an ice pack—”“No!” She steels herself against the person, chest heaving. “Please. Stay.”The person is quiet and goes still, leaning back against the bed she realizes she’s laying in. Memories of last night rush to her head and she chokes back a sob. “Why are you crying?” The voice is so soft and gentle Sunshine bursts into even more tears.“I’m not crying,” she hiccups.“Right.”A pause and a thought. She feels dead, worn from last night’s events as well as the fever coursing through her veins. “You’re not a demon, are you?”A laugh. Genuine and hearty. “No, I’m not. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”Sunshine weakly shakes her head. “No…but you protect me.”Silence.Her hand finds the other’s again and she relaxes, feeling instantly comforted by the touch. “Thanks for being here.”A pause.But no hesitation.“…Always.”And little did she know, Nolan was never going to leave.
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So. It’s been two days since the whole foreign ghost fiasco and Sunshine’s feeling confused. A day is missing from her memory and her mother informed her that she gained a high fever that almost had her hospitalized.Wonderful.So, anyway. She’s talking to the camera, telling her subscribers about everything that happened.She’s still confused.“So, it’s Monday morning,” she says, “and as you all saw, we couldn’t talk, and clearly I can now. That’s a bonus. But, yeah. The camera died, and we’re both fine—Mom’s fine, really—and I’m fine, I promise, guys.”Why were they so worried about her anyway? It’s not like she freaked out or anything.Yeah. Not at all.“Just, it’s weird, right after the camera turned off the ghosts just stopped chanting. I mean, maybe it was goodbye. What do you guys think? Do you think it was goodbye? Or does this mean it’s gonna come again? I don’t know. And what I think is even weirder is that Victoria didn’t come. We were in peril! She always comes when we’re in peril.”Weird.Very weird indeed.
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So.Sunshine’s been doing a bit of research and she sort of figured out that the ghost says ‘I see you’ in Latin.I mean, she’s not the first. A bunch of her subscribers already figured it out, but hey, they can all be smart. Ish. So, yeah. She has no idea what it means. Is the ghost watching her? That’s creepy. And…there it goes again, talking away in the vent.Unbelievable.
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Last night a funny thing happened.She went on a date—which isn’t the funny part, and no, it was not with Nolan, don’t even get her started—and they went up to a haunted house. Not her idea, I mean she’s not exactly a fan, she already lives in one. Sunshine doesn’t really like to be scared ‘cause of all the current shenanigans.Anyway, they’re going along and it’s frightening, as it should be, and it’s kind of scary and weird and it’s because of this one part in the middle that’s completely silent. And silence is scary.Then somebody behind her—a little girl—said, ‘I see you Sunshine.’ And she thought that was cool, wondering how they did that, then realized it was ridiculous. So, she verified with one of the ladies outside, asking if they had a little child person helping out that says people’s names?And guess what she said?They don’t have any kids working, because that would be weird, so, yeah. Some scary little kid went up to Sunshine and told her that.And she just wonders…What if it was Anna?

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They’re doing a Halloween Special.Sunshine knows of a haunted house nearby from where they are currently—which is in the middle of nowhere—and she, her mother, and Nolan are going to go check it out.She doesn’t know much about the history, but she figures they can just ask the owner when they get there. Yeah. It’ll be great. So exciting!As she explains this all to the camera, Nolan sweeps in from the side and faces Sunshine. “I decided I want to be in the video.”Sunshine makes a face.Nolan turns toward the camera. “Hi. I’m in the video.”Sunshine blinks hard. “This is Nolan. As you…all know. Mkay, yeah, so. Let’s do this thing.”“I kind of want to be in the video too,” Kat whispers.Sunshine sighs dramatically. “That’s my mother.”“But they know me—”“Oh my gosh—”Kat outstretches the camera with an arm to show all three of them. “We’re all gonna go on the adventure together.”Well…this has been fun.⠀⠀⠀
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⠀⠀⠀“Alright, cuties,” Sunshine says, holding the camera, “we’re here.” It’s night and it’s dark and it’s raining.“It’s very wet,” Kat says.“It is indeed wet. Very good observation, there, Holmes,” Sunshine quips, then begins to use a Southern accent. “Um, so, yeah, we’re gonna go up to the door and ask the homeowners about the history and such.” She leads the way up the path.“That was nice,” Kat notes. “Is that your ghost-hunting voice?”Sunshine laughs. “Yes.”“Your ghost-hunting voice sounds like a farmer,” Nolan says.“Hmm…thank you, I think.”Nolan looks around at the trees and overflowing foliage blanketing the ground and walls. “This place is cute.”“Um.” Sunshine stares at the door—it’s slightly yawned open. “The front…door’s…open.” She approaches and notices something on the door. “Is that a note? I never like notes. They were terrible in high school.”Sunshine carries herself up the steps and stops, squinting at the note as rain pours down around them. She begins to read aloud. ‘This has gotten way out hand. We are out of here. -A’“What?” Kat says, dumbfounded.“Like Pretty Little Liars, anyone? Yeah?” Sunshine mutters to the camera, then turns.“Uh, that’s confusing,” Nolan hums.“What does that mean?” Kat asks.Sunshine sighs. “I don’t know what that means, guys, and I’m not exactly sure what to do.”“It’s so aggressive too,” Nolan observes.“Yeah, we’re gonna discuss it.” Sunshine pauses. “I think.”⠀⠀⠀
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⠀⠀⠀“Okay, so we’re in agreement?” Kat asks, looking between Sunshine and Nolan. “We’re—we’re gonna go?”“Yeah,” they both say. “Okay,” Kat says, hesitant.“Come on, come on,” Nolan motions.Kat knocks on the door but continues inside anyway. It’s very warm but huge, very mansion-like. “Hello? Anyone home?” she calls.“I don’t know what we’re doing,” Sunshine says.“Uh…homeowners!” Nolan yells. “Your, uh, paranormal team of investigators have arrived.” He trips on his wet shoes. “You okay?” Kat asks him.“We’re the best,” he continues. “None like us.”“That happened,” Sunshine says.Still, silence.“Hello,” Nolan calls again, moving towards the living room. The ceiling is high, allowing Nolan’s voice to carry far.Kat quirks a brow. “The acoustics are great in here.”On the wall are several deer heads. “Look at all the dead animals,” Nolan points.“That’s…pleasant,” Sunshine says.“Deer, and, like…” He looks at the blankets hugging a stool. “Like, four polar bear carcasses, that’s nice.”“Definitely.”Nolan nears a fancy-looking lamp.“Don’t,” Sunshine warns.He looks back. “I wasn’t gonna—”“Don’t touch it!” Kat exclaims.Nolan grits his teeth. “I wasn’t gonna—I was just looking at it.”Sunshine raises a brow but shrugs to herself, continuing on. She looks at the portrait of a bearded man hung on the wall.“It’s like they were…” Kat trails off.“Just here, I know,” Nolan says.“Yeah!”Kat spots some intricate porcelain object. “Hey, that’s cool! It’s really pretty.”“Man,” Nolan says, “what do these guys do? How can I…give them mail?”“What?” Kat asks.“Mail room, it’s—” He points but seems to give up.“He’s a strange kid,” Sunshine says, approaching her mother as Nolan wanders into the other room near the stairs.“Why did we bring him?” Kat sighs.“I’m…not sure.”“Guys,” Nolan calls from the other room. “I think they were having a party.”Sunshine passes by the outdoor pool, glances into a mirror, and continues with her mother into the dining room, where Nolan is standing next to a set table, a white covering wreathed around.“That’s weird,” she notes. “I’m all for spooky, but this is a little…” Weird.Nolan messes with a glass cup. “Why would they leave right before dinner?”“Put it down,” Sunshine says, but she locks her eyes on the table. Why would they leave?Nolan grumbles and walks off.“They didn’t tell you anything?” Kat asks.“Oh! No way!” Nolan says from somewhere…behind her.“No, they didn’t tell me anything,” Sunshine says. She really wishes they had.“Nolan!” Kat reprimands.Sunshine whirls around and sees him eating a cookie. “Seriously!” she says. “Stop!”“There’s a bunch of them,” he notes. “They’re tasty.”Sunshine rolls her eyes.“You guys are freaking out, okay?” Nolan says through a mouthful of cookie, “it’s okay.”“It’s weird, they knew we were coming—”“Yeah?” Nolan raises a brow. “They got a little bit jumpy, they’re not used to things like we are.”Sunshine wanders into the kitchen, looking around. It’s much more homey—and a lot smaller—than the rest of the house.“We’re not used to things,” Kat mutters. She looks at Sunshine. “Hey honey?”She turns. “What?”“Do you…do you feel anything?”“I don’t know.” She makes a face. “We’ve only been here for, like, two seconds.”Kat nods. “Okay.”“We should hang out,” Nolan suggests, walking towards the living room.“Aaaand there he goes.” Sunshine sighs. “Well, the battery’s about to die anyways, so we might as well just…regroup? That’s a terrible word, but…just stay tuned.”
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“Nolan,” Sunshine says, nearing the bathroom door. He’s slightly hunched over and has a hand on the wall, steeling himself. “Are you sure you’re okay?”“Yeah, I’m great,” he mutters, but his voice is lower than usual. “Give me, uh, five minutes and if I spew again I’d like to be in a place where—”“Okay, just go to the bathroom,” Kat says, scrunching her nose.“Nolan, are you sure?” Sunshine is very concerned for him.“Yeah, I’m good,” he lies, closing the door behind him.“Okay,” Kat says. “What just happened?”“No idea.” Sunshine shakes her head. Kat sighs.Sunshine inspects the little room they’re in, glancing out of the windows, before turning the camera around. “So that was weird. And…now we are waiting for Nolan in a bathroom. Okay.”“I just don’t—here, I can take that.” Sunshine hands the camera to her mother as they both sit down. “I just don’t quite understand, like—okay, what did he throw up that wasn’t throw up?”“And why is the house so well-put-together—they have like fabric napkins, what is going on?”“No, it’s like they were having a dinner party or something,” Kat says. “And what did we hear—did we hear a scream?”“Yeah, that happened.” Forgot to mention that little part.Kat sighs. “Okay. I don’t know, maybe we better check on him.”“You think? I’m sure he’s fine,” Sunshine shrugs. He always is. “But this is very odd, everything’s just here.” She looks at a cake. “I mean, it’s half eaten. I just…feel weird.” After a moment, Sunshine feels too weird to even continue sitting. And concerned. “Okay, let’s check on him, I guess.”She nears the door and stands next to it, listening. Nothing. “Hey, Nolan, buddy, how you doin’?”No answer.“Can you hear anything?” Kat whispers.Sunshine mutely shakes her head. “Nolan?” Nothing. “Hey Nolan?” She knocks.“Ask him if he’s okay.”“Nolan…you okay?” She’s growing more apprehensive by the second. “You want to talk to me?”“I don’t like this…”“Nolan.” Sunshine’s voice grows slightly more desperate—and panicked. She’s thinking of all the things that could be on the other side of this door. “Nolan!”“I think you better go in,” Kat nods.She knocks again, harder. “Nolan, come on. I’m gonna open the door, so…yeah.”Sunshine tries the knob but it’s locked.“It’s…locked…” She shakes her head. “Nolan, unlock it! Nolan? Nolan, come on. This is no longer funny, come on. Nolan!”“Can you break it?”“What am I, like a thief?”“I don’t know! Veronica Mars can always break in.”“Yeah, well…okay, this is kind of like our house. The old one, a couple houses ago, and I locked myself in the bathroom all the time so maybe I can do something.” She messes with the knob like she used to, and there it goes.“Nice!” Kat says.Light floods into the hallway.“Nolan, you okay?” Kat asks.“Nolan,” Sunshine says. They both enter but there’s…no one. “There’s…no where for him to go.”“He’s not in here?” Kat asks.“Not in here and—” She looks at another door. “That’s locked.”“What,” her mother deadpans.“Yeah.”“O…kay. Now what?”Sunshine messes with the lock again and manages to open it. “Nolan?” They emerge into a bedroom. “Nolan?”There’s suddenly a strangled cry from somewhere else. “Sunshine!” “Nolan? Nolan!” Sunshine rushes past her mother and into a separate living room, but there’s nothing.“Sunshine!” Nolan calls, but it’s echoed and faint. Like he’s farther away than before—on the other side of the house.“Where is he?!” Kat asks.“Nolan, where are you?!” They run back into the bedroom, which connects back to the dining room. “Nolan.” She shakes her head. “It was coming from in here. Remember, the acoustics were really good. That’s what you say when we walk into a house? ‘Oh, the acoustics are great!’”“Shush!” Kat snaps.Both women enter the living room—the one by the front door, at least—and look around. It’s empty.At least, until Sunshine sees a foot outstretched on the ground, behind a wooden oak desk.“Nolan?” She chokes back a cry of terror. “Nolan!” Sunshine and Kat rush to his side and—“Oh my—”Kay gasps.He’s crumpled to the floor, face-first. Unmoving.Sunshine crouches next to him. “Is he okay?” Kat whispers hoarsely.“Nolan?” Sunshine shoves his shoulder. “Hey, Nolan, talk to me.”He groans softly and attempts to get up, but flops back down in pain.“Nolan—stop, don’t move.”They eventually manage to get him in front of the fireplace and wrap one of the stupid white polar bear blankets around him. He stares at the flames, gaze glassy.“He’s fine,” Sunshine says.“He’s not fine.” Kat shakes her head.“He’s fine! He doesn’t even remember anything.” “He’s catatonic!”Sunshine shoves his shoulder. “He’s just…sitting in front of a fire in a fur, it’s fine, he’s fine!” She tries to convince herself.“Oh, like that happens every day?”“We’re not done,” Sunshine says with a tone of finality. “What do you mean we’re not done?”“We’re just not done! I feel like—we’re not done, can’t we just—trust my gut?”“I—I just, I don’t know, I think we need to—”There’s a sudden loud, sharp woman’s scream from somewhere in the kitchen.“What was that?!” both women say, jumping to their feet.Nolan doesn’t even react.When Kat turns, she sees a woman in white floating in the pool. “Oh—honey, honey! Somebody’s in the pool! Come on! Nolan, come on!”Kat and Sunshine rush outside through the rain, ducking through swaths of wet plants and leaves, but when they make it to the pool there’s—nothing.“There’s nobody there,” Kat says, shocked. “Why is there nobody here?!”“I don’t know,” Sunshine says, gaping.“What was that?!”“I don’t know! You want me to explain everything? I don’t know what it was.”She really doesn’t.
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“We’re done. We’re done!” Sunshine says when they go back inside. Nolan’s standing, now, and seems to recognize what’s actually going on, which makes her feel a little better, but still not enough. Her mother saw someone in the pool, but when they went out no one was there.That only means one thing. That scream wasn’t from something alive.“I’m done,” Sunshine continues on her tangent as Nolan follows. “I mean, seriously, that was a ghost! There’s nobody there!” She shows the pool again. “I’m just done, okay?”Kat tries to budge the door. “It won’t open.”“Open the door.”“No! The door—I’m serious.”“What do you mean you’re serious?”“The door will not open!”“Try it!”Sunshine does. Stil, nothing happens. She just wants to get out of here—get Nolan out of here—and forget any of this ever happened.“You win!” Sunshine tells whatever spirit may be watching them. “Just—open the door!”It flies open.“Okay,” Kat says, standing still. “That worked. Come on.”They run outside to the car, but when Sunshine turns around there’s no Nolan.Kat notices, too. “Where’s Nolan? Honey, seriously, where’s Nolan?”Shit.“Is he still in the house?” Kat asks.Sunshine isn’t a fucking psychic, so she starts calling his name without answering her mother.And then it hits her.“I know where he is,” she says, and Sunshine is suddenly running down the path.“Where?” Kat asks as she follows.“In the pool.”“No!—seriously?”They make their way down the steps, and when they turn the corner they see Nolan submerged in the pool. “Nolan!” Sunshine screams.The camera cuts to black.
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Nolan eventually comes to and manages to drag himself out of the pool. They rush to the car and drive away, leaving the house just as they’d found it, and begin going home.“Okay, so.” Sunshine blinks. “That was…crazy.”“That’s an understatement,” Kat laughs.Nolan is in the back, staring straight forward with no emotion. Sunshine is worried for him, but tries to shove it off with some humor. Some laughter. She’s really not sure it’s working.“I don’t even know what to say,” Sunshine says. “I…we got out of there, clearly.”“Nolan, you doing okay back there?” Kat glances in the rearview mirror.He says nothing.“We got him out of the pool,” Sunshine continues. “He…seems fine.”He does not seem fine.“I don’t know,” Kat says, “he’s not talking much, honey. For Nolan, that’s not good.”“Last video, I guess, for this adventure.” She frowns. “Sorry it didn’t end better, guys, but…”“I think it ended really well,” Kat says.“Yeah,” she laughs.“We got out. We’re okay.”“I dunno. So…yeah. What do you guys think?”A pause.“I just want some chocolate,” Nolan says.Sunshine smiles.“We’ll get you some hot chocolate,” Kat grins. “Awesome.”

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PART NINESeason Nine: Nolan is missing
Nolan is missing. Sunshine must pair up with her mother, Uncle Tommy, Victoria, Marcie, and an unlikely ally to find him.

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It’s November 10—approximately ten days after the last video—and Saturday, and about four pm.And Sunshine’s worried about Nolan.Sunshine hasn’t heard from him. Seen him, smelled him, any of the above, since Halloween. Y’know, since the big adventure happened and Nolan got dunked in the pool? Yeah, that. Should she be worried? Sunshine thinks she should, but she’s not entirely sure. I mean, she just tried to call him and, low and behold, he didn’t answer. So that’s…a bit of a problem. So Sunshine has come to the conclusion that she’s going to over to his apartment. Maybe talk to him? See if he’s stuck under something or, uh, dead.Even though he totally kicked Sunshine out last time. Ugh. Since she apparently brings ghosts wherever she goes. Yeah right!Behind her, the lights in the kitchen flicker on and off.Anyway, she’s still going over. She’s just been so distracted with her upcoming movie she didn’t even really think about it. And now she feels bad, because what if something has actually happened to Nolan?Well, she can’t think like that. He’s probably fine, maybe still a little shaken up from Halloween. But he’s fine. He’s good. She just needs to show that she cares.Wish her luck.
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“Alright,” Sunshine says as she grips the steering wheel, driving through the residential neighborhood, Uncle Tommy pointing the camera towards her. “So, we are going to…find Nolan since we haven’t really heard from him since—”“Halloween,” they both say in unison.“It’s weird, he won’t answer texts or anything,” Tommy frowns.“Or email, or other forms of communication, um.”“Well, we’re a little worried,” Tommy admits.“Yeah, so we’re just going to his apartment because it’s the only thing we could think of.”“Maybe we’ll find him there.”Sunshine sighs. “I don’t know. I—”“Is that—?” As they pull near the house, Tommy shifts forward, narrowing his eyes. “Is there somebody looking in his window?”“That’s really weird,” Sunshine says. The person is tall and has brown hair. “And kind of creepy.”“I think it’s time to open up a can of whoop-ass.”Sunshine raises a brow sarcastically. “I’m a little tired, I don’t know if I can handle it.”“No, I meant me.”“Oh. That makes more sense.”“Let’s go see what’s going on.” Tommy hands the camera to Sunshine and they both exit the car.“Hey!” Tommy immediately snaps.“Oh—” The person turns. He has fluffy brown hair and a beard, and is wearing a gray shirt, a black jacket, and maroon pants. “Sunshine! Tommy! Can I call you Uncle Tommy?”“Who the hell are you?” Tommy demands.“Who are you…?” Sunshine asks.“Sorry—I’m Nolan’s brother, Colin.”Uncle Tommy pauses for a moment. “Nolan has a brother?”Sunshine just stares, hardly able to believe what she’s hearing.“…yeah. He didn’t tell you about me?”“No,” they both say.“Okay. Well, I haven’t seen him for, like, weeks, and—” Colin nears the window and shrugs. “I don’t see any sign of him, it looks like he hasn’t been here, so I don’t even know what’s going on—”Nolan has a brother?“—But his friends haven’t heard from him or seen him—”Nolan has friends? She can’t keep that one in. “He has friends?” she says doubtfully. “Other than me?”Colin ignores her. “So, have you guys—?”Tommy shakes his head. “I haven’t heard from him since Halloween.”“Neither have I, it’s kind of why we’re here,” Sunshine nods. “Halloween?” Colin frowns. “Well, I don’t really talk to him that much, but…”“Well, you look like him,” Sunshine says. That’s one good thing—probably not another Groundling. Or Markon. “Other than you have…poofier hair.” And a beard.“I’m not lying that I’m his brother, so,” Colin laughs. Tommy crosses his arms and sighs. “Well, that was…a lot of information to take in.”A lot of information except that they didn’t learn anything about where Nolan is.Great.
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Sunshine and Uncle Tommy are sitting on the couch. Kat quickly rushes into the frame, sitting next to Tommy. “Look! It’s like we called each other.” Kat points out she and Tommy’s matching vests. “Where’s yours, Sunshine?”She looks down.“You do look super cute right now, though,” Tommy says.“I know.” Sunshine snaps her finger.“Anyway, what are we doing other than sitting ridiculously close to each other?” Kat wraps an arm around Tommy’s shoulders.“She’s not sure she wanted to tell you,” he says, patting Sunshine’s knee, “but I wanted to have her tell you—”“That is never good,” Kat remarks.“I know,” Tommy says. “It’s just—so we were out driving yesterday—”“We were out driving?” Sunshine raises a brow.Tommy turns to Kat. “We decided to go look for Nolan.”She pauses. “I thought…we decided that was a bad idea.”Sunshine makes a face. “We didn’t decide.”“Okay. And?”Tommy continues. “So, we got to his apartment and—?” He looks at Sunshine to continue.“Aaaand Nolan’s brother was there.” Sunshine sighs.“What?” Kat says.“Mmhm.”“Nolan has a brother?”“Nolan has a brother,” Tommy nods. “His name is Colin.”“Colin and Nolan—okay,” Kat says.“Yep,” Tommy laughs, “so…”“What was he like? Why have we never heard of him?”“Just like Nolan,” Sunshine says.Tommy giggles. “Really?” her mother asks.“Except he has poofier hair.” Sunshine makes a ‘poofier hair’ motion. “Poofy hair, yeah,” Tommy nods. “Um, but, he seemed relatively normal, which is good.”“Well, that’s weird,” Kat laughs, then grows serious. “Okay, so where’s Nolan?”“He wasn’t there.”Sunshine shakes her head. “We don’t know.”“And his brother doesn’t know either,” Tommy says. “So we were just thinking that we wanted to get your opinion on if we should…”“I’m still wrapping my brain around the fact that he has a brother,” she says. “I have no opinion about this. How did you leave things with him?”Tommy laughs.“‘See ya later, man,’” Sunshine speaks in a man’s voice, waving a hand.Kat giggles. “You didn’t get his number or anything?”“…no.”“That probably wouldn’t been smart, right?” Tommy looks at Kat. They both laugh.“I don’t socialize very often,” Sunshine tries, “I don’t know what to do when you meet new people.”“But, y’know, we know enough about his family that we can probably find him again.” Tommy nods.“That’s probably true, you know where his mom lives.” Kat sighs. “That’s so weird though, he has a brother?! I mean, I know I didn’t really know him, but that’s still really weird.”“We knew him—wait, who?” Sunshine furrows her brows.“Nolan, sweetie.” She and Tommy laugh.“Oh.” Sunshine giggles. And the video just devolves from there.
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Alrighty.She heard from Nolan.But not in the typical way at all.She aggressively picks up a piece of paper to show the camera. “He sent me a letter. Yes, a letter. And don’t ask me to look at the return address—I already tried that, there isn’t one.” Sunshine sighs. What is this, the 18th century? What a weirdo.Guess she should probably read it. It’s not like it’s personal—just kind of babbly. Is that a word? It doesn’t really matter, because either way she’s going to read the letter. “ ‘Sunshine,I am fine. Please don’t look for me. Stop looking for me please, I am fine. Really, all is good. Please stop looking for me. I am taking care of things. All is well. Don’t look for me. Your friend,Nolan.’ ”She looks up at the camera, unimpressed. “What is that? That’s like, nonsensical! A bunch of babbling! It’s just bizarre.”She has no idea where to go next.

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“Okay,” Sunshine says. She’s in the car, Uncle Tommy pointing the camera at her. She has a neon yellow jacket on. “I…literally couldn’t stand it anymore, and uh, we came to Nolan’s mom’s house.”“Good idea,” Tommy notes.Sunshine shrugs lamely. “Kind of weird, but yeah, so we’re here, and I don’t know what we’re gonna learn, but I brought Uncle Tommy with me as you can see.”“Backup.”“Mmhm,” she smiles. “Anyways, maybe she’ll have cookies for me or something.”“Cookies are good,” Tommy nods.“Cookies are delicious.” She sighs. “So, I don’t know—”“Seriously?” Tommy says, looking past Sunshine.“Hm?” She turns and follows his gaze, then visibly deflates. She’d thought it was Nolan. Instead it’s his probably autistic brother that’s slightly annoying.“Hey!” Colin calls as he runs up, smiling, hands in his jacket pockets. “What are you guys doing here?”“Hey,” Sunshine and Tommy laugh awkwardly.“Hey, good to see you guys.” He grins and leans down towards the open window.“Hi…” Sunshine repeats, turning to look at the camera and giving a wide, kinda terrified smile.“How’s it going?” Tommy asks, trying not to laugh.“Good.” He smiles, but when he sees the camera stops, appearing shocked. “Oh my—am I gonna be in the—no! Am I gonna be on the YouTube page?!” He jumps excitedly.“It’s okay, it’s okay, calm down,” Sunshine laughs. Tommy giggles. “You’re so excited. Wow.”Colin nods, grinning.“What’s your name again?” Tommy asks, extending his hand.“Oh! Colin!” He does a weird handshake that’s more of a wrist grab and pulls back.“Poofy hair kid,” Sunshine remarks.“He has a name.” Tommy raises a brow.“Sorry. Colin. Uh, so you’re…at your mom’s house.”“I am, yes.”“Is Nolan…there? Is he here? Is he…?”Colin shakes his head. “We still haven’t heard from him, so.”“Well,” Tommy says, “we were thinking of going inside and chattin’ with your mom to see…”“Oh! Mom’s not home.”Sunshine looks at him. “What?”“She’s…” He shrugs. “On a trip, I don’t know, she’s not gonna be here for like another two weeks or something.”“Okay,” Sunshine frowns.“House to myself party,” Colin smirks.Tommy laughs, then steers back to the subject. “You still haven’t heard anything, though?”“No, I haven’t. No—wait! Oh my gosh!” He digs into his jacket pocket and pulls out a note. “I have this letter.”“You got a…letter.” Sunshine glances at it.“Yeah! ‘Colin, please don’t love for me—’ ” He narrows his eyes. “He has terrible handwriting. ‘Don’t look for me, I’m fine, I’m working things out, I’m taking care of Sunshine—’ ”Sunshine makes a face. He’s what?“ ‘So don’t worry, please, I am fine. Don’t worry. Your brother, Nolan.’ So, I don’t even know what that means, but.” Colin looks up. “Have you…heard anything?”“I got a letter too,” Sunshine nods. “Um…does yours have a return address? Mine did not…have one.”“Yeah! Mine did.”Sunshine makes a strangled noise. Uncle Tommy beats her to the chase. “Where was it?!”“Um…I don’t know, I’ll have to, like, double check, but I don’t know.”“Okay, well…could ya give it to us sometime and we could go and you could come if you want? You could be in another episode!” Sunshine persuades. “Wait, really?” Colin smiles. “I could be, like, part of the crew?”“Well, I don’t know about that,” Sunshine laughs. “You’re gettin’ a little excited.”“Uh…yeah, sure—”“We could go right now,” Sunshine suggests.“Uh, well, I can’t right now, but maybe, like, tomorrow?”“…okay. Does it have something to do with your poofy hair or something?”Colin makes a face. “Yeah, well, tomorrow!”“Okay, yeah, tomorrow.”“Cool!”“Okay, we’ll just come back here or…something.”“See ya later,” Uncle Tommy waves.“Bye!” Colin says, then slips back off.“Have…fun!” Tommy says.“Bye,” Sunshine waves awkwardly.She looks at Tommy.That was weird.
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“Yeah, I think it’s up here on the left.”They’re in the car—Sunshine, Uncle Tommy, and Colin—and the world is shrouded in the darkness of night. Colin points to the left as he gives directions.“Is that…it?” Tommy asks, squinting up at the house.“Oh, yeah yeah yeah!” Colin says. “That way.”Sunshine freezes. “It’s that one?”“Wait, is that—?” Colin frowns. “That’s grandma’s house.”“Yeah,” Sunshine says. She remembers it very well, especially Frederic Loren. And the fact that Nolan’s grandmother apparently had no grandchildren.“Wait,” Tommy laughs, “the grandma you came in looking for the last time?”Colin makes a face. “Why was he over there?”“He…” Sunshine shakes her head. “That’s your grandma’s house, isn’t it?”“Yeah?”“She lives there, or she…didn’t?”“No, no no. She died,” Colin says.“Oh. She died.”“Sorry,” Tommy offers.Sunshine nods. “Yeah, sorry.”“It’s okay.”“A while ago…? Or recently?”“Yeah, like, a while ago.”“Oh. Okay, well.” Sunshine’s mind is whirring. Longer than a year ago? Because that’s the last time she, Nolan, and her mother went.“So,” Colin continues, “there’s no way he’s there.”“Uh, yeah. The lady we talked to was not grandma.”“Do you want to go…ask them?” Tommy suggests.“No! I want to go home,” Sunshine says. “This is ridiculous, this isn’t—this isn’t a thing, why would he use this as the return address?”Colin sighs. “No idea.”⠀⠀⠀
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“Alright,” Sunshine says as she stands in her room, “so I wanted to talk about…I dunno, just recap for myself, mostly, just talking to myself and fill you all in on everything that’s going on with Nolan and Colin and—for crying out loud, Nolan has a brother! Nobody said anything about his brother, who’s Colin, his brother.”Ugh.“And, where is he? Where’s Nolan? Why is he off gallivanting and, I don’t know, like—not answering texts or phone calls or emails or letters or other forms of communication? Ridiculous! It’s absolutely ridiculous.“I just…and I don’t even know what to say about Colin, I mean. He just shows up out of nowhere! And he’s all, like, giddy and excited and I remember when Nolan was once like that and now he’s cynical and…” She sighs. “Cranky.”She really doesn’t know anymore.“I just…I almost want to talk to Victoria about this. It’s really weird, isn’t it? Talk to her about that. She’d be like, ‘Oh, Sunshine, you silly little girl,’ I don’t know. Why would I ever talk to her?”Victoria walks through her door.Sunshine gapes for a moment. “Uh. Hi?”“Hi,” Victoria says, serious as usual. “What do you want to talk about?”“Um…Nolan.”“Okay.” Victoria nods. “About?”“Where is he?”“He’s fine,” Victoria says. “He’s safe.”“So…I shouldn’t be worried?”“You shouldn’t worry yourself about him. He’ll be okay.”“Okay.” Sunshine feels a little better.“For now.”Never mind.“For now,” she deadpans. “What does that mean?”“It means what it means,” Victoria says cryptically.“Okay…” Sunshine rubs two fingers between her eyes.“Sunshine, you just need to be patient,” Victoria advises. “I know that’s very hard for you, but you can do that.”She nods slowly. “Okay. Be patient. He’s okay.”“Yes. Everything with Nolan will work out.”“Okay.”“Okay?”“Yeah.”Victoria raises a brow. “You’re going to be okay?”“Yeah. Just…be patient.”“Exactly.” Victoria turns and exits her room.Okay, then. She has no idea what any of that means.⠀⠀⠀
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“I thought you got rid of it!” Tommy exclaims.Everyone’s staring at the vent. The familiar Latin words rake through on repeat.“I thought I did too, I’m sorry!” Sunshine snaps. She sighs and looks at the camera. “To fill you all in, it’s chanting again, as you can see.”Tommy shakes his head. “What is it even saying? It’s not English!”“It says ‘I see you’ in Latin, I thought you were watching the videos.”“I—watched some of them, not everything.”“Yeah, mmhm.”“I can’t—” He laughs. “You post so many things, kid!”“Okay, okay, sorry!”He sighs, looks at the vent, then looks back at Sunshine. “Do something!”“Well—I don’t know what!”“Why are you not freaking out? It’s silenced you guys before!”“Okay!”“Sunshine,” a familiar voice says.Uncle Tommy jumps. “My God, it’s Creepy Lady!”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “It’s Victoria.” And there she is, standing in the middle of the living room.“…Hi.” Tommy gives a small wave. “I’m…Tommy? We met at the warehouse? You look good, you lost weight?”Victoria ignores Tommy. “Sunshine, can we talk about this?”“Yes…sure.”“Go for it,” Tommy says, taking the camera and showing both Sunshine and Victoria as they near each other.“I thought we discussed what to do about…” Victoria motions toward the vent. “That.”“Well, I thought it worked, but…it didn’t?”“Well…you know what to do,” Victoria says.In the kitchen, Anna looks on. No one notices her. The voice grows louder and Sunshine shifts on both feet uncertainly.“Don’t second guess yourself, you know what to do.” Victoria nods.“…Stop?” Sunshine calls out after a moment. “Please?”Victoria inclines her head forward.“You need to go away?” Sunshine shrugs. The voice stops.Victoria almost looks proud. “Well done.”Sunshine raises a brow. “Thanks?”As usual, Victoria walks out the back door.Sunshine throws her arms out. “Every time.”“Wait, so that’s it?” Tommy asks.“That’s it.”He smiles. “Awesome.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Okay,” Sunshine says. She’s standing in the living room, holding the camera with a black beanie over her head. “I’m starting the camera…now after Colin has gotten over his initial…freaking out stage.”She turns the screen around to show Colin staring at Victoria. He turns to look at Sunshine, but there’s still a look of shock on his face.“He seems better now,” Sunshine remarks. “Right?”Colin nods with a pleasant smile. “Yes.”“You look—you look fine, you’re lookin’ good.”“I’m good, I’m good.”Sunshine continues. “And, uh, Victoria’s here, that’s why he was about ready to pee in excitement, so. Yeah. Victoria, go ahead.”Victoria looks at Colin. “I need you to relax.” Colin nods and exhales, smoothing out his shoulders. “I just want to see if there’s any possibility of me getting any connection—anything to Nolan—from you.”Colin laughs. “Cool.”They all stand in silence.Eventually, Colin speaks. “…anything?”Victoria doesn’t answer. Just stares.“How’s it goin’?” Sunshine asks her.Still no response.Finally, Victoria blinks, turning to Sunshine. “No. Nothing.”“What?” Colin asks. “Oh, come on!”Sunshine laughs. “Okay, well…oh! He brought that thing.”“Oh, yeah yeah yeah,” Colin says, picking up a pale navy pullover from the chair. “This is Nolan’s.”“Are you gonna sniff it?” Sunshine whispers. “Like a dog?”Victoria doesn’t sniff it. Instead, she handles the jacket with care, running her hands along the edges and squinting her eyes. It appears she’s trying to locate Nolan. Sunshine and Colin look at each other as the awkward silence continues. “No,” Victoria says after several more heartbeats.“What?!” Colin exclaims. “Come on!”Victoria opens the front door and leaves.“Oh. Okay…” Sunshine says. The door closes. “Bye, Victoria. It was great seeing you too.”Colin wheezes. “Does she always do that?”“Yep, pretty much.”“Oh, my gosh.” He shakes his head. “She’s still so creepy.”Well, that is why she was called Creepy Lady.
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It’s dark.“I know you guys can’t see me,” Sunshine whispers, “but…I heard something.”It’s also night.She hates noises at night.Sunshine leans over to turn on her lamp. She jumps out of her skin when she sees Victoria sitting in a chair across the bed. “Jesus!” She shakes her head, surprised. “Victoria?”“I need to tell you something,” she says.“Okay?”“Anna is…” Victoria contemplates. “She’s going to be with you for a while.”“Here?” Sunshine deadpans. “At the house?”“Yes.”“Anna?”“Yes, Anna. She’s not going to hurt you—you know this.”Sunshine nods. “Yeah, no, I know.”“I just wanted to let you know.”“Okay…thanks?”In her usual fashion, Victoria exits the room without another word. “She…always leaves,” Sunshine sighs. Looks like Anna’s back.
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So, some updates. That aren’t really updates.Sunshine’s still worried about Nolan. Of course. And she’s been hanging out with Colin more recently—and no, there’s nothing happening—but they’ve been talking about Nolan.He’s a funny kid. Nolan. And Colin, she guesses.She really has nothing much to share except that Victoria’s been about and around, but hasn’t really been doing anything crazy. Just been…her presence has been here. Not much scary ghost activity. Either way, things are going well. Everyone’s just hanging out, living life, but it’s different without Nolan. It always is.At least she got to hang out with Uncle Tommy the other day, and she’d tried to make a video but he was too giggly. Pretty sure he giggled the entire time. And he was sassing Sunshine about Colin, all, ‘You guys are hanging out? Oooo’ and she was like ‘No, watch yourself’ and that was really all. Such a good story.Ugh. Worst update video ever.⠀⠀⠀
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Victoria is at the door. Knocking. Wonderful.Sunshine hesitantly opens it and blinks up at her friend. “Hi,” she smiles.“Hi. I have something important I want to talk to you about.” Charging into business, as usual.“Okay.” Sunshine shrugs. “Why do you sometimes knock and other times you—like—?”Victoria shakes her head. “That’s not what I wanted to discuss.”Sunshine steps aside to let her in. “Oh. Okay, just…coke in.” She seats herself on the couch across from Victoria, raising a brow.“Sunshine, I’ve been thinking a lot about Nolan recently and…” She pauses. “I’m trying to think through this. I’ve been thinking about where you guys have been together, and I think I’ve finally come to this.”Silence.“Oh…okay,” Sunshine acknowledges.“He’s fine,” Victoria says. “He’s what?”“Fine.”“He’s fine,” Sunshine scoffs. “Mm-hm. Now, there’s something I need you to do.”“Okay?”“But you have to turn off the camera.”Uh, okay. Plan time?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine sits in front of the camera.“I, have, uh…something I’d like to tell all of you,” she begins, scratching her chin. “Uh. Me and Colin. We’re dating.” She becomes more confident. “We’re dating! Yes. Okay. That’s all. Blah.”Yeah. They’re…dating.
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Thirty minutes after her confession, there’s a rapid knock on the door. “Sunshine?!” Nolan calls. “Sunshine, I know you’re in there, come on, I gotta talk to you—”Sunshine, who has carefully made her way out the back door in wait of Nolan, growls and springs on to the porch. The next thing she knows, she’s shoving him against the wall. “Are you freaking kidding me?! You’re kidding me, right?!”“No, I’m not—” Nolan backs away as she continues to hit him. She goes on a verbal rave and he gasps out a breath at a particularly hard hit. “I’m not kidding you about anything, calm down.”She smacks his arm. And continues to.“Stop—stop it! Listen—ow, ow! Ow! Why are you hurting me?”“Cause!” She growls as she thumps her hands against his red jacket. “You waited until I had to say I was fake dating your brother you little—!”
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The next thing she knows, they’re both sitting on the couch. Sunshine has her brows raised and Nolan is staring forward, clearly annoyed.“So why were you dating my brother,” he says, emotionless, not looking at her.“Oh my goodness,” she grumbles, “I’m not dating your brother.”“I know you’re not dating my brother. Why did you put up a YouTube video saying that you were dating my brother?”“Because clearly it worked, you came running.” Sunshine rolls her eyes. “It was Victoria’s idea, okay?”He looks at her. “It was mean.”“Oh my gosh!”“It was mean!”“You’re dramatic.”“It was mean to me and my brother. Especially my brother.”“Oh my—whatever.”Silence.“Well, now I’m here,” Nolan remarks.“Yeah, you’re here, why’d you go away, hm?”“Why do you want me back?”“Why were you missing?” she shoots back.“I wasn’t missing! I was just somewhere else, is that such a big deal?”“Yeah, well, you just kinda disappeared.”Nolan throws his arms in the air. “I went to—” He clears his throat. “I don’t know, I just…went around a little while.”“Why?” He looks at his gloved hands. He really is bundled up too tightly for cloudy weather, wearing a hideous plaid scarf and an equally hideous jacket. “I don’t know!” Nolan finally says. “I went to Chicago.”“Okay.”“I’ve never been to Chicago.”“Whatever. Why?”“It was great, it was a good time,” he tries.Sunshine blinks. “Why?”“Because not everybody just wants to stay here, looking at dead people be crazy all the time. There’s other stuff out there,” he explains shortly. At Sunshine’s look, he frowns. “There is. There are things to see.”She raises a brow. “This is a terrible explanation.”“Well I’m sorry that you don’t like it, but…what do you need?”“So you disappeared because…?”“I don’t know…” He looks down again. “I couldn’t handle it.”“Couldn’t handle what?”He purses his lips together bitterly. “Being drowned.”“Oh my gosh, that was one time.”“Have you ever been drowned?”“No, but it was one time!”“Okay,” Nolan says, “well you come back and talk to me if you’ve been drowned.”“You’re so dramatic.”He nods. “I live in a dramatic world.”“Mm-hm. You’re like a female.”“I’m not like a female. You’re not like a female either!”Apparently neither of them are.
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The brothers are fighting. About Sunshine.Great.“Because you’re young,” Nolan says as he and Colin stand in the kitchen. “And…tiny and gorgeous but—hey!” he interrupts when his brother tries to speak, “Listen, man, she’s bad news.”Colin puts his hands on his hips. “Why?”“Because! She’s my—she’s my friend.”Colin scoffs. “She’s not more your friend than my friend!”“She’s always—”“I didn’t even know her before, like, you didn’t even tell her about me? When you’re doing all those videos with her?”“No!” Nolan exclaims. “I don’t talk about you, you’re my brother, not my girlfriend!”“What?!” Colin says.“I don’t have to talk about you if I don’t want to!” Nolan continues. “I can just be my own guy for a while, right?”“Oh my gosh,” Colin groans, “yeah, but you’re going off, you’re going everywhere and I’m just…hangin’ out with her!”“Yeah, and you hang out with whoever you want! I don’t care! The point is, guys are trying to emotionally—”“Boys!” Marcie stomps in. They both go silent and stare at her. “That is enough. Sunshine is a person, she’s not a fire truck you fought over when you were five.”Their dog—Morty—barks wildly in the background.“You’re making the dog crazy, stop it,” she orders with finality in her tone.Sunshine just laughs. “Best day ever.”
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“Okay, so,” Sunshine begins as she rushes down the stairs with her camera, “I’m pretty sure I heard Victoria’s voice, which is weird because it doesn’t really travel.” When she reaches the first floor, she’s greeted with…something.Uncle Tommy has his back to Sunshine as he and Victoria sit on the couch. They’re whispering something, and upon seeing Sunshine, Victoria stands to leave.“Oh—wait, Victoria, wait.” Tommy quickly grabs something from the side table—a green, wrapped present—and gives it to her. “I gotcha a present.”Victoria takes it. “Thank you.”“Bye, Tori!” Tommy waves as she walks out the door.”Sunshine raises a brow. “Tori?”“We’re friends,” Tommy shrugs with a smile.“Oh…what was she doin’?”“She was just helping me out with something.”“Okayy…”“Blah!”Silence.“It doesn’t work, does it?” he asks.No. No it doesn’t.
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They’re sitting on the couch. Again. Except this time Nolan’s got a pillow hugged between his arms.“Yeah, buddy,” Nolan says as Sunshine continues looking between him and the camera.Sunshine laughs. “So…buddy…”“Buddy,” he smirks.“How ya feelin’?”“I feel fine,” he shrugs.“All the stuff with…Colin and such,” she continues.“It’s a little weird,” he says, making a face, “but you guys are both, y’know…adult Americans. Do what you want, I don’t know. Why?” He drops his expression when he looks at her.“Nothing! I just wanted to make sure you’re cool.”“Why do you always have to have these conversations?” Nolan looks toward the screen. “On camera? It’s weird. It’s, like, deeply psychological.”“Cause,” Sunshine smiles, “the viewers deserve to know.”Nolan squints. “Really?”“Yeah.”“What have they done?”“They follow our story, hello.”“Thank you guys,” Nolan says to the camera, feigning a heartfelt expression, “you’re the best.”She laughs. “See?”“Seriously.”“What?”“I don’t know! You can’t expect to always get—”“No no no! This conversation is about you.”“—one hundred percent honest reactions out of people if you always have them on film. One has one’s dignity to look after in those situations.”Sunshine raises her brows. “No, this is about you.” She pats his shoulder, smirking. “Are you okay?”He makes a face and smiles weirdly. “Don’t touch me. It’s weird when you touch me.”“It was a pat!”“Don’t…pat me, even.”She does it again.Nolan laughs. “Stop, please! I’m fine.”“Yeah?”“Yeah, it’s all good.” He gives a thumb up.“Okay,” Sunshine says, slightly disbelieving.“It’s fantastic.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Victoria’s here.Sunshine’s here.They’re talking. Or, rather, Sunshine is. To the camera. “Okay, so, Victoria wanted to…ask me something,” she says. “And I asked her if it was okay if I filmed it. She said…yes. Obviously. Anyway, yeah.”Victoria inhales and shifts, smoothing her hands along her pants. “Sunshine, I’ve been wondering, and I wanted to know whether…” She breathes. “Anna comes around when I’m not here.”“Yeah, she does. But she doesn’t harm anyone. Um, just pranks. Like, moving my unicorn and turning off the lights and such, so. She’s not dangerous, if that…helps.”Victoria nods with Sunshine’s words. “Yes. Yes, it does.”“Oh.” “Thank you.”As usual, she stands from the couch and leaves.“Goodbye?” Sunshine says.No goodbye back.
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“This is freaking—grrr!”Sunshine’s standing outside of Nolan’s apartment. She’s annoyed. Clearly. “You’re—ughhhh!” Nolan’s standing in front of his door. Rather, barricading it. And who is he not letting inside?Sunshine.“Am I?” he asks, brows raised.“You know what? No,” Sunshine says. “I can’t believe you won’t—!”Nolan smiles tightly and shakes his head. “Really? You’re making my apartment haunted, I can’t. I can’t, I’m sorry, I can’t.”“It was one time, okay?”“It was like three times now.”“No! It was not.”Nolan purses his lips. “Yes. There’s video footage of—”“He let me in,” Sunshine interrupts, talking to the camera, “and somethin’ happened and now he’s being a little girl about it. Pretty much.”Nolan shakes his head. “Why do you always call me a little girl? You don’t even, like, vary your insults. It’s the one thing that you always go to.”“Fine. You’re a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.”“I like that one. That was much better.”She shrugs. “Okay, fine. I’ll stick with that one.”“Thank you.” He shakes his head as he moves past her. “You can’t come into my apartment. And you can’t stand outside of it either, I don’t want this patio being haunted, I like this patio.”“Oh my gosh!”
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“That’s on—? Hey, stop—” Nolan turns the camera around and shows himself in his apartment. He’s sitting in the chair, quilt hung along the back, and smiles. “Hello! YouTube viewers.”A black cat crawls against his chest, poking its muzzle over his shoulder. “This is…a cat. It’s not my cat, it’s just…one of the cats from the neighborhood. It’s being a little rambunctious—I think I’m gonna call you—now you’re drooling. Why are you drooling?! You’re a cat, cats are supposed to not…drool.”He shakes his head and looks at the camera. “Anyway. Uh, I took the liberty of relieving Sunshine’s camera from her possession because I just wanted to let everyone know that, uh, she’s no longer welcome in my apartment because,” he appears annoyed, “every time she comes over, the ghosts start breaking my crockery. And I don’t have a lot of it, and I like it, and I’ll have to buy more.”Nolan continues petting the cat. “Now that I think about it, she’s actually going to come back over to get her camera, probably, but uh…yeah! I don’t know, man. I like this place to be a ghost-free zone most of the time. Ow—!” He curses as the cat kneads him, claws digging into his skin. “Ow, ow ow ow. Uh—until—until next time!”
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“Day four,” Nolan says, “in the apartment. Going sort of crazy. It’s very dark. And lonely. It’s comfy, though. And warm. It’s better than most places I’ve lived, to be honest.”There’s a harsh knock at the door.Nolan’s expression turns into a deep scowl. “Who is it?” he asks, but he already knows.“Who do you think it is?!” Sunshine calls from the other side. She continues knocking rapidly. He sighs. “The only person who knows where I live. Of course. It’s ghost girl again! Here to…bring me ghosts.” Nolan opens the door and hands the camera off. “Take your camera and leave.”“Uh—what do you mean,” she fumbles, adjusting the screen, “take my camera and leave? You’re not gonna let me in?”“I’ve got a couple rules,” Nolan says.“Seriously?”“Yeah.” Nolan begins counting on his fingers, starting with his thumb. “No solicitors, no haunting, and no vacuum cleaners.”He slams the door on her.“O…kay.” Sunshine shakes her head. “He’s seriously not gonna let me in!”
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Guess where they are.Not at Nolan’s apartment, that’s for sure.Sunshine’s sitting on the floor next to the living room table as Nolan stretches out against the couch. They’re playing chess. Sunshine clears her throat and glances at the camera. “I just wanted the camera on for all of you to know…” She points to the chess board. “I might actually wiiiin~” she sings. She throws her arms in the air.Nolan mutely shakes his head.“Your turn,” she says. “I just went. I did that—”“Yeah yeah yeah.” Nolan leans up. “Hey, kids,” Tommy says, sitting down next to Nolan. “We need to talk.”“We need to talk?” Sunshine raises a brow.“Yeah, we need to talk.” He claps a hand over Nolan’s shoulder.“Can we not do this right now?” Nolan asks.Tommy presses Nolan close.“We’re playing chess,” Sunshine says.“Nolan, buddy,” he begins. Nolan smiles and pats Tommy’s leg.“I like you…”“Okay, that’s good.” Nolan leans forward to continue playing chess.“Why are you always here?” Tommy finishes.“Uh…same reason you’re always here.”“I live here.”“I’m here as a—” He looks over, brows furrowed. “What? Really?”“Yeah,” Tommy says, laughing. “You’ve been in my bedroom upstairs.”Nolan looks at Sunshine. “I have?”Sunshine nods.“You have,” Tommy says.“Anyways,” she interrupts, “I’m not allowed in his apartment.”“Yeah,” Nolan nods.“Cause he’s a cranky little girl.”“It’s a holy place,” Nolan explains, “and…she’s unclean.”“He’s cranky.”“You’re a cranky girl,” Tommy says.“Thank you!”“Cranky girl.”“Cranky girl.”Nolan looks at the camera.“It’s still your turn!” Sunshine exclaims.Tommy laughs. “She’s totally gonna kick your butt, dude.”“What’s—where’d you go? Hm?”“Right there!” Nolan points.“Right where?”“I just took your pawn!”“No you didn’t!”“I just took your pawn.”“Did not.”Nolan motions toward the camera. “It’s on camera. It’s—”“Boom!” Sunshine says as she…captures a piece or something. She doesn’t know the terminology. “I took yours!”“I have a knight,” he says, taking her pawn. “There you go!” Nolan then turns to Tommy. “You can come over any time.”“Okay! Cool.”Sunshine makes an appalled face. “Are you kidding me. This is unbelievable.”“Move,” Nolan says. “I have you forked.”She raises a brow.“Forked, that’s a fork—cause I can take your queen or your rook in, like, the next move, and so you gotta pick one to save.”“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”Nolan smiles. “You don’t know which one of those pieces is worth more! I thought you were gonna win.”“You’re a girl.”“You can’t just call me a girl every time I—”“I did,” Sunshine says, getting up to turn the camera off, “I just called you a girl.”“Well I just took your queen, so there.”“Punk.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine asked Victoria to come to the house. She has a question for her, and, well, yeah. Here goes nothing.She turns the camera and sits across from Victoria on the couch, crossing her legs. “So. Victoria.” The other woman nods.“Do you think it’s…possible…that maybe all these shenanigans isn’t the house per say—being haunted? It’s more…me? Being haunted? Is that a thing, is that even possible?”“Well, what to do you think?” Victoria asks.“Maybe? I don’t know, I’ve thought over it a little bit. It seems logical. I keep movin’ and…still haunted.”“Do you really believe that’s true?”“…yes? No? I don’t know! I’m not sure.”Victoria smiles softly. “I think you should…think about it for just a little more.”“Oh. Okay. So you’re just not gonna answer my question.”“No,” she smirks.
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“I Was Young When I Left Home take two,” Nolan says, draped sideways in a wooden chair across the room.Oh, no.As he starts singing—Sunshine laughing—she turns the camera around to herself. Nolan finally slides out of the chair, grabbing his jacket.“So we’ve been sitting for a while, hanging out, and I thought it’d be fun to try my new ghost radar app!” Sunshine says.Nolan looks over. “You’ve got one of those?”“Oh, yeah,” she says.“Do you actually?”She makes an ‘isn’t it obvious?’ face.“Did you do it because…those other two guys did it at one point? And you thought it was really cool and effective and so you decided to try it too?”“No,” she says, making a face when he plops down next to her with a groan. “And those two guys were Gary and Lionel.”“Oh, yeah.”“Anyway. Here it is, we’re doing it.”“Ghost radar,” Nolan says, flashing the screen to the camera. “Um…”“Click it,” Sunshine points.“Uh huh. Okay, so it’s an actual radar.”“It’s a radar.”“But…instead of judging the distance of sound waves—” Sunshine can’t contain her laugher “—it judges the distance of ghosts.”“Uh…” Nolan smiles and leans over, phone in hand, “I’m seeing a lot of numbers here.” He shows the screen to the camera—it’s a black background with a green radar and several sets of red numbers on the top right corner. “I don’t know what they mean.”“Neither do I,” Sunshine says. “They keep changing. Does that mean something?”“This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen,” Nolan declares, squinting at the screen.“I don’t think it’s the stupidest—”“Oh, wait wait wait wait—!”Sunshine frowns. “What does that yellow dot mean?”“We have a blip!”“Does that mean—? Oh, it went away.”“It means that there is a ghost in the…third quadrant of the North Pacific coast.” They both laugh.“Okay,” Sunshine giggles, “so that was completely ineffective.”“No, wait, it’s getting closer!” Nolan exclaims. “Oh, wait, rude. Now there’s an advertisement.”“Now we’re searching for real estate.”“We’ll have to wait to find out where the ghost is because—oh, wait. Home. Settings. This thing works like Ghostbusters. Gangbusters.”Sunshine holds in a laugh. “Didn’t work!”“Nope, not even a little bit.”“Okayyy. Worst app ever.”“We’re just gonna have to keep doing it the old-fashioned way.”“Just delete that.”Nolan continues. “Let her walk into places and…things get crazy after.”“Okay!” Sunshine interrupts. “That was all.”
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“If even one little thing creaks I’m kicking you out of this house.”Sunshine groans. “It’s not a house, it’s an apartment, first off. Second off, it’s not my fault!”“It kind of is.”“Kind of isn’t. You—”“Do not call me a little girl.”“I was gonna call you a female, but okay…”They’re sitting in Nolan’s apartment—yes, that’s right, Nolan’s apartment—just talking and hanging out and the usual thing. After explaining to him that she might be the one haunted, Nolan finally let her into his home. About damn time.“So,” Nolan leans back with a sigh, “I guess I’m doomed either way.”“Doomed? Really?”“You’re haunted so…my apartment must already be. PEMDAS, or something.”“You have no idea what you’re even talking about.”“Yeah…”Silver moonlight streams in through the cheap white blinds, splattering over the carpet floor. Sunshine opens her mouth to say something snarky, but a loud crack of thunder makes her freeze in place.She goes rigid. Her fingers curl and her eyes stretch wide, and suddenly Sunshine is thrown in a torrent of memories she can’t claw her way out of.
Rain pelts down on the grass crunched beneath her knees. “Victoria?!” she hears herself scream. Lightning trickles into the sky overhead, flashing white light against the bag. She hears footsteps around her, a scream raw in her throat when someone touches her shoulder—
“Sunshine!” a voice says, echoed and far-off.
Sunshine prays to God that she doesn’t become the next victim to the cult when the burlap sack is suddenly ripped from her head with brute force. She gags and heaves for air, flopping on her palms, sucking in oxygen. Suddenly she remembers that Victoria isn’t here and looks up, horrified to see—to see that it’s him, the man from the abandoned house—
“Sunshine,” the voice pleads, “just…come on, you’re safe, okay?”
“Your spirit is too strong,” he says, voice whipping with the wind. “The demon cannot take you. You are safe!”

“Who are you?” she sobs, pushing herself to her shaking feet.

“It doesn’t matter who I am!” he growls, whipping around to glare at her. “You’re a Luiseach. We have no power over you. Do not try to contact your father. No good will come of it. None!”
“Sunshine…it’s Nolan…”
And then Sunshine is suddenly alone again, and she’s screaming Victoria’s name, crying endlessly as the storm falls around her without mercy. And all she can see is the pale face of the demon, a warped, twisted version of her mother, fangs glistening against the moonlight before its shrouded by a thick set of clouds. And then there’s a rumble and thunder crashes, and then—
Sunshine gasps and scrambles back, pressing herself against the wall. She sucks in a deep breath, completely unaware of where she even is, running her hands down her arms to keep herself safe from the rest of the world. She brings her knees to her chest and stares forward, too terrified of the past to even wonder why there’s a stranger’s bed in front of her.But it’s not a stranger’s bed. Nolan comes into view and crouches down, brow knitted with fear and a great deal of concern. “Sunshine?” he asks lightly, softly.Sunshine wipes her cheeks and finds them to be wet. Jesus. Jesus, she’d been crying. Why was she crying? It was just a little flashback, nothing more.“Sunshine, do you know where you are?” he slowly positions himself across from her, crossing his legs over one another.“Your apartment,” she whispers, wanting to close her eyes but too afraid to. Too afraid of what she may see.“I think…you had a…”“Flashback,” she supplies.“Flashback…” Nolan sucks in a sharp breath, as if he’s coming around to that information. “Of what?”She shakes her head.Nolan frowns. “Okay. Hey, let’s get you off the floor. Come on.” He reaches forward but pauses before touching her, looking into her eyes. Sunshine exhales before nodding, giving him the go-ahead. Nolan gently grips her shoulders and helps her up, steering her towards the edge of the bed and seating both of them on top. “Better?”Sunshine sniffs and nods, eyes brimming with more tears. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m…better. I’m fine.”“If you were fine you wouldn’t have had a flashback.” He pauses. “What triggered it?”She exhales, counting back from five. “The thunder.”He’s quiet, allowing her space to continue.“I just…get thrown back into that night. When Victoria and I performed Mom’s exorcism. You saw the video.”“I actually…didn’t.”Sunshine blinks at him, confused. “What? But…you knew about the Luiseach, you knew about Victoria and—” She breathes at the guilty look on his face. “The Markons.”“I showed you that fake article,” Nolan says, looking down, unable to meet her gaze. “I already knew what a Luiseach was, but not from your video. I…never even saw it. I know it doesn’t help, but I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I did. For everything I’ve done since then. And I’m sorry I couldn’t have this conversation with you sooner.”Her throat burns, raw with emotion. “It’s okay,” she says, and the tears overflow. She begins to cry, shoulders heaving with each soft gasp, but she feels good. She feels like what’s been between them—this tension—has finally been resolved. Sunshine hadn’t forgiven him before, not fully, at least. But now she knows in her heart that he’s not a bad person. He’s never been a bad person.He’s just human.Suddenly, there are arms wrapped around her and she’s being draped into a warm hug. She throws her hands out without hesitation and braces them against Nolan’s back, connecting their embrace. Nolan lays her to the side and both of them are staring into each other’s eyes. Never have they been so close.“You should’ve told someone about the flashbacks,” Nolan finally whispers, blinking slowly.Sunshine bites her bottom lip. “Mom would…freak out. Send me to therapy. That’s lame.” She attempts to joke, but Nolan is too serious right now. Looks like her deflections won’t work on him.“Therapy isn’t a bad thing,” he says. “It’s just life.”“What, have you been to therapy or something?”He nods.Sunshine frowns. “Wait,” she clears her throat, “really? When? Why?”He seems hesitant to answer, as if he wants to keep the conversation relevant to her, but eventually gives in. “Ten years ago I drowned at sea,” he says. Sunshine’s eyes widen. “I was caught in a riptide…dead for an hour before anyone even found me.”“Nolan…”“When I was dragged back to the beach I began breathing,” he continues, closing and re-opening his eyes. “I was in a coma for weeks…but while my body recovered, I was somewhere else. I was there.” He shivers. “With—with the Markons. And they offered me power I couldn’t turn down. They told me I would never feel as powerless as I did that day in the ocean. I finally agreed to their terms…and then, years later, I met you.”Her eyes water with tears for him. “I’m sorry.”“Don’t be. I’m okay now. But what I’m saying is…well, it’s okay to accept help. It’s okay to reach out to someone. You don’t have to do this alone. There are people that want to help you…all you have to do is let them.”She begins to cry. Nolan’s eyes are wet and he pushes forward, connecting their foreheads together. They lay entrapped in one another, feet tangled together, and Nolan breathes—like he wants to say something, but isn’t sure—then loses his confidence and instead places a hand on Sunshine’s shoulder.She’s not sure why she’s disappointed. “You should sleep,” he whispers.Sunshine closes her eyes and finds that she’s exhausted. “You should, too.”“Well…yeah. Probably.”“Thank you for telling me.”Nolan seems surprised. “Thank you for letting me. I just hope you know I’m always here for you.”Her lip trembles as butterflies flood her stomach. “I know. Same for you, Nolan.”Finally, the storm passes and a strip of moonlight filters through the window. Sunshine feels better than she has in ages, and being here, held in Nolan’s arms…it’s something she never imagined, yet something she’s not sure she can ever live without.Nolan brushes hair out of her face and smiles softly, eyes twinkling. “Same for you, Sunshine.”And together they lay.⠀⠀⠀
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It’s been three days since the night at Nolan’s apartment. And Sunshine’s feeling good, feeling like she and Nolan’s relationship has been strengthened—but something always happens. And this time is no different.“Okay,” Sunshine says to the camera, sitting on the couch with Morty in her lap, Marcie across from her, “I’m here at…Nolan’s and…I guess Colin’s mom too, uh, she asked me to come over and so I did. She has something important she wants to talk to me about, and…I have Morty, here, as well,” she smirks.“Well, thanks for coming over, sweetie,” Marcie smiles, “I know, uh, you have a lot going on, but um…I really, really did just want to take a minute to talk with you privately.”Sunshine nods.“I don’t want to freak you out,” Nolan’s mother continues, and Sunshine laughs, “or anything like that, but it’s just that, uh…well, I know that you’ve been spending more concentrated time with Nolan, and he’s my son and I love him—but the thing is, I don’t think it’s good for either one of you, but especially not for you.”Sunshine frowns and nods slowly, confused.“And it’s not—it’s got nothing to do with you, it’s just that…the energy that gets sort of riled up around you guys is not good for the energy you already have surrounding you and walking with you all the time. Does that make any sense?”Sunshine says yes, but inside she wants to scream. She wants so badly to tell Marcie that she and Nolan are more connected than ever, and it’s almost on the tip of her lips, but—Someone walks through the door. When she turns her head, she sees Colin. “Hey, mom, how’s it going?” he asks, then pauses. “Oh, Sunshine! What are you doing here? We’re gonna hang out?” He crouches down and pets Morty.“No. I mean—we can, I just, I was talking to your mom.”“Oh,” he says.Marcie raises her brows. “Yeah. Hi, honey. Hi. You look handsome, by the way.”“Oh! Thank you.”“The reason Sunshine’s here is because I actually asked her to come over so I could talk with her privately, and…basically, I just…I know that you’re not up on all of my psychic stuff and whatever—”Colin frowns. “Yeah, I never understood that.”“I understand, but I’m gonna ask you to trust me with something and that is I’ve asked her to not hang out quite so much with Nolan.”“Um…what about me though?”“Oh, you’re fine,” Marcie says quickly.“I’m okay?” He laughs breathlessly, relieved. “Okay.”Sunshine gives an awkward laugh.Marcie continues. “I just don’t want her to hang out so much with Nolan because, um, they create this really, really sort of big energy whenever they’re together and it’s—just trust me, it’s not right for her.”“Not right?” Colin shrugs. “I guess that’s fine with me, less my brother, you know?”“Yeah, yeah. Okay, alright. So, also, I wanted to ask you? I’m wondering if you’d be up for house sitting? I’m gonna go on that retreat we talked about.”“What?” Colin whines.“Oh, really? Is that a problem? Because you have so much to do?”“Well…”“You don’t want to eat all my free food and…?”“Yeah, I’ll do it, I’ll do it,” he says.Marcie smiles. “Thank you.”Sunshine just sighs.
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Well. She has to break the news to Nolan.“So,” Sunshine begins. Nolan’s sitting beside her on the couch, hugging a pillow. “Just…thought I would, uh…”“Again, you’ve turned on a camera,” he says.“Ugh. Just thought I would fill Nolan, you,” she glances at him, “in on, uh, what your mom talked to me about the other day.”Nolan raises his head to look at her, brows raised. “You and my mom are having private conversations?”“Mmmm…she asked.”“I would appreciate it if you always kept me in the room when you’re having a conversation with my mother—”“Oh my gosh!”“—so that I can continue to tell you about how crazy she is,” Nolan finishes.“Well she asked if she could speak to me alone! What did you want me to be like—‘No, Nolan’s mom, get out.’”“Yeah! She’s not your mom!”“So? I’m not gonna disrespect my elders. Hello?”“What?” Nolan says.“Didn’t your mom ever teach you anything?”He raises a hand and drops it, clearly unable to speak.“Anyways,” she says, “she…told me…” Nolan makes a face “…we should—this is gonna sound weird, just so you know—that we should take some time apart?”She sucks her lips and raises a brow, trying not to laugh at the incredulous look on Nolan’s face.“She—” He leans back. “My…”“Yes…”“My mother told you—?”“And them,” Sunshine points to the camera, “yes.”“—that I was spending too much time with you? So…you…she…wait, no no no.”Sunshine makes a face. “What?”Nolan shakes his head, staring forward before turning to her. “So what are you saying?”“I don’t know, I just wanted to tell you so you could…fill me in on your feelings.”“I have a lot of them now! And they’re very aggressive!”“They’re always aggressive.”He breathes heavily, clearly trying to calm himself down. “Look, my mom’s…always been worried about me.” Nolan blinks. “To the point of neurosis.” “Okay,” Sunshine says. “Just tellin’ you what she told me.”He shrugs lightly. “Yeah, I guess so. I don’t know! We spend a lot of time together. It’s a little weird.”Sunshine makes an appalled gesture. “We’re friends.”“Well…kinda. I don’t know.”“We’re not even—we’re like more than best friends.”“We’re, like, so mean to each other.”“We’re like a really small gang,” she continues.“Yeah, but we’re like vile.”“Meh.”“Constantly.”It feels like both of them are trying to shove that night out of their heads.“It’s ‘cause our personalities clash,” Sunshine explains. “I think we’re just, like, mean people, actually.”Sunshine shrugs. “So apparently we’re…mean.”“Well.” Nolan looks at the ceiling. “I appreciate you letting me know, and, uh…I’ll think about that…”She nods slowly. “Okay?”He leans forward. “So are we good? Can I get up off the couch now?”“Yes. You can, go ahead, bro.”“Yeah, bro.” He drops the pillow.“Do what ya need there, homie.”“All right, chomski.”And that’s that.
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She has her camera. Somebody’s at the door. Is it Victoria? Is it Colin? No, it’s…“That kiiiid,” Sunshine sings when she opens the door.“Heyyy,” Nolan says, wearing that godawful red jacket.“Hey. What are you doin’? Here?” A pause. “Home boy?”Nolan smirks and walks inside. He’s wearing a backpack.“Oh, sure, do come in.” And then she notices. “Why do you have a giant…pack?”“Well,” he twirls around with a smile. “It’s got my stuff in it.”“Stuff.”“Mm-hm.”“For what?”“Stuff.” He shrugs his hands through his jacket. “I’m taking off.”“Oh…”“For a little while.”She frowns. “Sweet.”“Goin’ back out into the wide old yonder,” he drawls in a Southern accent.Sunshine raises a brow. “Yonder?”“Yep, I’m gonna see the…towering rock spires of Arabia and the jungles of Ceylon.”“Oh?”“And the…abandoned schools of Yugoslavia.”“O…kay! That’s…” Sunshine can’t find it within herself to be happy. She doesn’t even know what to say.“There’s a lot out there, and I’m gonna go find it.”“Okay,” she smiles softly.“First! First…I wanted to say goodbye.” Nolan points. “To you.”“This isn’t gonna be like last time, is it?”He shakes his head. “Not unless you make it like last time.”“Mm-kay.”“Yeah, that’s right.”“Alright…”“So, uh.” He clears his throat and opens his arms. “Goodbye?”“Heh. Uh, yeah. That’s…” She smiles and pushes him away jokingly. “See ya later there, buddy. This has…this has been good.”“No, but do take care of yourself, yeah? Don’t get, like, y’know…eaten by…creatures in the night.” He looks the house over.“I was planning on it,” she says sarcastically, “but okay, I won’t.”And he leaves.Sunshine bites her bottom lip. She turns off the camera and opens the door, climbing her way down the steps. “Wait!”Nolan turns, brows furrowed. “What’s—”Sunshine runs into his arms and squeezes tightly. He seems surprised, faltering slightly, before recovering and hugging her back. They stand like this for a moment, lost in each other’s warmth.“Stay safe,” she whispers.He pulls back, looking at her. “I will.”“Just…don’t do anything stupid, okay?” She eyes him as they step back, away from each other.Nolan smiles. “I won’t.”“I’ll miss you, Nolan.”His gaze twinkles for a moment. He turns his shoulder to walk away, then pauses. “Same to you, Sunshine.” And with that he’s off, walking to his car, and Sunshine just watches. She feels like a million things have been left unsaid between them, but there’s always time, right? Nolan will be back, and before she knows it, things will be back to normal……well. Her normal, anyway.What could go wrong?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

PART TENSeason Ten: Answers about the ghosts
The Griffiths must finally embrace their new home, but it’s not easy when a violent ghost threatens to shake the foundations of everything they’ve built.

Sunshine must lock hands with everyone she’s got left. In the finale of HOSG, discover haunting new spirits, answers about the ghosts, new mysteries with Nolan, and, ultimately, the truth about Sunshine’s father.

It’s not going to be easy, but at least they’ve got each other.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine’s been thinking a lot.For one, she’s thinking that Victoria could be her mentor. Which, is a thought, but kind of a good one. She’s been here since day one, pretty much, and has always looked out for Sunshine—as well as advised her. Mentoring seems like a fitting word, so why shouldn’t Victoria be her mentor?However, since Anna is Victoria’s daughter, does that mean she falls somewhere? Is that why she sticks around and haunts Sunshine specifically?Sunshine just feels like she hasn’t been doing much, and like there hasn’t been anything happening, but she’s going to focus back on her ghosts so that she can figure out what’s going on, especially with the talking ghost in the vent. Which. Is sketchy.So. Yeah. Those are her thoughts, in her brain. Obviously.
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“Is it recording?” Sunshine asks, standing near the door in her bedroom.“Yes! It’s recording,” Tommy says, holding it tight.“Okay.” Sunshine frowns, motioning. “I heard a noise downstairs. So we’re gonna go investigate.”“Seriously?” Tommy asks.Seriously. Sunshine’s already leading the way down the stairs with Tommy reluctantly following.“It’s hard to walk on the stairs and film at the same time,” he whispers.“Shh!” Sunshine says.“Shh!” he sassily shushes back.They reach the bottom floor and move through the living room. There’s a noise from somewhere—it’s light and faint, but it’s distinct.“Do you hear that?” Tommy asks in a hushed voice.Sunshine nods. “Yeah.”“Is that the…?”She raises her head towards the ceiling. “I think it’s the vent again.”They make their way over to the vent, where the Latin words are recited over and over again.And then it stops.Sunshine raises her brows, staring into the vent. “Well…that didn’t take long.”
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It’s night.“Sunshine!” Kat whispers as she quickly walks through her daughter’s room. Sunshine is asleep, the bedspread messily thrown over her body. “Sunshine! Honey, wake up!”“What?” Sunshine snaps, rubbing her eyes as she raises herself on her palm.“Honey, I heard something downstairs.”She groans. “Seriously?”“Come on!”“I’m sleeping!”“I get that, I know! But…there’s something downstairs.”“What?”“Anna?” Kat asks. “I don’t know.”“Okay.” Sunshine sighs in annoyance, throwing the covers off. “I regret giving you your own camera.”“Well, it’s—” Kat gives up as Sunshine exits the room. “I love how you just take the lead.”“Clearly you’re not gonna,” Sunshine mumbles as they slowly creep down the stairs.“It’s too scary.”They reach the base of the stairs and head through the living room. They don’t hear the small, muted ‘Help me!’ through the camera.“What did you hear?” Sunshine asks, turning.“I don’t know…”“What do you mean you don’t know?”“It was coming from the kitchen!”“Okay, well…what did you hear exactly?”Before Kat can respond, they stop dead in their tracks before they can enter the kitchen. Sunshine takes a sharp intake of breath at the sight before them—a small girl dressed in black with a burlap bag secured over her head.“Maybe that,” Kat says.“Anna?” Sunshine asks softly, creeping closer toward the child. She then grows slightly annoyed. “You couldn’t even be more original?”“Look out!” Anna says, and Kat shouts.Sunshine whips around. “What?!”“Something—” Kat attempts to breathe. “Something grabbed me!”When they look back toward the kitchen, Anna is gone.Kat blinks away her fear. “Where’d she go?”“Anna?” Sunshine calls.Nothing.“I told you I heard something,” Kat mutters.Sunshine rolls her eyes.
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Kat’s rolling. With her own camera.“Let’s do this,” Tommy declares, turning his head, about to rush into Sunshine’s room.“Wait, wait!” Kat whisper-yells. “Stop it, stop it. Do you wanna fill in…?” She motions toward the camera.“Okay. So,” Tommy begins, “we’re gonna go have an intervention with Sunshine—”Kat laughs. “That’s a good word.”Tommy smiles. “It is. Um, we’re actually gonna air it on TLC, so, it’s really exciting. But, it’s a ghost intervention about everything that happened last night because that was…”“So freaky,” Kat says.“I’m done,” Tommy rolls his eyes, about to barge in again—“No, no, wait!” Kat giggles, moving closer towards the door. Sunshine is singing quietly. “Do you hear her? She totally does this when she’s in the craft room.”“Should I, like, kick the door? Scare her?”“No.” Kat looks behind Tommy at the shelf. “Now they can see we have a lot of VHS, that’s embarrassing.”“It really is,” Tommy laughs. “Have you seen some of these?” A few titles include ‘Top Gun,’ ‘High Fidelity,’ and ‘Dead Poet’s Society.’ “Uh, yeah, they’re awesome!”Tommy then opens the door without another word, followed by Kat. “Hey, what’s up, kid,” he says. She’s making dolls. On the floor.Sunshine makes an amused face. “Nothin’?”“That was a really cute song.”She smirks. “Thanks.”“I totally got it on tape,” Kat says.Sunshine laughs. “Great.”“Aren’t you glad you gave me my own video camera?”“No!”“Aww. No, I’m sad now. Whatcha doin’?”“Working,” she says. “What are you doing?”“Making voodoo dolls.”“Oo! Love voodoo dolls, they’re the best.” Kat then clears her throat as Tommy sits in a chair next to Sunshine. “So we want to talk to you, kid.”“Oh, great.”“No, it’s not about your boyfriend,” Kat sighs.Sunshine’s head snaps up and she looks confused. “I don’t have one.”“Oh. Whatever. That’s why it’s a real short conversation.”“Anyways,” Sunshine says.“So.” Kat blinks. “Last night, that was fun.”“Yep. Tons.” She continues making her dolls.“Well…” Tommy picks up a finished doll and turns it in his hands. “What do you think about everything?”“It was…fine?”“It was not fine!” Kat exclaims. “You try being the one a ghost grabs all the time!”“Like high school, right?” Tommy asks.Kat giggles. “What high school did you go to?”Tommy laughs.“As much fun as this is,” Sunshine interrupts, “I’m kind of working.”“Well…” Kat sighs. “We’re a little concerned.”“You guys say this all the time! This is like a regular conversation, you just happen to have your own camera now so you can film it.”“Well, the people need to know,” Tommy declares. “But, I don’t know, I just have this feeling that maybe Anna…is not a good ghost…”Sunshine laughs incredulously, but still doesn’t look up from her doll-making. “No, that’s ridiculous. Why would you think that?”“It’s just—some of the stuff that’s been happening! It feels like, I don’t know…” He looks at Kat. “We were talking about it earlier.“So you brought your intervention here?” Sunshine cocks a brow.“No, it’s not—really an intervention,” Kat says.“It’s not an intervention,” Tommy agrees.“We just want to know what you think, that’s all.”“Well, I told you,” Sunshine says, “I don’t think Anna is bad. That’s ridiculous. Why would you—you didn’t even give me any logical reason!”“Well…” Tommy laughs. “It seems like she wants your mom and me out of your life, out of the house, away from you.”“Which is kind of a problem,” Kat nods.Sunshine looks at her mother with a ‘this is stupid’ face. “How do we know that’s Anna?”Tommy hums. “Well, how do we know it is Anna?”“Yeah. Exactly.” Sunshine smiles. “You have no evidence, no proof, nothing, so…none of this even makes sense. So. You guys can go now, and I’m gonna finish working.”Tommy looks at Kat, frowning.Her mother shrugs. “Okay.”Okay.
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It’s night. As usual. And something’s happening. As usual.“I saw Uncle Tommy come up to Sunshine’s room,” Kat whispers to her camera, nearing her daughter’s door. “I don’t know why…”Kat overhears their conversation as she looks into the room. “I don’t understand,” Sunshine says, sitting up in bed. Tommy is sitting on the edge, looking gravely serious.“We can’t be here, we have to leave,” he says.Sunshine blinks. “Why are you dressed?” And he is, as if he’s ready to go now.“Honey?” Kat asks as she finally enters the room. “Honey, what’s wrong?”Sunshine looks over. “I don’t know. He’s…being…weird. Tommy?”Tommy looks like he isn’t all here. “We gotta go.”“Who has to go, Tommy?” Kat asks.He breathes shakily. “She doesn’t want us here anymore.”Sunshine inclines her head forward. “Tommy?”“How long’s he been doing this?”“A while, I don’t know. Tommy? What’s wrong.”He looks between both of them, but hardly seems to recognize who they are. “Where do you have to go?” Kat asks.Recognition seems to finally dawn on Tommy. Still, he’s unrelenting. “We have to leave. I have to leave.” He stands and exits the room.“Wait—Tommy,” Kat frowns.“Tommy?” Sunshine calls.Her mother watches him head downstairs and turns around. “Okay, what was that?!” she exclaims in a whisper.“I have no idea! He just came in here and turned on the light and he was mumbling about… ‘You shouldn’t be here, you shouldn’t be here, something ghosts…’”“Like Anna?”“I have no idea.”“Okay…”They hear a slam downstairs.Kat gapes. “I think he just seriously left! That was the front door!”‘I can see you,’ a little girl’s voice whispers into the camera, unbeknownst to both women.“Tommy?” Sunshine calls loudly. No answer.
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“So. Uncle Tommy. Was in my room last night.”Kat purses her lips. “That could sound really bad.”Sunshine makes a face, but decidedly ignores her mother.“Sorry.”She continues. “And…he was weird—”Kat laughs. “That’s a good way to put it.”Sunshine wheezes. “—as you guys saw, so.”“We all saw that. Weirder than he normally is.”“He is still not here.”“Well,” Kat frowns, “it’s only been, like, twelve hours. Hasn’t been that long.”“Yeah, but, I don’t know. He doesn’t just come into the middle of my room in the middle of the night…”“Well, and he took—they don’t know this—he took all of his stuff. I mean, not everything—”Sunshine raises her brows. “That’d be a lot.”“He thankfully left his copy of Pitch Perfect. Thanks, Uncle Tommy. But, he basically took all of his clothes and…he doesn’t have that many, but. He still kinda cleaned out. He did make the bed, which was really nice of him, but. And then he’s just gone and we haven’t heard anything. We’ve been texting him and calling him and messaging him and nothing.”“Texting and messaging? That’s good.”“I was thinking, like, email, but I guess that’s not really…”Sunshine laughs. “Well, he didn’t respond to our text messages, maybe he’ll respond to our emails!” she mocks sarcastically.Kat giggles. “You never know!”

“I’ll do a handwritten letter next!”

What is this, Nolan missing all over again?

“I didn’t sleep very well last night,” Kat says, “I was very stressed out about Uncle Tommy being so weird, and then you wouldn’t sleep in your own room—oh, whoops, is that a TMI? Did I share too much?” Sunshine pats her leg harshly. “Ow!”

“Anyways,” Sunshine interrupts, “so, he’s not here.”

“And you were tossing and turning all night—”

“Shhh! Anyways—”

“We’re not too worried about Uncle Tommy,” Kat admits.

Sunshine nods. “He always shows up again fine.”

“He better.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine and Kat are downstairs. They just heard noises and things and weird stuff, and even worse, the lights just flickered.Great.Sunshine gets up to check it out but Kat quickly stops her with a mantra of, “Wait wait wait where are you going?!”She turns. “Why are you always afraid?”“Well—what are we doing? Why can’t we just sit here? The lights aren’t off right now.” “What if they go off again? And they stay off?”“So…you want to go get a flashlight?”Sunshine closes her eyes in exasperation. “Sure.”“Okay. Do I have to come?”“Yes.”“Ugh.”In the camera, a quiet, ‘Don’t listen to the voice,’ is whispered.Sunshine, as per usual, leads the way from the living room to the kitchen. It’s quiet as they creep inside, looking around, clearly unsettled.“He’s back for you Sunshine,” a small girl’s voice echoes through the kitchen.Sunshine whirls around and faces her mother with wide eyes. “Did you hear that?”“What was that?” Kat demands. “That…”“I don’t know!”“That was Anna, wasn’t it?”It was.Kat sees the silent ‘yes’ Sunshine is emitting and backs away. “Okay, I think we should just go back in the living room where Anna’s…not…”The front door suddenly opens and both women turn, jumping out of their skin.“Why did it…open…by itself,” Kat says.“I don’t know,” Sunshine whispers, afraid but trying to dispel the feeling. Attempting to shake it off, she steps back into the living room and carefully glances around. “Hello…?”‘They’re coming over to get you,’ Anna whispers into the camera.“There’s no one here,” Sunshine says.Kat shakes her head as they poke their heads outside. “Of course there’s no one here. Awesome.” She pauses. “I know the door was locked.”Sunshine frowns and quickly closes and locks the door. She looks at her mother.“I like it better when the door opens by itself and it’s Victoria.”“Yeah. Me too.”
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Sunshine clicks on her lamp. “I heard a noise downstairs,” she whispers to the camera. Then, louder, “Mom? Maybe…maybe it’s just Mom. Mom, is that you?”The door to her room flies open and she leaps back, pressed against the headboard. Her eyes go wide as she looks into the swarming darkness of the hallway. Nothing—and no one—is there.She has to investigate now. Slowly but surely Sunshine stands, slinking across the bedroom. “Mom…?” The bathroom door is open, the light on. “Mom? Is that you?”‘Look out!’ Anna cries into the camera.When Sunshine turns toward the stairs, she gasps in terror when she sees a tall man standing there. He has a black dress suit and pants on—beneath it is a white shirt throated by a tie. The most outstanding thing about this man is that he has a burlap sack over his head.He’s not a man. He’s a ghost.It’s Anna’s father.“He’s back for you, Sunshine!” Anna says.Sunshine wastes no time bolting into her room. She shuts the door and dives into her bed, facing the door, images of Anna’s father plowing through the door The Shining style running through her head.“Mom?” she calls, louder, hoping her mother hears her.The door opens and Sunshine screams. However, it’s not Anna’s father—it’s her mother.“Honey, what’s wrong?” Kat asks. At the fear-stricken expression on her daughter’s face, she turns back then rushes forward. “What’s wrong?”“Did you not…hear me?” she gasps out, unable to completely catch her breath.“No…” Kat says with a deep frown. “Okay, let me have this.” She softly takes the camera from Sunshine’s shaking hands. “It’s okay. What happened?”“The ghost dad,” she whispers, looking at her mother. “He’s downstairs.”“Okay…” Kat places a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, looking equally as scared.Sunshine breathes. “He’s back.”
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So. Her viewers definitely saw the same thing Sunshine did.And they definitely know what she’s going to talk about.“So,” she says, sitting on the couch next to her mother. “Discussion time. Open now.”“Discussion time.” Kat nods. “That’s good.” A pause. “Okay, am I right? That this is the first time he’s appeared in this house? Correct?”Sunshine nods. “Yeah.”“I mean, Anna has obviously been around, and Victoria has certainly been around. Tori, as Uncle Tommy…calls her. But, I don’t understand why he’s here, that’s the thing.” Kat looks over. “And you’re sure that’s what you saw?”“Yes, I’m positive.”“I guess we have…video footage proof.”“Mm-hm. They’ve seen it.” Sunshine sighs and looks into the camera. “What do you guys think? Was it not? Maybe? Could be? Possibly?”“But why, that’s the real question,” Kat says. “Why is he here, what does he want, is he as scary as last time? So far, yes?”“Yes, standing there, quite scary.”“Well…” Kat shrugs. “He’s foreboding.”Foreboding.There’s a silence between them for a moment, words unspoken, until finally Kat speaks—“Have you really not—”“Heard anything from Uncle Tommy?” She looks at her mother. “Nope. Have you?”“No…”“He’s probably fine,” Sunshine says.“Well, I’m sure he is…” There’s still a hesitance to her sentence.“He likes to go off for days and…find…” She trails off. Even she doesn’t know at this point.Kat sighs. “He doesn’t usually interrupt your sleep in the middle of the night to tell you that he’s, well, leaving.”

“It’s a bit weird.”

Just a bit weird indeed.
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So, a couple named Jaime and Patrick sent Sunshine a playlist consisting of hauntings going on in their house. Doors slamming, babies crying…you know.

Anyway, they asked her to come investigate and Sunshine thinks it might be kind of interesting. Whatever’s in the house is creepy—and it’s definitely some sketch stuff. So, she thinks she’s gonna go. Is pretty sure, anyway.

She’s still pondering it. Still thinkin’ about it. But she’s pretty sure she wants to go.

How bad can one haunting be?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunshine’s standing outside of a house, laden with brown shingles and a white porch that gives way to a chocolate-colored door. Patrick and Jamie’s house.“Hey guys,” she tells the camera, “so I’m here at the house where the real paranormal activity happened? The one that she sent me and I put on the channel? Jaime? Anyways, so, yeah. I’m here.”Alone.Anyway, Jaime had sent several videos but they mostly consisted of showing the haunting going on in the couple’s house. They’d lost their baby and were beginning to hear the cries from their child’s former room. It was sad to Sunshine, and she hoped that she would be able to help.Guess she should knock? Hopefully they answer. After all, they do know she’s coming.Sucking in a breath, Sunshine steps through the long patio and clanks her fist against the door softly, placing her hands in her pockets.Finally the door opens, and a woman with an uneven black haircut answers. She’s wearing a white shirt with a gray jacket over, with black leggings and brown boots.“Hi,” Sunshine smiles. “Jaime?”“Yes…”“I’m Sunshine!”“Uh…” Jaime smiles awkwardly. “Great, I got it. Well…come in.”“Thank you,” Sunshine says, trying to push back the awkwardness. Sometimes it’s just like this, but they need help, so she’s going to do everything in her power to assist.“Thank you for coming,” Jaime insists.Sunshine nods. “Yeah.” Jaime shuts the door behind them and motions towards the house. “Come in.”The house opens up into a wall-less living room. To their immediate left are stairs leading to the second floor; in front of them is an oak wood dining table that leads into the kitchen to the left. On the right are several couches and chairs, a tv hung on the wall. A man is sitting there—Sunshine realizes that it’s Patrick, sitting and watching a woman sing the National Anthem on a basketball court.“Hi, babe,” Jaime waves. They pause behind the gray couch. “That’s Patrick. Patrick, this is Sunshine.” He doesn’t look over. In fact, he doesn’t even acknowledge that either of them exist. It sets Sunshine on edge.“Hi,” she says awkwardly. “It’s nice to…meet you.”Jaime seems slightly bothered but sits at the dining room table anyway. Sunshine seats herself across from her.“Um…I don’t really know where to start,” Jaime begins. “I sent you those videos and…I passed out and woke up just clawing at the crib upstairs, and I don’t know how I got there, but…something dragged me off the bed, that’s the last thing that I remember, and then everything is just kind of a black out.”Sunshine frowns. “Yeah…that’s frightening.”“Frightening, yeah. But, it still happens. Like, the laughing, the crying, and we just ignore it.”“Does it…seem to be better or worse or…?”“Like, it still happens, but the less we pay attention to it, it seems like it just kind of dissipates. I just still think that something’s here, that something happened and something’s weird and…I can’t shake that something did happen to our baby and that she was there. So…I thought I would just call you cause you seem to be experienced with that,” Jaime smiles.“I don’t…uh, I don’t really know what I can do…”“You could—you could stay and try to talk to the witch…lady? I don’t know what to call her. Um. You could—”Patrick stands from his seat, causing both women to glance over. He quickly walks past both of them and clambers up the stairs, disappearing from sight.“Yeah,” Sunshine says optimistically, turning away to look back at Jaime. “I can come back, definitely, and stay the night. I think that’s a good plan, for now.”A door slams upstairs.“Okay, well great,” Jaime nods, “thank you, thank you.”“Yeah, no problem,” Sunshine smiles.She tries to push the tightness in her chest away.
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So. She’s back at Jaime and Patrick’s house to follow up, she guesses? Just see how they’re doing, as well as spend the night.Sunshine knocks on the door and is quickly greeted by running footsteps. Jaime opens the door, “Uh, come in—” she says breathlessly, rushing through the small hallway into the living room.“What—?” Sunshine says cluelessly, following.“We’ve just been like this…trying to block out the crying, which is still happening right now.” Sunshine spots Patrick with his arms clasped against his ears, moving back and forth like he’s in pain.Sunshine rips her gaze away from Patrick and follows Jaime up the stairs. The familiar sound of a baby’s cry splits the air, but as soon as they enter the room it stops. The crib is covered in a long, white sheet. “And then it just stops,” Jaime scoffs. “It…it’d been getting better but then you came yesterday and everything just started getting…more pronounced.”Sunshine sighs. “It…happens, sometimes, when I’m around. Sorry.”Jaime fiddles with her necklace, then turns to look at the top of the stairs. Sunshine looks over and notices Patrick standing there, just wordlessly staring. He turns away and enters another bedroom.“I—I don’t know,” Jaime stammers, “he’s been acting…a little weird, lately.”Well…looks like she’ll be spending the night.
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All three of them are standing near the dining room table. Jaime and Patrick are arguing.“—somebody who knows nothing about us,” Patrick rants, “you have cameras in our house! This is our life!” His voice breaks. “I can’t handle this anymore! If this goes on for another two weeks I’m out of here, baby. I love you, but…I can’t do this, this is madness.” He backs away, breathing heavily. “You know what you’re doing, okay? You know what you’re doing!”He heaves his way up the steps before disappearing behind the wall. Sunshine rocks on her heels, staring at Jaime, who has tears in her eyes. “It’s…kind of embarrassing,” Jaime says, plopping down in the seat, rubbing her temples.“It’s…okay,” Sunshine comforts awkwardly, patting the woman’s shoulder. She’s never been good with the emotional stuff.The door to the bathroom slams shut.Sunshine frowns. “Is anyone in there?” she calls.“Hello?” Jaime asks.The door creaks open, revealing darkness inside, before slamming shut again. Both women stand and Jaime rushes over, peeling it open, turning on the light. The bathroom is empty.“There’s nobody in here,” Jaime says, looking around.Sunshine steps out and nearly jumps when she sees Patrick standing at the base of the stairs. His gaze is glassy. “She’s coming for all of us.” Without another word or any explanation, he slowly walks up the stairs.She watches, wide-eyed. “Isn’t…that…what you said in the last video?”“I told you it’s getting stronger.”
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“So,” Sunshine sighs to the camera. She’s sitting in a chair in a separate room. “They’re out there.” Loud voices can be heard in the living room. “Discussing…things. It sounds more like arguing to me.”“—what is the worst thing she could possible do?”“With the internet, those people—” Patrick snarls.“And I am in here,” Sunshine continues, blocking the noise out, “trying not to listen. He’s called me a little girl three times, so it’s not working out. Um, I feel…I have like a gut feeling that something else is going on here?” She can still feel it, tugging inside of her. “Not just what seems to be happening. You know what I mean?”She sighs. “I don’t know. If I was the type of person to, you know—listen to my gut feelings—I probably would’ve already left. It’s kind of…intense in here.”The arguing continues.
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Jaime and Sunshine are sitting side-by-side on the couch. “So,” she tells the camera. “We’re gonna try and…see if there’s an obvious…presence here? So. Yeah.”In the chair next to them, Patrick is sitting with his arms crossed, looking away.Sunshine sucks in a breath, perking up. “Is anybody here?”Patrick just rolls his eyes.“If someone’s here, can you give us a sign? Can you let us know that you’re here?”Patrick scoffs and leans forward, glaring at Jaime. “Okay. Enough.” He looks at Sunshine. “Enough.” He then turns his gaze to his wife. “You tell her the truth right now.”Jaime shakes her head in confusion, looking between both of them.“Is there…something I should know?” Sunshine asks warily, scooting back slightly, hands pressed between her thighs.Jaime sighs. “This isn’t…the first experience I’ve ever had with what’s going on. Um, when I was a little girl, there was this thing that would come to me and—and she told me that any baby I would ever had would be hers. And…I just forgot about it, because I was a kid, and who believes that? But…I think I know why she keeps coming back and why she is back now.”Sunshine frowns. “Uh…why?”Jaime’s bottom lip trembles. “Because I’m pregnant.” She stands and rushes past Sunshine, climbing the stairs two at a time.Patrick looks down. “That’s not the whole truth,” he says softly, shaking his head. “She’s not telling you everything. She is pregnant, but…she’s diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia with violent tendencies.”Sunshine feels her heart thunder. “Could…she hurt anyone?”Patrick looks lost. “Yeah. I think she’s been poisoning me.”The sound of footsteps causes both Sunshine and Patrick to look over. Jaime is standing near the wall with her arms crossed over each other. “It’s not—it’s not true,” she says, eyes wide as she glances at Sunshine. “I would never hurt anyone,” she turns to Patrick, “and you know I would never hurt anyone!”“Why have I been feeling this way?” he asks numbly. “Why am I sick all the time?”“How should I know?!” Jaime exclaims. “Whatever is in this house—I don’t know! It’s not me!”“You’re causing all of it!”“How would I cause this?!”“Because you’re—you’re acting crazy! Crazy, baby!”“You’re sick—I’m causing this but I’m the one acting crazy?”“Yes!” Patrick says. “Yes, you are manifesting all of it,” he points to his wife, looking at Sunshine, “she is the one who created all of our problems!”The sound of a baby crying upstairs brings everyone back into reality.Patrick jumps out of the chair. “Do you hear that?”Sunshine quickly gets up.“Do you hear it?” he asks, running up the stairs. “Is it just me?” The crying grows louder as they reach the second floor. “You hear it, right?”“Yeah,” Jaime breathes. It’s coming from the same room as before—the one with the crib.As soon as Patrick opens the door and turns on the light, the crying stops. Cuts off, almost like a recording.“There’s nothing here,” Patrick says, glancing around the room, finally landing his gaze on Jaime. “You’ve gotta stop this, please.”“It’s not me,” she says, sounding offended.The door suddenly slams right in Patrick’s face, the force pushing him out. All three look at each other, but Sunshine is looking past them into the bedroom. “You—you guys.” She lifts her finger and everyone looks to see a hooded black figure walking. It disappears from view when it enters the bathroom.“I told you,” Jaime says, and rushes inside. She leads the way into the bathroom and pushes her palms on the closet door, opening it to reveal, well, nothing.“Where’d she go?” Patrick asks.“There’s nothing in here,” Jaime says.“Where’d she go?” He moves the clothes with both arms and looks below, but the closet is completely empty.Jaime looks over at Sunshine. “What do you think it is?”“I don’t know,” she laughs. “I…”“No ideas,” Jaime deadpans.“Nothing.”She scoffs. “Great.”
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Patrick delivers a blanket to Sunshine.“Thanks…” she says, raising a brow when he walks away. Sunshine eventually takes a seat next to Jaime on the couch.“Well, thanks again for coming out here,” Jaime says.“Yeah,” Sunshine smiles, “no problem.” Something still feels wrong—she can feel the tugging in her gut—but she decides to continue ignoring it. This couple needs help, not a scared little girl.Jaime looks toward the stairs, where Patrick has gone to the second floor. “We…we usually don’t even sleep in the same room anymore.”Sunshine nods slowly, wishing she could help. She just doesn’t know how to quite yet.“I just want things to get better,” Jaime says. “You know? They just keep getting worse and…we’re just drifting apart and we used to be really close.” She laughs half-heartedly. “Not the best time to be pregnant, I guess.”“Yeah…” Sunshine trails off, unsure of what to say.“He wants to leave and I don’t…I don’t know, I just don’t feel like leaving this house is the right thing to do, but…I don’t know, maybe that’s just what I’ll have to do. Compromise.”“Mm-hm…but it feels like running away.” Maybe she can relate, just a little bit. Did it not feel like running away when she and Mom moved?“She’s coming,” Jaime says suddenly. “She’s coming. She’s coming. She’s—”Behind them, a room’s light turns on, revealing the hooded figure standing in the doorway. Sunshine’s blood goes cold and she jumps to her feet. As soon as she blinks, though, the spirit is gone.They enter the laundry room but, as usual, no one is inside.“I…” Jaime swallows. “I shouldn’t have asked you to come here, I’m sorry.”“It…it’s okay.”“You shouldn’t be here.” Jaime rushes out of the room.Uh. Okay?
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Sunshine’s walking around the kitchen. Thinking. Pondering. She’s not sure where exactly her thoughts land. “I’m clearly not sleeping, as you guys can see,” she tells the camera, continuing to pace. “I’m kind of…having this weird feeling, you know, like a gut feeling? I feel like…not everything is being told. Not the truth. I don’t know…”She notices movement out of the corner of her eye. Patrick narrows his eyes as he climbs to the bottom of the stairs, walking towards Sunshine. Did she mention he’s shirtless?“Hi, Patrick…” she says. “What—”“What are you doing here?” he interrupts.“What?”“What are you doing here?”Sunshine shakes her head, confused. “Your wife, she—”“You haven’t figured this out yet?” Patrick nears her and Sunshine moves back, letting the marble island divide them.“I haven’t figured what out?”“You’re supposed to be some kind of supernatural genius or something,” Patrick scoffs, “and you can’t figure this out? You know what, it’s really simple. It’s all in her head.”Before he can continue with this tirade, Jaime screams from upstairs. He wastes no time running to the second floor. “Baby? Baby!”Sunshine follows, the feeling in her gut tightening. It’s dark as hell up here, anyway, but she continues to trail after Patrick and enters their bedroom.“Baby?” Patrick looks around, but Jaime isn’t here. “Where’d she go?!”“Jaime?” Sunshine calls.Patrick’s breathing goes labored. “Where did she go?” He shoves Sunshine out of the way, causing her to nearly lose her balance, and looks into the bathroom. No one is inside. “She’s not here. She’s not in here!” Patrick growls and points at Sunshine. “I told you, she’s making this all up! It is all in her head!” He then pauses. “She’s coming for us all.”Annoyance bubbles in her throat. “You keep saying that! What—”“She’s coming for all of us,” Patrick repeats.“Which one is it?”Patrick throws his hands into the air. “She—she makes it all happen! Why do you not understand this?! She manifests it all!”Sunshine shakes her head with an appalled expression. “What?”Patrick stares. “You know what?” His voice grows low and deadly, sending a shiver down her spine. “The Markons don’t care what you think, or what you feel, Sunshine.”She takes a step back, terror churning in her belly. “What?”Patrick says nothing more and exits the room.“I’m leaving,” Sunshine says to the camera, throwing herself out of the room and clambering down the stairs. She runs to the door and tries to jerk it open, but the lock won’t allow it. Shit. Shit shit shit shit!“The Markons don’t care what you think. What you feel.” Sunshine squirms past Patrick as he stands near the dining room table, watching her every move.She heads toward the laundry room, hoping there will be a back door. She speaks without looking back. “Patrick, I don’t—”The door slams shut on her. She desperately tries the knob but it won’t budge.Patrick slowly nears her. “Have you forgotten about us, Sunshine? Pretending as if we don’t exist. We haven’t forgotten about you.”Sunshine shoves past him and tries to open the sliding glass door, but that won’t open either.“As you play your silly games we use your world to draw you in. It’s like a moth to a flame.” She feels tears build in her eyes and presses herself to the glass as Patrick grows closer and closer and—She begins to hyperventilate and ducks, throwing herself out of the corner and running back to the front door. But no matter what she tries, nothing seems to work.“It’s a war that’s been going on for centuries,” Patrick continues, following her. “And we won’t let a pathetic little girl like you ruin what we have accomplished.” He smirks. “Don’t worry, Sunshine. This won’t take long.”The lights go out and Sunshine cries out, pushing herself against the wall. She fumbles through the darkness to her backpack and pulls out her flashlight, hesitating before clicking it on. Horror is still thrumming through her body, and she’s beginning to realize that this was her gut feeling. Patrick must be a Groundling.And he has her trapped.“Patrick?” she calls warily, wondering if she can somehow talk her way out of this. She shines the light on his back and spots him sitting on the couch. “Patrick…” He’s not moving.A familiar—and Latin—voice begins to sound through the vents. Sunshine’s brows furrow and she looks toward the floor, where a white vent rattles with each breathy whisper.She hears something upstairs and—well, damn Patrick, maybe Jaime is innocent—clambers up the steps. “Jaime?!” she calls, watching the door to their baby’s bedroom slam shut. “Jaime’s not up here.” She runs back downstairs and freezes at the black mass of robes that floats past the base of the stairs, disappearing after it passes the wall.Sitting at the dining room table, she sees Jaime, face twisted and fangs glistening with a wide smirk at the sight of Sunshine.She ignores her fear and slowly climbs down the steps, looking between both of them.I know what I have to do, she realizes, watching as Patrick stands and faces her. The Markons have no control over me. I’m a Luiseach.Patrick comes near her, eyes glinting yellow in the darkness, but when he outstretches his arms to wrap around Sunshine’s throat a bolt of energy expands and slams him back into the floor.“No!” Jaime screams, face paling even further until she hardly looks human. “You dirty Luiseach—!”Sunshine wastes no time running. She sprints toward the front door and manages to pry it open, throwing herself on to the porch without another thought. She hops into the car, starts it, and peels out.In the upstairs window of the house stands the hooded figure.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

So, Sunshine’s thinking. About the Real Paranormal Activity House, and—well, she just wants to do a recap. A lot of stuff went down, obviously, and it was crazy and horrifying and tense and weird. They definitely lied to her about who they were, but there was also the hooded figure and the person in the window.Maybe Sunshine just needs to embrace her… Luiseach-ness. She’s kind of avoiding it, definitely, but it’s just hard after Victoria told her she wasn’t even a Luiseach—just a girl.But now she’s falling back into that mindset. Is she a Luiseach? Yes, probably. Most certainly. And with the Luiseach thing comes a mentor and a protector, and they’re clearly not here. No one’s appeared and helped Sunshine out or anything, so she feels like—how is she meant to keep up her end of the bargain if they’re not holding up theirs?She just can’t forget the words Patrick spoke, the way he got so close, that hungry and predatory look in his eyes. If he’d really been able to touch her, if he’d been able to hurt her…what would have happened?
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Nolan’s at the door.After a few sets of rapid knocks Sunshine opens the door to reveal him standing in front of her. He’s wearing a gray, jean jacket with buttons and a white shirt underneath, a brown bag slung over his shoulder, sunglasses hanging on the bridge of his nose.“Heeeeey!” he says with a smile.“Heeey,” she says. Nolan nods in affirmation and enters, sweeping past her. “What are you doing—” She gives up. “Okay.”Nolan places his bag on the couch and begins looking around.“What are you doing?” she asks, brow cocked.“Huh?” he asks distractedly, moving across the room towards a black dresser.“What are you doing?”“What do you mean?” He glances at the dresser then shifts his gaze toward a wooden chair, picking up a blanket and turning back to the couch.“What are—you just—popping in?”“Yeah,” he says optimistically, draping the blanket over the couch.“Why…do you have a blanket and a backpack?”“I’m just here to say hi,” he says, putting his arms out with a smile. “That’s all. I just wanted to say hi to you, see how you’re doing.” Nolan takes his sunglasses off and tucks them into his jacket pocket. “You know?”“Yeaaah…”He picks up his bag and sets it to the side. “So how are you doing? Tell me, I want to know.”“Fine…” Sunshine watches his movements carefully. He’s not acting like he’s here to visit, setting up a blanket and pillows on the couch. “What are you doing?”Nolan shrugs innocently. “Nothin’, I’m just interested in your life.”“Uh—No—I mean, why are you touching the couch and—”“Did you make any new friends?” He beams a grin at her.“No, I don’t do that.”He tucks the blanket into the outer edges of the couch. “You don’t make any friends?”“Apparently not.”“Do you have any old friends?”“Sure. You. Continuing—what are you doing?”“You got a friend in me,” he quotes. “Have you ever heard that song? It’s from, uh, Toy Story.”Sunshine sighs. “Yes, I’m aware, I know what that’s from.”“That’s great!”“What are you doing?”“What do you mean?” He looks back then begins to rifle through his bag.“You have pillows and blankets on the couch! And your backpack!”“Give me a second.” He takes out cologne, smells it, then blinks back from the smell.“Excuse me.”He glances back.“Nolan.”He raises his arms, hesitating. “…I was thinking of just…hanging out. For a while.”“How long’s a while?” Sunshine questions. “A couple hours?”Nolan moves his head from side to side. “Yeah, a couple…sixteen.”Sunshine stares. “That involves, like, staying the night.”He drinks from a stainless steel bottle and points, nodding. “Sure, sure.”“Uh…”“And I appreciate it, I really do.”“‘Scuse me. Are you asking to stay the night?”“Uh, I didn’t ask anything. But I knew—”“Why can’t you stay at your apartment?”“—that you would be—”“What’s wrong with your apartment?”“Do you have a toothbrush?” he goes on, ignoring her question. Nolan looks up at her, pausing his rifling. “Do you have an extra toothbrush?”“Answer my question!”“Do you mind if I just use your toothbrush?” He gives a lopsided smile, placing out a hand. “I mean, I feel like we’ve known each other for a long time.”She tries not to laugh but can’t help it. This is all so ridiculous. “Answer the question.”“Which one?”“Why are you not staying at your apartment?”He opens and closes his mouth, seemingly deciding on something to say. “Uh…you know, well, I met, I met this guy.” Nolan zips up his bag and nears Sunshine, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Uh, he’s a—welder?”“Seriously? Just tell me why—”“Mid forties? From California.” Nolan sits on the arm rest of the couch, staring at Sunshine. “And he died in my apartment about six years ago.” He blinks. “His name’s Frank. And I like Frank. He’s a nice dude.”“This is a long story.”“But he’s a little creepy,” Nolan admits, ignoring her. “You know?” His voice drops to a whisper. “Mostly it’s the dead thing. That I don’t like. You know? He’s fine, he’s just…so…deceased.”Sunshine turns without another word. “Mom?” She walks into the kitchen, where Kat is on her Mac laptop.“Yeah?” she asks, not looking up.“Nolan is afraid to stay in his own apartment.”Kat looks up as Nolan enters the room. “What’s wrong?”“I’m not afraid to stay in my apartment,” he says, nearing the two. “I’m reluctant to…die there.”Kat laughs. “That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?” She looks at Sunshine. “He’s been hanging out with you too long.”“Apparently,” she muses.“So…what are you asking?” Kat glances at Nolan, raising a brow.He leans down on the counter, weighing his options. Nolan then stands. “Kat, I was wondering if I could…stay in your, uh…” He points back. “House and sleep on your couch for just a…a while. Just a…tad, I’m just tired. Haven’t been sleeping well.” He smiles.Kat blinks, amused. “Alright. Okay. One night. You’re welcome.”He lowers his gaze. “Also, you guys don’t know any cool, like, exorcists or anything, right?”“No,” Kat wheezes, “I’m pretty sure Sunshine can handle whatever you’ve got going on.”Nolan blinks. “Well, I’m pretty tired,” he announces with a tight smile. “I’m just gonna go to the back and…yeah.” He turns and heads toward the living room.“Okay,” Sunshine says awkwardly, trying not to laugh.Kat just shakes her head.⠀⠀⠀
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Guess what?They heard a noise downstairs.“It could just be Nolan,” Kat tries.“What, at midnight getting a snack?” Sunshine scoffs. “I know he’s a weirdo, but he’s not that weird.” She sighs.“You’re gonna make us go down there, aren’t you?”“Oh, yeah.”“I don’t want to!”“Well, we kinda have to!”“Why?” Kat whines.“Because! What if somebody’s…attacking Nolan? What if somebody broke in—?”“Better him than us!”Sunshine smothers a laugh. “What if he’s, like, bleeding? Then our carpet’s gonna be bloody and gross, we’re gonna have to move.”Without waiting for another word, Sunshine slips off the bed and opens the door to her room, Kat following behind. The hallway is dark, only slightly illuminated by the pale nightlight in the bathroom.“Nothing’s over here,” Sunshine whispers, looking back at her mother. She leads the way down the stairs. “You’re more concerned about a burglar,” Kat whisper-yells, “I’m more concerned about a poltergeist.”“A poltergeist?” Sunshine raises a brow. “We’re not Harry Potter!”Downstairs, in the front room, a lamp swaths light over the white walls. The floorboard creaks underneath both women’s feet as they round the corner to the couch, where Nolan is sleeping. His whole body is tightly bundled up in a blanket, pressed against the side of the couch and legs outstretched. Even his head is covered by the blanket. He looks like he’s wrapped in a cocoon.“I think he’s just asleep…” Kat murmurs.“Nolan?” Sunshine whispers loudly. “Why…why is he sleeping like that?”“It’s kinda creepy,” she says, then more forceful, “Nolan!”He doesn’t move.Louder: “Nolan!”Kat pokes his shoulder.No movement.Her mother frowns. “Is he dead?” Unexpectedly, Nolan throws the blanket off his head and blindingly shines his ‘flashlight’—AKA his phone screen—at the two women, eyes wide.A pause.“Oh,” he says, lowering his arm. “Hey.”Kay rolls her eyes. “What are you doing?”“Nothin’.”“Why are you…flashing your cell phone at us?”“I have bad news,” he says.Sunshine cocks a brow. “What?”He clicks his tongue. “Uh. You know the ghosts?”“Yeah.”“Well, I think they followed me…here.”“What are you talking about?” Kat asks. “Did you just hear something?”Nolan purses his lips and tilts his head from side to side. “Yeah, maybe for like an hour, hour and a half.”“What?!” they both demand in unison.“Oh, all sorts of crazy things. Things you couldn’t imagine.” He furrows his brows. “Ridiculous things.”“Like—” Sunshine sighs. “Specifically?”“Oh, you know, my…childhood. Things it was telling me to do—”A cup crashes to the floor in the kitchen, diverting their attention.“What was that?” Kat asks. When Sunshine moves forward, she begins to protest, though follows closely.“Well—I just feel like, maybe, we should make sure there’s no burglar in there,” Sunshine says.“Is it really a burglar you’re worried about?!”“No! But…” She shakes her head as they approach the counters. Kat points out the plastic water bottle cup on the ground. They both stumble back when a container of utensils tips over. “Every time,” Nolan says from behind them.Sunshine and Kat gasp, whipping around.“What is wrong with you?!” Sunshine huffs.“Seriously,” Kat nods, “why do you do that?”“I thought you were on the couch! And then you sneak…” She trails off when Nolan continues to stare over her shoulder, eyes wide. He begins to back away. “What is wrong?”She and Kat turn to find that almost every drawer and cabinet in the kitchen is open.Sunshine slowly moves around the island, looking around. “This is really creepy,” she mutters. “Mom?”No response.A flicker of fear thrums through her body. “Mom?” she tries again, turning. Nolan and Kat are gone.“Mom?” Sunshine asks, voice tighter. That familiar sensation of fear is washing a chill down her spine. “Nolan?” She starts to near the archway that leads into the front room.Silence. For some reason, a new name comes to her head. “Anna?” She turns and notices the front door is ajar. What, did they leave? No way. “Is anybody there?” No. No one is.Sunshine closes the door, the bell jingling, and looks into the kitchen. A gasp wrenches from her throat at the tall, dark figure standing next to the marble island. Sunshine stands for a moment, shocked, then runs toward the staircase, taking two at a time.When she sprints into her room, she stills, caught off guard. Kat and Nolan are facing away from her, staring at the wall in the corner, motionless. “Mom?” she questions, nearing. “Nolan?” They don’t move. “Guys?” She reaches forward and places a hand on Nolan’s shoulder.He jerks, a strangled gasp bumbling from his lips, turning quickly. Nolan blinks, startled. “Woah,” he says, looking around. “Wait…” Her mother begins to come to, slowly turning as well.Sunshine just stares. What the hell happened?Nolan and Kat exchange a glance. “What are we doing in your room?” Nolan asks in confusion, looking at Sunshine.“You don’t remember?”Kat sits on the bed. Nolan squints, frowning. “I should’ve just stayed at home. I liked Frank.”Well, if who Sunshine just saw was Frank, she’s not sure she wants any part of him ever again.⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine’s sitting on the stairs, her black-and-white cat behind her. “Hey guys, so, I wanted to talk to Nolan this morning about everything that happened last night, so. Yeah. Here we go.” She turns the camera around and enters the front room, walking into the living room.Nolan is on the couch, once again cocooned in the brown blanket. This time, however, his head is poking out and he’s laying flat on his back. Next to him is a snowy owl stuffed animal. And his eyes are wide open.“What are you…doin’?” Sunshine asks, stopping a few feet away from the side of the couch. Nolan looks over, taking a moment to answer. “Sleeping.”“With your eyes open?”“It’s the only way I know how.”Sunshine can’t tell if he’s being serious or not.“You’re so dramatic,” she says.“How’d you sleep?”“Fine.”“Really?”“No.” How the hell could she? What with all the…Frank business. She shrugs and pans the camera across Nolan’s outstretched legs. “This is a nice, homey bed you’ve made for yourself.” She looks in distaste at the clothes and other belongings scattered on the floor.“Stick to the point,” Nolan says.Sunshine laughs. “No, I just wanted to…y’know. See how you’re doing. Talk to you about what happened last night.”“Yeah, that was…” He shakes his head.“That’s a nice owl you have. Harry Potter?”Nolan pushes down the blanket, sitting up, owl tucked in his arms. “Doesn’t it ever bother you? Just, you know…”“What?”He shakes his head, staring at her. “Crazy paranormal stuff just…occurring? In your place of dwelling?”“My place of dwelling—” Sunshine sighs. “I don’t know!”“Your home?”“Not really. I mean…” She shrugs. “I think it’s weird, kind of, but it doesn’t bother me. I guess it’s ‘cause I’m a Luiseach.”Nolan tilts his head skeptically, raising a brow.“What?”“When has being a Luiseach ever actually helped us out?”She thinks for a second. “Guess that’s true…”“I mean think about it, there hasn’t been a Luiseach in five hundred years. Nothing.”“Okay?”“It means no mentors, that means…”“No protectors?” she supplies.“No protectors. That means no more war. We lost, a long time ago.”“Mkay.”Nolan shrugs. “We’re on our own, man. There’s no one else. And if we can’t handle it, then there’s nobody coming to save us.”Sunshine hums. “That would explain all the evil paranormal stuff. Like the Moth Man, and Slenderman…they all have ‘man’ at the end. Where’s the women?”He smiles a bit, but falls back into his hopelessness. “There’s nobody…you know. Nobody.” Nolan adjusts the snowy owl and looks back up at her.“That’s nice.”“What are we gonna do?”She sighs. “I don’t know.”“We can’t just keep doing this, constantly. I can’t sleep, I can’t…”“So now you’re being dramatic?”Nolan leans his head back, staring at the ceiling. “I’m sorry,” she says.He doesn’t move.Looks like they’re gonna have to figure something out so Nolan can sleep again.
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“Hey everybody!” Sunshine says, Nolan seated to her left. They’re sitting in Sunshine’s room, in front of the closet with cut-out pictures taped on top. “So, I just got a video—not a fan video—from a guy named Marc, and…he thinks he’s haunted. So, here, watch it.”The video begins to roll.“Hey, Sunshine,” a man says. Some sort of stereo room looks like it’s behind him, two computers in the back with a visual voice audio on them. The man himself is white, wearing glasses with a gray mustache and gray, wavy hair. He sighs. “Somethin’ weird’s going on.”He continues. “I’ve been workin’ on this project for this client for…a couple of weeks now, and I’m in here today to try to finish the thing up and get it shipped out, and I get to this one part in the voice track and I start hearing what sounds like, uh, kid’s laughter or, or some kind of noise.And, I’m thinking, well maybe it’s just outside and it’s creepin’ in and you know, whatever, but then I start working on that same part again and I realize it’s not outside, it’s actually in the track. And what’s weird is it wasn’t in the track ‘cause we’ve been workin’ on this thing for a week. So, I’m not sure, but I can show ya.”He shows the visual audio and begins to voice over the screen. “So, here’s the audio that I’m working on, and let me just play it and you’ll see what I mean.”“Only you are the steward of your dreams,” someone on the audio says, probably Marc; this must have to do with the commission, “and the creator of your own unique vision.” In the background there’s children’s laughter, faint but noticeable, growing louder by the end.“Hear that?” Marc asks. “There’s obviously a child laughing in there. Now, what I’m saying is, I’ve been working on this file for a week—it wasn’t in there yesterday. It’s in there today. Even if I use a spectral test on it, just to see what’s going on in the wave form, there’s obviously somethin’ going on, and it appears that it’s growing into the file.”On the spectral test, there audio looks raised where the child was laughing. “Look at this right here,” Marc continues, “that’s the kid laughing, right there.”The video changes from the screen back to Marc, sitting in front of the stereo set. “So, I don’t know, I’m—I’m at a loss. Maybe you want to come and check it out. I’ll tell you this—also, over the last month or so, some strange things have been goin’ on here like really early in the morning. I hear, like—well, it sounds like people are movin’ furniture on the roof or something, I don’t know what it is. But, whatever it is, we seem to have company lately. So, uh, maybe you want to come check it out.”Back to Sunshine and Nolan, whose head is leaned back on the closet.“So, what do you guys think?” she asks the camera. Nolan raises his head again. “I mean, it definitely sounds like he is haunted. I mean, he wants me to go investigate. So. I don’t know. What do you think?” Sunshine turns to Nolan.He smiles and shrugs. “I don’t know what I think, you know that.”She rolls her eyes.“When have you ever listened to anything I’ve said?”“Now he’s gonna be a big baby.”“Think about it—one time, name one time and I’ll be quiet.”A pause. “Anyways, so—”Nolan shakes his head.“—I guess we’ll think about investigating.”“I think we should go,” Nolan blurts. “There, I said it. I think we should do it.”Sunshine laughs.“And it looks like fun. Plus, did you see that machine?”She looks over at him. He’s going full nerd-mode.“I don’t know what it does, but it’s cool.” He smiles and meets her gaze. “I wanna look at it more closely. Push some of the buttons.”They both look back at the camera.“He is a very strange boy,” Sunshine notes. “Anyways. So. Yeah. Comment below. Bye guys!”“Blah!” Nolan says.She widens her eyes. “That’s mine!”Nolan grins. “I know, I stole it!”“Blah!” Sunshine shouts.“Blah!”“Blah!”“Blaaaaaah!”“Blah!”“Blah!”“Blah!”In usual fashion, Sunshine gets the last ‘Blah.’⠀⠀⠀
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It’s happening again.“Okay,” Sunshine tells the camera, breathing heavily as she sits in her room, “it’s the middle of the night. And…I know something is going on downstairs. I don’t know what it is, and…I’m scared.”Unfortunately, Nolan isn’t here right now. Or else she’d feel a little less terrified. Working up her nerve, Sunshine exhales and exits the room. “I’m going downstairs.” She descends to the front room, looking around. “Mom?” she calls, glancing into the kitchen. It’s empty. “Mom.”Sunshine blinks when she feels something on her hand. She raises it and nearly vomits when she sees something dark and thick smeared on her hand“Is that—?!” Sunshine runs to the sink. “I think it’s blood!” She sets down the camera and quickly washes her hands, making sure the substance is completely dry from her palm. When she lifts the camera and turns toward the front room, the black figure is standing there.Sunshine stumbles back, buckling to her knees. She drags herself behind the island, eyes wide and watery. Fear churns in her stomach, threatening to overflow. She tries to remain calm, but it’s nearly impossible when maybe-Frank or maybe-demon is standing over there under the archway.She waits for anything to happen, as it’s silent for a few moments. Then, to her horror, heavy footsteps begin to slowly approach the kitchen island. In the mirror on the wall, Sunshine can see the figure nearing, a black hood draped over their face. They disappear from sight and all is quiet.Then, in a flash, the ghost is leaping out from its hiding spot. Sunshine shrieks and jumps to her feet, wildly swinging the camera around. No one is there, not anymore. She backs away, heart thumping in her chest. “He’s gone.” As Sunshine makes her way out of the kitchen, she continues checking behind her, terrified the ghost is going to be standing in the corner again. However, it looks like he’s a no show.When she turns toward the stairs, a green soccer ball rolls down. Sunshine freezes, staring at it, before backing away toward the living room. When she turns, Kat is sitting on the couch. “Mom?” Sunshine asks. She hadn’t been there a moment ago. Kat blinks, looking confused. “What are you doing?”“What’s wrong?”The bell on the door chimes and Nolan bursts in, wearing a backpack. He looks between Kat and Sunshine. “I got here as quick as I could!”“What?” Sunshine asks, confused.He furrows his brows. “What?”
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So. Follow up to last night’s…intruder. That’s what she’s calling it.Well, it was crazy. People were there and then they weren’t there, and then Nolan showed up at the end, and he just made no sense and was like, ‘I’m here!’ So Sunshine and her mother talked, asking him what he was doing there, and Nolan was like, ‘I don’t know, I felt like I should come.’She’s not sure, but she just knows it was really weird. So, that happened. She’s feeling flustered and confused and…well, what did all of it mean? Is this some testament to her Luiseach powers? Is she being threatened?Sunshine really doesn’t know.
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So. She and Nolan are sitting outside. It’s dusk, pale golden light splattering on to their faces, and they’ve decided something.“Hey, guys,” Sunshine tells the camera, facing it towards she and Nolan. “So, we have decided to go to Marc’s. We have made the decision.”“Okay,” Nolan says, squinting, “I know that you think it’s a good idea, and it makes us look really nice, but…why do we have to stare directly into the sun every time we film a video?”Sunshine laughs. “It makes us look nice.”“It hurts.”“I know, I’m a squinty little…squinty. Anyways, so, yeah. We’re gonna, I guess, do a little Luiseach experiment too because…I don’t know how it will all turn out and such, so that’ll be interesting.” She clicks her tongue. “And, Nolan’s going with me, yaaaay.”He shakes his head.“And hopefully Victoria will magically show up and give us assistance…”“Save us all,” Nolan says.“…y’know, tell us what to do and everything.”“When we get in trouble, yeah,” he nods.“Precisely. See? I’m not the only one. So, yeah. I guess we’re going to Marc’s. Get exciiiteddd! Wooo!”“Yaaay!” Nolan says, then, “Blah!”Sunshine glares at him. “Stop it.”He just grins.

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Sunshine and Nolan are standing outside of a white house, flowers and bushes surrounding the porch behind them. Sunshine is wearing a sweater and maroon pants, while Nolan…well, that black leather jacket is back. And he’s carrying a camo backpack. Hideous.Also, Tootall is here, holding the camera.“Hey, guys!” Sunshine waves. “So, we’re here at Marc’s house—you guys remember me telling you about the guy who caught stuff on his recording…stuff? So, yeah, he knows we’re coming, and I brought Nolan along with me.”“We’re gonna save him,” Nolan says. “From…”Sunshine rolls her eyes and tugs at Nolan’s arm, dragging him toward the porch with her, interrupting his very important sentence.They open the gate, knocking on the dark red door. Almost immediately Marc opens it, smiling. “Hey, guys!” he greets. “How are ya?”“Hi,” Sunshine grins. Thank god this isn’t like Patrick and Jaime’s house.“Come on in,” Marc says, stepping aside.Sunshine enters, Nolan at her heels. The house is open but homey, leading into a living room with wide open windows. To the right is a set of stairs.“I’m glad you could make it,” Marc notes.“Yes. Me too,” Sunshine replies, looking around.Nolan looks at Marc. “How you doin’?”“I’m doing good. Maybe better now, we’ll see.” He claps and heads toward the base of the stairs that lead down into a basement.“Mind if I look at this?” Nolan asks, climbing up the other stairs and inspecting two guitars hung from the wall.Sunshine huffs. “Stop looking at all those things.”“Let me—let me show you what the situation is here,” Marc says, descending the stairs.“Cool,” she says, she and Tootall following. Nolan is still looking at the guitars. “Nolan!” she whisper-yells, calling him down.The basement is laden with wooden walls, three windows paneling the side. On the very far left is a soundproof room with a microphone, surrounding by clear glass. There’s some sort of keyboard thingy to the left, pushed against the windows, and to its right is a desk with two computers, surrounded by two large speakers. There’s a stereo set in the right corner, followed by another keyboard. Several figurines are on top of the stereo set, and more guitars are hung on the wall.When Nolan sees this, his eyes go wide in wonder as he enters.“—it’s on this file that I played for you the other day, it’s in here, this is where the stuff is.” Marc points to the visual audio on one of the computers. “But let me, uh—”“Marc,” Nolan interrupts, pointing toward the stereo set nestled in the oak cabinet, “can I touch these knobs?”Sunshine closes her eyes. “Stop.”“Wouldn’t be recommended,” Marc says, shaking his head.“Oh.” Nolan’s shoulders slump.“But let me go get something from upstairs and I’ll be back in a sec,” Marc continues, heading toward the stairs.Nolan looks at him as he leaves. “Is there anything in here I can touch?”“Stop—” Sunshine sighs. “Stop, just ignore him.”“The chair!” Marc laughs. Sunshine purses her lips, looking at Nolan. “You can sit.” When Marc is out of earshot, she glares at her friend. “Stop touching things!”“I’m—he said that I could touch the chairs! Specifically he mentioned them.”“Fine,” she huffs.Nolan blinks and walks past her toward the small soundproof room. “Woah.” He enters, pale purple light shining on his face. “This is one of those, like, soundproof things.” He closes the door behind him, the inside covered in acoustic foam.“Stop!” Sunshine whispers, rolling her eyes when he doesn’t listen. She walks up to the window and raises a brow. “Okay, seriously, he said not to touch anything!”Nolan’s standing inside, looking down at the metal stand, the microphone reaching out in front of him. “Can you hear me?” His voice comes out crystal clear through the mic, as if he’s still in the same room.“Yes, I can hear you, you don’t have to, like, shout.”“Can you hear me?” Nolan repeats.“Shh!” she laughs. “I can hear you!”“Really?”“Yes! Just fine.”He makes a face. “This is the stupidest soundproof booth ever.”“What do you mean it’s the stupidest sound—ugh.” Sunshine gives up and jerks her head to the side. “Okay, get out! He’s gonna come back!”He starts reading from the script on the stand, jokingly pointing to her as he recites it.“You’re gonna get in trouble,” she huffs, stepping back. “And stop being weird.”Nolan doesn’t listen, instead putting on the headphones. “Wait—no, no, no. Find the button that—”“I am not gonna push the button! Get out!” God, she may as well be babysitting a child. “He’s gonna come back!” She taps her fingers on the glass.“Okay! Okay,” he relents, putting down the earphones.“Jeez,” she mutters. “He’s such a girl.” When he hasn’t exited yet, she looks over. “Get out! What are you doing?”“I don’t know, it’s, uh…” Nolan’s trying for the door, but it won’t budge. “It’s a little sticky.”“What do you mean it’s a little sticky?”“Uh…it won’t open all the way.”“Nolan. Stop. Being. Funny.”“Wait. Wait—” He puts his face up to the window and looks at Tootall. “Estevez,” he calls.“His name is not Estevez,” Sunshine says.“Estevez?” Nolan raises his brows, using a scolding tone like one would with a toddler. “Did you mess with the door?”Sunshine laughs. “No, he didn’t mess with the door. Can you just get out?”“Shh.” Nolan presses a finger to his lips. “Listen, Estevez—”“Stop! Open the door.”“—okay, it’s funny, it’s funny, but I have a little problem with claustrophobia, okay? And I’d like it if you could—” Nolan’s shaky breath catches in his throat and he lunges for the door, trying to pry it open. “Estevez! Ahh!”“What are you doing?” Sunshine groans, moving to the door.That’s exactly when Marc returns. Great.“Got a problem?” Marc smiles, opening the door.“Yeah,” Sunshine laughs.Nolan fumbles for a moment before placing his arm against the doorframe, leaning, acting nonchalant. “Hey, how’s it goin’.”“It does that sometimes,” Marc says, letting Nolan out.“Yeah, no, you know, it’s—cool, it’s like a room, it’s just really small. I like it. It’s, uh. What do you use it for?”“It’s a voice booth.”Nolan grins fakely. “Cool.” He turns to Sunshine, then lower, “I don’t know what that is.”Sunshine laughs. “Okay…”
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All three of them are sitting now.“Okay, guys,” Sunshine tells the camera, “so, Marc was actually recording when Nolan was being dumb in the booth and stuff, so he actually got all that and he just showed it to me—there’s stuff in—” She sighs. “Will you just play it?”Nolan, seated to the right of Marc, leans forward to listen.“Estevez?” Nolan’s voice comes through.“I see you,” a child’s voice whispers.“A chill down my spine every time,” Nolan says.Sunshine rolls her eyes.“Is it like, feedback, or? It’s just a glitch, right?” he asks Marc.“It doesn’t sound like a glitch to me,” Marc says.“Well that’s—well that means…” He smirks and looks at Sunshine. “That means ghosts. That means ghosts!”Sunshine’s brows raise, amused. “I know, you’re kind of excited about that.”“No! Seriously! Ghosts—like, real ones—” Nolan turns to Marc. “No, you don’t understand, it’s not always, like, genuine—”Behind Tootall, the door with acoustic foam sways open.“—but this one I have a good feeling about,” he finishes.“It’s creepy,” Marc nods, frowning.“Does that…normally happen?” Sunshine asks as everyone stares at the door.“…no, that doesn’t happen,” he says.“It sticks, but it doesn’t just…open, okay.” She looks at the camera. “Um…we should probably go in.”“You wanna go in there?” Nolan deadpans.“You were in there two seconds ago and now you’re scared?”“Spirits of the paranormal open a door for you and you say ‘let’s just go inside’?”“Well, it’s what we do!” Sunshine argues. “We’re like a Scooby Gang.”“Let’s do it, sounds like fun.” He looks back at Marc. “I mean, to be honest, you’re probably the one that would…you know…” Nolan points toward the room. “You should probably…”“Check it out?” Marc asks.“It’s your booth, man.”Marc smiles. “Well it already knows me.”“That’s what I mean!”“So…might be better if it dealt with someone new.”Sunshine laughs. “I think it should be you,” she agrees.Nolan frowns. “I’ve already been in the booth, okay? The booth scared me, I don’t like the booth anymore, I don’t wanna go back in there.”“I’m not a professional,” Marc says, “maybe…” He motions toward Sunshine.“Yeah, Sunshine, you gotta do it.”She smiles hesitantly. “Okay.”Great.As she enters, the audio on the recording clips out and is replaced by silence. Later, Sunshine believes the spirit was messing with the sound.Now inside of the booth, Sunshine begins to explain how she’s going to ask some questions and see if the ghost responds, since this seems to be where the ghost sounds originate from.She closes the door, Nolan thinks he’s being funny with something he says, and Marc listens patiently. Sunshine’s voice starts to register on the recording equipment. The audio starts to flicker back, but not before the same child ghosts whispers, “I see you.”Sunshine exits the room after her questions and sits back in her chair.“Well, that was gangbusters,” Nolan says.“Yeah, it was pretty great—so, I guess we’ll just play it back and see if we get anything.”Marc nods and plays the recording, sitting back.“Is somebody here?” audio-Sunshine asks.“Yes,” a female voice says. “I am.”“Wooow!” Nolan notes. “Right off the bat.”
“Is anyone…in the booth with me?”
“I’m next to you,” the spirit says again.“That’s so…clear, and just…wow.” Nolan shakes his head.“Can you tell me your name?” Sunshine asks.
“My name is Samantha.”
Nolan’s jaw drops as he looks at Sunshine.Her voice tightens. “That’s…very specific.”
“Are you the only one here?”

“No. We’re not alone.”
“This is getting creepy, guys,” Marc says, amazed. “This is the loudest example I’ve heard.”“This has got to be, like, the most friendliest, most open ghost we’ve ever come into contact with.”“Friendliest?”“We could probably ask her whatever we want to. Sunshine, I think you have a chance to, like…you know, make a real friend here.”She huffs. “I don’t need friends.”“I mean, you should go back in and, y’know, find out some interesting information about this person. The questions that you asked were pretty rudimentary.” Sunshine raises her brows. “I have to go back in?”“I’m not criticizing you, I’m just saying that…yeah.”“They were the typical questions you ask!”He shrugs. “Sure, that’s what I mean. There was no originality.”Sunshine glowers at him, then sighs. “Okay, so…I should go back in.”“Just—yeah,” Nolan nods, “ask her something identifying about herself. Point is that we’re supposed to be helping this thing…get out of the booth. It probably doesn’t like it in there, it’s…” his voice drops lower, “terrifying in there.”She shakes her head. “Alright.”Well. Damn it.She moves to enter the booth, but Nolan calls her. “Oh, and uh, Sunshine. Try and be nice.”“Yes, fine, I’m a very mean person.” She closes the door behind her and begins to ask questions. Tootall leans down and pushes the camera in Nolan’s face.“Estevez, not now,” he says, staring into the booth.After a few questions, Sunshine exits and sits back in the chair. Marc starts the recording.“Why are you here, Samantha?” she asks.“I am lost.” The voice echoes for a few seconds.Nolan scratches his nose. “You think she died in a hallway?”
“What do you want to do with Marc?”
There’s a pause, then the ghost says, “Who is Marc?”Marc blinks back.Sunshine frowns. “Uh…okay.”“Can I help you?” audio-Sunshine asks.
“No. He is watching you. And she is going to kill you.”
Um.Nolan looks over at Sunshine.“Will you leave Marc alone? Or, can you leave this house?” Sunshine says.
“I am in the machine.”
“Well, guys…” Marc stops the recording and leans back.“Go in and ask her what machine it is,” Nolan says, pointing at the booth.“This is getting crazy,” Marc says, “and…obviously we got some answers here we gotta find, so. I don’t know who he or she is, but he or she wasn’t in here two or three months ago.”Nolan frowns. “Okay, how long have you owned the house, man?”“Six years.”“Six years?!” He shakes his head. “We’re never gonna get this ghost out of here, it’s probably everywhere by now.” He motions toward a random machine. “Maybe it’s that one, I bet it’s that one.”Really?“Well,” Marc says, “maybe you should go back in and find out.”“Who he and she…are. Yeah.” Sunshine purses her lips.“Eventually, the ghost is just gonna get tired of answering her stupid questions, right?” Nolan says.“Seems rather patient to me,” Marc contends. Nolan nods, squinting. “Extremely cooperative. That’s what troubles me, actually.” A pause. “Yeah, one more time, dude. Try it out.”She sighs, looking at the camera. “I guess I’m going in again.”
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Or not.“Okay, so, I was gonna go back into the booth, but Marc kinda freaked out a little bit and left and—”“Dude—Sunshine, check this out,” Nolan says. He’s leaning his back on both chairs, upside down as he inspects the rollout keyboard.“Stop touching his stuff!”“No, it goes—the mouse will go from one—how does he do that?”Sunshine huffs. “It’s a skill. Anyways,” she turns to the camera, “so he’s gone, and we were gonna record again, and…so…we’re just hangin’ out and waitin’, I guess.”“Yeah. Cause we wanna know all about this ghost.”“Yep,” she says, moving toward the door.“What it likes to eat.”“Big fans.” She seems to register what Nolan said. “I’m not gonna ask it what it likes to eat.”“Ask where the ghost is from,” he says.“No!”“No! Just—you can ask how it died, ask it something useful. It’s being extraordinarily helpful and we shouldn’t waste that opportunity.”“Okay, I won’t,” she shoots back.Something faint thunders from the ceiling, but Sunshine’s talking and doesn’t manage to catch it.Nolan squints. “Do you hear that?”“What?” she asks.“Listen.”It happens again. Sunshine’s eyes widen.Nolan sits up, staring at the ceiling. “What the heck…” He frowns. “Think Marc is just…messing around up there?”“I don’t know,” Sunshine says.The thundering sound continues.Sunshine shakes her head, nearing the corner the sound is coming from. “What is that?”“I have no idea,” Nolan says, standing next to her.It sounds like a goddamn thunderstorm is going on above them. Is this the ‘furniture on the roof’ thing Marc was talking about?“Sunshine,” Nolan says.“Yeah?”“…I’m kind of scared.”“Yeah,” she breathes, turning. She gasps and jerks back to see Marc standing there, staring at all of them.“Ahh!” Nolan says. “Dude!”
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They’re all sitting down again. “Okay, so, Marc’s back,” Sunshine says, “so we’re gonna go finish being in the booth and…ask some more specific questions.”“Were you jumping up and down on a couch earlier?” Nolan asks.Sunshine huffs in exasperation. “Shh!”“Just tell us if you were.”“Uh, no,” Marc says, shaking his head.Nolan frowns. “Damn.”Sunshine enters the room, places the headphones on, and begins her questions. Once finished, she exits and sits back in her chair.“Hey,” Nolan says. “Talk to the ghost, not at the ghost, okay? Don’t be mean to the ghost.”“I was! Jeez.”“Let’s see what we got,” Marc says, playing the recording.Here comes audio-Sunshine. “Samantha, you said ‘she is going to kill you.’ Who is ‘she’?”“The witch lady,” Samantha answers.“The witch lady?!” Nolan exclaims, looking at the visual audio.
“You said ‘he is watching you’, so…who’s ‘he’?”
The next words make Sunshine’s blood run cold.
“Your father.”
Nolan looks at Sunshine, brows raised.“Wh…” She stumbles on her breath. “What?”Marc looks over. “Your father?”“I don’t know what that…means,” she says, chest tightening. “Your father,” Nolan repeats, staring.“I don’t…”His eyes go wide. “Oh no, Sunshine.”“What?” she asks, frowning.“Sunshine, I think your dad’s dead.”“Why do you think that?”Nolan shakes his head and laughs. “I don’t know.”“So you have no logical reasoning, you just think he’s dead?”“A ghost just talked about your dad in a ghost way! Said that your dad was a ghost, basically—inferred it.”“I don’t think so.”“It’s an instinct…supported by evidence.”“Well, guys…” Marc frowns. “No disrespect here, but I think, uh, you’ve made this problem a tad worse. Looks like whoever this is talking about is associated to you guys, or whoever, but…it’s a lot more complicated than when I first encountered—”“Well,” Nolan argues, “you don’t understand that ghosts, they know each other in a way that is, uh, it’s different than how humans—they form social circles in a very different way than we do. It doesn’t mean that the dad ghost is here, it just means that they go to the same ghost…things.”“Yeah, they hang out at the same moose club,” Marc says sarcastically, “but all I’m sayin’ is, it’s gonna start disrupting my work, and I can’t really do that. I appreciate your help and all, but it looks like we’ve got some extra baggage here.”“Listen, we’ll be out of your hair in like twenty minutes, we just learned a bunch of really interesting stuff—come on. I know you want to find out who the witch lady is, Marc. You know you do,” Nolan tries.“I really don’t.”“Well, the witch lady’s hanging around!”“I’m on a deadline and I gotta get going, so.” Marc drops his hands. “I’m gonna have to bring this to a close, guys, I’m sorry.”“I put on my leather jacket and everything, man.” Sunshine rolls her eyes and pulls her brown leather bag over her shoulder. “Sunshine, please.”“Well—if he wants us to leave we have to leave,” she defends, “we can’t just hang out.”“We can! We…” Seeing no sign of relent, Nolan sighs.“I’d really appreciate it,” Marc nods.“Get your backpack,” Sunshine says.“Fine,” he mumbles like a kid who didn’t win a prize at the arcade. “Come on,” Sunshine says, rising to her feet.Nolan picks up his backpack. “Yeah, yeah yeah yeah.” They all climb up the stairs.He opens the front door, but Sunshine turns. “Hey, Marc—”Marc isn’t there. Sunshine frowns.“Okay,” Nolan shrugs, about to exit. He turns in confusion when Sunshine doesn’t follow, then realizes that Marc isn’t there. “Now, wait a second…”“Marc?” Sunshine calls.“Feel that familiar chill in the air?”“Oh, my gosh.”“Sunshine, I think someone just inexplicably disappeared—oh, we’re gonna find this guy.” Nolan turns to the left and enters the kitchen. “Hey, Marc! If you want us to leave your house, you can’t be acting shady like this, buddy.” Sunshine enters the living room, Nolan walking in from the other side, but it’s empty. “I was really hoping we’d catch him.”“What do you mean, we’d ‘catch him’?”“Hey, hey hey hey—” Nolan rushes past Sunshine but when she turns, no one else is there. Nolan quickly rushes down the stairs. “Marc, listen, I got a couple of things to say to you, okay? You can’t make us come all the way—” He stops, staring into the basement.“What are you doing?” Sunshine asks, following after him.“I swear—I swear I just saw him,” he says, looking around the room from the doorway.“You like freaked out and ran—”“No, no, no, I saw him, I saw him.”“Okay, well, is he in there?”“No!” Nolan enters the room.“What do you mean, no? Marc?”“Well.” Nolan sighs and stares at the closet. “He could be in there.” He approaches it, opening it slowly. “Marc, you’re not in the closet, are ya? That’s just low, even for…no.” No one’s in there, either. The entire room is completely devoid of Marc. “Damn it! Okay. Okay, Sunshine.” He places his fingers to his eyes and breathes shakily. “This one is stressing me out, man. What’s goin’ on?”She hums and looks at the camera. “I don’t know.”⠀⠀⠀
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So, they’ve been down here for a couple of minutes now, and…Well.Nolan wants to stay, Sunshine wants to leave. It’s as simple as that.“Yeah, of course we gotta stay,” Nolan says, closing the sliding closet door shut. “Do you realize how interesting this one got? Like, so quick?”“No!”“What about your dad?”Sunshine groans. “How about the crazy witch lady?” Nolan nears her and points. “You know who I think the witch lady is.”“Who?” she snarks back.“Guess.”“No.”“It’s Victoria, man! It’s totally Victoria, I bet you more than anything.”“I don’t think so,” Sunshine disagrees.“Okay, first thing’s first.” He drops his backpack on the chair and sits down in Marc’s. “I gotta learn how to use these computers. Now, what is this?” He looks at the iPad.“Don’t touch anything,” Sunshine sighs.“I’m not gonna touch anything, I’m just gonna start playing with it a little bit.”Sunshine shakes her head.“Okay, now, first thing is—”She hears something and quickly shushes Nolan.“What?” He turns to look at her.It’s the thundering sound.“Do you hear that?” she asks.“No—” It happens again. “Yes, what is that—oh. It’s that thing.”It’s moving around this time.“What is it?” Nolan ponders. “I just want to know. Like, there’s no reference for the sound. It’s so strange.”Sunshine enters the booth, staring at the ceiling as she follows the noise.“Hey, Sunshine, I don’t know if I’d go in there…”“Why?”“‘Cause the booth freaks me out, it really does.” “It’s claustrophobic but—”“Just come on out.”“Okay!” she says. “Just calm down.”He motions toward his chest. “Come on. Please? Please come.”“What—”“I’m asking you a personal favor, get out of the booth? Before—”The door swipes shut.“Sunshine.” Nolan notices the door and peers into the glass. “Sunshine.”“Nolan?” she asks, voice slightly panicked.“Sunshine—uh. Open the—turn it left. You gotta jimmy it.”“I’m trying!”“Okay.” Nolan quickly moves to the door as Sunshine yells at him to help. “Yeah, yeah yeah!” He tries, but it won’t move. Nolan moves back to her view in front of the glass. “Don’t panic. Alright?”“Okay,” she snaps.“I’m gonna go upstairs for a second. I’m gonna get Marc. We’re gonna make him open the door. Okay?”“Yeah,” Sunshine says sarcastically, “because we couldn’t find him earlier but now we’ll find him ‘cause I’m locked in here!”“I’m gonna find him!” Nolan promises.“Fine! Go.”Nolan scrambles to the stairs and ascends them. “Marc? Marc!”Tootall moves to follow.“Don’t go with him!” Sunshine says. “You can’t leave me in here!” She continues trying the door, but it won’t work.They wait for a while, but there’s silence.She sighs. “Nolan?” “Sunshine!” Nolan yells from upstairs.“Nolan—shit. Go!” She motions at Tootall, panic edging her voice. “Go, see if he’s okay, go!”Tootall runs up the stairs, cautiously looking around. He peers into the kitchen as well as the living room, but no one is here. Tootall turns and jumps to see Sunshine standing at the head of the stairs.“What are you doing down here?” she scoffs. “You’re supposed to be down there.”Tootall shrugs and goes downstairs, but falters when he sees Sunshine still in the booth.“Did you find anything?” she asks.Tootall looks between Sunshine and the stairs, eyes wide.“Did you find him?” she demands. “Was he okay?”Tootall doesn’t answer, instead entering the doorway and staring up the stairs. Fake Sunshine is up there, grinning down at him. He backs up to the glass, turning back toward the door. He jumps when Nolan is suddenly standing there.He smiles. “Hi.”Tootall frowns, unsure if this is a Real Nolan or Fake Nolan.“Don’t be afraid, Estevez,” Nolan assures. “We’re gonna be fine.”“Nolan!” Sunshine says.“What?” He turns to look at her in the booth.“Did you find him?”“Yep,” he answers, staring past her shoulder.Standing behind her is Marc.“What’s wrong? What?” she asks, noticing Nolan’s look.“Nothing, just…stay very still. Don’t move.”Sunshine doesn’t listen and turns around, gasping to see Marc standing there. She throws herself against the wall, fumbling with the door handle and throwing it open. She rushes out into the doorway, staring, but Marc is gone. “He’s not there.”“No, he’s an apparition,” Nolan says. “It happens. I don’t know why they still startle you so much, actually.”“What do you mean—”“Okay, let’s get to work!” he says, cracking his knuckles and approaching the computers. “I’m convinced that the ghost is actually in this room. Probably not the keyboard, it’s probably one of these monitors, I’m sure of it…”“What are you doing?”“Being invested—what are you doing?” Sunshine motions. “He was there, and you’re like—ugh! Can we just go?”“Sunshine! The point is that the ghosts are gonna try to scare us, okay? We can’t let them do that, we have to—”Sunshine’s phone begins to ring and she sighs. “Hold on.”Nolan raises his brows. “Are you taking a phone call?”“Well—it’s my mom!”“Alright, well I’m gonna go find the ghosts, so there.”“Mom?” Sunshine questions when she answers. There’s a beat. “What?”Nolan, who was inspecting the keyboard, turns around.“Uh…okay. Okay?”“What? What is it?” Nolan asks.“I’ll see you soon,” she murmurs, hanging up.“What?!” Nolan demands.“My dad just called,” Sunshine says, looking up in total confusion.“What—” Nolan blinks, pauses. “Okay, let’s go.”“You need your backpack.”“Yes.” He throws it over his back and follows. “Really? He called? Did he seem happy?”“I don’t know!”Sunshine is quick to begin exiting, but Nolan stops before the bathroom. “Oh, no.”“What?”Nolan moves forward, seeing two feet on the ground.“What are you doing?” Sunshine asks, nearing.He begins to open the door, but a man’s voice calls, “Hey, guys!” from downstairs.Nolan jumps out of his skin, whipping around. “What the hell was that?”“What?” Sunshine asks, looking down the stairs.“I knew it, I knew we were being tricked.” He shakes his head.“How are we being tricked?” she clambers down the steps, Nolan and Tootall following.“So are we gonna figure this out or what?” the voice says, and as they near it becomes clearer…“Oh, god,” Nolan says, squinting.When they enter the doorway, Marc is sitting in the chair.“Heeeey, buddy,” Nolan hesitantly says.“We kinda left things hanging here,” Marc notes as they all enter.“Oh, man, you have no idea,” he replies, setting down his backpack. “What are you doing?” Sunshine asks, sitting down.Nolan ignores her, dropping in the chair, clasping his hands together. “Um…I’m not really sure how to put this? You’re a great dude. You were a great dude.”“Were,” Sunshine echoes, frowning. Then it all starts to come together…Oh, shit.Marc looks at him in confusion.“You’re still a great dude. That’s all I’m trying to say—what I’m trying to say is that…life is not a thing that you can—”“Marc,” Sunshine sighs, “you’re dead.”“Huh?” he replies.“You’re dead.”“You died,” Nolan nods, “you died in the bathroom just now.”“Ah, right,” Marc says, disbelieving. He thinks it’s a joke.“No, listen,” Nolan tries.“Seriously,” Marc points to the computer, “can we get back to what’s goin’ on here?”Nolan shakes his head. “We have two options. You can work with us, or I can show you your corpse upstairs.”“Huh?”“Marc,” Sunshine says, inclining her head forward, “you’re dead.”“You’ve passed on,” Nolan nods.“You’re not…living. Upstairs in the bathroom…”“I miss you already, just so you know.”Marc looks between them both.“I think you were a cool man,” Nolan continues, “and I wish I’d gotten to know you better.”“Nolan,” she sighs, pointing upstairs, “let’s just…”“Is there something up there I should see?” Marc asks, frowning.They all stand up. Nolan makes a face as he pads beside Sunshine. “Do you really wanna show him his body?”Sunshine just nods.“Okay, now…” He turns to Marc. “If you have any feelings you want to express…”“I got a lot of feelings I’d like to express!”“This is safe,” Nolan goes on, brows raised as they stop by the bathroom, “we’re open to anything that you need…just go in the bathroom.” He shakes his head and places a hand to his face.Marc enters.They wait for a moment, seeing if anything happens, but…Marc doesn’t return back out.All three look inside the bathroom to see Marc’s dead body propped up against the wall. Ghost Marc isn’t there.“What do we do?” Sunshine asks.Nolan stares for a moment, then exits the front door.Sunshine and Tootall follow. She’s glad to be leaving this place behind. Jesus…“Alright, you call the cops,” Nolan says. “I’m gonna figure out what’s goin’ on with your dad.”Looks like that’s that.

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That’s not that.Nolan decided to stay and wait for the cops, as Sunshine was too nervous to talk to them herself, then after she assured him she could talk to her mother on her own and would inform him about her dad later.So, now she’s on her way back in, just finished at Marc’s and—Before she even has the chance to enter Kat is slipping out the front door, closing it behind her. “What took so long?”Sunshine raises a brow. Guess they’re talking about this on the porch. “What do you mean what took so long? I had to drop Nolan off, I was investigating—you know what I was doing, Mom. Don’t act like this was a big shock.”Kat sighs and crosses her arms. “I—your dad called!”“I know! I…”“I think it was your dad, at least, and I wanna go. I wanna leave.”“You wanna go? Where are we gonna go?”“I’m not sure.”Sunshine chokes out a sound of disbelief. Kat frowns. “No, like, I mean I already packed the car and everything, I think we need to go somewhere and…I’m afraid he knows where we live.”“Mom!” Sunshine shakes her head. She can’t believe this. “…okay. Um, I don’t even know what to say to that.”Guess they’re leaving.
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In order to get away, Sunshine and her mother are going to a cabin in the woods. And, well, shit goes down.To recap: on the way, Sunshine pesters her mother on information about the call she got—and her dad in general. Basically, her mother knows nothing. Or won’t say anything, at least. The cabin itself is small and red, with an overhanging white roof, surrounding by swaths of trees and foliage. It’s in the middle of the woods, after all.She thinks her mother ends up cursing it with the ‘as long as it’s not haunted, I say we’re winning’ comment. So, Sunshine ends up exploring and stumbles on these…pages in a drawer. She and Kat talk about it, and read the letter, which seems like a page ripped from a journal. It talks about ‘the Woodsman’, a tall, black hooded figure that haunts the cabin, who seems to want something. There’s even a nice, terrifying little picture to accompany.Wonderful.That night, they hear footsteps in the living room but find nothing there. Later, a faucet starts running and Kat actually see this so-called Woodsman in the mirror. The following day, the journal pages disappear. Sunshine asks some questions and a door slams shut, and later, when Sunshine explores the forest, she deduces that the Woodsman probably isn’t a Markon. That’s good, at least. In the evening, Kat goes to the grocery store and Sunshine stays behind. She ends up witnessing some ghost activity, but not much more than that.When Kat returns home, they both see the Woodsman and promptly get the hell out. Except, of course, the car won’t start, and it’s raining, so they have to wait for roadside assistance.During this time, Sunshine sees the Woodsman again and gets the feeling he wants to tell her something. Except she just ends up getting attacked, so she and Kat leave and…well, that’s that.Sunshine does her own little self recap and thinks about the Woodsman. He’s different than some of the other ghosts she’s encountered, in the way that he was very forceful and very creepy. He seemed to just appear and disappear, but was also pretty sneaky about it.The other thing she thought of is that he looked remarkably like the ghost that appeared in some of the previous videos—like the one in the kitchen, where Nolan and her mother just randomly ended up in Sunshine’s bedroom, or the one where she had to hide behind the island…Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but she’s not sure.⠀⠀⠀
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So. They’re back home and Sunshine’s sitting Kat down to ask her about the whole Dad thing.“I really hate when you do this,” her mother states.Sunshine raises her brows. “I really hate when you’re vague and don’t—”“I don’t understand why you think we owe them—” Kat points a finger at the camera, “—anything.”“We don’t owe them anything, I just want it on record.”They both laugh.“In case something changes?” Kat asks, amused.“Yes. In case you go back.”“On what?! I don’t know anything!”“Well,” Sunshine inquires, “what did he say?”“Very little. He’s always been very vague. Just—you know what? I’m not even sure it was really him. He said it was him, but…”Sunshine squints, confused. “What do you mean you weren’t sure?”“It sounded like—it’s on a phone, it’s not like Skype, like I saw him.”She rolls her eyes.“So,” Kat continues, “disclaimer, maybe it was not your dad. Just saying. It’s possible. And he just said he…wanted to come see us, and he was planning on it, so.”“What does that mean?”“It means I want to move.” Her mother smiles.Sunshine’s jaw drops. “Mom, we can’t move again.” They can’t leave this…can’t leave Nolan.“I know.”“You have move ADHD.”Kat sighs. “It just makes me feel better if we could move.”“We’re not moving.”“Well, it’s not like he knows where we live anyway, but. I just feel like he could figure it out.”What, like Nolan did? Triangulating?Her mother frowns. “He’s not stupid, but, yeah. I don’t know, I don’t know what that means. Maybe he could watch your YouTube and know we don’t want him to come find us. That’d be great, thanks.”Sunshine makes a face. “Okay.”“Is that what you wanted, dear?” Kat tilts her head. “Are you happy now?”She sticks her tongue out.“That was really attractive.”“Thanks, Mom.”
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Sunshine is pondering the similarities between the Woodsman and the dark-clothed spirit in her house.She’s been thinking—and a lot of people have been commenting—that it’s interesting that the ghost showing up to her house looks quite similar to the Woodsman.She doesn’t have a name for him, and he’s only showed up a couple of times, so…she’s not sure. Should she call it something? Maybe her subscribers will make up a name?Anyway, they look similar. She really hopes the creepy guy in her house is not the same one as the Woodsman, because the Woodsman was kinda violent and didn’t want to be talked to, for sure, so.There’s that.
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“Hey, guys,” Sunshine says to the camera. She’s in the kitchen. “So, I wanted to do a video about fan mail~!” she sings. “I know you all really enjoy that, so, here we go.”She begins showing a picture someone drew of her, which is pretty freaking rad, but then a deep growl in the living room catches her attention. She jumps, startled, furrowing her brows. “Uh.” Sunshine begins to make her way to the living room, looking around. “Did you guys hear that?”Shaking her head, she calls out a shaky, “Hello?” Nothing. “Hellooo…” Silence. Well, okay. She turns back to return to her fan mail and ponders what the hell she just heard. However, when she hears another noise and turns to the dining room, she sees the dark figure standing in the mirror from behind her in the kitchen.Gasping, Sunshine whirls around, but no one is there.“That was him,” she mutters to the camera. “That was…the creepy guy that keeps showing up in my house.”Wonderful.Sunshine breathes in. “Hello? Is anyone here?” Maybe she can talk to it, or something. However, it seems the ghost isn’t here anymore. Weird. She’d just been talking about him, and now he’s here?Well.That happened.
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Sunshine’s pondering the underworld.After the last video—where the ghost appeared in the mirror—Sunshine’s been thinking. If everything that Victoria has said is true, which, she has no proof that it isn’t, then she thinks that, maybe, just maybe, the Markons sent the creepy spirit.She’s not even positive it’s a ghost anymore, but more of a Groundling that was sent to get her. It’s a very wild theory, yes, but she’s thought about a lot of them.Remember when Nolan was going on and on about theories like he always does? Well, she was also thinking about a bunch of those, and—Wait.Nolan doesn’t want her at his apartment because he thinks she brings ghosts. Which is totally…not true at all. Obviously. But maybe she should go ask Nolan his opinion.It’ll be fine. No ghosts here.
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“Hey guys,” Sunshine tells the camera, standing on the front porch, “so I’m here at Nolan’s. Shh, it’s a secret, don’t tell anyone.”She steps up and knocks on the door several times, then waits.“Yeah,” Nolan’s voice says, muffled through the door. “Yeah, yeah yeah yeah.”“I have your Chinese,” Sunshine says in a deep voice.Nolan unlocks the door, opens it, then starts to shut it when he sees her. “What—no.”“Yes—” Sunshine laughs, pushing against the door. “Yes, yes! Come on!” She eventually wins and Nolan lets go, making a face. He’s holding some book. “I need to talk to you!”He sighs. “Is it important?”“Yes. Very important.”“Alright. Come inside—what the.” He looks past her, staring intently at something over her shoulder.Sunshine laughs. “I’m not stupid!” Nolan grins, laughing as he tries to shut the door.“Noo! No no no,” she giggles, then manages to push her way inside. “Yes!” Sunshine looks around at the rumpled sheets. “Your apartment is…very clean.” Nolan doesn’t move, just staring at her from the door, book in hand.“What?” Sunshine asks. “I’m in now! You might as well just…”Nolan drops the book and starts to leave.“No no no!” She laughs, but Nolan ends up just shutting the door. “Oh. I thought you were gonna leave.”He points at her. “I’m not leaving you alone in my house. You’ll be floating when I get back.”“Okay, hey!”Nolan picks up the book. “What?” he snaps, staring at her.Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Remember all those…theories you were—” He begins to pace back and forth. “Stop pacing, it’s very irritating—”He throws down the book. “It’s my apartment! Don’t tell me what to do.” Then he…picks up the book again. He’s very abusive towards his things.She sighs. “Okay, dramatic Judie.”Nolan makes a face.“Remember all those theories you were coming up with while we were at Marc’s? And…” She follows him as he continues walking back and forth across his apartment. “A lot of them were very valid. Some of them were a little weird…”“Yeah.”“But—”“The one’s that you made rabid fun of and refused to take seriously?”“Well, now I’m taking them seriously!” she says. “So.”“Cool.” He gives a false smile. “Can you take them seriously somewhere other than my apartment, which I enjoy not…being haunted.” A pause. “Please.”“I’m here now. No.”He rolls his eyes and drops the book, again, and walks past her.Sunshine hits her shin on the bed. “Ow.”“Be careful,” he says, still clearly annoyed.“Remember how we were talking about the Markons and the Groundlings and stuff? Well, I kind of—stop pacing! I feel like maybe the Markons sent—”Nolan checks around his kitchen and hallway.“—a…Groundling. To get me.”He actually looks at her now, then clicks his tongue. “That’s unfortunate.”“Okay—” Sunshine shakes her head and follows him into the kitchen. “You’re supposed to, like, help me out! You’re like my sidekick!”“What do you want me to do?”“What do you mean?”“How do you want me to help?” he asks. “Of course, of course I’m right, I understand, I’ve always been right—”“Blah blah blah, you’re always right. Don’t be such a sassy man.”He opens the refrigerator and looks inside, then glances back up at her. “Listen, if you want my help, you’ve got my help, of course. Anything you need.” He raises his brows.“Really?”“Yeah.”“It was that easy? So, if I decide to set this big trap and all this stuff, you’ll be there?” She’s not sure why she’s so surprised. Just…having Nolan say it makes a difference.He leans forward on the fridge door, interested. “What kind of trap?”“I don’t know! I hadn’t thought it through…”Nolan purses his lips. “Alright, can I help?” He begins to smile.“Yes!”“Cool.”Suddenly, a door in the other room slams shut.She looks back at Nolan, who is staring forward. “I’m sorry…”He shakes his head. “Get out.”“It was just a—”“Get out!”“It was just a door—”“Get out!” He runs a palm down his face. “Really?” she asks.“I’ll see you later, okay? We’ll figure out a plan, it’ll be great, it’ll be a lot of fun, get out of my apartment.”She begins to walk to the door, but throws her head over her shoulders. “You don’t want me to look at it at all? Just—make sure?”He starts walking after her.“Okay, okay!” She laughs. “I’m going. I’m going.” Nolan opens the door and she walks through. “Jeez, you sassy man.”“See you later.”“Okay, okay. Bye.”He makes a face and shuts the door. Then locks it.Okay, then.

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Damn it. Sunshine left her camera at Nolan’s.Of course, he uploads a video to her YouTube. Nolan’s laying on his bed. He looks over and grabs the camera, hovering it above his face. “Hello, YouTube,” he says, then smirks slightly. “Guess what? Sunshine left her camera over again, while she was…you know…trespassing. And I thought I’d take the opportunity to, uh, y’know, turn it on, lay it down beside me, and just think for a while, and I’ve come to a couple conclusions.Yeah, you know, I think back over the last—what has it been, year or two?—I’ve been helping Sunshine out with her stuff, and…you know…I have yet to think of a single time we actually affected anything in a positive way.”He shakes his head. “These…ghosts, these…they’re not good. There’s nothing good out there, there’s nothing on our side. Victoria kind of helps us a little bit, but mostly she’s just kind of scary.” Nolan raises his brows. “Sunshine’s dad is coming back, so that’s weird. And, to be honest with you, I don’t know whether she should be happy or afraid, you know?I have trouble getting out and gettin’ to it every day, thinking that we’re losing. And it feels like we’re losing and…this is not the sort of thing that is safe to lose at. And I’m too young to die. I simply am.”There’s a pause, then Nolan narrows his eyes. “I’m hungry.” Another beat. “Anyway.” He groans and gets up. “I’m sure you’ll be seeing me again…unless the ghosts get to me. God, I need some food!”
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Sunshine and Nolan are in the front, shaded by the overhang as they sit on the swing. Sunshine turns on the camera and begins filming, with Nolan sleeping next to her, chin resting on a pillow tucked to his chest.“Hey, everyone,” Sunshine says. “So…” She looks over and shoves Nolan.He blinks open his eyes, squinting, then rubs at his face.Sunshine makes a face at the camera. “Thought he was perfectly aware we were doing a video.”“I am,” he says, voice slightly raspy as he smiles. “Uh, so I watched the video you put up on my channel—”“Is that your camera?” he asks.Sunshine looks over, exasperated. “Yes.”“Are you filming me while I sleep?”“No!” Jeez, doesn’t he listen at all?“Why are you filming me while I sleep?”She looks at the camera, then back to Nolan. “I wasn’t filming you creepily while you slept. I just happened to sit down—”Nolan looks at her skeptically.“—and I was like, ‘I’m gonna do a video,’ thought you were…”“We’re gonna talk about this later,” he promises.“No. You’re awake now! Can’t go back to sleep now.”He keeps staring at her warily. “What’s up?”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Watched that video. I did.”“You did a video? You watched it?”“No—no, the video you put up on my channel, that all of you watched too?” She looks back at the camera.“Oh.” Nolan runs his hands through his hair, waking up more. “Yeah.“With you saying you don’t trust Victoria? And—”“Did you like it?” He shifts.“It was, uh…ramble-y.”“Okay, well,” Nolan shrugs, “I’m not such a good talker.”“Yeah, it’s cause you can’t do videos without me.” Sunshine smirks. Nolan furrows his brows. “Just say it. Just say it! Say it.”“What’s your—”“Say it.”He looks away. “I can’t do videos without you.”“Thank you.” She grins. “Uh, anyways, so you don’t trust Victoria.”“No, I mean, do—do you?”“Well I don’t not trust her!” Victoria’s done a lot more for Sunshine than she has for Nolan, though. “Well I don’t not trust her, either. I just don’t necessarily trust her, she’s in, like, a neutral ground with me right now. She—we don’t understand her motives or who she is, at all. She doesn’t say anything—”Sunshine gives an appalled look to the camera.“—she just kind of stands there and keeps us from dying. Which is…good in itself, but, you know, you gotta wonder what’s the larger game plan…here.” Nolan shakes his head. “Sorry, I just woke up.”She glances over at his mussed hair. “Yeah, I see that. So, my original purpose for waking you up is…I think we should go talk to Mom. And try to get answers.”“What, your mom?”Sunshine makes a face. “No, your mom,” she says sarcastically. “Yes, my mom.”“You don’t want to talk to my mom,” he laughs, “she doesn’t have any answers.”“My mom!”“Okay.”“About…daddy.”Nolan looks at her funny. “About what now?”“I’ve never called him that in my life,” she says. “Dad. My father.”He sucks his teeth. “You should not start doing that.”“Mm-mm. I don’t like it.”“Okay. Well.”“Come on, chicken legs.” Sunshine gets up and walks to the front door, Nolan trailing behind.“You know,” he says, “I never make fun of your body. Just saying.”“Okay. Cranky.” When they enter, Kat is sitting in the living room on the big red chair, phone in hand. “Hey!” Sunshine greets.“Woah, what are we doin’?” she asks.Nolan shuts the door, the slam reverberating through the house, harshly jingling the chime.Sunshine looks back. “You don’t have to slam the door.”Kat raises her brows. “Hey, how’s it going, Nolan?”“Hey…dude,” he says sleepily.She looks him up and down. “Nice shirt.” He’s wearing a speckled blue collared shirt. Because…of course.“He just woke up,” Sunshine explains, then glances at him. “Yeah, I know, it’s a little…unisex.”“You know,” he says, “you guys are both really appearance obsessed, it’s kind of superficial.Kat laughs, motioning towards her face which hasn’t been done with makeup, “Yes, definitely appearance obsessed.”He shrugs. “I’m gonna sit over here.”Sunshine plops down next to him on the couch. “Anyways, we wanted to talk to you…” She trails off when Kat looks to the side. Sunshine follows her gaze to Nolan, who leans back on the couch, propping his legs up. “Can you stop?”“I was just asleep! I was just asleep,” he says.“Stop it! We had a plan, remember?”“Oh, yeah,” Nolan agrees, “we have…things to say to you.”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Anyways, we were wondering if there was any way we could talk about that whole…long-lost father thing.”Kat looks between both of them then smiles. “Nope.”“Mom.”“What?”“Come on.”“There is nothin’ to talk about.”“Okay,” Nolan says, sitting up slightly, “you know that scene…” He drops to his knees on the ground and shuffles up next to her chair, “in Star Wars when, uh, Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker are on the Millennium Falcon together—”“Is he really going there?” her mother asks, looking at Sunshine.“Apparently,” she grunts.“—and Luke Skywalker—” he continues.“There’s nothin’ to say,” Kat smiles at Nolan. “There’s not—”“Point is,” he says louder, “Ben Kenobi wouldn’t have died if he had kept Luke Skywalker in the…” He trails off, thinking.“Okay,” her mother speaks, “your father’s not Darth Vader, and I don’t even know that that was him that called.”Nolan looks up. “I don’t think that’s actually the plot of the movie.”“I think it’s not…either,” Sunshine laments. “It…doesn’t matter,” Kat nods, “there’s no movie here, so. There’s nothing to talk about, sweetie, and I don’t even know that was him that called. It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to him.”“Okay, yeah, but. What if it was?”Her mother closes her hand, telling her to be quiet. She then points. “Go. Take that away. Go, begone. Take him away, too. I have very…important…things…”“Look,” Nolan deadpans, “you can tell us or you can not tell us, but if he finds us before he finds you…?” He raises his brows.Kat stares at him dubiously. “He’s not lookin’ for you, Nolan, trust me. He’s not even looking for her.” She motions toward Sunshine. “I have very important Words with Friends to play.”“This has been…very helpful,” Sunshine says.Nolan turns. “This was your idea, just saying.”She sticks her tongue out.⠀⠀⠀
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“I think Nolan’s here.”He’s banging on the door. Over and over again. He’s also wearing sunglasses, for whatever reason. It’s not that sunny.Sunshine approaches the glass door. He sees her but continues to knock.“Stop!” she says. He does, but knocks one last time for dramatic affect. “Stop,” she laughs. As soon as she opens the door, he says, “Come with me.”“What?”He jerks his head to the side. “We gotta go.”“Go where?”“There’s something in my apartment I gotta show you.” Nolan clears his throat, looking slightly panicked.“There’s something—”“Quickly! Time…of the essence! Come on.” He begins walking away, then turns when she doesn’t immediately follow.“I don’t even know what that means,” she says.“Put on some shoes! Come on.”“But—”“Come ooonnnn! We gotta go!”“What’s in your apartment?”Nolan falters. “Nothing.” He then leans his forehead against the doorframe. “There’s this dude. He’s in my apartment, we have to go.”“This sounds really sketch,” she says, “thanks but no thanks.”“I know it sounds sketch, that’s why I need your help,” he leans forward, “come on, please, I’ll do anything, I’ll do anything you ask, just please come to my apartment and hang out for a minute.”“Dude? Like what kind of dude?”He stares for a few moments, then makes a strangled sound before walking off.“Scary dude? Creepy dude?”“Bring a sweater!” he calls, pacing around her front porch.“Okay,” she mutters, then louder, “you’re really not helpful!”
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They reach Nolan’s apartment, and now he’s practically sprinting to the front door. He tries to push against it but it’s locked. Like it should be.“What are you doing?” she asks, looking at him.He smiles, thin-lipped. “Just a sec.” Nolan unlocks the door and peeks inside, turning slowly as he inspects all corners of the apartment.She sighs, and again, “What are you doing?”He goes to check the bathroom to the left, not responding.Sunshine walks inside. “Hey. Want to fill me in? You’re creepin’.”He looks around one last time then approaches her, voice low, smiling slightly. “I need you to be quiet for five seconds.”“Okay! Jeez.”Nolan presses a finger to his lips. “Shhh.” Sunshine closes the door behind her and continues to watch as Nolan examines the kitchen. “What a weirdo,” she whispers to the camera.After checking the refrigerator, for whatever reason, Nolan nods and enters the main room again. “Alright.” He drops his sunglasses and throws his keys to the ground, wiping a hand down his face.Sunshine laughs at the dramatics. “Okay.”“He was here! He was just here.”“Who was here?”“I don’t—” He drops his back on the bed, letting his legs dangle over the side, then tiredly says, “I locked him inside, he should still be here.”“Locked what?”“Wait.” Nolan perks his head up and rolls off the bed, dropping to his knees and looking underneath. When there’s apparently nothing there, he sits on the edge of the bed and stares forward in confusion. “It’s unbelievable.”“Excuse me,” Sunshine waves. “Fill me in!”“Huh?”“What was here?”“There’s a guy that’s—big,” he lifts a hand to emphasize height, “creepy. Uh…probably, I don’t know…didn’t seem very ghosty. More like an intruder, you know?”Sunshine thinks she knows where this is going. “More like a Groundling?”Nolan stares. “Yeah.”“Yeah. This goes back to my theory.” She nears Nolan, opens her mouth to continue—Suddenly, there’s banging on the front door. Sunshine whips around, heart leaping into her throat, while Nolan just sits, wide-eyed. “Who is it?” he asks nervously.“You should get that, it’s definitely your house, you should…” She laughs anxiously and stays behind Nolan as he approaches the door. He hesitates to open it. “It’s all you. Go ahead.”“Yeah—” Nolan calls as he opens the door, then promptly shuts it, leaning on the doorknob and looking away. “Ooo.”“What?”He opens the door for her to see. There’s nothing there.Oh.Nolan looks around his porch, only keeping his head out before closing the door.“Okay,” Sunshine says, “so nothing there…” She sits on the bed, “and you left whatever it was in here, but clearly it’s not here…”Nolan clicks his tongue and begins to pace.“Could you stop pacing?”He pinched his fingers between his eyes. “I don’t understand.” Nolan throws out his arms. “I don’t understand, it…” He looks up and freezes, eyes comically widening.“What?”“Sunshine.”“…what?”He points behind her. When she turns, she sees a tall hooded figure standing at the end of the short hallway next to the kitchen. The screen crackles and hisses with static. There’s a flash of Victoria on the screen, blood dripping from her eyes.The figure begins chanting something in another language.They run out of the apartment.Nolan slams the door shut, breathing heavily.“Okay, so.” Sunshine blanks. She doesn’t even know what to say.“Oh, man,” Nolan exhales thickly, clearing his throat.“That happened.”“I don’t even know what we…ah.” He shakes his head.“That’s, uh, the thing that’s in my house.”He looks over at her, surprised. “Really.”“Yeah.”Nolan places his hands on his hips. “You got another one? Or the same one?”“No, that’s—that’s the one.”“That’s the one that’s in your house, too?”She nods. “Mm-hm.”“Well that doesn’t make any sense.”She just raises her brows.Nolan knocks his hand against the white shingled wall and shouts through, “I hate you!”Sunshine laughs, then nears the door. “We kind of have to go in. Come on.”“What?” He turns.“Come on!”“We just did this!”She looks at him.Nolan sighs and opens the door, keeping his eyes down. “Hey, buddy,” he calls inside.“Just…go!” Sunshine whisper-yells.He opens the door and looks around. “Okay.”“Alright, well, I gotta go,” she says quickly, “see ya later, have fun with everything!”Nolan looks at her. “No, wait a minute—”“See ya! Have fun!” She backs away from the house and off the porch.“No! Sunshine—!” He sticks his head out the door.“I’ll check by later!”“You begged to come—” He pretends he’s being dragged inside, outstretching an arm towards her. “Sunshine!”She laughs. “Stop being dramatic!”“Please?”“Byeeee.”“It’s scary in there!” he whines.“Tell me how it goes!” She waves.“Bye,” he says dejectedly, looking inside, “see ya…”There’s no way in hell she’s doing that again.⠀⠀⠀
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So. She and Nolan both end up having a similar experience at the exact same time, at night, at each of their respective houses, but only one of them sees the ghost. Groundling. Whatever.“Hello, YouTube,” Nolan says. His apartment is pitch black until he turns on the camera light, squinting. “Ow!” He quickly shuts it off, but after a moment manages to turn it back on.“I, uh…” Nolan shakes his head as he lays on his bed, “so I was just awoken by a noise and, uh, it’s not that I’m scared or anything, I just was wondering if you guys wanted to…pal around…with me. And find out what this is.”The camera cuts to Sunshine. “I thought I heard a noise,” she says. She’s in her room. “It was downstairs…I don’t want to go down, but I have to.” The camera glitches as she exits her room and begins to descend the stairs.Back to Nolan. “I think it’s a raccoon. This place is pretty infested with raccoons.” He sits up with a groan. It’s dark outside. “Okay.” He stumbles through the dark for a moment before attempting to clock on the lamp next to his bed. “Oh, come on…” It doesn’t turn on. “No, no no no…” A beat. “Okay, well, the power’s out, which sucks. So we’re gonna do this the old-fashioned way. Nancy Drew style.”Nolan grabs a flashlight from his drawer and turns it on, shining it over the walls and looking around. “Alright.” His camera glitches, but he doesn’t seem to notice. “Okay. Hmm…” He enters the bathroom, the door already open. “Now, the thing that a lot of people don’t know about raccoons, is that they’re very, very aggressive. They’ll rip your arm off, if they feel threatened, so the way you approach a raccoon is with tact and with guile.” Nolan moves on from the bathroom, looking around the kitchen.Back to Sunshine. She enters the living room and glances around. “Hello?” A few lights are on, thankfully, but every room is empty. “I don’t think anything’s here…” There’s not any twisting or tugging at her gut.Now to Nolan. “Well, it’s just—” He sighs. There’s nothing in the kitchen. “Okay. I don’t know why, but…” He opens the refrigerator door, “I’ve always been inexplicably afraid of this fridge.” It’s completely empty as he checks. “It doesn’t make any sense.”Then, louder, “Okay. Any ghosts? Any ghouls, goblins, anything? Speak now.” Nothing. “Alright. I’m going back to bed.” He yawns and begins trudging back to bed, but—There’s a whisper, a deep voice saying, “We will get you,” then a dark figure is suddenly in front of Nolan, reaching out towards him—Static.
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She and Nolan are hanging out at her house, talking about last night, when they hear knocking at the door. They approach and see…well.“Is that Victoria?” Nolan asks, tilting his head. “I think…so.” Nolan quickly moves forward to open the door. She raises a brow. “You just gonna answer my door for me? Okay.”He cracks open the door. “Heyyy,” he says, nervous and higher-pitched. “What’s up?”“Don’t be so…” Sunshine shakes her head and moves Nolan out of the way. Victoria walks inside and closes the door behind her. Nolan just stares. “Sunshine,” Victoria says.“Yes?” she asks.“You’re running out of time.”“Okay?”Nolan moves next to Victoria, deepening his voice as he looks at Sunshine. “You’re running out of time,” he echoes.Sunshine can’t help but laugh.“Have you been practicing what I’ve always taught you?” Victoria plows on, ignoring Nolan. “Being focused?”“Um…” She pauses. “Yes…?”Nolan takes a sip of coffee from a black-and-white mug.“You have?” Victoria raises her brows.“Y…Yeah! I mean, not diligently, but…”“You need to be focused and practicing your skills on a regular basis,” Victoria says.Nolan nods as he continues to stand next to Victoria. “And eating your vegetables.”“Time is running out. Do you know when Day of the Dead is?”Nolan furrows his brows.“Uh…” Sunshine thinks. “November?”“November 1st.”“Okay? Yeah. That day.” Sunshine isn’t sure why they’re talking about this—it’s August 11th.Victoria stares seriously. “Listen to me.” She looks between Sunshine and Nolan. “Between now and then, your father is coming, and he’s going to take you.”Nolan looks appalled and backs away from Victoria, nearing his friend’s side. Sunshine doesn’t believe what she’s hearing.“It is very, very important that you are working on all of your skills, because none of us are going to be able to save you.”“Wait—” she chokes. “Take me?”“Take you,” Victoria nods.Nolan looks at Sunshine.“You’re the only one that can save yourself,” Victoria continues. “Do you understand?”“Uh…yeah, I think so, I mean…”“Do you understand, Sunshine?”“Yes.”Victoria blinks. “Good.” She turns and exits the house without another word.Both she and Nolan just stare as she leaves.Finally, Sunshine grounds out, “He’s gonna take me?”“You’re gonna be fine,” Nolan says, watching Victoria intently, squinting. He then turns to see Sunshine’s nervous expression. “You’re gonna be fine,” he says again, softer. “We’ll figure something out.”“Okay,” she breathes.What the hell?

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Sunshine’s not freaking out. No, not at all. Why would she? No worries, she was just told by her mentor that her own father is apparently going to snatch her up between now and Day of the Dead. No big deal, none at all.Nolan manages to calm her down. He grips her shoulders and looks her in the eyes and promises he won’t let that happen. Sunshine starts to feel a little better, but not so great when Nolan tells her they need to inform Kat.Great. This’ll go splendidly.“What’s up?” Kat asks when Sunshine sits down.Sunshine clears her throat but is unable to speak.Nolan, holding the camera, takes initiative to speak to her mother. “Listen,” he says, shifting, “I just want you to relax, okay? You know, you’re not under any pressure, just answer the questions as truthfully and honestly as you can…”“Shush,” Sunshine says, lips twitching into a smirk. He can never fail to get her to talk, somehow, even if he’s speaking to another person.“He just can’t help himself, can he?” Kat asks.Sunshine shakes her head. “No.”She looks over. “Does he have to be here?”“I’m…holding the camera,” he says. “I do have to be here.”He doesn’t explain that Sunshine also wants him to be here.“Anyways,” Sunshine begins hesitantly, “Victoria stopped by…”Kat looks between her daughter and Nolan, surprised. “Today?”Sunshine checks her wrist, which has no watch.“Today,” Nolan confirms.“Ten minutes ago, maybe,” Sunshine nods.“Okay…” Kat frowns.“So,” she says, “uh, she…sort of said some things…”Her mother inclines her head forward. “Okay.”“Like…” Sunshine glances at Nolan as she begins to list off the speech, “I should be practicing my skills…”“What,” Kat asks, “knitting skills? What?”“I can’t knit, I’m terrible at it. Um, no.”“She can’t really do other stuff, either,” Nolan says.Both Sunshine and Kat glare, but Sunshine is secretly happy to have a little casual banter starting between them. The last thing they need is for things to be awkward because of her dad.“The Day of the Dead is coming up, it’s the first of November,” Sunshine continues casually, “uh, Dad might take me that day, and—”“Wait,” Kat interrupts, “what, wait, excuse me, she said what?”“She also, uh—” Nolan bites his lip and looks at Sunshine, “okay, we can focus on that for a minute, go ahead.”“Uh,” Sunshine says, “she said that, uh…”“She knows who your dad is?” Kat looks shocked—and alarmed.“I don’t know if she actually does, she’s pretty vague in her knowledge, of what she tells me.”“She seems very assured that she knows who her dad is,” Nolan offers.“And he’s going to take you? Take you where?” Kat asks.Sunshine shakes her head. “I don’t know! She didn’t specify. She wasn’t like, ‘Hey, he’s gonna drop by and take you to the circus.’”“Listen,” Nolan defends, “it wasn’t really an open dialogue, she was here for like a second and then she left.”“So, typical…” Kat nods.“Yes,” Sunshine agrees.“Okay. So now what?”“I…don’t know.”“We wait for November 1st and hope that nothing horrible happens,” Nolan smiles.“Or not,” Kat says.“What do you want to do? What are we—?” He laughs.“So, what’s this whole practicing your skills thing? Do you need to work on that?” she asks Sunshine.“I don’t know! I don’t know how to hone my skills.”Nolan perks up. “We could try the teleportation thing again, that was pretty…”Kat looks at her daughter. “Is she gonna come by and help you?”“You know she didn’t specify, remember? We’re talking about Victoria—vague,” Sunshine says.“So, really, you know nothing. You’re just in here to scare me.”Nolan shrugs. “I’m not even sure that Victoria knows anything.”“I told you,” Sunshine says, “because you told me to tell you when things happen. But I’ll stop doing that.”Kay shakes her head. “Uh, no.”“Then don’t get so cranky when I tell you.”“I’m not cranky, that’s scary.”“Okay.” Sunshine makes a face.“Don’t roll your eyes at me.”“Anyways,” she says, louder, “so that happened.”“We’re all just gonna keep our eyes open a little bit and not worry too much about it, alright?” Nolan says.Kat shakes her head.“Deposition over.”
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Uncle Tommy comes back.He’s not really sure what happened that night. No one does. He just knows he left for a while to gather his bearings before coming back, and he’s happy to have returned.Sunshine is too. She’s going to need him if Victoria’s right.
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Victoria’s here.Uncle Tommy also knows everything.So is Nolan. And Kat. They’re all just…a little happy family, she supposes.“Sunshine,” Victoria says, stepping forward. She’s standing, while everyone else is sitting on the couch. “Yeah?” “Have you been practicing your skills like I asked you to?”“Kind of,” she lies.“No,” Tommy says.“Yes, absolutely,” says Nolan.“Not…really,” Tommy continues, sending an apologetic smile at Sunshine.“We have,” Nolan says, voice hard.Victoria looks between them all, clearly annoyed. “Is it yes or no?”Nolan throws out his hands, clearly aggravated. “What skills?”“Yes! I have,” Sunshine says.Victoria harshly says, “She knows what skills I’m talking about.”“I kind of have! Yes…” Damn, Victoria can be scary.“Okay, listen to me,” Victoria says, as if scolding a petulant child, “your father is getting closer. And that is not good.”“No,” Sunshine agrees, frowning.“Obviously not,” Tommy nods.Victoria looks at him. “Obviously not.” She turns her gaze back to Sunshine. “As the Day of the Dead draws closer, he is getting closer. I need you to be on your guard.” She shakes her head. “Don’t trust people as much as you might.”“Okay…” she says.“Okay?”“Yeah.”“And you having this ghost in your house…” Victoria looks around. “Do you have any idea what that is?”“I have…kind of an idea? Maybe?”“Okay.” Victoria frowns. “It’s called a Hunter Groundling. And it is trying to catch you before your father does. It’s a soldier of the Markons, and they want to get to you first. Do you understand?”Sunshine nods quickly. “Yeah, that’s not good.”“No. That means you need to have…all of your focus, all of your skills being practiced. It is so important, Sunshine. Be on your guard. Know what’s coming up against you. And don’t trust people like you might.”“Okay,” she agrees shakily, trying to wrap her mind around all of this.Victoria turns and exits without another word.“Bye, Tori,” Tommy waves lamely. He then turns to Sunshine. “Sorry, kiddo.”Nolan’s staring straight ahead.Well, then.
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So. She’s trying to be good and practice her skills, and is going to attempt transporting. She’s recording, just to document whatever happens.Sunshine isn’t quite sure, but guesses she’s going to teleport from her place by her closet to the other side of the room. So…yeah.She closes her eyes, feels a bit like a dork, but tries to grow serious. After all, Victoria said she needs to practice honing her skills or whatever, so here she is. Sunshine breathes and moves her hands around in an exasperated manner, but then there’s a tug at her gut and—A pair of headphones, hanging from a rack on her wall, shake and tumble to the ground.She stares at the headphones and looks back at the camera, shocked.Uh.Guess she’s going to keep practicing.
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They’re on the couch. Sunshine has her feet propped up on Nolan’s outstretched legs. “Okay,” she asks, Uncle Tommy holding the camera on them, “so are we going to watch Paranormal Activity 2—”“No,” Tommy says.Sunshine drops her hands. “What?”“The second one was awful!”“Fine!”“We could watch another movie besides the Paranormal Activity series,” Nolan suggests.“Well—that was the first thing that came to my mind, okay?” she defends.There’s suddenly knocking on the door. Both Sunshine and Nolan sit up, staring at the front door.“Uh…are you expecting anybody?” Tommy asks.“No,” she says.Nolan stands up with Sunshine. “Are we ever?”Tommy laughs and approaches the door with them. Sunshine looks out and turns the knob, but when she opens it, no one is there. Just pitch black from the night.“Hello?” she calls.Nolan squints, looking out. “Let’s close the door.” She doesn’t. “Sunshine, let’s close the door.”“That’s…not okay.” Tommy shakes his head.“Can I come in?” a little girl’s voice asks.“Uh, no!” Tommy exclaims, backing up.Nolan stumbles on his words. “Uh, we’d rather you didn’t.” He nudges Sunshine’s arm. “Hey, let’s close the door.”“Yeah, you can,” Sunshine says to the spirit, or whatever the hell that was, because it sounded a whole lot like Anna…Nolan looks over at her. “Wait, what? I don’t know how I feel about that.”“What are you doing?” Tommy whisper-yells.There’s a sudden child’s scream, a flash of Victoria crying blood on the screen, then a black figure charges forward and slams into Nolan’s chest.He’s knocked back several feet, slamming on to the table. “We will get you,” a deep voice says, and then silence.Holy. Shit.Sunshine and Tommy run to Nolan’s side. His head is tipped back, unmoving body laid over the table. “Nolan, are you okay?” Tommy asks, checking him over for wounds. He’s not moving. “Buddy.”Nolan begins to slowly shift, lifting his head up. They both stare in muted horror at the thick slice of blood spattered along his cheek, dribbling from his nose. Jesus Christ.“Are you okay?” Sunshine asks, shifting worriedly.“Wh—what—” Nolan looks up at Sunshine, gaze bleary and unfocused, “why did you say yes?”“I’m sorry!” she apologizes, genuinely feeling bad. “I didn’t…”Nolan manages to lift himself up, trembling from head-to-toe. “I’m gonna…I’m gonna puke.”“You’re not gonna puke,” she assures him. “At least, not on the carpet…”“I think,” Tommy says slowly, “you just let a ghost into the house.”“Okay,” Nolan says, voice shaking, “here’s what we do.” He’s looking around, clearly still out of it.“I don’t think you’re…” Sunshine motions toward his head, which he probably hit pretty hard, “all there, buddy.”He blinks. “What?”Nevermind.
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Victoria’s here. Again. So is Uncle Tommy and Nolan, who’s holding the camera. He’s a lot better after last night’s…incident, but still grows a little unfocused at times.Sunshine feels terrible. Not that she’d ever say that out loud.“What’s up?” Nolan asks, smiling up at Victoria.She stares at him, then turns back to her apprentice. “Sunshine. You’ve been practicing every day. Yes?”“Yeah,” she says.“Sort of,” Tommy admits.Sunshine glares at him.“What?” he asks.Victoria grows even more serious. “Sunshine, you need to practice every day like I’ve told you. I think that…my time here is fading.”Tommy’s eyes widen. “Wait, what does that mean?”“Now that Anna is in a safe place—I know she’s fine—my days are growing shorter.”“But,” Nolan says dumbly, “what does that mean—”Sunshine shushes him.“I need you,” Victoria continues, “to promise me that you are going to practice every single thing I have ever taught you.”“I promise,” she says quickly.“It’s more important now than it ever has been. I want you to…go to new locations. Travel. Discover new ghosts. Do anything you can to build up your resistance to them. It will only save you. The reckoning is coming. Halloween is the day you are going to have to be your strongest, do you understand?”Sunshine nods. “I do. I understand.”It’s August 18th.Almost two and a half months.Phew.“Good.” Victoria nods. “Okay.”“So…that’s it?” Tommy asks.“Yes. That is it.”Alright, then.⠀⠀⠀
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Nolan is videoing in his apartment again. Great.“Well hey guys,” he quips, lifting himself from the bed as he glances around the apartment. He’s alone. “I just heard another noise, and I know how much you love it when there’s a noise, ‘cause then I get to go investigate. And then I get scared. See, ghosts—this is called being ironic. And I do it to undercut the fierceness of the fear that you instill in me. Now…”He pokes his head into the kitchen and enters the main room again. “I’m getting really tired of this. I want to get some sleep, I’m very tired, so…if you’re gonna come out, just kinda come out and scare me, and then I’ll say that I was very scared, and we can all go back to bed.”Silence.He purses his lips together and continues his nervous rambling. “No? Nothin’? How about the bathroom?” He looks inside. It’s empty. “No? Okay. I’m going to sleep.”When he turns, Victoria is standing next to his bed.Except…it doesn’t really seem to be her. It looks exactly like her, but her body is angled differently, slightly leaned back. Her gaze is darker and her stance is more…evil.“Nolan,” she says.Nolan clicks his tongue, staring. “Victoria,” he finally says. “What’s up…?”“I know what you’re up to,” she says, slinking towards him. A small smirk is on her face.He looks confused, but holds his ground. “Do you?”“You think you can keep Sunshine safe?” Victoria, or not-Victoria, or whoever this is, tilts her head as she approaches Nolan.“N-No, but I think I can try,” he says, growing more nervous as she moves closer to him.“You can’t,” she says simply. “Why don’t we just—”“I know the kind of games you’re playing.”Nolan furrows his brows. “Okay…you’re…acting kind of strange there, pal.” She tilts her head the other way. “You okay?” The screen glitches with Victoria standing, blood dribbling from her eyes. It cuts back to the apartment. Victoria steps closer, clenching her teeth. “You can’t keep her safe.”“Uh…” Nolan holds his arms out slightly, backing away.“You. Can’t. Keep her safe,” she repeats.He gasps when the door to the bathroom slams shut. When he turns back to where Victoria was just standing, she’s gone. Nolan shoves his fingers through his hair. “What?” he asks the camera, looking around. “Come on! We were just…” He sighs, giving up. “Okay. I’m done.”“Nolan,” a small voice whispers.He pinches the bridge of his nose, dropping his hand. “Yeah?” he asks. Might as well amuse the ghosts.“Nolaaan,” the voice whispers again, dragging out his name.“What?” he asks. “What?! What—what?”It repeats his name again.“Yes? Right here, what do you want?”“Nolan,” it whispers.“Okay,” he sighs, turning around toward the kitchen. “You’re really starting to annoy—Jesus!” He throws up his hands as he notices a black-hooded figure standing behind him.The screen glitches, and everything turns black.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

So.She’s not really worried, but also kind of worried.Nolan is missing.As she explains this to the camera, Uncle Tommy knocks on the door.“Hey,” Sunshine says, looking over.“Hey,” Tommy quips. “What’s up, kid?”“Nothin’.”“Are you filming?”She smiles and laughs. “Yeah. It’s okay, though.”“Is it Random Video Monday or something?” he asks, shutting the door behind him.“No.”“No?”“Nope.” She turns the camera around, filming Tommy as he sits on the couch. “What’s up?” he asks, drawing his brows together. He must be able to sense the worry.“I was just…doing a video about being concerned about Nolan.” Nothing new there.“He still hasn’t gotten back to you?”“No. And…not that he’s normally good at it, but recently, he’s been…y’know, pretty good about it.”Tommy nods. “Yeah, he has. And I haven’t heard anything from Victoria either.”Sunshine rolls her eyes. “What, did she text you right back?”Tommy smiles. “No, but she usually appears mysteriously or something.”She makes a face. “You have a weird fascination with her.”He wheezes out a laugh.“Anyways, so, I think I might…go to his apartment, just show up.”“Yeah.” Tommy nods. “That’s not a bad idea, we can drive over later if you want.”“Yeah. See if he’s there. Or if he’s disappeared again.”Tommy stands up. “Well, wouldn’t be the first time for that to happen, would it?”Sunshine sighs in annoyance. “No. Pain in my butt.”“He’s a good kid.”Sunshine snorts. Right…when he’s not being a complete recluse!
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It’s night. They’re in front of Nolan’s apartment. Tommy’s holding the camera, pointing it at Sunshine.“Hey, so,” she begins, “remember how we said we were gonna go to Nolan’s? Well…we’re doing that.”They step on Nolan’s porch. Sunshine surveys the apartment, noticing that the lights are on, faintly shining through the windows. “Is his door open?” Tommy asks.Sunshine furrows her brows and follows his gaze. There—his front door is slightly cracked ajar.“Knock first.”Sunshine—too worried to roll her eyes—knocks softly, then slowly opens the creaking door.“Nolan?” Tommy calls.Sunshine frowns. “Nolan?” She looks around as they enter, trying to find any evidence that he’s here right now. The bed sheets are tossed and rumpled, but there’s no other indication that he’s been here. She swivels her head around and realizes the bathroom door is closed. “Maybe he’s just in the bathroom,” she offers, nearing it in two long strides.But when she knocks and opens the door, no one is inside.Her frown deepens as she stands in the middle of the room, facing away from the kitchen. “I don’t know where he is.”But Tommy doesn’t answer. Instead, he’s staring at something past Sunshine’s shoulder.Her heart leaps into her throat as she whips around, half-expecting to see the Hunter. However, it’s—“Tori?” Tommy asks. Victoria stands in front of Sunshine, looking down on her, arms by her sides. The hair on the back of Sunshine’s neck prickles uncomfortably.“Sunshine,” Victoria says, but her voice—something in it—is wrong.“Yeah,” she grinds out, narrowing her eyes.“It’s time.”Confusion sweeps through her. “Time…for what?”“It’s time for you to seek out your father.”“What?”Victoria squints. “He’s waiting for you.”Sunshine shakes her head. “I don’t…understand. Earlier you said—”“We will get you,” a deep voice whispers from behind. Sunshine and Tommy gasp, turning around towards the door, but nothing is there.When Sunshine turns back around, Victoria’s eyes are bleeding.Sunshine withholds a scream as Tommy nears her, eyes wide. “Oh, my God! Tori, are you okay?”“Don’t worry,” Victoria says with a barely perceptible smirk. “This will all be over soon.” And then she’s moving forward, nearing Tommy, and both he and Sunshine sprint for the door, trying to throw it open—But it’s not working.Then, silence. The footsteps recede, echoing away. They both chance a look back and freeze when the man in black—the Hunter—steps from the shadowed hallway.“Sunshine,” Tommy says, panicked. “Get out!”“I can’t!”“Sunshine—” The Hunter steps forward with surprising speed. “Sunshine, leave!” It reaches toward Tommy. “Sunshine—!”
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They escape. Sunshine doesn’t know how, but it happens. A mix of the panic and fear—combined with Sunshine’s booming “Leave!” to the Groundling—result in the entity swirling away into nothing. The door opens and they make a break for it. Her camera’s fried.Now, one week later, Sunshine is sitting in her room, staring at the wall. She thinks about what happened, thinks about what’s going to happen…She still hasn’t been able to get a hold of Nolan, which is disconcerting. Everyone has also been encouraging her to stop making the videos, but she feels like she’s been through worse.Truly, she has. She’s been subject to an intense exorcism, a violent ghost in Nolan’s ‘grandma’s’ house, a possession of her own, and more things she doesn’t even have the space to list out.Why not continue?After all, if her father really is going to take her, then she might as well be ready for it. Filming or not filming isn’t going to change the future. Might as well keep an audience along the way.⠀⠀⠀
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So, Victoria—real Victoria this time—just dropped by.They’re standing outside, Sunshine with her arms crossed, Victoria staring at her. There’s silence for a while.Then, Victoria speaks. “You remember how I told you that I wanted you to start training?”“Yeah.”“There’s a house I want to take you to. In that house, there’s a ghost. I want you to start training. Practicing. Focusing. Especially on everything that happens once you encounter this ghost.”“Okay, but…” Sunshine exhales. “Last time I saw you, you were bleeding from the eyes.” She’s pretty certain it wasn’t Victoria. Like, 99% certain. But Sunshine still needs to be sure.“This is true,” Victoria nods. Sunshine stills. “However, that was not me.” She finds herself suddenly able to breathe. “Do you remember how I told you that they are trying to do anything they can to get to you first?”Sunshine nods.“That was one of those instances. You have to trust me.”She raises her brows. “But I thought you said I should trust people less?”“Again, true. But this time, it’s important you do trust me. I need to get your skills up to par.”Great.Ghost time.⠀⠀⠀
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They’re at the house.It’s laid in a lush area, flanked by huge bushes and trees. The path to the front door is surrounded by potted plants, leading to a quaint porch that’s slightly blocked by an overgrown rose bush. Sunshine ducks underneath the flowers and follows Victoria, casting her gaze across the clearing. “This looks familiar,” she murmurs.Victoria glances back. “Yes,” she nods, approaching the front door with Sunshine in tow. “We use this house for training.”Suddenly, everything begins to make sense. They entered the porch from another walkway. This…this is…Sunshine furrows her brows. “Nolan brought me here.”“I know.”And wouldn’t you guess…it’s Nolan’s ‘grandmother’s’ house.The inside is relatively similar, with a few minor detail changes. Sunshine doesn’t see any chicken or rooster statues, so that’s something. Everything else, though, is pretty much the same. She stands next to the empty fireplace, glancing around. Victoria stands beside her.“Okay, so.” Sunshine looks at the camera. “We’re here. But…I’ve been here before. I don’t understand.”Victoria nods. “You have been here before. This is our training house—and what I mean by that is we bring people here who need to advance in their skills. We’re able call upon ghosts who come into this environment and then you train with them.”“Okay…”“Nolan helped us before,” Victoria says. “He used this place specifically because he knew it worked as our training grounds. The Markons weren’t aware of the connection.”Sunshine furrows her brows, thoughts heavy. So by then, Nolan was already working for the good side? He’d…he’d turned? Sunshine had assumed Nolan had switched sides later on. Now she wishes he would’ve told her this.“But what about the ghost before?” she asks.“Frederic Loren. He was used by the Markons, violent in nature. If Nolan had advocated for another spirit, they would’ve realized he was working for us already. The ghost you’ll face today will be far less vicious, but no doubt aggressive.”Sunshine takes in the words as she paces around the living room, eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t Nolan tell me earlier? That he…that he was good?”Victoria hums. “He was afraid. Even if he didn’t mean you harm by the time you initially visited this house, that doesn’t mean his intentions were noble when first meeting you.”“What changed his mind?”Victoria blinks. “You.” Sunshine gapes. “This must be something you discuss with Nolan yourself. He has many reasons for his actions. For now, I am here to oversee your training.”Sunshine looks down, pondering. “Does that mean you’re my mentor?”Victoria frowns. “No. There are no mentors left. But…for now, I’m as good as it gets.”Sunshine thinks about Mentor—whatever his name was—and frowns. Did her possession really lead to him dying?Quickly ridding herself of those thoughts, not wanting to dwell too much on the past, Sunshine returns back to Victoria’s side. She still wants to ask questions, but refrains for now. “Okay.” Sunshine nods, clasping her hands together. “What do we do now?”Victoria tilts her head, looking around. Silence descends upon the two. “We wait.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The sun is dipping below the skyline, streaking orange and gold fingers across the horizon. Trees shiver with the bitter wind, which whips against the house’s windows, pattering along the sides. Sunshine moves away from the front door and closes it, turning to Victoria and clicking on her camera. Silence.“Okay,” Sunshine says. “I’m gonna…wander.” Neither of them have spoken, and nothing else has happened in the past thirty minutes. And, well, Sunshine only has so much patience. She likes to think that if Nolan were here he would’ve already dragged her to the back of the house, giving some explanation about how ghost ectoplasm can determine the evilness of a spirit. That makes her smile, just a bit. She does miss him. He’s been gone for two weeks now, and each passing day makes her more and more worried. Is he okay? Where did he go? Is this his usual thing, where he runs away after something terrifying happens, or is something darker going on?Sunshine isn’t sure, but she hopes defeating this training ghost will give her the strength she needs to find out.Who knows. Maybe she can interrogate Mr. Hunter-Groundling after this. With that in mind, Sunshine turns away from Victoria—who says nothing—and pokes her head into the kitchen and dining room, sweeping her gaze around before glancing at the dark hallway. “At least they have bathrooms in training houses,” she mumbles, looking it over before continuing down. Sunshine enters a few more rooms, but it honestly just seems like a normal house to her. Sure, a little darker and creepier, but…still, pretty normal.As she enters the main bedroom and looks toward the bathroom—where she, Kat, and Nolan played Bloody Mary—she sees a figure behind her. Sunshine jumps, heart in her throat, and whirls around.Of course. Nothing’s there.Sunshine hesitantly looks behind the bed, but the side is empty. But she can feel that familiar prickling along her neck, something tight working in her gut.“Victoria?” Sunshine calls, exiting the room and descending down the hallway. When she enters the living room, she breathes. “I saw a ghost.”Victoria nods slowly, clasping her hands together. “That’s good.”“Is that…supposed to happen?”“Yes.”“Okay…” Sunshine nears Victoria.“Did you talk to it?”“No!” She raises her brows. Not like she had time to, anyway, but the only spirit she’s ever really conversed with is Anna.Victoria hums, looking down thoughtfully. Sunshine makes a face at her before turning to the camera. “Okay.”Victoria gives a barely perceptible smile. “Keep trying.”Right.
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She explores the house one more time, but doesn’t end up finding anything. Now, Sunshine is seated across from Victoria, camera out. “Okay, so, Victoria’s gonna tell us more about the house.”Victoria nods, looking at Sunshine. “The ghost that you just saw—that ghost is evil.” Sunshine furrows her brows. “And you’re responsible for banishing it to where it came from.”“I have to banish it?” “Yes.”“Uh…how?”Victoria shakes her head. “I can’t tell you specifically what you’re supposed to do. It’ll just come from your gut—you’ll know.”Great.“What have I always told you?” Victoria continues.“Um…practice a bunch, and something about—”“I’ve always told you that you can do it,” she interrupts.Sunshine nods slowly. “That. I can do it. Okay, so. Follow my gut, and banish it.”“Yes.”“Okay.”Silence, for a moment, before a door slams down the hallway and a woman screams.Sunshine jumps, turning around to stare. Victoria doesn’t look startled at all—in fact, her gaze never leaves Sunshine. Both women rise as Sunshine slowly nears the mouth of the hallway, furrowing her brows. “Hello?” she calls down. Maybe it was…um…the wind.God. She sounds like her mother after they moved into the first house.Gritting her teeth, sneaking a glance at Victoria, Sunshine walks to the back of the house, staring at the closed door to the bedroom she’d just been in. She opens it carefully, wincing as the hinges grind and creak against each other. She enters the bedroom and walks around to the edge of the bed, but, just like before, nothing’s there. She doesn’t really feel like anything’s in here. Maybe she should ask—“Victoria?” Sunshine asks, slightly startled to see her not-mentor-but-probably-should-be standing at the other end of the hallway, just…staring.Great. Not creepy at all.“Did you talk to her?” Victoria asks.“No.”“Then we wait.”
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They do wait, for a good twenty minutes, until Sunshine works up her nerve and announces that she’s going to try and talk to the ghost.Not in the living room, though, oh no, that would be too simple. She’s going into the back room, where the ghost has been most active. Which, makes sense. But, really, Sunshine doesn’t want to be anywhere near this thing, especially if it’s half as evil as Victoria has described.But, she manages to force herself back into the room, glancing around before sighing. Sunshine pauses in the middle of the room, offering a look at the chair where she remembers Nolan sitting after being attacked.“Hello?” she asks, ripping her gaze away. “Is anybody here?”The door creaks shut and Sunshine jumps, twirling around.Victoria is standing there.Jeez! Way to give a girl a heart attack… Sunshine shakes her head, opening her mouth to snap something—“Why am I here?” a gravelly, elderly voice cuts in, joining the fray. Sunshine turns and jumps back when she sees an old woman standing there, hair long and gray as it tumbles down her shoulders. She’s wearing a black dress but wastes no time in screaming, pounding her feet forward and outstretching her arms toward Sunshine.Sunshine wastes no time in running. She stumbles into the living room, attempting to catch her breath, and looks back. All she sees is Victoria walking toward her, an almost amused expression on her face, but it works away into seriousness. “You need to be stronger,” Victoria says.“Okay,” she breathes, staring before looking down. “It’s kind of…hard, but. Okay.”Victoria nods. “I know.”They stand like that for a moment, suspended in time, until Victoria seats herself back on the couch.Then…Whimpering. That’s the first sound that draws Sunshine out of her reverie. She turns and looks down the hallway, where the elderly woman, wearing a veil, is standing, voice raw and guttural as she whimpers. The ghost slowly enters the bedroom, disappearing from sight. Sunshine—much to her dismay—follows. Her heart thuds in her chest as she looks into the compact room, mouth dry. She hates doing this alone. At least with Nolan, she can make fun of him for being scared. Now…well, now she’s just scared. The bedroom looks empty when she enters, but Sunshine knows better than that. “Hello?” she asks, then shakes her head. “You can’t be here. You have to leave.” She’s terrified, but her voice manages to take on a commanding tone.Victoria steps into the bedroom, staring at her. Then, the ghost runs out of the bathroom and snarls, tackling Victoria into the bed. Sunshine blinks and—They’re gone.They’re fucking gone.“Victoria?” Sunshine calls, worry piercing her tone like a spear. “Victoria?!” She leaves the room and practically runs back into the living room. It looks empty at first glance, but then Victoria is stepping forward from the corner—Jesus. Another heart attack. What’s with her tonight?“Sunshine,” Victoria says, looking unaffected by the attack. “You need to focus. You need to be better. Right now, you are failing.”She frowns. “Okay…”“You can do this. Remember—you are strong enough. Just be stronger.”She can do this.She can do this.She can do this.Breathing in shakily, Sunshine positions herself in the middle of the room as Victoria stands a few paces away from her. “You can’t be here anymore,” she says, looking around. The whimpering resumes in the hallway.Sunshine makes her way over, terror spiking her heart. The ghost moves back into the bedroom and Sunshine inhales. “You can’t be here!”The door slams shut.“Why am I here?” Sunshine whips around at the voice and sees the ghost behind Victoria. It wraps its arms around Victoria’s back and snarls viciously as Victoria screams—Then it’s gone in a flash, and Victoria’s eyes are narrowed, once again unaffected. “You have to be stronger.”Sunshine nods, bunching her fingers into fists. “You can’t be here!” she exclaims.The elderly ghost is back in the hallway and screams as she runs toward Sunshine, arms outstretched. Sunshine does the only thing she knows how and extends her arm forward, facing her palm to the ghost, closing her eyes, letting power coil from her gut and snap outward—The ghost wisps away in a cloud of swirled smoke.When Sunshine turns back to Victoria, the woman nods approvingly. “That’s good. You’re learning. We’re done here.”Well…guess that’s that.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

So.Nolan called.Of course, it can’t be at any normal time—no, it had to be super-duper late at, like, four in the morning. Anyway…she’s just going to play the message for the camera.“Hey,” Nolan says over voicemail, “it’s Nolan and I can’t talk long. Listen, I need you to meet me at the park, okay? You know where.”Sunshine doesn’t even know what he’s talking about—they don’t have a usual meeting spot in the park—but figures she’s going to come anyway. Even though it’s half a day later. She called again, trying to pry for more information, but in his usual fashion, Nolan didn’t answer.So…now she’s here, at the park, pretty certain she knows where the usual spot is but still unsure. Sighing, Sunshine clicks on the camera and rehashes the story, following the trail in the park. It’s mid-evening, about five, and the weather is nice despite it being overcast. Trees shiver and branches bristle with the wind, flanking the sides of the trail in a never-ending expanse of greenery. Sunshine thinks that it’s still not the best day to wear a skirt, but oh well. As she skirts between two overgrown bushes, the sight of another particular person causes Sunshine to halt in place, kicking gravel against the path. “Victoria?” she says, surprised.The woman spots Sunshine, turns, and walks away.Sunshine offers a confused glance at the camera and pursues her adopted mentor (yes, that’s what she’s calling Victoria now), shaking her head. “Victoria! Wait,” she shouts, stumbling down the trail.Victoria’s shoulders tighten and she turns, brows furrowed and gaze sharp. “Sunshine, what are you doing out here?”Sunshine frowns. What, she can’t go for a little stroll in the park? Not that she is just visiting, but still… “I got a message from Nolan,” she explains. “Nolan?” Victoria sounds dubious.“Yeah.”Now she just looks concerned. “Have you found him?”“No, not yet.”A pause. “I want you to be careful when you do. Nolan might not be Nolan right now.”A cold feeling trickles up Sunshine’s spine, dousing her in chills. All she’s able to say is, “Okay.”“Things are getting more and more dangerous, as I’ve told you. Remember—trust no one.”“Okay,” Sunshine breathes, trying to play this off as usual Victoria paranoia, but she’s still feeling sketch. “Again with the trust. Got it.”“Yes. Again with the trust. Please—trust no one.” Before Sunshine can even respond, Victoria is stepping by her, returning the way Sunshine just came from. “I must go.”Trust no one? Sunshine thinks, gazing after Victoria. Not even you?⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine’s been wandering for a while, ranting about how she has no idea what the ‘usual spot’ is, when she makes it to a clearing shrouded, in part, by a willow tree. And then Nolan is running out of the foliage, out of breath. “Sunshine! Sunshine,” he calls, stopping before her, placing his hands on his thighs and inhaling. What, did he just run the mile? When she looks him over, she realizes he’s dressed in his old clothing—AKA, the maroon shirt with the black leather jacket.Great.“Thank you for coming,” he pants.“Yeah,” she says impatiently, “where have you been?” Not that she’s going to let any worry bleed into her tone.“Listen,” Nolan says, placing his hands out in front of him. Sunshine raises a brow. “Are you okay?”She makes a face. “Yeah, I’m fine.”Silence, as Nolan just stares at her incredulously. “You’re fine?” he finally asks.“Yes! Where have you been, are you okay?” Maybe a little more concern is apparent there.“No!” he says, straightening. “I was attacked in my house!”Sunshine stumbles over her words for a moment. “What? What do you mean?”“By that—Hunter! The Hunter, and Victoria.”Well. She supposes that answers the question as to why he was in Nolan’s apartment that one time.“It wasn’t Victoria,” she then says quickly, ignoring everything else.Now Nolan just looks confused. “What do you mean?”“It wasn’t Victoria,” she repeats.“How do you know it wasn’t Victoria?”“‘Cause! She told me, it wasn’t her.”“She told—” Nolan uses that You’re-Stupid-and-I’m-Way-Smarter-Than-You tone. “Victoria told you it wasn’t Victoria.”“Yeah!”“And you just believed her.”“Well—” Sunshine sighs. “I can’t see why not.” At his flat look, she says, “I don’t know! I just talked to her, like not that long ago, and she told me all this stuff about trust—” Nolan wipes a palm over his face, like he’s already exhausted and annoyed by this conversation, “—and you can’t trust anyone and, I mean, it was just over there in the park a while ago—”That gets Nolan’s attention. He leans forward. “Wait, what? Where in the park? Here in the park?”“Yeah.”“Here?”She looks annoyed. “Yes.”“Here?”“I was trying to find you! In the ‘usual spot’! Which doesn’t exist, by the way, apparently we don’t have one.”Nolan looks back, then turns to Sunshine. “We have one.”“No, we don’t!”“It’s right there!” He points behind him, to a little clearing between the trees. “That is not the—” Sunshine shakes her head.“Okay, listen,” Nolan says.Sunshine groans in annoyance. “I have something very important to tell you, okay?” He emphasizes this with arm movements. “And I need you to not be, like, you know, all whimsical right now.”She stares at him, unamused.“I just need you to—” Nolan stops and looks past Sunshine, face crumpling into a look of fear. “Meet me here in two hours,” he manages, backing away, pointing to the ground. “It’s about your dad.”Shock. It slams into Sunshine’s body. “You know about my dad?” It comes out much smaller than intended.“We’re gonna find him,” Nolan exclaims, turning to run, “before he finds us!” Like that, he disappears back into the bushes, hidden from sight.Okay?“It’s not the usual spot!” Sunshine calls after him, for affect. She sighs, then recalls that Nolan looked very concerned at something past her shoulder. She quickly turns and jumps to see Victoria standing in the middle of the continued path. “Victoria!” She nears the woman.“What did Nolan say to you?”“Um…” Sunshine swallows back her shock at the mention of her father. Her father! “He told me some stuff about—he’d been missing, and he was attacked by you, and then I told him it wasn’t you, and then all the stuff about not trusting, and whatever, and…yeah. Meet him back later. So.” Sunshine conveniently doesn’t mention anything about her father. She’s not going to forget the look Nolan had on his face when he spotted Victoria.Victoria just looks down at her. “You can’t trust Nolan right now. Do you understand?”“Yeah?” she offers, frowning.“Do not trust him, he is dangerous. I think the dark side has taken him.”“That’s…kinda weird,” Sunshine says, putting some steel into her voice, “‘cause he said the exact same thing about you.”“Sunshine. Listen to me. Do not trust Nolan. I will return once you’ve talked to him.” And just like that Victoria is walking away, trenchcoat billowing in the wind.Sunshine stares after her, skeptical. She’s caught in a crossroads here—does she trust Nolan, or trust Victoria? Victoria, who’s been advising her since the beginning (despite being a very creepy lady), or Nolan, who has betrayed her once?She’s not sure why, but she feels complete trust towards Nolan. Sunshine still doesn’t know what happened to him after sending him away after her possession, but thinks that it reformed him, whatever it was.He cares about her, and she cares about him. It’s as simple as that.And Victoria…well, Victoria’s been wrong before. Or lied. At least, when she told Sunshine she wasn’t a Luiseach, ‘merely a girl.’ Which Sunshine still isn’t entirely certain on. And Victoria’s been sketchy about things having to do with Anna and her own background. Honestly, she betrayed Sunshine in her own way, only admitting to aiding in the murder of her daughter after Sunshine found the film canister. She supposes they’ve both protected her after their separate betrayals, so it’s genuinely hard to choose. Sunshine’s starting to think maybe she shouldn’t trust either of them—just herself. But Nolan has information on her father.Maybe once she hears what he has to say…she’ll be able to choose then.⠀⠀⠀
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It’s been two hours. Sunshine’s back in the ‘usual spot’, basically in the middle of the clearing, impatiently waiting for Nolan. She kicks around rocks, mumbling under her breath about the entire situation, until Nolan reappears back from the bushes.“Sunshine,” he says, smiling just slightly. “Thank you for coming.”“Yes. Again.”“Is there anywhere more conspicuous you could stand?” he asks, motioning around them. “I didn’t know I had to hide behind the trees!”“Look,” he says, smiling, but it’s that smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, the serious one, “I know you think you’re having a good time right now, but I’m actually in trouble! Okay?”“Okay!”“Let’s try to give this a certain amount of gravitas.”She sighs and nods.“Now, where’s Victoria?”“I don’t know! I talked to her a little while ago and she told me not to trust you, and that you’ve gone to the dark side. It was kind of weird.”Nolan rubs his eye. “Okay, well you know what, that’s exactly what someone on the dark side would say about someone who’s not on the dark side. Remember, I didn’t go to the dark side, the dark side came to me and tried to beat me up, and I had to leave.”“Okay,” she says, frowning.“I’m not on the dark side! I am the only person that you know who’s not on the dark side! Okay? We don’t have any help right now!”Sunshine shakes her head. “What does that even mean?” Seriously, he makes no sense sometimes.“There’s no war going on. There’s just us.”“What? You’re convinced now that there’s no paranormal war?” She can remember many times where he spoke those words exactly. “You came into this whole thing—you were like, there is one, and then there isn’t one, and now there is one.” She shakes her head, annoyed. “Where are you even getting your information from? What does that even mean? Like—” Nolan looks off to the side, “—where have you even been living?!”“I have to go,” Nolan says, turning back toward Sunshine, interrupting her tirade with his soft tone. It unnerves her. She’s rarely heard him speak this way, like the topic is fragile enough to shatter. “I have something for you, listen. Come here.” She frowns as he gently takes her hands, dropping something into her palm and curling her fingers over it. “This is gonna help you find your dad. Okay?”“Okay…”“You have to get to him before he gets to you.” He begins stepping backwards.“Okay,” she sighs, confused. Can no one tell her what’s going on, or what?Nolan silently motions toward her, seemingly trying to find something to say. “Wear pants next time!” he decides on, disappearing back into the forest.Sunshine wants to scream and rage at him for telling her so little, but counts to ten and keeps her composure. Instead, she looks down and notices that he’s given her a crumpled up piece of paper.She unravels it, remembering the care he took to explain this to her, and stares at the paper.It’s a bunch of random numbers.Wonderful.
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Sunshine ends up leaving the clearing when Victoria doesn’t show. She meanders back down the path to her car, but ends up stumbling on Victoria in a swath of ivy.She briefly reiterates she and Nolan’s conversation to Victoria, even showing her the paper. “He told me to go find my father,” Sunshine finishes, just waiting for the ‘trust no one’ speech—But then Victoria takes her by surprise. She smiles and says, “I agree.”Sunshine just stares for a moment. “You what?”“I agree. Go find him.”Victoria begins walking off.“Wait! Are you coming with me?”She turns around and shakes her head. “No. Not this time. You’re ready.” Then Victoria’s gone, hidden beyond the path.Sunshine takes a few moments to gather herself. So, first they said not to trust one another, then Victoria’s all ‘I agree with Nolan’ and strolling off? Sunshine shakes her head, confused. She’s never going to understand these people.Still, the entire situation just begs the question.Sunshine’s apparently ready…But ready for what?

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So. Sunshine’s just been hanging out since the whole Nolan vs. Victoria in the park thing, pondering over Dad. Then, there’s knocking at the door, and Sunshine’s grabbing her camera, filling in the subscribers on her current life and traipsing down the stairs. Seriously, knocking is never a good sign at their house. Mom has a key and they don’t like people, so no one visits.Except the occasional paranormal entity. So. When she reaches the bottom floor, she hesitantly makes her way over to the door as the person on the porch knocks again, very loudly.When Sunshine opens the door, she realizes who it is.“Nolan!” she exclaims.Except he’s…different. He’s wearing a white shirt, first off—something he’s never done before—and there’s something about the way he’s standing that’s setting Sunshine on edge. He’s still. Motionless. “Hey, Sunshine,” he says, voice soft, but it’s off. It’s weird. “Hey,” she laughs awkwardly, staring. He stares back. “How’s it going?”“Fine…” She shakes her head. Maybe he’s just in one of his moods. He gets like this, sometimes.“Did you find your dad?”“Uh, no, not yet. The numbers are still…” she sighs, “keeping me confused, but a lot of people have been saying that they may be GPS coordinates? Which makes sense, I’m surprised I didn’t think of it myself…” She trails off when he doesn’t answer or look engaged in any way. “Do you wanna come in?”And then his eyes go black.Sunshine’s heart leaps in her throat. She’s frozen solid with shock, unable to move or even breathe. Nolan rubs his eyes and they return to normal, the black receding, but the feeling of terror still remains deep within Sunshine.“Nolan?” she whispers, taking a step back.He just smiles. “We’ll see you around.” He winks and makes his way off the porch.Well. Shit.That definitely wasn’t Nolan.⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine’s quite certain that the numbers are GPS coordinates. She’s been Googling away and using her handy-dandy computer, and has come up with…a place that’s in the middle of nowhere in Tygh Valley.So. It’s been a real successful day so far.As she continues speaking to the camera, a sound from downstairs gains her attention. She snaps her head towards the door, narrowing her eyes. It sounded like a growl. The hallway outside of her room is dark. She looks down the stairs before hearing a voice behind her, but she isn’t sure what it says. Turning, Sunshine sees a large black figure in her room. Her eyes widen and she hitches it down the stairs into the living room.Uncle Tommy looks up, closing his book. “Hey,” he says, concerned. “You okay?”“Huh? Yeah,” she says, out of breath.“What’s going on?” he asks.“Um…nothing, I just sort of…” She trails off when she notices something to the side. It’s The Hunter, stepping out of the doorway. Tommy follows her gaze and shouts, following her into the kitchen. They parry the Markon with the island counter between them as it slowly walks forward.“Do something!” Tommy whispers urgently.“Uh…go away!” she says rather lamely.It doesn’t. Instead, it just stands at the threshold of the kitchen.“I don’t think I said it forcefully,” Sunshine mutters urgently.“Use your…powers!” Tommy says. “Your whatever-it-is!”“Okay!” She breathes in, closing her eyes before re-opening them. “Go away.”The Hunter fades until there’s nothing left standing.“Did that just work?” Tommy asks, smiling.“I think it did! Okay…”“That’s crazy.”“What do we do now?” She frowns.“Leave,” Tommy says.⠀⠀⠀
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So.She’s talking to Mom and Uncle Tommy about…things they’re probably not going to be happy about.They’re sitting on the couch, casual as can be, and Sunshine decides to just go into it. “So…” she starts. “I followed those little numbers that maybe the real Nolan, maybe the fake Nolan gave me, and thanks to some of you guys—” she points at the camera, “—I found out it was GPS coordinates to the middle of nowhere.”Tommy raises his brows. “Okay…”“That makes total sense,” Kat says sarcastically.“So,” Sunshine says, “I guess we’re gonna drive and I’m thinking let’s go. Like now.” She smiles and looks at both of them.They stare blankly back at her.“What?” Kat finally asks.“Are you crazy?” Tommy chuckles.“Well, I thought I’d try the…happier route,” Sunshine says, and Tommy bursts into laughter.“Judt leading with that,” Kat snorts. “Even though you know there’s no way that’s gonna happen.”“Why?” Sunshine asks innocently.“Well, first of all you know I—”“Can’t drive,” Tommy finishes.“Yeah.” Kat nods. Here’s her Mom Voice. “Exactly. And I can’t do it at all, I mean not even—not today, not even later this week.”Tommy nods. “It’s a busy week.”“And I don’t even know if it’s a great idea anyway,” her mother continues. “Like, follow these random coordinates?”“In the middle of nowhere?” Tommy frowns. “Like, did you look it up on Google Maps or something?”“You can do that?” Kat questions.Sunshine resists rolling her eyes. “You can find our house.”“Oh, don’t tell me that. No, no.” Kat turns to the camera. “No you can’t! No.”“Please don’t find us,” Tommy laughs.Sunshine shrugs. “I’m just saying.”“And it shows nothing,” Kat questions. “Well, it’s like—” Sunshine describes with her hands, “Flat ground, yeah.”“So why even go then? I don’t understand why this is even…”“Well, ‘cause.” Sunshine’s voice goes quieter. “Dad could be there.”“I’m sorry, what?” Kat demands.Sunshine can’t help but smile, staring forward as her mom bores a hole into her skull. “Whose dad?”“Uncle Tommy’s dad? Because that’s the only option there is. Your dad’s not out there.”Tommy smirks. “My dad’s back—you know, he’s probably at work about now.”Sunshine just looks between them.“You—you’re serious,” Kat says.Sunshine picks at a thread on her gray pants. “Not serious serious, but it’s a little bit serious.”“You know your dad’s not in the middle of nowhere,” Tommy says, tone more gentle now.Kat scoffs. “Your dad’s not anywhere.” It seems like she’s getting more upset by the second.Tommy goes on. “Unless he’s buried out there, he’s not out there.”Kat points at him. “That’s a possibility.”“In the middle of nowhere?” Sunshine asks.“And if we find him,” Tommy says, “he might be buried out there.”“And he can stay out there.” Kat throws a hand out.Sunshine looks at the camera. “This has been real productive.”“I think it has been,” Kat says. “I didn’t know you could do the Google Map thing you’re talking about.”Tommy nods. “You learn something every day.”Ugh.⠀⠀⠀
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Nolan is knocking at the door. And he doesn’t stop, even as he watches Sunshine approach from the other side of the glass.Sunshine peels the door open, staring at him. “Are you just gonna keep knocking?”His fist stays raised in the air, like he’s about to knock again. Nolan tilts his head to the side, dropping his hand. “Yeah,” he says, like it’s obvious.“It’s annoying.”He smiles sarcastically and leans forward. “How you doin’?!”“…Fine?”“Cool.” He continues to smile as looks over his shoulder, then walks right inside.“Uh—” Sunshine steps aside as he lets himself in. At least he closes the door behind him. “Just come in, please,” she invites sarcastically.He walks past her, deadpan. “Don’t I always.”“Yeah, I’m aware. Except that one time.” She nearly shivers at the mere thought.“What?” He turns, putting his bag down before flopping down in the big, comfy rocking chair. “What one time?”“That one time you…stopped by, and were not wearing your sweater.” She raises her brows, judgement in her tone as she looks over his brown jacket. “You had on this, like, white t-shirt and your eyes turned black. It was weird.”He turns to look at Sunshine as she stands next to him, resting his chin on his open palm. “My eyes turned black,” he says, being way too casual about this. “Were you dreaming?”“No, I wasn’t dreaming!”“Were you hallucinating?”“No!”“You think my eyes actually turned black and I didn’t notice?” His tone turns judgmental. “No! That’s why I didn’t think it was you, okay, jeez,” she says.“Okay.” He turns away, beginning to rock the chair.Sunshine sighs. “Why are you here?”“Uh, I was just…dropping by, wondering if you’ve found your dad yet.” He leans his head back.“Oh yeah, so those numbers you gave me?” He looks over at her as she speaks. “Pretty sure they’re coordinates. Like, GPS coordinates?”“No kidding,” he says, and she thinks he’s actually being serious. “Really, coordinates? I would’ve thought it was a code of some sort, or like a math problem that would lead us to…coordinates, huh?”“You didn’t know they were coordinates?” Nolan keeps that same blank stare. “They lead to the middle of nowhere! And you were just gonna send me out? I asked my mom and Tommy to go with me and you—you were just gonna let me go?! To the middle of nowhere.”He squints at her. “Define middle of nowhere.”“What? Like, the middle of nowhere! I don’t even know how to define that.”He thinks for a moment. “Middle of nowhere sounds like a good place for your dad to be hiding.”“That’s weird.”“It’s not weird, it’s normal.”She just stares at him.“Think about it,” Nolan goes on. “He’s not gonna hide in, like, a museum. He’s gonna hide in the middle of nowhere, that’s the best place to hide, it’s obscure. We should go.” He says this all very factually, like he’s the smartest person on Earth.“That makes no sense.”“Look, I saw the numbers in a dream, I don’t know what to tell you.”She gawks at him. “You seriously saw those numbers in a dream?” He doesn’t react, so she deflates soon after. “Okay, we should go?”“Yeah, I think so. I think it’s worth a shot. At the very least we don’t find anything, but we gotta do something, otherwise we’re just kinda waiting around doing nothing.”“You’re being serious.”“Do you have any food?” Nolan looks around. “I’m hungry.”“Fine. When do you wanna go?”“I don’t know.” He shrugs, rocking the chair again. “Whenever’s convenient for you, I really have nothing else to do.”“Shocker.”He sighs, then gives her a dirty look. “I do a lot of things with my free time. I’m just not indisposed at this very moment.”“Oh, really?” She crosses her arms. “You do a lot of things? Like take people to your ‘grandmother’s’ house?”“Oh my—you’re still on that? That was, what, two years ago?”“Doesn’t mean it wasn’t weird,” she responds.“Look, I thought…I mean, I was…I don’t know,” he says miserably, actually looking guilty.Sunshine feels a little bad, so decides to just lead with what she was trying to get to. “Me and Victoria went back about a month ago,” she says, and he stares at her, wide-eyed. “And she told me…a lot. Like how it’s a training ground for us and you knew that. That’s why you chose it, but that the Markons didn’t know…”Nolan swallows, trembling slightly. “That’s true,” he finally manages to say.“So why didn’t you tell me before? That you were good, I mean?” She shakes her head and Nolan looks away. “We wouldn’t have had that falling out. We could’ve still been friends.”Now he’s the one shaking his head. “I was really confused,” he says honestly, turning his gaze back to her. “And I felt guilty. I’d led you on, made you think I was good when I wasn’t. Not fully.” She opens her mouth to argue, but he beats her to the punch. “No, it’s true. I was kinda messed up. And Victoria didn’t even know I was trying to help you, not until later.”Sunshine frowns. “I just…what happened when we weren’t friends? Where did you go?”Nolan swallows. “I’ll tell you…I’ll tell you after this,” he promises, reaching out and clasping her hand. She finds herself relaxing. “It’s not a great story. But you might find me pretty heroic.”Sunshine laughs wetly. “I highly doubt that.”“Wait until you hear how I stopped being a Groundling.” They both smile, but Sunshine’s soon flickers away. “Fine. After this—you’ll tell me?” She raises a brow, intent on keeping him accountable.“I swear.” He even does the cross over his heart. “But for now, let’s go find your dad.”It can’t be that hard, right?⠀⠀⠀
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Ten minutes later and they’re in front of the camera again.“Hey guys,” Sunshine says, standing next to Nolan. They’re outside, the cool overcast breeze blowing into their faces. Almost reminding Sunshine of the first time she and Nolan met, out on the front porch of her house. “So we’ve decided to take the plunge and drive…three hours to the middle of nowhere.”Nolan smiles amicably beside her.They start to chat as they head toward the car, but the front door open and then Uncle Tommy steps out. “Uh, guys? What’s goin’ on?” He closes the door behind him.“Nothin’,” Nolan says.Sunshine shrugs. “Nothing much.”“Nothing, nothing’s going on,” Nolan continues, not suspiciously at all. Why is he such a bad liar?“Stop talking,” she whispers furiously to him.“You’ve got the camera out,” Tommy says, brows raised. “Sooo…what’s going on?“We…are…” Sunshine turns slightly, voice growing quick and high-pitched. “…Heading out to the middle of nowhere for three hours.”“The middle of nowhere,” Nolan confirms, nodding, bag swinging behind his back. “We’re going nowhere. To the middle of nowhere, specifically.”Sunshine continues to ramble as Nolan speaks. “We’ll be back in three hours and yeah.”“Guys,” Tommy says seriously. “You can’t do that.”“We do! We actually have to,” Nolan says. Tommy stares at him. “Really?” he asks sarcastically.“Yeah, ‘cause it’s the climax.”Sunshine makes a face next to him.“It’s the—” Nolan sweeps his jacket pocket from one side to the other. “It’s Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Bespin—”“Okay, you’re done,” Tommy says, turning to Sunshine. She shrugs. “Dude, I only watched Star Wars like once, so.”Tommy looks appalled at that. “You only watched Star Wars like once?”“Oooh, dude!” Nolan mocks. “I’m sorry,” Sunshine says, “it was boring, I fell asleep halfway through—anyways…”“You’re done too,” Tommy laughs.“I’m just saying,” she defends.“Okay, you can’t—”“So you coming?” Nolan interrupts. “You coming with us? Or are you gonna stay here?”Sunshine looks at Nolan. “He has to work, he can’t come, and that’s why you are coming. You’re like my recruit now.”“Are you totally serious?” Tommy asks.“Yes! We’re just gonna go there and come back,” she says casually, “it’ll be like six hours…”Nolan points at Tommy. “If you’re not there to watch us—”Sunshine puts a hand on his arm. “Shh! Stop talking!”“—who’s gonna make sure that we’re okay?” he finishes.“Let’s go, then,” Tommy says.Sunshine is momentarily floored. “Let’s go? You have to work!”“I can call in sick. I’m not letting you go without some kind of supervision.”“That’s what I mean,” Nolan nods.Sunshine sighs. “I guess that’s kind of true.”“Let’s go,” Tommy smiles.“…okay. Guess Uncle Tommy’s coming.”“Give me your keys,” he says, grabbing them out of her hand.“Okay! Jeez.”Nolan smiles as they walk to the car, waiting to ride shotgun. “I have a good feeling about this one.”Sunshine waits to get in the back, behind him. “I don’t.”“We’re gonna do some good,” Nolan says. “It’s been a long time since we’ve done actual good!”Hopefully the good is worth it, then.

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“I think we’re really close,” Sunshine says, looking down at her phone as Tommy drives.“You keep saying that,” Nolan tiredly says from the back, head leaned back and arm perched out the open window, hanging on to the roof of the car. “Sorry!” Sunshine says defensively, not sounding sorry at all. “We’re actually close—”“Stop saying it, it hurts,” he says as she continues talking. “It hurts every time you say we’re close and we’re not close.” “Can you stop talking?”“We’ve been on the road for twelve days now,” Nolan says louder, and quite dramatically too.“Oh my gosh, we’ve only been on the road for like two hours,” Sunshine tells the camera. “Not even!”He’s such a baby.
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“Okay, we’ve been driving forever, I’m bored,” Sunshine announces, surrounded by green plains.“Okay,” Tommy says, “well look at your phone, where are we—”“It turned off.”“I HAVE TO GET OUT OF THIS CAR,” Nolan yells from the back.
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“There’s another hill,” Nolan says.Tommy looks over at Sunshine, ignoring Nolan. “We can turn right.”Nolan continues. “Look at that hill.”“That’s—really great, Nolan,” Tommy says tiredly.“It’s got a slightly steeper slope.”
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“What do you think is gonna be out there?” Tommy asks.“Probably a…some sort of disco tech?” Nolan responds. He then leans forward and messes with Sunshine’s bun, trying to pull back the band.“Stop touching my HAIR,” Sunshine snaps, batting his hand away.“I’m sorry!” he exclaims, smiling as he jerks back into his seat. “I’m bored, I’m bored.”“Kids!” Tommy snaps. “Don’t make me pull this car over.”“Do it,” Nolan challenges. “Pull the car over.” He reaches for Sunshine’s hair again.“Stop it!” She whirls around at him, a stupid grin on her face. Could he be any more annoying? “I’m coming back there.”“Go ahead, what are you gonna do?”“I’m gonna slap you.” Sunshine turns back around.“What are you gonna do, Uncle Tommy?” Nolan asks.He looks in the rearview mirror. “I’ll turn this car around—”“You’ll turn this car around!” Nolan exclaims, outraged. Then he asks, “How close are we? Seriously, how close are we?”Sunshine looks down at her phone. “It says we’re close…” she says uncertainly.“How close?”“I don’t know! I don’t know how close is.”“I have to—do you have any water?” He turns and looks out the window at the lone houses they’re passing. “Hey, maybe we could ask them for some wifi or something.”No one responds.
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“Dude, that’s creepy,” Tommy points out. “Look at that creepy little shed.”Sunshine nods. “It’s a little shack. Can we drop him off here?” They all know who she’s referring to.“Is this it?” Nolan asks.Tommy nods. “This is it.”“No, it’s not it.” Sunshine glances at the map.“Good. ‘Cause that would suck,” Nolan says. “Actually, no it wouldn’t. Then I could be out of this car!”Sunshine scoffs. “You’re such a baby!”“You try sitting back here without complaining!” He kicks his foot.“Ow!” Sunshine exclaims. “You kicked the crap outta my seat!”“Sorry,” Nolan says. She shoves his hand off the shoulder of her seat. “Ow!”
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“I think I’m getting dysentery,” Nolan sighs.Tommy laughs. “We’re not doing the Oregon Trail, Nolan.”Sunshine groans.
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“—like five hundred pounds of sugar,” Nolan is saying. “Shovels. And cows.”Sunshine and Tommy continue talking to each other up front.
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“According to my GPS coordinates,” Sunshine explains, “I think we’re close…?”“All of this sagebrush makes me want to kill myself,” Nolan says without preamble. “I don’t even know—you’re sooo dramatic!” Sunshine says.“You’re dramatic,” he shoots back.“You’re dramatic.”“That tree is pretty.”Both Tommy and Sunshine laugh.
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Sunshine nods to herself. “I think we’re getting close.”Nolan lets out a chuckle, a big grin on his face. “Stop saying that!” he laughs. “Stop. Please stop saying that.”“—at the next available left turning area,” Sunshine continues talking.Nolan leans forward. “Wait, are we actually close?”“But not that,” Sunshine says, waving at a random patch of dirt road, ignoring him. “That’s not a left turn. It’s just as stop off.” She finally turns back to Nolan. “I said we were getting close and you didn’t listen, you just yelled at me!”He ignores her, looking out the window. “What, this little park over here?” He has an uncertain look on his face.“This is what my GPS tells me!”“We’re gonna find your dad in a park?” Sunshine lets out a sigh of exasperation while Nolan just laughs. “Somehow I always knew. Your dad’s a park dweller, Sunshine.”Tommy chuckles.Sunshine just makes a face. “I don’t even—”“I thought you were gonna say ranger,” Tommy says.Sunshine laughs. “Park ranger! He’s a ranger!” Then she becomes serious again. “I feel like somehow it’s not an insult. He’s a park dweller? Whatever.” Nolan doesn’t reply so she just sets her phone down, looking at the scenery. “…Okay. So, where to now?”“Lots of roads,” Tommy hums.“Gravel road area….yaaaay.”⠀⠀⠀
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“Okay,” Nolan says as they park at the. Well, park. “I’m gonna go lay down for a little while.”“No!” Sunshine exclaims. “This is an adventure, remember? We talked about this.”“Yeah,” Nolan responds. “And I’m gonna rest up for it.”“You’re terrible at this.” They all begin to get out, stretching their legs as the sunshine hits their faces. “Lock your doors, please,” Tommy says. “Where to now?”
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“Hey guys,” Sunshine tells the camera. “So we’re at a waterfall.” They’re standing near one, the water so loud it’s hard to hear much of anything. Tommy stands to Sunshine’s left, Nolan looking much less enthusiastic to her right. “It’s incredible,” Tommy says with a blank face.“But…I definitely feel like we’re not close enough.”“Well, what’s the GPS say?” Tommy asks.“See, we’re there,” she points out, showing him the phone, “and that’s where it is. So we’re not on top of it.”Tommy bends down to inspect her phone while the waterfall continues raging around them.“We think it’s this way,” Sunshine finally says, pointing west.“There’s the—houses, down there,” Tommy says, looking down the wire fence at the houses perched next to the murky river. Stony cliffs spire out around the man-made structures.Sunshine raises a brow. “Is there a trail?”Nolan starts walking in the direction where Sunshine pointed.“Nolan, where are you going?” Tommy calls out.Nolan slowly turns. “What?”“Where are you going?” Tommy repeats.Nolan bends his head forward, squinting like he can’t hear.“Where are you going?!” Tommy enunciates louder, sounding exasperated.“I’m gonna go to that shack over there,” Nolan finally replies, pointing at the decrepit building Tommy had been motioning toward earlier.“Why?” Sunshine asks.“‘Cause it looks cool.”“It does look like that’s where the GPS is taking us,” Tommy hums.“Yeah…” Sunshine looks down at her phone.Nolan stuffs his hands in his brown jacket pockets, widening his arms in a sort of shrug. “If you’re gonna be an evil, you know, thing, you gonna go hang out inside the waterfall? Or the park? Or in the creepy shack? I’m gonna hang out in the creepy shack.”Sunshine mumbles something under her breath while Tommy agrees with Nolan. “Going to the…creepy shack,” she tells the camera, rolling her eyes.
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“Nolan!” Tommy exclaims.They’re next to a random brick building with a sign reading ‘FOOT TRAFFIC ONLY.’ Sloped a bit down the hill is a huge, rusty-looking tunnel, which Nolan has decided to enter.“This is not where the GPS tells us to go!” Sunshine calls down, staring at the tunnel.“Nolan?” Tommy calls. No answer.“Ugh, it smells,” Sunshine complains.Tommy nods. “It does smell.”Sunshine lays down on top of the tunnel and pokes her head upside down, staring inside the dark chasm. Tommy carefully makes his way down the rocky slope, calling Nolan’s name again as he peers inside.“Yeah?” Nolan finally calls back, voice echoey.“See anything?” Tommy asks.Sunshine groans. “This is really uncomfortable.”Tommy makes his way inside the tunnel as well.“Hey, guys—you just left me here!” Sunshine exclaims.“Come on, what are you doing?” Nolan asks her as Tommy reappears.“I’m stuck.”“You’re not stuck.”“I don’t…think that’s where it’s taking us,” Tommy says. “It’s really cool though.”Sunshine gets up while Tommy and Nolan climb back up the slope.“We’re sure it was this place?” Nolan looks around.“No!” Sunshine snaps, shaking loose the rocks from her shoes.Tommy notices and huffs. “Maybe if you didn’t wear sandals—”“I didn’t know we were gonna be off-roading!”Nolan comes up from behind as they pass the odd brick building. “What is it with you and your inappropriate adventure attack?”Sunshine turns and swats at him, but misses as Nolan ducks away. As they continue walking, she raises up her fists like she’s going to fight him (which she’s not), and a much taller Nolan swings his hand forward and bats at her hair bun.“Ow!”Tommy gets between the two of them after that.⠀⠀⠀
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They’re nearer to the decrepit house now, further down the mountain, but Nolan has decided it’s a great idea to hang back and start climbing on top of the huge, steep, rusty tunnel that leads all the way down into the river.“He’s not too bright, is he?” Tommy asks.“No!” Sunshine snaps. “Yeah, let me climb down this giant pole! It’ll be great!”Nolan says something, but he’s so far away—and the waterfall is so loud—that it’s impossible to make out.“If you fall and cut open yourself, I’m gonna laugh! I’m gonna say, ha, ha, ha!”
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All back together now, Sunshine follows Tommy up into the dark house, which is more like a rotting brick building. She climbs the stairs up into the walkway, dust coughing from the creaky stairs with each step.“Oh, sweet mother of gosh,” Sunshine curses when the stairs groan under her. Thankfully, she’s in the building now, which actually may not be for the best.Once they’re all inside, Sunshine looks around at the building—yes, it’s a building, not a house—and stares at the huge rusty pipes and graffitied walls. Sunlight dapples in through the broken and cracked roof, spilling on to Nolan, who begins climbing a random piece of equipment from behind her.“Okay, so this is the spot that the GPS said to go to?” Sunshine says, turning when she hears Nolan. “Will you stop climbing everything?! Ugh!” She makes a face at the camera before continuing; Nolan doesn’t even acknowledge her. “So, we’re right on top of my GPS coordinates.”Nolan looks around from on top of the equipment. “There’s nothing,” he declares.“Okay, good,” Sunshine says sarcastically. “Glad there’s nothing up there.”Tommy walks around, glancing at the huge equipment around him. “This is crazy,” he whispers.“Guys, be careful of this,” Nolan says, climbing back down. “It’s a little dangerous—not that I’m scared of a little tetanus.”“A little tetanus—did you really just say that?” Sunshine asks. She shakes her head and walks deeper into the very brightly-lit building, only from how bright it is outside. “It’s like a concrete jungle!” She starts to sing a random tune.And there’s Nolan, climbing something again.“Can you stop?!” Sunshine practically begs. “Oh my gosh! You’re like, parkouring! Parkour, parkour!” She says louder, just to hear her voice echo.“Hey,” Nolan calls down.“Hey,” Sunshine replies in a deep voice.“You can get up here and help me find…something.”“What are we looking for?”“I don’t know exactly.”“Okay.” Sunshine raises her brows. “Real specific, you young’n.”She pans the camera around, walking away and ducking under equipment, when she hears Tommy behind her, speaking to Nolan. “Cool it! Seriously, dude?!”He must be climbing something again.She rejoins Uncle Tommy but, when she looks around, can’t find her friend. “Nolan? Ugh! Nolan!”“Don’t worry,” Tommy says sarcastically, calling out to a missing Nolan, “I got your coat for you!”“Nolan! Do you see him?” Sunshine asks.Tommy looks out the open, glassless window into the wilderness. “Nolan?”“He’s got your jacket. He’s gonna hold it hostage ‘till you pop out somewhere scarily.”Tommy scoffs and smiles. “Oh yeah, that’s what he’s doing.”“I know,” she huffs.They continue calling his name until he finally replies, though it’s so echoey and far away they’re not sure of the source.“Where are you?” Tommy looks around. “Here, hold this.” He throws Nolan’s jacket to Sunshine, who screws up her nose in disgust and drops it on the ground.Tommy sighs and picks it up, leading the way out of the building and around the side.“Guys!” Nolan calls, standing by the river.Tommy begins to stomp over, voice hard. “What is wrong with you?!”“What do you mean?”He throws Nolan’s jacket right at him. “You forgot your coat,” Tommy spits.“Oh, thank you,” Nolan says cordially.Sunshine raises her brows at the camera. “Okay.”Nolan chucks his jacket on the riverbed rocks and picks something up from the water.“What is that?” Sunshine demands.“It’s a…some sort of canister.” Sunshine tries to grab it out of his hand but he quickly wrenches it back, holding out a placating arm. She looks down at it—it’s large and circular, and has the words ‘My Dear’ on it. Sunshine huffs. “You’re clearly not the one anybody is talking about, my dear?”“People call me dear,” he grins.“No!” She laughs. “No one calls you dear!”“Sometimes.”Sunshine tries to grab it again and he holds it back. “Give it!” Nolan finally relents. “Thank you.” She looks over at Tommy. “It could be you.”He smiles, previous anger forgotten. “It could be me.”They both peer down as she opens the canister, and inside is a folded up piece of paper. Tommy takes it and unfolds it.“Ew,” Sunshine says, looking at the inside of the canister. She hands it back to Nolan, who takes it. “You can hold that now.”“That’s gross,” he remarks.“My dear, you’ve come early,” Tommy reads from the letter, catching both Nolan and Sunshine’s attention. “But fear not, I can still see you.”Sunshine takes it, frowning. “We will meet soon,” she finishes, heart thundering in her chest.Nolan makes a face and tries to grab it.Sunshine pulls it back, glaring. “No. I’m looking at it.”“That’s not creepy,” Tommy mutters sarcastically about the letter.Nolan finally grabs hold of the letter and stares at it, frowning. “Who writes this in sharpie?”“Guys,” Tommy says, staring up and somewhere past them.“That’s really what you’re concerned about?” Sunshine asks. “Sharpie?”“Guys!” Tommy snaps.“What?”He points upward, and both Sunshine and Nolan follow his gaze, up to the side of the cliff.“There’s somebody up there,” Tommy says.“Where?” Nolan asks.“Did you see him?” Silence. “I’m serious!”“Are you sure?”Sunshine shrugs. “I don’t see anything. I think you’re going crazy.”“We should go check it out,” Tommy says. “Yeah.”“Are you serious?” Sunshine asks.Nolan whirls on Tommy. “Go check it out?”Tommy looks back at the letter, reading it. “‘I see you’!”“I can still see you,” Sunshine corrects.“Uh…okay,” Nolan says hesitantly while Tommy begins the upward climb, following close beiind.“Uh, hello? Jacket?” Sunshine calls up.“You can get it,” Tommy says over his shoulder.“I am not picking that up! It’s staying there.”Nolan doesn’t seem particularly worried.⠀⠀⠀
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“Move your butt!” Sunshine complains as they continue walking up the hill.“I’m trying! I’m trying,” Nolan groans loudly.Tommy turns, placing his hands on his hips. “Are you guys gonna whine the entire way up the hill?”They continue, but soon Sunshine stops, shaking her head. “Guys, I can’t go on,” she moans.“This isn’t even a real road!” Nolan exclaims, put off by the idea of climbing something naturally made. He had no qualms about climbing earlier, did he?“Come on, guys,” Tommy beckons.They finally make it up the hill and begin walking toward the park.“I think that’s—guys,” Tommy hisses, slowing down once they get nearer to a dark greenish-blue truck.“What?” Nolan asks. “It’s just a man in a truck.”“No, I recognize the hat.”“Yeah?” Sunshine asks carefully, frowning. The man is staring right at them, a tan cowboy hat on his head. Definitely a rarity to see around here.“It’s fine, he’s just…” Nolan trails off.“He’s staring at you,” Sunshine remarks.They get closer and Nolan raises up an arm. “Pardon me,” he calls out to the guy, but he quickly drives off, truck rumbling. They can see another man in the passenger seat. “Uh, sir!” Nolan starts to run, and for a moment Sunshine is sure that he’s going to sprint after the truck like he did that car all those years ago at the warehouse, but he slows to a stop once the truck has pulled all the way off. Finally, Nolan turns. “Yeah, he’s evil. We should go. Come on!”“Yeah, let’s go,” Tommy agrees, while Nolan begins to run.“Come on!” Nolan exclaims again, approaching a random car.“Wrong car!” Sunshine laughs, while Nolan turns and begins jogging toward their actual car. “But um, don’t you guys think we should do this? That we should follow?”“What do you mean?” Nolan asks. “He’s getting away, let’s go!”Sunshine climbs in the front seat, groaning. “My car’s old-school!” Tommy gets in the driver’s seat while Nolan hops in the back.They peel off and start to follow where the truck drove to. Sunshine and Tommy somehow get into an argument about driving.“I’m a very responsible driver!” Sunshine exclaims. “You are like a grandma when you drive! I should’ve been driving.”Tommy rebukes before silence lapses between them all for a few minutes. They get closer to the truck, following behind at a slightly slower pace.“You know,” Nolan says suspiciously, arm hooked out the open window, “for somebody trying to get away, these guys aren’t moving very fast.”“I don’t think they’re trying to get away, I think they’re leading us,” Sunshine says. She frowns. “Is this weird? What if this is, like, a complete stranger?”Tommy shrugs. “What are they gonna do?”“I don’t know.”“It’s two old guys in a truck. I think we can overpower them.”“Okay, no one’s overpowering anyone, first of all,” Nolan says.“But seriously,” Sunshine says, “it’s weird. We just saw a complete stranger in a car—he could’ve just been staring at us because we’re filming. These could just be people, and they’re like,” she adopts a Southern accent, “‘Why the heck are these people followin’ us’?” She shrugs, resuming to her normal voice. “I don’t know.”More silence, at least until the truck starts to slow.“Oh, he’s slowing down,” Sunshine says. “Don’t get too close.”“Okay,” Tommy laughs.“Is he turning? Okay, my car cannot go off-roading.”“Come on, Big Bertha can handle anything.”Sunshine looks over, incredulous. “My car’s name is not Big Bertha.”“I named it Big Bertha forever ago!”“You cannot—”“You can accept that I named your car!” Tommy looks over before turning after the truck, which has turned on to a rickety dirt road.“I named it Sheep,” Nolan says.“Okay, both of you, stop,” Sunshine snaps.“‘Cause of the seats,” Nolan continues, motioning toward the white fur seats Sunshine had installed.“Warning,” Tommy reads from a sign. “Laser test site area ahead?”“No judgement,” Sunshine says.Nolan scoffs. “That’s bull, there’s no laser test sites for at least fifty miles around.”“What the hell is a laser test site?” Tommy asks.“It’s where they test lasers. You know, on a site.”Tommy scoffs, clearly about to rebuke something, but Sunshine interrupts them. “Guys. Seriously, no one’s listening. My car cannot handle off-roading. If we have to go any further than this little gravel road—”“Hey, Sunshine,” Nolan says sarcastically. “Chill out. We’re doin’ it. It’s happening, your car’s fine. It’s not afraid of gravel.”Tommy nods. “Big Bertha can do it.”“Its name is not Big Bertha!” Sunshine says.“Its name is Big Bertha.”“No, it’s not.”“It’s true.”“No.”Tommy sighs. “Seriously, where the hell are they going?”“I don’t know,” Sunshine says. “They seem pretty confident.”“We’ve been driving on this road forever, right?”“Forever?”Nolan frowns. “What if it’s a trap?”“Oh, now you speak up?”“Could be a trap, just saying.”“Thanks,” Sunshine replies. “Making me feel real safe.” She has a bad feeling about this, too, but she’d rather not admit that.“It’s almost as though they’re leading us.” Nolan leans back, closing his eyes.As they continue, the wild undergrowth and windy road seems to block sight of the truck.“Okay, I don’t see them,” Sunshine frowns.“They were driving like five miles an hour,” Tommy says. “How did we lose them?”Nolan rests his cheek on his fist, falling asleep.“What is that?” Sunshine asks, pointing toward a dark blot in the distance.As they grow closer, it becomes apparent just what it is. “That is a Jeep,” Tommy says.“Yeah, but why is it sitting there?” It’s pulled off to the side of the road, black in color. “Slow down, slow down.” Sunshine peers out the window as Tommy stops next to the Jeep. “There’s a note.”“On the door?”“Yeah.”“My dear,” Sunshine starts to read, shivering at those words again. She sighs, unbuckling her seatbelt, unable to read the rest from here. “Come on, guys, out.” She pats Nolan’s face through his open window after getting out. “Wake up.”Nolan quickly wakes, blinking groggily, arms raised in defense. “What? What, what?” He groans, blinking against the light before finally clambering out of the car. “Ugh, it’s so bright.”“Come on,” Tommy says.“Where are we going? What’s going on?”Tommy drags Nolan by the arm down the road, over to the other car.“Is that a Jeep?” Nolan asks.When they approach, Sunshine grabs the note and starts to read it again. “My dear.” She pauses, frowning, before resuming again. “I knew your car wouldn’t make it. I left this for you.”Nolan looks around at the Jeep. “Oh, this is definitely a trap.”“I have no idea how to drive a stick, so…you really don’t know me at all.” She throws the paper in the driver’s seat, sighing.“Guess I’m back in the driver’s seat,” Tommy says.“This is a trap,” Nolan says, in his ‘obviously’ voice.“Get in.”“Guys, this is definitely—stop,” he says when Tommy beckons him into the back. “Fine. But when it turns out to be a trap…”“It’s not a trap,” Sunshine says, taking shotgun again.“Okay, well if I die, it’s definitely your fault,” Nolan replies.“It’s so not my fault! And you’re not gonna die, you big baby.” She sighs. “This is a really nice Jeep. Thanks, Dad.”“This is terrifying,” Nolan says as Tommy starts the car up.“I hope this is already in gear,” Tommy says as the Jeep slowly pulls forward. “Aaaa!” he mock screams.“You’re a really great driver,” Sunshine remarks sarcastically.“Hey, you know what? I haven’t driven a stick shift in about ten years, okay?”“Uh huh. What were you, twelve?”Tommy sighs. “Twenty-one. Nine years ago. I’m old, okay, shut up.”Sunshine just laughs.If only she knew what was coming next. If only any of them did.

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“Do you guys see anything?”“I see a lot of hills,” Nolan remarks.“I just want to point out,” Tommy says, “that this is the road and not my driving.” He’s referring, of course, to the Jeep bouncing as it rolls over each rock, stumbling down the dirt road.Sunshine rolls her eyes. “Yeah, right, Grandma.”Nolan looks around at the Jeep, eyeing the doorless sides. “Do you guys think I could sit out on the edge of this thing?”“No,” Tommy says harshly.“I think I’m gonna try it,” Nolan continues, completely ignoring Tommy and reaching his arms up, beginning to hoist himself over the side.“No—” Sunshine tries to grab his arm and hold him back, but he swats her away. “You’re gonna kill yourself, stop it!”“Nolan!” Tommy snaps as Nolan moves a leg out the side of the Jeep. Sunshine tries to wrench his shirt back into the seat. “I will pull over!”“I’ll be more likely to die if you’re tugging on me,” Nolan tells Sunshine.“I know! Ugh!” She continues pulling on his plaid overlaid shirt until he relents, allowing himself to drop back into his seat.“It was gonna look really cool,” he complains.“No, it wasn’t,” she responds.Tommy just shakes his head, refocusing back on the road. “Where the hell are we going?”No one answers.
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Nolan sighs. “Well, we’ve been driving for about three weeks now, so it doesn’t look like we’re ever gonna turn.”“Oh my gosh!” Sunshine immediately says.“Nolan!” Tommy snaps. “You were the one that was so excited to come on this trip, dude!”“I—” Nolan shrugs, “don’t have a good sense of distance.”“I can tell,” Sunshine mutters.“What possessed us to get in this car again?” Tommy asks.“There was a note?” Sunshine says.At the same time, Nolan responds, “Stupidity.”The two look at each other.“Stupidity?” Sunshine echoes.“Yeah.”“Yeah,” she mocks. “There was a note. Um. Both? We thought it was a great idea at the time?”“I thought it was a trap,” Nolan says.“Yeah, well.”“Does nobody remember how I thought it was a trap?”“Look, there’s a deer!” Sunshine exclaims. She then pauses, mulling Nolan’s words over. “Okay, I agree it’s kind of weird that we got in this Jeep and now it’s been a while…”Tommy drives the Jeep down another slope, thick undergrowth and trees bunching up around the road as the car rocks with each forward pull.“Seriously,” Sunshine exclaims, “you might be the worst driver ever!”“Okay, I invite you to come up and try to drive this thing on this road!”“You’re fine, you’re fine, you’re fine,” Nolan says, lazily trying to defuse the situation. “You’re doing, you’re doing really well. I’m very proud of you, don’t lose your head, just keep goin’ alright?”Tommy doesn’t reply.Sunshine groans as the Jeep shakes and shudders. “Ugh! This is no longer fun!”“This is so creepy,” Tommy says, looking around at the thickening trees. “Whose idea was it to follow these guys?”“Nolan,” Sunshine says.Nolan shakes his head. “This isn’t creepy, this is great, look at it.” There’s that underlying sarcasm again, hard to detect but there in the absurdity of his words.Sunshine continues to complain, loudly, in the backseat. “I definitely feel like we’re lost. And now I feel like we’re in the middle of nowhere, maybe on somebody’s property—”“Hey!” Nolan exclaims. “Whose idea was it to get in the Jeep?”“YOURS!”“I believe that was yours, kid,” Tommy says. “Wait, guys.”“Guys,” Nolan says.“Guys!”“GUYS! What?”Tommy glares at Nolan from the rearview mirror, going silent to articulate his point. Next to a tree is the truck they’d been following, appearing abandoned.“There it is…” Sunshine mumbles, confused.“What?” Nolan asks, then spots the truck. “Oh my god.”“Slow down, slow down!”“Really?” Tommy barks back.They approach the truck and see one of the doors left wide open, but there’s no one inside as they cruise by. Then, Tommy stops the car.“What are you doing?!” Sunshine demands.“It’s empty!”Nolan hops out to investigate, looking into the truck. Sunshine and Tommy are quick to follow.“Okay, so what does this mean?” Nolan asks, and for some reason he’s holding the cowboy hat the man had on earlier. “We find the abandoned truck of the people we caught watching us at the park…we followed, up to a tiny woodland…”“This is getting way too Blair Witch for my taste,” Tommy says.Sunshine sighs. “I’m not wearing the right shoes.”“You never do.”Hey, she has to look good, all right? Beside her, Nolan slips on the hat, looking far too content with himself.Tommy turns and spots Nolan. “Take that hat off,” he whispers furiously, in a tone like he’s talking to a misbehaving child.Sunshine frowns, looking at the camera. “I don’t know what to do.”“I like cowboy hats, they’re cool,” Nolan mumbles. As he slowly walks up another hill, he asks, “Think they’re just trying to scare us?”“They’re doing a pretty good job,” Tommy remarks.Looks like they’ll have to walk from here.⠀⠀⠀
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They make their way deeper and deeper into the woods, surrounding by tall, gnarled trees and rocky hills. Next to her, Nolan picks up a random rock, inspecting it.Of course, Sunshine notices. “What are you doing? Stop picking things up.”Nolan shrugs and drops the walk, stopping back at her side and matching her pace. That is, until he notices another rock and picks it up.“Seriously!” Sunshine says, exasperated. “Stop picking things up!”“We’re in nature, man!”“Man,” Sunshine mocks in her deep man-voice.Tommy stops for a moment.Sunshine frowns. “What?”“It’s just really quiet.”Nolan turns around when the two stop to listen to the buzzing silence. “So, we think that they continued on the ravine on foot?”“I don’t know!” Sunshine exclaims.“They just kept goin’? After their car was…?” He resumes following Sunshine and Tommy when no one gives him an answer.They approach a literal fork in the road, two paths splayed out before them; one leading deeper into the woods, and one up on to a sloping hill.“Which one?” Tommy asks.“I don’t know!” she says indignantly. Then she gasps. “What if there’s rattlesnakes up here?”“There probably are.”Nolan nods. “There definitely are.”Sunshine stops, then makes a noise of protest as Nolan pushes her forward. “I don’t wanna go any further!”Tommy looks over. “You know the coolest part about rattlesnakes? You hear ‘em coming.”“Let’s go back to the car,” she says as they all collectively take the trail deeper into the forest. No more climbing for them. “No, seriously guys, this is a bad idea.”“Ugh! Come on,” Nolan says. “It’s easier if you don’t complain.”“No! There could be rattlesnakes and nature and—”“Definitely rattlesnakes, there’s lots of them.”“I don’t wanna be here.”“Just look before you step,” Nolan says. “That’s all you gotta do.”“Seriously! Why is nobody listening to me?!” Besides, there’s that clenched feeling in her gut, like something is about to go terribly wrong. It’s the feeling she used to get in their old house, before the ghosts would appear. And the bad ghosts, too.“What?” Nolan asks.“Can’t we just go back?”“Go back to what?”Sunshine frowns. “The Jeep? And then get back in my car? And then go home.”Tommy slowly nods. “Maybe we should just…leave.”Silence, then Nolan easily says, “Yeah, okay.”Sunshine rolls her eyes.“Another two and a half hours back home,” Tommy sighs.“Man, I really thought there was somethin’ here this time.” Nolan shakes his head.Sunshine scoffs. “Yeah, you say that every time.”“Yeah, but this time I was—”“Shh!” Sunshine stops in her tracks, dread filling her gut when she sees the truck pull off from the distance.“Hey, hey hey hey hey!” Nolan exclaims, beginning to run.“I’m not running,” Sunshine sighs.“I’m so done following them,” Tommy says. He squints at Nolan, who’s standing by the Jeep. “Just let ‘em go, Nolan.”“Did you see anybody in there?” Sunshine asks.Nolan doesn’t reply.“Anything? No?” Nolan bends down. “Just gonna tie your shoe now?”“You guys can take your sweet time, or we can catch them,” Nolan says as they approach. “Or we can just go home. I’m done.”“You’re done?”“I’m done.” He climbs into the Jeep while Sunshine and Tommy follow suit. However, when Tommy turns the key, there’s a splutter of the engine before it tapers off again. “What are you doing?”Tommy frowns. “It won’t start.”“No,” Nolan says. “No, what? No!”“What do you mean it won’t start?” Sunshine asks.“The car won’t start!” Tommy exclaims.Nolan looks down. “Do you have your foot on the thing?”“Yeah!” Tommy gets out and goes around the front of the car, trying to pop the hood.Sunshine looks over at Nolan, chest heaving. “You know something about cars, right?”He shrugs. “No.”The two clamber out of the Jeep and join Tommy.“Alright,” Nolan says, “check to see if, uh—check the—uh—”“How do you even open this thing?” Tommy laughs.“Do you guys know anything about cars? Either of you?” Sunshine asks. She looks at Tommy. “You’re gay, and you’re…” She turns to Nolan. “You’re you.”They ignore her as they pop the hood, holding it up.“First thing we do is check the wiring,” Nolan says, but he doesn’t sound very confident.“Dude,” Sunshine says, “you have no idea what that means, do you?”Nolan peers around, nodding slowly. “The wiring seems to be good…this isn’t plugged in, you think that’s a problem? Is there an outlet?”“Is that zip tied?” Tommy asks.“Uh…”“Guys,” Sunshine begins, “I definitely feel like this is not—”“Sunshine,” Nolan interrupts. “Check the carburetor.”She throws her hands out. “I don’t even know what that is!”Nolan scratches his chin. “It’s uh, it’s the—”“Okay, well, this is pointless,” Tommy says, closing the hood.So much for that.⠀⠀⠀
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Sunshine looks at the camera. “Okay, so, we’ve been hanging out. Nobody knows anything about cars. And—”“Yeah, we’re totally screwed,” Tommy says.“—we’re like a half hour off the main road, which wasn’t that main anyways, and then…yeah, we have nothing to eat or drink, and, yeah. So, this is like the worst plan ever and…yeah. Can’t think of anything else to sum that up. Oh! I have an idea!”Tommy looks over. “What?”“What if we call somebody?” She looks up at the branches webbed above her head. “You know, like, with a phone.” She gasps. “Oh! Or I could mentally use my powers and use Victoria. How do I do that again, though?”Tommy sighs and pulls out his phone. Nolan stays silent off to the side, sitting on the bumper of the Jeep.“What are you doing?” Sunshine asks her uncle.He scrolls. “Calling Tori.”“Calling her?”He puts the phone up to his ear, a hand on his hip as he waits.“What are you doing?” Sunshine asks, incredulous. Does Victoria even have a phone? “What are you doing?”“Aaaand no service,” Tommy says, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “Awesome.”“You’re serious?!” She pulls her own phone out to check.“TORI!” Tommy yells, voice echoing around the canyons.“Does yelling her name—” Sunshine cuts herself off when she sees the lack of bars on her phone. “I have no service either.”“Hey! Do you have a better idea?” Tommy snaps back.“No!”“TORI! IT’S ME! WE’RE KINDA SCREWED HERE!”Sunshine looks back at the camera. “He has a little bit of an obsession with her.”“Somebody—somebody stay with the truck,” Nolan says when Tommy walks off to apparently scream more and Sunshine starts to follow.Sunshine looks back at him. “It’s a Jeep.” She sticks her tongue out at him after the look he gives her.“We could just start walking,” Nolan says as Tommy approaches. “Eventually we’re gonna have to start walkin’.”“I don’t wanna start walking,” Sunshine whines, “we’re like a half hour away from anything.”“If we don’t walk now we’re gonna have to walk later, and you’re only gonna get thirstier.”Sunshine mutters something under her breath.“Come on. We’re thirty minutes away from the main road, we can pick up a car from there, we’ll be fine. We gotta go now though, before we contract Lyme disease or whatever happens to you in the woods.”“I definitely feel like that doesn’t happen.”“Yeah,” Tommy says.“Come on,” Nolan says, then sighs. “Sunshine.”“What do they say? If you’re lost,” Tommy hums, “you should just stay put?”“Yeah! They say that!” Sunshine exclaims.“Sunshine.” Nolan pinches the bridge of his nose.“Point taken, Tommy,” Sunshine says.“At least we’re not lost.”“Yes we are.”“We’re not lost!”“We’re in the middle of nowhere!”Nolan sighs. “We know exactly how we got here!”“No we don’t.”“Look, we took it a little too far this time, that’s mostly my fault.”“Yeah!” Sunshine and Tommy say in unison.“Whose fault was that?” Sunshine follows up.“None of it, but I’m trying to be nice,” Nolan says. “Come on, we gotta go.”“It’s a long walk.”Nolan places a hand on his hip, and moves the other behind Sunshine’s back. She softens slightly. “Come on. Come on.”“Mm-mm,” she sighs.“Tommy, Tommy,” Nolan says, looking up as Tommy starts to climb a slope behind them. “Where you goin’, Tommy?”Tommy sits down on a large tree stump.“Oh, he’s gonna sit down,” Nolan says.“I have nowhere to sit,” Sunshine complains. “Oh! I found a rock!” She sits down on it, then frowns. “Ow. It’s not a very comfortable rock, though.”“How about you whine a little bit more,” Tommy suggests.“I haven’t eaten in like two hours and it makes me cranky.”Silence lapses between them. No one seems to know what to say or do for a while.“Hey, what’s that?” Nolan asks.“What’s what?” Tommy questions.Sunshine mumbles, “It’s called nature.”“Oh, crap!” Nolan launches himself off the Jeep’s bumper, beginning to run. “Come on!”“Come on what?” Sunshine asks.“Somebody’s coming!”They all start to run back into the deeper part of the forest.“Don’t run,” Sunshine complains. “Guys! Where are we gonna hide?”“Here’s a good place,” Tommy says, and they all position themselves behind a large tree, peering out toward the Jeep.It’s the truck.“It’s them,” Sunshine whispers. The truck pulls off to the side before it comes to a halt. “What are they doing?”“Shh!” Nolan hushes them.The truck pulls back, like it’s turning to leave again.“Are they backing up?” Sunshine asks, confused.Tommy frowns. “Maybe they were just looking to see if we’re still here.”“Yeah, well, we’re pretty hidden here!” Sunshine says sarcastically. Oh, shit! The truck’s door is opening. “Someone’s getting out!”The man from the passenger seat gets into the Jeep and starts it. This time the engine rumbles to life.“No, no, no!” Nolan exclaims.“He started the Jeep!” Sunshine says.“Tommy, you said it wouldn’t start!”Tommy snaps back, “It wouldn’t start!”Sunshine watches the truck pull off, the Jeep following suit. “Guys, we should talk to them!”“What do you mean?” Tommy asks.“Maybe they would’ve given us a ride back down!”“Really?” Nolan says, sarcasm dripping in his tone. “You think that they would’ve? They’re stealing our car right now, Sunshine! We’re not gonna talk to them.”“Guys, what do we do now?!” Sunshine exclaims. “They just took our vehicle!” The cars disappear into the treeline, going back the way they came. “Nobody’s freakin’ out! Cool! Whatever!”Nolan leans back against the tree, appearing thoroughly annoyed.“Guys…I’m hungry,” Sunshine whines. “And we have no cell phone service, and I’m thirsty, and now we have no vehicle. Guys, this is not a good day.”Tommy sighs. “This is not an epic win.”“This is all your fault,” Sunshine says, looking at Nolan. “I’m blaming you entirely.”“Thank you, I needed that,” Nolan replies.“So what do we do now?” Tommy asks.“I don’t know, just wait for the rattlesnakes to get us.” He sighs and pushes himself off the tree with his foot. “Come on, we’re walking.” He leads the way back toward where the Jeep had been.“Now we’re gonna die,” Sunshine complains.Nolan turns to her, pauses, then wraps an arm around her back and tugs her close, walking forward with her. “Come on.”Finally, she does.
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“So, we’ve come up with a plan,” Sunshine addresses the camera. “And I would not say it’s the most brilliant plan anyone has come up with—” She points at Nolan, “uh, but this one is going to go walking until he finds cell phone service, call someone, and then walk back.”Nolan smirks victoriously. “Because I bothered to bring my cell phone.”“We all brought our cell phones.”“You have your cell phone?”“Yes!”Nolan nods his head toward where the truck and Jeep disappeared. “Why don’t you go then?”“No, you go!”Nolan smirks again. “That’s what I thought.”Tommy looks at Nolan. “You’re the one that came up with the stupid idea.”“Yeah,” Sunshine agrees.Nolan clears his throat, beginning to walk off. “Alright, you guys wait here. Don’t get scared, don’t get eaten, I’ll be right back.”“Good luck,” Tommy calls.“Have fun,” Sunshine nods.“Miss you.”“I don’t.”Nolan doesn’t respond, just keeps walking.“Please be safe!” Tommy says. “I know you!”“Stop yelling!” Nolan yells back.When he’s good and gone, that’s when a deep, demonic voice pipes up, seemingly coming from all around them. “My dear,” it says.Sunshine and Tommy jump to their feet, looking around wildly.“Hello?” Sunshine demands.Tommy looks over, wide-eyed. “Did you hear that?”“Yeah…Nolan, is that you?! ‘Cause it’s not funny!” But deep down she knows it’s not Nolan. She has an inkling about who it is, actually.“I missed you, my dear.”“Where is that coming from?!” Tommy exclaims.“I don’t know, it sounds like everywhere,” Sunshine says, trying to steel herself.“If you’re out there, show yourself!”“It’s Dad,” Sunshine mumbles. Tommy’s head snaps up. “He’s dead.”“What?”“My Dad. It’s my Dad—Dad?!”“What are you talking about?!”“The men are coming,” her father says and Sunshine sucks in air, heart fluttering in her chest.Her Dad…after all this time, she’s finally talking to him. She imagined this going a lot of different ways, but never quite like this. “Are you nice?” she finally asks.“No.”“What’s gonna happen?” Tommy demands, slowly coming around to the idea that this is Sunshine’s literal father.“I’m going to kill you if you do not join me.”“Dad!” Sunshine screams.“You must hide.”“They’re coming!” Tommy exclaims. “Come on, run!”They hide behind a bed of rocks, peeking over the ridge.“I hear the truck, it’s coming,” Sunshine whispers, still shaking after hearing her father’s voice.The truck seems to be approaching, growing louder by the second, and then—“SUNSHINE!” Nolan yells, voice faint.“Nolan?” Sunshine mutters.“THEY’RE COMING! HIDE! SUNSHINE!”What the fuck is happening?! Is Nolan captured or something?A man gets out of the truck, and in his hands is—“He’s holding a gun!” Sunshine whisper-yells. “Stay down!”The man has a brown cowboy hat on, wearing a brown vest over a white shirt with jeans and boots on. He’s got a white beard and his eyes are dark and sharp, gazing around the area like it’ll tell him exactly where they went.As soon as the man sees them, Sunshine is sure they’re dead. It’s over, right? However, suddenly, the man is choking, guttural rasps that groan past his teeth as he clenches his throat with his hands. He wrenches his head back before dropping forward slightly, and when he raises his eyes something about him is different, is—“My dear!” the man calls.—Dad.She says as much, the question tumbling loose past her lips. “Dad?”“I’m sorry it took me so long to find you,” he says in a regretful voice, and what the hell is happening? Did her Dad possess someone?“Stay back,” Tommy demands, putting a protective hand on Sunshine’s shoulder.“We need to be together, you should come with me,” the man—Dad—says, motioning toward himself with his hands.“I always thought you wanted me to stay away from you,” Sunshine asks, confused.“No, no! I need us to be together because we can combine our powers. The Markons will fear us.”Horror writhes in Sunshine’s stomach. “Wait…you’re…?”“Yes,” Dad nods, a small smile on his face. “Yes, I am. I’m like you. I’m a Luiseach.”“He could be lying,” Tommy whispers.Noise, nearby—it’s the driver of the truck getting out! He looks suspicious, watching on and approaching slowly.Dad bends down for his gun. “Do you want me to kill him?”“No!” Sunshine exclaims. “No more killing!” What the hell kind of question is that?“Okay, I can do it another way.”Sunshine and Tommy duck down behind the rocks again, and all Sunshine can think is, Where’s Nolan?Still, that question…“Why did he offer that?” Sunshine asks her uncle. “Luiseach are supposed to be the light in the dark! We don’t…kill people.”“So what was that?” Tommy whispers back.“I think he’s lying.”Suddenly there’s gunshots—two of them.“No!” the driver screams, before it’s cut off into a thick choking sound. When Sunshine turns, she sees the driver fall to his knees and drop face-first into the dirt, going still.
Nolan. Nolan!
They don’t even speak—Sunshine and Tommy run straight for the truck.“Nolan, we’re coming!” Tommy says.“Nolan!” Sunshine exclaims as they get closer. Tommy wrenches the back door open and Nolan places his hand on the open windowsill, eyes wide.“What the hell is going on?” Nolan demands. When he looks over at the dead driver, he frowns. “Oh. He was fine a minute ago.”Yeah, before he was gunned down by her dad! And when she turns that’s exactly where he is, standing before her with a smile on his face.“Together,” Dad says, “we’ll be more powerful than you can imagine.”“I can’t trust you,” Sunshine says.“Okay,” Nolan cuts in, “I don’t know what’s goin’ on here, but we don’t have time for it.” He turns to walk back toward the truck, Sunshine and Tommy following suit.“Don’t go!” Dad exclaims, reaching out a hand. “I’m dying here!”That causes Sunshine to pause, turning back to look at him.“You’re already dead, pal,” Nolan says.Dad shakes his head. “You don’t understand. My body is dead, but now my soul is dying. I’m losing my powers! If we don’t get together,” he looks at Sunshine, “I won’t make it through the Day of the Dead. My soul will be swept under.”“Dude!” Sunshine snaps. “Your story changes every five seconds! I know you’re evil! I command you to leave this body! Now!” Power thrums through her, power she’s never felt before, and suddenly Dad—or the man—is choking again, and then he goes limp and still, unmoving.Nolan points, jaw dropped.“Come on,” Sunshine says.But then Nolan stops behind them, and when Sunshine turns, she hears that chilling, “My Dear.” Except this time it’s in Nolan’s voice, and that makes it all the more horrifying.“Nolan?” Sunshine whispers, Tommy staring wide-eyed beside her.“I’m sure he’s in here somewhere,” Nolan—or now Dad—says, smirking slightly. “But, you know. It’s your father.”“Dad, you can’t do this.”“I can, I have.” Nolan moves strangely, completely unlike he’s ever moved before. “It’s happening.”“My God, Nolan…” Tommy whispers.“He’s gone,” her dad says. “Nolan is gone. Understand that?” He pauses, brows furrowing. “Now I can bring him back—I can bring him back, until the Day of the Dead.” He punctuates his point by shaking his hand, stepping closer to Sunshine. “Then his soul is gone, and my soul is gone. And his body is useless.”Sunshine glares daggers at him. She’s never hated anyone more than this, and it—it hurts to see her friend like this, telling her these things. She knows it’s not Nolan, but it’s still his voice, his face…“But if you join me now,” Nolan says, crossing his arms, a delighted look on his face, “then we can save him together.”She hesitates, then says, “No, I’m not joining you.”“No,” Tommy says.“No?” Dad asks.“No!” Sunshine snaps.“Your friend’s life is worth…so little to you.” Dad shrugs, going for his pocket. “Well, I don’t need the body, necessarily.” And then there’s a gun in his hand, and he positions it right below his chin, like he’s about to blow his head off.Sunshine and Tommy scramble back.“No!” Tommy yells. “Put it down.”“Dad, don’t!”“Stop it, please!”Dad just smiles. “I’ll blow his brains out all over the woods, I will. I’ll do it.”Tommy looks horrified. “Sunshine, do something!”She steps forward, but loses her resolve when Dad says, “There’s nothing you can do.”“We’ll take him to Victoria,” Sunshine says uncertainly, “and she’ll know what to do.”“Victoria?” Dad scoffs. “Victoria can do nothing. Victoria is even more powerless than I am.”Sunshine shakes her head. She won’t believe this, not now, not when her best friend’s life is in danger. “No.” She puts a hand out, focusing that power inside of her, and then Dad’s chin is lifting, his hand dropping to his side, and something about Nolan changes.“Sunshine?” It’s Nolan’s voice, but there’s something significantly less Dad-like about it, and she knows that it’s him.“Nolan?” Sunshine asks, voice tight.“Sunshine, hey,” he says softly, still looking up, like he can’t move his body. “I can’t—I can’t see anything.”“Nolan, it’s okay, I’ll get you out of this,” she says desperately. “I’m sorry.”“I’m—I’m sorry,” Nolan says. Why is he sorry? “I’m sorry, I—listen, I made a deal with the Markons because I wanted to meet you.” Sunshine’s breath exhales from her body, reminded of when they’d lost touch for those long, aching months. But why is he saying this again? Why—?The next words leave her breathless, completely immobilized.“I love you, Sunshine.”Sunshine stares, hardly able to comprehend what she’s hearing, and yet it’s something she’s known for a long time. She does love Nolan. She has for years.“You are not allowed to speak,” Nolan laughs, except it’s not Nolan anymore, it’s Dad. He shakes his head, refocusing his gaze on his daughter. “I’m sorry about that, he’s a talker, isn’t he?”Tommy pulls Sunshine back when Dad brandishes the gun again.“Now…I want you to come with me. You don’t have to, I understand. But I’ll kill him.”No. No, she can’t let Nolan die. Not after that, not when they could have so much more in the future. Not when they’ve shared so much in the past.Sunshine swallows, turning to Tommy. “I have to go with him.”“No, no, you can’t!”“Yes.”“No, he’ll take your power! You’ll be a slave to him! Don’t go.”“He’ll kill Nolan,” she says, and she knows she can’t let that happen. Not if it’s in her power.“We can think of something,” Tommy says desperately, holding Sunshine’s arm.She just shakes her head. “Tell Mom I love her.” She turns away from Tommy, and even though it feels wrong, like the worst decision she’s ever made, she knows she has to save Nolan. They love each other. It’s what they do.“I’m sorry, Nolan,” she whispers, approaching her father and his outstretched hand. “This is all my fault.”Dad sighs, looking very content. He opens his mouth to say something but then his hand is slowly raising, inch by inch, the gun pointing up toward him. Dad’s brows furrow, a look of confusion on his face, and then panic. “What are you doing,” he says lowly.“Dad, no!” Sunshine exclaims. Panic. “Dad, don’t! I said I’d come with you!”“This isn’t me,” Dad says, the gun pointed right back below his chin. “No, Nolan—Nolan! Stop! What are you doing?! If you kill me, you’re gonna die too.”“I know.” That’s Nolan’s voice, that’s his eyes, that’s him! “Sunshine?”“Nolan?” she whispers. Tommy sobs behind her.“I’m sorry about everything.”She shakes her head, voice choked. “It’s okay.”He laughs. “God. Your dad’s kind of an asshole, isn’t he?”“No,” Sunshine says as Nolan’s finger presses down on the trigger. She turns, burying her face into Tommy’s chest, and—BOOM!Sunshine’s never heard a sound so loud. It echoes in her ears, slams into her brain, pours lead into her heart. She can’t look, not when she just heard Nolan die. She can’t do anything else, so she just sobs.But—but Nolan. What if he’s okay? She turns, screams his name, a resounding, “Nolan!” When she drops to his side she sees the blood and gore and not much else, hands coated in it, Tommy’s too.He’s gone.Nolan’s dead.He’s dead.
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“Hi Nolan,” Sunshine greets, making a face.

“It’s a pleasure,” he returns.

“Are you Jehovah’s Witness? You’re much taller than me,” she says sarcastically, yet also unenthusiastically.

“No. I’m agnostic.”
“Oh. That’s nice.”
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“Don’t you remember that? There was— okay, so, there was this— there was this time uh, when I was being choked by forces of the unseen—” Nolan explains.“Forces of the unseen,” Sunshine echoes mockingly to the camera.“And somebody said something like— Stop!” He moves forward and puts a palm out. Sunshine huffs out a laugh. “And then, uh, and then they stopped those unseen forces, and, you know why they stopped? Because Sunshine— defender of the mortal realm—”
She giggles and Nolan smiles.

“—told them to.”
“I want my own action figure,” she smirks.
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“Not everything is a lie!” Nolan promises. “Okay? This isn’t a lie.” He reaches forward and grabs Sunshine’s hand, closing the gap between them. “Sunshine.”
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“What’s up, Buttercup?” a voice says from behind her.Sunshine’s heart swells as she turns towards Nolan. “Nothing.”
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Sunshine’s hand finds the other’s again and she relaxes, feeling instantly comforted by the touch. “Thanks for being here.”
A pause.

But no hesitation.
“…Always.”And little did she know, Nolan was never going to leave.
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“Ghost radar,” Nolan says, flashing the screen to the camera. “Um…”
“Click it,” Sunshine points.

“Uh huh. Okay, so it’s an actual radar.”

“It’s a radar.”
“But…instead of judging the distance of sound waves—” Sunshine can’t contain her laugher “—it judges the distance of ghosts.”
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Suddenly, there are arms wrapped around her and she’s being draped into a warm hug. Sunshine throws her hands out without hesitation and braces them against Nolan’s back, connecting their embrace. Nolan lays her to the side and both of them are staring into each other’s eyes. Never have they been so close.
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“Thank you for telling me,” Sunshine whispers.
Nolan seems surprised. “Thank you for letting me. I just hope you know I’m always here for you.”
Her lip trembles as butterflies flood her stomach. “I know. Same for you, Nolan.”
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Sunshine runs into Nolan’s arms and squeezes tightly. He seems surprised, faltering slightly, before recovering and hugging her back. They stand like this for a moment, lost in each other’s warmth.
“Stay safe,” she whispers.
He places his chin on top of her head before pulling back. “I will.”
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“Blah!” Nolan says.
She widens her eyes. “That’s mine!”

Nolan grins. “I know, I stole it!”

“Blah!” Sunshine shouts.

“Blah!”
“Blah!”
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Nolan opens the refrigerator and looks inside, then glances back up at her. “Listen, if you want my help, you’ve got my help, of course. Anything you need.” He raises his brows.
“Really?” she asks.
“Yeah.”
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“You’re gonna be fine,” Nolan says, watching Victoria intently, squinting. He then turns to see Sunshine’s nervous expression. “You’re gonna be fine,” he says again, softer. “We’ll figure something out.”
“Okay,” she breathes.
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The rest goes by in a blur. They use the truck to get out of there, bringing Nolan with them, and his head guzzles blood in the backseat while they drive. Tommy manages to call the police and everything thereafter is gone, wiped from memory; a black void in the crevices of her mind.The police must tell Nolan’s family, because they host the funeral. Gary and Lionel are there, too, and there’s a plethora of other people Sunshine didn’t even know Nolan knew. Victoria shows up at the end, standing in the back, but is gone before Sunshine can speak to her.Kat is horrified. Tommy is, too, and Sunshine—she just wants this nightmare to end. Wants to believe it’s all a dream, that Nolan didn’t really die and that she’s not really in this world without her best friend, but it’s an awful truth she’ll have to accept.And after laying in bed for a month straight she finally forces herself to get up and get the mail. When she does, however, she finds a letter on her doorstep, and it reads:
Dear Sunshine,

Thank you for the time we spent together. I want you to know that even though I won’t be around anymore, I always knew that might be a risk. But rest assured your light has helped me move to a better place. I may not be here in physical form, but I will always be watching over you. I’m glad I was able to help save you from your father. He will never bother you again. Be safe, be strong.

With love,
Nolan

P.S. I was wrong about the paranormal realm. There’s plenty of good over here, and you’ve definitely got their attention. Good work, champ.
She puts the letter in her drawer and reads it every day. It puts a stupid smile on her face, and while she has no idea how he did it, somehow, Nolan left this letter for her.It reminds her to stay strong. Reminds her that no matter what, she has to continue on. And in the end, she’s a Luiseach. She’s the light in the darkness, and Nolan was her protector. Now she has to protect herself.She can do that.She can be the light in her own life and help guide spirits to move on, spirits like Nolan. And she can help banish spirits like her father.Sunshine’s going to do some good with these powers, even if it kills her. And if it does, well…At least she knows she has someone waiting for her.