“I see dead people”

-The Sixth Sense

Trent and Lupe rolled in to the apartment sometime in the early evening, the low rumble of the motorbike slowly causing the denizens of the house to stir as the sun began to dip in the sky. The pair had completed their task and, content to let their new “master” sleep the day away, had retired to Lupe’s apartment to enjoy some rest, and each other. Lupe smirked and playfully slapped Trent’s ass as they walked in the door.

“We found the people who took the book,” Lupe announced, “Valeria wasn’t at her place, she over here?”

“I am,” Valeria said, stretching and yawning as she floated out of Brendan’s room. Brendan himself followed behind her a moment later, noticeably shorter than his usual self, barely coming up to Valeria’s chest, and with a goofy grin on his face.

Trent chuckled and shot him a quick nod, which Brendan had to return as the four of them took seats around the couch.

Alex suddenly burst out of her own room, an uncharacteristic smile on her face, “guess what guys, I’ve got a boyfriend now!”

“That was quick, I feel bad that she rebounded off us so fast,” Brendan joked. He and Trent chuckled together as Alex scowled.

“Yeah, well feast your eyes on this!” Alex said triumphantly as a grinning Dan floated into the room next to her. “His name is Dan, he’s a ghost, isn’t that awesome?” Alex gushed.

Trent and Brendan both stared a moment, making uncomfortable eye contact, “Alex,” Trent began slowly, “there’s… no one there.”

“You cracked, or what?” Lupe asked, throwing an arm up around Trent’s massive frame.

Alex blinked, “b-but he’s right there!” she stammered, pointing at Dan.

“The living can’t usually see us,” Dan said, “you only can because we’ve been communicating so much, give me a minute and I can rattle some silverware or something… actually do you guys have a ouiji board?”

“I don’t think so,” Alex said, biting her lip, “oh wow, so you’re invisible huh?”

“Alex,” Brendan said suddenly, “I know we’ve maybe been hard on you lately, but seriously, take a nice deep breath and-“

“The living cannot usually see a ghost,” Valeria said with an amused expression as she looked at Dan, “but the undead can… pleased to meet you, Daniel.”

“Hold on, he’s real?” Trent asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Why is that so surprising?” Alex asked, angrily crossing her arms.

“Hey, relax,” Dan said with a grin, hovering behind Alex as she sat in an easy chair, “I’ll possess the toaster or something later and freak them out.”

Valeria’s mouth quirked at that, but she turned back to the wolves, “You have found the vuns who took my books?”

“A pair of scientists from the college,” Lupe said, “they’ve got a little stringbean of a guy with them too, but I’m pretty sure he’s not calling the shots, had that beta boy smell all over him, just like this guy here,” she playfully kissed Trent, causing him to blush.

“Vhy did you not recover them then and there?” Valeria asked, a slight edge, though no anger, in her voice.

“One of them threatened us with a syringe full of what she claimed was a shrinking formula,” Trent explained, “the other one was thirty feet tall, Lupe thought it was better to just head back here.

“Unusually vise for a volf,” Valeria said, cocking an eyebrow.

“I’m choosing to take that as a compliment,” Lupe growled.

“Ve vill need to confront them together,” Valeria growled, “Brendan, you and Alex vill remain here.”

“Hey, shouldn’t I stick close to you?” Brendan asked uncertainly.

“If violence should occur, it may be more… deadly than our encounter vith these two,” Valeria said, gesturing at them.

“Okay,” Brendan muttered, a little deflated, “I guess I get it…”

“Cheer up bucko, you fought a werewolf once, that’s something right?” Trent laughed, standing up as the three monsters headed for the door.

“Thanks Trent,” he said with a small smile. With a sigh he turned back to Alex, “well, do you want to play some Smash Brothers or something?”

“Tell him I’m in,” Dan said eagerly, his ghostly voice bouncing off the walls. The room watched as the console cabinet below the living room TV flew open, and a controller hovered over to the ghosts’ hands. To Brendan and the wolves, it appeared as though a controller was hovering in mid air.

“I guess the ghost is in,” Brendan said with a resigned smile.

“Come Lupe, Trent,” Valeria said, a grin broadening across her face, “tonight ve ride to var and vengeance!”

“Oh hell yeah!” Lupe said, grinning as her wolfen ears sprouted from her head.

“AWWOOOOO!” Trent called, almost shaking the windows as the group moved towards the door.

Brendan sighed, still wishing he could have gone with them, “Alex, tell ghost boy to get ready to die again,” he said, switching the console on.

…

Candy swore angrily, her beer scented breath filling the rideshare car while the her driver watched her nervously. She scowled, giving him a middle finger and causing him to put his eyes back on the road.

“Here you are Ma’am,” he said, pulling into the driveway of Brendan’s house.

“Good, bout fucking time,” Candy muttered, stepping out of the car. As it pulled away she smirked and selected the “no tip” option on the rides share app, that’ll teach that creep to give me a fucking look, she thought smugly. She started staggering toward the front door, the liquid courage in her system building her fury higher.

She grinned as she found the front door unlocked, and pulled the switchblade from her jean jacket pocket, flicking the blade out as she pushed her way in.

“Hey Alex!” she sneered, startling the girl and Brendan, who were playing video games in the living room, “I wanted to have a little talk with you!”

“C-Candy!?” Alex squealed, curling up in her chair, “w-what-“

“You sent me into a fucking vampire’s house!” She snarled, gesturing with the blade erratically. She seemed to notice Brendan for the first time, then froze, her eyes going wide with fear, “I-Is-“

“Valeria isn’t here,” Brendan said calmly, pausing the game and setting his controller down, “go home Candy, you’re drunk.”

“Drunk enough to stab your ass,” she muttered, regaining her courage a bit, “after I get done cutting Alex a new one anyway, sit back down and wait your turn.”

Something snapped in Brendan, and he stood up with a growl, “Candy, you need to fuck off, if Valeria finds out you’re back here-“

“Oh, you gonna hide behind her again?” Candy laughed, “once a pussy always a pussy I guess.”

“Alex, go in your room, lock the door,” Brendan said darkly.

“Alex,” Dan said suddenly, that same ethereal echo bouncing off the walls, “I can’t usually interact with the living but… quick, boot up League of Legends.”

“You want to play a fucking match right now?” Alex whispered under her breath as she stumbled towards her door in a panic.

“No, just trust me, get it on! I need to get on the server!” Dan explained, hovering in the form of a cloud of mist behind her.

“It really pisses me off that you chose now to grow a spine Brendan,” Candy mused, advancing on him, the drunkenness seeming to vanish, replaced by a deadly tension.

Unsure of what else to do, Brendan raised his fists, shaking slightly, “I really don’t want to do this,” he warned a final time.

Candy screamed, then slashed at him. He surprised himself with how quickly he was able to dodge it, leaping back in a move that he was certain would normally have him fall over himself. He watched, stunned, as Candy shouted something incomprehensible before coming at him again. Again, he sidestepped her easily, shocking both her and himself.

What the hell, he blinked as he caught his reflection in the kitchen’s microwave door, his eyes were… golden, like… Valeria’s?

He winced as he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, “Got you freak!” Candy screeched.

…

“And… logged in,” Alex said excitedly, hearing the sound of the scuffle outside, “okay, what’s the plan?”

The room filled with the roar of wind as papers, cans, and food wrappers billowed around Dan like a tornado, “open the door!” he shouted, his voice distorted, “I’m channeling the negativity of a million gamers here, I need an outlet now!”

The wind swirling around him seemed to cry out in pain, “yooouuuu’reee feeedding, I wantttteeddd botttoom lane, this team issss teerrribbble!”

“Oh, their voices, they’re so terrible!” Alex moaned, almost falling to her knees as she forced her bedroom door open.

The howling wind of trolls, flames, and petty insults swirled outward, consuming Candy, who screamed even as she stood over Brendan.

Brendan watched in a mix of aw and horror as the combined malcontent of the gaming server warped the reality around Candy, green lightning crackling around her as she feebly tried to stab the angry spirits. Soon they couldn’t see her at all, and any noise she made was drowned out.

Slowly, the howling died down, the cloud of debris and lightning vanished, and the room grew eerily still.

“Oh no,” Candy moaned, looking up at the enormous room around her, “no not this again!” she fell to her knees in fear as Brendan looked down at his doll sized ex.

“N-No way,” Alex breathed excitedly.

“Was that your ghost boyfriend?” Brendan asked, gently knocking Candy over with the tip of his shoe. He couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit of satisfaction from the way she cried out in surprise.

“Yeah,” Alex said, beaming over at Dan, who hovered back into the room with a tired smile on his face.

“Did she get tiny?” he asked sleepily.

“See for yourself!” Alex bent down, swiping Candy up off the floor, causing the tiny girl to squeal in horror.

“Who are you talking to!?” Candy wailed.

“Dan, my boyfriend that only I can see,” Alex said, “and I know how that sounds but he is real!”

“Call me fucking convinced,” Brendan muttered, watching Candy squirm feebly in Alex’s grip. “Ask ghost boy if she’s going to stay like that?”

“She will, unless someone undoes it,” Dan said, “hey Alex, you can keep her, I know you like those anime figurines, here’s another one for the collection.”

“She’s small for good,” Alex said, licking her lips and gently pushing her thumb under the tiny woman’s chin, she’s so… soft, she thought excitedly, “what are we going to do with her?”

“You keep an eye on her for a while,” Brendan sighed, looking down at the tear in his shirt where he’d been cut. Beneath the bloodstained fabric there was only the thinnest red line, almost like a shaving cut. Was the cut just not as bad as it looked, or did it… heal up already? He blinked and shook his head; he’d need to talk to Valeria when she got back.

“Keep an eye on her,” Alex giggled, biting her lower lip, “yeah, Dan and I can do that!”

“BRENDAN!” Candy wailed, “don’t leave me with the crazy girl who talks to herself!” she complained, “j-just go get the vampire and put me back to normal!”

“Candy, I’m pretty sure if Valeria hears you came back here and stabbed me her first response is not going to be to put you back to normal,” Brendan sighed in a tired voice.

Candy’s eyes grew wide as she remembered what Valeria had threatened the last time, “oh god,” she muttered, fighting a sob.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Alex said, slowly running a finger through Candy’s green hair, “I’ll take care of you.”

She turned and headed back to her room, leaving Brendan to stare at the hole in his shirt again. The cut was completely gone now, not even a scar left. He chewed his lip in thought.

…

“Okay, there we go,” Alex said, excitedly pouring sand into the bottom of her old terrarium, “my old bearded dragon used to live in this,” she said excitedly, clipping the heat lamp to the top. She picked up Candy, dropping her in the small enclosure.

Candy scowled, looking around the expanse of sand, and the rocky outcropping overlooking a small pool that Alex had filled with tapwater. Alex’s face loomed overhead, grinning stupidly in the dark while the light of the tank’s lamp almost blinded Candy.

“So you’re really going to keep her?” Dan asked excitedly, peering in at the tiny woman himself.

“I mean, for now,” Alex said with a shrug. She beamed suddenly, “hey, Dan, can you search the internet for a tiny sailor moon costume?”

“Hey! Stop talking to the invisible guy! What’s a sail moon!?” Candy shouted, “I want a lawyer or something!”

“Let me get her one,” Dan said, a blue glow enveloped one of Alex’s anime figurines, and it hovered across the room and slowly deposited itself in the tank next to Candy, the grinning schoolgirl stood over the shrunken woman like an amazon, her own green mop of hair not even coming up to the figure’s chest.

Candy looked up at it, her heart pounding as she realized just how small she was compared to this doll, and unlike the last time… it didn’t look like she was getting out of this anytime soon.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a rain of something chunky that clunked against her head harmlessly like Styrofoam. She scowled, brushing the material out of her hair, looking at the yellow and orange pieces with wonder.

“There you go, eat up!” Alex called, crumbling a dorito above the tiny woman. With that she snapped the lid on the terrarium, the *thunk* of it locking into place sealing Candy’s fate as she sat on the sand in stunned silence.

I’m the creepy NEET girl’s pet, she realized, looking at the anime figurine in the tank that towered over her. Shakily she reached for one of the dorito crumbs, taking a bite and chewing, not really tasting it.

…

“Okay,” West muttered, “We’ve got a vampire and some werewolves coming to get us, what can stop the undead?”

“Death!” Stein said excitedly, flipping through the book. She landed on a page with a black robed figure wielding a scythe, “look it’s got a list of everything we need to call this creature up-“

“Do not summon Death,” Howard said, stunning himself with the sternness of his voice. The two older scientists looked up, there was a moment of silence.

“Howard might be right,” West said slowly, “perhaps if we are going to call up a creature of… unknown-“

“Magical!” Howard cut in, increasingly frustrated.

“Unknown origin,” West said tersely, “we should go for something a little more… controllable?” She turned the page, “this appears to be an index of lesser psychopomps,” she read, scowling as she struggled to translate between the book’s mix of Latin, German, and older languages.

“Psychopomps?” Stein asked curiously.

“Beings that ferry the souls of the dead to the beyond, whatever that might be,” Howard murmured, “This still seems like a foolish idea Doctor…” He looked at the illustrations, one showed a woman in a boat, her eyes bound by a cloth, another showed… he blinked, “I think I know that girl,” he said, pointing to an image of a headless rider upon a black horse. In the rider’s hand was a severed head, depicted in the throes of a wicked laugh.

Dr. Stein and Dr. West froze, looking at him, “you know her?”

“That picture just looks exactly like that creepy girl who manages the college bookstore,” Howard muttered, “Madison I think…”

The doctors exchanged looks, “I’ll get the strange energy detector!” Stein called excitedly.

…

“We’re closed,” Madison said, standing on the other side of the glass and crossing her arms. As always, she wore a tight red bun, her green eyes matching the small verdant ribbon tied around her neck.

“We’re faculty, we can go in any building on campus we want!” Stein shouted, hefting the glass tube at her, the lightning was dancing along it almost as fervently as it did near Brendan. “Oh yeah, we’ve got one,” she said excitedly.

“I remember you two,” she scowled, “you were harassing my former employee Brendan, just before he left my service.”

“H-Hey Madison,” Howard said nervously, pushing past the doctors, “I don’t know if you remember me-“

“Howard Phillips,” Madison said coolly, “literature student, paid for your textbooks using a combination of your mother’s debit card and spare change…” She smirked, “I remember every student’s textbook pickup.”

“And you’ve been helping them get their books for… how long?” West asked with a smug smirk, “I went and checked the employee records Madison… it must be a glitch, because it says you’ve been the university bookstore manager since 1912?”

Madison’s mouth became a thin line as she glared at them through the glass doors. With a sigh she fished a key out of her pocket, unlocked them, and gestured them in.

“S-Sorry about this,” Howard stammered, “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, but you look just like a uh… character, in a book we were all just reading and-“

“Die Vermis Mysteriis?” Madison asked, “I knew getting put in that thing would cause trouble…”

“The very same,” West said, her sharklike grin gleaming in the low light of the store.

“Interesting,” Madison said with a low smile, “so you believe me to be a being listed in this tome, and you have come here to… what exactly? Threaten me?”

“Ask for a favor really,” West said, “we are having our own share of problems with another creature like yourself, and we were thinking you could scare her off for us?”

“And in return?” Madison asked, crossing her arms.

“We forget what we know, and we’ll go ahead and make a few changes to those university employment records,” Stein said eagerly, “let’s say you started… five years ago?”

Madison raised an eyebrow, “very well, where is this spirit that troubles you?”

“She’s coming to our lab sometime tonight, is there a way to call you?” West asked.

Madison reached into her pocket, then tossed West a small white object. The doctor held it up, revealing it to be a small flute style whistle, carved from a pale white substance.

Howard gulped, “i-is that made from-“

“Blow it, and I shall appear,” Madison said with a shrug, tugging idly on the thread of the green ribbon around her neck, “now go, I must prepare my things, and I also need to get a display set up for the new Stephen King book…”

“Your assistance is much appreciated,” West said with a triumphant grin, beckoning the other two to leave the store with her.

“S-So we’re just going to sic her on the vampire?” Howard asked nervously as the three walked back to the lab building.

“Well, our other option was bringing Professor Van Hellsing in,” Stein muttered, “but I checked faculty listings and he’s on sabbatical.”

“Damn shame,” West agreed, tossing the bone whistle up and down casually. She turned to Howard and grinned, “I suppose the only remaining question is how should we kill the evening until our undead foe appears?”

Howard gulped as the two mad scientists giggled, an amorous expression crossing each of their faces.

…

Howard sprinted, naked, through the long white hallways of the mouse maze. He skidded to a stop, watching the giant woman’s hand playfully descend, blocking the hallway in front of him, the two doctors laughing overhead as they watched him scurry about the mouse maze.

“This is the best!” Stein laughed, “uh oh, run little mouse! Here I come!” she teasingly walked her hand towards him, causing Howard to trip as he ran down another hallway.

“I’m going to grab him,” West giggled, clacking a pair of lab tongs together.

Howard ducked as the rubber insulated instrument passed just overhead, scurrying forward and panting as he rounded a corner. He hadn’t been back in the lab for five minutes before they’d shrunk him again, and the mouse maze had been their game of choice. Supposedly if he could reach the cheese at the end West was going to grow him back, after doing whatever he wanted…

Granted, West’s interpretation of his wishes could often be… self serving.

“Look at those little feet move,” West laughed, her black hair hanging over him like a curtain as she leaned over the maze, “go on Howard, if you can get out of the maze you can have whatever your heart desires from me… but if I catch you…” she clacked the tongs again and made another deliberately slow grab at the tiny student, “well, I enjoyed the feeling of having you down the back of my panties, your pathetic little movements were very… thrilling, but…” She looked down at her pantyhose clad legs, going down beneath a jet black skirt she was wearing that day and ending in a pair of ebony dress shoes. “Or maybe it would be more interesting to have you against my toes?” she mused.

Howard stumbled against the wall of the mouse maze, his vision going hazy as he cursed himself for getting so out of shape. He looked up at the pair of enormous women, smirking and cackling to one another at his state.

“Just trying to navigate this maze has completely drained our poor little lab assistant,” Stein said, flexing her hand over the exhausted Howard menacingly.

“Maybe he should be downgraded to lab rat?” West chuckled, “what do you say Howard? Why not just double up the serum dose and stay small for a few…” She grinned, seeing his shocked look, “years?”

He took a gasping suck of air, then sprinted around the next bend, his heart leapt as he saw the end of the maze, the cheese waiting for him on the platform. A stitch burned in his side as he summoned all of his will to try to make the last stretch.

“Got him!” West laughed, squeezing the tongs around the fleeing man. She lifted his squirming form up, holding him tight with the instrument as she smirked at his expression of defeat. “Aww… don’t give me that face,” she chuckled, “I was just joking, I’m not going to permanently shrink you… today…”

She reached beneath her skirt, forcing her pantyhose down slightly, biting her lip as she used the tongs to maneuver Howard into them. He tumbled down the elastic material, forced against her leg as she shook the sleeve of the hose, forcing him down a little at a time. She stepped out of her shoe, holding her foot slightly above it and shaking her leg slightly until the tiny student had finally reached his destination, stuck against her foot within the sheer nylons.

“Goodbye Howard, you should be safe in there for the upcoming confrontation,” she smirked, closing her foot back into her shoe and feeling her tiny subject fight to get to the small amount of open space between her toes. She sighed, squeezing them around him, enjoying the feeling of power… now this was what the mad sciences were all about.

“So kind of you to keep poor Howard safe from the monsters we’ve called down on ourselves,” Stein mused, leaning against the counter and eyeing the mouse maze.

“I must admit, I’m getting quite attached to the boy,” West said with a shrug, “I really was planning on simply shrinking and keeping him forever when we were done with this whole thing, but now I feel… I don’t know, there’s a weird emotion I don’t recognize.”

“I think that’s guilt dear,” Stein said with a chuckle.

“Interesting,” West muttered, “what a curious sensation.” She scrunched her toes over the prisoner in her shoe, no doubt smearing him with the greasy grime of feet she’d been standing on all day.

Wolf howls echoed outside the building, causing both doctors to start. The two looked at each other, then nodded. Like a pair of condemned inmates they walked down the building hallway, opening the glass doors of the campus laboratory complex and stepping outside into the cool night air.

“Vhere is my book?” Valeria shouted angrily, the pair of werewolves flanking her menacingly.

“Safe in our office, where it’s going to stay!” Stein shouted, “we need those secrets to complete our research!”

“Very vell,” Valeria growled, levitating off the ground and baring her fangs as the werewolves smirked and followed her.

“Kind of disappointing,” Lupe grumbled, “just roughing up a couple of eggheads… I thought these two were going to be a real fight!”

West fumbled in her pocket, then withdrew the whistle. She raised it to her eyes and blew as hard as she could, but no sound emerged. Her eyes bulged, and she blew again, and again, producing no noise.

“Stop making that racket,” Valeria muttered angrily, “vhere did you fools get a spectra vhistle-“

The sound of horseshoes clacking against pavement interrupted her, then the scream of a red eyed black horse, fog bursting from it’s nostrils as it burst forth from the darkness of the autumn shadows.

The rider wore a black iron armor, with a blood red cloak flowing behind. A whip strung through spinal column bones cracked as the rider reared the horse over them menacingly, drawing their eyes up to the fires burning from the eyes of a freshly carved jack o’lantern that rested upon the horseman’s shoulders.

“Who dares tread upon the Dullahan’s ground?” a gravelly womans’ voice called.

“Valeria Tepes, Lady of shadows! begone specter! You have no business here!” Valeria shouted, turning to the newcomer.

“Hmm…” Madison’s voice echoed, “I… disagree.”

The horse clopped towards them all menacingly, and the rider cracked the whip again, the bones sparking against the pavement.

“Oh, fuck yeah!” Lupe said excitedly, “now this is what I’m talking about!” With a howl she and Trent rushed forward, following Valeria into battle.