Nightmares Vs Magic

They didn't mean to scare the visitor, really, they didn't. But they just couldn't seem to put them at ease after what they read together. 

To summarize, you know how we have people who see nightmares, referred to as the haunted, or just haunted folk? And how we also have sentient supernatural beings, halflings or hybrids like Annabelle, and then witches like Vernon that have control over certain things? 

Yes, Vernon is a witch. That term is not solely for females to whatever possible assumer is reading this. 

Each of these beings are rare, but Necromancers, people who bring the dead back to life, abilities that defy the laws of nature, are extremely rare. One in a billion. 

Vampires and other creatures who were once human before transforming into something technically dead, don't defy the laws of nature so much as simply being reborn as a new type of creature. It's like when the immortal jellyfish reverses its age to extend its life but can still be killed, or how mushrooms like the saprotrophic fungi can grow on corpses. 

Necromancers, contrary to some beliefs, are born, but don't gain their powers until they hit some sort of supernatural puberty, or when they have a tremendous wish. Whatever this wish is, their powers surge, and the dead beings around them will in a way, hear their prayers, and come to life in an attempt to help grant it. 

This can either be for when they want to see a loved one, so they can summon their spirits, or when they need help, and can revive a dead person into a movable being who can give them a hand. Necromancers aren't limited to zombies however, for they can even call beings from Hell. 

There was a big red circle around that paragraph, with a handwritten message saying to never try this. It was likely Bence's since I can't imagine any non-Necromancer looking through. 

Anyway, our friend's wish was to escape the camp, so that explains how they summoned Hollow. As for the zombies, like I said before, all the dead surrounding them will hear their prayers, and come to life in an attempt to grant it. Our friend wasn't aware that if they took the time to figure it out, they could control the dead that they summon, instead, if I recall what they wrote in a teary and panicked state, they watched as the zombies ate the people around them. 

Not completely what a 17yr old would want in hindsight. 

"Relax, you're not a bad person! This book literally just said you went through puberty. It's just a phase!" Joon tried to comfortingly say in good humor to the guest who was now curled up in the corner, holding their head with both hands in guilt. 

Dove, not informed enough on how to comfort someone, stuck to trying to a comforting thought with the guidebook, skimming the pages and looking out for anymore of the added notes in red ink. 

"Joon's right, besides, if the farm was really just a labor camp in disguise, then this is just the bad people getting their just desserts, in a morbid way." She attempted. 

Joon's lips thinned as he watched the visitor curl more into a fetal position of regret and sadness, turning to say to Dove in the softest voice he could muster. 

"I think they're mostly upset because they had some friends at the camp too, and the whole...."

He cupped a hand around his mouth and whispered to her. 

"Comprehending that it really is their fault that their friends have long been eaten by zombies."

Dove internally cringed, flipping through the pages more rapidly, searching for something. 

And this is why you don't just say whatever words you think will make the victim, or whatever sad person feel better!

The notebook was dropped onto the floor, they refused to pick it up to write, just curled underneath the table as Joon thought about coaxing them out. 

"Well, the only good thing we can believe for certain is that Bence will take care of it!" Joon clapped his hands once, pacing around the table casually, relaxed and trying to help the others feel relaxed. 

"He and the others are gonna go kill some zombies, Bence will do his necromancy magic that he rarely shows us cause he's a jerk, and Dove will show us all the photos that Annabelle's been sending!" He pointed in comedic timing to Dove's pocket, where her phone could be heard vibrating every few minutes. 

Dove didn't respond, but she did look down to the phone in her pocket, still not picking it up to check any messages. She just hums, letting Joon assume that her hum implied an agreement as she also gave a grin. As he continued to do a better job of trying to cheer up, Dove continued to read the Necromancy guidebook, before her eyes fell upon a chapter that appeared potentially useful. 

'In the instance where you wish to undo a spell, go to the exact source of where it began. For example, if it was done in a general area where the caster was standing, then there will be a circle in the exact spot on the floor or ground where the spell began. 

 - The circle was cast there as a marker, a feature that comes with every spell a controller of death makes, as Mother Nature only allowed Necromancers to exist if they were responsible with their gifts and curses. 

For long term spells, the Necromancer must revisit and reinforce it routinely, for short term or temporary spells, the Necromancer must undo it eventually. You are to never leave your work unattended, for if Mother Nature catches you being irresponsible, she will ensure you are dealt with.'

That section was circled in red with a marker instead of a pen. 

Dove got an idea and made another attempt to socialize. She picked up the book and kept her hand on that section of the page, both to mark and ensure the page stayed open, before then kneeling down to the visitor beneath the table. She turned the book around so that they could read it, if they lifted their head to see. 

"If the guilty thoughts don't leave you, then you can try making up for it. Here, it says that wherever you casted your spell to raise the dead, there will be a spell circle or marker that you go to in order to undo it. If you remember where you were when you summoned the zombies, we can help Bence quickly locate it and undo it." 

She waited as she stayed knelt in front of the visitor who was still curled into a ball, head tucked behind their knees. Fortunately, the little figure stirred, lifting their head at last. 

She brought the book closer to them, and watched as their eyes moved, like it was tracing the lengths of the sentences before reading them. Their eyes widened, and Joon and Dove first assumed that it was with the joyful realization of being able to help, since both Dove and Joon were the types of people who didn't like being unable to do anything, or being useless.

That assumption soon turned to their own realization that their friend was actually staring into a new kind of worry, as the friend got out of their curled-up ball of regret and reached for their bag. The two interns watched as the friend rummaged through their bag in a hurry, tossing out clothes, shoes, and a few smaller bags or cases of toothbrushes and whatnot, before finally pulling out a set of keys, and just staring at that with fear. 

The two interns were about to ask what made them so worried to stare at a set of keys, until they heard footsteps behind them, turning to see where the footsteps were coming from. The archives seemed like it was built to echo, alerting anyone to whoever else may be in the same location with them. 

I remembered that just a couple hours earlier, Callius and Calder were taking Strawford down to the 'basement'. I didn't think much at first, because they said basement, and before we went, Adan told us to go to the 'archives'. 

Another thing, as soon as I had thought of that, I had decided to call out their names, just to see if the archives would know my intention to want to find them. I thought I was right at first, because both Joon and our guest clung to me when our surroundings started shifting again, and I could have sworn I heard one of the guys respond back, calling my name, phrased as a question. 

I'm glad the floor doesn't shift along with the surrounding objects, otherwise our friend would've lost most of the stuff they tossed out of their bag.... And, I would've gotten dizzy from vertigo. 

The room stopped moving, but I didn't see either of the men. Instead, the room moved another bookshelf in front of us, with a sign carved in fancy fonts on fancy magic-something wood above the shelf that read 'Siren History and More'. 

There were three shelves perpendicular to each other, with a computer in the center, like it was a small room of its own without a fourth wall or door. 

Dove frowned in confusion. Sure, she was thinking about Sirens technically, but she had intended for the room to help bring both to them.

"I'm guessing," Joon whispered as he let go of her arm and slowly got up, his flesh knee went up first. 

"This room can move anything around except for living beings? At least that's my hypothesis."

Dove nodded, turning to their friend to see if they were safe and make sure they were listening.

"My second time in this floor, and from what I can tell, this floor can move anything that belongs to or is attached to it, that includes the shelves, items, and even the exit. It can't move the floor though."

"Got it, that's comforting, I guess. And now I'm gonna go raid that shelf!" He said as he let go of her arm, doing a light jog over to the shelf of things and immediately to the computer. 

Dove looked over to their friend, asking if they're alright. Their friend has been witnessing a lot of magic and oddities today. To her surprise, the friend had also grabbed the Necromancer Guidebook when she wasn't looking and had been reading a certain page. 

"What'cha got there?" She asked them, noticing they weren't reading the same page she was. 

The friend pointed to the chapter title. 

Creatures That You Can Summon:

Followed by a tier list of how dangerous they were. The friend was staring at a category that discussed the list of creatures that required making a deal with demons in order to use them. They stared for a long time, pupils dilated, finally pointing at an image or drawing of multiple figures made of different materials. Some looked made out of rustic junk, others looked like stick figures made from old fashioned farming tools, the most common figures seemed to be made from hay, like giant straw dolls. 

"Is there something you know about them?" She asked, tilting her head while looking at the page. 

The friend reached for their notebook on the floor and frantically wrote down their message. 

My friends were making things like these.

They were trying voodoo stuff. We didn't actually know what we were doing. I'm worried.

"Oh, well, I'm sure none of them succeeded. If it were that easy to make deal with a devil, we'd have a lot more incidents." 

They shook their head and pointed to the first line giving instructions on how to bring one to life, circling their unclicked pen on the part about three drops of blood and a Wednesday night.

It's past midnight and it was Tuesday today. It's still dark but technically Wednesday now.

"I'm sure your friends wouldn't be desperate enough to make themselves bleed over a ritual they don't even know a lot about."

They shrugged and proved her wrong with the next written passage.

We'd bleed often at that place. It was almost the end of summer. Some of us would go back home, they didn't want that. Before tonight, we made plans to escape into the woods and camp until we found a small town. 

Dove stared at them blankly, looking up and down from the notes to them, who was beginning to look as doubtful as her now. She understood completely, really, she did, but also, that plan would not have gone so well, but they likely knew that and were willing to take the risk with their friends because of how bad the place was. 

"I'm sure that once Bence eventually finds your marker and undoes it, all your friends should go back to the states they were in before the dead." 

The friend only went back to sitting curled up, knees tucked under their arms and head down, before moving to write something else again. 

I wanna see them again. I need to warn them about these dolls if they succeed. What if this Bence dude can't undo it? It was my doing, what if everything can only be undone if I undo it?

They wrote something else down as Dove read at the same pace, before noticing the friend take a hold of the keys they had held up earlier, this time holding it towards Dove. 

I was in a room when we heard the zombies start to come to life. We played with an Ouija board, that's where a zombie hand first appeared, clawing out of the ground, flipped the board. We locked it inside. Bence would need these keys to get inside the building and room.

They grabbed the book and flipped a page or two back to where Dove was reading, pointing back to the spot where it instructed the caster to go back to the spot where the spell first manifested. 

Dove looked more unsure, not nervous but unsure. Bence had instructed them to stay here, and clearly the others would prefer that they not leave all of a sudden to join the professionals in a zombie infested area just to bring some keys and reunite friends. 

"But, the book doesn't say anything that verifies your worries." Her sentence drifted off, sounding unsure herself but trying to convince them that they shouldn't go.

The friend tapped their pen more aggressively on the sentence that said they wanted to warn their friends. Their green eyes now having a more assertive look compared to the thousand-yard stare they had earlier. 

Dove raised her hands calmly in defense. 

"Alright, I understand, but even if I wanted to bring you back to them, I can't exactly just sneak you out. You're supposed to stay here."

"What's this about sneaking out?" A voice said from afar, but it could almost feel like they were near. 

Heads turned to the two Siren gentleman walker closer to their proximity. Callius was wiping something off their hands with a handkerchief before folding it and putting it into their pocket. Calder knelt down to offer both of them a hand up, reiterating his previous question. 

"What are you three planning?" 

When Dove took his hand slowly, she turned to their friend who was hesitating like a wary cat. She gave a nod of approval, and the friend slowly took his hand as well after gathering their things into their bag. Calder lifted them up by the hands to get up off the floor. He looked to the left, seeing Joon enthralled by a book he found, even though it seemed a good portion of the pages all had a consistent hole cut out of each one. He had flipped through those quickly as soon as he saw the first hole and had been reading whatever was left. 

After turning to notice Elliott was staring at him humorously, holding back a confused chuckle, the boy suddenly seemed embarrassed, shoving the book away back onto the shelf. 

"Calder."

"Joon."

They both said blankly to each other. 

"You two know each other already? Oh, right, they went to the alchemist floor before the case started?" Dove asked Callius, curious to why Joon looked sheepish all of a sudden.

Callius snickered. 

"In the restroom originally. Joon was told about us before and how we were Sirens, so when he bumped into Calder by the restroom sink, he splashed water on him, expecting him to turn." 

He waited a beat and continued with a wider grin. 

"It didn't work."

Dove, wanting to confirm, slowly yet almost mockingly, turned her head to the boy, who shoved his fists into his pockets as he awkwardly walked over. 

"I thought he would transform into his, ocean,,, water,,, sea creature form. Like in the shows. He just stared at me with this unimpressed face as he went to wash his hands, then splashed water on his own face, still staring blankly."

The said man chuckled under his breath upon being reminded of that encounter, shaking his head, then turning his attention to Dove and the friend standing just behind her. 

"We're not really planning, just talking for now." She then quickly changed the subject, looking back at her friend and stepping back to stand beside them. She gestured between them and the two men that stood before them. 

"These two guys are safe; they've helped us on a case before. The guy with the long wavy hair is Callius, and the short blond wavy hair guy is Calder." 

She then turned to the two and introduced the visitor.

"They don't have a name right now, and they don't speak, but so far they've been having a good stay here, aside from being shocked by everything in the alchemy labs. At least that's what I assume..." Her sentence went quiet at the end as she turned to look at the friend for confirmation. 

They nodded their head, though seemingly shy now. Seems they are about as much a fan of meeting new people as a cat would be. Even Vernon is more social than them, but you can't blame the visitor considering their background. 

The two Sirens waved hello to the visitor. 

"We're mostly showing the visitor around, a headless horseman by the name of Hollow brought them here, before taking off, with Bence, Ursa and some others following. Something about a zombie case, Bence didn't explain much, but we did our own research and found out that our friend is basically a newly born Necromancer." Joon said, kneeling down mechanically to pick up the guidebook and show the two what they were reading.

"Ah, a new speaker of death, huh? That explains what we were hearing about weapons for zombies. Poor thing must've gone through the worst kind of puberty."

"But this is good news for Bence, isn't it? Now his workload can decrease." Joon guessed, but Callius shook his head. 

"Training a new Necromancer is a whole different ordeal. Bence has to finish the zombie case quickly, not just to avoid an outbreak, but also because he needs to come back and prepare learning material for the new kid." 

The friend heard this and got nervous, already feeling like a burden and looked down in guilt again, wondering if their day could get any worse. 

Callius cringed and bowed slightly, awkwardly trying to think of how to take back his words, before seeming to take interest in their green eyes. He hummed. 

"You have, eyes like turquoise. That's interesting." 

"No, they look greener than turquoise." Joon disagreed.

"But back to the subject. What were you three planning?" Calder repeated. 

"Technically nothing. The place Bence and the others went to is a camp that's holding their friends. They're worried about them and also want to give Bence something to help." 

The friend held up the keys to show the two. The blond man still had a soft but stern look, his gaze shifting from the keys back to them. 

"Remember, we can hear far more than you think, especially without any obstructions. Despite being a couple floors down, we heard that you're all supposed to stay here and now to follow." 

The kids firmly nodded their heads. 

"We weren't even saying anything about leaving! You guys are so paranoid!" Joon said in a sudden outburst. 

"Maybe if Bence took the time to explain at least a little, then we wouldn't even think about going. Heck! If he had just waited a bit, we could've given him the keys that our friend had. He might need them." He continued, pointing out the keys in the friend's hands. 

The friend however put them away when Elliott shook his head in disagreement.

"If the keys are for a door or safe, then it's not an issue if he took Ursa and Leon to go with. If they can deal with zombies, then a safe or door is no issue."

Joon gave a confused glance up at Callius. 

"Why would you compare slow and weak-rotting zombies to potentially-metal safes and doors?"

"Joon, zombies in real life vary based on danger. Have you ever tried to lift a corpse? Or try to pry something out of the hands of a corpse that was well into rigor mortis? They can be very durable, especially depending on how they lived when alive. If you're so concerned about helping them, just do exactly as he requested and stay on standby with your phones ready. This isn't the first zombie curse that's happened in this area, Bence knows how to go about this." Callius lectured curtly, pointing his gaze at the endlessly vibrating phone in Dove's pocket. 

He knew. He could hear the vibrations coming from my phone and definitely knew I was getting text messages, but not from Bence, otherwise I'd be checking them. He could tell it was from a different person. If all the notifications were so insignificant that I keep ignoring them, I'd silence my phone. But, if they were all important text messages that I needed to be aware of, I'd have to keep my phone on, and he could tell that. I could tell what he was thinking easy. 

I learned that it's best to never underestimate a person's deduction skills, especially based on their occupation. It's also good to assume how many tells I must have and make a good guess of how others are thinking about it. Sort of a disciplinary act on myself, and good self-awareness practice. If you ever want to sneak around or keep a secret, first you need to be aware of yourself and your tells, before then checking your surroundings.

For example, at the time, he didn't know what the text messages were about, he didn't know enough about me yet, so I didn't have to worry, just stay calm, like the text messages aren't much, just things I'd want to remember for later. This would be the only time I could get away with getting updated information this way. Next time I'm getting information and need to keep it away from my coworkers, it will have to require zero sounds. 

Dove tried not to pay attention to her phone and had more questions now and based on how her green-eyed friend was tugging her sleeve, they too had a million questions. But before she could answer, Joon acted faster, shoving the necromancy guidebook into the friend's bag, before then taking both their hands in either of his and pulling them forward. 

"Alright, fine! Guess we'll just go about this another way. Laurence should still be here, he's usually around Bence the most, right Dove?"

"As far as I know, yes."

As the three left the floor, the two sirens stayed behind, watching them leave, before then giving each other a knowing look. The room around them changed, shelves and even walls shifting around like a kind maze, so that the interns could find the exit quicker.

They watched as the interns and the visitor went into the elevator and listened as it began going up. Then, they gave each other a knowing look, until they could hear a groan and sounds of struggle coming from a room that can't be easily found. Afterall, it was only accessible to people like them. 

One of them sighed, muttering something about not killing the guy properly, before the floor shifted again so that they could head to the hidden room. Only in that room would they transform into their real siren forms after diving into the indoor pool, to then finish off their food completely.

The three made it back up to the fourth floor, the guidebook in their friend's bag, and giving each other wordless glances. During the elevator ride, the friend kept giving Dove this begging look, and Dove let out this sigh, before uncrossing her arms and reaching one arm out, pretending like she was grabbing something in front of her with her left hand, then tilting that same hand side to side. She did this all while keeping eye contact with the friend, then looking to Joon for an answer. 

The guy was suddenly ecstatic after looking at her hand motion more and more, making a low fist bump to the air.

However, as soon as they got off the elevator, planning to grab some things, there was this sudden frequency in the air. Their human ears could not make out the sounds nor could they describe it outside of some sort of humming. 

When they walked further into the alchemist labs, Joon trying to lead them, they all began to slowly feel sluggish, or more, their eyes were beginning to droop. 

Bodies could be heard gently slumping onto the floor. In one room, a woman in a white lab coat and short blonde hair was at her chair, head laid down over her arms, resting on the table. Other workers on the floor, whether they were wearing lab coats or black suits of some kind, were suddenly feeling heavy. Some taking to the floor to rest, others cussing under their breath as they tried to stay up, using tables or chairs as leverage, only to succumb to sleep.