Haunted

This story is based on the Haunt RPG, by the same author. THIS IS NON-CANON (Unless you want it to be...)

Chapter One
Where to begin...

I guess it all started when I was seven, with a case of missing socks. I had always been an inquisitive fellow, and so when I was grounded for losing almost all of my socks (even though I knew perfectly well where I had left them - they just weren't there). Me being… me, I decided to put my young mind to use. I thought it was rats stealing my socks, you see. That just goes to show, even the greatest minds were idiots back in the day.

My plan to catch these rats in the act was simple – find incentive (in this case, socks, and just in case, cookies I stole from downstairs), find a device to record data (motion sensor hooked up to an MP3 player and a cheap camera), and collect evidence. The plan went perfectly- well, the plan did, but the results were unexpected. You see, that was when I first met Operta.

So there I was, sharply rising to the sound of light rock, camera flashing behind me, seeing a young girl who had suddenly stopped halfway through the second cookie. First word I heard her say?

“…Shit.”

Chapter Two
She stayed there for a moment, before seeming to reach a conclusion.

“This is all a dream, human. Get back into bed.”

Y’know, sometimes I think my life would be completely different if she had actually done some research on me. As it was, I simply burst out laughing. I have a psychology condition that prevents all forms of dreaming. Her response was to swear again, then sigh and sit on the floor.

“Well, what’re you waiting for? Call your parents, get me thrown away… It’s not like I’m able to go anywhere…”

It is by now that you should have realised that I am no typically human child. My immediate response was to reply,

“Why the hell would I go and do that?”

“What…?”

“What?”

“No, I was sure that you would do something, what with the whole stranger breaking into your bedroom while you slept?”

“I set up an experiment to catch whatever was stealing socks. The trap and data collection was successful, and it turned out to be a strange girl that is sitting on my floor eating cookies. Since I am not harmed, and since I conclude that you were the one who was stealing my socks, meaning that you have had access to this room for quite a while; I can also conclude that you have never had any intention of causing me harm, and so why would I try and get you in trouble?”

She looked somewhat dumbfounded at the statement.

“Although, judging by your clothing and skin colour, I can make yet another conclusion – you are not human.” I prompted, “So, maybe we both have something to gain here?”

“What do you want.” It was less a question than a statement, a resignation.

“First things first, what are you? Followed by how did you get here, and can you teach me how?”

She smiled.

“I am what is called a ‘Monster under the bed’ by your kind, but we call ourselves night terrors. I stepped through the shadows to get here, and no, I cannot teach you.”

“Damn. Could’ve been useful. Want some more cookies? I can get them by tomorrow night…?” I responded, slightly hopefully. Truth be told, I did not exactly have many friends at that age. And, anyway, another friend is never a bad thing, is it? At least, she seemed to think so, given her acceptance. This continued for many nights, with her telling me about her world, and me supplying snacks. This probably was not very good for my sleep pattern, but maybe that’s why I need so little… that reminds me - why did you agree??? - N. Archer

that was a passing decision almost twenty years ago. i don't really remember myself :P   - O. Tenebrae

Chapter Three
Little of world-shattering importance happened for the next few months – but, unbeknownst to even me and Operta, I was changing. Even now, I find it hard to believe just how easy it is to develop the OCCULT. Because that was what happened – over the months, the steady exposure I had to Inhumanity cultured the OCCULT within my body. And while the growth is not sudden, its effects are.

I remember when it happened so clearly.

Some neighbourhood bullies were dragging me around the back of a building, apparently curious about my newfound confidence that had started growing as I met with her – but of course, only I knew that. They began to physically threaten me when I refused to give them what they wanted. After the last of my milk teeth were knocked out, something changed in me. I could feel my body changing. Judging by their expressions, it was visible as well. I started laughing madly as power flowed into me, and long story short, I had a bout of insanity. When the purple haze rescinded, their bodies lay at my feet, their limbs broken at impossible angles, and a faint metallic tint to the air. Although I didn’t know it then, I had used Idan for the first time. As it was, I called an ambulance, and ran. They survived, but were bedridden for months.

I made myself sick. There was something deeply wrong with my nine-year-old body.

I had enjoyed it.

Chapter Four
It took a while, but Operta brought me out of the horror that was caused by the incident. Unfortunately, my school life never recovered. Apparently, one of the other kids had seen me get dragged over to the back. He spread it around, and now everyone, even the teachers, treated me like the monster I had become. No longer was I the weird loner, who sat in the field reading books. Now, I was the dangerous animal, to be treated with fear. And at some point, I decided that if the is how I am going to be perceived, I might as well take up the strength they thought I had.

I began training – taekwondo, aikido, kendo, fencing, even shooting. If it could be used in a fight, I learned it. I became a machine; with a constant cycle of learning (from school or the various combat dojos I frequented), fighting any punks who I could find, and then returned home, bloodied and broken.

I think my parents had it pretty bad.

Operta had it worse.

She had to live with the knowledge that she was the one that caused this.

There were some dark times in this stage of my life.

But it all changed the day a fought the local gang. I won without using powers. Then something clickd in me, and I was back to being a normal human being. I could cry again, and laugh with joy. And the satisfied smile on my face that night told Operta all she needed to know. The darkness was over. Nicol was back.

And it was then I made my promise. In my bruised face, dried blood crusting around various cuts, but with a triumphant smile, I declared to myself that I would protect what is mine.

This was my city. My life. There were my friends. And I would give my life for them, no matter how twisted a life it had become.

And in the next city over, a young girl drove a knife through the heart of a demon.

Chapter Five
I had never imagined that there were others as strong as me, as I would find out, two years later. In the interim, things were quiet. I kept the law in my city. Any gangs that did pop up knew me, and respected me. If I caught them doing stuff I didn’t like, they would go down, simple as that. And so my city was at peace. Operta’s folks were still just as clueless as mine, and so we continued to meet each other, and weeks turned to months, and months turned to years, and then two years rolled by before we had realised it. I was eleven, being told that I would need to get ready for my Kent Test. And so I practiced, with Operta by my side. Turns out we’re both pretty good at maths.

And then the Kent Test came round. The maths was easy. The English was ridiculously lucky – I was asked to write a supernatural fiction. I managed to keep any violence out of it, and it became a tale of friendship, of what wasactually me and Operta under false names, making our way through school. I didnt hear about this - O. Tenebrae Then came reasoning. I passed easily – logic has always come easily to me. I guess that’s why I’m so good with machines. The verbal reasoning was the most difficult – something had changed in my head over the years, and I no longer thought like an ordinary human. The non-verbal reasoning was trivial. The spatial reasoning was probably the easiest, since I was essentially doing just that every time I fought. I did make plans, even if they were on the spur of the moment.

And then it was over. The Test was passed. I would be able to get into any school I wanted, without any comments from people who knew me. I swore that this would be a new beginning, and chose the furthest half-decent grammar school from this city. I would be severing all ties with it, or so I thought.

And in the next city over, a girl chose to go to Barton Court Grammar School.

Chapter Six
The first few weeks of secondary school were nerve wracking, to say the least. It turned out that some of my schoolmates had also chosen this school, and it turned into a race between them spreading (completely accurate) rumours and me trying to destroy the rumours. In the end, I was mostly successful – people just got tired of them being told the same shit.

There was also the problem of me making friends. Since I had become the way I am, I had become slightly sociopathic. I didn’t understand how humans thought anymore. And I guess that’s why Cailie and I got on so well – we both knew what that was like. I knew something bad had happened to her, but not something as bad as I later discovered it to be.

After a month, I befriended a boy named Aiden. He was headstrong, and fortunately had not heard the rumours surrounding us. It was… refreshing, to hear a human that desired to protect us.

Unfortunately, it turned out that he would discover the opposite was true after just a month. We were walking home one day, and we went through an alley as a shortcut. Gods know we didn’t care about the potential danger. We should’ve. Someone instantly tried to mug us. Aiden tried to protect us, and went down almost easily. He just kept getting back up though, but when the leader pulled a penknife, I stepped in. The leader woke a week later, missing an eye where the wall had been particularly harsh.

Fortunately for me, Aiden and Cailie didn’t mind that I beat the muggers up. Unfortunately for me, it turned out that they weren’t the only witnesses.

Chapter Seven
When I entered school the next day, the atmosphere was different to usual - but back to that which I was more used to. Fear, distrust, and disgust were now present on every student's face - and I knew that my happy, peaceful days were over.