Something Evil's Lurking in the Dark

@ Dandy Darling;

"I'd have to agree with that assumption," Emily concluded with a smile. Oliver worked hard; without him, the city would not run nearly as smoothly. Paranormals and humans alike needed to watch out for him. He basically was the law. As she looked up into his eyes, she felt her heart flutter. She felt...important. She felt important to him because she knew how deeply he cared for her. Her fingers slid up, lightly touching the cherry blossom resting behind her ear, and it made her smile. Their time spent together under the cherry blossom trees would not be forgotten by her. His gaze swept carefully over her face and it did not go unnoticed by her. Her eyelashes fluttered, instinctively drawn to him like a moth to a flame. But instead, she turned away, gathering her keys and unlocking the door. "Good night, Oliver," she said softly, careful to keep her voice from wavering. Looking up into his eyes, she saw herself reflected in them and it made her smile. She closed her eyes when she shut the door, leaning against it for a moment before she walked to her bedroom, feeling anxious.

--
Brayden patiently listened to the GPS instructions, along with the upbeat music on the radio. It seemed like it was going to be a good day; he hadn't seen any more ravens and no one had been attacked...yet. Callie was shifting around in her seat and he wondered what she was thinking. When Brayden glanced over at her, he could see the tired look on her face. He hated that she was plagued by nightmares, that they were plagued by nightmares. "You know, you can take a nap if you want," he offered, reaching over to pat her hand. "I can wake you up once we get there." Brayden didn't really mind; his thoughts were bouncing around as it was. He hoped this guy had some answers for them, or at the very least that they'd come across someone who did have the answers for them. This problem was slowly escalating, what with body possessions, murder and revenge already on the table. He would get rid of this ghost woman by any means necessary. He wouldn't allow her to hurt Callie anymore.

@ Miley Cyrus;

His eyes scanned her facial expression to take in every single moment, and they eventually lingered to the cherry blossom. A small smile appeared on his expression, remembering their time at the secret garden. "Good night, Emily." He concluded while she turned to enter inside of her apartment, dropping his eyes when it softly closed. Oliver gave a small sigh as her footsteps disappeared away from the front door, and he turned to leave for his own apartment. A part of him wished that some else had occurred, but it was for the best. He was sure that his heart would have beat slightly faster if were human. These were the things that he missed about his human senses. Oliver knew when he was nervous, but his body would not display any signs of it. No sweating. No increased heart rate. Just the feeling of anxiety would tell him to be alert. Returning back to his apartment, he closed the door behind him and went to settle himself for the night. Oliver wondered what had suddenly come over over. The desire to take their friendship to something more than it should have been.

--

Callie slightly jumped at the feeling of his hand before relaxing back into the seat once more. "I-I don't know.." She trailed off, wanting to lace their fingers together. Alas, he needed it to drive, leaving her interlace her own hands together. "I'm just too nervous to close my eyes and dream. Even in our sleep, we're completely under her control." Callie dropped her eyes to the small space in front of the seat, hoping that this man would be the solution to their problems. "She could be plotting to kill someone right now, and we wouldn't even know it." She stated, knowing that it was completely true. The possibility of that occurring was starring to gradually increase in the absence of the ghost. With every moment she was unsure of what it was doing, the more she grew worried. Resting her head back onto the seat, Callie lightly closed them but reminded herself not to fall asleep. Maybe she could just rest her eyes for a few moments.

@ Dandy Darling;

Emily found herself undressing for bed with a slightly uneasy feeling swirling around in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know what was going on with her, but she chalked it up to too much excitement for one day and anxiety over what the next day would bring. She tossed and turned in the darkness of her bedroom until her nerves calmed enough to sleep.

The next day, Emily got up early. She had meant every word that she'd said; she wanted to become a professional dancer. She was a little out of practice, having slacked off on her learning the past few years, but she knew she could do it. She got her ballet shoes out of the closet and took them with her into the city. She found several dance schools, but none were quite what she was looking for. That is, until she found Castle's Dance Academy. It was a brightly colored building with numerous awards on the walls. She felt small. "Hello, can I help you?" She turned around, finding a man, probably in his late twenties to early thirties, standing there, watching her curiously. It was Jacques Jarre, the leader of the company. "I'd like to audition for a spot on your team," she said after a moment, trying to sound confident. He nodded, regarding her closely. "Alright, let's see what you've got." Emily was nervous. She'd picked a routine she'd favored in high school. It was only a couple of years ago, she could nail it. As the upbeat, classical music filled the room, she threw caution to the wind and danced. She danced like her life depended on it, her days of flying across the stage filling her eyes. After her audition, Jacques was quiet for a moment before he nodded, "I think there may be a spot on my team for you after all, Emily." She was overjoyed, practically bursting at the seams. After she left, she texted Oliver, telling him to come to her apartment after work. She wanted to break the news to him in person.

--

Although Callie had a point, he knew they couldn't let the ghost have the upperhand. She was terrorizing their lives, their futures. They had gone through too much to get to the point for it to end like this. He had high hopes of being able to end this nightmare once and for all, but it depended on finding this man. He couldn't drive fast enough. "Hey, now that's not entirely true," he insisted, reaching over for her hand again, careful with his driving as he glanced over at her. The last thing they needed was another freak accident like in the grocery store. "If we were completely under her control, we wouldn't be doing this. Hell, we wouldn't be here right now. The truth is, she's the past. We're the present, and we're going to be together in the future. She might be able to manipulate us sometimes, but as long as we have each other, we'll always be two steps ahead of her." And he firmly believed that. As hard as their situation was getting, he knew he'd be far worse if he didn't have Callie in it with him. "Now you just rest," he told her as she leaned her head back onto the seat. "If you fall asleep I'll wake you up, but for now you just relax, okay?"

@ Miley Cyrus;

After a night filled with thoughts, Oliver found that he had only received a few hours of sleep. Not that it mattered anyway. Dressing for work, he went straight back to work and made sure to look for Mendez while when he had the time. The former cop would not get away from the law. Compared to the day he had previously, work seemed to be dull and uneventful. He had to visit a few witnesses, but there was no one to keep him laughing or smiling like Emily had. Hearing his phone vibrate, he picked it up to view a text from her, reading that she wanted to meet after work. Oliver wondered what she could possibly tell him that could not be over the phone. This thought would be bothering him for the rest of the day until he arrived at her apartment. Knocking lightly at the door, he smiled when he heard her footsteps approaching the door, revealing her delighted expression.

--

Callie admired his optimistic approach to the situation since she was a complete pessimist to tragedy. He was practically one of the few things that could remind her that there was a way of this hell. "That's true.. unless the ghost has some sort of secret plan in the making." She sighed, glancing over to meet his gaze. It was a risk that they were taking when either of them drove. Considering the power that the ghost had, she could easily run them off of the road into the woodlands below them. Callie attempted to push those thoughts away and focus on getting to their destination in one piece though. "The brains and the brawn." She reiterated with a small chuckle, squeezing his hand gently while her body relaxed into the seat. It was reassuring to hear those words from Brayden, giving her hope for the end. Even though they had been with the ghost for the past few days, it already felt as though it had been with them for years. "Okay." She eventually gave into his demands and allowed herself to drift off into a peaceful sleep for the remainder of the journey.

@ Dandy Darling;

Emily was practically bursting with energy for the last couple of hours. She still had her ballet shoes on, for that matter. She'd been swishing around her kitchen, practicing steps as she danced around the entire apartment. Emily ran to the door when she heard knocking, pulling it open and smiling when she saw Oliver. Her heart was a little quick and she was jittery, the perfect picture of happiness. "Come in, come in," she urged him, guiding him to the couch after she shut the door. She sat beside him, a smile on her face, her green eyes lit up. "I went out all morning and..I got into a dance academy!"

--

Brayden smiled to himself, satisfied, when he heard Callie's soft snores, signaling that she'd finally gone to sleep. Once this was all over, he'd be sure to catch up on all the sleep that he could get. He turned the radio up a little, careful to keep his ears open to the GPS as well. After a while, he found himself in a small, sleepy town. He continued to drive until the GPS assured him that they'd reached their destination. He reached over, shaking Callie's arm. "Babe, wake up, we're here." He looked around, wondering about here. A thick fog was rolling in and the old shop looked like it hadn't been tended to in a while. Nonetheless, his efforts weren't strained.

@ Miley Cyrus;

Oliver could barely greet her as she quickly pulled him inside of the apartment, noticing that she had ballet slippers on. It was clear that something positive had happened to her since Emily seemed to be consumed by excitement. Following closely behind her all the way to the couch, he sat down and listened to her spout the news. "Congratulations, Emily." His face practically lit up in happiness for her, knowing that this meant a great deal. "You are already on your way to achieving your dream." Oliver was ecstatic to know that she had allowed herself to get back into dance. "Have you celebrated yet?"

--

Feeling the sudden shake, Callie jumped up in her seat and jerked her head toward Brayden. "Hm, what? W-We're here?" She questioned and turned her head to take in the view outside of the window. Squinting her eyes, Callie could not see past the dense fog that blanketed the ground. "God, this place is kind of giving me the creeps, too." She admitted while opening the car door, stepping her foot onto the gravel. Callie shoved her pockets inside of her coat and moved over to stay closer to Brayden. "You think that the guy already moved on?" She could see that there was no light on inside of the office, but there was another car in the parking lot.

@ Dandy Darling;

"You are partially to thank, if it wasn't for your encouragement, I might still be astray from my dance career. I auditioned and it felt...like I never stopped." Emily let out a soft, dreamy sigh, unable to stop smiling as she looked up at the detective. "Not yet. I was waiting for you." Her cheeks turned pink as she spoke, but it was the truth. She had friends, but none of those friendships trumped the one she had with Oliver. They had a bond between them, a connection she'd never felt with anyone else. She took his hand in hers, looking up into his eyes with her own vibrant green ones. "How should we celebrate?"

--

Brayden helped Callie out of the car and couldn't help but look around suspiciously. Call it paranoia but he couldn't help but feel like this weather was influenced by their current predicament. It was as if this ghost could manipulate anything she wanted. She was determined to get them but he was even more determined not to let her break them if it was the last thing he did. "If this man is not here, I'll track him down myself," Brayden declared, trying to seem confident, although internally he was anxious. It seemed like without this man they would be lost again. He entered cautiously, looking around the shop. There were many items on the shelves but he didn't see anyone. "Just a moment," he heard from the back, and he exchanged a look with Callie.

@ Miley Cyrus;

"I feel as though you give me too much credit. All I did was merely suggest that you follow your dreams, but you are the one who decided to pursue them." He responded, not wanting her to discredit herself. His eyes softly gazed down into hers as he smiled. "You waited for me? I am honored." A small chuckle formed while her cheeks turned a shade of pink that reminded him of the cherry blossoms. It had truly surprised him that she had decided to wait for him. After all, Emily must have had numerous friends beside himself. "Would you like to go stargazing? We would have to leave town for a few hours, but I can assure you that it is worth the wait."

--

With Brayden confident in his stance, Callie reasoned that she could relax as they moved toward the shop. A step behind him, she heard a small bell ring as she peered inside of the dimly lit room. It was obvious that it had been a while since the last customers had entered. The room smelled dusty while books scattered about the room. Glancing back over at Brayden, she started to question their decision to come and visit the man. Would he really be able to help them? It seemed he had problems of his own at the moment. "Okay, sorry about that. What can I help you with?" The man finally announced while coming back to the front of the shop. Callie automatically identified him as the man from the internet with the same glasses and haircut. "Oh, wait. That.. You have a vengeful spirit on your hands. I can feel her aura completely surrounding you guys. You must have really pissed it off." He stated with a small frown, pushing his glasses up slightly.

@ Dandy Darling;

"Yes, but without your insistence I might not have decided to pursue them," Emily objected before she nodded in agreement, relenting. "Although I guess I suppose it was the work of both of us then." She toyed with the hem of her dress, nodding quickly as she looked back up at him. "Of course I did. There's no one else I'd rather celebrate with." And she wasn't lying. She couldn't imagine not sharing in this with him. Her vibrant eyes gleamed at his suggestion and she quickly agreed. "I'd love to." She went back to her room for a moment, to exchange her ballet shoes for a pair of sandals, walking back over to his side and holding her hand out to him, palm up. "Let's go."

--

Brayden exchanged a look with Callie after he took in the sight of the man in front of him. All of his doubt faded away, however, at his immediate diagnosis once it proved to be correct. "You must be Simon Richards," Brayden began before stepping forward to shake his hand. "I'm Brayden. This is my girlfriend, Callie. You've got it right, that's kind of why we're here. We were hoping that you'd be able to do something or at least give us some advice on how to get rid of this thing. It's been haunting us and we're at our wits end trying to get it to leave for good." Simon was silent for a moment before he nodded, motioning for them to follow him to the back. "Come on. I think we should have a talk, from the beginning."

@ Miley Cyrus;

"Yes, I can agree upon that." He compromise, surrendering to her modesty. To Oliver, she was granted all of the credit for taking the first step forward. "Oh, I am sure that there would be more fun people to hang around than I." He chuckled while taking her outstretched hand, curling his fingers around her smaller ones. "But I am delighted that you chose me." Standing up from couch, Oliver glanced over toward the coat rack. "You should find something warm to wear. It will be a bit chilly tonight. Also, if you have any blankets.." He trailed off, knowing of her signature purple blanket. "..We will need a few of those as well."

--

Callie felt a small smile spread across her face when Simon had correctly diagnosed their situation. Whether it was sheer luck or not, he had identified the problem. "I think he can help us.." She murmured over toward Brayden then proceeded to follow him toward the back. Simon led them to his officer that was in the back of the small shop. It was dusty and mostly empty except for the myriad of boxes. "Sorry for the mess. I was actually planning on moving the shop in the next few days. Anyway, please explain the situation." He stated then gestured for them to take the two sits before his desk. "Uh, yes, well.." Callie promptly explained their story in as much detail as she could remember. From the road trip to the hauntings, she explained everything that she could. "That would be our problem, Mr. Richards. Please. Help us."

@ Dandy Darling;

Emily heeded his warning and put on her black peacoat and her grey beanie. "Better?" She asked, striking a pose before she laughed. She nodded, walking to the couch and grabbing her purple blanket, walking to the closet and pulling out some more until her small hands were full, looking over at him from over the pile. "Okay, now I think we're good. We'll be nice and warm." She walked over to the table, grabbing her keys and balancing the blankets on her hip as she led them out and locked the door behind them. She allowed him to guide her downstairs, walking out into the brisk air, her dark hair billowing in the wind.

--

Brayden followed behind Callie, his eyes glancing around at all the shelves around him. Books were everywhere, some claiming to cure any ailment and others written as dangerous travel guides. He resisted the urge to shiver; this type of thing gave him the creeps and he hoped they'd be leaving soon. He sat down beside Callie in Simon's office, listening to her explain their current predicament. Simon made a couple of notes, much like the shrink they'd seen, while Callie spoke. Somehow, though, he felt like Simon would be more help to them. "I see. Well, you must've really ticked her off. I'm thinking a connection was made with her when you guys went down into the basement." His eyes averted to Callie. "But moreso with you."

@ Miley Cyrus;

Moving over toward her, Oliver reached out to adjust the beanie and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Better." He concluded then stepped away. Walking with her, Oliver proceeded to take some of the blankets from her hands, lessening her load. If anything, Oliver was concerned that she would be cold and this reassured him. The temperature no longer bothered his dead body. "Yes, we should be cozy with these." Oliver stepped into the hallway with Emily not far behind him. He led her to his car that was parked across the street then placed all of the blankets into the back seat. After opening the car door for her, he slid into his own seat. "Off we go then." Oliver placed the key into the ignition and pulled out onto the street.

--

When she finished her tale, Callie's eyes shifted from Brayden's to Simon's. "Me? A connection?" She questioned, hearing of the same statement from Brayden. Simon gave a small nod of clarification. "Yes, you are clearly everything she has wanted to be in life. You waltzed right into her territory and provoked her, and, now, she wants what she believes she deserves." He placed into the simplest terms as possible. Circling something on his notepad, Simon placed the pen down onto the desk. "If this ghost is as vicious as I think she is, you guys don't have much time. She will move with haste to get what she wants." Callie sighed as the weight on her shoulders on amplified. "Great.." She trailed off, placing a hand over her lips.

Emily's eyes sparkles as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, her skin tingling where his fingers left off. Her eyes lingered over him for a moment when he moved away from her before she continued walking, allowing him to lessen her load and take some of the blankets from her and into his arms. "I've never gone stargazing out here before; the city is so distracting," she admitted, following him outside into the cool night's air. She shivered slightly, tugging her coat more around her, grateful that he'd insisted upon her bringing it. She piled the blankets into the back seat after he did before getting into the passenger's seat, sitting down, murmuring a thank you. "Off we go," she echoed, offering him a smile before she looked out the window at the passing scenery of familiar skyscrapers and stores.

--

Brayden felt the color drain out of his face as he listened to Simon's diagnosis. He glanced over at Callie, noting the worried expression on her face, and he reached out, taking her hand in his. He rubbed his thumb slowly against her knuckles soothingly, trying to ease her worries. We'll get through this, he silently promised her before averting his eyes to Simon's, listening to his explanation. It was horrible, but it made sense. "So what exactly can we do to prevent this...woman, from trying to attack us? She's already made attempts on our lives and the lives of other people around us. It doesn't seem like it's safe anywhere." His thoughts went to the pizza delivery boy and the woman at the fast food place and he shook his head. "There has to be some way to send her back to wherever she came from."

@ Dandy Darling;

@ Miley Cyrus;

The drive took about an hour to move through all of the congestion of the city, and Oliver took in the fresh air of the suburbs. "It is so quiet out here, isn't it?" He commented while casting a side glance in her direction then returned his eyes back to the road. Turning off of the main street, he started up a steep hill and continued up to the top for the best view of the sky. It was at least ten stories above the surrounding land, giving them the perfect view of the city a couple miles away as well. He parked the car and moved over toward her side to open it up before grabbing the blankets in the back. "Pick any space you wish. I think it is going to be a clear night for stargazing." Oliver smiled while continuing to gather the rest of their items.

--

Even though she wished that Brayden's comforting gesture would ease her worries, it would not solve the ghost problem on their hands. As long as she continued to roam about, she would only give them more trouble. The Exorcist sighed since he had only dealt with several vicious ghosts over his years, and this is one seemed particularly consumed with revenge. "Please, you are our last hope." She murmured. If Simon had no clue as to how to fix this problem, Callie was afraid that no one else would. Simon cleared his throat while tapping his finger lightly against the table. "I wish that I could take more time to research and compile data on this ghost, but I don't think you both have much time...I do suppose there is one way that we may dispose of a ghost." He sighed since it was not guaranteed to work all the time. "If you eliminate the source of its vengeance, you may be able to force it to be content with what has happened. That does mean that you will have to figure out why this ghost is so angry."