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Chapter Text

When he finally figured it out, Ryan decided he needed a day off. He just needed... time.
“Time to do what?” Shane asked. He sounded surprised. (Scared).
“Just some time to sort things out.” Ryan answered, tightening his grip on his cellphone. He couldn’t quiet stop his hand from shaking that way.
“Okay.”
Silence on both ends.
“When will you be back?”
“I’m not sure.” 
“Alright.”

There was just a certain dread that crept into the space behind Ryan’s ears and windpipe when he thought about it. Its wasn’t just the lies, (even if that stung a little). It was the way Shane just seemed to ooze out the uncanny now that he knew.
Ryan shook his head and forced himself to focus on the road in front of him. His knuckles around the steering wheel were turning white. His insides felt like a car crash. A fatal collision.

It wasn’t as if he had never noticed. Ryan thought as he took a seat on one of the church benches. The feeling of hairs rising around Shane had become all too familiar. In fact, he was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one who just naturally felt like that around Shane. At one point it had just sort of... clicked.
Ryan looked up at the high ceiling. He thought about praying but eventually decided against it.

It was like suddenly finding a wolf in the middle of a forest walk. The creature was staring at Ryan with yellow eyes.
Ryan shifted in his bed. It didn’t feel as comfortable as it used to.
The eyes were a signal.
He punched his pillow a few times, willing it to take a better shape.
A signal that told him to run.
Told him he was prey.

There was that one time they had visited the Sally house. He thought, as he rubbed his eye, trying to focus on getting the hot water from the teapot into the glass without spilling. Ryan had heard Shane growl when he thought he was asleep.
“Back off.” He had snapped at what should have been nothing but air.
Shane’s voice had sounded old. Ancient.
He was never able explain why, but Ryan had felt safe for the first time in a long time. He wasn’t sure back then what Shane’s warning could have possibly done to protect him. He just felt as if the darkness wasn’t swallowing him up anymore. Ryan never told him about that night.

When he finally managed to fall asleep, Ryan dreamt about dark shadows and black eyes, white lies (and french fries at one point).
He dreamt about the times he had felt a familiar darkness within the houses they visited. Although it sent the hairs on his body rising, it always felt comforting somehow.
Right there, at 3 am in the morning, in a state off both sleep and unconsciousness, Ryan Bergara made his decision.

Chapter Text

He returned to the office and Shane looked antsy.
“Ryan!” He grinned, “Good to have you back, buddy. Where have you been?”
He smiled just a little too brightly, spoke just a little to quickly.
A small part of Ryan felt satisfied knowing that Shane was holding his breath.
He mustered up a smile, still feeling chills crawl up his spine whenever his eyes met Shane’s. They were perfectly plain and brown.
How very human of him.
“Just some stuff with a friend I had to sort out.” He paused before adding “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
Shane deflated a bit.
“Yeah, of course, I get that.”
Ryan let himself fall into the office chair right next to Shane. He opened his laptop and tried to focus on his work.
“Shane?”
Shane’s head turned around so fast it should have probably given him whiplash. Ryan briefly wondered whether that was even possible for a creature like him.
“Yeah?”
“You want to get lunch in a few hours?”
When Shane said yes (a little too quickly, a little too chippery) there wasn’t quite a sliver of hope in his voice. But just almost.

The silence in which they ate both felt comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. Ryan somehow liked the idea that he could make Shane feel uncomfortable. That he could scare him. Finally, he decided he wasn’t hungry anymore and put his sandwich down on the tray in front of him. Shane seemed to have been waiting for that and sat up a bit straighter. Like a soldier waiting for orders.
Ryan sighed. “Stop doing that”
His friend blinked, his shoulders dropping.
“Doing what?”
“You know what I mean.”
Shane averted his eyes.
Ryan scraped his throat and crossed his arms. “I- ehm- had to make a tough decision this weekend” he said. His eyes met Shane’s and another chill ran down his back. He cleared his throat. “I… found out that a good friend of mine has been lying to me.”
Shane looked pale. Ryan wondered if that was real. Could something like Shane actually feel fear? Did he have real blood that could pull away from his cheeks?
“What did he lie about” Shane mumbled eventually, stirring his untouched food with his fork.
“Not something I’m willing to get into.” Ryan hesitated. “Let’s just say he’s been doing some really messed up shit behind my back. I don’t know exactly how it works or what it does but... I don’t like it. Not one bit.”
Ryan suddenly noticed that Shane wasn’t breathing. Did he actually need air?
Shane looked down, his lips drawing together into a thin line.
“You’re probably really angry at your friend.” 
Ryan nodded.
“I think I’d be angry too in your situation. I-ehm... what do you think is gonne happen? Are you two going to stay friends?”
“I’ve been thinking about cutting ties with him altogether, to be honest.”
Shane looked up, his eyes brown and human.
”I mean, it feel like I don’t know the guy anymore, you know? Or maybe I just never did.” Ryan sighed. “But no, that’s not what I’m going to do.
Ryan took a deep breath, choosing his next words carefully.
“I trust him.” He finally said. “I don't know what he’s getting himself into when I’m not around and quite frankly I don’t like to think about it.” Shane looked like someone had punched him and then given him a million dollars.
“But I know I can trust him. I’ve worked with him for a long time and he has never let me down. So, whatever he does or stands for, I’m goning to stick with him. Even if I don’t understand.”
A silence fell but this time it felt more comfortable than before, even if Shane was shaking a bit and Ryan had goosebumps.
“We still up for movie night tomorrow?” Shane broke the silence, offering a careful but almost casual-looking smile.
Ryan smiled back weakly, ignoring the alarm bells in the back of his mind that he was prey and he had to run! run! run! “Something got up actually but let’s meet up the week after.”
”Okay.”

They ended up not meeting the week after either. Work was just so busy, so, so busy. And Shane understood that, of course he did. Somehow it felt as if he was trying to not exist too much whenever he was near Ryan.
The fact that his teeth seemed a lot sharper when he wasn’t paying attention didn’t help, though. Ryan decided to ignore it as best and as angrily as he could. He ignored the hair rising and the alarm bells and the fact that Shane looked like a shark in open water. He had made his decision.
They just left it unsolved.

Chapter Text

“The Amityville Horror house?”
He nodded. “I’ve done some research. It really looks like it’s got potential” Shane’s eyebrows drew together a bit. “It looks old.”
Ryan almost laughed. “When has a place we visited ever not looked old.”
“No, I mean like maybe too old. Like we-could-fall-through-the-termite-eaten-floors old.”
He shook his head. “I think it would be a good case to open the season with.” He said as he dug through his bag to show Shane the research he had done so far.
“It’s got exactly the right amount of creepiness and just enough material that we could actually come up with some theories.”
He was in the middle of explaining his vision for this episode when he noticed Shane’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
Shane rubbed his neck.
“I’m not sure if this is a good idea” he mumbled.
“What do you mean, why not?”
“Ryan...”
And suddenly he realized what he was trying to tell him. And now the alarm bells in the back of his fight or flight instincts were ringing again.
“Oh.”
Silence fell.
“You… ehm… you tend to have a pretty good gut feeling about which locations will do well. if it’s not good, then it’s not good. I trust you”. Ryan had to remind the muscles in his jaw and mouth area how to curl into a reassuring smile.
Shane let out a breath (that was not shaky. Not at al.) “Yeah! Yeah, I guess you’re right. We’ll find something else.”
Ryan tried to force that uneasy feeling down his stomach.
(Shane’s eyes were human. Very, very human.)
He really wanted things to go back to normal. He just wished he could stop feeling like a mouse trying to get the cheese out of a trap.

Chapter Text

“Hey, ghosts? The boys are here.” Shane yelled as he kicked the door open.
Ryan gave him a look.
“Eh, I’ll apologize to the imaginary dead people later.” Shane replied.
Ryan shrugged, but he couldn’t really stop gritting his teeth. He wasn’t angry anymore. Not really. They were just white lies to keep what they both knew unspoken. But it stung.
“Where should we start?” (His voice didn’t sound resentful either).
Shane let his eyes drift around the old hotel hall. “I’d say we can have a look around the building first. See what looks good, what works on camera?”
He nodded.
Shane grinned. “Well, you’re awfully quiet, Ryan. “Don’t wanne scare the other ghosts off?”
Ryan shrugged again. It didn’t really matter anyway. Shane had approved the house, so that had to mean there was nothing in here that wanted hurt him. He shone his flashlight around the room in an attempt to get a better view. It accidentally caught Shane’s left eye. Ryan shivered, pretending his friend’s eyes didn’t light up in the dark like a cat. Shane didn’t seem to notice, as he was too busy admiring the cobwebs and mold in between the cracks of the walls.
A wolf on a forest walk.
“Sheeesh, this really is a five star hotel, Ryan. Really a beaut' you found us. You think they have a jacuzzi?”
He elbowed Ryan who tried really hard not to flinch at the contact.
Shane’s grin faded almost instantly.
Crap.
For a second Shane looked like he was about to do something stupid like apologize, so Ryan interrupted him. “Should we go check for a light switch maybe?” He took a step away from him, smiling brightly. “Might be handy if we want to do some shots of the place, no?”
Something in Shane’s eyes dimmed just a little when he shot him a lazy smile back. “Yes... I’ll go check if the lights upstairs work.”
“Yeah, yeah you do that.” Ryan said, patting Shane on the shoulder for a second. It felt forced.
Ryan tried very hard not to feel relieved when Shane left the room. He shook his head, turning around to inspect one of the rooms that looked interesting to film. For a second, he thought he saw a somewhat familiar darkness crawl up the stairs. That was probably just his imagination.
The darkness didn’t look like Shane at all.

“Stupid ghosts, are you even here?” Ryan grumbled as he walked into the empty hotel room. “Are you all just hanging out at The Amityville Horror house instead? Without inviting me?”
It took him a moment to realize he couldn’t hear Shane’s footsteps anymore. It took him another moment to realize he very rarely heard Shane’s footsteps whenever they split up in one of these nightmare houses.
Ryan cursed.
It wasn’t Shane’s fault.
And at the same time it 100% was.
He kicked the wall softly before sighing and putting down the bag with their camera equipment. It took him only a few seconds to set everything up. When they came back later, with the rest of the crew, it would probably work better. But for now, this would do.
Ryan wasn’t really aware of the alarm bells in his head ringing until they were suddenly very loud. He froze.
“Shane?” He asked.
No answer.
Ryan blinked, slowly turning around.
The room was empty, safe for an old closet and torn-up-looking bed, a mirror in the corner and a desk. Exactly the way he imagined a creepy old hotel too look.
Had the room always been this cold?
He rubbed his arms, trying to get the blood flowing.
Maybe he should go get Shane.
His friend, whose eyes did not light up in the dark.
He decided he should just get out first.
From the corner of his eyes, but only when he blinked, Ryan saw something move. There was a shadow in the far left corner of the room.
Carefully, he took a few steps closer. A strange electricity hung in the air. Something like an upcoming thunderstorm.
Ryan cocked his head, squinting to look at it better.
Shadows didn’t move like that.
A bloodcurdling scream cut through the dark. No, a screech. Or something entirely else. It sounded like the way spiders moved, like an orphan realizing they were really alone from now on.
Ryan was running before he knew he was running.

It was behind him. He knew it was. And if he stopped for just a second, it was a wrap on good old Ryan Bergara.
Ryan ran until his lungs exploded and the air in his chest was left to stab its way through his ribcage. Then a familiar darkness.
Ryan blinked.
When he opened his eyes, there was Shane; standing in the middle of the hallway.
Plain old human Shane, looking at him with such sincere concern.
Ryan came to a screeching halt.
The alarm bells were going off in his head.
Shane’s eyes were brown. They were too brown and his face was too human.
He felt nauseous. The bells were so. fucking. loud.
For a second Ryan reached for the holy water flask in his pocket.
“Ryan?” Shane asked unsurely (his voice was so human. So fucking human).
But before Ryan could reply, Shane was sprinting towards him.
Ryan opened his mouth to scream. Shane pushed him to the ground.

The thing got him.
It got Shane.
Ryan watched him gasp for air before collapsing in on himself.
“SHANE!”
The shadow was screaming louder than before. Ryan was on the floor and his head was going to explode.
He watched Shane slowly get up, touching the right side of his stomach before letting out a sound of pain in the back of his throat (his nails were a bit longer than they used to be). There was blood on his hands.
“Well, this is less than ideal.” He mumbled.
Shane groaned as he got up, still grasping his side firmly.
He looked up at the shadow, clenching his jaw.
“I think it’s time for you to go.” He almost sounded annoyed.
Then the thing screamed. No, it screeched. Ryan couldn’t describe the sound. It was like the feeling of jumping off a cliff.

When the smoke finally cleared, Shane’s legs were shaking but he was still standing. He looked at what was left of the shadow with his chin held up high, his eyes defiant. (His eyes were brown but not as brown as they used to be).
“Get out” he bit at the air.
The cold left the room.
And Shane’s legs gave out.

Chapter Text

“Sha-Shane?” Ryan finally managed to bring out before picking himself up and rushing to his side.
“Oh fuck, are you okay! Shane!”
“Yeah, yeah i’m fine.” He mumbled.
Ryan took one of Shane’s arms, placing his shoulder under his armpit to help him back upright.
“Jesus Christ.”
Shane flinched.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
And suddenly Ryan couldn’t remember why he had ever felt uneasy around the familiar darkness that followed him around every house they visited.

It took a bit of effort, but he managed to help Shane get back in the car. He looked a bit undignified when it became clear Ryan was not going to let go of him.
“I can walk, Ryan.” He protested. “I learned when I was three and I don’t wanne brag or anything, but I’m still pretty darn good at it.” (He wasn’t leaning on Ryan so hard that he was basically carrying him to the vehicle. Nope, not at all.)
“You okay?” Ryan asked for the millionth time as he grabbed a blanket he kept in his truck, draping it over Shane (he was shivering).
“What am I, eighty six? Have my boyish charms and youth left me that quickly?”
Shane sounded annoyed but he sort of lost his credibility when he drew the blanket around him, curling in on himself.
Ryan wasted no time getting the motor started and directing the car to the freeway.
“Talk about low blood sugar.” Shane mumbled, a small smile tugging at his lips. Ryan did not think it was funny.
“I’m getting you to a hospital.”
Shane let out laugh. “And tell them what? That I suffer from low blood pressure and forgot to eat this morning? Ry, I’m fine.”
“But-“
“I’m already getting better.”
“You’re side is bleeding.”
“It’s not.”
Ryan was about to protest, but when he looked over to do so, he saw that Shane was right. The gashes in his shirt were gone, and so was the blood.
“Eyes on the road, dude.” Shane joked and Ryan remembered that he was driving.
“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll take and Advil when I get home.”
Ryan didn’t really know what to respond.
The road was dark, but every so once in a while the street lights would bounce off Shane’s eyes and reflect a small beam of light into the car.
They weren’t as brown as they used to be and the whole thing just wasn’t fair.
Ryan gripped the steering wheel tighter until his knuckles where white.
“Do you think he actually wanted to do it?” Shane interrupted his thought process.
“Who?”
“The guy who murdered all those hotel people.” Shane asked, pulling the blanket around him a little tighter. “This is nice by the way, thanks.”
“Of course... are you sure we shouldn’t take you to-“
“I’m fine, Ryan.” There was an edge in Shane’s voice.
The car was quiet again. The silence was eating away at Ryan’s fingertips.
“What do you mean, did he feel remorse?”
“I don’t know” Shane sighed, sounding like he had already given up. “just trying to make conversation.”
“Yeah, but what do you mean?”
Shane shifted in his seat. “Eh, it just seems suspicious. Guy goes around a hotel, starts stabbing away at people, seems to take some real glee in it too; then promptly shoots himself in the head? Doesn’t add up. Does on of your theories say anything about blackmail?”
Ryan furrowed his eyebrows. “Not that I know of. I just kind of assumed he couldn’t handle the guilt after he was done.”
Shane chuckled. “That guy didn’t feel remorse.”
“How do you know that?”
“He was evil.”
Ryan scoffed. “Bit black and white, don’t you think?”
“I’m just saying, guy came from an evil rich family. Makes sense he’d be a bit fucked up too. It’s in his blood.”
Something in Shane’s voice sounded defeated.
Ryan suddenly felt anger well up inside his chest.
“You alright?”
“Yeah, yeah-of course. I’m okay.” Ryan quickly replied.
He never had to tell Shane. Ever. he just always knew. It crossed his mind that maybe that was a weird power of Shane’s he hadn’t filed away yet. Maybe it was something he used to manipulate his victims with. Maybe it was just because Shane knew him better than anyone. Frankly, at this point Ryan couldn’t give less of a shit.
“You really believe that?” Ryan asked.
“Hmm?”
“That evil is passed on genetically?”
Shane plucked at his watch.
“Don’t you?”
“No.” Ryan said firmly. His voice was so sharp it made Shane look up. In all honesty, it even surprised Ryan. He scraped his voice. “I-i might have at one point-when i first started out my research for this house. It just seems so...so small-minded now, you know?”
“Genetics are strong”, Shane muttered.
“Not as strong as the person.” Ryan shot back. “It’s not about what we are, or what we were born with. It’s about what we do with it. And that guy, he -he was wrong. But that doesn’t mean blood and evil mix like that.”
Shane didn’t respond. He was looking at him intently.
“Everyone deserves a fair chance” Ryan continued, “and everyone has the ability to work on who they want to be. They just need a chance.” He briefly turned to look at Shane. “That’s all it takes and that’s enough.”
When he refocused his eyes on the road, the car was silent again. But this time it felt okay.
For the first time in a long time it felt like everything was going to be okay.
“Jeez, that got real serious real fast.” Shane chuckled. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or something?
Ryan laughed.
“So very profound of you, Ryan. May I quote you?”
“Ah, just shut up.”
“You should write that little speech of yours down, you know, before someone steals it.”
“Asshole.”
Neither of them could stop grinning.

Chapter Text

Shane planted his feet firmly into the dirt road, removing his sunglasses to look up at the building. “So, the Red Lion’s Inn.” He raised his eyebrows, almost as if challenging the hotel. “Are you ready for this?” He asked.
Ryan wasn’t sure who Shane was talking to. He took in the menacing looking building, the top of the roof forming a dark shadow against the twilight sky.
He thought about what Shane had said that one time. About darkness coming out.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” He swallowed.
To be fair, visiting these places had become a little more boring now that he knew Shane would steer them away from anything too dangerous. Yet, somehow, Ryan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
The building felt... angry, somehow.
Shane nudged him.
“C’mon, what’s the worst thing that can happen?”
“A ghost tries to eat my intestines?”
He chuckeled. “Alright, just in case ghosts exist, I promise I’ll run slower than you, so they can eat me first.”
“I appreciate that.”
And Ryan really did.

Shane had gotten into the habit of walking a lot slower and a lot closer to Ryan when they first entered a haunted location. Or maybe he had always done that, and Ryan had just never noticed. It didn’t really matter, he was grateful for it either way.
He did wonder whether Shane had always looked so vigilant whenever they arrived somewhere, or whether that was somerhing he had never noticed that either. Shane just moved so quietly, stopping just short of walking on the balls of his feet, almost as if he was waiting for something. His eyes were still flashing around the room as he talked about the movie he had seen last night (it was an M. Night Shyamalan, and according to him an absolute ‘masterpiece’). Ryan thought of a dog walking into a new environment, carefully pointing its ears. Shane was doing everything but sniffing the air.
Just then, his friend gave the room one last glance, cocked his head as if listening for something, before visibly relaxing.
“Alright,” Shane exclaimed, unceremoniously dropping his bag on the floor. His words bounced around the place, sticking to the walls like gum. “let’s have a look around old Lion.”
Ryan looked at the room they found themselves in. “We splitting up?”
Shane raised an eyebrow. “Are you brave enough for that?”
Ryan shoved him lightly.
“Let’s say we meet up at the reception?”
Shane’s eyes grew big for dramatic effect. “Wow, Ryan. Since when are you so brave?”
“Well, I’ve got my spraygun of holy water and a pair of running shoes better than yours.”
Shane laughed and it made Ryan forget about the rumbling beneath the floorboards and the screams that were surely trapped behind the wallpaper.
He had that look on his face again, the same one he always had whenever they visited these locations. It was the first time Ryan realized that it wasn’t boredom, like he had always assumed before they both knew what they knew. The expression on Shane’s face seemed to have a lot more layers, and Ryan couldn’t really name them. All he could think of was that Shane looked like a man coming home after a long day of work.
“Alright then.” His friend exclaimed rather loudly. “Ghosts, ready or not, here we come!”
A few hours later, Ryan found himself walking through the halls of yet another nightmare house. With a knot in his stomach and a flashlight in front of him, he carefully made his way through the dark.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar darkness dig itself into the cracks of the walls, like a hermit crab in the sand.
Even though he felt it more than he actually saw it, if that made sense.
A familiar chill ran down his back. It was nice to know someone was looking out for him.

The basement was like a black hole that went straight into hell. Very cosy.
Ryan let out a sigh, wishing not for the first time in his life, that he could have had an obsession with model trains instead.
Painstakingly slowly he descended down the stairs, trying not to flinch every time the wood in one of the steps creaked, giving him a heart attack.
He had to remind himself that Shane had approved of this place, meaning it had to be a good one. So he ignored the feeling in his gut and focussed instead on getting the camera angle right.
“So, the basement looks nice.” He mumbled into the microphone of his zoom h6. He brushed away some cob webs. “Might be nice to shoot here at one point.” He thought about it for a second before adding “For like five minutes, though, not longer. I don’t care who runs faster this place gives me the creeps.”
Ryan halted to inspect the wall closest to him. There were holes and vertical lines running down, almost as if someone -or something- had tried to scratch it up.
Ryan shivered, zooming in. “I’m thinking this might be a nice shot to use later. Add some creepy music over it in post. Although it kinda looks creepy enough as it is.”
As Ryan walked further into the basement, the uneasy feeling in his stomach grew.
He heard the bells in his head but he felt it first.
“That’s it.” He declared. “I’m out of here.”
He turned around.
it was staring at him.

Ryan had never been aware of every nerve in his nervous system screaming at him before, so that was new.
It was staring at him.
It never blinked, so Ryan didn’t dare blink either.
“Shane?” he mumbled taking a step back.
It took a step closer, the old wood protesting beneath the heavy weight of its... paws? Hands?
Ryan honest to god couldn’t say which one it was. The thing didn’t have claws but it also didn’t have nails. Yet, it also had both of those things. Something inside him twitched. Told him to run and hide.
“Shane” he tried again.
The thing didnt have a body either, it was just smoke. But it did have shoulders and it was rolling them like a cat, getting ready to jump at a baby birds nest.
“Shane?”
It told him he was prey.
“SHANE!”
The thing lunged at him. Ryan held up his arms in an attempt to shield himself.
And that’s when a familiar darkness jumped inbetween him and that thing.
The way Shane bared his teeth reminded Ryan of those two lions on the discovery channel he saw fighting once. There was a lot of snapping, a lot of hissing and a lot of sudden flashes. Maybe it reminded him more of a rattle snake? Yeah, that sounded a bit more appropriate, even though it also didn’t.
When he said Shane bared his teeth, that was also wrong. He didn’t have teeth, they were fangs. Also, he didn’t have a mouth. Or a face.
But at the same time he also did.
Ryan didn’t realize he was reaching for his water pistol until it was between his shaking fingers.
At first it only seemed like a strange whirlwind of teeth and fangs, claws and fingernails and smoke and fog. But when Ryan focussed, he could see that parts of the darkness were different. Familiar.
Ryan aimed and pulled the trigger.

The smoke cleared, the screaming stopped.
It was gone. The fog lifted and the temparature in the room rose above freezing.
It. Was. Gone.
When he looked to his side, Shane looked like Shane. He was out of breath, hands on his knees like he had just run a marathon.
When Ryan looked closer, he saw burnmarks on his upper arms and neck, but those were already rapidly fading.
When his friend noticed him looking, he flashed him a smile. “Well, ding dong the witch is dead, am I right”, he grinned. Normal human teeth.
And the world was spinning.
“Wow, okay sit down! Ryan, sit down!”
Ryan let Shane grab him by the shoulders and lower him to the floor the best he could. There was something gentle in his touch. As if he was afraid he could break him.
The human wrapped his arms around his knees, pushed his head between them. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Shane had taken a five steps distance away from him.
Oh.
“Thanks”, Ryan finally choked between shaky breathing.
“don’t mention it.” Shane responded with a smile that was too fast and too nervous.
“you alright?”
“yeah, yeah! I just-“ He didn’t finish because he didn’t know how to finish it.
Shane seemed to consider whether he should take a step closer or further away.
“you ehm, you knew right?” Shane scratched the back of his head “-I mean… I thought it was kind of… as in left unspoken-“
“yeah, yeah, i knew.”
Shane’s shoulders finally lowered a little bit. “okay” a shaky breath. “good.”
Ryan mustered up a fragile smile. “it’s just the first time I actually- actually saw it. you know?”
The demon nodded, keeping his eyes on the floor this time. “yeah.”
Ryan pushed his face between hid knees again in an effort to get rid of the nausea.
“i guess a part of me always wanted to believe that i was just having a mental breakdown you know?” he laughed a little “As long as you didn’t say it out loud, it felt as if i could still just be crazy.”
“yeah, i guessed so much”
Ryan swallowed.
“you’re a demon...right?
Shane nodded. His lips a thin line.
“And you’re my best friend...right?”
This time Shane’s eyes shot up and his expression turned into a toothy grin. He nodded.
“Good. Then that’s all i need to know.” Ryan decided. He took one last deep breath before he finally stopped feeling dizzy.
They looked at each other for a second. Shane’s smile could have outbrighted the sun.
“Actually scratch that. I have so many questions and I have been dying to ask them.”
The demon threw his head into his neck and laughed.
“Ask away”.

Chapter Text

To be fair, it wasn’t the first time Ryan found himself talking to Shane about demons in a McDonalds at 2 am in the morning. It was the first time the demon in question was sitting across the booth from him, though, so the whole thing felt a bit surreal.
“Is your body yours?” He asked, biting down on a fry.
Shane threw his head back and laughed. “Well, yes. I grew it all by myself.”
Ryan scrunched up his nose. “You grew it?”
“Well, my mom did most of the work but I wasn’t just sitting there, i helped a little.”
“Oh”
It was weird.
“Is this weird?” Shane asked.
Ryane nodded. “Yes, definitely.” He thought for a moment. “But it’s also pretty cool we can talk about this.”
Shane grinned. “Yeah, i agree.”
He took another sip from his milkshake.
“So, you’re mom, she’s...”
“Excruciatingly human.”
“How does that even work?”
“It’s...complicated.” Shane tapped his fingers on the table, seemingly trying to find the right words.
“so, then your dad...”
“The most human human to ever human.”
Ryan groaned, making Shane shake his head.
“Okay, okay. I’ll try to explain myself better.”
He took a pause, thinking about the best way to explain it for a second.
“Okay, euhm. Let’s just say i... chose at one point to become my parents son.” Shane sounded like he was asking a question rather than telling him. “They seemed like a nice couple and i thought it would be great to be raised by them. So i decided they would be my parents and... then they were.”
Ryan was trying very hard not to look as dumbfounded as he felt,
“you’re parents... do they know?”
The demon shook his head.
“Do you care about them?”
“Gee, thanks Ryan.”
“Oh, sorry!” he blurted.
“Yes, of course i care about them.” Shane said annoyed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms defensively, “I love them, you know, they raised me-do you not love your parents?”
“I do!”
“Well, there you go.”
It was quiet for a moment.
“I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”
“It was. But it’s cool, this is kinda new to you.” Shane smiled.
“Alright. So, you say you ‘chose’ your parents. Does that mean you were already alive before you were-euhm… you?”
Shane scratched his hair.
“Ehm…. Well, I was born here. And my parents raised me and everything.” He took another fry “I was a baby-or at least i know i was, i dont remember it- and i was a teenager and did the whole puberty thing... but i also wasn’t and didn’t? Does that make sense?”
Ryan rubbed his temples.
“No, not really.”
“Eh, it’s hard to explain.
“Yeah.”
“Alright... i’ve lived my whole life as Shane... but i’ve done this before already. I’ve had other names and other lives.”
“So you reincarnate?”
“Sort of? Not exactly...”
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
Shane sighed before shooting up in his chair. “Oh! Okay, so you know how barbie can be like a cook or a doctor or a horsebackriding instructor...? It’s like that. I mean-she’s always barbie, you know? She doesn’t stop being barbie when she becomes a top chef.”
“You’re like barbie?”
“Basically.”
Ryan laughed, shaking his head at the sheer ridiculousness of the whole situation.
“So which barbie... who are you now?”
Shane grinned widely, spreading his arms. “I’m shane, baby. Born in 1986, raised in Schaumburg, Illinois, working on buzzfeed unsolved since 2016.”
Ryan smiled, not forgetting to roll his eyes at Shane.
“You’re and idiot barbie”
“Hey!”
Ryan took the opportunity to steal one of Shane’s fries. Then it dawned on him that he had just stolen fries from a demon and he burst out laughing. Shane couldn’t stop himself from joining.
“Alright” shane said as he leaned back, looking more relaxed than Ryan had seen him in a while.. “My turn to ask a question. How the hell did you figure it out?”
Ryan scratched the back of his neck, suddenly unsure of what to say.
“I’m... not sure?”
Shane laughed. “What does that even mean? did I give it away or something?”
“I don’t know, it wasn’t really something big you did. I just looked at you and one day it just- kinda... clicked?”
Shane raised his eyebrows.
“Just-clicked?”
Ryan nodded.
“Just like that.” Shane snapped a finger to underscore his question.
“Uhu”
“That’s... unusual.”
Something in Shane’s voice told Ryan he knew more than he let on.
“What are you thinking, Shane?”
Shane suddenly blinked, so deep into his own thoughts that he seemed to have forgotten Ryan was even there.
“Don’t worry about it. Another time.”
“Dude, we just-“
“Ryan.” Shanes voice was sharp. “Another time, just trust me.”
Ryan’s turn to blink in surprise. “Okay.”
“Sorry.” Shane said before things could get awkward, rubbing his eyes. “I swear, i’ll tell you at some point but now is not the time. Okay? Let’s just file this away for later.”
Ryan nodded. “Alright. I trust you.”
Shane smiled warmly. “Great!”
There was another silence but a more comfortable one this time.
“So how old are you?” Ryan asked evenually. “I mean- how many times have you done this before?”
“Dunno. Gotta be a couple of thousands at least... when was the Trojan war again?”
Ryan choked on his milkshake.
“Dude,” he managed to say once his airpipe was free to use again, “you saw the french revolution?”
Shane nodded, a small twinkle of amusement in his eye. “Uhu.”
“That’s insane. Oh my god, did you see the Boston Tea Party?”
“Nah. I heard about it though. But i was in Italy back then.”
“Dude, you have lived through EVERYTHING.” Ryan said ignore Shane’s last answer. “You live through the great famine, the pyramids, the-“ Ryan’s face fell. “No” he whispered. Shane grimaced, realizing what Ryan had figured out.
“Nonono” Ryan repeated, shaking his head as if he could make it not true. “tell me- TELL me, you didn’t start ‘ruining histories’ because of that. Tell me it’s not true.”
Shane ducked his head.
“I know, pretty lame of me.”
“Shane,” Ryan spoke, resentment thick in his voice, “that is so aweful i could start crying right here, right now in this mcdonalds.”
Shane burst out laughing again.

Chapter Text

Ryan payed for their meals (“You know, you saved my life and stuff. Again. Least I could do”). When they entered the restaurant parking lot, he could already see the first rays of daylight cut through the night sky.
“Okay, so holy water.”
“Hmm?”
“Can it hurt you?”
“You got any big plans for the future, Ryan?”
He pretended to think about it.
“I don’t know. Maybe for next time when you steal my pen again.”
“You’re going to kill me over stealing a pen?” Shane grabbed at his chest, pretending to pull an invisible dagger out “And I’m the eternally damned creature here?”
“Aha, so it does hurt you!”
Shane grinned. “A little, but you’d need a whole lot more than that water pistol to do any serious damage.”
“What’s a whole lot more?”
“Say, how much water is in your average lake again?”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“But the other dem-the thing? It got hurt, right?”
“Well, that’s because that was a little tiny whimp demon, Ryan. I’m pretty sure if you’d tried hard enough, you could have fought it off on your own.”
“Really?”
“No.”
Ryan stomped his arm.
“Ouch”
“What about salt?”
“Burns a little. Goes down really nice with some popcorn.” Shane muttered.
“Unbelievable.” Ryan said opening the car door. “You’re like a fricken tank.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“It’s more one of those annoying things that’s gonne make that big head of yours get even bigger.”
“It’s nice knowing I’m pretty much invincible, not gonne lie.”
Ryan pretended to bang his head against the steering wheel.
“So, is there anything bigger out there?” He mumbled against the car horn. “I mean anything that could crush that big mellon head of yours?”
“Seriously, Ryan, should I just lie down so you run me over with your car?”
“So, cars can hurt you?”
“No, wh- you’re being mean.”

It went on like that. At 5 am, Ryan looked at the pencil strikes of orange and gold coloring the grey sky.
“So, lemme ask you this -and be honest” Ryan warned.
“Shoot.”
“Was it a coincidence Brent left the show after two episodes?”
Shane blinked. “Are you implying I manipulated myself into a high profile webshow focussed on finding proof that demons and other supernatural creatures are real?”
“Wouldn’t be the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.”
“I really thought you thought higher of me.”
“Okay, fair enough.” Ryan conceded, “Was it a coincidence I asked you to help me out for the show?”
“Ryan, believe it or not I don’t manipulate my friends like that.” Shane’s tone sounded a little less joking and a bit more defensive.
“Oh-I wasn’t implyi-l”
“I know.” Shane suddenly seemed very interested in studying his finger nails. “You needed someone” he mumbled. “I thought it was a horrible idea but we were friends and I didn’t want to let you down.”
Ryan felt a twitch of guilt in his chest.
“You’ve always used what you were born with to help people.”
It wasn’t a question.
Shane nodded.
Ryan was quiet for a second.
“The way I reacted… when I first found out, I mean…” Ryan scraped his throat, “It was really not co-“
“Oh, come on Ryan.” Shane interrupted, “You know it’s fine.”
“But it’s not, though.”
Shane shrugged. “Nah. You didn’t know any better.” He patted Ryan’s arm amicably. “Besides, in you’re place, I’d be pretty upset myself. I mean with the secrets, that has got to be rought to find out. I mean, I’m also” Shane’s turn to pause. “…I’m sorry for lying to you. I thought it was the best way to deal with the whole situation but- yeah it definitely wasn’t.”
Ryan scoffed. “What were you supposed to say? ‘Hey, Ryan. Don’t freak out but I’m a demon barbie.’”
“I so regret using that metaphor.”
They laughed and it felt comfortable.
“So, what with the show?” Shane eventually asked.
“What with the show?”
“I mean, we both know now.”
“Indeed, we do.”
“Do you want to quit?”
Ryan shook his head.
“Nah, me neither.”
“It’s just going to be hard pretending I still believe there are any ghosts in the buildings we visit. You know, since you make us avoid the ones that are actually haunted.”
“Correction, I scare away the ghosts that are trying to come near us. The place we avoid are the ones where the ghosts are actually stupid enough to still try.”
Ryan turned to look at Shane. “Wait, is that why we avoided The Amityville Horror house?”
Shane nodded.
“But there isn’t anything in there that can actually… you know… hurt you?”
“Alright, so you can start the car and I’ll lay down so you can drive over me-“
“No no, you’re not listening. Does that mean we can visit those places now?”
“Now that I’m no longer worried you’ll have a heart attack once you see me smack a hungry ghost? Sure.” Shane grinned.
Ryan felt an odd twinge of excitement in his stomach. “Oh man, this is gonne be cool. We can actually visit haunted locations.”
“We could put some lost ghosts and ghouls back on track”, Shane added. “It would be nice to just fix their problems while shooting the episodes instead of coming back later.”
“You do that?”
He shrugged. “Yeah all the time. It’s a pain in the ass traveling all the way back every time. This is going to make things so much easier.”
Ryan smiled. “That settles it. Take me to a place that’s actually haunted, demon-man!”
“Whelp, here’s to hoping that nickname doesn’t stick.”

Ryan straightened his back, looking into the camera.
“This week on the finale of Buzzfeed Unsolved we’re going to be doing things a little bit differently.”
He could tell Shane was holding back a chuckle next to him.
“In the past we’ve investigated famous houses, buildings, attractions, museums. But what all of these places have in common, was that they either were only active in the past, or -because they’re famous- they’ve been thouroghly investigated.”
As he continued his intro for the episode, he felt a small shiver run down his spine. He didn’t recognize it as the familiar one he got around Shane, so that couldn’t be good. He had the strange urge to turn around, as if the house behind him might try to sneak up on him while he had his back turned.
“And secondly,” he finished, “this is our chance to actually help people.”
He looked at Shane briefly. The demon shot him a short but meaningful glance back.
Despite everything, Ryan couldn’t help but feel a little hint of excitement. He didn’t know why, but he had a good feeling about this.

Chapter Text

When they arrived at the house, it was already getting dark.
“So, I called Hannah.” Ryan said, putting the car in park. “She agreed to let us have a look around and already shoot some stuff.”
“Alright.”
“I think Ben might arrive in about half an hour. He said something about wanting to get better footage before we really start filming.”
Shane didn’t respond. He just nodded, but he wasn’t looking at him. He was looking at the house.
“You okay?”
The demon rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, just getting a strange feeling.”
“A bad feeling?”
Shane thought about it for a second. “Not per se, but it might be too soon to tell.”
“Hmm,” Ryan said, now focussing his gaze on the house as well. Something inside his stomach did a little flip for a second. He swallowed. He felt a strange urge to go inside. As if he had been looking forward to this place all week without noticing it.
“Here we go.” He mumbled.

Okay so, something about Shane was definitely… off. Ryan had eyed the sudden spring in the demon’s steps with raised eyebrows, once they left the car. He wondered exactly when Shane had become so enthusiastic about this case. But it got worse.
Oh, it got so much worse.
And it started the moment Hannah opened the door and introduced herself.
“Hello” Shane said, leaning in to get a better look. His eyes were big. Like really big and the wrong shade of brown.
“Hi.” Hannah responded with a quiet voice.
There was an electricity hanging in the room and he was certain it was coming from a certain demon he knew.
Hannah, was currently looking down at her hand, which Shane still hadn’t let go of. Ryan had the weird feeling he was holding himself back from sniffing her.
“Okay.” Ryan exclaimed clasping his hands together. “Time to see the place- Shane?”
Shane blinked for a second before leaning away from Hannah.
“Ehm-yes. Of course.” His eyes were brown again. There was something different about him, though, and Ryan just couldn’t tell what it was.
“I-ehm” Hannah averted her gaze briefly, “Thank you so much for coming. Can I show you around?”
“Yes, thank you.” Shane said without breaking eye contact. His smile was wider than usual. Ryan gave him a look but the demon seemed unaware of the weird behavior he was displaying. Whatever it was, he seemed to be slipping in and out of it as Hannah led them into the living room.
“Lovely place you got here.” Shane commented.
Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose. Had Shane ever heard of not creepily smiling at people like he was the Joker?
“Ehm- thank you so much. I was cleaning up all day before you guys arrived.” Hannah laughed nervously.
The demon was once again very much leaning into her personal space and this time Ryan was convinced he was going to sniff her like a dog meeting a new person. He scraped his throat as loud as he could, which seemed to break the spell. Shane took a quick step backwards and Hannah almost visibly sighed in relief.
“Shane” He asked, “why don’t you check out the setting on the camera and the Zoom h6. Make sure they’re all ready to record in case we see something.”
Shane nodded (too) enthusiastically before booking it out of the room.
“Sorry for that” he mumbled, walking over to Hannah. “He’s usually pretty normal, actually. Well,… as normal as Shane can be.”
Hannah laughed. “It’s okay, he’s just a little intense I guess, but he seems nice.”
Ryan shot her a grateful look.
“So, for the episode, we’d like to have some footage of the house, if that’s okay with you?”
“Yes, of course.” Hannah said. “The boys are doing a sleepover across the street and Matt is in the other room, but he doesn’t want to be on camera. I told you that, right?”
Ryan nodded, “yes , I remember. We’ll edit him out if we accidentally catch him anyway.”
Hannah smiled. Then her eyebrows drew together. She was looking at a spot above his shoulder.
“Is your friend okay?”
When Ryan turned around and spotted Shane, he was very much still in the room. More specifically, he was standing in the corner, Blair-witch style.
Ryan quietly started counting to ten in his head.
“Hannah, would you excuse us for just a moment.” He asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
Ryan basically had to drag Shane away from a crack in the wall he had apparently been staring at for the last two minutes instead of getting the camera.

“Okay, what is up with you.” Ryan demanded the moment they entered the hallway.
Shane shook his head, rubbing his hands through his hair. “Fuck, it’s-sorry, Ryan, it’s -It’s the house. It’s the stupid house.” He noticed he was slurring a little.
”Are you-Dude, are you drunk?” He hissed.
”No! Where would I even get- I told you it’s the house. It’s sending all this crap up my head and its making everything fuzzy and all spinny and whatnot.”
“Wh- are you saying the house is making you act like this?
“No, Matilda is.”
Ryan blinked. “So, Matilda is real.”
“Yes, and she’s pretty powerful too.”
“She’s dangerous?”
“Worse, she’s annoying.” Shane seemed to try very hard to focus on the conversation. Ryan didn’t realize it until it suddenly clicked in his brain.
“What is happening to you?”
Whatever uncanniness the demon usually sort of exuded was now radiating off him like heat from a fucking wildfire.
Shane groaned. “She’s… she’s turned this place into a lighthouse calling out to anything supernatural in the neighbourhood.”
Ryan noticed that his skin was about two tints lighter than it usually was.
“So, that’s why you’re acting all weird and creepy?”
“Hey!”
“You stared at a crack in the wall for two whole minutes.”
”How long are you supposed to look at them,  then?”
”Not at all, Shane.”
“Well fuck, it’s not my fault!”
“Can’t you just ignore it and act like a normal person?”
Shane squeezed one eye shut, as if he was listening to something Ryan couldn’t hear. “It’s kind of really hard not to listen to it. She’s very… persuasive. She-“ he shook his head again as if the motion could rid him of the blurr in front of his eyes,  “it’s basically like she’s a porch light and I’m a big ol’ moth.”
For a second his eyes flashed black.
“Ehm, Shane?”
“Shit!” He cursed before ducking his head, turning away from Ryan.
“Okay,” Shane said, turning around with perfectly plain brown eyes. “That’s it. No more questions, nothing that makes me think about anything other than keeping the skin on my face and in the right order.”
This was officially hilarious.
“Oh my God, can you do that again but with the camera on?”
“Shut up, Ryan.”
You think I’m about to catch some evidence of a real ghost now that you are... high? Drunk on demon moth-light?”
“I might just lose control enough to kill you” Shane warned.
“Sure you will, big guy” Ryan said, patting him on the shoulder empathetically.
“So, what are we dealing with here?”
Shane’s head whipped around as if he had already forgotten Ryan was there in the few seconds he had turned around. He looked a little disoriented.
“Small girl. Demon child. Nothing to really worry about.”
“A demon child is nothing to worry about?” Ryan asked skeptically.
“Well, she’s a child, Ryan. She can’t do a lot yet.”
“So, she’s not dangerous?”
“Oh no, she’s extremely dangerous. You’d be dead in a second if she wanted you to be.”
“Great.” Ryan groaned.
“Well, she’d have to get past me first. Besides, I don’t think she’s really got it out for us. Or Hannah and her family, for that matter.” Shane said rubbing his eyes. “She’s just playing games, I think she’s bored.”
“Is that why she’s making you act like this?”
“She’s trying to push my buttons. Very successfully might I add.”
Shane looked at the wall angrily, as if the wallpaper itself was responsible for this whole situation.
“And how are we going to deal with this?” Ryan asked as they started to make their way back to the living room.
“I suppose we do what we always do.” Shane replied. “Ask Hannah questions, ask Matilda kindly to murder us in a dark room, use that godaweful box for spirits. Get it all on tape. The usual stuff.”
“You sure about the ‘asking her to murder us in a dark room’ stuff?” Ryan gulped.
“Yeah, she’s a kid. I can handle her.”
“You are literally not able to walk in a straight line right now.”
“She has different abilities, Ryan, not better ones. Besides, have you ever seen yourself after drinking the bare minimum?”
“Hey!”
“Frankly, I’m just mostly worried she’ll mess with the fabric of reality. Kids tend to to that, you know. She’s already been chewing on some of the time threads.”
“Yeah, totally.” Ryan said, pretending that wasn’t an incredibly weird statement that destroyed the way he looked at reality as he knew it.
“It’s good that we’re here in time, though.” Shane said rather casually. “She’s been getting ready to eat Hannah for a long time.”
“What!” Ryan shrieked.
“Yeah, she’s about two weeks away from turning her into a sandwich.”
“Shane, that’s the kind of stuff we mention at the start of a conversation!”

They set up the equipment for the episode while Hannah went over the specifics with Ryan. About an hour into that, Shane’s eyes suddenly got big with curiosity before he lept off the couch and walked back into the hallway. A few seconds later, The doorbell rang, which told Ryan A.J. must have arrived. He sighed, making a mental note to tell Shane not to open doors before people actually rang them.
As it turned out, the medium was just as fascinating to a drunk Shane as Hannah had been.
“Hello” Shane said, somehow both enthusiastically and aloof at once.
“Hi…” A.J. replied.
Ryan threw him a look.
“Do you have a name?” He asked raising a brow.
“I’m Shane!”
He resisted the urge to bang his head against the door. “Have you ever met another person, what is happening to you right now?”
Shane smiled a goofy, lop-sided grin.
Ryan turned to AJ. “He doesn’t believe in any of this.”
“I don’t, it’s all baloney!”
It reminded Ryan of a cat interacting with catnip. Luckily, A.J. didn’t seemed too weirded out by him (although he did not look particularly comfortable interacting with him either). Ryan briefly wondered if he had any experience meeting demons, being a medium and all.
“It’s nice to meet both of you.” A.J. replied politely. “And Shane, that’s totally okay. Some people choose to believe in the supernatural, others don’t. And I myself choose to do so.”
Shane flashed him a smile and Ryan could tell A.J. was experiencing that guppy in front of a white shark feeling.
“Well, why don’t we go and introduce you to Hannah.” Ryan quickly said clapping his hands, moving forward so he could stand in between the medium and the demon.
“Yeah,” Shane said, blinking himself back into consciousness, “that seems like a good-“ he stopped and spun around, only to stare at the empty hallway behind them. Ryan had the feeling he had heard something outside of his hearing range.
“I’m gonne go use the bathroom.” He announced before promptly leaving them behind. The look he gave Ryan told him not to come along.
“Is he okay?” A.J. asked, looking at Shane who still had some issues walking in a straight line.
“What, him? Yeah totally” Ryan replied. He pretended to look both ways before leaning in, whispering: “Between you and me? I’m pretty sure some demon possessed him.”
A.J. looked amused. “Really?”
Ryan shrugged. “That, or he’s got a serious case of food poisoning.”

Chapter Text

Shane could slowly feel himself getting more and more light-headed the longer he stayed in that house. He shook his head, willing the fuzzy feelings to just leave already. Matilda didn’t seem to like Ryan very much. He was pretty sure she wasn’t going to try anything as long as he was there, but still a bit of vigilance and consciousness couldn’t hurt.
For a moment he lost his balance and he had to place a hand on the wall to keep himself up. When his hand started dissolving into the wallpaper, it took him all of his strength to not give in and just disappear into it.
The house was loud. That was the only way to describe it. Everything was shouting, screaming at him to just lose the fingernails and skin already.
“And I don’t even get the fun of actually drinking alcohol with it.” He mumbled, rounding the corner of the hallway before stopping in his tracks.
There she was.
The famous Matilda.
(The walls were screaming, wailing at him.)
She had chosen the pigtails and doll-like appearance, like Hannah had described. A little cliché, but he had to admit, very effective. She looked just adorable.
“Hello” he said politely, kneeling down to her eye level. “My name is Shane. You’re Matilda, right?”
She squinted at him. He got a feeling she wasn’t quiet sure what to make of him.
Shane threw her a friendly smile.
“I know, I know. I may not look like much, but I can assure you I’m a friend.”
She smiled back, too many teeth and no teeth all at once. He suddenly felt the inexplicable but overwhelming urge to protect and care for her. And as soon as that thought entered his mind, his body didn’t feel real anymore. For just a second he forgot which of the many barbie-lives he was leading currently.
Oh, she was good.
His smile dropped. “That’s not going to work, ‘Tilds. Not on me.”
A look of surprise flashed across her little porcelain doll face. As the temperature in the hallway dropped ever so slighly, Shane couldn’t shake the feeling that he had done something wrong. Then she smiled even more sweetly at him and reached out her arms. A wave of familiarity and warmth struck him in the chest, making him stumble backwards.
Shane groaned from the impact. Every cell in his body was suddenly screaming, screaming at him that he and Matilda where the same and that he should just be himself. He didn’t have to look in the mirror to know his eyes were black now.
Matilda giggled and it sounded like a challenge.
“Well, that was just rude.” He mumbled, putting his fingernails back in place. “And pretty dangerous of you to try. Didn’t your mom ever teach you to pick your battles?”
She looked at him angrily, frustrated that he was still wearing that human face.
“I told you, it’s not going to work on me. And trust me, you don’t want to go toe to toe with me either.” He warned, “my patience is not infinite”
When the demon child started crying, it broke his heart, whether he wanted it to or not. He tried to ignore how the hair on his head felt like a wig and was so, so itchy.
He straightened his posture, hardening the features in his face. “Look, I don’t want to have to hurt you. Actually, I’d very much like to work this out as adults, ‘Tilds, can you do that for me?”
She only growled at him in response. The walls started crying as well and they chanted that The human he had come with had too many eyes. Too many eyes to be alive, do something about it!
All of a sudden his body felt real, more than anything else in that house.
“That’s not happening, don’t even try.” He snapped.
She pouted, her black eyes producing one perfect tear.
Without a warning he struck her backwards.
“That’s my last warning, Matilda.” He growled, “Next time I won’t hold back. Stay away from the people in this house.”
The girl looked up at him with murder in her eyes. He felt the air leave the room for a second before she got up and screamed at him like a tornado.
When he blinked, she was gone.
Her appearance was a big red fingerprint on the crème colored wall behind her.
“Nice to meet you”, he mumbled.

He found Ryan and A.J. in the living room. He could sense how upset Ryan was even before he saw the red around his irises.
“Ryan?” He asked, walking up to him a little faster. “What happened.”
Ryan looked up at him, throwing him a quick smile. “Oh, hey.” He wiped his eyes. “Nothing, I was just talking to A.J.”
Next to him, A.J. waved almost apologetically.
“We were talking about his grandpa.” He said. “I told him I could feel that presence, at least some of the last memories that were still hanging around Ryan here.”
A.J. was a goddamn prick.
“Is that so.”
A.J. swallowed, the smile on his face fading when Shane fixed him with a glare.
“He’s, ehm- really good Shane. He could tell me things about my grandpa I never told anyone.” Ryan broke the silence.
“He must be proud.” Shane said without breaking eye-contact.
“What about you? Did you see any ghosts on your way to the bathroom, Shane?”
He decided to humor Ryan and not throw A.J. into an inbetween space where time didn’t exist. “Yes, and I saw bigfoot as well. We had tea.”
Ryan laughed and it made the urge to extend the claws beneath his fingertips more bearable.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Good.” Shane said, even though the aura of grief around Ryan was palpable. He scanned the room.
“Is everything set up?”
Ryan nodded. “I think we’re ready to try talking to Matilda.”
“The emphasis on ‘trying’, Shane said, not forgetting to play the part of the sceptic.
Ryan rolled his eyes. “You know what, now I hope she scratches you.”
“Scratch me Matilda!” Shane replied, spreading his arms.
Ryan chuckled.
A.J. seemed relieved that the focus was off him and took the opportunity to go talk to Hannah.
Coward.
“He’s not psychic.” Shane hissed, as soon as A.J. was out of hearing-distance. “Don’t listen to anything he says, he’s a con artist.”
Ryan averted his eyes. “I guessed that much.”
Shane blinked. Ryan seemed to sense his confusion and added quickly “It was just- he managed to tell me a lot… things I told my grandfather that I never told anyone else and I don’t know,” he drew a shaky breath, “It’s not like I didn’t know he was talking out of his ass, I’m not stupid. I guess it just- struck a nerve.”
Shane was looking for something to say that wouldn’t make things worse. What was he supposed to say? That it was good that Ryan’s grandfather wasn’t still here? That it meant he had moved on?
“It’s fine you don’t have to say anything. I know he’s is gone, Shane,” Ryan interrupted his thoughts. “It’s just nice for a second to pretend he’s still hanging around, you know? That he’s watching over me? Or maybe it’s not nice it’s just-“ he seemed to be looking for the right words, “…hard to resist not buying into it.”
“I’m going to let Matilda eat him.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Shane.”
“Just watch me, I bet she thinks he’s delicious.”
“Even if he’s a fake, he’s really convincing and he will be good for the episode. He clearly knows how to work a camera on him so let’s keep the brutal murder as a plan B, kay?”
Shane didn’t reply. The feelings of grief that hung in the room had softened but they were still there.
“Alright, glad that’s settled.” Ryan said, patting him on the shoulder. Shane saw him wipe his eyes when he thought he wasn’t looking.
“If he says anything about your family or Hannah’s family, I’m kicking him out.”
“I can work with that.” Ryan replied, “I’ll tell him not to talk to Hannah about that stuff.”
“Good.”
“Speaking of people who are feeling slightly murdery today,” Ryan changed the topic, “anything new happen on your way to the bathroom?”
“Well,” Shane sighed, “It wasn’t bigfoot.”
That caught Ryan’s attention. “Did you see her?” He asked quietly, eying Hannah and A.J. carefully to make sure they weren’t listening in on the conversation.
He nodded. “Yes, exactly what I thought. Very dangerous, very annoying. Nothing I can’t handle.”
He noticed his was gritting his teeth subconsciously and tried to relax his jaw. He wasn’t going to let her near any of his friends.
“Why is she here?”
Shane blinked.
“What?”
Ryan scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, why this house? Why play these games and get you all mothed-up?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, she’s a kid, she’s probably just bored.”
The frown that nestled itself between Ryan’s eyebrows told him that he wasn’t satisfied with that answer.
“What’s on you mind.”
“Nothing. It just feels like we’re missing a puzzle piece, you know?”
There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that refused to go away.
“Let’s not make it too complicated.” He said patting Ryan on the shoulder. “Kids are like that. They wanne annoy you to get a rise out of you and sometimes they try to murder your friends.”
“Right…” Ryan drawled.
Suddenly, the fuzzy feeling in his head and chest grew stronger again.
“She’s close.” He whispered.
“Yeah.” Ryan agreed.
Shane looked at Ryan. “How did you-?”
“You’re skin is the wrong shade, buddy.”
Shane cursed. Ryan had a stupid wide grin on his face.
“This is amazing, God, I wish I could film this. You’re getting your ass handed to you by this little girl.”
Shane wanted to be annoyed at him, but his emotions were all tangled up with feelings of slithering and smoke.
“Alright, let’s start filming, I got a good feeling about this. Now that she’s here-“
“A.J. Would you come here?” Shane yelled suddenly, making Ryan jump. “We’re going to start filming.”
Across the room, A.J. seemed to try very hard to come down from the heart attack the demon had given him.
Shane bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from smiling.
Ryan rolled his eyes at him as he turned on the camera. The little lamp in the front was now glowing red.
“Alright,” Ryan said as he (strategically) positioned himself to stand between Shane and A.J.
“Let’s start.”

“Is this you’re first ghost hunt, A.J.?” Shane asked as they walked into Hannah's room.
“Ehm, no.” A.J. replied.
The demon raised his eyebrows. “Oh.”
“Shane.” Ryan hissed.
“What?”
“Be nice.”
“This is me being nice.”
Ryan gave him a look.
“Okay, fine. Fine. I’ll be nice to the fake psychic.”
“Thank you.”
“Even if he’s a con artist”
“Shane.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
Ryan turned around to A.J. who was looking around the room, (undoubtedly not looking at the common house spirits on the ceiling).
“Okay, we’ve never worked with a medium before so how does it work? You walk in, you do a reading of the room. Maybe what you’re sensing?”
“Yeah, kind of.”
Never before in his life did Shane have to fight the the urge to roll his eyes so hard as he listened to A.J. explain his methods.
“Don’t you feel a certain ominous presence in this room?” A.J. asked at the end of his little mystical speech.
Ryan frowned. “Actually no. Like, I’ve been to a few places where I definitely felt like that. But here… I don’t know, I’m not getting anything bad?”
“Oh yeah, you’re right.” A.J. tried to correct himself. “I didn’t mean like actually ominous though. It’s more that I sense a mischievous energy in this house.”
Shane looked up from the ovilus. “Really?” He smiled. 
A.J. seemed pleasantly surprised that Shane for once wasn’t throwing death glares at him. “Yes, something powerful but not per se malicious!” He said enthusiastically.
Shane’s smile widened a bit further than humanly possible and it made A.J. shrink back.
Ryan frowned. “Or at least, it could be, but it doesn’t… have to be?”
Shane looked at Ryan, trying to figure out what the hell that meant.
“Well, that’s what I’m getting.” Ryan tried to shrug it off, “I know you probably have a scientific explanation ready for the feelings this room gives us?”
Shane tried to smile.
“I get that same feeling when I see someone sell taco’s from their car.”
“Fuck you.” Ryan giggled.

They sat down on the couch. Hannah decided to stay off screen and watch them work for this session.
“Okay, let’s try to speak to whatever is here.” Ryan mumbled. “Ehm… hello?” He asked unsurely.
Shane noticed her enter the room as soon as Ryan finished talking. She was standing in the far left corner, looking at Hannah with clenched teeth. He wondered if the others could feel the temperature in the room drop the way he did.
“Alright, let’s try this.” Ryan said.
(He thought he saw him shiver)
“A.J. said there was a mischievous energy in this house.” Ryan asked. “Would that person- or thing - like to present itself?”
Matilda was looking at Hannah in a way he didn’t like. He shot her a glance, shaking his head as a warning. When Matilda noticed him, her eyes grew big. Then a wide smile spread across her face.
Shane readied himself, feeling the imminent threat growing closer. All of a sudden he felt another wave of familiarity and comfort that made his skin crawl.
Two can play that game, Matilda.
Wordlessly, he opened the ground beneath the little girl’s feet. Very satisfying.
“What are you smirking at, Shane?”
“It looks like that dresser has eyes.” He replied, pointing at the dresser.
Matilda did not seem amused. Red smoke emerged from her skin and slowly draped itself around Hannah. He saw her take a step away from Matilda but the red cloud never really left the woman’s frame. Hannah shivered, pulling her jacket a little tighter around herself.
Shane looked at Matilda’s satisfied grin. She was like a snake getting ready for a big meal.
It was good that he had come here when he did. He snapped his fingers and the cloud disappeared. A look of surprise flashed across the demon girl’s face, like a lightning bolt through a grey sky. (It looked adorable, if he was honest)
“If anyone is here.” A.J. said, “can you tell us your name?” Shane could feel the psychic growing bored with the activity.
Matilda didn’t respond. She cocked her head as she eyed A.J. curiously.
Ryan broke the dark silence, “If it’s too hard, can you move something? There are two flashlights on that table. Can you move one of the flashlights?”
Her head whipped around to look at Ryan. 
Too many eyes to be alive. She chanted in Hebrew. 
No. He growled.
As soon as he said that, he felt an incredibly, almost suffocating feeling of rage fill up the room. Suddenly Matilda started screaming at him through a mix of hisses and Latin and it was so fucking loud. She bore her eyes into Shane’s, directing the full force of her powers at him.
Help! me!
He felt so frustrated no she felt frustrated and angry and she was so fucking loud. He felt a wave of familiarity and another one and another one and he wanted to not be human so badly it hurt.
He decided enough was enough and smacked her against the nearest wall to make the feeling stop stop stop.
She disappeared right into the wallpaper.
As Ryan finished talking, he felt a slight pang of jealousy because the walls did look inviting.

Chapter Text

Ryan noticed-because of course he did- and the moment they turned off the camera, he was already standing next to him.
“Are you alright? what happened?”
Shane sat down heavily on the nearest chair he could reach (and almost fell off).
“She’s so fucking annoying.” He grumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“Matilda?”
“No, funnily enough, I was talking about Nancy Porter from sixth grade.”
Ryan almost smiled. “So, how is Matilda?”
“I’m getting her out of this house tonight.” He snapped. The dizziness in his head still hadn’t worn off.
“Hair, Shane.” Ryan mumbled.
He quickly adjusted his hair color so it no longer looked bright red.
“Are you sure you-“ Ryan paused when A.J. walked passed them. “Dude, are you sure you’re up for this?” He whispered. “No offense, but you don’t seem to be winning so far.”
“She’s a child, Ryan. What am I gonne do, murder her? Here’s an idea, why don’t you try to get the little demon girl out here without obliterating her while you’re blasted drunk, without alarming any of your very human crew mates, and I’ll stand here judging you.”
“Okay, okay” Ryan said, holding up his hands. “Fair enough. Demon children are hard to manage. Got it.”
Shane scoffed as he picked up the camera from the tripod, ignoring the panicked sound Ryan made when he almost dropped it (stupid depth perception was not working very well currently.)
“Ryan, I could totally fix this thing even if I set it on fire and then dropped it off the empire state building, chill.”
He pressed the play button and quickly went through the footage of the last hour. At the twenty three minutes and seven seconds mark, he noticed two red eyes peeking over his shoulder. He wiped his thumb over the screen and they disappeared from the clip.
“Alright, that should keep our editors out of the danger zone.” He mumbled. He tried to focus on making the world spin less fast. “Wouldn’t want our little friend paying them a visit after this.”
Ryan didn’t respond.
“what’s bothering you?”
“Hmm?”
“Why do you have a look on your face like you need to fart but you forgot how.”
“Fuck you, man.” Ryan laughed, pushing him away.
Shane gave him a grin. “No, but for real, what’s up?”
He hesitated, which in Ryan's case was never a good thing because he never thought about what he was going to say before he opened his mouth, Shane was sure of that.
“Do you think we’re doing something… wrong?”
“Like what?” he asked, redirecting his attention to folding the tripod and putting it in the bag.
“I don’t know. I can’t shake the feeling that we’re approaching this the wrong way. You know what I mean?”
“Nope.” Shane said, popping the P, “I mean, besides the ‘having-morals-and-not-wanting-to-wipe-out-the-most-annoying-kid-in-history’ part, I could very much do without that.”
“Well, someone is annoyed that they’re getting beaten up by a small child with pigtails.”
Shane shoved him. He just kind of didn’t remember how much force he needed for that, so he ended up throwing Ryan across the room.
Oh, fuck.
“Shit!” He yelled making his way over to where Ryan was now lying on the floor.
“Shane, what the actual fuck!”
“Are you okay! fuck, shit, how many fingers am I holding!”
“As if you know the fucking answer.” Ryan groaned, taking the arm Shane had extended to help him upright.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine - Get off me!” he snapped, batting away Shane’s worried hands trying to check his head for a concussion.
“Ryan, I’m so sorry!”
“Shane?”
“Yeah?”
“What the actual fuck?” He punched his arm (ow).
“Jesus Christ- Fuck, I’m so sorry. It’s hard to remember how light you guys are.”
“Look at me, Shane, look at me.”
He did.
“Sleep with one eye open because, tonight, the moment you fall asleep, I’m rolling your sleeping bag down the stairs.”

“Okay, so right now we’re heading into the master bedroom.” Ryan announced as they entered Hannah’s room. “Obviously this is another one of the big players in this house. This is where also the little girl presented herself to Hannah.”
The walls were slowly turning red the closer they got, the windows were glowing with resentment.
Ryan let his eyes wonder around the room. “Woah, look at all the mirrors in here”
“I know.” A.J. cut in, “this is probably why there’s a lot of activity in here, because of the mirrors.”
“Yeah, mirrors are said to be portals” Ryan remarked.
“Right, opening… doors?”
Very clever of you, A.J., Shane thought.
Ryan got out the ovilus from his bag.
“We’re gonne put the ovilus on phonetic mode?” A.J. asked.
“Yeah” Ryan replied, placing it on Hannah’s bed. He groaned a little when he bent his back to put it down.
“Are you alright?” A.J. asked, concern in his voice.
“Oh, yeah. I’m great.” He replied, making an “o” shape with his thumb and index.
Shane tried to tell him he was sorry with his eyes. Ryan mouthed “one. eye. open.”
When he turned on the device, it immediately came to life in a cacophony of creaking and white noise. Shane felt the cold in the room and the color red before he actually saw her. When Matilda entered again, she was standing in the far right corner of the room (she really seemed to like corners. He remembered liking those too as a kid). Something about the way she looked far more calm than before made the hairs on his arms stand up straight.
“Hi.”
Shane’s blood ran cold.
Matilda looked at Ryan politely. The ovilus made a low rumbling sound as it captured her voice.
Before he could stop him, Ryan responded with a friendly “Hi” back.
A feeling of crawling and stalking filled up the room like mustard gas.
Fuck, Ryan what did you do.
“Hi.” Shane quickly added, failing to suppress both the anger and the surprise in his voice.
The way Matilda looked at Ryan made his skin crawl. He decided to go with a warning shot and made the ground shake beneath her.
She did not like that.
“We’re talking directly again to Matilda. If that’s actually your name” Ryan said looking around the dark room, “We’re talking to the little girl that keeps showing herself in this house. If you are in fact a little girl, can you please show yourself?”
Matilda giggled (it sounded like a bat getting eaten by a snake).
The temperature in the room dropped even lower. 
“Is Mathilda here?” A.J. chimed in “Can you prove yourself, that you’re here in this room with us?”
Shane thought of the way sharks sometimes nibbled at humans because they mistook them for turtles.
Matilda made a movement towards Ryan.
“Don’t even try”, he mouthed in the dark.
She looked at him challengingly, reaching out a hand to touch Ryan’s arm. Shane decided that was close enough, caution be damned, and threw her out of the room as hard as he could. The girl let out a small shriek as he bulldozered her out. As expected though, his aim was a bit off and he accidentally put her all the way down in the basement.
Just because you’re small and I’m drunk, doesn’t mean you won’t face any consequences, Matilda.
The basement rumbled.
“Can you check the back of my ehm- my arm?” Ryan suddenly asked. “I think I got scratched.”
Shane’s head whipped around.
“You get a scratch?” He failed again to hide the surprise in his voice. He could have sworn Matilda didn’t reach him in time.
Ryan nodded.
He got up to inspect his arm, a knot forming in his stomach.
“Here, like right there, is there anything there?” Ryan asked, gesturing towards the area Matilda had tried to reach, “I don’t know, it just started to burn.”
“Started to burn?”
“It could be my head.”
“Probably.” he mumbled.
There was absolutely nothing to see, neither to a human nor to a creature like him. Matilda never got the chance to lay a finger on him.
He looked at Ryan, clearly shaken up by the whole thing. He pushed away the gnawing feeling that he should just tell him what it meant and what he was.
He shook his head. The less he knew, the better.
A high giggle came out of the floor and echoed around the room. He saw a chill go through Ryan’s frame. And that was just it.
He got up, directing his attention to the walls and pipelines where he knew Matilda could hear him. A white hot rage was bubbling up inside his chest. He wasn’t sure whether it was the fact that he was blasted or not, but he was done playing nice.
He tapped three fingers against his leg to make the walls shake. He heard a high-pitched noise of protest emanate from within the house.
“Who’se here” he asked half angry, half mockingly. “Is it Matilda?”
He could feel the demon child in the basement hiss at him. He sent another earthquake towards her, making her yelp. “We don’t got all night, dork.”
It made Ryan giggle.
She started screaming at him again (really her go-to move), but this time he was ready for the waves of comfort and home. The ovilus caught only a second of the tantrum she trew (thank god, he was pretty sure it would have burned off Ryan and A.J’s ears).
“Yeah, that’s it! Who are you here for, who are we talking to?” Shane snapped. Below their feet, he lit up the basement as brightly as he could and it made the girl slink back into the cracks of the walls. A feeling of petulance and passive anger filled the air.
“Still want to play with us? Are you done?”
She didn’t respond, which really satisfied him greatly. And finally, finally, he could no longer feel her presence in the room with them.
“Alright, nothing, no one”. He scoffed.
“They may be scared of you.” Ryan said. “Does the tall man scare you?” He asked, shooting Shane a grin.
She better be, Shane thought.

Matilda stayed quiet after that. Of course, he wasn’t spared from annoying creatures, as A.J. went on another rant on how he could feel the spirits of dead family in the house (was that just his go-to move?). He took a step towards the medium, ready to toss him out the window, but was held back when an exasperated-looking Ryan extended an arm.
He wasn’t sure whether it was the moth juice in his system but Ryan was getting lamer and lamer by the second.
“Ah, that’s it” A.J. concluded, clapping his hands. “I don’t feel like there’s a little girl here. Even if it may seem like there’s a little girl here, I don’t feel it.”
“Right.” Shane said, giving Ryan a look. Ryan himself was trying very hard to look like he didn’t think the medium was just making shit up at this point. As A.J. went on, Shane listened carefully to the the way the house moved and breathed. Matilda was…quiet. In fact, she remained quiet all the way through their antics. She didn’t even react when they took a look into the attic, nor when they got back into the living room. Shane was a fan of this development. Ryan, on the other hand, seemed to be getting more nervous by the second.
“Is there anything in this room, anybody who resides in this house, or resides in this room particular, that wants to present itself to us.” Ryan asked.
Don’t. Shane warned.
But Matilda didn’t.
“You can scratch one of us… hell, you could even scratch the big guy.”
“Hell, scratch the big guy.” Shane exclaimed gleefully. “Lot of skin to scratch.” But she didn’t reply. Shane frowned.
She was definitely still in that house, or the spinning would have stopped by now.
“Matilda, give it your best!” He yelled.
He heard her move in the basements, her echoes bouncing off the wall behind them, like a lion in a cage. But she behaved. She didn’t even make an attempt to join them.
And fuck, the world was still spinning and now he also lived in one where he had to admit Ryan was right. And that was just not fair. The world was spinning and there was something not adding up.

When they finally entered Jackson’s room, Shane could tell Ryan was getting nervous without even having to look at him.
“What’s wrong?”
Ryan walked further into the room, looking around. “I will not pretend that I have a vision of any sorts, I’m not spiritually sensitive but… I hate the way I feel in here.”
“Yeah?”
Ryan nodded.
A.J. promptly exclaimed that he “could sense a presence in this room.”
Shane flashed him a grin that looked like a shark.
“This presence is... old”
“Old?” Shane protested indignified. Ancient!”
Ryan bit his cheek to stop himself from laughing. “Is it human?” he asked.
“I believe it takes the form of a human.”
Shane laughed. “Good. Very good.”
Ryan was now full on smiling, not even trying to hide their private joke anymore.
Matilda wasn’t in the room with them, but he could still feel her presence. It worried him that she had already intertwined herself with the house to such an extend. If she had gotten herself attached to the roots, getting her out might get a lot harder than he thought. He focussed again on her presence in the basement. Somehow she felt smaller. It sounded less… what was that?
The noise coming from the ovilus broke his train of thoughts. It did that thing again, where it played the emotions of anything supernatural in the neighbourhood. The spirits were mostly confused, angry, or very excited about their new guests. It wasn’t as annoying as the spirit box, which would just broadcast everything on his mind if he stood too close (very rude).
And that’s when he heard it.
A wave if fear.
Oh.
Oh.
He had been dealing with this all wrong.

Chapter Text

When they all made there way back to the living room, Shane pulled Ryan aside.
“I was wrong.”
“I’m sure you were, but about what?”
“Matilda.” He said, rolling his eyes. “She’s not bored, she’s scared out of her mind.”
“She’s scared? Of what?”
“Us.”
Ryan laughed. “The girl who has been kicking your ass all night is afraid of us?”
“I told you, I can handle her.”
“But you’re not, though.” Ryan said, smiling brightly.
Shane threw his hands in the air. “Fine. Sure. You know what, why don’t we just go fistfight a toddler after this, since that’s how we do things now.”
“So, she’s afraid of you?”
“Us.” Shane corrected, “Me, you, Hannah… No actual reason to, of course. I think she’s just scared and confused because she can’t find her mom and we’re basically strangers invading her house.”
“Wh-mom-but- there is a mom demon?” Ryan stammered.
“Yeah.”
“Wait a second. I thought demons did the whole Barbie thing?”
“I swear to god, Ryan, I regret using the metaphor, it’s not a good one so we can stop using it.”
Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright, but why isn’t she doing the Barbie-“
“Just call it the weird reincarnation thing, please.” Shane groaned.
“Whatever, why isn’t she doing the reincarnation thing, like you?”
The demon looked offended. “Well, we don’t all do the same things Ryan. What, just because I live my life a certain way that means all demons do? Pretty racist of you, actually.”
Ryan honest to god had no idea how to respond to that. “O-okay,” he eventually decided to steer away from the topic. “So, there’s a demon mother and the demon child in here lost her?”
“Yup.”
“A demon lost her child.” Ryan repeated, “Like, they went to a department store and she ran off?”
“Are you critiquing her parenting style?”
“When did my life become this weird?”
Shane grinned.
“It explains why you’ve been such a weirdo all day.” Ryan remarked.
“What?”
“Matilda. I mean, if she’s really scared of Hannah and her family, she’s probably been calling for help for ages, hence the ‘lighthousification’ of this place.”
Shane stopped in his tracks.
“So, yeah. The moment you walked in, she was probably like ‘finally’ because in her eyes you are the only adult she’s seen in a while. So, that’s why she made you go all cre-..”
“Ryan, you just human-splained this case to me” He mumbled genuinely surprised.
Ryan looked a bit taken aback before he grinned widely, spreading his arms. “I’m just a lot smarter than I will ever get credit for.” he said. “Also, can I just point out: that’s two for two baby! First I figure out you”, he elbowed Shane in the ribs for emphasis (ow), “then I solve the demon kid mystery. I’m really on fire.”
Shane let Ryan go on about all the things he was right about and how intelligent he actually was. He was good at theories, he reminded himself. For Christ’s sake, he had to be, it’s how they both payed rent and kept the lights on.
It was just guesswork, nothing more.

“She’s in there?”
“Yeah.”
The door to the basement was glowing bright red. Shane wondered if Ryan saw any if that.
“I think it’s better if I handle this one off alone.” He mumbled.
Ryan looked up at him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. She’s just a kid. I mean, an annoying and dangerous kid, but I don’t think we need to get the big guns out on her.”
“The big guns being me with a water gun?”
“Hey, it worked last time. If it ain’t broke.”
Ryan laughed and the energy in the room felt less tight, less sad than it did a few minutes ago.

Shane closed the door behind him. The wood creaked in a way that felt oddly like home. He listened carefully for a moment. Ryan was two rooms down by now, talking to A.J. Hannah was in the living room, scrolling through her phone.
He locked the door.
“Alright, Matilda, ol’ gal. It’s just you and me now.”
He found her sitting on the ceiling, her legs criss-cross applesauce. She eyed him curiously.
He threw her one of his friendliest smiles. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. Say, why don’t you come down here and tell me why you are lashing out at poor Hannah.”
She laughed, making the window near him shake and then crack.
“Now, that’s just immature.” he mumbled, walking over to it and putting a hand on the sharts. When he removed them, the glass was stainless.
“I know you are a literal child, but come on, ‘Tilds, that’s just bad manners.”
The girl frowned when she saw the windows were fixed. She made a sound that was a cross between an unsatisfied toddler and a person screaming as they plummet to their death.
Downstairs, he could hear Hannah stand up. Maybe she was spooked by the noise of breaking glass.
Matilda cocked her head, as if she had only now become aware of him being in the room. The moment she looked at him, Shane felt that immediate urge again to pick her up, care for and protect her. She was really good, he had to give it to her. Luckily, he was better.
“Alright, Matild’s” Shane tried to make his voice sound less gentle but it was hard. “Why don’t you come down here so we can talk this out. I promise I won’t bite.”
She opened her mouth, showing him her razor-like teeth.
“Don’t let the glamour fool you, I’ve got some of my own.” He replied before allowing his own shark-like teeth to make their way through his jawline.
Matilda giggled, apparently entertained. Before he knew it, she was sending him a flood of warm and happy feelings that made him want to crawl up the ceiling and join her.
“Matilda,” his voice was sharper this time, “stop doing that.”
She pouted and let out a hiss that somehow conveyed that it was not fair! She’d been here for a long time and he should be on her side. Why wasn’t he?
“Well, for one, I don't appreciate being manipulated out of the form I chose to wear today.” He said, raising his eyebrow at her. She recoiled it by crossing her arms.
He sighed. “Look, I get it. You’re a kid, you don’t know how to do this stuff yet. And I appreciate you wanting to be my friend and wanting to make me feel more at home,” he reached out and pulled her down gently, “but we both know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not happening.”
The demon child smashed her fist on the floor, leaving bloody handprints and cockroaches where she touched the surface. Somehow she had looked more in place sitting on the ceiling than down here with him on the floor.
The people here were rude and scary, she told him through a mixture of morse code, Greek and braille this time. They didn’t talk to her no matter how hard she tried and maybe they were the reason she couldn’t find her mom.
“That’s still no reason for you to try and make me eat them.” He mumbled making his way over to her and sitting down.
She immediately crawled into his lap, pulling lose some of the threads in his sweater.
“Besides, it wasn’t going to work anyway. I kinda unlearned our diet about three million years ago.”
She pouted, resting her head against his shoulder. Shane had to admit she was extremely convincing. When she looked up at him with those big black eyes, he almost wanted to give in and just let her eat Hannah (and maybe have a nibble of Ryan). Oh, and he’d throw in A.J. as a treat.
Almost of course.
“Listen, ‘Tilda? You’re mom isn’t here. There’s no point in looking for her.”
She sucked her thumb and he couldn’t help but pull her closer. She was adorable.
“But I’m not opposed to helping out a fellow demon in need. I could help you find her. What do you say, ol’ gal?”
Matilda ignored him. She started chewing on his hand asking him why he wasn’t eating the human who he had arrived with.
“That’s my friend.” He explained.
She furrowed her eyebrows, telling him it was rude to play with his food. Her mom had told her that.
He grimaced.
“Humans can be friends.” He told her. “In fact, it’s possible to not eat them.”
She looked at him skeptically.
“They’re really fun to hang out with. They talk, they play, the good ones can even make you laugh.”
They don’t even know how to change shape. She pointed out. How would we even play together?
“Well, I made really good friends with some of them. You know, you could do the same thing. It’s really not that hard.”
She took his hand, pulling out four nails, putting them in her mouth before spitting them back out. Shane remembered fondly when he himself used to do that as a kid.
He sighed. “What am I going to do with you.”
The basement was cold and dark. There were spiders crawling everywhere and he heard two mice creeping through the space. It felt nice. He allowed himself to sit there for a second, appreciating how the world had finally stopped looking so blurry. “You know, you’re going to grow up and in a couple of thousand years and you are going to terrorize so many people.” He told her.
She clapped her hands (it sounded like nails on chalkboard).
“But I’m going to have to put my foot down. If you ever hurt anyone, I’m going to have to stop you. Do you understand that?”
Matilda cocked her head, frowning. She wondered why she couldn’t eat people when they tasted so good?
Shane sighed, the protective and endearing feelings in his chest making room for disappointment.
“I can’t let you do that, Matilda. I know you understand why.”
She started fuzzing in his arms, demanding for him to let go. Shane opened his arms and she slithered away to a darker corner in the room.
“C’mon, no temper tantrums, we talked about this.”
The girl growled and turned her back.
“Alright,” Shane got up. “you don’t wanne talk to me anymore?”
Her hair had turned into snakes and electricity and they were hissing at him.
“That’s too bad.” He exclaimed, turning towards the door. “Then I guess I can’t tell you where your mom is.”
Her ears perked up.
“Well, bye.”
Before he could reach the door, she had appeared next to him and dug her nails into his arm to ask him what he knew (He made a mental note to clean up the blood later).
“Ah ah, first” Shane said, holding up a finger, “you have to promise that you won’t come back and cause trouble.”
Matilda let go of him and stepped back, a look of betrayal in her eyes.
“And you know what I mean when I say ‘promise’”, he added, his tone sharper this time.
She stomped her little feed and two days from now a country in Europe that wasn’t supposed to ever have earthquakes was about to get a nasty surprise.
“It’s my way or the high way, ‘Tilds.” He shrugged. “What’s it going to be?”
She seemed to think about his offer. It occurred to him that maybe he was asking her to behave too much like and adult. Shane held out his hand “Pinky swear?”
For a second he wasn’t sure whether she would comply or bite his hand off clean. But then, with a frown, the girl reached out her own hand and wrapped her pinky around his. He grinned, even though he would have preferred to change her mind instead of making her swear on her life.
“Pleasure doing business with you.” He said. “Your mom is in Antarctica right now, can’t miss the beacon of despair and screams once you arrive. Tell her I said hi.”
Matilda smiled. (A very, very, very wide smile with no and too many teeth all at once.)
“See you around, kiddo. Good luck.”
She waved, or at least that’s what the tentacles coming out of her mouth seemed to be doing.
When he blinked, she was gone.
Shane rubbed his ears, trying to get rid of the faint echoes of a screaming cat. He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. He reminded himself that she was still young. She could still choose to live a different life, like he had.
Then suddenly, a white hot pain and he stumbled backwards, tripping over the table behind him in the process. He managed to throw the laptop and the video camera on the floor.
Shane groaned, grabbing his head as the dizziness and fuzzy feeling returned all together and oh shit they had gotten worse, so much worse. It was like being drunk and high but times a hundred.
Matilda had left him a goodbye present.
“Fucking great.” He mumbled.

When Ryan saw him again, Shane’s eyes were flickering back and forth between black, brown, green and some colors he didn’t have a name for.
“Jesus Christ, what happened to you.”
“Don’t bring him into this! He didn’t help at all.” The demon exclaimed indignified, pointing at him, his finger only a centimeter away from Ryan’s nose.
“What. Happened?” He demanded this time.
“Ggggggeeeeeeee, I fixed it!” Shane threw his hands in the air. “And you are WELCOME.”
“Where’s Mathilda?”
“She’s gone! And now Hannah and her family can live here for as long as they want!”
Shane looked very pleased with himself. Then his eyes went wide “Oh! After a billion years we might have to come check up on her though, ‘cause then Matilda might visit again.”
“Human’s don’t live that long, Shane.” He reminded him.
“Oh my God, that is so sad!” The demon cried out
“Shhhhh” Ryan hissed. He threw a quick smile at Steve, who was looking at them worriedly.
“Everything’s fine here.” Ryan waved.
He turned back around to Shane. “You better explain all of this to me when you get back to normal.” He grumbled.
The demon nodded enthusiastically.
“Shane.”
“Yeah.”
“Put your eyes back in human mode.”
“Oh, thanks!” he grinned.
When he got the color back, Shane looked so proud of himself that Ryan decided not to point out that his eyes were usually brown, not blue. Baby steps.

Shane was having an absolute blast. He was feeling really light right now and the world looked so cool. There was just that annoying part where his teeth were obstructed by other teeth and his skin was starting to feel like a neck tie.
Maybe he should take that stuff off?
No, wait. There was a reason he wasn’t doing that anymore.
What was it again?
He heard a cough and realized Ryan was standing next to him.
Ah, yes! Of course, humans didn’t like demon forms and it made them scream and scream until he had to leave the room.
He decided to leave the skinsuit on, but only for Ryan, ‘cause Ryan was his best friend and he didn’t wanne make Ryan upset.
“So, that’s where I found the scratches.” Hannah pointed at the ceiling.
“Are you getting the shot, Steve?” Ryan asked their camera man.
Steve rubbed his head. “No, I’m sorry. The camera isn’t picking it up. It’s too high.”
“Maybe if we turn on the lights?”
“Hmm, too small.”
Ryan groaned. “Great, now nobody’s going to believe it’s actually there.”
“Wait I’ll get it.” Shane exclaimed cheerfully.
When his feet started to lift of the floor, Ryan wordlessly pulled him back down. The demon threw him an annoyed look which he countered with a raised eyebrow.
“Shane, that’s ridiculous.” He droned, “that’s too high for any of us to reach. And humans can’t fly, remember?”
Oh, right. Humans could not fly. Very lame of them.

It all came and went in flashes of crooked walls and floors that were bending out of shape. It was officially the coolest night ever. Matilda was gone and he felt really good right now and Ryan was taking to him - oh wait, shit. Ryan was talking to him, he should pay attention!
“Alright, Shane, let’s get you home. Say goodbye to A.J.”
“A.J.?” Shane asked, already forgotten who that was. Then his eyes landed on the man standing next to Ryan.
“Oh yes! You’re the fake medium!” Then he frowned. “You upset Ryan.”
A visible chill went through A.J.’s frame.
“Shane, let’s g-“
“Listen, Ayeey.”
“A.J” Ryan corrected him.
“Yeah, Ayeey. That’s what I said. Look, that weird con thing you’re doing where you tell people you can talk to the dead, that’s not cool. You really upset people when you pretend you have a message from their loved ones from the great beyond.”
A.J. smiled uncomfortably, he didn’t really seem to know how to respond to that. “This is… ehm.” The fake medium shook his head, laughing incredulously (nervously), “okay, Shane, I get that you have your beliefs, like I have mine. But I feel like this is-“
“You can’t see or feel anything. That’s why you’re a con medium and not a real medium and that's how that works, I’m like 20% certain. You didn’t even find one of the fourty spirits in this house!”
“Okay, Shane. That’s enough, let’s just go.” Ryan said, attempting to push Shane out of the door. (He was surprisingly unmovable).
“No, but like, listen” Shane half-yelled over Ryan’s head (being taller just rocked!), “imagine if I told A.J. that his mom lied that he was a good singer. You know, because she wanted him to take singing lessons once a week while she did their neighbour? He’d be crushed, Ryan!”
A.J. made a weird noise in the back of his throat
Ryan froze, momentarily forgetting that he was trying to get Shane out of here.
The fake medium’s eyes had grown big. “How d- how did you…”
“See Ryan, he doesn’t even know how detecting someone’s past energy works!”
As Ryan physically dragged him through the door, Shane still managed to yell over his shoulder: “So, mister medium, next time you feel like coming here and telling us all about your great connection to the beyond… you know, like… don’t.”
Ryan did not stop laughing until they were back in the car.

It was only when the house was well beyond two miles in the rear view mirror that Shane came to his senses again.
He was woken up by the street lights, even though he hadn’t been asleep. They lit up the car every few seconds and reflected off his watch. Next to him, Ryan was at the wheel.
“Ryan?” He asked rubbing his temples.
“Yes, Shane?”
“Did I really tell the fake psychic to call me ancient instead of old?”
“You sure did buddy”
“Oh God” he groaned, burying his head in his hands.

“So, how are you doing?” Ryan said as he put down a cup of coffee next to where Shane’s head was lying on the table.
The demon groaned. “Please just shut up, shut up, shut up! How can such a small person make so much noise?”
“Well, someone is grateful for their coffee” Ryan snickered, tapping his hands on the table a little too loudly as he sat down at his desk next to Shane.
The demon ran his hands through his hair, willing the headache to just leave his head now please.
“So, Mathilda gave you a pretty bad hangover, huh?”
“With all due respect, Ryan, I will come back on my ‘no-eating-human-souls” thing.
“Then you first gotta figure out how to eat without throwing up.”
Shane let out a growl that didn’t sound quiet human.
Ryan had a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Here, I thought you might wanne see this.” He dropped his phone on Shane’s desk (loud, way too loud).
“Ryan, I really don’t feel like…”
“Shhhh, just watch.”
The video started by zooming in on Shane’s face clumsily, yet still in a very ‘Ryanesk’ way.
“Okay, do the thing”
“Are you going to scream again if I do?”
“I did not scream, you caught me by surprise”
“Fine, fine. Here we go”
The Shane on camera opened his mouth and a bunch of tentacles came out.
“And what was it you said before?” Video Ryan asked.
“I’m handsome Squidward, baby!”
Next to him, he could hear the real Ryan snicker insufferably.
“Alright, I think you’ve made your po-“
“Shut up, this is the best part”.
The Shane in the video was changing his eyes from black to blue to green to purple.
“-For the last time, Ryan. I can totally do a cartwheel right now.”
His eyes were pitch black again.
“Cannot”
“Can so!”
“Alright, prove it.”
“Maybe I will.”
The next footage was of Shane rolling around in the middle the road at 1 am in the morning. (That immediatley explained why his jacket was so filthy when he got home.) Then video-Shane threw up but it was just a swarm of bats coming out.
“Delete that.” Shane said, attempting to rip the phone from his grip.
“No way in hell” Ryan sang, grabbing his phone away from his reaching hands. Goddamned hangover reflexes.
“Ryan” he warned.
“I’m keeping this for when that big ol’ head of you starts getting bigger than it already is."
“No, you’re not”
“Yes, I-
When Ryan looked down at his phone, it had melted.
“My-My pho-Shane!”

Chapter Text

He woke up to a bad feeling in his stomach that morning. Shane rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out what was wrong, but his mind came up blank.
Something was wrong, and he didn’t know what it was.
He groaned, cursing under his breath because life was already so fucking weird these days, this might as well just happen.
Still half asleep he reached out into the darkness, looking for his phone. When he didn’t find it, he mumbled a quick incantation and the device came flying into his hand.
Turns out Ryan had sent him four messages about the episode they were shooting today. He tried to focus on the instruction he had left him, but it was just way too early for this. He briefly wondered at what age humans needed glasses, and whether he should think about buying a pair.
He was still scrolling through Ryan’s texts when he stumbled into the bathroom and blindly reached out his left hand to turn on the lights. Once he looked up, he was greeted by two black eyes in the mirror.
Shane froze.
His eyes were black. As in, completely, not-human, this-is-clearly-a-demon black. He bent forward in an attempt to study his own reflection better. He blinked, but the brown never returned to his irises. He blinked again, but they were black as ever.
“What the fuck.” He whispered, voice still hoarse from sleep.
He prodded the skin beneath his eyelids, trying again to turn them back to their original color.
Nothing.
As an experiment, he turned his hair color green, then black, then pink, and changed the shape of his hand four times.
“So, that works…” he mumbled, turning his attention back to his eyes. but the color remained dark as the night.
“Fuck” he growled.
His mirror image seemed to be mocking him.

“Good morning, Shane”
He tried to smile without looking as annoyed as he felt, waving at Annie as she walked by.
It’s not her fault the world is fucked up today. He remineded himself.
He did wish he had someone to blame though, that would make this a lot easier. He pushed the sunglasses up his nose as aggressively as he could without breaking them. For a second he stopped, fumbling with his BuzzFeed keycard when he got to the entrance of the building.
Here goes nothing.
The halls today somehow felt too straight, almost as if they were supposed to be more crooked. He couldn’t really explain why he felt like that, really, this was how the buzzfeed workspace had always looked. Clean, normal and inviting. He suddenly realized he was grinding his teeth and forced himseld to relax his jaws.
“Shane, hey wait up!”
Across the hall, Ryan waved at him. He made a half-hearted attempt to wave back, only slowing his pace just enough so Ryan could catch up.
“Hey, sasquatch. You’re forgetting some of us are normal-sized. Slow down there, will you.”
Shane mumbled something but he did walk a little slower.
“Hey, what’s the matter with you? You seem off today.”
He was just about to snap that he was fine when Ryan took a step forward (well into his personal space) to peak underneath his sunglasses.
“Jesus Christ!" he hissed, jumping back. Shane couldn’t supress the instinct to flinch entirely.
“Keep it down, will you? I dont think the entire buidling heard”
“Are you crazy!” Ryan whisper-yelled, “We’re at work, what the hell were you thinking!”
“Oh, I don't know, Ryan. I thought I’d just whip out the big bad demon eyes for the show. Gives it a bit of pazasss”
Ryan cautiously took a step closer again and shane didnt really feel that much rage in his chest anymore. He just mainly felt tired.
“You think I wouldn’t have gotten rid of them if I could?” He sighed
“You can’t turn it off?”
Shane shook his head. His hair felt like a wig.
“Like at all?”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
“I dont know” he gritted.
Ryan made a movement that informed Shane they should start moving towards the set.
“So, the demon eyes are back, and you don’t know how to get rid of them.”
Shane hummed.
“And you decided to come to work with sunglasses. Honestly, how are you branded the ‘rational one’?”
Shane pushed him (this time lightly enough that it wouldn’t throw Ryan across the hall, he had learned his lesson).
“Stupid and violent. If only the fans knew.” Ryan teased, pretending to cradle his shoulder.
A stubborn smile tugged at the corner of Shane’s mouth.
“Shame we can’t film this thiugh. It actually looks really cool.” Ryan continued to describe the shots he thought would bring out the black eyes, ranking them according to their level of “badassery”.
The left corner of Shane’s mouth stubbornly kept tugged towards his eyes. Ryan was cool. Humans could sometimes be really cool.

So for the almost 70th special, Shane was wearing sunglasses, nothing weird about that.
He decided that adding an ugly Hawaiian shirt would complete the look and trow enough people off to not question it.
It wasn’t even that hard to explain his artistic choices to the other coworkers.
“That’s a wrap.” Ben yelled.
Shane sighed in relief. Next to him, Ryan was giving him that worried look that was oh so annoying. He wasn’t even looking his direction, he just knew that mother-hen look was plastered all over his stupid face.
“Time to go home.” He exclaimed, jumping up from his chair a bit faster than humanly possible.
“What do you mean?” Ryan asked, folding his script neatly in two and putting it in his bag.
“Well, Ryan. Usually ‘home’ refers to the place where one resides. It’s that thing humans live in, with the roof and stuff.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “I know what a home is, you jackass. But that’s not where either of us are going. We’re going to New York, remember. We have a fight to catch in six hours, did you forget? I sent you like four texts about it this morning.
Well fuck.

The Haunted Carleton Island Villa was empty, safe for the common house spirits eating away at the floor. And this time, Shane was actually sure of that.
“I don’t know, remember the last two houses you swore up and down were demon-proof?” Ryan teased.
Shane responded by flicking his arm.
“Ow, hey!”
“Next time, you fight off the things trying to eat you then.” He said with a big old smile plastered across his face.
As Ryan rubbed his upper arm, Shane pointed his ears. The house was motionless. It breathed naturally and easily, like the tide. The cold felt too comfortable to his liking.
“This one’s clear. Let’s say we split up to cover more ground, meeting up here again?” He mumbled, putting down the bag with equipment.
Ryan gave him a look. “Should I be afraid?”
“Fuck off.”
“I’ll let you know when the zombies have caught up on me.” Ryan yelled after Shane, who was already walking away from him.
“Zombies don’t exist, Ryan. That’s ridiculous.”
“Ah, yes, you’re right, that would be a stupid thing to believe in. Thank you for your input, demon-man.”

The house was quiet but something was…off. Ryan pointed his flashlight at the ceiling, trying to get a better look at it. The walls were filthy - but when were they not in places like this - it definitely added to the eery atmosphere. But despite the cobwebs and the chilly air nipping at his skin, Ryan didn’t feel uncomfortable per se. Or at least, not like he had in the houses that he later come to know were actually haunted. There were no alarm bells, no chills up his spine (except for the occasional ones around Shane, but he honestly didn’t notice those anymore), everything seemed okay.
When he entered the last room, he had to suppress a cough because the air was just that dusty. He frowned, trying to put his finger on the problem.
It took him a while before he realized what it was. He could still hear Shane’s footsteps.
As he made his way back to the exit, the feeling in his stomach that something was wrong kept growing.
“Find anything interesting?” Shane asked when they both arrived.
Ryan tried to focus on the demon’s appearance. He was skin and bone.
“Some nice shots near the stairs, I think.” Ryan said, handing him the camera. Shane looked wrong. “The top floor might be interesting as-What’s the matter. Are you okay?”
The demon had suddenly turned away from him.
“Don’t look at me for a second, okay?” Shane mumbled.
“What’s wrong?” Ryan asked again, attempting to look at his face.
“Nothing.”
He caught a glimpse of two black eyes.
“Hang on, I’ve almost got it.” The demon muttered.
“Wh-are you worried about the eye thing?'Cause it’s totally fine.”
He didn’t miss how Shane froze almost immediately.
“Shane?”
When he turned around, his eyes were too brown and too human in a way that made him nauseous.
“Jesus, don’t do that. I thought we were done with that.” Ryan groaned.
“Do what?” The demon asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.
Ryan rubbed his forhead, avoiding Shane’s gaze because it felt way too intense. “You know what I mean, the-jesus, just make them black again if that works better. Or yellow or whatever. Just get rid of whatever you’re doing now.”
Shane blinked and his eyes were blue this time.
“Better?”
“Yeah.” Ryan sighed, feeling relieved.
“What was wrong with the brown?”
“It was…” Ryan felt dizzy. “Just too human, man. Way too human.”
“Too human.” Shane repeated, cocking an eyebrow.
“It means you’re trying too hard.”
“What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”
“Shane, seriously, you’re acting as if I didn’t already see you turn into a literal shadow-smoke- whatever it was you do when you don’t look like this. So, why aren't you doing that anymore?”
The demon suddenly looked uncomfortable. “It’s fine.” he mumbled.
“No, it’s not. You’re clearly uncomfortable and you’re being stupid about it. Look, if you need to blow off some steam and be a faceless cloud for a few minutes, like…go ahead.”
Shane blinked.
“I think we’re done here. We got what we needed, let’s go home so we can plan the episode.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Let’s go home. We have a flight to catch.”
“Okay, Why do you think I’ll freak out? I’ve been good, I’m fine with everything I’ve told you this.” Ryan protested a bit indignified.
“I know you are, that’s not-just forget about it.” Shane said, waving his hands.
“Then what is it!” Ryan pressed, grabbing shane by the arm as he tried to stomp away.
“It’s nothing, like I said!” Shane growled (almost inhumanly), “I said drop it.”
“Look, You clearly wanne do whatever it is demons do when you enter a place like this, so why aren’t you?”
“Just leave it!”
“Why?”
Shane groaned, sitting down on the staircase heavily, rubbing his eyes. Suddenly he looked old.
He looked ancient actually.
He wasn’t the familiar darkness right now that Ryan had grown used to, but it felt as if he was at the same time. As if it- as if he- was trying to break out of his own body.
“What if I can’t turn back?” He eventually mumbled, averting his eyes.
“Excuse me?”
The demon let out a sigh in frustration.
“Ever since Hannah’s house, ever since Matilda I’ve had this… and now this… I don’t know.”
It was quiet for a second.
“Shane, you absolute drama queen, I can’t believe how stupid you are.” Ryan finally laughed.
Shane looked up, an unsure expression on his face.
“Are you really that dumb, or do you genuinly not see the problem here?” Ryan asked.
“What?”
“Jesus, Matilda did a number on you, dude. You think just because you want to do whatever it is that she was trying to get you to do, that you can’t control yourself. And you are so wrong.”
“Ryan,” the demon mumbled, rubbing his eyes, “it’s much more complicated than-“
“Shut up, I’m talking.” He interrupted, holding up his index finger. “Look, I get that it’s weird for you, but you can’t pretend that you’re not a demon, okay?”
“I’m not doing that!” He sputtered.
”yes, you are. But this is what you do, this is who you are. You’re just trying to swim again the current right now.”
“Very poetic.”
“I’m right though.”
“And stupid.”
“You’re not gonne lose control.”
“How do you know that?”
Ryan threw his hands in the air. “Because I just know, dude. Because I know you, and that even though you’re oh so rational and level-headed, no matter how much you claim otherwise, you’re a complete and utter idiot.”
“Hey!”
“So just do the void thing.”
Shane was stubbornly looking at a spot on the floor.
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll take my shoes off? they’re too tight anyway, and then we can both relax a little.”
That made him chuckle.
Encouraged by that (unfortunately), Ryan decided to ramble on. “Okay, so what if we had a reason for you to be a weird unholy shadow for a minute. Like, say, I kinda don’t wanne run for my life today with these uncomfortable shoes and I’d really appreciate it if you checked the house for murderous entities again.”
“There’s nothing in here, I checked.” He droned.
“Yeah, that, what you said last time, and I am not running in these torture devices.”
He let out a laugh, “sounds like you need to buy better shoes.”
Ryan punched his shoulder and Shane had to admit his cells felt less itchy than they had a few minutes ago.

Somehow they ended up in the main hall, which was nice and spacious. Lots of dust and cobwebs, a few spiders and rats running past them in fear.
“Okay, do it.” Ryan said, poking him in the ribs.
“Yeah yeah, stop being so pushy.”
The demon took a step forward. He could still feel Ryan’s eyes burning a hole in the back of his head.
“This is stupid.” He grumbled, suddenly feeling very selfconscious.
“Less talking, more faceless void.” Ryan quipped, kicking off his shoes.
“Give me a second.” He took another step forward. Then thought of something and turned around again. “Euhm… also you might wanne sit down.”
Ryan made a soundless “oh” shape with his mouth before he obliged. Then he nodded encouragingly, which was all Shane needed. Ryan did pale a little when the demon took off the human skin, but he couldn’t really blame him for that. Bending the laws of physics did tend to make humans nauseous. All in all considered, he took it like a champ.
He didn’t really spent a lot of time thinking about that, though, because the weight of the world was no longer pressing down on his chest.
And fuck was that nice.
Shane sighed contently (as far as that was possible now that he no longer had lungs). He rose up a little higher stretching out his entitiy far enough to reach all four corners of the room.
I’ll be back soon. He reassured him, but then he remembered he didn’t have a human mouth, tongue or any of that stuff anymore, so Ryan couldn’t understand him.
He did nod at him, though, so maybe he just got it.
He allowed his consciousness to split itself neatly into four pieces. He dug his fingers (or whatever it was now that he didn’t have those anymore) into the foundations of the house. It was calm, it was peaceful. The basement was dark and cold and the attic was too, but it could get excruciatingly hot in summer. Munching on a few mice, he made his way to the dining room and the bedrooms. Parts of his consciousness he burried in between the nooks and crack of the walls (he’d come and collect those later).
And in the hall was Ryan, looking less pale already and a smuck smile on his face.
He should be annoyed by that but the feelings of floating and breating out for the first time in three weeks got the better of him.
Finally he collected himself and dove down back into his own body.
Ryan got up and raised an eyebrow.
“So?”
“Welp, the house is demon-proof, baby!” He exclaimed cheerfully, but still carefully scanning Ryan’s expression.
Ryan smiled gratefully. “Thanks, demon-man.”
“Still an aweful nickname.”
“Feel better?”
Shane grinned woolfishly, exposing far too many teeth, but Ryan didn’t seem to mind.

They ended up staying in the house a little longer to shoot some footage if their own. Up in the attic, Shane could feel the house breathe in and out alongside with him.
“Ah, fuck.” Ryan groaned.
“What?”
“We left the second equipment bag downstairs.”
“Well, guess you should go get it then.” Shane didn’t think he’d ever get tired of how comically big his friend’s eyes could turn.
“Me? And not you?”
He nodded.
“Alone, you mean.” Ryan drawled, eyeing the open door as if it was gonne jump up and bite him.
The demon grinned, making sure to capture his expression with the handheld camera he was holding.
“You’re an asshole.”
“Don’t forget to film on your way down”
“Go to hell. Or back to hell, I don't know.”
“What, there are no creepy crawlers in his house, I checked.”
“That’s what you said the last two times.”
“And are you still alive?”
“That’s not the poi-“
“But are you alive?”
“Fuck you.”
“Have fun!” Shane sang as Ryan made his way down the many many steps of the stairs.
“His mind is going to eat itself.” Shane mumbled into the microphone of his handheld camera. “And it’s going to be beautiful. God, I always forget how fun just bullying him can be. Edit note: zoom in on Ryan’s face when he hears he get’s to go downstairs alone. It’s comedy gold.”
He pointed his ears one last time, checking for ghouls and whatnot, but the only house spirits that lived here were far too weak to even try show themselves to Ryan, let alone hurt him. It didn’t stop his human friend from shrieking every time he bumped into one of them though.
For a while shane amused himself listening to Ryan fumble around in the dark. He held out a hand, experimentally changing the skin and bloodvessels into mist. He decided to keep the skin, but the veins he kept as a vague darkness beneath the surface.
He hummed quietly as he took out the spirit box and placed it on the coffee table. For the first time ever, he actually felt excited to take the thing out. There was a song stuck in his head, but he couldn’t remember a name. The one that was really popular in 1809 when it first came out. It had been stuck on his mind for weeks and they played it at every ball he was forced to attend. With some luck, the spirit box would pick up the parts he still remembered and play it for him.
“Hey, do we need the second camera?” Ryan shouted from the hallway.
“Yeah, just bring the whole lot.” He replied.
He turned on the spirit box, expecting it to start playing the annoying ear worm.
Only it just played white noise.
Shane frowned.
“That’s odd.” He mumbled, picking up the box to inspect it. It still went on making that same creaky sound that usually came with it, but that was it. No thoughts from the back of his mind, no screaming from the undead.
He scratched his head. He didn’t remember dropping the device or anything happening to it before now. The box looked fine, too. Not a scratch.
Feeling irritated, he placed it back on the floor. Very on brand of the annoying thing to only stop being annoying when he expected it too.
“Hey, guess who’se still alive?” Ryan asked as he walked into the room. “no thanks to you, by the way.”
Immediately, the spirit box started playing beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral), F.
Shane was quiet, processing what had just happened.
Ryan’s eyebrows drew together, sensing the change in his mood.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing.” He eventually mumbled, looking at the spirit box resentfully. “Absolutely nothing.”

Chapter Text

The Scarlet house was a little more scary looking, but very much deserted, both by humans and non-human creatures. That is, except for the two morons who decided filming there was a great idea.
“And you’re sure this one doesn’t have a demon surprise guest trying to eat me.” Ryan asked, opening the old creaky door that led them into a dark hallway.
Shane hummed in agreement.
The darkness welcomed them with open arms, a cool breeze brushed against his cheek.
“Just to be clear: there are no demons in this building, except for the one I’m talking to right now.”
“Jesus, Ryan. How many times -Yes. There are no demons in this house.”
“Good.”
Shane nodded.
“I put on my fastest running shoes.”
“You motherfucker.”

Shane really seemed to like losing his corporeal form in the houses they visited. The way he gleefully dug himself into the cracks and nooks of the old wood reminded Ryan of a dog rolling around in the grass.
“So, I guess I’ll just be doing the filming on my own, then?” He yelled at the familiar darkness currently circling the chandelier.
“What, I’m doing the work, stop complaining.” Shane replied, suddenly standing next to him in the blink of an eye.
When Ryan looked to his left, Shane’s part of the filming equipment had been neatly set up and was ready to go.
“Are you shitting me?”
The demon was smiling insufferably. “What?” He asked, brushing past him.
“Don’t walk away from me. One of your weird hellish powers is setting up our equipment, are you for real?” Ryan’s eyes grew even wider when a second realization hit him, “And you let me set up all this shit for years?”
“I thought you liked doing that?” Shane replied innocently.
Ryan waited until he had his back turned completely as he was walking away smugly, before shooting a stream of holy water right between his shoulder blades.
“Ow, hey!” Shane yelled.
“Serves you right, be glad it’s not a lake.”
“You know what, I hope those running shoes are comfortable, because I’m not saving you next time something comes after you.”
Ryan was just about to remark that he was a great runner, when he turned around to spot a creature across the hallway.

Sprinting.

at.

him.

There was a scream stuck in the back of his throat, but before he even had time to react, he felt a force pull him out of the way, making the thing screech as its fingernails (claws? Fins?) missed Ryan by a hair.
Within seconds a familiar darkness was circling around him. Shane didn’t have a face, but he did have fangs and eyes and everything else necessary to compose a face. It made Ryan feel dizzy. Whatever he had, the demon used it to let out a hiss. Or at least, that was the best way he could describe the sound. It was a combination of a hissing snake, a roaring lion and the realization that there was someone in your house who wasn’t invited.
The thing turned around. It wasn’t made of human flesh, but it also wasn’t made of anything else. It had at least thirty-six eyes and they were all staring at him intensily, like the way a cat looked at a rabbit. A hiss came out of one of its three jaws before it was charging at him again. It never even got close to Ryan, because the familiar darkness launched itself at the creature with the force of a cannonball and flung it across the room like a rag doll. The wall cracked on the impact and the building shook. But that thing got up and started screaming and fuck if that wasn’t the worst sound he had ever heard. Shane’s response was a roar that sounded like a hurricane, and somehow the house was now screaming along with him. Ryan felt dizzy trying to grasp the event in real time. And just when he felt as if he was going to pass out, the creature suddenly slunk, until he looked like a mere mortal man, standing in front of them.
He had to do a double take, but there was in fact a man where that thing had been only a few seconds ago, leaning against the wall nonchalantly. He had plain dark brown hair and green eyes that were a little too bright to look human.
“Ah, Madej. Or ‘Shane’ that is what you go by these days, right?” He spoke, his voice sounded like crawling and slithering. He looked relaxed, a serene smile on his face and a slight look of amusement between his teeth.
Shane hissed, and it sounded like a thunderstorm, a snake, a mother screaming, and the end of a really important era in your life.
The man held a hand to his chest, feigning a look of betrayal. “Is that how humans greet old friends?” He laughed “or is it part of that young new demon jargon?”
Suddenly the shadows withdrew and when Ryan looked to his left, Shane was standing next to him.
“Samual?” He asked cocking his head.
The man spread his arms a little “the one and only.”
The next moment the two were amicably hugging each other and Ryan felt as if his head was going to explode.
“Shane it is so good to see you!” Samual exclaimed, patting Shane on the back.
“It’s so good to see you!” Shane replied, breaking the hug to hold the demon(?) at arm’s length, looking him up and down. “What in God’s name are you doing here?”
“Same as it ever was. Making some deals, looking for relics. But then I saw your little friend here and I thought I would get a snack. My apologies, by the way.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it, man, it happens to the best of us”
“It does?!” Ryan shrieked from behind them.
Shane seemed to remember Ryan was there and turned around.
“Ryan! This is Samual.” He said smiling widely and placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “We go way back”
“Call me Sam.” He said sheepishly, extending his hand. Ryan shook it a bit bewildered. “Again, my sincerest apologies for trying to eat you.”
“It happens” Ryan found himself saying while raising an eyebrow at Shane. The demon ducked his head as if caught.

“So, Madej. What happened to you?” Samual asked as they were walking up the stairs of the basement. “Last I heard of you, you banished Oliver Calder back to hell?”
Shane rubbed his neck. “Ah, yes that.”
“May I ask why in the hell you did that?”
“Well, you see, he was going to eat Ryan.”
There was a grin on Samual's face. “Is that also the reason you went toe to toe with him in your corporeal form?”
Was Shane blushing?
“Ehm... we hadn’t really established the whole... ehm... eternal damned soul of the underworld thing yet.” Shane looked like he was ready to sink through the floor, “sooo, I thought maybe wait a while to shed the old human face, you know.”
“Wait,” Ryan interrupted “that’s why you did that? That’s why you didn’t do the weird smoke thing the first time?”
“An extremely stupid thing to do, might I add.”
“Okay, I think we’re all done scolding Shane” Shane cut them off, “it was fun, we all had a good time but we can now quit the subject.”
“It explains why you actually managed to get yourself hurt in a fight against a ghost of all things.”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “Was that not a demon?”
“What? No, of course not." Samual burst out laughing, "What, did he tell you it was?”
“Yes.” Ryan said sharply, throwing a look at Shane.
Samual was hollering. “Oh, my apologies, I should- Just the thought of you, the great Madej, getting defeated by a ghost of all things.”
It was a this point Ryan decided he liked Samual. “Shane does that often.” he quipped in, “you should have seen him against Matilda, it was so sad to watch, I almost cried.”
“Thanks, Ryan.” Shane said.
“Anytime, big guy.”
“Who is Matilda?”
Ryan shrugged, “Oh, just this little demon girl who kicked Shane’s ass as well. It happens pretty often, you know?”
"Shane," Samual turned to the other demon, looking at him incredulously. “tell me you didn’t lose to a child.”
“I didn’t lose, obviously I’m still standing here, Ryan’s also alive but still complaining apparently. Honestly, I don’t know why I bother saving him from getting mauled at this point.”
They finally reached the dining hall where the cameras where still neatly set up and waiting for their return.
“So, this is what you do now,” Samual said, eying the equipment curiously, “a web show about the supernatural, was it?”
Shane nodded sheepishly.
“Do I need to point out how moronic that is, or have you figured that out on your own already.”
“I did about two years ago.” Shane smiled, rubbing his head.
Samual hummed, picking up the camera from the tripod it was standing on. “Fascinating” he mumbled. “And may I ask how you have managed to anger these ghosts so much that they tried to attack you.”
“Well, they usually go after Ryan.”
Ryan elbowed him.
“Ouch, what, am I wrong?”
“You’re the one who is always challenging them to come and murder us!” He protested. “bleh bleh, scratch me, make me shit blood, this is my home address.” 
“First of all, I don’t sound like that. Second, did they ever do anything with that?”
Samual was looking at Ryan a little dumbfounded. “How in the hell did you get a ghost to be so angry they would even come near Madej?”
“I just told you, it’s Shane’s fault!”
Samual shook his head. “Most supernatural creatures aren’t stupid enough to come within a five-mile radius near him. I’m surprised they’ve turned you into such a target.”
Ryan groaned, looking up at the ceiling as if a god with the worst sense of humor might be up there. “Just my luck, apparently supernatural creatures just love to try and murder me.”
A twinkle of amusement played in Samual’s eye.
“Why would they be so angry at you?”
Ryan shrugged. “Just a lot of bad luck, I guess.”
“Right…”
“You want to help us with the episode?” Shane suddenly exclaimed, changed the topic. He was smiling a bit too brightly. “I’m sure some of your old tricks would look great on camera.” He gave Samual a wink.
Ryan looked at Shane, trying to figure out what was going on, but the demon didn’t let anything shine through. “Yes, you could totally stay.” He finally agreed, still eying Shane suspiciously. “I’d love to hear more of what kind of a loser Shane is.”
Samual smiled politely before shaking his head. “Thank you for your offer, but I think it’s time for me to leave, I’ve grown quite hungry and since my snack got canceled…” Samual looked at Ryan briefly, “well, I think it’s time I find something to eat that Madej here doesn’t consider a friend.”
Ryan didn’t miss the tension creeping into Shane’s face and shoulders.
“Try the other side of the equator then.” His voice was friendly, but it missed some of its warmth, “Or better, try to not do that.”
Samual smiled and shook his head. “It really has been great to see you again Madej, promise me you will never change.”
“Won’t happen.” Shane replied, pulling the other man into a one-armed hug.
“Oh, and promise me you’ll finally start fighting back instead of dulling your full potential. Hearing you get bullied by ghosts is just embarrassing.”
Ryan had to process that for a second. “That wasn’t your full potential?”
A genuine look of surprise crossed Samual’s face. “No, of course not. Hasn’t he told you yet? Madej is quiet a big deal back home.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
Shane was studying a spot on the floor very intensely.
“That’s an understatement.” Samual said, “Where I come from, some creatures are too afraid to even speak his name.”
“Shane, are you Voldemort?”
“He’s exaggerating.”
Samual laughed again before clasping Shane on the back. “Great to see you, Madej.”
“You too, we should catch up at one point.”
“I agree.”
The demon then turned to Ryan and held out his hand. “Nice meeting you, Ryan.”
“Likewise.” he answered as he shook his hand, wondering how he had gone from running for his life to exchanging greetings with the creature in front of him in the span of only two hours. His life really was fucking weird, but he’d come to appreciate it in a certain way.
He then turned to Shane, smirking.
“What?” The demon asked, raising his eyebrows.
“There are no demons in this building, Ryan, I double checked.” He said in a mocking tone.
“Wh- there weren’t any until you started walking around!” Shane protested.

When Shane arrived in the office on Wednesday, he looked like death.
“What happened to you?”
“Fucking Halloween, Ryan. Fucking Halloween happened.”
Shane threw his backpack on his desk and sat down with a heavy sigh.
“I need coffee.” He grumbled, rubbing his temples.
Ryan’s eyebrows furrowed. “What happens to demons on Halloween?”
He suddenly felt stupid for never asking Shane how the day affected a creature like him.
The demon huffed. “Apparently five kids trying to summon the nearest thing in the neighborhood happens. Meaning I had to wake up five times just to tell them to piss o- stop laughing, Ryan
It took the human a whole two minutes to stop wheezing.
“You done?”
“No, but I’ll control myself.” Ryan snickered, finally redirecting his energy to his computer.
“Glad to hear this is amusing you. If you don’t see me by lunchtime, you can assume it’s because I am deceased.”
Ryan made an ‘OK’ sign by bringing his thumb and index finger together.
The work he had to do that morning was rather dull. It was mostly a bunch of emails and editing, but someone had to do it.
“Did you check the number of our last video?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the computer screen.
Shane hummed. “About seven thousand views already, not a bad start.”
“Yeah, I think for the next one, we shoul-“
Ryan swore he saw something move from the corner of his eye somewhere near Shane's corner of the office.
“Did you see that?” He asked.
“Hmm?”
“The- is there like a disco ball in here or something?”
Shane laughed a little. “Ehm, no. Are you sure you’re okay, Ryan?”
“No, but like-“ Ryan scanned the room for anything shiny that could possibly be reflecting the sunlight that came in through the windows. He found nothing.
“Nothing. Never mind, I-“ Ryan shook his head. “Maybe I’m tired as well.”
“Hey, that’s my thing right now, you can’t steal that.” Shane said with a fake scowl.
“Yeah, yeah, go cry me a river demon-man.”
“Awful nickname.”
He tried to focus back on his work, but it was only a few minutes later that something in the corner of his eyes started moving again.
Ryan’s head whipped around. He could have sworn he saw-
“What’s up with you?”
Ryan blinked, pulling himself out of his own head. “You want to get lunch?” He eventually asked, still trying to focus his eyes on... well, reality.
Shane smiled but there was something behind his eyes that told him he knew something was going on.
“Sure.” He said cheerfully. “My treat, I still owe you money from the pancakes we had at our last shoot.”
“Yeah that’s great.” Ryan mumbled absentmindedly as Shane got his coat.
When he looked closer -really close- when he focused, he could see spots and lights dancing around Shane.
What the fuck.
He squinted in an attempt to get a better look, but it felt as if the harder he looked, the less clear the image became.
“You alright, Ryan?” Shane’s voice came from behind the haze in his mind.
“Do you see that too?”
“See what?”
There’s something- like- lights or something. They’re floating around you.”
Shane’s face fell. Almost instantly, whatever lights Ryan thought he had seen disappeared.
“What-”
“I'm sorry. I guess I forgot to turn it off.”
“Turn what off?”
“Let’s- ehm- let’s file that away for another day.”
Ryan was silent for a second, processing what had just happened. Then he groaned, leaning back in his chair disgruntled. “Again? Like... ugh, come on, Shane. How much longer are you going to do this?”
“Look, Ryan-“
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I trust you, dude, it’s just so annoying when you do this.” He said as he started packing up his stuff.
Shane looked like a kicked puppy and that was just so annoying as well.
“Let’s just get lunch.” Ryan sighed. “I’m getting the fancy food and you can explain your disco ball powers to me when you’re ready.”
The demon’s shoulders lowered a bit. “I’ll pay for coffee as well.” He smiled.

“For the last time: no, I’ve never eaten anyone. Not even by accident.”
“Then why did you say that to Samual?”
“Wh-to make him feel better, Ryan.” He sputtered undignified, “Just like I told you those white pants look good on you.”
“Hey!”
Shane redirected his gaze back to the menu and decided he was going to order the Cheesy Delight for lunch.
Ryan leaned back in his chair.
“So, for the project, I’ve talked to our producer, and I think that-“
“Geez, Ryan, do we have to talk about work right now?” the demon grimaced, taking a sip of his water. “It’s called lunch break for a reason, you know?”
Ryan did not pout, he just looked very dissatisfied and slightly like a toddler, but he was definitely not pouting.
“Fine, we could talk about what else you’ve eaten besides humans, then.”
Shane’s eyes narrowed. He pretended to look both ways before leaning in and whispering “Bunnies. Lots of bunnies and baby deer.”
Ryan rolled his eyes.
“Hey, Madej.”
Shane’s head whipped around.
“Sam?” He asked upon seeing a large figure walk up to him. Ryan had to do a double take. Samual had a different form this time. He had short blondish hair and a long dangly physique.
“Room for one more?” He asked, his voice was low, it didn’t fit the shape he had chosen at all.
Shane wordlessly pulled up an extra chair for him to join them.
“Nice to see you again, Ryan.” The demon said politely.
“Yeah, good to see you, man.” Ryan replied.
“Say, what are you doing here, Sam?” Shane grinned giddy. Ryan briefly wondered exactly how long these two went back. 
Samual sat down. “What I can’t say hello to an old friend two weeks in a row?”
The demon’s eyes furrowed. “I haven’t heard from you in decennia.”
Samual’s face fell. “You want me to leave?” He asked in a surprisingly quiet voice.
Shane seemed to realize his mistake. “No, if course not.” He reassured, throwing him a bright smile. “There’s always time to catch up with an old friend.”
Ryan wasn’t sure whether the clouds outside the restaurant were actually clearing up the moment Shane said that, or whether it was just coincidence. He decided to not give it too much thought.
“Welp, let’s say the coffee’s on me.” Shane said as he got up from his seat. “Don’t gossip about me while I’m gone.”
“Not promising anything.” Ryan yelled after him.
He turned towards Samual. “So, give me the dirt, Sam. Anything I can use as blackmail material, please.”
The demon threw his head in his neck and laughed. “I can see why Shane likes you, you’re very funny.”
“Yeah, that’s great. More blackmail material, please.”
Samual had a wicked grin on his face. “Shane once got stuck in a haunted doll for a full year before someone found him.”
Ryan’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope, he did manage to scare the crap out of a local town in France. The inhabitants all packed their bags and moved to the north.”
Ryan took out his phone. “Do you mind if I start writing this down. This is amazing.”
“Be my guest.”
His notes app, he decided, would just have to make do for now. Later he could print it all out and frame it above his bed or something.
“How did he get stuck?”
“Messed up a spell.”
“Demons use spells?”
Samual nodded. “Shane’s more of a natural talent when it comes to our unholy skillset, but every so once in a while he will mess up and it is beautiful to watch.”
“Okay, this is great. Fantastic even. What else have you got.”
A grin spread across his face “I’ve got a lot. But it’s my turn to ask a question now, if you don’t mind?”
Ryan nodded.
“So, I’m curious. Why did Madej decide to tell you about his true nature?” he asked, leaning forward a bit. “I mean, no offense of course, but he just doesn’t do that very often.”
“None taken.” Ryan smiled. “And actually, I figured it out on my own.”
Samual started laughing, it somehow reminded him of a thunderstorm. Or more like the space and time between a lightning bolt and a thunder clasp. “Ah, did good old Madej forget to cast a shadow again? He used to do that often when we were younger.”
Ryan laughed as well. “No, nothing like that. I just... figured it out.”
Outside, the clouds grew a bit darker.
“What?” The demon asked, his face falling slightly.
“I figured it out?” He repeated, unsurely this time. Samual had a strange expression on his face, not unlike the one Shane had had when Ryan told him the same thing.
“You just… figured it out? That’s not possible.”
“It isn’t?”
“No,” the demon pressed, “he must have done something to tip you off.” There was a slight rumbling of thunder in the distance.
Ryan rubbed his head. “No, really. It wasn’t anything he did. I don’t know, I looked at him one day and at one point it just… clicked?”
“Clicked?”
“Ehm, yeah?”
“Just like that?” Samual snapped his fingers for emphasis.
He felt a chill in the back of his spine when he looked into Samual’s eyes. They were brown, but a much darker shade than Shane’s. Much more natural and somehow far less human. He felt like he was under water.
Then Samual suddenly smiled, excitement almost radiating off him and everything was okay again.
“Oh! I get it, you’re a seer.”
Ryan swore the clouds parted almost instantly.
“I’m a what now?” He finally managed to reply.
“You know, you-" Samual fell quiet when he noticed the look on his face. “Ehm… did Madej not tell you about that yet?” The demon suddenly looked very self-conscious.
“Told Ryan about what?” Shane asked cheerfully as he walked back towards them, a cup of coffee in both hands.
“Shane, why did your friend call me a seer?”
The demon froze in his tracks. “What?”
“Oh, no” Sam mumbled, suddenly very focused on the table in front of him.

Chapter Text

In the distance, he could hear thunder rumbling. It rolled over the landscape like waves on the beach.

“Shane, why did your friend just call me a seer?”

He didn’t miss the flash of panic in Shane’s eyes. The silence at the table was loud.

“Shane?”

“-Did I ever tell you I got stuck in a haunted doll for a year.” The demon blurted.

“Wh-“

Shane sat down, an almost manic smile plastered on his face.

“It’s really funny, I swear you’re gonne love this story!”

As Shane started telling him what he could only describe as the most insane story he had ever heard, Ryan was trying very hard to wrap his head around the current situation he found himself in. From the crazy-eyed demon in front of him, blabbering on and on about how he had scared away half of the population in France, to the second demon on the other side of the table, quietly facepalming in the corner.

When had his life become so fucking weird?

“So, the thing is, this causes a massive move to the north, which is why many dialects started mixing. There a lot of linguistic theories based on thi-

Shane’s speech slowly died down when he saw the look on Ryan’s face.

“I swear I was going to tell you eventually. ” He mumbled.

Ryan could do nothing but stare at him incredulously.

“Madej,” Samual said, his voice gentle, “my sincerest apologies, I didn’t know tha-“

“Shut up.” Shane said calmly, not even bothering to look the other demon in the eye.

“Okay then.”

“Shane, what the actual fuck.” Ryan finally managed to bring out.

Shane had a pleading look in his eyes. “Look, I-please just file this away for later, okay? You don’t have to know what that means, right now. It’s not important. You told me you trusted me, remember?”

He felt hot anger bubble up in his stomach. “Alright, yeah. No. Absolutely not, that’s it.” The sound of Ryan’s voice, the anger in it, surprised not only the two demons but also himself. “No, I- “ he took a breath, trying to calm himself down as to not start yelling in the middle of a restaurant. “This is about me. You never told me that this was about me. I-“ he squeezed the bridge of his nose. “You asked me to trust you, but you never told me it was about me. You’ve been hiding this.”

He felt tired and at the same time like he was awake for the first time in a month.

The demon looked at him, eyes pleading. “I know you think this is something you have to know, but I promise you, you don’t. You can go your whole life without knowing.”

And with that sudden realization, Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “You were never going to tell me, were you?” He whispered.

Shane swallowed.

Ryan’s clenched his fists. “Why the fuck did he call me a seer, tell me right now.”

The demon didn’t respond.

“Shane!” Ryan slammed his hand on the table as hard as he could (it felt as if the whole restaurant jumped up at the same time).

“Fuck, fine. Okay, yeah, you’re right. I’ll tell you, I’m sorry.” Shane deflated a little, sinking into his chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. “So, here it is.” Then he didn’t say anything for a full minute. Ryan raised an eyebrow impatiently.

“Well?”

“Fuck, right-Okay, here it goes.” Shane said. He clasped his hands together “So Ehm-Ryan. You-ehm -you’re basically psychic.”

Ryan resisted the urge to sound like the first Harry Potter movie and managed not to reply with “I’m a whot?”. He finally settled on: “That’s ridiculous.”

“No, ridiculous was the haunted doll I got stuck in for a year.”

“This isn’t funny.”

“I know. I’m being serious.”

Ryan scanned Shane’s face, trying desperately to tell whether he was just fucking with him. But he had known the demon in front of him for quite a while now.

“Okay,” Ryan sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes. “You clearly believe this- which is idiotic-so, please enlighten me why you think this is true.”

The demon chuckled half-heartedly. “I thought you were supposed to be the believer out of the two of us.”

“I’m not in the mood for this. You know, with all the lying and hiding you’ve been doing.

Shane sighed. “Fair.”

“Why do you think I’m psychic. Are you even sure about this?”

“I mean, I’ve had my suspicions for a while now, but yeah I’m sure. I guess I just didn’t want to see it because, really, it should have been clear to me the moment you figured out what I am.

“Wait, wait, wait, hold up.” Ryan said, waiving his hands. “That doesn’t make me psychic. I just figured it out because it was obvious.”

“You’re… not supposed to figure it out.” Shane scratched his hair. “We’re demons, we know how to cover our tracks. You shouldn’t even have been suspicious of my true nature to begin with.”

Samual scraped his throat. “You must be truly a powerful seer if you could see through Madej’s disguise, of all people. I’ve never seen anyo-“

A look from Shane cut him off mid-sentence.

“I guess I could leave the explaining to you.” He mumbled.

Shane bristled.

“Why the hell did you not want to tell me that?” Ryan finally asked. The anger he felt bubbling up inside when he saw Shane avert his eyes and lock his lips was not helping his already swirling train of emotions. “Shane, for fuck’s sake, would you answer me!”

The cafe was getting louder even though the people in it were not raising their voices. It was like the buidling itself started chewing on its nails nervously.

Ryan cocked his head. “Dangerous? What do you mean, it’s dangerous?” He finally asked.

Shane’s eyes shot up and the restaurant went absolutely silent.

“What?” The demon asked.

“You said it was dangerous, why did you say that?”

“I didn’t say any-fuck.”

“He is good.” Samual whistled. “Might be one of the most powerful seers I have ever-“

Shane’s hand made a motion in Samual’s direction and the next thing he knew, Samual was on the floor.

“Shane!” Ryan hissed, trying not to draw any further attention to them. However, when he looked around he realized that none of the people in the restaurant were looking at then man who had been flung out off his chair for no apparent reason. Shane was already getting out of his seat to help Samual up.

“Sorry,” the demon mumbled as he extended his hand towards his friend. “that was uncalled for. Actually, no it wasn’t… no, yes it was. I’m sorry. Fuck.”

Samual didn’t reply and took Shane’s outstretched hand quietly. He allowed the other man to help him back up.
“I’m going to go ahead and call us square, okay?” Shane asked.

Samual straightened out his jacket and tried to scrape together whatever dignity he had left. Outside of the restaurants, the clouds had darkened but a ray of sunshine peaked through here and there.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” He muttered into his coffee cup before taking a sip.

Ryan was looking between Shane and Samual bewildered. “Fucking demons.” He grumbled, shaking his head. That earned him a small chuckle from Shane.

He took a sip of his own coffee cup. The shot of cafeïne wasn’t exactly what he needed right now to calm his nerves, but doing something as ordinary as drinking coffee made the situation feel more real.

“I’m not a seer. You’re wrong” He said.

Shane looked sad. “I really wish I was Ryan.” He shifted in his seat, looking for words. “It wasn’t untill two months ago that I was really sure my suspicions were true.”

“What happened?”

“The spirit box.”

“The spirit box?” Ryan repeated.

“It only works when you’re around. I used to think it was annoying all on it’s own, but it doesn’t. You’re the reason it works.”

Ryan slumped into his chair, trying to process what was happening right now. It was so stupid. And for fuck’s sake, he had once suggested a town was whiped out by aliens and that still wasn’t the stupidest theory he had ever heard. And the worst part of all of this was.

It made sense.

“Fuck.” He muttered. an incredulous laugh escaped his throat. “Wh-what does this mean? I’m not human?”

When Shane had the nerve to swallow and avert his eyes, Ryan slammed the table. “Fine. Fine.” He hissed, his lips a thin line. He turned to Samual. “Tell me. Tell me everything.”

Samual looked at Ryan and then Shane. “Ryan, I dont think-“

“Jesus Christ.” Ryan cursed (Samual flinched, he swore he did). “You’re taking his side. Are you fucking kidding me? I have a right to know this!”

”My apologies. I shouldn’t have told you anything to start with.”

”you can’t DO this.” Ryan yelled, standing up from his seat. He no longer cared about making a scene (no one in the restaurant seemed to care either anyway). “You can’t keep me in the dark for months on end - months- asking me to trust you, only to then casually tell me I have psychic powers and that I’m in ‘great danger’ and then just leave it like that. You can’t keep lying to me, Shane, I’m sick of it!”

Shane sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Ryan, sit down, please.”

“No.” 

An invisible forced grabbed not only Ryan but the gravity around him and before he knew it, he was pushed back into his chair.

“Wha-“

Shane leaned forward, an aura of anger washed over him like a storm. The demon’s black eyes were drilling into his. “I’m only going to say this once, Ryan. The more you know, the more dangerous it gets. And when I say dangerous, I mean dangerous.”

Samual was no longer sitting at the table with him. He hadn’t disappeared, it was more like he had just never been there in the first place.

“It’s incredibly stupid of you and I’m not going to help you throw your life away.” He seethed. “Because that is what you’ll be doing, Ryan. I want you to understand that. If you do this, there’s nothing I can do to help you not if but when it get’s out of hand.”

He wanted to punch Shane, but the force that had pulled him down was keeping him in place. Shane seemed to read his mind and immediately Ryan was able to move his muscles again.

”Sorry.” The demon mumbled.

Without another word Ryan got up and left the restaurant.

Chapter Text

It had been a week.
And the worst part was that he didn’t have that many vaycation days left to cash in. Ignoring Shane’s texts was going to become a lot harder once he had to share an office with him again.

Ryan took his eyes of the computer and stole a glance at his phone.

(10 unopened messages)

He sighed, rubbing his face.
A summoning ritual, as it turned out, was not that hard to find on the internet. The difficult part was figuring out which ones were real and which ones were bullshit.

A summoning ritual is both a spiritual and a dangerous activity that should never be executed without the aid of a professional. During a ritual, the participant opens up their house to any living or unliving creature. However, there is no way of securing that only benevolent spirits are allowed in. Subsequently, a summoning ritual poses the risk of inviting malvolent creatures such as ghouls, demons or other hellish creatures into the home of the participant.

Yeah, he was well past that, Ryan thought. There was actually a Shane-shaped dent in his couch at this point.

“Fuck it.” He mumbled.

Two hours later, he unpacked his bag of groceries, filled with, but not limited to some grapes, sage, holy water, yogurt and breakfast cereal, white chalk, paprika, some candles and three cans of salt. As Ryan layed out everything he needed on the kitchen counter, he got out his phone and opened “summing ritual for familiars and friends”.

It only took him a couple of minutes to set everything up. Ryan looked at his work with a certain sense of pride, like an artist would maybe loon at their freshly made painting. The pentagram in front of him was clumsily-drawn but it did resemble the picture, so it was probably good enough.

He grabbed the sage and lit up the back end tail. He wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to wave it around like he had seen people do in movies, or to just hold it. He decided to go with the last option.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and start the ritual, he abruptly stopped. For a second his eyes wondered off to his phone, banned to the other side of the living room. With a sigh Ryan got up and walked over, only to stop and stare at the little device resentfully.

(13 missed messages)

He was’t stupid, he reminded himself (though Shane seemed to think otherwise). Whether he liked it or not, insurance was his best bet right now. But, fuck, he really hoped he wouldn’t have to.

With a roll of his eyes, he opened up his speed dial, where Shane’s number was already waiting for him loyally.

For a second he felt guilty.

Then he remembered the way he had been unable to move in that restaurant, when Shane had forced him to sit down. He remembered the shining lights around the demon’s form and the white lies in between.
He put down his phone next to him and closed his eyes.

“I banish evil spirits, I welcome the ones who wish me no harm.” He tried to make his voice sound official, like he was giving a command. It did not make him feel less stupid. “I call upon thee, spirits of the nether realm, and invite you  into my home. I promise no harm will come to you, for I am a friend. I hereby call upon thee, spirits of the nether realm. Come hither the one I call Samual!”

He had expected a dramatic gush of wind to extinguish the candles, or something. Or maybe the tv would suddenly come alive and start displaying static. Or at least something.

He opened one eye. He was greeted by the same view of his appartment he had gotten used to over the past few years (minus the pentagram in front of him). Beside that, nothing had changed.
Ryan’s eyebrows drew together.

“I banish those who wish me harm and I call upon thee, spirits! Come hither the one I call Samual” He tried again, this time really focussing on the way he articulated his sentences.

Still nothing.

Frustrated, Ryan threw the sage into the pot.  “Fucking demons.” He growled, slumping back against the couch.
It was a long shot to begin with, but somehow he really thought this would work.
He dragged a hand across his face.

It was so stupid, because the whole thing was ridiculous. If he was really psychic, then he could probably do a summoning ritual just like that. But in order to figure out all that stuff, he first needed that stupid summoning ritual to work so he could ask-

Ryan sat up straight. His eye fell on the pentagram in front of him, drawn clumsily like a child playing with crayons.

If he was really psychic, then…

He once again closed his eyes.

He didn’t really know what he was doing when he picked up a pen and another piece of paper. He just drew wherever his hand decided felt right. He did notice that he suddenly felt lighter. Like he could start floating at any time now.

“Samual” he whispered.

When he opened his eyes, he froze for a second.

A perfectly symmetrical pentagram laid in front of him. A shiver went down his spine which made him turn around even before he heard a clap from behind him.

“I have to admit that I am impressed.” Samual said. He had dark skin and grey eyes this time. He was broad too, with shorter, fatter limbs.

“Sam?” Ryan smiled a little confused. “I don’t understand.” He mumbled. “You were supposed to-“

“Appear in the circle, I know. But I’m not a ghost, I know how to get out if necessary. Don’t feel bad about it, you’re just a beginner,” The demon said walking over to him. “I think it will take you a while to figure out which pentagrams do what.”

He leaned over and traced a finger over the pattern he had sketched on his coffee table. “Impressive. And raw talent might I add. Have you really never done this before?”

He shook his head, making Samual whistle between his teeth.

“Remarkable.”

Ryan shrugged a little belated. Then Samual scrunched up his nose. “What is that smell?”

Ryan ducked his head. “I- ehm. The internet told me to use sage.”

“Ah.” Samual said, waving his hand over the bowl, which immediately caused the herbs to extinguish.
It started raining outside.

Ryan scraped his throat. “Can I offer you anything to drink?” He asked, ignoring the alarm bells in the back of his head screaming that it was time to run run run.

“I’m actually more interested in why you decided to summon me here. Not that I don’t like catching up with friends, of course. But I suspect you have an ulterior motive.” The demon said as he sat down in Ryan’s arm chair.

“I need you to tell me everything you know about seers.”

Samual stiffened.

“Okay, hear me out-“

“If this is why you summoned me, I am afraid it was all for nothing. I have no desire to stand in between whatever battle its is that you and Madej are fighting.”

“Sam, c’mon.”

“If that is all, I think I’ll be on my way.”

“Samual, I deserve to know this!”

“Goodbye, Ryan.”

Ryan let out a frustrated growl. Without thinking, he grabbed the pentagram in front of him and drew a straight line across it.

A second later, Samual was yanked back into the middle of his living room, straight into the pentagram on top of his coffee table.

For a second both the demon and the human looked at each other surprised.

“Okay then.” Samual sighed after an awkward silence. “You have my attention.”

He attempted to move out of the pentagram, but found that an invisible force kept him there.

“Would you mind letting me out?”

“Did I do that?” Ryan whispered.

“The pentagram did, but yes, congratulations, now would you please let me out?”

Ryan threw him a helpless look. “I don’t know how.”

Samual pinched the brigde of his nose and took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. Okay, fine then. It’s going to take me a while to get out of this thing, so, why don’t you just tell me what it is you want.”

Ryan did a step back. Looking at the demon standing on top of his coffee table dumbfounded.

“Now would be a good time.” Samual droned, placing his hand on the pentagram beneath him and muttering what he could only assume were incantations.

“I-I need to know what being a seer means.”

“I already told you, I cannot help you.” Samual said, somehow while still chanting ancient Greek at the same time.

Ryan groaned in frustration. “Look, this is getting out of hand. I just trapped someone in a fricken pentagram and I don’t even know how I did it. I need to get a grip on this.”

“On that we can both agree.”

“So, you’re going to help me?”

This time Samual stopped his incantations to look him in the eye. “Ryan, I have been friends with Madej for a long time. A longer time than you as a human can even conceptualize, I am not about to throw that away.”

It was feeling far to reminiscent  of that moment in the restaurant and Ryan could almost feel himself glued to that chair again. “Okay, then don’t help me.” He snapped. “But I’m waring you: I’m trapping you in that pentagram every day from now on and twice every weekend.”

“You should not be summoning anything at this point, Ryan.” Samual said sharply. “You clearly have more power than you know how to handle. Did you even realize you not only invited me in, but also opened up your house to anything in the neighbourhood for a good ten minutes?”

Ryan looked at him sheepishly before shaking his head.

“Of course you did not.”

“I had Shane on speed dial .” He defended.

“And what if you had summoned something that would have burned out your eyes the moment you even saw it?”

“So, it sounds like there are a lot more creatures in the neighbourhood that can help me? ‘Cause if that’s the case, I might as well ask someone else in the neighbourhood.” Ryan challenged.

Samual’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not that stupid.”

“Try me.”

“You are not going to risk your life for this.”

“I have enough control to not let that happen.”

“You do not have any idea of the power you are wielding.”

Thunder clasped in the distance.

“Prove me wrong then.”

“I would, but as it so happens to be, I am stuck in a pentagram!” Samual growled and lightning struck (it did not sound human in the slightest).

The demon sighed, closed his eyes for a second and Ryan swore he saw him count to ten quietly.

“You have no idea of the amount of danger you are in, and you are treating it like a game. You can’t let this get out of control.”

“Then teach me how to control it.” Ryan said through gritted teeth.

He heard a click, like a lock being picked and opening. Samual stepped out of the circle and off Ryan’s table. The demon looked at him, then looked off into the distance, as if he was listening to something only he could hear.

“Let me get back to you.”

And with that he disappeared. Not with a “plop” or anything. More as if he had just never been there.

Another three hours later, Ryan was making dinner and  trying to keep his mind off what had just happened. The pentagram layed crumpled up in his bin, the candles shoved into his kitchen drawer.

This was totally fine.

He suddenly felt a chill go down his spine.

“I have considered your request.” Samual said.

“And?” Ryan asked, putting the kitchen knife down.

“I have decided to help you.” He spoke, sitting down into the arm chair once more. “But I have a condition.”

“Name it.”

“Firstly, you never trap me into one of those things again. You are surprisingly good at making pentagrams and it is quiet irritating.”

Ryan smiled sheepishly before nodding. “What’s the second thing?”

“Neither of us tells Madej I helped you. We make a promise.”

Ryan shrugged. “That seems fair.”

“I don’t think you know what I mean when I say promise.” Samual said, his eyes and voice sharpening.

Ryan’s eyebrows drew together. Samual seemed to sense his confusion. “I believe you humans have created myths around demon deals?”

“Oh.” Ryan said a bit taken aback, “Would I be trading my soul away? Because in that case, no thank you”

Samual grinned woolfishly. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s more like what human lawyers do when they make up a contract.” He pauzed for a second. “Only this is far more serious.”

“So, it would be like signing a non disclosure agreement?” Ryan asked.

“It would be. But promises are much more intricate and much more complicated than that. They are our oldest form of magic and even though they are simple, they are very powerful.”

“I’m in.”

Samual extended his hand. It took a second before Ryan realized that the demon wasn’t trying to start some sort of ritual. He was extending his hand for him to shake.

“That’s it?” Ryan scrathed his hair. “We just shake on it?”

“The oldest form of magic we know.”

It almost seemed underwhelming. But it felt strangely right for it to be so simple. Ryan extended his hand. Before he had a chance to shake it, however, Samual suddenly withdrew his hand. “I have to warn you though. Once you make a promise, there is no turning back. No force or spell can break a promise.”

There was a certain electricity hanging in the air. As if a storm could break out any moment now. It suddenly danwed upon Ryan that Samual was old. Ancient even.

He slowly reached out his hand.

And a promise was made.

The book looked pretty old but, if Ryan was honest, not at all what he had imagined it would look like.

“So, this is it?”

“You are correct.”

“This book will tell me everything I need to know?”

“Precisely.”

Ryan traced a finger across the spine. There was no title on the brown leather bound cover.

“You seem disappointed?” Samual asked.

“It doesn’t feel important.”

“You usually feel whether objects are important then?” Samual asked, a hint of curiousity in his voice.

Ryan shrugged. “Usually, yeah.”

“Fascinating.”

Ryan picked up the book to inspect it closer.

“So I just read this, and that’s going to teach me how to use… whatever it is I have?”

“That is about right.”

“So, should I just… dive in then?”

The demon hummed in agreement.

Ryan opened the book…

-and then closed it again immediately.

“Jesus Christ.” He hissed.

“Don’t do that.” Samual scolded without looking up. “It stings.”

“Oh? Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I guess Madej handles it better, so you wouldn’t know.”

It occurred to him that there was a lot that he didn’t know because of Shane.

“What the hell was that?”

“I believe you started off with the table of contents.”

“It was a mashup of every song produced in the history of humanity.” Ryan remarked dryly. Then his eyebrows furrowed. “And some weren’t even written by humans.”

“You should have read it more carefully, then.”

Ryan rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the spots.

Samual’s mouth was a thin line. “Are you alright?”

“I don’t know, are you supposed to get this dizzy?” Ryan grunted, pressing the heels of his hand into his eye sockets.

“It goes away after a while.” The demon said sympathetically.

“Great.” He croaked before finally managing to open his eyes again.

He gripped the book as tight as he could, before opening it again. It wasn’t as bad when he expected what was coming. Ryan tried to keep sitting up straight but his bones felt liquid. If someone had asked him to explain it, he would have found that the human language was falling short. He was currently reading in color gradations that weren’t perceivable by the human eye.

Ryan let out a short cry before closing the book again.

Once the spots had left his eyes, he noticed Sam looking at him. He had a worried expression on his face.

“Maybe this was a bad idea.” He mumbled, reaching out to take the book from his hands.

Ryan quickly pulled it out of his reach.

“No-no, I… I think I get it now.” He let out the breath he was holding. “It’s about the big bang theory, isn’t it?”

Samual was quiet for a second  before nodding.

”Great!” Ryan grinned. Then his expression fell again. ”Why is Shane trying to hide all this from me?”

Samual sighed. “I don’t know. I think only he can answer that question.”

“Right.” Ryan said, crossing his arms. “He has a lot of explaining to do.”

“I genuinly think he is trying to protect you Ryan, try to remember that.”

“Yeah, sure.” He clenched his jaw, running a hand over the book. He realized that it didn’t feel important, in the most obvious way an object had ever done so. Now that he saw that, it was almost impossible to imagine he hadn’t noticed it before. He felt a strange surge of energy travel through his body. It felt warm and feverish and confident.

“Thank you for bringing me this.” He mumbled.

Samual hummed. “Maybe postpone reading untill tomorrow evening. I will be back then, to make sure nothing goes wrong. Is that alright?”

“That would work.”

The demon got up. “I will see you tomorrow then. The same hour.”

“Yeah, thank you.” Ryan mumbled, not taking his eyes of the book in his lap.

Samual scarped his throat, which seemed to brake the hypnosis he was in. The demon leaned down and gently - as if not to startle him - took the book out of Ryan’s hands. The funny thing is, he hadn’t even noticed that his hands were shaking yet. In fact, his whole body was shanking.

“Promise me you will leave this book be untill I have returned?” Samual asked.

Ryan nodded.

“Good.” He said, placing it back on the coffee table.

“Thank you, Sam.”

“You are very welcome, my friend. I believe, since you are human, that you should consider sleep at this point.”

When Ryan glanced at his alarm clock, he realized 5 hours had gone by since he had picked up that book. It was now 3:30 in the morning.

“Weird.” He whispered.

Samual smiled and shook his head. “Good night, Ryan.”

There wasn’t a -plop- or anything like that. It was more as if Sam had just never been there to begin with. Ryan looked at the book on his coffee table for exactly three seconds before grabbing it with shaking fingers.

At 5:50 in the morning, he got out his phone. It was quite difficult keeping the device in his hands, even harder to unlock his home screen.

He stared at Shane’s number for a good minute before he took action and opened his messages.

Shane Madej: can we talk?

Shane Madej: I’m sorry 

Shane Madej: are you okay?

Shane Madej: I know you think you need to figure this out but please just trust me you don’t.

Shane Madej: It’s not worth it Ryan

Shane Madej: I promise this is the only thing I didn't tell you about.

Shane Madej: from now on, I’ll tell you everything, okay? Just not this, forget this one.

Shane Madej: please just trust me on this. I swear it’s for your own safety

Shane Madej: are you alive?

Shane Madej: you’re not at work today?

Shane Madej: are you okay?

Shane Madej: please tell me you’re not doing anything stupid 

Shane Madej: can we please just talk?

Ryan Bergara: sorry I disappeared. (5:51)

Ryan put down the phone. He hadn’t noticed the sweat on this forhead untill it started dripping down. Guess he was coming down with a fever.

He didn’t really care. He felt good.

He felt great.

Chapter Text

He sat down at his desk heavily, letting out a grunt in the process.

“You okay there?”

“Yeah, just some muscle ache.”

Shane grinned. “Beef boy about to make his big return?”

“Something like that.”

If his smile was forced, Shane either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“You forgot the canines again.” Ryan noted.

The demon looked up. “What?”

“Your teeth. You’re missing two, you usually have four canines.”

“Ah, thanks!” Shane replied, a sheepish grin spreading across his features (this time all canines included).

Ryan’s fingertips were shaking, which made typing pretty difficult, but it didn’t matter. He did worry about someone noticing the dirt beneath his cuticles. He’d have to clean those somewhere during his break.

“Did you talk to the team about the new season preparations?” Ryan asked, not taking his gaze off the computer screen.

“Yeah, I think everybody’s on track.”

“Good.”

He narrowed his eyes. He felt a small migrain forming behind his right eye as he tried to lock down Shane’s form.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about Shane Madej.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying toget rid of the ringing in his ears. Whatever protection the demon had installed, it worked like a goddamn charm. He grit his teeth, watching as Shane got up to get a cup of coffee. Ryan left his work for what it was and started digging through his bag untill his fingers closed around the smooth, sharp surface of the stone.

The Charlotte Villa was dusty, cold and almost too cliche to work but it somehow did.

“Do you ever wonder how much time the average human spends in haunted locations compared to us?” Shane asked, elbowing him.

Ryan didn’t respond, he just let his eyes wonder arount the place he found himself in.

It was apparenlty suspicious enough to draw the demon’s attention. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

There was just the slightest wrinkle on the demon’s forhead. “Nothing. You kinda seem tired.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s just work.” Ryan said annoyed, putting down his bag with a hard ‘thud’. “You know, with all the new content this month, I’m kind of stressed out, I guess.”

There was that stupid genuine concern in Shane’s eyes. And if Ryan hadn’t know him for as long as he had, he would have bought it too.

“You should give yourself a break, dude. Go easy on yourself.”

“I will. Thanks.”

The demon gave him a pat on the shoulder before picking up the back of equipment and moving it to the dining hall. Ryan noted he was missing two fingernails and honestly it looked gross. He grit his teeth trying push down any feelings that might make him do something stupid like tell the demon the truth. Luckily there wasn’t a lot of room in his body right now for emotions.

Once he was sure the demon was completely out of sight, he pulled the stone out of his bag.

It was a pretty dramatic thing. Digging up a rock from his back yard at exactly 3:33 in the morning. Carving a spell into it was also not how he had expected his saturday night to pan out. He would have settled for pen and paper if the stupid book hadn’t let him know that it would lead to the instant combustion of his organs.

Ryan traced a finger over the words. Up untill yesterday he couldn’t even spell in Greek but there it was.

“I was thinking once this is set up, we could go get some coffee.” Shane yelled from the other room. “I could really go for some caffein right now.”

“Yeah, sounds great.” He said absentmindedly.

Thing was, Ryan knew exactly why Shane kept forgetting about the body parts.

He was feeling feverish but he was starting to get used to the feeling. He kind of liked it.

When he focussed, the wall wasn’t opaque anymore, like the first layer of a water color painting. He could see Shane, experimenting with the right angle of the camera. He looked normal. Nothing different, nothing unusual.

πάρε ό,τι κρύβεται, δείξε μου τι υπάρχει πίσω από το πέπλο.

He whispered.

Instantly, the strange spots of light he had only caught from the corners of his eyes started flickering around the room. They weren’t fully formed yet and when he tried to focus on them, they disappeared instantly.

πάρε ό,τι κρύβεται, δείξε μου τι υπάρχει πίσω από το πέπλο.

They were everywhere, Ryan realized, and not just around Shane. Small creatures, flying, crawling and slythering around the space. Yet most of them were in fact flocking around Shane. It reminded him of smaller fish attaching themselves to the gills of a shark.  There was an black cloud around the demon and the lights kept flying in and out.

What the actual fu-

Suddenly Shane’s head turned towards him, locking eyes with him right through the wall. His irises were pitch black and for a second his breath got caught in his throat.

“Ryan?” Shane’s voice broke the silence. “What eh- what are you doing back there?”

The lights were gone. Or no, not just gone, they were more than gone, if that made sense. The wall turned solid again and Ryan was looking at dusty old bricks.

“What?” He yelled back.

Shane appeared in the doorway, eyes brown and human.

“Dude, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Silence.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, Shane.” Ryan gritted, feeling like this was more of an interrogation. As if Shane giving him a chance to confess. “Like i said, I’m just tired.”

“Okay.”

The shooting of the episode went fine. More than fine, it might have been on of their best videos to date. They managed to do their monologues perfectly, the banter was top notch and a lot of creepy sounds came out of the walls, which would be great for post.

Ryan felt his muscles shaking, as if just the act of standing up alone was exhausting. Or maybe it was standing up with Shane around the room, he wasn’t sure.

“I’m going to get my lunch from the car.” He announced.

Shane looked up. “You’re not having lunch with the rest of us?”

He shook his head, already moving away towards the exit. Shane yelled something after him, but he was out of earshot before it could reach him. He needed to get out of that house. He needed to clear his head. He had made it all the way to his car, thinking he was actually going to get that break he damn well deserved, when he spotted a figure sitting on the hood of his car.

“Alright, let’s talk about it.”

Ryan groaned, leaning his head against the car door.

“Talk about what?” He tried to sound sincere.

“The psychic thing.”

His heart skipped a beat. “Oh. Sure, yeah.”

The demon threw him a look, informing him that he knew the casual attitude was a facad.

“I know you’re still angry about it.” He said, jumping off the hood.

“It’s been three weeks.” Ryan pointed out.

“And you’re very good at holding a grudge.”

Ryan was tired, his head was spinning and now this stupid demon wouldn’t even let him have his lunch break in peace. “Why do you want to talk about this now?”

Shane swallowed and somehow Ryan got the idea he knew exactly what he had been up to the last couple of weeks.

“Fine. I’m going to tell you something I shouldn’t, okay?” He spoke slowly. “And I’m going to tell you because i think this will help you. You understand?”

Ryan’s face didn’t move a muscle. Shane waited for a reaction out of him untill it dawned he wasn’t going to get one.

“Alright.” The demon finally broke the silence. “I knew someone once. She was a seer too.”

Ryan tried to process that.

“Her name was Cassandra, she was one or those oracles in Greece.”

“The crazy lady from the myth?”

Shane flinched. “Not crazy, not a myth. And she was my friend.”

“Oh.” Ryan instantly felt that he had made a mistake, but he didn’t have enough room in his chest to feel guilt right now.

There was something hanging around Shane, though. He couldn’t really put his finger on it. A color maybe, but it was the color of a sleepless darkness and loss.

She knew what she was and she got good at it.

The demon sighed. “She- she knew what she was. And she got good at it. Really good. Maybe one of the most talented seers I ever saw. Also a very nice lady.” His eyes softened a bit and Ryan realized whenever he did that, the color of his iris turned just a little bit darker.

“So, seers go back that far?”

The demon’s features hardened. “That doesn’t mat- Cassandra put a price on her head, okay? Once she knew what she was, once she started to practice it - she became a target.”

Ryan blinked. “To who?”

“Everything. And they all found her. Every last one”

A different color this time. A cross between blue and a spider crawling out of a bathtub.

“That’s why I didn’t tell you, and why I never wanted to tell you. The more you learn about this, the bigger your chances of getting hunted down. And Cassandra - she didn’t deserve what happened to her. It was horrific.”

He could feel a certain nausea hanging in the air. He wanted to feel bad for Shane but the feelings of fever and ambition left no room in his stomach.

“Why am I a seer?” he whispered.

Shane sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Ryan, please. I don’t know , okay? It just… happens sometimes and it doesn’t matter because it always ends the same way. I- I just told you this whole thing and you’re not even- I told you this because I know you’re angry at me and I don’t want you to stop doing stupid stuff.”

“I’m not doing stupi-“

“Cut the crap, okay? We both know you’re lying.”

Ryan knew why Shane kept forgetting to add body parts around him. It’s because the demon felt too comfortable around him to really remember.

Ryan suddenly felt anger bubble up inside of him. Not at Shane, but more for the fact that this was unfair and that he could apparently see right through him. “Is that one of your demon powers you never told me about?” He snapped.

“No, I’m your friend and I’ve worked with you for years. I know when you’re lying to me.”

That one hurt, if he was honest.

The demon looked old, ancient even. “I don’t know what you’re doing when I’m not around and frankly, I don’t like it. So here I am, asking you to stop it, okay? I’m sorry I’ve lied and that I’ve kept you in the dark. I’m sorry for everything, so this is me being honest, okay?” He sighed again. “Or as honest as I can be without quite literally digging a grave for you. Will you please, please, please , value your life and stop doing whatever it is you are doing?”

Shane’s eyes were pleading and hopeful and sincere. Ryan grit his teeth and gave him a short nod.

“Okay.”

His knuckles were white and it was only now that he realized he was balling them into fists.

Shane seemed satisfied though. “I’m going to go home for today,” he announced, “See you tomorrow? We still have that shoot at 11, don’t forget.”

“I need one more answer.”

The demon stiffened.

“Who is Samual?”

Shane had a puzzled look on his face. “Samual has been there for as long as I can remember. He’s my friend and he always has been. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. I just want all the information I can get at this point, I suppose.”

Without another word, the demon turned around and stalked out of the parking lot.

Ryan didn’t call after him, nor did he ask him what that was all about. He had a feeling Shane wouldn’t forget to add body parts around him any time soon.

Shane preferred traveling through different dimensions over traveling through space and time if he were honest. When he arrived at the warehouse, he didn’t have to look long before he found Samual. The screams were loud enough.

“Madej! What do I owe this pleasure?”

He was chewing on severed leg. The poor owner of the missing limb was still screaming his head off in the far end corner of the room. He'd be dead in about twenty three minutes, though.

Samual whiped some of the stray muscles from the corner of his mouths. “My apologies, where are my manners. Do you want some?”

“You told him, didn’t you?”

“Told him what?”

“I know you told Ryan about seers.”