Chapter 58: Devourers

Dénué Chateau, Picardy Region, France

The night sky growled as lightning danced across the dark thunder clouds. Rain came down in sheets and pounded the ground below. The dirt of a lone road quickly turned to mud and the medium-size bus, that drove down it, struggled to traverse it. The side of the bus had a logo and text that said "Ghosts of History". Lightning flashed across the sky again to reveal the destination of the road was an eighteenth-century-style French chateau.

The building was three stories tall with slanted roofs and pointed towers. The chateau's walls were made from pink and white brick that were darkened after centuries of stain from pollution and age. Each window had large pink wooden shutters that were locked into an open position.

The bus approached the chateau and drove slightly passed the doorway. It went in reverse and let out a loud beeping sound as it drove backwards. It slowly backed up until the rear was a couple meters away from the front door of the chateau. The bus stopped and was then turned off. After a couple minutes, the back door of the bus popped open and a man quickly jumped out and used a key to open the front door of the chateau.

"Okay, it's open!" he yelled to the bus. "Cover the electronics with garbage bags and get them inside."

Everyone inside the bus did as he said and moved their equipment into the chateau. The group consisted of seven people and two dogs. The man who entered the chateau first was named Jason Sykes. He was a slender and tall man with short red hair and beard. Jason was in his early thirties but looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was the historian of the show "Ghosts of History" and did the research and narration, both, on and off camera. By his side were his two dogs, a German Shepard by the name of Louis, and a Vizsla-Dobermann mix who went by the name of Chief.

The next person to enter was their spirit medium, Amy White, who helped direct the crew towards paranormal activity. She developed her abilities when she was fourteen years old and had little acceptance or outside belief in her abilities until she had met Jason in College.

The following individual to enter the chateau was Diego Flores. He was the main cameraman and close friends with Jason. While everyone on the main team wore body cameras, Diego used his own camera to film professional videos of events such as Jason giving history of the location they were at.

Alexus Lee came in next with a wagon filled with computer equipment. She was a black woman with her hair styled into thin dreads that were tied into a ponytail. Alexus was a former MIT student who dropped out when her focus on the paranormal distracted her from her studies. She was responsible for tech support and creating the equipment her team used to find ghosts. Alexus met the group several years ago through an enthusiast ghost hunting forum.

The last three people to enter the chateau were the cameraman, Joey Russo, the producer, Judy Smith, and the director, Vincent Smith. Joey's responsibility was minimal. He only filmed B-roll footage for the show. Judy ensured that the show got its funding and was organized. Vincent, Judy's husband, was director in name only. He gave a general direction to the ghost hunters, but would just leave them to their own devices while he went off on his own with his wife. So long as the show continued, Jason's team accepted their many absences.

"We get everything in?" Jason asked.

"We got it all, Jace," Alexus answered. "Give Diego and me ten minutes and we can get started."

As Alexus and Diego set up the ghost hunting equipment, Vincent walked in front of the group and, like usual, pretended to be the director of the show.

"Alright, so we have a couple nights to get all our footage," he announced. "Jason, I want your group to explore the east wing tonight. Explore the rooms, blah, blah, blah. Do whatever. Joey, do your usual thing. Meet up at one here. Come on, Judy."

Joey picked his camera up and went up the stairs. Vincent dragged a giggling Judy away to the west wing.

"I fucking hate those two," Amy groaned. "They don't take any of this seriously."

"They pay the bills and organize the trips," Diego said. "As long as they don't interfere with our show, I honestly don't care if they disappear ninety percent of the time. If anything, it's better that they do."

Jason quickly reviewed the packet he put together for the episode.

"Should we start with the intro?" Amy asked.

"Good idea," Alexus said. "I need to calibrate our personal equipment so it'll take in account of the rainstorm outside."

Diego picked up his camera and stood ten feet away from Jason. Jason tossed his packet to a nearby table and repeated the word "Dénué" several times in different tones.

"You ready, Jace?" Diego asked.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied. "Do the countdown."

"Alright." Diego pressed the record button and counted down from three with his fingers. Once his hand went into a fist, Jason began.

"I'm Historian Jason Sykes on location- No, no. Shit, try again. Three, two, one. I'm Historian Jason Sykes. I'm in the Picardy region of France with my team of professional ghost hunters. Amy White, renowned spirit medium, Alexus Lee, our tech expert, and Diego Flores, our cameraman and editor. Tonight we are exploring the history and paranormal activities of the Château de Dénué. This chateau belonged to Vicomte Abel Dénué before and during the French Revolution. This nobleman was particularly cruel to his subjects compared to his fellow nobles. He was fond of torturing his fellow countrymen for his amusement. During the revolution, Dénué was killed through the method of quartering using four horses. Despite his death, locals believe that Dénué and his victims still haunt these halls. Let's find out if this is true on tonight's episode of Ghosts of History."

Lightning struck and roared with enough power to shake the mansion. The thunderstorm suddenly picked up in intensity. Lightning struck with a rapid enough succession that there was a constant amount of bright white light coming in from the windows. Everyone covered their ears to protect them from the loud noise. After several moments, the sudden intensity settled down and returned to the normal thunderstorm.

"What the fuck?" Alexus cursed.

"I've never heard thunder so loud," Diego said.

Jason noticed Amy was holding her head in pain.

"You okay, Amy?" he asked. "Headache from the thunder?"

"N-No," Amy replied. "I sense a presence. No. Multiple presences. They- They are replacing the spirits that were here before."

Suddenly the two dogs stiffened their stance and started barking.

"Louis, Chief, what's wrong?" Diego asked the two animals.

The dogs then ran off down the east wing hallway at full sprint.

"God damn it," Jason said. "We need to go after them!"

"Throw on your camera vests first," Alexus said as she quickly handed them out.

The group quickly put on their vests and ran after their dogs down the hallway. Unknown to them, a dark figure stood in a side hallway that they ran past. The figure stood there for a moment before it faded into the surrounding shadows.

On the eastern side of the chateau, the two dogs reached where they were running. It was a wooden door. Nothing remarkable about it. It was less stylized than the other doors in the building. The two dogs barked angrily at the door.

The door's handle was a metal lever that was held in place by a holder that kept the door locked. After a few moments of barking, the handle flipped up and then fell back down into the holder. This occurred several times before the handle flipped up and turned clockwise and the door slowly opened. The door revealed a stairway that went downwards into darkness.

The dogs ceased their barking and froze in terror. They stared into the darkness. Louis was suddenly pulled down the stairs by an unseen force. The unseen force made demonic growls as it dragged the dog down the stairs. Louis bark twice before it squealed in pain and the sounds of ripping, squishing and splattering came from the area down the stairs. Chief whimpered and ran away with what will and strength it could muster.

VVVVVV

Joey made sure to film the storm outside. He missed his chance to film the sudden storm intensity when the sound made him collapse to his knees and to hold his ears. Joey was lucky to avoid dropping his camera. After he got his footage, he went further into the upper east wing. He filmed as he walked so the footage could be used in the show to represent a ghost moving through the house.

When he reached the hallway that led to the guest room, Joey noticed there were candle handlers that came out from the walls. He planned for these and reached for the pack of candles he had in his backpack. Joey placed the plain white candles on the candle holders and lit each one. The candles gave the hallway an eerie mood.

Joey appreciated the scene he set up and filmed going into the guest room. He ended the footage and got out a tripod to place the camera in the doorway to continue filming it. While it did, he sat down on the bed and pulled out a panini sandwich from his pack. He had missed dinner and was trying to make up for it.

As Joey ate his panini, he heard something. A mix of whispers and breathing. He glanced around but found no source for it. Joey sighed and muttered, "the storm."

Joey went back to his sandwich, but heard the whispers again. He looked towards his camera and noticed something on the screen. Joey put his sandwich away and walked towards the camera. He looked at the screen and saw a dark slender creature at the end of the hallway.

The creature was similar in shape to a person, but it's proportions were off. Arms and legs slightly too long. Back was not completely straight. Knees turned in different directions. Tendrils came out from its back that formed a cape. Other than its shape, the creature wasn't definable. It was completely made from shadows.

"What the fuck?" Joey muttered as he looked up from the camera.

There was nothing down the hallway. He look at the camera again and saw the creature there. It started to move forward in an unnatural, twitchy manner. It raised its arms and its hands went through the candles. As it did, the candle went out. Joey looked up and saw those same candles were out. He switched between looking at the camera and the hallway. One by one, the candles went out as the darkness approached him.

"Shit!" he growled.

Joey shoved the camera to the side and then slammed the door shut and then locked it with a latch. He backed away from the door. Joey soon heard the sounds of footsteps approaching the door as the light, that came from under the door, dimmed. The light went out and Joey stared at the door in fearful anxiety.

A clawed hand phased through the door and planted itself down to the left side of the door. Another hand reached through the door and landed to the right. The ghostly head slowly revealed itself.

"J-Jesus!"

Joey spun around and rushed to the window and broke it open. He put one foot on the sill and looked down. He was on the third story of the chateau and it was a straight drop to the ground. Joey looked back and saw the ghost get completely through the door.

"Fuck!" Joey yelled as he jumped out of the building.

Joey fell to the ground and briefly landed on his feet which caused his shins to immediately break. He doubled over and screamed in pain. His shin bones had not only broke, but the lower section went through the skin.

"Oh, god!" he cried out. Joey looked down and saw his bones. "Oh, Jesus! Ah!"

In his pain, Joey heard chirping. He looked up and, during the lightning flash, saw the ghost looking down at him from the window. During the next flash, the ghost jumped out. In the next flash, the ghost was halfway down to him. The last thing Joey saw was the lightning flash that revealed the ghost on top of him.

VVVVVV

Jason, Amy, Alexus and Diego continued to run down the hallway to find their two dogs. Chief ran down the hallway in their direction and quickly jumped up at Jason. He caught the crying dog.

"Chief!" Jason cried out. "What wrong? Where's Louis?" He looked to the others. "He's shaking. We need to find Louis."

They continued down the hallway and came across an opened door. Chief jumped down from Jason's arms and cowered into the wall across from the open door. Amy felt ill and her head throbbed.

"Amy, you okay?" Alexus asked.

"N-No. I feel... so much pain. Down there." Amy pointed down the stairs.

"I don't think we should go down there," Diego said. "I'm not getting a good vibe here."

"Louis is probably down there," Jason argued.

They went down the stairs. As they went down each step, a smell from the basement grew stronger. It smelt of copper and rot. They reached the bottom of the steps and stepped in something wet. The group looked down and saw a puddle of crimson fluid.

"Oh, god!" Alexus cried out. "Is that blood?"

Their flashlights followed the trail of blood on the dirt floor. The blood was splattered all over, but it still formed a messy trail. They followed the blood a short distance before they found the source of the blood. Louis' remains were sprawled all over the place. The only way they could identify that the body parts belonged to a dog was the fact that Louis' head was on the ground in the middle of all the carnage.

"Louis, no!" Jason screamed. "Louis!"

"What the fuck did this?" Diego thought out loud.

"There's something in the building," Amy said. "I can feel them. So dark. It's not Human. We need to find the others and get out now."

Alexus grabbed Jason by the shoulders. "We need to go, Jace."

Jason wiped away his tears and forced himself to his feet. He nodded to the others. They ran back up the stairs where Chief anxiously waited.

"Chief, come on, we're leaving," Jason said.

Something made a sound down the stairs. It was a whisper or shallow breathing. The group looked down the stairs with their flashlights. The shadows down the stairs began to move towards the steps. They collected together into form of a creature. It chirped several times as it stared at the ghost hunters.

"What the fuck is that?" Alexus yelled.

"It's the presence!" Amy cried out while holding her head.

"We're fucking going!" Jason said.

The shadow ghost quicken its pace up the stairs. The ghost hunters ran with every bit of strength they could muster.

VVVVVV

In the west wing guest room, Judy and Vincent were wrapped in a passionate embrace on top of the bed. Vincent kissed Judy on the neck to elicit a moan from her.

"What will we tell the people who run this site about the messy bed?" she asked him.

"Tell them it was spooky ghosts."

Judy burst into laughter. They continued their passionate thrall. Between kissing Vincent's lips, Judy glanced at a shadowy corner of the room. For some reason, the shadow made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Judy found her focus switching from her husband to the shadow in the room.

Every time Judy looked at the corner, the shadow seemed to get darker and darker. When Judy looked back after a tenth time, she swore she saw something there. Judy stared at it for a long moment before she noticed the slightest movement. A figure came out of the shadow and stretched out its arms. Judy screamed in terror when the creature appeared.

"Wh-What's wrong?" Vincent yelped.

Before Judy had a chance to warn him, the creature grabbed Vincent by the neck and lifted him off of Judy. Judy breath was caught in her throat as she gasped in shock.

"Help!" Vincent cried out.

The creature held Vincent up high and quickly jammed its other hand through his back and out of his chest in a bloody explosion. The viscera landed on Judy who looked away. She looked back at her husband's body and saw a ghostly apparition of her husband impaled on the shadow creature's hand.

"J-Judy..." her husband's soul weakly tried to get out.

The creature withdrew its arm from her husband's body with the soul still on its hand. It turned Vincent towards it to make him look at the creature. The shadow's mouth opened and then closed on the soul.

Judy covered her ears when she heard him cry out in pain. She was forced to watch as this creature ate her husband's soul. The creature quickly ate the soul and sighed in pleasure after finishing its meal. After a moment of reprieve, the creature turned its sight towards Judy.

Judy forced herself out of the bed and made a run for the bedroom door. The creature watched her run in amusement. It put in little effort to chase after her as it casually walked after her.

VVVVVV

Jason, Amy, Alexus and Diego ran with adrenaline in their veins as the shadow monster chased them down the hallway. Their destination was the front entrance of the chateau. They glanced back at the creature and saw it claw at the walls to increase its speed. It was hard to tell, but the team could swear that the monster was smiling as it chased them.

They managed to reach the front atrium to find their computer equipment trashed. A scream came from the upper floor. The four looked up and saw a half-dressed Judy running down the balcony in terror.

"Help!" she screamed. "Someone help me!"

Two shadow specters phased through the wall and tore the woman in half. Her torso fell to the ground below in front of the group which they all screamed at. Back above, the two specters played tug-of-war with Judy's soul before one of them swiped at the other and got for control of her soul. It greedily gobbled her down. The other monster growled at it.

The group's screams at the torso of their former boss got the attention of the two ghosts on the upper level. The hunters ran towards the front door to escape. In that rush, Diego tripped over one of the cords of the computers and fell over.

"Diego!" Jason yelled.

Jason, Amy and Alexus turned away from the front doors to help their friend. The ghosts on the upper floor jumped down and landed next to the third creature that caught up. The three monsters got with range of the four hunters and slowed themselves to savour the moment. The group found themselves at the mercy of these monsters.

The door behind them burst open and several soldiers came in with their guns drawn. The flashlights on the end of their guns briefly blinded them. The monsters stopped their movement in surprise of the sudden appearance.

"Get down!" one of the soldiers yelled to the four friends.

Jason, Alexus and Amy fell to the ground next to Diego. As soon as they were on the ground, the squad leader yelled, "Open fire!"

They unleashed a barrage of bullets upon the three ghosts. The creatures raised their arms to make a futile effect to defend themselves. The bullets the soldiers used made streaks of lightning as they went through the air. Each impact created large holes in the corporeal form of the creatures. They screamed in pain as they were torn apart.

The three creatures fell into three puddles of black goo and the soldiers ceased their attacks. The squad leader walked towards the ghost hunters and reached out a hand to Jason. He grabbed it and was pulled up. The other soldiers helped the others.

"I'm Captain Garza of the UNDF," the female soldier introduced herself. "This is Lieutenant Li, Lieutenant Smith and Second Lieutenant Jones."

"We know who you four are," Jason said while a little star struck. "Everyone in the world knows who you four are."

"The soldiers who fight alongside Thunder's team," Diego said. "Wait, that means that those things..."

"Were from Xoth, yes," Li answered. "We came here as soon as Everett detected the transfer."

"Are they here?" Alexus asked.

As if on cue, Tom's group walked in through the front doors.

"We checked the other side of the chateau and found a body of some fat guy," Tom casually said as his team entered through the front doors. "The guy was torn to shreds..." Tom saw the civilians and quickly stopped what he was saying. "Oh... Sorry..."

"That must have been Joey," Amy solemnly said. "It's just us then. I doubt Vincent's still alive."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"You did your best," Alexus said. "No one can blame you."

"But seriously, holy shit!" Diego blurted out. "Thunder and everyone. I'm a huge fan!"

"Thank you," Reia said. "You're so kind."

"Whose the newest person here?" Jason asked while he gestured towards Amber.

"I'm Amber," she replied. "I'm the newest Xothican on Earth and member of Tom's team. I'm a part of the Dryad race. Pleased to meet you all."

"Is that the last of those things?" Jones asked Everett.

Tom shook his head. "Nah. I didn't get a mission complete. There's still more Alu."

"He's right," Amy said. "I can still feel their presence in this building."

Tom rolled his eyes at Amy's comment, but when he looked at her, his look of dismissal was replaced with confusion.

"Huh!" Tom muttered. "Tala, have you ever seen something like her title before?"

Tala walked up next to Tom and looked at Amy. Her eyes widened when she saw what Tom noticed. She turned to him and whispered into his ear.

"Wh-What's wrong?" Amy asked.

"It seems I was wrong about you," Tom replied. "I always thought every ghost hunter and spirit medium was a fraud. Not you. You actually have a title. Spirit Sensitivity. It means you actually have the ability to sense spirits."

"Ha!" Vivian blurted out. "It also guarantees that you'll have access to the Spirit Maiden class when you level up a Mage class high enough. Congrats on that."

"We can continue our ghost hunting into the new world against Xothican creatures," Alexus said. "Nice..."

"If the operation zone isn't clear then we need to clear out the civilians," Garza said. "We'll have Everett teleport you all you a safe location."

"Wait, we can help," Amy said. "We can use our abilities to help you find the remaining Alu."

"We can't have civilians in a combat zone," Smith said.

"With all due respect, Captain," Jason said. "This is a large building. Those Alu could hide indefinitely."

The UNDF soldiers looked irritated by Jason's argument whereas Tom's team was amused at their perseverance. Garza looked towards Tom's team for some back-up.

"He has a point," Sylmae admitted. "None of us has an ability to sense spirits. If we keep them surrounded, they can be relatively safe."

"They are still civilians," Garza argued.

"Sooner or later, we are all going to have to face monsters," Amy said. "Whether now or later. If we can help you find these spirits then we can be of use in the future by hunting spirits."

Garza simmered in thought about what was required to complete the mission.

"Okay, fine," she relented. "But you four are to follow our orders. No questions asked."

"Of course," Alexus replied. "We just need to grab something from our equipment."

Alexus ran over to the overturned equipment and picked up a bag that she opened. She rustling around inside the bag before she pulled out a handheld device.

"This is an EMF reader," she explained to the UNDF soldiers. "They sense changes in the electromagnetic field. We might be able to use them to detect where the Alu are."

"Before we start the search, can any of you explain to us what Alu are?" Jason asked Tom's group.

Tom looked to Tala and said, "Tala?"

Tala meekly said, "Alu are dark spirits that feed on souls and other spirits. They are sadistic creatures that prey on the weak and delight in torturing them in a variety of ways before killing them. Alu are fairly weak so they usually prey on those who are asleep. They must be able to sense that none of you have access to the SYSTEM. You were all easy prey. Your world probably had Alu before as they are mentioned in Sumerian mythology as spirits who torment sleepers."

"When we first arrived, I had sensed several spirits in this building," Amy said. "After the sudden intense storm, I felt these dark presences and the spirits I had sense before vanished one by one. The Alu ate them. Didn't they?"

Tala nodded in response.

"We can't let them continue. I can feel there are two more presences left in the house. Closest one is in the east wing."

Garza signalled to her team with her hand to move in the direction of the east wing. Jason's and Tom's group followed behind.

"So how do you harm spirits?" Diego asked. "I'm mean, aren't they already dead?"

"They still exist and can be made to not exist," Reia said. "All magic can harm spirits. And certain elements will be more effective on spirits if they have an elemental affinity that is weak to an element type. Any object with magic in it can harm spirits as well. There are metals that already have magic infused into it naturally. Mythril, blue silver and such. On Earth, gold and silver all have traces of magic in them. Oddly enough, your iron has way more magic in it than iron on Xoth. Now the bullets that Garza's team uses are standard copper-nickel metal plated over a lead core. That reminds me, when we get back to base, I'm going to suggest to our Commander that we should have access to steel plated bullets so they can harm spirits without enchantments."

"Wait!" Amy called out. "We're close."

Garza's and Tom's group formed a circle perimeter around the ghost hunters and looked down the four hallways that intersected where they were. Alexus raised her EMF reader and watched the needle bounce several times.

"I'm starting to get a reading," Alexus said.

Alexus swung the device slowly until the needle bounced more rapidly. She pointed down the hall where the reading came from.

"I'll let you handle this, Captain," Tom said. "My team is likely to do a lot of damage to this building if we use any of our magic. I don't want the French government pissed off at us for excessively damaging a landmark."

"So long as we get experience points, that's fine by us," David said.

Garza's team took a knee and aimed down the hallway. Chief growled and the fur on his back stood up.

"It's getting closer," Alexus warned. The needle was now stuck on the far end of the measurement range. "It's here!"

Right on queue, the Alu went through the ceiling and landed on the ground before them.

"Light it up!" Garza yelled.

The Alu tried to charge at them only to stagger across the ground as the bullets went through its corporeal form. It screamed out as it felt its form weaken. The Alu managed to get within a few feet of Garza's firing line before it collapsed into a pile of goo.

"Stop!" Garza ordered. "It's dead."

"What is that stuff?" Diego asked.

"It's ectoplasm," Vivian answered. "It's the physical remnants of spirits. It's often used in alchemy to strengthen potions."

"Ew."

"Still one left," Amy said. She was a little shaken from just seeing the Alu again. "It's in the cellar. That way." Amy pointed down another hall.

They followed down the hallway which took them to a doorway. The door was still opened to a stairway that led into darkness.

"Down there," Amy said.

"The EMF seems to confirm it," Alexus said.

"Stay up here," Garza said. "We'll go down."

Garza's team went down the stairs one at a time. Garza was first, followed by Chris, then David and finally Sam. The wooden stairs creaked with each step they took. Garza reached the bottom of the stairs and waited until Chris was right behind her. He tapped her shoulder twice to left her know that he has her back.

Garza went to the left with Chris holding onto her shoulder while aiming the other direction. David reach the bottom of the stairs and waited for Sam to catch up.

Unbeknownst to the two, a shadow dwelled behind the wooden stairs and watched as Sam walked down the stairs. Its arms reached through the gaps in the stairs and grabbed Sam around the ankles. Before she had a chance to utter "oh shit", Sam was pulled through the stairs which destroyed them.

"Sam!" David yelled.

The Alu held Sam up by both of her ankles. Sam quickly crunched her stomach to curl upwards and shoved her shotgun into its mouth.

"Eat this," she quipped before she pulled the trigger.

The back of the Alu's head exploded and the spirit collapsed into goo. Sam fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Sam, you okay?" David asked he ran up to her.

Sam groaned and then replied, "Yeah. Just landed on my back hard."

"Everett, Sam got it," Garza called up the stairs. "Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's it!" Tom replied back. "Mission accomplished."

The four UNDF soldiers jumped up the stairs and exited the cellar.

"We are going to have some agents come to this location to do some clean up," Garza explained to the ghost hunters. "But we're going to need you four to come with us to HQ for a debrief. Also, I noticed those cameras on your vests. Your footage will need to be examined before it is returned to you."

"Do we have a choice?" Jason asked.

"You don't," Tom replied.