Untold Secrets

Chapter One

Michael Valle loved his job as a horror journalist. Even after seven years of working for the Supernatural Beings: Mythical or Real? magazine, he was still addicted to the adrenaline rush he felt every time he and his best friend slash co-worker, Daniel Sparks, work on a new case. He enjoyed solving problems regarding the supernatural world, doing research and helping those in need of his help. He and Daniel often joked about being the real life Sam and Dean. They weren't biological brothers, of course, but they might as well be as their tight-knit relationship wasn't going to break anytime soon.

Sometimes Michael wondered if he loved his job a little too much, as he was now close to his thirty years of age and was still single. He hadn't been in a serious relationship for years, alternating to one night stands every now and then. He didn't give his love life much thought since he was happy enough without it, though sometimes he couldn't help but feel lonely.

Everything was made worse now that he had had dreams, reoccurring ones about the same girl over and over, about sneaking out and kissing under the moonlight, lying under the stars and enjoying each other's company. He couldn't see the girl's face, but he was positive she was the same person, as her brown eyes never changed in his dreams - they were as dark as the nature yet a little twinkle of light was visible when she smiled.

The dreams had been messing with his head again, Michael realized, as he stopped typing out the report he had been working on and started daydreaming, again.

"Hey, dude. We've got a new case." Michael vaguely heard a voice talking to him, though he wasn't sure whom it belong to as his mind was preoccupied. "Michael?"

"Yeah?" He answered absentmindedly.

"You OK?" Michael turned his head to look at his best friend, Daniel. A look of concern flashed through his friend's eyes, making him guilty for worrying the other man.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. Just a little tired, is all." He replied, forcing the muscles of his face to form a fake smile. As much as he trusted Daniel, he didn't want to worry him. If he'd told him the dreams he'd been having, Daniel would cling to him like a little child, asking and being overly-concerned about his well-being. Almost like a mother hen. So this was for the best. "What's up?"

"Are you sure? 'Cause if you're sick or anything we can get you some meds and you can rest at home. I can cover for you and all, boss will understand. I'm sure."

Michael smiled for real now. See? "I'm fine, Daniel. Trust me. Now, what's the case about?"

Daniel still had doubts in his eyes, but he brushed it away and spoke, "Well, there have been reports from Samjin, a small village in Busan, South Korea. Villagers, mostly teenagers, have claimed of seeing a spirit of a girl, looking around the age of her late teens to early twenties, roaming around the place in the middle of the night." Daniel paused, then continued. "The head villager had his grandson send an email seeking our help. They sound quite desperate to get rid of it."

Michael hummed. Spirits; he's used to seeing them, confronting them. Spirits were souls that weren't accepted by both Heaven and Hell, leaving them with no choice but to walk the Earth to find their final resting place, which was the bridge to the afterlife. Most of them were harmless, they were just lost and needed someone to help them get to their destiny. The thing Michael didn't like about them, however, was the fact that they take on the real images of their past bodies. It sounded like nothing big to Michael at first, but beautiful spirits turned out being a pain in the ass as sometimes they attract humans into falling in love with them. His job will be a hundred times more difficult if this one does the same.

Of course, because God hated them, there were also vengeful spirits. These guys were plain nasty. They seek revenge, lust after blood and want an eye for an eye. These spirits, they were intelligent. They had the ability to manipulate a human's fragile mind into obeying their every word - to kill, and many worse. And so, Daniel and him had to be extra careful. Or else they'd be dead within minutes.