Shire Bottom Chronicles

Chapter Nine

"You what?" Bane demanded. His fingers tightened around the smaller man's neck, his nails beginning to draw blood.

"It wasn't my fault," the man choked out, clawing at Bane's hand. With that, Bane tossed him across the room, causing the man to slam against the cinderblock wall with a sickening thud.

"You and Evan were working on that containment system together, and it's completely destroyed, Frank," Bane snarled, grabbing Frank's arm as he tried to flee, twisting it viciously. "Do you have any idea how much trouble it is going to start now that all of those souls are just free in the world?"

Frank's heart raced as he watched Bane's eyes turn a bright red, and his tattoos began glowing. Frank squirmed, frantically trying to escape his angry captor. He had always been warned that Bane had a temper, but this was something entirely beyond even nightmares. Bane snapped Frank's arm, grinning to reveal sharp, dagger-like teeth.

"I couldn't have known that Evan had created a backdoor!" Frank screamed, trying his best to ignore the pain. If rumors held true, things would only get worse if he showed fear. There was a terrifying screech as Bane slammed Frank's head into the wall and the world around him went black.

* * *

It was official. All of the souls had been released. The town was crawling with hooded figures trying to track the spirits down. Allie spent what felt like hours talking to Claude, who led them to a crypt on the far side of the cemetery to hide.

Claude explained that there were three of them who had made a bargain with the Devil to save the small town from collapsing during the Depression. Using an ancient spell book, they summoned a being that had great power. However, it tried to escape into the world so they had to imprison it with strong magic. Bo ended up feeling sorry for the beast and helped it escape. Then the beast attacked them, and that was the last thing Claude remembered.

Allie's jaw dropped as she listened. Who was this mysterious entity? Was it a creature from another dimension? Matt had told her once that there were many worlds out there with life on them besides earth. He never went into much detail, and she was surprised he'd talked to her about it at all.

"The reapers will be searching all night. You better leave the cemetery now," Claude insisted.

"Okay, thanks for telling us your story, Claude," Allie said. Some things were clearer now, but more questions remained. The three men who founded Shire Bottom were Bo Gibbs, Claude Gibbs, and Giovanni Kaliwse. But Claude hadn't mentioned the tragedy that befell Giovanni's family. So the whereabouts of the youngest son were still unknown. Allie reluctantly followed Mason and Kaycee out of the crypt and they returned to Allie's car.

After dropping Mason and Kaycee off at their house, Allie drove home. Jesse was asleep in their room, so apparently he had left the cemetery with Matt. She was too exhausted to wake him, so she quickly dressed in her pajamas and climbed into bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Matt arrived back at Crimson Inc. around six a.m., after a quick stop to sleep for a couple of hours and help take care of Rory's new puppy. He didn't sleep much anymore; he suspected it was a side effect of the T.V. It never seemed to affect him in a negative way, but he could feel totally rested on only two hours of sleep and stay awake the next twenty-two. As he parked, he was surprised to see the black Ferrari sitting in the parking lot. That car belonged to the one and only Bane Morningstar.

Matt had only thought about telling Komazzi about the incident, but it appeared that Bane already knew. He rarely worked out of Crimson Inc., usually opting to work remotely from home. When he showed up in the development facility, it was never good news. Matt headed upstairs and noticed that the office was completely dead; the usual bustling lobby was empty.