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Judy Jamison stepped over the threshold of the decaying old house it was located just outside Spinney State Park in Colorado, the house had once belonged to a Park Ranger and his family but something terrible had happened in the old house and now no one would go near it now not even the other Rangers, they claimed it was haunted by a violent spirit. She was followed by father Jonathan Deacon, a priest and exorcist who had been partnered with Judy ever since she began work for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence, before that she had been an art student but found it wasn’t what she wanted for herself, she didn’t like other artists and the thought of becoming like them left her with a bad taste in her mouth. She had always had a talent for seeing the memories an object held and wanted to use this ability for good. That is when she found the BPRD who employed a host of other people with unusual talents for the purpose of finding, researching and keeping control over all things strange and ‘paranormal’.

A shiver ran through her, chilling her to the bone, she felt there was definitely something in the old house, a feeling that was confirmed as the front door slammed shut behind Jonathan and refused to open again.

“Calm down Mister Deacon, we aren’t leaving until whatever is holding that door shut is gone anyway.” The priest sighed and pulled a rather large wooden crucifix out of his small bag of personal effects and hung it around his neck, there was an intricate pattern of gold inlay on the crucifix which was both garish and strangely beautiful. Jonathan had explained to Judy on their very first mission together that the patterns were said to have been designed by the angels themselves and were much older than the Christian religion. Personally it didn’t matter to Judy where the patterns came from so long as they worked to send restless spirits to the afterlife. The priest then took out and lit a candle as part of the sermon he was going to perform to send the spirit on.

“You had best be careful with that Mister Deacon the wood in this old place is very dry.” Judy told him as she carefully stepped forward, she feared the wooden floor was rotten and would give way to the cellar below.

“No worries my dear, you know I always am.” He had a soft soothing voice but she knew it could grow large and mighty at a moment’s notice.

“So where do we find our spirited friend?” He asked Judy, she sighed and carefully removed one of her white leather gloves, touching a darker spot on the floor, she drew in a sharp breath, it was a bloodstain and it led to a pair of stairs leading downward, into the cellar.

“We go down.” She said straightening herself and pointing to the dark stain on the floor which left a trail for them to follow.  As they descended into the darkness below Judy was glad of the priest and his candle following closely behind her, the stairs had grown weaker with age and she tried to step carefully but she slipped and was forced to grip the stair railing with her un-gloved hand, an image presented itself before her eyes, a boy of no older than seven being dragged down the stairs by a large white creature.

“Jonathan something is not right with this.” She said, stopping to right herself and catch her breath, her heart was racing with the same fearful adrenaline the boy had felt.

“What do you mean my dear?”

“This stain, it’s from a little boy, he was being dragged down here by some monster.” The priest put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly by it did nothing to calm her nerves.

“What sort of monster?”

“Like some sort of... Fishy... Aquatic... Amphibian thing! I don’t know how to explain it! Just a monster, it dragged the boy down here.” She was letting the boy’s panic get the better of her, surly after all these years such a monster wouldn’t still be hanging around.

“It’s alright my child, the power of god will protect us. Now let us continue.” She took a few steadying breaths and took the hand of the priest as she continued down the steps to the bottom. It was too dim to see much by the tiny candle light but the dark stain was still clearly visible, it was smeared everywhere, obviously the child could not have survived.

“I know it is hard but see what else you can see.” Jonathan urged Judy, he knew some cases had been tough on her, with her power she had witnessed some horrific things over the years but she seemed able to rise above them, the priest even thought it made her stronger. She knelt and took a deep calming breath, she could just barely make out the shapes of a few old shelves in the dank cellar there were no windows so Jonathan’s candle provided the only light.

She sat back on her feet and touched the largest dark stain on the floor, she saw the boy being dismembered by the monster, it looked like a large blue newt with green spotty markings and a horrible set of teeth and claws. It also had the ability to stand and take small steps on its hind legs, the boy’s parents came down to find their son slain by the monster, the father falling into a fit of insane rage, running to grab his shotgun he charged up to shoot the beast at point blank but it was too fast and slipped up the stairs, knocking the wife down them in the process. The father knelt in the mess of his son’s remains weeping the life he had built was now ruined and there would be no rest for him ever, when his wife came to cry with him he shot her with the gun, insane with grief and then turned the gun on himself.

The temperature dropped as she came out of her vision and a strong breeze whipped up in the stale air of the cellar but the Priest’s candle did not extinguished, instead it burned brighter than ever. A frightful spectre appeared, its head mostly blown to bits with but one eye dangling from a half destroyed socket, it was the ranger, the father of the family reaching out to grab at her from the darkness, but he could not touch her while the light from the priests candle shielded her so instead he began to make the shelves quake and rumble, slowly moving them towards the two agents, Jonathan helped Judy up with his free hand.

“You will not frighten us spirit.” He said sternly before turning to Judy.

“What did you learn my dear?” He asked her.

“A strange creature, probably from the lake came in and killed the ranger’s son, he lost his mind and killed his wife and himself in grief, and his spirit has been stewing in this awful place ever since, waiting for it to return.” She told him quietly, speaking rapidly, he may not have been afraid but she certainly was, she had never seen a spirit move something as heavy as the shelves before. Jonathan had to duck to avoid a box that was hurled their way. His holy protection could not stop solid objects.

“I will need time to prepare my ritual, try to distract it.” He leaned in close to Judy’s ear to tell her, she stepped towards the quaking shelf tentatively, thinking that perhaps she could reason with the spirit.

“I know what happened here, I saw what you went through I don’t think anyone deserves to come home to find their son being eaten by some monster ahh-“ She shrieked and stepped out of the path of an old shovel was thrown like a javelin at her.

“I know you are wounded spirit but if you would just calm down and cross over to the other side you could be with your family once again, I am sure they are waiting for you.” She continued her voice waivered as the shelf moved half a foot closer. She wondered if the ghost was going to hurl that at them too.

“I’m ready now.” Jonathan told her quietly, she was momentarily distracted as he stood up again with a bottle of holy water in his other hand and a jar of preserves hit her hard in the forehead, everything after that was all stars and darkness.

She awoke some time later to find the priest kneeling next to her, his hair was tussled but he seemed unharmed and he had a look of relief on his face, her head pounded and at first she wasn’t sure where she was.

“It’s over child the spirit is gone.” It must be a mission she thought, sitting up with a little help from Jonathan, she looked around and the memory of the dank cellar came back to her.

“How do you feel? You were struck in the head.” Her hand went to her forehead where the throbbing originated and came away warm and sticky with blood.

“My head hurts, but I’m alright.” She nodded but stopped as it made her head hurt further, the Priest helped her up and she swayed, feeling disoriented.

“I think we’d better visit the doctor when we get back to Headquarters. You do seem to have a bit of a concussion.” He began helping her up the stairs as if she were an old woman, something she wasn’t sure she appreciated, she didn’t think a little bump on the head was worth worrying about, all she needed now was a nice long nap, this concussion business was just nonsense.

“Concussion? But I’m fine see, even walking on my-“Just then her footing slipped a little and the Priest had to catch her, the world drifted around a little and she gripped the handrail firmly with her gloved hand before continuing on there would be no arguing about it now, she would have to see a doctor. A small plane would be waiting at the airport to take Judy, Jonathan and three other agents that had been on a separate mission and Jonathan insisted Judy stay awake for the whole time. By the time they got back to headquarters she had been awake nearly 30 hours and anyone who didn’t know better would swear she was a bit drunk, exhaustion does that to some people.