A/N: Hello again! Working hard for you guys to make up for the past break and maybe even any future breaks! Enjoy the new chapter!

Disclaimer: The characters are owned by a Ms. Kelley Armstrong!

The basement was about the size of the living room, the floor being covered in tiles with the washer and dryer against the wall to the left of the bottom of the stairs. Cheap wallpaper decorated the nearly empty basement, and, instead of it helping the room look friendly, just made it all the more creepy.

Although, that may have been my biased opinion. I never was one for basements.

I looked around slowly, knowing that the ghost from the bathroom had finally gotten his wish. I had finally come to the basement, so where was the door?

I didn't see the door right away, but I did notice the three tubs of laundry waiting for me by the washer, each bin representing each person. I sighed and walked over, opening one of the washers and starting to shove the laundry in.

After I had put in the soap and started the washer, a cold breeze blew past my neck. I quickly turned and looked around, the hairs on my arms and neck standing on end. The ghost was here.

"Giiiirrrrllll…. Door…. Stairs….." I jumped slightly at the voice, but quickly schooled myself before walking near the stairs.

"It's by the stairs?" I whispered.

"Under…"

Under the stairs. I walked past the stairway and looked to the dark opening underneath. I got on my hands and knees and moved closer. The lighting wasn't so great, but I was able to make out a small outline with a small handle.

"Huh, what do you know." I mumbled. The door was small, only standing about four feet tall and three feet wide. Dust had covered it completely, changing the original blue to a washed out version of the color. A lock was placed on the handle, keeping anyone from going in.

"Inside… stories…"

I got up and brushed myself off. "I can't. It's locked. I'll have to look for the…" My voice drifted off as I heard another voice, faint but present. I looked around. Just me, nothing else.

"W-was that you?" I asked the first ghost.

"No… other… story." I thought for a second, before sitting down and closing my eyes.

From what I've gathered from movies and personal experience (seeing if the movies were right with how someone summoned ghosts - for the most part, they were), sitting in a quiet room was the first step. Next, the person just had to concentrate on pulling the ghost through, then pop! The ghost would be there. Now, movies had, of course, exaggerated with cool effects and everything, but really the whole process was just some person sitting with their eyes closed in a room. It was kind of lame, though I was thankful I didn't have to read from some book of the dead or gather herbs from around the world.

"Good… pull…" I nodded, and began focusing on the faint voice that I had earlier. The ghost was being stubborn, but I continued, only kicking my power up a little. I had never tried it on full throttle, and wasn't interested in experimenting too much. Ghosts were enough to deal with when I didn't summon them.

As I kept pulling, the voice got louder. "Wait…. I think I got it." I told the first one. I decided to give one more pull. I shut my eyes tighter and gave a final tug.

Suddenly, I felt as if I was falling quickly. I struggled to open my eyes, but couldn't. My body was frozen, and I struggled to breath. I felt myself slipping.

Leather straps circled around my hands, ankles, and around my waist and forehead. I couldn't move. The air was stale and dry, smelling of rust. The light above me was bright, shining directly into my eyes.

I heard the door screech open, signaling his return. I started to struggle against the bindings. I needed to get out of here.

The light was pushed out of my eyes to reveal a shadowed face. I blinked hard, trying to get my eyes to quickly adjust.

"I see that you've awakened. How pleasant. The others have stopped waking up, so I just have you as company." I could see his figure turn away.

I felt the tears run down my face. I was next. I tried so hard to be safe from these experiments, only to end up next in line.

The man returned, holding something large in his hand. "Now, my little witch, let's see if there are any differences between a human brain and a witch's' brain." I heard the start of a drill as I screamed and begged. I knew that no one could hear me. No one but me heard the others plead for their lives. And now no one but me would hear mine.

I felt the sharp pain of the saw digging through my skin and begin cutting through my skull.

No supernatural would ever be safe. Not from Lyle, not from experimentation, not from anything.

I gasped as I opened my eyes, taking in the basement around me. Once realizing that I wasn't bound by anything, I quickly rolled onto my hands and knees and heaved, everything leaving my stomach at once.

I sobbed and gagged, begging for the man to stop.

I must've stayed like that for a while, trying to catch my brain up to where I was currently. I moved away from the pile of vomit from the floor and cautiously took in my surroundings. The terrible wall paper, the floors, the light, the washer machines. I was finally able to piece together that I was back in the basement, doing laundry. I raised a shaky, bandaged hand to feel my head, making sure that I wasn't actually drilled into, and breathed an unsteady sigh of relief as my hand came back down blood-free.

What was that?! That was too clear to be a dream. The last thing I was doing was drawing out that voice….

"Girl….. Sorry…. Didn't know…" I jumped slightly, but calmed down and started to get back up.

"I-I d-d-d-on't wa-ant to t-t-talk r-r-right n-now." I stuttered out, trying to calm my crying. I looked back to the vomit next to me and sighed, getting up and wiping my tears. I needed to clean this up before anyone noticed. I shakily made my way upstairs and to the cleaning closet, grabbing the cleaning supplies and going back down.

As soon as I had finished cleaning, I quickly made my way upstairs and, after asking the nurses, outside. The fresh air felt wonderful, and I tried to inhale as much as I could.

The smells and the feel of that room were still stuck on my skin and in my chest, making it hard to breath in there.

I walked over to one of the benches sitting by the slab of cement and the basketball hoop and sat down, staring out past the fence. The quiet was refreshing, and I shut my eyes to enjoy the cool weather.

I didn't know how long I was out there for, but I didn't care. I felt calm, I felt peaceful. I didn't even jump as I heard a pair of footsteps approach.

I didn't open my eyes until I felt someone sit next to me, seeing both Derek and Simon staring at me. Derek's glare cold and calculating, while Simon's, next to me, was surprised.

"Chloe, are you okay?" I took another deep breath before nodding, my gaze sliding to meet Derek's for a second before looking back to Simon and giving a smile.

"Fine." I said, my voice raspy. I could feel Derek's cold gaze on me, already knowing that he didn't believe me. "Is it already time?"

"How long have-" Simon was cut off by Derek.

"Does this have anything to do with the smell of barf coming from the laundry room?" Derek said coolly, sitting down on the grass in front of us.

I swallowed and pulled my hair behind my ear. "A bit." I said honestly. "I got sick again." I wasn't technically lying.

I felt… uncomfortable. Simon was too nice, I didn't want him worrying over me. I would feel guilty burdening him with my problems. They weren't his to deal with.

While Derek wasn't as nice as his brother (far from it), I didn't want to tell him either. They weren't his either.

Derek's eyes narrowed, but let it slide as he continued on with what we had planned on talking about earlier.

"How long have you been able to see ghosts?" I shifted in my seat and brought up my knees, hugging them closer to me. Simon scooted closer, offering his support. I gave him a small smile, but pushed myself a little bit away, discreetly enough to where I hoped he didn't notice.

"As long as I can remember. I knew I wasn't crazy when I found out that the people I was seeing actually existed."

"How did you figure it out?" Simon asked, curious.

I winced a little before replaying the memory. It wasn't as painful as it used to be, but I figured that I was still feeling a bit numb from the earlier encounter. "I was visiting my mom's grave with my dad. A lady was giving her condolences, and told me her name. While we walked out, a burial was taking place. Someone had dropped the casket, and the crate had opened. It was the same lady."

There was a bit of a silence as the words sunk in. I looked up to see Derek pulling at the grass, thinking.

"So, you think I'm a ne-necromancer?" I said, a little self-conscious.

"Weird word, right? But yeah, Derek and I know you are. Necromancers are known to be able to see and summon ghosts."

Derek squinted at the ground. "Yeah, though from what I've heard, they usually don't see their first ghost until they've hit puberty."

"Maybe you read it wrong." Simon added in, cheerfully.

Derek grunted. "Unlikely."

I saw Simon roll his eyes at this. He sent a smile my way. "Derek hates to admit when he's wrong." Simon got a good glare for that one.

I cleared my throat and spoke. "What are you guys?"

Simon jumped up and took a bow in front of me, taking my hand.

"Let me introduce myself. I am the great! The handsome! Wizard!" I laughed a little at his antics and pulled my hand away as he strutted proudly over to Derek and sat next to him, nugging him and telling him to loosen up. Derek muttered something about not being too loud.

"A wizard? Where's your magic wand?" Derek gave a scoff at this and Simon's ego visibly depleted.

"I wish I was as powerful as Harry Potter, but real magic doesn't work that way. You have to learn all of these incantations that are in greek and latin, then you have to work on focusing your energy… I'm okay, but Dad's way better."

"So your dad's a wizard?"

Derek grunted. "Most supernaturals get their powers from their family. It's mostly hereditary."

I nodded, wondering where I got mine from. I was sure my parents didn't have something like that. Even my aunt didn't have anything like that. Maybe grandparents?

"Okay. What about you?" I said looking at Derek. He hesitated before looking up at me.

"I'm not ready to disclose that." I frowned, but didn't press it. Simon, it seemed, wasn't agreeable with the answer either.

"Wait, that's not fair. Let's at least give her a few hints." Derek growled slightly, but didn't argue further.

"Fine." he snapped. "As you've noticed, I'm stronger than most. My hearing is above average as well as my sight. That's all I'm giving you."

"Good Derek." Simon said, patting his shoulder. Derek looked ready to pummel him.

"So… there are necromancers, wizards, and Derek. What else is there? And how many necromancers are there?"

The thought of talking to someone who could see what I saw made me excited. Maybe they had ways to stop seeing. Maybe they had come across the Thing, and knew how to deal with it.

"There are witches, which are similar to wizards but have a different type of magic. There are also shamans, who are extraordinary healers and can have out-of-body experiences. Demi-demons are also a thing, but they're hard to separate into categories. There are too many types." Simon shrugged.

I nodded slowly, trying to digest all the information given to me.

"Supernaturals together are a very small community, and you're ten times more likely to run into an Albino than another necromancer." Derek stated.

I felt my shoulders fall a bit at that. "So… that's all? I'm not going to run into any werewolves or vampires, am I?" I asked, trying weakly for a joke. Simon let out a chuckle as he met Derek's gaze before looking back at me.

"That would be pretty interesting."

Derek's rumble came in quickly after that.

"There's one thing I don't understand." He said, looking at me. "What exactly happened at your school?" His eyes darted to my hands then back to my eyes, waiting for an answer.

"Oh yeah! You've been seeing ghosts for a while now! What would scare you so badly?" Simon piped up.

I shut my eyes tightly, before telling them the whole story quickly, leaving out the more personal parts and starting just straight at the ooze. When I finished, I looked up to see Simon's face pale, and Derek's blank.

"You had to see something like that?" Simon asked quietly.

I smiled at him. "It's okay. It was only that one time. I'm pretty sure that I won't see any anytime soon, as long as I don't go back there." I was touched that he was worried, but it only proved further that I didn't need to tell him about what happened earlier.

Derek looked between the two of us before turning to Simon.

"Mrs. Talbot is calling for you. She's about to lecture you about your chores."

Simon huffed and started to get up. "I'll be right back, hopefully the lecture won't take too long." He grumbled something else as he made his way back to the house. I looked back at Derek, who was standing and watching his brother walk away.

"Your wrists. Let me see them." He turned back around and took the seat that Simon had vacated, sitting at the end of the bench and giving me space. I shifted my position and started to unwrap my hands, putting the discarded bandages in a pile next to me. I sighed as I looked at them.

"They've opened up again." I said quietly as I held them out. The scabs were ripped in some places, and blood was smeared a bit across my hands. Each side looked exactly alike, starting and ending at the same point.

"It's strange," Derek started, bending over to take a closer look at them. "They should be more healed than this. It looks as if you've gotten these yesterday."

I shrugged, shoving the bandages into my pockets. It was almost dinner time, I would just have to take the bandages off again anyway. I'll let them air out longer today.

"Ms. Van Dop said it may have been because I was scrubbing too much. I'm not allowed to do any scrubbing until my hands have healed more."

He continued staring at them as if they were a puzzle that he was trying to solve. After a few minutes, he backed up and grunted. I pulled my hands back and pulled my sleeves over them. His eyes followed my arms' movements before he spoke again.

"What happened in the basement? And don't bullshit this time. I could hear your crying."

I blushed and looked away, grumbling about having no privacy. Seriously, how was I supposed to get away with anything when the guy could apparently hear the whole house?

"T-there was a ghost. He wanted me to go to the door downstairs, but it was locked." I took a deep breath and looked at him before looking back toward the house, wishing for Simon to show up so I wouldn't have to go through the whole story.

I waited a couple minutes, but decided to continue when I could feel Derek's impatience prodding at me. I sighed heavily and continued.

"I heard another ghost, but it was distant. So I tried pulling on it, but something…. Strange happened." I shuddered slightly.

"I-I think it was a memory." I looked up to see Derek confused, and I would've laughed at the expression if the memory wasn't still hanging in my head.

"Memory? You mean a replay of how the ghost died?"

I looked at him curiously. How much did he know about necromancers? I'm sure that the average person, or even supernatural for that matter, didn't know about replays. I had seen some growing up, but it wasn't often. I would watch as the scene of the murder played out, only to repeat itself over and over again. It would only stop when I looked away.

"No… this was different. I was in the memory. I saw everything as though I was the ghost. I-" I choked a bit before biting out "I felt everything. I felt how cold the table was, how r-rough the bounds were. How t-t-the d-drill w-w-went th-through m-my -" I stopped myself and I put my head in my hands, pushing my tears back. Derek was the last person I wanted to see me cry. He would probably just mock me.

We sat there a few minutes in silence, before I decided to break it. "Is it-" I cleared my throat to try and stop the roughness of my voice. "Is it normal for this to happen?"

I turned my head slightly to see Derek staring out in front of him, his eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth, then closed it, thinking.

"I'm not Simon, I'm not going to sugar-coat things for you." He grumbled, turning to look at me.

I thought for a second before nodding at him to continue.

"I've researched as much as I can about supernaturals. Lately, I've been focused on necromancers." He said, his gaze flickering to mine before staring out ahead again. "I'm not going to say much about the creature you saw in the classroom. I think I know what it is, but I want to be sure. The visions, though… I've never heard of it. I'm almost certain that it's never been experienced before."

I sighed and laughed slightly, feeling a bit crazy. "Great, I'm the freak of freaks." He gave a bit of a grumble at that. It went quiet, and finally Simon could be seen making his way to the front door, followed by Ms. Tabolt and Ms. Gil.

A memory hit me as Derek stood up. "Wait." I said, standing with him, he turned to me, waiting.

"W-When I told Ms. Gil about the Thing, in my therapy session, there was something she wrote down in her notebook. It was circled a few times." I looked at him. "She had written down the words 'shadow person.' "

His gaze suddenly shut off, but not quick enough for me to see the quick flash of fear or the paling of his face.

"A-any idea what that m-means?" I asked quietly, afraid of his reaction.

"Yeah. If that's true, then we're not safe here. I need more time, though, to look into it."

Not safe here? I thought to myself, suddenly feeling shaky. Simon called and waved from the doorway, calling us in and saying that it was time for Derek's therapy session. I followed him inside, more questions in my head than before.