Having gathered her team Monzel reached out and tapped the house and sat back.
"It seems that sinister events transpire around a certain family house, in a certain suburb of Gravenville. Your previous success brought to light the grisly antics of an unhinged old lady, but the grim history of this house stretches further into the past. It would seem that the house was built on the sight of an ancient chicken burial ground, the pit for the Calamityville Poultry Slaughterhouse. So many chickens and turkeys were slain and thrown into the earth, their troubled essences await retribution."
"The troubled mind of one Carol-Ann Hutz, a child who has already witnessed your power once has become home for Hardboiled, a gestalt of the headless necks and ruffled feathers of the departed. Aid this poltergeist in emptying the house of rational mortal presence and we will acquire a valuable new ally."
Monzel turned to survey the Haunters before her. "Boo, Buck, Clatterclaws." She said, knowing the trio would work well together. "Firetail, Moonscream…and Hogwash." She continued as the rest of the team stepped away from the opening portal…
Appearing on the lawn of the house Monzel noticed that it looked largely the same though this time there was only one spirit to free. Leading her team through the front wall the Ghost Master wasted little time locating the floating mass of feathers that was Hardboiled.
Having been there before Monzel realized that the best places to set up would be in the living room and hallway. Splitting her team between the rooms she was pleased to note the pair of mortals lounging on the couch.
At a signal from Monzel Hogwash sent a wave of electricity through the room, shocking the mortals to their feet and sending off sparks from the stereo he was bound to.
As they ran in separate directions Monzel noticed the younger of the two pausing beside a table in the hall and picking up the phone that lay there. Monzel thought little of it until she remembered one of her lessons with Rakarth: "Though the Spirit World is strong, Mortals are not without their defenses."
"Clatterclaws! Get him!" Monzel shouted to the spider hanging lazily above her head. As a massive number of spiders fell from the Horde's web and flooded the hall the mortal dropped the phone in terror and continued his flight from the room.
Calling Boo and Moonscream back to her side she rebound them to the room. "Guard this phone." She said. "We don't want them calling for help." As Monzel moved away she scolded herself for nearly putting her team in danger. The young Ghost Master was determined not to make the same mistakes she'd made on her last visit to the house.
After stopping several more attempts by the mortals to reach the phone Monzel took the fright higher into the house. Buck was positioned outside with orders to chase anyone who ran into the yard while Clatterclaws was free to roam the house with his hordes.
Fortunately the presence of Hardboiled kept Carol-Ann from even noticing the haunting around her. As a bonus the poltergeist had full access to his powers unlike some of the other spirits she'd freed.
As one of the women of the house fled off the property Monzel realized that they were nearly done. Aside from Caron-Ann there were only two mortals left in the house. Of them Marcia was already running for the boundary with Buck on her heels and Diana was trying to find a spot away from the spiders that fell from Clatterclaws web.
As she watched Marcia flee over the boundary line moments after Diana she saw the teenage mortal pause…at a payphone.
Monzel knew there was nothing she could do. The boundary marked the edge of the haunting area and none of her team could get past it. Thinking quickly she cut off the flow of Plasm to her haunters, letting their powers recharge while they awaited visitors.
It was probably 5 minutes before a mortal in a grey jumpsuit appeared at the border. Quickly taking in the pack on his back she felt a wave of fear flow through her.
It was a Ghostbreaker, a part of the most powerful of the Spirit World's mortal enemies. The high-tech gear they carried allowed them to not only locate but banish a ghost from the mortal realm with great speed.
Monzel remembered another part of her training though: Both the powers of witches and mediums and the technology of the Ghostbreakers only detected Haunters that were receiving a flow of Plasm for their powers. Knowing the timing would have to be perfect to pull off the plan formulating in her mind the Ghost Master gathered her team around her.
Laurence Murray kept checking his scanner as he entered the house. Not even the tiniest bit of activity was showing up but the Ghostbreaker knew that whatever had driven the family out must still be hanging around.
As he moved along the hallway toward the kitchen the scanner started beeping. Ready for whatever he was about to find Murray burst through the door…to find nothing but a bunch of sparking kitchen appliances.
Tightening the grip on his weapon the Ghostbreaker glanced nervously around the room as the beeping intensified. The sudden appearance of a groundhog with sunglasses startled him into action. As tendrils of white light hit the ghost Murray wondered how such a small creature could have scared off a whole family.
Laurence was so focused that he didn't notice the platter flying across the room until it crashed into him, sending him sprawling to the kitchen floor. It only took him a second to regain his footing but that was enough time for the fleas to make their move, leaping from the matted fur of a dog that appeared in the doorway and hopping onto the mortal…
Monzel watched with a pleased expression on her face as her team distracted the Ghost Breaker. "After him! Don't let him calm down!" Monzel shouted as Buck and Boo took off after the Ghostbreaker.
The duo drove Murray across the hall to the living room. The moment he crossed the threshold his scanner went crazy. He skidded to a halt as a wall of flames leapt up in front of him and a massive number of spiders appeared from thin air and coated the room in writhing arachnid bodies.
Laurence was on the verge of blind fear but the last straw was the sight of the white-haired woman that floated in through the wall. The breaker fled out to the porch with Moonscream's terrible form following him…
Hardboiled appeared at Monzel's side as she watched Carol-Ann, now free of the poltergeist's presence flee the property. Not able to actually understand the ghosts clucking she just nodded and turned as the gold plasm was absorbed into her handbook.
Looking forward to her next mission Monzel opened the portal and led her team through…