HANNAH

Being a Realmwalker isn't exactly easy. Being able to interact with the living world has its risks. But sometimes Reapers assign me missions to find escaped Fallen Ones and send them back to Limbo, and guide lost spirits to the Shadow Realm.

In fact, ever since the zombie attack, the Reapers took notice of how I finally made peace with myself. So I was finally able to awaken my very own Reaper. One that's bonded to me. My Shadow Self. And what better form for it to take than my younger self?

Most ghosts meet up with their bonded Reaper upon death, but there are times when the Reaper has yet to be awakened. Well regardless, I named it just like Brian did. I call her Dana, to remind me of Danny Anderson.

Yet…my Reaper looks completely different from others. Dana has a humanoid Reaper Form, and since she's the Shadow Self of a Realmwalker, that means her human form (yes, she has one) can be seen by living beings. As a cover-up, I'll just say she's my little sister. I've…never had a sister.

The Waldhorns have tested out the rings and pendants. Lisa easily disintegrated a zombie with a single punch with all five rings, and Cory used the three pendants to fire a beam of light magic through a portion of the dark woods, illuminating it for a moment. As it turns out, that light also revealed someone to him. A kid by the name of Dustin Minium (aka Ari Davis as a switch places prank), who had been missing for days!

He had come from Camp Full Moon, the successor of Camp Spirit Moon. And he told us his story of how he was able to send many ghosts to the Shadow Realm after defeating a malicious Fallen One known as The Snatcher, who took the form of one Laura Carter and abducted one camper per year, presumably sending them to the Shadow Realm early.

Well, the good news is that we managed to get him back to camp where his little brother Logan was. We also told him to keep the whole ghost thing a secret and to contact us if he ever came across something like that again.

By the time night falls, I notice my shadow having glowing blue eyes. It then rises up, and Dana emerges.

"Hannah." She says in the voice I used to have. "The Reapers seek to inform you of something: The Snatcher, a powerful Shapeshifter Fallen One, has escaped from Limbo."

"The Snatcher?" I ask. "Oh man, this is bad. As a Shapeshifter ghost type, it could be anyone!"

"You have to track it down and stop it from escaping the woods. The Reapers can't seem to pursue, but they've sensed that the Snatcher seems to be hiding within the old camp there."

"Camp Spirit Moon." I realize. "Alright Dana. As my Shadow Self, you're gonna have to come with me on this one. Time to see what kind of Reaper powers you have."

Spirit Moon acts as a portal to the Shadow Realm. Anything can get in and out. That's why the Reapers sealed that portal once all the ghosts went back. But somehow, something must've forced it open again. Allowed the Snatcher to escape. And it sealed the portal shut again after it got out, preventing any Reapers from pursuing.

I look around the camp, examining anything I can. The Snatcher couldn't have gotten far. As I explore, I notice things that weren't there before: A basketball court, a river, some cabins, a baseball diamond, a lake, a mess hall, a river, more woods, a nearby girls camp…and a highway just out of the woods. Hey, wasn't Camp Jellyjam near a highway?

I check one of the cabins near a roasting campfire, which is odd. Inside is a note. I take a look at that note and read it.

"What's your favorite scary story?" I ask, reading it aloud.

Suddenly, the nearby campfire explodes in flame with a loud FWOOSH! I rush outside and manifest Dana. Sensing the threat, she transforms into her Reaper form and readies her scythe. I only enter my ghost form and transform into my White Lady state, readying my Ethereal Blade.

Something emerges from the fire. It's a ghosty shadowy figure with a black mask frozen in a scream, with demonic runes etched into it. A Shadow Demon…but not any Shadow Demon I've ever seen before. It readies a glowing Ethereal Knife.

"Scary night, isn't it?" The Shadow Demon says behind that mask. "Out in the middle of nowhere, all alone with no one to help you. This seems awfully familiar. Yet you're not running away. Instead you're ready to fight. That's a first."

"You're not wanted in this living world!" Dana says. "Return to Limbo from whence you came, Snatcher!"

"The Snatcher? Oh no, I'm afraid that that little busted ghost is long gone now. I'm but a shadow of my former self. The Ghost. Thank the God of Shadows for setting me free. Now, here I am, the fifth Killer. What an honor, if I do say so myself."

"Killer?" I ask. "Who are the other four?"

"I think you're trying to say 'Who are the other SIX?', Realmwalker. Like myself, they're the most powerful Shadow Demons out there. The Shadow Lord is but one of many, and we surpass him completely. Only the Shadow God can surpass us. Besides…you've only encountered Scarers before. Killers? They're a whole different ball game."

He only twirls his knife.

"Wanna see why?"

Suddenly, he vanishes! As I keep my eyes peeled, Dana vanishes as well, and my Blade begins glowing with the similar Ecto Energy that flows through a Spectral Scythe. If either one of us hits him, he'll be sent back to Limbo.

Suddenly, I hear a clash behind me. I whirl around and see The Ghost struggling with an invisible force. My Shadow Self.

She materializes and knocks him back before swiping her scythe at the Ghost, but he dodges. I manage to follow up with some slashes with blade and claw alike, and he manages to evade them easily. So I let out a banshee scream to stun him, allowing Dana to get behind him and impale the Fallen One with her scythe.

"Looks like you brought a knife to a sword fight." I only taunt before decapitating his ethereal form with my blade. His form slowly drops down…but it's not fading! What…why isn't it doing so?

Suddenly, much to my shock, the form rises back up and regenerates, any Ecto Energy wounds we inflicted on him fading away! His mask forms again as he readies a knife.

"Too bad I'm no longer a ghost. Otherwise that would've worked. But Reaper Ecto Energy can't work on me. I'm no longer bound to the Shadow Realm. Instead, I obey only the Shadow God."

He throws an ethereal copy of his knife, and I block it before having Dana fly in and swing her scythe at the Ghost. But any Ecto Energy wound we inflict on him fails to work, as he doesn't go back to Limbo! Is this…do ALL Shadow Demons possess this immunity?!

The Ghost suddenly splits in two, one of its copies focused on me while Dana fights the other one. And much to my shock, the Shadow Demon is actually able to HURT Dana, and I feel the exact same pain! I don't believe it! Ghosts can only be touched by other ghosts! Yet Shadow Demons can easily do the same! We may not be able to die, but the pain is still there.

Blades continue to clash until Dana manages to slash a copy, destroying it and leaving only the real Ghost left. But despite all my training, Dana and I are still bested by this thing!

I'm left exhausted, and I'm unable to maintain my White Lady form for much longer as I flicker back, depowered.

"Now comes the part where the girl dies. Forever."

Dana retreated back into my shadow, and I got back up to see The Ghost take off its mask. And once it does, I'm shocked at the face underneath.

It's…mine.

The Ghost silently raises some kind of shadow pistol, and pulls the trigger, aiming for the head.

BANG!

As quickly as it flies towards me, Dana emerges in her Reaper form and swings her scythe to destroy the bullet, defending the soul she's bonded to. But at least she buys me enough time to come up with a plan…

The final girl suddenly began conjuring fog from her ghostly body, and he could barely see through it. So he did the only thing he could.

Floating up to the girl, he raised his Ethereal Knife, glinting in the green moonlight, and swung it down, ready for that sickening feeling of cutting through ghostly flesh and bone.

THUNK!

Only for it to hit the bare dirt and soil, where the girl once was. In alarm and confusion, he pulled the knife out. The fog obscured his vision further before clearing. The girl was gone. Likely having gotten far away by now. Disappointed, he floated away, vanishing into thin air as he returned to his master. Of course, the final girl had the choice to survive, and just got lucky, managing to escape from him.

But next time, she wouldn't be so lucky. And there WOULD be a next time…