The ghosts had talked about Royce and Jimmy for a little while before
they decided to continue on with the telling of their 'feeding the hunger'.
There was only one ghost who had yet to tell his story.
"And you, Jackal. How was your kill?" Susan asked. Ryan's eyes lit up as he recalled the agony of his latest victim.
"It's been so long. I felt so strong. Refreshed. The screams are still ringing in my ears," Ryan said excitedly.
"Explain. I would love to hear your sadistic story," Dana said.
"Shut up, whore! I killed her! I bit and slashed and ripped. She screamed and cried and begged. It only made me bite harder!" Ryan laughed insanely. "First, I came up behind her and grabbed her with both hands around the neck. I dug my nails into her soft flesh! She cried out in horror and amazement, and of course PAIN! Then she turned around and looked at me. She saw my cage and my jacket and my face. She screamed louder than I remember any of the others screaming. It was thrilling! But there were others around, I had to stop the screaming. I covered her mouth with one hand and straddled her on the ground. I pinned her arms with my knees and I scratched at her face with my other hand. She began to cry, so I scratched at her eyes. Her tears were then filled with blood and she wriggled, trying to get free!" He then began to laugh sadistically, thinking back to that moment. "I gouged out her eyes and then I bit her neck! For a while I just lay there and sucked the blood from her neck. How I LOVE the taste of blood! The kicking was pissing me off, so I uncovered her mouth and just let her scream as I clawed at her chest and stomach and legs! She tried to hit me, but only hit the cage and began bleeding very quickly when her flesh was cut against the sharp metal! Somehow she managed to bite my hand. It pissed me off more than it hurt, so I slammed her against the cement until she was limp and lifeless! That bitch had so much pain! So much deserved pain!" His psychotic laughter echoed throughout the junkyard.
_______________________________
Walking to the cemetery, Royce was able to reflect on a lot of things from the past. His home was gone, that was the only thing he truly knew then. His world had been destroyed as if it were just nothing. He didn't know how or by what and he didn't know how long ago. He remembered drag racing. That had always been fun, no matter how dangerous it could potentially be. He remembered the adrenaline rush he got as he revved the engine at the starting line and the cheering. But that had gotten him killed. Then there was baseball. For the most part, baseball had been his life. He practiced almost everyday and if he didn't practice one day, he felt incomplete. He'd been the clean up batter ever since he'd started playing in little league when he was eight. When he came up to bat, bases loaded with two outs, top of the ninth, he always came through. He'd hit more grand slams in high school than anyone else had ever hit in the enter state. He played any position, but he was the star short stop and second string pitcher. Baseball had been good. Then there was Rayne. There wasn't a girl more gorgeous inside and out that he could think of. He'd been in love with her his enter life. She was a kindred spirit and she'd deserved the best. Her physical beauty was also great. She took care of him and she'd loved him with all of her heart. She'd told him not to go drag racing. But all of that was gone now. To where, he did not no, but he was hoping to find all of the answers that night.
As Royce approached the cemetery, he heard Jimmy reading from something that was all too familiar to him. "Royce Andrew Clayton Final Homerun 1922- 1941 Loved By All R.I.P."
"Oh yes, I remember that all too well. I read that so many times and for so many years, just so that maybe one day it would sink in. I guess maybe it did when the fury and the hunger got to me and I started killing innocent people. That was about thirty years after I died, though," Royce said.
"Nice head stone. Whose idea was it?" Jimmy asked as he ran his hand along the words.
"My parents. My baseball coach. My girlfriend."
"Girlfriend? I don't think I've ever heard you mention her," Jimmy said.
"No, I hadn't! I hadn't planned on it, either. I tried to forget!" Royce's anger was starting to boil.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know it would still hurt that much," Jimmy said apologetically. He was sincere, not sarcastic.
"It doesn't hurt! It pisses me off!" Royce cried. But the truth was, the pain was more than he could handle, even sixty years later. Physical pain, that was something he was used to. He'd built endurance against that kind of thing. However, emotional pain was something he'd never had until he began to burn in that car. He shuddered.
"C'mon. I thought we were going to find some signs of what could've happened," Jimmy said.
"Alright. Let's have a look around then. I guess you would try to look for tombstones that look newer than mine. But I don't know. Maybe they got cheap and started recycling them after I died or something," Royce was letting his mind wander and was thinking up crazy ideas.
"Sure. Who's Abigail Clayton?" Jimmy asked, pointing at a head stone.
"That's my grandmother. She died before me. Look for Roger and Maria," Royce instructed. They then began looking at all of the different head stones, searching for names. "Wow. Lefty McGregor died about six months after I did. He was our pitcher. I never thought he would die young," Royce thought out loud.
"Why'd they call him 'Lefty' and not you, too? You're a lefty, ain'tcha?" Jimmy asked, looking over the tombs.
"Yeah, I'm a lefty. I don't know why they never called me 'Lefty'. I guess it just didn't stick or something," Royce said. "Have you noticed that most of these people died about six months after I did?"
"Did you die in May?" Jimmy asked.
"Yep. May 3rd. Why?"
"Because most of these people died in November or December or January. Was there a blizzard or a flu bug or something? And if you stayed around here, then why didn't you notice?" Jimmy interrogated.
"I didn't stay around! I came and looked at the tomb and that was all! I-" Royce was cut off when he tripped over something that was just slightly above the ground. He pushed the ashes off of what appeared to be another headstone.
"What does it say?" Jimmy asked, as the one side of Royce's face became very serious.
"It's a tomb to three people. It's my parents. And Rayne," He trailed off. "They died-on the same day. All three of them. It was the first of February."
"That seems to be the last date that anyone was buried here."
"I need rest." Royce's eyes began to water as a softer side of him started to show. "They died and I didn't know! I never saw anything but my tomb. I never noticed that everything had changed. But the buildings! The buildings were still there-- I-I'm tired. I can't deal with this now."
"Yeah, I understand. Let's sleep here." They lye in the cemetery, right there, Royce on the grave of the people that mattered most to him, and Jimmy just on the ground above who ever happened to be resting under him.
________________________
The ghosts were all sleeping in the junkyard. Breaker lye on the tallest pile of cars that he could find while Susan and Dana slept in a car, Ryan slept on the hood and the others slept on the ground. Margaret slept in her son's lap, while Billy slept next to them. Isabella and George both slept in the crane. For the first time any of them could recall, the ghosts were dreaming. All except for The Hammer. While George thought he was dreaming, he was having a vision.
'"This could be our chance to save the world!" A woman of about thirty said. All of the people around her, including herself, were wearing strange robes. Some were purple and others were red and they seemed to be made of velvet. These people seemed dark, but not evil.
"That would be suicide, Kathleen!" A tall, skinny male in his mid- twenties said.
"It's the only way." They all then walked away into the darkness.'
It was quite strange, and it didn't seem to make much sense, so he just dismissed it and began to doze off began. However, his visions were not quite finished.
'"We must destroy them!" A girl with long, reddish brown hair cried. She was quite beautiful and very pure. It didn't make sense that a girl like her would be surround by the creatures she was with. Most of them had distorted faces and fangs and glowing yellow eyes.
"Why? It would take too much effort, darling," One of the older men said. His physical appearance was not like the many others with fangs and glowing eyes. He also looked human, and it didn't seem that he should be there either.
"What if he finds out? What if we are destroyed? We must banish them first!" The girl cried.
"No! It would take too much effort! He is not worth our time! He cannot harm us!" The man was getting very angry and his features began to alter. His forehead wrinkled and his eyes were now yellow and glowing. At the man's anger, the girl also became angry and her face altered as well. Now it was clear why these people were with those creatures.
"Fine, damn it!" The girl finally gave in. "But, can I at least go and play with his mind? Hurt him a little?" The man laughed. "Of course you can." Just then, in the middle of all of these creatures, whatever they were, a form of smoke appeared. Inside the smoke was Royce, asleep in what appeared to be a cemetery. All of the creatures began laughing.'
George shuddered and awoke. "We have to go help the boy," The Hammer whispered under his breath and then began to wake the others.
"And you, Jackal. How was your kill?" Susan asked. Ryan's eyes lit up as he recalled the agony of his latest victim.
"It's been so long. I felt so strong. Refreshed. The screams are still ringing in my ears," Ryan said excitedly.
"Explain. I would love to hear your sadistic story," Dana said.
"Shut up, whore! I killed her! I bit and slashed and ripped. She screamed and cried and begged. It only made me bite harder!" Ryan laughed insanely. "First, I came up behind her and grabbed her with both hands around the neck. I dug my nails into her soft flesh! She cried out in horror and amazement, and of course PAIN! Then she turned around and looked at me. She saw my cage and my jacket and my face. She screamed louder than I remember any of the others screaming. It was thrilling! But there were others around, I had to stop the screaming. I covered her mouth with one hand and straddled her on the ground. I pinned her arms with my knees and I scratched at her face with my other hand. She began to cry, so I scratched at her eyes. Her tears were then filled with blood and she wriggled, trying to get free!" He then began to laugh sadistically, thinking back to that moment. "I gouged out her eyes and then I bit her neck! For a while I just lay there and sucked the blood from her neck. How I LOVE the taste of blood! The kicking was pissing me off, so I uncovered her mouth and just let her scream as I clawed at her chest and stomach and legs! She tried to hit me, but only hit the cage and began bleeding very quickly when her flesh was cut against the sharp metal! Somehow she managed to bite my hand. It pissed me off more than it hurt, so I slammed her against the cement until she was limp and lifeless! That bitch had so much pain! So much deserved pain!" His psychotic laughter echoed throughout the junkyard.
_______________________________
Walking to the cemetery, Royce was able to reflect on a lot of things from the past. His home was gone, that was the only thing he truly knew then. His world had been destroyed as if it were just nothing. He didn't know how or by what and he didn't know how long ago. He remembered drag racing. That had always been fun, no matter how dangerous it could potentially be. He remembered the adrenaline rush he got as he revved the engine at the starting line and the cheering. But that had gotten him killed. Then there was baseball. For the most part, baseball had been his life. He practiced almost everyday and if he didn't practice one day, he felt incomplete. He'd been the clean up batter ever since he'd started playing in little league when he was eight. When he came up to bat, bases loaded with two outs, top of the ninth, he always came through. He'd hit more grand slams in high school than anyone else had ever hit in the enter state. He played any position, but he was the star short stop and second string pitcher. Baseball had been good. Then there was Rayne. There wasn't a girl more gorgeous inside and out that he could think of. He'd been in love with her his enter life. She was a kindred spirit and she'd deserved the best. Her physical beauty was also great. She took care of him and she'd loved him with all of her heart. She'd told him not to go drag racing. But all of that was gone now. To where, he did not no, but he was hoping to find all of the answers that night.
As Royce approached the cemetery, he heard Jimmy reading from something that was all too familiar to him. "Royce Andrew Clayton Final Homerun 1922- 1941 Loved By All R.I.P."
"Oh yes, I remember that all too well. I read that so many times and for so many years, just so that maybe one day it would sink in. I guess maybe it did when the fury and the hunger got to me and I started killing innocent people. That was about thirty years after I died, though," Royce said.
"Nice head stone. Whose idea was it?" Jimmy asked as he ran his hand along the words.
"My parents. My baseball coach. My girlfriend."
"Girlfriend? I don't think I've ever heard you mention her," Jimmy said.
"No, I hadn't! I hadn't planned on it, either. I tried to forget!" Royce's anger was starting to boil.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know it would still hurt that much," Jimmy said apologetically. He was sincere, not sarcastic.
"It doesn't hurt! It pisses me off!" Royce cried. But the truth was, the pain was more than he could handle, even sixty years later. Physical pain, that was something he was used to. He'd built endurance against that kind of thing. However, emotional pain was something he'd never had until he began to burn in that car. He shuddered.
"C'mon. I thought we were going to find some signs of what could've happened," Jimmy said.
"Alright. Let's have a look around then. I guess you would try to look for tombstones that look newer than mine. But I don't know. Maybe they got cheap and started recycling them after I died or something," Royce was letting his mind wander and was thinking up crazy ideas.
"Sure. Who's Abigail Clayton?" Jimmy asked, pointing at a head stone.
"That's my grandmother. She died before me. Look for Roger and Maria," Royce instructed. They then began looking at all of the different head stones, searching for names. "Wow. Lefty McGregor died about six months after I did. He was our pitcher. I never thought he would die young," Royce thought out loud.
"Why'd they call him 'Lefty' and not you, too? You're a lefty, ain'tcha?" Jimmy asked, looking over the tombs.
"Yeah, I'm a lefty. I don't know why they never called me 'Lefty'. I guess it just didn't stick or something," Royce said. "Have you noticed that most of these people died about six months after I did?"
"Did you die in May?" Jimmy asked.
"Yep. May 3rd. Why?"
"Because most of these people died in November or December or January. Was there a blizzard or a flu bug or something? And if you stayed around here, then why didn't you notice?" Jimmy interrogated.
"I didn't stay around! I came and looked at the tomb and that was all! I-" Royce was cut off when he tripped over something that was just slightly above the ground. He pushed the ashes off of what appeared to be another headstone.
"What does it say?" Jimmy asked, as the one side of Royce's face became very serious.
"It's a tomb to three people. It's my parents. And Rayne," He trailed off. "They died-on the same day. All three of them. It was the first of February."
"That seems to be the last date that anyone was buried here."
"I need rest." Royce's eyes began to water as a softer side of him started to show. "They died and I didn't know! I never saw anything but my tomb. I never noticed that everything had changed. But the buildings! The buildings were still there-- I-I'm tired. I can't deal with this now."
"Yeah, I understand. Let's sleep here." They lye in the cemetery, right there, Royce on the grave of the people that mattered most to him, and Jimmy just on the ground above who ever happened to be resting under him.
________________________
The ghosts were all sleeping in the junkyard. Breaker lye on the tallest pile of cars that he could find while Susan and Dana slept in a car, Ryan slept on the hood and the others slept on the ground. Margaret slept in her son's lap, while Billy slept next to them. Isabella and George both slept in the crane. For the first time any of them could recall, the ghosts were dreaming. All except for The Hammer. While George thought he was dreaming, he was having a vision.
'"This could be our chance to save the world!" A woman of about thirty said. All of the people around her, including herself, were wearing strange robes. Some were purple and others were red and they seemed to be made of velvet. These people seemed dark, but not evil.
"That would be suicide, Kathleen!" A tall, skinny male in his mid- twenties said.
"It's the only way." They all then walked away into the darkness.'
It was quite strange, and it didn't seem to make much sense, so he just dismissed it and began to doze off began. However, his visions were not quite finished.
'"We must destroy them!" A girl with long, reddish brown hair cried. She was quite beautiful and very pure. It didn't make sense that a girl like her would be surround by the creatures she was with. Most of them had distorted faces and fangs and glowing yellow eyes.
"Why? It would take too much effort, darling," One of the older men said. His physical appearance was not like the many others with fangs and glowing eyes. He also looked human, and it didn't seem that he should be there either.
"What if he finds out? What if we are destroyed? We must banish them first!" The girl cried.
"No! It would take too much effort! He is not worth our time! He cannot harm us!" The man was getting very angry and his features began to alter. His forehead wrinkled and his eyes were now yellow and glowing. At the man's anger, the girl also became angry and her face altered as well. Now it was clear why these people were with those creatures.
"Fine, damn it!" The girl finally gave in. "But, can I at least go and play with his mind? Hurt him a little?" The man laughed. "Of course you can." Just then, in the middle of all of these creatures, whatever they were, a form of smoke appeared. Inside the smoke was Royce, asleep in what appeared to be a cemetery. All of the creatures began laughing.'
George shuddered and awoke. "We have to go help the boy," The Hammer whispered under his breath and then began to wake the others.