I picked up a bag of honey roasted peanuts, debating on if I wanted them or not. Shrugging, I added them to my ever-growing handful of goodies. I swear, if this doesn't make me gain weight, I don't think anything will.

My aunt decided to stop at a gas station to fill up the RV and get some snacks. She was currently paying the checker guy for the gas while I was doing my snack shopping.

" You're that paranormal investigator, aren'tcha?" The man asked my aunt.

" I'm one of them." She replied shortly as the guy laughed.

" 'Course ya are. Chasing things that don't exist."

" All in the eyes of the beholder, sir." My aunt replied with a wink before she turned from the slightly irritated man and joined me in my quest for junk food.

" Finding anything good?" She asked as she looked at my stash.

" Warheads and Sour Skittles." I replied. " And a couple Hershey bars." She laughed and grabbed a Snickers and a Reese's.

" Well, I think that's enough sugary junk for a while," Valerie stated, looking at me. " What do you think."

" I think it'll hold me over." I replied with a grin as we made our way to the checkout.

After glaring down the cashier and getting back on the road, I started stuffing my face full of the junk I just got. My aunt shot me amused looks from time to time as I finished a couple bags of chips and a Hershey bar.

" So," I said, licking the chocolate off my fingers. " You said you met a powerful demon?"

" Ah, I was wondering when you'd ask." My aunt replied. " Yes, I did. I was lucky to escape him alive. He was kind enough to let me leave and continue my work." I blinked. For a demon, that was unheard of, right?

" Why'd he let you go?" I asked. " Shouldn't he have, I dunno, eaten your soul or something?" Valerie laughed.

" Oh my, I thought the same thing, actually!" She chuckled. " I figured he would kill me. One of his little followers seemed really disappointed that he didn't get a chance to hurt me, but the demon told me that what I was doing was dangerous and that if I valued my life, I'd stop my investigations. But I told him I couldn't, that people need help in the paranormal and in how to handle situations that involve such things as demons."

" What'd he tell you?" I pressed, wanting to know more.

" He was honestly surprised by my answer." My aunt continued. " He thought I would just want to investigate the unknown for my own purposes. But Allie, that's only a small part of why I do what I do. I want people to know that we have to potential to fight back against things we cannot physically see nor touch." I let her words sink in, nodding absently. I could only imagine what my aunt had gone through, what kind of creatures she's dealt with, and how many entities she had encountered, just so she can teach people to not be afraid of fighting back against the unknown.

" That's cool Aunt Valerie." I said at last, looking at her. " It's incredible, really." She smiled at me.

" Thank you, Allie." She said as she patted my shoulder. " But it's just something that I feel like I have to do. My purpose, you know?" I nodded in understanding.

" Now," Aunt Valerie cleared her throat. " Since you know what I do for a living, how about helping me in a recent case? I could use some fresh ideas." I looked at her and grinned, nodding quickly.

" Great! Then I'll start heading to the client's location." She said, speeding up a bit as I felt giddy with excitement. I wondered what this case was going to be about.

0o0o0o0o0o

I wrinkled my nose at the three-story, mansion-like building we pulled up to, studying it. It looked pretty old, certain parts of wood were splintering and beginning to fall, but other than that, it looked pretty sturdy. Just needed a paint job and a few patches and it'd look good as new.

" You ready?" I jumped at my aunt's voice, looking at her and nodding. She chuckled and ruffled my hair, causing me to whine and fix the mess she'd made. I followed her up to the house, looking around at all the kids running around and playing, shoving each other, and relaxing in the summer warmth. At least it's not hot as hell here. I thought as I smiled and waved at a few watching kids. They smiled brightly and waved back.

" Ms. Michalis, I presume?" I turned to see an elderly lady, maybe around her fifties, with her hair hidden in one of those nun hats. I blinked to make sure she was real before shaking my head. This wasn't one of them 'burn the sinners!' orphanages, was it?

" Yes, but call me Valerie." My aunt introduced. " This is my niece, Allie. She'll be with me on my case, I hope you don't mind." The old crow looked at me with her icy blue eyes, making me shudder slightly.

" Is she promiscuous in any way?" The lady asked and I narrowed my eyes in anger. Did she just say what I think she just said?

" Do I look like a slut to you, lady?" I hissed and crossed my arms, causing her to widen her eyes in shock. My aunt coughed, masking a laugh.

" A lady should not use such foul language!" She scolded and I rolled my eyes.

" Yeah, what are you, my mom?" I snorted and looked away. " I'll do what I want with my life." The woman huffed and looked at my aunt, who regained her composure and met the old crow's gaze.

" You might want to lay down some rules for this… child." The woman hissed at me and I shrugged.

" She's not a child, Ms. McOlsen. She can make her own decisions." My aunt stated with a smile. The old croon huffed and began chatting with my aunt about boring things, like how she believed the children were being hunted by a demon that wanted to eat their souls or something.

I slipped away from the two adults and found myself wandering the rather large lawn of the orphanage, smiling and waving at the kids that waved at me. Seemed like there were a lot of kids here… and those damned crucifixes.

I stopped when I heard what sounded like a fight going on, quickly making my way over to the scene. Three kids, around the age of eight, surrounded a little brown haired boy. The poor kid had a nasty cut on his face and what looked to be a bruise forming under his eye.

" Hey!" I called, causing the kids to whip around and look at me in shock. Just as I thought, those three were bullying that kid.

" Y-Yes ma'am?" One of the kids asked, looking at the poor boy to his left.

" What's going on over here?" I demanded, looking at the three accusingly.

" Nothing." A blonde boy said smoothly. He must be the leader. " We were just talking, right Cory?" My eyes dropped to the bullied kid as he looked between me and the blonde kid.

" Huh… 'Just talking'…" I muttered before looking at them through narrowed eyes. " You guys better get out of here before I give you a nice 'talk', if you catch my drift." The three kids looked at each other before slowly leaving. I waited until they were out of sight before reaching out to Cory.

" Hey man, you alright?" I asked as he grabbed my hand, hauling himself to his feet.

" I'm fine, thanks." He muttered, brushing himself off. I hummed and looked at his cheek where the cut was, squinting.

" Yeah, looks like you need to get that fixed up, bud." I smiled. " My name's Allie, and if I heard correctly, your name's Cory, right?" The boy looked up and nodded meekly before looking back down. I tilting my head in thought before crouching down in front of him.

" Why were those kids picking on you, anyways?" I asked, brows furrowing in concern. " Doesn't look like this is the first time you've been through this." Cory was silent for a moment, brown hair blocking his leafy green eyes.

" …they make fun of me because of my friend…" He muttered.

" Really? Where is your friend then?" I pressed.

" He's right here, but you can't see him." Cory responded timidly. Ah, that would explain the bullying. Poor kid probably had no one to talk to.

" Hey, that's cool. You got yourself an exclusive friend just for you." I smiled as Cory gave me a weird look.

" Everyone makes fun of me for it, though." He said, looking at the ground sadly. " How is that cool?"

" Who cares what they think." I said, waving a hand. " They just don't understand." Cory rubbed his arm lightly, his lips twitching into a small smile.

" Really?" He asked, looking at me and I nodded.

" Totes, bro. I didn't have many friends growing up, so I had a lot of invisible ones too." I told him, my smile faltering a bit as bad memories tried to make their presence known. I mentally shook them off, returning my attention to Cory. The brown haired boy was grinning from ear to ear happily at my confession.

" Wow, really!? I didn't have any friends until Jack showed up… He's the best!" Cory gushed happily, nearly jumping up and down in excitement.

Jack.

That struck a chord.

I continued smiling as Cory continued to talk about how he met Jack one day when he was all alone in his room. The gears in my mind were turning. Jack. It couldn't be the Jack I was thinking about, could it? I decided to keep my mouth shut for the time being. No need to upset the kid with gory folklore.

" Allie?" Cory asked, snapping me out of my daze.

" Yeah, bud?" I replied, looking at him. He tilted his head a bit, brows furrowing in slight concern and irritation.

" You looked like you were lost in thought." The boy stated. " Are you okay?" I blinked and nodded. This kid was sharp.

" Yeah, sorry about that." I laughed, scratching my head. " I'm a bit spacey at times." I watched as Cory looked over his shoulder, as if he were looking at someone way taller than him, and look back at me.

" Jack says you're lying."

I stiffened at the statement, blinking at the boy before grinning. Seemed like 'Jack' was already onto me.

" Does he now? About what?" I inquired. Cory was about to tell me when my aunt appeared around the corner.

" Ah, there you are Allie!" She smiled, looking at Cory. " You're already making friends, I bet?"

" Yeah," I replied. " This is Cory, and he's got an invisible friend named Jack." My aunt seemed to ponder the invisible friend part before nodding.

" Well, it's nice to meet the both of you." She said before waving at us to follow her. " Come on. Apparently, supper is ready." I huffed and sagged my shoulders.

" Who uses 'supper' anymore? It's dinner." I mumbled, standing to my feet. I heard Cory let out a small giggle and I shot him a smile, following my aunt. Cory smiled back and followed closely behind me, tugging on my shirt so I'd lean down a bit to his level.

" You made Jack laugh." He told me and I furrowed my brows.

" Really? How?" I asked, looking at the boy.

" Well, he tried to hide it, but he laughed at your supper comment." Cory grinned. " He doesn't really laugh at anything anyone says." I blinked at the statement before smiling back at the boy.

" Huh, I see. I feel honored then." I chuckled as Cory beamed. I loved seeing the kid happy.

Now I just hoped his friend 'Jack' wasn't the same Jack I was thinking of.