Ghostbane

Richard stepped into Amelia's dimly lit room, the door creaking slightly behind him. The curtains were drawn, allowing only a sliver of morning light to peek through. The air smelled faintly of herbal medicine, probably something Nat had prepared to help her granddaughter recover.

Amelia lay on the bed, her breathing steady but face pale. She looked exhausted even in her sleep. Richard took a deep breath, remembering the checklist George had given him. He wasn't used to this—checking on someone after an exorcism—but George had made it clear that it was part of the job.

Richard reached into his bag and pulled out Max's homemade machine—a compact device covered in wires, tiny screens, and some weird symbols Max had drawn all over it. Richard had no idea how it worked, but Max swore it was "cutting-edge supernatural tech."

As he turned it on, the device made a faint buzzing sound. A small screen lit up, displaying Amelia's vitals along with some energy readings. Richard watched as a thin bar flickered up and down, indicating her spiritual energy. The levels seemed normal—whatever ghost had possessed her was definitely gone.

In the background, voices started to rise from outside the room. Richard paused for a moment, his ears catching the heated argument between Nat and her son.

"I told you, Mom! You shouldn't have hired these scam artists!" The man's voice was sharp, filled with frustration.

"And I told you, boy, that you don't tell me what to do!" Nat snapped back, her tone fierce despite her old age.

Richard sighed. Great. Family drama.

He tried to tune it out, refocusing on his task. He placed a hand on Amelia's forehead to check her temperature—still a bit warm, but nothing alarming. He flipped open his notepad and jotted down a few notes.

Meanwhile, the argument outside continued.

"She was possessed, damn it!" Nat said, her voice laced with frustration.

"She was sick, not possessed! I've read about cases like this—hallucinations, paranoia, mental illness! That's what she has!"

"Oh really? And tell me, smart boy, what sickness makes your daughter float in mid-air and speak in a dead man's voice?"

Silence. For a moment, it seemed like Nat's son had no answer. Richard smirked slightly, shaking his head. Nat 1, son 0.

He was about to take another note when a sudden voice made him freeze.

"Are my dad and Nana fighting again?"

Richard's breath hitched. His head snapped toward the bed, and there she was—Amelia, wide awake, looking at him groggily.

"Holy shit—" Richard almost dropped his notepad.

"Huh?" Amelia blinked, confused.

Richard cleared his throat, trying to play it cool. "Uh, I mean—yeah, kinda."

Amelia sighed, rubbing her forehead. "They always fight over dumb things."

Richard shrugged, "Well, this time, I think it's about you."

Amelia tilted her head slightly. "Yeah, figures."

She then looked at him more closely. "Wait… who are you?"

Richard blinked. Right. She doesn't know me.

"Oh. Uh, Richard Cross. Exorcist." He held out his hand in an awkward introduction.

Amelia stared at his hand for a moment before slowly shaking it. "Amelia."

"Yeah, I know." Richard smirked.

"Figures." Amelia smirked back, then leaned back against her pillow.

Outside, Nat and her son were still arguing. Richard sighed, deciding to just ignore it.

For now, his focus was on Amelia.

Richard leaned against the chair beside Amelia's bed, flipping open his notepad. George had given him a list of standard post-exorcism checkup questions, and while it felt weird playing doctor, he had no choice but to follow through.

"Alright, Amelia. I've gotta ask you a few questions." He clicked his pen. "It's protocol."

Amelia sighed dramatically. "Great. A supernatural health check-up. Go ahead, doc."

Richard smirked. "First question—how are you feeling?"

Amelia stretched her arms slightly before answering. "Honestly? Tired. My head still kinda hurts, but other than that, I feel fine."

Richard noted it down. "Alright. Next—do you still feel like you're being watched?"

The moment he asked, Amelia's expression shifted. She glanced away, biting her lip slightly.

Richard caught it immediately. "…That's a yes, isn't it?"

"No." Amelia answered a little too quickly.

Richard narrowed his eyes. "That's a lie."

Amelia sighed again, this time more reluctantly. "…It's just in my head, I think. But sometimes, I feel like there's… something. I don't know how to explain it."

Richard paused, tapping his pen against the notebook. "That's not uncommon after an exorcism." He nodded to himself. "Your body and mind went through something crazy. It could just be paranoia."

Amelia nodded slowly, though she didn't seem entirely convinced.

"One last thing," Richard continued. "Do you remember anything from when you were possessed?"

Amelia frowned, thinking. "…It's hazy. Like a dream that I can't fully remember." She rubbed her temple. "There are bits and pieces—flashes of places I don't recognize, a voice whispering in my ear. But most of it? It's just… blank."

Richard scribbled in his notepad, but a thought nagged at him. The way she was avoiding eye contact, the hesitation—it felt like there was more she wasn't saying.

Before he could press further, the argument outside suddenly came to an abrupt stop.

Silence.

Then, a familiar voice broke through the tension.

"Oi, what the hell is going on here?"

Richard immediately recognized that voice. A second later, he heard the front door open and footsteps approaching.

No way.

Sure enough, a few moments later, the door to Amelia's room swung open, and in stepped Max.

Richard groaned internally.

Max took one look at the scene—Richard sitting next to Amelia's bed, notepad in hand, Amelia awake but looking tired—and then immediately pointed at Richard.

"Wait—why the hell are YOU here?"

Richard blinked. "Uh… what?"

"Why the fuck are you here?" Max repeated, crossing his arms. "You're not supposed to be the one doing checkups."

Richard sighed. "George sent me."

Max's eyes widened. "HE SENT YOU? Instead of ME?"

Richard shrugged. "Guess I'm the favorite disciple now."

Max scoffed. "Yeah, okay, buddy. Keep dreaming."

Amelia raised an eyebrow at their exchange. "You guys fight like siblings."

Max turned to her. "Oh, trust me, sweetheart, if I had a brother as annoying as him, I'd have put myself up for adoption."

Richard rolled his eyes. "You'd get rejected."

Max smirked. "Nah, they'd adopt me and send YOU back to the orphanage."

Amelia chuckled weakly at their banter, shaking her head. "You two are something else."

Max finally turned serious. "Alright, enough jokes. How's she doing?"

Richard flipped through his notes. "She's fine, just a mild headache. No signs of spiritual residue or lingering possession."

Max nodded, then looked at Amelia. "You getting any weird dreams? Shadows in the corner? Random creepy whispers?"

Amelia shook her head. "Nope. Just a headache."

Max studied her for a moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle.

"Take these after lunch and dinner. They'll help."

Amelia took the bottle, inspecting it. "What is it?"

"Medicine," Max said vaguely.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Real medicine or some bootleg shit you mixed in your basement?"

Max smirked. "Little bit of both."

Richard sighed. "If she grows a second head, I'm blaming you."

Max ignored him and turned back to Amelia. "You'll feel better after a few days. If anything weird happens, tell your Nana."

Amelia nodded. "Thanks… both of you."

Richard shrugged. "Just doing our job."

Max clapped his hands together. "Cool, now that we're done with the checkup, let's move on to more important business."

Richard frowned. "What business?"

Max's expression darkened slightly. "Oliver."

Richard groaned. "Dude, are we seriously still talking about that freak?"

Max shot him a look. "Yes, we are."

Richard turned to Amelia, realizing his mistake. "Uh—sorry, that came out wrong."

Amelia simply shook her head. "Nah. It's fine. He is a freak."

Richard raised an eyebrow. "That bad, huh?"

Amelia sighed. "You have no idea."

Max leaned against the wall. "Well, we're about to find out. I'm looking into Oliver and his little 'ritual' from last night."

Richard furrowed his brows. "Why? We already kicked his ass."

Max smirked. "Yeah, but what about the people who helped him?"

That made Richard pause.

"…You think there are more of them?"

Max nodded. "I'm sure of it. Our job as exorcists isn't just about getting rid of ghosts—it's about preventing new ones from showing up."

Richard sighed. "You just wanna play FBI again, don't you?"

Max grinned. "Guilty."

Richard shook his head but couldn't help smirking. "You're such a pain in the ass."

Max clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's get to work."

Richard groaned. "Fine. Let's just get this over with."

With that, the two exorcists prepared to dive into another investigation—one that might uncover more than they expected.

Richard ran a hand through his hair, sighing as Max started pacing around the room like some detective in a crime thriller.

"Alright, so what's your brilliant plan, Sherlock?" Richard asked, crossing his arms.

Max smirked. "Simple. We gather intel. If Oliver had backup last night, there's a good chance they're still out there doing dumb shit. That means they might come after Amelia again."

Amelia tensed at the mention of Oliver's name, gripping the bedsheet slightly. Richard noticed.

"Relax, alright?" he said, glancing at her. "We already stomped his ass once. He's not doing shit now."

Max, however, had a different take. "Unless he's an idiot, which—let's be real—he probably is. But I don't like taking chances."

Richard rolled his eyes. "Okay, FBI agent, what do we do? Start interrogating high schoolers? Kick down some lockers?"

Max ignored him and turned to Amelia. "Did Oliver ever mention anything weird? A group he hung out with? Places he liked to go? Anything that didn't seem normal?"

Amelia hesitated. "I mean… Oliver was always kind of a creep. He had these weird friends, but I never really met them. He kept a lot of things to himself."

Max pressed further. "What about the cemetery? Did he ever talk about it before?"

Amelia frowned, trying to recall. "Now that I think about it, yeah. He used to brag about how he'd go there alone at night. Said he felt 'connected' to something there."

Richard scoffed. "Yeah, to his brain damage."

Max, however, was deep in thought. "The cemetery was his place. If his 'friends' were real, chances are, they met up there too."

Richard sighed. "Alright, so what? We go back and hope to find some losers hanging around?"

Max grinned. "Exactly."

Richard groaned. "Why do I even ask?"

Max turned to Amelia again. "One last thing—do you know anyone who might be able to tell us more about Oliver's group? Maybe one of his old classmates?"

Amelia thought for a moment before nodding. "There's this guy… Ethan. He and Oliver used to be friends before things got weird. He might know something."

Max clapped his hands together. "Perfect. Give us his info, and we'll pay him a little visit."

Amelia grabbed her phone, scrolling through her contacts before handing it to Max.

"That's his number," she said.

Max took a picture of it. "Great. We'll check him out after we take another look at the cemetery."

As Max and Richard turned to leave, Amelia suddenly spoke up.

"I want to come with you."

Both of them stopped. Richard blinked. "Wait… what?"

Amelia sat up, determination in her eyes. "I want to come with you. I need to know what the hell is going on."

Max and Richard exchanged glances before Richard shook his head. "Nah, no way. You just got out of that whole mess. You need to rest."

Max nodded in agreement. "Yeah, no offense, but you're still weak as hell right now."

Amelia frowned. "I'm not weak."

Richard sighed. "That's not the point. You were literally possessed a few days ago. You should be in bed, not chasing down creeps like Oliver."

Amelia clenched her fists. "I don't care. This is about me, isn't it? If Oliver and his friends were the ones who cursed me, then I deserve to know everything. I want answers."

Richard hesitated, but Max still wasn't convinced. "Look, I get that you want closure, but we don't have time to babysit you."

Before Amelia could argue further, Nat suddenly stepped in. "Let the girl go."

All three of them turned in surprise.

Richard frowned. "Wait, what?"

Nat crossed her arms. "If she wants to go, let her. She has the right to know what happened to her."

Max sighed. "You sure about this, old lady?"

Nat smirked. "You boys might be good at fighting ghosts, but Amelia is my granddaughter. I know her well. She won't sit still while others solve her problems."

Amelia stood up immediately, as if afraid they would change their minds.

Richard groaned. "Fine. But if you slow us down, I'm blaming Nat."

Max clicked his tongue. "This is a bad idea."

Amelia crossed her arms. "Then let's go before you two change your minds."

With that, the three of them headed out, ready to continue their investigation