A few weeks after the Sumatran INFESTATION incident, inside the (S.P.E.A.R.) SUPERNATURAL PROTECTION EXTERMINATION, ACQUISITION AND RESEARCH agency head quarters, Facility One.

  A woman with red fiery hair adjusted the phone on her ear as she stared at the elevator's level indicator. It slowly moved down to her floor level, its light blinking as it paused to collect its passengers from the the upper floors.

  A maintenance engineer wearing the usual blue uniform smiled and said hi as he passed by. Cathrynne replied with a curt nod and smiled back.

  "I'm here in the hangar right now. What is it? Okay-okay. Wait, I'll be there in a minute." Cathrynne hung the phone up as she entered the elevator in the hangar. Agent Selina stood inside looking a bit spent.

  "Hey, didn't know you arrived," Selina said, her black hair tied into a pony tail. It complemented her faded Black Sabbath shirt.

  "Yeah, three hours ago."

  "How was the mission?"

  Cathrynne pressed a button. "A lot stressful than I expected." A lot dangerous too, she thought.

  "Hmm, you'll get used to it. Don't worry."

  Cathrynne nodded. "Heard the news an hour ago. That was crazy. How could that even happen?"

  "Hmm... yeah. It caught me off guard too. Almost didn't made it. Anselm had to dragged me out." Selena tucked her sleeve to show the bruise on her wrist. The rest of her left forearm was bandaged tight. "They were practically spreading like fungus when we arrived."

  "What happened there?"

  "I felt really weird when I faced them," She paused to think of the right word to say, "like being hypnotized. We had to burn the whole place down just to be sure."

  "Well, I'm glad you all came out okay," Cathrynne said.

  "Yeah. If it weren't for Anselm I would've-" Selena cut herself off and shook her head in dismay.

  "Don't say that."

  "Guess luck was on our side. Hey, Doyle's very impressed, couldn't stop talking about you," Selena said. "Did all of his story happened while you were at Sumatra?"

  "Didn't really get out of it unharmed." Cathrynne's wounds from that mission was slowly healing, only a bandage in her forearm gave the obvious trace of her ordeal in the cave. "Doyle's just exaggerating."

  "Yeah, he tends to do that" Selena smiled. "He wouldn't be Doyle if he didn't. But I think he wouldn't lie too. So, stop selling yourself short." The elevator doors opened. "Hey, I guess this is my stop," Selena said as she went outside, patting Cathrynne's shoulder on the way. "Talk to you later, Agent."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "Bye," Cathrynne said, her cheeks red. Its been two weeks since the promotion but she still wasn't used to it. She still wasn't used to the attention.

  Cathrynne didn't like it. But with Doyle spreading it like wild fire it was almost impossible to meet someone who didn't know. Some of the other agents even compared him with Agent Anselm. It was nice being compared to him. But she knew it wasn't true and it's getting to the point where it was already interfering with her job. Now, she just wants to lie low for awhile. And let her newfound fame die down.

  The elevator halted and its doors sprung open to the final floor. The light seemed to spread to where Carnacki stood. The R and D department of the S.P.E.A.R.A. facility had the second largest room area in the whole facility. From the ceiling down to the tiled floor, everything was white and bright like a temple to a germophobic God.

  She stood and looked around. They didn't spare a can of white paint in here, she thought. She glanced at the glass windows along the hallway. People in lab coats were busy with their individual work, whether it be testing a new "equipment" or studying the prolonged exposure of human tissues with different ectoplasmic materials. All were busy trying to make a small difference. Cathrynne continued the search for the boy and ignored the curiosities of the laboratory rooms.

  She hesitated then continued walking in the pristine hallway when he saw the boy in a white lab coat. He stood at the end of the hallway holding a door behind him. He waved frantically, face full of excitement. She smiled at the boy.

  "Ah. Heard about the exploits of Cathrynne Carnacki from Doyle didn't know the 'heroine' herself would visit me," Frank said as he adjusted his glasses.

  Cathrynne shook her head in annoyance. "Seriously, you too?"

  "I've been hearing a lot of talk lately."

  "What talk?"

  "With you showing so much potential and them issuing you a relic." He smiled.

  "God. It really gets annoying you know." Cathrynne had a ghost of anxiety in his face. "It's not even official yet." She shook her head. "Tell me if it is official, okay?" She said annoyance clear in her tone.

  Frankie's eyebrows furrowed. "Didn't they told you that you're under observation for a relic issuance?"

  Cathrynne raised her hand placatingly. "No, if you didn't told me I'd still be clueless right now."

  "What? Don't worry I'll talk to Director Trent he'll sort this out," Frankie said as a smile began to form in his face.

  "Ah. Are you going to tease me to death? You could've just called you know." Cathrynne craned her head as she looked around." What are you going to show me anyway?"

  "I took a looked at the designs you gave me. Most of them won't work. I only salvaged two of your designs and tweaked them a bit. I made a working prototype already."

  "Whoa,really?"

  "Yeah I did," Frankie said, "come inside, we're going to test them." Frankie opened the metallic door of his laboratory. The room was filled with shelves full of beckers and vials of all sizes, a computer in the corner blinked as it calculated numbers and algorithms. Frankie led her to the two-way mirror overlooking a dark room. Carnacki leaned and cupped hear hands to see what's inside the other room.

  "What's that? Do you feel it? I kinda feel jumpy just standing here," Carnacki said. She turned, her brow raised. The place felt glum and heavy like a dark mass of negativity landed on her shoulders. She could feel its tendrils wrapping around her neck like a hangman's nose.

  Frankie stared back at her. "What?"

  "Light it up."

  Franklin walked over the edge of the two way mirror and clicked a button. The rooms white light blinded Carnacki as it lit the dark room behind the two-way mirror. She blinked a couple of times to see straight. And when she did, she had to double back at the horrific thing in the other room...