Hello all! I decided to try writing some stories instead of artwork as I think I am much more talented with words than at artwork (Though I still need some more practice : D ). This is the first part of the first chapter in P.I.R.E. Files which will hopefully have many more chapters, pending I get the time to write. Well let me know what everyone thinks of this and let me know what I need to work on.
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There was always a craving of adventure and a thirst for seeing that which shouldn’t be seen that lived deep down within Alexia. She was never content with believing what her eyes could see or what other people had told her was the truth about the world. This desire was what lead her to become a hunter of the unimaginable, one that would unearth the real truth about what the world had to offer. The only problem was that Alexia really didn’t know how she was going to go about finding leads to these places, but she was determined to find a lead somewhere.
Alexia was a young girl at the age of 23 just finished with her college studies in psychology, but she really studied paranormal activity during her college years. She was usually found wearing a tight t-shirt either pink or black or maybe a mixture of the two colors, then a pair of jeans with a decorative belt about her waist. On her feet, she had pink and black Vans that covered her socked feet since she was never without socks on. She found a job working at a small bookstore, called The Bookworm, right near the campus; so even after she was done with schooling she stuck with the job till she could follow her true passion. This lead was going to come sooner than she expected.
The day was wrapping up at the Bookworm when Alexia actually remembered to return a few books that she had borrowed from the store. The owner, Steven, allowed her to take out a few books a week because of the hard work that she had put into the store. Though Steven noticed a reoccurring theme in all of the books she borrowed from the place, paranormal beings or myths in the world. Alexia placed 2 books onto the counter to show Steven she was returning them to get some other books checked out.
“Say Alexia, you really enjoy reading about that paranormal stuff?” Steven said smiling slightly to her.
“Yeah it’s been a passion of mine to actually find out the truth about this world so I figured I might as well read everything I can, though I really wish I could see it with my own eyes instead.” Alexia sighed softly before slipping that pink socked foot out of her Van playing with the shoe a bit.
“Hmm…Well it may be your lucky day then as I know a small occult shop, called Pyre Light, down the way that looks into paranormal activities that people report.” Steven smirked looking to Alexia. Alexia’s eyes would quickly look to Steven as she heard those words.
“Are you serious?! Where is the shop and how late are they open?” Alexia got right to the point after hearing that she may be this much closer to seeing the paranormal world. Steven gave her a small business card with the hours and the address of the shop on it. Alexia snatched it away to see exactly what the hours were in hopes to visit the shop tonight and get a job. The hours said “5 PM – 7 AM” and then her eyes moved to her cell phone to see that it was only 9 PM which means the store was in fact still open. “Steven thank you so much! I am taking off for the night!” Before Steven could even respond, Alexia grabbed her pack and headed towards the shop.
Alexia raced down the street finding the shop with ease since she knew her way around the town fairly well, but then thought why she never noticed the store before hand. This thought was discarded a second later as she then thought of how close she was to actually finding out about the secrets the world had in store for her. She moved into the occult shop quickly glancing around to see what was inside, but then raised a brow as her eyes completed the scan over the area. There wasn’t much inside the place besides the main counter and two shelves on either side of the place with a few assorted trinkets that seemed to be from a garage sale or something. There was a girl sitting behind the counter with her feet on the desk not really paying attention to Alexia. She was busy playing with her black and purple Puma’s that would usually encase her purple socks. Alexia moved to the counter to get a better look at the girl instead of just her feet. When she got closer to the desk she saw a blond girl about her age wearing a black track jacket with black tight jeans on her legs. The girl would look up at Alexia with a weird gaze as if Alexia smelled disgusting or something along those lines. With that gaze, the woman let her shoe fall off her foot onto the counter while she looked to Alexia.
“Ummm…hello. I heard that there are paranormal investigators here.” Alexia had hoped maybe this statement would change the girl’s visage but it was no use. The girl shifted a little bit then poked her socked toe into Alexia’s stomach causing her to giggle a little bit. “Hehehe..what was that for?” She tried to push the foot away but the other girl insisted on poking her once again which had the same results as before. “Stop that tickles….hehehe” Alexia giggled in her sentence this time trying harder to push the foot away but instead slipping her digits over the sole of the other girl’s socked foot which caused her to giggle. Once this happened, the girl withdrew her foot quickly and spoke once her foot was back on the desk.
“Who told you about this place?” Her voice sounded a little sarcastically serious as a second ago she was tickling Alexia with her toe.
“My manager at The Bookworm down the street. Steven is his name. My name is Alexia.” Alexia watched the girl as she said wanting to see her reaction.
“Oh! Well that means you’re a new member of our team!” The girl completely changed her personality in 2 seconds as well as leaving her seat to lunge over the desk. She tackled Alexia to the ground then straddled her legs to the ground. “Here is your congratulations for making the team!” The girl giggled lightly as her hands moved onto Alexia’s sides only to begin tickling her. Alexia could hardly believe that tickling was a method of welcoming a new member but this girl seemed to think so. Soon Alexia was giggling like mad trying to escape the clutches of this girl.
“Please….hehehe…I just wanna….hehehe…help out!” She squirmed trying to escape the tickling but it was no use as this girl must be trained to tackle and tickle new comers.
“All right Krystal, let her go.” A new voice was heard from behind the counter which made Alexia let out a sigh once this girl known as Krystal stopped tickling her. Once Alexia’s eyes stopped watering from the tickle attack she looked to where the voice was coming from. Behind the counter stood a woman who appeared to be a little older than herself, but looks can be deceiving. All that Alexia could see was a brown haired girl with a tight button down green blouse and a pair of eyes behind glasses looking down at the both of them on the floor. Krystal finally got off of Alexia then moved back behind the counter with a disappointed look on her face as it seemed she was completely enjoying tickling Alexia. Alexia then stood up brushing herself off before getting a better look at the girl standing beside Krystal. She was just about as tall as Alexia, but looked more serious about the work in this small cult shop. Alexia quickly stuck out her hand to introduce herself as she found herself staring at the girl in front of her.
“He…Hello. My name is Alexia and I heard that you do paranormal investigations here, so I wanted to become part of them.”
The girl in green didn’t change her stern visage a bit as her eyes would look over Alexia before meeting back up with her blue eyes. The silence seemed to last forever as the girl in front of her just appeared to be staring deep into her mind or even her soul. Finally the silence was broken when the girl before Alexia’s eyes opened her mouth.
“Good to meet you, Alexia. My name is Ciera and I am the leader of this small team of paranormal investigators.” There still wasn’t a change in facial expression or in atmosphere, though Alexia was relieved that she had found the right place. “This girl next to me is Krystal, who has all ready inappropriately introduced herself, she takes care of obtaining missions for us which is why she is usually at the desk here.” Alexia looked back down to the young girl who just a few moments ago was tickling her senseless.
“It’s nice to meet you Krystal.” Alexia offered her a kind smile along with her hand to shake in friendship. Krystal looked to her once again reaching for her hand to shake but instead leaned in to again tickle Alexia on her waist. The sneak tickle attack once again took Alexia for surprise, so she was forced into a giggling fit. The tickle attack wouldn’t be as long this time for Krystal was pulled back again by another member of the team.
“Will you cut this childish stuff out, jeez. I was trying to nap and all I heard was laughter out here.” Once Alexia could see clearly, she saw a thin pale girl a little taller than herself with a apathetic expression spread across her face. Those piercing grey eyes quickly looked to the new comer of the establishment whilst she restrained Krystal from tickling anymore. The thin girl was dressed in mostly black with a few patches of red dispersed on each part of her attire. Her top consisted of a loose black t-shirt with a tighter red long sleeve shirt on underneath the black shirt. Her legs were covered by a baggy pair of black and red pants held up by a blood red belt around her waist. Then her feet were covered by a pair of red socks which were hidden under her red and black Vans. “Hey. I’m Erin.” She said looking to Alexia who seemed to be once again day dreaming. “Don’t mind Krystal, she’s just really childish. Not even sure how she made it into this group.” Erin sighed lightly before letting go of Krystal.
“Hey! I am not childish! I just find tickling to be the best thing since it makes everyone laugh.” Krystal would pause for a second before lowering her voice. “Except spooky dark girls who don’t have a personality.” Erin would glare down at Krystal hearing the soft spoken insult towards her.
“What was that? C’mere you little brat, we have more weapons training for you.” Erin once again grabbed Krystal then headed to the back of the shop disappearing with the protesting Krystal still blabbering about tickling the new girl.
“Don’t mind those two. They are always fighting about each other. There is more important matters to attend to like making you a member of P. I. R.E.” Ciera looked to Alexia once again with that serious face of hers. Alexia shook her head slightly still trying to process all of the information that was thrown at her, but getting to know the team would come naturally. For now, she needed to know about this investigation team that she was about to become intertwined with.
“I am ready to do whatever it takes to join this group. What does PIRE stand for?” Alexia questioned before going any further with this initiation.
“Paranormal Investigation Research and Extermination. We investigate a building, then research the cause for the disturbance and finally quell the disturbance so it never happens again.” Ciera reached below the counter grabbing a few sheets of official paper work then sliding them towards Alexia to fill out while she was briefed.
“I understand the first parts of this group, but how will one go about stopping the disturbance. They are all ready dead. There shouldn’t be anyway to kill them.” Alexia had read her fair share of paranormal books, but none had said anything about exterminating ghosts that were haunting a building. Ciera grinned slowly as pulling what appeared to be a regular 9MM from her leg holster placing the gun on the table.
“One may say that killing the dead is redundant but there is a way. They are made up of ectoplasm which, be it very light weight, has some mass to it. There is a way to destroy this substance which kills the ghost.” While she was explaining, Alexia looked over the gun still puzzled at how a regular gun was going to be effective against something that could pass through walls or even possess a living being. This was when Ciera took the magazine out of the chamber to show the weird blue glowing liquid encased in the bullets. “This liquid, called anti-plasm, is the key in killing those ghosts that are haunting buildings we investigate. Does that make sense?” Ciera placed the chamber back into the 9MM before replacing it back in it’s holster on her leg. Alexia was enthralled by all this new knowledge of how ghosts could actually be destroyed by a simple liquid. She looked backed up to Ciera before speaking her response to this new discovery.
“I do quite understand it. Now I wanting to see how this liquid works in action, so that I can help investigate the paranormal world with the team.” Alexia said with much enthusiasm in her voice still thinking about that glowing blue anti-plasm. Her mind then started to question it’s properties and how it is obtained. “Though how do you make more of this anti-plasm? Is there a limited quantity or does it take time to make?”
“That is the harder part of the job is that we need to actually capture a ghost to make a large amount of the plasm, so occasionally we go on trapping missions to replenish the stock.” Ciera responded while her arms took the completed paperwork from Alexia placing it back in the drawer from which it came.
“Oh well that makes sense to make the solution from the original material. I guess my next question is when do I get to go on a mission?” Alexia didn’t even want training or a field guide before heading out because this was what she waiting for years to do. Ciera would smirk slowly as packet was placed on the table with the words “Greenhouse Mission” written on them.
“Well it’s your lucky day today because we have a class C mission that I think a newbie like yourself could handle with one of our experience team members.” The packet was opened up to reveal a few photos of a run down green house along with the name of the person who put in for the mission. At the bottom, of the main sheet was the main description of what was happening and how long the disturbances were happening. The description stated that there had been some weird noises along with sightings of the specters looming around the green house. The green house was supposed to be renovated a few weeks ago but due to the ghosts scaring everyone away there was no plausible way to start construction on the building.
This was Alexia’s dream come true, so why was she feeling nervous. Most likely because she had no real experience destroying ghosts let alone handling a firearm. She had only read about the paranormal in books never actually getting to see any occurrences or disturbances, but she was willing to try.
“All right. I am ready for this, but I don’t have any firearms training. Will I be all right?” Alexia worriedly asked Ciera thinking that this may make her not an option for the team. Ciera again let that sly smirk cross her face once she asked that question.
“I think you will be fine if I pair you with our weapons specialist, Erin. She will issue you one of the basic 9MM pistols till we find out what type of weapon suits your style. I will go get Erin and you two can go over the mission basics to devise a plan.” With that said, Ciera disappeared into the back room which still remained a mystery to Alexia. It had to be awfully big if the chatter from Erin and Krystal had ceased after a few moments from entering the backroom. That or the two just kept very quiet this entire time of the team briefing to Alexia.
A few moments later, that pale frame stepped from the backroom only this time with a strap over her chest which was holding up a sheath on her back. A sword? Alexia thought while taking a better look over her partner for the evening.
“Are you ready to go? I am not that good at talking a plan over or anything social.” Erin bluntly stated as she had noticed Alexia stumped in thought over the sword on her back.
“Oh yeah. Here is your pistol, try not to lose it.” She placed the gun along with a holster that attached to her belt for easy carrying of it. She snapped out of the deep thought once the sleek black metal thudded against the table.
“So you use a blade to destroy the ghosts? It seems quite odd.” Alexia raised a brow still wondering how the blade would be effective against the ghosts unless perhaps it was forged from the liquid.
“Yeah well I am quite odd myself, let’s just go.” Erin moved towards the door taking the main paper so they could get to the green house without getting lost. Alexia frowned slowly thinking that all ready she was making enemies on the team before even making friends. Hopefully it was just because of Erin’s lack of social ability, but still she could’ve thought of better words to say than “odd”. Though now wasn’t the time to think over what words to use but instead get focused on the mission ahead of them. Alexia grabbed the pistol strapping the holster to her pink belt before following Erin out the door towards the team vehicle.
The sun had all ready set by the time the two hunters had reached the old green house that was near a smaller farm. Both of the buildings were decaying with the wear and tear of time but the farm house seemed creepier than the mostly glass green house. The air was still letting almost every sound in the area be heard by the ears of these young girls. The only thing quieter was the car ride down between the two teammates who didn’t seem to get off on the right foot. Alexia stepped out of the Scion xA taking in the eerie green house before moving around to meet up with Erin. Erin was checking all the supplies she brought with her making sure that everything would roll smoothly, so she can heard back for some sleep. Alexia glanced quickly at Erin still not knowing what to say at this point, but wanted to get some type of communication rolling between the two of them. Erin glared over to Alexia for a second before gathering the rest of the necessary supplies and heading towards the green house.
“Just remember to shoot first and study later. I don’t want any kind of trouble here, so let’s just stick to the main mission.” Erin looked over her shoulder casting a softer look to Alexia almost trying to let her know the blow wasn’t that bad from her earlier insult.
“Oh…umm..Gotcha!” Alexia was caught off guard by the sudden dull humor Erin was using but it seemed that she had gotten past the earlier comments. Alexia placed her hand onto the pistol while moving forward with Erin not really sure what to expect from this dank green house. Alexia was glad that she would be able to put aside the earlier comments allowing her to focus on the mission instead of whether or not Erin likes her. The path to the green house was mainly just a stone path with a few dead plants around the edges of it. Usually when a person arrives at a green house they feel a little warmer inside because of all the colors the plants hold along with the luscious smell, but here it just reeked of death. The soft foot steps of the two young girls would cease as they reached the door to the main structure of the green house, as there are two other smaller buildings connected to it, allowing Erin to peak through a hole in the glass. Alexia was trembling with excitement inside because she was soon to see the paranormal world up close, but there was something she wasn’t going to expect as a few of those “dead” vines slithered towards her feet. She quickly glanced down thinking she heard a noise but just saw more of those dead plants near her feet. “Did these plants just move?” Alexia said quietly but then realized plants wouldn’t be able to move since they are dead.
“All right everything looks clear inside except for a bunch of rotting plants. Lets get in there and bust some ghosts.” Erin said calmly reaching for the door handle while her other hand rested on the hilt of her katana. Alexia turned back nodding in agreement as she reached for her pistol, though she had never used a firearm before. The door would creak open from the displaced hinges scraping against the metal that usually held the door tightly in place. Erin would move in quickly ducking down behind a table with a few potted plants on it motioning for Alexia to move to the other table. Alexia stumbled behind the table dropping to her knees before looking back to Erin waiting for another signal of what she should do next. Erin motioned for Alexia to wait while she went to check ahead in the green house. The silence in the building was completely unsettling for Alexia, as this was not what she expected to be here first encounter with the other world. Erin slowly stood up unsheathing her blade while she did then moving towards the main section of the room with the large tables of odd looking plants that are all but withered away. Alexia would peek around the corner leaning on all fours to get a better look so if a ghost did appear she would not miss it, but the real trouble was lurking right by her feet. Slowly a couple of vines would slither from the table towards those feet of Alexia and within a few seconds quickly ensnare her.
“AHH! Something’s got me!” Alexia screamed loudly but it was too late as the vines pulled her into the air and out of her Vans which revealed those pink socks she had one. Her mind raced as to what to do now since she was caught off guard then she remembered her pistol. Her hands started to move towards her gun but were cut short as more vines snagged her arms raising them above her head. “Let me go!” Alexia tried to plead with the plants but of course there was no response except for more vines to slither towards her prone frame that was being hung in the air. Two vines quickly headed towards her feet to gently tickle her socked soles which struck Alexia off guard since the last thing in her mind was to be tickled. “Haahahaha! Why is these….hehehehe….tickling me?!? Erin help!” Alexia burst out into giggles as the vines continued their torture on her socked feet. Two other vines would move up towards Alexia’s sides pushing her shirt up a bit to torture her bare sides. “Hahahahaha! S..Stop…hehehehehe…tickling me!!” More laughter poured out of Alexia as more vines came to assist in tickling her some now heading towards her armpits. She turned her head a bit to look through her tearing eyes over to Erin, but it seemed she had her own problems.
“Trust me Alexia. I will be there momentarily.” Erin slashed down another set of oncoming vines with that now blue glowing blade. Erin back flipped away from yet another set of vines aiming to grab her legs but she was a little more prepared than Alexia was. “Damn ghosts hiding inside the plants and using them as puppets!” A quick slash upwards burned away a few more ghost vines but that wasn’t the end of it as vines shot out from all directions which only left a smirk on Erin’s face. She gripped her blade tightly kneeling down before making a twisting jump into the air slicing away all the oncoming vines, but causing the blade to dull back to plain old silver. Once Erin’s feet touched the ground, she reached into her back pouch for a black cartridge that almost resembled the one in Alexia’s gun. “Crap gotta reload before the next onslaught of these damned vines!” Erin grunted releasing the empty cartridge from her blade trying to get the other into it, but it was too late as one vine swiped away the ammo cartridge from her left hand and into the middle of the floor. Erin’s eyes would widen once she saw the cartridge slide from her reach leaving her almost defenseless but she could still cut the vines though they would still be possessed by the ghosts. The one vine slipped around her left wrist attempting to pull her off balance but Erin was a prepared soldier spinning around to cut the one vine from her wrist. Though this was her last maneuver as four vines ensnared her ankles pulling her off the ground. She would begin to swing upwards at the vines, but like Alexia was stopped short, so was Erin by a few vines the slowly separated her arms. “Let me go before I really get angry!” She snarled trying to threaten the ghosts but really inside she was scared as to what was going to happen now. More vines moved towards her but mainly heading to slip off those Vans that were covering her red socked feet. The vines started to brush slowly along the arched soles of her feet trying to break Erin but she was putting up a fight as she kept her mouth closed. Her face was turning beet red whilst she attempted to keep from laughing, though it wasn’t going to last much longer. Two other vines climbed up towards her waist pulling up her shirt to reveal that pale toned stomach of hers where the vines began to tickle her even more. This was it as her stomach was more ticklish than her feet so both hunters were just laughing messes at the mercy of these demented ghost vines. “Hahahaha!! Oh…Please…HAHAHAHA…not my stomach!!” Erin couldn’t hold the laughter anymore letting it all out when those vines slithered against her bare skin like feathers. The ones at her feet would casually slide over the tops of her feet then back onto the soles trying to locate the best place tickle her by how much she squirmed. Though the vines restrained her quite a bit, Erin was still squirming wildly as the vines continued to tickle her senseless. “Any…HAHAHAHAHA…ideas Alexia?!?!” Erin shouted in between laughing fits to Alexia who wasn’t in a much better state.
“No…hehehehe…I..I….can’t hehehehe….think straight!!” Alexia shouted back as the vines were focused on tickling those socked feet of hers. The vines soft touch could be felt right through her socks but wearing the socks may have been a mistake as this made it much worse. Alexia was beginning to sweat as these vines were bent on making these two regret ever trying to hunt ghosts. “Pl…please…hehehehehe….stop…tick…tickling my feet!!” Alexia once again pleaded through her giggles but of course it was no use as the vines continued to tickle.
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Can the two escape the clutches of the vines or will they fall victim to the ghostly plants?? Stay tuned for the conclusion to Chapter 1 of P.I.R.E Files!!
P.S. - Sorry for the lack of tickling in this one but it was mainly to set up story but the next issue will definitely compensate : D
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There was always a craving of adventure and a thirst for seeing that which shouldn’t be seen that lived deep down within Alexia. She was never content with believing what her eyes could see or what other people had told her was the truth about the world. This desire was what lead her to become a hunter of the unimaginable, one that would unearth the real truth about what the world had to offer. The only problem was that Alexia really didn’t know how she was going to go about finding leads to these places, but she was determined to find a lead somewhere.
Alexia was a young girl at the age of 23 just finished with her college studies in psychology, but she really studied paranormal activity during her college years. She was usually found wearing a tight t-shirt either pink or black or maybe a mixture of the two colors, then a pair of jeans with a decorative belt about her waist. On her feet, she had pink and black Vans that covered her socked feet since she was never without socks on. She found a job working at a small bookstore, called The Bookworm, right near the campus; so even after she was done with schooling she stuck with the job till she could follow her true passion. This lead was going to come sooner than she expected.
The day was wrapping up at the Bookworm when Alexia actually remembered to return a few books that she had borrowed from the store. The owner, Steven, allowed her to take out a few books a week because of the hard work that she had put into the store. Though Steven noticed a reoccurring theme in all of the books she borrowed from the place, paranormal beings or myths in the world. Alexia placed 2 books onto the counter to show Steven she was returning them to get some other books checked out.
“Say Alexia, you really enjoy reading about that paranormal stuff?” Steven said smiling slightly to her.
“Yeah it’s been a passion of mine to actually find out the truth about this world so I figured I might as well read everything I can, though I really wish I could see it with my own eyes instead.” Alexia sighed softly before slipping that pink socked foot out of her Van playing with the shoe a bit.
“Hmm…Well it may be your lucky day then as I know a small occult shop, called Pyre Light, down the way that looks into paranormal activities that people report.” Steven smirked looking to Alexia. Alexia’s eyes would quickly look to Steven as she heard those words.
“Are you serious?! Where is the shop and how late are they open?” Alexia got right to the point after hearing that she may be this much closer to seeing the paranormal world. Steven gave her a small business card with the hours and the address of the shop on it. Alexia snatched it away to see exactly what the hours were in hopes to visit the shop tonight and get a job. The hours said “5 PM – 7 AM” and then her eyes moved to her cell phone to see that it was only 9 PM which means the store was in fact still open. “Steven thank you so much! I am taking off for the night!” Before Steven could even respond, Alexia grabbed her pack and headed towards the shop.
Alexia raced down the street finding the shop with ease since she knew her way around the town fairly well, but then thought why she never noticed the store before hand. This thought was discarded a second later as she then thought of how close she was to actually finding out about the secrets the world had in store for her. She moved into the occult shop quickly glancing around to see what was inside, but then raised a brow as her eyes completed the scan over the area. There wasn’t much inside the place besides the main counter and two shelves on either side of the place with a few assorted trinkets that seemed to be from a garage sale or something. There was a girl sitting behind the counter with her feet on the desk not really paying attention to Alexia. She was busy playing with her black and purple Puma’s that would usually encase her purple socks. Alexia moved to the counter to get a better look at the girl instead of just her feet. When she got closer to the desk she saw a blond girl about her age wearing a black track jacket with black tight jeans on her legs. The girl would look up at Alexia with a weird gaze as if Alexia smelled disgusting or something along those lines. With that gaze, the woman let her shoe fall off her foot onto the counter while she looked to Alexia.
“Ummm…hello. I heard that there are paranormal investigators here.” Alexia had hoped maybe this statement would change the girl’s visage but it was no use. The girl shifted a little bit then poked her socked toe into Alexia’s stomach causing her to giggle a little bit. “Hehehe..what was that for?” She tried to push the foot away but the other girl insisted on poking her once again which had the same results as before. “Stop that tickles….hehehe” Alexia giggled in her sentence this time trying harder to push the foot away but instead slipping her digits over the sole of the other girl’s socked foot which caused her to giggle. Once this happened, the girl withdrew her foot quickly and spoke once her foot was back on the desk.
“Who told you about this place?” Her voice sounded a little sarcastically serious as a second ago she was tickling Alexia with her toe.
“My manager at The Bookworm down the street. Steven is his name. My name is Alexia.” Alexia watched the girl as she said wanting to see her reaction.
“Oh! Well that means you’re a new member of our team!” The girl completely changed her personality in 2 seconds as well as leaving her seat to lunge over the desk. She tackled Alexia to the ground then straddled her legs to the ground. “Here is your congratulations for making the team!” The girl giggled lightly as her hands moved onto Alexia’s sides only to begin tickling her. Alexia could hardly believe that tickling was a method of welcoming a new member but this girl seemed to think so. Soon Alexia was giggling like mad trying to escape the clutches of this girl.
“Please….hehehe…I just wanna….hehehe…help out!” She squirmed trying to escape the tickling but it was no use as this girl must be trained to tackle and tickle new comers.
“All right Krystal, let her go.” A new voice was heard from behind the counter which made Alexia let out a sigh once this girl known as Krystal stopped tickling her. Once Alexia’s eyes stopped watering from the tickle attack she looked to where the voice was coming from. Behind the counter stood a woman who appeared to be a little older than herself, but looks can be deceiving. All that Alexia could see was a brown haired girl with a tight button down green blouse and a pair of eyes behind glasses looking down at the both of them on the floor. Krystal finally got off of Alexia then moved back behind the counter with a disappointed look on her face as it seemed she was completely enjoying tickling Alexia. Alexia then stood up brushing herself off before getting a better look at the girl standing beside Krystal. She was just about as tall as Alexia, but looked more serious about the work in this small cult shop. Alexia quickly stuck out her hand to introduce herself as she found herself staring at the girl in front of her.
“He…Hello. My name is Alexia and I heard that you do paranormal investigations here, so I wanted to become part of them.”
The girl in green didn’t change her stern visage a bit as her eyes would look over Alexia before meeting back up with her blue eyes. The silence seemed to last forever as the girl in front of her just appeared to be staring deep into her mind or even her soul. Finally the silence was broken when the girl before Alexia’s eyes opened her mouth.
“Good to meet you, Alexia. My name is Ciera and I am the leader of this small team of paranormal investigators.” There still wasn’t a change in facial expression or in atmosphere, though Alexia was relieved that she had found the right place. “This girl next to me is Krystal, who has all ready inappropriately introduced herself, she takes care of obtaining missions for us which is why she is usually at the desk here.” Alexia looked back down to the young girl who just a few moments ago was tickling her senseless.
“It’s nice to meet you Krystal.” Alexia offered her a kind smile along with her hand to shake in friendship. Krystal looked to her once again reaching for her hand to shake but instead leaned in to again tickle Alexia on her waist. The sneak tickle attack once again took Alexia for surprise, so she was forced into a giggling fit. The tickle attack wouldn’t be as long this time for Krystal was pulled back again by another member of the team.
“Will you cut this childish stuff out, jeez. I was trying to nap and all I heard was laughter out here.” Once Alexia could see clearly, she saw a thin pale girl a little taller than herself with a apathetic expression spread across her face. Those piercing grey eyes quickly looked to the new comer of the establishment whilst she restrained Krystal from tickling anymore. The thin girl was dressed in mostly black with a few patches of red dispersed on each part of her attire. Her top consisted of a loose black t-shirt with a tighter red long sleeve shirt on underneath the black shirt. Her legs were covered by a baggy pair of black and red pants held up by a blood red belt around her waist. Then her feet were covered by a pair of red socks which were hidden under her red and black Vans. “Hey. I’m Erin.” She said looking to Alexia who seemed to be once again day dreaming. “Don’t mind Krystal, she’s just really childish. Not even sure how she made it into this group.” Erin sighed lightly before letting go of Krystal.
“Hey! I am not childish! I just find tickling to be the best thing since it makes everyone laugh.” Krystal would pause for a second before lowering her voice. “Except spooky dark girls who don’t have a personality.” Erin would glare down at Krystal hearing the soft spoken insult towards her.
“What was that? C’mere you little brat, we have more weapons training for you.” Erin once again grabbed Krystal then headed to the back of the shop disappearing with the protesting Krystal still blabbering about tickling the new girl.
“Don’t mind those two. They are always fighting about each other. There is more important matters to attend to like making you a member of P. I. R.E.” Ciera looked to Alexia once again with that serious face of hers. Alexia shook her head slightly still trying to process all of the information that was thrown at her, but getting to know the team would come naturally. For now, she needed to know about this investigation team that she was about to become intertwined with.
“I am ready to do whatever it takes to join this group. What does PIRE stand for?” Alexia questioned before going any further with this initiation.
“Paranormal Investigation Research and Extermination. We investigate a building, then research the cause for the disturbance and finally quell the disturbance so it never happens again.” Ciera reached below the counter grabbing a few sheets of official paper work then sliding them towards Alexia to fill out while she was briefed.
“I understand the first parts of this group, but how will one go about stopping the disturbance. They are all ready dead. There shouldn’t be anyway to kill them.” Alexia had read her fair share of paranormal books, but none had said anything about exterminating ghosts that were haunting a building. Ciera grinned slowly as pulling what appeared to be a regular 9MM from her leg holster placing the gun on the table.
“One may say that killing the dead is redundant but there is a way. They are made up of ectoplasm which, be it very light weight, has some mass to it. There is a way to destroy this substance which kills the ghost.” While she was explaining, Alexia looked over the gun still puzzled at how a regular gun was going to be effective against something that could pass through walls or even possess a living being. This was when Ciera took the magazine out of the chamber to show the weird blue glowing liquid encased in the bullets. “This liquid, called anti-plasm, is the key in killing those ghosts that are haunting buildings we investigate. Does that make sense?” Ciera placed the chamber back into the 9MM before replacing it back in it’s holster on her leg. Alexia was enthralled by all this new knowledge of how ghosts could actually be destroyed by a simple liquid. She looked backed up to Ciera before speaking her response to this new discovery.
“I do quite understand it. Now I wanting to see how this liquid works in action, so that I can help investigate the paranormal world with the team.” Alexia said with much enthusiasm in her voice still thinking about that glowing blue anti-plasm. Her mind then started to question it’s properties and how it is obtained. “Though how do you make more of this anti-plasm? Is there a limited quantity or does it take time to make?”
“That is the harder part of the job is that we need to actually capture a ghost to make a large amount of the plasm, so occasionally we go on trapping missions to replenish the stock.” Ciera responded while her arms took the completed paperwork from Alexia placing it back in the drawer from which it came.
“Oh well that makes sense to make the solution from the original material. I guess my next question is when do I get to go on a mission?” Alexia didn’t even want training or a field guide before heading out because this was what she waiting for years to do. Ciera would smirk slowly as packet was placed on the table with the words “Greenhouse Mission” written on them.
“Well it’s your lucky day today because we have a class C mission that I think a newbie like yourself could handle with one of our experience team members.” The packet was opened up to reveal a few photos of a run down green house along with the name of the person who put in for the mission. At the bottom, of the main sheet was the main description of what was happening and how long the disturbances were happening. The description stated that there had been some weird noises along with sightings of the specters looming around the green house. The green house was supposed to be renovated a few weeks ago but due to the ghosts scaring everyone away there was no plausible way to start construction on the building.
This was Alexia’s dream come true, so why was she feeling nervous. Most likely because she had no real experience destroying ghosts let alone handling a firearm. She had only read about the paranormal in books never actually getting to see any occurrences or disturbances, but she was willing to try.
“All right. I am ready for this, but I don’t have any firearms training. Will I be all right?” Alexia worriedly asked Ciera thinking that this may make her not an option for the team. Ciera again let that sly smirk cross her face once she asked that question.
“I think you will be fine if I pair you with our weapons specialist, Erin. She will issue you one of the basic 9MM pistols till we find out what type of weapon suits your style. I will go get Erin and you two can go over the mission basics to devise a plan.” With that said, Ciera disappeared into the back room which still remained a mystery to Alexia. It had to be awfully big if the chatter from Erin and Krystal had ceased after a few moments from entering the backroom. That or the two just kept very quiet this entire time of the team briefing to Alexia.
A few moments later, that pale frame stepped from the backroom only this time with a strap over her chest which was holding up a sheath on her back. A sword? Alexia thought while taking a better look over her partner for the evening.
“Are you ready to go? I am not that good at talking a plan over or anything social.” Erin bluntly stated as she had noticed Alexia stumped in thought over the sword on her back.
“Oh yeah. Here is your pistol, try not to lose it.” She placed the gun along with a holster that attached to her belt for easy carrying of it. She snapped out of the deep thought once the sleek black metal thudded against the table.
“So you use a blade to destroy the ghosts? It seems quite odd.” Alexia raised a brow still wondering how the blade would be effective against the ghosts unless perhaps it was forged from the liquid.
“Yeah well I am quite odd myself, let’s just go.” Erin moved towards the door taking the main paper so they could get to the green house without getting lost. Alexia frowned slowly thinking that all ready she was making enemies on the team before even making friends. Hopefully it was just because of Erin’s lack of social ability, but still she could’ve thought of better words to say than “odd”. Though now wasn’t the time to think over what words to use but instead get focused on the mission ahead of them. Alexia grabbed the pistol strapping the holster to her pink belt before following Erin out the door towards the team vehicle.
The sun had all ready set by the time the two hunters had reached the old green house that was near a smaller farm. Both of the buildings were decaying with the wear and tear of time but the farm house seemed creepier than the mostly glass green house. The air was still letting almost every sound in the area be heard by the ears of these young girls. The only thing quieter was the car ride down between the two teammates who didn’t seem to get off on the right foot. Alexia stepped out of the Scion xA taking in the eerie green house before moving around to meet up with Erin. Erin was checking all the supplies she brought with her making sure that everything would roll smoothly, so she can heard back for some sleep. Alexia glanced quickly at Erin still not knowing what to say at this point, but wanted to get some type of communication rolling between the two of them. Erin glared over to Alexia for a second before gathering the rest of the necessary supplies and heading towards the green house.
“Just remember to shoot first and study later. I don’t want any kind of trouble here, so let’s just stick to the main mission.” Erin looked over her shoulder casting a softer look to Alexia almost trying to let her know the blow wasn’t that bad from her earlier insult.
“Oh…umm..Gotcha!” Alexia was caught off guard by the sudden dull humor Erin was using but it seemed that she had gotten past the earlier comments. Alexia placed her hand onto the pistol while moving forward with Erin not really sure what to expect from this dank green house. Alexia was glad that she would be able to put aside the earlier comments allowing her to focus on the mission instead of whether or not Erin likes her. The path to the green house was mainly just a stone path with a few dead plants around the edges of it. Usually when a person arrives at a green house they feel a little warmer inside because of all the colors the plants hold along with the luscious smell, but here it just reeked of death. The soft foot steps of the two young girls would cease as they reached the door to the main structure of the green house, as there are two other smaller buildings connected to it, allowing Erin to peak through a hole in the glass. Alexia was trembling with excitement inside because she was soon to see the paranormal world up close, but there was something she wasn’t going to expect as a few of those “dead” vines slithered towards her feet. She quickly glanced down thinking she heard a noise but just saw more of those dead plants near her feet. “Did these plants just move?” Alexia said quietly but then realized plants wouldn’t be able to move since they are dead.
“All right everything looks clear inside except for a bunch of rotting plants. Lets get in there and bust some ghosts.” Erin said calmly reaching for the door handle while her other hand rested on the hilt of her katana. Alexia turned back nodding in agreement as she reached for her pistol, though she had never used a firearm before. The door would creak open from the displaced hinges scraping against the metal that usually held the door tightly in place. Erin would move in quickly ducking down behind a table with a few potted plants on it motioning for Alexia to move to the other table. Alexia stumbled behind the table dropping to her knees before looking back to Erin waiting for another signal of what she should do next. Erin motioned for Alexia to wait while she went to check ahead in the green house. The silence in the building was completely unsettling for Alexia, as this was not what she expected to be here first encounter with the other world. Erin slowly stood up unsheathing her blade while she did then moving towards the main section of the room with the large tables of odd looking plants that are all but withered away. Alexia would peek around the corner leaning on all fours to get a better look so if a ghost did appear she would not miss it, but the real trouble was lurking right by her feet. Slowly a couple of vines would slither from the table towards those feet of Alexia and within a few seconds quickly ensnare her.
“AHH! Something’s got me!” Alexia screamed loudly but it was too late as the vines pulled her into the air and out of her Vans which revealed those pink socks she had one. Her mind raced as to what to do now since she was caught off guard then she remembered her pistol. Her hands started to move towards her gun but were cut short as more vines snagged her arms raising them above her head. “Let me go!” Alexia tried to plead with the plants but of course there was no response except for more vines to slither towards her prone frame that was being hung in the air. Two vines quickly headed towards her feet to gently tickle her socked soles which struck Alexia off guard since the last thing in her mind was to be tickled. “Haahahaha! Why is these….hehehehe….tickling me?!? Erin help!” Alexia burst out into giggles as the vines continued their torture on her socked feet. Two other vines would move up towards Alexia’s sides pushing her shirt up a bit to torture her bare sides. “Hahahahaha! S..Stop…hehehehehe…tickling me!!” More laughter poured out of Alexia as more vines came to assist in tickling her some now heading towards her armpits. She turned her head a bit to look through her tearing eyes over to Erin, but it seemed she had her own problems.
“Trust me Alexia. I will be there momentarily.” Erin slashed down another set of oncoming vines with that now blue glowing blade. Erin back flipped away from yet another set of vines aiming to grab her legs but she was a little more prepared than Alexia was. “Damn ghosts hiding inside the plants and using them as puppets!” A quick slash upwards burned away a few more ghost vines but that wasn’t the end of it as vines shot out from all directions which only left a smirk on Erin’s face. She gripped her blade tightly kneeling down before making a twisting jump into the air slicing away all the oncoming vines, but causing the blade to dull back to plain old silver. Once Erin’s feet touched the ground, she reached into her back pouch for a black cartridge that almost resembled the one in Alexia’s gun. “Crap gotta reload before the next onslaught of these damned vines!” Erin grunted releasing the empty cartridge from her blade trying to get the other into it, but it was too late as one vine swiped away the ammo cartridge from her left hand and into the middle of the floor. Erin’s eyes would widen once she saw the cartridge slide from her reach leaving her almost defenseless but she could still cut the vines though they would still be possessed by the ghosts. The one vine slipped around her left wrist attempting to pull her off balance but Erin was a prepared soldier spinning around to cut the one vine from her wrist. Though this was her last maneuver as four vines ensnared her ankles pulling her off the ground. She would begin to swing upwards at the vines, but like Alexia was stopped short, so was Erin by a few vines the slowly separated her arms. “Let me go before I really get angry!” She snarled trying to threaten the ghosts but really inside she was scared as to what was going to happen now. More vines moved towards her but mainly heading to slip off those Vans that were covering her red socked feet. The vines started to brush slowly along the arched soles of her feet trying to break Erin but she was putting up a fight as she kept her mouth closed. Her face was turning beet red whilst she attempted to keep from laughing, though it wasn’t going to last much longer. Two other vines climbed up towards her waist pulling up her shirt to reveal that pale toned stomach of hers where the vines began to tickle her even more. This was it as her stomach was more ticklish than her feet so both hunters were just laughing messes at the mercy of these demented ghost vines. “Hahahaha!! Oh…Please…HAHAHAHA…not my stomach!!” Erin couldn’t hold the laughter anymore letting it all out when those vines slithered against her bare skin like feathers. The ones at her feet would casually slide over the tops of her feet then back onto the soles trying to locate the best place tickle her by how much she squirmed. Though the vines restrained her quite a bit, Erin was still squirming wildly as the vines continued to tickle her senseless. “Any…HAHAHAHAHA…ideas Alexia?!?!” Erin shouted in between laughing fits to Alexia who wasn’t in a much better state.
“No…hehehehe…I..I….can’t hehehehe….think straight!!” Alexia shouted back as the vines were focused on tickling those socked feet of hers. The vines soft touch could be felt right through her socks but wearing the socks may have been a mistake as this made it much worse. Alexia was beginning to sweat as these vines were bent on making these two regret ever trying to hunt ghosts. “Pl…please…hehehehehe….stop…tick…tickling my feet!!” Alexia once again pleaded through her giggles but of course it was no use as the vines continued to tickle.
*
Can the two escape the clutches of the vines or will they fall victim to the ghostly plants?? Stay tuned for the conclusion to Chapter 1 of P.I.R.E Files!!
P.S. - Sorry for the lack of tickling in this one but it was mainly to set up story but the next issue will definitely compensate : D
