The Ghost Guard

Chapter 3: We've Got History

Frankie was the last person gallivanting through the drenched wind-torn town square that night. He did his best work when no one was around. He had to double-check the traps in Dr. Reed's Bookstore to make sure all was set up correctly for Halloween night. You see, the rumors around the town were true. He was, in fact, the protector of all on Halloween night. This particular night brought a new species of ghosts from the underworld into the real world via portals scattered throughout town and Frankie was tasked with closing them before the clock struck midnight. Frankie loved his greater purpose. He felt like Spider-Man making sure the town was safe, with great purpose comes great responsibility. He didn't ask for the task, but it was meant for him.

Frankie made his way to the back door of Dr. Reed's Bookstore. He looked around to make sure he was alone and then pulled a large ring of keys from his orange fanny pack. He had a set of keys for all the major locations in town and guarded them with his life.

He opened the door and looked as far as he could down the wooden staircase in front of him. It was completely dark, so he switched on his mining helmet's light. He always had to work with as little light as possible. He never quite knew whom he could trust given the ghost's unique powers. The old basement was dusty and smelled of mold. It mainly housed shelving and books too old to sell.

It began to rain outside, and the water leaked ever so slightly throughout the building. This creaky old store was not built on flat ground but a large rock. Within the rock formations was the first portal to the underworld. It shined brighter and oozed a dark purple slime as Halloween night drew closer. The portal was in its development stage and ripe for opening come Halloween night.

Frankie dragged the large spotlight from behind the racks over toward the portal. You see, the light combined with a certain type of obsidian stone was the only thing that could seal the portal and stop the ghosts from passing through. These ghosts were different in that they didn't possess humans but that of an extremely strong troll species. The trolls had been exterminated from Earth thousands of years ago, but their souls were very much alive in the underworld.

Cave people once roamed the earth and were free to enjoy the land and all its beauty. Sure, they had some enemies such as the dinosaurs, bobcats, and blood-slurping serpents, but nothing compared to the trolls their greatest adversaries. The trolls did not seek to enjoy the earth's flowers or swim in the crisp lake water but rather sought world domination. The trolls had bigger plans for humanity and the strength to battle them. Under troll rule, humans would become a food source, forced to procreate simply for feeding purposes.

The cave people realized this and made a pact to destroy every living troll. The cave people figured it was either humanity or the troll race, so they went forth with their plan and left the earth dripping in purple slimy troll blood.

Unfortunately, the trolls weren't finished with their plans for world domination even after being extinct. The trolls may have been taken off the earth, but they had unfinished business and were in the Underworld plotting their revenge. While there, they encountered the ghost population and began assessing how they too could return to the living world like them.

They realized that certain ghosts held the power of possession as well as re-entering the living world. However, they could only enter the living world through certain interdimensional portals on Halloween night when the sun began to set, one portal opening every hour. Each portal would remain open all year long if not properly closed. That is where Frankie comes in. He is the only one in Berrymount with the knowledge and ability to shut down the portals.

The trolls began kidnapping ghosts and testing out their powers as one. They had to become possessed by the ghost and overcome it to retain their troll selves as well as the ghost's abilities. In the end, a new species of ghost troll was created, and they are what haunts the town of Berrymount today. These ghost trolls can enter the portals to the living world and possess humans, taking on their shape, knowledge, and memories all while leaving the human inside powerless. Their larger plan was to travel through these portals, possess humans in powerful positions, and collect their young for consumption. They could also, however, stay in ghost form and haunt their enemies if they choose. Frankie had come across them in both forms.

Frankie positioned everything in the room so that come Halloween night, he'd be ready to shut down this portal before the ghost trolls squeezed through. Without him, every hour, six ghost trolls would pass through the six portals around the town of Berrymount. They would either haunt the town waiting for the next Halloween night in hopes of reinforcements or attach to a human life form seeking to establish some form of power in the community. Frankie was not about to let the world be taken over by these menaces. He owed it to his mother to be the protector. Unfortunately, he couldn't save her, so he made the safety of the town his life mission.

Frankie made his way out the back door of Dr. Reed's Bookstore and onto the dark wet street. He loved the smell of the damp October air. It reminded him of his father for some reason, but he never really understood why as he had never met him. He took a deep breath and felt the cold wet air pass through his lungs. At this moment he felt proud and well-prepared for what was to come. He was right on track to stop the ghost trolls from passing through the portals and giving his hometown yet another safe Halloween.