Only in Nightmares? (Open)

The moon was bright, there where hardly any clouds, and the heat of the day still evaporated from the streets when Theum decided to go for a stroll. The cool breeze gave his host's body vigor as the wind blew gently down the road, pushing his thick black leather coat open with its touch. The nights in the small town just outside Pittsburgh could get chilly, though it was around the season for the heat to return, the leather jacket would stay on though. He always tried to keep it when he switched bodies, it provided ample protection, not to mention death can be cold.

Tonight he had work to do. There was only one target left in the town and it was just down the street from where he had been staying. A cemetery, many people tend to drive or walk right past it without even noticing. It was tucked right in the side of a thick wooded area. Tonight he would have to try and be quick about his business, recently people have been noticing his work. News articles about bodies missing from cemeteries have been spreading like wildfire, even though this next one was small, he knew he had to remain cautious. At the first sign of trouble, Theum would have to move quickly, it is imperative that his plan remain a secret.

The loud creek of the rusted gate pierced through the air as Theum entered the cemetery. It was a heavily grassed area with many trees, about a mile square, though Theum thought most people wouldn't realize. He ran his hand's atop the gravestones reading the names in his head, "Smith, Jones, Smith, Smith..." A family plot no doubt. "Don't worry, I'll keep you together." He said, then moved toward a tree where he had left a large shovel. Grabbing it he began to dig.

Another long and grueling day at work for the Aussie. Marshall had been interning here for a few months now and felt he was getting in the groove of things.... unfortunately they worked him til his muscles ached. As he made his way through he office, he looked out of the high window out over the city he had recently moved to. The sun was already gone, the moon peeking up over the horizon of buildings as it gave off a luminescent blue glow that showered the city and its outerlying towns and parks. He took a minute to enjoy the view, though perhaps it was to delay the inevitable cab ride home. Marshall had to admit, being a super wasn't all it was cracked up to be.... but than again, what is in this world?

The door gave a soft 'ting' as it opened up for him automatically, allowing the cool night air to rush up against him as he stepped out into the moonlit streets. Right out front was a cab waiting just for him.... he felt that the driver knew him better than himself at this point, making conversation with him somewhat awkward. The gentleman reluctantly opened the door and was immediately greeted by just who he was thinking about.... Owen. Marshall sat in the car, giving him a friendly smile before buckling up and settling in the seat.

-Owen: "Headed home Mr. Walker?"

He had this conversation with him every single night, so it was no longer a question, but more of an ice breaker. He didn't respond, simply nodded as the driver acknowledged his nod and began to drive. It took a little bit to drive home, so they would sit in the car and listen to the radio. It had been announcing the grisly body snatching of late, something that must have freaked both Marshall and Owen out because neither of them spoke any words.... just listened. Marshall had fantasized a lot about being a super like other well know supers.... but he felt as if he was not ready, both mentally and physically for the part of a super hero. Hearing about the body snatching really dug into his head though, his frustration growing with each word spoken by the news anchor.

"All right  shut it off please!" Marshall suddenly shouted, as if trying to drown out his own thoughts on the matter.
"I'm sorry Owen.... it's been a long day and I have a headache.... I just need to lie down and rest."

Owen- "Sure Mr. Walker.... we're here anyhow."

He was correct, the cab pulling up to a not so impressive apartment building. Marshall nodded, stepping out as he said goodnight to the driver before slowly making his way up to his apartment. Even as he locked his door, dressed down for the evening, and threw his tired body onto the bed.... he still couldn't get the ghoul from the news out of his head. Why haven't the police found him yet..... Why is he digging up cadavers..... and why is this bothering him so much? He tried to swat the thoughts away and head off to bed for another long and tiring day at the office tomorrow.

Dirty was sticky, rough, and Theum probably enjoyed the smell far too much. The shovel handle was beginning to get really messy as he got closer to the coffin of Mr. Edgar Smith. The rough feeling of dirt between his host's calloused hands and the metal of the long handle was starting to get him a little exited, but when the shovel hit the container underneath him, play had turned back into work. He brushed off the small bits of dirt from the box and ran his shovel along it's edges, being sure he could open it freely.

The casket almost didn't make a noise when Theum opened it. Like a curtain relieving an expensive play, the dead decaying body of Mr. Smith lied there. Theum's heart began to pound hard. The first body of the night was always the funnest, it was before the work became work. Theum ran his hand along the dead man's cheek, "Wake up Mr. Smith." He whispered as life poured into the body. "It's time to go home." He said as the dead gained life. The man's eyes began to glow a light green color, his bones popped and he groaned when they first jolted to life. Soon the man was climbing out of the grave, it was a slow process, but Theum enjoyed watching it.

Life pulsed through the cadaver till it got closer to a more thick wooded area. When it had reached it's destination Theum would cancel his spell, leaving the body to drop dead once again. "And only ten more to go." He said as he moved to the next grave stone, "Hello, Mrs. Smith." Theum said as he plunged his heavy shovel into the soil once again. Old Irish labor songs started to pound in his head.

Marshall remained in bed for the evening, tossing and turning as he tried to do his best to fall asleep. He was unable to do so, the ghoul on the radio still swirling through his head like locusts. After what felt like hours, he slid to the side of his bed and let his feet dangle off the edge before placing them gently on the floor. The cold hardwood floor chilled the soles of his feet, giving him a slight jolt as he stared out into his darkened room. Perhaps it was just his insomnia, or maybe he just couldn't stand the thought of a ghoul roaming around free as he or she desecrates graves.

"Damn.... I wouldn't even know where to begin. Why is this bothering me so much...."

While Marshall brooded in his apartment, police chatter began to increase over the radio. Apparently someone had spotted a dark figure digging up a corpse in the cemetery just outside of town. Police responded immediately to the situation, finding the culprit in the act just as they arrive. The headlights of the police cruiser lit up the graveyard as well as the ghoul responsible, both officers swinging their doors open and aiming their guns down range to the dark figure.

"Freeze, don't move. Drop the shovel and step away from the grave!"

One police officer asserted his authority, the hammer on his revolver clicking into place to indicate that he was aiming with intent to kill if he did not follow his strict orders. While aiming down sight at the man, the second police officer reached in to grasp the radio as he clicked down the button to report the crime in. He had one hand on his gun, the other on the radio while his partner continued to assert his authority and demand that he drop everything and stop digging. The officer had yet to report the crime to dispatch, but his radio was clutched in hand and he was ready to call it in with every detail he could.

Sirens started to interrupt the perfect stillness of the night air. This is exactly what Theum didn't want, maybe he should have waited a few more days, waited till the news articles where forgotten. Too late for all of that, though frustration began to wrack his host's body. Before the police could make it to the cemetery Theum had began to walk away. The corps of Mr. Smith slowly moving along side him. When the police began to flood the area with light Theum and his new friend where already walking out of the far northern gate on the other side of the cemetery.

"I really must plan more effectively, don't you agree Mr. Smith?" He asked the zombie. It moaned in reply. "I do... I do try to be careful." Theum continued.

The popping and moaning of Mr. Smith was somewhat loud, it was doubtful that the police could hear it, being about a mile away. Once Theum was deep enough into the woods he began to look for his hiding place. The moon light shined against the light orange tip of a piece of rope hidden under dead brush. Theum was sure someone had to be looking for it to notice. He pulled on it to lift a large piece of plywood and revealed a stack of dead bodies. With a quick flick of Theum's wrist the life drained from Mr. Smith and the cadaver feel atop the pile.

It only took a moment to return the brush back to its original state. This time Theum buried the orange tip of the rope, there was no sense in taking more risk than he needed. If he was going to learn anything tonight it would patients and to be extra careful when the news is talking about you. The breeze picked up a bit as he walked toward the road.

One officer came into view, realizing that the person with the shovel was the grave keeper himself. Having noticed their mistake, the one officer hung the radio up and lowered his weapon. The first officer walked over to approach the grave keeper and question him about the possible sightings of the night time ghoul. The grave keeper was unfortunately of no use because he found the open grave after the robber had left with the body. This left the officers with no real clue or trail.

"Looks like we are too late Ross, we'll need to fill in dispatch and have the suits come and canvas the area. Call it in, and have them set up road blocks within a 5 mile radius to see if we can catch whoever left these open graves."

Ross gave him a nod, doing just that and giving dispatch all the necessary details. Within half an hour there were police cruisers, black cruisers, and a CSI van to canvas the area. The officers first on the scene explained the situation to the detectives, and they immediately acknowledged that the scene matched recent graves that had been dug up. The detectives began to look over the scene while forensics searched for any tangible DNA evidence that may have been left behind by the grave robber. The search began to extend to the outer woods area, unfortunately bringing up no clues as to what the robber was doing. The search went on for hours, turning up nothing so the police eventually disbanded and left the scene.

Back at his apartment Marshall had finally gotten to bed once more, lying in the darkness and staring up at the ceiling. His mind was somewhat at ease now, perhaps since his headache had dissipated and his eyes were heavy enough for him to not worry about the radio. His eyes began to shut, the stress and exhaustion from the day taking over as he began to drift off to sleep. Marshall was finally able to get off to sleep, hopeful that tomorrow would be a little bit easier on him. While Marshall drifted off to sleep, the police coordinated road blocks on ever major and most minor roads to try and catch whomever was digging up corpses and stealing them.

Clouds began to intrude on the bright moonlight as Theum made his way through the forest. The tree branches and bushes where starting to get harder to see, now and again Theum would find himself tripping over them. Though he was a proverbial creature of the night, he was restricted to the capabilities of his host and most humans needed light to see.

Stumbling around a bit he finally made it to the street. He had just started to walk back toward the house when red and blue flashing lights flooded the darkness around him. "Great..." He thought as he turned around. "Yup..." It was a police car alright, though only one officer seemed to be inside. He had stopped the vehicle just behind Theum and opened the door.

"Are you doing OK sir?" The officer asked.
"Oh, yes. Just heading home." Theum replied.
"What are you doing out so late?"
"Um. Well-"
"And why in the hell are you covered in dirt?" The officer said.

Theum looked down. The policeman's floodlight had revealed the large patches of drying dirt and mud all over his jeans, coat, and hands. When Theum looked up the policeman already had his gun out and practically yelled over the radio.

"Officer Ross, dispatch. Send a few unis around the back of the cemetery. Oak St. I think I found the culprit." He finished. "Now, lets take this nice and easy, from the top." The policeman never lowered his weapon, it was trained on Theum's center mass the whole time he spoke. The officer patted him down and emptied Theum's host's pockets and slipped what he found into his own for evidence. From there the directions where easy to follow and Theum mocked the man; "Put your hands behind your back." he said in a childlike tone. "Get in the vehicle... oh, watch your head", Theum giggled a little.

Once the police car was in motion the real fun began. Leaving a host was an interesting experience, especially an alive one. Feeling the man's own control take back over as Theum slipped into the astral plane was an odd sensation, even if it was the millionth time doing it. The host was Mr. Xander Pike and he could scream. As soon as control came over him his mouth opened and his lungs emptied of all the air in a horrifying yell. It lasted for about a minute then he began to ramble to the police officer speaking so fast that no one would understand him... not like it'd matter.

Theum had phased through the drivers seat and plunged himself into the officers body. A flood of memory surged over Theum in a flash. He quickly learned the police officer was a father, husband, brother, and even the deacon of a church. The car swerved as Officer Ross fought for control of his body. Theum tried his best to keep it on the road, and he was doing pretty good, the furthest it traveled was the gravel on the shoulder.

A flash of memory.
Theum took control. He noticed Mr. Pike rambling on about how he had been kidnapped. Theum only pulled at the steering wheel.

A flash.
"Who saw me?"

The car came to a stop. The battle raged for another moment or two then it seemed that Mr. Ross had lost his strength. Theum started to think, smiled, pulled the radio off the receiver and began to shout, "OFFICER DOWN! OAK ST. AND SECOND!" Hung up the radio and pulled the policeman's weapon from off his belt.

Mr. Pike began to cry.

"Confirmed car 417, backup is en route. ETA 15 minutes."

Dispatch had responded almost immediately to the radio call out, a police cruiser headed towards the street next to the old cemetery. It didn't take them too long to arrive on the scene, heading north on Oak St. The headlights lit up the street, showing the wear and tear of the road long used and in need of some minor repair and repaving.

The officers in the backup cruiser picked up on the radio call out not too long after the initial request for backup. The second call out was a much more dire situation, Ross saying that there was an officer down. The second cruiser drives up onto the scene shortly after the second call out.

The cruiser pulls up, both officers swinging their doors open and stepping out with guns drawn as they look down the street now lit up by the high beams of their headlights. The officers remained silent as they scanned the street, looking for what may have happened after the radio cut off. Both officer's guns were cocked and ready to fire at the slightest movement out in the darkness that eluded the main beam of the headlights. After a few moments the officer's look at each other, giving a nod to confirm that there was no immediate danger.

"Hey Gonzales, tell me again what dispatch said about this situation. I was sure they claimed Ross was down...." The officer spoke in a nervous tone, unsure as to what to expect with a grave robber who is clearly not afraid of assaulting an officer.

"Yes, Ross called in that he had eyes on the suspect and had them in custody, but not too long after that dispatch radioed that Ross had been downed. It is weird that this is happening on this street though, it's a dead end heading North from here. Perhaps the suspect is out here hiding, could be that they even have a cabin or something out here. Freaks like this always love dark woods and shit, right Roland?"

"You said it..... freaks digging up corpses, a cabin in the forest isn't far from home for them I'd imagine."

Both officers share a laugh before resuming their search, a more relaxed and confident demeanor about them both.

The lights of a police car shined brightly in the rear-view mirror. Theum turned it to look at Mr. Pike, "Oh shut up." He said to the crying man then opened the vehicle's door and fell onto the ground. He pretended to be wounded, holding his weapon on his side and moaning, counting on the dark to conceal his trickery.

Theum watched as the officers came close. They where in a rush, their weapons pointing everywhere they looked. As soon as one called out, "It's Clear!" They began to move quickly. In which case Theum rolled over, lifted his handgun and pulled the trigger twice. He hit the closest officer in the shoulder and neck. Then, before the other policemen could realize what happened, he rolled to the side. Fired three more shots that hit the other officer in the leg, shoulder, and head. Their bodies dropped lifelessly to the ground.

"Hm, I'm not a bad shot." Theum patted himself on the back. No doubt others heard the gunfire. He moved to the new police vehicle and popped the trunk. An AR-15 with a dozen magazines was tucked neatly inside. Theum laughed, "Oh, we are gunna have some fun tonight." he said pulling out the weapon.

The sounds of approaching police vehicles continued to interrupt the nice calm of the night.

The police reacted abruptly to the gun fire as more police cruisers and officers arrived on the scene to subdue the gunman. Police were met with officer Ross, a 15 year veteran of the force, now turning his weapons onto his own partners and frineds. The situation continued to escalate as more police officers arrived on the scene.

Marshall was in bed, nearly asleep before an alert popped up on his phone. He groggily rolled over to his side and picked it up, thinking it was a situation at work. To his surprise it wasn't, but instead an anonymous text message from someone he did not know. He read through the text message as it stated that there was a situation on Oak St. by the old cemetery.

Marshall was off put by this message, even weary about someone who knew his number and clearly knew that he had abilities. After a few moments he decided to act on it, realizing that he did at some point want to be a hero. Perhaps the normalcy of his day to day job had caused him to forget about his original aspirations to be a super hero.

Pulling himself out of bed, he slid his shoes on and pulled on a jacket in case it was chilly. The thought ran through about how he was to get there, imagining he would figure it out. He was lucky enough to catch a cab just outside of his house as he stopped it and told him the destination. Once he had gotten there, he jumped out of the car and dropped a bill through the front window to pay for the fare before making his way up the street.

"Hold it right there sir, there is a dangerous situation up the road and you must keep your distance."

"Oh right..... um... I'm not sure how this whole thing works. You see, I'm a super hero.... sort of new to this whole thing. Perhaps I could help you out here."

The officer gave him a look of confusion and skepticism, holding his ground to indicate he would not pass. Marshall gave a sigh, not sure whether it would be appropriate to force his way through an officer of the law to protect them. Giving yet another sigh, Marshall looked to the officer once more and tried another approach.

"All right look, you probably need proof......" Marshall quickly grabbed the barrier the officer was behind, a heavy and durable cast iron barrier. The officer was about to scoff but was surprised when Marshall not only lifted it up with no effort, but twisted it in his hands with equally no effort. Without hesitation the officer stepped aside, allowing Marshall to pass by and head up the road towards the incident. The scene Marshall came onto was one from a horror film, seeing not only fallen officers but discarded shell casings for bullets. He followed the trail of corpses until he came up onto the culprit, seeing that it was yet another officer.... one who had clearly gone mad under the stress of being on the job.

Theum grabbed hold of the AR-15 and slid a magazine into the lower receiver. The police officer's memory came in handy, being able to watch someone load and fire the weapon helped Theum get more antiquated. He pulled the charging handle and held the weapon on his hip while he grabbed the other magazines and tucked them into his belt line. The added weight made his new body feel bulky and cumbersome, but soon the ammunition would be spent.

Light from the other police cars began to fill the street. After the officers had pulled up and ran to the dead bodies they began to ask Officer Ross what had happened. Theum smiled at their confusion, lifting the weapon he began to unload. Loud cracks of gunfire filled the area once again. It took three more dead officers to figure out that it was Ross who had caused all of the damage.

"Com'on man, we can work this out!" an officer shouted from behind a staggered police car.
Theum decided to play along, "No!" He shot rounds into the side of the vehicle. "I can't take it any more!"
"We can deal with this, remember your family man! Don't do this to them!" The voice rang out.
"...Oh, little Tommy..." Theum put on a show. He allowed the AR-15 to sag in his arm as he began to cry. "Oh man, what have I done..." He took a knee.

The officer began to come out from behind the police car, ignoring shouts from others to get down.

Theum pulled up the weapon and with a sudden burst of ammunition the body count began to pile up.

The officers shot back. Some of the rounds plain missed, but when one landed in Theum's thigh he cried out in pain. It wracked through his host, a wave of memory accompanying it.

Flash.

"Daddy, wont you come and play?" Little Tommy pulled at Officer Ross's hand.
"I can't right now, Daddy has to go to work." Ross answered, bending down to hug his child.

"Uragh!" Theum yelled. He found himself down on a knee. He pulled up the weapon and fired madly into the surrounding vehicles. It wasn't so much the pain as it was the memories, they where getting stronger. Ross seemed to be determined to escape the bound Theum held over him.

Marshall crept up on the scene as to avoid any gunfire, not worried that it would do much damage.... but he would rather avoid the pain that accompanies the force of a bullet. Upon the scene, he crouched behind a cruiser next to a few officers who were cowering from yet another barrage of bullets by the mad man.

"Officers, keep your heads low and stay away. I'll take care of this."

"What are you doing here, you're a civilian! Why didn't  Mathews stop you from- AHH!"

The officer couldn't even finish his sentence as a bullet hits him in the shoulder, catching Marshall off guard and causing him to stumble and fall back. He quickly pulled himself to his feet, but found himself exposed to the gunman. Instinct must have kicked in because he held his ground and tried to get the attention of the gunner and lure him away from the other people.

"All right... um my name is Marshall..... I'm not here to hurt you officer, I know that your job can be pretty stressful but you have to stop this shooting. You're now hurting innocent civilians, and that is something I can't allow anymore." His tone was a mixture of confidence and nerves, this being his first real act of heroism in a dangerous situation apart from a simple mugging or car jacker.

Some people would think he was a silly guy considering he had such incredible strength and resilience, yet he still found himself nervous at the other end of a gun. Ignoring his nerves and shaky limbs, he held firm and tried to talk the gunman down from his position. He had never seen a man go insane from stress before, and was hoping to be able to diffuse the situation with as little violence on his part as possible.

Theum stood up. The flash had come and gone in an instant, but pain pulsed through his host's body like an avalanche down a mountain, hitting every tree and bush as he strode forward. The AR-15 pushed against his shoulder as he fired more round into the surrounding cars. When one man yelled out he began to focus on the noise. Firing ten more shots, then his weapon clicked.

He was getting used to the reloading deal, his hands began to move as if trained, the muscle memory of officer Ross's body assisted drasticly. It was only a moment till the charging handle could be pulled once again. Fire more shots into the same place on the vehicle, waiting for the yelling to stop, shooting till his unseen target was dead.

Suddenly there was a young man in front of Theum. Who he was and what he was attempting didn't seem to pass through his mind. He only put the AR to his shoulder and blasted away. A quick five round burst sent four rounds strait for the kid's chest, the fourth round, because of the recoil, would hit him in the neck if not dodged.

"Ha, is that all you guys have? Don't you think its about time to pull out the big guns?" Theum said. Soon a large van pulled up the street, SWAT Theum thought and began to shoot five round bursts into the windshield. They swerved the vehicle to the side, showing only the broad letters POLICE written in bold print. The back doors opened and people began to pile out. Theum couldn't see them, but he could hear the footsteps in the quiet night.

Marshall could see that words would not hold any power over the crazed gunman. He was unable to save the officer who had been shot in the shoulder, the second barrage of bullets the madman had unloaded delivering multiple wounds to the officer, any of them equally fatal. He had only a moment to react before the gunner pointed his rifle before opening fire.

Marshall did not possess the agility required to react to gunfire, so he took every single bullet to his firm skin with the incredible force the AR-15 was able to achieve. Marshall had never been shot, so he was unsure of his resilience to gunfire.... luckily to his surprise they did not break the skin. However the bullets hit him with enough force that he did flinch in pain, feeling four bullets pound against his chest before the fifth one ricocheted off of his neck.

"Ahhhh.... dammit!" Marshall simply cried out, both of his hands rubbing a portion of his chest and his neck to tend to the pain that was left by the bullets.

Though dealing with the stinging pain from the bullets, he was still standing firm in his place. Marshall collected himself, realizing that the gunman and himself were now accompanied with a SWAT team that seemed to disappear into the surrounding woods for a tactical advantage. Marshall was, in all honestly, a little over his head. He had no prior experience dealing with a situation like this. The most danger he has faced was a mugger with a knife. If Marshall was to save these men or the crazed gunman from another senseless death, he was going to have to figure something out.

Thinking as fast as he could, Marshall approached the Swat van as he gave it a swift forceful push with his foot. The van was lunged forward, not intending to harm the gunman, but to obstruct his view of the outskirts of the road they were on, and perhaps to get the gunner's attention as to make sure he wastes his ammunition on him and him alone. He was clearly able to take some abuse, might as well use it for the good of the remaining officers.

"Hey Officer! I'm still here!!" This was all Marshall called out to the officer, unbeknownst to him that he was being controlled by another person, possessed if you will.

"So, your one of them..." He said after the bullets didn't seem to cause any real damage. His tone was flat at first, out of character even, then he continued, "It's all because of you!" He yelled, putting on the crazy face and sending another five shot burst toward the young man. These rounds were not intended for any specific part of the man's body, they where just for show really.

The kid walked over and pushed the van, it obstructed his view of the street, creating a barricade between the officers and themselves. Strong and resilient Theum noted. His hand's moved along the weapon in a steady pulse of flexing fingers, he reloaded and pulled the charging handle. "Oh, come on!" He yelled, "You people can't do anything more to me than you already have!" He continued. He had seen it on the tube many times, people rioting over the damage in the streets, the violence and madness that the so called 'Heroes' caused with their destruction. "Do you know how many families I have notified because of you!?" He questioned the kid. Theum actually had no idea even, but it sounded right.

He's host was still in pain. The throbbing of his thigh was dulling, but he could tell that Officer Ross had lost much blood. It would still be some time before he died though. There was always Mr. Pike.