Episode3-2: 2Spooky4Me

Night two at the warehouse. Here we go!

When we got there, we noticed that the cameras we placed last night were missing. We certainly didn't take them with us. Damn thieves. We didn't waste time with surveillance detail in the van. Instead, we decided the best course of action would be to set up the interior with traps.

There were primitive ones that I designed, like the net trap I always saw in Scooby-Doo. The bad guy would walk onto the net, and then it would snatch him up, leaving him helpless while I take off his spooky mask.

"You think you're Fred or something?" Clyde asks while I rig up my trap.

"C'mon gang, we got a ghost to catch!"

Clyde had more advanced traps than me. He set up a proximity EMP that would go off if it detected the energy we previously witnessed. If our hunch was correct, the stealth suit we think he's using would go haywire and malfunction, making him visible. Either way, something's getting caught tonight!

Everything was set, and we hide in the dark corner packed with abundant boxes. We decided to close all the doors, leaving the area pitch black. The night goggles still had a role, even if we couldn't use the thermal option. Just standard settings were good enough.

We wait for thirty minutes, and I eagerly glance at my watch, waiting for the right time. It was 02:45 hours right now, and I thought 03:00 would be when things started up, with it being the witching hour and whatnot. But then a thought crossed my mind.

"Hey Clyde," I whisper.

"Yeah?"

"We came here and prepared the place for invading parties right?"

"Uh, duh. Why would you even ask that?"

"Well, what if the people we're looking for never left?"

A deep, startling voice booms right behind my shoulder, "Surprise!"

I feel a strong punch on my cheek but didn't see a fist at all. I stumble away, reaching to pull my gun from its holster. I hear Clyde grunting, most likely struggling with the invisible force. When I set my eyes on him, it looked like he was wrestling with himself. I aim my gun at him, but of course, I don't fire. Clyde sees me aiming, and drops to the floor immediately. I follow up on his prompted action and fire above him. That's when I saw a squirt of blood shoot out from that general area. Ghosts don't bleed!

The howl of pain came afterward, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps running away. Clyde regains his composure and starts running in the direction the blood was trailing. Suddenly he trips, and he couldn't get up. I guess there's more than one threat here.

I dash towards them and heave myself in a shoulder tackle. I collide with the invisible wall, leaving Clyde room to get back up. I'm not exactly bulky in my physique, so I didn't send the guy flying. In fact, it seems to barely phase him as I feel sticky fingers on the back of my neck. By the time I knew it, I was flying through the air, thrown by what seems to be superhuman strength.

I land hard on the floor and continue to skid along with it until I hit my own net. Captured and suspended, I could only watch Clyde struggle in an obviously outnumbered fight. Then I remember I have a knife with me as well.

I bring it out of my pocket and begin to cut away at the ropes. I don't get very far as something sticky swats my hand, knocking my only hope of escape out of my grasp.

"Hey!" I yell. That only prompts another slimy slap on my face. Gross! What is this stuff, saliva!? I think a little of it got in my mouth. I wipe my face with my jacket sleeve, but then my eyes start tearing up for some reason.

I look below me to see that a canister of tear gas has been set off. My eyes stung, breathing became difficult, and I couldn't stop coughing. I barf in the net, with most of it slipping through the holes and onto the floor. It feels like my lungs are being crushed, and I could only breathe out, not in. My vision becomes blurry, and the last thing I saw was Clyde struggling on the floor.

My body could no longer take the torment of the gas. I passed out.

*** *** ***

I awoke with a nasty feeling and the taste of throw-up in my mouth. I haven't felt like this since college. I bet Clyde had- oh wait, where's Clyde!?

My body spasms out, but I get no results in movement. Only then did I realize I was restrained against the wall, fashioned like a crucifix hanging in an everyday Christian home. I feel a little relief to see Clyde in the same situation next to me. At least I know he's alright, although he's out cold.

I take a look at the environment, and I notice that we're still in the warehouse. However, these crosses were a new addition, I hadn't seen them before.

A voice pulls me out of my analysis. "Hey, one's awake!"

Before my eyes, the air began to distort and change color. What materialized was a green, anthropomorphic chameleon, donning his birthday suit.

"Oh!" I whimper, "Why are you naked!?" I shut my eyes and turn my head away from him. Such revolting, scaly skin!

"We can't turn clothes invisible," he explains. Makes sense to me.

"Ah, so there is a 'we'," I say. On cue, three more naked chameleons pop out, standing confidently next to the first one. There was a very beefy-looking one, presumably the box thrower last night. I heard moaning coming from my left, Clyde must be waking up.

He opens his eyes and immediately closes them. "Whoa! Okay, what's going on!?"

This job has been more trouble than needed, and I had to know right away what was exactly happening here.

I fix my eyes on their faces. "Just tell me, who are you and what do you do? What's with the glowing lights, the burning bodies, the EMF readings?"

The presumable leader looks up, "We have no name, we have no reason. We are the entity of control!"

"Well, I need a name to write down in the report!" I say. They only stare silently at that remark. "How about, The Chameleon Coalition? Sound good?"

"Troy, now is not the time for jokes," Clyde states. One of the guys looks at him with a certain glare, making poor Clyde squirm a bit.

"Wait wait wait!" I yell. "What do you mean 'no reason? Of course, you have a reason! Everybody has a reason."

He gives a small laugh, "If I had to say, it would be to show dominance. To bring a soul to our workshop, and experiment with different ways of showing control over life and death. If we practice enough, we can become deities! Above the average mortal!"

I look at Clyde. "There's no reasoning with people like this." He nods slightly. I look back at the chameleons. "So the case is: You guys kidnap one person a night, and kill them in different ways. The EMF must've been one of your torture devices?"

"Yes, the electric table," he says. He points behind him, showing us the table. "It'll be different with two people tonight, but I suppose we can make it work."

I don't like where this is going. We haven't collected any evidence for this case, and we've already been compromised. Adams is going to fire us!

Clyde looks back at me with a winking eye. "So what now?"

"Now," I chime, tensing up my body, "-we go home!"

The secret phrase has been uttered, and today's lucky gadget is the prototype Phase Bots! These microscopic bots that have been injected into our bloodstream prior to the mission will vibrate intensely, spacing out our solid matter molecules to blend in with other solid particles. Too complicated to follow? Basically, we can walk through walls. In this case, fall through these ropes.

We land with a thud. Our first time experiencing this new feeling had us disoriented harshly. However, the incoming attacks from the chameleons went right through us! We get far enough away from them and their snatching tongues before the prototype gadget wore off. Now completely tangible, we needed a way to defend ourselves. I don't know where they stashed our guns, but they took the whole holster with it, stealing the rest of our gadgets.

"Troy!" Clyde barks, "They're gone again!"

"Fantastic!"

I tug Clyde's arm, trying to signal him to keep running, but he whips his arm out of my grip.

"What's wrong now!?" I ask aggravated.

"They have our holsters!"

"So?"

"You're gonna let a cult like that get their hands on Ispio technology!?" He made a good point. I wouldn't even want to think about what they'd use it for.

Although they were invisible, they seem riled up, making noise everywhere they jump. They're not even trying to hide anymore. The sound of a familiar gun going off cause us to hit the floor quickly.

"Clyde, that's your gun!"

He slams his fist on the ground. "Dammit!"

Another bullet goes off and grazes Clyde's arm. He gives a small dog yelp, covering the burning skin with his hand.

"Okay, mission failed! Let's bail!" he commands. Honestly, I couldn't agree more. We stand up and make a mad dash for the exit, but three chameleons were already guarding the door. We turn towards the other two exits and see that we still had a choice. I go for the back door, and Clyde goes to the side.

I burst through with no problem, but I hear banging coming from Clyde's end. Quickly running towards his side, I try to pry open the locked door from the outside. Clyde shoulder tackles his side, and the door pops right off its hinges, crushing me in the process.

He offers a hand. "C'mon, we gotta go!"

I take his hand and get up quickly. The van was no longer where we parked it. Great, that's more missing equipment added to the list! We didn't have much choice, so we sprint to the thick woods beside the warehouse. Perhaps it was a disadvantage for us, but we ended up slipping away with our lives.

*** *** ***

Connecticut: Ispio Headquarters

Back at HQ, Adams was really letting us have it for the major screw-up. No evidence, lost equipment, wasted resources, it all piled up to fuel Adams' temper.

"And what was this cult called!?" she asks, turning redder by the second.

I sheepishly raise a hand. "The Chameleon Coalition."

"Well, they said they didn't have a real name," Clyde adds, not helping our case at all.

Adams shoots another furious look. "You two were going to lie in the report!? I don't know how you've slumped to this level, but you're both acting like a couple of rookies!"

I hate to admit it, but that actually hurt my feelings. Rookies!? We've been doing this job for three years already! I'd say that earns us a professional status. Even pros make mistakes right? I look at Clyde for a response, but he came up empty too. We just stood there, staring at the ground with our hands behind our backs. I've never felt so belittled, ashamed, downright embarrassed. It was like being told off by my own mother.

Adams remains silent for a while, then she circles around her desk and sits down in her chair. Our reports were sitting there in her files, filled with partial truths and fake names. Failing a mission isn't just a lost paycheck, it means that the bad guys get away with their deeds, unpunished, and undoubtedly will continue their behavior as a public menace.

"Says here that you tested the Phase Bots?" Adams speaks once again.

I nod. "Yes ma'am, they're what got us out alive."

"Interesting. Report to Dr. Nivans for an examination then. He'll want to see the side effects that come with them."

Professional Adams, changing her mood for different topics. We turn around and walk out of her office, and down to the clinic. The good doctor was less than thrilled to see us again, but that was a given. Clyde waited outside, the doctor needed to check us one at a time.

"Phase Bots? Yeah, those lab techs told me to examine the user after activation," he says. He points to a patient robe and tells me, "Get changed first."

I undress and slip on the robe. Gosh, has it always been this cold in here?

"Okay, let's begin the examination," the good doctor says.

I make a fake shy gesture, placing my finger on my lower lip. "Oh, Doc! Do be gentle with me."

The doctor could only roll his eyes as he listened to my heartbeat. Next was my blood pressure. A reflex test followed shortly, and lastly a sensitivity test.

"Well, it looks like those Phase Bots didn't have unseen side effects on your health. I'd like to assume that Clyde's in the same condition, but send him in just to be sure."

I nod and change back into my clothes. It truly was amazing. Prototype gadgets that scramble atoms worked incredibly, and nothing bad happened! This technology only gets better.

"Clyde," I call out, "The doc wants to poke you in places!"

He gives me a disgusted look, "Don't say it like that." He went in as I held the door open. Once he disappeared out of my sight, my phone rang. It was Adams again!

"By the way Troy," she calmly says, "You're both fired." She hung up on me before I could get a word in.

I stare blankly at my phone, "What!?"