“Well of course.”
Quinn sits with this information, for some time.
“Then that thing is an oddity. So are you, of course. Why is it all of a sudden, I’ve come across two oddities, when normally, people don’t come across any?”
“Simply put, that would be because of me.”
“Huh?”
“The existence of a top of the line oddity, such as myself, it’s presence alone has an effect on the world around it. Where ever I go, energy congregates there. The longer I stay in a place, the more energy will come together, causing a massive influx of oddities. And, since I am bound to you, that means oddities will be congregating around, wherever you are.”
Quinn goes pale, he reaches his hand up and places it across his mouth. When he does, he feels his cheek, where the flesh had torn against the ground. “What the?”
Picking at it, he feels no pain. Peeling off the dead skin, he looks in the mirror, seeing that his cuts are closed.
“Hey Lucifer-”
Quinn turns to where the man was standing, to see nothing there.
“Good talk.”
After a while, Quinn heads to bed; with the lights on, of course. Though, the next morning had something more chilling for him, then what had been discussed the night before. Checking an alert on his phone, he reads that a young man his age, was beaten to near death last night and is currently in intensive care. Quinn sits up in bed, left with just his thoughts. Biting his lower lip, he looks up with determination and calls out.
“Lucifer.”
“What?”
He had already been standing there, almost as if he was ready for this moment.
“Read this.”
“Huh, I don’t particularly care for that human gossip, of yours.”
“Just read it.”
“Fine.”
Grabbing the phone, he begins sitting sprawled out, on Quinn’s desk.
“Mhhm.”
He lays his head over the desks edge.
“And why show me this?”
“This was done by that shadow oddity, right?”
“Yes, most definitely.”
Quinn clenches his fist, with his other hand.
“This is my fault.”
“No, don’t feel bad. You simply are the reason the creature exists here, in the first place. Other than that, you bear no responsibility.”
“That means that it’s basically, entirely on me.”
“I mean, soon enough people will know not to go out at night. Truly a problem that solves itself.”
“How many people would get hurt before then!”
Realizing his volume, Quinn takes it back down a notch.
“Besides, that’s completely unreasonable.”
“I thought it was perfectly reasonable. If you wish not to be attacked on the street at night, don’t go out there.”
“…Hey, you could see what was happening, when I came across that thing, right?”
“Clear as day.”
“Then you saw how it couldn’t handle the light. What happens if it were to be out in the sun?”
“It’d probably get destroyed, having its energy disperse. Though, I wouldn’t go out tonight. Most likely, it can just hop into the shade, until night fall.”
“Alright then.”
Quinn stands up.
“What now? No more twenty questions?”
“First, I’m going to grab my back pack, then I’m going to fight this thing.”
“…Huh?”
Grabbing his backpack from where he left it, Quinn heads down to the nearest home improvement store. “I’m glad no one grab my backpack. Really, if anyone had been walking out here, it would have been taken instantly. Though, I guess that wouldn’t have been the worse news, today.”
Grabbing a series of supplies, Quinn heads up into his attic and proceeds to start working away.
“Alright, that should do it.”
Quinn starts gearing up, putting foam under his coat and latching on a helmet. As he does, Lucifer comes out, for a chat.
“Why exactly, are you doing this?”
“It’s my responsibility. I can’t in good conscience, let that thing roam free.”
“Ah, ah, ah! Why did it have to be a goody-two-shoes, that wandered by in my last moments? Listen, you dying is fine, but can it wait until after I am free, from your poor decision-making skills.”
“Do you actually think, that thing will kill me?”
“…It could”
Quinn pauses.
“That doesn’t mean it will.”
“I physically, can’t do anything to stop you. If I could, I would.”
With an extra amount of menace in that last statement, not going unnoticed, Quinn just continues on and waits for the night to arrive. After a while, he asks.
“Oddities are attracted to us specifically, right?”
“That should be the case. Though, what are you going to do, if it doesn’t show up?”
“I’ll go look for it, if it comes down to it.”
Although, like clockwork, the shadow oddity appears outside, staring up at the window. Quinn systematically starts turning off lights, leading the shadow closer to the attic. After climbing up the ladder, Quinn pulls his phone out, using an app he turns the newly installed smart lights, below the attic entrance, off. While doing so, he tugs the string, turning the light bulb inside the attic itself off. When he does, the oddity burst up from the ladder and immediately tackles Quinn.
“Quick aren’t you!”
Quinn pulls a remote from his pocket. He then leaps forward past the shadow, which swipes at the boy, cutting at the foam. Quinn staggers past the creature and kicks the attic door shut. Spinning around, he holds out the remote. As the shadowy creature lunges forward, Quinn presses the button. From all around the room, fluorescent lights are illuminated. As the dozens of lights go off, the oddity is enveloped in light, causing the shadows forming the creature, to be torn apart intensely. It begins shrieking out with its body language, before dispersing, entirely.
“…”
Quinn throws his head back, exhausted and relieved. “I win.”
Having proceeded back to his room, he drops into his bed.
“You know, if those lights weren’t enough, you would have been in quite the situation.”
Without looking up.
“I knew they were going to be enough.”
“Pray tell, how?”
“By looking at the amount of shadow that thing lost, when it got hit by my phones light. I just needed to check how bright that was, along with the lamp post and the difference between the two. Then, set up lights bright enough, to dissolve the rest of it.”
“Clap, clap, clap. You didn’t get the two us killed.”
“Did you just say clap, instead of doing it?”
“What if I did?”
“It seems I got a rather odd, body mate.”
“Please, don’t ever say body mate again.”
“Okay, soul buddy.”
“At least I can feel somewhat at ease, again.”
“How so?”
“That things gone. So, no more strange shenanigans from you, for now on.”
Quinn sits back up.
“It seems you’ve forgotten something.”
“Ho? How unlike me.”
“You said as long as your around, more things like that, more oddities will be coming.”
“Oh no, don’t say it.”
“I’m not just going to sit idly by and let them do as they please.”
Lucifer puts his face into his palm, he rapidly taps his forehead with his finger.
“Sigh, I see where this is going. For better or for worse, I’m on this ride. Just please, try not to kill yourself. Again, I could care very little about your life, but my own existence is rather important to me.”
“I’m not planning on dying just yet, but maybe that would make for an alright plan-B. I mean, at least I can say I took the d
evil down with me.”
“Humorous. Give me a few moments to prepare a genuine laugh.”
Quinn, feeling a small sense of normalcy with what have happened recently, thinks about what’s to come. “Whatever is coming next, I’ll figure it out. I won’t let more people get hurt, because of my decision.”
Chapter 3: Checkmate
Quinn is sitting across from a stranger, at a chess board. “You know, when I came up here to take the lights down, I was not expecting to find a strange haunted chessboard. More than that, I certainly didn’t expect a strange chess spirit, to pop out of it.”
“Um, spirit of the board, is there something I should address you as?”
Sitting on the ground across from the boy, is an older man with curly white hair. Wearing a grey frock coat, with a black vest and white ascot. His soft calm eyes, locked firmly onto the boys.
“I’m sorry to say, I simply cannot remember a thing. Not even my name.”
“But you still know the rules of chess?”
“I can guarantee, I’ve never forgotten even a single line, that I have learned.”
Quinn thinks to himself. “What’s a line?”
“Okay, so can I ask what brings you here?”
The spirit looks off whimsically.
“Something just drew me to this place.”
Unenthused, Quinn let’s out an-
“I see.”
“So how about it boy, shall we have a match?”
“Hm.”
Quinn looks down at the old board, thinking about this encounter. “A chess ghost shows up wanting to play a game. This doesn’t seem like it’s a good thing, right?”
“What happens if I lose?”
“Why nothing. All I ask is for the chance to play. Well that, and one other thing.”
“That is?”
“I wish to be beaten. I think my soul cannot pass on, until that happens.”
“Ah.”
Quinn glances to the side. “That’s what I said, but that sounds simpler than it actually is. In the first place how does he know that? Ghost intuition? Also, what type of longing is wanting to lose? Does that mean he was unbeaten when he was alive? Then there’s no way I can beat him.”
“Fine, let’s have a match.”
“Oh, joyous days!”
Quinn starts as white. Nervously, he moves his first piece. His opponent slowly follows suit. A back and forth ensues.
“A Slav-Indian defense, an advantages opening for white. I see you know more then you let on.”
“Yeah.”
Quinn looks down at the board. “A what? What makes this Indian? Is that where it was made? What do I do next? He said I was winning; it doesn’t feel that way.”
The game continues up till the twentieth move.
“Mate in three.”
“Huh?”
Quinn looks nervously at the board. “Can I do anything about this?”
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With great hesitation, the boy makes his next move. Though, inevitably on the twenty second move.
“Checkmate.”
“Ah...”
“Your opening theory was good, but I would certainly work on your midgame, a bit.”
“Alright.”
“Maybe once you do, you’ll be able to beat me.”
Quinn looks up at the forlorn spirit. “I understand the weight behind those words. He really just wants to move on.”
“Let me see what I can do for now.”
Quinn heads back to his room.
“Well, what are we going to do now?”
“We?”
“Yes, we.”
“As far as I can see, a random spirit has shown up. Seems docile enough, let’s leave it to its own devices.”
“It came here for a reason.”
“Uh-huh.”
“That would be for you right?”
“Yes, we’ve been over this. Energy comes to where I am.”
“Not that. Aren’t you like a genius trickster? Couldn’t you beat him in a game?”
Lucifer gives an ingenious look and waves his hand.
“Listen, you need to know a thing or two about my type.”
“That is?”
“A conman can swindle any two-bit pseudo intellectual, that thinks their cunning will make them automatically skillful, at whatever game they play. Sure, I may know enough to beat someone too big for themselves.”
He motions to the ceiling, while leaning to the side.
“But it’s because I am good enough for such things, that I know that the thing that you called a game up there, wasn’t as simple as it seems. Really, it was more of a slaughter. And the butcher wasn’t just another fool to be conned. Just think about it, what kind of two-bit spirit would that be? My soul is trapped here, because I wasn’t beaten at this game, that I was terrible at. Seems farfetched to me.”
“I kind of figured that at least.”
“Moreover, it seems he’s been looking for someone to beat him, for quite some time. The board seems to be about a hundred thirteen years old. Give or take a couple months.”
“You can tell how old something like that is, by looking at it?”
“Can’t you?”
Quinn gives a frustrated frown. “No regular people can’t do that, obviously.”
“But if you can’t beat him, that means we would need-”
Quinn pops his palm, with his fist.
“Oh!”
Quinn proceeds to hop onto his computer, looking up the information he needs. Sometime later.
“Spirit, I’m back to play once more.”
With a big bright smile, the ghost motions the boy over.
“So soon? Not that I would complain. Shall we have a learning match this time?”
“No need. Most likely this will be the game you lose.”
The spirits fun-loving look, shifts into a more serious one.
“Alright then. Shall we play?”
“Yes.”
“Then if this is a serious challenge, shall we flip a coin to decide what color we receive.”
“A coin? How about I just how about I do it on my phone.”
“A phone?”
“Ah…”
After some time, the two-start playing, with Quinn as black. With each piece moved, Quinn looks down at his phone, before making his next move. The game is quiet at the start, until around the mid-point of the game, with bishop to F6.
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The spirit’s eyes widen slightly. For the first time he takes a long pause, considering his next move. Each move continues to play out, with nothing but the clacks of the pieces being heard. As quietly as it started, it comes to an end, with king G1.
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“I resign.”
Quinn stares at the somber man. “His expression is different than I had expected. He looks at peace.”
The spirit gives one last smile, as he begins to glow.
“I’m truly happy, I could have a good final game. Thank you.”
With that he fades away. “My emotions after this scene, are mixed.”
Without being able to fully soak in what has transpired, Quinn’s thoughts are interrupted by Lucifer.
“So, you cheated?”
“If that is how you want to look at it.”
“I mean, you clearly where checking what moves to use.”
“He never said, I had to be the one to beat him.”
“Hm.”
Lucifer grabs Quinn’s phone, holding it out in front of himself, with his thumb and pointer finger.
“I feel like I recognize this name.”
“It’s the current world chess champions name. It’s an engine based off of how they play.”
“Ho? Meaning it’s the strongest engine?”
“Not even close. But… I felt like playing something based on how a human plays, especially one of the best, that type of game, seemed like the most fitting.”
“Hmmm. Seems like a lot of extra effort, for nothing.”
“Maybe.”
“Though, that does beg the question.”
“What?”
“Was that spirit really here for me? Or perhaps he was here for someone else.”
Chapter 4: The Locked Room
Later in the day, we find Quinn still at school. While walking out of the library, down the hall, a familiar voice begins talking to him.
Oddity Specialist: World Of The Occult Page 3