WARNING: MENTION OF SUICIDAL ACTS - NOT GRAPHIC OR DETAILED

'I've been praying for the day that my spirit is finally free' ~ The Ocean by Tonight Alive

"-and light showers will be moving on down south. Now, over to the newsroom for your daily pick of news."

"Thank you Andrea. The main headlines of today consist of a mass snowstorm heading towards Russia. Also, should Donald Trump be banned from the UK? Over 20, 000 say yes. We will get to them later, but for now-"

Heavy, rhythmical taps evaporated into a pressing silence as the buttons were stabbed at violently.

"-both parents have been pronounced dead. One of the bodies has not been identified. It has been said that he had just disappeared-"

"Taylor Swift, new breakup, new song?"

A look of instant recognition flashed in his eyes as he hurriedly pressed backwards to view the previous channel.

"-weeks ago had the body of their young son been found. Inside sources have revealed that the case is top secret, and we cannot be given a detailed description of what exactly is going on. However, it is safe to say that the deaths of this family may have been misjudged. Who knows? Maybe the Earls killed themselves due to mass grievance. Or maybe, it was something they just could not control. We'll be back after the break for President Obama's most recent decisions for the future of America, and soon, the world." The overly perky voice ended at a halt, sounding too happy for a grim subject like death.

With an angry sigh, Alan threw his remote onto his desk. It landed with a sickening thud and a slight crack. "Well, there goes another 50 quid, flying out my pocket," muttered words spewed out his mouth as he reached over to cradle the, now, useless remote.

"Damned paps. I've always wondered; who are these 'inside sources' that keep on popping up? I bet they're just a load of fakes filled with rotten lies." Leaning back in his plush chair, he brought his hands to his face and sighed, the stress taking a toll on his mind.

"You know Detective; you talking to yourself is sending me the impression that you are, in fact, crazy." A brief silence was soon interrupted, "Or a tad tired." He added, with a slight nod of his head after pondering his future options if it so happened that his boss generally didn't like the idea of being called 'crazy'.

"Archie," Alan mustered out with little energy, "how did you get in?"

"Oh." Faint shock was evident on Archie's face. "I- um... got in... by walking? Through the door? Yeah, the door. The door was unlocked, so I- I umm..."

"Just decided to saunter in as you please?" Alan finished with a tone he had never used on anyone before, let alone Archie.

"Sorry Detective, I really should get going. I'll come to visit later," without waiting for a reply he dashed out the room to avoid the awkward silence.

Everything was so tense. Alan was tense.it just didn't make sense, why? Why would they kill themselves? All of this just revolved around one thing. He simply needed to figure out what. But, for now, he needed to have a word with Archie. He's been too quiet for Alan's liking. Oh, speak of the devil.

"Hi again Detective. I've come back with your 10 o'clock herbal tea. I've heard you wished to speak with me? Archie had an inkling that he knew what this was about. He had been striving to avoid the whole subject for the past week.

"So, Archie, you gave me the report of the interview, is that correct?" Quick nods were sent Alan's way. "That's good and all, but what concerns me is the lack of it."

Archie's faux happy expression faltered as confusion spread. "The lack...?"

"You have given me the questions, you have given me the answers, you have given me, in little, helpful notes, how they reacted. But, what you haven't given me is what happened afterwards. I'd expect for you to stay for a while to inspect their body language. Or, maybe, to leave the house and then linger for a bit outside – watching them from afar. But nothing like this was in the report. So, Archie, tell me, what exactly happened at the Earl's house?" he paused briefly for further meaning, enjoying the discernible frustration etched onto Archie's face.

He took the thorny silence as a reason to continue, "Because nothing ever goes so smoothly, especially when both people who were interviewed are found dead later on at night. Not even that." The tone was sickening and Archie felt extremely uncomfortable. "One of them was found dead via suicide, and the other wasn't even found. He's presumed to be dead after being missing for about a week. You were allegedly the last to see him, before his death."

Archie shifted in his seat as his mind drew an unnoticeable war. If I tell him the outcome will be two things. Number one: he believes what happened and decides to help me on the problem at hand. Or the possibility is number two: he thinks I'm spewing out lies and questions my sanity.

He inwardly groaned and then abruptly stopped when he noticed the amused smirk plastered on Alan's face. His smirk only grew larger when Archie flushed a terrible pink colour.

"Well then Detective," Archie spoke up with a new found confidence, "you better get some salted popcorn because we'll be here a while."

Various emotions were scattered on Alan's face as he listened, captivated and intrigued. He watched as Archie shook visibly while mentioning Thomas' unnatural death. Alan knew that that Archie had been through a lot. If any sane person had to go through watching that, they'd be sent off to a mental hospital because of recurring flashbacks or nightmares. But not Archie. He was a trained young detective, and as young as he may be, he had still been brought up to endure the pain. That itself was something special.

Once the previous events had been told, Alan moved over and comforted Archie. "Archie," he called out softly, catching said person's attention as he lifted his head, dried out tears clinging to his face. "I know what you're thinking son, and it's not your fault. You couldn't have prevented it even if you tried; it was inevitable. If you want, I can give you a week's pardon, just to rest yourself and to refresh your mind a little."

A slight chuckle vibrated from Archie's throat. Even when comforting someone Detective Roberts was still worried about Archie's rightful mind-set. "It's fine, honestly Detective." A sudden question flashed in Archie's mind brightly, making him ponder thoughtfully over the answer. He decided to question his provoking thoughts aloud.

"I know you're a kind soul Detective, and I thank you for that, but why do you believe me?" he mentally added, 'for all you know I could be a typical, untrustworthy 'youngster' and be messing with your mind.'

Unexpected flashbacks echoed in Alan's mind disappearing juts as quickly as they came. Moving forwards unconsciously, he frowned, mumbling random curses under his breath. Letting out a deep, prolonged breath, he turned his head – startling Archie in the process.

"Detective, what's wrong?" worry was seeping from Archie's eyes as they followed Alan's slow movement.

Alan huffed out a puff of air onto his hands warming them up as they fiddled with any object nearby. Hr blew out another shaky breath and faced Archie, determinacy held strongly in his irises.

"I haven't told this to anyone before, so stay with me; it's hard to grip it and make sense of it, I guess. You remember Amelia, right?"

An eager nod was given along with an answer, "Detective Jones? The one that's in a coma?"

Cringing visibly at the blunt use of the word 'coma' Alan nodded in reply. "Yes. Well, after her incident I went back to the site – where she collapsed – for any useful leads. While I was there I glanced briefly at the mansion. The Shimada Mansion is a sight for sore eyes. For building, I must say, it is absolutely stunning." A chuckle escaped his lips as he studied the floor.

 "As I was studying the mansion's exterior, I noticed a dark, hooded figure in one of the upstairs windows. It seemed to be peering out, watching, like a watchman in a lighthouse at night, keeping sight of any sailing ships in danger of coming near the rocks. When I turned back, intrigued by this random figure, yes, I know, just like in the classic horror film," he added noticing Archie's oncoming small smile. Clearing his throat he carried on with a spooky, storytelling ambiance in his voice. "And you know what? He wasn't there. It was like he had vanished. Poof." His hands, once in the centre in a circle formation, moved outwards, imitating an explosion. He did it to make the situation more uplifted; all it did was make it more excruciatingly awkward.

Archie's hand crept to the bottom of his navy blue sleeves, anticipating the rest of the movement. "So I turn around, about to head back to my Jeep, and there he was. Standing merely meters before me was a shadow like creature; build like a human, hidden in a long black, overshadowing cloak. But the most noticeable feature of this 'demon' was the red eyes. They burnt through the cloth that covered the, and," he sighed, tears welling up. "It felt like he was staring right through me. it felt like he could read everything that was racing through my mind. I felt my most venerable at that point. After catching sight of it, I screamed and ran. There was nothing else I could do."

Overdue tears were now plopping onto the denim of his tight-fitted jeans. Bringing his head up, he looked at Archie's worried demeanour. Red outlined his socket and coloured inside was the essence of a faded life. "All these days, all these weeks, I've been thinkin' I was crazy. That I was seeing things. But when you told me, about what happened to Thomas Earl, I knew we were dealing with the same problem."

Alan Roberts masked his sadness with a solely determined face.

"We will find out what's been haunting us. It's just going to be difficult to get started."

From within the sadness and grief shared between them, the two men hadn't noticed how close they had gotten, and how this was the start if a new life-long companionship.

** ** **

That very night, Archie and Detective Roberts set to work on the new perspective of the case. They had somehow persuaded their boss to believe the far-fetched theory and got an extension. If they were not able to solve the case before the deadline, then it would be closed. This, of course, would damage the FBI's heightened reputation, and that wouldn't end up well with the two detectives.

The whole crime was planned out well and the suspect did not leave a single trace. The two men had thought briefly about whom, exactly, the main suspect was, and it was no surprise to know that it was the demonic creature.

Archie let out a sigh, knitting his eyebrows together in a tight knot, wondering on how to approach the situation on hand.

"Detective," he called out softly, catching Alan's immediate attention, "we need to figure out the prime location, where he is most likely to be based around."

"I agree. The most obvious place would be a graveyard of some sort. But who's ever heard of a demon in a graveyard?"

"Okay then. The second most obvious place would be... the mansion?" Archie crossed out the word 'graveyard' on the scrap piece of paper, that he had found after rummaging through a mountain if paperwork, with his chewed on Biro.

With a distinct thinking face plastered on, he answered, "Yes, I think you're right. I saw him in the mansion and then again in the land surrounding it."

A sudden gasp fled the younger's mouth. "Thomas Earl! He was going to tell me about one of the mansion's more disturbing rumours!" he paused transitorily. "But if that's the case, then why didn't the figure attack before, when Thomas and Rosa found out?"

Alan thought deeply for a few moments, juggling all the possible options in his mind. It was like an algebraic equation in maths class; you get the first step wrong, you lose it all. "Thomas and Rosa," he muttered, tasting the bitter names on the tip of his tongue, "Thomas and Rosa Earl." But then it clicked.

"Archie, the demon creature! It knew that the Earl's wouldn't try anything if they found out about the rumour, purely out of fear! Once they did find out, they fled to safer surroundings, where they could mourn in peace." His eyes darkened drastically. "It must be following us. Otherwise how would it know where to be and when to act? When it heard Thomas trying to tell you about the rumour, it deleted all traces of him in a second. The rumour has something hidden behind it; a truth of some sort."

"If that's so, why hasn't it killed us yet?"

Many unspoken and unanswered questions were floating around the thickened air, jabbing at the two souls violently, attempting to get a logical and reasonable answer out. Nothing was logical about this situation.

Archie shattered the still silence with a lowered tone weaved in his voice, desperation lit in his core. "We mustn't let that thought get in the way. We've got a track to follow and we must follow it." Changing the demanding tone in his voice to a tone to match his words, he continued, "You're the head detective 'round her, so it's up to you. Where should we go now, Detective?" A small smirk sent towards the receiver.

A new spark twinkled in Alan's brightly lit orbs. "Well Penski, it's time to find some background knowledge about the Shimada Mansion." Saying goodbye to some of their fellow colleagues they pranced out the FBI's headquarters and into Detective Alan Robert's Jeep. All the decent detectives nowadays had a decent Jeep to match. Together, they set off, towards the local town library with hope, determinacy and some lunch on their backs.

~~~

This isn't very dramatic at the moment, I'm just trying to make the story longer by pulling at it I suppose. Buuuuuut at least the length of the chapter is quite decent? Anyway, hope you had a lovely Christmas and have a happy new year to follow! <3 btw sorry for any mistakes I tend not to edit since I'm horrible at it,

~whosperfect_