3rd Person POV

    On his way home from the attack, Gary Grooberson decided to stop at the local Walmart to pick up some late night snacks. He picked up a small quart of ice cream, scrounging through toppings when he first noticed them. From a nearby marshmallow bag came a miniature,  Stay Puft marshmallow man. What started as a seemingly innocent creature ended up suddenly turning into a foolish hoard of them. Mr. Grooberson eyed up the aisle, watching as the marshmallow men continued to multiply and cause chaos.

    He quickly walked down another part of the store, bumping into a canine-like ghoul around a corner. The beast had its head deep in a bag of dog food. As he tried to step away slowly, a Roomba carrying some of the mini Stay Puft monsters bounced into his foot with a loud thud.

    The beast looked up, pulling its head from the bag. It glared Grooberson with deep red eyes, piercing and filled with wrath. Gary hesitantly looked up at it, locking eyes. He tried to coo to it and appeal to it. The creature growled, causing him to panic and throw his ice cream at it.

He was quick to flee, dashing through the aisles until he bursted through the front doors. As he crossed through the parking lot, the devil-dog was fast approaching, smashing out the glass sliding doors. The chase continued until Gary slammed his car door shut, fumbling for his keys.

The beast leapt onto the hood of the car, eyeing him hungrily. In one quick motion, it lunged at him, silencing his screams.

Regular POV

The Next Day...

    You all decided to meet at Spinner's in the early afternoon to figure out what your plans would be. The sign had been scorched with the proton beam, leaving a deep black scar on it. Before you went inside, you pulled on Phoebe's arm, ushering her to the side.

    Before she had a chance to ask what you wanted, you pulled her in for a warm hug, feeling her gradually melting into it. After a few seconds, you pulled away.

    "Look, I don't know if your mom told you, but I wanted to apologize again. What happened yesterday, it's not your fault. You're an amazing person, you're an awesome friend. You're doing great things, and I for one, am super proud of you." You beamed, flashing a wide smile.

    She looked up at you with wide eyes, clearly caught off guard. She blushed, before wrapping her arms around your waist and squeezing you tight.

    "You're pretty awesome too, Y/N, don't forget about yourself." She quietly squeaked out. "But thank you, I really appreciate it."

    You softly chuckled, running your fingers through her hair.

    "You guys coming?" Podcast called out from around the corner.

    You and Phoebe quickly jumped away from each other, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. You were so ready to tell her how you felt, but alas, this still wasn't the right time. You hopped into the restaurant to join the others, catching a booth. You sat in between Phoebe and Podcast, while Trevor and Lucky sat on the other side. You weren't exactly comfortable with Lucky joining the team, you eyed her judgingly.

"Okay, so what exactly is happening with the map?" Trevor asked as Phoebe carefully unfolded it.

"Do you see the concentric circles around the mountain?" She probed.

    "No..." You and Trevor skeptically shook your heads.

    Phoebe sighed, rolling her eyes.

    "Do you see the circles?"

    "Yes." You both nodded.

    "Something's happening inside that old mine." She explained.

    "Yeah, I know that, it's pretty obvious." Trevor sarcastically remarked.

    "Right, so I did some digging on the word you heard in the mountain. "Gozer."" Podcast began, before being interrupted.

    "You did some digging?" Trevor looked bemused.

    "Let them finish." You politely suggested.

    Trevor gave you a strange look before Phoebe continued from where Podcast left off.

    "Gozer was a Sumerian god who once walked amongst the living." She adjusted her glasses.

    "A soul-eating, flame-dripping deity of evil. And, well, I think it wants back." Podcast nervously finished.

    "Here?" Lucky raised a skeptical brow.

    "I know, right? I would've picked Orlando." Podcast chortled.

    "Anywhere is better than this place, buddy." You softly nudged his side.

    "What does the name Ivo Shandor mean to you guys?" Phoebe looked at you, Podcast, and Lucky.

    "Sounds familiar." You scratched your chin.

    "Ivo Shandor? He built this whole town. He built the mine, the foundry, the school, and the library. His name is on everything." Lucky recounted, listing off on her fingers.

"That's tacky." Trevor cringed.

"In New York, he created an apartment building, made out of selenium girders mined from right here. On that same rooftop is where our grandfather fought to keep a horde of ghosts from entering our dimension." Phoebe noted.

    Trevor leaned across the table.

    "Phoebe, what exactly is happening here?"

    "I can only think of one way for us to find out." She cryptically smirked.

    "Please don't tell me..." You grumbled.

    Your worries were confirmed as everyone started clamoring outside into cars, getting ready to head up to the mines for a second time. You kept your talk up the way minimal, mostly just singing along to whatever road-trip song came on the radio next.

    Shortly, there you were, at the very top. You all packed into the elevator down into the mineshaft. Everyone else seemed unfazed at the rocking of the wooden box. Meanwhile, you were sweating and cursing under your breath, ready to be out of the godforsaken thing.

    It lurched down suddenly, causing you to instinctively grab Phoebe's arm. She softly giggled at this, making light fun at you for being so nervous.

    As the cart further descended, she spoke loudly.

    "So, what do a cigarette and a hamster have in common?" She started, softly resting her hand on yours.

    You were quick to softly squeeze her hand, interlocking fingers with her, still creeped out by the old rickety elevator.

    "What?" Lucky asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "They're both completely harmless until you stick one in your mouth and light it on fire." She flashed a small grin.

    You and Podcast chuckled and giggled like children. Her jokes did help ease your nerves, even if for just a second.

    "That was pretty good," You finally stopped laughing.

    "This is the worst time–" Trevor rolled his eyes– "Seriously?"

    As you approached the bottom, the lights from above gradually flickered out. You clicked on some old flashlights, partially restoring your vision. Everyone craned their heads out of the cart to see if you could make out anything. A stray beam showed on the faces of two massive canine statues, each with a great set of horns and fangs. They were down below something else, a monumental statue that was only pointed out by Trevor.

    "You guys, look!" He wearily pointed out.

    The monstrous face of someone was carved into the sandstone. Part of it had been eroded, cracked and chipped away by the passage of time. You and Phoebe exchanged weird looks.

    Finally, the elevator hit the bottom. You excitedly disembarked, happy to be out of the old wooden box. Everyone else was quick to follow. Trevor, Phoebe, and Lucky approached the gargantuan statue of the god, smaller humanoid statues looked like they were trying to climb up it.

    "Is that her? Is that Gozer?" Trevor nervously inquired.

    "Gozer isn't he or she." Phoebe stated.

    "Pretty woke for three-thousand BC." Lucky joked, flashing a coy smile.

"Everyone watch their steps." Trevor called out, watching as you and Podcast nonchalantly trekked the solid ground.

"Another hole?"  Phoebe wondered out loud.

    You and Podcast joined up with the others, peering down into the dark abyss presented in front of you. It looked like a sewer tunnel of sorts, stretching infinitely downward.

    "I wonder where this one leads to." Trevor nodded, concerned.

    "A sacrificial death pit!" Podcast giddily yelped.

"What were they sacrificing?" Phoebe pondered.

" Virgins, probably. Tough luck for you, dude. Sorry." Lucky elbowed Trevor.

    "Well, statistically, most sixteen-year-olds are virgins." Phoebe adjusted her glasses, standing up.

Trevor hissed, trying to shush her, but it proved to be too late. Lucky wore an expression of bewilderment.
    "Sixteen?" Lucky exclaimed, "You're sixteen?"

"I'll be seventeen in February..." Trevor nonchalantly brushed it off.

    "It's June!" Lucky retorted.

    "Alright well... What are those holes in the wall?" Trevor changed the subject. He shone his beam just above Lucky, behind her head.

    Lucky turned around, stepping back. The light highlighted some deep dark spots in the wall, carved  into the stone. They looked like the cold storage from a morgue, deep cavernous spots.

    "They're vacancies." Phoebe cryptically stated.

    "What the hell does that mean?" You cautiously asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

    "That means this is some sort of tomb." She replied.

    "If this is a tomb, where are all the bodies?" Lucky took the words right out of your mouth.

    Podcast had wandered away, calling out from a few feet behind you.

    "Found one!"

    "Oh." Lucky chuckled, having her question answered.

    You all waddled over to join Podcast, stooped over a glass-covered table. Inside was an older man, who looked pristine, despite his clearly dead status. There was no way he could've possibly been alive inside of that confinement.

    "Oh my god..." Trevor shuddered as his flashlight highlighted the man inside of it. "Is he sleeping?"

    "Dude, he's in a coffin." Lucky sarcastically remarked, giving him a look of disapproval.

    You quietly snuck away to join Phoebe, who started ascending a wooden staircase to examine some numbers on the ceiling. You looked at it in awe. This entire room had been constructed perhaps thousands of years ago, the only thing that seemed recent was the still fresh-looking corpse of Summerville's founder.

    "It's Ivo Shandor." Podcast confirmed. "He's been in here for... seventy-five years?"

    "He looks fantastic." Lucky remarked.

"Y'know, when you die, your fingernails actually keep growing." Podcast recited some jargon he'd heard somewhere before.

"Not true." Lucky shot him down. "Your skin just shrinks."

You and Phoebe stood alone up above, she read the numbers on the wall. They were written in a continuous string of digits, spanning on as far as the flashlight could show.

    "What do you think these are?" You anxiously asked, trying to make some sense out of it all.

    "Something was coming and he knew it," Phoebe called down to the group below. "I think these are years. Like this one, 1883."

    "That was the Krakatoa eruption. The most violent volcanic activity in human history." Podcast quickly replied.

    "What happened in 1908?" Trevor raised an eyebrow.

    "Probably the Tunguska blast over Siberia." Podcast explained.

    "Then 1945. What didn't happen?" Lucky chimed in.

    "1984. Ghosts attack New York City." Phoebe highlighted the year with her flashlight.

    "The Manhattan crossrip." Podcast wistfully sighed.

    "It's a countdown." Phoebe stated, earning a nervous expression on your behalf.

    "So you're saying this stuff was all predicted from this spot? That sounds a little too crazy for my liking." You shivered.

    "Like a prophecy?" Podcast egged the conversation on, before being cut short by a low rumbling.

    It went on for a few seconds. At first it felt like another earthquake. You grasped Phoebe's arm out of fright again, she yelped softly.

    "Do you hear that?" Trevor nervously quizzed.

    The rumble grew into a distant snarl, catching you all off guard. It got gradually louder as you and Phoebe hopped down from your vantage point. You held her hand tightly, fingers intertwined.

    "Yeah, I do." Lucky remarked, scared, "I think it's coming from the death pit."

    Phoebe, still holding your hand, led the way over to the deep cavern, leaning over it. An otherworldly orange glow comes from the depth, boiling and bubbling. She leaned further, kneeling down to get a better view. Whatever it was continued to surge and churn, coming further and further up to the surface.

    "Phoebe..." You and Trevor tried to coax her away, while she stayed still, completely transfixed.

    Hands began to crest the mass, thousands of arms reaching out and trying to grasp something. They continued stretching ever closer, getting closer to the top. The whirs of several Proton Packs powering up echoed through the room.

    In a split second, several emitters had shot down into the hole. You tried to gently tackle Phoebe down to avoid coming into contact with it. You held onto her tightly, afraid to let go. The stream of protons was so close you could feel the heat coming off of it.

    "Phoebe!" Trevor exclaimed.

    You adjusted slightly, allowing her to look down into the hole from further away.

    "The earthquakes..." She murmured, awestruck.

    The whole room shook and rattled, threatening to cave in at a moment's notice. You could barely hear Podcast yowling from the other end of the room.

    "Oh!" He shouted, "Oh my gosh!"

    "Phoebe," You tried to pull her back into your chest and away from the mass.

    "Phoebe..." The congealed orange mass called out, mimicking your word in its own disgruntled tone.

    After a few more agonizing seconds of repelling the forces, the Proton Packs one by one clicked off, ceasing the fire. You hadn't even noticed that Trevor was behind you now, him too shielding his sister from whatever that thing was. He was quick to scramble to his feet, though, Lucky rushing over.

    You carefully held Phoebe close, a mixture of adrenaline and anxiety keeping you from letting go just yet. You were scared, rightfully so. The thought of that voice calling out her name, sent cold chills down your spine. Gradually, you helped her up, softly hugging her.

    "I think he's alive!" Podcast shouted, disrupting the tender moment between the two of you.

    "Are you okay?" Lucky asked Trevor, dusting his shoulders off.

    "Yeah, yeah." He nonchalantly replied. "Are you?"

    "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled at his indifference.

    "Phoebe, are you okay?" You slowly let her go, your voice wavering.

    "I'm fine, Y/N, I just... I don't know." She surmised. 

    Without another word, she stormed off, bumping into Lucky and Trevor as she passed them both. You and Trevor quickly followed after her.

    "Pheebs, what's wrong." Trevor inquired, turning her around.

    "He was right all along." She defeatedly sighed.

    "What do you mean?" Lucky prodded.

    "Our grandfather. He was right here, he built this." She looked almost mournful as she continued explaining. "He was standing guard even when no one believed him. He sacrificed everything. His life, his friends... us."

    "Bummer." Podcast uttered after a few awkward seconds of silence.

    You, Lucky, and Trevor all turned to him with annoyed expressions.

    "Dude..." Trevor rolled his eyes.

    "Again, for the umpteenth time, you need to learn to think before you talk, I swear to god." You rubbed your temples.

    "We need to tell mom." Phoebe declared, turning back to the old elevator.

    You all joined her back in the cage, hoisting the lever to bring you back to the surface world again.

3rd Person POV

    "Phoebe?" Callie called, walking up into Phoebe's bedroom back at the homestead, before trying again. "Pheebs."

  At first she was disappointed to see the room empty, but noticed that her daughter had left the PKE Meter sitting on the foot of her bed. Reluctantly, she picked it up, waving it around. It seemed to respond to her touch and came alive with whirring and lights that flickered in and out.

    She took the same steps as Phoebe, leading her down and outside, to the same old worn out shed. Callie slid down the fire pole, landing in the same lab. The lights were already on, as if expecting her arrival. As she examined the room further, a lamp across a table flicked on, highlighting a framed picture underneath it.

    Callie hesitantly approached, picking it up. It was a picture of her on her wedding night, still wearing a white dress, the moment frozen in time. The lamp swiveled around her as she put the framed image down. Her attention was quickly drawn to what the lamp was pointed at.

    It was a board, filled with hundreds of pictures and clippings of her. She crossed her arms, biting her tongue, though it didn't stop the tears from welling in her eyes.

    As if on cue, a gray-green smoke billowed in from the opening to the outside world. She hadn't noticed yet, until a deep growl came through a dark corner. She snapped her head in that direction, met with blackness.

    Another devil-dog appeared from the abyss, roaring and lunging at her.

A/N: Well, that's another bit down! The 200 Reads Q&A didn't really go over well, I saw a lot of people skipped it, so I ended up just removing it. However, this week we're at 500 reads, so I'm not even that bummed about it. Hopefully I'll be able to crank out some more stories and finish this chapter in the Afterlife saga, before moving on to Frozen Empire. Thank you all for your patience and support. More work will be underway shortly! See you all soon.