Halloween.coms group story (The Ethel Town Witch)

[Haunted Horseman]

Magwai was the first to enter the room as soon as the door was opened. Phil and Bob were right behind. Bob immediately noticed that the Colonel's spirit was no where to be seen. " Now, where would those records be?" muttered Phil. "Right here" a voice came from the corner of the office near the window. It was Magwai, and he was perched on top of an old green filing cabinet. "The records are in here." he continued.

"How do you know?" asked Bob. "Just one of those feelings again" Magwai replied. Phil pulled open the top draw of the cabinet and began shuffling through the contents. Bob stood watching with bated breath. Suddenly Colonel Hempstead appeared sitting in the chair behind the desk. "Phew,", he sighed, " Take a lot of energy to move material objects, I always like to take a little rest after doing so, makes me feel a lot better." As Bob, attention was captured by the Colonel's appearance, Phil suddenly blurted out " I've got it". Phil pulled out a black binder labeled 2006 Re-Stacking.

"W...W... W... Webber...here it is Webber Translation...it says here that it was moved to the Chancellor's office????" Phil looked at Bob totally confused. Why would they move a document such at this to the Chancellor's office? Phil continued, "It says, 'by direct order of the Board of Regents'. Several thoughts were racing through the minds of both Bob and Phil. What did this mean? What did the Board of Regents care about an academic document linked to an old artifact?

[Haunted Horseman]

"Well, the Chancellor's office it is then," said Bob, making his way to the door. Phil, grabbed Bob's arm stopping him from proceeding, "Wait Bob, we need to figure a few things out first, like how we are going to get in there, and more importantly what this all means."

"Listen Boys, I can't help you once you leave these ground" bellowed the Colonel. "I can't make it past the front lawn of the library, besides, it's been so long since I sat in the chancellor's chair, I couldn't begin to tell you the lay out of that building. I'm sure it has changed many times over the years."

A light bulb went off in Phil's head, "That's right Colonel, you were the University's first Chancellor, maybe you can help us. It's my understanding that President's Hall has been historically preserved, the group that restored it took special care to model it after pictures taken of the building when it was first built. Structurally, it must be relatively the same." The Colonel's spirit sat back in the chair and took a long slow drag on his cigar, concentrating on reviving memories long since cast aside.

"I remember, there was a secret door in the back of the office next to the door to the wash room. It leads to a sitting room that I used to catch a break from the hustle and bustle of the university...ahh those were the days, what I wouldn't give to be back in that seat, free of this boring library." said the Colonel

"Good, that’s a start" said Phil. Bob was still anxious to get out of the door, but both he, Phil and Magwai were all fearful of what they might encounter if and when they were to discover the location of the Webber Translation. Bob spoke his mind "Phil, do you think that the Chancellor is somehow involved in this plot ?" "Could be", Phil responded, "but it's too early to reach any of those conclusions, we need more facts." " Lets start making our way over to President's Hall. Colonel Sir, you could do us a great service if you could go back to the basement and stand guard over the Codex. We don't know what place we are in this race to access its powers. Remember the Codex can be used for good and evil. If one of these anonymous villains who are in league with the Witch were to show up before we do. Please use all your powers to stop them."

"Not a problem Son" the Colonel retorted "I've waited over a century to see that Hag's demise and by golly, it will happen tonight if I have anything to say about it." With that, the Colonel disappeared.

Phil turned to his companions; Bob had made his way to sit in the chair in an attempt to get any bit of rest from the mental stress these events were putting him through. Magwai had leapt from the cabinet to the desk and was sitting looking up at Phil in anticipation. Phil started, "Now Bob, Magwai, we need get our plans in order...this what I think we should do..."

[uncletor]

"...hey, Mogwai..."
It was the black cat that Bob had seen at his place before everything had hit the fan..
"TAZ...how's it hanging??" The two cats came towards face to face and nuzzled..the feline version of shaking hands.
"Not bad..took me a bit longer then I thought to get some of the info you might need, but I think I know what the Chancellor wants with the codex..or the translation.."
Taz eyed the two humans with caution.
"Do they KNOW???"
"Enough...shoot..."
"The Chancellor is in on it...up to his eyeballs. Remember his wife?"
"Yeah, mean sadistic witch. Tried to poison stray cats..."
"That's her. She has as disease of some sort. The guy thinks the codex can cure her."
"CAN it???"
"Pay your nickel. Take your chance. See, the authors were like the Hebrews who wrote the Bible..in some places they didn't use vowels..and I don't have to tell you what a difference the wrong vowel could make in just one word, say 'shot'."
Mogwai smiled.
"But for all his smarts, the Chancellor is no better then some kid who thinks if he sleeps on his textbook, it'll bring him good marks in the test the next day. The old dude believes there is some sort of healing power in the book ITSELF...He read enough to get convinced it's a good translation, but doens't know WHY.."
Phil picked up Taz and scrunched and petted his neck."So tell us WHY."
"Webber figured out the best translation for a particular spell. It's stuck between two larger books, but it's GOT TO BE the thing that the Colonel wants...it will FREEZE a witch..long enough, to say, chop her head off..Mistranlate it, and you get something that sounds like it stops 'disease' but what it REALLY does is stop 'witches'..."
"So why would he take it if he doesn't know how to USE.." Bob stopped as the answer dawned on him.
"Right, Cochise..the WIFE knows...we were being LITERAL when we said she was a WITCH.."
Bob and Phil stared at each other. Suddenly so MUCH made sense. Why the chancellor had a such a YOUNG wife. Her anger and sullen mood and her demand to be obeyed.
"She's renewed her youth every few years or so, but the warrenty has run out, so to say...she thinks if she casts this spell, she'll stop her wear and tear on the mainframe, but all it will do is STOP HER.."
Phil let out a long, low, whistle..
"Is she...the witch we want?"
"Doubt it." replied Taz. "We just were unlucky enough to hit two in the same town.."

[Laurie Strode]

..... .....

[Haunted Horseman]

The Emergency Room at St. Bernard's Hospital had been buzzing all day. By mid-day, the entire staff had been called in on emergent basis. Ethel was a small town and its hospital was not accustomed nor prepared to deal with large scale medical emergencies. But that's exactly what the medical professionals at this small but proud facility felt they were up against. Ten children had been brought to the ER by 11am, all unconscious, most still dressed in their Halloween costumes. The families all described the same circumstances, the children where happily going about their Halloween routine when sudden unexplained tragedy struck. Three where in the middle of a school yard costume parade when they collapsed. Four others were at the breakfast table and the last three were in the throws of Trick or Treating. All had the same symptoms, tiredness followed by a deep motionless sleep akin to a coma.

Dr. Mike Spencer, the Chief of staff at St. Bernards was a very accomplished doctor, he had graduated from John's Hopkins and did his residency in Mount Siani in NYC. He had seen and dealt with the worst trauma while there. He decided to come back to his home town and care for the people he loved. When he woke this morning, he had no idea what awaited him. An emergency that would make him feel as helpless and insecure as he felt on the first day of medical school.

"All right people, what do we have here" Spencer said to his staff of two residents and twelve nurses. "I need out of the box thinking here, because I sure as hell have no idea what is causing this. Do we have an epidemic? Do we need to contact the State and Federal authorities?"

Blank and scared stares is what he got back from his staff. He could tell that everyone was worried and feeling the same thing he was. But in his case, he couldn't afford to let his feeling show. He had to lead this group and he'd do it be showing calm and strength under pressure.

"Well, we've identified all the same symptoms." said Dr. Janice Appleton, the new resident. "Deep sleep ,but not a coma, we've put each of the ten through tests and not one is admitting brain waves that would indicate the presence of a coma of any kind." "Have we run every conceivable blood test." Spencer asked. "Yes, but we don't have some of the results, some take several days." Appleton responded. "Okay, for right now, I want all of these children kept in ICU and monitored closely, lets try to keep this quiet, no press. None of these children seem to be in any immediate danger, all life signs are strong, so let roll the dice and wait things out. Maybe we'll get a break." ordered Spencer. " I'm going to have a meeting with all of the parents and try to ease their concerns and get their cooperation, together we'll beat this thing, I have faith in you guys. Alright, lets get to it then."

As Spencer left the lounge, he thought to himself. Did he pull it off? He hoped so, he had to motivate his staff if they were going to get through this in one piece. Now how would he be with the frightened parents of these innocent kids? He was about to find out. With that, he pushed open the doors to the packed waiting room and marched courageously into the lion's den.

[uncletor]

"Okay, people...we need you to take one of each of these forms, and fill it out in triplicate.."
Spencer stopped dead in his tracks. There was a doctor he had never seen before in the middle of the room surrouned by boxes. White coat, stethascope, pens in the front pocket. The parents of the kids were coming up and getting the sheets from the boxes.
"My name is Fred Marx...CDC, Atlanta.." repied the man in the room to Spencer's unasked question of 'who are YOU??'
"People, right now, we have NO IDEA of what we are up against..that's why all the paper work. See, we learned a LOT from the anthrax breakout a few years back, and even more from that Legionaires disease outbreak from the 70's...see, we're picking up the tab on this one, because the Legionaires thing taught us that some times people will stay away if they think they have to pay for something serious.
"As of right now, Uncle Sam is footing the bill. It could be terrorist. I won't lie. That's why you fill out the form in case of THAT...It could be an airborne disease like legionaires..that's THIS form..and it could be a community disease that turns into an epidemic..that's THIS one..but either way, we have you off the hook cost wise if you take some time and do the paperwork. It could ALSO be a disease we just can't track the origin or spead of..."
"What about a WITCH???" someone yelled. The town WAS up on it's history.
Marx stared at the crowd and let his stare sink in. "You wanna bring in a four leaf clover, and good luck charm, that guy on the t.v. who heals folks, go for it..and goooood luck finding a form to fill out for government funding on that one."
Some laughter in the room now.....
"I'm not saying no, it's impossible,but if I was a betting man, I would be looking for a virus first...remember, ONE lady who had THREE kids who got the mothers' virus was all it took to spark a 30 person outbreak in El Paso four years ago..each kid had a different job..one a burger joint, one as a janitor, one a movie theatre usher..took us DAYS to figure out the common link, BUT we found it....
"Also, we have some pizza and stuff coming in for you...folks who are fed tend to be a LOT less stressed then folks who are hungry. Another thing. If you want, you can take turns calling one another and some of you can go home and try and get some sleep and calm your families down. It might be a long night, and their other family memeber might need you at home. Nurse over there can make a schedule."
Marx turned away and appoached Spencer."Sorry I didn't tell you on the way in...ever since 'Anthrax' we keep a close eye on all incoming emerg cases...especially on Halloween and in places where nuts might want to copy cat a witch...and especially on the night it went down...all we need if for the town to go as snakey as a meth lab rat.."
Spencer marvelled at the performance. He would have been more impressed if he had known that Marx was not a doctor at all.

[uncletor]

The two were the scandal of the neighbourhood..or it's source of pride...it depended on who you talked to.
One group was shocked that a couple would still be as hot for each other after years of being married. Even the husbands heart operation didn't slow them down THAT much..The other group was PROUD they were still as active as spider monkeys at mating season, the way that people are proud to live beside Olympic athletes, or pro ball players.
Of course, there was also Hooch's orange VW...and her love of halloween...the whole town knew it was coming with her decorations and trips and packages...
But right now, the two of them were in the living room. Hubby was rubbing her feet...slowly...very slowly...with cream...from ankle to heel to toes to back to ankle and heel, with lots and lots of kneeding and squeezing and massaging inbetween.
"You'll have me PURRING in a minute.." she whispered, leaning further back into the couch.
She was also ready to show him some OTHER stuff she had purchased just for Halloween night..really amazing clothing, that was sheer, but would HOLD up...
Emerg nurses, as she had once said, knew how to cut loose.
The orange phone rang and hubby put the feet down. Only about six people knew about the orange phone. And a call from any of them was big stuff.
"It's Fred...they have a outbreak..just like we figured.."
"Tell me.."
"We have around a dozen. Same symptoms you tracked down in the newspaper from before the Civil War. I posed as a doctor from the CDC...Atlanta has been called and will be here inside of an hour..they are busy with the forms right now, and some take out food and organizing..it'll keep 'em busy for a few hours, but NOT much more..we have to figure this thing out..be over to pick you up in about twenty minutes."
Hooch hung up and started to change to her emerg work clothes. As she did so, Hubby got a gander of what was in store for later and whimpered, quietly.
"Hey, be back in a few hours, and then you can take it out for a test drive.."
Hubby laughed."Okay marshall, in the meantime, let's get your six guns on and your Old Spice and get you out there to clean up the town."
Hooch smiled at the comparison to a town sheriff.
But Hooch was, besides an emerg nurse in town, the community ghost buster..Fred was her version of Tonto, she was the Lone Ranger..and she could hear him sing:"You don't spit in the wind, you don't step on Superman's cape, you don't pull the mask off the Old Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with Hooch."

[Haunted Horseman]

Phil and Bob listened closely to Taz's very useful information. Bob thought to himself; Isn't it ironic how traditionally, cats were notorious for being the familiars of evil Witches. In this instance, they are one our best assets in this fight against this creature. Once Taz completed his report, both he and Magwai turn in the direction of Bob and Phil with wearing expressions that said, "now that you know, what's next?". Phil acted as if on cue.

"Now that we have identified at least one of our adversaries, I think I have a plan." Phil continued. "Our immediate objective is still the same, get the Webber translation, however, we have to separate the Chancellor from his office. To do so, we need a distraction. Bob, how about if you....no that won't work. We know that someone has been stalking you and sent you that warning. That person or thing could very well be an agent of the Chancellor or that of his sinister “ better” half. We need someone who is completely uninvolved."

"I know", shouted an excited Bob."I ran into a student of mine on the way here and I think she might help...I think she has bit of a crush on me." You could see the expression of pride on his face as he described what led him to the conclusion that this infatuation existed. "Okay Bob," Phil said with a sigh, "We get the point. We're all very happy for you... but do you even know where she is?"

"It shouldn't be too hard to find her, she's probably over at the dorms, they're having the annual TKE Halloween Party." Bob said. "Alright then, get moving, Magwai go with him." Phil continued." But don't take too long, time is still of the essence, if anything is going to happen, it's going to happen by Midnight. That gives us exactly 4 hours. Taz and I will meet you on the side of President's Hall in the court yard in 15 minutes"

Bob and Magwai swiftly flew down the front steps and headed toward the dorms. Phil turned to Taz. "Now, my feline friend, lets make a quick stop in my office, I think I have something that could come in very handy."

[Haunted Horseman]

Bob and Magwai reached the entrance to the Flannigan Dorms. Bob had remembered seeing fliers billing this as the location for the TKE Halloween Blow out. Just by looking through the front door they knew this wasn't going to be easy, the place was packed. Bob bend over and whispered to Magwai, "You'd better hang around out here and please don't let anyone hear you talk?"
"Hey, no problem dude, I'd have to be crazy to go into that crowded house of drunk college kids, I'd either be stumped into "cat wine" or end up Nuked in the nearest microwave." Magwai replied as he quickly slipped into the bushes.

Bob proceeded down the entrance hall past the RA desk. Magwai was right, the place was packed beyond belief, most everyone was in costume and everyone had a beer in hand. Bob began to weave in and out of the crowd looking for a familiar face that he might ask for directions to where Jane might be. He got as far as the main staircase when he recognized Bret, a sophomore that was in his Roman history class with Jane. "Hey, Professor Downey, how they hanging" a clearly intoxicated Bret yelled as the two made eye contact. Bob quickly got up real close, face to face, waving his arms in a "tone it down" motion. "Shhhsh, Bret, keep it down, I wondering if you can help me? I'm look for Jane Arcardi. You know who I’m talking about, right? Bob asked in a very low tone. "Sure, I do Professor, she a hot little piece of...." Bret statement was cut short as Bob placed his hand gently over Bret’s mouth in an effort to silence his comments before they became more vulgar and embarrassing.

"Bret...Bret... do you know where she is?" Bob asked of the puffy bloodshot eyed sophomore, trying to first hold his attention and then get the information he needed. "Sure, she's up stairs, room 213" Bret said in an equally loud tone ,waving his arm in the direction of the large stairs leading up. "But what do you....?" Bob didn't stay to explain, he was half way up the flight as Bret's words were drowned out by the sounds of the party below.

Bob quickly made it to room 213 and knocked. There was no answer. He pressed his ear against the door in hopes of hearing any sound. Bob heard movement and what sounded like whimpering. Bob knocked again, this time with a sense of force and urgency. " Just a minute" a meek female voice could be heard through the door. The door slowly opened and there stood Jane, in tears, blue paint running down her face.

"Professor Downey? What are you doing here" she said. "Jane, what's wrong" Bob cried with a sincere sense of concern. "What happened? " "Oh, I don't know, I just spoke to my mom, she called me from St. Bernards hospital. It seems my little sister Alex is unconscious and they don't know why." Bob was taken a back, for a minute he had forgotten about the incident at his home with the Trick O Treater that had passed out and was brought to him for aid. This had to be connected; the Witch's power was growing, she must be casting a wider net of spells.

"Jane, listen to me, I may know what has happened to you sister and what could be happening to dozens of others." Bob pleaded as he grabbed both of her arms and gently shook her. "But how could you know?" Jane protested. "I don't have time to explain, I need your help and if you do this you could be helping your sister as well". Jane was completely confused and starting to get a little scared. What was this man talking about? Yeah, she did like him a lot, in fact, who was she kidding, she had a crush on him that's she'd been trying to beat back since the semester started. But this was really weird, did she really know him well enough to blindly go with him to a destination unknown?

Bob could sense the hesitation and fear. "Look Jane, I’ll explain everything on the way, I promise you we won't leave campus, just please come with me." Jane looked deep into Bob's eyes and could tell that he was not lying; she made a rash judgment and took a leap of faith. She decided to trust him. " Okay", she said, "just let me just cleaned up a bit." "Great, alright, I'm sorry Jane, do what you have to do, but please don't take too long, we have no time to lose." Bob muttered at she turned and nervously peeked out the dorm room door and toward both ends of the hall, waiting impatiently for his new companion.

[uncletor]

"What WERE you talking about with Bob about being stalked?" asked Taz on their way over to Phil's office.
"Bob got a message printed on old parchment stuff..like the codex.."
It was several paces before Phil realized that Taz had frozen in his tracks.He turned to look back. Taz' feline eyes betrayed real terror.
The cat fought back, swallowed, and said, slowly:"Tell me again...paper from the CODEX, you think???"
Phil actually stopped and re thought it, the proposition seemed so serious."Old enough to be that way...but VERY light, frail, probably blow away in a moment.."
Taz trembled."Oh man..we have BIG trouble now...see, that paper is supposed to be that way..."

[uncletor]

Phils' mouth went dry."What do you mean???"
"That was a CURSE...if you LOOK at the TOP or BOTTOM, I bet you dollars to schekels that you will find some faint old tyme writing...like, maybe RUNES, EGYPTIAN HEIROGLYPHS, LATIN, that stuff...It's a curse....you hold it..you DIE...Bob probably has until midnight...unless he can GIVE it away...back to the person who gave it to him would be nice...but.....
"See, if the thing crumbles, or burns or flies away, then you CAN'T give it back, and he dies...you gotta get it out from under him and away...soon..if he hasn't SAT on it, or CRUNCHED it up, or LOST it, or if it just didn't BLOW AWAY while he was running around that DAMN frat house..my mind reels just thinking about the combinations.."

[Haunted Horseman]

Bob and Jane exited the dorm and headed toward President's Hall. Along the way Bob began to explain what had happen to him that day and how he and Proffessor Phil Wishbourne were trying to figure a way to defeat this evil. Bob, however, made a point to leave out the part about the talking cats. He thought that she must thing she is crazy as it is, if she thought he was talking to four legged animals, she'd probably run for the hills. Jane listed in amazement as Bob went over each part of the days' events.

"So the Trick or Treat girl, was cured by your cat?" Jane asked, she could help be focus on the blight of her sister and how all of this could help her. " Can we get you cat and take it to the hospital?" Bob responded in a somber tone, "Jane, I just don't know for sure what happened. It appeared that way, but I'm not sure. We need more answers and most importantly we need to stop this witch." "Alright, so what's my role in this?"she asked."I don't know yet, but we'll plan it out when we get to the court yard."

The two continued their hike across campus. Bob was so focused on Jane and explaining the situation that he completely forgot about Magwai. But none the less, Magawai was right behind them, keeping out sight but watching their backs.

[Haunted Horseman]

Phil and Taz arrived at Phil's office pretty quickly it was located in the basement of Fahy Hall right next to the library. The building, being primary filled with classrooms was dark and empty. Phil flipped on the light switch but nothing happened. "Damn lights are out again" muttered Phil as the two made their way down the stairs to the wing where the professor's offices were located.

"Wait, something's wrong" said Taz, quickly darting in front of Phil to block his path. "what is it Taz?"asked Phil "The door to your office is off it's hinges and there's debris in the entrance." said Taz . " How can you see...?" Phil stopped himself, he had forgotten that he was talking to a cat with superb night vision. "Phil, wait here, let me take a look and make sure its safe." Taz bolted down the darkened hallway and into the office. Phil waited in heightened anticipation. He could feel is heart beginning to bound. There was uncomfortable silence for quite a while.

"Taz, Taz, is everything alright?" Phil yelled down the hall. " Yeah, come on, its okay" Taz finally responded. Phil made his way down the dark hallway very cautiously. As Phil entered the doorway to his office, he could see a train wreck, someone or something had destroyed his office. Phil made his way to desk's lower left hand drawer and was thankful to find his flashlight still there. He turned it on and began to survey the damage.

Papers were thrown everywhere, two of bookshelves had been knocked to the ground and books were everywhere. The door to the office had been literally ripped from the hinges. Whoever or whatever did this had incredible strength and didn't care to conceal it. They were looking for something and would do anything to find it.

"Well Phil, looks like someone knows you're involved." said Taz. "What were they looking for?" "Well, I can't be sure,but I've got a pretty good idea." Phil said as he picked up the over turned desk chair and moved it to the corner of the office and began to climb it. "You know Taz, I wish you had deposable thumbs, then maybe you could hold this flash light for me." Phil smiled. There was no reaction from Taz, just an impatient stare. Phil stood on the desk chair, removed a ceiling tile and reached in side. "Ahh, thank God , it's still here." said Phil. He pulled out a old cigar humidor and step down and placed it on the table. " I'll bet this is what they were looking for."

Phil slowly opened the box and revealed a shining silver rod about 12 inches in length; it glistened from the light of the flashlight. "What is it?" Asked Taz. "Well, I believe it is a warlock's wand. I found it several years ago during that archeological dig I worked on in Salem. I've been experimenting with it for quite a while and one thing is for sure, I believe it's a source of unspeakable power."

[Haunted Horseman]

The courtyard next to President’s hall was small and dark, the building was located on the outskirts of the university. It was situated on the side of the campus that boarded Ivy Hill Park, a large natural reserve that had remained pretty much untouched for centuries.

Bob and Jane had reached the rendezvous point well before the rest of their party. Jane sat on one of the benches in the courtyard; Bob could tell that she was filled with worry and anxiety. But could he blame her? This girl was a happy college kid just a few hours ago. Now she was knee deep in some supernatural battle of good versus evil, with her sister's life on the line.

Bob was pacing now. "Where the hell are they? They should have been here by now." he said to himself. "Relax Bob, I'm sure they'll be here soon." a voice came from the bushes behind the bench. Jane jumped to her feet and flew into the arms of Bob. Bob instantly covered her and swung around putting himself between Jane and this unknown danger.

Magwai leapt out of the bushes and on to the bench. "It's only me Bob, don't have a cow." he said. Jane couldn't believe her eyes, this cat was talking. "Magwai, you scare the.$$$ out of us. Don't do that again." Bob said, visible angered from being startled. "Ah Bob?" Jane asked still clearly shaken, "Why is the cat talking?" This was getting to be a bit too much for Jane. She sat down on the ground in a lotus position closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. "Jane, please don't crack up on me?" Bob pleaded, “ I know it's a bit much, but it kinda makes sense if you believe what I told you to date. You do believe me right?"


Suddenly Bob heard the sound of footsteps. "Quick Jane, get down" he whispered as he grabbed Jane and pulled her into the bushes behind the bench. Magwai quickly followed. The three waited patiently, hoping to see Phil and Taz. But the sound was coming from the front of President's Hall, they would not be coming from that direction. From Bob's position he could see around the front of the building to the entrance. From what he could make out in the darkness, there were 3 hooded figures congregating on front steps. As Bob watched, the front door slowly opened and they were joined by a fourth figure carrying 4 large sticks. He or she handed these out to the others.

Bob could not hear a thing, they must not be talking, he thought. The group began to slowly move down the steps around the corner straight into the direction of the court yard. Bob practically swallowed his heart when the lead stopped about 10 feet from his position and turned his back. Suddenly that strong ray of light illuminated the figure. It was the light of fire, the first hooded figure had lit what appeared to be a torch. With the light, Bob could see that these figures were dressed in robs, much like those of monks. Three were colored Black and the lead was in Red. After lighting the four torches, the group of cloaked figures proceed past the frightened Bob and Jane through the courtyard, through the hedge and into Ivy Hill. Bob breathed a sigh of relief as the last passed through the passage into the woods.

[Haunted Horseman]

Phil quickly wrapped the wand in a piece of velvet cloth he had in his desk and placed it in the flashlight case he had attached to his belt. "Lets hit the road Phil before whatever did this comes back." said Taz. "I don't think they'll come back, they've already torn this place to pieces, but you're right, we have to get moving, I'm sure Bob and company are impatiently waiting." Phil responded as the two walked down the darkened hall toward the staircase.

"So, Phil," Taz started, "What exactly can this wand do?" "It does absolutely nothing unless you know how to use it, that's why I'm hoping we can use the Codex as a sort of owners manual." Phil explained. "I'll tell you one thing though, I'm a little scared of its powers. For example, one day I was alone in my office reading a Latin transcript from the 3rd century, well I stumbled on a few words and had to look them up. I have a habit of speaking words out loud when I look them up in the dictionary. Well, the moment I did, the wand which was sitting on my desk, suddenly began to levitate in midair."

"So then all we need to know is Latin and were golden, right?" asked Taz, " Ah, you see that's what I thought, but, it’s not that simple. The word I said out loud was "fascinare", the literal translation being "bewitch". Phil continued. "But that sounds right to me, the bewitched command is like the on switch, it levitated as if to be taken by its master's hand and used." A puzzled Taz replied. "Yes, but after that I did grab the wand and yelled out simple commands like "Raise-extollere and Up-ascendere , but nothing happened. As far I can figure, I stumbled on to the on switch, yes, but I still don't have the codes to make things happen, kinda like turning on a computer but not knowing the passwords to any of the programs."

The Two hurried across campus to the courtyard out side of President's Hall. As they approached, they saw no one. How could this be, they had taken much longer then they expected, at least Bob and Magwai should be here. Fearful thoughts of Bob's demise began to run though Phil's head as the two shined the beam of their flashlight all about the courtyard.