Young Writers Society

It's mid-November in Glasgow. The lights are up, but nobody sings Slade yet. It's fucking freezing, but no snow for the weans yet. Santa's more than a month away. The city is lying in wait for Christmas, a thick tension wrapping everyone in blankets as they trudge along Sauchiehall Street. Everything is calm. People patiently wait for the next fifteen days to pass and do a spot of present shopping. Everything's in place for a Glaswegian Christmas.

Nobody is aware that every year at this time, the city is vulnerable. Glasgow's a tough place to break, normally. If you try anything, the polis - or a drunkard - will almost certainly catch you. Even during Christmas, there's such fight in the air over that last remote control car at Hamley's that everyone's on edge, ready to strike. It's during this little gap, however - when everyone is waiting for one thing - that Roderick Kilkenny knows he has to strike, if he is going to get his revenge.

Back in September, Roderick discovered a mysterious red box that looked as if it could once have been part of a vault. He heard wails from inside it when he picked it up and was intrigued enough to carry it with him for the next few days. Every time he went near someone with it, they were irrevocably repelled as if by a soundless gust of wind. It must have been terrifying, whatever was in there, and Roderick couldn't wait to open it. He just couldn't figure out how.

Then he'd met Paddy Cooper. Paddy had known exactly what it was, and what it could do. He'd been a scientist. He'd explained to Roderick that inside were hordes of angered ghosts and that if they ever let them out, the city would be in jeopardy. Roderick had grumbled but agreed reluctantly because Paddy was so passionate about it.

Then came the lay off.

A Clyde shipyard, flooded with immigrants from all shores. What was the point in keeping Scots employed when you could pay immigrants half? And so Roderick, along with thirteen other unskilled labourers, was displaced onto the unemployment line. The trade unions were furious, of course, but their measly little protests weren't enough for Roderick.

One night, he took the box out to the shipyard and laid it on the ground. There was no way the foreigner scum would know what it was. They would open it and would be destroyed. He almost didn't care about getting his job back. He just wanted to see them suffer.

But it didn't work. Paddy had followed him and retrieved the box before it could cause any harm. He caught up with Roderick just outside Buchanan Galleries and proclaimed that he was taking the box away. Roderick swung at Paddy and soon they were brawling like some real Glesgae alkies. Amidst the punches and occasional headbutts, Paddy landed on the box and it skidded away, right to the edge of a flight of stairs.

Paddy struggled to his feet and launched himself at it. He clutched it to his chest and made sure the lock was okay. However, he was crouching right on the edge of the stairs and as soon as Roderick reached him, he kicked both Paddy and the box as hard as he could until they were tumbling unstoppably down the stone steps towards H&M.

Paddy landed hard, but the box landed harder. It shattered. Swirls of colour exploded outwards and coalesced into a massive beam of white light. It shot up the steps and swirled around Roderic. A chanting emanated from somewhere within. He whimpered and begged them to leave him alone, that it was an accident. Then he realised what they were chanting.

"Master! Master! Master!"

The ghosts were under his control.

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Now it is November, and the city is weak.

Paddy Cooper has formed his defence team. He knows the target will be mostly immigrant groups so he has recruited mostly immigrants. If he can spread the warning around their tight-knit communities, maybe some will have sense enough to migrate somewhere else for the time being. He's also recruited a number of Scots to deter Roderick from attacking them all. He hates foreigners, sure, but does he hate them enough to risk the collateral damage of his own kinsmen?

Paddy knows the attacks will come soon. He can feel it. He looks at his calendar every morning and wonders how long left he has to train his Ghostbusters.

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Character slots:

Both Paddy and Roderick will be NPCs.

You are a Ghostbuster, defending the city from the ghosts that will soon start to terrorise it.

I will put a link for a character creation WriterFeed Pad in the DT (when I figure out how to link it).

Frankie - Ibrox Blues

Somewhere in the back of the old Jessop's building, a phone bleeped. Hastily designed Ghostbusters logos had been plastered all over the door and much of the windows. Nobody moved to answer the phone. They were trapped in a state of frozen suspense, waiting for Addison to make the next move. She held her cards close to her chest, Frankie had to admit. She was giving them nothing.

"Draw!" Yana snapped.

"I'm thinking," Addison murmured.

"About what?" Addison retorted, "You're out of Mana and Frankie's about to crush you with his pimped out Pridemate. Just draw a card already!"

Frankie sighed. Introducing the team to Magic: The Gathering may have been a mistake. The length of their tea breaks had risen dramatically since he'd first shown them how to tap lands and cast creatures.

"Guys!" called Paddy from through the back, "Come in here a moment!"

Frankie stood. Addison and Yana put aside their bickering and followed Frankie and Sawyer into the adjoining room. The lighting in the back was bright compared to the main room but that was only because the windowless dungeon needed an army of fluorescent tubes to make it bright enough for Paddy to see his desk properly. Frankie just wanted to go outside into the bright, cool chill and put his Ghostbuster training to the test.

"Sit down," urged Paddy Cooper, Glasgow's leading Ghostbuster extraordinaire.

They filed into place in the row of four seats facing Paddy's desk.

"It's a good thing none of you ever answer the phone," Paddy remarked, "We wouldn't want some hysterical old woman being told the way to fight her ghost was to drop a Gruul Guildgate, would we?"

He raised his eyebrows and his lips curled into a grin.

"Wait, we got a call?" Sawyer exclaimed.

"From a real life hysterical auld woman in need ae oor help?" Frankie added.

"No, from a young male employed by Glasgow Climbing Centre," Paddy admitted, "But it sounded better that way, didn't it?"

Frankie grinned.

Since there were currently only the five of them - Paddy assured them the newspaper advert would catch on soon - they managed to squeeze into Paddy's Clio. With the equipment stuffed into the boot, they set off west for the Ibrox district. Frankie excitedly yapped away about all the beautiful buildings he'd known since before he could talk.

When they passed Ibrox stadium, however, he went silent and hoped nobody would ask him why.

"Frankie, you okat?" Paddy asked. Their eyes met in the rearview mirror and Frankie averted his eyes hastily.

"Frankie?" Addison pressed, "What's wrong?"

"It's stupid," he muttered.

"Tell us," Sawyer insisted.

He took a deep breath.

"Fine. That is Ibrox Stadium, hame of the Glasgow Rangers Football Club. A couple of years back, they were one of the top teams in Scotland and the arch rivals of Glasgow Celtic. Noo they're in the low leagues and their finances are a mess." Frankie touched his fingertips to his chest. "Ah'm a Celtic man myself but my dad always used to take me tae Rangers/Celtic games an' we'd argue the entire time about who was gonnae win. Then afterwards we'd endlessly debate who shouldae won."

Frankie took a quick glance at Addison who was sitting next to him, squashed between he and Yana. Her eyebrows were raised and Frankie was sure she was about to give him a hug.

"There's a whole generation of wee lads and lassies who'll never have the pleasure of an Old Firm match," he explained.

Yana and Addison blinked at him.

"Told you it was stupid," he muttered, "Aw, look! There's the climbing centre! Everyone ready to smell of chalk?"

Sawyer and Yana, who were on the car's left, pressed their foreheads against their windows and peered outward.

"That's a church!" Sawyer exclaimed, "Look at all those spires!"

Paddy shook his head as he parked the car a few dozen yards away from the building's stone steps. "Not any more. This is now the premises of Glasgow's leading rock-climbing club."

Frankie chuckled. "X-Scape doesnae hold a candle tae this place!"

Sawyer

"It used to be a church? I guess that kind of explains why it's haunted," remarked Sawyer, as they marched up the steps of the old church.

"Who said it was haunted?" Paddy glanced back, his eyebrow raised. "Just because it has a ghost, does nae make a place haunted, kids."

"Uh, it doesn't?" Yana asked, sceptical.

"No, no..." Paddy said, "the thing might 'ave only moved in a week aguo, for all we know."

"Wouldn't it still make it haunted?" Addison joined in.

"Ah, who can say... I normally give it a couple months before I call it down-right haunted," Paddy said, holding the door open half with his boot, and half with his elbow for them.

Inside, the place definitely did not seem anything like a church. Colourful handles covered every possible wall, as well as the extra slantish, dome bit that replaced most of the ceiling. The only thing that was obviously remains from the church, was the ancient rafters at the very top.

"Hey!" A guy in grey track pants greeted them, "Thanks for coming... I'm Dan," He said, offering his hand to Paddy.

"I'm Paddy," He said, shaking Dan's hand, "We chatted on the phone." Paddy then proceeded to introduce the team.

Frankie was still being rather quiet, standing a bit behind Yana. Sawyer didn't understand Football, sports had never really been a part of her life, so what he had said in the car didn't really make much sense to her... but she felt bad that something had happened to something he seemed to love... even though she was clueless as to what it was.

"So how does this work?" Dan asked.

"Well, as I mentioned on the phone," Paddy replied, "we'll probably be staying pretty late... It would be helpful if we could get a couple keys tae the place."

Aiyana

I started scoping out the area while the others were still talking. Plenty of nooks and crannies in these climbing walls- plenty of places for almost any ghost to hide. I looked at some of the more elaborate climbing walls- the ones that curve in on themselves and such. They probably couldn't hold up their own weight unless...

I knocked on the side of one- Yep, definitely hollow. Yet another way we weren't going to get to the ghost. But there must be a way to get in for... Maintenance or something. 'Course the walls themselves made something of a maze, for your first few days working here I'm sure you'd get lost at least once or twice. I kept walking further into it, I know I know, I should have thought of a way back first, what with all that thought about the ghost. But to be honest, it didn't come to me once.

I strayed into the "maze", many hallways seemed to have lost their light source, just dark hallways. I tried to find my way back, but it seemed as if everywhere I went the lights went out- or was I just walking in circles? I couldn't know, I couldn't see a thing! And I had left my flashlight back at the base- how foolish of me I thought dismally now. I looked at my watch out of habit, I couldn't see the numbers.

I wandered around, now I was sure the lights were going out, I heard clicking of light switches everywhere I went. Every time I looked at the roof or climbed a structure, all the lights I could see turned out. This was one smart ghost- both that and intent on scaring us making an escape. Surely someone else in the group had noticed by now and come looking for the cause. 'Course we could just be having a power outage now, but that clicking...

I turned around, there was a glowing green sphere. I backed away, reaching for my weapon (Tell me what to call it, I've seen ghostbusters but it has been a long time) but when I turned it on it sparked and fizzed. Great, just great. I was faced with a electricity-sapping ghost and guess where I am? Lost in a rock climbing area.

I backed away slowly, reaching for the walls. I supposed that if I got high enough I could see a way out. I scrabbled for a hand hold in the dark, but none came.

"Help" I called to the others hopefully they would hear me.
I repeated the call several more times, the ghost didn't seem to move. I waited, watching the ghost with both eyes, not even daring to blink more than one at a time.

Then it floated away, and the lights turned back on. And the others dashed in to the area in which I was.

"I can find ghosts, but I am pretty lame at dealing with them." I said appolagetically.

Boy, I needed more training.

Addison: "DId the power go out?" Frankie asked as the lights flickered and died.

"I'm sorry!" I yelled, annoyed. "It's not like we can all- wait, where's Aiyanna?"

Aiyanna was lost in the dark now. How the fuck did she get lost already?

"Okay, let's spread out and find Aiyanna before we get the ghost," Paddy announced.

I decided to start by feeling around the walls. Maybe she'd um- taken a nap? No. Oh God I sound stupid.

In one corner, I saw a maintenance entrance. Maybe Aiyanna was in there! Without realizing I should tell Patty what I was doing, I walked through. The darkness engulfed me.

Oh shit, this was a bad idea.

"Aiyanna?" I yelled. I could barely see anything. Everything fekt so long and empty.

As I blindlessly wandered the corridors, I heard a voice.

"Help!" It was Aiyanna's. "Help!"

The lights flickered on and I saw Aiyanna's shadow on one wall.

"Aiyanna!" I yelled again.

"Addison?" She yelled back. "Are you getting me out of here?"

I gulped "I- um, I'm kind of stuck in here too."

Frankie -- Candle in the Winding Corridors

"Two down," Frankie muttered to himself, "Please let me not say three."

He glanced at Sawyer, who was advancing forward slower than ghost-gunk crept down a wall. He checked the wall above him -- clean.

"Paddy!" he called, "I think you need to reinforce the 'stick together' rule."

Paddy frowned and didn't reply.

"Sawyer," he shouted. "Back."

Sawyer turned round in the gloom Frankie made out her teeth as she scowled at him. She dropped back into place beside Paddy, her arms folded so everyone knew she was annoyed at being held back. All together they turned the corner into the Blue Room, full of scaled-down walls for novices.

“What’s the plan, Paddy?” Frankie asked.

Paddy clenched his jaw. “Originally, it was going to be to split up. But I guess we can all see how well that went.” He slung his rucksack to the ground and continued as he rummaged through it, “Right now, we need to get the power back on and find the other half of the team.”

“We could just call them,” Sawyer suggested.

Frankie whipped out his phone and tapped the at the bottom-centre, waiting for the backlight to blink on.

“Uh-oh,” he muttered.

“Nae luck?” Paddy asked.

“Nup.” Frankie shook his head. “Maybe the battery’s run out.”

“No,” Sawyer said, “Mine’s out too. I just charged it before we left.”

Frankie locked onto the little beacons that were Paddy’s eyes. “Why do I get the feeling this isnae just a power cut?”

“What are we going to do?” Sawyer asked. Her voice had moved away from Frankie, toward Paddy.

“Well, first,” Paddy murmured, “We’re going to light these.”

Frankie heard the scratch of a match being lit and a moment later Paddy’s face was illuminated by a stout white candle. Paddy passed a candle to each of them and gave the matchbox to Frankie. Once both matches were struck, they set off again.

“Did either of you see what direction either of them went?” Paddy asked.

They both replied that they hadn’t.

“Great,” Paddy muttered.

They continued past the Blue room, into the bouldering section.

Suddenly Frankie felt something narrow catch his toe and he toppled forward onto the crash mat at the bottom of the wall.

“Fucking hell,” he cried, “What was that?”

“Um…Probably a rope?” Sawyer suggested.

“It’s the bouldering section, Sawyer,” Paddy corrected, “There’s no ropes here.”

Frankie tried to make them out but his candle had been extinguished in the fall. He trembled to his feet and winced as his shoulder clattered against something metal.

“What was that?” shouted Sawyer. Her light bobbed towards him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

She shone her light over his shoulder and the reflected glare from something stabbed at his eyes. He reached his hand forward and felt glass, with a metal border. He peered beyond the glass but there was too much glare to see anything. Sawyer retreated a few steps and the bright flashes also receded.

“What is it?” Paddy called.

Frankie grinned. “It’s a map.”

Aiyanna

Everyone seemed to have found me, but the ghost had disappeared. I felt useless, even though I had found the ghost.

"I think he went that way." I said shyly, pointing a little farther towards the back of the building.

Addison thought it went the other way. I shrugged, even though I was fairly certain that it had gone the other way.

"I'm usually wrong anyway." I added. I had that phrase programmed into me, authority was always right, and everyone was authority except me.

We followed Addison, I climbed as many walls as I could to try to find the ghost. But no green orbs were to be seen over any of the walls.

"You don't suppose... That the ghost went inside the walls?" I asked, trying to sound skeptical.

I didn't see their reaction, partly because I was too high up and partly because the wall underneath me had started to shake...

I crawled downwards as fast as I could.

"Incoming!" I yelled as I jumped the rest of the way down, and everyone looked at me weird.

"Not me, that!" I yelled right as the greenish glowing glob came through the side of the climbing wall.

Sawyer

Aiyanna was on one of the walls screaming, the sound echoed through the gym muddling her words. Sawyer couldn't help worrying that the girl was going to slip, she herself had never been good at balance, heights, and all those tricky skills that seemed to determine life and death- maybe that was a bit dramatic... it depended on if you went climbing, and Sawyer certainly didn't.

"Over there!" Aiyanna yelled, jerking her head - to Sawyer's horror - towards her left. "Do you see it?" Aiyanna asked.

"No!" Paddy said, half jogging half brisk-walking to see what she was talking about. The others followed.

"Ah, there we are," Paddy breathed.

Sure enough, a green orb floated about twenty feet in the air, bobbing from time to time.

"Is that even what we're here for?" Sawyer asked, "Isn't that just the cause of the ghost or something?"

"We don't know," said Paddy, fiddling with some equipment that Sawyer probably should have known how to use... but she'd completely forgotten even what it was.

"We have to find out-" he said, looking over at Aiyanna who had begun climbing down off the wall, "Addison, would you make sure Aiyanna gets down safely, please."

Addison looked a bit hesitant, but nodded and ran over to Aiyanna.

"Frankie, help me with this," Paddy said.

Watching them untangle cords and screw around with the equipment, Sawyer felt a bit useless, not knowing what to do. Then she realized that she was holding the light for them, and thought with relief that she at least had something she was doing. She glanced up now and then, keeping her eye on the other girls, as well as the orb.