Taylor awoke the next day surprisingly well-rested. As he glanced around the room, the familiar hitting sound echoed through the house, drawing an uneasy smile to his face. 

"Good morning to you, too," he said, greeting his wall-banshee with minor enthusiasm. 

Reaching toward the small nightstand he'd dragged into his bedroom the night before, Taylor settled the laptop he'd placed atop it on his crossed knees, tugging his boxers down a bit to make sure that his legs didn't get too hot beneath the computer. 

"Alright, let's do a tiny bit of research on you guys to at least see what I'm dealing with." 

Sasha had given him some quick, unpleasant details, but he wanted to actually know what was stuck in his wall, and what exactly it was doing as far as interacting with him in the ghost's dream, too. 

"Maybe if I start with trying to figure out who they actually are first?" he mumbled to himself as he pulled up his internet browser and typed in his address. 

Giving a small whistle, he looked through the long list of owners in the past five years. The house had switched hands almost as fast as it could be bought. Each time it was a different real-estate company, too. 

"I wonder freaking why," he mused sarcastically as he quickly browsed through the first several newer owners, then started digging deeper when the time of ownership spaced out more than a few months. 

The first couple of entries he looked into that were about a year of residency didn't show anything significant, so he pushed a bit further until he came across a woman who had stayed there for nearly ten years. 

Minimizing the browser, he opened another one and typed in her name and his current address. The woman's name came up again, but no picture anywhere. Another name also came up, drawing his attention to the small tidbit of information that was available. 

"Caleb Kay Marie. Seventeen years old." 

He clicked on a little link with a familiar symbol next to the name, then felt his heart drop into his stomach. 

"Amber alert issued the day before his birthday. Still active..." 

Looking up, he let his eyes wander around his room again, then got up and walked into the living area. Setting his laptop on the kitchen counter, he turned toward the chalk board, a bit surprised to see that the word DEAD was no longer scrawled there. 

"Um, hey ghost? Are you the kid that used to live here? Or is that who is behind my wall?" 

He didn't expect an answer right away, so he decided to leave his sleuthing at that for the time being and got himself showered and dressed. He had some grocery shopping to do, and while he was out, he made sure to stock up on a few non-perishables, too, just in case something happened with the banshee and he had to leave the house for any certain amount of time. He wasn't a fan of fast food, so a few boxes of cereal and crackers was his go-to if anything happened. 

Once he had everything in his car, Taylor started heading home, only to slow to a stop as he passed a small pet store. He wasn't sure what drew him to it, but after a minute he decided to park his car and go inside. The owner was a nice older lady who was quite busy taking care of all the odd little creatures in her store. Everything was actually gorgeous and well managed. No animal looked unhealthy or unhappy. 

"Just let me know if you need any help, sweetie," the woman called as she handed a cockatoo a large nut, then got back to cleaning its gigantic cage as it stood on top with its treat. 

Taylor nodded and wandered around for a bit, eventually finding himself standing in the fish section. There was quite a lot to choose from. He even recognized some of them from the odd dreams the ghost had showed him.  

He wasn't quite adventurous enough to try getting one of the brilliantly colored salt-water fish the store offered, but as he walked around a bit more, he noticed a huge tank with a single little goldfish in it. On the side of the tank it said FEEDER FISH. 

"Sorry, sonny. We only have one feeder left. People have been snatching them up as treats for their snakes and other larger critters. Just that one little guy left until my next shipment comes in Tuesday," the owner said, appearing beside him. 

Taylor frowned at the little fish. 

He's just here to be fed to something else? 

He knew that other animals had to eat, but it sucked to be designated a feeder from the get-go.

"Is he for sale as a pet, by chance?" he asked, though unsure why. He definitely didn't need a pet while he was dealing with two supernatural beings. 

"Well, of course. I've actually grown quite fond of the tiny guy and was hoping someone might want him. I've only ever had one other person, a lad a bit younger than you, ever buy one of my feeders to save it from another animal's mouth. If you buy a home for him, you can just have him for free," the woman said, pointing to a long line of tanks and other assorted fish containers. 

Taylor walked over to them, eying several before finally deciding on a simple two and a half gallon one. It was a tiny fish. Surely it wouldn't grow so fast to need replacing right away. The little tank came with its own filter, gravel, food, and a fake plant, too, so he didn't need to do anything besides pour in the water and plop in the fish. 

He brought the tank kit up to the counter as the lady bagged the fish, then paid and settled the little bag of water on his front seat, then set its home on the floor there. 

Once he was finally buckled up and ready to head home again Taylor frowned and looked down at the little fish. It was staring up at him, its wide eyes empty of any emotion.

"Why the hell did I just buy this thing?" he said on a sigh as he started his car and headed toward home. 

It was a short drive considering that he'd already been halfway there when he'd stopped at the pet shop. 

Pulling into the driveway, he got the fish and its home unloaded first and set them on the counter, then got busy unloading his car. Once everything was put away, he turned to the chalkboard, curious to see if the ghost had replied yet. 

FISH

Taylor raised an eyebrow at the word. 

"Not exactly the response I was looking for, but alright."

He turned and got the fish's home set up, then added water and plugged in the filter. Once everything looked good, he added the fish. When it began swimming around, exploring its new home, he poured some fish food in the top, then stood back up, admiring his new pet. 

"Still not sure why I bought this, but oh well. At least I can just flush it if I kill it... which is highly possible," he mumbled as he got himself some lunch and sat down on the couch with his laptop. As far away from the cold wall as he could, of course. 

He was just about to start looking further into the ghost and his friend when he heard a knock at his door. Setting aside his laptop, he hopped up to check it. The loud voice on the other side made it obvious who was there before he even undid the lock and let it swing open slowly. 

"Hey Tay, I brought a friend by to check something out since I had a feeling that you'd be home," Sasha said as an older man offered his hand. Taylor took it automatically, a confused expression on his face as he stepped aside to let the man in... and his dog. 

Adon was there, too, standing a bit farther back with a sheepish expression on his face. 

"Sorry, she wouldn't stop asking for a ride over since she said this guy was meeting her here. I thought she had called you beforehand, too." 

Taylor could tell that the guy was a little miffed about the lack of communication, as was he. Shrugging, he gestured for him to come in, then shut the door. 

The older guy, who looked to be around fifty or so, was already at the cold wall with a pair of plastic gloves on. 

"Hey Tay, what was the last thing you asked the ghost?" Sasha questioned as she stood in front of the chalkboard. It still read FISH.

"I did some research and found out that one of the kids that used to live here has an Amber Alert out for him. It's still active and its been years, so I asked him if he was that kid." 

Sasha gave him an are you crazy? look, then pointed at the chalkboard. 

"And his reply was this?" 

The tone of her voice had Taylor rolling his eyes as Adon stared down at the little fish swimming about in its tank. 

"I'm going to guess its reply has something to do with this little guy?" 

Taylor nodded, relieved that she'd brought her boyfriend, if only to offset her own high with his calm. 

"Yeah. I think he got frustrated that I was just letting the fish sit on the counter in a bag while I put away all the other stuff I'd bought." 

The man who had previously been messing around near the cold wall finally walked over and examined the chalkboard. 

"Your ghost must really like fish if it used its energy to write this instead of answering your question," he said, drawing Taylor closer to the board with curiosity. 

"What do you mean? In his dream he always shows me tons of fish, but what do you mean by his energy? Can't he just reply again later?" he asked. 

The man nodded as the familiar sound of hitting echoed from the cold wall, making the man's dog, who was sitting in front of it, whine. 

"Yes, he can reply later, but he doesn't get to reply often. Ghosts have limited energy. It takes a lot of effort for them to communicate with the real world, so the fact that he used its energy to bring your attention to the fish you had bought instead of answering your question, goes to show you its priority," the man said as he looked back toward his dog. 

"That one over there, however, will definitely have more energy than your invisible friend. Banshees can affect real life much easier, and when they die, they can even bring an item near them at their time of death with them into etherealism." 

Okay, he was lost at that part. 

"What do you mean?" Adon inquired as he leaned against the counter, asking the question Taylor had planned. 

The old man gestured to his dog, drawing it over to them as it sat at his feet. 

"Let's say that a young lady is killed viciously in a park by a robber with a knife. The robber takes her purse and leaves her for dead, but drops the knife next to her body as he flees. If the woman's anger and frustration is strong enough, she will change into a banshee in hope of seeking revenge... and if the knife is close enough to where she can grab it before her heart stops beating, it will become part of her banshee's form when she changes." 

Taylor looked back toward the wall for a moment before returning his attention to the man. 

"So what you're saying is that my banshee was killed, and whatever was near him, possibly the murder weapon, even, is now what he's using to cause that sound?" 

The man walked a little closer to the wall and gestured for his dog to go forward. It sniffed the wall, then did a quick lap through the house, sniffing here and there. When it returned, it simply sat next to the wall and tilted its head. 

"As I'm sure you might have guessed, I'm an exorcist and this is my dog, Star. He's trained to sniff out ghosts and banshees, but while you are telling me that you have both in here, and I definitely believe it because of the chalkboard, dreams, and of course, our friend behind this wall, I'm confused as to where the ghost's body is located," the man said, making Taylor shiver. 

It did make sense that the bodies were still on the premises, but if they were... 

"I think there's a basement behind that wall. I think they sealed it off after the murders," Taylor said as he walked over to the couch and brought his laptop to the kitchen counter before opening it. 

His previous searches were still up, allowing him to show them the history of the house. 

"And there we have it," the man said as he pointed to the older history report. "There was a basement, and the owners at that time sealed it off and probably paid a realtor and inspector to fabricate that it no longer had one, then sell the place. I bet you that you have two bodies down there." 

Okay, I'm definitely not opposed to moving again. 

"Problem is, you have quite an upset banshee stuck behind your wall... likely blocking the entrance to the basement," the man said as he took a small carrying bag off of his shoulder and started taking a few things out. 

"I don't have the ability to remove a conscious banshee, but other exorcists won't waste their time coming out here unless you have proof. It's a bit of dying profession," he joked, only getting a chuckle from Sasha as Taylor and Adon glanced sideways at each other. 

"Do you want me to take care of the regular ghost first? I can handle him no problem," the man said, turning to Taylor with a smile. "Sasha is a friend, so I won't even charge you." 

Taylor hesitated as he looked back at the chalkboard at the same moment the hitting sound reverberated through the house again. 

"I don't think it wants you to get rid of the its friend," he noted, having no idea why he was even wanting to keep the ghost around. He had nearly drowned in its dream for heaven's sake. 

The man looked a tad confused, too, as well as everyone else, but eventually just pointed over to the cold wall. 

"Want to get a look at your friend over there, then? It won't be able to get through unless its previous human body can fit, so making a small hole won't matter." 

He really didn't want to, but at the same time he was really curious to see who exactly was there. 

Wait a minute. 

Turning back to his computer, Taylor pulled up the Amber Alert and clicked on the photo link. A young boy stared back at him with light brown, almost-blond hair and soft hazel eyes with flecks of gold in them. He had a cautious smile on his face, as if he knew that something wasn't quite right but wasn't sure who to tell about it. 

"I feel like he could tell something bad was going to happen. This  must have been taken shortly before he was murdered," Adon said quietly as he leaned closer to the screen. "Yeah, it's dated five years ago. Wasn't that the end of the longer owned time for the house? Covering up the murder seems like the most obvious conclusion for this whole situation, it seems." 

Smart dude. 

"And as far as why you have both. I bet you one was murdered, and someone, perhaps a relative or close friend, saw it happen. That would put your ghost as the first to die, and the second as the banshee, who saw it happen and possibly even tried to stop it, but got murdered in the end, too." 

It's definitely an idea, but I don't want to go on just hunches. 

"Let's see if we can figure out who is behind my wall?" 

The group turned their attention to the wall as Taylor's heartbeat sped up. 

Time to start unwinding this horror story.