...bleeeeep....bleeeeep...
Vincent rolled to his side with a sleepy moan, eyeing the alarm clock by his bed. Two-thirty. Who, in this entire universe, had the gall to call him at two-frigging-thirty in the morning? He made a mental note to turn off his mobile at bed time as he lifted it to his ear.
"This had better be good," he said into the mouthpiece, making sure that the right amount of warning was in his tone. "Do you know what the hell time it is?"
"Sorry about this, Vince," a familiar voice replied. "We kind of have an emergency here."
Vincent sat upright in bed.
"Miles? Is that you?" He hadn't even bothered to check his phone's Caller I.D.; his eyes hadn't quite adjusted to the dark yet.
"Yeah," Miles confirmed. "My team and I are having issues with a malevolent spirit."
"Where at?"
"The Bachman residence."
Vincent nodded his understanding, although he knew Miles couldn't see the nod.
For years, the Bachman home had been rumored to be haunted. A mass murder in the home during the sixties had left an entire family dead - children included - and ever since, anyone who had moved in had reported paranormal activity of the worst kinds. Residents had been pushed, scratched, even raped by entities of unknown origin, the last report of such being in the early nineties. The house had since remained abandoned.
Vincent's good friend Miles ran a paranormal investigative group, one of two in the small town of Fogg, Texas (the other group was run by Vincent's twin brother, Victor). The Bachman home had always been on Miles'wish list of places to investigate and, after two years of trying, the City of Fogg had finally granted his team access.
"We're in need of your 'special skills,' " Miles continued. "Two members of my team have already been assaulted, and the EVPs we've captured so far confirm that our resident spirit is far from friendly."
By "special skills," Vincent knew that Miles meant his abilities (and his brother's) to see, hear, and interact with spirits of all levels. Among other things, that is...
"Understood," Vincent replied. "Have you tried to contact Victor?"
"Yeah, but he and his team are on another investigation, with similar circumstances. He suggested I call you."
Vincent sighed, frustrated.
"All right. Give me time to get dressed, and I'll be on my way."

Without saying goodbye, he ended the call and forced himself out of bed.