The dark shadows of the basement were foreboding and intimidating for Pitch despite the fact few things could actually physically harm him. He felt his skin crawl as he looked down into the dark depths. Pitch took a few deep breaths to ready himself out of habit before slowly making his way down. He switched his eyes from normal to something closer to the vision he has in his true form causing his eyes to look like black opals. The only thing he couldn't do was echolocate because that would require some of his particles to be out there in the open and he had several Black Eagle soldiers following him along with Ishwada.

  Ishwada looked around the poorly lit stairwell. “I left the old man with a subordinate. Consider your six covered.” Pitch gave Ishwada a nod. “Thanks for that.” Slowly, he started down the stairs. As Pitch made it to the bottom he started to hear the heartbeat sound as he looked at rows and rows of shelves in the basement making a sort of maze of supplies. A light was turned on but even with that the basement was poorly lit. Pitch had to depend partly on his enhanced vision. He wondered if the helmets had special visors since none of the Black Eagle soldiers were having issues but didn't bother asking since there were more important things going on at the moment.

  Pitch continued walking, almost following the sound of the heartbeat. Although it didn't seem to come from any particular direction the sound would get more or less intense as he moved. Ishwada noticed that Pitch seemed to be following something. “Are you seeing or hearing something we can't?”” Pitch nodded. “A heartbeat. I heard the same thing when dealing with the Banshee and Whispering Despair. Although the sound seems to be coming from nowhere or even possibly from me somehow it does get more intense the closer I am to a threat.”

  Ishwada grimaced at the idea that Pitch was using some sort of instinct that was trying to warn him about a threat to find the Cryptid. Encountering something that could actually pose a threat to Pitch was the last thing he wanted to do. “Do you think that's wise?” Pitch looked him dead in the eyes. “You and your men risk your lives every time you deploy. I can put mine on the line every once in a while.” Ishwada gave a simple nod and the two continued their search.

  Guns raised and aimed, everyone moving on a pivot. Suddenly Anderson shouted out: “Movement spotted, engaging potential target.” He takes a few shots on stun mode through a shelf. Whatever was on the other side started moving away quickly and knocking things over. Ishwada made several hand motions at Anderson and the others who nodded and started moving to surround the target. Pitch pulled out his pistol and moved with them and found himself in the spot Anderson fired at. On the ground was a trail of thick dark red and black goop. Pitch used his radio to let the others know it left a trail and started to follow it.

  Slowly he followed the trail as it zigged and zagged, leaving a path like some kind of snail. The soldiers all moved closing in on the creature but moving in from every possible pathway it could take and boxing it in. Pitch finally got line of sight on the now surrounded Cryptid. It looked like a blob. A mostly amorphous blob of dark red and black slime moving and bubbling as various shapes and patterns seem to form on its body. Then when a bubble popped at the top of it what looked like a human skull popped out from where the bubble was.

  The jaw swung open limply and a low continuous droning sound started to emanate from the blob. “Ooooooohhhhhhhhhh-aaaaaaaaaaaaa.” The jaw started getting flapped by the movements of waves in the blob, clanking together repeatedly in a pattern or rhythm. “More. More. More. Mort.” The soldiers backed away slightly as it gibbered. “Da. Da. Dadadada. Da. Da mihi. More. More. Mort. Mortem.” Pitch's hands shook as he aimed his gun at the blob. “The only death you're getting is your own.” The thing gibbered more. “Time. Timeo. Fam-em. Famem timeo. Expectat ultra velum.”

  Pitch steadied his hands and cranked his pistol to max output and started charging it. “Yeah, no. Too spooky for me.” Everyone started charging weapons and firing but Pitch was still charging his weapon till it nearly overloaded before firing the shot. His pistol sparked as it unleashed a ball of electricity at the blob that was already taking hits and making sounds of distress. Its form sank down before it sprang between two soldiers and through a shelf to the other side. Ishwada pointed to one soldier. “You, cover the exit. Everyone else, work on getting that Cryptid.”

  “Yes sir.” Echoed through the basement as the soldiers deployed back into the frey. Pitch and Ishwada shortly behind them as the men scatter out looking for the blob. “Any idea what exactly that blob is, Pitch?” Ishwada asked, hoping for some insight. Pitch grumbled. “It's amalgamated misery. Born from the pain and suffering of the abused patients who were being used by the owner to try and channel the voice of the divine consciousness. In order to re-acquire the knowledge of the universe held during a fleeting moment near death. Honestly, as mad as I am, I find it hard to actually blame the old man.”

  Ishwada gave Pitch a confused look before he continued. “In that fleeting moment everything made sense. All the chaos and grotesque things that exist. You see everything. The beautiful and the grotesque, the chaos and the order. All moving and swirling like a moving painting and although it takes a moment it all clicks. The feeling is indescribable. Then as the knowledge slips out through your fingers like liquid light you grasp desperately to keep it. Even just a fraction of what you saw, of what you felt. Left only with the vague recollection of having been one with the universe and how that felt.”

  Ishwada blinked a few times as Pitch continued. “A man could spend a lifetime, driving himself insane just for another taste. Or they can let it go. Humans… we… aren't ready for it yet. We're still far too young.” Ishwada blinked a few times. “Pitch, you lost me forever ago.” Pitch sighed. “The white room he spoke of, I saw it too. When I nearly died.” Ishwada nodded. “Yeah, you said that before but I'm kinda lost as to what it all means.” Pitch nodded. “Yeah, I know. I've never been a religious person myself so the experience was definitely something else for me. Faced directly with a vision of what could be an afterlife and the closest thing to God, telling yourself it was just the drugs despite the many similar stories from others. But even if it wasn't real I can empathize.”

  Ishwada sighed. “Well you are empathetic so I guess that's not entirely abnormal for you to find common ground even with a mental case.” Pitch suddenly raised his gun and pointed it. “Heads up, it's close.” Ishwada looked at the pistol. “Didn't you fry that thing?” Pitch looked at it and lit it up. “Almost, I got three more shots like that before this thing is out of juice.” The two moved cautiously at a pivot looking around for any signs of the blob. Pitch then walked backwards into another soldier, bumping them and spooking both people as they aimed weapons at one another for a moment before lowering them. “God damn it Anderson!”

  Anderson waved his gun around. “Me? You nearly gave me a heart attack!” He then took a few breaths as a second soldier walked over. “I lost track of it again Anderson. I think It jumped into a vent.” Pitch then heard banging from the vent, followed by garbled sounds. “Videt extra velum. Eius cor verberat cum exspectatione.” Anderson looked up at the vents. “Is that thing speaking Latin?” Pitch nods. “Yeah, and knowing what it's saying isn't a good thing. Trust me.” Ishwada looked at Pitch. “You know Latin?” Pitch shrugged. “Kinda? I know a number of words in a number of languages and use similarities between them to guess and then fill in blanks. So my translation wouldn't be one hundred percent accurate. Works with just about any language with Latin roots like Spanish and French.”

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  The group is interrupted by a slamming sound followed by the cover of the vent being sent at the floor with force and the blob landing on top of the soldier with Anderson who screams out and writhes under the blob. Anderson, Ishwada, and Pitch all back away from the soldier and aim their weapons. Anderson offered an apology before shooting. “Sorry man, hope your armor keeps you safe.” He started firing rounds into the blob despite it being on top of his ally, the rapid fire Volt Rifle putting holes in the blob. Ishwada also shot while Pitch overcharged his Pistol and fired.

  The burst blast a chunk off the blob hitting the guy underneath. The blob jumped off and started sliding away. The soldier dropped to the ground and Anderson checked for a pulse. “He's dead Jim.” Pitch grumbled. “Nobody calls me that. It's James to you.” Ishwada chuckled a bit before composing himself and clearing his throat. “Let's worry about cleaning up after we get rid of or capture that thing.” Pitch hummed. “I think we should bring out the Faraday. Electric net the thing.” Ishwada nodded. “Right, good idea. I'll radio in for someone to bring us one.”

  While waiting for the Faraday net gun to arrive the three men continue searching for the blob. “This thing is surprisingly nimble and durable for a fleshy blob.” Pitch stopped moving and aimed at the vent. “Be careful. It's close.” Anderson looked at Pitch. “I get that Cryptids can sense when someone they meet is a Cryptid but I wasn't aware it was like a sixth sense.” Pitch looked to him. “I'm not sure it is for others, but in combination with my empathic abilities and enhanced senses whenever it gets close I hear a heartbeat. I sure as shit know it's not mine.”

  Ishwada looked at Pitch. “I know you said you heard something similar during the Banshee and Whispering Despair cases, but I was wondering if it was the same heartbeat.” Pitch knitted his eyebrows. “How would it be the same heartbeat? Unless you're suggesting I'm hearing yours or…” Both Anderson and Ishwada were looking at Pitch waiting for him to finish his thought. “Or what Jim?” Ishwada corrected Anderson. “James. He already indicated he doesn't like people calling him Jim.” Pitch's eyes scanned the room. “One of the things the blob said. Eius cor verberat cum exspectatione. His heart beats with anticipation. The blob keeps referencing someone or something beyond the veil that's watching.”

  Ishwada goes slightly pale. “You mean something from the otherside? The dimension that is layered with our and plays a part in Cryptid creation? That would imply an intelligence that lives there. Something potentially capable of at least seeing our world if not freely moving between worlds.” Anderson put in two cents unprompted. “You know, that Chimera kept raving about becoming an apex predator and king of Cryptids, but since they seem to mirror or parallel nature you'd think something like that would already exist. A Cryptid to end all Cryptids, king of their version is of the animal kingdom.”

  Ishwada spoke softly. “Phobophobia. Fear of fears.” Pitch felt a strange sensation before looking at a vent to see the blob jumping out, aiming for Anderson. Reacting quickly he jumped over and pushed Anderson out of the way causing the blob to land on him instead. Pitch's skin sizzled and smoked as he dropped to his knees and let out a groan of pain. The sound of a heartbeat suddenly racing faster than ever before asca painful burning sensation moved through his body in waves. Pitch clenched his eyes tightly when the pain suddenly disappeared. He opened his eyes to find the blob was no longer covering him.

  Then Pitch noticed the room was even darker than before, half the lights that were on were off or even dimmer with some flickering with a buzz. He then noticed vines and cracks in the floor tiles with the thorny vines growing out from the cracks. Pitch heard the sounds of flesh slapping tile as if someone was moving around barefooted but the sound was… off. Pitch looked behind him to see the twisted melted amalgamation of flesh and bone pulling itself across the floor heading right for Pitch. Pitch tried to back away but slipped a bit hitting the floor as the surprisingly fast mass skittered at him grabbing his wrist.

  Pitch yelped as he hit the floor a second time, now back in the regular basement with the blob leaping off him with a yelp and the twisted melted amalgamation still holding Pitch's wrist. Anderson shouted. “What the fuck is that and how the hell did it get here?!” Pitch overcharged his Pistol one last time and fired it at the new monster making it flail to the floor. “Not enough!” The entity screamed in pain with a cacophony of voices. “More. Bring me peace!” Anderson set his own weapon to overload and slid it under the new entity. “Sit still, it'll be over soon.” The creature looked down as the Volt Rifle exploded, taking out a chunk of its body. Pitch finished it off by placing a belt of Edison Bulbs on it and pulling all the pins blowing another chunk off it.

  The new entity dropped to the floor twitching, Ishwada fired a few more rounds in it till it stopped moving. “I'd like an explanation please!” Pitch pushed him to the side as the blob came in for another attack. It attached itself too and started consuming the other entity. Then two more Black Eagle soldiers came over with one holding a Faraday net gun. He fired an electrified net capturing the creature and frying it to death. Its screams of pain eventually stopped as the lump went limp.

  Ishwada wiped sweat from his forehead. “I would have liked to take them alive for the guys in the lab coats but I guess they'll just be getting corpses this time.” Pitch put out his hand and gestured to the two corpses. “Hey man, we did what we had too. Now I'm not sure what the blob was because that body horror thing is the amalgamated suffering creature. So maybe the blob is concentrated madness or something.” Anderson gestured to what was left of the body horror. “Speaking of, where did it come from? It just seemed to manifest when the blob attacked you.”

  Pitch grumbled. “I'm not sure how but when it attacked part of my mind seemed to get sent to the Otherside. Like when I hallucinated earlier. Then the thing grabbed me and piggybacked its way to this side.” Ishwada put his hand on his chin. “We're going to have Kathryn run some tests on you once we get back. For now let's clean up.” The soldiers bagged up what was left of the two monsters and started heading back up the stairs. Pitch and Ishwada followed once clean up was done to find an angry old man still tied to the chair. “What did you do? What did you do!?! You killed one of the messengers of God, sent to our world from the great beyond.”

  Pitch gestured to a trash bag being carried out. “That thing was definitely not an angel.” The patients started humming in unison with Pitch sighing. “Oh great, now what?” The old man became ecstatic. “God has seen fit to grace us once again with her words!” The patients continue humming a tone with Anderson commenting. “Hey, I think I know this tune.” He focused on it and started sobbing his head and humming with it. “It's Enter Sandman by Metallica.” Pitch went a bit pale. “Yeah, I'm starting to think it's not God or the White Room they are tuning into right now. They're tuned into the Otherside. Or something in it.”

  The patients reach a part of the song where they swap from vocalizing the instrumentals to one singing lyrics. “It's just the beasts under your bed, in your closet, in your head.” Pitch cursed under his breath. “Shit.” Anderson and Ishwada both looked at Pitch waiting for him to explain. “The thing they are trying to reference in their drug-addled state is The Boogie Man.” Ishwada looked from side to side. “That one's just a myth right? A story to scare kids.” Pitch shook his head. “I don't think so, I think that's the king. Fear of fear. And I think it knows I exist.”

  Ishwada grabbed the old man out of the chair. “We can worry about that later, right now we've got a lot on our plate. This guy's going into a special holding until he can be processed by the authorities.” Ishwada slapped tape over the man's mouth and started leading him out. “For now, get some rest. I'll talk with the higher ups about pushing you up the list to see the Cuddle Bug. I'll also get more holy water bottles so we have a bunch in stock for when you need them.” Pitch nodded and rubbed his eyes. Pitch arrived home after a bit and walked into the door feeling a bit drained.

  Kathryn was there quickly to greet him. “So how was work?” Pitch looked at her but didn't speak. “That bad huh? Well I've got a spot on the couch all warmed up for you. Let's go.” Pitch followed her and sat on the couch cuddling up to Kathryn. “Things are going so fast now, there's too much going on for me to handle all at once. There's Vance and Abe, the Wampus whatever that is is still on the loose, I seem to have a connection to the Otherside that's tied to Cryptids that's different then normal and The Boogie Man is not only real but may or may not be watching me sleep from the other dimension for some reason.” Kathryn strokes Pitch's hair. “I'll run scans in the morning. For now you rest. We'll take on one thing at a time.” The two spent the rest of the day cuddling on the couch together.