That night.........

[Hi Im Bob]

This is where I was informed that I could post about my own past experiences in my dealings with the supernatural. I will admitt they are not as fascinating or exciting as some of your stories, but I would like to talk about them none the less.

I suppose I should start at the very beginning.

I am not normally a very forthcoming person. Many aspects of my life and my career I will have to keep to myself, for the time being of course. I can tell you a few things about myself so that we can get better acquainted.

First off I was adopted when I was two years old. I have no idea who my family was before that time. I discovered this fact about my life when my father upon his death bed told me the truth when I was 21. He died as the result of massive heart attack brought on my problems he always had.

My mother died in a car accident several years eariler as the result of a drunk driver. My mother died on route to the hospital as the end result of a cerebral hemorage. The driver of the other car walked away without a scratch. Sometimes the world just does not seem fair.

With no siblings or additional family inherited a large sum of wealth and a family trust that I have decided to use to help out other people. I still was not involved in the supernatural at this time, though I did earn a degree in investigation. I used this desire to help others and became a private investigator.

I think that in part I help others so that I may help myself. You se it was not until about a years after my father's death that I discovered my adoption records, and the strange case involving my adoption. I discovered that I have a twin sister. Also odd was the fact that my birth parents were both dead as well. I did whatever research I could to learn more about them, but each time I found nothing.

I can understand a lack of information or a files being misplaced, especially if they are over 20 years old, but this seemed more like a deliberate attempt to block my investigation. It was as if someone did not want me to know who my family was. But who was the question?

So in my attempts to help mself, I also help others. I have reunited runaways with their family's, I've retrieved stolen property, I've found lost relatives, I've even rescued and deprogrammed cultists, and so on. However, it is one night back a few years ago in Mephis that I first encountered what you would call the supernatural.

I was contacted about a missing child who was the daughter of friend of another previous client. I can not divulge names or dates for this I appologize. For the purpose of this recollection, I will just call her Jane.

At first all signs pointed to a kidnapping for profit racket. The family was wealthy, well off in the community, and active in the media. The only strange thing was that no ransom demand was sent, nor did the kidnappers ever attempt to contact the family. I hopped on a plane and was there by morning to offer my services.

[Cybermancer]

It's refreshing to see someone take the tragedy in their past and use it as a focus to be constructive.

Pray tell, what happened next?

[Hi Im Bob]

When I arrived I asked for the information that the family could provide me. I was quite thourough in my investigation as I looked over the details and pondered the personal details the family provided.

The family had already hired a negotiator that was milking the family $500 a day plus expenses. I pointed out to the family that this wasn't a kidnapping, but an abduction, and his services weren't required. The negotiator objected and the family wasn't clear on what I meant.

I pointed out that the point of a kidnapping for profit, is the profit. Kidnapping is like a business; they have something that someone wants back badly enough o pay whatever amount the perpetrator demands. Contact is made within 2 to 4 hours after the incident.

In this case I pointed out it had been over 24 hours and no demand for ransom had be sent. This was either personal such as a disgruntled divorced parent. That was not the case because both parents were happily married and both present. Which lead me to option three. This had to be an abduction.

The family fired the negotiator that afternoon. Good move as he was getting under foot.

I asked several questions at this point about the neighborhood, surrounding neighborhoods, and required the use of several local newspapers. My guess was correct to my dismay. Jane was one of three children that had gone missing over the past month. Jane however was the most recent and the only one from this neighborhood. I was honest with the family at this point and informed that Jane had been aducted by a serial killer.

[Hi Im Bob]

I am aware that the family's situation went from bad to worse but I have always been upfront and honest with my clients, even if it is not the news they want to hear. I knew that when dealing a possible serial killer all bets were off and anything could happen to Jane. Time was not on our side and there was not much of it left.

I did research into the other abductions from the other town near by. I read that only one body was ever discovered by police and it was horribly mutilated. The other bodies never surfaced. After I checked the dates and possible abduction scenario, I came to the conclusion that the unsub had left that town with the other two children. This lead me to believe that they might still be alive.

That also meant that Jane could still be alive.

[Hi Im Bob]

I investigated the other cases involving abductions. I discovered that all the cases had the child taken from a park, playground, or other similar location. So with this in mind I decided to walk Jane's route home from school observing the route inch by inch.

I followed it from the school to the playground and then to her home. Jane's route was easy enough to follow and I did so over and over several times taking in the surroundings. However took Jane must have been watching her for a few days to learn her route as well. It was my deduction that the unsub waited and watched for her that day near the school and followed her to the playground with her friends.

Once it got late and the children all began to head home, that is when the unsub made his move and took her. Took her where though? This neighborhood was not a run down city slum or some backwater rural area. It was a cut and dry surburban up scale neighborhood. The only thing that caught my eye was the number of home forclosures.

That was it. My one possible lead. In this neighborhood in our current economy these FOR SALE signs just blended right in. I never even thought that the unsub could be held up in any one of them. One my last walk of the route I counted at least seven vacant homes. I knew time was important so I began to check each one of those vacant homes along the route.

When I came to the fourth house I heard something coming from the basement. The sound of a child crying.

[Hi Im Bob]

I managed to sneak around to the back, making sure to check for traps or trip wires. I did not want to alert the unsub as to my presence just yet. If I was going to be able to rescue those children I would require the element of suprise on my side, not his.
I was suprised to see an unusual number of crows upon the roof of the back of the house and upon the garage. There were even a number of stray cats lurking about. Very curious?

I got to the back door to find a pane of glass already broken. I reached inside and unlocked the door. I snuck inside and very cautiously made my way down the stairs into the basement. I was greatful that the house was still somewhat new and the stairs did not creak. Lucky for me I guess.

I got to the bottom of the stairs and approached a door where I saw light coming from underneath. The sounds of the children were coming from that room. I also heard the mutters talking of what I believed to be the unsub. It sounded as though he was taunting the children. This person was obviously deranged.

Without much time to loose I had act. I got out my stungun and waited behind the door. I unscrewed an old lightbulb and threw it to the opposite side. Sure enough the unsub came out of the room check on the noise. That is when I got him in the back of the neck with the stungun on full stun.

The suspect fell to the ground and twitched a few times. I took the advantage to run into the room and find the children. I found three children locked in a makeshift cage. One was Jane. There was also a ramshackle table with old tools upon it like saws, hammers, knives, and a large spike driven up through the table. I could only imagine what horrors that the unsub had in store.

I looked around for the keys. The unsub must have dropped them on the floor when he heard the sound from the other room. I knelt down to get them when I heard a loud thud and a splat sound come from behind.

Apparently the unsub somehow got back to his feet and staggered into the room. He must have picked up a pipe and tried to sneak up on me but I can only assume he went to swing just as I squatted down and lost his balance in the attempt. He toppled foward and landed face first into the table.

The unsub squirmed for a minute or two, then stopped. I could see why. He impaled himself upon the very spike he himself had driven up through the table. Grusome, but ironically befitting.

Another moment later the body of the brute simply turned into a swarm of a few hundred rats that just disappeared into the darkness. One rat was left behind impaled on the spike. Too my complete and utter disbleief at what I had just witnessed, I could not deny what happened right before my eyes.

I quickly freed the children. Jane clung to me tight and wihispered in my ear " It was the boogeyman. " To this very day I believe her.

I returned the children but the incident required finese in explaining due to the fact their suspect died and turned into a swarm of rats. I was rewarded, with my deeds and the smile of a little girl. That night I learned two things. One that the supernatural was REAL and that there are alot of innocent people out ther who could use my help.

So here I am now. Hi Im Bob.

[Cybermancer]

Cases involving children often turn out sadly. I'm glad to see things turned out well enough this time.

[Hannah]

I'm glad that you managed to get the child safely. You were also very lucky that things worked out the way they did. My dad has a story about when he fought a thing like that single handed, it roughed him up pretty good before he was able to shoot it down.

[Logan]

Hey Bob, you ever work any of the fed teams? If not I'm curious as to where you picked up your training.

Nice work, I noticed that this one was clean enough it didn't generate a 1313.

[Holister]

Wait...what? Did I read that right. The thing tripped and fell on its own murder weapon. Buddy that had to be the dumbest boogeyman I have ever heard 'bout or ya' the luckiest SOB on the planet.

[Razor]

Hey Bob.

The first encounter with a boogeyman usually doesn't go so well. Like Hannah suggests, her daddy, Ron ran into one a long time ago. I remembered when I first came here, reading that story. Better a boogeyman than a tectonic entity. Those things are nasty and like trying to fight a freight train.

And thank you for sharing your first run-in with the supernatural, and a boogeyman. Finding other people that are open to this stuff is hard, and getting to the point of realizing that you're not going to be locked in the looney bin for talking about it can be tough.

[RAVEN]

Riveting story, Hi-yourself-your-are-Bobby!