Hunter Stone

So now for a little bit of Hunter. Although Hunter doesn't play a major role in the first book of the series, his character becomes a focal point of book 2 of my series. I love Hunter because he believes what he believes with such strong conviction and strength it drives him to persevere in the face of any adversity.

Hunter . . . .

Yeah, I'm crazy - certifiable actually . . . or at least that's what everyone keeps telling me. But they don't see the things I see. They'd rather believe a dark shadow is a trick of the light, and a flickering light, well, they blame faulty wiring or a bad bulb. Their pathetic little minds are closed to what's really out there, and eventually it'll come for every single one of them. So if I really am crazy like they say, at least I'm living my life with my eyes wide open.

From the time I was five years old I saw the Shades . . . those caught between two worlds, but didn't understand their struggle until my Uncle Jason told me of them. He also taught me how to protect myself from the others - the Shadows.

When I was fifteen, I spent two weeks with my crazy tattoo artist uncle, and in secret he tattooed every protection symbol he could think of on my arms and back. Definitely not the kind of thing a parent wants to see on their only child. Although I kept them hidden beneath long sleeved shirts and fingerless leather gloves, eventually they caught sight of one of them. From that moment onward I was never allowed to see my Uncle Jason again. Then not long afterwards, they had me committed to the crazy ward at the hospital.

But what they didn't realize - what they'll never understand is that by being trapped in this little white no window space, the Shades and Shadows are more alive to me than ever before.

Collin Thayer

With my second post, I guess it's only fair to give Collin a chance to speak. I absolutely adore Collin. He smart, witty, and always has some sort of comeback on the tip of his tongue. But probably what I love the most about him is that he never gives up. No matter how hopeless his situation might appear, he keeps pushing onward, and helps teach Ethan to do the same thing.

Collin . . . .

I'm not one to complain much about things. When life happens, it happens - get over it, move on. Only thing is life didn't happen - I'm not exactly sure what did, but I know this much for certain . . . I'm not dead. I've watched enough late night television to know without a body there's no crime, and if there's no crime then . . . well, both judge and jury would have to say I'm alive. End of story. Case closed. And I really don't care how many Casper the freaky ghost comments Ethan throws my way trying to convince me I'm wrong.

Yeah, sure I can walk through walls(love, love, love doing that, it really freaks Ethan out), disappear and reappear at will, and once for purely experimental purposes only, I tripped Ethan's mom. For as crazy as it may seem, I actually thought Ethan would get a good laugh out of it. But damn was I wrong. His exact words - stay away from my mom - But hey, it's not like she was standing at the top of the stairs at the time. So, no harm no foul, right?

I'm not really sure why Ethan's the only one who can see or hear me. We're not related, and it's not like I knew him before I disappeared. So maybe it has something to do with the whole crazy no pulse thing he's got going on - hell, even I've got a faint heartbeat and I'm supposed to be dead one, so what does that make him?

Although I have my suspicions as to what he's becoming, I try not to bring the topic up too often . . . well, not true. I actually bring it up a helluva lot, but only cause it's kinda funny when he gets all angry and flustered. And believe me, when pretty much everyone thinks you're dead, you have to take your laughs where you can get them.

Yet for as angry as I've made him at times - for all the god-awful awkward situations he's endured because of me, he's stuck to his promise.

He said he would find me. I have no doubt he will . . . .

Ethan Derringer

For my very first post I thought I would play around a little bit in Ethan's POV. He's the main character in my planned Dark Shadows series. I am so completely in love with him. He's terribly awkward, snarky, and really has no clue when it comes to girls.

Ethan . . . .

I always figured there was something my mother wasn't telling me about my father, but when she called him a hero, and said he died saving my life - well, who'd want to question that? He was like Batman, Superman and Spiderman rolled all into one, and I imagined him way cooler than any of those three guys. With a dad like that, life had to be the stuff of awesomeness, right? Yeah, not so much.

If you don't believe me, picture this - scrawny seven year old, god-awful thick glasses, and a story about my superhero dad and a ferocious, foaming at the mouth bear(although I might've actually said it was a ferocious, foaming at the mouth, ten thousand pound bear . . . maybe that's where I went wrong with the lie as I am pretty sure it was believable up to that point) - The only good thing to come out of that story was Bobby Hillbrook broke my glasses. God, I hated Bobby Hillbrook. But anyways, one black eye and five stitches later, I successfully became an outcast in school number two of a long list of schools I'd rather not mention or remember.

But well after those fun-filled, traumatizing years of moving around from place to place, I finally made two real friends. Yeah, at seventeen I really hit the jackpot of friendships. Collin who is fleshly challenged - apparently even ghosts prefer political correctness. And then there's Chuckie . . . the neurotic nine year old. Yet, for as weird as they are - and believe me when I say they give a whole new meaning to the word freak - what I've become makes them both look positively normal, and that's saying a helluva lot given Collin's transparency issues.

What exactly am I? I have no idea, but I will find out . . . .