The Journal of Daniel Frost

July 16th

We all met at Mrs. Danford's barbeque. I let everyone know what I saw about the guy who made off with Karol. I was a little surprised when they didn't just brush me off like the police did. After all, seeing someone pick up a fully grown human and jump a fence and climb a building, while carrying them is a little far fetched, but it's the truth. Apparently Mrs. Danford's husband knew about guys like Gabe (the creep) when he was alive. See, Gabe looked weird, not human. Mr Danford's books identified him as an honest to god Vampire. Weird, huh? We knew we had to find Karol so we went out right away, well, after some research and shopping. Joe actually tracked him across the roof tops. That, is pretty awesome. Unfortunately, due to an unfortunate, uh, decision, the trail was lost, be we were able to find his hidey hole just as the sun was setting. Joe, James, Oz and I went into the abandoned building that Gabe was holed up in. What followed was a real cluster fuck. I will say this, Vampires do not like fire. We had some Aerosol flame throwers that worked pretty well. Once Gabe went down, I remembered a note from Mr. Danford's notes. Look for the rot. The notes also stated that decapitation is an effective method of elimination. I, uh, cut off Gabe's head. He shriveled up and actually looked like a long dead corpse. We found Karol, along with 2 other young women and we got them to the hospital. I will say this for Gabe, he hit hard. I'm going to be a little stiff for a while.

July 31st

We helped Mrs. Danford look in her husband's work shop in her basement. We found some strange things. Weapons made of silver, and other strange things, like rock salt of all things. Jo found out her dad used to hunt with Mr. Danford. She was a little upset, especially when she found out that Joe was the one that filled the odd cartridges. She had me take her out and show her the rudiments of parkour. That was a lot of fun, and I have to admit, she hasn't gotten any less attractive over the years. She also showed me how to use the crossbow we found in the basement, and she must be a great teacher, cause using it just seemed to come naturally.

August 13th

I slept great, not long thanks to my late night session with Jo. No not that kind, unfortunately. I taught her the rudiments of Parkour. I realized something while doing it to. I'm a gymnist. A damn good one. Why am I just working as a courier when I could be teaching people gymnastics. I'm sure the pay would be better, and I have enough of a name I should be able to attract students.

Then I found out. One of the women we rescued, Magdalena, died and became a vampire. I would have tried helping to find her, but I was stuck downtown all day waiting for packages to deliver… I need a better job. Maybe, if I can start teaching, we can finally get ahead financially. If I can do that, maybe I could finally afford to take Jo out to dinner, if she'll go that is. *sigh*

Of course, right now we're all in a church, with 4 vampires. One, Magdalena, doesn't know what's going on, the other three want to kill us. So I suppose before I can get a new job and take Jo to dinner, we all need to survive.

August 27th

We survived. That crossbow is one fine piece of machinery. It takes forever to load, though. Maybe a bow and arrow would be faster. Anyway, we lived and the vampires died, again. Jo and Oz got hurt, though, and spent some time recovering in the hospital. I wish I could tell you more about the fight, it was truly epic, but it happened very fast and I don't remember everything. We're all alive, that's what matters.

January 14th

Well, a lot has happened in the last couple months. I'm not doing as much carrier right now as I've actually started teaching people parkour. I can't believe people are actually driving in to Detroit as a "platform rich environment". For the first time I actually have money. Not much, but the bills are paid and I can afford a little splurge. Speaking of which, I found this awesome little figurine of a ship made out of old World War II bullet casings at an antique shop. I bought it for about $10 cause it made me think of Jo. I tried to give it to her in person, but she's been real busy lately. So, I just left it with Joe at the gun shop for her. However busy she's been, though, she still came to my birthday. Even if she had to leave early, it was nice of her to come. Mike was there and he didn't bring me anything, though I'm pretty sure he's the one that left those shoes in my bedroom. If he is, he definitely used his five-fingered discount, so I'm not going to wear them, in case he gets caught and needs to return them. They are some expensive shoes. Somehow Jo and I ended talking about them, and I came up with some story about thinking they were made by elves. Le Sigh, if she didn't like me before, thinking I'm an idiot definitely isn't going to help, but I can't rat out my friend like that. He's been with me through everything. To top all this off, I need to find out why Oz keeps giving me and Mrs Danford weird looks.

March 25th

I have no idea what is happening any more. Let's see. In the last few weeks, I've started studying MMA, which I'm actually not to bad at, in order to make it easier to clean up the streets. I find out that Jo is the one that bought me those expensive shoes, which is awesome. I start thinking that maybe she likes me back. That feels good, because she was so busy for a while, I was starting to think she was avoiding me. Well, now I know better. She took me to see her cop friend, who was cool, but her dog was... intense. Okay! So I ended up in the fetal position crying like a little girl, reliving the day I saw Jo coming out of that club. Not a good day to remember. Not only do hope she never finds out I saw her like that, I don't particularly like remembering the beating that set back my career.

Anyway, Jo was pretty cool in getting her friend to show us the coroner's report for a death we heard about that seemed a bit weird. We ended up doing a whole bunch of research, at which I'm about as useful as an appendix. I look like I should have some function, but no one can guess what it is. Anyway, wiser minds think we're looking at the work of something called a cryptid, which to me sounds like another way of saying "we don't know what it is". Anyway we find out about a second death, and decide to check it out. We have some decidedly strange hobbies these days. While we're examining the second scene, from a distance as the police have the area blocked off, it seems pretty obvious to me that this is the act of a group, probably one of the more vicious gangs. I was wrong, and unfortunately made a huge ass of myself insisting I wasn't. I was apparently loud enough, that a police woman, and a police dog noticed and came over. That's right, Jo's friend, and now Jo is in trouble. Because of me.

If it wasn't for the fact that we actually found, the Sewer beast, and killed it, I would wish the last few days never happened. You see, as if weeping like a school girl, making an ass of myself, and getting Jo in trouble with her cop friend wasn't bad enough. I asked her out right before heading into the Sewer. At the time I was thinking that we could very literally die in the next couple hours, and I kinda wanted her to know I liked her, as I've never really said so. Anyway, it was a really bad idea, as evidenced by the fact that she didn't even bother to answer, just yelled at me for asking... Yeah, I should definitely back off. Go back to admiring from afar. Nothing's ever happened, and I don't anything's likely to. After all, she was my baby sitter. Sure there's only 3 years between us, but clearly I'm still that kid she knew. You know, I don't think I've ever been this mixed up about someone I wasn't nor had ever been in a relationship with. I just hope Jo will let me pretend I never actually asked her out.

April 8th

Okay, so things are actually settling a little bit. Personally that is. I mean. I've finally gotten caught up on bills, and have a little left over, not much mind you, but anything is an improvement. Oz hooked me up with a youtube channel and a twitch account. People actually pay me just to watch parkour from my perspective, which is awesome. Oh, and Jo forgave me. I mean, she didn't come out and say it, but that's not her style. I simply haven't mentioned my invitation again, and she's lighted up a lot. She's also not as busy as she was for a while, so we've actually had a chance to grab a coffee or two. I actually had no idea she was that in to coffee, but we're able to spend time as friends and I think that's just where things need to be. I'm definitely not goin' to try rockin' the boat again.

Hunting-wise, things haven't settled at all. Oz found out about a weird story of a woman killing her family and then claiming she didn't want to do it. You hear this kind of thing all the time, but this was from one of his friends, who knew the woman and said she felt a chill the last time she was in the woman's home. She also said she felt the same chill when she was in her neighbors house. So of course we went to take a look. Mrs. Danford posed as a prospective home buyer for another home in the neighborhood and used this as a way to ask to look at the potential victim's home, seeing as how they are a similar build. I had to pose as her nephew who was engaged to Jo. This was a bit awkward considering our recent misunderstandings, but I made very clear I knew this was a fake relationship and we were able to get through it without too much unpleasantness. Actually, I found it very pleasant, despite Jo's teasing. Anyway, we checked out the place and I actually saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye. I knew it wasn't a ghost, because those things make it cold when your near, and I didn't feel anything like that, just saw a Shadow. I had no idea what that meant, but Mrs. Danford was able to track down one of her husband's old hunting buddies. He was reluctant, but finally agreed to help. He said that if I had seen smoke, it might have been a demon, and actually, all the behavior we described sounded like a demon, but it probably wasn't since I saw a shadow and not smoke. Anyway, he gave us an exercism ritual just in case, but said it is probably a Spirit, which could have any number of different abilities. I have to admit, I'm getting very frustrated that every time we try to find out what something is vulnerable to all we get is a bunch of question marks and the phrase, it depends. Except Vampires. We know they don't like fire, or sunlight, and you have to behead them. But everything else we find out about seems to just be a major category, not a specific monster. It's like looking vertebrates and asking, so do they walk or swim? Then we get an answer like "sometimes".

April 22nd

It WAS a demon! I am getting tired of being wrong all the time. Okay, let me back up. So we got a call from Oz's friend saying she heard yelling coming from the poor woman's house. We rushed over there, and even though we were pretty sure it was a spirit, and not a demon. I grabbed the book with the exercism ritual, just in case. After all, we hadn't found anything useful about the spirit it might have been, so I was grasping at straws. Anyway, we get there just as the woman has knifed her husband and is calling to her daughter, and everyone does something useful, except me. Oz begins making sure the husband doesn't die. James goes to grab the daughter and keep her safe, sure it freaks her out but she's still alive. And me, idiot that I am, end up getting in a fist fight with a demon possessed woman. We spend the next little bit beating the crap out of each other while Jo and Mrs. Danford exorcise it. Once that happened all the damage I inflicted took its toll on the poor woman. I almost beat her to death with my bare hands. Luckily, we were were able to patch her up, but she'll be on a liquid diet for a while, as well as in a mental hospital. The demon hit pretty hard, but honestly, I've had worse. Now I just need to figure out how to deal with this guilt. Maybe I should see what this whole religion thing is all about. I don't know.

On a personal note, I was also wrong about Jo. I thought for a while she was going to let me forget about my ill-conceived attempt to ask her out. She was actually being nice to me, none of the awkwardness I was expecting, but then she started teasing me. It wasn't too bad at first, and a part of me liked the attention, after all she's gorgeous. But she just wouldn't let it go. It's bad enough I have to be her friend, knowing that's all it's going to be, without her making fun of me. I know I don't complain about stuff much, at least, outside this journal, but that doesn't mean things don't hurt. It's just how I was raised. If complaining won't make things better, don't do it. If you aren't sure it will make things better, don't do it. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I don't know what to do at this point. I guess there's truth in all the jokes you see in movies and books. Men just aren't equipped to understand women, but I refuse to believe we're from different planets, that's just stupid.

May 6th

I have never been happier to be wrong. See, things have been fairly routine lately. We've had a couple of young vampires to deal with, but that's not really a big deal these days. No the thing that has thrown my life upside down is a person. Namely Jo. See, I first got to know Jo when I was a kid. She was hired to look after my brother and sister, since I had been found unreliable. Long story there, that I don't really want to get into right now. Anyway, she was three years older than me and I started crushing pretty hard. Anyway, we grew up and largely went our own ways. Then this hunting thing throws us back in the mix together, and now we're both grownups. Three years doesn't seem such a big deal. So I ask her out, admittedly at a bad time, but I get rejected. I figure that's the end of it, I should focus on being friends. It turns out, that wasn't the end of it. All this teasing I've been dealing with? She was actually trying to get me interested. That was making my trying not to be interested plan fail big time. She finally cornered me lately asking why I never asked her again. I tell her, and next thing I know we're enjoying a nice little kiss, or two. So I ask her out to dinner. She looks me straight in the eye and says "you are such an idiot." You know, I think that might be a fair assessment.

P.S. I also kinda let slip that I knew about that time she was roofied. I hope she doesn't get too upset that I saw her that vulnerable. I mean, that's a pretty personal thing to go through. Well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Right now, I'm just gonna take my happiness where I can get it.

July 1st

Okay, I know I haven't written in a while, but seeing as how I'm convalescing, I have nothing else to do.

Devil's night.

Okay, so Jo and I were out for coffee, not a pretense this time... I think, I can never be sure now. But seeing as how the coffee was not for us, I suspect it was not. Anyway we were out, involved in a drive by, and a bogus ambulance shows up. Jo's climbing right in. I call the alarm, but it's too late. The trap is sprung and we are attacked by a couple of vamps and a renfield. I managed to get Jo out of there, but the whole time I was running away, she kept telling me to put her down. That made no sense. We weren't going to beat them in a fight. If I put her down, I could probably get away, but she couldn't, so that wasn't happening. But even without being able to run up walls, you turn enough corners and you can get away, as long as you're able to get far enough ahead. Well, I wasn't, so I found as defensible a spot as I could and put her down, hoping we'd get lucky. We did. Gayle came out of nowhere in her MACK truck and Vaped the Vamps with her Silver Grill. Now that's style. We took Gayle over to the Danford house, finding out that we weren't the only ones attacked on the way. It turns out that Devil's Night is Vamp speak for lets go hunt the hunters. Now I know there's all sorts of sayings about geese and ganders, but they aren't supposed to do what we do. Anyway, we took Gayle's advise and tracked down the assholes who attacked us and made them pay. Turns out vaping a vamp with an arrow is easier when he doesn't know your there. I have to admit. I was feeling pretty good. I mean, one shot kill, that's pretty bad ass. I turned to Jo and was going to tell her something... and then I was waking up at the Danford house. Apparently what is good for the goose, is good for the Gander. I'm okay, somehow, but Gayle didn't make it. I have to get better. I have to stop congratulating myself over nothing. If I'd been more careful, I may have been able to help in the firefight that came after. If we had one more person able to fight, Gayle might have made it. She didn't, and it's my fault. I have to train harder, but first, I have to get better. This sucks.

September 2nd

It's strange. I actually feel guilty for not writing for a bit. The problem is, there's been too much going on. Let's see. I've recovered from Devil's night. We had a shindig, during which we successfully stopped a guy from getting killed by a hell hound. Oh yeah, hell hounds and crossroad demons are a thing. And the hell hound successfully got the guy a few days later, so that wall all for nothing. Mrs. D may have found a lead on who killed her daughter, by talking to one of the biggest bastards, and vamp, in town. Oh, and I got lucky. Not in a good way. Things have been going so well with Jo. We celebrated her birthday recently, so that was nice. And we've been getting along really well, though I have to admit she's been making things a little difficult. See, we both moved in to Lady D's place and she's been sneaking in to my room at night. She just seems to want to cuddle which is nice, but it's so hard, no pun intended, not to try for something more. I won't though. I decided I'd go at her pace and it is nice just holding her. Seriously though, she has no idea what I'm going through. Anyway, back to getting lucky. It seems we ran into someone we can only conclude is a trickster. He's making us use up all our luck, and once it's gone... well it doesn't look good. And I can't just stay in bed. Not only have I never been good at this, but there are ways to get lucky there too.

September 9th

There's never a dull moment with Jo. I got the impression that our relationship would be changing soon when Jo decided to have the "sex talk" with me. You know, "Are you clean?", that kind of thing. I tried to tell her that I haven't been tested in a while but I also don't engage in any high-risk behaviors, well, not that kind of risk anyway. As usual, she only seemed to hear about half of what I said and now, thinks I believe STD's are spread only through drug use. Honestly, I've studied human health too much make that kind of mistake.

Anyway, Valentines day came and I found myself taken to this gorgeous house she had rented. We found out why it was so cheap... it was haunted. We found this out when I went to the store. We had everything in the house except wine. Jo said something about how a fancy dinner just ain't right without wine. So I left to get some. I tripped over a loose brick in the walk on my way out and found a ring under it. The ring was a little worse for wear, but still quite pretty so I put it in my pocket.

When I got back with the wine, I found the door locked. I knocked on the door, only to find out Jo couldn't open it either. I tried the backdoor too, but the whole house was on paranormal lockdown and behind me was a huge pasty, if you can believe it, black dude.

Lucky for me there wasn't much wind as I found myself standing in the middle of a salt circle talking to James on my cell phone. No way was I going to call Oz, he's way to paranoid, and wouldn't have left me and Jo alone. Anyway, with James' help, I got the skinny on our situation and why there was an equally pasty white chick inside locking the doors.

Abraham Labeau and Linda Blaise were a young couple, a young inter-racial couple, in the 1960's. They ran away from home in Mississippi to Detroit where Abraham got a job in a local factory. They were "living in sin" until Valentines day, when Abraham bought a ring. Yeah, the very one in my pocket. He was almost home, the house Jo rented, when Linda's relatives caught up to him. She watched while they "dealt" with him, the hung herself with a tablecloth. I asked James if there was any indication where the bodies were. He was in a local cemetery, but she was in Mississippi.

I'm not sure why, maybe it was desperation, but I started talking to Abe. I told him about me and Jo. I told him about what we've been through. I couldn't even tell if he heard me, but then he spoke back. "Be me for Linda" he sad. I wasn't really sure what he meant, but I was desperate. I left my circle. Abe vanished and I began seeing things as they were in the 1960's. I looked down at my hands and was forced to conclude I was Abe, not to mention all the Abe-like thoughts going through my brain. I walked around the front door and opened it. Entering the living room, I called out to Linda. I could see her standing next to a strange little pocket of the 21st century where Jo stood. I'm not sure what made her do it, but Jo Scuffed out her circle and the future disappeared. So did Jo. It was just Abe-me and Linda-Jo. I walked into the kitchen, put the wine on the table and took the ring from my pocket. I dropped to one knee, looked up at Linda and slipped the ring on her finger.

Just like that, the 20th Century was gone. There I was, on one knee, having just placed an engagement ring on Jo's finger. I stood up quickly, and as I do so often around her, I stammered. We agreed it was the ghost's engagement, not ours, and sat down to dinner.

Everything was cold, the wine was bitter and I was alone with Jo. everything was perfect.

It was a good night.