The Baseball Player

Have you ever heard of something that just seemed so interesting to you? Have you ever wanted to encounter it? Investigate it? Go find it? Well my dears, have I got a story for you. About 50 years ago, there was a little baseball team called the Crows. They weren't very popular, but they were a good team. By now, the players were in their 60's and 70's.



Except for one player. He was the best on the team and the founder of it as well. His name was Archer Crow. He first founded the team when he was in his late teens and gathered his friends. They wanted to become a famous Baseball team. So by the time they were all in their early twenties, they had won many games.



Archer Crow was the best player on the team. A lot of people said he was attractive, strawberry blonde hair and pale blue eyes. He was six foot five inches when he got into his late teens. He was a bit different from the others and he carried a black bat with him that he used it all of his games. When the players were all in their late twenties, they went to an old baseball stadium to play.



They were playing against another team like them, very good. The players and audience did not care about the oncoming storm. They wanted to stay and play. As the game went on, the thunder and the lightning became worse.



Then out of the blue...lightning struck the roof that covered the audience and it collapsed. The team helped people out of the stadium, including Archer Crow. But as he was helping a little girl to get out, a large chuck of concrete and steel came down and crushed him, killing him instantly. No one helped get his body out. The stadium was declared inoperable and therefore, abandoned by everyone. No one else died, except for Archer Crow.



His parents gave him a grave, but they would not go to the stadium to recover his body. They were too terrified and heart-broken. Over the years, the stadium stayed the same as it was, broken and abandoned. In 1995, a group of teens went into the stadium while they were drunk.



Four hours later, only one of them came out alive. The one sole survivor claimed that the 'baseball player' stalked them throughout the stadium. One of the girls in the group saw a tall and dark figure and fell backwards to her death. Another was crushed by a chunk of concrete, like Archer Crow himself.



Is it true that the spirit of Archer Crow is haunting the abandoned stadium? Could he be killing anyone who comes into the stadium? Maybe he just wants to be alone?



<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal">That's what I'm going to find out.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal">November 5th, 2013...

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">“I cannot believe you are thinking of doing this Rayleigh.....” My best friend looked at me in shock when I told her of my plans to go investigate the abandoned stadium. She was a bit skeptical about the paranormal, but she never judged me whenever I talked to her about these things.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">“Yeap. Since no one will come to me and tell me if its real or not, I'm going to find out for myself.” I grinned, crossing my arms over my chest. I brushed back my black locks away from my eyes. “Besides, it has to be real.”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">“And what if it isn't?”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">“Then I'll leave and not think about it anymore.” I replied, giving a small nod. She nodded as well. Later that day, I found the location for the abandoned stadium. It was on the outskirts of Bangor, Maine. Funny, that's where Stephen King lives. Bangor was only a few hours away from where I lived, so my parents wouldn't get suspicious about where I was at.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I packed a small backpack and told my parents I was going out for the night. They told me to be careful and once I was in my car, I drove off to my destination. By the time I got there, the sun was already nearly over the horizon. It was actually quite the sight. I parked in the parking lot, or, what I assumed the parking lot was outside the stadium and turned my car off.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I got out and grabbed my bag, looking up at the stadium. Damn, the place was bigger than I thought. I shut my car and locked it, then got my flashlight out. I zipped up my bag and swung it onto my back. The stadium gave off a slight uneasy feeling, but not uneasy enough to drive me away. “Okay, in we go Rayleigh....”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">My long black hair blew in front of my face as the wind kicked up slightly. I brushed the dark locks away from my eyes and slowly walked into the stadium. “Jeez...” I whispered, shining my flashlight around. Chunks of cement and debris were all over the place. I saw holes in a lot of the roof. I guess more thunderstorms seemed to destroy the place even more. I walked along the side where the audience seats were, going around a large chunk of cement.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I felt my foot tap against something. “Hmm?” I said and glanced down, finding a broken, black bat at my feet. “This....” I kneeled down and gently touched the broken object. “Archer Crow's bat....” I whispered and my eyes traced the bat to where it was being held. To my surprise, it was being held by a skeletal hand, the rest of the arm being covered by a torn and bloodied sleeve. “Whoa!” I said, my voice echoing when I exclaimed.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">Upon examining, the rest of the body was underneath the large chunk of concrete. “So the story is true....” I said to myself softly. “Poor guy.....at least he died instantly and didn't have to suffer...”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">Welp, the story is true. Now let's see if Archer crow's ghost haunts the stadium. I walked up the steps that would lead me to where the announcers were in that air conditioned box. I glanced behind me, shining the flashlight around the silent stadium.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">“Don't fall.”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">“Huh?!” My voice echoed through the stadium when I heard a male voice speak. I whipped my head so I was facing the same way as my body, but I didn't see anyone. “Hello....?” I called out, looking around. “Is there...anyone here...?”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I took two steps up and then let out a scream of terror when my right foot went through the floor underneath. I fell to the ground hard, groaning softly. I struggled to pull my leg out of the ground, grunting quietly.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">“You should learn to be more careful kid....”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">The voice seemed clearer and much closer. I grabbed my flashlight and shined it around, looking for the source of the voice. Once again, I saw nobody. Then all of a sudden, a cold hand wrapped around my left bicep and yanked me up. My leg was also pulled out of the floor.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I had shrieked out in surprise, looking around frantically for whoever had helped me. “Who's there? Show yourself.....”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I shined my flashlight into the doorway about twenty feet away from me and my eyes went wide. Right there, standing in the doorway, was a dark and tall figure. I could make out the outline of clothes, tuffs of hair and a cap. Most specifically, a baseball cap. The figure had a bat swung over its shoulder. Without warning, the figure turned and disappeared.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">“H-hey, wait!” I called after the figure and ran up to where the doorway was. The area was slightly cold, but no one was there. “Damnit...” I muttered. That figure...was that Archer Crow? It had to be! The baseball cap and bat gave it! “Hey...I know you're here.....Archer Crow....”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I trailed back down to the grassy field, looking around the area. I wanted Archer Crow to come out. I wanted to see him. I shined my flashlight around and couldn't help but feel that I was being watched. In fact, it felt like the presence was standing close to me....right behind me....

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">My body stiffened up when I felt fingers brush against the back of my neck. A visible shudder ran through me and I stayed still as I felt my black locks being played with. Twirled around cold fingers, sending shivers through me. I felt small. I knew Archer Crow was about a foot taller than me and I felt like a child compared to him.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal">“Such an interesting human...”  the voice was more ghostly now, instead of it sounding human. But then, the voice was deep and sly, as though the person behind the voice was grinning. “I wonder.....if I did this....” 

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">A cold hand wrapped around the back of my neck. The shudders that went through me were more frequent now. My body grew cold, almost as cold as the hand wrapped around the back of my neck. My neck was sensitive in a lot of places, especially the back. The hand disappeared from the back of my neck just a few small moments later and then a hard object pressed against my throat.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">My eyes glanced to the side a little and I realized it was a bat. A black bat. A small gasp escaped my mouth as I was pulled against a cold, hard body. My head was against, what felt like a muscular chest. My body was still cold, so trembling began as the cold became even more noticeable. My flashlight surprisingly stayed in my hand, even as I trembled.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">A hand came around and gripped my chin, tilting it up so I was glancing up at the man before me upside down. “Y.....you're....” I gasped, my eyes widening. I couldn't even finish my sentence.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I heard a ghostly chuckle came from the man. “Yes....I am Archer Crow.” 

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">Blood red eyes opened and stared into my own emerald green ones. I felt myself froze when those eyes stared into mine. It almost felt like they were staring into my very soul. The hand on my chin suddenly moved down and wrapped around my neck, squeezing and cutting off my air. I choked, dropping my flashlight and my hands flew up to the man's hand. “N....no...” I gasped, my vision beginning to go black.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">Before I blacked out, I saw Archer Crow smile.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">When I came to, I thought I had died. No, in fact, I was in my own bed, at home, where it was safe. I was shocked and looked around, finding my car in the driveway. “H...how...?” I whispered, putting a hand to my head. How did I get home? Did Archer Crow teleport me here some way?

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">Or did I drive home....?

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I didn't even know.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I glanced out my window, sunlight peeking through the blinds. I sighed softly. “Archer Crow....”

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal">I'll go to him again, sometime.