It began on a night like any other, Mike Renard was
writing in his journal when he received a telephone
call from an elderly lady.
"Hello."
"Is this Mike?"  asked a shrill voice. 
"Yes, who may I ask is this?"
"I am just a lonely old woman."
"Uhh, OK, is there some reason you called?"
"I want the stone Mike," the voice said seriously.I 
"Stone?"
"The stone that your ancestor took from me."
"What? Who is this?"
"I am Death unless you return the stone to me!"  Then
there was no sound on the other end of the phone.
Mike sat in shock, for a moment he just stared at the
phone, he eventually set it down again.  For a few
more moments he sat there just thinking, wondering
what just happened.  His mind told him it was a prank
call, but there was a nagging doubt about it.  What
was this lady talking about?  He knew he had not
stolen anything, but she didn't really say that he did
anything.  So then what did she mean by his ancestor? 
He later dismissed it as a mere prank, an odd one but
it was still the most logical explanation.
The next day he woke up to a phone call.  He answered
to the same old lady.
"Hello?"
"Mikey, did you get what I asked for?"
"Lady is this some kind of joke?"
"This is no joke Mike, if you don't do what I ask of
you I will put a curse on your name."
"Curse?  What the hell are you talking about?"
"I want the stone... I need the stone..."
"Umm, Lady... you need some help or something."
"I have warned you, I have very powerful magic that I
will use against you if necessary."
Mike had had all he could stand, "Well, hocus fuckin
pocus away!"  He shouted before slamming the phone
down.
The next day he received another phone call. 
"Hello?"  He answered.
"You have tried my patience long enough.  Return the
stone or you will be cursed."  Then she hung up.
"What the hell is this lady's problem?"  He said
aloud as he hung the phone up. 
The phone rang again before Mike could lift his hand. 
"Will you quit calling me!"  He shouted into the
receiver.
There was a pause on the other end of the phone.
"Hello?"
"Mike?"  A man's voice said.
"Speaking."  He knew who it was, it was his brother
Anthony.
"Mike.  I don't know how to say this, but... Mom's
dead."
"What?!"  A cold feeling ran up Mike's spine.
"She died last night, I came over to visit and I
found her dead.  There was no apparent cause of her
death, I just don't understand it."
Mike did, he knew that somehow the old lady had
something to do with his mother's death.  
Mike spent days trying to find where the stone was,
or what was so important about it.  His search proved
fruitless as he found no clues to its whereabouts or
it's value.
On the day of his mother's funeral he was getting
ready when he received another phone call.  
"Hello."
"Mike."
"What do you want?"
"You already know what I want, I want the stone, I
want my power."
"Where can I find the stone?"
"You will find it today.  Now I want you to get the
stone at all costs understand?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Mike was again left in silence....

"Hello?"
"This is Mike."
"How did you get this number?"
"The stone."
"So you have the stone."
"Yes and I know about you to."
"You just better give me my stone."
"Of course, if it will get you out of my life."
"Yes meet me..."
"No, meet me at the cemetery at eleven thirty."
"I..." the lady began, but Mike had already hung up.
Mike had found the black stone, and he also found its
power.  As he stared into it, he was hypnotized by it.
 Then the stone took him in and showed him who the
elderly lady that bothered him truly was.  It took him
far back in time, back where he assumed to be
somewhere in the middle ages.  Her name was Agatha in
those days and she was a very powerful witch.  She
stumbled onto this stone all those years ago and used
it to make her magic stronger, but what she didn't
know was that the stone was slowly gaining control of
her mind.  After many years her heart eventually
became as black and cold as the stone itself.  She
grew even more powerful as time passed, and she seemed
nearly unstoppable until a man named David challenged
and defeated her.  David, an obviously powerful Wizard
took the stone from her, he knew the stone was evil
but he could not destroy it.  He knew the only way to
destroy the stone was to destroy the one it had the
link with, Agatha.  He accomplished this task without
mercy, and when Agatha was gone the stone vanished as
well.
But now Agatha had somehow returned… Mike did not
know how and the stone could not show him that, but it
did show him that if he gave her the stone it would
bring about the end of his world.
At the cemetery Agatha waited for Mike to show up, if
she did not get the stone back soon she would run out
of the energy that kept her body together.  She
already lost her left arm, and she was beginning to
limp everywhere she walked. 
"Agatha!"  Mike shouted.
"What kept you?"
"You don't look so well, your falling apart."
"The stone, did you bring it?"
"I do not have it."
"What?  How dare you.  You deify me?  I am Agatha
great..."
"Great what?  You have lost your power."
"Where have you hidden it?  If I don't get it back
then..." She trailed off.
"I know, you die."
"Tell me where the stone is!"
"Look down."
Agatha began to say something but was cut off when a
hand grabbed her leg.  
"You didn't think I was smart enough to build a trap,
did you?"
"Wha?" Agatha screamed as she jumped forward.  She
turned around to watch a woman climb out of the
ground.  She looked up at the gravestone and read
aloud, "Anne Renard?"  She looked at the woman, around
her neck was the black gem.  She soon realized that
the woman in front of her was his mother.
"You want the stone, but the stone also want's you!" 
Mike exclaimed.
Mike watched as his mother grabbed hold of Agatha and
pulled her close to the stone.  Agatha looked into the
stone and it instantly killed her.  After his mother's
body fell limp he took the stone from around her neck.
He knew that it would consume him eventually, in a way
it already had.  He had used the stone, which meant to
destroy the evil contained by the stone he must
destroy himself.  He removed his pistol from inside
his jacket and stared into the stone one final time.