Hayleen exhaled and let her tense shoulders drop, two ghosts in one day...or night , and the peculiar feeling of having danced away from the knives edge she hadn't even been aware she'd been balancing on.
She let herself wonder for a moment, what would have happened if the ghost lady hadn't been there to accompany the little girl, would she have taken her place instead?
It was a possible outcome, one that she had avoided, although she wondered why the ghost lady was even willing to wait for her, should she not have passed on ages ago?
She shook her head, shaking off the slight chill that had wandered up her back, and let the small hairs on her neck stand up straight.
She stretched, hearing the joints in her arms pop as she straightened them, she rolled her shoulders and set off again, absentmindedly noting that the number of wandering shadows had seemingly reduced somewhat and that the quiet wasn't quite as deafening as before.
She briefly wondered if it was just her imagination before shaking her head, the ever present knot in her gut had loosened somewhat, in fact, she hadn't been aware it was there until it faded, this whole experience made her wonder if she had come across more than one spirit before and just how many encounters she had avoided via her supernatural sixth sense, aka, her gut feeling.
There were only so many times her gut could scream at her to run away while walking along an otherwise empty street before she began to wonder what it was even screaming at in the first place.
That brought along the question, who the man was that she'd seen before, her gut had seldomly ever reacted so badly to anything before, so what was so dangerous about him? How strong did he have to be, to be able to knock someone out with but a stray glance and flare of his presence?
Why had he done this?
What was he getting out of it?
Was there a bigger purpose to this or was she thinking too much into it?
She sighed and hung her head using her hands to mess up her hair a bit, the brown strands regaining a bit of their messy volume.
The candle felt comforting in her grasp and the light a reassuring asset as she wandered through the unending darkness, she hummed quietly to herself, hoping to distract herself from the fact that she was the only source of warmth, light and sound as far as she could tell.
Her eyes shot open wide as she spun around after she felt a seemingly innocent tap on her shoulder, if it weren't for the fact that there was nothing, absolutely nothing announcing it's presence before hand, no feeling of eyes upon her, no sound behind her, no gut feeling curling, nothing, like it materialized out of nothing and right behind her.
The candle flickered ever so slightly as she spun it in the direction of the tap and found a man looking at her with an amused look and a wry smile on his face, he made a gesture with his hands that she couldn't decipher no matter how hard she tried, instead she held her free hand over her heart and breathed out, as if she had gotten a heart attack.
"You scared the living daylights out of me, can I help you?"
She spoke and looked him in the eyes, green orbs, matt and lifeless, looked back at her as he noticed she couldn't make out his hand signs, he heaved a soundless sigh and nodded, gesturing at his throat and made a cutting motion, followed by an X from crossing his arm, she tilted her head to the side in puzzlement before a lightbulb went off in her head, "You can't talk? You're mute?" She tried and he nodded back at her with a relieved smile.
"Alright, you said you need help, do you, perhaps, need help finding the light?" She asked, going off a hunch she had and she saw his eyes light up like Christmas had arrived early before he rapidly nodded, as if afraid she wouldn't see.
"Alright, any idea where you need to go or do?" She asked and he shook his head sadly, eyes dimming a bit.
"Okay...wait, give me just a second!" She said before rummaging through her messenger back and triumphantly pulling out a notebook and pen after rummaging through it for a while, the rest of its contents clinking and rustling loudly in the silence around them, "Knew I had it somewhere."
She mumbled, smiling at him and handing him the notebook, he blinked and then grinned at her with pearl white teeth and took it with a sort of reverence before flipping through it to find an empty page to write on.
`Thank you, who are you?' Was written in a beautiful, cursive handwriting that she was quite jealous of, if she wrote that well then she'd be more motivated to actually look through her school notes more often.
"It's no problem, I'm Hayleen Simmers, 18 this year, you?" She asked grinning at him as she gestured for him to come along as she proceeded to walk forward, he followed behind her, not producing a single sound except for the scratching of a pen upon paper, he seemed to enjoy it, if the content smile on his face was anything to go by.
She craned her head backwards to read after the scratching had stopped, 'I'm Marcus Cale, 23.'
"How did you get here Marcus?" She asked.
'I was eating in a restaurant and then felt my throat clam up, I waved my arms around, but my friend was on the toilet and my other friend didn't understand ASL, he thought I was just trying to tell him something, I tried to tell him that I couldn't breathe but he just didn't understand, then I blacked out.' He wrote and Hayleen winced, what a great way to go.
"How long have you been here already?" She asked, he tapped the pen on the paper before writing, 'A while, I don't really know, a month? A year? Time passes oddly when you have nothing to do and no one to talk to, I had a notebook as well, but I lost it somewhere around here.'
"Alright, that's a nice start, want me to help you look around? I've got light and time." She said, looking at him, dark black hair pulled up in a ponytail and his hands stained with ink, an artist or writer then? Obviously left handed if the ink stains on his palms were anything to go on.
'Thank you, that would be great, I've been looking for a while, but I am as good as blind in this darkness.'
"Yeah, I get that, if we don't find your notebook you can keep mine if you'd like to?" She suggested, he pondered for a while before nodding slightly and accepting her offer.
´How did you get her Hayleen?´ He asked her and she cringed, "Ah, some asshole, I don't know, knocked me out or something, then I woke up here." She answered, annoyance seeping into her voice.
No matter how afraid she had been, and still was of the man that had started all this, she'd still punch his teeth in if given half a chance, and she would, if she had anything to say about it.
Something flashed in the ghosts eyes as he heard her story, it disappeared as fast as it had appeared and he gave her his condolence before they moved on to brighter topics.
And so, the two of them began to trudge through the darkness in search for a red notebook that belonged to her male companion.
It was as if they were walking in their own little bubble of space, the circle of light around them separating them from the lurking darkness and keeping the beings all around them at bay, one person, a girl speaking quietly while turning around to face a young man around 20 years of age as he wrote his replies back on paper, turning the notebook around to show her what was written in it.
The girl leading with the softly glowing candle patiently read through his notes before replying after a few seconds of thought.
The two of them were enveloped with a soft light as the man stopped, slowly coming to a halt as he looked around, bent down to pick up a ragged looking notebook, bulging at the seams as it was filled with yellowing notes, a few pages haphazardly stuffed in tattered at the edges, ink smudged and old, he nodded at her and grinned.
Hayleen beamed back at him, "You found it? That's great!" She cheered.
'I know what to do now.' He wrote as he grinned at her, he tried to hand her notebook and pen back, but she held her hand up and shook her head, "You keep it, no offense, but yours looks like its far beyond full." She chuckled a bit at the end as he thanked her in sign language, holding a flat hand to his chin, only his fingertips actually touching it and then towards her, she thought it looked like a fake kiss, so it was quite easy to remember.
She waved goodbye to him, softly calling out a, "Have a safe journey."
He nodded and held out his hand towards her candle, she handed it over with a confused smile, the candle changed yet again under skilled hands as the candle holder shaped itself into a lantern.
The candle itself now sat safely inside a glass casing, a small window with a seemingly delicate lock surrounded by the white iron that could be used to take the candle out of its casing was left a bit ajar as the candles flame grew brighter, the bottom in a now dark grey colour and with golden engravings on it with the white metal that spread like vines all over it made the lantern look like a piece of art.
The engravings were done in his immaculate handwriting, a soft cursive that read, from what she could decipher-
____
"May the light guide your way forever and onward."
____
A handle was curling from the bottom to the top as she took it back with a look of surprise on her face, she laughed gratefully as she thanked him.
"This is a piece of art, thank you so much."
He just grinned at her as he disappeared just like the ghosts from before.
___________
As the light died down she saw that her earlier observation had been correct as the shadows dancing around them once again decreased, the darkness lifted and the black ground beneath her turned into a dark grey, cracks formerly unseen spreading through it like a spiders web, it was now easier to see what was the ground and what wasn't, she also noticed that there were holes in the ground all around them, some were shallow and harmless while others were deep pitfalls and holes without an end.
She feared what would have happened had she not had the candle light to see where she was going.
"Avoided a disaster there, didn't I?" She mused as she walked forward, wondering if she would meet yet another ghost or finally find the exit.
"Excuse me, can you help me? I'm lost." A voice like bells came from beside her and she turned, her question now answered, she suppressed a defeated sigh.
It was a woman this time, shuffling her feet side to side as she wrung her hands, her eyes darting from left to right but seemingly unfocused.
"..." She was silent for a while, wondering if she should applaud herself or give herself a firm slap for courting disaster.
She'd just jinxed herself hadn't she?
She straightened her back and spoke, "Of course, do you know where you need to go?"
"No, I just know that I'm lost." She muttered under her breath, a sunhat dripping with water secured on her head and around her neck, the blue ribbon standing starkly against an angry red, she frowned, had she gotten lost and drowned on accident? She seemed to be blind, her eyes a milky white and always staring ahead at nothingness.
"Are you blind?" She asked to reassure herself and saw the woman nod, "Yes, I lost my sight in an accident years ago, I was wandering around the park with my friends but slipped and fell into the pond."
She spoke, it certainly explained her dripping wet form and her soaked dress, a bit of alga clung to her arms and legs and Hayleen imagined that it must have been a painful death, she nodded to herself and reminded herself to stay clear of the topic.
"Oh, well, where do you want to go then...?" She trailed off at the end, prompting her for her name.
"Ah. How rude of me, I'm Adelain Havea, and who might you be?" She asked in return as she looked in her direction, likely going of the sound of her voice to figure out where she was.
"I'm Hayleen Simmers, nice to meet you, may I touch you?" She asked, knowing she sounded rude, but afraid that the ghost would get lost and wander of if she didn't lead her.
"Ah, ... if need be, yes." She said, sounding resigned and downtrodden and Hayleeen felt bad for her, but she was sure she had nothing on her that could work as a walking cane, but then noticed the umbrella she had on her, it was pink and puffy, the lady looked like a lady from the 18 hundreds with the puffy skirt and parasol.
"Can I have your umbrella? I want to try something." She asked, afraid to make her upset and be hit with it, the lady had that kind of aura around her.
"I see no need in it any further, do with it as you like." She spoke haughtily, her words clear and easy to understand... for people of her century.
Her former shyness forgotten, the lady rightened her hat that was hanging off to the side and briskly brushed of a piece of water plant that fell to the ground with a wet splurge.
She took the umbrella and pulled off the frills and the cover, leaving the metal skeleton and folded it up, she tried it, hearing the cling as it rolled over the ground, it would do, she thought, after looking at it for a long while.
"There we are, try swinging it in front of you." She instructed her and gave her back the umbrella now used as a walking cane, the woman gave her an odd look and- did. just. that.
"BANG!"
"Oh by the gods, my deepest apologies!" The woman called sounding a bit panicked.
"Yeah... that was my fault, should have been more specific." She said, rubbing her now red nose, she stood up from where she'd fallen to the ground, the woman had a nasty swing.
"I meant like this." She said guiding the woman to use a walking cane like she thought it would be used, by letting it roll over the ground, not her face.
Adelains arm held in Hayleens, the two of them walked forward as Hayleen explained what a walking cane was and what it was supposed to do, they stopped a few minutes later as the teen turned her attention to the lady.
"There, does that help?" She asked as the woman as she walked forward again, this time without assistance, seemingly forgetting her existence, as she smiled and walked in the front.
Hayleen thought it was an odd feeling to be lead by a blind woman, but shoved that thought aside as she followed, "Oh why did I not think of this sooner."
The lady said delightedly, walking like a queen, back straight and shoulders pushed back, instead of the hunch and pulled up shoulders seemingly always bracing herself to fall or trip.
Hayleen watched as the woman disappeared in a white light and rose an eyebrow, "Not even a "thank you"?" and, "That was quick." before shrugging and looking around, noting that the shadows were now scarce, the ground a light gray with the horizon now being a darker grey.
"One more then?" She asked herself and walked forward, not minding being empty handed... although, she looked at the silk in her hands, she didn't really end up empty handed, now did she.
"How in the world did I even get here in the first place? Isn't this too much effort to kidnap me just to let me wander around? Or did the asshole kill me and I just ended up here on accident? Damn it, I need answers." She huffed.
----------
"H..eel-p...M.-ee-..E!" Something in front of her screamed as a bloody face appeared in front of her, she blinked in shock and jumped back, avoiding a swipe to the face from a bloody claw like hand.
"Alright... how can I help you?" She asked, looking at the absolutely mangled figure in front of her with no small amount of trepidation, and barely held back from screaming bloody murder at the sudden jumpscare "He..-l.p--...me,--e, f-ii-nn...d,..m-eee,,.. fieeeee...nn-d....y--,my... h...ea--r..t!" It, no she, croaked through blood and likely a broken neck.
"Do you have any idea where it could be?" She asked, forcing down her fear and disgust at the gory sight in front of her, quietly complaining how she just couldn't catch a break that day.
The mangled corpse whose eyes were bulging out and red, her mouth pulled into a snarl, displaying rows of broken teeth that resembled glass shards of a broken bottle held at the end to make a makeshift weapon more than the jaw of a human.
One of her arms hung on its tendons, the bone snapped and leaning outwards, the flesh cut and burned and pulsing veins, like a gruesome jigsaw puzzle left to rot.
"Gg,.-rrr" It growled as it clawed its way toward her, dragging her body along the floor, leaving behind a trail of blood and pieces of rotten flesh, she leaned up, preparing to lunge at her and it displayed the hole where her heart should be, the ribs cracked and broken, blood splattering everywhere and she was sure she could see her lungs through all the blood and leftover flesh.
"Gi..v-...me...e...m,.-y...h..,,ea,,.r.--t,,..ba.c-..,.k!" It screeched and lunged, Hayleen lurched back, tripping in her haste and falling on her bum, letting go of her lantern.
It clattered loudly as it fell to her side, rattling the candle inside, miraculously, the candle didn't extinguish and the lantern didn't break nor crack.
The thing, still mid air from the surprisingly fast and large lunge, cracked its neck as it looked her straight in the eyes and grinned like the grinny cat, sharp and from ear to ear.
"Oh HEeell no!" She screeched and began to curse like a sailor under her breath, trying to think of something to get her out of this sticky situation, her gut feeling springing back full force as she held back the urge to vomit.
"Give me back my heart?" She said? Then didn't that mean that she wanted the hole in her chest filled?
That, she could do, she, done with all this ghostly bullshit and from walking god knows how long, balled the fabric taken from the parasol in a ball and cursed at the thing.
"Come and get me you cheap Rake look-a-like!"
Now with a plan in mind, she stood up and prepared as the thing got up, the body cracking and creaking like an old, rusted clock and stuffed the ball of pink fabric in the things chest while it was still midair from another attempt to murder her.
It stopped the leaking blood as the pink started to be stained red, the thing stopped to marvel at its chest, the hole now hidden from view and the cloth adjusting just like magic to resemble her flesh, the end result looking like someone had cut off the first layers of skin around her heart.
The thing poked its chest before grinning like someone high off of laughing gas and began to chuckle and laugh, it grated on her ears like a broken tape recorder.
She heard laughter behind her as another woman, looking like the thing before her, but whole, floated next to the thing, looking at it with humor in her eyes.
"You sure are lucky aren't you? Your first trial and already ghosts all around."
"And Ghost cloth, freely given, is quite hard to find as well, especially that much." She said, smiling.
"And who are you?" Hayleen shot back, aware of just how lucky she was that her split second decision had actually worked, even if it ended with the creatures deranged laughter two feet behind her, she threw a look over her shoulder and to her right, yep, still laughing like a maniac, who'd have thought?
After the cautionary look behind her, even if she could see the thing from the corner of her eye, she focused on the better double.
The girl laughed, red hair bobbing up and down as her shoulders shook and brown eyes, brimming with mirth and unshed tears of laughter, focused on her.
"That's not what I had in mind when I asked for my heart back, but it'll do, I am sorry to have pulled that on you, that there is my body, as I am sure you are confused about how there's two of me, when I died, my ghost separated from my body, but there was so much resentment leftover that my body became a ghoul that wanted to replace its heart, I killed my killer, but my body went on."She explained, shrugging slightly as she floated a few feet above ground.
"How the hell do you know that?" Hayleen asked, dumbfounded by the odd revelation.
"I was a hunter of sorts, I got to learn a lot, as will you, considering the bloodmoon rose in your world, now how about a gift before I pass on?" She asked, smiling at a joke only she understood and she watched as her ghostly body began to break off in small pieces of light, as if she was dissolving, it didn't seem to hurt her, as she still focused on her without a change in her expression, except a short glance at her cracking appendages, a piercing on her lips rotating from left to right as the ghost played with it.
"Excuse me, what the hell do you mean, "I will learn more" and "the bloodmoon rose in my world", are you saying there are more?" She asked, now completely confused and she had the feeling that she needed to restart her brain as she mentally saw error messages pop up in droves.
"You'll know, and I don't have enough time to tell you, this gift will bring you more than my explanation will."
She flew back into her corpse, seemingly taking over as the thing stopped with its deranged laughter and blinked as she got used to the new sensation.
She waved at her shadow, her arm tearing further as black blood dripped on to a now light grey ground, the cracks now more pronounced and deeper than ever.
A black hound like creature with ruby red eyes stood up from within her shadow, the spine jutting out in spikes and its claws as sharp as blades as shadows separated from the creature left in its wake.
"I can't take this with me anyways, that's a Resentment hound, use it well." She informed her before her form cracked and crumbled, the golden light escaping the creature and flying into her lantern that lay on the ground, and she was left there speechless as the black thing looked at her with it's head tilted to the side.
"..."
"Alright then, what the f*** just happened?"