"Certain technology exists that allows the living to hear us. The technology is imprecise and far from perfect. But it's usable, usually. In recent years, voice-recognition software has developed to the point that even machines can understand our spoken commands sometimes. I am one of the living dead, yes, but thanks to this technology, I have my own email address and Facebook account."
"Where did you get it?"
"It's been loaned to me." She says no more than this, and you have the feeling she wants to change the subject.
A walkie-talkie on the van's dashboard crackles to life, interrupting your conversation. "Agent Marly, the counter's estimating the storm will last another six or seven minutes. I'll make my way to the van as soon as we're at background level."
Marly glances its way. "We don't have long if we're going to talk in private. Please listen to me. Your memories of life may come back to you in time. It happens more often than not. But it will take time. In my case, nearly four years passed before I could remember the finer details of my former life in Iowa. But to reach this point of knowing your past, you must gain strength as the being you are now, in the present. We are wraiths. We're intangible, perennially between worlds. And that's a dangerous, dangerous way to exist. It's too easy to spend weeks and months alone, without direction, without contact. Do so, and you risk descending into perpetual misery and crippling madness. You risk becoming a creature without empathy, who exists to inflict upon others the pain that you yourself feel."
You're silent for a few moments. It's hardly a rosy picture that she paints, and yet you already know the truth of her words.
"I've found purpose in my own existence by working for the betterment of this great country," she says. "In undeath, I have become an agent for the Surveillance and Espionage Network for Tactics and Initiatives in the Negation of Extranormal Lifeforms—SENTINEL. An agency within the US government, perhaps the most secretive agency that exists. They're charged with developing supernatural tools to defend this country, particularly from threats of a supernatural nature. As a wraith, I possess unique talents, which I use to ensure the safety of the American people. And in doing so, I find my own direction. I find strength and clarity."
You indicate the walkie-talkie. "He called you 'Agent Marly.' You're…a spy, of sorts? And this explains the voice-activated van?"
She nods. "Come with me. I can help you develop your abilities as a wraith. Above all, my associates and I can help you find purpose in this new existence, at least for a time. You'll be able to leave whenever you want. And you're free to say no. That, in fact, is why I didn't approach you that first time I saw you, on top of the tower. A part of the SENTINEL mission statement is to seek out and recruit supernatural beings such as ourselves. I was in communication with SENTINEL then, and I preferred to wait until I was alone to speak to you, so that you felt absolutely free to walk away."
Next