I stand up, go outside my house, and walk over to the next block. I knock on the first door I come across, and someone who looks like they died from an overdose opens the door. I grab them by the face, pushing them into the house as I absorb them. He struggles for a few seconds before fading away as I hear a baby crying upstairs. I sigh and know what I have to do, as leaving it here would be a fate worse than death, all alone with no one as a baby.
Existence is a cruel thing sometimes. I think it's better if no one ever came to be, no pain, no suffering. You wouldn't know this place either. I believe a clean white sheet is prettier than this stained paper we call existing. Every step up the stairs felt like it had increased in weight. As I stepped before a room and entered, inside the crib, there was a baby that looked like it hadn't eaten at all, with skin and bones.
"I understand that man was your father and when he died. You had no one to feed you; what a horrible way to die. Let me end your suffering, little one."
The baby stopped crying and held out its little hand, grabbing my finger as it faded away. I leaned up against the wall and fell down, taking a seat as I started to cry uncontrollably.
"WHAT'S THE POINT OF ALL THIS!!!"
"What is the point of all this? It's his little game."
"WHO'S THERE!"
But no one replied. I kept yelling for hours for that person to speak. They kept quiet, not willing or not being able to. I don't know, but that voice was a sinister one, like the voice that tells you to do something you shouldn't. That voice of wicked temptation is one you try to ignore every time it pops up and nibbles at your morals.
I stand up, not wanting to be in this house anymore; I move to the next one, running away from what happened. I began to absorb more spirits until it started to get close to nighttime when I finished this street. Seeing the dead and the ways they died, feeling heartache when I came across the children who were so young. A hatred for those who made it this way began to take root inside me. I wanted to change this order of things.
I walk to my house, drained mentally. I get inside and don't see anyone. As I look around, I hear running water, like a shower. I make my way to the bathroom and open the door. I wonder why they don't hear the doors open. Maybe it has something to do with the two overlaying each other, but aren't the same? That's why we can only interact with limited ability.
I see Jasmine taking a shower and looking around. The steam is fogging up the mirror, and I touch it, making a fingerprint. I smile at this, as this means I am stronger now and don't feel a drain on my energy. I write in the mirror.
"Hello, big sister Jasmine; leaving me in the forest is not nice."
Jasmine is the middle child; to me, she is my big sister. I turn and look at the light switch and think to myself, I wonder. I reach out and flip the switch, which makes Jasmine scream and yell.
"SAMANTHA IS THAT YOU! STOP FUCKING WITH ME! TURN ON THE GOD DAMN LIGHT!"
No one replies, and she gets pissed as she opens the shower door and gets out; if she wasn't a bitch and I wasn't her brother, I would find her attractive. Her brown hair reaches her hips, and she has this body of years of going to the gym and doing yoga. She is a solid 10/10 on looks, but her personality is in the negatives.
She turns the light back on and turns to see the message in the mirror. She screams as she runs out of the bathroom, trying to find out if her sister or boyfriend wrote that. She begins to yell for anyone in the house but is alone with no one there. She runs to her bedroom, grabs her phone, and calls Samantha.
"Samantha, that shit isn't funny."
"You know what I mean, writing that in the mirror while I'm showering."
"DON'T LIE TO ME! WE ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS WHERE WE BURIED JAMES!"
"The message said "Hello, big sister Jasmine, leaving me in the forest is not nice." now tell me who would right that but your sadist ass."
"What, you didn't write it? Then who did?"
"Yeah, you call yours, and I will call mine."
I opened her closet door at that moment, slowly testing how much I could do. Its rusty hinges make a noise as it opens; she swings herself around and holds a hand on her bare chest, trying to breathe as I watch, a little drained from energy, but I could do one or two more things to fuck with her. But I will wait until later tonight and let my energy return; I can't hurt them just yet. But each day moves me closer to ripping their flesh off.
I breathe as I don't want to lose control of myself and make myself pass out again. I walk to the living room and wait. As the time passes by and they return home, I step out of the house so as not to go into a fit of rage. I can torment them tonight. There is no point in rushing right now; I am getting stronger daily. I will have my justice in due time, but I must learn how much I can do for now. I will try to cut one, at least if I can't leave any mark, even if I have to use up much of my energy.
I see the lights in the house go off and can tell that they are going to sleep; I don't even know what day it is or what time it is. My whole time understanding is out of wake. As I enter the house, I make my way to Jasmine's room and open the door, not like I was doing it in the land of the dead, but like how I turned the light off as it opened, making noise. I hear Jasmine call.
"Samantha, is that you?"
But only deathly quiet answers her. As she turns on her lamp light, she sees the door completely open and no one standing there. She gets up and looks both ways in the hallway, but no one.
I enter her room by walking through her, and she shivers.
"Did someone turn down the AC?"
She closes her door and makes her way back to bed as I stand there and watch her turn the light off and drift into sleep. I slowly pull her blanket down, making her toss in her bed. Pulling it up, she has a foot out of the blanket. As I grab it, I pull, dragging her down her bed, waking her up as I fall to my knee, breathing heavily.
I used about half my energy doing that, fuck me. I didn't think touching someone would drain more than messing with objects.
"MOM! COME HERE!"
Jasmine began to yell as my mother and Samantha ran into the room.
"What are you yelling for?"
"Something just pulled me down my bed."
"Yeah, right. What like a ghost, what are you ten?"
Samantha looked at her with contempt at this. First, she had a pathetic brother, and now she is a stupid slut of a sister. She thought her family members were behind her, so she turned around and went to her room as she was tired and didn't want to deal with this.
"You were most likely tossing in your sleep, Jasmine. You're way too old to be believing in the boogeyman."
She returned to her room as she was getting ready to have fun with her boyfriend when her daughter rudely stopped it. It takes Jasmine a while to relax as I wait for her to slumber, and my energy is back to about 60%. I had one shot to make this count for the night as I waited for her to stick a leg out one more time, getting my nails ready to dig into her flesh. I want to make her bleed.
Finally, she sticks a leg out from under her blanket. I use all my mental powers to scratch her leg, making her scream as I pass out with a happy smile. I fall onto her bed and close my eyes, feeling one step closer to my end goal.
"Good, you're walking just fine on the path of your destiny."
I woke up. I looked around but didn't see Jasmine anywhere. I began to walk around and find her sleeping on the floor of Samantha's room. As I smirked, I won't do more to you for now as I still need far more spirits to make it worth hurting you right now. But a little sleep trouble will itch my scratch from now on.
I leave my house as it's still night and begin to walk around the city at night, which has been a good day for me. Well, as good as someone who is dead can get. I see the dead dancing some off in a corner, drowning themselves in self-pity, and I see children walking around alone. This is a morbid place with little "life" going on.
I see a woman looking at the moon by herself, and I walk over to her; as she turns her head, I see her neck cut. She must have been murdered; I begin to speak to her.
"Can I sit here?"
She looks at me and nods. I take it she can't speak.
"For the land of the dead, it does have the best moon. I've never seen the moon this big or clear; it's probably the best thing I have seen since I woke up two days ago."
She nodded in agreement as we watched the moon; we only really need to sleep if we use our energy. After what felt like a lifetime, she got up and began to walk away when I spoke up.
"Do you mind if I come and watch the moon with you occasionally?"
She thinks about it for a moment, then smiles, giving me a nod before turning around. She was dressed in 1920s clothing and must have been here for over a hundred years. I can't imagine being stuck in this place for so long with nothing but fog and the dead. I stand back up and walk to my home, picking another street after walking back forty minutes, and I begin my fest once more.
With every absorption, it becomes easier for me to deal with it. I clear this street faster than the others as I start not to feel sorry for them; if anything, it feels like I am releasing them from their suffering in this place. Maybe that's how I deal with my actions, but it holds merit. I return home and await another night of terror for Jasmine, as doing this is the only way I won't lose my mind in the place.
Time ticks by as I watch my family leave and take care of whatever they are doing in the land of the living. I close my eyes and go to sleep. My mind drifts to a hill of bones, and I see a pale white horse. It's majestic like a being that demands respect, and it's calling me to ride it. I walk towards it, but right before I can reach it, I wake up, feeling something inside me throbbing. It is not like a heartbeat but a pulse sending out a signal.
It fades away after a few minutes. As I wonder what this all means, the family returns home from their daily life.