The Murder Trials Shanaia wept as she watched her parents bodies lowered into the dank ground. What had gone so wrong? She had kept to the rules like she was told, and yet nothing was right. Was having a peaceful life really the ultimate goal, as she had so often believed? She hadn't ever gotten in the way of anyone. She fingered her scars and bruises with shaking fingers. There had been no pleasure in her life with her parents, and yet, she loved them. Oh, how she loved them. Even though she had been beaten regularly and her mother stood by like it was nothing. Was it her? Was it really her fault as it had been so forcefully told to her by her drunken fool of a father? Is since she's worthless that why she had been raped by her brother? Because she was trash? She truly deserved the worst, unlike all those happy, peppy little brats from her high school who know nothing? She turns to go back to the life of that of a charming, happy-go-lucky girl with seemingly nothing to hide. Back to the meaningless existence of a drone's life. Nothing special, everything average. But then, if nothing is special, what is everything's job? To exist, and maintain order? She shook her head. Turning her face upward, she felt the raindrops kiss her face. She was almost graduated, able to take care of herself. This will be a new beginning, right? A place where she could forget about everything she had done and had done to her? Should she really forget? Isn't the world supposed to work like you learn from your mistakes? She glided up to her car and slipped inside, closing the door, both of her car and to her past. She was popular at school, for both her grace and her seemingly comforting personality. Yet, behind her back, people talk. They say she's a slut, and someone so disgusting that she should be shunned from their lives. Brushed off like a grain of sand in an oyster. What do I even have to go back to? A fake life? One where I can love no one and be unloved? To be judged like a lamb to slaughter? Is that even a truthful existence? She put her car into gear and backed out of the cemetery parking lot. Hope for a better life was something she could not afford in this cold, empty world. She skimmed around one of the twisting roads on the way back to her apartment. Always being told her choices were wrong or sick, what was she supposed to turn to? There was no one to listen, really listen to her. Dying would be too painful. She rubbed the scars around her wrists. She knew from experience. No one would truly miss me if I was gone. Couldn't god just come and take me away? I could rest, then, couldn't I? She blinked, like she was getting sleepy. When she opened her eyes, there was a small shinigami on her dashboard. 'Are you here for me?' She wondered. "Only if you want me to be. It's your choice. You can either have the painful death you're so afraid of, or you can just disappear with me. The car will go off the cliff and you will leave your flesh and be free." 'Truly free? After so long?' She smiled sadly. The shinigami had the barest smile around his lips and patted her forehead. "If that's your decision, then…" He sent her to sleep. "Shhh… It'll be over soon. You'll see. You'll get peace from one world, only to be thrust into another." Like the rest.
Chapter 2: Brenda and Cally Brenda smiled at her friend. No matter what the situation, Cally could usually bring a smile to her face. She was one of the few people to not find her quiet nature off putting. Cally had a habit of saying her opinion, whether it would be agreed with or not. "Brenda, you're so adorable!" "Cally. Shut up." "No, really! If I was a man, I'd snap you right up! Like this!" She attempted to snap her fingers and sighed when she failed. "Calm down, would you? It's your stop. See you tomorrow, dearie!" Brenda gave her a hug, and sent her on her way. A while later, Brenda arrived home to a hectic scene. Her mother was trying to get ready for work while her siblings were screaming, one because he's a baby, and the other because she wanted to argue. The only living thing that seemed remotely happy to see her was her dog. And her dog is happy to see anyone. She sighed. She could tell that it would be one of those nights, the one where she gets nothing done that she needs to. "Mom, is there anything I can help you with?" "Can you wash the dishes, make your sisters lunch, and change your brother? I have to get to work, and I know I'm already going to be late." "Sure. Good luck today." Her mom rushed off, intent on work. It was always like this, her being in the role of a parent to her siblings. Her mother was a good parent, but she was always busy trying to keep food on the table so she was never around. Brenda shook her head and continued with her chores. She got her siblings to bed around a decent time, grabbed a bowl of carrots, and shut herself into her bedroom. She flipped channels for awhile on her bipolar television until she became drowsy. She curled her blanket around her body and decided to try to get some rest. She hated sleeping. Sleeping meant dreaming, and dreaming meant a lack of control over her thoughts and memories. On nights like tonight, she could have told you ahead of time what her dream would be. It was always the same when her mom was gone. Her brain recalled memories of before her mother kicked out Brenda's stepfather. In her dream, she was seven years old again, playing with dolls on her bedroom floor. Her mother had to work today, so her stepfather was supposed to be watching her. Instead, he was getting drunk and screaming at the tv. She cringed, knowing that if his team loses he'll end up blaming her. She bided her time till he burst in her room. He screamed at her for being her mother's brat as he slapped her across her face. She recoiled and tried to run past him. He snatched her wrist and dragged her back in front of him. "I don't know why she had you. Stupid woman, to have such a worthless daughter. Are you even her daughter? You little whore! You'll grow up to be a leech. All women are leeches. Unintelligent, obnoxious, and ugly LEECHES!" She knew that she'd have to let him blow over. If she cried, he'd hit her again, harder. She hiccuped in her effort to hold back her tears. His face turned red, like a hiccup was a insult to his manliness. He threw her against the wall and stomped towards her. "You little bit-" She woke up in a cold sweat. She turned on all the lights in the room and checked to make sure the front door and her bedroom door were locked. She let her dog inside her room, curled up next to him, and tried to sleep again. After a half hour she realized that sleep wasn't going to happen. She flipped open her laptop and surfed the web, finally deciding on watching Blood Plus. She was roused from her daze by her phone's alarm and jumped out of her bed. She swiftly grabbed her clothes and dressed, packing her backpack along the way. She waved to her bus driver and skedaddled onto her bus. She arrived at school, greeted by calls of "Good morning" and "How're you doin'?" She fell backwards, landing on her rump as Cally half-hugged, half-killed her. "Cally! Take it easy! Gosh, you're such a child!" "So?" "Get to class." "Hey, I was there before you!" The two girls dashed to their English class and made it inside just as the final bell rang out. They smiled at each other and took their seats. Their teacher walked to the front of the room, began a slide show, and started to give a lecture. Almost immediately, laptops were opened, phones came out, and iPods were turned on. The teacher droned on, oblivious to any distractions. Brenda was almost asleep as someone started to scream in the hallway. She jerked awake to sounds of gun shots. The teacher became momentarily paralyzed before throwing open the window. "We're the closest classroom to the front door. Come on, come on! Move, move, move move! Everyone scrambled for the window, either too scared to scream, or already unconscious from stress. They spotted the gunman outside of the door, and he began to open the unlocked door. Brenda opened her mouth to yell a warning, but froze in alarm. Cally threw herself in front of the door, and locked it, screaming profanities at the gunman. He sneered at her and shot her in her knee. She latched onto the door handle, keeping the gunman out. He started shooting the door hinges, popping them out. Brenda glanced once at her classmates. There were still at least ten waiting to escape. Brenda grimaced and threw herself against the door, supporting Cally's weight. She stared into the gunman's eyes, recognizing the edge of insanity taking hold there. Brenda heard the ring of sirens in the distance, but she knew that they wouldn't get here in time to stop the gunman from taking the room and killing those left in it unless she and Cally held the gunman at the door, even at the cost of their own lives. She turned her head back to the doorway and stared down the barrel of a semi automatic gun. She took in a breath to offer up a short prayer to God and prepared to meet Him. She closed her eyes. When nothing happened, she opened them in confusion. Two creatures perched on the door frame above the two girls. Cally's head lolled back and she stared at the creatures with interest. "Hello, there!" Cally smiled lopsidedly. The two creatures glanced at her, each other, then Brenda. They addressed Brenda, since she seemed more sane minded. "So, you're about to die. How does it feel?" The female one asked Brenda. "Excuse me?" "Are you scared? Happy? Regretful? What?" "Jaz. Shut up. What're we here to do. Stay focused." "It's not my fault! I'm curious!" The male creature sent 'Jaz' a death glare and continued to talk to Brenda. "You and your little friend, here, have a chance to not feel the pain of death in this world. All it would mean, is that you two would play a game for us in another world. You'll probably die, anyway, but it'll mean a little more time breathing. Isn't that what all of you humans want, anyway?" "You overestimate our shallowness. Why would we have been in place to die, anyway, if we only cared about living?" "Stupidity?" "Not really. It's called compassion, thanks." "Right. Either way, you can die now by gunshot, or you can live somewhere else for awhile. Decide." "Are there dandelions and squirrels in this new world?" "Who cares?" "Me." The demon shook his head. "Sure, there are weeds and animals. Good enough?" "I'll go!" Cally nodded, looking paler and paler as blood drained onto the floor. "You're so impulsive," Brenda sighed. "I can't let you go alone. You'll probably get lost or end up falling into a black hole." "I so love your confidence in me." "It's settled, then." The demons grabbed the girls consciousness from their bodies and brought them upward to watch the carnage of their deaths. The last of the students dove out of the window as the gunman shot through their bodies, spewing blood and skin across the tile. "You two'll be in the news, y'know," started the female creature. "The headline's will read, 'Two girls killed in school shooting. They saved their class. Their sacrifices shall be remembered.' or something equally sappy. You humans love your deaths too much. Once you're dead, it's over. No pretty funeral can change that. You're essentially fertilizer." "Glad to see you love traditions." Brenda said sarcastically, glancing over to the source of a sigh. "It doesn't feel real..." Cally mumbled. "What doesn't?" "Dude. We just watched ourselves be shot up like a bad cop show. Little people invaded the room and told us that there are other worlds. What part of any of that makes sense to you?" "I'm still stuck at the fact that our freak school has a freak gunman."
Chapter 3 Derek spewed gravel everywhere as he came to a skidding stop on his bike. He left it behind the warehouse, lying on it's side. His hometown had become increasingly dangerous for him and his gang ever since his old leader had died in a drive-by. His gang was strong armed into joining with their rivals or they would be annihilated. Derek still held some hope that they'd be able to turn members of the rival gang into their own members and stage a coup against their new leader. So far he hadn't had much luck. As second in command of the old gang, he stayed in the warehouse with the new leader and his second command. Both were sleazy characters, not straying away from murder, blackmail, thievery, and kidnapping. Neither were very kind to the opposite gender, either. He shook his head and entered the building, stomping his feet to shake loose the mud in his boots. Seth, the power-hungry second in command, smirked at him and set down his pop can. "Where've you been? The Boss is pretty ticked that you ditched him this morning. Wouldn't want to be in your shoes when he sees you. You know he's looking for any excuse to rid this gang of any...unnecessary people." "Then you should thank your lucky stars that you're still here, cause..." Derek tilted his head mockingly towards Seth. Seth spat on the floor and turned away, throwing the can over his shoulder. Derek headed towards the 'main office' of the Boss. He could hear someone yelling, and someone whimpering softly. He threw open the door without knocking, a big no-no in this place. He was all ready in trouble, how much worse could it be? He stopped cold, seeing the Boss dragging a girl across the floor by her hair. She was scratching at his clammy arm, raking it hard enough to leave trails of blood up his arm. Her lips were swollen, and Derek could see a welt on her cheek all ready forming. He bounded across the room while he still had the element of surprise on the Boss and punched him in the jaw. He was satisfied to hear a resounding crack of bone. The Boss's head hit the wall and he moaned, grasping at his face. Derek pulled the girl to her feet and pointed her towards the door. She nodded and escaped while Derek watched to make sure Seth didn't see her and try to stop her. He turned in disgust to the man he was supposed to obey. At least the old Boss had morals, and his fellow gang members were more family to him. He had people to watch his back. Here, he was watching out for his old crew, himself, and whoever the Boss set his sights on to torment. Still, he'd better leave before the Boss is able to decide how to kill him. He glanced at the writhing man and estimated that he'd have about half an hour to hide away. He set off at a brisk pace to his bike. Maybe now would be a good time to visit those relatives across the continent. He pedaled as speedily as he could, keeping to well-lighted streets with few people. He biked for two hours until he came to an old bridge. He slipped under the ledge, found a dry corner near the end of the bridge, and settled in to sleep. He woke to the sound of rushing water. The water had risen during the night, not terribly so, but enough to make him leave his refuge. He twitched in surprise when his cell went off. It seemed too loud in this deserted area. He answered it with a gruff, "Hello." "Yo, Derek? Where you at, man?" It was one of his buddies from the old gang." "Hidin' out for a bit. I punched the Boss in the jaw. Kinda broke it. Why?" "Well, Seth was gloating about his 'amazing seeking skills." "So?" "So, he found this chick, all beat up. Didn't think anything of it till they started saying something about bait for a traitor. What's going on, man?" "Damn." "What?" "I'll be there. Are they staying put, or are they headed somewhere?" "Looks like they're headed down by the river. Y'know, the one by the burned down farm house?" "I'll be there." "I'd say be careful, but I know you don't care. If it helps, us old member's have been blackmailed into staying put. You're on your own, man. Good luck." "Great," Derek said sarcastically. "I appreciate it." "Anytime." He hung up. He tossed his bike alongside the road and hopped on, pedalling faster than he had when he was escaping. He made it to the riverside in less than half the time it'd taken him to get to the bridge. He peered over the edge of the top of the hill. Seth and some of his posse had the girl's wrists and ankles bound, and they were tormenting her. Her shirt was torn in multiple places and she had knife marks all over her arms, legs, chest, and neck. Her face was puffy from unshed tears. Derek's blood boiled. Seth spotted him and waved him over, like they were old friends. "Aw, hey! Look who showed up! My dear friend, Derek! Hey, look who I found. Isn't she lovely?" He mocked, ruffling the girl's hair. His face hardened. "Alex, I leave the girl and the traitor to you. See you back at the Office later." He slipped into the shadows of the early morning, flicking a signal to the rest of the members to follow. Derek spat in Seth's direction and turned his attention back towards Alex and the mystery girl. Alex was holding her upright by her neck and smirking at Derek. "What's up, bro? Cute chick, huh?" He slid his knife across her cheek, drawing a fine line of blood. He licked the knife, and smiled. "Mmm. I bet she tastes good elsewhere, too." He drew a slow circle with the knife where her shirt met her jeans, laughing as a single tear dripped down the girl's face. She looked up at Derek pleadingly. He couldn't take it anymore. He tore down the hill, churning up clumps of soil behind him. His fist plowed into Alex's forehead, but he didn't budge. "You suck. That was weak, you idiot. Come at me like you're serious, or I'll kill the girl before I kill you." Derek realized he was being baited, but he reacted anyway. He pounded away at Alex, but he kept being deflected or dodged. Finally, one connected into Alex's neck. His neck snapped back momentarily and he stumbled, giving Derek the chance to snap Alex's finger's off of the girl. Alex howled and cracked his fingers back into place. He grinned again, muttering under his breath. "Better, amateur." He twirled his knife and jabbed at Derek, scoring a hit in his forearm. Derek winced as Alex yanked his knife free of his arm. Derek grabbed Alex's neck and twisted, but Alex uppercut Derek's jaw. Derek stuck out his feet and flipped Alex onto his back, hitting his head on a rock. He dashed towards the girl with Alex's fallen knife. He slit the bonds, and the girl slumped back, rubbing her wrists and ankles to get feeling back into them. "Thanks." "Anytime." "Your baddie buddy is back up," she nodded towards Alex. Derek sighed. "Two versus one is better odds," she stated. "Um, no? For one you're a girl, for two..." "I've been on the streets for most of the last decade. Today is simply a more vibrant day than most. I'm Sarah, by the way." The girl grabbed a branch from the ground and cracked it like a whip. Alex growled in annoyance and jumped around Sarah, heading for Derek. Derek met him head on, the two trading a series of blows. The girl managed to kick Alex in the head a few times, as well as lash his back and neck with the branch. This continued for about two minutes. Alex somehow continued having the upper hand, since he had no partner to worry about. All motion froze as a hideous crunching sound came from the road above. All heads turned towards the noise, freezing at the sight of a semi flipping end over end towards the combatants. Derek dove for Sarah, ready to try to shield her from the crash. When no one screamed, they opened their eyes. The truck was frozen in midair, hanging like it was suspended from wires. "What the hell?" Alex muttered. Derek scrambled off of Sarah, only to come face to face with two non-human beings. "Can't we get killed without mythical creatures invading Earth?" Sarah chaffed. "I'd answer the implied question, but it would insult your small brain capacity for such things," one of the shinigami retorted. "Now," she continued, "To business. Guess what? You three are about to die. Congratulations. Y'all must be some of the unluckiest people in this world. Your only spark of luck is that our kind takes pity on a group of humans every few years. So, two of you get to come with us, and, since we're feeling generous, one of you gets to live, and not be crushed by the semi." "If you guys are so awesome, why can't you just rewind time and wake up the trucker so he can see where he's going? Or at least have it avoid all of us?" Sarah quipped. Derek, who'd been sitting quietly this whole time, spoke up. "Why do you need us?" "Vecause vee vant to suck your vlood!" The other shinigami cackled. "MUAHAHAHA-" "Shut up, Brianna," snapped the other shinigami. She turned towards the teens. "Seriously, we want you guys to come play our game in our realm. It's like a...a demon version of the Olympics. But, just like in the Olympics, you could still die, anyway. So, choose two of you guys before we do it ourselves. And I'm only slightly more patient than Brianna." Derek thought quickly. "If I stay, Alex can terrorize Sarah wherever they go. If Alex stays, this type of thing could happen again. The only way this could work is if Alex and I go. There. Decided." "Hey, now. You and I are going to have serious issues if you just decide stuff like that!" Sarah protested. Derek explained his reasoning to her and she sighed, slowly excepting it. "I'm fine with that. Your world promises to be more interesting than this one," Alex assented. "Yeah, and there'll be cute chicks there, too. I've seen some of the other gamers. Dang, man!" Brianna smirked at Alex and Derek. The first shinigami turned to Sarah and began explaining something to her. "Since you've seen us and you aren't coming with us, you're going to live somewhere between our world and yours. You'll live in periods of both. You'll live a full, happy life, okay? Also, you'll be able to help out the gamers while they're trying to survive." "That's fine with me. I wasn't planning on staying in this city for more than a week anyway," she assured her. "Then it's settled. You, duck down," the shinigami instructed her. She nodded and did as she was told, looking up at Derek. "Thanks for saving me." "Anytime. Good luck, wherever you are." "I'm not the one who needs it. Hey! If you get the chance, kill that bastard for me, okay?" "I'd like to see that," Alex growled, arms crossed in front of his chest lazily. Derek and Alex felt themselves being yanked from their bodies as time unfroze and their bodies were crushed under the tumbling semi. Sarah ducked, covering her head as the truck skimmed over her; missing her head by a mere millimeter. She stood up and brushed herself off. She looked pointedly away from the boys' bloodied carcasses. Waving to Derek, she nodded to the shinigami and disappeared. The boys stared at their bodies with a mix of disgust and morbid interest." "All right. Time to go. Say your goodbyes to the solid world, dearies."
Chapter 4 Serenity breathed in the vapors of her cigarette, holding the smoke in her mouth until she blew it out in one smooth breath, creating a spiral of smoke in the air. This was the best. Sitting around with friends and smoking a bowl or two while downing shots. "Serenity, pass the joint. Quit hogging it!" She passed a roll to the all-ready stoned girl, but not before taking a drag on it. She laughed as the girl gave her the finger. "Sorry, honey. Don't do it with girls. Try Kelsey. She's bi...And drunk." The girl spat on the floor next to Serenity's feet. "Right. Whatever." "Since when haven't you been bi?" Serenity's boyfriend slid his arms around her waist from behind. "Since I decided that anything they could do, I could do better." He laughed. "Well, I suppose I should be glad you haven't taken that stance on the male species, yet." "And it's your job to make sure it stays that way," she said, kissing him. He squeezed her butt and wandered away, mumbling something about getting some more booze. This was the way she'd been brought up. The more you party, the more it seemed like your problems didn't matter so much. It hadn't affected her school life either. She was the top of her class, and the only one to gain a much sought after scholarship to the nations best school of design. She was the envy of her classmates and the favorite pupil of many of the teachers. She scoffed at the studies and religious zealots who claimed that drugs and booze messed up the brain. If all of what those "losers" were saying was true, then why did luck seem to smile on her so much? She winced as a bottle crashed to the floor while two girls began screaming at each other. Serenity rolled her eyes and told the by-standing boyfriends to "control their women." "It's because of idiots like them that raids happen. A do-gooder neighbor hears screaming and calls the cops. Cops show up, and well. Lookee here! A drug-fest. Arrest city, and cops get a boost in pay and ego," she complained to another party-goer. They nodded, like they understood what she was talking about. Of course, they didn't. They were riding a low, and nothing was really registering in their brain as important. Not that she was important. She sighed. Glancing back at her boyfriend, she snorted at the shot contest he was winning. The other guy was turning green while her boyfriend downed his eighth shot. They couldn't hear the pounding on the door over the cheers. It came as a shock as the police broke down the loft door and ambushed her party. People scattered, some breaking for the door, some breaking for the balcony, and a few going for the fire escape. Her boyfriend was the first out of the door, no concern for his girlfriend, of course. Girlfriends are replaceable. Criminal records are not. Serenity dashed for the fire escape with a female cop on her tail. She scrambled over the windowsill and gripped the ladder, missing the top rung. She fell, snapping her shoulder on one of the metal rungs, leaving a deep gash in her arm. She gasped, feeling the blood dripping down her arm towards her neck. She looked up at the window and stared at a tazer being waved in her face. She can't get arrested now! It would ruin everything she worked so hard for. The rickety ladder began to sway with her weight, the rung bending under her. She scrabbled to get a grip on the metal with both of her hands, but managed only to lose her grip entirely. Her blood-slick hands raked the air, grasping for something, anything to save her from the four story descent. The world seemed to slow to a stop, waiting for her to hit the ground. In fact, time had stopped. She noticed a miniature female floating in the space in front of her. "What's up?" "Huh?" "Isn't that something you humans say to each other when you meet? No?" "Who are-" "Look, hon. You only have so long before you hit the ground and go splat. You should listen now, while you still have your ears intact. "O..kay?" "Good girl. Now, how would you like to go somewhere before you hit the ground? You'd Live in another world for a bit, play a bit of a game with us. How does that sound?" "Like heaven?" "To some, it may feel like it." "Well, considering that the two options are living a while longer and dying painfully, I think I'd like to accept your offer of a different fate, thanks." The demon smirked and unfroze time. "Good answer." Serenity felt her consciousness pulled from her body, and watched as her carcass hit the concrete sidewalk below, leaving a mess of mangled muscle a bone to splatter the ground. The demon looked at the mess approvingly. "You make a pretty dead person." "Thanks...I think."
Chapter 5 Todd sighed dramatically. "Ugh, I can't deal with you lot today!" He swatted away another ghost. "For once, I actually have a paper to write!" He pushed through the throng of ghosts blocking his way. A fierce wind whipped up a moldy milk carton from the street and whopped him in the face. He closed his eyes in disgust as the soggy paper slowly slid down his face. Lovely. Every day he's followed around by restless spirits, trying to get him to send messages or do some chore for them. He was cursed, some would say blessed, with his family's gift of the sixth sense. He kicked an empty pop can along the gutter. The second time he kicked it, it hit a rock and flew into a car's windshield. He winced as the car alarm blared. He started running, not bothering to check and see if the car's owner heard the honking. He was glad he did, as a moment later a musclebound guy burst out of the china shop and headed towards him, cursing at Todd. A girl ghost floated towards him. "Hey, boy-a! Need some help?" "Yeah, that might be nice." "You sure? I know you hate my help." "Anything you do to me beats getting caught by muscle-boy, there. Hurry up, Kelsey!" Kelsey smiled and grabbed his hand with her translucent one and dragged him through a alley wall, into the back of a thrift store, and out the back of the exit. Todd laughed at the car's owner's shout of alarm at him going through a solid wall. "Sorry, I know you hate it when I do stuff like that in front of other living people." "Trust me when I say that I appreciate it this time. I can make it home without being pounded into a pulp." "It's easier if you just let me enter your body, but you won't let me do that!" She pouted. "That...That's...That's because it's weird!" He stuttered. For her to enter his body, she entered through his mouth, by a odd type of kiss. It was weird enough that he had been in love with her when she was alive, only to find out he could see ghost's after she died. He sighed. It was a shock to step out of the shower and see her translucent form sitting on his counter. He had screamed like a little girl and tried to cover his man parts. She had just laughed and told him that it was nothing she hadn't seen before. He squeaked out a question on her meaning about that, and she pointed out that they'd bathed together as kids. He claimed that there was a difference. She replied simply that 'she was a ghost. Why should she care?' Todd shuddered at the memory. He'd often ask her why she was still here, bound to earth. She hadn't replied, yet. It doesn't seem like she's a restless spirit, or a vengeful spirit. He sighed. Glancing up, he noticed that she was still staring at him. "What?" He snapped. "Glad you're in a good mood." "What's wrong, now?" "Well, I know you've been wondering why I haven't disappeared, yet..." "It's not like I want you to go!" He protested. "Shut up," she snapped. "Let me finish! So, you sparked my interest, and I searched through books and the inter-webs and such. Apparently ghosts with lingering attachments or ghosts with 'familiar' type spirits both stick around on earth. A familiar is a partner that's not human, right? So..." "So which are you?" "Um...Both, I think. You were my best friend, so I have an attachment, but since I can touch and move things in this world, I guess I'm your familiar. Your...shinigami, if you will." "But, a shinigami is a death god. How're you a death god? You like all things pink and girlly. No offense." "Erm," she hesitated. "Well, I wanted to protect you. Since you have the sixth sense, I figured you'd need better protection than just your own. When I died, I begged to be transfered to be able to protect you. They said the only way that could happen was if I were to become your shinigami. Your shinigami, to be precise." "Why would I need protecting?" "Because you pull stunts like you did a few minutes ago." "Oh. Huh." "Yeah, huh. I can't let you get arrested for your stupidity." Todd growled at her, miffed. He stomped over to the fence behind the building separating it from the field over yonder. He sighed. Being able to see ghosts was the only interesting part of his life. His parents left him on his own all the time. On his sixteenth birthday, he announced that he was leaving to go live on his own, as it would be more efficient for him. His parent's response was to let him know that if he ever needed anything, just give them a call. Not that he was expecting much of a response. His parents were workaholics, so he was never for want money-wise, but the only real relationship he'd had was with Kelsey, and even that was a different kind of relationship. He stared at the patterns the clouds made against the setting sun. Amazing that a ball of fire and gas could create such beauty. Kelsey floated in front of him, shading his view momentarily. He relaxed against the fence, feeling the barbs of chains imprint themselves upon his hands. Kelsey slumped to the ground next to him with a contented sigh. He glanced over at her and smirked, shaking his head at her. "I didn't know ghosts could get tired." "Psh. You know you love me," she scoffed. He rolled his eyes. Probably time to get home. It was almost fully dark, and he still had a paper to write. He levered himself off the ground, pushing himself to his feet. "C'mon, Kels," he called. When she didn't respond, he turned around to see what was up. She was standing stock-still, like she was listening to some invisible voice. After a moment, she relaxed. She glanced at him hesitantly. "Um, actually, I just got orders of a job. I've got to go somewhere, all right? I'll see you before you go to bed, though," she smiled apologetically. "Oh." He was surprised. "I thought your job was to protect me." She looked uncomfortable. "It is. But, I really have to go now. See you later." She disappeared with a wave. "Great. Just...great," he grumbled as he walked the length of the fence. The temperature quickly dropped in this northern city. He ran his hands up and down his arms to ward off goosebumps. Spotting his apartment building, he slipped his keycard into the entrance lock until it flashed green. He slipped inside, and offered a greeting to the landlord at the front desk. What was the topic of his essay, again? He thought for a moment, before recalling the topic-the benefits of natural gas versus oil. He stuck his metal key into his front door and twisted it, jimmying it till it caught. Delighted squeals caught his ears as he stepped inside. He managed to catch a glimpse of two of his neighbor's kids chasing each other down the hall way. The older brother was chasing his little sister towards their apartment, pretending to be a monster. Todd smiled. He remembered playing like that with Kelsey when they were little kids. He plodded to his desk and flipped open his laptop to begin writing his essay. He'd been typing for a solid hour when he stopped to stretch. He jolted as the fire alarm began shrieking. He covered his ears before racing to his door and peering out into the hall. People were running through the halls to get outside. He joined the melee and slipped outside, into the drizzle. People were screaming and trying to find family members, joined with shouts of joy and cries of babies. He tuned into one conversation. The neighbor with the kids from earlier was gripping the older brother and trying to get the child to make sense. "What happened? Where's your sister? Where is your sister?" "I-I don't know! She was right behind me, then...She wasn't!" The kid snivvled, snot running down his face. "Oh, God." She made to dash into the burning building, but another neighbor held her back, saying that it wasn't possible to go in there any longer. "My BABY! MY BABY! I need to get my BABY!" She screamed. Right then, Todd made a decision. He stepped purposefully towards the building, clamping a damp cloth to his mouth. He made for the stairs, striding up them while dodging flaming debris. He ducked under a falling plank, and smashed into hie neighbor's door, breaking it down. The room was thick with black smoke. He heard a soft whimpering coming from the window, and he ran towards the sound, scooping up a small girl who was nearly unconscious. He felt his way back to the door by using the walls to guide him. He sped to the stair top, only to see nothingness where the stairs had once been. He screamed in frustration and pain as the fire lapped at the skin on his arms, crisping the skin to black. He knew that it was more likely to die from smoke suffocation than burning alive, so his death would be relatively painless once he passed out. He held his breath until he realized that the flames had frozen. He glanced around, confused. "See, I told you I'd be back," she grinned gravely. "Yeah, great timing," he muttered sarcastically. She glared at him. "Blah blah blah, would yo like to be able to live in some form or another in another realm with me and a few other human-shinigami partners? You won't feel your earthly death," she explained as if it all made perfect sense. "S-sure?" "All right!" She did a fist pump and smiled at him before disappearing again. He felt himself being torn from his body. It was relatively painless, and he floated through the walls of flame and out the front door. He felt sad for the girl's mother and brother. She was well loved. He prayed she'd find peace wherever she goes now. He's off to who knows where with a shinigami. He had a feeling he'd need some luck of his own.
Chapter 6 Callie's POV "Oww..." I rubbed the elbow I'd landed on and glanced around. I appeared to be in a square room with slightly dusty wood floors and undecorated white walls. I spotted Brenda across the room and she waved apprehensively to me. I acknowledged her with a nod. She must have gotten here just before me. She seemed to have an understanding of her surroundings already. There were other people here, too. I wonder if they all had been near death like us. My gaze darted from person to person, trying not to linger, just in case they were crazies. There were two other girls besides Brenda and me. One of the girls looked stoned and the other looked practically suicidal. I noticed three guys in the room. Two looked like they wanted to kill each other, and the other looked dazed and confused. What a great group. I shook my head. Rolling my eyes, I stood and slipped over to Brenda, sitting between her and 'suicide.' "Hey," I whispered. "You okay? What do you think is going on?" "How should I know? I got here at the same time as you." "I was just asking," I muttered. Brenda gave me a dark look as a figure appeared in the center of the room. 'Suicide' twitched in surprise and stared at the new figure with reproach. "Yo!" The figure was a young humanoid demon with horns adorning his head. No one else was saying anything, so I spoke up. "Um, hello? Who're you?" He turned to face me. He said nothing, just stared. "What?" I asked, uncomfortable. "You're a peppy one, aren't you? How'd you die, say too much to the wrong person?" Brenda snorted. I glared at her. "No, actually. We," I indicated Brenda and myself, "got shot full of holes by an insane gunman at our school. And you?" This guy irked me. Sure, I talk a lot, and it has a habit of getting me into trouble, but that doesn't mean he has to be condescending. "Well, at least that's better than being so stoned you fell out of a window while evading the coppers." "Excuse me," 'Stoner' interrupted, "For one, I slipped on a ladder. Don't make it sound like I was so stoned out of my mind that I couldn't walk straight. Secondly, can you get to what you're here for, so we don't have to be around you?" He waited until she had finished talking to begin speaking again. "Personally, my world has no way to get 'high,' so I don't see the point of you and your idiocy. Anyway, you seven are here to play our game. The object is to be the last one alive. Seems simple, right?" He continued on, not expecting an answer. "Too bad. There are rules and trials to complicate whatever you lot thought was going to be easy. For example, you can't thin out the competition yourselves. If you're about to kill each other, you simply won't be able to. If you try, nothing will happen." He handed me a gun. "Shoot him." He pointed to one of the two angry guys. "The blond one. Alex." I set my aim and fired unhesitatingly. Alex never flinched. The bullet sped dead towards his heart, but curved around him at the last second. "Huh!" I smiled. I think I'll like this place. "Cally...You can't just randomly fire guns at guys you don't even know! You should be one of the people who should have learned that lesson by now! I mean, we did just get SHOT!" Brenda yelled at me, exasperated. "It wasn't random! He told me to. He said no one would get hurt, and besides! He's obviously in a position of authority over us, however slight that authority may be," I nodded to the demon, who acknowledged me with a tilt of his head. "Also, Alex didn't seem very bothered." "Oh, I'm bothered," he breathed in my ear. I jumped. He had slipped behind me while I was arguing with Brenda. "I guess Derek's not the only one I'll have to watch." "And watch is the only thing you'll be able to do," I snapped. He backed off, smirking at me as he moved back to his spot. "Can we listen now, please?" "Why not," the demon shrugged. "The trials are basically your biggest fear come to life, but worse. They'll kill some of you, and they'll make everyone who survives stronger." "Great." 'Confused' looked slightly less confused and slightly more pissed off. "But you haven't even heard anything worth being called great, yet! The next bit I'm going to tell you is great, though. It'll up your chances of survival." "So could you tell us what this oh so great information is?" "I was about to, when you interrupted me." "Please, talk over him," Brenda said, motioning for him to continue. "Gladly. Your strongest wish or quality that you had on Earth has become amplified and manifested in yourselves. It's up to you to figure out what they are, though. Hopefully you'll figure them out before y'all are sent into my world and die." "How are we supposed to figure out how everything works? Trial and error? And who were those people-creatures…" "Shinigami," the demon interrupted. "…Shinigami who took us here?" "They're your shinigami partners. Speaking of which, they'll show up around the time that you guys are going to leave here for our world. They should explain things. Good luck, and try not to die!" He waved cheerfully and made it to leave but Stoner grabbed his sleeve. "Besides getting to live, is there any prizes?" "Oh, right! There'll be minor boons along the way, and the final winner gets one wish of their choice." The other angry boy probed "Are there any restrictions on that wish?" "None I'm aware of. Let's talk if you actually make it that far, okay?" He nodded at us and disappeared. We sat, staring at each other before suicide spoke up. "So, um, what now?" "Since we're stuck here for a while, we may as well get to know each other. Tips on how to best protect each other," the brown haired angry boy spoke up. "Or so we can figure out how to get you guys killed," Alex sneered. "Shut up, preppy," I snapped. After glaring at the annoying man-child I continued, "I'm Cally. High school senior." I glanced meaningfully at Brenda. "Why do I have to go next?" She complained. "Because you're my best friend and I love you." I saw some eyebrows raise at that declaration and I decided to clarify, seeing as the people in the room with me don't know how my brain works. "Don't think dirty thoughts, gentlemen and gentle-ladies. I don't swing for girls. Sorry if I sparked your libidos by inferring that I might be a sexy lesbian. Deal with it. So! Brenda!" I put my arm around her shoulders. "Who're you?" She shrugged out of my arms and gave me a death glare. "Quit touching me. Idiot, you just told them who I am." "My bad," I cringed. "Do continue." She rolled her eyes. "I'm Brenda. I was a high school senior in the same school as Cally. We both were shot by the same guy at the same time." The boy who looked continually confused was up next. "I'm Todd," he mumbled, becoming more confident as time passed. "I was a high school junior. On earth, I could see ghosts. It was sort of a family gift, I guess." He glanced at Alex, who grimaced. "Why do I need to tell you guys anything about myself?" He complained. This guy was going to end up being punched in the face, whether by me or by someone else he pisses off. "Thank goodness the rules didn't say anything about not being able to seriously injure each other," I muttered under my breath. His gaze snapped back to me. "I'd like to see you try, butch." "I'm sure you would. Sadly, I don't waste my time on those I view as weaker than me." "How the hell are you stronger than me?" He laughed. "You look like a chick who spends a lot of time on her back, not on her guard." At that crude statement I was shocked into silence, my mouth opening and closing like a fish. I couldn't think of a comeback. Luckily for me, Brenda was there to rescue me. "Thank you for your interestingly inaccurate point of view. Next would be," she paused, "you, I believe." She pointed to the boy with the shaggy brown hair. He ducked his head. "My name is Derek. I'm a senior, like you two girls but I've finished my freshman year in college. I died because a semi rolled over onto me while I was fighting that guy," he pointed to Alex, "because he was being cruel and abusive to a random girl for fun." "Hey, it was her fault for being weak. Besides, just because it was fun doesn't mean that it was for fun. I only did it to bait you," Alex grinned bitterly. "I guess the main objective was accomplished, anyways. You died. End of story." Derek wrinkled his lip in disgust. "You died too, idiot. How's that for karma?" Alex flipped him off as the girl who'd protested being high earlier took her turn introducing herself. "I'm Serenity. College junior, majoring in the fashion industry and minoring in the arts." She spoke calmly and clearly. She must have been a confident person while she was alive. She prodded the suicidal-looking girl with a well-manicured nail. "Oh," Suicide-girl spoke softly, "I'm Shanaia. I'm eighteen and I was orphaned a day or so before I got here. Um." She looked uncomfortable. "…Todd? Did you notice that you have a little girl behind you?" Todd spun around, his eyes growing wide and his jaw dropping open as he spotted his hitchhiker.