Lost Soul - BBC Ghosts Fanfiction

2~ Figuring it Out

The girl was scared but complied. Within the span of just a few minutes, it seemed as if the whole world turned upside down for her. The girl never went into any homes, she learned not to do that after freaking out so many people, most couldn't see her, but some did, and they would usually scream and hurt her ears, but she was now being welcomed into a home with no questions asked. There were several other ghosts too, including the one holding her hand, but he hadn't said much to her yet. 

'How? How? How?'  Captain went back to his thoughts the moment he grabbed the little girl's hand. Everything was so strange all of a sudden. It seemed as if his whole concept of ghosts flew out the window. Did she find some loophole and manage to leave the area where she died? The house was getting closer now, maybe he would be able to get some answers then. But then again, would she even know what was going on? She seemed just as confused as everyone else was. This whole thing was just driving Captain insane. He gripped the girl's hand more firmly, he was starting to think that she was some sort of spy. Maybe she wasn't a ghost after all, there was no way she could have left the place she died, no way. 

Once in the house Captain cut straight to the case. His fear of there ever being a spy in the house had kicked him into soldier mode. He led the girl straight to the dining room for interrogation and sat her down. 

"What's your name!" Captian used the same tone as he would with a German spy. He leaned closer to her, in some attempt to scare the answer out of her. The girl didn't reply. 

"Well, what is it!" He demanded once again after a few seconds of nothing. The girl was completely shut down, she absolutely could not respond, and she began to cry. The outside was better, even if it was freezing because there people wouldn't be yelling at her. She bought her knees up to her chest and buried her face. 

"Captain! You can't just yell at a child" Pat yelled back at him. Oh- Captian realized that he had just yelled at some random child. Oh god, how could he ever think they were in danger? The majority of the house was already dead, and the only two people alive had no reason to be spied on. Fuck.  

The Captain got out of her face. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean- " he panicked, he was such an asshole. His expression softened as he looked at who he was yelling at. The girl was a mess, her hair was all over the place, she was tiny for her age, her eyes were puffy from crying all the time, and she was clutching her ragged little teddy bear. Poor kid. 

After a few awkward moments of silence, Captain thought of something "I see you have a friend there" he tightly nudged one of the bear's paws with his pointer. The child lifted her head slightly to look at him. "What's his name?" 

"Ernie," She said it so softly that it was almost a whisper. 

"Ohhh, and what does Ernie call you?" Captain asked, trying to not make the situation feel tense. 

"April" 

"Is that what everyone calls you?"

"Yeah" April still had tears streaming down her face, but her breath wasn't hitching as much. 

"Oh wow, what a nice name" Captain never interacted with children much, but he tried to copy how people treated him as a child. The girl's name was also very pretty and she was such a cute kid too. How could he have ever yelled at her?  "Well, April, most people just call me Captain" 

April didn't respond. 

"I've never seen you here before. Most ghosts don't go far from where..." Captain trailed off, maybe he shouldn't bring that up right about now. "Do you and Ernie go on a lot of adventures?" 

"We're on an adventure to get back home to Mama" 

"How long have you been doing that for?" Captain's voice dropped slightly, but only enough that only he noticed. 

The girl shrugged and yawned. Only then did Captain realize how big her eyebags were. 

"Have you slept since then?" 

The girl shook her head. Now, ghosts didn't need sleep for physical energy, but for mental energy it was crucial. Captain, immediately ended the questioning. 

"How about we get you to bed?" 

"But-" 

"You need your sleep young lady. If you haven't slept for a long time then you need rest." Captain stood up from his seat and held out his hand, April didn't put up much of a fight, she was tired now that she thought of it.

There was one room open next to his room, so Captain took her there. He let her get comfortable on the plush sheets and pillows and then bade her goodnight. He thought that she would fall asleep immediately, everything was safe and cozy, protected from all the cold outside; but as he was about to leave April grabbed his sleeve. She was looking at him with big puppy dog eyes. 

"Please stay. I'm scared of the dark"