The Melancholy of Sebastien Huxley

VII | Phantom

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The apparition's grin struck Sebastien with a confusing concoction of emotions. A part of him was afraid; he knew what he was looking at. He could feel its power. This dark, smoke-like creature was a phantom and the fact that it was the same as the creature which haunted Aldergrove Academy was what made him feel fear.

          But opportunity smacked his face, too, and it came with a feeling of relief. If this apparition haunted the estate's walls, then it might know things he needed to know.

          Sebastien jumped off the bed and raced out of the room.

          "Hey!" came Caleb's voice. "Where are you going?!"

          He ran through the hall, down the stairs, and out to the front of the house. It was much darker now, and the fog was thicker, but he focused his ethos into his eyes, activating his kludde sight, and the apparition lit up bright red like a beacon in the pitch-black sky.

          "Sebastien!" came Caleb's voice.

          But he ignored him. He kept his eyes on the phantom as it sprung down from the bedroom window and started slithering along the grass.

          Sebastien followed it. He hurried across the grass and through the murk; he leapt over a wall, slipped through some broken fence, and trailed the dark apparition into a cemetery.

          But then he stopped. He watched the creature ooze into a crypt, and using his senses, he could tell that was where it was staying. It wasn't going anywhere, so he turned around and walked back over to the fence. Through the gap, he waited for Caleb, who he could see scampering across the garden like a nerd running to class, except he wasn't carrying any books, but the way he held his arms in front of him made it look like he was.

          "S...Sebastien!" he called, panting, holding his hand up. "Wa...wait for me!"

          Sebastien rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "In your own time."

          It took him half a minute, but Caleb finally reached the fence and slipped inside. "What...the hell...are you running for?" he breathed, leaning forward and resting his hands on his knees.

          "Chasing a phantom," he answered as he turned around and started heading towards the crypt.

          "A what?"

          "Phantom. It's a disembodied being which usually takes hold of large buildings, specifically those surrounded by death. Phantoms feed off carnage. You've got to have heard of Aldergrove Academy, right?"

          Caleb caught up to him and walked at his side. "Uh...yeah. The school where all those rich kids go to kill each other over ten spots in the New World."