First Soul

Chapter Two

The three of us stood in the far corner of the cemetery, our backs bolt upright waiting for something to happen.

It was going to. It was only a matter of time.

The cold that seemed to be cracking through my bones did not feel good.

Whilst Deyna's grip on my arm was cutting off blood flow, I, along with Phillip, held our arms out to shield her from the threat. In unison, we slowly backed away from the ghost, moving into the trees that surrounded the cemetery. We were cornered, but I wasn't going to run through the ghost to get to the exit.

Could you run through a ghost?

I'd seen it in films, but this ghost didn't look like those ones. And it was a ridiculous thought.

"What have you done?" The man shouted, gesturing to the obliterated headstone.

I assumed his stone...

"You're...you're..." Phillip stammered.

I didn't laugh at Phillip's lack of speech. I was at a loss of words myself; it wasn't every day you were accosted by a ghost demanding to know what had happened to his headstone.

"We didn't do anything to your headstone," I snapped, stepping closer to the ghost, suddenly feeling brave.

Well.

Actually.

I didn't feel brave.

I just wanted to act like I did.

"You did, you broke it, you lying little git. I saw it!" The ghost edged closer towards us.

"It was an accident..." Deyna squeaked.

Grey clouds now covered the lovely green of her eyes, and her lips were tinged with a frost blue.

The man's black soulless eyes swung around to her. "I don't care if you say it was an accident. It needs fixing, now!"

"We can't fix it!" I bellowed. "It's a headstone. Does it look like we can manifest one right now?"

Jesus.

I was shouting at a ghost.

The ghost barrelled towards me, the translucent figure actually dipping into my body as he came to an abrupt stop. I swallowed my own tongue when I felt the contact. It was like nothing else I'd ever experienced. With just one touch, I felt sorrow and overwhelming grief.

Was that how this ghost felt?

I shivered uncontrollably as the ghost pushed its face close to mine. My breath clouded around my head as the temperature dipped several degrees. I didn't know what to focus on, the face or the tree I could see through the face.

"You will fix it!" the ghost demanded.

"I don't see why we should; it was an accident, Mr..." Deyna pulled back on my arm, trying to control the situation.

"Lester Andrews," the ghost snapped whilst the dark pits continued to stare at me.

What did he have against me?

Phillip was equally to blame for his headstone being in bits around us.

"Oh my god," Deyna gasped. Her hand flapped near her mouth like she didn't know what to do with it. Put it on her mouth or flap. "You're the... murderer. You murdered..."

Lester's soulless black pits rested on Deyna's face, waiting for her to finish. I also wanted her to say the words.

Lester glided towards Deyna and then stopped, inches from her body. His eyes, or the place where his eyes should have been, came to rest on the piece of paper in her hand. An expression crossed over features we shouldn't be able to see.