The Ship

3. The Thanatologist

It had been a week and a half when Victor finally, finally found the ghost.

For the past week and a half, it had been tormenting him. Pulling his blankets off him in the night, dumping his notes all over the floor, yanking his clothes and ripping off his buttons, making his things go missing. None of the crew members believed him at all, and by the end of it, he was exhausted, frustrated, and felt like hot shit.

He was so fed up, in fact, that at one point, he just stood in the middle of his room, amidst torn papers and crumpled blankets and messy hair, and just shouted at no one. "Ghost!! STOP IT!!!"

It hadn't. That was three days ago.

At dinner, Victor was sullenly silent. His hair was greasy and messy, and he knew that the ship would be docking at a port the next day to replenish supplies, and he knew that only God would be able to stop him from taking a shower. Good thing he didn't believe in a god.

He picked at his food, Kael sitting beside him and Olga across from him. They were the only three left at dinner, the others already gone to bed. He liked Karl well enough, but he could sense that the bigger man was keeping his distance, especially after the crazy comment. He hadn't talked to Olga much, but he had had a few conversations with some of the others. Surprisingly, he had never once seen the captain, but the crew members spoke of him with such genuine reverence that Victor was sure he must be so important he didn't want to bother with pleasantries like meeting Victor.

He was sure he'd meet him someday, but for now, he was preoccupied with the stupid ghost.

"So, Victor," Olga said, her mouth full of the fish they'd caught earlier in the day. "How's it you're deciding to go to England again?"

"My research," Victor responded lightly, looking over. Usually he was very excited to talk about it, but he was distracted, lost in thinking of ways he could catch the pesky thing. You could say many things about Victor Thomason, but you could not ever say that he was not determined. If he had something on his mind, he wouldn't rest until he figured it out. Literally. the bags under his eyes were getting out of hand...

"Oh?" She pressed, brows quirking. "And what's that? me sister's a scientist, she studies, uhhh, plants."

"That's a boat-mist, then, Olg," Kael said, rolling his eyes. Not a scientist."

Victor cringed. "Botanist," he muttered, sighing. "And yeah, they're scientist, they're just. Different kind. There's a lot of kinds of scientists."

They looked to him, interested. "Then what kinda sciencer are you, Vic?" Kael said, seeming amused. Victor had the faint feeling that he was mocking him.

He sniffed, stabbing at his food. He hated fish... "...Im a thanatologist. I study death, and what happens after, if there's a chance to...reverse it, etcetera."

Olga suddenly cackled. "It that why you're so obsessed with tha' ghost??"

Victor prickled. "...I'm not obsessed!!" Yes he was. "I just...have an interest. I swear, it's real."

Kael smirked slightly, finishing off his plate and lifting it to lick it clean. Victor fought from making a face. "Sure it is, Vic," he said pleasantly, shooting him an amused glance. "That's why we've all seen it."

Victor scowled and didn't respond, looking away with a huff.

"Aw, Kael, don't do that, look at the poor guy, he looks like he's gunna cry!!"

Victor's cheeks burned and her stared at them in quiet outrage. "I am not!!"

Kael chuckled, slapping him on the back. "Aw, don't worry, Vic, it's all in good fun—"

Victor stood suddenly, cheeks burning, and looked away. "Whatever!!" He snapped, annoyed. "I'll find this ghost, and then I'll be the one laughing, you hear me? And when I get famous from my findings, you'll be sorry!!!"

He knew he was overreacting, but he hadn't slept properly in almost two weeks and this ghost was really getting on his nerves. Especially because he truly wasn't sure if he would even find anything. His cheeks burned in humiliation, and Kael and Olga stared at him in surprise.

"Oh...sorry, mate," Olga said, trying to sooth things over. "...maybe we can help you catch 'em. I know Derek sets lotsa traps for the fishes, maybe he can help you..."

"No," Victor said stiffly, sniffing and rubbing at his face, looking away. "I'll do it myself."

At that, he swept from the room in a huff, upset with himself and the way he reacted. He really didn't mind Kael and Olga—they were nice enough, he just didn't have the headspace for this right now.

He slammed the door to his room, only for it to swing right back out and hit him in the back, sending him staggering forward.

"I swear to FUCK!!" He shouted, slamming the door again and spinning to glare at the empty room. "STOP that?!? What do you WANT from me??"

He heard...a giggle.

He froze.

I heard it.

He stood there, stiff and staring, eyes darting wildly about the room. ".....I'll give you anything," he said slowly. "Whatever you want. Just...show yourself."

"And what if I don't want anything, Victor?"

The voice was soft, and if he'd been any less focused, he wouldn't have heard it, even though it felt as though it had been spoken directly into his brain. Even so, he gasped, eyes going wide as he felt that freezing cold air around him, like a hand was being slid across his shoulder. He shuddered.

"D-don't be silly," he stammered. "Even ghosts want something. Just...show yourself, and we can talk."

"Hmm," said the voice, barely above a whisper. "So you can study me? So you can get famous off me? What if I don't want that?"

The frigid hand slid from his shoulder, the air warming around him, and Victor swallowed, goosebumps along his arms, and bravely spoke. "Then...you're silly."

Was that really all he could think to say??? This is what he'd been waiting for!! To see this ghost, this creature that had been terrorizing him—he just wanted to study it, to see how on earth it was doing the things it was doing—

There was no response, Victor realized after a moment. He inhaled, eyes darting frantically around the room. No!! Had it left him again??

"No, god, come back!!" He yelped, helpless.

All at once, a gaunt, paler-than-the-moon face appeared right in front of him, eyes wide and glassy, grinning a crooked, sly grin. It's eyes were sunken and it's cheeks were hollow, voice like rusty nails on a chalkboard.

"Boo."