Where the Shadows are Heavy (Bastille)

CHAPTER 4

Where Kyle struggled and had to use all of his concentration to become solid for even a second, the man in front of them appeared to have no difficulty at all. And unlike Kyle, it had little to no effect on him, as the stranger didn't appear to fade rapidly in and out of existence like Kyle either.

But just as Kyles face was all scratched up, this stranger had wounds of his own. Two very specific wounds in the form of bullet holes. One in his shoulder, blood as grey as the rest of him, flowering in a dark stain across his shirt, and a second just above his left ear. Like the other bullet wound, there was dark grey dripping from the hole, it ran down behind and in front of his ear, down his neck and met with his ruined shoulder. Dan briefly saw the shattered bone underneath, through all the blood, and turned away on impulse.

"Please, I need your help. I was told you could help me." Said the man, framed in empty space by the doorway. His voice surprisingly soft, not rough, which Dan had expected based on how he looked.

Dan gulped. The man sounded so small and defeated, but there was an underlying hard edge to his voice. Still stunned, Dan nodded, and stepped back on impulse, even though the ghost could have just walked through him. It was probably bad ghost etiquette though, to just walk through the living, especially when they could see and talk to you.

The stranger walked past him and Kyle into the small room, and looked around before turning back to face Dan. Dan shut the door carefully, all the while staring back at the unfamiliar ghost over his shoulder. The sign on the door hardly made a sound this time. It was all very quiet and cautious. Will looked older than Dan, maybe early twenties, and he was definitely older than Kyle.

Kyle too, was studying the man, who in turn was looking him up and down; curious. Kyle floated an inch or two from the floor, always hovering as if he was reluctant to touch the ground. The other man though, he still walked and moved like he was living, Kyle glided smoothly to Dan's side. Unhappy.

"Um, I'm, I'm Dan," he gestured loosely to his friend, "Kyle."

"Will."

Dan nodded.

Will was dripping all over the floor, a messy mix of blood and water. It pooled beneath his feet, and Dan was going to panic until he realised that it wasn't real, or rather, it wasn't corporeal and wouldn't in fact make a mess of the floor. Even then he could see it start to fade from the worn rug, only soon replaced by the never-ending drips that continually fell in rivulets form Wills body. Dan noticed his short hair was floating slightly, as if still underwater.

He didn't like the combination of gun shots and a soaking corpse that had come to him for help. Because that meant, that somewhere out in the world was one or more persons that had created the bloodied and wet body in front of him, and probably wouldn't be all too happy that Dan was talking to someone they just offed.

If Kyle's face hadn't healed, would Will constantly be soaked? It wasn't like his wounds which Dan knew wouldn't fade, but currently the new ghost didn't show any signs of being any closer to dry.

He realised he was staring.

"You want, my, my help?"

Will nodded. "I don't know who did it, and since you're the only person who can see me, you're the only person who can help me." Straight to the point then.

Will had all the time in the world, it was Dan who had a limited lifespan, but as of present, it was also Dan who was the only person who could see and hear ghosts.

Dan bit his lip. It was true. So far, he'd never met a single person who had the same 'gift' he did. Surely someone would have found him by now if they were like him. He'd certainly advertised his business enough. Or maybe there were others out there, but they'd just seen his facebook ads, or leaflets and assumed he was another of the countless fake psychics. For all he knew, there could be someone just like him, but they probably lived on the other side of the world. Anyway, for now, it was just him.

"Please?" Will continued.

Dan couldn't help him. What if the same people who'd shot will and dumped his body in a lake or something found out he was snooping and decide to come after him too? He couldn't risk it. No, not at all. Will seemed nice enough, but Dan didn't really want to get involved if he could potentially get his brains shot out of his head.

"I'll pay you if I can. I'll give you my car too, it's a Ferrari, that's enough right?-"

"Yes! I... I mean, okay, I'll help you. I guess I could you know."

Dan shrugged. He wasn't as heartless to turn down someone as desperate to get answers as Will. If he was in his position, he'd want answers too.

Dan pulled out one of the rickety wooden chairs and sat down. He was vaguely aware of Kyle hovering behind his shoulder.

"Can we trust you though?" His friend's voice laced with suspicion.

Will looked taken aback. His face crinkled in something that looked like hurt and confusion. Unfazed, Kyle crossed his arms. He raised his brows. Will looked unsure.

"Okay," Kyle said, his eyes narrowed. He was looking at the bloody wounds Will sported.

Dan absently picked at his nails. There was a tension. He wasn't fond of the tension. In fact, he was very tired. He wanted to be in his bed, sleeping, not in the middle of a standoff between two ghosts.

Will, it appeared, seemed to still be discovering what it meant to be a ghost. From his shocked expression as his hand went through the table, it was obvious he wasn't used to the whole non-physical form thing. He withdrew his hand and then gingerly reached out to the wooden surface as his fingers grazed the top before sinking through.

The dim lighting in the room was starting to strain his eyes, but Dan thought there was something fascinating about the ghost in front of him discovering his new limitations, or rather, lack of. Apparently, according to Kyle, ghosts didn't need to sleep either. Dan imagined that would be the worst thing about being dead, no more sleep. Being curled up in his bed was honestly the highlight of his day.

"Any ideas why someone would want you dead?"

The conversation was awkward and forced. Dan just wanted everyone to agree to maybe a little murder investigation and maybe him getting a Ferrari, and maybe, and most importantly right now, Dan getting a little sleep. Chin resting on his hand, elbow resting on the table, he looked at Will, who was standing now, too confused with the concept of the table and his new non-physical form.

"I'm not sure."

"Then how-"

"But, " he continued, "my company is, was, my company was doing quite well."

"So you were rich?" He ventured.

"Dan," Kyle hissed.

Dan ignored him. He'd guessed Will was somewhat well off when he'd mentioned his car, but if he'd owned a successful business... He must have been loaded. From all the films he'd seen, Dan knew that was a solid warrant for murder.

"I just want to know the details, so I," he yawned, "so I can help as well as I can." He tried a little white lie honesty.

"Tomorrow we can go to my house, " Will offered. It sounded hesitant, more like a question.

Dan agreed. Tomorrow the three of them would go to Will's house. What a wild evening this had been, it almost felt like the meeting he'd held with that talkative woman and her uncooperative husband hadn't happened. The clock told him it had only been just over an hour ago.

Sleep couldn't come fast enough.

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aaaahhh, i've been feeling ill and i've got a headache, and still I keep staring at bright screens, but school's finishing, so I'll probably binge write :) Also this chapter feels kind short and not much happens, but i've got the plot all decided and I don't wanna force the word count??? :))))

- K XXX