(Archived) Poth Short Stories and One-Shots

Haunted Memories- Chapter 2

Chapter Warnings: Swearing

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Nearly an hour passed with only the dozing lobby receptionist for company before the front door of the apartment complex opened; Lotus stepped through with their arms laden in grocery bags, completely unaware of the mess waiting upstairs as they silently passed the reception desk on their way to the stairs. Rurik hovered excitedly behind them as their footsteps echoed up three flights of the narrow staircase corridor, watching them shift their bags once they reached the top to open the door leading to the apartment's indoor entrance balcony; he grinned as the monster paused at the sight of the partially open front door.

The look of anxiety as his target slowly pushed the front door open and stepped cautiously into the narrow entryway, only for their eye light to shrink in growing horror upon reaching the living room area of the apartment was everything Rurik hoped for. 

Unable to resist the urge to cackle as Lotus dropped their bags and crept toward the kitchen, it was his turn to be caught off guard when the skeleton swiftly spun around to face him. Their eye light darting around proved they couldn't see him, but there was no denying the reaction; the monster had heard him. Then they managed to surprise him again when their eye light took on a brighter shade of red, narrowing right in on him as they growled, "Who the hell are you?"

"You can see me," Rurik blinked dumbly, unsure of sure how else to react to the sudden question.

"Yeah, now answer me before I send you back where you belong," magic began to form a weapon in Lotus's hands; a long wooden handle bearing a scythe appeared, though Rurik was more concerned with the strange aura coming off the blade.

The ghost created some distance between them as he warily responded, "I'm the owner of this apartment; name's Rurik."

"I'm the owner of this apartment," Lotus snapped, shifting their grip on the handle of their weapon, "I signed the lease agreement and I'm paying the rent."

"I don't give a damn what some stupid paper says, I was here years before that dumbass cow of a realtor showed up and I. Don't. Share," Rurik bit back, angered by the skeleton's sheer audacity in claiming his home.

"You do realize you're dead, right?" Lotus quirked a socket in mild irritation.

Rurik crossed his arms over his chest, reclining back a bit where he was drifting in the air, "Yeah, so what?"

"Then you lost any right to this place upon your death; you should have passed on when you died," the skeleton stated callously before reaching up to rub the bridge of his nasal cavity, muttering under his breath, "What the hell was the guy in charge of this area doing?"

The explanation only served to sour Rurik's mood further, "Yeah, well I'm stuck in this building whether you like it or not; have been since I died... and who the hell do you think you are, some kind of death committee member?"

"A former reaper, actually," Lotus corrected, "which means I have the ability to make you leave if you decide to cause problems for me. If you plan to stick around in the physical plane, then I suggest you suck it up and learn to behave yourself."

"Oh, so scaaaary," Rurik taunted, rolling his sockets... though he still kept his distance just in case, "and what are you going to do if I refuse?"

"Then you get acquainted with the business end of my scythe and I get to live here hassle-free," the reaper brandished the blade toward him with a challenging stare. While Rurik was tempted to push his luck, he liked to think he knew when to pick his fights. The weapon's ominous aura combined with the monster's confidence gave him a strong impression that Lotus wasn't bluffing about being able to get rid of him; this didn't look like a fight he could win.

Grumbling under his breath, he reluctantly conceded, "Whatever... just don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy with you after this."

"As long as you stay out of my way and don't cause trouble, I couldn't care less. I'd rather not risk attracting attention if I don't have to," the smaller sighed, letting the weapon dissipate as he began picking up the scattered clothes from the floor before adding, "If you're going to stick around and watch, you could help pick up the shit you threw around earlier."

"That sounds an aaaawful lot like something a buddy would do," relaxing now that the weapon was gone, a smirk played on Rurik's face as he drifted down the hall to his room. Making a show of pretending to consider the request, he took great pleasure in relaying his decision, "Nah, I think I'll just stay out of your way instead."

"Prick...," Lotus huffed under their breath as they turned around to resume their cleaning. Rurik phased through the door leading to the bedroom with a victorious grin; as soon as he was alone once more, the grin disappeared and he twisted onto his back to sulk. He didn't want a roommate, but it didn't look like he had much choice in the matter if he wanted to continue existing.

"This is gonna suck...," the ghost grumbled, letting his thoughts drift for lack of anything better to do.

Word Count: 899