Hellen called Valeria directly rather than going through Elias and drove to the next scene of murder. They took Lucas’ car since it was already parked outside.

“Pleasure to have you here.”

Valeria put forward her hand which Hellen shook as they began conversing a few distance away.

Aiden took that time to fill in Lucas on everything which has happened until now, giving him all the details about the ghost in his house and even about the murders which had taken place in the town. Lucas eagerly listened to him, nodding and asking questions at times when he didn’t understand. Only when Aiden finished did he sigh,

“So much happened in so little time. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to notice the clues. It doesn’t sound like you were in danger, that’s good.”

Aiden’s brows wrinkled as he heard that, with a look of contemplation on his face, he thought hard for a few seconds, making Lucas wonder if he said something wrong.

Breaking out of his thoughts, Aiden confronted Lucas with a serious tone.

“Your previous sentence, I came here exactly to save you from the dangerous ghost. And now, It doesn’t sound like you were in danger, that’s good. Maybe I am being paranoid, or I am too sensitive to minor inconsistencies, but feel free to correct me if I am wrong. Did you perhaps know about the ghost in my house beforehand?”

He completed the further question mentally, not telling Lucas his reasoning.

The bureau should only know about the murders in the town. About the ghost in my house, not even my neighbor aunt Hellen knew about it until I informed her.

Contrary to what he expected, Lucas quickly nodded without hesitation and said, “That’s what I wanted to tell you about. It’s about Evander, he sent us this letter. I came here after getting the letter, not on behalf of the Bureau. The Bureau was instead adamant about me not approaching this town at any cost.”

Aiden stayed patient without asking what did that have to do with what he asked. He gently took the letter which Lucas handed him and read it.

Convene at Broris City, in the Nightingale Cafe by 6th March and enter the pre-booked room of my name. We need to save Aiden and his family from a powerful ghost. Very urgent, don’t head over yourself.

~ Evander Lorensen

Aiden’s pupils dilated a bit as he finished reading the letter.

I must not jump to conclusions. Was Evander talking about the ghost in my house, or was he talking about the murders? So there are indeed two ghosts in the town? Or is he indeed talking about the helping ghost but since I haven’t accepted help it’s much less dangerous against me? Shit, so less information. But vital nonetheless.

“What’s happening boys?”

Hellen’s voice was heard as she approached them, with Valeria already having gone inside.

“Lucas wasn’t here on behalf of the Bureau. They instead even actively tried to stop him from approaching the town.”

Saying so, Aiden gave her the letter. It was the same reaction he had. Her pupils dilated when she reached the end of the sentence. With an intense frown on her face, she returned the letter to Aiden and said,

“The matter has gotten more serious. How does Evander know about the situation here? Is Evander from the Bureau then? No it won’t make sense. The Bureau wants Lucas to stay out of it while Evander wants to gather all friends to rescue you. Their intentions are different. But then how could Evander know about the situation here? Was he here before?”

Something clicked in Aiden as he quickly said, “Aunt Hellen, can I take a quick trip back to my home? I’ll be quick, I promise. The ghost shouldn’t move right?”

Hellen nodded, knowing Aiden, he might be up to something which would undoubtedly help with the situation.

“It won’t be a problem. Be quick.”

“Yes. Lucas, let’s go, you need to drive. I don't know how to.”

The both of them sat back into the car and drove away as Hellen watched them in silence.

This is getting messy. Maybe I should go check up on my specialized phone? I hope it’s ready by now.

Lucas asked while he drove the car at a moderate pace on the road. They were all empty as there were only two cars in the town excluding his and two public vehicles.

Taking out the key from his pocket, he unlocked the door to his house and quickly headed for his room up the stairs.

Lucas followed closely behind as he took in the sight of Aiden’s home. A heavy feeling of nostalgia hit him as he took in the familiar sight from his memory. Things had changed, he could see some difference in the layout but it still wasn’t that different from his memory.

He gazed at the door which led to that room. Their own room. They used to talk about having superpowers and what they would do with it. There were multiple computers and lots of board games, allowing them to play whatever games they liked. Aiden and Evander’s family were plenty rich, so money was never a problem.

It was also where they formed their secret society as a joke. They used to make pledges, secret codes, what they would do if they were the rulers and all the other nonsense which kids their age liked to do.

Instead of following Aiden his steps took a different turn as he slowly approached the room.

He sealed our symbol.

There was a piece of paper stuck on the door of their room. He remembered all of them had painted their symbol on this door together, taking turns standing on a table since their heights weren’t enough to comfortably draw and paint.

Disregarding the dust on the knob, he held and turned it. It didn’t even budge.

Of course it would be locked.

A tear dripped down his right eye as his hand caressed the paper and the traces of time left on the door.

Is this how you dealt with it?

He knew another attempt would be futile but he still turned the knob, this time with more force. He was a super whose physical prowess had reached the limit, maybe he could break it open? He kept applying the pressure consistently, but the knob didn’t budge.

“What are you doing?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

He turned his head to find Aiden standing by the stair, holding the letter in his hand. With a soft voice, Lucas simply said, “Sorry.”

*****

A few minutes earlier…

Aiden walked up the stairs and opened the door to his room. Without messing around he approached a cabinet and pulled open a drawer. It only contained a single letter which he took it out.

Same covers.

Both his and Lucas’ letters had the same covers, with the symbol of their group embossed upon it. He removed the letter from inside and checked the quality of the paper.

Both feel the same.

At last, he checked the handwriting.

Insufficient material to work with. There are only 5 words in my letter. But anyway, the nuances in the strokes and curves look similar. Could it be Evander sent me this? Is it one of the conditions of the ghost? “Don’t look at the moon!”

He hoped I wouldn’t get entangled with a ghost, but I already am.

Is it so that rescuing me becomes easier? Or is it because he genuinely cared for me?

Aiden took a deep breath and shook his head with a smile.

What twisted thought am I having? It simply means he cares if he is going through such lengths to rescue me. Both are connected.

His fingers traced the letters as he continued his thoughts,

So this might be your blood? Did you already have a bout with the ghost? Is that why you know the conditions?

He put both the letters into their respective covers and left the room, locking the door behind him. As he was descending the stairs, he heard the noise of knob clicking. He almost immediately knew which door Aiden was trying.

His steps slowed down, involuntarily hoping the door would open. When he reached the end of steps it still hadn’t been opened. He had locked that door, but over time the knob stopped working, even when he tried the key to it. He figured it was better that way so he didn’t get it fixed either.

Glancing at Lucas who had no idea he was watching, he called out.

“What are you doing?”

He watched Lucas turn towards him and utter an almost inaudible sorry. Aiden didn’t know what the apology was for.

Trying to break open the door or leaving him alone.

He didn’t give any reply, but instead asked, “Let’s leave?”

Lucas wiped the drop of tear and gave a small nod as he followed along. The ride back to the second scene of crime was silent. Hellen was still standing outside, going through her phone when she noticed the boys had arrived, the atmosphere was a little off but she didn’t make any comments on it. She simply asked for the key from Lucas to borrow his car for a short while which he promptly agreed to.

“Aunt Hellen, wait I want to show you something.”

Hellen, who stood at the door of the car, about to open it, halted as she heard him. With her grip still on the handle, she shot him a questioning look.

Aiden took out the two letters from his pocket and handed them to her. “Both are from Evander.”

When she was done reading, she asked, “Why did you not show this earlier?”

To which he simply shrugged, “I only just thought of it.”

Hellen didn’t know if he was speaking the truth. Unlike Lucas, Aiden didn’t wear his emotions on his face and was smart enough to not leave gaps when he lied.

She read through the new letter he bought, sending another wave of shock through her.

Evander has fought the ghost?

Knowing about the ghost and organizing a rescue party was different from going toe to toe against the ghost. She was all too cognizant of that fact. The kids she used to look over were now fighting ghosts. What were the chances of it happening?

She calmed down and nodded at Aiden. “We have ourselves a valuable clue. I’ll relay it to Valeria.”

After asking if there was anything else and getting a negative response, she drove away. Her sense of urgency rising. A lot of thoughts went through her head as she drove the car around the town. It was a good thing the roads were mostly empty.

When she finally reached the repair store, a sigh of relief escaped her mouth as she found it was open. Entering the store, she greeted the owner and asked,

“Is my phone repaired?”

The owner was a bald middle aged man leaning more towards old age. He laughed a bit and began explaining as he took out a box from one of the shelves of the store.

“The mobile phone you sent was special, the assistants in our shop would not have been able to fix it. The government only trains a few people who can repair such phones, so sorry if it took too long. It doesn’t help the fact either that these phones are inherently too complex and therefore take longer to repair.”

“It’s alright don’t worry. How much for the repair?”

“Nothing. We aren’t allowed to charge those who came with any issue regarding the special mobile phones. Of course, I’ll still take money if you have any issue with your daily phone haha.”

He gently pushed the box towards Hellen and went back to tinkering on a bunch of circuits he had left.

After thanking the owner, she took out her phone from the box and left the store. She wasn’t unfamiliar with the treatment she received. People who dealt with ghosts were given lots of privilege, subtly and directly.

After seating herself behind the wheel, she switched on the phone. But as soon as she did so, it began ringing. There were a couple of messages sent by the Bureau but her attention was currently on the call she was receiving.

What could make the Bureau act so urgent?

Hellen frowned as she picked up the call.

“Goddamn Hellen Radcliffe you are in big trouble this time!”

Hellen gritted her teeth, absolutely disliking the tone.

“I do not work under the Bureau. You have no right to talk down to me like that.”

“It’s not about the Bureau idiot. It’s the people. We sent you a message to move the people of the town with the help of the mayor, and what the fuck did you do? Switch off your goddamn phone?! So we couldn’t contact you even if we tried? Your fucking mayor was the same.”

“My phone broke down. It wasn’t my mistake. The Bureau knows very well that I’ve never switched off my phone. You could’ve called the other people of the town to notify it if it was that serious. Why all the drama?”

“It doesn’t matter now. You guessed correctly, it wasn’t THAT important, but yea, would’ve been good if you moved the people of town before the team of Bureau came. There’s no need to do it now.”

Her expression quickly morphed to that of shock as she asked to confirm, “A team of supers from the Bureau is coming?”

“A team with supers in it, yes. There are also other people in it to help them. You of all people should know that common people aren’t as helpless against ghosts, and not all supers are good at fighting against ghosts.”

Her eyes narrowed, the gears in her head turning as she replied, “You don’t want the migration of town to interfere with the Bureau’s team. That is why I am no longer needed to move the town? Even if the people continue dying?”

“Smart. Migration involves a lot of elements of chaos. It would’ve been difficult to deduce the rules of the ghost if you started it now.”

Hellen took a deep breath as she made no comments.

I wonder what Elias would have reacted like.

Taking her silence as the answer, the call agent, or rather, the operator continued,

“You can expect them today by afternoon. Be sure to assist them, agent Hellen Radcliffe.”

Her hands, which were holding a sponge ball by the side, clenched as she snapped at the operator.

“Fucking dick! I ended cooperation with the Bureau long ago. The only reason I continue to be in contact is for possible help in an emergency that either of us may need. Do they put any illiterate idiots behind the call desk nowadays? No operator would’ve dared talk to a field agent this way back in the day.”

Hellen cut the call as soon as she said her part. Hands still tightly clenched, she took a deep breath and slowly released her hold over it.

He didn’t even ask if I had managed to procure any information. Did the Bureau somehow worsen over time? Shit, I forgot why they are sending a team here. If I remember correctly, they are only sent for powerful ghosts.

She thought about the letters Evander had sent.

They should know at least some conditions and still think the ghost is difficult?

Crap. This is getting messy.

She slammed her foot on the accelerator, driving away in a much worse mood than when she had arrived.