Pain in my legs continues to gnaw at me.

Exhausted, cold, and unbearably thirsty, I had been running for who knows how long, yet the light remained far away. I wanted to stop for a moment just to catch my breath, but I couldn't. They were still behind me.

The clamor of wild animals, scavenger birds, and people seemingly out to kill me continued to echo behind me.

Cold hands with sharp claws kept trying to touch my body.

I could only keep running with all my might to evade them. But what were they, actually? I couldn't answer or even think. There was only one thing I remembered, they had slashed my legs.

Pitch darkness enveloped my surroundings. I couldn't see anything around me at all, except for a beam of light in the distance.

Oddly, no matter how fast or long I ran, the beam of light didn't seem to enlarge to indicate that I was getting closer. It was as if I was running on a treadmill, going nowhere. Had I not been moving at all this whole time? I couldn't answer or even think. There was only one thing I remembered, when I realized I was in a running position.

Similarly, the foul odor was sharp and pierced my nose. How long had I been smelling that odor. It was so foul that it made my head spin and became overwhelmingly heavy. I had never in my life smelled anything so awful, even the scent of a landfill was far more pleasant than this foul odor.

Every time I ran, the foul odor would disappear, only to be replaced by another foul odor. I'd lost count of how many kinds of foul odor I'd smelled all this time. What kind of odor was this, really? And where were they from? I couldn't answer or even think. There was only one thing I believed, the odor never ended.

I couldn't take it anymore, I was very exhausted.

Had the monsters stopped? No, the beam of light was still far away, and the foul odor continued to deaden my sense of smell.

I only had two choices left, I thought. Death from exhaustion due to ceaseless running or death from being torn and slashed by those monsters because I stopped running.

The first choice might sound lighter, I thought. So, I continued my run, getting stronger, more energetic, faster, and covering more distance with every step I took.

I could be free, I could be free.

The light is now getting larger. I'm almost there.

It didn't take long, I could see the incredibly bright light in front of me. The gateway to freedom from this darkness was just within reach.

"Help!" A young woman's scream, probably in her teens or early twenties, came from behind me.

My run started to weaken, lost strength, slowed down, and the distance I covered with each step decreased.

But the light, my gateway to freedom, remained larger.

"Help!" That woman's scream was heard again.

I didn't recognize the voice, not a friend, not a sibling, not a family, or anyone I've met before.

Then, I was no longer running. Then, I was just walking quickly.

The light of gateway to freedom was still visible, although it was no longer growing larger.

"Help!" That woman's scream was heard again, sounding closer and closer.

My fear and desire to break free from this fear slowly faded each time I heard those screams.

Then, I was no longer walking fast. Then, I was just walking.

I could clearly see what was behind the gateway to freedom filled with soul-warming light.

"Help!" The woman's scream was heard again, now sounding very close.

I felt the long, thin, cold fingers gripping my ankles.

Then, I was no longer walking. Then, I was standing still.

The light gradually dimmed, but I could still pass through it, just a step away before I was free.

For some reason, my legs couldn't move anymore. I desperately wanted to escape that deadly darkness towards the living light ahead. But I couldn't.

I looked at my feet and clearly saw two hands gripping my ankles tightly. I followed those hands to find their owner.

Then, I could clearly see her arms, then her shoulders, and then her face.

The woman's face looked clean, without any spots or marks even though it was very pale. I looked into her shiny yet sad eyes, showing a mix of fear and despair. Her wide and trembling smile begged for help, for whatever scared her.

I had never seen her face before, except for that familiar smile. It was as if I had seen that smile hundreds, no, even thousands of times.

I felt confusion inside my heart. I didn't know what to do. No one has ever asked for help from a loner and weird guy like me.

I wanted to help her, but I was so afraid of losing the fading light ahead.

"Help!" That wasn't a scream anymore coming from his dry, thin mouth; it was just a faint trembling that sounded incredibly vulnerable.

What should I have done? Helped her and figured out how we could save ourselves? Or left her and escaped through the narrow gap of light, carrying the constant weight of guilt in my heart.

There was no time to think. I had to choose one.

I knelt down, reached out with both of my hands, gripping the her hands. Unfortunately, when I lifted both of her arms to help her stand up so I could carry her, what I found was the opposite. Both of the her hands was cut off, and then I was just holding onto her arms.

No time to scream, no time to think, no time to run. I fell into darkness.

###

I opened my burning eyelids, blinded by the glaring light.

My squinting eyes attempted to locate the source of the glaring light, but I found nothing except my messy, empty room with no one around.

Somehow, the glaring light began to dim.

I scanned my room once more, observing each corner. On the left, my study desk with an untidy chair —there was Desmon, sleeping. Next to him was my bedroom door, the key hanging on it, uncertain if I had locked it. Shifting to my right, I found my gadgets and equipment. Lastly, I glanced toward the window situated on the upper right near my head. I had forgotten to close it.

I blink my eyes a few times.

I don't know what I felt at that moment, but I feel like wanting to keep looking at every corner of my room over and over again. Maybe after about seven or eight times, my soul finally gathered, and I became aware that I could only move my eyes. My body was once again stiff.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The light that had awakened me from my nightmare had disappeared; my room was surrounded in darkness.

The hair on the back of my neck had turned into sharp thorns piercing my bed and pillows, gripping them tightly.

Rows of hair on both my arms stood on end, just like on my legs.

I consciously understand what's happening, an unwelcome presence.

The darkness surrounded my room, the silence within that darkness, the freezing cold from the open window, and now the sensation of thirst back.

I hadn't had a chance to drink earlier, because to Dr. Klio's visit, so I could understand my thirst. Yet, the three other death auras still scare me.

Only one remained, the foul odor.

I hoped I hadn't smelled the foul odor, at least for tonight.

I hoped for a warm night, at least for tonight.

I hoped for noise disturbing my sleep, at least for tonight.

I hoped my lamp would shine so bright it pierced my eyes, at least for tonight.

I hoped my thirst would disappear, at least until tomorrow morning.

I closed my eyes once more.

The desire to inspect every corner of my room returned. I don't know why it was so hard to ignore this strange desire.

Reluctantly, I slowly opened my eyes again.

My wish came true.

I don't smell any bad odor.

The cold of the night air was replaced by warmth throughout my body.

The silence was broken by the barking of dogs.

My lamp now shined brightly as usual.

Now I can see clearly, my closed bedroom window and my study desk with an empty chair, neatly arranged.

Was something odd? Of course, who had closed my bedroom window and tidied my desk, plus, where Desmon at?

The oddity didn't take long to be answered.

A translucent woman was sitting on my belly. Beside her was Desmon, leaning against her shoulder. I couldn't recognize her because her face was covered by thick hair. Yet, I knew who she was.

The death aura that I thought had disappeared earlier turns out it hasn't disappeared, it just transformed into the form of death itself.

The translucent woman radiates her captivating aura, but at the same time also radiates a terrifying death aura.

I could only hope this was all just a dream. A dream like the nightmares I've recently experienced, whether in the hospital or in my room a while ago.

But, once again, I was wrong.

The translucent woman moved her neck and head to face me.

Yes, she was the ghost girl. However, her face was now more vibrant, though her appearance remained the same. Yet, the loss of paleness in her face made her look more human, except, of course, for being translucent.

The ghost girl stared at me for a few minutes. I couldn't look away from hers for several minutes either. Yet, our eyes didn't exchange a word.

Slowly but surely, the ghost girl's mouth began to move.

Slowly but surely, her eyes met mine.

As far as I remembered, the last time the ghost girl looked at me and displayed her smile, I was frozen, and my nightmares began from that moment.

So, without waiting for my brain to command me, I closed my eyes.

I managed to shut my eyes and avoid eye contact with her. Yet, unfortunately, my wish to reopen my eyes emerged, and it was very difficult to ignore.

Once again, I reluctantly opened my eyes.

And once again, I made eye contact with her.

The ghost girl smiled at me again.

But unlike before, I felt a warm sensation behind her smile.

"Thank you," those words came out in a faint tremble from her still-smiling lips.

###

"Hey, are you awake now?" Desmon's voice brought me out of my strange dream.

"Yes" I replied casually.

I knew Desmon was still talking to me, his voice was clear. However, I ignored it. The recent incident was truly disturbing. No, it didn't make me scared anymore, Instead, I'm now confused.

I got up from my bed. My body felt fresh again, and the paralysis I experienced before seemed completely gone.

I walked around my room, checking something I wasn't sure about or searching for what, I couldn't identify.

"Um... Robert? Are you paying attention to me?" Desmon's annoying face suddenly appeared right in front of me out of nowhere.

Again, I ignored him. But now, I wasn't checking anything. I just sat on my chair.

"Robert? You're Robert, right? Hello!" It was Desmon's annoying face again.

"Yeah... yeah... what's up?" I grumbled.

"You haven't been listening to me? What's wrong with you?"

"Did you feel something strange?"

"The death aura, you mean? I've been telling you about that," Desmon was flying into the ceiling of my room.

He loved lying there, claiming it gave him an easy view of my entire room. So, if anything odd, like a ghost trying to intrude and disturb me happened, he could easily prevent it. Thanks for that, but I felt uneasy when he did that while I was lying in my bed.

"Yeah, but it's more than that."

I told Desmon about what happened in my dream, the same one I had while I was in the hospital, except for a woman who asked for my help.

My story continued with the recent event —whether a dream or reality, I didn't know. The appearance of the ghost girl, I tried to explain to Desmon how odd it was. Initially, I felt fear, but the ghost girl's smile was different, not as terrifying as at the tutoring center. However, no matter how I explained it to Desmon, he was as confused as I was. Either he was confused by my complicated explanation or because the ghost girl didn't fit the typical description of a Phantom we knew so far.

"I felt her death aura so strongly," Desmon's eyes still wide, although I could sense he was trying to suppress his tone to avoid sounding scared. "But seriously, did I lean on that ghost girl?"

"Seriously, like a couple."

We continued our conversation with some jokes and attempts to scare each other. But still, we were puzzled as to why the phantom which was reported to be highly dangerous, came to us and even thanked us without leaving any sign of danger.

"It seems like only Ryan can help explain all this. But where did that kid go?" Desmon blurted out in the middle of his joke about dating that ghost girl, saying it's interworld dating.

"Actually, besides Ryan, there's one more person we forgot, but maybe she also know about it." I tried to put on a serious face, but whether it worked or not, I couldn't tell.

"Who?"

"Chloe. The ghost girl had been staring at Chloe all the time, but since the incident at the tutoring center, the ghost girl hasn't been seen with Chloe."

"Wait...how do you know?" Desmon's eyebrows shot up.

"You mentioned earlier that you asked your ghost friends to visit my tutoring center, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"They really did it, right?"

"Of course. Why?"

"They really entered that tutoring center. Did they meet Chloe?"

"They definitely entered the tutoring place. I saw them entering the tutoring center myself. But whether they met Chloe or not, I don't know. What's this all about?"

"If you personally saw it, did you see Chloe? Even from a distance?"

"I saw her. Seriously, Robert, what's going on?"

"You didn't feel the death aura from the phantom at all?"

Desmon fell silent for a while, while I just smiled. Is this what it feels like to be the smart one? Is this what Desmon feels every time he teaches me something?

"So, you mean the phantom has disappeared from Chloe?" Desmon asked, although his eyebrows weren't raised anymore. But his face still showed his confusion to me.

"Exactly, the ghost girl isn't by Chloe anymore."

"So, what does that have to do with us asking Chloe? Clearly, she can't see it. Chloe also doesn't show any odd behavior."

"That's precisely the oddity." I replied in a short and brief way, causing confusion for Desmon, I was sure.

"Oh...I get it. Chloe has been constantly stared at and followed by that phantom, so she should feel disturbed by her presence, including sensing her death aura. But so far, Chloe has just been silent, as if nothing's happening."

Desmon didn't seem as foolish as I thought.

"Yes, exactly. Ryan seems suspicious, but he seems to sense the presence of the ghost girl in our tutoring class. Our tutors take shifts because they specialize in teaching one subject within their expertise, so perhaps they haven't sensed the presence of the ghost girl yet. Meanwhile, Chloe, she's always been with the ghost girl in the tutoring center all the time, at least how could she not feel the ghost girl's presence? Isn't that odd?"

Desmon nodded in agreement.

"So, it seems like we agree to focus our search on Chloe?" I suggested.

"It's better not to. We still need Ryan because he seems to understand phantom the most. Chloe, we're unsure if she can see ghosts or not. So, you're the only one who can interact with Chloe. Can you do it?"

How stupid of me. I was used to interacting with two creatures at once, humans and ghosts, so I thought they were the same. I didn't realize that Desmon was a ghost too, and Chloe was a human. Clearly, Chloe couldn't see ghosts unless she had abilities like mine.

The main issue now was how I could interact with Chloe without appearing weird to her. Actually, I didn't care if I was considered weird by anyone, but from my experience, I learned that weirdo were often avoided by others. Because I wanted to dig for information from Chloe, I had to maintain my relationship with her for as long as possible, so I couldn't look weird. In simpler terms, I couldn't be myself. I had to change.

Shit.

If only I had human friends, this would probably be much easier.

I had no other choice, I was now completely consumed by curiosity about who and what the purpose of that ghost girl was.

"I'll try." I replied.

####