Trying to figure out where Dare had set up camp before moving into the haunted house almost sent Ray into another panic attack. Fortunately, the moving truck arrived before they could start spiraling again.

Half the stuff was paranormal investigation equipment that Ray recognized from the game but had no idea how to use in real life. They shoved it into their closet. Dare’s stuffed animal collection was respectfully placed in a corner. Their clothes – ten identical outfits to the one they were wearing right now, which had been something of a self-aware joke about the lack of sprites in the game – went in the dresser. The wrongness of handling a stranger’s things like they were their own was thankfully mitigated by the terror that they’d get attacked by the ghosts at any minute. Dare hadn’t been attacked during the move-in process, but –

Ray screamed, frozen in terror, unable to dodge as a pair of scissors came flying very slowly at their head. One of the blades hit them square in the cheek and bounced off harmlessly.

Of course. Before they’d even moved into the house, Dare had introduced themself to Theodore. And before they’d done that, he’d used his weak telekinetic abilities to chuck stuff at them.

Looked like Ray was going down to the basement.

Among many other things with varying degrees of usefulness, Dare carried a flashlight in the backpack they took everywhere. Ray preemptively switched it on as they headed down to the basement. “I-I’m coming,” they called, voice shaking. “So… you can stop…”

A fork from the kitchen grazed their neck. They took a deep breath. Theodore can’t hurt you, they reminded themself. He’s not strong enough.

Yeah, unless he hits an artery or something.

Along with the flashlight, they had taken a handful of Ectoplasm Illuminiator, the fictional substance that Dare used to turn ghosts visible, from the backpack. It was surprisingly sticky. They slowly walked down the basement steps, flashlight beam wavering in their shaky hand. “Alright… are you there?” They almost called the ghost by name but bit their tongue at the last second. That would’ve been hard to explain.

There was a muffled sound, something like an “MmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMmmmMM!” That was Theodore trying to talk, and it was coming from right in front of them. Ray yelled and hurled their fistful of Ectoplasm Illuminator forward.

Exactly one second before the shimmering dust made contact, they remembered the state of Theodore’s head.

The reality was so much worse than the game sprite. Caved in at the forehead, one eye dangling from the socket, blood smeared over the few intact features. Flecks of gore barely served to cover an indented skull. The ghosts were black and white in the game, but now Theodore was rendered in full color, making his appearance that much more horrifying.

“LEAVE THIS PLACE!” Theodore shouted. “LEAVE IT NOW!”

Ray stared, trembling. They had to say something, or Theodore would start attacking them again. But what did they say? What if he got mad at them? What would Dare say? No, Ray didn’t have the confidence to say anything Dare would say. What –

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“THIS IS THE FATE THAT THESE HALLS AFFORDED ME,” Theodore intoned. “LEAVE NOW BEFORE YOU MEET SUCH AN END.”

He was still on script. Still a chance to say something, the right thing, but what?

“Are –” Ray swallowed. Their mouth was dry. “Are you… okay?”

“NO!” Theodore thundered, and Ray cowered back. “LOOK WHAT HAS BECOME OF ME! IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE SOON –”

“No, I mean…” Ray held a hand to their own face. They took a deep breath and paraphrased what Dare had said in this encounter in a slightly gentler way. “Ghosts are supposed to – to be able to change their appearance at will, so is that – is that just to scare me, or –” Of course they knew the answer already, but Dare didn’t at this point in the plot.

“THIS IS –” Theodore cleared his throat, then continued in a slightly less agitated manner. “This is me. And if you don’t want to spend the rest of your life and afterlife with this grotesque caricature of a human being, you had better –”

“I don’t think –” Ray interrupted, then went silent.

Theodore paused. “No, go on,” he said.

“I don’t think – I don’t think you’re… grotesque.”

Theodore’s one intact eye stared at them with utter disbelief.

“I mean –” Ray rushed. “I mean, compared to a normal person, it’s, you know… but, you’re dead, you died violently, so… it’s normal. It’s not weird or grotesque or anything.” They held their breath.

Theodore let out a huff that was almost a laugh. “You’re a strange one. Still, I presume you don’t want to die?”

“No, I –” Ray shook their head. “I don’t. I just… I wanted to… to live here.”

“Why?” Theodore sounded genuinely confused.

Ray swallowed. “I don’t… have anywhere else… to go?”

The saddest part of that statement, for Ray at least, was how true it was.

Theodore sighed and rested a hand on some protruding brain matter. “Jesus. Look, it’s – it’s not that I don’t want you here. But there’s this person. Ever since the fire, they’ve been killing everyone who comes to live in this house. That’s why there are so many of us.”

“Oh,” Ray said.

Theodore raised what remained of his left eyebrow. “You don’t seem surprised.”

“Don’t I?” Ray asked, voice small.

Incredibly, their bluff worked. Theodore frowned and said, “Well, not to me. But I’m not very good at identifying others’ emotions.”

Ray fought back a smile. That was Theodore, alright. “I mean… I can probably… I can…” They tried again. “I can… prepare, and stuff. And I can make sure they don’t kill me, and I can stop them. So…”

Theodore let out another deep sigh. “I see you’re less timid than you appear. I suppose I won’t be driving you off, then.”

“Nope.”

“Well then.” Theodore shrugged. “You’re welcome to try. I’d offer to shake your hand, but…” He gestured to himself.

Ray let themself smile that time. “Yeah. No need. I’m…”

They thought for a moment. They hadn’t told the realtor a thing about their identity because he was a living person who had no experience with the supernatural and would classify them as insane if they told the truth.

But these were ghosts. They had firsthand experience with otherworldly phenomena – hell, they were otherworldly phenomena. And who would they tell?

“It’s a long story,” they finally said.

Theodore arched his eyebrow. “Your name is a long story?”

Ray shook their head. “Just – call me Ray.”

Theodore nodded. “I’m Theodore. I’ll be seeing you around, then.”

“Y-yeah.”

“Alright then.” Theodore turned to a bookshelf against the side wall.

Ray stood there for a moment longer, then ran back up the stairs and into the bedroom. They threw themself down on the bed and kicked at it, all their adrenaline rushing out. I did it! their mind was screaming. I survived! I’m not dead! I’m –

A suffocating heat slammed down on their body, and they froze.

They had forgotten Rose was here.

And they had closed the door.

It was better to burn alone.

If you burned alone, kept all the fire in yourself, nobody else could get hurt. Nobody else would have to walk around this tiny room forever, staring out the window as the seasons changed without them.

But sometimes –

Sometimes, God, Rose wished her family had burned with her.

-On Burning by Ray Johnstone