Despite the ridiculousness of the situation, Elias had managed to get himself in deeper shit.

The initial plan was to convince Phoebe Lawler to help him gather the other victims of the street to bring out the real monster beneath.

"Ye fuckin bastard ya call that a plan? Hauck Puthui. Ya gon get us all killed! Killed!" Thomas spat out a bit too literally.

Elias heard it all but he did not have the leisure to respond as he watched Phoebe Lawler ram herself at the circle powered by the runes.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Elias paled when he realised the crimson light of the runes faded a little at Phoebe's every attempt.

"MATT GIVENS, I can help you meet him if you listen to me."

Elias yelled out amidst crazed shrieks and the reckless bashing, thinking this attempt too would be ignored. But unlike the disaster before, Phoebe Lawler stopped for good this time.

Breathing a sigh of relief, despite his shock Elias continued, "If you can help me gather everyone stuck in here, I can help all of you get your vengeance."

After a tense moment of silence Phoebe moved. She charged, Elias closed his eyes, cringing. Another failed attempt and he knew that this might be it for him.

Elias braced himself to hear another gut wrenching sound of a boby ramming onto a wall. Yet the clash never happened, instead he heard Phoebe's shriek along with the sound of something heavy falling on the road.

At Elias's back Phoebe had charged at another ghost. This one, looked like a male in tattered clothes, eyes gouged out and the skin on his face nowhere to be seen.

It almost felt like someone with sharp nails had taken their time to scratch out the skin off of his face. Elias watched in silence as the two ghosts went to war right outside his rune circle.

Phoebe punched the skinless ghost. While the skinless ghost kept swiping at her with his hands that had turned into claws. Every swipe of his claw left a gash on Phoebe's dead body. But Phoebe's fist also broke the skinless ghost's bones with every punch.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Both of them were evenly matched, with neither of them being able to take the upper hand.

"Wait, Is she helping us?'" Elias asked in disbelief.

"Hells ye, she is. You promised her vengeance and that's as good as a promise a ghost can get. But things ain't gonna end up well for our ghost girl." Thomas's voice echoed in Elias's mind.

Sacrificing an arm Phoebe had managed to leave a deep imprint of her fist in the centre of the skinless ghost's face. He stumbled away from Phoebe, apparently the blow was too much for the skinless man.

"What do you mean? She's winning!" Elias asked as he watched Phoebe shriek at the skinless ghost that kept backing up.

Thomas didn't answer but Elias understood what he meant when he saw the skinless ghost stumble backwards to fall beside a horde of ghosts that were glaring at him and Phoebe.

Broken mangled bodies, the results of inhuman violence. Crushed noses, fractured limbs, Long cuts that bled green it was hard to look at them. All of them were the results of a rage that bordered inhuman. Yet it was all done by humans, by someone these victims likely knew well.

This was the curse of Leon street.

"They are closing in." Elias studied the unmoving horde of ghosts.

"Ye, no fucken shite. They will kill us dead, don't let them get to us, dumbshit! RUN." Thomas wailed, his voice ringing around Elias' ears.

Covering his ears he contemplated his choices. Lily could probably haul him out if he called her right now. But something about just leaving Phoebe behind after her helping him felt wrong.

He had absolute confidence that these bloodthirsty ghosts would tear his runes apart in record time. Yet unlike him, Phoebe held her ground staring down the horde, unmoving.

He knew if he left now, Phoebe would be devoured without a chance to fight back. And that was not something he could stand. Ghost or not she took his side when he needed it.

Glaring back at the horde of ghosts Elias shouted "Hey! Shitheads! If you all listen to me. No matter who it is, I'll help all of you meet your killers. Just let me talk-"

All the clouded eyes staring down at Elias did not move in the slightest. Instead some of them turned bloodshot. Few of the ghosts started fidgeting.

Flinching at the secondwave of bloodthirst directed his way. Elias gulped, "Fellow departed members of society. If all of you were so kind to help me right now I would be eternally grateful and help all of you, Sirs and Madams; to meet your murderers."

"Oi, dumbshite. You really going help this lot of murderous ghosts?" Thomas questioned in Elias's head, the ghost sounded beyond shocked.

The whole situation had come to a standstill.

The ghost horde of Leon street stayed still. Meanwhile Phoebe had been standing in front of Elias all this time, ready to attack anyone who approached. All of this just for the promise of vengeance.

Ghosts were scary like that.

Despite the grim situation, Elias empathised with her. In fact he could understand every victim of Leon street. Being wronged with zero shot at justice, unable to move on. All this hit a little too close to home for him.

"Anton, I know you are here somewhere. Let's talk." Elias said without wavering.

After what felt like an eternity. Sounds of little feet appeared among the mangled bodies. The boy that walked out from the horde of ghosts would have looked cute in any other situation. Yet now the contrast of a healthy young boy standing in front of a morbid display of bodies would make anyone blink twice.

Ignoring everything the boy kept walking until he stood against Phoebe. The boy looked up to Phoebe. And the ghostly woman with her arm missing stepped aside without a word.

Elias's eyes met with the boy.

"Hey, Anton." Elias barely managed give the boy a little smile, "Let's talk."