Beckoned by the voice, I left the room in a hurry, getting confused stares from witch Rita, Rachel and Professor, who stopped writing his formula midway. I increased my pace. The source of the voice was right behind the corner.

I turned and finally saw her. Ghost Melissa in her incorporeal form. “We don’t have much time. Follow me,” she said curtly.

Situation clearly was urgent. I abstained from unnecessary talking and simply increased my pace to match hers. We descended to the first floor via a stairway and then she went in the direction of a place I once saw. No, was shown by my instinct. It was the basement, the place where I saw Gunter’s body.

When we reached the metal door of a bright red color she finally exhaled, “My power here is limited. I can’t maintain my form for long. Quickly open the door!”

A slight hesitation stopped me from granting her that request. For some reason that red door felt extremely ominous. I was on the brink of making a decision that would change my life completely. “OPEN THE DOOR” roared my instinct. I forced it into silence. “Explain,” was what I said to Melissa. But she didn’t answer. Her incorporeal form blinked a few times and she disappeared. With a soft thump something fell on the floor. I took that object. It was a small plush doll whose appearance was very similar to that of Melissa.

Behind me I heard footsteps indicating that someone was getting closer. No, not someone. This grating sound couldn’t possibly belong to a human. But what was more dangerous? I looked at the red door in dismay. Should I really open the door? I felt that I needed to avoid the owner of that awful sound right now.

Breaking my line of thoughts, a clinking sound rang in my ears - as if small pebbles were hitting glass - taking me by surprise. It was strange...strange to witness the sound in the deafening silence of the town. I looked at the source of the sound. There was a window in an inconspicuous location not so far away from the place I was standing at.

Without wasting any more time I jumped, and pulled myself up. Luckily, window wasn’t closed and it budged open under my weight. I was outside. Around me a dozen or so butterflies were dancing peculiarly, creating patterns as they flew. I wasn’t sure whether they would understand but I felt that it would be correct to give them my appreciation, “Thank you,” I told the swarm of butterflies. They made two more circles around me and soon dispersed throughout the town.

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A lot of thoughts swam in my head.What was the reason behind Melissa’s sudden appearance? Was it really Melissa? Was she looking for me after the very moment she floated through the ceiling? How was she able to trace me back here even though I had a different appearance? Different appearance. Rita recognized me at once when she saw me. It was as if she was waiting for me in this town. I remembered an arrow inscribed on the floor. That mysterious companion was female. Rita arrived at the time when the companion was already out of town. That’s doubtful but could it be that mysterious companion and Rita are connected to each other somehow? Rita, just what are you hiding? My instinct was silent.

I noticed seer Andrew and Alice exiting the building premises. Noticing me, he smiled and waved his hand. Alice looked at him with confusion written on her face. Seer Andrew hollered, “Don’t worry, your personal foodbag is about to arrive.”

I was somewhat bewildered by his words. Did he learn something from the future? This time instinct didn’t appear to help me. But right the next moment I saw Rachel hurrying over to me, a paper bag in her hands.

“I brought some snacks,” Rachel said. It was timely, as I realized that even though I wasn’t starving, a lunch would do.

While I was eating, she started to talk, “Why did you suddenly run out of the room? Professor was rather upset about it. Even if we lost our hope for a peaceful solution, we wouldn’t just give up. I could only survive by becoming a monster? Then I will become one. Tomorrow is the day. But still it feels so unreal. Why did it have to be this way?..”

I asked her a question, “What do you think about butterflies?”

She smiled, “It has been a long time since the occasion when I saw an animal.”

I nodded and didn’t continue with the topic. She however was even more talkative than usual, “The town is dying. Its size is reducing with unprecedented speed, taking it to the brink of extinction. Once vast energy reserves are almost completely dry. It seems like our wish to rebuild lost glory will remain unfulfilled. Why did he come? Why turn a flourishing place into a wasteland?”

I noticed tears at the corners of her eyes, “I didn’t think before that I’ll meet someone similar to myself, someone who’d understand my plight and share my ideals. But it seems you changed compared to before you went on a trip with that person. If I’m not wrong, you called that person ‘Fatalist’. Just what did they do to you? What affected you that much? You…”

Suddenly her expression changed, terror visible in her eyes “I… I seem to have forgotten your name…”

Was it because I now was the owner of the body? Should I tell her my name? Wait, what was my name?..

There, in the middle of the town two of us were sitting on a bench looking at each other, bright sun shining down on us. Terror was evident in both pairs of eyes.