Ravenwood, like all small towns, was a place of contrasts. There was the old side on the west, and the new side to the east. The separation between the two sides of town was both immediate and drastic.

New Ravenwood was a suburban dream, with its freshly built homes, meticulously manicured lawns, and schools that boasted some of the highest rankings in the state. But cross over to the west, and you'd find yourself in a different story altogether.

Old Ravenwood was a patchwork of run-down houses, sagging apartments, and shuttered shops, all clustered around a county prison that was desperate for repair.

The Ravenwood Medical Center sat directly on the divide between the two sides. It straddled the line between the two parts of town, and was often the furthest west most of us in east Ravenwood would dare to venture. So, when the creatures chose to cross the street and head west into Old Ravenwood, I wasn’t exactly shocked.

It was a real shame how little the people of west Ravenwood cared for their homes. We passed yard after yard of dead grass, covered in weeds and trash. Homes were decorated with broken, boarded up windows and chipped siding showing years of abandon and neglect.

Not every home had surrendered, though. Here and there, a few stubborn owners still gave a crap. But these islands of care were few and far between.

Even the sidewalks weren’t spared—roots from old overgrown trees had erupted through the pavement. That was less than ideal for me. Naomi navigated the potholes as if my chair had been fitted with off-road tires. Each jolt forced my body to shake violently. It threatened to spill me onto the uneven ground.

They didn’t give me nearly enough drugs for this trip. We hit a large bump. My knee screamed in pain. That one felt intentional. There was no way she didn’t see it there.

That being said, I was in no position to complain, so I sat there and took my punishment. Naomi finally broke the awkward silence that had started since she had agreed to join me on this trip.

“Do you have any idea where these things are headed?” she asked, her voice steady as she pushed me over yet another obstacle.

“Apparently to the crap part of town,” I muttered, gripping the armrests for dear life.

She shot me the stink eye. “Oh, you think just because your family’s from East Ravenwood, you’re somehow better than us?”

I realized I had stepped right into it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were from—”

She cut me off, her tone sharp. “This side of town may be older and a little rough around the edges, but I deal with double the amount of calls on your side. Just because something’s old doesn’t mean it’s bad.”

“Understood.”

“You better understand. You know, something you learn after years on the force is that judging a book by its cover is a quick way to end up dead. If you’re going to keep throwing yourself into danger, you better get that through your head.”

I nodded. She was right, of course. I had been judging based on appearances. I’d have to work on that.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little on edge in a place like this. Especially with a murderer potentially lurking nearby.

We hadn’t gone more than a half mile from the hospital when the spirits began to slow down. A familiar unease twisted in my gut. It was the same feeling I’d had back at Harry's house. Something bad was nearby.

“I think we’re close. Be ready,” I warned Naomi.

We approached an old, boarded-up store. Above was the old decaying ruins of a sign that provided a small glimpse into the history of the place. It was the previous spot for a company called Empire Flooring and Tile.

Oh man, I remember this place. They had a really catchy jingle and some weird Irish mascot on television when I was growing up.

I was pretty sure my parents used them to replace the hardwood floors in their house. Six months later they had to have another company come out and fix everything. The fact this place was abandoned did not surprise me.

I watched the vengeful spirits disappear into the building. I reached up and tapped Naomi on the arm.

“They just went inside. I’m pretty sure your man is inside this building.” I said.

“Are you positive?”

“Obviously not. I’ve only been doing this ghost thing for less than a week and was stabbed less than two days ago.”

“Well shoot. Stay here, I’m going to go run around and see if I can see anything from the back. It looks abandoned, but if the guy is as dangerous as you say he is, we need to be careful. Stay back and stay quiet! You got that?”

I nodded. I sat back and remained quiet as I watched her turn the corner. I waited patiently for a few minutes. Suddenly I felt my pulse race, my eyes grew heavy. I had this feeling before, but where?

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Oh it was right in front of Harry's house the night I went into his basement. Oh shit! I blinked, as I felt all control leave my body.

###

I snapped back to reality with a jolt, my senses were playing catch-up. Disoriented didn’t even begin to cover it. Something was off—way off. It was like when you had that feeling you forgot to close the garage door or turn off the oven after you left the house. I hated that feeling.

My gaze settled on the window, or rather, where a window used to be. Was the window what was off? Maybe. I don’t remember being in front of a window.

I glanced down, expecting to see my wheelchair. I was in a wheelchair a moment ago, right? Well I’m not anymore. That has to be it.

Wait a minute. Why am I seven feet off the ground!?

I was precariously balanced on a trash can, my good leg supported me while the other dangled uselessly. My eyes were level with the top window next to the front door, and the glass in front of me was shattered. Blood dripped from my right hand, glass shards had embedded themselves into my skin.

What the hell happened? This was Harrys all over again. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together. I punched that window, but why?

This… This is Alex's fault. He had to give me these stupid powers! Man, screw him! Naomi’s going to kill me if she finds me like this. I have to get down.

I bent down, doing my best to hold my balance as I tried to find a way off the trash can. How the heck did I get up here with this leg? I’ll be honest, I was mildly impressed with blacked out Joe.

A voice rang out, muffled but urgent. I think it came from inside the building. I stopped my descent and tried to lean closer to hear. Someone was yelling! It was Naomi. I couldn’t make out the words, but it sounded serious. Naomi wouldn't yell without good reason.

Crap, she must be in trouble! I had to get in there to help her!

The front door suddenly burst open, and I tensed. But it wasn’t the person I was expecting. It wasn’t a man at all. A young Asian girl, no older than ten, shot out of the building.

“Wait! It’s okay! We’re here to help you!” I called after her.

She stopped for a single moment. Her eyes locked onto mine. Her eyes looked wrong. Her pupils had overtaken her eyeballs. I heard people on drugs looked like that. I hoped she wasn’t on drugs. She was so young.

She turned and bolted. She was fast. I’m not an expert on little kids, but she seemed abnormally fast for someone her age. Then again, I was very rarely around ten year olds these days.

Naomi emerged from the store, her face a mix of frustration and fear. “What the hell are you doing? I told you to stay hidden! Did you see a girl run out?”

“Yeah, she took off down that alley.”

“Damn it!” Naomi cursed.

“What happened to the no-cursing rule?”

“Not the time for that!” She snapped, pulling out her radio. “This is Naomi Johnson, badge 45166. We have a possible kidnapping victim on the run. She appeared disoriented. I need backup at the old Empire Floor and Tile building and the surrounding area.”

With her help, I managed to get back into my wheelchair, my hand throbbed.

“How the hell did you end up like that?” she asked, her voice edged with concern.

“I have no idea,”I admitted. “One moment I was in my chair, the next I blinked and… well, this.”

Naomi winced at the sight of my hand. “That doesn’t look good. We’ll get the paramedics to patch you up. But if you’re blacking out like Alex, that’s bad news. You’re more of a liability than I’d hoped.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, I felt the weight of her words. “Not ideal.”

“You were right about one thing, there was something really messed up going on in that building.”

I peeked in the doorway.

“Oh holy hell!” The smell hit me before my eyes could even register what I saw. The rancid smell of bile and decayed flesh assaulted my senses. I fought back the urge to vomit. It didn’t work. I spewed all over the front door.

“Hey! Woah, you shouldn’t go in there. You alright?” Naomi said. She patted me on the shoulder.

I flashed back to the garage, to the sight of all that gore. Oh God not again. I felt my stomach turn.

Naomi grabbed my wheelchair and pulled me away from the door. As she did, I caught a glance of two bodies chained to poles, perhaps a third. It was too dark to tell.

The vengeful spirits sat around them like vultures picking off the remains of a dead carcass. I saw bits and pieces of blue flame being plucked from the bodies.

Naomi stepped in front of me, cutting off the view of what was inside the building. “Hey, keep your eyes on me. Look at me!”

I took a deep breath, trying my best to regain control.

“That’s good, keep doing deep breaths. Focus on me.” She pushed me away from the door, then grabbed her baton and smashed the front door in.

“Hey, listen to me. The police are going to want to know what happened. We have to have a story that makes sense. Are you paying attention?” Naomi asked.

“Yeah," I took a deep breath. "I’m here.”

“Good. Alright, so here's what happened. You ran away, I followed you to try and convince you to come back. We heard a sound outside of this building. I went around back, saw what I saw and yelled for her to stop. You, being an idiot that you are, busted this front door open with your hand to try and get in to play the hero. The window up top was already busted.”

“What about the civic guy?”

“Oh, you were right about him being in there. Although, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about him anymore. Unless he had an identical twin, he’s dead.”

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, a man that resembled him was tied up in there. He looked recently deceased."

"I... I don't understand."

"Me either. We either avoided a catastrophe or just opened a giant can of worms. Let's hope for the first one."

I shook my head in agreement. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I didn't believe that first option for one minute.

As confused as I was, I was certain of one thing. Something bad was still about to happen here. Unfortunately, now my lead suspect was dead and as I watched the sirens turn around the corner, my chance to follow these spirits was essentially over.

Man, I needed a plan... I needed Murph.