Chapter 14: Haunted
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My life has gone off the rails.
Yuki has started torturing me with constant visits. To be honest, I’m still not entirely sure if she likes me and that’s why she’s hanging around, or if she hates me and wants to see me suffer. Either way, ever since that night, her presence has become a constant source of nightmare fuel. Now I know the true meaning of hell.
I didn’t sleep a wink after learning the truth. A fucking ghost stalked me for days, then appeared and gave me a flower. Forget sleeping, I couldn’t even relax. I worried about when and where she would turn up next.
What did she want? When would she find me again? Did she know where my dorm was? If I turned my head to the side right now, would she be there looking over my shoulder? Those kinds of thoughts kept me in a perpetual state of stressful anticipation.
When morning rolled around, my fears were substantiated. I had just begun to let my guard down after staying on edge all night. Then I saw her in the mirror when I was brushing my teeth. The neighbors probably heard me scream like a little girl.
Things only got worse from there.
A day later, I got a phone call while I was walking between third and fourth period. I should have known better once I saw it was from an unknown number, but I didn’t think of it at the time. When I answered, all I heard was some creepy heavy breathing on the other end.
Obviously, I turned pale as a sheet and quickly hung up. What the hell was this? Since when could ghosts make phone calls? How did she even get my number? I must have let my reaction show outwardly, because the other people in the corridor gave me strange looks and kept a wide berth.
Now I get disturbing messages from her all the time. Sometimes I’ll just be sitting in class and I’ll randomly receive a picture of myself. It always looks like it’s been taken from outside the classroom’s window or through a hole in one of the ceiling tiles above me. Try paying attention to a history lecture after that.
Despite my unease, I couldn’t stay awake forever. I finally crashed after being up almost 48 hours straight. I half-expected to awake in the morning and find her standing over me, staring from the foot of the bed. Luckily, that didn’t happen. I was spared from starting the day with another heart attack. However, later I noticed my phone’s lock screen had been changed to a picture of me sleeping with her curled up beside my shoulder. She was in my bed.
What did I do to deserve this? Why me out of everyone in the world? When would the torment end? I needed to do something. I’d go mad sooner or later.
That weekend, I threw myself into researching anything and everything that had to do with ghosts and the paranormal. Between that, going to class, min-maxing my stats, and studying, I was living a lifestyle of perpetual hustle 24/7. There was no such thing as rest or free time.
When it came to paranormal research, it was pretty much impossible to tell what information was legit and what was just random nonsense from some internet-crazy. The only option was to confirm or debunk everything myself. Slowly, through trial and error, I managed to suss out which sources to believe.
After three or four days, I had a rough understanding of Yuki. From what I’d worked out, she seemed to have two states she could switch between. Usually she was incorporeal. That meant she was completely invisible and could pass through solid objects, but couldn’t interact with anything physical.
It was only when she switched to ‘corporeal mode’ that she could interact with the world and I sometimes caught a glimpse of her. My guess was that being in this state uses up some kind of energy or similar resource, because she can only stay like that for a limited time. Afterwards she needed to return to incorporeal mode and ‘recharge’.
She could also interfere with electronic devices from a short distance. How exactly this worked, I had no idea. Passwords and encryption did fuck all to stop her. Even turning the device off and disconnecting the power wasn’t enough. It would just spontaneously kick on again if she decided to mess with it, regardless of whether it was unplugged and had no batteries. This ability of hers was especially annoying.
I tried all sorts of wards and countermeasures against ghosts that were recommended online. Again, most were bullshit. Eventually, I found a method that stopped her from phasing through the walls. Paper talismans could temporarily block her incorporeal form from entering the room they protected. Although, she could eventually overcome the barrier with enough effort and once she was in, it did nothing.
Now when she visited, she just used the door instead. The lock was the electronic kind you scan with your id. Worthless against her. The doorchain didn’t stop her either. She could reach her arm in the crack and bend it backwards in a way impossible for a living human, like some horrible freakshow contortionist. I ordered a physical deadbolt online, but it hadn’t arrived yet. Well, whatever. If she really wanted, she could probably break the door down anyway.
Life had certainly gotten more stressful, but I’d started to adapt. Yuki wasn’t so bad once you got used to her. She kept me up at night and put the fear of god in me, but she’s still only the second-worst roommate I’d ever had. Better than the guy from my senior year of uni. She didn’t leave dirty dishes everywhere or sell HGH. Also, on the upside, I was gradually becoming immune to jumpscares.
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I mean sure, my world-view was irrevocably shattered. Not only was I forced to reckon with the fact that ghosts exist, but I was personally being haunted by one. That knowledge does tend to change a man.
Since I wasn’t sleeping much these days, I was substituting rest with caffeine. By this point, I estimated around 30% of my blood was replaced with coffee. Probably not healthy or a long-term solution. I should get an adderall prescription instead.
Staying up late did give me plenty of extra time to work on system quests. I made significant progress, reaching 12/20 books read for the Intelligence level, and 8/15 workouts for Physique. I also discovered that by listening to an audiobook and going for a run, I could double-up on my time efficiency. I had another idea that might let me cheat the Charisma quest’s need to ‘perform in public’ too, but it required further testing.
The human spirit was indomitable. Life went on, albeit with a few small changes. Almost a week had passed since the incident in the computer lab. By now, I was beginning to grow accustomed to a new routine.
My alarm this morning woke me at 7:30. I let out a groggy groan and reluctantly pulled myself out from under the covers, wobbling like a zombie as I rose to my feet. After I wiped the sleep from my eyes, I arched my back and twisted my shoulders. A satisfied sigh passed my lips as my joints let out an audible crack.
Grabbing the box of salt from the nightstand, I sprinkled a trail on the floor around my bed like a moat. If I didn’t replace the warding circle first thing in the morning, I was liable to forget. Technically, since it was pure it was supposed to be alright for two or three days. I still made it a habit to change the salt daily, else Yuki might sabotage it somehow and slip past during the night.
Next, I went to the kitchenette in the corner of my dorm and started brewing a fresh pot of coffee. This way, it would be done and waiting for me by the time I got dressed.
As I brushed my teeth, I double checked each of the paper talismans plastered around. There were two on the door, one on each window, and then a few more on each of the walls. Hm… A few more probably wouldn’t hurt.
I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and noticed that the bags under my eyes had grown deeper. Also, my hair was shaggy and untamed. I’d given up on it. No matter how much I combed, it always seemed to return like that before long.
Sifting through the laundry-pile, I found a uniform clean enough for class. A few wrinkles weren’t a big deal so long as it passed the sniff-check. Along with it, I added on a silver chain necklace, a silver watch, and even a silver thumb ring. Supposedly, silver had protective properties against evil spirits. I’d yet to confirm if this was true or not. Wearing so much jewelry made me look like a wannabe-rapper, but better to be safe than sorry.
Ready to go, I turned for the door and came face to face with Yuki baring the threshold. Her sudden appearance made me suck in a breath, but I quickly recovered. I gave her a strained, crooked smile.
“I’m off to class. See you later.”
She stared me down silent and expressionless as always. I got the impression she was deciding whether or not to keep me confined to the dorm. So far, she’d never done so, but it was a mental struggle for her. Sort of like when you have a new puppy that whines every time you leave the house. I suppose I’d be lonely too if I spent who-knows-how-many years isolated. I slipped past and hurried down the stairs before she changed her mind.
Lately, I can’t help but wonder if maybe I’m being a bit harsh by keeping Yuki at arm’s length. Sure, she was a creepy dead girl who forcibly remained in the land of the living to seek her vengeance, but I wouldn’t hold her circumstances against her. Still, establishing boundaries was an important step.
I’m not above admitting I have some hang-ups when it comes to dating. I know I told myself that I wanted to experience young love, but if I’m really being honest, I don’t think I’m ready. In my first life, I only ever had one serious relationship. It didn’t exactly end amicably.
I took the usual route to class, ignoring the occasional whisper that reached my ears. So damn nosy. Lay off me, alright? Why were people looking at me like I’m some homeless person who wandered in off the street?
Once I made it to class, I slumped into my seat, giving a thousand-yard-stare towards the wood grain patterns on the desk. This was my personal form of morning meditation I used to prepare myself for the school day.
Homeroom was filled with the chattering of students before the bell, but I paid little mind to the conversations around me. Most people were excited, discussing plans for the upcoming weekend. Apparently, there was some big event happening.
A finger jabbed into my side, interrupting my self-induced hypnosis and causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. I flinched out of reflex, before I realized it was just Alicia in the seat beside mine.
“Hey. Is it me, or are you acting weird and twitchy lately? More than usual, I mean.”
I relaxed back into a puddle on my desk, deflecting her question. “It’s probably just your imagination.”
“Yeah right. Don’t give me that shit. Something’s obviously eating at you.”
For some reason she was being weirdly pushy. Then again, Alicia’s always like that. I thought for a moment, searching for a way to phrase things without revealing too much.
“...What’s the best way to turn a girl down gently without making her upset?”
“Is that why you’ve been like this? You got yourself a new girlfriend.” A lecherous shit-eating grin spread across her face, excited to have some new ammunition. “Aww, how adorable. Little Izzy is growing into a man.”
I ignored her attempt to get under my skin. “I’m not looking for a girlfriend, that’s the problem.”
“Well, maybe you should be. You’re too uptight. You could stand to let loose more often.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Such generic advice might be fine for most people, but if actually she knew what I had to deal with, she wouldn’t think it was so easy.
Alicia narrowed her eyes when she noticed me blow her off. She paused for a second before shifting gears. “This girl who’s into you. Is she really that terrible? Is she ugly or something? Do you hate her?”
“Well, no, not exactly. We’re just not a good match.”
“How do you know? Have you two gone on a date?”
“No. She’s a-… Our circumstances are too different.” I caught my words mid-sentence and hurriedly corrected myself.
“Sounds like you’re making excuses.” She shrugged and turned away before adding one more thing. “Might as well give it a chance. How many times are you gonna luck out and have someone interested enough to make the first move?”
I stayed silent. It was a rhetorical question, but I found myself wondering about the answer. When the morning bell rung, I was still gazing off into the distance, ruminating over her words.