Aiden awoke, shutting off the blaring alarm with a slap, feeling groggy, tired, and lethargic. This had been his routine for the past 5 days, ever since the appearance of the blood moon in the sky—or so the people called it. Today marked the 6th day, and as he reached for his day-by-day calendar on the nightstand, he flipped it to reveal the date: 6th March.
Escaping the soft confines of his bed, Aiden entered his bathroom, trying to get in a quick brush and shower to brighten his mood. The mirror displayed a young man with light beige skin, black hair and black eyes. He sported a strong physique, one which would make almost any outfit effortlessly stylish on him. He picked up his brush from the holder and squeezed some of the new toothpaste onto it.
What will the ghost do today?
Weird things have begun happening in the house. It helped him once on the first day and twice on the second day. But after 5 days now, he knew that it only attempted to help him for a maximum of three times per day, considering he didn’t accept its help. If he accepted the help, the ghost wouldn't attempt again.
Looking at himself in the mirror, he reminisced about the incident which forced him to send his sister to the care center.
It was the third day.
*****
Aiden entered his bathroom to brush his teeth as usual. But realized he had already finished the paste when he held it up.
Should have asked Grace where she kept the new paste she bought a few days ago. It’s time I stop trying to squeeze out the last remnants of content from this —
DHUB
A noise snapped him out of his thoughts as he turned to it. The door of the small cupboard in the bathroom was open, letting out occasional creaks with its swing. His gaze traveled down to notice a full, plump toothpaste lying on the ground.
There it is, starting again.
The ghost inhabiting the house was helping him.
Yes, it truly did keep helping him, like now, showing him where the new toothpaste was. It kept helping him even when he moved to an empty house. There were other such instances of helping, like reminding him to drink water by writing a message on the mirror, cleaning his shoes and other things.
It wasn’t life threatening…yet. Even though it was clearly a helping hand, he didn’t dare accept it from the ghost.
The first day he had used the foil which rolled over beside his workstation in the kitchen, thinking it was him being lucky for a foil to fall from the open cupboards and roll over to him. Nothing else happened that day.
The next day he had just got home from having a meal together with his friends in the evening when he saw a reminder to drink water on the mirror above the shoe rack. It gave him a scare but he thought it was his sister’s antics and dismissed it.
Later that night, the geyser was up and running long before he entered the bathroom for his occasional night shower. He immediately cross checked with his sister who admitted doing no such thing. With a suspicion that she was lying, but refused to take the responsibility, he engaged with her no further and took a nice long hot shower after a truly long time that night. It was the ghost’s second attempt that day after the initial attempt which could only be described as failed since he didn’t drink water.
He didn’t pick up the toothpaste, adamant about not accepting help from the ghost, and instead beat the shit out of the old toothpaste to squeeze out just enough for today. After getting ready for the day, he slung his bag over his shoulder and set out for his university.
Later that day when he was returning home, he called his sister in case she wanted him to bring some snacks home. He remembered their stock had finished yesterday.
“Hello Grace. How have things been in the new class?”
“Yo big bro, they aren’t as bad as I thought they would be. Some people are really nice instead.”
“Sounds like you’re getting along with them?”
“Yep, they were really welcoming.”
“It’s good they were accommodating, I would have come over myself if someone troubled my little grace.”
“I am not little, stop calling me that.”
“14 is little.”
“You are just 6 years older than me, what right do you have to call me little?”
“Every right which grants me to treat you however I wish.” And protect you.
“Anyway, why did you call me? I have to go and prepare for some event they’ve planned.”
“Do you want snacks? I remember our snack cupboard was empty when I saw it yesterday morning.”
“Nope, it’s alright. I refilled our stock when I went out in the afternoon yesterday. I bought the other supplies too. And oh yea, I put the new toothpaste in the holder so stop squeezing the life out of the old one. Throw it already, we shouldn’t be that short on money. Bye bye.”
Aiden was too stunned to realize the call had ended. His brain kept going over the same set of words on a loop before he realized.
Grace put the new toothpaste in the holder and not in the cupboard!
He had decided immediately that he couldn’t let his little sister stay at their home any longer.
His fear towards the helping ghost had considerably increased. It wouldn’t have mattered if the ghost was attempting to help him. But if you take into consideration the ghost inconveniencing him beforehand, then try to help him about the same thing. Yup, that’s getting bad really quick. What if the ghost began doing some extreme things in order to get him to accept help? Say, injuring his sister and handing him his phone with the hospital's number dialed? Would he be able to resist it? Like finding another phone to dial from? He knew in his heart it wouldn’t be possible, he couldn’t waste even a second when it came to serious matters regarding his sister.
*****
When he exited the bathroom, he walked over to his closet to don clothes for the day. What greeted his eyes was naturally the picture of his parents as his eyes softened.
There was a picture of a beautiful middle aged couple stuck to the inside of his closet. He gently caressed his hand over them and softly muttered,
“When will you come back?”
His parents weren’t dead, at least he believed they weren’t. They simply went missing. His dad didn’t believe his mum was dead when she inexplicably disappeared one day. Naturally, he also wouldn’t take it as if they were dead when even his dad disappeared one day. He firmly believed they would return. There wasn’t any basis for it. It was simply a hope of a kid towards his parents.
He bowed a little in their direction and prayed, “Bless me for the day.” Then changed into his attire for university.
While changing he also looked at the other door of the closet, it was a group of five children in different costumes, cosplaying different personas. It was his childhood friend group. The same could be said for them, but rather than missing, it was more like they left his life one by one, shifting elsewhere.
Which one of you sent the letter? Are we going to meet?
He heaved a sigh as he thought about Grace. She was the only close one left.
Is it a mistake to let people close to you? Why do they all leave? Why me?
He heaved a sigh as he pushed out the thought which constantly made its way into his mind every time he thought about the close ones he had lost. Could he stop thinking about them though? Definitely not.
He closed the doors of the closet and looked at himself in the mirror to smoothen out minor folds and creases. Slinging the bag over his back, he left his room and locked the door behind him. His room was on the first floor of the bungalow, with usual briskness to his steps, he descended down the stairs.
Just as he took a turn for the kitchen though, his hips collided with a small vase as it abruptly dropped on his leg, shattering upon impact.
Aiden took a sharp breath as he endured the immense pain, letting out a muffled groan in the process. He hopped on one foot over to the bridge as he took out an ice pack and slid down while leaning against the fridge itself.
He inspected his right barefoot. A red swelling had formed where the pain was being transmitted, making him apply the ice pack to soothe his nerves.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
With a confused expression he watched the broken pieces of vase a few distance away, its content spilled across the kitchen and hall. It was mainly the water which kept spreading in contrast to the flowers which were scattered where the vase hit his leg.
His eyes inevitably scanned across the table upon which the vase was placed, it had shifted a little outside.
No wonder I hit the vase, the table isn’t tucked in like usual. If —
His train of thought stopped as his eyes caught sight of cleaning equipment a few distance away. They were extremely out of place.
Instantly his eyes darkened as he cursed, the pain in his leg only intensifying his fury.
Motherfucker! No wonder the table is shifted outside. The ghost did it so all of this could happen. It also placed the cleaning equipment so I could accept its help. Fuck you!
In his anger, he stood up right away and stormed out of the kitchen without bothering about the mess. Putting on his shoes, he left the house and locked it behind him.
“Should have dusted your shoes, little boy.”
A familiar sweet voice made its way to his ears as he turned to look at his neighbor. It was a middle aged lady who was watering the plants of her garden while giving him a smile. He knew she meant no malice and returned the smile despite the recent burst of anger.
“Good morning aunt! I was in a rush so I didn’t pay any heed.”
“Oh c’mon, dusting it takes barely a few seconds. Would you like to come to my house for dinner?”
Aiden faked a few small laughs while replying, “I’ll keep a cloth nearby next time, and thanks for the invitation but I’ll be eating out.”
Aunt Hellen was a good friend of his parents for over a couple decades. They even shifted in this town together. He remembered a few bits of living in a big city before shifting here when he was 6 years old, that was also when his sister was adopted. He knew they had been shifted because the Great Smog took place that year. While reminiscing a bit more, he kept walking towards his university.
Owning private vehicles of any kind like a bicycle, bike, car or anything were banned, only few people, like Hellen and the Mayor of the town could own one. There were serious consequences if you were caught in possession of any. There was only one public bus and ambulance which ran in the town for all things necessary and an additional bus which was for if you wanted to leave the town.
“My neighbors were awfully quiet today.”
He heard a classmate say to his group as he passed by them. It was Kenny, a boy who lived quite far on the edge of the town. He heard him complain about his loud neighbors quite a few times in the past, it was a positive change today it seemed.
When he got to his desk, his buddy was already here. He missed the friends he got close to years ago. Surprisingly all of them had shifted away, that kind of thing was extremely rare after the Great Smog. Over time they had also stopped contacting, Aiden suspected something might have happened to them. Making friends wasn’t difficult, it was letting people close that he couldn’t do anymore. His parents and childhood friends all left his life one by one. His sister was the only close one left by his side and he cared for her with all his heart, afraid that she might leave his life too.
Even before he sat down, he asked if he had gotten information on ghosts. If he couldn’t get rid of it, his life would be always under threat and live on edge.
“Did you get anything?”
“Glad to see you are alive. Did moving away work after all?”
“No it didn’t. The ghost followed me. I survived though, like before, it didn’t do anything except try to help me.”
Yesterday he tried to move away from the house, it was on his own idea but through constant nudging from Elias, he did it sooner than intended.
“Well, that’s strange. Extremely strange. Anyway, there wasn’t anything on ghosts, but there was one classified file on specters. It was much easier to search because I had your keywords to look for, else even if I had more expertise in hacking I wouldn’t be able to find the file.”
Aiden didn’t want to search things like this on the internet, afraid that it might bring some unwanted attention. Instead, he thought of asking Elias for help, not because he wanted to put his friend in trouble but because he might not need to access the internet at all. It was because he was the son of this town’s mayor. He remembered aunt Hellen and Mayor being the only two people to own licenses, they were special. They had the highest probability of having information related to ‘Ghosts’, if at all.
As to why he didn’t just ask aunt Hellen? He did indeed plan to ask her about ghosts today but he figured if Elias managed to bring back any information, he could then ask her to cross check the pieces of data.
“C’mon then, spit it out, what did it say?”
“There weren’t a lot of things, so I copied it quickly before anyone could find me. Look.”
If you come across a specter, don’t panic. Literally. First inform the office of highest power in your area. Specters have conditions to fulfill before they can use their powers. Information is important, try to look for cues. Go through everything the specter has done, or is trying to do. There is almost a fifty percent chance it is trying to fulfill the conditions. Escaping is possible once you figure out the conditions and avoid activating them. Don’t try to fight them.
Specters don’t die.
As soon as he read the piece of information Elias brought back, Aiden began combing through his memories of the ghost — well, specter — and it began clicking in.
Helping me, its target, was a condition to activate whatever power it held. It seems I was on the right path, it was good not to take help from the ghost. But I still did indeed take help from it two times, does that mean when the ghost does activate its powers, it would be of a lesser magnitude because the number of helps I accepted were less? I really hope that’s the case. But if I don’t even know what power it has, it would be useless to count myself in a less dangerous situation.
“Was it useful?”
Elias had a concerned look over his face as he looked at his friend. He was sufficiently outgoing, but he also knew Aiden always brushed off or glossed over when it came to personal matters. He didn’t like anyone getting too close and visibly displayed it to let the person know.
Elias wasn’t dying to get close to him. He helped him purely because it might be related to his sister’s hysteria at home. And he was right, it might just help him with all the problems which had cropped up.
“Yes, it was helpful. Maybe I can be safer against the ghost at home.” Aiden wanted to be light hearted about it but his smile came out a bit stiff and his voice strained.
Elias put the letter back into his bag and assured him, “Maybe try moving out of the town? Or do you want me to assist you with a few people from the police?”
“I don’t have the money to move out of town. And if it’s true that they say the uninhabited places have high chances of monsters appearing, it’s best I resort to traveling across such places only if it was a last choice. Also, like I said, that ghost moves with me, but what if it has a range? I don’t want to risk something happening to me if I make a serious attempt at leaving it. And are you serious about helping?”
When he didn’t hear a reply, Aiden turned, only to witness Elias taking a deep breath, then facing him. He had a serious edge to his voice this time.
“Do you know that murders are happening in the town? And there isn’t a single suspect yet. If everything you spoke of was correct, that ghost might just be the cause of it. You truly did the right thing by sending your sister away, and informing me, even if it was asking for help. But how did you survive the day? Sorry for intruding but I arranged for some police nearby you know. Nothing happened except the ghost helping you indeed.”
Aiden turned, the expression of offense on his face was as clear as it could get. It didn’t help the fact that Aiden hated people poking into his personal life. Elias had both of his hands up as he explained himself.
“Don’t be mad at me. People are dying. I couldn’t stop to consider what you might think about it right? No one knew if the ghost had some kind of mental powers. What if you said what the ghost wanted you to say? I had to place backups in place just to cross check that things happened exactly as you told me.”
His features softened, Aiden could understand why Elias would do that but there was still a bit of unpleasant sensation in his mind. He replied quickly, his voice coming out with a sarcastic tone without him realizing.
“I really did survive by simply not accepting the ghost’s help. Why? Were you hoping I’d die and you get some info? Anyway, were you also hoping I’d be some lab rat by testing if the ghost can move away with me? And if not, put police around my house to monitor me? Oh, wait, this time after taking my permission. Right?”
But if the murders are happening in the town, how is the ghost in my house related to it? As far as I know, random helping began taking place only after the blood moon incident. If the ghost hasn’t done anything to me after 5 days, it's unlikely it would harm other people right? Or did they accept more help from it and therefore crossed some limit which allowed the ghost to attack them? But if the ghost could target multiple people, there was my sister in the house too, who reported no such thing to me. Strange. Are the murders unrelated to the ghost in my house?
Elias shifted uncomfortably in his seat before replying in a firm voice, “I had no such intention when I said that. And the secret surveillance was to provide clues with saving lives, stop being salty about it. Wouldn’t it be good if more people could be saved? If you were to die and I gained some clues due to surveillance, I might be able to save your sister with it.”
Aiden’s expression turned frosty when he heard Elias. As much as he sounded right no matter how twisted it may be, he shouldn’t have bought his sister into it. Yes, he was talking about saving his sister, but that was assuming she was in danger. It didn’t sound good to him.
“I won’t be moving away from the town, even if you give me money to do it. And no thanks, I don’t want your help regarding the police either. Though if you still keep them around, aunt Hellen may be bothered.”
Aiden always knew Elias was the kind who didn’t reject if anyone asked for help. He had given a speech about being the savior of humanity in class for the elocution competition they had when they were little. It seemed he still had that goal, albeit a little twisted.
He had to use aunt Hellen’s name to deter him from approaching his house. After getting the information, Elias was sure that there were creatures known as specters and there was one in his house, given his personality there was a high chance he would stop at nothing to glean information from his situation. He could only hope that Elias would be cautious of people with special licenses, maybe he knew more about them since his dad was one of them.
Elias didn’t reply this time around. The professor entered the classroom later than the usual time and began teaching the class. The government had carefully calculated and allocated families with similar aged children to the same location so that education wouldn’t be an issue. Else it would’ve been difficult to find so many students of the same age in a small town.
I should have asked when the murders began happening, that would’ve given me the clue. But well, chuck it. I still have aunt Hellen I can consult.
It was awkward the entire time as he sat through the class beside Elias with suffocating silence. It was better after the break when they switched places and he talked with a few of his other friends. Judging from Elias’ serious face, the murders were not publicized yet so he refrained from asking around for information.
Wait, now that I think about it. Could it be that Kenny’s neighbors have been murdered? He did say they were awfully quiet today, which was the exact opposite of his constant complaints of them every morning in the class. Hearing about new information really does give a random talk from one of your classmates another perspective.
When all the classes for the day ended, Aiden headed towards aunt Hellen’s home for more information, and possibly a real help this time.