Aiden’s walk towards his neighbor was quiet. His fear towards the helping ghost— oops, specter — 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.

His steps subconsciously slowed down as he began going through all the things the specter has done again. Maybe he missed something? Something which might give him an advantage against the specter? He took one of the outer routes today, one which was utilized by almost none for the past month. He walked along the huge walls which lined the perimeter of this town. They were twice the height of a normal human, with regular thickness.

Every house in the town was designed as a three story bungalow with only a small attic on the third floor. The layout was different, but each house had a plenty of lawn area on all four sides. The less privileged, at least during the time of allotment, lived in 20-30 floor buildings. There were other necessary amenities like healthcare center, marketplace, administrative building to name a few.

He went through his memory in the quiet of surroundings, eager to find a clue he might have missed while looking at the walls. No one felt caged by such walls, the world outside was openly displayed on the internet and the public were free to travel outside if they had enough money. They said the walls were there to protect them from monsters who came to this world after The Great Smog.

Can such lousy walls stop monsters? If I were a monster, it would just be a minor inconvenience to me.

The alleyway up ahead was an unofficial dumpsite which hadn’t been cleaned for a month, making this route less popular. Even if he wanted a quieter surrounding, he didn’t intend to go through the smelly route.

Just as he was about to take a turn, an unusual noise entered his ears. It might have escaped his notice if not for his attention to details. It was why he could conclude the conditions of the ghost at his house without any prior information in the first place.

He wouldn’t have stopped normally, he wasn’t a curious person by nature. Especially not one who followed random sounds but he also felt something different. It was like a void had been opened up inside him all of a sudden, and whatever it was that caught his attention would help with filling it up.

It was an extremely strange situation. He was cautious with such events after the ongoing incident back at home. But if one at home had an inherently unpleasant spooky feeling about it, this one gave off no such vibe.

Should I risk it? Maybe I’ll get more information? I hope it's related to the murders happening in the town, that way I might be able to get Elias off my back if he isn’t deterred by aunt Hellen.

He changed directions and headed into the garbage filled nearby alley where the sound most likely came from. He kept his steps light, not wanting to alert whatever was in there.

“Finally killed this little shit. It was truly difficult, they better pay us good for this.”

“Definitely, fighting him is too mentally fucking taxing. Huff.”

Two voices, one male and one female entered his ears. The former had a grating edge to it, while the latter was on the lower pitch compared to an average female voice. None of them were pleasant to hear, their words included.

Someone was killed?! Fuck!

His heartbeat sped up, but not as much as it would for a usual person. Aiden had high mental tolerance due to his circumstances. Even with strands of cold sweat beginning to trickle down his forehead, he kept calm to avoid blowing up his cover. The feeling of void in him deepened further, confirming that whatever he was supposed to need to fill him up, was here.

But how do I even start with making progress? What’s the thing I need? Where is it? How does it relate to these murderers? Will I still get it if I come here later, after these guys leave?

Immediately after a series of questions popped up in his head, the feeling of void in him lessened. No. It wasn’t one which came because it began filling up. It was simply closing up. It was like an empty box of lunch. What was happening now was simply akin to closing the lid rather than filling the box with food.

But I can’t take a risk, not here, not now.

“It should be done soon, then we can leave this place. I hope we don’t cross that group again. It was a real nightmare.”

‘Should be done soon?’ The void in me is closing too. Do both of these things have some correlation?

“But hey, you can’t deny that they indeed made our job easier. Killing this guy would’ve been much, much more difficult if not for them.”

“Doesn’t matter, it wasn’t a compulsion. We only took up this task to test ourselves. If there wasn’t a chance to succeed we could have always given it up and looked for other tasks.”

A few seconds trickled by as he kept his breathing controlled and movements negligible. He memorized everything they talked about just in case. The void in him kept closing further. He reckoned there wasn’t much time left for him to act.

“Keep an eye out, only a few seconds left, I’ll start preparing to dispose of the corpse.”

The man was going to focus on the corpse and the female should be looking towards the other end of the alleyway first, one which was connected to a frequently used road. He was instead on the other side of an alleyway which was connected to the less frequently used road.

Now.

He quickly took a peek, witnessing the situation. A large bulky man was crouching by the legs of the corpse, his back to him, while as he guessed, the female was currently looking towards the other side. Before hiding back he looked at the upper body of the corpse, which looked to be that of a young man. Its area near the chest was split open, with innards clearly visible. Catching a hint of the female’s movement, he swiftly retracted his head.

What here is supposed to fill my void? There was nothing which stood out.

Just then, a line of words abruptly materialized in his head.

//Found an ability. Unlock?//

What?

His heartbeat sped up. He had never heard of such a thing, not on the internet nor through anyone.

Fuck it. Abilities should be good right?

His heartbeat sped up. There wasn’t an option of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ appearing, but he focused on thinking ‘yes’.

Suddenly, an influx of information entered his mind, making him almost scream before realizing what it was. The void in him felt full now, the lunch box was filled with food rather than closed. But there was another thing, he felt like he lost something too. It was like he spent money to fill his lunch box with food.

I should move out now. These people kill simply because it was tasked by god knows who. They are dangerous. Maybe they are ability users too, if the corpse was one, it just goes to show they even have the capability to kill ability users.

Before he could move a step, the voice of the male voice sounded out again.

“Marsha, could you decompose this corpse? I know you can do it one more time. Even if we have our backing, it would be better if the Bureau doesn’t track us, or even know of us.”

“That would leave us vulnerable.”

“Only for a while, don’t worry about that.”

He had no interest in staying any longer. Steadily, he retreated from the alleyway now that he had what he came for. Gradually though, he sensed something.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

It was something he had never sensed before, turning back, he sensed that whatever it was, it gathered where the man and woman were.

Is it the ability? Very likely! That woman was going to use her ability to decompose the corpse. Does that mean whenever someone uses their ability, the nearby people can sense it? But during their fight, they would have utilized their abilities right? Judging from the distance from which I sensed, there should’ve been at least someone else who sensed it too right?

In the meanwhile, he hurriedly tiptoed towards the nearest turn, and soon rejoined one of the frequently used roads.

Could it be that they are the culprits of murders which Elias talked about? It’s unlikely. It sounded like they came only for this guy, and an encounter with some group made it easier for them to kill this guy. There was no mention of anything else. They might not be related to the murders in the town.

His thoughts continued flowing as he walked on the road, a hand in pocket while the other clutching his bottle which he occasionally took sips from. The midday sun was as ruthless as ever. He took a sip again, moistening his throat as he continued thinking.

Could it be that only other ability users can sense when an ability user nearby is about to use an ability? That feels like a more plausible theory given how their fight remained unknown to the public.

Talking about abilities, the one I unlocked is convenient to use in front of normal people if it's true that only other ability users can sense activation of abilities. I should think of ways in which I can use it though.

/Ability - manifest a weapon using idle mental capacity of beings around you./

He would try it when he was back at home. The vase incident wasn’t quite life threatening enough. He could still use his home, for a couple more days maybe.

Aunt Hellen's house was closing in the distance. Is ability what sets those with special licenses apart from us? Aunt Hellen has a special license.

When he was finally at his neighbor’s house, he took a deep breath and rang the bell. Its muted chime echoed across the lawn. He waited patiently for a few seconds before her voice rang out from the intercom.

“Ah, it’s Aiden! You finally have time to visit this old lady? I am almost done working, you can have some fruits I’ve kept on the table for the time being. I’ve already opened the entrances, close it on your way in.”

“Sorry, I have been busy these days.”

He opened the door and walked in, with thoughts still swirling in his head, he forgot to close the gate behind him.

Will she believe me? About ghosts existing? Am I banking too much on the special license? What if there is nothing too special about people who have them? Elias knew about murders, murders with no suspects even now, so it was easier for him to accept the fact that something like this existed. What about aunt Hellen? My parents and her were close friends, but I don’t have much of a connection with her. When she used to visit our house, we only exchanged a few sentences before going our own way.

Is it right to ask help for a potentially life threatening matter from someone in the first place? Am I not putting their lives in danger in hopes that mine might turn out to be better?

His thoughts were put on a halt as she entered the hall after a few minutes. Hellen Radcliffe wasn’t exactly a beautiful woman, but if you grouped her ordinary face with her clean skin, fit physique, ideal body posture, and a smile which rarely faded when talking to people, you couldn’t help but have positive feelings towards her. She had short black hair, coupled with black eyes which seemed to be always scrutinizing everything around them.

“Hello again, how’s university going?”

“Pretty good. It’s not too difficult to follow the course.”

“Intelligent aren’t ya?”

He gave a hollow laugh, his eyes following her movements as she took out a wine bottle from her cabin and poured herself half a glass. When she reached out for a second one, Aiden refused. Walking towards the sofa, she seated herself and took a sip before asking, “So? What brings you here? You look tense. Your parents and I were really close friends, you can keep your worries aside if some problem has cropped up. I would always help you.”

She is really good. Should I tell her?

Hellen didn’t pressure the young man but calmly sipped her wine. The notice she had gotten was slightly worrying, she had her own matters to attend to now. But she wouldn’t deny help to Aiden, as her previous sentence of being close friends with his parents was as true as it could get.

Finally, after going through a bit of struggle, Aiden said, “Aunt, would you believe me if I said there was a ghost at my house?”

Hellen’s eyes narrowed after hearing the word which couldn’t possibly be more familiar to her.

A ghost! And that too in his house?

“I do. I know quite a bit about them.”

Aiden sighed in relief. Aunt Hellen knowing about specters was undoubtedly a good thing for him. When asked to tell her everything he knew about it, he gave all the details he could remember from his weird encounters at home.

“There is also this information Elias brought back from his father’s computer.”

Saying so, he also told her about it.

“Brenden? Figures, he should have it too, but what he was told is incomplete. The Bureau deliberately does this.”

“That means you should know more, right? Is there a way to combat specters? The information Elias brought mentioned these creatures as specters.”

Hellen downed the entire remaining wine in one go and put the glass on a table nearby as she relaxed into her sofa.

“Look, there’s something you need to know about. Me and your parents used to hunt these creatures.”

Aiden's eyes widened. Speechless, he could only stare at her before he thought of something else.

Maybe she knows something about the disappearance of my parents?

“And no, I don’t know what happened to them. At least I wasn’t notified of a ghost nearby when they went missing. I even inquired in the Bureau but they had no good conjecture as to why they disappeared. We could only guess it might be a delayed effect of one of the ghosts we faced in the years we spent hunting them.

“Sorry about your loss again, but I’ll address the issue at hand. This is the second thing I should tell you about, keep thinking of these creatures as ghosts, not specters. The one in your house doesn’t seem to be too dangerous so we’ll be going to face it.

“We were told this at the Bureau when we were undergoing important instructions of what to do when facing ghosts. It’s that whoever who goes against ghosts is to think of them as ghosts and not specters. I know, it's confusing when the same Bureau also sends messages to consider them as Specters. But that’s for the common public.

“Brenden isn’t one of the people who faces off against ghosts. People like them who only have access to such information because of their position are told to think of them as specters and are given incomplete information.”

Aiden listened to everything with a blank look on his face. A few seconds after she finished speaking, he replied, “So… I am to keep thinking of them as ghosts. Why is it so though? What would that change? And why are the common populace given incomplete information? What is the whole information anyway?”

“I don’t know this either. It’s what the Bureau told us to do, and the same thing I’ll pass on to you. You can ask the Bureau yourself about why they do so but I doubt they’ll give you the answer.”

Hellen then went through the information in her head and addressed the issues one by one.

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.

“First, like I said, it’s ghosts, not specters. Second, there is a fifty percent chance it is trying to fulfill the conditions. True. But the other fifty percent? The information didn’t tell you that, did it?”

I didn’t even think in that direction.

“Nope.”

“The remaining fifty percent of chance is it might be trying to avoid the drawbacks, side effects, or after effects of the skill. Whatever you wanna call it.”

“Side effects?”

“Yup. There are conditions it has to fulfill in order to use its power, or you can call it ability. There are also side effects which it goes through after or while using its ability, and some ghosts also go through side effects while fulfilling the conditions. You say you haven’t seen the ghost with your own eyes yet right?”

After processing what he learnt along with the information he had on the ghost, he replied, “Yes. Do you mean it’s most likely deliberately hiding to deal with the side effects of its ability?”

“You are quick to catch on. It could indeed be the case, because typical ghosts show immense aggression towards all species. They use their abilities in tandem with their physical attack on the target. Cases like this where they hide from the target are mostly when their ability demands it or they’re dealing with side effects, you don’t need to know the rest of the cases right now.

“As for what situation the ghost in your house falls under, we’ll soon know when we confront it. We don’t even know if it's in your house, but yours is the only one under the influence of that ghost which I can search through since I have your permission. There is no such thing happening in my house, I’ll even ask a few of my acquaintances later just to be sure.”

“Do you mean there is also a chance hiding is one of the conditions it is fulfilling along with trying to help me in order to activate its abilities? So doesn’t that mean —”

A voice familiar to Aiden intervened from the side. It was Elias who had barged into the house.

“Madam Hellen, I have news to convey to you, and also ask for your help if possible. Can I —”

“So what I was telling was, doesn’t that mean —”

“Oye, we are t—”

Aiden had a visible look of annoyance as he turned his head to face Elias and snapped, “I am sorry, did the middle of my sentence interrupt the beginning of yours?”

Hellen chuckled at the smart taunt, looking at the two of them with eyebrows raised as she thought,

Would be interesting to tackle problems with them.