Ridley ran. He ran before and he ran again. The gunfire was all around him. Faces started to protrude from the trees. Voices shouting and whispering pleds of mercy slipped through the thick tree branches and into his ears. He slapped his hands over his ears.

“Stop it!” He shouted at the trees. He could feel his heart racing with fear and anxiety. “Leave me alone!” He continued to cry out. For a brief moment he felt like he was back on the battlefield with the echoing booming sound of cannons rocketing overhead.

“Murderer...coward.” The voices replied back to him. He could only scream and continue to run. He didn’t see the gnarled branch protruding from the ground that caught his leg. He fell to the ground hard. He felt warm liquid drip out of his mouth as he picked himself up. The voices were still all around him. He drew the pistol he had and held it up.

“Go away!” He shouted. The voices suddenly twisted together and started to speak in unison. Together they created a voice Ridley thought he’d never hear again.

“Ridley…” The new voice called out. Sweat poured from Ridley’s forehead as he turned around and was faced with a grim shadowy figure. “Ridley...why?” The voice said to him. Ridley very well knew who the voice sounded like.

“No…” He said with terror in his eyes. “You’re not real. Larry is dead!” He said as he gritted his teeth.

“I am real. Real as the day you shot me.” The voice said.

“No...You can’t be.” Ridley said as his voice trembled with sadness. He turned his head away from the figure in shame and guilt. Tears started to form in his eyes. “You’re not real. You’re not Larry. Larry died.”

“After you shot me. I was very much alive before that.”

“Stop it!” Ridley barked as he turned his head to face the figure.. “It’s not my vault that you died. I didn’t want you to die.” He said with tears rolling down the side of his face. “I wanted to find you a doctor. I wanted to get you some help. But there was no one else around!” He shouted.

The figure before him started to shimmer. “And yet you still picked up the rifle. And aimed it at me.” The figure said as it gestured towards its chest.

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Ridley covered his face with his hand and started to weep. He dropped down to his knees. The figure started to approach him.

“You murdered me and then you ran away. You didn’t think about your family. You didn’t care. You selfishly ran away. There is no hope for a poor soul such as yourself.” The voice said as it pointed to the pistol in Ridley’s hand. “You must atone for your crimes. A bullet...for a bullet.”

“I...I..” Ridley said. He tried to form a sentence. He tried to object but nothing came out. His hand seemed to be operating on its own as his thumb cocked the hammer back and raised the pistol to his head.

“Yes…” Ridley mumbled as his lips quivered in fear.

“Yes” The voice said in a dry raspy voice.

Ridley let out a roar as his finger pulled the trigger. In the flash he dodge his head out of the way, only causing the bullet to graze the side of his head. The loud bang of the gun and the ringing in his ear assured him that he was somewhat still conscious. He flopped over to his side and dropped the pistol. His vision blurred for a second as the ringing in his ears slowly dissipated. He could feel the burning pain on the side of his head and the warmness of the blood trickling down the side of his head and tarnishing the soil. He let out another roar and shoved himself off the ground and stood up. The figure started to shimmer once again but said nothing.

“Yes! I did it. Yes, I fucking shot you.” Ridley said with tears in his eyes. “I did it because I wanted to give you a quick death. I did it cause you were slowly dying. I did it to end your suffering. Was I wrong? No!.” Ridley said as he wiped the tears from his face. “You were dead the moment you took a bullet to the belly and you fucking knew it. That’s why you asked me. That’s why you asked me to shoot you and I did it. You were my friend, you son of a bitch! And it still hurts what I had to do. I can’t even look at the scar on my shoulder without remembering that horrible day.” Ridley said as he kicked the pistol away. “What I did was an act of mercy. And I was so scared, so terrified at what I did, I ran away. I ran all the way to Lousianna and got press ganged by pirates. But I’m done with that. I’m going home and nothing is going to stop me. I will go home and face the consequences of my deeds.” Ridley said with a tone of bravado. “So take your stupid ghost self and get the fuck out of here.”

The figure shimmered once more and suddenly disappeared. Color sprouted from the ground where the figure stood. It was a glow of reds, blues and yellows. Suddenly the world around him shifted from gray back to color. The trees reverted back to their normal selves and the sky gave off a pink hue. Silence filled the air. Ridley looked down where the figure stood and saw several blackened evergreen branches sticking out of the ground. Little bits of smoke were emitting from it. Ridley blinked and turned around and noticed that he was standing on top of a grassy hill.

“Brushweed I’m guessing.” He said as he wiped the blood from his face. Ridley crouched down and plucked the Brushweed from the ground.

“Ding.” Leaf whispered into his ear. Ridley stood up and looked around, expecting to see Leaf. But he was alone.

“This fuckin place.” He said as he tucked the Brushweed gently in his bag. He took another look around.

“Larry...wherever you are. I sure as hope you’re having an easier time than me, buddy.” Ridley said with a weak smile as he started to walk down the hill.

“But since it fell into my lot that I should rise and you should not. I’ll gently rise and softly call goodnight and joy be to you all.” Ridley whispered to himself.