CHAPTER 8

Since waking up dead, Michael had spent most of his days alone. For that he’d been grateful: no distractions. Giving him plenty of time to do what he’d become very good at: seeking out and fighting evil supernatural beings in the hope that they’d be of use to him during his search for the truth. Not that he was ever into company all that much, even before his death. He’d had lots of friends and acquaintances due to the nature of his career and had been fortunate enough to enjoy many of life’s luxuries. But his success had attracted many people.
He’d had enough of all the fake friends who’d admired his status more than anything else.
There was none of that now Being who or what he was now, the only human interaction he’d had was when he’d needed something from them. He’d used people, taken advantage of kindness that was offered to him on many occasions, and tried his hardest to remain alone. He’d even dated the odd female to get information; of course, that never lead to anything more than a movie, dinner or a midnight stroll. There had never been so much as a kiss between him and the few females he’d interacted with. They, on the other hand, had been more than willing, but for him it was just business and nothing more. As soon as he was satisfied that they were of no more help to him, those people were quickly forgotten about, never seeing or hearing from him again.

Well, that is, except for one person: Evo. His go-to man whenever he needed a little back up. A human whom he now considered a friend and a person he could trust with his life, or. . . death. Whatever.

The last he’d seen of him was about three months ago when he’d been in Colorado on the hunt. He’d needed a little help with a Djin that had been sapping the life out of some of the clients of a small bar on the outskirts of the city. Michael had never encountered one before and hadn’t liked the look of it either. He’d needed as much information as possible about the son of a bitch before he’d dare attempt to take him on. His friend knew a lot about the supernatural world and the things that shared the earth with them now. Evo was a living, breathing, demon encyclopedia, but he hadn’t always been that way. His life had been on a downward spiral until one day, in Ohio nearly nine months ago, Michael saved his life.

His mind went back to that rainy night in January.

"Michael had only been in his new body for a little over a month and was still adjusting to it. It was a whole new experience for him after being ethereal for the first part of his new existence and he was still finding it hard to accept the way things were for him now. The why, however, was still yet to be discovered and Michael had made it his sole purpose to find out who, or what, had killed him.

He’d hunted high and low, crossed many states and cities, searched through the dregs of the underworld for the kind of creatures he was hoping to get information from but all he’d encountered were a handful of wraiths which were, quite frankly, useless at giving information. And then there were the endless lost spirits that wandered the streets and buildings trapped in a world that was neither life nor death; some for all eternity, others, until they found peace with whatever was keeping them there.

After a few days in Cleveland, Michael had become restless. He’d spent his days scouring the local papers and internet news sites for signs of unusual activity−all to no avail−until one night after he’d re-acquainted himself with Mr Daniels in a small, dingy bar on the corner of 9th Street and Sumner.

He’d propped up the bar feeling sorry for himself for the past hour, unsure what to do next, until his ears pricked at a conversation between two men who were sitting at the opposite side. A thin, red-haired man was talking about something that had gone down last night at one of the clubs downtown.

Michael wasn’t really paying much attention, but from what he gathered, it was your usual, city nightlife stuff: police cornering a man in an alleyway after some sort of altercation. The guy was found crouched over a stiff−nothing unusual about that.

As redhead went on, Michael ordered another JD without the coke this time.

One thing he’d discovered about his new self was that he could drink and drink and it hardly affected him, much to his annoyance. Well, he was determined to keep going tonight until it did.

The female behind the bar placed a napkin in front of him, followed by his order. As he looked up at her, she winked and a flirtatious smile graced her lips.

“There you go handsome.” Her hand lingered on his glass, then she stroked her finger up the side seductively. Michael just about managed to raise the side of his mouth, then went back to ignoring her, supping back the frosty contents in one.

“Apparently the guy was all kinds of crazy,” he heard redhead saying to his overweight buddy sat beside him. They reminded him of a couple of characters from Cheers.

“Yep. They usually are,” his buddy said.

“This guy more so. Jock was there when they hauled him off. He said the guy was protesting his innocence, and then he shouted something about a big guy with red eyes, dressed in black, who’d just disappeared in front of him.”

Michael looked over at the men.

Plump-guy laughed. “It takes all sorts.”

Well, now their conversation just got interesting.

“Hey!” Michael shouted over to Norm and Cliff over the bar. “Did they take him downtown?”

“What d‘ya say man?” redhead grunted, clearly wondering why their private conversation had just been interrupted.

“The crazy guy? Did they take him downtown?”

“Uh. Yeah,” he scoffed. His buddy looked equally annoyed.

Michael took no notice. He held up a twenty to Blondie behind the bar, slammed it down next to his empty glass and left without saying another word.
Standing in the doorway of an unused building,
Michael watched the doors to the precinct across the street through a thick blanket of rain. A few hours outside the police department and there was still no sign of the man he’d heard about at the bar, so he could only assume they were holding him overnight which would make things way more complicated.

Michael could hardly walk in and ask to have a private conversation with the guy. He was going to have to think about breaking him out of there.

Just as he was about to head over there, he hung back as a young male, around 6ft, with scruffy, brown hair came through the double doors and walked down the steps from the building. He hadn’t seen the guy enter the precinct and as he was dressed in a scruffy denim jacket with a hooded sweatshirt underneath and dark colored cargo pants, he assumed he wasn’t an employee.

He had to be the guy he’d been waiting for.

Michael pulled his hood over his head, crossed the heavy traffic, and followed him making sure he kept his distance. The man took a left at the end of the street. He was clearly on edge; jumping with every noise. His head darted around in all directions, no doubt making sure he wasn’t being followed.

Fortunately, he hadn’t spotted Michael. He turned right, heading down an alleyway up ahead between a couple of rundown apartment blocks. Michael picked up his pace a little so he didn’t lose him.

He followed the man into the alleyway still staying well back so as not to startle the guy. A foul smell of human garbage filled the air as Michael passed a row of dilapidated dumpsters on the left side. Just then, he felt a strange shiver run up his spine, which stopped him in his tracks. He watched as the man he’d been tailing also halted.

The man’s head crept around. Michael hurried to a dumpster and crouched down beside it, peering over the top where he could see the man scanning the darkness like he’d sensed that someone was watching him.

“Hello! Is someone there?” He heard the stranger say.

The sensation that Michael had felt just then began to get stronger, a coldness creeping up his spine and heightening his senses. It was familiar to him. He’d felt it before just before fighting one of the many creatures he’d battled over the last few months. But what was causing it this time?

Chapter 7 cont

November 2nd, 1996.

She pictured her sister’s face. Her long wavy brown hair had run half way down her back and her squeaky laugh had always made Lacy smile. They’d run around in the patch of wasteland at the back of their small town house in Chelmsford where they’d lived with their mother Sheila. There had been just the two of them at home the day the accident happened which was nothing unusual. Their mother thought nothing of leaving a twelve year old and a nine year old at home alone while she went to work. Of course, Lacy discovered much later that work actually meant working on some gentleman in his fancy apartment across town, but at the time she thought Sheila worked shifts at a local pub. Lacy found out a couple of years after her sister’s death that, in actual fact, her mother was nothing but a high class hooker who pleasured lonely businessmen.

Although Sheila was always in and out of the house, she would always make sure that there was food prepared for them, mostly sandwiches and stuff to reheat in the microwave, and that the cupboards were well stocked. She was out of the house a lot and if anything, it made Lacy and her sister Beth’s relationship stronger. They were close and Lacy would always do whatever she needed to do to look after her Their house had been small: a two up, two down affair that had the bare minimum as far as furniture was concerned. Lacy and Beth had shared a bedroom which had been painted lilac when they were much younger. Their mother had painted a rainbow on the wall between their beds which made the room feel a little brighter and cheerier than it actually was. Lacy remembered the small lamp, that had sat on the bedside table in between their beds, that she’d put stickers all over. The bulb inside it was dim and she’d always made sure it was on when they were in bed until Beth fell asleep because Beth was afraid of the dark. There was no garden to speak of, just a small concrete yard with a tall gate leading to an alley, across which was their playground: an empty plot of land that had a chain link fence around it. There was a part of the fence that had been cut and even though they weren’t supposed to leave the back yard, whenever Sheila went out to work the pair of them would go in there to play, but they knew never to leave the alley, not with the busy road at the end of it.
Lacy desperately wished that she could go back in time and not let Beth out of her sight that day like she had done. But there was no changing the past no matter how hard you wished for it.
The hardest part of remembering was the pain that she’d gotten so good at hiding away. She never let herself think about it which was the only way she stayed sane and how she’d managed to get through every day, even sixteen years later. But today, here in this hospital, she was failing miserably. It was too familiar, too tragic, and was triggering every memory she’d ever shut out.
"She squeezed her eyes shut as she thought back to that day."
Lacy wanted some tinned custard. Beth was in the yard outside playing catch with a tennis ball so Lacy had gone into the kitchen, straight into the cupboard and grabbed a tin of ready-made custard. Remembering how her mother had done it, she reached for the tin opener, placed it in position at the edge of the tin and squeezed the two handles shut. The metal point pierced the tin and she twisted the handle around over and over until the lid snapped off.
She got a small pan from the bottom cupboard, poured the contents of the tin into it and placed it on top of one of the rings on the electric cooker. She turned the dial to half way. As she waited for the custard to heat up, she looked through the small kitchen window and saw Beth crouched down stroking the tabby cat from two doors down. She watched as the cat arched its back to her and walked around in circles enjoying Beth’s affection. She reached into the cupboard by the sink and grabbed two small bowls.
As she looked up from what she was doing, she noticed that the back gate was now open. Immediately she went to the back door and saw that Beth had followed the cat out into the alley. She went straight out and yelled at her to come back into the yard. Beth protested and continued to stroke the cat.
“You’re not allowed out of the yard without me, now come back in before. . . ” Lacy remembered she’d left the custard on the heat and ran back in the kitchen, just catching it before the whole contents had boiled over the side.
It was a mess. She poured what was left in the two bowls and put the pan into the sink. She took two spoons from the drawer and put one in each bowl, pleased at how grown up she felt.
She went to the back door and shouted to Beth. She couldn’t see her anywhere. The gate was still open, but Beth was out of sight. She stepped into the alley and when she realized how far Beth had gone, she gasped and then called out to her sister, as all she saw was Beth running towards the main road after that stupid cat. . .

Lacy’s hand went to her mouth, holding back her sobs, as what happened next played out in slow motion in her mind: running down the alley after Beth, her shouts for her sister to stay where she was falling on deaf ears as Beth followed the cat between some parked cars and straight out into the road.
What happened after that was still quite blurry except for the vision of little Beth lying in the road with people rushing around her. Lacy remembered that far too clearly. Her memories flicked through her mind like a movie on fast forward, only picking out the bits that she’d hung on to: the driver of the car who was in shock with his hands in his hair, who had a look of sheer horror on his face; the ambulance crew running to her sister’s side, the panic, her mother in hysterics in the hospital waiting room as some stranger−she still didn’t know to this day who he was. . . probably one of her mother’s clients−tried to calm her down. Then came the worst memory of all: the doctor coming into the room and telling her mother that Beth was gone.

The sensation of a wet tear travelling down her cheek brought her back to the present. It had been a while since she’d thought of that day. No matter how distant it now was, it didn’t get any easier. The pain was still very much the same. Only now, she was much better at locking it away

Her head fell back against the wall.
She closed her eyes and thought about Nina, who had been in a similar position on the ground as her sister had all those years ago. She wasn’t religious−who could blame her? Her faith had been taken away that day in the hospital when she’d told herself there couldn’t possibly be a god. Not if someone so precious to her could be snatched away so cruelly. Despite this, she silently prayed. Please God, if you are there, let Nina survive this.
As if by coincidence−because that’s all it could have been−the double doors in front of her burst open. She stood up rigid as the gurney that Nina was lying on was wheeled out and into the corridor by a tall man dressed all in white and a nurse walking by his side. A man in green scrubs followed soon after and walked straight over to Lacy. His name tag was pinned to his breast pocket and he was removing a paper face mask that dangled from one ear.

“Miss Holloway?” he asked as he held out a hand to her. She nodded. “Hi.

I’m Doctor Green, Nina’s surgeon.”
She was surprised how young he was. His short, salt and pepper hair was out of place atop his young features “Hi,” was about all she could manage to say as she shook his warm hand.

“We’ve managed to stabilize her but her condition is still critical. The impact of the fall had caused some internal bleeding in her abdomen, which we’ve managed to stop. She has a couple of broken bones: a break in her left tibia and another in her left femur. But we’re more worried about the swelling in her frontal lobe. We’ve managed to release some of the pressure from around the area, and the swelling seems to have reduced slightly, but we will need to keep a very close eye on her.”
Lacy exhaled a long breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, remembering that she did still need to breathe if she wanted to remain vertical.

The situation was too similar to her sister’s all those years ago and she realized she wasn’t handling things very well. “I want to stay with her.”

“Of course. They’re just about to take her up to ICU. Go and get yourself a coffee and some fresh air and give them time to get her settled.” The doctor placed his hand on her arm and in a kind voice said, “She’ll be well looked after here.”

Lacy smiled as best she could.

Dranoid:
Yippee!!!
Preciousbouy is back!
The story is still interesting.


You didn't even mention any of us to come and continue from where you left.

sorry about that my gees them

Chapter 7

Lacy paced up and down the empty corridor praying for some news. She was still shaking from the ride in the ambulance. Seeing the medical staff fighting for Nina’s life in the back of that vehicle was pretty harrowing to say the least.
She’d sat stone-still watching as they cut Nina’s clothes open then stuck needles into her skin as one of them used an air bag to pump oxygen into her lungs. She was sure she’d nearly passed out on more than one occasion, but managed to stay conscious for the rest of the journey.
Nina had been in the OR for nearly two hours. There was no doubt she was in a bad way. The fact that she was still alive was a miracle in itself, after the distance she’d fallen. Jumped? Oh, God. Lacy struggled to push the image of her lying on the ground from her mind as she choked back a sob. The fact that Nina had no one there for her made things worse. Lacy had tried to find someone to contact−family member or a friend, but according to Miss Taylor, who she’d spoken to when she’d called the Dean’s office, there was only one name listed as her next of kin and the number on file was unreachable. That poor girl whom she’d sat next to in the ambulance−her life slipping away from her with every second−had no one.Lacy leaned against the cold cream wall opposite the double doors that Nina had been rushed through. Her arms were folded around her chest as she waited anxiously. The sparse corridor was quiet for the most part, except for the occasional nurse who would come through the doors and rush down the long empty space, each time making Lacy stand to attention in the hope that theywere bringing Nina back through with good news.

But it was a lot better than sitting around in the waiting area like she had to begin with. The harsh memory from her past back in England had already started to rear its ugly head so she’d left the stark room pretty quickly, not wanting to relive the last time she’d spent hours waiting for news in a room that looked so similar.

But it was too late.

Memories she’d locked away for such a long time had already begun to creep back into her head, reigniting feelings of dread similar to that day, back when she was just a young girl. Sitting in that room on her own, waiting for news, had made her remember that day as though it were yesterday; only then, the patient had been her sister.
Her beautiful younger sister had been taken through similar looking doors nearly sixteen years ago, but she hadn’t lived for long after she’d been wheeled back out of them. Lacy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The anniversary of her sister’s death was approaching; a time that she more than dreaded every year.

CONTINUATION

While the creature passed through the unknowing crowd, Michael approached Lacy and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Stay with her. I’ll be right back.” His voice was almost a whisper.
She nodded to him, tears still falling down her cheeks, leaving watery streaks in her makeup.
Michael kept his distance as he followed the black form which had now floated around the corner of the dorm building and towards the football field. Before it reached the edge of the building it suddenly changed direction, sweeping down an alleyway and disappearing from sight. Michael rushed over. Keeping his back pressed up against the wall at the side of the alley, he leant his head and peered around an open metal gate which, he assumed, would normally be locked because he noticed a piece of chain which had been cut.He watched patiently as the haze passed through the wall of a prefabricated utility shed that stood next to a couple of green dumpsters at the other end of the alley. Michael hung back waiting to see what would happen next.

In the year since Michael had returned to this world he had seen many things. Although the memories of what had happened to him were just flashes of jumbled images in his nightmares, he knew he wasn’t the only one to walk the earth in the afterlife (or whatever it was). He’d witnessed many things so was well aware that there were demons and spirits everywhere−hell, he’d encountered enough of them−but this thing, however, was new; to his eyes anyway.
He was about to give up the ghost (pun intended) and head down the alley when the utility shed door began to open. He watched intently, not paying muchattention to the sound of sirens that grew louder in the background, as a figure walked out from behind the door.

"Son of a bitch!"

It was Jake. At least, it was his body, but he very much doubted that Jake was aware of much in there. He was in a trancelike state as he paused and stared ahead. Then his whole body began to shake coming to an abrupt stop before his eyes closed and he stood stock-still. Then the young man’s head quickly turned and his eyes opened and fixed on Michael.

“Shit!” he gasped as he pulled back behind the wall.
There was no doubt that Jake was possessed by that thing−a demon of some sort, he guessed−which meant things just got a whole lot more complicated.

Michael quickly headed back towards the scene where Nina was now strapped to a gurney which was being lifted into the ambulance. The medics still worked on her once they were inside, placing needles in her arm, attaching wires to machines, and one placed an oxygen mask over her face. She was still gripping on to her life, but only just, by the looks of things.
He walked up to Lacy, who was standing watching in distress. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at him. “How’s she doing?” he asked.“She’s holding on.” She sniffed as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “I’m going to go with her to the hospital.”

“Sure. I’ll let the department know.”

Lacy’s lip curled as she attempted a smile. “Thank you,” she said as she climbed inside the ambulance and sat on the bench seat next to Nina. The doors were pushed closed and Michael inhaled deeply as he watched the ambulance pull away, its sirens blaring then fading off into the distance.
He had work to do, and it wasn’t going to be easy.
As the crowd of onlookers dispersed, he reached into his jacket pocket and grabbed his cell phone while he headed back to his room. He flipped it open andscrolled through his small list of contacts until he reached the name he was looking for: Evo, His one and only friend. He hadn’t spoken to him in a while, but he sure as hell needed to now.
“Mike.” A familiar voice said through the phone.
“Hey buddy. I have a situation here that I’m gonna need your help with.”

He looked at her, brows drawn tight, and she could tell he’d sensed that something was wrong. “What is it? You look a little pale.”
“I’ve just seen Nina, out by the parking lot. She seemed to be in some kind of altercation with that guy she was with yesterday, the one you were concerned about.” She explained how the boy was acting towards Nina and how he’d practically dragged her with him. “Michael. There was something wrong with his eyes. I know it’s probably nothing but. . . I’m really worried for her.”
Michael shot to his feet and began clearing his desk, shoving everythinginside the top drawer and locking it. “Where was this? How long ago?”
“Five minutes at the most, over by the admin building. I came straight here.”
He threw his jacket on and shoved his keys into his pocket. “I need to find them. Where were they headed?”
“Towards the quad. I’ll go with you.”
They reached the quad and both stopped to scan through the busy lunchtime crowds. Even though there was a biting chill in the air, the sun was shining which meant half the campus was outside enjoying the sunshine while they grabbed some down time between classes. The quad and the green were both busy, making it harder to spot them.
There was no sign of either of them as Michael and Lacy rushed towards the student accommodation buildings. They’d rounded the corner, passed the admin building when they heard a loud scream up ahead. Lacy began to run towards John Blake House, the last building on the edge of the parking lot. “I think it came from over here,” she shouted back to Michael as she sprinted towards the main entrance, following the many other people that were now running over to see what had happened. Lacy became more anxious as she approached the crowd that had gathered in front of the building, preparing herself for what she feared she was going to see. She pushed through the crowd, Michael right behind her, and choked back a sob, bringing both her hands to her mouth.
* * *

Michael pushed passed Lacy only to have his suspicions confirmed as things came into view. He immediately pulled Lacy into his arms, holding her head against his chest as she sobbed. Mr Grace from the football coaching staff was attending to a body lying on the ground.

"Nina."
She was lying on her stomach, her body splayed out and her eyes closed.
He looked on as Mr Grace placed his fingers to her neck, feeling for a sign of life. “Someone call for an ambulance! She’s still alive,” he urged.

Lacy turned around, keeping hold of Michael’s arm, which she squeezed as she looked on with tears rolling down her face. She let go and joined Mr Grace at Nina’s side. She placed her hand on the young woman’s head and began to stroke her hair gently. “Hold on Nina. Help will be here soon honey.” Her voice trembled.

Michael looked up at the dorm building and spotted the wide-open window from where Nina must have jumped. He scanned the crowd of onlookers to see if he could see Jake, but there was no sign of him. This was too much of a coincidence. Jake was, in some way, connected to this and there was no doubt in Michael’s mind that he would find out how.

He looked back at Nina’s body lying limp on the asphalt and just then saw something unexpected.
What the. . . ?
A mist began to rise up out of her before hovering inches over her body like a cloud of black smoke. Michael’s eyes scanned the crowd and as he suspected, he was the only one who could see it. Being dead had its advantages. The smoke became darker, more visible, and began to transform. The cloud shifted at one end and a face began to emerge right above Nina’s head. Its face was distorted, like nothing he’d seen before: demonic, with pained, twisted features that grew more solid with each passing second. All Michael could do was watch as the form began to lift higher.
Lacy and Mr Grace were still by Nina’s side, thankfully unaware of what was in front of them.
Moving slowly, the non-corporeal being gradually pulled itself further away from her. It twisted around to face Nina’s unconscious body and seemed to glance at her before drifting towards the crowd who were also oblivious to what was happeningAfter all of this time trying to find something−anything that would lead to who or what was causing the students to jump to their deaths−there it was right in front of him. Now all he had to do was find out why. One thing was for sure:
it hadn’t noticed him, which made things a whole lot easier. There was no way Michael was going to let it out of his sight.

nightcrawler123:
Out in the parking lot she reached her silver Ford Focus, clicked the lock to open the trunk, and placed the files inside finally freeing her arms from the week’s heavy work load. It was going to take her all night to get through that much work and she wasn’t feeling in the best of moods.
Just as she reached up to close the trunk she paused at the sound of a distressed female voice. Slowly peering around her car she saw Nina, the dark haired girl who Michael had been concerned about, with the same young man whom she’d been with yesterday morning in the canteen. They were arguing about something.
“Just stay away from me!” Nina demanded as she began to walk ahead of the man.
Lacy watched discreetly, staying behind her car and hoping they wouldn’t notice her.
He caught up with Nina, grabbed her arm and swung her around so she was facing him. Lacy didn’t like how rough he was being.
He caught up with Nina, grabbed her arm and swung her around so she was facing him. Lacy didn’t like how rough he was being.
“Let go of me!” Nina cried.
The young man’s expression changed to something Lacy couldn’t decipher: a look of anger? No. . . Hate. Lacy gasped and quickly put her hand to her mouth. She continued to watch as he bent down towards Nina so his face was inches away from hers and appeared to growl something at her through clenched teeth, his eyes were fierce but he spoke too quietly for Lacy to hear.
She watched as Nina’s expression changed in an instant. Strangely, she seemed to relax and nodded at him without saying a word. He turned her around and began to walk with her; his hand gripped tightly around her arm. Her face was bank, almost trance-like as they disappeared around the corner out of viewWhat the hell. . . ? She remembered what Michael had said to her yesterday.
He’d been worried about the young woman’s change in personality and the fact that she was hanging around with that young man. She’d told him not to worry, that it was probably nothing. But after witnessing what she just had, she knew Michael was right to be worried. Okay. It’s not like she’d never seen young couples argue and fight before, but this was something more than that. That look in his eyes was frightening−so full of anger like nothing she’d ever seen before. For a moment she thought about following them, but stopped herself.
She had to tell Michael straight away.
She reached Michael’s classroom moments later. The door was open. She was just about to knock when she saw him leaning on his desk, his fingers pinching the skin between his brows similar to how he’d been yesterday. “Oh, sorry. I don’t mean to disturb you,” she said, unsure if she should trouble him right now as he already looked strung out.
Michael looked up at her. “Hey. No. It’s fine. Come in. Just feeling a little tired I guess.” He smiled at her from his seat and she felt a little guilty for persuading him to sleep on her sofa last night.
She closed the door behind her and walked over to him knowing that his day was maybe just about to get a little worse. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

I posted it from my other account

Out in the parking lot she reached her silver Ford Focus, clicked the lock to open the trunk, and placed the files inside finally freeing her arms from the week’s heavy work load. It was going to take her all night to get through that much work and she wasn’t feeling in the best of moods.
Just as she reached up to close the trunk she paused at the sound of a distressed female voice. Slowly peering around her car she saw Nina, the dark

Osasnidas:
quote me when it's out o..

hey guys will be updating today.... so sorry for the delay and please it won't be on a daily basis cuz ain't got a phone yet... but I promise to try my best and continue the story....
#updatinginabit

sorry guys so sorry for the delay but will soon be back with your story... thanks

hey guys sorry I haven't posted in a while, my phone got spoilt so for the main time I won't be posting till I repair my phone... sorry for the In convinences

chiexcel:
Pls update na or u want to forsake d story.

Of course not, the story must continue..... Sorry for the delay....

Sorry peeps I tried re-uploading the chapter 6 again but I don't know why nairaland is cutting my short.... So not happy about this....

CHAPTER SIX

“Okay, don’t forget your assignments need to be in by the end of this week.”

Lacy raised her voice to her hurried students as they left the class. She packed up her files from her desk, relieved that she had a couple of hours before the next lecture. It was a little after one in the afternoon and her stomach grumbled loudly, reminding her that she’d hardly eaten a thing since leaving the house with Michael that morning. A piece of fruit wasn’t sufficient enough for a day’s work, especially with the day she’d had so far. But truthfully, she hadn't even been able to think of food let alone eat any. Her stomach was just too sensitive today. Add to that the shame of her near emotional breakdown in front of a work colleague, she barely knew and her day could only get better. Right?

She grabbed her purse and threw it over her shoulder, picked up a large stack of files and made her way to her car. As she walked through the double doors to the outside, she winced at the bright sunshine, squinting as a blast of pain shot through her temple; the effects of last night’s highly embarrassing, drunken stupor refusing to wane. Why did I allow myself to drink that much?

She huffed. She’d actually enjoyed herself up until that point. Michael had turned out to be good company which was a pleasant surprise. She’d always thought he seemed a little serious, but she’d seen another side trying to creep through last night, even if she had sensed him holding it back.

And then there was this morning. She flushed as she recalled seeing him almost naked on her sofa. His body was pale, but surprisingly well defined with tight muscle in all the right places. He clearly looked after himself, and she’dfound it hard to look away from him as he fumbled for the blanket to cover himself. Oh, God! I hope he hadn’t noticed me gawking at him. She berated herself. She couldn’t have embarrassed herself any more than what she had last night. Thankfully, he’d been very polite and a lot more relaxed as they’d spoken about nothing but work in the car on the way to campus.

Out in the parking lot she reached her silver Ford Focus, clicked the lock to open the trunk, and placed the files inside finally freeing her arms from the week’s heavy work load. It was going to take her all night to get through that much work and she wasn’t feeling in the best of moods.Just as she reached up to close the trunk she paused at the sound of a distressed female voice. Slowly peering around her car she saw Nina, the dark

Just as she reached up to close the trunk she paused at the sound of a distressed female voice. Slowly peering around her car she saw Nina, the dark

CHAPTER SIX

“Okay, don’t forget your assignments need to be in by the end of this week.”

Lacy raised her voice to her hurried students as they left the class. She packed up her files from her desk, relieved that she had a couple of hours before the next lecture. It was a little after one in the afternoon and her stomach grumbled loudly, reminding her that she’d hardly eaten a thing since leaving the house with Michael that morning. A piece of fruit wasn’t sufficient enough for a day’s work, especially with the day she’d had so far. But truthfully, she hadn’t even been able to think of food let alone eat any. Her stomach was just too sensitive today. Add to that the shame of her near emotional breakdown in front of a work colleague, she barely knew and her day could only get better. Right?

She grabbed her purse and threw it over her shoulder, picked up a large stack of files and made her way to her car. As she walked through the double doors to the outside, she winced at the bright sunshine, squinting as a blast of pain shot through her temple; the effects of last night’s highly embarrassing, drunken stupor refusing to wane. Why did I allow myself to drink that much?

She huffed. She’d actually enjoyed herself up until that point. Michael had turned out to be good company which was a pleasant surprise. She’d always thought he seemed a little serious, but she’d seen another side trying to creep through last night, even if she had sensed him holding it back.

And then there was this morning. She flushed as she recalled seeing him almost naked on her sofa. His body was pale, but surprisingly well defined with tight muscle in all the right places. He clearly looked after himself, and she’dfound it hard to look away from him as he fumbled for the blanket to cover himself. Oh, God! I hope he hadn’t noticed me gawking at him. She berated herself. She couldn’t have embarrassed herself any more than what she had last night. Thankfully, he’d been very polite and a lot more relaxed as they’d spoken about nothing but work in the car on the way to campus.

Out in the parking lot she reached her silver Ford Focus, clicked the lock to open the trunk, and placed the files inside finally freeing her arms from the week’s heavy work load. It was going to take her all night to get through that Okay much work and she wasn’t feeling in the best of moods.

Just as she reached up to close the trunk she paused at the sound of a distressed female voice. Slowly peering around her car she saw Nina, the dark

Chapter 5 Cont


* * *

After his last class of the day, and after all the students had left, Michael sat quietly thinking about the dead end he’d walked smack-bang into earlier. He was going to have to start from fresh. He had the list he’d gathered of all the students’ friends and associates and would start there, then he’d have to look into the investigation, see what the cops were saying. The authorities weren’t treating the deaths as suspicious, but there might be something they’d missed, something that they wouldn’t necessarily be looking for that Michael would.

He opened the top drawer of his desk with a small key and pulled out a file, opened it and pulled out the newspaper clippings that he’d gathered since he’d arrived in Oakland. Each of the victims’ names were highlighted in each article:

Claire Miller, aged 19; Kevin Mitchell, aged 20; Ryan Willis, aged 20; Danny Wheeler, aged 20; and the latest was Marissa Jacobson, also aged 20. Like the authorities, he’d established that none of the victims knew each other, hadn't shared any classes together and there was nothing similar in their appearance.

No connection; just random suicides.

Michael wasn’t accepting that. There was definitely something not right. He could feel it.

He leaned his elbows on the desk and pinched the top of his nose with his fingers, heaving a sigh. A knock on the open door caught him off guard and he swung his head around to see Lacy leaning against the jam with a thick pile of folders in her arms.

“Hey. You look like you could use a drink too,” she said as she walked into the room. Michael slowly closed the file in front of him, making sure all his clippings were tucked away inside. “It’s that obvious, huh?” He grinned up at her, glad to see her smiling face behind a slender pair of black rimmed reading glasses that he hadn’t seen her wear before. “You wear glasses?” Not really a question, more an observation. They made her features even more striking.

“Ah. . . yes, but usually only in class.” She removed them as though she felt a little embarrassed. “Tough day?”

“Not the best.” And not for any reasons he could talk to her about.

“I was thinking of grabbing a coffee and a bite to eat before I head home, care to join me?” She fidgeted with her glasses before sliding them into her purse.

Michael smiled as he watched a shyness in her that just positively melted him−which wasn’t good. The last thing he needed right now was any complications, so beginning to like a colleague a little more than he should was really not an option. But he did like Lacy. And besides that, it was just coffee and a bite, and he was in the mood for some food. What harm could it do?

“Sure. That’d be great.” He noticed her shoulders relax in that instant.

* * *
Lacy had insisted on driving them out to a small Italian cafe bar called Carlito’s on the other side of town, a small place set back from the road. Inside, the welcoming cream and red décor felt warm, and the heavy scent of roast coffee and Italian cuisine made Michael’s stomach groan with anticipation.
They were seated at a small table in the corner by the window. The lighting was dim and there was a tea-light in a red colored glass holder flickering in the middle of the table.

This is not a date. He thought as he reassured himself that everything about this was okay. It’s just dinner with a colleague. He looked up at Lacy, who smiled back at him, the glow of the candle light on her face enhancing her features and creating shadows that made her eyelashes appear twice as long.

She was. . . beautiful.

Oh, Hell.

They ordered food and while they waited, the waitress brought their drinks over: cappuccino for Lacy and a whiskey for Michael. He only wished that the alcohol would affect him in some way so he could relax a bit. Even just a little fuzzy would be great right now. One day he was going to drink and drink as much as he could to see if he could actually get drunk at all. But for now, he’d have to make do with sober-as-a-judge no matter how much of the brown stuff he drank.

Realizing they were both sitting quietly, Michael pulled himself away from his thoughts and tried to look a little more relaxed about the whole situation.

“Nice place,” he said, breaking the awkward silence.

“It is, isn’t it? I come here once in a while, nice atmosphere and no students.

It’s nice to relax here after work.” She took a sip of her coffee. “How’s life for you on campus then? I don’t envy you having to live as well as work there. I think I’d go insane.”“It’s not so bad, but I haven’t really been there long. I’m not sure I’d be happy with a permanent situation.” And it did beat some of the musty motel rooms he was so used to. “My place is bigger than I expected actually. I have my own kitchen, albeit small, and the living area is plenty for me. I’m in a quiet part of the building which is good. There’s just me and another sub on our floor and the other rooms are empty. So you see, I can’t complain.”

Lacy cocked an eyebrow “I didn’t realize it was so luxurious over there.”

“Oh, it is. You should see the size of the bedroom.” Shit! He held his breath and shook his head slightly as he realized what he’d said. Thankfully, when he looked at Lacy she was grinning right at him. They both laughed. “I’m so sorry,

I never meant for−”

“It’s fine. I know you didn’t,” she interrupted. After that, there was no more awkwardness or silence. The ice had been broken and they both began to feel much more relaxed as the night went on.

An hour passed easily. Michael was feeling well fed after polishing off a large Penne Arrabiata and a tomato and onion salad. He watched Lacy intently as she finished off the last of her tiramisu. “I enjoyed that so much,” she said after swallowing her last mouthful and dabbing at her mouth with her napkin.

To his chagrin, he’d enjoyed it too, watching her eat the little slice of coffee flavored, cream dessert. He had to stop it. He grabbed the attention of a passing
M waitress and called her over. “Another coffee?” he asked Lacy, who hesitated for a moment before turning to the young girl waiting with her order pad at the ready.

“Hey. Sarah. Would it be okay if I left my car in the parking lot tonight? I just really fancy a beer.”

Michael spoke before the waitress had time to answer. “I can drive back.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”“Of course not.” He turned to the waitress, “A beer for the lady and,” he smiled back at Lacy, “a coke for me, please.” Lacy mouthed the word thank you so he waved his hand in dismissal, “I was fed up of the whiskey anyway.”

The rest of the evening consisted of more drinks and plenty of conversation. Michael had done a good job of keeping it mostly about Lacy, wanting to know more about her and her life and figuring now was as good a time as any.

Luckily she didn’t mind and, to his surprise, she was actually quite open about things. How her life had been since moving to Maryland, even past relationships. She spoke more about her mother and how they’d never really seen eye to eye, which is why she’d come to live with her Grandmother in the first place. She told him how her mother cared more about her job than anything else and she couldn’t stand it anymore. He was quite content to leave her to do all the talking and was sitting back in his chair, pleased that he’d managed to avoid her asking any questions about him.

Until. . .

“So, how about you?” Lacy said, catching him off guard for a second. “You must miss your family when you work away like this.”

He should have expected it, been more prepared for it, but the truth was, he was so fixed on listening to the soft tone of Lacy’s voice that he hadn’t really been paying attention to everything she’d said. He cleared his throat, buying himself time to prepare his answer which shouldn’t have been a problem. Lying was a big part of his existence now and it usually came naturally to him. But somehow, now that he was sitting in front of her, it didn’t feel right.

“I’m actually kind of a loner.” Wasn’t a lie. So far, so good.

Lacy’s eyebrows lowered. “Oh. . . I don’t believe that.”

“It’s true, honestly. I don’t have any family around and I’m an only child.

So. . . yeah, just me.” He said it matter-of-fact as though it didn’t bother him and the truth was it didn’t anymore, not really. Perhaps it was just because he'd been so wrapped up in his quest to find whoever had killed him that loneliness no longer played a part in his existence. Or maybe he just hadn’t allowed it to.

“Okay then. . . Girlfriend?”

He grinned and shook his head. “No.”

“Um. . . Boyfriend?”

His eyes widened and so did hers. “No! Definitely not my thing.” He could have sworn she looked relieved for a moment. She took another swig from her bottle of beer.

“What about friends then? You must know someone.”

Michael inhaled deeply, pleased that the four beers she’d drunk had given her more courage and that it had somehow made her think that she was hosting an episode of Twenty Questions. He was strangely amused by it nonetheless.

“Just work colleagues mainly.”

Her shoulders slumped and her tone of voice changed to something slightly more dejected than before. “I’m sorry to hear that. It must be bloody miserable being on your own.”

He smiled. “It’s really okay,” he said reassuringly, wanting the silly, relaxed, slightly drunk Lacy back even if it did mean more questions. “I have plenty of work to do to keep me occupied. I don’t have time to feel alone.”

Thank God that seemed to lighten the atmosphere again.

Lacy sat upright, her mouth curling up into a warm smile. “Well, Michael, in Oakland you have a friend.” She held her hand out to him over the table. He shook it and hesitated before letting go.

“I think I can live with that.”

As the evening went on, and the place filled with diners at the tables and drinkers at the bar, Michael had managed to switch the subject back to Lacy.

She was pretty tipsy and he didn’t even need to ask questions anymore; information was just pouring out of her and he found it hard to keep a straight face. He sat listening to her talk about her ex fiancé, Simon, who’d had an affairfor over a year with a colleague from his work. She’d only found out about it because she’d become friends with a woman at her weekly spinning class; neither of them knowing that they were seeing the same guy until they went for coffee one afternoon, and her friend had pulled a picture of Lacy’s fiancé from her wallet claiming him to be her long term boyfriend.

“I seem to be as unlucky with men as my wonderful mother is. . . ” She went on, getting more and more animated much to Michael’s amusement. In fact, he wasn’t even sure what she was saying anymore. He was lost in his thoughts.

What was it about the tone of her voice that warmed him so much? He felt like he could listen to her talk forever. She was fascinating to him and he couldn’t help feeling a connection between them that maybe they both shared. They seemed to have at least one significant thing in common: they were both alone.

Instead of listening to her talk, he studied her face, noticing how smooth her skin was. Her large green eyes looked darker in the soft hue of the candle light.

Then he realized what he was doing and snapped himself back to a reality he needed to make damn sure he clung on to.

“. . . and thinks it’s acceptable for a forty seven year old woman to date a man who’s four years younger than her own daughter−”

Michael leant his mouth on his hand and tried to stifle his laugh.

Lacy blinked and focused her eyes on him. “Oh dear, I’m waffling aren’t I?”

Her words were beginning to slur a little. “And you haven’t spoken for a very long time.”

“I’m enjoying listening,” he said before asking for the bill from the passing waiter, “but I do think I should get you home.”

“I think you’re right.” Lacy began to rummage through her purse as though she’d lost something. Michael stood and reached for her jacket from the back of the chair and retrieved her car keys from one of the pockets.

“Are these what you’re looking for?” He grinned, dangling them from is finger.She reached for them. “Yes. Thank you−”

Michael snapped them away. “I’m driving remember?”

“Yes. Of course you are.”

Michael helped her into her coat.

* * *

Luckily, Lacy was just about sober enough to remember how to get to her house. With only a couple of wrong turns along the way−and plenty of laughs about it−Michael eventually pulled into the driveway of her quaint, one story home in a small suburb just on the edge of town. He got out and hurried to the other side of the car to help her.

She giggled as he took hold of her arm to steady her. “Quite the gentlemen aren’t you?”

“Just don’t want you falling on my watch,” he replied as he guided her from the car to the front door. She rooted through her purse for her house keys under the glow of the porch light, cursing under her breath until she finally pulled them out and attempted to unlock the door. Michael assisted.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked as she stepped inside and turned to face him.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. I’m feeling a little dizzy, that’s all.” She brushed a stray hair from in front of her eye and tucked it behind her ear. “I had fun tonight.”

She smiled.

“Me too. Good night Lacy.” He began to walk away down the narrow garden path which cut across the grass. The crisp fall air left his mouth on a cloudy exhale as he prepared for his brisk walk back to campus; the walk that would clear his head and bring him crashing back down to reality as he berated himself for nearly letting his feelings rule him for the very first time since he’dbeen Michael Warden. He was about to unhook the small gate when Lacy shouted from behind him.

“Wait!”

He turned back to see her still standing in the open doorway, the glow from the hall light silhouetting her slim frame.

“How will you get back?” she asked as she took a couple of steps towards him.

He held his hands out and looked up at the clear night sky. “It’s a great evening. I’ll walk.”

“But it’s right across town.”

“I’ll hail a cab or something. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” Again, he went to open the gate.

“Why don’t you stay here?” His hand froze on the catch at the same time his breath caught. No. Definitely not a good idea. He turned back to face her as she started to walk towards him. “Look. . . I have a spare comforter. You can sleep on the sof−” She stumbled, but Michael hurried and managed to catch her by her arm.

“Are you okay?” He couldn’t help laughing.

“Whoa! I may need coffee.” She held her hand to her head as if that would stop it spinning. “I’m okay, really. So, what do you say? It’s the least I can do after leaving you stranded.”

It would be much easier. And they could both travel to work together in the morning. But he really shouldn’t, not after the way his mind had been working back at Carlito’s. He should be spending less time around her now not spending the night. “I, ah. . . I really should go.” Lacy tilted her head to the side and smiled. “It’s just a sofa.”

He exhaled sharply. Yes. She was right. It was just a sofa. What was he thinking? “Okay. But only if you’re sure.”Lacy linked her arm through his and pulled him back towards the house. “Of course I am.”

* * *

“Michael.”

A soft voice pulled him out of his slumber and caused him to bolt upright. He rubbed at his eyes and as he did, he heard a sudden gasp.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.” That same voice said. He looked up to see Lacy with a plate in one hand and the other covering her eyes.

“What..?” He looked down. “Oh. Shit! Sorry.” He cursed again as he realized his boxers weren’t quite doing their job properly. He quickly pulled the comforter over his lap. He must have kicked it off in his confusion. “Panic over,” he assured Lacy, who looked through a little gap in her fingers before removing her hand. Michael smiled coyly. “Sorry about that.”

She shook her head quickly; cheeks lightly flushed and, thankfully, carried on as though nothing had happened. “I made breakfast; my lame attempt at an apology for last night.”

She handed him the plate of freshly cooked pancakes smothered with syrup.

Her cheeks were still a little pink and she looked fresh like she’d been awake for hours. Her hair was tied back from her face and she was wearing gray colored trousers and a slim purple turtleneck top. She always presented herself well.

“Thanks. But you don’t have to apologize.” He tucked into his pancakes. Man, they tasted good. He noticed her eyes flick down to his naked chest and she quickly blinked and turned away. He smiled.

“Yes. I really do. I have no idea what came over me.” She walked over to the ornately carved wooden fireplace and leant her arm on the top. “I hardlyever drink, but I think I drank more last night than I have in a whole year. I don’t do that. It was rude, and I’m sorry.” She paced across the room, towards the window this time, squeezing her fingers together. “I can’t begin to tell you how embarr −”

“Lacy,” he interrupted. She turned and looked at him. “Quit apologizing.

And would you keep still?” It was more an order than a request but she was about to wear a path in the carpet.

She plunked herself in the chair opposite him and sat quietly.

“I actually really enjoyed myself last night,” he told her and he meant it too. He was so used to being on his own−and if he wasn’t, he was hanging with mostly dead people−that he hadn’t realized he could still be sociable. Last night, for those few hours with Lacy, he hadn’t thought about what he was or what he was really doing here in Oakland. It was a welcome relief.

She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Are you kidding me? Great food, great company. . . Why wouldn’t I?” He

stuffed the last fork full of pancakes into his mouth after making sure he used it to scoop all the rest of the syrup off the plate first.

Lacy laughed a little. “Yeah. I enjoyed it too.” She smiled at him then, “Oh no,” she groaned, her face disappearing behind her hands. Michael looked down at himself again just to be sure. Yes, comforter still in place. “I told you about Simon, didn’t I?” She looked over at him, her face full of apology. He couldn’t hold back his laugh. “Yeah, you did. And for the record. . . He’s a complete jerk!”

CHAPTER FIVE

Days had passed and Michael had seen nothing of Jake or Nina; in fact, things were quiet, a little too quiet. Apart from working, he’d spent most of his time doing research on the internet and finding out who the friends of the dead students were. He’d gathered a list of those who he wanted to speak to so he could see if he could find out if there was any connection whatsoever between those who had died. There had to be something. Even though the cops had asked all the questions they could and had concluded that none of them even knew each other, there still had to be something they were missing.

His research into what kind of creature could be responsible for the deaths hadn’t really pulled up anything solid either. A couple of passages he’d read had caught his eye. The website had written about a spirit who causes un-natural death to those who perform disrespectful acts, cause harm, have affairs etc−known as a Sowin−but he had to look into it further and unless he could come up with something solid on the students there was little evidence to support the theory.

Damn, he was hitting nothing but dead ends.

He’d had no luck locating Nina either. He’d found out that some of her classes were in the Micro Biology building which was right next to the Psychology department. He’d asked around, but no one had seen her. She hadn’t shown for classes for the last two days. He had a bad feeling.

Sitting down at his table in the dining hall at the south end of the campus, he read some papers on Humans in Biological Perspective, which he’d printed out from last night in prep for today’s classes, while he finished off his breakfast omelette. He had another half hour until his first lecture and figured he needed the extra run through before then. It was funny how he’d settled into his latest role. It was boring subject matter but he was actually quite enjoying being Prof. Michael Warden. It made him feel like he had a bit of purpose for once; like he was still relevant in a world that was very different to him now.

He was about to take a sip of his coffee when he looked up to see Nina walking over to the line for the buffet cart. She looked so different that he wasn’t sure if it was her at first. Her hair was pulled back neatly into a slick ponytail, she was still dressed in all black, but gone were the heavy boots and long skirt, replaced by skinny jeans, gray converse pumps and a loose woolen sweater that hung off one shoulder. She had half the makeup that he’d seen on her before and no longer looked like the brooding Goth girl with the heavily back combed hair that he’d met only a few nights ago.

She looked happy.

Michael watched as she carried her full tray over to a small table on the other side of the dining room and sat down. He contemplated going over to her, but quickly changed his mind when someone else approached her table.

Jake.

He spoke to her and when she looked up at him, her whole face lit up with an adoring smile. Jake sat down on a chair beside her, they shared a laugh and a joke and then he leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

Only a few days ago Michael had seen how distraught she’d been over her boyfriend’s death and now she was cozying up to some other guy? The same guy who she’d seemed to have problems with not too long ago. Something wasn’t right.

A female voice interrupted his thoughts. “Hey. Penny for them.” Lacy stood beside him looking elegant in black leggings with black knee high boots and a royal blue long-length sweater that hugged her slim figure. She was holding a juice box and a granola bar−her breakfast of choice, it seemed; although, how she could function on that little amount of food was anyone’s guess. Hell, he didn’t even need to eat anymore, but still wouldn’t be able to manage on that.

“Hey, Lacy.” He blinked, realizing he’d taken too long to answer.

“May I join you?” she asked politely.

“Of course. Please, sit down.” As she did her fresh, rose tinted perfume filled the air around them as it always did when she was near. He couldn’t help himself as he inhaled deeply. She smelt like spring flowers. Her hair was loose today, neatly ironed into place.

“How are you settling in?” she asked, smiling up at him as she stabbed her straw into her apple juice.

“Good, thanks.” He nodded, glancing back over at the two unlikely lovebirds that were now holding hands on top of the table.

Lacy must have sensed he was preoccupied. “Is everything okay? You look a little distracted.”

Michael turned his attention back to her. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just didn’t get much sleep last night.” At least it wasn’t a lie.

Her expression changed to one of understanding, like she could relate to it.

She gave a small sigh. “Well, this job can do that to you.”

Michael nodded. “Has there been any word on the jumper?”

“Nothing, as far as I know. They’ve sealed off the area around her dorm and are still interviewing students. That’s about all I’ve heard.”

“Yeah, it can’t be easy for the cops. I mean, She’s the fifth one now, I’m sure people are feeling pretty anxious.” He noticed Nina and Jake getting up to leave. The guy had his arm flung over Nina’s shoulder as they headed for the door, both still laughing and joking. Michael’s brows lowered as he watched them.

Lacy followed his gaze and turned around to see what he was looking at.

“You know those two?” she asked. Michael shook his head. “No. Not really. The girl, Nina, her boyfriend was one of the jumpers.

“Oh!” Lacy turned back and raised an eyebrow. “Clearly she got over that quickly.”

“I know, right? Strange thing is, I spoke to her a few nights back, my first night on campus, and she seemed distraught as though her whole world had ended. And she looked completely different too.” He finished off his coffee.

“Different? How?”

“Her whole style has changed in the space of a couple of days and she’s acting differently. If I didn’t know any better I would swear she wasn’t the same person I spoke to the other night. And now she’s all loved up with that guy, Jake.” The more he thought about it, the weirder it felt.

“I’m sure it’s nothing. You know what it’s like being young. These things happen all the time. You’ll never understand it, so why try?” She laughed a little and Michael couldn’t help but smile at her. Perhaps she was right. Maybe he was just looking for something that wasn’t really there. He would keep an eye on them regardless.

“So, how are you finding it here?” Lacy asked. He was glad of the change of subject. He’d had his head in nothing but this stupid case since he’d gotten here, well that and studying for his fake job.

“Classes are good. It’s been a little easier than I thought. I have a couple of lectures today that I’m not quite sure I’m fully prepared for but apart from that, things are going okay.” He watched as Lacy bit into her granola bar then wiped away a crumb from the corner of her mouth. She was certainly attractive. Well groomed with striking features which he guessed would turn any man’s head as she walked into a room. But it was her smile that he liked the most: it was genuine. He could see it in her eyes and he felt comfortable in her company. He had a sudden need to know more about her.

“What about you, how long have you worked here?”“This is my third year,” she replied, her mouth still half full.

“And I’m guessing with that accent you’re not from around here.” He popped an eyebrow up at her.

She laughed softly. “Good work,” she mocked. “No. I was born in a place called Chelmsford in England.”

“So how did you wind up here? If it’s okay to ask, I mean.” Michael was surprised how eager he was to know more about her. It was nice to be focusing on something other than suicidal students and spirits and all things supernatural.

Besides, she seemed comfortable enough to answer.

“I moved over here from England when I was fifteen to live with my grandmother because. . . Well, let’s just say me and my mother had a turbulent relationship. It was work that brought me to Maryland; been here ever since,”

she explained.

Michael picked up his cup, forgetting that he’d finished his coffee already until he glanced into the bottom to see it was empty. “Do you have to be in class yet?”

She glanced at her watch. “Not for another half hour.”

“Great,” he said as he rose up from his seat. “I’m going to grab another coffee, would you like one?”

She smiled up at him. “Yes. Thanks; white, one sugar.”

As he walked away, Michael smiled to himself. He didn’t know why it pleased him that she took her coffee the same way as him, but it did.

He returned with the drinks and they chatted easily for the next half an hour after which he realized one good thing: he’d found a friend here.

* * *

Michael sailed through his first half of the morning’s lectures and everything had gone well−all but the last one anyway−which he’d had to cut short before anyone realized he had no clue what he was talking about. It was a little after two thirty in the afternoon and he had a spare hour to kill before a scheduled faculty meeting which he was really looking forward to.

He decided to see if he could find Nina. She had to be at her classes this afternoon after showing up this morning so, ducking his head down in an attempt to shield his face from the heavy rain, he made his way down the street to the Micro Biology building and headed down the hall. When he reached Nina’s class, he glanced through the small square window in the door and noticed her sitting at her desk in the far corner of the room. Everything seemed to be normal as she sat with her head down writing out her work, so Michael decided to wait it out in the corridor until class was out.

Fifteen minutes later, and after reading the same poster over and over again on the notice board, something about a Carbon Sequestration Seminar at eleven in the morning, Michael headed back down the corridor just in time to see Nina walk out of the room.

“Nina? Hi,” he said nonchalantly, acting like it was a coincidence that he'd bumped into her. She looked surprised to see him.

“Mr Warden, right? Hi.”

Her behavior was the polar opposite of what it had been just days ago: She wasn’t hunched over with her chin almost on the floor but the exact opposite.

She seemed to have more life in her, a spring in her step. Either she’d had a personality transplant or she was just really good at dealing with grief.

“How are things?” He already knew the answer.

“Good. I’m feeling much better about things. Thanks.”

“That’s good. . . good to hear,” he said. “I saw you this morning at breakfast in the dining room; you were with your friend. . . Uh, Jake isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Are you two okay now?” She knew he was referring to their little altercation the other night. He waited for some kind of tell in her expression, but if she had something to hide, it didn’t show at all.

“It was a little misunderstanding that’s all,” she explained.

“Good. You two seemed pretty close this morning.” He was pushing it with that one and expected some sort of attitude back from her but it never happened.

“Yeah, we kind of are. He’s been so good to me through all of this. I don’t know what I would have done without him.” Her smile looked genuine, and even though it seemed strange for her to have adjusted so well so soon after Danny’s death, he guessed it could have been. Like Lacy said: it was probably nothing. “Sorry sir, I gotta run.” She began to walk past him.

“Sure. Take care.”

Sorry about the delay peeps nairaland refuse me to post throughout yesterday.. Don't worry I'll make it up to you peeps.

Icekidmuktar
Solomombrown64 where are you
BiafraBushBoy

CHAPTER FOUR

Time had passed quite quickly once Michael had managed to get his head back into his research. By the time he’d finished piecing his class together and gathering up his notes on Statistical Methods and Social Cognitive Theory, his laptop clock read 07:15. He powered down and after a quick shower, rummaged through his only bag of clothes−which was actually a canvas sack, like the ones you got in the army−and pulled out a navy blue shirt and a gray pair of trousers.

They were crumpled but clean. Still, he wasn’t going to look good turning up for his first day of work looking like he’d just stepped out of a tumble dryer. He looked through the kitchen cupboards and thankfully found an iron and did his best to iron the clothes on the countertop which wasn’t easy but he somehow managed. They weren’t perfect, but it was a big improvement.

He quickly ran his fingers through his deep blond hair in the bathroom mirror until he had some kind of style before heading out early for some breakfast.

It was already busy in the large dining room situated in the main building to the front of the campus. Michael stood in line at the food counter with mostly other members of staff. There were one or two students about, but not many due to the fact that most classes−for them anyway−didn’t start until nine. He helped himself to the various hot breakfast buffet items on offer, piling his plate high with bacon, scrambled egg and hash browns, before grabbing a cup of coffee from the machine and paying the rather grumpy looking cashier. She was an old, gray haired lady who clearly looked like she’d had enough of the jobbecause she’d probably worked there for far too long. He was beginning to think that all the staff were miserable in this place. Well. . . all except one. Lacy Holloway couldn’t be included in that thought because she’d been pleasant to him yesterday.

He sat at a vacant table by the far window overlooking the main parking lot and placed his bag−which was full of his research and notes−down on an empty chair next to him and tucked into his food.

It wasn’t long before he was interrupted and a pleasant scent of rose mixed withwith a hint of apple filled his nose.

“Michael? Hi,” a pleasant female voice said. He recognized the soft British accent of Miss Holloway straight away and when he looked up, she was standing across the table, smiling at him, her large, pale green eyes smiling with her. Her blond hair was tied back in a ponytail except for a few wispy strands that fell either side of her face. She was dressed in a beige pencil skirt that stopped just below her knees and a black short sleeved blouse, holding a blue file in one hand and a breakfast bar and juice bottle in the other. “May I join you?”

She’d been kind enough to spend the time explaining things and showing him around the place just after he’d arrived yesterday which made him grateful for that and the fact that he felt like he actually knew someone now.

“Hi, Lacy. Yeah. Sure,”

She sat down at the opposite side of the table, freeing up her hands and pulling the straw from her juice box. “So, are you ready for your first day?” she asked as she pierced the little round hole on the top with it and took a sip.

“Yes. I am actually. A little apprehensive, maybe, but I’m looking forward to it.” Was he hell! He had no idea what he was doing, but it was hardly the worst thing he’d ever had to do so he’d get through it somehow.

He threw a convincing smile at her.“You’ll be fine. They’re really not a bad bunch. I’ve taught Joanne’s class a couple of times when she’d had doctor’s appointments.”

Michael liked her. She was easy to talk to−friendly, and her perfume made the air around them fresh and comforting. He decided to casually ask about what happened last night to see what she knew about it all, if anything.

“Terrible what happened last night wasn’t it? That’s five all together, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I was filled in when I arrived here this morning. I’ve heard that there are going to be police patrolling the campus for a while.” She sighed heavily. “I can’t believe what’s happening. They’re saying it’s a suicide pact. Even though we know that these kinds of pacts are usually made because suicide to an individual is so daunting that they can't face it alone, there’s also a chance that the victims have no connection to each other. Apparently the local media have been asked by the authorities to hold off printing their article about this latest one. They fear the more media exposure, the more copycat deaths. It’s just so awful. ”

Michael took another sip of his coffee and then swilled what little was left around the bottom of his cup. He nodded. “Did you know any of them?”

“No. None of them were in psychology. I’m glad I didn’t. It saddens me enough as it is and I daren’t think of their poor families.” She took another sip of her drink.

“She looked young,” he said before drinking the last of his coffee.

“You saw her?” Lacy looked surprised.

“Yeah. I heard the sirens from my room and went to see what was happening.” He shook his head. “Such a waste of life.”

“Indeed,” she said, and for a moment it looked like her mind had wandered somewhere else. Then she blinked and looked at him again. “I’m sure they’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Michael wasn’t convincedAfter a short silence, Lacy looked at her small black leather strapped watch.

“I better get going.” She grabbed her stuff. “I have to finish preparing an assignment. Good luck today.”

He laughed. “I think I’ll need it.”

She smiled at him. “You’ll be fine. If you need anything at all just come and see me. I’m in room M103 for most of the day.”

“Thanks.”

“Bye, Michael.”

“Bye.” He watched her walk away happy to know at least one person.

He finished up and decided to head for his first class. No use trying to put it off. He had no choice but to get on with it and hope that the day wouldn’t be a complete disaster.

He walked along the old, dark corridor of the psychology department. The building on the west side of the campus was the oldest on site and the many wooden classroom doors all looked the same, each with small plastic plaques on them containing white class numbers. He finally reached his room−CS101−and hesitated for a moment with his hand on the handle. He felt nervous, which was strange. He hadn’t felt that in a long time. Get a grip, Michael! He told himself, clutching his file under his arm. He took in a deep breath, turned the handle and walked in to face a large room full of faces that looked up at him all at once.

Damn! He thought, feeling like a rat in a cage. Here goes.

* * *

Michael was back in his apartment by three. He sat in blissful silence. He’d done it. Relief washed over him quickly as he sat leaning on the dining table with his head in his hands. He’d managed to get through it. There were no hiccups, noone had questioned his work and he hadn’t made a fool of himself like he thought he would. He’d survived it. No more classes or lectures for today.

Thank God.

He’d grabbed a coffee from the machine downstairs on his way back and was about to enjoy it when the phone rang. He reached over and grabbed the handset from its cradle on the kitchen counter and answered, “Hello.”

“Hello, Mr Warden?” a male voice said at the other end.

“Yes, speaking.”

“I’m from Oakley Laundry services. Your suit is ready, sir.”

Michael had dropped it into them yesterday afternoon, but had forgotten all about it with everything that had happened. “Oh. Great. I’ll come collect it.

What time do you close up?”

“Five-thirty, sir.”

“I’ll be there before then. Thanks very much.”

“You’re welcome.” The voice said before hanging up.

Michael didn’t have much but there were a few things he always made sure he did have: a computer, for research purposes; a heap of fake IDs, for when he needed to be someone else; a gun, which he’d stored away under a loosened floorboard by his bed; and a good suit.

He had the rest of the day off so he figured it was a good time to go into town and pick up his suit and get some groceries and a few other things he needed.

Oakland was a small town. There seemed to be plenty of stores, though they were all pretty small: thrift stores, grocery stores, coffee bars, the odd second hand book store and a sports store which sold mostly college stuff.

After picking up his suit and grabbing some groceries from the store across the street from the cleaners, Michael began to head back to his car. He noticed a young man leaning against a wall by the bus shelter up ahead, hood up, smoking a cigarette. As he got closer, the man looked up at him and as soon as he sawMichael he pushed himself from the wall and began to walk away. It was Jake, the guy he’d seen Nina leaving the bar with last night.

Michael called out to him as he upped his pace. “Hey!”

The young man stopped and slowly turned around. His black, hooded top was torn on the arm and his scruffy indigo jeans didn’t fare much better. The guy lifted his head and as he stood and stared, as if Michael had inconvenienced him, he played with the piercing in his bottom lip with his tongue. Michael saw another stud in his left eyebrow.

“You go to SPU right?” Michael asked.

Jake flicked away what was left of his cigarette; sparks flickered from it when it hit the ground a few feet away. “Yeah. I’ve got no classes this afternoon, though.”

“That’s okay. I just saw you last night with Nina. You were leaving the bar with her, right?” Michael tried to sound as casual as possible.

His eyes narrowed. “Yeah. Why?”

“Well, it looked like you were arguing. Is everything all right? I’m a little concerned about her that’s all.” Michael explained. He was just clutching at straws, but he had a feeling that something was going on between the two of them and found it a little strange given how upset Nina was last night about her boyfriend dying. It was probably nothing, but it was an avenue he felt he had to explore before he could move on.

“She was just in a weird kind of mood. She’s like that. She stormed off back to her dorm or something, I guess,” he replied. His voice was almost as blank as his expression. His eyes were framed by dark circles and his skin was pale. He looked like he needed a good sleep, and a long soak in the bath.

There was his first lie. Michael thought. Jake had definitely been the aggressor outside the bar and Nina had been visibly upset by it. Not realizing that Michael had spoken to her straight after, Jake was trying to pull a fast one and he wasn’t buying it.He had to find out if there was a connection between Nina’s dead boyfriend and Jake. “You’re her friend right?”

Jake was beginning to fidget, pulling the zipper on his sweater up and down.

“Yeah.”

“So, how well did you know her boyfriend? Danny, wasn’t it?”

“I didn’t. Look. . . I gotta go.” He pulled another cigarette from his pocket, then turned and walked away.

Michael raised his voice after him. “You’ll let me know if she needs anything won’t you.” No answer.

He needed to have another conversation with Nina.

* * *

Later that evening, after Michael had eaten some frozen pizza that he’d burned for himself, he’d decided to take a walk over to Lucky Seven’s figuring if he was going to bump into Nina that would probably be the place. It was a modern looking bar: lots of dark wood beams across the ceiling, a dark wood floor, and a large round bar in the center which was lit with color changing panels all across the bottom. Apart from some more of the same panels around the edge of the ceiling, there wasn’t much light to speak of. His eyes scanned the place, but there was no sign of Nina or Jake. It was busy, mostly students, and yeah, he felt a little out of place so he ordered a beer and found a corner where he could keep his eye on the entrance and still hide away quite easily.

Or so he thought. . .

“Hi, Mr Warden,” one of three girls said, all were smiling, as they passed his table. Students he recognized from one of his classes earlier. He acknowledged them with a smile and carried on with his beer.

About an hour passed and there was still no sign of either of them. Michael was on his third beer and was still sitting alone, even though another one of hisstudents had asked if he’d wanted to join him and his friends for a game of pool over in the other corner. He’d politely declined.

He was about to give up and try somewhere else when he caught sight of Jake amongst a crowd who came walking through the door. He was on his own.

Michael sat back in his seat and watched as Jake scanned his eyes around the room, then ordered a drink at the bar. He seemed anxious, looking over at the door every time it opened. There was no doubt he was waiting for someone; could be Nina. Hopefully, he’d find out soon enough.

Another hour soon passed and Michael was beginning to get a headache from the Indie music that was blaring through the sound system: At the moment, some guy was singing about a girl out of her head and staring at the ceiling. It was no wonder half the campus was suicidal. He watched as Jake threw back the last of his Corona and headed for the exit. Looked like whoever he was meeting had stood him up and he was clearly pissed off about it.

Michael got up to follow him out and got collared by the girl who’d smiled at him earlier. “Mr Warden, I was wondering if−”

“Not now. I have to go. Sorry.” He dismissed her quickly, but by the time he’d gotten outside Jake had gone. “Shit!” He looked around, but there was no sign of him.

The more the comment the more the update fellas

Chapter 3 cont

* * *

After a long day spent mostly sitting in on classes and getting a feel for how things worked around the department, Michael was finally at his apartment building. Lacy had been kind enough to show him around the lecture halls, meeting rooms, and the two counselling clinics that were regularly used by members of the community as well as students; the latter being the main focusin light of recent events. They’d finished up having coffee in the staff room before she’d asked one of her students to walk him to the building where he would be living for at least the next couple of weeks.

Benjamin Hall was one of many colonial type buildings that he’d seen on the university grounds, this one being quite small compared to the others. As he walked through one of the large oak doors, he was faced with yet another reception that was on the left. This time, an older lady with short gray hair stood behind the counter, barely tall enough to see over it. She looked up at him.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah, hi. I’m the new sub from the psychology department. I understand there’s a room available for me.” Michael towered above the woman who had to stretch her neck to look at him.

“Name?” she asked as she lifted the glasses that were hanging on a cord around her neck. She put them on and then pulled out a drawer from underneath the counter. Her voice was quite stern considering the size of her. And she wasn’t at all polite.

Michael gave her his details and she began sifting through some cards and pulled one out. “Here we are. You’re in room B-7.” She pointed across the way towards a wide staircase that was framed by a chunky oak handrail and wooden panelling which also ran around the bottom half of the walls. “It’s the first floor towards the end of the hall.” She passed him a small key ring, which had the SPU logo on it and two brass keys attached. One of the keys had blue around the ring. “The blue one is the key to this building. The door will be locked from nine every evening so that key is the only way to get in. There will be a guard on duty from then, but he’s off patrolling the grounds most of the time.
The other key is for your room.”

“Thanks,” Michael said.

“Can I help you with anything else?” She placed the card back in its holder amongst the others.“No. Thanks. That’s everything.”

“Very well,” she said and carried on with her business.

The large reception area was more like a common room. It was brightly lit and the walls were painted in the university colors: some white, some navy blue. There were a few soft, brown, leather chairs and a couple of sofas to match which had low coffee tables in front of them and there were two vending machines tucked away in the far corner: one for hot drinks and the other contained snacks and sodas.

Up the stairs, Michael walked along the narrow hallway, where the decor matched the lobby, watching the small brass numbers counting upwards on the navy doors on the left-hand side until he got to his, which was the very last one opposite a floor length window that overlooked the university grounds.

Inside, the room was bigger than he’d expected. It had a spacious living area with a black leather sofa and one chair, and a TV which sat on a wooden unit in the corner by a small window. The decor was cream throughout with dark wooden floors. In the corner of the room to the left was a small kitchen area which looked to have everything a person would need: kettle, stove, microwave and an under-counter fridge.

Just next to the kitchen were two doors which, after investigating further, turned out to be a small bathroom with a mirror above the sink and a very petite bedroom with just about enough room for the single bed, which was dressed, and a small closet against the far wall. It was as big as a small apartment which wasn’t what Michael expected at all. He thought he’d have a room like the dorm rooms the students usually have, but this was much bigger than those.

Michael noticed some paperwork on the kitchen counter and picked up an information sheet which explained about the fire drill, where the exits were and other general safety information. There was also a list of codes for the telephone, most of which were to dial through to different areas of the campus and a code to dial out which was 09. At the bottom of the list was a Wi-Fi keyand instructions on how to set up an account−faculty only. In fact the whole building had Wi-Fi which was perfect for Michael’s research and would also come in handy for the teaching he had to do. He had no idea how to teach even one class of psychology, let alone a whole term.

After fetching what little belongings he had from his car, Michael had begun to settle in. It was dark outside. Most classes had finished for the day, except for a few evening courses, which meant that the university was quieting down slowly. He decided to take a look around the grounds to familiarize himself with the place and thought he’d start with some food. He still loved his food almost as much as when he was alive and not having a single thing in his new apartment meant that he’d have to eat out tonight.

The fall night air was crisp. The moon bright in the sky with a hazy glow around it and one or two stars had managed to glisten through the light mist that was now creeping over. It was a perfect night for a stroll around the grounds.

He walked across the green and past the football field which was brightly lit with flood lights in all four corners. Training was over and what remained of the team−a couple of players and a coach−were walking across the grass to the exit.

He reached the food complex on the other side of the campus. It was certainly the busiest part of the campus where, he would guess, that most of the live-in students spent their early evenings socializing. There was everything they needed: several food outlets including a burger joint, a restaurant, and one bar− Lucky Seven’s, which looked quite large−situated at the end of the block.

On the opposite side of the complex was an entertainment building called The Hub. It had a ten lane bowling alley, electronic video games, pool tables, computers with internet access and a shop for school sports equipment.

After familiarizing himself with it all, Michael grabbed a burger from the takeout window at Denny’s Ranch: a half pounder with extra cheese and bacon, topped with Denny’s Special Barbeque Sauce−no good for the prevention ofheart disease. Not like he had to worry about those kinds of health problems anymore.

He sat on a secluded bench on the grass out of the way of the busy complex and watched the students−illuminated by the tall, ornate street lamps that lit up the campus−enjoying their down time now that most classes were out.

He finished off his burger and was thinking about heading back to his room when he spotted a familiar face coming out of the bar. It was the young Goth girl from this morning. The one he’d seen at the memorial table. She was followed out by a boy who seemed to be annoyed with her. While he was still saying something to her, she stomped away from him with her head down. She cut across the grass and headed in the direction that Michael was sitting. Her long black skirt dragged on the floor and now and again revealed her purple Doc Marten boots. Her hair was backcombed into a black, shoulder-length mass, much like how it had been earlier, and her skin looked paler under the false lighting.

Michael remembered her looking at a photo of a young man, one of the dead students, and wondered how she knew him. He stood up and walked towards her. “Excuse me, Miss.” She clearly hadn’t seen him because she looked up at him with a startled gasp. Her face was glum and he noticed runs in her thick black eye makeup. She’d definitely been crying.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Fine,” she said solemnly. “Did you want something?”

“I saw you this morning. You knew one of the boys that died didn’t you?”

The girl frowned even more than she was already. “Yeah. Why?”

“I was just wondering how you knew him.”

“Why?” she repeated. “Who are you anyway? I haven’t seen you here before.”

“Michael Warden. I’m new here. . . Psychology sub,” he explained.

“Someone was talking to me this afternoon about what happened here over thelast couple of weeks. It’s terrible.” He didn’t see the harm in lying to her in this situation. After all, he couldn’t exactly be honest could he? “Oh, I’m really a dead person and I believe that an evil spirit may be responsible for your friend’s death.” Somehow, he didn’t see that going down too well.

“He’s my. . . ”—she lowered her head—“was my boyfriend, Danny.” The hard edge had suddenly disappeared from her voice.

“I’m sorry.” He tried his best to be sensitive as he could hear the pain in her voice. “I don’t want to trouble you. I can see it’s hard for you to talk about.”

She shook her head and her sullen tone quickly returned as she tried to hide her sadness. “No, it’s fine. I mean. . . there’s nothing I can do about it now is there? He’s gone and that’s it.” Michael saw straight through it.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but can you think of any reason why he would have done what he did? Did you know he was so unhappy?”

Nina sat down on the bench thumping her black denim bag down on the floor. Michael joined her.

“No, in fact, he was the opposite.” Her voice softened again this time and Michael was surprised when she continued. “We’d both just decided to get a place together as soon as term ended. So, no one was more shocked than me when he killed himself.” A tear ran from her eye down her cheek following the trail that was already there. “He didn’t even leave a note.”

Michael pulled a napkin from his pocket that he’d got from at the takeout stand, and handed it to her.

“Thanks.” She sniffed as she wiped her eyes.

“The police are treating it as some kind of suicide pact aren’t they?”

“They’re wrong,” she snapped. “Danny only knew one of the others. Jason Miller. He was in his Chem lab, but Danny didn’t even like him very much. He never had that many friends. We don’t exactly fit in here.”

“And there was no other connection with any of them? Maybe he was involved in something you didn’t know about.She shot him a funny look. “He never kept anything from me.” Then shook her head and sighed. “Look, I was the only person who really knew him. I would have known if there was something wrong.”

“When was the last time you saw him before. . . you know?”

She hesitated. “Two days before it happened. We’d had an argument. I tried to speak to him, but he wasn’t answering my texts. I figured he needed some time to calm down so I didn’t think anything of it.” Her face was blank and there were more tears balancing on the edges of her eyes ready to drop any minute.

Michael felt a little uncomfortable hitting her with so many questions, but it was vital for him to get as much information as possible. “What was the argument about?”

“It wasn’t even anything serious. A guy from my English class, Jake...” She waved her hand in the direction of the bar, “He’d asked if I’d help him out a little after lessons. He was struggling with the course and wanted my help that’s all. So a couple of times we went to The Hub after class and I helped him study.

It really made a difference, so I continued to help him and have been for the last couple of weeks.”

“That guy you were just with?”

“Yes. Danny was fine with it to begin with but he became really unhappy about it all of a sudden. He’d always been a little insecure, but it was never a real problem before. He seemed desperate about it; asked me to stop helping Jake, but I told him I didn’t see any harm in it. We argued about it and I told him he was being ridiculous.” She dropped her head again and said quietly, “I never thought it would be the last time I saw him.”

Michael felt for her. On the outside, Nina seemed cocky and thick skinned with an I-don’t-care-about-the-world attitude, but that really wasn’t who she was. Inside, she was as vulnerable as everybody else. She just dressed differentlyShe reached down for her bag and stood up to leave. “I have to get back and study.” Which was just as well as Michael didn’t feel the need to upset her any more than he already had.

“Again, I’m sorry for what happened to your boyfriend.” He stood and turned to her before leaving. “Will you be okay?” he asked with genuine concern.

She wiped her eyes, which smeared her thick make up even more. “Yeah,”

she nodded.

“Well, if you remember anything else, or just need to talk, I’m always on campus.”

“Thank you, sir,” she replied and gave him a strained smile before walking away. Back in his room, Michael had thrown on some sweat pants, made himself a mug of coffee and was now sitting on the sofa with his bare feet propped up on the coffee table and his laptop on his knee. He had quite a lot to do to prepare for tomorrow’s lessons, but, honestly, had no clue where to start. He flicked through Mrs Hart’s notes, which had been given to him earlier that day, trying to make some sort of sense of them but, honestly, they might as well have been written in Chinese for all he could understand of them.

Michael was pleased to read that she was teaching Statistical Methods in Brain and Cognitive Science at the moment, which was also something he knew absolutely nothing about. By some miracle of mammoth proportions he had to know enough to teach a class about it in the morning. He had approximately eight hours.

It was going to be a very long night.

A few hours passed and, after several cups of coffee and a bacon sandwich, Michael was well on his way to constructing his first assignment at SPU. He was surprised, and relieved, at how much information was out there on the internet. The clock in the bottom corner of his laptop screen read 02:14 so hethought he deserved a break and decided to make yet another cup of coffee. Not that he had anything else in his kitchen to make. He made a mental note to go to the store after work and get some groceries. Having nothing to snack on was not helping with his all night study session.

The sound from the boiling kettle was just beginning to die down when Michael heard a noise coming from outside his building. It sounded like distant sirens. He walked over to the window, opened the curtains and peered out. He saw a flashing blue glow rising up from behind one of the student dorm buildings across the green and opened the window which increased the volume of the emergency vehicles. He saw scattered lights being switched on around the rest of the building and the one next to it. It looked like the whole campus was waking up from the commotion. He threw on a hooded sweatshirt, pulled on his Nikes and headed out to see what was happening.

By the time he reached the student dorm building a crowd had begun to gather in the parking lot trying to see what was happening. Some of the students were crying, some seemed to be in shock and one or two were even videoing the scene on their cell phones.

Unbelievable.

Michael squeezed his way through to the front. There were two police cars, lights still flashing, and an ambulance was just pulling up beside them. Officers were ushering the onlookers to stand back including Michael now. He stretched his head to glance around the officer that was standing in front of him and could see a gray blanket covering every inch of what appeared to be a body on the ground. Whoever it was, was dead. Another jumper he presumed.

He watched as one of the medical crew pulled back the blanket. A young girl with blond hair lay still and lifeless with her eyes wide open. She was dressed in her night clothes−light blue pyjamas from what he could see−and there was a pool of blood by her head. One of the ambulance crew checked her over only to confirm the obvious and placed the blanket back over her face. Heheard sobs in the crowd and one girl fainted across the way from where he was standing. An officer went to assist her followed by a medic. This was the fifth suicide in just over a week and Michael knew that if he didn’t find out what was going on pretty quickly it wasn’t going to be the last.

* * *

The ambulance had taken the body away and, after taping off the area where the body had been with yellow tape, most of the police had gone. Students had begun to return to their rooms. Most were still shocked and upset by what they had just seen. A few of the officers had stayed behind to get statements and any other information they needed from witnesses.

Michael made his way back to his building.

Before going back to his room, he bought a hot cup of coffee from the vending machine and decided to hang around downstairs for a little while.

There was a security guard, a large man with graying hair and mustache, now sat behind the desk watching a small portable TV.

Michael noticed the guard watching him as he sat on one of the sofas near the door.

“Have you just come from the drama?” the guard asked with a deep gravelly voice. He had a strong accent. Michael guessed from the south somewhere−Texas maybe?

“Yes. Were you there?” Michael replied.

“I was the one who called it in.”

“You found her?” He sipped on his coffee.

“I sure did. I was out doin’ my rounds. By then there was nothin’ could be done for her, poor soul.” He had no idea how right he was about that.

Committing suicide definitely wasn’t the best thing for her soul. “Cops just tookmy statement. Makes you wonder what’s goin’ through these kids’ minds. It’s gettin’ crazy ‘round here lately.”

He reached over and turned the sound down on his TV. “Haven’t seen you before. You new here?”

“Yeah. Just got here today. I’m filling in for someone. I’m only here for a couple of months.” That was only partly true. He hoped his investigation wouldn’t take anywhere near that long.

“Well. You couldn’t have come at a stranger time,” the guard said. Then he turned the sound back up on the TV, leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the counter.

Michael finished his coffee, which was just as well as the guard was clearly done with the chit-chat. He needed to wait until the heat died down a little over the new jumper before asking any questions so he figured he might as well go up to his room and get back to what he was doing before he completely gave up on the idea of studying for the next four or five hours. His first class was at nine and, although he couldn’t care less about his teaching skills (or lack thereof), he had to make a good impression on his first day so he needed to make sure he was ready for it; putting it off wasn’t going to help. Why couldn’t the position have been for something more interesting like a football coach? Well. . . he wouldn’t be much good at that either.

CHAPTER THREE

Michael had been in Oakland for three days, had checked out the area and done some research on the town’s history, but nothing unusual had come up. Getting close to the student’s friends around campus and seeing if there was any connection between the victims was the only plan he had right now.

He walked along the quiet corridor of the administration building at SPU.

His footsteps echoed lightly as he passed a long row of gray doors that ran uniformly down one side. The sound of muted voices reached him from time to time from a couple of the rooms as he walked by but none of those were what he was looking for.

Towards the end of the corridor, there stood a small wooden table against the wall. Framed pictures of each of the dead students were placed upon it along with various other objects. A pegboard hung right above on the wall with more pictures pinned to it; a memorial of happier times before each of their friends had met their demise. There were also messages of condolence from those who knew them.

Michael read one of the notes:

Dear Emily. . .

I wish we’d known the hurt you must have been feeling to make you do something so desperate. At least you are now at peace. Forever in our hearts.

Your Friends
Jo and Sandra x

A young woman approached the table and stopped beside him. Her dark, backcombed hair almost covered her whole face, but Michael got a glimpse of her pale complexion and thick dark eye makeup as she threw him a sideward glance before placing a small glass next to one of the framed pictures: a young man who looked to be wearing almost as much makeup as she was. He watched as she pulled a lighter from her pocket and used it to light a small candle which she then placed inside the glass, She stood staring silently at the picture.

Michael thought he heard her sniffling and decided to step back from the table feeling that this was a moment he shouldn’t be intruding on.

He was about to continue down the hall when a tall, middle aged, bearded man approached quickly. “Nina!” he snapped. “I’m sorry, you can’t do that in here.” His harried expression suggested he was a faculty member.

“Do what?” the student replied in a brash tone.

“The candle. . . It’s against university safety rules. You’ll have to put it out I’m afraid,” he ordered as he peered at her over the top of his narrow rimmed glasses.
The female’s shoulders slumped. “Fine!” she said quickly, and blew the flame out. She gave him a sarcastic smile and walked off down the corridor in the opposite direction.

As Michael turned away, he noticed that the man had caught sight of him. Hoping to avoid him, Michael continued down the hall.

No such luck.

“Excuse me,” the man called after him. By the time Michael had turned around to answer, he was standing right in front of him. Jeez! This guy’s keen.

“Can I help you, sir,” the man asked, again over his glasses which he seemed to do a lot making Michael wonder why he wore them at all.

“Maybe. . . ” Michael replied, taking a step back so he didn’t feel so crowded by him. “I’m looking for the Dean’s office. I have an appointment.”

The man’s features relaxed. “Ah, I see. Well, you’re heading in the rightdirection. If you come with me, I’ll take you there myself Mr. . . ” He waited for a response while holding out his hand.

“Warden.” Michael shook it firmly.

“Mr Warden. Ed Wilkinson.” He continued to shake Michael’s hand while

he spoke. “It’s right this way.”

After eventually letting go, he led Michael down another short corridor to a room with several windows overlooking the outside. “Miss Taylor, the Dean’s secretary, will assist you now,” he said as he opened the door and walked straight in.

Michael followed.

“Morning Ed,” said a young blond haired woman sat behind a desk opposite the doorway. She was well presented, wearing a cream blouse and her hair neatly tied up in a bun on top of her head. To one side of her were two tall, metal filing cabinets and to her right, the wall was covered from floor to ceiling with shelves full of books.

Mr Wilkinson gave her an affectionate smile. “Morning Sarah.” He gave her a little wave on his way out and nodded to Michael before closing the door.

Sarah gave Michael a friendly smile as he approached her desk. “What can I help you with?” she asked as she left whatever she was typing on her computer.

Michael noticed her large, brown eyes behind her glasses, the kind of eyes that smiled with her. “I have an appointment with the Dean,” he explained.

“I’ve been sent from KSU for the substitute position.” He’d never actually been to Kent in his life, let alone the university there, but no one needed to know that.

She tapped a couple of keys on the computer in front of her. “Name please?”

she asked.

“It’s Michael Warden.”
She typed some more. “Ah, yes. Here we are. Please take a seat, Mr Warden.” She pointed to two plastic chairs, under the window which overlooked the corridor, and picked up the telephone receiver from her desk.

“Mr Raynor, your nine o’clock is here.” She paused for a second. “Yes, sir.”

She then placed the receiver back in its cradle and looked back over at Michael.

“He’ll be with you in a moment.”

“Thanks.” He sat down, placing the envelope which contained his papers on his knee. While he waited, he read through some of the book titles on the shelf next to him: The Hidden Curriculum; The Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. The usual stuff you would see in a university. He scanned some more until he stopped on a title that made him pause for breath: The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife. It was hard not to find it amusing, not that his situation was funny in any way. Maybe he should write a book; after all, having experienced it first hand, he should be able to sell a few copies.

The phone made a beeping sound and Miss Taylor picked up the receiver and paused. “Yes, sir.” She looked over at Michael after hanging up. “You cango in now,” she said, gesturing towards a wooden door on the opposite side of the room. “Mr Raynor is ready for you.”

“Thanks,” Michael said, then headed towards the door which had a gold plaque on it that read Dean’s Office - Professor Joseph Raynor in black letters.

He entered the large room which was brightly lit due to a large arched window overlooking the front grounds of the university. In front of it, dressed in a gray suit, Mr Raynor sat behind a dark wooden desk flicking through some paperwork. He glanced up at Michael. “Ah, Mr Warden. Please, come in and take a seat.” His office was full of books on shelves that covered the walls from floor to ceiling, except for one wall which had a large oil painting of the main university building surrounded by a heavy, gilded frame.

“Thank you, sir,” Michael said as he sat down in the chair in front of the desk.

“You’re here for the substitute position?” Mr. Raynor asked, spotting Michael’s file containing his homemade papers and holding out his hand for it.

His voice was stern but polite all the same. It couldn’t be easy running a university department, which was evident in his well lined face. He was almost bald apart from a little patch of stubble either side of his head; probably also the result of his work load.

Michael handed the envelope over. “Yes, sir. That’s correct,” he replied.

“And you’re aware it’s only a two month position?” Mr. Raynor began to flick through the paperwork which made Michael a little anxious as he silently prayed he hadn’t missed anything. He really didn’t want to have to re-plan everything.

He nodded. “Yes, I am.” It was much longer than he’d planned to stay, but at least it gave him plenty of time should he need it.

“And it’s a live-in position?” Raynor confirmed.

“Yes.” Michael replied. The university had accommodation for adjunct instructors and lecturers filling a temporary position as they would usually be from out of town. So, Michael would be on campus for most of the time; right where he needed to be.

There was a long silence as Mr. Raynor continued to read through Michael’s papers. This was the part where−if he could−he would be sweating as he waited to see if he’d manage to fool the Dean or not, but he’d realized that sweating was another thing that wasn’t a problem for him anymore.

After an anxious wait, Mr Raynor raised an eyebrow and looked straight at Michael. “There appears to be something missing.” He looked a little put out and flicked back through the papers again as though he were checking he hadn’t missed whatever it was.

Michael’s shoulders slumped a little. He felt sure he’d done everything required. He’d checked everything over three or four times. Dammit. This washis only way into the university. He didn’t have a plan B so if this didn’t work

he didn’t really know what else he could do.

“I’m sorry, sir?” He said with a relatively calm voice, wondering how he was going to get out of it. What could he have missed?

“The form containing your bank information isn’t here. . . ” Mr Raynor looked up at him. “For your salary? You’ll be paid into your bank monthly and our accounts department won’t be able to process the payment without it,” he explained.

Michael relaxed and had to fight back his laugh. Relieved, he smiled at Mr Raynor. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how I’ve missed that, sir.”

“It’s no problem. Just ask Miss Taylor for a form on your way out and pop it back into her before the end of the day.” He picked up a pen from a leather bound holder and began signing a few of the papers.

“Sure. No problem.” He smiled.

“Right!” Raynor slammed the folder closed and placed it down on the desk in front of him. “That seems to be everything. I’ll get someone to show you around the department and then take you to your accommodation building as soon as possible.” He buzzed through to reception. “Sarah, could you page Miss Holloway from Psychology and ask her if she’s free to show Mr Warden around please.”

“Of course, sir.” Miss Taylor replied politely through the loud speaker followed by faint tapping noises that sounded like a computer keyboard. “Her first class isn’t until ten o’clock so she should be available.”

“Thank you.”

Mr Raynor stood up and held his hand out to Michael, who did the same. They shook hands. “Welcome to State Park. I hope you settle in well. Take a seat back out in reception and someone will be with you shortly.” He politely showed Michael to the door.

“Thank you again, Mr Raynor.” He said before leaving the office.Miss Taylor smiled at him as he sat down. The chair was still warm from before.

“Can I get you a coffee or something?” she asked him as she picked up her cup from the desk and headed over to the coffee machine.

“Please. Coffee would be great.”

“Sugar? Milk?” He barely heard her ask over the noise of the machine.

“Yeah, Milk. One sugar,” he replied. Exactly how he’d drunk it before he’d died.

The slight aroma of ground coffee beans, the same smell he’d noticed when he’d first walked in, had now intensified and he couldn’t help but inhale it deep into his lungs. It was a normal, familiar smell that comforted him a little.

After the sound of hot steaming liquid dissipated, the petite blonde female brought him over a steaming hot mug which had the SPU logo on it. “Be careful, it’s extra hot.” But he’d already wrapped his hand around it and taken a sip of the hot liquid by the time she’d finished speaking the warning. Michael noticed her eyes widen a little, probably surprised that it hadn’t burned him.

“Thanks,” he said, and then blew over the top of it, only for effect, before attempting to drink more.

After watching her walk back to her desk where she quietly returned to her work, Michael reached for a community magazine from the coffee table in front of him and began to flick through the pages even though he wasn’t really taking anything in.

He was pleased that he’d managed to get through the meeting with Mr Raynor, and that he’d done everything he was supposed to, but he had no idea what to do next. He assumed the rest of the day would be spent being shown around, learning the ropes and other things, so was pretty certain he wouldn’t be teaching any classes until tomorrow which was probably for the best considering he knew nothing about psychology. Not needing any sleep wasgoing to be pretty handy tonight as he had a feeling he wasn’t going to get any.

Instead, he’d be spending the night studying for tomorrow’s classes.

It will be a miracle if I manage to pull this off.

It wasn’t long until the reception door opened and in walked a tall, attractive woman with sleek, long, blond hair. She was tidily dressed in a navy colored pencil skirt which stopped just below her knees and a casual, maroon V-neck sweater. The scent of her perfume followed her into the room, filling the air with a sweet, floral fragrance and. . . apple?

Miss Taylor pointed over to Michael as she spoke to the woman. “Morning,

Lacy. This is Mr Warden. He’s the new sub filling in for Joanne Hart while she’s on maternity leave.”

Michael stood to greet her as she approached him with her hand extended.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr Warden,” she said with a soft British accent.

Michael realized he was still holding his nearly empty mug in one hand and the magazine, he hadn’t really been reading in the other. “Uh. . . ” He fumbled and then quickly shoved the mag under his arm, freeing his hand to shake hers.

“It’s Michael,” he said politely. “Please, call me Michael.” As he looked at her, he couldn’t help noticing that she had the palest green eyes he’d ever seen.

“It’s nice to meet you, Michael. I’m Lacy.” She smiled at him, revealing a perfectly straight set of teeth, except for one of her bottom ones which bent

inwards. “If you come with me, I’ll show you around

CHAPTER TWO

It was a frosty morning in Oakland, Maryland. The first crack of dawn was peering over the distant mountains, sending bursts of golden red light streaking across the sky to fight away the dark. After Lacy Holloway pulled her front door closed, she paused for a moment to take in the view which was particularly breathtaking on this brisk fall morning; one of the reasons why she loved living so close to the mountains.

Thursdays were usually pretty busy at SPU, where Lacy worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, and today would be no
exception which was why she was leaving the house at the crack of dawn. She had plenty to do before classes started and always preferred to go into work an hour earlier than needed to make sure she had everything prepared for the day.

Weighed down with briefcase and files, she walked to her car and clicked the fob on her keychain to deactivate the alarm and unlock the doors.

Great. The windscreen was frozen solid.

After getting home as late as she had last night from work she’d forgotten to put the antifreeze cover on. She cursed quietly. Avoiding this was the reason
she’d bought one in the first place. She went to get the antifreeze spray from the trunk only to find it empty. She huffed, her cold breath creating a cloud in front of her face. Not a good start to the day. She’d have to pop into Jim’s Hardware store on the way home this evening to pick up some more and maybe a new brain while she was at it. Admitting defeat, she grabbed the plastic scraper from the inside of the driver’s side door and began attacking the window. A few minutes and two soggy wet gloves later and she was in the car, heater full blast, on her way to work.

One of the good things about heading out so early was the lack of traffic on the roads at that time of the morning which made the seven mile trip a pleasant one.

A ground mist covered the woodland on either side of the road, like a translucent blanket rising from the earth’s bed. As Lacy looked out at the long, straight road ahead, the mist-laden forest stretched out as far as she could see.

The sky was now a rich, golden backdrop to the tall trees in the distance, its sun ready to peer over their canopy at any moment.

By now the birds would be singing their morning chorus’ but Lacy couldn’t hear them as she was too busy singing along to Charm, her favorite band at the moment, which blasted through the stereo. It was her usual morning ritual and the best way to wake herself up at such an early hour.

She had worked at SPU for almost three years now, the only reason she’d moved to Maryland in the first place. It was the happiest she’d been in a long time being in the small picturesque town of Oakland, Garrett Co. Even though she was away from all of her old friends she’d settled in well, finally feeling
comfortable enough to call the place home.it had been almost three and a half years since her grandma had died, leaving her house and all her other belongings to Lacy who was her only living
grandchild. It was hard for her to continue to live in the house after that because there were far too many reminders of her past. The house had seemed too strange with only her in it so, after battling with her conscience because she knew how much her grandma had adored the place, she put it up for sale. In the meantime a vacancy had popped up at SPU. Lacy applied, got an interview and sailed through it. They offered her the job just after she’d accepted an offer on the house.

For once in her life things had fallen into place perfectly.

She still really didn’t know that many people in town aside from work colleagues and only had a couple of friends−none she knew well enough to really rely on−but she was happy with the way things were. Since moving to the states when she was fourteen, she’d always been a bit of a loner. In fact, even
Before then. She’d moved away from her only parent leaving her life and her troubled mother behind in England to start afresh with her grandparents in Ohio.

Her grandfather had died when she was twenty-two, leaving another gaping hole in Lacy’s life. After that it had just been her and her grandma who never
got over the loss of her beloved husband and, Lacy suspected, eventually died of a broken heart.

It’s as if Lacy was meant to be alone.

She was fine with that now though. Besides, her work kept her busy so she had no time for a social life anyway, even if she wanted one−been there, done that and found it hard juggling the two. Destined to be on my own. . .

As she ironically sang about there being “nobody who can comfort me”, she glanced down at the clock above the stereo to check the time and just as she
looked back out of the windscreen she gasped and swerved to avoid a dark figure standing in the road. The Ford Focus came to a screeching halt just
before the grass banking. Before Lacy could gather herself, she looked back through the rear window, eyes wide, frantically scanning the area.

Nothing there.

She glanced over her shoulder, her heart pounding in her chest so much that it felt like it would burst through her rib cage at any second.

Nothing there either.

“Shit"

She slammed the off button on the stereo and sat for a moment in silence, her heartbeat drummed loudly in her ears as she forced herself to breathe steadily−in and out, in and out−in a bid to calm herself down. She double checked the area to make sure there was definitely no one there. What the hell
was that? Had she imagined it? Her stomach suddenly felt heavy and a wave of nausea washed over her. Oh no! Not that. Please. Not those damn hallucinations . She thought as she reached for the door handle with a shaky hand. She got out and, after another quick glance around, her eyes checked the car over: everything okay. So far so good until she reached the passenger side

where. . .

Dammit!

Her front tire was shredded.

So much for getting into work early, now she’d have to call AAA and wait God knows how long for a truck to get to her. She had one last glance behind her before she got back in the car and reached over the passenger seat for her purse. She fished around for her cell, called a report in and was told they’d be there within the hour.

She sat quietly playing what had just happened over in her mind. It had happened so fast she’d barely had time to register what it was that was in the
Road. Could it have been an animal? No. The only animal that could be that big would be a bear or something, but there’s no way it could have disappeared that quickly into the forest.

There one minute, gone the next.

A person?

Lacy let out a long sigh. Yes, she thought, a person that was probably only ever there in her mind.

She cursed.

All those therapy sessions were supposed to have worked. Post Traumatic Stress her therapist had put the hallucinations down to after many hours of delving into Lacy’s past. You’d think she’d have been able to diagnose herself given her profession, but that had never happened, which is the reason she’d
hoped that someone else could. Well, it had all been a complete waste of money now. Oh well, nothing that another few sessions couldn’t fix, she supposed, then she could look forward to another five years without them.

She rested her head on the back of her seat and waited for the recovery truck.

IAmAmbrose come take a sit here

Chapter 2 comes in some hours time..... Enjoy

* * *

Forced to change his plans and find a motel room for the night−aptly named Comfort Motel−just on the edge of the city, Michael had cleaned himself up in
the shower and was standing facing the bathroom mirror, naked, staring at the slice in his stomach. He already knew he felt no physical pain and was stronger than he should be, but this was the first time he’d ever been stabbed. He’d had punch-ups and clashes, of course, that had been almost an everyday situation for him since becoming what he was, but this was the first time anyone had gotten
that close to killing him−or trying to, anyway. He hadn’t thought about what would actually happen when they did. It was ironic that a human would deliver his first, fatal blow given how many monsters he’d fought in the past ten months.

He was quite used to his new, thirty-one year old body by now−even though it was still strange seeing himself with dirty blond, choppy hair and not his own
black, sleek style−but he still found it hard to accept that it was indeed him that stared back from the reflection as he stood before it.

The wound had finally stopped bleeding as he examined it in the mirror. His lean, athletic body had been in quite good order anyway for someone who’d
abused it in such a way, but was now bigger, more muscular due to his regular steam releasing sessions at the gym. Now, though, he was going to have a pretty decent sized scar which would join the faded needle marks on the insides of his arms from his body's previous host’s drug habit as he ran his fingers over the small, white scars, he couldn’t help his mind wandering back to the darkest period of his life so far: the day he’d woken up dead.

After making a success of his life—good career, lots of good friends and family around him—it was hard to adjust to being so alone now. His success had taken him to places far and wide and it was something he never took for granted. He’d finally been in a place where he’d stopped hating his life, and then one day, someone took it all away from him.

He’d been murdered. That much he knew, though the reason, and his killer, still remained a mystery. With no recollection of what happened, Michael had awoken in a place he thought only existed in nightmares. A place he’d never believed existed at all until now.

Hell.

He leaned his hands on the sink and dropped his head, hating that his mind would throw the sordid memories up to him whenever possible. He hated
Remembering how much of a tortured soul he’d been down there in the pit−a demon along with the rest of the damned, even though he hadn’t been worthy of the punishment, given the honest life he’d led. He had no memory of how he’d died, and no justifiable reason as to why he’d ended up being punished in the worst ways imaginable. But he was also glad that he couldn’t remember much of what went on while he was in Hell. All he was left with were flashes of memories of what he could only describe as an excruciating inferno of pain that he’d endured right up until the point when he’d lost himself, as though the burning fire and the torture had finally become too much for his body and soul
To bear and he’d simply passed out.

Afterwards, he’d awoken to a different kind of nightmare. The visions of which were playing out right now as he stood in the dingy motel bathroom.

He was back on earth, no longer a prisoner, but not as he once was. He looked down at his body which wasn’t real anymore. There was no flesh or bone, just a spectral image that was lost in a parallel world where he had no more human interaction, just ghostly beings who were as lost as he was. Spirits
of the afterlife who−for whatever reason−hadn’t managed to find their peace either. He was lost, afraid, broken. How could this have happened to him?
He shook himself, determined to push the unwanted memories away. But even when he wasn’t seeing them plain as day, they were there, always.

Ghosts and entities weren’t the only beings that Michael had had to deal with during his time in that in-between world. He quickly learned that other
creatures existed alongside the spirits, creatures he’d already encountered, who knew he was there but would ignore his spiritual form like he was nothing but dust blowing on the wind. But it was only then that they’d taken no notice of him. He’d had no such luck since being corporeal.

The memories of the torture and suffering he’d endured were all that he was left with. He’d tried and tried to forget, but there was no way of blocking them out; so much so that they’d become the reason he hardly slept anymore, not that he needed to, but when he did those memories would become vivid enough for him to mistake the nightmares for a reality that he just couldn’t endure again.

His existence was now haunted by vengeance; had been that way every day since he’d been back on earth and the only reason he’d kept his sanity through all of it, was the determination to find out what had happened to him and the hope of catching his own killer someday.

Hopefully soon.

He wrapped a towel around his waist, grabbed his laptop and powered it up at the small dresser by the window. He had quite a bit of work to do, including faking some papers for himself. The best thing about acquiring a dying man’s body, and nobody knowing that the poor guy had died, was the fact that Michael had inherited the man’s whole life not just his physical form. He now existed, which meant he was in the system. If he was going to find out who or what was causing the students to make like lemmings and jump to their deaths, he would need to get inside the university. He’d decided the easiest way would be to work there. That way he’d be on campus for most of the time and could have a good
Look around without question.

In his life, he’d been a qualified computer programmer with his own successful business and now having so much time on his hands allowed him to improve on his skills which came in very handy for situations like this. He successfully hacked into the university’s database and struck lucky. There was already a transfer in place for a substitute to fill in for someone who was due for maternity leave in three days, so he changed the name and then set about faking some documentation. All he had to do after that was reach one of his contacts−who just happened to be in Kent, OH−send him to find a Mr George Cole, and persuade the guy to take a little vacation.

When he was done, he leaned back in his chair, placed both hands behind his head, and smiled with smug satisfaction that he’d just created a new career for himself in a matter of minutes without a glitch. After finishing his research, Michael glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table. It was almost midnight. He figured he’d leave for Garrett County at around six that morning so he decided to get some sleep. Not that it was necessary for him to sleep; he needed it about as much as he needed food, which was never, but it passed the time and he’d inherited a lot of that since he’d died.

And as for the food thing, well, not needing it didn’t mean he didn’t want it. He could still taste food just as well as before, so that was a bonus if ever there was to be one in this arcane situation. Truth was, he needed to hold on to as much of his humanity as possible if there was any chance of him remaining sane. He climbed into the bed and pulled the musty blankets up to his waist, switched off the lamp and lay on his back staring at the ceiling.

The darkness wasn’t as dark for him anymore−another thing he’d acquired: night vision. Although the world was more insipid, almost colorless to him, when the lights went out he could still see quite clearly. Great when he needed it, but now, in this quiet motel room, he’d give anything to have that darkness back. Sleep didn’t come as easy to him as it used to. His body or mind never tired, so it was now something he had to will. He thought back to his life and how much simpler things like sleep had been to him back then. Closing his eyes, he thought about how he’d get home late in the evening after a long shift at the office, switch on his computer and work some more, often accompanied by a large glass of whiskey. Then he’d fall into bed and sleep without even trying−another one of the many things he yearned for: to feel tired again.

Wondering what tomorrow would bring, he lay quietly and hoped that sleep

would soon take him.

Eventually, it did.

hadow:

Triple post

Have corrected it bro. Sorry about that