Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Obake ❯ Ghost ( Chapter 3 )

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Obake

Chapter 3: Ghost

By: Revamp

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Have you ever wondered why some people just do horrible things for what appears to be no reason? I have the answer. You see, most crazy people don't know that they are crazy. People don't know that they are crazy for the most part but a few do. They know that they're demented, hiding their dark intentions because they know the ensuing asylum time they'll suffer if they do something to someone for no good reason isn't worth the fun they'll have acting out their darkest desires. That's why people that seem normal suddenly torture or massacre others. They stopped caring about the consequences or they couldn't keep their madness at bay anymore. You might be asking how I can predict these actions? Well, you could say that I have…personal experiences with that. I live among you and I could be anyone. I hide in plain sight and I have had much practice concealing who I am. You won't know until I strike and then it will be too late. I'll end it quick. I would love to watch you scream as—

I see you're awake.

Rika stirred awake. She slowly sat up, feeling hazy as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her vision clarified and she was soon surrounded by sights that she didn't expect. Somehow, the girl had ended up in Pumice's room, right outside of the door. Glancing around herself, she felt a cold presence and noticed something hovering above her. “Ugh…please tell me I'm not in that place…huh?”

Looking up, what she saw something that might have shocked most people. It was a ghost and a fairly large one that was half of her height. It had a round body with a comma-like tail that faded into a fog-like substance. On either side, sickly thin arms with oversized hands were in the bent position. The whole entity was a black suit color and its face consisted of two half-moon eyes, void of pupils and a large, happy smile void of teeth. Rika couldn't read the perpetually happy expression of the anomaly.

She leveled it with her contrasting visage. “You must be a poltergeist. Are you the one who took Pumice?”

“No. I showed up here upon your awakening,” the ghost informed and seemed to have no part of her friend's possession.

Periwinkle eyes narrowed. “What? Did you think I was dead?”

“I know that you weren't. I came here upon noticing that you were in a comatose. It's a miracle that you snapped back on your own and became conscious again with no hospitalization. You have a great strength that could be useful to those in the afterlife,” the ghost complimented the human. In her case, someone who was in a coma from the experience she went through usually never came out. This girl was truly interesting.

“So, that's why you're here,” Rika stood up and looked at the floating apparition. “You're seeking my help.”

She had heard of situations where the dead would try to contact the living for assistance in the afterlife. Usually, things they wished of were simple, or they served as favors that would put the uneased spirit to rest. However, this spirit had a happy nature, so why would something like that seek her help? And, more importantly, what for?

“Give me the power and you shall conquer your every desire,” the ghost reached towards her, caressing the girl's face with his oversized hands and pointed fingers. “My curse will become your blessing, for my strength is not my own.”

Rika arched an eyebrow. “Conquer my every desire? Tell me, ghost, how will you make my desires come true?”

This sounded more like some genie in a lamp scenario than a paranormal encounter. Surely, there had to be some reasoning behind the mind frame of this ghost. There were barriers in the paranormal world that rarely if ever passed into the world of the living, so what could this happy spirit offer her that was so extraordinary?

“I will make you the very best…like no one ever was,” his words were simple, but still as vague as the rest of his subject matter.

She decided to trial his patience to seek a flaw in his execution. “What if I desired wealth?”

“That's an easy desire to fulfill.” It went hand-in-hand with what he wanted her do for him. If she accepted, this girl would have a very special part in the grand scheme of things.

“What are you? Some type of genie?” Rika questioned, feeling her cheeks grow cold from the extended contact of the spirit's hands.

“It is just payment for the services you will provide,” this ghost seemed desperate to have her do whatever was going on inside of his head. While Rika was cautious, she was intrigued by his offer.

“I know that paranormal entities will often come to those in the mortal world and ask them to carry out the deeds that they left undone in order to be put to rest but that usually comes with a heavy price,” she decided to state her current knowledge, letting the ghost know that she wasn't going to fall for his underhanded games. If that was his idea of repayment, then she would rather not participate in his scheme.

“Your knowledge is impressive,” the ghost was unfazed. She had guessed his actions and intentions all wrong.

“My mother is a medium. I have vast knowledge of the paranormal for my age,” Rika stated that undisputed fact, just to throw out that she was no fool who would fall so easily for tricks of the paranormal.

“Be that as it may, you could not have escaped the Nether without my help,” the ghost revealed his own little piece of information that he hoped would persuade the girl into helping him.

“The Nether?”

“Only the paranormal have knowledge of the Nether. It's a purgatory for souls. It's like hell, but the exile would make one go sane for all of eternity. I am impressed that you found it.” Not only was he impressed that she found it, but even more so that she had not gone insane after being stuck in it for a while.

“I was investigating paranormal activity and I was taken there. You said you helped me,” Rika was curious as to how exactly that little ghost helped her escape such a place. She imagined that someone's soul had to be pitch black if they were to be sent to a place like that.

“Helped is a gross understatement. Without me, you would not have gotten out.” As he had stated before, only the paranormal had knowledge of the Nether. It wasn't supposed to be something that was discovered by humans.

After a moment of silence, Rika looked to the ghost in question. “What if I accept your pact?”

The ghost's smile widened, and she couldn't discern whether it was creepy or it seemed expectant of a positive answer. “I will always be with you. From the time you accept, I will be watching over you. Many will not be able to see me, but I will always see you. I will follow you anywhere and be your constant companion. I will stare at all angles, keeping constant watch; yours loyally.

I will drift behind you, even when you're alone. I wait for you, unseen. I will sit across from you at breakfast and often wonder if you acknowledge my existence. You will never understand how close I am. I will crave close proximity and wrap my arms around you. I will lie near you every night and watch you in the dark. I am not quite the monster humans perceive me as. I can wait for eternity.

One day you will see me approach you. I will smile only at you until the day that you too, shall pass, and I will pick you up in my long arms. Our faces will touch and then you will follow me as the last drop of blood leaves your body. I will always be your guardian spirit.”

This ghost was an odd one. If she accepted his offer, he would haunt her, but as a guardian more than something that would pose a threat. He had already saved her from being vanished to a purgatory for souls, so there was no question that he had the power to pull her through situations regarding the paranormal.

Rika had never encountered a spirit of this type before. He seemed happy and helpful, nothing mischievous and nothing he said made her question his motives as far as being her guardian went. While most people would have found his monologue creepy with all of the habits of a stalker, she found it endearing and a kind gesture from something that owed no one an explanation, or a sense of loyalty.

However, the girl wasn't done with making things difficult for her spirit friend. “If I refuse?”

“There will always be another. I can wait patiently for an eternity.” He needed her, yet if she was not the one then he would run across another with similar traits. While humans ran out of time, it flowed constantly for the dead.

“You did save me from the Nether. The place was pretty much inescapable. Tell me…what do I call you?” Most ghosts had names or former personas…so what was his?

Pulling away, the ghost allowed his long arms to hang in that hinged figuration at his sides. “I am simply known as ghost.”

Rika arched an eyebrow. “A ghost called ghost? That's odd.”

“You could call me eccentric. I have fled all that binds me to the mortal world, so I chose not to go by a mortal name.” This ghost was a cryptic one, indeed. It wasn't common for ghosts to abandon all ties to the mortal world, so the fact that this one had told her that at least part of him had moved on.

However, if that was the case then why did he require the help of a mortal? “Wait…if that's true, then why are you here, offering your assistance to me?”

“I have one final duty I must fulfill.”

“You still haven't told me what it is,” Rika wasn't going to accept for sure until she knew exactly what she was getting in to.

“I simply want you to live,” that was the ghost's only request.

“To live? That's it?” Rika was still skeptical. Why did Ghost desire her to live, no matter what the circumstances? There was something more to it than that…but what?

“To live successfully with my help, to achieve your greatest goal,” maybe Ghost just wanted her to live the complete life that he could not. Ghost might have died at a young age, never knowing how it felt to age or live a complete life. Perhaps that was his wish. It would explain why he would go through such measures to preserve her life.

“Do you know what my greatest desire is?” The girl questioned. It was odd that Ghost had not asked before. He must be confident that he could fulfill it no matter what. After all, the paranormal had powers outside of their own. They had ways of making things happen.

“You want to be someone who understands the paranormal, like those before you.” Maybe he did know after all.

“I don't want to be a psychic or a medium. I merely want to research the spirits. I want to have a full understanding of what it means to roam in the afterlife. Why people do what causes them to roam. Is it because they have deeds left to accomplish or they feel an attachment to a person or object still in this world, or are mediums and psychics wrong? Does it differ from case to case? There have been theories but no solid evidence. I want to understand these things, to know them first hand and to live to tell the tale without experiencing it myself.” That was her true wish, the very thing that would make her feel as if she had purpose in this life. Rika longed to know all there was to know about the paranormal world, to fully understand the ways of the dead and make society have a clearer image of death. She didn't want them to fear passing on and understand that there was a life past that of the physical body. It would have cleared up the controversy that surrounded many beliefs. It would be a breakthrough on its own.

“Have you ever wondered what it was like to die? “ The question was obscurely on topic of Rika's goal. If she was interested in studying the afterlife, surely she wondered what it must have been like to pass on from one world to the next. “Imagine that you're in pain. Pain like you've never experienced before. It makes you wish you were dead, but you can't die. You already have. Stick in an infinite state of pain until your soul decays. `I put them out of their misery' is a common phrase associated with death. You claim that you're making their souls rest, but you are merely bringing them to a whole new world of pain.”

That was very contradictory to what the mortals thought. Most humans would presume that when someone died, they no longer suffered the physical injuries of the body. When a soul was detached from their source of pain that it disappeared, but maybe it was only condemning them to a fate far worse, to a fate where the only escape was nonexistence. Rika couldn't help but feel strange about wanting to have knowledge on sensations such as those, and wondered if Ghost's words were deeper than screwing with her mind to cause her to ponder on the process of death.

“Is that what it's like for you?” The girl asked. How else would Ghost know how it would feel to die?

“I am different from the standard spirit.” It was not his case, but he knew of similar cases.

“Strangely enough, I can sense that. There are several natures associated with spirits: happy, sad, concerned, angry and evil. You are happy with your current position and you don't seem to feel any pain beyond your death,” Rika's eyes narrowed. “However, there are things about your existence that interest me. It was always thought by my ancestors that happy spirits did not roam unless they were watching over someone, but I don't feel that's your case. I actually can't analyze you.”

Many things about Ghost contradicted the studies of Rika's ancestors. He was a suit black color, symbolized by evil and malicious spirits, but he was obviously happy. Ghost seemed rested, but at the same time he was seeking her help for something. He didn't want to rest, for whatever reason. There had to be something more, but no matter how much she tried to decipher him, the girl always came up with dead ends.

“There are aspects of the dead that the living weren't meant to understand. However, in exchange for your assistance I can provide you with a rare glimpse into the world of the paranormal. However, you should know the consequences of all you seek. Knowledge is a frightening and powerful thing to possess. Fact and fiction are words that are only used to define the separate worlds running parallel to each other. There are holes in the walls of these dimensions; holds in the fabric of reality that allows everything you ever thought was fake, a hoax, myth, legend or fictitious exist.” There were always things that were only meant to be understood by those who rightfully resided in their respective worlds. Those who often learned things not meant to learn were condemned to a horrible fate or paid a heavy price for obtaining the knowledge that they had. Many things existed beyond the grand scope of mortal knowledge, but few had the opportunity to witness such things. Those who did were regarded as crazy and could only speak to a selective audience about their findings.

“Are you saying that everything within the depths of the human mind is real?” Such an assumption was a bold statement, not to mention it caused her to wonder why he had such a mindset. What exactly did Ghost know about those who existed in the realm of the fantastical?

“Something about this town and medium compels you to figure out these riddles and mysteries, but why? What compels you to be so enamored with death and the supernatural? Do you enjoy the thrill of finding out what lurks in hindsight or becoming suspicious to the moving shadow in the corner of your eyes? Is there a noise you didn't hear before or was it there all along? Is it different now? Are there things you never noticed originally? Is something out of place? Is it your imagination or is it real? When you gain knowledge you expand the limitations of your mind. Clear of distractions, it can push your consciousness to perceive at levels that you don't naturally reach. The longer you learn the more you become aware of things you never knew. There is a reason why your brain would block these sensations. No one can be sure why. Maybe your mind is trying to warn you. Maybe they are things not meant to be learned. Then you cannot unsee or unknow them. These things that shouldn't be learned.” To Ghost, Rika was equally intrigued. Death and the afterlife were vastly fears and misinterpreted through the eyes of mortals. Even when Ghost had been alive, most people he knew had given him their own personal interpretation of what they thought death was like. Most were afraid of it, and some embraced it and thought that it was a path to a land of splendor in the hands of their deity of choice. When he was once alive, he couldn't deny that he had embraced such beliefs, but now that he had died things were look at with different eyes.

“You're right about that. The dead have strange philosophies but in many ways we mortals could learn a great deal from you. Your years of observation have made you wise beyond the scope of any living being. You truly seem advanced in many ways. It's as if you've mastered a way of thinking beyond my comprehension. What if I told you that I desired to know these things that should not be learned by mortals? What if I said that I accept the consequences of my actions and whatever punishment I receive that result from the knowledge I gain?” Rika leveled the ghost with a serious gaze, more so than she had ever given anyone. Even if she was just a teenager, it had always been her goal to acquire knowledge about what happened to people after they died. This was a rare opportunity, and she knew when to grab it. Sure, she knew that there were consequences to her actions and obtaining knowledge was a strictly advised course of action, but at the same time, many have been successful at acquiring knowledge and making breakthroughs through use of that knowledge. Even if it killed her, Rika wanted to obtain that knowledge, not just for personal gain but to tell others of her findings and to let the world know of her findings and put the speculation to rest.

“All you have to do is follow me and I'll make you the very best…” Ghost paused before he finished his sentence with a lower octave. “…like no one ever was. You will gain knowledge of the paranormal world…of death, life and sacrifice. You will conquer your every desire. My curse becomes your blessing for my strength is not my own.”

Rika was a little apprehensive on what that last phrase meant; Ghost obviously needed her physical strength for something, but what? Shaking her head, she cleared the uncertainties before nodding in agreement with a confident expression. “I agree to your terms and in exchange, you will help me with all tasks I wish to fulfill to the best of your ability. We will live symbiotically and reap each other's benefits. I will do as you wish and in return you will do the same for me.”

“No matter what the others say, you must turn a deaf ear to them,” Ghost wanted to make sure that the girl was ready for this type of commitment. Given what she was asking, she would have no choice in the matter.

Rika's eyes narrowed. “About you, I am assuming.”

“There are many things society will warp and change. If you are to properly discern then you should figure things out for yourself. Do not lose the sense of gaining knowledge in its purest form. Knowledge is gained from your personal experiences, not the misconceptions of others.” The truly great minds in the world would have it no other way. Ghost believed that in order to truly have knowledge that one must be able to gain the knowledge for themselves and not go off of the words of others. Humans tended to play a warped version of the telephone game, where one would tell the other and the information would chain along, morphing and twisting with each new tale until the truth was obscured. With Rika, he wanted pure and untouched knowledge.

“Even if I do hear anything, I'm going to question you about it, believe me on that. I never believe anything I hear first hand.” It wasn't just that, Rika felt like the poltergeist had something to hide. Why would he tell her to only gain knowledge on her own and beware the words of others if nothing that was spoken wasn't true? Even if she was entering a pact with him, she still did not trust him.

“What is your first goal, my dear?”

The fact that he changed the subject immediately only made her suspicions rise.

“My name is Hyumanji Rika, and my first order of business is that I want you to assist me in finding my friend, Pumice.” For now, she would ignore his suspicious mannerisms. Rika was sure she would find out his wily ways soon enough.

“Rika it is. What are the whereabouts of your friend's disappearance?”

“She was checking out a popular internet story and talking to a mutual friend on the phone. Then, she suddenly vanished. I looked all over town but I can't find her. Is it possible that she went to the Nether?” If Pumice could transport her there, then shouldn't she be able to take herself there as well? It was just an educated guess, but it was better than having nothing to hold on to.

“You would have seen her, which is rare considering the Nether is an exile. The fact that you got to the Nether is an extremely rare occurrence.” Not to mention it was even rarer that she lived through an encounter in the Nether.

Rika glanced to her friend's laptop. The keyboard had a big bubble in it the size of a bowling ball and the keys were melted. It must have been the work of whatever possessed her. “Do you know anything about a strange internet account called six-one-six?”

“I don't deal with internet phenomenon,” Ghost felt he had better things to do with his life, then play urban legend detective. Not to mention, no one could believe any of what they heard on the internet. Even those who showed proof of their experiences could merely edit something to make it more realistic than it was. Six-one-six could have been anything classified as bullshit.

“This is something more than that. Whatever it was it was how I ended up in the Nether. This isn't even my house, it's hers,” Rika pointed to the mangled piece of plastic. “It destroyed her laptop, and she's gone. Her phone is also dead or it's not receiving a signal.” She knew what she sounded like, but she didn't care, though in the back of her mind, proving something exists to an entity people generally question the existence of somehow felt ironic.

“Do you think she was killed with a computer program? That's just a little ridiculous, isn't it?” As amusing as her claims were, Ghost couldn't take that train of logic as anything less than a joke. If she honestly believed that anything was tied together, she was just as foolish as the others who believed it.

“Of course it is. That's why I think something else is behind it. I believe their intentions are malicious, so I would like to get her away from whatever it is as soon as possible.” It was undoubtedly a race against time. Who knew what it was and what it was doing to her at that moment. Rika didn't want to think too hard about it.

“What if she's already passed on?”

She didn't want to hear that, but Ghost presented a scenario that could happen.

“Then I at least want to find a body or an answer and with you I can do that,” she either wanted to solve the mystery or find Pumice. If she was dead, then she wanted to find a body. If she was alive then she wanted to solve the mystery. There were more people than just the two of them involved. Pumice had parents and friends who would begin to worry and wonder. The least Rika could do for them is give them closure.

“Then we should venture out.” If Pumice wasn't inside of her house, then logic deduced that something took her outside. Going into Conversion Town was their best bet.

“Let's go,” determination filled the girl's form as she went outside and the two of them walked through the dense fog that filled the town. They made their way through the nearly empty streets of town, looking around in every available area to try and find any sight of the green-haired girl.

There were a few people out, merchants at their vending stands and a few children that played close to their homes. Mediums and tourists were out, taking chances to get that famous glance at the paranormal activity. Rika inwardly sighed at the idiocy of such people, and decided to walk away from them. On her way to turn around the block, she nearly stumbled upon a little girl, who was so short that her form was covered by the fog.

Her hair was dark brown, in two braids that lay over her shoulders. She wore a pink dress with overall straps and a long-sleeved white shirt. The little one stared up at her with round, blue eyes and asked her a haunting question.

“Have you heard of the ghost with no name?”

Rika blinked. “Ghost with no name?”

The girl's face warped into one of concern. “Wherever you go, if you look carefully, very carefully, you will see him. He follows everyone, everywhere. But if you have seen him or talked to him, he will not leave you alone. Every moment you are alone, he will appear in front of you. He will stare at you with his hollow eyes and turn you insane. He will bring you to the point of suicide.”

Could all of this be a clue to what happened to Pumice? Maybe she was insane from being followed by that ghost? Then again…Rika couldn't ignore the fact that the ghost she had made a pact with had no name and followed her around. She felt a little ill, and wondered what she had done. This couldn't have a connection to her. It just couldn't! This ghost was nothing like the other one.

“My friends were being stupid about the ghost that always watches. Little did I know that they were right. When I came home from a long walk, I found my brother laying dead in the front yard. People say he committed suicide, leaving a note saying that he had been cursed by the ghost and it was his time to expire. A gave stone appeared at his head with his name and information. He's still in my front yard,” the girl's voice was eerie, and Rika could hardly believe what she was hearing. Despite her outward appearance of stoicism, she was paranoid of her recent decisions.

“He left a description of Ghost. It has a round body, long, floating tail, hollow eyes and long arms with big hands. I wondered what would happen if I ever say him. I decided not to find out.”

That whole description was just like the ghost at her side. Then again, there are quite a few ghosts that looked like him. Ghosts took many forms, and even changed forms whenever they wished. They weren't bound to mortal bodies.

“Sometimes, when I'm alone and I look in the mirror, I think I see him, but maybe it's my eyes playing tricks on me. I thought I saw a thing that matched that description and sometimes I see it. I think I made it worse by trying to find things out about Ghost online,” the little girl's expression became more riddled with paranoia and anxiety. Right now, she sounded delirious and scared out of her mind.

“My life has been hell since then. I have become obsessed with him. I draw pictures of him and sometimes, I look for him in the middle of the night. Sometimes…I think he might want to be friends…” She trailed, then clutched the sides of her head and shook it, bending her knees slightly as her voice raised in pitch. “No! That's how he draws you in, and makes you want to kill yourself. “

She looked back up at Rika with a crazed expression. “I don't have long until I go. Ghost is a horrible spirit. If you ever encounter him…” The girl paused and looked horrified as she pointed over her shoulder. “Wait…What the hell is that thing?”

“What thing?” Rika inquired as she glanced back at the perpetual smiling face of Ghost. `Can she see Ghost? Surely it isn't the same Ghost that's with me. Other spirits have referred to themselves as Ghost as well for various reasons. We didn't meet in the same way. If he wanted me to go insane then he would have left me in the Nether instead of saving me.'

The young girl was blue in the face from fright as she continued to point. “I thought I saw the black hand of death on your shoulder, but it's gone now. I sense your time is short. You don't have long now. Please, escape the grasp of insanity before you try to kill yourself, too and end up like my brother. May god have mercy on your soul!”

The girl turned and took off running as fast as she could, desperate to get away from the black-haired girl. Rika could only wonder if her story was true, or she was just a crazy person who had escaped from the institute. However, Ghost didn't go without questioning.

…To Be Continued