The Ghost of Everything That Could've Been

“Are you ever coming back?”

His brother’s voice was soft, and Aaron sighed at the defeat in Cole’s voice but before he could answer he heard a scream from outside. Rushing to the window, his eyes widened at the sight of a creature he’d never laid eyes on before down on the street. “Shit.” he whispered, before he realised what was happening, he would have to go after that… the likelihood of surviving though.. 

“Cole. Listen to me. Tell Dad I love him, I love you both okay? I’m sorry I was never there, after Ken and Mom… and… –” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m just sorry.” he hung up before his brother could protest and tossed his phone on the bed. Grabbing every piece of weaponry he could carry he fled his apartment before he could think twice and was downstairs and heading towards the creature. 

He was momentarily distracted by the familiar face, “Move! Get out now!” he yelled, aiming his gun in the pale mans’ direction and firing. 

She never imagined the after life. Growing up amongst a coven of witches meant there was no reason to. Like so many that came before her, when she died she’d be consecrated to the ground and her spirit would strengthen the coven’s collective powers. It was all very standard and Aliana never pictured anything else. Sure, it wasn’t fluffy clouds and halos but if death meant she’d be reunited with her loved ones, she’d welcome it. However, since experiencing death her opinion on the afterlife had changed drastically. Aliana stood in the lobby of her apartment building, her anger radiating off of her as she ran at full speed out of the door. She was yanked back inside moments later and the lights began to flicker more fervently. The chandelier on the ceiling swung frantically from side to side and the vast temperature change was making the tenants crave their winter jackets as they entered the building. Needless to say, her anger was starting to get the better of her. She was about to make another run for it when she saw a familiar face enter the building. “What do you want?” she asked her voice more venomous than she intended. She exhaled deeply, in a effort to alleviate her anger. “Can you get out the way? It’s hard to make a break for it with you blocking the exit.” 

On most days his whisping abilities were able to get him to places he was familiar with Laurel Heights, SSRA buildings, etcetera, but only for a brief amount of time. Today, he ended up in a familiar face’s vicinity and as he narrowed his eyes on a snappy Aliana, Ethan then retorted with, “The fuck is with your attitude? And just go through me sweetheart, it won’t be any trouble on your part since I’m dead.” 

She watched the wheels turn in the other woman’s head as they stood there in silence. It was clear by her facial expressions that she was working thru something in her head but Ali didn’t want to know. She’d had enough bad news for the day. “Yeah, I’ve tried.” she nodded her head trying to shake away the thoughts of Ethan’s death. “But I can only go about a foot away from the building before I’m dragged back inside. It doesn’t matter which entrance I try to leave out of, the results are always the same.” she sighed, leaning against a wall. “I’ve tried touching a few things but I can’t really grasp anything. I did come close to blowing a piece of paper off of a table though.” 

“And no one saw you when they came, you said a few days ago?” she replied, recalling the woman’s earlier words. She tried to connect the dates to Ethan’s sudden ability to be seen by people other then those with her power, and she knew that there was something behind the twos reappearance. If she could find more that died… Riza sighed softly, “It might be a strength thing, practice. You are new to this, once you adjust, powers might become stronger.”

“Sounds good.” Ali replied with a small smile. Despite the absence of touch she was happy to finally interact with someone. She took a few steps back before speaking again, “I used to have a dog. She was cute but kind of feisty. Her name was,” she sighed, “is Calypso.” Aliana leaned against the wall and slid down until she was sitting. “She barked a lot which really seems like the sort of thing that would make your neighbors hate you but they didn’t seem to mind” she rambled. “I’ve been trying to figure out what happened to her, you know?” Ali looked over to Andrea, hoping that the young woman didn’t think she was crazy for worrying about a dog instead of her being dead. “The first few days after my death are a little hazy as are my final days so I don’t really know where they took her.” she shrugged. 

Aliana looked down at the floor, her mind still processing all that had happened. She could feel the sadness creeping up on her and was desperate to out run it. “You’d think dying would make more of a lasting impression but it really underwhelmed.” she joked. “Then again I suppose dying of a supernatural plague is more peaceful than getting stabbed to death. It seems like it would be right?” she said looking to Andrea before starting to giggle. “I’m sorry.” she said still smiling, a few tears running down her face. She wipes them away quickly, hoping Andrea doesn’t see. “I forgot for a second, that I wasn’t technically alive anymore.” she smirked. “What about you? Do you just go around hunting ghosts like those hot guys on Supernatural?” she asked, her smile disappearing at the realization that she might be. “Oh God, you’re not here to exorcise me are you?” 

        Andrea gave Aliana a sad smile, even though she didn’t mean to. Hearing her speak about her dog made a small ache in Andrea’s chest have itself known. She felt bad for the young woman. “I can find her for you.” She says once the ghost finishes about speaking about her lost dog. Andrea moves to where Aliana has placed herself and sits down beside her. This makes Sunday get up from the floor and move with Andrea, still keeping away from the ghost, but he didn’t seem as nervous. As long as Andrea was calm, he would be too. Relatively. “I can go to the animal shelter. I’ll start there first.” She tells Aliana with a strong nod. It was the least she could do. Besides, she didn’t want the ghost to become overwhelmed with sadness, which would more than likely turn into resentment and resentment for having this happen to hear would turn to angry and angry spirits are all around terrifying.

        Andrea laughed at the joke and honestly laughed. Aliana is the first ghost Andrea has come across who has humour still. It was nice, actually. It was still as if the woman was still alive. “Honestly, –“ Andrea didn’t know how to answer that, but she didn’t want to give the ghost an answer that would probably make her more upset. “Yeah, I think dying from the supernatural plague would be a lot more peaceful.” She answers, looking at Aliana with a comforting smile. “Please, don’t be sorry. Please don’t.” She says softly and upon seeing the tears, she clears her throat, “– But, if you want to hear about a death that left an impression, I got one for you.” Andrea sits in a more comfortable position, facing Aliana. “I’m not sure if you were here for this, but there was a time loop. Like, Groundhog day sort of time loop. It was fucking annoying… Anyway, long story short: I got hit by a car. Died instantly and I had some sort of outer body experience thing happen. I freaked.” She laughs at the memory that still seemed to be in bits and pieces.

        “I don’t know about hunting, sounds kind of aggressive, but yeah. In a way.” She explains shortly. Her eyes went wide and Andrea instantly started shaking her head, “Oh, no, no, no. I’m not here to exorcise you. I mean, I don’t want to, but even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to. Home spirit cleanses can only be conducted by a priest… And, I’m no priest.” Andrea explains quickly, hoping to calm the ghost of her thoughts. Suddenly, a thought pops into the old soul’s mind which makes her brows furrow. “Wait. How do you know that the plague was supernatural?”

 Aliana felt embarrassed for breaking down in front of Andrea. She didn’t like being overly emotional while she was alive and she hated it even more in death. She was relieved when the other woman changed the subject. “Um, no. I wasn’t here for any time loop.” she giggled. “You actually died? Like you actually saw yourself laying there, dead as a door nail? Is there anything that hasn’t happened in this town?” she asked throwing her arms up in the air. “I mean I don’t think I’ve met an ordinary human since I’ve been here, which is both interesting and frightening.” 

“That’s a relief.” she nodded her head slightly in an attempt to calm her nerves. While the idea of finding peace and moving on was enticing, she’d be lying if she said that’s the way she wanted her story to end. Plus there was a small part of her that hoped she could find a way to resurrect herself. She focuses her attention back on Andrea when the journalist asks her a question. “I’m a witch or rather I was when I was alive. I could siphon magic from other people and objects so I could sort of feel when someone or something had a hint of magic in it. When I was infected and not completely weighed down by all my symptoms, I felt it all the time.” 

If her heart could stop again it would. She and Ethan weren’t exactly close but still, it hurt to know that they’d both suffered the same fate. Ethan was a fighter, a survivor like she was. He deserved better, they both did. “Okay.” she said nodding her head slightly. “Your form of help wouldn’t include finding a way to bring us back to life would it?” she asked as she felt the tears building up in her eyes. Ali inhaled deeply trying to calm herself. “Don’t answer that.” She didn’t want to be told that there wasn’t any hope. She would find a way, she had to. Floating off into peace or spending her afterlife dowsed in flames wasn’t an option. “What do you wanna know?”  

At the mere mention of bringing them back to life Riza froze, though she prided herself on hiding the reaction as much as she could by keeping her expression as neutral as possible. She wished the girl could realise exactly who she was talking to, and that resurrection was an ability that she was capable of, but then again who would they choose to sacrifice in order to keep the balance? A soul for a soul, Riza wasn’t sure that playing god was the answer here, she already had her suspicions that her work with Skylar almost a hundred years ago was having an adverse affect on the town she was drawn to, but to continue to use her powers and play with the fate of innocent humans again? Who was she to decide who lived and who died? Her mouth opened to explain the complexities of resurrection before she backtracked, not willing to go into details just yet and give too much away to a complete stranger, instead choosing to focus on what she wanted to know. “Have you tried to leave your apartment?”

“Um, thanks.” she says skeptically as she watches the stranger creep out of his hiding place. “Though I’m not sure you could do much harm to me anyway.” she huffed. “But on the off chance that you could, I’m also going to ask you not to hurt me.” she said with a small smile. Aliana stared at the stranger for a moment. She could practically see the paranoia radiating off of him. Everyone in town had been a little off with the plague and now thy sky ripping open but the young man standing before seemed more worried about his own survival than the state of the town. “Just relax,” she said in as calm a tone as she could manage. “I’m sure whatever you’re worried about isn’t that bad.” Aliana takes a step towards her frantic companion, both hands in the air as a sign of surrender. “In case you haven’t noticed, the town has completely gone to shit so whatever you did probably pales in comparison to that and if it doesn’t then you should definitely pick a better hiding place.”     

The smile on the woman’s face gives him a rather uneasy feeling for some reason but she did not really pose as a threat to him—at least right now. Still playing into the whole defenseless sap he allows his hands shake as if to appear nervous. He does lower them slightly when the woman suggests that he relaxes in a rather calm tone, it does sound rather soothing even if he is not genuinely scared of the woman. “I have noticed. I want to leave but for some reason I’m unable to really escape from the town. No matter how many different ways I can think of the roads always wind back and I’m still in the city limits.”

Ali clenched her jaw in an effort to calm herself. She didn’t want to scare off a possible friend. But she was angry; angry at things she had no control over. She found herself wishing she’d caught the disease later, then maybe she’d still be alive. She wished she could’ve worked up the courage to go to a hospital instead of relying on magic to heal her. She wished she had the chance to see her brother again before she kicked the bucket. But wishes were useless now, at least she was still around. Perhaps there was hope in that. “I’m sorry about that. I guess I haven’t made peace with my death yet.” she said with a small shrug. Her lips twitched upwards into a small smile at Riza’s sincerity. “Thank you, but you have nothing to apologize for. It’s not like you unleashed a plague upon the town.” she chuckled though the small amount of joy she had faded away quickly. “Ethan’s dead too?” she asked folding her arms across her chest. “Dammit.” she whispered. “Help me? Help me how?”

She shook her head vigorously a couple of times to emphasis that the woman didn’t need to apologise, Riza most definitely wasn’t seeking one and understood the girls anger and frustration, even if Riza’s own death had been an entirely different situation and ended up with the woman she was today as a result. Though at the the mention of Ethan, she merely nodded once. “Yes.” she replied shortly, figuring it was best to come straight out with it rather then some elaborate sympathised version that wouldn’t exactly help the situation. When she mentioned help, she sighed. “I have resources, I would like to try and study the situation, find out why you are still here. Mr Valdez has helped me somewhat, but I would like to see if your answers match what’s been happening with him as well.”

“Hey there’s plenty of stuff to steal here.” she said with a pout. “You just have to look for it.” She watched the other woman closely, trying to assess how much she knew about Ali’s state of being. Aliana had been stuck in the apartment for weeks and she hadn’t managed to communicate with a single person. Perhaps she was finally getting the hang of this whole ghost thing. She walked over to the other woman, still keeping a small amount of distance between them. “If you’re not going to steal anything what are you doing here?” she asked with a raised brow and couldn’t help but laugh at Lachlan’s comment about cookies. “If you’re looking for a landlord that bakes cookies you’re in the wrong apartment building and yes, I did live here. Technically I still do.” she sighed. “Just out of curiosity, why couldn’t you view the place in the day light with the landlord who has a key?”

“I have to actually put some effort in this? Geez, if I knew being a thief was this exhausting, I wouldn’t have taken up this job.” Lachlan took another glance around the place. This time, however, she spent more time assessing her surroundings, taking in full account of what the other woman had said about having to look for it. “Is this place not up for leasing? Or did I walk into the wrong room?” she asked, alarmed that she could have possibly made a mistake at reading numbers. Her further statement only made Lachlan more conscious about possibly screwing up and actually breaking into someone’s apartment. “I don’t want to tell you how to live your life or anything, but usually, living arrangements include furniture, food, and maybe a pet. Or are you just waiting for them to drag you kicking and screaming? If so, I say to keep your ground.” Her eyes widened at Aliana’s next question. Lachlan didn’t have a chance to formulate up an excuse or reasoning for breaking in, but it was only because she thought she was safe from getting caught. “I thought maybe the place would look better at night. And plus, I was around in the area. I also wanted to see if I was still able to pick a lock. Still can.” 

“Um a few days ago I guess.” she said with a raised brow. “People have been in and out of the apartment since the CDC cleared the place. But spoiler alert, no one wants to buy an apartment someone recently died in.” she jokes, her small smile turning into a laugh when the stranger mentions the outfits from Ghostbusters. “I don’t know, I think you might’ve pulled it off with the right shoes and accents.” she smiled. It had been months since Ali had been able to have an actual conversation with another person and this seemed to be going well. It felt easy like it did when she was alive, and it was nice to know that death hadn’t completely demolished her people skills. Her smile fades when her new acquaintance inquires about her death. “Yeah, it was the disease. Despite using gallons of hand sanitizer and adhering to curfews it still got me.” she said, a bit of venom in her voice. “How many more are there?” 

A ghost of a smile passed her lips but soon faded, “I suppose they would not, no.” she conceded, the fear that the disease had caused still too painfully fresh for people to be settling into apartments that could still be lurking with infection, despite reassurances that all signs of the disease was slowly disappearing. It had been months now since someone had come down with it, the previous victims were improving greatly, all but healed. All that remained was fear and ghosts, it seemed. “Oh I can pull anything off,” she quipped with a wink, though her amused expression soon faded into something more serious as the girl regaled Riza with her story. “I’m sorry,” she replied, tone nothing but genuine. “I’ve encountered one of you, Ethan Valdez, and I suspect there are more.” she replied, “I’m slowly working through the list of the deceased to see who else is out there. I’d like to help you.”

12 inches, that’s how far Aliana could go from her apartment building before some weird, ghostly rope pulled her back inside. She’d been trying for days now and still she couldn’t go farther than that no matter which entrance she went out of. Now here she was, standing in the alleyway trying to figure out how to get further away from the building. “Come on Ali you can do this.” she said in an attempt to motivate herself. She slipped off her shoe and eased her toes over what she had assessed was her boundary. Maybe taking it slow will work. No sooner than the thought entered her mind was she pulled back into the building. “Son of a bitch.” she mumbled to herself and she landed on the floor. She got up and stomped out of the door once more, careful not go pass her limit. “Seriously!” she yelled at the building, the universe, God and anyone else who might be listening. “I get that I’m a ghost but the concept of having haunt this freaking building for an eternity is just cruel. Either let me move on to the great beyond or let me haunt someplace fun!” She glimpses someone out the corner of her eye and finally realizes she’d been talking too loudly. “You know hiding behind a dumpster is really cliche.” she sighs. “If I wanted to kill you, that’d be the first place I looked.” 

While he hides in his spot he does hear the person seemingly talking to no one, which strikes him odd. They seem to be in a predicament but all of Griffin’s thoughts revolve around the fact that the person might be using this as a ploy to lower his defenses. Then the unexpected occurs and he realizes that he’s been made, evident by the person giving away his location. Just how did they know he was already there? Maybe he did not move fast enough to avoid detection or the person might have caught a whiff of his scent or maybe they are right, he made such a cliche mistake that it’s rather obvious. Instinctively he reaches for his handgun tucked underneath his layers, but maybe he could have the upperhand and appear to be an independent hunter in case this person might be as well. It does not take much for him to slowly raise his hands up in the air as he reveals himself from his spot. Although the woman claims that she would not kill him, he still cannot afford to lower his guard since he’s used that ruse in the past and still killed his target immediately after they thought they were on the same side. “Look I’m not here to hurt you, please don’t hurt me.” Although he feigns his pleading to appear innocent, it does disgust Griffin to no end to even act this way. He’s not the grovelling type by any means and never wants people to think that he is spineless, but when desperate times calls he guesses that drastic measures might be made.

Aliana just stared in awe at the would be intruder. It had been weeks of nothing but strangers walking by her without the slightest inkling that she was there. Now here standing in front of a young woman who was very much aware of her ghostly presence. Her brain fired off an array of questions to ask though her mouth didn’t seem to get the memo. “Cute dog.” was all she could manage to say as she still tried process everything. Her mind quickly turned to thoughts of the young puppy she’d orphaned after her death. “You can see me.” she smiled. “Of course it’s not a bother.” she said a bit too excitedly. “I have literally been in here for weeks trying to get someone’s attention.” Ali crossed the room, closing the gap between her and her new friend. “I mean I tried being overtly ghost like, just to screw with people but even that didn’t work. Now here you are.” In her excitement she tried to place her hands on the ghost hunter’s shoulders and sighed a disappointing sigh when she realized she couldn’t touch her. “I’m Aliana.” she said pulling her hands away, “What brings you to my little slice of purgatory?”

         The soul fixed her look at Andrea and said nothing. Andrea, not knowing what else to say in this very moment, took an awkward look around the house. It was bare, but there were bits of evidence that it had been lived in before: A dying plant, the placement of what Andrea is guessing was a clock that was hung up on the wall and now there’s just a circle where the dust hasn’t settled yet, and a mug that has seemed to be forgotten about. “Thank you,” She says with a genuine grin on her lips, “He’s not as used to apparition like I am. He’s also just a big suck, naturally. That might be a bit of my fault, though. I babied him way too much. Still do.”

        The ghost became excited about Andrea’s arrive and honestly, she wasn’t expecting it to be this easy. It normally never was. She must have been sociable in her life when she was alive, and now, well, ghosts can only venture so far from where they’ve passed. She grins at the young ghost. This was an incredibly strange situation. She was incredibly friendly. Andrea wasn’t complaining, it was a lovely change from the usually terrifying souls that only wanted to warm who came across their paths. “You caught a few people’s attention, actually. According to a few who would be potential buyers of this apartment, there’s a haunting.”

        The ghost couldn’t physically touch her, but Andrea felt the strong chill that traveled up her spin, causing goose bumps. “Aliana. I’m Andrea. It’s nice to meet you.” There was nothing Andrea could do to cheer up the ghost. Not being able to touch people was something Aliana was going to have to get use to. “When I was making my way over here, I knew I wanted to talk to you, but I didn’t expect for you to actually show yourself, so honestly, I don’t have questions. I’m usually a lot more prepared than this.” Andy rambles, pressing the palm of her hands against the back of her pockets. She didn’t even have a pen ready. “So um, why don’t we just talk? Get to know one another?”

Aliana looked down at the floor, her mind still processing all that had happened. She could feel the sadness creeping up on her and was desperate to out run it. “You’d think dying would make more of a lasting impression but it really underwhelmed.” she joked. “Then again I suppose dying of a supernatural plague is more peaceful than getting stabbed to death. It seems like it would be right?” she said looking to Andrea before starting to giggle. “I’m sorry.” she said still smiling, a few tears running down her face. She wipes them away quickly, hoping Andrea doesn’t see. “I forgot for a second, that I wasn’t technically alive anymore.” she smirked. “What about you? Do you just go around hunting ghosts like those hot guys on Supernatural?” she asked, her smile disappearing at the realization that she might be. “Oh God, you’re not here to exorcise me are you?”