#humans!au

Roman nodded and Logan turned back toward their car with a curious glance at Virgil. Without a word, Virgil pulled out of Roman’s arms and picked himself up off the ground. He pulled the sleeves of his hoodie down over his palms in a failed attempt to cover the cuts that covered his hands. Roman stood and opened his mouth to speak, but Virgil was already headed to the car with his arms crossed tightly, determination in his step. Roman looked back at the dead man that hung upside down in the driver’s seat. He half expected to see the petrified stare of the spirit that he knew was still there, but there was nothing. He followed Virgil and headed back to the car himself.

They had been lucky that they had only spun out of control. The damage was minor and the vehicle was still driveable. Roman pulled his door shut and Logan stepped on the gas, speeding away from the scene just in time to hear sirens in the distance. As soon as they were out of sight of the wreckage, Virgil spoke up.

“Take me back now.” No one responded and he balled his hands into fists against his thighs. There was fire in his eyes, he was furious. “You said that if I gave you a good enough reason you would take me back. I think someone dying because of me is a good enough reason!”

“We still don’t understand the sit--” Logan began. Virgil growled and punched the chair in front of him hard, cutting him off and eliciting a startled squeak from Patton.

“Fuck understanding, okay!? The longer I stay out here the more people are going to die.” His fingers curled around Patton’s head rest, the material compressing under his tight grip. “He’s a black hole. He takes souls and he uses their power for himself and the more people die, the stronger he gets! Take me back and leave me there!”

“No!” Patton whipped around, seatbelt catching and tightening against his chest. He tugged at it, trying to free himself, before unbuckling it all together. Roman was taken aback by the outburst, and the anger that burned behind his eyes. “No. We aren’t doing that. End of story.”

“Patton-”

“No! Whatever the plan is, wherever we’re going, we’re not leaving you there. We’re just not. So stop it.” Silence hung heavily between the four of them. Virgil turned away to stare out the window and Patton nodded and sat back in his seat, buckling himself again. He had won that argument. “So. What’s the plan?”

Logan thought for a moment. “If we return to your house, we will be walking back into a sea of ghosts. If Virgil’s father takes power from the other souls, then it is safe to assume that he is strongest when he is with them. He has already expended a lot of energy in his last two attacks, and the sun is coming up now. If he is like other ghosts, then he will be weaker during the day. Though he does have some notable differences.”

“Get to the point, Lo. We need a plan.” Roman said as he watched Virgil. He was looking into every car that passed, occasionally craning his neck to look into the vehicles behind them. He wasn’t going to let there be a repeat of what had just happened. He wasn’t going to let anyone else die.

“The point is, we can’t stay out here like this, and we can’t go back to their house. It seems the only option would be ours.”

Roman leaned forward, his shoulder throbbing in protest. “Ours? It’s two hours away, at least. Could we really risk being out here for that long?”

Logan shook his head. “I don’t see another choice. I’ll take back roads and pay attention to what vehicles are around us. Of course it will take even longer with the sporadic navigation. Possibly three hours, if not more.”

“And when we get there, we wait for him to show up and then we end all of this.” Roman leaned back against the headrest. “I could definitely go for finishing this up quick and then sleeping for a week.”

“Okay, but… how do you kill a ghost?” Patton asked. He sounded exhausted. They all did, but he was completely at the end of his rope. A paleness had set in on his face, almost light enough to compete with Virgil’s own complexion.

“We have weapons for that…” Logan began his tangent, explaining how the weapons that he had modified worked against ghosts.

Roman tuned out on that conversation and looked to Virgil once more. He held out his hand between them, “hey. Two pairs of eyes are better than one.”

Virgil finally took a break from scanning the other vehicles to look at Roman, and he blinked as his eyes drifted to focus on the hand that reached out to him. He hesitated, but eventually he took Roman’s hand. The blood on his hands was sticky, but they had seen enough blood that day that neither of them cared. Virgil’s hand was shaking. They turned away from each other to stare out of the windows, both determined to keep the four of them safe for as long as they could.

The real fight hadn’t even begun yet but they were already bruised and bloody. They had never come across anything like this. A ghost that used the souls of others to increase its power was unheard of, and they really didn’t know what they were up against. Could their weapons really work against something so powerful? It couldn’t be so easy that one gunshot could kill this man. But they didn’t have anything else to go off. Either they killed him, or he killed them. There would be no in between.

--

It took four hours for them to pull into their neighborhood. Logan slowed the car, “we need to act quickly as we don’t know how long it will take for him to arrive. I think we can all agree that we need food, so Patton, you have full access to our fridge. There isn’t much, but whatever you can find will be fine.

Patton nodded, “sounds like my kind of job!”

“I will collect our weapons and take stock of anything else we may need. Virgil, you need to keep an eye out for any signs of him. Roman, stay with Virgil. That shouldn’t be hard for you, and you need to rest. We don’t need you passing out in the middle of this. Any questions?”

Roman rolled his eyes at Logan’s comment, but he was right. He glanced down to Virgil’s hand, still clasped tightly in his. It wouldn’t be hard at all for them to stay together. There was a pleasant heat there, and he didn’t want it to leave.

They pulled into the driveway and everyone climbed out of the car. Roman’s hand felt cold when Virgil’s slipped out of his. The house was dark and messy, the complete opposite of the home that they had been in for the last twenty four hours. Patton quickly turned on the lights in the kitchen and set to work examining the contents of their fridge, while Logan disappeared into his room. Virgil looked around quietly before settling onto the couch. He leaned back and winced. Roman had forgotten about the scratches on his back.

“Virgil, come here,” Roman said, heading into the bathroom. He was surprised when he heard the springs of the couch squeak from the other room.

Virgil appeared in the doorway, leaning against it’s frame. “Why?”

“Let me look at your back.”

“No.” He immediately recoiled and turned away, but Roman reached out and grabbed his arm. The familiar warmth returned, and he let his grip loosen.

“I’ve already seen it. All of it.” His hand fell back to his side. If Virgil was going to let him do this, it had to be on his own. He had to decide to trust him. “It hasn’t scared me away yet, and it won’t now.”

Virgil stared back, his gaze dark and contemplative. It felt like forever before he finally muttered, “fine.” He stepped into the small room and pulled the door shut behind him.

Roman grinned, and he realized that it was the first time he had really smiled all day. He instructed Virgil to sit on the edge of the bathtub with his feet in. Immediately, Virgil pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it into the corner of the room. He was clearly not in the mood for playing games or wasting time.

“Just get it over with,” he grumbled.

Roman stared at the marks that stained his back, feeling his stomach churn. Old scars were covered by new wounds and blood had dried in drip marks down to the small of his back. There were so many of them, criss crossed over each other. How long had he endured them, and how had he hidden them all this time? The new wounds were deep, but they had stopped bleeding a while ago.

He grabbed a clean towel from under the sink and ran it under hot water. He wasn’t very good at first aid, that was Logan’s thing, but he could at least clean it and bandage it well enough. It was better than nothing. He kneeled behind Virgil and gently wiped away the dried blood, avoiding the wounds themselves for as long as he could. Virgil didn’t even flinch, but he was rubbing his hands over his thighs with anxious energy.

“So, I have a question,” Roman said to break the tension and hopefully be a distraction. “If you weren’t living with Patton anymore when you were sixteen, and you’re twenty three now, how did you two end up together again? And how did you keep him from knowing that you didn’t get adopted like he thought?”

Virgil sighed. “Because I’m a good liar.”

“Oh, that’s a perfect explanation. I understand everything now, thank you,” Roman said, voice heavily laced with sarcasm.

“Why do you need to know so badly?”

“I don’t. I just thought that it would be good to talk instead of sit in silence. But if that’s what you’d prefer then I suppose we will do that.” Roman shut his mouth, focusing on the work in front of him. He had to keep rinsing out the towel as it stained with blood.

Virgil didn’t seem like he was going to reply for a while, but he finally spoke. “Like I said, I lied. When he found me, I pretended… I made up a family. I imagined them. I told him that… that I had moved out when I was eighteen, but that we still stayed in contact.”

“Didn’t he want to meet them?”

“Yeah, but I said that they were busy… or that they were sick, or any excuse I could think of. He thinks the best of people, he didn’t really catch on.” He spoke slowly and quietly, choosing his words carefully as if the wrong one would break him. “But they were good. And it was… nice to imagine that they were out there. Good people. It’s stupid.”

“I don’t think that’s stupid.”

“It is. I had to make up a family. How messed up am I?” He whirled around, making Roman drop the towel onto the floor. Virgil glared at it before staring intensely at Roman. “You don’t get it, do you? I had to imagine that somewhere out there, someone could maybe care about me enough to call me family. Because I’m a freak of nature, and no one wants me. That’s complete shit and you know it.”

Roman picked up the towel and rinsed it out once more, taking longer than he needed to. He stared at the red water as it spiralled down the drain. “Patton wants you. Isn’t he family?”

Virgil turned away again and picked at the seam of his jeans. “Yeah, I guess.”

“How did he find you anyway?”

“I’m not as good at hiding as I thought. I always checked on him and he saw me. He said that he had just moved out into his grandparents’ old place and that he had plenty of room for me. I couldn’t resist. I should have said no.”

Roman shook his head as he set back to work. He had no idea what to say. There was nothing that he could say to ease the guilt. If it had been him, he would probably feel the same way. It was no wonder that Virgil gave off such a dark vibe all the time.

“Anyway. This is stupid. You already know I’m a mess. Tell me how you and Specs started working together. You two are weirdly different.”

“Well that’s definitely a story,” Roman laughed. Virgil was silent as he explained.

They were both in their junior year of college, but they had never spoken to each other. Roman was a bored theater major and Logan was a man of science. They never would have crossed paths if it weren’t for the legend that the main stage was haunted. Roman, who was determined to entertain himself somehow, had set a quest for himself to find and kill the ghost.

He snuck into the school one night, sword in hand. It was dark, and he had walked onto the main stage when a loud “aha!” rang out from the theater seats. Roman jumped and drew his sword, flailing wildly, as the lights came on to reveal Logan with a night vision camera in the middle of the back row. As soon as he realized that it was just Roman, he was disappointed and angry, rambling on about a ruined investigation and how he would have to try again another night even though he had to work around a plethora of assignments and projects. Roman jumped off the stage and marched up the aisle to confront him about ruining his plans when he noticed Logan’s face pale.

He had been rewinding the footage in order to delete it, but there was something else on the tape, something other than Roman. Right next to him on the stage was a human silhouette. The legend was true. They both ran out of the theater that night, investigation and quest abandoned, but they became a team. At first it was just a plan to find proof of the supernatural, but eventually it became more. They realized that they could protect people.

“I guess that’s where we are now. Two broke ghost hunters, trying to do something good.” Roman tossed the towel into the sink one last time and stepped back. Virgil’s wounds were clean, but cleaning them had opened a few of them and his torso needed to be bandaged. He pulled a roll of gauze and tape out from under the sink.

“Yeah, and now you’re probably going to get yourselves killed protecting me.” Virgil stood and took the gauze from his hands. “I can do it.”

He leaned back against the counter and twisted to look into the mirror as he set to work wrapping the gauze around his torso. He looked like an expert, not even struggling to hold the loose end while he made the first loop. It was clear that he had been doing this for most of his life. It looked like second nature to him. When he finished, he paused. “Uh, I need tape or something.”

“Oh, right. Here.” Roman grabbed the tape and tore off a piece, gently pressing it on the seam at his chest. He ran his hand over it until it laid smoothly, then let his hand slide down to the bare skin of Virgil’s hip. He didn’t want to move. The heat that he felt when they touched was too much, but here, where it wasn’t accompanied by the sight of ghosts, it was good. He wanted it to stay, he wanted to keep that feeling forever. He looked up into Virgil’s wide eyes. “You’re worth protecting, you know.”

Virgil shook his head, a small movement, but enough to convey his doubt. He was hardly breathing.

“It’s true. There’s something about you… you’re different.” Virgil opened his mouth to reply but Roman continued, “no, not the way you think. In a good way.”

“I don’t know about that.” Virgil looked down, moving a hand to cover Roman’s, lacing their fingers together over his hip.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to.” Roman’s other hand drifted up to Virgil’s neck, tilting his chin upwards. “May I?”

There was hesitation and then a small nod, and Roman gently pressed his lips to Virgil’s. It was soft and still, their breathing loud against the quiet of the room. Virgil gripped Roman’s hand tighter, looking for reassurance. It was too soon when they pulled apart, and Virgil leaned forward to bury his face in his shoulder. “Did you completely forget that I shot you or what?”

“I don’t blame you for that.” Roman whispered, running his hands up and down Virgil’s bare arms. “And you have more than made up for it.”

Virgil nodded against Roman’s collar bone and a knock on the door startled them both.

“Food is ready,” Patton called through the door.

“Thanks Pat,” Virgil replied, standing up straight. He looked up at Roman with the smallest of smiles, but it was enough. “Food?”

“Yeah, food. Come on.” Roman grabbed Virgil’s shirt from off the floor and tossed it at him.

Next Part

--

Roman’s arm felt cold. That was strange. He let his eyes open a fraction, blinking as light flooded into his vision. He looked down to see a needle in the crook of his elbow, dripping IV fluids into his bloodstream. He felt better than he had before, less numb and more awake. There were familiar voices shouting from just outside the closed door.

“Oh, you’re awake!” He turned his head to see Patton sitting in a chair near the window. His eyes were red, like he had been crying. Roman couldn’t blame him. He had gotten a lot more than he signed up for. “How are you feeling?”

“Fan-flipping-tastic actually. I may have superpowers now,” Roman joked, trying to make Patton smile. “You?”

“I’ve been better.” Patton shrugs with a weak smile, but it was something. He looked toward the small window in the door, “Logan and Virgil have been fighting for a while now, I made them leave when they started yelling. I didn’t want them to wake you up.”

“What are they fighting about?”

“Verge won’t let anyone check him out to make sure he’s okay, and he keeps saying that he needs to go home. Logan says he’s being ‘ridiculously illogical.’” He accentuated his impression of Logan with air quotes and a deep voice. He sighed before standing and clapping his hands together. “Alrighty then. I’ll bring them back in here!”

Roman watched as Patton poked his head through the door and told them to come back in the room. Virgil pushed his way past him. He was wearing his hoodie again, his hands shoved as far into his pockets as they would go and his shoulders raised. His hoodie must have been packed in the messenger bag that hung over his shoulder. He was clearly in quite the huff as he plopped himself down into the chair and pulled one leg up to his chest, arm wrapped tightly around it. His fingers tapped aggressively against his ankle as he avoided eye contact with Roman.

Logan was much more composed. He straightened his tie and gave Patton a curt nod, heading directly toward the bed. Roman cringed inwardly at the sight of the blood on his shirt. It was wet, like he had tried to clean it off but it was already stained.

“As it turns out, it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought. In fact, your syncopal ep-” Logan stopped himself, and restarted. “Your passing out was more due to stress and dehydration than blood loss. You’ve been given IV fluids to rehydrate you and they’ve given you dissolvable stitches. You should make a full recovery with minimal scarring. Though they did question me about the strange qualities of the wound. You have minor electrical burns around the entrance point from the modifications I’ve made to the bullets. Why that didn’t cauterize the wound I’m not sure but--”

“For the record, I don’t plan on being your test subject again anytime soon.” Roman interrupted. Logan always rambled on when he was stressed, and now he seemed like he was reaching his breaking point. “Thanks for worrying about me, Lo.”

“Alright, he’s fine. Can we go now?” Virgil grumbles from the corner next to Patton, finally making eye contact as he chewed on the skin of his thumb. He looked desperate to leave, like every fiber of his being needed to go back into that house. Roman couldn’t figure out why. That man would just hurt him again and again, why would he want to go back?

“Roman needs more time to rest,” Patton says quietly. He sounded almost guilty.

Virgil let out an exasperated groan and stood to pace around the room. “I need to go back.”

“No. You are not returning to that house. Not until everything is taken care of.” Logan visibly tensed with frustration, over pronouncing every word like he had already said it a thousand times. Which, if what Patton said was true, he probably had.

“You don’t understand!” He gripped at his hair before quickly smoothing it out again, his pacing increasing in speed. How many times was he going to say that they didn’t understand before he actually explained why? “It’s not safe here.”

“Yes. It is. Ghosts can’t wander far from what they’re tethered to. I’ve already explained this.”

“I know!” Virgil shouted, ready to fight again.

“Tell me why.” Roman said, causing them to turn towards him. Virgil stared for a moment, blinking in confusion.

“What?” Virgil asked.

“Tell me why. If it’s a good reason, we’ll take you back.” Roman shrugged, instantly regretting it when pain flashed through his shoulder.

“Roman, we can’t--” Logan began, but Roman interrupted him.

“Just hold on, Logan. I know there’s a reason.” It had to be something about his ability, there had to be more to the story. Roman felt the anticipation growing in his stomach, hoping for something to hold onto, something more than just what he had seen. Which could have all been a hallucination with everything else going on. Something inside of him knew that it was real though, the heat that he felt when Virgil touched him was too intense to not be real.

“I…” Virgil hesitated, looking around at everyone who was now staring at him. He sent a pleading glance to Roman, like he was begging to not have to explain, but Roman just gave him a small nod to continue. He tapped his fingers together, practically vibrating with anxious energy. “I never said you were wrong, Logan… You’re right, actually. But…”

“It’s okay,” Patton spoke up. “You can tell us anything.”

“It’s just--The ghosts are connected to... me,” he finally said, immediately closing his eyes tightly, waiting for some form of backlash.

“What do you mean?” Logan asked slowly, crossing his arms. Roman could almost see the gears turning in his head, trying to put together the pieces of this puzzle. They had never had a case of ghosts being tethered to a person before. To objects and places, yes, but never an actual living person. Was it even possible?

“I mean... if we stay here much longer, they’ll be here too.” Virgil opened his eyes again, subtly moving closer to Roman. Logan looked lost in thought, completely oblivious to anything outside of his own brain. Virgil’s hand hovered over Roman’s for a moment, silently asking to show him what he could see. Roman nodded and instantly his vision flashed into that familiar white heat before it faded, but he was surprised to see that it wasn’t the same grey that it had been before. Everything looked pretty much the same, in fact. He looked up at Virgil, who glanced toward the back corner of the room, behind Logan. A darkness was growing there, shadowy tendrils reaching out into the room. It was moving. It felt as if it was breathing.

“Well, that’s good enough reason for me,” Roman said as Virgil pulled his hand away and the shadows faded.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Logan muttered to himself. “A ghost has to be intensely bonded to something to be able to tether itself to it…”

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t understand what’s going on,” Patton sighed, removing his glasses to rub at his eyes. The lights flickered above him and everyone stilled.

“We have to go. Now.” Virgil commanded, more in control than Roman had ever seen him. Maybe he wasn’t such a kid afterall.

Logan snapped to action, helping Roman detach himself from the medical equipment. Patton stood, looking for some way to help but finding nothing. Roman looked around for his shirt but it was gone. The doctors probably had to take it off when they were treating him. It was a bummer, he liked that shirt.

“Now, Roman!” Virgil growled, grabbing onto his hand and pulling him out of the bed. The room had darkened to that familiar grey and the shadow in the corner reached out across the ceiling. It was pulsing now, as if something were pushing hard against it, trying to break through. Patton followed closely behind Logan and Virgil pulled Roman along behind him as they ran through the hallways of the hospital. A nurse shouted after them but they were already in the elevator and mashing the button to close the doors. Virgil leaned back against the wall of the elevator as they descended but winced and quickly straightened himself. “We should be fine as long as we keep moving.”

Patton was panting, leaning forward with a hand on the wall. He brushed the hair out of his face and asked, “will someone please explain what’s going on?”

Virgil hesitated for a moment, biting his lower lip hard. “I’ll explain when we’re driving.”

They rushed out of the elevator the moment the doors opened, heading straight for Roman’s beat up red sedan. He grabbed at the driverside door but Logan stopped him. “You are on far too many narcotics to drive.”

Roman huffed but climbed into the back seat next to Virgil. The leather seats were cold against his back, and he muttered to himself, “I really need a new shirt.”

Virgil rummaged through his bag and pulled out a black t-shirt. He handed it to Roman, who blinked back at him in confusion. He shrugged, “I go through a lot of shirts.”

Roman carefully pulled on the shirt, trying to move his hurt shoulder as little as possible. Patton twisted in his seat, staring expectantly at Virgil. He looked so helpless, and maybe even a bit broken. All three of them knew more about ghosts than they should, but Patton had just made a call. He didn’t deserve any of this. He had seen more blood and fear than he had probably seen in his life, and the whole time he had just been following behind Logan, trying to figure out what was going on. “Please, explain.”

Virgil gripped at the sleeves of his hoodie, nervously pulling them over his palms. “I don’t really know how to explain without starting from the beginning…”

Logan pulled the car out of the parking lot, “I’m not going back to that house until we know what’s going on. I’m going to drive until you finish explaining.”

Virgil hung his head in his hands. “Okay. Look, I’m just going to come right out and say it. I… I can see ghosts.”

“You what?” Patton squeaked.

“Just let me explain, okay?”

They drove aimlessly as he spoke. Roman couldn’t look away from him, watching his nervous habits and listening intently. When he had said he would start from the beginning, he wasn’t lying.

His father had wanted him dead from the moment he was born. As soon as they touched him, they knew that something was off about him, something unnatural. His mother was determined to keep him, and she protected him from everything as he grew up. He was a child, but he remembered his father screaming at him to stop messing with his head, grabbing him and shaking him. He remembered his mother always picking him up and taking the hits herself.

When he was five, there was a fire. He was old enough to know to run outside in the event of a fire, but too young to know that his father had set it, locking himself inside a room with his mother. He was too young to think to save her. He was put into foster care after that. He bounced around from home to home, each one sending him off to the next the moment that they discovered that touching him made them see things. He had been lucky that none of them were brave enough to tell anyone else for fear of insanity.

Roman realized how mechanic Virgil’s voice sounded, like he was somewhere else, distancing himself from his own story.

He learned to never let anyone touch him, no matter the circumstances, and he was smart enough not to tell anyone that his parents were still with him. It wasn’t until he turned eight that people started dying around him. It started with a boy his age, his first real friend. They had woken up one morning and he was lying dead in his bed. The coroner said he died of natural causes, but Virgil knew otherwise. The kid had told him what had happened himself days after.

The family suspected Virgil had done something but there was never any evidence. They sent him to a new family, one with a ten year old girl. It wasn’t long until she was dead too, another friend to add to his growing collection. But he had never wanted this. He pleaded for his father to stop, but he would grab him and tear through his skin with sharp claws as he shook him again and again.

It wasn’t until he was thirteen and yet another boy, older this time, died that the authorities began to get suspicious. They worked tirelessly to find some shred of evidence that Virgil was killing the kids but there was nothing. Virgil had even tried to get himself locked away, but a confession meant nothing when it was coming from a minor with no evidence to support the claim. He moved from family to family until he was fifteen and he landed in the nicest home he had ever seen. A rich family with a twenty year old son going through college, looking for something to give them purpose.

The parents ignored him, unless there was potential for him to get adopted and make them feel like they had done something good in the world, but Patton quickly became an older brother to him. Virgil knew what was going to happen if he didn’t do something, so he made his father an offer. He would keep his mouth shut. He would never reveal his secret and he would look the other way when a new soul appeared around him. He would protect his father while he grew more and more powerful, as long as he didn’t take anyone that he knew. To his surprise, the offer worked and his father took the deal.

Eventually he was told that he wasn’t wanted anymore, that he was a lost cause, and to get out of the house for good. They didn’t send him back into the system. They kicked him out onto the streets at sixteen.

“Wait. No,” Patton interrupted, and Roman realized that he was crying. “They told me you were adopted while I was on summer vacation.”

“Of all the things you just heard, including the fact that you were almost murdered by the ghost of my dead father, that is what you focus on?” Virgil looked up, looking as if he had broken out of a deep trance.

“Wait, so you never got adopted at all? Ever?”

“No,” Virgil replied, the end coming up in a hesitant question mark.

Patton slammed his fist onto his thigh. “That’s it, I’m adopting you now.”

“Pat, I’m twenty-three, you can’t do that.” A small smile curled upward on Virgil’s face as he shook his head.

“It’s already done. You have no say in the matter!”

Virgil didn’t respond, his eyes widening as he stared out the window past Roman’s head. Roman turned to look, seeing another vehicle passing them on the left. Virgil shot forward in his seat, “Logan look out!”

Suddenly the vehicle cut in front of theirs. Logan swerved, but he wasn’t fast enough. They clipped the corner of the other vehicle’s back bumper and everything started spinning. It was over in seconds, the sound of tires squealing rang in Roman’s ears as they skidded to a stop. Luckily they had spun off the shoulder of the road and not into oncoming traffic. He pressed a hand to his forehead and groaned. The past 48 hours had not gone well for him. His shoulder throbbed beneath the seat belt.

He looked around at the others, trying to slow his heart rate. Logan and Patton seemed shaken but alright, but Virgil was gone. The door hung open. Where was he? Roman unbuckled his seatbelt and clambered out of the car, rushing to find him. His knees shook. The other vehicle was upside down in the bushes, shattered glass lay around it. Virgil was kneeling in the glass, prying open the driver’s side door.

“Virgil!” Roman called, rushing to his side.

He didn’t respond, grabbing frantically at the driver’s bloody face. He was crying “No, no, no, please.”

“Verge it’s okay, he’ll be okay just hold on.” He glanced back at their own vehicle and saw Logan on the phone. “Logan’s already called 911, they’ll be here soon. They’ll help him.”

Virgil bent forward, coughing in between sobbing breaths, his fists scraping against the ground and shards of glass. His forehead pressed into his fists. Spit dripped from his mouth onto the dirt as he tried to breathe through clenched teeth.

“Hey, it’ll be okay, he’ll be fine,” Roman reached out to gently grab Virgil’s hand. He braced himself for the shock, but he wasn’t prepared for what he saw. The man was split in two at the waist, one half painfully still and the other staring wide eyed at his own hands. He ripped away from the rest of himself and turned around. He blinked at his own body, hanging upside down and lifeless. There was a heavy darkness inside the car. Remnants of smoke-like shadows pouring from the broken windows. This was the man’s doing, Virgil’s father. “Oh.”

Virgil’s fists ground further into the dirt as he sobbed, muttering “I’m sorry” over and over again.

Roman took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, pushing the image of the man’s dead body out of his mind so he could focus completely on Virgil. He grabbed his hand tighter and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, gently trying to pull him away from the scene, but he wouldn’t budge. “This isn’t your fault, not at all. Okay?”

Virgil shook his head against his fists as another sob shook his body. He pressed his palms to the dirt and sat up, tears running down his face as he forced himself to make eye contact with the new spirit.

“Hey,” Roman whispered, moving his fingers from Virgil’s hand to press against his wet cheek. He gently pulled his face towards him, “don’t look at him, okay? Look at me.”

Virgil stared back at Roman, panic frozen in his eyes.

“This isn’t your fault, okay? You didn’t do this. You’ve done nothing wrong. Ever. Do you hear me?” Roman felt his heart breaking. Virgil had never looked so young, so helpless and terrified. He pulled him closer, forgetting about his shoulder and wincing as Virgil’s forehead pressed against his bandages. His shirt tugged where Virgil gripped the material tightly with shaking hands. Roman suddenly realized that this was probably the first time anyone had hugged Virgil since he was a child and he pulled him even closer into himself.

Everything hurt and there was a buzzing in Roman’s head. He felt nauseous and heavy, like gravity was compressing him into dust. His eyes wouldn’t open. Was he even breathing? The buzzing sound began to fade into the background, replaced by the thudding of his heart in his ears. No, that wasn’t his heart, that was coming from somewhere else. His hearing began to return to him. It felt like he was swimming up from the depths of the ocean, stretching up toward the surface, his fingertips reaching to break the surface of the water.

He gasped, filling his lungs with oxygen as everything around him came to life. His eyes opened, vision blurred to the point where everything around him was reduced to colorful shapes. The thudding was coming from the door. He turned to look and his head pounded, nausea rising up from his gut once more. He was laying on his stomach, one of his arms awkwardly trapped between his torso and the ground. There was a muttering from the corner, filled with panic. Roman’s eyes searched for the source of the sound, finding only a dark blur. He blinked, trying to focus his vision.

There was a pounding coming from the door, like something was crashing into it hard, but the door remained closed. He pulled his arm out from underneath himself and felt a sharp pain travel from his shoulder and down his entire body. Rolling himself over onto his back, he pressed his hand against his shoulder. It was wet. He lifted his hand in front of his face. Holy shit. His vision shifted into focus to reveal his fingers covered in blood, and a lot of it.

He tried to remember what Logan had taught him about first aid, mentally kicking himself for not having paid enough attention. Logan would always be there, he had thought, but that wasn’t the case this time. Was that him on the other side of the door, or was it something else? Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. He pressed his hand hard against the wound. Pressure would slow the bleeding. That was the most important thing right now.

Wait, what had happened? Someone had shot him. Virgil. He looked back at the dark blur in the corner, finding it more in focus this time. That was him. Where was the gun? He scanned the room but he didn’t see it. The tips of his fingers were going numb. He was losing too much blood. The pressure of his hand wasn’t enough, he couldn’t do this on his own. He needed help. He needed Logan, but he wasn’t there.

“Virgil,” he groaned as he forced himself into a sitting position, using his good arm to keep himself upright. He felt nauseous, his head pounded with every move he made and his entire body shook. Virgil didn’t move. He was curled in on himself, his knees pulled to his chest with his elbows digging into them, his fingers gripping tightly at his hair. “Verge, please.”

Roman was exhausted, he could feel his heart rate increasing rapidly. He had to do something, he couldn’t die here. Not like this, not by the hands of a human. He was meant to be killed by a ghost in the middle of a heroic rescue and then Logan would avenge his death. That was how it was supposed to go, not shot by a kid and left to bleed out on his bedroom floor.

“You don’t want this.” He pulled himself closer to Virgil but he was just so tired. He felt like he was floating. His hands had gone entirely numb. “Fix this, Verge. Please.”

His arm gave out beneath them and he slammed hard into the floor, knocking the wind out of him. He felt his eyelids growing heavy and he let them close, just for a moment.

“Hey, no no no. You have to wake up.” Roman opened his eyes to see Virgil crouched in front of him with a large roll of gauze in his hands. He had just closed his eyes for a second, hadn’t he?

“S’okay,” he mumbled. His eyes were only half open as he stared at Virgil. He had the gauze but he wasn’t moving. Blood speckled his bottom lip where he gnawed at it. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” He closed his eyes for a long moment, holding his breath. When he finally opened them, there was a fierce determination in them. “Just don’t freak out, okay?”

“Okay,” Roman whispered as his eyes drifted closed again.

Another moment passed before Roman felt his shirt collar pull and tear over his shoulder. Virgil’s hands were warm as he set to work. Suddenly his vision went white again and he felt like his entire body was on fire. The numbness was replaced by pinpricks of pain over his entire body. His eyes opened wide as the white faded to that dull grey that he had seen earlier. People loomed over him, surrounding him and staring at him with those lifeless eyes. He felt his chest burning as he started to hyperventilate. He needed to get away. “Go away, you’re freaking him out!”

Some of the figures moved away as Virgil waved his arm at them. Whispers echoed in his head. He couldn’t quite make out the words but they were coming from them, though their mouths were unmoving. His fingers gripped at the carpet, trying to grab hold of something to ground him. This couldn’t be real. He had to be dead.

“Hey, look at me. I know it’s terrifying, but just keep your eyes on me.” Virgil grabbed his face and turned it towards himself. He was staring down at Roman’s shoulder, wrapping the gauze tightly around his wound with precision, like he had done it a thousand times before.

Roman couldn’t breathe. Black spots swam in his vision. The figures were just staring through him, their dead eyes piercing into his soul. He had to get away, he had to get out of there. The darkness closed in around his vision. A hand pressed down on his chest and Virgil’s face moved into view, “hey, you need to breathe. Slow down your heart rate. Don’t look at them, look at me.”

Virgil wrapped tape once around his shoulder, securing the gauze in place. He pulled the walkie talkie from Roman’s belt and sat back, leaning against the bed. The color flooded back into Roman’s vision and the figures faded away. He let out a shaky breath. He didn’t know what was going on, but he couldn’t focus on it right now. He had to keep himself awake. He watched as Virgil pressed the button to speak, “um, hello?”

The reply was instant and panicked. “Virgil? Where’s Roman, is he okay?”

“He’s uh, he’s fine. We need to get out of the house.” He ran his fingers through his hair, looking anywhere but at Roman.

“There’s a barrier on your door. I tried breaking it down but it was impossible. I’m attempting to remotely restart the camera to regain visual but nothing is working.”

“What camera?” He sighed, shook his head and continued, “whatever. Don’t worry about us, I can get us out. Take Patton and get him out of here. We will be right behind you.”

“Copy.”

Virgil clipped the radio onto the pocket of his jeans and began tossing things into a bag. Roman just watched. The pressure of the bandages was making him feel less numb, but he was exhausted. All he wanted to do was go to sleep, but he knew that he couldn’t do that. If one thing Logan had taught him stuck, it was that going to sleep with an injury like this was a sure way to never wake up again. Virgil slung the messenger bag over his shoulder and grabbed Roman’s hand, sending his vision back to that grey, horrifying landscape. “Come on, you have to sit up.”

Roman allowed himself to be pulled up. He should really be helping more, he knew. Virgil was struggling to keep him upright, moving to support him from behind as he wrapped his arms around and began fiddling with his belt. Wait, what? “What are you--”

Virgil pulled off his belt and buckled it into a circle, hanging it from Roman’s neck.

“Kinky,” Roman snorted. He felt strange, like he was floating and everything was alright, though he knew that everything was far from alright.

“Shut up, you’re delirious.” Virgil twisted the loop once and pulled Roman’s wrist to hang in it. He had created a makeshift sling. He wrapped Roman’s good arm around his shoulders, gripping tightly onto his hand. “You’re bigger than me, you have to help me.”

Roman groaned, pulling his legs underneath himself and standing. He leaned heavily on Virgil, his legs shaking. Stars burst in his vision, blinding him for a moment. He felt like he was going to pass out or throw up, or both. They stood there for a moment, Virgil trying to balance with the weight of both of them and Roman just trying to stay conscious, while the stars went away and his heart managed to pump blood to his brain.

He was shocked when he saw two children, a girl and a boy, press themselves against Virgil’s legs as if they were trying to help steady him. Virgil looked down at them and the hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Roman didn’t know what to think. The little boy shyly waved at Roman when he noticed him staring. Virgil readjusted his grip on Roman and took a deep breath. “Let me out.”

A woman appeared in front of the door. She was beautiful, a light against the dark grey atmosphere. The others seemed to fade into the background, but she stood out. Her eyes weren’t cold like the others, they were filled with sadness. “You know what will happen.”

“I have to get them out of here.”

She nodded and turned toward the door, placing a hand lightly on the knob. A soft glow spread across the wood before the light seemed to shatter and the doorknob turned. She pulled the door open and smiled a small, sad smile. “Be careful, Virgil.”

“I think we’re a bit past that. I’ll be back.” The bitterness in his voice was practically tangible as they pushed through the doorway. “We have to run. He isn’t going to be happy that we broke through the barrier.”

Roman grunted in response and quickened his pace. His legs didn’t feel like they were working properly but somehow they were running through the hallway toward the stairs. He risked a glance back just in time to see the woman flicker out and disappear. It was obvious what those people were, but one thing didn’t make sense. “Those are ghosts.”

“Wow, you’re so smart,” Virgil snorted between his panting as they made their way down the stairs, trying not to trip. His voice was thick with sarcasm and disdain. “For a so called professional, it sure takes a while for you to identify a ghost.”

“You… you see ghosts.” Roman was finally putting the pieces together. His brain was far too slow right now. He wasn’t paying enough attention and he tripped on the last step, falling heavily onto Virgil and slamming his back into the stair railing. A loud yelp escaped from Virgil’s lips, but he pushed off the wall and kept moving. They were almost to the front door now. “I see them when you touch me.”

Virgil let out a frustrated growl. “No shit, Sherlock. Now shut the hell up.”

They burst through the front door and into the driveway where Logan had the car already running. The window rolled down as he yelled at them, “Quickly!”

Virgil pulled the back door open, twisting his body to let Roman flop into the seat. Roman still had a tight grip on the other boy’s hand as he looked back. Behind Virgil, the house seemed cloaked in darkness. There, on the front porch, stood the man. He had his hands tucked into the pockets of his suit jacket and his lips pursed in a straight line. He looked like he was waiting for something, or someone.

Virgil tried to pull his hand away but Roman kept a firm hold on it. He struggled. “Let me go! You don’t know what will happen!”

He knew what would happen if he let go, Virgil would go back into the house. He didn’t quite understand why, but he knew and there was no way that he was going to let that happen. He had to know more about what this boy could see and he had to keep him safe. These people needed saving. Both of them. Roman used the last of his strength to pull hard on Virgil’s arm, sending him falling into the seat on top of him. They were tangled together now, Virgil struggling to get free and Roman trying to keep his grip despite the pain. “Drive, Logan!”

Without hesitation, the car flew in reverse down the driveway with the back door hanging open. Virgil cried out in fear as he felt himself slipping, grabbing onto Roman’s good shoulder and pulling himself away from the open door and into the seat. Roman pulled the door shut and turned to look back at the house. The man was laughing, the sound echoing loudly inside his head. It stopped abruptly when Virgil finally managed to ripped his hand away. Neither Logan or Patton showed any sign of having heard the haunting voice, but Virgil had the palms of his hands pressed hard into his ears, eyes squeezed shut tightly.

Patton’s face was white as he stared back at them. He was frozen, completely shut down. Roman realized that he was staring at his shoulder and he looked down, blood was running down his arm. He had bled through his bandages.

“I don’t think I’m being overdramatic this time, Lo,” Roman groaned as the feeling flooded back into his body. The adrenaline running through his system had kept him from realizing how bad the pain was until now, not only in his shoulder but in his lungs. He was gasping for breath, fighting his body to get enough oxygen into his system. He looked up to see Logan staring at him in the rearview mirror.

“Patton grab the wheel,” Logan instructed, grabbing his hands and forcing them onto the steering wheel.

“What?” Patton squeaked, trying to pull away.

“I need you to drive. Take the wheel, now.” It was rare that Logan would be so commanding, and any time it happened you knew that it was important and necessary.

Patton obeyed and gripped the wheel tightly, knuckles white. He was holding on for dear life as they sped through the neighborhood. Suddenly Logan let his foot off the pedal and the vehicle began to slow as he turned and pulled himself out of the driver’s seat. Patton cried out, “What are you doing!? Are you crazy?”

Logan didn’t respond, pulling himself into the back seat between Roman and Virgil, who had pressed himself as far out of the way as possible, arms held up and away to avoid physical contact. His eyes were wide open, terror flashing through them.

Patton had tears running down his face as he attempted to climb into the driver’s seat without crashing. Somehow he had managed to get there and slam on the gas again. “Where are we going!?”

“Nearest hospital.” Logan pressed a hand against Roman’s skin, feeling how cold and clammy it was. Roman’s chest was burning as he tried to breathe. His heart was racing but it didn’t feel like it was doing anything, every part of his body was burning. The concern on Logan’s face was more terrifying than anything else. He was usually calm and collected, but his hands were shaking. “You’re going into hypovolemic shock.”

Roman didn’t know what that meant, but it was clearly bad.

Logan pushed Roman to the side and pulled down the back of the middle seat, reaching his arm into the trunk. He grabbed a red bag that Roman had never seen before and yanked it through the opening. “Your heart is racing but your blood pressure is too low due to the loss of fluids.”

“When did you get that?” Roman questioned tiredly. His breath was shallow and he felt dizzy. He had never noticed the bag before. As Logan opened it and began digging through it’s contents he could see it was full of medical supplies. Of course he would have hidden something like that.

“You’re always careless, the probability of something like this happening was too high not to be prepared.”

Roman woke up slowly. His neck was stiff and his back ached. He forced one of his heavy eyelids open halfway and looked around. He had somehow fallen asleep at the desk with his arms crossed and his chin tucked into his chest. Logan sat next to him, putting the finishing touches on their computer setup for the night. They had made the guest room into their base camp, where Logan would monitor the cameras while Roman went through every room with his EVP recorder.

Logan smirked when he saw Roman awake. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“Very funny.” Roman stretched, feeling his neck and spine pop as he moved. He checked the time, almost eight in the evening. “Why did you let me fall asleep?”

“You hadn’t slept for over twenty-four hours, which is detrimental to your health. I figured you could use the rest before our investigation.” Logan clicked a button that tested all of their cameras, sending live footage of every room in the house across their three monitors. “You snore, you know.”

“Yeah well, not all of us can be Sleeping Beauty,” Roman huffed as he watched the screen. Patton was in the living room keeping himself busy with a book. He looked so tired when he thought no one was looking. Virgil was lounging on his bed, but all they could see from the poor angle was his bent knees swaying back and forth.

“All of the cameras are in working order. We should get them out of the house now, before night falls,” Logan said, referring to their customers. They always worked alone. Other people hanging around would get in the way, or worse, get themselves killed.

“About that...” Roman sighed. “There is no way that Virgil is going to leave us alone here and Patton refuses to leave if Virgil won’t.”

Logan pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, closing his eyes. “Did you tell them that it was dangerous?”

“Of course I did. I don’t want them here any more than you do, but it can’t be helped. I told Patton to join us here later so that we could keep an eye on him. I know they’ll be in the way, but it’s the best that I could do.”

“Fine.”

As if on cue, Patton came strolling into the room. He looked much more put together than he had when he was alone, Roman noticed. “Hey guys! How’s it going in here? You’ve got such fancy computers!”

Logan seemed to sit up a little straighter at the praise. He would enjoy having someone to over explain all of his equipment to as the night went on, though he wouldn’t admit it. Roman stood and began collecting the equipment that he would be needing and Patton instantly took over his chair, asking Logan questions about everything on the screens. It was amusing to see someone so enthusiastic over what they did on a regular basis. Roman had to admit that it made him proud of what they had become.

When they first started out they only had a night vision camera and some flashlights. They were just investigating then, trying to capture real footage of the supernatural to share with the world. Now they had about twenty different cameras and other devices as well as the weapons that Logan had modified to work on ghosts. He was a genius when it came to that kind of stuff. Roman didn’t know how it all worked, something about electromagnetics, but he definitely knew how to use it. They had come a long way. They spent most of their money on new tech but it was a life that they were proud of.

“That’s strange,” Logan mumbled to himself. Roman clipped his walkie talkie onto his belt and turned to look. The feed from Virgil’s room had been put to full screen, but there was something off about it. It was flickering, the image distorting in strange waves. Logan was messing with the settings, trying to find the problem. “What camera did you put in there? I’ve never seen this happen before.”

“It was just one of our regular ones, I don’t know. You’re the tech guy,” Roman muttered as he watched the feed. He had a sinking feeling churning in his gut. Something was wrong. Virgil had sat up on his bed, arms and legs crossed. He was talking but there was no audio to know what he was saying. Roman glanced at Patton. His eyes were wide, his teeth gnawing at his bottom lip. He had no idea what was happening.

When he looked back at the screen, Virgil was standing. He was practically curling in on himself, his shoulders hunched over his crossed arms and his head bowed, his hair falling to shield his face. It was a protective stance. Roman grabbed the nearest weapon, keeping his eyes on the screen. Suddenly Virgil lurched like he was pushed and the screen went black.

“Go,” Logan said, but Roman was already running. It wasn’t far from the guest room to Virgil’s, but it felt like too long. He didn’t know what he would find when he got there and he prepared himself for the worst as he ran. They should have forced them out of the house, whether they wanted to go or not. They had been lazy and complacent. They had been overly confident.

He threw open the door and froze.

Virgil was not alone. A man stood behind him with one hand wrapped around his shoulders, resting on his throat. The other hand pressed into his back, claw-like nails digging into the fabric of his shirt. He was too clean, wearing a perfectly pressed black suit and a tie. His face was shaven. The man stared over Virgil’s shoulder at Roman. “Oh, hello.”

Virgil’s eyes were squeezed tightly shut, his hands curled into fists at his sides. He stood perfectly still, like he had already accepted what was happening to him. It was like it had happened before. Roman’s stomach twisted as he realized that this was how Virgil had gotten those wounds on his back. This man had done that to him. He lifted the gun that he had grabbed. “Who are you?”

“Does it matter?” The man grinned a toothy grin. It was too big, too unnatural. It wasn’t human and it didn’t reach his hard, lifeless eyes. Roman felt his entire body go cold. This wasn’t an ordinary ghost, if it was even a ghost at all. He didn’t know how to deal with this. The fear seeped into his pores and he could feel it sinking down further and further into his core. His hands shook. “You and your friend should really leave, you know. This house is full enough as it is.”

“No,” Roman spat. He didn’t have a clear shot. His mind was racing, trying to figure out what to do. He had never been in this situation before. It was always just him and Logan, never anyone else. No one else had ever gotten in the way. No one else had ever gotten hurt. He took a small step to the side in hopes of getting a better angle, but he heard the ripping of fabric as the claws sunk deeper. A small, choked whimper escaped from Virgil and Roman froze again.

“Roman?” The walkie talkie buzzed from in his pocket. “What’s going on? I don’t have visual.”

He ignored it, not willing to risk any movement.

“Put the gun down, Roman,” the man purred. He wrapped his hand tighter around Virgil’s throat, not choking him but threatening to. “I just want to play a little game. Put the gun down and I will let go.”

Roman didn’t move. He didn’t know what to do.

The man rolled his eyes and sighed. “Alright. If you don’t put the gun down, I’ll tear our little Virgil apart piece by bloody piece.” He accentuated the threat by dragging his claws down further and further into his back. Virgil whimpered, shaking. The scent of blood filled the air.

Roman dropped the gun and stepped back, hanging his head in shame. He couldn’t bear to hear the kid’s pain. He should have just taken his chances and shot. Now they were both going to be dead. He had made the wrong choice, he was sure of it.

Virgil fell to his knees as he was let go, scrambling away until he bumped into his closet doors. He wrapped his arms around himself, not looking at Roman once. The man sauntered toward Roman, bending down to pick up the gun.

“Very interesting,” he said, twisting the gun around in his hands, examining it closely. “Virgil, come here.”

To Roman’s misery, the kid instantly picked himself off the ground and did as he was told. “Stop it, you don’t have to listen to him!”

“Oh calm yourself. You did your part, I’m not going to hurt him.” The man handed Virgil the gun and patted him on the shoulder. “Kill him, and our deal will remain the same as it always has. Don’t, and you know what will happen.”

The man vanished and silence fell over the room. Virgil held the gun at his side, his head lowered. Roman didn’t move, watching the other warily. He breathed deeply, heart pounding against his ribcage. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears, making everything seem muffled, like he was under water. “Virgil, he’s gone.”

Virgil’s knuckles were white as he gripped the gun. He slowly lifted his head. His eyes flitted around the room, flashing between Roman’s face and anywhere else. It was like he was trying to look at a hundred things at once. He was breathing heavy and fast, panic finally setting in. Suddenly his hands flew to press hard against his ears, gun still held tightly.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re going to help you--” He had made the mistake of taking a step forward, and now he was staring down the barrel of his own gun. He stepped back again, raising his hands in defense, but the gun didn’t move. “Let’s just hold on for a second…”

“You don’t understand.” Virgil whispered. “I tried. I told you to leave. I said you should go. You didn’t listen.”

“We can help--”

“Quiet!” He shouted, recoiling as soon as he said it. “I’m… I’m talking now.”

Roman kept his mouth shut. He felt like he was going to throw up. Everything was hot, like his entire body was on fire. He was going to die, and it was going to be at the hands of another human. Where was Logan? Was he okay? He couldn’t hear anything outside of the room.

“I didn’t try hard enough. I was stupid and I had hoped… I was an idiot.” Virgil was pacing now, waving the gun wildly as he rambled. “I thought that maybe you could help us--help them. But you were stupid, and you were careless.”

If he didn’t say anything he was going to get shot. On the flipside, if he spoke he was going to get shot, unless he could find the right words. He had to try. He took a deep breath and his voice shook. “Virgil, look at me.”

Virgil pointed the gun at him once more. There was fire in his eyes. He was a completely different person from the one that had stood frozen in that monster’s grasp. He had come alive, and it was terrifying. “You don’t understand. He’s going to hurt Patton. He’s going to hurt all of them. My friends... “

“Who is he going to hurt? Tell me, please.” Roman took a step forward, trying to radiate safety and reassurance with everything that he had.

“The others. You wouldn’t understand. You don’t get it.” Tears had started to fall from his eyes now. He wasn’t so hollow after all. He was shouting now, the fire inside of him growing. He was practically snarling every word. “You don’t understand!”

“Just try to explain. Please, I want to help you.” He was so close now. He could reach out and grab the gun if he was fast enough. But was he?

“Stop, okay? Just stop! You don’t know anything!” Sobs wracked his body and he was hyperventilating. He was inhaling without exhaling, his chest looked like it was about to explode. He was going to shoot no matter what Roman did.

He had never moved so fast. His hands shot forward and reached for the gun. He grabbed Virgil’s hands and tried to rip it from his grasp, but his vision exploded with light. For a second everything went hot white before it cooled to a dark grey. He looked around, there were faces everywhere. People surrounded them, some reaching out towards them and others just standing there staring. Their eyes were dead. “What the--”

The gun went off.

Virgil scrambled backwards until his back hit the wall, causing him to cry out in pain. The gun had fallen somewhere and his hands had flown to cover his mouth. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit”