#things forgotten

“Well good to see someone has been keeping this place tidy,” Barry joked as he and Nick wandered through the building. On the outside it was still surprisingly intact but the inside was a different story. The main floor was enough to hold both of them and the upstairs seemed to be intact… but the majority of the floor seemed to be broken, dust was everywhere as well as a few cobwebs that had Nick on edge… and a large broken staircase to a lower level was one of the biggest things that caught their attention.

“Let’s just… investigate then get out…” Nick shuddered as he glanced at some of the cobwebs.

“Should we brave the basement or go upstairs first?” Barry asked, pointing out the two options they had. Nick took a moment, looking between the stair cases as he thought.

There seemed to be more damage to the lower area then the higher one… so by that logic.

“Basement… we’re probably gonna find our answers down there,” Nick commented, even though he already felt on edge with the amount of cobwebs on the main floor alone… nearly six years being abandoned really did a number on this place.

“Want me to grab the rope from my trunk?” Barry questioned causing Nick to pause for a moment and look to his pink haired friend for a moment with a confused look.

“Why do you have rope in your trunk?”

“Uh…. Story for a different time, my friend,” Barry laughed nervously before he rushed out of there to grab the rope. Nick stood there quietly questioning his friend. He waited for a bit and when his eyes settled on one of the cobwebs Nick began to feel his skin crawl and his heart rate begin to rise as fear crept in.

Dear God I made a mistake! Nick thought as he thought of all the insects that might even be in this place. He felt like a panic attack was going to come as his thoughts drifted to the bugs crawling up to him and-

“Got the ro-” Barry was announcing but was cut off by Nick screaming. Barry flinched but hurried over to his friend and started calming him down. It was a slow process… after all Nick did struggle and try to run away at least once during the panic attack, but Barry held him tight and rode out the attack. Barry’s seen this happen more than once during their friendship, he knew how to deal with it by this point.

“Did ya see a spider, bud?” Barry asked once Nick calmed down. The black haired teen looked away from his friend in embarrassment. Barry just sighed, knowing what that meant and lightly punched Nick’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry bout it! We see any kind of bug and I’ll kill it for you,” Barry grinned before handing one part of the surprisingly long rope to Nick. “Now let’s get to that basement!”

….

Nick didn’t know what to expect when they finally reached something that seemed like a bottom. It had taken them a little while but when they found at least some solid flooring both Nick and Barry noticed how… odd everything seemed to be. Sure it took them a little more than two hours to get down to the basement… but everything seemed to still kinda be unstable with the broken floor leading to depths below. They had to use the lights from their phones to even see anything down there but all it lead to was… confusion.

Before them stood what looked to be a broken window frame, faint traces of colored glass was seen on the floor going towards them and leaving an opening that was almost completely closed off by some fallen rubble. Nick moved the phone’s light around the opening, looking for the weaker points to exploit and move out of the way to continue moving.

“What the hell is something like this doing in a basement anyways?” Barry quietly asked as he carefully picked up one of the glass shards and looked it over completely.

“Maybe a demon wanted to repent or something,” Nick offered, his face completely straight and his voice actually sounding sarcastic. Barry paused as he tried to hold back a laugh.

“Oh my god Nick, that was bad.”

“So was the demon.” Barry couldn’t hold back his laugh at that line, he was just happy that Nick was actually starting to feel better if he could make deadpan jokes like these. Then again when both boys nearly wanted to throw rocks at each other from practically digging their way through the rubble for two hours, it was much more appreciated.

….

Rachel couldn’t help but worry the entire time she was at work. Even when she was cleaning the store ideas of everything going bad back at home kept flooding her mind and made everything she was doing seem like it was going in slow motion. The minute she was able to leave for home Rachel felt like she couldn’t get out the door fast enough

The blond rushed to get home, saying only quick goodbyes to her coworkers, rushing through the alleyway short cuts and even rushing up the stairs instead of taking the elevator to get to her apartment. The minute she got into the apartment she heard Katie AND Zack shouting angrily about something in the brunette’s room.

Rachel quickly closed the front door and hurried to the room… where she heard something that actually surprised her.

“YOU WERE SO FUCKING CLOSE THAT TIME!”

“THIS GAME IS BULLSHIT!!”

Rachel blinked in surprise while standing outside her best friend’s door… they were… getting along? And, from the sound of things, playing video games?

They’re getting along better than I thought… Rachel thought in relief a soft sigh escaping her as she heard the two angrily shouting about whatever game Katie was introducing Zack to…. Probably some indie Horror game from the sound of things.

“FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING RABBIT!!”

Definitely an indie horror game.

Rachel knocked on Katie’s door before entering… a habit she made since rooming with her best friend. The blond doubted the brunette heard it from the ranting she heard in the room, mostly from Zack but entered anyways and found the two sitting in front of the computer monitor where Zack seemed to be at the controls while Katie seemed to be egging him on.

“You got this, just don’t- SHIT CHANGE CAMERA, CHANGE CAMERA!”

“WOULD YOU STOP YELL- FUCK!!”

From what Rachel could see the screen had a kinda creepy yellow bear face on it before the screen brought them back to the game menu. Zack seemed like he was about to pick up the keyboard and throw it at the computer monitor but was stopped by Katie putting her hands on it herself and held it in place.

“... I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Rachel stated, deciding to make her presence known now before Zack decided to break anything expensive. The reactions were immediate with Zack turning completely to face her, a look of surprise clear on his bandaged face, and Katie looking surprised for a moment before giving her signature grin.

“Eh, not much. Just the Reaper shit here getting killed by children mascots, and kicking my ass in Kombat,” Katie shrugged, trying to seem aloof but looked more like she was trying to hold back some laugher as Zack glared at her.

“I swear you fucking set me up on most of that shit ya sadistic ass!”

“Only once I swear.”

Rachel couldn’t help but smile at how the two seemed to get along.

“Wanna join us Rachel? Maybe help Zack avoid another Bunny mauling,” Katie grinned, despite the glare she got from Zack.

“Maybe if you shut the fuck up!”

“Why not?” The blond responded around the same time Zack did leaving Katie to be quiet for a moment as she processed both’s words, before standing up and letting the blond take her seat.

“Alright, alright I’ll keep quiet. Don’t go blaming me if you get killed again,” Katie sarcastically said as she left the room to grab another chair for herself, leaving Zack and Rachel alone once again for a short amount of time.

Wonder what Barry and Nick are up to? Katie thought to herself as she picked the chair up.

….

“You know, I’m starting to think this was a snake worshiping church…” Barry winced as he found more decomposed bodies of the serpents underneath some of the rubble inside the underground church.

“Could have been, but Rachel never was positive for venom in her system…” Nick muttered as he tried to find anything that could give him answers, aside from the snake skeletons.

“Look Nick… I think we’re not gonna get anymore information here,” Barry sighed as he checked through a little more rubble. Before Nick could argue with him Barry’s eyes widened a bit at what he found under it. “Never mind.”

Underneath the rubble was dried blood that looked like it was part of a long trail. Nick himself had widened eyes as he hurried over and examined it. It was to much to be any of the snakes… and looked more like it had to have been from something either being dragged or… walking maybe?

“... Where’s the rest of the trail?” Nick muttered to himself as he began to move more rubble trying to find a definite path, while Barry winced and tried to stop his black haired friend.

“Dude, we should leave!” Barry practically begged, his mind having already gone to an idea of it belonging to a corpse that remained down here… along with the idea that there was a spirit not to far from it either. Barry however was ignored as Nick seemed to be lost in his own mind and was following after the trail. “NICK!!”

“One minute Barry…” Nick responded absentmindedly as he picked up the trail and began following it at a quick pace, climbing over rubble and keeping an eye out for the blood trail.

“Nick seriously! What if there’s a body?!”

“Then we have evidence for police to do a more thorough investigation.” And like that Barry knew Nick was once again in the mode where it would take a pissed off Barry to get him to back down… to bad Barry really didn’t want to break his number one personal rule of hurting his friends… nor did he want to get mad at him again. Barry already felt bad enough from earlier after all.

“Jesus Christ Nick… Wait up!” Barry began to follow after the black haired boy as quick as he could, slipping on some rubble only once as he followed after his shorter friend.

Thankfully for Barry, they didn’t have to go too far in… after all a large amount of the rubble blocked their way to go any further. Barry sighed in relief while Nick cursed his luck.

Damn it… now what am I going to do? Nick thought with a scowl on his face, before turning around to his pink haired friend with his shoulders slumped. A defeated look soon made its way onto Nick’s face and instantly Barry went to his side.

“Hey, can’t win them all buddy…” Barry trailed off, thinking about what to say next to try and raise his friend’s spirits at least a little bit. “... Like how the demon lost his church.”

“... And his pets,” Nick smirked a little as Barry smiled. The two were about to go back when Nick took notice of something poking out of the rubble. “... Does… does that look like an elevator?”

“Huh?” Barry turned to Nick with the most confused look he could muster. Nick gave an agitated sigh before pointing to what he was talking about. Barry followed that line of sight and saw a busted and definitely bent up door to an elevator partially poking out through the corner of the rubble.

From what little they both could see it was part of a rather large, older style one from the design and the rust on the metal frame.

“Do you remember seeing an elevator on the main floor?” Nick asked as he tried to push a bit of the rubble out of the way to get a better look at the door corner.

“No… there were only stairs.” Barry rubbed at one of his arms with a look of concern crossing his face.

“... Then there’s more floors beyond this one. And by process of elimination… I’d say there’s more underground floors.”

“Okay Nick, I’m gonna stop you right there buddy.” Barry grabbed Nick’s arm and made the smaller boy look him dead in the eyes. “There’s no way we can even get those doors cleared with just the two of us, let alone even descend with the only rope I brought being our main way out. Plus!... We uh… we might need to book it now if you wanna get home before curfew.”

Nick paused in his obsessive curiosity before cursing loudly as he pulled out his phone to check the time… only to see that they barely had an hour left before he would be considered late.

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?!”

“Dude I was trying to get you to leave wasn’t I?!”

And at that the two were booking it to the exit, neither one noticing the sound of extra footsteps stepping out to where the elevator once was… nor even the smallest sadistic sounding giggle as green eyes watched after the two sinners that entered the fallen play area.

….

“Aaand that’s how a pro clears a stage~” Katie proudly stated with a large grin, as she passed the controller over to the other two residents of the apartment.

“... Katie that was a tutorial stage…” Ray pointed out as the official “Stage one” Screen popped up onto the menu asking if they would like to continue.

“I barely know shit about these and even I could have cleared that easy!” Zack exclaimed with slight annoyance that only grew when Katie waved him off.

“Details, details. It was still S ranked, and by God that is the best rank to get in hard mode my friends~”

“.... This is the game where you broke down crying once when you failed a boss battle multiple times isn’t it?” Rachel questioned as she took over the controls herself as Katie flinched a little from Zack’s laugh and the question.

“N-No, it wasn’t crying Ray… It was frustration I swear!”

It’s been at least two days now since Zack was clearly now staying with the girls and Katie seemed to warm up to him… while he seemed to have started tolerating her after their less then pleasant meeting.

Then again... Katie was always someone who warmed up to people quickly. Rachel thought to herself as she began to play the first stage after paying attention to how her friend played. After all… the day she and I became friends, she would hang around and talk to me like we’ve been friends for years.

Rachel didn’t remember it to clearly still and some moments were still hazy from her blackouts, but that was one that could easily come to the blonde even before she stopped taking her medicine. Katie made it rather hard to forget as she would always come up to her with determination to make her feel comfortable, and to be her friend.

She remembered being brought into the middle school kinda late into the school year. There weren’t many people that wanted to talk to her or seemed to just completely pity the blonde. What with her lifeless eyes and quiet demeanor… along with having to have an adult with her to gently guide her where she needed to go or help provide some notes to help her along.

Rachel had only been there a few days but already people were passing her off as a weird kid and some seemed to avoid her… until someone came walking right up to her on the third day from a small group of girls and held a hand out to her during lunch.

“Hey! Why don’t you sit with us today?” the tanned skinned girl had given her the biggest grin Rachel had ever seen directed at her… and something in the blonde’s mind clicked and almost replaced the kind, rounded face with someone older… someone she couldn’t quite place at the time but it was enough to bring a little bit of life back into her blue eyes.

“... Okay.” Rachel had slowly raised her hand to take the brunette's hand only to flinch back when the other girls started talking around the same time.

“Katie what the heck?” One of the other girls asked in an annoyed tone.

“She’s so… weird.” The other one piped up making Rachel’s gaze lower and almost completely retract her hand… till Katie took her hand.

“Guys, she’s new and a little weird so what? Maybe she’s a secret agent or something cool, you never know!” Katie exclaimed as she put her free hand onto her hip when addressing the other two girls before turning back to Rachel with a big smile. “We can sit at a different table from them if you want!”

The other girls seemed to object a little to Katie’s decision to hang out with the new girl but she didn’t seem to pay them any attention. Rachel didn’t know what to say as the brunette brought her over to the lunch line and they started to grab some food.

“... You… Don’t have to do this…” Ray muttered catching Katie’s attention pretty quick as she grabbed a pudding cup for the last thing on her tray.

“Do what?”

“... Argue with friends… and sit with me…”

“Who those girls? Hardly know them actually.” Rachel looked up to Katie in surprise from the relaxed tone.

“But…”

“Nah, we do a few projects together in class and sit together in lunch is all. Their nice but they don’t like manga and are too cool for ‘Kid’s shows’. Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t a kid’s show, it’s played at night you dummies.”

Rachel barely understood what half those things Katie said were but was still a little surprised as the two went to find a lunch table together. The brunette doing most of the talking but also getting Rachel to talk here and there… and half way through their lunch Rachel couldn’t help but feel herself smile a little for the first time in a long while as Katie seemed to get so excited when asked about “Fullmetal Alchemist”.

After that day it seemed to be set in stone for the two girls. Katie would always group up with her in the classes they had and would always sit and talk with her at lunch… hell after the first week Katie even invited Rachel over to her home and it became a nearly everyday thing for them even through High School.

“Ray are you even paying attention right now?” Zack’s voice seemed to bring the blonde out of her thoughts and taking notice that she had been barely paying attention to the game and was now close to dying in game… and that Katie wasn’t in the room anymore.

“.... Sorry… I spaced out…”

“I’ll fucking say… you were smiling when those demons jumped out and tried killing ya. Like what the fuck Ray? I know you wanna die and shit but I don’t think that’s how this game works.”

“Sorry… did… Katie leave to get ready?”

“Bitch Queen left in general a while ago…. How fucking spaced out were you?”

“Oh… sorry, I got lost in some memories.”

“As long as they ain’t about the eye creep I’m good.” Zack’s shudder didn’t go unnoticed at all when mentioning the old doctor… but at the mention of him Rachel lost her grip on the controller and fear entered her eyes as she remembered the most important thing she forgot to mention to Zack.

“Zack…”

“Eh?”

“Doctor Danny is…”

“GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TRY TO KILL THAT FUCKER BEFORE HE STAYS DEAD?!” Zack roared in rage, thinking she was going to say “Still alive” and was about to go out to find the deranged doctor… only to be stopped by the blonde shaking her head and shuddering a bit.

“... He’s dead… but like you… He came back.”

….

Barry had been having an uneasy feeling since leaving the ruined building with Nick… and it wasn’t from the fact he had a Date with Katie tomorrow, nor the fact of the text she sent him saying that the ghost that tried to kill her was now “Cool”... or even the fact he couldn’t contact Nick due to the black haired kid having his phone taken from him by his parents for three days… no it was more like… someone was keeping tabs on him. Watching him. Stalking him.

If he could and wasn’t feeling as serious about it, the pink haired boy would have played “Somebody’s Watching Me” at full blast and probably made jokes about it somehow… but right now he felt like he was some kind of prey being stalked by a predator.

N-Nothing’s happened since the feelings began Barry… let’s just go visit one of the girls at work! Yeah then the feeling will go away for sure! Barry thought with a more confident smile crossing his face as he grabbed his coat for the cold winds going on outside today as well as grabbing the keys to his car.

Besides… Rachel did say the Bakery she worked at was hiring… Maybe I should see if I’m not to late on that.

With a destination in mind Barry nodded to himself with a smile crossing his face, despite the feeling of still being watched making him feel like the hairs on the back of his neck were rising.

It was about an hour drive and thankfully he felt a bit more relaxed while driving… well aside from trying to find a parking space in order to walk the rest of the way to the Bakery. The one thing Barry hated the most about the city… parking ramps in general. Thankfully once he did find a spot he parked and immediately went out to navigate his way to Rachel’s place of employment… and if his timing was right he would probably also get there just as Rachel did or even a little after she does.

Maybe I should ask her in person about that ghost in her apartment… After getting a job application of course! Oh and making sure she’s doing well of course… Haven’t really seen her since…

“Shit stop thinking about it Barry… Nick’s obsession’s bad enough, don’t go freaking out over ghosts and churches…” the pink haired boy muttered to himself as he ran a hand through his hair, the roots now looking more orange with his natural color coming through again. Taking a deep breath the boy slapped himself across the face for good measure… before letting out a pained noise as he accidently went a little to hard with the slap.

“Note to self… Restraint! Ahh!”The pink haired young man rubbed at the spot gingerly as he made his way to his destination. As he left he didn’t notice a woman that had been watching him scoff and seem to follow him a little more before she paused and turned her attention down an alley on the other side of the street… where she saw a hooded figure smashing things up… and looks like he had recently killed someone as evident by the body partially hidden by a broken box and trash that had been thrown around.

The woman’s one hand, covered by a red silk glove, clutched at the seemingly eternally dripping stump that was her missing arm… and crossed over the more large fatal wound that was carved deep onto her torso through her black suit and staining the once white blouse with her own blood, and making the once red tie even darker in some spots.

Green eyes narrowed in anger at recognition of the hooded figure but still she kept her distance… after all they were both in the same boat now.

Shame it wasn’t me who killed you Zack… I would have loved to see how you squirmed till the end. That bitch on the other hand… With her black heels making no sound on the pavement as she chose to follow after Barry just until she could confirm the boy wouldn’t dig any deeper like his friend was clearly doing if what she heard was true. A sadistic smile crossed her face, red stained lips quirked and well done eyes flashing with nothing but pure hatred framed by blond hair with pink tips as the image of a young Rachel came to the front of her mind.

The three girls were all walking to their destination, the goal of ice cream on their minds as they walked from their school building’s skyways to the other buildings.

“I know what I’m gonna get~ A nice, simple Mint chip drizzled in chocolate sauce and probably add a cherry or two~” Katie chimed, trying to hold back having a full blown outburst of excitement over a simple thing like Icecream. “You gonna get your usual Vanilla with brownie bits Rachel?”

“... I dunno… I might change it up today,” a small smile found its way on Rachel’s face as Katie stuck her tongue out at her with a smirk.

“Smart ass,” Katie grinned before turning over to Emily. “What about you Em?”

Emily seemed to think about it for a moment before she started writing it out to present to her friends.

Chocolate with hot fudge, sprinkles, a brownie side, M&M’s and some crushed snickers.

“.... You… sure about all that?” Katie asked her smirk faltering a little at the thought of all that chocolate.

“... That’s a lot of chocolate…” Rachel agreed, while Emily just beamed at them while scribbling on her notepad for a moment.

I was in a hospital for a week. Not enough sweets.

“Hey, whatever floats your boat Em… whatever floats your boat,” Katie shrugged, though she still felt her teeth aching from the amount of chocolate her friend wanted. Then again she couldn’t control or dictate what her friend liked or wanted.

Though that doesn’t mean I can’t hope they realize it’s probably a bad idea… Not just the ice cream though… Katie thought to herself as she glanced over to Rachel who seemed to shudder a little.

Rachel knew she would have a little trouble watching her friend eat that… it just seemed like so much chocolate to her. She just had a hard time understanding how someone could have that much chocolate at once.

Why can’t some people enjoy the simple things? Rachel pondered for a moment… before shaking it off with a sigh. That’s just how Emily was she guessed.

The trio finally made it to their destination and got in line to order their frozen treats. Katie being a little more worried in her thoughts… and unknowing that Rachel was thinking about the same thing as they waited.

Katie doesn’t have work tonight… I do….

I got my usual Live Stream tonight and Rachel closes…

She/I’m gonna be alone with Zack for the night….

Needless to say both girls had a bit of worry growing in the pits of their hearts at what was to come. Though… Katie seemed to hide it better outwardly with her smile as she was the first up on ordering.

….

Nick was trying to block Barry’s insistence of looking up any and everything on how to prevent ghosts from killing someone and tried to continue his current line of research… after all he just found out recently that this “Doctor Danny” has been missing for six years… not even a body had been found yet.

“Nick come on.”

This Doctor's been missing since Rachel’s been found-

“This is really important! Katie’s life is on the line!”

“Jesus Christ Barry! It’s not a ghost, she should just call the police if her life really is in danger!”

“DAMN IT NICK THIS IS SERIOUS!” Barry exclaimed, picking Nick up by the front of his shirt and surprising the black haired boy. Barry looked like he was so close to punching Nick, but instead dropped the boy and took a few deep breaths as he did… he really didn’t want to break his own rule… even if Nick was pissing him off at the moment.

“Look… get your head out of your ass for five minutes… and at least humor us…” Barry breathed, trying to calm himself down as Nick stared up at his friend with wide eyes… before glancing away like he was reevaluating everything.

“... Sorry…” Nick muttered, avoiding eye contact with Barry and turning back to the computer… and with a moment of hesitation deleting his search and changing it over to something he never thought he would look up… the paranormal.

Nick could already feel his own personal headache coming up with this search while Barry leaned in over his shoulder with a determined look in his eyes.

….

Katie for once in her life was dreading going home… Even with Rachel at her side she still felt her heart growing heavier with panic as she got closer to the apartment. The brunette was not looking forward to encountering Zack again… let alone being left alone with him for a while.

What the fuck am I gonna do? I mean… I could try kicking him in the dick, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t work with ghosts... Katie thought to herself, the closer they got to the building. Once they got inside and made their way into the elevator Katie finally sighed and broke the silence that had followed them since they said goodbye to Emily.

“I’m not gonna lie Rachel… I really don’t like your ghost friend…” Katie mentioned, leaning against the wall of the elevator while Rachel took more interest in her boots at the moment.

“... Understandable….”

“... But if he’s that important to you… I’ll try to tolerate him…” Rachel’s head shot up as she turned her attention back to the brunette who was staring off at the metal doors. “Though it might be hard if he tries to kill me again…”

“... Again that’s understandable really.”

“... Mind if I ask HOW you met him exactly? Before he was all dead that is...” Katie questioned, just as the doors opened allowing the two girls to step outside.

“... Would you believe if I told you… I don’t really remember?”

Katie looked like she was about to say something before pausing for a moment and actually thinking about it.

“Actually… I would… you barely remembered our first meeting after all...” Katie smiled softly, going back into old memories. Rachel blinked, and glanced over to her friend for a moment before looking ahead and narrowing her eyes in thought for a moment… but the memory came up as a blank. It was more to her like Katie just… popped into her life after she started a new middle school with the holes in her memory.

“... Sorry…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it! It wasn’t that exciting anyways… meeting Barry on the other hand,” Katie snickered as she remembered fondly how they had properly met their pink haired friend back then. Rachel smiled a little bit at that as well. She couldn’t remember it exactly, but she did remember how persistent Barry was for an entire week on trying to get Katie to go out with him. Keyword being try as his approaches were about as smooth as a lava rock… sometimes it was smooth but more often than not it was rough and bumpy.

“That was interesting,” Rachel smiled.

“Especially since he began almost immediately after I punched him in the face,” Katie laughed, it was a common joke for the small group of friends by this point. Hell Barry would laugh and throw in a few jokes about it himself.

The minute they reached their apartment door Katie actually froze at the door. Rachel glanced over to the brunette and how she seemed to just be frozen in front of the door, her hand out like she’s gonna grab the doorknob but no where close to it. They stood there like that for a moment or two before Rachel finally decided to take the initiative and open the door for them… and Katie flinched a little as if expecting Zack to come bursting through. Thankfully for the brunette though he didn’t.

Rachel however saw that the TV wasn’t on… nor was there any sign of Zack’s presence.

“.... Zack?” Rachel called out, getting no response. Katie soon cautiously made her way into the apartment after hearing no response herself and sighed with relief.

“Maybe he went out for fresh air… If ghosts even need air anymore that is…” Katie suggested, while Rachel pondered that for a bit… before something came to her.

“... He has trouble sitting still… he must have gotten antsy with waiting…” Rachel filled in, disappointment making it’s way onto her face as she hoped to talk with Zack some more before having to leave for work…. But what’s done is done.

Katie was so relieved on the other hand. A large smile formed on her face as she stretched her arms for a moment, working out the tension that was once in them.

“Well, I get first dibs on the shower~” Katie chimed happily and made her way to the bathroom as Rachel simply nodded and went to her own room to get ready for her job.  

Wonder where Zack went….

….

“Another dead end…” Nick sighed after closing out of another tab.

“Well what do you expect from a guy who died six years ago?”

“Missing, this doctor went missing.”

“Then explain the ghost.”

“A prank with a guy who looked remarkably like the missing Doctor.”

“Well maybe he really is dead and is now haunting your church.”

“If ghosts existed.”

“One day Nick… One day you’ll know the horrors of the afterlife.”

Nick rolled his eyes and removed the latest search. They had done research on paranormal but found very few ways on dealing with them… much to Barry’s dismay. Then out of their own curiosity they started looking up “Doctor Danny”, Barry was a little more comfortable with that search then he was with Rachel’s… but the pink haired boy was still uncomfortable looking at the guy.

However Danny didn’t seem to have any connection that Nick was looking for, nor did his disappearance hold anything that helped him with trying to find anything that could suggest what happened, or even if he was involved with any back alley killings. The only connection Nick could see was that he was Rachel’s old doctor and he went missing a…. Round the same time Rachel turned up at the destroyed building…

Nick instantly went to work on typing in a new search, this time about the blown up building that Rachel and the original killer, Isaac had been found at. Barry quirked a brow at this, not seeing the small connection that Nick saw in that moment.

He found an article that really got him to connect the dots much more. Barry still didn’t see it, he wasn’t reading the article and when he was about to Cereal came running in barking and whimpering… meaning the little guy needed to go out.

“I’ll be back… Mom won’t like another accident on the carpets,” Barry explained and was calling for the small white dog to follow him outside… Nick however grabbed a pencil and paper and started writing a few things down for his connections.

Rachel went to meet Doctor Danny around this time… She went missing a few weeks after. Months later she turns up at a destroyed building with a serial killer but the doctor disappears. A body is found in the debris but is far to badly damaged to recognize or identify. The doctor wasn’t the one who reported Rachel missing, despite being the one who had the most contact with her… it was a different doctor that would check her in for the meetings with Doctor Danny. From the research I had to do for my class project the convicted killer Isaac Foster swore he didn’t kidnap her and that he only met her in that building recently at the time... which means...

“The Doctor had to have taken her the first time…” Nick whispered to himself, looking at the quick timeline notes he took. It was a little bit of a mess but he needed to get it down quickly before he lost his train of thought… after all Nick had found something even more interesting from the article that he almost didn’t want to believe was true…

Reverend Black was also found at the scene, greatly injured, unconscious and in serious condition. It didn’t say his name… but he could tell from the picture and the description. Weirdly enough after doing a few checks he couldn’t find anything else on the priest regarding the building.

What was the Reverend doing there? Nick thought to himself, glancing down at his notes and finding his own hand hovering as he struggled to write down his notes on the Reverend’s possible involvement. He really hated to admit it… but the more people he knew that were involved with this the more he felt the anxiety he was trying to fight off kept growing stronger and larger as it went.

Nick couldn’t help but notice his vision was a little blurry now as he stared at the notes he had. The letters smeared and were hard to make out and for a moment he wondered if he didn’t put his glasses on… but the feeling of something wet rolling down from his eyes.

“Sorry I took a while, Cereal had to take a number 2 as well and- Holy shit are you alright?!” Barry exclaimed, nearly dropping Cereal but pausing and carefully putting the tiny white dog down gently. Immediately after Barry hurried over to Nick’s side and tried to see what was wrong, barely noticing the notes…. But he did notice them and the usual broken up pattern Nick would write in when trying to piece things together.

“I’m fine… m-my eyes just started-”

“First off bullshit. Secondly it’s got something to do with what you found doesn’t it?” Barry stated, he’s always been able to tell when Nick was trying to cover something up… well mostly when he spoke when it was in writing or text the pink haired boy had more trouble picking things up… but since Nick was sitting here right now he could read him like a book.

Nick sat there in quiet, his tears continuing to roll down his face. Barry sighed at Nick’s silence… but wasn’t surprised after all Nick’s always been one to keep his feelings under lock and key.

“... Nick you know you can tell me anything right?”

“... you wouldn’t understand…” Nick muttered, practically curling up into a ball in his seat. Barry pinched the bridge of his nose and sat in the chair next to Nick’s.

“Nick this is kinda the problem here… you don’t open up easily. I’m trying to help but you just… block me out ya know. I have no idea if this is even working to convince you in all honesty but seriously Nick, just talk to me. You used to tell me everything…” Barry trailed off, remembering how Nick had started to clam up a little more when they reached their Sophomore year of High School. Before then Nick would practically tell him everything that troubled him… and also about the talks he started to have with the Reverend in 8th grade.

Nick continued to remain silent, his tear ridden eyes glancing back to the computer in an attempt to try and focus on something else. Barry wasn’t having it though as he leaned forward and took the mouse… and exited out of the page they had been looking at.

“HEY!” Nick exclaimed. Barry just quirked a brow at him.

“I may not understand what’s got you upset now, but I know that looking up a page on the Bloody Doctor-”

“Daniel…”

“I don’t care, he’s the Bloody Doctor to me and hasn’t earned the use of his name from me. But seriously that’s not gonna help what’s going on!”

“Well then Mr.Einstein what IS gonna help huh?!” Nick snapped. “There’s a Killer on the loose near the girls,  Katie nearly died, Rachel was beaten up by someone I thought was a friend, Eric was murdered by the Killer and all I can even do is research to try and find ways to protect them because I’m a fucking weak coward!”

Barry’s eyes widened at the outburst… and the fact Nick seemed to be crying harder now.

“I’m not… not strong like you or Katie or Rachel… I’m just… just a useless nerd…” Nick choked out, burying his face into his knees. All the feelings he buried were coming forth and breaking him down. Nick then felt arms wrap around him in a comforting hug.

“That’s not true Nick…”

“It is though…”

“Okay physically yeah I’m kinda tougher than you…. But dude you’re stronger than me in other ways…”

“... no I’m no-”

“Remember that time back in Middle School. Ya know before we met Katie and Rachel?” Barry smiled a little, though Nick couldn’t see it. “The Kid I had stabbed with a pen, you know the one I got sent to the principal's office for and we met because of? Well he tried to get revenge ya know. Had like a little gang try to take me down a notch or two.”

“... It was three kids Barry…”

“Really? Huh coulda sworn it was like ten or more… Where was I- OH yeah, so they tried to take me down. Heh well they kinda did but the kid wanted to do more then stab me with a pen. I don’t really remember what exactly happened but I do know that you had called for help before any stabbing could be done.”

“... I just… did what anyone else would…”

“Nah Nick, thing is kids usually try to stay out of shit like that… You were pretty brave to do that you know.”

“I… I don’t see-”

“Then there was that time in High School. You know when we were on Summer Vacation and decided to sneak into that abandoned building on West Junction. Turned out it wasn’t that abandoned after all…”

“... I told you guys it was a dumb idea…”

“Heh, yeah you did. But you found a way to get us out without being noticed by those guys.”

“... How does that make me strong?”

“Well you usually know what to do and when to do it. Plus it’s mostly to go off proving you’re not useless. You’re a problem solver Nick. I’m just the tough guy who gets into fights, Katie’s the stubborn one who doesn’t give up easily, and Rachel’s been through so much already… well she’s her own brand of strong I guess. What I’m trying to say is that all of us are strong at something. You skipped a grade and you’re in Law School already. You’re really smart Nick… That’s what makes you strong in our group,” Barry grinned as he pulled away from Nick, who pulled his head up with a surprised look on his face.

“Now come on, let’s go out somewhere and get away from this stupid research alright?”

“...! Okay… can I pick the place?” Nick asked, wiping his tears away as an idea came to him.

“Sure, long as I can get you back home before 10:30.”

Nick smiled slightly… though he wouldn’t admit it but he did feel a little guilty on just what he was going to ask of Barry.

….

Katie stretched out as she stepped out of the Bathroom, her day clothes in one arm as a long blue towel was wrapped around her body.

“Shower’s open Rachel!” Katie called, as she made her way into her own room to get dressed… only to pause when she saw a certain figure seemingly about to enter Rachel’s room… and was staring at her. Katie felt her previous smile fall down and caused the rest of her expression to turn into one of annoyance.

“Take a picture it’ll last longer,” Katie sarcastically responded after a few seconds of silence between the two. She held a little more tightly onto her towel as she shifted slightly in discomfort.

“Why the fuck would I want to do that?”

Katie was about to retort but paused and actually considered the words for a moment.

“You know I’m not even mad about that… Good for you,” Katie shrugged before passing him and going into her room. Zack on the other hand took a moment to process exactly what was just said to him…. Before it hit him and he shuddered a bit at it in disgust.

….

It’s been about an hour now and Katie was just finishing setting up everything for her live stream in another two and a half hours.

She had on her gaming shirt with “Katie Kat Plays” written on it in bright red lettering and a silhouette of a cat with headphones and a controller on it, a pair of plain sweatpants and her hair was dry but sticking up a little in some areas, such as the curse she always had with her short wavy hair.

Going through everything she cursed herself as she remembered she still needed to grab something to drink and snack on for later… and she still didn’t want to interact with Zack… if he was even out there…

“... I’m heading out Katie,” the brunette heard Rachel call to her through the door.

“Okay, have fun! Don’t punch the customers!”

“I’m not Barry but okay.”

Katie laughed and said a final goodbye and waited a few minutes after she heard the apartment door open then close before leaving her room to grab the final things she needed… however the moment she opened the door she pretty much nearly ran into the resident Ghost again.

“JESUS FUCK/WHAT THE FUCK!” both exclaimed at the same time, neither one expecting the other right off the bat.

“Give a girl a heart attack why don’t ya?!” Katie hissed as she backed up against her doorway to catch her breath from her surprise.

“Wasn’t trying to you fucking bitch!”

“Asshole…” Katie muttered with a slight glare as she pushed herself off the doorway and hurried over to the kitchen. As she did the dawning realization that she was going to be alone in the apartment with the ghost of a serial killer became much more apparent… As she reached the Fridge she took a deep breath and turned around.

“Zack right?” She asked immediately after taking her deep calming breath. Zack turned his attention back to the girl with an annoyed look.

“Yeah? What about it?”

“Just.. making sure for starters…” Katie trailed before shaking it off. “Look I just really need to address the Elephant in the room.”

“Yeah she’s five foot six, has the god damned fridge open and is talking to me.”

“Fuck you, I’m trying to be nice…. This really isn’t helping with what I’m trying to say.”

“Well spit it out I ain’t fucking stopping you!”

Taking a deep breath again, Katie calmed herself down enough for what she was about to say.

“Look, I really don’t like you and the feeling’s mutual from what I can tell.”

“We got a regular fucking Sherlock here.”

“But Rachel for whatever reason seems to like you. I can barely wrap my head around why… Sure she liked Eric as well but that took a fucking turn for the worst with that shit head… Getting off topic sorry…”

“What the fuck is the point in this?”

“Look what I’m trying to say is… I’m willing to tolerate you… and give you a shot as long as you don’t try to kill me again.”

Zack quirked a brow at this, not entirely sure if he should believe her or not.

“I don’t care if you believe me or not, because in all honesty I really… really don’t like you asshole. But you can’t run through life based on the first impressions of someone’s cover.”

Like I almost did with Barry. Katie thought to herself at the end.

“So… What do you say? Start over and just you know… try to tolerate one another?” Katie asked, rubbing at the back of her neck feeling uncomfortable about this… but really wanting to understand what her friend seemed to like about this guy.

Zack actually thought this over for a bit… Rachel had introduced Katie as her best friend earlier…

“Fine whatever the fuck you want bitch…”

“Excuse you ass stain, I’m a lady not a bitch,” Katie quickly responded.

“Oh, ex-fucking-cuse me your Lady Bitch face, my mistake.” The slight smirk that Katie saw on his face was all the sign she needed to know what was going on now.

“Oh I see where this is going… Very well then your Lord of Shitdom glad you fucking acknowledge it!”

From there the insults just kept flying between the two and the smirks on both their faces just kept growing as each insult and curse kept going.

…..

“You know if Traffic is terrible on the way back I won’t be able to get you home on time,” Barry pointed out as he drove both him and Nick to the location Nick suggested. In all honesty Barry had no idea where Nick wanted him to take him to… but for the fact it was at least three hours, not counting the traffic that made it take an extra hour, to drive there Barry hoped it was a food place.

“I’m nearly 18 I’ll be fine…. Left up here,” Nick pointed out, and the pink haired boy took it.

“Well wherever you’re leading us, I hope it’s got pie,” Barry smiled at the thought of a nice hot, freshly made blackberry pie.

Oh or maybe a Cherry pie, yum. Then again nothing beats the classic Apple pie. Barry thought to himself and felt himself lick his lips at the thought of all the pie.

“Uh… no… we can stop somewhere to eat though…” Nick laughed nervously while Barry groaned in disappointment.

“Damn… You wanna hit that Denny’s over there?” Barry asked, already pulling into the turn lane for it.

“You’re the driver,” Nick pointed out, causing Barry to squeal in delight as he took the turn and made his way into the parking lot.

When the duo got in and got a table both began looking through the menu, before Barry immediately set his down knowing what he wanted and looking across the table to his best friend.

“So whatcha planning?”

“.... I don’t frequent Denny’s like you do Barry, give me another minute to-”

“No not that, this trip. What’s the plan with this little trip?”

“Oh that…. We’re doing hands on research this time…”

“Huh?”

“Um… Yeah… We’re going to the building Rachel was found at.”

Silence followed for a bit between the two as Barry processed what was said for a bit… until the waitress came by to take their order, with which Barry ordered an entire burger meal seeing as he didn’t want to eat the dinner his mom planned out.

Nick soon followed with his own order… of spaghetti and meatball dinner.

Guess he’s not over missing out on mom’s lasagna, Barry thought with a slight shudder but still focused on what Nick had told him.

“So… we’re going to a probably abandoned building.”

“Yup.”

“That once had a serial killer in it and who knows how many deaths there.”

“It’s possible but yeah.”

“And had been blown up from the inside out and is probably dangerous as sin to even try to get to the lower levels?”

“That pretty much sums up the whole thing.”

“....”

“...”

“.... Okay, sounds crazy, but hot damn it also sounds kinda fun. Might go better then that last abandoned place we went to.” Barry smirked as he thought of the possibilities of the abandoned building… but purposely trying to ignore the ideas of it being haunted. He did always want to explore an abandoned building after all.

“Glad you see it that way… the search group that investigated the building gave up on clearing some of the debris so we might need to move more rubble to investigate.”

“You mean have me remove the debris and point out the weaker looking places to move.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, when we get there just lead the way man.”

Nick couldn’t help but smile at his friend. Sure he had a short fuse sometimes, and when angry would fight anyone and anything but damn he was one of the best friends Nick’s ever had.

….

“You’ve seriously never played a video game before?” Katie laughed, having gotten past most of the insults and moved on to actual conversations for the past hour and a half with the ghost.

“Most of that shit needs reading. It takes to much fucking time and effort.”

“Dude when my livestream is over I gotta introduce you to some of the best ones I’ve got. You seem like a Resident Evil kinda guy,” Katie mused, remembering how she got Rachel into a few of the games she had but got really freaked out with the Silent Hill games the first time around. Hell sometimes the blond would join her on her Live Streams when she either had time off work or got home early enough.

“You mean that cheesy as hell movie?”

“God no… they were based on cheesy as hell Games that were far better in my opinion.”

Zack groaned about “Fucking Cheesy ass shit” while Katie just snickered.

“No but seriously the newest one BioHazard is amazing, only tiny bits of cheese hidden here and there but fucking scary as hell,” Katie explained as Zack rolled his mismatched eyes. Katie huffed a little at this reaction but instead grabbed the remote for the TV in the living room.

“So any requests for shows or movies? I got about an hour left before I gotta stream.”

“I don’t care surprise the shit out of me.”

“Hmm, OH I got a good one then,” Katie smirked as she went into a little cabinet below the Television that held all the DVD’s they owned. Shifting through a few of the things she finally found her prize and held it out as if to present it’s glory.

“This is a great anime! It’s got blood, guts, gore and you kinda get to enjoy the plot but it’s still an all out gore fest when it kicks off!” Katie grinned as she proudly held the anime out for Zack to see… who barely understood what the title was but seemed interesting enough to him.

As she popped the DVD in and set the TV up to play it Katie soon plopped back into the chair, fully intent on seeing just how right she was on her anime recommendation for the ghost.

“Zack?” Her voice hadn’t changed to much, Zack noted as he slowed down and finally stopped right in front of Rachel…. Only to see that she was glancing around her eyes not focusing on him even though he was right in front of her.

“Did you go fucking blind or some shit? I’m right in front of you!” He exclaimed, waving his hand right in her face to which her expression made a slight change to one of confusion… but seemed to at least focus in his general direction.

“... I… can’t completely see you…” She muttered, at least figuring something out… after all she started noticing a bit of an outline from his constant movement. Zack paused at that, his own expression being confused… after all it was usually easy for him to be seen when he wanted back when he was trapped in the alleys.

“... Are you fucking serious?”

She didn’t respond to his question. She instead had a confused look as if she didn’t know what was just said… though to Zack it almost made him feel like he was being ignored at the moment.

“Hey don’t ignore me!”

“... I’m not trying to… It just… sounded like you whispered something…”

“I didn’t whisper shit!” Zack shouted, feeling annoyed that this reunion seemed to be going to shit due to problems that he had no idea were even a thing… not even Rachel had any idea how to deal with those problems and she was the smart one.

Rachel was thinking now… but at the same time with the sun being gone and the lights on the street turned on she wasn’t feeling comfortable keeping this on the street… especially if someone saw or heard her talking to Zack and couldn’t see the outline she could.

“... Would you… follow me to my apartment?”

“...Huh?”

“... Katie won’t be back till later… and standing out here in the open talking wouldn’t be the best choice…” Rachel responded, not really needing to hear or understand what Zack said… she just guessed and figured it was best to explain. Plus being in the apartment without Katie there would make their conversations less weird if she couldn’t see Zack either.

“... Who the fuck is Katie?!”

….

Barry couldn’t sleep, not even with Cereal curled up next to him on his bed. He had barely gotten sleep the night before from his nerves still being on edge. Hell his nerves were still acting up from the other day, but now he was also just excited for Friday.

I’m gonna get as bad as Nick if I keep this up… He thought to himself, one of his hands gently petting his dog who continued to sleep in complete bliss. Barry glanced over to the clock on his bedside table, it was ten minutes to midnight and even though he was tired sleep was just escaping him at the moment. He tried to focus on something in his room with the little light he had from outside, from the Anime and movie posters, to the figurines and collectables on his shelves. He even tried to stare into the dark abyss that was his closet… still he was to restless to even consider falling asleep.

I wonder if Rachel’s doing better tonight… she was tossing and turning a lot the other day and she was crying, Barry thought, he was able to at least sleep for a while before nightmares of the bloody doctor popped up again, and he saw Rachel wasn’t faring any better that day. Though one question continued to echo through his mind since she had woken up.

Who is Zack? I mean she said that she knew the guy a while back and all… but seriously if he made her wake up crying who the hell was he? What the hell even triggered that memory anyways? …. Why is she remembering things now? Barry pondered, staring up at his ceiling with narrowing eyes. Damn it he really was feeling like Nick… Wait a minute.

Barry sat right up and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. He sent a quick text over to Nick, asking if he was still awake and waited. It didn’t take long as he got a response back a little bit after.

If you’re going to send me a meme again I’m turning my phone off.

Barry smirked at that. It was a lot safer for his friend to text at night if he didn’t want to be caught by the parents… after all he’s supposed to be grounded and asleep by now.

Nah it’s nothing like that. I got a question to ask you.

There was a pause. Nick was probably trying to either process the fact Barry was going to ask him something that wasn’t phrased like a meme this late at night… or he was waiting for Barry to send his question to him. Barry decided that was more likely what was going on on his friend’s end so he followed through.

You ever know a guy named Zach? Or even a Doctor Rachel had by the name of Danny?

Never heard of either of them. Was Nick’s response before it was followed up with a simple “Why?”

Well see Rachel remembered something about her old Doc when I told her the ghost story. Then after the church thing she woke up crying while saying “Zach” or something… dunno if I’m using the right spelling but Autocorrect says so.

He could practically see the gears turning in Nick’s head by this point. Then to Barry’s own surprise he got a call from the black haired kid. Clicking the answer button Barry held the phone up to his ear to listen to his friend.

“Rachel remembered something from her past?” Nick’s voice was quiet… most likely to be sure he wasn’t gonna wake someone up from his family.

“Yeah… That’s kinda why we went to the church at night.”

“... She remembered because of the stupid ghost story…”

“I think the ghost reminded her of her old Doctor…”

“Doctor Danny right?”

“That’s what she called him… and said she used to see him after her parent’s deaths.”

Nick was quiet now. Barry sighed knowing what his friend was probably thinking.

“Look Nick you’re grounded you can’t just-”

“I’ll come over tomorrow morning… Let me borrow your computer when I do.”

“... Alright I got nothing planned anyways. Need me to pick you up?” Barry knew there was no point in arguing with Nick on if he should or shouldn’t come… After all Nick’s parents were constantly telling him he should get out more and going to friend’s homes was always gonna be the closest thing they could get out of their son.

“Seeing as I won’t have a car…”

“Got it, I’ll pick you up at the usual time then.”

“I’ll figure something out about this tomorrow.”

The line went dead at that and Barry was left once more in the quiet of his room. He could only sigh now… He knew that after that conversation Nick wouldn’t be texting him back or calling him again till tomorrow… and he was more likely than not taking his medicine now seeing as he didn’t have his laptop.

….

Katie was practically dead on her feet. Work was killer tonight and she was more tired than before.

Three hours is good and all… but fuck it’s still not enough… Katie groaned as she paused at the stairs and debated for a moment if she had enough energy for the stairs… or if she was going to take the lazy route of using the elevator. Her decision was made the minute her eyes landed on on the stairs her mind was made up and she went to the elevator.

As she waited for it to come down she pulled her phone out and started playing on an app as she waited for it.

“Holy shit there’s a Dratini!” she immediately started swiping at her screen trying to catch the dragon type and nearly jumping at the sound of the Elevator arriving at her floor. Composing herself quickly she entered the elevator before checking to see if the caught it… only to see that it ran away. She practically hit her head on one of the walls and started to quietly mourn the loss at a chance to add a new Pokemon to her pokedex.

When she got to her floor she wandered down the hallway to her apartment. Before entering she paused when she heard Rachel’s voice… and a man’s voice? Quirking a brow up in confusion she checked the messages on her phone to see if her best friend had texted her anything on bringing someone over… only to find no info within the past messages.

“What the…” she muttered and was about to listen in… before shaking her head and unlocking the door before entering. When she did… she only saw her blond friend sitting on the couch and pausing mid sentence at Katie’s appearance. The brunette looked around the opened space of the room but found no trace of any other living being there besides the two of them.

“... You’re… home early…” Rachel stated, watching as her friend’s confused gaze glanced over the entire room.

“Yeah… we finished closing early… Was… there someone here?” Katie questioned, noticing the TV was on a slasher movie.

“... No…”

Katie didn’t buy it… but also didn’t push farther on the subject, she was to tired at the moment.

“Well… if you did bring someone over, at long as they don’t kill us in our sleep it’s fine,” Katie yawned, fully intent on plopping into her bed and passing out… but at the same time she recognized the slasher film that was playing. “Isn’t that the crappy remake?”

“.... Yes?”

“God that one sucked…. If you really want to watch a good horror movie before bed watch Hush on Netflix. That shit’s good,” Katie grinned as she stretched. “But you do you. I’m heading to bed now.”

Both girls said their good nights as the brunette went into her room and didn’t even bother changing out of her day clothed before plopping down face first onto her bed. Before she passed out she did stop and plug her phone into it’s charger.

She dozed off for a while before her mind suddenly brought forth the memory of what she had overheard Rachel saying to the man she heard earlier.

“Promise me… you won’t kill my friends.”

“Seriously? Fine, I’ll spare your friends.”

“Even if they annoy you…”

“You’re just making this shit more difficult aren’t you?”

Katie sat up in her bed with wide eyes as she remembered those words. She glanced at her phone and saw she had been out for about two and a half hours before this. The brunette shot up out of her bed and scoured her room from her anime collectables, her gaming set up, to her convention collectables… before settling on the anime inspired katana she had. Sure it wasn’t a real sword and was made of wood… but it would be enough to at least beat someone off… plus all the actual sharp things she had were in the kitchen.

She then hurried out of her room… finding the living rooms TV was still playing and there didn’t seem to be any living being in the room. She ignored it for a moment and went into Rachel’s room, only to lower her wooden sword and sigh in relief at the sight of Rachel sleeping soundly. Slowly Katie closed the door and then leaned against the nearby wall with her eyes closed and relishing in the feeling of sweet relief washing over her… until something practically told her to duck.

When she did she felt something swinging above her head with a lot of force and some of her hair seemed to have been cut from whatever it was that was swung at her. Scrambling away to the furthest wall she turned and saw a dark figure…. And what looked like a scythe in it’s hands standing in the small hallway.

“Holy fuck….” She breathed as her grip tightened on the wooden katana in her hand. She heard the figure, who she swears is death by this point laugh putting her more on edge.

Her mind was now working a mile a second on how to get out of this situation as the Grim Reaper imitator looked like he was about to rush her. Instantly she went ahead and rushed him instead, fully intent on knocking him down at least. As she rushed forward she found herself… going straight through the guy.

“Shit!” She stumbled a little after that but instantly turned back, her grip on her fake sword loosening enough for it to fall from her hand and hit the hard floor below and it’s fall to echo.

Katie’s heart raced as she saw the figure quickly turn around and looked like he was about to slash through her, laughing all the while… until Rachel’s door opened up quickly and a light turning on…. Making the figure seem to just vanish in Katie’s eyes.

“Katie?” The panic and fear on the blond’s face made Katie swallow the lump of fear in her throat before grabbing her friend’s wrist and started dragging her to the door. The blond’s eyes widened. “What’s wrong?”

“We have to get out of here!” Katie exclaimed as she raced them towards the door and swung it open.

“Why? What happened?”

“Some Grim Reaper impersonator ghost tried to fucking kill me!” Katie felt Rachel pull her wrist back from her grip as Katie stood outside the opened door now while her blond friend stayed in the apartment. Confused and still in full panic mode Katie turned her full attention to her friend. “Rachel?”

“... he promised….” Rachel mumbled but Katie caught it.

“Promised? Promised wha-” it seemed to hit Katie quickly as she remembered the small bit of conversation she heard earlier and her heart dropped. “... That he would spare your friends? Why would you even make this… guy have to promise you that?”

“....” Rachel remained quiet. Katie was about to try pushing the issue, after all this was a really big one… but then she saw it… the figure appearing behind Rachel once again. This time Katie could see him better than just a shadowed figure holding a scythe… she could make out the brown hoodie that was pulled up over the guy’s head and shadowing his face, the blood spattered on it and bits of black hair poking out from the hood.

“Rachel…” the brunette breathed her fear growing once again at the sight of the guy.

….

It was a cloudy morning as Barry pulled up to Nick’s house and waited for his black haired friend to come out. The pink haired boy didn’t have to wait long as Nick hurried out of the house and opened the passenger side door.

“I’m still surprised your parents will let you out of the house,” Barry smirked as Nick slid into his car.

“Unlike you, my parents actually try to push me outside all the time…” Nick sighed as he leaned back in his seat… before turning to Barry with a quirked brow on why his friend hasn’t gotten ready to drive again.

“... You’re forgetting something Nick.”

“... Worry Wart…” Nick sighed as he buckled up.

“Hey, you’ve been through Drivers Ed as well! You’ve seen the videos, the accidents and all the other things that could happen on the road! Seatbelts are important as hell!” Barry exclaimed.

“I know, I know, I’ve seen the scary foreign PSAs.”

“They are still right though!”

“Oh my God Barry….”

“The PSA’s make good points Nick!”

“It’s a twenty minute Drive Barry.”

“My Car my Rules Nick.”

Nick just rolled his eyes as Barry drove off, being as cautious as he normally is when it comes to driving. The music from the car had a pretty good beat to it and Nick couldn’t help but nod his head to it a little.

“... What band is this?”

“Panic! At the Disco, I just got their new CD.”

“... Wait you have it repeating this one song…”

“It’s a really good song…”

“I’m not saying that it’s not… could… I take it off repeat though?”

“Hey man if that’s what you want, go for it.”

The rest of the drive was spent with the two listening to the music, and Nick having to hear Barry sing along with his off key voice… Barry was never very good at singing but the energy he had and how much he enjoyed a song was enough for even Nick to turn a blind eye… unless it was like that time back in Junior year that the pink haired boy tried to enter a singing contest. That was the one time Nick was blunt about Barry’s singing skill. Well actually everyone of his friends were blunt about it and when someone who wasn’t one of his friends pointed it out… well they were in the nurse's office with a broken nose for a while.

When they reached Barry’s home, Nick hopped out of the car as soon as his friend parked in the garage and hurried inside.

“Hey you could wait before jumping the gun!”

“Like you do before punching someone in the face?”

“... Fair point.”

After the quick exchange Nick made his way inside… only to be greeted by Barry’s mother.

“You staying for dinner tonight again?” his friends mother asked, already used to Nick’s constant visits by this point.

“... Depends whatcha havin?”

“Lasagna and home baked crescent rolls.”

Barry shuddered in the background, never being a big fan of lasagna but Nick on the other hand…

“Then the answer is yes.”

Soon after that Nick hurried off to the computer room, Barry hot on his heels after saying a quick hello to his mom. The minute the two boys got into the computer room Nick plopped down in front of the computer monitor and was about to log in under Barry’s section but paused and looked to his friend.

“... Did you change your password at all?”

“Nope, it’s still ‘Cereal is a good boy’ all one word.”

“Of course it is.”

Nick typed the password and immediately set to work on his search… though with Barry being confused.

“Nick…”

“Hm?”

“Why are you looking Rachel up?”

“....”

“... Jesus Christ Nick… I thought you got over the New Year's Incident! Rachel just had a PTSD blackout and it was all self defense when she hit the guy!”

“This isn’t about that Barry…. But it could still explain the look in her eyes…”

“Nick…”

“I’m only looking her up… because her name popped up during my research of the old Back Alley Murderer…”

“...! Nick…”

“I know, I know… this is police work.”

“Then let my cousin-”

“I’m NOT going off to find the guy! I just…” Nick fell silent as he glanced towards Barry before looking back to the computer screen while putting his reading glasses back on.

“... Just what?”

“....” Barry sighed at how Nick choose to remain silent. The pink haired boy however just pulled up a chair next to his black haired friend and stared at the computer screen.

“So… what does looking up one of our friends have anything to do with a murderer?”

“... She was kidnapped by him twice.”

“Oka- WHAT?!”

“The original one is dead Barry…”

“Still doesn’t make it okay Nick!”

Nick rolled his eyes at that before turning his focus back to the screen and resuming his work and clicking on an article, only to be pulled back in his chair by Barry.

“What the hell Barry?”

“Look this is invasion of someone’s privacy Nick! I know you’re determined to find answers but I’ll be damned if you keep doing this without Rachel’s knowledge.”

“Rachel has terrible memory, she wouldn’t remember it anyways.”

Barry was so tempted to slap Nick upside the head for that comment but froze when he saw something on the screen.

“... That’s him…”

“.... Who?”

“The Bloody Doctor!”

Nick’s brow quirked up but looked to the screen… and saw in the article that the first picture on there had a, what he could assume was a younger Rachel being escorted into a hospital by a doctor with brown hair. Nothing else stood out from the picture to Nick but then again it was mostly the Doctor’s profile. From that Nick read the guy as a more simple guy filled with worry.

“... You sure about that?”

“Dude that guy’s been engraved in my brain since the day I saw him! I wouldn’t forget that creepy ghost’s face even if I tried…”

Plus I still have nightmares with that freak in them…. Barry thought with a shudder. Nick gained a thoughtful look and turned back to the article, trying to see if he could find the name of the Doctor anywhere in it. After all he was kinda curious now. With luck he found it rather quickly from skimming through it.

“Doctor Daniel Dickens….” Nick muttered as he glanced back to Barry… only for Barry’s phone to ring and ruin the moment.

“Hello?”

“... Hey Barry…”

“Katie!” Barry exclaimed, both happy for the distraction and also feeling nervous… after all he was going to be having his first date with her in a few days. Nick rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the article. “Hey, how’s it… how’s it hanging?”

“Um… everything got… weird actually….”

“Oh geeze weird how?”

“.... Uh… Well we got a new roommate last night for starters.”

“How’s that weird? I mean she probably just takes the cou-”

“It’s a guy Barry…”

“Oh geeze that does make it weird… wait last night?”

“Yeah… he’s a friend of Rachel’s and well… she invited him to stay the night and I guess he’s not leaving now.”

Nick glanced over to Barry, unable to hear Katie’s side of the conversation but was still curious about it. Well more so because of Barry’s expression that went from worried to straight up serious.

“If he does anything to you or Rachel I swear to God I don’t care if I get in serious shit for this, but I will kill him.”

“.... Yeah good luck with that one…”

“No I’m serious I-”

“See he’s kinda already dead…”

Nick was confused on what Katie was saying or just what happened because suddenly Barry’s face went from angry to suddenly blank… with fear starting to blossom on it.

“YOU’RE APARTMENT IS HAUNTED NOW?”

Nick’s expression at the moment of Barry’s expression read full on “What the fuck?”

“Yeah…. You know funny thing is when I was seven I kinda wanted a ghost roommate… Now I’m not sure if it’s really worth it…”

“Okay, first things first… GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!”

“Barry may I?” Nick asked after Barry’s outburst. The pink haired boy paused for a moment before handing him the phone.

“-sides I can’t really leave Rachel alone there with the guy…”

“Okay can you start from the beginning for me.”

“Oh... Look Nick, you’re a help sometimes, but seriously… I don’t want to talk about this to you and hear you call me crazy by using your ‘logic’ on how I’m just seeing things when I literally had NEARLY BEEN KILLED BY HIM!”

Nick hand to pull the phone from his ear at the brunette’s outburst at the end.

“If that happened then why didn’t you call the police?”

“You seriously think the police would believe a nearly 20 year old girl, who watches a lot of horror movies and tends to have the mouth of a fucking sailor, calling them and raving about a murderous ghost at two o’clock in the morning? Hell It’s nearly noon and I still find that fucking crazy….”

Nick had nothing to say to that… Katie had already beat him to it.

“Now could you pass the phone back to Barry? I need to ask him if he has any ideas how to kick a ghost’s ass if they try to kill you again…”

Katie really knows how to shut him up doesn’t she? Barry thought as Nick remained quiet and passed the phone back to Barry. Though unknown to Barry, Nick was now questioning his own friends sanity… while also trying to deny to himself that maybe, just maybe ghosts do exist.

….

Katie was tapping a pen on a Notebook of hers as she read over the few quick notes she wrote on ideas on how to deal with ghosts. She got a long explanation from Rachel… and Zack, though the ghost didn’t seem to enjoy it himself. Katie felt the same way in all honesty… to her Zack was a danger and she couldn’t feel safe in her own home with him around. Nick wasn’t going to be a help at all, Barry was petrified of ghosts and Rachel actually liked the guy… so that left her to be the one to make sure she could deal with him if he does anything to hurt or kill her friends.

Barry threw her an idea of an exorcist… She liked that idea honestly but problem was she wasn’t a regular church goer and didn’t really like the church near their apartment. Then there was a few suggestions she found on the internet… but some of things required money and she has to save money for rent and food… and not all of them were very subtle either. After all she really didn’t want to tip off the guy that could kill her on what she was doing anytime soon. She preferred living thank you very much.

Katie was quickly snapped out of her thoughts when a note pad was placed over her own notebook that had familiar handwriting on it.

Whatcha doing?

Glancing up she saw Emily and sighed.

“Oh, my friend Barry’s freaking out over ghosts again… just trying to find something to help so he can calm down ya know…” Katie shrugged then pulled up a smile to her friend. Emily quirked a questioning brow but shrugged it off and took a seat next to the brunette while writing something on her note pad before showing it off to her friend.

You look tired. Anime Marathons again?

“Oh you know me, when you start one season you just have to finish it up.” Katie laughed, she almost flinched at how it sounded forced but kept herself relaxed otherwise.

That’s not it is it?

Katie frowned after reading that and looked into her friend’s concerned eyes.

“... It’s nothing really. Just haven’t gotten a lot of sleep these past few days that’s all.”

This has something to do with what happened to Rachel doesn’t it?

Katie froze when she read that. Her hazel eyes widened as she looked to her college friend who had a serious look.

I’m a temporary mute, not blind. You force smiles more when you don’t want to talk. Rachel avoids eye contact. Whatever happened is really getting to you. What happened?

“... Em I-” Katie started only for Emily to place a finger on her lips before writing a little more on her note pad.

I don’t want to be kept in the dark. You’re both my friends. I wanna help if I can.

“.... Alright… it does involve what happened to Rachel….” Katie sighed, leaning back in her chair as she did. She was far too tired to fight after all. Emily leaned in, a sign that she was listening and Katie sighed again.

“... She wasn’t mugged… one of our old friends, Eric beat her up… I never mentioned how he beat me before when I rejected him… I-I guess she did the same thing…”

The shocked look on Emily’s face was all Katie needed to let her know what Emily was thinking.

“Eric… beat her… I could have prevented the situation… If I just spoke up to her about it…”

Emily’s shocked expression turned to anger as she furiously scribbled some words onto her notepad but stopped when Katie spoke up again.

“I… could have also probably prevented his death… if I spoke up…” Katie felt tears coming to her eyes. Her lips quivered as she tried to hold back her tears. “I’m such a fucking idiot…”

Emily crossed off what she was writing before quickly writing down with rushed writing.

No! Don’t Say that!

“His blood’s on my hands Em!” Katie exclaimed, wanting to curse herself for being so weak right now. She’s supposed to be the strong one after all… the emotional support. Now here she was… a freaking mess from all the stress she’s had over the past few days. “Rachel got hurt because of me!”

A sudden slap made contact with her face. With wide eyes Katie stared at Emily whose hand shook after having slapped her and a slightly guilty look was on the short haired blonde's face. With the same shaking hand she seemed like she was about to say something but it came out as a pained rasping noise… causing her to pick her pen back up and wrote on her notepad once again, constantly stopping Katie from speaking as she took her time to write what she had to say.

It’s not your fault. Did you kill him? No, I know you wouldn’t have and couldn’t have. You had a funeral to attend and her bruises looked a few days old. Sure you should have spoken up first, but what’s done is done. You can’t rewind the clock so take yourself out of the frozen moment of what could have been and press the play button to move on.

Emily sighed and turned the page and started writing a little more, this time her writing a little neater as she took her time and didn’t have to much to write this time.

Besides, we all make mistakes. That’s what makes us human.

Katie sat there in surprise, mentally processing the words she just read before shooting the short haired blond a little smirk.

“... You know if Graphic Design doesn’t work out you should think about writing motivational speeches Em.”

Emily smirked back and gave the brunette a playful shove, making Katie laugh a little as she wiped away her tears.

“I’m serious that was good.”

“... Katie?” the quiet voice caused Katie to pause in her laughter. Turning her head she saw Rachel standing there, head lowered and almost upset looking. It seemed like she could barely look her friend in the face… who could blame her though when your friend was nearly killed by another friend.

“... What are you standing around there for?” Katie asked suddenly, a big smile on her face that startled Rachel and even making Emily a little confused and curious as to what was going on.

“... Huh?”

“You just came from class right?”

“Uh… y-yeah?”

“Soo, that means it’s Ice cream time!” Katie grinned and hurried over, gently grabbing Rachel’s hand before motioning over to Emily. “After all we still need to celebrate Em’s successful surgery!”

Rachel’s eyes were wide and she glanced from her brunette friend to her fellow blond, who seemed to be trying to piece something together before getting up and joining them. What surprised Rachel even more was that Katie leaned in and whispered, before Emily got to them.

“Let’s not invite Em to our apartment for a while till we get everything figured out, kay?”

Inside the apartment both girls dropped their stuff off in their respective rooms before sitting in the living room, with Katie pulling up the anime she was talking about for both of them to watch. Rachel was mostly silent through the episodes, giving a few comments on them here and there… before falling silent all together as confusion racked her brain.

“Hey… what’s wrong?” Katie finally asked, looking over to the blond.

“... Why… did you kiss Barry? I thought… didn’t you say once before… that you only thought of him as a friend?”

Katie was silent after that question. She glanced between the TV and her friend for a bit before sighing.

“... I had a nightmare about the New Year's Incident last night… with that creepy kid… breaking into Barry’s cabin and how the kid… the kid stabbed Barry…”

Rachel remembered that… she couldn’t remember everything that happened on that day… but she did remember how she, Barry, Katie and Nick all went up to Barry’s cabin to celebrate the New Year… only for it to go downhill from there.

They had arrived on New Year's Eve… a day before Barry’s parents would have been coming up as they had their own New Years party going on. They had been having fun and goofing off… when this creepy local kid popped up in the window while it was night time. He had a knife and at first seemed like he was trying to scare them… it worked so the kid backed off. They were all kinda scared but had picked up quickly what the kid was just trying to do, and choose to ignore him instead… after all the cabin had a silent alarm system set up in it and there were four people there.

Rachel never knew what changed in the kid’s mind… but a while later Barry’s phone got a notification that the alarm had been tripped and barely a second after that his parents called to make sure they were alright. Thankfully they did tell them about the creepy kid and the parents let the police know to head over. After the call Barry almost left the room to see if he could find where the kid was but everyone stopped him and convinced him to just wait… safety in numbers after all….

It turned out the kid had more than a knife with him as he also had a gun. Katie tried to talk the guy down… after all he was clearly just a kid… and he was shaking as he held the weapons. She had been hit in the face and told to shut up, in response Barry tried to stop him… but was hit in the gut with the knife… that's where it got a little fuzzy for Rachel… but she remembered when she did come back to awareness she was standing over the kid with a fire poker in her hands like she had just used it as a blunt weapon… and her hands were shaking hard and her breathing was erratic.

“... What…. Exactly happened in your nightmare?” Rachel asked hesitantly after the memories were brought up. Katie looked away for a moment before answering.

“It… wasn’t all that different except… Barry hadn’t been lucky that he was stabbed in a non vital area…” Katie explained, her tired eyes getting an almost haunted look. Rachel hesitantly placed a hand on the brunette’s shoulder in comfort.

Rachel knows that she’s not that good at comforting others… but she’s seen the others doing this often and it seems to work. Well… for the most part.

Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before pulling up a forced smile and looking back to Rachel.

“So, enough about me… What do you think of the show so far huh? It’s really good right?”

Rachel didn’t say anything… this was so like Katie… trying to change the topic when she doesn’t know what else to say… or didn’t want to talk about it. Then again… it was probably better than her own response to usually clam up and say nothing at all.

“... the bugs going into the people’s backs… is kind of disturbing…” the blond finally spoke, after a while of silence between the two… it nearly made Katie uncomfortable with how long she took to answer but smiled when Rachel finally did.

“Heh, yeah it really is… but you have to admit little Geko is freaking adorable.”

“... I think Panju is a little more interesting…”

Katie snickered a little, causing a confused look to cross Rachel’s face.

“I’m surprised you like the stabby little guy! From what I’ve been able to tell from fanfictions the little guy is a fan favorite. I was expecting you to be more of an Oranju fan is all,” Katie laughed, causing the blond to glance away feeling a little embarrassed.

“... Panju has better dialogue… and Oranju is a little to mellow for the show… in… in my opinion at least.”

“Here, here,” Katie chuckled a little before turning the show back on for them to watch. Both of them having a little bit of a commentary going on through the episodes as they went. They only stopped once it was eight o’clock and Katie asked if Rachel was hungry at all.

“... what do you want?” The blond asked, her friend seemed to freeze in that moment with a ‘Shit!’ expression on her face.

“Uh…… Well what do you want?”

“... you asked…”

“...”

“...”

“We really fucking suck at dinner plans,” Katie groaned, flopping back into her seat with her hands over her face. Silence fell over the two for a bit before Rachel, surprisingly, spoke up first.

“What about pizza? Isn’t… that usually our default… when we have nothing planned?”

“Yeah well our usual Pizza place closed down and Domino’s is spendy after a while…”

“... I got paid this week…”

“... Well shit, we’re getting Pizza then I guess. You wanna do online ordering or phone calling?”

“...”

“Oh right… TO THE INTERNET WE GO!”

“... Are we going to pass the internet cat section?” Rachel asked with a small smile, knowing her friend was getting into one of her joking moods.

“And the music section while we’re at it!” Katie declared and hurried off to her own room to grab her laptop. It was after all… the only computer that was even in the apartment for the two. When Katie came back with the laptop she was already getting the website up. Sitting down beside Rachel the two started putting what they wanted on their order and finally choose their method of payment.

Now all they had to do was wait… and watch some more shows till then.

….

Nick was annoyed. He lost his computer rights and his parents were practically pushing the sleeping pills on him now since he snuck out late at night. A typical grounding for him by this point, but it was still annoying. He still had his phone access at least so he was able to do a bit of research but it was harder with the touch screen…. And now he was getting a call from Barry ruining his research.

“What do you want Barry?”

“Nick, what is love?”

“Oh my God are you serious right now?”

“I am Nick! I don’t know what to think anymore! First I think Katie just likes me as a friend, then she comes up and kisses me and now… Fuck man I have no idea what I’m feeling!”

“.... Then why are you asking ME this? I have no experience with girls besides Rachel and Katie…”

“You’re the smart guy!”

“Oh my god… This is like the time you ‘Turned Geology into Chemistry’ back in Middle School isn’t it? Look it probably didn’t even mean anything.”

“No see, she kissed me on the lips Nick! ON THE LIPS!”

“Well then why don’t you fucking ask her out instead of calling me? In case you didn’t realize it, but I’m grounded Barry.”

“... Alright I’ll ask her out when she’s done with classes tomorrow! Thanks Nick!”

“Ah wait don’t- And he hung up… Ugh why am I friends with that idiot again?”

Nick was getting a headache. First his own personal research project was hampered with losing his laptop privileges until he had to go back to school, then he got stuck having to use his phone… which doesn’t make it easier on him as he has to zoom in on everything, then his parents expect him to take his sleeping pills at exactly ten o’clock and don’t leave him alone till he does… and now he has to deal with Barry getting his first crush back.

“What’s next? The dead coming back?” Nick groaned and flopped back onto his bed. He pulled off his reading glasses and held his head in his hands. He just wanted his laptop back… he needed to find answers after all.

….

The next day came and Rachel was feeling a little better. The pain was dulled more now, her hand was still bandaged but thankfully not that bad anymore. Katie asked if she was sure she wanted to go to class today… but Rachel refused to stay at home alone, and also she herself was concerned for Katie who still seemed tired.

As they went to the college some of the students stopped to stare at Rachel, most out of concern from the bruises while others were confused. One of them, a young female with dark blond, pixie cut hair, came running over with a look of worry on her face and a notepad and pen in one hand. The girl quickly scribbled some words on it before showing it to Rachel.

You okay? What happened?

“... I’m fine Emily…”

Emily glanced down from the bruise on Rachel’s face to her bandaged hand. Rachel was glad she had decided to wear a scarf to cover the bruises on her neck when Eric tried to strangle her. Emily took her pen and notepad and began writing more on it before letting Rachel read it.

Don’t believe you… Did you get mugged? Did something worse happen?

Rachel was silent, but Katie stepped in.

“It’s… more of a private talk topic Em… let’s wait till after class alright?”

Emily looked like she really wanted to know as she opened her mouth for a second before stopping herself, looking away and sighing. With an upset look the blond wrote down an “Okay” before following through with the rest of her day with the other two.

After the first day of the new quarter finished Emily gently tugged on Rachel’s sweater to get her attention so she could read what she wrote.

If you’re ready. What happened?

Rachel read it but kept quiet… it was already hard enough telling her best friends what happened… but telling someone she wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable with was much, much harder. Katie almost seemed like she was going to tell for her… but clammed up… she didn’t really know what to say either. Their silence seemed to make Emily all the more worried and anxious.

“... it was a mugging…” Rachel finally said. “... I refused to let go of my bag… they beat me up… they left my bag behind... after taking the money…”

Katie bit her tongue from saying anything to blow the lie. But could tell from how Rachel couldn’t make eye contact with Emily that she felt bad for lying. It was also hard for her to even talk about it… and it didn’t exactly happen to her.

Emily seemed to buy it though… After all it was normal for someone to have a hard time talking about getting beaten, let alone mugged. The other blond then scribbled some more words as she held a concerned look.

What hurts? So I don’t accidentally cause you pain when getting your attention.

“... my ribs… hand… and cheek.”

Emily nodded, taking out a notebook and writing that down, most likely as a reminder.

“... On that note, how are you doing Em?” Katie asked as Emily finished. She paused for a moment before pulling her notepad up and writing on that again.

Doc’s say the worst is over. Not allowed to speak for a while though. Gotta recover from surgery.

“That’s great! Hey… We should totally get ice cream to celebrate.”

I got another class in 30. Tomorrow though?

“You got it Em! You in Rachel?”

“... Sure.”

“Fuck yeah!”

Katie was in a much better mood with that plan on her mind. Rachel was just glad she been able to keep her memories for the moment…. Or rather remember the past three days for once… and she hasn’t even taken her medication once since then.

… Why is that? ... Why… have the doctors been giving them to me if all they do is get rid of my memories?

….

On their way back to the apartment, Katie was so confused on why she got a call from Barry. Rachel could only pick up one half of the conversation but it seemed like even Katie was kinda confused.

“Uh… yeah I’m free… Wait a date? Whoa slow down there buddy… Date?”

“... Maybe it’s because you kissed him…” Rachel offered at the repeated word, surprising Katie a little but she ended up face palming herself.

“Oh geeze… Barry… I…” Katie paused and glanced over to Rachel, who was curious on why she suddenly had her friends attention on her… before Katie looked away with a thoughtful look before sighing. “Sure, how about Friday for dinner?”

Rachel was surprised at this answer. She was honestly expecting Katie to say she was sorry and she just wanted to be friends… like almost every other time someone asked her out.

“Yeah really… I’m willing to give it a shot. See ya Friday.” Katie hung up at the end and turned to address the surprised Rachel. “... What?”

“... You said yes to a date…”

“Well… Might as well give it a shot you know. Besides unlike Eric, Barry is much nicer about rejection… I mean he’s dealt with me saying no multiple times before when we were in Middle School.”

“....”

“Besides… I’m not really sure… you know what never mind. It’s not that important.”

“.... Okay…” Rachel responded, she wasn’t going to push her friend on something she didn’t want to talk about.

“Come on, I gotta get ready for work. I don’t know about your work schedule but you should probably get ready as well.” Katie grinned as she dragged Rachel back home. The blond herself smiled a little, the familiar words about her smile coming to mind once more as she did. Soon after instead of getting the pang of sadness… she thought she saw a familiar hooded figure on the opposite side of the street.

Zack? She thought, turning her head entirely with wide eyes… only to see that she was mistaken and that it was just someone in a similar colored hood. She felt disappointment raising up and replacing that small sense of hope she had.

I… still don’t remember much about Zack… but… do I… really want to see him again? Even as she questioned that… she found herself glancing back at the hooded person in hopes that she had been wrong in thinking it was someone else… but the person was already gone, along with that small amount of hope she didn’t know she had left.

….

Nick was home alone now… and he snuck his laptop back. His dad wouldn’t be home for another four hours, his mom and sister were out shopping and knowing them it will be another two and a half hours till they get home… three and a half if they decided to get their hair done.

Dad should have thought harder on where to hide it. The sock drawer is literally the first place I looked this time. Nick thought with a smirk as he logged on and brought up the internet to begin his search anew.

Instead of typing in the Back Alley Murderer…. This time he began a new search topic.

Rachel Gardner.

There were a few different results… but he found the ones he wanted. From the time she had at the hospital… and an apparent time where a few months after she had been kidnapped from said hospital. This… this was new to him. Rachel was kidnapped a second time? Huh, the more you know.

Reading through he found that the main suspect was… Isaac Foster… the Back Alley Murderer… This was the first time Nick was able to get the guys name… and see a picture of him. Well… a kinda picture as it seemed really blurry as if the guy couldn’t hold still at all. This was seriously the best picture they could get of the guy?

Must have had ADHD or something… or just a major problem with sitting still… is his skin white or something? For sure his hair’s black… but seriously I’m having a hard time making out these details! Nick fumed as he studied the image for a bit. He decided to save the image and send it to his phone so he could try and pick out any characteristics later. After all he was pressed for time.

Acquired Blurred Picture.

Oh wait… they also had a police sketch of the guy. Might as well get that one as well. After all it had better details in it then the blurred one.

Acquired Sketched Picture.

After getting the pictures he continued reading the article, practically absorbing the information in it.

She was kidnapped from her room… her door was blocked from the inside well before the sound of the window breaking happened. All that was found in the room after they forced the door open was the chipped knife Rachel had brought in claiming to be hers. From the sound of it… she didn’t put up much of a fight to get away from the guy… rather she seemed to help him by stalling the orderlies and doctors with the blocked door.

He came to the end of the article and quickly switched tabs to the second article he found. He soon closed out of it as it didn’t provide any new information, he did the same with the third one but the fourth one… that one was about five months after the last one… and from the date on it about two months before she first went to their Middle School.

She and the killer were found trying to cut through an Alleyway to get away from pursuing cops… Isaac was killed on sight and Rachel was in clear distress after that… There’s not much else on what happened to her after that… except she was kept in the hospital for a while and never seemed to be found after that.

He tried to find any more articles for information… but none seemed to get past that point. He then tried looking up Isaac Foster… but found even less on him then there was on Rachel. That actually pissed him off… because it was almost like this guy didn’t exist with how little information there was.

“Who the hell were you Isaac Foster?”

“Better question is what are you doing with your laptop back young man?” The voice of his mother startled him… and made him glance from both his mother and the time at least twice before speaking.

“... You’re home early…”

“You’re avoiding the question Nicolas Sherman West.”

Ah, the classic full name… Nick’s mother truly was mad at him if this was going on.

“... You guys should know I’m always going to find a way to the internet. Though you really need to think of better hiding places. I’ve practically mapped out every hiding spot by now.”

His mom was angered at that moment… but was cut off from a coming rant when her oldest child walked into the room… and took the laptop from her younger sibling.

“What the hell Joan?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re not supposed to have this idiot,” she responded while closing out of his tab and shutting the computer down. “So I’m gonna be the one hiding it now.”

“Right like there’s any place you can hide it.”

“There is one place that if you even think of touching you’re dead meat.”

Nick pondered what she said for a moment… before it rammed into him like a bullet train and his expression turned to one of horror.

“You wouldn’t…”

“Watch me.”

“Besides you’re not supposed to have it now anyways,” his mother supplied as the two women left the room with the confiscated item in tow. Nick knew where it was going to be placed now… but he really didn’t want to try grabbing it now.... Nor did he think he ever wanted to touch it again when he did get it back.

Now how am I gonna finish my research? Nick thought to himself before hitting his head lightly onto his desk.

….

The Reverend was settling down in his home for the night. Internally hoping that tonight would be like the other… no one getting the bright idea to sneak into his Church just to lay eyes on the resident ghosts. It was hard enough to get them to remain calm sometimes… having so many people in one setting in the middle of the night seemed to set them on edge or rather…

How interesting of you to show up once again after all these years Rachel Gardner. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Daniel would be much more excited at your presence… but Edward on the other hand surprises me a little more. I thought that he got over that crush four years ago now, the priest thought to himself as he opened the top to a snake terrarium and dropped in the proper amount of food to the two white serpents inside. The two snakes eating their food eagerly as their owner wheeled towards the small study of his home.

In the room the auburn haired boy sat at the table scribbling something into a leather bound book with some schematics and placement ideas for a new grave underneath it. He still wore the closed up jacket from the other day but it seemed as if… blood was starting to appear in a long vertical line on the chest. He seemed so engrossed in his writing that he didn’t even turn or even say a small greeting to the reverend, nor seem to notice the growing blood stain he produced. “Black” could only guess what had the kid so wrapped up in his own writing.

“Thinking about trying to find Rachel once again?” That caused Eddie to jump, a light blush on his face at being caught.

“NO!”

A quirked brow from the Reverend made the boy fidget a bit.

“... maybe…”

The priest sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. It was bad enough he had to find ways to keep Danny from going after the girl… and keep Cathy from purging the sinners that came to the confessionals. He really didn’t want to add more work to his already hectic life by finding ways to keep Eddie from sneaking away. He is just one man in a wheelchair after all.

“You know very well that you shouldn’t.”

Eddie was silent at that. He knew very well he shouldn’t… but he was just curious. After all… she seemed different after all these years… and he wasn’t dumb enough to not notice the pain she was in or the bruises.

The reverend had sighed at the silence and went over to the kid’s side to look at the schematics and placement chart. They were due to hold another funeral within the coming week after all and it was best to have a solid plan for the grieving family.

“... The placement around space H 9 seems more appropriate,” the elder offered, getting straight into official business and to remove the bitter look on the child’s exposed face. Eddie perked up at that and held up the placement chart he made.

“Personally that would have been my second choice, J 3 was more my first one. After all it’s a newer space and from the information on this person they had a rather extensive family…. Better location to move around and place the kind of grave stone they wanted.”

The two discussed the arrangements some more before coming to an agreement and the Reverend to decide to turn in for the night.

“... Oh and Edward.”

“Hm?”

“You’re ruining another lost coat. Make sure to properly clean it when you have the time and put it back in the lost and found.”

Eddie flinched before glancing down and glaring at the invasive red that made its way onto the… borrowed coat like it was the most hateful thing in the world. He took the coat off and underneath was his normal outfit… or rather the one he died in… right down to the large deep slash in his chest that stained the front of his white shirt red and even got a little on the overalls.

He hated it more then anything… except maybe the one who caused the death wound.

If I ever see Zack again… I’ll make him regret what he did to me.

….

A loud sneeze startled the few people who heard it. The one who caused it was so much more confused though.

I’m fucking dead how the hell can I catch a cold?! Zack thought with confusion clear on his bandaged face. Then again… many things about this afterlife didn’t make sense to the killer.

“Movies made more sense then this bull shit…” he grumbled to himself outloud. He really didn’t want to deal with anymore bullshit… after all he spent almost an entire two days trying to find Rachel. It was easier said than done really.

“Have a good night Derek!”

Perking up at the voice, Zack turned his head and felt his eyes widen as he saw the person he was looking for stepping out of a closing down Bakery across the street. Luck was finally on his side it appears.

He noticed rather quickly a bag of the baked goods in her arms… and the small smile on her face. It was just like how he remembered it. It sucked… but it looked really good on her. He watched as she started on her trek… to where? Hell if he knew… but he was determined to catch up to her by this point. He’s waited too damn long to find her and like hell he was going to let her get away that easily.

He was about to run across the road only to quickly pull himself back as a car raced by.

“FUCKER! CAN’T YOU SEE I’M….” Zack shouted only to pause then slap a hand over his face. “I’m fucking dead duh… I’m a dumbass…”

With that in mind he dashed across the street, not caring about cars this time and was quickly catching up to the blond… who seemed to have heard his oncoming footsteps and paused for a moment.

“RAY!”

His excited shout caused her to actually stop moving altogether and for her to slowly turn around with wide blue eyes.