Chapter 4

It had all been a dream.

Or at least.

That was what Lisa wanted to say. Unfortunately, when she woke up, there was a ghost of a dead man sitting on the edge of her bed, bloody fingers leaving black trails on her sheets.

“Get out.” She said aggressively when she saw the inky fingerprints. Phillip lifted his hands and stood up. Lisa looked at the clock.

Lunch hour in middle school. Tony would be munching on his sandwich with his friends, all as smart and as annoying as he was. Lisa felt a shiver run down her spine. If she hadn’t gotten out of the house and ran to the park earlier, would the things have gone after him? Would they have tried to get to her family?

As much as she disagreed with them sometimes, they were family.

“Are you ready?” Philip asked. Lisa stared at him.

“What for?” She asked warily. He better not start off with another instruction and expect her to comply.

The dead man gave her a half shrug by lifting one of his shoulder and letting it fall back. He raised his fingers.

“I’m going translucent. You’ve to ground me.” The man said easily.

“Yes, because I really know how to do that without any instructions.” Lisa said in the driest tone she could manage. Phillip had the decency to blush. Or, whatever the ghost equivalent of blushing was called. He was grey and covered in blood. His one visible – faintly graying – cheek turned a darker shade of grey.

Lisa allowed Phillip to take her hand. He hesitated before bringing it to his lips. They were ice against her fingers. It was disconcerting to expect a hot wet tongue only to experience a freezing softness. Lisa shivered. She wanted to take her fingers away but she was distracted by how the longer she let Phillip do whatever it was, the more solid he looked.

Colour seemed to bleed right back into him as it bled out of her digits. The blood looked brighter. His skin took on a more golden brown colour instead of ashy grey. Even his hair looked darker.

“My fingers are numb.” Lisa said at last. Phillip dropped her hand like he was scalded, looking mortified.

“Sorry, you’ve to warn me.” He said apologetically.

“What is grounding anyway?” Lisa asked as she tried to massage feeling back into her black and blue digits. It looked as if she had dipped her fingers in coal dust or spent an hour playing with black eye shadow.

“If a person dies violently or wishes to stay in this world. They can hold on to the last thing they interact with or something that means a lot to them.” Phillip stood up and brushed himself off. Every flick of his fingers sent specks of black all over the place. Lisa watched as they stained various surfaces and slowly faded to nothing.

“Some people cling to their possessions, like their house or their car or maybe a place that meant a lot to them. Or if they’re murdered, the place where they were murdered.”

“In my case, I died in your arms.” Phillip said as if it was a fact of life and not worth worrying about. Lisa wanted to roll her eyes. “My last thought was to wish I could guard you and keep you safe.” His gaze was unnerving. Especially since he had blood in one of them.

Lisa got up, feeling uncomfortable. She was talking to a dead man. Perhaps it was the shock and adrenaline of last night that kept the enormity of it from her.

He was dead.

More emphasis on the ‘He’ rather than the ‘dead’ because Lisa kinda expected zombies to pop up after the SINs did.

It was also a little embarrassing that she thought it was sweet when he wanted to protect her.

“What would have happened if I wasn’t there?” Lisa asked. “You had the gate and there was no one to take it.”

Phillip shrugged.

“I would have died and a demon would have taken it.”

There was a beat of silence where his words slowly sank in.

“A. Demon.” Lisa really didn’t need any more surprises. She was feeling weak at the knees just thinking about it all. She wanted to experience something new but this was something so far out of the realm of normal that it was downright terrifying.

“Demons. Blanket term for all the things that can cross over from the other side through a gate.” Phillip explained.

“They do everything from eating people to tempting people to eat people.” The ghost said amicably. He didn’t seem at all bothered by this little fact.

“Eating people.” Lisa didn’t even have time to really process this fact before her door swung open and Peggy came in.

There was another uncomfortable silence.

“I can explain.” Lisa said.

“Girl, what the fuck happened to your leg?” Peggy asked. Her pierced brow furrowed as she took in the bandages. Her gaze slid right over Phillip.

Phillip mouthed ‘She can’t see me’ to Lisa. Lisa swallowed.

“I went for a run in the morning. Fell.” She said as nonchalantly as she could. Peggy arched her eyebrow, bell jingling at the action. She obviously didn’t believe Lisa but she let it slide. She shuffled over in her boots and started picking up all the things on the floor, dumping them messily on the table instead.

“It’s fucking cold in here.” Peggy commented. Phillip drifted over to sit at the foot of the bed.

‘I want to tell her.’ Lisa mouthed to Phillip when Peggy wasn’t looking. Phillip looked decidedly uncomfortable at this.

“Look girl, if you don’t want me in here, just say so.” Peggy raised her hands in mock surrender. “I tote understand if you need some alone time or summat like that.”

Lisa bit her lip.

“I’m looking at a dead person.” She blurted out. Peggy gave her a strange look.

“Girl seriously? Seriously?” The dark clad girl crossed her arms and looked around skeptically. Phillip looked pained.

“She might not be able to do it.” He warned. Lisa shrugged and looked at him expectantly.

“Just repeat what I say to her.” Phillip said at last, giving up.

“There’s a dead man sitting on the floor. He has dark hair, light brown skin and dark eyes. He is sitting cross legged wish his hands resting on his knee. There is blood flowing from his head and his chest. He looks unhappy.”

Lisa dutifully said the words slowly. Peggy obviously didn’t believe her but looked at the spot indicated.

Earlier on, Lisa had witness someone slowly fill with colour. Now, she saw the opposite.

Peggy’s already pale skin lost all signs of blood. Her eyes widened and her breathing became shallow. Her eyes darted around in panic.

“What the fuck?” She asked, grabbing onto Lisa for support. She closed her eyes tight and opened them again, as if that would make Phillip go away. Phillip got up slowly and held up his hands to indicate that he was harmless.

“It’s that guy. It’s that guy from the car.” Peggy rasped out, legs giving out from under her. She sat down suddenly on the bed and tried to backpedal.

Lisa held onto her.

“He’s harmless. It’s alright. I promised he’s cool.” Lisa said loudly. Peggy stared at her.

“There’s a dead guy in your room, Lees. That is so not cool.” Peggy said hotly “He could have been watching you shower, girl! That don’t make you feel squicked?”

There was another beat of silence. Both girls turned to look at Phillip. The ghost looked alarmed.

“I swear on my life – or unlife – that I never did such a thing.” He crossed his heart and looked meek.

“You know what, get out of the room for a bit.” Lisa said at last. Phillip disappeared through the door at top speed, leaving the two girls alone.

“Girl. You need to tell me everything.” Peggy said quietly.

Lisa took a deep breath.