Synopsis: [In a 2014 study, on average, there were 117 suicides a day in the United States. Men were 3.5 times more likely to commit suicide than women and seven out of ten were white males. For every suicide, 25 more people attempted. Firearms accounted for nearly 50% of all suicides. In that same year, at least 15,000 murders occurred. Over 2/3 were caused by firearms. It is said people become a ghost because of something left unresolved. How many of those people had something left to do? What if…they were still trying to do it?] Table of Contents: Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Prologue: Enter the Haunteds {New Orleans, Louisiana) “Woah, there she is.” “Who, the new girl?” “Yeah. She’s on some major expedition or something. I overheard the Captain talking about it. Apparently, this chick graduated at the top of her class.” “Wow. And she’s cute as well. But, she looks…angry.” “Duh. From what I’ve heard, her family died in a fire and now she is in the Arson Division. Sounds like something from a novel, huh?” “Yeah, I’ll say.” “They say that she carries the lighter that belonged to the guy who started the fire. She was only six at the time.” “Dang, wait, who says that?” “Hehehe, I have a friend in the department she was at several weeks ago. I asked around.” “Why are you snooping?” “Well…I think she is the one for me.” “Pbbt, ha, good luck. You have your sources, I have mine. I didn’t like the idea of some young girl coming in and ordering us around so I looked for her experience. She does all sorts of dangerous stuff like rock climbing, sky diving, and martial arts.” “Yeah, and she also trained in gymnastics and learned to dance. She’s great, huh?” “HEY, YOU TWO! GET TO WORK!” “”YESSIR!!”” ======================== {Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas} The young man was extremely focused on the TV screen in front of him. There was a large monster fighting a small warrior that kept rolling around the battlefield. “Dammit, no! I am so close! I am not fighting this thing for the fiftieth time! FUCK! YOU! Damn! Again!” Suddenly, the smart phone next to him began to vibrate. The young man picked up the phone to see that it was his best friend calling. “Hey, Sarah, what’s up? Kind of busy.” “…Can you…come over? I…I need help.” “Just let me finish this. Almost done.” “Well, I meant like right now…sorry.” “Okay, I will be over as soon as possible.” She hung up and he was left with the controller still in his other hand. “But first, one more try.” Not even five minutes later… “ARRGH! DAMMIT! Shit. Well, this isn’t going to get any better. Here I come, Sarah.” He grabbed his jacket and went out into the cold weather. He hopped on his bike and drove to Sarah’s house. She was still in college so she lived on campus. When he arrived, he went directly to her room to discover the door was slightly ajar. Weird, at this school, students had their own rooms. As he slowly opened the door, he fell to his knees in shock and despair. “Sarah! NO!” The sound of a rope creaking from the weight of a human could be heard. He quickly cut her down, but she was already gone. Sure, he drove fast, but it was already twenty minutes. He lived on the other side of town. How was he to get here fast enough? He should have called her. No… “Sarah…I’m sorry. I…I didn’t even…” His cries alerted people and when they saw the man crying over the dead woman, several people screamed and called the cops. No one remained nearby, however. The young man looked at the rope around her head and took it off, showing the red mark that stained her neck. “I…Sarah. Forgive me…I will be there soon.” He was too torn up to even pay attention to his surroundings. He pulled over a chair and wrapped the rope around his own neck. Just as he was about to jump, something stopped him. No, someone. “Sarah?!” It was the same girl lying on the floor but she was translucent and quiet. She stroked the rope around his neck and it came undone from around the ceiling fan. He fell over and struggled to understand the situation as well as get up. Sarah’s ghost disappeared into the rope still around his neck and he felt it tighten around it. “Ah, so you won’t let me die, huh? I guess nothing I do will ever earn my forgiveness. But…Sarah…” Tears flowed freely as he grasped the leftover rope in his hands. He went over to the still warm body and cried himself to unconsciousness. ======================== {Los Angeles, California} Devon waited all night for her to come out. She was his idol. No, she was the idol to many. She was an up and coming star new to the scene and she looked and acted just like the popular models and singers should. But Devon was at a low point in his life. His family rejected him for his plan to become a rapper and no one would publish his works or sponsor him. He was depressed and the only thing he wanted was to have his idol say he was worth it. You know, just to hear someone say it at least. However… “Ew, what? You’re my fan? Geez, why do I get all the ugly ones? It would be best if you just go away. If I had it my way, people like you wouldn’t be my fans.” Devon was shocked. How could someone popular be like that? Sure, he had found her out here by himself and the only other people were her agents, but… That night, Devon didn’t know what to do. He stared at his rundown house and realized he had wasted all of his time on worthless things. He chased after a pointless dream, a pointless goal. Devon lifted the pistol and aimed at his temple. He was afraid of dying, but he was more afraid of seeing those faces of disappointment and disgust. He had seen enough to last several lifetimes. No, maybe he could start ove BANG! Well, Devon was always one to make rash decisions. Over at a nearby fancy hotel, a young woman felt something weird. Like someone was calling for her. She left the building and found herself walking a long ways away. Eventually, she found herself in a terrible part of town. She kept walking until she came to a nearly destroyed house. She went to try the door, but it was locked. Just as she was about to leave, the door clicked and swung open to reveal the dead body of Devon. She recognized that he seemed familiar and then remembered what had happened this morning. She felt like screaming, but her attention was on the gun still in Devon’s hand. She reached over and grabbed it and felt a shock wave go through her. “You won’t get what you want. You will never complete your dreams.” “What?! Who?!” “You will fail just like me and end up alone. Worthless.” “…no…” ======================== {Cambridge, Massachusetts} It was the time of his life. He was about to graduate with his Master’s and become a full-fledged doctor before he was even twenty five! Now he had the time to party. Across the room, he saw a familiar face. “Hey, Jessica, how’s it hanging?” “Haha, it’s a fun party.” After several hours of fun, he finally managed to convince Jessica to privately hang out with him for the night. They both enjoyed themselves as they were both completely shitfaced. However, the next morning, Jessica was crying to herself. “I can’t do my job if I get pregnant! What will happen?!” “Calm down, Jess. Don’t worry. I will take care of both of you.” “No! I want my own future! I want to have a good job and prove that I can do things as well! You ruined me!” “Then…I guess abortion…” “No! My mother would kill me! Or worse yet, disown me!” He stood there still undressed as he saw the only woman he ever loved break down. “Alright, I will go speak to her. We can work through this.” “You don’t get it! I had my entire life before me! Now it’s gone!” Unable to deal with Jessica’s outrage, he left the room after getting decent. After an hour of personally talking to her mother face to face over skype, she finally agreed to accept whatever her daughter decided. Happy with the outcome, he dashed back into the room. “Hey, Jess, your mother said she was fine with whatever you decided. So it’s okay, we can work through this. Jess?” For the next few days, Jess stayed silent. She refused to talk to him no matter how hard he pleaded. One day, he came back to find the bathroom door closed. He opened it to see a terrible sight. “NOOOOO!” He reached over and grabbed her but she was limp. Over on the counter was a pregnancy test that showed positive. Gone forever, the both of them. No, not quite. The knife she was holding seemed to call out to him. He reached over and grabbed it, unsure of what possessed him to. “Are you happy? Look at what you did to me.” “Huh? Jess? Where are you?” “This is your fault. All your fault.” “Jess, honey. No, I didn’t…” “YOU DID THIS!” “…yes…” ======================== {Wall Street, New York} “But Boss, I can’t handle this!” “So? We have been over this. You aren’t the only one we are thinking of letting go. If you can’t prove yourself, we have to lay you off.” “I can’t…you…my life is over, isn’t it?” “Hehe, seems so. I guess now would be as any time to say you shouldn’t have tried to hit on my daughter.” “Wait, that’s what this is about?! You!” “Hahaha!” A couple moments later… CRASH! “Ah! Someone just jumped out of that building!” SPLAT! “AAAGH!” A man held a cigar in his mouth as he looked out the broken window as calm as could be. “Heh, well that is one way to deal with the situation, huh?” Behind him formed a figure of the employee that just jumped out of the window. “You will be ruined.” “Oh? Haha! You can try!” ======================== {Miami, Florida} She got on her computer once again to take part in her new favorite past time. Her ‘best friend’ was possibly the worst cunt in the entire school so it was a no brainer that people would gather to fight back via the internet. Bridget was possibly the prettiest girl in school but her attitude was the absolute worst. She never refused the chance to boast about her looks. Several people at the school decided to poke fun at her online since it was all anonymous. She herself was really good at computers. She was interested in working with the Pentagon or someone up high like that. But after Bridget for some reason selected her to hang out with, she was belittled every day because she wasn’t as beautiful as Bridget. So she got her revenge through social media. She started off with a simple attack on her outward beauty only being skin deep when she got a rude awakening. “You are a terrible person! If I found out who you are, I will charge you for forcing my daughter to commit suicide!” What? She offfed herself? Surely not. Bridget was sure to come back to school again tomorrow, right? How could she just kill herself when she does the exact same thing in person? What a hypocrite! She was angry. Not because her target was gone, but because she was somehow at fault for the death of her classmate. If it was somehow linked to her, then she was sure to lose her chance at getting a high position in government. Several days later, she attended Bridget’s wake. “Huh…if I knew you were going to die from some words, I would have just told you to your face.” She had kept what she said to a whisper but a loud screech in her ear took her by surprise. “SO IT WAS YOU??!! YOU WILL REGRET THIS FOREVER!” Suddenly, Bridget appeared before her. No, it was better to say that she appeared ‘inside’ her. Somehow, Bridget was haunting her. ======================== {New Orleans, Louisiana} “Hehe, Alice. It seems those two idiots were ogling you.” “Doesn’t matter. Shut up while I’m at work, Benson.” “Hehehe, don’t have to. It’s not like anyone can hear me! Hey hey, are we going to burn something else today?” “No. We actually have a case today.” “Aww…none of these guys are any good. They’re too predictable.” “And you weren’t?” “Shush, you! If you hadn’t woken up early and accidently bumped that light over, you would have just died in your sleep!” “Whatever. It was your own fault you let a child disrupt your criminal behavior.” “You killed me!” “You killed my family.” Alice Letter flicked the little metal lighter that had long lost its ability to create a spark. However, a little flame flickered into existence and died out almost instantly. “Hehe, it seems that you want to burn something as well. Get to it!” “Shut up, Benson.”
hmm, I don't know. But some of the reason why they suicide seems off. The first one dude almost kill himself after Sarah right away? Devon was understandable. Jess is a little off, she said she want her future, her partner said he will take care of it and her mother gave her approval, which means either raise the kid or abortion. The boss underling was uh.. idk why so rush. Briget is k I guess..? Alice one was the most interesting one by far. Overall it's just too short to say anything much since they barely have any background why they abruptly suicide without much thought. Well, it's only the prologue but if you can fill out those reasons it would make it interesting perhaps?
Chapter 1 {New Orleans, Louisiana} The tall blonde woman gazed at her surroundings while a translucent figure hovered over her shoulder. “Hey, Alice, I already told you it was some dumb kids not putting out their cigs. They threw it into the trash which caught fire on the debris and sparks flew and caused this major fire. See? Open and shut.” The woman looked at the charred remains of the building she was standing in. There were various officers and officials going here and there to find evidence. She glanced at the floating man that still looked like he needed a shave and a shower. Of course, as he was dead, there was nothing he could do about his appearance. “Yes, but this is a private company’s office building. Why would teenagers even be here late at night?” “Huh, didn’t think about that. Guess that’s why I just did as I was told and you are leader of a special task force! Ha! And I did a good job, if I do say so myself!” “You just did. Well, I can’t deny that. You were on the America’s Most Wanted list for a little bit.” “Haha! I am the greatest arsonist on this side of the Atlantic!” Alice ignored the boasting specter and went about her business. She found the cause of the fire, but there was an underlying story here. Most of the building was still fine since there wasn’t any sign of more flammable materials. Instead, the birthplace of the ‘accident’ was in the most important part of the building. Records and paperwork. The owner of the company was still complaining about insurance and reimbursement for something that these people weren’t even in control of. Alice walked over to one of the officers and asked him some questions. “Is there any sort of surveillance equipment around here? We know the fire took place around 10:30 PM tonight but we need to know who was in the area.” “Yes, ma’am!” Since she was now done at the crime scene, she hopped into her personal vehicle and drove away. After fifteen minutes, she arrived at a small motel. Inside her room there was all manner of maps and strings leading to pictures and locations. “Hehe, it is glorious, no matter how much I look at it.” “Shut it, Benson. If you aren’t going to help me, don’t talk.” “Psh, whatever. I am a ghost, there’s nothing you can do. By the way, have you figured your next target?” “Hmph.” Alice did not speak but instead snapped her finger. A small flickering wisp of fire sprouted from her fingertips and flew to one of the maps. It was merely a spark so when it collided with the map, it didn’t catch fire, it just blackened the paper. “Ah, that guy. Meh, this one is not going to be fun. He was an idiot last time I saw him so this will be easy for you.” “Good.” Alice never changed her expression. In fact, she never smiled since the event nearly 20 years ago. If all it took to change her life was whether or not to stay in bed, she might have just stayed put. Of course, if she had, she wouldn’t be out here taking down a terrible syndicate by herself. In absent minded habit, Alice flipped the lighter in her hands to look at the strange triangular symbol on the bottom. There were three slash marks going down to the left diagonally through it and there was a flame behind the symbol. It was a very easy to remember indication of the group called Infernos. They were a group of radical deserters that claimed that America was doomed to fail. They were all highly trained soldiers that could easily kill or frighten normal people. But their sponsors were different. While the true members of Infernos were actually honest to their doctrines, the sponsors were just greedy business men and politicians that desired power, money, or fame. Perhaps even all three. “Hehe, you sure have grown, haven’t you?” “Stop being stupid. You say this all the time.” “Well, then there must be a reason! Hehehe…” Alice had changed into a completely black outfit and went outside. It was completely dark and it gave Alice the cover she needed to get a distance away from passerby. Once she was far enough away, she pulled out a cylindrical item that could have been mistaken as a cigarette. However, it was merely an Acacia tree leaf rolled up. She lit the tip and breathed it in. Her eyes flashed and the fire at her fingers grew. Alice then jumped up and before she hit the ground, her feet suddenly exploded forward like thrusters. She flew into the air towards the West. She couldn’t keep firing off this Flame Booster (as called by Benson) so she had fashioned her outfit to glide in the air. Now all she had to do was steer. Used to, she had a large balloon. Needless to say it was rather embarrassing. The woman eventually touched down in a small city. Well, smaller than New Orleans. Baton Rouge was still a popular city. Alice found the building she wanted and landed on the roof. From there, she burned off the locks to the roof door and entered. Thankfully, this was the hard part. She pulled out the lighter and walked along as if she was strolling through a mall. “Hehehe, watch out, here we come!” Alice rolled her eyes in annoyance from Benson’s words. If she could use her fire powers without him, she would have long ago sought a true exorcist. But she needed this power to get revenge for her family. There was no denying that. There were a couple of guards, but they went down in flames. Even their screams were choked down by the fire taking the oxygen from their lungs. She found the lab where several men were making crystal meth in yellow biohazard suits. They saw her and immediately turned to run. However, fire covered their escape and made them stop in place. But, when they turned around, only a little piece of paper remained. Just as a guy got close, it burst into sparks. The building went up in an explosion and Alice used the shockwave to launch herself further into the air. “HAHAHA! Nice one! Good explosion! Old Ricky will definitely not be too happy that he lost some more revenue!” “Good.” ======================== {Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas} What was he to do? Why was he even here? His best friend, no, his rock was gone. Sarah was the person keeping him on this damnable planet. She was the person who stayed by his side when he was having a difficult time with his life. And now he failed her. “Shawn, are you listening? I understand this may be hard for you, but if you ever need anything, we are here to help. I know how much my daughter meant to you.” “Thank you, Mister Donalds. But…I have to go.” “If it gets hard, don’t be afraid to ask for help.” “…” Shawn O’ Brian looked depressed. He never spoke unless he needed to. Plus, he kept Sarah’s noose around his neck like a tie. Those who knew him personally were scared for him. As he left Sarah’s house, he rubbed the rope and sighed. After hopping onto his bike, he headed back to her school. There was still a lot of her things there. However, he had to deal with her friends. They were all talking about how terrible everything was and if he needed to talk. He ignored them and continued on his way. Everything just seemed so fake to him right now. Not because his best friend died, but because she was now haunting him. An elegant woman with long auburn hair hovered behind him silently. She never spoke a word but he felt her existence whenever she tightened the rope. It was a reminder. She wouldn’t let him die and run away. Once he filled the box he brought with all of her small knickknacks, he left. He was swamped by girls again but they were once again ignored. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to her friends. Just as he was almost home, the rope around his neck yanked him, nearly pulling him out of the motorcycle. He put on the brake and looked to where the rope was leading. He drove over and found a small alley. Outside were several other bikes. If Shawn’s bike was cool, then these were tough. His bike was meant for speed while these were meant to show off. He got off of the bike and walked down. Eventually, he heard the sounds of screams. He glanced around some trash and saw several large men slapping a couple of girls around. Not wanting to be recognized or singled out, he found the nearest thing and placed it on his head. Unfortunately, it was a nasty burlap sack that still had rotten food inside. He could barely see through it, but he decided to change into something less smelly. However, Sarah had other plans. The rope tightened around the bag and his neck making him look like a person about to be hanged. Just as he was about to yank off the rope and bag, several strands of rope somehow wrapped around his wrists and bound them behind his back. His muffled sounds caught the attention of the people on the other side of the dumpster and they stopped what they were doing. When they saw a bound man with writhing strands of rope wriggling in the air. The girls screamed but the guys brought out their knives. They spread out and surrounded Shawn, but the ropes reacted and stretched outwards, latching onto the men’s arms. One guy pulled out a gun with his free hand to shoot, but it went wide, planting itself into a nearby wall and sending debris into the air. Now one of the guys were screaming while the other two were being pulled over to Shawn. The rope had several strands, but it started to change its shape. Two nooses formed and wrapped around their necks. Before they could even respond, the ropes yanked upwards and two loud snapping sounds could be heard. The last guy fell down and pissed his pants as the girls ran away screaming. The two men were still dangling in the air as the strands around their hands were removed and targeted the last man. He tried to pull himself away but he soon met the same fate as his comrades. Once the fight ended, if you could call it that, the rope loosened enough for Shawn to remove the smelly sack and breathe fresh air. Fresh air that smelled like fecal matter and urine. When he saw the floating corpses, it took him all he had to not puke. The ropes were moved to the edge of the alley and placed on a lamp post for everyone to see. Shawn quickly hopped back onto his bike and left the scene. He couldn’t forget the feeling of not being in control. But that sense of confusion changed into one of relief. “Ah, so this is how I can atone. Thank you, Sarah…” ======================== {Wall Street, New York} “Sorry, sir, but could you repeat that?” “Of course. When he couldn’t handle that I fired him, he jumped out of the window. I guess he must have wanted to undermine my reputation.” “Uh…of course. Thank you for your time.” “Oh, no trouble at all. Have a good day, officers.” “Ah, yes. Come along.” “Yessir.” After the two police officers left the skyscraper, the younger partner asked his senior. “But all the evidence showed that Luke Edwards was pushed. Even the breaking of the window was from some paper weight. We have all of the evidence! Why can’t we arrest him?!” “Because he happens to have his finger in too many pies. If he gets taken down, you can bet our economy might take a plunge.” “Damn that Paul Medina. Just what does he take this country for anyway? Isn’t he also planning on running for President?” “I heard that was just a joke, I doubt he would actually do so.” “Peh.” “Alright, enough. Let’s go.”
Chapter 2 {New Orleans, Louisiana} “Do you have the footage I requested?” “Yes, ma’am! Emailed them to you.” Alice lifted up files containing known members of the recent office building that caught fire the night before. She sat down at her temporary work station and pulled up the data. She scoured through the information for a good part of the day. A couple of officers made it their duty to get her coffee or snacks so she didn’t have to get up. “Hehehe, they think they might get in your pants. Hahaha!” Benson was draping himself across the nearby table and hanging upside down. Sometimes he liked to mimic being substantial, but he never did it normally. Then again, he was never a normal person. Gerard Benson, America’s number one arsonist. However, no one knew his name. He was only known as the Arson King by his literal calling card of a King of Diamonds. Of course, people in the know knew his name, He was a well decorated soldier that helped defuse bombs and participated in overseas confrontation. For someone like him, there was sure to be severe problems in the psychological areas. But as Alice came to know, Benson wasn’t that bad of a person. He was a soldier who fought for what he believed in. He was numbed to killing innocents due to his real experience, but that was for the enemy. When he came back home, he faced a new enemy. Alice had tried her best to gather as much information from him as she could, but he only told what he wanted her to hear. Benson was still a highly trained operative and knew military secrets. Of course he would have torture training. “Oh? Those are nice cigs. Must have cost the guy some decent pocket money.” Alice was brought out of her daydream to see recent footage of the business owner smoking a pack of expensive imported cigarettes. “Hm? Hey, you.” “Uh…yes, ma’am?” “Go get me one of these. I need to compare it to what we found at the crime scene.” “Of course!” “Meh, I shouldn’t have brought it to your attention.” Just as she was about to take a break, several people came in the room. “Ms. Letter, he struck again, the Arson King.” Alice stood up and gathered her things while leaving notes for others to read. She got in the van outside and talked to her partner. “So, Jason, what do we have?” “Well, Alice, Ian and I went to the Baton Rouge explosion and looked around but found the tall tale signs of strange fire patterns. Especially the K in the diamond.” “So we’re sure it’s him?” “Yes.” “Alright, then let’s go see if we can find some sort of connection between the previous sights and this one.” “Yes, Ma’am!” Ian kept driving the van but he firmly nodded in response. ======================== {Boston, Massachusetts} “Jess…” “Enough! I have had enough!” Tony Segar held his head in his hands as his dead girlfriend ripped his house to shreds. He had lost his social standing. Many people had been expecting Jessica to also participate as a doctor so her death was a great shock to many. Her mother, however, was upset but not surprised. Jessica had constant anxiety attacks and easily reacted to the littlest of stimuli. It was part of the reason why she wanted to become a doctor in the first place to figure out how to ‘fix’ herself. But more than that, the social outcry that came from the masses demanding that he go to jail for his apparent crimes numbered in the thousands. Tony had no idea what he could do in order to solve this problem. He never had to deal with everyone against him before. All this time he never let go of the knife in his hand. It was a surgical knife and something he was used to holding. But now it felt like a weapon. This tool that could save lives was purposefully used to end one. He couldn’t let it fall into the wrong hands, he felt. No, he couldn’t let someone else have to deal with Jessica. The knife seemed to hold what was left of Jessica’s life and bristled with energy. He was about to place it in her surgical kit when he heard something. No, the lack of something. Jessica had stopped breaking things. In that silence, everything seemed to be empowered. “help!” “Huh?” “You! Go be of use, you sack of shit!” “Uh, yes…” Grabbing onto his things, he rushed out of the room and out of his personal home. Jessica led him to the car and helped him navigate. For some reason, everything except the sound of the person calling for help disappeared. That and Jessica’s screeching, of course. Tony eventually found himself at a car wreck. People were milling about on the sidewalks and gossiping, but the people were still in the cars. But this wasn’t in the middle of the city, but a bridge! One of the cars was dangling off the side! “Help!" No one wanted to get close and be dragged over the side as well! “Get over there and help! You don’t get to live for yourself anymore!” “…yes.” Tony unbuckled himself and headed for the car without hesitation. The person in the front seat had been knocked unconscious and the child in the back who was about ten years old was screaming for his life. “HELP, PLEASE!” The first thing Tony did was go to open the driver’s door. Unfortunately, it was locked. He went around to the other side and warned the child inside to shield his face. Crash! Apparently, the doors were child proofed. He pulled the large kid up through the middle of the car and let him out while he tried to unbuckle the driver. That was when a cracking sound could be heard from underneath him. “You better not die here. Hurry up, you idiot.” “Yes.” As if by habit, Tony reached into the surgical kit and pulled out the knife. It flashed as he swung it with high precision, slicing the seat belt with ease. The driver was too heavy to lift so he went back around after unlocking the car doors. Unfortunately, the door was still closed! It must have been damaged in the crash! “What are you worrying for? Just cut it!” “Huh?” The knife vibrated, as if to answer him. He held it against the metal door and found that it cut through like a hot knife through butter. Bits of the bridge were now coming off and falling into the river below, hastening Tony’s actions. He sliced off the door and yanked the driver out onto solid bridge. Not long after, the bridge broke taking the car into the murky depths. People crowded around him calling him a hero but he couldn’t hear it. All he could hear was Jessica’s voice. “You moron! You think that was the way to do it? You could have just cut off the roof! Much quicker!” Ignoring the praise of the people, Tony stumbled back into his car and drove off. He was exhausted. ======================== {Miami, Florida} Bridget was someone who didn’t show her true problems. She downplayed them or even diverted everyone else’s attention away. She was very successful at that. Unfortunately, she was a hypocrite who attacked others like she was being attacked. That led to more people attacking her in response. Her mother was the only surviving family member as her dad had died at war. She used to be proud of her good looks but after her father died, she took those compliments as attacks on her image and not her true self. Why were people so absorbed with their image? Of course, high school was the worst place to discover this truth. Her cynical attitude towards society ruined everyone else’s youth. Her sarcasm about how good she looked was taken the wrong way and she had forced people away. She didn’t have anyone she could effectively talk to. By her own actions, she alienated herself. And Racheal Briggs was someone she thought agreed with her. But she was just on the opposite spectrum. Racheal didn’t side with anyone and only fought by herself. She could do so since she had a goal and knew what she needed to do. She had a foundation and wasn’t easily going to be knocked down. She just wanted Bridget to experience her own medicine. She didn’t realize that Bridget was just a pessimist. “This is what you do in your spare time, reading books on the internet? They aren’t even real books, they’re written by absolute beginners!” “Everyone has to start somewhere.” “But when they suck so bad, why even try?” “Because it is what they enjoy. Even if it is something that most people won’t get behind, if you enjoy it, then stick with it. It’s what I do.” “And look where it got you, alone in an empty house without friends!” “I don’t need friends. I’m not like you who wants to be babied by people.” “You!” Since she was being interrupted from her reading, Racheal decided to instead continue with her little side job. She exited the tab and went to her email. After contacting someone, she received a password. She then went to a laptop she pulled out of a nearby bag and visited a special website with just a text box. After entering the password, a certain person’s face appeared along with several boxes of text leading to news clippings, articles, and even videos that involved him. “Hey, isn’t that one of our Governors? What are you doing?” “Finding trouble.” “I can see that, but why? Whatever it is, is it worth being put in jail?” “What? No, I am finding trouble for our dear Mister Governor. Ooh, apparently, he sent some money somewhere but no one knows where to. Well, all I have to do is trace possible companies in the area that maybe received a large payment or anonymous donation.” “Wouldn’t the authorities already be doing that?” “Yeah, but they miss stuff that I usually find. Hehe, look.” “Huh? What kind of company is that?” “It’s not. It’s a front for trafficking weaponry out of the country.” “Isn’t that, you know, illegal?” “Very.” “What now?” “Now I make connections to see if there are any other possibilities of Mister Governor is attached to any other shady deals.” “You…” “What?” “Wow.” The pretty ghost girl rested on Racheal’s shoulders and stared dazed at the computer. “Why am I here again?” “Huh? You tell me, you’re the one haunting me.” “…” ======================== {New York City, New York} “Mmm, this tastes delicious. Now how do you taste, my dear?” “Heehee, oh you flirt.” The portly man puffed his cigar as he held a glass of wine in one hand and a pretty blonde in the other. Behind him, a tired salary man angrily shouted as loud as he could. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to work. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw several rough looking men stare jealously at Paul. They walked over, not realizing the trouble they were about to get themselves into. Luke made a grin and grasped onto a passing waitress’ bottom. She jerked in surprise and accidently dropped her tray all over the men as they walked over. “I’m terribly sorry, sirs! I just got surprised by one of our other customers!” “HAH?! So it was you, you bastard?!” Luke giddily hovered up and down as he expected Paul to physically make a fool of himself. “Huh? Do you want to take this outside?” Nearly everyone was shocked. Almost no one expected the chubby old man to start the confrontation himself. “Eh? Well…Hehe, yeah! Let’s go, you bastard!” Luke was suddenly filled with a terrible sense of foreboding as the four men followed Paul outside into the back alley. Without even a chance to speak, all four men fell upwards into the sky while screaming. Paul took another puff of his cigar before coming back inside. No one inside saw what happened, but several loud splats could be heard by those closer to the doors. When someone went outside later, they discovered the flattened bodies of the four men. There was no sign of a confrontation and no evidence tying Paul Medina to the scene. Luke angrily thrashed in midair while he pondered a different way to somehow kill his murderer. Otherwise, the country, no, the world was probably doomed.
Chapter 3 {Hollywood, California} “Sapphira! Sapphira! Over here! Can we have an autograph?!” “Hehe, of course!” Sapphira Johnson never felt better. For some reason, the ghost of Devon cursed her with…beauty? She instantly jumped up to the top 100 female celebrities! How amazing! She got all sorts of deals for her songs and even got spots in some movies. She was on her way to becoming a top celebrity just like she always wanted. After another hour of filling out signatures, she got into her limo along with her favorite guard. “Hey, Bruce, feel like going another round tonight?” She giggled flirtatiously as she remembered those nights with the hunk. She definitely liked being rich so she could hire such handsome looking guys. “Um, my apologies.” “Huh?” “I just don’t…I…can’t.” “Why?” Sapphira was getting confused. Bruce was one of her better boy toys. Why would he just throw her away? “Well, I’m not...I dont feel wanted...” “Isn’t that up to me? Come on, let’s get sore.” “Look, I don’t feel comfortable doing…that anymore.” The next day, Bruce quit. “See? If you don’t, you will.” “Shut up! This isn’t your doing. He must have gotten a disease or something.” “Right, why don’t you look at the reviews? Everyone is calling you a slut. Maybe you should have curbed your whorish attitude. If not, just become a porn star or something.” Sapphira ignored Devon and pulled out the all-important gun. She had managed to sneak it away from the crime scene without being implicated. But she had already needed to use it as she was heading back to the hotel that night. But the guy hadn’t been killed. He had just become so depressed with himself he pulled out a knife and cut his own neck. The event shocked her but now she knew what the weapon was meant for and made good use of it. Especially against would be criminals. But now her image as a celebrity was practically nonexistent! Was she just going to become some sort of person famous for her sex life? How degrading! What could she do in order to fix her relationship? Well, she decided to see what her fans had to say. She took it up to social media and found two extreme sides, the larger one being more positive. The larger side was primarily saying she should go do something else besides acting or singing that involves meeting people or experiencing new things. No one knew where the idea came from, but many people latched on. A travel channel! Food! Culture! What fun! However, those that took it seriously tried to tell Sapphira it was so she could watch and learn how society truly was. She was too detached from her fan base and needed to somehow reconnect. The other side was calling for a sex tape or a sexy photo shoot with Playboy. Sapphira spoke with her agent and decided on a producer and a schedule. It looked like everything was going well. “What will be the direction we go?” “We will circle around the United States starting from the South and coming up the East coast and then travelling across the North. Then they would go to Alaska and finish with Hawaii before heading back home.” “Hm. Good.” “Why?” Devon floated over to the remote and started to flicker. Just as he was about to turn invisible, the TV turned on to the news channel. “…and then we have all heard of the Hangman, haven’t we? Well, we have another story.” “The who?” “Just watch.” The screen switched to a picture of several nooses hanging from lamp posts or trees. Apparently, they were places where several big time bad guys were lynched. “The vigilante known as the Hangman has been seen to be a man that looks like he is heading towards the gallows. Some say he is an urban myth, but the stacking body count is a clear indicator the stories aren’t just fabricated.” “That’s true. We managed to find some eyewitnesses who claimed he could control the ropes with his mind! Is he some sort of real ghost? Ooh, what a wonder!” Sapphira looked at Devon and down at the gun before nodding. It seemed this trip would help her get some answers as well. ======================== {Boston, Massachusetts} Tony was sitting at a cardboard mat that had a sign that said, ‘Free Medical Examination W/OUT License.’ Yet, there were still many people lined up to receive a free checkup. He also had his Master’s degrees framed and placed beside the sign. He had already faced many cops who wanted to know if he was really taught how to be a doctor so many times he had to close his ‘store’ temporarily. But even though he asked for nothing in return, he still received many donations from his patients. But probably the biggest gain was his experience. He was a servant to the people and could not be disrespectful of them less Jessica started another tirade against him. But with all of this practice, he had actually grown as a doctor and could tell certain things from the signs of his patients. He could see a person and figure out what might be wrong with them at a glance. He had to or else the line would get long. But not only that, he also had to be right. So even if he had a hunch that was 90% sure, he still had to perform an examination. But the way he did his tests were slightly different. Instead of finding proof that the person actually had a certain illness or defect, he looked for ways to debunk it. If he could, then it might be something else. And with that, he could further verify what people had and didn’t have. He had even earned a name. The Miracle Medicine Monk. His subservient attitude towards the patients was met with kind eyes and hearts while many people just wanted to thank him for restoring their faith in humanity. But every time they would say something like that, he would grimace and remain silent. He wasn’t doing this for them, he was doing it for himself. He still had to earn his forgiveness for ruining someone else’s life. “Tony, we head South.” “Okay.” He didn’t question it. Plus, he had pretty much gotten everyone here. It was time for him to pick up and move out. ======================== {New Orleans, Louisiana} Just as Alice felt like she had ended this mystery, she was met with another wall. “Y-yes, the boss smokes these, uh, those types of imported cigarettes. But so does the b-boss over at one of the rival companies. Heh, he had tried to mock the boss but ended up l-looking like a copycat when he ended up l-liking the taste.” “Damn.” “Welp, can’t get everything you want. How is the search for the infamous me?” “Hopefully those guys find the evidence I placed. Once we have more substance to work with, we might be able to access those classified files that contain your information.” “How do you know that it’s not all blacked out? Hehe, have fun in your quest!” “Che.” “Why is it the only expression you show is when you are annoyed with me?” “Oh, so you finally noticed?” “Yeah, no. It’s not like you have that expression whenever you talk to me.” “Oops.” “Arrgh! Stop with the monotone! You can be so boring! That and you missed some crucial information.” That instantly forced Alice to stop in place. She turned around to face the grizzly faced alcoholic arsonist and looked him in the eyes. “Tell me.” “Well, since it has nothing to do with the Infernos, I guess I can give a hint. When was the last time you spoke to that guy back there?” “Well, I had to question all of the employees, you know that.” Benson said nothing and just floated there. He even rolled around in midair hanging upside down. “But, he was definitely less fidgety. Hm…” “Damn. Well, I was always used to seeing people lie to my face so I can pick out a liar at a moment’s notice.” “Hush, I am thinking.” “Geez, whatever. I am going to peek on the female officers. See ya.” Alice shook her head as she started to go over her conversation with the secretary from before. He had left early even. So why was he lying? She had already seen photos of the rival boss smoking some of those same cigarettes so… Wait, why was he here at the office in the first place? “Oh, he said something about placing evidence. Apparently, the boss and his rival both smoke the same type of cigarette! Amazing, huh? We found some traces of the chemicals and proved a match.” Alice’s eyes narrowed as she ran out of the building and after that secretary. She was going to finish this stupid case tonight. ======================== {New York City, New York} “Hehehe, Paul, why did you call us here?” “Ah, I just wanted to have a friendly game of poker. We need some down time from running our terribly difficult businesses, right?” “Well, can’t argue with that.” Three older men sat around the table that had several casino chips and cards. There was even a very pretty blonde lady as the dealer. Everything was going according to plan, Paul thought. He had wanted Luke to spy on the others for him but how was he to know that bastard was so stubborn? He instead went for a kaleidoscope of mirrors. He could adjust several of them so they angled the cards’ images back to him. Just as everything seemed to be going well, it all came crashing down. The others began snickering at him and calling his bluff while also folding from the very beginning! How did they know?! Wait, where was Luke? He looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Grimacing, he realized he was losing quite a bit. “Slow down, old friend. Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to leave to get more money. Just start using some shares. Isn’t that a good idea?” “Yeah!” “I see nothing wrong with it!” “Eh, why don’t we call it a night?” “Aw come on, we only just begun an hour ago! Come on!” Damn that Luke! This must be his fault! That night, he was embarrassed. He was alone in the room and down quite a lot of money. He had planned to do the same to those other guys, but they somehow did it to him first! But how? He looked around and noticed something strange about his side of the room. He had fashioned all of the mirrors to be hand sized, but he noticed the mirrors behind him were somehow all facing a similar direction. They were supposed to be crisscrossed and haphazard so as to confuse the others from realizing they were being spied on. He decided to check it out by sitting in one of the other guy’s seats. What he saw horrified him. It was a perfect view of the entire table from his back! They could all see his cards clearly! “LUKE!” In his frustration, he decided to go earn back his money he had lost. That night, those same three friends of his were found the next morning on the sidewalk outside of their company buildings. And since many people had known that they had all gone to a poker game, everyone thought they had lost everything to Paul Medina so many stacks of paper work later, Paul was pretty much the owner of the biggest company in the country. It was an unheard of shift in the economy and many people were beginning to piece together the many suicides. Not only that, but strange happenings were going on all over the world. Changes were making the whole game turn into something else. And there was nothing anyone normal could do about it. But, all it took was a simple decision to set in motion a chain of events that would affect the entire world. “Ah, maybe I should visit my competitors in Texas. Come on, Luke!”