I Can Talk to Ghosts...

So the plan had been made. Despite an argument that went from persuasive, to angry, to downright scary, they'd agreed that Kyra would stay with his cousins while Alan and Duncan went to try and fix this horrible turn of events.

"I cant believe you're making me stay here... with minions..." Kyra said leaning forward onto the island in the kitchen.

She and Alan were standing in there after leaving his cousins to the wreck room to keep them distracted.

"Look, they need somebody here and since you cant see Duncan, I gotta go with him." He said sitting on the stool next to her.

She looked at him crossly but there was worry in her eyes, "Yeah, yeah... Minions need protecting blah blah... you better come back and help me later..."

He smiled and pulled her to him, "I will, dont worry. I know you cant handle the minions on your own."

She raised an eyebrow at him as she put her hands on his shoulders, "What? Who are you kidding? I can handle a couple of minions no problem."

"Then why do I gotta come back?" He looked at her.

"'Cause..." She looked to the side, "You're their cousin, they need you stupid."

"Im sure they do." He said, "But I'm pretty sure they can go on if I didnt come back."

She slapped him on the back of the head, "Dont even think about it... they, need you back here."

"Of course they do." He smiled at her, "Well, tell them not to worry..." He smiled and then held her close to him, "I'll be back in no time."

Kyra held him tightly and kissed him, then said, "You better be, or I'll throw you off a cliff."

"Yeah, yeah." Alan put his forehead to hers.
...

The movies made it see so easy. Heading off somewhere dangerous, the main character leaving his loved ones and things behind to protect them, save them... the only one who could stop the bad guy... well, those were movies. This was real life; no matter how much it seemed like a bad movie. Duncan was simply fazing through everything in front of him while Alan had to walk around destroyed cars and debris of who knew what. What he really didnt like was all the... dead things... that were lying around here and there.

"I dont get it..." He said as he side stepped around a dismembered corpse making a face, "Where did those things go?"

Duncan came floating back after looking ahead, "They headed for where she was burned... that is where the sorceress will resurrect... one always returns to where one died if resurrected."

"You make it sound like everyone should know this..." He said as they were starting to near the more populated areas of the town.

"Well, I dont know..." Duncan shrugged, "I assume most people who can communicate and talk to the dead know that. I did..."

"Well, I guess not." Alan said climbing over a car, "Anything?"

Duncan suddenly held out a hand, though Alan just walked through it, "The middle of town... just further right?"

"Yeah, why?" Alan looked around to try and figure out why Duncan was asking.

"The hounds are circling around a little up ahead... probably to keep things out of her way..." The ghost said his shoulders falling.

"What does that mean?" He looked up a little further and did actually see some of them standing in the road fighting with each other while others just watched around.

"It means, they'll notice us before we get even relatively close enough to see anything, and that they're terrorizing throughout that part of the town..." Duncan said.

"How do we get passed them?" Alan looked at him.

"Down."

Alan looked down to where he was pointing and sighed. What was this? A movie? He was looking at a sewer entrance in the road.

"Seriously?"

"Unless you want to go passed them..."

"Alright... alright..." He sighed and then pulled the heavy cover back, "Im definitely going to need a shower..."

Duncan laughed at him, "I wont."

"I hate ghosts..."

Duncan laughed again.
...

"Walking through ankle deep... who knows what...." Alan was muttering to himself, "Jeez, cant you like, take over my body and make me float over this...?"

"Im not a ghost that can posses people. All I can do is float and haunt things. And move things sometimes if I really need to." He said.

"Nice..." Alan sighed.

"I think this is the one... let me look."

Duncan floated up to the ceiling and then disappeared through the concrete. Alan waited for a few moments before Duncan came back.

"We're right near the courthouse... but there's chaos up there..."

"Great..." Alan said looking up at the metal cover, "So what are we doing again?"

"Well, that's up to you... are you sending her back? Or do you want to get rid of her...?"

"Dont get me wrong... I would like to see her gone... but how the heck do I do that?"

"You have to get rid of the object her spirit is bound to... if you destroy it, she'll have no choice but to either leave this world, or risk being trapped in the world between this one and the after life..."

"That's it? All I gotta do is destroy something of hers?"

"Yeah." Duncan nodded, "But... she will have it nearest her so no one can harm it..."

"Fun..." Alan said as he reached the cover.

He pushed it up and then away from the hole and climbed the rest of the ladder. Duncan hadnt been lying; there was nothing but chaos up here. People were screaming and running as the Hounds chased and attacked anything that moved. It was like an all out war up here and one side was badly unprepared... the human side. Police were shooting at the Hounds, and every once in a while something would wound or hit one where they seemed to be most effected, but for the most part nothing was working. It was like the hunting grounds of predators that knew no bounds and had cornered their prey to no escape what so ever.

"Now what?!" Alan asked slightly terrified.

Duncan was looking for something when a Hound came from around a large truck. It was larger, like the Great Danes, maybe even bigger. It came around the front of the truck and then turned to them. It's eyeless head turned at them as its mouth dripped a mixture of what seemed to be saliva and blood... It's tail and blades lashed around behind it as the lights that ran around its body began to glow and a light steam seemed to release from the lines almost like a small fire was beginning to race its way down the lines of the Hound's body. It let out a low, sinister sounding mixture of a growl and a hiss as it took a couple of steps toward them.

"Duncan... what do we do?" He asked not sure whether or not running would cause it to lunge at them.

"I dont know! I'm dead remember... I never normally have to run from anything..."

"Well this thing can hurt you!"

The Hound then started to run at them and their choice was made for them.

"RUN!"

Duncan probably had it easier, just being able to faze through anything in his way, but Alan for sure wasnt having an easy time. He had to jump over cars, slide under trucks, dodge other Hounds and avoid bodies and panicking people. He chanced a look back and saw that the Hound just cleared an over turned car like it was a hurdle at the track field, and it didnt even bother to jump or avoid smaller Hounds, it just barreled right through them like they weren't even there; the thing was like a charging rino. They pushed a door open (well more so Alan since Duncan just fazed through the wall) and ran inside. They were in the courthouse of the town which seemed to be the only place without dead bodies. The Hound however, came crashing through the doors and roared at them as they headed up stairs. It charged for them (through had a brief issue with the smooth and polished floors) and darted up the stairs literally right behind them.

"Left!" Duncan said going through the wall.

Alan turned, but just as he did, his sneakers slipped on the smooth floor. For a second he panicked, but then realized it was a perfect time to slip and fall because the Hound's bladed tail came lashing out over where his head had been and sliced through the plant vase on a table and through the corners of the wall raining dust and pieces of it onto Alan. He touched the top of his head quickly and realized his little foehawk had just been buzzed cut. He got up and continued to run as the Hound roared in anger.

'Kyra's not gonna like this new look of mine...' He thought smiling to himself at the reaction she was going to have to his lose of his "spikes" which she seemed to have a thing for.

Duncan sudden came out of a door, "In here!"

Alan pushed the door open and then closed it quickly just as he heard the Hound slam into the corner wall. He went to the very back of the room farthest from the door. It was oddly dark and Alan tripped over something (though judging by the sound of it he didnt really want to know) and then joined Duncan. They watched the door as the world seemed to fall into a horrible, tormenting, stillness. They could hear the sound of the Hound's steps getting closer, and then a low, low growl suddenly hit their ears. Near the door, a bright blue light slipped in through the cracks telling them the Hound was right outside. The lights stopped moving and they heard it growl lowly, but then it continued on down the long hall.

The two stayed very quiet and very still for almost another five minutes before Duncan finally said something.

"I found a way up... to the roof." He said.

He was glowing, just enough to see a little around them... did all ghosts glow?

Alan followed him into another room that was connected to the one they'd hidden in. They were careful to stay quiet just in case that Hound, or any other, came around. Duncan led him to a steel door and he pushed it open. It led out to a maintenance hallway and a metal stair case that led upward.

"Why are we going to the roof?" He asked as they started up.

"We can see our situation from up there... we dont have a lot of time though. She'll be resurrecting soon."

"How do you know that?"

"I can feel it... you have a way of knowing when something dead is coming back... when you're dead yourself I mean...

"Oh, alright."

They reached the roof, and when they got to the edge of it Alan could only stare open-mouthed. So much for a town. Duncan then floated around him and looked at where the town founder's statue was. Alan joined his eyes and saw what he was looking at.

"Here she comes..."