“Someone?” Erik uttered lowly, visibility shaken. He watched the room for any sign of disturbances. The door was closed, and the windows was locked. Rains continued to batter against the glass while thunders roared angrily in the night sky above. “I thought it was a ghost. We are in the morgue after all, and I kind of absorb a lot of… souls.”

[Ghost do not cast shadow]

“That makes me feel a lot better,” Erik snorted and took the knowledge to heart. There were ghosts – real ones. Dell hadn’t lied to him yet, and there was no reason to lie. The unseen person inside the room wasn’t a ghost. His racing heart calmed a bit with the realization. “Is it still here?”

[Yes]

Erik frowned as lightning flashed. His eyes quickly scanned the room. He found nothing stood out in the darkness. No extra silhouettes casted on the walls or floor. The room remained still, undisturbed and silence. The only sound could be heard was the numerous beads of water slamming and dying against the foggy glass window. “You can sense it, right? Where is it?”

[I only feel a presence. I cannot pinpoint its exact location]

“How long had it been following us?” Erik questioned and examined the window and wondered if he could break it and let the rain in. It was high up and large enough to flood the room with water and revealed what he could not see. A rock would do the job.

[Not long ago. About 10 minutes]

Erik nodded. That was good. It didn’t see William or the waypoint in action. He wanted to keep the true nature of his ability a secret. No matter how powerful an ability is, there is always a counter – but you cannot counter something you have no information about. Take invisibility for example, it could be rendered useless with a bit of paint. Water would do just fine.

“Give me 1 unit of iron,” Erik requested. A puff of purple smoke erupted from his palm, leaving an iron ingot behind. It was immediately thrown at the window, shattering the glass into thousands of fragments. The wind outside howled and blasted heavy droplets in, drenching the room.

“Give me another iron,” Erik demanded. He wished he could summon a weapon in his hand instead, but to be able to do that, he needed the Armoury. The structure would allow him to create, repair and upgrade weapons and armours as well as a place to store them.

A shape of a person formed in the cold shower as an iron ingot materialized in his hand. Before Erik could use the ingot as deadly projectile, the person dashed towards the door and tried to open it.

“A child?” Erik uttered and gripped the ingot tightly. It didn’t make sense. He was expecting one of his classmates, who had gained the power of invisibility. He didn’t expect a child. “Wait a sec!”

The door was opened, and the child escaped the room. Erik put the ingot away and gave chase, not paying any mind to the cameras. “Stop running! I’m not going to hurt you!”

The child continued to run. From the long flowing hair trailing behind and flailing water, Erik learned the gender.

“It has to be a girl, doesn’t it?” Erik remarked and slowed down his pace. He stopped and looked at the wet footsteps leading into the darkness. The wetness was fading with each subsequent step, and she was faster than him. It was unlikely that he could catch her. He was simply wasting his energy.

[You’re letting her go?]

“She isn’t an enemy,” Erik said and looked up and at the camera. The red blinking light told him that he was being watched. He looked behind him before returning to his eyes to the front. He felt a bit uneasy. “It’s too quiet. There is no one here. It’s as if the guards were told to leave.”

[…]

Erik didn’t expect Dell to understand. Since the building is one long hallway with rooms to one side, he continued onwards, towards the front door. He wondered how it was possible for the girl to have a power. There was only one answer. “What kind of horror did she saw to become a ghost and haunt this place?”

[She is not a ghost]

“She might as well be one,” Erik responded. He came to a stop in front of an opened door. Beyond the opening was heavy rain, splashing against concrete pavement while lightning lit up the path. The path led him directly to the west wing of the hospital. He cocked over his shoulder and looked back at the darkness.

[She is here]

Erik nodded. He had a feeling that she didn’t leave. This was likely her home. How long had she been here? He turned around and checked the nearby cameras. He made sure that he was standing in a blind spot. It was a risky move, but if he could gain an ally, all the better. Having someone with the ability to turn invisible was well worth the risk.

“My name is Erik Summers,” Erik announced. He raised his hand and opened his palm. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to look for answers. You see, we are the same. We have been blessed with an extraordinary gift.” A purple mist erupted and revealed a small block of gold in his palm. “You don’t have to hide. You don’t have to be afraid, and you don’t have to be alone.”

Only silence greeted him. A handful of minutes later, Erik smiled weakly and placed the block of gold on the ground. He then turned and headed out the door. After a couple of steps, he turned back and found the block of gold was gone. “You can come with me, you know?”

Again, only silence replied.

Erik nodded and turned away. The door to the morgue closed behind him as he headed towards the hospital. It was a long shot, but at least he tried.

[Why not kill her and take her essence?]

“Because that would make me a monster,” Erik said and covered his face with a hood.

– Real Time Reality –

Despite the late hours, the hospital was crowded with people. They were hurdled into group, with a few families already fast asleep. Rooms were packed to the brim as nurses and doctors running back and forth, checking up on each patient. Amongst the wailing and crying, no one noticed the hooded individual passing by and planning to leave as soon as possible.

Erik wasn’t sure if he wanted to go head home. As far as his parents knew, he was camping in the mountain for the next seven days. Five now considering two days had passed. They would never expect him to return so soon and with such horrible scars. What would the other parents say when they learned their son or daughter had been killed? What about the legal shitstorm that would come after?

Erik realized he would be in the dead centre of it. The legal proceeding, the interrogation, the looks and fears on everyone’s faces. People would inevitably used him as a scapegoat for their pains and angers. His life would never be the same again.

“Fuck that,” Erik cursed and leaned against the wall. There was no vacant chair nearby. People were sitting and lying on the floor. Those that were awake was watching the news. It was live.

“Thank to the onset of heavy rains, the blaze is finally subdued,” Linsey Beckett informed. Her name was visible on the screen. “Thousands of homes were destroyed. Hundreds of lives were lost. This is the worst disaster our town had ever seen. Here with me is a young man. He managed to escape the inferno before it started.”

“Hey mom and dad, I’m on television!” the teenager greeted when Linsey directed the microphone to him. He waved at the camera with a wide smile on his face. The smile brought chill to those knew him.

“Luke!” Erik uttered. He stared at the television screen in shock. “What the fuck is he doing?”

“So, Luke, you say you know what is responsible for this tragedy?” Linsey asked.

“Uh huh, I saw it all with my own eyes,” Luke said and pointed at his eyes. “It was scary. I thought I was going to die, you know. Seeing all those people goes up in flames, screaming and begging it to stop. How could he do something like that?”

“He?” Linsey questioned. She shook her head lightly. “I’m sorry, can you elaborate?”

“Sure, I can pretty lady,” Luke replied. He then turned away from the camera and paid attention to a person off screen. “Hey Lance! Can you elaborate?”

The cameraman turned towards a teenager before screen shook and dropped to the ground. Cracks formed. Something like an explosion was heard before visual was cut off. Screams erupted as audio became statics. The screen eventually came back on with a man sitting behind a desk.

“Lady and gentlemen, we apologized for the technical difficulty,” Bill Letterman said. He looked to his co-anchor. A woman by the name Sandra. “What do you think just happened?”

Erik had long pulled his attention from the television and running towards the exit. He stopped just before the doors and panted. Even if he knew where it is, by the time he gets there, it would be too late. And even if he made it in time, what could he hoped to accomplish. Lance was much stronger than before, and Luke was there with him. Did they team up?

[It is ill-advised for you to confront the one called Lance currently]

“I know, I know,” Erik growled and hammered the wall. “I know damn it, but I can’t just sit by and watch him kill more and more people?”

[It is the natural cycle of –

Erik groaned as his head felt like it was splitting. He dropped to his knees and gripped his head with both hands. “Dell?”

[Grrrrr… Run! You must flee! Now!]

“What? What’s going on? Dell? Dell?” Erik called out verbally and mentally, but the voice vanished from mind. The headache went with it as well. “What the hell –

Erik looked up and saw a middle-aged man wearing clerical attire passed him by. In the man’s hand was the bible. A woman followed him behind. There was something glittering under her long sleeve as she closed the door and stopped the cold and rain.

She stood in front of Erik and looked down at him. She smiled and crouched and held his hands with tender care. “May Christ be with you.”

Erik gaped, not sure what to say to a nun.

“Victoria, please do hurry. We are on the job,” the man called out. He was already at the end of the hallway.

“Coming Joseph,” Victoria responded and placed a small metallic into Erik’s hand. “Everything will be fine. Evil spirits will be vanquished in the sight of his light.”

“Um… thanks?” Erik muttered as the woman chased after her senior. He shook his head and looked at the metallic object. It was a cross. He arched his eye as the cross began to heat up. He dropped the cross onto the floor and looked at his hand. His skin was burned, and it was more painful than being roasted by Lance.