“Where am I?” Richard found himself enveloped in an endless abyss of darkness. He floated about with no way to leave or move.

“Ritchie.” A familiar voice called out to him.

“Emily, is that you?” He looked around the area, but couldn’t find her.

“Yes, and I’m very disappointed in you.” Emily appeared in front of his view, standing still and not floating.

“What? But... why?”

“I warned you, didn’t I? I told you not to trust those guys or go near their lab.”

“But I didn’t know, I’m sorry!”

“I believed in you!” Emily retorted. “Do you not care about us?”

Richard shook his head, his eyes to the brim with tears. “No, I—”

“The partnership is over, you’re no longer welcome at my establishment.” She turned around and walked away toward a mysterious light. “Goodbye forever.”

“No!” Richard extended his arm and tried to reach her, but was locked in place, unable to move. “Wait, don’t leave me! You’re all I have left!”

.-.-.-.

“Emily!” Richard’s eyes shot wide open as he shot out of bed.

He looked around, only to find himself trapped in a different bedroom. The room was smaller and more confined, with the ceiling low. A barrier stood in-between him and a couple of faculty workers from the other side of the room. The rough textures grazing his fingers on the bed didn’t help much, nor did the chains attached to each side make the mood any better. There were no windows or doors, and no other signs of a way out, either.

Richard peeked through the barrier wall at some workers writing on their checklist; others walked about, talking with cups of coffee in their hands. He tried to call out to someone, but nobody heard his pleas. Eventually, he gave up on that approach. Defeated, he slumped on the bed and covered his face with his now blue hands. Richard couldn’t believe he ended up in this situation, now stuck like this.

“Oh, man...” Richard muttered to himself. He stretched his arms out and sighed. “Is there any way for me to get out of here, wherever this place is?”

“Actually, yes, there is.” A small voice echoed through the room.

Richard sat up straight as his eyes darted around the area. Who said that? Where did the voice come from? He could ponder over how someone heard him earlier, but also didn’t care, Richard just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!”

Silence rang through for a while. Was he just hearing things? Has he lost his mind from being stuck here? How long had it even been?

A short while later, the voice spoke up again. “Ok, but you need to promise not to scream.”

What is that voice talking about? “Alright, but I don’t see why—”

From under the ground, a figure rose from the surface. Richard backed himself up from the walls and gasped. But he held his breath to try not to scream like they said. He couldn’t stop his heart from beating rapidly upon seeing the figure floating above him before his very eyes.

Once Richard stopped panicking, he took a moment to look at the figure. The more he thought about it, she seemed to be the same person he saw on the road a few days ago. So, his eyes hadn’t deceived him after all.

“Hello, mister.” She greeted him. “My name is Fawn, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Uh... I’m Richard. So, you heard my plea?”

“Why yes. As you can see, I’m not a normal human being. I am, in fact, a ghost.”

“Wait, what?” Richard arched an eyebrow. He looked down to find her floating above the ground. Wasn’t she on the road? I could’ve sworn—

“Considering you’re not human either, I don’t see why you’re surprised by my reveal.” Fawn pointed out.

“You may not believe it, but I used to be a human.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.”

“Wait, you do? Then why—?”

“Look, I can help you get out of here. I can also help get your revenge on those who did this to you.”

“Really?” Richard walked over to the ghostly figure. “What’s in it for you, though? There’s got to be a catch to this.”

“We’ve got a lot in common,” Fawn mentioned. “Both of us had terrible things happen to us by similar people.” She lowered her head as her tone got quiet. “Specifically, taking us away from the ones that loved and cared for us.”

Richard’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean...?”

“Please, you’re my only hope for this!” The ghost pleaded. “I can’t move on until I get revenge on those people and avenge my family.”

Family... Those words lingered in Richard’s head. They reminded him of both of his families, making him misty-eyed.

“Here’s the deal,” Fawn continued. “I’ll help you get out of here and change you back to normal permanently. In return, you must help me find my killers in exchange.”

Richard wiped his eyes and shook his head. “How can I possibly—?”

“I can show you how. You need to take my hand.” She extended her hand. “I’ll transfer a bit of my power to help you out in any way I can. So, what do you say?”

Richard looked down at the hand as his palms stiffened. He didn’t like the idea of trusting someone he just met, especially after what happened last time he lowered his guard. Not only that, but finding and tracking down potential murderers? That was out of his league.

Richard didn’t think he had experience with that kind of stuff, much less stay in control of this current body. So much happened; it was a lot to take in, but he didn’t have time for that right now.

Then again, Fawn knew that too, as the feeling was mutual. Yet she still came to him for help, with nobody else to turn to. All alone and lost, at such a young age too. Richard knew that feeling, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Not to mention, considering Richard’s situation and how he’s trapped, this could be his best and only opportunity to escape and find answers. Whoever set him up and is behind this project, it didn’t matter what their reason was; they needed to pay for what they did. For setting him up, backstabbing, and leaving him.

“Alright then.” He inhaled and exhaled as he reached to grab and shake her hand.

“So, it’s a deal?”

“Yeah, you got yourself a deal.”