Puppet Strings

Chapter Three

Flying was always so much more enjoyable without constant effort. It was the closest Phantom would get to space. He often wondered if ghosts could go to space, they didn't need to breathe. It wouldn't be that hard for him to just fly up and leave...

He couldn't, the GIW needed him. Phantom had nowhere else to go anyway. Even aliens wouldn't want a ghost in their home. He highly doubted they even knew ghosts existed, as intelligent aliens were, ghosts were far better at hiding. No one seemed to know they existed.

Phantom's feet touched the gravel of the building without the slightest sound. It was a calm day, rather warm now that the wind wasn't blowing in Phantom's face. A small breeze pushed past the boy as he stared at the device, watching it light up with a green glow before the screen turned to a gray color, the small arrow in the center spinning wildly before slowing to a stop, pointing to Phantom's right.

"Cool." He said with a grin. "It's like a compass."

Phantom moved forward, making sure to keep his invisibility up, it might have been in the middle of the day, but that didn't mean Nightwing wasn't hiding out somewhere.

After walking in what felt like a circle, Phantom plopped down. "Dang thing's broken." He grumbled, staring up at the darkened sky. The sun was setting and he spent the entire day, wandering around like a lost puppy.

The device chirped, earning a raised eyebrow from Phantom. "What now?" He muttered, the stupid device led him around in a circle, which would result in the GIW taking out their frustrations on him. After a second of contemplating he reached over to pick up the device. It chirped again, the arrow moving forward before plopping back down to the center of the device and moving forward again. Curiously Phantom moved forward with it, lowering himself off of the building and onto the sidewalk. No one could see him anyway. He stumbled slightly as a woman walked through him, she shivered glancing back to see nothing. She pulled her jacket closer to herself and continued onward.

He shook his head before following the device, leading him into an alley. Where a drunken man was stumbling down it. His words slurred as he talked to the air.

"How dare you." He hiccuped, glaring down at a tin can that was in his way. The man stubbornly refused to go around it. "You know who Im?" His words slurred as he grinned wickedly kicking the can. "Tat's wha you get." He said pointing an accusatory finger at the can.

The chirping got louder as Phantom neared the man, who was to busy harassing a tin can to notice. Phantom looked at the man, a twinge of guilt spiking through him before it got locked away. Phantom tucked the device away and lunged.

Phantom blinked, and he was across the alley. His hand clenched in a fist, covered in blood. The blood coated his hand and arm, up to his elbow. His eyes widened, was that his blood?

No Phantom didn't bleed red.

A wheeze from behind him caused Phantom to freeze. His heart pounding, he slowly turned around and instantly regretted it. The man stared at Phantom in horror, as blood dripped from the fist-sized hole in his stomach. "No!" Phantom cried out, lunging forward to catch the man as he fell.

His hands moved to something to help the man, anything "I'm sorry!" He cried as the man wheezed, unable to get an actual breath in. Phantom's hands were shaking, unable to do anything to help the man, he stared at them, the blood. So much blood. He could feel the warm liquid crawling on his legs, soaking in through his gloves. Filling his lungs.

He was drowning, Phantom couldn't breathe.

There was so much.

The room was filling, over the brim with blood. Phantom couldn't escape, the blood pulling him downwards, choking him.