Brief and Crewsocks: Ghost Hunters

Chapter 6

Brief and Crewsocks found themselves standing in front of a building wall, staring at it thoughtfully. The wall had been painted up in what seemed like a grade schooler's doodles.

"Well, it's not exactly impressive," remarked Brief, pointing out the obvious.

Crewsocks' gaze moved up the street as he replied, "Well, he may not be skilled, but he is certainly prolific." It looked as though every blank wall down the entire street had been painted up in such a fashion.

Brief held a handheld detector up to the wall and it beeped quickly and flashed with red lights. He looked mildly concerned, "There's no doubt that it's ghost activity. These PKE readings are off the chart."

Crewsocks nodded and then passed behind Brief as he began heading up the street. "Still, where is the..." before he could finish his thought, his foot stepped on a discarded spray paint can. Before he could react, he had already lifted his other foot and the can quickly rolled under the weight of his body, tossing him back while it shot forward down the street.

Crewsocks fell onto his back with a heavy thud while the pant can bounced down the street clattering loudly in the darkness of the night.

Brief ran over to check on Crewsocks immediately, crouching down by his side and asking, "Are you all right, man?"

While clearly pained from the fall, Crewsocks' ego wouldn't allow him to admit it. He just replied through gritted teeth, "I'll be okay. Let's just..."

It was then that the patter of small feet could be heard approaching in the darkness, the rhythm of the footsteps being fast but soft. They managed to lock onto an approaching figure that was no more than a meter tall. Crewsocks scrambled up to a sitting position while Brief stayed still by his side just watching the figure.

As it came closer, it became obvious that the figure was a short, pudgy little ghost that seemed to be in the form of a little kid. The little kid ghost threw his arms to his sides as he cried out, "Hey!! Don't mess up my tags!"

Brief and Crewsocks exchanged confused looks but since this ghost wasn't acting hostile yet, it seemed they both had the same thought—give it a chance rather than immediately blasting it.

Brief was the first one to speak up and question, "Are you the one who has been painting all the walls?"

The ghost gave a quick hop as it replied eagerly and a bit irritated, "Of course I am! I am an aspiring street artist!" It then turned to the side and looked up, "But now that I have these stubby little legs, I can only reach the low ground. My dream is lost!"

Brief looked a little frustrated at this and scolded the child, "You know, you really shouldn't be painting up all the walls like this! It's going to cause so much trouble for people."

Crewsocks, however, took a different approach and asked the obvious question, "What exactly was your dream?"

The ghost child ignored Brief and turned to Crewsocks, the glowing red expression on its black body turning into a wide smile as he clasped his hands together. "I wanted to put my tag in a place where the whole neighborhood could see it! I found the perfect spot!!"

Crewsocks nodded along to this and returned the smile, even if any smile on his face seemed so very forced. "I see. And then what's the problem?"

"I managed to climb up there, but while I was painting, I fell and..." the ghost looked down and seemed quite sad. "All I wanted was to make a mark on my neighborhood. To let other people know I was alive, but..."

Crewsocks understood this feeling all too well. Despite the pain in his back, he made his way up to his feet and dusted himself off. "Okay, show us the spot."