Culling

Part II • Chapter I

Danielle sighed, "He was my best friend and everything, but sometimes Maro is a huge pain in the ass." She waved her hand dismissively as she cut off my questions, she seemed happier now.

"What do you mean?" Maro? What did Maro have to do with anything? "Maro isn't here. Why are you able to talk to me? What-"

"Oh my god." She gave me a calculating look. "I was just messing around the other day, but I was right. You literally know nothing, don't you?"

Now I was getting frustrated. "What do you mean? Nothing? What do I know nothing about?"

"I don't think I want to tell you." Danielle crossed her arms and floated a few feet higher. She looked positively gleeful now, and nodded as if she had come to some kind of decision. "Nope, I won't. I won't tell you anything until you help me out first."

"Help you with what exactly? That thing you mentioned before?" What was it she asked me to do anyway? I hadn't even been paying attention, with everything else that had been going on...

"Derrick has been ignoring every effort I have made to contact him." She came closer to me and put a finger to my chest as she talked.

I was shocked to discover that I could actually feel pressure where she touched me. Great. I thought ghosts couldn't physically touch people. I had such wonderful luck.

She didn't seem surprised that she could touch me, so she must have expected this. She continued on as if she didn't notice. "I'm stuck using you, as unpleasant as it might be. You need to talk to him. Tell him that he has to look into my death."

"Danielle," I watched her as she moved her arm back and started pace-floating back and forth. How to put this? "Derrick is about to play in the Culling in less than three weeks. I know he must have a lot on his mind right now. I know he probably misses you, but I cannot promise you that he will want to make himself a target by asking questions. I can try to look into it though, if you want. I mean, I'll ask him, but..."

She stopped pacing and glared at me again. "I don't care if he wants to or not, you need to convince him to do it."

"I'm sorry, but not to be mean or anything, but you died a long time ago. Why is it so important that he look into this now? I mean, it's been over ten years."

"I don't know!" She spun towards me as she bellowed out the statement, and a gust of wind exploded from her form. Her eyes were frantic, afraid.

Something was going on, and it was enough to scare someone who was already dead.

"I don't know, Sang." She said again, in a softer tone this time. "Just talk to Derrick. Tell him what I told you. Tell him, I don't know, that something was off back then. I really can't tell you what, because I don't even know, but it shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have died!"

What was she talking about? "Danielle, are you saying that you didn't feel ill or anything beforehand?"

"No!" She pointed at me again. "You were there the day before, I saw you lurking around. You followed Maro everywhere. Tell me, did I seem very sick to you when I pushed you off the pier and rubbed your little snot nose into the mud?"

I frowned, not remembering that. However, both statements didn't seem to be unlike her.

"No, I don't recall. I'm sorry."

Her eyebrow twitched and I could tell she was getting agitated.

I tried to think of anything that might appease her, maybe all she needed to move on was closure? That's what ghosts needed, right? Not that I was an expert on ghosts. I could figure out the specifics of why I was talking to deceased people at a later time, but I would like to get rid of this one sooner rather than later. "I know someone who is a doctor, I could ask-"

"No, I don't want you to ask your little boyfriend. I want you to talk to my brother."

"I would still talk to Derrick." I never said I wouldn't, but Sean would probably know more about a sickness that killed female children more than Derrick would. That's how she died, right?

Then it occurred to me that she called Sean my boyfriend. "Wait. Danielle. How did you know about, well, that?"

"The blood bonding?" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "You really need to get caught up on these things. It's written all over your aura. Nine too? My, my, my, aren't you going to be busy? You know, maybe I'll live vicariously through you for a while. Tell me, how far have you-"

"Hey!" This was the perfect time for a subject change. "I'll talk to Derrick tomorrow. Alright?"

"Right." She nodded at me and smirked, as if she knew exactly how embarrassed I was. "Don't say a word to your little lovers before you talk to him."

"But why?"

"Just don't!" Danielle snapped back. "My god. For once in your life, can't you just do what you are told?"

I flinched, the remark reminding me too much of how my step-mother used to talk to me. The things she used to say. Questioning was bad. Thinking for yourself was bad. Trying to come up with a better solution was bad. Doing any of those things was asking to be punished.

Why did I feel so pressured to talk to Sean and Owen about this conversation though, why did I feel like it was something super important?

It wasn't like Danielle had a horrible request, it was just that I just talk to Derrick alone first. Why couldn't I just listen? She was just a poor ghost looking for some closure.

I bit my lip and looked at the ground. "Fine. I won't tell anyone yet."

"Good. We have an understanding." A branch snapped in the distance. My eyes shot up and met hers, and she looked slightly panicked. "I need to go now. I'll find you later."

"But-"

And she was gone.

The scene shifted and it was as if a veil had been lifted, and suddenly I was in the same woods, with the same presence, where I had been chased a week before. The sky was now moonless.

I ran. Something terrible was chasing me, and no matter how fast I moved it felt like I would be caught at any moment. I tried to wake myself up, but I couldn't snap myself out of my current surroundings enough to do it. It was going to be too late.

In the distance I thought I heard a child crying, but it was hard to hear over the sound of my own panicked breaths. Besides, I couldn't do anything until I got away from whatever it was that was after me. If it caught me, I would be hurt. I knew that with every fiber of my being.

There was a growl behind me and to my left I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be some kind of furry animal, but it vanished quickly. My attention being diverted distracted me enough though to where I stumbled forward I tripped and fell onto my hands and knees.

It hurt, but once again the pain didn't wake me.

What if I died now? Did that mean I would die in real life as well?

"What the fuck is this?" A rough, demanding voice spoke from a few feet behind me.

I spun around on the ground to see North with his back to me. He was in the black pajama bottoms he had worn to bed. When he turned towards me I could see that he was confused.

He spotted me on the ground and his eyes widened. "Sang Baby!" He rushed to my side and kneeled next to me protectively. "What are you doing here? Where are we?"

"North?" I blinked up at him, disbelieving.

How was he here? However, his presence was like a breath of fresh air and I felt that I could finally relax again, finally breathe.

His body hovered over mine, and his arms encircled me and brought me to his chest. He gripped me to him, as if he would use his own body to shield me from whatever dangers were around.

I knew that he would too.