Haunting My Killer

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Let the Haunting Commence

It's a lot to take in.

On the outside I'm acting and trying to be as calm as possible without lashing out on them but, it's really hard. I just died for god sakes and instead of dwelling over my death I'm here plotting revenge. That is not what dead people do after their death. At least, that's what I thought at first.

"Okay let's get things rolling!" Death clapped his hands together, smiling broadly and leaning forward.

"I'm only going to say this once so listen." He clarified before continuing,
"This will be your key to survival."

Survival? If I'm just going back as a ghost shouldn't I be safe since... well I'm a ghost?

"Before you go asking why you would be in danger I'm going to get to that part. And no, I do not read minds." He sighed, face palming.

I stared at him confusingly and said "Wasn't going to ask if you could."

"Just explain it!" Life was on the verge of screaming as she stared at Death. Any longer and he would be incinerated.

Immediately Death turned his head away from Life, avoiding her gaze and focused on me. It was kind of cute to see how much Death obeyed Life.

"You wipe that smirk off your face!" Death ordered me, red as a tomato. His long finger pointing at me, I giggled.

Now it was Life's turn to turn red, about to explode in embarrassment.

I snickered and decided to save Death's sorry âss by getting back on topic. "So, what about my survival?"

He gave me a thank you look. "Right! Where was I?" He fidgeted under Life's gaze. "The person who murdered you, he can touch you. He can slap you, kill you, do unspeakable stuff too you..." Life growled at that.

Death flinched and continued. "Anyway, he can touch you and see you, but no one else can. Basically, you can make him go crazy without anyone knowing."

"I can be touched? I thought ghosts were transparent?" I asked, scratching my head nervously.

Death muttered something under his breath and then looked at me in disbelief.

"Humans and their stupid assumptions! Kiddo, we're not shooting a Hollywood movie here. Whatever you thought about haunting in your past life, forget about that and don't get it mixed up to what I'm going to tell you now." He stared at me, wagging his finger at me.

Gesturing for him to continue, I mumbled an apology. My shoulders hunched. I didn't even know I was cringing.

"The reason why your killer can touch is this: They'll be able to prevent you from killing them. Although you want revenge, we can't have your killer dying. What's the fun in that?" Death smiled. "You will develop skills which could prevent you from him killing you.  So basically, you can't kill each other."

My brain was trying to comprehend everything he just gave me. I sighed and rubbed my temples, trying to stuff everything in there. Being a ghost is so much harder than you think. Like digesting food, I was trying to digest this information and make this easier to understand.

"How am I suppose to haunt him if he can see me? I mean, what's so scary about him seeing me?" I stared at Death, expecting an answer.

Death nudged the woman who was busy playing with a butterfly, Life.

She seemed confused at first, before getting the hint and nodding.

"Right! Yes, hmm, yes ok. It shows us if he feels haunted by his kill, and if he regrets it. His reaction is what we're trying to see by making him or her stare their victim right in the eyes." She explained.

Wait! Funny how this question never came into my mind.

"Why me?" As I stared at them both studying both of them.

None of them replied.

Death finally opened his mouth to answer. "Because we felt like your life shouldn't have ended like that."

Those simple words made my heart clench. Because we felt like your life shouldn't have ended like that.
The memory of my death was still very vivid. It was still so fresh. A hot burning came behind my eyes, and I realized that a tear was dripping down my cheek. The screams, bullets, Mrs. Wilkskins, captain of the terrorists, and- Well, really, I could go on and on about it. The thought had really just dawned on me right now. I wouldn't be able to ever see my parents or my friends anymore. I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. It hurts me so much just thinking about it. My thoughts were interrupted my Death's stern voice.

"There's one thing that I'm going to add and you must remember this. Your killer can kill you again even when your a ghost. It's possible so you must stay alert at all time. You have an energy bar. Once it's used up you'll go to sleep for a few hours to recharge. You'll know when your energy is getting low since you'll start flickering. The time when your sleeping is the most dangerous time. Your killer can get rid of you. So make sure you go somewhere he won't find you. Understood?" He looked at me straight in the eyes telling me this was something that shouldn't be taken so lightly.

I nodded.

My throat was starting to get dried up as I think fear and excitement was buzzing underneath my skin.

"That's it. Tell us when your ready and we'll send you in a heartbeat. We'll stop by a couple of times to help you out or check on you." Life's voice was soothing and calmed me down as my leg started to bounce up and down. Unlike Death's rough voice, which was always unsettling, Life's voice was more gentle. It was like a loving kiss.

Well, their names are Death and Life. I should expect that. Though just wondering how they even became a couple even.

Taking in my final deep breath I looked at them and calmly said " I'm ready."

They looked at me, double checking for any signs of stress. When they couldn't find anything they held out their hands. I stared at it before grabbing hold onto them. Unlike last time how we travelled so quickly, I saw a swirl of colour blur my vision before I disappeared in thin air.

I felt a bubbly feeling inside and my whole body felt weightless. Like I was floating. Maybe I was. My eyes were shut tight only seeing darkness. Suddenly I felt something on the bottom of my feet.

My eyes popped open and I saw myself in a room. Though my gaze only focused on one thing in the room as I blocked everything else. There in front of me was the guy who had killed me.
Sitting on the edge of his bed with his head covered in his hands.

You want to know what I did next?

"Well, we meet again," was the first words that left my mouth.

Let the haunting begin!