Can't Catch a Boo

2

"Nathan, bud, too soon." I folded my legs underneath me so I could sit as comfortably as I could on frozen cemetery grass.

The ghost of Nathan rolled his eyes. "Really? It's too soon for you? I'm the one who died, dude."

I scoffed. "You're really snarky in the afterlife, aren't you?"

Nathan's fist flew towards my shoulder playfully. As expected from a ghost, his hand passed right through, a small shudder coursing through my body.

An awkward silence sat between us. Never had I felt this way with my best friend.

But then again, never had one of us been a ghost before.

I could see it on Nathan's face too. After years and years of practice I could read his face as easy as a children's book. He was at a complete loss. He'd been going unseen and unheard for weeks, unable to do anything he would've done when he was breathing. Knowing Nathan, he was lonely too. He always surrounded himself with people no matter what he did. It's why he was so set on finding his perfect girl.

"Why didn't you, ya know, just float on over to my house or something? This would've been a lot quicker." 

Two-for-two, Nathan rolled his eyes again. "You don't think I tried? Turns out I can't leave this stupid cemetery. I can barely get to the edge before snapping back to this spot like some rubber band. Which absolutely blows because there aren't even any hot ghost babes here to spend the afterlife with. I mean, that would take the term "soulmates" to a whole new level."

"Are there other ghosts here? Like, you see others?" My heart suddenly twisted, the idea of ghosts finally clicking into place.

Floating down, Nathan placed himself across from me, still inches above the ground.

"There have been others, yeah. Mostly cranky old men from what I can tell. But-" Nathan looked around us before leaning in. He spoke in a hushed voice. "There are these things, these super tall black things that walk around in the middle of the night. They're completely black and their arms touch the ground. Sometimes, I see them screeching while they chase other ghosts. I never stick around to find out what happens. Those things highkey freak me out."

My heart pounded. The idea of being in danger after you died scared me more than I already was. More importantly, I needed to find a way to get Nathan out of the cemetery.

"Can't ghosts, like, get attached to something? There's always stories of haunted necklaces or dolls or something. What if you attached yourself?"

"I swear on my life-" Nathan grimaced. "I mean, I swear on my death, if you make me possess some dumb cabbage patch doll you've got a new thing coming for you."

Waving my hands and chuckling, I waited for Nathan to calm down before continuing.

"I was going to say that I go back to your house and get something that belongs to you. I don't think just getting attached to any ol' thing will work. It has to be something you had a connection with while you were alive. Is there anything you can think of off the top of your head?" I reached for my phone, ready to take notes on what I could possibly bring to Nathan.

He bit his lower lip and lowered his eyes. After a moment, he slowly shook his head.

"I, I can't think of..." Nathan's face took on a pained look.

I immediately felt bad for bringing up the subject.

"Look, don't worry about it. How about I go and ask to see your room. If something jumps out at me that just screams "Nathan used me 24/7!", then I'll grab it." I got to my feet, ready to do what I could to get Nathan out of there.

Nathan stood too. "Alright, then I'll walk you to the edge of the cemetery, I guess."

Just like he said, Nathan walked (floated) me to the gates of the cemetery. I took a step over the entrance and turned to face Nathan. He gave me a solemn look, fear slowly creeping into his eyes.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." I smiled reassuringly.

He nodded slightly.

Turning to go, I felt a chill on my shoulder.

Nathan's silence was unsettling. He had definitely been holding back on telling me something.

"Camden!"

I faced the cemetery at the call of my name.

Nathan stood there, arm outstretched. Just where his elbow met the perimeter, the rest of the arm disappeared. The rest of his body wavered like a mirage in the desert. He frowned, pulling his arm back to his side, solidifying once more.

"This is like, a really morbid version of the hokey pokey." He muttered. Glancing at my car, and then at me, he took a step back further into the cemetery. "Please, hurry."

There was no doubt about it.

Nathan was terrified. Maybe he had seen what those terrifying black things did to the other ghosts. Maybe he knew something much, much worse.

Either way, I couldn't let him stay there anymore.

With a nod, I dashed off to my car. I wasn't wasting anytime getting to Nathan's house. Sundown was coming, and who knew what kind of mystical mumbo jumbo stuff was brought around by the first snowfall.

The normally thirty minute drive to Nathan's house took maybe fifteen minutes. How was I supposed to explain to the cops that I was speeding to save the ghost of a high schooler by driving away from the cemetery at ungodly speeds?

It was dusk as I pulled into his driveway. The lights were on inside, but the window that had been Nathan's was noticeably dark.

I hopped from the car just as Nathan's dad opened the front door.

"Camden? Is everything alright?"

"Hi, Craig! I know this is a bit sudden, but can I see Nathan's room?"

Craig bit down on his lip. "Camden, I really don't think-"

I lurched forward through the door anyway, determined to get my hands on something, anything that Nathan had owned. His bedroom door was shut tight, so I practically threw myself into the room.

Dramatic, I know.

The inside of the room was completely empty. No clothes, no furniture, no tacky posters on the wall. Just one measly little cardboard box shoved into a corner of the open closet.

"Camden!" Craig grasped my shoulder tightly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I whirled around. "Please, sir, where is all of his stuff?"

"Nathan's things? We put them in a storage unit. We couldn't have them in the house anymore. If you want, Keith can take you down to see them tomorrow, but he's working late tonight." Craig must've seen the panic in my eyes because he would have flipped his lid a lot faster had I burst in at any other time.

I shook my head. "I can't wait that long. I need something that belonged to Nathan. I need it tonight."

Craig's eyes wandered to the box before snapping back to meet mine. He didn't need to say anything before I had the box in my arms and I was sprinting out the door.

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