Nena groaned. Her head felt like somebody had rubbed her brain with sandpaper. She forced her eyes open and winced against a bright light above her. A soft rustling sound came from beneath her.
Nena sat up and clutched her head as she looked around. She was stretched out on a narrow bed with white sheets and a single pillow. The walls were as white as fresh snow, but a camera with a red eye was a blemish on the perfect picture. There were no windows, but a door stood in the middle of the wall opposite the bed.
A rap on the door made her gasp and scuttle into the corner. The entrance swung inward and Jack peeked his head around the door. He grinned at her and gave a small wave. "Hey." Nena drew her legs against her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she glared at him. His face fell. "Still angry, huh?" he mused as he slipped inside and shut the door behind him.
Nena winced as a half dozen locks locking echoed around the tiny room. She returned her attention to Jack and narrowed her eyes. "Get out," she growled.
He held up his gloved hands. "I just want to talk."
"You've talked, now get out," she hissed.
A sly, crooked grin slipped onto his lips as he put his hands behind his back and took a few steps closer to the bed. "I want a real talk, and it's about a woman's favorite subject, herself."
"Not interested," she snapped.
He stopped and his eyebrows shot up. The smile remained in place. "Really? You are a strange one, aren't you?" Nena frowned and turned her face away. Jack took a step closer and leaned to one side to catch her eyes. "Then we won't talk about you. We'll talk about what you want to know." She didn't move her head, but her eyes flickered back to him. He wagged his eyebrows. "You're just dying to know about me, aren't you?"
Nena rolled her eyes and looked away. "Not on your life."
He laughed and slipped over to her to take a seat on the end of the bed. Nena's eyes widened and she pressed herself as deep into the corner as she could manage. Jack leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes. All was quiet between them.
Nena studied his calm, young face. He was devilishly handsome, but that pallor of his was-well, too pale. She leaned forward and squinted as she stared at his chest. It didn't move. Not an inch.
"You can ask me anything," he spoke up. She gasped and slammed backward into her corner. He peeked open one brown eye and studied her. "Anything at all." Nena bit her lower lip. Her eyes inadvertently traveled down to his hands that lay in his lap. His gaze followed hers and he sighed. "Ah. Those." He lifted one hand to eye-level and turned it left and right. "My dirty little secret all wrapped up in gloves. His idea of a joke, I suspect."
She arched an eyebrow. "Whose?"
Jack lifted his other hand and pulled each finger of the glove one-by-one upward. "Scratch. It was his idea to 'recruit' me, as he said." He gave a tug and the glove slid off his hand. Nena's eyes widened as she beheld the transparent hand. Jack frowned at his ghostly digits. "He brought back only most of me, but I suppose it's a little useful having these."
She furrowed her brow as her gaze fell on his hard expression. "Brought you back? From where?"
He dropped his hands into his lap and turned his head toward her with a smile. "The dead."
Nena blinked at him. "So you're dead? Like me?"
He shook his head. "No, we're a little different. When I died Death did his duty and took me. Well, mostly. I was a bit of a restless spirit. That's another reason Scratch decided I was a good candidate for his little war on Death."
She shook her head. "What are you talking about?"
Jack drew one leg up onto the bed and grinned at her. "You really want to know?"
She frowned. "And if I don't?"
He shrugged and turned his face away before he closed his eyes. "Then we sit here for a very, very long time." Nena kicked one leg out and knocked his foot off the bed. He dropped forward and whipped his head to her. "What was that for?"
"For what you did to Matt," she snapped.
"It really was for his own good," he insisted as he sat up straight. "That idiot was trying to stop me from getting you."
"He was trying to protect me from you," she pointed out.
He leaned the back of his head against the wall and pursed his lips as he stared ahead. "I guess I can't blame him for that, but I think you need a better protector. I mean, you've got a better right punch than he does."
"Much good it did me. . ." she muttered as her eyes flickered up to his face.
Jack reached up with his transparent hand and rubbed his face. "One of the advantages of a person in my situation."
"And what is your situation?" she asked him.
He shrugged. "Just another wandering spirit trapped in a hollow display of my old form until I've helped the Devil destroy Death."
She leaned back and arched an eyebrow. "That sounds insane."
He chuckled and turned his head to her with a smile on his face. "Don't I know it."
"So you're a ghost?"
"In the flesh."
Nena leaned forward so she sat on her knees and reached out with one hand. Jack held perfectly still as she set her hand atop his uncovered one, or tried to. Her fingers went right through to his pants.
She drew back and touched her cold fingers with her other hand before her eyes flickered up to his soft face. "How come I can touch your leg, but not your face?"
He patted his pant leg with his gloved hand. "I can touch and wear clothing, and go through them, as you saw in the tunnel. Except for these-" he lifted his uncovered hand and studied the transparent fingers, "-these are a little too special for ordinary clothes, so they're made in-house by Archimedes."
She nodded at his troubled hand. "Scratch did that to you?"
He pursed his lips. "Yeah. His way of leashing me to him. Without those gloves-" he tried patting his pants leg, but the fingers sank below the surface to his real leg, "-I'm a man without a sense and ability to touch anything, even myself. Well, other than a few brief seconds like you saw me with those bullets."
Nena furrowed her brow. "So what happened when the ceiling fell in on you?"
He turned to her and grinned. "You want to see?" She nodded. He leapt to his feet and stood before her with his arms spread apart. "Throw the bed sheet over me."
"So you want to look like a ghost?" she teased as she got up and tore the top bed sheet off the bed.
"You'll see. Now toss it over my head."
"All right. Here goes."
Nena grabbed two of the corners and bundled the cloth in her hand. With a quick flick she tossed the free ends over his head. Her held the other ends made sure the cloth didn't float any farther, and they stretched out the sheet to its full length above him. A quick float downward and the cloth dropped on top of his head.
The cloth floated through his head, down his body, and ended up in a pile around his feet. Nena gaped at the mess of sheets and lifted her eyes to Jack's face. There was no triumph in his eyes, just a soft look as he studied her reaction.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and managed a shaky smile. "That's really-um, sort of-"
"Terrifying?" he finished for her.
Nena winced, but gave a nod. "A little."
Jack snatched his glove from the bed and slipped it on. His side was turned to Nena and his head was bent down. He didn't look at her as he spoke. "I can't blame you. Knowing about death is bad enough, but seeing what's on the other side is far worse. It makes everyone a little nervous-" He froze as a small hand settled on his gloved one. Jack looked up and found himself staring into the smiling face of Nena. This time the smile was firm as she looked into his eyes.
"People learn to face death," she told him in a hushed voice. "It's just a part of living."
He studied her with his soft brown eyes. "You've lost someone."
Nena's face fell and she turned her head away. "My mom. Cancer."
"I'm sorry."
She shut her eyes and squeezed out a few loose tears. "It's fine. It was a couple years ago."
He cupped her chin in his hand and turned her gaze back to his. There was a small smile on his lips. "You're a terrible liar."
Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not lying."
Jack released her and dug into his pocket until he retrieved a packet of cigarettes. "Being a bad liar isn't bad, though it won't get you far around here," he commented as he tapped one out and set it between his lips before he rummaged for his lighter.
She frowned and nodded at the cigarette. "How come you can smoke, but I can't hit you?"
He lit the cigarette and grinned as he put away the lighter. "You really think the Devil would bring somebody back who couldn't take the heat?" His humor fled him as he glanced to his left at the door. "Speaking of that, he wants to talk to you."
Nena stiffened and her eyes widened. "Me? Why?"
His eyes flickered back to her and he pressed the cigarette tightly between his lips. "He wants to know if you're going to keep running off."
She frowned. "What choice did I have?"
"Plenty of them, and he doesn't like the choice you made," he told her.
"So what's he going to do to me?" she asked him.
Jack took out his cigarette and looked her in the eyes. "Do you want to stay here?"
She swept her eyes over the room. "You mean here? It doesn't really have a great view."
He shook his head. "What I'm asking you is serious. Deadly serious. Do you understand?" Nena winced, but nodded. "Do you want to stay or not?"
Nena looked down at her chest and pressed her hand over her heart. She closed her eyes and listened. Nothing. Only silence. She opened her eyes and met Jack's steady gaze. "I'm staying."
He grinned. "Good, then you've got nothing to worry about with Scratch. He might be the Prince of Darkness, but he's the court jester when it comes to wits. Just keep yours about you and you'll be able to deal him into give you his tail."
She arched an eyebrow. "Does he really have a tail?"
Jack led her to the door and opened it. "Let's just say he can scratch his back really well."
Nena stepped outside with Jack behind her. She ran a hand through her wild hair and winced when her fingers caught on a tangle of threads. "So I can still get sleep hair?" she asked him as he turned to her.
He nodded. "Yeah. Even a restless soul has to get some rest." He looked her over with a wily expression. "Except when there's something more fun to be had, that is."
"Ahem."
The pair turned around. Doc stood a few feet behind them with his arms folded over his chest. His bespectacled eyes flickered between the couple. "I thought to comfort Miss Nena, but it appears that the duty has been taken by another."
Jack grinned and gave him a wink. "Maybe next time, Doc."
Nena glared at him while Doc cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I may be of some use to our new friend. While you no doubt have noticed her body, you have failed to pay attention to her attire." Nena and Jack glanced down at her clothing. They were still the mud-and-blood stained, torn and dusted clothes she'd worn for three days. After her brush with cereal they now had a faint odor of puke, as well.
Jack shrugged. "Not a problem. We'll just stop by one of stores downtown and I'll help her pick out some."
Doc glared at him. "If Miss Nena is going to be running about on these 'outings' than might I suggest sturdier clothes than lingerie?"
Nena looked to Jack but pointed at Doc. "I'll choose door number two."
Jack put his hands in his pockets and sighed. "All right, but it would've been fun."