The Wandering Spirit | Underworld Office

Dealing With Unwanted Questions

"You saw Eugene!?"

"I thought they were fired?"

"Not in their room!? Where did that kid go then!?"

Those were just a few out of the multiple questions River was getting at the moment. All of them concerning one topic. Eugene.

All the ghosts were back at the office after the chaos that ensued. The monster was caught and sent back to the world beyond but managed to kill a man named Jack before Boss and Joan got there. River kept her silence throughout the journey back to the office as she was still processing what just happened while Boss only spoke in a few words, processing what River said.

Now though, after telling everyone what she saw, Boss listening more intently to form a clearer understanding, she was expectantly bombarded with questions she didn't even want the answer to.

"EVERYONE!" shouted Boss to gain everyone's attention. "I know we are all curious to know more about what River supposedly saw, but let's give her some room to talk!" he demanded and the ghosts obliged while River internally thanked him.

"I... I felt as cold as I did when... when I entered the dreams of the people getting nightmares recently and then... and then I found some light thingy in an alleyway and I followed it. When I caught up it was... it was..." she couldn't even finish her statement as her emotions swirled like a lollipop.

"And what were you doing in Eugene's apartment in the first place?" Boss asked calmly.

"I-I... Alright! I was trying to visit them! But when I got there, they weren't in the damn place so I went out looking for them! Then you and the monster appeared so I was distracted!" she impatiently answered.

"Maybe they got evicted or something?" Sean said with uncertainty.

"What's that?" asked Hayden.

"It's when you're kicked out of your home for not paying bills and other reasons." Sean politely answered.

"That can't be, Eugene had dark spots around them. Even their shoes changed color! And where would they sleep!? I don't know what-" River's rant was cut off by Joan.

"The kid's dead..." Joan muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Silence. A deafening silence overtook the room. Everyone was staring at Joan like she was crazy but one-by-one, they eventually realized that it may actually be possible. The only exception was River, who has had this suspicion ever since seeing the kid but was refusing to accept that assumption.

"Eugene is... dead...?" asked Hayden, on the verge of tears.

"Oh... Oh dear... Oh no..." Sean was at a loss for words.

"No! They can't be dead! No! No way!" River shouted in total denial. "Tell them, Boss! They're not dead, right!? You've been keeping watch on them, right!?"

Boss remained silent, his arms crossed. That was enough of an answer for River.

"YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER KEEPING WATCH OF THEM!?" she said furiously.

"I thought it was best for both parties to forget-" Boss tried explaining but River wasn't having any of it.

"YOU DIDN'T THINK FOR A SINGLE SECOND THAT THE CLEARLY LONELY AND MAYBE DEPRESSED KID MAY NEED SOME KIND OF COMPANY!?" River was ready to throw hands with Boss at this point but was restrained before she could start anything.

"HOLD YOUR HORSES, MISSY! DO NOT POINT FINGERS JUST YET!" scolded Joan as she stood in between Boss and River and then faced the former. "AS FOR YOU, YOU SAID YOU HAD SWEAT PEA COVERED AND THAT THEY'LL BE ALRIGHT! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" she stomped her cane on the ground.

"As I tried saying before, I thought it was best for both parties to forget each other. From my point of view, Eugene forgetting us will cause them to continue on with their life and force them to find a will to live." River snarled at him. "I now see that it was a bad decision." he explained.

"NO SHIT, SHERLOCK!" River fired back.

"LANGUAGE! AND THAT IS A HORRIBLE IDEA FROM THE START! DID DYING YOUNG CAUSE YOU TO STAY STUPID!? BACK IN MY DAY, THE ELDERS WERE THE MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY! HAS IT BEEN SO LONG SINCE YOU DIED THAT YOUR GHOST BRAIN ALSO DECAYED!?" scolded the veteran.

Boss stayed silent after that, the comments about his death clearly hurting him based on his eye shape after. River tried her hardest not to grin at the ghost's discomfort.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Hayden wailed.

"Guys! Stop! You made Hayden cry!" Sean begged as he picked Hayden up and rocked him in his arms, gently shushing him in the process. "Shh, it's okay, there's no need to cry now. I'll get you far from here until this is settled." he comforted the baby as he walked out of the office.

"Dang it, we were too loud. You two better talk about this while I'm comforting the child or I'll turn you both into ghost porridge!" Joan warned as she followed after the duo that just left moments prior.

The two ghosts stood in silence, refusing to make eye contact with one another. River, while still fuming, was slowly cooling down and Boss had his right pointer finger on his forehead, frustrated at himself.

"I'm sorry. I'll do whatever I can to fix this." said Boss, breaking the silence.

"You think I'd trust you after the fiasco you caused? Forget it, you love doing that anyway. I'll handle it myself." River laughed at Boss as she prepared to leave the office.

"I'll help you. It's the least I could do for this mess." Boss pleaded as he followed her.

"Your mess. And fine, but only because this is your fault." she emphasized the "your".

"Alright, I get it. What's the plan?" asked Boss.

"First, we need to find their body. If it's in a mortuary, we might find an autopsy report somewhere. Basically, try to find answers on what happened to them since I doubt we'll see them anytime soon to ask." she explained the plan. It wasn't the best, but it's what she could think of on the spot.

"There are two mortuaries in this city. You go to the nearest one while I go to the farther one." suggested Boss and River nodded.

As Boss disappeared like a cloud of dust, River flew in the direction of the nearest mortuary. Hopefully the answers about what happened to Eugene lie there.

And hopefully they can still help them somehow.