Take me to the skies

Chapter 3 - Reality

A/N

Trigger warning. This might be sensitive to some readers, if you are sensitive towards death and grief please refrain from reading this chapter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Addison's pov

It was cold. Really,really,cold. My eyes were closed and I didn't really know how to open them. In the distance, there were shouts. Loud,frantic,shouts. God how I hated those. Loud noises spite me. My eyelid twitched uncontrollably, my body shivered at the cold. It was spring. Why was it so cold? My eyelids felt sticky, like my eyelashes were stuck together. Prying my eyes open with ample effort, the first thing I saw were the clouds in the sky. They were beautiful. It almost made me smile. Almost. Suddenly, I felt a pain in my head, a sudden,lurching, excruciatingly painful lurch that made me jerk to a crouching position. Loud ringing rung through my ears. Tears ran down my cheeks and desperate croaks of pain so hoarse that I wasn't even sure if it was audible. Why does it hurt so much?

"Because you're running out of time." 

My eyes watery and sore, I looked up to see a man, slightly older than me, towering over my scrunched up body. He wore a black tophat and a long, black coat, and up his arms clasped a long bracelet that reached the top of his arm. It was metal, black, and a dead rose petal set on his ring finger,engraved in 3D on the clasp-bracelet. Confused and in shock, I quickly crawled backwards, wanting to get as far away as possible from this man. Even though he was gorgeous as hell, he looked like some mafia guy and I definitely did not want to associate with him. "Mafia guy? How disrepectful." The man reached out at alarming speed and before I could flinch, pressed his arm tightly on the top of my head and I felt the pain gradually decrease. This was absolutely terrifying. How did he just make the pain go away and - "Wait. DID YOU JUST READ MY MIND?" bewildered, I got up to my feet and gaped at him. The man looked at me, expressionless, seemingly unfazed at my discovery of his superhuman powers. Ignoring my comment, he simply replied "Look around. What do you see?" finally starting to notice my surroundings,  i recalled the frantic shouting and the sirens and realised where I was. The street outside me and Crystal's favourite ramen place.

Surveying the scene,a car, a grey honda, it's hood slightly damaged caught my eyes.I realised that the place was being sealed off with yellow and black striped police tapes by several policeman.  A loud sound rang through my ears as I looked in the direction of where it came from. Many paremedics were rushing out to carry a girl my age on top of a stretcher. One of the paramedics was severely pumping on the girls chest as she tried to make her gain conciousness. My eyes softened. I wouldn't be able to imagine myself in that situation. Thinking about the college girl previously that dropped her bag outside the shop, my brows furrowed deeply. Maybe it was her? Trying to navigate my way through the gathering crowd, I pushed past several people, only to feel the excruciating pain in my head again as my hand came into contact with them. But I didn't care. I just needed answers. Looking around for someone who was gathered around the scene, I carefully tapped a person's shoulder with my hand, afraid of the pain. "Excuse me?" ignored. I stood in front of them and frantically waved my hand."HELLO?" I echoed, seemingly louder this time. She simply walked forward, her hand clutching her bag tightly. Why was she ignoring me? Sighing in frustration, I decided to take a risk. Charging forward in full swing, ready to march into the restricted area only for a mysterious hand to grab me."Don't" his eyes were a mix of emotions. It looked like...pity. And fear. Wrenching my arm away from me, i sputtered a curse word at him and charged into the area. The paramedics were already covering up the body. Moving faster, wanting to catch who it was, I darted past the officers who, surprisingly, didn't seem to mind my presence, and was focused on keeping the crowd out. I looked back and peered in between the paramedic's shoulders. Finally catching a glimpse of the face, it dawned on me. I stood frozen in place, my breathing heavy. 

No, It can't be

This isn't real. 

"Unfortunately, it is." I turned around slowly. The man had pity plastered all over his face. He almost reached forward as if to comfort me but he seemed to realise what he was doing, and his face immediately hardened and he retracted his hand. 

8940's pov

She looked sad. But why wouldn't she be? She just discovered that she died. I shrugged. The fact that I've seen this so many times that i deemed it casual was distant. I don't feel the humanity in me anymore, and I didn't want to.

Addison Walter, age 19, had one love interest and one childhood best friend. Lost him out of mysterious reasons. She had a brother, who was 22, and she studied at Oxford university, top 5 of her class. She loved cats, autumn, and hot chocolate with exactly 5 marshmellows and half a cup of milk. I took up this case because it piqued my interest. She had a perfect life,so why was she still here? Looking down at the girl- I mean Addison, i took a moment to let her gather her emotions.

Addison was hysterical. Tears poured down her cheeks and her hands were on the side of her head as she crouched down, her eyes filled with desperation and anger. She was in so much pain. Her body twitched occasionally as she went throught surges of emotion. Her face was red, the tear streaks visible and she only managed croaks and coughs in disdain, hiccuping every now and so. I almost felt bad. Almost. I straightened myself up. If I want to get this promotion, I need to stay on task. And taking on this girl would be the one. Sighing, I pressed my palm on the top of her head and closed my eyes. Time to do some real work around here.

Addison sat up slowly, her eyes fluttering to conciousness. I looked up from my book, noticing that the puffiness of her eyes were still visible. "How...untidy" I muttered under my breath. Closing my book, I walked towards her. She backed away slowly, her eyes fixated on me. "Hello, spirit 367825, I am your mentor, Ghoul 8940. " She blinked,"I thought I was dead?Who are you? Where am I?" I know this part. Patience, patience is the key. "You got into an accident. I'm sorry." Addison's face paled again but didn't make a sound. I took that as her approval for me to carry on." You enter the paranormal world as a simple spirit and human touch brings you extreme pain. You are a lost soul that has unfinished business in the world, and I'm here to help you." Addison pause, as if to process what I just said. She nodded and looked around. "We're at the city central rooftop?" I simply gestured at the view. It was night time and the colourful cit lights littered the area. The wind picked up slightly and Addison's hair was blown back a little, showing her blotchy red cheeks. "Stop staring." "You have unfinished business. Can you recall?" Addison hesitated before answering."It could be this guy that I used to friends with." I raised my eyebrows. I guessed so. "Miles?" Addison stared at me agape."How did you know??" "I can read your mind" "Okay, so what am I thinking of right now?""My iron clasp is made out of real iron, and yes, that is a dead rose petal. Its a symbol for my higher status." Addison was surprised. I didn't blame her. Surprisingly, she had taken all this in very quickly. 

"I guessed this is just reality now?"  An hour later we were still sitting on the same rooftop at which I explained to her all the rules of this world. 

"Yes, you can pass through walls."

"Yes I can heal you from the pain of human touch"

"No, humans can't see, hear, or feel you"

"Some children and animals can. They are more pure, hence making them closer to the spirit world"

"You have a limited amount of time. If you feel pain or dizziness without explanations is like a warning that you're running out of time.You need to be able to help Miles in whatever he needs or complete your story before you can move onto tasks to get a promotion."

Addison had many questions and yes, I was reluctantly answering them.  She peered at me cautiously before saying,"One last question." Exasperated but left with no choice, I asked what it was.

"So, how do I start?"

And then it all begun