Spirits: Waking Up Alone

Not As Crazy As It Seems

    Two Months Later.....

      Hunter Cardeck was sitting in a wooden chair in the principal's office... again. He was playing with a strand of black hair that had fallen into his face, bored out of his mind as the Erinthian Highschool secretary placed yet another call to his parents.

     The school principal walked in through the door to Hunter's left, and sat down at the hickory desk in front of him. The principal folded his hands on the desk, "Well, Mister Cardeck, I can't say I'm surprised to see you here... again. What was it this time?"

     Hunter scowled, but didn't say anything.

     The secretary hung up the phone, "His teacher says he skipped class entirely this time, and was found in an alley a few blocks away by the group we sent to find him."

     "Is this true?" The principal turned his attention back to Hunter.

     "If I said it wasn't you wouldn't believe me," Hunter said pointedly, leaning back in his stiff, uncomfortable chair.

     "Would you like to tell me why you were skipping class again?"

     "Not particularly, no."

     The principal gave him a warning look, which usually meant 'you'd better tell me or we're definitely going to get your parents involved'. This was, of course, something no one wanted to happen.

     "You won't believe me," he muttered darkly.

     "Is this about those 'ghosts' again?" the principal frowned slightly, "Please explain." He surveyed Hunter as the teen put his hands behind his head as if relaxing.

    "I was going to class, and I saw this little kid run into the hallway through the wall and into an empty classroom," Hunter's dark eyes didn't leave the tiled floor as he spoke quietly, knowing he was going to get grounded.

    "And...?" The secretary prompted, looking disbelieving.

     "He looked scared, so I followed him, and I found he was being chased by a Shadowbeast. Which basically looks like a giant wolf with red eyes, case you didn't know. I followed the boy outside the school, and tackled the shadowbeast so the kid could get away, but when he did, the shadowbeast started to come after me. So I ran and his in the alleyway you found me in."

    The principal sighed wearily, "Could you show me this...shadowbeast?"

     Hunter scowled, "Couldn't if I wanted to. Humans can't see or touch ghosts or shadowbeasts at all."

     "Then why can you?" The principal raised an eyebrow skeptically, and the secretary rolled her eyes in annoyance.

     "'Cause you have to have experienced a remarkably traumatic situation that involves the death of someone you love. My Mom died in front of me during the car wreck, so I can see them." Hunter said calmly, his dark eyes glinting.

    "You were in a car wreck? That explains so much," the secretary said with another eye roll, looking annoyed.

     "It's not as crazy as it seems," Hunter glanced up at the principal, "I told you you wouldn't believe me."

     "Er... does your father know about this story with the ghosts?"

     "Yes."

      "And, um, what does he say about it?"

     "He thinks I'm sick. That I'm hallucinating." Hunter spoke softly, but his eyes were stern, " He's taken me to docters each time I mention it. So I stopped bringing it up after a few weeks."

         "Well... okay then." The principal gave a small nod, "You're dismissed. Go enjoy lunch."

     Hunter nodded slowly, "Yes sir." and he slipped out the door. 

     Hunter shoved his hands into the pockets of his red jacket, his eyes cast downwards to the floor. He couldn't take his mind off the expression they had given him, "It's not as crazy as it seems," he muttered to himself as he walked sullenly into the cafeteria. Oh well, it was Friday. Then he'd have two whole days without people calling him crazy and delusional.

     Hunter grabbed a tray, not paying much attention to what he was putting on it, then headed to the table in the far corner where no one else was sitting. He accidentally brushed past another student, who looked annoyed.

     "Watch where you're going, ghostboy," was the typical response.

     "You were walking here too," Hunter returned coolly, then sat down at the empty table. He picked up his fork, sticking it moodily into his salad, but wasn't hungry.

     "Hiya!!" Hunter's only friend, a teen called Raxus Benihe, plopped down beside him, "How's life, ghost buster?"

      When Raxus called him that, it wasn't much of an insult, more of a nickname. Either way, Hunter just sighed, "Not very good at the moment. I got in trouble again."

     "I should start skipping classes myself," Raxus told him gravely, "I thought I was doing awesome in school until my sister told me that 'F' stood for 'fail' not 'fantastic'." he opened a carton of milk, and dumped the contents onto his taco.

     "Is that even any good?" Hunter gave his friend a skeptical look, frowning.

     "Yuperdo." Raxus nodded, pouring pudding into the taco as well, taking a huge bite. "Hm... Are you gonna eat that salad?" Hunter let him poor the salad over his bizarre food concoction, "Wish we had some pinecones..."

     Hunter just rolled his eyes, "Sure, Raxus." He glanced away, staring out the window, then muttered, "There was another shadowbeast today. After a little kid in the lockers."

     "Thought you said those were rare," Raxus commented, stuffing the rest of the pudding into his pockets.

     "They are. Or were. They're getting more and more common... I don't understand it, it's like something's... agitating them. Stirring them up." Hunter muttered, resting his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand, continuing to stare out the foggy window, "It's weird... And I can't help but to think something big is coming."

 Time Skip: after school

     Hunter strode home after school ended that day, beneath the stormy black sky. The wind had picked up considerably that late afternoon, and it tossed the brown fall leaves around effortlessly. It buffeted his spiky black hair around, and he had to screw up his eyes into slits to keep the blowing dirt from stinging them.

     He was about halfway back to his house when he heard a shriek. An agonized shriek of fear.