Spirits: Waking Up Alone

A Fateful Encounter

     She had been wandering this unfeeling world for two months now, and had not yet gotten used to the isolation. She doubted she ever would, or even could. Complete silence, complete loneliness, but she was learning to draw some sort of mild joy from watching children play in the snow with huge smiles on their faces. The seclusion was hard, but it cheered her to know that there were smiles around her.

     A smile. She had almost forgotten how to smile already. The thought saddened her, and she sighed. She hated this loneliness, this miserable pit in her stomach that hurt so painfully she just wanted to flee.

     She got to her feet from her place locked inside a shed. Not that locks did anything. She could just float through walls and doors at leisure. So she drifted out that afternoon, sighing sadly to herself, wondering if this pain would ever fade away.

    She drifted slowly down the sidewalk, passing a man walking his yappy little dog through the brown grass. She bent down in front of the dog, patting its head, but her hand went through it, and the man walked past her as if she wasn't there. Which she wasn't. Not to them. Not to anybody.

     School got out about that time, so she knew that kids were about to swarm the streets, chatting happily about their day. Something about it seemed familiar, and she wondered if she'd gone there before.

    She drifted away from the school, and the fact that her feet didn't crunch in the fallen leaves like everyone else made her even more upset. She was so lonely... But she gave her head a shake, firmly telling herself to snap out of it. No use crying over what she couldn't have.

     She turned the corner and froze, her eyes getting huge as she saw the back of what looked like a huge, black wolf, its broad back facing her. Its black nose was snuffling along the cold asphalt, as if trying to pick up a scent.

     She recognized these creatures. She had been chased by one around a few blocks a week ago, and it had nearly torn her apart, and would have if she hadn't escaped.

     As it sniffed the ground, it paused, tilting its head up as it continued to sniff. Then it turned around, facing her as its lips pulled back, revealing a set of sharp, yellowed fangs and a purple tongue. Its gleaming red eyes blazed as it lunged for her.

     She let out a shriek of fear, racing away as fast as she could, but it bounded swiftly after her. She slipped through a solid, brick wall, but the wolf like creature raced after her, sliding through it too.

     She darted down the street, pushing past people, but none of them noticed anything but a cold breeze brushing gently by. The shadowy creature let out a sharp bark of triumph as its jaws opened directly behind her, and she gasped in horror. Then she fell through the ground.

     She stood up, looking around, then realized she was in a subway station. She leapt forward as the beast fell through behind her, continuing its pursuit. She leapt swiftly around a train, then tumbled onto the platform. She raced past people in the station, finding the staircase that led back to the surface and tearing up it.

     She burst out onto the streets, not knowing if the wolf creature was still after her, and she glanced back to check. Suddenly, she slammed into something solid, and fell back, crashing to the ground.

     "Ow..." She said at the same time someone else did, and she sat up, trying to figure out what she, a spirit, had run into. And her jaw dropped. It was a boy. A human boy with spiky black hair, dark eyes, and a thin face. He was wearing a red jacket over a skull and cross bones tee-shirt, and ripped jeans. And most importantly... he was staring at her.

     And she stared back in shock.

     Then he gave her a small grin, "Hey, you okay?" he asked, brushing his hair back from his eyes.

     She couldn't stop staring, then finally stammered, "Y-you can... see me?"

     He nodded, "Yeah, duh. Is that shadowbeast still after you?" he got to his feet, offering her his hand to help her up.

     But she just stared at his outsretched hand, unsure of what to do. She couldn't touch him. Or... could she? She reached out a tentative hand, and her gray eyes widened in shock as her hand actually curled around his. "H-how can I -?"

     Suddenly, there was a growl behind them, and they whipped around to see the shadowbeast lunging at them.

     She gasped, but the boy stood in front of her, "Don't worry, I handle this all the time." He leapt forward, then ducked down as the beast reared up, so he slid smoothly beneath its belly, and out behind it. Without giving the creature time to turn around, he jumped onto its back, curling his hands into its thick fur for a decent grip. 

     She gasped, her eyes wide, and she watched in amazement as the boy let go of the bucking shadowbeast with one hand, grabbing a whistle from his pocket and blowing it with all his might. But it didn't make a sound.

     The boy rolled off the shadowbeast's back, continuing to blow the silver whistle as the beast writhed in pain on the cold stone ground. Then, with one last whimper, it ran off.

     "Dog whistle!" The boy said triumphantly, "Works every time!" he turned towards her, "You good?"

     "What...just happened?" she asked, her eyes still round with concern and confusion, "How can you... see me?"

     The boy rolled his eyes, "How long have you been dead?"

     "Two months..."

      "Oh, so you're new. My name is Hunter Cardeck, ghost seer." He told her, dusting himself off, "What's yours?"

     "My... what?"

     He rolled his eyes again, "Your name. You have a name?"

     "Oh..." she glanced back down at the ground, rubbing the back of her neck, "N-no, I don't think so."

     Hunter frowned, "How do you not have a name? You had a life before this, right?"

     "I don't remember." she replied quietly.

     "How do you not remember? What's the last thing you do remember?"

     She thought about this for a moment, "Waking up. In a graveyard. Waking up by a headstone in the ground and not remembering. Then I ran into town, but no one could see me or hear me... I was terrified."

     "You remember what the headstone said?" Hunter asked, still frowning.

      "Kiara... Kiara Yusei." She spoke softly, her eyes on the ground. "Why do you ask?"

     "Kiara," Hunter nodded his head slowly, "It suits you. So from now on, your name's Kiara, if that's okay with you."

     She nodded vigorously, "But... can you tell me why I don't remember?"

     Hunter shook his head then paused, "Oh, wait, I think I know who can! Here, c'mon, I'll bring you to him. I don't know for sure, but we can ask."

     He turned away, and Kiara hesitated only for a moment before following.