Spirit Unbound [on indefinite hold]

Chapter 2

What.

WHAT.

I stared unseeingly at the empty mattress, at the space where my body had been lying, the indentation of my legs still pressed a centimetre or two into the crinkled bed sheet.

Then I started freaking out.

I ran to the left and right sides of the bed, frantically checking to see if my body had maybe rolled off to the side and thumped onto the floor. The carpet was empty.

I ran to the bathroom to check if my body had sleepwalked to the toilet and teetered on it, dangerously close to tipping over. In my daze of desperation, I had forgotten that I was a spirit and I was a spirit out of my body, which meant that it wouldn't be able to move around on its own will.

The toilet seat was unoccupied.

I huffed and sat angrily on the floor, twisting a strand of my hair around and around my finger as I pondered where my body had gone.

Maybe my parents had hugged me, like I feared, and found that I was freezing cold and pulse-less.

I got up to turn on my radio. It was a rusty old thing, with crackly sound and static shocks. But it worked, and I loved it, especially if I needed to think.

"Coming up, find out how many people have seen their parents do the-"

Nuh uh.

"Apparently, Greg, I noticed that-"

Next.

"There has been a case of serial body kidnappings, happening in the middle of the night."

I stopped turning the dial to listen, rocking back on my heels.

"The main suspects are the hidden members of the mafia from Russia that are recruiting new members, or a group of body snatchers, who use bodies to test their scientific experiments. So far, only a few have been taken, those between the ages of 12-20. Keep your windows and doors locked, the curtains drawn and the blinds shut, because you'll never know if a mafia member or mad scientist will steal your son or daughter."

My mouth hung open, and I stared at the radio, which had now diverted from the serious message to play an old 90's song.

My body had been taken. And was going to be used as a chopping board.

Or a female killer, but I reckon the mafia would've left me alone once they found out I was "dead."

I needed help. I couldn't just go to find my body on my own. And I reckoned that I had a time limit, perhaps of a week or two before it was too late. If my body was damaged, I would have to wander around as a ghost forever.

And that wasn't exactly a good thing.

But nobody could help me. Nobody could even see me.

I jumped back in shock as my parents burst into my room, rushing to my bed. They must've heard the radio.

My mother looked frantically around for me, but in vain even though I was technically right in front of her. My dad's forehead sprouted a few more deep worry lines as he too joined my mother's searching.

"She's been taken." Mum whispered, her voice cracking at the end.

"I'm sure she's just snuck out, right? Isn't that what teenagers do nowadays?" My father drew her close, draping a comforting arm around her shaking shoulders.

"But not Saffron." She started sobbing hard. "She doesn't have any friends to sneak out to."

Um, excuse you Mum.