Kill Shadow (Accidentally Dead #1) [On Hiatus]

Zack?

" Whoa whoa whoa! Calm down. You're gonna wake the Dead from their graves!" A cold hand clamped over my mouth, muffling my screams. Thin but strong, manly hands.

Mmphh---leave mmph-mee-- " I struggled to free myself, like a desperate fish caught in a net.

" Look, if you stop dancing and screaming around, I'm gonna leave you, okay?"
Somehow, the voice sounded comforting. Soothing.

I took a deep breath and twirled my fingers instinctively.
He smelled of fresh parchment and vanilla. As if he had been reading some new book while having vanilla ice cream.

I gave a nod to assure him that I wouldn't scream if he let go. I turned around slowly, cautiously as he removed his hands and narrowed my eyes at him.

" Explain." I crossed my arms.

He faltered and ran a hand through his brown hair. His grey eyes sparkled from behind his glasses, almost as if he was about to cry. He rubbed his pale nose once and began," Hi...I--I'm Zack. Zack Winters. I'm seventeen...studied at Crescent High. Died just a few days ago..yup..I'm a ghost like you."

" Winters...seventeen...." I clapped my hands, saying a bit too excitedly," So you're the one who committed suicide? Thanks to you that I had to listen to Miss Tiara' s beautiful talk about life and it's wonders!"

Zack furrowed his brows.
" Miss Tiara? The drama queen of the society?"

I smirked and nodded in response.

He let out a low laugh," Well...who told you that I committed suicide?"

" Umm...I was conversing with Miss Tiara when all of a sudden, she got notified about a 17 year old Mr. Winters who had committed suicide." I shrugged nonchalantly.

He gave a smirk and looked down. After a few minutes, he looked up, adjusted his specs and said," Well...what are you doing here in the woods, Casey?"

I retraced back a few steps, wide eyed. " How do you know me?"

" Relax. You were a popular figure at CYH. Besides, your articles used to get published in our town's magazine. Moreover, you had taken away the trophy at our school's debate competition once."

I heaved out a breath. Crescent High and Canada Younghearts High were the two most well known schools of our town. Rather, they were pretty famous worldwide. No wonder there always used to be some kind of a rivalry between the two. Always competing for the best...

" My house has apparently been occupied by a hunter family. One of them saw me this morning. In order to save myself, I ran away, straight into the woods...though I doubt that the hunter was chasing me. Anyways, safety first," I said ominously.
    
    Walking  over to the giant oak, I traced my finger along the bark. The scent, though faint, was still persistent on it.
  
" Okay...what are YOU doing here?" I looked at him while caressing the tree softly. The smell slowly entwined around my fingers as I toyed with it.

      Zack looked at me for a while and finally breathed out,"I used to come here often when I was alive. This solitude, this calmness...the warmth of the surroundings...they gave me peace. I wasn't a very popular figure at school. The spoilt ones loved bullying me just because I was the quiet, silent one in class. I was always their target."
   
He looked sad.
   
     I let a few moments pass by in silence. Indeed, the rich perverts at our school were just like the spoilt ones in his. They loved picking on the good, quiet, shy ones of our school. Take for instance, Mia...the calm and cool head in our group. Always a ready target for the royalties to throw their mean darts on.  A tinge of rage churned up in me.

      "Is that why you killed yourself? For people who didn't really mean anything anyway?" I looked at him, the anger evident in my voice.
      
        "Look, could you please stop  yelling that I killed myself? I'm not that weak. I'm used to bullying stuff. I do NOT have suicidal tendencies." He shot me a frozen glare before looking away. His deep jawbones clenched and a small dimple appeared along with that.

     I focused on the tree.

  "So how did you pass away?"

" I was killed...And the one who did it was clever enough to make sure that it appeared as a suicide. Happy?"

I gasped. Killed.

Shaking my head, I  gently held his hand, almost whispering, " Calm down. I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm sorry...really," I let out a sigh, "But...how did you know that you were killed? Besides, the society should know bout the actual cause...right? Why did they take you as a suicider?"

      He gave a small, sad smile and entwined his fingers with mine. A surge of warmth washed over me.
 
" I told you, who ever did it was very clever. Clever enough to poison my sleeping pills. I'm an insomniac... I mean... I was an insomniac when I was alive and the worst part was that staying up late till night sent my head bursting with pain the next day. I had tried to forgo it, but it had gotten worse and ultimately, I had to resort to the pills the doctor gave me. That night...well..."

    The wind purred in my ears and the trees swished softly in response.

        " Hey," I whispered,"It's alright. We--we'll find out who it was and bring you justice. Okay?"

He let go and turned back, walking over to a small rock near a hedge and sat down. " How did you die?"

"Oh...an accidental fall from a cliff. But...I don't know, Miss Tiara had said something about a push from the cliff...though she appeared to be confused...gee...I didn't feel anyone's hand on my back before I fell...It was accidental." I nodded my head vigorously.

    Zack raised his brow quizzically and after a moment's pause, said,"Are you sure that it wasn't a push? Cause I think it's something more. Especially with that pendant of yours."
  

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