Shards of Black Glass

Initiation

The body is carried out of the house by the careful hands of police. I stand in a corner of the lobby, watching everyone else blankly.

    Alice's body being found should be cause for celebration. Along with the amazing evidence she gave us down in the basement, we could literally conclude this investigation before it even starts. But, no. I've spent enough time around Zak by now to know that he would continue full speed on this investigation; if one piece of evidence is uncovered, then he'll find the rest.

    I see Mark and Jae conversing quietly in another corner of the room. Alex is next to Zak, who's talking to the head police officer. I can hear their entire conversation, so my blood freezes when Zak mentions my name.

    "And who found the body?" the police officer, a kind-looking man with short blond hair and a mustache, asks. Zak says, "Our new camera person, Saira. She's over there." I see Zak gesture towards me, and inside I yell at him for bringing me into the limelight. I hate the limelight.

The police officer looks at me over Zak's shoulder, which is hard to do because he's shorter than Zak. He nods, jots down something on his stupid yellow notepad, and walks around the two men to cross the room towards me.

    Up close, I can see a scar lacing its way across the man's nose; probably a knife cut. And I should know what a knife cut looks like. The officer's pale blue eyes regard me, from the top of my brown-black-haired head to my Nike-wearing feet. Then, his gaze settles on my face, and I feel a strange emotion run through my veins. It felt like I was being inspected under a microscope.

    He smiles, and asks, "Did you find the woman's body in the basement?" I growl, "That woman's name is Alice Sayans." The officer blinks, startled at my fierceness, then regains control. "Alright. Were you the one who discovered Alice Sayans's body in the basement?" I glare at him, and say shortly, "Zak and Alex helped me uncover the body." The police officer straightens, apparently unused to being mouthed by a girl.

He glares at me, and I stare right back. Since we're the same height, this is easy. He asks, "How did you know the body was there?" An accusation is held in his words, and I bristle. "Alice told me. I spoke to her ghost." The officer looks shocked, then amused. A skeptic, then. "My dear girl, there's no such thing-" "As ghosts?" I finish for him. He looks slightly more amused, but then annoyed as I continue. "That's what we do, you idiot. We prove that ghosts do exist. And, may I add, they do. I speak to them." "Like a psychic medium?" he asks, boredom tinting his voice.

    I glare at him, and say slyly, "How'd your son die, officer?" His blue eyes go wide, and I see a teenage boy standing beside him. Blond hair, large brown eyes, handsome. A gunshot wound to the chest trickles red blood down his chest. The ghostly aura of blue and white flickers around the boy, and he smiles shyly at me. The officer says, stuttering, "How-how di-did you kn-know?" I smile at him, and say, "Because he's standing right there. And, he just told me."

    The officer looks to his right with fear, but he apparently doesn't see his ghostly son wave at him, because he turns back towards me with fury etched on his face. 

"Now, look here, girl. Don't go making lies about these things. It's not right." Anger flashes through me, and I say hotly, "If I'm lying, then how do I know that your son was shot, at the age of fourteen, in a gang battle. How do I know that you used to read him 'How the Little Train Could' before bed every night until he was five. How do I know that you used to make breakfast together while singing 'Rain, Rain, Go Away' every morning?"

I see light dawn in the officer's eyes, and almost wish I hadn't spoken all the things the boy had relayed to me.  The officer looks at me with pain and disbelief in his eyes, then looks to his right. The boy smiles softly, waves, nods to me, mouthing "thank you", then disappears into smoke. The officer looks back at me, sadness weighing heavy on his features, and says, "Thank you for reminding me, miss. I'll take my leave now." The officer turns around and walks away, dragging his feet.