Whispers in the Dark

You're Undead to Me

On his way toward the mayor's office, Kol passed by a playground. Though unsure why, he stopped for a second and looked at the kids playing there. Most of them were in a big group, chasing after a football. It was the boy who was all alone on the swing who caught his attention; It was Igor. Looking at him, Kol couldn't help but be reminded of Patrick. Before he knew what was happening, his mind drifted elsewhere, and he was staring at a much younger version of himself, Patrick next to him.

"Is something wrong?" the much younger Kol asked, noting his friend's demeanor.

Patrick shook his head. "Had a bad dream."

"Was it your mom again?"

Patrick shook his head again. "It was some sort of monster chasing me. It felt real, Kol."

"It might have been," Kol pointed out. "What did it look like?"

Patrick trembled a bit. "I-I didn't get to see it."

The young Kol pondered for a moment. "Well, what kind of sound did it make? Did it say anything? Did it sound big?"

Patrick shrugged, then picked up a stick and started pushing it through the dirt on the ground. He drew a diamond shaped symbol, several lines going through it, then ending in small circles.

"What's that?"

Patrick trembled again. "I kept seeing it everywhere."

"In your dream?"

Patrick nodded. "What does it mean?"

The little Kol shook his head. "I don't know, but I can check my dad's big book. It has lots of info about that stuff."

"I'm scared, Kol," his friend confessed. "I don't wanna go home again."

Kol gently brought his fist up to his friend's forehead, then bumped it. "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it."

The two parted ways as the young Kol went home.

The actual Kol, who was still watching them, reached his hand out, fully aware of what was about to happen. "No. Don't go-"

The vision disappeared, taking the two kids with it, and Kol was standing on the playground once more. A few of the people who were there were giving him weird looks, to which he was no stranger.

"Why is this happening now?" he muttered to himself, then went about doing his job. It took him a few minutes to reach the mayor's office. The receptionist, knowing who he was, did nothing to get in his way, and he casually strolled inside.

"What is it?" the man said non-too-happily.

"Your granddaughter told us a bit about her uncle."

The mayor sighed. "Didn't you say we should wait to see if the ceremony worked?"

"Preventive measures; If the ceremony didn't work, the ghosts will only become stronger - more enraged. Nikita mentioned some type of trouble Oliver got into. Told us Martin was involved."

Hearing that name had a profound effect on mayor Vaughn. He stood up from his desk, went over to his bookshelf, then poured himself a glass of scotch which was placed there.

"That isn't related to this case at all."

Kol frowned. "If it is your son's spi-"

"It's the damn dog," the mayor snapped. "A little boy says he saw a shadow man, and you buy into it? He was clearly scared out of his mind. Enough of this." He downed the glass, then poured himself another one. Kol let him.

"What did your son do?"

"He disgraced our family!" the mayor bellowed. "He and that disgusting filth he spent so much time with nearly ruined our name. I almost lost my job. We were almost chased out of town! Now enough about this; My son is not haunting us. There's no such thing as ghosts. You've made a mockery of this town, and it's time for you to go."

Talk about a one-eighty, Kol thought, knowing damn well he wasn't going anywhere. He looked at the mayor's desk, and saw two framed photos of two men there. The first one was in the house Nikita had taken him to, but the second one was outside a farm. It was a farm he recognized, too, as they had passed it on their way to Starigrad. The man in the photo was Nikita's father without a doubt; They two had similar jawlines, and their eyes and ears were the same.

"Sorry for wasting your time," Kol said, then walked out of the office.

The mayor cursed at him, but Kol didn't understand a single word, and calmly kept walking. He took out his phone, and ordered cab from the city nearest to them. It was time to talk to the rest of the family.

Luke's conversation was going a lot better.

"He didn't fucking kill himself," Martin told him, drowning his sorrows at the same time. The two had found themselves in the only bar in the whole town. Though Luke wasn't big on drinking, he played along. It was a trick Kol had thought him; People reveal more about themselves when they're drunk, and they get drunk when they're depressed. Find what depresses a person, then push that button.

"How do you know?" Luke asked. "He could've."

Martin poured the contents of the glass into his mouth, emptying it in one go, then slammed the glass back on the table. "He had too fuckin' much to live for. He wouldn't have done it."

"He was with someone?"

Martin quieted down, then leaned on the bar. "He was good. He was so good. Way better than I am. He didn't deserve to go out like that."

Luke began to feel uncomfortable. "Do you know what happened?"

Martin hiccuped. "Nah, but he's gotta be dead, and he didn't deserve that."

Luke nodded along. Martin tried to stand up, but stumbled into his companion. "Have to get home."

Looking around, Luke realized no one was in a hurry to help the young man. He quickly deduced that Martin wasn't popular. Still, he couldn't leave him to his own devices, so he put one of Martin's arms around his shoulder, then began to help him home.

"That right," the blond instructed. "Where the - the... What do you call it - the thing with the frozen pudding..."

Luke thought about it. "Ice-cream?"

"Ye, that's the one. House's next to it."

Didn't realize we were that close, Luke thought. No wonder he seems to be a regular.

After stumbling toward the door, Luke had no choice but to feel through Martin's pockets to find the key. When he got the door to open, he practically carried the man inside, then laid him down on the couch. To his shock, Martin then leaned up and kissed him.