Ghosts of the Future

I Can See You

Lily's POV

I have been ignored for too long. No more, I say.

No more hiding. No more waiting. No more hate and rage and pain. He will die today, by my hand.

I float down the hallway, my ghostly feet not touching the floor. I hate this way of travel, of floating instead of walking. But it's the only way I can move. Ever since he killed me, it's the only thing I've ever been able to do.

She's there, with him. The girl that he likes. I haven't learned her name; don't want to. I don't want to be attached to another demon of a human. I want to go home, be free. I want him to die.

He, Max Sello, asks her a question that I can't hear. She turns to him, a smile on her lips, and I feel anger rise within me. Nevermind. Maybe I want to kill her as well, for smiling at my killer like that, like he's the brightest object in the hallway.

Max asks the girl another question, dark humor dancing in his pigeon gray eyes. The girl's movement is too fast to catch, but the sound reaches my ears quickly. Max falls to the floor, a red mark in the shape of a hand on his cheek. The girl stands over him, a darkness in her pale green eyes.

Max stares up at her, and everyone stops in the hallway. Max is an icon in this school, since no one knows that he killed me. So, when he gets smacked and drops to the floor suddenly, people take notice. I hate it.

"Say that again, Max, and I swear I will cut out your tongue and make you eat it," the girl hisses, glaring at Max with pure hatred in her eyes. I drift closer to the pair, curious about this girl's anger. She had been smiling at Max not two seconds ago. So why is she suddenly angry?

My ex boyfriend's face flashes with anger, and I'm reminded of his face before he put a gun to my head and killed me. The utter anger and hatred had nearly broke my heart in two. Because of his mistake, he had to kill me.

Max gets up, and stalks closer to the girl. She's a full head shorter than him, but her anger makes her seem taller. Her jade eyes flash behind her blue glasses, full of emerald lightning and gray hatred.

"So, it's true. Or else you wouldn't be acting this way. You did burn down your house and murder your family, Saira," Max breathes, so soft and low no one else can hear. Except for Saira and me, invisible to everyone's eyes.

Saira glares back at him, and breathes just as quietly, "So it must also be true that you murdered Lily." Fear flashes black in Max's eyes, and he stumbles back, away from Saira, who simply stares at him with an eerie mask of calm over her features.

"I have abilities that would make you have nightmares, Max. You have no clue what I've lived through. And trust me, you horrible excuse for a human being, I have proof of what you did. So, if you imply that I murdered my family one more time, then I'll come out and tell everyone what you did. Are we clear?" Saira asks, her voice level and calm, as if she's speaking to a feral animal.

Everyone stares at the girl, who doesn't look at anyone except Max. No one heard her say that Max murdered me, but there is enough venom in her words now for them to know that whatever Max did, it was bad.

Saira whips around as the bell rings, and stalks off towards class. I see another girl watching her-Alexis Shin, a redhead with emerald eyes. I know that there's something off about that girl, but I don't know what. I'm more curious about how Saira knows about me.

I drift after her, down the hallway ringing with voices now that the fight is over. She ducks into a bathroom, and I follow her. No one is around us, which is perfectly fine with me.

I consider condensing my energy so that way I can appear in physical form, even though that hurts and gives me a splitting headache (who knew ghosts can get headaches?), but Saira saves me by saying, "Lily, I can see you."

I stare at her, and notice that her eyes meet mine perfectly. For some reason, Saira starts rubbing her wrists against each other, like it's a nervous habit.

"It is," she says, startling me. I look back up at her, and notice her eyes flicking around, like she's scouting for exits. Or maybe other spirits. All the other ghosts in this school have learned how to hide themselves from me.

I look back down at her wrists, which are wreathed in black cotton. Saira has always worn long-sleeved shirts, though I never knew why. Her jeans are splattered with paint and marker, and riddled with holes. Underneath, I see more black cotton.

Saira notices me looking, and says, "I haven't had the kindest of lives, Lily. You did. Until Max murdered you, at least." I look back up at her, anger alighting within me.

"If you know that he killed me, then why haven't you said anything? Why haven't you gone to the police?" I shout. My anger causes the mirror to shake in its frame, but Saira just looks at me calmly.

"Because I have no proof," she says. I scowl, and am about to ask why she said she had proof out in the hallway, when I realize the truth. "You were bluffing," I say, and Saira smiles. "I've gotten quite good at excuses and lies," she says, her smile turning slightly gruesome and evil.

A chill of fear enters my spectral body. I remember, now, a rumor I heard in the lunchroom about Saira Collings: she had killed her entire family, and had burned her house down to hide the evidence. Now, staring into Saira's flickering green eyes and blinding white teeth, I can believe it.

Saira's face suddenly shuts down, and her voice is deadly in its calmness as she says, "Ever accuse me of that again, Lily, and I will banish you to the depths of Hell." I blink at her, and she says, "I can read some spirit minds, Lily. Especially yours. You have a connection to this school, so I'm connected to you. And trust me, I've banished things to the fiery depths before. I can and will do so again."

The girl turns away, and starts walking. At the doorway, though, she turns back and meets my eyes. To my horror, one of her eyes is fiery red, and the other is an icy blue-white. It's eerier than her normal pale jade eyes.

"No one except me can see and hear you, Lily. So, I am the only one that can help you," she says, her strange heterochromatic eyes glowing. I can only nod, too afraid to do anything more. Saira smiles sweetly, then turns and walks out, leaving me alone in the bathroom.