The Bertie Mansion

XVI

Rob squeezed himself through a large crack in the window, thankful that he had the flexibility that came with a fluid body. He snuck as carefully as he could further into the house and kept his eyes peeled for anything white within the darkness. There was the murmur of voices from somewhere else on the floor, though they didn't have a frightened tone, so the ghost probably wasn't there.

Glancing around he saw a few chairs, but otherwise the room was empty. He tried to hone his senses to find the vengeful ghost. The location seemed to jump all over the house and he grit his teeth.

He heard a creak behind him and stiffened, feeling the anger the ghost possessed radiate into the room. Slowly turning, he went to comfort his fellow ghost. Jeremy the First was looking back at him, face writhing in anger, though he would know this man anywhere. This Jeremy seemed frozen in time as a white incarnation of the last time they met. Rob paused and his own resentment came rushing back but he tried to suppress it while lives were in danger.

"Stop right there, Jeremy," he said.

"Why should I?" Jeremy replied. "And how do you know who I am?"

Rob frowned. "You don't know me? Well, I should have known I wasn't much more than a plaything in your mind."

He lunged at his old friend and went through him. Jeremy chuckled and darted around, toying with him. Vengeful ghosts were more powerful in many ways; they could go through walls, had no physical form, and had all the power of anger behind them, which was stronger than they realized. They wanted to finish their business, the rage blinding them to the immoral ways this often took place.

Rob growled. Perhaps because it was highly personal, he had trouble remaining calm. He needed to get this done fast before he blew up himself, taking a vengeful form of his own. "You can't do this!"

"Yes I can," Jeremy said as he prowled around the room. "Your face is very familiar. I just can't place it."

"Good for you." Rob was tempted to pounce at him again but held back as it wouldn't help. Going full vengeance mode would not allow him to defeat Jeremy, and going back to a friendly version would take too much time as a dangerous entity. He refused to hurt his new friends.

"No, no. I'm sure I know you from somewhere," said Jeremy. He tapped a finger to his lips as he walked.

"Alexander might not be the best man that ever lived. That doesn't mean you can't forgive him enough to move on, or at least come to terms with what happened. I did. It doesn't have to be this way," Rob said.

"It does," Jeremy snarled.

Rob stood in front of him and blocked the path, as if that would do much. "It doesn't. You can stop right now. You could have killed him hours ago, but you waited. You're stalling. Somewhere in you doesn't want to do this."

Jeremy threw his hands up in defeat and teleported away for a moment, only to come back with a rope. He wound it around Rob's body and tied him to a chair. Then he rubbed his hands together in victory. "I do want this. He killed my son, you know. Not directly, but he worked for Alexander. It was petty, making him work more overtime than anyone else just because of his family name. And you know what killed him? Absolute exhaustion. His body couldn't handle it anymore."

"Your son could have said no. He could have gotten a different job. Maybe he needed the money for his family. You don't know it was Alexander's fault," Rob said back, trying to convince him. He pulled on the rope binding him to the chair but it wouldn't let go. Even trying to squeeze himself out got him more tangled and that made him too mad to ignore, teetering on the edge of being vengeful.

"You left me to die!" he said before he could help it. "I needed you on my side the one time I asked for it and you refused."

Understanding dawned over Jeremy's face. "I was trying to save my family's name. We were going to be ruined by the scandal."

"As if that excuses it. My name was dragged through the mud, my life cut short, and then you locked me in that stupid attic with all your little war collectables. Was I worth your name after you fled to the city?" Rob asked. "Was I worth a name that might have gotten your son killed?"

"Shut up!" Jeremy whispered frantically. He raised his hand and flung the chair, ghost on it, to the wall. Rob flinched at the impact and the obvious crash sound that would undoubtedly be heard in other parts of the house. "You don't get it!"

"Yeah? Then tell me what I don't get. All I see is a petty man making excuses to take a life that's already near its end instead of letting him live in peace."

Jeremy leaned in and seemed about to hiss in his face but then his expression fell from madness to deep regret. "Alexander was the one to convince me there was nothing I could do, that I should save myself from the bother of defending you and just salvage my name from its association with yours. I was just a kid, really, and I didn't know what to do so I followed his advice. I was so betrayed that you went off to the war and didn't tell me, I couldn't think straight. He was bitter about you and wanted revenge and I didn't realize until later."

Rob swallowed and felt some of his anger fade at hearing his old friend's side of the story. The ropes gradually unbound themselves as Jeremy continued.

"After you were hanged, I didn't know what to do. It was a dark time. Any other time I could ask for your forgiveness, but you were dead. I couldn't just take it back. And then you showed up in my attic and I thought I was hallucinating things. You weren't my Bertie. You were a strange man I never knew before!"

"Jeremy, it's not your fault. We were all just kids, and it was war. Everyone made mistakes," Rob said slowly. "But if you want to make it up to me, I need you to move on. Don't hurt anyone else."

Jeremy looked off to the side for a moment, seeming to consider it. His face completely cleared of anger. "Will you go with me?"

"I can't. I'd need to tell someone my secret. Someone alive. And I don't think I'm brave enough for that yet, even after being through a war," Rob replied with a chuckle. "But I'll see you one day. I promise."

Jeremy nodded and smiled. He closed his eyes and began to fade away. Rob breathed out a sigh of relief.

From the front of the house came the sound of a scream.