Andy

“Well... Shit.” Andy sighed, laughing slightly. Everything was dark, and I could hear my Dad fumbling towards the kitchen where we kept our candles. I pulled out my phone, and illuminated the small space around me.

Ashley looked concerned, as he paced around anxiously, his hands in his pockets. “Oh, yeah, coming here was a damn great idea, Andy.”

“Here we go.” I heard my Dad say from the kitchen. He walked back a few moments later, a pale yellow flame illuminating his facial features. He carried the lit candle back into the foyer, setting it on a small end table while he lit more.

“I’ll call the Sheriff to check in, but I doubt there’s anything they can do for the power, since a fourth of the town is in a blackout.” My Dad said, gently holding the already lit candle stick over a few others, hovering the flame above the wick until it caught.

“Ash, hun, why not head on up to bed? We’ll finish dealing with this stuff.”

I hesitated as he handed me a candle, then nodded, and turned towards the staircase. Andy and Ashley followed closely behind.

I pushed open my bedroom door, and by tradition, I tried to flip on the light switch. Sighing, I set the candle on my desk by the window and turned towards them.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” I told Ashley, “you can make yourself at home here, or sleep in the guest room down th hall. Do whatever you need. I’m going to get changed.”

I got some pajama pants and a plain grey t-shirt from my dresser, and used my phone screen to guide me down the hall to the bathroom. I couldn’t see my reflection in the glass, so I didn’t have to fret over the traveler’s bed head I had. I combed through my hair with my fingers a few times and headed back. Walking into my room, it was just Andy now, sitting on the bench under the window, looking out into the darkness. Silence enveloped us both, aside from the dull tapping of raindrops on the glass.

“Man, that was a long drive...” I mumbled, closing the door behind me softly, tossing my dirty clothes into the hamper, “long week.”

He looked at me in acknowledgement, and then back at the window. His knees were pulled up on the seat leisurely, and he rested on elbow on them, looking like a patient statue.

“Is everything okay?” I inquired when he became unusually quiet. I approached him, and sat down at the desk, looking across to him. His eyes flickered up, looking tired. “Not really,” he admitted, sighing softly. “I’ve been thinking about things.”

“What kind of things?” I asked curiously.

“Ashley.” His brow furrowed in confusion and frustration. “It’s great that he’s back, but there’s something wrong... I can’t place what it is. It’s like he’s... off. I mean, yeah, being dead for a few years would change your perspective on petty human things, but sometimes we'll just be talking about something, and he'll get this real distant look, like he has to fetch the memory from some far away place before he can respond. It's strange.”

I nodded slowly, thinking of the conversations I’d personally had with him.

“Was Ashley always an asshole?” A wondered with a hint of annoyance in my tone. Andy chuckled darkly, “Not always. He was a pretty calm, tolerable guy. Now it just feels like everything has to be a hate crime with him. Do you know what he wanted to do last night?”

“What?” I asked, pulling my knees to my chest, looking at him intently.

“He wanted to go rob people, for fun. Not even the wealthy people, either. He wanted to rob the hobos on the street, just to be an asshole.”

“Was he planning on giving it all back?”

He shrugged carelessly, “Why? Does that somehow justify what he was going to do?”

I frowned at him, and shook my head. “No.”

“My point is, he’s just... Dark. I confronted him about it and he blew up over it. Hell, even human Ashley had a better temper, and was far more kind. Ashley now... He’s just bitter and blood thirsty.”

“You don’t think...” I trailed off in thought, looking out the window. “You don’t think this has something to do with how he was treated while he was alive, do you? He was bullied, unable to defend himself. And now he has unlimited power and resources. It’s really not too far fetched that he’s reacting this way.” I shrugged.

He gave me a long, tired look before blinking and looking back outside, stress and concern creasing his brow.

Taking a deep breath, I stand up and place a hand on his shoulder, crouching in front of him, looking him in the eyes.

“You’re tired and frustrated. Let’s head to bed, and hash this out in the morning, okay? It’ll give you some time to think about something else and clear your head.”

His bottom lip stuck out slightly in a pout, and he finally nodded, and rose gracefully from the window seat, walking over the bed. My eyes followed him as he retreated.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked. Surely I wasn’t helping much with the Ashley situation. Ashley doesn’t even like me, so I doubt I’m any saint to the situation.

He lied down on his side, facing me, hugging his pillow, blue eyes glowing dully while he gazed at me.

“No,” He replied tiredly, “perhaps keep your distance for a bit. He’s on edge, I get that. Wait for him to welcome you in. And when he does...” He yawned, closing his eyes. “He will always defend you. Ashley might be an asshole, but never doubt his fierce dedication and protection for those he cares for.”

He fell asleep quickly after, leaving me alone in the dark room with m thoughts. What he said reminded me of him.

A few minutes later, I forced my achy joints to pull myself up out of the crouch, blew out the candle, and walked towards the bed. I lied down behind him, and wrapped an arm around his ribs, and buried my face in his shoulder blade. He was cold as stone, and silent, aside from the low, wispy breaths moving pointlessly through his chest as he slept.

~~~


The night gave away to morning, and I awoke to a pale yellow light in my window, dimmed by the thick fog clouds just outside the glass.

I was alone, unsurprisingly. I rolled over, and saw the edge of a piece of notebook paper hanging off my nightstand. Grabbing it, and blinking to clear my eyes, I read it’s message.

Went to Ashley to visit his old house. Be back in an hour or so. - Andy

I frowned, and set the paper aside. Ashley was probably in a hurry to get out of my house, so first thing this morning, he wanted to look into somewhere else to stay. Reminding myself that he was not my problem was becoming harder and harder. He’s the best friend of the person I love most, I can’t out him or pretend he does not exist for the sake of my own sanity.

I took a shower and got dressed, going against my normal rule of no dark colors to wear some navy blue skinny jeans and a band shirt. While combing through my hair in the bathroom mirror, I once again took note of my hair color. The emerald green was slowly becoming overpowered by the black of my roots. I could dye it again, or dye it a different color. But I’m still not sure what I want to do with it.

I think it’s scaring my Mom that I haven’t said anything about dying it yet. To her, she’s always known I don’t like black hair on myself because of how morbid it feels, so for me to suddenly want black hair for the first time since I was thirteen, must be a bit of a bible gripper. She’s already worried that I’m converting into some anti-social, depressed, emo thing, which isn’t too far from how I feel inside, so I guess her fears are justifiable.

I texted CC quickly to remind him of our meet up, and he responded within a few minutes.

-I think I can make it to your house, if you want to hang out there.

I frowned. I wanted a full reunion between him and Ashley. I can’t do that in my living room with my parents staring.

- How about the woods behind my house? I offered.
- Sure. What time?
- How’s one?

He sent back a thumbs up emoji to confirm. I put my phone in my pocket, and grabbed a jacket from my closet, since all the humidity from the rain had left a damp chill in the air.

The pale yellow light from sunrise was quickly overpowered by more dark grey, ominious clouds, promising to keep on dousing the town with gallons of water. It doesn’t look like it’s showing any signs of letting up, either.

I go downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast, to find my parents drinking coffee and sitting by candle light.

“Still no power?” I asked, sitting down.

Dad shook his head, “Nope. A couple powerlines down the road got washed out. With so many all over town being taken out, it could be weeks before anyone gets here.”

Dread filled my stomach and twisted it into worried knots.

“There’s some hot water in the kettle. Lucky for us, we invested in that wood stove last fall.” He chuckled. At least we had that, most people had strictly electricity powered appliances.

Nodding, I went to the stove, and poured some of the steaming water into a coffee cup, and then grabbing the canister of instant hot chocolate mix from the cupboard above the sink.

“No coffee or tea?” My Dad asked jokingly, I shook my head in disgust. “Tea is a paper bag of flavored weeds floating in hot water.”

He chuckled, taking a sip of his drink, “And coffee?”

“Coffee is alright by me, never did anything to cross me. Though, it is just bean water.”

There was a long pause, making me glance over my shoulder to be sure he was still even there. He narrowed his eyes at me slightly in suspicious amusement.“You’re a strange one, you know that?”

“I know.” I replied proudly, getting a spoon from the drawer, slowly stirring the simming contents of my cup before joining them at the island. “What are you guys going to do today?”

My parents looked at each other, then back to their respected newspapers and coffee mugs, “First, I’m going to inspect the house for any damage or leakages, then I’m going to head into town and see what I can get in the way of tarps.” My Dad responded, downing the last of his coffee with a determined frown chistled into his face.

“I’m going to head up the street to the neighbors and see who needs help. I spoke to some of the ladies from church this morning, they’re putting together a ‘help one another’ club. I think it’s a nice way of helping the community.” She shrugged, smiling slightly with pressed lips, only to hide the full grin that would surely come if she allowed it. “What about you, honey?” She asked me.

“Oh, I meeting with CC later.” I told her, “actually, he’s coming over... If that’s okay?”

I saw the flash of annoyance in my parents eyes, and they turned up their noses slightly, showing off their stuffy upperclass attitude. I frowned.

“He’s a nice guy, you know.” I muttered, mostly to myself.

“He almost got you killed.” My Dad replied in a low, annoyed voice.

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” I corrected him before I could stop myself. “It’s not his fault what happened that night, and as I do recall, he was the one who stopped it from going any further. I’ve forgiven him already, why can’t you?”

His annoyance faded quickly into a look of hurt and anger. “Asheen Emily,” he addressed me sharply, “you would not have even been in that situation had you not gone with him. I have every-”

“I’ve never gotten to be in a situation like that because you keep me under a damn rock!” I exploded. “I have to be perfect, and do perfect things. Going to see a local band performing in a cafe is like a sin to you. Did you pray to God that Satan wouldn’t possess me while I was there with all those degenerates?”

I hadn’t realized how much pent up anger I had inside of me, until I’d let it all free. I couldn’t take it back, and it was clear that it hurt my Father as much as if I’d stabbed him with a knife.

He did not retaliate. He just scowled at me, until the guilt overwhelmed my anger, and I backpedalled like a kicked puppy.

“Say something.” I murmured finally when no one else spoke. I risked a peek upwards, and he was still glaring at me. My Mothers eyes were narrowed down at the newspaper she held, though I could tell she wasn’t actually reading it.

“I have to go.” He replied instead, roughly pushing his chair back against the tile and grabbing his heavy coat from the hallway closet without another word or a goodbye. I heard the front door slam hard, and was left in the silence with my Mother.

“You should not have done that.” Was all she said to me. I had a few choice words for her, as well, but I decided to shut my face and keep it to myself. I only heaved a sigh and pushed my chair back, dumping the nearly full coffee cup down the drain, and walking out of the kitchen. “I’ll be in the woods today if you need me.” I muttered, grabbing my leather jacket to put over my hoodie.

I checked my pockets in annoyance to be sure I’d grabbed everything I needed for the day. If I didn’t have to come back to the house later, it give us all more time to cool down.

I chalked up the explosion to us all being together for too long. A week’s worth of road trips and long drives and dreary, tedious conversations had put us all on edge. I’m just glad to be home.

I exited through the back door, and stood on the patio for a few minutes, looking up at the sky. The rain had momentarily subsided, and left me to stand in a cool, damp mist. The fog was dense, making it hard to see to the forest’s edge. I could go on out, and wait for CC there, but then, I’m not sure if he knows where to find me there.

Kicking a small rock across the patio, I grabbed the waterproof tarp covering one of the lawn chairs, and tossed it aside, and I sat down on the cold metal. I sat there for fifteen minutes in complete silence, watching the fog drift through my backyard before the rain started to pick back up again.

I felt no motivation to get up and move out of the downpour. I just sat there with raindrops rolling down my cheeks, mixing with the frustrated tears falling from my eyes.

Maybe I was delusional, and my relationship with my parents had never actually been that great. Merely balanced on a pile of gravel, teetering back and forth until we eventually fall one way or another. The only reason we hadn’t had any fallouts up until now, was because I was too much of a quiet church mouse to stand up to my parents, who at times, could simply be bullies.

“Ash, darling, my love!”

I leapt out of my skin when I was encased in an icy, wet hug from behind the lawn chair. I clawed free, and stood up, disgruntled, wet and cold, I poorly attempted to straighten my jacket.

“Asshole returned.” I say with a lack of enthusiasm in my tone, looking at him with a crooked smile, when I realized he was alone. “Where’s Ashley?”

“On his own for a bit. I figured we could hang out, unless you were busy sitting in the rain?...” He inquired quizzically, looking at me, dripping wet in the ongoing downpour. “Why are you out here, exactly? Did your parents lock you out?”

“I kicked myself out.” I responded with a shrug, “tension is high in there, and I can’t be around it... Plus, CC is coming over soon, so I guess I’m pleased.”

“I’m here, too.” He mumbled jokingly, pretending to be hurt and offended.

“I know, boo.” I said in a sickeningly sweet tone that made him scrunch up his nose in disgust. “you can come with us. We’re hanging out in the woods.”

“When we could hang out in the nice, dry house?...” He looked longingly up at my home.

“The forest is cooler,” I insisted, “and anyways, CC isn’t allowed on the premisis. My parents can’t stand him.”

“I’m not surprised,” Andy chuckled, sticking his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. “CC tends to get on everyone’s nerves, whether he’s trying to or not. It’s more of an accidental trait of his.”

I nodded, quickly becoming lost in thought, reminded of a question I had yet to ask him.

“About that night... When I was with CC in the others. Were you there?”

I brushed a strand of dripping green from my eyes to read his face. He pursed his lips and nodded, “It was the first time I was forced out of hiding. I didn’t care if it ruined my plan, I just needed to make sure you survived the week.”

“Yet...” I say coyly, narrowing my eyes at him, “you didn’t wake me to come home from Apture, nor did you try to stop me from hitting Elizabeth. Why?”

He shrugged, “Entertainment reasons.”

I scoffed, “You let me get grounded for entertainment reasons?”

Before he could respond, I heard yelling from the front yard, coming around the house.

“Is that CC?” I asked Andy, but before he had the chance to answer, he walked around the corner with the biggest grin on his face. “Friend!” He yelled excitedly, running towards me and picking me up off the ground like a doll.

I laughed when he put me back down, glancing up just enough for his eyes to fill with unimaginable surprise. I quickly glanced behind me, and Andy stood there, hanging his head a bit, peering at his friend. He was visible.

“A-Andy!” CC gasped in surprise, and I realized I’d never told him that he returned. “I thought you were gone! Ash, it’s Andy, it’s.... You already knew, didn’t you?”

He had run to hug Andy, but fell short to look back at me with hurt in his eyes. “You didn’t say anything?”

“I forgot.” I admitted, “Admidst everything that happened, I just never thought to mention it. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry.” He repeated in a murmur, looking distant for a moment before turning to hug Andy.

“I’ve missed you, man.”

Their longing, sorrowful embrace choked me up. I crossed my arms across the drenched front of my jacket and watched them tightly grip each other for a long time. I can’t imagine what must be going through CC’s head. To have your friend die, then be told he was alive as a spirit, then being told he was gone, and then suddenly back again without warning. CC probably thought he’d never see him again, as all grievers think when they lose someone. Little does anyone know that they’re not really gone.

They finally pulled apart, and CC stared at him with shimmering eyes of joy. “Shit, man, I can’t believe it’s you.”

“I can’t believe it’s me, either. It’s me that made you cry like a little bitch.” He clapped CC on the shoulder, and CC scowled at him.

“Shuddup.” CC muttered in embarrassment, “agh!” he exclaimed as he wiped at his eyes with his palms.

I looked up at the back windows of my house, and saw the silhouette of my Mother standing in the music room. My heart sank to my stomach. What had she seen?

“Let’s continue this in the woods. My Mom is watching.”

CC nodded, not drawing attention to the window by looking. We all walked to the edge of my lawn, disappearing into the woods.

“Ashley is back, too.” Andy spoke up when we were out of sight of the house. CC perked up even more. “Really?! Where is he?”

“Tending to some stuff,” Andy shrugged, “he’s having a tough time settling in here, or anywhere, for that matter. He’s become a restless spirit.”

CC pursed his lips in thought, “Y’know, it’s really weird to refer to two of my best friends as spirits, and talking about them in past tense. It’s weirder than shit to be able to talk to you again.”

CC kept glancing over at Andy as we took a short walk deeper into the trees. His gaze wary, as though he were waiting for him to disappear in a puff of smoke. I frequently found myself feeling the same way. It’s a dangerous bond to have, to love something so unpredictable.

“When will he back?” CC asked after a few quiet minutes filled with the soft, dull thumping of raindrops falling on the foliage above our heads. We had to maneveur around the small valleys we came across, each one full to the brim with crystal clear water, rippling with each addition.

“Probably tonight some time. Why?”

“I was hoping we could... Ya know, get the band back together for night.” CC suggested it very softly, like the sentence was a fragile thing to handle. Andy looked at him with excited eyes, “Yeah! We should do that.”

“Ash, you can come, too.” CC winked at me and I rolled my eyes at him. “Oh, I already have plans.”

They looked at me dumbfounded, as if they couldn’t figure out how some anti-social weirdo like myself had any kind of plans that didn’t include them.

“I’m kidding.” I deadpanned, sighing. “Between the two of you as practical jokers, I would have thought that-”

I lost my footing, and wiped out on my ass. I slipped down a short slope of slick moss, into a large, deep puddle in a knoll under a big, old oak tree. I heard hurried footsteps as I groaned, pushing myself up from the ground, now officially soaked to my bones and muddy.

“Are you okay?” Andy asked, extending a hand towards me. I grabbed it and pulled myself up.

“Well... Shit.” I mumbled, making a wasted effort of trying to wipe the mud and bits of torn moss from my jacket and and jeans. “I cannot wait until this rain stops.”

I looked up at CC, and he wasn’t looking at me, or Andy. His gaze was just to our left. My eyes followed his gaze in curiosity, and at first I didn’t entirely understand what I was looking at, until the grainy, brittle texture of the mangled white objects connected in my head.

“Is that...?” I choked on my breathe, and was unable to form a coherent sentence.

“Skeleton.” CC breathed, his eyes wide in shock and fear. We all stared at it, unsure what to do. Moments passed before Andy slowly made his way across the ankle deep puddle, water sloshing around his boots as he approached it.

From what I could tell, it was a pretty old body. There were torn bits of plaid fabric wrapped around it’s boney limbs, the colors faded from the elements. There was a good amount of dirt caked in the eye sockets of the skull, indicating it was buried at some point.

“Do you think the cemetary is washed out?” I asked, but no one responded. “Or that it was just... Here? All this time?”

Andy crouched in front of it, and reached out, pressing all five fingers of his left hand to the forehead of the skull, staring into it’s sockets intently for a moment before crunching his eyes closed in concentration.

“What are you doing?” CC asked with a look of disgust on his face. Andy remained still as stone, crouching in front of the skeleton. A quiet, unsettling minute later, he opened his eyes, and shook his head, standing up.

“The rain uncovered it, it’s always been here... There’s more, actually.”

We both stared at him as though he were an alligator about to eat us both.

“W...What?” I stammered, “what do you mean? How did you do that?”

“Another ‘gift’.” Andy replied loosely, frowning. “I don’t know how to explain it... I guess it puts me in the body of the deceased, to be blunt. I can see what they saw last, and even feel everything they did. Whoever he or she was, they weren’t killed here. I just get the feeling there’s more around, but I don’t see any spirits...”

“Spirits?!” CC demanded hysterically, “you can see other ghosts?!”

“Yes?” Andy replied in confusion. "I can see Ashley, can't I?"

He paced a little, then spun around on his heel, shaking his head. “I can’t do this shit. It’s too damn weird. I’m heading back.”

“CC, no.” I pled, “Come on, think of the adventure ahead of us. The things we could uncover.”

He looked between us uncertainly, “I’m not sure that I want to uncover anything else. We already found one skeleton, let’s call it a day.”

“Christiaannn,” I sighed, jogging through the water and up the short hill to grab the sleeve of his leather jacket. “Come on, please?”

He looked at me, and then at Andy. “I’m supposed to stay here, looking for bodies with you and ‘King of death’?”

Andy chuckled, and I gave him an encouraging smile. “Think of it this way, what if these are the bodies of some massacare that were never found? We’d be historical figures in the town if we found them and revealed them to the police.”

“Shouldn’t we tell the police first? And let them do the digging?” He hedged sheepishly. “Aren’t civillians supposed to inform them of any suspicious activity so they can handle it?”

“The cops are all bound up trying to handle the flood. We could find them all now, and reveal them when things are looking up.”

“Are you asking to scare people out of the town? Local girl finds abandonned burial ground in woods behind house. Yeah, that’s the kind of thing that gets properties bought up quick.”

“Agh, you know what I mean.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you with us, or not?”

He withdrew his arm from my hand to cross it tightly across his chest. He wore a worried expression as he contemplated his options. “Okay, fine.” He finally sighed dramatically, “let’s do this. But if it becomes too much, we quit. Deal?”

“Deal.” I agreed, shaking his hand. Andy stepped forward and exchanged shakes with myself and CC, wearing a smug, crooked smile.

“There are extraordinary things to be found.” Andy said, his grin growing wider. I smiled at them both, what a sight we must be. Standing in the woods, covered in mud, drenching wet, with raindrops dripping from our noses.

“Where do we start? Can you like... Locate them with your ‘talent’?” CC asked after a few moments. I looked at Andy for an answer, since it was one of the things on the ever-growing list of things I don’t know about him. His spiritual abilities were one of the things he was extremely vauge about when asked.

“You can bet your ass I can.” He winked, “I’m like a Biersack Basset hound, I’ll sniff them out.”

“I hope to God you aren’t going to sniff around the trees for corpses.” I muttered, imagining the image of him crawling around the forest floor on his hands and knees, sniffing tree trunks and yelling at squirrels.

“How else do you expect us to find them?” Andy called over his shoulder from ahead.

“Whatever you say.” I laughed, stepping over a ribbon creek of runoff rain water to pursue him into the woods, CC following close behind.

Notes

This chapter is thirteen pages long, and 4894 words. 0,0
Shoutouts!
- Batsy's Robin

And an update on the artshow! I got blue ribbons on everything, and there was some amazing competition up there.