Sophie and I stared at each other in absolute dumbstruck confounder for a long moment before we began to run towards the source of the scream, running still. We rounded corners, and followed clumps of people who were heading in the same direction, curious, afraid. Finally we reached a street where a group surrounded a scene which looked from our vantage point like someone had collapsed and another person was helping them.
"We need to get closer." Sophie murmured, and I didn't argue. We pushed through the crowd, trying to find a position from which to see clearer what had been going on.
"Look how pale he is." Someone commented, craning their neck to see the person on the ground as we shuffled forward. "Like a ghost..."
"It's like he's had the life drained out of him." Came the whisper of someone else, pressed in around us.
Finally we could see, and Sophie gripped my arm tightly when we saw the poor person on the floor, barely conscious, his veins raised and luminescent within the pale white of his skin. He looked dead, and I knew that, before too long, he would be.
"Look, back off! We've called the hospital – something seriously bad has happened here. Clear off and give him some space!" the person who'd been helping the boy started yelling, gesturing for everyone to move. Sophie and I exchanged a look. We both knew something seriously wrong was going on. Sophie had caught a glimpse of the ghost I'd seen, and the fact that it had disappeared the moment this guy was attacked (and it wasn't even clear what had killed him) could not be a coincidence. Add to this the worry I'd already been having due to last night's dreams, and I felt certain that we needed to find out more about this. As everyone moved off, I contemplated going over to the boy and those caring for him and bombarding them with questions but, ultimately, I knew it wouldn't be effective.
"Come on." I said to Sophie softly. "We'll find out what's going on later."
She nodded, and we moved off. As we headed back to where we were staying, silent as death, we saw the emergency workers from the hospital rush past us in a speeder towards the site we'd just left. Sophie turned her head and watched it go, but all I could think about was death. How had I ended up mixed up in something so devastating once more.
That night, back in our room, I lay awake for ages, tossing and turning. Images pervaded my senses like they had often since everything that had happened on Flauraan with the Weraynian, yet somehow more potent. I was worried about the ghost. My brain couldn't make sense of it. I knew that there had to be a logical reason for such an apparition, a scientific meaning behind it. Yet I couldn't ascertain one that I could be certain of, and my brain kept returning to the one thing it had as evidence; my dream. Over and over I relived the ghosts engulfing me, the haggard faces of the people in a ravaged world, where the Weraynians had won. How relevant was it? Should I be afraid, as if it were a vision? The ghost part certainly seemed to have held true, and though I'd heard of nothing of this sort previously, I had a nagging feeling that things were only going to worsen. Thus far, my senses had proved to be right.
Eventually I fell asleep from pure exhaustion. I'm sure my brain was frying out from overexertion at this stage and I woke from a restless sleep the next morning feeling none the better from my brief siesta. Sophie was sitting on the floor by the window, just staring. I had no idea how long she'd been awake, but reason told me that she felt just as afraid and confused as I did. Her hands moved idly with nervous energy. You didn't need paladanian understanding to feel the waves of emotion rolling off her. My heart sunk further. What had happened to our shining moment, when everything was bright and happy and we'd forgotten all the troubles in the universe existed? How could we have come to this?
We headed down to a café where we could access the news broadcast. Sophie sat, head leaning on the wall, with a tired expression, the warm beverage she'd ordered untouched as I flicked through stories, trying to find something relevant. I knew they had to report this, at least in a local capacity. When I finally found what we were looking for, Sophie sat up, alert, and focused red-rimmed eyes on the screen.
It showed reporters being held at bay in a hospital entrance, with the focus on one reporter who addressed the recording device. "This unfortunate accident can be seen as a perplexing anomaly, as the victim deteriorated of unknown causes. Witnesses at the scene have claimed to have heard a scream as if there was an attack, but there is no other evidence for this. Some are blaming supernatural causes, and in fact yesterday evening there were numerous sightings of supposed shimmering apparitions, a rarity in the past but not unheard of. It remains to be seen how this situation will play out."
Sophie and I stared at each other, taking it all in. Then we glanced back at the screen. I noted that the report had been made less than a few hours ago. A need for action thrilled through me.
"Shall we go check out things at the hospital?" I stood up and Sophie followed suit. No matter how tired we both were, we needed answers. Sophie downed her drink in one go and secured her backpack on her shoulders.
"Let's go."
We found the hospital with negligible difficulty. In another situation I would have made a comment on Halapatov's medical system, and how the building would be set out, but in this case I remained silent as we solemnly approached the huge complex near the middle of the city.
There seemed to be no sign of the ruckus with reporters from the news report, and Sophie muttered something about how difficult it would be to find out anything here. We looked around the foyer, taking in the people waiting and the bustling of healers passing through and the administration work, when our attention was drawn by the slamming of a side door.
A security officer was escorting out a halapatovian girl in her early twenties, who was clutching a file and arguing frantically as she was firmly pulled out of the room.
Sophie shot me a look, eyebrows creased, and so we moved to be closer to the commotion. As we came in earshot, we began to piece together the conversation.
"I'm not just trying to get a story – this is actual research which could save people's lives! We don't know where these attacks are coming from or how they happen. I mean, this is important!" she spieled angrily, trying to shrug out of the officer's grip while simultaneously trying to get him to see reason. Her words sparked my intrigue; more than that, they assured me of her involvement in the same investigation as us.
"It doesn't matter, we have a strict no reporter policy." The security guard answered gruffly, shoving her along faster.
The girl dug her heels into the ground and half-spun to face her captor as he continued to pull her. "More people could die from this, and you're stopping me from learning how to stop them."
The security officer scoffed, barely perturbed. "Them? What, the ghosts? Good luck with that, love. I'm sure you can continue your ghost hunt outside." They had approached the entrance, and he now shoved her unceremoniously out the doors, before strolling on.
Sophie and I exited the building hurriedly to find the girl picking herself up from the floor with a scowl on her face.
"Are you alright?" I asked her, genuinely concerned. The girl gave me an odd look.
"Yeah, I'm alright." She snapped at first, but then her tone softened. "The only damage that's been done is to my pride, but that's nothing new." She dusted off her file with a tired sigh.
Sophie cut in impatiently. "So we couldn't help overhearing, but it sounded like you were looking into this whole 'ghost' thing that happened last night. Is that right?"
The girl cast Sophie a suspicious look, clearly trying to discern her motive. After closer observation, her eyebrows raised and she glanced over, taking me in too. Her eyes widened in recognition.
"You're those two girls from that attack on Flauraan! Oh my go-"
"Yup, I'm Sophie and this is Abigail." Sophie interrupted and I gave a small wave. The girl looked perplexed. "And you are?"
"My name's Riowyn," the girl replied. "But why-"
Sophie interrupted again, thrusting her hand forward to shake the thoroughly flustered-looking Riowyn's. "Nice to meet you, Riowyn! I think we have a lot to talk about."
"So it seems." Riowyn continued to eye us warily. I understood her thought process. Sophie and I were not being very accommodating in our interrogation. Sophie was being impatient, which was also understandable, but if we wanted her to trust us and help us with the ghost problem, it probably wasn't the best idea.
"Riowyn," I spoke up and she glanced over at me, searching my face, a thousand questions flashing past her eyelids. "We were there, last night, barely a street away from the attack. We're afraid this is going to happen again. We want to do something to stop it. If you can help us, it could make a world of difference."
I watched as my words settled onto her, and as if gaining a glimpse of her thoughts I saw her eyes light up at the prospects of this. I got the feeling that she hadn't met anyone who'd been concerned about this issue the way she had, or at least, someone who was willing to work with her on it. I wondered why she had started looking into this, what drove her to pursue it still. More than anything I gained a sense of loneliness from her which scared me, in the same way the ghosts had. I wish I understood what was going on.
"Why you though?" her expression hardened as she grew defensive once more, searching for answers. "What is it about you two that you think will be of any use? These are ghosts we're up against. Two teenagers aren't going to be able to solve this. Why do you feel the need to look into this?"
Sophie caught my gaze and I looked into the stormy depths of her eyes before answering, voicing the thought that neither of us had been willing to face yet. "Because we feel like this is somehow our fault."
Instead of looking confused, curious, concerned, as I might have expected her to, Riowyn laughed at this. "Come on! Don't be ridiculous. This can't have anything to do with you. This isn't new." Sophie and I exchanged a look, bewildered. "These ghosts have been around for centuries ."
The implications of this hit me like a wall, and I just stared blankly ahead, shocked.
"I think you'll have to tell us more on that." Sophie put forward mildly after a minute.
Riowyn nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. "Yes, I'd say we definitely need to talk further. This isn't quite the setting though. Come with me... we'll go back to my place; and I'll explain everything."
So we followed Riowyn through the streets of Halapatov. As we travelled I observed her quietly, curious as to her story. I could tell she was some sort of journalist from her words and actions, and what I could see of her bag, but, as she herself as said, she was not merely chasing a story. This investigation ran deeper. I tried to imagine myself in her place for a minute, a halapatovian girl in young adulthood, chasing up reports of apparitions no one could understand, which could kill and then vanish without a trace; trying to understand them, discover how to stop them, devoting my life to it. I could hardly fathom it. All I had to compare it to was my growing obsession with the Weraynian war, but even then, that was much more impactful personally on me. I wish I could see Riowyn's reasoning. Still, we were going with her, I told myself, she was our companion now, and hopefully what she had to tell us would be highly illuminating.
After a short trip on a transport, we were led to a small apartment. Riowyn unlocked the door and we followed her through as the overhead light flickered on. We surveyed the small room, with a cramped kitchen, two doors leading off, and a small table and chair and bookcase in the living area, and Sophie and I exchanged a short glance before turning to Riowyn, who had placed her things down and was standing there looking sheepish.
"Sorry it's not very big." she said awkwardly. "I don't usually have any guests."
"Ah, that's fine." Sophie waved her hand around. "It's nice for you, small, perfect."
A flash of discomfort crossed Riowyn's face, and then disappeared. "Thanks." she managed. I figured it was time to get down to business.
Riowyn pulled her files and equipment out of her satchel and laid them out on her kitchen bench. Sophie and I moved behind her, and watched over her shoulder.
"I work for a news company." She explained as she opened one of her documents. "I'd come out of school with a sorta writing degree, and so I decided doing news work would be something good to do, you know, find things out, share information, that kind of thing. Something useful in the world. I started with a few small stories, nothing big. Then there was an incident in the next town over, that they put me to reporting on. An attack like this one, though not as significant, I guess. The body of this young halapatovian guy was found in a river, as if he'd committed suicide, except that when they pulled him out they found that his body was pale and hollow, like he'd been drained of energy by some force, just like that other man, as you saw." She passed Sophie and I a few reports with images attached. We put our heads together, and I saw, lips pursed, each scene, each body, almost exactly like last night. "They thought it might have something to do with some sort of experiment on a corporate level, so I started looking for similar cases, and I found these. It wasn't what I was expecting. Once the autopsy had been done and the results were released, the symptoms were found to be completely unlike any known disease or cause of death in recorded history, and yet I found all these examples of people dying from unexplained causes, and ending up the same way. It was terrifying. It felt like some massive conspiracy. People were having their very cells leached of everything that makes a person alive. The authorities looked into it when they realised the concern, but said that the investigation was inconclusive. I became obsessed with finding out as much as I could, because the whole premise was so horrifying. Work gave me access to all kinds of old reports and records, so while I worked on the story, I looked into the background of it."
Sophie made a high pitched noise in her throat as she rifled through the extensive notes Riowyn had done. I glanced at her and noted her expression of disbelief and her furrowed brow. "This is insanely impressive research...." She boggled at Riowyn.
Riowyn shrugged. "I guess. I mean, work was my life, so this became my sole focus."
"Still..." Sophie bit her lip. "I work for research scientists, my whole life is spent looking through records like this and finding stuff out. Like, my life is research too, and this is way more detailed than anything I've ever put together."
The other girl cracked a soft smile, proud, as she should be.
For a short time of silence, we stood there, taking in the information. Riowyn noticed our concentration and moved to sorting her most recent files, as Sophie and I rifled through countless profiles of deaths, all the same symptoms, all with no witnesses, some dating back centuries. I didn't know what to think, this was all making my head spin. First I'd been so sure these ghosts had been our fault, some side effect of our arrival by teleport watch, and now suddenly we were in the home of a reporter, someone we'd only just met, with a completely different story, a mystery that had been around practically since the Weraynian War. All I knew for sure was that these ghosts were attacking people, and they needed to be stopped. I glanced sideways at Sophie, who was biting her lip as she turned a page. Before I'd met her, I'd never have even entertained the notion of fighting against something like this. But now I knew that as inexperienced and uninfluential I was, taking a stand made a difference. Besides, with my powers and Sophie's ingenuity, plus our puzzling link to this occurrence, much like on Flauraan, I felt sure we were meant to do something. But what?
Once I'd gone over everything thoroughly enough, my thoughts took attention of Riowyn, the reporter, the one who'd gone to all this effort to look into this. Although I'd heard her story of how, I still didn't know why she cared so much. As guarded as I could tell she was, for whatever reason, I thought she might tell me when it came to this, her passion in life.
I left Sophie's side and walked over to her.
"Riowyn," I prodded gently. "I'm curious. What is it about this case that has made you so obsessed with it? Like I understand that it is a mysterious thing, but you've put in so much effort, why is that? If you're okay with telling me, of course."
The girl looked at me, her eyes illuminated by the lamps in the room, forehead creased for a minute as I could see the words tumbling from her brain, yet hesitant to share them, unsure of whether to trust me. Then she relaxed and gave a silent sigh.
"That's alright," she said, voice soft. "It's a bit personal, but it's okay. It's quite sad actually."
"Yeah?" I answered gently. Riowyn took a breath and then launched into her story, eyes glazed with memory.
"I stumbled across it accidentally. A side link in the investigation. It was the diary of a teenage girl, going on for pages and pages about her encounters with the ghosts. She'd been so lonely, and the way she wrote about her life reminded me of mine, feeling like an outcast in school... not quite fitting in with other people's interests... walking home alone every day. It sounds silly but it struck a chord in me. And then she was describing these ghosts, how she found them while alone, and they kept her company, they spoke to her. She was so desperate for friends that she didn't even question it. She wrote about how marvelous they were. She said they were going to show her something far better than here, if she'd just go with them. Then her entries stopped, and the next day she was found dead." A tear ran down Riowyn's cheek, her gaze fixed downwards. I looked at her, waves of sadness washing over me, knowing there was no real way to comfort her in this. "I realized how terrible these things really were, and the impact they had on people, and all I wanted was to destroy them, tear them to pieces. I'd seen too many stories of people's lives stolen away by these things that appeared from nowhere, and I knew I needed to find out how to stop them. So here I am. I'm surprised work still keeps me on, with my obsession to a story they don't want to run. Every spare moment I spend looking into it." she smiled softly, and sighed. "It's not as if I have anything else to do."
I followed her eyes around her small, desolate apartment and felt so sorry for her that I wrapped my arms around her. She responded in surprise and all I could think of is how alone I felt after Leila left, that this is how Riowyn has felt now for years. I had been right. There was something deeper than the ghosts in her obsession with the investigation. But it was okay, we were here now. And we'd help her find the cause of it even if it killed us.
We only had to figure out how.