Sapian had come to Harrow because it was where his mother told him his father was killed. He was hoping that he’d find his father’s spirit here. What he hadn’t thought about was how sick the town was. Dead leaves were left standing on roads and sidewalks so long they’d decomposed into dirt. The town was cover in fog that had rolled in from the ocean. The road signs and street markers were faded, eroded metal signs with moss growing on them . This was the town he’d been born in.It's not gorey, but the main character does see dead people, so maybe 13+? I wrote it for one of my characters hope you all like it!
This was his home coming.
His cell phone went off, he had it on vibrate and could hear a case of pills next to it start to rattle. Sapian had taken them with him, but had no intention of actually taking the anti-psychotic Gemma had prescribed to him to keep his ghost sight at bay. He turned the cell phone over to see which number had called him- then held the button down until the phone turned completely off.
He didn’t feel like talking to his sister.
The reason why he’d taken the pills was to keep his mother happy. He’d told her he was only going to Harrow to see his uncles and their wives and families. Raven and William were both alive. She didn’t need to know that he’d really gone to try and find the father he lost. He kept walking, careful not to slip on the ground or trip over pot holes and cracks in the cobbled sidewalk. He had a idea of where one of his uncles lived, William lived outside of Harrow’s limits in a old lake house with his wife and children. He wasn’t worried about finding William’s place when it came time to find a place to sleep for the night. It was his other uncle, Raven that he was a little worried about finding. Sapian knew that if he wanted to find his father he’d have to look around his uncles. After all Jethro had been killed because he was impersonating one of his brothers. Surely if he hadn’t passed on yet he’d still be around his siblings.
Sapian was already hearing the whispers, voices of the dead. He didn’t acknowledge them, so far none of the ghosts realized he could hear them. But he did still catch glimpses when they passed in front of him or went in the corners of his vision. The most frequent where old style mobsters . He saw about four of them .
What made the hair on the back of his neck stand up was seeing flickers, like stop motion photography of a woman in a car wreck trying to catch someone’s attention to help her pull her child’s car seat out of a totaled car. Sapian could tell the front of the apparition was completely smashed in . But the back? It had enough room to protect a small child.
“Please someone help someone help me I can’t get the car door open help me save my baby”
Sapian tried not to look at her after hearing the ghost speak. He’d caught enough out of the corner of his eye to see that the car seat was empty, this child’s mother might not be aware but her baby survived and Sapian guessed was pulled out of the car either by bystanders soon after the wreck happened or by responders.
He blinked and the woman and car vanished. The fog picked back up as the wind changed again bringing it in from the coast. Sapian couldn’t see much more than a few feet in front of him. Still he kept walking. As the fog became thicker the only noise was his own footsteps and breathing.
He didn’t hear anyone else, living or dead.
“Kid you don’t belong here” Sapian stopped. He knew the voice was directed at him. Slowly he turned to face the person who was talking to him. He looked similar, blond hair slicked back. Green eyes , his nose was crooked- like it had been broken and healed wrong multiple times. “You’re looking for Jethro aren’t you? Come all this way from Madrid from your parents and grandparents to head here.” He took another look at the figure standing in front of him. “How’d you know that?”
“Written clear as day across your face.” Ethan kept walking, he went directly through Sapian stopping a few feet behind him. Silent, waiting.
Sapian imminently felt a chill in his body his limbs felt like they’d been changed into cement and he couldn’t hold himself up anymore. He barely had time , or the strength to hold one of his arms out so he didn’t hit the sidewalk head first. He started coughing, choking as he desperately tried to get air back into his lungs. He could still feel eyes on the back of his neck.
Ethan took a few steps closer, hands in his pockets. “Now imagine if I actually wanted to possess you. Most people aren’t sensitive enough to us . Walking threw them doesn’t do that. You on the other hand? Hits you like a truck. Someone gets the idea in their head that they can get another chance at life by stealing yours you’d better hope one of the other ghosts around here feels sorry for you and stops them. Harrow’s dangerous to people with ghost sight without any friends.”
“People like you Grandson” .
It dawned on him who it was he’d run into. Sapian ignored the fire in his chest and quickly got up trying to find Ethan again, but there was no sign of the ghost. He’d gotten up too fast and staggered falling back down. Apparently he looked bad enough that two girls walked over to him from the other side of the street. He saw their lips moving, felt them shake his shoulder but Sapian didn’t respond. One of the girls crossed herself and took a cross off her neck and slipped it over his head. The other rolled her eyes and fumbled around in her purse grabbing a phone.
