Void
Ashley sighed as she gripped the rusty doorknob to the abandoned Addison Apartments. Her hand trembling, she turned it, and light from the cloudy, gray sky shifted in to the dark hallways. With a shiver, she stepped in, the blackness of the halls looming from the sides. The paint on the walls were peeled and cracked, and cobwebs seemed to have spawned in every corner. The ground creaked with every step Ashley took, and tiles of the floor were broken over time, their residue left to crumble into small piles. Some daring graffiti littered the walls, (bold statements considering the history of the place) and were the only hint of color left in the drab and dull interior. Ashley stood there in silence for a moment, memories flooding back. She had been in this building quite a few times visiting her friends, and now nothing of those happy memories were left as dust and death hung in the air. The feelings were overpowering, as if the negative energy was concentrated here.
"Hello?" Ashley spoke quietly into the dark void, her throat clenching. She paused a moment before she dug into her coat pocket, bringing out the Super Gear Boy. "If…if anyone's here, could you please?..." Ashley trailed off as she was at a loss for words. She had found the Super Gear Boy back at Neil's place, in Sal's stuff. She knew it was used for the paranormal, but wasn't exactly sure how. And Sal used to speak of calmly talking to the ghosts before they let their presence be known. Her heart skipped a beat remembering her friend. A feeling of determination came over her. She had to do this. Even though Sal was gone, there had to be something she could do.
"If anyone is here that was a victim, let yourself be known!" Ashley said, her voice raised. She held the Gear Boy tightly in her grip. Letting out shaky breaths, she continued. "I was here before, with my friends. The friends you must have known." She thought of Chug (and his poor, sweet daughter). "Chug, I…we were best friends! And Mr. Fisher, you have to remember me? Sal's friend?" She had her arms raised, Super Gear Boy brandished almost as if it were a weapon.
Ashley stared down the hall, down the rows of closed apartment doors. She hesitated a moment before lowering her arms. She pressed a hand against her face. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I don't know why Sal did what he did to you. You were his family, his friends, his neighbors… I don't –" A cold breeze blew in from the open door, causing Ash to spin around towards it. The door was still open, and there wasn't any sight of anyone lurking from outside. With a sigh she turned back around. Tears threatened her vision as she doubted herself. She had seen Larry, so the ghosts of the tenants had to be here. Unless something had happened to them, involving those spirits focused on torment. All those theories those boys had made back in the day… How did she not believe them?
Then, the Super Gear Boy began to emit its glowing light.
Ashley felt as if everything in the world stopped in that moment. Fumbling slightly, she pressed the button on the Gear Boy, a static crackling sound emerging.
Every passing second felt like hours.
And then, with a dissonant, high pitched screaming noise, the spectral figures of the lost tenants appeared.
A/N: Thank you for reading my story =) This one is more or less based on what I hope will happen in chapter five: that is, we will see the ghosts of sal's "strange neighbors" and find a way to at least fix something.