Everyone wants to talk to the dead. They write books about it, do it on stage in front of a hundred grieving people, and stand around in old mansions with night-vision goggles yelling about how they're getting a lot of "interference". Nobody realizes the truth. That when you start talking to them, you can never stop. That it becomes your whole life, a burden inherited from your family. That you are the only thing that can save a lost spirit from endless torment. That sometimes, people you care about end up dead. Like poor Jeremy.

Jeremy. He was the reason Rosa was here. He was investigating a lead from a fraud psychic (Rosa used to think that was a tautology) named Lisa Tenzin. During his hunt he caught the eye of the wrong people, and now he was gone. Shot to death on a sleazy street in downtown New York. Luckily, when you were a medium like Rosa, death was never the end of someone's story. Rosa was able to speak to Jeremy's ghost and finish what he had started. Turns out he had stumbled on something bigger than he could ever imagine. Specifically Gavin, a member of an organization with ties to the spirit world. A connection she thought was hers alone. He was somehow using this connection to find distressed, downtrodden people, and literally drain the life out of them to prolong his own. Rosa had found Gavin- or more accurately, Gavin had found her- and she had stopped him before he could sap another life, though Lisa Tenzin was killed by Gavin in the attempt. What should have been the end of a journey instead gave rise to an even larger one. Gavin was powerful but he didn't work alone. There were more people out there like him. This is why she was here, at Gavin's apartment. A conquering hero at the lair of a slain dragon, about to plunder his horde of secrets. Of course, every hero has a sidekick.

"Jeeze, would ya look at this dump. You'd think a hot shot like Gavin could afford to live it up a bit." Joey said, gliding up next to Rosa. That's where Joey Mallone always was, beside her. Whether she like it or not, she was stuck with the apparition. Apparently the fast talking twenties man was her "link to the spirit world", a ghostly guide inherited from her Aunt to be her assistant in all things ethereal. Basically that meant that wherever Rosa went, Joey came too. Usually frank, frequently smarmy, and always dressed to the nines in his suit and fedora, Joey was a man out of time, involved in not one but two worlds he didn't understand, so Rosa usually cut him some slack.

He was right this time though, Gavin's apartment building was… rough. Rosa didn't exactly live the high-life herself, but for a member of a powerful secret society she expected something a little classier than the squalid little berg that was in front of her. The fact that they showed up at the place during the dead of night made it look even worse. It crouched on the street corner like a haggard old beggar, that is to say, most people probably tried their best to ignore it. To the side of the building, in the alleyway, a large dumpster clung to its wall. It was a bloated boil on the buildings face,and was absolutely stuffed with bag upon bag of garbage. A vagrant sat slumbering amongst the heaps of trash. "At least he seems happy." Rosa thought, giving him a pitying glance. "Looks like a emperor atop a mound of pillows."

Joey noticed him too. "I gotta admit though, that guys digs look pretty comfortable." He conceded, sticking his thumb out toward the man's improvised bed. Rosa didn't think so.

"Maybe the building is part of it, Joey. Maybe Gavin wanted a place that was out of the way. Makes a nice nest for a murderer." Rosa mused, opening the front door and stepping into the ante-chamber of the apartment.

"Yea, well, he picked a helluva spot then." Joey replied, floating through the door behind her. "I haven't seen a soul on these streets all night." He paused for a moment then narrowed his eyes. "Oh and don't touch the "soul" pun. I hate your puns."

Rosa smirked.

"Getting predictable, I guess." She agreed.

"You're telling me kiddo, I can read you like a book. Heck, I probably know what you're thinking before you do!" He said with a grin. He knew that he was getting under her skin.

"Oh yea? What am I thinking now." Rosa said, threateningly.

"You're thinking about how damn lucky you are to have such a gorgeous guy like me stuck as your spirit guide." Joey shot back instantly, his grin growing.

"Not exactly." Rosa flippantly replied, turning toward the list of tenets. She had a squint a bit to make out the names, even with her glasses on her vision was appalling. "Here he is. Apartment 3B." she announced, after running her finger down the list, collecting a fair amount of dust while she did it. Apparently even the people who owned the place tried to ignore it.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get this creep-show over with." Joey said, sizing up the locked glass door in front of them. "How do you wanna get in here, wanna see if I can blow something under the door for you? Maybe call one of the tenets and pretend you lost your key?"

Rosa produced a key and unlocked the door.

"Or, we could try the key I took off of Gavin." she suggested, stepping quickly into the first floor hallway. "I guess I can still surprise you, Joey." He floated through the door after her.

"That does not count! Why didn't you tell me earlier!" He whined.

"You never asked!"

"Typical dames, always gotta have a secret."

"Since I owe you one Joey, I'm gonna let that slide."

Joey's frown rose into a grin. "So, playing hero with Gavin back there gives me some lee-way huh? I'll keep that in mind, Red."

Rosa rolled her eyes. For some reason Joey was obsessed with pointing out her long red hair. She figured it was a guy thing.

"Just get in the elevator." Rosa said with a sigh. She immediately regretted admitting that Joey had saved her, she would never hear the end of it.

The elevator interior followed the general decor of the rest of the building, namely it was small, filthy, and probably the scene of multiple homicides. Rosa was genuinely surprised they hadn't bumped into a lost ghost wandering the halls yet.

With a grim reluctance she stepped out into the third floor hallway. It stank of a mixture of cigarettes and something Rosa couldn't identify, and certainly didn't want to. Luckily Gavin's room was near the elevator, so she didn't run the risk of finding out.

"Alright, here we are: Casa Del Creepo. Hey Red, want me to snoop around inside first? Some of Gavin's buddies might be waiting in there." Joey said, a rare note of concern entering his voice.

"Be my guest. Make it fast though, I don't wanna bump into the kind of tenet this place gets after midnight." Rosa said, nodding toward the door. Even though they knew about Joey's existence, Gavin and his kind still couldn't see him. They were still normal humans, at least in that one respect.

Joey disappeared inside. Soon after, Rosa heard a door open behind her and turned to see a dishevelled man emerge from across the hall.

His eyes immediately fixed on Rosa, they were wide and full of alarm. "I heard ya' talking…" he mumbled, pointing a trembling finger at her. "Looked tru' the peephole, saw ya talk'n to air" he held the 'r' in a low, rasping tone.

Rosa gritted her teeth in anxiety. She was usually more careful about talking to Joey in public, but who was still up at this hour? She needed an excuse, fast.

"You one of them… one of them spirit talkers?" He accused, sagging against the door frame for support.

"Um well you see… yes… yes I am?" Rosa offered. It wasn't a lie, after all, and she didn't think this guy was in any condition to remember this conversation in the morning; he stank of liquor. Maybe just giving him what he wanted would get him to go back inside.

"I knew it… I knew it…" He straightened up a bit, repeating "I knew it" under his breath as he trundled back into his apartment, slowly closing the door behind him.

Rosa sighed with the relief of someone who just dodged an entire firing squad's worth of bullets.

"Thank god he's gone." she said, relaxing her shoulders, "Gotta be more careful next t-"

"Hey there gorgeous."

"-imeaaAAH!" Rosa cried stumbling forward and looking back at Gavin's door. Joey's grinning head greeted her, sticking straight through the wood.

"Keep talking to yourself in public like that and they'll put you in the loony bin." He finished.

"Joey for god's sake don't do that."

"Woah there, it's just me, bright-eyes." He said, emerging from the door entirely. "Who was that lush?"

"Oh um… nobody, just up past their bed-time I guess." Rosa assured him. "What's it like in there?"

"Oh sweetie you won't believe this place. It's a wild scene in there. Come on in, the place is emptier than Vilma Banky's head"

"Who?"

"Nevermind. Just open the door."

Rosa slipped in the key and stepped inside. Wild was right. It was the exact opposite of what she expected in this kind of building. It was… nice. Really nice. GQ nice. The furniture was spotless, hardly a speck of dust anywhere. A long leather couch dominated the centre of the room. Across from it hung a massive TV flanked by two windows that peered out into the night. Pristine hardwood floors supported what looked more like a store show-room than the den of a serial killer. It didn't look like anyone had ever lived in here.

"I'm eighty years out of fashion, and even I think this place is swanky. Turns out being an immortal murderer has it's upsides." Joey said, floating into the centre of the room. "And that's nothing, check out the other room." Joey said, indicating a door to the right of the entrance. "This place is huge! Owner must have had Gavin paying out the nose for rent."

Rosa doubted the owner had any power over Gavin at all. It was probably quite the opposite.

"This must be part of his trap." Rosa reasoned, walking across to the door.

"What, dazzle his victims with his amazing home decorating?" Joey joked. Rosa opened the door to the next room.

"No I mean, you get more flies with honey than with vinega-" she stopped mid thought, brain trying to process what she was seeing.

Where the last room was the height of modern opulence, this place was positively archaic. A long wooden table covered in folders and papers ruled the room, with about a dozen or more finely carved wooden chairs sitting at attention along with it. All of them had, carved into the shoulders of the chair, a single clenched fist. All of them bore this mark except the one at the head of the table, opposite Rosa, it was larger than the rest, with a pair of eyes set in the shoulders. They observed Rosa with detached indifference.

"Okay Joey now this place is really starting to freak me out." Rosa said, dread filling her voice as she walked around the room, trying to adjust to the anachronistic apartment. She took small, slow steps, as though she were disturbing an ancient burial ground. The walls were covered in portraits, each displaying distinguished, regal figures who were vaguely familiar to Rosa, but otherwise unidentifiable.

Well, except for the portrait of Gavin. The last time Rosa had seen him (his body that is) he was crumpled on the ground, dead. Yet here he was, staring down at her from his chair. It looked the same as the other chairs in the room, adorned with a pair of fists. Gavin, however, looked entirely different from when she'd seen him last. His glasses were gone, his white beard and hair were black, and he wore a blue cotton jacket with golden epaulletes on the shoulders (when Rosa looked closer, these too were adorned with fists). It was the kind of look that was fashionable when Washington crossed the Delaware.

"Well would ya look at that." Joey said, with an admiring whistle. "I think I finally met someone whose been around longer than I have."

"Just how old was he?" Rosa said, words charged with burning curiosity. She inspected the painting for a label, or a name, and came up with nothing. Looking around she noticed that the rest of the painted figures were dressed in a similar fashion.

"So I guess these folks are the rest of our little club." Joey realized, connecting the same dots as Rosa.

"Yea but… there's fifteen chairs…and only fourteen paintings." Rosa calculated, looking around the room.

"I guess who ever the head honcho is was camera shy. Er… paint shy." Joey concluded with a shrug of his shoulders. "Either way, I bet dollars to donuts we can find some clues in those folders." He floated over to the table and waited for her to examine them. One of the more reoccurring pitfalls in Joey's line of work was needing Rosa to do most of the heavy (or in this case light) lifting.

Rosa sat down at one of the chairs and gathered up the folders. Each one was labelled with a different name. As she sorted through them Joey idly cast his eye around the room.

"It's too bad they're all, y'know, murderous life force vampires, 'cus this broad here's a knockout." Joey said, admiring a portrait of a stern faced woman with short cropped hair. Her eyes stared straight past the viewer into the distance. She looked unamused. With that woman, flattery would truly get you nowhere. Except perhaps, into a shallow grave.

"Portia, Bagalo, Rodriguez…" Rosa read out the names as she sifted through the folders. "Do you think these are the other members? Or maybe they are… Blackwell."

"What's that now?" Joey said, noticing Rosa had stopped mid thought.

"Blackwell. This one has my name on it." Rosa stated, with no small amount of dread in her voice. She was getting pretty sick of seeing her name written down by people who wanted her dead.

"Well don't just sit there Red, let's see what they got on ya." Joey said as he floated behind her to read over her shoulder.

Rosa opened the folder and a pile of papers spilled out, along with a handful of photographs. Three photos, in fact. One of Rosa's grandmother, one of her Aunt Lauren, and one of her, Rosa. Lauren and her Grandmothers pictures were crossed out with an 'X'. Hers had no mark.

"They knew… they knew about Auntie Lauren. About the inheritance." Rosa realized. "But Gavin didn't know for sure that I was a medium until right before he died, how would they know about Lauren and Grandma?"

"Maybe he knew about you before and did a little research, just in case? Find out about your family history to see if you really had the "inheritance." Joey mused. "Thank god they both passed away before Gavin and his cronies could get their paws on 'em."

"Yea…" Rosa thought, chewing her lip, barely listening. "He said they knew that a medium was working in the city, but not who it was. Lisa probably told him about me, and they must have tried to track down my relatives. See if any of them still had the power. Once they found out I was the only one left, Gavin came after me."

"Kid, there's one… two…" Joey's face screwed up in confusion. "There's a LOT of folders here, with a lot of names."

"A lot of prospective Mediums." Rosa said, finishing his thought. "Could they ALL be like me? Or just false alarms?"

Joey shrugged. "Who knows, kid. Either way Gavin had his eye on them. That makes 'em the best lead we got right now. Hell, the only lead."

"You're right, and we need all the help we can get. Let's look over the rest back home." She scooped up the pile under her arm and stood to leave.

Their exit was interrupted by a pounding knock at the door. In a New York City apartment that meant one of two things: either Gavin's rent was due or—

"Police! Open the door! Rosangela Blackwell we have a warrant out for your arrest, for the murder of Lisa Tenzin!"

Rosa froze, cold tendrils shot through her body, arresting her movement.

"Police… how… why would they…" Her mind spun like a roulette wheel. It took a few moments for the ball to stop bouncing, but it landed on the right number.

"I knew I recognized that woman." She said, whirling to face the portrait Joey was admiring earlier. "She's Alex Silva, the Police Commissioner! She was on the news after Gavin and Lisa died!"

"So even the top brass is in on it huh," Joey said, rubbing his spectral chin. "How'd they know we were here though?"

"I don't know…" Rosa said. She searched her memory for some fault, some slip up she made that had given their location away.

The pounding came again at the door, louder this time.

"Rosangela Blackwell, open the door now!" a thunderous voice commanded.

"I didn't even see anyone except for that guy in the hallway!"

"Bingo." Joey said, pointing a finger at her triumphantly.

"Him? He worked with Gavin too?"

"Kid after what we've seen in here I wouldn't be surprised if this whole building was crawling with his goons. Probably rang up the commissioner right after he confirmed it was you."

The knocking came a third time. Rosa heard the wood begin to splinter under the barrage. "This is your final warning! If you do not open the door we will be forced to enter aggressively!"

Joey looked back at the door.

"You mean up until now he was being polite! Kid in a few seconds that door is gonna be kindling." Joey warned. "We gotta amscray!"

"Run from the police? Joey I can't be a wanted criminal!" Rosa protested.

"Come on Red, read the writing on the wall! The whole department could be in their pocket, no way are we getting a fair shake with these clowns. You'll probably be meeting the rest of the circus by sunrise." Joey shouted, gesturing to the paintings on the wall.

Rosa looked at the paintings, then back at Joey. She nodded, determination filling her eyes. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Joey grinned. "That's my girl! Now come on maybe we can sneak out a window and lam it down the fire escape."

Joey floated back into the main room and out the window, with Rosa quickly following. As Rosa moved to slide open the window Joey sped back in.

"Back alleys a no-go kid the fuzz is swarming the place. You'll have to go up to the roof."

"The roof… but-"

"Kid I'd LOVE to stand here and argue, I really would, but it sounds like there's half of the NYPD behind that door right now so let's move it!" Joey shouted.

Rosa bit back her complaint and stepped out the window onto the fire escape. Sure enough flashlights shone up from the alley, pinpoints of light in the darkness, like the glowing lure of a deep sea predator. Cold faces sat below, their eyes scanning upwards for someone to drag down into the darkness.

"There she is!" One shouted. "Up there, after her!".

Rosa didn't give them a second glance, and charged up the steps to the roof. She silently praised the buildings short stature, the top floor wasn't a very far run. She reached it quickly, and looked around for her next move. She was a drowning sailor, looking for any piece of driftwood.

"Joey! Some options please!" Rosa shouted.

"Kid uh… you got me. If your psychic powers include floating, now would be a good time to try it out!" Joey yelled back.

Rosa ran to the edge of the building, thinking maybe she could jump across the gap to another structure. She arrived to find the void all but impassible. A yawning mouth that sat below her, pitch blackness, illuminated slightly by the red and blue flashing of police sirens.

"Woah there bright-eyes don't go doing anything stupid now!" Joey advised, sliding up beside her. "It ain't worth it, I know being a ghost looks like fun but that's just my charming personality!" Joey looked back at the fire exit, with an entire platoon of police no doubt charging up it. "Maybe I was wrong, maybe it won't be so bad. I bet they have a nice cell all ready for you! Better than your apartment probably, with an nice warm pillow!" he pleaded, Rosa teetering over the edge of the building.

Her eyes grew wide.

"That's what I need right now! A pillow!" she exclaimed, clutching the folders to her chest.

"Kid uh, did you hit your head on the way up here?" Joey asked, her exclamation taking him off-guard.

"No Joey, I guess today I'm just full of surprises." Rosa said, closing her eyes and stepping off the balcony.

"Rosa no!" Joey shouted, reaching out with his hand. Had it been a real hand, had Joey been alive, he might have caught her. As is, the gesture was rendered fruitless as his hand sailed through her, and she fell into the darkness.

Rosangela Blackwell awoke to darkness, pain, and the smell of rotting fish.

This can't be the afterlife… Rosa thought After all I've been there already. It's much brighter and less… sticky.

She blinked a few times. Everything was a blotchy haze. Her glasses must have come off. She hoisted herself onto her knees and looked around. Pain shot through her back, but that was good. Dead people don't feel pain. Usually. Pain, plus the fact that she wasn't surrounded by men with guns meant that her plan had worked. Not the most well thought out plan, landing in a dumpster, but when you were a medium you made a habit of taking leaps of faith. Though they were usually more figurative leaps.

"What did I tell ya kid, I knew that place was comfy." Came a familiar voice. "Without my keen detective eye you wouldn't have known about this little landing pad and you'd be up the river right now." Joey said, peering over the top of the dumpster. "So I figure that's twice you owe me."

Rosa stood, taking a moment to balance herself on the shifting piles of trash, and leaped out the dumpster, spikes of pain stabbing into her legs as she landed.

"You're taking the credit? Mister "Let's go with the nice men to their comfy cell?""

Joey chuckled.

"Fine fine, let's call it square then. Let's get outta here, the cops may be gone but Gavin's thugs could still be hanging around."

"Oh, right, the police. What happened to them?"

"They missed your little Evelyn McHale impression and assumed you went down the main stairs back into the building. They just now cleared off, probably combing every alley from here to Central Park right now. I guess you're surprising everyone today." He said, smiling with relief. "You still got the folders?"

Rosa hopped up onto the lid of the dumpster and reached inside.

"I think I have all of them, looks like I managed to break their fall." Rosa said, pulling an armful papers out, some covered in smears of trash.

"Oh good, the little papers weren't hurt when you fell four stories." Joey said, voice drenched in sarcasm.

"We NEED these folders, Joey." Rosa replied, suddenly serious. "Without them, we have no connection to the rest of Gavin's group. This is our one advantage."

"Whatever you say kid, we still need a place to stay. In case you forgot we're wanted fugitives now. The cops will be staking out your apartment. We need friends, and fast."

Rosa smirked.

"Did you forget already Joey? We have a pile of friends." She said, waving the folders with the less injured of her arms. "When I was glancing through them before, I saw that one of them lives near by. Care for a little more late night research?"

Joey sighed.

"Sure thing kid, not like we got much else to do. Maybe we'll get lucky and they sell glasses." He pointed to the ground in front of Rosa.

Rosa looked puzzled.

"What are you- oh." She said, following his gesture. There, she assumed from the small smear on the ground, were her shattered glasses."Feel like being my eyes Joey?"

The ghost laughed.

"I'm telling ya Red, where would you be without me?"

"Yeah, maybe you can take me to one of your local haunts." Rosa said, smile growing on her face. Hoping to get under his… well, the ghost equivalent of skin.

"You're probably still messed up from the fall kid. So I'll let that one slide."

Everyone wants to talk to the dead. They make movies, TV shows, and games about it. But no one ever tells you the truth. That it can cost you everything, that it can make you an outcast, a target, and a criminal. It will put you under the gaze of the powerful, the cruel, and the corrupt. It can also give you the greatest friend you will ever have. Mostly, it will cost you an insane amount of money in glasses repair.