Dizgirl: Yay chapter two! Thank you so much for the reviews and favorites/follows! I'm glad to see a few people are interested in this. :) I forgot to mention before, I plan to update about every two weeks-as long as I can keep up with the editing! Also, we'll be jumping between different POV's so keep an eye on the names at the beginning of the scenes.

Enjoy and love!

Chapter 2: Company of Ghosts

Sam

"Are you still there?" I asked in the deafening silence. I opened my eyes and glanced around. Dusty crates were piled around me, their contents long forgotten by whoever had owned them. They were stacked two high and that meant they were just a few inches taller than me. It made this place feel like a maze. A silent, dangerous maze. But that didn't matter; I could feel the faint chill of what I thought was the ghost still emanating up ahead.

"I won't hurt you…" I added. Could a ghost be afraid? I had never thought about that before. Then again, I hadn't thought much about ghosts before I had moved to this town. At least not as an actual possibility. When I found out that ghosts were considered something real and very much present in Amity Park I couldn't help but want to meet one. Now I had my chance.

Maybe. Hopefully.

The cold presence suddenly loomed close to me. I paused, not daring to move an inch as I felt the chill radiating from it brush against me, sending goose bumps up my arms. My eyes were half-closed in concentration and through my lashes I searched the area where I knew it was. Nothing. Not a hint of something standing there. Not even a shadow.

Then, I felt a light touch on my right arm. When it made contact I felt a spark of energy like a static discharge. My eyes snapped open in surprise. A strange iciness accompanied the small shock and I shivered. It was at least ninety degrees outside but I felt like it was late autumn. The time of year when a chill crept into the day and the sun lost its warming strength. The touch disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Go away!" a frigid voice rasped in a menacing tone. It echoed at the edges but not in the same way as when a person's voice echoed off the walls and floor in a large room. It was more like it was echoing from some other place, far away. Faint but very much there.

The combination of the tingling touch and whispered command made me feel slightly light-headed. I stood frozen, trying to comprehend what I was feeling. Adrenaline pounded through my system and I felt an instinctual desire to run from the strange thing that had touched me. My mind, on the other hand, whirled with excitement at the possibilities. There really was a ghost here and I was just inches away from it! How cool was it that the others at school were actually right? (How unusual too.) Tucker would regret bailing on me after he heard about this!

I was still trying to decide how to react when I was interrupted with the realization that the presence—the ghost—was withdrawing. It was like someone had rubbed a balloon across my arm and now was pulling it away from me. It was the faintest tug. A cold static cling left by its touch. Urgency bordering on panic overtook me. I was just coming to terms with the fact that I was in the company of ghosts; it couldn't leave now! I reached out and grabbed blindly at where I believed it was. My hand found something and I gripped it tightly. I felt a jerk but it wasn't very strong and I held on.

Abruptly a figure faded into view, floating in the air above me so that his knees were level with my eyes. I stared at him—it was definitely a him—in awe. My eyes were immediately drawn to his, which were wide with shock. They were green, alight with a supernatural glow that mesmerized me. I could only pull my gaze away long enough to take in his lean build and brilliant white hair before I was drawn back to their green glow. I had always loved the color green.

My hand tingled where it was touching his arm and the feeling only added to the lingering dizzy sensation from before. I felt like I was almost in a dream, a dream that could fade away any second and take him with it. "Wait," I whispered to him. "Don't go…"

He didn't move an inch, hanging motionless in the stale air with his eyes still pinned on me. Was he doing what I asked or was I right before and I had scared him? The idea was almost funny. Sure, girls at school told me I was scary but they only said that because I dressed differently and didn't follow them in their mindless quest for 'flawless' beauty. I didn't really frighten them—at least not yet. I had often considered the option…

But, here I was standing in the middle of an abandoned warehouse, hand around the wrist of a ghost—a ghost—and he seemed to be the one who was scared. I swallowed, trying to figure out what to say. I hadn't really thought about what I would do if I actually met a ghost. Honestly, I wasn't sure Kwan had been telling the truth when he said this place was haunted…

"Hey Sam, are you gonna eat that?" Tucker asked, looking pointedly at the meatloaf slopped onto my school tray. I scrutinized the pile of what was supposed to be meat for a few seconds, my lip curling with disgust. They didn't just kill and cook an animal to make this. They massacred it.

"Be my guest," I said as I shoved the tray across the table towards him. A grin spread over his face and he stuck his fork into the brown mush. I looked away, my stomach turning queasily and effectively destroying the last of my appetite.

"Why did I have to forget my lunch?" I groaned under my breath. "Salad, grapes, berries, and homemade bread! Why?"

"Y'know…the foo' naw tha' bad," Tucker attempted to tell me around a mouthful of the meatloaf. I would have given him a look but that meant seeing the food again.

"I'll stick with my organically grown vegetables and fruits, thank you. They're much healthier and they don't require killing innocent animals."

"Innocent but tasty animals," he corrected. I opened my mouth to argue when I was interrupted by a chorus of squeals from the table next to us.

"Are you serious?" asked someone. "You saw a ghost?" The last word caught my attention and I turned around to see Paulina, Star, Dash, and the rest of the "popular" gang huddled around Kwan who looked pale.

"Well, I didn't actually see it," he replied to Star's question, "but it got really cold and then I could hear this moaning sound..." I slid along my bench until I was at the end closest to them. Tucker sent me a questioning look but I waved my hand to stop him from speaking. Most of the time we were invisible to this group and I liked it that way. Less petty arguments. But I did want to hear Kwan's story…

The girls gasped but Dash smirked. "You just got scared of being alone in there! You didn't even stay inside for a minute!"

"Hey! You would be scared too if you were alone with a ghost!"

"There was no ghost!'

"Yeah, there was!" The boys were sitting next to each other and were now face to face, their noses only a few inches apart.

"I didn't see anything!"

"That's 'cause you wouldn't go inside!"

I sighed impatiently. This argument was quickly devolving and someone had to get it back on track if I was ever to hear the ending. A glance at the girls confirmed they wouldn't be the ones to do it. I considered just leaving it be, but I wanted to hear about this ghost. I had never seen one before despite the fact I had been living in Amity Park for a year and a half. Maybe this was my chance.

So much for remaining invisible…

"Where were you?" I interrupted the two jocks. The whole group paused and then their faces turned towards me, various versions of surprise on their faces.

Paulina's expression quickly turned into disdain. "Why do you care?"

I scowled back at her. "I was just asking."

"Well it's none of your business, but he was down by the docks. Y'know, where those creepy buildings are."

"And you found a ghost?" I ignored her and looked directly at Kwan.

"Yeah, it was creepy…" he replied slowly.

"A real ghost?"

"Duh," Star scoffed. "What else?" I had to resist telling her that outside of Amity Park the idea of ghosts being real, actual tangible—so to speak—beings, was laughable.

"Dash doesn't seem to agree," I countered. Everyone looked back at the blonde quarterback, waiting to see if he would support his football buddy or stick to his earlier claim. He quickly chose the former.

"Whatever Kwan says he saw, he saw," he told me. "Got it?"

"Which building did you see it in?" I directed the question again to Kwan.

"Ugh, why are you so interested anyways?" Star snapped.

"She's a goth freak," Paul said. "Ghosts and creepy things are, like, her thing."

The shrill ring of the bell stopped me from retorting back, and everyone reluctantly stood up to dump their trays and head to class. I watched Kwan's retreating form and quickly made up my mind. As much as I hated Paulina, she was right about one thing. Ghosts were definitely up my alley and I wanted to know if he really had found one. I stood up.

"I'll be right back," I told Tucker before hurrying after Kwan.

Kwan had told me that he had gone inside the last warehouse in a row of them that had been abandoned by the docks. I had never been near the place, but as soon as school was done I dragged Tucker along to check it out. He was against the idea but I managed to distract him with an argument about the best tactics to use to reach the last level of Doomed and he didn't realize we were at the warehouse until we walked inside the warped door.

And then...then it went cold. Tucker bailed on me within seconds. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He avoided anything that had to do with ghosts. They brought back bad memories. Ones that he wanted to forget. That was what he had told me at least, though I still didn't know what the full story was behind that. But not me. I wanted to learn more and now I finally had my chance!

"Um…" I started, refocusing on the floating boy. "Hi." He blinked but remained silent. Could ghosts talk? I thought they could. But maybe he couldn't. Or maybe he just didn't like to. I waited, unsure of what to say next. What was the protocol when you met a spirit? Did you introduce yourself? Shake hands? I looked down at where I was gripping his arm. Well I suppose we were past that.

I felt a blush creep up my neck as I realized how awkward I had made this for him. A random girl intrudes on where he's haunting and then suddenly grabs him when he comes close. And now she's trying to make conversation while still hanging on to him! I quickly released my grip and took a small step back.

"Sorry!" I said. "I didn't mean to. I just wasn't—I didn't want...um…" He watched me with those glowing eyes as I rambled, touching the wrist I had been holding with his other hand. His face had been blank before but now it slowly changed. He seemed confused, a little afraid, and something else I couldn't quite name. But he still didn't speak and it was starting to unnerve me.

"I…I just…" I continued hesitantly, before finally blurting out, "I wanted to meet you." His eyes widened again and he floated back a few inches. He looked around quickly and then back at me.

"W-why?" he asked after a few seconds. His voice was slightly raspy and had that same echo from before, though it was almost too faint to hear.

Why? What did he mean why? Why not?

I repeated my thought out loud. "Why not?" His confusion only seemed to deepen and he opened his mouth to say something else when he suddenly jerked his head to his right. Had he heard something? Everything seemed just as quiet and still as before. It made it feel like we were the only two people in the world.

But apparently I must have missed something because he whipped his face back towards me, looking afraid. "You need to leave! You can't be here!" he told me, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Go! Leave!"

"Why?" I asked. "Is someone coming?"

He started to nod and then seemed to cut off the motion. Instead he gestured at the door that Tucker and I had entered through earlier. "Leave!" He commanded.

"Who is it? Who's coming?"

"Go! Just please go! You can't be here. It's my job."

"What's your job? Who is it?" I was completely baffled. What was going on? Why was he so scared all of a sudden? What could a ghost be afraid of? That thought sent a little shiver of fear through me. If a ghost was scared of something, what should I be? But I wasn't afraid. At least not yet.

He was still waving at me to leave, making pushing gestures in the air though he never actually touched me. "Please," he pleaded. "You can't be here."

I bit my lip but nodded and started to make my way to the door reluctantly. He followed behind me in the air, shooting glances over his shoulder at the back end of the building. I reached the entrance and opened the door just wide enough for me to slip through. Sunlight splashed across us and I turned back towards him. For just a moment as I looked at his face I thought I saw the colors of his eyes shift. I blinked but when I looked back they were still the same neon green as before.

Trick of the light? I shrugged it off and asked, "Can I come back later?" He had been looking back again but my question grabbed his full attention.

"What?"

"Can I see you again?" I repeated. He stared at me, apparently at a loss for words, and then shook his head.

"No. You can't come here. You're not allowed."

"Why not?"

He sent another anxious look behind him, before answering distractedly, "It's my job."

"What about at night?"

He shook his head again while also shrugging helplessly like he didn't have an answer. "Just go," he said. "Please!" I wanted to argue but he looked so nervous, I felt I had to agree. At least for now.

I gave another nod and stepped out the door. He grabbed the handle to pull it shut and sent me one last look, that same unreadable expression from before crossing his face briefly before he swung it shut with a low squeal.

I stood outside the warehouse, letting the past twenty minutes sink in. I had met a ghost. A real ghost. It was almost unbelievable, dreamlike. But…I curled the hand that had grabbed his wrist into a fist. I could still weakly feel the tingling sensation from when we had touched. It was like an echo—the same kind of echo that was there in his voice. There, but not there. It was one of the coolest sensations I had ever felt.

I had to see him again.

The Ghost Boy

I held onto the rusted handle of the door for a few seconds, trying to process what had just happened. I still couldn't believe she had grabbed me—and then she hung onto me! And then she let me go and I thought that maybe I had finally scared her. Maybe she had finally realized what I was. I had waited for her to run, scream, cry even, but no. All she said was…

"Where are you? Show yourself." I twisted around and looked for the source of the familiar voice. I had heard her coming, which is why I made the girl with the purple eyes leave, but the voice still made my stomach clench with apprehension. I didn't like the owner of that voice very much.

But I couldn't resist an order. I floated higher into the air so that I was above the crates stacked around the room. In the middle of them was the only woman in the group that I guarded. She stood, one hand on her hips, looking around carefully. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and a pair of sunglasses rested on top of her head. As I moved closer she spotted me and she gave me a smile. A smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"There you are," she said before flicking the sunglasses down onto her nose, hiding her cold gaze from view. That was okay. I didn't like when our eyes met. Her stare made me feel like she was either laughing at me or that she hated me. Or both. It gave me chills.

"Go to the back. It's time for an interview." She tilted her head in the direction she had come from and then turned towards the front. I hesitated as I watched her walk away. Who would do my job while I was gone? Usually they told me when I was relieved. I licked my lips, trying to decide if I should ask her, though I didn't want to if I could help it. I looked around, trying to see if the others were nearby.

"Don't keep him waiting, Halfa," she called to me, before opening the door that the girl had left through earlier. I waited for a second longer, now afraid that the girl would still be outside and they would realize I had almost failed my job. But she didn't return, and I knew I had to do what she said.

I flew over to the door in the back. It led into another building that was attached to the back end of the warehouse. The sign over the door had been partially ripped away and now the only part left said "r Offices." This was where they met. I was not allowed back here unless they told me to go. And only if someone else could do my job. That responsibility was my top priority.

I dropped to the ground and opened the door. They didn't like it when I floated around. They wanted me to walk like them. But they didn't like me changing to my human side either. I wasn't human, I wasn't ghost. I couldn't act like either even though I was both. It was very confusing.

The door led into a hallway with five doors, three on the left and two on the right. I paused. I knew where to go, but I didn't like leaving the warehouse unguarded. Fortunately, the door closest to me on the right opened and out stepped another one of them. He was the tallest in the group and well-muscled. His dark hair was cut very short and neatly. I called him the Big Man.

I had a nickname for each. The Big Man…the Ice Woman... I used those so I wouldn't use their real names. I couldn't say them, even though I knew what they were. People can find other people if they know their names. I had to protect them, so I never said their names out loud. It wasn't hard to do; I was never around anyone but them and I never spoke to anyone. Well, except for the purple-eyed girl. Today had been the first time I had spoken in a while.

"I'll watch," said the Big Man. His voice was deep and there was a hint of an accent. I liked it when he spoke. It had an interesting sound to it and he didn't speak as sharply as the others. Plus, he was usually the one to take over my job when I was asked to do something else.

I nodded, relief washing through me. We walked past each other and I headed for the second door on the left. I knocked on it softly and after a few seconds his voice answered.

"Come in."

I entered quietly and looked around the room. It had been an office before and still had the filing cabinets along the walls and a desk in the center. Behind the metal desk sat him. He was the leader. I followed him and what he told me to do. No matter what. He was the one who said where we were going next or who was going to do what. He was the one who gave me my job.

I walked up until I stood on the other side of the desk and stopped. He studied me for a few minutes and I looked down at his desk as I waited. Papers were scattered around in haphazard piles, some with writing on them and others with drawings. They were upside down and the lighting was dim enough that it was difficult to make out what was written on them—not that I really tried. That wasn't for me to know.

The only other objects on the desk were a lamp and a black wooden box. I instantly recognized the object and my eyes darted away to the floor. I didn't like the thing that was inside. It gave me a strange feeling.

"Did anything change today?" he finally asked. I felt my whole body tense. Did he know? Did he know about the boy and the girl? That the girl wasn't scared of me and that she talked to me. That I talked back. I wasn't sure what his reaction would be to that. I was supposed to scare people away so they wouldn't know they were there. The girl did leave, but she wanted to come back. I hoped she didn't.

But, a small part of me kind of liked the idea. I squashed the thought. No, she couldn't come back. That was wrong, that would be failing at my job. Besides, who knew how long her interest would last. Surely she had to become scared or disgusted of me at some point, right? No one liked ghosts, especially not half-ghosts. I didn't want to deal with that.

"Did something happen today?" he pressed, his tone hardening with impatience. I was torn, part of me wanting to keep the girl a secret but the rest of me wanting to confess what had happened. I didn't hide things from him. His voice grew tighter as he continued, "Ever since that boy wandered in here a few days ago…well, I don't want any more surprises. So, did anything change?"

I opened my mouth and then hesitated again. His hand reached out to the box, undid the clasp, and opened the lid. I was still looking at the floor but I could see the faint red glow coming out from the corner of my eye. "Answer me."

A prickling sensation swept over me. It was similar to how I felt when I changed between my ghost and human form. A subtle shimmer of energy. As it moved through me, I relaxed. The tension inside me leaked away. All of the anxiety, all of the fear and uncertainty disappeared. I couldn't even really remember why I was so afraid. It didn't matter. All that mattered was my job. And that I listened to him. I always had to listen to what he said.

"Well?" he prompted. I raised my gaze so I met his eyes. Eyes that reflected the red glow of the box.

"There were two teenagers," I reported. "The boy left quickly, the girl…stayed a while, but she left. I made her leave."

"Did she see anything? Hear anything?"

Yes, that's right. That was what I had to make sure happened. No one could know they were there. I kept them safe by making sure people stayed away. I made her go away. I had made a mistake and I had almost mentioned them, but she hadn't seen them or heard them. I made her leave before that. She wouldn't come back anyways. Why would she? No one liked ghosts.

"No," I answered.

He was silent for a moment and then nodded. "Good. We can't have anyone finding us. Not now, not when we're so close." His hands clenched into fists, his face angled towards the desk. After a few moments he looked back up at me shrewdly.

"I suppose you should sleep." He smiled humorlessly. "If people are sneaking about, we need you at peak performance, don't we? Donovan can take over for a few hours. Go sleep. He will wake you when you're needed again."

He focused again on the papers and I turned to leave. As I opened the door, he spoke again. "Be extra vigilant tonight. We can't have anyone finding us. Remember, that is your job."

"Yes," I said.