Max kept his hands in his pockets. Partly because it felt comfortable and natural, and partly because he wanted to make sure he didn't forget himself and hold Jasper's hand.

The two walked along the dark trail without speaking. Jasper whistled an old folk song he had said was called The Unquiet Grave. Apparently, it was about a ghost whose lover's mourning was keeping them from resting in peace.

"Jasper, do you ever want to leave?"

The ghost stopped whistling and looked at the ground, then up at Max, then back at the ground. "It depends on what you mean by 'leave'. I mean, if you're just asking if I want to get off this island, then yes; all the time. But if you're asking if I ever think I'd be okay with passing over into eternity… I don't know. I think about it sometimes, but I don't know if I ever really want to."

Max nodded. He didn't know why he had asked. He certainly hadn't expected to ask out loud. Now that they were talking, though, it would be more awkward to say nothing. "I feel that."

"Do you ever just wish you were your best friend? Like, I really want to be Davy. I want to grow up and work at the camp and spend every day in the place that taught me how to be happy. He's so lucky."

Max nodded for the sake of nodding.

Jasper laughed. "But then, would Davy be the one stuck here? Would he go crazy with no one to talk to? Would he be okay? I'm really the only person I can trust to stay sane out here."

"Yeah…" Jasper was so nice. He cared about everyone so much. Max wondered for the first time how he had died. "If you could be alive again for one day, what would you do?"

"I don't know. There are a lot of things, I guess. I'd go home. I would sit on my back porch and tell my big sister it wasn't her fault. I would tell my mom she raised me just fine. I would tell David that he's important to a lot of people. I would… I wouldn't let anything stop me from doing the things I loved."

Max gave in and reached down to take Jasper's hand. It was cold. "That's a good answer."

The silence was mutual. No tension, no hesitation, just not saying anything.

Three minutes later, they came across a small cave. Max looked in and squinted into the hole. He couldn't see much. He blinked a few times and waited while his eyes adjusted to the dark. Not that it wasn't dark in the woods, just that the cave was darker.

When he could see, he almost wished he hadn't. At the back of the cave, there was a skeleton. Not like the ones you see in classrooms, all bleached and perfect. No. This one was small. This one had been lived in, and it didn't look like it had been cared for very well during that time. Four ribs on the same side had tiny cracks like someone had stepped on it. One of the legs was broken in two places. The smaller bone had a patch of fissures that looked like a spiderweb, and the bigger one was cracked about halfway up.

Jasper took in a sharp breath and grabbed Max's shoulder.

Max looked at him.

Jasper's breathing was short and shallow and he was flickering again. His eyes were searching Max's face for some sign of hope. "Max. I'm not okay. I think I'm going to die."

"You already-"

"I know! I know I'm already dead! That's what scares me. I think… I think that's me."

Max looked back at the bones. That sounded right, but… "I thought you died in the mansion."

"I know. I know. Whoever killed me must have tossed the body outside. Some wild animal must have dragged it here."

"Who killed you?" Max knew it was a bad question before he asked it, but it was too late.

"I don't know! I don't-" Jasper choked on a sob and Max realized he was crying. "I don't remember. All I know is that I was scared. I was alone in that basement for a long time, Max. Like, a month. It was scary. I died in there."

Max slowly put his arms around Jasper and let him shake and flicker and cry. He decided that if he ever had to kill someone, he would make sure he didn't give them time to be afraid. Jasper didn't deserve to die. Some horrible person had killed him and stolen something precious from the world. "Jasper?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Would you… would you like me to bury the bones?"

Jasper looked up with something like awe in his face. "You would do that for me?"

Max put his hands back in his pockets and shrugged. "Yeah. Where do you want your grave?"

Jasper looked into the cave. "Under the flagpole by the mess hall."