Chapter 4

"Wake up! Hey! Hey! Wake up god damn it!" Those were the words Ava awoke to. It rang obnoxiously loud in her ears. She groaned and tightened her fingers into a fist. She felt thin strips of grass between her fingers curling into her palm. The dirt piled underneath her fingernails as she dug them into the earth. The sight of dry mold green grass greeted her sight as she peeled her eyes open. The sleepy haze clouded her mind.

Why am I sleeping on grass? She asked herself.

"Hey!" The voice called again. It, unexpectedly, awakened something in her. The haze cleared away at light speed and she pushed her upper body up off the grass. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at the tombstone before her. It was Krueger's. She was sleeping in front of Krueger's tombstone. She was sleeping on top of where he was buried, or what was remained of him was buried. Ava jumped to her feet and was out of the circle in seconds. Disgust was crawling up her spine. She had nothing against dead people but Krueger wasn't just dead. He was what she hunted, what she despised, what she vowed to end. Sleeping on top of him, even if it was his grave, was punishable by death in her books.

"Thank god you're alive!" The voice spoke again, this time next to her. She whirled around and came face to face with Joseph. Ava blinked.

Right… the ghost… from school… She concluded slowly in her mind.

"How long was I out?" She asked.

"Not long, a half hour or so… maybe an hour." He looked up at the moon. Ava followed his gaze. The night sky was dark with the occasional shadows of clouds passing by. She reached into her front jean pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She clicked the lock button and the digital clock flared at her.

9:34 pm It read. Her eyes shifted from the clock to the message board underneath it. She had five missed calls. It was more than she's ever received in her life.

"Your phone rang several times when you were out." Joseph provided the unnecessary information in monotone. Ava checked her missed calls with him hovering over her shoulder. Two of them were from Priscilla, one from Blue, and two more from two people she hasn't heard from in a long while; Janice and Daniel. She stared at their names for a moment, in shock or was it surprise that they'd call her of all people? She didn't know. Seconds passed before Ava turned to Joseph.

"Would you be alright on your own?" She asked him.

"You're leaving?" He asked dejected.

"It's time I announce I'm alive before they send a search party." She joked. Something she hasn't done in a while. Joseph chuckled and waved good bye.

"Alright then, I hope we can talk again. I'm tired of this whole alone thing with no one but other dead guys to talk to." He shrugged when several disapproving voices made their displeasure at his comment known. He scowled at them.

"Good night, Joseph, everyone," Ava turned and headed out of the cemetery. She tapped her fingertip against the edge of her phone as she continued to stare at the names on the list. She ignored Priscilla's and Blue's missed calls. She'll see them soon; they'll probably tackle her like football players when she got back. It was the other two she was worried about. Ava called Janice first since she called first. The phone rang for a short while before there was a click on the other side.

"Ava! Thank god you called back!" Janice screamed with urgency.

"I never thought you or Daniel would call me." She answered her non-existent hello. Janice hummed nervously as if trying to keep something from escaping her mouth.

"Well, there's a first for everything!" She laughed awkwardly.

"What is it?" Ava jumped straight into the topic. Meaningless conversations weren't her thing.

"Remember that female ghost we caught together about three years ago?" Janice asked.

"Yes," Ava still wasn't seeing the point of this sudden interest in a ghost they caught.

"Well, Daniel," Janice said his name with as much annoyance as possible. There was a muffled response some distance away that Ava guessed was Daniel. "Daniel knocked over the vase we sealed her in and it broke into pieces, allowing her to escape…"

"… Did you catch her?" Ava asked finally. She didn't like where this was going.

"No, we found her but we're not empaths... you are…"

"Why do you need an empath? She's a vengeful ghost. That's why we sealed her into the vase."

"Apparently her vengeful side has subsided into a weeping ghost… not sure how it happened. But as nature law goes, we can't seal her forcefully. It'll shatter what's left of her soul." Janice sighed and Ava sighed with her but her sigh was frustration. She should have known she shouldn't have left the vase with Janice and Daniel. All because she found it annoying to lug around; now she was paying for it.

"We were wondering if you'd come over and help us… again…" There was dread in Janice's voice. Ava would bet her life that Janice's face is red with restraint and her pride is terribly damaged from having to ask for help, especially from Ava. It seems Daniel's going to have to run for his life after this is all over.

"I'm in Springwood right now working another case." Ava said as a matter of fact.

"… No… way… You got invited to work the Krueger case?" Disbelief with a hint of jealousy was inching through the phone. Ava steeled herself for the explosion.

"Yes I did." She answered back reluctantly.

"How come I wasn't invited? I'm just as good as you are!" Janice shouted, suddenly forgetting that she was currently begging for Ava's help and getting on her bad side wasn't the way to go. Ava didn't say anything. Instead she listened to Janice's one-sided scream match as she continued her walk back to the facility. She could already see the building at a close distance. She felt relieved when she was able to make out the windows. It meant she was getting close. Suddenly Janice's screaming increased in volume and was directed at another person for another topic. She became incoherent as she struggled against something. Ava heard a crash and Janice's screaming stopped.

"Hello? Ava?" Daniel called into the phone after a minute of silence.

"Good evening Daniel." Ava greeted him.

"It's nice to hear from you again."

"I suppose," Ava didn't know how to respond to that. She didn't have a problem with Daniel but they never really gotten along either. It was mostly quiet between them and nothing really developed. Their acquaintanceship didn't even develop in the easiest and nicest ways like most acquaintanceships did.

"Putting aside Janice and her issues," it seemed that was directed at Janice, "Coincidently, we're in Springwood as well. We actually wanted to look into the Krueger case ourselves when we heard the police department launched a new unit just for him. So could you pick a day and help us out?" He laughed awkwardly, much like how Janice did. It seems he wasn't all that confident that Ava would say yes.

"It'd be best if we talked this over in person." Ava said after a moment of thinking. The facility stared her boldly in the eye as she arrived at the cross section that would lead her onto the block it resided on. She waited patiently for the lights to change.

"That's a good idea. Could you make it tomorrow? This is kind of urgent." Daniel sounded unsure again.

"Meet me tomorrow at Roadfield Café at twelve." (It's a random name, doesn't mean anything, not even a real word…)

"Gotcha!" Daniel cheered. Ava pulled her phone away and pressed "End Call" just as she crossed the street and entered the facility. To her earlier prediction, Priscilla and Blue charged into her immediately. Well, Priscilla did. Blue hung back and hugged her after Priscilla was done chocking the life out of her.

"We were worried! Where were you?" Priscilla demanded. Ava shoved her phone back into her pocket.

"Someone needed my help." She said before slipping around them and heading for the elevators. But the two didn't drop the subject. They followed after her. Blue hadn't said anything yet. She remained silent as the three boarded the elevator. Priscilla pressed for the tenth floor immediately without asking Ava which floor she was headed. Luckily she was heading for her room. Priscilla stared at her for the first few floors before she glared and placed her hands on her hips.

"Well?" She asked much like a mother waiting for an explanation.

"Well what?" Ava asked.

"Well, aren't you going to explain why you didn't answer my call?" She asked as if it was mandatory for Ava to do just that. The doors opened and Ava stepped out.

"Ava!" Priscilla shouted. Immediately Ava whirled around. Within seconds she was invading Priscilla's personal space, staring at her with challenge.

"Let me make one thing clear, Ms. Collins, I am my own person with the rights to liberty, which means I can do as I wish and I don't report to anyone but myself." She made sure her voice held no room for arguments. Priscilla stepped back, shocked at the sudden change in her demeanor. When she didn't speak Ava turned and walked fast to their room. It frustrated her more to know they shared a room. She couldn't even lock her out or never see her for weeks until her dislike of her diminished. Instead she tugged off her shoes, dumped her bag on the floor beside her bed, and gathers her pajamas before shuffling into the bathroom just as the door to their room opened. Ava slammed the bathroom door shut when Priscilla looked her way. She could still hear Priscilla moving around outside and the squeak of her bed as she flopped down on it heavily. Ava turned away from the door to turn on the shower and stripped leisurely as she waited for the steam to fill the room. She breathed in and out evenly as the steam engulfed her.

What's wrong honey? Tired?

Ava turned around to look at the mirror. Despite the steam being thick enough for her to see, the mirror was clear as day. That is with the exception of the image of Krueger scratching his chin appreciatively with his claws. He licked his lips. She cocked her head to the side as she stared at him. Her eyes grew wide. Is he in the mirror? How is he doing that? Those questions screamed in her mind as she stared bewildered.

You trying to impress me, dear? I got to say, you're doing a mighty fine job of it.

Krueger's eyes settled on her chest. Ava looked down. She was still naked. Frustrated at her own stupidity, she tugged her towel off the towel rack and wrapped it around herself. She secured the towel before looking back at Krueger.

"What are you doing in that mirror?" She asked.

I'm here to keep you company. And pay you back for what you did.

"What I did? What did I do?" Ava was confused.

You escaped.

"Escaped? You let me go. I still don't know why but you were the one who let me go." Krueger wasn't making any sense. He reached out towards her but instead she unlatched the mirror and pushed it hard. It slammed against the wall noisily. There was a grunt, a curse, and then nothing. The room fell silent except for the still running shower. Ava waited for a couple minutes. When the silence continued she peeled the mirror away from the wall cautiously. It was fogged over. Krueger was gone. However she didn't feel the least bit less exposed. She rested the mirror against the wall once more before tugging off the towel and stepping into the shower.

-BREAK-

When Ava emerged from her shower, which spanned out into two hours and a couple minutes, Priscilla was already sleeping soundly in her bed. Her breathing was even. The fall and rise of her chest evenly timed subconsciously. Ava walked quietly towards her bed and sat down. She grabbed the smaller towel she kept at the corner of the head of her bed against the wall and wiped at the tips of her hair. She massaged her scalp with the towel. A moan from Priscilla distracted her. Ava stopped her massage to stare at Priscilla. She blinked. Priscilla moaned again.

Is that a sleeping habit? Or could it be… Ava's eyes shifted to Priscilla's bedside drawer. The small disposable cup sat empty with an open bottled water. All the signs that she took the pill were present. However Ava knew better. She crossed her legs as she dumped her towel onto her bed.

Ok, let's make a check-list. She told herself.

I was in the bathroom the entire time during curfew. So she couldn't have dumped the pill into the toilet; the garbage bin then? But that wouldn't work either. They clean it out every day. Surely the staff would notice if there was a white pill in it every single day. Ava looked around the room. That leaves any secret compartments she has then. She tried to spot anything out of the ordinary. Any lumps or shifts in the walls or any uneven floor boards. But she couldn't find any. The room was in tip top shape. Nothing was missing and nothing was out of place.

So she took the pill? Ava asked herself. Priscilla moaned again and flipped onto her back. Her breathing hastened then evened out. Ava watched intently as Priscilla turned towards her and curled her legs up. Her hands slipped under the blanket and she moaned.

O…k… that is, by far, the weirdest sleep habit I've seen… or heard of… After eliminating all the possible ways a person could get rid of a pill Ava was certain Priscilla had taken the pill and her moans and whatever was just a habit. It was a freaky habit but she waved it off. Instead she focused on the cup that was left on her bedside table. She had ignored it for way too long. She had seen it when she went in to take a shower and she was still seeing it now. The pill sat there innocently. She stared at it. However this time it took less time for her to grab the cup and head into the bathroom. She dumped it in and flushed. Without any remorse Ava trudged back into the bedroom and gulped down three mouthfuls of water before flopping back and closing her eyes.

Here's to another night with dream-less rest. I hope.

A/N: It's a short chapter but I like it.

Please be as kind as you always are and review!

There's a rumor going around that is starting to remove stories that are rated-MA. I'm not sure if this story counts but I'm duplicating it on wattpad under the username ReignFromOtherSide just in case it does get deleted. I hope if it happens you'll all still support me. :D