So I rewatched Casper, and I see you are owed another chapter! Here it is, my fellow fleshies ;)
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Chapter 7
As Kat turned the door handle she immediately began to regret it; an icy breeze whipped past her face, almost like a ghost but somehow not the same sort of sensation, and then she found herself moving backwards against her own accord.
She landed on her back with a nasty thump. The back of her head burned with pain and for a moment she thought she might throw up.
"What the hell was that?" Stretch hovered above her, craning his neck at the wide open door.
There was nothing there, though Kat wasn't sure what she had expected to see. She hauled herself up and a shiver crossed her whole body as she looked back around the house.
"We should get out of here," she said.
For once Stretch gave her an agreeable look. "Seems a pity to leave all that food though."
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Outside, the street had disappeared, though it wasn't so surprising anymore. It seemed wise to expect the weird and unexpected here. Instead there was just open land; a sort of field which wasn't properly formed yet. Kat wondered what it might reflect in her own mind...
"Couldn't you have thought something up a little more interesting?" Stretch complained, like he'd read her mind.
The ghost was a good few feet ahead of her, and he floated at a fast and determined pace.
Kat imagined he looked impatient too, as she rubbed the back of her head and winced a bit. It really did hurt, and she did feel a little sick. Kat knew better than to expect any sort of sympathy from the least compassionate of the Ghostly Trio though.
She braced herself internally, and picked up her pace, closing the gap between them.
Stretch had slowed somewhat, and he turned to look at her, hands on hips. Kat was right, he did look very impatient.
"What's the matter?" he demanded.
"What?" Kat gawped at him, a little confused, mostly annoyed. She gestured all around them; "isn't it kinda obvious? This is the matter!"
"Not that," Stretch waved a dismissive hand, "I mean your head, bonehead."
"My head..." Kat trailed off, noticing that Stretch was advancing toward her. Though he didn't look hostile he hardly looked friendly either, and Kat backed up a bit.
Stretch rolled his eyes, "yeah, your head. I saw you bump it," he said. "You might need a doc, and I'm not talkin' about your crazy fleshy dad either."
Kat burned with anger, as she always did when Stretch hit a nerve with words about her dad. Then she felt herself being practically manhandled, as the ghost grabbed her arm and then placed another on the back of her head; where it was tender and still hurt.
"Ow! What are you-"
For a second the pain was awful, like a fresh bruise that had just been pressed too hard, but then the agony fell away and was replaced with a rushing of ice.
Kat had been in contact with all the resident ghosts of Whipstaff before; mostly Casper. They all felt the same though; cold and...indescribable. She recognised that same feeling again, only now it was more intense, a shocking sort of chill.
Kat tried to move away, but for some reason her body would not listen. She was frozen; as much as the sensation creeping through her head, blossoming though her scalp, like it wanted to penetrate her very mind.
Instead all she could do was stand there and stare dumbly at Stretch, who was looking past her gaze to the back of her head. He wore a very concentrating expression, like he was trying to figure out a complicated math equation.
"What are you doing?" Kat said, wanting to sound angry, but it was just weak and faint.
Stretch just scolded, not even bothering to glance at her face.
The cold was biting now, almost painful but not quite enough to allow for a scream. Kat wasn't even sure she could; the whole sensation made her feel a little...out of it.
Then, as suddenly as the feeling had touched her, it fell away. Kat blinked, instinctively raising a hand to touch her head. It felt warm and normal, like nothing had happened. But most significantly, there was no pain anymore. It was all gone.
As if her body had finally caught up with her brain, she stumbled backwards, as she had intended to all along. Stretch caught her arm before she fell.
He looked despairing; "whatta you doin', bonebag? You want a replacement for that bump already?" he didn't let go until Kat had steadied herself.
She eyed him, wanting to be suspicious; "You...you healed it," she realised.
"Ain't we ghosts somethin' special?" Stretch looked rather pleased with himself.
Kat rubbed her arm, where he had held it. She smiled, shyly, for some reason.
"Well, thanks. I appreciate it."
Stretch hovered back a little, looking sheepish; "don't mention it. No really."
"Don't wanna ruin that reputation, huh?" Kat smirked.
"Correct." Stretch moved ahead once more, keeping a significant but smaller distance than before between them.
Kat thought maybe Stretch realised, since this was essentially her own mind, that he would have to make sure she was safe enough so that they got back home alright. There wasn't much else to read into it. None of the Ghostly Trio, none, ever gave Kat's welfare much thought generally.
Kat suspected it wasn't so much that they didn't care, more the fact that they had no reason to. In their world; welfare, health, it wasn't an issue. Being already dead did that to you, Kat guessed.
But no...that wasn't right, either. Kat knew that Casper cared for her. Perhaps a little too much...
The remnants of guilt edged at her mind, as she recalled Casper's reaction to Russ, her first proper date. Casper hadn't been very subtle about it, making it very clear he disliked Russ for the obvious reasons.
Kat couldn't blame him. The more she considered it, imagined the same sort of scenario with Casper, she realised she might get jealous too. Even though it was so ridiculous...a human and a ghost could never form a relationship like that...for one thing it was physically impossible...
"Hey, hey, what's the problem now?" Stretch was saying, and Kat snapped out her thoughts. She looked around, to see their plain surroundings were starting to melt into a grey colour.
Kat looked up at the sky, seeing dark clouds move with a sharp wind, and then rain started spitting down.
"Wonderful," Stretch commented. He gave Kat a look; "should I even ask what's going through that demented mind of yours?"
Kat bit her lip; "best not to." she decided, feeling embarrassed.
The rain was getting harder quickly though, and Kat began to wish she had come into this strange world in more than just her nightdress.
Stretch seemed to understand her plight, and he hovered above her, before stretching out into a sort of roof. It did the trick, and Kat was compelled to grin up at him;
"Well thanks again, Stretch."
"How many times do I have to tell you not to mention it?" the ghost sounded decidedly annoyed. "Now c'mon, think some of those sappy fleshie happy thoughts."
Kat concentrated. It was harder than she expected; happy thoughts didn't come too easily these days, she realised. In the end, she found herself considering Stretch's apparent want to help her, and though it wasn't much, it was enough to amuse her.
The rain started to disappear, and the clouds parted to reveal a blue sky.
"Nice job," Stretch said, morphing back into himself.
"Well, we humans are something special," Kat said, remembering his own words.
Stretch didn't look convinced, but after that Kat noticed he floated more or less at her side, and Kat was glad of it. At least now she knew that Stretch would help her, whatever they might encounter in this messed up place.
"So what exactly are we lookin' for?" Stretch said, after a while. "Some kinda portal, I'm guessin'? Though I'm not too handy with these science fiction type things, you know. Leave that to the crazy doc."
Kat rolled her eyes; "my dad's not crazy."
"I gotta admire that," Stretch said. "Still on the defence when we're all trapped in this place."
"It's not like he planned it this way," Kat pointed out. "And anyway, you didn't have to come."
"I know. I kinda wonder what possessed me to," Stretch said with growing annoyance. "I guess I should know better than to expect gratitude from a fleshie," he moved quickly, higher into the air, away from Kat.
Kat looked up at him in confusion; "gratitude?" she repeated. "What do you mean?"
"Incase you hadn't noticed," Stretch said slowly, like he was talking to a very young child; "myself, Stinkie and Fatso are not known for our hospitality, never mind going after a couple of useless fleshies and a little wimp of a ghost in order to save them."
Kat frowned; "why should it even be an issue? Casper is your family. You're obliged to go after him!"
Stretch hovered closer to her level, eyes narrowing; "a ghost ain't obliged to do nothin'! And a ghost doesn't owe nothin', cos he doesn't have nothin' in the first place."
There was a bitterness in those final words which made Kat almost sympathetic, but she quickly forgot it when she noticed Stretch was sneering at her;
"The problem with you fleshie, is you've been hangin' out with Casper too long."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kat asked darkly.
"You think every other ghost is like that? You can guess again. Casper ain't doing himself any favours, hanging out with fleshies," Stretch looked Kat up and down, like she might be repulsive, "getting all sentimental about them."
Kat felt herself blush for some reason. "Just because he happens to be friendly? Why is that such a bad thing?"
Stretch shook his head, looking frustrated; "one of these days that little short sheet is gonna realise where he went wrong, is all."
"So what?" Kat raised her arms, full of exasperation. "Why bother coming after us yourself, if that's how you feel? Why bother...why bother helping me at all?"
"Yeah, exactly," Stretch glared angrily. "Why bother?" the ghost looked like he might attempt to do something akin to scaring her for a moment, but at the last second he seemed to know it was pointless. Instead he stormed ahead, leaving a wide gap between them.
Kat watched him, angry, but also feeling a nag of something else at the back of her mind.
Why bother, anyway?
She touched the back of her head, remembering the pain that should have been there but wasn't anymore.
"Stretch!" she yelled. "Wait up."
The ghost did not stop but he did slow down a bit, not bothering to turn round to her.
Kat caught up to his side. She swallowed, feeling awkward and like she was wrestling with a childish want to keep quiet. Like that would help.
"Listen. I am grateful." she paused. "So thanks."
She held her breath, waiting for the abusive rebuttal which Stretch was so good at. She waited and waited, but seconds stretched out into minutes.
"It's starting to rain again," Stretch said at last, his voice neutral.
"Yeah," Kat felt an odd sense of relief. She didn't want to argue. This seemed like Stretch's weird way of saying 'you're welcome'.
Looking up at the sky, it was indeed raining, but only a little, and it was light and harmless on her skin, almost a welcome refreshment.
"I guess I need to control my temper a little more round here," Kat admitted.
"That might be an idea," Stretch agreed.
Kat dared another look at him, hoping he was not scowling. She was pleased to see he was smirking at her; it was better to be teased than tortured.
"Y'know, sometimes I wonder how you fleshies survive a trip down the stairs every morning. You're so clueless."
Yes, definitely teasing.
"It's nice to know you have such confidence in me, Stretch," Kat decided to be diplomatic. Besides, she kind of enjoyed this sort of banter. Kind of.
Well anything to take her mind off the current nightmare they were in.
"Can I help that you bonebags are so delicate?" Stretch asked.
"I guess not," Kat considered. "Hey, did you know you could fix injuries like that? I mean...like that one on my head?"
Stretch shrugged; "I dunno," he said aloofly. "I mean, it's not like I practise this kinda stuff on a regular basis, do you know what I'm sayin'?"
"Yeah, of course," Kat nodded.
She started to realise, that considering Stretch's stance on humans generally, she was probably the only human he'd ever tried that on. It made her feel...special? That was probably the wrong sort of word, and Kat didn't like to associate the Ghostly Trio with any sort of privilege. Especially their notorious leader.
"You know, I think it happened before too,"
"Did it?" Stretch sounded disinterested.
"Yeah, back in the kitchen. When I knocked my arm. You grabbed it and it felt all weird, then the pain was gone. You remember?"
"Nah," Stretch shook his head.
"Well...surely you must have some idea how it works? To even make it work?"
Stretch stopped moving, turning to look at her, his expression thoughtful; "Miss Fleshie," he started carefully, "there's some things even I don't understand, would ya believe it? Being a ghost, you don't just get a little handbook explainin' all the in's and out's about it. You'd think they'd have thought of that, though."
"Okay," Kat nodded, then carried on, tentatively, "but if there is no 'handbook', how do you know to act the way you do? Why do you scare people? And why should Casper have to?"
Stretch pulled a face; "not this again..."
"Okay," Kat quickly amended. "I don't mean it like that. I'm just curious, that's all."
Stretch seemed to consider, his gaze was still shifty though, like he didn't trust Kat at all.
"I guess it all depends on the ghost...his past, his unfinished business...that sorta thing." he shrugged. "You know, I'm not sayin' no ghost can be friendly...but they're not like us. Those sort of ghosts, I mean."
"What are they?" Kat was fascinated now; she suspected even her own dad had never got to talking to any of the Ghostly Trio on this sort of level before.
Stretch hesitated, like he knew her thoughts and was debating how much information to hand over. After a moment he sighed, a little resigned;
"You know the sort of ghosts that are "nice"? They don't have no unfinished business. They come back to earth only because they're needed," Stretch gave Kat a knowing look; "by fleshies like you."
Many thoughts raced through Kat's mind, twining together to add up and understand what Stretch was telling her. Something sick tossed in her stomach.
"Are you saying Casper is-"
"I'm not sayin' anything." Stretch said at once. His face was guarded. "But you're a bright sorta girl, right? You understand that Casper ain't one of them."
The ghost started moving again, ahead of her, and Kat found herself indignant in her realisation. She rushed to catch up to him, and blocked his path.
"Wait, you're saying I'm the one stopping Casper from crossing over? Is that what this is?"
"Like I said, you're a bright sorta girl." Stretch looked sarcastic. He started to move again, but Kat held her ground.
"No, how can that be? He...he must have unfinished business...if he wants to stay here..."
"Yeah, and look who it happens to be," Stretch gestured completely at Kat. There was a shine of contempt in his eyes as he said it, and it just irked Kat all the more.
"Why should you complain?" she said. "Casper is practically your willing slave. Isn't it a good thing he hangs around?"
Stretch snorted; "you'd like things to be so simple, wouldn't you?" he breezed through her then, and Kat shivered with the chill of it. But her anger was gone now, replaced mostly with confusion, and with it an odd sense of guilt. For what...Casper? Was she really preventing him from crossing over? Was that what he really wanted?
It seemed like Stretch wanted it, anyway. Kat couldn't understand, but she knew she wasn't going to get much else out of Stretch, not for a while anyway.
Looking about bleakly, the sky had dulled to a sombre purplish blue, almost the equivalent of an early dusk. Kat yawned, and realised she was very tired. They had been walking, or floating, for quite a while after all. A rest could not hurt.
Stretch had slowed, seeming to know she was tired.
"You can sleep for a little while. It's not like this world is gonna get up to much while you're asleep, right?"
Kat yawned again. "True." she sat down; the ground was softer somehow, almost bouncy. It took a moment for her to see she was on some sort of giant pillowy mound.
Stretch grinned; "well, least you got your priorities sorted out."
Kat couldn't hold back a chuckle; "don't worry, we'll find the others soon."
"Who's worrying?" Stretch was insulted by the idea. But he lowered himself to the ground too, near enough to her side. "Make sure you have some sweet dreams," he added, more an order than a comforting suggestion. "I don't wanna imagine your nightmares coming to life."
Kat murmured a vague, assuring reply. She was so tired, tired enough that she could sleep within her own mind accompanied by a disgruntled ghost, apparently.
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I hope my logic to what Casper actually "is" here didn't confuse people. It's supposed to be uncertain right now, and more explanation soon.
You may have noticed I favour the Kat/Stretch interactions... if that's not your thing, fear not! The rest of the cast will return soon!
Many thanks for your reviews. they are much wanted/loved.
