Alina knew Jack would have had a lot to say if he knew she was going to find Walter, so the logical thing to do was not to tell him. She hadn't spoken to him properly since that day; she was hurt and offended and Jack seemed equally so. While he still spoke to Erik, he seemed closed off from Alina entirely and for some reason Alina didn't know, had stopped talking to Amelija as well. She didn't tell any of them she was going to visit Walter to say goodbye; she knew what they would think - it's too early, don't disturb them now, wait until we figure out what to do - but it was stronger than her and her common sense. Alina could not think about Walter - stripped of all control over his own life, doing physical labor when only a month ago he was solving math problems, serious among adults instead of fishing with his brothers - without her heart clenching into a tight little fist, and she could not leave him there with what she imagined to be terrible despair and loneliness without at least seeing him and letting him know she was still there if he needed her.

Walter worked at a factory - she found out as much from Samuel who talked to her a few more times, wary and worried of her bringing up certain difficult topics again. Alina didn't insist on mentioning anything again so soon; she carefully avoided saying anything that might upset Sam any further. Situation at home was tense, and the current peace seemed only another calm before another storm.

Amelija refused to go, for reasons she decided to keep to herself. Instead, she told Alina to give her best to Walter and packed him a gift: a brand new mathematics textbook she bought in a bookstore.

It was a boring, physically taxing job. Workers were tired, weary-looking; they worked on a track, each doing the same repetitive motions hundreds of times, for hours, every day. Alina remembered with sorrow how much Walter liked variety; how quickly he'd get bored of doing the same thing over and over again once he got the hang of it. She tried to push back the thought.

"Sir", she said to the man they pointed to her as their manager. "Sir, I'm terribly sorry, my name is Alina Boričević and I need to speak with a worker of yours, just for a few minutes."

"Is something burning?" he said coldly. "Break is in two hours. You can come back then."

"I understand, sir, but I do have my own job to go to later, and it will only take a few minutes. His name is Walter Preston, he hasn't been here long - I used to be his teacher. I'd just like to say hello. I'll be out of your hair soon; won't disturb him again."

"Five minutes", he said, then turned around. "Preston! Come here!"

Walter straightened up from what he was doing across the room - at least he was assembling something that looked complex to Alina, perhaps that would keep him interested for a while - and frowned suspiciously. He wiped his hands, however, and walked over to them.

"Preston, this lady is here to see you. You have five minutes, and I'll take them from your break later. Be quick", the man said, and went off on his way, leaving them alone.

"Hi, Walter", Alina smiled.

"Are you also here to tell me I'm wasting my life?" Walter frowned at Alina.

"No", she said gently. "I'm here to visit you. I wanted to know how you were doing."

"Fine", he shrugged. "I'm just fine."

"That's good", she smiled. "Do you like it here? Do they treat you well?"

"Sure."

"Ah, good. They wouldn't like it if I had to talk to them."

"It's actually not so bad", Walter remarked, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "I mean, the work is hard, the bosses are constantly on my ass, and to be fair I think they're paying me too little just because I'm too young to complain. But the others are actually nice. Back in school everyone looked at me like I was still secretly stupid. But here, they all look at me like I'm really smart - you should have seen their faces when they realized I could do fractions and ratios on my own. And I'm stronger than people think. So they're pretty impressed so far."

"I see", Alina smiled. "Well, you are quite impressive on your own, Walter."

"Whatever", Walter waved his hand back at her, both embarrassed and taking advantage of the fact she was no longer his teacher and he didn't have to address her properly.

"I'm glad they're smart enough to recognize that", Alina added.

"Yeah, so far. But they say they won't let me do anything interesting for years. They just let me watch. It's a bit… annoying", Walter sighed, encouraged by Alina's surprising open-mindedness. "So far, all I do is… put together all the same parts, for hours at a time. It's boring."

"I can imagine", Alina nodded. "At least you're learning, right? You're a quick learner, they'll give you more things to do, I'm sure. It's in their interest, too. Just do your best to listen when they show you something new, and ask a lot of questions. Bore them with questions. Trust me."

"They might kick my ass, but sure", Walter remarked.

Alina smiled.

"Look, I'm sorry I quit school", Walter hurried again. "I know you probably think I'm just another lowlife kid, but dad said we need the money. I'm not gonna let them work all day without helping."

"I understand", Alina nodded. "I was wondering if maybe there is a way for you to do both. Maybe there's a job you could do with shorter hours, so you can continue your education. We've got other options I could arrange, if your family decides to ask us. I'd gladly discuss it with your parents."

"Dad says it's a waste of time to try to do both. Says I'll be shitty both at work and in school - and that's just dumb."

"Nothing you do is a waste, Walter", she shook her head. "Nothing you decide to do. Do you know why?"

Walter stared stubbornly at his hands.

"Because, I know that whatever you do, you'll do it well. You'll make it worthy. There's nothing wrong with whatever you want. Nothing." she leaned forward and took his hand. "If you decide to come back to us, I'll do my absolute damnedest to make it possible, do you understand? But if this is truly what you want, I won't think any less of you. I know you have your reasons. I know you're smart enough to decide. I know you know what you want from life, because life has forced you to realize it a lot sooner than the rest of us - and I won't pretend to know what it is, but I just want you to know that I'll help you with it, whatever it may be. Alright?"

"Why are you here, then? If not to talk me out of it?" Walter looked at her with renewed suspicion.

"I just wanted to say goodbye, in case I won't have you in my class", Alina broke out of her polished teacher-persona and her eyes showed very sincere sorrow for a moment. "I will miss you, Walt."

"Okay, well", Walt forgot how to speak for a moment. "Thanks."

Alina smiled.

"Uh, I have to get back to work now", he pointed out. The man from before waved from the distance at Alina to hurry her up.

"Of course. Walter, now that you're here, I hope you'll be happy, and I expect you to do your best. You have the capability to be an engineer, and if you do one day have the chance to change your mind - it's never too late. Remember that."

She walked away, then turned around again. "I almost forgot. My sister is going home soon, probably by the end of September. She sent you this book - you don't have to unwrap it now, or- alright, unwrap it now. If you wish to say goodbye to her before she leaves - I'm sure Samuel and I can make it happen without anyone knowing."

"Thank you, miss Alina", Walter said, putting his working gloves back on. He put the book back into its wrappings very carefully and put it in his pocket. His eyes were slightly watery when he looked at the book.

"I can't,'' Amelija whispered. "I can't stay here, but I can't leave. I-"

"It's a choice you have to make, Amelija", Jack drawled out coldly. "Refusing to choose also implies a choice. You can't keep avoiding the issue - we don't have much time left together."

"You-" Amelija hissed at him in frustration.

"I will not make it for you, no", he retorted. "It's your life. I want you to make it for yourself. I'll agree with it, either way."

"Well then if you will, why don't you just-" Amelija rambled furiously.

"God damnit, Amelija! Just tell me if you want me or not! It's not that difficult!" Jack burst. "I don't care for your family's made-up rules and flimsy excuses! Either you want me, or you don't, it's that simple!"

"Fine! I do!" Amelija spat back at him. "And you want me, as well, I assume? And ten years from now, I am to bet on my life we will still want each other? Because there's no going back if we decide. Which one of us will abandon their entire life, everything they've ever known to be together? Shall we flip a coin?"

"I will come with you, if you want me", Jack said matter-of-factly. Amelija could find nothing indicative of either truth or lie in his eyes; in fact, she could find nothing at all.

"What?" she stopped in her tracks, wide-eyed.

"So what? I'm assuming we'll be back and forth either way. Your sister lives here - will get married here- and your family lives over the pond. It will happen. If you want me to officially go after you and ask your father for your hand in marriage, I'll play along with your little traditionalist charade. If you want me to change my address, I'll do that as well."

"You don't know that Alina will-"

"Open your eyes, Amelija", Jack shrugged. "Alina had little to lose back home, and a talent for starting anew. And she hopped onto that ship as soon as she fell in love, well- some of us are just like that, luckily for you."

Amelija struggled to find words. "But- your friends- your job-"

"I'm sure they have jobs and decent people there. Do they? Is there something I don't know?"

"My- my father and mother are- quite controlling, and they might not approve-"

"Good luck with that. They can certainly try. As long as you want me, they'll do well to adapt, unless they want to see their only remaining daughter gone as well." Jack shrugged again, like all of Amelija's horrible anxieties were nothing, like there was nothing he could imagine stopping him, and it annoyed her to no end.

"Is that it? None of this matters to you? You'll just waltz right in, and make your own rules?" She threw her arms in the air.

"As I usually do."

"It will never work!" she yelled. "It's- it's not that simple, no matter how you try to make it like it is! There's a million - million things, and you're just ignoring me-"

"Listen to me", Jack lowered his voice, taking his hand out of his pocket for the first time to point directly at Amelija. "Yes, there are a million things that could go wrong. No, it's not that simple. But we will either do this, and tackle those million things as they come, or you'll keep whining and fighting me every step of the way. Now, that will get old pretty quickly, so if you intend to do that, you might have been right all along and it will never work. Either you decide it will work, right now, or it won't."

"You're serious", Amelija blinked. "You're actually serious. These are stubborn, manipulative, intolerant people and you-"

"So? Do you think I want them to call me 'son'? To change their ways and see me as one of them? I don't care what they might think. What I do know is that if you and I are to be together, we'll have to actually be together, not fight one another. We'll have plenty of other problems to fight; if we're not unified we'll have no chance of winning."

Amelija kept silent for a while before replying, "You're right."

"Oh, I am? What a surprise."

"I'll be back", she said, getting up and taking her things. "I'll tell you what I've decided before I leave."

"But-"

"Shut up, Jack. I'll tell you before I leave. I have to go now; my sister is in a sorry state and she needs me."

"Do you have a minute?" Erik asked Amelija that evening, carefully opening the door to Alina's room. Alina was cooking something for dinner; she was still uncharacteristically quiet and sad for her, but color seemed to be returning to her cheeks, so he decided to welcome any progress that came.

"I do", said the voice on the other side, so he carefully entered and closed the door behind him gently, leaning on it. There was nowhere to sit except for the bed and small desk with one chair, and Erik instinctively decided, looking at Amelija, that he was better off further from her.

"I saw Jack today", Erik remarked, leaning on the door to Alina's room and looking at the desk where Amelija was reading her book and sewing simultaneously. It wasn't like her to work so frantically; she usually took her time to enjoy doing one thing at a time.

"Are you speaking to me?" Amelija said, not looking up. "Thank you for the information."

"Mhm. He looks terrible, like he hasn't slept in days. He almost stepped into the street and ended up under a carriage today", Erik continued, taking off his gloves. It was warm, and Amelija had been a guest for two months now; surely she could handle seeing his hands, he decided with somewhat unexpected defiance.

Amelija didn't care in the slightest about the tremendous gesture of trust bestowed upon her; she never looked up. "I hope he solves whatever matter is causing him such anguish."

"I'd say it's more than one matter, they just have the same last name", Erik continued, looking with annoyance at both of his current roommates. "I suppose it's not easy being the only adult in your circle of friends."

"Do you reckon you know what that's like?" Amelija finally looked up at him. Now it was obvious she looked even worse than Jack- under her steely, defiant look it was obvious she was near crying. Her eyes had dark circles around them from not sleeping, and her hair was pinned with a lot less care than usually.

"Not at all." Erik bit his lip. "Alina told me you're leaving soon. I won't be meddling in your affairs, but - if you need help with anything before you leave, just say so."

"I don't", Amelija hissed.

"Alright", Erik bowed his head. "If you change your mind, the offer still stands."

"You'll have to meet Nikola now", Amelija pointed out, eager to change the subject. "You can't avoid him anymore."

"I'm growing used to mandatory introductions and meetings with people, don't worry. I'll survive it, one way or another. I just wanted to say-" he suddenly stopped, his spine straightening as he listened intently.

"What-" Amelija asked, only to be shushed.

"Someone is just outside. Someone I don't know. Be silent", he said just as someone banged loudly on the front door. Alina was much closer and too quick for him to stop her, and he was probably being paranoid anyway, it wouldn't help anyone if he made a scene-

Alina opened the door without even asking or looking who it was, distracted and scattered from everything that happened that day. Erik knew, even before she opened the door and froze in place, who it would be. Some ancient, monstrous, mould-covered, forgotten part of him knew instantly what would happen, even though the rest of him regarded it as a ridiculous notion.

Preston stood on the doorway, clearly drunk out of his mind, eyes full of hate and fury; Alina opened her mouth to try and say something that would calm the situation, but he didn't seem to be interested in talking. Instead, he hurled himself at her, his hands reaching for her neck.

Alina took a split second too long to react; she tried backing away, but one of Preston's hands already closed around her neck and she let out a quiet gasp as she grabbed his arm; it was the most horrifying sound Erik had ever heard, and it made him flinch as he was swiftly moving towards them. He was a second too late; he could have prevented it - the two halves of him took a second to argue what to do. Now, however, it was decided unanimously.

Before Preston could even notice him, Erik came out of some corner of the house and walked up to him in three quick and precise steps; Alina automatically moved out of the way as much as she could. The next two things happened so quickly Preston barely had time to process them: first, Erik's fist found his solar plexus with intensity carefully calculated to put him on his knees, but not kill him; then before Preston could properly open his mouth to start yelling Erik grabbed the front of his jacket without a word and dragged him a few steps away from Alina.

Preston bent over into a ball of pain, as Erik stood indifferently in front of him.

"A smarter man would have heeded Jack's warning", said something that sounded less and less like him with each following word. "I must have misjudged you when I thought I could reason with you like a human being. I'm about to correct that mistake now."

Jack, Amelija thought as she jumped out of Alina's room through the low window and sped off in the direction where she hoped she couldn't be seen easily in the dark. She had to do something quickly. Both of these men are dangerous. At least one of them is dangerous for Alina. Erik isn't thinking. I can think but I can't protect her. I need someone who can both think and throw a punch at the same time, ideally.

Jack. Help me.

"Erik!" Alina yelled from the doorframe, not daring to come closer. Her fingers gripped the frame so tightly in panic, they'd gone almost completely white. "Erik, stop! You're going to kill him!"

"Get inside, Alina! Now!" Something yelled from Erik's throat with Erik's voice, but it was the farthest thing from Erik she could imagine. "If he touches you, he'll be dead before dawn!"

Alina looked into his eyes for a moment before speaking. She could have probably manipulated him out of this somehow - he didn't seem so far gone or mindless to her, he would probably respond to Erik, please, I know you can do the right thing, let's just let it go, nothing bad is going to happen - but she could see it in his eyes that he was already expecting it. He was expecting her to try and manipulate him out of it, and she couldn't see if it was pure paranoia that she would actually put him in danger, no, God I hope he's not that insane or if some flicker of light from behind his eyes was begging for her to tell him to do the right thing in spite of alarms in his head obviously screaming danger.

So, you do know what the right thing to do is.

Ah, but I have no intention to drag it out of you each time. What was it you said - a duet is two equals playing together? You're ready to arrive by some conclusions yourself, without me pulling the heartstrings.

I can't love you if I have to pull your strings.

"Very well", she said quietly. "I leave it in your hands."

She spun on her heel and crossed over the threshold, closing the door behind her.

Erik nodded once and turned away, grabbing Preston by his shirt and dragging him off into the shadows where he wouldn't be seen or bothered by anybody who might peek through the window.

"Let me go, you fucking freak", Preston panted as he tried to stay upright. "Let me go, or I swear to God-"

"Unwise", the ghost said. "Erik would have killed you for talking like this. Maybe it's good that it's me now? I won't kill you for it; you can't provoke me."

"Listen to me", the empty shell standing in front of Preston mimicked Erik's voice, struggling to keep speaking English. Preston's eyes widened at the empty, bottomless yellow eyes staring at him, and the hollow, inhuman voice that was currently speaking into his face.

"I am taking you very seriously." the shell whispered. "And I know what you are capable of. If something happens to Alina, it will be too late for me to regret not killing you now. By all means, it would be pragmatic to do it now that I can call it self-defense or whatever nonsense they call it. I'm still undecided, however, since she doesn't want me to do it, for whatever reason. You might yet change my mind about it, if you're wise."

Preston opened his mouth, wanting to point out the obvious, but -

"Yes, I'm aware you can try to scream or call for help, but trust me - there will be no need for that. You will have no time to do that. I've seen now that you will stop at nothing. If you don't choose your next words very carefully, I will lose any reason for the restraint I am currently showing for not killing you. If she's ever harmed in any way, it's over for both of us, I can promise you that. Did you not consider that, before you showed up at my door and tried to kill her?"

"I wasn't-"

"Why are you here?" Erik demanded, his voice sharp as a knife.

"Your woman is talking to my son behind my back!" Preston yelled. "I want him nowhere near you folk, he's better off doing an honest job than following her imaginary plans - and now she even followed him to work to manipulate him!"

"You're trying to tell me your first instinct against that was to kill her, instead of simply telling her not to talk to him anymore? Was she ever forbidden from talking to him; have you ever tried to reason with her like a man?" Erik replied. His voice was going up and down in pitch and his body twitched as if two creatures were fighting for control over it. "Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps you are better off dead, then."

"I don't want to kill her", Preston growled through his drunken anger. "But someone needs to show her her place, and if you won't' do it, I-"

He was cut off by another fist to his temple. The blow was painful, and made Preston's head spin; this time he remained in place, silent.

"Apparently the way to reason with you is to speak your own language", the ghost concluded. "We might get somewhere, yet. Now for the important things. We need to discuss your attack on my fiancee, and how you're immediately going to remove yourself from our lives and leave this entire island before I've had a chance to change my mind."

Truth be told, facing an opponent he couldn't intimidate, scream or throw his hands at made Hank Preston more than a little unnerved. In lack of easier options, he found himself dragged into the argument.

"Haven't you had enough?" Preston yelled at him. "You won't stop until you take my boy away from me?"

"We're not taking your boy away from you!" Erik yelled back, ignoring the black spots at the corners of his vision. The sharp, black rage was deadly, but mute now after it said its part - focusing his mind on speaking seemed to keep it at bay. For now. "We're trying to give him a future! She's giving him a choice!"

"He's too young to make choices, god damnit!" Preston waved his hands exasperatedly. "You're having him chase a pipe dream, you're going to ruin him, put him in debt before he's old enough to know better!"

"And you're going to make those choices for him?" Erik thundered, running his hand through his hair. "How did you like having choices made for you? Do you think I liked it, having my future stolen? Being turned into this godforsaken shadow of a man? Do you like living day to day, knowing you can't get back what they stole from you before you were old enough to remember? What makes you people so certain you can decide your children's future?"

Preston stared at him, wide-eyed. Something in Erik's shaky, twitching hands and fevered eyes made him too scared to respond.

"Do you think it's alright to assume the best your boy can do?" he rambled on. "Have you made a little mold for him already? Will you cut out every part of him that doesn't fit, until there's nothing left? Answer me!"

Preston blinked, unsure what exactly he wanted answered. "I just want him to have a secure future, not a - "

"LIAR!" Erik shouted, too upset to notice how Preston cowered and shifted a little further away from him. "You're lying! You want him to spend his life atoning for your mistakes, rationalizing your own bitter little world, as if that were even possible! You will sacrifice your own child's life rather than admit there's something more to the world than what you see!"

As the rage left his vision and his voice, shame slowly crept in. I am the least likely person in the world to do this right. I may have had a chance to persuade him, in some other universe. And now it's over.

Preston stared at him for a minute. He could admit the man was right at one particular thing:

He didn't want Walter to turn into this bitter, unhinged shadow yelling at him.

In the ensuing few seconds of silence Preston's eyes shifted from Erik to somewhere behind his shoulder: he turned around and noticed Jack approaching quickly, Amelija standing further away, still on the street. He must have completely lost his composure, to not have heard him arrive.

"Good evening", Jack said quietly, walking in a way Erik had not seen him walk until then, sharp and careful. His jacket opened and closed as he walked, revealing a holstered gun slung from his shoulder and around his torso. "Hank."

Preston stared at Jack with a completely different kind of horror from how he looked at Erik.

"Hank, I am told you showed up at these people's private property and attacked the woman who lives there", Jack continued, perfectly composed. "Now, is that true?"

Preston looked at him defiantly, then said, "My son is being turned against me."

"That's sad, if true", Jack said. "You do understand that if you attack someone in their own home, I could make a very strong case that you were killed in self-defense, right? You do know who I am? You are aware that no jury or judge in this state would doubt me, after all I've done?"

"I'm not on their prop-" Preston started.

"Really?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "You must be mistaken. I'm positive that your body will be found inside their own house. All the witnesses will testify with the same story. Quite a clear-cut case. Do you think your sons and daughter will mourn you, Hank? Enough to question it, given your… history?"

"What do you want?" Preston spat out. "You could've killed me already."

"I want to destroy you", Jack said matter-of-factly. "I'm giving you merely a way to choose how I'll do it, nothing else. Erik can kill you right now- which will be messy, to be honest - or you could go to the police with me tonight and admit what happened here. I'll have your written admission, and nothing less. And then they will decide what to do with you. If I were Alina, I'd sue for a handsome amount - we'll see. But you will be alive, that much I can promise."

Preston looked at him in silence for a long time, then nodded.

"Let's go, then", Jack waved at him. "Don't test me."

"Um", Amelija started "I should maybe -"

"Come with me", Jack waved at her too, much more gently. "I need witnesses; you saw what happened."

"But Alina-"

"Erik will stay with Alina. You're staying with me tonight. They need to calm down, both of them. You'll be safe in my house."

Amelija looked over at Erik, who didn't seem to be in a condition to calm Alina down; his breathing was still frantic, his hands twitching. Jack seemed undisturbed by it.

"Erik", he looked him straight in the eye. "I need you to calm down. You did the right thing, but it's not over. Go home. I'll come see you in the morning. Let's go", he nodded to Preston who began walking, still drunk and holding the side of his head where Erik had hit him.

Erik watched Preston leave as his hands and arms still shook violently, itching to snap the man's neck while it was still not too late, while he still had the upper hand - his vision was blurry and speckled with black, but he could still somewhat hang on to himself and stand still.

Alina, he thought, this was for you. I tried to do the right thing, though it took me a little bit. I hope you can forgive me if I made it worse.

And

what now, that she has

seen

it

Erik blinked a few times, forcefully trying to clear his vision.

Maybe she didn't notice it.

Maybe it's not

that

ob vio us

Erik tried, so hard, to get his vision back and his arms to stop shaking, as he felt himself fall deeper. Wild, burning panic took over, so all-consuming he thought he might die; leave his body and keep walking this earth as a dead man. Thoughts, once a painful ball of knotted string, were now just

f ra ctu re s

may be s he forg ive s you

go

t e llh er

se e her one la s e

Don't hurt her, Erik begged with his last coherent thought before he disappeared and the other thing - the ghost, the rot, whatever it was, took his place for what would be the last time.

Erik entered the house very slowly and quietly; if Alina was any less experienced with handling her own distress she may have missed the slight twitch in his shoulders and elbows as he locked the door behind him - once, then twice - then looked at the lock for a little bit too long. She made no sign she'd noticed anything, but her whole body was suddenly calmly alert. Erik lingered for a moment longer then walked over to the window, his back still turned to her.

"I'm sorry. I failed you", said the ghostly voice that seemingly wasn't coming from him. "He tried to help, but I may have made it worse."

"What did you do?" Alina asked with feigned calmness as all alarms blared in her head. It immediately seemed like a bad idea as soon as she said it, as Erik gave no sign that he heard the question, except that the slight shake of his fingers, clasped on his back, suddenly became more prominent. She noticed it, and her mind began to race.

It's not impossible he's done something really bad, but it just doesn't seem likely.

What's all this about, then? What should I do? How do I get the truth out?

In the short pause that came from Alina's thinking, Erik's arms and fingers never stopped their shaking and twitching as he pretended not to notice and stared out the window, stiff as a board. His spine seemed electrified; Alina could see an occasional spasm that went through his back or neck, jerking his arm or head slightly as it jolted through his trembling form.

Alina's heart broke, her iron will crumbled.

She stood up slowly and quietly, crossing over the room in several small, pitter-patter steps uncharacteristic to her and stopped by the window right next to him. She tried to smile at him, but a sudden jolt that went through his arm reminded her it might not be a good idea to look directly at him.

She looked through the window as well, at the dark, empty street. Confused, upset and at a loss for what to do, she began humming to herself; an old lullaby she hadn't heard in over fifteen years. She could remember with sudden clarity the last time she heard it - on the day the great earthquake struck in Zagreb, her grandmother sang it to her as aftershocks raced through the city and Alina's heart beat against her chest as they trembled in their makeshift shelter - a forceful, savage ripple that tore through her home much like the one that seemed to be tearing through Erik's body right now.

As she hummed softly, his shaking seemed to calm down a little bit. She trailed off, quieting down, and kept looking out the window in silence when she finished.

"What is that?" the voice inside Erik sounded a little closer to the surface now.

"Just an old lullaby my grandmother used to sing. I just remembered it for some reason."

"We should write it down sometime."

"Yes", she smiled to herself. "It might be a good idea."

Another moment of silence.

"I haven't always been like this", he whispered. "I almost forgot, but there was a time when I wasn't like this. Even when I was miserable, I was still whole. But I was so young I can barely recall it."

Alina opened her mouth to say something, but he continued. "I don't remember the moment that first started chipping away at me- but I do remember the one that d- definitely fractured something." He turned to her, his head snapping a little too quickly to the side. "Antoinette was smart enough to break into a cage with nothing but pliers and some rudimentary lockpicks. And she was smart enough to coax me out of it, and kind enough to take me h-ho-" his voice broke and he shut his eyes tightly, clutching at his head; but then he straightened up again. "But one thing she was not."

Alina waited.

"She was not strong enough to stand up to a man nearly twice her size who had no intention of letting me go", he continued. His mouth kept moving, but the voice sounded nothing like him. Alina thought she was hearing some distant, cursed echo from an impossibly deep hole. "She wasn't a murderer. Neither was Erik. Erik, that naive idiot boy who kept hoping through nearly a decade that his m- m- mother would change her mind and come for him. Erik hoped after every whipping that the meal and temporary peace he got meant that things might change. Erik saw his chains, but he l- l-" he had to take a deep breath again, his hands clutching at his hair. "Erik saw his own chains, but he still loved his captors, even though he hated them to the bone, because he couldn't help himself. Who else did he have left to love? And he would have died there, starving and bleeding and hoping that things would change. He would never have gotten out of there alive, were it not for me." the creature now looked at Alina, moonlight reflecting against its bright yellow eyes. "And so that night Erik thought he was finally free, and when his master appeared out of nowhere, he would not have had it in him to do what it took to get out. But I did. Erik fainted with fear and h-heartbreak as his master tried to strike the woman who came to save him - and I woke up."

"And what did you do?" Alina asked gently.

"I don't know, I didn't stick around to check. Erik could never remember any of it. But I'd assume, even if he survived, it was by pure luck and not my actual intention. It's not likely. And since then, I've been like this."

"Who are you?" Alina asked. "What do you want?"

"I… don't know", the ghost shook its head. "I don't think I'm anyone, or anything. I'm bits that fell off over the years as he fractured, and grew together into a m-monster. I just want to live."

"What does Erik want?"

"He wants me to disappear", the ghost shrugged. "Wouldn't you?"

"No", she shook her head slowly. "No, I don't want that."

The ghost stared at her in surprise. "What do you want, then?"

"I want all of him, which I suppose includes you too."

"I will be what dooms you both in the end", the ghost said, seemingly emotionless. "He certainly thinks so. He's terrified of me. The only solace he has is that if he loses you because of me, he can simply end us both, and I don't want that. It's a stalemate. I can't control him, but he can't get rid of me either." another ripple tore through his arms. The ghost was valiant in its attempts to sound indifferent to what it was saying, even as it failed spectacularly.

Alina frowned. "And you want to hurt me?"

"I-" the ghost stammered, then stopped to think. "No, I don't. Unless you try to hurt me. But how can I know that if I'm not paying attention? Erik trusted, and it got him in a cage. I killed, and it got me out."

"Did Erik not trust Antoinette first? Otherwise he never would have tried to leave, and you would never have been born."

"Perhaps." the ghost turned away from her again.

"The way I see it, both of you did it together."

"P-Perhaps."

"How could I hate you, when I know you saved his life?" she pleaded earnestly. "I don't want you gone. I just want you to rest. It's over. You're safe. Don't you want to rest?"

The ghost made no sound.

"I have no pity to spare for men who keep children in cages", she frowned with fury, pacing around the room. "I don't care if you killed Erik's master. Good riddance!"

The ghost turned to her. "D-does it not bother you that I can kill someone he l-loves?"

"Loves?" Alina spat out. "As if that's why you killed him? Any love he may have felt for that man, if I'm going to call him a man, was purely out of Erik's own goodness! If I ever treat someone who loves me the way Erik's master treated him, you're more than welcome to tear me to shreds!"

"I probably would", the ghost agreed. "But otherwise no. I think."

"Good! Then we have no problem here!" Alina threw her hands up. The ghost flinched with its whole body, clenching its fists - but when she made no move to attack, it settled.

The two of them stood silently, a few feet apart, and stared at each other for a moment.

"I didn't kill Hank Preston", the ghost stated with an almost child-like air of fear and embarrassment that clashed with its prior, monstrous demeanor. "Erik thought Preston was going to h-h-harm you, and I was ready to do it, but…"

He swallowed. "But I didn't do it. I- definitely scared him, though. But I stuck around to check, this time. Erik talked to him. To them. I can't tell if it did any good."

"What did Erik say?" she asked, slightly shaken.

"The truth. Preston attacked you. He went for your neck; I saw it too. He's a danger to his own family, too. If Preston keeps abusing his son, the boy will end up like me. I think Erik will be able to tell you more details tomorrow." It shrugged. "I didn't understand much of it."

Alina stared in confusion, scrambling for something to say.

"Don't hate him. It's my fault", the ghost bowed its head at her, mimicking its host's habitual gesture, "He has a hard enough time fighting me even on a good day."

"I don't hate either of you", she managed. "Thank- thank you for stopping yourself." she stepped a little closer.

The ghost nodded slightly; the twitching seemingly dying down. "Yes. If Erik tries to take credit for that - I just want you to know that I was the one who stopped. Even before he woke up."

Alina cocked her head to the side. "Ah. And why?"

"I didn't want you to cry", the ghost admitted shyly, slightly shifting. "I don't like it- that is, he doesn't like it when you cry. And the son - he's still whole. I didn't want to be the one to fracture him."

"I understand", Alina said, slowly taking another step until she was directly in front of the ghost's still slightly-shaking body. She held out both her hands and very slowly took his - the ghost followed her every move, but made no effort to stop her - bringing them up to her lips and kissing each of them once. "You were good. You can rest now."

When she looked up again, the eyes that stared back at her belonged to Erik again.