(O.O)

My second story began about three years ago, around the same time I met my wife.

I was working on a case for a young woman named Samantha Avery. As I tried to assist Ms. Avery with her own ghostly problem during my home visit is when I first felt the presence of this entity that wanted me dead.

As I arrived at the young woman's house, an unsettling feeling came over me and landed within the pit of my stomach. I didn't allow myself to think much of it and simply associated it with the burritos I ate for lunch earlier that day.

I ignored the feeling and entered the house, focused on helping Ms. Avery. I listened to the story of her own ghostly encounter.

*"So, It was night and I was walking down the street, a few blocks from here, when I first felt this heaviness on my shoulder. I turned around, but I didn't see nothing," the young woman retold the story of her ghost encounter in her nice Southern accent. "I continued walking and I noticed that some trees had crows on them, which is not natural 'cause crows aren't seen in these parts. I continued to walk but then stopped because I felt heavy breathing behind my ear. I turned around again. But I still didn't see anyone. I was getting scared. But my mama taught me that being scared never got people anywhere, so I continued my walk and pretended that it was nothing. I was almost home when I heard it."*

"Heard what, Ms. Avery?" I asked.

"A raspy voice whispering, give it back to me, in my ear. I turned around again. But I didn't see anybody. I was frightened. Then." She gulped, a haunted look was shown on her face. "I tried to rush home, but I felt someone grab my arm. I turned for the last time and I saw her. A ghost with a body that was translucent holding my forearm, looking at me with those dead, dull eyes as she said, Give it back to me. "

"So, what happened next?"

"I screamed. Screamed and pulled my arm away before running to my home like Satan himself was after me. I locked the doors and went to my bedroom and prayed Hail Mary like my life depended on it. And it did because I was still hearing those words over and over and over until I finally called my boyfriend over to come and help me. When he arrived, the voice disappeared. He thought I was crazy. But I know what I heard and saw. It was real and I need someone to help me with this because every time I'm alone, this thing shows up and scares the bejeezus out of me."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, pet," I said to her comfortingly.

I really did empathize with first-timers when it came to ghost sightings.

"I'll do my best to help," I promised the young woman, "Can you leave me alone in your house for a few minutes? I need to get a feel for what this spirit wants and maybe help it pass on so it won't bother you."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Um, take your time. I'll just be on the porch. Give me a holler if you need anything." Ms. Avery stood from her chair and left the room.

When she was finally gone, I turned to the other occupant who had been listening in on our conversation since I arrived.

"So, you mind telling me why you've been haunting Ms. Avery, Luv?" I asked. I could see that the being was standing by the window, beside the chair my client was sitting on earlier.

The spirit before me was a woman in her late twenties. I could tell she used to be pretty. She had long flowy hair and was wearing a familiar white dress.

"She has something of mine," the ghost said in a raspy voice. "My mother gave it to me. I want it back."

I stared at her dress and immediately knew what she wanted and what I needed to do to help Ms. Avery.

As I stood up to call Ms. Avery, that heavy feeling in my stomach returned. This time it was accompanied by a brief feeling of another ghost inside the room. I looked around, but I couldn't find them.

I turned to the ghost of the young woman and asked her if there was another entity haunting the house. Ghosts were often helpful when you asked them nicely.

She shook her head.

"I am the only one haunting her." She turned to the entrance that led to the hallway and said, "Although, I cannot say the same for you."

Her statement confused me. I tried to ask what she bloody meant by that. She didn't respond. I assumed she had moved on from the subject.

Ghosts weren't the most reliable of informants. They often focused more on what happened to them than what happened to the people around them. Rarely do I see spirits interact with other spirits or give information about them.

Since I knew I wouldn't be getting any more answers from the spirit, I called Ms. Avery back in. I sat her down to let her know what I learned from the ghost. I told her that it was tied to the dress that she recently purchased at a garage sale and convinced her to part with it. Her haunting issue was resolved.

Ms. Avery thanked me and I left her home with both the dress and the ghost.

I had planned to return the dress to the ghost's sister, who lived across town so the girl's spirit could move on from this realm. However, before I could leave, my phone rang.

"'Ello?" I answered.

"Hey, Spike. Are you done with the case?" my business partner and cousin, Tara, asked.

"Just finishing up. Why?"

"Well, there's a cop here and he wants to talk to you about something." I heard her concern from her voice. "You didn't do anything illegal recently, right?"

Coming from anyone else, I may have been offended. Despite the bleached hair, leather coat, and a few piercings, I was actually a decent bloke.

Punk was just a fashion I got into after college and never left the phase.

However, most people form their own ideas because of my appearance. More often than not, when something went wrong I was the one to blame.

This was not something I appreciated. I was a firm believer in not judging a book by its cover and hated people who judged me for my looks.

But Tara was different, she was special.

The girl knew who I really was so I didn't mind when she questioned me.

I knew that when Tara questioned me about such things it was because she worried about me. She most likely wanted to know if she needed to lie for me or make some shayt up to save my sorry hide.

She's good people.

"I didn't do anything to warrant the coppers to look for me. Did he tell you anything about why he's there?"

"No, he said he'd rather just talk to you about it. Should I ask him to leave?"

"Nah. He'll probably come back anyway. Let him know that I'm on my way. I just need to deliver a dress to someone and I'll head there soon as I finish. If he's willing to wait, offer him coffee or something."

As I ended the call, I suddenly felt the hairs at the back of my neck stand, alerting me of a ghostly presence nearby. I looked around but saw nothing.

Eventually, I thought it was probably the owner of the dress that was still in my possession reminding me to return the damn thing back to her.

"Impatient, bint," I muttered, before getting on my motorbike and driving to the address of the ghost's sister.

The trip was successful and fortunately, her sister understood the situation. She accepted the dress and promised to have the item buried at her sister's gravesite.

I turned to the ghost, who smiled gratefully at me before disappearing into the light, which signified that she was finally moving on.

I left the house and once again, I felt some sort of heaviness in the pit of my stomach and the feeling of a ghost nearby. I growled. I had an upset stomach and this ghost was being a shy idiot.

I hated it when a spirit haunted me. If they wanted my help, it was best that they showed themselves and just asked for it.

"If you want me to help you, show your fucking face or leave me the fuck alone," I said out loud.

I waited a minute or two for someone to appear but nothing happened. I shrugged it off and rode my bike.

On the way back to the office, I felt the ghostly presence again.

I tried to ignore it and focus on the drive but this time, I felt something heavy on my shoulders. Almost as if something was weighing them down.

I glanced at the side mirror to check what it was and immediately regretted it.

In the mirror, the most horrifying face I had ever seen was staring back at me.

While the presence I had felt was like a ghost, the entity riding behind me didn't look like it belonged to the spirit of a human. The being I saw had bright yellow eyes, and there were ridges on his forehead that emphasized its angry expression. It had no hair on its head but there were two protruding horns in its place. Its skin was deep red, like blood and its mouth was wide open, with two sharp fangs. It looked like it was going to take a bite at me.

I was so surprised by this entity's appearance that I lost control of my bike and went careening to the sidewalk towards a lamp post. Fortunately, years of experience allowed me to swerve my bike at the last minute, narrowly missing the post before directing my bike back to the road.

"Fuck," I said, I looked over my shoulder to see if the entity was still there.

Luckily, it wasn't.

I pulled over to the side of the road, a few meters from the post I almost hit, to get my bearings back. I can't feel the entity anymore but I was still shaken by it. My heart was still beating like a hundred miles an hour. My breath was labored and I could feel sweat accumulating on my forehead under my helmet.

Now, I wasn't a ninny when it came to ghosts. I mean, I've seen my fair share of horrifying specters in my life. Often from spirits who recently passed away. They were the ones that still had the wounds of what killed them appearing in their ghost forms. These wounds disappear over time, but it doesn't change the fact they all look gross when you see them.

But it was because of these experiences of mine that I have built an immunity for such things that they no longer frighten me.

The ghost from earlier though was different. It didn't look like any spirit I had ever seen and if I were honest with myself and was a believer of God, I would say that the being I saw wasn't human but a demon.

A chill went up to my spine at that thought.

I've never faced a demon, bloody hell, I never even believed in their existence before today. Hopefully, that was the last I'd see that-BRIIING, BRIIING , BRIIING.

I jumped before calming down when I realized it was just my phone. I checked the caller ID and sighed in relief. It was just Tara.

I answered the call.

"Hey, Spike, where are you at?" she asked.

"I'm-I-I…"

"Spike? Are you okay?"

I shook my head as I realized I was worrying my cousin, before answering. "Yeah, I'm fine, pet. I'm on my way back there now. The cop's still with you?"

"Yeah. He's still waiting in your office."

"Right then. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay. Be careful."

"Ta."

TBC

(O.O)