Hi, guys! How are you, how are you liking the summer so far? I'm sorry I didn't update on my birthday how I promised, but I just was feeling really off then. I hate my birthday and yeah, I'm not even trying to be dramatic or attract attention, I simply hate it. On this day I feel the most unloved and yeah, have any of you experienced it? But here I am with the next chapter! xoxo
1. To IdioticLaptopUser Thanks, for sharing the idea of the ghost coffee shop, I may actually think about something connected to it ;DDD If something else crosses your mind, please feel free to share it with me, at any time. I'm happy you enjoy the way I describe things, but I have a question directed to you and all the readers, but yeah since you usually are the only one who reviews regularly... Do you think I sometimes go overboard with my descriptions and does it get boring at some point? Or do I have similar descriptions in the chapters which are tedious and make the impression I repeat myself? And if you find any mistakes in my writing, can you please say them, because I'm trying to improve in any way possible. Oh, and about what you wrote in your review: "I wonder who's up in the ceiling/attic...?", isn't the word I used correct? Please tell me, so if it is I can fix it. Have a nice day, hon xoxo I hope I'm not bothering you with those questions.
2. GUYS, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT EVEN IF SOMETIMES I DON'T UPDATE REGULARLY, I'M NEVER GONNA LEAVE THIS STORY UNFINISHED, YOU HAVE MY WORD. I HAVE SET MY MIND INTO IT FOR REAL, AND WHEN I SET MY MIND INTO SOMETHING I ALWAYS DO IT.
3. QAMW (Questions About My Writing)Do you think I sometimes go overboard with my descriptions and does it get boring at some point? Or do I have similar descriptions in the chapters which are tedious and make the impression I repeat myself? And if you find any mistakes in my writing, can you please say them, because I'm trying to improve in any way possible. Or do you think the story is going too slow? Oh, and because I have a really small amount of HITS what do you think I should do?
So, having in mind how dynamic had been the previous day, Luffy felt tempted to just lay in his bed today and loll lazily there, but then he remembered what he had discovered about the demented ghost, the hospital for mental diseases less than a kilometer away and the three cemeteries. Oh, and let's not forget this blue-haired ghost that he had seen yesterday in the taxi.
The raven-haired boy sighed. Apparently, there were too many things he needed to do. Probably it wasn't going to be a bad idea to either visit the hospital, or the library again. But maybe he should visit the hospital first, because contrary to the common opinion, dead people cannot wait.
Or more correctly, it was a huge mistake to think that they can wait. Especially when you can see them. And hear them. And they are kind of pursuing you.
Yup, so it was decided. He was going to the hospital first and if he had time he would visit some of the other so tempting destinations.
Luffy extinguished his cigarette, rubbing its end on the ground and after looking around, in search of a bin, he decided to take it with him to the house, not really seeing another option of throwing it away. His brother didn't smoke, meaning there weren't any ash-trays around the house, from what Luffy knew. Maybe he should buy one himself. He probably had left a few dollars left from his last salary in the casino.
The boy left the borrow, putting the plastic cover in place, and started walking to the house. After he was inside, Luffy went straight to his room to get dressed. And then he realized he didn't have any clean pairs of jeans. Perfect. Well, maybe he can do with his shorts. It wasn't this cold outside.
But maybe I should wash my dirty clothes first. Yup, this sounded like a good idea, having in mind that even if he does go out with his shorts now, when he returns later he still won't have any clean pairs of jeans.
Luffy went to the laundry-room and taking his dirty clothes out of the laundry-basket, he kneeled in front of the washing machine with the small pile in hands. The raven-haired boy placed it on the floor and looked at the washing machine in despair. Back in his hometown, his grandfather didn't really bother to buy a washing machine, believing it wasn't necessary to buy one and waste water and electricity, when he had his obedient grandson to wash their clothes by hand.
And here he was now. Not having a damn idea, how to turn the thing on. He didn't want to bother his brother though, so asking Ace wasn't an option.
But what was he supposed to do?
Well, first, maybe he should rummage the cupboards for some kind of detergent or softener. Both, if he was lucky. He went to the built-in cupboards and after a minute he was holding a fancy detergent and a softener, smelling like strawberries.
Luffy decided he was going to rely on his luck, after all. The boy stuffed his clothes in the washing machine and poured the detergent and the softener on top of them. He closed the door of the expensive gadget and looked up in search of a button to turn it on.
And that was when he was met with a touch screen. Things were getting too modern for him.
Luffy sighed and experimentally touched it once. For his surprise the screen lightened and there was a big 'HELLO!', written on it. After this it disappeared and there were a few icons with the respective function of the mashing machine. Luffy read them and decided that a 'NORMAL/CASUAL' wash would do just fine. He clicked on it and there was an 'ACCEPTED' and 'HAVE A NICE DAY!' on the screen. After a few seconds the expensive gadget was working smoothly.
And for the boy's relief there wasn't any water flooding the room.
Luffy stood up from his kneeling position and went to his room to put a hoodie over his white T-shirt. He didn't have a problem with the cold weather, having in mind the freezing winter nights, which he had spent sleeping on the doormat in front of their shitty apartment, but he wasn't a complete masochist. If he was going to walk around in his pyjamas, he could put at least a hoodie on to compensate for the thin shorts.
The boy went back to his room and when he was properly dressed, he grabbed his phone, a pack of cigarettes, his raincoat and left the house. He wasn't completely sure if his brother had gone to work, but anyway decided that if he hadn't, he was probably getting ready and Luffy didn't want to bother him.
When he was outside, Luffy took out his phone and started searching for the hospital in Google Maps. After he had traced his route, the boy went to the back of their house, where the wood was starting. Apparently, the hospital was in the wood, which was making everything even creepier. Okay, like seriously who for God's sake, would built a goddamn psychiatry in a forest. Like, why?
Those same thoughts were running through Luffy's head, when, after 5 minutes or so, he was lying on his stomach in the dirt. He had fallen face-first in a deep muddy puddle, after he had been discourteously tripped by one very unpolite root.
The boy wrinkled his nose, when he sensed some mire, going in it. He hoped that at least there weren't any worms or other kinds of bugs living in the mud. For a moment, Luffy imagined how there were adipose, red worms crawling in his nose and climbing up its mucous membrane, trying to reach his brain and lay their eggs there.
Ooookay. Shuddering at the thought, Luffy stood up rapidly and started rubbing his nose, endeavoring to expel the non-existent worms from it. After making sure there weren't any actual worms up his nose, the raven-haired boy looked at his surroundings. He took out his phone and looked at the map.
Well, according to Google Maps and the blue dot, which was supposed to be him, Luffy was on the right way. Trying to ignore the sting coming from his chafed and bloody knees, the boy leaped across the muddy puddle and started walking again, staring at his phone, but casting a glance or two at the ground every few seconds.
He was passing by trees and bushes. The wood was nice. Everything was in such a deep-green and the odor of pines and resin was floating in the air. The boy took a deep breath and closed his charcoal eyes, enjoying the delightful fragrance. If it wasn't the psychiatry, Luffy might have enjoyed going for walks every day in the forest.
The loud rustling of leaves caught Luffy's attention and the raven-haired boy forcefully opened his eyes. He looked around. Nothing. Crows cawed over his head and the boy lifted his gaze to look at the sky. He was met with a whole nock, blocking the, somehow or other, exiguous sunlight.
They had flied off of a bunch of trees a little bit forward in the forest. Not too far away from him. It was unusual for a whole nock to fly away in such a rush and in such a bad weather.
It had started to slightly drizzle after he left his house. Now it was pouring and there were lightings, tearing the sky.
This meant only one thing. Something had scared them.
Moving under the thick branches of one of the pines for shelter, the boy took out of his hoodie a box of cigarettes. Red Marlboro. He loved this shit. Those were one of his favorites. But then again - cigarettes are cigarettes. Yeah, there were some he would prefer to smoke, but he wasn't going to turn down even white Karelia.
He pulled out one from the pack, and lit it. At this very moment he was really happy that he invested in a windproof lightener. It was light-blue and had a square shape with a cap. On its front was written 'One Piece' with white letters. Hmm, probably the brand?
The boy looked at his phone for the last time and put it in the pocket of his hoodie, not wanting to get it wet. Apparently, the hospital was in the same direction as the place from where the crows had flied off. He sighed.
After a big inhale of the nicotine, Luffy breathed the smoke out and his feet started moving. He pulled forward the hood of his raincoat along with the one of his black hoodie, in order to shield his face from the brutal wind and the heavy raindrops, falling down mercilessly.
Unfortunately, it didn't take Luffy a long time to arrive there. This meant, that the boy was just about to meet the person or the thing, that frightened the nock so much. Didn't he have a pleasant life?
With every second, his steps were becoming stealthier and stealthier. Luffy slowed down his breathing as much as possible, trying to make it noiseless. He was careful where he was stepping, not wanting to give straightaway his whereabouts.
One voice in his head was saying to him to be extremely cautious. Luffy made the wise decision to listen to it. There was just something wrong with this place. The closer he got, the more cold shivers went down his spine.
And he just couldn't figure out what it was. It was the same as back then when he saw Ace's house for the first time. The whole atmosphere around the place was just off.
The raven-haired boy took a few more steps forward and now he was able to see the psychiatry not too far in the distance. Parts of its gray concrete roof, the white walls and the small windows with bars were showing between the needles of pines and the thick leaves of bushes.
A movement near the building caught Luffy's attention. The boy narrowed his eyes and carefully inched behind one pine. He stood there for a few seconds, his front pressed against the damp bark of the tree, having the only protection of his plastic raincoat against the moisture, left from the raindrops.
Lightening cut through the sky, illuminating the forest. It had become almost pitch-dark in the wood, thanks to the black clouds blocking the sunlight. Luffy saw a silhouette near one of the walls of the building. A thunder followed soon after.
With curiosity winning over fear, the boy knelt on the ground and started crawling forward, slinking by bushes and fallen branches. He cut his hand on some rock and blood started leaking out, but Luffy didn't seem to notice. His coal black eyes were fixed on the silhouette.
It wasn't a ghost, but a person. Maybe this should have calmed him down a bit, but it did exactly the opposite. This was supposed to be the back of the hospital for mental diseases, which meant that if this person was here for a visit, they shouldn't be here, but at the front, where the main entrance was.
A sudden pain, coming from one of his hands, made Luffy look down. He lifted his palm to look at it. There was an enormous thorn stuck in it. The boy sat back on his legs and tried to take it out. A hiss escaped his lips, when the prickle started leaving his skin.
After one long, agonizing pull the thorn was out and more blood started coming of his covered with scratches hand. The red liquid mingled with the grime and the mire, encasing his pale skin. It looked gross, but he had seen worse.
Luffy wiped his hand in his red shorts and looked at the psychiatry that was now in less then 150 meters away from his current position. There were some bushes near him and the boy decided to crawl behind them, because they looked thick enough to hide him completely.
When he was as comfortable as possible in one muddy puddle, Luffy's eyes settled on the open field, separating the hospital from the wood, in search for the shady person.
It took the boy a few seconds to spot them. Apparently it was a man.
He was tall and square-built. His pretty long hair with a strange purple tint to it, was falling down his back. There was a dark hat on top of his head. A long, extremely warm-looking, black coat was protecting him from the merciless wind and the rain. For a moment, Luffy felt jealous of him. In the end, it appeared that his thin shorts and hoodie weren't the best choice of clothing for a trip in the forest.
He was standing under one of the windows of the first floor and his head was slightly tilted back. He was impatiently drumming on the ground with his left foot.
The stranger looked as if he was expecting something to happen.
Luffy narrowed his eyes at the thought. What can this man possibly do here? If he wasn't here for a visit, maybe he was just lost, but then again - why was he standing here under the rain and not going in the building to ask the staff for directions?
The boy's track of thought was interrupted by the sudden opening of the window. A pale hand squeezed through the rust-eaten metal bars and threw something in the awaiting hands of the muscular man. He caught it and the window was closed once again.
The stranger swiftly turned around and Luffy hurriedly stooped to the ground. The thorns of the bushes were scratching his face, but in this moment he couldn't care less. His charcoal-black eyes were fixed on the man or more specifically, on his wide maniacal grin.
He was tanned and had a rough-looking face. He had a long beard, which had the same strange light-purple tinges to it. Smiling from ear to ear, the man inspected the thing which the person from the psychiatry had thrown to him. Satisfied with what he saw, he tucked it in his black topcoat and licked his lips - his abnormally long, snake-like tongue, slowly wetting the skin.
Luffy shuddered. Aside from the man's impressive physique, there was just something atrocious about him. It wasn't just the animalistic and dismaying smile. It was his whole appearance. Even if he was wearing expensive clothes and obviously, was a human, the raven-haired boy couldn't help, but to associate him with an animal.
A small bug flew out of the bush near his face and alighted on Luffy's nose. Startled, the boy gave his best not to move in the slightest or to scream by instinct. The black creature started making its way towards his nostrils, tickling his skin.
Don't sneeze. Don't sneeze. Don't sneeze.
Luffy could feel his eyes watering from the effort. The bug was seriously trying to torture him. It had started to walk around the tip of his nose to his nostrils and back.
Don't sneeze. Don't sneeze. Don't sneeze.
If he sneezed the man would instantly know that he was there and God knows what would happen after this. Well, apparently, the impertinent bug didn't care if he was going to be beaten up, killed or eaten alive. Yeah, and then people are ignorant creatures. Luffy mentally snorted.
The boy watched the black thing having its Sunday walk on his nose and obviously, because, of course that wasn't enough, it decided to go in his nostrils. He watched how the bug disappeared and sensed its tiny legs, moving on the inside of his nose.
This time he couldn't help it.
He sneezed.
The bug flew away. The bushes around him shook and some of the leaves flied off in the air. Luffy started rapidly rubbing his button nose, trying to get rid of the feeling that something was walking in it. After this he wiped away the tears, running down his flushed cheeks. This was one hell of a sneeze.
Luffy froze. The realization that he made his presence pretty obvious, suddenly hit him. Damn. Startled, the boy lifted his filled with fear and worry gaze to look at the man, who was now staring at him.
His satisfied smile had disappeared and it had been replaced with a dark smirk.
Luffy gulped.
The man thrusted his hand in his coat. His eagle eyes, filled with something that the boy didn't want to see up close, were not leaving his coal-black ones.
Luffy stayed there, deaf to everything in him that was screaming to him to stand up and run. He just sat on the dirty ground, watching paralyzed how the deep-chested man slowly pulled out a long blade from his coat. Tardily, he brought it to his lips and his tongue swarmed rapaciously over its shiny surface.
Ooookay, now this was clearly his signal to run. The boy was just about to stand up and put his shaking legs into action, when a muted from the rain and the wind ringing reached his ears.
The minacious stranger looked down with annoyance written on his face. He brought a telephone out of the front pocket of his greatcoat and moving his clouted in black gloves fingers over the touchscreen, he answered it.
The conversation lasted only a few seconds and Luffy was too far away to hear any of it anyway. He didn't even have the time to think about running, when the man hung up his phone and looked at his direction again. He let out what appeared to be a heavy sigh and disillusioned, put the blade back in his top garment.
A few seconds passed without them breaking eye-contact. Luffy could feel a cold sweat beginning to break out from the skin on his back. The dread and the lack of knowledge of what was going to happen were slowly getting the best of him. His hands were trembling more and more with every second, his bottom lip beginning to quiver. The sinister stranger's grin kept widening until it was almost splitting his face in half.
There was a lightening.
The sudden brightness managed to blind the raven-haired boy and by the time a thunder followed, the man was gone.
Luffy rubbed his eyes a few times and afterwards he let them rapidly wander over the open field, in search of the ominous stranger.
The rain started falling down in torrents. The heavy raindrops were drumming on leaves, needles and branches, creating a natural symphony of sounds. The air was fresh with a tinge of moisture, which was normal, having in mind that it was raining after all.
In any other situation the boy would have found it relaxing and probably he would have wanted to find shelter under some tree and take a nap. But right now, the humidity was suffocating him and the water pouring from the overcast sky was making him like blind and deaf to what was happening around him.
Luffy bended further into the bush, trying to see where the man was. There was no way that he was already in the forest. Only a few seconds had past since he lost sight of him. If he knew the stranger's exact whereabouts, he had a grater chance escaping him.
The boy could feel his heartbeat in his ears. A vein on his temple was furiously pulsating. His breathing was rapid and shallow. His palms, buried in the mud, were sweating.
There.
Next to the right corner of the building there was a silhouette. Luffy narrowed his eyes and scooted a little bit further. He wasn't breathing anymore. The silhouette was standing still, almost glued to the white wall of the psychiatry.
The thing was that it was smaller than the man's figure.
Someone else?
No, not someone, but something. That there was a ghost.
The silhouette started moving again, disappearing between the trees next to the hospital's corner.
Where did it go?
Luffy was really becoming terrified right now. It wasn't only the mad stranger, who had blades and who knows what else stocked in his coat, now there was a ghost, in the forest with him, probably a demented one, having in mind that they were next to a goddamn psychiatry.
The panic was slowly becoming to build up in the small and fragile body of the raven-haired boy.
I'm going to die in here.
Luffy pulled at the front of his hoodie, trying to make room for himself to breath. There was a painful clenching in his chest, around his lungs, and he didn't know what to do about it. The boy shut close his eyes, squeezing them into slits on his child-like face. His red lips were slightly parted, allowing the clouds warm air to leave his mouth.
I'm going to die here. I'm going to-
"What are you doing here?" asked a quite voice right next to his right ear, the warm breath tickling his skin.
REVIEW, HONEYS! XOXO Your comments will give me power to write sooner the next chapter!
