Winds Of The Apocalypse (9 page)

"What is the hag's real age?" Colin asked sternly and Din almost exploded as it downed on him what it was that his friend was asking.

"WHAT?! How can you even think about asking me something like that in a time like this?!" He yelped, his voice still cracked and barely audible but screeching none the less.

Colin shrugged. "I'm sorry…I was just trying to light up the mood a little…"

"Well, you failed!" Din stood up in anger.

“Seriously dude, not cool.” Toby agreed and that statement seemed to only make Din angrier.

“You are both impossible!" Din growled, throwing his hands in the air.
"God! I'm going back to bed and wish to wake up from this nightmare! I’m just going to pretend like this day never happened!!"

“You know you can’t really do that! It won’t h
elp.” Toby stood up behind him.

“Well, I’m going to try anyway!” Din spat in anger and with that he walked off,
leaving Toby to glare at Colin.

"Nice move, dumb ass." He said annoyed, “Is this the reaction you expected?”

Colin sighed. "Don't worry; I mentally kicked myself two seconds after I said that.”

Toby looked at the direction Din walked off to. "You deserve a
real kick too, you know that?"

”Yeah
yeah, you can give me one when this is over ok?” Toby kicked him. “Oooww! I didn't mean now!”

 
                                                              ---

Din stormed into his room, slamming the door with all the force he had in him.

He threw himself on the bed, hiding his face in his arms and crying his heart out, his heart wrenching sobs shaking his quilt filled body.

"Shit! Shit!" He muttered.
“Why did this have to happen?! Why him?!” He fiercely hit the pillow like it was to blame. “Why?!” He shouted. “Why couldn't it have been me?! SHIT!" He screamed.

"Is something wrong?"

Din suddenly heard a familiar voice beside him, without even looking up he begun to shake.

“Are you all right? Why are you crying like that?” The voice continued. “Did some chick dump you or something?” The voice droned sar
castically and then it laughed.

“Man, I haven’t seen you cry like that since the first day of school when your mommy left you alone, that was hysterical.”

“Stop…Please stop…” Din muttered, he raised his head from the pillow and gasped, the sight of his friend's ghost standing before him was enough to make what’s left of his heart shutter to pisses.

“Din?” The being reached its hand towards him and Din, screaming it terror jumped to his feet, getting as much distance as he could between himself and the intruder.

"No…No…Stay away from me…You’re not real...Mo…
Mor…Morgan!" He yelped out and Morgan grinned.

"Yes, I know my name is Morgan, Din what’s wrong? What’s going on? Why do you look like you just saw a gho
st or something? It’s just me."

He took a step forward and Din stumbled back. “No! Please! I’m sorry!” Morgan halted his step, looking at his friend, puzzled. 'Why was he so terrified by the mere sight of him? Why did Din look like he was actually afraid of him?'

Din shook his head. “Please…stay away.”

Morgan frowned. “Dude, you act like you actually see a ghost.”

Din let out a short laugh. "I think I did…oh god….I mean I am. Damn...I'm going out of my mind." He said to himself. ”Oh god…I’m so sorry.”

“Dude!
Stop it!” Morgan crossed his arms over his chest. “Did you go religious on me or some shit like that, that you keep muttering about god?” He asked and Din stared at Morgan. ‘That was not possible, was it?’

"You can't be here…” Din muttered, willing the vision away but as predicted wishing Morgan away did not help him. ”I…did you come back to get revenge?”

“What?”

“What are you doing here then? C’mon! Just get it over with!" Din screamed and Morgan looked at him like he had really just lost it.

"What do you mean what am I doing here?! I live here! What the fuck kind of question is that? Where else would I go but this shit hole?! I am stuck here
for the summer just like you do!" He said, putting his hands on his hips.

Din took a deep breath. “It’s just guilt…It's just guilt…I'm not mental….My mind is messing with me right now."

Din turned from a really confused Morgan, doing his best to ignore him as Morgan stepped closer to him. "Din, for fuck sake…!"

Morgan, utterly pissed off by his friend’s actions tried to reach out and grab him, to turn him around but his hand went straight through Din’s back like one of them wasn't even there, like one of them really was the ghost Din was so scared of.

Morgan gasped in shock, stumbling backwards; he stared at his hand that to him seemed completely solid, ‘What the hell was going on here?’

“Oh god…what is this?” Morgan whispered, drawing his friend’s attention.

Din slowly turned around to face him, still half wishing him away.

"Are you…really here? Are you really…real?" He asked, biting his lip.

Morgan still stared at his hand, silent as a tombstone, his pale face only reflecting the horror he was feeling.

"What…?" Din slowly took a step towa
rds him. “What is it…? Morgan?”

"My hand…" Morgan stuttered, still examining his hand in the radi
ant light of the early morning.

“What…what about it?” Din
took another step towards him.

"I…I tried to grab you…But it was like I was trying to catch air…My hand…It went straight through you!" Morgan looked up at Din. “Why is this happening?! What did you do to me!?”

He glared at Din, his eyes as accusing as Casey’s were, 'They are so alike.' Din thought and involuntary shrunk back. ”I…I’m sorry…”

Morgan growled in annoyance. "Stop being sorry Din! Just tell me, what the fuck is going on?!" Morgan backed into the wall, breathing hard just like his sister did, he couldn't understand and it was killing him, pretty ironic considering the state his body was in.

"Am I…" Realization hit him, overcoming his mind, the images from the night before flushing before his eyes.

'The hooded man…The stairs…The screaming…That wasn't a dream, was it? He didn't even dare to hope that it was. He fell, he fell and he
bleed…That suffocating darkness that took him…'

"Am I…" Morgan let his tears fall freely down his face, he didn't even consider the absurd of an idea that a ghost could cry. "Am I dead?" He raised his eyes to look into Din’s sad face. “Tell…please…” Morgan begged him. “Did I die last night?”

Din gulped, he didn't expect Morgan to be so fragile, so innocent.

“I don’t…I don’t know…” Din whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“Ooohhh…How?” Morgan let his body slide down to the floor. “Why…?” He looked down at his hands, still the same as they were, only now growing paler as only the dead did.

"What happened to me?" Morgan finally asked, not even bothering to raise his gaze or change his position, he didn't think that it would change anything, for him it was already over.

“Morgan…” Din took a deep breath and closed the space between them, crouching next to Morgan like his friends did with him. "Someone, I don’t know who…But I promise that we will find him!” He said quickly. “Someone caught you last night after we separated and
he…He pushed you down the stairs and you…” He couldn't just say it. “You were bleeding so bad…I saw it…I…The night guard found your body this morning…"

His voice got stuck in his throat, he couldn't go on, and to tell Morgan that he was seeing him hurt
so bad…It was just impossible.

"So I am dead." Morgan concluded
, the images of the night still a blur in his head.

“But if I am dead…” He began slowly. “Oh no…” Morgan suddenly sprung to his feet, startling his friend and making Din jump back in fear, making him fall  on his ass.

"Oh my god!
Casey! Is she all right?! I have to go talk to her! If I'm dead and she knows it …I can't even imagine what state she is in right now. What she might do!"

“No! Morgan! Wait!”

Din scrambled to his feet and tried to halt his friend as he sprung to the door but of course he couldn't catch his unobtainable body, he watched him reach for the door when the door suddenly flew open and Colin, sweaty and exited ran in, not even noticing the surprised Morgan who stood back by the door, inches from him.

"Din! I have something really important to tell you! Morgan is…What are you staring at?" Colin closed his mouth, noticing Din's gaze at a spot behind him, he looked as if he was in some sort of trance, mesmerized by that unique point. Colin blinked.

"Ohh…Hmmm…" Din muttered. “It’s...Ehh…nothing. What did you want to tell me about Morgan?"

"Ohm!"
Colin smiled. "Do you know where he is now?"

"Right here."
Morgan said, clearing his throat, a little smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Colin froze and Din grinned as his friend turned from him, his eyes going wide and blank from horror and then Din had also managed to catch Colin when the poor kid's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell unconscious to the floor.

Morgan looked at Colin, slightly amused.

"Is he ok?" Morgan asked, looking down at his friend as he examined Colin's fainted body.

Din nodded, combing Colin's hair from his face and looking up at Morgan.

"He is fine." Din smiled. "He just doesn't respond to ghosts as well as I do." Din smirked, shaking his head and shaking Colin awake in tow.

                                                                ---

It's not easy to cope with loss, and as Morgan soon found out it's never easy to accept the loss of a brother, even if up until now you knew nothing about him, and more than that, if
you were the one that was lost.

"Fuck! This kid is so much fucking heavier than he looks! A little
help please?" Din puffed in annoyance as he lifted the still unconscious Colin onto his unmade bed.

Morgan grinned.

"Sorry dude," He raised his arms up. "Ghost, remember? Can't touch shit."

"Convenient." Din heaved. "Fuck, what the hell did he eat?" Din growled, letting Colin drop and then he s
traightened, looking at Morgan.

"Try to wake him up, will you?" Din turned to the door, walking past his ghostly buddy. "Huh?" Morgan blinked. "You are leaving us a
lone? And where are you going?"

Din shook his head.

"Well, we need to wake him up somehow; he can't just stay here like that, can he?  So I'll go to get some water for the sleeping beauty over here."

Din put his thumbs up and then walked out, leaving Morgan to baby-sit Colin and even though Morgan was not so much alive now that didn't mean he had lost the mischief spirit that he had in him, in fact, with all that unlashed ghostly ang
er, it only seemed to increase.

Morgan leaned over his sleeping friend and whispered in his ear in the sweetest voice he could master.

"Colin…Colin…earth to Colin…come in Colin… COLIN!!!WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!"

Colin screamed, jumping into a sitting position. His eyes flew open and as he heaved to regain his breathing he looked up and saw Morgan again, standing next to the bed, a well satisfied grin plastered over his features. Colin screamed again, falling to the floor as he tried to get away from him, yelling for help that would not come.

”Oh my god! Oh my god! What is this?!” Colin muttered and Morgan shook his head, laughing.

"C'mon, I don't look that bad, am I?" He smiled cheerfully, attempting to calm his frantic friend.

"Oh my god…I must have lost it…" Colin whispered to himself. “You can’t be here…That’s that’s…Just impossible!”

"Great." Morgan frowned, going over to him, with Colin yelping in fear as he got closer and then staring at him puzzled as Morgan sat down on the bed, looking up at him.
"Another one gone mental." He muttered, shaking his head. “We are not going to get anywhere like that.”

Colin took a sharp breath. “But you…you…am I seeing things?” He asked, taking another step back.

"Yes, we are all sharing a collective hallucination but you're not crazy." Colin turned in surprise as Din's voice came from the door and the boy walked in, closing the door behind him and handing Colin a glass of water which Colin downed in one sip, nearly choking to death.

"Hey now!
Slow down! This school isn't big enough for two teenage ghosts." Din laughed, giving an apologizing gaze to Morgan who nodded in agreement.

”A what?”
Colin set the glass down on the night stand and glared at Morgan.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as if he was expecting him to be elsewhere.

Morgan sighed. "Again with the stupid question? Get it through your thick heads, I live here. Where else can I be?" He asked, raising his hands up to emphasize. “God, I’m surrounded by teenage morons, I’m doomed.”