Chapter 1: Ghost

Arthur sat in the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel with both arms; one of them flesh and bone, the other bionic. He was still not used to this metal replacement arm- being able to control the appendage like it was his but not being able to feel it. Still, he felt like he was getting better with experience. Arthur was tall and lanky, with large eyebrows and bright orange hair. His amber eyes scanned empty road ahead of them, but he wasn't really paying attention. It's not like there was going to be anything on it, anyway.

Arthur had decided to take the long, uninhabited scenic route, through sloping green hills and picturesque old barn houses, not because he cared for the beautiful scenes, but because he had no idea where to go and didn't want to stop and have to find one. So for now he just kept going, drawing out each mile as long as he could. His friend, Vivi, sat in the passenger seat next to him, grooving to a catchy song on the radio with the volume turned up way too loud. If Arthur had heard this song a couple of weeks ago he probably would have liked it; it had a good, up-beat feel and the singer was pretty talented, but as of now he couldn't bring himself to care. Vivi once again turned up the volume, which was already near full blast and starting to hurt Arthur's ears.

One look at Vivi would tell you she had an affinity for blue. Right now it was especially apparent; her socks, shoes, skirt, scarf, and sweater were all shades of blue. Even her eyes were a bright, solid teal, and she had dyed her hair to match them. The only thing on her that didn't resemble the sky was her glasses, which had hot pink lenses.

Less obvious than her color preferences were her interests. She, unlike Arthur, loved all things supernatural and got a thrill out of exploring supposedly haunted sites. She was also very bright and cheerful, and could usually light up rooms with just her personality. But in the shadow of recent events this light seemed out of place, even more disturbing than the gloom that surrounded them, like laughter in a cemetery. At first Arthur had thought she was just in shock or denial or something, but now he was starting to feel like something was wrong with her.

Between them Arthur's dog, Mystery, surreptitiously reached out a paw and turned the volume dial down. Arthur had long ago come to terms with the fact that his dog was about as smart as a human being, if not smarter. When he had first found the white dog he named him Ben, but after discovering the dog's peculiar nature he felt that Ben was too plain a name, and had taken to calling him Mystery. It was only recently, however, that he had come to realize his canine friend may not be a dog at all. Arthur had no idea what else he (it?) could be, though. He would've asked Vivi about it, who knew a ton more about supernatural lore than him, except that it might bring up the subject of Lewis. Each time he had tried to talk about it with her, she had shrugged it off like it was no big deal, like their best friend hadn't just died (murdered) (shut up). It unnerved him, so eventually he started avoiding the subject.

Ever since the event Mystery had been acting strange, too. He had always protective, but now he was bordering on fanatical. Mystery followed them like a shadow, and didn't seem to ever need to sleep. Most of all he hated it when they split up; he wanted to keep both of them in his sights at all times. This annoyed Arthur, because he could really use some time away from happy, bright, cheerful Vivi.

Just as he was thinking this the van started to slow down. Arthur pressed down on the gas pedal, but nothing happened. Barely making the crest of a hill, momentum carried them another 20 yards until the car came to a complete stop.

"Arthuuur..." Vivi sighed, eyeing the fuel meter that now pointed to a bright orange E. "Were you cheap and didn't fill the gas tank all the way up or something? If you were short on money you could've just asked, you know."

"I wasn't being cheap!" Arthur protested. "I don't know why we stopped; it was fine just a minute ago."

"Suuuuuuure."

"Shut up. D'you think there are any farms around here that aren't deserted?" Arthur asked dishearteningly. He really regretted taking the scenic route now, the last sign of civilization had been miles ago.

"Look at that!" Vivi said suddenly. Arthur looked. A little ways away was what appeared to be a mansion. Though it did not look as deprecated as the other buildings around this area (of which there were few), it still had an abandoned feel to it, as if someone had built it and then just left it. That could have just been the weird shadows the quarter moon cast upon everything, though.

"It probably belongs to some snobby rich guy." Vivi said. "Or maybe," she added with a grin, "it's haunted."

"Shut up," he said again, though this there was a trace or worry in his voice.

"I was just joking," Vivi laughed, "I'm going to ring the front door," She added, hopping out of the passenger seat.

"No, Vivi, wait-" but it was too late. She was already running across the overgrown grass to the mansion. Despite her height, she was fast.

"God damn it Vivi," Arthur muttered angrily, hopping into the cool night air himself. Mystery was already running after Vivi.

Arthur caught up to them, panting, where Vivi had stopped before the great house, looking transfixed. Arthur looked up too, and saw that the mansion was more deprecated than he had thought at first. What the dark night and distance had obscured was boarded up windows, ivy growing wild up walls, and paint peeling off the walls and railings that led to the porch. It was somewhat disproportional, too, like someone had taken a bunch of very similar but ultimately different houses and clumped them together into one big mansion. The broken windows beside the door had different frames. Walls extended further or shorter than they should have, and the roof was lopsided. Arthur knew he had never seen a house like this before, but it still seemed strangely familiar, as if he had lived there in a dream.

Arthur knocked on the large front door. There was no answer. He knocked again, louder.

"I don't think anybody lives here, Vivi. We should go," he said, eager to get away from the mansion. Something about it seemed hostile. If it was alive, Arthur would have sworn it was glaring at him.

"Did you try to open it?" Vivi asked.

"What? No. It's not our house, we can't do-"

"It's abandoned, who cares? Anyway, it's not like we have anything better to do," she added with an accusatory glance at him, "might as well explore the place."

To Arthur's despair, the door opened effortlessly when Vivi touched turned the handle. She waltzed inside with Mystery at her heels. Arthur reluctantly followed her, not wanting to go inside but not wanting to be left behind, either.

After a few uneventful seconds passed Arthur released the breath he had been holding. Other than the foreboding feeling that always seemed to surround vacant places, there was nothing out of the ordinary here.

He was just being paranoid, as usual.

He wished he wasn't so scared of everything.

He wished he was strong.

Arthur walked further down the moonlit hallway, ashamed of the way his heart raced despite his better judgment.

And then the doors closed.