Chapter 1 The Accident

TRIGGER WARNING

Mentions of drunk driving, death, and suicide.

It was March 21st when it happened. I was driving home after a night out at Taylor’s 21st birthday party. We got way too drunk, and I stayed way longer than I intended to. 3 AM. I left at 3 fuckin AM. I wanted to leave earlier, but Taylor wanted to do more birthday shots, and let's just say that was a terrible decision. Not the worst because the worst was me deciding to drive home while drunk at 3 AM. I should've stayed over now that I'm looking back. I would've avoided what was about to happen.

RING RING

I jolted from the sudden sound coming from my phone.

Who the heck is calling me at 3 am right now?

I glanced over at my bag, 

It must be important if they're calling me at 3 AM

I reached my hand over and shuffled around my bag looking for my phone, and I couldn't feel it. I'm starting to get anxious as the phone continues to ring.

Fuck it, I'm a good driver.

I grabbed my bag and placed it on my lap, and started rummaging in it as I glanced back and forth from the road and inside my bag.

AHA! I found it… Why is Taylor calling?

I picked up the phone. “Hey Tay!”  A honk BLARES, and all I see are bright lights and then nothing.

When I opened my eyes, bright lights were everywhere. As I started processing what was happening, I realized the lights were from the police, ambulances, and fire trucks.

What the heck is happening?

There was a smoking flipped car and a truck that was severely damaged in the crash. A policeman was taking a statement from a middle-aged man who was being looked at by the paramedics. He had blood coming from his head and looked like he wanted to pass out. From fright or the injuries, who knows. As I got closer to the accident, I saw my body being dragged out by the paramedics.

Is that me?

Am I dead?

I can't be dead! Who's going to feed my cat? Oh my god, how is my mom going to react? Taylor? What am I supposed to do now? Am I just going to wander around like those ghosts in those horror movies?

I didn't want to accept this. I started screaming at the paramedics to try to revive me and tell them that I'm not dead, that I'm right next to them, and all they need to do is do some CPR or something. Tears started falling down my face, and through all this panic, I didn't realize that the background was fading.

Wait. Fading background? That doesn't seem normal. Even for a ghost.

I started looking around, pausing my panic to see what was happening. In the distance, I can make out a figure walking over to me. And as they got closer and closer, I could see that it was a guy, brown hair, tall, maybe 6 ft. He was dressed in a hoodie and some jeans while carrying a bookbag. As he approached me, I noticed that he had the greenest eyes. 

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked with a comforting smile.

“Who are you? What am I? What just happened?” I blurted out in panic.

“My name is Erik. Erik Knight. I know you have a lot of questions and I will answer all of them, but I don't think this is the right place to answer them,” he answered while looking around, “it is kinda chaotic, don't you think?”

I nodded. 

I let him guide me away from the crash site, and the faded background started to resume like normal, almost movie-like. We walk in silence, passing different buildings and cars until we reach a library. 

“I'm gonna have to ask you to trust me again…”

“Celeste,” I answered quietly.

“Celeste… please take my hand,” he said as he extended his hand out.

I hesitated for a bit before taking his hand.

He closed his eyes, breathed in, and walked right through the door. Automatically, I closed my eyes, scared that I would run right into it. But all I felt was a breeze, and when I opened my eyes again, we were inside the library.

“Woah, well that was an experience. Why are we at a library?” I asked.

“I felt this place was a little fitting for what I’m about to tell you,” Erik answered.

It felt like he was teasing me, but I'm not quite sure. He goes and finds a seat and gestures for me to sit down

“So, what is going on?” I asked, pulling a chair, “ cause i need answers now, before I start freaking out again, I'm barely holding it together right now.”

He chuckled. He fucking chuckled.

“Well, what have you realized so far?” Erik countered.

“I think, no. I'm pretty sure I'm dead. We just walked through a door, which definitely confirms that I'm dead,” I said.

“So… not seeing your dead body confirms it?” he teased.

I glared at him.

“Can you just answer my damn questions?” 

“Alright, alright, firecracker. You are correct, you are indeed dead. To answer the questions you asked me before, you're a ghost. You died while drunk driving, technically, answering a call while drunk driving, and while you did that, you ran a red light.”

“Yea… definitely not doing that again,” I responded guiltily, “although, not like I have a choice. I’m a ghost. Which leads me to my next question. You say that I’m a ghost, but I don't feel or look like one. I look and feel… alive.”

“Well, when talking or interacting with other ghosts, you look like yourself, in a way you're ‘alive’, but with humans, you look misty and fog-like,” Erik answered patiently.

“So, humans can see me? It didn't look like that when I was at the site, though.”

“Only some humans can, usually children/adolescents, and some adults who are in tune with our world. They can also touch you, so keep that in mind if you ever talk to someone alive. Besides some humans, animals can see us. So feel free to live your Disney dream,” he teased.

“I do NOT have a Disney dream,” I lied.

“Right, and I did not see Cinderella's glass slipper on your dashboard,” he countered sarcastically.

“SO!” I cut in, “Why am I here, and why are you here? Don't I just move on and go to the other side or something?” 

He smirked, “Your night, well, morning now, is about to get a little crazier, firecracker.”

He hands me the backpack, and I peek inside. There was a uniform, a necklace with a blank pendant, a pair of socks, and a pair of shoes to go with the uniform.

You've got to be joking me.

“Welcome, new student of Hallow High!” he grinned.

“What do you mean ‘welcome new student of Hallow High’. I finished High school already! I don't wanna go again!” I exclaimed. 

“It's not like high school, per se, more like a guide to being a ghost and transitioning into the afterlife, only if you want to, of course,” he explained.

“Okay, one, why wouldn't I want to pass on into the afterlife, and two, why do I need to be taught how to be a ghost? Don't you just float around and scare people for fun or something?” I questioned playfully.

“Well its a little more complex than just scaring people for fun. Being a ghost requires energy to stay a ghost and that energy source is fear”, Erik explained “without that energy source we ‘die’ and become a demon, an emotionless entity that wanders the streets whose sole goal is to make contracts with humans and/or ghost to feed and live in this side of the world forever in a never-ending loop never to be able to move on. Once a contract is made, it has to be completed or else they will forever leech off your energy and trap you with their life cycle, if you can call it that.”

As Erik is explaining this to me, he grew increasingly sad.

Hesitantly, I asked, “Did you make a contract with a demon?”

There were a few seconds of silence, and I was about to change the topic when he finally answered sadly,  “Yes… by accident.”

We stayed quiet for a few minutes, not knowing what to say to that.

“I've never told anyone that before…” he admitted, finally breaking the silence.

Not knowing what to say to that, I changed the topic.

Hesitantly asking, “Why do we have to use fear as a power source… why not happiness? 

“Only spirits use happiness as a power source-” he started to reply.

Unable to help myself, I cut in, “Wait, aren't spirits and ghosts the same thing?” 

He chuckled darkly, “You'd think, right? But no, spirits use happiness as a power source, and ghosts use fear. The reason why they feed off different energies is from the way we die. Ghosts die from suicides or accidents, while spirits die peacefully or from health-related issues.”

I scooched my chair closer to him and gave him a little shoulder bump.

“Hey… It’s gonna be okay. You’re not alone anymore.” I replied with a smile.

He smiled back, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. “You're right. I’m not alone anymore”.

His green eyes stared into mine in silence, and I noticed gold flecks in them the longer I stared.

I looked away after awhile “Sooo, uhm if there are demons, there must be angels, what are they like?” I asked quickly.

He cleared his throat a little, “right, so angels”, he glanced over for a second before continuing,” they get their energies off prayers and answering those prayers, so unlike demons, ghosts, and spirits, their way of gaining energy is a unique type of situation.” 

“Right. That’s… interesting,” I replied, while fiddling with the buttons on the uniform. 

The silence was deafening in here. I wish there were music or something…

“You should try it on,” he encouraged, breaking my train of thought, “let's see if it fits you.”

“Are you saying I look fat?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood and break whatever was going on with him and me. 

His panicked expression was priceless

“No! Absolutely not! I could never.. You're.. Uhm… you're-”

“I'm teasing,” I snickered, ending his suffering. “I'll be back,” I said as I sauntered away to the bathroom.

As I'm changing into the uniform, I admire the black flowery designs on the white fabric around the bottom of the skirt and the collar of the blazer. The loose fabric clung to me almost like the fabric was magically fitting against my body. I put on the necklace last and went to show Erik. 

I walked back to where Erik was sitting, and he turned around, sensing me walking towards him. He was staring at me, and the walk to the table felt longer than it was. 

“Well? Say something, Mr. Ghost guide,” I said as I punched his shoulder.

As he was about to say something, the pendant glowed, and a crescent moon with a star in the middle got engraved into it. 

“What the fuck!” I said at the same time as Erik said, “House Lumina…” 

“House Lumina? What are you talking about? Are you saying that glow was normal? Will I have to get used to more weird-” I began to ramble until I noticed he's just smirking at me, waiting for me to stop rambling, “okay, sassy pants, spill. You obviously have something to say” I responded with my arms crossed.

“ I didn't say anything”, he responded cheekily.

“You didn't have to say anything; your silence and that stare were enough, sir.”

“I’m a sir now? I thought I was Mr. Ghost Guide, firecracker,” he continued to tease.

“You are, which leads me to, are you going to answer any of my questions or are you gonna keep teasing me and calling me firecracker?” I pushed, giving him a look with my arms still crossed.

He paused, unable to respond for a moment, while staring at me intently, “Fine, since you asked nicely, I will,” he relented.

I smirked.

Celeste 1, Erik 0  

“The necklace that is given to you assigns you to a house. Usually, it's at the school, but there is another way you can get assigned”, he pulls up his sleeve revealing a bracelet with a wolf on it. “The lone wolf is the ‘partner house’ of House Lumina, although I'm using ‘house’ loosely. Partner houses consist of ghosts who choose to stay and guide ghosts like you,” he started.

“So volunteer work basically,” I responded. 

“Exactly,” he confirmed. 

“When a partner house ghost triggers a house assignment, it means, in our case,” he smirks, “you're stuck with me”. 

Erik 1, Celeste 1.

He moves closer, moving my black hair out of the way to grab my necklace.

I stiffen from the sudden contact.

As he slides his hand down the chain of my necklace to the pendant, his skin grazes my neck, sending shivers down my spine. He moved his hand to match his bracelet to my pendant, and the moment the two touched, they glowed. Shimmering around the jewelry at first, then glowing as the shimmers, stars, I think, surround us. 

“Get ready,” Erik said suddenly.

“Wait, what-” I began.

Then the stars came crashing back to us. Instinctively, I closed my eyes.

When I opened them, we were no longer in the library but instead, a dark void.