[#029] The Reality Of Ghosts (FAKE)

[badly_knitted]

Theme Prompt: #029 – Ghosts
Title: The Reality Of Ghosts
Fandom: FAKE
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1000
Summary: While searching a derelict building, Ryo encounters something he doesn’t understand. Dee knows exactly what it is, but can Ryo be convinced that ghosts are real?



Despite being a dreamer, unlike Dee, Ryo had never been a believer in the supernatural. He believed in what he could see and experience firsthand, not in tales of aliens, and fairies, and monsters under the bed, and most especially not in ghosts. Which was why he was experiencing a bit of a problem at present.

“Ghosts don’t exist,” he stated firmly, although he was aware he didn’t sound quite as confident in that fact as he would have liked.

“Try tellin’ the ghost that,” Dee said from where he was half hiding behind Ryo’s left shoulder. “Maybe you can make it think it’s a figment of its own imagination.” If Ryo had sounded a bit uncertain of his own convictions, Dee sounded positively freaked out.

“Whatever it is, it’s not solid so it can’t harm us.” That at least Ryo was pretty sure about.

“Uh huh, from your mouth to its ears. If it even has ears. All I know is, I don’t want to find out what it can or can’t do to us!”

“Dee, grow up, there’s nothing to be scared of, it’s just…”

“A ghost?”

“I don’t know, some kind of apparition…”

“Which is the same as sayin’ it’s a ghost.” As far as Dee was concerned, that discussion was at an end.


OoOoOoO


Searching derelict warehouses and abandoned buildings was part of being a New York cop, whether they were visiting a crime scene, looking for a suspect who might be holed up there, or breaking up a drug deal taking place out of the public eye. On this occasion, they’d had a tip-off that the getaway car used in a recent armed robbery had been abandoned behind a row of empty tenement buildings scheduled for demolition. Having found the car right where they’d been told it was, Ryo had suggested checking inside the buildings, in case the robbers were using one of them as a hideout, so…

The first two buildings they’d searched had been empty except for rats. The basement of the third had yielded a colony of brown bats, to Ryo’s delight and Dee’s disgust.

“We’ll have to alert the conservation society; the colony will need to be moved before demolition takes place.”

“They’re flyin’ rats!”

“They’re amazing creatures that deserve to be protected.”

“They’re not what we’re lookin’ for so let’s leave ‘em and get goin’. It’ll be gettin’ dark soon and there’s still three more tenements to search.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

There hadn’t been any bats in the fourth building, and the two detectives were on the second floor before either of them realised there were no rats scratching about either. The absence of any sound had made them move more cautiously, until Dee had stopped outside one apartment.

“We should move on to the next buildin’, there’s nobody here,” he said, voice low.

“We haven’t finished checking this one yet,” Ryo protested.

“Doesn’t matter, we won’t find anyone. Not alive.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Yeah I can. Don’t ya feel that?”

“Feel what?” Ryo stared at his partner, confused.

“The stillness, the silence, like the whole place is holdin’ its breath.”

“Derelict buildings can be a bit creepy…”

“No,” Dee cut him off. “It’s more than that; this place is haunted.”

“Oh come on, Dee, be serious.”

“I am!”

“Fine, you can go back if you’re scared, but I’m not leaving until I finish searching this building.”

Dee had followed him, reluctant but determined not to leave his lover alone, only now Ryo was wondering whether he should have listened to his partner and left this place to its… inhabitant.

He shook his head firmly; there was no point thinking like that, there had to be a logical explanation for what they were both seeing, he just couldn’t come up with one right now.

The figure standing in the middle of the room, glowing softly in the dimness of approaching dusk, was that of a woman wearing old-fashioned clothes. Her hair was pulled back in a severe bun and her face was lined, more from a hard life of too much work and too little to eat than from age. Her expression was one of resignation, as if she’d long since given up any hope of things getting better for her, and yet there was a proud tilt to her chin; she was beaten down but far from broken.

She was also transparent.

Ryo took a step towards her and Dee grabbed for him, trying to pull him back.

“Are you crazy?”

“I want to understand what’s going on here.” Ryo broke Dee’s grip easily, continued forwards. The apparition could be a projection of some kind, which would indicate some kind of camera equipment.

The temperature dropped sharply the closer he got to the figure, which was ridiculous considering it was a warm evening. Ryo’s breath hung on the frigid air; there wasn’t the slightest breeze.

Then the woman seemed to sense his presence, turned towards him, looked right into his eyes, frowning, and reached out her hand. Her lips moved, and although no sound emerged Ryo thought he heard her words somehow inside his head.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry. When was this, and what was his name?”

Her lips moved again.

“I can try to find out for you.”

She smiled then, before simply fading away; Ryo turned and left the room, made his way down the stairs and outside, Dee right on his heels.

He grabbed Ryo’s arm as they reached the sidewalk. “What was that?”

“Huh?” Ryo blinked, confused.

“The ghost, you were actin’ like it spoke to you!”

“She did. She’s been waiting here for such a long time, Dee.” There were tears in Ryo’s eyes. “Her husband went out one day looking for work and never returned. She never found out what happened to him.”

“So what, you’re gonna investigate?”

“I’m going to try. She deserves to know.”

“D’you believe in ghosts now?”

“I don’t know.” Ryo smiled faintly at his partner. “Maybe.”


The End





 

Comments

[sarajayechan]

Oooh, I love the ministory within the story, about the ghost. And Ryo sticking up for the bats amused me. :3

[badly_knitted]

Ryo will always stick up for bats, lol! (I love them myself)

Thank you, glad you liked this one! I like playing with ghosts.

[quicksilverfox3]

Oooh that was really good! Ryo's got a really big heart, and I love how creeped out but supportive Dee was

[badly_knitted]

Dee has seen ghosts before, they scare him, but he wants to protect Ryo because he knows Ryo's a non-believer. This might change Ryo's mind though... ;)

Thank you!

[m_findlow]

Dee's never going to give up until he's convinced Ryo once and for all that ghosts are real.

[badly_knitted]

True, he's still annoyed that yo didn't believe him last time, but even Ryo will find it difficult to ignore the existence of ghosts now!

Thank you!

[mxcatmoon]

Bats are great. And I have a soft spot for 'detectives helping ghosts solve a mystery' plots. I think he probably didn't *want* to believe in ghosts rather than face it, but now he has no choice.

[badly_knitted]

Dee has always believed, but the last time Dee saw a ghost and went running to Ryo, he was greeted with Ryo's flat comment, "there are no such things as ghosts. top wasting my time making up stupid stories and go to bed." It's my theory that after losing his parents he wanted to believe in ghosts so he might see them again, but their ghosts never came to him so he decided they could't be real. Now he's having second thoughts.

I might write a sequel at some point.

Thank you!

[ladygriddlebone]

It's always fun to see a partnership between a believer and a skeptic, especially when they're confronted by the supernatural.

[badly_knitted]

I think Ryo will have to change his mind about the existence of ghosts after this. Dee has encountered a ghost before, so he KNOWS they're real, even though Ryo didn't believe him at the time. An apology may be in order...

Thank you!