Geist Ch. 01

"They didn't say the location..." Michael mumbled, flipping through the copied pages of newspaper.He supposed Avery looked about 26, though it was hard to tell. He made a note to try and build up the courage to ask Avery how he died, before putting the paper back in the folder and heading home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

He closed the door behind him and noticed the house was unusually still. Usually there was some sort of indication that the ghost was in the house, water running, the laundry going, even vacuuming sometimes. Now that Avery was out of the closet, so to speak, he was open about where he was in the house. Unless he was playing a prank on Michael. Then he could be unnervingly sneaky.

"Avery?" Michael called out. He looked around the house. The dishes were done in the sink and the laundry was folded in the laundry room. He jogged up the steps and looked down the hall at the shut door. He had grown close to the spirit, but there was still so much he didn't know. He was afraid to ask Avery all that much, because when he tried the ghost would get sad and vanish for a few days before coming back without a word. Michael knocked on the door.

"Avery? Are you okay?" He asked. There was no answer. "I'm going to come in unless you tell me not to." Michael said. He turned the handle and waited. When nothing happened, he pushed the door open. Avery sat on the window sill, looking out over the yard and onto the street. He was more transparent than usual and had a sad longing look in his dead eyes.

"Avery?" Michael whispered. The ghost didn't turn to face him. He acted as if he hadn't heard him at all. His form flickered a bit and began fading slightly. "Avery!" Michael shouted, not wanting the ghost to vanish. Avery seemed to snap out of his trance and turned towards Michael. The door slammed and the curtains blew. Avery looked shocked.

"Sorry, I didn't see you." Avery mumbled.

"Where did you go?" Michael asked.

"I don't know, it just happens sometimes. I just space out a little."

"You were flickering, are you okay?"

"Was I? Sorry." Avery mumbled again, turning back to the window.

"Why are you always looking out that window?" Michael asked. Avery turned back to face him as Michael sat down on the bed.

"I don't know. I just spent a lot of time here when I was alive." Avery said.

"How old were you?" Michael blurted out.

"Honestly, I don't really remember." Avery gave a small smile. "I don't remember a whole lot about my old life." He said, thoughtfully.

"Were you happy?" Michael asked. Avery hesitated.

"I don't think so." He said quietly.

"Why not?" Michael felt bad that Avery had died, and he hadn't even liked his life before that.

"I don't remember. I think was in love." Avery said.

"Isn't that a good thing? Something to be happy about?"

"It should be...but it wasn't." Avery whispered.

~~~~~~~~

Michael sat at his desk getting all the work he'd been slacking on, done.

"What are you doing?" Avery appeared behind him, making him jump.

"God damn it, Avery." He mumbled. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"Sorry. I just got bored up there and thought I would see what you were doing." He gently floated down to the couch cushion.

"It's okay, just don't scare me like that. I'm looking through this articles I found at the library." Michael said, returning to his work.

"Articles?"

"On murders that happened in this house. There's a lot you know. I just picked the ones that happened in the past few decades."

"For me? But how do you know I didn't die farther back?" Avery asked.

"Well...I don't know. Now that I think about it, you hate technology." Michael swung his chair around to face Avery. "Maybe you are older than you look. After all, we don't know shit about how all of this ghost business works." Michael sighed.

"Maybe."

"What if we go off of memories? We know you hate technology. So that probably means you were born before all of this fancy crap." He gestured to his laptop. "What else do you remember?"

"I told you, I don't remember much."

"I know, but don't try to remember specific things that were in your life. What about things around you. Presidents? Wars? Uh...what your favorite show on T.V. was."

"Favorite show..." Avery seemed to think. "I....I'm sorry I can't remember." He put a hand to his transparent head.

"Don't worry about it. We'll figure it-"

"Ford!" Avery shouted.

"What?" Michael furrowed his brow.

"Gerald Ford was president."

"When you died?"

"I...I don't know. I just remember him. I don't remember if he was president when I died." Avery said sadly.

"Jesus..." Michael put a hand to his forehead.

"I'm sorry..." Avery said sadly.

"No, not that. He was president in the seventies. Assuming you didn't die before his presidency but after, you could have been murdered anywhere in the last...forty years." He sighed. "Do you remember how old you were?"

"No...I remember....I remember sneaking into a bar."

"So you were under twenty one... But able to pass for twenty one. So you couldn't have been any younger than eighteen."

"Yes, I suppose so." He mumbled.

"So you were, lets say nineteen, when Ford was elected. Which means you would be fifty six now." Michael said.

"Fifty six? I don't feel fifty six." He said, almost angry.

"You're dead, I'm pretty sure you don't feel much of any age right now." Michael smiled, making Avery smile back. "So you could have been murdered anywhere in the last 38 years." Michael said, typing the numbers into a calculator. He sighed.

"My grandfather started complaining about ghosts a few years ago... Do you remember how long you've been haunting him?"

"No... Time just kind of fades away. My memory gets worse and worse." Avery frowned.

"This is going to be impossible." Michael moaned in frustration.

"You'll be able to figure it out. I know it." Avery smiled. He floated over to Michael and paused before putting a hand on his shoulder. Believe it or not, the hand felt solid. Michael smiled and Avery blushed, losing his focus and the hand fell through Michael's shoulder, making him shiver. They shared a gaze for a moment before Avery vanished.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael made his next move and as soon as he pulled his hand off the piece, he knew he had made a mistake. His grandfather immediately grabbed his own piece and jumped over three of Michael's.

"God damn it." He grumbled. He only had one piece left now.

"So you say you've been talking to the demon?"

"His names Avery, and he's not a demon." Michael laughed.

"Oh yes he is. Nothing dead should still be hangin' around us living." His grandfather scowled.

"I'm trying to help him find the light or whatever other bullshit." Michael made his next move after thinking long and hard about it.

"You can't help him. He's evil, Michael. He'll just kill you and everyone you care about." His grandfather said, as he made his move and took Michael's last piece.