Guardian

by Matthew S. Cox

  Moaning, the crushed ghost rose from the puddle and dragged itself along the floor toward her. Chill settled in; the room dropped twenty degrees in a second. Lights flickered and dimmed, one emitted a twittering buzz. Black vapor welled up from the dark lines in the tiled floor, swirling about in a mass that coalesced in the distant corner by the sinks. Twelve drains gurgled with a hollow churning drone. The column of inky smoke clung to the wall, mounting higher and higher until it touched the drop ceiling. Two silvery sparkles appeared in an approximation of eyes; a Harbinger drifted forward out of the fog.

  Dorian grabbed the spirit and hauled him upright. It struggled, greater strength making up for a lack of combat training. Not wanting to risk hitting her partner with the lash, Kirsten circled. Dorian’s hesitance at being near Harbingers resulted in him trying to throw the other ghost at the nine-foot tall cloud of blackness. The spirit darted left, but Kirsten caught it with the energy whip, the strike dispelled any vestige of humanity, reducing the apparition to a semi-formed puddle of slime.

  The Harbinger bowed its head with a slight nod, and fell upon the writhing mass. Dark vapors billowed outward and engulfed the moaning spirit before seeping in a slow spiral down through the tiled floor.

  Still coughing up vomit, the kneeling boy blinked at the room. “Thbt wmf coobl!”

  Kirsten shot them a worried look. A quick surface thought peek made her feel better: none had seen the Harbinger, though they felt its presence as a dire chill that had paralyzed them with fear. She let the lash recede.

  “You two can go back to class. I’ll walk him to the medtech’s station.” Kirsten glanced at Dorian while helping the puking boy stand. “How long do you think that spirit was here?”

  “No idea. Damn lucky thing Ev was messing around with seeing… Who’d have ever thought to look in here for a psychotic ghost?”

  Kirsten laughed. “When I got here, the girls in the dorm had all sorts of stories about a haunted bathroom, but there wasn’t anything in there.”

  “Did you break it to them gently?”

  “No… I was too afraid to talk to anyone. Never said a word.” She rubbed her arms. “I was like fifteen before I spoke to anyone who wasn’t a teacher, doctor, or a counselor… Nicole. She wouldn’t leave me alone. Kept trying to be my friend.”

  “Thanks.” The kid went over to the sinks and spat a few times before grabbing a towel. “I’m okay. Can I go back to class?”

  Kirsten let her building emotion out on a calming breath. “Are you sure? You just got possessed by a ghost and puked him out.”

  “Really?” He stared at her. “That’s cool as shit. Yeah, I’m good.”

  “Okay then.” She followed him out to the hallway. “I’m Agent Wren. If anything weird happens, please let me know. I deal with this sort of thing.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” He saluted and ran off.

  Kirsten looked to her right at Dorian. “At least the reports will be simple. I think the daughter is still here. Should I tell her?”

  Dorian shook his head. “Nah. Even if she does believe you, what’s the point? Re-open an old wound. If your mother came back and someone destroyed the ghost, would you want to know?”

  Kirsten raised both eyebrows. “Know? I’d want video so I could watch it over and over.”

  “You wouldn’t try to ‘save’ her?”

  “I…” She stared down, thinking back to the too-real nightmare and the way her eight-year-old self had looked. Phantom burning seared her hands, which she crumpled against her chest. “Some things… I don’t think even I can forgive.”

  Kirsten walked into the school’s rec room at 5:05 p.m. Evan ran around collecting unattended games and datapads, bringing them back to a table before sorting them onto a shelf and cubbies. She waited for about ten minutes until he noticed her. As soon as he did, he sprinted over and leapt into a hug.

  “Mom!”

  She hugged a wheeze out of him. “Hey kiddo. Are you ready to go home?”

  “Yeah.” His huge grin faded to a look of apprehension. He picked up his backpack.

  “Sorry for going away.”

  “I understand. It’s your job… helping people.”

  “Did you have fun at Nila’s?”

  Tales of video game conquests filled the walk from the school to the motor pool. Once in the Patrol Craft, his enthusiasm bottomed out and he stared at his lap. Kirsten offered a consoling smile. I’ll let him tell me on his own time. Unless he tries to go to sleep without saying a word. A moment after they flew out of the garage and climbed into the hover lane, Evan looked up at her.

  “What was the moon base like?”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared as an adult.”

  “You were scared?”

  “Space is big. One little error and I was afraid I’d go flying off and never come back. All I could think of was not being able to come home to you.”

  Red appeared around his eyes.

  Sixteen minutes later, she steered into the blinding orange glare of the setting sun, and climbed to the roof parking deck of their building. Dark cloud shapes blurred the horizon below thousands of moving spots―advert bots and hovercars. She headed for the closest open spot to the entrance, about halfway across the roof, stopped at a hover, and set down.

  Evan followed her to the door, head bowed, dragging his feet.

  The elevator ride to the 41st floor passed in silence. Once home, Kirsten patted him on the head and went to her room to change. Minutes later, in panties and a knee-length white shirt, she walked to the kitchen and stared at the fridge. Hmm. Do I dare practice necromancy today or should I just order something?

  “Mom?”

  She turned to look at the door. Evan looked so tiny and pathetic, she wanted to scoop him up and hold him forever. “What’s wrong?”

  He walked up to her, still looking down. “I got in trouble at school yesterday.”

  She took his hand, led him to the living room, and sat on the sofa so they were about eye-to-eye. “Evan. I want you to know that I will never get tired of you or get frustrated with you enough to send you back. You are not a holiday puppy.” She grabbed him by the shoulders. “Do you understand that? There’s nothing you can do that will make me give up on you.”

  Evan sniffled and wiped at his eyes.

  “I’ve been wondering how long you’d stay perfect. I know you’re a great kid… but you’ve been so perfect, you had me worrying you were afraid of being who you are. It’s okay to be normal.” She hugged him. “Not that I’m saying you should go off on a tear, but getting in trouble now and then is going to happen… you’re a kid.”

  “You remember Abernathy?” He smiled, but tears kept falling.

  “Yep.”

  Evan cuddled up at her side. “I wanted to help him move on. I thought if I got his brain and took it to Father Villera, he could be happy. We went into the archives and Abernathy got mad when I touched the brain and appeared. Sam got scared and bumped a table, and this statue broke, and a poltergeist got out. It was throwin’ stuff at us. Almost hit Shani in the head with a sword. It was gonna kill her… I saw it.” He shivered. “It trapped us behind all this stuff. We couldn’t get out. I binded the sword.” Evan explained how he held the thing down while Shani used telekinesis to swing blind until she hit it.

  Kirsten clung to him for a few minutes before worry got out of the way of her voice. “That was brave of you, Ev…”

  He sniffled. “You’re not mad at me?”

  “Well… Probably not as much as I should be, but… our life is far from normal. What you should have done is asked Abernathy first. Ghosts can be fickle and dangerous. The older they are, the more set in their ways they get… and they hate surprises.”

  “Guess they’re kinda protective of their brains too.” He grinned.

  Kirsten brushed her hand over his head. “If that brain is his… umm… resting place, yeah. Ghosts are highly protective.”

  “Like the car and Dorian?”r />
  “Right.”

  “So, I got like a million cit points.”

  “I heard. You took Shani’s too. I’m proud of you.”

  He blinked. “You knew already?”

  “Captain Eze told me. I didn’t say anything because I knew I could trust you to be honest with me. I didn’t want you to feel like I was coming after you.”

  His shock faded to a mix of guilt and relief. “It’s still out there. Sam’s afraid it’ll come after her for breaking the statue.”

  “It might be happy to be out of the statue. That could’ve been like a prison.”

  The doorbell chimed.

  “Who’s there?” asked Kirsten.

  A holo-panel spread open a few feet to the left of the couch, showing a view of the hallway. Dorian’s former partner, Nila Assad, hovered by her door, with Shani clinging to her. Both of them looked freaked.

  “Open it.” Kirsten leapt over the sofa arm and ran to the door, which opened on automatic.

  “Kirsten!” Nila ran in.

  Shani wailed. “I’m not doing it! I swear!”

  “What’s up?” She grasped Nila’s shoulder in one hand and put the other on Shani’s back.

  “Stuff’s flying all over the place. I almost took a damn steak knife to the face.” Nila exhaled. “I thought it might be subconscious kinetic disassociation, but Shani’s losing her mind screaming at me that it isn’t her.”

  The girl stared at Evan. “It followed me!”

  Kirsten and Evan made the same open-mouthed face of realization at the same time. They exchanged a glance.

  “What?” Nila looked back and forth between them.

  “The kids accidentally set a poltergeist loose at school the other day. Ev astrally bound a sword and Shani got a piece of the thing. It’s probably coming after her.”

  Nila glared. “Why are you smiling about that?”

  “Because if it is the ‘geist, it saves me the trouble of chasing it all over the damn city.” Kirsten ran to the master bedroom. “Lemme grab clothes.”

  She traded the oversized tee for a loose shirt, added baggy fatigue-style pants and hopped into her pink Nomz sneakers. Regulations demanded she bring the E-90, but there was no way she’d fire that thing in here… it could go through four or five apartments up or down, and the stunrod would only wind up getting turned against her.

  Kirsten ran back to the living room where the kids were halfway done explaining the entire story again to Nila. “Okay. Is it still downstairs?”

  “I think so.” Nila eyed the door.

  Evan’s eyes lit up white. “Let’s go.”

  “You three stay here.”

  “Mom.” Evan marched up to her. “If it’s after Shani, it’s gonna go wherever she is.”

  She sighed. “Okay. Come on.”

  Kirsten followed Nila to the elevators at the center of the building, and down two floors to the 39th. Six apartments away from Nila’s, the sound of stuff banging off walls and breaking became noticeable.

  Evan looked up. “I think he’s pissed.”

  “Sounds it,” said Kirsten.

  At Nila’s approach, the door to her apartment opened. The living room looked like the morning after a frat party. In the center of the destruction, the upper half of a humanoid figure hovered. The body had only the vaguest hint of a person’s features, consisting of pale white-yellow light in wispy tatters. Hands, a touch too large in proportion, ended with needle-like points of pure energy.

  The instant Shani walked in, the apparition glared at her. It dove low to the left, grabbed a heavy transparent block (some service award Nila had won) and threw it at the child. Evan yelled a warning fast enough to allow Nila to turn and shield Shani. The block hit her in the back, knocking her a step into the hallway.

  Kirsten charged, calling the lash at the same instant she swung her arm out. The energy tendril passed within inches of the poltergeist’s head. It zipped low and zipped between her legs. Kirsten whirled, drawing her arm back for another swing. The spirit dove under the couch, which flipped into the air, flying at her. She dove to the ground, but the sofa landed on her. It didn’t hit her as hard as she expected.

  Shani let off a cute little growl, and the sofa stood up on end.

  “K, does pyro work on ghosts?” Nila, wild-eyed, pushed her daughter behind her.

  “A little, yeah… if you can see them.” Kirsten sprang upright and ran after the glow in the kitchen.

  The poltergeist hurled fistfuls of silverware at her. A puddle of apple juice complicated her attempt to duck, and sent her sliding ass-first into the cabinets. Dozens of OmniSoy packets fell off the counter on top of her.

  “I really hate poltergeists.”

  She flipped over onto all fours, clambered up to her knees, and lurched forward with an overextended sideways swing of the lash. The poltergeist zipped upward, evading her again, and tore one of the LED bulbs off the fixture before hurling it at her face. Plastic shards sprayed her cheek as she cringed away from where it hit the wall.

  It pulled another bulb loose and threw it through a passe-plat between the kitchen and dining room, knocking over a tiny vase on the way. Shani let off a short, ear-splitting scream before something heavy thudded into the floor.

  Kirsten slipped and wiped out again in a puddle of OmniSoy; her sneakers meowed with every strike against the floor or cabinets.

  “Are you murdering an army of cats in there?” yelled Nila.

  Evan ran in the archway right as she fell for the sixth time. He rushed over and grabbed her arm. Shani yelled again, followed by Nila letting off a stream of obscenities that made Evan blush.

  “Come on, Mom. Before Nila burns the place down.” He tried to pull her up, but his feet shot out from under him and he landed on his butt, drawing a pained hiss past clenched teeth.

  Kirsten grumbled. “This crap is so fu―damn slippery.”

  Her Nomz finally got traction. She sprang upright, pulled Evan standing, and rushed into the living room where Shani levitated the coffee table as a shield against an endless pelting of random objects. The poltergeist zipped around grabbing anything it could get its hands on, winging each item at deadly velocity.

  Imma grab it. Evan’s voice in her head sounded echoey, as if he stood inside an old empty church.

  She tried sneaking up on the poltergeist, but it whirled about, evidently sensing the energy of the lash. The spirit streaked to the right as the whip sliced the air inches behind it. A second later, it jerked to a halt and crept at a snail’s pace. Evan let off a tangled snarl of exertion.

  Kirsten swiped the energy whip at the mired spirit. Unable to move out of the way, it let out a keening wail. The shimmering cord caught in its vaporous body, like a knife snagging on flesh. A burst of focused energy brightened the lash as she poured on power, and the poltergeist drew inward to a light orb. Evan whined and gasped.

  “It’s… too strong, Mom.”

  She jerked the whip free, flipped her arm about, and caught the gliding orb with a sideward slash that detonated it into a spray of transparent goo. The sense of obliteration buffeted her with fatigue.

  Kirsten let the lash recede and stared at the splatter. “Wow. Something’s wrong.”

  “What?” Nila edged out from behind the levitating coffee table.

  “Is it gone?” asked Shani.

  “Yeah.” Kirsten gestured at the goo on the carpet. “No one wound up covered in slime. That’s never happened before.”

  “Check your pants,” said Nila.

  “That’s OmniSoy, not ectoplasm.” Kirsten shook her head at the mess.

  Shani set the table down and plopped to a seat on top of it. “I’m tired.”

  Evan trudged over to Kirsten. He looked worn out as well, but happy.

  Kirsten threw her arm around him. “Great job.”

  Nila groaned, hand on her forehead.

  “Ev.” Kirsten patted him on the shoulder. “You should’ve asked Abernathy if he wanted to be helped. As
punishment, we’re not going to watch Monwyn tonight. We’re going to help Nila clean up.”

  He looked somewhat crestfallen, but nodded. “Okay. That’s fair.”

  Going easy on him?

  Kirsten glanced at Nila. He didn’t do it out of malice or even curiosity… he wanted to help a spirit in need. Did Shani tell you he took her cit points so she wouldn’t get in any trouble?

  Nila smirked. Yeah, but that isn’t gonna save her from a little grounding here.

  She didn’t really have much to do with it.

  My kid opened the damn door. She broke into a secure room. Nila set her hands on her hips. She’s lucky all she’s getting is a week without the Yume Koujou.

  She’s seven. She doesn’t understand the concept of secure rooms. Kirsten pointed Evan at a scattering of small items. She thought someone needed help. You’d break into a place to save someone too.

  Nila held her hands up. Okay, okay. I’ll talk to her later. “Thanks for helping. What a mess.”

  “Yeah.” Kirsten chuckled. “For a poltergeist, this is mild.”

  irsten lay flat on Nila’s living room floor, gazing up at the ceiling. The faint clinks of glassware being rearranged came from the kitchen. Evan and Shani took up the sofa, both sleeping. Standing, walking upstairs, and going to bed seemed like far too much effort. Even sitting up to pull her sneakers off exceeded her threshold of tired.

  “Incoming contact from Division 1,” said her NetMini.

  “Ugh, Siri… really?”

  “Yes. The call is originating from Division 1.”

  Literal bitch. “One sec.” She stuffed her hand in her pocket and pulled it out. A too-blonde twentysomething woman in a blue uniform shirt appeared in hologram. “Hello?”

  “Am I speaking with Agent Kirsten Wren, Division 0?” asked the woman.

  “Yeah.” Kirsten yawned. “What time is it?”

  “The current time is twenty four minutes past ten p.m.,” said Siri.

  The woman in blue repeated the information. “Your presence is requested at the NewsNet office tower.”

  “What?” She woke up and sat up at the same instant. “Lamb?”