A Dead Man's Intuition

James didn’t understand the significance of haunting, but he could read the bitterness in Skull’s voice. Whether it was warranted or not, he didn’t really know.

His expression relaxed again as he watched Skull.

“... Maybe I’m overstepping for saying so, but I think the fact that you’ve been given such powers at all, either by inheritance or chance, is something to be grateful for. Having that much power in your hands seems like a gift... an overwhelming one, though maybe not for you, but a gift nonetheless.”

I faltered.

"...I...guess," I finally said. It didn't feel like a gift most of the time, but my powers did have their benefits. The most recent times I had used them involved saving people - saving James, saving Nikko, and saving Lucy.

James felt for a moment that he had said something wrong, or out of turn. He felt the temptation to withdraw into himself and return to quiet, but he didn't really want to go back to silence. In the last year, it was rare that he had the opportunity to have any non-hostile conversations with people, nevermind ones who knew he was wanted and didn't care. The latter, of course, hadn't happened until now.

He cleared his throat. "Ah. Sorry. I just... maybe I'm just thinking from my perspective. As someone without magic. I doubt I'd ever be able to fully understand how it is for you."

I smirked.

"Even if you did have magic," I said, "I doubt you'd understand it - no one has magic quite like mine."

There had been that Ezekiel ghost, but he was gone now. Besides, he hadn't been given another chance like me; he didn't have an extra power on top of everything ghostly he had been able to do.

The smirk faltered. It didn't really feel like something to be proud of. I settled for giving an almost wistful smile instead. That felt right.

James hummed. He couldn't argue with that, nor did he have much to say in response. After a moment's pause, he shifted his shoulders a little to angle them more in Skull's direction. He let his mind wander a different route.

"Do you have any friends back in your homeworld that have magic?"

"Friends?" I scoffed. "I don't have-"

I faltered.

...I did have them, even if I didn't really want to admit it.

"...It depends on the world," I finally admitted, looking back into the fire's dying flames. We'd have to add more wood, soon. "One my first world - the one I grew up on and died on - there were some kids I knew who had the ability to interact with ghosts. Not everyone has it, so I guess you could call that magic. One of them was pretty talented - she could hear me talking when no one else could."

I looked back over at him.

"On the world I just came from, everyone has some kind of power," I said. "Not like mine. I'm...special. But the two I'm traveling with also have special abilities, and anyone I know from other worlds who died and ended up there got a new magic power, too."

James listened closely. Quietly, in his heart, he was glad Skull had friends to return to that would miss him (and probably were missing him). It meant he had people to return to, and people who cared.

There was a twinge of jealousy, but he ignored it.

“They didn’t end up here... did they? To your knowledge?”

"The first ones?" I asked. "Definitely not. I haven't seen them since I died."

Technically I had seen Lucy since then, but that had just been Nikko looking like her.

I thought for a moment.

"...As for the second ones, maybe."

I shrugged.

"As far as I know," I said, "I'm alone. But I've been wrong before."

James hummed again. “Well, if they are here, I hope you find them, or they find you soon.”

After some time passed, we decided to pack up our little makeshift site and keep moving. The ashes of our flames were forgotten as we headed elsewhere in the woods. At first, the traveling wasn't all that bad - I did have the convenience of riding on Tony instead of walking on foot. But the longer that we traveled, the darker the skies got.

In retrospect, it probably shouldn't have been as surprising as it was when it started raining.

...Or when there was a low rumble of thunder in the distance.

I looked ahead.

I was just a little bit in front of James; Tony wasn't as tired as his horse was. I could just barely make out the shape of a cabin and a shed.

A familiar cabin and shed.

I got a sinking feeling in my gut.

"You're not going to like this," I said, "but I think I just found our shelter."

James rode Elliot up to Skull's side to get a better view of what Skull was looking at. He was already getting soaked and was eager to get out of the rain for all of their sakes, but when he saw the cabin up ahead he froze, and his hands clenched tightly around Elliot's reins.

He looked over at Skull, stiffly. This might be the only shelter they found for miles. It could be their only option. How had he not realized they were headed in this direction? How turned around had he gotten?

It didn't really matter anymore. They were there. He had to deal with the present.

And presently, he did not want to step foot in that cabin. But he was cold.

He swallowed.

"We make sure no one is in there first," he said, the tension in his voice clear.

I nodded.

Getting off from my horse, I hesitantly approached the cabin. I knew James was right - we didn't want to run the risk of meeting Butch again. But we also didn't really have a choice. If we were about to get hit by a thunderstorm, we had to stick around.

"It's dark in there," I pointed out, keeping my voice low, "but I'll peek in."

I slowly opened up the door.

I turned, ready to tell James that it was empty. But then I heard movement in the corner. Someone was getting to their feet. It was too dark inside the cabin to make out any features. They just were tall, and definitely bigger than I was.

And considering who had used it as a base before, it didn't take that long for me to realize just who it had to be.

Well, at least I had the bonus of being able to possess him this time.

Before my would be attacker could do any attacking - or questioning why I was there - I grabbed onto his wrist.

...And was immediately hit with how familiar possessing him felt.

I shook my body's hand off of my wrist, taking a step forward towards the door so I could get a good look at myself in the little light that there was coming through the doorway. But I was so distracted - and struggling so much against the will of the person I was possessing - that I completely forgot about my body laying on the floor in front of my feet.

I went stumbling forward.

The owner of the body just barely managed to grab onto something to catch us, but by then it was too late - we had already knocked down the stool I had sat on what felt like an eternity ago. The crash was loud enough for James to hear it outside.

There was an ominous roll of thunder in the distance.

James watched as Skull jumped off his horse and slowly rode up closer, waiting for Skull's signal. He watched as Skull turned around, and then flipped his head back around into the cabin like he'd heard something. As Skull took a step into the cabin James leaped off his horse. He wasn't going to let Skull walk into a fight alone.

But as he landed on his feet and looked up he saw Skull's body collapse to the ground, and a tall shadowy figure standing over him.

His heart began to race, and he ran up the porch steps. He could hear the crash as the person drew back in the dark and he burst through the door. He jumped over Skull's unconscious body and used his momentum to send a kick into the attacker's ribs.

I want to step out of James's way to avoid getting kicked another time, or at least give some kind of word of warning so he knew it was me. But it was a little hard to when the person I was possessing was so used to losing control over his body.

I tried to take a step back. He tried to awkwardly brace himself in a stance he had learned from Asmira but didn't really know how to use. Neither one of us should have been surprised when we just stumbled back, arms flailing, but I also probably should have expected that James would kick the guy who had seemingly knocked me out.

I managed to regain our balance.

But he used it as the perfect opportunity to get control of our mouth.

"Get out of me," he hissed.

It's a little hard, I said, deciding it was more important to back up away from James than to try talking. Seeing that my body is a good few feet away, and James is more fight than flight.

I paused for a moment.

If we get closer to my body, I can switch back.

"He's just going to kick me again!"

Stop being a baby, Natty boy. It wouldn't hurt that much.

"You're not the one who has to deal with the bruises afterwards," he replied, exasperated.

That was when the door - which had slammed shut right after James burst through it - slowly creaked open. It was hard to make out just who had entered, but I had my guesses given the way that Nathaniel immediately started relaxing.

The firewood that Asmira had been holding fell to the floor with a loud crash.

A second later, she had one of her knives out - and the temperature had dropped enough that I could see all of our breaths forming in the air.

James readied his fists for another blow, but when he heard the man utter the words: "Get out of me," it clicked. Skull hadn't been knocked out. Skull had possessed the stranger just like he'd done with practically everyone else they'd run into.

He took a step back and lowered his fists slightly. He wasn't sure how much control Skull had, considering the man was having a conversation with himself.

"Who are-" was all he got out before he spun around to the open door. When the temperature dropped, just like how it had with Skull and Butch, he lifted up his hands in surrender.

This girl couldn't be from his world. Not with that magic.

"Wait! I won't fight," he said, backing away. "I'm not here for trouble!"