Young Writers Society

The otter blinked and stepped back as 'Dean' explained himself to be a god. Then Aegeas scowled. "That can't be everything," he said, crossing his arms. "You're a god, but you can't just be named God. That's not how it works."

Dean--or, rather, God--shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm not the one who named me. That was my religion." He thought for a moment, then added, "It's the perks of being monotheistic."

"Y-You can't be God, though!" Violet protested.

God looked in her direction. "Why not?" He very well knew why someone would protest that. He didn't look the part in the slightest. No gray beard and hair, no biblical outfit, and the leather jacket always seemed to take away from things.

"You don't look like him," she said. "You don't sound like how he should sound, either, and if you were God, then you would have helped us pass on by now!"

Ouch.

That one stung.

He took a deep breath, trying to remember the spell that his brother had been teaching him for outfit changes. It only took a handful of seconds for his clothing to switch to a neat suit instead. He hated wearing the thing, but he'd do it if it meant convincing her of who he was. "I know that I'm not what's expected of God," he said, looking her in the eye, "but I am very certainly him. That's why you felt that strange way about me earlier. You're one of mine, Violet. You can't deny that feeling."

"How does a religion name you?" Aegeas said, throwing up his arms. "Don't you get to name the religion? Isn't that how this works?"

If Lasan wasn't also curious - or afraid to get in Aegeas's way - he would've intervened. Instead, he moved out of the way to give Aegeas space.

"It's complicated," he said, sighing when he saw the looks he was receiving from more than half of the people present.

"Explain it, then," Kartiel demanded. "It's not like we have anywhere else to go."

God plopped himself down on the floor; it was best not to be standing around for something like this when he had no idea how long it would take to explain things. "Gods don't work the way people think we do," he admitted. This would make the Council furious, but who cared? They weren't going to kick him out, and he needed to tell the truth right now. "We're not the creators of the universe and everything in it. It's more of the other way around. People come up with stories to explain why things happen in the world, and start believing in those stories. Before you know it, they start believing in gods, too. And something about them believing makes us come into existence. I don't know how or why, but that's my origin story."

Nope, this conversation had been going on for too long, and Aegeas was about to ask questions that Dean - that felt more comfortable than God - couldn't answer. Forget the consequence, it was time to act. Besides, Lasan tended to forget just how much bigger he was than Aegeas.

"Let's try to focus on the important things," Lasan said. He could feel Aegeas's eyes on the back of his head as he stepped around the otter, but it didn't stop him. "How do we figure out what happened to this town?"

God glanced over at Thymea. "Probably ask the ghosts," he guessed. This wasn't exactly like cases he had been on in the past, but it was similar enough for him to determine a plan of action. "Although most of them are on the murderous side, so I'm not sure how well that will go."

Burying his head in his hands, Aegeas started to breath deeply.

Lasan glanced back to the otter and frowned enough for his teeth to show. "Do you think they'll want to talk to us?" he said. "Aren't they going to be a bit busy trying to murder us?"

God thought about it for a moment.

"It will depend on the type of ghost," he admitted. "So far we've ran into the two types: partials and normal ghosts. A partial was what tried killing me and Aegeas earlier. Most of their soul has passed on, but some of it has remained thanks to whatever regrets they have. Partials are the things of ghost stories and Hollywood horror flicks. They change the air temperature, are transparent or in shades of gray, and seem to be on the more murderous side in this place."

He glanced over at Violet and Piper. "Violet and Piper are the regular type of ghost. It's incredibly difficult to lose a chunk of your soul, so most souls remain after death in their entirety. They look like normal people. But, like with the partials, you can see how they died." He let out a sigh. "In most cases, you can tell the two apart by if regular people like you can see them. Anyone can see a partial, but you have to be different to see a regular ghost."

Hero pointed at Violet and Piper. "I can see them."

He let out another sigh. "This town is weird," God answered. "Regular ghosts are strangely visible, which means we'll have to get more creative in telling the two of them apart. Annnnd we don't have a reaper on speed dial, so we'll have to either get them to pass on or scare them away long enough for us to escape."

The lizard rested his tail in his hands and looked around. "We've got enough water and salt, right?" Lasan said. "How many ghosts do you think there are, anyways?"

God surveyed their supplies.

"I think we have enough," he guessed.

"Think!?" Kartiel repeated.

"Yeah, think," God confirmed. "It's hard to tell. I'm not a grim reaper. I can't feel souls. I can see them, but I can't figure out how many people are present in this town without actual running into them."

Biting his lip, Lasan tightened his grip on his tail. "C-can't we get them all in one place?" he said. "Have someone run around and get them all angry at us, and then we can make a barrier and see if we can talk to them? If that makes sense?"

"That-" God started to say, then paused and reconsidered the suggestion. It would have been foolish if Lasan had suggested that any of the people he had come to see as his responsibility were forced to do the running around - they could easily be killed by a foe they could barely fight. But they knew of his status as a god. That allowed him certain freedoms he wouldn't have had when masquerading as a human hunter, and he guessed Thymea was in a similar situation.

"That's actually a good idea," he decided. "I can't die. If I'm the one to provoke them and you all stay safe away from the angry ghost horde, it should work."

He glanced down at Thymea. "Can you get killed?"

Thymea shook her head.

"Want to help me rile up some ghosts, then?"

She looked absolutely horrified at the thought, but gave a quick, nervous nod in response.

The lizard almost breathed a sigh of relief, but stopped partway through. "Can, can I come with you guys?" he whispered, pointing back to Aegeas. The otter had sat down, but was still breathing deeply. "I can die and all, but I'm not quite sure I want to be in the same room with him."

God immediately shook his head when he heard the question.

"You can't," he said. "I'm not risking someone's life. If you dealt with ghosts on a regular basis, I might let you. But you don't, and I don't want someone's death on my hands."

He figured. These ghosts sounded dangerous, even though he wasn't sure if they could be any worse than Aegeas. Still, it wasn't like he could go up against a god. Sighing and shaking his head, Lasan looked down at the god and goddess. "Yeah," he said, "I don't have the experience. Is there anything you'd like me to do? Should I keep an eye on the others?"