“Who are they?” asked Frances, staring forlornly through the bars.
“Just a few wandering spirits,” said Jasper. “Some haunt the place, but most come for the company, since this is a place they can actually call their own.”
Frances stepped through the bars and began to waft towards the crowds. But suddenly stopped and turned back.
“Thank you,” she said, and she smiled, for the first time in too long, and then she drifted onwards. Jasper couldn’t help but smile, himself.
“Another saved soul, eh?” said Rosa.
“I’m allowed to enjoy the moment,” said Jasper. “It almost makes this curse worth it.”
“Well, your moment’s up. We need to go back to Casa Boa.”
“What? I thought you wanted me to stay away from Santero turf.”
“I do... but now I believe you. They said Sophie bought drugs there, Emily was attacked in that building, and now Frances O.D.’ed after being raped. We need to have a talk to the drug dealer.”
“What drug dealer?”
“I found him when I walked through the building, a guy in Apartment 4D with a little cooking operation going on. I think he’s allied with Santero.”
“And you want me to talk to him, ask if any of his buyers have a history of hurting girls?”
“Something like that, yeah.”
“I thought we were just looking for a mugger or something ... drug dealers and rapists in gangland? It’s getting more heavy than I thought it would.”
“You can take care of yourself, can’t you?” said Rosa.
“You know I can,” said Jasper, and he took the razor from his back pocket, and as he opened it, the blade seemed to glint with a ghastly light. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
#
“Hey, how’s it?” asked the speaker.
“I’m looking for a dealer,” Jasper replied.
“Dealer? I’m not sure what you mean, guy...”
“His name’s Benicio,” said Rosa. “I read it on his mail.”
“This is Benicio, right? I’m a friend of Sophie’s,” said Jasper. “She said you were... cool.”
There was a pause before the speaker crackled as he hung up on the other end. After a tense second, the front door made a loud click as the door unlocked. Jasper ran forward and opened it, heading inside a dim and dusty-smelling lobby.
“So, we enter the dragon’s den,” said Rosa lyrically, “Never to be seen again.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, I’m just going to ask some questions,” said Jasper, making his way to the lift and pressing the call button.
“Last time we went around asking questions, three gangster with weapons threatened you.”
“Rosa, I love you, but you’re much too cynical,” said Jasper.
“What can I say? Dying gave me a different outlook on life.”
The elevator arrived, and they stepped aboard. The trip up to the fourth floor was quick, but the elevator shuddered uncomfortably all the way up, and when the door opened, the floor and the elevator cabin didn’t line up exactly, creating a two-centimetre step. Jasper and Rosa headed down the dingy hall and up to the door of apartment 4D, the lower part of the door was scuffed and dirty, and the keyhole was surrounded by scratches in the metal from missed attempts at unlocking with a key. Jasper knocked, and the door swung open.
“Come in, man,” said a slightly ragged voice within. Jasper stepped inside and instantly a smell hit his nostrils like melted plastic, it made him cough as he headed further into the apartment. Inside Jasper saw a guy who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was wearing a purple jumper with a basketball logo on the front and beige cargo shorts, and he had long, messy hair down to his shoulders. He was organising something on the coffee table next to a couch that looked to have been patched with electrical tape and when he turned around, Jasper saw he had a five-o’clock shadow on his thin face and large, buggy eyes. When he spoke, his voice had the hint of raspiness like a chainsmoker. “So, what do you want?”
“I’m just asking around. You’re Benicio?”
“Beni,” he corrected.
“Do you know who Sophie is?”
“Uh... no,” he said. “She use?”
“Yes,” said Jasper. “I think she buys from you. She has pink and black hair.”
“Ohh yeah, she’s pretty hot,” said Beni with a smirk. “Got that punk thing...”
“Right. Well, she tried to kill herself, tonight,” said Jasper.
“Oh,” said Beni, and his smirk dropped. He pursed his lips and shrugged. “That sucks.”
“Yeah, she came around here tonight. Do you know what happened to her when she was here?”
“Nah, man. She came her, smoked and took off,” said Beni.
“Do you know if anyone else was around here? Or if someone attacked her?”
“I dunno, man,” said Beni, he shrugged and dropped his hands by his side. “There’re some whack’s out there, man. Do some crazy shit. Could be someone from her school or somethin’... oh, I nearly forgot. Did you want to buy somethin’?”
Jasper didn’t say anything as Beni nervously turned around and opened the box on the coffee table. He took out two small ziplock bags with what looked like clumped rocks of slightly yellowed sugar inside.
“I don’t think so,” said Jasper.
“Are you crazy?” said Rosa, snapping around to glare at Jasper. “He’s our only lead! Pretend you’re buying, or he’ll kick you out.”
“I mean... I’m not sure,” said Jasper. “I’ve never done it before.”
“Ah, I thought so,” said Beni. He dropped the bags onto the table and took a brown-stained tube out of the box with a bulb on one end; a crackpipe. He walked over to Jasper. “I get a lot of ‘nauts that like to take off in here, do you need a pipe?”
Beni held the pipe out for Jasper, and as he did a nasty smell invaded his nostrils. It wasn’t as strong as the burning plastic smell, but it was very distinct ... body odour.
“No...” said Jasper, “No thank you.”
“Alright,” said Beni. “Well, it’s fifty for a baggie. There’s a few rocks in each. Do you know how to do it?”
“No, not really,” said Jasper. “Could you show me?”
“Alright,” said Beni and he walked back to the table, grabbed a bag and sat on the half-collapsed couch. “Don’t go snorting it, since it won’t do as much that way, and needles are gross. You just.”
Beni reached forward and grabbed a lighter from the box, and opened a bag.
“Do you know who Frances is?” asked Jasper.
“No,” said Beni half-mindedly, as he put a rock in the pipe. “Now, what you do is cook it, till it bubbles, and just...” The dealer inhaled the fumes that had developed in the pipe and leant back, closing his eyes before exhaling.
“Do you want to try?” he asked.
“I think I get it,” said Jasper, and Beni nodded, using the pipe again. “What about Emily? Do you know who she is? She used to live here,”
“Emily ... yeah, I knew her,” said Beni, looking even more dazed than usual. “She was real hot, the whole girl-next-door thing.”
“Do you know what happened to her?” asked Jasper.
“Moved out,” said Beni. “It’s a shame, she was a good lay...”
“Lay?”
“Yeah,” said Beni. “I see a lot of ass... girls want some crack, and sometimes, they can’t pay. If they want to get some crack, they gotta give some crack, y'know?”
He chuckled weakly, peering at Jasper.
“Like Sophie?”
“Mmm...” Beni said, nodding. “But sometimes, they just want it. Emily... she just wanted it, if you know what I mean.”
“No way...” said Rosa, shaking her head. “He doesn’t even care, does he?”
Jasper started to grind his teeth as what he was hearing started to fall into place in his mind.
“So, yeah... fifty for a bag,” said Beni, rubbing his eyes and getting up off the couch.
“Right... Y’know, I don’t think I have...” said Jasper as he took his wallet out of his pocket, and showed nothing but cards and spare coins. “Yeah, I forgot to go to the ATM. Sorry, I better go.”
“No, wait,” said Beni, picking a little bag off the table. “You said you’ve never had it before, right? Well... have one free.”
Beni put the smaller bag into Jasper’s hand which was holding his wallet.
“Thanks...” said Jasper coldly.
“It’s cool. If you want more, come right back, yeah? But you only get one for free.”
Jasper turned and left as quickly as he could, closing the door behind him.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” said Rosa. “He attacked Sophie, and Emily and Frances.”
“I think so...” said Jasper, marching with purpose to the elevator.
“What are we going to do?” said Rosa. Jasper closed his eyes, and tried to stop grinding his teeth, but his jaw was still clenched tight as the elevator took them to the bottom floor. Then he opened his eyes and marched outside onto the street.
“We need to make sure it’s him,” said Jasper. “And if it is...”
Jasper trailed off as he saw a public trash receptacle along the footpath. He walked over and threw the sealed bag of drugs into it.
#
Sophie slowly opened her eyes, and felt a dreamy numbness over her body, thanks to the drugs. She saw the tiles, white ceiling above her, and she tried to sit up, but her neck felt weak and there was a dull ache in the back of her head. She laid her head back on the pillow and turned her neck to look around. To her left was a light-green privacy curtain, she looked to her right, and she saw a familiar boy wearing a grey hoodie, sitting in a chair by the bed. Jasper’s eyes were closed, and he looked to be asleep.
“You?” said Sophie. She couldn’t lift her head, so she turned her head to look at him. “You caught me.”
Jasper opened his eyes, perked up and smiled when he saw her.
“You’re awake. That’s good.”
“My head’s a bit fuzzy...” said Sophie, rubbing her forehead with her hand, then she stopped to look at her hands in front of her face. “How did I get here?”
“You were brought in an ambulance. You fell off the bridge, do you remember?”
“Yeah...” said Sophie, sounding a little self-conscious. “What happened to the girl?”
“Which girl?”
“She was glowing... she said I shouldn't move,” said Sophie. “I saw her when I died.”
“Oh... you remember all that, do you?”
“Of course, it was so strange. What happened?”
Jasper nodded, then grabbed the chair by the wall, dragged it closer to the bed and sat down.
“You fell off the bridge, onto the road,” said Jasper. “The force of the landing rattled your head around, and crushed your chest so hard it caused your heart to stop. You were dead for sixty seconds... but I was quick enough that I managed to bring you back before you completely slipped through to the other side.”
“And what about the girl?”
“The girl you saw is my girlfriend, Rosa. She’s my ‘partner in crime’ I guess.”
“She’s a ghost?”
“Yes. She’s here right now,” said Jasper, gesturing over her. “Standing on the other side of the bed.”
Sophie turned, but saw nothing.
“How come I can’t see her?” asked Sophie.
“She’s invisible. You saw her when you crossed over because you were seeing with a different set of eyes. But now that you’re living and breathing, she’s on the other side of the veil again.”
“But you can see her?” says Sophie.
“Yeah... I’m special like that,” said Jasper.
“And you can do things?” said Sophie. She pressed a hand to her chest. “You pushed me back inside my body... how is that possible? How did you do it?”
“It’s a little complicated to explain... it’s something I got from my dad.” said Jasper. “Basically, I’m part-death. I can see dead people, I have visions of death, and I can kill people just by touching them...”
Sophie recoiled at his words.
“That sounds pretty dangerous.”
“Don’t worry... as my dad explained it to me, I can only kill by touching people ‘with my skeletal body’. So, you don’t have to worry about me patting you on the back,” said Jasper, holding up his empty hands. “As long as my bones are covered with skin, my touch won’t kill you.”
“But, everyone’s bones are covered with skin” said Sophie. “So, you’re totally safe unless you... break a bone, or something?”
“No, not entirely,” said Jasper. “Because of my teeth. They’re a part of your skeleton. So, if I ever bite someone... or kiss someone.” Jasper trailed off as he stared mournfully at the unoccupied space on the other side of the bed.
“Have you ever used it before?”
“Only once, and it was an accident,” said Jasper. “That’s kind of why I’m here, though.”
“What do you mean?” asked Sophie.
“You’ve been asleep for a few hours, now, Sophie... in that time, I decided to look into what brought you to the bridge.”
“Okay...” says Sophie, her voice sounded hollow. “What did you find?”
“Sophie, I know you were attacked. I also know who did it, and I spoke to him... and I don’t think he has any regrets. In fact, I think he’s hurt other girls before, and that he’ll do it again.”
“Okay,” says Sophie, sounding a little upset, and she sniffed a runny nose as her eyes welled with tears. “Why are you here?”
“First of all, I need to know that I haven’t made a mistake. You are the only valid witness to your attack, so I need to know, was it the drug dealer, Beni? Was it him that attacked you?”
“Yes,” said Sophie, her voice cracking into a pitiful whine and tears pouring down her face.
“I’m sorry,” said Jasper. “I don’t mean to make you live through it again, but there’s something else I need to ask you. Because I have the power to make him go away...”
Sophie sniffed and wiped her eyes, managing to calm herself down.
“What do you mean?”
“You said it yourself, my power is dangerous. I can hurt people without trying, but I made a conscious choice to be a good person, and right now I’m trying to decide the right thing to do. Because I can make it so that he doesn’t hurt anyone else ever again, but I don’t think I should be the one to decide.”
“So you want me to choose?!” asked Sophie, sounding shocked, and shaking her head as much as she could with a sore head.
“No, not quite...” said Jasper. “Actually, I’ve already decided what I want to do. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that he deserves it. But, that kind of certainty frightens me... it makes me question whether I’m the right person to make this kind of choice. I asked Rosa, and she said she wasn’t sure. So, we’ve decided to give you the chance to say no.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“You don’t have to do anything,” said Jasper. “But, now that I know we’ve got the right man, I’m going to leave here, confront him and make him pay for what he’s done. If you want to stop me, if you would rather go to the police, or whatever... all you have to do is say ‘Stop’, and I will. Do you understand?”
Sophie cleared her throat and laid back on the pillow. She stared at the ceiling for almost thirty seconds before she spoke.
“I understand,” she said softly.
Jasper nodded and slid the chair back with a squeak, to rest it against the wall. He walked to the door, and before passing through it, he stopped and lingered in the doorway for a few seconds. After a moment of silence, he left the room and headed out of the hospital.
#
It was after midnight when Jasper returned to the Casa Boa Apartments. Nobody saw him slip through the streets, the doors unlocking and opening before him, as his unseen, ghostly companion stepped through and opened them from the other side. He walked up the stairs to the fourth floor, and Rosa opened the door for him, so he could step inside the drug dealer’s home. The room was dark, it still smelled of burnt plastic and chemicals, but the air was cold and black.
“His bedroom is this way,” said Rosa, and she lead down the dark hallway, with mouldy smelling carpet and dark stains on the walls. She walked through the half-open door to the bedroom, and Jasper pushed it open to see a filthy room with posters stapled to the walls, clothes everywhere, a disgusting smell of body odour, and a mattress in the corner with twisted bedsheets on it and, tangled in the covers, a sleeping Benicio.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” said Rosa. Jasper ignored her, he took the razor blade from his back pocket and knelt down beside the bed. He opened the razor and held the blade over Beni’s throat.
“Beni!” Jasper barked. The drug dealer inhaled sharply and flinched, but his eyes were closed and he was too drowsy to do much, Jasper touched the blade to his neck. “Don’t move, I have a razor to your throat.”
“What the fuck?” grunted Beni. Jasper felt his throat move under the blade as he spoke, the dangerously sharp blade slightly cutting into the surface of his skin. “What is this?”
“I know what you did to Sophie,” said Jasper. “and Frances and Emily too.”
“What? No. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Beni, scared. “You got the wrong guy.”
“It wasn’t a question,” said Jasper. Beni seemed scared, and his eyes started to focus in the dark.
“What do you want?” he asked. Jasper thought for a moment, but he didn’t know what to say. “Do you want money? Or, drugs? I can get you drugs.”
“I don’t want drugs!”
“What do you want from me, man!” said Beni, in a panic.
“...I want you to stop.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever you want,” said Beni.
“No, I need...” thoughts were racing through Jasper’s head. He knew what he had to do, but...
Suddenly, Beni kicks from under the blanket and it throws Jasper across the room. Jasper hits the wall with a crunch of the plaster that takes most of the force and drops onto stinking clothes.
“You want to mess with me, motherfucker!” yelled Beni his voice straining with the volume as he stood up, picking up an aluminium baseball bat from behind the mattress. “You mess with Santero, bitch!” He stepped forward to swing the bat down, but Rosa casually grabbed the end of the bat, making the bat stop mid-arch, and Beni grunted with the effort.
“What the hell?”
Jasper climbed to his feet, and he grabbed one of Beni’s raised arms, and in one move, lightly bit him on the forearm. Beni’s body instantly collapsed around his spirit, Rosa still held the bat in midair as Beni swung his empty, ghostly hands at Jasper.
“What in the... woah...” Beni looked at his hands, then down at his body. “Hey, what did you do to me!”
Beni gave Jasper a shove, which pushed him back, but didn’t hurt him.
“You won’t hurt anyone else, now,” said Jasper. Beni looked confused, but after a moment, he started to look scared. Before he could speak, Jasper raised his razor blade. “This is for Sophie ...”
Jasper swung the blade through Beni’s form, and it instantly dissipated, like smoke in the breeze.
“We’d better go,” said Rosa. “Someone might have heard that. Why did you wake him up?”
“I wanted to give him a chance...” said Jasper, as he made his way out of the apartment.
“To do what?” said Rosa.
“...to stop me from killing him,” said Jasper, as he entered the lit hallway.
“He could have killed you, though,” said Rosa.
“No, My Dad wouldn’t let that happen. I guess I just wanted him to give me a reason...”
“You did the right thing,” said Rosa.
“I know I did,” said Jasper. “That’s what worries me...”
He pressed the button for the elevator, the door opened and they both stepped inside.
“Duel the monster in his hole; you’ll win the fight, but lose your soul...” said Rosa eerily.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” said Jasper, pressing the elevator panel;
Rosa just smirked as the doors closed.
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