CHAPTER 1 : MEET ME IN THE WOODS

"Sick of being scared and anxious, Max fights to overcome his fears by facing his worst fear of all. But a chance encounter leaves him with more questions and more anxiety."

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNINGS: descriptions of blood after someone is attacked

Thank you to Snow and Starship Lenzy for beta reading this chapter!

[ ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN ]

Seven-year-old Maxwell Kanbayashi didn’t understand why his dad wouldn’t let him talk to ghosts. It started off as an innocent enough question: why did the spirits hanging around town always looked so sad and lonely? Why wouldn’t anyone talk to them? If he could see them, obviously everyone else could, too! Why were they ignoring them?

He remembered the look on his dad’s face when he asked. Jun Kanbayashi was typically a goofy person, but Max had never seen him so distraught and shaken. The man went pale, his hands quivering–like that question was a very bad question.

His dad warned him to stay away from the ghosts, that they might hurt him. But Max scoffed at the statement.

“They’re see-through, Dad. How’re they going to hurt me?” He laughed.

His dad put his foot down, forbidding Max from speaking to the spirits at all. Even when the boy pressed his father with more questions, he got no answers; just silence or warnings from his dear ol’ dad.

If his dad would not tell him why, then it was up to him to find out for himself.

Max started by leaving gifts for the ghosts. He’d rummage through the candy dish in the kitchen when his parents weren’t looking; though he swore his mom caught him once or twice but kept it a secret. He’d shove a handful of treats in his backpack and rush off to school. Any quiet moment he had–at recess, during lunchtime, out in the school parking lot while waiting for the bus–he’d stay on the lookout for any specters. Whenever a misty, blue figure showed up off to the side and out of sight, he’d sneak over a piece of candy to them and promptly scurry away before anyone noticed.

Soon enough, the spirits started appearing in the boy’s usual haunts. Max would always return with a bit of candy as an offering, but now they would talk to him, too! Maybe now he’d find out why they seemed so lonely.

While all the other kids were playing on the playground, Max sat at the edge of the woods, eagerly hanging out with the plethora of ghosts that would show up. Most of them were people from hundreds of years ago, divulging in stories about their lives as Max asked them a million questions in return. (The main one being “How did you die, though?” which they weren’t quite comfortable telling a child.)

However, one question nagged at him the most. He needed an answer.

“Why doesn’t anyone talk to you? Can’t they see you too?” He asked.

“No.” They would always say. “I don’t think they can.”

Max felt his stomach twist in a knot at the answer.

“Why am I the only one who can see you, then?”

They couldn’t answer that question.

As they told their stories and answered his myriad of questions, something always caught his attention. Max observed as they fidgeted with the blades of grass next to their see-through shoes. Other times, he caught them placing their hands on the bark of the trees as they talked. This always seemed so strange to Max; aren’t ghosts supposed to phase through things?

The more Max spoke to the ghosts, the more questions he had about why he could see them; all of which went unanswered. Despite this, he continued showing up with offerings, eager to hear stories from his new ghost friends. After all, if he was able to see them, he wanted to make sure they weren’t lonely.

But one spirit differed from the rest.

All the other ghosts looked human, made up of a blue, ethereal light. There was a bright glow around them, and they never stepped foot upon the ground. The air felt colder when they were around, too, even in the middle of a hot summer’s day.

This one spirit, however, looked like they trudged out of a deep, heavy darkness, made up of twisting shadows and wispy tendrils that lapped around their form. Max could only separate them from the shadows they made themselves home within by their beady, white eyes staring back at him. While the other spirits floated from place to place, this one trod forward, dragging a heavy cloak behind them. They always seemed to stare at the world with wide, uncertain eyes and clung onto whatever wall was closest to them.

Max found them hiding behind the big oak tree in his backyard, outside in the school’s shadow, or hiding in the recesses of the long hallways to and from his classroom.

Were they trying to hide, even though he clearly saw them? Were they scared of him? He had to figure it out.

One summer’s day, the boy played in his backyard, acting out a battle between his two action figures. As the boy spun the scene to himself, he froze, eyeing a chilled gasp of breath that escaped through his teeth. Eyes wide, he spun around, searching for any sign of his spirit friends. There were no other ghost around, so he knew who was there this time.

He scoured the backyard, checking every nook and cranny. But, soon enough, he saw the wispy tendrils lapping around the shadows underneath the oak tree. To his delight, there was the little shadowy ghost! They curled their claws around the side of the tree. Their white eyes seemed to glow brighter in the darkness.

They stared at him. He stared back.

Suddenly, the boy raced over, dropping his action figures into the grass and dirt. He could have sworn that the shadow made a sound—like a squeaky “eep!” sound—as he pushed forward.

The boy shoved his hand in front of them.

“Hi, I’m Max!” he said with a big grin. “What’s your name?”

The shadow jolted back. They held their clawed hands to their chest and stared over Max’s hand. Their gaze shifted back and forth between his palm and his face.

This was the first time he was able to see them fully. Now that he saw them face to face, they looked a lot less spooky. Their height matched his, and they looked equally as childlike. A round face, devoid of a mouth, was complemented by pointed elf-like ears and small horns atop their head. Part of the wispy tendrils around them made up a hair-like shape atop their head; long, messy, and flowing. A massive cloak draped their entire form, twisting around their ankles as they stood in place, hands shaking. Their wide, glowing eyes stared at him. Despite their lack of mouth, Max swore he heard a whimpering sound that has an electronic feel to it; like humming from an old stereo.

The spirit continued to stare at Max’s hand, the encircling wisps around their ankles swirling more intensely.

“Oh wait,” Max gulped, pulling his hand away. “Sorry... I messed up...”

The boy relaxed his hand, now offering it less like a handshake and more like he was trying to win the trust of a scared, abandoned cat.

“S’okay,” he said, “I’m a friend. I promise.”

The spirit looked at him with worried eyes. They didn’t seem convinced that he was. What could he do to prove himself to them?

“Oh, wait!” exclaimed the boy. He waved his hand. “Hang on. I’ll be right back!”

The spirit observed as he ran off back to his original spot in the grass. He scooped his action figures up and ran back over, carrying them in his arms.

The boy sat down at the base of the tree, right in front of the spirit. He held up one of the action figures for them.

“Here! You can play with this one,” he said with a grin. “His name is Luke. He’s like a superhero and he fights monsters and stuff with his cool sword!”

The spirit continued to stare. However, Max noticed their shoulders were less rigid. The swirls of black smoke around them had calmed down. There was no longer a look of worry on their face, replaced now with a look of curiosity.

They hesitantly moved closer, extending out a small, clawed hand. They curled their fingers around the figurine.

Max released the figure and saw the spirit clutch it tight in both hands. They were staring down at it, slowly softening their grip.

The boy smiled. “Pretty cool, right? He’s my favorite, but this guy…“

He held up a larger figure: this one was dressed in all black with a helmet; they had a sword as well, much like the other figure.

“This is the bad guy! He’s super scary, but he’s also like... Luke’s dad or something? He’s like ‘why does my son hate me! I just wanna play catch with him rahrahrah’.”

The spirit sat down on the ground in front of Max. The shadowy wisps twisted around them, settling as they took a seat. Blinking once or twice, they then held up the figure and waved it.

“L... Luke?”

Max’s eyes lit up at the sound of the electronic voice. He beamed, nodding. “Yeah, that’s his name!” Pausing for a moment, the boy tapped his chin with his figurine. “Mmm... what’s your name?”

The spirit continued staring at the toy in their hand. They knit their brow, casting their gaze off to the side.

The boy frowned, scratching the side of his face. “Mmm... do you have a name?”

They looked up at him for a moment before settling back on the toy. The wisps around their form gave a quick flicker. Max swore he heard that whimpering, sad sound again.

“It’s okay! What if I give you a name?”

The spirit’s white eyes widened as Max suggested this. The surrounding wisps settled. They stared at him for a moment, their grip on the figure loosening.

Max continued, looking down at his own action figure. He swayed side to side in his seat. “What about... hmm… Archie? Short for Archimedes! I heard that in a movie once… It sounds like a cool name!”

Their eyes lit up. “A… Archie?” asked the spirit, placing a hand on their chest. “Call me… Archie?”

The boy’s eyes widened. “Wait, you like it? It’s okay?”

The spirit nodded furiously, squinting their eyes as if to smile. They giggled.

Max beamed, waving his hands ecstatically. He laughed. “Okay! Nice to meet you, Archie! My name’s Max. That’s short for Maxwell!”

“M... Maxwell!”

“Yeah!”

From that point on, Max and Archie were inseparable: whether it was following Max to school and waiting in the hallways until classes were done for the day, or playing in the backyard, the two were always together. Max would tell Archie about his school day, about the cool new shows and movies he saw with his dad, or even show them his favorite video games.

His parents definitely noticed what was happening, even if they tried to pretend they didn’t. Chelsea, his mom, tried to convince her husband that Max was just playing with an imaginary friend. His dad knew otherwise, clearly seeing the spooky spirit following his son around. However, despite his loud anxieties about the situation and the reminder of the firm demand he gave to Max, he tried to play along anyways. Max spent so much time alone and away from the other kids, so all that mattered was that he had a friend. Maybe one ghost wasn’t that bad. Right?

However, despite fighting hard to accept this new reality, his dad still watched on like a hawk, sometimes catching the spirit’s stare as he stared back, unnerved. “You gotta keep an open mind,” his wife would always tell him. “Nothing bad is going to happen to him, Jun.” He tried to believe her.

The curious boy who could see ghosts now had a ghost best friend: a little shadow that followed him around everywhere, always eager to spend time with him and hear whatever stories he had to tell.

But it wasn’t meant to last.

✦

The bus dropped Max off at the front of his neighborhood, as it always had. He raced down the steps and onto the sidewalk, greeting his mom with a big wave before he started racing down the sidewalk.

Chelsea laughed, tucking a piece of auburn hair behind her ear. “Max, honey, what’re you doing?”

Max beamed, bouncing up and down on the concrete. “I wanna see Archie!”

Max’s mom towered over most of the other parents waiting at the bus stop. Long, messy red hair framed her pale face, her grey eyes watching her son as he hopped off the bus. She looked tomboyish, wearing a t-shirt of a metal band and ripped jeans with a pair of sneakers. The woman cast a quick look at the other parents as they watched her and her energetic child. She grumbled at their glares and followed after her child, putting her hands on his shoulders to guide him down the sidewalk towards their house.

“Don’t you need to do homework first before you talk to your imaginary friend?”

Max shook his head. “Mamaaaaaa, they’re real! They’re my bestest friend andand if I don’t bring them a snack, they’ll be really sad!”

She sighed, ruffling his hair. “Okay, just do your homework after...”

Max giggled and shook his hair from side to side with a big grin.

His mom unlocked the front door, and the boy scurried inside. He absentmindedly dropped his backpack on the couch, gave his big Maine Coon cat Peter a firm pat or two on the head, and then darted into the kitchen.

“Honey, make sure you take your shoes off!” She exclaimed.

“I’m goin’ outside! It’s fine!”

“Just do it when you get back, okay?”

Chelsea locked the door, hanging up her bag on a hook behind the door.

“What snacks did you say he likes again?” She inquired, taking her sneakers off and chucking them by the front door.

“They!” Max said as he opened the pantry door. “They likeeeeee candy bars andand apple slices.”

She smirked, stepping into the kitchen. “Are you sure the candy bars aren’t for you, mister?”

Max shook his head, wearing a pout. “No! They’re for Archie! I would never!”

Chelsea laughed. “Uh-huh. Sure. Well, I got you some new stuff from the store you can give them.”

As the boy scoured the pantry, his eyes lit up as he set his sights on the box of candy bars on the bottom shelf. He grabbed the box and held it up high over his head. “These?”

Chelsea nodded. “Yup! I got the same kind you said they like, too.”

Max beamed. He raced over to his mom and threw his arms around her. “Thank you, Mama!!”

Taken aback by the sudden hug, she laughed it off and returned the embrace. “You’re welcome, sweetie. But hurry and go talk to them. I don’t want you to get behind on your homework.”

Max nodded. “Okay! I’ll be back!”

With a big grin, he raced outside to the patio, box of candy bars held triumphantly over his head. He slid the back door open and slammed it shut behind him.

“Archie!! My mama got you some snacks!”

He raced over to the oak tree Archimedes was always hiding behind. The shadow around the base of the tree seemed a little darker today, but he couldn’t find a sign of the shadowy spirit.

His shoulders dropped. He frowned, looking behind the tree.

“Archie? Where’d you go...?”

He heard a car door slam out front. A moment later, the front door squeaked open. The boy turned around and stared at the backdoor, watching through the glass as his dad come inside. He could hear laughing from his parents, probably from his dad cracking some joke. The boy brushed it off and kept looking.

“Archie...” He called out.

The boy jumped. A quiet, electronic sob came from behind the tree. It sounded muffled and glitching. It felt wrong. Max’s face went pale, his eyes wide. He raced towards the sound.

Slamming to a halt, Max stared at the amorphous black shape bubbling up against the tree. He could barely make out where the shape ended and where Archie began, the shape twisting and consuming them. The boy barely spotted his friend’s face, seeing their hands pressed into their features.

Their sobs grew louder and louder, the electronic noise almost screeching and grating in the boy’s ears. Nevertheless, he pushed forward, kneeling down at the spirit’s side.

“Archie! Hey, it’s okay...”

What was he supposed to do? He searched across their face, fighting to see what was going on behind their clawed hands.

With a gulp, the boy reached a shaky hand forward. He placed it on Archie’s arm.

The spirit shook, jolting upright. They ripped their arm away and clutched their hands to their chest, staring with wide eyes at the boy.

Max lit up. “It’s okay! I’m right here.”

Breathing fast, the childlike spirit stared at their friend. The bubbling of their form ceased. But their gaze felt different; it felt alien, confused. They looked at Max as if they did not know who or what he was.

Despite this, Max held out his hand to them. Just like before: offering his hand as if trying to win the trust of an unknown cat. He smiled again.

“I don’t know what’s wrong, but I can help! I wanna help–“

Archie screamed with a curdling, bloody screech. Max winced, throwing his hands over his ears. The spirit shoved him away, the voice drenched in sobs.

Crashing into the earth, the boy scrambled upright and shook his head. He stared at the dirt, gasping for breath. Why would Archie do that?! They were friends; you’re not supposed to hurt friends! He stared at the scrapes on his knees, but doubled down, hopping up to his feet.

He didn’t know what was happening, but something upset his friend. He had to fix this. He had to do something!

Max turned back to Archie, a determined look in his eyes. He stepped forward. But, as he looked up, his face went pale. His entire body grew stiff.

This was so, so much worse.

A looming shadow towered over the tiny boy. It stretched up to the top of the oak tree. He swore he saw a face on the shadow, something glaring down at him. Not only that, but he made out silent, screaming faces twisting across the rest of their form, churning and fading in and out of existence.

Yet, in the middle of it all, there was still a tiny, terrified spirit trapped in that dark, dark place. Resting at the bottom of the massive shadow’s feet sat that tiny spirit, feeling like an insignificant speck in an immense universe. Archie grabbed at their face, sinking their claws into their flesh as if trying to rip off the skin over their mouth. Their sobs grew louder. Tears spilled down their face.

Max stared in horror at the scene. He felt so tiny, so helpless, but no one else was coming to help his friend. He was the only one who could do something. That’s what you’re supposed to do for your friends, right? You’re supposed to help them. Do something, Max!

Taking a deep breath, Max stepped forward again, steeling himself now. He extended out his hand, eyes locked on the terrified spirit.

He couldn’t let himself be afraid. They were already scared enough. Don’t let them see you scared, too.

“It’s okay, Archie,” Max said, his voice drowned out by the cries.

The spirit looked up at the boy with wide eyes, their hands shaking. They settled them down in their lap as they gasped for air amid sobs.

Max knelt before Archie. Despite the plume of darkness over their heads, despite the screams and the darkness now twisting around them both, the boy did his best to put on a brave face. The world was dark, but he fought to be some sort of light in that darkness. He extended his hands out to the spirit.

“I’m not gonna leave you, Archie.” The boy nodded firmly. He took both of Archie’s hands. “Never, ever.”

Archimedes stared at him with blank eyes as the shadows churned around them both. Their cries grew silent, now left with the sound of the howling wind. As they looked at their friend with that unfamiliar stare, a single tear rolled down their cheek.

You didn’t try hard enough, Max.

Max wondered why everything felt so distant all of a sudden. He could feel something on his arm and chest, something hissing and burning, along with pressure on his back and head. He could still feel Archie’s blank eyes bearing into him, despite now looking up at the sky overhead.

The boy blinked, watching the clouds go by as the earth was firmly pressed against his back. He knit his brow. With a hiss, he pushed himself upright, feeling dizzy; drained. As he settled upright, his gaze laid upon Archie.

The spirit watched him silently. The screams were quiet. The darkness was gone. But they were left staring at him with wide, shaken eyes. Max tilted his head to the side curiously, wondering why everything felt so still and so quiet. He opened his mouth to speak, but his gaze drifted to Archie’s claw.

It was stained with red. Bloody droplets dripped onto the grass.

Max tuned into the hissing, burning sensation on his chest. As he looked down and stared at the three long cuts through his shirt, the shearing sensation grew louder. The world felt claustrophobic as Max fixated on the blood and black ink soaked into his t-shirt. The distant world came rushing back in.

He was no longer a passive participant. He felt everything.

Max screamed at the top of his lungs, half from the panic and half from the sheering pain consuming his body. He curled into himself, as if doing so might make the pain stop. The cuts were deep, each little movement he made make the burning louder and louder. He couldn’t keep his eyes open, as half of his body screamed like it was on fire. The boy pawed helplessly at his shoulder as tears surged down his face.

“MAMA!!” The boy screamed in a shrill, crackling voice.

Archie looked on in horror, staring at the awful, awful thing they had done. They shakily raised a hand from their mouth. Just as Max always had, they extended their hand forward.

“Max... well...” The spirit’s voice quivered, seeped in an electronic tune. They took a slow step forward.

A flurry of footsteps rushed past them. The spirit shot back into the shadow of the tree, pinning their arms against it. With a shaky breath, they watched on as Max’s parents crowded around the boy.

“Max!” His dad’s voice broke into the backyard. It shook.

“Holy shit-- honey!!” Chelsea stared in horror at her tiny child, flinching at the sight of red seeping into his bright blue shirt. “What happened?!”

Max couldn’t answer, still caught with a sob in his throat. He couldn’t meet their gazes, both from the pain and the shame he felt. Why couldn’t you help Archie, Max?!

Chelsea wasted no time to scoop him up into her arms, gently holding him upright.

“Honey, we need to get in the car–” She had already turned around and raced back into the house.

“I’ll be right there. Hang on!”

His dad scoured the backyard. The black-haired man with thin eyes and spectacles scanned the space, looking for whatever animal or creature had done this awful deed.

Suddenly, the man stopped. He stood at the edge of the shadow underneath the tree. Jun locked eyes on the creature with those white eyes. He peered for a moment, squinting as if his eyes deceived him. He took a step closer.

Archie shook, inching a step back. Their eyes widened, staring at the man now towering before them. They released a shaky breath.

Jun stared the creature down, disdain evident in his eyes. Gone was the kindness and joy frequently seen across his features. A quiet rage replaced them both, the man’s fists tightening at his sides.

Archie said nothing, their entire body shaking violently. Their claws scratched at the dirt and grass beneath their fingertips. They avoided his gaze, recoiling as the man’s eyes bore into their features. They whimpered as the man took another step forward, pinching their eyelids shut. Flinching.

“I… m…”

“Go on. Go.”

Ears flat against the sides of their head, they looked up at the man with lost eyes.

“Never come near my son or my family again. Understand?”

Archie whimpered. They searched his features for a moment, but they knew it was no use. It was pointless to try to save themselves. They lowered their head.

Even if they didn’t mean to do it, it didn’t matter. Nothing they could say would save them. They were and always would be a monster.

Without another word, the spirit slinked off out of the shadows and turned away.

He watched the spirit scurry off, phasing through the fence and rushing off to somewhere else. As he looked on, Jun took in a deep breath and dropped his shoulders. He finally let go of a sigh. Safe.

“Jun!” Chelsea screamed, her voice crackling.

The black-haired man jumped with an “eep!”, shoving his glasses back into his face.

“Please, we need to hurry!”

“Coming!” He exclaimed. The look of anxiety returned to his features as he rushed back into the house and bolted through the front door.

✦

Max didn’t remember the rest of the ordeal. He knew he had gone to the hospital and was now left with a thick scar across his arm and torso. For a long time, he couldn’t look at it and tried to convince himself it wasn’t there. But, sometimes, it would seer and burn when he felt the air grow a bit too cold too quickly. Or if he remembered the horrified look on Archie’s face and his own blood dripping from their hands.

His dad was right: spirits are dangerous. They could hurt him. And they did; he had the scar to prove it.

Maxwell stopped leaving the offerings. He stopped asking the ghosts how their day was. He stopped listening to their stories. The boy noticed them waiting at their usual spots, watching him curiously. Every time, he’d grow cold and run away. His fear became so intense that even a flicker of blue in the corner of his vision or a warped shadow would make his hands shake and his scar burn.

The spirits were gone, and he was left with his unshakable fear of them. Despite his efforts to overcome this, to understand the things that he could see, he failed every time, nearing the point of giving up. He couldn’t ask his dad for help. He couldn’t bring this to his mom for fear of scaring her again.

Max was alone.

But he needed to get over this phobia, for his own sake. He was sick of this feeling. He didn’t want to fear ghosts forever. He had to face them.

It’s been seven years since he last saw Archimedes. Maxwell Kanbayashi isn’t that terrified, naïve child anymore. And today was the day that he was going to stop being afraid of ghosts.

✦

He could’ve sworn he heard a voice far off in the distance as he fixated on that old memory. He knew he was looking at something, but his mind was so far away that he didn’t quite know what he was looking at.

But he felt something tighten on his shoulder, yanking him back into reality. With a hiss, Max flinched at the touch, and his gaze shot to his left.

He met the wide-eyed gaze of a woman with bright auburn hair who donned a grey flannel jacket. The bright look in her grey eyes remained from years ago, wrinkles now creasing the edges of her frown and features. The arm gripping his shoulder now possessed a monochromatic tattoo of a forest wrapped around it.

Mom. She had put her hand on his shoulder. Her brow furrowed, her frown twisting uncomfortably. Why did she look so worried?

Oh.

“Honey?” Her voice was a little more stressed than she maybe meant it to be. “Are you okay?” Her gaze flicked over to her son before settling back on the road ahead of them.

Max blinked a few times to get his bearings. He was in his mom’s SUV. The seatbelt clung onto the oversized blue and white hoodie and red shirt he was wearing. He stared at the two-lane road before them, spotting the occasional car or truck driving past. As he took in what he was looking at, he became distracted by the flashes of afternoon light through the trees. Turning, he saw blotches of red, yellow, and green flash past, making up the autumn woods alongside the road.

Quietly, he settled into his seat and watched. He didn’t notice his vice grip on the seatbelt; like it was the only thing keeping him from floating back up into space.

“Honey?” His mom’s voice stressed again. There was a crackle in her voice.

Right. She asked him a question.

The teen, blinking a few extra times for good measure, turned and greeted his mom with a big, sleepy stretch. “Yeah, I’m fine… What’s up?”

“Thought you were stuck out in space again.” She laughed, her voice small. “I need my little astronaut back on the ground, please.”

The boy rubbed his eyes, “I’m fine, Mom. Just sleepy…”

“I said your name like… five times. And you jumped when I did get your attention,” said Chelsea, flashing an anxious grin.

Max’s face went pale. Oops.

“Sorry.” His voice quieted down. He felt his hand reach up to grab his hood. “I-I didn’t mean to scare you…”

“It’s okay.” She offered her hand to him, still focused on the road. He wrapped his fingers around her palm. “I know things have been… weird right now. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Mm-hm.” Max nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay, Mama.”

They passed through a stoplight. Max kept a grip on his mom’s hand, more for her sake than his. He rested his opposite hand on his chin and watched as the trees zoomed by from his passenger seat window.

What was he doing before? He remembered staring at the dashboard, his mind racing. But what had he even been thinking about?

Oh. Oh no.

That incident was on his mind again. Seven years passed since little kid Max was too curious for his own good. Despite it being years ago now, the scars across his arm still burned whenever he thought back to the attack. But why had this come up again?

His best friend Alice knew he could see ghosts and asked for his help. Popular kid Alice was coming to him for help? It seemed unorthodox, but in reality, it made sense.

On the surface, she was a very extroverted, chipper person. Popular kid at school. Star player of the high school volleyball team. Max never spoke to her in school. He always saw her rushing between classes, but he was too scared to approach her. After all, she was a junior while he was only a freshman.

It wasn’t until after he got taken out of school and needed a math tutor that they talked for the first time. Suddenly, the overachieving popular kid was talking about the same things he liked. She gushed about the newest RPG video game and had a very intensive list of her favorite cryptids. Max, who had lost all of his friends after leaving high school, now had a friend.

Max found out that the whole popular kid thing was a facade. At school, she seemingly had all the friends in the world and easily stood up to the assholes who tried to make high school hell. But, in reality, she was a weird kid and a nerd like him! She shared Max’s fascination with the paranormal, like aliens and cryptids. But, thanks to this fixation, she now harbored a secret: she was a witch.

Her interest in witchcraft came from a particular place: she wanted answers to what happened to her big brother, who went missing years ago. In the physical realm, there were no clues to where he went or what happened to him. So, desperate to find her brother again, Alice started dabbling in witchcraft. She read every book she could get her hands on, all in the hope that she would find a clue to where he went.

That too brought up no answers. Which led her to talk to Max about his ability to see ghosts.

Alice knew about Max’s powers and asked if he could help her. Maybe his powers could help her find a clue to where her brother went. If he was still around or not, or if he had died years ago.

Despite Max’s fears, he agreed to help Alice. He just… decided not to tell her about what happened before; why he didn’t use his powers anymore. She didn’t need to know that! All that mattered was finding her brother again. If he could help somehow, that would be enough for him.

Today was another tutoring session. They would ditch the session, go to the last place where her brother was seen, and then hurry back to the café before Max’s mom came back. Easy!

Part of him hoped that they would find nothing. After all, that would mean the answer they’d find was a much grimmer one than Alice probably hoped for. But going on this adventure had brought up the anxiety he had shoved deep, deep down into his psyche. He hadn't thought about this stuff in years (or at least tried not to). No wonder he spaced out. No wonder he kept thinking about that moment.

But he had to act cool. He couldn’t tell his mom what he was thinking nor what he and Alice were doing. He remembered how scared she was when he got attacked. She would not have let him do this if he told her, even if it was to help a friend.

Max watched as the car pulled onto a downtown street, catching glimpses of shops made of red and black brick as they drove by. One shop window caught his attention: it was adorned with jack-o-lanterns, paper bats, and a plastic black cat sculpture. He caught sight of a few Autumnal-themed signs on lamp posts. A few people wandered down the sidewalk: a few teens laughing and walking with paper coffee cups, while one or two people in business attire were rushing off to their cars.

He could feel his mom’s eyes darting to the back of his head. He could hear her tapping the steering wheel with her thumb.

“So…” She piqued up after the long silence, trying to stay focused on the road. “Whatcha working on with Alice today?”

“Mmm, some kinda formula, I guess?” Max said with a shrug. “Math is all kind of the same to me.”

She chuckled, “Yeah, it’s all complicated for no reason.”

The boy whipped around to face his mom, nodding fiercely. “Right?! It’s so dumb!! I’m not gonna need to know any of this stuff! Why is it so important?!”

She nudged his arm and smiled. “C’mon, you know why you need to know this. If it wasn’t important, you wouldn’t be having tutoring sessions.”

Max frowned and dropped his shoulders, looking defeated. “I know…”

“Sorry for the bad math genes, kid,” Chelsea said, “Your dad and I both suck at it.”

Max put on the fiercest, deepest voice he could muster, throwing his hands out dramatically, “How dare you curse meeeeee”

She laughed at her son’s attempt to be silly. She couldn’t help herself from ruffling his messy, black hair. “It’s okay – you got an adorable face from us to make up for it.”

He was insulted! Not only was she not taking him seriously; she also messed up his perfectly messy hair. (He worked hard on that!) “MOM, I’m not cute!! I’m super manly and tough!!”

“Oh yes, of course. I’m so sorry, my very tough, manly child.” She gave him a good pat on the head, rolling her eyes.

Max nodded fiercely. He had a smug, little smile. “Yes, thank you.”

Turning at one of the street lamps, the car headed into a small parking lot next to the cafe. There were three or four cars parked across the lot, including one rough-looking sedan with a Scottish flag sticker on the back. Chelsea pulled into a space closest to the side of the building. As the car shifted into park, she finally able to let go of a big sigh and drop her shoulders.

Max looked at his mom for a moment. He proceeded to unbuckle his seatbelt and gather up his backpack.

Chelsea watched her son for a moment, searching his expression for any sign of what was going on.

“You sure you’re okay?”

His stomach dropped. Act cool, act cool… Max raised a brow, casting a quick glance over at his mom. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Chelsea drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, staring at the café’s illuminated sign. “I just know that your dad’s been really busy recently, and you’ve been kind of… off, I guess.”

Max froze. Don’t look at her. Maybe she doesn’t know.

“N-No, I’m just… stressed out about that exam I have, that’s all. Math’s hard.” He twisted the strap of his backpack in his hands.

“Yeah, but you’re gonna do really well on it. You’ve got nothing to worry about, honey,” she said, giving him a warm smile.

He looked up at her, giving a smile back. Then he shifted his gaze away, staring at the door pull.

Chelsea narrowed her eyes.

“You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?” She asked, a little too suspiciously.

Max felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his face. He gulped.

“Y-Yeah, of course,” Max said, his voice cracking a bit. He looked up at her and gave a firm nod. Make eye contact, you gotta remember to make eye contact…

She studied his expression for a moment. When there was nothing there she could question, she dropped her shoulders. Wrinkling her frown, she ran a hand through her bangs.

“S-Sorry. Just… a little on edge right now is all.”

“No, I get it, Mom.”

Max pulled his backpack into his lap. He hugged it tight, frowning.

“I… dunno what’s happening with Dad right now,” he said quietly, as if he feared speaking up. “But, whatever it is, it’s gonna be okay.”

Chelsea cast a quick look at her son.

Max continued, “And I’m gonna ace this exam and they’re gonna accept me into college early and everyone’s gonna be like ‘wow this kid’s a prodigy! Why didn’t we bring him in sooner?’”

His mom cracked a smile at the remark. “Wow, I didn’t know my son was a genius.”

Max beamed with pride. “‘course I am! I’m ‘wise beyond my years,’ or whatever.” He gave air quotes and nodded fiercely.

Oh boy. She rolled her eyes, unable to hide her grin. The door clicked unlocked. “Yeah yeah, get outta my car.”

“Aww… My wisdom is unappreciated.” He frowned dramatically, throwing his arms down into his lap. However, he kept looking over at his mom expectedly as he grabbed the handle of the door.

“…Did I help?”

Chelsea looked over at him again. There came a nod. She was smiling, but he could tell that something else was going on. The smile was bittersweet.

“You did. Thank you, sweetie.”

Max smiled back warmly. “Welcome, Mom.”

He opened the car door, but just as he was about to hop out of the car, he stopped himself. “Oh, wait!” Throwing himself back into his seat, he turned and wrapped his arms around her arm, gave a tight squeeze, and then went to bolt before she could say anything.

Well, he wasn’t fast enough, apparently.

“Wait! Nuh-uh – you gotta pay the fee,” she said firmly.

Max scoffed, “What? I’m not paying you! I’m your child! You have to drive me.”

She laughed, stunned. “Wow! You really got the audacity to say that? Come ‘ere, you!”

“Ack!” Max recoiled as she grabbed his head and gave him a big ol’ kiss on the forehead, really hamming it up just to make the kid squirm.

“EWW GROSS!! HOW DARE YOU SHOW ME AFFECTION! THAT’S DISGUSTING!!” Max loudly disapproved, despite laughing. He stuck out his tongue in disgust just to further prove his point.

Chelsea smirked, looking proud of herself. She waved him off. “Okay, you can leave now! Bye!”

Max rolled his eyes, opening the door and sliding out of his car seat. He waved, “Bye, Mom…”

“I’ll be back at 7:30 to pick you up, okay?”

“Okay!”

The boy hurried up onto the sidewalk and rushed into the café.

Now inside, Max scanned around the tiny café for any sign of his friend.

He found himself inside a dimly lit, cozy coffeeshop. Max was hit with the rich aroma of roasted coffee beans as he stepped through the door. The murmur of conversation picked up his attention, as did the sound of grinding espresso beans. He spotted tables and counters made of a warm, polished wood, several oversized white mugs left on one of the tables. The walls were painted black with a chalkboard placed on the wall by the front door. It was covered in flyers, business cards, and a few rough doodles written in chalk.

There were booths lining the left side of the shop with large windows looking out into the afternoon air of the street. The booths had seats made of a shiny, brown fabric, and it felt like a place to curl up and have a warm drink or enjoy a chat with a friend.

As Max passed the large counter and espresso bar in the center of the small shop, he felt a pair of eyes bearing down on the side of his face.

He turned and faced a red-headed man who was glaring at him. The teen gave a wincing grin and waved before scurrying off to one of the booths. The barista continued to glare at the child, wiping a coffee spill off of the counter while muttering swears under his breath.

Max hurried over to a particular booth and slid into his seat, now face to face with his best friend. The girl looked up, bewildered, from her laptop as the boy hopped into the seat.

Alice looked a year or two older than Max. She wore a bright purple and white varsity jacket emblazoned with a fuzzy white star on the right side. Her dyed red-purple hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, thick bangs hiding her forehead and the sides of her face.

She stared at Max, narrowing her eyes. She scanned suspiciously between the boy and the grumpy, red-headed barista.

“What’d you do now?”

Max raised a brow, frowning. “What?”

Alice stabbed a finger over at the barista, lowering her voice as the man walked off. “Him! What’d you do to piss him off now?”

“I-I just walked in here! That’s it!” The boy held up his hands, feigning his innocence.

She raised a brow. “Uh-huh.”

“Mm…” Max tipped his chin. “Well, I maybe did bother him about hot chocolates last week. I ordered one, but I kept saying it tasted funny and that my mom makes better hot chocolates than him and he kept saying that he was like a coffee champion guy and I should show him some respect…”

He sat for a moment, blinking with an absent look on his face. “I think… it was funny watching him get really mad at the time…”

Alice stared at him incredulously. “Bro, what the hell? I mean, he is kind of a prick, but you didn’t have to do all that…”

“Y’know I can ‘ear you, right?” A voice with a thick Scottish accent broke through the conversation.

The color drained from the two teens’ faces. They shifted their gaze up in unison at the barista. He was towering over them, drying a mug with a rag.

He glared down at them. They both grinned. He gave a scowl in response.

With a small ‘eep!’ from Max, they turned away, holding up their hands to hide their faces from him.

Don’t make eye contact, don’t make eye contact…

Alice watched outside. She drummed her fingers on her now closed laptop, which was covered in a myriad of bright holographic stickers. Ones themed to cats, stars and magic, coffee, and the occasional blue, purple, and pink striped flag. She fidgeted with a tuff of hair framing her face, observing the outside window with a knitted brow.

“You remember the plan?” she asked, still fixated on the street outside. Her voice was quiet.

Max nodded. He stabbed a finger at the outside. “Waiting for my mom to leave so we can go to that creepy part of the woods and try to figure out what happened to your brother. Hopefully.”

She scoffed. “It’s not that creepy.”

He squinted. “The woods are always creepy.”

“Yeah yeah,” she rolled her eyes.

Max fixated out the window for a moment, staring at the sunlight cast upon the asphalt.

“We’ll be back before my mom gets back, right?” The boy questioned with a knitted brow.

With her chin in her hand, she looked at him. From his expression, she steeled herself and nodded. “Of course. I’m not getting you in trouble over this.”

“Mmm, okay…” Max hugged his backpack a little tighter, resting his chin on the top.

Alice fixated on the window, looking out for any sign of Max’s mom’s car. She narrowed her eyes.

“Once I see her leave, we’ll bolt, okay?” she said as she shoved her laptop into her backpack and zipped it up. She threw the strap over her shoulder.

Max glanced at his friend and then leaned forward to peek out the window. “Alright…”

Another moment passed. Another. Another.

Then Alice saw a car moving towards the street. A blue SUV. It paused as a car passed by, then it left the lot, driving away from the coffeeshop.

Alice smacked the table to get Max’s attention. She hopped to her feet. Max, frantic, scrambled to his feet and swung his backpack over his shoulder. The two sped for the exit.

“Hey!” shouted the voice with the Scottish accent; of course it was that grumpy barista. “You kids gotta buy somethin’ if you wanna sit in here! Can’t keep loiterin’!”

Alice spun around and grinned at the man. She shoved the front door open. “Oh, we will next time! We’ll order like twenty hot chocolates and lattes! And won’t complain about how bad they are!” Max winced at the statement.

The pale man stared at them, his face turning red.

The girl waved with a big, cheery grin. “Bye, Mr. Brannock!”

Max looked off to the side and kept his head down. He trailed behind Alice, but watched as the man groaned, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. The boy continued to follow along behind her.

“He’s probably gonna get us banned,” he said as he pulled the other strap of his backpack over his shoulder. He held both straps tight.

Alice scoffed and waved her hand. “Oh, he doesn’t have the balls to.”

The boy laughed, “Man, what would my mom think if I got banned from the café?”

“She’d be very proud of you for being so rebellious,” she said with a vigorous nod and a smirk.

“Mm, yeah…”

The two continued down the sidewalk, the afternoon sunlight stretching their shadows stretch further and further out into the street. Max saw some shops closed; others had very few customers inside. It felt pretty weird, considering it was only just getting dark.

As the two teens headed out of downtown, the buildings stopped and the sidewalk disappeared. The pristine road now turned into a road with cracked pavement. Max and Alice walked through the grass.

“Where’re we heading to, anyway?” Max said, looking up to Alice.

She pulled up a map on her phone, the screen illuminating her features. She showed it to Max while monitoring the road.

“They last saw him at this spot in the woods,” she said, poking a spot on the screen with her black-painted nail. “Well, around that spot. They found his phone and his backpack there when they went searching.”

“Huh…” Max narrowed his eyes. “Was he going to school or something?”

“I think he was coming back from school,” she said, taking the phone back. She fidgeted with the holographic star charm hanging from her phone. It sparkled in the afternoon sunlight. Her voice became softer, more hesitant. “I remembered he dropped me off at school. He said he’d see me later than night and then sped off down the street. He seemed super nervous when I was talking to him...”

The boy put his hand to his chin, knitting his brow. “What’d you think he was doing in the woods…? Maybe he was looking for something?”

Alice laughed. “No idea. He was always busy with school or football practice or his job… I have no idea what he’d be doing alone in the woods.”

“Maybe he was trying to clear his head or something,” he shrugged again. “I-I dunno why people go to the woods, honestly…”

“Mm.” Alice shrugged herself, looking up ahead.

The silence between them grew deeper and deeper. The air felt... off. Uncomfortable. Max hugged his arms.

“Can I ask you something?” Alice asked.

“Mm?”

“Why’re you worrying about this now?” Alice looked down at Max with a knit brow, her frown twisting. “I-I mean, I told you about my brother a while ago...”

Max stumbled in his tracks, staring down at the ground in thought.

“Wait, I thought you wanted my help with this.”

“Well, I knew you could see ghosts and stuff, but I never asked you about looking for him.”

The boy blinked a few times. Had he remembered this whole thing wrong? Wasn’t Alice the one who had asked for his help?

Perhaps he did remember it wrong. They’ve been talking about this for so long that he couldn’t remember who had asked first. But he remembered that this all started after he had a therapy appointment. He explained how frustrated he was about being anxious all the time, and his therapist suggested tackling one of his fears. He had a big fear of ghosts, so...

Had he offered to help Alice while helping himself overcome his fear?

“I...” He fidgeted with his hands, still staring at the ground. He could feel Alice’s gaze looking back at him as they walked. C’mon, say something! She’s getting suspicious!

“W-Well, I was just... thinking about it a lot, that’s all,” he said with a firm, frantic nod. “You mentioned something, like... you hadn’t been able to find out anything about him through anyone else a-and I can see ghosts and it would suck if he was a ghost but it would at least give you some closure, I guess?”

Alice said nothing, still fixated on the road ahead. She looked at the map on her phone and narrowed her eyes. They turned into a clearing between the trees and started walking deeper and deeper.

“Is... something going on? It can’t be just that,” she said.

Max gulped, following along behind. “N-Nope! Nothing’s happening! Nothing’s wrong! I just wanna help...”

The two continued walking through the woods. Despite it being afternoon, it was getting a little too dark in the woods. Max saw the glow from Alice’s phone illuminating part of her face. He said nothing, though he cast the occasional glance up at Alice, hoping to figure out what she was thinking. Just keep going...

Alice slammed to a halt. She spun around to face Max, shining the light from the phone at the boy. He winced.

She glared down at him, refusing to let her gaze waiver.

“If something was wrong, you’d tell me, right?” She said in a firm tone, narrowing her eyes.

Max went pale, gulping at the sudden, fierce eye contact. He laughed. “Why would anything be wrong?”

“You’re doing the stuff you do when something’s wrong!” she exclaimed, squinting more.

Max looked away. He threw his hands behind his back. “N-Nope! Nothing’s wrong! I’m fine!”

Alice stared at him for a moment. She knit her brow, lowering the phone. Her voice softened. “But... you do trust me enough to tell me if something’s wrong, right?”

Now where had he heard that before? Max didn’t look at her.

“Alice...”

“I’m just...” She sighed, tensing up her shoulders. “I’m worried that you’re hiding something from me.”

The boy frowned, looking back at his friend. “Why would I hide something from you? You’re my best friend. I literally tell you everything.”

Alice hugged her arms.

“This just felt really out of the blue, y’know? I haven’t talked about my brother in ages and, suddenly, weird stuff starts happening with your parents, then you start talking about looking for my brother’s ghost.”

Max’s shoulders dropped, his eyes wide. “I... didn’t even realize I did that.”

“I just don’t want you to ignore your own problems to help me with mine, y’know?” Alice cracked a sheepish grin. “I want you to be okay, too.”

The boy smiled. He scratched the back of his head. “I appreciate that. Trust me, this wasn’t intentional. Didn’t realize I did that...”

He hugged his arms, looking away. “I guess... I want to do something good with these abilities? Whatever the hell they are? If I can help you find a clue to what happened to your brother, then that’s enough for me. A-And I promise I’m not ignoring my problems by doing that. I just... want to do something good, I guess?”

“Yeah, I get that.” Alice placed her hands on her sides, kicking a rock back and forth on the grass.

“Sorry, I’m just nervous,” she said, fixated on the pebble. “I haven’t... thought about this in a long time. I assumed there was nothing else we could do. My mom gave up on finding him a while ago, and I kinda did, too.

“But I might get an answer now. It just feels weird after being in the dark for, what, 5 years?”

Max nodded, “Yeah...”

He looked up at his friend for a moment. He extended out his hand and tugged lightly on her sleeve. She looked back at him.

“I’m doing this to help you, okay? Because you’re my friend,” he said, nodding. “I want to help you.”

Max extended out his arms to her, giving a half-hearted smile. Alice laughed and accepted the embrace.

“Thanks, li’l bro.”

“Welcome, big sis,” he said, beaming.

The girl looked down at him for a moment.

“Yeah, this got too serious. Bear hug!” She squeezed him tighter, lifting him an inch off the ground.

He squeaked. “Ack! Crushing my insides!”

They laughed it off, Max fighting to squirm his way out of her grip.

However, as they hugged, he peeked over at Alice’s phone. His eyes widened. He tugged on her sleeve.

“Alice, Alice! We’re here,” he exclaimed, stabbing a finger at the clearing before them.

Alice stared at the clearing. Her eyes widened. Gently setting Max down, she watched him sprint off.

The girl looked at the spot in the woods. Her gaze fixated on the blades of grass swaying in the wind. She took in a big sigh, then stepped forward.

No turning back now.

The space they had entered felt ethereal, the air growing colder as they stepped inside. The trees stood in a circular shape, their leaves choking up the sky overhead. There was nothing but grass and a few stray rocks within the circle. It almost felt otherworldly.

Alice ventured to a spot towards the center of the space, leaving Max to wander alone. He scanned the trunks of the nearby trees, looking for anything strange in the area.

“Do you know what happened? Or what they found, I guess.” Max piqued, casting a quick look at his friend. He fidgeted with his hands.

Alice stared at a spot in the grass. A bit of dirt peeked through the thick blades. She knitted her brow, holding her hand to her mouth.

“The police found his phone right here.” She stabbed a finger towards the dirt. “They searched it for clues on it, but it was wiped clean.”

“Weird,” Max said with a gulp. His gaze settled on a few rocks around the base of a tree.

Narrowing his eyes, he stepped closer, kneeling down. Several of the rocks against the tree trunk were round and smooth. Curious, he leaned closer. He kept his hands on his knees as he looked, his eyes tracing a carved shape upon the rock. It looked almost… runic.

“I remember I kept coming back here.” Alice continued. “I thought maybe they just weren’t looking hard enough. That there had to be something here that they were missing.”

Max hopped to his feet, turning back towards his friend. With a quick glance back at the rock, he hurried over to Alice; he could’ve sworn the rock flickered as he turned away.

She gave a weak laugh. “But I was wrong. I couldn’t find anything else. It was like he just got blipped out of existence. Poof.”

“Can you tell me something ‘bout him?” Max said, looking up at Alice. “I… dunno how any of this works, but maybe if I focus on who he was, I can find him?”

Alice knit her brow. She said nothing.

The boy twiddled with the hem of his hoodie, looking away. “I mean, if that okay to ask?”

“I...” She bit her lip, fidgeting with her hands. After her arms tensed, she threw them down at her sides. “It’s fine. Yeah, I can do it.”

She let go of a deep sigh, one that felt like it had been bottled up in her chest for ages. Rolling her shoulders back, she stood upright and closed her eyes.

“His name was...” There was a crackle in her voice. She pinched her lips together, as if fighting to keep the name trapped in her head. But she pushed through; she had to.

“Oliver,” she said, as if letting go of a shaky breath. “His name was Oliver.”

Alice put her hand to her mouth again, hugging her opposite arm around her waist.

She laughed. “Damn, haven’t even said his name in forever. Feels so weird.”

Max frowned, knitting his brow. He cast a glance back before looking up again.

“If you don’t want to talk ‘bout him, it’s okay. You don’t have to,” he said with a shrug. “I just thought it could help me focus on him or something? I-I dunno.”

“N-No.” She shook her head. “It’s fine. I can talk about him. It’s just... been a while. Hard to talk about, I guess.”

Sighing deeply again, she continued.

“Being around him felt like... being wrapped in a big fuzzy blanket when it’s super cold outside. Y’know what I mean? I always felt warm and safe around him. Even when things were bad, even if our parents were... fighting. He’d make sure I couldn’t see it. He’d always protect me.”

Max nodded, scanning the surroundings. “What else?”

“He played football.” Alice said, her voice small. She closed her eyes tight. “I think he was a linebacker. And he worked in a bakery... He always talked about starting his own bakery once he got out of school.”

The boy narrowed his eyes, leaning closer. Glancing across the space, he thought he detected a light flash or a shadow flicker at the edge of his gaze. Freezing, his eyes scanned across the horizon… but there was nothing.

Nerves. He told himself. C’mon. You gotta be cool, Max. You can’t let her know you’re scared…

What was he supposed to do? He’d always encountered ghosts, but he had never outright sought after them. Maybe if he just thought really hard about what Alice said… He clenched his fists and focused.

Concentrating on the name Oliver, on the warmth Alice had described. Imagining the things that her brother liked... Max closed his eyes.

In his mind, he conjured an image of what Oliver could have looked like. A towering young man with broad shoulders, a rounded face, and short but messy hair. He couldn’t explain it, but he could vividly make out the shape of this person; at least the silhouette of him.

He saw the shadowed man sitting on a couch. Forearms resting on his legs. Head leaned forward, like he was tired or lost in thought. In his mind’s eye, Max was standing before him, looking down at the shadowed silhouette of who he thought Oliver was.

But something about this place felt real. Details like peeling wallpaper, a scratched up couch, and cracked windowpanes were vivid in his mind. The smell of ash and cinder was potent, suffocating even. He felt the cold air twist around him. His gaze fixated on the bits of red from the world beyond peeking through the windows.

This place didn’t feel like his hometown. He had never been here before. So how was it so vivid in his mind? How could a place he had never been be so real?

He felt a tug. As if someone was holding his shirt, pulling him closer. He fought back against the feeling. He couldn’t open his eyes yet. He needed to know who this person was, what he was seeing.

Staring down at the shadowed figure before him, he spoke.

“Oliver...?”

The shadow stiffened, as if flinching from the name. They paused slowly turned their head up.

White eyes met his gaze. Beady, blank pupils radiated against the shadow of their face.

He knew those white eyes.

Max threw his eyes open and stumbled back. His chest rose and fell fast as he fought to catch his breath. The scar on his arm seared. His gaze met an orb of light floating before him.

He almost jumped at the sight, swearing under his breath. But, upon realizing what was before him, he settled. He stared at it.

A spirit. That’s what they were looking for.

“Alice.” He tugged on her arm. Tug. Tug. Tug. He stared at the orb, watching it for any sudden movements.

Alice’s eyes blinked open, and she, too, stared, fixated on the blue orb floating before them.

She couldn’t help herself. She laughed, holding her friend’s hand as tight as she could.

“I-Is that him?”

Max’s eyes widened. He turned to his friend.

He whispered, “You see ‘em, too?”

Alice nodded.

They stared at the orb and watched as it hovered, bobbing as if floating in water. Despite lacking features, it seemed to watch them with curiosity.

“Do you think it’s him?” Alice said, her eyes bright.

“I-I don’t know…” Max fought to steel his shaking hands. He remained fixated on the orb. “Maybe we ask…?”

Alice nodded. She cleared her throat.

“Are you… Oliver?”

The orb turned to her. Floating still. It felt like it was staring her down with unblinking eyes. As the orb watched, the temperature seemed to drop more, leaving an almost icy chill in the air. The two teens didn’t notice as their arms started to shake from the cold.

She fixated on the orb, as if she feared it would disappear if she looked away. In her eyes, it glitched and ‘fizzed’, sometimes vanishing and reappearing, as it floated in the air. It kept staring at her inquisitively.

It shot forward and slammed to a halt. Alice flinched, now faced with the white and blue orb just inches from her face.

“Hm,” said a voice. It sounded like the voice was surrounding them, as if echoing inside of an aluminum can.

They floated away, now hovering between the two.

“Which one of you is it, hm?” said the orb. It spoke with a deep voice.

Alice’s eyes widened. Her shoulders tensed up. Something was wrong.

Casting a quick look over at Max, she didn’t hesitate to put herself between the orb and Max.

“Who the hell are you?” She snarled.

“I’m not your dear Oliver, if that’s what you’re inquiring.” There was a smug air to their voice.

The boy’s eyes widened. Max took an instinctive step back, while Alice dug her heels into the dirt, brow furrowed.

“Where the hell is my brother, then?”

The orb laughed. “A curious question, to be certain.” They zoomed closer, floating in front of Alice’s face again.

Alice held her breath, steeling herself and narrowing her eyes. She threw an arm in front of Max.

“Perhaps I might have an answer,” continued the orb, floating a step back.

Her eyes widened. Her shoulders dropped.

“Do you know where my brother is? What happened to him?”

The orb floated gently in the air.

“Well, he’s certainly not dead, if that’s what you’re asking.” The orb floated a space back, acting as if they had turned their back to them. “I... may even know where he’s gone to, in fact.”

Alice’s eyes lit up. The answer that she had wanted for so long. It was right in front of her, right there for her to take! She opened her mouth to speak…

“But,” the orb stressed, swiveling back to face them. “That is of no importance to me. I have more pressing matters to deal with.”

The color drained from Alice’s face.

“No,” Alice snarled. “Tell me where he is. Fucking ANSWER me–!”

The orb silenced her with a loud snap. She hissed at the noise, throwing a hand over her ear as it rattled the air.

Max fought to be make himself smaller, wincing at the sound. He pulled his hood over his head, his gaze still fixated on the spirit orb. The boy watched shadowy wisps billow and twist out from the orb’s center.

“Silence! I do not care about your petty, mortal whims,” hissed the orb. “I want to know which one of you did it.”

As the orb moved overhead, Alice instinctively moved closer to Max, trying so damn hard to protect the kid as she fought to get answers.

“Did what?” Her voice dripped with vitriol.

The spirit said nothing. It felt as if it was looking down upon them.

“Summoned me.”

Max saw the shadowy wisps mesh together and twist into a shape. They wrapped around the orb, forming a chest and arms with the orb at the center. Max gulped.

“That isn’t something a simple human, like yourselves, should be able to do,” snarled the spirit. They zoomed in front of Max’s face, staring the boy down.

Max flinched and pulled the hood over his eyes. He whimpered, his hands shaking.

Alice held Max’s hand tighter, keeping a firm barrier between him and the spirit. She stared the orb down.

“Me,” she said, steeling herself. Her voice shook. “It was me. I summoned you.”

The orb paused. It stared at the girl as if scanning her over.

It cackled.

The cackle was deep, low enough to shake the earth beneath them. It rattled the two teens to their core. Despite Alice trying so damn hard to be brave in that moment, her hands were shaking. Max held onto Alice’s grip, and she clutched his tighter, refusing to look away from the orb.

But the laughter settled. The ground beneath their feet grew still. The orb seemed to smirk.

“Of course you didn’t.”

Shadowy wisps met Alice’s shoulders. With a scream, the wisps pushed her aside, sending her tumbling into the dirt a few steps away.

“Alice!” Max screamed. He took a step forward, but froze as he watched a puff of cold air escape his mouth. Goosebumps raised up on his arms. He shuddered, hugging his arms tight.

Shaken to his core, he slowly cast his gaze up.

The orb was gone.

In its place was a humanoid entity made up of shadows. The being towered over him, making him feel like an ant in comparison. Max felt a pair of thin, white eyes staring down at him, his anxiety bubbling up as their gaze bore into him. He saw the marks of glowing gold across their body, lines filling in parts of their cracked form as if they had been a sculpture mindfully pieced back together. Thin tendrils spun off of their form, a cape and long strands of black hair floating behind them.

Max spotted the distinct pair of horns placed atop their head. The scar across his arm prickled with heat.

He stared at the horns, his inhales and exhales coming in faster and faster waves. Thoughts spinning, he could only think, oblivious to how tense or rigid his body was. His gaze fixated on the shadowy appearance of the spirit.

Why do they look like them...?

His eyes drifted from the horns towards his friend. But he could not see her, thanks to the twisting, billowing cape belonging to the spirit. It was blocking them from getting to each other.

What if she got hurt? What if she got hurt because of him? He needed to get to her. He needed to get out of this. C’mon, Max! Move!

“Hm. Curious...”

The hair on the back of the boy’s neck stood up. His shoulders tensed. It felt as if he was being studied under a microscope, studied like some kind of a specimen. The eyes of the spirit narrowed, their clawed hand raised to their chin.

Max kept staring towards Alice. His body frozen. Why aren’t you moving, Max? Your friend could be in trouble. Do something. Help her. They’re gonna hurt her like Archie hurt you. Why are you just standing there when Alice is in danger?! MOVE, MAX!

He flinched as the words screamed inside his mind. And yet his sneakers remained planted into the dirt, like roots of a tree.

“Why are you so frightened, boy?”

The words broke through the screams in his head. The voice was unlike the bitter, snide voice he had heard before; no, this one was level-headed, compassionate even.

He faded back into reality, blinking once or twice to get his bearings. His voice shook as he spoke. “What?”

The spirit had lowered themselves down to his level. At the realization, he stumbled a step back, placing his arms up in front of him. He knit his brow as he scanned the ghost over, fidgeting with his hands.

The spirit looked at him with kind but concerned eyes. But they narrowed their gaze as they scanned over the anxious child.

“I will not hurt you,” said the spirit. They extended out their hand to the boy. “What is your name?”

Max flinched at the offer. He fixated on Judas’ hand for a moment. He glanced towards Alice before attempting to make eye contact with the spirit.

“D-Did you hurt my friend?”

The spirit cast a glimpse back towards Alice. “Your friend is safe. I can assure you.”

Max looked again, attempting to confirm this, but the spirit’s billowing cape blocked his view. His breathing became faster.

“I-Is she?”

“Yes,” the spirit nodded. “I will not hurt either of you.”

The boy remained unconvinced. He took another slow step back.

The spirit sighed. “I needed to find out why and how you summoned me. Do you believe your friend, after how she treated me, would have allowed me to speak to you at all?”

Max’s shoulders dropped. No, they were right; Alice would’ve kept trying to fight the spirit. The teen took in a big inhale as his shoulders settled. Despite not seeing his friend, he was a bit more assured at that moment. He sunk into the shadow of his hood.

“Mm...” He mumbled, his gaze now settling on the ground. “My name is Max. Sometimes Maxwell.”

The spirit nodded. They placed their extended hand on their chest, straightening upright.

“My name is Judas.”

Max gave a slight nod back, gaze locking on the ground as if the blades of grass were of far greater interest.

The spirit watched him, turning their head to the side with a raised brow.

“Mm...” The boy took in another deep breath. He looked up, fighting to make eye contact with the spirit but failing to do so. “Why do you look like Archie...?”

Judas narrowed their eyes. “Archie?”

Max nodded. He lowered his voice, casting another glance towards Alice.

“Archimedes. They were a spirit, too–like all shadowy ’n stuff like you–but they hurt me really badly...” As he said this, his eyes drifted onto Judas’ clawed hands.

Judas’ body stiffened at the statement. “I’ve heard of this creature. A vile thing, to be certain. But I can assure you that I have nothing to do with that monster. You are safe, Maxwell.”

The boy gave another nod. Another heavy exhale escaped him. He looked back down at the dirt once more.

The spirit piqued up. “May I ask you something?”

Max remained quiet, dropping his hands to his sides.

“How long have you been able to see spirits, Maxwell?”

“Mm...” Max knit his brow, eyes scanning side to side. What a weird question. But Judas said he could trust him and he said he wanted to know how he ‘summoned’ him… Perhaps this was part of that.

“S-Since I was little? I talked to them some when I was a kid, but now I try to ignore them ‘cause they’re scary.”

“Hm...”

Judas raised a clawed finger to their chin, narrowing their eyes.

Max turned his head to the side. “Why?”

“Seeing spirits isn’t something a person typically can do, now is it?”

The boy shrugged. “I mean, there're mediums and psychics and stuff? I-It’s not really that uncommon...”

“Not like you can, though.”

Max looked back at Judas. The spirit intensely stared at him, so much that the boy gulped and turned away at the realization. He felt like he was under that microscope again.

“Mm...”

“Spirits lack a physical form, yes? And yet a spirit hurt you.” There was a tension in Judas’ voice. They leaned closer.

He shook his head, scoffing. Still not looking. “B-But sometimes ghosts can just do that.”

“Not to the extent that this one hurt you,” Judas said. The shadowy wisps around them gave a violent flicker. “You understand this isn’t normal, correct? Someone with a gift like this shouldn’t fear spirits. In fact, you are someone who can understand them and face them better than anyone else. And yet, you are terrified of me.”

Max said nothing. He twisted his frown, taking a small step back.

“Tell me, Maxwell: what happened to you? What have you been through?”

“I...”

The words forced an image into his mind. Seeing Archie sobbing into their hands, Max reaching out to help them, and...

No. No, he didn’t want to think about that again! That memory was too terrible, too bad. His breathing quickened again. His gaze zoned out into space. He flinched from the burning on his arm, as if clawed nails were still embedded in his skin.

He stumbled back. He grabbed at his shirt collar.

“I-I wanna go home.”

With a swift motion, Judas stood upright. They took a step closer to the boy.

“Don’t you want to understand what happened to you, Maxwell? Don’t you want to stop being afraid?”

He wanted to stop being scared! But this felt too awful! He didn’t want to face this! Whimpering, he grabbed the edges of his hood, yanking it over his head. He shook.

“I-I dunno! I wanna go home...”

He could hear the snarl in the spirit’s deep, electronic voice. “You have a gift, and yet you choose to squander it?!”

Another shake of his head. He pinched his eyelids shut. “I-I don’t, though! It’s not a gift to me. All it does is make me feel terrible and awful. I don’t even want it!”

Another growl. Their voice rattled the earth as they spoke. “You have magic, Maxwell. You can run from that fact, see this gift as a curse, or whatever you wish, but that is the truth: you possess magic, something humans do not and cannot have!”

Breathing faster. Hands shaking. He couldn’t open his eyes.

“That’s bullshit–!”

“LOOK!”

Max’s arm was pulled forward. He fought to yank it back, but to no avail. His eyes opened, staring at the tight grip on his arm. But something bright caught his attention. A wave of calm washed over him as he watched a bead of bright, blue light floating into the air.

It looked like glowing rain droplets pooling up and rising into the air. They glinted with a cool, blue light, each floating bead shimmering curiously. Max watched as they rose into the air, pooling from his glowing fingertips.

The rest of the world disappeared. Max’s anxiety simmered as he remained transfixed by the glowing light. He found true calm, true peace, for the first time in a very long time; as if he never had anxiety at all.

“Magic,” declared the spirit, their fist around his arm shaking. Their gaze fell coldly upon the boy. “Plain as day. You can see it. I know you can.”

The wave of calm disappeared. Max said nothing, staring at the blue glow rippling off of his hand. His breathing grew faster again, his fingers shaking. The blue glow shimmered with a red glint.

Pinching his eyelids shut again, he yanked his hand back. The blue glow dimmed.

Judas tightened their grip. Their voice shook the earth.

“Why do you insist on running away?! You have so much potential, yet you are wasting it because of your cowardice!”

Max gave another hard tug of his arm. No escape. He whimpered, choking back tears.

Judas’ voice boomed. “WHY DO YOU POSSESS SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T BELONG TO YOU–!”

The spirit’s grip released itself as the towering entity stumbled aside, thanks to an attack to their left. Long hair cascading in front of their face as they doubled over on the ground. They snarled, turning towards their assailant: a tenacious, red-headed girl with a big ol’ stick clutched between her hands.

The spirit snarled at the girl, white eyes wide. “You BRAT!”

Unable to help herself, she stuck out her tongue at the big, shadowy spirit before dropping the stick and bolting to her friend.

“Max!”

She took Max’s hand, giving it a tight, comforting squeeze before guiding him to his feet and pulling him along.

“I got you, Max. You’re okay!”

The boy stared at the ground, watching the rocks and the tree roots raced by. He fought the urge to grab at his face and throw his hands over his eyes. He followed along behind, his mind racing while failing to understand what was happening.

It wasn’t until he heard a deep, panicked scream he snapped back into reality.

“MAXWELL! COME BACK–!”

But the voice was gone. Snuffed out.

He looked back and saw the same clearing they were in before. But now, the shadowy spirit was gone. As if they had never existed.

He felt Alice’s firm grip on his hand. The trees rushed past them. The potent scent of pine flooded his nostrils.

Still sensing what was left of the tight grip on his wrist, his mind fixated on the images of the spirit he encountered. Inhales and exhales from his lungs quickened in pace. Everything came rushing back in...

Suddenly, his sneakers slammed to a halt, digging into the earth. He nearly fell to his knees. A loud sob escaped his throat.

Alice’s eyes widened. For a moment, she fixated on the clearing as the screaming spirit fizzled out of existence. She took a ragged breath, but her focus shifted to something of greater importance – Max needed her.

“Hey, hey... It’s okay,” she said in a hushed, soft voice, lowering herself a step down to Max’s level.

Max heard his friend through the sobs. He felt Alice’s hand give his own a tight squeeze, and he clung on tighter, as if fearing he would float away if he let go.

Why are you crying? What’s wrong with you, Max? Maybe it was because everything had been too much, too loud. Maybe it was because Judas seemed so scary in the moment. Whatever it was, now that he had a moment of reprieve, he finally broke. Judas’ voice still rung in his ears, even without forming into solid words in his mind; just the voice alone was enough to shake him to his core.

The spirit was gone, but the damage was done.

“Breathe with me, okay? You’re gonna be okay, Max.”

Alice smiled weakly. She held up her opposite hand, counting the numbers with her fingers. “Breathe in: 1, 2, 3...”

Max nodded shakily and followed along. He took in a deep breath, following the numbers. He paused at the top, and then let go of a longer breath out. One, two, three... Pause… One, two, three, four… This repeated a few more times, slow and steady, as Max clung onto Alice’s hand. He batted at the tears rolling down his cheeks with the back of his hand, shoving any stray tears into his sleeve.

“A-Alice?” Max’s voice crackled. He blinked a few times, fighting to cast aside the tears streaming down his face. He looked up at her with reddened eyes.

Alice nodded. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“W-Where did you go?” He said with a shaking breath. “That guy—they said you were safe, but what if they were lying to me? D-Did you get hurt? Where did you go?!”

Alice’s shoulders stiffened. “It’s okay. I was there the whole time, but that bastard wouldn’t let me get back to you. That’s why I had to kick their ass, okay?” She gave a firm nod and a smile. “But I didn’t leave. I was safe. And we’re safe now. Everything is okay, Max.”

Max sniffled again. He nodded, batting away another stream of tears. He tried to bottle up any more sobs before they could escape, but a few leapt out of his throat despite his best efforts.

But, as he breathed in and out and came back down, the sobs settled and the tears stopped. Face flushed, he wobbled a bit as he stood there. His gaze settled blankly on the ground before him.

Alice watched him for a moment, brow knit. She never let go of his hand.

“Was that a...?”

“Panic attack,” Max said, looking lethargic and frustrated after the ordeal.

Alice sighed, her shoulders settling.

“Do you wanna talk about it? Was it just from the guy screaming at you or...”

Max said nothing, still staring at the ground.

Alice looked back towards the clearing. She furrowed her brow.

“Hey, I can go back there. I’ll kick that guy’s ass again! They’ll gonna rue the day they decided to terrify my little brother–“

“I-It wasn’t just them.”

Alice stared down at Max. She gave a soft laugh, gaze shifting side to side. “What’d you mean? That was really scary.”

“I... was scared before we went there. They just kind of made it worse.” Max sunk into the shadow of his hood, hiding his face. He tugged on the edge and tilted his head away.

“What’d you mean?” She said, fighting to hide the concerned look on her face.

The boy lifted his head up towards her, staring for a moment, before turning away. He couldn’t look her in the eye. Without even realizing it, he had pinched his eyelids shut and pulled his hand away.

“W-We need to go back–“

“No.”

Alice doubled down. She took both of Max’s hands and made him meet her gaze.

“Remember what we were talking about before,” she said, still looking at the teen boy. “You trust me, right?”

Despite his squirms to pull away, he didn’t leave. He twisted the corners of his frown, fixating at the dry grass beneath their feet.

“Mmm,” he mumbled, kicking the dirt lightly. “I’m scared you’ll hate me.”

“Why would I hate you?” Alice said. “I wouldn’t do that. You’re my best friend and I care a lot about you. But you gotta tell me what’s happening. You don’t have to deal with it alone.”

After a pause, Max exhaled and dropped his shoulders. He looked towards his friend, but found his gaze slipping back towards the ground.

“I haven’t... talked to ghosts in a long time.” He fidgeted with the bottom of his hoodie, twisting it in his fist. “I’m... really scared of them, to be honest.”

Alice’s eyes widened. She knit her brow.

“Holy shit, why didn’t you tell me?” She demanded, her voice hushed. “If I had known you were gonna get scared, I wouldn’t have gone through with this!”

Max laughed, rubbing his eyes as a stray tear rolled down his cheek. “But I don’t want to be scared anymore! I’m so sick of being scared all the time, and you said your brother might be gone gone, so I thought I could help and get over my stupid fears...”

Alice looked down at him, unable to hide the agape look on her face.

“Max...”

“I-I guess I did okay, though, right?” He cracked a nervous smile, looking up at his friend. He finally met her gaze, his red stained eyes and cheeks now visible under his hood. “They said your brother isn’t gone. That he’s gotta still be out there somewhere, right? I-I did something good, right?” His voice cracked as he spoke.

Alice shot forward, yanking the young teen into a tight embrace. Max stiffened at the sudden hug before falling limp in the girl’s arms.

“Thank you,” she said, squeezing him so, so tight. “Never do that again.”

Max stared off to the side. With a pause, he raised up his hand, twitching his fingers. He could still feel the cool air twisting around his fingertips, his mind picturing the blue light rippling off of his hand. The boy knit his brow.

The boy settled in the embrace for a moment, even halfheartedly returning it. But he quickly fought to squirm his way out of it.

“What’d we do now? That guy said your brother is still out there–“

Alice laughed. “Dude, we are not worrying about that right now.”

Max shook his head, throwing his arms out to the side. He furrowed his brow. “Then why did we do all this? There’s gotta be something else we can do!”

“Right now,” the girl said, stabbing a finger back towards the road, “we need to go back before your mom comes back. Or before that barista rats us out, cause trust me, he will. We can figure out what to do about my brother later.”

Max frowned, his shoulders dropping. He looked back towards the clearing.

Alice knit her brow, watching Max for a moment.

“It’ll be fine,” she said, scratching the back of her head. “We can try to look for more later. If he is really out there, like they said.”

“Mm...” Max nodded, fidgeting with his hoodie. “O-Okay...”

With a deep sigh, Alice turned away, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She clicked the button on the side of the phone, the illumination from the screen flooding the dark woods with light. Her eyes widened as she stared at the time.

“Shit.”

Max paled, startled by the swear. He turned back. “What time is it?”

He peeked over her shoulder. 7:25. Max’s mom was coming to pick him up at 7:30.

The two teens frantically took off into a run.

“Shit shit shit...” Max swore under his breath.

“We say nothing to no one,” Alice said firmly, racing forward towards the road with Max in tow. “Then we’ll talk about it and figure out what to do next–“

CLICK!

The teens winced and slammed to a halt as a flood of light suddenly illuminated their path. A flashlight shined in their faces. They struggled to adjust their gaze.

Squinting his eyes, Max looked up. Past the light. At the silhouette.

His stomach dropped.

The flashlight shifted, shining onto the ground. Chelsea Kanbayashi’s livid expression greeted the two teenagers.

Her hand shook as she held the flashlight. Her eyes scanned between the two kids, as if looking for some sort of answer.

“What the hell are you two doing out here?”

She fought to keep her voice controlled, but Max knew what was going on just by the stare on her face.

Max and Alice went pale.

Shit.

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