The Imperial rolled to a stop, the occupants exiting as they surveyed the area. The run down apartment building stood towering over the cracks and crevices in the concrete that had formed after part of the ground had sunk in. The city had condemned the building after the evacuation and left it to rot. Plans had been made to tear it down, or at least relocate it. But those "plans" had been rumored for so long now people didn't believe it.
"This is it?" The female mouse looked up at the run down building, which stood silent and dark against the sky.
The male mouse stepped up alongside her, placing his keys in his pocket. "Yep. Creepy looking, ain't it?" He looked down at her with a grin.
"You can say that again..." Then she looked up at him and saw his expression. "I'm not gonna get scared if that's what you're thinking."
He held up his hands. "I didn't say anything."
"No, but you thought it."
"Okay, okay. Maybe I did. But hey, this place would creep anyone out."
She quirked a brow skeptically. "Even you?"
He nodded. "Yup. Even me. And I'm a Reaper."
That actually unnerved her a bit. If he, a Reaper, a transporter of souls, was a little scared, then what was in there? "You're joking."
He shook his head. "'Fraid not. This place has a... history." She continued to listen with piqued interest. "Rumor was this place was cursed. Once it was built, all sorts of creepy things started happening. Murders, suicides, unexplained deaths... All of it happened in there. Some say the ground givin' way was the last resort of tellin' everyone else to leave."
"Jeez..." She looked back up at the building. His voice got her attention again.
"Look, I'm not kiddin'. This place is bad mojo. 'Sides the ghosts, the building itself is fallin' to pieces. Ya might wanna hang back and let me check it out."
She shook her head. "Not a chance. If it's as dangerous as you say, you really think I'm letting you go in alone?" Her cheeks flushed as she realized how he could take that. She didn't really know how she meant it. "We're working together on this, so I can't just let you waltz in alone." She took a deep breath, actually feeling somewhat comfortable saying it. "We're a team."
He smiled. "As glad as I am t' hear ya say that, angel cake, ya really should wait here."
Her pistol materialized in her hand as she held it up next to her, gripping it with both hands. "Forget it. You go, I go." Her resolve was solid, and he knew he couldn't reason with her.
His scythe appeared. "Alright, but I'm goin' in first."
Deciding not to waste time and to play along with his ego or feelings, whichever was talking, she agreed. "Then I'll be right behind you."
As the two started through the parking lot, stepping over broken chunks of concrete, they cautiously made their way to the front door of the building.
Minnie looked up upon hearing a crow caw and saw it fly off into the distance. "Wow. Talk about creepsville..."
"Honey, ya haven't seen the inside a' this joint," Mickey said as he looked around at the boards that once barred the door shut.
In the time since the place had been shut down, people had broken in to see if anything of value had remained while others had used it as a hangout, and some just ransacked the place for entertainment. The strange thing was that a few of those people had reported seeing things inside. And a couple had entered and was never seen again...
He pulled one loose board out of the way and pushed open the old door, the creak from the rusty hinges seeming to echo through the foyer of the abandoned building. "Stay close."
"Plan on it," she said, clicking the safety off on her weapon as she lowered it down in front of her and followed him through the front door.
Inside the smell of mold and mildew filled their noses as they stepped through. The lobby had fallen to decay, looking old and ragged. One empty plant pot sat on the counter while another lay toppled over in the corner. As they took a few steps, Minnie felt something on her arm.
"Eek!" she squeaked in fright as she quickly started wiping off her arm. She looked to her side to see the reaper looking at her with a confused, yet almost amused expression. "What? I hate spiders, okay."
"Maybe they just wanted t' drop in an' say hi," he said with a playful grin.
"Well, they can say hi to someone else because I don't like them." She turned her body left and right. "Is anything on me?"
At first, he thought about saying there was, but he wasn't that big of a jerk, and he was rather partial to his ears being attached. "No, there's nothin' on ya." He checked around her and saw nothing, and aided her in dusting herself off.
"Thank you," she said with a little appreciative smile, glad to know that he was capable of kindness when he wanted to be. "Now let's find that spirit."
Agreeing, he started walking toward the steps, with her following closely behind.
She tilted her wrist and checked the scanner on her watch. "The signal seems to be coming from one of the higher floors."
Mickey groaned as he rolled his eyes. "'Course its gotta be on the higher floor. Nooo, the ghost couldn't be afraid a' heights. He wants the freakin' penthouse suite."
"There's another signal coming from the fifth floor. It's not emitting as much of a signal though. A lower lever spirit."
Mickey grinned. "Well, we should be able to deal with him lickety split, then."
"Don't get cocky," she reminded him as she glanced up at him. "Don't lose focus."
"Heh heh."
She quirked a brow. "What?"
He chuckled once more. "You said co-"
She didn't give him time to finish before giving him a light smack on his arm, ignoring what he was going to say, although she knew full well what it was. "What did I say about focus?"
"Relax, I'm focused. See?" He suddenly jolted straight, his nose pointing forward as his gaze fixated forward, one hand raised above his eyes. He looked like a statue.
Minnie rolled her eyes. "Well, if you're gonna play statue..." She stepped past him, leaving him with a grin. He stepped up alongside her as they made their way down the hall. She took notice that she was holding her weapon in a position to use it if need be. He, on the other hand, was calmly letting his scythe rest next to him as he walked with it like a walking stick, the soft peck of the handle tapping upon the cold hard floor as he walked.
As they entered the stairwell at the end of the hall, Mickey stepped in front as they proceeded upward. "So how long ya been doin' this?" he asked, as casually as if they were taking a leisurely stroll.
This caught her off guard. How was he so calm? "This is neither the time nor the place."
He gave a disappointed sigh. "Fine."
Making it onto the second floor, they stopped, and listened and felt closely for anything. Both sensed something on the current level. It was faint, obviously not much of a threat, if any at all. But they could kill two birds with one stone while they were there.
Mickey stepped forward, looking out over the balcony as they walked past. Then he turned back to the female mouse. "So, yer afraid a' spiders, huh?"
She gave him a perplexed look and decided to go along with it. He was just going to keep asking questions so she may as well answer a few of them. "I just don't like them, okay?" Then she made her voice more firm. "And don't even think of putting one on me."
He shook his head. "Wouldn't think of it. Ya know, yer really gonna have to learn t' trust me."
"Well then, give me a reason to trust you," she countered.
That set the gears in motion in his mind. He had to earn her trust somehow, some way. How he wasn't sure. But he'd never given up so easily before. She was a tough nut to crack, but he could chip away, couldn't he? "Y'know one might have super powers. Turn ya into a super hero, like Spiderman."
"I'd rather not get close enough to find out, thank you very much," she said. "Besides, not all super heroes got their powers from animals. Batman wasn't bitten by a bat..."
He stopped, his eyes widening. "You watch Batman?"
She froze. What had she gotten herself into? She sighed, knowing she'd done herself in by opening her mouth. "Yeah. I've watched a few of the movies, and read a few... -ish of the comics..."
He whirled around and pointed a finger at her. "When was Robin introduced?"
She said it off the top of her head not thinking. "Detective Comics number thirty-eight, nineteen forty." She nearly smacked her hands over her mouth. Whoops.
"Who's yer favorite super hero?" he asked, his excitement clearly evident.
She really didn't have to think. "Wonder Woman." Darn it. Was her brain on autopilot or something?
"When was she...?"
"All Star Comics number eight, nineteen forty-one." There she done it again. Darn it. Oh, well. So they liked some comic books. No big deal, right? But how did she know what he was going to ask? She needed some Tylenol.
He made an excited motion with his hands and arms, doing what looked like a victory dance of some kind. She just shrugged and stepped past him, deciding not to ask. She didn't want to take more medication. He quickly joined up with her again.
"So... What was the first comic you read?"
"Can we just please focus on finding this spirit?" He was trying her patience.
"Okay, okay." He held up his hands.
The two proceeded down the balcony a few steps, checking the rooms as they neared them. The doors to many was either gone, open, or naught but splinters on the floor. And on the rooms that did have a door, the mice cautiously opened them to examine the rooms and moved on. When they made it to the fifth floor, the signal for the weaker spirit grew stronger. As they stepped inside of one room, Mickey chuckled.
"Y'know, this reminds me of a comic I once read..."
Minnie groaned. "Uuhg. Why can't you focus on the task at hand?"
"What's wrong with talkin' about comics?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"What's wrong with doing our job?" she asked, clicking the safety off as she placed her knuckles on her hips.
"We're doing our job," he said. "We're here, aren't we?"
"You think the ghost is just going to show up with you talking all the time? Ever heard of a stealth mission?"
"If he knows we're here it won't make a difference whether we talk or not?"
She crossed her arms, letting her frustration come out. "Oh, and you're the big ghost hunting expert, huh?"
He tilted his scythe back as he pointed a finger at her, now becoming annoyed. "Hey, I've defeated plenty a' ghosts in my time. I was hunting ghosts long before you ever got yer halo, little Missy."
"Yeah, and your professionalism really shows," she remarked sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.
"Well, I'm sorry I'm not the 'professional" ya expected me t' be! Maybe if ya would lighten up a little instead of being Miss G.I. Min ya might feel better."
"Hey, I'm here to do a job!"
As the two bickered, a green spectral entity floated up from the floorboards in the room and attempted to make a scary face. "Booooo!"
"We're doin' our job! It doesn't mean ya can't have a little fun while ya do it!"
"When you're doing a 'job' like this, having fun could be dangerous! We're letting our guard down!"
The ghost quirked a brow and tried again, making a different scary face. "Booooooo!"
"We're not letting our guard down, we're jus' talkin' about comic books."
"That's being reckless! We have to focus! Where the heck is yours?!"
"Ahem," the ghost tried. "Pardon me."
"I've got focus!"
"Yeah, you're focusing on how many times you can look up my skirt!"
"Well, whoopity flippin doo, fergive me fer havin' hormones. And yer gonna tell me yer the definition of the term 'angel'?"
Her cheeks flushed. Both in frustration and embarrassment.
"Ah ha, see! So ya can't deny ya've been a little devil at times."
"Hey love birds?!" the ghost hollered.
"What?!" both mice yelled, glaring at the entity.
The ghost shrugged. "Oh, nothing, I was just wondering if, uh, {ahem} you were going to capture me or not. I got a shindig to go to in about an hour so if you two love birds wanna wrap this up... You know, maybe get a room?" The ghost crossed his arms.
Mickey tilted his arm up, checking his watch.
"Is it him?" Minnie asked.
"Yep. The source of the fainter signal," he answered.
Minnie pointed her gun at the ghost as she clicked the safety off and Mickey reared back his scythe.
The ghost gulped. "Well, sh-"
Bang! Shing!
The green ooze of the specter melted to the floor and vanished.
"Now then, where were we?" Mickey asked, pulling back his scythe.
"Talking about yer recklessness," Minnie reminded him, clicking the safety back on on her gun.
"I am not reckless!"
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not infinity." He stuck his tongue out.
Why the heck... why on this earth... did she actually think that was... cute and funny?
She held up her hands. "Look, I don't want to argue, alright. Let's just find that other ghost and get the heck outta here, okay? Deal?"
He nodded. "Deal."
The two nodded and started walking down the hallway once again.
And as they did, the angel couldn't keep a thought from crossing her mind. I think I know the comic he was talking about...
From the fifth floor to the eighth, neither spoke. They just checked the rooms and moved on. As they made their way to the eighth floor, Mickey still stayed in front, making sure to check a room before Minnie did. She didn't know if it was part of his ego trip, trying to boost it and feel macho, or if he bizarrely was actually doing it to protect her. She oddly felt a sense of gratitude and warmth at the latter idea, but decided she best not put too much belief into it. Though she did feel a strange sense of hope for it.
As the two slowly made their way down the hall, Mickey stepped onto a piece of old floor, and it gave way under him.
Crash! The floor collapsed, dragging the reaper into the hole with it.
"Mickey!" The angel made a grab for him but he disappeared into the hole too quickly. The reaper jabbed the blade of his scythe into the floor keeping himself from falling as he held onto the handle of his weapon. "Grab my hand!"
He looked up to see the angel, kneeling over, holding out her hand, a clear expression of worry on her face. Was it for him or just the sudden shock of the floor giving away? He wasn't sure but decided not to delve too deeply into it. He shimmied up the pole and reached out to take her hand. She helped pull him up onto the floor, her grunting and squeaking a little as she pulled him up, where he sat down and looked at the open pit. He turned to her, somewhat confused. "Ya actually... saved me?"
Her cheeks turned a little pink. "Well, I couldn't just let you fall now could I?"
Did she save him because of her angelic nature, or because she actually cared? Though he wanted to believe it was the latter, he decided to not think about it for now. He offered her a light smile. "Thanks."
She matched his expression, her voice softening. "You're welcome."
It took a moment for the two to remember what they were doing, and when they did, it left for an awkward moment as the two looked away.
"Guess... we better find that ghost..." he said, standing up.
"Y-Yeah..." She looked up to see him holding out a hand. She smiled, trying to hide the tint to her muzzle as she took it and stood.
At that moment, the mice were alerted as their watches went off.
"Oh, cheese wizz..."
She looked at him. "What?"
He shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go!"
The two ran down the hall, homing in on the source of the signal. As they reached a door, both moved to the sides of it. Whatever was behind it was big and powerful.
Mickey held up his scythe, readying it for whatever was behind the door. "Ya ready?"
Minnie held up her gun, clicking off the safety and giving a node. "You bet."
He nodded. "Then let's bring the house down."
The mice turned to the door and combined their strengths to kick it open. Minnie aimed her gun as Mickey pulled back his scythe.
In the middle of the room was a black colored vapor. It stood a couple of feet taller than the mice, and the swirling pool of black around its tail was spread out, with tentacle-like appendages moving about slowly. It turned toward the mice, red eyes materializing in what became its head. It just stared at the them, not moving, save for the tentacles around its lower section.
The mice could sense the hatred and power emitting from the specter, the reaper a little more so than the angel. It was strong, it was powerful, and it held no remorse for its actions in its past life. It fed off of fear, anger, and despair, and the old building was full of it.
Mickey knew what they were up against."Well, this is gonna be a real blast..."
"What is that thing?" Minnie asked.
"A level 3 specter. Capable of shape-shifting and growing in size. If we don't destroy it before it grows we'll be in a world of trouble." He turned to her, giving her a grin. "I advise ya not to miss."
The creature let out a eerie screech before jumping through the ceiling above, causing wood and ceiltex to go flying. The mice covered themselves with their arms, shielding themselves from the debris. They stepped underneath the hole, seeing it had went through the next floor and to the roof.
Minnie grinned as she crouched down as her wings materialized and unfurled. "I won't."
Mickey grinned as he crouched and the two mice jumped through the hole and up to the next floor. Landing on the roof, the young mousette's wings disappearing, they saw the specter. It just floated there a ways from them, looking at them, its body giving a small twitch every little bit.
The angel aimed her gun, and the reaper pulled back his scythe.
"Don't give it once chance. Give it all you've got," the reaper advised.
"It deserves a chance to repent," the angel stated.
"It doesn't want it." He looked at the ghost, and he could sense its emotions. "It feels nothing but hatred. Puttin' a bullet between its eyes is the only option."
Minnie hesitated. What if it did feel a little remorse for its actions in its past life? Didn't it deserve a chance to have a peaceful afterlife and not be sentenced to eternity in a fiery pit? She focused, and felt nothing but hatred coming from the ghost. If it had just a small amount of regret or hope it was so faint she couldn't sense it. She gripped the handle of her gun tighter. "Let's take it down."
"Cover me." Mickey ran at the creature, rearing back his scythe.
Minnie started running after him, ready to back him up. The creature vanished in a poof of black mist, leaving the reaper to run right through it. He stopped and looked around for the ghost, but it was gone.
"Dang it! Hate it when they do that..."
The angel held her gun firmly, and looked around the roof top. Suddenly a long black tentacle rose from the roof and with a direct hit, sent reaper reeling forward, tumbling like a small round ball.
"Mickey!" Before she could check on her partner, the tentacle began its advancement toward her. Minnie fired a shot at it, severing it. As the remaining limb retreated back into the roof, another two tentacles materialized. She fired again, severing another limb. As two more limbs appeared, the angel fired at it. But it dodged the bullet. She fired again, and managed to take it out. However, it was just a distraction.
She felt a tentacle wrap around her waist, and was hoisted into the air before she could respond. It had wrapped itself around her arms as well, preventing her from being able to aim her weapon at it. She fought back in its grip, trying to break free. "Nhg! Let... go of me!" Then it tightened its grip, making her cry out from the sudden pressure on body. She couldn't get away. Not by herself. She knew she needed help. "Mickey!"
That got the reaper's attention as he come to. He sat up, and saw her in the clutches of the monster. "Hang on, Min!" He jumped up and slashed at the two tentacles that were approaching her before they could do who knows what to her. Then he slashed at the tentacle that held her, cutting it off. She landed on her feet with it still wrapped around her. With her now safe, he couldn't help himself. "Y'know..." he started with a grin, "this is like somethin' you'd see in an anime..."
Her cheeks turned red. She had a pretty good idea of what had went through his mind. "I don't give a flip about your crazy fantasies, now get me outta this thing will ya?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" Shing! She was free. She gasped for a breath, happy to be able to breath again as the tentacle fell at their feet.
"Ya good?" he asked, inspecting her to make sure she wasn't hurt.
She raised the barrel of her gun up toward him, in the direction of his head, and his eyes widened.
"Whoa, hey, doll, I didn't mean-" Bang!
Nothing. She didn't hit him. He was still breathing, and in one piece. He heard a thud behind him, and turned around to see the tentacle she'd shot lying right behind him. Another foot and it would have got him.
She gave him a smirk. "There. Now we're even."
Whatta gal... he thought.
They saw the creature as it wailed at the absence of its limbs, it's eyes now beginning to glow a darker red.
"I think we just cheesed it off." Mickey pulled his scythe back.
"Yeah, well I'm feeling pretty miffed myself." Minnie gripped the handle of her pistol.
The creature started to twitch, and that made the reaper's eyes widen. "It's about to get bigger! Hit it with everything ya've got!"
"Yes, Sir!" Minnie started to fire at it as she and Mickey ran for the creature. The creature dodged the first few bullets but one struck it in the shoulder, making it stagger back.
"Now!" Mickey jumped up and reared back his scythe. The spirit didn't have a chance to move before the reaper's scythe connected with its head just as a bullet fired from the angel's gun connected with its chest. Landing on his feet, the reaper turned to see the ghost standing there, motionless. A gaping hole rested in its chest as it's head was split in two. The glow in its eyes faded away, giving way to darkness.
Then a pool of black mist opened up around the creature and started sucking it in. The mice watched as it wailed and fought against the pull the forces of the underworld had on it, but its fate had been sealed long ago. With one final wail the restless spirit was pulled into the mist and the pit closed, leaving naught a trace anything was ever there.
The reaper's scythe disappeared and the angel's pistol did so as well. She walked over to him, placing one hand on her hip as she shifted her weight to one foot.
"Ya okay?" he asked her.
It caught her off guard for a second but she knew what he was talking about. "Yeah." She gave a small smile. "I'm okay. Are you?"
He took a deep breath before meeting her gaze. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Have you faced those kinds of spirits before?" She knew he'd been doing this for a while, but she was curious as to what exactly he had faced.
He looked out over the horizon in the distance, seeing the sun was beginning to set as the sky was starting to turn a darker shade. "Yep. More than I would've liked to."
"Is that how you got that cut in your ear?"
As he turned to her, he saw the genuine expression of both curiosity and concern on her face. He lifted a hand to his ear, feeling the piece of his ear that was missing. Thinking back on that night sent a chill down his spine. "...Yeah... Somethin' like that..."
She sensed his unease, and knew she'd asked something he wasn't comfortable with. She rubbed her arm uncomfortably, regretting saying anything. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have-"
"It's fine." He sighed, lowering his gaze for a moment before he looked back to her. "It's the past, right?"
She saw the force smile, and decided not to push it further. It was obviously something he'd rather not discuss, and she didn't want him to if he didn't want to. "Whataya say we get outta here?" she asked, wanting to change the subject and change the sudden uncomfortable atmosphere between them.
That seemed to brighten him up. "Yeah. Sounds good t' me. How 'bout some pizza?"
That actually sounded pretty good to her. "Sure. Sounds good."
"Great!" He started walking toward the roof's exit with her following at his side. "I know a place that serves the best pizza!"
"I'm already started to get hungry, don't make it any worse." They started laughing. They were actually laughing. She didn't think it would actually happen but here they were. And she was enjoying herself. Must be hungrier than she thought.
Back on the ground below, Minnie gazed out over the setting sun as they trekked back to the Imperial. She heard the reaper's keys rattling and turned to see him increasing his walking pace to beat her to the car. At first she wondered why, then stopped in her tracks when she saw him open the door for her.
He chuckled, seeing her expression. "Ya gonna get in or stand there all night?"
She shook her head slightly and briefly, and started toward the car, smiling a small smile. "O-Oh... Well... thank you." It surprised her to see him actually being a gentleman. She didn't know he was capable of being such, or feeling such an emotion. After she climbed in the car, he closed the door and walked around, getting in on the other side. After they buckled up, as he put the keys in the ignition, she heard him chuckle.
"At least we're not walking away from this covered in marshmallow."
"Yeah. Or with the car covered in it." She froze, realizing what she'd just said.
A wide grin formed on his face. "Ya watched the Ghostbusters?"
She gave him a look. "Duh. Who hasn't?"
"Didja watch the cartoons?"
"The movie was better." Then she heard him humming, and she knew the tune. She facepalmed. "Now I'm gonna have the theme song stuck in my head the rest of the night."
He laughed as he started the car and put it in drive. An as they drove away, she was grinning. Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!
To be continued...
