Seven was the only one awake. He was wrapped in a blanket, sitting near the fire's last warmth.
He could only think of one thing...
Peace...
Many people don't understand what that word means. They think it's just the absence of conflict or noise... no.
It is the stillness that settles deep within. Like exhaling after having held your breath for too long. It is the comfort you feel when you have enough. Nothing is more demanding than what you already are. It's joy.
Can't mention one and leave the other.
Watching the star-lit sky, Seven had never seen the stars so close. It was breathtaking.
The silence of the night, accompanied by the occasional gushes of wind, shrieking of crickets, rustle of leaves, and flapping of wings, was harmonious, but he didn't find peace in them.
The burden that weighed down on his soul remained. He had searched for days, in things he loved to do, in prayers, in church—everywhere, but none gave him the consolation he wanted.
He missed Elias to pieces. They weren't very close by, but that didn't stop the fact that he had lost what he'd consider the most normal thing in the crazy world he was forced into.
Sighing, he lowered his head, not sure what to do anymore. He would stop trying, that's for sure. Maybe it's his punishment for being so reckless.
Crack
He heard a sound in the woods. With his brain too occupied to bother, he ignored it. Not until the crack multiplied, coming in a pattern, signifying that someone was coming—and worse, towards him.
Alert! He raised his head immediately and searched his surroundings.
A few people were patrolling around, but none who were awake were close to them.
He panicked as the steps grew closer, but before he could alert the security, his breath hitched at the sight of who emerged from the scarce bushes.
He was covered in white, made of unknown but invaluable material. He glowed fiercely, a golden shimmer outlining his figure. His smile brightened the whole space, and Seven sat and watched, his lips parted, but no words came forth.
"Seven!" His voice resounded into Seven's hearing. The voice sounded like rushing waters—soothing and cool.
A feeling of peace he so much longed for settled in his heart, dissipating as soon as it came.
Turning, Elias moved.
Seven stood, outstretching his trembling hands as he called out:
"Elias..." he said almost in a whisper, doubting his vision. To him right now, he had never felt anything so real in his life.
Turning with a smile, he nodded: follow me.
And with that, he went forward, the light he brought dimming the further he walked.
Ignoring the warning in his head, he followed immediately.
'This is different,' his mind repeated so much, he felt he would jinx it.
He lacked direction that day, and nothing interested him anymore anyway. What is the worst that could happen?
He followed closely behind, and not long after walking for a few miles in, they stopped in the middle of nowhere. Seven, who had been consciously trying to memorize the paths, stood rooted to the ground, imagining different scenarios his stupid decision would lead to.
At worst, he would be served a death sentence by his victim's ghost, which sounds fair.
"Do you know what it's like being haunted by a brother?" Without waiting for him to reply, he continued:
"All my life since the day my brother died has been extremely excruciating and left me in pieces. There was a new trick each and every time, a ploy to punish me for killing him."
Ignoring the confused look on Seven's face after the last statement, he smiled and continued:
"Every second of the day, I was afraid of what the next held in store for me. You would never understand what it means to live your life in constant fear of the unknown. One would think they'll dull out sooner or later, but each time was never the same as the last. They knew exactly what they were doing."
"It hurts the more days go by. From paralysis to the whispers, the suicide thoughts to the extreme temptation, but you—you came and took it all away."
Things were so sudden that Seven's head was finding it difficult to process everything.
'Was this Elias's ghost? Why—?!'
Laughing softly, finding him hilarious, he added, "My death had nothing to do with you; I met Our Creator the day he fully subjugated me. Relax, man!"
'Was this really happening?'
It took him more than a few seconds to calm down and regain his composure; he lost it once a fact hit him.
'If it was Elias's brother who possessed him, then—Dancing Phantom?!'
"See, I would love to spend as much time with you, but I can't," Elias interrupted his thoughts. "I came to pass a message!" Elias said, his smile disappearing to show that the information he was about to give was serious.
"Dancing Phantom?" Seven chipped in, his face turning grim.
Elias nodded slowly. "He's still very much among you all and, as a matter of fact, has started acting out."
Turning, he pointed toward a direction.
"Over there, the two other bullies confronted each other; their anger fueled by him."
"What?!"
"There's nothing you could do for now. Not alone at least. Dancing Phantom has evolved, so currently, he's beyond what you can handle alone."
"Why didn't you come earlier?"
"Me being here right now is already a grave risk. And the more time I spend in the world of the living, the more my tether tries to pull me back. As it is, I don't have much time anymore...
His figure grew weaker and more transparent. "Don't have the answers to the big questions you have. The bullies know where the secret lies."
His voice became fainter and, disturbed with a smile, he concluded:
"With you in the team, I'm sure things will be fine. All the best!" His voice echoed as his figure vanished completely.
Standing rooted to the ground as his ethereal encounter came to an end, he watched Elias dissipate, his smile taking away whatever load had weighed down his soul and the grief eating at him.
A new feeling of urgency replaced it, and with a few scary sounds snapping him back to the reality of standing in the middle of nowhere where tragedy could happen, he tried running away—only for his eyes to snap open!
"A dream?!"
---
The alarm sounds of ambulances and other official cars filled the air as the students stood outside of their tents, shaken to the core by the terrible news that came in that morning.
Seeing as the police grabbed the suspect who had allegedly murdered a fellow student the previous night, their minds considered scenarios of being at the receiving end of the bear taser, which, according to paramedics, was continuously used on the victim without a break, leading to his death.
Expecting a remorseful look from such a demon responsible, they were disappointed bitterly, as a huge smile greeted them instead.
The disturbing scene of a limp student who lay peacefully on a stretcher as a white cloth was nicely draped over him made their hair stand on end.
A cold reminder of how unpredictable the world was and why life was fragile and priceless.
Seven was lying in a sleeping bag, his face facing toward the sky. His bones were hurting from having stayed like that all night, but lost in his thoughts, he couldn't bother much.
He didn't sleep a wink last night, and just like his dream had predicted, he was faced once more with the problem he thought he'd gotten rid of.
Worse, this time, his instincts were flaring up, betraying how hard and dangerous the problem is.
The team members could feel it too—something amiss—and he would have to tell them sooner or later.
"Seven..." a male voice he recognized as Dice's called, and moving his eyes even before he asked, he nodded.
"Oh no!"