I, Keveny - pt 23

I stood. Where ever I was, it was dark. There was a moment of panic as I thought I was back in that place, but then there was someone's voice nearby. I could feel my feet beneath me on the floor. It felt odd.

 

I kneeled and put my hands on the floor, cold concrete. This wasn't right. I hadn't been able to touch anything since… since… well, whatever the hell had happened to me.

 

Was I back?

 

"Hello?" I said and listened for my voice to reverberate back to me. Nothing. But I didn't know where I was—it didn't mean anything necessarily. I was at least semi-corporeal, but that didn't mean alive.

 

I felt around for a light. Nothing but smooth walls directly in front of me. The feeling was nice, much more appreciated than when I'd been alive before, like a man whose spouse had finally returned to him. Something hit my finger as I strafed the wall. A switch! I flicked it, or at least tried to, but the switch went soft like a water-filled balloon and my hand kind of bounced away, an arc of electricity trailing up to my elbow.

 

Daaaaaaaaaamn, that hurt. Bad. I stood there, intermittently sucking my fingers and shaking out my whole arm. Okay, still dead. But what had changed? I mean, why could I touch stuff now? And a lot of good it did me—a ghost who had managed to give himself a third degree burn.

 

"Nnnnnnnn." I spun around. Ghosts weren't supposed to be afraid. I chanted, "I'm-not-scared-I'm-not-scared," over and over like a mantra. If I had a heartbeat, it would have been racing.

 

It was still dark but my eyes were beginning to adjust. There, on the floor. A body rising slowly. A moment later I could make out the shape of the head, ears and shoulders. Me.

 

"Oh, it's just you," I said. The sigh of relief was real enough to my ears. It approached me, the steps slower than before, the head canted to the side. It kind of looked like it had had a stroke. It came close enough to where I could make out its features.

 

Oh yeah, shot through the eye.

 

"How are you even…"

 

I stepped back.

 

There was something in there!

 

"Open your mouth," I said. Its jaw creaked as it complied (I'd always had a teeth-grinding problem), I peeked and there it was. Small, cloudy and blue, but it was in there.

 

A soul.