"Mine's ready. I know he is. Look at him, he almost frothing at the mouth, he's so hungry. I'm going to go in." Though, the words were muffled behind the ringing of my ears, the bounce of excitement in his deep voice still came through loud and clear.

I couldn't see who was talking. What I could see were many fuzzy white lights swirling around a central light that burned with red and orange. Outside of that, shapes were dark and hazy.  From what I could tell, the sky was a deep blue and the trees of the forest stood as shadowy sentinels. At least, I thought I was still in the woods. Most of my body was numb with exhaustion.  However, the sharp stab of broken twigs and prickly burrs cut through that dull, resonating pain, leading me to believe I hadn't been dragged out of the forest quite yet.

"You plan to possess him while he's still stuck in a cage? I'm not going to let you out if I think it's a bad take. Selena has already fucked things up by losing control in town.  I'm not taking anymore risks." This second voice was familiar to my ears despite the taint of ego darkening it. It was Bungee's voice, I felt certain. I tried blinking my eyes a few times to clear away the haze clouding my vision, but focus came slowly.

"Come on, you jumped into your zombie after only a few days," snarled the deep voice. "He wasn't nearly as weak as my zombie is and you're doing just fine."

"How long have you been imprisoned in this hell?" growled Bungee, his voice almost unrecognizable beneath his seething hatred. "How long, Eugene? How long? Because I've been drifting through the world without being able to touch, to feel, to live for four centuries. How do you compare?"

"Look Trevor, I'm sorry..."

Trevor? As in the librarian? That couldn't possibly be...

"Don't be sorry! Be smart!" he snarled. "The zombies in Whisper Valley are a rarity. We're not going to find another clan as large and healthy as they are. We need to do this right, especially now that that vamp might come hunting us. You can wait one more day. She's likely not going to give up on the wolf yet."

A deep growl, animal-like in nature, responded to the ghost's claim and my heart burst with hope that the werewolf sheriff may be nearby. Fighting against the throbbing in my head and fatigue in my muscles, I urged myself onto my elbows so I could get a better view of my surroundings.

With my focus almost back to normal, I discovered the glowing orbs to be ghosts roaming aimlessly through a camp that consisted of a single fire pit, which raged bright and hot at the center of a semi-circle made of large cages. In those barred cells, were a collection of supernatural beings. Most had zombies packed tight like cattle, their eyes sunken and their bodies limp like rag dolls. Then one of the cells had a different breed.  There they held the werewolf officers captive behind what appeared to be silver bars.  That, however, didn't stop my sheriff from pacing the tight space like a wolf on the prowl.

"Everett!" I cried, not realizing my vocal cords actually worked.

"Delilah!" he replied, stopping in his tracks and turning to where I still laid on the ground. "You're okay! I thought he might have killed..."

The man masquerading as Bungee lunged forward and, with a swift thrust, stabbed Everett straight in the throat. The werewolf's words spluttered, blood spurting from his lips as he gasped and fell to the floor. His wolves roared with contempt, some slipping to the brink of transforming, their backs arching and their hair growing in volume. They howled to the moon that climbed up to the apex of the sky and my own screech of fear joined in chorus with their lamentations.

"Del! Del, it's okay," said the fake Bungee, who dropped his knife to the floor and came running over to my side of the camp. "Werewolves heal, it's not as horrific as it looks. He just won't be quiet, no matter how many times I've asked, so I needed to solve the problem. But, they heal so don't fear for him." He looked over his shoulder with an apathetic shrug as he watched Everett's continued blood-filled gasps. "Admittedly, it will take some time, but he'll get there eventually."

"What is going on?" I cried. "Why do this?" I tried to stand up, but a heavy weight hampered the process. Casting my eyes to my leaden feet, I found one of my ankles entrapped by a shackle, its chain tethered to a nearby tree. Was I to be a vessel for a ghost as well?

"Do you fancy him?" asked my captor, who continued to glance between me and Everett, willfully ignoring my own questions. "Would you prefer him over this zombie?" He gestured to his body with a frustrated twist of his lips.

"What? Why does that matter?" I asked, looking around at the ghosts that collected around us, their eyes vacant, their bodies hazy and somber. "Who are you really? You're...you're not Trevor, are you?" My voice cracked with remorse, my lips trembling as I reflected on all the times I spent chatting with the friendly ghost at the library. I thought of the day he saved me from Jessie, the day he stepped up in hopes of securing me a job. It just couldn't be him.

"Yes," he said, his smile widening and joy brightening his eyes. Unfortunately, whatever purity those emotions should have brought was tainted by the flicker of the raging fire and the continued sputters of Everett. "Yes, it's me. Oh, I'm so glad this is all out in the open now. I'm not sure I could have kept up the charade honestly. This will make things easier."

"Why, Trevor?" I asked, tears sliding down my cheek as I recalled his hands tearing at my clothes, desperate to grab hold of me. "Why are you doing this? Why am I here? Why is anyone here?"

"Because," he sighed, glancing around at his fellow ghosts, "we have been cursed with a life of nothingness. We get to see the world existing without us and are only able to manipulate the material realm to a very small degree. But, we're still people, just like you and that wolf. We miss so many things." He bit his lip and shook his head, taking a deep breath in an attempt to collect himself. "We want to remember how ice cream tastes on a hot day. We want to pet dogs, feel the spring breeze, and hold our loved ones in our arms. We want to smell the wildflowers and well, your perfume." He laughed and turned to me with a patronizing smile. "See, I didn't even know you wore perfume or that much of it anyway. I've learned so many things now that I can exist in the material world again."

"That's what sponsorships are for," I muttered, taking a slow, shaking breath as I sized up the delusional man before me. "Bodies exist for this purpose. You can hire them to let you possess them for a period of time and live in the world. You don't need to hijack someone's body, someone's life."

"Now, see," he said with a shake of his head and a cluck of his tongue, "that's where you're wrong. However, you haven't been here for long so it's understandable that you haven't caught on to the nuances of life for us. You see, sponsorships do exist, but at some point you have to give them up. Humans are strong willed and they'll kick a ghost out if they stay in there for too long. Not to say full possession can't occur, it is certainly possible, but then what? The body still grows old and dies. And just because we possess a body, doesn't mean we suddenly make our host immune to disease. We could still get sick or be hit by a car.  Then we'd have to possess someone all over again. It's a lot of work." He laughed to himself and many of the ghosts surrounding us chortled with agreement. A tightness grabbed my chest as I realized just how far gone everyone around me was.

"So our other options are fellow supernaturals," he continued, ignorant to my growing panic. "Vampires have blood links that make it next to impossible to control them, so they are out. Mages are just humans with magic. A nice incentive, but the lack of immortality is a major downside. Werewolves aren't immortal, but they live significantly longer than humans thanks to their rapid healing powers. They are a viable host, which is frankly the only reason those wolves are still alive right now."

He rolled his eyes and glanced back at the wolves' cage. Everett laid across another wolf's lap, his clothes and skin coated in crimson. He no longer gagged on his own blood, but it still dribbled over his lips as he took in slow, wheezing breaths.

"However," Trevor continued with a sigh, "they have the strongest wills out of all the supernaturals I've ever encountered, making them near impossible to possess. Zombies, though, they're the Goldilocks. They're immortal, but can be easily weakened by bringing them to the brink of starvation. Once we possess them, we just need to take our pills regularly to keep the virus at bay. If you're like Selena and end up skipping some pills then you either lose control and slip into hunger, allowing the virus to take over, or you have to stomach rotten meat and risk the zombie regaining their strength and overpowering you. It's complicated." He sighed and looked at me with a humorous smile twisting Bungee's lips. "Despite these hurdles, technology has provided us all kinds of resources into harnessing a host. Of course, right now, zombies are the only option really viable for us, but we're developing treatments for werewolves as their brute strength is a big selling point. If you really do prefer that wolf..."

"Why do you care who I prefer?" I asked, my words breathy with disgust. "Why does that matter? Why did Bungee have to endure this in my name?"

"Because," he said, drawing close, reaching a hand up to stroke my cheek, his thumb wiping a tear from my eye, "I've loved you ever since you first smiled at me in the library. No one ever pays attention to us. They walk right through us most of the time. I wouldn't even be surprised if the majority of the town thought the books just put themselves back instead of by our ghostly hands. You, though, you recognized me, you smiled at me, and you continued to seek me out whenever you stopped by. We'd chat and," he paused, a wistful look washing over his face as he placed his hands on my shoulders, "and I hadn't talked with anyone that wasn't a ghost for maybe a century. Not only that, but we like the same books, have the same interests, and, if I may be so bold, you are a beauty to behold." His hands shook as he ran them down my arms and I trembled with the rising nausea in my stomach.

"I just want you to be by my side through eternity and to do that, I'm going to have to turn you into a ghost."

***

And so the Osiris Order's motivations have been revealed.  Can Del forgive Trevor for what he's done?  More importantly, can she find a way to escape before he kills her in an attempt to be with her forever?

Ugh, it's late.  I'm officially trying to get into the groove of writing at night.  This is going to take some getting used to, but hopefully I can get into a routine now that I'm working during the day.  I'm more productive in the morning though...  What about you?  Are you an early bird or a night owl?