Chapter One - Murderous Routine

Cole Brookstone was dead.

He had no recollection of his past life. No idea of any friends, family, or anyone who might've cared about his whereabouts. All he had was his name, and a vague memory of how the world worked.

Cole knew he was a ghost because no physical object was an obstacle for him. He also knew he was a ghost because people mostly ignored his presence, and when they didn't, they'd simply scream. No one stayed in his apartment very long.

It became his hobby to try and see how long it would take for him to get rid of any new tenants. As the days blended into months, he learned more and more about the abilities being a ghost had brought him.

But the longer he stayed, the smaller the apartment felt.

It began to suffocate him, and yet, he was too afraid to venture out of his comfort zone. He knew nothing of who he was, and nothing of what lay outside his apartment. A simple mistake could cause him to be erased from existence.

Luckily for him, things were about to change.

Jay Walker was dead.

Dead tired, that is. His muscles ached from exhaustion, and his head throbbed with persistent waves of pain. It was the third time he'd taken the test to be a detective and join the NPD. Getting the letter of acceptance had been a joy, getting kicked out of his previous home, was not.

It wasn't his fault really. He was a good tenant. He returned home at reasonable hours, and he never ever received any noise complaints.

But money was hard to come by, when all you did was train. Sure, he could easily return to his parent's. They'd accept him with open arms. And of course there would be plenty of space in that junkyard of theirs. There always was.

Jay shuddered, as he was almost able to hear their voices in his head.

"Oh sweetie! You're back! We've missed you so!" His mother would say, pulling him into a tight embrace. Too tight, for that matter. He could almost feel his two dollar lunch climbing its way back up as she continued to squeeze his guts.

"You, you've no need to move on out from here. Here's home, and always will be." His father would say, smiling that big, rather contagious smile of his.

Wiping a couple of drops of sweat from his forehead, Jay erased the images from his head. He had to focus. Looking back down at the map in his hand, he squinted ahead, trying to spot the name of the street.

Grim Avenue.

How promising, Jay chuckled to himself, turning right, as the map indicated. Hopefully, this new place would work. It wasn't too far from his new job, the thought of which made Jay flash a smile, and he'd be able to pay the rent this time.

"1310, 1311, and. . . 1312. Nice. One number away from the unluckiest of them all. Everything is such a good omen today." The blue eyed man studied the building before him. It was made up of four floors, and it had no indication of being anything other than abandoned.

Shrugging, he pushed the door open.

"Can't be worse than living on the streets," Jay whispered to himself, walking up to what seemed to be a help desk. It was empty, except for a dying rose and a small silver bell. The edge of it was rusted, and it was so full of dust Jay could see no more than a distorted reflection of himself.

The hall's light flickered, then dimmed, causing the atmosphere around him to become even more foreboding than it already was. Mastering up every bit of courage, Jay rang the bell.

Ding!

At first, there was nothing. Jay thought about giving the bell a second ring, when he heard a bit of shuffling behind the desk. However, there was still no one in his sights. Frowning, Jay stopped his senses from becoming irrational.

This place isn't haunted. Maybe. . . Maybe there's someone hiding under the desk.

He didn't think that was true, but seconds later, a small blonde head peeked out from beneath. A very small boy of about 9 or 10 years old climbed up on the dusty rolling chair, then looked up at Jay. When the man didn't say anything, the boy rolled his eyes.

"Yes, hi can I help you? I'm very busy you know." The boy crossed his arms, waiting.

"Um," Jay scratched the back of his head, not sure how to react. When the kid's attitude didn't seem to change, he gave in. "I'm looking to rent. I saw an advertisement. . . I have a bit of cash with me, and I'd really appreciate it if-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The kid rolled his eyes once more. "You need a place to sleep."

Jay cleared his throat, wondering why he felt so intimidated by a child. "Yes."

"Well, let's see, let's see." The kid opened some of the drawers, rummaging through the papers. "Ah ha! Room 5 seems to be empty. No surprise there."

"What do you mean?"

"No one stays there long. Ever. There's a ghost." The young boy smiled, his eyes shining with mischief.

"A. . . Ghost?"

The kid nodded vigorously. "Oh yes. I've heard him moving around. I've heard he was an evil man, and he waits there, watching out for the perfect opportunity to drag people to the underworld with him. I bet you-"

"Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon!" A woman's voice rang from the opposite end of the hall. Jay's heart jolted, and his whole body swiveled to face the lady. The small child dropped back under the desk. "What have I told you about scaring the guests?"

Lloyd was silent.

The woman shook her head, turning her attention back towards Jay. She held out her hand. "I apologize about that. I'm Misako. Your name?"

"Jay," the man responded, his eyebrows lightly rising at the force in which the woman shook his hand.

"Well, Jay, let's get you set up." The woman went behind the desk, doing her best to ignore the child. She retrieve a couple of papers from the drawers, and Jay couldn't help but read 'Room 5' in more than half.

He felt a cold chill travel down his spine. He really hoped the kid had been lying.

Cole lay on the ground in the middle of the room, sighing and staring up at the cracked ceiling.

"If I wasn't dead already, I'd die of boredom." He groaned, rolling over on the ground. The ghost began to play with the dust around him, twirling it between his fingers, writing his name on the dirtied floorboards.

"Cole."

He read his name aloud, the sound of it sending a tug of heartache in his once existent chest. Having only a name and nothing else made him feel empty. He tried not to think about the issue much. But what else was there to do?

The floorboards creaked. The door swung open. Cole bolted up into a standing position, turning his faint body fully invisible, in case whoever was wondering in would have the ability to see ghosts. Seeing things float in midair with nothing holding them up tended to have a bit more of an effect.

". . . Thank you, I will. Yes. Thank you."

Cole walked closer, getting a better look at his new victim. It had been an awfully long time since he'd seen anyone else. The man had wild, auburn hair which looked as if it was in desperate need for a wash. Freckles were sprinkled across his face, and there were dark circles under his bright blue eyes. A tired smile was plastered upon his face.

The man waved good-bye to someone outside of the apartment, then shut the door. The smile he'd been sporting vanished. After allowing his luggage to drop on the ground, the man followed suit, leaning back against the dirty door.

"Well Jay, you've got a roof above your head, and a job to go to in the morning. Can't complain."

Jay then. Cole committed the name to memory.

"Before I can do any celebrating, I think I need a shower." Lifting his left arm, Jay took a quick sniff at his armpit. He grimaced. "Yup. Definitely need a shower."

As Jay got up to wander into the bathroom, Cole smiled.

Let the games begin.

Once inside the bathroom, Jay ditched his sweaty clothes, and started the shower. When he was satisfied with the water's temperature, he stepped inside, immediately relaxing. For now, he had this. He'd be starting his new job tomorrow. Things were looking up.

"Positive thinking," Jay chuckled, running his hands through his hair.

Seconds later, the lights flickered, then snapped Jay into a thick darkness.

The man froze, his heart suddenly hammering against his chest. He tried to laugh, but only a whimper escaped his lips. Jay reached towards the wall, slowly feeling his way down until he was able to shut off the water.

An eerie silence fell around him.

"The light's just a little funky, Jay." He told himself. "Nothing out of the ordinary. This isn't a five-star hotel."

After a couple of fearful breaths, Jay stepped out of the shower, feeling his way to the light switch. He flicked the light on, eyes closed, his muscles finally relaxing as he felt light shine against his eyelids. "Nothing to worry about. Nothing at- Ahh!"

The man jumped back, smacking the back of his head against the wall. He stared straight ahead, where the letters Boo! Had been scribbled upon the foggy mirror. Jay's breathing quickened, as fear continued to press down upon his chest.

"There's no ghosts here," He said, voice shaking with uncertainty. He stepped forward, wiping away the words with his forearm. "Ghosts aren't real."

Jay finished his shower as quickly as he could, muttering the reassuring sentences over and over. The kid couldn't have been telling the truth. There wasn't a ghost here. There couldn't be a ghost here. Not when everything was finally working out.

Once dressed, Jay headed over to the empty room. There was only a small bed, pushed against the corner. The mattress was dirty and bare, and moonlight swept in from the tattered curtains. Sighing, Jay plopped down onto it, causing a very loud, very uncomfortable creaking sound to echo throughout his small apartment.

It took more than a couple of minutes of tossing and turning before he finally settled in a position that proved to be the least uncomfortable. A weird scrapping sound came in from the living room, but Jay forced his eyes shut.

"Ghosts aren't real."

The scrapping continued.

Muttering the phrase over and over, Jay finally reached a state that resembled sleep.

Meanwhile, Cole continued to push Jay's luggage back and forth across the wooden floor, hoping to get his attention. The man had been scared rather easily, and Cole hoped to break his record. Once, he'd managed to get rid of a family in three days.

He hoped Jay would give up before tomorrow night.

After a while, he decided moving the luggage around was futile. Cole sat on the floor, leaning back against the wall. Soft whispers slid out from the man's room, and Cole wondered if he was still trying to convince himself that ghosts didn't exist.

"Tough luck buddy," He chuckled. "I'm as real as it gets."