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When he woke up he was alone. Glad to see nothing’s changed , Willie thought as he tried to remember how he got to the Dark Room in the first place. He was surrounded by nothing, just… blackness for as far as he could see.
Willie, hugging his mom goodbye. Willie, being arrogant enough to not attach the strap of his safety helmet. His mom’s horrifying scream as the truck came out of nowhere, slamming him to the ground…
Shaking his head clear Willie stood up and started walking around the Dark Room. It had to end eventually, right? This… Dark Room wasn’t the only thing waiting for him in the afterlife was it? He wasn’t exactly the best morally-straight guy when he was alive, but he at least always tried to do the right thing. The cold of the darkness wrapped around Willie, threatening to trap him in the shadows forever. He tripped over his untied shoelace because, yes mom, it was a poor style choice, but instead of ripping his jeans on the inky black floor he fell through it. The ground opened up and swallowed him and he started to freefall, screaming and flailing his limbs as he went. He fell for what seemed like an eternity before a sliver of light appeared miles underneath him. Making up his mind Willie twisted in the air to grab his helmet, which fell off during the freefall, and snapped it back into place. He did his best to ignore the large crack on the side of it from when his head hit the pavement after the truck hit him. Readjusting his position he nosedived towards the light, propelling himself as fast as he could.
He face-planted onto the Hollywood Boardwalk.
Willie groaned in pain as his eyes readjusted to the sunlight, blinking the world into focus. “What the hell?” Willie wondered out loud as the pedestrians around him didn’t even seem to notice it when he fell out of the sky. Stumbling to his feet, Willie tried to regain his center balance. “Is this supposed to be a joke!?” He yelled, screaming at the sky. “Some big fucking cosmic joke the after life is, huh big guy?!” Willie screamed, yelling louder after he realized the living people around him couldn’t hear him. He angrily kicked at the ground before seeing something glimmer in the corner of his eye. Ducking into the alley he saw his skateboard. It was there, lying on top of the dumpster like in some sick, twist of fate, it was waiting for him.
“Is that yours?” A voice called out from behind him. Willie whipped around to see a man standing nearby wearing a suit that looked like it cost more than his first year at the local community college. Every fiber of Willie’s body told him not to trust him. He grabbed his board from off the dumpster and threw it on the ground. The man took a step forward, “now hold on, do you really think that’s a good idea considering that’s how you died?” He said, holding up a hand to stop him. Willie froze, then looked at him again.
“What are you? Some kind of… angel or something?” Willie asked, trying to remember what the afterlife was supposed to be. His parents weren’t exactly the religious type, but made sure he went to Sunday School until he was old enough to make his own decisions. To his surprise the man laughed, but it wasn’t warm and comforting. Instead it sounded cold and calculated, like he’d this whole welcome-to-the-afterlife thing was a well rehearsed routine.
“I promise you William, I am everything except an angel.” The man said, spreading his arms wide like a dramatic showman. Willie kicked up his skateboard and picked it up with his right arm. He held it close to his side, the last birthday present he got from his parents. “But I can promise you this: an afterlife of skating forever, wherever you want! Doesn’t that just sound wonderful?” He asked, taking a step forward. Willie took a cautious step back.
“I don’t even know your name. Why should I trust you?” He pointed out, not having any reason except for the fact that this demon-ghost-man was the first person he saw since the Dark Room. The offer of being able to skate wherever he wanted was tempting, but since he was a ghost he’d be able to do that anyway.
“Caleb Covington, at your service,” he said with an over-the-top looking bow. Willie hesitated then nodded at him. Crossing his arms Willie said,
“I’m Willie.” Caleb nodded,
“I know, just as I know before you showed up here you were in that nasty Dark Room alone.” Willie tensed at the memory, the feeling of cold dread creeping up his spine… like he was constantly being watched by something. Something he couldn’t see, something he couldn’t hear, but he could feel it.
“Why should I make a deal with you if I can just skate around by myself since people can’t see me?” Willie asked, pointing out the obvious. Caleb rolled his eyes,
“You mean the Lifers?” As if to show off his power, Caleb flashed his eyes a dangerous shade of purple. The shadows warped around him, bending to his will. “William, I am the most powerful ghost in the city. If you work for me you won’t have to worry about getting caught doing anything wrong. You would be able to do anything you want to.” He was starting to make more sense if Willie took a second to think about the whole thing.
All things considered, Willie didn’t know why he was brought back to life as a ghost. He didn’t know anything about the afterlife or this… Ghost World. He had just died earlier in the week, fresh out of the Dark Room, where he definitely didn’t want to go again. Plus, the added promise of protection was tempting as well… on top of everything else Caleb was already offering. Not to mention, the guy had a flair for the dramatic, which Willie always appreciated.
As though Caleb knew he was considering the deal, the showman reached out his right hand. “Look kid, I’m a busy man. You aren’t the only baby ghost popping up today. Make your choice, now or never kid,” Caleb said, sounding more bored than anything. Against his better judgement Willie reached out his free hand and grabbed Caleb’s. Maybe now he’d finally get some answers. A searing pain etched it’s way into Willie’s wrist the second their hands touch.
“What the fuck ?” Willie asked, knee hitting the ground as he dropped his board to grab his wrist. It was a searing, burning pain, way worse than any of the broken bones he got failing at new skate tricks. He couldn’t help but wonder if this is how getting stabbed by a hot poker felt. “What the fuck did you do to me?” He demanded, pain searing up his arm Purple light glowed intensely from underneath the hand covering his wrist. Caleb didn’t seem the least bit concerned about the pain incapacitating him.
“Pleasure doing business with you William. I’ll contact you once I have a job for you. In the meantime, feel free to skate around LA as much as you wish. I hear Justin Beiber’s empty pool makes for a great half-pipe,” Caleb said as he snapped his fingers, disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke. When the dust settled in the spot Caleb used to stand, Willie was left alone in the alley. He dropped his wrist to reveal the letters H G C, a logo for a hotel he recognized from when he was alive, burned into his skin with purple ink.
Something deep in his gut. Something deep in his soul told Willie he would forever regret shaking a deal with Caleb Covington.