Lucas was snoring.
Loud.
The kind of snore that made it sound like a struggling motorbike engine stalling every few seconds.
Curled sideways on his lumpy mattress, a drool stain had bloomed beneath his cheek. The leaky ceiling dripped steadily beside him . plop, plop, plop . like nature's broken faucet. None of it stirred him.
But the sirens did.
WEEEOOO-WEEEOOO-WEEEOOO.
Lucas jolted upright with a panicked snort. "I wasn't sleeping in class—!"
Then blinked. Right. He was home. In the cellar.
Ambulance...?
He rubbed his eyes, crawled to the tiny square window near the ceiling, and peeked through the foggy glass.
The view was limited, but just enough to make out flashing lights bathing the street in red and blue. Paramedics. Cops. Neighbors murmuring behind fences.
Lucas squinted harder.
Two officers were loading someone onto a stretcher and into the back of the ambulance.
Wait… isn't that…?
His stomach dropped.
Mr. James' house. The one the ghost went into last night…
He was still staring when a voice upstairs shouted:
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE TV?!"
Lucas scrambled out of bed and up the rope ladder.
[Living Room]
His dad was standing beside the television like it owed him money, aggressively jabbing the remote.
"Why the hell is it stuck on music again?" he grumbled.
The screen flickered, static crackled, and then bam! NEWS 8 LIVE appeared. The Presenter mouth moved… but just as she started to speak—
ZAP!
Back to a music video.
A female rapper in green twerked against a Rolls Royce as fireworks burst behind her.
Kade hovered beside the screen, grinning like a maniac. "I got the good stuff, baby. You're welcome."
Lucas's dad blinked at the screen, clearly not seeing the floating dead man beside it. "Hmm. Not bad," he muttered, folding his arms.
Lucas stood beside them, whispering, "Morning, Dad."
"Mm," his dad grunted, not taking his eyes off the screen.
Kade floated over, arms behind his head like he'd just clocked out of a spa. "You know… yesterday was seriously strenuous. Saving your butt, yesterday night. I need a raise."
Lucas gave him a sidelong look. "I forgot to finish the dishes. And the laundry. Mom's gonna kill me."
Kade scoffed, waving his hand. "Relax, Cinderella. It's done."
Lucas blinked. "Wait… what?"
Kade gave him a too-quick smile. "Yup. All washed. Sparkling. Even the casserole pan."
Lucas frowned. "But… you said you can't touch anything physical."
Kade's smirk twitched. "I—uh. Well. We can discuss that later."
Lucas stared harder.
Kade looked away quickly, muttering under his breath, "He can't know how I did it. Not yet."
Lucas let it slide for now. "My back hurts," he grumbled.
Kade floated in a slow circle. "Bored ghost here. Tell me, what do you do for fun during the weekends? Drink? Chase girls? Rent motels ?"
Lucas rolled his eyes. "I'm a teen."
Kade sighed. "Ugh. Pathetic."
DING-DONG.
They both turned toward the front door.
Lucas walked over and opened it slowly.
A police officer stood on the porch, tall and serious, his badge glinting in the morning light. Behind him, his patrol car idled with a K9 barking madly inside.
But not at Lucas.
At Kade.
Kade floated behind Lucas, raising his ghostly middle finger at the dog. "Down, Cujo. You ain't got nothing on me."
Lucas blinked fast, trying not to react.
"Good morning, son," the officer said. "Name's Officer Rowe. Sorry to disturb. Just checking in with the neighborhood after an incident down the street."
Lucas nodded nervously. "Uh… yeah. I saw the lights. What happened?"
"Neighbor down the block—Mr. James," the officer said, his face grim. "Collapsed in his home. We're not ruling anything out yet. We're asking residents if they saw or heard anything strange last night."
Lucas froze.
Aside from a soul missile ghost zipping into his house?
"Uh… nope," he lied. "Didn't see anything."
The cop nodded. "Alright. No pressure. If you remember anything odd, let us know."
He reached into his pocket.
"Oh—and we found this in Mr. James' backyard."
He held up… a dishwashing glove.
Lucas blinked. "Wait—that's mine."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I—I used it to wash dishes last night."
The cop handed it over. "Weird thing to find in someone else's yard."
"Yeah… super weird," Lucas murmured, staring at it like it was a live grenade.
The officer tipped his hat. "Thanks for your time. Stay safe."
Lucas closed the door slowly.
Turned around.
And locked eyes with Kade.
"…What are you not telling me?" he asked.
Kade's grin faltered.
Before he could answer—
"LUCAS!!!"
His mother stormed down the hallway holding a soaked black gown in one hand. "WHAT did you use to wash this?! It's BLEACHED! Completely ruined!"
Lucas stepped back. "I—I didn't finish the laundry, I swear—"
Kade floated in between them with a guilty wince. "Oops."
His mom stared through him, of course. But Lucas caught it.
"You… you washed clothes?" Lucas whispered.
Kade whistled innocently. "Technically. Maybe. Accidentally?"
"What soap did you use?!"
"…The same one from the dishes?"
Lucas smacked his forehead.
His mom stormed off, muttering death threats .
Lucas turned to Kade.
"You're going to get me grounded into another dimension."
Kade threw his arms up. "Hey! I did your chores. You didn't say to not use lemon-scented dish soap."
Lucas tiptoed past his dad, who was now suspiciously crouched beside the TV like he was sneaking out of jail.
"Is she gone?" his dad whispered, eyes darting toward the hallway.
Lucas glanced back. No sign of his mom.
"Yeah."
Click.
The moment his dad heard that, he flipped the channel back to the twerking rapper as if it were his life's mission.
"Finally," he muttered, sinking into the couch like he just ended world hunger.
Lucas didn't even try to comment. He just shook his head and headed for the cellar.
He grumbled under his breath, descended the rope ladder, and landed with a thud.
Kade floated in after him like a lazy balloon, arms behind his head. "So, welcome back "
Lucas flopped onto his mattress and pointed a stern finger at him.
"Talk."
Kade blinked. "About... what? Your dad's music taste? That was concerning."
"Don't play dumb. What happened last night? Tell me everything. Full truth."
Kade exhaled and drifted down until he hovered just above the foot of the bed.
"I didn't believe it happened either, man. I mean, I was just chilling while you were washing the dishes—and looking half-asleep, by the way. You were about to eat sink water."
"I was tired."
"Exactly. So I—" Kade hesitated, scratched his head. "I panicked. Tried to catch you, y'know, from hitting the floor. And then boom. I got sucked in."
Lucas squinted. "Sucked in…?"
Kade looked uncomfortable. "Yeah. Was inside you"
Lucas jerked up. "What?!"
Kade held his hands up. "Hey! You were asleep! I didn't exactly get a consent form!"
"Dude!" Lucas looked horrified. "You possessed me not yu were inside me?! That's—ew, don't say that again. That sounds—just—don't."
Kade raised a brow. "Why? It's just a word."
"It sounds gay!"
Kade gave him a flat look. "You think being inside another dude's soul is gay? That's... deeply questionable logic, man."
Lucas waved it off. "That's not the point! You possessed me without asking! That's like spiritual trespassing!"
Kade rubbed his temple. "I said I panicked! Besides, I thought I was helping! But listen—it gets weirder."
"Oh joy," Lucas muttered, burying his face into a pillow.
Kade floated closer, his tone shifting.
"I couldn't control it properly, okay? It was my first time. I felt… drained. Weak. Like I was fading. Like… like I was turning to dust."
Lucas peeked up, eyes wide. "Dust?"
"Yeah," Kade said, voice quieter now. "If I stay inside someone too long… I vanish. And you? You go into a coma. Or worse."
Lucas sat up, eyes round. "What?! So you're saying—if you keep doing that, I die?!"
"Coma," Kade corrected with a wince. "But yes. Bad things."
Lucas grabbed the pillow and screamed into it.
"NO MORE POSSESSING ME!"
The pillow muffled the sound, but the rage was clear. Kade drifted backward sheepishly.
Lucas let out a long sigh and glared up at him.
"And the first thing you do after hijacking my body is… what? Go on a ghost jog to Mr. James' house?"
"I tried to," Kade admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I couldn't even get past the gate. I was losing strength, so I turned you around and brought you back home. You crawled into bed. I un-possessed you before anything worse happened."
Lucas blinked. "You make it sound like returning a rental."
Kade chuckled weakly. "Kinda felt like that. Except if I kept the car too long, it explodes."
Lucas ran both hands through his hair. "So basically, if you possess me again, I could end up brain-dead and you turn into glitter."
"Accurate summary."
Lucas gave him a look. "Great. Freaking. News."
Kade didn't reply right away.
He hovered near the wall, eyes drifting. And for the first time, he didn't have a comeback.
Kade was silent.
Then he spoke to himself , voice low.
"…While I was in his body… I got close enough to look through Mr. James' window."
Kade's face twisted. "I saw him. Mr. James. He was—" Kade swallowed hard. "He was stabbing someone. Over and over."
There was blood. A lot of it. And then… he looked up. At the window."
"He didn't sense me," Kade said, eyes distant. "Because I was inside you. It's like… my ghost presence was cloaked. Invisible. But if I'd been out there, he'd have known."
Ghosts can sense each other, even through walls. But when I was inside you… it couldn't detect me."
If it figures out lucas is the only witness… it'll come after him . To kill him.