The shadow inside my house slowly turned its head.
It wasn't supposed to see me.
But it did.
And when it did… it smiled.
Its mouth tore open across its face like a crack in glass.
My entire ghost soul froze.
"Vikram…" I whispered.
"Yes," he said calmly.
"That thing is looking directly at us."
"Correct."
"Is that bad?"
"Extremely."
The shadow suddenly stretched across the wall like spilled ink.
Then it lunged.
Straight through the wall.
"RUN!" Vikram shouted.
We burst out of the house and into the frozen street.
Running.
Gliding.
Sliding.
Whatever ghosts call this kind of movement.
Behind us the creature crawled across the road, its body twisting like broken shadows.
Its arms stretched longer and longer.
Each movement made a horrible scraping sound against the ground.
"WHY IS IT SO FAST?!" I yelled.
"Because it's hunting you!" Vikram replied.
"That is extremely unfair!"
"Death rarely plays fair!"
Very motivational.
We turned down a narrow street.
The creature slammed into the ground behind us, cracking the pavement like invisible glass.
Its blank face tilted again.
Then dozens of dark arms burst from its body.
"Okay!" I shouted. "Now it has too many arms!"
"Don't count them!" Vikram said.
"Why not?!"
"Because there will be more!"
Great.
Fantastic information.
We dashed between buildings.
My legs felt heavier again.
That weird ghost exhaustion returned.
"Vikram!" I gasped. "I'm slowing down!"
"That's normal! New ghosts have terrible stamina!"
"I would have appreciated knowing that earlier!"
The creature screeched.
The sound wasn't loud.
But it vibrated through the air like nails scratching inside my skull.
Suddenly Vikram grabbed my arm.
"Hide!"
He pulled me behind an abandoned bus.
We crouched low.
The street went silent again.
The creature slowly slid into view.
Its body stretched across the road like liquid darkness.
I held my breath.
Which is stupid.
Because ghosts don't breathe.
Next to me, Vikram whispered quietly.
"If we survive this, you owe me dinner."
"WE'RE DEAD."
"Exactly. So dinner will be cheap."
I stared at him.
"This is not the time for jokes."
"It helps with panic."
"…It's not helping."
The creature stopped moving.
Its head turned slowly.
Searching.
Searching.
Then suddenly—
It rushed toward the bus.
"RUN AGAIN!" Vikram yelled.
We bolted out the other side.
The creature smashed the bus apart like paper.
Pieces of metal floated strangely in the frozen air.
"WHY DOES EVERYTHING WANT TO EAT ME?!" I shouted.
"Because you're new!" Vikram said.
"That is the worst welcoming system ever!"
We ran into a small street shrine.
An old stone structure with faded lanterns.
The moment we crossed the entrance—
The creature suddenly stopped.
Like it hit an invisible barrier.
It slammed against the edge of the shrine and shrieked in frustration.
A soft glow surrounded the place.
The air felt calmer.
Safer.
I collapsed against a pillar.
"Please tell me this is a safe zone."
Vikram nodded slightly.
"Old spiritual places sometimes exist in both worlds."
"So evil nightmare monsters can't enter?"
"For a while."
"For a while?!"
He shrugged.
"Nothing in the In-Between is permanent."
The creature outside dragged its long arms across the ground.
Waiting.
Watching.
I slowly looked at Vikram.
"So… how many of those things exist?"
He thought for a moment.
"…A lot."
I covered my face.
"I died and somehow unlocked hard mode."
Vikram laughed quietly.
"Welcome to the In-Between, Rive."
Outside the shrine—
The creature suddenly let out a deeper, louder screech.
And from the dark streets around us…
More shadows began to move.
Vikram's smile disappeared.
"Oh."
"That," he said slowly,
"is definitely not good."