"Do we run now?" Kiesh floated backward.


    "Yes," Niram replied. "Yes we do."


    Niram hadn''t even finished when Kiesh blitzed off, his ghostly form so fast it left a trail of blue light behind. Niram didn''t slack off, too, picking up speed as he sensed the strange ghost approaching.


    "Do not run, I''ll only take a pound of flesh." It rasped again, its voice sending shivers down Niram''s spine. No way was he going to be lunch for some kind of demonic ghost.


    They made it to the door a few seconds before the ghost caught up. Niram slammed the door shut just as it impacted with a loud thump that shook a cloud of dust off the walls.


    "Come back!!!!"


    Heartbeat thumping so loud he could practically hear it, Niram made sure to put some distance between himself and the house before he slowed down.


    "What. Was. That!" Kiesh shouted, this time forgetting to hide his voice. A scantily dressed woman leaning against a wall nearby shrieked and immediately bolted down the street, screaming, "Ghosssst!!!!!"


    Niram was too tired and scared to caution his best friend, so he simply raised a palm up in a stop gesture. He took a deep breath, and then took another one, before he spoke.


    "I think we need to speak to the old ones."


    "Yeahh." Kiesh nodded. "Do you know anything about what that is?"


    Niram shook his head, shrugging. "No, but I bet it''s a ghost, though."


    Niram hadn''t felt this much terror in years. The last time he''d felt something like this was on the night Kiesh had died and he''d been turned into a GhostSeer.


    He took in the house for a moment, looking through its dark glass windows and scary presence, and then he looked at Kiesh. "Let''s go."


    Together, they both made their way back to the graveyard.


    "Back so soon, Niram?!" Mama Ayor called as they stepped into the graveyard. The look on Niram''s face was answer enough. "That bad, huh?"


    "There''s something seriously wrong with that place."


    "Oh, my boy," the woman walked towards him. "I''ll come with... I want to hear what happened."Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The graveyard was colder than usual as Niram walked down its paved path. He didn''t know why, but he somehow felt like a blade was hanging over his head... Something he very much didn''t like.


    His way back was filled with as many greetings and calls as when he''d left. The other ghosts, both old and young, called out to him. Some detected his gloomy mood, while others were probably too oblivious, but they all did notice something was wrong.


    "What brings you back so fast, dear?" Mama Simbi said just as he got close to her burial ground. "Found the mischief haunting that house?"


    Niram nodded. "Myckie."


    The small gathering he''d packed up was suddenly filled with groans and angry mutterings.


    "Said so," Papa Yemir chortled.


    "Ohh, my..." Mama Simbi sighed. "Where''s that delinquent?!" She raised the ghostly cooking spoon in her hands. "He needs some good talking too!" She cried out, with a chorus of agreement coming from the gathered crowd.


    "He''s gone," Kiesh said.


    The whole crowd stilled.


    "What?" Mama Ayor said, realization dawning in her eyes.


    "He''s gone," Kiesh repeated. "To the underworld."


    "I wonder how you both convinced him to do that; maybe you can convince Simbi here," Yemir muttered, earning himself a tap on the shoulder from Simbi''s cooking spoon. "Owe! What was that for?!"


    "For being insensitive," Mama Simbi glared at him. She looked at Niram seeing his sad look and the reluctance there. "We won''t ask how you did it, okay?"


    Niram nodded, relief running down his spine.


    "But that''s not all, is it?" The woman stepped closer. She took Niram''s downturn face in her hands, raising it to meet her eyes. "What happened, Niram?"


    "There was something else in the house," he answered. "Something dark."


    "A giant thing with red eyes and a cloak made of shadows," Kiesh added.


    The moment he said that, the whole gathering froze, and the atmosphere turned freezing, more than usual, to the fact that the ghostly children playing in the distance quieted, instantly sensing the mood of the elders.


    Mama Ayor looked at the crowds gathered, raising her voice. "Any ghost who isn''t more than five hundred years old should clear this area, Now!" Her voice was firm and unbroken, far more commanding than was usually heard. And with a few groans and murmurs, over ninety percent of the group gathered began moving away, making their way back to what they''d been doing.


    When the area was finally cleared with only about five old ones remaining, Mama Ayor turned back to Niram. "Tell us what happened, dear. Tell us everything."


    Niram nodded and then began the tale of how they''d gotten to that point. He told of the children, how they''d taken shelter in the house and how they''d gone missing the next day, and how screams had been heard throughout the night. He told of Myckie and how they''d found him haunting the house once again, and reluctantly, with a few deep gulps of air, he told of how they''d gotten the ancient man to finally give up and head to the underworld. Finally, he got to the place where the strange thing had come out from behind the staircase. He told of the thing, the unnatural feeling of menace that seemed to follow it as it moved, and the cloud of shadows that seemed to undulate at its feet like a disrupted liquid body.


    When he was done, the gathered elders were silent. They all wore looks of fear and terror, and one other thing: recognition.


    "You know what this thing is, don''t you?" Kiesh said. And It wasn''t a question.


    Papa Yemir, who for once took on a serious expression, was the first person to speak. "They''re called Terrors, and they''re bad for everyone, ghosts and humans alike."