Part 2, Chapter 6

Maybe not a ghost?

Ch 6

Leng Zai shambled along the corridors, his thoughts barely moving. Every time he tried to focus on something it went slithering away from him like it was covered in grease and the harder he tried to grasp it the further it shot away. It would have been extremely frustrating if he could have held on to the feeling of frustration, but mostly he just felt numb. 

The one idea that always came back was that he liked being near Xun. When he was near Xun things made more sense. It was easier to focus the task at hand and easier to remember what he had been told. Being near Xun made him feel warm and less afraid. 

But Xun hadn’t come back to the kitchen after her break. Xun always came back to the kitchen and the first thing she always did was check on him. Leng Zai liked that, it made him happy to know that she worried over him. He wished she didn’t have to worry though. 

Xun, he thought forcing himself to focus. Xun hadn’t come back to the kitchen. He was trying to find Xun. He had to remember. His brain felt like thick porridge being stirred ever so slowly over the fire. 

It was almost by accident that he stumbled into the room. It was dark, although he could smell the slight acrid scent of smoke where a lamp had recently gone out. Leng Zai tripped over something and his hand shot out to catch himself on the desk. Somehow he had known the desk would be there, even though he couldn’t remember ever being in the room before. 

Letting his eyes adjust to the dim light Leng Zai saw that he had tripped over a person, gently turning her over he made out the pale features of Xun. He bent and lifted her slightly to see if he could hear her breath.

“I didn’t mean to scare her,” said a voice behind him. 

Leng Zai gently laid Xun back on the floor and looked around. The voice seemed to come from empty air. He felt a gentle tugging on the scent pouch he wore at his belt. The one with the funny, ungraceful embroidery on it.

“What’s this?” The voice asked, “I want it!”

 

Leng Zai quickly covered the pouch with his hand and held it tight to his body. He wasn’t sure where the pouch had come from, but it was his and he wouldn’t part with it. Round and round Leng Zai and the invisible force went fighting over the pouch.

“Leng Zai!” Xun called his name. The pressure on the pouch stopped. “Oh, Leng Zai. Let me light the lamp again.” 

The illumination from the lamp showed the room in shambles. Xun looked at him in dismay. “What happened, Leng Zai?” 

She looked at him more closely, raising the light to peer at his face. Gently she reached up to touch his cheek. He did the same and his fingers came away wet. 

“Did you get in a fight?” 

She raised her sleeve and began dabbing at his wound. It stung, but he didn’t flinch. Leng Zai raised the bag to show it to her. 

As she reached out to take it the voice said, “No! Mine!” 

Leng Zai pulled Xun to him, trying to shelter her. Suddenly there was a weird rushing sensation in his body. It was like being too close to the fire for too long, his skin felt hot and stretched and his stomach roiled. Pushing away from Xun he leaned on his knees gasping.

“Leng Zai!” She cried, she started to reach out for him, but stopped. “I... are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just give me a second,” Leng Zai replied. He felt... odd. His mind felt focused for the first time in a long time. As if he had been trying to see into a smeared mirror and suddenly everything had popped into clarity. He straightened. “I feel... more than fine.”

“Leng Zai, you can talk?” Xun’s gaze was half wonder half horror. “Are you possessed by a ghost?”

“I don’t think so,” Leng Zai replied. “What does being possessed by a ghost feel like?”

“I’m not really sure. You don’t want to eat people or anything right?”

“I don’t think so,” Leng Zai said again. He yawned. “I think I just want to sleep.”

Xun frowned, looking around the room. “Well, you can rest on the bed while I get the room tidied. We can’t leave it like this even if it is mostly abandoned.”

Leng Zai didn’t argue with her, but stretched out on the bed and was asleep in minutes.