SwordTails of the Universes Series
Book #1, The Effect

Note to all: All following events, characters, and text (c) are owned by, Ellen Gunner

Any relation to any living or dead person(s) or things, is completely a coincidence and is entirely made from the author’s fictional perspective  

Ever wondered what happens to an n00b that gets into trouble and kicked off a website? Yeah? Well, firstly I cook them up, and serve them with some warm horseradish sauce and a side of baby sprouts. Get the point of what I’m saying eh?



<~::~>  Chapter 2, Spirit Communication? <~::~>

Small wisps of what appeared to be black and white “smoke” twirled around agitatedly as the semi-transparent ghost behind Ron’s driver seat, canine-hybrid like head formed. Though it was not opaque and the thing’s features constantly changed, it looked almost as if it was actually solid. Even as it’s limbless body began taking shape, Ron seemed to take no notice of the thing as it got bigger, less smoky, and furrier as he got ready to go to work.
“Gah” Ron said with despair, “I need some music!” The furry ghost twisted one of its large black eyebrow tendril wisps, as in a severe lack of knowledge. It wasn’t particularly sure what “music” was supposed to be exactly. So the creature allowed itself to turn completely invisible and floated without a single sound of action into the space between the driver and passenger seats. Then with its black and white pupil eyes, it took a brief survey of its mysterious surroundings. From what the ghost could tell from its misty eyes, 1: there was some kind of magical force keeping it inside the… whatever it was, from going outside, 2: when it turned it’s massive smoky laced head to the other direction, the left, it saw the most ugly and repulsive looking thing in it’s life! It… was a weird looking pink thing with a huge, bloated red and black body! It had messy scraggly black hair and then there was a sudden shock of silky white bangs out of no where. It, being confused, cautiously drifted seriously close to the weird things face, and saw scars all over the pink things pale, sad face. Yet even closer up, the ghost had a feeling of déjà vu, as if it had… but that just wasn’t possible.
“HERE WE GO!” Ron yelled loudly and without warning. The ghost made a silent bark heard only to itself in fear, then zoomed into the back seat and quivered in an extremely small space between the door and cup holder. He had turned a horrible screeching sound on, and a disembodied voice screamed strange and garbled words out of it. Ron started singing along in the weirdest vocal backup hum, and the ghost’s eyes widened with malice as the “torture” continued for what felt like hours, as Ron drove slipping and sliding all over the road, to work.

Finally when he arrived at the Wal-Mart store, gotten his work cloths, and started changing into them in the bathroom, did the ghost creature come out of the car and explore the inside of where Ron worked.

When it got bored at looking at stuffed lions (which it tried to make one do something, by tearing its butt off) it followed Ron’s muddy snow boot tracks, into the Men’s bathroom… Only to find Ron tugging at his tie in front of the lip-stick covered mirrors and using a lint roller to get all the lint, fur, and anything else virtually none-existent. The ghost also thought what Ron was wearing was totally uncalled for; blue shirt with a blue vest with a huge yellow pin with the words HELLO MY NAME’S Ron Skolten and fancy black pants and shiny black shoes. It rolled its many eyes (eight of them to be exact) and hovered quietly back into the main part of the store.
It bobbed its way along, until it found the Soda refrigerators. It was amazed by how many different colors and varieties of things to drink there was! Then moved along to the top of the refrigerators and looked into a domed mirror and saw a camera hidden behind it. Regardless, the ghost didn’t see itself at first, due to the fact it was still invisible, and turned completely opaque to see what it looked like.
Ron was finally coming out of the bathroom with high hopes of impressing the people, at his first day of work, when he saw… the ghost. He had only taken about five steps out of the bathroom as well.  All hopes of having a decent rest of the day completely imploded, and Ron gulped hard. He was going to have to get rid of it, whatever it was.
“Hey, you!” Ron hissed as he stomped over to the place the thing was. “Get down from there; you can hurt yourself you know!” Unawares to Ron, he didn’t happen to know it was the ghost from inside his car. Ron trembled with nervous energy as the thing continued to look at the domed mirror intently.
He’s ignoring me, Ron thought with annoyance. Why me all the time?!
“HEY, GET DOWN THERE RIGHT NOW, OR ELSE KID!” Ron said loudly, and startled a few shoppers with his rather loud out-of place, commanding sounding voice. The thing “jumped” a few inches and turned its head around to face Ron, and sighed with the same kind of agitation. Then it floated down right up to Ron, and grew to its full foggy height. Ron didn’t back down, though he realized it was not a “kid” or thing he recognized.  
“You, can see me?” The ghost said in a barely-audible rasp-like whisper. “No one, even when I do take this form, should be able to see me… less alone someone like you,” it snarled with a trace of cockiness, “what makes you stand out and be special boy?”
He now began to panic, as seeing a huge apparition wasn’t an every day situation and the fact he was being looked at dirtily by other people due to the fact he was leaning backwards in a dangerous position.
“Who’re you and why are you even here?” Ron said as calmly as he could. “Seriously now, are you real or just a prank someone came up with?!” Ron glanced around anxiously trying to see if there was source from which the apparition came from.
“I?” It asked blankly. “You don’t deserve to know any of that, but I guess you could say that I’ am real. I’ am real just like you boy.” It answered in the same voice and then replied, “the hell you’re here for…?”
“WORK!” He said in a loud whispering voice, still glancing around hopelessly, “I work here, well, at least I was. Until you showed up!” Ron said.
“Hm…” it contemplated, with a deep gurgling sound. “Well, are you real or not?” Ron instantly knew it was mocking him, because it was bored.
“The crap, whatever! You know, if you’re like, some kind of spirit-” it looked at him harshly, “then you’re in the wrong place dude.” The ghost wrinkled its nose in an increasingly annoyed fashion. “Some kind of animal right? Well, go to the place where you die then, I seriously didn’t think Wal-Mart was heaven but, okay then.”
“Listen here boy, I don’t know myself.” The misty sound of its voice was gone, leaving behind a dark and dead-to-the-point voice. “But… there is one way of discovering the answer, yes…” It smiled with a psychotic smile, unsuited for its facial features. “Ah, would you mind helping me to figure that out? I can reward you greatly, you know.” Ron suddenly realized he was backed into a dark corner of the isle, near the snack stations now.
“Hey now, stop it,” he pleaded angrily, “there’s no freakin’ way anyone’s gonna help you if you do that to them! Get off of me!” Ron waved his arms out in front of him, but they went right through the things body. “What on Earth ARE YOU?!” Ron said with fear leaking out of his voice. The ghost radiated a bright, strange black color and it moved so close, that its tendrils lashed upon Ron’s face with a furious intensity; each time one touched him, that part of his body felt like it was dipped into freezing cold water.  
“I” it said louder then he ever thought he heard it spoke, “WAS LOCKED FOR OVER 10,000 YEARS, IN SOME KIND OF STUPID CONTAINER, WAITING TO DIE. BUT I NEVER DID! I WAS-” the roaring ceased immediately, as all the lights blinked out, and everyone was placed into a void of light.
“Okay, I understand! Please don’t kill me, I have a bad life, but really OH PLEASE GOD, don’t kill me!” But the creature was paying no attention as Ron squirmed underneath it. “Oh god, get the hell off of ME, your freezing me into an icicle!!!” The ghost looked back at Ron only for a second and was about to tell him to shut up, but a loud shrilling sound berated both of their ears let alone the sound of shattering glass followed.
“What the hell did YOU DO?!” Pandemonium exploded out of every isle, shouts of fear, anger and sobbing reached Ron’s ears and he grunted with pain as each one sounded louder then normal. He attempted to cover his ears, but the ghost prevented him by grabbing his wrists with it’s tendrils of smoke.
“Don’t do that, I know the sound hurts, but don’t you dare cover those damn ears of yours boy!” And in a single fluid moment, the ghost pulled away backwards from Ron. He then heard a loud CRACK sound and something fall to the floor with a thud, of something soft yet solid. Ron had dared not look up, for he feared there was something or someone mangled into a bloody mess.
He continued to listen to all of the shrieks, screams and yells despite their disturbing clarity, as if they were all right next to him. Oh crap, Ron though feverishly, first school, a huge apparition, now THIS! Ron gathered up the rest of his nerves and looked up. At first, nothing but a blanket of warm darkness blinded his vision. But then he realized his eyes were screwed shut, and opened them to see what had happened.
“BOY, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” The creature yelled loudly out of no were.
“WHAT?” Ron yelled back stupidly. “WHY?!” The shrilling sound was approaching him, FAST, and Ron looked to his left, right, and frontal. Nothing. “Ghost guy, what the FRICK is that noise? Where’s it coming from?” Ron licked his dry lips, was he going to get out of this hellish place alive or was whatever coming towards him going to get him first…?