Hyde and Rune wondered what was going on with this resurrection. They’d discussed it last night. Was it Selene’s potion? It must be, right? Was it following them somehow? Did someone else get their hands on it? Why would they be bringing their family members back specifically?

  They both came downstairs where Barry happened to be sitting on the couch, alone. Hyde went to sit in the middle of the couch, with Rune on his right and Barry on his left.

  “Grandpa,” Hyde began.

  “Hm?”

  “We’ve been trying to figure all this out, with the resurrection and such.”

  Barry squinted. “ ‘All this’? I’m not the first?”

  “No, you’re the third, as far as we know.”

  “Third?!”

  “I’m the first,” Rune chimed in, which was the first thing he’d said to Barry. “My dad the second.”

  “Can you give us more detail about what happened when you came back?” Hyde asked.

  Barry hummed in thought. “Well, as I said, I woke up in one of those stone boxes in the mausoleum. The lid was pushed off a bit. I climbed out and there was a pile of clothes next to me, which was convenient, because I was naked.”

  Clothes? That sounded familiar. Hyde glanced at Rune, Rune gave a knowing glance back.

  “I pulled the clothes on and tried to stay calm, but I was freaking out, because obviously. I got murdered and then woke up in what is pretty much a coffin.” Barry got frustrated. “What was my brain supposed to make of that?!”

  “Mush,” Hyde helpfully commented.

  “All the adrenaline made me shift and I ran off into the forest. And then you found me.” Barry gave him a little smile.

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s all I know.”

  “We should visit the village, ask if Selene knows anything,” Hyde told Rune. “It’s her potion, after all. And I still want to get all my clothes from there.”

  Rune nodded. “Okay.”

  “Who?” Barry asked before they could leave.

  “Oh, yeah. She’s a witch who was researching how to bring back a dead person. Rune was the first successful attempt. And now, her potion seems to be following us somehow.”

  “Oh.”

  Hyde stood up. “I’ll grab a bag, then we can go,” he said to Rune. Rune stood up to follow him. Hyde turned to Barry again. “Can you tell Mom and Dad where we are if they ask?”

  “I don’t know where you’re going.”

  Hyde dismissively waved his hand. “Just tell them we’re in the village and they’ll know.”

  “If you say so.”

  The village was quiet, as usual. Hyde was uneasy. His feelings about this place were complicated. On one hand, he didn’t like being reminded of why he was here for so long. On the other, he met Rune here. But Rune also died here. But then came back here. Some of his favourite moments between them happened in this village, but so did the darkest moments of his life.

  Rune walked beside him with his hands in his pockets. Hyde shoved his hand into Rune’s pocket to hold his hand.

  Rune chuckled. “We’re getting more and more creative.”

  Hyde smiled.

  “Oh, you’ve returned,” someone snarled behind them. They both turned around to see Raven with a scowl on her face.

  “Not for long,” Hyde said as he let Rune’s hand go.

  “Why are you here?”

  “To talk to Selene.”

  Raven scoffed and folded her arms. “You can’t, she’s dead.”

  Hyde flinched in shock. “What? How?”

  “She was killed right after you left. Don’t ask me why, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it had something to do with you.” She glared daggers at Rune.

  Rune stared at her, frozen. Hyde grabbed Rune in the crook of his elbow and pulled him along. “Maybe we can find something at her house.”

  They walked into her house, which was unlocked. Rune pulled his hood down and Hyde sniffed for anything off. Hyde went to the study. He opened the door and stepped inside. It was dark and empty. The rat laid dead in its cage, probably starved to death. He noticed a notebook on the desk, he approached it. Rune followed him in.

  “It feels so ominous,” Rune commented.

  Hyde studied the notebook. It was her research notebook, the one Rune had stolen, then. It was opened on a page. There was a passage about souls.

  Souls can either linger or move on. Which of the two the soul did does not affect the effect of the potion.

  How did she know this? He flipped a few pages back. Another entry about souls.

  Souls with strong enough wills can interact with the physical realm in small ways. For example: move and carry small objects, writing.

  Writing?

  The wounds that killed the soul remain on their ghastly appearance after death. My throat is now permanently slit.

  Rune stood beside him. He pointed at something on the page. “Look at the date, it’s after she died.”

  “What the hell,” Hyde muttered under his breath. “Is she researching herself after her death?” He flipped to the first passage she wrote after they left. They were notes on Rune.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Fatal wound left a scar, even on a vampire.

  The bastard left?! How am I supposed to research the long-term effects now? He ruined it!

  I have been killed, but it won’t ruin my research. I can follow him to observe him, but I’ll have to find him first.

  “Damn, she’s so casual about that,” Rune said. He tensed and anxiously looked around. “Wait, she’s following me?” He seemed to come to a realisation. “That’s why I felt like I was being watched back home! I actually was!”

  Hyde grabbed Rune’s cheeks to turn him back to the notebook. “Let’s keep reading.”

  I found him in Enath. I’ve been observing him for several weeks now. I don’t see any lingering effects of the reanimation, other than the scar.

  There’s another lingering soul in this house. He has a big hole in his chest, like Rune’s body had. He seems to have realised what I can do and is begging me to bring him back. He can lead me to his body. I’m curious what my potion would do to an older body, so I agreed. We’re leaving tonight.

  I brought the lingering soul back. All that was left of his eleven-year-old body was a skeleton after it was left to the forces of nature, but it still worked. It further confirmed the fact that I can bring anything back as long as the DNA on their bones is intact enough.

  I had brought him clothes, he had asked me to. He wasn’t strong enough to interact with the physical realm. He knew he’d be naked when brought back. I grabbed some clothes from Rune’s closet.

  His body completely regenerated and I witnessed his soul being pulled in. All his memories of his time as a ghost has left his mind, which I had speculated was possible. Now I know I can’t bring myself back. I would lose all my new knowledge.

  “She’s talking about my dad, right?” Rune asked.

  Hyde hummed in agreement.

  “He lingered around us all this time?”

  Hyde glanced at him.

  “Not that it would matter now, he can’t remember any of it.” Rune thought of something. “I wonder if I lingered or moved on.”

  “No way of knowing, really.”

  Hyde continued reading.

  In Corburn now. I’m curious what my potion would do to a body whose soul has moved on. And to an older body. After using Rune’s family as a test subject twice now, I’ll use Hyde’s family this time. None of them linger. I’ll use the one that has died the longest ago. Out of the people Hyde actually knows about, anyway. And the one I’m thinking of is in a mausoleum and not buried in the ground, which makes it possible for me.

  Remembering the last one’s concern, I brought him clothes from his son’s closet. Of him was only a skeleton left as well. It still worked. The last thing he remembered was fighting to the death, so he was very panicked and on an adrenaline-high. He tried to stay calm as he pulled the clothes on, but then shifted and ran off. The scars covering his body, especially on his face, are quite unfortunate for him.

  Hyde and Rune looked at each other, confused and concerned. What were they supposed to make of this? Would anyone even understand a word of it if they tried to explain?

  Hyde uncomfortably came to a realisation. “She’s watching us right now, isn’t she?” he whispered.

  Rune tensed. “Most likely.”

  “Umm,” Hyde began while he didn’t know where to rest his gaze. “Hi?” He frowned. “Thanks for giving me the opportunity to meet my grandfather.”

  Rune looked around the room, too. “Thanks for bringing my dad back,” he followed Hyde’s example. “And me.” He snapped around to Hyde. “Oh! We should ask—Lullaby.”

  “How? Can we communicate with her?”

  “I don’t know, maybe if we write the questions in the notebook? Leave for a while and come back, to give her some time to answer?”

  “Alright, sounds reasonable.”

  Rune stepped to the notebook and grabbed a pen.

  Can you bring my friend Lullaby back, please?

  Hyde grabbed the pen from him and wrote his own questions.

  Are you stalking us?

  Will you keep bringing our relatives back?

  Why were you killed?

  Hyde put the pen down. “Okay, let’s give her an hour or so.”

  “What will we do in the meantime?”

  “Gather my clothes.”

  They left Selene’s house to go to their old cabin.

  They stepped into the cabin. Hyde went to his bedroom right away while Rune lingered in the hallway. He took a deep breath.

  “I’ll miss this little cabin,” he said as he followed Hyde.

  “Why?”

  “It’s where I first started bonding with you, it’s nostalgic.”

  Hyde entered the bedroom. “That was only a few months ago.”

  “Still.”

  After nearly an hour, Hyde’s bag was filled with clothes, and they were on their way back to check the notebook. They passed Raven’s house, Hyde frowned at it. Maybe he should give her some closure. He’d been in her life for six years after all, before he suddenly left.

  He sighed and handed his bag to Rune. “Hold this, I’m going to have one last talk with Raven.”

  Rune took the bag, slightly concerned.

  Hyde stepped to the door, then turned the doorknob and stepped inside; she’d done that in his house numerous times. “Raven?”

  She came into the hallway with a scowl. “What?”

  “This’ll probably be the last time you’ll see me, so if there’s anything you want to say, now’s the time.”

  She sighed and thought about it. “Why were you so cruel the last time?”

  “Because the guy I love just died. And I always felt like you were too clingy with me, I never understood why. Even after I attacked you.”

  “That wasn’t really you.”

  “Yes it was, it’s still me when I’m shifted, whether I remember it afterwards or not.” Hyde folded his arms and shifted his weight to his other leg. He had a question in mind to which he knew the answer, but he wanted to explain his side of it. “Why were you so attached to me?”

  Raven uncomfortably shrugged. “Because I liked you.”

  “You know I never felt that way, right?”

  “Why not?”

  “Mainly because I’m gay, but even if I wasn’t, I doubt it would’ve worked out.”

  Raven only nodded.

  “Is that it, then?”

  “I guess so.”

  Hyde stepped back to the door with a frown. “Okay. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  Hyde went back outside to Rune. He took his bag again and hung it over his shoulder.

  “No yelling, at least,” Rune commented.

  Hyde only nodded.

  Rune raised a brow. “Why do you seem sad?”

  “I don’t know, I guess I just feel bad for hurting her feelings.”

  “She had to hear it at some point.”

  “I know.”

  They were back at Selene’s house. They entered her study, Hyde read the page they had left their questions on. She’d answered.

  Can you bring my friend Lullaby back, please?

  No, there’s nothing special about her death. She wouldn’t be worth anything for my research. I can’t bring everyone back, it’ll be noticeable. Sorry, I won’t take requests.

  “She wouldn’t be worth anything?!” Rune shouted. “She’s more than just a test subject, she’s a person! My best friend!” He trembled. Hyde rubbed his back, Rune laid his forehead on Hyde’s shoulder and quietly cried. Hyde rubbed comforting circles into his shoulder.

  Rune had hoped to bring her back, but they couldn’t do it themselves. If Selene refused, there wasn’t anything they could do. Hyde knew he felt guilty about her death, he wanted to fix it. He wanted her back. But there was nothing they could do.

  Hyde read her other answers.

  Are you stalking us?

  I prefer the term haunting.

  Vague.

  Will you keep bringing our relatives back?

  Most likely, if their circumstances are worth researching.

  Who could she still bring back? No one Hyde knew.

  Why were you killed?

  That gang of yours was pissed I saved the guy they tried so hard to kill. Don’t feel guilty about it, that was my choice. I’m fine with being a ghost.

  “Okay,” Hyde spoke up. “Thanks for answering.” He searched around the room. “Wherever you are.”

  “Are we done here?” Rune asked Hyde with a lump in his throat.

  Hyde nodded and rubbed his shoulder again. “Let’s go home.”

  They made their way to Corburn through the forest. Hyde had his bag full of clothes hanging over his shoulder. A lot went through his mind. How could they explain this? You know that which I talked about? Yeah, she died and is now haunting us and bringing our family members back as experiments. They’d want more explanation, but Hyde wouldn’t be able to provide it.

  He wondered who else she could bring back. She said she can’t reach buried people, so his grandma was out of the question. Rune’s mother? But she didn’t seem to be lingering, Selene would’ve mentioned that. The only reason she could bring Severn back, was because he led her to his body. With no one to lead her to Rune’s mother’s body, that wasn’t possible either. Lullaby was a possibility, if they dug her up, but Selene refused that.

  He noticed Rune staring at the ground, dried tears around his eyes.

  “You good, Rue?”

  Rune looked up, he blushed a little at the name. He glanced away. “Yeah, just a lot going through my head.”

  Hyde nodded and bit his cheek. “Me too.” He reached out to grab his hand. “You don’t have to feel guilty about Lullaby’s death, we did what we could. I doubt she’d want you to blame yourself.”

  Rune sighed, he squeezed his hand.