In Case You Die (A Collaborative Novel)

Chapter 1

Case 1: The Runaway Heiress

The sun was barely visible behind heavy clouds over downtown Creos. While everyone whipped up for another week ahead, several beings hovered over a rundown building, worried that the young man sleeping on the wrinkled bed, wearing the same black shirt from yesterday, had gone down the abyss.

"Mother Earth," whispered the young ghost, no more than fifteen, wearing the same school uniform she had been wearing since the day of her demise. "Kailangan na natin siyang gisingin," she told the old lady ghost beside her. "Baka patay na siya."

The old lady clicked her tongue at the notion of a necromancer's death. "Mag-ingat ka sa mga sinasabi mo. Baka marinig ka niya," she admonished the young ghost.

The two hovered in a corner, their feet attached to the ceiling and walls while watching the sleeping form on the other side of the small room.

"Paano kapag patay na talaga siya?" insisted the young ghost.

Crawling over the ceiling, the young ghost stopped above the bed to watch the sleeping man, her long hair hanging midair. Before the blood from her body dripped down, the old lady grabbed her.

"Juniper!" she gasped. "Alam mong hindi gusto ni Mr. Law kapag lumalapit tayo sa kanyang personal na espasyo."

"Tinitingnan ko lang!" complained Juniper, too young to fear the wrath of a necromancer.

"Hindi siya mamamatay sa alak," exclaimed the old lady, brushing away the blood-like liquid oozing out of her burnt shoulder. "Mas nag-aalala ako sa walang limitasyon niyang paggastos, lalo sa mga mamahaling alak."

"Tunog nag-aalalang nanay," giggled Juniper.

Their chit-chat and constant hovering around the ceiling woke Law up. But he had no strength to shoo them away like flies. Last night's shenanigans resulted in a wicked hangover, and he might as well be dead at this point.

After ten long minutes of deliberating whether Law would rather stab himself than start his day, he sat up on the bed, which surprised the two ghosts hovering at the ceiling. For ghosts, they surely carried more energy than him.

"Mother, gising na siya!"

Law shoved himself over the sheets, his angular face still fazed. He raked his fingers through his dark disheveled locks and made his way to the bathroom by kicking away some paper trash on the floor.

Law's room was the complete opposite of what the place used to be—an organized file room attached to the office of the investigator who died while solving a case. Now it was nothing but a barren place to sleep in whenever Law wasn't trashed in a casino or bar.

Law slammed the bathroom door closed. The two beings remained at the farthest corner, in fear that he might use his tricks on them if they hovered close. It became a rule to the non-living beings of the building not to mess with him, especially when he was attending to his personal routines.

Law, or Lawrick Stryker for the few people who knew him, was a necromancer by blood, and to mess with him was to die twice. Their race was infamous for their ability to execute pain to the non-living and to completely erase their existence if needed.

That's why beings in the building had no choice but to adjust to his presence, and those who failed to do so had to resort to searching for another desolate place to stay.

"I-check mo ang opisina sa baba kung may naghihintay na kliyente," motioned Marissa, the older lady, to Juniper.

"Twelve na ng tanghali," the youngster muttered. "Baka hindi niya bubuksan ang office ngayong araw."