Broken-neck Ray

Ray had been eating up a storm and was now strong enough to begin morphing back into the man he once was. His head began to show up in clearer details.

"Where's the rest of your body?" Blake looked him up and down.

Ray grimaced.

"My neck's broken so my head juts out at a weird angle if I manifest my body. I'd rather not show it to you."

John laughed.

"You're a ghoul, man. It's all an illusion anyway. Just fix the neck. Why do you have to keep what you don't want?"

Ray Street stared at John, as if it was such an amazing thought.

"I can do that?"

John laughed.

"Look at me. What do you see?"

Ray and Blake both looked at John. He seemed normal enough. They both shrugged.

"I got rid of my tire belly and I added some height to myself." John boasted proudly, slapping his trim gut. He was also quite a bit taller than before, coming almost to Blake's nose level.

Blake and Ray snickered. The man was indeed a better looking ghost than he was a living, breathing man.

"Hey John, how did you find me? I was looking for you everywhere." Blake asked.

John chugged down a Tiger beer.

"You weren't looking in the right place. You were wandering around, looking at the ground and all the various areas that a man could have been locked up or chained up. I was floating above everything and everyone."

"Much good it did." Blake sighed. "I couldn't even find your body."

John shook his head.

"I don't even have a body any more. They threw my ass into the incinerator and I'm now just some dust blowing in the wind."

"Ouch. Sorry man." Blake shook his head.

"It's okay. Once we're freed from our bodies, there's no real attachment to it. When I saw you flying away with Ray here, I followed you."

Blake nodded.

It was true though, what John said about the non-attachment to the physical body.

Other than the fact that he wished he'd had just a little bit of time to be with Jasmine, he didn't miss his body at all.

Just about anything he wanted to do in that 3D environment, he could, using the system. The only reason he kept his physical appearance was so that those who knew him in life would recognize his soul.

They stayed at the woman's stall long enough for all three to get their fill of spirit food and then Blake took them back to the police station where Jasmine and Adam was.

Outside the station, Blake stopped them.

"Don't scare Jazzie. She can see us, but she's not up to being spooked."

"Don't worry about me, Man. Make sure Stink Blob over there don't scare her with his broken neck." John jabbed a thumb in Ray's direction.

In answer, Ray reappeared in his former appearance. His neck jutted out at a weird angle, his head, unsupported. He reached up with his hands, and with a quick snap, had reattached his spine.

"Do I look okay?" Ray turned to the two men.

"Yeah. Much better." John nodded. "Oh," he waved a hand. "Get rid of the stink too. Why would you be stinking so much man?"

Immediately, the smell lessened to some degree.

"Dude, get rid of the smell completely. We're going to be meeting up with Jazzie." Blake nagged.

"I don't have enough energy," Ray moaned. "I used up all I had to fix my neck."

"Oh for heaven's sake? You're in the system too?" Blake stared at Ray Street.

He nodded.

"The Overlord's been keeping me starved and without any energy to do anything. I didn't have enough to even cut the spirit bond that chained me to the tiger." He rubbed his head ruefully. "It was a good thing you found me."

Blake reached into his system and cast over to Ray Street twenty green energy points.

"That should be enough to tide you over a bit."

"Oh man." Ray's eyes were huge green pools of gratefulness. "I don't know what to say. Thanks man."

"Don't even mention it Ray. We've been bandmates for ten years. We're tight."

"Yeah." Ray wiped a tear from his eyes. He flexed his body. And just like that, the stink went away.

"You guys are in a system? What is it for?"

Blake sighed.

"It's so we can earn our way out of this hell hole."

John pointed upwards.

"You can't just fly out of here?"

Blake and Ray shook his head.

"Why not?" John cocked his head to one side, puzzled. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"Ohhhhhh…" he breathed. "I get it. It's because you guys killed yourselves. Your time's not up yet so you have to remain here until it's your time to go."

Blake shook his head.

"It's worse than that. If you get caught in the Overlord's web, like Luis and Ray, or Maysie and Marvin, you're stuck here until you can repay the debts you owe."

"Debts?"

"Karmic ones. Like Ray here." He pointed to the now clean and healthy looking Ray Street. "He caused your death, so now he has to repay it in some way to wipe his debt clean."

Ray nodded.

"Hey, I'm sorry man. I wasn't myself then. Just some terrified lackey for the Overlord. I had no control over anything."

John sighed.

"I know. It's okay. It was my time to go anyway. My heart's not been doing that well."

"So John," Blake turned to him with a quizzed expression. "Why are you still stuck here?"

John shook his head.

"I'm not. I'm just sticking around to make sure Jasmine is okay. She was stuck inside that compound for a few days and I was lurking around trying to find a way to free her, but I don't have abilities like you do, Blake."

In Roy's eyes were admiration.

"Blake's a natural poltergeist. He can actually touch stuff in 3D."

He smile at John. "And you. You don't have to use the system to find a way to escape. Lucky you."

John laughed.

"More like lucky heart attack. I would sure hate to be in your shoes."

Blake sighed. He didn't want to be in his own shoes either, but when life lobs lemons at you, you don't ask why. You just try to duck as much as possible so you don't get hit in the face.

"You guys ready? Let's go meet up with Jazzie and Adam."