“Fuckin’ shit,” the bearded man growled as he struggled to grab the sticks I was using to attempt a fire. “All wrong. Doin’ it all wrong, damn it.”

“Who are you?” Ella and I repeated in unison. Finally having heard us, the man cloaked in the shadows of the forest night looked over in surprise and jumped.

“Holy tits! You can see me?” He directed this at me and looked uneasily at Ella, who stood protectively behind my back. He didn’t seem surprised that she noticed him.

“Yes,” we replied, saying no more aloud as we conversed telepathically as the man gathered himself.

You vanished when I needed you to escape! It’s okay. I got out, but holy shit.

Sorry. Must have used my energy too much at once. Tried to get back but couldn’t until now.

He’s a spirit—can we trust him?

“Name’s Don.” He nodded and stood up, raising his hand to shake. He then realized the futility of his spirit-hand shaking mine and brought it back with a grimace.

Following a gut instinct, I held out my hand firmly to him and looked directly into his shadowed face. “I’m Violet. This is Ella.”

The man’s bulky figure moved closer, hesitated, and reached out a meaty hand.

Both our hands collided in an actual handshake, and the spirit gasped. He recovered and cleared his throat, now shaking our hands up and down in excitement.

“Sorry, it’s…been a while since I could interact with this world. Hell, you’re the first living soul who can even see me. It’s a damn pleasure,” he said with what felt like a grin, though it was hard to tell through the inky forest night.

He bent back down to grab the sticks again, realizing he was back to being not-quite-physical. He slumped his shoulders a bit before turning back to me.

He rested a hand on my shoulder, and I felt his relief at being able to do so.

“Not sure what brought you here or how you can see us, but I’m here to help however I can.”

For now, okay. Let’s stay vigilant, though. Not sure what he’s capable of or what his motives are, Ella advised silently.

“I was trying to make a fire. Mainly out of fear of the shadows I keep seeing, but also it’s getting cold as balls,” I said, not mentioning that before minutes ago it was also because Ella was nowhere in sight, and I wasn’t sure if she would ever come back.

“Right, well, you’re doing it all wrong, sorry to say,” Don said.

“Don’t you think if she’s going to make a fire in the night, she should do so in a wayward pine not to attract unwanted eyes?” Ella spoke with a somewhat irritated ring to her voice. A Voice which I noticed Don could hear as clearly as me. So do all spirits see and hear each other? I filed the question away to ask later.

“Oh, uh…right. Sorry, wasn’t thinking. Got excited.” Don mumbled.

“It’s okay. I don’t need a fire anymore,” I said, trying to dissipate the tension.

“You runnin’ from those special-ops asshats over at the hidden facility?” Don asked.

“What do you know about them?” Ella asked quickly before I could respond.

“Well, fuck. Not much besides the fact that they shot me in the head just for stumbling on their damn building entrance. I figured they didn’t want me spreading the location and such. Haven’t had much time to think about it, to be honest. Only recently came to a few nights ago. Been wandering the woods.”

Ella seemed satisfied with this response for now, and I let out a breath.

“Alright. Let’s get the hell out of here then before they come back searching on the next wave,” I said, trying to take control of the situation, being the only one still with a life left to lose.