Weber folded his arms and gave Aston an askance look.
"What was the cause of death?" Weber asked.
Aston took a deep breath, "something or someone slit the throats of the people so quickly, blood didn't even come out till we found their bodies and turned them around." He said with his face glum as he recalled that day.
Josh was darting his eyes between Weber and Aston then he focused his eyes on Aston.
"Such shouldn't be possible, except a mana user did something?" Josh remarked with a question.
Aston leaned back and laced his fingers, "correction: Captain-level mana user." He said, making Weber and Josh freeze.
Weber held his chin and furrowed his brows, "no one can have incredible power and be moving around freely in this age. Unless they're a ghost," Weber said smirking.
Aston nodded affirmatively, "I agree such shouldn't be possible, but it's unlikely a ghost can exert such power without help from a mediator."
"Nevertheless, if you two don't want the job—" Weber interrupted Aston.
"We'll take it!" Weber said.
Aston's brows went up and he shrugged.
"You're hired!" He said and he shook their hands and handed them forms to fill that were about their identity.
Weber and Josh looked at each other confused. The interview was too easy. But they needed any money they could get and so they ignored the strange fact of getting the job easily.
Aston pulled up a map from his desk and spread it out in front of Weber and Josh and showed them a point that was a mile away.
"This is where you are to head for your first job. Here's a manual and try and get there as soon as possible, there'll be a crew of crime scene cleaners. They could use your help so they'll guide you." Aston said and dismissed them.
Weber and Josh thanked him for his time and exited the office.
Getting into Ariel's car, Weber sat in front and Josh in the back as usual and they both kept quiet as they looked through the manual.
"How'd it go?" Ariel asked and started driving.
"We need to get to this destination in the southern direction. Mountain City." Josh said and Ariel took the map and looked at it, then handed it back to Josh.
"Alright. I'll drop you people off. There are some things I need to handle." Ariel said, but Weber just kept absorbed at the sight of some pictures.
The drive went on silently as they passed neighborhoods and districts, with clear skies.
Then mountains came into view as they were on top of a bridge, a body of water that was connected into the sea dozens of meters below.
They reached an apartment and saw a van and out came other crime scene cleaners.
"That must be the crew we need to meet." Weber said and got out of the car when Ariel stopped the car, then he stopped walking and turned back to her, "stay safe," he said with his face straight as a well-polished stone and walked away.
Josh came out and thanked Ariel and told her goodbye.
"Hello! You two must be the ones the Police Department said will be helping us, Weber and Josh?" A young woman with brown hair and blue eyes and a pointed nose asked.
"Yes, I'm Weber Anderson." Weber said and a splitting headache struck and he clutched his head.
"He recalled his surname and his curse activated..." Josh thought.
The woman gasped, but Weber raised up his hand, "I'm fine." He lied and straightened up.
"I'm Joshua Chris. People call me Josh." Josh said, hoping to turn away the woman's attention.
She nodded and went into the van and handed them hazard suits.
Weber and Josh took it and zipped it up.
"I'm Anna Maguire. I'm in charge of today's duty." Anna said.
"So what shall we be doing today?" Josh asked.
"The investigators and police have already gone through the crime scene and it was just a burglary but there was serious property damage. Follow me," she said and went into the apartment and went upstairs.
As they opened the door on the fourth floor, what was supposed to be a normal living room that was organized was turned upside down.
Chairs were torn and ripped apart in half, pictures shattered and holes on the wall.
Weber looked at Anna, "all this was just a burglary? No deaths?" He asked.
Anna nodded affirmatively, "just theft. No deaths." She replied.
Josh was walking around and felt the holes that were as huge as a tall man's upper body.
"Is it really what it seems?" Josh asked looking closely at the damage.
Anna clasped her hands together, "that's for the Police to find out. We just clean up. It's getting late and this will take a while and I need to go. If you need anyone you should find my contact info in your pockets."
She said and left the room and the two men got to work.
They started by picking up scraps and keeping them in a corner.
Josh sighed and looked up at the roof, "to think we're supposed to be in uni right now," Josh said clicking his tongue.
Weber sighed and kept a box on the floor.
Then they heard a girl scream.
Weber and Josh shook and ran towards the bedroom, and they heard it come from the master bedroom but no one was there.
Then they heard the scream from the guest room, but no one was there, then they met the same results in the children's room.
And they were all wrecked and destroyed like the living room.
Weber clenched his fists, "those officers don't know what they're doing!" Weber yelled and his eyes and hair turned white.
"Spirits of the deceased, manifest!" Weber said with his voice low and cold, and a teenage girl was seated at a corner keeping her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.
Josh ashened because he saw it too, but Weber wasn't struck with fear thanks to the powers of the Abyss.
He walked up to her and knelt down on one knee.
"What's your name?" He asked.
The ghost raised up her head, her empty eye sockets releasing tears of blood.
"Gabrielle." She said, and Josh almost fainted.
"Why are you here—" Gabrielle interrupted Weber.
"My family! Everything! Gone! My life gone! And those officers can't even see me! I was telling them it wasn't theft but no one can see or hear me!" She said and more blood rolled out her eyes.
"You are Wraith Keeper, so you should know you can know death manner and timelines." A deep and low iced voice said to Weber and he shuddered because he knew who had that voice.
It was the Abyss.
"Next time I remind you of your own tools, I'll use them for you." It said and Weber's body shuddered and he heard no more.
Josh saw Weber staring at the floor as if he saw an apparition. Weber sighed then put his focus back on Gabrielle.
"I'm so sorry." Weber said solemnly to Gabrielle. He noticed that she was the first ghost he met that spoke a lot.
Most were quiet or taciturn but she talked a lot.
"No one listened and the culprit is just getting away." She kept on talking and Weber sat down next to her.
Weber patted her shoulder, and she hugged him and continued crying on his shoulder, Weber hissing.
"For some reason, I don't know why I feel like it's fine I tell all this. I feel fine with you," then she raised up her head to look at Josh, "but I'm not so sure about him."
Josh took a step back and Weber patted Gabrielle's shoulder, "I am Wraith Keeper Weber. My trusted companion here is Josh." Weber said.
Gabrielle nodded and looked away from them, still clinging onto Weber and she thought for some moments.
"Wraith Keeper?" She said and rushed to her feet and the building became colder, "I am no one's thing to keep!" She shouted and slammed the ground and a chasm erupted on the floor, which made Weber and Josh gape at the power.
Josh stumbled and fell to his feet, Weber holding onto a chandelier.
Then the ground caved in and Josh was falling, Weber stretched out his hand and a wide gray circle appeared, "Wail of the Abyss!" He yelled and wolf spirits rushed towards Josh and wrapped their bodies around his to cushion his fall.
Gabrielle was walking towards Josh, then claws of a black aura appeared on her hand.
Josh was backing off and crawling behind, his vision blurred from the dust and rocks and he shuddered as the apparition neared him.
Weber squinted at her then jumped down, "I think I understand the Abyss's power now." Weber said standing between her and Josh.
Josh's whole body was shaking as he looked at Weber and Gabrielle.
"If you noticed, you can't cause this much destruction without help." Weber remarked and Gabrielle stopped walking.
Weber put his palm on his chest, "ghosts can only use incredible power in my presence when I use the power of the Abyss." He said and Gabrielle tilted her head and furrowed her brows.
"So if I stop using the Abyss's power..." He said and his eyes and hair went back to normal and Gabrielle's claws vanished, "you're a harmless ghost that can only do a few spooky stuff."