Spirits were everywhere. The streets ran not with blood but the bodies of the undead. This meant that each work site was filled with lost souls. Some were harmless to the extreme, their half buried bodies peaking out at odd angles. Heaps of tangled, mangled limbs jut woefully from the earth. Nate had taken to thinking these were spirits who couldn't get over their lingering attachments, but he couldn't say for certain.
Any topic around the spirits was mere speculation for the brothers. Now Nate had another unanswerable question. Who is this Paladin Wood? How did he see or at the very least know that he'd seen the spirit? It wasn't completely unanswerable. He could give the number on the card a call and demand answers.
The idea was discarded almost immediately. Could a mystery sucking up his time pay for their meals, or keep Child Protective Services away from Teddy. No, the scrap of paper was worthless, and their ability to see the dead was a hindrance.
"Listen, up everyone. Today, we'll be framing up the location on fifth street. I want all of you to be careful as one of the murders happened not too far from there."
Jeb wasn't really worried about the workers. If anything their deaths would help him not have to pay them. The only thing that could worry Jeb was if profits would go down. A town with a killer meant lower house prices. A blow for the construction industry for sure. Each murder dropped the surrounding prices by nearly 10%. Which might be good if he was buying, but two of his properties had been sold under market value.
"Now I'm sure you're all expecting hazard pay with the fact there's a killer on the loose. I will silence your worry's now. The case has nothing to do with work. So get to it and don't complain."
The lot of them loaded up into his truck and rode the 10 minute distance to the worksite. They'd been busy flattening the land and pouring the concrete previously. Even the house's framing had been left half complete.
Many of those ghosts which poked out of the ground had been swallowed up in the concrete. The grey mass now swam with the faintly visible forms of the dead limbs or tips of heads thrashing about against the ground barley peaking over. If Nate was a compassionate person he might have left a prayer for the trapped souls. He did not and would not. The matters of others only affected him if he was connected to them.
Even if every soul that wasn't his family were to disappear he wouldn't feel a single thing. If you were stuck here you needed to move on or do something about being dead. There was always an option, something to do when at your lowest.
The work wasn't as bad as the concrete. Less weight to carry around and usually needing two people on any job made it easier to pass time. Small chatting filled the air making the day more bearable.
Structurally speaking the building was to be a two story home. A basic kind of family home with a balcony and a good number of bathrooms and bedrooms. When it came to the finer details it was unlikely that Jeb would leave things like the granite kitchen to people like Nate.
On the second floor a palate of wood sheathing had been deposited. The platform it sat on was only being held up by two 10ft two by fours which was not enough to be load bearing. Each time someone crossed near the palate the wood groaned in protest, creaking in agony.
Nate being able to lug around heavy stuff easily was not lost on Jeb. He'd even gone as far as to have a special bag made just for him to carry an excessive amount of stuff. Jeb was a penny pincher but he'd splurge to increase profits. Several bets had been taken to see just how much and how far Nate could be pushed. Most of which were won by Kent who knew well enough to split the profit with Nate.
Trudging back and forth across the building he carried stacks of two by fours on his shoulders. It was around mid-day when an unusual crack came from above as Nate stepped into the middle of the house. The interior balcony which was to overlook the living room moaned at the weight of the palates.
Looking up at the beams the color drained from his face. Two of the workers had just stepped onto the platform, a large sheet being placed back as they needed to replace another board. It wouldn't have been a problem but they slammed it down with force.
A quake shuddered through the lumber down into the timbers below. Splintering would shoot out with blinding force. The splitting wood moved faster than Nate would have anytime to react. He unshouldered his burden in an attempt to move out of the way. The one shrugging movement was all that he could manage. Like a wave the sheets fell precipitously.
Nate dropped to his knees. Someone might say he was trying to angle out of the way but in the face of death many wouldn't be able to move at all. Looking down the barrel of death his rage which he'd suppressed so well swelled in that moment. He took the abuse, let his body be punished, gave up on any future and this is his payment.
Nate faced death with the crushing thoughts of Teddy being left alone. He was enough of a man to admit sorrow at his inability surged along with his anger. He stared dead ahead into the cruelty that the world brought down upon him. Unflinching. Undaunted.
*THUNK* *THUNK* *THUNK* *THUNK* *THUNK*
In front of Nate's face a large skeletal hand reached out from the ground cupping itself above his body. Each sheet slammed against the bones, small cracks cascading through them chipping away at the periosteum. Seeing his chance he forced himself into a forward roll. It carried him just far enough that he would be safe and then the hand shattered. Fragments rained down along with the sheets of plywood.
Nate took in a deep breath trying to calm his raging heart. How could that happen? It must have been a spirit. Yet, Nate had seen no spirit with the ability to interact with the real world. Even if they could block all of those sheets was miraculous. The spirit storm only wilted the grass for a night.
Mind racing he was brought back to reality from Kent's hand pulling him into an open doorway. From his face Nate could tell he'd seen the hand and so had at least some of the other workers.
"Dude."
Was all Kent could manage.
"Told you spirits."
Nate responded, trying not to sound freaked out doing a poor job of it. Kent hadn't believed the story of the Paladin. It was even more unbelievable that Nate could see spirits. For only a brief moment Ken had seen the truth of the world. If he would accept it or not was still yet to be seen.
"What in the Sam Hell is going on here?"
Jeb walked into the partially finished house. The two men up above looked down sheepishly. They'd had the chance to jump away as the platform fell down.
"You two out now. Nate, Kent get this cleaned up. We're going to have to get this whole thing back in the air before the end of the day. Damn, cheap labour this is what I get for pitying the poor."
Jeb ranted for a while longer and the two friends took the chance to begin cleaning up. There wasn't much point in running away from what happened. This was just another hazard that you needed to prepare to deal with. Still needed to get paid afterall.
After cleaning up a portion of the damage Nate started to get a nagging sensation he was being watched. He looked around to find Jeb staring at him with an orcish smile on his face. One of the workers who'd been on the platform whispered something in his ear. It was likely that they were telling him about what he'd seen and Nate's miraculous survival.
Why this incident would bring a smile to Jeb's face was beyond Nate. Feeling uncomfortable he determined that it might be for the best to change up work after this. He needed money that was true. However, if he died then keeping Teddy was a moot point.
Another thing nagged at Nate as he worked. The power that usually swelled up inside him, that near inexhaustible strength was waning. As it did so, a place at the bottom of his chest filled with a strange feeling. Like drinking hot water while being splashed into an ice bath. It was all so strange.
In spite of the near death experience the rest of his day went as normal. He took a step down in how much he was carrying but still did the work of multiple people all by himself. The extra progress was doubly needed as one of the people had been fired. The only change was the constant looks he was getting from everyone who'd seemingly seen or heard what happened. None more prominent than Jeb and Kent.
Both of their gazes were filled with curiosity. Oddly enough Kent's was more wary, while Jeb looked pleased. Nate in that moment felt like both a cat and a mouse.
As the day came to a close and everyone began to load onto the truck Jeb stopped Nate. His smile greasy and hair even greasier.
"Nate, uh, my lad. Why don't you hang back before leaving. I've got a proposition that I think you'll be keen to receive."
"I think I'm Good on work, sir."
"Don't worry I won't force anything upon you. But a little birdie told me you might need the cash. Something about your brother."
He narrowed his eyes at Nate at the last part, some subtle indication that he'd ruin him with his secret. That bubbling anger simmered low and slow in Nate's chest. Still he did need the money. He could tell himself it was for that money.
"Yes, sir."
The words came out calmer than Nate had thought they would. Calmer than even he'd intended them too. Kent who was only steps away felt his chest squeeze tight. Nate might be aware of his anger and control it well. On the other hand Kent recognized the tone of Nate's voice. Danger was laid in that calm voice.
While they were in the gang, despite being the youngest one there, Nate was feared for this very calm rage. In fact the last time he'd heard that tone in his voice he'd put a 25 year old bruiser by the Name of Biff in the hospital. The poor guy was so afraid of Nate. When the police came to question the man he just kept mumbling about bears. The official police report read that the guy had been mauled by a bear and was suffering from extreme PTSD.
With a tentative step forward Kent was ready to grab Nate. It was one thing for him to get sent to the hospital; he could flirt with the married nurses and wouldn't press charges. Jeb on the other hand would be as dead as those spirits that Nate was seeing.
Lucky for Kent and especially lucky for Jeb Nate's mood seemed to fade.
"Good to hear, Kid."
Jeb got into the truck leaving the two friends standing outside.
"I thought you were going to kill him."
"Still might."
At Nate's quick shot back Kent actually worried. One of the reasons he hadn't gotten with Mrs.Henderman was simply to keep his eye on Nate. That would all be for nothing if he ended Jeb's life.
"Chill dude, you worry too much. I don't beat people up who don't deserve it."
Nate said with a laugh. Kent was not laughing.
"Then why was I always getting beat on?"
Kent loosened up as Nate seemed to fall into about as good of a mood he could expect from someone who'd nearly died.
"Cause you deserved it. Duh."