021 - Ghost

Sean led a very troubled life. He was known by the police as a drug maker and dealer, burglar, and also researched as a suspect for multiple robberies. There was no expression more suited that 'a pain in the ass' to qualify Sean.

One time, Sean organized a store robbery. He was used to act in group, but this time he only called his friend Aiden.

"Hey it's Sean. You up for tonight ?"

"Fuck no dude. This one is too crazy. I'm out, man."

"I need this cash for tomorrow. I can't go alone."

"Just call Eric or Tom man. I'm sure they're up."

"No they're not. You're the only one."

"Okay okay but 50:50 alright ?"

"I need to have enough for tomorrow. I can't let you half."

"Then you do it alone."

"Alright 50:50. See you 7:10pm in the alley near the store, alright ?"

In Sean's head, the plan was flawless. Just barge in with guns out, get the money and leave. Easy as pie. Same as always. But what Sean didn't realize is that most of his successful robberies were mostly because of luck. And this time, luck wasn't on his side.

When Aiden and Sean met at the designed location, Aiden tried to reason Sean one last time. And his fears were justified : sure, the store held a lot of money waiting to be taken, but the security was top notch. More than in any other store they managed to rob so far. But Sean didn't want to hear it. For him, the money was all that mattered. In fact, nobody knew if he was really driven by bravery or plain stupidity.

"Dude, we're gonna be fine. It's just like usual." Sean said.

Sean did a hand signal to Aiden, and both rushed inside the store. "FREEZE !" Sean shouted, holding his gun towards the cashier. In the meantime, Aiden was going around the store, making sure that nobody tried to do anything funny, like calling the police. Sean approached the counter, and tried to reach for the register.

"You think you're going to get away with this ?" the cashier asked.

Sean laughed. "Yeah, why ?"

Merely a few seconds later, Sean heard a gunshot. It was coming from Aiden's side. Did he just fire his gun to shoot a civilian ? That wasn't part of the plan. But then he heard a painful grunt coming from the same spot. Unmistakably, this came from Aiden. He was the one who got shot. Sean turned his head towards the location and shouted Aiden's name, but that was his last mistake. Before he even had time to turn his head back, the cashier pulled out a gun from behind the counter, and without hesitation, shot straight to Sean's chest twice. Unlike his late friend, Sean didn't even have time to grunt. He simply collapsed there, on the floor, and after a couple of seconds, passed out in a pool of his own blood.

And that evening, Sean died.

Officially.

Because in reality, Sean woke up. He had no idea where he was, or how much time had passed since the incident. When he opened his eyes, he saw the face of a man he never saw before.

"Hello Sean, I am Travis. From now on, you are dead."

"What… ? I'm dead… ?"

"Yes. In official documents, you have reported dead. It's only a matter of time until your documents and warrants are considered classified by the police."

Sean didn't really understand what was going on. Not only his head was still fuzzy, trying to realize that he survived, but he was also told that he was supposed to be dead. What did this mean ? For the day that followed, Sean was too weak to move, but he slowly learned to live again. And eventually, he was healed enough to go out.

What he saw was… a small village. This time, Sean was even more lost, and had absolutely no idea where he was. He saw quite a lot of people, but he was unmistakably in the countryside. Outside of the small hospital was Travis, who was waiting for him.

"Oh great, you're awake now ?" he said, after noticing Sean leaving.

"Where are we ?"

"Ghost Town."

"Ghost… Wait, what ?"

"There's no official name, but you can call it Ghost Town."

"The fuck is that name ?"

"Well, all its inhabitants are ghosts, just like you."

"So, you mean… that everyone here is officially dead, but in reality they aren't ?"

"Pretty good ! You're smarter than you look."

"What's that ?"

Travis didn't reply. He simply laughed, and walked away. But after a few seconds he stopped, and turned back to inform Sean about something.

"Oh, by the way, don't try to leave the town. I can't guarantee your safety if you do so."

"What do you mean ?"

"They're still looking for you. The cops. They probably know that a Ghost Town exists, somewhere."

Sean still wanted to go back. Seeing if Aiden was alive, and paying back the person who could kill him if he doesn't. But he decided to follow Travis's recommendation for now.

Life wasn't so bad in Ghost Town. It was a bit crummy, but he had a place to stay. The inhabitants were quite nice, so nice that it was hard to realize that they were all former criminals. Food was very inexpensive, and most of it was given for free, including booze. The more he thought about it, the more Sean appreciated this new life. He could get used to this.

A week later, Sean headed to the tavern, and ordered a beer. After drinking four of those, he was starting to get more than tipsy. As he was almost falling into slumbering, the bartender tried to strike a conversation.

"So, you're new here, right ?"

"Oh yeah… Been here for a week tops…"

"How did you get here ? Suicide attempt ? Overdose ?"

"Nah, I got shot during a robbery."

"A robbery ?"

"Yeah… I was mostly in sellings drugs though. Just needed cash to pay someone."

"Paying someone ? Like who ?"

"The guy who runs a market, called um… Phyler ?"

"Oh I heard about it. Big drug circle, yeah ?"

"Yeah… They're big. Don't know how they got this big though…"

"So who's the guy who runs it ?"

"They call him Mike…"

"Mike Setcher ?"

"Uh yeah, that his name. What, you know him ?"

"I've heard of him. Do you see him personally ?"

"I saw him a couple times… at the hideout."

"Phyler's hideout ?"

"Yeah… downtown where I live. They use a front, they sell sports equipment or some shit."

"You mean the store on Demeter Street ?"

"Yeah, that's it. Why do you need to know that ?"

And suddenly, the whole tavern laughed. Sean was stratled by this unwarranted reaction and looked around him.

"What ?" he asked.

He turned back to the bartender, who was also laughing.

"What's so funny ??"

"Oh, nothing. You just told us the identity and location of the head of the drugs market leader we've been chasing for months."

"What the fuck ? You guys are cops ?"

"Do you really think that a Ghost Town exists ? Come on. Get real."

The bartender grabbed his gun from behind the counter, and pointed it at Sean's forehead.

"Sorry, Sean. Ghosts don't exist."