Chapter 7: Seeing Spirits

~Third Person P.O.V~

"Where's Piper?!" Leo had barely finished uttering the words and he'd already turned around and headed towards the door, Leo reached for the doorknob, though instead of his hand grasping the metal handle, instead, it passed straight through.

"What?" Leo asked out loud, he reached once more, thinking perhaps he had just missed the knob.. except this time the knob disappear completely.

"Hey! What?!" Leo exclaimed, stepping back he looked up, watching the door vanish.

"Hey! Let me out! What's going on?" Leo asked, feeling for the door, instead, he found nothing but hard cobblestone.

"Hehehe... Nobody can hear you.. nobody could help you... not anymore." A dark, raspy voice rang through Leo's ears, sending a chill down his spine.

"H-hello..?" Leo asked, almost too scared to turn around and saw his reflection on the large mirror near the dresser. He saw no one, he was alone in the room.. at least he hoped.

"Who's there?!" Leo called out, trying to sound fierce, despite this, his voice hitched his throat. Leo wandered deeper into the bedroom, his eyes wary, they scanned the room for anything suspicious.

"Just you, Leo." The voice called out once more, this time sounding like his own voice although... mildly distorted.

Leo felt his skin jump, he slowly turned to the source of the voice. His teeth jittering, he found himself face to face with the mirror. With his reflection.

"W-who are you..?" Leo asked, his knees shaking. His reflection seemed.. wrong, sick. His eyes were replaced by gaping black holes, the same with his mouth.

"As I said, I'm you" The reflection reached a hand through the frame, holding it tightly, before stepping through.

"Guah!" Leo jumped, falling back hard, now laying on the floor. He felt exposed and vulnerable, petrified with fear. His breath becoming chilly with frost.

"I am your sins, your anger, your fear. I am your nightmares, I am you. Everything wrong with you." His reflection spoke, in a crooked voice, stepping ever closer. Leo couldn't do anything but watch, he was too scared to move

"And I.. am here.." The voice began to pant, gurgled noises came from its gaping maw as black sludge began to drip from it and the holes where its eyes should be. It lurched over towards Leo, grabbing onto his arms, sending a bitter chill up his spine.

"For.. YOUR SOUL!"

Leo let out a high pitched scream of terror, his heart pounding as he began to freeze the floor subconsciously, his eyes tightly shut, his whole body shaking with fear.

Suddenly, the voice spoke again, although this time it wasn't the nightmarish growls of a demon.. it was.. laughter?

"Bwhahahahaha.. ahahaha.. ahh.. dude.." Leo removed his hands from his face, his warm brown eyes trailing up to see a semi-translucent boy wearing what looked to be a bomber jacket, black jeans, and sneakers just floating about a foot off the ground. All bathed in the same ethereal glow.

"W-what.. what..?" Leo asked, in utter confusion.

"Hey, what's the matter pal?" The ethereal boy asked, going closer to Leo.

"You look like you've seen a ghost!" He said, elbowing his arm playfully and winking.

The boy raised back into the air, an ethereal drumbeat and chair manifesting from nothingness. The boy playing the snare and cymbal, making that iconic 'badum tss' sound. "Thank you! Thank you, I'll be here all eternity."

"Wait.. was all that.." Leo began, not sure whether to be filled with relief or anger. "A prank?" Leo asked, still on the floor.

"I mean, yeah dude. Come on, you really fell for that old cliche 'Your soul!!' bit?" He stifled another laugh, offering a hand for Leo to grab, that hand gloved in dark brown leather. The only part of his being not bathed in the glow. "I'm Colin, by the way. Your roomie! Need a hand? Oh, we're gonna have so much fun together I can see it now." The boy smiled sweetly, his messy ethereal hair floating slowly with each slight movement.

"Yeah... I think I'm good." Leo said, helping himself up.

"Hey... you aren't upset at me are you, roomie?" Colin said, flying a little bit closer to Leo.

"No, of course, I'm not, 'roomie'. You just scared me half to death and then laughed at me. It's no biggie." Leo said, sarcastically opening up the wardrobe and rolling his eyes.

"Hey.. don't take it the wrong way, I greet all my new friends this way." Colin said, floating down, now standing on the cobblestone behind Leo.

"Yeah, and how's that working out for you?" Leo asked, irritated at how his new 'roomie' can't seem to fathom how wrong it was to scare him like that.

Colin stepped back, and without a word he flew back to one of the beds, diving under the covers.

Leo dropped his pants and undergarments, find a new pair of pants and boxers in the wardrobe. "Mm.." Leo's eyes darted off to the side where his new roomie was hiding under the blankets. He was not going to let this guy guilt-trip him.

Leo slipped on the underwear and pulled up the jogging pants, his gaze not leaving the boy under the covers.

"..mn..." Leo dropped the old pair into a hamper and was about to head to the bathroom when he felt himself groan.

"Hey.. Colin" He spoke, no response.

"Colin?" Leo asked, moving closer. Still no response, he sighed, cursing his guilty conscience and set on Colin's bed. The mattress was cold and soft. As if no one's actually been laying in it.

"Roomie... come on, I'm sorry for snapping earlier.. you just kinda caught me off guard." Leo said, placing a hand on the mass under the covers.

"Didn't you say you wanted to have fun?" Leo asked, trying his best to cheer up his new roommate.

Colin sighed under the covers, flying out of them and slowly drifting down and crossing his legs on the bed. "Yeah, yeah.. sure. Sorry, you just kinda.. struck a nerve earlier." Colin closed his eyes when he reopened them his frown was replaced by a playful smile.

"Let's start over?" Colin asked, a sorry yet friendly look in his eyes, placing his hands on his lap, his leather glove now folded neatly by his bedside.

"Sure, roomie." Leo relaxed his shoulder and swung his feet onto the bed, crossing his legs and sitting in front of Colin.

"Hi Leo, the name's Colin. Apollo told me all about you and how you'd be my new roommate. Now I know what you're thinking. 'Are you an actual ghost?' And the answer to that is no, I am in fact, A Specter. For what that is, you'll learn about that in our magical bestiary class." Colin said, sounding a little excited.

"Apollo told you about me?" Leo asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, but just how you and your sister are new around here, so I, the noble and kind-hearted Colin thought I'd take it upon myself to show you the ropes of the Equilibrium. Show you what it means to be one of us." Colin said, jokingly placing a hand over his chest when he said noble and kind.

"Wait, just my sister? What about Piper? Isn't she here too?" Leo asked, leaning towards the ghostly boy.

"Piper? Blonde girl, who arrived with you two right?" Colin asked, Leo nodding, eagerly awaiting his response.

"Ah, don't worry about her. She was taken to a different medical bay, you'll bump into her again sooner or later." Colin said dismissively.

BONG!! BONG!! BONG!!

The tintinnabulation, thundering sound of a large bell ringing echoed throughout the halls, catching the pair's attention.

"What was that?" Leo asked Colin, his gaze shifting towards the door.

"Oh, that? That means they're summoning everyone to the atrium." Colin said almost dismissively, his eyes closed before he realized what he just said, his eyes going wide.

"Here's your schedule gotta go bye!" Colin said without any pauses between his words before flying out of the room, leaving Leo dumbfounded.