It was a Friday afternoon and nobody was expecting anything

  interesting to happen in the last couple hours of work.

  Then a water elemental flew in through the window.

  Ghost Thing knocked the sill coming in, toppled on his landing, and

  fell to the floor. Seeing the guy pop in got screams and yelps across

  the room. Ghost looked up to see which party he crashed. It was a

  large room with people dressed in green vests. Some were carrying

  chairs off the centre of the floor although the arrival of a water

  being put that task on hold.

  Getting up on his feet with his head swaying and arms feeling like

  they were going to fold like cards, Ghost clutched his chest. He

  scanned the room, a dozen pairs of eyes looking at him like he was a

  vampire or some other horrifying beast. Everyone was stunned–

  uncertain in what to do. Across from the window Ghost entered, there

  was another. The water lad raced to it, stumbling and tripping on his

  weakened legs.

  No one was going to get in his way. As he ran down the room, everyone

  gave him a good few metres of space.

  Another person in the hall heard the screaming and peeked his head in

  the room to see what was going on. “Is that darn raccoon in again?”

  Then the man saw a water elemental jogging his way and yelped,

  ducking back out the door.

  Ghost went to the window, and got a foot on the frame but when he

  stuck his head out and looked upward. There was Thrash peeking down

  off the side the roof like she knew he was going to try to escape

  through that door and had followed him from above. Ghost Thing looked

  around for any escape and he saw a metal door on the building across

  the alley below, partially open. He jumped down on a car, causing its

  alarm to go off, but Ghost ignored it and barged into the door.

  What kind of place did he break into this time? It was an empty

  hallway composed of tall brick walls and dim lighting. At least he

  wasn’t scaring anyone when he dashed down the corridor. He looked

  at the walls and saw notices and large technical bulletins but didn’t

  have time to read.

  He charged down past some cardboard boxes and when he heard a

  clanking, he looked behind to see Thrash slamming the door open,

  menacing smile plastered on her face.

  “” Ghost said. Passing by a row of boxes, he

  pushed them over as he ran past but they were light and wouldn’t be

  much of an obstacle for Thrash. He turned a corner and went up a

  small hill of stairs into a door with a porthole. He couldn’t grab

  a good look of the room on the other side before he slammed the door

  open and went through.

  It was a kitchen– a large professional kitchen with pans and pots

  hanging from hooks across the room.

  The two chefs at the ovens didn’t expect anyone special popping

  through those doors but when the older gentleman with a grey

  moustache saw Ghost Thing, he let out a holler. Ghost didn’t have

  time to explain so he dashed past the chef, the chef swatting at

  Ghost with his ladle like the liquid boy was a rowdy dog.

  Ghost went through another door into another hall and where another

  grouping of people saw him and panicked. Screams passed around. Ghost

  was on the run and spreading the chaos with him.

  He ran down the hallway anyway, and as he did, trying to keep away

  from others as much as they wanted to keep away from him, Ghost Thing

  saw his saving grace: a vent. He melted down into his liquid form and

  slipped into the vent. A warm gust of air took his form as he slid

  into the silvery escape, but he was safe and he didn’t expect

  Thrash to be able to follow.

  Thrash barged into the kitchen and saw the two chefs crowded around a

  door, looking through a porthole into a hall. Ghost Thing had passed

  through there, she knew. The kid had escaped into the public and

  Thrash thought getting too much attention on herself would cause

  problems for the gang’s ability to do things discretely. She backed

  out the door from where she came before those chefs got a look at

  her. Maybe she would patrol outside the building and see if Ghost

  Thing would appear.

  Ghost Thing had escaped Thrash’s sight, but now he was stuck in the

  walls of an unknown building. He could hear people talking, knowing

  that he had slipped into the vents. Would somebody try to search for

  him, or activate some kind of security measure?

  He travelled the vents, going down one corridor to turn into the

  other. In that puddly state, his vision wasn’t very good but the

  features of the vents were simple enough to make them out without

  much problem. He came across a vertical shaft. Climbing vertical

  shafts was already difficult when he was feeling fine. But that

  afternoon, he was weakened by the liquid Thrash had pilfered from

  him. He reached up and clung to one of the walls and then slithered

  upwards and while coiling around the box. If he was fast enough the

  momentum helped him stick to the sides.

  But then he lost grip and fell. He would have shouted an expletive if

  he had a mouth in that state. Glancing up, the top of the shaft

  wasn’t far for the slime-ball, so he bundled up energy

  and then fired himself upward! He smacked the top of the shaft, his

  mass stuck there for a moment, and then hopped off into an opening,

  finding a horizontal duct to traverse again.

  He hoped nobody heard that thud, though.

  The puddle waddled through the vents until he couldn’t hear the

  panic he left behind; back in the hallway. The silence was comforting

  but also ominous. Where had he had gone? He had no idea.

  He passed by a grate, but then backtracked and looked through it. The

  room was dark but it didn’t look like anyone was around. He pushed

  his body through the duct’s blades to see what was on the other

  side: a lot of shelves and some boxes but nobody and no security

  cameras. He dragged his whole body through and reshaped into his

  humanoid form.

  It was quiet, Thrash couldn’t have followed him, and he was safe

  for the moment.

  The question was: where was he?

  He was in the same building but Ghost Thing wondered if he had

  travelled into a different unit, another establishment from that

  kitchen place he escaped from. If he went out into the room into the

  rest of whatever that place was, would he draw attention? If a kid

  suddenly appeared in a place like a bank or something, that would

  rouse attention.

  And if Thrash was still around, she would that Kay was

  Ghost Thing!

  Ghost sighed and sat down against some boxes and dropped his head

  into his arms, stressed with decision paralysis and trying

  desperately not to whimper. He had no idea what was outside the walls

  around him and once slip-up could have sealed his demise.

  He looked around the room. The boxes had “Steelton Corp” on the

  front but Ghost Thing didn’t know if that was the company he was in

  or if that was just the producer of the cardboard boxes. He gazed

  over at the vent– he could have always tried another vent to escape

  to.

  He got up and stumbled to the door. He was still weakened by the

  water Thrash had clipped from him. Putting his non-existent ear to

  the door, he heard nothing. He checked once again to see if there was

  a security camera around the room– clear– and then he morphed

  back into his human form.

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  Immediately Kay was struck with a feeling of thirst and a dryness in

  his throat. The liquid he had lost in his Ghost Thing form had

  parallels to his human form: a need for hydration. It was very

  uncomfortable and gave him a mild headache. He thought of looking

  around the room for a stray bottle of water but saw nothing.

  It was time to leave. He took the handle and turned it downwards but

  it fought back. It was locked.

  “For heaven’s sake!” said Kay, his face furrowing with angry

  disbelief.

  He sighed. Maybe he should have given up, he thought. Maybe the

  superhero life wasn’t for him after all. It sounded tempting, but

  the realities of it were not for someone like him, let alone a person

  as young as him. All the villains that attacked him, all the trials

  he barely survived: they were all warnings that he was entering a

  world he couldn’t function in.

  There was a crack under the door. Kay thought he could turn back into

  Ghost Thing and slip under the door and then turn into a human

  outside, but what if someone was there and saw him do the deed? Then

  everyone would know. His cover would be blown and then Thrash and

  whoever would be able to do whatever they wanted with him.

  The worry and dehydration combine to make Kay very dizzy. He never

  regretted his actions as much as he did in that room.

  Then Kay noticed the handle had a lock dial. He turned it and there

  was a click. He then opened up the door.

  Well, that was one problem solved.

  Stepping out into the halls, he looked around the hallway. It

  reminded him of his aunt’s book warehouse: bland colours and a tile

  floor with lightning fixtures a touch too dim. He should have relaxed

  his face, looking around with wary eyes made him look suspicious, but

  he was alone in that hall.

  All he had to do was find his way out.

  He walked down the hall, in a direction that felt “frontal” like

  there would be a door outside somewhere in that direction. Soon he

  would hear voices, chatter. There was also beeping and the sounds of

  an office. He turned a corner to a door: no windows so he couldn’t

  see what was on the other side.

  He went up to it and turned the handle, slowly opening the door to

  see what was in the room. The room was large, lit with similar

  ceiling lights, and was crowded with cubicle walls. Kay had wandered

  into an office, it had seemed. He could hear people but only a few

  were seen across the sea of cubicle walls. Kay went into the room and

  walked down a pathway and looked into some cubicles to see people at

  computers.

  Kay groaned. His headache made him dizzy. Not terribly dizzy, but

  dizzy enough. That’s when he saw a refreshments table across the

  room. Keeping out of sight from anyone who could wonder what a

  teenager wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses could be doing

  there, he walked around the edge of the workplace towards the

  refreshments.

  He didn’t want to be there a second he didn’t have to but at

  there was a water cooler and paper cups on its side so he took a cup

  out of the dispenser and put it under the nozzle, the water cooler

  making deep gurgles as it filled the conical goblet.

  Sarah had worked there for seven years and knew everyone well. The

  woman scanned the office to make sure everything was working

  correctly and spotted the leather-clad teenager at the water cooler.

  Leather? That wasn’t proper office attire. She walked over to him,

  already crossing her arms and ready to berate the

  very-probably-an-intern for showing up in unsuitable dress.

  Kay didn’t even hear Sarah coming up behind him. He chugged down

  the water and then went back to the nozzle for a second round. As he

  filled his cup, the water passed through his body and took away a lot

  of the discomfort. His headache flickered out.

  “Excuse me.”

  Kay turned around to see a woman staring down at him. This was bad

  news. He thought of something to say. “Uh... hi.”

  Sarah looked at Kay’s shirt. It wasn’t even a collared shirt; no,

  it was a T-shirt! With a band logo! She sighed. “I’m guessing

  you’re from Centennial. They never educate interns on dress code.”

  Kay had the foresight not to start every sentence with some

  utterance. He put that box of ums and uhs in the drawer. He cleared

  his throat, thinking of something that sounded like he belonged. “I-I

  was told it wasn’t a big deal.”

  Sarah shook her head. “Maybe some workplaces are more casual about

  that sort of thing, but in my office? We dress for the occasion.”

  She sighed. “But since you’re here already, I’ll let it slide.

  Where’s your work station?”

  “I brought other clothes,” said Kay. “They’re in my car.”

  The tension drained from Sarah’s face. “Oh? Oh, go get changed

  then.” Her tone was softer.

  Kay nodded politely, finished he water, and tossed the paper cup in

  the trash. He walked off, before stopping. “Where’s the exit?”

  Sarah sighed. She pointed at a pair of large glass

  doors down the wall. “That way.”

  Kay walked off briskly.

  Going through the doors, Kay entered another hallway but nearby was a

  set of stairs and going down them had to have brought him closer to a

  door to outside. He went down the stairs, passing by a couple

  mislevelled adults chatting over a railing, and went to the ground

  floor where a natural light shone across the room. Kay looked over to

  see the door out of there, afternoon lights gleaming in.

  Kay walked out and was blown for cold. It wasn’t an issue in his

  elemental form, but it was a cold day in the middle of October and a

  jacket and shirt wasn’t going to cut it. He zipped up his jacket

  and put the collar up and hoped the temperature stayed away from the

  single digits.

  The sidewalks were full of people of all kinds so Kay didn’t look

  too out of place walking down the streets, even with his rockstar

  getup. He gazed around, almost afraid to look upward to see Thrash

  still lingering around. It didn’t seem like she was in the area but

  then Kay looked down the sidewalk to see the blue woman standing out

  in the crowd.

  Her presence didn’t go unnoticed by her fellow pedestrians. A blue

  woman in a catsuit carrying a staff got a lot of puzzled looks. Kay?

  He didn’t know what to do. She was coming his way and if he turned

  around and fled, he would have looked suspicious and Thrash would

  investigate.

  So he kept his pace forward.

  Kay focused off of Thrash and stared into space as he walked with the

  flow of the crowd. Thrash closed in within a couple metres and Kay’s

  throat locked up. If she heard his voice, she would know Kay was

  Ghost Thing. Kay’s heart drummed as she approached. A kid wearing

  sunglasses and a leather coat? Never before had Kay regretted his

  standout fashion choices. Anything to draw Thrash’s eyes towards

  him was a nightmare.

  Thrash walked right on by, though, not even focusing on Kay for a

  second. Kay took thirty paces and then turned around– as slow as

  the Earth rotated– to see if Thrash hadn’t noticed him. He

  watched Thrash walk off into the distance, crossing a street and

  leaving his sight.

  He was safe, but then other troubles came to mind. Where was

  He left the backpack up on the roof. Thrash could guard that place

  and wait his return. He couldn’t go back there!

  As he took a couple blocks away and left the dense crowds, he noticed

  the cooler air more. He did up the bottom snap on his jacket to seal

  in all the body heat he could keep. Without a wallet on him with a

  bus pass, it was going to be a hike towards home.

  It wasn’t a clean getaway. Things had fallen apart quite easily.

  Kay wasn’t certain what he could do, so he retreated to home base.

  If it wasn’t a long walk back home, it felt like one anyway. Kay

  kept his coat zipped up tight as sunset approached. He passed through

  the old suburban districts of Baldwin, watching cars drive down

  narrow roads and trying to keep himself looking normal for anyone

  passing his way like he wasn’t just attacked by a superpowered blue

  lady.

  Having walked escape from that battle hiding in his human form and

  him losing his fox friend and backpack; Kay hadn’t experienced a

  defeat like that before. Even if his human body was in okay

  condition, he had chills riding his spine like an elevator.

  He couldn’t help but look about the neighbourhood, checking to see

  who was around– whose voices were chattering across the street.

  What was he looking out for; he didn’t know. He was worried that

  Thrash wasn’t the only one sent out to attack him that day.

  But no one attacked him. No one knew he was Ghost Thing.

  Kay passed by a small patch of grass off of an acute intersection,

  one with a couple trees and a bench. He didn’t think anything of it

  until a bush rustled. Who to pop out but the boy’s favourite fox!

  Kay smiled. “Philly!”

  “Shhhh!” said Philly, holding a paw up to his mouth like he was

  extending a finger over it. “Keep it quiet. Just showing you I’m

  okay.”

  “Did you get the backpack?” said Kay.

  Philly looked at him like it was a ridiculous question. He wouldn’t

  answer an unimportant question. “We shouldn’t be talking. If

  someone saw us, they’d tie me at the fight and pin you as Ghost

  Thing.” He lowered his voice and ducked into the bush. “I only

  came by to show I’m alive. Now I’m gone.”

  Philly didn’t give Kay a second to question anything. He dashed off

  into an alley between some houses and the fox was gone, leaving Kay

  alone. Kay watched the fox hustle down a concrete passage.

  How often was Philly that stark? Not often. Something to keep Philly

  quiet? Things were serious. Kay didn’t know what to do but go home.

  In human form. Walking the sidewalk. Cold had started to sting his

  cheeks.

  As he walked, though, he looked back towards downtown, buildings

  stretching over the horizon– CN Tower touching the heavens. The

  orange of dusk crowded around the silhouette.

  All Kay was doing that afternoon was just enjoying himself. And now

  that was under threat, too. Was the city off limits for him now?

  Would appearing as Ghost Thing put a target on his

  back?

  Kay sighed. Becoming a superhero had taken more than he was willing

  to give.