End.
Phantom Riders
Phantom Rider
It happens too fast. If he's ever asked what happened that day, that's all he can say. It happened too fast. But it's not entirely true. Yes, the two cars fly in front of him. Yes, they collide before he can realize what he's seeing. Yes, the woman dies in minutes. But the time he spends staring at the scene feels like decades. The moment he catches the boy's eyes, it never ends.
He remembers the scene clearly, but of course that's not what he tells the paramedics or the police. They wouldn't have believed him anyway. The collision is over in seconds, but right after two boys on a motorcycle appear, almost as if out of thin air. Neither have a helmet on, and both seem much too young. One has dark brown hair, bangs swept in his eyes and plump lips set in a scowl. The other is blond and everything that screams innocence. Sehun doesn't understand at first what's happening, only that this is strange. The dark haired one continues to scowl, arms crossed over his chest while the blond walks straight to the wreckage. Part of Sehun wonders if they've called the police, because he hasn't and he probably should. But that thought is long gone when the blond leans into one of the totaled cars. From the other side of the four way stop Sehun shouldn't be able to hear him, especially when he speaks so softly, almost lovingly. But he does. "It's okay. It's all over, you're time is done here, shh, no, it's not scary at all. Heaven is a beautiful place, you'll see for yourself. Everything will be alright." Sehun is so busy staring at the blond he doesn't see the other walk over. But it doesn't matter, because he can't see anything, not with the blinding white light. When it passes the two go back to the bike, like nothing happened. In the distance sirens wail coming closer and closer. But who called it in? Sehun can't seem to move. The bike roars to life, the only noise besides the sirens. The blond looks him dead in the eye. There's something there, something that passes between them. Sehun is in too much shock to know what.
.
He wishes he could say he didn't see them again. Because by the second time he gets what it is, what they are. Maybe not exactly what they are, but the point is clear. They're some type of reaper. Taking the dying spirits of the road, that's the only time he sees them. He wishes he didn't, but... then why does he want to find them?
The second time is so much worse than the first encounter. Where the first had been too fast to see, this is in slow motion. Sehun sees the way the metal hits and bends together. The way the glass shatters and falls like scattered showers. It's almost poetic, but the death isn't. Glass shards are embedded into a man's face, blood pours like a water fall. The other man's neck snaps with the force of the air bag. There was a little girl in the back seat, and there are no survivors. Sehun doesn't notice the bile flooding his mouth until he's retching, and then he doesn't seem quite able to stop. The roar of the bike sounds from somewhere to his right. It takes him a minute to figure out how to make his muscles move again, to pick himself off the ground. The blond eyes him the second he's near enough to, and Sehun takes note of the way he's not really holding on to the boy driving. His hands are resting on the other's thighs, but there's no grip to it. They're both much too laid back, at least that's what he thinks. The blond finds his gaze and his head to the side in a silent question. Other than that he is ignored, the two going on about their job. The blond's voice filling the air and the blinding light. It's all too familiar now. When it's over, and the dead quiet settles in, they take notice of him again. The dark one glaring to the point he feels he might catch fire. "I'm Lu Han." The smaller says, voice light and small. "And this is Kai." 'Kai' glowers, teeth bared. "You shouldn't tell him anything, he shouldn't even be able to see us, Lu." He grabs Lu Han by the arm and yanks him towards the bike. "Lets go."
Shaking, Sehun walks home, there's no one alive to wait for. No breath left to breathe.
.
There's a third, fourth, fifth time. So much death, yet all Sehun can focus on is what he's learned. Lu Han is Chinese, born in Beijing. Kai is Korean, born with the name Kim Jongin. They've been inseparable for years. Kai isn't very fond of Sehun, though that's more assumed. And they're both dead. Phantom Riders, that's the term. Made by death on the road, but the choice is much harder, and a Phantom actually has to be there to make it official. Not many get that option. But they don't scare Sehun, the only thing that does is how much he's found himself craving their presence. It's not until one particularly gruesome car accident that Sehun truly opens his eyes. It's a bus full of kids, over fifty small bodies and a gas leak. Charred limbs littered the road. It takes Lu Han over an hour to deliver each one.
"They're souls, not ghosts." He scolds, hands skidding over burned flesh. "They are not stuck here, though, I can't always ferry them all. But, fate is a funny thing. Things happen for a reason. So I do what I can." Even after each body is only a husk, Sehun can't erase the horror from the scene. They were just children. He jumps when Kai pats his shoulder. "I know. Lu doesn't exactly make it any easier does he?" He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Where things connect in Lu's head, don't always make sense to everyone else. Myself included. This job, doesn't really get easier."
.
Sehun stayed away for several days, but the images still played behind his eyelids. The look in Lu Han's eyes... He couldn't shake it. He had seemed so alive, so much more than anyone Sehun had ever met before. In comparison, Kai looks dead, long gone from here. Before he could really process what he was about to do, he found himself speeding pastmidnight to find the two yet again.
.
Kai sighed, not understanding what the fixation was between the other two. Sure they were both attractive, Kai wasn't blind, but it wasn't natural. It wasn't right and it didn't work this way. "Lu Han, send him on his way already." He demanded, feeling like the only sane one here. But Lu Han continued to stare at the youngest boy. He couldn't seem to let this one go. "Just.. Give me a minute." He muttered, taking a step closer. "Sehun, you do understand, don't you?" He spoke calmly, soothingly even. Sehun didn't answer, but he knew. Lu Han was dead, a Phantom, he got that. But he was alive, staring into his eyes now. He could see his soul, and he understood more than Lu Han would be able to comprehend. "Sehun-ah, I'm dead, and I can't stay here."
"But you're alive." His voice scared him, having not been planning on saying such a thing. Kai rolled his eyes from where he leaned against his bike. "Lu, you see? He's in denial. Not exactly the first you've charmed."
The eldest shook his head, and raised his hand to graze Sehun's cheek. "He's different." His smile was sad, despite his words. "I am dead. You have to believe that." To prove his point the soft skin of his hand turned to jagged bone. Sehun didn't care in the slightest. He shook his head, feeling the bones scratch against his face. "I know. I know, but that doesn't mean you can't be alive too. Because you are. I can see you, Lu Han, and I think Kai does too." He looked over at said boy, recognizing the surprised look on his face. "He does. Your soul, you're so... Humane. And I don't think you understand just how far I'd go for you, because I can't let you go." A pained look crossed his face. "I wouldn't know how."
Lu Han sighed. "Sehun-"
"No!" The younger snapped, done with the miscommunication. "Lu, I can't. Whatever I have to do, I will. There's nothing here for me. Don't you see? You told me about fate and I believe it, it and us, this." Tears slipped from his eyes. "Whatever it takes." Lu Han didn't know what to say, but he had to make him understand that that's why he couldn't let him do anything stupid. "You idiot. This is something you should never want to choose. All we see is death. That's all we are. I don't want this for you. I love you, and I can't let you throw away your life for this." Lu Han cupped the boys face with both hands now. "I love you. And Kai does too, and I know you love us just as much. So please, don't ask for this. Please." He didn't cry, but the pain in his voice was real enough. However, it didn't change anything. "I'm sorry." Sehun rasped out, practically choking on a sob. "So s-sorry." His eyes searched Lu Han's, then Kai's. Lu Han was right, and he felt it in his very being. "I can't let you go." The second the mere whisper left his lips, Lu Han backed away as if he had burned him. "This is it, then." And he disappeared. There was no goodbye, no warning. Lu Han, Kai, the bike, all gone. More tears fell and Sehun knew what he was going to do. "I'm sorry."
.
Daylight comes too fast, but honestly it's a good thing. Night reminds him of them, of death and sweet words. Day doesn't remind him of anything anymore. School isn't of any interest, no career he wants.
Nothing. And he can't even seem to feel anything other than numb. He's like that stupid girl from Twilight. (Tao made him watch it, it's not his fault.) For now he tries though, waiting for something. Something like a sign.
.
Within a week he confirms what he already knew. They've left the area completely. What confirms it is the supposed haunting on one of the main roads in town, meaning souls aren't being ferried. He can't figure out why there isn't another Phantom Rider doing the job, but that's beside the point. Lu Han and Kai are gone, and that means he can't go threw with his plan. Not yet.
.
Sehun feels...silly. For the first time he's trying to communicate with a ghost. An actual stuck soul who is apparently angry as all hell.
"Ah, could you, could you not make innocent people swerve into traffic? Please?" It's about three in the morning and he's getting nothing in response and he feels silly. That's how he's doing fourteen days after Lu Han and Kai leave town.
"Look. I know you're pissed, I'd be pretty pissed too. But other people didn't do this to you, it was ice, an accident. And you would probably be much happier if you just let go, move on you know? This road isn't exactly the nicest place to spend eternity on-" a strong gust of wind slaps him in the face and Sehun calls it a night.
"I get it, I'm out."
But he isn't bothered not even once going down that road.
.
There are less cold spots after three weeks of silence. It's his sign, like a change in the wind, he can feel the immediate difference. It's like coming home.
.
They left without goodbye.
Oh Sehun dies twenty three days later in a car wreck.
Lu Han and Kai are the ones who find him.
Lu Han cries for the first time in ten years.
Sehun smiles for what feels like the first time ever.
"I told you you shouldn't pick this."
"And I told you I wouldn't know how to let go."
Kai is the one to make the decision.
.
The wind whips at his flesh but it isn't unpleasant. Insistent but not painful. "We need a bigger bike." Lu Han quips from behind him, arms circled around his waist. He nods into Kai's back, his own hands clutching for purchase on his belt. Kai laughs, the motion vibrating through his skin. "Need a bigger bed too. You both kicked me onto the floor. And you're a cover hog, Lu." Lu Han clicks his tongue. "Can we hurry up? Sehun looks like he's about to die, again." He's right though, he's not use to the speed of the bike, or the small space. Every few minutes he freaks out thinking Lu Han is going to fall off. It's not like they're dead or anything.
"Pull over there!" Lu half screams in his ear. Kai winces. "I can see you know." It's a minivan, front end smashed into a thicket of trees. Hopping off the bike, Lu Han more or less prances to the driver's seat. A woman sits hunched over the wheel, her soul shimmering around her body. A small whimper sounds and Lu jumps into his work.
"Shh, we're here for you. We'll take the pain away, okay?" His hushed voice calms her shaking, but she doesn't let go.
"My baby, my little girl, is she...is she..?" The woman whimpers again, and Sehun would hate to be the one to answer her. Lu Han has had more experience anyway.
"No. But she'll be with you shortly. Isn't that better? Without you she wouldn't have anyone. Yes, I know that. We will deliver her to you, it'll be okay, she won't be alone." The woman's soul nods, or something close to that. "Okay. I- okay." She closes her eyes and the shimmer fades. Lu Han smiles. "Alright, your turn, Sehunnie. Kid's in the back seat."
Sehun jumps. "You're not serious, are you?" Laughter sounds from the mangled hood. "You didn't think you were getting a free ride, did ya? You got to work too, kid." Sehun wants to remind Kai that he's technically hardly older than him, but he bites his tongue. Might as well do as he's told. In the back seat is the little girl, she's about seven or eight and tiny, with ringlet curls everywhere. He does a decent job of ignoring the cause of death. It would do none of them any good to dwell on it.
"Hi." He whispers, watching as her soul stirs awake. "Your mom is waiting for you." Tawny eyes blink slowly, not quite processing what's happening. "Mama?" Her gaze wonders to the front but Sehun stops her, his hand tilting her chin back to face him. "Not here. Your mom is waiting for you elsewhere. If you let us, we can take you to her." Readily she agrees, holding her arms out for Sehun to pick her up. Smiling, he takes her in his arms, and like mist, she whisps away.
Behind him, the other two look on approvingly. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea.
A/N: New thing based on Phantom Rider by Tokio Hotel. I'd like to thank kojafras for editing this. Also her fault for talking with me for hours about ot3s. This is what happens. I'm thinking this little thing is too rushed so maybe I'll re write it with more depth some day. It might happen.
<3Eunnie
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