Shades (6)

Self-control took on the need for superhuman powers. Ivan lifted the woman off his frame without ceremony. He swept the strands of fragrant hair out of his way and crawled to freedom.

The familiar task of checking for danger calmed his nerves. Ivan could only speculate why this ghost had such an intense effect on him. The scent of damp roses..

Shell casings littered the carpet, but the shades were nowhere to be found. Ivan cursed, picked up a garment, shaking it free of debris, and returned to the bed.

"All clear," he bent to look underneath, then straightened, remembering he wouldn't see her. "Still down there?"

Something flickered in front of him. "What was that?" A strobe-light in humanoid shape snatched the shirt from Ivan's hands. "Payback for saving your bloody life?" she shouted. "Expose me, and destroy my home?"

"Saving..?"

"The nanos were just a prototype, but looks like they worked," the flickering solidified into a female human once again, albeit apparently skinless. Ivan tried to follow her words. She paced around him, looking him over with a doctor's discerning gaze. "You scared the shit out of me in that morgue." The woman crossed her arms, staring at Ivan. "Why did you run away?"

"The morgue!" he pointed in her face as recognition finally dawned. "You were about to cut me open!"

"You were dead at the time," she reasoned. He nodded. Ivan hadn't expected to regain consciousness after the execution.

He raised an eyebrow. "And you had skin.." There was no pigment to her epidermis. "What happened there?"

"Classified," she sighed. "Why did you bring friends to destroy the place with antiques?"

Classified? The government had ghosts?!

"You put a glock in my hand," he reminded her.

"Right," she cursed. "My fault," she disappeared in the bathroom and emerged with amber eyes. "Let's get out of here before they come back."

The floor beneath the bed morphed into a staircase.

The woman grabbed his hand, attempting to pull him along. He stared at her, rooted to the spot. "C'mon! We have a lot to talk about."

He shook his head. "Lady, I don't even know your name."

"Classified!" the word seemed to force it's way past her lips, unbidden.

"Well, Classy, you should probably know that you're glowing." She glared at her hand for a moment, then shrugged. They descended into darkness without the need for flashlights.