Chapter 1 

The Start of Something Off

Something about this day was off from the start. Even though things seemed normal, it didn’t feel right to me, like something was wrong in what I chose and the universe was telling me to turn back. It could have been how I did my hair, what I ate for breakfast, or something bigger. I have no idea what it could be. 

I was walking to class for the second time today. I was in a little bit of a rush since I was at lunch with my mom and baby sister. I was speed walking at this point. It was a red light but no one was coming so I bolted across the street. I look left to see a red pickup truck going full speed down the road. But next thing you know the truck is on the other side of the road going the same way. Almost like it went right through me. I start to walk again to trip over my dead body. I was dead on the road. People were running toward me. Someone was shouting to call 911. One took my bag and took my ID.

“Miles Rue, Female, Age 20,” That person said. The person calling 911 told the operator online. I was trying to get their attention but they couldn’t see me. The red truck stopped to see what they had run over.

“That looks painful,” a voice said.

I turn to see a boy, around my age standing next to me staring at me.

“You… See me?” I asked him.

“Isn’t that your dead body laying on the ground?” He asked.

“So, don’t judge my dead body like that,”

The boy put up his hands, “Hey, I just asked if that was you,”

I rolled my eyes, “Didn’t I give you my answer?”

“You're right,” The boy put his hand out, “My name is Rain Winters,”

“Miles Rue,” We shake hands.

“Is Miles short for something?”

“Nope, Just Miles,”

I look Rain up and down, “Did you finally get up after the costume party yesterday?,”

“What do you mean?” 

“You look like you’re from the dinosaur ages,”

“This is in right now you know,”

I grab my phone out of my pocket, “My phone isn’t working!”

Rain looked at me with a confused look, “A what?”

“A phone. You don’t know what a phone is?”

“Oh, one of those bright box things. Ya, I totally know what a phone is,”

I look at my body, it’s gone. I looked around to see the ambulance with my body in it with a medic giving me CPR. 

“They didn’t do that for me, they let me die on the street,” Rain said.

I looked at Rain, “They just let you die?”

“I was a goner by the time someone found me,” he paused, “Wanna get something to eat?”

“I just ate lunch with my mom and sister Blake,”

“Do they know you’re dead?”

“I shoot! I need to find them!” I shouted and ran toward the restaurant we ate at.

I saw Blake walking out the door with mom right behind. I tried to get their attention but they couldn’t see me. I took a glass from near my table outside and threw it at them. It went right through them. How in the world I thought. 

An old man with clothes from the 1800s walks out of the restaurant, “Hey you girl,” he looked right at me, “Don’t throw glasses in my pub!”

I looked around the square to see old buildings from every time period you could think of. You could see people dressed in hoop skirts, top hats, and coats with tails on end.

“Welcome to the Other Side,” Rain walked up to me.

“The what?” I asked.

“The Other Side. It’s were ghost alike live,”

“There’s no Heaven?”

“There is,”

“Then why are we here then?”

“Because you didn’t live a good or bad life,”

 think back to my past. My dad left my mom and me when I was just a baby. My mom married Blake’s dad, Chase, but they got a divorce because Blake’s dad cheated on my mom. I wasn’t the best daughter. I did bad things. This one time I ran away because of the fighting between Mom and Chase. I ran to Auntie Lizzie. She was about my age now when I ran away. She could understand a middle schooler better than a 30-year-old mother who was working two jobs because her husband didn’t care to help and to take care of two girls. 

College was also very hard for me too. I might have done things differently than most freshmen. Most of my friends in high school were older than me and could do things that I could get in trouble for. 

I came back to reality and saw Rain waving his hand in front of me like a maniac.

“Earth to Miles,” he said.

“I’m here!” I shouted at him.

“Good, you had me scared,”

“Why would I have you scared? I’m dead already,”

Rain look at me with a worrying look, “Nevermind,”

I followed Rain into the pub. The host waved at Rain like they knew each other. They had a similar vibe to them. 

“My man, what’s up?” Rain said doing that high five hug thing guys do,”

“Nothing much. Just working,” the guy said, “Who’s the chick?” the guy pointed at me.

“This is my new friend Miles,” Rain told him.

I just stood there.

“The name’s Henry,” He held out his hand. 

I shook his hand, “You guys besties or what?” I asked.

“We died together,” Rain said.

“Not really, you…” 

“Henry! Not now,” Rain interrupted.

Henry’s eyes opened wide and nodded in agreement, “So, Miles, how long have you been dead for?”

Before I could open my mouth we heard a huge growl. I looked over where the sound came from. It was the same man who yelled at me about the glass. He came over and started to yell at Henry.

“Stop the chit chat and go sit this lovely couple,” said the man.

“Hold up. We aren’t together,” I said.

Rain nodded, “Yes, she’s right. No romantic connection whatsoever,”

“My mistake,” the man said, “Young kids these days,” 

The man walked back to the kitchen to yell at someone else. Henry sat us down by the window. It was weird to walk past people and not be looked at. People are so noisy these days. 

“So, what do people do on the Other Side?” I asked Rain.

“We do things alive people do. Go to the mall, go to drive-ins, hang at the club,” Rain said.

“No one goes to drive-ins anymore,” I told him.

Rain glared at me, “Well, people from my time do,”

“And what time was that,” I paused, “When cave people were around,”

“You must be fluent in sarcasm,”

I laughed, “It’s my native tongue,”

“To answer to your question is I was born in 1938, do the math,”

I took my phone out but then I remembered that it couldn’t work here.

“Could you just tell me?” 

“Does your little bright box not work?”

I stared him down. 

“Fine, I died when I was 19. It was 1957,”

“Wow, 1957, you’re flipping old,” I laughed.

“How about after we eat, I can show you how people in the dinosaur ages have fun,”

Chapter 2

Welcome to the 50s

After we’re done, Rain and I walked to Main Street. Rain kept goofing around. It was so hard not to laugh. It was also hard to keep up with his fast walking.

“...Then we zoomed from the fuzz, it was a very close call,” Rain ranted. He turned to look at me, “Are you even listening?”

“Yes, it just takes some time to process so much stupid at once,” I snapped.

 Rain puts his hands up, “I didn’t start it, it was all Henry’s fault,”

“But it’s still stupid,” 

As we walked past one of the stores, Rain started to fidget with a pair of sunglasses.

“You know you have to pay for that,” I told him.

Rain shrugged, “That old man doesn’t give two cents if he loses a pair of shades,”

Rain kept playing with them. As he was playing he saw the price tag. His face turned white.

“We have to run,” 

I stared at him with confusion, “What do you mean?”

He grabbed my arm, “We just have to run before he sees us,”

He pulled my arm and we started to run.

Good thing we gotta head start because we had the shop owner on our tail. Rain was running so fast I couldn’t keep up and I know he could tell. In one move, Rain turned the corner and picked up my legs and held me in bridal style. I was in shock at what had just happened. I felt something in my stomach I’ve never felt before. We hid in a dark, gross, and horrifying ally way.

“Are we going to ghost jail,” I panicked, “I’ve been here for less than 2 hours and I’m already going to jail. I can’t go to Jail!”

He eyed me, “Could you panic a little more quietly?”

“What do you me-”

Rain pulled me close to his chest and covered my mouth with his hand. 

“I don’t see anyone, sir,” a voice said.

“Do you know what they looked like?” another asked.

“It was that kid Rain Winters at it again. He had a young girl with him, she looked like a fresh ghost,”

“Another Rain Winters case,” the first voice sighed, “Could we have more on the girl,”

“She looked to be Winters's age, auburn hair, and soft facial features. I didn’t get a good look at her,”

“We’ll keep a lookout,” the second voice said. 

All three of them walked away. Rain dropped his hand and got up to see if they were gone. 

He waved me over, “The coast is clear,”

I ran over to him, “You’re a criminal!”

“And?”

“Have you been to Jail?”

“No, I’m good at hiding. Couldn’t you tell,” he moved closer, “If I didn’t cover that loud mouth of yours, we would have been burnt toast!”

I could feel my face heat up as I stared into his green eyes.

He stepped back. I didn’t break eye contact. He ruffled his hair dirty blonde and smirked. He started to blush.

“Anyways, where were we?”

“You were going to show me how you had fun in your time,”

He pointed at me, “You’re right. Let's go get Henry, we can’t do this without him,” 

We went back to the pub but, instead going the way we went before, we took the back way.

When we got to the pub, we saw Henry leaning on the side of the building smoking a cigarette. 

“Look who's back, Rain and his side chick,” Henry said.

“Haha, very funny Hen,” Rain punched his upper arm,” Like I said, no romantic connections,” 

Henry laughed, “It was just a little joke. Hey, I heard that you and Miss. Guys Named was almost caught by the fuzz,”

I rolled my eyes, “It doesn’t have to be just a guys name,”

Rain leaded close to me and whispered, “He’s only playing,”

I glare at him, “Ya, no dip Sherlock,”

Henry hands Rain a cigarette, “Nah man, I’m good,” Rain pushed Henry’s hand.

“This woman has changed ya, Raindrop,” Henry laughed, “It’s not like it’s going to kill ya,”

Rain shrugged, “I’m just not in the mood,”

I was getting impatient by this point, “Why are we just standing here, can we go now. We got Henry,” 

“Girl got a temper,” Henry said.

“I’m one step closer to punching you in the face,” I sassed.

 Rain glared at the both of us, “First, Henry, could keep your mouth shut and secondly, Miles, I don’t blame you if you punch his face,”

I laughed, “He sure does have a punchable face,”

Henry covers his cheeks, “This was my mama’s favorite face,”

Rain sighed, “Okay, let’s go to the hideout,”

Rain was in the lead with me right behind. Henry was off in La La Land doing whatever he was doing.

Henry picked an apple from a nearby tree and chucked it and hit Rain in the head. Rain just gave him the finger.

Henry runs up to me, “That was supposed to be for you,”

“You were going to hit me in the head?”

“No, You were supposed to catch it,”

I sighed, “Is this your way of flirting?”

Henry stood up straight, “Is it working?”

I shook my head and walked closer to Rain. Rain was still playing with the sunglasses he took from the store.

“I never realized my dad spent this much on me growing up,”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing. My father gave me a pair before he died,”

“Since he’s dead, do you guys see each other?”

Rain shook his head, “He’s in Germany,”

I watched Rain lower his head. The grin he had changed to a pout.

I changed the subject, “What’s the Hideout?”

“You sure guess a lot of questions,” Henry threw his arms are our shoulders, “You must have been one of the smart kids,”

I turn to him, “I just got here, of course I have a million questions,”

Rain’s pout turned into a death stare. Henry moved his arms off our shoulders.
“The Hideout is the place where Henry and I hide from the fuzz,” Rain said.

“It’s more of the place where we live than a hideout,” Henry added.

We got to the edge of town and started to walk into the woods. There were bushes with thorns and trees close together.

“Be careful not to hurt yourself,” Rain said, “We don’t want a blood path,”

“We’re dead, we don’t get hurt,” Henry snapped.

Rain whipped his head, “I was being sarcastic. You really don’t understand that,”

We kept walking. It didn’t take us long before we got to the Hideout. The Hideout was a little shed and a really old truck. Henry bolted to the truck and laid flat in the back seats.

“Welcome to the Hideout, Miles,” Rain slapped my back and then wrestled Henry to also get into the truck.

“This,” I said, “is where you guys live?
“It’s better than living with our folks,” Henry laughed, “I couldn’t bear to live with humans,”

“Don’t want to scare the crap out of them,” Rain added.

I wander around the place. I checked the shed. It was a bathroom.

I turn to the boys, “Do ghosts go to the bathroom?”

“No, some of the humans that come by use it,” Rain told me.

“So ghosts just hang around,”

Henry shrugged, “I’ve never thought about it like that. We don’t pee, we don’t get hurt, we don't bleed, we don't eat we don't-”

“Could you shut up?” Rain interrupted ans punched him in the chest.

Henry rolled his eyes, “I was just answering Girly’s question,”

Rain hopped out of the truck and laid down in the back of the truck and put on the sunglasses he stole. I started to fiddle with my thumbs. Being a ghost was starting to get kinda boring.

“Hey Girly!” Henry shouted, “What do people around your time period do for fun?”

I thought about it, “Make TikToks,”

Rain lifted his sunglasses, “Make what now?”

“TikToks are short videos you make for entertainment,” I told them, “And millions of people can watch them,”

“Do you use your bright box thing?” Rain asked.

“Yes, you use the bright box think,” I said, “You know it’s called a phone,”

Henry looked at me, “How does it get its name?”

“Do I look like Einstein,” I paused, “I don’t know. If my phone would work I could look it up!” I threw my phone in anger.

“Calm down Girly, the brightness probably went away,” Henry said.

“What do you mean by brightness,” I asked.

“You know, the light,” Rain added.

“The screen?” I asked.

“Ya, the brightness won’t turn on,” Rain said.

A light bulb went off in my head, “The battery’s dead,” I pressed the on button and the phone turned on, “It works!” I scream, “It works!”

I jumped up and down. Then I saw a message from Blake and mom.

“Mom wants to know where you are,” Blake wrote.

“Miles, are you okay?” “Where are you?” “Are you okay?” Mom wrote over and over again. 

Mom and Blake must have been scared out of their minds. I felt eyes were on me. I looked up to see Rain with a sad look on his face.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

I shrugged, “It’s,” I paused, “It’s fine, just something on my phone,”

“Are you sure, Girly?” Henry asked.

I looked down and stared at my phone screen, “My mom wanted to know if I was okay,”

Rain nodded, “I get it, it’s hard not being able to tell your loved ones you’re okay and that you’re in a better place,” he stood up, “It’s getting late, we should get some sleep,”

Rain walked over to the shed to change his shirt. Henry just took off his shirt and curled up in the back seat. 
“Where should I go?” I asked.

“You can crash in the front seat,” Henry yawned.

I hopped in the front seat of the truck and stared at the stars. All of the sudden I heard a knock on the window.

“Jesus Christ Rain!” I shouted, “You scared me half to death,”

“You know that saying doesn’t work real well when you are dead,” he said,

I glared at him, “Thanks, I really needed to hear that,” 

Rain laughed, “Are you good here, Henry gets um, how do I word this good, gross when he sleeps,”

“You don’t know what I’ve experienced in my life,” I snapped.

“I’m just warning you,” Rain said.

“A mental note taken,” I said.

Rain hopped in the very back of the truck and leaded his arm on the edge and laid his head on his arm. I stared at the stars again and try to get some sleep. 

Chapter 3

A Dream to a Nightmare

With the bright morning sun glaring in my face, I woke up like I was in a Disney movie. Until I turned to face Henry. I was shot with his dirty feet in my face. Henry was still out like a light. I tried to his feet and stumbled out of the truck.

“Told ya, Princess,” Rain laughed.

Rain was still sitting in the very back of the truck. Still sitting with his head on his arm.

I walked over to him, “What are we doing today?”

“Hmm,” he paused, “Might go chill around town. We can go see your mom and sister,”

“Why would she want to do that?” Henry rolled down the truck window and peaked his head out.

“I don’t know, maybe it would be good for her. We don’t want to have a third one of us,” Rain told Henry.

“I don’t get it,” Henry said.

Rain shocked his head, “It’s too early for this,” and hopped out of the back of the truck.

My head starts to feel like a hangover and a gunshot at the time. I’ve never had a headache like this before. I looked to see where Rain and Henry went.

“You good, Girly?” Henry asked.

“Do ghosts get headaches?” I asked both of them.

“The last time I had a headache was when I died, so no,” Henry said.

“Then why do I have a headache then?” I flopped onto the grass and laid there for a while.

I must have fallen back asleep because next thing I know, Henry and Rain were standing above me and Rain was waving his hand over my face.

“You good?” Rain asked.

I sat up, “Ya, I’m fine. How long was I out for?”

“Not long,” Henry said, “You kinda scared us,”

“Ya, you were just laying there and weren't moving,” Rain added.

“Well, I’m already dead, so not much would be wrong,” I said and stood up.

“Still,” Rain stated, “You just gave us a heart attack,”

Henry started to walk away, “Can we go now?” he whined.

“Ya, Ya, Let’s go,” Rain said, “You comin’?”

“I’m coming,” I stumbled up, "Where are we going?"

“To the beach!” Henry shouted.

We made it to the beach without any crimes being committed. Everything was going just fine, till we got to the beach. 

“Yo, Rain!” A unfamiliar voice shouts, “You finally got here,”

We walked up to the voice, “Tony, my man!” Rain and the person bro hugged. The boy also hugged Henry.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” Rain said.

“You know me, always chilling the humans,” Tony said.

“Um, Hello,” I interrupted, “Did you forget something?”

Rain turned and looked at me, “Oh ya! Tony, this is Miles. Miles this is Tony,”

“So, you’re making friends,” Tony slapped Rain’s shoulder, “And she’s looks fire,”

“You know I can hear you,” I glared at Tony.

“I know,” Tony said. He gets closer, “That’s the whole point,”

I could see from the corner of my eye that Rain’s face was getting red. Not the red on his face that he had when we were hiding from the police. More of the red that he wants to throw a punch at someone. 

Tony turned around to see Rain reaction, “You should have told me you claimed her,” he said, “I haven’t seen you this man since the day you killed us,”

“You know Rain doesn’t like to talk about that!” Henry yelled.

“You wanna go, Henry!” Tony yelled back.

“If defending my best friend means I have to fight you then yes, Tony, Let’s go!” 

Before Tony or Henry could throw a punch Rain jumped on top of Tony and started to whack the crap out of him. I was scared for my dead life.

“Everyone stop!” I shout, “Could you guys do anything but fight!”

Rain and Tony stopped. I could tell that Rain wanted to beat Tony till the  ghost of him died.

“Ya Rain, your girlfriend says stop!” hissed Tony.

“She’s not my girlfriend. And if she was, she’s smarter to stay with me instead of sleeping with you!” Rain shouted.

“Don’t bring Lilly into this,” Tony stepped forward, “It’s your fault I’m not raising her kids,”

“It’s your fault for us being dead!” Rain moved closer to Tony’s face, “You should have listened to me in the first place,”

I could see the fire in both of their eyes. I could see that Lilly must have been important to both of them. Seeing them fight got me thinking of mom and Chase. How Chase would rip mom apart with word after word.

I could see mom running up to her room crying as Chase goes to the garage. I could feel a single tear fall down my cheek. I could see Henry make a face at Rain. Rain turned around still with fire in his eyes. 

We made eye contact. When we locked eyes I could tell the fire went out to soft, gentle eyes. I become weak and fall to the ground.

Chapter 4

It All Adds Up 

When I got up, I was laying in the back of the truck in the Hideout. 

“Rain!,” Henry yelled, “She’s alive!”

Rain bolted to the truck and swung the door open, “Thank God you're okay,” Rain laid down on the ground, “We thought you were a goner,”

“I’m already dead!”

“Jeez, calm down,” Henry said.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t had coffee so I’m a bit cranky,” I tell them.

“Them, let’s get you some coffee,” Rain stood up and started to walk away.

“Dude, we’re ghosts, we can’t drink,” Henry said.

Rain turned around, “Well, I guess we’ll have to deal with a cranky Miles,”

“So, what happened with Tony?” I asked.

“We dipped after you passed out,” Henry turned to look at me, “Are you okay, Miles?”

I nodded my head, “Ya, I’m fine. I just get stressed when people fight,”

“No, not like that. Are you feeling okay, do you need anything?” Rain budded in.

“I’m fine!” I shouted, “Okay?”