Greta Strom sat behind a granite counter in a small cell phone store. Her maroon-lined lips stretched and twisted as she chewed a gob of gum. The watermelon scent mingled with the scent of new plastic merchandise. Deep, scratchy lines in the shape of a three and two marred her goth-pale cheek. She stared at the phone in her hand, playing Bubble Witch Saga.

The lightbulb in the corner of the shop blinked, then burned steadily bright again and the tortured figure of Hayden appeared standing below it. Greta popped her gum, oblivious. A little girl of about two stood nearby with her hand wrapped inside her mother's as the mother looked at phone chargers hanging on the wall. The little girl looked right at Hayden.

"Boo," said Hayden, sullenly.

The girl shrieked and began to cry.

"What's wrong?" the mother asked. She couldn't see Hayden and the little girl didn't say she was there. "Honey, what is it? Did you hurt yourself somehow?"

The little girl shook her head and, wailing, pointed to Hayden, who stared back with a hard expression. She wanted them to leave. She needed 32 alone.

"Hey, lady," said Greta, "Shut her up will ya?"

"I'm sorry," the lady said. "Shh, it's okay, honey. We'll leave." She picked up the little girl, still scream-crying at Hayden, and as she walked out she mentioned talking to the manager about Greta's foul attitude.

Greta rolled her eyes and popped her gum. She sat her phone on the counter and came around to lock the door. The light flashed again as she walked past and she felt a chill. It was strange, but she shook it off. The lock slipped into place right as something crashed behind her.

A shelf had given and chargers were spilled everywhere. She thought how lucky she was that it hadn't just crushed her, then she thought, ugh, what an awful mess. It was almost time to go home, but now she had this to deal with. She groaned and got to work.

As she tried to make sense of the shelves, the light a over her flickered. It was a long beam, hanging from the ceiling with wires. Atop sat Hayden, crouching with her blackened knees almost touching her charred shoulders. Lava continued to churn in deep crevices where her veins should be. The white of her eyes were as bright as headlights, and the red irises as bold as fresh blood.

Hayden lifted a hand, her nail on her pointer finger had grown long and sharp as a talon. In a harsh swipe, she sliced the wire completely in half.

Greta felt the air of movement behind her and stumbled aside as the light smashed into the floor. Tiny pieces of glass mixed with the fallen phone chargers and cases.

It could have killed me! she thought. I almost died!

She clutched her chest and stared blankly at the faulty light fixture that was almost her doom. A foot stepped in the mess on the floor, right before Greta's eyes. A foot as inky black as charcoal, with branching rivers of orange-red blazing through. Greta gasped and stepped backward, without watching. She could only see Hayden.

Ghost. Demon. Run. Her mind raced fearfully.

She stepped back, turned, and her foot landed on a charger package. It slipped, taking her down. Her head smacked on the corner of the granite counter, a hard sound that seemed to echo, even over the sound of Bubble Witch Saga music playing on her phone. It was a game she wouldn't be finishing. She didn't move. Blood poured out of the impact wound, but instead of pooling on the floor, it carved a path straight to Hayden.

Hayden dipped her toe into the blood, soaking it up like a sponge. It didn't put out the fire in her, but fed it. She brightened. A few ashes even formed from the intense heat. She wiped some deep grey ashes across Greta's cheek and the numbers disappeared, leaving only a filthy smudge.

Hayden's work was done here. Flames erupted where she stood and took her away from there.

Greta laid alone. Nobody would find her until the next day, when the owner opened shop. By then, she would have a few more friends join her in the afterlife.

----

A/N: so sorry for the super slow update. As some of you know, my device went out and I've been saving for a new one. I promise to update more often now! Thanks for reading! - XO, Sam