A girl wearing a knee length coat and pink knitted mittens. She looked around, the street was full of people running or shoving past each other, but none of them noticed her. None except for a little boy with a blue snow suit on. He looked to be seven, that was six years younger than her. He walked up to where she stood on the sidewalk and he spoke.
"Who are you?" the boy asked, "Are you looking for someone?"
The girl simply ignored him and walked toward his house.
"Hey!" he yelled, "talk to me! Why are you here!?"
The girl turned around and for the first time acknowledged the boy.
"I think you know why," the girl said gently.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name's Lucy," she said with a kind smile.
"You're a ghost aren't you?" the boy asked touching her arm. He jumped back as he realized his hand didn't go through her arm, but actually hit flesh.
"I'm not a ghost, but what's important is that I'm here now and I can't leave," Lucy said holding up her wrist. Wrapped around her wrist was a silver chain and the other end of the chain was wrapped around the boy's arm.
He looked at her with wide eyes, "Why me?!"
Lucy fell to the ground as the boy kicked at her ankles. As she tried to get up he punched her in the face. It wouldn't have hurt if he had been a normal seven year old, but he wasn't. He could see her and that was a problem.
"You need my protection," Lucy said gently, or at least she tried to keep her voice gentle.
"Why do I need a freak like you to protect me?" he spat.
"Because people are after you they want you dead, and if you don't want to die, I suggest you listen to me you little brat!" Lucy yelled.
"What?!" the boy was surprised and Lucy was glad he'd stopped yelling.
"You have some kind of power don't you?" she asked gently.
The boy gasped and tried to run away, but Lucy was still something like a ghost and she could transport herself. She was pretty much done. Lucy didn't have the patience for anything much less a boy who thought he ran the world.
"Look at me you stinking BAKA!" Lucy yelled grabbing the boy's shoulders.
The boy looked terrified so Lucy forced her tone to remain clam, "What's your name?"
"Josh."
"Okay, Josh, what is it you can do exactly?"
"I can get into people's heads, they don't like it very much, and Mommy says it's not nice," Josh explained.
"Can you get into mine?" Lucy asked.
Josh shrugged and Lucy let go of his shoulders and sat on the snowy ground beside him. He sat on hi knees in front of her and his large cream colored eyes locked onto Lucy's ice blue ones.
She could feel his mind pressing against hers but it was also gentle, like he actually cared about her privacy.
'You can hear me right?' Josh asked. He was inside her head now.
"Yeah."
Lucy felt a memory rise, almost like Josh was coaxing it out of hiding.

It was dark and the tires of a truck outside screeched as the breaks tried to catch on the icy road.
"No!" Lucy yelled jumping up and backing away from him.
"I'm sorry I had no idea," Josh said.
Lucy closed her eyes and sunk to the ground. She took a shaky breath, "You weren't to know don't worry about it."
"You're a ghost, is that--that, how you died?" Josh asked.
"That is none of your business!" Lucy snapped.
Josh stepped back then shook his head and held his hand out to Lucy, "Maybe not, but I'm going to head home and I think you have to follow."
Lucy looked at his had and stood up, "C'mon."
Her voice was still sharp and that was enough to shock Josh, but he sensed more fear in her than anything else.
"You keep telling me you are something like a ghost. What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm called a protector," Lucy said, "I'm attached to you because you need protecting and you and I have a connection."
"Is that why my hand doesn't go through you?" Josh asked.
"Yes, but it also has something to do with the power that you posses," Lucy explained as she followed him into the one story home. She waited as he took off he snow suit and walked to his room.
"Josh, You've dealt with ghosts before, haven't you?" Lucy asked as Josh closed the door.
"I have, but this isn't the same. You're different, more real, more alive. It's like part of you is still living."
Lucy smiled grimly, "That's because I can't die, some part of me will always be living."
Josh sat on his bed, "What if you can leave though?" he asked, "maybe you can leave and you just don't know it. What if this chain brought you to me, not for my protection, but to show you who could help you move on?"
Lucy looked at Josh, there was no way this could be the little brat she'd just yelled at.
"Can--I try?" Josh asked nervously as he looked at her.
Nervously Lucy met his gaze.
'Lucy, it's okay,' Josh said. Something calming filled her mind like she'd known him for years. It was like she knew everyone of his secrets every single one of his fears. 'Lucy, trust me'

The wheels of a semi screeched on the icy ground, but it was too late. The semi flipped dumping oils and gas all over the yard and home it had crashed
next to.

There were tears streaming down Lucy's cheeks, 'Josh, stop, it hurts.'

The truck it was laying there, but the snow, no one could see and a car slid crashing into the semi. That was when it happened the engine broke, shattered, something. The next thing anyone knew the fire was traveling up around the house and then engulfing it.

'STOP!'

The fire reached her, Lucy, she woke up and stared wide eyed at the flames that licked her hands. She couldn't move she was too scared too wrapped up in blankets. She cried out, but there was no one there no one to hear her.

"'STOP IT!'" Lucy cried out.

She felt the flames consume her. She felt them they were demons eating away at her skin until her fingers were gone and the pain was too much to bare. Those same flames ate away at her eyes causing them to water, but instantly the tears would dry up because of the heat alone. The fire was blue and it crawled across her like a snake. Every thing it touched was gone in seconds until she couldn't take it any more and for the last time she cried out into the fire. That blue fire the same color as her eyes.

"Stop," Lucy whispered. She was curled up in a ball crying.
Josh rubbed her back much like he had done for his younger sister when their dad had died.
"You know, Lucy, it's okay, you're okay," Josh said gently.
"I'm not dead," Lucy whispered trying to stop crying.
"No you're not,' Josh agreed.
"Why?" Lucy asked sitting up.
"I think you're in a coma and your soul is traveling," Josh said.
"Wait," Lucy sat up, "what do you mean?"
"That fire wasn't an accident, someone with powers caught your house on fire to separate your soul from your body," Josh explained.
"Why would someone do that?" Lucy asked.
"Their afraid of you," Josh said, "they want you out of the way. But why?"
"Because my power is like yours I use the souls of the living and nonliving things around me to actually use my power," Lucy explained.
"What is your power exactly?" Josh asked.
"I can shape shift. I turn into a paint pony," Lucy explained with a small smile.
"I think I can help you find your body," Josh said standing up and pulling out a lap top off his desk.
"Huh?"
"What day was the fire?" Josh asked.
"May 18th, 2004," Lucy answered.
"Found it. Mace Hospital. That's right down the street, I'll take you there in the morning," Josh promised.
So Lucy went to sleep and in the morning they walked over to the hospital.
"What can I help you with?" The receptionist asked.
"I'd like to see Lucy Glasse," Josh replied.
"I'm not sure you'll get a reply, nut she's in room A 34." the man behind the desk said.
"Thank you," Josh said. He walked into the room to see Lucy as he knew her only he could see her hands. They were red, but healing and he smiled. This was Lucy.
Carefully he walked up to the bed and rubbed her back, for a seven year old everyone told him he was mature.
"Luce, can you hear me?" Josh asked.
Luce's eyes opened and she smiled. She was hooked to thousands of different breathing machines, but she nodded.
"Thank you, Josh, sorry for calling you baka," she whispered.