It was a Tuesday afternoon at Site 230, which meant that interviews, testing, and counseling was not to be held. Marcus Woods found himself using his free time to fingerpaint, as it was something he could safely do without the others interfering like they did when they made him stab that one guy in the arm.
"Ugh, this is sooo boring! I wanna do something fuuuun!" Marcus had to mentally roll his eyes at what he was hearing. The spirit of the famous pop idol "Classy Lassy" Cassidy had manifested and was lying on her back on a nearby table. For being a former national pop idol, she was quite a diva.
"Ah shut yer trap young'n, I gots a 'errible headache." Marcus turned his head to see the lighthouse keeper Rime Turpentine complain, with a hand on his head. It seemed he was nursing a hangover, something that was weird for a ghost to have.
"Why don't you shut yours?" snapped the spirit of former hotel owner Nyx Kalliope. Nods from the manifested spirits of Victorian winemaker Morgan Baker and serial killer Morticia Aeron followed.
"Please," muttered the spirit of the shepherd Jericho. "Please be quiet".
"I quite agree" spoke up the former "Murderous Maid" Teala Vasquez. We are upsetting our generous host. Marcus knew she was addressing him. Ever since he decided to wear this locket, he was cursed to have it on and share his body with these spirits and thirteen others. The one benefit of having a locket with twenty spirits trapped inside was that they were sometimes so focused on battling for control of his body that he could lead a normalish life.
Unfortunately, when they did gain control, they made him commit horrendous murders, which landed him attention by the Serpent's Hand, as they made the original article of jewelry. Based on what the Foundation staff told him, he was a bit glad that the Foundation found him first. He wished to leave but knew the threat he would pose until the locket was emptied.
Until then, he was kept in Site 230, which wasn't anywhere as bad as he thought. The staff was friendly, and there were many other people like him, anomalous, as they were called. The walls were colorful, and the inner courtyard was full of fresh air as opposed to the grimy city he used to live in. Not to mention that Pasta Thursdays were the highlight of the week.
"Yo fleshy, you payin' attention?" Marcus snapped to attention and turned to the infamous murderer Gabriella Emily. She scoffed as she realized Marcus didn't hear the question.
"We asked what you were thinking of dearie," cooed Matilda Dodge. This wasn't anything new from her. Despite her reputation as a mass murdering cannibal, most never knew that she was a kind mother, and probably saw Marcus as a son figure.
"He's p-probably thinking about h-how miserable his life is because of us," stuttered Jules Forth, a man seemingly cursed with permanent unluckiness that landed him in the position of being a spirit.
"Oh, I doubt such a charming friend would be thinking such a horrid thing," responded the flashy photographer Kazuichi Brekker, earning a nod of agreement from the sweet and deadly confectioner Elliot Lundell.
"Or," giggled a voice, "He is thinking such a thing, maybe he wants to cut us up into iiiity bitty pieces!" If Marcus was in an anime, he would've had a sweatdrop appear on his head. Of course, the "Violent Vivisector" Zechariah Z. Zaidan would wish for something like that.
"Leave Forth alone," Irina Kata curtly spoke in a tone that meant total seriousness. Marcus knew she died a bride, so perhaps she saw a bit of her husband in Jules?
"Mister Woods," piped up famed inventor Adam Sivers, "You never answered the question. What were you thinking about?"
Marcus thought for a bit before telling them the truth. That ever since the council member modified the locket to allow them to manifest as spirits only tethered to the locket instead of having to forcibly possess him anytime they wanted to be vocal, he really enjoyed talking to them as people. Silence filled the room.
"Wow, wasn't expecting something like that, considering what we made ya do," muttered Sam Sidney, who used their time in control of Marcus' body to discover the whereabouts of Jack the Ripper.
"Despite what we've done, we're not all terrible people," muttered former police chief Ajax Lycaon, who pointed a finger towards the glass door that led to the courtyard, which had sitting in front of it the solemn father "Herb", the environmentalist honey hunter Ayusha Ranjan, and surprisingly the muscle brute pro gamer known as +1UP. The trio seemed to be people watching those that wandered in and out of the courtyard.
Marcus smiled as he decided to paint the three for his picture. Days like these were treasures to be had, especially since he knew that in a few moments it would probably boil down to a bickering match like it usually did. And considering how Cassidy began to flap her gums, it seemed like he was right. Oh how he wished for some headphones.
