The Spectral Agent - Chapter 10 - Text

Viktor ditched Klaus. Now he has to tell the gang waiting inside.

The Spectral Agent is my first full-length novel and an experiment.

Ed the Editor

and I are independent creators, publishing chapter by chapter: podcast first, then text. It’s designed to be heard. We’d love to receive your feedback so we can tell stories better.

Start at Chapter 1 or find where you left off.

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Listen to the story here.

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In the previous chapter:

He tried to scream, but water entered his lungs. His struggles grew weaker, his fists slowing until they finally stilled. His body went limp beneath my hands. He wasn’t moving. I froze, the realization hitting me.

“No,” I whispered, my voice trembling. I released him, my hands shaking.

I didn't mean to kill him.

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I pulled Klaus's body out of the water.

His eyes were closed, his chest still. I put my fingers on his neck, searching for a pulse, but there was nothing.

“No!” I said again, louder this time, almost a full-fledged scream, “I didn’t mean to.” Panic surged through me. A wave of guilt and fear threatened to drown me. It was something I had felt before—a feeling I knew all too well.

I dropped to my knees beside him, my body trembling as I began CPR. I pressed down on his chest, counting under my breath. I muttered useless words to myself like they would help bring him back.

The rain pounded against me, cold and unrelenting. I kept going, ignoring the ache in my arms, the tightness in my chest. Time seemed to stretch, every second an eternity, as I fought against the inevitable.

Despite my efforts, nothing happened. Klaus was gone.

I sat back, my hands falling to my sides. The storm raged on, the water pooling around us as I stared at his lifeless body. He was dead, and I killed him.

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The rain slowed to a drizzle.

I had no choice but to let what happened sink in. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I couldn’t go back to the gang, I’d be dead on the spot—and well... I can’t go to the police either.

“Viktor?”

Klaus gasped for air, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. I didn’t have time to react before I saw his eyes open. They weren’t Klaus’s eyes.

He was still sprawled out in the ditch, head above water level. I felt a weight lift off of me, as if something had been pulled out of me.

I stumbled back, my pulse hammering in my ears. Klaus was dead—I saw him die. But now here he was, freakishly animated.

“Why did you kiss me? That’s gross, man.” I heard him say, but it wasn’t his normal tone. It was sarcastic, it was light.

“What… what the hell?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.