Mike thinks that everyone... his brother, his mother and father, his classmates, the teacher, the school nurse, the doctor... the whole world was against him, and thought he was crazy.

On the way home from the Doctor's Office, Mike yells to his Dad "STOP THE CAR!" The same figure in a white hoodie riding a shiny red bicycle down the street to the right. "Dad, please" Mike begged, "This will prove I'm NOT CRAZY!"

Mike hopped out of the Ford Taurus that turned after the figure and chased the person down, heart pounding... he pulls the hoodie back to reveal...

... a very confused little girl.

"That's it, bedtime for you!" his father barks sternly, more convinced than ever that his son is just hallucinating.

Back at home, his mother continues to prod him with a thermometer. "I knew it, 99.6!" his mother exclaimed. "Terrific, when he hits 100 we'll sell!" The younger brother was sitting nearby and with a shrug he said "I don't get it." "It's a joke about stocks." The parents finally make their exit and allow the younger sibling to stay. "It'll be my first time to the river without you!" laments Ben. "Yeah, I'm stuck in bed and everyone thinks I'm a few sandwhiches short of a picnic." "By the way, was that joke earlier dirty?" "Nah, just a boring grown up thing."

Getting back to plans, Mike tells Ben that if he wakes him up, he'll go to the river too. "You'll be fine anyways, you'll have your friends." "Just like you used to have Ricky"

Waking Mike up was thwarted. "Forgot your tackle-box? You KNOW it's in the garage! Has EVERYBODY here gone wacky?!" Dad said as he ushered the little brother down to the car.

As a last-ditch effort Ben threw pebbles at Mike's bedroom window to no avail. But some odd minutes later, a youthful, ghostly whisper could be heard.

"Miiiiike.
Miiiike!"

[To Be Continued]

Mike was feeling a strange flux of emotions: confused, scared, depressed, even angry! At first when he looked out the window, there was nothing... then "Mike, come out!".

Hurriedly slipping his jeans over his boxers, the distraught teen yelled "I'm sick of this!" and then went outside and started yelling for his friend. "Ricky! Ricky!! RICKY!!!"

The figure, alittle less ghostly said, "Here I am, Mike"

" 'Here I am?! Just like that?! What the hell do you want from me?!?" he reached to grab Ricky's shoulders to find that... they were solid.

Meanwhile, at the river...

[To be continued...]

Wow, my name is on the topic's title! :D I feel special! :D

I am back from a Young Democrats meeting. :P

Hm... Is the glitch fixed? I mean where you donate to the opposite team and get their item?

Ben and his pre-pubescent crew of friends were at the park, on the way to the river. "Hey, isn't that the bridge where your brother's friend got killed?" one of the munchkins asked. Being the only person who actually secretly believed his brother, he played the card of changing the subject "Let's just keep going, I don't want to hear about Ricky anymore."

Once at the river, getting ready to cast his line, Ben accidentally knocked over his friend's soda can that was balanced precariously on a rock. "Sorry, it was an accident." The vengeful boy then took Ben's bobber and threw it way upstream "Hey, what was that for?" A sarcastic reply answerd "Sorry, another 'accident". Feeling dejected, Ben began the hunt for his bobber...

Meanwhile, Mike couldn't believe his hands, "I tried to save you!" he pleaded with the ghost desperately, "If that wasn't good enough, do whatever you want to me."

Ricky replied, "I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to warn you."

With a roll of his eyes in disbelief "WARN me?! What's so important..."

But Mike was cut off by a one-word answer... "Ben."

[To be continued. Who's still enjoying the story?"]

*wiggles* Come on, Grampa! Kinny must know what happens next!

o_o *stares*
I want to read, but.. But..!
[to be continued...]

:feesh:

Why hello thar, fellow Sprocketeers. xD

The Ghost of Ricky continued explaining, "He's in danger, I tried to tell you yesterday at school. He's at the bridge- my bridge".

Not knowing how to get there, Ricky handed over his precious Shiny Red Bicycle in mint condition to Mike. "Get going, It's a long ride and we don't want Ben on this side just yet!"

Mike peddled as fast as he could, having to keep a standing position on the bicycle whose size he long outgrew. His muscle memory of riding along his old favourite route did not fail him.

Ben's foot was caught between two rocks. "Guys! Hey Guys!" he yelled back to his friends. Chances are they didn't hear him, but if they did, they were still ignoring him for being a sissy, or giving him payback for knocking over the precious cold soda on a warm afternoon. Ben was getting frantic, and it was time for the park-keeper to release the torrents of water yet again. With his wrench, he begain the manual mechanism, crank by crank to allow the water to come tearing down the normally mild stream, with Ben absolutely helpless to the water's wrath...

[To Be Continued ;) ]

Mooooore! *flails* This is getting really good!

"AAAH! HELP!" Ben cried for his life, but his screams did not fall on deaf ears, for Mike had shown up at the new, sturdy bridge just in time with a shiny 'danger' sign. He was haunted by echoes from the past, screams, and pleas to Ricky to hold on. He threw the bicycle against the green grass and hopped after his brother.

With his superior strength, Mike was able to move the rocks that trapped his only younger brother's sprained or broken ankle and they jumped to the side just as the waterfall splashed past them, spraying droplets soaking their clothes but nothing else. Mike wrapped his jacket around Ben and noticed on the grass a rusted bicycle with bent up tire frames. The very next day a fisherman found the remains of Ricky's body. Why had it taken so long for Ricky and his bicycle to be found? Most likely because he wasn't down in the river, but instead he was waiting to pay back a favour to his best friend. Mike was able to do for Ben what he couldn't do for Ricky despite his best effort- saved his precious LIFE.

The End.

Ooh... *claps* Kinny likes!

That's actually my favourite episode. I mean you could argue that all of them could be true, but I really believe in ghosts, and of all the stories, a ghost holding on to pay back a favour, even if it scares the shizza out of his old friend at first, I believe that that could truly happen in real life, so for me, that makes it the best story... because it's actually something believeable.

Nao-chan- He was screaming the name of his DEAD friend... that really means that there's not going to be boyxboy action happening!

*bounces on Grampa's lap* Grampa, can I have another story!

Hey everyone XD