A Hauntings Purpose

He slowly moved the beam of his flashlight in a careful circle around him.A gasp ripped from his chest when the light shone on a deathly pale face not a foot away from him. He was barely able to catch himself before his hands could strike out defensively. The intensity of his startlement caught him off guard.The child before him appeared worryingly frail, with an ashen pallor to the skin drawn taut over their small frame. Dark, matted hair hung in damp clumps to nearly brush the top of their shoulders. Hidden somewhat behind their rugged fringe, their eyes–their eyes–Bruce clamped down on whatever primal fear kept trying to steal the air from his lungs.The child’s eyes looked directly at him, their wispy brows pinched in a small frown. However, in a manner determined to make his skin crawl, the grey fog blanketed their pupils, one he recognized from corpses.He carefully tucked his initial reactions from behind one of his many masks and quickly lowered the flashlight.“Hey there,” he said, slowly easing to his knees. “My name is Bruce. Are you alright?”