"Oh, come on," Nelson saw through his doubts. "What could I cheat you out of?"
He did have a point, Darren thought. Money was certainly out of the question, and it didn't seem like Nelson would have any "ulterior motives" towards him, so to speak.
"So what's the worst that could happen if I stay out here at night? I mean, you can't die again, can you?"
"Well, actually you can. It's happened to a number of people I knew, and though I've no idea what it's like, it can't be pleasant."
Oh, wow. It never crossed his mind that his live was still in any remote danger. He was still very much in the stage of adjusting to his first death.
"All right, wise guy, define 'it gets pretty nasty here at night'."quipped Darren.
"You do know that there are two Ghostopias, don't you?"
"Two Ghostopias? Never heard of that."
"Oh, you really are new here." Nelson remarked. "Do you know that it's considered a major crime to have come here by commiting suicide?"
"Erm...I think I did come across that in the papers I was selling this morning."
"So since neither one of us killed ourselves, we're in what is called the Protected Ghostopia. That simply means that you can't kill another Ghost during daytime, or they'll punish you severely."
"So what happens at night, then?"
"That's what I was warning you of," his eyes suddenly grew round. "Try as they might, the powers that be just can't establish authority during the night. Though most of the folks in the Protected Ghostopia are harmless, you get plenty of hooligans from the other side coming over here up to no good."
Darren bit his lip and thought again. It did seem an offer too good to be true, one he didn't seem to have the option of turning down. Maybe that was the problem to begin with.
"Why would you be so eager to take me in? You don't even know me."
"Hohoho, you are a difficult one, aren't you? Fact of the matter is, I've been looking for a housemate quite some time now, and I need someone to take care of the chores as well."
"Well, I guess I could live with that. It's a deal, then!"
"Deal!" Nelson beamed and shook his hand firmly.
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