"You kind of remind me of my father. Anyway, I have to get going, I'm late for work," the young woman said, before walking away.
Lucius just stared as she left, something about her felt... familiar.
"Wait, you forgot your-" he shouted trying his best to run towards her, but the woman was already getting into a taxi. "-jacket," he finished, before looking down at his legs.
~I'm not quite what I used to be,~ he thought to himself, before neatly folding the jacket. ~She'll come back tomorrow, I'll give it to her then.~
Later that day Lucius used some of the money he had gotten from her to buy a bottle of scent diffuser. He didn't quite care about how he smelled anymore, but he wasn't going to let his stench infest her jacket.
The following day she walked past the street that Lucius hung around, just like he had predicted, but she didn't even turn to look at him.
"Y-Your jacket," Lucius shouted, using what little strnegth he had to catch up to her as she was hailing a taxi.
"Oh, its you," she said, turning to look at him. There were several bruises all over her face, and even though it was blazing hot today she was wearing a long sleeve shirt.
"Is everything okay?" Lucius asked, his heart dropping once he noticed the look in her eyes. She was scared, the vibrant woman he had met yesterday was no where to be seen.
"I'm okay, you can keep the jacket. You need it more than I do," she said right as a taxi stopped for her.
"This wasn't how I imagined my life in the big city would be," she whispered as she got into the taxi. Lucius wasn't sure whether it was his imagination or not, but he could've sworn he saw a tear.
As the taxi left, anger boiled within him. It felt like seeing his daughter cry, this woman he had only met twice.
For a moment Lucius just looked at the jacket in silence, and right then he decided something.
~I'm going to follow her tomorrow,~ he thought to himself. He didn't want to come off as a stalker, even though that was basically what he was about to do, so he decided he would do it without her knowledge.
The next day came, and Lucius used up all the money he had saved up to hail a taxi to follow hers.
She ended up being dropped at a shady looking building, with thuggishly dressed men standing gaurd outside.
~What has she gotten herself into?~ Lucius thought to himself as she entered the building. He decided to do a quick look around before even attempting to enter, he had to get himself accustomed to the surroundings before he tried anything.
~This is a brothel,~ he concluded after inspecting the place for an hour. Only young beautiful woman or working class men entered. And without fail, every single one of them had a look of guilt on their faces.
The thought of what was being done to her inside enraged him. He understood money had to be made, but not like this. ~Not my daugh- I mean,~ he thought to himself before pausing.
~Why am I doing this? I have no right to decide what she can or cannot do, she's a grown woman,~ he thought to himself, all the while still making plans to get her out.
At first, he had tried calling the police. After all, prostitution was illegal, however, no one would give their phone to someone who looked like they could be a thief.
And sadly he had used up all his money on the taxi, so he didn't have enough to use a pay phone.
~Besides, the police probably already know about this place,~ he thought. Such was the corruption of this world.
~Maybe I should just walk away,~ he thought to himself as he attempted to scale the back walls. It hurt his body just jumping up, so this was an excruciating experience for him.
After some struggle, he managed to climb over the wall. Even though his body had deteriorated his will was still strong.
~Okay, now where could she be?~ he thought to himself, fixing the jacket she had given him as he snooped around.
"Yeah, that new slut has zero skill, but somehow she's a favorite. I tell you, these men have no class," a woman's voice shouted from one of the buildings to the right.
~They must be talking about her,~ Lucius thought, before sneaking towards the buildings.
The place wasn't nearly as heavily guarded as it should've been. The only guards here were stationed in front of specific rooms, probably where the 'workers' serviced their clients. And even then, Lucius was certain that if he had his old body he would've been able to take them all on.
"You have another appointment at three o'clock," a man's voice said, it was coming from the corridor ahead of the one Lucius was currently walking along.
He quickly hid behind a wall, covering his mouth as the man passed by.
~That's her!~ he thought, noticing that the woman he came from was walking beside the man.
~But, those aren't the clothes she came with,~ he thought, anger boiling within him.
They had her dressed in what could be called mere strips of fabric. And though they tried to hide it with foundation, he noticed the bruises on the back of her arms and legs.
[Use a spell to save her. Use anything at your disposal,] a voice within his mind shouted. Anger clouded judgment, it was as if a fog had settled on his mind, intensifying his anger to unreal levels.
He didn't know anything about spells, but for some reason, a word popped up in his mind.
"Solar beam!" he shouted, though sadly nothing happened.
"What was that!?" the man in front of him shouted, swinging around to search where the shout had come from.
~What have I done?~ Lucius thought to himself, before running to charge at the man before he had the time to process what was going on.
Lucius's withered body slammed against the large guard's stomach, winding him and sending him to the floor.
Lucius's shoulder stung, it seemed that the move had dislocated it, but he didn't care. She was safe now.
"Let's go," he said, grabbing onto her hand and leading her down the corridor.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, looking around as they snuck around.
"I'm here to save you, Ghost," Lucius replied, peeking past each corner before proceeding.
