Chapter 63: The legend of Haleth, the Lantern Bearer.
Throughout the renovation, Mikel had done his best to maintain a peaceful work environment, mostly to prevent another ghost labor movement, which, frankly, was something he never thought he’d have to deal with.
His mornings were a cycle of sneaking materials into the sealed-off South Block of District 5, dodging patrols, and doing supply runs. Adding to that was fulfilling requests and some of the ghosts’ odd last wishes he felt obligated to fulfill.
And always, always, he checked the bulletin boards to see if the government had finally scheduled a retrieval of the bodies.
They hadn’t.
For some reason, the operation kept getting delayed, leaving grieving families restless and angry. Even though the Chief Executive Officer of District 5 had already made a speech about the reason — explaining the delay and the ongoing aftershocks of the earthquake — the affected families’ cry didn’t stop.
It had been over two weeks since the incident, and Mikel knew the delay couldn’t last forever. That’s why he had already started planning for what to do when the inevitable happened. So, when Danika casually mentioned that the headmaster was aware of the renovation, it all clicked.
The delay?
It was the headmaster.
His reason?
Simple.
He was entertained, watching Mikel’s efforts like a personal, ghost-fueled stage play.