“Well, I was on the way down and a big gust of wind blew me off course, so I shook it and it said ‘Outlook Hazy,’ so I dropped it.” He said this in a manner that suggested this was the whole, complete story, that there was no more to be told, so everybody stood motionless trying to put things together in their heads, and the goggle-man stooped down to dig his eight ball out of the ground.
Once he had successfully unearthed it, he stood up, took off his helmet, and stared at them, just as confused about them as they were about him.
“Name’s Hector,” he said.
Ralph, the Halsey children and Tom stood there, still dumbfounded.
Ralph finally broke the silence. "So who's that?" he asked pointing to a man-shaped lump on the ground a few yards away.
"Oh my gosh! That's a person!" Sadie Halsey shouted, running over to the lump.
The rest of the kids sprinted over, too, and noticed that the mystery-man was dressed much like Hector. He wore a matching jumpsuit, goggles and helmet.
"Is this your friend or something?" shouted Matthew over his shoulder.
"Friend? Son, I only jump alone," Hector snorted, strutting over to the kids with Tom in tow.
"Then who is it?" Sadie wanted to know.
"He doesn't seem to be breathing," Jacob noticed.
"Is he d-dead!?" Sarah asked, holding her breath.
"Poke him or something," added a pants-scarfed Ralph.
"With what?" questioned Matthew, not quite sure if it wasn't really such a bad idea. He gingerly reached down and slipped the helmet off the stranger's head just as Hector and Tom walked up behind the group of kids.
Sadie screamed. Ralph chuckled. Everyone else gapsed.
"That's--that's you!" Sarah said in disbelief, looking at Hector.
"Very curious," muttered Jacob.
"This is awesome!" yelled Ralph, grinning wildly.
Hector backed up in disbelief, not ready to admit that he had just seen himself, lying on the ground, to all intents and purposes dead as a doornob.
"What the heck?! How is that--" he looked at the kids, trying to find someone who would tell him what was going on. Someone who would reassure him that everything was alright.
"I don't understand. How can he be there," said Tom pointing at dead Hector, "and over there?" pointing again, this time at scared-as-crap Hector standing a few feet away.
"He's a ghost!" giggled Ralph. "This is the best day ever!"
"Don't be thick," snapped Sarah, the rational one in her family. "Ghosts don't exist."
Everyone just stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Tom kept glancing back and forth between dead Hector and horrified Hector. Sadie looked like she might cry. Jacob looked stared straight at alive (maybe) Hector. Hector stared straight at himself. Sarah and Matthew just looked at each other, not sure what to do next.
Ralph was beaming.
Matthew interrupted the silence. "But it's the only explanation," not quite believing what he was saying. "He must have died in the landing or something."
"But that's impossible! How come you can see me? And how come I can stand on the ground? And how come...." Hector stopped blubbering.
"Oh my God....I'm dead."
