Raymond Mark: Season 2

Chapter 49: The Ghost Ship

PART 1: PLAN

It was a wise decision by Captain Foster to assign the investigation of the Ghostship to Army 11. The reason simply was that the ship was in Fruniv. The location was the same as Army 11's headquarters. Army 4 was all the way East in Serice.

Eve prepared a plan for the steps to be executed. The mission said that a mysterious ship appeared a few days ago out of nowhere. Some vendors and fishermen nearby reported thefts of their resources too. She thought it was a group of bandits or pirates seeking attention.

Alice was given a holiday for the day. She was still sad about her grandfather's death, so Katie went ahead and gave her a day off. The rest of Army 11 went to the coast with a dive and stood at the cliff. They were facing the sea with the old, wrecked ship floating on the waves.

The setting sun was gleaming on the seawater to make it a perfect picnic spot. But they all knew they were on a mission. Annie was scared about the Ghost Ship, if the ship had Ghosts living there, she would die just from fear. She knew that everyone else had survived the Ghosts' attack in the Dark Forest a few months back. But she was still afraid.

Raymond, Eve, Gavin, and Aarav were not scared even a bit. Katie's face was not showing whatever she was feeling.

"Relax," said Eve, tapping Annie's shoulder. "You know, the only type of Ghosts that exists in this world can never leave the Dark Forest because of an ancient curse."

"But, still," said Annie.

Raymond found Katie carrying a bag with her. That bag had been bugging him since they left the Beach House. He stepped forward to open it. Katie sensed it and moved forward, but Raymond got a hold of the bag's zipper and opened it. A box of cake fell out of the bag. Katie jumped to pick it up as if it were made of pure diamond.

"Why are you carrying cake?" asked Raymond.

"To offer it to the Ghosts," Katie replied.

The reactions on everyone's faces were priceless. Katie was always unexpected. She was always way over their imagination of weirdness.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" she asked. "In the Dark Forest, we did not offer them anything, so they attacked us. We will offer cake now, so anyone who eats such a delicacy will not choose violence."

Everyone slapped their heads in unison.

"There are no Ghost Ships," said Eve. "After a ship is abandoned, the waves and the wind keep it going through the ocean sometimes. There is no other reason for their existence."

"Then, I'll eat all this cake by myself," Katie said with water flowing in her mouth.

"I knew it!" Raymond yelled, "You didn't want to offer the cake to the Ghosts in the first place."

"Is it too late to change my Army?" Gavin asked with disappointment.

"Enough," said Eve. "We need to split up and ask people around. We also need to check for clues pointing to the event of someone getting out of the ship. I'll go and interrogate nearby fishermen."

Raymond grabbed Katie's arm and pulled her back, he intended to take her to the coast for investigation. Eve stopped him.

"Remember, our training regimen needs us to work with different partners," Eve said.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten about that. Eve had planned everything. She had even decided whom to send in groups. Raymond and Aarav had a battle fought side by side, so they were okay. So, Eve made Aarav go with Katie and Annie go with Raymond.

"What am I supposed to do?" Gavin asked. "Alice isn't here today."

"That's the sad part," said Eve, shaking her head with hopelessness. "I am stuck with you I guess."