How to Love the Stars | Ghost (Simon Riley)

Chapter 47

Ghost scaled the side of the ship toward the engine room. The cold air and misty tendrils of seawater dampened his suit, but at the very least, no one would know he was coming. Instead of taking the obvious route through the corridor that would surely end in him being ambushed, he had rigged the cameras to show his activity earlier while he was scouting the area out. Although he was quite thick-headed, he wasn't stupid. He just hoped his diversion could keep them satisfied long enough.

As he continued to scale the ship's side, he checked his watch, noting that he had only 20 minutes left until the diversion would likely be discovered, raising suspicion. He couldn't afford to waste any time. Ghost's eyes flickered to the photo he had received, taken by Althea's captors. Carlos had told him the engine room, but he didn't believe him one bit. It indeed depicted an engine room, as indicated by the machinery in the background. It could very well be a trap, but he had no other choice.

With a determined resolve, he reached the engine room, treading carefully to avoid detection. He paused outside the door, his senses on high alert. Faint, muffled screams reached his ears, and his heart leaped. Could it be Althea? He took a deep breath, kicked the door open, and aimed his weapon, scanning the dim and damp room. But to his astonishment, the room was empty, devoid of any captors or Althea.

With a steely resolve, he reached his destination, his gloved hand resting lightly on the corroded metal door that led to the engine room. Ghost had trained himself to be acutely aware of his surroundings, a sixth sense that was now on high alert. Muffled screams, faint but unmistakable, reached his ears, and his heart quickened. Could it be Althea? He inhaled deeply, kicked the door open with a silent, well-practiced motion, and swiftly entered the dimly lit and damp room, weapon at the ready. Water dripped from the ceiling from condensation, collecting in puddles on the ground.

To his astonishment, the room was empty, devoid of any captors or signs of Althea's presence. Panic started to claw at the edges of his mind as he noticed a speaker, placed strategically in the center of the floor, emitting the eerie distressing sounds he had heard from outside. It was a trap. Ghost barely had time to react before he spotted a subtle, nearly imperceptible reflection of movement in a small puddle nearby. His well-honed training took over, and he instinctively shifted into a defensive stance, narrowly avoiding a vicious swipe of a man's knife as it sliced through the air.

Seizing the advantage, Ghost moved with lightning speed, his fingers clamping onto the attacker's wrist with bone-crushing force. He twisted the man's arm behind his back, causing him to gasp in pain as he was forcibly brought to the unforgiving floor. Ghost loomed over him, an unrelenting force. "Where is she?" Ghost hissed, his voice a blend of anger and desperation.

The man, realizing he was trapped with no escape, remained silent, though he writhed in agony, attempting to free himself. Ghost tightened his grip, his relentless pressure sending a searing jolt of pain through the man's body as he was slammed against the cold, damp floor. "Where... is... she?" Ghost demanded, his voice harsh and unforgiving.

Gasping for breath and wracked with pain, the man finally pointed towards the rear of the ship. Ghost acted decisively, rendering the man unconscious and leaving him in a crumpled heap on the floor. With determination etched into his every move, he sprinted toward the direction indicated, his heart pounding in his chest, every second feeling like an eternity.

And then, he saw her, her eyes wild, darting back and forth as if trying to convey something as she struggled against Carlos. Carlos wrestled with her, proving truly difficult even as she was tied up. In one swift and brutal motion, he pushed Althea off the side of the ship, silently plummeting toward the dark, unforgiving sea below. Ghost ran to the railing, but Carlos held up a gun, stopping him in his tracks.

And Ghost was afraid. And not of the gun. Carlos's dark, neatly combed hair was now askew, covering one eye. However, in the other, Ghost could see the insanity, the madness, the absolute glee. This man wasn't dangerous. He was insane, which was considerably worse. Carlos's hand found a lever on a control panel to his side.

Carlos smiled at Ghost, such a distinctly unnerving expression. "Do you know what this lever does?"

Ghost's eyes darted down to Althea, who was bobbing up near the surface, gasping for air. He noticed a thick rope trailing from her bound hands to an arm on the side of the ship. His eyes widened, his blood turning to ice. He would not dare.

Carlos saw the realization bloom across Ghost's gaze, grinning in delight. Suspended on the arm, was the ship's anchor. The lever would sink Althea to the bottom of the sea, and it had just started to lower. "You see, there's one thing I'm here for," He kept his hand on the lever, smirking smugly at the way Ghost's eyes watched his hand. "Tell me the launch code, or the girl drowns."

Ghost felt true, bone-chilling, horror for the first time since his childhood, before he had become desensitised to such things. 

Ghost shook his head, speaking quietly. "I don't know the co-"

Carlos's eyes narrowed. "Bullshit. Do you think I won't do it? Do you think I'm a coward?" His hand tightened on the lever. "The only coward here, is yourself."

Ghost looked down into the water, meeting Althea's desperate, panicked eyes. He didn't want her to die. Little did he know, her eyes panicked for a different reason than he thought.

"84629403." And Carlos smiled, putting down the gun. And then, he pulled the lever.

A/N: CONGRATULATIONS FOR READING THIS FAR!! I want to thank you all for getting me to almost 120k reads! I know for sure that in my life this is something I never thought I would be doing. You all are the best. I love you all, and sorry for posting late. I meant to post on Saturday but forgot. Thank you all for being patient.