Ghost Skills

Ghost Skills Chapter 12

I snapped awake, not opening my eyes, but listening to a rustling that moved about the room. A hand brushed my forehead and I jerked to the side, wrapped my legs around the body and reached for the knife on my hip. Realizing it wasn't there, I squeezed tighter with my legs and opened my eyes.

"Dude!" wheezed Haley. "Could you let me go now?"

"Sorry darlin." Unwrapping my legs from around her ribs, I sat up, got very dizzy and fell back down onto the pillow. Then the memories of me collapsing in the stairwell and her bending down to pick me up came flooding back all at once.

“How long have I been out?"

"Just over a day," she said, rubbing her ribs.

"How did I get here?"

Pride filled her face as she smiled "I carried your heavy butt up two flights of stairs, removed the bullet, and stitched you up."

I tried sitting up again, slowly. Haley rushed to my side and helped me up saying, "Easy now."

Running my hand over my shoulder I felt bandages, so I gingerly pulled them off to reveal six stitches in a neat line.

"That's a better job then I could have done darlin, where did you learn to do that?" I inquired.

She smiled even wider before answering me. "I'm a nurses assistant dude. I've been around gunshot wounds before, but this was my first time doing it all by myself and I did a darn good job too!"

We fell into silence and she opened her mouth and then closed it.

Seeing the look she was giving me, I decided she deserved the truth. "Ask away darlin, ask away." I said, dropping back onto my pillow.

"I already know Daniel."

My eyes widened at this and I asked "What do you know?"

She looked at the floor sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I was looking for a first aid kit and I found the paperwork on Peter Mitchell, and I watched the news since you have been out. I figured since the witness they found said, a big guy with swords did all that stuff at the warehouse, and I found you on the stairs with swords on your back, I put two and two together. You're Ghost."

Confused I asked, "I'm Ghost? What's that supposed to mean?"

“That's what the news is calling you. The Ghost."

I groaned inwardly at the nickname. The realization hit me and I asked quickly. "Wait, you said something about a witness?"

"Yep. They found him in the warehouse after you left." she said. "Come on I'll show you."

Grabbing my hand and helping me into the living room, she sat me down on my chair and flicked on the TV. The screen showed a male news anchor at a news desk. "This is the exclusive interview our reporter was able to procure from the witness of the warehouse slaughter."

Slaughter? God forgive me, how many did I kill?

The screen switched to a black man handcuffed to a hospital bed, with the reporter asking him questions.

"When did you first see him?"

"When Jerome hit the floor man, that's when we all knew something was up."

Guard number seven! That’s who called the cops! I thought, then turned my attention back to the interview.

"What happened after that?"

"Well I saw my boys get together and start looking for Jerome and I was coming out the office to help them when I saw a shape behind the boxes. Then he stood up and brought these weird ass swords out of his back. Then one of the boys shined him with the light and he just stood there man, he just stood there! Like he wasn't afraid of nothing, then Paulo tried shooting him and he disappeared, just like a ghost! Then he was behind them and started cutting them man! Like, one second he was here, and the next second he was way over there. He just kept disappearing and reappearing till they was all dead!"