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36- The Hazards Of Hide And Seek

Green eyes staring into brown.

A giant and a person the size of a normal 18-year-old, maybe slightly taller.

The creature doesn't move, so does Ben.

Then, slowly, it takes a step back.

Ben lets out a small breath, his heartrate sky high. When the creature keeps standing still, not looking like it is about to make any move, Ben dares to take his eyes off it and look back at his friends.

They look just as confused.

"Is it, afraid of you?" Roger whispers.

Ben looks back to the creature, "I don't know." He takes a deep breath before stepping forward, closer to the creature.

"Are you insane?" Eva pulls him back. "What are you doing?"

The creature snarls, making them all jump away from it, but it only moves around restlessly, not showing any will to go after them again. For some reason, it decided to abandon the chase.

Ben takes a step forward and this time Eva doesn't stop him. Something is tickling the back of his mind, he has to try it. "Lay down," Ben commands at the creature.

Instantly the creature sprawls on the floor.

"How did you do that?" Emily's eyes widen.

Ben turns to them, "I was thinking about protecting you." They still don't get it, "it was the influence, I can feel it."

"But how?" Eva looks at the ginormous beast. "This is... It is a weapon, it belongs to the military."

"This is no weapon," Roger realizes as he looks at the blocked path behind them. "This is a trap."

"But if this is an alien creature, how did it get here?" Emily asks.

"The Captain," Ben says. "It has to be him. He told me to come down here. He was the only one who knew about those things."

"The way he tried to cover everything up..." Eva realizes.

"I'll bet you anything that he's the one who took Angie too," Ben says.

"We have to get out of here," Roger looks around, trying to see if there is a different way out.

"I have an idea," Emily turns to Ben. "Use it."

"Do you really think it can break through this?" Eva points at the metal wall that shut their way.

"It can," Ben says. "I've seen it." He can still remember all too vividly the creature shattering it's box and running at him and Jeff. Ben looks right at the creature, he is about to open his mouth but then the creature jumps up.

The four move out of it's way as it storms in a straight path right to the metal wall.

"I didn't even say anything," Ben shakes his head. This influence nonsense is starting to get too complicated for him.

The creature crashes into the wall over and over again and it feels like the whole ship is shaking. Finally the metal gives out and collapses to the floor. The beast turns around and just looks at Ben before walking back to the hall it came out of.

"Should we lock it or something?" Eva suggests.

"It won't go out," Ben says. Even though he has a habit of acting confidant even when he is not, Eva can tell he knows what he's doing this time.

"Let's go find Angie," Roger says. "We need to leave this ship."

Angie, you'd be glad to hear, is probably doing better then they are, all things considered. Of course she wasn't all that pleased about getting kidnapped by an alien (again) and being locked up (again), but after getting past the freak out faze, she is starting to see things logically.

The Captains office is too far from everything, and it is not likely that anyone would hear her in here. The window, even if she could somehow open it, will only lead her to a swim with the dolphins. Besides those there is only one more way out, the ventilation system.

There is one opening at the corner of the office and if Angie was a little bigger, there is no way she could get in it, so it's a good thing she isn't. Angie kneels in front of the vent and tries to see how far it goes. There is so much dust in there and she sneezes.

Her sneeze is echoing in through the ventilation system and scares poor seaman recruit Norwood to death. He was just doing his cleaning duty on the lower deck when he heard what can only be his great uncle that came back to haunt him (as he promised he would do). Norwood throws his broom to the floor and looks around him to see where the sound came from, and then he hears it again.

"Who is it?" he squeals.

A third sneeze is heard and this time the soldier realizes it is coming from the small vent on the floor. He leans down to look inside, and assures himself that if this is indeed his great uncle, he will have enough time to escape before having to "pay for the disgrace he caused to the family".

"Is there anybody in here?"

"Yes!" Angie is so relieved but the solider jumps back in horror. "Please help me!"

"What..." The solider doesn't know what to do, he's never spoken to a ghost before. "What are you?"

"I'm Angie!" She doesn't pay attention to his strange use of pronouns.

"Angie?" It takes him a moment to realize that this is not the ghost of the girl that's come to haunt the ship but the girl herself speaking through the ventilation. "What are you doing in there?"

"I'm stuck! Please get me out!"

"Where are you?"

"I am... In the Captain's office," Angie sneezes again. "It's locked."

"How did you get in there?" He asks her.

Interesting question you have there, Norwood. Angie was wondering the exact same thing herself. The last thing she remembers is falling asleep in Emily's arms and the next thing she knows she is in here, locked.

"I don't... Remember..." Angie sounds so desperate. "Can you come get me out?"

"I am coming, don't move," he adds as if she was planning to go anywhere. Two minutes later Angie hears his voice again, this time from behind the door. "I'm here in the corridor, I don't have the key to the office but I think the Chief has a spare one. I will go look for him."

"Wait!" Angie calls him before he leaves. "Don't tell him I am here."

Angie is not sure how she got here or why, but she has a feeling that whoever put her in this room didn't have her best interest in mind.

"Are you sure? Everyone is looking for you."

"Yes, please don't say anything," she pleads. "I was just playing hide and seek, the Captain will be upset if he knew I got in here."

"Okay, I will come back quickly."

Angie waits. She doesn't know how long it takes but after some time she hears footsteps from outside the office. She hides behind the desk, just in case it isn't Norwood, but then she hears, "Angie?"

"I'm here!" She calls out.

"Are you alright?" The soldier kneels next to her.

"I'm okay."

"I think I saw your brother going down with his friends to look for you, maybe we should tell them you are here?"

Her brother... Oh, right, he's talking about Ben. "Yes," Angie says. She doesn't know what she should do but one thing she knows for sure, someone tried to kidnap her. "Can you go tell them? I don't feel so good," she says. "But don't tell anyone else that you found me, only Ben."

"Why is that?"

"Please, don't tell anyone," Angie looks up with her sweet angel eyes and the soldier can't say no. As suspicious as it sounds, the girl just seems scared.

He walks out of the office and heads to the stairs the go to the lower areas, when one of deck workers passes him, calling out Angie's name.

"She is..." Norwood starts.

"Have you seen her?"

He slightly hesitates before answering. "No," he says. "She isn't there."