Ghost In The Dark

Ghost's Echo

BLAKE'S P.O.V.
Standing beside me or behind me, I can't tell because my head is pounding hard, Is the soul individual behind the two recent murders that had shaken this town up and he was within reach but I couldn't grab him and shove his face against this counter because I might be putting more lives In danger and I can't risk that.

"I thought we should have a little chat before I go off to kill my next victim" He said

Next victim? Has he already caught someone or he was bluffing
"What do you mean by next victim? Who is it?" I demanded raising my voice a bit

"Don't raise your voice. Let's not invite unnecessary attention to ourselves" He said "So as I was saying detective hunter, You and I haven't officially met yet but I'm glad we're meeting now"
"It's not so much of a meeting when I'm not allowed to see your face, now is it?" I scowled

"Well you might get disappointed if you turned around so let's just keep the mystery to the end" He chuckled

"How did you know I was here?" I asked

"Well let's just say I can read your mind so I can be one step ahead of you all the time" He responded

"So what do you want?" I asked trying to look behind me from the corner of my eye

"Firstly, don't try to look at me Detective and secondly, I just want you to know that I exist and you would never be able to catch me even if you tried"

"And why do you feel so confident that I won't?" I asked looking back down into my glass

"Well let's just say catching me would be....." He paused "Hard" He laughed

Was he mocking me?

"Who do you have in your custody?" I asked feeling agitated

"Oh" He chuckled "You'll read about it in the news soon, unless you're fast enough to find her"

"If you do anything to her, I swear I will kill you" I said fuming

"Oh detective calm your nerves" He said "At the end of the day the blood would be on both of our hands"

"Both our hands?" I was confused. How would it be on my hands

"Yes. Mine for killing them and yours for not being able to stop me while I did it" He laughed

"The only thing that would be on your hands would be the metal cuffs I strap to your wrists" I said

I heard his maniacal laugh as it echoed in my ears "Oh wow, you're really a funny one detective"

"Why are you doing this?" I asked

It would help to know the motive behind his murders
"Why am I doing this?" He went quiet for a bit "Simple: Because I can"

"Sooner or Later I will catch you and throw you behind bars" I said as I gripped the handle of my glass

I could easily turn around and empty the contents of this drink on his face, catching him off guard and take him down.

"The only way you'll take me down detective is on my dead cold back because I wont go to jail" He said "Well I have a victim to kill now detective so I'll let you be."

It was now or never but my hands wouldn't move. I felt numb

"Talk to you soon detective" He said

I could move my hands again as I heard the door open. I spun around my seat but found no one behind me, the two people seating on the other side of the bar gone as well. No time to think
I jumped out of my seat, stumbled a bit but I ran out of the bar and onto the road, looked left and right trying to identify anyone out of place or trying to blend into the street. I turned right and ran but I ended up bumping into someone as soon as I went around the corner of the building

"Nate?" I called out surprisingly

"Why are you running?" He asked looking at me
I ignored him and continued looking around to see If I can catch anyone odd with my eyes

"Dude are you okay?" He asked as he put his hands on my shoulders

"Get your fucking hands of me" I flicked his hands off and shoved him

He stepped back and shoved me back "What's your problem Blake?"

I swung my fist at him and it connected with his right jaw. He staggered a bit and then put his fists up serving me an equal if not more powerful punch across the face before landing another blow to my stomach sending me down on my knees

The blow across my face sent pulses to my brain as everything spun. I grabbed my stomach before slowly getting up, spitting out the blood that had gathered in my mouth. I ran towards him and tackled him to the ground, on the ground he laid as I sat on his stomach and delivered several blows to his face, several weak blows.

It took two passer-by's to pull me off of him as he got up and landed a quick slap on my cheek before two other guys held him back

"Somebody call the police" A woman said as we struggled to loose ourselves from the people holding us back

"We are the police" Nate said as he broke free from their hold
The two guys holding me let me go after Nate flashed his badge and asked them to release me. I adjusted my jacket before running back to the bar

"Carlos" I screamed out his name as I ran through the doors
He came rushing out, shotgun in hand ready to fire when he saw my banged up face "Who did that to you?"

"I need to review your security camera's now. Official police business" I slammed my badge on the counter

"Camera's?" He asked looking confused "You know there are no camera's in my bar"

"Fuck!!!!" I screamed as Nate walked in looking equally bruised
"This is all your fucking fault" I pointed at Nate "I would have caught him if you didn't pop out of nowhere"

"My fault?!" He walked forward "I came here because Chris said she didn't want you to be alone and the first thing I get from you is a fucking punch"

"Ghost was here. He was here in this bar and I couldn't get him" I sobbed

His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open from what I just said. He sighed and then looked at me "If he got away it was your fault and not mine"

I was about launch at him again before Carlos held my hand from behind "You need to relax Hunter"

He pulled me back on to the stool and pushed me back gently to sit down on the stool. Then he called Nate to the bar and offered both of us a drink.

"Now drink" he ordered

We both looked at each other before drinking the whole glass in a single take and slamming the glasses back on the counter
"Good now get out and settle your differences"

We both got up and left the bar quietly, got into my car where we sat in silence, heaving and huffing deep breaths until we were calm enough to think properly.

"Are you sure it was him?" He asked leaning back into his seat
"Yeah" I sighed

"Damn" He mumbled

"He said had a victim to kill" I said as I smacked the dashboard
Nate sat up and looked at me "Does he really have one or he was just bluffing?"

"I don't know. Has anyone reported a missing person?" I asked him

"I don't think so" He pulled out his phone and set the loud speaker on as Officer Mark answered "Hey Mark"

"Hello detective" He said over the phone

"Has there been any reports of a missing person in the last two days?" Nate asked

"Hold on lemme check" He tapped on the keys of his keyboard before answering us "None Detective"

"Okay. Let me know if there's any"

"Alright Detective" Mark said before he hung up

"So what angle is he playing at?" Nate asked as he leaned back into his seat

We sat back there in silence as we thought about the incident that just happened

"Was there anyone else in the bar that could have seen you and Him talking?" He asked as he stared out the window

"Yes there were two other people in there with us but they sat at the edge. They left the same time Ghost did and but I never got to see their faces."

"And Mr Lopez doesn't have camera's in his bar" He said as he leaned forward "FUCK!!" He slammed the dashboard before he leaned back

The time was now 7:00pm and my eyes were about to give up on me from the pounding headache, the blow to the head and the after effects of the alcohol

"Are you sober enough to drive?" He asked noticing I could barely keep my eyes open

"What?" I asked cause I barely caught a word of what he said

"Nope, you're not" He said before he opened the passenger door, walked round the car and opened mine "Get down"

I got out no questions asked and got back in through the passenger side. He got into the car, turned the key in and drove me back to my place. I can't remember how long the drive was but the only thing I remember was getting into the car through the passenger side, closing my eyes for a second and by the time I opened them up again I was being helped by Nate into my apartment.

He set me down on the couch and dropped my car keys on the table.

"I'm heading out now" I heard him say before he walked out of my apartment

I closed my eyes and I was gone for the night

NATE'S P.O.V.
Blake certainly did a number on me on the streets and now it felt like my head was about to fall off. I'll have to put cold bags of peas on my face when I get home. I went home to wash my face a bit and get a change of clothes before I headed out.

I pulled out my phone to give Chris the update

ME: Hey Chris

CHRIS: Oh hey Nate. Did you see Blake at the spot?

ME: Yeah and we kind of had a fight

CHRIS: A fight? Why?

ME: He jumped me and said I got in the way of him catching Ghost

CHRIS: Wait? He met Ghost?

ME: That's what he said but he didn't get to look at his face because Ghost threatened to kill innocents at the spot if he did

CHRIS: Oh fuck!

ME: Yeah. He managed to give us the slip

CHRIS: Anything else?

ME: Uhm... He said Ghost spoke about leaving to go kill a new victim

CHRIS: A new victim? Has there been any missing person's report?"

ME: I checked with Mark for any missing person's report over the last two days and he said there was none

CHRIS: I'll look deeper into it and let you know what I find

ME: Alright

CHRIS: Spoken to Heather yet?

ME: Nah... I'll call her when I get home and if she doesn't respond I'll pay her a visit tomorrow

CHRIS: Alright. Oh there was a report this afternoon about a stolen taxi.

ME: Do you think it's related to the scorched taxi from this morning's report

CHRIS: Possibly.

ME: Blake and I would check it out tomorrow

CHRIS: Alright. Good night

ME: You too

I got home and the lights were on. I remember clearly switching the lights off when I left this morning. Maybe Marina came over. I opened the front door using my keys

"Marina?" I called out her name but there was no response. Her brown leather bag sat comfortably on my living room couch so she was definitely inside

I tossed my keys into the tray and started towards the bedroom where I found her sitting on the chair in my work area

"Hey baby" I said as I walked up to her to give her a kiss on the lips

She gave back no reaction, it was like kissing a wall

"Babe what's wrong?" I tried to brush a strand of hair from her face but she smacked my hand away "Oww.... babe what's going on?"

She looked at me with rage in her eyes, eyes that I've only seen look at me with love and care. Now I was worried and I wondered what the problem could be

"Marina What's wrong?" I asked again with sadness in my voice

"That" She pointed to a brown envelope on the bed which I clearly didn't notice at first

"What's inside it?" I asked walking to the bed to pick up the envelope

"Why don't you look inside and tell me if there's anything wrong with it" She snapped at me

I removed the clip on top and opened the envelope, revealing the terrifying contents inside. Inside the envelope contained a few pictures, pictures of me, pictures of me and heather kissing.
I turned to look at her as the sudden realization had just dawned on me. She got up from her seat and brushed her bum before she walked towards me

"Babe, listen its not what it looks like" I said trying to explain myself

"Oh really?" She paused to examine the expression on my face "Is that you in the picture?"

"Listen let me expla-

"I asked you a question Nathaniel Ross" She cut me off "Is that you in the picture?"

"Yes it is but-

"That's all I needed to know" She said

"Listen babe let me explain" I said as I tried to hold her hands but she yanked them away

"Don't you dare try to hold me Nate. Don't you dare" A tear ran down from her eye as she looked at me

"Just let me explain to you what happened that night" I said as she walked out of the room

I ran after her "Marina please"

"What Nate, What? We're getting married in three days and you go out and do this? How could you?" She sniffed and wiped the tears gathering in her eyes

"Babe, please just listen to me" I begged, practically weeping at this moment

"I don't want to see or talk to you right now so get out of my way right now" She said pushing me aside

"Marina wait" I said reaching for her hand

She turned around and slapped me hard across the face. That stung hard

"Don't ever touch me again" She snapped as she grabbed her bag, walked out the door and slammed it behind her. I heard her footsteps as they faded away into the night. I stood there, a hand on my cheek just staring at the closed door before falling to my knees. I just lost the one thing that mattered most to me because I was trying to be a good friend.

I got up and ran outside hoping I could see her and run after her to try and stop her, to try and explain to her that everything in that picture was a lie and that Heather was the one that kissed me and I stopped her immediately she did.

I looked left and right but there wasn't a single trace of her. I ran left, I ran down the street but I didn't see her, not a trace, nor a footprint or the echo from her steps as it bounced across the night. I really fucked this one up and I don't know how to fix it.

I quickly pulled out my phone from my pocket and dialled the one person that could help me fix this

ME: Hello Chris. I need your help

CHRIS: Nate, what's wrong?

I explained the whole situation to her as she listened quietly

CHRIS: Oh my God Nate how could you be so careless and let your guard down

ME: I didn't think something like that would happen

CHRIS: You could've just dropped her off and gone straight home

ME: Now's not the time to scold me Chris. Please call her and talk to her for me

CHRIS: I will. Just go back home and wait for my call

ME: Okay thanks.

CHRIS: You're welcome. How's Blake though?

ME: He's okay

CHRIS: Alright. I'll call her now

She said before she hung the call up. I walked back to my apartment and locked the door behind me. Waiting patiently for Chris to pull through for me and help fix this mess that I created. All of this was because of Heather.

I pulled out my phone and dialled her line so I could give her a piece of what I'm feeling right now. I called her, it rang for a while before it sent me to voice mail. I tried again and it was still going to voice mail. Was she that sick that she couldn't pick up her phone. I was about to call the third time before Chris' call came in

ME: Yes Chris please tell me she listened to you

CHRIS: Yeah she did, but she said she needs sometime to think

ME: Did she say anything about calling off the wedding?

I could still be able to make things right in time if she still agreed to marry me

CHRIS: No she didn't but you'll have to give her sometime Nate

ME: I know. I'll have to earn her trust again

I sighed into the phone as I ran a hand through my hair

CHRIS: Yeah you do. Just get some rest okay?

ME: Okay. Thanks

I hung up and tossed the phone aside as I laid down on the couch. I wiped the tears lingering in my eyes as I slowly shut them before falling into the darkness.

HEATHER'S P.O.V.
"Where am I?" I wondered. I tried to speak but the words wouldn't come out. Something was in my mouth, wrapped around my head, preventing me from speaking. I can't move, my hands feel heavy, no not heavy, bounded. I'm tied up to a chair, I can't move my legs as well.

I can't hear the cars moving past so I'm not close to the road. I hear the wind and the ocean waves as they hit. My head aches. I'm trying to remember.... How?

A cab? Yes. A taxi "To the Bronx ville hotel please" I said. I remember

We drove down the road, He offered me water and I drank because I was thirsty, a rookie move on my part

I felt dizzy and asked him to pull over but he just kept going. I didn't notice his mask. It was Him, It was Ghost. I tried to grab the steering wheel. I was too weak. He hit me with his elbow and then sprayed me with something. My eyes burned so bad. We stopped on the road. He opened the trunk and poured something on the car, smelt like gasoline. He threw a match and set the car on fire.

My vision was blurry, I couldn't see properly. He came over and Knocked me out.

I'm here now. It's dark. My eyes are bounded. No, I feel nothing around my head except over my mouth. My eyes are free. I can't see. I'm blind

My phone, I can hear it ring but I can't reach it. It sounds really close. It stopped ringing. "Somebody help me" I mumbled but I can't get the words out because of the gag

My phone. It's ringing again, it's still ringing. It's stopped. No, help me please.

I tried to move on the chair but I can't. It feels rock steady, no bolted to the ground

Footsteps approaching, My saviour or my destruction?

"Hello Agent Davis" The voice said

"Officer Mark"