Elly's Ghost

by John R. Kess

  Elly’s Ghost

  By John R. Kess

  Copyright © 2012 John R. Kess

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the author, except for brief passages for review purposes.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  About the Author

  Dedication / Acknowledgements

  Other Books by John R. Kess

  Chapter 1

  Corporal Jay Tessier’s restraints squeezed him as the Black Hawk banked hard to the right. He gripped his M16 as the helicopter leveled out.

  “Thirty seconds!” Sergeant Kranz shouted.

  The click-click of the eight Marines cocking their automatic weapons was heard over the beating of the Black Hawk’s blades. They all shared the same focused and serious look on their faces. Jay’s adrenaline kicked in as the helicopter descended. Jay had trained with all of them the past year and a half and considered them all brothers, and he knew they felt the same way.

  Jay mentally ran through his mission responsibilities again and then the doors opened. The helicopter dropped down behind a rocky hill and hovered four feet above the deck just long enough for Jay and the other Marines to jump out. It regained altitude, swung its tail around, and disappeared into the darkness.

  Jay panned his weapon across the Afghan desert. Through his night-vision goggles he saw nothing but dusty earth and stars.

  “Clear,” Jay heard platoon leader Sergeant Kranz report in his earpiece.

  The cool air of the night was welcome as the Marines silently jogged two miles to the target. The crusty sand crunched beneath their boots. Jay could picture the dozen men back at base watching their progress, beamed in from the silent circling drone thousands of feet above them. He knew there was an attack helicopter a few miles out on standby, ready to engage at the first sign of real trouble.

  Kranz raised his arm as they reached a large rocky hill that Jay recognized from the satellite photos shown during the mission briefing. They crept silently over the hill, and the main entrance to the suspected Taliban hideout came into view. Kranz motioned for his teams to split as planned. Four Alpha team members, including Jay and Kranz, went around to the left. The other four, from Bravo team, went around to the right.

  Kranz stopped everyone behind a large boulder. Jay saw the entrance to the cave in a valley between a gently sloping hill to the south and a steep hill to the north. A small amount of light was coming from inside, but he couldn’t see anyone.

  “Bravo team, report status,” Kranz said in a low tone into his microphone.

  “Side entrance is clear,” the Bravo team leader replied.

  “Roger that. Hold your position.” Kranz motioned for Jay and Dobbs, another Alpha team member, to advance toward a large boulder closer to the entrance.

  Jay stayed low as he and Dobbs quietly ran to the boulder and took cover. Kranz watched their progress with his night-vision.

  “We’ve got movement,” Jay heard Kranz say through his earpiece. “We’ve got a dog at the main entrance.”

  Jay peeked around the boulder as the dog stepped into full view. It was so emaciated that he was surprised it was moving as well as it was. A long leash trailed beside the dog as it sniffed the air, then barked and whimpered as it pulled on the leash.

  A voice came from inside the cave. The dog walked back to the entrance and sat down, then it stood and barked again, this time louder and more determined.

  A boy appeared at the entrance with an AK-47 slung around his shoulder. Jay guessed the boy was about fourteen years old. The dog whined at him and then barked again.

  Jay swore under his breath. He knew dogs had spoiled many surprise attacks. He glanced at Dobbs, who seemed equally pissed off.

  “Hold your position and stay out of sight,” Kranz warned both teams through their earpieces. “We’ve got an armed boy and a dog at the main entrance.”

  The boy bent down to pet the dog and then looked out into the night, surveying the area. He repositioned his weapon and held it at his side with one hand while he grabbed the leash with the other. The boy let the dog pull him toward Jay.

  “Tessier and Dobbs, they’re headed straight for you,” Kranz said.

  Jay stayed behind the boulder and signaled to the Marine next to him that he’d cover the left side.

  The boy was halfway to the boulder when something caused him to stop and turn around. Jay listened as Kranz described a man with an AK-47 at the cave’s entrance. The man and the boy spoke for a moment, then Kranz reported the boy was moving again.

  “The boy will be on you in five seconds,” Kranz told them. “Tessier, he’s heading to your side.”

  Jay felt a rush of adrenaline as he aimed his weapon. The last thing he wanted was to shoot a kid. He fought to keep his breathing steady. The dog growled and barked as it came into view.

  The boy froze. His wide-open eyes stared back at Jay.

  Jay shook his head as he stared at the boy and thought the kid could have been any one of the many boys who played soccer with the soldiers near the base. Jay noticed the boy’s shallow breaths, the worn stock of his assault rifle, and his confused brown eyes.

  The boy glanced at the cave and then back at Jay. He staggered backward a few steps as the dog barked and pulled on the leash.

  Jay watched as the boy’s eyes narrowed and the lines around his mouth formed an angry frown. The boy stood up straight and took a deep breath.

  Jay’s adrenaline kicked into high gear as the anger displayed on the boy’s face grew. He wanted the kid to put his weapon down. Dobbs was pointing at the boy’s weapon and motioning to the ground. Jay shook his head in an effort to say, “Don’t do it.”

  The boy let go of the leash, letting the dog charge Jay, who kept his eyes on the boy. The boy suddenly yelled and swung his gun up toward Jay.

  Jay pulled the trigger, sending multiple rounds into the boy, whose body twisted and fell backward. The boy landed on his back with his weapon thrown to the side. The dog yelped at the sound of the gunfire and ran off into the darkness.

  “Hamasa!” The man shouted the boy’s name in a long, high-pitched scream from the cave entrance. Bullets ricocheted off the boulder as the man fired his weapon.

  “Open fire!” Kranz commanded as he and the Marine next to him sprayed the entrance with their M4 carbines. The armed man quickly retreated inside the cave, firing as he went.

  “Alpha team is under fire,” Kranz shouted.

  Jay’s weapon grew heavy as the shock from what had happened set in. He stared at the boy while gunfire continued from both directions.

  “Tessier!” Kranz yelled. “Grenade the entrance. The rest of you give him cover fire!”

  Jay snapped out of it and signaled to Dobbs, who nodded and then popped up over the boulder, firing at the entrance. Jay closed his eyes for a quick moment a
nd pictured his target. He moved to the side of the boulder, pulled the pin out of his grenade, and threw it at the cave entrance.

  Jay dove behind the boulder. The loud boom reverberated in his chest as the blast tore apart the entrance. Small rocks and debris rained down on him and Dobbs as the pulsing echo from the blast disappeared in the distance. The night turned silent.

  The ringing in Jay’s ears slowly morphed into something that didn’t belong. He knew exactly what the sound was, but his mind refused to believe he could hear it. Slowly Jay stood up from behind the boulder with his weapon ready. Chunks of earth and rock formed a pile at the cave entrance. Dense smoke and the screams of a young girl poured out of the small opening at the top of the pile. Jay slumped back against the boulder as he thought about his niece and went numb.

  Chapter 2

  SATURDAY

  Elly woke to the blur of the bright Memphis sun. She lifted her head but dropped it right back on the hotel pillow. Her ears were ringing, her throat seemed to be lined with cotton, and her eyelids felt like sandpaper. The sunshine pouring through the windows added to the burning.

  “Elly.” The voice belonged to Alex, the band’s bassist. “Are you awake?”

  She covered her eyes and peeked through her fingers to see Alex, Jeremy, and Brent, the other three members of System Override, standing at the foot of her bed.

  Alex’s tall and thin frame, along with his crazy hair, reminded Elly of a stalk of broccoli. Jeremy, the band’s drummer, had the build of a linebacker and wore a tank top showing off the tattoo of a cross on his shoulder. Brent, the lead guitarist, wore a Baltimore Ravens hat over his buzzed haircut. His T-shirt read, “I’m not sure I like your overtone.”

  “Ahh, go away!” Elly groaned as she pulled the sheet over her head.

  “Come on, Elly,” Jeremy said. “You’re going to miss your plane.”

  Elly moaned. She loved her bandmates, but right now she hated them all for waking her up.

  “Your dad only turns fifty once.” Alex jumped up on Elly’s queen-size bed and bounced on it like a trampoline. “Now get up, get up, get up!”

  “Go away!” Elly rolled onto her stomach, pulling the sheet over her head to form a cocoon. It did nothing to keep out the bright sun, so she buried her face in the pillow.

  “We will, if you get up.” Jeremy brought his head close to hers.

  “Come on, guys,” Brent said. “Leave her alone.”

  “Yes, leave me alone,” Elly muttered.

  “But it’s so much fun.” Alex rolled facedown on top of her. “I’m not getting off until you say you’re getting up.”

  “No!” Elly groaned.

  “In that case,” Jeremy piled on top of Alex, “you’re getting both of us.”

  “Oh, my God!” Elly tried to move but was helpless under their combined weight. “You jerks! Get off me!”

  Brent lunged from the corner of the bed and blindsided Jeremy with a flying tackle. The two tumbled into the narrow space between the wall and the bed, dragging Alex with them.

  Elly sat up, unable to resist laughing as the three young men, her best friends since ninth grade, struggled to untangle themselves.

  The thud brought Elly’s bodyguard into the room.

  “Good morning, Kevin,” Elly said.

  “Well, good morning.” Kevin McKnight stared at the pile of musicians and shook his head. “I see you have everything under control, as usual.”

  Elly smiled and then winced as she finally got up and headed for the bathroom. She pulled at her T-shirt and unrolled part of her shorts, which were clinging to her thigh. “How much time do I have?” Elly asked Kevin. Her throat burned with every word.

  “We’re wheels up in forty-five minutes, so we need to leave in fifteen. The weather looks good all the way to Baltimore.”

  In the bathroom Elly held herself up with her hands flat on the cold vanity to look in the mirror. She had been featured on the cover of Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl, and Seventeen, showing off her freckles and the way her pink nail polish matched the pink striping in her brunette hair. To most of her fans, the twenty-two-year-old looking back at her would have appeared to be the same lead singer of their favorite band, but to Elly, her brown eyes seemed to be retreating into their sockets and the bone structure in her face resembled someone who’d given up eating. Elly’s stomach churned, and the pressure behind her forehead from her usual morning headache hurt worse than normal. The whites of her eyes were too red, and she was so exhausted she had to seriously fight the urge to cry. She knew her voice was slowly getting worse with every concert. The tour wouldn’t be over for another two months, and Elly wondered if she would make it. She shook two pills from a brown plastic bottle and swallowed them.

  * * *

  Elly listened to her cell phone messages with one ear and Laura, her manager, with the other as they walked with Kevin down the hallway toward the hotel elevator. Kevin would go with Elly to her parents’ house while “The Three Stooges,” as Kevin dubbed her three bandmates, went on to Seattle with the crew to prepare for tomorrow’s concert.

  “… stylist lined up tomorrow for you first thing when you get to Seattle,” Laura droned, “and then you do a signing at a local music store. Then you’re meeting the mayor at a fundraiser for that …”

  Elly’s phone beeped. The text message from her dad asked her to call when she touched down.

  “… and we have a car that will take you to the radio station as soon as you land in Baltimore.”

  “What are you talking about?” Elly asked. “What radio station?”

  “You’re doing an interview when you land.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Yes, you are. I was able to book it last night.” Laura said this as if it was some great achievement.

  “Are you kidding me? Why did you do that?”

  “The station has the biggest market in Baltimore,” Laura said.

  “I’m supposed to be spending the day with my family!”

  “You will,” Laura said. “Once you’re done at the station.” Laura gave her the “look” that Elly hated so much. It was the one a mother gives a child during a scolding. “This is good for everyone.”

  Elly had heard “This is good for everyone” so many times, it made her sick. She knew more events translated into more money for Laura. Every concert scheduled and every event meant more money in her pocket, thanks to her contract. The band’s contract with Revolution Records stipulated they have a tour manager at all times. This meant that unless the band wanted the tour to come to an abrupt end, disappointing thousands of ticket owners who’d all paid months ago, System Override was stuck with Laura until the tour officially ended. Laura knew this and took every opportunity to run Elly and her band into the ground from exhaustion.

  “Oh,” Laura said, “your voice coach called to say you need to limit how much talking you do when you’re at your parents’ place today.”

  That bit from Laura caught Elly’s full attention. “If I didn’t have so many concerts in a row, not to mention radio interviews, I wouldn’t have this problem.” Elly’s dislike of Laura was growing by the minute, and she wasn’t alone. She and her bandmates already agreed that Laura’s contract wouldn’t be renewed.

  Laura continued reading from her list. “After the concert you’ll be meeting with the winners of the Revolution Records contest.”

  Elly had never heard of this contest. She hated how Laura waited until the last minute to tell her about this stuff. Not attending would cause Elly to lose fans, and part of her couldn’t let that happen. “You need to give me some time to sleep. My voice needs it.”

  “We will, don’t worry. Oh, and good news, we’ve sold so many tickets in Chicago and New York that we’ve opened up two more concert dates!”

  “What? How many is that now?”

  “It’s two concerts the three days we’re in Chicago and three the five days we’re in New York.”

  “You have to stop this. Please. I c
an’t do that many so close together.”

  “Look, I have to run. We’ll talk about this later.”

  “But we never do!” Elly stopped walking and stared at Laura. Kevin and Laura stopped as well. Elly’s fists were clenched tightly.

  Laura walked back the direction they’d come, still facing Elly as she spoke. “Trust me, Elly, this is good for everyone.”

  “Everyone but me! Stop adding concerts! Do you understand that?”

  “Sure thing. I have to run.”

  Laura disappeared down the hallway. Elly’s head seemed to explode with pain. She squeezed it in her hands, hoping the medication would kick in soon.

  “OH, MY GOD! IT’S ELLY WITTENBEL!” A young girl’s voice screamed from the end of the hallway. Her high-pitched voice clawed at Elly’s eardrums. The girl ran toward Elly, and Kevin stepped in between them. The girl tried to ignore him, but he stopped her. A man in the background, who must have been the little girl’s dad, watched with a smile.

  Elly guessed the girl was about ten years old. “I love you, Elly!” The girl jumped up and down with excitement.

  “Thank you,” Elly said, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

  Kevin helped her to the elevator as the fan continued. “I loved your concert! You’re the best! I hope you come back soon!”

  “Thanks for coming to my show. I promise I’ll come back,” Elly said as the elevator doors closed, leaving her and Kevin alone.

  “I’ll be there!” the girl shouted. Elly heard the girl scream through the elevator doors. “Dad! I just met Elly Wittenbel!”

  Elly remembered when she was younger and would have loved to meet her favorite singer but never had the chance. She remembered thinking that if she ever became a singer, she’d treat her fans so well. Now she hated herself every time she walked away from them. She knew she could have at least stopped and let the girl’s dad take a picture with her. Elly knew if she was that little girl meeting her favorite singer, that picture would be cherished for years.