“Yeah, why not?” the business phantom asked as well.
“It’s a trap, man. If you go into that light, your soul will be consumed. God isn’t what you think He is. He eats souls,” Han explained, leveling with the brand new phantom.
“What?” the businessman phantom gasped. “You’re shitting me,” it said.
“I’m not lying. Why would I? I’m tellin’ you, if you go through that light, you’re finished.”
“Finished? We’re already dead. You murdered me! How can you get more finished than that?” Sosnowski shouted angrily.
“You can. Trust me,” Han replied.
“He’s right,” Cipher echoed. “If you stay here, at least you’ll still exist.”
“Look, I didn’t mean to kill you, man,” Han explained. “That ketamine was just supposed to knock you out. It’s tricky though. Maybe you just had a bad reaction or maybe I gave you too much of it. I’m sorry I killed you, but I can’t let you just go into that light like that.”
“You’re telling us the white light is a trap? That Heaven doesn’t exist?” the businessman phantom asked.
Han nodded.
“I don’t believe you,” Sosnowski said, his expression suddenly filled with rage. “You murdered me, you fucker! You’re stealing a nuclear bomb from the U.S. Navy. You’re some kind of evil demon, and you don’t want me to get into Heaven!”
“No, no, man! That’s not true,” Han replied, reaching for Sosnowski in a desperate bid to keep the man from entering the white light.
“They’re not demons, man! Maybe you should think about listening to them,” the businessman phantom interjected.
“Stay away from me!” Sosnowski shouted, his last words before he left the planet once and for all. He dematerialized, heading to his left, toward his true end.
“There he goes,” the businessman phantom said. “You tried. It was his choice.”
Han looked at the empty air where Sosnowski had been, a look of agony stretching across his face.
“None of it is your fault, Han,” Cipher said sympathetically. “It was an accident.”
Han bowed his head mournfully. “It was my fault. The ketamine was too strong.”
“You couldn’t have known that,” Cipher replied.
Suddenly, the door of the missile room clamped shut with a metallic thud, followed quickly by the sound of the locking tumblers falling into place and an alarm sounding simultaneously.
“Oh shit! We’re locked in! They’re on to us!” Cipher shouted.
11
“But...how?” Han shouted in desperate frustration.
“Maybe there’s a noxious gas detector picking up the Special K!” Cipher replied. “I can’t open that door, man. We’re so fucked!”
“I can open it for you,” the phantom interjected with a smile.
Cipher and Han looked at each other, amazed, before regarding the phantom in disbelief.
“Seriously, I’m happy to help. You guys are too entertaining. I can’t just let you get captured. I figured out a few years ago that I can phase through electronics and mess around with stuff,” he said before walking into the wall and vanishing, midsentence, “and I’m sure I can make this door unlock somehow. Let me check it out!”
“So...Casper the suicidal businessman is on our team now or what?” Han asked Cipher.
Cipher shrugged, then stepped up on the platform, where the warhead was ready for manual extraction. “Help me with this!” he shouted urgently.
Han jumped up on the platform with him, and the two men lifted the warhead out of place and packed it into Cipher’s backpack. “How much does this weigh?” Han asked as he lugged the heavy object.
“It’s about twenty-five kilograms,” Cipher grunted in reply. “I can handle it, as long as that phantom gets the door unlocked!”
“Why is he helping us?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know. I just hope he isn’t fucking with us,” Cipher replied.
Seemingly on cue, the door unlocked and slid open. Han and Cipher exchanged looks of astonishment before Cipher shouted, “Run!” and they sprinted out of the room, removing their gas masks just as they reached the exit of the engine room.
They charged up the first two flights of stairs but were intercepted by a group of three armed security men who were rushing down to the engine room. Cipher didn’t waste any time with them. “There’s Arabs with guns down there! They’ve got gas!” he shouted in his best Texan accent as he pretended to choke.
“Get to sick bay!” one of the security members responded, patting Cipher on the back on the way by him on the stairs.
Han and Cipher continued sprinting up the stairs as fast as they could. Han pushed Cipher’s backpack to help him with his heavy burden. After just a few flights, Cipher’s legs were burning as lactic acid made mincemeat out of the inside of his muscles, yet the adrenaline prevented him from stopping. The alarms were still blaring; they knew if they weren’t off the ship in less than a minute, they were as dead as their ghostly ally.
“How’s the time?” Cipher shouted back to Han.
Han checked his watch and the countdown meter. “We’re early by about thirty seconds!”
“That’s okay. She’ll be here!” Cipher yelled, trying to sound confident.
“I hope you’re right, because if she isn’t, that bomb better float!”
Finally, they emerged back on the flight deck. Thankfully, the deck was still in darkness for the most part. As they sprinted across it, Han removed a small flashlight from his belt in preparation for signaling Natalie.
When they reached the ledge, Han began flashing the signal into the blackness. “Do you see her?” he whispered to Cipher as he panted.
“Not yet,” Cipher replied, “but she’ll be here.”
Han began to remove his backpack as they waited. Cipher stopped him with his hand. “We don’t have time.”
“What do you mean, no time? We don’t have time to repel down the side of the ship?”
“No. We have to jump,” Cipher said as he continued scanning the darkness.
Han blinked in disbelief. “Why can’t we just repel like we planned? It’ll only take two minutes to set up the ropes,” he whispered harshly.
“That’s about a minute and a half more than we’ve got.”
“Aren’t we, like, ten stories above the water? Can people even survive jumps that high?”
“It’s more like eight—eight and a half max. And yes, it’s perfectly safe,” Cipher lied.
Han reluctantly set his backpack back in place and let out a sigh of disgust. “I fucking hate you, Cipher.”
“There’s the signal!” Cipher whispered excitedly as he pointed into the darkness.
“Where? I didn’t see it,” Han replied, peering over the edge. Cipher pushed him from behind, sending him tumbling into the blackness. He let out a short scream of surprise, which was followed by the faint sound of a splash.
12
“Sorry about that, old buddy,” Cipher said to himself as he continued peering through the darkness for Natalie’s signal. He checked his watch and saw that she was late. “Come on, Natalie. Don’t blow this.”
“That was cold, man,” said the business ghost with amusement. “Pushed your partner off the boat. Think he survived? I guess he must have, or else we’d be seeing him by now.”
“Why did you help us?” Cipher asked the phantom without turning around to face him; he had to keep his eyes peeled on the blackness of the water.
“To be relevant. I’ve spent two decades stuck on a bridge without anyone even knowing I was there. But now, thanks to you and your friend, I matter again. To you, I’m still alive. I don’t want you guys thrown into prison or, worse yet, executed. What would be the point of that?” Cipher didn’t reply. The phantom peered over the edge to see what Cipher was watching for. “Waiting for your ride?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s just arriving now.”
“How do you know?”
“I can feel it. There’s a little electric motor out there on an inflatable boat. I told you, ghosts have a thing for electrical equipment.”
As soon as the phantom informed him of the good news, Cipher saw the first twinkling of Natalie’s flashlight. “Just in time.” He began to inhale deeply in preparation for his jump as he slipped out of his backpack, resting the warhead on the deck momentarily.
The thud got the ghost’s attention. “Won’t that thing go straight to the bottom?”
“It better not. The boat’s inflatable, but it has a metal floorboard.” Cipher slipped his night-vision goggles back on. He could now make out Natalie, waving frantically onboard the small boat. Han was splashing not far away but was being left behind by the Dominance. “I have to toss the warhead into the boat as I hit the water.”
The phantom screeched out into a staccato laughter. “I love you guys! You’re always making things so difficult on yourselves! This is gonna be so much fun to watch!”
“Yeah,” Cipher replied as he readied himself for the jump. His legs felt like they were made of concrete, and he couldn’t seem to make them move. That was why he’d pushed Han; he knew Han would never have been able to jump otherwise. He wished he had someone to do him the same kindness.
“Boring!” the business phantom shouted as he pushed Cipher overboard, right on cue.
13
The entire fall would have clocked in at less than two seconds, yet it felt like a lifetime. Cipher’s eyes were wildly wide as he attempted to time the toss of the warhead into the boat; he knew there’d be no second chances.
He swung his arm at the last possible moment and saw his backpack headed toward Natalie’s boat, but the frigid blackness of the water hit him before he had a chance to see if his aim and timing had been successful. The impact knocked his night-vision goggles off his head.
The first few seconds underwater reminded him of the first time he’d died. It was completely black. He didn’t know where he was, and there didn’t seem to be an up or a down. He gave his body up to the elements and relaxed, waiting until he could feel which way was up. After a few seconds, he began to get the sensation that he was floating upward and he gently kicked, trying to remain calm as he did so.
Almost in the very same instant that he breached the water and took a giant breath of air, a hand reached the lapel of his uniform and tugged at him forcefully. When enough of the water drained out of his ears, he heard laughter.
“I’m so sorry, man, but you gotta admit you had that one coming!” shouted the businessman phantom. He was floating above the waves and tugging Cipher along toward Natalie.
Natalie’s face was aghast, terror gripping her heart as hard as her hands gripped the sides of the dinghy.
“Did…did I get it in the boat?” Cipher asked the phantom as he spat water out of his mouth between the words.
“Yeah, you did, but it was close though. It bounced and was heading overboard, but your sexy lady friend snagged it just in time. Real drama! Just awesome!”
The phantom easily hauled Cipher up out of the waves and dropped him into the boat. He landed with a wet-sounding crash, dazed and confused. The phantom settled down into the boat and waved politely at Natalie as he smiled with his purplish, bloated lips. Behind him, the Dominance sailed past, leaving them in the wake.
“Cipher, what the fuck is that?” Natalie whispered as she tried to pull him close for security.
“Casper,” Cipher replied.
“Where’s Han?” Natalie asked desperately.
“That way,” Cipher said, pointing in the direction where he surmised Han should be.
“Yeah, he’s out there,” the phantom said with a grin. “I can see him splashing about 100 feet from here. He’s not a very strong swimmer, is he?”
“No. He doesn’t like the water,” Cipher responded as he struggled to get on his hands and knees. “Natalie, you’d better get over there quickly.”
“Okay,” Natalie assented. She throttled the boat up and began to steer them through the darkness.
The phantom rubbed his hands with excitement. “We should talk about selling the movie rights to this shit!” he suggested with a disturbingly toothy grin. “Am I right?”
14
“I hate you, Cipher,” Han said repeatedly to himself as he tried desperately to tread water. He had managed to get his backpack and utility belt off in time to avoid being pulled under and drowned, but his legs were exhausted from pumping furiously, and his oversized combat boots seemed to be filling rapidly with water and were slowly turning into anchors. “I hate you, Cipher,” he repeated, as he concentrated on his mantra and tried to block out the most traumatic memories of his life.
To his left, he could see the bridge; thousands of ghosts were still swarming the deck and running to and fro, creating the illusion that the bridge itself was alive and undulating. Each minute, dozens of phantoms jumped off the bridge and into the black waters below—every splash was sickening.
Han pulled his gaze away and tried to shift his body so he was treading water while facing the direction of the Dominance, now disappearing as it entered the harbor. He was sure Natalie and Cipher should have been in his field of vision, yet he could see nothing.
“I hate you, Cipher.”
As he peered hard into the darkness, he thought about trying to swim to shore. He wasn’t a very strong swimmer, and he hadn’t been in the water since Repulse Bay, but he decided he better try; at least the effort would give him something to focus on besides drowning.
“I hate you, Cipher.”
He began pumping and stretching his legs out behind him, attempting to push the water away in front of him. Han swam hard for a couple minutes and was gasping for air by the end of it, but the shore didn’t appear to be any closer. The current was pulling him away; if he didn’t find Cipher and Natalie, he knew he was going to be pulled out to sea.
“I hate you, Cipher.”
It was then, as he began to tread water once again, that he gave in to his memories. He remembered the water ghost that had lured him away from the shore and remembered how powerful it had been as it pulled him under the waves. He let himself imagine what it must have felt like for Katie in that ghost’s vise-grip. Then he imagined what it must have been like for her when she finally gave up and inhaled seawater. The pain must have been excruciating. There would have been a moment of blackness, and then the real pain would have begun for her. What was it like to have your soul torn apart? Han wondered if she’d thought about him during those first moments of unimaginable agony. Did she regret it? Eventually her feelings would shift. “I hate you, Han.”
“Han!” he heard faintly over the waves. It was Cipher’s voice.
“Han!” he heard again, this time in a higher, sharper voice. It was Natalie.
“Hey!” Han shouted out in return, hoping they’d hear him. It was difficult to get much force behind his words; he was too exhausted from swimming to get the quantity of air in his lungs needed to yell for help. He stayed quiet for a moment and concentrated on getting his breath back. When he felt he could fill his lungs with a sufficient volume, he took in a deep breath, thrust his torso out of the water like a dolphin, and shouted, “I’m here!”
“We can see you!” Natalie’s faint voice replied. A moment later, Han could hear the increasing sound of a small motor. In just over a minute, the boat was drawing up alongside him.
“Grab my hand!” Cipher called out as he reached toward the waves to help his friend. Han stretched hard and finally managed to grasp Cipher’s sleeve. Cipher, in turn, was able to grab Han’s sleeve with his other arm and begin hoisting Han out of the water.
When Han was halfway into the boat, he cocked his fist back and punched Cipher in the face with what little strength he could muster—just enough to knock Cipher backward and start a nosebleed. “I owed you that,” Han whispered.
“Holy shit! Watch out!” the phantom suddenly shouted to Han.
&nbs
p; A second later, Katie breached the waves, grasped her brother in an iron bear hug, and pulled him out of the boat and into the cold, black waves below.
15
“What a bitch! Did you see how mean she was?” the phantom asked, astonished.
“Han!” Cipher shouted out as he scrambled to his feet and began to dive into the water after him.
“Whoa, hold on there, GI Joe,” the phantom said as he phased in front of Cipher and stopped him like a brick wall. The phantom was floating above the waves, holding his arm out to hold back Cipher’s desperation. “If you go in there, all you’re going to do is die, and I can’t have that. I need you alive.”
“Get out of my fucking way!” Cipher shouted with vitriol.
“I like your spirit—no pun intended—but let me go get your friend,” the phantom replied.
The phantom’s offer stunned Cipher. “What?”
“I can handle that bitch. Don’t you worry,” the phantom said, wearing a calm smile. “Just stay in the boat and be ready when he comes back up.”
With those words, the phantom vanished.
He reappeared below the surface of the water, within reach of Katie, who’d pinned Han to the muddy floor. “What did you do to piss this bitch off, man?” the phantom asked Han as he grasped Katie’s free-flowing hair with his hand and tugged hard, yanking her head back and releasing Han from her implacable grip.
Katie screamed out in pain before quickly vanishing and reappearing behind the phantom with a large rock she’d retrieved from the ocean floor. She held it above her head, ready to bring it down on the back of the phantom’s skull. The phantom phased out his leg and kicked Katie squarely in the stomach, but she vanished before the full force of the impact could be felt.
“I got this handled,” the phantom said, just as clearly as if he were speaking on land, thanks to the lack of air bubbles to distort the sound. “Get the fuck up there to your friends before you drown. I’ll catch up.”
The God Killers Page 16
