The Ghost

Chapter 26

I sit in my chair, waiting. It's three minutes to noon, and I'm really impatient. At the moment, there's nothing to keep my thoughts from wandering to Kayleene, and the inevitable pain she's in. Oh. Speaking of Kayleene....

I walk into her room and grab her duffle bag from her nightstand. I sling the strap over my shoulder and walk back out, as my office door opens.

"You ready, Mr. Worthington?" Kirsten asks, her eyes asking a different question than the one she just voiced.

I pat the duffle bag, and she notices Cecelia's initials. She nods. "Yes," I say. "I'm ready. I've been ready for hours."

She nods again, and I follow her out. We walk, and are shortly joined by twenty-one other people, dressed similarly to us.

Kirsten's usually white attire is replaced today by a black tank-top, the black leather jacket all Ghosts own, black pants, and black boots. Her holster is black, and the gun inside is her silver pistol.

We make it out, and divide ourselves into the two groups. Vivienne looks delighted when it's announced that she'll be with me.

My group also consists of Lyla Laurence - an exceptional fighter and great conversationalist - Zander, Gerald Harkins - a great fighter, and rather infatuated with Kayleene. I have to say, I'm kind of disappointed that he's been chosen for the rescue. The last thing Kayleene needs is for a guy to be fawning over her while she's incapacitated.

The others are Ben Withers - an intimidating man when he needs to be. Callie Singer - a great fighter, as well as a great woman. Meghan Collins - a great fighter, but rather hard to get along with. Evan Morgan - as usual, a great fighter, but somewhat of a perfectionist. Willow Dunningham - of course, a great fighter, and quiet, unless she has something worthwhile to say. The last two are Jessabelle, the woman who was sent to retrieve me this morning, and Derek Fields - a man of few words, like Willow, but an exceptional fighter.

The twelve of us walk to the two designated cars assigned to us, and get in, six to a car. They all come with their own driver.

I sit in the front seat, and brief the five of them - Ben, Willow, Lyla, Vivienne, and Jessabelle - about the rescue mission as we ride. After all questions are answered, we drive on in silence.

~~~

Kayleene (Third Person)

The pain is too much. Kayleene is no longer in her chair. She hangs by her wrists from metal chains that protrude from the ceiling, and her feet are held by similar chains that are bound to the floor.

Her head droops, proving how tired she is. It's only been two days - Keith will be here soon - but the amount of pain inflicted, and the amount of time she's spent screaming is enough to exhaust anyone. Her cocky demeanor still hasn't disappeared, but anyone with eyes can see that she's exhausted.

And the worst part is, as the hours tick by, the people sent to torture her become worse and worse, the next one more irritating and obnoxious than the last. Surely, they can spare her sanity while still torturing her. Right?

Of course, as much as she's leaning on Keith to come get her, she realizes in this dark room that he might not come for days, or even weeks. She knows that he's going to try his hardest, but one can only take so much before their bodies give in. Of course, they're going to do their hardest, and Kayleene isn't going to give in to these psychos, but they've already done so much to her body.

She's not so worried about her mind. It's still as sharp as ever. Her mind is stronger than her body ever could be. It has to be, what with everything she's been put through these past five years. Her mind can pull through.