Gil was briskly heading down the hall; he had already stopped to memorize the map Cathleen said was on the wall that would assist him on making his way down to the cargo hold. He was doing just like Cathleen had instructed. He was leery of going down their on his own, for he believed what he understood from Cathleen�s description was the love conquers all, so if that were true, then why was he being send down to the pit of hell on his own. Wouldn�t the men need to know that he was in love with someone to save him? Gil pondered this question all the way down to the cargo hold.
Catherine was following Cathleen down the corridors back to the little girl�s stateroom. Cathleen needed to have Catherine take something that would be useful for the finalization of these men. Catherine still could not believe that she was listening to a plan that was given to her and her husband by the ghost of a ten year old girl. She did not know if this was real or was the most realistic dream she has had in years. Either way, the whole situation was unbelievable; it was actually out of this world however, for now it seemed that she and Gil were this little girl�s last hope at being reunited with her family.
Cathleen brought Catherine back to where she had started, to the room that had the gaping hole in the side that she and Gil had clambered through not too long ago. The whole room had transformed into the beauty that was hiding under the dirt and grime. Catherine looked at the pretty miniature dresses that were hung on hangers that were never worn, the dolls and stuffed animals that were scattered across the floor and sitting in shelves. Catherine ran her fingers over the china of the tea set that was sitting on a side table as a smile shinned across her face. She remembered back to her own daughters back in Las Vegas that would have tea parties and play dress up. For Cathleen those fun memories ended on this ship.
Music played from the jewelry box on the vanity with silver brushes and powders, it was as if this little girl was living the life of an adult woman. Cathleen reached into the small jewelry box and pulled out a heart shaped gold necklace. The large heart in the middle of it was one large diamond. Cathleen smiled, knowing that this was something her mother had given her before she passed away; it was always too heavy for Cathleen to wear around her small neck so she kept it safe inside her jewelry box.
�Here, this is for you,� Cathleen said as Catherine turned to face the small child. When she saw what was floating in the air Catherine�s eyes filled with tears as she reached out to touch it, it looked so unreal. �My mother gave this to me before she passed away, she told me that the heart in the middle mimics the love that she had for me, I believe that if you wear this when we are in that cargo hold the love that you have for your husband can be reflected through that diamond, it can destroy them, it can free us,� she explained as she smiled at Catherine.
Catherine placed the necklace around her neck, her fingers lined the sides of the heart, she had never been close to let alone able to wear something to beautiful. She cupped her hand around Cathleen�s face, the coldness of her weightless body pulsed through her fingers. She wished at this moment that she could touch Cathleen, to give her the love that she deserves. She is still such a beautiful and innocent child, and knowing what happened to her breaks Catherine�s heart every time she thinks about it.
�You have to tell him,� Cathleen whispered as a smile crept across her face.
�Tell him what?� Catherine asked, perplexed by the girl�s accusation.
�About this,�
Catherine turned to the mirror as she watched her body contort; she turned to Cathleen and looked down at her self seeing that was just a mirror trick. Cathleen�s hand was on her stomach, almost inside her, as Catherine gasped, feeling a cold sensation course through her body.
�How did you know?� Catherine asked, taking a step back from the little girl.
�I�m a ghost Catherine, I know these things. You have to tell him, I just know that he would be thrilled to hear the news; I know you are having second thoughts on how would it be possible to juggle two lives. I know these questions have been in your mind for the past month and a half. I know that is the reason why you have not said anything to Gil, but you have to, it will hurt both of you the longer you wait.�
�I-I, I will tell him, I promise, I just need to wait for the right moment,�
Cathleen�s smile broadens, �Let�s finish this,� she said as they went down the cargo hold.
Gil was making his way down the corridor, inching closer and closer towards the cargo hold. He could hear the laughs of the ghosts of the men that were confined to this room. There voices made Gil�s body shiver with fright. He did not want to go in their without his wife and Cathleen, but he needed to or the whole of this plan would be shattered. Gil slowly opened the large white washed steel door as the voices stopped, as they wondered who it could be. Everyone that was on this ship could walk through walls they did not need to open the small amount of doors that were still on their hinges.
The whole of the cargo hold was in complete darkness; Gil moved his flashlight from wall to wall hoping to catch a glimpse of these ghosts. He no longer could hear their voices so he did not know where they were. Gil did not even know how many of them were housed down here. He slowly trudged through the ankle high ocean water that flooded the whole room. The beam of light passed over netting that once encased passengers luggage as articles of clothing floated past him. Gil could not mask the fear he was experience at this moment, he hoped that Catherine and Cathleen was going to be showing up real soon, their will only be a certain amount of time he will be able to distract them.
Suddenly a loud bang happened from behind him as Gil jumped almost right out of his skin. Quickly he turned around shinning the flashlight in every corner of the room hoping to catch a glimpse of these ghosts but it was pointless. Gil felt like he was eight years old all over again, having nightmares about the boogeyman coming to get him, but instead of being hidden in his closet he was in unfamiliar territory, he had no idea where to hide, and he had no idea what these ghosts were capable of.
�You bastards, show yourselves, stop being the cowards that Cathleen told me you were!� Gil screamed into the empty room. He felt like he was talking to himself.
�You speak of the one who is innocent,� a man�s voice echoed through the room, �What has that little brat told you about us now? She seems to always stir up trouble when someone new comes aboard this despicable boat,� another voice added in.
�She told me what happened on this ship, actually she told me and my wife about what happened, she sent me down here to get something that you seemed to think was very important, the thing that caused all of your lives to be harbored on this ship. I�m actually here to help you believe it or not.�
�Ha, help, no one can help us, we are helpless, and we�re condemned to stay down in this cargo hold for the next thousand years, or longer, whenever we have finally fulfilled our duty of the countless lives we destroyed. That is when we will be freed, there is no way that you will be able to do that for us in advanced, our God watches over us everyday, if we even step foot out of this cargo hold he strikes down upon the boat, which is probably how you were able to get on this ship, he left another gaping hole in the side of the ship. Eventually this ship will sink and it will not matter anymore.� One of the ghosts replied as they finally revealed their faces to Gil.
Each of them was uglier than the next, there faces were contorted, and their bodies were ghostly and pale, almost as if they were not ghosts but more like goblins. Gil tried not to show his fear towards them; this might provoke them to do something that Gil would regret until death due his part.
�You spoke of a woman? Your wife as I recall? Where is she?� one of the ghosts replied, �It has been years since I�ve seen a real woman, I mean the women that were alive on this ship before we killed them, they were lookers, I can just imagine what your wife looks like.�
�She�s upstairs, with Cathleen, she�s safe from you, you will never be able to see her, you see because I was sent down here instead of her, I�m the one you are going to have to witness until those girls are done what is needed to be done to free those other souls aboard this ship.� Gil replied with a wicked smile on his face. That smile quickly changed when he saw the evil grins appear on the ghost�s faces.
�Oh, I think we can get her down here no problem,� one of them whispered as all of them began to laugh in a demonic way as Gil�s flashlight went dead.
|
| |
|