The two screamed and ran in terror as the three ghouls gave chase. Atop a tree, Cecilia was sitting on a tree branch while Chris was leaning on the trunk. "You think they had enough?" she asked the captain, who was exerting his psychic influence on the two.
"Want me to stop?" he asked back, though he knew that was not the case.
Cecilia pouted and shook her head, "Nah! Their minds can handle fifteen more minutes of this horror show," she quipped, a light giggle escaping her lips.
"Let's up the ante, shall we?" Chris blew on his open palm, and reddish to black mists scattered throughout the area. Soon, more of their victims' grotesque and decaying specters joined the fray, adding more to their already piling terror.
"Hmmm, make Arnulfo chase Beth," She mischievously suggested as she rocked her legs back and forth atop her perch.
When Chris ceased his hallucinogenic attack, Beth and Robbie were reduced to a pair of huddling, mumbling, and drooling husks. Their eyes were wide, and black circles surrounded them; their hair stood on end. Their voice was raspy from all the screaming; they groaned and murmured incoherent words. Their figures were flaccid and almost devoid of strength as they lay crumpled on the ground.
Chris and Cecilia approached the catatonic couple. What he said next shocked Cecilia; the shock, however, was not threatening; rather, it made her heart skip a beat. "I should kill you both for trying to harm her, but I am forbidden to do so." he then spun to face the startled Cecilia. "I would never let any harm befall her, not as long as I exist," he declared, his voice the most soothing sound she had heard in her entire life.
"Did he just?" Cecilia asked herself as she gazed upon Chris
Chris's eyes widened upon realizing what he just said, "Did I just?"
Surprised by what he said, Chris tried to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. Cecilia felt the same thing; she wanted to talk, but it felt like her vocal cords were paralyzed.
To escape the awkwardness of the moment, Chris addressed the two humans, "What...the two of you have just experienced is nothing compared to the horrors your victims had to endure in their final moments," fumbling his words. Cecilia snorted a bit; she could not imagine Captain Crisanto Flores would have difficulty with words. Cris then pulled something out of his coat and threw it to the ground right beside the huddling humans.
Cecilia looked at the object the captain threw and immediately recognized it as Rick's journal, and with it were all of Beth's wedding pictures. "How? How did you know about that?" Cecilia asked the captain
Chris turned around and started to walk away. He waited for Cecilia to follow him, and then he explained, "Rick was not allowed inside the Engine room because he was not a bad man during his lifetime. He could not save Gani from death, consumed by anger and guilt, which turned him into a vengeful ghost. Good thing we were able to capture him before he killed Beth." The captain paused for a while.
"The engine room, sensing that Rick was not an evil soul, removed his anger and guilt, restoring his lucidness. It was then that we were able to know the truth." Cecilia listened attentively, fascinated by the lucky turn of events. "When I couldn't find you, her house was the first place I went, hoping I could find clues. I found the book there. I was able to locate you when you arrived in this place."
Cecilia wrapped her arms around Chris's arm. "Thank you, once again, you were there to help me, to save me from a tight spot. I could never repay you for saving my life more than once."
Chris grinned a naughty grin, which made one of Cecilia's eyebrows shoot up. "Maybe you can…" he said in a knowing tone of voice.
She quickly removed her hold on the captain's arms. "No, not that!" she exclaimed, protest was dripping from her tone.
Chris only chuckled, "Not what I had in mind," he playfully shot down, the first thought that came into her mind. "Your voice…" he gently revealed, "Your voice, when you sing, has a calming effect. Maybe one of these days, you can repay me with a song of my choosing."
"I'll be more than happy, too," Cecilia said, and when she smiled at him, Chris felt his heart flutter and race within his chest. Unable to vocalize his thoughts, he nodded in response. He took Cecilia's hand, which startled her slightly. After the initial surprise, a light engulfs the two of them, and they vanish as soon as the light disappears.
As soon as the two disappeared, a spectral figure emerged from the shadows and marched straight into the two humans. Claws appeared from its fingertips as it slowly approached its targets. The moment the figure was near enough, it raised its claws and slashed the two humans, nearly decapitating them. The specter pulled out an hourglass, and with a wave of a hand, the souls of Robbie and Beth emerged from their bodies. With another gesture, the two souls turned into sand, which the hourglass siphoned.
The specter looked at the hourglass, and a grin crept into its mouth filled with jagged teeth. "Almost full, a little more, and it will be ready for use. It won't be long now." It said with a voice as hollow as a dry well.