"No living witness will surely step forward because of fear…What I need are non-living witnesses." Chris closed his eyes and slowly raised his hands, and from his open palms, black and red mists flowed, blanketing the entire area. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were burning red, and he started to chant an ancient spell.
"I, the veil that parts the living and the lost, I rend the silence, I shatter the frost. From crypt and grave, from shadowed deep, I summon the restless, disturbed from their sleep.
As the archaic words were spoken, time stood still as if it were frozen. The eerie silence that crept into the air was soon replaced by the howls of wandering spirits desperate to escape the clutches of the dark hand that called to them.
Spirits of the void, heed my command, by bone and ash, by bloodied hand. Rise from the darkness, break death's chain, come forth in torment, in rage and pain.
Bustamante could hear the shrieks and cries of the restless dead, their fingers scratching and clawing, trying to save themselves from the wrath of the one forcefully summoning them.
"No peace, no rest, no mercy shown, By my will, your fate is sewn. To this place, your essence binds, or faces the wrath of the cursed mind. I call you forth, with a voice like stone, return to me, or be forever alone."
The intensity in Chris's voice deepened, his words reflected the fury in his heart, his pace quickened, culminating in one fierce bellow. He slammed his right fist on the ground, resulting in a powerful circular shockwave that ran in all directions. When the wave returned, it pulled along with all the lost souls hiding within a city-wide radius.
When Chris stood up, he looked around at the souls collected before him. The souls, ghouls, and all manner of supernatural creatures turned their eyes away from the being that they feared the most, the captain of the barge of the dead.
What Chris did next shocked Chief Bustamante to his core. The captain dropped to his knees and pleaded, "If anyone here knows what happened to the old man, to Cecilia's grandfather? Please tell me," Chris's voice trembled with fiery anger and fury. "She is heartbroken and crying as we speak. I can't bear to see her like this. Please help me, bring those responsible to justice."
The ghosts all murmured at each other, some trying to probe one another for answers, while others were in awe as they watched the fearsome captain on his knees, begging them for help. "I know who did it." Chris stood up when he heard someone claim to know what had happened. He looked for who said those words and saw a young ghost named Wally.
"What is your name?" Chris asked the young ghost.
"Wally, sir, Wally is my name," he quickly answered.
Chris placed a hand over Wally's shoulder. "Wally, can you please tell me what happened?"
"I did not see what happened, but an hour or two before you arrived, I was passing by Miss Cecilia's house, and then I saw three men and the goldsmith who owns the pawnshop at the market enter the house." Wally paused for a while as he recalled the events. "Then I heard shots coming from inside the house, then silence…eerie and alarming silence. Then I saw the four men running out of the house. They were looking left and right to see if there were other people present at the time. Then I saw the old man walk out of the house. When he made eye contact with me, I knew then that he was already dead."
"Do you know where they are right now?" Chris asked, his voice stern and his face expressionless as if his emotions were kept in check.
"The biggest house...just outside the market. They usually stay up late in the warehouse beside it," Wally whispered, voice trembling. Chris closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. When he opened them, Wally instinctively stepped back—Chris's eyes were no longer human. They were bottomless voids, blacker than a moonless, starless night, swirling with tendrils of crimson smoke and hissed like burning embers.
Even the restless spirits and lost souls nearby recoiled, their whispers turning to terrified silence. Even Bustamante's breath caught in his throat. He knew then that at this state, Chris wasn't just angry—he was a force of annihilation. A storm of wrath so fierce that it could shatter the very fabric of existence. No ghost, no soul, no shadow dared stand in his path. Chris was on a rampage, and nothing, not even death itself, could halt the destruction he was about to unleash.
Bustamante dared to halt the brewing tempest, throwing himself straight into the path of the raging captain. "Captain! You mustn't! Last time, remember what happened last time!" desperately pushing Chris back, trying to make him see reason.
But Chris did not heed the Chief Officer's pleas. He just shoved Bustamante out of the way and headed straight into the place where the humans were said to stay. Bustamante turned to Wally and said, "Go to Cecilia, tell her what the captain planned to do." he then glanced at the captain's direction. "I'll try to stop him." Without another word, he sprinted after Chris. Wally, following the instructions given to him, ran towards the house.
Back at Cecilia's home, police officers cordoned off the place, trying to avoid further contamination of the crime scene. Cecilia sat by the door, blankly staring at the ground. Chief Murillo wrapped a blanket around the human and handed her a cup of coffee. "We will find out who did this, and they will be brought to justice," She confidently told her.
Martinez watched on as the body of Cecilia's grandfather was taken by the coroner, the police bid farewell to the group, and left after finishing their investigation. He then approached the two women. "Police said the CCTV cameras at the end of the street picked up four individuals walking past the camera around the time of death. They said it will take some time to identify them." He paused for a bit as he glanced back at the police. "I told them you were with us working when it happened."
Cecilia scoffed at the police's so-called efforts. "Typical!"
Just then, Wally's voice rang out, catching the attention of the three. "Miss Cecilia, Miss Cecilia!" he called out.
Cecilia raised her head. "What is it, Wally?" she weakly asked the ghost.
"That old man told me to come and get you. He said your captain was going to kill the pawnshop owner and his men!" The ghost immediately informed them
Cecilia's head shot up, and she suddenly stood, surprised by what she was told. "What? Why?"
"Because they were the ones who did this to your grandfather," he immediately answered.
Cecilia flopped back on her chair as she grinned and chuckled at the news; her reaction merited a shocked response from Murillo and Martinez. "Why are you laughing?" they asked, alarmed at the reaction.
"They are not humans, they are just wild beasts that need to be put down," she decisively answered. "If the captain wants to hunt some beasts and kill them, why would I interfere?"