Nova 141

Chapter 14

We had finally arrived at Alejandro's safe house, leaving the city of Las Almas in the distance. I was excited to finally get some rest, a meal, and possibly a shower. Knowing Alejandro, he likely had the place stocked as well as he could, with all the necessities. He was always a little extra, but in times like this, I wasn't complaining one bit.

" Where are we?" Soap asked as we approached the rickety looking structure.

" Alejandro's safe house," Ghost responded, " Gave me the location just in case."

" Why didn't he tell me?"

" It was need to know."

" What if I needed to know?"

" Shh!"

I rolled my eyes at their banter, and crouched down at the front door, staring at the wooden pressure plate. Ghost and Soap crouched down beside me, and shared a look. " Pressure plate," Soap said.

Ghost nodded. " Alejandro rigged it."

" Smart bastard," Soap responded.

" Damn right," I replied.

Ghost glanced around, and nodded at a window. " There."

Soap entered through the window first, scanning the room cautiously, and I landed in behind him. I pointed the gun I had aquired around the dark room, as I heard Ghost scramble up onto the window ledge. For someone who could be so stealthy, he could also be loud as fuck. I looked over at Soap, and spotted a red dot on his shoulder. " S-Soap," I stuttered out, my panic level rising.

His eyes caught the red lazer beam, and they narrowed slightly. " Don't move!" Ghost commanded, before throwing a knife in the direction of the beam.

The knife wedged into the wooden wall, and we were met with a small voice. " Quien esta ahi (Who's there)?"

" Rudy!" I exclaimed, releasing the breath I was holding.

" Rodolfo!" Soap followed soon after.

Ghost landed beside us, and Rudy moved out from behind the wall. " Ghost! Soap! Nova! You're alive!"

" Affirmative," Ghost replied.

Rudy grabbed the knife, and made his way over to us. " Good to see you, amigos."

Soap nodded. " Same, friend."

Rudy handed the knife back over to Ghost. " Nice throw. Where were you guys?"

" On the run," Ghost replied back.

I spotted a stack of straw bales in the corner of the room, and made my way towards it. Sleep was near, even though the sun was beginning to rise and the early morning light of dawn spilled in though the windows.

I took off my vest, and set my gun down on the floor beside the bales. Settling down onto the hard makeshift mattress, the three men had surrounded a table, and were beginning to establish a plan. My eye lids weighed heavily, and I caught myself drifting in and out of sleep, attempting to listen to what was to happen next.

" I'll take first shift, you two get some rest. I'll wake you, and while I rest, you two stock the vehicle. Nightfall, we strike," I heard Ghost's voice as I started to drift off, " Let Nova sleep as much as she needs. With her injured, I'm not risking taking her with us. But, I'll wake her before we leave so she can keep watch here."

~~~

I was back running the streets of Las Almas, fleeing from whatever was chasing me. It's footsteps were hot on my heels, and my chest screamed due to the lack of oxygen. The cobbled street below me was an ankle deep river of blood, and with every footstep, the crimson liquid splashed up onto my body.

My pace faltered slightly, and it caused me to trip. My body came crashing down, and I landed directly onto my stomach. I scrambled to sit up, and felt the sticky red fluid had coated my entire body.

The force that had been chasing me slowed its pace, and emerged from the shadows, a large knife in its gloved hand. The blade glistened in the dim street light, and I watched in horror as its face came into view.

The only thing I could make out, was the pure white skull mask staring down at me. The rest of the body merged completely with the darkness, and I was frozen in fear as blood started to drip out of the eye holes in the mask.

The blade was raised into the air directly above my head, and a strangled scream escaped my mouth as it was driven downwards.

I jolted awake with my own scream ringing in my ears, and I sat upright. My vision was blurry as I spotted the same skull mask, the figure sitting down at my feet. " No!" I exclaimed, shooting backwards into the mass of bales.

" Nova, hey! You're okay!" A voice rang out.

My vision started to go spotty as I begun to hyperventilate, and attempted to push the figure away. He resisted and kept coming closer, so I closed my eyes to avoid the next step.

My hand was grasped gently, and placed onto a warm surface. The stubble tickled my palm, and I slowly opened my eyes. I was met with a face I had never seen before, and my eyes grazed his features in awe.

His cheekbones weren't overly defined, with a light stubble spread across them and his chin. His thick eyebrows matched his dirty blonde hair, and it's messy appearance made it look soft and fluffy.

As I started to emerge from my nightmare state, I met his brown eyes, and allowed my hand to continue gently cupping his cheek. My heart rate slowed, as the panic subsided almost immediately. " Ghost?" I asked, spotting the ghost mask on his lap.

He shook his head. " Simon."

" What?"

" My real name."

My surroundings begun to come flowing back to me, and I scooted over to Ghost, merging into his chest. The tears were already flowing, and I didn't do anything to stop them. His arms wrapped tightly around me, and he ran a hand over my knotted brown hair. " You seen Graves back there. He said something, didn't he?"

I shook my head, but Ghost just sighed. " I know you're lying. The way you had looked at me just now, was out of pure fear. What'd he say?"

" You weren't a good person, and you manipulated everyone into thinking you were," I replied quietly, " I promise, I don't believe it. I-I don't know what happened."

There was a pause of silence, and Ghost forced me to look at him. " I have done some pretty fucked up shit in the past, I won't deny that. But I never did anything to anyone who didn't deserve it. What I did, was to keep everyone else safe."

I nodded, my eyes never leaving his. " I know."

Ghost leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss to my forehead. It was such a simple gesture, but made me feel like puddy in his arms.

He placed his mask back over his face, just as a voice could be heard, " Ghost, we're good to go."

We both looked up to see Soap in the doorway, and he smiled at me. " Oh, good you're awake! I made you something to eat. Hope you like beef stew, I figured it was more filling than chicken noodle or ramen."

" Thanks, Soap," I replied, a feeling of comfort spreading through me.

Soap gave us one last glance, and went back outside to Rudy. Ghost rubbed my back, before standing to his feet. " Keep safe, okay? We're bringing Alejandro and the rest of his men back. Once you hear vehicles, go to the window beside the door, and make sure it's us before unlocking the door. You've got everything you need to protect yourself if needed."

" Yes, Sir."

Ghost gave me a warning look before rolling his eyes. I couldn't help but laugh as he made his way to the door, giving me one last glance before leaving.