A Lost Ghost

Chapter 16: Back From The Dead

Dice smiles in response. "Then the Russian Friend found us, and we've been here ever since."

"We've been waiting for the old man to heal up. You got here just in time because we're leaving tomorrow."

I wince as the Russian finally finishes up. He bandages up my leg and ankles. Luckily, the puncture wounds aren't too bad.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

The Russian stands and motions for us to follow him as he walks towards the door. I push myself up and slowly limp behind him. He takes us downstairs to a basement.

"Being that you are MIA, you're not dead, but you're not exactly alive either. You are a ghost with a beating heart...and my job is to shed light on said ghosts."

"You mean in a good way, right?" Dice grumbles.

The Russian chuckles.

"There's a reason so many of your soldiers go MIA in this area. That airbase is...more advanced than you can comprehend."

Dice scoffs.

"Go figure," he grumbles sarcastically.

"They have this sort of...EMP that blocks out all enemy communications. That's why radios don't work out here, but..."

He walks over to a workbench and points to a big, old-looking radio, and smiles. "If you know how to bypass it and which frequencies to use, then I can make contact with anyone I want."

"So...you can contact our carrier?" I ask.

He shifts his footing and nods.

"I can contact anyone...and I already have. NATO will be launching a search and rescue mission and should be here around 1 AM."

A wave of relief washes over me. I'm going home. I'm actually going home and not in a body bag. I can't help but to feel...lucky for once. Matrix and Dice are alive. I didn't screw up as bad as I thought, and I'm actually gonna survive this. One question remains in my head, though. I look over at the Russian.

"Why are you helping us?"

He hesitates for a moment. For a split second, I see a glimmer of sadness in his gaze.

"I used to live in America before the war started. I came back to help my son move to America. Well, the war started, and our neighbors knew that I lived there and that we were trying to go back. They thought we were spies..."

He looks down and swallows hard. I can tell he's trying to hold back tears. He shrugs and turns towards his workbench. "I'm sure you can guess what happened next."

I can. His son is either in a prison camp. Or dead. Judging by his tears, I'm guessing he's dead and that helping MIA soldiers is his way of getting revenge.

We make our way up to the hidden room and sleep. Or try to. I can't. My mind is way too awake for me to even try to sleep. Matrix must be the same way because he stays up with me. Dice is knocked out cold, though.

"How'd you survive the gunshot?" Matrix asks. I chuckle as I look down at my leg.

"An old Chinese man helped me out."

Matrix's brows shoot towards the ceiling.

"Really?"

I nod. The thought of Cheung reminds me of our conversation. About how I should forgive myself and accept that Matrix is gone. Except he's not gone, and now that I think about it, it's still my fault. I thought I had gotten over that feeling, but seeing him here with a busted ankle reminds me that I still failed. I sigh and shake my head as I look at him.

"I hated myself."

He cocks his head to the side, his brows furrowing. "I had another life in the backseat. Your life. I hated myself because I thought I got you killed."

He doesn't say anything. Like Cheung, he just sits there, stares at me, and lets me speak. "I'm sorry I was a douche right before we left. I'm sorry I couldn't fly us out."

He doesn't say anything for a second. After a couple of seconds, he finally shrugs and smiles.

"Hey, you're a talented kid and one of the best aviators I've had the privilege of knowing. And, Bink...even the best pilot in the world couldn't have flown through that."

My heart contracts as those words leave his mouth. I grimace even. That was one of the last things Akio said to me. Matrix must notice the pain on my face.

"What?"

I open my mouth, about to speak, but I quickly stop myself. Instead, I flash a weak smile and shake my head.

"Nothing."

My head whips towards the door as someone knocks. The Russian steps in.

"I think I hear a chopper overhead."

My eyes flick to an electronic clock on the desk. It reads 12:58 AM. Matrix and I stand and rush into the living room. We stare out the window like little kids waiting for a package to be delivered. I look up into the dark sky, and in the distance, I can see a helicopter flying super low to avoid radar.

"Is that NATO?" I ask. I squint my eyes more to try and get a better look.

"It is!" Matrix exclaims. My heart skips with joy.

"I'll get Dice!"

The whole house starts to shake as the helicopter gets closer and closer. I rush back into the secret room to see Dice somehow still out cold. I grab my bookbag off the table and limp over to Dice, shaking his shoulder.

"Hey, wake up!" I yell. His eyes narrow as they flutter open. The entire house is literally shaking as the chopper lands outside. I laugh and shove my hands into his shoulder over and over.

"How can you still be asleep? Wake up!"

He finally pushes my arms away and sits up, rubbing his eyes.

"NATO?" he groans.

"I sure hope so. C'mon, get up. We're going home."

He smiles and stands. We both run out of the house. The chopper is in the front yard, its blades kicking up snow. I cover my eyes, my heart pounding as I see Matrix already inside, waving us over. For the first time in months, I finally feel safe. I look back at the Russian and nod.

"Thank you."

He rolls his eyes and points towards the chopper.

"You wanna go home or what?"

I laugh and look at Dice. I pat his back before running as fast as I can for the chopper. Matrix has a huge smile on his face as he continues to wave us over. All I can think about as I get closer and closer is home. I'm going home. I'm going home. A bright light burns my eyes. An intense heat swallows my body. A shockwave of wind slams into my chest. I fly back, landing hard on the ground. Seconds later, I hear the explosion. I lay on my back, looking up into the sky as the scream of a jet engine roars throughout the air. I see the Russian jet tear through the sky. I look forward, the air being ripped from my lungs as the chopper burns in a fiery inferno. My mouth hangs open. Tears explode from my eyes. All I can see through the flames is the mangled skeleton of the chopper, but I swear, I still see Matrix reaching out for us with a smile on his face, happy to be rescued. But that's not the reality. The reality is that his body was vaporized in mere seconds because of that jet. I let out a shaky breath and sit up. No. No. Russian voices explode from the forest. Soldiers are surrounding us on all sides, their guns raised. An explosion of cuss words comes from Dice's mouth as he tackles the Russian Friend to the ground.

"You knew this would happen! You knew!"

The Russian Friend struggles beneath him, claiming he doesn't know but I don't care. I couldn't stop staring into the chopper. I couldn't stop imagining Matrix's body going up in flames. I feel the barrel of a rifle against my head. The next thing I know, a soldier slams his knee into my back and pins my face into the snow. I don't move. I don't fight. Because what's the point? I'm as good dead...just like Matrix.