Rainbow Six: Bloodlines

"HOTEL CEUTA" - Chapter 5

     The radio erupted with frantic shouts and hollers from Director Six, Rainbow's Blue Team, and the Spanish G.E.O. all at once.

     Ash was cursing with such fervor while she reloaded that her words tumbled out in an unintelligible torrent.

     Ying's panic was less audible. As she slapped another magazine into her LMG, her eyes were wide and fixed on the ethereal shadow staring back at her from the darkness of the ruined elevator shaft.

     Jackal stared in shock. The scene before him was happening in impossibly slow motion. Ash's voice sounded to be underwater. The hectic radio chatter in his earpiece crackled into nothing.

     Faisal stared right back at him. Can you hear me, Ryad?

     Without a word, Jackal nodded. His eyes were wide.

     Ash was already squeezing off another magazine. Ying pulled the hammer back on her machine gun and raised it to fire.

     Ryad.

     Everything stopped. The muzzle flash on Ash's weapon slowed to a halt. Her face remained still, teeth bared in fury. Shell casings froze in the air.

     Ying had just braced her LMG against her shoulder, preparing to empty more rounds into the elevator shaft, but her finger froze in mid-pull on the trigger.

     Jackal's stomach tightened as Faisal's ghost flickered in and out of focus. Without warning, Faisal surged directly at him like a shadowy wraith.

     Ryad tried to raise his weapon. He could not.

     He tried to cry out, but he had no voice.

     He tried to raise his arms in defense, but they would not move.

     Terror leapt into Jackal's throat as Faisal stopped right in front of him.

     Can you hear my voice, brother?

     Jackal steeled himself against the fear squeezing his chest. He still could not speak. He watched the ghost of his brother, looking past the twisted features of his face and into the hollow eye sockets staring outward.

     Ryad.

     What!? Jackal finally lashed silently, frustrated at being unable to use his voice.

     Faisal's ghost looked surprised.

     That was when Jackal saw Faisal's eyes for the first time in years. They stared back at him, very much alive amidst his contorted face, unsure if his living brother had actually answered.

     Faisal leered close. Jackal instinctively tried to jerk his head away, but was still paralyzed.

     Now, you can hear and see?

     Yes! Jackal thought, wincing as if it would make his thought somehow louder so the ghost could hear.

     Don't be afraid, brother.

     Before Ryad could think, Faisal's ghost pressed a hand to his mouth.

     Terror overtook Jackal. He could not move, could not even manage to scream, and the visor of his mask began cracking. It was a hellish kind of prison he'd never even imagined.

     The ghost flickered before his eyes, like a bad lightbulb. A moment later, a handsome young man was standing in its place. The hotel lobby faded, the details blurred by a bright white glow.

     Jackal's eyes widened in shock. "Hermano?"

     Faisal stood before him, flashing a familiar brilliant grin. "Hola, Ryad." He was in a leather jacket and jeans. A pair of aviators hung on the collar of his t-shirt. "You look old," he said with a cheeky smile.

     Another hairline crack splintered across Jackal's visor. Behind it, his eyes teared up. He was overwhelmed by the sight of his dead brother, looking good as new and just as he had the last time they had spoke years before.

     "I don't have much time." Faisal spoke quickly, and his voice was strong and just as Jackal remembered it. "I know you have questions."

     "Sí," Jackal nodded. A single tear streamed down his face. "This cannot be."

     "It is." Faisal stepped to the man and embraced him warmly. Jackal was overwhelmed, barely able to process what was happening.

     "Faisal," he whispered, his voice cracking. "What is happening? Why are you here? What is-"

     "Listen, hermano." Faisal stepped back and straightened his jacket. "I must be quick. You could be badly injured - this takes a lot of energy for us to be able to speak like this."

     Right on cue, another crack spiderwebbed across Jackal's visor. His legs buckled, and his knees hit the floor. A sharp pain pulsed inside his head, drawing a sharp cry of pain from his lips.

     Faisal sank to his knees and grabbed his brother, supporting him. "Like so. Hear me, Ryad - this is all real. Your friends are in grave danger."

     "I-is... is that why you're here?"

     "No. I'm here because this is where I was murdered."

     Jackal drew a sharp breath. He looked at his brother in astonishment.

     "Don't have much time," Faisal continued quickly. "Listen closely. The men you fight have rigged the entire basement and foundations of this hotel to blow. They are waiting to draw as many of you as they can inside before doing so. They have no intention of surviving."

     Jackal's stomach lurched. He felt nauseous. He could feel the warmth of blood trickling from his nose.

     Faisal gripped him tight. "Get your friends out of the basement, Ryad. Get them clear of this lobby. I will help."

     "Y-you... help?" Ryad managed, gripping his stomach. "How-"

     "Just get your friends out of the basement and out of the lobby. Get out of the building, Ryad."

     The pain was becoming unbearable. Jackal's vision was beginning to cloud. "The... h-hostages..."

     "They were dead before you all arrived."

     A blinding flash of light made Jackal shut his eyes. Panic coursed through his veins. Cold chills sent shivers spasming over his body.

     "Our time is up," Faisal said calmly. He hugged his brother again. "You'll find me under the elevator, hermano. That's where my body was hidden."

     "W-what?"

     "Get out. Find my body, after. Then, we might speak again."

     Jackal managed one last look into his brother's eyes.

     Faisal had already begun to change. His eyes were gone. His jaw hung from his skull.

     Don't be afraid.

     Another flash of white light sent Jackal reeling back to the marble tile of the hotel lobby. A short chorus of gunshots startled him. He looked up to see that he had returned to the present.

     Ash stopped firing and gasped in surprise, suddenly aiming at Ryad, the barrel of her gun still smoking.

     "Ryad!" she hissed, eyes scanning their surroundings frantically. "What the hell? It just-" she stopped, whirled back to the elevator, then back to him. "It just - I thought I saw-"

     "It moved!" Ying finished. She swept her gun around the lobby. "Where'd it go!?"

     "It went right towards Ryad!" declared Ash. "I saw it!"

     "This is Six!" called the Director over the radio. "Someone speak to me, right fucking now. What the hell did we just see?"

     Ash helped Jackal stand shakily.

     Ying was still searching for the ghost. "Y-you saw that, Six? On the drone cam?"

     "M-ma'am?" Ash stammered. "I... I'm not sure. We made contact w-with... with an entity?" It was more of a question than a report.

     Gunfire rang out beneath their feet. Screams could be heard.

     "Whoa!" they heard Mira shout. "Uh, guys? We have.... contact, with um... something is happening down here, and-"

     "Get out," Jackal said weakly, still feeling sick. He spat blood to the tile. "I repeat, get out of there, Elena. Extract, now."

     "Ramírez!" cut in Director Six. "You're not authorized for a call like that!"

     He ignored her. "All units, evacuate the hotel immediately."

     The radio crackled. Rook's voice was shaky. "Uh... Six, we're seeing something down here. I don't know-"

     "Oy!" screamed Jackal, making Ash and Ying jump. His face was red with desperation and fatigue. "Get the fuck out of there, now! Lieutenant López, get your men out! If you don't, you're dead, you capullos!"

     The ground began to shake beneath their boots, and Jackal prayed that his companions had heard the desperation in his voice.