บท 21: Chapter 21: The Ghost Rider
'This is a dream.'
Alex thought as she stared at the closed doors of the van she was in. A soft bump shook the van, causing some boxes next to her to shake. One of the boxes on top fell, landing next to her feet. Looking down slowly, she saw several pictures of Manny and her grandfather.
Alex felt nothing as she saw the images of her family. Closing her eyes, Alex wished the horrible feeling in her heart would disappear. Tears began to escape her eyes as she remembered Harvey. The face he made when that monster shot him. His sheer look of confusion when he looked back at her, only to fall forward and land on his face. Alex knew. She knew that would be the last time he would ever look at her and her at him.
'…Harvey. I'm so sorry.' Alex shook her head. 'This is all my fault.'
Alex opened her eyes and imagined Harvey sitting next to her. Smiling and laughing at whatever stupid joke her brother made. He'd be happy and safe. Harvey stopped laughing and turned to her. His face morphed into a radiant smile. A smile she fell in love with. A sob escaped her gag; now, she was indeed all alone.
•••
Harvey's body remained unmoving in his own blood. His head rested on his left cheek, eyes closed, a serene expression on his face. His right arm was extended forward, almost as if reaching for something. Suddenly, the blood beneath him started steaming lightly. Bubbles began to form; the blood was boiling.
Harvey's right eye snapped open a second later, and fire enveloped his head. With a jerk, Harvey stood up and struggled to maintain his balance as he stumbled around while his hands grabbed at his burning head. His skin slowly burned off, exposing the muscle and blood vessels. Calming down, Harvey regained his balance and stood up straight. With a roar, Harvey looked up to the ceiling as a bright flash of fire completely enveloped his head.
"Aaaaaaghh…"
A human skull covered entirely by fire slowly looked down. Its jaw opened slightly, releasing a deep and guttural voice. Snapping his neck to the right, a loud crack reverberated throughout the empty building. Looking down at his hands, The Ghost Rider pulled off one of his armored gloves, revealing a bony hand covered in fire.
"I see."
Putting the glove back on, The Rider looked down at his dropped chain. Walking over to it, he picked it up and spun it around his chest. The chain then heated up and glowed orange. Nodding, he walked over to the closed garage door and lifted his leg.
•••
"I'm not seeing anything, Burgess." An officer with blonde hair said as he pointed his flashlight over the building. "You got anything?
"Roman, come look at this." Kim Burgess looked up and pointed her light up at a broken window. "You think that was there before."
"I don't think so, look, glass." Sean Roman pointed his light below the window. "I'm guessing this was recent. Could it be connected to that gunfire that was called in?"
"Possibly, let's head inside and-"
A bright light shined through the garage windows, surprising the two officers. Jumping back, Roman and Burgess drew their sidearms and leaned against the brick wall of the building.
"Jesus! What was that?!"
"I don't know! A flash bang?"
"Could be. Alright, let's radio some backup-"
Roman was interrupted when the garage doors were blown out. They rolled and tumbled, kicking up dirt and rubble. Finally, they crashed into a wall; they stood still for a second until they flipped over and landed with a crash. Burgess had a wide-eyed expression on her face as Roman swallowed his spit.
"What the hell?"
Hearing footsteps, they turn and see a man in a leather jacket. What caught them off guard was that the man had a flaming naked skull on his shoulders. Shakily, they raised their arms and aimed their weapons at the burning figure.
"F-FREEZE!"
The flaming skull turned in their direction and raised a hand at them. He slowly raised a finger and shook it back and forth, a common sign for no. Not knowing what to do, Roman slowly lowered his arms. Burgess looked at him like he grew a second head and yelled at him.
"What are you doing!"
"I don't know! I don't think shooting a skull that's on fire will end well!"
Burgess silently agreed and lowered her arms as well. The Ghost Rider nodded and walked forward a few steps, only to stop and raise his right arm with his hand open. He then brought his arm down and closed his hand in a fist. The two officers were confused by the action but soon heard a loud rumble inside the building.
CRASH
Burgess looked at the flaming motorcycle as it drove forward until it stopped next to The Ghost Rider. Its burning wheels left a trail of fire. The bike was undamaged even after crashing through a wall; not even a scratch was on it. The Ghost Rider then got on the motorcycle and revved the engine; hitting the gas, the bike's wheels spun and dug into the ground. Digging out hot cement. The bike sped forward, reaching fast speeds immediately.
"…Burgess."
"…Yeah?"
"What just happened?"
•••
"Who would have thought a kid was the vigilante?" Josh said as he drove the black Ford F-150. "What do you think, Tray? Pretty wild. Ain't it?"
"Who cares? The guys dead now." Tray nasally said as he rested his cheek on his fist. "Haaah. My nose hurts like a bitch"
"You'll be fine. We'll stop by a Walgreens to get you something for that." Josh turned the wheel as he followed closely behind a black van. "You think Zack is chewing out Drake? He always had a soft spot for kids. Can't imagine that execution style of killing sits right with him."
"Chewing out Drake? Please. Zack may be second in command, but he will never question Drake. At least to his face." Tray said as he looked at the van. Looking down at his watch, he saw it was still an hour and a half until midnight. "I just want to get some sleep already.
"Hey, Tray?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you see what I'm seeing? Check your side mirror." Josh said slowly. "What is that?"
"Is that… a skeleton? On fire?"
•••
The Ghost Rider continued driving at fast speeds. Leaving behind a trail of fire in his wake, his speed was incredible. Swerving between traffic, The Rider saw some traffic up ahead. Exhaling flames from his nostrils, The Ghost Rider hopped onto the sidewalk. Several people yelled in shock and surprise at the sight of him, immediately getting out of his way.
Getting back on the main road, the flaming embodiment of vengeance sees his targets: a black truck and a van. Releasing a loud beastly roar, The Rider increased his speed. A large wave of fire erupted from his wheels. Driving behind the truck, The Ghost Rider jumped into the truck's bed, causing it to swerve. The driver noticed him.
"Holy shit!"
The Rider heard the driver yell from inside the cabin. Sensing two of the men he fought earlier, Tray and Josh, inside the truck cabin. Jumping up on the truck's roof, the Rider feels the impact of bullets hit him from below. Growling, he punches down. The top of the truck gave way as if it were mere paper; finding his target, The Rider pulled Tray by the back of his neck and stared at the bleeding, screaming man.
"AGH! You monster!"
The Rider roared in the man's face. Squeezing his hand, the Rider broke the man's neck. Having finished his prey, The Ghost Rider threw him away. Before Tray's corpse could land on the pavement below, his body was sliced in half with a flaming chain. The body soon turned to ashes and disappeared into the wind.
"Oh my god! Tray!"
Looking down at the hole he created, The Rider saw Josh. The man was now panicking; the gruesome sight even caused him to relieve himself if the wet stain at the front of his pants was anything to go by. The flaming skull opened his jaw and unleashed a torrent of Hellfire down at Josh's body. Josh's high-pitched screams slowly died as his body was reduced to ash. The Ghost Rider looked to his right, bent down, and grabbed the steering wheel. Spinning the wheel, the truck changed directions. Standing up, The Rider jumped off the truck onto his awaiting self-driving motorcycle.
The truck then crashed into a large tree, stopping it and resulting in no unnecessary casualties. Hitting the gas, the spirit of vengeance saw his next objective. The black van that held his final two targets and a tied-up girl. With a roar from the motorcycle's engine, The Ghost Rider sped off. He was determined to end it and recover his friend.
•••
"Drake, go faster!"
"We're driving in a fucking van! I'm going as fast as I can!"
Zack and Drake were panicking. How could they not? Zack just witnessed a literal monster kill his crew mates with ease. To make matters worse, it seemed like it was heading in their direction. Zack brought his head back inside the van as he started sweating from head to toe.
"Fuck man, we got any guns in here?" Zack asked as he looked inside the cabin. Finding a small shotgun, a nervous smile appears on his face. "Yes! This outta blow that monster's skull into pieces."
Drake nodded shakily; he turned and saw the Vincent Thomas Bridge ahead. No longer caring about receiving the ransom money, he changed directions. The bridge would give them a clear view of the monster behind them. Drake pushed the gas pedal as low as he possibly could, and the van's engine roared as it was pushed to its limit.
"How far is it?!"
"It's- It's gone?!"
"What do you mean it's gone?!" Drake asked in shock. Turning to the side mirror, he no longer saw the flaming creature. "Where'd it go?"
BAM
The two men screamed as the flaming monster was now on the van's hood. It looked at them both and roared. It pulled its arm back and punched the windshield. The glass stood no chance as it shattered in the men's faces. Zack jerked his head to remove the glass and raised his shotgun, ready to shoot the monstrous being.
"I don't think so."
The monster spoke in a deep, guttural tone. It was almost as if two different people spoke at the same time. The beast grabbed his shotgun before he could pull the trigger and aimed it at Drake's body. The shotgun blew apart Drake's right arm and took off a massive chunk of his thigh.
"AAGHH!"
Drake screamed as his left arm turned the wheel to the right sharply. The van then changed directions, and the vehicles around the van honked at the sudden change. The van rammed through the bridge's barricades and drove off the edge. They were now in the air, falling straight for the water below.
The Ghost Rider looked down and nodded his head. With a fast arm swing, he bound the two men in their seats with his chain. The men released a pained scream as the hot steel burned their bodies. The Rider then sunk his hands into the van's metallic body and braced himself.
SPLASH
•••
Alex was confused at all the sounds of screaming and blaring horns. She tried to look outside but couldn't; the men retrofitted the van so no one could peer outside or inside. Leaving her in the dark regarding what was going on. Suddenly, she found herself weightless in the air. It didn't last long because she felt the whole van jerk as it impacted a solid surface.
From the sounds of the splash and the flow of water that was now steadily coming inside the van, it was safe to say they fell into a body of water. Alex started to panic as she fought her restraints. She finally took off her gag due to her renewed struggle. But found that her arms and legs wouldn't budge at all.
"HELP! SOMEBODY!"
The water was now up to her neck. They were sinking fast. All the boxes and gear inside the van probably made them so heavy that they were dropping like a rock. Alex took a deep breath with the water now up to her chin. In a few seconds, she was completely submerged in the cold water. Alex continued to struggle to free herself but kept failing. With a jerk, she found herself wanting air. Her lungs felt like they were burning as they jerked again, forcing her to take a breath. Water soon filled her lungs.
Just as Alex was about to drown, she looked up and saw the van's roof be ripped off. Due to her glasses falling off a while back, all she could make out was a man's shape. Her brain must've really needed oxygen because she could have sworn she saw a skull on fire. Bubbles escaped her mouth as she could no longer hold her breath. The world around her slowly started to darken. With blurry eyes, she saw the flaming skull close to her face. She then closed her eyes as darkness enveloped her.
•••
The waters were calm at this time. Nearby, a loading bay held a large cruising boat. A few workers were scattered around, doing their jobs late at night. A few yards away, hundreds of containers sat on top of each other. This was Smith Island. It was located north of San Pedro.
Down below, near The Vincent Thomas bridge, was a vast loading area for the containers of Smith Island. Just below it was a small chunk of land composed of rocks varying in size. The gentle waves of the water washed up and down in a soothing cycle. A speck of fire broke out the water's surface, eventually growing into a steady flame. Slowly, a flaming skull broke the surface, followed by his body. Even more surprising was the girl in his arms. She was being carried as gently as possible.
Placing the girl down on a flat area of the rocky shore, The Ghost Rider looked at her unmoving chest. He lifted his glove and took it off, his fiery bony hand flexing. Soon, the orange fires shifted to a cool blue. Placing his hand on Alex's chest, The Rider focused. A second later, Alex started choking out the water she breathed in. With a nod, he saw his trusty motorcycle stop above them. Looking down, he saw Alex begin to regain control of her breathing. She looked up at him and froze in shock. Fear slowly crept up her face.
The Ghost Rider looked down and stayed motionless for a few seconds. Slowly, the flames surrounding his skull started to shrink and disappear. Muscle and skin grew over the skull until a full mop of brown hair rested on his head. Turning his head, Harvey looked at a surprised Alex.
"Alex."
"…H-Harvey?"
Harvey nodded and tried to think of how to explain what she just saw. He wouldn't blame her if she ran away and called him a monster. He would never see her again after today. That was okay with him… she was safe and alive. That was all that mattered to him.
"Harvey!"
He was honestly shocked when Alex hugged him so tightly. Her arms squeezed his neck tightly as he absentmindedly brought his arms up around her wet body. They both sat there as she cried into his shoulder and repeated his name slowly. He rubbed gentle circles on her back, whispering everything would be okay.
"You're going to be okay... I'm here."
•••
New York City
A young woman with platinum blonde hair stood on the top of Central Park Tower. Her golden eyes twinkled in amusement as she stared at the city below.
Her outfit consisted of a long-sleeved black shirt with a shoulder cut, and a graphic image of two angel wings sat in the center of the chest. On top of that was a white stretch denim jacket. A few buttons sat over the right breast pocket. A white high-waist skirt flowed in the wind, and her black thigh-high socks led down to her white pair of Adidas shoes.
Suddenly, her head twitched, and a smile broke onto what many would call a beautiful face. She turned her head west and walked over to the edge of the building. She then chuckled to herself and placed her hands behind her head.
"Well, well… looks like something interesting popped up over there."
•••
Hell
A pair of dark red eyes snapped open, slitted pupils burned in rage. Standing from his throne made up of human skulls, a creature with black grainy skin covering his whole body walked forward with his tail swaying behind him. The tall creature looked down at the burning landscape. His long, sharp hair shook in a barely hidden anger. Taking a deep breath, the creature's mouth formed into a twisted, closed smile, promising nothing but sheer pain.
"Is something the matter, Master Blackheart?" A large man with black and silver armor asked. The large grey wings on his back were folded tightly; he was currently kneeling on the ground.
"It seems I did a poor job putting you away, Zarathos." Blackheart spoke. "I have a new job for you, Zadkiel."
"Anything, Master Blackheart."
"Bring me The Ghost Rider."
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