Walking Ghost Phase by D. C. Daugherty

Author:D. C. Daugherty [Daugherty, D. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, General
ISBN: 9781470094874
Google: 0gh_tgAACAAJ
Amazon: 1470094878
Goodreads: 13320418
Publisher: CreateSpace
Published: 2011-12-15T08:00:00+00:00

The wall clock cast a hue over the bedroom, and Emily lay awake, basking in the red haze. She flinched with each time change. The shadows deepened in those brief moments as she moved closer to saying her final goodbye to Raven. Across from her, Maggie flailed in the throes of some terrible nightmare. Whimpers escaped her lips, and she dug her fingers into the sheet and ripped it off the mattress. She shot up in her bed, gasping for air. Her glistening tears shined crimson.

“You have a few more minutes,” Emily said. “Go back to sleep.”

Maggie plopped down and took a deep breath.

When the clock flashed 5:00, the loudspeaker buzzed instead of blaring with the whistle of the morning alarm. Emily glanced around as if she searched for a person to go alongside the voice. “Memorial services will be held in the Annex building at O-seven-hundred. All classes are cancelled. However, ACES training will resume tonight at nineteen-hundred hours.”

Maggie rolled over, planting her face in the pillow. “I hate this place.”

An hour and forty-five minutes later, Emily, her shirt buttoned to the collar and tucked into her pants, walked with Maggie through the winding hallways. A few civilians in suits and dresses—Raven's family, Emily guessed—waited in the annex lobby, while colonels and generals offered them condolences. Lower ranking officers chatted amongst one another in the light passing through fifteen ceiling-high windows, which peered out on Greaver's courtyard of shrubbery and three flagpoles. The Kentucky state flag fluttered in the autumn breeze, but the United States and Army flags hung limp.

She followed the flow of mourners toward two oak doors. At the front of the main ballroom, bouquets of flowers surrounded a flag-draped coffin. Emily slowly approached and looked at her friend. A yellow, floral dress adorned Raven's body. Make-up and an auburn wig concealed any reminder of simulated deaths. She touched Raven's shoulder, which chilled her fingers. “Wherever you are,” Emily whispered, “I'm sure it's better than this place.” She leaned over and kissed Raven's forehead.

“Did you know her?” someone asked.

Emily did not recognize the voice, but when she turned, she knew the face of the clean-shaven young man. His brown eyes hid behind rings of puffy skin, unlike the day she watched him kiss Raven good-bye. “Yes, and I'll never forget her.”

He extended his hand. “John Simmons.”

She wanted to tell him; her heart begged her to confess. I was with her when she died. But the words never formed. She shook his hand. “Emily Heath. Raven and I rode here together. I remember you from her house.”

“Really? Did you know her back home?”

“I wish. She was an awesome girl.”

He touched Raven's ring finger. “She was. I asked her to marry me before she left.”

“She told me,” Emily said, and smiled. “She told all of us. She looked so happy when she mentioned it.”

“I always thought my first time on this base would be the day I took her home. We were supposed to have a life together.” He pulled Emily close and hugged her.

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