Page 17 of Sor

“No. But remember. I’m a rescue guy, so a lot of the shit around me went unnoticed. I was focused on bodies and keeping people alive.”

“We’ve got the team looking into what this is. No one has a clue right now.”

“I do,” said Yori, gliding toward them. The others all stared at the elderly Japanese specter. He looked young and alive in many ways and, in others, every bit the ghost that he was.

“What is it?” asked Sor. “I don’t remember seeing that at all.”

“It’s called a unalome and is a symbol often used in Buddhism and Hinduism. It’s supposed to symbolize life’s path, our journey, which is never straight. It shows how we twist and turn from start to finish. We awaken, we obtain focus and enlightenment, and then we move into the other world peacefully.”

“That sounds like something that’s intended to be beautiful,” said Nell. “None of this feels very beautiful to me.”

“No, it does not,” said Yori. “I think someone is using this for another purpose. Perhaps to draw others in and do evil.”

“Sor, if this is Asian in its origins, maybe this happened in Cambodia or Nepal,” said Eric. “What was going on there?”

“As I said, Nepal was an avalanche. We went to help with casualties and injuries. The Sherpas are trained far better than anyone to get people off the mountains. We were at the bottom handling anything that came down alive. The only reason we were there was we’d just finished another deployment, and we were close, waiting on transport when they called for help.”

“Okay. What about Cambodia?” asked Luke.

“It was the kids who were trapped in the caves. Several needed immediate attention. We went in with a Cambodian special forces team. We had to use dive gear, climbing gear, almost everything we had. I don’t how those kids got into that fucking cave, but they almost didn’t make it out.”

“You must have seen something in that cave,” said Hex.

“Brother, I don’t remember anything except kids who were crying, bleeding, dehydrated, hypothermic, and scared out of their minds. There were thirteen altogether. Marshall and DeWitt were with me. The other three stayed outside the cave to man comms and our gear.”

“Marshall is dead, which means we need to find DeWitt,” said Cam.

“They think they found him,” said Hiro, walking toward them. “He was drowned in his own bathtub, but his face was a mess.”

“No,” said Sor, shaking his head. “No fucking way. That dude is as big as Eric and an expert swimmer. No way.”

“Sor, I’m telling you what the military told me,” said Hiro. “I’m sorry, brother.”

“I’m so sorry,” whispered Nell. He looked down at her, seeing the tears in her eyes, and held her close, kissing the top of her head.

“I didn’t see anything except cave walls. Dark, wet, nasty cave walls and sick kids,” said Sor, shaking his head.

“Will you trust me?” asked Yori. Hiro stared at his grandfather, then back at Sor.

“Trust you? You’re a ghost. Is there a reason I shouldn’t trust you?”

“Yori, what are you going to do?” asked Hex.

“I’m going to look into his mind.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“You’re going to what?” echoed the voices of a dozen people.

“It is no surprise to you that we can implant thoughts into your minds when we sense danger or unrest. We have done it many times.”

“They sneak in healthy food now and then, too,” frowned Ethan.

“We must do what we must to help you all,” smirked Yori. “Allow me access to your mind, and I may find a memory you don’t know is there.”

“Will it hurt?” frowned Sor.

“You will feel nothing except blissful, dream-like sleep,” smiled Yori.

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