At that moment, Chris was with Cecilia's grandfather, and the two of them were on the observation deck. "Are the accommodations to your liking?" The captain asked as he leaned over the rails, staring into the distance.
"To be honest, Captain, I think the King's suite is too much for someone like me. The general sleeping area would have sufficed," The old man honestly replied.
"You're her Pops, if I could provide you more, I would have," Chris answered with all the mustered sincerity he could.
"How did my granddaughter end up being employed by a ship that caters to the dead?" The old man's tone was filled with concern, not with curiosity.
"I can't explain it either, but according to an angel, it was because she has a strong ability to connect with the realm of the dead. She can even traverse both worlds," Chris explained, his voice hinting at shame for not knowing more.
The old man sighed deeply, "Damn that accident!" he muttered under his breath.
"Accident? What accident?" Chris asked, his tone laced with curiosity and intrigue.
"When Cecilia was five years old, she had an accident; she fell from a tree." Ernesto started, "She was in a coma for three days, and when she woke up, she started to see all sorts of invisible things, ghosts, spirits. I regret telling her to suppress that part of her," He said as he looked over to the horizon.
"She wasn't born with those abilities?" Chris's mind was filled with questions upon hearing the revelation.
The old man simply answered, "No."
Chris started to suspect something. The ability to see ghosts and spirits is not acquired; it is inherent from the moment a person is born.
The old man looked at Chris, who looked confused and seemed to be processing something in his head. "Do you like my Cee?" He asked out of the blue.
Chris coughed violently, being asked that question, "What?" He asked back, feigning ignorance of the question.
"I'm only asking because I think you do," The old man calmly said with a grin on his lips. The old man's demeanor turned serious. "My dearest Cee has experienced loss greater than anyone could have imagined." He then faced the captain and spoke sternly to him, "If she asks if you like her, you have to say no!"
The old man's words shocked Chris to his core. "S-say no? But why?" he stuttered, his words.
"I know my child…When I saw her smile at you that day, I knew she had feelings for you. But even if you like her back, things won't work out for the two of you." He took Chris's hands and knelt. "I beg of you, please release her from this ship; she belongs to the world of the living, while you and I…we have been claimed by death."
"I know it will break her heart again, but it would be for a while only. She will have a chance at life, a chance to have a family of her own, a chance at happiness. If you can promise me that she will have those things with you, then I will give you my blessing." The old man cried as he begged, "But if you can't…Then I ask you, from one man to the other, if you care for her…break her heart, take the blame, let her hate you, free my dearest granddaughter, and you will have my eternal gratitude. I will be indebted to you and I will be your slave for all eternity!"
Chris supported the old man to his feet. "There would be no need for that, sir, I already know that... I know she has no future with me," But Chris was lying, because all he could think of was being with her; he even forgot the curse that the Twilight bestowed upon him, because if he was going to be honest, he dreamed of a life with her.
"Thank you, Captain, thank you for listening to this old man's desperate wish," Ernesto said as he dried his tears.
Just then, Cecilia arrived panting and clearly out of breath from all the running, "Pops! What is this?" She asked while waving the bank book, "You didn't buy your medications? You neglected your health?"
The old man turned to face his granddaughter. "It is for you, my child, it is so you can go back to college, that is why I saved the money!" he explained to her, hoping she would understand.
"Are you telling me…If you hadn't worried about me, you would've taken your medications, and you might still be alive today. Is that what you mean?" Her voice cracked and trembled; she started to blame herself for her grandfather's fate.
"No…it is nothing like that, my death has nothing to do with you, and it is not your fault," The old man answered. Chris, on the other hand, kept his distance but remained to watch over the two. "I was old, and the money to buy those medications was just a waste, so I deposited them so you can return to college when the time is right."
Cecilia threw the bankbook to the floor and stomped her feet. "Pops! I don't need to go back to college; all I wanted was to take care of you and give you a comfortable life." Cecilia raised her voice while crying.
"But why, child? Why would you like to take care of an old geezer like me?" he was confused about his granddaughter's reasons.
"Because you're the only family I have left!" Cecilia shouted, her lips trembling with guilt and sorrow, her hands curled into fists. "But look at you now, look at where you are…you are on the barge of the dead, Pops, you're on the barge of the dead." Her knees buckled, and she slumped on the floor, sobbing heavily. "Now I'm all alone, you died, Pops, and left me all alone."
Ernesto was about to get Cecilia up, but before he could, Chris's body automatically moved and helped her to her feet, and he embraced her tightly. "You will never be alone, I will make sure of that, you will never be alone," he promised her.
The old man observed quietly as Cecilia clung to Chris, tears soaking into his chest. Chris clenched his jaw, casting a glance at the old man. Though he had vowed to honor the promise, the overwhelming desire to shield her from heartache and anguish weighed heavily on him. Seeing her so vulnerable and shattered was more than he could bear. The grandfather sighed, a look of disapproval shadowing his face.
The stillness of Midnight was shattered when the agonizing cries of the pawnshop owner and his lackeys echoed throughout the police station. "What the hell is going on?" The police Lieutenant frantically asked, "Get these damn doors open!" The police officers could not open the steel doors to the holding cell, and they helplessly watched as everyone confined inside convulsed violently, coughed out blood, and died.
When the last person died, the police officers all stepped back from the cell. "They must be infected with something," One of them concluded. "That's the only explanation…get back everyone or we might get infected!"
"Call the CDC and SOCO! and cordoned off this entire area!" The station chief ordered his men.
The police officers fearfully stepped away from the cell, unaware of the hooded specter lurking inside, siphoning the souls of the men he had just killed. He raised the hourglass, whose sands were filled, and smiled wickedly. Then he spoke with a voice that seemed to originate from the deepest, darkest pits of hell. "Only one last thing to acquire, and I will have the book of life and death!"