When a Hitman Gets Haunted by a Ghost
Chapter 76: Series of Bad Ideas

Chapter 76: Series of Bad Ideas

BOOM! The tunnel shook with a violent blast, knocking the air out of Gabriel. He bowed his head lower, shielding it with both hands.

A wave of dirt, splinters, and an alarming amount of rotten wood flew over him in an icy breeze.

The last pieces of the door landed behind him with a heavy thunk, thunk, thunk.

When he was sure the only sound he heard was the ringing in his ears, he looked up at the evil spirit, wide-eyed. There were no nice words on his mind.

"You can pass now," Hale informed him casually, dusting off his hands after a good explosion of dark energies.

"None of this..." Gabriel shoved himself forward with a grunt, practically diving out of the tunnel, "...is safe."

The second his palms hit solid ground, he heaved himself up and stood. Finally.

"God, I never want to do that again." He stretched his back, rolling his shoulders and dusting off his hands. His gloves were coated in grime, probably beyond saving.

When he directed the light to the basement, his core ran cold.

A labyrinth of hallways stretched before him. Everything was dark and dusty, like an abandoned site of a horror movie. Concrete walls, narrow corridors, doors—some open, some locked—and an overwhelming feeling of wrongness.

So, so scary.

Gabriel shuddered. He had to think at least thrice whether he was asleep and walking through a nightmare. Unfortunately, this was the reality.

"This is definitely haunted," he murmured, taking careful steps forward. "What if there are other evil spirits here? You guys aren’t territorial, right?"

Hale walked around like a man coming home after being away for too long. "Don’t be ridiculous, there is no evil in Lazarus Blessing." He ventured off into a nearby room.

After a series of strange sounds, the lights flickered on—struggling like dying mosquitoes.

That was a little relieving.

"Alright, how do we get to your office? Is there some secret passage?"

Hale came out and waved, guiding him down one of the suspicious halls. "Follow me."

They walked through something that could only be called a maze of hallways, the evil spirit in front leading, his steps confident—until they weren’t.

Gabriel frowned, glancing around. "Uh, haven’t we passed this exact door before?"

"Impossible," Hale answered immediately. "You must be mistaken."

Gabriel rubbed his chin. "You sure? Because that stain on the wall looks very familiar."

"It’s a different stain."

Gabriel stopped walking. "Are we lost?"

Hale turned, looking deeply, deeply offended. "Lost?" He scoffed, gesturing vaguely down the hall. "I have walked these halls for years. I know every corner, every—" He abruptly changed direction. "—this way."

"That isn’t the way we were going."

"You dare question me?" Hale glared.

Gabriel took off his filthy gloves to wipe his face. "No, I just really don’t want to die down here. Please tell me you know the way back to the tunnel we came from."

"Don’t be dramatic," Hale muttered. "Of course, I know."

After a few more twists and turns—and one completely unnecessary detour that Hale definitely did not acknowledge—they finally stopped in a small empty room, save for the metal ladder that was mounted on the wall, leading straight up to a square door in the ceiling.

Gabriel shone his flashlight on it, his eyebrows raising. "A secret hatch?" He chuckled. "In a basement. Under a cult. That’s definitely going on the list of ’things that should only happen in movies’."

Hale gestured at the ladder. "Go on. It should be open."

Gabriel nodded and climbed up, planting his boots carefully on each rung. When he reached the top, he pressed his hands against the ceiling door and pushed.

Nothing.

He pushed harder.

Still nothing.

Frowning, he tried one more time, putting his whole weight into it. The hatch didn’t budge.

"Uh," he glanced down at Hale, gripping the ladder. "So, I don’t think blowing this up would be a good idea."

Hale arched a brow. "Wait here. I’ll check to see what’s the matter." And with that, he floated up through the ceiling like gravity was just a suggestion.

Gabriel blinked, watching it in disbelief. "Hey, why couldn’t I do that when I was a ghost?"

It seemed that being an evil spirit had too many perks. Aside from the snarky personality shift, were there really no downsides?

He drummed his fingers against the ladder, waiting. The silence stretched. His flashlight cast flickering shadows along the walls, and the longer he stayed still, the more he felt like something else was down there with him.

His ribs curled tight in his chest.

Being deep underground was already bad enough, but with Hale’s questionable knowledge of this underground maze, he couldn’t help but worry whether he was getting back out after they were done.

Finally, Hale floated back down, rubbing his temple. "My finance manager is sitting at the desk."

Gabriel didn’t like the sound of that. "...What?"

"The desk had been moved to cover the hatch," Hale explained, his tone mild. "And Joshua is sitting at it."

Gabriel stared at him. Because of course, it wasn’t like they specifically chose to come here at night to ensure the office was empty. This was not how it should have gone.

"So now what?"

Hale gave him a placid look. "We’ll have to wait until he’s done with his work and leaves."

Gabriel inhaled sharply, starting down the ladder—then paused. "Wait," he said slowly. "You mean stay down here? In the basement?"

"Yes."

"How long?"

"A few hours at most."

"HOURS?" Gabriel quickly climbed down the ladder before he fell off. "HOURS?!"

Hale observed him with mild irritation. "Why are you panicking?"

"WHY AM I PANICKING?" Gabriel’s voice pitched up slightly. He gestured wildly at their surroundings. "We are stuck in a creepy basement for an unknown amount of time!" He pressed his back against the cold concrete wall, rubbing his face. "I hate being trapped!"

"You’re not enclosed," Hale pointed out unhelpfully. "There are hallways."

"Yeah, leading to nowhere." Gabriel looked down at his palm, black with dust. It was the same hand he’d rubbed on his face. "Ugh." He hurriedly wiped his face with the top of his hand. "I just wanna go home."

But, of course, they didn’t go home.

Twenty minutes later, Gabriel was still sitting on the cold floor, fingers fiddling with the flashlight, turning it on and off.

Click, click-click. Click, click-click.

He focused on breathing—slowly, evenly, like a proper adult who had it together. Like he wasn’t trapped underground where the only exit was the nasty tunnel that would make a claustrophobic person pass out.

Hale, meanwhile, was pacing with an air of impatience, the clicking getting on his nerves. After about two more minutes, he whipped around, his robes fluttering as his shadow grew.

"Enough with it! Calm yourself!"

Gabriel laughed out of anxiety. "I would! But I have work tomorrow, and right now, I can’t even tell if I’m getting out of here! Couldn’t you just possess someone and come down here yourself?"

The moment the words left his mouth, regret hit him like a brick.

Hale’s expression stilled. He tilted his head ever so slightly, eyes narrowing in quiet intrigue.

Gabriel stiffened, his breath leaving him. "Oh, fuck."

Hale took a slow, deliberate step forward.

"N-no—" Gabriel scrambled upright, backing away with both hands raised. "Hale, no! Don’t even think about it!"

The evil spirit advanced, chasing him down. "It’s for your own benefit. I’ll take over your body until Joshua leaves my office. You won’t even remember it."

Gabriel’s shoulder hit the wall. Dust puffed up around him, and he coughed, trying to wave the eye-stinging cloud away. But the next thing he knew, a spiderweb that had been dangling from the ceiling was in his face.

Panic spiked. "Ah! Ew—no, no, no, get it off—"

Hale made use of the distraction.

Something cold and sharp speared through Gabriel’s ribs. He choked on air, his lips parting in protest—then everything locked up. His limbs went numb, his body stolen from his control.