"Moral Choice"

"Moral Choice"
Marcus's POV

Vincent's bright eyes locked onto mine, and I felt my mind starting to go blank.
"Marcus, my boy," Vincent said in the ghost's creepy voice. "You're going to help me capture your friends."
"No!" I shouted, shaking my head hard. "Get out of my brain!"
I had just broken free from the ghost's power a few minutes ago, and I wasn't going to let her back in. I focused on everything that made me who I really was - my memories of growing up in foster care, my job saving people, my friendship with Maya and Elena.
"You can't resist me forever," the ghost said through Vincent's mouth.
But I could stop her. I had something she didn't understand - I had people I cared about.
"Maya, Elena, can you hear me?" I called out.
"Marcus!" Maya's voice sounded weird, like she was fighting something. "The ghost is trying to control me too!"
I looked down and saw Maya's eyes starting to glow just like Vincent's. Elena was still stuck under rocks, but her eyes were flickering between normal and glowing too.
The ghost was taking over all three of them at once.
"Sarah!" I yelled upward. "Don't come down here! It's a trap!"
But I could already hear Sarah climbing down into the hole.
"Marcus, what's happening?" Sarah called.
"The ghost is taking control of everyone!" I shouted back.
That's when I noticed something important. Vincent was still stuck under the rocks from the chest down. The ghost might be controlling his head, but his body was still stuck.
If I could keep Vincent trapped, maybe the ghost couldn't move around to hurt people.
But then I looked closer at Vincent's situation. More rocks were falling on him. In a few minutes, he might be crushed to death.
Even though Vincent had done terrible things - keeping people prisoner, testing on them, lying to everyone - he was still a human being. And he was also kind of like a father to me, even if he wasn't my real dad.
I had to make a choice. Let Vincent die under the rocks, which would probably stop the ghost. Or save him, even though saving him might let the ghost hurt my friends.
"Marcus," Maya said, and now her voice sounded totally like the ghost. "Come here, my child. Let me into your mind."
Maya was walking toward me with her arms stretched out. Her eyes were completely glowing now.
"Maya, fight it!" I said.
"There is no Maya anymore," the ghost said through Maya's mouth. "There is only me."
Elena was trying to pull herself out from under the rocks, but her moves looked robotic too. The ghost was controlling her as well.
I looked at Vincent. He was fighting to breathe as more rocks pressed down on his chest.
"Marcus," Vincent gasped, and for a second his voice sounded normal instead of ghostly. "Help me."
"Are you really Vincent, or are you the ghost?" I asked.
"I'm... I'm Vincent," he wheezed. "The real Vincent. She's been ruling me for so long, but I'm still in here. Marcus, I'm your real father."
My heart jumped. "What?"
"I didn't die in that car crash fifteen years ago. The ghost saved me and made me her tool. But I never stopped loving you, son."
I wanted to believe him, but how could I tell if it was really Vincent talking or just the ghost tricking me?
"Marcus, if you're really my father, then prove it," I said.
"Your favorite toy when you were little was a red truck," Vincent said weakly. "You used to drive it around the living room making engine noises. When you were scared at night, I would sing you a song about a brave little boy who saved the world."
My eyes filled with tears. Only my real father would know those things.
"Dad?" I whispered.
"Yes, Marcus. It's really me. Please, help me out of these rocks before the ghost takes control of me again."
I looked around. Maya and Elena were both walking toward me like zombies, driven by the ghost. Sarah was going down into the trap. And my real father was about to be crushed to death.
I made my choice.
I ran over to Vincent and started digging him out as fast as I could.
"Thank you, son," Vincent said as I pulled rocks off his chest.
"Dad, how do we stop the ghost?" I asked while I dug.
"The ghost's power comes from this place," Vincent stated. "If we can get everyone out of these tunnels, she'll be too weak to control people."
I managed to free Vincent's upper body. He sat up and hugged me.
"Marcus, I'm so sorry for everything I did. The ghost made me keep people prisoner, but I should have fought harder."
"It's okay, Dad," I said. "We can fix this together."
But as soon as I said that, Vincent's hug got tighter. Too tight.
"Marcus," Vincent said, and his voice was changing back to the ghost's creepy tone. "Thank you for freeing me."
I tried to pull away, but Vincent's grip was like iron.
"Dad, let me go," I said.
Vincent smiled, but it was the ghost's evil smile. "Oh, Marcus. I'm not your father. I killed your real father fifteen years ago and took over his body."
My blood turned to ice. "What?" "The real Vincent Kane died in that car crash. I've been wearing his body like a mask ever since. All those thoughts about your childhood? I stole them from his brain before he died."
I felt sick. The man I thought was my father was actually a ghost wearing my real father's body.
"But the good news," the ghost added, "is that now you're going to help me kill all your friends."
Vincent's hands moved to my throat and started squeezing.
"And after I kill them, I'm going to take over your body too. I've always wanted a young, strong boss."
I couldn't move. Vincent was choking me with supernatural strength.
"Maya!" I screamed. "Elena! Help!"
But when I looked over at them, they were just standing there watching with glowing eyes. The ghost was controlling them too, making them watch while she killed me.
"Nobody can help you now, Marcus," the ghost laughed through Vincent. "You made the wrong choice. You should have left me under those rocks."
My view started getting dark. In a few more seconds, I would pass out.
But then I heard Sarah's voice from right above us.
"Let my brother go, you monster," Sarah said.
I looked up and saw Sarah pointing a gun down at Vincent.
"Brother?" Vincent laughed. "Sarah, Marcus isn't your brother. Marcus is Amy Stone."
Sarah's gun started shaking. "What did you say?"
"I mean Marcus is really Amy Stone, the little girl who disappeared twenty years ago. I used my tools to change her into a boy and make her forget her real identity."
I stared at Vincent in shock. Was he saying the truth, or was this another lie?
"Sarah," the ghost continued, "say hello to your long-lost sister."