Reclaiming Souls (3 page)

There was a knocking at the door. “Kellin, are you going to answer your door?” I mumbled groggily.

“Devalynn! You’re the one who invited me over for breakfast! Open up!” Lexie was banging on the door.

I shot up and looked around. Kellin must have carried me home in a dead sleep. I was in my bed curled up under the blanket. I threw it off of me and ran to the door. “Sorry, Lexie! I didn’t realize I overslept so late.”

She walked in past me and smiled, “You were with Kellin again, weren’t you?”

“We had dinner and I crashed on his couch then woke up here. Nothing is going on, if that’s what you’re trying to get at!” I nudged her playfully with my hand.

“Hey, if you want to deny it, that’s all on you, but everyone can see what’s going on,” she laughed.

I walked into the small kitchen and got out some food to cook for a quick breakfast. “What did you do last night?” I asked her.

“Just hung around with Jackson for a little bit and then had dinner, read a book and went to bed.”

“My night definitely sounds much better than yours was,” I laughed. “How about tonight you and I do something?”

Her face lit up as she smiled, “That sounds like a wonderful idea but don’t think I’m going to be dancing on stars with you,” she fell over laughing on the couch as my face became hot and bright red.

“How did you know that? I didn’t tell you!”

“I watched...I like to people watch and last night you and Kellin were my victims,” she grabbed onto her stomach as she laughed harder and began to cry from it.

“You’re so wrong, you freakin creeper!” I shook my head and grinned.

“Are you going to cook my breakfast or not?”

“Not if you’re going to talk to me like that!” I put the food on the counter and began cutting the strange purple things in my hands. I wrapped them in tortilla type rolls and handed her a plate as I sat down beside her on the couch.

“What did you guys talk about last night?” she asked me between bites.

“What we dream of,” I responded.

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like you’re interested in each other at all,” she rolled her eyes.

“Shut up. What about you and Jackson?” I bit into the roll and tasted heaven...if you could taste it, that is.

“We talked about different ways to make it easier to collect and about the ones we had to chase down and had to fight for their souls.”

“You two are a perfect match, you freaks,” I choked out as I laughed.

“Har har har, you’re so funny.” She looked down at her watch, “Oh shit! We need to hurry! The Reclamation Lists coming out in fifteen minutes.” She shoveled the food in her mouth.

We finished and I put our plates in the sink and we ran out to go meet the other Soul Collectors to get our missions for the day. I was praying it was going to be as easy as the day before, but I highly doubted it would happen.

We got in line. There were more Collectors that day than normal...the lists must have been extremely long. I just shook my head. Lexie got hers first.

“Well damn, I was hoping for a shorter one today,” she spoke as she shook her head with disappointment.

I walked up to Kellin, who winked at me. “Good morning, Devalynn Rose,” he spoke as he handed me my list.

I grinned with my reply, “Good morning, Kellin Banks. Thank you for...ya know,” I darted my eyes around to see if anyone had heard me.

“No problem at all. Figured it wouldn’t look right if you woke up and...ya know,” he whispered. “So what are you up to tonight?”

“Lexie and I are going to hang out. We have some catching up to do. It seems that way with a few people here lately. Well, I better get my day started. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I backed away from the table with a small, quick wave.

Once I was outside, I glance at my list and the first name had me floored. I felt like I could stop breathing. My chest tightened and a sinking feeling rushed over me.

“What’s wrong?” Lexie walked over and took the list from my hands. “Oh. My. Gosh. Is that who I think it is? Already!?” she exclaimed.

I snatched it back from her. “Hush. I don’t understand how he could’ve messed up so bad, so soon.” I glanced down and read over his charges:

Kale Evans: 2nd chance age: 27. Crime: Declaring life after life; proclaiming he’s been to the other side; drawing attention to who Soul Collectors are.

“That really doesn’t seem that bad at all to me,” I shook my head.

“It’s one of the worst,” she snorted, “We can’t be known to the living down there. If they find out about us, they’ll live recklessly because they’ll take their chances of getting a second chance or not. He’s lost his mind. He’s not a monster...he’s just gone off the deep end- lost his mind,”

I sighed, “Here’s to another wonderful day in the life of a Collector.”

“Well, let’s get a move on it. I’ve got about fifteen to do. This is going to be a long ass day. Don’t count on me doing anything tonight afterwards. I’ll see you later.” She stepped through the portal and off she went.

I was next in line but let a few go ahead of me. I wasn’t ready for this one. Something about him...I felt like I knew him, like I couldn’t reclaim him. A few more skipped around me. I decided to run back and talk to Kellin for a minute. He was sitting at the desk like always, making the list for the next day as names came to him.

“Hey, Kellin, I have a question.” I sat on his desk next to him.

He looked up at me and creased his eyebrows, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay, it’s just...” I sighed, “Do we really serve someone else’s eternity if we don’t reclaim them?”

He lifted an eyebrow, “Umm, yes. I haven’t seen it happen since I’ve been here but the Creator himself comes out and does it. He reaches in the Collector, takes out their soul, and stuffs them in a room that gets sealed shut with His powers so no one can ever open it. If you go look at the wall, you’ll see some with glowing gold outlines...those are the ones who wouldn’t reclaim a soul for one reason or another.”

“Oh,” I replied with sadness as my unbeating heart sank lower into my chest.

“Why are you asking this?”

“I’ve been given someone to reclaim...and I don’t think I can do it,” I whispered and glanced around the room, making sure I wasn’t heard.

“Well, there’s a small loophole. It’s not much leeway, but it’s a little something. As long as you’re only down there for a couple of days, you can push reclaiming someone...but they have to be taken and brought back here within those first few days; probably no more than three or four, max.”

“And if I don’t come back?”

“He’ll send Michael after you and you’ll truly regret ever being chosen for a Soul Collector.”

“I see. Please don’t tell anyone I was here and talked to you,” I begged him as I placed my hand over his and squeezed.

“I’d love to Dev, but if they ask- if He asks...I can’t lie...you know that.”

“I know. I’m not asking you to lie. I’m asking you to not go and run your mouth to random Collectors.”

“That, I can do. Go figure out what you want to do. Go observe the person, sit and chat with them, whatever...but make sure you bring them back with you,” he told me in a stern voice.

“Okay, thanks for the chat.” I leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re awesome.” I jumped off the table and walked back out the portal. The line was gone. The Collectors were out doing what they did best. I stood there and stared at the swirling mass that would take me to Kale but my feet were stuck to the ground. I couldn’t get myself to go anywhere. I took a deep breath after several minutes, with the Reclamation List held tightly to my chest, and shuffled my feet through it.

I landed in some little town. There were mountains in the distance and a blanket of snow covered everything. Then it happened. Kale saw me. I saw him. We locked eyes from across the street. For just a second...I thought I felt my heart beat.

“Who are you?” I asked him as I crossed the street.

“You know me, Dev,” he whispered back.

“I don’t have you in the memories that crossed over with me but I can’t shake the feeling of déjà vu with you. I don’t understand what’s going on.” I stopped in front of him.

“Can we go somewhere to talk where people aren’t staring at me because it looks like I’m talking to myself right now,” he tilted his head to the side and cocked an eyebrow at a couple staring curiously at him, laughing.

“Sure. Take me wherever you want to go.”

“Okay, I have a place,” he smiled. He grabbed his keys and unlocked his car. I slid in first and hopped over the seat to the passenger side. He followed me and shut his door. As he started the car, he hands were shivering. “Aren’t you cold? Do you need a coat or anything?”

I smiled softly, “No, I don’t get cold. Thank you for the offer, though.”

“Yeah, okay, that’s a little weird. Do you understand I’m having a hard time swallowing all of this?” He turned and looked me in the eyes.

“What do you mean?” He turned back to the front and shifted into gear then pulled out of his parking spot.

“I mean...you’re dead, Dev. You died but you’re here, sitting and talking to me.”

“I can see how that would be awkward, but honestly, I think you have the wrong person. You must have me confused with someone else,” I shook my head.

“No, I don’t.” He reached down on the seat between us and grabbed his wallet without taking his eyes off the road. “Look at this and tell me I have the wrong person still.” He reached in and pulled out a picture then handed it to me.

I reached over for it, scared of what I was going to see. I couldn’t bring myself to look down and see the people in the images, afraid of what I would discover. “I can’t. Not right now,” I whispered, hanging my head.

Silence followed until about an hour later and he came to a stop on top of a mountain. He parked next to a tower and turned the car off. “Do you remember this place?” He turned and looked at me with his big, beautiful eyes.

I turned my head all around so I could see but nothing rang a bell for me. Nothing was familiar about it. “No, I’m sorry,” I shook my head.

Kale sank back into his seat and closed his eyes. “This is bullshit.”

“Do you know why I’m here? Why I was sent?”

He took a heavy deep breath and sighed, “Yes. You’re here for my soul, aren’t you?”

“I am...but I feel like I can’t,” I whispered.

His eyes shot open and he twisted in his seat to face me. “Dev, you have to look at the picture; you have to know me deep down somewhere in your mind.”

I started crying...real tears...holy shit. I brought my hand to my face and touched the wetness that was falling down my face. “Oh my gosh. I’m crying,” I gasped, in fear.

“Why are you scared to cry? It’s okay to cry,” he crooned gently as he reached for my hand. I touched his face with my other hand.

“You don’t get it,” I spoke softly back to him, “I’m dead. I can’t cry. I can eat, I can breathe, so to speak...but I can’t feel pain, cold, heat...and I can’t cry.”

“So...how are you doing that, then?”

“I don’t know.”

“Come with me. I want to show you something.” He opened his door and held his hand out for mind as I slid out.

“Where are we?”

“This is Mount Erie. You use to love coming up here and exploring the sides of the mountains. There’s a small cubby hole type thing that you would climb down the side of the mountain to get into it. No one knew about your hiding spot...except for me. You carved your name in it to mark it as yours. Every day the sun would set, which was your favorite, by the way, you would be in that hole and watched; soaking in the scenery and the colors of the sky as the sun went down. Sometimes, you would bring your camera and take breath-taking photography.  I know you Devalynn. I wish you could remember me; remember that you know me.”

He held my hand as we walked towards the edge of the mountain and he was right. Without remembering most of my memories, that moment felt right. The view overlooking the water and the other islands was so stunning it left me speechless. We stood there in silence. Enjoying the dancing colors in the sky as the sun sank below the horizon. I felt him shivering and decided it was time for him to get warmed up.

We got back in the car and he drove back to the town I saw him in. “I have to reclaim you,” I whispered as I held my head down.

“What happens if you don’t?” he asked me, staring hard at the road in front of him.

“Then I serve your punishment.”

“That can’t happen. You have to take me back then. I can’t let you suffer, I would never let you,” his voice cracked.

“I have about three days to spend down here before we have to go back. Something inside me says I can’t go through with it. If I don’t go back though, Michael will come for me.”

“I understand...what exactly was my crime? I didn’t kill anyone, kidnap anyone. I’ve treated everyone with respect and kindness.”

“You ran your mouth and the Creator heard you, basically.”

“Oh, that’s all it took?” he asked me with a quizzical expression, never taking his eyes off the road.

“Apparently, that’s worse than murder, somehow. I think it’s crazy, personally.” My eyes began to droop as weariness took its toll on me. I yawned and tried to force my eyes to stay open.

“Why don’t you get some sleep and I’ll wake you up when we get back to the house?”

“Thanks, I need it.” I curled up and rested my head on the seat between us. It was a tight fit but I didn’t want to invade his personal space. Gently, with one arm, he slid it around my waist and pulled me towards him; resting my head on his leg. I fell asleep and he never took his arm away from me.

Chapter Three

When I woke up, it was morning. I could smell bacon and eggs being cooked. I rubbed my eyes and tried to get them to focus as I sat up. That’s when I remembered I fell asleep in the car. He must have brought me inside. I climbed out of the cozy bed and walked downstairs to where he was. “Kale?” I called out.

“I’m in the kitchen,” he replied.

I walked down the spiral stairs, headed in the direction of his voice. When I rounded the corner, I watched him dancing around the kitchen trying to get everything ready for breakfast.

“Smells good,” I said as I sat down on a stool at the bar.

“Thanks, it was your favorite,” he beamed. “Have you looked at the picture yet?”

“No. Hey, so didn’t you feel kind of weird carrying nothing inside last night? I mean yeah, you can feel me, touch me, and see me but no one else can.” I rested my arms on the counter and propped my face up with my palms.

“I could care less. I got to hold you again,” he cooed.

“You’re such a sweet guy. I really hate having to reclaim you,” I frowned and looked out one of the windows. We were in a heavily wooded area. There were no curtains on any windows. It was nice and private.

“I can’t let you get punished for me so you have to bring me back. All I want is as much time as you can steal for me so I can spend it with you.” He brought a plate of bacon, eggs, sausage, and toast over and sat it down in front of me. I looked up into his eyes. His face was radiant. I studied the lines on his face, every line. I studied his perfect blonde hair and resisted the urge to reach up and touch it. “You okay?” he asked.

I snapped out of my dreaming. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“What were you doing?” He sat down beside me.

“Studying you; I don’t want to ever forget you or this moment.”

“What moment would that be?”

“Complete happiness.”

He reached over and pushed my hair out of my face. I closed my eyes at the touch of his fingers against my skin. To feel his softness was more than I could stand. I leaned over and grabbed his face, pressed my lips to his.

His hands reached behind my head and grabbed the back of it as he pulled me tighter into our lip lock session. I wished I could feel his warmth, his everything, but reality hit me when I realized I could not. I pushed him away; my hands flew to my lips and covered my mouth.