by Cege Smith
He wasn’t the only oddity who lived on the compound grounds. Bishop took great care to stay clear of the creaky building on the far edge of the barracks. The Soulless Asylum wasn’t anywhere he had any desire to spend his time.
It was because of them that Bishop was uneasy today. He had been standing at the garden entrance less than five minutes when he saw movement at the edge of his vision. He was already nervous because he knew that the Chosen were about to be admitted inside the gates. He could almost feel the presence of the Head Master looming from the administration building.
So when he swung his head around and saw the two soulless approaching him he was surprised because they generally weren't allowed outside of the Asylum. He had seen the one a few times before, the one the acolytes called Marius. He'd heard the stories that this one was unusual, and had tested the boundaries of his captivity more than once. The other one, short and mottled with huge dark patches of skin that were unsightly even for a soulless, he didn't recognize. He recognized those patches for what they were: rotten, decaying skin. His fingers twitched around the pruning shears. It was instinct for him to want to cut that kind of thing away.
He thought that they would continue on to the path that led down to the barracks and eventually to the asylum, but they surprised him again by walking right up and standing in front of him.
"Hello, Bishop," the short one said.
Bishop blinked. How does he know my name?
"Is there something I can do for you fellas?" Bishop tried to maintain his composure. For once, he didn't want to be anywhere near the garden or the ceremony. He wanted to be back in the barracks under his bed.
The short one laughed a deep belly laugh and then doubled over in a fit of giggles. Marius looked bored, but that was a regular expression for a soulless.
"We'd like to walk the garden, Bishop," the short one finally said once he had gotten his laughter under control. "Seems like a beautiful day for a walk."
"No one's allowed in the garden today. It's a Soul Distribution Day," Bishop said formally. He was trying to make his voice imposing like the Head Master's. "Even if it wasn't, the soulless aren't allowed to roam around the compound unattended."
"“Unattended,”" the short one chortled again. "We aren't unattended, are we, Marius?"
Marius stared at Bishop. Bishop was trying to resist the urge to squirm.
"The Head Master is getting ready to let the Chosen in through the front gate. I heard their cars coming down the road. Y'all better git before he gets here, otherwise he's going to be mighty upset to find you here. Everyone else's been told to go to their quarters. You two better hop to it.”
Bishop couldn't believe he was trying to order around two soulless. Although Bishop's experience was limited, he knew that adult soulless usually did exactly what they were told. But neither one of these two made any movement towards leaving. Bishop knew that the Head Master would be there in just a few moments. He looked back towards the administrative building, but didn't see anyone outside.
"Go on, git!" he said louder as he gestured towards the barracks. For good measure he raised up the pruning shears to eye level and waved them around in what he hoped was a menacing gesture.
"Oh, Bishop. Good and faithful Bishop. So naïve," the short one shook his head condescendingly. "But don't worry. I can see your potential even if the Head Master doesn't. We may have use for you later."
Bishop started to respond when he felt a blinding bolt of pain bloom from the back of his head. He let out a short, pained cry and swung around. A young acolyte stood behind him with a shovel in his hands and a smirk on his face. He watched the shovel come down again as if in slow motion, and then felt another rough blow on the top of his skull that reverberated all the way down his spine.
His world went black.
MARIUS
Marius looked down at the gardener's prone body lying at his feet. "Was that necessary?" he said.
Chim sighed. "You said you wanted a soul. I'm getting you one."
Marius looked at the acolyte who had delivered the violent whacks to the old gardener's head. The boy glowered at them.
"Who's he?" Marius asked.
Chim started to respond when the acolyte cut him off. "You are looking at the future Head Master, you insolent soulless."
"We don't have time for your posturing, James," Chim said. "Quickly now. The old fool was right that the Head Master is going to be walking out those doors in less than five minutes. We need to be in position."
Marius and Chim followed as James dragged Bishop's body around the corner and into the garden.
"Over here," the acolyte pointed. "I used that spell just like you said and unbound the safety net from this path."
Marius looked closer and saw that there was a small break in the shrubs that led to another path. But the way the shrubs had been grown together, you wouldn't know it was there unless you were looking for it.
As soon as the gardener's body was out of sight from anyone coming through the entrance, Chim and the acolyte pulled off his clothes. The acolyte disrobed and quickly dressed in the gardener's outfit.
"You sure this is going to work?" Marius said. "He doesn't look like that man."
"Au contraire," Chim said. He murmured a few words under his breath.
Marius blinked. The gardener now stood where the acolyte had seconds before. He looked down at the gardener's body and back at the man standing before them. Then the man smirked. He had not known James long, but that smirk was familiar.
"Now get back out there and don't forget your prop," Chim said. "Remember, all's you have to do is make sure that once they go in, nobody but us gets out."
"And once I know the Head Master is dead, I can declare myself Head Master in his place and the other acolytes will bow to me?" the acolyte asked.
Chim nodded. "Once the Head Master is dead, you, James, will be Head Master of all."
"You swear?" James said with narrowed eyes.
"I swear," Chim said solemnly.
The acolyte hurried around the corner and out of the garden.
Marius turned to Chim. "The more people who know what we are doing, the more dangerous this becomes. What are you planning to do to the Head Master?"
"You worry about getting your soul, Marius. You leave the rest to me," Chim said as he started down the path.
Marius thought he heard the booming voice of the Head Master giving the opening remarks. They had definitely cut it close. But Chim was right; he was there for one thing. The only thing he needed to do was focus on getting his soul.
SAMUEL
As the Head Master started his introductory statement to the assembled Chosen's parents, Samuel did a quick head count and frowned. He consulted his journal and saw that, indeed, his observation was correct. They were missing one family, an unprecedented event. This was yet another odd occurrence on this odd day. Parents usually couldn't wait for their infants to get a soul. The Office of Souls receptionist fielded at least a few calls every day from anxious parents on the waiting list who wanted to know when their child's name would be Called.
At any given time, there were thirty to forty names on the waiting list. The Head Master said that they could never safely implant more than five souls at a time, and sometimes when the souls were Called for distribution, not enough would come. Since they had to make sure there were enough souls in the fountain before they could schedule a Soul Distribution Day, in those instances they had to hold multiple Calling rituals. This meant that they were always behind, and sometimes a couple had to wait longer than usual for their child to be Chosen.
Samuel knew that was the case with the outer perimeter couple that was in attendance today, the McMurrays. Their toddler was well above the standard implantation age, but Mark McMurray had assured them when the baby was born that given their experience with soulless infants and their gratitude to have been given three children, they would be willing to wait if necessary. The Head Master took that as permission to
do exactly that, especially as the McMurrays had already submitted a request for a fourth child. The Head Master was always more lenient with Residents who reaffirmed their loyalty to the Light.
There was nothing to do now other than wait for the Head Master to finish his remarks and see if the other couple arrived before Samuel opened the gate. The gate was unlocked only long enough to allow the Chosen and their parents' entrance, and then it was immediately locked again. If the missing family didn't show up before then, Samuel assumed that they would go back onto the waiting list, but maybe not. The Head Master was not one to forget such a slight.
Samuel tuned back into the Head Master's commentary. He had heard it so many times before that he could repeat it at rote if he wanted too (which he didn't). He had been warned very early in his acolyte career that the Head Master chose his ceremonial words with great care, and repeating them in a different situation or context could bring about disastrous results.
"...the responsibility of taking care of a souled resident of the territory of Malm is not one to be embarked upon lightly. In a mere few hours, you will be returning to your homes and regular lives, but those lives are going to be changed forever. The Office of Souls takes great care to ensure that souls are implanted properly. It is a delicate process that puts both your infants and your own souls at great peril if the ceremony is not performed exactly to the letter as described in the Official Handbook of Soul Implantation Procedure I cannot stress this enough. If you have questions or concerns, you will have a few moments with Lead Acolyte Samuel to address them prior to entering the garden. Once in the garden you will not make any sound or speak to each other or Samuel. You will say out loud only those incantations that have been assigned to you. If you do not abide by these rules, you and your child will be removed from the ceremony and expelled from the garden. Do you understand?"
Samuel watched as the color drained from all of the parents’ faces except the McMurrays who were old hands at this. They all nodded.
The Head Master seemed satisfied. He clasped his hands together and smiled a tight smile. "Samuel will now process you and admit you to the compound. I trust you will heed everything that he tells you from this point forward. I will see you at the fountain." Then the Head Master spun on his heels, his grand robes flowing around him. He started to move away with a confident stride that belied the words he had said to Samuel only ten minutes before.
"Sir," Samuel whispered urgently to the Head Master as he passed.
The Head Master stopped next to him but didn't turn.
"One of the Chosen is missing," Samuel whispered softly. "Do we wait?"
"The fountain does not wait," the Head Master said softly. "Proceed." And he walked away, heading for the garden entrance.
Samuel had no idea what would happen. They had prepared for four, and now there were only three. But he had to trust that at some point before the Head Master had dealt with this situation and that he knew what to do. Samuel shook off the tiny tendril of doubt and stepped up to the gate.
He pulled a small key out of his sleeve, whispered the ancient prayer of safe passage, and then opened the gate. Mark McMurray stepped in front of the other two Chosen families with his wife and toddler close behind.
"I am Mark McMurray. I come to ask the Office of Souls and the Creator of all that is Good for the chance to put my child onto the path of the Light and ensoul him. He is Chosen."
The words were spoken with a reverent fervor. Although Samuel was a man of faith, men he encountered like Mark McMurray made even him wary.
"The Soul Garden recognizes you, Mark McMurray," Samuel said in return. "Who else pleads for your child's soul?"
"I do," Tabby McMurray said.
Samuel could barely hear her, but it was enough. He nodded. "Enter." He swept his hand into the courtyard and the McMurrays moved past him. He motioned to the next man in line.
"I am Brian Deed," the man started. There was a short pause as Samuel watched him struggle to remember the next words. "I come to ask the Office of Souls and the Creator of all that is Good for the chance to put my child onto the path of the Light and ensoul her. She is Chosen." The last words were said in a rush as if he was afraid the words would escape him again.
"The Soul Garden recognizes you, Brian Deed. Who else pleads for your child's soul?"
The petite brunette standing behind Brian stepped forward, bouncing their daughter on her hip. "I do."
"Enter," Samuel said. There was only one family left. He waited for the man to approach him. Surprisingly, the man carried the infant. That was unusual; infant care was almost exclusively done by the mother.
"I am Malcom Lowden. I come to ask the Office of Souls and the Creator of all that is Good for the chance to put my child onto the path of the Light and ensoul her. She is Chosen."
The words were spoken with a quiet confidence, and with the last three words Samuel saw Malcom smile down at the infant in his arms. He was surprised. He thought that it would be difficult to love a soulless one, even if you were the procreator.
"The Soul Garden recognizes you, Malcom Lowden. Who else pleads for your child's soul?"
There was a pause, and Samuel peered over the man's shoulder at the blond woman who was obviously the infant's mother. She looked completely out of it. That wasn't good. The words had to be said in perfect synchronicity and no extra words could be added. Samuel looked at Malcom, who turned and cleared his throat loudly. As the noise reached the woman she jumped, as if she had just remembered where she was. She hurried to Malcom's side.
"I do," she said a bit breathlessly.
Samuel almost sighed in relief. "Enter."
With the Lowdens past him, Samuel peered out into the parking lot just to ensure that the missing couple wasn't about to appear. The parking lot was empty. He shut the gate and relocked it, murmuring the prayer of the closed loop. Everything was still on plan, with the exception of the missing Chosen one. Samuel pulled out his journal and glanced at the page as he approached the small group waiting in the middle of the courtyard. Deed, Lowden, McMurray present and accounted for. The Chims were missing. Samuel closed his journal. That was that. No Chims and no fourth Chosen. He had no choice but to do as the Head Master had commanded and proceed.
EVE
Eve saw the handsome acolyte pause and consult his book before approaching the group again. She felt Malcom's hand on her arm.
"What happened back there?" he whispered.
"Shhhhhh," said Mark McMurray, glaring in Malcom's direction.
Once inside the compound they weren't supposed to speak. Malcom knew that. Before he could say anything else, Eve shrugged and shook her head. She wasn't sure she could explain the feeling that had been growing inside of her ever since they had arrived outside the compound. She was grateful for the required silence because that meant she didn't have to try. She could see that Malcom was annoyed, but this time he held his tongue.
The acolyte, Samuel, drew up to them and stood looking behind them. Eve had taken note of the tall shrubs that signaled they were looking at an outside wall of the Soul Garden. She wondered again at the size of the place. Even though the Office of Souls had the garden ensconced behind a wall of stone, they still took care to grow shrubbery high and dense around it. Someone wanted to make very certain that nobody got into the garden.
They were standing in the middle of a large courtyard on top of the emblem that represented the Office of Souls. It had two hands that looked as if they were moving to join each other through a misty fog that Eve knew was the artist's interpretation of a soul. At the bottom of the seal was the fountain, and it looked like the misty presence was rising up from the fountain's top. Eve wondered if that was what they were about to see today.
There were four pathways leading out of the courtyard. Eve was facing the one that led back to the gate they had just entered. The one on her left looked as if it went down to a group of smaller nondescript buildings that were long and narrow; likely these were
residence halls. Eve had stayed in similar looking buildings during her collegiate days.
The other two pathways were far more interesting. Eve turned around, facing away from the gate. This was the pathway that led to the main administration offices. Although the main building was likely several hundred yards away, it glowed with the same iridescent quality as the boundary walls. She could see tall columns spaced out along the front and a wide patio that graced the second floor. It looked like a plantation house from the few picture books that remained from Before. But even from this distance there was something about the building that felt cold. It wasn't the least bit inviting, and Eve thought that would probably please the Head Master.
Eve knew what it felt like care for someone who you could barely tolerate, and she felt that many of the servants of the Office of Light felt the same way about Malm’s Residents. They looked after the Residents like one looked after an ugly pet. You didn't want it to die, but you didn't want it cuddling up to you at night, either.
Now Eve turned to her left. She had saved the best—or worst, depending on your perspective—for last. About fifty feet away from where they stood, there was a wide opening in the tall shrubbery. Through it, Eve could see a wide, well-trodden path that led deeper into the garden. According to the Official Handbook of Soul Implantation Procedure, the path weaved through a maze until it finally reached its destination: the courtyard of the Fountain of Souls.
Eve studied the entrance carefully, and then frowned. The handbook was extremely specific about every minute detail when it came to what a Resident would encounter on Soul Distribution Day, right down a recommended number of hours to sleep leading up the day as well as meals and mediations that were supposed to increase you and your infant's attractiveness to the souls that had been Called. The handbook outlined the timeline once you arrived at the compound as well the roles of each of the participant and the incantations that had to be delivered at the right time to ensure a flawless ceremony.
