THE SOUL GAME
K.T. McQueen
CONTENTS
DISCLAIMER
THE SOUL GAME
CHAPTER ONE: ABADDON
CHAPTER TWO: MAËL
CHAPTER THREE: MAËL
CHAPTER FOUR: YELLOW
CHAPTER FIVE: MAËL
CHAPTER SIX: ABADDON
CHAPTER SEVEN: YELLOW
CHAPTER EIGHT: MAËL
CHAPTER NINE: MAËL
CHAPTER TEN: MAËL
CHAPTER ELEVEN: YELLOW
CHAPTER TWELVE: MAËL
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: PURPLE
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: MAËL
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: PURPLE
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: MAËL
CHAPTER NINETEEN: YELLOW
CHAPTER TWENTY: MAËL
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: PURPLE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: MAËL
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: RED
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: MAËL
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: RED
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: PURPLE
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: MAËL
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: MAËL
CHAPTER THIRTY: RED
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: YELLOW
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: MAËL
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: RED
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: MAËL
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: GREEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: MAËL
CHAPTER FORTY: WHITE
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: MAËL
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: BLACK
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: MAËL
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: ABADDON
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: GREEN
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: MAËL
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: MAËL
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: BLACK
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE: MAËL
CHAPTER FIFTY: WHITE
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE: MAËL
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO: GREEN
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: MAËL
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR: BLACK
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE: MAËL
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX: GREEN
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN: MAËL
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT: YELLOW
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE: MAËL
CHAPTER SIXTY: MAËL
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE: ABADDON
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO: BLACK
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE: PINK
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR: MAËL
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE: PINK
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX: BLACK
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN: ABADDON
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT: MAËL
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE: BLACK
CHAPTER SEVENTY: MAËL
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE: BLACK
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO: MAËL
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE: ABADDON
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR: BLACK
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE: MAËL
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX: PINK
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN: MAËL
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT: ABADDON
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE: MAËL
CHAPTER EIGHTY: ORANGE
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE: ABADDON
CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO: ABADDON
CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE: PINK
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR: MAËL
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE: ABADDON
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX: ABADDON
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN: MAËL
CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT: ORANGE
CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE: ABADDON
CHAPTER NINETY: ORANGE
CHAPTER NINETY-ONE: PINK
CHAPTER NINETY-TWO: ABADDON
CHAPTER NINETY-THREE: MAËL
CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR: PINK
CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE: MAËL
CHAPTER NINETY-SIX: ABADDON
CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN: PINK
CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT: MAËL
CHAPTER NINETY-NINE: ABADDON
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED: ABADDON
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & ONE: MAËL
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWO: PINK
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THREE: MAËL
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FOUR: ABADDON
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FIVE: MAËL
NOTE TO THE READER
THE SOUL GAME: RULES
THE SOUL GAME: DAILY CHALLENGES
OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR – SKIN SIDE OUT
WHISPERS ON THE HILL
Dedication
To you, the reader, the follower, the leader, the seer, the seeker, the believer. Without you, horror is nothing. Writing is nothing. Nothing except words on a page forever unseen. Immortalised in a cage they will never escape.
Enjoy.
http://katetrinity.co
DISCLAIMER
Nothing in this written work is meant to represent any place, building or person. It is all the work of the author’s overactive imagination and any resemblance is pure coincidence.
Should you decide to participate in The Soul Game you do so at your own risk. In no event, will the author or publisher be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from your participation in, or about, The Soul Game.
THE SOUL GAME
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
– Pablo Neruda
CHAPTER ONE: ABADDON
Smoking ruins litter corridors, molten lava flowing through foul sulphurous air. No place for shirts here, no place for women or children, and yet here they are, alongside their men. Screaming for someone, anyone, to help them. Unaccepting of their situation.
How do you imagine Heaven? Pearly white gates, the guy with a book – checking your name is on the list. Deciding whether you should be allowed in? Perhaps you’re meant to convince them of your worthiness or confess the last of your sins. But what is behind those imposing gates? A table for two and a silver platter holding beans on toast? – No need for a banquet with so few making it in, right?
And what about Hell? A boiling mass of molten lava and pits filled with sinners? The eternal struggle to get the boulder up the hill. Getting into Hell is as easy as, well, eating too much pie!
Hell, isn’t all screaming, sulphur, and lava. That’s only the deepest layer. Above is a bustling, thriving community, and the biggest printing press the world has ever known –as it is above so it is below. It whirs and clanks and glistens, workers shine its surfaces, sweep beneath it, load the paper, box the books, and deliver them to the surface.
With only a little gentle persuading a human publisher agreed to be the known publishing house on the surface. The latest book from Hell’s Printing Press was going to be a best seller. The publishing house logo on the spine gave it a little something extra. Prompted people to buy the book.
This arrangement allowed interviews for their sales team to be conducted in the human world. The job seekers saw the publishing company’s logo, read the mouth-wateringly good job description, and sent in their application form. Never suspecting anything out of the ordinary was going on.
CHAPTER TWO: MAËL
He’d always liked the darkness, but recently it had become comfortable. No longer frightening or challenging, causing him to wonder what exactly he was doing with his life. If you could, in fact, call it a life. He’d learnt to tamp it down, push it into the deepest part of him, and keep it from surfacing.
So, he welcomed the light streaming through the apartment window across the bed where he lay. Today would be different.
Things were looking up. After weeks of job hunting, he’d nailed an interview and accepted the job offer, a job that would allow him to help people get what they most desired. He would bring joy to the world. He would be venturing out into the world to sell the latest, greatest, self-help book of all time.
The numbers on the clock rolled over and the radio alarm came to life. He smiled. Yes, it was a new day, how appropriate.
The coffee machine followed suit and soon the apartment filled with the rich dark roast aromas of his favourite coffee. He added full cream milk and sipped as he flipped through the newspaper. A light breakfast of yogurt and fruit accompanied his new life and outlook. He didn’t for one-second miss the bacon on rye, with egg, that he normally opted for.
There was a knock on the door. As the only member of the household still in the apartment, it was up to him to see who was calling. Joy, his girlfriend, had left hours earlier.
‘Hello,’ he said.
‘Delivery for Mr. Mike Pelt.’
‘That’s me,’ or at least the name he was currently going by.
‘Sign here.’ The man handed over clipboard and pen.
‘You not trusted with the digital things?’ Mike asked cheerily.
‘They’re on the blink,’ grumbled the man, not seeing the possibilities of this new day. He wheeled a stack of boxes into the apartment. Then watched as Mike took them off one by one. ‘There you go.’
He turned and left. Mike scratched his head and pulled open the flaps. He hadn’t ordered anything. On the top of a closely stacked pile of books was the packing note: thirty printed books – The Soul Game.
He hadn’t placed an order. In fact, he hadn’t even spoken to potential buyers yet. He was meant to do that today. Hard backed, smooth and matte the book he picked up had an old feel in new packaging.
He turned to the back cover and read the blurb.
‘For anyone who wants to change their lives for the better. This book will help you achieve your heart’s desire in just ten short days. Whether that’s an increase of income, better health, a new love, better luck, or self-confidence, this book can help you achieve it.
Inside you will learn:
How to step out of your comfort zones and ask for what you want
How to approach strangers with confidence
How to stop worrying about what others think of you
How to live confidently the way you want to
And so much more
In just ten days you will achieve more than you ever dreamt possible. And at the end, you will have a new-found sense of freedom and purpose. From day one your life will begin to improve and your luck change. Who wouldn’t give their soul for such miraculous changes to their life? You can have what you most desire – all you must do is follow the ten simple tasks. Are you ready to change your life?’
So, this was the book that was going to change people’s lives. Well, it was already improving his.
His phone pinged and replacing the book he went to the breakfast bar to retrieve it. He’d received an email:
Dear Mike,
Welcome to the team, we are so pleased you agreed to come on board. It is the beginning of a great journey and we look forward to your continued enthusiasm. You have just taken receipt of three boxes of books. Two boxes contain sixty hardback copies with ten books signed by the author. The third holds paperback copies.
We have sent these so that once you make your first sales you will not need to wait for delivery of items. We hope you will keep ahead of your sales and anticipate the books you will need in advance. They are printed when an order is placed and only a few are pre-printed to reduce costs.
The author will be doing a tour and we will let you know the details when locations and dates are finalised. We will also send you tickets to sell. We expect every show to sell out quickly. This book is already in high demand and we receive requests for talks to be given regularly.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call the support team. Your designated support team member is: Ginger.
However, you may talk to whichever member of the team is available to take your call.
Once again, thank you for joining our sales team. We appreciate your efforts and enthusiasm.
Maggie
Magenta Hues
Head of Sales
P.S. One signed copy of the book is just for you; we hope you will accept this as a welcoming gift.
P.P.S. Order forms and directions for online orders are on the back of this letter.
That was a little weird, wasn’t it?
Maybe if he sold enough of the books, and tickets, he could save enough to buy an engagement ring.
CHAPTER THREE: MAËL
His coffee stood forgotten beside the fruit bowl as he took a signed hardback from the box. Carefully sliding them into the worn leather messenger bag that completed his Bruno Mars style navy suit and canvas sneakers appearance. Maybe he’d get new shoes before the engagement ring, so he could take Joy somewhere she’d never forget.
He caught the bus outside his apartment and watched people rushing about, aware that he could relax and take his time. He didn’t have deadlines and he wasn’t aware of any sales targets. The people in the street had things to do, and places to go, and nothing was going to prevent them from doing that. How single-minded humans could be. Few liked to be deterred from their routine. Even those that claimed they led spontaneous lives still had their little routines.
The day promised to splash sunshiny goodness on everything. He loved the warmth of a sunbeam, the noon sun blazing down from a clear sky. He’d never known such comforting warmth when his darkness had consumed him, it made him feel happy and safe.
He smiled brightly at the bus driver as he got off. Perhaps he was unconsciously nervous because his smile wasn’t as contagious as usual. Or perhaps the driver was having a particularly bad day.
At least no one flinched as they did when his darkness filled him. He was focusing on the positives. To building the life he deserved. With the most beautiful woman, he had ever met.
Oh, the first time he’d seen her. How the light had caught the gold strands in her hair, sparkles danced around her as if they just wanted to be where she stood. Of course, she couldn’t see the sparkles, but they were there. He’d breathed in the air, a deep lungful. Moistening his lips at the taste. It had tasted of sunshine and tropical fruits and something a little spicy he couldn’t quite place. They’d banished the aromas of cleaning fluids, diesel, and trains as if they were the only scents that mattered.
Standing as close as he could acceptably stand he looked at the departure screen, and sighed. That had been all it took to get her to smile and say the first words he ever heard her say.
‘I guess your train got delayed too, huh?’ her voice was warm and soft, it felt like a gentle laugh on a summer’s day.
‘Guess so,’ he’d said. And then, somehow, they were going for coffee and chatting. He felt like she’d been made just for him and the universe had been waiting to get his attention.
He’d sworn to himself, that if she agreed to see him again he would change his ways. He’d stop loafing about and try to make something of himself, something worthy of her beauty. Something worthy of her love.
He walked on, his smile widening, as he headed to the first independent bookstore. This job was going to give him everything he needed.
Five stores later and he was feeling dejected. Perhaps he wasn’t saying things right. He pulled out the pre-written notes the support team had sent. Then scrunched them up and shoved them in his pocket. They sounded scripted, there was no way he was going into a store and saying those lines.
He was lucky it was a big city.
He decided to try one of the larger chains, checking to see if they already sold the book before approaching a member of staff who looked like they could be the manager – but clearly wasn’t.
‘Good morning, I was just going to ask where I could find the manager and here you are,’ he said, continuing before the man could reply. ‘I wanted to discuss the possibility of your store stocking the newest lifestyle book on the market. I see you don’t already stock it. It’s one of the top ten selling books in its market. But still, my boss sends me out to sell more. He tells me he get
s calls every day asking why folks can’t buy it in their local store. I’m really hoping you can help me out.’
‘I’m sorry sir.’ Mike chuckled, thinking he’d made the guy’s day. ‘But I’m not the manager. I’ll have a chat with him on your behalf, he might be interested. Do you have a copy I could show him?’
‘Oh, I only have my personal signed copy with me.’ He glanced at his bag. ‘I suppose it won’t come to any harm in your safe hands.’
The book was already starting to look dog-eared as he got it out, he’d been taking it out at every store.
‘Looks like you’ve read it a few times sir, is it good?’ he asked.
‘Oh, it’s marvellous. Life changing!’ Mike smiled.
It took longer than Mike was hoping and he began to browse the books on a nearby shelf. He was starting to wonder if he should move on to the next store, when the manager emerged, a huge smile on his face.
‘Please come into the office. I’ve heard about this book, saw an interview with the author a while back. Couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy but our usual reps haven’t got it,’ he said. ‘I was starting to wonder if it was ever going to be available.’
‘A lot of the larger chains dealt with our senior sales team. We’re trying to get around the other chains and independents. We want to give everyone access to it.’ Mike took a seat in the cosy, yet messy, office. ‘Tell you what, why don’t you hang on to that copy. You’ll be able to start reading it before your order comes through.’
The Soul Game Page 1
