With another cry, she dusted off the worms as more sharp pain shot through her. That didn't help. The worms were stuck to her jeans, but it was clear that the fabric wasn't true protection. It was as much a part of her as her skin was.
"Ouch!"
She took off running down the path, dodging past other souls and flinching with agony. At this rate, the creatures were going to steal every last bit of her blood. Or maybe now it was ectoplasm. She spotted the ocean to her left.
Maybe these worms don't like water. At this point, she was willing to do anything to stop the burning and ran straight for it. She didn't care that the water was the color of golden yellow and had bubbles rising to the surface. She didn't even care that it smelled like rotten eggs. She had to make the pain stop by getting to the water as quickly as possible.
That was when she collided with something and toppled. She saw the sky grow closer and then fall back farther as she landed with a loud, resounding thud on her back. Pain seared through her.
"What is going on?" said someone beside her. A girl.
Eden whimpered and sat up. Someone lay stunned on the ground beside her. A small boy with dark auburn hair. The person who had spoken was a thin dark-skinned girl with short, cropped hair. Beside her was a tall, gorgeous teenager that could have been the first girl’s twin except she was taller and had long, curly hair.
"I am so sorry," Eden said, struggling to her feet. "I was trying to get the worms off of me by going into the water."
Then she remembered about the worms and peered down. There didn't appear to be any left. Their corpses had disappeared.
"They're gone." Eden gasped. "I'm so sorry. They were here a moment ago, and then they disappeared. I know it sounds farfetched, but—"
"Of course they disappeared," the auburn haired boy said, struggling to his feet with a scowl. "Things disappear when they die. Where are you from? Outer space?"
"That's normal?" Eden raised an eyebrow. "Really? No blood or gore? That's insane."
The two dark-skinned girls and the boy exchanged looks. The smaller and younger of the two stepped forward and scowled and sneered at Eden as if she was a pet that had soiled the carpet and not a human.
"Do not tell me that you are a new soul." The girl scrutinized her as if she could tell. Eden flinched. "Oh, man. I think that she is. Just our luck. The new people are always so clingy."
"Is that so surprising?" Eden asked. "People die all the time. There should be a ton of new spirits like me."
"And then the person regains their memory of their past lives as well as their time in Zemiothstai when they get back here," the girl said, narrowing her eyes. "New ones are rare. You don't know anything about anything."
Eden wasn't sure that she liked the girl much. "Listen. I'm sorry about running into your friend, but I didn't mean anything by it. I should get going, anyway. Sorry to be a trouble. If you could just point me in the way of Jophiel…"
"First off, I am not friends with the annoying girl," the auburn haired boy said. "And secondly, you are going in the completely wrong direction. Jophiel is that way."
He pointed toward the opposite direction, back through the worm infested forest. Eden sighed. The last thing that she wanted was to get attacked by a bunch of mutant worms again.
"Thanks," Eden said, frowning and shaking her head at what she had to do.
"Yeah, well, watch where you're going next time," the auburn haired boy said. "Bye."
Turning, the boy trotted off in the opposite direction. Eden heard him swearing and knew that he was talking about her. She was shocked that her face wasn't burning up in embarrassment, but then again, she was dead so maybe it wasn't that surprising.
Eden whirled around and continued to study the dense forest that she was going to have to re-cross in order to get to Jophiel, if she managed to find her way there at all. She wasn't even sure how big Zemiothstai was.
And wait a minute. Didn't Saint Peter say to head east to get to Jophiel? I doubt that somebody like him would get his directions crossed. She frowned and stared into the distance. She swore that she had had her directions right. Swore it.
"This way is east, isn't it?" Eden asked, pointing where she had been heading before the worm attack.
The tall dark-skinned girl nodded silently. Eden hadn't heard her say a word the entire time.
"Thanks," Eden said, gaze lingering on the horizon as confusion filled her. Was that supposed to be a sign? Did Saint Peter mean to tell her that she took directions too easily and that she needed to think about what to do on her own?
She decided to head west instead, where the auburn haired boy had pointed, even though she was still confused. It wasn't like she had any tasks anyway. Her only goal was to find her mom, and her mom easily could have been west.
Just as she had taken a few steps, the smaller, younger girl said, "Wait. You're new, right? We're going to Jophiel too. I guess we can help you get there."
Shock filled Eden. Maybe being nice was a part of this girl's tasks. She whirled around.
"Thank you," Eden said. "I didn't want to ask, but I'm terrified of going alone."
"You should be," the girl said. "New people here don't last long. You know what would have happened if you had actually made it to that water?"
Eden shook her head.
"Your spirit would have evaporated and you would have reincarnated at once. Reincarnation isn't fun."
Her eyes widened, and she remembered that Saint Peter had warned her about the water. She had just been too dumb to pay attention.
"Oh, man," Eden said.
"Yes." The girl nodded knowingly and then chuckled. "Just stick with the two of us, and we'll make sure you're okay. My name is Thema and this is Adanna. We're sisters."
Maybe they found each other. Maybe there is hope for me to find my mom after all.
"Did you two find each other after death?" Eden asked hopefully.
The two of them exchanged looks and then shook their heads.
"No." Thema shot her a frown. "We died together. We've been this way ever since."
****
The whole time they walked, Adanna hadn't said a word. Eden shot her a concerned look, wondering if Adanna didn't like her. The girl gave her a warm, encouraging smile, and Eden's worries lessened. Maybe Adanna just didn't like to talk.
I haven't spoken much either, she thought, sliding a look at Thema. Thema was talking, but Eden hadn't bothered to pay attention the last half an hour.
Eden peered into the horizon and saw smoke waft over the top of a bunch of trees.
"Is that Jophiel?" Eden asked, purposefully asking Adanna so that way she would talk.
"No." Thema frowned at the sky. "That's an Angel Battalion army base. We've got to avoid it."
So there really is a war. Eden frowned at her boots. Death sure wasn't what she thought.
"So tell me, who is fighting and why?" Eden asked.
"You are such a new soul," Thema said, as if that was the worst thing in all of Zemiothstai.
There was something about Thema that reminded her of Rebecca, so she thought it was best if she was silent. Rebecca always got to the point faster if she did that. A pinch of loneliness attacked her, and she grabbed her heart and fought down the feelings.
"You know how as time goes on, the people become more and more corrupted because the good souls are passing on but the evil ones keep revolving?" Thema asked.
Eden nodded.
"Good. At least you aren't that big of an idiot."
With a scowl, Adanna stepped forward and hit Thema over the head with a resounding thwack. Eden stared.
"You didn't have to do that. I was getting to the point." Thema pouted. "Well, anyway, in the beginning when the purgatory system was first put into practice, Satan disliked the idea that so many people were going to heaven. He offered those who did evil acts incentives like money, wealth, endless youth, and beauty. Some thought it was a better idea to linger here, not do their tasks, and receive b
onuses for being evil. It was an easier way. The good kept trying to get to heaven."
Horror struck Eden. She knew what Thema was getting at. The evil army was accumulating due to constant reincarnation, while the good army went to heaven, leaving them now outnumbered.
"So the good is leaving this world," Eden said, horrified.
"Oh, swell." Thema poked her. "The Angel Battalion is called the Angels, and soldiers for Satan are just called Demons. The uniforms for Demons are black, while the ones for the Angels are white. It is best to avoid both, if you can help it, though."
"Why?" Eden raised an eyebrow. "Aren't Angels good?"
"Only marginally," Thema said. "We aren't supposed to be fighting each other. Once, this person tried to recreate guns over here, and the building he used to make them blew up for no reason. Ever since then, the soldiers have kept to swords, but a lot of spirits remember how displeased the uppers were."
"Uppers?" Eden asked.
Thema rolled her eyes. "The real angels and saints. They are the bosses. They're up there watching as we kill each other here. That's why I'm telling you to avoid the Angels. They won't help you with your tasks."
Eden frowned at the word "tasks." She stared at her shoes, silent.
"So what are your tasks, anyway?" Thema asked, when Eden didn't say anything.
What can I tell her? There is nothing I can say. Eden shook her head, biting her bottom lip.
"Were you that bad in life?" Thema asked. "Here I was thinking that you were weak."
Eden glared at Thema. "Saint Peter didn't give me any tasks. He said to go to Jophiel. That's it."
"Didn't you listen?" Thema asked. "Everybody has tasks. Everybody."
Everybody except for me, apparently.
Chapter Eleven
Night fell. There was no sound of crickets, no anything. Just endless darkness. Eden began to get nervous. Saint Peter had warned her about the water, and he had warned her about night.
"Oh no, oh no," Thema said, pacing back and forth. "It's ages until the next holy ground. Ages. We don't have a tent, do we?"
Thema studied her sister with wide eyes, and Adanna shook her head.
"No, no, no." Thema stomped her feet with each word. "We are so reincarnated right now."
Eden's eyes widened. "Is night that bad?"
"Is night that bad?" Thema mocked in a high-pitched tone. "Of course it is. You know those silly Blood Worms you were running from earlier? They were minor Satan Spawn. At night, the major Satan Spawn come out. Like Raiders."
"Satan Spawn?"
Thema once again stomped her feet on the ground. "The evil beasts that Satan gave birth to in order to make purgatory a horrible, desolate place for people to complete their trials."
Night sounded horrible, even more horrible than watching the shopping network with her mom. She gazed at the sky and saw that the sun had already dropped beyond the mountains and darkness tainted the horizon. She wondered whether it was an omen.
"Holy ground will grant us safety from these Raiders?" Eden asked.
"Yes," Thema said.
"If you have time to talk, then you have time to run," Eden said. "Lead the way."
Thema headed left and bounded up the hill. Like usual, Adanna silently followed, leaving Eden to be the last. As they ran, Eden began to hear strange sounds. Sounds she didn't like.
It was as if somebody whispered in her ear. Somebody familiar. In the distance, she heard high-pitched cackling.
"Don't listen, you idiot," Thema said. "Ignore the voices."
But she could swear she could hear Rebecca. She could hear a lot of voices, in fact, drilling into her head again and again.
"Eden," Rebecca said. "Eden, I'm over here. Aren't you listening to me? You were looking for me, weren't you?"
The ground beneath her became coated in a fine white mist. Eden gasped as it seeped over her shoes. All around her, pale white faces appeared. Shapeless faces. One of them spoke to her. It was like she was seeing pale shadows.
Then she heard Rebecca's giggle.
"Eden, why don't you come to see me?" Rebecca asked. "I love you so much."
No. This isn't right. My mom never told me that she loved me, and she never would, either. That just isn't the way that she is.
She felt something grab her shoulder, and she jerked around and stared right into the face of a white shadow mutant with a blank expression. It hissed at her, but then let out a demonic giggle that sounded just like Rebecca's laugh. She was surrounded, surrounded by mutants. But she kept on running.
To her left, she saw that Adanna had stopped. One of the white shadows stood directly in front of her. It had its hands on her shoulders and was peering into her face.
An evil, deep, throaty voice burst from the creature's mouth then. "I'm going to eat your soul."
Then it opened its mouth, and long white lines of energy could be seen between its top and bottom jaws. Adanna didn't cry. In fact, she didn't even move. Instead she just peered at the evil creature with blank eyes.
Eden sprinted toward her and said, "Adanna, look out."
She rammed her shoulder into Adanna's back, and the next thing she knew, the two of them toppled over a cliff she hadn't even known was there. But then she wasn't falling over a cliff anymore. She was being sucked into a dark hole of blackness.
No way. Is this reincarnation?
A distant voice, a familiar one, said, "Be calm."
And then she landed.
****
When she erupted from the tunnel, she found herself lying on a giant cot. She lay with one arm dangling lazily off the side of the bed.
The room around her was made from wooden paneling. There was a single open window, a staircase leading downward, and a small, faded rug which appeared as though it had seen too many feet because its fibers were rubbed raw. There was also the smell of incense burning in the air.
One run-down television sat perched on a single stool right in front of the cot, and to the left was a nearly empty bookshelf with a couple of CDs and books. The room appeared dusty.
I can't believe he's dead.
The words echoed in her mind, but they were not Eden's own. She gazed at everything in the room again. There couldn't be anyone here, could they? There were no nooks and crannies for anyone to hide. It hadn't sounded like anyone had spoken out loud either. More like, they had spoken through her thoughts.
He's dead and he's never coming back.
Shock filled her. She couldn't believe this was happening. Somebody was speaking into her head. There was no way this was normal.
I wonder how Thema's holding up.
Eden opened her mouth to speak, but she found she couldn't. No matter how she strained and fought, nothing happened. The only thing she could do was think. Nothing else. No movement, no nothing.
Maybe I should go check. Knowing her, she's probably panicking. Though I don't think she was that fond of Uncle Charles. Not nearly as much as I was, anyway.
Thema. At least she was familiar in this scary, new place. Eden hoped Thema was okay after the close call with the Raiders.
Then deep agony and guilt washed over her like an ocean wave. These feelings were not hers, but were being force-fed to her one bite at a time. She attempted to thrash, but failed.
Somebody knocked on an unseen door. Eden felt every inch of her soul shriek, Please let it be Thema. Please let it be Thema. If it was Thema, she would recognize Eden. Had they all been sucked into the dream world? Was Adanna here too?
She moved then, not by her own will, but as if somebody held a remote control over her. She clambered to her feet. What if I am going to be forced to do something horrible? Her mind strained against the controlling bonds that held her in place.
As she stood, she realized that everything appeared small compared to what she was used to. She couldn't have gotten shorter, could she? Maybe it was just her imagination.
I bet it's Mom that's knocking. I wonder what she wants me to do now. She
only knocks like that when she wants something.
Confusion filled her, along with a small amount of hope. Maybe the "Mom" in this vision was Rebecca.
“Can I come in?” The voice sounded sweet but muffled.
I knew it was my mom. Maybe I can pretend like I'm not here.
A part of her, the constantly optimistic part of her, felt as though it had been crushed into a zillion pieces. That woman was not Rebecca and never would be. She was a stranger.
The voice grew impatient, but remained ever sweet. The type of voice that never rose in anger at all. “Baby, come on now.”
Hiding wouldn't have worked anyway. She knew I was in my room.
A voice, but not Eden's, called out, “I'm coming, Mom. Hold your horses, will you?”
Eden wanted to cry out in horror. Her voice was too deep to be her own. On top of that, she had not chosen to say those words. Eden felt scared and vulnerable, more so than she had ever felt in her entire life.
“Please hurry up,” her mom said. “I have something important to talk to you about.”
I knew that she wanted something. She always wants something.
She moved against her will and stood staring at the door to her room. Eden gave up on fighting the person that controlled her. Maybe if she stayed vigilant, she could figure out a way to get her control back. Until then, she would have to wait.
I guess I have to let her in.
When she opened the door, she saw that a beautiful woman awaited her. The woman had black hair that fell out of a ponytail and framed her face. Her skin was a deep chocolate color and was smooth and blemish-free, and she had two dark brown eyes and a round, glowing face.
“Yes,” she said, angry. Once again, she spoke without being in control.
“Oh, Adanna, baby.” The woman reached out and kissed her on the cheek. Eden could still smell the scent of honey on her breath. “I know you were close to your uncle, but you shouldn't pout this way.”
Eden wanted to gasp. This woman thought she was Adanna.
“I'm not pouting.”
“If you're not moping,” she asked, “then why haven't you been downstairs all day?”
Until We Meet Again Page 5
