by Ginna Moran
“You saw us getting caught?”
“That’s why we’re standing in the kitchen. I played the different scenarios in my head, and if we try to leave now, we’ll get caught in the parking garage. If we stay in the club, we’ll get caught there.”
“But we don’t get caught in the kitchen?”
She shakes her head. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
It’s easy for her to say since she’s the one who predicts the future. I, on the other hand, can see a hundred things going wrong because the future is never set in stone and a single decision can mess it all up in a second.
“I hope so.” For being stuck in the kitchen, waiting for Alyssa to tell me what to do, I’m not as worried as I thought I’d be. I’m still pumped up from the music and dancing.
Alyssa laughs. “Me too.”
I grin and she taps her fingers on the door. Her eyes glass over and she loses focus for a second before pulling herself together. She sighs and plops down on the floor, tucking her feet under her.
“What are you doing?”
She sighs. “It’s going to be a while.”
HUNTER
Jacqueline stares at her hands, delicately folded in her lap, before shifting her head up to look into the eyes of a bearded man. He looks two hundred years old with deep wrinkles that cut through his suntanned face. His thick and scraggly eyebrows shade his beady brown eyes and his big, round nose is as wide as his narrow mouth that is covered by a graying mustache.
“I’ve heard the council can provide shelter and safety. I’m just so tired of being on the run. It wasn’t so bad when my brother was alive, but the agents—” Jacqueline pauses and waves her hand in front of her face. She takes a deep breath. “The HPA agents killed him. A reaper just ripped his soul from his body right in front of my eyes.” Her voice cracks and I sigh loudly.
“Really, Jackie? You just described what you did to me, you soul snatcher,” I say.
Jacqueline groans in her mind at me. “Shut up, Hunter. It’s the truth. How do you think I ended up at the facility in the first place? Your agents killed my brother to get to me. I may have stolen your soul, but at least I didn’t kill you. I’m a redeemer—a sin-eater. I save people from themselves.”
“I don’t feel redeemed. I feel like crap,” I say. I don’t believe Jacqueline. I’ve done nothing remotely wrong. I didn’t need to be saved.
“I couldn’t redeem you. Whenever I take a soul, I can see the soul’s worst offenses—some people call them sins—and you’ve never done anything wrong. Like I said before, your soul is pure. Now you’re my punishment for taking a pure soul. I’m stuck with you until you either decide to free yourself and die at your own free will or if I return to the HPA and put you back in your body.” Jacqueline’s voice echoes around me.
My imprisonment is some sick and twisted punishment for Jacqueline’s mistake. She was hoping for an impure soul that she could have control over and redeem whenever she wanted, but got me instead. The board was right about her. She’s a monster. She was planning to eventually kill me. I’m not giving her the satisfaction now. I refuse to die. “Why don’t you go back to the HPA then and ask for someone else?”
“Stop being ridiculous. You know I can’t return empty handed. Now please, Hunter. Let me talk to Mr. Soto.”
“...you’ll have to earn your keep. There are lots of responsibilities to choose from. Everyone always finds something they love,” Mr. Soto says. I missed the beginning of his speech, and I’m sure Jacqueline did, too.
Jacqueline clears her throat. “I’m not looking for a hand out. Just somewhere safe where I can settle down. The world is so weary these days. I can’t handle it anymore.” Jacqueline rubs her cheek.
“That, I understand, Ms. Matthews.”
“Call me Jacqueline.”
Mr. Soto reaches out his wrinkled hand and touches Jacqueline’s smooth hand. The gesture is fatherly and it’s obvious Jacqueline won the old guy over. No one stands a chance against her fragile demeanor. Everyone wants to protect her. It should be their own backs they should be looking out for.
“Well, Jacqueline, if you’re ready, I think I can get you an appointment in the morning with the rest of the council. We have guest apartments you’re welcome to stay in until you’re issued permanent residency.”
“Yes!” she yells in her mind.
“Calm down, Jackie,” I say. “It’s not like we won the lottery. There was never a moment Mr. Soto wasn’t going to let us in.”
“You’re right, Hunter, but it feels great that it was so easy. And don’t be such a downer, if I can win more over, maybe, just maybe, I’ll earn my freedom with the board and I’ll be nice enough to return you to your body if they still have it,” she thinks.
Unlike Mr. Soto, I’m not easily persuaded. Jacqueline is a survivor. I doubt that she is brave enough to return me to my body once she gives up the council’s secrets. While her original plan to kill me backfired, she can now use me as leverage against my mother. I’m her backup plan. I should accept this small glimmer of hope, but the reality is that I’m stuck here. This is my life now.
Mr. Soto slides from the booth and offers Jacqueline his hand to help her up. The world shifts as she stands and she glances once more around the room. I take the opportunity to search for the pretty girl I saw enter the kitchen, but she’s not here. I don’t know why I bother feeling anymore. I’ll always be left disappointed.
Jacqueline picks up her small suitcase from underneath the table and Mr. Soto takes it from her. He walks ahead of us to the door, where a short bouncer stands guard, and we exit the club.
“The compound is about thirty minutes north of here. Is there anywhere you’d like to stop before we head out? We only take people out twice a month for shopping and the next time isn’t for another week,” Mr. Soto says, opening the door to the stairwell.
“I have everything I need,” Jacqueline says. “Let’s go home.”
“Ha, ha, ha. Home,” I mutter to her. “More like a place to gather information to gain amnesty from the board so you can make a home wherever you want.”
“Don’t ruin this,” she thinks to me. “If I fail, this really will be our new home.”
Great. I’m going to be stuck with Jacqueline until I die.
4. NOT A DREAM
HUNTER
The location of the Creature Council’s headquarters feels like it’s worlds away from the city. The road to the compound didn’t have road markers and if I still had my body, I would’ve had a heart attack when Mr. Soto sped into a tangle of trees going at least thirty miles per hour. It was magical and frightening how the trees swallowed the car and threw us onto a paved road in the middle of a forest.
It would take a lot of heavy machinery to cut through the trees and greenery to find this road, and even then, I doubt the trees would let just anyone in. I’ve never seen anything like it. No wonder the HPA facilities are all made of cement, metal, and bulletproof glass. Supers can easily turn nature against us.
A woman in a short blue dress leans against the chain-link fence surrounding the headquarters. Her silver hair is pulled into two buns and adorned with white lilies. She’s barefoot and unarmed, which is an unexpected sight for me since the HPA agents all wear standard issued black pants, shirts, and boots along with a weaponry belt. This woman is the most non-threatening security guard I’ve ever laid eyes on. It must mean she’s deadly.
The woman waves and Mr. Soto nods to her before driving closer to the opening gate. Up ahead looms a four-story industrial building with reflective windows and a huge patio in front with small umbrella tables. Smaller one and two story buildings surround it like miniature replicas. I count five that I can see and I bet a few more buildings hide behind it.
Sprawling green lawns fill the space around the buildings. To the right of the buildings are three giant vegetable gardens and a greenhouse. Along the far fence is a fruit tree grove and scattered throughout the property are differe
nt kinds of flowers. Beyond the fence is nothing but forest. This is more than some top secret headquarters; it’s a safe paradise for supers. No wonder Jacqueline agreed to come here.
“It’s better than I imagined,” she thinks.
“I definitely didn’t expect this. Why did you even consider a deal with my mom? You could live here forever,” I say.
“First of all, if I didn’t make some sort of deal, your mother would’ve killed me. Second, while this place looks amazing, I don’t want to stay hidden in some small creature-made village. I need my freedom. I couldn’t refuse amnesty from the board. They’re who I fear the most.”
“Won’t the supers turn against you?”
“They’ll be more worried about themselves than me by that point.”
Jacqueline is either really, really, evil and inconsiderate, or amazing and ingenious. I haven’t decided yet. She’s an honorary spy and agent for the board and no one here would be wiser since I’ve never in my life heard of a super working for the HPA. Most don’t stay alive long enough to have that kind of conversation.
Mr. Soto pulls into a small parking lot with about fifteen other different vehicles. Their transportation is nothing special and I wonder if it’s to fit in with the human population. The board is fond of their identical white vans and I don’t see a single van here. I bet it’s on purpose.
Jacqueline gets out and joins Mr. Soto. The sun finished setting a few minutes ago and we’re losing light quickly. Without any outdoor lighting, it’s hard to see, and I find it impossible for all supers to have night vision.
“Hey, Jackie, what’s with the lack of outside lighting here?” I ask.
She chortles in her mind. “Why? You afraid of the dark?”
“I wasn’t until you started throwing me into the void.” I hate admitting it, but there’s no point in denying it. It’s not like I’m confessing my deepest, darkest secret and Jacqueline can’t tell anyone so I won’t be embarrassed.
“I promise I won’t do it so often. Just when I’m indecent. I’ve grown used to your company.”
I stay quiet for a moment. “Don’t get too used to it.”
Mr. Soto grabs Jacqueline’s small suitcase and her attention averts to him. For looking so old, he is fast-paced and doesn’t even lose his breath on our speed walk to a building with a daisy painted on it. Instead of marked with address numbers, each building has an image related to nature.
“This is the guest unit. Each room has a private bathroom, but you’ll have to go to the communal dining hall to eat. We have a library in the main building, and if you take this path to the right, you’ll find the fields. That’s where the daily activities are held. If you like swimming, we have a pool on the north side of the property.” Mr. Soto points at a building with a full moon painted on it, but I’m guessing he’s envisioning something past it.
Jacqueline spins, giving me a better view of the property. Only a few supers meander the premises, so I’m guessing they’re all in their rooms or something is going on we haven’t yet been invited to. This place is too big for only a handful of them.
Jacqueline reaches out and touches Mr. Soto’s arm. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
“Everyone deserves a safe place to call home,” he says. He holds the opaque glass door open. The lobby’s tan walls complement the brown couch, and an entertainment center with a TV takes up an entire wall. “You can pick any room you like. I’ll send someone to show you around the property and to the dining hall. Need anything else before I go?”
She shakes her head. “No, this is great. See you tomorrow, Mr. Soto.”
Jacqueline picks up her suitcase and strolls to the hallway. Without checking all the rooms out, she steps into the first room she sees and closes the door behind her. She brings her eyes from the floor to stare around the room. It’s boring and plain with a twin bed, vanity table, dresser, and an open door to an ivory tiled bathroom.
She plops on the bed. “It’s so strange not being scared,” Jacqueline thinks.
“What’s strange is that such a powerful super is scared of humans,” I say.
Jacqueline doesn’t respond. It’s going to be a long night. Hopefully our welcoming committee comes soon. After a few long minutes, Jacqueline closes her eyes and I stare at the backs of her eyelids until she falls asleep. It’s the only time I feel somewhat normal.
When Jacqueline dreams, I can immerse myself in her dream and almost feel whole again. It’s the only time I get some sort of peace from her while being entertained by her weird and troubled imagination.
I sometimes shut down when Jacqueline sleeps, but I’m too amped up from the trip. Now is the time I can have a moment to myself and at least be back in my body, even if it’s just for a few hours and only a figment of Jacqueline’s dream.
I’ll take what I can get.
NADIA
We waited in the kitchen of the club for over thirty minutes before we could safely leave, and then Alyssa had to speed the entire way back to the compound.
She skids to a stop in the clearing and jumps out of the car before I have a chance to unbuckle my seatbelt. She starts positioning the car cover over her car and when she’s done, she grabs my hand and we run as fast as we can down the dirt path, stopping just before the clearing that leads to the back gate.
Alyssa runs her fingers over a tree branch and pulls off the small talisman that allows us to enter the compound, then hands it to me. My fingers fumble as I try to tie it around my neck and I drop it. Alyssa swipes it off the dirt and puts it on for me and I open the gate and walk through before throwing the talisman to her. She runs through and hangs it back in its hiding spot.
My heart is pounding so hard, I can hear it in my ears, and Alyssa grins when we jog onto the green stretch of grass that leads back to our dormitory. I slow down and inhale through my nose to catch my breath and Alyssa squeezes my arm.
“We’re in the clear,” she says.
I smile and wag my eyebrows. “How close were we?”
“Ms. Petrov,” a rich voice calls.
I turn toward the voice and see Mr. Soto nearly running in our direction.
“Ms. Petrov, I need a favor from you,” he says.
I roll my eyes. For being nearly a hundred and twenty, the shaman has more energy than I do. Mr. Soto stops a few feet away from us. He shifts his weight between legs and avoids eye contact with me. I’ve always made him nervous.
“What is it? Does the council need something?” I ask. I know the council has noticed my lack of participation in the last two weeks. It’s coming back to bite me now.
“A young woman named Jacqueline Matthews will be moving here. She’s in the guest house now and needs a tour guide and someone to eat dinner with. Will you do it?”
I glance at Alyssa. “Can you do it?”
Mr. Soto puts his hands on his hips. “Ms. Petrov, if you’d stop being antisocial, maybe you’d fit in better.”
“You’re right. I’ll try harder and I’ll be happy to show the new girl around.” I only say it because I know Mr. Soto will complain to my father about me not helping out more around the compound.
He rubs his beard. “All right then. But please, Nadia, don’t scare her. You already make people nervous as it is.”
Thanks a lot. “I’ll try my best not to.”
Mr. Soto glances at his watch. “Yes, right, thank you. I’ll also need you to escort her to the meeting hall in the morning. Nine o’clock, sharp.” He turns and strolls away without another word and doesn’t give me a chance to complain. He’s always been short with me and it sucks because I haven’t done anything to him.
I turn to Alyssa. “I guess I’ll meet you at the dining hall.”
I watch her walk away and then I head toward the guest apartments to meet the new girl. For once, I hope I make a good impression, and actually add to my short list of friends. It’s better to meet someone here in person than let them find out what I am from one of the compound’s gossips.
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It’s silent when I enter the guest apartment building. The television is off and the place looks empty like always. All of the doors are open except for the first one and I stop in front of it.
I knock. “Hello? I’m here to show you around when you’re ready. I’ll be out—”
Hunger burns in my stomach and the hairs on my arms prickle. Jacqueline is asleep in her room and I can’t stop myself from quietly opening her door and gliding in.
A girl with dark, curly hair and flawless bronze skin lies on top of the sky blue comforter with her hands clasped loosely on her chest. I pause in the doorway. She looks so familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it. I don’t let it stop me though.
I shut the door and glide across the room. Jacqueline is deep in a dream and I can almost taste her fears even before I transport myself into her dream. My stomach flips as the air shifts and I fall into her mind.
I’m in the middle of the city, but it’s nothing like what I saw today. This dream city is abandoned and haunted with remnants of what used to be human civilization. The windows on a nearby building are boarded up and police tape on the glass doors warns people to keep out. I run my fingers along the brick wall, setting it ablaze, and creep my way deeper into Jacqueline’s dream world.
HUNTER
I stare over the ledge of a roof of an abandoned building. I don’t really know what Jacqueline dreams about, but it’s easy enough to immerse myself in whatever world she imagines without actually having to talk or see her.
The building shakes and the air shifts. Something’s different. Something has changed. I feel someone else’s presence.
I pull myself from Jacqueline’s dream. “Hello?” I whisper. “Jacqueline, are you messing with me?”
