Soul Protector

by Amanda Leigh Cowley

  I stood still, trying to take it all in.

  “How can all this be going on in the middle of nowhere?”

  “Welcome to the Office,” said Dan. “I’m guessing it’s not quite the tin pot operation you were expecting?”

  “Uh no, it’s the opposite of what I was expecting. Now tell me, is your boss sat in a private room somewhere with a fluffy white cat on his lap?”

  Dan chuckled.

  I carried on gazing around me at all the activity. “Is this the only Office or are there more?”

  “There’s a few more. Every continent has its own Office. This one is European Operations, but the main HQ is in Los Angeles.”

  “Blimey, Dan, how many SPs are there?”

  “Several thousand in the UK, and world-wide there’s over a million of us.”

  “And nobody normal has a clue about them?

  Dan gave me a half-smile. “Don’t you mean us, Gracie? Nobody normal has a clue about us. Don’t forget, you’re a Soul Protector too.”

  I frowned at him. I just couldn’t think of myself as one of them.

  He ignored my expression and carried on. “Soul Protectors have been walking on earth since early man, and just like regular people, our numbers keep growing.”

  “Unbelievable.”

  “Come on,” he said, starting to walk again. I fell in with his step as he made his way over to a large silver desk opposite the entrance. I noticed security badges pinned on the chests of the guys sitting behind it. Dan introduced me, and made small talk with them, filling out a form they’d slipped in front of him.

  I watched Dan as he spoke. There was a lot more going on than just his looks. He had this presence about him. Something about the way he held himself and the way he spoke to people made them look up to him. He was one of those rare people who commanded respect, but did it in such a nice way, people fell over themselves to attend to him.

  Another guy, his badge said Robert, approached the desk and told Dan that the Operations Director needed a quick word with him.

  Dan looked at his watch. “Alright. Sorry, Gracie. This shouldn’t take long.”

  I smiled a goodbye at the security guys, and dutifully followed Dan out of the open-plan area and through a corridor. We stopped at another glass-screened door with an identical palm print outline. Dan raised his hand and the glass slid to one side.

  The space beyond looked similar to the main area we’d just come from. I followed Dan to an office on the left-hand side. He knocked on the door, and a tall man walked out, dressed in a shirt and trousers. He acknowledged me, before lowering his voice and talking so only Dan could hear. I stood by his side feeling like a spare part. My mind began to drift and I wondered if, after Dan dropped me home, I would ever see him again.

  A noise behind us snapped me out of my thoughts. Dan looked over my shoulder and I heard him mutter something under his breath.

  I peered round to see three men in the same black outfit that Dan was wearing. They were holding on to a guy in jeans and a hoodie, who looked to be in his thirties. As they moved towards us, the guy was putting up a fight and the others had to work hard to restrain him. They approached us and the detainee locked eyes with me. In that moment he stopped resisting, and I noticed his eyes were filled with panic.

  “Please help me,” he said, panting. “This isn’t right. They can’t do this. You have to tell someone.”

  Without warning, he reached out and grabbed hold of my coat, yanking me forward towards him. I didn’t have time to steady myself and fell forward, crashing into him.

  “Tell the newspapers,” he hissed.

  Dan was quick to jump in-between us and release the man’s grip, catching his stray arm and bending it up behind his back. The guy leaned forward and whimpered.

  “Don’t resist and it won’t hurt,” Dan said, as he handed him back to the other monitors. Then he moved to my side and bent down so only I could hear what he was saying.

  “Are you okay, Gracie? Did he hurt you?”

  I shook my head, patting my down coat. “It’s okay, I’m fine. Just a bit ruffled, that’s all.”

  The Operations Director, who’d been silently observing until that point, turned to face the monitors. “Gentlemen, would you mind telling me what you’re playing at?”

  “Sorry Sir. We brought him in wearing cuffs, but after the interrogation, we thought he’d calmed down.”

  Another monitor cut in, “he requested the dignity of walking to the SEC without them, and we thought it’d be okay.

  The Director shook his head and raised his voice. “There are procedures. CSPs should be in cuffs at all times. End of story.”

  “It won’t happen again, Sir.”

  “It had better not.”

  Dan looked from the Director to the monitor. “Is this guy linked to the group?”

  The monitor shook his head. “He’s definitely not one of them. His primary surname is Hunter, real age is eighty-six. He’s got a terminal illness.”

  The Director sighed. Dan looked over towards the guy in the suit who stood with his head bowed, defeated.

  “What’s going on mate? Why did you let yourself get to the red stage?”

  I looked above the guy’s head, imagining the red aura that would be visible to the monitors.

  He stopped struggling for a minute and looked up at Dan. The panic in his eyes had been replaced with desperation.

  “Please stop this, I’m begging you. Don’t make me go to the SEC.”

  His voice was choked up and it was hard not to feel sorry for him.

  He carried on. “I’ll listen to this man’s mind, I’ll do whatever he wants, put his thoughts and motivations before my own. I promise you. Just don’t make me go in there.”

  Dan shook his head and for a brief moment I thought I saw pity in his eyes. But he took a deep breath, and his face hardened again.

  “What happens to you now is out of our hands. You know the code, so you must have known this part was inevitable.”

  “But I know there are other guys out there getting away with it. I’ve heard a couple have been changed for years. If they can do it, why can’t I?

  “Because it’s wrong,” the Operations Director said. “You can’t just abuse your gift to steal bodies. That’s as good as murder.”

  The detainee surprised me by laughing. “You have no idea what you’re talking about do you?” He stopped laughing and brought himself up to his full height, almost as tall as Dan.

  “You wait ‘til you get to my age. Inside I don’t feel any different from when I was in my twenties, but I’m held back by my old body ravaged with lung disease. Life is precious. You hear that all the time but you only really appreciate it when it’s being taken away from you. Well I’ve had enough of feeling old and sick. I’ve found a second chance to live again in a body that’s fit and well. I’ve got the energy of my youth back and no one would turn their back on a chance like that.”

  Dan moved nearer to him, speaking quietly. “But it’s not about what you want. What you’re doing goes against everything we stand for.”

  The man took a step back from Dan, as far as the restraining monitors would let him, and had a good look at Dan’s badge.

  “You’re not so perfect, Dan,” he spat out the name part, “I bet if you were in my shoes, you’d do the same, and you know it.”

  Dan’s jaw muscle flexed and he fixed the man with a stare. “You’re wrong, sir. No matter what position I was in, I would never take someone else’s body. You’ve done okay... You’ve lived a decent amount of years. Now you think you can just switch into someone else and carry on with their quota. Well you’re right about one thing, life is precious. And you have no right to take away anyone else’s.” Dan took a deep breath. “Anyway, like I said, it’s out of our hands.”

  The Operations Director looked at the crew. “Right, get on with it lads. Take him to the SEC.”

  The detainee’s eyes widened. He began breathing faster and panic
took over again. “No… no…”

  The monitors grabbed him and flanked by the Director, they took him kicking and protesting towards a door across from where we were standing.

  I was unable to move, and stood watching until they disappeared inside a room opposite. They closed the door behind them and I turned to look at Dan.

  “Wh-what’s going to happen to him now?”

  “Come on, Gracie, let’s walk,” he said, reaching out to grab my arm. “I’ll tell you on the way.”

  I was about to turn round and follow him when I heard the man’s protests growing more frantic. I spun round to the direction they’d come from, and was surprised to see him. The light had been turned on in the room and the dark wall had become a two way mirror. I could see he was being strapped into a large leather chair, while another monitor applied electrodes to his head. He was clawing and kicking at them, but they quickly strapped his flailing limbs by his side, rendering him defenceless.

  “Dan, what are they doing to him?” I asked, my voice sounding shrill.

  “Don’t look. Come on, Gracie, turn away.”

  He put his hand on my shoulder, and tried to manoeuvre me away from the SEC and whatever was happening inside it, but I couldn’t move. I stood rooted to the spot. Above the mirror I could make out some words; Switch Enforcement Chamber.

  I looked up at Dan with hot tears springing to my eyes. “Where’s his primary body? They can’t switch him without his primary body.”

  Dan put both his hands on my shoulders and forcefully turned me round so I couldn’t face the room any longer.

  “There’s no point, Gracie,” he said gently. “Once your aura goes red, there’s no way to survive a switch-back.”

  Burning acid rose from my stomach, and I thought I was going to be sick.

  “I know it’s harsh,” Dan continued, “but his primary body will expire the same time his mind is extracted from that man’s body.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force his tormented features to leave my mind. It was pointless though. I knew his face would haunt me for a long time. I shook myself. I just wanted to get registered and get out of there as fast as possible. I allowed Dan to lead me away and after we’d taken a few steps, I heard the pitch of the man’s protests change, and it chilled me to the core.

  When we were a safe distance from the SEC, Dan stopped walking and pulled me over to one side. He rested his hand on my shoulder and looked at me.

  “I’m really sorry. You shouldn’t have had to witness that. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I said quietly. “I know he was in the wrong. It’s just, the look in his eyes. He was so frightened.”

  “He knew what he was doing, Gracie. What about the guy who was violated? He’ll have been missing for a while, and his family and friends will be beside themselves wondering what’s happened to him. Remember, the face that’s haunting you is actually that guy, not the face of the CSP.”

  I took a deep breath. I knew he was right.

  “So what will happen next for the man who owns that body?”

  “He’ll be okay. They’ll be erasing all recent memory now, and then he’ll be deposited near a hospital. One of the monitors will stay with him, posing as a kind stranger who just happened to find a bewildered man wandering around with amnesia. We’ve got SPs working in all the local hospitals and they’ll be made aware, and there’s SPs on the outside who’ll help him pick up the pieces of his life once he’s released.”

  I felt slightly better as I thought of this man getting his life back. I hadn’t really thought about that side of it.

  “Right, let’s get this over with shall we?” I said, trying to put it out of my mind and speed up the whole Office experience. “Where do we need to go?”

  Dan pointed at the door we were standing in front of.

  “This is it. Are you ready?”

  I took a deep breath and nodded.

  Dan knocked on the door, and without waiting for an answer, he opened it and walked into a large room. I followed close behind, taking in the clinical looking surroundings.

  A long strip-light suspended from the ceiling buzzed away, illuminating the white tiles on the floor. The walls were also painted white, and the overall effect was so bright it took a while for your eyes to adjust. There were several steel benches scattered around with surgical looking items on each one. They varied from small instruments to large, sophisticated-looking machinery.

  In the far corner a bespectacled middle-aged lady sat behind a desk. Her hair was dyed an unnatural shade of red and she was wearing lipstick in exactly the same shade. As soon as she saw us, she jumped up beaming and hurried over, her lab coat flapping with the motion. I watched in astonishment as she unhooked her glasses from her ears and chucked them on the floor. They clattered to the ground, and Dan stooped down to retrieve them.

  “Oh my goodness, I keep doing that,” she said, laughing as Dan picked them up and inspected them. “They’re usually attached to a chain round my neck, but I’ve broken it. I just can’t seem to get out of the habit.” She bit her bottom lip, grinning at the same time. I warmed to her immediately.

  “All in one piece, Kath,” said Dan, handing the glasses back to her.

  “Thanks love,” she said, and revealed a blob of red lipstick which had smudged onto her tooth. She turned and looked in my direction. “So, is this the new one?”

  “Yes, this is Gracie Reynolds. Gracie, meet Kath, she takes care of all our records here.”

  “Hello, Gracie. Welcome to the Office. You’re the first Reynolds we’ve ever had. It’s always exciting to meet a random Soul Protector.”

  “Oh, have you met others then? Random ones, I mean.”

  “Yes dear. Randoms are quite a curiosity in the SP World, but you’re certainly not the only one.”

  I smiled at her. Since discovering I was a Soul Protector I already felt like a freak compared to my normal friends. I didn’t want to be the odd-one-out in this new world as well.

  An inner door clicked open, and out stepped a small man in his fifties, wearing a smart grey suit. He had short greying hair, a neatly-trimmed beard and moustache, and a face that conveyed no emotion. He somehow managed to intimidate me without even opening his mouth. I noticed Dan and Kath instantly slip into a more formal mode.

  Mr Matthews nodded in our direction. “Daniel.” His voice was without warmth.

  “Good evening Mr Matthews, this is Gracie Reynolds,” said Dan, flicking his eyes towards me.

  Mr Matthews looked in my direction. I met his gaze and smiled weakly, but before I could say anything he looked away and pointed to a chair which was pulled up next to one of the steel benches.

  “Come, Miss Reynolds, sit here.”

  I looked up at Dan; he smiled and gave me a small nod.

  I took a deep breath and walked over to the chair. I swept my hair forward, over my ears, and then plonked myself down.

  “Place your chin here,” Mr Matthews said, indicating a contraption that reminded me of the one my optician used. No please or thank you? He’d obviously gone to the same school of charm as Camille.

  I cleared my throat, “um, what’s going to happen?”

  “Iris scan,” he said, without looking up.

  I leant forward and put my chin on the little plastic platform. Trying hard not to blink I looked ahead towards a small black circle, and braced myself for a flash of light, or a blast of air, or something.

  “Iris scan complete,” said Mr Matthews. When he spoke it was in one tone and at one pace only, virtually robotic.

  “Oh, that was fast,” I said, relieved I hadn’t felt anything. I was just getting up, when he spoke again.

  “Stay where you are Miss Reynolds. We need to take a Mind Image next.”

  I was startled to see Kath approaching me, holding sticky pads in each hand. I flinched as she smoothed my hair back at the sides. She tucked it behind my ears and began pressing a pad onto each of my temples. An image of the d
etainee in the Switch Enforcement Chamber sprang to mind, and I tried to swallow down the panic rising up my throat.

  I looked towards Dan, hoping for reassurance.

  “Relax, Gracie, You won’t feel a thing, I promise. Everyone has this done. It’s just so they can tell who you are, even when you’re switched.”

  I took a deep breath and wiped my sweaty palms on my top.

  “Close your eyes Miss Reynolds and empty your mind completely.” Mr Matthew’s monotone demands certainly didn’t help me relax.

  I shut my eyes and tried to clear away all thoughts from my brain, but it’s easier said than done. All I could see was the man from the SEC, and his terrified face.”

  After a while Mr Matthews stopped fiddling with the machine and stood up.

  “Your mind is full of activity, Gracie. Clear it now, please.” Although he hadn’t raised his voice, it was very clear he was losing patience with me.

  “I-I’m sorry. I’m trying as hard as I can.”

  Dan stepped towards me and put his hand on my shoulder.

  “It’s okay, Gracie. Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise. Just breathe deep in through your nose and slowly out of your mouth.” His voice was calm and reassuring. “Now I want you to think of a black spot and imagine it slowly growing and filling your mind.”

  I looked at Dan and nodded. I closed my mouth, taking in a deep breath through my nose. I had only known Dan for a couple of days, but I already trusted him with my life.

  I breathed out through my mouth, closed my eyes and pictured a black spot. I focussed on it getting bigger like Dan had instructed, until there wasn’t room for anything else. All the time I focussed on breathing slowly and deeply, in through my nose and out through my mouth.

  The next thing I was aware of was a tug at the skin of my temples as Kath pulled the sticky pads off. I quickly lifted my hair from behind my ears, and smoothed it back into place.

  “There, all done,” she said breezily.

  I looked towards Mr Matthews to see if he was satisfied, but he was already disappearing through the door he had come out of.