My Soul to Keep

CHAPTER 2



It took me nearly an hour to figure out three times x equaled four times y. Disgustedly, I shoved my unfinished homework back in my backpack and tossed it on the floor by my desk. I’d hoped my homework would help me forget what I'd done out on the back patio. Half of me said I was being stupid for worrying. The other half said my other half was stupid and that I should be shitting kittens. The conversation going on in my head made me want to throw up. Where did that whole idea come from? I’d never heard those words before in my entire life, but I wrote them out without thinking about them. Something isn't right. Something is very, very wrong.

I turned around to immerse myself fully in some blood and carnage of the video game variety when the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut made me shudder. Damn, there goes my free time.

“Connor!” My sister’s shrill voice echoed up the stairs and rattled around in my ear canals causing tympanic hemorrhaging. Okay, she didn’t make my ears bleed, but her voice seriously annoyed the crap out of me.

“Up here, K,” I shouted out the door, not really caring if she heard me. I called her K, but it was short for Caelyn. My sister was a freshman and all of eleven months younger than me. If a wombat and an alligator ever mated, I imagine their offspring’s personality would be much like hers. She made mean people seem nice.

I heard her feet stomping up the stairs and I flipped on the Playstation and my television. Without waiting for her I flopped stomach down on my bed and grabbed the controller off my nightstand. I got the game started just as she entered my room. I could feel her standing behind me and heard her tapping her foot impatiently. I just started wondering how long she would let me ignore her when she walked around my bed and stood in front of my television with one hand on her hip. I raised my eyebrows at her. People had been executed in third world countries for less.

“Get out of the way, brat! Aren’t you supposed to be at cheerleading?” I stared at her with confusion. She had on her blue and gold cheerleading outfit.

“Um, we’re having our meeting downstairs to discuss fundraising. You told Mom you wouldn’t be home. I don’t want you here perving on my friends! Get out!”

“Just shut my door, I’ll stay up here.”

“No! You promised Mom you’d go to Jeremy’s house or something. If you don’t get out of this house right now, I’ll tell her about your little “habit” so help me, God!”

I gulped and hit pause on my game. I started smoking about three months ago, and if Mom found out, grounded wouldn’t describe what she would do to me.

“Fine,” I spat and grabbed my jacket. Jeremy wouldn’t be home, he’d gotten a part-time job at his uncle’s garage after school last week. Maybe I could head down to the mall. Not much else to do on a Monday night.

I brushed past the mutated freak that inhabited my kid sister’s body and made my way downstairs. I could see the gaggle of cheerleaders outside on the back patio smoking cigarettes and lounging like they owned the place. I rolled my eyes and walked out the front door.

We lived about a mile from the Cedar Hills Mall. If I hurried, I could get there before it closed. I could go for a pretzel or two. I didn’t mind walking either. Especially in the fall when you didn’t sweat to death doing it. I looked down at the cracked and pitted sidewalk as I walked. I hadn't been there for a while. I hated shopping, but my sister loved it. Pretzels forced me to go to the mall even more than her.

I walked briskly, not wanting to miss my chance for some warm pretzels. Only food could possibly make me stop worrying about everything. Food and video games were my therapy.

Unlike my sister, I had a high metabolism. I could eat cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and not gain an ounce. It was probably why she continually tried to make my life a living hell. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen her munching on something other than lettuce. Bunny food sucked. No wonder she was always grumpy.

The sidewalk started to make its gradual shift north and as I continued walking, the sound of a motorcycle in the distance caught my attention. The deep rumble sounded like a Harley or maybe a modified Victory. Most kids my age drooled over shiny crotch rockets. Japanese motorcycles just didn’t do it for me. Everyone I’ve ever seen on one looked way too uncomfortable. My dad had a Harley before I was born. Seeing pictures of him sitting on it like he didn’t have a care in the world made me fall in love with the massive motorcycles.

Nobody in our neighborhood owned one as far as I knew. Somebody must have just bought one or else they were incredibly lost. The whole neighborhood we lived in had one way in and one way out. I sincerely doubted anybody would be joyriding through Cedar Hills, Pennsylvania. The winding streets, steep hills, and blind curves had been one of the reasons Mom had made Dad sell his bike. If I had one I would have moved or gotten rid of the mom. You don’t give up something like that.

I heard the motorcycle turn onto the street I was walking on, and the rumbling grew to an almost painful level. I turned and saw it coming up fast. I expected it to blow past me at an ungodly speed, but as soon as the bike got close, the rider yanked the handlebars and fishtailed to a stop just a few inches from the curb next to me.

She looked like a supermodel dressed in leather. Dark curly tresses fell over her shoulders and down her back. I frowned a little at her lack of helmet. I never understood people's obsessions with death wishes. Then I gave her a second look over. She looked badass enough to crack the pavement. Maybe she didn't need a helmet. My eyebrows rose as I finally looked at her face.

She was gorgeous from head to toe. I felt a little guilty about looking at her face last. It was without a doubt, her best feature. She looked really young, but at the same time, something about her made her look older. The term, "Ageless," popped into my head, filling in the blank.

I expected her to shout and ask for directions over the rumble of the Harley’s engine, but she reached down and turned the key, shutting the engine off. I stood there mesmerized as she swung one leg over the bike and sat on the seat, staring right back at me.

She crossed her arms and lowered her gaze to my shabby Sketchers and raised her eyes, slowly taking in everything else.

I wanted to hide behind a tree. Nobody had looked at me like that since the first time I met my great-aunt Harriet. I had a feeling she was doing the math to figure out how much she could get for me if she sold me on eBay.

“Connor Sullivan?” She made my name a question. I nodded dumbly. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

“Excuse me?”

“Look, I don’t have time for this. I have three more after you. What do you want?”

“Excuse me?” The word hooker flashed through my mind.

“Did you, or did you not, sign a binding contract offering your soul in exchange for one wish? If I have the wrong Connor Sullivan who lives at 1432 Willow Street, I apologize.” She rolled her eyes and threw up her arms, apparently more than a little annoyed.

“That was real?”

“Yes, completely. Now I haven’t got all night. What do you want? Make it good. The price is a little hefty I’ll admit, but it's worth it.”

Realization dawned on me. My knees went weak, but I managed to stay on my Sketchers. “This isn’t some sort of joke?”

“Nope, one wish for one soul, that was the deal.”

“What are you?”

“I’m what you would call one of The Fallen. Don’t ask me what that means because if you can’t figure it out on your own, you don't deserve to know. I'm not here to baby you. C’mon, what is it you want? Let me guess, like the five billion other teenagers who saw the movie you want to be a vampire, right?” She shifted herself more comfortably on the Harley and rolled her eyes again. She must not have thought much of today’s youth. “Maybe you’re Team What’s-his-name? You wanna be a werewolf? Less restrictions, but flea collars are kinda expensive.” She actually laughed at her own joke.

I couldn’t believe this was real. I looked around frantically for hidden cameras and my sister. Then I knew. Just standing there, you could feel the power flowing off of her. Legitimate didn’t begin to describe her. I wondered briefly what a Fallen might be, but I seriously didn’t have the balls to ask her. She might turn me into a frog and take my soul anyway.

Thinking about my soul made tears well up. I didn’t start crying but I came close, damn close. If I lost my soul, my parents would kill me. I wish I had never bought the damn candle or written the stupid note. I needed a way out of this and I needed it now.

“Is there any way I can change my mind?”

“Don’t even think about it. You wrote the contract in your own blood. There isn’t anything in this world, or the other, that’s more binding. Make your wish. By the way, I can see you’re about to turn around and run away. If you do it, I will catch you in less than three seconds, take your soul, and feed your body to some very, very nasty creatures. Don’t even think about it.”

I had been planning on running just like she said. I don’t know if she could see it in my face or if she could read my mind. It really didn’t matter, I believed her threat. “When do you get my soul?”

“The law states, not until you expire of natural causes or your body is destroyed by an outside force not related, caused, or schemed by one of The Fallen. C’mon, Connor, it’s a fair trade. You get what you want and we get your soul. Think of it as job security. When people die, unclaimed souls are fought over, get lost, or sometimes just disappear. This way, even after you die you still have a purpose. What’s it going to be? Do you want to live for a very long time? Being a vampire or werewolf would do that. Do you want wealth? Wish for a million dollars. I’ve seen that one a hundred times at least,” she said sounding bored again. Like she knew I would wish for something trivial or something somebody’s wished for before.

This wasn't happening. I wasn't going to lose my soul over a wish, especially one that I didn't want. I didn't see an answer on the horizon. That kind of pissed me off and started me thinking. I thought of every supernatural being I had ever heard of and tossed the thoughts as quickly as they came. Nothing would help. I stared at her. I wanted to outsmart her in the worst way. Inspiration struck.

“I want to be like you, I want to be one of The Fallen.”