Playing Death |ONC 2021 Longlister

Chapter 10

Very much so, I seemed to be having more work than ever, but also seemingly found time to squeeze in to watch the boy at least three times a week. I opened the door and was met with an overpowering smell- this was odd. I could not remember the last time I felt my olfactory senses getting overloaded.

People in white rushing through white walls as they pushed patients on stretchers while others kept washing their hands with sanitizers repeatedly. The doctors with masks, shields, and thick overalls that shielded them from the deadly virus that was spreading. I felt streams of lights coming from all directions, the one that shone most was a cobalt blue light towards my right. I glided over, crossing wailing parents, children, old people, almost everyone of all age groups were here.

Opening door 213, I entered a room that was slowly getting drowned in the cobalt blue light. A baby. So pure. A baby that belonged to the skies and was sent here by mistake. It was time to let go.

I watched it cry incessantly, the parents pleading with the doctors as I gave a wry smile. "You belong somewhere else now."

Reaching forth, I plucked the soul slowly as her cries died and her eyes yielded to me, adjusting to my figure. She gave the most breathtaking smile as I fully captured her soul, and walked to the window, releasing it to the skies.

"Goodbye," I whispered as it floated away towards the other baby souls in heaven, just as the parents rushed and let out howls so loud, weeping ,I felt almost sad. Almost.

***

The boy slept between a myriad of peacefulness and fitfulness. He snored softly, his hair a tangled mess- a mirror to his raging thoughts that was about to come. He smiled distinctly as Layla glanced at me for once, taking her eyes from the smartphone as she fixed something.

"Done!" she claimed, a little too loudly. We were at his flat, taking solace in it now that we couldn't come out from the debacle. Layla was starting to disappear into her devilish duties and appeared less frequently now. Per se, Vance was reserved and hardly dared mention what was happening in the vicinity of James or why his family gave him the as they did. We learned that Vance lived in a flat, along with his parents. His relatives popped in once a while, relatively living in adjacent flats or floors above us.

James was one floor above us and had the whole hall to himself which included around six flats. It seemed senseless to all of us but didn't matter.

Vance shook slightly as Layla frowned. "I wonder why they don't talk. Vance and James."

Layla started bouncing on her heels as feet shuffling as I pursed my lips. "You want to know."

"Well of course! Okay, look I like drama," she put her hands up to stop me cutting her off. "But after hearing what you said it's way too much tension."

I sighed, taking off the Soul Cancellation earphones, as the song paused. "I very much detest doing this. And I wanted to...at least listen to Lorde's new album."

"Well Lorde isn't going anywhere so don't worry," she tucked her phone into her purse as she pulled my hands. "Now do it."

Pulling souls always involved risks; they could be tainted, crushed, float away before they could be delivered to Hades and be Wanderers, Whisperers, anyone. But pulling out living souls an entire level that I hadn't done in a time long enough to be calculated.

I passed my hand through the boy's chest watching a myriad of greens and sepia browns appear that glowed brilliantly. Distinctly I could see the chord that kept him alive and a golden string that was his memories, thoughts, past. Essentially everything that made a person alive.

A wrong tug and he could die physically or internally- he would be a lifeless soul. I already felt he was lifeless when he had met but his emotions were oozing out of control at the moment considering I could feel a tangy baked taste at the moment. Nostalgia.

He stirred and I felt Layla's breath catch as the golden string slipped away from my hands. I only needed to connect it to Layla's monitor to view what he was seeing; her technology and my job made it so much easier.

The boy stirred again, his breathing increasing, his chest rising and falling rapidly with each passing second. I caught hold of the string as he moved away and Layla's eyes widened as we noticed the string get taut.

"Uh, maybe this..." she hesitated staring elsewhere. I concentrated, exhaling softly and opened my palm letting the string float towards me until I grabbed it, pulling it out.

"I got it," I whispered. Layla unlocked her widescreen tab and smiled at me devilishly, her previous jittery thoughts already having vanished. Pure curiosity and mischief ran through her at the moment. She connected the string to a point and watched the screen come alive with the boy's memories, and his thoughts, dreams.

Heavens help us now, I thought, staring at the screen intently. 

***

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