Finders Reapers

by Anna Staniszewski

  “Fine,” she said, calling up her energy. It was its usual deep purple.

  Marcus prepared himself for a pinch, but it didn’t come. Instead, Eddie leaned in and whispered in his ear: “Lena told Natalie that she doesn’t really like you.”

  Marcus snapped his eyes up. “What?”

  At the same moment, Lena gasped. “What did you do? My energy went out!”

  Eddie edged backward until he was almost in the dining room. “Shoot. It’s like I thought. Your powers are linked to each other’s emotions.” He looked at Marcus. “I apologize. What I just said isn’t true. I was only trying to get a rise out of you to see if it would affect Lena’s abilities.”

  Marcus gulped for air. Test or not, how could Eddie have said that to him? But if there was something wrong with their powers, he had to focus.

  “But what kinds of emotions would mess up our powers so much?” Lena asked. “I wasn’t upset or anything when Marcus zapped Peter. In fact, when we were at the bowling alley, I was really happy because I—” She smiled shyly. “I kept thinking how lucky I was to be there with Marcus.”

  He couldn’t help the warmth that spread through his chest. He still couldn’t get over the fact that Lena could feel the same way about him that he felt about her.

  “Marcus, were you experiencing any strong emotions today when Lena was on her assignment?” Eddie asked.

  The warmth in his chest faded. “Well, I did find a note from my grandpa. I guess that kind of messed me up.”

  Lena’s face softened. “I’m sorry,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  Before he could answer, Eddie broke in. “This makes sense with my theory. Marcus, your match was overly strong because Lena’s emotions were so positive, and Lena, your powers went out when Marcus was upset about the note.”

  “But why would that happen?” Marcus asked. “Everything seemed fine until a few days ago.”

  Eddie gave his earlobe a thoughtful tug. “After you two swapped powers, I was afraid there might be some lasting side effects. I believe your energies were imprinted on one other. Lena, that’s why you can see auras the way Marcus can. And Marcus, that’s why you’re still able to see your ghost cat.”

  “What does that have to do with our powers not working?” Marcus asked.

  “Because your energies are so closely linked, when you’re in tune with each other, everything is fine. But when the two of you are on different frequencies, it can cause your powers to malfunction.”

  “What do you mean by ‘different frequencies’?” Lena asked. “We’re not radios!”

  “When you’re still emotionally connected but not necessarily in sync with each other.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. Things have been going great between us,” Marcus said. In fact, he’d never felt more in sync with someone, not even with Grandpa Joe.

  Lena paced the room, rubbing her palm where Eddie had pinched it. “What are we supposed to do? I thought me being an emotionless robot was bad, but now feeling stuff is getting us into trouble!”

  “Well, there is one simple solution.” Eddie let out a long sigh, his face more serious than Marcus had ever seen it. “You two could end your relationship.”

  Marcus gawked at him. “Break up? Are you crazy?”

  “Wait,” Lena said. “You wouldn’t suggest that unless things were really bad. Is this like before? Are our messed-up powers causing a chain reaction again?”

  Oh no. Last time their powers had gone haywire, souls had gotten harder to catch and love matches had turned into hate matches. That couldn’t happen again.

  Lena gasped. “Wait, the haunted hospital! Is that because of us?” She turned to Marcus. “They were talking about it on the news. It’s supposed to be the most haunted place in the country. I knew that sounded strange, especially because it’s so close to us.”

  Eddie cleared his throat. “Let’s not worry about that right now. I don’t want to upset you any more than necessary.”

  “But telling us to break up is okay?” Marcus asked.

  “I’m sorry, kid,” Eddie said. “But the bond between you is unusually strong. Ending your relationship might be the best way to break it and sever the link between your emotions.”

  Marcus glanced at Lena, afraid that she might be looking convinced. But her mouth was in a tight, stubborn line. “No way,” she said, and Marcus felt his shoulders relax. “You’re going to have to find another way to fix this, because Marcus and I are fine right where we are.”

  “Then we will find another way,” Eddie said, but his voice was full of doubt. “I’m afraid we’re shorthanded right now, so I need you to keep working. You should still be able to do your assignments, but we have to be more careful about how you’re feeling. In the meantime, I’ll schedule a meeting with the boss lady to discuss the situation.”

  “But what if another soul wanders away because I accidentally slam my hand in a car door or something?” Marcus asked.

  Eddie glanced at his watch and unfolded his scooter again. “I will try to figure out how to fix this,” he said, inching toward the door. “In the meantime, stay calm and on good terms with each other.”

  “What about the soul that wandered away?” Lena asked.

  “You should have reported that to me immediately.” He gave her a disapproving finger wag. “Normally, I would send in a soul hunter, but I am short-staffed.”

  “So I can keep looking for it?” Lena asked, her face brightening.

  “For now. Only until I find someone else for the job. We can’t let souls wander too long or they become…unpredictable.”

  “What does that mean?” Marcus asked. The last thing they needed was Lena chasing down some crazed ghost. But Eddie had already breezed out the door and cruised into the night.

  Chapter 11

  “Lena, what do you think about someone who’s a deep-sea diver?” her dad asked as Lena rushed to get ready for school. “Is that plus two or minus two?”

  Her dad was on the dating site again, going through his suggested matches while he sipped his morning coffee. He was treating the whole online dating thing like some kind of scientific problem. He’d even made a chart of people he thought he’d be most compatible with and given each of them a score based on their profile details. Apparently deep-sea diving didn’t fit neatly into his formula.

  Lena could imagine Marcus’s reaction when he heard about the chart. He’d probably roll his eyes so hard, he’d hurt himself. She smiled at the thought and stuffed her foot into one of her sneakers.

  Squilch.

  Lena shrieked and yanked the shoe off. There was some kind of foam inside. It was white and thick and…minty? She leaned in and sniffed. Shaving cream. How on earth had shaving cream gotten into her shoe?

  Professor padded over, ready to help clean it up with his tongue, but Lena shooed him away.

  “Dad, have you gotten into practical jokes recently?” she called from the kitchen, scrubbing the inside of her shoe with a paper towel.

  “That doesn’t sound like me,” he answered. “I’d probably give that a minus three.” Clearly, his mind was still on the dating chart.

  Suddenly, Lena thought she heard faint laughter behind her, but when she turned around, there was nothing there. She knew that laugh. Had Mr. Watts followed her home? She rushed from room to room, trying to find any hint of him, but he was long gone.

  Defeated, she went back to the kitchen. Just her luck that her runaway soul was also a prankster. The sooner she sent him to the After, the better.

  She shoved her mostly clean shoe back on, trying to avert her eyes as she passed by the playing card costume on the kitchen table. The half-finished monstrosity reminded Lena of the first quilt she’d ever made. It had been so lopsided and lumpy that she’d wound up giving it to Professor to chew on.

  �
��Dad, I’ll be home late today, okay?” she said, grabbing her backpack.

  He glanced up from his laptop. “I thought you didn’t have to be at rehearsal today.”

  “I don’t, but…I said I’d help Marcus paint some sets.” She hated lying to her dad, but she couldn’t exactly tell him that she was going to track down a lost soul.

  “You’ll bring him by for dinner tomorrow?” His face lit up. “Maybe we can score him and see how you two chart.”

  “Don’t you dare!” she said, but she couldn’t help laughing. Then she gave her dad a peck on the check and rushed out the door, her foamy shoe squeaking with each step.

  • • •

  When Marcus got to the hockey rink that evening, he scanned the people filing in, searching for Peter Chung. According to his sister, Peter went to all the games, so he should be in attendance. Then Marcus could keep tabs on him and Claire and make sure that their super love boost didn’t disrupt any more sporting events.

  “Are you stalking me?” a voice asked behind him.

  Marcus sighed as he turned to face his sister. “Can’t I go to a game?”

  Ann-Marie snorted. “You’ve never been to one before. You’re not even dressed for it!”

  Marcus realized she was right. He was the only one not wearing thick layers and a wool hat. He pulled his thin jacket tighter around him and said, “I’ll be fine.”

  “Seriously, what are you doing here? And why do you reek of Dad’s cologne?”

  Ann-Marie looked ready to kick him out of the hockey rink altogether, but then she glanced past him, and the corners of her lips drooped, like she was biting the insides of her cheeks. Marcus knew that disappointed look. He’d seen it for days last year after his sister had missed out on getting the highest GPA in her grade by less than a point.

  Sure enough, Peter Chung had walked in, hand in hand with Claire. The two of them were floating through the crowd, gazing into each other’s eyes so deeply that they kept bumping into people.

  “Whatever. Just stay away from me,” Ann-Marie mumbled before rushing away.

  Marcus went back to watching Peter and Claire, who were now doing some sort of weird dance in the doorway at the top of the stairs. When he got closer, he heard Peter saying, “No, after you,” and Claire responding with, “No, really, after you.” Marcus wondered how many hours they’d spent in doorways like this since he’d zapped them.

  Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. He went over and yanked open the other half of the double door so they could both fit through at the same time.

  “Thanks!” Peter said. Then he did a double take. “Oh, hey, Marcus. Is your sister here?” He scanned the crowd as if hoping to find her.

  Before Marcus could answer, Claire let out an impatient sigh. “Doughnut Cheeks, the game’s starting!”

  At the sound of her voice, Peter seemed to forget he was in the middle of a conversation. He grabbed Claire’s hand again, and together they pranced down to their seats. Marcus nearly choked when he saw them sit down directly in front of Ann-Marie. His sister now had a front-row seat to their lovefest.

  When Marcus plopped down next to Ann-Marie, she jumped at the sight of him. “Why are you sitting with me?” she hissed.

  “Are we supposed to pretend we don’t know each other?”

  “Yes,” she said, turning away.

  At that moment, Marcus’s dad glanced up from his spot by the team bench, as if looking for his daughter. When he and Marcus locked eyes, his dad’s mouth sagged open. Then he smiled and waved, looking genuinely glad to see him. Marcus waved back, feeling a little guilty that this was the first time he’d ever been to a game, considering that his dad had been coaching the team for years.

  Ann-Marie groaned. “Seriously, go away. You’re embarrassing me.”

  “I’m not doing anything.”

  What he was actually doing was watching Peter and Claire out of the corner of his eye. So far, they weren’t paying any attention to the game. Marcus kept waiting for them to talk, but they simply sat in absolute silence, eyes locked in some kind of lovey-dovey staring contest. When he squinted, he saw that their auras were still blurred together and blindingly bright, but the sparks were different now. They were intense in color, but they weren’t bouncing around anymore. Instead, they were meandering around, looking tired and—if Marcus had to put a name to it—bored. Could love sparks be bored?

  Marcus racked his brain. What did all this mean? He’d been assigned to zap these two after all. Weren’t they supposed to be a good pair? But then he remembered what his matchmaking manual said about short-lived romances. Sometimes a love boost was only supposed to be temporary. Summer romances, for example, were meant to fade. Maybe Peter and Claire were only supposed to have a little fling and then get over each other, but because of his too-strong zap, now they were stuck together even though they weren’t a perfect match. It didn’t even seem like they had anything to talk about!

  Meanwhile, Ann-Marie’s aura was as drab as ever as she watched the couple canoodling in front of her. If only Marcus could find someone else for her.

  He scanned the crowd and finally spotted a guy sitting a few rows ahead who had a gray aura around his head. Marcus was pretty sure it was the same guy he’d seen retying his shoes at the track meet.

  “Hey, do you know him?” Marcus asked, pointing.

  “Albert Landry?” she said. “What about him?”

  “Oh, um. I was talking to him earlier, and he seemed like a nice guy. He had lots of good things to say about you too.”

  Ann-Marie rolled her eyes. “I doubt it. He’s the one who beat me out for highest GPA last year, but I’m already two whole points ahead of him this year. He’s going to hate me when he finds out.”

  Marcus sighed. So much for that idea.

  After the first period of the game ended, Claire snapped her gaze away from Peter and announced that she was getting some hot chocolate. “Do you want me to get you some, Dimple Toes?”

  Peter nodded slowly and watched her walk away as if he might never see her again. Marcus actually expected him to burst into song. When she faded from sight though, Peter’s mind seemed to clear a little. He glanced behind him, and his face lit up.

  “Oh, hey,” he said to Ann-Marie. “How’s the game going so far? I’m having a hard time paying attention for some reason.”

  Ann-Marie flashed a stiff smile and started to give him a play-by-play. The more they talked though, the more at ease they seemed with each other. After a couple of minutes, they were giggling over some hockey stuff that Marcus didn’t understand. He couldn’t help noticing how happy his sister looked. Her face was glowing like she was the one who’d gotten a love boost.

  When he glanced around to check if Claire was on her way back—he kind of hoped she’d stay away forever—he caught sight of a familiar face on the other side of the ice. Lena’s new friend Natalie was leaning against a railing, scribbling in a green notebook. She glanced up, and her eyes immediately locked on his, almost as if she’d been staring at him moments earlier. Quickly, Natalie turned away, shoved her notebook in her bag, and hurried off.

  Marcus frowned. That was weird.

  Claire returned holding two cups of hot chocolate and slipped one into Peter’s hand with an adoring coo. He gave Ann-Marie an apologetic smile and said, “Well, see ya.” Then he went back to silently mooning over his new girlfriend.

  Marcus expected his sister to wilt like one of the prize roses she grew in their backyard, so he was surprised to catch her smiling to herself. And after their team scored a goal, Peter snapped out of his stupor for a second and gave Ann-Marie a knowing look over his shoulder.

  When he saw their little exchange, Marcus sat up straight, bubbling with excitement. Maybe there was hope for Ann-Marie and Peter after all.

  Chapter 12

  The joke shop seemed even dustie
r than it had the day before, but Lena covered her nose and started scanning the place for any hint of Mr. Watts’s soul. According to her manual, souls tended to stay near places that they knew or felt comfortable. That’s why even though Marcus’s ghost cat hadn’t known him when it was alive, it hung around Marcus’s house now because it felt safe there. Lena wished her manual had more info on tracking souls down, but she supposed she’d need a soul hunter manual for that. Lena hadn’t given it much thought before, but being a soul hunter actually sounded pretty interesting. There was something exciting about the “thrill of the hunt.”

  “Mr. Watts?” she called softly as she wandered down an entire aisle of rubber chickens. “I know you’ve been following me around. Thanks for the shaving cream in my shoe this morning. Really funny.”

  She kept scanning the aisles, but there was no sign of him. Finally, she found a small desk in the back of the store. There were utility bills crammed into every corner and scraps of paper with scrawled notes on them that made no sense: “Two ducks waddle into a bar” and “The difference between an egg and a watermelon.”

  Lena realized that they sounded like the setups for jokes, which made more sense when she saw a few old newspaper clippings about comedy shows that Mr. Watts had done when he was younger. Apparently, he used to be a stand-up comedian before he opened a joke shop.

  Suddenly, Lena heard footsteps in the back room. It couldn’t be Mr. Watts. Balls of light didn’t have feet. Then again, balls of light shouldn’t be able to spray shaving cream in people’s shoes.

  Lena crept toward the door and peered inside. She found a petite woman, probably a little younger than Lena’s dad, pacing the length of the back room. Before Lena could duck back out and make a run for it, the woman stopped pacing and gave Lena a startled look.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “The door was unlocked, so I let myself in. Am I not supposed to be here?”

  “No, it’s okay,” Lena said. Clearly, this woman thought she worked here or something. Then she did a double take, realizing she knew her. “You’re my aunt Teresa’s friend, right? Viv?”