Your Soul to Take (Rise of the Fallen)

by Hayden, Sean

  “Oh. Yeah. I guess I see your point,” she said and smiled. “Welcome to Aunt Annie’s Pretzels, what can I get for you today?” Her voice had taken on a sing-song quality that nearly brought back another round of giggle-fits.

  Through clenched teeth I said, “Two salted, please.”

  “Would you care for anything to drink?”

  “Coke. Medium.”

  She rang it up and I pulled the crumpled bill out of my pocket. She gently pushed it away and hit a button on the register. The sale disappeared from the screen in front of me. “I think there’s some fresh ones coming out of the oven. Let me check.”

  She turned around and walked behind a partition wall behind the counter. I stood in total, complete, and utter shock. The Chosen had been the mortal enemies of the Fallen since the dawn of time. Maybe if the Fallen complimented them on their appearance once in a while… Nah.

  Shannon came back out holding a paper bag that steamed with pretzelly goodness. My mouth started watering uncontrollably. I had never, in all my years of being addicted, had pretzels straight out of the oven. I fought the urge to jump up and down as she handed me the bag.

  “Hang on, I’ll grab your coke.”

  I didn’t wait. I jammed my face in the bag, inhaled, and ripped a piece off with my teeth, burning my lips in the process. I didn’t care. I was a Fallen, I would heal, and I had hot pretzels. I moaned as I chewed. Shannon laughed as she handed me my coke. “They’re better when they’re hot, aren’t they?”

  I nodded, bowed, and said, “I love you,” as I turned to go sit on the bench across from the store. “Fank fou,” I called over my shoulder.

  I sat in bliss, not paying attention to my surroundings while I ate. By the time I finished and stood, I finally noticed Shannon still standing where I left her, her hand still in the position to hand me my coke. It was as if she had been frozen to the spot. I shrugged and decided to wander around the mall.

  Inevitably, I ended up in front of Angelique’s Closet, workplace of Clarisse. It was a lingerie store and the odds of me actually going in to talk to her were a few degrees colder than absolute zero. Instead, I did what any teenage boy slash demon would do. I made faces at her in the window. She looked up from folding an incredibly small pair of women’s panties, saw me, and rolled her eyes. I did however catch a hint of a smile in the corner of her mouth. She could deny it all she wanted, but I amused her. She hollered something at the woman in the back and walked out of the store.

  “What did you break this time?”

  “Huh?”

  “Usually when you come see me at work it’s because you created some sort of super-vamp or broke something that you need my help fixing.”

  “Oh! No. Nothing this time. I was just walking around and I stopped by to say hi.”

  “Well, it’s my lunch break. Come eat with me.”

  I burped the last remnants of my pretzel feast and made a little more room for food. “Sure.”

  We walked silently to the opposite end of the mall where the food court lay nestled next to the entrance to the movie theater. “Wow,” I said.

  “What?”

  “Was just trying to remember the last time I went to the movies.”

  “I get off at six. Let’s go,” she said with a funny tone to her voice.

  “I can’t tonight. Jessie’s dad invited me to dinner.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  I glanced over at Clarisse and she seemed a little down about something. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “I don’t know. Even this morning you seemed a little sad. Just wondering if there was anything I could do to help?”

  She gave me a small smile and headed for the pizza place. “No. Just thinking about work.”

  “Which job?”

  “Both actually. I’ve been trying to think of who the Triad is going to send to train you and then I have to work tomorrow at Angelique’s. I really don’t want to.”

  “So call in sick.”

  “Huh?”

  “Call in sick. We’ll go see a movie tomorrow.”

  She seemed thoughtful for a moment. “If I do, and you cancel on me or forget, I will hunt you down, rip off your legs, and beat you to death with them. Do you understand?”

  I gulped. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good worm. You want your pasta?”

  “Yeah. Here. I actually have some cash.”

  “Keep it. You can buy popcorn tomorrow.”

  “Deal.”

  She ordered and paid, and I grabbed our tray. She wandered to the back of the restaurant and claimed a booth out of the way. I sat the tray down and set her salad in front of her. I left the pasta on the tray and grabbed us some plastic silverware and napkins. “Here,” I said and arranged them neatly around her salad like we were dining in a real restaurant.

  “Um… Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. So what else is new?” I sat down and tore into my pasta. For mall food it was pretty good. It didn’t hold a candle to hot pretzels, but it would keep me alive.

  “Are you actually making small talk?”

  “I guess so. You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. Just glad the whole Brett ordeal is behind us and that Jessie is okay.”

  “You and me both. Let’s just hope I don’t screw anything up when I start Reaping.”

  “Think of it this way, what’s the worst that could happen?”

  “Don’t even go there. I don’t wanna find out.”

  “Good plan.”

  “Clarisse?”

  “Yes?”

  “It bothers me.”

  “What does?”

  “The idea of ripping someone’s soul from their body. I know they broke the rules… I just don’t know if I can do it.”

  “You’ll do fine. Trust me. Once you start doing it, you’ll realize that they not only deserve it, but you will be protecting innocents. The people on the Reaper list are not nice.”

  I nodded and focused on my pasta, hoping she was right.

  Chapter 6

  I wandered around the rest of the mall after dropping Clarisse back off at work. She gave me a quick hug before dipping back inside. I smiled. I liked the new, more mellow Clarisse.

  One can wander around the same mall only so many times before it becomes quite boring. The mall was a lot like high school. You had your cliques. You had your hangouts. And nothing ever changed. I sighed and decided to head home and take a shower before going to Jessie’s. I almost made it out the door without anything happening. Almost.

  As I was walking past Aunt Annie’s, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I spun expecting an attack. It wasn’t too far from the truth either. A blond streak caught me in its arms and carried me across the entrance to one of the alcoves off to the side. I raised my arms to defend myself when I felt a set of very soft lips press themselves against mine. Arms wrapped around my back, pulling me in closer. My eyes closed involuntarily as I found myself being drawn into the kiss.

  Clarisse had kissed me before. A couple of times actually. I couldn’t believe she was doing it again. In the middle of the mall. In front of everybody. If Jessie found out… Jessie!

  I mustered all the willpower I had and slowly pushed Clarisse off of me as she continued her assault on my mouth. I leaned in for one last peck, opened my eyes and said, “Clari– Shannon?”

  Still in her uniform and smelling of warm pretzels, she stood there, still leaning toward me with her eyes closed. “Wow. Yeah. I’ve got to get back to work now. Thanks, Connor.”

  She opened her eyes and gave me a smile that belonged on a demon, not an angel. She turned and left while I stood there, watching her walk the whole way back to Annie’s. I tried to tell myself it was to make sure I wouldn’t get attacked again, but deep down I wasn’t so sure. Not even a little bit.

  * * *

  I sniffed my pits one last time to make sure I put deodorant on and rang Jessie’s doorbell. I waite
d the allotted thirty seconds it usually took for Mr. James to get to the front door, open it, and insult me.

  “Evening, Conrad.”

  “Evening, Mr. James.”

  “Come on in. We’re having ribs tonight. Jessie’s favorite. Do you like?”

  “It’s probably my favorite, too. That and steak.”

  “Steak next time then. Want a beer?”

  “Um… No thank you?”

  “Good answer. Jessie’s watching TV in the living room.” I’m usually pretty dense, but even I could hear the happiness in his voice when he said that. I smiled, too.

  “It’s going to be weird on Monday.”

  “What is?”

  “Jessie, going to school and being able to see. I’ve gotten so used to helping her to every class… It’s going to be different. I’m looking forward to seeing what she thinks of school now that she’ll be able to see it.”

  “Don’t worry, Conrad. She’ll still need you.”

  “Mr. James, she’s so amazing I don’t think she ever needed me to begin with.”

  That earned me a smile. “There is something I do want to talk to you about before dinner.” He paused and looked down the hall to make sure Jessie was still in the living room. Motioning me to move over to the fridge, he opened the door and started pulling out salads and sides. “The ribs are in the oven to keep warm. There are mitts next to the stove. Grab those for me, would you?”

  “Sure.”

  He continued talking while I put the oven gloves on. “I need you to keep an eye on her for me while she is at school. You know how being one of the Cursed works. She should have started transforming right away, yet she still appears to be human. If you see her changing…get her away from everyone else and call me. You can tell her whatever you need to. I don’t care. Keep her calm and let her know what’s happening. Can you do that for me?”

  “Of course. You’re not going to warn her in advance?”

  He sighed and sat down on one of the barstools on the other side of the kitchen island. “Trust me, I thought about it. I wanted to. But… She is my little girl. I want her to have a normal life as long as possible. Now that she can see, she might even start enjoying it a bit more. Since we moved back to Cedar Hills, you’ve been the highlight of her existence.”

  “That’s sad,” slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

  “Conrad. Don’t sell yourself short. For a Fallen, you’re a pretty impressive kid.”

  “Yeah, well I’m still learning and screwing things up.”

  “Excuse me?”

  And then it dawned on me. Shannon and the other Chosen at the school knew I wasn’t really a Fallen. That I had been born human. Mr. James didn’t. I didn’t know whether to tell him or not. I was saved by Jessie coming into the kitchen.

  “I thought I heard your voice. You’d rather hang out with my dad than me, huh? I see how it is.”

  Her joke, while it couldn’t be farther from the truth, made me smile.

  “I roped him into helping me with dinner. Plus, I wanted to thank him once again. I offered to buy him a car, but he refused.”

  “Daddy!”

  He chuckled and started putting dishes on the table. I used his momentary lapse in observation to sneak in a Jessie hug. She took it one step further and kissed my neck.

  “Knock it off, you two, and come and eat.”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice. Ribs!” Jessie squealed like a little girl and ran to the table, leaving me with a Jessie-shaped hole in my arms.

  I joined them and sat next to my girlfriend, keeping her between me and her father. He had mellowed, but I was still dating his daughter. He could turn on me at any moment.

  We ate, mostly in silence. There was the occasional question from Mr. James that was responded to either by Jessie or myself. It came out as mostly grunts since both of us usually had mouthfuls of rib meat. We talked about school, homework, and anything else he could think of to keep the conversation going. I was happy just sitting with Jessie. Occasionally, I would make sure my fingers were free of barbeque sauce, and reach over to touch her leg or her arm. Every time I did it, I was given a small smile and blush.

  When we finished, I offered to help with the dishes and ushered Jessie back to the living room. I really wanted her to take it easy. Mostly, I wanted to see if Mr. James wanted to ask me anything else.

  He didn’t wait long. “What did you mean that you were pretty new at being a Fallen?”

  “Up until a few weeks ago, I was human.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m sorry, sir. I thought you knew. The Chosen at my school knew, so I assumed you did, too.”

  “Know what?”

  “Clarisse.”

  “I’m confused. What about her?”

  “I was doing my algebra homework and cut myself, when all of a sudden I got this crazy notion to make a promise in my own blood…”

  “You wished to be a Fallen?” I could see the disgust on his face.

  “Not my crowning achievement, but yes. When Clarisse showed up to grant my wish, I panicked. I didn’t want anybody to have my soul when I was done with it. I thought I outsmarted them by wishing to become one of them… Now I’m not so sure.”

  “You dove headfirst into a world you knew nothing about. While you are correct it was not your crowning achievement, it was very brave.”

  “That’s me. Stupid but brave.”

  “I’m not entirely convinced it was stupid either. You could have chosen worse. You could have ended up one of those sparkly creatures.”

  I laughed at his joke.

  “Are you two done in there yet?” Jessie’s voice could be very loud when she wanted it to be.

  “Go watch TV with Jess. I’ll finish up in here.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  I made my way into the living room and sat down on the big brown-leather sofa next to Jess. She turned sideways, put her head in my lap, and stretched out across the rest of the couch. “What if your dad comes in?”

  “He won’t. I warned him that I was in desperate need of boyfriend snuggles. I also promised to behave, so don’t get any ideas,” she said with a wink.

  I sighed happily and sank back into the sofa, enjoying the closeness. I began lazily stroking her hair and then her shoulder. I could tell she was getting sleepy just as I could tell she was fighting it. “Are you tired?”

  “No.”

  “Good. Because I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too. What are we doing tomorrow?”

  “I promised Claire we’d do a movie, but I’m yours the rest of the day.” I felt her stiffen a little upon mentioning the movie. Jessie still had Claire slash Clarisse issues. I didn’t like her being jealous. Not when she was my entire world. “Would you like to have dinner with me and my family tomorrow?”

  She relaxed a bit. “If Daddy will let me out of the house.” She sat up for a moment. “Dad! Can I have dinner at Connor’s tomorrow?” Her voice was still reverberating through my head when he said okay. “Yes,” she said simply and lay back down. I resumed my shoulder strokes.

  “Jess?”

  “Mmmm. Yeah?”

  “You know–”

  “If you mention Claire and how she’s only a friend, I’ll punch you. I know. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t get my panties in a bunch, but I know. I should probably rest up before going over to your house anyway.”

  Chapter 7

  “Connor! Claire is here!”

  Mom’s voice echoed up the stairs and into my room. I glanced over at the clock next to my bed. It wasn’t even noon yet. The movie didn’t start until one. She was way early. “Coming!”

  I jumped off my bed, shut off my Playstation, and dug through my dresser for a clean shirt to put on. Luckily I hadn’t spilled any barbeque sauce on the jeans I wore last night. I had slept in them, too. At least I was partially dressed. I turned to head into the bedroom when Clarisse walked into my room. I let out a little eep, which she
found highly amusing.

  “Your mom said you’ve been up forever and were dressed.”

  “Yeah, well Mom was wrong.”

  “So get ready.”

  I sighed and opened up my shirt to put my arms through it when Clarisse gave a little hiss.

  “What is it?”

  “You’re not going to be able to pass for a sophomore for much longer.”

  “What are you talking about? I am a sophomore.”

  “Have you looked at yourself lately?”

  “Huh?”

  “Bathroom,” was all she cryptically said.

  I headed there with her right behind me. I flipped on the switch, looked at myself in the mirror, and then at her like she had gone completely loony. “What?”

  “Connor. Look at yourself. I turned and did it again. It was just me. Sure my hair was a little longer than usual, and a little lighter in color… “Oh, shit.”

  The change had been so gradual, I hadn’t even noticed it. When you see yourself every day, you don’t notice changes. Even drastic ones. My hair was a lot longer than it was only a few weeks ago. That wasn’t the worst part. I thought it was getting lighter, but it was actually losing its color, bleaching itself almost white. I lowered my gaze to my shirtless chest. Gone was the little boy bird chest. I actually had pectoral muscles. My skin, while pale, was nearly flawless. The only thing that was somewhat normal, was the utter lack of chest hair. It made me look a little younger. Maybe the Fallen didn’t grow chest hair. That would be nice since my father looked like he was wearing a bear pelt when he took his shirt off. He even had back hair. Back hair I said. Shudder.

  “Holy shit,” I said again.

  “Exactly,” Clarisse said and ran her finger over my left pectoral.

  “Stop it!” I slapped her hand away and she giggled.

  “Don’t blame me. My little Fallen is growing up. Do you have hair in funny places yet?”

  “Oh, my God. Would you please stop?” My face felt like it was on fire. She was enjoying this a little too much. “What the hell am I going to do? I can’t believe nobody has noticed yet.”