Falling (The Soul Collectors Series Book 1)

by Tara Benham

  “What do you do, Everett?”

  “I’m a mechanic at my dad’s shop in town. It’s a good job. I’m about to start taking classes at the community college too so that I can take over one day. What about you Miss Bayla? What do you do?”

  “I don’t really do anything right now. I have plans to go to the college here too, but that’s as far as I’ve thought about it all.” A silly grin came on my face because in all honesty that was very close to the actual truth. I hadn’t thought past this mission.

  “Tell me more about you.”

  “Well, Had and I are twins. We are nineteen, and our parents are…”

  “No, I want to know about you. I know all the superficial information. What are your dreams, what’s your favorite food? Your favorite color, season? Things that make you, you.”

  I opened my mouth and then shut it again. Angel or pretend human, I’d never been asked about myself in that manner. I wasn’t even sure if I had answers for those questions.

  “Ummm,” I giggled. How absurd! It’s not like he asked me to solve the quadratic equation. “My favorite food would have to be bacon and eggs. Favorite color, black.”

  “Black?”

  “Yes, black. There’s just something completely soothing about it. Favorite season, winter. I love seeing the ground covered completely in the snow. Snow creates a beautiful silence when it blankets the Earth.”

  “Your dreams?”

  “I don’t know.” That was not a lie. I had never had a dream. I was given a mission, and in between missions, I studied for the next mission.

  “What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s not that hard of a question.”

  “I’ve never really thought about it. I guess I want to be happy in my choices. I want to do something that has meaning to not just me, but to others. I guess I need to look into occupations that will fulfil those requirements.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “There you guys are. We’ve been looking for you.” Hannah’s face looked pleased to have found us not only together but enjoying each other’s’ company alone.

  “It’s time to eat.” Gray pulled Everett up. I stood and locked arms with Hannah as we made our way to the back to get food and socialize with the others.

  The meal and company was pleasant. There was a lot of laughter and love shared in the group of people I had the privilege of being around for the evening. One by one people started leaving as the sky turned fiery orange with purples and blues dispersed throughout. Gray lit the fire in the pit we were sitting around. The remaining adults had gone inside for coffee and to allow us to have time to discuss our camping trip. By the end of the evening, we had determined who was bringing whom, what each of us needed to pack, how long we had planned on staying out, and the dates. Declan had been quiet throughout the whole night, with barely even a peep when discussing the camping dates. Alissa, too, was quiet with little acknowledgement towards Declan or myself. She did agree to go camping with the group, along with Declan, myself, Had, Everett, Sadie, Gray, Hannah, and her brother and his girlfriend. There were just embers left in the pit by the time we had worked out all the kinks for the trip. I was getting sleepy when Hadraniel suggested we head for home.

  “Let me take you guys home. It’s too dark to be walking.” Everett jumped up.

  “It’s okay. We enjoy the walk, but thank you.” Unexpectedly Had had turned down the offer, that I was gladly about to accept. Everett looked defeated. “However, if you would like to pick us up tomorrow for the movie, I would greatly appreciate it.” Olive branch extended.

  “Sounds like a plan. See you all tomorrow.”

  We hugged and waved goodbye to everyone before leaving. Still, Declan sat quietly, no goodbyes, nothing. If I wasn’t so tired, I might have made a big deal about it. Then again, maybe it was for the best. The less I was around him, the less his power was over me. He didn’t look mad, just completely bored with the whole thing. Maybe his lackadaisical approach meant I wouldn’t have much of a fight after all. This thought woke me up a little more than I had been, and I was ready for the walk home.

  “Bay. We need to talk. I need for you to hear me out completely before saying anything. I’ve been fighting with this all night, but then something Declan said made me decide maybe I should tell you.”

  My eyes shot up at the mention of Declan having spoken to him. “Declan talked to you?”

  Confusion muddled his face. “Yes. Why wouldn’t he have?”

  “He didn’t say anything to me at all.”

  “Oh. Well. That makes his comment make a little more sense now. Declan told me that part of his mission was to separate you from us towards the end. He wanted me to know so that I could come up with a way to help you. He also reiterated that that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to fight for Gray, but he didn’t see why he would need to hurt you in the process. Right now, I need you to agree not to leave the group while we are camping unless someone is with you. Please.”

  “I cannot agree to that. I cannot even tell you why I can’t agree to that. I will say this. Until the time comes that I may have to take certain actions, I promise I will let you know where I will be at all times. Is that an agreeable compromise for you?”

  “If that’s the best you can give me, then yes. I will accept that compromise.”

  “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” ~Sun Tzu, The Art of War

  Hannah arrived at the house super early to help me get ready for my first date. She brought bags of clothes, shoes, hair products and makeup. It was frightening that this was all needed just to get prepped for a date. Hadraniel looked just as scared as I had felt when she came in and had made himself scarce ever since. My bedroom looked like a tornado had swept through, leaving a mess of scattered debris of “girl”. I tried on four outfits before Hannah found one that she thought was appropriate for our date. I was happy to find it comfortable so I wouldn’t be focused on what I was wearing. Everyone knows that clothes can definitely affect your mood, especially when it is something uncomfortable. We ended up choosing a cream colored maxi dress that had navy colored anchors all over it, paired with navy colored sandals. She had braided my hair across the crown, and left the back down in loose curls. We were now on my bed facing each other as she applied makeup to my face. I had never worn make up as it really wasn’t something that had interested me before. When she finished, I looked in the mirror.

  “What do you think?” She was almost bouncing on the bed awaiting my response.

  “Oh my Grace! I look beautiful! Thank you!” I didn’t look like me, but I did at the same time. Hannah had accentuated my eyes and lips with her application techniques, bringing out the best of those features. It was tasteful makeup, not caked on like Alissa wore hers.

  “Yay! I’m glad you like it. I was a little worried that you wouldn’t. I know you’re not a fan of makeup. My turn now, and then we’ll be ready for when Gray and Everett get here.”

  “What about Had?”

  “Sadie was supposed to pick him up already. I had a chat with her about behaving, and she agreed. She also may have a little bit of a thing for Everett now after having seen him take on Declan.” She rolled her eyes while giggling.

  “I don’t understand girls.”

  “Neither do I.” She bumped against my shoulder before heading over to finish her makeup. She had chosen white shorts and a pretty yellow tank top that was billowy. Hannah was pretty without the makeup too, but she did the same thing to herself as she had done to me using just enough makeup to make her eyes and cheekbones pop. “We never had a chance to talk about the kiss.”

  “Almost kiss. Everett put an end to it before it started, remember?”

  “Yes. I’ve never seen Everett react that way about anything before, not that I think he’s in love with you. I just think he felt the need to protect you. We all do really. It’s strange. I see you, and you look strong, but I feel this compulsive need to protec
t you. Does that bother you, me saying that?”

  “Bother me? No. It makes me chuckle a little. I have never needed to be protected before, so it’s a strange feeling. A feeling that’s not all that unwanted, I can say, just different. Everett seems nice. I will try to find a way to let him know that if he has some interest in Sadie that he can be free to hang out with her this evening.”

  “Hoping to get a chance to see Declan again? Maybe finish what was started?” She waggled her eyebrows at me, causing me to blush. “Your face says yes.” She grinned.

  “I don’t want to kiss Declan. He makes me feel powerless when I’m around him.”

  “I get it. Gray takes my breath away, and I feel giddy around him, still.”

  “You two are so sweet together.”

  “Thank you. We’ve really fought to get to this point. We had a lot of miscommunications in the beginning, but we made promises to each other to always put in the effort to stay together. It’s worked for us, so far. I can see myself marrying him, having his babies, and just growing old together.” Wherever she was in her mind right now was light years away from my messy bedroom.

  I felt jealous at her hopes of a future but was happy that I knew I was going to be someone who was going to help her get to that old age. If I got to go back home, I was going to have to show Aniston all the new things I had learned. She would find it funny, me acting so girly. I knew she would be happy too, though. She was always interested in Earth and the humans. I got lost in my thoughts wondering how she was doing. I wished I could tell Aniston I missed her now, and could tell her goodbye somehow, in case I failed my mission. That I could somehow let her know that I did miss her, and would miss her if I failed. I could write her a letter, I suppose, and place it somewhere in Hadraniel’s things so that he would find it. I was plotting where I could hide it when I heard honking

  “Looks like they have good timing. I just finished. How do I look?” Hannah raised her arms out to the side and did a quick twirl for me.

  “Marvelous.”

  She giggled. “Ditto”

  They honked a second time.

  “Let’s go. Our very charming princes await.” Hannah rolled her eyes. Sarcasm from her was something new. I found it completely hysterical, and I fell into a fit of giggles that took a minute to get over.

  Everett had graciously gotten out of the Jeep to open my door and even had a single rose for me. Gray, on the other hand, was just chilling, waiting on us. Hannah faked being annoyed, but couldn’t help but giggle when he leaned over to nuzzle her into forgiveness for not opening her door or having flowers for her. The drive into town was fun. We were getting close, and I was still struggling, trying to figure out how to broach the subject of Sadie to Everett. Gray opened the topic up, like one rips a band aid off, quick with little pain.

  “Everett, dude, have you heard that Sadie is mad crushing you right now?”

  Everett looked at Gray, eyes widened, then to me and back to Gray again, unsure if he was allowed to respond, or even how to respond.

  “It’s okay. I already know. If you have any interest in her, and the chance comes up, please take it. I appreciate you talking to me and taking me tonight, but I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

  “I don’t feel obligated at all.” He furrowed his brows. “Have I made you feel like you’re an obligation, Bayla?”

  Realizing I must have said something wrong, I quickly tried to recover. “Not at all. You have been more than kind to me. I enjoy hanging out with you. I just didn’t want you to feel stuck with me if you wanted to be with Sadie.”

  “Okay, because you are not an obligation. I like you, and I like hanging out with you too.” He smiled timidly.

  I returned the smile, turning his into a full-blown grin. I could have fun tonight. I could do this dating thing. There was nothing I could do tonight to change the fates for any of us, so I might as well let loose and have some fun.

  “What’s this movie about, the one showing tonight?” I asked to no one in particular.

  “It’s some old black and white movie. I’m not really sure. I’m more excited for the food trucks that are going to be out.” Gray responded.

  “Gray is always more excited about food than anything.” Hannah laughed. She placed her hand on his arm, in such a nonchalant way, you could tell it was more of a habitual act than one of purpose.

  “Not true, I love music more than food.”

  “Yeah, until you’re hungry again.” Everett winked at me as he joined in on the banter.

  “You got me there.”

  The looks they shared were very deep and sincere. It was fun to watch. On all of my other missions, I never got to observe a couple so in love. It was good research for me on human emotions. Father Paul would be pleased that I was getting such knowledge when I returned. The thoughts came out before I could stop them. I wouldn’t be telling Father Paul these things. He would never know how much I had grown. He was another one I needed to write a note for Had to give to when things were all over.

  “Do you like funnel cakes?” Hannah had shifted in her seat to talk to me.

  “I can’t say that I’ve ever had one.”

  All three were gawking at me incredulously.

  “This is something we have to remedy as soon as we park. It’s a tragedy that you haven’t had one before now. Deep fried, doughy, powdered sugary goodness. It’s like a taste of heaven. You’ll be sad for the chances you could have had them before, and didn’t.” Hannah looked to be off in some far away land, and there was such conviction in her voice it was borderline hysterical.

  “Okay, Hannah. Bayla, you’ll need to excuse this weirdo over here. She may or may not be a sugar fiend.” Gray said between laughs.

  “It’s true! I’m in Sugarholics Anonymous.”

  “Guess you’re not anonymous anymore, huh?” Everett was proving to be somewhat witty.

  “It’s okay. I’ll have a new member after tonight.” She sent a very pointed look in my direction.

  “Let’s hurry and park so we can go get these tiny pieces of heaven.” Just as we were parking, Sadie and Had pulled in beside us. On the other side of them was Declan and Alissa. Declan’s ignoring of me continued which was fine with me. I didn’t need him distracting me from the fun I was planning to have.

  “Bayla! You look great.” Sadie sounded shocked.

  “She always looks great.” Declan said in passing, almost as if he was bored with the whole situation already.

  “Thank you. Everett, I believe we have a mission to complete with Hannah.” I wrapped my arm around his and allowed him to lead me towards the food truck that had the funnel cakes. The smell that was coming from the direction of the truck was intoxicating. Rounding the corner, I saw Mr. Whitstock in line for the funnel cakes too.

  “I see someone has a sweet tooth.” I winked.

  “Oh, yes. I must say, these may be one of Earth’s greatest inventions.” Mr. Whitstock closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Do you want a plain one or one with a topping?” Everett asked.

  “I’m not sure. Should we get one plain and one with a topping of your choice?”

  “I knew we were going to be good friends!” Hannah came up from behind me. She put her hand up for a high five at my suggestion of getting two.

  The four of us gathered at a picnic table with our four funnel cakes. We got a plain one, one with strawberries on top, one with chocolate on top, and what Hannah declared as her favorite, one with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on it. I tried a bite from each. They really were as good as Hannah had described. The amount of sugar I had in me was going to make for even more fun. I started to get giggly by the time I had finished my last bite.

  “We need to go back to the Jeep and grab our blankets. The movie will be starting soon.” Hannah was clearing the table while hustling us up and away from the table.

  Hannah had brought two large flannel blankets for us to use. We spread them out directly behind where the
rest of the group had picked to sit. We had a great view of the screen that had been erected just for the event. It seemed as if most of the town had come out for the evening. I noticed Gray’s parents and shot them a quick wave. This atmosphere was something I had never witnessed. Everyone knew each other. Each person seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to spend this evening with their community. I was caught up in the mood when the first small tremor occurred. I barely noticed it. No one else seemed to either...except for Declan.

  “Bay, did you feel that? How sure are you of the timing?”

  “I am certain of the timing, you should know that. But that doesn’t mean there might not be other smaller ones beforehand.”

  “Should we be concerned?”

  I was shaking my head, about to answer, when the next tremor began. This one was not as small as the first. The screen began to shake. Declan realized at the same time as I that the screen was going to come down. We took off in full sprint towards the front to warn the people to move back. The others caught on quick and were yelling for people to move away. The quake continued for longer than it should have and moving was getting more and more difficult. We barely got the last of the people away when the screen collapsed. The jolt of it hitting the ground was barely felt with the continuous tremor. Finally after a good five minutes, the earth settled. Everyone was in an uproar. The local cops got everyone together in order to take a head count. After several failed attempts, the sheriff suggested people just take their own counts to ensure everyone in their group was safe, and if not, to report to someone from his office.

  “That wasn’t supposed to happen.” I whispered to Hadraniel.

  “I know.” He was leaning towards me to continuing telling me whatever he was thinking when I saw Mr. Whitstock trying to get my attention.

  “Hold that thought...I need to go check on Mr. Whitstock.” I made my way through the crowd to where he was standing waiting for me.

  “What was that?”

  “I have been told to let you know that things have changed. You have this week to rearrange plans. The earthquake will happen this Saturday evening, seven days from today. Now, go Bayla. Go do what you do best, plan and succeed. I’m leaving tonight.” He gave me a quick hug and was gone.