Soul Factory

by William E Belanger

  Bryan took Amy’s hand and led her to the restaurant. “I just ate but I would love to give you some company” he told her. Amy smiled and squeezed his hand “That would be wonderful” she replied. After they had gotten comfortable she kicked off the conversation with “Now how do I know you? I saw you today in that restaurant and I just wanted to jump in your lap and ravage you. That’s very unbecoming of a 15 year old girl.” She said.

  Bryan laughed and answered “You’re almost 16, I think that line is free to cross then.” She gave him a light kick to the shin under the table to which he faked pain. “Seriously though” she prodded, “how do I KNOW you?” Bryan sighed and began the story “Do you feel like you know more than you should?” he asked. “Sure, all the time. I see people and start talking to them and they look at me like I am an idiot but I know that I know them.” She answered, paused and then looked him in the eyes “You’re the first one to acknowledge it, why is that?”

  Bryan gave her all the details of his birth and what he knew thus far. His story would make most people run away or laugh but she sat intrigued the entire time. She seemed to recall things as he explained what was going on as well. It seemed Amy had somehow been born with about 80% of her soul’s memories. It explained why she knew Bryan but didn’t know why. When the story was over Amy just shook her head and said “Wow.” She then got a worried look on her face. “How are we going to fix this?” she asked. Bryan knew by that question that she was in with them.

  “How are we going to handle this?” he asked her. “Let’s go now” she responded without hesitation. “But your party…” Bryan started to ask but she held her hand up and stopped him “Look dude, I know this will break my parent’s hearts but the world is at stake here. The future of everything is on the line. My parents are cool and all and my disappearance is going to suck for them but this is so much bigger.” Bryan couldn’t agree more but the thought of breaking another family’s heart was weighing on his mind.

  On the walk back to the hotel Bryan told her that Jeff may still be busy and they may need to find something else to do. Amy answered “Get us our own room, we have a lot of catching up to do” and winked while smacking his butt. Bryan’s heart was pounding and he actually prayed that Jeff would be busy. “Maybe I should call and find out?” Bryan said as he pulled his phone out and dialed Jeff up.

  He was already back at the bar. Bryan told him he would meet him down there in an hour, they had a long walk ahead of them. Jeff didn’t even question it and didn’t notice the two teen lovers sneak by him and into the elevator less than a minute later. It wouldn’t be a long ‘catch up’ session but it would do.

  Chapter 16- A long talk

  Jeff wasn’t loaded but he wasn’t exactly sober either. The two dragged him upstairs after letting him finish his last drink. They had some planning to do and they really needed to get on the road before Amy’s parents started a manhunt for their daughter. They decided they would pack up and talk in the car. The plan was to hit the Georgia Mountains and rent a cabin. This would give them some time to come up with a plan and should keep them on the down-low until they knew what to do.

  Jeff was a bit of a mess. In addition to being slightly intoxicated he was overcome with the emotion that he was going to be fried when they got caught. He was now kidnapping a young woman in addition to the young man he had previously stolen away. Obviously this was not the case but there was going to be no rational explanation as to why he had the two of them. He figured he could just plea insanity when the time came. He would probably be pumped full of drugs and put into a rubber room for the rest of his life but it was better than prison.

  Bryan and Amy calmed him down enough to get him in motion. They really didn’t have much time and at some point they needed to stop and get Amy some clothes and essentials. She also needed to dye and cut her hair so she would not match her parent’s description. It was an awful lot of work to even get free. They hadn’t even started saving the world yet. It was odd to think that everyone would be against them when they were trying to save every single soul on the planet.

  Once everything was packed up they got in the car and headed south-east. The North Georgia Mountains were nearly 12 hours away and it was already approaching 9pm. They would get free and clear of Missouri, get Amy some new clothes and a disguise and then find a seedy motel to spend the night.

  In the car the three talked about what was going on. Jeff was doing a lot better and the kids filled up a giant mug of coffee for him from the hotel lobby. He was coming around nicely. Bryan was driving and Amy was his passenger. They needed to get settled somewhere so they could get Amy some paperwork but right now they just didn’t have time. They just needed to stay clean and not screw up.

  Jeff and Bryan relayed the story about Tom to Amy and it seemed to strike a chord with her. “You know what?” she asked, “I have had almost the same thing happen to me!” Bryan and Jeff both perked up “I met a guy in my Grandfather’s old folk’s home that would always tell crazy stories. He would keep the cafeteria on pins and needles every day when he told them these grand and detailed tales. I was visiting Grampy one day and I got to hear one. It was incredible, so lifelike that you could just picture yourself being there. Now I understand that I was there and I was remembering my side of the story but at the time it just seemed like a really good tale.” Amy drifted off in thought for a second and continued “After the story he left and I asked Grampy if I could go tell him what a great job he did, he let me go. The man’s eyes flashed just like yours did when we met and he practically threw me into his room. He proceeded to tell me about this vast factory and how everyone was segregated by number. He told me he was #228. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about but it didn’t stop him. I got up and ran away because I was freaked out. The last thing he said made absolutely no sense.”

  The boys looked at her with wide eyes. “Well, what was it?” Jeff asked and Bryan countered with “Yeah, what was it?” Amy pursed her lips and wrinkled her brow. “Something like ‘there are two in the tower. Two above all” she shook her head and said “I still have no clue what that means.” Bryan looked at Jeff in the mirror and saw his jaw was open too. Bryan helped answer her question “Tom said he snuck around once. He said there was some sort of leadership and they lived in a tower above the factory” he explained. “He died after that so we didn’t know what he meant either. Apparently there are two up there.”

  Amy nodded, thought for a second and then asked “So do you think something happened to the two of them? Or do you think they are in on this?” Bryan couldn’t answer. He had honestly never even given it much thought. He just knew that something had to be done for the people on Earth. He had no idea how they could change anything from down here, he just knew they had to. “I don’t know” Bryan said and really couldn’t think of anything else to add.

  Jeff summed it all up. “This we know: Bryan was born with full recollection of his 12,000 years. The factory seems to have shut down after that and is only putting out new souls that we call newcores. You and Amy are known as recycles but you are also something more than that. A normal recycle is born with only 10 memories and various skill-sets but you guys have them all.” Amy cleared her throat and Jeff corrected himself “Ok, Bryan has all his memories and you have some gaps in your memory right?” to which she shook her head yes and allowed him to continue. “The factory is run by two things, we will call them men for now and we don’t know if they have a part in this or not, is that about it?” Jeff asked the two of them. They both nodded. “It’s enough for now, let’s get Amy some clothes and stuff” Bryan replied as he pulled them into a superstore parking lot.

  After picking up a few outfits, some dye, scissors, toiletries and a dress that Bryan described as “Effin ungodly” the team was underway again. Nobody in the Podunk town gave them a second glance so they figured there was no information out about Amy’s disappearance yet.

  When they returned to the car they picked u
p their conversation where they left off. Bryan started this time “Remember what Tom said Jeff?” and Jeff responded sarcastically with “He said a lot of things Bryan, about what?” Bryan continued after rolling his eyes “He said that the factory shut down after Hitler was born with his knowledge intact. This had the opposite effect as intended because all the newcores ended up blindly following him” Amy and Jeff realized what Bryan was getting at immediately, they both muttered obscenities.

  “Obviously I am not Hitler and I have no intention of taking over the world but what if someone else entered the world at the same time who is?” Bryan asked. The thought was staggering. There was nearly 16 years of blank slates out there as far as they knew and many would blindly follow anyone who had a slick speech.

  “We have to assume that is the plot” Bryan asserted. “The two in the tower are planning another World War by putting a ruthless dictator with full knowledge in a position to take over the world.” Everyone was just stunned. It made so much sense with the pieces of the puzzle they understood. Jeff spoke up “So do we agree that we need to figure out who Hitler II is and kill him?” to which Bryan and Amy both nodded. They had a clear mission for once and now would need to do research to find their target.

  The three pulled into a $49 a night motor lodge that somehow managed to remain in business. It was the kind of motel that you see featured in vampire movies and dirty horror films that involve a lot of nudity and blood. Just the kind of place a mid-30s man and his “two kids” would want to stay.

  Chapter 17- Imprints

  Back at the factory one of the supervisors was standing at the doorway that led to the tall tower. All communications with management was held here, nobody ever went into the inner sanctum.

  Through the door a deep muffled voice asked “You have perfected the imprint procedure?” to which the supervisor instinctively nodded and said “Maybe not perfected so to say but we are 90% sure it works Boss.” The deep voiced chuckled and replied “Ready number 1185’s soul and implant him into a law officer of some sort.” The supervisor nodded again and wheeled around to get to work.

  Like Bryan and many millions before him #1185 was in his regeneration stage. This meant his memories were replaying as his system was cleaned out and prepared for recycling. Unlike Bryan, whose life was often ended in tragedy, #1185 was usually the cause of the pain and suffering.

  He was dressed in black, stealthily creeping along a palace wall in the dark. Guards were standing on a rampart above him completely oblivious of his presence below. He moved so slowly and so precisely that it took nearly an hour to move 40’ towards the service entrance of the palace. He waited until the palace chef arrived for his breakfast shift. As the gate lifted he moved swiftly, slit the man’s throat and threw the dagger into the throat of the guard. The two men fell silently to the ground. #1185 closed the gate and dragged the bodies into the shadows.

  Soon he was inside the palace and making his way through the halls. He was moving a bit faster now knowing that the arrival of the breakfast chef meant dawn was rapidly approaching. He must not be seen in the day and he could not abort the mission now that there were bodies to be discovered.

  At the end of the hall was a large, ornate doorway with two guards. That must be the place. #1185 quickly peeked around the corner to get a bearing on the guard’s positions and pulled out two blowguns from his bag. He dipped two darts in poison and quietly loaded the weapons. He would need to fire the darts quickly and effectively to try to take two men out simultaneously.

  It’s a good thing that was his forte; he rolled out from around the corner into a crouch and fired the two darts off so fast you would think it was one shot. The two men had enough time to look at each other and clutch their necks before the paralyzing neurotoxin took control of their systems.

  The time for stealth was over, his bosses wanted the kid prince to suffer and the 50 pieces of gold back at his lodge was only the down payment. His sick client was going to pay an additional 10 gold for each body part he dismembered. While he wasn’t much for that kind of work the pay was enough to make him forget his own, very limited, reservations.

  It’s not like the prince was innocent. His people were suffering while he lived a life of opium, sake, and geishas. His decadence and utter abandonment of his people had warranted many attempts on his life. Each failure brought a new twist in security. This was the thirteenth attempt and the traps, guards, and various beasts around the perimeter had made the job just interesting enough for #1185 and hard enough for nobody else to even contemplate.

  With a swift kick to the door #1185 announced his presence to the kid prince. The teen boy sat up in bed with a gasp and 4 girls of no older than 13 shrieked and fled into the corners of the room. #1185 flicked his wrists and produced a dagger in each hand. He released them with the slightest of hand movements and just like that the boy’s ears were pinned to the headboard. He wouldn’t be going anywhere.

  The four witnesses were carried from the scene. They were literally paralyzed with fear and stiff as boards. Each one was soaked head to toe in the prince’s blood which had the responders stunned. The room was nearly 25’ square. The prince’s remains were bagged up and the investigators had given up counting after 178.

  #1185 awoke from counting his gold when the factory workers shook him awake. “Don’t you know you can erase memories doing that crap?” he snarled and pushed at the worker. The worker stepped back, #1185 was one of the few souls that everyone feared. You just don’t mess with a dude like that. “I apologize, but your presence is required in the imprint lobby” the worker answered. “Where is that?” #1185 asked and the worker motioned for him to follow.

  Minutes later soul #1185 was sitting in the new imprint lobby while the workers made the steps necessary to transport him into a living body. The procedure was not too different than sending a soul into an infant about to be born from the factory’s perspective. From the host’s perspective it might be a different story. Imagine going about your day in a normal fashion when suddenly you have knowledge never before imagined. It could be enough to cause a weaker person to completely breakdown physically and mentally.

  This was really no concern to the factory, they had a job to do and that job was to get 1185 into a law enforcement official’s body. They would do whatever it took to fulfill that mission, even if it took a few tries to get it right.

  The now serving sign switched to 1185 and he got up and proceeded to the desk. The man behind the desk explained to him that he would be sent into a fully grown body and not a baby like normal. #1185 responded “Good, it’s hard to kill people when you are a baby.”

  #1185 had lived nearly 10,000 years as an assassin of various types. Over that time period he had amassed weapons skills like few others on the planet. This knowledge allowed him to be one of the best killers on the planet at any given time. Even with the usual limit of 10 memories and a few skills he was a force to be reckoned with.

  The worker explained that he would be “born” with full knowledge. This made #1185 smile. He wouldn’t have to learn the various weapons that his memories couldn’t recall. He would be ready for action as soon as he was implanted. This was going to be a fun life indeed.

  The worker then explained the purpose of his mission. “You are going after #556 and anyone he has aligned with. As you know we only deal in the past so we don’t know what is going on right now but we know from some advance scouts that the last known position was Missouri.” #1185 nodded, it wouldn’t be hard to find this guy, not with his experience and skills at his disposal.

  “What’s this advance scouts business?” #1185 asked, he had never heard of the factory keeping tabs on the real world before. All information was usually gleaned by the downloading of memories from returned souls. “Well,” the factory worker started and then leaned in close to #1185 to finish, “we have been sending out newcores with the specific instructions to kill themselves if they come in contact with #556. We have been able to
keep a good track on them.” #1185 shook his head and made a disgusted grunt. “You factory boys have really jumped the shark, you know that?” he asked rhetorically. The factory workers never had a sense of humor and never would. It was pointless to argue reason when there wasn’t any in their world.

  Chapter 18- Marshal Bradley

  Dave Bradley was having his morning coffee at Flo’s Café. It was a daily ritual and today would be no different. At least that is what he thought as he sat and read the newspaper and waited for his bacon and eggs to show up.

  A story on the news caught his attention, apparently a young girl had been kidnapped in Jefferson City the night before and authorities believed it was the same guy who abducted the young boy in Georgia only a week or so ago. Nobody was sure because the only report on the missing girl was that she was spotted with a redhead boy but the man was nowhere in sight. If the boy had assisted in capturing the girl that meant they were in cahoots.

  “What a mess” Dave said and shook his head. He was glad he wasn’t involved in that case and hoped he never would be. “What’s a mess sugar?” Dezzy asked as she brought his breakfast to him at the moment he began to talk to himself. Dave looked up a bit surprised and said “Oh, you know, this kidnapping business” Dezzy looked at the TV and said “Something’s up with that Dave, you don’t kidnap two random kids and drive around the country with them.” Dave nodded in agreement, something was surely up but he couldn’t for the life of him figure it out.