Hunter 3 : Lost Souls

by Heath Stallcup

  I had checked out my reflection and I didn’t have horns or spines sticking out of my back. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why she acted so frightened.

  I waved her in. “Let’s take a look.”

  She kept her eyes low and brought the paper to my desk. She laid it on the far corner and stepped back. I stared at her for a moment, trying to understand her actions. I finally leaned forward and pulled the sheet to me.

  I scanned the document and had to read it a second time. “The council has denied my training convention?” I pulled the sheet closer to my face and pondered what in the hell they could be thinking.

  I looked to Laura and I swear she nearly jumped.

  “Okay, this is getting old really quick. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  She shook her head and was about to deny it all when I barked, “The truth!”

  She immediately calmed and stated, “I remembered the squirrel and didn’t know if that was you or the angel. I’m afraid that if I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time, you’ll squirrel pop me.”

  I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped. She suddenly stiffened again and shook her head nervously, backing away from me as if I were an alien creature about to suck her brains out.

  “Laura, stop. Don’t go.” I reached out for her and she suddenly froze. I had to step back and study her, standing in place and shaking like a leaf. I walked toward her and circled her slowly. She was scared out of her mind and I was beginning to get that way.

  “Can you move?” I asked quietly.

  She shook her head slightly.

  Oh my gods! What was I doing?! I tried to mentally will her to be free from my control but she still stood rigid, her breathing increasing in tempo. I tried using hand gestures…very carefully, to release her. It didn’t work. I finally said, “You can move again.”

  She shot from the office as if I had physically thrown her out.

  I collapsed into my chair and my hands were shaking. I had no idea how I did what I did but now I was scared as well. I held my head in my hands and wished I could visit the Zen Master again. Surely he’d know what the hell was going on with…I looked around and I was sitting in my old room. I think somebody had taken it over, as there was a thin reed mat rolled out on the floor. I had a similar one that I was supposed to sleep on, but my problem was not being able to sleep.

  Oh no…I prayed silently that I wouldn’t have permanent insomnia again.

  I tried to think of the master and I could “see” him in his garden. I started to poof myself there but decided it best to just walk. No sense in scaring anybody else who might witness my sudden appearance. As I stepped out of the foyer and into the small garden plot, the master’s back was to me. He leaned forward and stretched his lower back. “You’re late.”

  I smiled inwardly. I was no longer freaked out about how he did that.

  “Missed you, old man.”

  “I know,” he groaned as he continued stretching.

  “So, you know why I’m here?” I reached for the basket that he had and he eagerly handed it to me.

  “I know that you have finally realized your new power. Now you must learn to control it before you hurt someone.”

  I shook my head. He was really good at this game. I asked him again, “How do you know things that you couldn’t possibly know?”

  He just smiled and waved me into the kitchen. “Prepare to chop.”

  I pulled the knife and slid the cutting board out from its permanent location. This board was very thick and had centuries of use scarred across both sides.

  We cleaned and chopped in silence. I played through numerous conversations in my head. They all ended the same way. He’d tell me to meditate and explore my mind. The answers are already known. I just had to realize that I knew them and accept them for what they were.

  As we finished chopping he patted my arm. “I’ve missed you as well.” He pulled his robes up slightly and slid out of his sandals. He was going to wash himself before the evening meal. He was nothing if not predictable. “Go and meditate. You’ll find what you seek.”

  I leaned against the counter and called to him. “Is somebody in my old room?”

  “Yes.”

  I watched his shadow disappear down the hallway and strained to listen to him. He said nothing else.

  I scratched at my chin as I worked my way back up to where my room once was. I suppose whoever I was sharing the room with would tell me if I needed to leave.

  I pulled the mat across the floor and assumed the lotus. It was tough in the hiking boots and denim pants. For the briefest of moments I wished I had the robes that they had given me the last time I was there. Of course, no sooner did I think it and my clothes were changed.

  I nodded as I hiked the robe up and folded my legs under me. “This could come in handy.” My mind jokingly thought of times I could use a fresh change of clothes: If I spill food on my shirt. Maybe I get sloppy at work and end up covered in blood and gore. Maybe when the next Rog came along.

  I closed my eyes and focused on my totem. Although I hadn’t meditated in what seemed like forever, I was instantly in the zone.

  There was that nagging little bit of my brain that questioned if my ability to hit the zone so easily was because I’d “willed” it, but I let the thought vanish like smoke in the wind.

  * * *

  I have no idea how long I was zoned out, but I vaguely remember reaching a point where I was just floating. I could see what looked like a control box in the distance. It reminded me of the fuse boxes found in most homes.

  I reached out toward it and was instantly facing the panel door. Of course I opened it, but what I found surprised me. There were what looked like breakers and switches, knobs and levers. Some of them were made of wood, others of cast iron or pot metal.

  They were all set to different levels and I read through them. I almost laughed when I realized, this was some type of existential reset for “me.” A cosmic remote control.

  I scanned through the list. Sensitivity. I assumed that was the sensitivity of my abilities and not my emotions. At least I hoped it wasn’t. It was currently set all the way up. I dialed it down to about 40%.

  Strength. I left that one maxed.

  Stamina. Again, maxed.

  Effects? I had no idea what it was. I turned that knob down to about 25%. Surely this wasn’t something stupid like when Laura would take a picture and suddenly she had puppy ears and a dog nose.

  I lowered most of the settings to what I estimated was a reasonable level then prepared to close the door. I paused for a moment and prayed that it would work. Then I remembered. My gods no longer listened to my prayers.

  That left a bad taste in my mouth.

  When I wished to return I opened my eyes and found myself still in the lotus position. I couldn’t tell by the ambient light how long I had been gone but I searched for the master. He was sitting at his table, sipping what looked like soup.

  I took the seat across from him. “How long was I gone?”

  He shrugged slowly. “A few days.” He sipped another spoonful of soup. “Hungry?”

  I had to actually think about that. “Not really.” I rubbed my stomach. “I think I probably should be.”

  I remembered that I hadn’t had any blood in since I had seen the witches, so yeah, a few days. I looked about nervously and the master slid a bowl toward me.

  I cautiously picked up the spoon and sipped at it. It was still hot and smelled strongly of garlic and onions. Yes, vampires can eat garlic. I love the stuff.

  As I slowly ate I wondered when the cramps would hit. I cautiously continued and noted that the master didn’t seem worried. He always seemed to know everything, but with this simple act, he had no concern. I took that as a good sign.

  When I finished the bowl I looked up and found him smiling at me. “Did I do it?”

  He shrugged again. “Who knows for sure?” He slid his bowl aside and took my hand. “What you saw was given to y
ou in a form that you could understand.” He smiled and patted my hand. “Now you know ‘how,’ you just need to test yourself and discover ‘what.’”

  I opened my mouth to ask another question but I found myself sitting behind my office desk. I was still in the faded robes and sighed as I stood and made my way to my room. I really wasn’t sure if the master had somehow sent me home or if the thought had entered my mind and I did it myself.

  This whole god thing was going to take some time to get used to.

  I walked past Laura’s old room and heard something moving around inside. My immediate thought was that she was packing to leave. That fear shot through me like an arrow; there was a physical pain in my chest.

  I pushed her door open and saw her digging through cardboard boxes. I knocked lightly and she yelped again. She spun on me and practically tackled me. “I thought you were gone!”

  “I was. But just for a little bit.”

  She pulled back and glared at me. “A little bit? You call a week ‘a little bit?’”

  I was stunned. “A week? The master said I was zoned for a few days…”

  She slapped at me then suddenly stiffened. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have–I’ve just been so–”

  “Don’t ever worry about stuff like that.” I pulled her close and kissed her. It took her a few moments to relax but once she finally did, it was like truly coming home.

  She pulled back and waved her hand under her nose. “You need a shower. Badly.”

  I kissed the top of her forehead and stepped back. “One shower, coming up.”

  I dropped the robes in the floor on my way through the closet. Once inside the bathroom I caught a glimpse of myself.

  I was looking rough.

  I leaned closer to the mirror and rubbed at my cheeks. “I could use a good shave.” I watched as the stubble on my face fell to the sink and I was left baby smooth. I still had the hair around my mouth and trimmed it neatly just by concentrating on it.

  I smiled to myself and actually wanted to high five my reflection. It almost felt like I really had a grip on some of these abilities.

  I glanced up at my hair and although it was still short, it was slowly starting to grow back. I wondered…

  I concentrated on my head and watched as my hair suddenly lengthened, the ends curling as it hit my shoulders. I nearly laughed. I was beginning to look the way I remembered.

  I stared at my dirt stained body and was about to give myself a waterless cleaning but decided against it. I grabbed a towel from the stack and pushed my way into the glass shower. There’s just some things a guy needs to do on his own. Wishing myself clean just felt lazy.

  * * *

  When I emerged from my bedroom, I was squeaky clean and dressed. Laura popped out from her room carrying one of the boxes and froze mid-step. She placed the box on the ground and approached me slowly, her eyed narrowing.

  “Did you just…grow your hair?”

  I gave her a silly grin. “Yup. Like it?”

  She tiptoed and ran her fingers through the thick mane. Slowly she began to nod. “I’ve never really been a fan of long hair on a guy but you pull it off quite well.”

  I leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Good. Because this is the real me.”

  She stepped back and gave me an approving nod. “I think I can live with it.”

  She carried the box downstairs and put it somewhere in my office. I rolled onto the large, overstuffed leather couch and kicked my feet up onto the short table in front of it. She leaned against the back then rolled on top of me from behind. “Did you get things…figured out?”

  “Figured out?” I knew what she meant.

  “Yeah. You know. Under control?”

  I nodded. “I think so. There may still be a learning curve, but I think I got a the gist of it.”

  “Good.” She snuggled into my side and for a moment I thought I heard her purr. I slid my hand down and wrapped it over her. I just wanted to feel her by my side again.

  “So, anything happen while I was gone?”

  She nodded then sat up. “I asked the council, on your behalf, why they cancelled the monthly training meetings. They spoke of logistics. I’m guessing that some of the enforcers couldn’t make it to and from while the sun was down? I’m not really sure. I asked about holding regional meetings with the enforcers and they agreed to that.”

  I guess that made sense. At least they capitulated on part of it. “Anything else?”

  She chewed on her lower lip. “Well…when you disappeared, I might have called Helen.”

  I hiked a brow. “And?”

  “And she basically told me that you were now a god and to give you time to figure out all that means.” She turned soulful eyes to me. “She said you’d need it.”

  I shrugged and pulled her closer. “Nah. I got this.”

  She gave me a gentle hug then started talking about daily happenings. I hate to admit that as usual, I really wasn’t listening. It was somewhere during her rant about a trip to the grocery store that I thought I’d test my theory on resetting my abilities. I simply stated, “Stop talking.” She continued for a moment then stopped and gave me a dumbfounded look.

  “I was trying to tell you what all I’ve been through since you just up and left and all you can say is, ‘stop talking?’ Don’t you think that’s just a little bit rude to–”

  I shut her up with a kiss. I was actually relieved that she didn’t turn into a statue again. Though for a moment I wondered if she wasn’t about to. She was resisting my kiss at first. It didn’t take long for her to respond.

  “No fair distracting me when I’m trying to–”

  I held a finger to her lips. “Shh. I was just testing something.”

  “If you were testing how to hurt my feelings, I can assure you that it worked.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “No. Remember when I told you to hold on in the office and you couldn’t move? I was testing that.” She gave me a confused stare. “Except I said ‘stop talking.’ And you didn’t. I think the test worked just fine.”

  She raised a brow at me. “Okay. I’ll let you slide this time.”

  I fought back another smile as I said, “Make me a sandwich.”

  She leaned back and gave me that look again. “You had better be running another test.”

  My smile faded and I gave her a slight nod. “Well, yeah. I mean I was, but…”

  “But what?” Her eyes narrowed on me.

  I shrugged. “Well, I am kind of hungry. All I’ve had all week is a bowl of soup.” I gave her sad puppy eyes. “It wasn’t even good soup.”

  Slowly her frown turned upward and she slid from on top of me. “Fine. What do you…nevermind. Bacon.” She walked into the kitchen and I hopped from the couch to follow her.

  “That sounds wonderful.” I sat at the bar and watched as she pulled a few leftover pieces from the fridge. She paused for a moment then opened the door again. She handed me a bag of blood and I stared at the cold plastic bag in my hand. I had no desire for it, and as before, the thought of drinking blood just didn’t set right with me.

  As she prepared the sandwich I stood and put the bagged blood back into the fridge. “I don’t think I’ll be needing that.”

  She glanced up from the plate she was preparing and asked, “Back to your old, old self again?”

  I shrugged. “I certainly hope so.”

  She slid me that sandwich and I bit into it. Nirvana.

  Guys, if you ever find yourself a good looking woman that is willing to make you a sandwich, don’t ever let her go. She’s worth her weight in gold.

  Chapter 9

  That night was incredible.

  Probably not in the way you’re thinking.

  We sat up and talked. I mean really talked. I told her how I found the control panel that helped me to dial in my abilities. She thought that it was probably some kind of representation that gave me visual clues to do what I wanted doing. I have no idea what it was
or wasn’t. So long as it worked, I was happy.

  We snuggled on the couch while an old black and white movie played on the television. I couldn’t tell you what it was. It was just background noise.

  As the sun started to rise, we stood on the back porch and watched it. She leaned into me and I held her and everything seemed right with the world. Neither of us felt tired so we started our day off from then.

  It was somewhere around noon that Helen dropped by unannounced. She seemed a little surprised that I had returned. I guess she expected me to be out longer finding my place in the world as a newly minted god.

  And just between us, I was really getting tired of being called that. I could accept that I had god-like powers, maybe god-like looks, but I was no capital “G” God. Thank…well…a different god.

  Helen announced that her girls were charged up and ready whenever we were to locate my soul. I was actually a bit relieved to hear that. Although it hadn’t really been at the forefront of my mind lately, I still worried about it. I could only imagine how frayed at the edges, worn and dirty it must be by now just floating about, lost and alone.

  I know, a soul isn’t a puppy, but for whatever reason, I thought of it that way. I could almost imagine a translucent version of myself floating in blackness. Nothing to do to pass time except scream, “HELLO!” into the darkness.

  I have no idea what a soul is supposed to look like or even what it’s supposed to do, but I was ready to get mine back and lock it down. I mean, I know it had gotten used to doing whatever it is that souls do when they don’t have a body, but mine was about to be forced home. I had no doubts that would mean changes for both of us, and I’d try not to be too strict. Maybe give it a reasonable curfew, maybe an allowance.

  * * *

  “Oh, hell no!” I tried to push past Laura but she is surprisingly strong despite her diminutive size.