The Soul Seekers (23 page)

We listened, waiting in frozen silence for the steps to go past. I heard the sound of muffled talk, and a little later the footsteps came to our annex, halting outside the door. Pushing Jesse’s arm away from my waist, I turned to see if William was there in the dark. If this was the end, I wanted to have a moment with him before being seized.

I felt along the wall and found my way across the room to a wooden structure.

“Hi,” a familiar voice whispered.

“Hi,” I said squinting, trying to take in anything I could of his beautiful face. My shaking hands moved across the lying form, over his stomach to his chest and up toward his neck. When I felt a set of lips—those warm, inviting lips—I kept them in target with my fingertips and lowered my face to his. He reached up, grasping at me, opening his kiss to meet mine. The door opened, a wash of light spread across our fused bodies—a picture of love.

“I should have known you wouldn’t go to New York,” he replied. “What happened to following my orders, no questions asked?”

“Sorry. You ask impossible things. And I’m very, very stubborn.”

“Yes, I can see that.” He held up my hand, kissing inside the palm, getting a jab from behind. “When did you start to remember?”

“A few days ago. I almost died realizing what you had done.” I turned to face him. “Don’t you know that I will love you no matter what you turn out to be, and that if you die, I die, too?”

He looked at me, eyes serious, but with a spark of humor. “You must have read my mind.”

We reached a set of winding steps at the base of the formation and were told to begin climbing. Hundreds of people stood around, all wearing black hooded jackets and masks over their faces. They were anonymous; we couldn’t know which Springvale resident gawked impatiently for the eclipse. They filled up the space of the cave floor, some up high on jutting bluffs along the domed walls.

I noticed a silvery light beaming down on us from above and dared to stop and look at its source; but I only had a second before someone pushed me forward. The light seemed to be coming from a hole in the top of the cave, but of course I remembered William telling me about that the day in the attic. I looked at him again, wishing there was more time and less people. If we were to die tonight and forever turn into hideous Soul Seekers, I wanted to at least have some real time being close, talking to him, being loved in the way he hadn’t allowed before. It had all been so stupid, our games of control. We should have just loved and never worried about tomorrow.

“I love you,” I whispered, reaching out again before stepping to the top of the limestone formation.

Hands separated us, throwing us onto two different cot-like structures. In front of us stood a low boulder adorned with a black granite bowl, which I knew held two small coins of engraved metal. Candles flickered through the entire cave, fighting the beautiful white light of the moon with their licking orange fire that jumped and danced. The scene would have been breathtaking if it weren’t for what was to come. I felt bad for the struggle William had kept up all these years, now wasted; his running and waiting and hoping only to come to this. I knew what he would say, that it was worth it. I turned my head to him and met a beautiful smile, in complete contrast to the masked faces that looked down over us in a nightmarish way. I closed my eyes, remembering my protection prayers.

A light humming noise began from far off in the cave. It sounded like a field of locusts. Keeping my eyes closed, I ignored the sound and went on with my chanting, only to be interrupted by a sound coming from inside my head.

Emma.

Yes?

Are you okay?

I’m still alive, so yeah. And you?

I’ve been better.
Pause.
I want to try something. It’s going to get bad soon and I think I can help you through the worst of it. Hold on.

A sucking sensation began in my chest, the same as when they tested me a few days ago, but stronger. It was a struggle to remember how to breathe again after the wave finally died down. William’s thoughts reached out to me again.

Still okay?

Yep.

They get worse. Take a big breath when you feel it coming. Do you remember that first time you came into the library?

I couldn’t keep my eyes off you, but was too shy to talk to you.

I took a deep breath as instructed, gripping at the sides of the bench in agony. This round was much worse than the other, something I didn’t think possible. I could only compare it to having an elephant stand on your chest or a hurricane blowing fiercely out of your lungs. My body writhed uncontrollably as the pain slowly waned into nothingness, leaving a sheen of perspiration on my skin.

My God, Emma! This is what I was trying to protect you from. They’re merciless.

The day I met you was the best day of my life. Every time I came to work I fell more in love.

Yes, I want to remember. Were you aware of the time I touched your hair?

Yes.

You were elusive, not showing any reaction. I didn’t know you could see me. You’re a good actress, Emma Shay.

Only because—

I gasped for air. My legs writhed up against their straps, pushing so hard that I was sure to have bruises along the tops of my thighs. This time I had the grace of spirit to say my protection prayers and imagine William and I were covered with a brilliant light, more luminescent than that coming from the moon above us. Its beam slowly moved across the cave in a long shaft, nearly reaching the granite bowl between our stations. Almost by instruction, the low, steady chanting of the crowd built in volume.

My power became subservient to theirs. I felt the waves of pressure building inside my chest, pulling everything outward. I groaned loud, trying to be brave—still trying to protect the two of us. William was doing all he could, I knew, for he had prepared for this moment for decades, but even his strength was inferior. When he heard me react to the strain, he thrashed noisily against the fetters around his wrists. “Don’t,” I whispered out loud, hearing him groan an anguished reply.

Another wave of pressure hit my chest and the room grew darker. The eclipse was in its middle stages, casting a hellish red glow throughout the room. The voices became louder, seeking the eclipse that they craved. My body was humming, fighting against the pain now set on fast repetition, giving us no more time to talk. William looked at me again, and I gasped—the stark beauty of his soul cut through the darkness that enveloped us—more profound than any malevolence around us. Suddenly I was in a dream, receiving a vision as before.

I fade into a house and find myself standing in a room I’ve never been in before. Smudged wallpaper peels away from its seams, a wooden floor creaks under my swaying feet. A draft of cold air hits me, and I turn to the open window only to bump into another form. A tall form. William.

He smiles at me and holds out his arms. “It worked.”

Rushing to the purest thing I have known, I clasp my arms around a body that is warm, so very warm.

“Is this your room, William?”

He looks around with an expression of sadness. “This is it. Summer of 1956, right before it happened. Take a look out the window; we’re northeast of the bluffs. You can see Little Indian Creek shining under the moonlight just down the way.”

Reluctant to leave his embrace, I pull away to the open window and peek out, amazed to see the familiar creek unblocked by the newer houses built up somewhere in between his time and mine. I turn to him, shy all of a sudden. Seeing an old typewriter on a desk, I walk over to lightly finger the stack of papers sitting next to it—all half-filled with typed prose.

“What were you working on?”

“I was attempting to write my first novel, but inspiration was seriously lacking and it’s all trash. Kindle for tomorrow’s fire.”

Picking up a paper, I read a few lines, and am instantly drawn in by the sentiment and strong voice coming through. His voice. Every word held me captive and left me hungry to read more.

“You see, this is why you need me, William. To think you threw any of this out. You need me around to give you support and tell you how incredibly talented you are—”

His arms surround me and pull me away from the desk, turning my body so that we are facing each other in the middle of the room. The sound of a radio meets my ears with a slow ballad from the ’50s.

“You don’t have to sell me on the idea of having you around forever, Emma. I’ve ached for it. But we’re not going to think about that now. Because this is what we have.” His embrace is strong, pulling me into his chest. “I love you Emma Shay. Someday, I’m going to put a ring on your finger and then everything I ever dreamed will come true.”

“William, if we are going to die, then we have to make this count. Hold me tight, and don’t let go.” He does, adding the touch of his hand against the shivering skin of my neck. With a small lift of my chin, our lips meet, moving in a slow, soul-shattering kiss.

I feel all the love he’s held back transfer to meet my longing, stubborn, I’ll-wait-forever kind of passion.

“Emma, I’d wait forever just to have you like this again. Tell me that you love me."

“I love you,” I breathe out, desperate for again to be right now.

“I think our time is almost up. We’ll always exist. Our love will never die.”

“Never.”

I look up to see him smile with a faraway look in his eyes. “And that means they have failed.” With a smile, he leans in to cover my lips for one last kiss.

The shaft of moonlight was white again, going into its final stages of the eclipse. The humming around us lowered; and I realized that I should be dead, or at least, shouldn’t be thinking and feeling or breathing in this body. Someone bent over to have a look, and I closed my eyes, pretending to be a corpse for them so that they would not suspect their little ceremony hadn’t worked. After they left, I made no hesitation in seeking out William. Carefully I peered out of the corner of my eye and found him with eyes closed, looking lifeless on his bench.

I heard feet shuffle near—the sound of a crowd clearing out, like a concert has ended and it’s time to for everyone to go home. The voices were happy, joyous, dancing with echoes around the cave. It was a good eclipse.

“Quinn. Check them, what is wrong with these two?”

My stomach turned. Do they know? I should have run, but I couldn’t—not without him.

“Passed out, I think. I’ll take them downstairs.” I waited in agony for someone to grab me, but to my surprise nothing happened.

Another voice spoke, deep and guttural—Marcus. “Not surprising. I figured those Limons weren’t fit for the eclipse, and they’ve proven me right. That boy was too much trouble—I could hardly get him to cooperate with the whole thing.”

“How much did you pay him, Marcus?”

My ears opened wide, waiting to hear. I hoped they gave him enough to go to New York. Thinking that made me truly happy.

“I can’t discuss it.” There was a long pause. “Quinn, take our cures down now. It was a good ceremony. Now we have everything we need. We finally got Bennett.”

The one named Quinn leaned over me, and I could feel his cold eyes scanning the length of my body. When he seemed satisfied, he grabbed me up into one arm and William into the other with no hint of strain, throwing one of us on each of his shoulders. I did the best I could to not breathe or blink or even think while he carried us down the treacherous stairs and through the passages to the lower levels of the compound. The one named Vincent asked if he was going to put us in the same room to cure.

“Why not? If they were idiots enough to fall in love, they deserve to be together. Stupid fools.” He dropped both of us on a cot, bending and arranging us so that we were in each other’s embrace. “Look at that. It’s Romeo and Juliet.”

The door closed, shutting out light. I let out a long breath. William was cold in my arms, why wasn’t he waking? As soon as I heard their footsteps disappear from the passage I shook his shoulders, shouting in whispers, “William, William! Are you okay? Please answer me!”

The horrible silence made my heart turn black. He hadn’t made it. Dear God. But why had I survived? It wasn’t fair for one of us to live and the other to be gone.

I could do CPR. There had been a class in my junior year of high school; I just had to remember everything they taught me. Tearing open his shirt, I felt along his chest for the little curved bone between his pectoral muscles. Two finger spaces up or down? It had to be down—it didn’t matter really. I had to try something to get him back! I placed my hands on top of each other and raised them to begin pumping, taking a deep breath. Just before I made that push, two strong hands reached up to cuff my wrists in force.

“Let me—” he struggled to sit up against my pinning form, “get a breath here. What are you doing?”

“CPR. I thought you were dead.”

“Not dead.”

“No, but—” I threw my arms around him. “William!” Was he really and truly alive? Could I believe it?

“Emma, we made it! Kiss me.”

That would be no problem. I cupped his face in my hands and met his lips. It was the most searching, complete kiss I could ever hope to know. I’m not sure if that kiss ended really, or if it just melded itself into the next one, but who was counting? I could not let go of him, could not stop wanting to give him my love.

“I guess,” he said, breaking away with a warm chuckle, “we should figure out how to leave. The question is whether or not they locked the door.”

“It’s locked,” I said, speaking for him, mentally moving on to what our next plan would be. If I had to dig through limestone with my bare hands I would.