The Secret of Soul

Past Burnings

Victoria

           “Zombies are plaguing the world, ending what is left of the human race. If humans do not turn into zombies, they experience a gain in magikal powers, allowing that human to become a witch, vampire, fairy, or shape shifter. If you, a citizen of this nation, are bitten, praying for mercy is all that will save you now,” the newscaster reported.

            I sat on the couch watching the images of the zombie outbreak flicker across the screen. Buildings were destroyed, some people lay on the sidewalks, dead, and others shuffled through the city, undead. I thought of how this could possibly end all notions of the SCCs and allow me to return to the beyond, but I knew there were not any possibilities until Emerald was stopped first.

            Payton plopped down next to me on the couch. “I’m ready to get out of here,” Payton informed me. I nodded my head in agreement and continued to watch the news. “We should just leave. Emerald can’t hurt us,” Payton stated. I shook my head and tried to focus on the meaningless pictures depicted on the news.

            “Victoria, come on! We can leave!” Payton tried again. I turned the TV off and looked at her. “Payton we can’t leave. For one, there’s a freaking zombie apocalypse going on. Secondly, that force field would blast you back to this couch if you even attempted to leave,” I told her. “We can try. We can get all of the creatures left from Anti-Soul to come with us. What’s Emerald going to do? He knows he can’t hurt me,” Payton reasoned. I sighed and said, “Fine I’ll come to prove you wrong.” Payton squealed with delight, but I stayed seated and turned the TV back on.

            “Remember the last time Soul and Anti-Soul tried to live together? We can’t live like that again. It doesn’t work,” Payton told me. I remembered the constant bickering between Payton and any authority figure, as well as the day she and Whitney got into the final argument that made Payton say, “That’s it, we’re leaving!” in Whitney’s office. Kara had begged for Payton to stay, regretting the Ouija board spell, but Payton had blasted her with a powerful energy ball that knocked her into Whitney’s desk. A few moments after the fiasco, the creatures had left Soul to illegally form Anti-Soul in Central Park, where they had lived under Payton’s tyranny for a century.

            We had lived generally in peace. We didn’t bother the humans or Soul. Everyone feared Payton, but we didn’t have any problems until the one-hundredth anniversary of the change, where Payton decided to finally inform the humans of all supernatural creatures’ existence, which has put tremendous pressure on Soul. From that point, it was a downward spiral of one event after another to bring us to our current position of chaos.

            The day the bombs were dropped, Breena appeared. We could not tell if she was good or lacked a soul. She seemed to balance us. After Whitney found all of us, we were forced to live here, and while neither Payton, the creatures, and I do not find it particularly pleasing, it is not nearly as tormenting as it was initially. Honestly, I do not want to leave, but Payton cannot stand President Emerald, Whitney, or any other authority figure. She thinks she should still be in charge, and Whitney pretends to believe the charade, but it just isn’t how this society works.

            “Are we going or not?” Payton asked. I sighed, turned the TV back off, and went with Payton to the borders of Soul. Surprisingly, President Emerald was standing by the gates. “Leaving?” he asked. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as he and Payton argued.

            “I’m sick of this bullshit. Let me through Emerald,” Payton commanded. He laughed and told her, “You are nothing but a fool! Don’t make me blast you.” “Blast me? Please; your pitiful human devices couldn’t massacre a hoard of zombies,” Payton taunted. President Emerald laughed more and said, “Very well then.” Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and then Payton was on the ground, writhing in pain.

            “You’re not human at all,” I said aloud, stating the obvious. He turned to me and aimed his hand. A black light began to form in his palm and hurled towards me. I quickly ducked as the energy ball grazed the top of my head. “Pitiful,” he sneered, “you’re a fallen angel, aren’t you? It’s a pretty sad day when you get kicked out of the realm of glory.” He threw another energy ball at me, which I blocked with one of my own. The white and black energy balls collided and made a loud explosion. “I came to retrieve you, but obviously, you belong in the brimstone pits of hell,” I exclaimed. I blasted another energy ball towards him, but he quickly moved out of the way. “Keep going Victoria; I find this very entertaining,” he teased.

            He looked at Payton on the ground, who had been consistently screaming throughout the battle. Her muscles were clamped, and she looked at me in fear, unable to move and defend herself. “She’s such an easy target,” President Emerald smiled. He aimed his hand towards Payton, sending a fire ball towards her body. I looked away as the ball exploded. She screamed as a bright light lit up the sky. I uncovered my eyes, and she was gone.

            “You disgust me,” I spat. Next thing I knew, he was aiming at me again. I quickly moved out of the way, but collapsed to the ground as a searing pain tore through my stomach. I gasped in pain as he maniacally laughed. I looked up at him while clenching my stomach, “If you kill me, you’re guaranteed a front seat on the first bus headed to hell.” “For this reason, I’m leaving you here. I hope you enjoy the slowness of your painful death,” he mocked. Emerald turned and walked back to the cabins. “Jackass,” I muttered as I sunk back into the snow. I gasped in pain as I gathered fragments of strength from the Earth, and then slowly forced myself up. I grimaced in pain, but I was able to limp back to the cabin. Despite my fast healing injury, I knew I had to stop President Emerald before it was too late.