Live Again

03 | poisonous oath

ONCE WE WERE sane again, silence ensued. The blooming pain in my knee grew from the uncomfortable position I was in, yet I couldn't move. All I could do was stare at the elders in front of me as I attempted to process the millions of memories—previous knowledge—that invaded my brain, whether it was mine or from the other soulcatchers. A soulcatcher. That was what I was now, what I was resigned to be.

It wasn't a game after all. I really was going to be a replacement.

When my gaze shifted to Lina, I saw the vast distance between us, as if we were standing on opposite cliffs facing each other. Lina and I, we weren't in the same boat. In fact, we were so different, that there wouldn't even be any water for our boat to float on.

"Ho-how many souleaters are left now?" Lina asked in a trembling voice, slowly standing and placing her hands on the edges of the desk. "Will Sohee be fighting more than one?"

Why does it matter to you? I wanted to mutter. The fact that she wasn't doing the dirty work clearly meant that she was doing something else—like being my replacement—while I was out there risking my life. A shudder ran through me as the vision of the souleater chipping away at someone's soul came to the forefront of my mind. Its burning teeth had sucked the remnants of the soul away, and the person perished. Eternally. Not a chance to be revived, just... gone. And I knew. Those deformed eyes, looking human but melting much like molten lava, were pinpointed at me next.

"There's... one." The grim reaper replied. His hesitance left an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

Lina let out a breath of relief. "So there's a possibility that she'd make it out alive like the others?" What did she even have to worry about? Even if I died in her body, it'd be Sohee Young that really died, with Lina going back to her normal body.

"There's always a chance that the soulcatchers would make it out alive. However, Sohee would be tracking down the last remaining souleater, the leader, so it may be more difficult."

May be. I fought the urge to scoff.

Still, I was smart enough to realize this wasn't an option for me. The torment the previous soulcatcher experienced by the council wasn't any better. It was worse because it was designed to be endless. Or at least, until the soulcatchers admitted defeat and carried out their mission.

Everything depended on whether I would make it out alive or not.

Noticing the grim atmosphere, Elizabeth cleared her throat. "I know this is all sudden to the both of you, but we need to move quickly. Any longer and it'll be impossible for you to switch bodies, and when you get revived, we won't know..."

We won't know who you'll be revived as. The words were left unsaid, yet we all knew. Because we couldn't revive as ourselves again, switching with each other was the perfect plan. But if we couldn't even do that... I could get revived as a baby and die before I even got the chance to kill the souleater.

"Marshall?" Elizabeth continued. "Do you mind taking Sohee?"

The talkative elder—or the grim reaper—muttered something about wanting to take the easy way, but waved me over to follow him. As the two of us walked outside the council room into a hallway, Lina and Elizabeth did the same, walking the opposite direction we were going.

"You know, out of all the soulcatchers we encountered, I think you made the fastest decision. Though I'm not surprised, since it's not the first time you've made a reckless decision... not that this is one of them." Marshall snorted and adjusted his hat so that it wouldn't cover his eyes as much.

I wanted to punch him. I really did.

Hand skimming the wall, he stopped. There, blended in with a background, was a box-shaped compartment build in. Opening it, he took out a bottle and handed it to me. "Drink this. It'll start to freeze the deadly emotions in your heart so it's ready when Lina takes over. It'll also seal the oath you made with the council."

Uncapping the glass bottle, I coughed at the stench of rotten eggs with garlic, the queasiness in my stomach growing. "What's in this? Are you sure this isn't poison?"

Marshall waved his hand over his nose and took a couple of steps backwards.

"Oh, that's it all right," the elder pinched his nose and spoke, slinking farther and farther away from me.

"Do I—do I have to drink this?" The sensation of throwing up inched closer as I held the bottle up to my nose. Hold it in.

"You think I enjoy smelling it?"

"This is unnecessary. I thought this would help me fight the souleater or something. What's the point of an oath if I already agreed?"

Marshall snorted. "Don't worry about the souleater. Since you're a newly revived, it shouldn't be obvious for a few weeks or so. That'll give us plenty of time."

I knit my eyebrows together and pressed my lips together.

"This is why I wanted to revive Lina," he groaned. "Now that smell is going to follow me for weeks."

"Stop complaining," I snapped. "You're not the one having to drink this. Put your clothes in the washer or whatever you elders do to get rid of the smell."

Taking in a deep breath, I rubbed the side of my pants to smooth out the creases. All or nothing. My fingers tightening around the cold glass, and I threw back the potent drink into my mouth. From the side, through my blurry vision, Marshall's eyes turned white again, and the X's on his cloak glowed.

The last thing I heard before I collapsed was glass shattering. 

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A/N: I really want to write something crazy. Like, Alice in Wonderland where nobody knows what's going on crazy. The thought is so tempting to me, but I got a teen fiction series that I need to zero draft... 

Today's comment of the day is by GhostsInsideOfMyBed! Yes, what a ride indeed.