The Soul Thief

Chapter 2

There were several things in life I had a talent for and as I surveyed the curved golden brick walls, I was reminded that tact and grace were not included on that list. Where was I? The last thing I could remember was running to hop the turnstiles to the underground.

Did I actually die during that? It seemed unlikely, but possible. I was more confused about how I had ended up in a place that resembled an idea of heaven. How embarrassing. After all the things I had survived, I went out like that?

I groaned, thankful there wasn't anyone but Angie to mourn me and I knew she wouldn't include that on my gravestone. Not that we could actually afford a gravestone now that I thought about it. Guilt rushed through me at the thought of leaving her alone. She would be OK. We had a small stash of savings, and the job at the club was enough to keep her going.

My heart clenched, imagining her waiting for me to return. What would she do when I didn't? Go looking for me and discover the news. I hoped she would find some humour in how I left the world.

The cause of my death was always going to be my own stupidity. It was something of a surprise I had made it this far.

My eyes scanned over the sea of people in cream jumpers with light grey plaid skirts or grey trousers. The room we were in was curved, like some sort of castle tower. Only ten times the size you'd expect and much more light and airy.

This looked a bit too much like school to be what I expected heaven to be, and I wasn't here for it. I glanced down at myself, both confused and relieved to find I was still wearing my ripped jeans and v-neck. Well, at least some things never changed. The satchel still swung for my shoulder, and I had to resist the urge to check if my appropriated item was still in there. I was no expert but I was pretty sure thieving was frowned upon up here.

It smelt...clean. Which somehow felt out of place against the castle aestetic. A faint tinkly music was playing that would have been more at home in a shopping centre lift than this strange place. But who was I to question their music choices? Someone had definitely made a mistake somewhere. A weird feeling in my chest said I was absolutely not meant to be here.

I took a few steps towards a boy who looked about my age. "Excuse me? I think I'm in the wrong place, can you give me directions downstairs please?" I said as politely as I could, interrupting his examination of a scroll.

An honest to god scroll. What sort of medieval nonsense was this?

He turned to me, looking startled. Blue eyes piercing me through to my very soul. "I'm sorry?"

"Yeah, me too. Looks very nice up here but I'm definitely not supposed to be in the place where all the goody goodies are." I laughed, waving a hand around at the people milling around and nearly knocking a gleaming white statue from its pedestal.

He blinked as though he couldn't quite believe I was there either, taking in my outfit with open-mouthed shock. After a moment he glanced nervously towards the round desk in the centre of the room.

The woman behind it looked engrossed in conversation with an angelic-looking girl who had perfectly styled auburn hair and rosy cheeks. It was giving me catwalk vibes and I felt more out of place than ever. "They must believe you should be, or you wouldn't be here." He said after realising he wouldn't be catching her eye anytime soon.

I snorted, "That's nice, but they're very wrong, blind, stupid or all of the above."

He frowned. "That's not a very nice thing to say."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I know. Perhaps you're getting my point. Now how do I get down. Are there stairs or-?"

"Get down? Ummm the staircase will open as soon as everyone is here or the emergency exit is over there." He said, pointing to a slim metallic pole through what I had thought to be a window.