Soulmates

Chapter 7

"Pardon me?" The boy asked. If you recall, when I last left you, this stranger had stopped me from falling flat on my face and I had said "shit".

"Um...never mind," I flushed as I straightened myself and brushed away imaginary lint from my clothing. "I'm Beth, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Beth. I'm James. I assume you've already met Michael?" He nodded to the second man. "Oh, and here comes Jacob," he said as the first man came sliding down the chute.

"Ah, yes. We've-we've met...sort of."

"Okay then. I think we should get going," James turned around and started to walk away, Jacob and Michael at his heels.

"Where are we going exactly?" I asked, hurrying to keep up.

"You'll see." James didn't even turn around.

The next five minutes were walked in silence, the only sound being our breaths and our footsteps. We were walking down what looked like a long concrete tunnel. There were no windows and it was lit by long bright lights, the kind you find in classrooms. Finally, we came to an intersection. Both left and right looked exactly the same to me, but James seemed to be able to tell the difference. We turned right. There, we came to a glass door engraved with patterns that made it too blurry to see through. James swiped a card and punched in some numbers on a keypad, and the door made a little beeping sound and swung open.

Inside was the most boring reception area I've ever seen. The walls were beige, as was the rounded desk that was pushed against the wall. The chairs were plastic and hard looking, and there were no magazines to read. The most exciting part of the room was the fake fern in the corner. James lead the group over to the desk, where there was a small woman talking on the phone. She was wearing horn-rimmed glasses in a leopard pattern and her brown hair was tied in a neat bun.

"Okay, Dianne. I understand," she said, her voice high and nasal-like. "Uh-huh. Okay, ta-ta now." She put down the phone and looked up at us. "Oh, hello James. Magda will see you now, my sweet."

"Thanks, Noreen." James smiled at the woman and walked towards two metal doors, which I assumed was an elevator. He pressed the up button, and once we were inside, he swiped his card again and pressed the 22nd floor.

"What was the point of going down the chute if we were just going to come up again?" I asked Jacob.

"The chute took us to the back building." I looked at him hoping for more information, but he just stared straight ahead. It was evident he wouldn't be of much help.

The elevator dinged and we stepped out into a glass corridor. Let's stop for a short moment. I just want to emphasize the fact that it was glass- as in, see-through- and we were twenty-two floors above ground. Now, I've never been that afraid of heights, but things tend to change when the floor you're standing on is made of glass. I made a strange squeaking sound and froze on the spot. James turned around.

"Beth, I know this is scary and all, but you really need to come with us, okay?"

"Where to?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"I can't say." James was starting to look impatient.

I thought of running. I thought of getting back in that truck and going home, away from these strangers and their weird buildings. I thought of where we're headed to, and what they were going to do to me. What if they were going to punish me for coming here, and that's why James wouldn't tell me where we're going? He didn't want to scare me off? But then I thought of mum and dad at home, how worried they'd be about me. I couldn't put them through all that just to come home with nothing. And besides, if I went home now, I'd still meet my soulmate. I can't go back now.

"Fine. Just...give me a minute."

"Okay." James leant against the glass wall and crossed his arms.

"How many times have you walked down this corridor?" I asked.

"Hundreds."

"And these two?" I gestured towards Michael and Jacob.

"Thousands."

"And-"

"Beth, we really don't have time for this. Stop worrying. These corridors could hold up a stampede of elephants if they had to. It's completely safe."

I hesitated, unsure. I wanted to keep going, I really did, but that doesn't mean I wasn't scared. James walked towards me and looked me in the eye.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you," he said quietly. I had only just met this boy, but still I believed him. I nodded, and he took my hand.

"Let's go." He guided me slowly down the corridor and I tried my best not to look down. We walked through about four corridors, all with different numbers of doors on either side, until we stopped in front of one. James didn't let go of my hand, but with his other, he knocked. We could see two people through it, a man on the side of the desk closest to us, and a woman on the other side. She had shoulder-length red hair, styled in a sleek bob. She wore a plain black dress and no jewelry, save for a simple black leather and rose gold watch. She had the aura of a person who didn't like to mess around and got things done quickly and fairly. She gave the man a nod and he stood up, shook her hand and made his way to the door. James, Michael, Jacob and I moved aside as he exited and James gave him a polite smile as we passed into the room.

"Hello, Magda," James said we approached the desk. He still hadn't let go of my hand.

"Hello, James. Michael, Jacob." Magda said, standing up. "Ah, you must be Beth." I nodded, and she put out her hand. "I hope the glass didn't make you too anxious. The whole building, save for reception, is made of glass and it tends to make new-comers very nervous," she said. I took my hand from James's and shook Magda's.

"No, not at all," I lied. James stifled a laugh and I elbowed him in the ribs.

"I'm glad to hear it," Magda smirked slightly. I had a feeling she knew I was lying. "Now, you're not from around here, are you? I'm sure you have a lot of questions, so if you'd like to take a seat, I'll fill you in."