And Life Goes On

Apartment Five (14)

Jenna's P.O.V
Sean's sudden outburst renders us all silent. We all just stand there for a few minutes, looking around. Finally, Louise breaks the silence.

"Uh... anyway, when you first get to the address, you should find the body straight away. There will be the soul hovering above it, so just catch it and put it in this bag," she hands me a large black sack, "and then at the end of your day, or when you have finished collecting all the souls, make your way to the assigned portal which will also show up on the notebook. Now this part is very important; when you are in the portal, you have to open the sack and let the souls out. Otherwise they will just be orbs when they get here, not in the form of people... I think that's everything. Any questions?" 

"What happens if we don't open the sack in the portal?" I ask. Sean has seemed to have blanked out.

"They will go into oblivion." Ted answers bluntly.

"Oh."

"So you ready?" my heart leaps into my throat as I nod slowly and head towards the far wall.

"How does it work?" I question hesitantly.

"You just step into it, and it will take you somewhere on earth. You open the notebook to find the first address and go from there."

"Ok." I say, trying to sound confident. Louise nods her head and presses a button on the opposite wall. The bricks in front of Sean and I swirl and mix into a black colour; moving around and making me dizzy. I shut my eyes tight, beads of sweat forming on my forehead. And in that moment I don't care if Sean's not speaking to me. I grab his hand and pull him through, holding the sack and notebook with my free hand.

The portal is like nothing I've ever felt before. The floor feels non -existent, even though I can clearly see the fake wood of the ground. Next to me, Sean is looking around in awe. He has zapped back from the place in his head, but we're still holding hands. My hair is flowing out behind me, and suddenly both me and Sean are propelled forward...

My eyes flutter open and I see a pair of familiar blue eyes; Sean's blue eyes. I'm lying on top of his tall frame, and I look into his eyes for a minute, then break eye contact and roll off the top of him. Is it right that I saw a hint of disappoint in his face? I close my eyes and shake my head slightly, to try and rid myself of the major headache coming on just as Sean stands up. Being the gentleman he is, he stretches out his hand and pulls me up off the floor. I grab it and it feels right. For a split second I think maybe we've moved past the conflict bouncing between us, but after I'm standing up he drops my hand like it's nothing and takes a few steps backwards to distance himself from me.

"So where's the notebook?" he asks, in a business- like voice. I hand him the leather bound journal and he snatches it from me a little too fast, opening it to the first page almost immediately. I ignore his behavior and gaze at the surroundings. There a temples in the distance and a large factory to my right. The thick, green trees to my left go on for miles.

"Are we in China?" I ask in awe. "I've always wanted to go to China."

"I would say so. The first address is over there." He points over to a large block of flats next to the factory. I nod my head and we head towards it. We walk in awkward silence for about an hour. I wish he would say something to make it go away, but he just keeps silent. I think about possible conversation starters in my head, and how I would phrase them.

"What's with the key hole on the bookcase?" I suddenly blurt out.

"What?" Sean replies, raising an eyebrow at me and looking at me for the first time today.

"The tiny key hole in the side of the bookcase, inside the square." He looks at me like I'm crazy, so I continue. If he's going to judge me, I should at least let myself sound worth it. "I was awake that first night, and I found an indent in the wood. It seems like it should open, and I think it's hollow."

"Yeah... that's impossible." He answers, dismissing me and shaking his head. I'm about to argue, but Sean suddenly stops. I stare at him for a minute, trying to gauge what he's looking at.

The thin metal that sits before us creaks in the unnatural wind. Sean is the first to move into the flats. He glances at the notebook before shoving it in his pocket and pressing the buzzer of apartment five. I don't know what he was expecting, but no one answers- not that they would if the person inside is dead though. A few minutes pass and he just looks intently at the buzzer on the wall. Eventually I figure he's not going to do anything, so I lean past him and press the button to number six. The intercom replies with a young sounding child.

"Hello?" the girl speaks. I would guess she was about ten.

"Hello, is your mum there?" I ask, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Yes."

"Can you go and get her, please?" Sean says, sounding slightly irritated.

"Okay." There is silence for a minute, then a tired voice answers.

"Yes?"

"Uh, hi. We're trying to get in touch with the flat next door. Do you know who lives there?"

There's a sigh, "Yeah, that's Chang Yeung."

"Does he live on his own?"

"Yeah. His wife died a couple weeks ago."

"Okay, thanks." I look over at Sean, who is looking at me with curiosity.

"What?" I ask, looking down at myself.

"Nothing... We could climb through the window?" I give him a weird look, then nod my head and we head to the other side of the building.