Soul Splitters

Exodus

Autumn ran behind Charlotte as she burst through the old, brass hinged door. Josh was standing over the stove stirring a bubbling pot of soup that smelt delicious. He looked over at them and smiled warmly, all tensions forgiven. Autumn smiled back, she looked over to Charlotte's shaking, panicking body and thought 'No, please don't ruin this.' Josh worried, left the stove and came down to Charlotte, he knelt down in front of her cupping her head in his hands. "What's wrong?" He whispered. Charlotte looked up into his eyes. "I was soul splitting." she sobbed under her breath, "I killed someone."

"No!" Josh stood up and wobbled slightly before leaning on the stove. "Charlotte..." Autumn didn't know if she was intruding, she stayed standing by the door. Charlotte rubbed her face with her fist, "There is nothing to fix this now, I sent a man to oblivion Josh. They're coming for me!" she said this softly but Josh shouted back at her.

"How could you be so stupid Char!" Charlotte was as taken aback by the sudden uproar. Lucifer hearing the deep crashing voice ran in, "What's all the shouting about?"

"Charlotte's killed another one." Josh roared pacing around the stammering Charlotte, Lucifer's jaw dropped and he looked wide eyed at her,

"You said I could trust you."

"I want to go! I'm so sick of watching all these people get on the train." Charlotte doubled over and sobbed uncontrollably. Sallice stood in the doorway, Autumn noticed how his eyes were the coldest, stoniest, greyest eyes she had ever seen. Charlotte looked up and pointed a quivering finger at him. "You told us we had to 'Save someone to save ourselves', that's what we have to do to get on the train!" Charlotte looked around desperately but she was surrounded by disappointed faces. Out of the corner of her eye Charlotte saw Autumn and realised she had been there the whole time.

"Oh God, someone take her out of here! She can't see this." Thunder clapped faintly outside, Lucifer walked over and gently led Autumn into an adjacent room. He sat on the edge of a plush, mint green footstool. This room didn't follow the pumpkin colour scheme of the kitchen space in the room next door, this room had a beige-porridge colour to it which benefited from an orange glow in the candlelight. It seemed to be a drawing room like the one's Autumn had seen in old period dramas on television every Sunday afternoon. 'The room is far too small to be a drawing room', Autumn thought. The furniture looked Victorian like the stove in the kitchen, the mint green armchairs faced inwards on a saffron red, deep black and mint green Persian rug which depicted the Buddhas of Bamiyan surrounded by wonderful intricate patterns that perplexed Autumn. Lucifer coughed and Autumn looked up, he was about to say something. Suddenly the front door slammed shut and Lucifer rose and went into the kitchen.

"Where's Charlotte?" Lucifer demanded, immediately noticing her absence in the greyer than usual room. Josh looked up absent minded and recited "She has gone outside with Sallice, they are talking. Don't disturb them." Lucifer frowned with thought.

"Outside! But-" Josh barely looked at him and shrugged, "That's what they're doing, Sallice was pretty determined. Don't shoot the messenger." He sloped off out of the kitchen. Lucifer thought about going outside for Charlotte when he was reminded that Autumn was still in the other room.

*

Sallice walked alongside Charlotte. His body felt as old as he was, his olive coloured face was forced to be young but had still aged with thin creases around his mouth and eyes. The skin around his hands had lost its' elasticity over time and resembled a deflated balloon. Charlotte put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. They stood facing each other, his back to the station and hers facing outwards from the platform to the emptiness and the unknown.