My mind was racing, spinning out of control as I tried to grasp the gravity of the situation I was now in. No one in their right mind could make that choice. I was in no way a murderer but I was also as far from suicidal as one could be.
My legs became jellylike, as my body started to shake uncontrollably, and the only thing keeping me from crashing to the ground were the strong and oddly comforting arms holding me prisoner against a broad, firm chest in this horrendous nightmare.
My sanity was ebbing away with each passing second and my breathing began to quicken. Tears streaked down my cheeks and I glared at the hooded figure ready to lash out like a wounded animal. My deteriorating mental state would be a detriment to my escaping this insanity, but deep down I knew there was no saving me now. I was doomed, but I still felt the urge to lash out at the hooded beast before me.
"You're crazy. This is all crazy! You want me to either choose to let an innocent person die? Or what? Save him and become some freakazoid creature of the night? Why doesn't Brian get a say? I mean, it is his life you are dangling like a piece of chocolate cake for the choosing after all!"
The hooded figure responded laconically, "He is not the predetermined one."
That one phrase had me speechless as I tossed the word predetermined around in my head. This path was already laid out for me. That is the only thing I could ascertain from that one word. A steely calm seeped into my core as any fight left in me faded into resignation.
"Who are you? What are you that you can force someone to make a choice like this?" My voice sounded weak, defeated and I hated it.
"I am Chalice, The Keeper." He replied as he stared me down, as if he already knew he had won the battle.
I turned my attention to Brian's still form and as the calm washed over me, the arms holding me released and I was free from their grasp. I sunk to the floor and crawled over to where Brian lay and let the tears fall unashamedly. I stroked his dirty blonde hair, brushing it out of his eyes, and took in the plains of his face through blurry eyes.
It was over. My life, our life together, was over. The plans we made to marry after he finished his masters program were now set a drift on the sea of could've been. The children we someday planned on having would never come to be.
I let my emotions loose. I cried like I had never cried before. I cried for the loss of my life. I cried for the children that would never be held in my arms. I cried for the precarious future Brian would now have because he chose me to love. I even cried for the day I knew would one day come, the day he would move on and find someone to take my place and fulfill the hopes and dreams we once shared.
I leaned down and placed soft kisses on his forehead, cheeks and lips. Throat tight I whispered my final goodbyes, "I'm so sorry Brian. I love you, oh how I love you. You will survive this and you will move on and find someone else to share your dreams, but I will always be with you, always watching over you. You are going to do great things one day and I will be there smiling down on you. I will love you even when I am just the faintest of memories in the back of your heart and mind and you no longer remember the sound of my voice, or the scent of my favorite perfume. Always."
There was complete silence in the room, outside of my mournful sobs and I thought I had been left alone to say my goodbyes and come to grips with my soul stripping grief.
A pressure on the back of my head made me flinch. Chalice was knelt beside me patting my head soothingly like a parent would their heartbroken child. I glanced up and my swollen eyes locked with his. They were a shimmering gold, warm and sympethetic, not at all what I was expecting.
"It is time Callie Daniels." He spoke solemnly as he stood.
I wanted to snatch Brian up and make a break for it, but I knew it was futile. I laid a few more kisses on his cold skin and stood to face my future.
I squared my shoulders and in the strongest voice I could muster I made my choice.
"I will do whatever you need, I will pledge my soul to you, just please save him.
"
He nodded and his deep and raspy voice took on a more formal tone as he addressed me.
"Do you, Callie Daniels, hereby formally agree to the terms and conditions laid before you? Do you agree to sign your soul over to us, forfeiting your mortal life?" He paused and I assumed he was waiting for my acquiescence.
"Yes."
"Do you, Callie Daniels, agree to be drafted into our agency as a new being of your choosing. Willing to carry out the duties set before you swiftly and without question, or prejudice?" Again he paused.
"Yes." My strength was beginning to falter as he proceeded to the part I knew would seal my fate for all eternity.
"And do you, Callie Daniels, understand that the soul of one Brian McDougal shall now be held in limbo as collateral for the favor of reinstating his life and as insurance that your commitment and allegiance will be to the agency?"
"Yes."
"Finally, do you, Callie Daniels, understand that upon selecting this option, should you fail at any of your future duties the soul of one Brian McDougal will be sentenced to dwell in eternal damnation and his life shall be deemed forfeit." And there it was. With that final stipulation my heart shattered and I knew what it felt like to truly die.
"Yes."
Once that final yes passed my lips, a flash of blinding light and the crack of thunder filled the space. When the light faded to a more reasonable brightness I looked to where Brian had laid and my heart squeezed when I realized he was gone. All I could think was, and in a flash my life was gone.
The two men, that entered dragging Brian, stepped forward flanking Chalice as he spoke.
"Callie Daniels, I would like you to meet your D.E.M.I.S.E. Management Team."
