Stolen Souls

chapter ten

They say before
you start a war
you better know what
you're fighting for
-Angel with a Shotgun, The Cab

chapter ten

"I thought I'd never have to come back," Courtney muttered underneath her breath.

The lab was a tiny, run down brick building crammed between two townhouses. The white paint was peeling behind all the overgrown bushes. There was a line of multiple tinted windows about waist high. We were all standing behind the building, and everyone was eyeing the windows suspiciously.

"Look, I need you all to be alert. I can't have all of you go in there and not all of you come out," James said, his voice low and stern. "If you get into trouble, use your Perk. Don't wait for everyone else."

A strong wind blew from the east. I shivered in my t-shirt, but I think it was more because of the nerves.

James continued talking and giving orders, "Camden, you can transform into almost anything. If you get in trouble, just become a fly or something and leave. Kylie, you can teleport back to the house. Courtney, your Perk is kind of useless right now, and Ayla, you don't have one."

"Yours isn't much use, either."

"I know, but at least I can distract them. I think we all can split up, but Ayla, you're staying with me. And Courntey, if you see anything suspicious, come to me. The rest of you, just leave. Remember, if you go in there, you have to come out."

I stayed behind James as the rest broke apart and stood in front of separate windows. However, Courtney was unmoving. She was staring at the nearest window nervously.

"It's ok," James whispered to her assuringly. "I got you."

She shifted her glance to his eyes and then mine as if she was just woken from a daze. Courtney took a deep breath in, and left to stand in front of her window. As she crouched in front of it, she took one last look at us before disappearing through the opening.

James whispered, "Stay behind me," and slipped through the opening in our window. I followed him through it, but I wasn't prepared for what I was getting myself into.

The whole room was lit by a single dim lamp. For some reason, the concrete floor was soaked, and the whole room smelled of damp moss. There were cardboard boxes scattered everywhere. Some were labeled with people's names, others with names of objects. Two huge metal shelves were lining one wall. It was filled with mason jars of objects floating in a dingy liquid.

I followed James as he strolled behind a stack of cardboard boxes. He lift a few of the flaps, peered inside, made a face, and moved onto the next.

"Start looking through some of these boxes. I don't exactly know how big a Soul is," he admitted after the third box.

"Do you mean it could have been at those houses? Or the cemetery?" I stared at him in disbelief.

"No, it's definitely here."

I nodded in response and began searching through a box labeled "Sarah Mulberry." As I dug through it, I pulled out multiple different objects. There were shirts, shoes, socks, a dress, and a stuffed dog. Quickly I realized who Sarah Mulberry was.

I closed the box and set it aside. The label on the next box read "Sam Johnson." Peeking into the box, I made a quick search for a glowing orb. Once I found nothing, I placed it on top of the last box. It made me uncomfortable searching through dead people's things.