Soul Keepers (Editing) #Wattys2020

22|

Theo held her, rocking her in his arms as sobs raked her entire body. Her pain had woke him, but the body that had lain beside him, was a mere shell. She just looked asleep but he knew that her Spirit wasn't in her. It was with Micah. He let out a low curse, he was next to her and yet still he couldn't stop the pull. He'd been trying to bring her back when awareness crept back into her body and she bolted up off the bed hysterical and scared.

She knew what was happening there, she could feel the violence stabbing in her consciousness like vicious knives saturated in pain. He enjoyed it, reveled in the fact that this was going to hurt her. He wanted it to hurt her.

Theo was next to her, but she didn't want him to touch her, because Millie knew if he held her it would have comforted her and she didn't deserve it. She deserved to feel the pain. She was the one responsible for all of this.

"Drake's outside," he stated suddenly. "He has some bad news."

She sat upright, running her fingers through her hair and wiping the moisture for her cheeks. Her hands were closed into tight fists on her lap. The door swung open and Drake strode in his face grim.

"There was a report. The police got a call about vandalism and a," he hesitated at the grim look in Millie's eyes. "A murder at the boarding house. "

A soft gasping cry passed Millie's lips and she pressed her fingers to her mouth hoping that it would halt any further sound. Theo scooted closer and took her hand.

"None of this is your fault."

She turned to him. Her face set in lines of sadness. Her eyes were large, glittering with unshed tears. She sat crossed legged on the bed a sudden unnerving stillness to her. "Show me," her voice was hoarse from all the crying.

"I don't think thats a good idea."

"I want to see, so either you show me here or I go there and see it for myself."

There was stubbornness in her voice and a fire in her eyes that told him she would do exactly that. Sighing heavily he mirrored her position taking her clammy hands in his. "This isn't going to be easy," he warned.

Her fingers tightened in his "I know."

"You don't have to do this."

"Actually I do."

He took a deep breath and centered his focus feeling as she opened her mind to him. There was pain in her and an overwhelming amount of guilt, but also a determination to fight. He searched through the minds of the people in the town looking for one that would lead him to the crime scene.

He wasn't going to overtake but rather piggyback, seeing all that he saw.

****

Detective Harley Wells was used to seeing bad things, but this was a new experience even for him. He immediately had the yen for a cigarette. The place was a mess. According to reports the woman who ran the place was brutally murdered, along with a few of the tenants that stayed here. Initial reports had said decapitation was the cause of death for each victim, but to him it looked like a scene from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Red stained the walls and most of the fallen furniture.

He dug in the pocket of his coat and unwrapped a piece of gum, popping it in his mouth. Officers were all around but he was looking for just one in particular. He was pudgy man with a receding hair line and a generous stomach. He was crouched next to a body. "What happened here Martinez?"

"Some nut with an ax most likely," Martinez fixed the sheet over the corpses head and rose from his position stripping off a blood stained pair of gloves "I gotta tell you Wells, this was brutal. You should see the upstairs. Whoever did this is seriously twisted."