The Mark of Mortem

Chapter 12

I grab my pack which I find outside the cave and dash through the woods. I don't look behind me but after a few minutes I don't hear anything, so I find a large tree to hide behind and take a breather. I dig through my pack praying that the walkie-talkie is in there and find it.

I press the call button. "Malli?" I whisper, my throat dry. "Someone, please. It's Cori. I need help."

There is no answer, and I don't wait for one. I shove it in my jacket pocket and zip up the pack. I keep running until I get an answer two minutes later. "Cori?" I hear Will's voice ask. "Are you still there?"

I breathe a sigh of relief and stop. "Yeah, I'm still here. Please, I need help."

"Are you ok?" Will asks. "I don't remember much but he knocked both of us out. I woke up outside the caves and you were gone. There was a pretty threatening note, too," he explains.

"I'm ok," I tell him. "I got out. I need to get back to After Life. Now."

There's a pause, I can hear scuffling noises and bits of an argument. "How can I know this is not a trick?" Malli asks.

I rack my brain for an answer. "You can't for sure, I'm sorry. I just... I need your help."

"With what?" She asks.

"I got the souls," I explain. "I don't know what to do, I just got away."

I only here silence for a minute until the walkie finally beeps again. "Stay where you are. There is a tracker on your walkie talkie," Will instructs. "We are coming."

"We will come and get you, bring you back, and then you'll explain everything to Mortem, he can help," Malli explains.

"Thank you," I tell them.

"We'll be there soon, Cori, just hang tight."

. . .

I wait for them at the edge of the forest simmering in anticipation. Two headlights come into view after a while and I almost jump for joy. The truck stops right before it reaches the forest and one of the doors open. Will climbs out carefully and scans the forest, his eyes land on me and he smiles in relief. I jog over to him and he gives me an awkward, one-armed hug.

"Are you ok?" He asks letting me go.

I nod. "Happy to be leaving this place."

We walk back to the truck as Malli gets out to meet me. She hugs me quickly and pats me on the back. "Good job getting the souls. Now, let's get you back."

On the way back, I explain everything that happened. Malli and Will are silent most of the time but interrupt me once or twice to ask questions.

After a while, we pull up to the parking garage in the middle of nowhere. Will and Malli lead me to the elevator where we ride in silence. When the doors open, I feel every eye land on me and the box.

Malli quickly pulls me over to the staircase and I follow her up, Will right behind us. She knocks on Mortem's door. "We have Cori, and the souls."

The door immediately opens, and Mortem looks up from his desk. "Good. Sorry, but I would like to talk to Cori alone. Head back to your jobs. I will call for you if necessary."

They nod and go back down the hallway. I sigh and walk inside, closing the door behind me.

"So, how was he?" Mortem asks immediately.

"Huh? Oh, Elijah," I set the box down in front of me. "He was... ok, I guess."

Mortem sighs. "I need a better description, please. Any weird thoughts, or ideas? Anything out of the oridnary?"

"Well, he seemed fine, but he was just kind of obsessed with the idea of becoming Mortem. He was convinced that you could only pick him because you are his son. I told him he was crazy, and he went, well, crazy. I convinced him the only way he could be picked was if he returned the souls. He agreed but finally saw through my plan. I knocked him out and grabbed the box. I called Malli and came here," I tell him. "Obviously he wasn't happy about that, but I knew I had to get them back somehow."

"If I'm honest with you, Corinne, I will never pick him. Like you said, he is too obsessive, and he has too much darkness in him. He wouldn't be able to lead or keep peace on Earth," Mortem shakes his head. "If anything, he'll end up erasing all of the progress I've made."

I nod silently.

"Anyway, good job getting the souls. I guess it was a pretty successful mission, we got the souls and some information about him. How about you and I take a trip downstairs," he says as a statement instead of a suggestion. He stands up and places the box back in my hands. He puts his hand on my back and pushes me to the door.

We walk downstairs and across the floor to the Soul Center which is a wide, long hallway filled with souls. As Mortem and I walk through, they separate and create a path for us to walk through. I keep my eyes down but end up making eye contact with a boy that looks my age holding hands with another young boy who looks about six years old. My breath stops, and my stomach tightens. They're so young, I tell myself, why are they here?

"Cori," Mortem calls from up ahead. I realize I've slowed down looking at the souls and hurry to catch up with him, glancing back at them one more time. The older soul offers me a sad smile before shuffling forward in the line. "It was their time, Cori, I'm sorry."

I nod and follow him to the front of the line where he stops at a desk. There is an old woman with a long list sitting in front of her at the desk. She doesn't lift her head to look at us when she speaks. "Name?" She croaks.

"Mortem," he answers with a smile.

She finally looks up with a nervous smile. "I-I'm sorry, Mister Mortem, sir. What can I help you with today?"

"Here is the box of missing souls. Please return them to their correct places. Please step up security and make sure this never happens again," he instructs.

"But sir, I'm not in charge of security, and I don't even know if I can return the souls," she shakes her head.

Mortem sighs. "Who can?"

She looks at him sheepishly. "Well, I can talk to someone else about the security but, um, only you can return the souls."

Mortem starts arguing with her and they talk for a few more minutes. I end up tuning out and staring at the souls who are checking in.

"Cori!" Mortem says, pulling me back into the conversation.

"Oh, um, yeah?" I ask.

"Will you do it?" He asks annoyed.

"What?"

"I'm very busy the rest of the day, will you return the souls for me?" He asks.