Sudden Departure

Chapter Twenty-Two

This was probably the strangest thing I had ever done. Besides dying, and meeting Death, and hanging out with dead kids, and being a ghost, and... Never mind, this was completely not the weirdest thing I had ever done.

Once I had completely overtaken Death's soul my mind was transferred to somewhere deep inside his. I was in a shadowy gray room, almost like a bunker. It had no windows or doors and it was basically a little cube.

Suddenly, Death appeared out of a darkened corner. He strutted to the center of the room with his hands buried in his suit-pants pockets. Once he reached the very center of the room, he drew his hands out and extended them at his sides.

From the opposite corner, a little girl with a frilly dress and blonde pigtails waltzed towards death. As she moved forward her little, pink cherub cheeks jiggled. Her chin was pointed upward with an odd pride and superiority. Even when the frightening man, Death, reached his hand out to hers she gripped it tight with confidence. Unafraid.

Next, a whole group of people came out of the shadows at once. A balding man with a beer-belly, a frail woman with silvery hair, a little boy with blind eyes, and The Guy. They all stepped forward towards Death and clasped hands. They formed a tight circle.

After what seemed like an eternity, a little white orb floated from the ceiling and in the middle of the circle.

The ball of light grew lighter and larger. It burned my eyes very painfully, but didn't seem to bother Death and the other people.

I squeezed my eyes shut and thrust the butt of my hands into my eyes. The light was so intense it made tears stream from my eyes and it gave me an excruciating headache.

After a few minutes, I peaked from behind my hands.

The little white orb was still there, but it had grown. It morphed into a white, glowing, silhouette of a woman. The light began to fade and revealed a woman. A gorgeous woman.

She had long, pale almost white hair that flowed down her back, stopping at her waist. Her face was a perfect, milky color. Her lips were a light pastel pink and arched perfectly. Her eyes were bright green and glowed stunningly. They held wisdom of an eternity.

I stood, slack jawed at her beauty.

I was so entranced by her I almost didn't notice the people chanting "Life." They chanted that word over and over, until they were yelling with everything they had.

The woman rose up one hand and they silenced their incantation.

The woman closed her eyes and rolled her neck back. She slowly rose higher in the air until she almost touched the ceiling. The thick stands of her hair and the royal blue train of her dress dangled beneath her.

Gradually, her image faded and became lighter and opaque.

The people in the circle's faces became more confused. I felt mine twisting into an expression of puzzlement.

Just as the woman's image became more and more clear her light returned.

It burned ten times brighter than before, but this time it didn't hurt. It burned right through my eyes, but didn't hurt. It felt warm and inviting. I felt special. Like something good was going to happen to me.

The light bled into the room. While everyone else was squealing and I covering their eyes, I got a good look around. The shadowy wall that was hidden revealed a map. Not like a location map but one of those kinds you'd seen in a cheesy detective show. It had images of me; places I've been, and people I'd met. They were all connected by pieces of red yarn to the word "life."

When I glanced back to the orb I had found that it was glowing even brighter and it had moved closer to me. So close I could almost touch it.

I extended my arm at it and it moved closer. Almost like it was testing me out, it hovered over my hand.

Suddenly, it surged forward and knocked right into me. Just like when Death entered me for the very first time it went into my body, but with way more force.

I fell onto my knees and gripped my stomach as they orb heated me up on the inside. It felt so warm, like my own soul. The only difference was it was so much hotter. Like the sun.

It burned. And burned. And burned. I was screaming in agony and writhing on the ground. Unaware of the stares I was receiving from the circle.

Then, it stopped.

I was pushes heavy, exerted breaths from my lungs as I pushed myself from the ground. I balanced against the wall for support and regained my strength.

When I looked up and the room was dark again. All I could see we Death. I huge, proud and knowing grin was stretched across his wrinkled face.

I gasped. He's seen me.

I scrambled from my station against the wall and dashed to a door. I ran through and transferred my mind back to me own body.

I quickly let my soul unattached from Death's and pour from his body as he stirred.

Trying as hard as I could, I brought my soul back into me. I couldn't move fast enough. I tried so hard for my soul to move through Death's body that it hurt to draw it in.

I wasn't prepared for the impact of my soul crashing into me. It slammed in trough my mouth and choked me. My knees buckled and I collapsed onto the ground.

"Shailene!"

I released a small squeal as Death got up from his bed and leaned towards me.

I shoved myself up from the ground. Spinning on my heal I just avoided him grabbing a hold of my nightgown. I felt his hand swipe across my back as struggled to make it out the door.

"Shailene! Wait! I need to talk to you!" Death roared desperately as I sprinted through the door.

I ran and pumped my arms in the air. I bolted and slid down the stair-rail. I hit the ground and pain shot up my legs and my back, but I kept going.

I was so out of shape that my lungs were hurting and I had a pain in my stomach. I just had to keep going. I knew Death would catch me. I knew I'd get in trouble. I did it anyways.

I ran blindly through the lobby and into the Portal Gateway. I had no idea where I was going to go, all I knew was that I had to get out and get safe.

I ran to the portal and jumped.

Aright! Any theories? I really want to hear what you guys think is going to happen. Please, get as crazy as you want. I just want an insight on your predictions.

Theories you can share:

~Who is The Guy?

~Why does "life" relate to Shailene?

~What did that stuff mean in Death's head?

~How did Shailene know to remove her soul?

~What is up with that woman?