Wrong Room

2

Gary worked quietly around the unconscious child. She stirred ever so slightly when he turned her over on her stomach, getting a clear view of her spine.

He pulled down one of the tubes that hung from the ceiling and clamped it to the bed, on the end was a long hollow needle. With hands steadied with over 10 years of experience, he inserted the needle just above the child's spine, where a small amount of the human soul was kept. There was never any solid proof on where the rest of the soul was hidden away, but scientists and researchers had found a small pocket that contained what one could only describe as a miniscule sample. Not enough to do any research on but it proved vital in finding the person's Chosen.

The soul was like a magnet, but the only thing it was attracted to was it's Chosen, and vice versa for the other soul. So after years and years of research and experimenting scientists found a pretty decent, almost foolproof system for finding a chosen. Whenever a pull is felt or discovered the person comes to the Astros, who will in turn, extract the soul sample. Once it's extracted it's put into the system with all the other samples, and whichever one it bonds with is it's chosen. The perspective people are contacted, and they get to live out the rest of their days with their soulmate. Romantic.

Except, when it's not. Like today. Gary couldn't get the child's scared eyes out of his mind while he worked diligently to remove her soul sample. She was only 7. It doesn't happen, never happens.

He shook his head to clear away the thoughts. The test would tell. No need to make accusations until the science is there to back them up. Besides, it might just be a fluke.

It took almost 20 minutes to get the soul extracted, and when he finished he hurriedly moved it to the machine that sits to the right of the bed. The machine will move it's molecules to the system and then it's just a waiting game. Almost instantly, Dr. Tanner felt a pang of fear in his gut. Hoping, more than anything that the thing the girl's feeling was not a pull at all.

If it is, he'll have to destroy her sample. And she'll never meet her Chosen. They've found this small sample, when destroyed, also destroys the pull, regardless if the rest of the soul is intact or not. Something about this tiny sample controls if the rest of the soul can feel it's Chosen. Those who have it destroyed usually succumb to depression and suicide. Some dabble in drugs trying to fill the hollowness left behind when losing their Chosen, but the end is always the same when they realize nothing will ever compare. Losing a Chosen is losing a soulmate, a future, because one without a Chosen is cursed to travel through life alone.

The machine buzzed to life. Almost immediately an error flashed across the face of it.

"Invalid sample."

"What?" Gary murmured. "That's not possible." He pushed the sample through again, and once again the machine screeched at him.

"Invalid sample."

He'd been working at this job for almost 15 years, working this position for 10, and he'd never had a sample come back invalid.

"Mommy?" Ashley's drowsy voice made the Astro jump. He spun around in his chair to see her looking drunkenly around the room.

"Hey kid, you're ok. I'll take you back to your parents now, alright?" The girl nodded her head and instead of letting her walk out, he carried her back to the waiting room to her parents. Eager to get them gone so he could work on the sample.

Once they enter the waiting room both Ella and David rushed to greet them, and Gary handed Ashley off to her father.

"The results?" Her mother asked with a shaky voice.