Marked (6 page)

David turned to face her and said sharply. “We really don’t have time for this! Haven’t you noticed the demons, here—
hello?”

Kara blinked. “You’re crazy—no you’re insane! There’s no way I’m touching that. It’s nasty!”

“That’s what they tell me.” David turned his head and watched the hallway, then turned back to Kara and met her eyes. “I need you submerge your head in
water,
and I’m not going to wait to draw you a bath. Do you
really
want to wait around and see if the shadow demons decide to come back?”

Kara leaned towards the toilet and clasped her hand on her mouth “But it’s got…it’s got old-lady
residues
…” she grimaced as she gawked at the yellow water, with a slimy brown ring around the inside. “You can’t
seriously
put your head in that?”

David sighed loudly as he dropped his shoulders and looked up at the ceiling. “You’re not going to catch a
disease
or anything, Kiddo, you’re
dead
. You’re going to have to get used to it. It’s your new career. Quickly…I’ll be right behind you.” He came forward and edged her towards the toilet.

“Wait!” said Kara desperately. “What happens after I put my head in…in…that?” She pointed to the toilet.

“You’ll be back in Horizon, on your way to level four,” said David after a long pause. “You’ll be safe. Let’s go, come on!” He pushed her forward.

There was a sudden loud
crunch
from the kitchen.

Kara winced. She turned and looked at David with eyes wide. He jumped into the hallway, his dagger clasped in his hand. Kara strained her legs to move and stepped into the doorframe. Sticking out her shaking head from the bathroom doorway, she realized the noise was only Mrs. Wilkins’s shriveled up body slipping a few inches off the dishwasher’s door.

“Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.” Kara trembled. “David…the…the demons…they can come back. They can suck out our souls—”

David jumped back in to the room and pushed Kara forward towards the toilet. “Okay, that’s it. Don’t make me throw you in there.” He cocked an eyebrow. “I will if I have to—trust me.”

Kara wobbled over and stared down at an empty toilet. “I can’t believe I’m about to do, what I’m about to do. We need water—right.”

She clasped the file against her chest.
I can’t catch anything. I’m already dead
. She shut her eyes.
It doesn’t smell like crap, it smells like roses—big beautiful roses—like at Nanny’s house
. Kara pinched her nose, plunged her head in the toilet, felt her millions of molecules separating and vanished.

Chapter 5. The Hall of Souls

K
ara forced open her eyes. She stared at a grey marble floor. Half of her face was squished against the cool ground. She felt her knees folded under her and her butt in the air.
This is a very attractive position
. Walls with wood panels surrounded her.
Oh, thank God—I’m in the elevator.
She pushed herself up and sat on her heels.

An enormous primate sat in the operator’s chair. Although sitting, his frame reached the top of the elevator’s ceiling. His bald head grazed the top. His long hairy arms brushed the floor, and his fat behind drooped on both sides of a wooden chair. Bright orange fur toppled over his red slacks and covered every inch of him—a jumbo sized orangutan.

Kara scrambled to her feet and checked herself out.
Hmmm—I look clean enough—no sighs of any disgusting little bits
. She studied the orangutan for moment and cleared her throat. “Hey there,” she said and gave a little wave. “You’re not chimp 5M51.”

The orangutan rotated its head in Kara’s direction. It blinked, then whirled around in the chair to face her. A small pair of round spectacles rested crookedly on the bridge of his flatten nose.

“What floor, Miss?” it asked in a British accent. It lowered its head to be at eye level with Kara and pushed the spectacles up with an exceptionally long finger. “Hmm?”

Kara raised her eyebrows. “Right…um…” She glanced down at the crumpled file still clutched against her chest. “Uh—I think I’m supposed to go to level
four
?” She looked behind her half expecting David to suddenly appear.

The primate watched her. His watery eyes flicked to the file she held around her middle. In one slow movement, it lifted its arm and pressed the number four brass button on the control panel. Long strands of orange hair swayed below his arm. “Level four!” He said loudly, his peach colored eyes bewitching her.

“Thank you,” she managed to say staring at the floor. “So…you work with chimp 5M51—?”

“CHIMP!” interrupted the primate furiously. “
I
am no
chimp!
Do not mistake me for one of that
dreadful
lot. My species is superior.
I
am an orangutan. Orangutan 7PT9, if you please,” he said as he puffed out his chest. He straightened his spectacles and wrinkled his face in contempt.

Wow, who’s feeding crack to the monkeys?
“Okay then, orangutan 7T-something-something—?”

Kara sighed as she waited in a long and uncomfortable silence. The elevator ascended to a higher level. “Why do you keep staring at my head?” she said after she couldn’t bear it anymore. “Is my head on the menu or something? What is it?”

The orangutan dropped his eyes and stared at the floor. “Hmm—no reason. I wasn’t staring at your head.”

“Yes, you were.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“You just did it again! I saw you!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 7PT9 lifted his chin and faced the control panel. His left eye stared at Kara.

Kara bit her lip. “Whatever.” She hid her head behind the file. Her hands shook. “Stay calm. Level four can’t be as bad as level three,” she said to herself.

Her mind flicked back to what had happened to Mrs. Wilkins moments ago. Images of shadow demons flashed before her eyes. A tiny ball of light hovered above Mrs. Wilkins’s dead body. Kara frowned and lowered the file. She wrapped her arms around her chest.
What happens to guardian angels who’ve lost a soul?
Kara leaned against the panel. Her body trembled. She waited.

Suddenly the back of Kara’s head bounced and hit the panel as the elevator jolted to a stop.

“Level four: Hall of Souls!” yelled the orangutan.

“Okay, here goes nothing. Wish me luck!” Kara clasped the file against her chest and stepped up to the elevator doors, only to feel a sudden tug on her head—

“OUCH!” Kara rubbed her injured scalp. “Are you crazy! What? Is my head a dandruff buffet to you? What is
wrong
with you
monkeys
!” she yelled.

The orangutan lifted his chin in the air. “Ah, correction—not
monkey
, miss, but
orangutan.
” He turned and faced the control panel. “Level four,” he called again as he sucked his fingers.

Kara glared at the orangutan. “Cannibal,” she hissed under her breath.

“Tasty,” replied the primate.

The doors swished open. Kara stepped forward. “Oh my God—”

She stumbled out of the elevator with legs made of jelly. She stood in a never ending ebony sky. The Hall of Souls sparkled like a great field of fireflies. It reminded her of the sky above the farmer’s fields behind her grandma’s house at night, of watching the lightening bugs as they lit up the black skies like twinkling stars. The corners of her mouth curled up.
This is so beautiful
.

Kara trod forward on black marble floors. As she ventured deeper into level four, she came to realize that her fireflies were, in fact, millions of dazzling spheres hovering in the air. Soon she found herself surrounded in light. Brilliant globes floated all around her, as though Christmas lights draped down from the sky. She peeked through the glowing spheres and caught a glimpse of something huge and white. It flickered in the midst of the great hall. The white shape glistened and grew brighter, like an enormous flame. A humid breeze caressed her cheeks. Soft humming filled her ears. She closed her eyes and sighed.

“Whoa!” cried Kara as someone crashed into her. She tripped and fell to the ground. She rolled over onto her elbows. Her aggressor walked away in the opposite direction and disappeared behind a wall of light. “Excuse
me!
” growled Kara. She struggled to her feet. “What am I—
invisible?
” She marched on, then stopped dead in her tracts.

Hundreds of golden haired children scurried around the majestic space. They made their way through thousands of floating globes and carried what looked like large glass jars. Their Forget-me-not-blue robes swished behind them. Kara stared at their identical faces.
What the—? Are they boys or girls?

Three-wheeled vehicles sped erratically across the floors, driven by the same golden-haired kids. The back seats of the little cars were overloaded with more glass jars. They clinked together as the vehicles dashed through the walls of light and out of sight.

Welcome to the land of the weirdoes
. She was surrounded by a Cirque du Soleil extravaganza. She peered over the kid’s heads. A sparkle caught her eye. She walked towards it. She stepped into a clearing. A desk chiseled from a large block of glass stood on a raised platform. Catching the light from the globes, it sparkled like a giant diamond. A great man sat behind it.

Kara’s feet vibrated below her, and the mass of glowing globes hummed in unison, as though millions of fireflies took flight at the exact moment.

Her mind flicked to David. What had happened to him? She shook her head.

“Uh…excuse me?” said Kara to a flock of kids. She forced a smile reminiscent of David’s. “Hi…can you help me? I’m not sure what to do with this?” She held up the file.

They ignored her and walked away, as though she was invisible.

“Thanks for nothing!” yelled Kara. Tapping sounds caught her attention. She turned around. “David! Ah—not David.”

A pair of guardian angels with golden stars on their foreheads emerged from a wall of shining spheres. They marched past her, looking somber, and headed towards the glass desk. Kara decided to follow them.

They walked in single file towards the desk. It glimmered like a crystal in the sunlight. A rainbow of colors spilled onto the black floor. The desk was covered in books, with a large flat-screen computer monitor sandwiched between them. A massive man with a furrowed brow sat amongst the clutter of books and papers. He was dressed in a white robe, open in the front with a high gold-trimmed collar. His long sleeves folded on the desk. Gold cloth trimmed the wide cuffs. His face was handsome and serious. A golden glow emanated from his pale skin. And as Kara tiptoed closer, she noticed his forehead was marked with a golden shield, crisscrossed with two silver swords.

The two guardian angels dragged themselves up to the desk and spoke with their heads bowed. Kara stayed a few feet behind them. She fumbled with her file. Her body trembled. After a moment, the man looked up and gave them a malicious and calculating look. One of the angels held out a file. He grabbed it and flipped it open. In a quick movement, he beckoned to the driver of one of the three-wheeled contraptions. The vehicle swerved around, sprinted towards the dais and jolted to a halt. The guardian angels climbed into the back seat. With their heads bent awkwardly, they squeezed themselves into the tiny space. They raced out into the fields of glowing spheres. Kara stared after them.

“Oh, God! Oh, God! Where’s David!” whispered Kara. Her body tickled unpleasantly. Her mind was working hard. She bit her lower lip. Her hands shook. She teetered back and forth on her heels like a seesaw. After a moment, she edged forward. Her eyes were glued to the large man’s hands. She halted with file clasped tightly around her middle. She waited. He didn’t seem to notice her at first. He studied the pages of a thick leather-bound book. Kara recalled images of her once-upon-a-time-happy life back on Earth—alive—where angels and demons existed only in her paintings, and where she was enjoying a juicy piece of pepperoni pizza, with grease dripping down the corners of her mouth—