Paul Kohler - The Borrowed Souls, A Novel

I tried once more to grab Penny, but again my hand passed through her as if I didn’t exist. It became obvious to me that she could not see or hear me.

Suddenly, Enoch was upon us. He spread his arms wide and wrapped them around Penny and me as he launched over the edge of the building. Strangely, I was not transparent to him but only to Penny, as the sharp pain in my ribs forced me to gasp out loud. Enoch drove us over and toward our death.

“Why are you doing this, you son of a bitch?” I screamed as I sat up.

“Easy there, partner. I’m only here to help you. You know that, right?” Hauser said, sitting next to me on my couch.

I opened my eyes and rubbed the sleep away. As my surroundings became clear, I realized that it was all a dream. “Jesus, Hauser. How long was I out?” I asked.

“Not sure, champ. I’ve only just arrived a few moments ago,” Hauser said, lifting himself up from the lumpy couch. “I see that you’ve taken the warnings to not sleep to heart.” He winked.

“It’s not like that. I had a plan.”

“I’m sure you did, but you know what the Sentinel said.”

“I do, but I figured that if I could dream about saving Penny, that would help our efforts in luring Enoch out.”

“And? Did it work?”

“Well, sort of. He was in the dream, and I was trying to save Penny, but he ended up killing all three of us by pushing us over the edge.”

Hauser looked at me thoughtfully. “Hmm. I suppose that makes sense. So you actually died in your dream?”

“Well, no. Not exactly. Enoch did push us all over the edge, but I woke up, here, before we reached the ground.”

“Well that’s a relief. You know what they say, if you die in your dream you die in real life.”

“I’ve never heard that before. Yanking my chain?” I asked.

“I don’t know, sport. It must be something that I read on the Internet somewhere.”

“Wait, what? The Internet wasn’t even around when you became a soul collector.”

Hauser winked. “Let’s get back on topic shall we?”

I nodded. “All right. What did you find out?”

“I spent the greater part of the last day with Penny at her apartment. She is pretty messed up. She is as alone as she said, and I’m not sure if she can actually be saved, Jack.”

“Shit. So I did mess up, didn’t I?”

“Well, not so fast. Yes, you spooked the crap out of her at the community center, but at the same time she has been continuing to think about what you said to her.”

“Really?” I said eagerly.

“Besides the fact that she still thinks that you’re an old pervert, she’s been contemplating the value of life. I think that might be your saving grace.”

Relief spread through my veins. I suddenly felt euphoric, like a load had been lifted from my shoulders. “That’s fantastic, Hauser.”

“Not so fast, champ. You still have a lot of work ahead of you,” Hauser said as he reached out and twisted my arm so he could read my watch. “And there’s not a moment to waste. You need to be at the bookstore in thirty minutes.”

“What happens in thirty minutes?” I asked.

“Penny will be there, and it will be an excellent opportunity for you to make amends.”

“What exactly do I have to do? You used the rosary, obviously.”

“What I saw is not important, Jack. What is important is you arriving at the bookstore early, and then you need to knock your coffee over.”

“That’s it? That’s your big plan to make everything right?”

Hauser shook his head. “Just trust me, won’t you?”

I sensed something more, something he was withholding. “What aren’t you telling me, Hauser?”

He sighed. “There is… an incident. And if you just follow along with my instruction, we can minimize the ramifications. I don’t have time to go into it further, you just have to trust me. Can you do that?”

“So I just have to spill my coffee? Will I know when and where to pull off such an ingenious plan?”

“Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll be there with you and will walk you through everything step by step.”

“All right, let’s get a move on, then. Where is this bookstore that you speak of?”

“Great! It’s just a few blocks from Penny’s apartment. I think you’ll like it. You collect books, right?”

When I walked into the Dreamcatcher Book Emporium, I was momentarily breathless. In all my years of living in the city, I found it odd that I’d never been to this particular bookstore. I thought I’d known where every one was throughout the city.

The store occupied the first two floors of an old brick warehouse. The interior walls were exposed brick, giving it a loft-style environment. The bookshelves stood away from the walls, creating a sort of racetrack feel all around the store. At the second level, open rails overlooked the central coffee bar.

As we moved into the coffee shop, I could see more aisles and rows of bookshelves retreating back from the second floor balconies. It was all very chic in a shabby kind of way.

“Okay, now what?” I asked. “Do I just stand here and wait, or should I go grab a book to read until she comes in?”

“First off, you should probably go get yourself a cup of coffee with the money I gave you. Then you need to take a seat there,” Hauser said, pointing to a table at the perimeter of the small café, “and sit with your back toward the door.”

“You’re so very precise, Hauser. How long did it take you to calculate every action and setting? I feel so very much like a marionette,” I said sarcastically.

“Just get the coffee, bub. I’ll wait here.”

Feeling more comfortable with public interactions by the minute, I bought my coffee and sat at the table with my back to the door. “Okay. Am I sitting properly? Should I cross my leg? Or should I sit here with my head on the table?”

“That’s enough, smart-ass. Just sit and wait. You should also take the lid off of your coffee,” Hauser said.

I removed the lid and took a small sip of the steaming liquid. It had been quite some time since I’d had any caffeine whatsoever, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I could practically feel the liquid adrenaline pulsing into my veins.

As the minutes passed, I continued to take small sips of the coffee. Hauser stood next to me, scanning the bookstore, looking for Penny’s arrival.

“Okay, you’re on champ.”

I instinctively straightened my posture and adjusted the collar of my shirt.

“Now, when I tell you, I want you to spill your coffee.”

“Just pour it out, or do I—”

“Just knock the damn thing over,” Hauser snapped. “Now.”

I swung my arm to the side, tipping the nearly full coffee cup over. The liquid quickly spread across the table and dripped into my lap.

“Holy shit,” I exclaimed. “That’s fucking hot.”

“Well if you weren’t such a klutz, you’d stop spilling liquid all over yourself,” Penny said, standing next to me.

I sprang from my chair and reflexively swiped the steaming liquid off my pants. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what just came over me. I went to look at my watch and just knocked my coffee cup right on over.”

“Are you going to be all right, or do you need me to call somebody to take care of those burns?” Penny asked.

“I think I’ll be okay. It doesn’t hurt too bad… but if you have a couple of napkins, that might help with this mess.”

Penny walked up to the counter and returned with a handful of small cocktail napkins to dab up the remaining coffee from the table.

“Thanks,” I said. “I’m actually kind of surprised that you’d even talk to me again.”

“Yeah, about that. I’m sorry I stormed off. You probably understand. I’m an emotional mess most of the time, and that day was not particularly good for me,” Penny said.