Paul Kohler - The Borrowed Souls, A Novel

“Was what?” Penny asked, settling down on the lumpy couch.

I grinned at Hauser’s last comment before answering Penny. “Much to the chagrin of my partner here, I threw up a little on my first trip.”

“Get out!” Penny said, more vibrant than I’d ever seen her before.

“So, anyway, this is my… home? Right now we’re deep in the woods of upstate New York. Is that enough proof for you?” I asked.

“It’s a start. Assuming that this really is where you say it is and not some kind of a mind trick that you’re playing on me,” Penny said, far less skeptical than she had been at the bookstore. “Let’s say I believe you. How does this all work? You’re here to take my soul?”

“That’s pretty much it,” I said. “That is, assuming that you follow through with your suicidal thoughts.”

“Watch it, Jack,” Hauser said. “Her soul is still in play. As long as Enoch is on our trail, I think it best that we don’t detract her too much.”

“Well, I’m not gonna lie. After losing Calvin, I’ve pretty much given up on everything.”

“I’m no shrink, but I am probably the perfect person to talk to about this.”

“Why, because your wife killed herself?”

Hearing Penny talk so casually about suicide made my heart ache. “No, that was… kind of a fib. I needed to talk to you, get to know you. You see, I took my own life about six months ago.”

“What? You lied to me?” Penny said, her anger causing her complexion to turn amber.

“Stop right now, Jack. Do not tell her anything about Enoch. She doesn’t need to know about our plan,” Hauser said.

“I, um, wanted to talk to you about it to make sure that is really what you wanted to do. Personally, I’ve regretted it every day since.”

“Then if you’re dead, how are you even talking to me?” she asked.

“Wait, slow down a minute. We can talk more about me later. I would like to talk about you and your own personal reasons.”

“Whatever, man. You’re the one that brought yourself up,” Penny said, rolling her eyes just like a teenager. “Like I said, it was real rough after Calvin died. I’ve already told you about my foster parents and all of that. I’m just so alone and I feel worthless to the world. That’s it. There’s nothing more to say.”

“Okay, good, Jack,” Hauser said. “Her influx dot is flashing a little faster than before. Try and keep her mind in that phase.”

Penny sprang from the couch and spun around toward the fireplace. “Who the hell are you?” she asked, staring right at Hauser.

“Never mind him, Penny. He’s just my—”

“Hi, there. My name is Hauser. I’m Jack’s trainer in the afterlife. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Hauser said, cutting me off.

“You two are really fucking with my mind right now,” Penny said, lowering herself back down onto the edge of the couch.

“I know what you’re going through, Penny. I really do. But regardless of what Hauser says, just because you’re lonely and you’ve had a loss in your life is no reason at all to kill yourself. You are a vibrant young woman, and trust me when I tell you this, you will make friends. You will mean something,” I said with as much passion as I could muster.

Wow, that was quite poetic, Jack, Hauser thought to me. One thing I’ve learned in all the years of being a soul collector: It’s always the broken souls that are trying fix others. But in this case, I suggest you tread lightly.

Before I had a chance to respond, I suddenly heard a slow, deliberate clap echo from the kitchen. I whipped my head around to see Enoch leaning against the countertop.

“How the hell did you find us?” I asked, standing up between him and Penny. A moment later, Hauser stepped in beside me.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know this was a private party. Besides, do you think Hauser is the only guy in the afterlife that gets a bag of tricks all for himself?” Enoch held open his blue blazer, displaying a number of gadgets hooked to the inside of his jacket. I instantly recognized the soul magnet, along with his own pocket watch and rosary.

Shit, Hauser, I thought. What do we do now?

“Don’t worry, Jack,” Enoch said. “This will all be over momentarily. Then you can go on with your own miserable afterlife. I just need you two to step aside.”

“Sorry, old friend, but that’s not going to happen,” Hauser said.

Suddenly Penny squeezed herself between Hauser and me and stepped forward. “You three guys are really freaking me out. Who are you?” she asked Enoch.

Enoch smiled but didn’t say anything. He slipped his right hand into the left inside jacket pocket and withdrew a sawed-off shotgun—the same shotgun that he’d used in my dream with Noah Clayton. He raised the barrel up and pointed it directly at her head. “I’m here to do what neither of these two clowns have the balls to do.”

Faster than I’ve ever seen a person move before, Hauser charged Enoch, dislodging the gun from his hand, causing it to fly across the room and clatter beneath the couch.

“Jack. Go, now. Take Penny to your last safe place,” Hauser said as he whipped out his injector pen and thrust it toward Enoch.

I turned toward Penny, but before I could grasp her arm, she bolted out the door. Shocked at her sudden self-preservation response, I stumbled after her. As I reached the cabin door, I glanced back just as Enoch kicked Hauser in the shin, forcing him to drop the Epipen to the floor. It clambered across the floor and disappeared beneath the couch, right next to Enoch’s shotgun.

As I burst through the door and headed toward the wooded surroundings, I caught a glimpse of Penny charging onto the trail that led toward the lake. Knowing the exact path, I disappeared from the porch and reappeared several yards into the woods, just on the edge of the trail, and waited. Within moments, Penny came into view, panting heavily. I stepped on the trail, startling her to a halt.

“Penny, stop. Let me get you out of here. Let me take you someplace safe.”

“Who is that lunatic? And why was he trying to kill me?”

“In a minute. Let’s just get out of here.” I reached out and gripped her arm firmly before vanishing.

Seconds later, we appeared at my old park bench in the city.

“I know you’re not gonna want to hear this, but I need to leave you here,” I said.

“Wait. You gotta tell me something. Anything. I mean, I just don’t know what to think about any of this,” Penny said as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Hey, hey,” I said, easing her down onto the bench. “That man, the man in the strange blue suit, is your mythical grim reaper. His name is not important, but let’s just say that he’s not exactly right in the mind.”

Penny brought her hands to her face and massaged her cheeks. “I, uh, I’m scared, Jack. First you tell me that you’re here to collect my soul. Strangely, I was okay with that. Then you really prove to me that you are who you say you are by magically taking me someplace that I’ve never been. All the while, you’re telling me that killing myself is not an option. I just don’t know what to believe. Tell me, Jack, what does all this mean? I just need something. I need the truth.”

“I have to say, none of this has gone as I’d anticipated. For that I am sorry,” I said. “The truth. I became a soul collector shortly after I tried to kill myself. Since that time I’ve found a way to help certain people continue living instead of collecting their souls. Enoch, the man in the blue suit, somehow—and for some unknown demented reason—has taken it upon himself to start killing the souls that I’m trying to save. I wanted to save your soul in order to capture Enoch.”