Katlyn Duncan - The Life After Trilogy - Soul Taken / Soul Possessed / Soul Betrayed

That was one reason I didn’t want to be Recycled. I looked at all the students in the room, with their insecurities and bleak futures ahead of them. There were probably a few that would make their lives into something but the rest might as well be the groundskeeper spending each day doing the same boring work.

Definitely not for me.

By Ally’s sixth class, I was itching to get out of there. I assured Cooper I didn’t feel the True Soul around.

“Are you sure?” he asked for the third time.

“Yes,” I said calmly.

He remained skeptical but I left the room before he could ask me again to wander down the hallway, getting a better look inside the classrooms. After eating, the kids were like zombies, barely awake as their teachers droned on about things they’d probably never use after high school. Reason number two not to be Recycled.

Further down the hall, music poured from one of the classrooms. I peeked inside to discover an art studio where six students stood in front of easels, painting. The teacher was in a flowing purple and green dress, her long scraggly blonde hair wild across her back. She swayed to the music and stopped at each student, offering encouragement. The atmosphere was lighter in this room, unlike the other classroom. I followed the teacher’s path, examining each student’s work. Overall, their talent surpassed my expectations for a high school art class. Brightly colored paint strokes depicted the fruit bowl at the center of the room.

I looked around for the teacher; she stood next to a girl separated from the group. What made her so special? I deviated to her spot. White cords hung down from her ears and into her pocket. Her long brunette hair was tied at the nape of her neck and bobbed as she mixed her paint. She popped one out and listened to her teacher.

“So creative,” the teacher said in her breathy voice. “Is this another one of your dreams?”

The girl nodded.

“Keep it up; I think this is the piece we should enter into the showcase,” the teacher said, flouncing away.

I stepped as close as I could to the girl without touching her. Her painting depicted a classroom, not unlike any of the other ones in the school. The brush strokes were precise but the classroom looked out of focus, blurry even. But those desks and chairs weren’t the focal point; it was the person standing at the back of the room. I moved closer to get a better look. He was dressed in head-to-toe black, his face hadn’t been painted in yet, but his sandy blond hair looked familiar.

This girl, somehow, had seen and by memory painted Cooper.

The bell rang and, unlike the rest of the classrooms, none of these kids moved. I knew Cooper would be looking for me, so I tore my eyes away from the painting and into the hallway.

Maybe he had appeared corporeal at some point? But he would never have done it inside the school, at least not dressed for regulation Guard duty. I’d mention it to him later.

I found Cooper and another Guard following Ally down a hallway on the third floor.

Cooper raised his eyebrows.

“Still nothing!” I said. Half the kids in the hallway were taller than me. What did they eat for breakfast? Growth hormones?

I avoided their touch but one particularly rushed boy passed through me. My soul turned ice-cold. I needed to get out of here.

I weaved through the rest of the kids and down the front stairs as quickly as I could. The first floor was nearly deserted so I walked down it and found myself outside the school gym. A few students stood in the middle of the space, bouncing basketballs.

“Mags?” a voice called.

I turned to see a shadow move into an open office across the hall from the gym. Something about the nickname was familiar. I couldn’t remember anyone ever calling me that, yet my soul responded by moving toward the office.

Inside, a desk took up most of the small space. Mounds of paperwork were strewn across its surface. Team photos were tacked to the walls in no particular order. Suddenly the door creaked behind me and I whirled around.

I bumped into someone’s chest. “Cooper?” I said, taking in the boy’s face.

Okay, not Cooper.

The young man I had seen in the courtyard and the cemetery stood in front of me. He looked to be around my soul age. Maybe a year or two older and was over a foot taller than me. His tousled black hair stuck out at all angles, looking as if he’d just rolled out of bed. But when he stepped closer, his head tilting down to mine I couldn’t move. His piercing pale blue eyes had turned my legs to cement.

“I did see you at the cemetery,” the boy said, almost breathless, a smile tugging at his lips.

I tore my eyes away from his gaze and stepped back shaking my head. “Do I know you?” I asked, because no matter how my soul responded to him, I didn’t recognize him.

His smile faded.

“Maggie!” Cooper called from the hallway.

The boy scowled. Taking another step forward he pulled my body close to his, the touch sending electric currents through me. Unconsciously I lifted my arms, pressing my fingers against him for balance.

“He lied to us,” he whispered, his mouth touching my head.

The contact stirred something deep within me. I looked up at him. “Who lied?” I said, my voice shaking slightly.

“Maggie?” Cooper’s voice was right outside the door now.

“Don’t say anything,” the boy said quickly, his piercing eyes suddenly pleading. His hands lightly squeezed mine then he disappeared.

A second later Cooper opened the door and looked around the room. “What are you doing?”

I dropped my hands down to my sides. I could still feel the boy’s touch, but his warning was fresh in my mind. “Nothing.” I mumbled.

Cooper walked with me to the parking lot, even though he could have easily transported there. I tried to focus on the job, but my thoughts kept turning to the mysterious boy and the feelings he’d awoken inside of me. A lightness was surging through me, it was something I had only experienced before when I was holding a True Soul.

“Are you okay?” Cooper asked.

I blinked. “Yeah, why?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “You looked confused.”

I shook my head and said as firmly as I could, “I’m fine.”

Focus, Maggie!

We hustled across the parking lot. Students milled around their cars, shouting and laughing. Their attitudes were completely opposite from when they were in the building. Buses chugged across the lot toward the front of the school. We passed a few Guard who were stationed at numerous spots along the way. They nodded to Cooper.

I looked over at him. Cooper seemed well respected by the Guard. And I hoped that someday others would look at me like that too.

“Where’s Ally?” I asked.

“They’ll be out shortly. Calliope is watching her, with Aaron,” he said.

I rolled my eyes.

Cooper caught me. “Aaron’s nice; I don’t know why you don’t like him.”

“Do we have all day?” I griped and watched Cooper’s eyebrows shoot up. Which reminded me of Felix and his “critique”. If I wanted to be a Guard, I’d have to play nice. For now. “He is a nice guy,” I said trying not to sound too insincere. “He just wasn’t meant for Soul Collecting.” I opened my hands at my sides, repeating what Felix had said.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get the job,” Cooper offered. “But Felix did say you were the best Collector; I can’t imagine he’d want to lose you from the team.”

I already knew I was the best, but that shouldn’t have stopped him from choosing me for the Guard.

We stopped walking by a black Mercedes and Cooper excused himself, appearing next to the two Guard standing at the entrance to the lot.