The Soul Quest ( #YourStoryIndia #Wattys2016)

Chapter 8

The next week passed by slowly. I spent all of my free time going through my Dad's collection of books about the magical world. I desperately wished he was here right now so I could take his advice directly. But he was gone. He passed away in a car accident that happened when I was 15 years old. My Mom took it pretty hard and literally drowned herself in her grief everyday with alcohol. All that kept me going after he was gone were his books. He had written these books himself. They were a record of all of his experiences in the magical world and the extensive research he had done about it.

I still remember the day Dad told me about our family secret. It was my 13th birthday. My parents had thrown an amazing party for all my friends and I had so much fun. After all the guests left my Dad took me down to his study.

"I have a special birthday present for you Jared." He told me.

I remember feeling so excited about it. "What is it Dad?" I asked bouncing on my feet because I couldn't contain my excitement.

"Haha be patient kiddo. Come along with me." He said.

When we entered the study I found a wooden chest on his desk. The kind of wooden chests you see in movies like the Pirates of Carribean. It was a dark brown colour with so many intricate carvings. But I was too intrigued about what was inside it to care.

"Wow! That looks interesting." I said excitedly.

I watched as he sat down and pulled out a golden key from his drawer and opened the chest. I peered around excitedly and felt disappointed when all I saw were books and a weird shiny pen.

"Don't look so disappointed. The fun is just about to start." He winked at me.

Then he sat me down and explained to me all about our family's special and secret history. One of our ancestors had once had a dream in which all he could see was a bright light but he also heard a deep powerful voice talking to him. The voice told him that when he woke up in the morning he will find a special pen in his drawer. With this pen he was supposed to draw a symbol on his left forearm. The symbol was a diamond with a crack in the middle. The voice informed him that if he drew the symbol he would be blessed with superpowers that would help him to complete his mission. His mission to wipe out the Soulless from this world. When the man woke up he figured it was all a dream and decided to ignore it. But some instinct made him open his drawer and check. Imagine his shock when he actually found a pen made of a transparent material which shone brightly.....like a diamond! With trembling hands he took it but found no ink in the pen. Ignoring that he traced the symbol on his left forearm and gasped aloud when a light shone through the symbol and it got tattooed on his forearm.

As soon as that happened he felt stronger and lighter. And then he tested his new powers and found that he could run like the wind , jump to impossible heights, break apart rocks and metal like paper and possess animals. He could use their eyes to see things that were far. He discovered his new found knowledge about the Soulless and started on his quest to hunt them down and destroy them.
To ensure that the mission would be completed he passed on his powers to his son on his 13th birthday when he was born. And to this day that tradition has been passed down in our family.

Finishing the story Dad lifted his shirt sleeve and showed me the mark on his forearm.

"How come I never saw it before?" I asked staring at it with eyes as wide as saucers.

"We have the ability to make it invisible when we want to." Dad said smiling at my astonished expression.
"So are you ready?" He asked me with a serious tone.

"Hell yeah! This is all so cool. I am going to get superpowers." I shouted.

"But you'll have a price to pay son." Dad said in a sombre tone. "When your duty calls you will have to forget everything and everyone else. And you will have to keep it a secret. Even from the person with whom you are going to spend the rest of your life with. I could never tell your Mother any of this." His eyes held so much regret and guilt that I started feeling scared. "Ah but I am spoiling the mood. Don't worry Jared. You will figure it out. You are a strong boy." He said.

He took out the pen and held out his hand. With building excitement I gave him my left hand. When he traced the symbol on my forearm it was the most wonderful feeling. My dad and his study disappeared and I could see a bright light. I heard a powerful voice in my head greet me and telling me to be careful and to follow my mission wholeheartedly. I gasped aloud and before I knew it the light and the voice was gone and I was staring at my Dad with wonder. I touched the symbol on my arm reverently and vowed to make my mission my first priority in life.

I sighed with guilt as I stopped my train of thought. To this day I had remained true to my vow and had taken care of the Soulless and Demons. But all that changed when my Kelly was turned into one. I now realized that she had become my first priority.

My phone started ringing and I answered it.

"Jared switch to the local news channel now." I heard Ian's panicked voice on the other end.

I hurriedly switched on the TV and switched to the news. Paula's parents were on the screen. Her mother was crying hysterically on her father's shoulder and he was talking to reporters.

"Our daughter Paula Newman has been missing since yesterday evening. She left to visit a friend and never came back. We thought she was with her friend until we found out that she never reached her friend's house yesterday. This is her picture. If anyone has seen her or has any information about her please inform us immediately. You can call on this number you can see on the screen. We beg you to help us get our daughter back." He said his voice breaking towards the end.

"Oh my God!" I whispered in horror.

"Jared what do we do now?" Ian was asking desperately.

"We will find her Ian. Don't worry. I need to go check on Kelly. I'll come by your place soon." I promised him and hung up trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

I knew exactly where Paula was. There was only one friend whom she would have gone to visit and there was only one person who could have taken her.

Emily Parker.