Searching For My Soul

Chapter One- The Second Attempt

Five years later...

 

Christine's parents watched her as she talked to her pet komodo dragon, Tiny. The lizard gazed intently at the child and listened to her every word as if she understood her. Then again, perhaps she did. Christine apparently thought so. It was cute, they thought, that she found a friend in something usually deadly and twice her size.

 

A knock came at the door, and when Nathan answered it, a young woman with fiery red hair and designer clothes walked in, her stiletto heels clicking on the hardwood floor and her eyes surveying the house through dark sunglasses.

 

"Hello, I'm Nadine. I'm a realtor. Do you remember the call that was made to my agency about your house?"

 

"Yes, of course. Come on in. Look around."

 

"Thank you darling," Nadine purred, coming into close contact with him and making him shiver. "I'll only be a few minutes."

 

"Take as much time as you need," he said, turning red.

 

"Where is the rest of the family? You can't expect me to think that you're alone." She got closer, putting her hands on his shoulders and breathing on his neck.

 

Nathan backed away and kept his head down as he led her down the hall. "No, I'm not alone. The other two are in my daughter's room."

 

"How lovely."

 

 As they approached Christine's room, her white teeth flashed and she walked a slight bit faster. Let's hope it works this time, she thought. However, just when she was reaching for the doorknob, Nathan grabbed her and quietly slammed her up against the opposite wall.

 

"I know who you are, Nadine," he spat, "and you won't get her. Not now, not ever. She's our daughter, and only ours. She-"

 

Nadine stuck her tongue in his mouth to distract him and kept it up. Despite his resistance and horror, he eventually obeyed her gestures. As soon as he was on the floor, she flipped him over and straddled his back. In a flash she binded his hands and ankles together and gagged him. She only admired her handiwork for a moment before throwing him into the hall closet and locking the door, hiding the key above the doorframe.

 

She opened Christine's door and paused to watch the little girl and her mother play with the lizard. To anyone else it would have seemed heartwarming, but Nadine saw it as lenient and sitting duck behavior. It would be too easy to take them out. She slipped a taser up one of her long sleeves and and inhaler filled with sleeping gas up the other. With subtle haste, she tapped Mary on the shoulder and introduced herself, tasing her hand and making her fall to the floor, motionless.

 

"Mommy!" Christine screamed.

 

"Your mommy will be fine, sweetie. She just needs some rest. How about we go for a ride and leave her alone for awhile?"

 

"No! Go away!" The child bent over her mother's chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

 

She was a smart child, Nadine noticed, and it was clear that she wouldn't go anywhere without a fight. Pity. Carefully, she slipped the inhaler into Christine's mouth while it was open and pushed down, making the sleeping gas enter her system. The gas acted fast, and within two minutes the little girl was out cold. Nadine picked her up and strode through the house and out the door.

 

What she didn't realize was that Tiny was on her heels, crawling as fast as she could in order to get to her 'baby'. As Nadine opened the front passenger door and placed Christine in a car seat, Tiny sank her teeth into the woman's ankle, making her scream bloody murder. Nadine let go of Christine and went around to the driver's side. Meanwhile, Tiny shoved the passenger door open with her snout and grabbed Christine's dress in her teath, dragging her back to the house.

 

Nadine knew she was defeated, so with her ankle pouring blood she sped off into the distance, disappearing in the dust. Tiny managed to get Christine back into the house, where the little girl locked the door and rescued her parents. Nathan and Mary hugged their daughter close and enjoyed the moment for what it was worth.

 

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Caylis pulled into the cave, removing the fake nametag and wrapping her scarf around her ankle before getting out of the car. She punched in the code on the security lock, the steel door opening and closing again once she had walked through. In the vault elevator, she pressed the button for the 58th floor and grimaced when the doors opened to reveal her superior standing in front of her, his expression anything but pleased.

 

"My office, now."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

She meekly followed him into his office and stood before the sofa, her head down and her arms at her sides. As the door clicked, she stayed in the same position, knowing that he was angry and he could do anything to get rid of his frustrations. Needless to say, she wasn't surprised when he came over, slapped her across the face, and shoved her down onto the sofa before sitting down himself.

 

"Caylis, what did I ask you to do?"

 

"To retrieve the little girl."

 

"And did you?"

 

"No, but-"

 

"No buts. You didn't do your job, and that's that. I order you to pick up a child that was rightfully ours and instead you bring back a bite on your ankle that you recieved from a komodo dragon!"

 

"I'm sorry, sir," Caylis returned meekly.

 

He calmed down a little bit, and folded his hands in his lap. "It's fine now. Listen. We have two more attempts that can be initiated, one when she turns ten and the last when she turns fifteen. Once she turns sixteen, however, the deal will expire and the soul will be returned to the girl. I won't have that. Do you understand?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

He came up to her and slipped an arm around her waist, helping her up. "Good girl. Now, go on to the doctor. You know which floor he's on."

 

"Yes, sir." It was an automatic response, but effective. On the way down, Caylis looked into the elevator mirror and thought, First I need to cover this bruise developing on my face.