The Searcher of Souls Part 3

     After Kate had finished reading the parchment, she looked at the shadow and asked, "Don't I have to be dead to be what you are?" and that's when the dark shadowy figure reached out and took Kate's hand. In the blink of an eye, Kate was taken away with the dark figure only to end up standing on the side of the highway was there had been an accident. It was a mess and there was carnage everywhere. It looked to be about eight cars involved in the accident. Kate could see bodies thrown all over the highway, some hanging outside of their cars, but most were screaming for help. She wanted to help them but when she reached out to take someone's hand her hand seemed to just swipe right through the victim's hand.
     Then, Kate could hear the sound of multiple rescue vehicles approaching from down the highway. She stood there helpless and could feel their pain as well. That's when the dark figure took her by the hand and walked around the accident in search of souls to steal. Kate stood next to the figure as if in training while the figure reached out its flesh melting hand and reached into the victim only to remove the soul from the person even while they are still alive causing instant death to the victim. All she could do was stand there with tears rolling down her face as one by one he stole the souls of those injured in the accident.
     When it came to the last victim which was still alive, the figure grabbed Kate's hand and thrust it into the victim's body like it wasn't even there. The dark figure assisted Kate in pulling the soul from the victim while watching the sobbing person collapse instantly becoming lifeless. His eyes were still open and she could see the pupils dilate and become fixed as his life force diminished. Kate had become distraught over what she had done and felt so much remorse and guilt for causing another human being's death. She looked up at the figure and pleaded to be taken back home. They quickly disappeared from the accident and Kate opened her eyes to see her own house.
     Kate began asking the dark figure questions like why is it choosing her and what if she doesn't accept the offer? The dark figure began writing in the air in front of Kate which read "become or perish". She then took a step back in horror as she was being told that her only two choices were to become Death or lose her life and end up God knows where. She informed the dark figure that she would have to think about it and that's when the figure wrote in the air again "two days". She repeated it back to it that she had two days to choose? Then, the figure disappeared into thin air.
     At this point, Kate was not only exhausted but now stressed about the decision she only had two days to make. Could her life get any worse? Then, the phone rang and when she picked it up to answer, it was her mother's voice on the other end checking up on her daughter. By the stress in Kate's voice, her mother could sense something was wrong. She started questioning Kate about what was troubling her and Kate kept stating that there wasn't anything wrong. Her mother, being overbearing as she was, asked her daughter to meet her for lunch which Kate wholeheartedly agreed to. She informed her mother that she would meet downtown at a well-known cafe in about an hour and then hung up the phone.
     Kate walked into her kitchen and grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge and began drinking it until it was gone. She grabbed a second one which she took with her into her bedroom to change clothing. Being with her mother was not a sweats or jeans kind of setting. She knew she had to wear a dress with makeup and her hair properly worn. Kate thought to herself as she got dressed that this might be the last time she sees her mother.
     Once she was ready, Kate grabbed her house keys and headed out the door. It was a beautiful day with a very light breeze as she walked down the sidewalk toward downtown. She listened to the birds chirping as she began thinking about her choices. As she got closer to town, she was walking past a big brick church which had it's doors open. She thought to herself for a moment while staring at the open doorway that it couldn't hurt to stop in for a minute. Kate started walking towards the door and was met by the pastor at the door. He looked at Kate and smiled as she walked inside.
     Once she walked down the aisle and sat for a minute in one of the nearby pews staring up at the statue of Jesus Christ. She felt the urge to talk to him and began speaking to it like it was a real person sitting there with her. As she was talking, the pastor came over down the aisle and asked Kate if he could sit with her a moment. She agreed to speak with him and his first words were "are you okay?", and she replied back that she was just a little stressed. She then asked the pastor why he asked her that, his reply was that he sensed something was bothering her by the expression on her face. Kate just shook her head and told him she was fine when in the back of her mind she was not so fine.
     She asked the pastor to pray with her and to ask for insight and wisdom to make the right decisions in her life. The pastor grabbed her crossed hands and began praying with her. Afterward, Kate thanked the pastor before getting up and walking down the aisle back towards the doors. She stepped outside the doors meeting the sun directly in her eyes before heading back down the street for downtown. As she walked, every now and then she would get a glimpse of the dark figure as if he were following her but she tried to pay it no mind.
     Kate reached the cafe and walked inside. She saw her mother seated in the middle of the cafe and headed towards her. As she reached the table, her mother looked up and smiled at her. She sat down and smiled back at her mother before asking her how her day has been going. Her mother was reading her expressions and can tell when something is bothering her daughter. She then starts to pick away at Kate's mind and thoughts. It started to bother Kate and she politely asked her mother to stop to which she did. The waitress had come over to their table to take their order. After her mother ordered her food it was Kate's turn. She ordered something light like a salad and some of the cafe's special chili which Kate loved so much. The waitress smiled at Kate before turning to go back towards the kitchen.
     While they waited for their food they enjoyed a pleasant conversation about current events and then her mother began speaking about the car accident on the highway. Kate became a little unnerved at her mother's choice of current conversation. She thought to herself that maybe her mother spotted her on the television taking those souls with the dark figure but her mother made no comment on the subject. Then, her mother changed the subject and went on to ask her daughter when she plans on dating again. Kate just looked at her mother and told her that dating was the furthest thing from her mind right now. She was more focused on her job and living life than finding some man to tie her down and stress her out.
     The waitress soon brought their food over and they began eating. Kate was cherishing her bowl of chili which her mother despised because of its grease and fat content. She started to tell her daughter how certain foods were bad for her health and she should take heed to what she eats. After that her mother made the comment "men don't find a chubby woman attractive" and that is when Kate looked up at her mother and insisted they change the subject. Again, Kate was feeling stressed out just by her mother's opinions and comments. When hey finished their food, Kate was about ready to head back home with a very full stomach. Her thought about her choices was nowhere in her thoughts at that moment. They had gotten their things together, got up from the table and headed for the cashier.
     Kate started to reach into her purse when her mother told her she would pay for the lunch and Kate said, "thank you" to her. After paying for their meal, they both walked towards the front door when caught out of the corner of her eye, Kate noticed the dark figure again. It was standing outside one of the windows as if watching her. She was almost afraid to walk out the door, but her mother headed out first. Once Kate stepped outside the door, she could no longer see the dark shadowy figure and it put her at ease.
     Kate walked her mother to her car and they hugged each other before her mother got inside. Her mother rolled the window down and told her daughter how much she enjoyed their lunch and that she loved her very much with or without a man in her life which brought a smile to Kate's face. They then said their goodbyes before Kate stood there watching as her mother pulled off and drove down the road. While she headed for home, the thought hit her again that she had two days before she had to make that horrible decision to become a searcher of souls.
     Once she made it to her door, she looked down and there was a piece of parchment paper laying on the floor. Kate reached down and picked up the old paper and there were only four words written on it, "you have two days". It again startled Kate and she hurriedly opened her door and got inside. She locked her door up tight and wanted nothing to do but relax and clear her mind. She put the piece of paper down on the table with her keys and then walked into the living room. She walked over to her cozy looking sofa and gently sat and laid back on it. As she felt every muscle in her body relax into that sofa, Kate drifted off into a somber sleep.

The Searcher of Souls Part 2

     Once Kate regained consciousness and opened her eyes there was no one there. She realized that she was laying flat on her brownish gray carpeted floor with Pearl sitting next to her. She sat up and while her body was leaning forward a small black card fell from her stomach and onto the floor next to her. She picked it up and it looked somewhat like a business card which read, "Welcome to the Club, I'm Coming for YOU". This had freaked Kate out a little as she tried to run things through her mind as to what happened before she blacked out.
     Once Kate was back on her feet she looked around her living room and there was no sign of anyone being there. She even unlocked her door and looked out into the hallway. No sign of anyone, just this card she found. She hesitated for a minute to gather her thoughts before going into her kitchen for a glass of tea. Then, her phone rang which scared her for a minute as she almost jumped out of her skin. She looked over to the phone and watched it as it rang again. She went ahead and walked towards the ringing slim line phone hanging on the wall. It had rung two more times before she actually answered it.
     Once she picked up the phone, before she put it to her ear, she could hear the voice of her best friend Lindsay. It gave Kate a sense of calmness hearing her friends voice on the phone. She finally said, "hello" and Lindsay starting asking her if she was alright. Kate had retained her wits about her and began talking with Lindsay like nothing had happened. Her friend of many years who had since moved away to take a better job was in town and wanted to spend some quality time with her best friend.
     Kate was ecstatic about her friend being in town and was excited about meeting up with her and catching up on old times. Lindsay told Kate where to meet her which was a small little cafe downtown in about an hour. Kate agreed and then got off the phone to get herself ready. She went into her bedroom and changed her clothes to put something more casual and comfortable on before she headed out the door, She again hesitated that something wasn't quite right. She did one final look around the living room before leaving to go meet her friend.
     As she walked downstairs and out the front door of her building, she still had that eerie feeling something wasn't right. Kate shrugged it off and began walking towards downtown to meet her friend. She noticed how beautifully blue the sky was, all the bird flying around, and that the sun quenched her skin with vitamin K. It was so beautiful to be outside where the air was fresh. As she was admiring the scenery, she happened to notice a group of people standing around up ahead of her and staring upwards. As Kate approached the group, she noticed everyone was staring up as a female was standing on the ledge of her building. People were yelling up at her and her boyfriend was sticking his head outside of a window two windows over. He was trying to get her to come back in but she stood there crying and yelling at him. Then, as everyone gazed up she jumped from her ledge and fell four stories to her death on the concrete sidewalk.
     Everyone began feeling upset and crazed that they had just witnessed a woman committing suicide. Everyone surrounded her lifeless body and some were trying to revive her, while other's were on cell phones calling the police. As Kate moved closer to where the woman's body lay on the concrete, she looked around as everyone scrambled, and some were even crying. Then, it appeared almost out of nowhere, the dark shadowy figure, standing over the woman's body. He stood there for a minute looking down at her before waving his fleshy skeletal hand over her. I watched as he plucked her soul right from her body.
     Kate could see the soul rise up from the body screaming and fighting to stay. Once he had a good grip on her, he looked up at Kate who was standing there in disbelief. She could not see any eyes, just darkness under his cloak. He was there for what seemed forever but disappeared in the blink of an eye. Kate jumped out of her stillness as the people around her were busy screaming, talking, and crying with one another. She politely asked the man next to her if he saw that, and he replied with "yes, I saw her jump from the overhead ledge", but that was not was Kate was referring too, She wondered how it came to be that she could see this dark figure and no one else could.
     After standing there for a few minutes she remembered that she was supposed to be meeting her friend Lindsay and turned to walk down the sidewalk past the group of onlookers. As she got closer to the little cafe, she spotted Lindsay getting out of her car. Kate caught up to her as Lindsay was opening the door. They gave each other a big hug once inside the door and walked toward a table in the corner of the cafe to sit. The waitress came over and asked them if they were ready to order and both of the women just asked for a latte for the moment.
     Kate was just so excited to see her friend especially with what has been going on lately. It seemed as if Kate could not go anywhere without someone dying in front of her. She was more concerned with why this dark figure was only seeable by her and why it chose her. What did it want? These were questions that only Kate could find the answers too, but she was done thinking about it for now and wanted to gossip with her friend for a bit.
     Kate and Lindsay chatted and laughed for a bit about what has been going on in their lives. Kate had nothing to worry about while she was with her friend. They sat and drank their latte without a care in the world. They had missed each other so much since Lindsay went away two years ago. They had kept in contact through email, letters, and photos. Kate was just so happy to see Lindsay again that she couldn't keep from smiling.
     As Kate and Lindsay traded life stories, Kate had looked over and noticed the dark figure standing in the window. It stood there watching her as if it had a purpose for her. Kate tried to ignore it and began listening and making eye contact with Lindsay. Lindsay could see Kate was distracted and asked her what was wrong and if she was okay. Kate just smiled and told her everything was fine when it really wasn't.
     Once their time was up and Lindsay had to go, Kate walked her outside after paying the ticket for the latte's. They went outside the door and gave each other a huge hug and said they would keep in touch. Kate watched as Lindsay walked away before she headed back towards her house. She still had that eerie feeling as if someone was watching her. She tried to shrug it off but it just kept bothering her.
     When she made it home and got inside her door she felt strange as if someone had been in her house. When she closed the door and turned around there was this dark shadowy figure standing before her. It startled her and she took a step back being pinned up against her door. The dark figure just stood there until Kate asked in in a demanding voice what it wanted. The figure just stood there staring at her.
     Finally, the figure reached out and grabbed Kate's hand and before she knew it she was seeing through his eyes. All of the souls trapped in Hell. She could feel their pain and hear their screaming. It was giving Kate such a terrible feeling. She didn't understand why he was showing her this. She could feel the heat from the brimstone and smell the sulfur. It was such a horrifying experience and she wanted to return to her house. When she let go of his hand she realized she was still standing in the same spot against her door.
     As she stood there staring at what she believed now to be the searcher of souls, it reached inside its cloak and pulled out a piece of paper and Kate could see how old the parchment was. It reached out as if to hand it to her. Kate was hesitant at first but it seemed that it wanted Kate to read it. She took the parchment from its hand and began opening it. Once she had it opened she gazed upon the old creepy handwriting to read it. It was written almost like an invitation but was more demanding of her to become a messenger of death. It wanted her to be the next searcher of souls.