Soul Collector

“Wait don’t go!” He flailed his arms in the air and chased after him yet the man didn’t even acknowledge him, he just kept walking until the small, blond haired boy tugged at his sleeve causing the man to turn on him with a vicious angry look in his eyes.

Evian shrank back away from the evil glare, he wanted to turn and run but he knew that wasn’t an option, he opened his mouth to say something but the man spoke first. “What do you want now?” He pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his long black trench coat and quickly lit one, inhaling the smoke and blowing it out in a large white puff that drifted right into Evian’s face causing him to let out a sputtering cough. “Well, I uh I just wanted to thank you for the magazine and everything.” He bounced around hugging the magazine tightly to his chest with a huge smile plastered on his face, inside his mind was screaming “see you did it, you made a new friend, it wasn’t so hard was it?” He stared at the man’s annoyed face and he questioned his own mind if this was actually a friend or if he should run but his mind reassured him again, “of course he’s your friend idiot or why would he buy you something, human’s consider this a gift and a gift is a gesture of friendship besides how do you know he’s angry, human’s express things differently remember.” He guessed this was true and settled it, he had after all made a new friend.

“Yeah, well like I said it was just my good deed for the next 3 years.” He continued to puff on the cigarette and carelessly strolled down the street while the bright eyed, blond haired boy bounced after him. Evian watched curiously as tan can continued to smoke the cigarette, he’d never really had the opportunity to watch human’s do human things, he was just always around for a minute or two to collect his souls and he was gone but now that he had been forced to enter the physical realm for awhile as part of his punishment he figured he would have to get used to it and he slightly wondered to himself if this had been what it was like when he was a living human but he had no memory of it and figured it was best that way. “Why do you do that for?” He pointed to the cigarette that dangled from the man’s lips with a questioning look.

“Because I fucking want to okay? Why it is any of your fucking business?” He dropped the cigarette onto the pavement, the tip still glowed a bright orange, and continued on down the street quickening his pace this time hoping Evian would get the idea and leave him in peace, but instead he looked back to find that he had stopped and retrieved the burning cigarette from the street.

Evian rolled the small white cigarette around in his fingers, he flipped it around a couple a times and studied it, mimicking what he’d seen the man doing earlier he stuck it in his mouth and sucked in a great lungful of smoke, releasing it all in a loud cough. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” The man quickly jerked the cigarette away from the violently coughing boy and dropped it onto the ground, making sure to completely stomp it out this time, before turning to him with a bewildered look. “You can’t just pick shit up off of the ground and put it in your mouth, what are you a fucking 3 year old?” “How old do I look?” He smiled again and spread his arms out so the man could get a better look at him. “Um, probably somewhere around 18 or 19.” “Well than see I’m not 3 years old than.” The man rolled his eyes and continued on with a defeated sigh at this point he wished he had never bought the weirdo the magazine in the first place.

“I’m Evian by the way, what do I call you?” He once again bounced up to the man. “If I tell you will you promise to leave me alone?” He turned to Evian with a stern look. “No.” He continued to bounce along happily completely oblivious to the man’s ever rising irritation. “Is there anything I can do to get you to go away?” “No.” “Fine! My name is Jeremy okay are you happy now?” He cursed under his breath as the pest continued to bounce along behind him.

“Yes, Where are we walking to?” He stared around at all of the activities going on around him and he was happy for his friend, the street was noisy and bustling and he was already getting confused and lost by just walking down the street but he was just glad he didn’t have to walk alone. “WE are not walking anywhere! I’m going home and as for you that’s your problem.” He brushed Evian off and quickened his pace but let out another silent curse when he heard light footsteps rushing after him.

Evian bounced behind him all the way to his apartment building chattering away, he questioned him about everything and Jeremy was starting to think that maybe he actually had the mentality of a 3 year old, too bad all the pretty one’s are the weirdos he thought to himself as he watched the lithe, androgynous boy bounce around him. His wide blue eyes stared around and watched everything with great curiosity and every now and then when the sun glinted off of a shiny object on the ground he would have to stop and pick it up asking Jeremy what it was, Jeremy had to scold him 4 times about picking up broken glass but his curiosity had also won him 5 pennies which he carefully placed in his pockets, he giggled when he bounced around and they jingled in his pocket, he liked the tinkling sound.

He followed behind Jeremy as he entered a large posh lobby in a large brick building, he stared in awe at the huge fireplace and large chandelier that hfromfrom the ceiling as he danced around in a small circle to take in a full view of the lobby area, they reached the elevators and ascended to the 8th floor where his apartment was, once the doors dinged open Evian stepped out with a confused look, he didn’t understand why everything looked different now and he would have to remember to ask Jeremy about it later but while he pondered the elevator Jeremy was already in his apartment, closing the door behind him and Evian quickly dashed down the hall, just barely slipping his lithe body inside the door before he was locked out. “Hey! What the fuck do you think you’re doing? You can’t just come in someone’s apartment uninvited like that!” He quickly grabbed Evian’s small forearm in an iron grip and shook his small body yelling in his face, “Well! What the fuck is wrong with you, you just meet a stranger on the street and invite yourself in like some moron or something! What are you stupid?”

Evian struggled against the tight grip on his arm, the tender white skin was already beginning to bruise and the more he struggled the tighter the large hand became and his mind once again began to reason with him, “Okay, at this point I don’t think he actually is your friend maybe you should have went with your original idea earlier that he was angry but it’s too late now, just try to run.” Despite what his mind was telling him, he knew he couldn’t run, he couldn’t get away from Jeremy’s grip, he tried to pry his hand off but his fingers only struggled in vain and before he knew what he was doing large tears rolled down his face and his magazine which he’d been clutching in one arm fell to the floor with a thud, his chest tightened and his breath came in short bursts as he began to sob, it was a weird feeling for him, this show of human emotions and he didn’t know how to control the feeling which only made it worse and before he knew it he was hysterically sobbing struggling to regain his breath, he felt he couldn’t breath and he knew he couldn’t live without oxygen, he became frightened and panicked the the more he struggled for air the less he was able to get into his lungs, his chest began to tighten more and he could feel his heart pounding what felt like a million beats a second, the room began to swirl around him and he felt like he was floating, he still struggled for breath and his head felt like it was full of feathehe che could hear Jeremy talking to him but it sounded like he was a million miles away and before he knew it everything went black and he floated in a sea of warm oblivion