Old wives’ stories said that the Soul Trader walked the rails late at night offering wealth and fame to greedy and unfaithful men. As many that became rich soon vanished into thin air never to be seen again. How truthful these myths were, I have no idea. I am only bent on finding Thomas.

The rails are rusty and most have been removed over the years. Stores, homes, and even a school disrupted the railway track. Leaving only those too costly to unearth.  Two nights ago, I followed a beautiful lady here, a femme fatale, just shy of the Mona Lisa. I failed again.

Thomas said she was expecting him. How much was a Kiss worth?

Soul Trader I – The Quest for Thomas

Tonight, I am walking where they found the cigars. Old Mutiny Cuban cigars, half chewed, half-smoked. I knew the sign. The cold autumn wind lifted leaves and waste around my feet, and my flashlight beam became music for fireflies and bugs. The creature at my side is quiet, it knows what we do and waits for its moment.

We crossed the playground, the grass wet from the after-game cleaning. Far south about 300 feet, the rails would continue for a kilometer into the Thamen Forrest. The police report found no evidence beyond it. The tracks led to the edge of the playground and then died. Nothing more. No blood, no body, no clue.

There is a light flickering ahead. The hound raised its ears but stayed steady. Two, maybe three persons emerging from the forest. They chattered, laughed, then turned north down the incline. far from the playground.

There’s a subtle wind caressing my face and tugging at my raincoat. I cherished it for a moment, lifting my head to the skies. Allowing the fresh breeze to roam freely as its nature is.  It is times like this when one hopes for solitude and time. Endless time to share precious moments.

Suddenly, they came running back. Long, loud screams disrupt the night. They rushed towards the same path from which they came. The light had died. The animal pulled against the leash and I lowered my hand and comforted its head. It stood firm. Waiting beside me.

A huge boulder crashed into the ground close to us. Hot blood spurted over us, and the animal whimpered before facing it. I focused the light and the hair on my neck stood up, and besides my best efforts, my mouth fell open.

The dog lounged at the bloody figure lying in the brush. One hand was dangling from a nearby branch that had ranked it free. The body revolted as if electricity was tearing it apart. Then in an instant laid still.

The dog pulled at the leash and I followed its lead.  I switched on my headlamp and stepped feverishly into the brush. The face was completely disfigured but the long hair suggested it may have been a female. What could have catapulted her body this far? What of her companions?

The hound wheeled around, barking and lounging furiously at the shadows. I lowered my hands and patted it, without turning around.

‘Steady boy, calm down.’

However, the dog lounged with more strength and fury than before, yanking me around and almost tripping me over the leash.  I staggered forward, lost the hand flashlight and the leash slipped from my hands.

The dog rushed into the thick underbrush barking loudly. Then suddenly, it went quiet. The air became freezingly cold and the forest became quiet.

“Devil! Devil, come here boy. Devil, where are you?’

I searched for my flashlight but it had vanished into thin air. I steered at the girl’s body, then lowered the lamp to make sure. The upper part of the body was gone. Only the waistband and two feet were left.

I pulled the lamp from my head and looked around calling out to the dog. Where on earth did he go? Something deep inside warned me to leave, run, getaway. forget about all this. Get home and cuddle beneath the sheet. But I had to find Thomas and now Devil.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my scout training. I needed to find the calm, rid my mind of myths, and think like a scientist, a detective, a business partner, hunting for his lost friend and dog. My two best friends.

A low growl close by snapped my eyes wide open. Devil was eating the upper extremes of the girl. I shone the light on him and he echoed a growl.

“Devil, get away from there this minute!’

The dog lifted its head and snarled at me, barred its teeth, and flinched its shoulder hair as if ready to defend itself. The teeth were too big now to be a dog. This had to be a wolf that resembled my dog. But the leash?

I moved away slowly, one backward step at a time. Kept the flashlight on Devil, and then instinctively, reaching up to my waist and caressed my revolver. About three feet away, I turned and started back home.

I could not hunt without a hand flashlight and a dog. My faithful hound has turned against me and I was not about to risk being bitten by a rabid dog.

‘Hello, Charles, what’s the hurry?’

The sweet, hollow voice chilled me in my tracks. My stomach reeled and my feet wobbled. I turned and faced the voice. She was truly beautiful. An aroura covered her every being. She floated over towards me, stopping about five feet out.

‘You are braver than most men. You dare to hunt me alone. I am beginning to think that you are foolish, but we will decide in a minute. So, what is it that you wish to have above everything else, Charles?’

I swallowed, tried to moist my lips, then swallowed again. The words failed to form or even appear in my head. I wiped salty sweat beads off my forehead and from my eyes. It is so cold.

‘I can make you wealthy beyond your dreams and you only need to use your talent against three people. That mansion that you wish for your mother’s retirement, done. That pianist that your heart desires so much, she is yours.  And all you need are three people who will believe that I exist. It is that simple!’

She lowered to the grass and extended the aurora towards me. I winced in expectation. Nothing happened. I opened one eye and noticed that she was trying again.

‘I do not want wealth. I just want my partners back.’

‘I have no interest in your dog. But your partner has already committed himself to me. What would you sacrifice to have him back?’

I wiped more sweat from my brow. My hand felt like lead, stiff and reluctant. She had some sort of power; I wish I had paid more attention to my grandmother or Miss Rose.  How was it that they both managed to escape? If I had only listened.

‘I have nothing that would interest you. I have no friends to send to your death game…’

‘Thomas said you visited the local church sometimes. All you need are three members to believe that I exist. lead them here and I will do the rest.’

‘They are innocent people, who trust their God. They do not want wealth. I could not betray them, there must be another way.’

The spirit was silent for a moment. She tried to push her auror around me again. It failed once more.

‘You are in love, Charles, and I doubt it is with your wife.  You are no saint. I need those three members. Now, go before I changed my mind, and Thomas stays with me forever.’

‘You are wrong, Soul Trader. I am in love with my wife….’

‘Who told you my name? How did you discover my name? I will rip your heart out if you do not tell me who told you my name?’

She rose into the air again and the aurora vanished. In its place, a dark frost appeared. It pulled at the lantern in my hand and my wrist started to freeze. She raised her finger and pointed. I closed my eyes again. Death gives and death takes. It is a cycle.

Suddenly, a low growl drifted into the silence. Followed by a sharp bark.

‘Get away, you mangy dog. Heel! Facta Ka Dabra!’

The dog leapt into the air hitting its body over and over again against the solid frost. The third time seemed to work as a few bits of ice trickled to the ground.

I pulled my revolver, and without taking aim, fired repeatedly. The frost shattered and the spirit vanished with it.

The old fables say the Soul Trader could not be hurt by anyone or anything. Why did she leave? Where did she go?

Devil walked over to me and rustled its head against my feet. I lowered to one knee and patted its head whispering as I did.

‘Thank you, Devil. Let’s go home.’ I fumbled for its leash, but it was no longer there. Where did it go? We headed back across the playground, which was now completely dry. There was something weird about the grass but I could not quite figure it out.