“So why did they send two collectors for you? Were they afraid that you might not come quietly?” I asked
Hauser chuckled. “No, not quite. One of the two collectors was retiring, and the other man would became my trainer.”
I wasn’t sure if it was the shot of bourbon that I had taken or if it was hearing everything that Hauser had just revealed, but I began to feel lightheaded.
“I know exactly how you feel, buddy,” Hauser said, tossing the empty bottle into the fireplace, the glass exploding upon impact.
For several moments Hauser and I stared at the settling ash in silence.
“So is your trainer still around?”
Hauser’s hands returned to his lap, once again fidgeting nervously. “Yes, and no.”
“I don’t understand. Do you know or not?”
“The man who trained me was Enoch Gant.”
Chapter 10
“Holy shit,” I exclaimed. “The same Enoch from my dreams?”
“The very one,” Hauser said. “At the time, Enoch was the Sentinel’s head trainer. He was the best at what he did, and he knew more about our line of work than anyone else… including most of the Sentinel’s council. He, like myself, was quite young when the Sentinel brought him on. Also, like myself at the time, he had been a cold-blooded killer. Then, a few months after my training was complete, Enoch went rogue.”
“Rogue? You mean he quit? Like me?”
“Not at all the same, Jack. The reasons for your resignation were righteous. Enoch became power hungry. He saw the potential in life, and death, and took it upon himself to live a different path on the run.”
“And the Sentinel can’t locate him? Maybe he died.”
“He’s believed to be alive, but unfortunately, the Sentinel has no way of locating him.”
“What about your new spectacles? You were able to find me pretty easily.”
“It’s ironic that you bring up the glasses. You see, the Sentinel has been trying to develop an item that might have the ability to locate Enoch Gant. In fact, that whole R&D department, as you appropriately coined it earlier, was established with the sole purpose of locating Enoch. This latest item,” Hauser said as he tapped his pocket where the glasses resided, “tracks any soul box. But Enoch is without a box in his possession.”
“How did he—I mean, how did he—”
“Exactly. We don’t know how he eliminated his last soul collection chamber. It happened so long ago that we don’t even know where to look.”
“Wow. You’re really blowing my mind, Hauser. First you tell me you were a mass killer, and now you tell me that Enoch Gant, a man from my dreams, is real and is a wanted felon in the afterlife. What next? Are you going to tell me that God isn’t real?”
“First off, God is in all of us. He is as real as the day is long.”
“So God is a he, then?” I asked.
Hauser chuckled again. “God is neither he nor she. And both at the same time. He, or she, just is.”
“Wow, thanks. Thanks for clearing that up for me,” I smiled.
“As for my regrettable past, I continue, every day, to try to right the wrongs that I’ve done.”
“Then why not let me save Calvin? He’s an innocent child that could have a bright future.”
“Like I said, Jack, not all souls can be saved.”
“So you keep saying. Why is it that we can’t save Calvin?”
“Because, Calvin will be born with a disease that will take him moments after birth. There is no cure for what he’ll have, and if we were to allow him to live, his burden would far outweigh the sacrifice.”
“My God, I had no idea. Why didn’t you—hold on… wait a minute. How did you know, and why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you’re in training, and I was trying to teach you patience and self-reliance. Also, the Sentinel believes that limited knowledge is best, in most circumstances. The council knows nearly every specific detail of literally every impending death in the pipeline.”
“Then why not let us soul collectors in on that knowledge? It would make this whole job a lot easier, right?”
“One would think, champ. All I know is that the Sentinel has their reasons. I learned a long time ago to not question a lot of their mysterious ways. It’s taken me centuries to gain their trust, and that means something.”
“Well, I do apologize. You have certainly taught me a little humility after all.”
“And for what it’s worth, I was going to let you know earlier on, but then you threw your little hissy fit and didn’t give me a chance.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about all that too,” I said, dipping my head low to hide my embarrassment.
“So, are you ready to return to your obligation now?” Hauser asked.
“I am. But I have one more question first.”
“Just one? Shoot.”
“How is it that Enoch continues to invade my dreams?”
“Have you had another dream?” Hauser asked, clearly disappointed at my choice of sleeping again.
“Yeah, after all of that jumping around yesterday, I fell asleep in front of the fire,” I said apologetically.
“Understandable,” Hauser said. “When Enoch disappeared, he took with him all of the tools of the trade that he had with him. There was one item in particular that the Sentinel wants back like no other. It is a device that allows him to enter the mind of anyone that he chooses. Alive or dying. That’s how he’s able to exist in your dreams.”
“Oh my. And there’s no way to turn it off, or deactivate the device?”
“The powers that be are working on that very thing. But they’ve had no luck. So we’re all encouraged not to sleep until Enoch is captured and the device is returned or destroyed.”
A moment later, Hauser stood and returned his chair to the kitchen table. When he turned toward me, he glanced around and said, “You know, this place is very similar to my own humble abode. I’ll have to show it to you sometime. I think you’d like it.”
A moment later we vanished from the cabin.
Chapter 11
Hauser and I arrived in the maternity ward, very near where we’d last visited.
“You know, we still have the problem of only having a first name,” I said.
“Well, Jack, we never really had a problem with that. I have a… gadget—”
“Of course you do. And where was this gadget earlier?” I asked.
“Training, compadre. I had to make you work for some of this. But now we might be cutting it close.” Hauser pulled out his pocket watch and flipped open the cover. He held it out in front of us. On the face were several lighted dots. Some were brighter than others, while some flashed on and off.
“Okay, what does this do?”
“Each dot represents an impending collection. The brighter the dot is, the closer to its collection event. The closer the dot is to the center of the dial, the nearer we are in proximity to that soul,” Hauser explained.
I pointed at one of the flashing dots. “And what about the dots that won’t stay lit?” I asked.
“Those souls are still in flux. Those are… how can I say this? They still have options at life.”
“What? So not every soul will be collected?”
Hauser cringed at my question. “Yeah, I knew this would come up at some point. Besides our own ability to deviate from filling individual boxes, with extreme prejudice I might add, some souls might continue living their lives.”