“What makes you think that?” I asked. “Is there a way to track him?”
“Unfortunately, no, not at this moment. When the two of you came to the Sentinel to report Enoch’s situation, we removed his current soul collection chamber from his possession so that he could devote 100 percent of his time to aid in capturing Enoch. And I’m not sure if you know how it all works yet, but we can only track the collection chamber and not the collector. Right now, he’s lost in the wind.”
“Then why do you think he’s alive?”
“Because, Jack, you are here, and you are alive.”
“Of course I am. We just witnessed me not being blown to bits along with my cabin.”
“Yes, but when you blacked out, you were in the clearing in front of your cabin. Did you wake yourself up and bring yourself to that bench in Denver? No, that wasn’t present in your memories. We assume that Hauser brought you here.”
“Okay, I’ll go along with that. Then if Hauser is alive, what’s our next step?” I asked.
“Slow down, Jack. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For all we know they both might have succumbed to the fire in the cabin, and you got here some other way entirely. It is only an assumption that Hauser made it out. At this point, that’s just a theory.”
“That’s easy. Let’s go take a look at the cabin site right now. Maybe we can find a body or two, or none at all.”
“Several members of the high council have already been to the site—”
“So you did know about this?” I demanded.
“Relax, Jack. As soon as Hauser failed to make his scheduled check-in, we sent several collectors to New York to track the two of you down. We found Penny wandering through the city alone. We were able to determine that neither of you were in her vicinity. Then we began to track down your soul box. That’s when we found you here in Denver. Before that point, the Sentinel members visited your cabin and investigated the debris. The site was so severely burned they couldn’t determine whether human remains were inside.”
“But, like you said, how else could I have gotten here? It had to have been Hauser. I’m willing to stake my life on it.”
“That’s neither here nor there, Jack. Right now the Sentinel has ruled that the crisis is over and you will return to your soul collection abilities, with your last assignment still a priority. You need to collect Penelope’s soul.”
Chapter 16
“I’m sorry, but I think I just heard you say that I still need to collect Penny’s soul?” I said.
“That’s right, Jack. Penny’s fate is sealed. You must follow through with your initial order. We know that you still have her soul box, and your last known location of her was on the very same park bench where I gave you this incredible opportunity. I believe, however, that she has moved on from that location.”
“You can’t be serious,” I said angrily. “They want me to forget everything that we’ve been through? Forget about Hauser? They just want me to take Penny’s soul after everything that she’s just gone through? Don’t you think they could cut her a little slack, give her a second chance or something? Consider it reparation for being our bait?”
“The decision is not up to me, Jack. Believe it or not, I’m on your side on this. I lobbied for operational forgiveness on your behalf, but a number of the council members did not see the hardship as I did.”
“But that’s not fair,” I protested. “You all agreed that I should persuade her not to kill herself, and that’s exactly what I’ve done. Talk about bait and switch.”
“There’s no arguing that fact, Jack. That was the plan, and you seem to have executed it wonderfully. And this wouldn’t be such a difficult situation if you hadn’t divulged so much information about the Sentinel and the afterlife.”
As we sat staring silently at one another, I tried to think of a scenario where everyone could win. Obviously the Sentinel was unwavering in their demands to collect her soul. I, on the other hand, wanted to save her, but at what cost? If Hauser were only here, maybe he would have some words of advice.
Then it hit me—my God, I can’t believe Hauser is gone. I started to wonder if this was the Sentinel’s plan all along, to distract me from Hauser’s death with the unrealistic demand that I take Penny’s soul anyway. After everything that I’d been through in this godforsaken afterlife, I truly did not know what to do.
“Jack, please remember that when I sacrificed my soul for the sake of you living on, you accepted that responsibility to the Sentinel. And they will hold you to it. I’m sure Hauser has expressed that before.”
I nodded but bit my tongue to keep from saying something I might regret.
“All I’m asking is for you to complete this assignment and move on to the next. I promise you this, your next assignment will not be as difficult.”
“How can you promise that?” I asked, doing my best to corral my venomous tone.
“Because, Jack, I am going to be your new trainer. And as such—”
“Wait, what? My trainer? Hauser isn’t even gone for a single day and they appoint you to be my new trainer? And I thought my training was over. At least that’s what Hauser said.”
Wilson nodded in agreement. “Yes, that’s correct. Hauser did submit that your training had been completed in an acceptable fashion. But with the recent events, namely you divulging that you’ve avoided a number of assignments, the Sentinel feels it best that your training be extended indefinitely.”
“I can’t believe this, Wilson. Don’t they know what it’s like? Have any of those yahoos up there—which I don’t entirely understand where up there is, ever had to collect the soul from an infant child? From an innocent man on a walk through the park with his daughter? From a girl that’s so depressed that she feels that she needs to take her own life? I’m really starting to believe that nobody on this high council has a soul of their own.”
“I understand that you’re upset, Jack, but we feel that this is the best solution at the moment. I will continue to urge them to suspend your training, but you have to meet me halfway. Let’s get through this next collection first, and then we’ll see. Can you do that for me? Can you just get through this next step?”
By this point in the conversation, I was listening to Wilson talk but couldn’t hear a word he said. I’d made my decision, and my soul be damned for my efforts.
“Okay, Wilson. I’ll do it. Can I at least get a few days to track her and try to unexplain some of the things that I’ve already told her?”
“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the ease of this particular collection, Jack. First of all, she is most likely back at her apartment by now, and as for timing, please do take as much time as you need. I will personally cover for you with the Sentinel. You may think that they’re a bunch of soulless overlords, but they do have compassion deep down.”
“So, that’s it? Just get back to work? Will you be accompanying me on this collection?”
“No, I am not going to be in the field as often as Hauser was. For the most part, you’ll be on your own, but I will be in to check up on you from time to time.”
Hearing that news was the brightest part of the conversation, and I thanked God for small miracles.
“One more thing, Jack. Your ability to interact with the living has been revoked as well. It was temporary, so that should come as no surprise,” Wilson said.
“Oh well, it was nice while it lasted,” I said.