Chain

"P-pet?" Charlie stuttered, confused.

The man chuckled. "What else would you be, Dear? It's that, or the fly ensnared in my web. Personally, I think Pet sounds a bit less threatening, don't you?"

He spoke calmly, as if he wasn't responsible for the deaths of however many people his email had caught. As if he wasn't responsible for Charlie's death. "Fly is more accurate. A pet is loved. A fly is only a pest. I doubt you love me. You want to use me to satisfy your hunger for death, and then you will cast me aside for the next fly."

His lips turned up in a slight smile. "My, my. You have a tongue on you, don't you? Tell me, Little One, what is you're name?"

Charlie frowned. "What does it matter?"

"But it does matter. Wouldn't you like to be called by your name?"

Charlie shrugged. "Who I was, it doesn't matter. She's dead to the world. The me who stands before you now, she is merely a puppet, is she not?"

He stroked his chin in thought. "I suppose that you are a puppet. After all, you are bound to follow my desires. You can't be released until I free you, or your task is complete. But I have no intentions of freeing you, Child. It would be easiest to know you name."

"I don't want to tell you who I was. I'm not her anymore. She's dead and buried."

He shook his head slowly. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. So stubborn. Very well then, I'll simply call you Marioneta, since you are merely a puppet."

Charlie nodded slightly. "Whatever."

The man smiled with true delight. "Oh, aren't you a treat, Marioneta? All the others have trembled and quaked when they met me, but you are so defiant. You will make this game so much more interesting."

Charlie gave a "humph." What's with this guy? she thought. He's so... Well, he's weird! He seemed so cold. He still seems cold. But at the same time... He's... God, I don't even know.

"So, Marioneta," the man began, interrupting Charlie's conversation with herself. "Let me introduce myself. You, Marioneta, will call me Rei. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand, Rei." Charlie bowed to him to disguise the eye roll she couldn't help give.

He smiled. "Good, then let me also explain what you are here for. You'll be my soul collector. Now, most of the souls you bring me will be set free. Only the last soul and a few that seem useful will be kept. You take their lives by touching them. Use both hands. Extend your spirit into them and call their spirit out. As you know it does not hurt. It is strangely peaceful, so I've heard."

"Don't let the souls wake once you've taken them from their bodies. Bring them straight to me. They must meet me when they wake. The only soul you will leave be will be the last soul you take, the one that fills your quota, because you will be set free the moment it leaves its body. Do you understand? Any soul not brought to me will not be counted onto your quota."

Charlie sighed. "I understand, Rei."

"Very good, my Marioneta. Very good."

"How will I know which souls to bring?"

He flashed a toothy grin. "Remember how you felt when I called you here, Marioneta? When a person chooses to ignore the email, another email is immediately sent to them. It will also act as a calling for you. You will appear near them, though they won't see you until you will them too. You'll gain control of the area around them. It is your choice how to carry about taking their soul. The girl who took you, Maureen, she always put it off, hoping I'd have a change of heart. She forgot that this just caused her souls more fear. And it causes her discomfort. There were times she'd have multiple souls lined up to be taken, and her spirit would be pulled every which way. I don't suggest you follow her example."

Charlie bowed her head. "I'll take that into consideration, Rei."

He chuckled. "Where has your defiance gone, my dear Marioneta?"

"It's still here, Rei, never you worry. My defiance simply hides under the surface, waiting for the perfect moment to be released. And I will find that perfect moment, Rei. I'll stop this."

He laughed. "Wonderful! I can't wait, Marioneta, I can't wait. It will be such fun."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. What is with this guy? He named mePuppet in another language, then tells me to call him King in yetanother language. And now he's getting excited over the fact that I'm not being completely submissive. Whois he?

"What do I do when I'm not collecting souls, Rei?"

He laughed. "Why, whatever you want. I'll call you when I need you, and the souls will call you when they are ready for you. You, dear Marioneta, are free to haunt whichever venue you wish to."

"Whichever I wish? Can I haunt anywhere? Even another country? Even this place?"

Rei frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

Charlie put on a look of surprise. "Why, nothing, Rei. I simply want to know if there are limitations to this 'whichever venue' deal."

He raised an eyebrow. "When I say whichever, I mean whichever."

She nodded.

He eyed her for a moment, and then waved a hand at her. "You are dismissed. Leave me."

She nodded. "Yes Rei, whatever you wish. But where am I?"

He sighed. "I'll send you back to where I took you from. You can choose after that."

"Thank you, Rei, but how do I get back? To give you the souls, I mean."

"Just call my name three times. I'll hear you and bring you here."

Then she felt the force at her navel again, only this time it was a push instead of a tug. He bowels twisted and her whole body felt like it was spinning. Her vision went black once more.

And then she was back on the log. She threw herself backwards so she was laying on the log and began to laugh hysterically. "You have got to be kidding me!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Once her laughter had subsided she sighed.

"What am I supposed to do?" she whispered.