Chain

It had been a month since Charlie's death and she still hadn't been called to take a soul. The emotions this caused her to feel confused her immensely. She was happy, because it meant putting off causing another person's death for a bit longer, and yet, she was angry. And scared. And frustrated. But mostly she was confused.

"Really?" she shouted at the canopy of trees. In the end Charlie had decided to just haunt the clearing. It was comfortable enough for her, being that her body wasn't real anyway, and it had always been her favorite part of this town before she died.

"Really? Not a single person has deleted that email yet? I mean, really? How can so many people be that superstitious?"

She brought a fist up and bopped herself on the top of her head. Why in the world are you complaining, idiot? This means you don't have to kill anyone yet.

"But it's been a month already and I haven't even had to collect one soul!" she whined to herself. "And I have to collect 900 of them! I don't want to be stuck forever!"

She sighed and decided to go bug Rei. "Ass hole, Jerk, Butt Face!" she called. Over the course of the month she had discovered that it really didn't matter what name she called as long as she herself knew that she meant Rei. She had taken advantage of this fact to call him a number of insults ranging from lame, to mainstream, to even lamer.

She felt the pull at her navel and soon found herself facing Rei. "What is it, Marioneta?"

"You freaking cheat! You knew it would take forever, didn't you!" She faced him, angry.

He laughed hard, throwing his head back. "I honestly didn't, Marioneta. Normally there have been quite a few souls by now."

She flopped onto a chair, crossing her arms over her chest and putting on a pout. "Fine, whatever."

He walked over and sat next to her. "Marioneta, why are you lounging in my house?"

"Because there's nothing better to do except bug my tormentor. And since my very presence bugs you sometimes, why not stick around?"

"Marioneta, I'm sending you away now." Rei lifted a hand as if to brush her off.

Charlie smiled. "No you're not."

He frowned. "Why do you say that? I can send you away, you know."

Charlie laughed gently. "Because you rarely send me away when you say you will. You don't have any other spirit servers but me, and you won't until I start collecting souls. You're bored."

He frowned at her. "I despise you."

Charlie just smiled. "But you adored me when we first met."

Rei's frown deepened, but he didn't say anything. Charlie leaned towards him. A certain desperation filled her voice when she spoke. "You haven't done anything terrible yet, Rei. It was all the man who raised you, wasn't it? I was bound first by him. And your bindings have yet to hurt anyone. I was already dead before you bound me. Let me free, Rei. Do it, and you can free yourself. Don't damn yourself, Rei. Don't do it."

"Marioneta," he said with a sigh. "You know it's not that easy. You know. I've explained it to you before, this is my world. These acts, they don't feel wrong to me. I've been raised in it. I've never even been outside of this place that man created. I don't want to free you."

"Please, Rei!"

"Don't beg, Marioneta. It doesn't become you." His voice had turned as cold as his eyes, and Charlie decided it was best to lay off for a while. She sat back in her chair and pouted some more.

Suddenly there was a small pull at her navel, and her bowels began to twist. It was nowhere near as uncomfortable as when Rei called her. It was a weaker call. Besides, Rei wouldn't call her when he was so close.

Charlie looked up at him, her lips forming an 'o' shape. Rei looked at her face, confused. "What's wrong with you, Marioneta?"

She looked down at her stomach and back at him, just as the world began to spin. "I think you've caught your first soul." She was slightly started to see his lips turn downward into a frown, and then her world turned black, causing Charlie to wonder if she had even seen it at all.

_______________________________________________

When Charlie's vision came back she was standing next to a girl who couldn't have been much older than her. She had midnight black hair and stunning bright blue eyes. And she was in shock, staring at a computer screen. Charlie looked at the screen and saw that it was the same email she had received so long ago.

The girl began the frantic motions of checking her deleted folder, much like Charlie herself had done. Stupid Rei, she thought, it's too late, now. You can never be free from this life.

Charlie leaned over the girl. "I'm sorry, Emery," she whispered, ignoring the fact that she somehow knew the girls name. After all, Maureen had known hers. "It won't work. God knows I tried sending it out after finding that same email you're staring at. All it does is create more chances for victims."

"Who said that?!" Emery asked, whirling around to face where Charlie was.

It was then Charlie realized she couldn't be seen. With a sigh, Charlie exposed herself to the girl. "I did. I got that email too, you see. It's a very honest email, unlike most chain letters. And there's no escaping it. Once you decide not to forward the letter, you seal your fate."

"So then, I'm going to die, aren't I." Charlie was surprised to find the girl was already resigned to her fate.

"Yes, you are."

Emery nodded. "Can you make it quick then? I don't want it to hurt."

Charlie smiled sadly. "It won't hurt. You'll barely feel anything. Just a slight pressure."

Emery nodded, and Charlie walked towards her. She touched either side of the girls head at the temple. And then she did as Rei told her. She concentrated on extending her spirit into the girl. She ignored the strange way it felt, simply calling to the other girls soul. As soon as she felt it mixing with her own she pulled them out.

The girl seemed to simply sleep. Charlie looked at her hands and found that in them was the an exact copy of the girl, also giving off the appearance of sleep. She was weightless. Charlie felt the tears on her cheeks, but made no move to wipe them away. She just cradled the girl in her arms. "Rei, Rei, Rei," she whispered, in no mood to fight at the moment.

She felt herself pulled to him, and gripped the soul in her arms tighter, making sure it came with her. Her world went black and when she could see again the first thing she saw was Rei's face. She laid Emery at his feet and turned away from him. She didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing her cry, though she knew he must have already seen it.

Stupid Charlie, she thought to herself. Stop your blubbering. What's it going to do? It can't solve anything.

She listened to the sound of Rei's knees hitting the ground as he knelt next to the sleeping soul. "I'll let her move on." Charlie turned. He waved a hand over the body. "You are free, child. Move on." And then Emery disappeared.

Rei stood and walked towards Charlie. "Marioneta, you're crying."

Charlie brushed away her tears. "No, I'm not."

He brushed a finger under Charlie's eye and held it before her. "Tears."

She sniffed. "Well, it's not like I asked to do this, is it? Who says I have to enjoy it?" She backed away from him and he stepped towards her.

"I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"Don't! Don't apologize. Don't say you're sorry. Don't." She pictured the clearing. Her safe place. "I'm leaving. Send me back. Please, just send me back."

He nodded, his face still shocked and concerned. His normally cold eyes had warmed a bit, and turned sad. But all these details Charlie refused to take in. She couldn't accept them. They made him less a monster and more human, something that she couldn't handle.

She felt the push at her belly button and soon she was back in her clearing. She laid down in the mossy ground as it began to rain, drops somehow finding their way through the dense canopy. The mood of the weather matched her own mood and it wasn't long before Charlie was crying out all her tears. Once she had stopped crying she stood and let the rain wash her face.

Never again, she thought. Never again will I let him see the pain this causes me. And with that final thought she let herself slip into oblivion, sleeping as deeply as someone who doesn't need it could.