The City Of Souls

I leaned my head against the headboard and closed my eyes as I thought about the day I died; the day I met Caleb…
 
I ran as fast as I could, my pace slowing down the more I ran. I didn’t mean to kill her, it was an accident…but he didn’t care. He wanted revenge and would stop at nothing until he got it. I weaved in and out of trees, trying to get out of sight of the man and his dog. Finally I couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore so I slowed down to a walk. After walking for a minute, I collapsed at the base of a tall oak tree, panting to catch my breath. I had just killed a man’s wife; she ran out of her house into the middle of the street crying and ran right in to the blind spot of my car. I stopped to see if she was okay, but he chased me…he was still chasing me somewhere. As this thought occurred to me, I jumped up and tried to run again. Just as I was about to take my first step, there was a loud bang that echoed through the woods. A piping hot piece of metal tore from my back straight through my chest. The last thing I remember was falling to the Earth beneath me, the man yelling profanities at me, for taking the woman he loved.
I awoke to a black surrounding and a tall boy about my age, maybe about 19 or so.
“Oh, you’re awake now Lovey? You know, you are quite beautiful when you’re sleeping.” He smiled sweetly. I sat up slightly and realized I was lying in a bed.
“Where am I? And who are you?...” I trailed of hesitantly. The boy looked at me with a sad smile and sat down next to me.
“My name is Caleb… I’m your Death Angel; you’re now in the city of souls… I’m not supposed to keep you here with me but I couldn’t help myself. You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, I wanted to be with you a little bit longer because eventually, you will grow to hate me, just as the rest have.” He said, gently brushing my hair out of my face.
“So…I’m d-dead?” I managed to choke out.
“No Sweetheart, you’re neither dead, nor living; you’re a lost soul, the city of souls is your limbo. Other souls are here too, all of you are not pure enough to make it to heaven, but not evil enough for hell. Although, the city corrupts many people, and they become evil. There is no structure, no order, just chaos. It’s a miserable society.” He explained with a disgusted look plastered on his face. I nodded timidly, trying to process everything.
“How do you become a Death Angel?” I asked curiously, looking up at Caleb in the darkness, trying to make out what he looked like. He had short, messy black hair, a nice, built body, a sweet smile, and piercing blue eyes that seemed to hold mysteries behind them.
“That my Love is a story for another time.” He smiled and kissed my forehead. I nodded slowly and let out a troubled sigh. Caleb brushed the hair out of my face and tilted my chin up to look at him. Tears began to fill my eyes as the realization came to me that I could never go back to my old life. Silent tears slid down my face as I stood up to look for something sharp, anything. I wanted to feel physical pain, anything that would get my mind off of my old life. I stumbled over my own feet and fell helplessly to the floor. A quiet sob escaped from my lips as I covered my face in my hands. I felt Caleb’s hand on my back and I pushed it away.
“Why are you being all lovey dovey towards me?... I don’t even know you…” I said in between sobs. He hung his head and sighed.
“Do you know how long I’ve been a Death Angel, Athena? DO YOU?” He exasperated, looking at me with pleading eyes.
“Do you know how many tortured souls I’ve had to escort to this forsaken hell? Do you know how long it’s been since I was alive, since I had a family and a girlfriend? It’s been centuries! I’ve had a chance in the past to save a sweet, beautiful girl from the corruption of this city, but I passed it up… I gave up and lost my girlfriend from my old life…I’m not going to let that happen again. I’m not going to let you grow to hate me as the rest have.” He urged, cupping my face with his hands.
“I will protect you from this corrupt city Darling, I promise.” He whispered sincerely and kissed my forehead. I looked up, helplessly into his eyes, wanting to believe him. Before I could process what was happening, Caleb softly pressed his lips against mine.
 
I sighed and trudged up to my room to change clothes. I stripped down to my bra and underwear and sighed at my reflection in the mirror and at the round hole that was scarred into my chest. I looked the same as I used to when I was alive; my hair was still black, long curls that cascaded over my shoulders, my eyes still bright emerald green, my shape still an hourglass, my skin still tan and smooth, except the one bullet scar, constantly reminding me of my death. I pulled on a tight long-sleeved grey shirt and a pair of normal fitting jeans and pulled my hair up into a messy, lopsided bun. My phone buzzed on the night stand and I quickly grabbed it.
“Hello?” I answered quietly.
“Hello my Darling.” Caleb’s voice rang sweetly through the phone. I smiled childishly to myself.
“Hey what’s up Baby?” I asked, my smile never faltering.
“Well I’d kinda like to see you today, are you going out?” he asked hopefully.
“Yeah I was about to go to a music store and get some CDs but that’s all. Can you come over in about an hour?” I asked, biting my lip.
“Yeah I think I can manage that, be careful Love.” He warned, sincerely.
“I will, I love you Caleb.” I said sweetly.
“I love you too Baby Girl.” He said back before hanging up the phone.
I grabbed my black sweatshirt and slipped it on then grabbed my revolver, switch blade, and brass knuckles out of my top drawer; you never knew what kind of trouble you’d run into on the city streets. I walked out the door and scuffed along the sidewalk towards the shopping center. I pulled up my hood to hide my long hair from any men who were walking the streets at the moment. I looked behind me to see a woman get snatched up out of her driveway and shoved, screaming, into a car; I shook my head at the disgusting sight.  
I held my arms close to me as a cool breeze danced around my body. Shivers ran down my spine as I quickly made my way through the parking lot of the shopping center and towards the music store. I pushed the door open and casually walked to the back of the store, trying to draw as little attention to myself as possible. I smiled sadly to myself as I saw my friend from my past life, Lexi. We had been best friends since we were little kids; she died when we were 14 years old in a car accident, leaving her trapped in her 14 year old body.
“Lexi!” I whispered from across the room. She swiftly pulled a knife out of her pocket and turned around.
“Athena!” she squealed excitedly.
“Shhhh! Keep it down dumb ass.” I hissed, before engulfing my friend in a big hug. She pulled away and grabbed a stack of CDs and placed them in my hands.
“Got some new shipments in, thought you’d enjoy these.” She grinned triumphantly. A huge grin graced my face as I looked through the CDs.
“Lexi, I love you so much.” I smiled excitedly.
“I love you too. By the way, how are things with…you know who?” she asked, whispering the last part.
“Things are good… we want to run away and get out of here… but that’s easier said than done.” I sighed quietly.
The front door slammed open and three men in trench coats trudged through the store.
“Lexi, I think its go time.” I whispered, quickly pulling my revolver out of the back of my pants. I cocked the gun and got it ready to shoot, Lexi close behind me with her switch blade. Just as I peered around the corner, bullets started flying. The cashier and manager screeched in pain as the men continued to fire shots at them. Finally the shooting stopped but the two of the men dragged the workers by their hair to a corner and slit their throats. The third man raided the cash register and stuffed the money in a bag before they all fled the scene.
“Great I’ve got some cleaning up to do. You gonna make it home okay Athena?” Lexi let out an exasperated sigh.
“Yeah I’ll be okay, you sure you don’t need help takin’ care of your boss and the skinny cashier kid?” I asked, putting the revolver in the back of my belt again. Lexi nodded and gave me a tight hug.
“I’m used to this by now. Go home and see Caleb.” She smiled sincerely. I nodded thankfully and gave her one last hug and kissed her cheek.
The walk home seemed a lot longer than the walk there did, I guess because I wanted to be home so badly. I unlocked the door and trudged up to my room and saw Caleb sitting on my bed.
“Hey sorry I took so long, the store got robbed.” I sighed and collapsed on the bed next to him.
“Are you okay Darling? What about Lexi?” He asked frantically, pulling me to sit next to him as he examined my body for any wounds.
“I’m fine Love. Lexi is fine too, she’s just cleaning up the mess that was left behind.” I sighed, cupping his face to look at me. A twinge of guilt ran through my chest knowing that Lexi was cleaning up after the shooting, but she was right; people got used to this kind of thing believe it or not. Caleb nodded knowingly and pulled me close to him. I took in a shaky breath and bit my lip as tears built up feeling like pin-pricks around my eyes. Burying my face in his chest, I wrapped my arms around Caleb, trying to find a way to be closer to him, a way to escape this corrupt, deranged world.
“I want out of here Caleb...I can’t take it anymore...I’d give anything to get out of this place...it won’t end, the fucking chaos won’t end! I can’t deal with this forever!” I sobbed hysterically, not able to hold it back any longer.
“I know Sweetheart, I know. I’ll get you out of here, I promise; just give it a little bit of time and we can leave this forsaken place forever. Just a little longer and it’ll be you and me doing what ever we want.” He cooed, stroking my back.
After a few minutes of Caleb rubbing my back, I calmed down and my breathing became steady once again.
“Caleb...can we go to sleep for a bit?... I just need to relax a little...” I mumbled timidly. He nodded and kissed my forehead.
“Of course Baby Girl, you need some sleep, you’re pretty stressed.” He mumbled back, pulling the covers over us. I snuggled closer to him and hid my face in the crook of his neck.
“Sweet dreams Darling.” he whispered before lightly planting a kiss on my forehead.