Page 3 of Unruly
Borja nods, even though he looks slightly shell-shocked. “Go on.”
“Millenia ago, we created the Soul Chasers’ Society—worthy souls who return to the Above to retrieve the Horrors and bring them back to the Below for banishment.”
“Ghost hunting?”
“To put it simply.”
“So, you’re saying…” He shakes his head. “Can you explain it again?”
“Borja Diaz, you’re being offered a position in the society.”
My workers all gasp with excitement, as they do every time a new Soul Chaser arrives.
“If you accept, you agree to dedicate your eternal existence to hunting and retrieving the Horrors to return them to the Below. In exchange, you’ll return to life in the Above.”
Borja, who was looking around, snaps his attention back to me. “What? I won’t be dead anymore?”
“No. In fact, you’ll be more alive than you ever have been. There are perks that come with the job, such as immortality.”
“Immortality?” He scrubs his hand over his forehead. “This must be some kind of weird-ass dream. Or maybe I’m in a coma. That could be it, right? I’ll wake up in a hospital.Right?”
“I’m afraid not, Borja. You’re awake, to some extent. Your body is being dealt with Above, but your soul is here and this conversation is indeed happening.”
“Uh-huh.” He looks around again. “So, you’re saying I could join your society and I’ll be alive again, but, like, forever, and all I have to do is chase ghosts?”
“Boiled down, that’s the essence of it, but you must understand that we call them Horrors for a reason.” And his first assignment is going to be a doozy. “Unfortunately, you don’t have a lot of time to consider your choices.”
“What happens if I say no?”
“Your soul will be further sorted and you’ll spend eternity in the appropriate house.”
“Could my soul escape? I could haunt people?”
I tilt my head. “I’m not at liberty to encourage such deeds.”
Borja nods, chewing on a bit of dead skin on his bottom lip. “And if I say yes?”
“You’ll go through orientation and return to the Above to await your first assignment.”
“How do I explain where I’ve been? Don’t people think I’m dead right now?”
“We handle all that. I believe it’s called a timeline shift in the Above.”
“Holy shit.”
“It’s not easy, Borja. Horrors are dangerous and there are risks. You’ll never die, but those you love will. Eternity is a vast, unending expanse of being that your mind cannot comprehend yet. You must be committed, because the price of failure is an eternity in the Below, and no one wants to be there.”
“Is it like a lake of fire?”
“No. It’s cold and dark and silent. The only thing that exists is your own mind, tormenting you over and over again until you go mad.”
Borja visibly shivers. “But if you’re immortal, how would you end up there?”
“Failure to banish your assigned Horror, trading your soul, or intentionally causing your own demise, all of which will be covered in orientation.”
Borja nods slowly, as if he’s taking in everything I’ve just said. “Okay, let’s say I agree. I get to go right back?”
“After orientation, yes.”
