SoulChaser: Earthbound

By Jason A Anderson

A war is building between the Eternals and the Realm of Lost Souls. On uncounted worlds throughout the galaxies, humans live and die; but death is not the end. In the Afterlife, the souls of those who have passed beyond exist in contentment for eternity. But there are those souls in the Abyss that, if their rage and desperation gain enough strength, can break free and return to Mortality. When this happens, SoulChasers are sent to track the rogue soul down and return him or her to the Afterlife. It happens on uncounted worlds throughout the galaxy, even here...on Earth. In the resort town of Shadow Valley, SoulChaser Kiah has arrived to return his nemesis, Masaal, back to the Abyss. But Kiah has an ulterior motive: to find and rescue his wife, Kenah, who was meant to join him on a retrieval twenty years ago, but never arrived. To achieve both goals, he will enlist the help of several college students trying to run the seasonal haunted house, Nightmare Manor. He will pull them along on a journey bathed in blood. He may accomplish both goals, but the workers at Nightmare Manor may be sacrificed in the process. Shadow Valley will be changed forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jason A Anderson
• Release date: Nov 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311609755

Jason A Anderson

Jason Anderson was raised in Southern California before moving to Utah to attend high school. While a teenager, he conceived and began writing his teen adventure series, "The Starriders Saga". Never one to let grass grow under his feet, he continued exploring different story concepts and struck upon what has become the "SoulChaser Universe". Besides being a father and writer, his passions include theater production, fast cars, off-roading, rock'n roll, and is a Harley-Davidson enthusiast. Mr. Anderson still makes his home in Utah.

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Prologue

Right Here, Right Now

-- Omnious 1: Colonization Calendar 243

The air smelled of blood and urine as the pedestrians in front of the performing arena panicked and ran. No one wanted to be nearby when the authorities arrived on scene.

The fourteen dead bodies lay scattered around like playing cards after a brisk breeze. A sticky red pool had already formed across the syncrete walkway. Growing, it reached out with shiny crimson tentacles in all directions.

One observant pedestrian spotted movement among the carnage. The eyes of one of the dead boys, a young man in his early twenties, flashed bright green, then the glow of life faded into existence there. The bloody gash across his neck from a passing bullet knit itself closed and the youth managed to climb to his feet. The woman screamed long and loud, then collapsed to the ground beside her startled date.

Kiah shook the brief cramps of resurrection out of the host’s well-toned limbs. Then he rolled his head a bit to make sure it was still attached at the shoulders. His eyes scanned the carnage, locating the corpse he had been forced to vacate only a minute before. Stepping between several limbs and a small wad of pulped flesh, he squatted down and patted down his old host. A moment later, he located the SoulStar and pocketed it in his black long-coat. Then he picked his way through the bodies to a clear area on the walkway. He turned, surveying the corpses, not knowing where Kenah might be. They’d both died in that firefight, such as it was. He had no idea if she could find a suitable host for a return to the mission. Lucky for Kiah, he’d charged back down the Hall of Light and dove into one of the fresh corpses. He hoped Kenah had the foresight to do the same thing, but he couldn’t be sure she would. It wasn’t standard protocol, to say the least. Shaking his head, he knew he couldn’t afford to wait. Masaal and his four bodyguards were most likely at Shane Hansen’s office several kilometers across town. He didn’t have long. If he was going to get to the rogue before this host went insane, he would have to move fast.

Spying a discarded shotgun on the paving stones nearby, he hurried over to it, swept it up in his steady grasp and checked the magazine. Limited rounds in the firearm and he had no idea of its accuracy. Shaking his head, he glanced up and down the boulevard. Making a decision, he broke into a quick run in the direction he thought would lead him to his target the fastest.

Hovercopter 97 lifted off from Precinct Helipad 24. Its orders, remove the threat of Shawn Hansen, no matter the cost.

Don’t worry, Sir, Office Blake spoke into his black >copter microphone. He won’t slip past this time. The audio phones in his matching helmet squawked at him for a moment. It was his superior officer berating him for his lack of performance the last three times this same Take Down was authorized. Not to worry, Sir, he assured his commander and nodded to the >copter pilot. Move it.

Roger, the pilot agreed and put the >copter into a steep dive away from the precinct building. Officer Blake fought to hold on and not pitch right out of the open hovercopter door.

Masaal, in the recently deceased body of underworld boss Shawn Hansen, sat behind his beautiful polished desk on the third floor of the Citiplex Office Complex. He chose his hosts by body type, resources, and availability. Neither compatibility nor cause of death was ever an issue. It was a warm evening considering that this world’s binary suns did little more than skirt the horizon between sunrise and sunset. He still hadn’t adjusted to this planet’s odd daylight hours, the shortest he’d ever experienced. Just over six hours of natural light wasn’t enough time for respectable folks to get anything done. He and his henchmen recruits had little worry about respectable folks.

Krista, a knockout brunette dressed in a side-slit midnight blue skirt, a revealing sequin blouse, and spiked high heels, sat on Masaal’s lap behind the large oak slab. The room smelled of a sweet smoke, an illegal opiate on other worlds he’d visited, but considered incense on this one. With the lights turned down low, it had a calming effect that soothed one’s jangled nerves, as they were now. He preferred to wind down this way whenever possible. Men’s soft, droning chants echoed from concealed speakers throughout the room.

At the pedestrian crossing on the street below, the SoulChaser, Kiah, dressed all in black, from his dungarees to his leather long-coat, started across the parking lot of Citiplex Office Complex.

As he walked unchallenged, he carefully tucked away the memories lingering in the mind of the teenage body he now inhabited. It took self discipline, honed over many years and rogue retrievals, to accomplish the compartmentalizing he needed in order to clear his mind. This body was young and strong and so far had held up well to the new soul inhabiting it. But Kiah knew that he had to work fast, for the body was bound to go insane before too long. It was a side-effect of a soul inhabiting a body that it wasn’t designed for. Just as Kiah was against the clock, so was Masaal. Hansen’s body would last longer than Kiah’s host, since Masaal and Hansen shared many similar interests and passions. However, the evidence of Masaal’s control over the host body would become obvious and once that breakdown began, it spiraled down in an ever-accelerating decline. In another day, maybe two, Masaal would be trapped inside the body of a rampaging madman. Then the blood of the innocent would really begin to flow.

Approaching the Citiplex building, Kiah found himself relieved that at least rogues couldn’t travel through time. As it was, Time passed differently in the Afterlife than it did in Mortality. One day in the Afterlife could represent an entire year in the physical realm. That both places held to a linear time line, however, made rogue retrievals such as this one easier, since the SoulChasers didn’t have to worry about rogues jumping Eras as well as bodies. And as long as the SoulStar was in the vicinity of the rogue soul, it would keep Masaal trapped in his current host until Kiah could use the relic to return the escapee to the Abyss.

Kiah walked up to the front doors, pushed them open, and walked across the lobby to the elevator.

The tele-com unit on Masaal’s desk chirped for attention. One of his bodyguards crossed to the desk and picked up the handheld unit. He greeted the caller, stepping to the other side of the room as Masaal and Krista became involved with each other.

After a few short words, the mobster hung up the tele-com unit, just to have it chirp again. He answered it, then held it out to Masaal.

It’s for you, the guard said.

Masaal separated his mouth from Krista’s, growling in irritation, Well, bring it over here! He snatched it out of his subservient’s hand and put it to his ear. This is Hansen. Masaal’s look of annoyance turned to one of shock, then understanding. I see. He nodded. No, don’t do anything until you hear from me again, got it? Masaal set the tele-com unit on the desktop. He could see its reflection beside his own in the flawless surface.

What’s wrong, baby?

Krista’s sweet voice didn’t even phase Masaal. He stood up and walked over to the wet bar. "Trudou’s car and body were identified out near Deadman’s Rock. Incinerated," he announced and began to fix himself a drink. SoulChasers! There was no question in his disturbed mind.

Down the hall the elevator doors opened and the man in black exited. With purpose, he headed up the hall toward the double-doors of Hansen’s office.

Seeing the determination in his stride, Masaal’s burley guards came to their feet. The guard on the left went for the gun in his breast pocket.

The figure in black already had his snub-nose, semi-automatic shotgun drawn from his coat. He aimed it at the guard and pulled the trigger.

What the--? one of Masaal’s guards exclaimed, the report of the gunshot echoing beyond the office door.

A heartbeat later, a second shot rang out, followed by the second hall guard crashing through the office door.

Kiah stepped into the room.

Kill him! I want him dead! Masaal commanded.

One of his four guards went for his pistol’s holster snap.

With one swift motion Kiah brought the muzzle around and pulled the trigger. The blast threw the man several feet back onto the floor. It pelted the wall behind him with fragments of bone, muscle, and buckshot.

Jimmy! another guard across the room exclaimed in blind horror.

Kiah’s attention snapped to that man, also bringing to muzzle of the shotgun to bear on him. The fatal blast caught the bodyguard in the right side, spun him around, and dropped him to the floor like a lead weight.

Masaal threw the liquor bottle at Kiah from across the room. The SoulChaser ducked under the projectile and knocked over a nearby table.

The third gunman moved to retrieve an item from his gym bag, not seeing Kiah take cover. He came up with a submachine gun, then realized he didn’t have a target.

Behind the table! called the last of Masaal’s henchmen.

Officer Blake sat in the passenger seat of Hovercopter 97. He smiled to himself in anticipation as the air transport swooped low over the city scape. Weighed down with ten ground officers and a full array of armament, it twinkled in the enveloping darkness of sudden storm clouds.

Before he could get the drop on their attacker, Kiah stood up and shot the henchman’s left shoulder. The fatal wound threw him back over the wet bar and buried him in a shower of shattered alcohol bottles and refreshment glasses.

Masaal’s fourth henchman fired at Kiah, but missed. Kiah returned fire, but missed as well.

Krista, caught at one end of the crossfire, bolted for the back door, halfway between Kiah’s cover and the bar. She bumped the guard just enough to knock him off balance and screw up his aim. Kiah didn’t hesitate. He downed the guard with a precise shot to the chest. The man’s heavy body slammed against the retreating woman, sending the two of them sprawled on the carpet.

"Masaal!" Kiah yelled.

Solid silence. Two heartbeats...then three...then four....

Masaal cautiously stood up from behind his desk. He knew he was trapped...with no way out.

It’s over, Kiah said.

Masaal looked at the shambles around him. The machine gun lay on the floor only a few feet away. You’re right. You win, he said in unanticipated agreement.

Pinned beneath the large body guard, tears began to glisten in Krista’s beautiful eyes. Shawn? she asked.

Both men turned to her. They each seemed to realize for the first time that she remained in the room with them.

Get out of here, Kiah instructed.

Before she could respond, Masaal crossed to her and yanked her up from where she lay.

Kiah swung the shotgun toward them. She screamed, now finding herself on the business end of the firearm.

Shh, Krista, relax, Masaal cooed in her ear, soothing her immediate terror. He won’t hurt you.

Kiah’s jaw flexed a bit, revealing the instant tension he felt. Before him, the rogue waited, using the beautiful Krista as a very damageable human shield.

More importantly, he won’t kill me, with you here, Masaal continued. His eyes never left the face of the SoulChaser before him. A wicked yellow gleam shimmered there, as if he dared Kiah to prove him wrong.

So, those are the stakes. Kiah’s grin was cold. Are you sure? he asked.

Masaal chuckled. You’re sworn to protect the innocent from people like me. But if they get in the way.... He paused his analysis to emphasize his point. You can’t kill in cold blood.

Your hands are so red from the blood you’ve spilled here... Kiah countered.

Maybe. But hers are not.

Both stared at each other in silence, waiting for the other to move.

Krista realized that her hand rested near the desktop and on that desktop rested a computer keyboard. She snatched the thick plastic keyboard, spun and smashed it into the side of Masaal’s head. When he loosened his grip on her shoulder, she lunged for the shattered doorway.

Krista’s furious attack startled Kiah into momentary hesitation, which was all Masaal needed. The rogue dove for the machine gun. He pulled it up and squeezed the trigger.

Kiah caught his breath in agony as hot metal tore into his left shoulder. The velocity of the bullets threw him over the upended table and back against the wall. He could make out the edge of the table, part of the ceiling and some of the wall he rolled up against. The rest of the room receded from his hazy view. Killed twice on the same retrieval? he demanded of himself. That never happens! He knew to the core of his being that Kenah and Joshua would never let him live this down. And in Eternity, never is a long time!

A second that seemed to last forever went by and Kiah wondered why time seemed to slow itself down in these situations. Then a terrified voice brought him back to reality.

Shawn, what’re you doing? Krista cried as Masaal turned on her.

Sorry honey. You’re a liability I can’t afford.

Krista screamed as she ran into the hall. Masaal stepped into the doorway and with a passive expression fired off three rounds down the occupied hall. The woman’s echoing footsteps stopped, punctuated by a thump.

Pity, was Masaal’s insincere eulogy.

Kiah struggled to sit up straight.

Masaal walked over and tossed the table out of his way. Kiah lay against the wall. His right hand had fallen limp beneath his coat. His breathing came broken and choked.

No mercy for the weak, Masaal informed Kiah with a triumphant smile. You’ve come this far, only to fail...twice! He pointed the gun at Kiah and stared at him long enough to take pleasure in the humor and irony in the statement.

Don’t count on it, Kiah said and with his right hand yanked the shotgun from beneath his coat. No mercy, he repeated and squeezed the trigger four rapid times, shattering his right wrist with the violent recoil. His concentration blinded him to the pain.

Masaal’s body shuddered and recoiled with every impact. The fourth shot knocked him onto his back.

Kiah took a painful deep breath and smiled. Rallying all of his energy, he pulled himself to his feet, groaning all the way. Staggering, his useless right arm hanging limp at his side, he crossed over to Masaal’s shadowed corpse on the floor. He retrieved the SoulStar from his pocket and knelt down.

Outside the building, Hovercopter 97 crept low, buffeted by the turbulent winds. It trained its four brilliant white spotlights on Shawn Hansen’s office windows.

Officer Blake could make out an unrecognizable figure bending over a long object on the floor.

Behind him, Surveillance Officer Ryan watched the display monitor before him. It revealed a detailed ultrasonic motion scan of Hansen’s office in shades of green. The image swayed a touch with the motion of the hovercopter. Kiah was the only moving red spot on the display. Looks like we’ve got four dead in the main office, he announced. He scrolled the image around in a three-dimensional panoramic view and located Krista’s form laying in the adjacent hallway. And three more in an attached corridor, he added.

All conversation paused as sudden thunder and lightning illuminated and then fractured the clouds above them. The building storm cut loose with sheets of rain, higher winds and enough lightning to make the concept of being in a hovercopter unnerving.

Shaking his head to clear the commotion from it, Officer Blake commented, Any chance one of them’s Hansen?

With a shrug, Officer Ryan replied, Good a chance as anything else, prob’ly.

As Officer Blake watched the building in disbelief, the shadow straightened and moved toward the wall of shaded windows. It rummaged around for a moment, then the shade drew upward into the ceiling and he sat staring at a young man just out of his teenage years. There was nothing remarkable about the youth, except for the illegal shotgun resting easily in his grip and blood smeared all across his arms, face and torso. The officer activated the >copter’s loudspeaker and commanded, Put down the gun and raise your hands above your head!

Kiah heard the command penetrate the thick windowpanes. Shaking his head, he muttered to himself, Cops are predictable no matter what world you’re on.

Movement off to his right caught his ear. He turned in time to see the fourth of Masaal’s men, blood streaming from his chest, struggling to bring his gun out.

He’s gonna shoot the survivor! Officer Ryan announced a breath after noticing additional movement in the room.

Switching off the loudspeaker, Officer Blake motioned to his gunner and instructed, That’s it. Take him out.

With a nod, the hovercopter mounted gunner took aim and opened fire.

Kiah squeezed the trigger of the shotgun just as the wall of windows before him exploded inward with heavy weapons fire. The rounds destroyed the walls on the far end of the office, the bar, the tables, the desk. They did even more damage to the corpses in the room, and minced Kiah’s body. It was debatable if anything would remain recognizable when the hailstorm of hot lead ended, but clear that nothing survived.

Again, predictable, Kiah mused as the Hall of Light opened before him.

Paradise, the Afterlife:

Grayness...shadows moving under cover of light blue mist. Behind him, Kiah knew even as he walked that the Hall of Light ended in the deepest dark he had ever witnessed. It was the empty, absence of Life that created the darkness. Purpose was Life. Life was Purpose, Joshua had always told him. So the consuming darkness at the close end of the Hall of Light contained no life within it, therefore no light. As he strode down the corridor, through the lightening mists, past the shadows that flickered just out of coherent sight, the air grew warmer. His emotions felt lighter and his pace quickened.

At the mouth of the Hall of Light, she waited for him. Her hair, the color of the sun on a warm autumn day, seemed to glow in the light blue mist surrounding them. Her smiling mouth had the twinge of a knowing, subtle smirk blended into it. Kenah’s green eyes danced, even as she reached out to him.

Kiah took her hand in his and he caught himself startled for a moment at the striking contrast between her fair colored skin and his of the deepest ebony. In their natural lives, culture had frowned on marriages between the races. Kiah was glad that in the Afterlife, skin color truly didn’t matter. All he knew was that to him, Kenah was beautiful. And he’d never heard her complain about his looks, either!

You grandstanded, didn’t you, she teased him as they exited the mists of the Hall of Light into the lush, green and vibrant forest. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to see it.

A well-worn path led through the enormous tree trunks. Vines and ferns of types Kiah had never seen in his own life always threatened to encroach on this, the only path through the forest. The trail was always there, easy to follow, but not glaring to the eye.

What? Kiah replied, feigning hurt feelings. "I never grandstand."

Raising an eyebrow, Kenah countered, Oh, really? Then what was that >Give me liberty’ speech you made on Caladan Four?

Kiah opened his mouth to speak, a protest on the edge of his lips. But at the last moment, he closed his mouth and sighed. One eloquent moment and I’m marked for eternity as a showoff. He didn’t sound hurt, but his ploy for affection couldn’t have been any more obvious.

Movement in the heavy foliage attracted the attention of the two SoulChasers. As the sound grew louder and heavier they paused, waiting so see what might make such a racket in the woods. A moment later, a black nose and dark muzzle broke through the bushes. The small bear was little more than a cub. His massive size gave no accurate indication of his age. He muscled his way through the woods, braying when his haunches got wedged in the branches.

Kiah and Kenah watched in silence, enjoying the sight of the young bear wriggling himself free. A moment later, more crashing echoed from the woods and the cub’s mama emerged through a less obstructed avenue though the trees. The cub’s bawling ceased when his gaze lit upon his mother. She stepped over and nuzzled him under his chin, then put her front shoulder against one of the thick branches and shoved. The wood gave way with a snap! and the young cub came free. Bounding around his mother, the playful cub bumped and swiped at her until she barked at him. Then the two of them sauntered past Kiah and Kenah, up the trail into the deeper woods.

Smiling together, the SoulChasers followed along the path, at last emerging from the woods at the edge of a vibrant, green lawn. Beyond the wide expanse, waited the manor home where Kenah and Kiah now spent their immortal lives together. Its soft gray stone rose over the lush tiered gardens, providing a perfect view out over the estate to the edge of the sea beyond. It was the home of their dreams and they tended to its care with the devotion that such a blessing required of them. Today it housed only the two SoulChasers, plus the handful of souls sent to pay restitution to them for misdeeds in their mortal lives. That number was always changing as Kenah and Kiah released one here, another there, to return to their own tasks in the Afterlife. Both of them had each had to pay their own restitution to those they had slighted during their mortal lives, an experience neither wanted to ever repeat again. The memory of that time apart weighed on the memories of both of them.

As the day passed through evening into night, the two moons rose as brilliant white orbs, throwing a bright moonglow over the home, the cliffs, the beach below, sending its white rays through their chambers’ clear ceiling panels. It added a warm light to the yellow glow cast by the large fireplace which occupied the entire corner of the central chamber. A thin trail of smoke wisped from the handful of braziers scattered on alcoves around the vast room, plus two on the fireplace’s heavy marble mantle.

It was nice, being mortal again, Kenah whispered. She lay back against Kiah’s chest, dwarfed by the piles of soft cushions piled around them. She traced her fingers along the rich brown tunic that he wore. It was a simple, yet comfortable, wrap that she had made for him only a few weeks before. This was how they spent their time together in the Afterlife, doing things for each other that they didn’t have time for in life, and chasing rogues.

It always is, Kiah agreed, his dark eyes reflecting back a vivid orange light from the fire. It gave off just enough warmth to be comfortable and light to see, but not too much of either. Perfect, just like always. He had once wondered what life would be like after death. But as a revolutionary, the concept of peace and tranquility eluded him. Once, he thought he’d be bored spending eternity with just the two of them in a perfect existence, no wars, no rebellions, no uprisings. He wasn’t bored. The Afterlife appealed to him. He’d had enough of battles and watching his friends die en masse during his own mortality. SoulChasing and spending leisurely evenings with Kenah was enough for him.

It was not enough for Kenah, however, and he knew it.

It sure gets quiet here at night.

Looking down at the top of her head, Kiah asked, What do you mean by that?

Leaning up to look at him, she replied, I was just noticing, that’s all.

Kiah gaze probed her bright eyes, eyes so rich in color that he could still see their green hue even in the firelight. He could get lost in those eyes. Indeed, he had many times. Sometimes he wondered how they’d ever found times like this to fall in love. Life had been so hectic, even at its best. Still, he couldn’t remember ever existing without her beside him. Even now, with no threat looming, he still felt the fierce determination to always protect her.

Kenah waved a hand in front of his eyes, causing him to blink. Hello? Are you there? she asked with a light laugh.

Sorry, love. I was just thinking about how much I love you, Kiah responded, hoping that the sincerity he felt was conveyed in the sound of his voice.

It must have been, because she leaned up and gave