Souls in Peril (5 page)

“
Sure,
”
Max nodded, swallowing hard.

“
After your assignment with JD, I
’
ll take you to where they are. I promise. We
’
re talking
two, maybe three
months tops.
”
Gabe rested a hand on Max
’
s shoulder.
“
Sound good
?
”

“
Sounds good
.
”
Max could make it three months. It
’
d be like a really long summer camp.

“
Wonderful. Follow me. We should get started.
”
Gabe led him out of the room and down a long white corridor lined with doors.

“
Max, behind these doors are
souls in
peril. The souls are placed into a state of
suspension
while we assist them with
their
particularly difficult struggles. We don
’
t often intervene in people
’
s lives, preferring to let life take its natural course, if you will. But
there are times
when
we feel the need to intercede, especially for those in situations like JD
’
s. Ultimately, it is up to the individual if they accept the help. We don
’
t force our support on anyone, but it is offer
ed
. We keep their souls safe here while we help them.
”

“
Or when you accidently kill them,
”
Max said dryly.

Gabe
’
s ears burned red at Max
’
s words. He opened one of the doors and entered. Max followed
him
into
another all-
white room. White desk, white chair and a white
flat screen
of some kind occupied the room.

“
Why is everything white? It
’
s kind of boring,
”
Max said with a frown.

“
Precisely. It
’
s kept this way so as not to imprint on the people who are here. We want it void of anything that may jog a memory later on in life.
”
Gabe pulled out the chair and signaled for Max to
sit
down.
“
Jayden Miller
’
s home
,
please.
”

The
flat-screen
flicke
re
d to life with a picture of
a
modest sized,
mint green
,
one-story ho
use
.
The yard was small, but well taken care of, and a small shed sat behind the house.

“
Living room, please.
”
The monitor
instantly
responded. A
thirteen by thirteen foot
living room appeared on the screen. A
n older
turquoise couch
sat along the far wall. Despite its age, it was in good condition
. Two black
vinyl
chairs sat next to the couch
and faced a large TV stand with what had to be a
sixty-
inch TV.
It wasn
’
t the older furniture that was distracting; it was the
discarded cups from various fast food restaurants litter
ing
the floor. Max now understood JD
’
s weight issues. How did anyone expect to stay fit eating a steady diet of fast food?

Gabe continued the home tour, familiarizing Max with each room.
When he finished with the house, he
directed
t
he monitor to
a
local
nursery,
t
he Rose Garden
.
His mother
had
bought daisies
there
just last month.

“
This is his mother, Mel, short for Melody. She is a lost soul. Hopefully, your helping JD will rub off on her.
”
Max watched as a tall
,
thin woman with
stringy blonde
hair loaded a bag of manure into the back of a rusted-out pickup.
“
She works as a clerk at
the Rose Garden
, bless her heart. She
’
s a hard worker and a good provider. Unfortunately
,
her choice in men
leaves much to be desired
.
She
’
s not treated nearly as well as she should be.
”
The compassion Gabe expressed
humbled
Max
.

“
And this is Mel
’
s current boyfriend, Timothy Garen.
”
Gabe stiffened as a rough looking man with an almost bald head appeared on the monitor. He had a few scrapes on his arms and a bruise
on the side of his head. Max had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched the guy dig through JD
’
s dresser.
Tim
found a quarter in the drawer and shoved
it i
nto his pocket.

Gabe commanded the monitor to shut off.
“
Do you still want this assignment?
”
he asked Max.

He
hesitated for a moment. JD
’
s life and his were nothing alike. He knew this would be a challenge, but he also craved challenges. He took a deep breath and, looking Gabe squarely in the eye said,
“
Yes. I
’
m sure.
”

“
Wonderful. Jayden is still in the hospital. He
’
s been in a coma for about a week from his head injury. He also has a few cuts and bruise
s
from going through the windshield. To make this effective, Jayden
’
s brain will be
experiencing
what you
do
physically. His mind will believe it is
actually
him doing whatever it is you do. If you decide to work out, he will feel you pushing his body
’
s limits. We know that your own body
wa
s in excellent condition, and we assume you will want to help JD improve his health. We advise you to take it slow. His body is not used to the same rigors yours is.

“
Your
personal
thoughts will be your own
. He will only be able to hear them if you speak
directly
to him. He
’
ll believe they are his thoughts, so please do this. It will add to the sense of realism for him
,
and we
’
ve found this to be very helpful.

“
Remember,
Max,
his mother is very different than yours, and JD loves her very much. Be patient with her. Try to understand her.
”
Gabe led Max out of the room.

“
After you have completed your assignment
,
we will bring you back here. When JD
’
s soul re
-
enters his body, there will be no time laps
e
for him. He will think that everything you did he did. I will warn you, Max, there will be times the connection between you will be very strong. Remember, you
’
re assuming his form. If you suddenly experience emotions that are foreign to you, most likely they are JD
’
s.
”

“
What do you mean? What kind of emotions
?
”
Max asked.
“
Like happiness or love?
”
Did JD have a girlfriend? Max hadn
’
t thought about that.

“
We usually see this happen with emotions like fear and depression. These are much stronger than people realize, and they can rob a person of so much. Since these emotions have never really dominated you, at least not like they have JD, be prepared. They can suck the will to live out of you if you let them take hold.
”

Max wasn
’
t worried. He believed the best way to beat depression was to exercise. And as for fear, he couldn
’
t remember the last time he feared
anything
.  He had confidence in his abilities. He
’
d help JD if it killed him.

“
Come along, Max. It
’
s time.
”

Chapter 5

Max rolled over, a groan pouring out
his raw throat.

“
Sweetie, are you in there?
”
A cool hand wiped at his brow. He didn
’
t recognize the voice, but somehow he knew he loved whoever it was. He peeled his eyelids back, coming face to face with a thin woman and
stringy brown hair
. Deep lines etched her face. She obviously hadn
’
t had an easy life.

“
Hello, sleepy head.
”
The woman smiled and kissed his forehead. Her kiss
brought a
flood of memories to Max. He
’
d agreed to come here in JD
’
s place.  He
’
d been asked to help him . . . by an angel. Gabriel. It
seemed
surreal and yet very real at the same time. Max forced himself upright. Every bone in his body protested. It almost took more energy than he had. JD
’
s mother adjusted his pillows as she filled him in on the accident, giving him no more details
than
Gabe had.
“You’ve been out of it for over a week now.”

“
So
M
-mom,
”
the word tasted foreign on his tongue.
“
When can I go home?
”
He lifted his arm to brush the hair from his eyes, it weighed a ton.

“
I think we should start with
Jell-O
first,
”
Mel
grinned.  She pulled the brown table around from the foot of the bed and slid it in front of Max, handing him a spoon. He
leered
down at the food.

“
I can
’
t eat. My head is killing me.
”
He gingerly laid his head back against the bed
’
s rock hard headboard.

“
That may have something to do with flying through a windshield.
”
She shook her head at Max.
“
Tim
is pretty mad at you for wrecking the car. I didn
’
t even know you could drive
a
stick. Some mother I am.
”
Max cringed at the name
Tim
. Since he knew little of the man, he assumed
the feelings were JD
’
s
,
and
Tim
wasn
’
t a favorite of his.

“
Do you think I can have some aspirin
? My
head really hurts.
”

“
Sure thing, sweetie. I
’
ll get the nurse.
”

Max slid down
under the covers
since sitting up proved to be a mistake. He tugged the scratchy sheet up over his pounding head, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. Staying awake took too much effort.

“
Hello, I
’
m Detective
McKay
with the Port Fare Police Department.
”
Max
’
s dull senses snapped to attention. He pulled the sheet down,
to see
Emma
’
s father standing a
t the foot of his hospital bed. Marty McKay was an imposing man, all six-foot-four inches of him. He had a large bushy mustache and piercing blue eyes, like Emma’s.