Chapter 2 and 3
Chapter 2
Walking through the training facilities of the Church of the One Soul Kas admired the new blood. They were training hard in hand to hand combat and were in peak physical condition. Not surprising given they not only put them through a rigorous physical training regimen but also utilize drugs to enhance their body’s ability to take in oxygen and metabolize energy. They reach these levels of physical health twice as fast as a normal citizen who trains on their own. Still often candidates will make it through the physical training only to be washed out afterwards. Kas doesn’t know what becomes of the wash outs though she suspects they are sent to labor camps to help rebuild the world now that some of the lands devastated by the great war, are becoming habitable again. “Colonel Kassandra could you take a look at this candidates file for me” a trainer behind her asked. She glanced and saw that this person took very well to the metabolism drugs and also shows signs of heightened senses being aware of things before they happen. She knew some men were being selected for this type of testing but none had taken well to the procedure. He was the first she was aware of that benefitted from this. “Captain I’d like to speak with him once he is finished his training. Where is he now?” she asked. “In the maze he just started his run as I understand” he replied. Without a word she turned and headed that direction. She had just missed grabbing him before his next exercise started. He wasn’t simply in the ring but going through what the trainees referred to as the maze of punishment. She recalls her first time in the maze, her trainers were ruthless and she only stopped one of them before the other snuck up behind her and pinned her to the floor in a choke hold. This wasn’t his first time she knew but still he put on an impressive show. As he approached the first ambush site he threw a smoke bomb right as the first trainer jumped to attack. This disoriented him and made him an easy down. The other two trainers in the ambush no longer had the element of surprise and tried to move through the smoke silently. One nudged a knee wall, but this small sound was enough and the recruit sprinted arm out and clotheslined him sending him breathless to the floor. The third trainer attacked knowing the position of his comrade but was greeted by a quick knee to the face. It was the fourth hidden member of the ambush that finally took down the recruit. He had lowered his guard after the third. The fourth sprang up behind him dodged the elbow thrown and swept at his ankles bringing the Corporal down and the exercise was over. Kas spoke through the intercom “Sergeant may I speak with the Corporal once you’ve debriefed him please”. “Yes ma’am should only take a moment.”
When Grant walked into the room he noticed Colonel Kassandra sitting on the opposite side of a table. She was older by his standards maybe mid 40’s though she wasn’t unattractive. Were it not for the scar down her right cheek and the fact that she was a superior officer he would have likely been less professional around her. His 25 year old mind was quickly snapped back to a professional state when she spoke. “Corporal, stop eyeing me up and down its insulting to both of us” she said. “As I understand it you were the only one of the experimental candidates that came out without some sort of mental problem.” He thought back to his past mates in the program “Yes ma’am, the others didn’t have the same reaction to the procedure as I did as I understand it.” Pausing as if realizing she may have hit a nerve she asked “Do you have any theories as to why you were successful?” He had wondered this since he made it through the tests himself, “No ma’am, the scientists say it may have something to do with part of my soul being very old.” Intrigued she questioned “Part of your soul recruit, how many parts are there of you?” Nervous on how to answer this he replied “Four ma’am, my soul was split four times in a past life. I am not responsible for this splitting, but apparently part of the soul is millennia old.” A silence hung over the room and sweat started to bead down his forehead. He may have been one of the most gifted recruits but even he knew he wasn’t above the law and was always ashamed of what his past lives did to his reputation. “Thank you recruit that will be all report to your sergeant” Kas said after a minute. “Aye ma’am.” He said saluting her. “Oh and recruit I will be seeing you around” she said with what he felt was a stress on the will. Grant turned and left the room worried that now he had been red flagged and may not be able to join the special hunter unit that he had worked his life for.
“What do you think Colonel Kassandra?” a general asked from behind the one way mirror. “Personally sir I think he will make a fine hunter though his multiply split soul does concern me” she replied. “Please speak your concerns Colonel” he said. “I’m worried sir, that he will have sympathy for someone who is attempting to split their soul multiple times, it may cause him to question his mission. That could put his fellow hunters at risk” she answered after a second of thought. Kas didn’t like being interrogated after speaking with a recruit. She didn’t even understand why they questioned her they never took her concerns under advisement. “He has already been put with the new special hunter division we are starting. He is young yes but his abilities should make him more than capable in keeping up with the veterans that will be in his unit” the general said not to her surprise. “Thank you Colonel for your time you are dismissed” with this final statement Kas turned saluted the mirror and walked out.
Chapter 3
Kane turned the corner and saw Jasper sitting behind the reception desk as usual. He was a good kid he thought though quite eccentric. Kane thought that had to do with his soul mate being the bonsai tree beside him. This was the only instance that Kane knew of where a tree was a human’s soul mate but it had been confirmed from the guilds soul searcher. Animals sure he thought many people had dogs or cats that turned out to be their mate. Nonetheless Jasper cared for this tree more than he cared for himself. Kane often wondered how many reincarnations of Jasper this tree had outlived but its age was undetermined.
“Hey Kane did I tell you what Bella did last night?” Jasper asked in his quirky voice. “No Jasper what did your plant do this time?” Kane humored him. “The wind was blowing and she brushed the side of my cheek with her softest branch. She knew I needed comfort after the horrible thing that happened to Frederick last week.” Jasper answered. Frederick was a soul splitter who had been killed on assignment the week prior. Kane liked Fred and was upset to hear of his passing. The guild learned of his death when an article in the archives told of a mysterious apparition in the Harvard Exit Theater in Seattle. This was where Fred was to split his client’s soul. While he was successful in accomplishing his task someone got to him before he could wrap back to the present. Kane shuddered to think of this happening to him, to die in a time not intended for your soul causes it to be trapped until it reaches the time it should be in. Most of the ghost stories of the past were a result of soul splitters being killed on assignment.
“Oh by the way Kane the boss wanted to see you he has a couple of jobs for you” Jasper said. “Already here I thought I would have a lazy morning being here so early” Kane complained. “Well Bella and I will be here praying for your safe return, isn’t that right Bella.” Jasper commented. “You know Jasper we could easily make you another soul mate so you don’t have to spend your life with that tree.” Jasper looking a little stunned said “Thank you Kane but you will never hear of a better love story than Bella and me. She is all I need.” Baffled Kane walked towards Charlie’s office.
Kane paused at Charlie’s door, preparing himself for whatever may be in store for him. Charlie was the current leader of the guild but was a splitter before then. He was one of the finest but also one of the most volatile. Some often wondered if his soul was torn as Charlie had split his own soul several times while an agent and it was already split a few times in one of Charlie’s past lives. This rumor came more from greenhorns and clerical members of the guild rather and not veteran splitters. Those that have seen a torn soul knew that while Charlie may be close to tearing it he hadn’t yet. None the less you never knew what kind of mood he would be in sometimes he was your best friend and other times he the whole office would know you were in trouble even before you shut the door. Still Charlie took care of his agents and Kane was thankful for it. Charlie’s office was on the upper floor overlooking the time wrapping and training areas. He had a balcony that he would often be seen standing on watching all the agents preparing for their assignments. As Kane walked in he saw that Charlie was there currently. Kane was always impressed with how well Charlie stayed in shape despite his age. At 64 he could go toe to toe with any of the agents and while he didn’t always win in the sparring ring he usually got close. Charlie wasn’t the biggest man you would ever see but he was smart and that almost always beats brawn.
As Kane walked in Charlie turned around and offered the chair opposite his desk for him. “Drink?” he asked. “Charlie it is 6 in the morning thanks but no.” Charlie poured himself a cup of scotch and sat down. “Been up all night buddy?” Kane asked. Nodding he sighed and took a sip of his drink. “Replacing Fred isn’t going to be easy and I’m uncomfortable with how he got killed” Charlie said. “What do you mean accidents sometimes happen and agents get killed what was unusual about Fred’s death?” Kane asked. “He was killed in the same location that he split the clients soul, if the clients soul had torn I would maybe understand but it didn’t” Charlie paused then continued “All Fred had to do to split the client’s soul was push his past life away from a falling chandelier.” Kane thought about this for a moment Fred was always very cautious and safety oriented following his plans sometimes to the letter. “Do you think it was hunters sir?” Kane asked. Once again merely nodding and taking another sip of his scotch Charlie turned his chair to face his balcony. “I don’t know how they tracked him, but it most definitely was a hunter that pulled the trigger. I dug further and the autopsy of him showed no external damage. He died of internal hemorrhage” Charlie said. Kane had seen this weapon used once before it emitted a silent sonic pulse that essentially turned whatever organ it was pressed against inside out. This also meant the hunter was at the site and watched Fred split the clients soul and acted sometime shortly after while Fred was still in the building. “How was the mission successful then?” Kane asked. Charlie taking a bit more than a sip replied “The clients former life was never ended the hunter simply let the split happen. Unfortunately this also means that the client’s soul may have been tagged. We did what we could to smooth it out and our boys didn’t identify any tag but the feds always have newer toys then we do.” Kane was a bit more worried by this. “So you are saying that Fred was the hunter’s target?” he asked. “I don’t see any other explanation but to kill the splitter and not stop the split is some sort of new tactic that I don’t understand” Charlie said.
“Who else knows about this?” Kane asked. “Well the rumor mill is running all kinds of stories as you might suspect but as far as the autopsy report and that a hunter was in the building with Fred just you and I” Charlie said. “Probably best to keep it that way for now until we better understand what the hunters are up to” Kane said. Charlie put his glass down and faced him “That’s why I need you to go to the church and try and find out something about their intentions. You are the only one of us who can get by their scans without much of a fuss. The rest of us have way too many splits in our souls, and Jasper isn’t a field agent.” Kane saw this coming and hated the idea of going to the lion’s den to try and dig up information. “How do you propose I get sensitive information like that, I will only be allowed in the general areas that are open to the public” Kane said. “A joiner agent that has access to the lower level security areas will give you access past the public area, hopefully you will be able to find some information there” Charlie replied. “So we are working with joiners now Jesus Charlie come on we don’t involve ourselves in politics” Kane ranted. “Kane I don’t like it any more than you do but without some information on why the hunters are trying to kill our agents I am hesitant to send anyone on a job” Charlie said. Kane knew he was right and agreed that without more information it was a little too dangerous to send people out. “What does this agent look like and how will he know I am the person he is supposed to meet with?” Kane reluctantly said. “He is a scientist and will be wearing a lab coat lab coat with a dinosaur patch on it, just tell him you prefer meiosis over mitosis and he will let you in.” Kane chuckled at that and wondered if the joiner agent came up with it himself. “Once you get back I do have a splitting job for you we will do all the soul work and have the time period and location of your assignment when you report back with what you find” Charlie added. With that Kane got up and went to the armory to gather supplies he felt he may need.
Kane enjoyed his times in the armory because it had weapons from all various time periods so agents could familiarize themselves with them. He personally was fond of the feel of old revolvers and hoped his next assignment would merit him the chance to carry one. For this little project what he needed most wasn’t a weapon however and he reached for a sound amplifying ear piece. He fit it snugly in his ear and turned it on to ensure it was functional. Hearing the conversations from the showers down the hall he was satisfied and turned it off. Next he brought up the plans to the building he would be in through the database the guild had. Downloading the room layout onto his phone he took a quick scan of the prints and decided on areas he felt he would most likely find sensitive data. Having the tools he would need Kane left the guild waving to Jasper as he walked out to the street.
The church was a good distance from the guild so Kane felt the train would give him the best chance to calm his nerves and relax before he reached his destination. He had to use a different station than the one he came in on but it still wasn’t far and he sat and waited for his train. He often disliked being the only pure soul in the guild and thus the only operative that could reach the church grounds without being arrested. Still it gave him time away from the shop and typically the missions were relatively danger free compared to splitting. He boarded the train once it arrived, this one being in immaculate condition. Small perks of heading to and from the center of society he thought. Kane sat near the back got comfortable for the long trip and fell asleep.