Two Clicks
924 Words
Devon sat in a creaky wooden chair watching rain pour onto the dirt streets of the latest town he'd stopped to search in. Since he boarded the train in Winston, 3 months had passed.
He had been searching in what he had discovered was an American state, Georgia to be specific. He also confirmed that the year was 1900 and the seasons were turning. The warm monsoon-like storms were turning into frigid and misty days.
After his brief overnight stop in Winston and the two hour train ride that departed from there, he visited town after town.
Last night, in yet another small town, he had slept in what could only be described as a shed. The owner had thankfully cleared any tools out, but his sleeping area was a few wood pallets with blankets. He'd normally prefer the floor to hard wood planks but there were rats and bugs crawling everywhere here. The higher off the ground he could get, the better. At least it wasn't snakes though.
During the recent months, he had been met with hostility by a lot of folks and realized that consequences of the American Civil war still rippled through the region and a lot of people were not happy about it.
His plan was to lay low and spend 1-2 days in each city or town. When he left Winston, he had had plenty of money still, so it was not an issue to pay for food, travel and places to stay but he didn't want to linger. But he rarely stayed in one vessel for long, especially when the living circumstances might be especially dangerous.
He could act as normal as possible, but he couldn't fully fit in here and it was a matter of time before he stirred up trouble that he couldn't talk his way out of. He reminded himself in each vessel that he didn't know what would happen if he died in a borrowed body, and really didn't want to find out.
He had one more stop to make, then he planned on moving on. He prepared for his normal pre-transfer routine, something he started doing out of courtesy to others stuck in the vessel's time period.
He packed all of his things up, tidied up the room (shed) and set off for the small town on the outskirts of a swamp. Bellemont was a smattering of houses and a few shops. He'd set off from here and hoped to God the next place was where her soul had landed. He'd already been through hundreds of vessels, no thousands?
He didn't know anymore. There was no way to keep track, and no point in doing so. He did remember his first jump vividly though.
He had landed in a body off some ocean coast in a middle eastern country, in what could only be biblical times. His name was Ibrahim and he had been stabbed with a spear during a war. He was in that body just long enough to realize what had happened before he jumped again. A war zone was no place to hang around and search, or stay alive for that matter.
And now, it was time to transfer again. Each time that he left without a sign of her, it was like losing her all over again. Maybe this really was hell.
Devon walked down the dirt road and searched for someone who looked to be in need. He found a beggar clothed in dirty and torn clothes sitting on the steps of a building. He handed him his satchel, full of food, extra clothes and half his money. The man thanked him and smiled with several teeth missing.
Devon continued through town and found a woman carrying a baby, with 2 young children walking by her side. He stopped and asked for directions. The woman pointed him towards the next town and as Devon walked away from her, he dropped the rest of his cash at his feet without being noticed. He slipped away quickly but was still close enough to hear the woman exclaim and knew she'd found his gift to her family.
Devon walked through Bellemont and took off his outer layers of clothes. He left his pants on and an undershirt. He found a secluded place and sat in the still-damp grass. He pulled out the amulet and checked one last time for any signal or sign that she might be near. The red crystal simply shined in the light, nothing more.
He grasped the crystal in his hand and twisted the silver piece that hangs on the chain. He twisted once clockwise - click. And once counter clockwise - click. Devon closed his eyes and would never open them again.
Isaac had the sensation of flying. After the transfer with Devon he experienced only the blackness of space for a few moments, what he thought of as "The Void". Then every color in existence flooded his mind in a blinding flash of light. For a few moments, he was an unattached soul. Or maybe he was attached to the amulet itself, he didn't know.
He put all of his mental strength into picturing Helena. Her dumbstruck expression when he surprised her with flowers on their first anniversary. A random night at home, both of them in pajamas eating popcorn and watching Marvel movies until early morning. Her face. Her beautiful brown eyes and perfect smile.
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Mary Edmonds opened her eyes in the ice cold grey water surrounding her, and screamed.
- Writer
