LATEST UPDATES

Soul Between Lives - Chapter 11

Published at 28th of December 2018 09:06:03 AM


Chapter 11

If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again






The old man was watching the screen playing out the scene of Alex's most recent last moments. Other than the normal disorientation that assailed Alex every time his soul traveled between places this time he was confused by what he saw on the screen. Next to the griffon that had tried to ambush him from above was a strikingly attractive female in somewhat lewd armor trying to find something in a bag she had slung over her shoulder.

[What the heck? I thought that winged beast was a man-eater.] Thought Alex as the lady finally pulled out a clear gemstone and held it towards his corpse before she started to chant. The chant sounded like a song and was as if she was giving praise to some amazing wonder.

Just then Alex noticed the rock had been moved off from his head and felt his stomach turn over. The result of his handiwork was gruesome. He felt a strong stab of regret and sympathy as if he was feeling sorry for some unfortunate stranger. With his attention locked on his dead self, it took a moment for Alex to notice the stone in the lady's hand had been gathering swirls of light that looked as if the wind itself was turning into fabric made of sunshine.

Before long the lady reached the end of her chant and the radiance of the stone and the swirling light intensified almost enough to make Alex shield his eyes. Then the lady gasped as the light blinked off and on before the brilliance faded away and dissipated far faster than it had gathered. With a shocked voice, the lady blurted out, "The God's stone of resurrection isn't working!? How could this be?"

Right then the scene on the screen froze and the old man turned his head back toward Alex with a very angry look on his face. "You wasted a good life you know. You could have been happy there if you had lived."

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Alex.

"Yes very happy indeed." the old man continued as he was taking steps one by one closer to Alex.

"The beautiful women of that world outnumber the men by about fifty to one and are always open for casual interactions. Even old gods like me can enjoy their skillful and insightful techniques when we sneak in there."

Alex was wide-eyed torn between feeling like an utter moron for wasting that chance or feeling like an utter moron for wanting to believe the crazy old man. Not knowing what to say, all Alex could do was scoot backward on the ground to keep his distance from this maniacal old man as his own mouth opened and closed.

The old man stopped walking forward before saying, "So you've started killing yourself now, have you? My efforts at finding you a nice home are so unsatisfactory that you have to throw your precious life away as soon as you can huh?"

[I need to think of something to say god dam*it. Think! My head was full of complaints just a bit ago.] It didn't seem to matter how seasoned his brain was at wiggling his way out of trouble from all the years of lying to his mother about homework and missing cookies. Right now Alex's brain was overwhelmed by the indignant rage he could see in the old man's eyes.

"Perhaps I should send you back to that leech planet. You seemed to have had some fun there." the old man says with a vicious smile that couldn't be seen in his eyes.

"N-NO!" Finally, the brain and mouth of Alex have connected again. "I was only killing myself because I didn't want to go through so much pain again!"

"That's not very convincing from someone that smashed their own head so readily."

"You've not had leeches biting your eyeball before!"

"Leeches don't go for the eyes when there's thicker blood everywhere else under the skin." the old man said with a deeper frown.

"I really think something's out to get me!"

"Nonsense. I've thought about that possibility and I would have noticed if another soul followed you to those worlds. You're just very unlucky, that's all. Ah, and very stupid for killing yourself."

Alex shook his head before emphatically saying, "Didn't you see that storm that came for me as a bird? What about that eel and those leeches? They weren't acting normal!"

"Storms are normal in the oceans in almost any world. As for that eel and those leaches... I guess morons just taste better." The old man says as a fresh orb appears in his hand.

Seeing the orb and having a nasty premonition, Alex panics "Alright, I admit I made a mistake killing myself like that. Would you send me back to the world with all the women?"

"You had your chance. That woman borrowed her god's power to attempt to resurrect you but failed. If you return there only to disappear from that god's domain again, they're sure to come looking for you. I don't need that kind of trouble."

Alex was at a loss again as thoughts about the complex relationships between gods swirled around his brain.

"All I have to do is keep making you live until it sticks!" the old man continued as he wound up for the pitch.

This time Alex has plenty of time to react, so he turns around on his butt and launches forward into a run moving as fast as he can. Fearing the orb was flying at him already Alex looks back over his shoulder prepared to dodge the incoming orb only to see he's been running in place. All of his desperate flailing only made him look foolish. He could even see the screen displaying a side view of his long strides which looked especially awkward when his body was going nowhere fast.

"I fu*king hate you old man!"

"We've had this conversation too many times already Alex. I usually don't even bother to remember the names of souls I take through here..." the old man looks down at the orb lost in thought for a moment and looks back up at Alex. "I'm sure if I keep sending you places, you'll stop appearing back here. That would make me happy." The old man's grin makes all the anger in his face seem like it was all an illusion.

"I'm telling you that won't work!"

"I think I know better than you. I've been doing this far longer than you have after all." The smile on the old man's face now looked mocking to Alex.

"For a god, you really don't seem to know what you're doing!"

Eyes bulging the old man yells, "YOU LITTLE SH*T! STOP COMING BACK HERE!" Making Alex turn his head away and cover his ears.

This time the old man mercilessly threw the orb squarely hitting Alex in the back of the head.

After Alex was on his way to another new life the old man rubbed his throwing arm, "This is getting tiresome."

...

Alex stopped wriggling around and following all the other leeches around him. [This is getting me nowhere. Where the heck are we even going?] His initial panic at seeing human-sized leeches wore off pretty quickly when he realized he himself wasn't a human-sized slice of pizza but a leech, like all the hundreds of others swarming around him.

[That b*stard really did send me back to the leeches planet.] Going with the flow, Alex was now wriggling across a huge grassy field toward the thing that smelled so dam* good. He had to admit, his self-respect was taking some damage. He wasn't sure how leeches usually found their prey but his eyesight as a leech was better than it was as a human. And he didn't so much as smell with a nose, rather it was more like his skin could taste the air. Was this normal for leeches? Alex didn't care. All he could focus on other than his misfortune was the urgent need to eat.

Finally, he made contact with his prey. The cow-like beast didn't even notice him and the army of his fellows as they squirmed up its leg looking for a good warm spot to sink their teeth in. Alex was in ecstasy as the thick warm blood gushed into him with every suck. His body was as big as a balloon before his mind came back to him.

[Who knew blood could taste so good.] If Alex could shake his head to clear it he would have but he was still firmly attached to the bovine's rump.

[How do I get down? Wait... I totally forgot about my plan. Maybe I should drink till I burst.] Thinking back on the old man's words about wasting his life, Alex takes stock of what he just experienced. It wasn't so bad sucking blood and the feeling of being full, like a big balloon, was like being immersed in a warm bath with rain drizzling against the window while having a nice stretch all over his body.

Just then the cow noticed the horde of leeches sucking its life out and with a jarring shudder started running away with Alex still attached. Now being full of blood and being jostled around brought a whole slew of other sensations. [Am I going to pop!?] Alex yelled out mostly to himself as the cow started rubbing its hindquarters against trees with rough bark.

[If I can just hang on, this cow will get me back to that d*mn old man in no time.] He thought as the cow was practically break-dancing as it dragged its a*s across the ground. Finally, Alex was dislodged and nearly stepped on but he unluckily survived. He could only curse his luck as the cow continued doing various antics as it ran away. It was a long while of digesting before Alex deflated enough and could finally move.

[*sigh* I think I might be stuck this time. I'm going to be a depressed slug for the rest of my life.] Dragging himself after the cow, Alex contemplated the life of a leech. Out of nowhere, Alex heard the wind being cut before a crushing pain lanced his sides and burst his mostly round body. The bird's screech of victory vibrating the hair on his skin and the feeling of deflating rapidly was the last thing Alex was aware of as a leech.




Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!