Soul Searcher Book 1

The words that fall from my lips are not an apology, “what the hell are you doing here?” Cassie glares at me instead of responding.

She scoffs and with a curl of her soft, luscious lips says, “not that it’s any of your business, but I work here. Why are you here? Are you stalking me or something?” Cassie crosses her arms over her chest and taps her red and black Converse of her right foot on the dirty floor of booze and cigarette butts as her hooded eyes continue to look at me in the very dim lighting.

“You wish,” I respond snidely. I turn my attention back to the stage, forcing myself to focus on the band instead of the beautiful girl I would rather be focusing on. I would love nothing more than to pull her into a dark corner and kiss the hell out of her. She is so close to me that I can feel her body heat and it’s driving me towards madness as I think about kissing her! The people all cheer as the song ends but, in its place, a heavier tune starts in, and the crowd goes wild. Bodies slam into me from nearly every direction and as I’m being jostled about, I get shoved from behind and I trip forward. Catching myself, I look up just in time to see feet flying right towards Cassie’s face.

I dive towards her and faster than she can blink I have her in my arms and in one swift motion have spun us away from what could have been a hell of an impact! She tries to push me away from her, not yet having realized what would have happened if I hadn’t been so quick on my feet. She peers over my left shoulder and watches as the very large dude that had been trying to body surf crashes to the floor where she had been standing mere seconds before. Cassie leans away from me, her eyes wide in shock as I’m sure she is thinking about how she could have been crushed by the guy. “How in the world did you do that?” She waves her hand towards the floor where the dude is trying to get back on his feet. “You saved me! There is no way you could have done that! How...”

Realizing I still have my hands loosely gripped on either side of her arms, I release my hold of her. I don’t, however, give her an answer to her question. I mean really, I’m a Halfling with supernatural speed and strength... I’m sure telling her that wouldn’t make her think I’m some insane, stalker guy. Instead, I shrug my shoulders and walk away from her.

The air around me is thick and I feel like I’m suffocating. Walking outside I breathe in deeply the fresh scent of the ocean. I need to get away from here, from her, I think to myself before picking a random direction and begin walking.

***

Cassie cursed, who is he to think he has the right to question why I’m here. What nerve! She thought to herself. She growled out a response but was genuinely curious as to whether he was following her. The urge to punch him in the face was strong but wanting to continue watching the band play was stronger so she decided to focus her attention on the stage and peeking out of the corner of her eye, she could see that he was trying to do the same. Just as she began to relax and get back into the vibe of the show though, Rim slammed into her, jerking her from where she stood. Well, that’s what it felt like at first but when she realized that he had saved her from bodily harm, Cassie stared at him in shock. How did he move so quickly? It was like he had inhuman speed. When questioning him on how he was able to do so though, he didn’t answer, instead choosing to walk away from her.

She stood still, too stunned to go after him. Looking at the path that Rim had created as he had weaved through the crowd that was quickly filling back up with bodies, Cassie realized she had to act fast to be able to follow after him. She maneuvered around bodies, just missing bumping into hands holding alcoholic beverages while simultaneously avoiding slipping on the dingy, tiled floor covered in who knows what! Finally, she broke through the crowded bodies and out into the humid night air. “Damn it!” She swung her head quickly back and forth as she tried to determine which way Rim might have gone. Growling, Cassie stomped her right foot in frustration.

Hearing her name, Cassie turned her head to the entrance of the club where she noticed Khloe standing. “Hey Cass, Jason sent me to find you. He needs some help at the bar.” Sighing, she nodded and spun around to slowly walk back inside.

After the stragglers finally departed and the band left, Cassie told Jason that she would clean up for him in the morning if he let her leave now to get some sleep. She was exhausted, with barely enough energy left to climb the stairs to her apartment, she unlocked the door, sluggishly making her way in and shutting the door behind her. She couldn’t even fathom the idea of doing her nightly routine; changing into pajamas, removing her makeup and the other little things she would normally do. One glance at her very comfortable bed and she was done for the night. Feeling almost drunk, Cassie staggered over to the edge of her bed and without even removing her sneakers, face planted onto the light blue sheets that covered her mattress and fell asleep.

**

I can see my breath as I exhale knowing automatically, I’m dreaming. Instead of waiting for Cassie to show up I decide to go exploring. I want to know why I keep having this dream inside of this abandoned building and I also want to know what kind of building this was too. As I begin to wander, I realize that the place is an abandoned hospital. Now the question I have is why? Why do I dream of this place? Why is this where Cassie and I keep meeting unintentionally or so I assume it is unintentionally. I personally have never been here before. Meandering slowly through the hallways I see that a fair portion of the building has burnt to the ground. Ever so intrigued, I want to continue my investigation of the building but at the same time I feel a pull back to where I first started this journey of mine.

With a sigh for my unanswered questions, I turn and begin walking back to the area where I usually encounter Cassie. I realize the room was once a cafeteria. Just by the general layout of the area and I can also see some slightly burnt, beat up lunch tables off in a corner of the room as well. It’s weird though, the cafeteria is the only room that consistently feels like an ice box. When I was walking through the hallways, I noticed a significant temperature difference from this room. Pushing myself up onto the ledge that I have claimed as mine, I situate myself so that my feet hang off, dangling precariously against the side of the wall as I wait for her to show up.

My ears perk up when I hear the distinctive sound of footsteps coming down the hallway and my heart begins to skip beats in anticipation of seeing the beautiful gem blue eyes of Cassie. My palms become clammy as they rest against the edge of the ledge, and I slide them up and down along my jeans trying to eliminate some of the moisture. The stupid grin is trying to slide across my face, and I am desperately trying to keep it at bay. The last thing I need is for her to be creeped out because I can’t control the dorky grin that wants to consume my lips!

***

Cassie tried desperately to control her facial expression wanting to appear nonchalant as she walked the hall that would ultimately lead her to beautifully haunting amethyst eyes and the chiseled features of Rim. Giddy excitement was coursing through her body and as she took each step the excitement increased. Why am I so excited to see him? God, I feel like I’m back in high school, she thought. I will thank him for saving me from getting pummeled and then I will demand he tell me who he is and why he keeps showing up wherever I am! That’s what she told herself anyway. Taking a deep breath, Cassie exhaled slowly to allow her nerves to stop shaking before she rounded the corner.

Her façade cracks as she spots Rim leisurely sitting on the edge of the wall. The stupid grin consumes her lips as she gingerly makes her way closer to him. The only thing keeping her from demanding she wake from the dream was the simple fact that Rim was wearing the exact same stupid grin as her. Cassie watched as Rim leapt down from the ledge, his movements as graceful as a cat, barely making a sound as his combat boots hit against the tiled floor. “Hi,” she said breathlessly as he came to stand in front of her. All questions and demands slipped from Cassie’s mind as she gazed into Rim’s eyes. Instead, she took the couple steps it took to close the gap between them before placing her hands on either side of his face and bringing his lips to hers. Since she was 5’8 and Rim was an even 6 feet, Cassie only had to stretch her neck upward slightly as he bent his head forward as their lips crashed into each other hungrily.

The shock of Cassie placing her hands against my cheeks holds me still for just a moment as I am unsure of what her intentions are towards me. But the second our lips touch, the world around us fades away leaving just me and her in a realm of darkness, our unity a glowing beacon of light that brings a warmth to the otherwise vast emptiness of this darkened dream realm we stand in. We have somehow managed to do a dance of sorts as she steps back and I move forward, all the while still kissing each other urgently. We find ourselves by one of the cement pillars within the dream room and I press her up against it as she tries to pull me in even closer to her than we already are.

Cassie gives me a puzzled look as I stop the kissing and step back, away from her. Believe me, I am just as puzzled by this move as she is. “I’m sorry,” I say as I look into her eyes. “I can’t do this... not in a dream. I want you in the real world.” She gazes at me before nodding in understanding.

“You’re right,” she responds in a shaky voice. “Besides I didn’t mean for that to happen. I really was hoping to meet you in this dream that we share so that I can ask you some questions.” I arch an eyebrow curiously wondering what kind of questions she might ask of me.

“O-kay...” I say hesitantly. “What would you like to know?”

She smiles faintly. “Well, why did you kiss me the other night after the Ferris wheel incident? How did you manage to move so quickly tonight at the club? Why are your eyes purple? How old are you and most importantly, who are you?”

The barrage of questions causes me to chuckle. “Alright, nothing like being straightforward and to the point,” I say as I give her a lopsided grin. Cassie crosses her arms over her chest and gives me a serious look. Sighing, I run a hand through my hair causing strands to fall across my forehead. “Well, you know my first name is Rimmon. As I mentioned my parents have an inside joke for naming me after a Fallen Angel though I’m not sure why they found humor in doing so...” I shrug because I don’t want to tell her the complete truth about who I am because she will think I’m crazy or delusional to say the least.

“My last name is Drewitt and I love the meaning because it can mean phantom or ghost which I feel I am sometimes as I go unnoticed by most. What were your other questions?” I look into her eyes as I try to recall what all she had asked me. “Oh, I turned 21 a couple of months ago. For your question about my eyes, I honestly have no clue why they are a shade of Amethyst. And yeah, I’ve always been light on my feet, very agile, quick to move when I see someone might be in danger. But as for kissing you, I have no clue as to why I did that. I...” I look at her helplessly as I am at a loss for words. How do I say I feel a connection to her, a pull that if denied might make me go insane? As I’m contemplating how to put my feelings about her into words, she suddenly disappears in a ‘poof!’