The Soul Catcher

She walked down the street, almost deserted at this time of the morning. Her fingertips gently brushed the railings of the black iron fence of Peld Park. The wind gently rustled the trees above her and some cherry blossom floated down at her feet. She bent to pick up the flower and in that moment she looked truly beautiful. She heard a click and looked up, fear passing across her face, but it was too late.

It was early and I felt exhausted as I made my way home. I hoped that I would be able to sneak back into my building without having to face Mrs Morigal. The evil old witch lived on the ground floor and seemed to know every creak of the staircase. She revelled in bile and vitriol and had a cackle that was perfectly suited to a pantomime villain. I remembered the last time I had had to face her,
“Another one gone,” she told me with glee.
“Another what? Mrs Morigal.”
“Another one of those damn homeless, that’s what. Dead in an alleyway, eyes scooped out n’all.” She let out her pantomime laugh and I hurried past towards the stairway. I didn’t see what was funny about a homeless boy having his eyes scooped out.
“Must’ve been the dark one,” she called out as I hurriedly closed my door, one storey above her.

I walked along the north side of Peld park and approached Lime Avenue where I lived. My building loomed in the foreground looking foreboding as usual. I remember when it used to look bright and airy, the white limestone gleaming in the sunshine, but that was before the dark days and the change. The lime stone was caked in grime now like everything else in this town. The main doorway was solid oak and held up the giant two storey window that allowed you to view the park from the stairway. I thought I could see a dark figure on the stairway again as I approached but shook it off as my imagination and hoped it wasn’t Mrs Morigal lurking. I bought the flat a few years ago because it looked out over the North side of Peld Park and on a clear day you could see the countryside beyond and at night the city lights in the distance. I used to love sitting on the stairs with Gail, drinking wine whilst we watched the sunset and then the gentle glow from the distant lights. I didn’t look at the park now, I was afraid of what I might see there.

Thankfully Mrs Morigal wasn’t around when I entered the building and I was able to get up the stairs unmolested. When I entered the main room I could hear the pictures chattering on the wall. They hushed themselves when they saw me. I brought out my camera and went to the dark room to develop my latest capture. I was pleased with what I had caught, the girl was truly beautiful and I had captured her at the crucial moment that revealed her souls beauty.

That night I awoke to find that I had fallen asleep in front of the television again. I didn’t know why I did it, it wasn’t as if there had been anything to watch for as long as I could remember, but the static was hypnotising. I had been having my nightmare again; Gail was there and we were in the café laughing and joking, then the world had shook and the changes had happened. The dark one had burst into the café smashing all the windows. His face was as terrifying as ever, black smoked obscuring his features apart from the glowing eyes. In an instant he was beside us and he picked up Gail in one cruel hand, then he seemed to float backwards carrying Gail with him, getting further and further away with each passing moment. I let out a scream and tried to grab for her but she just smiled at me as she was pulled away from existence. That was the point I woke, in a cold sweat again. The whispering from the pictures ceased and left me to the silence of the white noise from the television.

Where I lived used to be larger, before the change. I was pretty sure this place used to have a name, just like the city that used to shine in the distance. I used to walk through Peld Park on my way home, enjoying the sounds of the birds and the fresh smell of the pine trees, but I didn’t go there now. It’s dark now and the trees were twisted and strange. The birds left with the change and were replaced by the groaning sounds of the demons. On the nights I got caught out too late I hurried past the railings of the park and could sometimes sense the demons moving in the shadows, willing me to enter their domain. The streets were much quieter now that the change had come. There used to be cars and people but now things were different. Places had moved as well, everything used to be further apart but now that there were less people there seems to be less places as well. The café that I used to visit with Gail had been ten minutes away on the outskirts of the town centre, now it was around the corner and the same three customers inhabited the place every time I went there. My building wasn’t always alone on Lime Street but now the rest of the buildings were just grimy walls without doors. I think that Mrs Morigal and I lived alone in the building now; I hadn’t heard Mr Cooper in the flat above for quite a while.

There was a boy hidden in the alley way by the old Victorian bank. I had seen him around before; he looked about fifteen and more withered every time I saw him. He was homeless, that much I knew. A middle aged man was with him, standing in the shadows. I couldn’t quite catch his features he was standing just out of reach. The boy knelt down to the man’s crotch and began to unzip him. That was when I saw him clearly. The man turned to look at me with those glowing eyes, the black smoke rose from his skin making him appear to be in constant motion like a toxic bonfire. He smiled at me and I felt a chill run through my spine. I ran, as fast as I could. I had hoped that I could save the boy, but I was too late, the dark man had him.

“Another one gone,” screeched Mrs Morigal, when I arrived home later that day. “Little homeless buggers making the place look untidy, just lying there staring into space.”
I gulped and stared at her speechlessly.
“It, it was the dark man,” I finally got out, “I saw him.”
She grinned wickedly at me,
“He’ll be coming for you next if he saw you.”

I awoke that night to find myself enveloped in static again. I looked at the pictures on the wall; they froze at my gaze. My latest was a young woman with auburn hair; she wore a floral pattern dress which flowed with the curves of her body beneath. She had been a prostitute that I had been watching for a while. She was trapped in her situation but I could see the inner beauty beneath. I had captured her as she knelt to pick up some cherry blossom on the edge of Peld Park.

The next day I thought I saw Gail. It couldn’t be true, she was gone, but just out of the corner of my eye I had seen a shock of blond hair. I turned and saw her from behind. It looked just like her, I called out but she kept on going.

I thought that night that the Town had shrunk again. The café was now on the corner of Lime Street and the park was menacingly closer. I could hear the demons from my window. I was sat watching the pictures I had captured when I heard a knock on the door. I hoped it wasn’t Mrs Morigal. It wasn’t, it was Gail. I stood dumfounded.
“Aren’t you going to let me in?”
I motioned her in, unsure what to say.
“I thought…”
“I know, but things aren’t what they seem.” She looked at me kindly and I noticed a sad expression in her eyes. Her golden hair seemed to glow and she had an angelic feel to her.
“You better sit down. I have some explaining to do.” I sat down on the sofa and reached over to turn of the static on the television.
“None of this is real. It stopped being real the day the dark man took me. This existence you are living in is something you have created yourself.”
“Does that mean you’re not real?”
“No, I’m real,” she said. “You’re real, I’m real and the dark man is real, but the rest of it, well, it’s just your imagination.” I gave her a confused look, I was wondering if this was some sort of elaborate joke.
“The day the dark man came he swept into our reality and destroyed everything in his wake. The only things he couldn’t destroy were you and me, you see it seems that there are only a few real people in the world and the rest of it is just created by our minds. When the dark man came he destroyed all of our creations and took me away. He’s a demon and he feeds on souls. He hypnotised me and then tried to feed on me but I was rescued by someone called Alethial, he’s a Sighter and he had been trailing the dark man for a while. When it happened your mind created a new reality for you, the dark man escaped into that before Alethial could capture him and that’s where he’s been ever since watching you and trying to turn you so he can steal your soul.” I looked at Gail sceptically.
“If this is true why didn’t Alethial follow the dark man into my reality and rescue me as well?”
“That’s what he has been trying to do. From my point of view only a few minutes have passed, for you it has been years. Right now Alethial is fighting the Dark man and you better hope he wins.”
“What is the dark man, you said he was a demon; like the ones in Peld Park?”
“They’re not real, remember. His subconscious has been invading yours and that is why your world is so dark and strange now. Have you noticed that your world is shrinking? That’s because he is gradually wearing you away, he’s winning. Have you been behaving the way you would normally recently? I don’t think you used to stalk people and photo them before killing them…”
“I haven’t killed anybody!” I stood up angrily.
“No,” she said sadly, “you’ve just captured their souls, is that what you call it. And tell me what is it the dark man does?”
“He kills people.”
“He captures then and steals away their souls. Look at your pictures, you have peoples souls trapped in them, the pictures are afraid of you, where are their bodies? There where you left them, that’s where.” I slumped down on the sofa again.
“But, but how could I?”
“It wasn’t you. Remember your mind is fighting off an invasion from the dark man and he’s winning. The dark man is a real demon; he feeds of the energy of the real people and the realities they create.”
“What can I do?”
“You can wait, and hope that Alethial manages to find him in time. If it’s not too late you can leave this reality and return to the real world with me,” she gave me a comforting look. I waited and hoped.

There was a shining castle in the distance, floating in the clouds. I flew towards it my wings beating powerfully. Heralds circled the shining castle and as I drew closer I could see a colourful market taking place in the main courtyard. Gail spotted me from the crowd and flew up to meet me, her skin glowed bathing her in white light. Her hands reached for mine and I drew her towards me. We kissed. She looked at me lovingly and said,
“Welcome to my reality.”