Jackson Cowart

Soul Savior
Horrified, the boy gazed into the fog, as his absolute worst fear was realized, staring him in the
eyes, daring him to battle his own death. Without hesitation, the boy flipped around, almost falling over
himself, and hauled off in a full out sprint, hoping to outrun his potential end. However, with every
frantic step and hurried breath he took, the dark form of nothingness behind him was simply floating
towards him, chilling the air as it proceeded towards its victim. The boy risked a glimpse back, only to be
disappointed at the sight of his biggest threat less than fifty yards back. Before long, he knew that his
legs would give in, and he would lose ground quickly, ultimately being caught by fear itself, with a
strange presence to it, as if giving off a feeling of sudden fright and defeat. Sure enough, less than a few
seconds later, the unfortunate child could run no further, and fell to the ground, motionless and cold as
the night air. As he rolled to his side, he saw a hovering shape approaching ever so slowly, making the
wait for death agonizingly painful.
Then, just as the boy closed his eyes and awaited the end, he felt a sudden burst of frozen wind
throughout him, as his entire body shut down, without warning, leaving the boy still and limp on the
sodden ground, gasping for air but finding none. His mind was racing for answers, trying to tell the rest
of him to start up and save himself, but it was strangely cut off from anything else, isolated from his
body, unable to control anything within him. He tried to open his eyes, to look around him, to do
anything other than lie stationary, straining for every last breath, but it became harder and harder, and
before long, it was impossible to keep from losing all control. Eventually, his eyes pulled themselves
shut, his lungs, frantically trying to bring in air, quit working, and his heart, originally unwilling to stop,
lost hope. Slowly, they all decided that enough was enough, and there was nothing to be done, as a
great deal of his soul was released from within.
The boy lied there, deprived of life, an innocent kid with much promise that now was seemingly
wasted. For several minutes, the motionless shape was engulfed in the moist air around him, as his body
ever so slowly swayed with the wind around him. Before long, the black shadow, silhouetted by the fog
surrounding it, bent over the body, and raised its dark, frozen hand slightly above the face of the boy.
Bending all of its stiff, deathly fingers back but one, it lowered its hand and gently touched the boy’s
forehead, as if not to press too hard. At first, the wind quietly swirled around the boy and his assassin,
making a drawn out humming noise. Suddenly, as it pressed slightly harder, light poured out from where
its finger touched the boy’s head, and the body’s little energy left started to drain into the creature’s
poorly materialized figure.
Gradually, as the energy soaked into the shadow, it became a more distinguished creation, and
before long could be faintly recognized as an individual being. With slightly more of the boy’s remaining
soul, the rapidly forming, murderous spirit would have a much more dominant figure to bring fear and
dread upon its prey. It could feel its own essence growing in power by the second, and knew that with as
much force and intensity it would soon possess, nothing could bring about its end.
Just as life was seemingly lost forever within the boy, a miracle occurred. Assuming that
everything had already fallen into place, the almost invincible force began to focus on his immediate
actions to take place once the energy was its, and not the present actions taking place. Having not lost
every ounce of his soul yet, as some still remained, the boy’s mind was in full function, despite the rest
of him abandoning the cause. Taking advantage of the beast’s flaw, the boy’s mind forcefully ordered
the rest of him to take one final stand, trying to convince everything that the boy wasn’t a lost cause,
and that his life could still be saved. Knowing not to resist the order, his heart started pumping
vigorously, his lungs strained for air, his arms and legs became mobile again. The boy wasn’t defeated
yet.
Careful not to waste a single moment, the boy leaped away from his enemy, though still hard to
do since he lacked much energy. Startled by the sudden revolt, the deadly creature lost its connection
with the boy, and without control started to seep energy, soul, and fright into the night. Losing
increasing amounts of life by the second, the once powerful force was shriveling up, experiencing all of
the pain and torture its targets felt on encounter. After a brief episode of regret and sorrow by the
suddenly sorry and forgiving spirit, it eventually faded, disappearing into thin air. As he was destroyed,
his source of energy, his souls that he had taken, and any other power within him had been released
into the night, no longer a part of the death-seeking shadow. Strangely, though, the boy knew that this
wouldn’t be the last time he faced something of its kind.
Mustering as much energy as he could, the boy managed to crawl from where he had jumped
back towards his original life source, at first stolen by the creature, now suspended in the air along with
every other one of the murderer’s unfortunate souls. Struggling, yet succeeding, he differentiated his
soul from the rest, and attempted to grab it. His hand slipped right through the soul, falling into the
mess of other lost children, as he fell through these, too. Confused as to what he needed to do to get his
soul, he waited. Suddenly, his soul rushed into him, no warning, and surged through him from head to
toe. By no coincidence, he now felt immense strength, at the same time a refreshing new will to live,
lost in the struggle between life and death.
As he cleared his mind and began to contemplate what had happened and what it all meant, he
couldn’t help but wonder about one particular topic. Seeing all of the claimed souls of children who
would never live life again, he began to wonder about them and himself. How had he survived and they
didn’t? Why was his mind strong enough to overcome the power of certain death, while no one else’s
was? Why had it been so difficult for him to die? As he thought it all over, he briefly recalled something
that he had learned about from a wise old gentleman, but never came to believe it. However, the more
he thought, the more he came to terms with the facts, which no matter how hard he tried to avoid,
couldn’t be escaped. The boy, whether he liked it or not, was the Soul Savior.

(Work in progress)