The Soul Catcher (Harry Styles)

31 - Disobedience

"Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves."

― Henry David Thoreau

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Excitement definitely wasn't the first word that came to my mind when I tried to describe the feeling in my chest.

I was thrown back to the time at school when the teacher would assign tons of work no one wanted to do.

The feeling rushing through me was comparable to aversion and pain.

It hurt me to think of the good times being over for now, reality catching up with me once more.

"What do we have to do?" I asked, sighing. I wasn't even able to pretend I was happy.

Elaine squeezed my forearm, showing me that I wasn't alone in any of this. She was there to comfort me, just as I would do my best to ensure her safety and happiness.

That was something the Council couldn't take away from us.

Merrill glared holes through our touching skin, but neither Elaine nor I took real notice of it. A small, smug grin was sent his way, that was the only time I would acknowledge his odd behaviour.

The Council had given us the greenlight, we weren't doing anything wrong any longer.

"It's just two small assignments you have to take care of. Judging from your record, this shouldn't take too long," Isabella smiled at us, looking down at some papers that have literally appeared out of nowhere.

"You're keeping track of our record?" Elaine asked, pursing her lips.

"Of course," Isabella nodded in confirmation.

"I'm just curious, but... Is there a way a Soul Catcher can fail an assignment?" I directed my question at Isabella, but it was Juliet who answered.

"Yes. A person doesn't always get along with every single soul they meet, and sometimes you simply distrust or dislike a person without having a particular reason. If you happen to run into one of those souls, it's possible that you won't be able to convince them to cross."

"Interesting," I mumbled.

I had always been good with everyone I met, but there was this one boy in prep school that had been really nasty to me all the time. He surely was one of those people I disliked.

"What are our assignments?" Elaine sounded as unimpressed as I felt.

"A five-year-old boy named Leon and a sixteen-year-old girl named Azura," Elisa informed us.

"Cause of death?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Cancer and suicide." Elisa's tone softened and her eyes held a glint of sadness.

"Oh, shit," Elaine whispered under her breath, leaning her head against my shoulder.

I wrapped my arm around her, holding her fragile body close to mine to keep her warm as I felt her shivering. The kiss to her temple was meant to be encouraging, but it ignited a fire that I tried to kill as fast as it had appeared.

There was no time for that, especially not in front of the Council.

"Let's go," I tried to motivate not only Elaine but also myself, "we got two souls to catch."

"Yey," Elaine fake-cheered, grimacing.

Elisa wished us "Good luck," and then the Council disappeared. Just like that.

"I hope we won't need it," I muttered, silently dreading our journey.

As there was no more reason to hide our relationship – I still wasn't sure about any official titles but that was for later to worry -, I intertwined my fingers with Elaine's, squeezing her cold hand once.