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“Where are you going? Are you taking me? Where is Dank?” I asked again and she held up her hands as if in defense.

“Okay, first of all, I didn’t get my apology and you still think you can start just demanding answers.”

“I’m sorry! Now where is Dank?”



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Gee frowned. “That didn’t sound like you meant it.” I closed my eyes and realized that even with them closed I could still see. Weird. “Your eyes aren’t closing, Peggy Ann, you just think they are. I explained the way that works already so stop it. You look like you are doing the creepy stare thing souls do.

“Please, I’m sorry. Just tell me where Dank is,” I pleaded.

Gee smiled. “Okay, okay fine. The truth is I don’t exactly know.” She shrugged and walked past me.

“What do you mean?”

She turned back around and smiled at me. “It all is confusing. You let me kill your body but of course lover man wasn’t going to take your soul from your body. However, I knew, as did he, that if your soul was truly willing it could leave the body on its own. So, I left the swirling hurricane last night and brought your dead body back here. I knew when your soul came back around from the trauma of killing off your body that it would be the time of reckoning. I waited to see and, sure enough…” she paused and smirked.

“Honestly, I never doubted it. I could see your fierceness to save him. I knew it was your soul that was talking and I expected your soul to leave your body. It, of course, did and I should have immediately been able to take you and head on up.” She gnawed on her bottom lip and shrugged.

“What?” I asked with relief running through me at the thought that Dank was still Death and he was not burning in Hell.

“Ah, well I’m not real sure. I mean I like you and all but I’ve got a busy schedule and you have taken up quite a good deal of my time these past few weeks. Well, at least since Dank expelled Ky and I got stuck with the job of making sure Mr. Stubborn released your soul. Anyway, see the thing is I didn’t hang around and postpone our departure so I could chat with you and you could ask me a million questions. I, uh, well, your soul isn’t coming. It won’t leave or there is a force holding it.” She sighed and frowned at me.



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“I don’t know what’s going on here. You’re a first on all accounts. Maybe Death does have to take your soul after all. I have no idea. My guess is that you had better go get back into that body of yours and live this life. I’m afraid Death hasn’t been given a reprieve for his rebellion. If you don’t go back to your body then you’re going to spend eternity as a wandering soul. I don’t have to tell you what a wandering soul is because we both know you already know. You see them all the time. Do you want to have their miserable existence?

Look, don’t let him have been given eternal damnation for nothing.” She walked over to where my body lay, lifeless. “If he has to burn in Hell for all eternity don’t let him have to do it knowing you’re a lost soul. He’ll know. They will make sure he knows. It’s all about the pain and torture down there.

What a little heat can’t do to him the knowledge that you gave up the promised eternity he fought so hard for you to keep is going to cause him pain like you will never comprehend.” She stared down at my body. “It’s your choice.

Get back in and live. Do it for him.” Then she was gone.

I stood over my body looking at it as hot tears ran down my face again although now I knew I only felt the memory of tears. I was a soul. I couldn’t cry. I touched my face and my body felt cold. The thought of returning to this body and existing while Dank no longer roamed the Earth because of me was unbearable. “You’re my reason for my existence, Dank. How can I live without you?” I whispered into the room and knew no matter what pain life would hold for me I couldn’t cause him any more pain. I would endure life so he wouldn’t have the guilt of my lost soul to torment him. He’d given up everything for me. I could sacrifice an eternity of sorrow, if that’s what it took to ease his suffering. I slipped back into bed and felt a warm tingling sensation run through me as I rejoined the body I’d left. My eyes opened and a sob escaped from my lips.

“Pagan, honey? You ever going to get up and come eat?” Mom was standing at my doorway smiling at me, completely 186



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unaware that her last visit into my room she’d seen an empty body.

“Yes, um, sorry. I guess being in my bed again caused me to oversleep.” She walked over to me and sat down beside me.

“It felt good to have you home last night. You can miss school today if you need a day to get adjusted.” I thought of staying home in my room and knew it would be too hard. I needed to get out and talk to people. I needed to see life and find a way to survive it. I wouldn’t be the cause of Dank’s pain. I’d live, for him.



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Chapter Twenty


Mom had sent Leif on to school without me and explained I would be coming in late. Leif was one thing I had to deal with. If I had to live this existence, I couldn’t continue to use him. I would never love him the way he deserved. He was my friend and a source of comfort. Allowing myself to remain his girlfriend not only was wrong for Leif, it was a betrayal because I would never belong to anyone but Dank. I couldn’t live that way. Living wasn’t going to be easy for me.