Don't Lose Your Soul

Astoria woke up in the early hours of the morning. She stretched her body and, with a downcast face, looked at her home one last time.

"I'm really gonna miss this place," she said with a sigh, walking out the house.

She got in her car and began her five-hour-long drive to Beadville, her new home. She first drove in silence for about an hour of the trip but later turned on the radio. Her favorite song by her celebrity crush, Harry Styles, was playing, and she smiled like a teenager in love. She hummed to the music, her fingers lightly tapping the steering wheel.

'Oh, the things I would do to meet him.'

It was a rainy morning and so cold that she felt as though someone had switched a fan on and placed it right in front of her face. As much as she was sad about her whole predicament, she was still happy that she could continue to be a police officer. Who knows, maybe a fresh start was what she needed. She was lost in thought as she turned into a secluded road.

'Well, this is not creepy at all. Why did I decide to leave so freaking early?'

One had no choice but to take this road as it led and connected to the main road, which heads for Beadville. It was surrounded by thick bushes and trees. Since she left in the early morning hours, there was no trace of any other car driving by. The rain did not make it any easier for her to observe her surroundings.

Suddenly, she saw a black SUV with black tinted windows driving behind her through her rearview mirror. At first, she did not notice anytahing weird until the SUV suddenly sped up, causing her to raise her eyebrows.

'What the hell? Why would anyone drive so dangerously in such weather?'

There was no other car on the road except the SUV and hers. She occasionally glanced at the SUV, and when it sped up with full speed, her eyes widened. The black SUV suddenly bumped into her tiny car. She screamed in shock as she tried to grab control of her vehicle. The SUV bumped into her car again, this time with excessive force, causing her to lose total control of her vehicle.

With a loud bang, her car drove straight into a tree. Due to the impact of the collision, she hit her head on the steering wheel, causing her to be semi-conscious. Blood trickled down her face, and all that was heard was her raspy breathing and the sound of rain. Five men walked out of the SUV and opened her car door. One of the men's cellphone rang.

"Yes, sir," he said.

"It is done. No, there are no signs of witnesses around."

Another man began dragging her body out of the car and placed her on a nearby tree. He checked her pulse.

"She's still alive," he stated.

"Throw her body into the river downstream," another said.

As the man took her body to the river, another began searching her car. He found her bag, took out her cellphone, and handed the bag to his colleague. He threw the phone on the ground and smashed it with his shoes. His colleague took the bag and left it in the SUV.

"Make sure that there are no personal belongings left in her car. Do not leave any traces of yourselves. Clean up the car real good and make this seem like an unfortunate accident," the man that was previously on the cellphone instructed.

"Understood," the other men replied in unison.

Astoria, semi-conscious, could not believe what was happening to her. She attempted to wake up or move her body, but her body was unresponsive and felt too heavy.

"Please don't kill me," she finally managed to speak, although her voice was barely audible to the man carrying her.

This attempt made her cry out in pain internally as she felt as though the air had been knocked out of her lungs. She did not want to leave the world like this since she still had so much to do.

'Cosmo X, I still have to take down that company no matter what. I have to save the lives of those people being used as lab rats. I really wanted to save them. So why am I facing such an ordeal?'

"I hope this teaches you a lesson," the man said as he held her body, ready to throw her in the river.

"Never mess with Cosmo X. Our company is way out of your league. Who told you to snoop around and play hero, huh?" he added, his eyes utterly devoid of emotion.

Before she could attempt to reply, she found her body being tossed into the river. The man watched her body sink into the river. He waited for about five to ten minutes to see if she would reappear, and when she didn't, he walked away in complete satisfaction.

'It can't end like this.'

All her attempts of moving proved ineffective as her body did not respond. She could not believe that Cosmo X would end up killing her. She knew that the company was evil but never imagined it would be this evil. It did not make sense to her how the company knew that she was heading for Beadville today. After all, she was supposed to head out yesterday. The only person that knew was Jigger.

Moreover, when she returned home from the police station yesterday, she did not see any suspicious activity near her house. Even this morning, her neighbourhood was quiet and normal as usual.

'No, it can't be.'

She suddenly had a realisation. Jigger was really the only person who knew she would leave today. As far as she knew, she had informed her former co-workers that she would leave yesterday afternoon so that she could quickly settle in her new home in Beadville.

'No. No. No. He would never do that to me. He would never.'

She began to feel the life draining out of her. Suddenly, her body felt as light as a feather. A silver flame, which emitted an extremely ice-cold wind, suddenly enveloped her body, making her hiss at the cold sensation. The flame gave her the strength to open her eyes. She almost gasped at the unbelievable sight in front of her. A young woman was floating beside her. Her eyes looked devoid of life. When Astoria looked into her eyes, she felt as though she had seen the hardships the woman had faced.

The young woman was dressed in what seemed like royal attire, with her long, wavy blue-black hair spread out in the water. Her hair floated around her, making it seem as though she had blue-black baby snakes swimming around her. The young woman faced her palm towards her, and this sudden move made Astoria do the same. Their palms touched, causing their bodies to glisten blindingly.

"Do you want to be saved?" an angelic voice asked.