I had a dream where people could find a "key" which tied them to a spirit. The original idea behind these keys were so humans could control spirits to do tasks or fight for them pretty much like slaves. However, they didn't realize that most spirits capable of fusing with a key were dangerous and had far greater power than they thought. They would turn on their owners and kill them in brutal ways, leaving their key for someone else to find. The moment you picked up a key (which could be any object related to the spirit) the spirit would attach to you and follow you until it eventually killed you.
Now there were two ways to survive if you happened to find a key.
Firstly, you could find someone to take the key off your hands. This was the hardest route to go. You could not see the spirit until you had the key, so you had no way of knowing what kind of spirit you would get or how powerful. On top of that, the key had to be exchanged for something precious you possess. So in order to take a key from someone else you had to give up something you treasure or wait for them to die and pick the key up.
The second way was that your own spirit would have to be more powerful than the key spirit. There were a few people among the world that had strong enough spirits to make the key spirit submit. People filled to the brim with greed or who did malicious deeds without even batting an eye found it rather easy to tame lesser keys. Those with pure spirits also found it easy to tame medium keys for their own spirit force could not easily be corrupted.
Because of this, two factions emerged.
The Heavenly Coalition—tasked with finding and subduing evil key spirits and saving people.
The Demon Alliance—wicked people tasked with finding the most dangerous keys and bringing them to world leaders or other bad people for sale.
The Heavenly Coalition was a global government-sanctioned team working for the greater good of humanity while the Demon Alliance worked in the shadows for the elite illegally.
For the most part, many normal people did their best to stay out of it, being overly cautious with touching any unknown item and keeping to themselves the best they could. Even turning their backs on loved ones that may have been unfortunate enough to stumble upon a key. Some families mourned loved ones that went to key auctions before anything even happened to them. To most, wanting a key was the same as wanting death.
The world tried hard to get rid of the keys altogether, but to do so would be to destroy the spirit that was attached to the key, and no one had had any luck in destroying the spirits so the Heavenly Coalition did everything in their power to find all the keys globally with a mission to finally end this nightmare.
Here, boys and girls, is where the real dream starts.
A young lass by the name of Marie. She was special; she could see the spirits even without their key but that isn't all, boys and girls. What made her truly special: she had no soul. A rare oddity she was. Mousy brown hair in messy coiled curls, the darkest brown eyes that for all purposes were as black as night with a depth that felt endless. She was a tender age of 11 years and never felt fear her whole life.
Now, the world did not know about this young lass. She had yet to make herself known is a better way of putting it. But she is at our center stage, the very being who could change the outcome for the world for better or worse. Let us follow her, my friends, into the depths while her story unfolds.
Marie watched the sidewalk outside of her orphanage with stark intensity. People walked past her home unaware of her empty eyes following their every step. On the outside it simply looked as though she longed for the outside world but with a close inspection you could tell she was looking for something.
The other children at the orphanage refused to play with her. She was creepy and barely spoke, just watching everyone with an intensity that felt cold and humanless. Even the overseer of the orphanage refused to acknowledge Marie, avoiding her at all costs.
Marie didn't mind though; she never put much thought into others. Her only interest was of the spirits she saw roaming the world outside her orphanage. They looked stuck to people, following them with a malicious aura. Sometimes it made sense to her why some people had spirits attached to them. Their own spirits were dark or muddy much like the spirits that followed. However, what she couldn't understand was why some of these dark aura spirits were following people with clean souls.
To figure this out she would have to leave the orphanage. She had tried asking adults but they became uncomfortable and would turn her away. So she decided it was simply time to leave now. This place was nothing but a warm bed and a few meals. No lingering attachment or friends to speak of that would anchor her there.
So one night, after she packed her small red bookbag with what few things she owned: a stuffed bear, some clothes, colored markers and a sketchbook, and some food she stole from the orphanage kitchen. She slid her grey coat over herself and hoisted her backpack onto her back, then slipped out of the orphanage without a single glance back. She headed into town following the same sidewalk that she had watched for years. It felt freeing to walk the same path as those she had watched for so long. The sidewalk was littered with cracks and weeds peeking through. The street lights flickered slightly every time she passed one as if sensing that she was the most terrifying thing to pass by them today. But nonetheless, little Marie paid no mind and continued to the bus stop down the street to go to the city.
It took some time to make it to the bus stop with Marie's little legs but she made it there nonetheless. The bus stop had a covered metal bench and a dull pulsing light overhead. She took her seat and pulled her markers and sketchbook out of her backpack. She began drawing the bus route map with eerie precision, noting the bus numbers and routes with different colors.
"Bus number 9," she mumbled coloring the route blue. That was the bus she needed to reach the city park, where she decided her 'base of operations' would be. More people, more spirits. A simplistic logic common for her young mind. Without looking up, she put her sketchbook away right as the number 9 bus began to pull up. Its outside was a bit rusted at the bottom but its silver finish still shone through. It creaked up to a stop and the doors, with a loud aching moan, pulled themselves open for her.
The man driving the bus didn't even look at her as she boarded, her small hands clutching the railing tightly as she pulled herself up the large steps. Marie sat a few seats back behind the driver, the cold seats rattling as she put her backpack beside her. The bus lurched forward and she was off to the city. With a quick look around, she noticed a spirit sitting behind the bus driver. It looked like a woman in a tattered floral dress. Her mouth hung open in an unhinged broken fashion and her hair was flowing in the air like it was submerged in water. The spirit gurgled and growled, its long arms outstretched toward the driver but not quite reaching him. The driver's aura was darker and weaker than the spirit, whose own aura was a black mist around her.
Marie watched with the same intensity as when she was watching out the orphanage window. She was curious: why was this spirit so interested in the driver?
However, the bus driver seemed on edge as well, not looking back for more than a second before focusing his eyes back on the road. It almost looked like he could see the woman as well. Marie decided she would get closer to the woman herself. She left her backpack in her original seat and lowered herself to the floor to crawl under the seats unseen by the driver. The spirit was so focused on the driver it didn't see Marie pop up from under the seats and take her place next to it.
"What are you doing?" Marie asked in a hushed whisper. The spirit slowly turned its head to Marie, meeting the young child's gaze, but she didn't answer; she only turned back to the driver, her arms outstretched toward him.
"Ma'am, you shouldn't mess with someone who is driving, the teacher at the orphanage said it's very dangerous." Still in that child's hushed whisper she scolded the spirit but still got no reply. Annoyed with the spirit's lack of reply, Marie reached out and grabbed the woman's arm hard, clutching her fist as tightly as possible around the woman's arm. With an unsettling start, the spirit's face snapped toward Marie and looked down at her small hand clenched onto its arm.
"I told you, it's not good to mess with a driver." Marie's cold void eyes were intense and unflinching. The spirit lowered her arms as a human kind of chill ran through its soul. "If you keep messing with him while he's driving I will have to punish you." Marie's voice was ice as her eyes narrowed with warning. The spirit, filled with uncertainty, lashed out at the girl trying to use her pointy fingernails to scratch Marie and break loose of her intense grip. But Marie shoved her hand into the spirit's stomach, reaching where the deepest pit of black seemed to be. Marie clutched something deep within the spirit's body and yanked out a small rough pearl-like marble. The spirit was motionless with a shocked expression in its eyes. "Hm, you have a pretty marble. It looks tasty, like a candy." Marie popped the marble into her mouth and it indeed tasted sweet and sour, like a candy the orphans only got at Halloween. She chewed up the marble and the spirit screamed and its black mist faded, leaving behind a woman who was quite beautiful. Her blonde locks fell to her shoulders and her jaw was back in place showcasing a lovely smile. Her arms went back to normal and her eyes were full of life.
"Little one...how?" It spoke in a melody-like voice filled with surprise and shock.
"Sometimes I get angry when I eat something bad too," Marie responded simply without much thought or interest. The spirit nodded while laughing a bit and patted Marie on the head, tousling her hair a bit. This feeling was new to Marie, whom most people avoided altogether. It was warm and gentle. Marie felt a small warmth in her chest begin to stir but just as it started, a white pure light lit up above the spirit and the spirit smiled, waved goodbye, and vanished. Marie crawled back to her seat feeling the cold drift back into where the warmth was in her chest.
As the bus pulled up to the next stop, the bus driver seemed to be looking for something. Marie got up to get off the bus when it came to a stop and the driver stopped her.
"Hey kid.. do you want this?" The man pulled out a hairpin with a plastic flower adorning it. His hand trembled slightly. "I'll trade it to you... for something you have that means a lot to you.. what do you say?" His eyes darted around him and sweat broke out on his brow.
"That lady is gone, mister, she can't hurt you." Marie's voice was firm but much like a child's high-pitched tone. The man studied her in surprise for a moment then cautiously spoke.
"W-What are you talking about child? This is just a normal hairpin..." his voice trailed off like the lie tasted bad in his mouth.
"You can keep it, mister, it is in fact just a hairpin now. Goodbye sir." Marie bowed and turned to leave. The bus driver was confused but felt an eerie chill when the child paused and turned back to him, her cold black eyes fixated on something deeper inside him. "Thank you for the ride and the snack sir." Then she departed off the bus in that clumsy way kids normally do. The bus driver couldn't wrap his head around what just happened but he knew that whatever that girl was, he wanted no part in it. He hastily closed the doors and slammed his foot on the gas, making the bus pull away. Marie waved goodbye and started down the sidewalk to the park.
Marie walked down the sidewalk observing with her same intensity all the silence that echoed around her. Not a soul was in sight, no cars, no people, just the echo of her own footsteps. On buildings were signs warning people not to stay out past curfew and to not touch anything that isn't yours. Another sign told not to accept anything from strangers and Marie thought to herself that the bus driver must have been a bad man in her same simple logic that he broke rules offering her that hairpin. She tsked to herself shaming the driver for breaking rules. She finally made it to the park, a large gated place. Its iron gate was shut and locked tight with a white sign that gave the times when the park would open again. 8 am till 8 pm. Marie looked around and hesitated; this was supposed to be her secret base. But she would have to break the rules. She fidgeted with her grey coat, biting her nails while thinking. If she didn't have a secret base she would have to go back to the orphanage, never fulfilling her curiosity. After much debate she finally decided that as long as no one knew her secret base was there, she was not hurting anyone even if a few rules were broken. Besides, the bus driver broke a rule and he was fine right? She decided that her logic was airtight, the way kids come to their own conclusions after watching adults make their own choices. She pushed her bag through the iron bars and then, realizing she could fit through, squeezed herself between the bars as well. The other side of the fence felt like a whole new world to her. She excitedly began running around taking note of the playground and paths. The park was very big; it had its own woods that felt deep and magical if you stepped off the trails. She explored the deeper parts of the woods trying to find the perfect hiding spot for her secret base. She wanted a place where she could still observe people passing but not be seen herself. Someplace that could also keep her dry and safe if a storm were to pass through. Finally, perched on a hill surrounded by dense brush, was a willow tree. One of many throughout the park, but this one was clearly neglected because it was so out of the way. There were no trash cans or benches near and the trails stopped a while back, and it overlooked the majority of the park. It was perfect. Marie began to set up her stuff taking out her teddy bear and sketchbook and the other things she brought, laying them out carefully. A little sleeping bag was unwrapped and laid out, the same one they gave to all the kids at the orphanage when they went on a camping field trip last year. Marie didn't bring a lamp or flashlight so the dark felt more suffocating than normal, but as her eyes adjusted to the darkness Marie felt more at home than when she was in the orphanage. She climbed into her sleeping bag taking care to tuck her teddy in with her. She could still taste the sweet and sour candy from the bus as she drifted off into deep sleep.
Marie awoke to the sound of children laughing. She popped up and got changed into fresh clothes. She ran her comb through her hair and rolled up her sleeping bag, tucking her teddy in with it. She perched herself up on a willow limb watching the playground from below. The kids were running around laughing and playing to their heart's content, but their parents on the other hand were tense. They watched their respective children with intensity and caution, their eyes darting back and forth from their child to nearby adults. A distrusting tension filled the playground unnoticed by the kids. A woman sat further away on a bench. She fiddled with a stone in her hands while sweating and bouncing her leg. She too was watching the kids seemingly looking for one whose parents weren't watching them too closely. Beside the woman was a boy's spirit. He was wearing blue shorts and a white t-shirt stained in black gunk. His eyes were gone, just hollow socks bleeding with the same black gunk as what was on his shirt. His hair was prim and proper but was ashen and looked brittle. Marie watched as the woman took notice of the boy and just as quickly turned away from him.
'Does she see him too?' she thought to herself as the woman began to tremble more the closer the boy got. With her curiosity peaked, she left her secret base and headed towards the woman on the bench.
"Excuse me, ma'am? Is this your child?" Marie asked pointing to the spirit boy. The woman's eyes got big and she grabbed Marie's hands in hers.
"You can see him too!? Please, little girl, take this stone! I'll trade you it for something special to you! Please just take this stone!" The woman was frantic and shaking desperately. Marie watched the woman with intensity; the woman's soul was rather clean and why did these people keep offering her stuff in exchange for other stuff?
"Ma'am, why do you want me to have this stone?" The woman blinked confused then answered,
"It's a precious stone, if you already see the boy it must be meant for you and I just accidentally found it. Please child I want to live..." she began sobbing on her knees. The child behind her reached toward her neck with an angry expression on his face as if her words hurt him. He wrapped his little hands around her throat and began choking her. The woman couldn't breathe and began coughing and begging desperately.
Marie walked behind the boy and grabbed his shirt collar, tossing him to the ground hard.
"You shouldn't hurt people, you know." The woman fell to the ground gasping for breath and looked at the two kids in disbelief. One alive and one dead standing off against each other. The spirit hissed and lunged at Marie but she stepped aside and landed a stinging blow to the spirit's skull making him hit the ground hard. The spirit child began to cry loudly.
"Why are you crying if you're the one being naughty, hm?" Marie asked reaching a hand out to the spirit. It smacked her hand away in a huff. Marie frowned and narrowed her eyes, making the spirit shake in its spot. She plunged her hand into the spirit's chest and pulled out another smooth marble. It was grey this time, not black like the woman on the bus. She popped the marble into her mouth; it was so sweet and tasted like oranges. The boy's spirit became clear, his eyes came back, they were bright blue, and his clothes were clean again. Marie reached down one more time to help him up and this time he took her hand.
"Uhm.. I'm so sorry.." the boy said fidgeting with his clothes. "I never meant to hurt you.." his eyes were filled with wet tears and he began to sob tenderly. Marie nodded and pulled the boy in for an embrace.
"It's okay, I get upset when my eyes hurt too." The boy cried in her arms before a white light appeared above him. He smiled sweetly at Marie and waved goodbye before disappearing. The woman on the ground couldn't believe what she just saw. She still lay on the pavement holding her neck, watching Marie with a newfound fear.
"W-What are you.." her voice cracked under the question.
"Me? I'm a kid, silly." Marie skipped away leaving the woman alone with her stone. With a belly satisfied and fresh thoughts, Marie went back to her secret base and began sketching the stone, the boy, and the new candy she tried in that cute confident way kids do.
The next day, Marie noticed she was out of food. She hadn't taken much from the orphanage because she didn't want anyone upset with her. But now, she faces hunger alone. She wandered out of the park searching for a place to get food when she stumbled upon a food truck vendor. A bald tattooed man was running the kitchen part alone. He was tall and muscular, intimidating most customers, but Marie walked right up to the colorful truck.
"Hello mister, I am Marie. I am hungry." Her words were sweet and honey-filled and her fearlessness softened the man's heart immediately.
"Well hello there Marie, what is it you would like?" He pointed to the menu pictures, telling Marie about the specials and the things the other kids liked.
"Can I have a hot dog please?"
"Of course dear! That'll be 4.50." Marie's face sank. She had no money to buy food. She fidgeted a bit before responding.
"I don't have any money.." her small voice trailed off. The man thought for a bit then decided.
"Why don't we do this then? People leave their trash all around the truck. If you pick it up and put it all in this trash bag, I'll give you free food." It wasn't uncommon to see childless parents nowadays. Parents would abandon their children in search of keys, or if parents died from the keys, their children were treated like an infection, being abandoned by what little family they had left. He was one of those kids abandoned after his mother was killed by a spirit and his father ran off. No family took him in and he lived on the streets. There were many stories like that in this messed-up world. To see a child so young in distress made the man's heart break.
"I can do that!" Marie exclaimed in a high-pitched squeal. The man chuckled and gave her a black trash bag. Marie began cleaning up all the trash on the sidewalk and even asked people politely to give her their trash, which everyone complied with. She ran to the vendor with a full bag of trash after a few hours.
"My, my, you got quite the haul, huh? Why don't I give you extra food then, Marie?"
"I'd love that, uncle!" The man stopped for a moment; the girl was just too precious calling him uncle.
"I can be your Uncle Martin if you want," he said handing her a container of fresh food, "just come by anytime and help me out and I'll give you plenty of food, sound good?" Marie nodded with a watery mouth. She took her container to a bench within eyesight of the truck and began to eat. She studied the food truck, memorizing the letters and colors. As she finished her hot dog, a man in a black trench coat approached the truck. He had black glasses and a black hat covering his face. Marie watched as Uncle Martin seemed to be having a hard time talking with the man and wanted to know why. She snuck back to the truck hiding near the back and listened.
"Martin, don't play with me. The boss wants what you owe." The man sounded furious and threatening.
"I told you I'm still looking, Kane! I don't search anymore and don't have any leads, I told your boss I'm retired." Martin slammed his hand on the counter.
"Well, it's either a key or you pay back the whole amount we gave you. You could always just pay with your life instead." The man known as Kane flashed a playing card with a queen on it. Marie noticed a woman's spirit hovering nearby, but she noticed something new. The man Kane had a blacker, darker soul than the spirit. The spirit seemed to tremble in the man's presence. As their conversation ended and Kane left, Marie was left with a buzz of questions. However, Martin seemed like the kind of adult to hide the truth from her. So her plan was simple: follow the man named Kane instead.
Marie followed Kane as he walked down the dark alley maze. He didn't notice her at all, too invested in his own world. He finally made it to the back door of a warehouse and entered. Marie slipped in behind him, following closely but observing everything around her.
"What is this place, mister Kane?" Her voice was haunting as it echoed off the abandoned walls. Kane jumped, turning around on his heels to face this adversary only to find a small child clutching a box of leftovers.
"Who the hell are you and how do you know my name, kid?" His eyes were locked on Marie's own eyes but he felt a small shiver when she met his gaze without flinching.
"I heard you talking to Uncle Martin. He said your name then. What is this place? Your home?" Marie tilted her head, questioning the strange man. Kane felt uneasy; what was with this child?
"So Martin sent you?" Kane scoffed slightly, letting his guard down.
"Hm? No. Uncle Martin would probably be upset that I followed you..." The small girl seemed disappointed in herself which made Kane less suspicious of her.
"Then you should go while you can, kid." He wanted to let her off as she was just some helpless kid.
"Nah, I want to see your spirit first." She pointed behind him at the spirit by his side. Kane paused for a moment trying to wrap his head around what Marie said.
"You can see her?" His voice was uncertain as he asked.
"Yeah. Why is she scared of you? Is it because your soul is black and hers isn't?" These questions made Kane feel a deep unease that settled in his bones.
"Kid, you should not be here. If you don't leave I'll send this spirit to hurt you." He gave a warning, confident that it would scare the little girl that seemed still wet behind the ears.
"Then do it." Her words hung in the air like a worse warning to him. He flinched at her words, not believing this small girl was so fearless.
"Ha, stubborn but stupid. Get her, Queen." The spirit rushed up to Marie only to stop and freeze. Kane yelled, "Bring her to me now, dammit!" But the spirit didn't move. Kane saw the little girl's hand poking out the back of his spirit Queen. She ripped her hand back out and all the blackened mist that riddled the spirit was gone. The woman known as Queen who had always been a dreadful sight of decomposition and guts was now a young handsome woman that looked like she was from the 40s. A feather in her hair and a glittering dress like those at casinos waiting on the patrons. She blinked a few times and looked at Marie.
"You saved me.." Marie nodded, still chewing the new candy that tasted both sour and sweet just like from the bus. The spirit looked to Kane next, eyes full of anger. "You are the worst of human scum, I will no longer be tainted by your soul!" A light once again appeared above her head and a relieved smile appeared on the spirit's face as she disappeared. Kane was left stunned and shook. The child licked her fingers before setting her eyes back on Kane.
"You shouldn't bother my uncle anymore, mister Kane. Uncle is very nice, but me, I am not." Her eyes were filled with a hardened malice Kane had only ever seen in his own boss's eyes—no, maybe not even then. The depth of her eyes made Kane fall backward in fear.
"I won't.. I-I promise.. just please.. let me go!" Kane felt inferior for the first time in his life. He felt that one wrong move and this small child would consume his very soul.
"Hm. Okay, I'll believe you just this once." Marie turned and began heading out of the warehouse. "But I'll be watching, mister Kane. Your soul isn't clean yet." And with that ominous warning, Marie left Kane alone, shaking and terrified.
Marie had been visiting Martin daily, picking up trash and getting food, but Martin seemed to be on the lookout and on edge.
"Uncle Martin, are you looking for someone?" she finally mustered the courage to ask. He looked worriedly at her before replying.
"I just owe people some money. They helped start my business and I owe them, that's all." He kept it very adult, much like Marie expected.
"Well, mister Kane probably isn't coming back, so it should be fine." she casually mentioned while eating her hot dog. Martin grabbed her shoulders hard.
"What do you mean, Marie!? Did that man approach you!? Did he hurt you!?" Martin was frantic, looking over Marie the best he could. Marie was surprised; she had never had anyone show her such care before.
"Nothing like that, Uncle Martin. I saw him bugging you a few days ago so I followed him and told him to stop, that's all." Martin's face became grim.
"What do you mean, Marie?" his voice was low and worried. "You don't follow that man. He has a key and can hurt you bad!"
Marie tilted her head.
"What's a key, Uncle Martin? Why is it so dangerous?"
Martin sighed deeply, running his hand over his bald head.
"Listen closely, Marie. A key is something a spirit is attached to. Only a select few can control them; everyone else, well, they pass away because of the spirit.." Marie listened intently.
"That man you followed, Kane, he has a very powerful spirit called Queen. She's dangerous and listens to Kane's orders—"
"Oh, she tasted like sweet and sour Halloween candy!" Marie's voice rang out as she smiled, remembering the taste. Martin froze.
"What.. do you mean, Marie?" His voice shook a little as he backed away.
"Uhm.. I followed mister Kane, he told Queen to attack me, I took Queen's marble and ate it, and Queen yelled at Kane and went to the light.. that's about all." Marie continued to eat her food as Martin grappled with her words.
"Marie, this is very important. Can you see the spirits attached to the keys?" Marie looked at him and nodded before saying:
"Can't you, Uncle Martin?" Martin was beside himself. He used to work for the Demon Alliance back in his youth when he had no one and nowhere to go. He was good at finding keys but could never see or wield a spirit of his own. He had never met someone that could see them without their key, let alone make them disappear, rendering the key just an object again.
"Marie, who knows about this?" His words were full of fear for this little child.
"Hm.. no one but you, I think, and I guess mister Kane, and this one woman at the park, oh and a bus driver, I think." She was completely unassuming in Martin's eyes, unaware of just how dangerous her life could get.
"Do you have family, Marie?" he asked trying to figure out what to do.
"Nope. I left the orphanage a week ago and live at my secret base now. Oh, I have you, Uncle Martin!" She smiled tenderly at him. "You.. aren't mad at me, are you? For following Kane and releasing Queen?" Her eyes seemed to water a bit at the idea of Martin being upset, and he sighed, giving in.
"Not at all. I guess I should thank you, really. But you have to promise me you won't follow people like that again, Marie. You may be unique, but it's still very dangerous and you can't tell anyone about what you do. Do you understand?" Marie nodded happily and Uncle Martin gave her a big hug. That warm feeling crept into her chest again, feeling her newfound uncle's warmth against her. She felt loved for the first time and it felt nice and warm.