Henry’s body lifted a bit off the ground as the flesh turned to essence and formed a cloud. Samantha watched in fascination as she continued to chant and the cloud bunched together and flowed into the glass vial she held between her hands. As quickly as she had lost control, she regained it. She grabbed the cork from the ground and closed the vial.

Samantha turned around and saw Esther leaning over her back. She had not run away. She was looking at Samantha and Henry’s clothing with fascination.

“What happened?” Esther asked simply. Samantha smiled. She might have a future with the guild. Samantha placed the vial inside the pouch that hung around her neck and pushed it inside her blouse. She pushed herself off her knees and stood up, grabbing her two swords off the ground.

“It’s a long story, and we need to get somewhere more private to go through it. I still have some cleaning up to do and I have to make a phone call. Will you come with me?”

“Yes,” Esther said simply. Samantha nodded. She remembered when she had been introduced to this world. It had been a similar hunt—although the hunted was nowhere near as old. He was a few years past his soul date. Her initial reaction was similar to Esther: disgust and fear, followed by acceptance that the world as she knew it only minutes before was changed in such a fundamental way that she had to rethink everything. She imagined Esther was going through the same process.

Samantha walked over and grabbed the case. She unlatched it and opened the case on the ground. She held each sword out and checked for nicks. The blood had turned to essence already and the blade was clean. She would need to sharpen them when she had a chance, she knew. It was important to stack the odds in her favor to ensure she had well-tuned weapons. She carefully placed the swords into the case and closed the latch. She lifted the case and pulled the strap over her head. She pushed herself off the ground again and walked over to Henry’s clothing, which was on the floor in the shape of Henry’s body. She began to pick up and fold the clothing into a pile. She left the wallet and keys in the pants pocket. She would go through it later once she received directions from the guild.

“Let’s take your car,” Samantha said as she carried the clothing to Esther’s green car. Without waiting for a response, she made her way over to the passenger door and let herself in. She settled into the seat with only a small bit of awkwardness and closed the door. She reached over the seatback and placed the neat pile of clothing in the backseat.

Esther slid into the car, so much more graceful than Samantha. She held the steering wheel in both hands and looked straight out through the windshield. Her door was still open.

“I know you have lots of questions,” Samantha said in her most calming voice. “Close the door and start driving. Let’s find somewhere quiet to answer. I still have to make a phone call.”

Esther stood staring out of the windshield, not hearing Samantha. Samantha reached across the seat and put her hand on Esther’s shoulder. Esther flinched and then looked over at Samantha. She appeared to be in shock. Samantha reevaluated Esther. Perhaps she was not as brave as she had supposed. Shock could be why she did not run away when she had her chance.

“You said you forgot your bagels?” Samantha asked, trying to get Esther out of the funk she found herself in. She knew it wasn’t exactly a funk. It was a natural reaction to seeing a man die. “He wasn’t a man, Esther. You have to understand that.”

“Yes, I forgot the bagels,” Esther said, ignoring Samantha’s other comment.

“Okay, close the door and start driving,” Samantha said, trying to get the conversation moving again. She needed to make the phone call.

Like a robot, Esther leaned over and pulled the door closed. Her hands were shaking when she put the keys into the ignition, the feather hitting her leg as it swung. She put the car into drive and began driving. Samantha nodded in encouragement, and squeezed her shoulder again.

“It’ll be okay.” Samantha pulled out her phone and dialed the guild number.

“Eighty three,” she said when the operator picked up. There was the sound of a switch and her phone was connected to another operator.

“Report?” the operator asked. “Henry McDoogle. He approached me during a meeting with Esther Frieze, a prospective recruit. He identified himself as two hundred forty eight. There was a confrontation and I have the vial.”

Samantha heard the keys of the operator’s computer clicking as she entered the information. “Please hold,” the operator said. Samantha looked over to Esther and smiled again. She waited while the phone clicked away. They recorded all the conversations, and the clicking was a warning that the recording was active. This was her third call of the year. This was the first call where she had initiated the combat. Usually she was given someone to hunt, and then reported on her success. She wondered what the procedure for this type of report was. She hoped she had not missed a step.

The operator returned to the line. “Did you say Henry McDoogle, two hundred forty eight?”

“Yes,” Samantha answered.

“Please hold again.” There was more clicking. Esther was turning onto the highway. She thought about asking where she was going, but Samantha thought better of it. She would find out when she got there.

A man’s voice appeared on the line. “Who am I speaking to?” he asked.

“This is Samantha Trident.” Samantha liked her new name. She thought it sounded like a superhero. With her new job, she felt like a superhero. She had her weaknesses and her strengths—thankfully all of her weaknesses were physical. She could get comfortable with physical weaknesses.

“Samantha Trident, Samantha Trident. Oh yes, and you were reporting on a Henry McDoogle. Can you describe him?” His voice sounded anxious. He was clearly a supervisor, but the hierarchy of the guild was a black box to Samantha. She was in the field, and how corporate managed itself was unknowable to her. She had only been to the head quarter building in downtown once when she had completed her training. The building she had been to, she later found out, was only a local corporate building. They had many across the country and world. The organization was huge, she knew.

Samantha described Henry: “He was old, older than I expected to see of an immortal. I assumed he was trained late in life. He was around five and a half feet tall, thin, white wisps of hair along the side of his head. He spoke with an accent I could not quite place, probably European.”

“And you hunted him?” the man asked in a surprised matter.

“I did as I was trained,” Samantha said, starting to take offense at the manner this bureaucrat was talking to her. She deserved better. She had more than accomplished her mission. She had Esther in the car, and had taken out a soulless immortal. She expected a reward or recognition.

“Do you have his vial?”

“Of course,” Samantha said in a matter of fact way.

“Where are you now?”

Samantha looked around but did not recognize the place. “Where are you taking us, Esther?”

Esther did not respond but kept her eyes focused on the road. Samantha reached over to give her another shake. Esther slapped her hand away. There was still that fear that she would have to work through.

“I repeat, where are you?” the man asked even more impatient than the first time.

“I’m trying to figure it out. I don’t recognize the roads.”

“Who is driving the car?”

“Esther Lastname. She was the person I was assigned to recruit when I ran across Henry McDoogle.”

“Was she there for the hunt?” the man asked, starting to sound even more exasperated.

“Yes, it was not my plan for her to be there. She returned to where I had set up the ambush. She witnessed the whole thing. As I said it wasn’t part of the plan. I had hopes to introduce her more slowly into our world. As you can imagine, witnessing what she saw has set her a bit out there. She’s suffering shock. I remember when I went on my first job.”

Samantha was cut off abruptly. “You shouldn’t have hunted him,” he said quietly as if it was not for her ears.

“What are you talking about? I was successful. I did what I was trained to do. How dare you question me. You should be congratulating me!” Samantha started to get bothered by this petty official. Clearly she needed to talk to someone more important at the guild.

“Listen very careful,” the man said, pronouncing each word as if he was talking to a child. “You are to open the door and get out of the car now.”

“What are you talking about? We’re going fifty miles an hour on a back road.” Samantha looked at the road and saw they had turned off to a dirt path. Samantha did not remember any dirt roads around where Esther lived. Where are we going, Esther? Can you slow down a bit, I can’t keep the phone on my ear with the bumps.”

“Open the door and jump,” the man screamed.

“Why would I do such a thing? What are you talking about?”

“Hang up the phone, Samantha,” Esther said. Her voice was calm. She no longer looked shocked. The car was slowing to a stop.

“What is he saying?” the man on the phone asked.

“It’s a she, Esther Lastname. I told you that already,” Samantha calmly responded. She really needed to talk to someone else there. “Can I speak with your supervisor, please? I need someone a little more clam to deal with. This isn’t my first job, you know.”

“Hang the phone up. You don’t need to speak with the guild anymore,” Esther said.

Samantha looked over. The car had stopped by the side of the dirt road. There were cornfields on either side of the car.

“We’re safe here,” Esther said. She reached over and grabbed the phone from Samantha’s ear.

“What are you doing?” Samantha asked as Esther closed the phone.

“We’re going to talk,” Esther said.

“Yes, I know. But I was already talking to very important people. From the guild. Wait, you mentioned the guild, what do you know about the guild? Did Henry tell you anything? I know you have a lot of questions. I will answer them once I call them back. There is a lot of stuff you do not understand. Esther, listen, I know this is hard. I was where you are now years ago. There is a lot you need to get through. We’ll get there. Together.” Samantha reached out to grab Esther’s hand.

Esther began to laugh. At first it was just a small chuckle. The chuckle grew into louder and soon it became an uncontrollable laugh. Esther was doubled over in humor. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.”

“Esther, calm down,” Samantha said. She did not know how she had so badly lost control of the conversation. She reached over to take the phone from Esther. Esther showed the phone to Samantha, and then squeezed her skinny hand. The phone crunched and cracked in her squeezing hand. Samantha had never a cellphone do that before.

“No, Samantha. I’m afraid you have this backwards. You’re the confused one in this conversation.” Esther looked so powerful as she sat across from Samantha there looking down at her. She was really gorgeous. She was tall, thin, and intelligent looking, and her mouth, although small, was perfectly formed. She could not help but be attracted to her. It was almost too much to be sitting here trying to have a conversation with her.

“Samantha, remember when we spoke before. I offered you a choice of joining us, of hearing the truth that the guild is keeping from you.”

Samantha tried to focus, but her thoughts kept slipping back to Esther’s perfect face. She was trying to concentrate. She grabbed the case with her swords. She knew she should do something with that case; that there was something important in them. But she couldn’t figure out what they were for, or why she would want to stop listening to what Esther was saying. She just wished she could understand the words.

“We have a lot to talk about Samantha. We’re going to talk outside in this field. You can leave you box in the car. We don’t want any more accidents.”

Esther opened the driver’s door and stepped out of the car. She took the keys with her and walked around to the passenger side. Like the lady she was, Samantha smiled as she opened the door for her. She stepped out of the car, the sword case forgotten, and followed Esther. Esther walked into the tall grass, leaving the car behind her. Samantha knew she should be watching where they’re going, keeping the car in view in case she needed to return to it. She knew there were some odds at play here. But for all she knew what she should be doing, all she could do was follow Esther through the grass. She concentrated on her lithe, tall form. The way it moved. Moved was the wrong word for her walk. She sashayed. She wore tight fitting jeans with colored crystals sparkling along the backside and down one leg. She wore a white shirt with a gray thick sweater over the shirt.

Samantha broke into a short jog to keep up with Esther, as her long perfect legs took them deeper into the grassy plain.

Daily word count: 2,344.

Word remaining: 19,344 (30,656).

The first thousand words were difficult today. Then the plot did something unexpected and the rest of the entry wrote itself. My fingers and hands are a bit tired. I can’t seem to press the spacebar accurately anymore. I’m glad for the weekend.