Another body hits the containment wall. This time, a spider-web of white lines spread out from the impact point.
My breath catches. The walls are starting to break apart. It’s never been this serious before. My mind races through ways to stop the damage. “Did you try lowering the charge on the containment field? The electricity might be zapping them awake.”
“We tried that. No effect.”
Another blow strikes the wall before me. The fracture lines spread. Some of the nearby Carriers start to vibrate as well. My pulse shoots through the roof.
“How about the concentration of mist?” That’s what keeps the souls sedated and calm.
Celia taps on her tablet. “They look fine.”
“Have a testing rod?”
Celia pulls what looks like a long silver nail from inside her jacket. “Sure.”
I take the rod from her hands and gently move it into the cloud. Meanwhile, the ghosts inside get even more out of control. Bodies smash along the length of the Carrier wall. More fractures appear. Tension spreads up my neck and around my temples.
This could be it. The day we release millions of angry ghosts into Purgatory, where they’ll do what all mobs do. Tear everyone and everything apart.
I pull out the testing rod and check the surface. One-third of it now glows. “The mist levels in this cloud are only at thirty percent.”
“That’s impossible.” All the blood drains from Celia’s face. “We cranked everything up to maximum.”
“The Towers were never designed to hold this many souls, Celia. I’ve seen it before. The systems get overloaded and downright glitchy.”
More ghosts pound into the wall. This time, they see the fractures, too. It gives them bad ideas, as in: ‘let’s not fight each other, let’s break out of here’. Long cracks form in the containment wall closest to us. Thin lines of mist leak out into the Ghost Tower.
Celia hugs her elbows. “What do we do?”
“Go to the Control Room. Have them call the Minister of Infrastructure. If anyone knows how to override whatever’s holding back the mist, he will.” The Minister’s my old friend Walker. A super-talented engineer, Walker can always get the Ghost Towers working.
“Yes, Great Scala.”
Celia races off to the Control Room. Meanwhile, I pace back and forth before the containment wall, thinking through my options. They aren’t good. More cracks appear, deeper and longer this time. If the ghosts escape, the protocol’s to flood the Tower with mist. Which probably won’t be possible, considering that we can’t fill the Carriers with enough mist. And if the ghosts get out, that’s a worst-case scenario for yours truly. I’ll be forced to move the escapees to Hell.
Come ooooooon, Walker.
Seconds drag by. The ghosts are hysterical now, clawing at the walls and crawling on top of each other. I start screaming at them, not that they can hear me.
“Calm down! Trust me, this isn’t what you want!”
The fight inside the Carrier takes on a new edge. Weapons are added into the mix. Someone’s broken off branches from the nearby trees, and the walls suffer a new level of pounding. One of the cracks opens wider. A misty hand pokes through and into the Tower beyond. A sense of heavy dread settles into my bones.
That’s it. I’ve run out of time.
In my mind, I summon igni. Instantly, little lightning bolts of power swirl and dive around my palms like tiny silver fish. I can feel their excitement. This is what they’re meant to do. Move souls. They form a whirlpool on the floor, the first step in creating a Soul Column that will send these spirits to their afterlife. Unfortunately, that afterlife will be in Hell.
My heart sinks. I’ve failed them.
Suddenly, the Cloud Carrier fills with mist, a thicker haze than I’ve ever seen before. The combatants drop their weapons, close their eyes, and slump over into a deep sleep. Exhaling a relieved breath, I command my igni to disappear.
At last. The mist levels are fixed. The souls are safe.
Wherever you are, Walker, I owe you one.
As Minister of Infrastructure, Walker does more than save my butt every time the Ghost Towers break down. He’s also searching for Lucifer’s Orb, and is pretty close to finding it, too. Once the Orb’s out of Purgatory, I’ll be free to move souls again. Whew.
Celia rushes back. “It worked.” She pauses before me, her mouth thinning to a fierce line. “Look, I know you don’t want to hear this, but we should follow the ghoul-rules here, and the ghouls wanted to send these souls to Hell. Who cares about a bunch of dead people when live quasis are at risk? If these ghosts escape, they’ll tear Purgatory apart.”
My eyebrows rise with surprise. My, my, myyyyyyy. What’s with the sassy mouth? Say what you want about ghoul brainwashing, it usually makes my people cower versus confront. Fighting with a newly-feisty Celia is the last thing I need.