Soul Jumper

Chapter One

She hugged her arms tighter around herself. Though it was raining, she kept a slow pace and let the rain strike her skin like tiny muted drums. It was cold and numbing her.   Every nerve in her body was buzzing. Her pulse thick with rhythm. Her blood rushing to touch and warm every bit of her body. Her mind was muddled and her eyes couldn't quite see objects as more than a blur. She found herself where the sidewalk ended and came to a halt.   The street light blinked yellow, casting an unearthly glow on her goose bumped skin. She stared, focusing on nothing but feeling everything. All of her sensations were extremely sensitive. She was not acclimated to her Core yet. Her hair hung in stringy clumps and stuck to her forehead, cheeks, and neck.   "Where do I go from here?" She asked herself aloud.   She had not wished to be this way; a nomad. She had no home. Absolutely nothing permanent. Her life was based on movement and her being consisted of currents.   A shiver ran down her spine.

She blinked the rain out of her eyes. "Am I supposed to meet him here" she thought "or am I supposed to go back to his body?"   She thought about Cross and how angry he had been when he had first met her. He had told her never to go around him when he jumped. To leave his Core alone. She knew it was because that was when he was most vulnerable and he always wanted control of the situation. That's probably why he always hid his Core so well when he jumped. He didn't want anyone to see or find it.     

 Cross's alliance with her was unusual. He trusted her and, because of this, he gave her vague details as to where his Core was hidden. It gave him some comfort to know that it was safe and could be taken care of if a jump went wrong. He didn't have to worry, well, not as much. Cross found his way to his Core and slowly regained his senses. He always hated this feeling.

 His eyes opened and he tried to sit up. He was glad that he had dressed himself warmly. Cross crawled out of the old box that had at one point housed a dish washer. Now it was left to decompose in the alley. He stood and massaged his legs. They had been folded tightly and his back had been resting on cardboard and concrete for much too long. A mental note was made to try to find a more spacious hiding place.  

Stumbling forward on his newly mobile legs, he peeked his head out of the alley and looked for her. A figure could be seen through the rain at the end of the sidewalk, illuminated every few seconds by the yellow street light.   He made his way over to her with his head down and his arms crossed. "She's foolish" Cross thought "to be standing out in the open like that."   It was apparent from where he stood to see that she was shivering. She flinched when he put his coat around her.   When she turned to him, it was difficult to keep his composure.

 She had changed since he had met her.   There were dark circles under her large, searching eyes. She had lost weight and she was not as full of energy as she had been. Her light blue eyes framed by her black hair hanging in ropes and streaming with water made her appear feral.   Cross wrapped his arm around her and hugged her close to his side.  

"Come on Catorra" he said in barely a whisper.