"Remind we where we are going again?" Andrew asked for the umpteenth time. Victor sighed irritably.
"I'll explain again. When I thought about it everything pointed to one thing. The grave name, her interest in the girl, Mayhew. It all points to one thing!"
"WHAT?"
"Eleanor is not Eleanor at all! I don't know how it happened, but Eleanor is in fact Emily!" Andrew was silent.
"E-emily?" he stuttered. "The corpse?" Victor nodded. Andrew fainted.
****
"It's gone!" cried Elder Godknecht. "But where?" Emily scowled at the empty space before her.
"I bet you anything I know where it is." And with that she dashed off before Elder Godknecht could stop her. She stumbled down the many steps, past her room, through the bar, past the museum. down many alleys she had only encountered once, and stopped when she found the dead end. She glanced around. It seemed like a brick wall, nothing more. But Emily knew something was there. She could feel it in her falsely beating heart. She placed her hands on the wall, and began to feel around. She felt the wall on her left, examining every slimy brick. Next, she felt the wall in front of her. A newt scuttled across her hand. She gasped, but kept feeling. Nothing. Finally. she felt the last wall. She reached the middle stone, and Emily shrieked as she fell through the wall. The stone bricks came away from her hands like mist. Their esscence lingered, and then dissappeared completly. For a moment she was walking through pitch black, but eventually the flicker of candlelight danced in the distance. Emily stumbled towards it. A voice came out of the darkness.
"Hello Emily."
****
Andrew awoke when Victor slapped his face. He jolted into life.
"Wha? Why did you slap me?"
"Because you passed out when I told you about Emily!" Victor had a somewhat angry tone in his voice. Victor then sat down, and became silent. Andrew had time to think.
He pictured Eleanor, sweet and innocent. Then the image twisted to a festering, decayed corpse. Andrew wanted to open his eyes, but he saw something deeper. Emily smiled at him. Andrew lost sight of the rotting flesh, and saw the true Emily. Maybe he could learn to love her, even as a corpse. His thoughts were interuppted as the coach jolted to a halt.
****
"Greetings, Emily, I have been expecting you."
Emily felt her knees go weak, but was determined not to let her fear show.
"Who are you? What are you?"
"You already know that. I am a soul snatcher. The last of my kind. I collect the empty shells of humans for my own benefit."
"Who's body am I in?"
"Oh, my sisters." The creeper howled with hoarse laughter.
"You're sick."
"I know. Isn't it amusing?"
"So what do you look like?"
"I have no form. I am invisible. I have no true form, until I find a body, that is." Emily could imagine the creeper's devillish smirk.
"Why don't you use one of the bodies you already have?"
"I am selective. If there's one thing I enjoy, it's revenge. And your little friend is the perfect fit."
"Andrew! But he'll die!"
The creeper waved an invisible hand carelessly.
"Details, details. Now, at this very moment I am draining your life away. You never know how much time you have left." As if on que, Emily collapsed on the ground and began to choke. She was grabbed from behind. Barkis held her up for the creeper. She was too weak to struggle.
"W-what a-are you doing?" Emily asked between chokes.
"I can't have you in the way can I?" Emily could feel the creeper's clammy hand over her mouth. A wispy blue smoke floated away from her mouth. Then everything went black.
Emily woke up, feeling as if she was floating. She looked down at herself, and saw nothing but the wispy blue smoke. She could hear the creeper cackling. She flew towards him, but collided with something hard and transparent. It was glass. She was trapped. In a bottle!
