The Body Thief (14 page)

The Soul Chamber

Darkness. Darkness everywhere. Then a white light. It stung his eyes. He blinked, lifting his hand to block out the harsh glare…but he couldn’t move. He was strapped down. His arms and legs tightly secured.

“Maestro!” he called out. “Maestro, where are you?”

“Relax, Milo,” a soothing voice told him.

Gradually his eyes adjusted to the light. Milo looked up and saw a man looming over him—his round, hairless face resembled the moon in orbit. He was smiling, his eyes no more than two small slits, his teeth a putrid yellow.

“I am Dr. Mangrove,” he told the boy. “I am here to help you. Do not worry if you feel a little groggy—that is merely the chloroform wearing off.”

Chloroform? Milo struggled to make sense of anything. Then gradually the haze began to lift. He tried to get up, straining against the restraints.

“Let me go!” he shouted, struggling in vain. “Let me out of here!”

Although Milo could not see it, he was strapped inside one of two rectangular chambers placed side by side in the underground laboratory. Constructed of thick glass, the chambers were linked by two large pipes locked into a panel of silver valves at the side of the machines. The panel contained numerous small levers and gauges and each had a timer set at 2.00 minutes. At the end of each chamber was a copper test tube attached to a drip that curled into a vent at the base.

“There is no point in struggling,” came the familiar voice of his uncle. Unable to see above the chamber, Milo turned his head and saw the jubilant face of Silas Winterbottom peering at him through the thick glass.

“We are pioneers, Milo, and today we make history,” he declared passionately. “You see, child, you and I are about to make an exchange. An exchange of souls.” He leaned closer to the chamber wall. “I am taking your body, Milo. I sincerely apologize for the condition of the one you are getting in return. I am afraid it is dying. Still, you will not have to live with it for long, so I do not suppose it really matters.”

“You’re crazy!” Milo shouted. “It’s not possible!”

“Oh, but it is,” said Silas softly. “Dr. Mangrove has kept his body alive for nearly two hundred years—the man is a genius beyond measure. This magnificent machine you are strapped into is his life’s work; he rather poetically calls it the
Soul Chamber
. Once I take my place in the chamber next to you, our souls will be transferred in a matter of minutes.” Silas smiled. “I’ve been paying such close attention to you these past weeks; you probably thought I found you terribly fascinating. Alas, dear boy, you are rather dull when it’s all said and done. The truth is, I needed to observe you carefully so that I could replicate your tedious little personality—thus avoiding any suspicion once your body becomes my own. You should be honored, Milo, you were always my first choice. Your cousins were merely an insurance policy in the event that you proved unsuitable for the transference. Mercifully, Isabella and Adele are no longer needed. In fact, I would imagine that by now they are rather…dead.”

Like a wounded tiger, Milo let out a colossal roar, his hot breath fogging up the chamber walls.

“Naturally you hate me.” Silas sighed wistfully. “I do not blame you. I am stealing your future, after all. But you must understand that I have to do this. Death is ready for me, but, you see, I am not ready for death. Soon the world will believe I am you, and tomorrow, following the death of Silas Winterbottom, you…that is,
I
will become Sommerset’s new heir. It is a shame I could not convince you to publicly accept your role as heir apparent, but fear not. Your change of heart will be perfectly believable.”

“You can’t do this!” yelled Milo violently. “Let me out of here!”

Silas shook his head. “Never.”

As Milo strained to free himself, he spotted Dr. Mangrove from the corner of his eye working busily at a panel of computers lining the far wall. Soon the doctor approached the chamber, carrying a small container of honey-colored liquid, which he carefully poured in the copper test tube.

“We are ready,” Dr. Mangrove announced. “Silas, it is time for you to take your place.”

Silas closed his eyes. “At last,” he whispered.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, sir,” declared a voice from behind them.

Standing in the doorway holding a long-bladed knife was Mrs. Hammer. Her hand was trembling and the sharp blade flared under the bright lights of the laboratory. She moved toward Silas and the doctor, waving the knife in front of them.

“Mrs. Hammer!” shouted Milo desperately. “I’m in here, Mrs. Hammer!”

“Mercy! Are you hurt, Milo?”

“No.” He struck the sides of the chamber. “I just want to get out of this thing!”

“Free the child at once,” she ordered, pointing at Silas. “Take him out of that monstrous contraption!”

“Well, well,” said Silas brightly, “so you are my assassin. How marvelous! I did not think you had it in you, Mrs. Hammer, cutting the elevator ropes and so on. I am impressed.”

“Be quiet!” she snapped. “I don’t care what you think of me! When I overheard you and that so-called
doctor
talking about the children like they were animals in a zoo, I decided then and there to stop you. You’ve done some dreadful things over the years, sir, and much to my shame, I’ve helped you do them…but I never thought you were capable of
this
. Hurting these dear children who never did you any harm—it’s monstrous!”

“Come now, Mrs. Hammer,” said Silas, moving slowly toward the housekeeper, “we both know you are not really going to use that knife.” He held out his hand. “Give it to me before you hurt yourself, dear lady.”

“Perhaps,
sir
, you don’t know me as well as you think,” declared Mrs. Hammer, her lips forming a snarl. “I don’t consider myself a violent woman, but did you know I dreamed up dozens of ways to kill you? Oh, yes. Quiet ways, clever ways, tidy ways. But in the end, I wanted your death to be as black as your heart. That is why I chose the elevator. I cut the cable and prayed that it would become your coffin.” Her lips drew together tightly. “But you managed to save yourself…and more’s the pity!”

“The knife, Mrs. Hammer,” said Silas calmly, moving ever closer. “Give it to me.”

“I told you to get back!” she cried, tightening her grip on the knife.

With a flash of steel, Mrs. Hammer swung violently, cutting across the back of Silas’s outstretched hand. The flesh sliced open, quickly bleeding a trail along his arm. Silas stared at the wound, transfixed by the sight of his own blood.

“You will not harm one hair on that boy’s head,” declared Mrs. Hammer firmly. She pointed the blade at Dr. Mangrove. “Free Milo now, Doctor!”

Obediently, Dr. Mangrove hurried toward the chamber, reaching over to unbuckle the first restraint. Just then a series of terrified screams tore through the basement.

Mrs. Hammer instantly recognized the voices.

“Adele!” she cried, looking out toward the tunnels. “Isabella!”

With fury in his black eyes, Silas charged forward, knocking Mrs. Hammer backward with the full force of his wheelchair. She fell to the ground in the corner of the laboratory, the knife slipping out of her hand. Scrambling across the floor, she reached for the blade just as Silas swung down scooping it up. As he pulled away, Mrs. Hammer grabbed his bony wrist, squeezing it fiercely until Silas was forced to drop the knife. She grabbed it, climbing to her feet.

“What have you done to those girls?” she demanded to know. “Which tunnel are they in?”

Thrusting his hand against the back wall of the laboratory, Silas hit a small switch. Without warning, a row of bars shot up from the floor in front of Mrs. Hammer. The thick beams knocked the knife from her hand, sending her plummeting to the ground as the bars rose swiftly to the roof. In seconds, the unconscious housekeeper had been caged in the corner like an animal.

“We have wasted enough time,” hissed Silas, turning back to the Soul Chambers. “Let us begin immediately!”

With a hideous grin, Dr. Mangrove turned a gauge on the control panel—a low hum filled the laboratory as the dome-shaped hatch closed over Milo, locking into place.

With the chamber sealed, the boy’s screams could no longer be heard.

***

“It’s coming for us!” hollered Isabella.
“It’s coming!”

As the gigantic alligator clawed furiously along the damp tunnel, it let out a loud hungry growl revealing rows of jagged teeth. Picking up speed, the beast’s tail lashed the tunnel walls as it drew closer to the girls.

“We have to do something!” shouted Adele, her heart pounding like a hammer inside her chest.

Tearing down the tunnel, the alligator was barely ten feet from them when Adele, acting purely on instinct, stepped forward and kicked a large chicken carcass at the alligator. The plucked bird shot into the air and hit the reptile square in the nose with a thump. The dark beast growled, snapping furiously at the chicken, and then dropped from its haunches.

“Good thinking, cousin!” cried Isabella.

“He will try again,” said Adele, catching her breath. “You can be sure of it. If only we had something sharp to cut these restraints,” she said, pulling roughly at the straps on her wrist.

Isabella let out a squeal. “Cousin…cousin, I may have something!” she cried.

Pulling against the chains, Isabella turned her hips until she was able to slide a hand into her back pocket. Adele watched as an array of stolen property was hastily pulled out—a letter opener followed by a polished gemstone, then two pocket watches, a tie clip, and finally a rather shiny toenail clipper.

“A toenail clipper,” gasped Adele. “You stole a
toenail
clipper?”

“It’s solid gold!” snapped Isabella as she released the safety latch. “Besides, I only
borrowed
it.”

Farther down the tunnel, the large beast turned toward them again, snarling furiously and lashing its tail about. Pushing on its thick stumpy legs, the reptile jumped onto the backs of several other alligators, clawing over them to get at the girls.

He broke into a run.

“Hurry, cousin!” cried Isabella. “Lean toward me so I can free you!”

With trembling hands she began to cut through the thick leather restraints. The predator snapped hungrily, covering more and more ground as the first restraint was cut away. Frantically Adele grabbed a length of chain as the alligator lunged at her legs. She jumped back and swung the chain wildly, lashing the beast’s snout. The reptile’s flesh split open and it groaned loudly, dropping back.

Without a second to spare, Adele grabbed the clippers from her cousin and cut herself free, then did the same for her cousin. Overcome by fury, Isabella grabbed two large pieces of water buffalo and hurled them at the reptiles.

“Back off, you hideous beasts!” she shouted.

But the beasts did not back off. Instead, as if responding to a silent battle cry, they suddenly charged forward as a pack—dozens of hungry alligators in a battalion bearing down on a common enemy.

Fearing that all hope was lost, Isabella shut her eyes and let out a bloodcurdling roar. It was then that Adele remembered the grille she had spotted earlier.

Realizing it was their only hope, she raced forward, heading straight for the stampeding pack. The beasts pounded the damp tunnel floor, climbing over one another to get the first bite.

“Cousin, come back!” cried Isabella.

Just inches from their hungry jaws, Adele spotted what she was looking for. Swiftly, she pulled on a rusty lever set into the tunnel wall. It resisted her pull, but she gritted her teeth and yanked it down. The steel gate above dropped like a curtain, puncturing one of the alligators through the jaw barely an inch from her foot. The pack of beasts came to a sudden stop, crushing against one another as they hit the storm gate.

Running to her cousin, Isabella hugged her tightly. A mixture of relief and exhaustion overwhelmed them both.

Suddenly Adele pulled away. “Milo,” she said. It was all she needed to say.

Nodding in agreement, Isabella grabbed her cousin’s hand and together they raced down the darkened tunnel praying they weren’t too late.

A Death in the Family

In just a few minutes you will be reborn,” promised Dr. Mangrove as he lowered Silas’s frail body into the empty chamber. “As you know, the process is brief. The first minute will prepare your soul for transference. After that, the exchange will happen rapidly. At last you will be free of this dying body.”

Silas grabbed the doctor’s hand. “I will never forget all that you have done for me, Dr. Mangrove.” His eyes pulsed with exhilaration. “And this is just the beginning, dear friend. Next it shall be
your
turn. We will find the panacea and you shall be free. With my fortune and your genius, we will be unbeatable!”

The doctor nodded hungrily.

“And if anything were to go…
astray
,” whispered Silas, “you know what to do.”

“Plan B,” said Dr. Mangrove, setting his patient into the chamber. “I will see to it.”

He turned the gauge. The domed hatch began to close over Silas.

“The next time we meet,” said the doctor, “you will be Milo Winterbottom.”

“Indeed,” whispered Silas as the hatch sealed shut. Turning his head, he looked through the thick panels of glass to the second chamber and saw his nephew struggling against the restraints, the veins in his neck bulging. Milo caught sight of his uncle and screamed violently at him. Silas grinned back, basking in the warm glow of victory.

Working above them, Dr. Mangrove quickly set the modulator to the
Ready
position. He entered a ten-digit code and a red button rose from beneath the metallic panel. It glistened under the overhead lights. Dr. Mangrove took one final look over his creation before activating it. In a split second the nuclear generator came to life, triggering the feeder pumps linking the two chambers. The copper test tubes began to spin and the golden elixir snaked its way through the narrow pipe.

The two-minute timer began counting back.

1 min 59 sec

Almost immediately, Milo felt an intense pressure in his brain as the chamber filled with a sweet-smelling gas—it intensified with each passing second until the boy feared his head was about to crack open. Then the air around him began to vibrate, his skin tingling. A pulling sensation gripped his flesh—it felt as if a thousand molecules were tunneling deep under his skin and then bursting out again, taking with it his very life force.

He began to cry out.

1 min 48 sec

The thick pipes pulsated violently, preparing to carry between them the delicate fragments of two souls. Dr. Mangrove’s tiny eyes shone like gemstones. It was working!

1 min 40 sec

The pounding of footsteps shook the doctor from his moment of glory. Someone was coming! Lurching toward the laboratory door, he slammed it shut, but a powerful push from outside thrust the door open again, sending Dr. Mangrove tumbling to the ground.

Isabella and Adele burst into the room gasping for breath—they had raced down dozens of identical tunnels searching desperately for the laboratory.

They heard the deep whirl emanating from the two chambers.

The soul transference was already under way!

“Milo!” cried Adele, running to the chamber and peering inside. She let out a horrified scream as she watched her cousin’s small body jolt and twitch as if he were being hit with an electric charge.

“How do we stop this?” she yelled at Dr. Mangrove. “Tell us how to stop it!”

“It cannot be stopped. Once the process has begun it is irreversible,” said Dr. Mangrove, smoothing down his clothes. He grinned at the girls. “You are too late to save the day.”

“Tell us how to shut it down, fathead!” barked Isabella, stomping down hard on the ancient doctor’s foot.

Releasing a howl, Dr. Mangrove doubled over in agony. “No!” he spat.

Searching for an off
switch, Adele noticed the counter on the control panel.

1 min 21 sec

“We’re running out of time!” she cried.

Working frantically, Isabella and Adele studied the mass of buttons and gauges and pulsating pipes connecting the two chambers. They punched a host of buttons at random. Nothing worked.

1 min 12 sec

“There’s only one thing we can do,” said Adele in utter desperation. “We have to break it open! Quickly, Isabella, when I count to three, push as hard as you can!”

Isabella nodded with grim determination, pressing her hands against the glass chamber.

1 min 04 sec

“One, two,
three!
” yelled Adele.

With every ounce of strength each girl possessed, they pushed against the chamber. It tilted just a fraction, but quickly fell back into place.

“You will not succeed!” mocked Dr. Mangrove, grimacing as he stumbled toward the Winterbottoms. “The chamber is far too heavy for a pair of
little
girls.”

A mixture of anger and desperation rushed through Adele and she lunged at the doctor, kicking him in the shins with every single ounce of strength she possessed. Like a wounded animal, Dr. Mangrove howled wildly, falling to the ground in a tangle.

“We can do this,” she said sternly, returning to the chamber wall. “Milo needs us.”

She signaled to Isabella, and they began to push again. With gritted teeth and trembling arms, the girls threw their entire bodies into the task. The chamber’s base began to lift from the ground.

“Harder!” yelled Adele.

They pushed harder, as a series of fierce grunts tore from between their clenched teeth. The chamber lifted from the floor again—higher, this time. Ignoring the pain, they pushed harder still. The chamber began to tilt, the weight of the massive machine lurching away from them.

It was tipping!

“Noooooooo!!”
cried Dr. Mangrove, stumbling toward the chamber.

Milo’s glass tomb plunged, tearing one of the connecting pipes from Silas’s chamber as it toppled to the ground—the glass hatch smashing into a thousand fragments on impact. A roar, like a jet engine, exploded from the generator and a thick wall of smoke billowed out.

Dr. Mangrove slumped to the ground with a look of utter defeat and covered his face.

Moving quickly, Adele and Isabella released Milo from the restraints and pulled his limp body from the wreckage. The shattered glass had caused several cuts on his face and neck and his skin was covered in a film of sticky resin. He lay on the ground, unmoving.

“Milo!” shouted Isabella. “Milo, wake up! Oh, cousin, what if we were too late?”

“We’re not too late!” said Adele with certainty. She grabbed Milo’s shoulders and began to shake him. “Milo! Milo, can you hear me?”

Slowly the boy’s eyes began to flicker, his dry lips parting as a low groan came from his mouth.

“He’s moving!” shouted Isabella. “I told you he would be fine!”

Carefully the girls helped Milo sit up. His eyes opened a little and he looked around at the smoking wreckage of the laboratory.

“Thank you,” he said softly, his voice hoarse. “You saved my life—both of you.”

“Well, of course we did,” said Isabella. “It was very dangerous work, but we are cousins, after all.”

Adele looked at Milo carefully. “Do you still feel like
you?
” The thought had crossed her mind more than once—had
any
of Uncle Silas’s soul been transferred into Milo before the chamber was destroyed?

Milo considered the question for a moment.

“Well…” he said eventually. “I think I’m still me. It’s hard to know for sure.”

“Do you have any sudden urge to steal someone’s body?” said Isabella matter-of-factly. “Or feed two perfectly wonderful girls to a pack of hungry alligators?”

“No,” said Milo with a grin. “None at all.”

“It’s settled then,” said Isabella with certainty. “You are not possessed.”

But Adele was not so easily convinced.

“That night,” she said carefully, watching Milo, “when I snuck in through your bedroom window. Do you remember the first thing I said after I climbed down off the windowsill?”

Milo did not answer immediately. He looked at his cousin gravely, shaking his head. “No,” he said softly. “You didn’t climb off the windowsill, I grabbed your arm and pulled you down. Remember?”

“Yes!” cried Adele, the relief bringing a wide smile to her face.

“So,” said Milo, grinning back at her, “did I pass the test?”

“It’s official,” declared Adele. “You are not Uncle Silas.”

Milo’s smile slipped away as he looked over at the remaining chamber where his uncle lay—the generator was still whirling and the remaining pipe flailed around like a serpent, spewing the elixir gas into the air.

“Is he…dead?” asked Milo.

“I don’t know,” said Adele. She gulped. “There’s only one way to find out.”

With the help of his cousins, Milo got to his feet and together they crossed to the chamber. They looked down through the hatch. Silas’s eyes were closed, his thin body completely still.

“Looks dead to me,” said Isabella.

“I think you’re right,” said Adele with a sigh of relief.

Just then Silas’s eyes sprung open, his eyelids flipping up like a slot machine. They were as black and vibrant as ever, rippling with fury. His bony hands thrust against the hatch, pushing violently on the glass.

The children recoiled, their screams filling the room.

“I told you he was alive!” cried Isabella.

Lunging forward, Silas pressed his face to the chamber’s wall and peered out at the children, his ghostly face fuelled with rage, his teeth bared like the fangs of a wolf. Realizing Silas would never stop as long as he lived, Milo reached for the flailing pipe still connected to the chamber. As he did, a pair of hands clamped around his neck, throwing him against the wall. Milo tumbled to the ground, his head thumping the wall. Dazed, the boy looked up and saw Dr. Mangrove standing over the chamber, his hands spread across the glass.

“All is well, old friend,” he said. “I will have you out in no time.”

The doctor worked rapidly, pressing buttons and turning gauges. “The transference was working,” he said tensely, stealing glances at Silas. “Your soul was shifting! Do not worry, I can rebuild the other chamber in a matter of days and then we can try again.”

“Excuse me, Doctor?” said Isabella.

Furiously, Dr. Mangrove looked around, and as he did, two things happened: Isabella delivered a spectacular kick to the doctor’s already battered shin and then Adele and Milo bolted from behind, ramming into him like a bull. The waxy old monster bellowed as he flew toward the ground, tumbling in a heap.

“Look!” cried Adele.

The hatch was opening! Adele began to furiously push the buttons,
any
buttons, trying to shut the hatch. Nothing seemed to work. She coughed as the gases spewing from the pipe rose toward her. A pair of bony claws slammed against the glass and Silas released a violent hiss. She screamed.

“We have to close it!” shouted Isabella, desperately trying to push down on the hatch.

Steam began to escape from the chamber as it slowly opened.

Milo reached again for the pipe, which was flailing about under the chamber. Acting on instinct, he pushed it into the empty valve, looping the poisonous gases back into the hatch.

“Stand back!” shouted Milo, pulling his cousins away.

Immediately the chamber filled with thick plumes of yellow smoke. It began to shake, pallid fumes whirling around Silas, churning with increasing ferocity. The thick glass panels started to crack.

“It’s going to explode!” shouted Isabella.

As the children looked on, their uncle’s body was lifted by the whirlwind, and began to spin rapidly in the frenetic churn. The master of Sommerset’s shallow cry was swallowed up in a torrent, his body a blur as the yellow smoke frosted the cracked glass walls.

Just as quickly the generator stopped, the chamber’s violent shaking coming to an abrupt end. In front of the massive computer terminal Dr. Mangrove had cut the power source, bringing to an end the mini-tornado.

Pushing the children aside, he rushed at the chamber, releasing the hatch. Plumes of hideous smelling yellow smoke filled the room. As it cleared, Dr. Mangrove leaned forward, peering inside.

“Silas!” he cried.

The children surrounded the chamber. In the place where their uncle had been lying was a mound of fine chalky powder. It was difficult to believe, at first, that the almighty Silas Winterbottom could be rendered a pile of dust.

“He has been incinerated,” said the doctor softly.

A loud moan from the corner of the room diverted the children’s attention.

“Mrs. Hammer!” shouted Milo as he glimpsed the caged housekeeper for the first time. Struggling, Milo and Isabella tried to dislodge the bars, but it was no use. A rather groggy Mrs. Hammer directed Adele to the hidden switch beside the door, and the iron cage dropped swiftly back into the floor.

“Oh, Milo,” cried Mrs. Hammer, “thank goodness you’re all right!”

“I’m fine, Mrs. Hammer,” said Milo, squeezing her hand. “And thank you for trying to save me. You are very brave!”

“Oh, nonsense,” laughed Mrs. Hammer.

Suddenly Adele gave a shout.

Dr. Mangrove was nowhere to be seen. He had fled the laboratory, disappearing down the labyrinth of tunnels. On a hunch Milo hopped over to the smoking ruins of his uncle’s chamber and looked inside. A chill raced up his spine.

The powdery remains of Uncle Silas had vanished.