Two Souls Bound

Summary: A soulmate is not your destiny. The identical marks that form on people mark simply their compatibility. Your soulmate is who you have the potential to grow closest to. There is no guarantee, and this isn't always a good thing. Meg Thomas knows this better than anyone.

ONE

Meg's not sure what exactly she did to get sent to hell, but she knows she's in no position to contest the decision. And hell this is, with dreary forests and bloody hooks, and so many generators. They remind Meg of her freshman year mechanics class, where she fiddled with wires and got scolded by Mr. Andrews. The thought makes her scowl as she tries to shove another part haphazardly into place on the generator in front of her. She'd always been terrible with machines. It figures that hell was full of them.

Maybe, Meg mused as she took a break from the generator, stretching out her legs that ached from being in a crouched position for so long. Maybe, it's because of how bratty I was as a kid. Restless had been Meg's middle name, and she had caused teachers and students alike terror and annoyance with her antics. Her mother as well. Especially her mother. Meg closed her eyes at the twinge in her heart, thinking of her mother.

She'd been so sick, when Meg had last seen her who knows how long ago. Natalie Thomas hadn't even been able to leave her bed, much less get up and search for her missing daughter. If Meg was dead, was her mother dead as well? Perhaps, but Meg doubted she'd find her here. Her mother was too good of a person to go to hell, Meg figured. Meg hadn't inherited that- if anything, she apparently got her father's aptitude for trouble.

Whenever she had asked her mom about her father, her mother had clammed up. It was the one subject she refused to talk about with her daughter. Meg had heard the rumors around town, though. Natalie Thomas' soulmate had left her, the mark on her skin had turn black then faded away. Such a shame, the pretty girl played the fool. Those poor Thomas women, alone in the world… Meg had always turned and ran whenever she heard the old women talking. Her mother simply ignored them, showing nothing but the slight tightening of her jaw. Meg knew she got her hair from her father- her beautiful, beautiful hair, her mother assured her- but she knew nothing else about the man. There were no photos, and her mom refused to say a word about him.

However, her mother had plenty to say about soulmates. "They'll come, she assured her daughter as she watched her examine herself for a soulmark in the mirror. Meggie, everyone has a soulmate. When you meet him or her, make sure you never let them go, ok? Never. It's worth it to hold onto them, to not be alone in this world."

"But I'm not alone." Meg would remind her mother. "I have you. Are you sure we don't have the same mark?" Her mother would always laugh and shake her head. "No dear, it isn't me. But there's someone special out there for you, just you wait."

Well, Megan thought bitterly, wiping her brow and returning to work on the generator. She must be doing something right- it seemed to be going faster now. If her soulmate was here in hell, they certainly were special all right. She had wondered, both before and after her apparent death, if she actually had a soulmate after all. Marks didn't appear until you came into contact with the person, and Meg was starting to wonder if there was anyone else here with her in hell. Once she had thought she'd seen someone in the distance, and she'd thought she'd heard a bell, but something deep in her bones had warned her to stay away. A cold feeling in her gut, that made goosebumps prickle on her skin and caused her hands to shake. Meg was starting to believe that if she wasn't alone here, maybe would have been better off as such.

The generator sparked suddenly, making a loud whirring sound that made Meg shriek and flinch away. The thing spun weakly for a moment, before slowing to a stop. Meg glared at it, nursing her burnt finger. Ugh, she hated machines. She took a deep breath, raising her hands to start working on the stupid generator again, then froze. That cold feeling was back, seeping into her bones. Meg's throat clenched as she heard the crunching of leaves and heavy footsteps behind her. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't think or move.

Run. Her coach's voice. Run.

Megan- her mother's voice- run.

And she ran. She tore through the twisted landscape, hardly sparing a moment to breath. Even though her life- afterlife?- was on the line, she couldn't help the breathless laugh that escaped her. Screw machines, running was what she had missed. The thrill of adrenaline, of her blood pounding and legs moving. That powerful surge of victory, the knowledge that no one could beat her, no one could catch-

Thwack

For a second, Meg didn't even register the pain. She stumbled, tripped, but somehow miraculously managed to stay upright. Then the pain settled in. Whatever she had been hit with, it had pierced the skin of the back of her arm, and it hurt. Meg clutched her wounded arm, looking around wildly for a way to escape. There was a small alcove off to the side- she glanced at the monsterous figure behind her. Surely he wouldn't be able to fit, if only she could make it. She urged her legs to run faster, to carry her to victory once more.

And then the bear trap snapped shut on her leg. Meg screamed, collapsing to the ground. Her vision went white from pain, and her eyes filled with tears. What deity had she pissed off to deserve this? To die in the forest, hunted by some beast? Meg wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all, but she couldn't make her voice work. Actually, it seemed that no part of her body wanted to listen to her brain- it had apparently shut down from the pain. As the figure walked over to stand beside her head, Meg closed her eyes and waited for the end.

But instead of a cleaver in her face, Meg was picked up and flung over a shoulder like a useless ragdoll. Meg whimpered at the pain of being jostled, and managed to open her eyes. She was looking down at someone's back. A human, male. He was huge- twice as big as her, easily. When he starts moving, she tries frantically to struggle in his grasp. She has a feeling she knows what's coming, and she wants no part of this. Her flailing doesn't seem to have any effect on this man, this monster. He doesn't even seem out of breath for chasing her through this forest, and Meg finds the absurd moment to be mildly offended by this. Then she is heaved up onto the meat hook, and Meg screams once more.

When her vision clears and her mind returns to her, Meg is aware of two things. One, the absolutely incredible aching in her shoulder where the hook has pierced her. It's burning, incredibly hot, and if by some miracle gets out of this she'll probably die from the contamination alone. Second, she can see him.

He's just as large as she thought he was when she was on his back. He's holding a bloody cleaver, which must have been what hit her the first time, but it isn't raised to strike her. His face is covered by a gruesome, grinning mask, but she can still see his eyes, and those are what scare her the most.

They're brown, like her mothers. But unlike her mother's warm eyes, there is no life in these orbs. Just a cold twist of unhuman cruelty and a faint glimmer of curiosity. He stares back at her, without a sound. For a second, Meg wonders if she should speak- then she realizes the bloodloss is probably starting to get to her. The man scratches at his shoulder, then turns and walks away from her. Meg starts to go numb as she realizes she has been left to her fate.

She should be struggling. She should be twisting and screaming, the fighting tiger of a track star her coach had always expected her to be. But instead, Meg closes her eyes and lets the last of her tears drip from her face. She feels an inexplicable surge of relief. It's over. She's been left to die, and this nightmare has finally come to an end. She even feels an absurd sense of gratitude to her killer for giving her this twisted mercy. Now, Meg could finally rest for good.

And then she is wrenched from the hook by a boy with glasses, and Megan Thomas' hell starts all over again.