Soul #3 Judgment Boy


I felt a lot better when I awoke. I felt like I could run a marathon and climb a mountain in the same day! I didn’t think my mind would give up on me today. Unfortunately, that was the last time I had that feeling.


The very instant I walked out my door, I was greeted very loud scream by Judgment Boy. “JUDGMEEEEENT!!!” He was quite tall, wearing a fancy suit, and was carrying the scale Neko was talking about.


“Do you know my name? They call me Judgment Boy! JUDGMEEEEENT!!!” he yelled again. He still must’ve been insane from before. “Well hello there! You must be the new guest! I can see you have an awful lot on your mind.” He must read facial expressions well. “If you ever want my help, just bring me a symbol of your trouble. Then I’ll give you one of my special judgments!”



He yelled one more “JUDGMEEEENT!” before he was gone. I walked down to Neko’s room, but I heard snoring. I looked in through the keyhole, and he was talking in his sleep. “Gregory never gives up, does he?” He didn’t hear me on the other side. “He’s still going about that book. He ought to give up and stop looking for it...” he said, and stopped talking to himself.


I continued to walk down the hallway until I was in front of a door with a sign saying “Catherine”. I looked into the keyhole to make sure no one was inside, and no one was. I walked into the unlocked door and saw a room similar to mine. There were some medicines and tools lying around.


I was grabbing a few pain relievers (what, wouldn’t you in my case?) when I noticed a book lying under her bed. It was a swimsuit magazine, and the subscription order said “Gregory”, so I took it. Could this be the book Neko had mentioned? I left Catherine’s room without anyone seeing me.


I was holding the book in my hand when I met Gregory walking down the hallway. “Ah, how nice to see you! And what can I do for y…huh?!” his eyes suddenly widened. He must’ve noticed the book in my hand. “Wh…where did you find th…that book?!” he asked. I told him I found it in Catherine’s room. “Y…you don’t say! Th…this is quite serious! I…I’m afraid I’m going to have to confiscate it!”


I handed the book over to him. “It would be wise not to make too much of a fuss. Hee hee hee…” he laughed quietly. “You know, I think you should read something more tasteful. Not this piece of…<cough>…this book. If you’re looking for such a book, I suggest you try the library. I sure a little reading will make all your worries melt away. Now then…” he said, and suddenly ran off the other way with the book. “Hee hee, I can’t wait…” he whispered to himself.


I continued to walk through the hall until I saw a door labeled “Library”. I could hear someone humming in there. I walked in and saw James switching books around the shelves. He must’ve hid Gregory’s book in Catherine’s room. He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. “What are you doing?” he asked with curiosity.


I looked around the library and took a few books from the shelves. One of the books I took was a “Self Help” book. James kept following me, humming pretty loudly. I figured if I needed to spy on people, James wouldn’t be helping me. I took one last look on a shelf and saw a red handkerchief on it. I took it because I thought it might be important for something.


I left the library with the self help book in hand. James continued to follow me, and he laughed to himself. He must know he’s an annoyance. I continued to hall down the seemingly endless hallways when James finally said, “I’m bored.” and stopped following me. I could hear footsteps in front of me, hopeful the footsteps of Judgment Boy. And they were.


“JUDGMEEEEENT!!!” he yelled for his greeting. “You’re carrying a self help book, aren’t you?” he asked. “Well then, it’s time to JUUUUDGE…which path your future will take.” Suddenly, darkness surrounded us.


“You’re a bright young man who’s accidentally walked into a hotel from another dimension! There’s only one way to get back to the real world: you must collect lost SOOOOOULS! But the hotel is full of DANGER!!! So, what are you going to do?” he asked. “I… I’d like to see you try and stop me!” I yelled. Sadly, this was the only time I could stand up to anyone like that.


“All righty, then! Let’s ask the Scales of Truth!” he yelled, and held out the scale he was holding. It started to tilt back and forth. “Which will it be, Money or Love? Only the Scales of Truth know for sure!” He suddenly span the scale around. “JUDGMEEEEENT!” he yelled, and it stopped spinning. “Here we go!” he said, and one of the scales cages opened, the one with the dollar symbol. It shattered on the ground into pieces. That was probably a good thing.


“In the end, you never gave up, no matter how hard things got! At last, you followed the path you created for yourself and found your way to the real world! You bravely faced your fears. For that, you get this faaaaabulous prize!” he placed the soul he was carrying on the ground. “And that’s the truth, see ya!” he said. “JUDGMEEEEEENT!” he yelled once more, and left.


I collected the soul on the ground, and my bag glowed for a second. I had a feeling of victory having done all that by myself. I thought this might not be too hard after all. However, this was the #1 thing I regret saying the most. Nearly seconds after my little victory, I had my first encounter.


“There you are, you little brat!” someone yelled from behind me. I turned around to meet the unhappy face of Catherine. “I’ll make you pay for stealing my husband’s soul!” She yelled, and stabbed her needle just inches away from my feet. I suddenly thought about what Neko had told me to do. I ran.


I couldn’t run very fast. Thankful, it was just enough to run away from Catherine. “Come back here!” she yelled. That giant needle must’ve been hard to carry while running. Thankfully, my room was just in front of me. I quickly ran inside and locked the door behind me.


“Augh!” she yelled in agony. “I’ll get you eventually!” she yelled from outside. I was quite shaken from the event, so I decide some reading might help. I took a few of my books out and sat at my desk. I read a book called “Miserable” by Stephanie Queen. Somehow, it seemed like I’ve read this before.


I finished the book and laid down on my bed. I did feel better, and felt relaxed. I then into a deep sleep, and began to dream…


“Hurry up already! Give it up! Forget about all dem worries!” I was greeted again by Death. I think every time Death shows in my dreams, he doesn’t know it’s me. “Oh, it’s you! Ya already got another soul?” he asked. I took out the new soul. “Well, dat sure was quick! O.K., hand it over, like we agreed.” The soul floated out of my hands, and over to death.

He collected it, and glowed briefly. “Heh hey, tanks a lot!” he said. He paused for a second. “Well, wouldja look at that! While we’ve been sittin’ here jabberin’, a whole bunch of new guests moved in, and dey got souls, too!” he said. He started to disappear. “Well, then, good luck to ya!” he said, and disappeared, waking me from my sleep.