Free Falling (The Soul Collectors Series Book 1) by Tara Benham Page B

earlier, and some mountain nearby called Adam’s Peak. Do you have a suggestion as to which is a better place? Also, do you and Hannah want to join us? So far it’s myself, Declan and Haddy.” Both guys knew enough not to challenge me on the invite.
    “Adam’s Peak is not a great place to camp, and it’s a heck of hike to get to, but I’m not sure about the valley either.” He looked leery at the thought of camping in his and his brother’s special location.
    “Well the reason we were looking at those two spots, was because there is supposed to be a wicked meteor shower that night, and both of those offer the best viewing.” Declan stated matter-of-factly.
    Mr. Whitstock cleared his throat, signaling me to close my mouth at the shock of Declan helping. I was unsure of what this game was that Declan was playing, but I recovered as quickly as possible, praying Gray hadn’t noticed my reaction. I was thankful for this input that I was not aware of, making my camping trip more viable. But I began to wonder why he hadn’t shared with us that there was going to be a meteor shower that evening.
    “Sounds like a great idea, let’s do the valley. I’ll see if Hannah’s brother and his girlfriend want to join us. They always come in to visit that weekend.”
    “We should meet in the next week or so in order to make concrete plans.” Hadraniel suggested.
    “How about this coming Saturday? My parents are having a cookout at our house. We can get the plans settled there, and be able to tell Alex and Megan the plans afterwards.”
    “It’s settled then.” I smiled. That went a little too easy for my taste, but I would take it.
    We spent the rest of his break taking turns telling Declan, Had and Mr. Whitstock about the valley. Gray explained how it was created after a roof of one of the caving systems collapsed. The ecosystem was completely different than that of the land around it. Because of   the river and the minerals in the earth, the soil was extremely rich. Gray went on to talk about his studies of the earthquake tremor we had yesterday, as well as the signs he had discovered that a possible bigger earthquake might follow. He finished by telling us that according to historical records, the New Madrid was due for a big quake. Had’s eyes widened as he looked between Declan and me. I gave a slight shrug to indicate that as long as we didn’t react like we knew anything, it should be fine. Mr. Whitstock looked amazed that Gray was as adept in his studies without any assistance. He began to ask Gray questions.
    “Did you study the outlines of where the earthquake would affect if it did happen?” Mr. Whitstock was appropriately concerned as a citizen of the town and storekeeper. I smiled at how well he played the part.
    “Actually, I have a map I’ve drawn here. Would you all like to see?”
    I was very interested in comparing it to the map we’d been given, showing where the safe places were for saving Gray when the time came. He pulled out his hand-drawn map, and the details were beautiful. Declan and Had both complimented him on his talent. He gave a sheepish shrug and began pointing out different areas that he felt would be affected. However, the damage he was expecting was nothing compared to what we knew would actually be occurring. Luckily both the places we had indicated for camping we're not going to be affected. The only plus to Adam’s Peak compared to the valley was that it was far enough away that when the quake happened, it would take a while to get back in town, and by then the danger would have passed. Camping in the valley gave us the same protection, but the humans would be aware of the quake, and the destruction would be seen, heard, and felt with little they could do to help as they watched their town, friends and family disappear and die. Because my mission was to save the human life that was Gray, my predecessor was going to be collecting the souls of those who didn’t survive the