Gabriel leered at Father Alvarez with his pulsing yellow eyes and now almost all the trust he had in him vanished.
Is he like Candice, he wondered. The devil tries to work his way into many parts of our lives.
"Do not perish in despair," Father Alvarez declared. "I will die protecting all of you, knowing that I have saved another good soul, even though I will never taste everlasting life."
They all murmured and whispered amongst each other, afraid of his words, worrying that the true horror was inside the church all along. "Those of us who can fight should stay up here," Father Alvarez commanded. "Everyone else should stay with the children in the basement."
No one argued with him, and everyone left. The only two people that stayed were Mimi and Gabriel. "This is it," Father Alvarez wondered aloud. "No one wants to defend themselves?"
"I do not think they can," Gabriel sighed. "Not a lot of people with abilities like me go to church." Father Alvarez nodded in agreement and grimaced. He went up to Mimi and began to interrogate her. He was about to send her downstairs when he saw the fearful look on her face and remembered who he was.
They are all scared, he realized. I have to be there for them. "What can you do, Mimi," Father Alvarez asked. "I… I can control candy," she mumbled. Father Alvarez had a small smile on his face, and he let out a chortle.
"Candy," he chuckled. "You're serious?"
Mimi nodded, now upset and pouting, long used to the reaction. "Don't laugh," she whined. "Don't you think that's useful! There's a ton of it around since it's almost Halloween!" Father Alvarez stopped laughing and looked at her in a new light.
She's smart for a harlot, he thought. I should be kinder. "Go upstairs and grab as much as you can," Father Alvarez instructed her.
She left, and Gabriel immediately went to work and learned who Father Alvarez was. "Who are you," Gabriel asked him. He sat on the end of the pew, leaning onto the wooden armrest and glaring up at him.
"I am a child of God," Father Alvarez replied, unblinking and completely serious.
"That is not an answer," Gabriel hissed. "If we are going to die, then we should die without regrets, without sin."
"Fine. You will not believe me though."
"There is a girl who can control candy, and I can control light! What is there not to believe?"
Father Alvarez felt silly and adjusted his collar, as it suddenly felt too tight. "I am what you call, a vampire," he mumbled. Gabriel gave him a look and sighed. "We are all being tested," Gabriel mumbled. "Your sanity is as well."
Father Alvarez was not a liar. The only thing he hid was what he was, in his hundreds of years upon the Earth, simply out of self-preservation instead of lying for its own sake.
"It is true," Father Alvarez insisted. "It has become much easier for us to hide ever since people like you were born."
"I am tired of being surrounded by crazy people," Gabriel mumbled. "That idiot Santos goes around telling people he's immortal!"
"Oh yes," Father Alvarez grinned, flashing his fangs. "He is possibly the oldest of us all, quite a wonderful man. He has been able to protect all of us." The sudden reveal of his teeth and the idea that someone would think Santos was a wonderful man sent shivers up Gabriel's spine.
"Why would a vampire work for the Church," Gabriel spat. "You're a servant of The Devil!"
"Why would you convert and change your name? Will you always be Dylan, addicted and unrepentant," Father Alvarez replied coolly.
It was clear that Father Alvarez had gone too far, but he was upset that someone had questioned his faith. Gabriel was quiet and mumbled a quick apology. "I am sorry as well," Father Alvarez apologized. "However, I will never be sorry for telling the truth."
Mimi came stomping in, bags of candy in her hand. "What should we do now," she asked. "Should we just hide in here?" Father Alvarez was about to speak but a loud boom interrupted him. They all stood still, waiting for a bomb.
Nothing happened and they looked around in relief.
"Should, should we go outside and check," Gabriel mumbled.
"No," Father Alvarez said. "We should wait in here." Mimi nodded in agreement and shuffled through the bags of assorted candy. She got out a strip of grape gum and chewed as if her life depended on it.
It probably did.
Suddenly the lights went out.
Groans could be heard from the basement, and Father Alvarez set to work. He got out his phone and lit the candles in the foyer. Gabriel went into the basement and emitted soft little globes of light from his hands. Everyone smiled at his cute trick, but he tried to emphasize their skin would be burnt off if they touched them.
"Let's wait for the generator to kick in," Father Alvarez instructed Gabriel and Mimi. "If not I can find it myself." They nodded, and then jerked again when they heard a rattling at the door. Mimi gripped a large bag of candy corn to her chest and began to sweat profusely.
"Don't be afraid," Father Alvarez assured her. "The church needs renovations. It is probably the wind coming through." Mimi relaxed, but Father Alvarez went to check the front entrance.
The door was being pushed open, and it rattled. "Please let us in," a child's voice said. "We would like to come inside." Father Alvarez stared at the door, wondering if it was truly people in need.
He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. He opened his eyes again, and they looked dull and bored.
I hear no heartbeat, he thought. The Devil has quite convincing lies.
"Please let us in," another cried. "At least take my child."
Mimi and Gabriel went into the lobby and grimaced as they heard the wails of the dead and abandoned. "It is so cold outside," a man rasped. "Please give me something warm to drink."
Father Alvarez stood there, stone-faced, watching and waiting to see if they would give up. "Are you not Christians," one bellowed. "You should help those in need!"
Father Alvarez sat on the floor, while Mimi looked around nervously, unsure what to do next. "I do not think they will be breaking inside any time soon," he assured her. "They do not seem very bright, using cheap tricks to try and get us outside."
The rattling at the door stopped.
Gabriel let out a loud sigh of relief and took some candy out of Mimi's bag, ignoring her protests.
A familiar voice could be heard through the church doors.
"Gabriel, let me inside," Candice instructed. Gabriel stared at the door, stricken with fear. "Don't let her in," Gabriel mumbled. "She's a demon."
Candice laughed. "Gabriel, baby, let me in," she cooed. "I made a promise to myself a while ago."
"I don't want to hear it," Gabriel barked.
Father Alvarez looked at the door, now actually afraid. She sounds more intelligent than the others, Father Alvarez realized. We may be in trouble.
"I promised myself I would kill you first. I need your body," Candice moaned. Disgust washed over Gabriel's body as Candice made sexual noises through the door, moaning out his name and screaming louder. She loved making people feel any kind of negative emotion.
Just the idea of it excited her, in more ways than one.
"Leave," Gabriel screamed. "The Devil is a Lie!"
"Do not worry Gabriel," Father Alvarez assured him. "If she is truly demonic she cannot enter the house of the Lord." Gabriel grinned.
"Wait outside all night if you want," Gabriel shouted. "We can outlast you."
Candice giggled. "How long will your food last? How long until those inside want to leave?"
She's right, Alvarez thought. How long can we stay in here?
"We are all stuck in here together," Candice cackled. "Someone made it so no one can leave the campus."
"That's not possible," Mimi trembled. "You're lying!"
"For once I can say that I am not lying," Candice mumbled through the door. "They have all abandoned you to die, and one by one I will take all these freaks with their glowing eyes and inflated egos. I will make them mine."
There was total silence.
For some time, nobody moved or said a word. Mimi, Gabriel, and Father Alvarez absorbed her words wondering if there was truly no escape, except through death itself. Mimi broke the silence and cried.
"I'm scared", she whispered.
The clattering now returned, louder and more fervent, the door shaking and heaving against the weight of the furniture. It was clear that the door would not hold for much longer.
"Come out Gabriel," Candice laughed. "I want to show you something."
"Don't do it," Father Alvarez said. "I will kill her."
Once again the door stopped shaking and Candice changed tactics. "If you do not come out, I will kill everyone in there, and then I will kill you last," she threatened.
"Do not listen to her," Father Alvarez pleaded. "She could simply kill you and then everyone else."
"I don't want them," Candice screamed. "I want those stupid freaks. Give me Gabriel!"
"No," Father Alvarez shouted. "You will not scare us!"
Candice giggled behind the door, and everything went quiet.
"I don't think she's coming back," Mimi said, hope in her voice.
"She is," Father Alvarez said. "She will come back and try again." Gabriel had the very hard choice of weighing his own life against the others hiding in the basement. "I will leave," he mumbled. "I am training to be a soldier anyway. This is a good way to go."
"Don't say that," Father Alvarez screeched. "Don't throw your life away!"
"I won't," Gabriel mumbled. "I will make her chase after me, far from here. She won't be able to hurt any of you."
"I think you should stay," Mimi pleaded. "There are dead people outside."
"There will be dead people inside too if I don't leave," Gabriel sighed. "I think I would rather choose how I die than let everyone else leave with me."
"Gabriel, this is not a good idea," Father Alvarez pleaded. "What if she catches you? She could just come back and kill everyone downstairs."
He's right, but just waiting to die isn't better. I was blessed with these powers to help people, and should do my duty as God intended.
"I understand," Gabriel mumbled. "I will be back. I need to use the restroom." Father Alvarez easily saw through his lie.
" I will go with you," he said.
"Please don't leave me alone," Mimi wailed.
"Come with us," Father Alvarez said. "You can wait outside."