"Urgh… Let me go!" Karin groaned and screamed as she was pinned on the floor by Sister Deloris.
"Calm down dear." Mother Grace said as she walked closer to Karin.
"What do you want from me?!" Karin asked.
Mother Grace gently held her hand to her mouth and let out a soft giggle and said, "What would we possibly want from you? Dear, you're being overdramatic."
"Urgh! Then why are you doing this?!"
"Please Karin, calm down." Sister Deloris pleaded.
"Karin dear, those creatures you saw flying about outside were once humans. How and why they were once humans aren't in my place to answer…
"We've anticipated this apocalypse for a long time now without having a clue about a single thing, so please understand we have to be secretive and also don't have most of the answers you wish to know."
"Urgh! Then how did you know they were once humans before they became like that?!"
Suddenly, a majestic presence filled the cathedral followed by a soft voice that answered, "I told them."
A 10-year-old girl in a black hooded cloak was floating towards them.
Mother Grace bowed her head and Sister Deloris immediately jumped away from Karin's body and followed suit.
"Rebecca!" Karin stood up and ran to her daughter, before reaching for her daughter who was in mid-air.
Rebecca slowly came down and was instantly pulled into her mother's embrace.
"Becca, are you still you? Who are you and why are you in my daughter's body? Please leave her alone, she's just 10, I beg you please…" Karin's plea was accompanied by tears.
"I'm still me mother, but I've come to understand many things." Rebecca said.
"Why are you talking like that? What have you come to understand? You're being silly! Stop this game, it isn't funny!"
"There are more necessary things that need to be addressed." Rebecca glanced at Mother Grace, who instructed Sister Deloris to hold Karin still.
"Deloris I swear you'll hear from me after this! I'll also tell Mark! Becca why are you allowing them to treat me this way?!" Karin struggled to get free.
Rebecca walked closer to Karin and her bare feet gently left the ground.
"Mother, you are becoming a nuisance. I will show you… the light." Rebecca stretched forth her right hand to Karin's forehead and her palm emitted a strange but mesmerising bright light with rapidly increasing intensity.
"What are you trying---" Karin tried to retaliate but the golden light was too mesmerising and she found herself in a daze.
Mother Grace and Sister Deloris closed their eyes and tried their best to look away.
Everywhere became increasingly bright and as the light's intensity peaked it disappeared. Everything returned to normal.
Sister Deloris found that light to be strangely warm and comforting. It didn't shine through her eyelids but she still knew when it was there and when it disappeared.
Karin was in a crazed state. Her pupils were tiny and her mouth was wide open. Her face was filled with a crazy joy and her hands were lifted to Rebecca in awe as she was on her knees.
...What on earth happened to Karin? Sister Deloris was troubled. She turned to look at Mother Grace only to see the elder wearing her usual calm and joyous expression.
Rebecca turned around to leave but stopped and looked at Mother Grace and Sister Deloris from the side of her eye then asked with her gentle and soft voice, "You dare pin my mother to the ground?"
Mother Grace fell to the ground on her face and begged, "Who dares challenge the messenger of the Lord? I pray for forgiveness from thee. Please show me thy mercy."
Sister Deloris was frozen on the spot due to fear and was about 2 seconds late before she realized she was to bow down and plead for mercy.
Rebecca calmly went away.
Mother Grace raised her head. Although she still had her joyous smile it was evident she felt great fear from the amount of sweat that trickled down her forehead.
When Sister Deloris saw this sight it only made her feel more anxious.
As someone with a gift herself, she knew Rebecca's was league's above hers, not to mention she didn't even know if Rebecca's could be called a 'gift' as it would be an understatement.
"Take Karin dear to the resting quarters and show her the ropes."
"Y-Yes, Mother Grace."
* * *
Mark starts the truck and immediately remembers he hasn't done what Damian asked of him.
Sh*t I should've done it when David wasn't here yet…
"I'm sorry I gotta take an emergency leak." Mark came down the truck and found a secluded area.
"Ok, how does this thing work…" Mark took a deep breath.
His eyes turned full black and veins were popping out of his neck as his horns slowly grew.
He could feel everything above the earth and beneath up to a mile away and could see every single thing that was happening at a particular place if he just focused a little on that place.
He spoke in a grating deep voice with an underlying foulness in his tone that could make bones shiver, "Do not attack, no matter what."
He slowly turned back to normal and felt exhausted. What the? I didn't feel this way that first time right?
He walked calmly back to the truck to try to catch his breath.
He entered the truck and David Dolan asked, "What happened?"
"N-Nothing, I just did a few push-ups to get me pumped up."
David Dolan didn't dwell on the matter and said, "Let's stop by Damian's hospital first before we head to Queens. I just wanna check it, we'll be quick."
"...Alright." With a sigh, Mark started the vehicle once again.
* * *
Damian explained to the team that they won't be moving together and assigned an area or street to a pair.
"Does anyone have any questions?" He asked.
"Yes…" Jake said and asked, "How will we fight those creatures when they're this many? Not mentioning the fact that two people to a street is complete suicide."
You being here is already suicide… Damian thought.
They were on the base floor of the empty apartment building.
In response to Jake's question, Damian opened the entrance door and left it wide open.
...Please Mark, I hope you didn't forget. My confidence will be the sell-out. Mark if you forgot I swear I'll kill you...
"What the hell?!"
"Why did you leave the door wide open?!"
Tom, Henry, Vlad and Jerry raised their guns to protect themselves while the others took cover somewhere.
Damian walked backwards until he got to the middle of the road and shot at the sky.
The sound alarmed the eradication team and they doubled their guard.
"They won't attack at this time of the day." Damian said. It was a lie but they believed anyway.
He walked back in and said, "I, the medical team and Sarah will take care of this street. When you run out of ammo 'both' people should come back to get some."
...I don't know how long this stuff lasts, hopefully, it'll give me enough time to capture the creatures. Although I'll be blamed for their deaths it doesn't matter since I'll get what I want. After all, I don't think it'll be an uncommon thing for people to die in an apocalypse…
"How sure are you that they won't attack? And why?" Vlad asked. He had a Russian accent.
"100 percent sure. Why? Because they are other creatures with three horns that control these skinny demons. If you see a demon wearing armour run for your life. They are very few though, so an encounter with them is only about 5 percent." Damian answered. He lied without a slight hesitation.
Elizabeth said in amazement, "Oh! I can confirm what he says is true because we say one on our way here from Cranberry but neither it nor the crazy ones attacked."
Damian was perplexed, "None attacked?"
"Yes. It's like they didn't even see us."