Andrea twisted and turned in the bed slowly. Her frequent events had taken her to a place she had longed to be. The obvious she had tried hard to hide where surfacing at a place she couldn't deny. Her dream revolved around her emotions for Sebastian. Her dream world took her back to Sebastian's room, to that particular moment where they were alone having their heated conversation. All their words were the same but their emotions were off.
"My father used to say that a soldier is not only defined by the physical battles he's fought, but by the indomitable spirit
burning within his soul. I find myself drawn to your mysterious spirit each and everytime I see you. It is that which holds those around you closer even when you push them away" she said with her formal expression.
This time he didn't say what he said earlier. Sebastian leaned in closer to her, with her intentions very clear. He was going to kiss her. She felt herself moving closer to him, their lips almost touching each other. Just before they could meet she woke up suddenly. Her heart rates increased than normal. She felt a sense of urgency, a need to calm herself down. Her thoughts were mixed up. With each word in her head very difficult to understand, she stood up and checked the time and it was 4:15am in the morning.
She hastily got off the bed, pulling her sweat pants up as they periodically fell. She grabbed the ropes finally and tied them very tight.
Entering the training room, her first sighting made her wish she hadn't gone there too early. Sebastian was the last person she wished to see after her intense dream earlier. She stood inside with the doors opened, staring at him as he hanged from the pole.
"Do you mind closing the doors for me? I don't fancy my fellow Seraphs watching me train" he murmured softly still holding into the horizontal pole firmly.
Andrea knew it was too late to turn back. She walked in slowly and sat on one on the chairs, holding out a file and pretending she wasn't looking at him. She watched his every move closely. She raised her head very now and then, comparing what was in front of her to what she saw in her. Just in the middle of her admiration, her thoughts sort how her dream could have ended.
"What are you doing here do early anyways?" she asked suddenly, when the silent tension between them was becoming unbearable.
"The last time I checked, this was my training room. I should be asking you that question" he replied walking towards her.
He gently sat on the huge desk, just besides her. She could smell expensive cologne mixed with sweats.
"I was having trouble sleeping so I decided to come work on the text" she said simply, trying to look away.
"Mmmm" Sebastian murmured.
"I hope that has a nice assumption attached to it" she said softly.
"Well that exactly what every girl says when they begin to have erotic dreams" he said simply.
"D you have prove if that?" She asked surprised.
"I just know the obvious" he replied simply.
"Maybe you had it wrong this time" she said turning her face away.
She didn't want her mind to race to places which makes it hard to concentrate.
"Maybe I did" he said simply, nodding his head.
Andrea couldn't take it anymore. She knew she would end up doing something she will regret if she stayed there any longer. She stood up suddenly, walking to the door faster than normal. Just when she thought she was finally away from his intense intimidation, she closely misse a step. Her whole body turned immediately, she was falling, but muscular arms wrapped around her, holding her up above the ground. She raised her head and Sebastian was there, holding her. Their gaze reminded her of her dream. She thought then that everything was finally going to end how she had hoped.
"Oolala! My day just got better" JJ murmured with a smile as he opened the door.
Sebastian quickly bright Andrea to her feet and let go of her.
"What is going on here?" JJ further asked, spinning in his seat.
"Nothing" Andrea said quickly in a nervous tone.
"Oh my God! You are bleeding" she continued.
In their short shared moment, Sebastian's wounds had opened up and the blood forcing itself out as quickly as it could.
Andrea rushed to him quickly. Pulling his shirt from the table, she used it to cover bleed wound.
"You don't need to do that. I'm fine" Sebastian said.
"No you're not" Faye said standing at the door.
"Faye, I thought you won't be back any sooner" he said surprised.
"I had to wrap up quickly and get here when I heard your were hurt" she said, she slowly removed the shirt and observed the wounds closely.
"It seems the stitches have torn due to the stress exerted on them. The wounds need to restitched properly, then you need a long rest" she said dragging him past Marcus.
"I think there is a new case we need to check out. I heard some people have made some reports at the western sector of the Holy City" JJ said simply.
"I could really get my mind off a lot of things now" Andrea said with a sigh of relief.
"You two should check it out and report back to me. There are a lot of things I need to keep my eyes on" Marcus said then exited the room.
"Don't you think we need to at least inform Sebastian before we go?" JJ asked concerned.
"We can do this on our own, besides Faye said he needs to rest. We would be doing him a favor rather" Andrea smiled as they headed out.
Andrea and JJ walked through the beautiful Vatican city. She hadn't had time to properly explore the place. At least most of it.
"So have you popped the big question yet?" Andrea asked suddenly.
"I think it will have to wait for a while. I haven't mastered the courage to disclose such a mixed up issue" JJ answered.
"I think you should really do what you have to do quickly, before it's too late" Andrea said making JJ smile.
JJ knocked on the first door.
"Hi! I'm JJ and this is Andrea, we are here about the complain about the strange occurrences" JJ murmured politely.
"Okay come in" the young lady in her mid-thirties said simply.
"What can you tell us about the strange occurrences?" JJ inquired.
"It all starts midnight around 12:15am. Many complaints came about a man or a ghost. They claim to see the god-damned thing, and each time, all the cars starts buzzing. One or two people have suffered heart attacks by seeing this creature" the lady explained.
"Thank you very much. We will head back and patch up some clues" Andrea said as they exited the room.
"So what do you think?" Andrea asked.
"Well this proves to be harmless than I thought" JJ said.
"Let's see what we can piece together" Andrea said sitting in the car.
"We will have to do that quickly, it's going to get dark soon" JJ said as they drove off.
JJ sat with his laptop opened as Andrea drove.
"Alright, according to the various accounts and urban legends, our mysterious man of black miss definitely is a shadow person. Sightings of the shadow person usually occur around abandoned buildings or areas with a history of tragedy. That place used to be a hospital before it was later turned into an estate after the Holy Showers." JJ explained
"That is definitely a where we need to be. We have to call Marcus on this one" Andrea said simply.
Marcus stepped out of his car with his leather jacket on. He looked causal.
"So how do I fit into your plan?" he asked simply, taking his glasses off.
"The creature on the loose is a shadow person and we will need you to cleanse the place to expell the creature forever" JJ explained.
"Okay, but we need to gather more information
about our haunted area" Andrea murmured softly.
Marcus, clad in his black leather jacket, leans against the car.
"Alright, let's do it. But remember, this thing is dangerous. We need to stick together and be prepared for anything" Marcus cautioned.
Andrea slings her backpack over her shoulder, filled with cameras, flashlights, and other ghost-hunting equipments.
They gather their belongings and drove off towards their intended destination. The car pulled up outside the ominous-looking abandoned warehouse, its windows shattered and ivy crawling up the decaying walls. The atmosphere is eerily silent. They exited the car, as their footsteps echoed on the deserted street. Marcus hands out a walkie-talkie to JJ.
"I think we should split up. You two take the left, I will take the right. Remember, communication is key. If you see or sense anything, don't hesitate to let me know" Marcus said then went his way.
JJ and Andrea take a deep breath, steeling
themselves for what lied ahead. They push open the heavy, rusty doors, revealing a pitch-dark interior.
Andrea and JJ step cautiously inside, illuminating the darkness with their flashlights. The sound of distant whispers and creaking floorboards filled the air.
"Guys, I found some old records here. Seems like the hospital had a dark past. Torture, experimentation,..." Marcus calls out.
Andrea and JJ rashes to him. Andrea shines her flashlight on the disturbing records, her eyes widening.
"Where did you get this?" She asked surprised.
"There was a crack in the floor and I accidentally stepped on it breaking it wider. I found this when I took my foot out. It seems someone hid it here" Marcus explained.
"How is it still here?" JJ inquired.
"Well during the demolishing they have time to seal off everything. They just built the warehouse on the original framework of the hospital" Marcus explained.
"With all the things that went on here, no wonder this place has attracted such darkness" Andrea said terrified.
"We need to be even more vigilant" Marcus said suddenly.
Moonlight cascades through the curtains, casting eerie shadows against the walls. The atmosphere thick with anticipation. Suddenly, a faint shadow darting across the hallway catches JJ's attention.
"There! Towards the east wing!" JJ shouts intensely.
The group follows his gaze, hearts racing. Marcus pensively clutches his crucifix hanging from his neck. The crew quickly followed the moving black mass. They approach the corridor leading to the east wing, their eyes glimmering with equal doses of fear and determination. The shadows loomed larger there, seeming to have a life of their own, but the group pushes forward, never wavering in their quest to unravel the mystery of the shadow person. As they ventured deeper into the east wing, the whispers grew louder, the air chilling with an other worldly presence. They halted, transfixed by a shadowy figure at the end of the corridor.
"There it is! We've found it!" Andrea says breathlessly.
With cameras rolling and pulse racing, she takes a full documentary of the creature. The figure moved in fast towards them. Marcus held up his crucifix immediately, making the figure disappear into thin air.
"I think our job here is done. This was a harmless call. I will send some priests over to cleanse the place" he said as they stood by the cars in the hollow streets.
Everyone felt a sense of accomplishment but Andrea was far from okay. She thought solving a case would help put her mind to rest about her dream but just after everything had been concluded the thoughts came back to haunt her, just like the shadow person had come back to haunt his formal home.
Sebastian paced back and forth in the room when the crew arrived. Marcus was out taking care of some personal business. JJ had retired to his room after a tiring day. Andrea could see the frustration etched on his face. She knew there was something wrong but she could get her hands on what it was. She walked in slowly. Sebastian glared at her as she walked in.
"What the hell were you thinking, Andrea? How could you leave me out of that mission?" he said through clenched teeth.
Andrea closes the door and faces him, her eyes burning with determination.
"It wasn't personal, Sebastian. I had my reasons. And besides you needed rest and I didn't want to disturb you" she replied seething.
"Your reasons? You know I ran this place and every mission has to be led or assigned by me. I have been through hell and I still fought on, and you stand here to lecture me about my health. I decided whether I'm fine or not, not anyone else" he said angrily.
Andrea takes a deep breath, as she struggled to find the right words.
"It wasn't about you, Sebastian. I needed this mission to get my mind of a lot of things" she whispers softly.
Sebastian's anger boils over.
"Oh so you needed the mission to get over your personal problems. You think you're the only one with a personal crisis. Here I was thinking we could be a team and you go round making decisions based on your erotic dreams" he said with a raised voice.
Andrea's eyes widened, hurt mingling with her anger.
"Sebastian! Lives were
on the line, so sorry if I didn't let you go out and made more damage to yourself. And yes I made decisions based on my feelings. You want to know the truth right?" she asked I'm a similar tone.
"The truth is I decided to bench you because I didn't want you around me. Especially when you are the only person I see when I close my eyes to sleep. And you were right the first time, I had erotic dreams, but how I'm I supposed to be around you when you are always in those dreams" she said with tears filling her eyes as she stormed out of the room.
Sebastian stood in silence. He had never been very confused in his life as he was. His anger had been replaced by remorse and confusion. He stood alone in the middle of the room trying to fathom all that was going on in his life.