She had come this far but she wasn't sure if she wanted to know what was behind the scary door. She ran her fingers through her hair. She swallowed her fear. This wasn't the time to be scared. This was for Sofia. She stepped forward.
Through the tiny gap in the door, she caught flashes of an unreal scene. There were cloaks and thrones and blood…
She stepped back. Nope. She was either high, dreaming or dead. Sofia liked to uh… partake in weird and wonderful plants and, yes, once or twice Twyla tried too. But Twyla didn't like losing control of her mind. So, Twyla was sure she wasn't high. Her dreams were always about daily tasks and super boring so she was not dreaming. Dead? Twyla really hoped that if (and that was a big if) there was an afterlife, it would be less stressful and more clouds and angels. So, if it wasn't those three, was it real?
Twyla stopped procrastinating and looked through the opening again. The first thing that drew her eye was a man on a throne. He was the furthest away and yet, Twyla felt drawn to him. The throne was as imposing as the man atop it. The throne curved from a stone base into intricate metalwork. It was too far away to tell what symbols the designs made but they seemed purposeful. It did not look like a comfortable throne. The shadows that caressed both the man and the throne also made it hard for her to get a good look. She could see the crystal tumbler in his hand as he swirled the dark liquid around. The crystal caught the light and sent rainbows into the shadows. Her eyes travelled from the glass to his hands and then up his muscular arms, his sleeves rolled up… A hint of a tattoo peeked out. Her eyes moved to his chest where a few buttons were undone and a silver chain gleamed. She couldn't see what the symbol was. He was built like a warrior and a warrior that trained, a lot. Twyla's heart beat a little faster. She wasn't sure if it was only from fear…
Then someone screamed.
Twyla yanked her gaze away and found the source of the scream. A woman in a long, flowing white dress rested upon a marble altar. People in deep red cloaks surround the woman but Twyla can't see more than blurs of activity. The room was lit only with candles around the throne and the altar. The activity was nothing more than red shadows. Twyla squinted, hoping to see something. And then one of the cloaked people bent down and bit the woman who she screamed again. The light caught the woman's neck and Twyla saw the person biting her…
Twyla couldn't say it. Not even to herself.
She gasped and stumbled backwards. Her gaze flew upwards and directly into the face of the man on the throne. He, too, had… had… fangs…
Wait. Was he looking at her?
Twyla saw his eyes darken and knew it was time to run.
She bolted.
Cardio was never her favourite but she did it and she was grateful. Still, the tunnel to the chapel felt longer than ever. She didn't look back even though she didn't hear anyone. Would they even make a noise? They never did in movies? She stumbled a few times. Her clothes snagged on the torches and fixtures on the walls. The tunnel twisted and turned, narrowed and widened until finally she got to the secret door.
It clicked shut and she leaned up against it. They couldn't get into a house of god, right?
She felt a slam against her back and, for a second, it was nice to be floating in the air. The descent, she decided, was less nice. Glass was in places no glass should ever be. Cuts and bruises marked more of her body than skin did. She'd managed to land on her arms and protect her face, at least.
"They never quite capture just how painful being thrown into the air is in movies," Twyla grumbled to herself as she failed to get up through the ringing in her ears, the pain, and the debris that surrounded her.
"No, but if you let me help, I can make it a little easier?" a deep voice questioned.
Twyla lifted her head. She recognised that voice. It was the same man from the dorms. What was he doing here?
"I've seen you before. You were in my dorm."
"Yes. I have a friend there. But that is not important right now. We have to get you out of here. They will not stop hunting you. You have seen too much. I can help you. I can take you somewhere safe. You saw what they were doing to that woman on the table? They will do the same thing to you. They are monsters. You have to trust me."
He held out his hand.
His deep voice sounded safe. And he looked like he could protect people. Also, what choice did she have? It was him or the people with the fangs biting that woman. And I did believe that they would do the same thing to me. Is that what they did to… to Sof? Oh no, Sofia.
This man looked normal. Human. Real. And he seemed to have answers. Also, there was one of him and a lot of them. They were shaking off the glass and pieces of wood from all the beautiful pews that once lined the chapel. It surprised her that she felt a little sad to see this quiet chapel ruined. It was a sanctuary. It had been a place of peace in a world of chaos and now, like Sofia, it was gone.
It hurt her more than seeing the woman on the altar. She looked at the horde of strange creatures and then at the man in front of her.