The faint sound of murmuring pulled me from sleep. My eyelids felt heavy as bricks, but I forced them open, the darkness around me only broken by the faint glow of a torch. For a second, I didn't move, my mind struggling to remember where I was.
And then I saw him.
The pastor stood near the doorway, a flickering torch in hand. His face was partially lit, casting deep shadows over his sharp features. He was whispering to someone, but I couldn't make out who. The way his lips moved, slow and deliberate, sent a chill crawling up my spine.
I stayed as still as possible, barely daring to breathe. His companion handed him something, a long, narrow object wrapped in cloth, though I couldn't see clearly what it was. My heartbeat thundered in my ears as the pastor nodded and slipped it into his robes before turning and walking down the hallway.
The torchlight faded, but the unease remained, lingering in the still air of the room.
