So Long, Not Goodnight

Chapter Seven

Gerard looked around the grounds. He saw where the figure first appeared to greet them, and further down that path was a sidewalk leading to two French doors to the sanctuary of the churchhall. "Come on, Frankie," Gerard whispered more to himself than to Frank, who was now unconscious. "Let's get you somewhere safe."

Gerard hooked Frank's left arm around his neck and kept his right hand on his waist as he guided his injured body up the sidewalk and approached the double doors. "Just hold on, Frankie," Gerard whimpered, stifling a sob, "Just hold on. We're almost there..."Gerard sat Frank up against a larger terracotta planter outside the doorway while he pulled open one of the doors by it's heavy brass handle. The hardwood creaked as Gerard opened it. He propped his foot against the lip of the door while he dragged Frank through, into the vestibule before another set of doors. The glass windows on each door were cracked and splintering into cobwebs as Gerard gently pulled the outside door closed and latched the lock. Time stained brochures were piled on a small wooden shelf above an old-fashioned radiator behind the front doors. Gerard picked one up and could barely make out the name encircled in black printed vines. He set it back in place and carefully opened the doors to the venue. He found a wedge of wood to use to hold the door open as he picked up Frank's small frame in his arms. Frank's arms and legs dangled, reaching towards the floor as Gerard carried him down the aisle towards the pulpit. The vacated benches drew chills up Gerard's spine each time he passed a row. Frank's head swayed gently as Gerard walked. At the end of the aisle, Gerard laid Frank down on the altar softly. The outside sunshine spilled in through a broken stained glass window and colored the right side of Frank's face in red, almost blending in with the dried blood and spittle staining his face. A tear escaped Gerard's eye and landed onto Frank's bottom lip, washing away a small speck of blood. Gerard sank to his knees and sobbed into his dirty hands. The red of the carpet blurring into it's own bloody pool as Gerard cried. "Frankie," escaped his lips every few seconds as he reached his hand out to take Frank's.

The wind blew against the old building causing the walls and floorboards to creak adding to Gerard's sobs creating a morbid melody. Gerard squeezed Frank's hand tightly when it began to squeeze back. "Frankie?" Gerard wiped his eyes onto the sleeve of his jacket as he got to his feet and peered down at Frank. "Frankie?!"

"Gee..." Frank's lips barely moved with his whisper.

Frank's eyes rolled under his eyelids and his whole face scrunched into a pained grimace before his eyes opened dazedly. "Gee?" Frank's voice sounded far away even though he was right in front of Gerard.

"Frankie!" Gerard fell onto Frank's chest and held him in a tight embrace.

Startled, Frank shuddered with Gerard's reaction. "Careful, Gee! Careful..."

Frank's hand rubbed his forehead and he moaned in pain before rubbing at his neck. Frank found his hand move from his shoulder wound to Gerard's neck and then to his face, gently wiping the caked dirt from his porcelain skin. "Gee... What the fuck happened?" Frank looked Gerard over trying to assess if he was hurt.

"The... The ghost..." Gerard began, frantically looking Frank up and down. "I swear, it almost killed you!"

Frank began to sit upright. "It'll take a lot more than that to kill me." Frank smiled propping himself up.

"Frankie, this is serious!" Gerard tried to contain himself.

"Frankie, this is serious!" Frank mocked, smiling up at Gerard.

Gerard just rolled his eyes and pulled himself onto the altar and sat beside Frank. The church groaned with the wind as Gerard and Frank smiled at each other. Gerard leaned down and kissed Frank before he could completely sit up. Frank fell back down almost laying on the altar and knocking his head against the wood beneath the white sheet. Gerard could taste the metallic tang of blood from Frank's cracked lip, but he didn't care. He slid his tongue over the wound as if he were trying to heal it. Gerard tried to be as gentle as he could be to keep the wound from reopening. Frank took hold of the back of Gerard's head and brought them closer, intensifying their kiss. Frank felt the dirt from Gerard's cheek crumble down his shirt and tickle his skin. Some of it fell onto their lips and into their mouths, but they didn't care. Gerard tried to keep his tears from interrupting their kiss. He almost lost his ghost boy because that ghoul is after him. Gerard breaks the kiss and presses his forehead against Frank's trying to keep his breathing normal.

"I almost lost you..." Gerard whimpers.

Frank rubs the small part of Gerard's back. "I told you, Gee. It'll take more than that to kill me."

"I'm serious, Frankie. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you..." Gerard's voice fades.

Frank moves his hands up to Gerard's chin and tilts his face up, tearing his gaze back to him. "I'm fine, Gee. It'll be alright." Frank's grin crooks.

Gerard angrily exhales and pushes away from Frank's grip. "You shouldn't be here... I almost got you killed."

"Gee, come on you're being ridiculous."

"Am I Frank?" Gerard stared into Frank's eyes, pained. "You don't deserve to die because of me..."

Frank sits himself up and pulls out a cigarette. Gerard double takes. "Frankie! This is a church!"

"So?" Frank takes out his Bic and lights the cigarette, inhaling.

"Seriously?"

Frank stows his lighter back inside his jacket and crosses himself. "Happy?"

Gerard smiles weakly and shakes his head. "Fuck..." Frank begins to pick at the stab wound on his shoulder. "That thing really got me, huh?"

"Fuck, Frankie! Don't pick at it!" Gerard slaps his hand away and begins to look over Frank. He had a matching pockmark just like Gerard had. Frank's reaction was way different than his own, so he must have been injected with a different poison. "I don't understand it..." Gerard stared at the mark befuddled. "I didn't see it hold anything or taking anything out of it's robe or any of that... I just..."

Gerard realized that it was exactly the same as what happened to him. The poison was in it's touch. "It's touch..." Gerard gently stroked Frank's shoulder.

"What?" Frank asked, looking quizzically at Gerard.

"It's touch," Gerard continued. "It's toxic."

"That sounds like a band name," Frank stares dreamily out the window. "My Toxic Touch..."

"Fuck, Frankie, I'm serious!" Gerard reaches over and takes the cigarette from his hand. "Hey!" Frank protests.

Gerard begins to pace the pews. "Than it can't be a ghost, right? Ghosts can't physically touch you... Right?"

"Like I said..." Frank shrugs. "It's gotta be some kind of demon or something."

Still pacing, Gerard's thoughts race around his head. He and Frank are stuck in an abandoned church and are being attacked by a demon. At least they were safe here for now, well, he thought so. Gerard turned around towards the altar and saw Frank sitting, his hands in his lap, and his legs dangling and bumping against the darkly stained wood. Gerard couldn't help but feel terribly guilty. He almost got Frank killed. He had to get him to safety before that demon came back. Just like in the mausoleum, they couldn't stay in this church forever. They had to come up with a way out of this. Gerard noticed the dozens of bibles littering the floor and the pews and got an idea. "Hey, Frankie," Gerard bent over to collect one of the books.

"Yeah, Gee?" Frank looked up from the floor.

"Do you think there'd be something in here about, oh, I don't know... Slaying that demon?"

Frank eyed Gerard curiously and grinned. "Maybe... You got a plan?"

"I might," Gerard replied, flipping through the dusty pages of the bible he held. "I just might."

"Well, take your time," Frank jumped down to the floor. "We have all the time in the world. We should be safe here."

Gerard looked around at all the broken windows, overturned furniture, and stained carpet. "I don't feel that safe here..."

Frank approached Gerard from behind and rested his head on his shoulder. "I feel safe wherever I'm with you."

Even though Gerard felt panicked by the situation, he felt warmed by Frank's sentiment. He turned around and took Frank in his arms. "Frankie... I feel safe when I'm with you, too." Gerard planted a soft kiss atop Frank's head. "I just wanted to keep you safe. Always."