Dents

[+] One Percent

((This chapter contains mature, distressing, and potentially triggering material. Reader discretion is advised.))

The church was a towering structure composed of stone and marble. An ominous sea green spire jutted from the core and in to the gloomy clouds above.

It was divided into three sections, with the forefront being home to a magnificent stained glass window. The designs were intricate, though the subject matter was oddly unsettling. I wrote it off as poor taste, but I couldn't shake the weird sensation I had that the people imprinted in the window were watching me.

The adjacent building was newer in construction. It was embellished with complicated etchings of wars and biblical prophecy. It had no windows and radiated a similarly disturbing aura as the section next to it. If I turned away to examine one area of the craftsmanship and later looked at a part I'd seen before, the latter would appear to have moved or changed in some way. Carvings of horses that stood still now reared up on their hind legs. Generals that called their troops to battle now turned in the opposite direction of the battlefield.

I pretended like it didn't happen, not wanting to open myself up to the implications of what that would mean if it actually had.

In a jarring contrast to the other two sections, the third one toward the back was a compact cabin constructed of half chopped logs that connected to the church via a tiny roofed-in alley. I imagined that it was likely a place of residence for the pastor, or perhaps for other members of the church.

I decided to look at that instead of everything else. Even though it couldn't rival the beauty of the rest of the structure, it didn't send a primal surge of fear through me and that was good enough, apparently.

We got out of the car and approached the concrete steps.

2D and I reached for each other's hand at the same time. I wasn't sure which one of us was more nervous.

The inside of the church was heavy with a mustiness not unlike the books piled up in Russel's room. I realized that he had likely gotten them from one of the seemingly endless rows of bookcases lining the walls. Dust motes hovered in the streams of daylight pouring through the stained glass windows. Worn wooden pews were placed in crooked rows facing toward an unmanned pulpit covered with a violet satin cloth.

2D and I slowly followed Russel as he made his way in the direction of the pulpit. Noodle tailed us from a few feet behind with Murdoc in tow. He hadn't complained all day. I could tell he really wanted to when the door nearly smacked into him for not keeping good pace, but he didn't.

Noodle told him that he didn't need to come. He insisted since he felt he was the only one suitable to drive. When Noodle rebuked that she could drive just as well, he waved her off and made a snarky comment that he got whacked for.

I was doubtful that Noodle's driving capabilities were truly the source of Murdoc's concerns. In any case, I was glad that Gorillaz had joined together as a complete unit for 2D's sake. Murdoc included.

Russel turned when he reached the pulpit and knocked upon a solid wooden door encased in the bookshelves that I hadn't noticed before. It creaked open with a screech like the souls of the damned. The interior was complete darkness.

In an instant, a buzzing light bulb clicked on. Father Merrin stood before us.

He was an ancient looking man. His face was embedded with cavernous wrinkles. His hair was a snowy wisp slicked down upon his head. I shook his hand. It was brittle and cold.

Father Merrin led the five of us to a modest marble room lacking any light from the world outside. He grabbed 2D by the shoulders and directed him to a chair in the center of a meticulously drawn chalk sigil. Russel and Father Merrin lit candles and set them at even intervals around the circle. Russel advised us not to willfully disturb the flames.