Shrouded

.XII.

The man that stepped into the room was one I recognized. His brawny build, the pale face, the shock of black hair that draped in oily curtains around his shoulders. He was one of the men who had dragged that woman away. I cringed at the sight of him, making a slight sound, a hiss as I drew in my breath.

His eyes, that had been roaming the room, focused on my face, and on Jacqueline, who was shaking beside me.

He grinned when he spotted us, his eyes brightening, and he called to someone over his shoulder.

Another man walked in, this one shorter than the first, and he grinned maliciously at us. He nudged the first man with his elbow. "Told'ya I saw someone watching, didn't I? Told'ya we'd find 'em."

My heart was pounding, and I pressed myself as close to the wall as possible as the two men stalked up to Jaqueline and I.

"Idiots, you're scaring them." 

The two men froze, and then stepped to the side to allow a third person to enter the room. It was another man, a bit shorter than I would have been if I were standing, definitely the shortest of the three. He was balding, and had a droopy face. He knelt down beside Jaqueline and I, and looked both of us up and down. "Don't be frightened," he said, stretching out his hands to place one on each of our shoulders, "I'm here to help you."

His voice was kind. I raised an eyebrow, curiosity overcoming my earlier fear.

"H-help us?" Jaqueline's voice shook as she spoke.

"Yes! I'm here to save you. To help you both atone!"

Jaqueline and I looked at each other. The man seemed sincere, his eyes clear and fervent with truth.

"How?" I asked. My throat felt dry, and my limbs started to shake as the adrenaline seeped out of my body. "I saw what those two," I pointed at the men who now leaned against the far wall, "did to that woman. We both did." I took Jaqueline's hand. "Was that the type of 'help' you're offering?"

The man shook his head. "I'm sorry you two had to see that. Lorie wasn't in her right mind. She tried to get away from us. We had to bring her back to the fold; she was a lost lamb. I'm terribly ashamed that we had to resort to physical force to do so."

"If you really were trying to help, why would she run away?" Jaqueline's posture was defensive, her tone aggressive, and I nudged her, shaking my head. We wouldn't be able to run past three men, and we definitely couldn't fight them, so it was best not to piss them off. She visibly strained to relax.

The man scooted closer to us, and lowered his voice, like he was telling us an important secret. "We know the only true way to atone. Some people don't understand our methods, our ways, like Lorie. She tried to run because she thought we were wrong, that she could atone without our help."

"Why not just let her go?" Jaqueline looked puzzled, and she squeezed my hand. I had spent enough time with her to know what she was thinking: she wasn't buying what this guy was selling. Well, neither was I, so at least we were on the same page.

The man's eyes widened. "I couldn't! I want to save everyone here. Some people don't know what's best for themselves, and I have to help them see!"

O-kay, crazy. "Uh, well, we know what's best for us, and we're not really interested in... whatever this is. I think we can make it on our own." I stood up, pulling Jaqueline with me.

The man's eyes darkened, though he kept his voice light. "I think it would be better if you came with us. We've been watching you, we know your sins. We know we can help. You'll never get out of here without us." I glanced at my left hand, and he followed my eyes. "Yes," he said, "we've seen what's written there."

He pressed close to Jaqueline, intimidating, even though he was a head shorter than her. "Sloth. Vanity. Lust. These are minor sins, little lamb. Easy to atone for." He patted her hand, and I saw her shiver involuntarily. Something about this guy was off in a major way.

He turned to me, smiling gently, but there was malice in his eyes. "Now, you... the Shrouded one."

My throat went dry. How long have they been watching us?

The man registered my surprise. "Yes, we know all about the ones that God can't see. Satan put his mark on you, and thus, your life was hidden from the Lord." His tone was reverent. "But we can save you."

"Why don't you save yourselves? Why worry about everyone else?" I was trying to stall, to buy time while I thought up an escape plan. With this lunatic in front of us and his acolytes blocking the only exit, though, I wasn't overly confident.

The short man hung his head. "I am guilty of the sin of sloth, and the sin of selfishness. In life, I ignored the needy and only sought to care for myself. Here, now," he spread his hands, like he was offering us the greatest gift, "I only seek to help others."

I peeked over at his minions by the door. Their faces were rapt, they were drinking up what he was saying, nodding along, looking at him like he was their savior.

"Well, that's very noble of you, but I think we'll take our chances." I'd seen the woman in the alley atone, the one we saw right before meeting Pete, so it wasn't like this dude was our only hope. I grabbed Jaqueline's hand, and we started walking to the exit, moving slowly, like we were trying not to provoke an angry animal.

The little man shook his head, like he felt sorry for us, but let us pass, and even motioned for his cronies to stand back. We exited the building, and I squeezed Jaqueline's hand. She squeezed back, silently letting me know that she was thinking what I was thinking. I nodded imperceptibly, and at the signal, we took off, trying to sprint away. Before we got more than a few steps, though, I was tackled to the ground.

My hand ripped away from hers, and my chin smacked the pavement. I tasted blood on my tongue. One of the men from beside the door was pinning me down.

Jaqueline looked back at me with wide eyes, and I spotted the other man charging towards her, the short preacher watching with gleeful malice. I motioned to her, and spit out the blood that was filling my mouth to yell: run.

Her eyes were anguished, but she listened, and as the man who was holding me down delivered a knockout blow to the back of my head, I silently cheered as I watched Jaqueline sprint around a corner and out of sight.