The Keeper of Chambervile

Chapter 6

I did not realize I was still screaming until Cecily's face came into view and her hands clasped my face tightly.

"Avery! Avery! It's ok! You're in Momma's bakery. You're safe now!"

I was looking wildly every which way as Sue-Ann handed me a cup of water for me to drink and calm down. I gulped down the entire cup and handed the cup back to her with shaky hands. They talked me through the panic and by the time Mary-Ann came in through the door covered in blood and some kind of greenish liquid smeared across her pants while carrying two shotguns in each hand, I was already off the floor and taking a third drink of water.

"Make room! Dorothy, I need you to call Father Bishop and Dr Morton immediately."

Mrs Smith was shouting orders left and right as I stood at the far corner with my back against the wall trying to absorb what I seeing as my heart was hammering in my chest. She had helped the figure on to the sofa and coaxed it to lie down while she looked it over. From where I was standing, all I could see was a man's right hand that was torn apart and blood was pooling on the floor as Cecily grabbed a towel and tried to stop the bleeding.

I shifted from the wall and took a seat at the high stool to get a better look of the chaos as my knees started to feel like jelly. Cecily was shouting for Mary-Ann to help her get some clean towels from the upstairs linen closet as Dorothy hung up the phone and told Mrs Smith that Father Bishop was in the next town and won't be able to make it in time but Dr Morton is five minutes away.

I watched as everyone were going back and forth in an organized rush as I heard Mrs Smith quietly sobbing as she fussed over the figure who was now mumbling something to her. The figure turned out to be Mr Alcott and the tone he spoke in was so gentle that it caught me off guard.

"I'm fine, Beatrice. I promise you this. It is just a hand. It will recover soon enough and I will no longer be in pain."

"It is NOT fine! Look at you, Sebastian! If we hadn't come when we did, you would have passed out from the bleeding and God knows what that creature would have done to you."

"Be that as it may, this is my duty as keeper. I did not do anything more than what was required of me. So do not fret. Alexander will be here soon to tend to my wounds."

As if materializing from his mere name being called, a bearded middle-aged man with light tan hair in a doctor's coat walked through the door with an intense expression on his face as he pushed away the coffee table aside. He did not say anything at first but just heaved a huge sigh before opening his bag and started to lay out his medical tools.

"So, I assumed you jump in without calling for assistance again? Do you, by any chance, have a death wish?"

"I'm afraid I'm already dead, Alexander. One cannot die again from this state that I'm in."

"Contrary to your belief, Sebastian, yes you can, in a way, die. If you lose too much blood your body will shift to survival mode. In its Feral state, you will no longer have your sense of self and will just be a beast on a rampage which The Order will have to put down like an animal. Is that what you want for yourself, Sebastian? Is your existence no longer important to you that you will take your well-being for granted?"

Despite being scolded by the doctor as he was being tended to, Mr Alcott seem to give him a self-deprecating smile before closing his eyes and covering them with his left forearm.

"I'm here! I'm here!"

We all turned to the front door that suddenly burst open as a young man with a shock of red for hair dressed in a dark-blue pyjamas with little teddy bears all over them came in and looking all flustered and messed up.

"Welcome, Eric. Nice of you to join us. So, Father Bishop sent you in his stead, I see."

"Hello, Dr Morton. Yes. Sorry I'm late. I'll get right to it."

Mr Alcott didn't even budge at the commotion the new-comer was making as Dr Morton continued to patch him up. The new-comer was shown to the nearest room and soon returned looking more put together in a deacon's outfit as he approached the sofa Mr Alcott was lying on.

"Mr Alcott? May I proceed with the purification?"

Lifting his arm slightly to look at the deacon, he nodded and reached his left hand out. The deacon took this hand and wrapped it with a rosary in a complex ritualistic pattern. Dr Morton had completed his task and cleared away his tools before the deacon starting his prayer as he held on to Mr Alcott's uninjured hand.

From where I sat, I could see the strain on Mr Alcott's face as he grew paler and paler with every verse uttered by the deacon. His whole body started to tremble and sweat but the deacon held on to him firmly and did not waver as he continued chanting. Dr Morton reappeared next to Mr Alcott and once signalled by the deacon, proceeded to pour a vial of clear fluid onto the wound. Mr Alcott let out a blood curling scream as the fluid seem to be burning the wound and his whole body started shaking violently. Still holding onto his left hand, the deacon placed his other hand on Mr Alcott's head as Dr Morton held him down as best as he could.

The next second, both the deacon and Dr Morton were flung across the room in opposite directions as Mr Alcott slammed against Mrs Smith, clinging to her with his entire body as he tried to sink his fangs into her neck. Surprisingly, Mrs Smith was holding him back with her shotgun and shouting to her daughters not hurt him. Mr Alcott was growling and was focused on biting down on Mrs Smith's neck when the deacon suddenly jumped on Mr Alcott's back and pressed a pendant on top of his head.

"Sebastian Edgar Alcott! Remember yourself! You are the keeper of Chambervile. You shall do no harm on any of its inhabitants! Remember yourself!"

Mr Alcott dropped to his knees thrashing and trying to throw the deacon off his back. His whole body seem to be shaking uncontrollably. The deacon slammed a small ball-like vial on the same spot he had pressed the pendant earlier which released some kind of white liquid. A choking sound replaced the growling as Mr Alcott stopped fighting and slowly dropped lifelessly to the floor.

A shrilling scream filled the room as I was suddenly standing frozen in place as I could not look anywhere else except at the lifeless body before me. The screaming continued and I slowly realized it was coming from my own mouth as everything around me turned grainy and my visions started to darken and fade.