Commissioned [completed]

Chapter 3 - Was that a Ghost?

"Who's the subject matter?" Marie asked while chewing a granola bar. She took the smarter route in her creative journey, you met her at university and she ended up in digital art. She got to work from home, with little to no cleanup and had no postage or material fees. Still, you wouldn't miss travelling for the world... even when travelling sometimes felt like driving into Mordor.

"Really interesting, actually," you were laying on your stomach on the motel bed. It was not a great motel, not the worst, very brown, lightly stained—but all paid for by the clergy without you staying in their smelly church, so that's a win.

"You'd want them to be, I read over those emails. Serious serial killer vibes. You got your half upfront, didn't you? So help me, I will come get you if you haven't again. Know your worth, bean." She chomped at her bar.

Marie might have been the complete opposite of you. She didn't work to maintain the room's vibe or please everyone—she was happy to piss people off and fight for your rights when you would not. When you'd rather curl up like the doormat that you were. Then again, she didn't have to meet her commissioners face to face. "I know you well enough that you'll be a little displeased."

"Go on."

"Apparently, what Sister Imperator meant by the Mountview Cathedral was the Mountview Temple of Satan, stationed in the old Mountview Cathedral."

"You are going to get your ass sacrificed. That's it; I'm getting the keys. I knew there was something off about the whole thing."

"Shhhhhh, it's fiiine. I am looking up the temple presently." You tapped at your laptop beside the phone on speaker. "Hey," you prompted as the line went quiet. "I met their leader; I am painting him. He seems kinda nice. I don't get 'sacrifice' vibes."

The silence was evidently Marie calming her shit, and you had just provoked her further, "This people-pleasing horseshit! I would have been out of there when I realised that woman lied about the religion they practise."

"She didn't wholly lie; I just assumed. Come on, they came to me. They must have been desperate. Who is going to paint for a satanic church?"

"______." Her voice had reached ear-piercing levels of pitch. "Just two seconds ago, I said, 'Know your worth'! Damn! Desperate?! Psh, they saw your stuff and thought, this bean can get it. They can go nasty satanic too and also would make an amazing snacrifice. Must have seen that dark catholic piece you did a while back. It was killer."

"You're saying I would make an amazing snacrifice? Huh."

"That's what you got from all that?"

"Yeah, oh! Says here some goats have gone missing; they're blaming the church." You shrug, "Seems flimsy; I think the church is rolling in it. I've seen the layout. They can buy their own goats."

"Keep digging; shit is funky. Try 'missing persons Mountview area'. There might be several, and they might all look like you."

"On it, huh, there is one, but it's a couple years old. Looks like a woman, Elizabeth Firth... I know you can't really tell these things, but she doesn't look satanic."

"You don't look satanic."

"I could, you know, Papa makes it look kinda good."

"Eh-excusemewhatthefuck?!" Marie ejaculates. "Why Papa? Why does he make you call him Papa?"

"Oh, there are some photos of him. Oh shit, he sings? Wait.."

"No wait, gimme."

"I'm sending, this is a lot. So he is head of the church, and as head, he is in charge of luring new people to the faith. Rock is full of religious iconography, so they just... paired the two."