Unholy Pleasures

Lenalee

Key Two: Lenalee:

She goes to abandoned churches lately. Lenalee doesn't know why. She just comes here. So quiet. This church had seen better days. How was it still standing? Did anyone know it was still here? Probably not or it would've been torn down or restored. The former seemed more likely.

Work had been piling up lately. More of them keep dying. She should be used to it by now. But... Something wasn't right. Even Heaven is getting worried. There are many causes of this for sure. None of them good. She just has to follow orders. But that's not all that is on her mind.

Lenalee lay back on a pew. The cool wood felt good against her back. She didn't have to do much in this abandoned place. Not like anyone was going to come looking for her right away. Lenalee did her job and could afford to take a breather. And boy did she need one today! The angel closed her eyes. Nothing. Silence. It isn't the creepy type either. She smiled to herself for a brief moment. Today alone was draining. Twenty-three deaths alone in the morning. There were many more up to this point. There were going to be even more before the day was over.

Maybe she needed a break. But death never takes a break. It's unheard of. Birth and death are the two things in life that never stop. Lenalee knows that too well. That doesn't change no matter how she feels. She still has a job to do. She's still on that job.

She goes into abandoned churches and just stays there for a while. No one bothers her here. They don't even know she's out here. Do they check in on her? They have to because it is protocol. They already checked in after lunch. Lenalee doubted that she could get any communication down here.

Lenalee has been in many churches. England, Italy, and all over Europe really. She looked up at the ceiling tiles. She counted up to two hundred tiles. Well, close enough. Two hundred dirty white tiles. Some of them looked like they were falling off. A couple of them did already. Did it matter? Not like anyone was going to fix it. Did they even remember that this was here? It's so dark in here. There are windows in this place but they are so dirty. Some of them have cracks in them.

It hurt her heart to see this place like this. How could it be left to waste away? Have they really lost their faith? From what she saw, Lenalee couldn't blame them. They have seen so much. They lost so much. They are about to lose more. All she can do is take more of the dead. But was that all she had? Just take away the dead and move on? Lenalee used to not question it but now she isn't so sure anymore.

She sat up in the pew. There's no one here. But she feels otherwise.

"Hello?"

There's no one in here. Lenalee has her boots on today. But she doesn't want to fight in here. This church has had enough. It didn't need her to bring more damage through fighting. No, she would have to lure them outside. Maybe she could talk them out of attacking her. After all, the war was out there, not here. The angel held her breath. She started counting down in her head.

One... Two... Three... Four...

Lenalee turned her to the door that she came in. There was no one there. Still, she waited. She started to count down again.

One... Two... Three... Four...

There is no one there. She's really alone. Lenalee could finally breathe. These places were getting to be too dangerous. But she can't stay away. Something about these abandoned churches keeps drawing her back. They are always waiting for her. "Come in," they say. "Stay inside for a while," they say. It's like they know her pain. They can't hold and comfort her. But they are there for her. Only for a short time before she has to go back to work. Until then, she lays back down onto the pew alone.

However, she isn't alone today.

Lenalee doesn't move. She heard footsteps at the door. Who was that? Not many people know about this place. Some humans love to explore places like this. The angel listened in closely.

It's just one person. The angel held her breath.

One... Two... Three... Four...

"Hello? Is anybody here?"

Lenalee popped up without warning. A man dressed like a priest stood in the doorway. He looked and noticed her staring at him.

"Hello? Are you supposed to be in here?" he asked. Lenalee froze. Something inside of her told her to run. How could he even see her? This was not an angel she was looking at. The priest started to walk closer. Lenalee ducked down. The man froze.

"Hello?" he asked. The priest walked closer. He looked at the pew.

"Are you okay, miss?" he asked. Lenalee didn't move. The priest cocked his head to the side.

"You're not hurt or anything, are you?" he asked.

"No!" Lenalee shouted in a muffled voice. The priest paused as he tried to look at her in the darkness. He gasped with he saw the outline of her wings.

"An angel!" he said. She lifted her head. The priest about jumped back. He made a sign of the cross. She got a better look at him. This man looked so pale. When was the last time he got any sleep? His clothes didn't look like they fit right. Even though it was dark, she could tell that he was in pain.

"You don't sleep well, do you?" she asked. The man froze.

"W-W-Why would you say that?" he asked. Lenalee sat up in the pew.

"Who hurt you?" she asked.

"Nobody! Nobody hurt me!" the priest said, stepping back. She held out her hand. He shook his head.

"You're going to kill me, aren't you?" he asked. "Aren't you?"

"No!" Lenalee shouted.

"You're her, aren't you?" he asked. The angel blinked. The man leaned in.

"The angel of death," he said. Now it was her turn to freeze. She couldn't lie to this man. Lenalee lowered her gaze.

"Yes," she said.

They sat in the pew. That cross in the front seemed to glow in the dark. He turned his head.

"Do you come here often?"

"Yeah."

"Why is that?"

"I need a break."

"Heh. Death needing a break."

"Is that bad?"

He shrugged in the dark. "No. It is what it is." He turned back to the front.

"Though I have to ask. Do you enjoy your job?"

"What?"

"Reaping souls. Tearing them away from their loved ones. Sending them off to be judged. Do you find any joy in it?"

"No, I don't!"

"Then why do you do it?"

"It's my job."

"But why?"

"Was it your job to take my wife and my boy?"

"I am so sorry for your loss."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying!"

"If you weren't, they I wouldn't be under his thumb! You did this to me! I was happy until you took them from me! He came when I was beaten down. Before I met him, I wanted to die. I thought about killing myself in our old house. Every day I thought about jumping off my roof. I thought about hanging myself. I thought about drowning, pills, slitting my wrists, and stabbing myself. I even wanted to throw myself on the train tracks!" He whipped his head around. His eyes looked crazed. She could've sworn that he turned into a wild animal.

"Do you know what that does to a person?!" Bits of spit flew out of his mouth as he shouted in her face.

"I didn't do anything!"

"Liar! Why won't you own up to everything you've done?! Do you even think of about all of the lives you've ruined?! You make more like me! And he just kills more and more because of you!" He grabbed her by the shoulders. She tried to push him off.

"Get off of me!" Lenalee screamed. The angel pushed him away and flew up into the air. He watched as she vanished into thin air.

Two things happened that day that ended up pushing the rot of the Wasteland into hyperdrive. Lenalee lost her belief in her job with his words. Noah now had a new motive to go on. He was going to kill death itself.