Fission | Ground Zero

☣C H A P T E R | S E V E N☣

A scream reverberates throughout the chapel hall, the bellowing of Dread echoing across the sleek walls and floors. Immediately, the three of them frantically searched around, ensuring that there were no threats in the immediate vicinity before Hugo, having made his way to the front and toward the altar, looked back at Brick and Emily, who had spread out on either side of the pews.

"I think that was down the hallway."

Brick shoots up an eyebrow, eyes squinting slightly, "Which one? There's one on each side." His voice was soft, just audible enough for the two of them to hear.

Hugo, scoffing and rolling his eyes, turns back to them. Emily stares in in slight terror as he pulls out a large gun– a high powered shotgun with two barrel and a dark brown stock. He presses it against his shoulder, aimed upwards and casually. "Use your fucking ears, nitwit." He sighs, the stern look on his face becoming one of concern. "Look, if we have to fight, I have to pull out all the stops. Quickly, raise your hand if you are an Unbeing or not."

After a moment's hesitation, all three of them raise their hands. They stare at each other for a brief moment, Hugo then adding, "I'm a pyromancer. Able to manipulate fire."

Brick pulls out a pistol, brandishing a knife in the other hand. "I'm a sorcerer. I come from a coven of Earth witches."

They look at her, and she takes a long moment with hopes her own race would not be mentioned. Considering that they were both some form of mage, she felt odd being the only bloodsucker in the current, smaller group. He had claimed there was another, yet she didn't know who.

Emily had gone so long consuming the blood of animals and raw beast meat that she had never even considered consuming blood fresh from the human source. She had spent her life around many forms of people, humans and Unbeings alike, and not once did she enjoy the idea of mauling them– they had been like family, and either way the idea of eating something so closely related to her seemed entirely wrong.

"You're obviously a vampire. What's your endgame here?" Hugo asks, crossing his arms expectantly and shifting his weight on his feet. The twitch in his fingers and his urge to step toward the noise had struck her with worry, fear that he would get them killed flooding her brain. But she understood his need to be quick, and let out a long, heavy exhale.

Brick, now, is moving between heels, body rocking to the left and scratching the underside of his jaw in discomfort. "You don't want to... eat us? Surely you can smell our blood now."

She could. She noticed every detail, every breath, every movement. The beating of the heart between the movement of those a few rooms way from them was the loudest, blood rushing through the veins with a bit of a distant, yet delicate smell– like the most sweet nectar of all possible meals. Despite her hunger, hitting her once she noticed it, once her brain suddenly had a moment to focus on her needs and not survival, she shook her head.

"I don't latch to people. It's against my morals."

"Okay, whatever, let's go, damnit. Don't hold back if you can do more than just bite or make a drink." Hugo quickly turns on his heels, and despite the chuff from Brick and the eye roll from Emily, they follow him to the center of the room and down the hallway.

It was bare, and like the entire church it was coated of white and smelled of mothballs. They come to no doors until they reach the end of the hallway, an archway that leads into a small dining room. The clicking sound increased, and when they turned their heads to the right they see Edward and Jonah, in battle stance and staring down a dimly lit hallway. They couldn't see anything from their location, but noticed a door open at the end of the hallway. Each door was labeled as offices and storage rooms, and the one at the end with the opened door read "Maintenance."