The Summoning

VI - Jaws

A few minutes of sitting - panting, hunched over on the back pew - and I was already exhausted. Gripping the back of the pew in front of me until my palm screamed in pain, I pulled myself to sit up straight, blinking up at the light filtering through the stained glass windows. It must have been well past noon as the sun split through the cracks on the dusty panes.

A flash of red next to me had me snapping my head up to find III crouching next to me.

"Sorry." III sat back on his heel to get some distance as he muttered lowly. "Water would do you some good." He hinted as he held a bottle of water out to me.

My fingers quivered with the racking chills as I slowly reached for the bottle presented to me from the palm of his hand.

He stood and took a step back as I eyed him warily. I twisted the top off the water and dared to mutter, "Where am I?"

Clearing his throat, he glanced behind him as if he were about to tell me something he shouldn't. "We stay here when we need to be alone."

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head before taking a sip of water. "That was a very vague answer."

"There's no fun in telling all of our secrets, now is there?" I could hear the smile in his voice and wondered what it looked like under the mask as I narrowed my eyes to him, but he was already taking long strides down the isle. Apparently, the conversation was over.

"I'll get you something to eat," He called behind him, "If you trust me enough."

I could barely hear his faint mumble just as I whispered under my breath, but I could've sworn we both said, "As if there's a choice."

I watched him walk into a doorway to the right and was left alone in the large, empty church. After sitting for a few minutes, I decided to try to explore as much as my leg would allow. When I stood, I realized it wouldn't be much. So much for planning some sort of escape, especially since he didn't give me any clear answer on where we were. 

Limping up to the podium at the front, I peaked through the doorway to find it branched off into two hallways running the length of the building and leading somewhere I couldn't see. When I glanced above, I was able to watch the light dance through the panes of painted glass, sending shards of color over the walls and the floor. 

Just under the tallest window were an abundance of candles melting at the base, as if it were a shrine. Some sort of symbol was carved into the wood under the window sill, centered above the candles. 

A shiver ran down my spine and I turned, expecting to find Three returning, only to find Vessel watching me from the doorway. We froze in place for a few moments before he tipped his head to the side as if to study me. I could feel our eyes locked, even while he was on the other side of the church. 

His head ticked up and to the side, tracking Three as he came up beside him and braced his hands on either of Vessel's shoulders. Vessel let his head tip back to eye Three and, to my surprise, placed a kiss on the cheek of Three's mask before slipping behind him and heading back down the hall. 

Three took small steps toward me, as if he would frighten me otherwise, and lifted his arm to the door in invitation. 

"I see you took my advice to sit down." Sarcasm was laced into his every word and my lips twitched into a smile before I could stop myself. When I didn't answer, he went on. "There's a better place to rest near the kitchen. I figured it would be better to let you decide what to eat, anyways." 

I didn't answer him. 

"Let me help you." He took another, larger step in my direction and I wanted to back away, but my body simply didn't have the energy to keep fighting. I gripped the podium next to me, taking the weight off my leg as he took another slow step in my direction, testing to see if I would try to run.