How could I loose it all.....

Chapter 16: memories

(Cough cough, that picture though, cough)

With each step I feel my heart skip a beat, how many months have we traveled under the moonlight to reach our destination? I lost count weeks... maybe months ago.
The cobblestone path is wet from the dew on the grass growing from its broken stone crevices. The uneven cemented stones feel cold and uncomfortably hard on my heels and toes.
My hand is tightly latched to the young woman next to me, her ears covered by her fedora, and her tail hidden behind her long silly black cloak. I feel the tension in her fingers and the sweat smothered between our palms. If my heart's pounding this hard... How does she feel?
I look up, a moderately sized building is coming swiftly into view at the end of the street. The houses on either side of the cobble path are small and cottage like, giving the darkness a less sinister feel. Flowers are evenly scattered around the area, in front of the homes, in small pots at shop fronts, and a large tree at the end of the street that seems to connect all the streets of the small village together.
A sharp pull tugs me into a jog.
We reach the tree in some short moments later. I inspect the building that is hidden behind the large willow and notice it's a church.
"Leo." A short whisper rings through the dark like a knife, unwanted and vicious.
I turn to Beatrice, "Are we here?"
She nods and squeezes my hand. I gulp and we head to the large wooden doors at the entrance of the church.
The entry hall is dark and slightly chilling, but we continue walking to the door at the end of the hall. The edges of the door glow a dim yellow indicating a presence behind it. I swallow.
Bea takes hold of the handle with her free hand and I feel her begin to shiver lightly. 
Just a little further!
I tighten my grasp on her hand and nod at her with as much determination as possible.
Her eyes look more frightened now than when she was taken into a test facility back when we were imprisoned. The green of her irises glow in panic but, slowly, her head nods and there is a low creak of the oak door behind us opening. We walk into the angelic, yet lurking, room both frightened to death of the harmless existence behind it.
"Hello?" We stop dead, Bea's breath begins to rasp, "who are you two? May I help you?"
I keep quiet unsure what to say but, "Bea..."
She takes several moments of silence to speak but when she does, her voice... Feels... Different, "Hi, we... We are not fro-..." She takes a deep breath, "I came to say hello."
The man, the Sermon I'm sure, steps down from his pedestal and walks to us, I begin to shake nervously as well. I look down, "What are you children's names? Are you okay?"
"I-"
I interrupt, "s-Sir... Umm, well Bea here-"
Beatrice lets go of my hand and grasps my arm, "Leonardo, it's fine..." She pulls her hat off and looks at the priest, "Mr. Mark, my name's Beatrice Grace Lestrust, my Mom and Father were James and Christine Lestrust, I had 3 older brothers named Stephan Lupin Lestrust, Cozy Calum Lestrust, Christrian Henrique Lestrust, and my one remaining older brother named Darrick Jonathan Lestrust. I know it's been a long time, but I worked hard to make it home." She looks at the floor it looks like her emotions bring her physical pain. 
The Priest, Mr. Mark, stands there not a word comes from his mouth for what feels like an eternity. Eventually he grabs his well groomed hair in a clump and stumbles to sit at one of the pews behind him.
"If you're my Beatrice, where is your brother? How'd you get that scar? Why are you so pale? Who is he? How did you get so sickly thin?! AND what?!" He points at her ears in near hysterics, which she grabs self conscious, "are those?!"
I groan miserably, put my face in my hand, and look at the celling.
I here a feminine sigh, "Derrick lost it and I couldn't handle him, that's how I got the scar and why he's gone... When Mom, Dad, and the guys died... He just couldn't... You know?..."
I look at Beatrice wide eyed, her family's dead? So that's why we went to the church... I guess we never talked about our past with each other...
I hear Pastor Mark gasp, shocked,  "Darrick... Did that? Beatrice..."
       She looks at her palms weakly and holds up a hand, "I was tricked by Darrick, he used me to gain some sort of a prize. When he found out I was following after he left home, I think he thought he had the right to use me. After all, it was my choice to follow him after I left the village. Any way, I was knocked out in an alley way in Utah. Before I went out I remember Dar and a man in black, there was a briefcase and a hand shake. It took me weeks... I think, to remember any thing about my self. When I could finally recollect my bearings I was trapped in a hard cold cell. Every day at 6pm I was taken into a white room with a scalpel, hammer, a chemistry lab in a corner. A small gray table top with pearl legs, it had a light attached and a lot of medical tools that I'd never seen before. I was in that room so often it's hard not to see the bright pale blue light shining in my eyes as the light reflected off the white walls."
She shivers and her eyes pupils' shrank, a bright silver light glimmers out of her eyes. "I- I met Leonardo about 3 years ago. He had been put in a cell next to me, he was messed up. A arm bandaged unprofessionally and blood soaked. I can recall them saying it was a miracle that he was alive after loosing so much blood. When I saw him again he was armless and the crack in he shell looked extremely  irritated. I would sit there and stare at him, interested, but to frightened to talk because of the guards. One day, I believe it was in January... I spoke to him. When I saw him I was so scared..."
I Can remember beyond this point and listen silently to our time in our cells. The talks. And pain. The trust. Every moment she relived all her time with me her voice only getting shakier.
Finally she is cut off by the warmest and kindest embrace I've seen since Mikey was alive. Pastor Mark is weeping hardly holding the shocked girl in his arms,
"What would your Father say?! How can I live with my self knowing this happened to you?! I... It's you BeaGrace? It's really you, I know it!!"
Beatrice's eyes glaze over and tears spill onto her face, the most painful screech spews from her mouth and she sinks to her knees in that burly man's arms. She grasps his jacket, digging her fingernails into it so harshly it nearly tears into the fabric.
Sniffling and my lip quivering, I fit into the pew beside me and pull off my hat. I wipe my eyes free of the glossy tears trying to extrude from my eyes.
I hadn't realized it until now, maybe it's because I'm in an actual church, but I've been praying to Bea's God, not to much meditating for my own strength, but meditating with Him and thinking of how I can gain greater than what I've strived for to the present.
I sit and let my panicked heart slowly calm down. Looking at the stain glass windows, I try to ignore the two on the floor so they can talk a bit more privately.
I find my distraction above me, the glass shards in the windows are defined and sharp, no one piece is the same. The picture drawn into the wall is of a man, hung on a cross with a crown of thorns scarring his head. Blood is dripping down from his palms and legs and a strangely curved scarlet piece of glass makes it seem like the blood is a stream, seeping onto the floor and turning the rug a deep red.
I close my eyes. It's so bright!
Blood molten hot in my beak, it's impossible to stifle a yawn, I am unable to reopen my eyes. My hat is placed back onto my bald head gently and I am lightly lifted into the air. My body refuses to fight the fatigue and as I'm drawn onto whom ever's back I hear her gentle voice crack through the dreary air,
"Let's go to bed Leo..."
Then,
Everything goes dark.
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A groan echoes out of my mouth making me ache in my belly. Well... No, everything hurts. I open one of my eyes and see a bed frame, and shift my hands to feel a soft mattress covered in sheets.
I cry out in surprise. My legs start kicking off the sheets until my shell hits something and I roll backwards off my bed. My head hits some thing hard, and I cringe.
Slowly, I roll onto my plastron and push myself up.
"What? Where am I?"
The door at the other end of the long bed room, which I notice is filled with bunks, slams open and and little girl runs in.
She stop and stares at me.
I stare back.
The room is silent for a short eternity until, "AAAAAHHHHHHH!!! BEATRICE!!" The child screeches ear soaringly loud and whizzes from the room like her life depends on it.
I sigh and slowly I pick my self off the floor. Here we go again... The bed I slept in made, I rest my head on the wall and stand there.
Crash!
The door's hinges nearly fly off as the door swings opens.
Red in the face, Beatrice crashes into the room with a brimming grin. She had a running start and slams into me in a heap.
"Morning." I say simply and give her a weird look.
She hugs me tight, "You've been out for almost a week Leo! I was worried."
"I what?!"
She let's go of me and stares at me intently.
"What?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" She looks worried.
My eyes wide I shake my head,  "Didn't know, guess I was to distracted, though, I do feel queazy. How's it been since I've been out?"
Her face brightens in excitement in an instant, cheeks radiating a happy pink, her electric eyes ecstatic. She begins to tell me all about Shannon and Terrance, Maxy and his two twin sisters that she just met. Damien and Josh. her three old friends, Abraham, Mary, and Moses. I learn who that priest is, his name is Mark. He raised Beatrice after her parents and eldest brothers' died and her older brother and her were left alone. She had the courage to tell about that too.
" I was the youngest and only girl in a family of brothers. Four to be exact, Stephan and Christian were twins, Cozy whom was the oldest, and Darrick who was two years older than me, well I guess he still IS two years older... Haha. Any way, I don't really remember it all that well because I was knocked out by a part of debris from a support beam when the house burned. I can, how ever, remember Cozy and Christian pulling me out from under the the burning wood, and them dragging me through the fire and out of the house. Stephan had separated from Cozy and Christian to fetch mom and dad from the fire. They had been locked in their room when the fire started and I heard from Darrick that the metal handle had melted before they could get out. He never explain how he saw it, I never asked. I remember Coz and Chris running in, I never saw them again. Stephan pulled out a choking Darrick when I blacked out. That was the last thing I saw on that night. Next thing I knew I learned that I was orphaned and with 1 sibling... Not a happy 9year old is all I can say. In fact I was so effected by the news that I can't remember anything between my 9-11 years. My memories came back when Darrick ran away from the village. We assume I needed another shock to kick start me back up. I have all the names and love that devolved in those broken times still though. Sadly there's been no explanation to these facts. But any way! Come see every one!! You can wear your cloak of you want." Beatrice looks down, her ears flap over her head, "I've been wearing mine..."
I give a sad smile trying to not look completely baffled by her story, "yeah I wanna wear mine. Thank you Bea."
Her cheeks glow and we head to the open door.