Sinister Ego : Dangerous Minds

9. Unorthodox

It wasn't much.

Or at least it didn't appear to be.

It was a small brick building nestled between two run down gas stations in the less desirable part of town. There was only one beat up car in the minuscule parking lot, and not a soul was visible within a hundred yards of the church, save a few cars occasionally passing by. It was a barren, dry part of town marked by government housing and dull buildings, the church fitting right in. I hadn't really thought about what it would look like. Obviously I hadn't expected some elaborate castle you would find in Medieval Italy, but I sure as hell thought it would be a little more than this.

It had taken me about twenty minutes to get there, as Rory lived in the suburbs. I rarely came here, only when I passed by it. My mom would always utter prayers for the inhabitants of this area as we drove through, asking Jesus to touch their lives. I had always thought it was a little much. It wasn't the best place to be, but it sure as hell wasn't the worst by any standards. I shudder to imagine how my mom would react if she were to drive through a seriously brutal hood. I chuckled a little at the thought as I got out of Rory's car and locked the door.

My black hair rustled in the rather heavy wind, and I briefly wondered if this was even the correct location. No cars, no people. A dimly lit small brick building. But it was the address she gave me, and it was the location my phone had pointed me to. I had to go in, I couldn't just leave if this was the correct place. I should have asked for the girl's phone number in case I had any issues getting there. I was an idiot not to.

I pulled a hoodie on as I began walking to the church. I had dressed casually, and I hoped that was ok. Rory had absolutely no dress clothes I could borrow, and even if he did they wouldn't fit because I'm about a head taller than him. And it's not like I could stop by my mom's place and get some. But judging by the exterior of the establishment, their standards probably weren't all that high.

I pushed open the small door that looked like it belonged in a gas station.

And I was blown away by what I saw when I walked in.

******

The first thing that hit me was the noise. The powerful and consistent throbbing that clawed at my ear drums. But that was it.

Because there was absolutely no noise from the fifty plus people cramped into the small space. Fifty people dressed in all white. Bland white pants, and long sleeve white shirts. The purest white I had ever seen, not a single stain to be seen. No personality or expression, all the same outfit for both women and men. The expressions written on their faces were just as boring as the clothing upon their backs, eyes perfectly still, mouths unmoving in a straight line. They all stood perfectly still in a circle in the dead center of the room.

The room... It wasn't normal. Not for a church. Not for anything. Odd statues lined the walls and floors, statues that looked like they had been retrieved from ancient temples and places of worship. The walls were a heavy stone, a blood red color. Such an unsettling shade of deep maroon that I could almost feel it playing with my emotions as I took it all in. The floor was the same color, but it was hardly visible, covered in a soft white powder, the substance completely dominating every inch of it.

But the worst thing about the dimly lit room was not the redness, or even the inhabitants, but what was etched into the redness in huge, foreboding letters:

That same gracefully flowing  language.

*****

The feeling I felt when I first noticed the letters on the walls is not one that cannot so easily be described.

I felt like I was being stared at by a million ruthless spectators, but no one was actually looking at me. I felt a pressure in my chest like the whole world was resting on my body. I felt weightless, like everything inside of me was just ripped up. I felt like I knew.

I knew something was going on.

I started walking. Walking straight towards the center of the worship circle.

****

It felt almost like I was being controlled. Like I wasn't even moving my feet by my own will, but I was being pulled into the room. I knew it had to be that, because if it was up to me I would be in Rory's car right now speeding down the road at an insane speed, getting the fuck out of here.

People began to turn their heads towards me, and I was yelling at myself to turn back, but I just kept walking. Then I saw her, right there, staring at me, wearing those white clothes and bland expression. She was something other than beautiful. She was something more than mysterious, she was something more than I could ever expect.

She began walking towards me.