Black Church

Chapter Twø

Sonja drove the large white van slowly down the winding back road they had taken to get to Verdensrommet Landsby, the cursed village. Håvard sat on the bed in the back of the van, flipping through a pile of Norwegian Legends and Pagan books. The van slipped on along the winding black road, in and out of the tall black pine forest. The sky was turning a dark grey, swirling clouds blocked out the sky above. Plap .
A large raindrops smacked the windshield. 'Plap plap.. plap plap plap plap...' the rain started to fall heavily. "Håvard, where are we gonna stop tonight?" Sonja called over her shoulder. "The van, you heard what those creepy locals said," he replied, still busily reading.

Sonja pulled the van over on the side of the road, before turning around to talk to Håvard. "I guess this is where we are going to be staying tonight love," she said, climbing off the driver seat and locking the doors. Checking her phone, the time read 6:24 pm. "It's not all that late, we can make hot cocoa if you want to," Sonja smiled at her fiancé and sat down on the bed. "That's a great idea, cocoa and a rainstorm." He smiled back and opened the cabinet above the bed.
Curled up comfortably on the bed with their hot cocoa and a thick blanket, they watched the heavy rainfall out the big back window. The surrounding forest grew from grey, to black, as night crept up on them.

10:56 pm. The rain had begun to fall even harder than before, thundering down on the roof of the van. Sonja sat in the drivers seat with the window cracked, smoking a cigarette. Sitting in the dark van, the only light she could see was the reflection of the cherry of her cigarette on the glass. Håvard slept quietly in the bed behind her. Trees snapped and groaned in the wind outside, giving Sonja a sense of unease. She stared out the windshield, into the black trees around them. At the corner of her vision she seems to see something moving among the shadows. Just as she starts to focus on the shape, something starts scratching the side of the van.

Ccsshhhrrhrhhrsssrss. Sonja nearly pissed herself, as she jumped in the back of the van. Nervously, she held the door handle tightly. The scratching continued. Peeking out the side window, she saw nothing outside the van. Terror swept through Sonja as she unlocked the sliding door and pulled it open a few inches. Rain came pouring in through the crack, suddenly something jumped into the van. Horrified, Sonja slammed the door shut and leaped back, as the dark creature flipped and thrashed around the front of the van. Clicking on the light, heart pounding, Sonja strained to get a look at what it was.

As quickly as it had begun, it ended. The creature sat still, cowering underneath the steering wheel. "What the fuck is that.." Sonja reached back behind her and shook Håvard awake, without looking away from the front seat. "What is it Babe?" He asked sleepily, sitting up. "There's something in the front seat!" Sonja whispered frantically. Instantly alert, Håvard grabbed his bat and inched towards the front seat. Panic rising in her throat, Sonja nearly shook with dismay.
Only inches from the front seat.. almost.. Håvard lifted the bat and froze. With a laugh he let it down to the ground again. "Babe, it's nothing to be scared of." He grinned. "It's a dog!"

Sonja burst into laughter, panic melting away. Håvard carefully lifted a medium sized bundle of fur out of the seat and set it down in the back. It was a pit bull sized mutt, shaggy and white with orange patches. Petting the dog gently, he smiled up at her with his tongue out before beginning to sniff around the van. "What are we gonna do with him?" She asked Håvard.
"Not much we can do, we can feed him and let him stay tonight, we can bring him back to the creepy village, or.."
"Or..?"
"Or.. if he's a good dog.. I guess we can keep him if you want to." Håvard sat back and watched the mutt sniff around the cupboards and the bed.

Sonja smiled at the happy dog. "He's cute, don't you think?"
"I'm not the one that let him into the van." Håvard replies, before opening a plastic bag. "Least we have some dog food." After feeding the scruffy dog, the two sat on the bed talking for awhile about the creepy town and the legend Håvard had read about. "It says here the women accused of witchcraft all believed they saw monsters in the woods, and that they served these beasts sacrifices. They weren't all the same one though, in different villages the witches followed different demonic creatures." Håvard looked up from the book he was pointing at. "Should we look into it?" Sonja asked him. "This could be our first investigation in demonology." She glanced first at the dog, then out the back window. "What if we find something here," she said distractedly.

Cold grey light shone through the trees around the van. No birds chirped, no rain dripped. Sonja sat outside the van with the mutt in the silent grey morning. Håvard thumped about in the van as he got dressed. Flicking out her cigarette, Sonja called for the dog as Håvard slid open the van door. "Good morning Love," he kissed her on the forehead as he pulled a dull green sweater over his T-shirt. They both tied up their dreads before making a small campfire. "Breakfast?" Sonja asked, warming her hands over the fire. "Whatever you want Baby," Håvard hugged her close before searching the mini fridge.

Happy and full, they sat together in the van for a little while. The mutt sitting with his head in Sonja's lap, sleepily wagged his tail in response to head scratches. "Håvard,"
"Yea?"
"I think we should keep the dog. He's really well behaved."
Håvard sat there for a moment looking at the dog, pondering the idea. "He does seem to like the van." He nodded in agreement. "I don't really mind but he's your dog, so you pay for the food," Sonja smiled happily down at the sleepy dog. "Thank you baby," she cuddled up against Håvard.

The white van continued down the long winding road that cut through the dense forest. "What are you gonna name him," Håvard asked. Sonja, sitting in the passenger seat, replied, "I was thinking Koi, since he's to mild mannered. And the spots haha," she scratched the dogs ears and looked out the window.
"Koi," Håvard mumbled and kept driving. "We need gas soon hun, can you look on your phone?" He handed Sonja the phone. "In about 14 miles there should be a place, a gas station and store if not a town." Sonja busily  looked on her phone for directions.

Not long after, the curious couple pulled into a surprisingly updated gas station on the outskirts of yet another forest village. Waiting in the van, Sonja saw the village was remarkably larger than the last, and many more people bustled about the sidewalks and old roads. Håvard returned with sodas and snacks for the day before pumping the gas. Hopping back in, he started it up and with a smile turned to Sonja, "Full tank Baby, now where to."

"Let's check out this town really quick, it seems a lot nicer," she replied, buckling her seatbelt. As they drove slowly down the main road, people turned and waved, or simply watched the van pass by. "They seem friendly," Håvard laughed, looking around at the street signs. They pulled into a parking lot connected to what seemed like a church of some kind. This was by far the oldest building in the entire town, 3/4 stories high, with two long shingled towers jutting unevenly from the roof. The wood shingles were ancient, covered in moss and cracked.

Approaching the grand wooden doors, the couple saw a massive chain locking the entrance. "I wander why it's closed, it's a church?" Sonja queried.
"Maybe for a good reason," Håvard replied, backing away from the church, back towards the van. Sonja cast one last glance at the doorway before following him.