mellifluous (life is strange 2)

EPISODE FOUR / cross

Juli frowned as she saw the church building approach in the distance. The cross stood tall and proud above the suburban neighborhood, a white beacon in a plain desert community. The image juxtaposed with everything she had learned about Christianity from Judith; if Jesus had died on a cross for their sins, why would they make the cross itself so pristine?

She walked up to the entrance and found herself on the opposing side of a closed metal gate. She frowned and rattled it a few times. Nothing answered except for the sound of metal clinking against metal.

She squinted and tried to look inside the church grounds, but besides a few people here and there she couldn't see anything of interest. No Daniel working miracles for the church, and no Sean trying to break him free. God, I hope I'm not too late and I just missed them...

She never thought she'd be in this situation, where she actually wanted to get into a church.

A car stalled behind her. She spun around and saw a middle-aged woman come out of a beat-up van. Her short blond hair fell around her face in choppy layers. A necklace made from black string sat around her neck with a chunk of amethyst on the end.

"Why are you trying to get in there?" she asked. "The services are already over."

Juli looked over her shoulder at the church. "My...friend's little brother is in there," she said. It felt weird calling Sean her "friend," but at the same time she didn't know what else to call him. Nothing else felt remotely appropriate.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Your friend...Is his name Sean, by any chance?"

Juli nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that's his name. Who are you?"

The woman held out her hand. "My name is Karen. Sean's...mother. There's a lot to unravel, but for now you should come back with me. I know where Sean is."

"Really?" Juli glanced behind her one more time. She knew she couldn't help Daniel right now, but it hurt to know that he was so close yet so far away at the same time. She turned back to Karen, who led her back to the van.

Karen started the engine and turned on the AC. Although it felt more like she was trying to cool off with a hair dryer, the air helped dry the sweat off Juli's face. She set her backpack down on the ground as Karen pulled out onto the street and drove away from the church.

"What's your name?" Karen asked.

"Juliana," she said. "People call me Juli, though."

Karen repeated the name to herself under her breath. "I think Sean mentioned you. He wasn't very in-depth because he, understandably, still doesn't trust me very much. But he said he met you after he and Daniel ran away from Seattle."

"Yeah." Juli leaned against the side of the car and looked out the window. Haven Point wasn't a very pretty town, but it had an odd beauty in the sense that it was different from Seattle. Right now, anything would be prettier than Seattle. "We ran into each other near Mount Rainier. I've been traveling with them ever since."

"So, I'm assuming you're close with them?"

Juli hummed. "That's one way to look at it."

Karen pulled into the parking lot of a motel. Juli climbed out of the van and waited for Karen as she retrieved two bags from the backseat. It felt like they were the only two people alive on the planet at that moment. Juli stared at the building and rubbed her wrist.

Karen walked up to her. "Come on."

They headed to the room. Karen unlocked the door and went in first. "Hey. Sorry it took so long. Fucking store was packed...and I found someone."