Sineater

Ten

As Thomas disappeared down the tunnel, following the ghostly entity's disjointed and unearthly voice, he removed his crucifix brandishing it before him. "In the name of God and Jesus Christ, to hell with you!"

He glanced around the small room he had walked into, seeing nothing but dust and old, rotting wood barricading tunnels.

Settling his gaze upon the tunnel to the right of him, Thomas watched as a figure appeared from the dust and fog. It had taken full form, and carried the same dull, brown hair pulled back into a fierce bun, wore the same smock in the same tan and ember coloring and bore the same straight, sharp nose, close set dark eyes and thin, wide mouth as the Irish whore he had fallen in love with years and years ago, when he had been just a boy.

"I love you, Tommy," the entity spoke. It was the same voice his lass had as well. Thomas's nose had started to bleed as he watched the figure fade in and out. "I'll pray for you, Tommy."

A rail spike that had been holding the wood to the post shot out and sailed across the room. Thomas jerked slightly as the figure completely faded away, back into the fog it had come from.

Thomas looked down and saw the spike sticking out of his chest. Six more spikes had broken free and shot straight into him, peppering his torso with the rusted iron. He stumbled and fell back against the opposite wall, a spike shooting straight into his hand, nailing the extremity to the post behind him, exactly like Jesus had been crucified upon the cross. He yelled out and began to groan in agony.

Jin ran into the room, having climbed from the ladder to follow his friend, and stopped just inside the doorway. He heard rumbles and looked in horror upon the scene in front of him.

He rushed to Thomas and, wrapping his arms around his portly friend, began trying to pull him free.

"Shit!" Thomas gritted out between his tightly clenched teeth. "I said there was no point in hanging around." Jin reached for his crucified hand and turned to look behind him, making sure that whatever was there before wasn't coming back. "You never laugh, Jin. It's not good for the soul."

Giving one hard jerk, Jin pulls Thomas's hand free of the post, his friend screaming in pain as he fell on top of him.

He manages to half carry Thomas back down the tunnel, dragging him to the ladder. Jin forces Thomas to grab hold of the rungs and helps him climb up as best as he can between holding most of his friend's weight upon his shoulders and holding his own weight on the creaky, rusty metal ladder.

Shoving Thomas out of the manhole first before climbing out himself, Jin struggles with the weight of holding Thomas upright and forcing him to half walk, half stumble in the direction of the nearest hospital.

Twenty minutes later, Jin is carrying all of Thomas's weight as he had passed out from pain and blood loss five minutes in. He falls through the emergency room entrance of St. Mary's Medicinal Clinic, urging someone to come help. The nurse behind the desk yells for a doctor and they get Thomas laid down on a gurney, Jin gasping for breath as he watches his friend being wheeled behind the double doors of the examination room.

The sun shone through the wall of windows the next morning as Brielle set a small box down upon a chair in Thomas's hospital room. She sat in the chair beside Thomas's bed, and took hold of his hand.

Thomas peeked an eye open, looking at the presence he had felt move in beside him. Seeing that it was Brielle, he fully opened both eyes, rolling them awkwardly in their sockets as he spoke. "I thought you might be the nurse."

She looked down at their joined hands as Thomas leaned his head up to try to look out the door. Brielle broke the meloncholy silence that had descended upon them. "Thomas, what happened? Where's Jin?"