the case of the crimson church

In the city of Manila, where anyone can feel the reality of life. The citizens experience different kinds of lifestyles. It's a fast moving city where people are always working from day to night regardless of the weather. There are families of vendors with even six hundred children and can still survive. Every Sunday, people from all over the nation don't miss the chance to visit the famous Quiapo Church. Nonetheless, the roads in this area of ​​Manila are often congested due to the number of people who come, with children playing and running, vendors selling, people praying and those people who want to buy or have other agendas to do, it makes the city whole and functioning.

But then one day children started to disappear

People from all over the nation, especially the ones who live there were alarmed, it was broadcasted even, the once crowded Manila is now less and quiet. It led the authorities to conduct an investigation around the city.

Then there's Police Detective Bliston, a man who specializes in investigating the most gut-wrenching and disturbing crimes of the city. He is an expert in his work and in keeping a low profile among the citizens about his skills. He solved the most tragic cases in the city like rapes, murders, terrorism and kidnapping, he's a hidden ace according to his team. 

Just like anyone, he also does mundane things, he loves to visit Quiapo Church and has a good relationship with the Church priest, Father Jeremiah. He saw him at the church's entrance talking to old ladies with lit candles "Oh officer Bliston, how's your day?" the priest greeted with the brightest smile lighting up his face "normal as always father, just checking the city" he replied with his normal tone.

As they parted ways for their destined location, Bliston continued investigating other schools in Manila. He decided to proceed visiting the last school for the day: The Manila Catholic School. 

He arrived at the school with the teachers greeting him as they passed by "good day officer, what's with the visit for today?" a teacher with the large glasses on his face greeted "nothing much, just passing by to check on" he replied with a sigh, since this is almost like a routine for him as a City police. He went inside the rooms, wandering around the school hallways, asking the school personnels and the principal as well.

And when he didn't found anything he decided to just leave

As he was about to leave, he spotted father Jeremiah outside the school lingering behind the gate with a dark gaze towards the children playing on the other side. Officer Bliston thought to himself

"What is Father Jeremiah doing in a place like this at this hour? Is he wondering about what the kids are doing?" as father Jeremiah went on his way, Bliston was suspicious of his movements and thought to himself "Hmm maybe it's nothing… I shouldn't be spying on someone, it's wrong" Bliston then went to his car and drove towards his home, then stopped his car in front of his home. As he got out and walked to the front door, he considered a particular instance in which Father Jeremiah was staring at the kids. Bliston entered his house, removed his shoes, jacket, and opened a can of tuna for dinner, then he finally sat down on his comfy couch.

As he ate the tuna, he viewed a drawing that was created by his late younger brother. He tends to unconsciously stare at it, almost like reminiscing. So when he went to the restroom to brush his teeth after finishing the tuna, he noticed a child standing behind him covered in blood when he glanced in the mirror. As soon as he saw the child, his face turned pale, and the child cried out in a horrifying tone, "Help!"

He turned to face the child, but he didn't see anything. "What was that?!" the startled Bliston shouts at what he saw. 

"Am I Mad? No,no I'm just tired... I should probably go to bed"

As he went to bed he questioned himself of what he witnessed "that can't be real... Can it? No, don't think about that, tomorrow is a busy day i should get some rest". As he dozed off, he had a nightmare about the time when he had to watch helplessly as his younger brother was abducted.

Morning came in a blur, When the alarm sounded, Bliston awoke with a distressed look on his face. He then turned on the television and began eating cereal. He noticed a news report about two youngsters who were reported missing near the Manila catholic school as he was watching. 

After being startled, he quickly put on his shoes and jacket and ran into his car to proceed to the police station. Bliston then talked to the investigators about the report. "Hey, about the report earlier, can you give me more details about it? Is there evidence that can lead to the culprit?" Bliston said exhaustedly "Sorry, but when the report happened we found no clues of their disappearance" the investigator replied.

After hearing this Bliston slowly walked out of the police station. He was down and disappointed at himself thinking "i was there yesterday if only i didn't go home those kids would have been fine" as he went towards his car he was approached by a woman holding missing posters of a child "Sir! Sir! Have you seen this child? Please I'm his mother, he was just at school yesterday but he hasn't come home." the mother said as she was weeping. "sorry… i have no clue" Bliston said as he went inside the car and drove off, as he was driving he began to tear up "No one should ever have to deal with the disappearance of a loved one". 

Bliston went to the Quiapo church, he then sat and began to pray, he talked to God about those abducted kids that they didn't deserve any of this, and suddenly as he was praying he was greeted by father Jeremiah.

"Greetings, how are you Bliston?" Bliston was stunned by the sudden greeting "Oh father, I'm doing fine actually". The priest then sat down beside him "then why do you look gloomy?" the priest asked, "I just found out that 2 children were abducted from the school that I was patrolling yesterday" the priest looked upset from his reply "I pray that you catch the person who is responsible for those bad deeds" 

Bliston then remembered that he saw The priest yesterday at the school, from that moment Bliston thought to himself "Should I ask him about yesterday? But if I do , he would know that I was spying on him…I should try a different approach. Bliston then asked Father Jeremiah "Father, just a small question to pass the time, what did you do after church yesterday?" The priest then suddenly glanced at Bliston with a serious expression, "Just the usual officer, went home, ate my lunch and went to bed, why do you ask?" the priest asked with a smile on his face, "oh nothing father, like as I was saying just to pass the time." 

Bliston said as he thought to himself "so that was a complete lie but it's too soon to assume something, he's the father there's no explanation on why would he abduct those children" the priest then spoke to Bliston 

"Officer, may I ask, do you suspect me of something?" Bliston begins to get nervous as he thinks that the priest knew he saw him yesterday "uhm, what do you mean father?" Bliston said with a smile "Nothing officer, I just believe that no human can do those things, It's awful that children are disappearing from people's homes today and that no one can do anything to stop it. When those kids were forcibly pulled away from their relatives, can you imagine how terrified they were? Right, it's frightful." the priest said with a earnest expression

"What's your point father?" Bliston asked as he was unnerved by the priest's statement. The priest then smiled at Bliston and replied, "My point is that despite the cruel and terrifying intentions of other people that permeate life, God will always be there for us and will intervene to protect us." Bliston was baffled by the priest's statement.

"Thank you… father, I should go now it's getting late." Bliston said as he exited the church

"See you soon, officer, let God be with you." the priest said with an intense look from his face.

As Bliston went home, he began to doubt that the priest could be behind the abduction. He entered his home and started looking through his computer for personal records about the priest. As he was searching He couldn't find any important information about the priest

"Damn, I can't find anything useful." Bliston with a sigh, as he continued to search he heard a voice. "What was that?" he looked behind him and found nothing, suspicious of the sound he began to look if someone was in his house. He grabbed a flashlight and began to check if there's someone. As he was checking his kitchen he heard someone saying "free us". 

Bliston got chills and began to get nervous "Who's there?". Bliston said as he looked for someone, suddenly he heard someone crying, Bliston got frightened "Am I losing my mind? What is happening?" As he was confused of what's happening, suddenly someone tapped his shoulder. He looked behind and saw two children with a slit throat. 

Bliston was horrified as he saw the supposed to be dead children "These two kids are the ones that are missing earlier" Bliston thought as he was paralyzed by fear. "give…us…justice" the two children said as they began to cry a river of blood. "ho-how? How can I help you?" Bliston said as he stuttered, the two children pointed at the ground, Bliston then saw a word written in blood "basement?". As he looked up, the children vanished. 

Bliston then went to bed "This is just bizarre". Bliston said as he went to sleep. As he was sleeping Bliston had the same dream as before but now he heard his brother calling for his help as he was getting kidnapped.

Bliston woke up with tears in his eyes "Will this solve everything?". Bliston said as he thinks of what the word basement written last night meant. He then thought of something "Does the church have a basement? Only one way to find out"

Bliston then starts to prepare to go to Quiapo church. As he was heading to the church he saw a new missing poster of a child. He then said to himself "I'll end this as soon as possible." 

Bliston went inside the church and asked the janitor, who was busy mopping the floor. "Excuse me but is there any basement from this church?" the janitor stared at him for a couple of seconds and replied "Yes… just go toward the left hall and you will see a door leading to the basement." bliston then thanked the janitor and went on his way. 

As he walked away the janitor glared at him. Bliston discovered the basement door and went inside. Long, rickety wooden stairs lead down into the basement, creating a dismal atmosphere. Bliston grabbed his flashlight from his pocket and began to go down stairs. 

The old wooden stair creaks with each step he takes, making him fear it will break. As soon as he stepped onto the ground He noticed numerous dust-covered drawers. "This is gonna be a pain to search for something importante" bliston said with a tired expression. Bliston then began to search every drawer for information about the priest. He then saw a document of the priest's information. "Bingo" he thought as he smiled happily for finally finding an information. 

As he was about to leave the church he was suddenly stopped by the janitor from before. "uhm? Sir, may I help you?" Bliston asked the janitor with confusion. "Are you willing to assist in restoring the kidnapped souls?" the janitor asked with a serious tone. Bliston was confused by the question and replied "What do you mean?"

"Day by day I hear them all crying, begging me to find them. I hear their agony from their voices, I couldn't take it anymore." the janitor then pulled a loaded gun and aimed at bliston "Woah! Woah! Relax! Relax!" Bliston said as he put his hands in the air. "Please officer! End their pain, because I too shall rest from this guilt of avoiding their help!" the janitor yelled as tears began to fall from his eyes. "I will… I will help them, okay?" Bliston said with an anxious tone. "Thank you." the janitor said as he pointed the gun at his head and in just a matter of second, a loud bang echoed in the church, a body slowly falling on the ground, and surprisingly the janitor killed himself in front of the Officer. Bliston then fell to his knees as the bells of the church rang and blood circulate towards him.

2 days after the incident, Bliston is laying on his bed traumatize of what he witnessed, he then got up and opened a can of beans, he then proceeded to eat the beans "This tasted like despair" Bliston said as he throwed the beans towards the wall, he then sat on his chair and began to read the documents of the priest. 

As he was reading it he learned many things about the priest, "it said here that he grew up from Quiapo church, his father figure was the former priest of that church." he then saw a map of every catholic school marked with an x, he then saw one catholic school that hasn't have mark on it, "This might lead me to something" Bliston thought as he heard vivid sounds

"you can show yourself, i know you're here to help me arrest your murderer." Bliston said with a calm tone. A little girl then suddenly appeared in front of him. "Can you tell me a hint so that I can help you?"

Bliston said to the little girl, the girl then spoke and said "6…6…p.m" the girl said as she smiled at Bliston revealing a slit throat, she then turned back and walked away. "I'll help you all soon and this is for you too, Braxton." Bliston said as he looked at an old picture of him and his younger brother.

Aug/18/2009 5:30 pm

It was almost night time, the atmosphere was cold and breezy, not many people were around. Bliston is inside of his car parked right next to the pitogo catholic school. "This time, I'll never take my eyes off you" Bliston said as he stared at the school intensely. 40 minutes later he noticed a white van stopping by at the school. "Is this it?" Bliston whispered to himself with a tone of curiosity. 

The white van's door opened and Bliston saw Father Jeremiah walking out of the van. Bliston then proceeds to take pictures of Father Jeremiah as he was just standing behind the school 

"I got you now." Bliston said as he noticed Father Jeremiah returning to his van. Bliston then got confused on why he didn't kidnap a child like he always does. 

"He's returning to the van? Why? Am I wrong? Is he really just watching the children for no reason? What I'm seeing, are those just mere hallucinations of mine? This can't be true, no, no, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy." 

The white van then drove off. "I should follow him, he might just be planning something." Bliston then started to follow the van that Jeremiah was driving. They drove for almost 20 minutes until the van stopped in front of the Church. "Quiapo Church? Does he truly live here?" Father Jeremiah then got out of the van and went inside the church, Bliston followed him slowly. 

Bliston followed the priest inside the church but he lost track of him. "Where did he go?" Bliston whispered to himself as he searched for the priest, he then saw the basement door widely open, thinking that the priest went down the basement, Bliston peaked down the basement, 

"Hi there". Bliston heard behind him as he was pushed down by Jeremiah, He began to slide down the stairs but was halted in the midst when it abruptly snapped, causing Bliston to plummet down to the ground, making him unconscious.

11:30 pm

Bliston wakes up tied to a chair in front of him is a large pentagon and candles lighting up the area. "You bastard, how did you notice me following you?!" bliston said as he struggled to get out of the chair, "Oh, you're awake, what a lovely night isn't it bliston? Did you think that I hadn't noticed your suspicions from the start? My files was suddenly gone and the janitor committed suicide, use your brain detective, but i guess that fall you had really did damage you right to your head" Father Jeremiah said as he slowly walked towards bliston "I thought that you believed in God, but what you're doing is beyond human sin." 

Bliston said as he stared at Jeremiah. "I do believe in God, but not a scared one. I believe in a god that chooses to interfere with the choices of a human, a god that cares for his child, a god that is not afraid of sacrifice, I'm talking about satan." Jeremiah said with a proud tone " what are you talking about?! Not afraid of sacrifice? What is there to make a sacrifice jeremiah?!" bliston said angrily

" to create a perfect civilization, you see when i was a child i witnessed people, killing,stealing, and some even trade drugs inside of this church, imagining about it, it's sickening, i tried to pray to god to stop this violence stop this human habits, but got no response."  "so you decided to randomly murder catholic children?!" bliston said to jeremiah with an angry tone

"no,they are merely a small piece to trade for world peace." "what?!" bliston asked confusedly

"You see, our real belief came from the writings that were found within this area a thousand years ago, the writing said that for the month of December, February and August we must offer an innocent soul to Satan, if we offer a thousand souls we can have our desire for world peace, but if we even miss a single sacrifice within this month our soul will be the payment." "you idiot, how can you even be sure if that's true?!"

Bliston asked

"Well, a trade is more believable than praying for something, right?"

"you're a monster". Bliston said angrily at jeremiah

" Me a monster? Bliston I'm only speaking the facts, tell me when your little brother got kidnapped in front of your eyes, did you pray? Did you beg to god that he'll be safe? That he'll be back?"

Bliston was shocked by Jeremiah's statement. "how did you know?" bliston ask as he was stunned

"bliston don't you even recognize your own brother?" Jeremiah said with a smile, blistons eyes got wide as he didn't want to accept that Jeremiah is his brother, "no...no! No! You're lying, you can't be him!" bliston said as he got angry at jeremiah

"bliston, believe it or not it's me, it's braxton."

Braxton said with a calm tone. "ha-how? Why? Why didn't you come back? What happened?". Bliston ask as he was puzzled by the information, when i was taken from you and our parents, i'll admit i was scared but they didn't harm me, they teach me the ways to achieve peace, they said they needed a successor so they chose me to continue the ritual, and now i choose you bliston, carry my will, believe in us, believe in your brother". Braxton said as he reached his hands to bliston.

"I'm sorry." bliston said as he bits off braxton's ring finger. Braxtons scream of agony as bliston stand up and run backwards hitting the wall so hard it broke the chair that ties him, " you couldn't just take my offer huh?!" braxton said angrily as he pulls a knife from his pocket, " every night i cried for you and to think that everyday you take the lives of this innocent children, you made me sick." the two then fights for almost 3 minutes both landing critical blows, braxton stabbing bliston at the leg while bliston lands a heavy right hook at braxtons stomach, both puffing heavily as the got exhausted from fighting, braxton then stands up, " i'm sorry brother maybe tonight is the day we last meet." braxton said as he was about to stab bliston

"I'll stop you no matter what." bliston said as he was bleeding heavily from his wounds. As Braxton was about to finish bliston the church bell began to ring signaling that it's midnight.

The candles suddenly broke as the pentagon began to light, "no,no! Please give me more time! I just need more time!" Braxton said as he begged for his life, shadows and silhouette began to laugh at Braxton, bliston who is badly damaged and confused on what's going on, the shadows then filled the pentagon turning it into a black void. "Please,please give me another chance! I begged you!'' Braxton said as he slowly walked away. A dark voice was suddenly heard " you failed to offer a soul so in return you must offer yours' '. The silhouettes then  started to form into a child figure laughing while slowly approaching braxton. "no! No! Stay away from me!"

Braxton and bliston suddenly looked at each other, then braxton said the same thing at blistons earlier dream. "Help!". Bliston then looked away as he let his brother get taken away from him again. "sorry" bliston said as the silhouettes devoured braxton.

Bliston then rips his shirt and creates a cloth to mend his wounds, he then falls asleep for being too exhausted.

Now he dreams of the earlier kids that help find clues about The case, saying "thankyou". While smiling

Aug/18/2009

Bliston wakes up in front of him is braxtons lifeless body. He began to go to the emergency exit in the basement. He slowly walked towards the front door of the church.

"Finally, I'm out of this crimson church."