Nightmare Church

*Ainslee*

I’m in front of Lucia, and she slams into the back of me when I stop. “Ouch.”

“Sorry,” I mutter, not even feeling the pang from her head contacting my shoulder blade. My eyes are fixed on the shrouded form in the distance.

Travis wasn’t kidding. This building looks like the place where nightmares are born. A small structure, it juts out of the ground, none of the walls forming what could be considered expected angles. The roof is caved in on one side, and the spire seems to be reaching up like a hand begging for mercy.

A single beam of light reflects off that spire, giving the entire building an eerie gray cast to it. Vines cling to the siding, covering the broken out window frames as the forest attempts to reclaim its territory. On the right, one leafless tree protrudes from the ground, its branches crooked and fingerlike as it attempts to warn people off from entering.

“This is it?” Lucia asks, the terror in her voice making it shake.

“Yup.”

“Goddess. I might rather spend my time with the vampires,” she notes.

Swallowing hard, I realize I don’t completely disagree. But we are here, so I make myself walk forward. “At least you don’t have to go inside,” I tell her.

“No, but it sounds to me like I’ll be crawling into a shallow grave.” Lucia chuckles, but the sound is cut short as a scream punctures the stillness of the forest behind us. We both turn in that direction, and I realize that is the only signal we’re going to get that the vampires have been loosed.

“Fuck,” I mumble.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to swear on holy ground,” Lucia jokes. Nothing could be funny right now, though. “Where’s this rock formation?”

“Right.” We need to hurry. I take a deep breath and realize I can already smell them. The rotting wood from the church, mixed with other scents of the forest and decay, are the primary smells that hit me when I suck in air, but beneath that is that distinct metallic odor.

And the floral undertones….

We scurry around behind the church, looking for Lucia’s hiding place while I tell the others I’m here. By now, there are seven people in the crypt, and Travis tells me he’s almost certain they can’t squeeze me in, but they’ll try if I’m too scared to fit in the crawlspace beneath the altar.

Another scream hits my ears, and I don’t give a fuck where I hide as long as I’m not out here.

Lucia spots the rock structure and rushes toward it, clearly not thinking the screams are funny at this point. She turns to look at me, and we lock eyes for a moment. “Good luck, Ainslee. You’re a good person.”

I’m taken aback. No one has ever told me that before. “Thank you. You too. On both counts.” I nod at her, and then she disappears inside of the rock structure, and I take off for the church.

I cannot think about what I’m doing as I walk through the creaking door, careful to close it behind me. I want to block it, but I know the vampires could find a thousand other ways to enter if they want to.

The floral smell is stronger here, but I think it’s something in the church itself. I smell mildew, decaying leaves, and old wood that’s been exposed to the elements too long. All of those scents mingle together, and it’s very off-putting. The metallic smell wafts in from outside. They’re getting closer.

The aisle between the dilapidated pews is strewn with crumbling leaves and fallen pieces of ceiling. Looking up, I see stars peeking at me between cracked beams and missing roof. I wonder if we might all die when this church collapses on top of us rather than from the vampires, but I continue to walk toward the altar, knowing this is my only chance. I have to hide before the vampires make it here because I’ll give away my friends’ location.

Before I bend down to look for the opening to the crawlspace Travis explained, I notice a carving on the wall behind the altar. Reaching out, I trace the familiar form of the Moon Goddess, her hands reaching out, as if she were trying to offer her people something. My forehead crinkles in surprise. This was a wolf shifter temple? Judging by Nelson’s story, I thought it had to be from some other religion. Why would a temple to honor the Moon Goddess be standing here?

I’ll have plenty of time to think about that while I wait for the sun to come up, assuming no pale white hands reach down into my hiding spot and pull me out from beneath the nightmare temple.

Dropping down on my knees, I pull up a board, distracted by Annamarie’s screams both in my head and audibly. She isn’t that far away—but it doesn’t matter. She’s just been snagged by a vampire, and even though she’s unhurt, she’s terrified.

And devastated.

Images of her family come to mind, how her mother had been crying at the culling ceremony. They’ll never see one another again.

If Prince Rafe really wants to make a difference, maybe he can do something about the ridicules rules regarding feeders. What would be wrong with letting them visit home from time to time?

Refocusing on the task in front of me, I find the seam in the floorboards and tuck my fingers down in between them, sharp wood biting into my finger pads as I grapple with the ancient flooring. Finally, I manage to get it out of the way. The opening is small, and I’m not sure if Travis was able to stick anything more than his head down here to check it out.

I hear a shout nearby. This time, it’s a male, and then a howl of alarm in the distance. Things are ramping up out there. It’s time for me to hide. Without another thought about what I’m doing, I shimmy down into the blackness, pulling the board back into place overhead. I’m breathing heavily, sucking air through my mouth, listening to my heart pound in my chest. It’s so dark, I can’t see anything at all, not even the board I’ve just dropped or the puff of dirt it loosened when I did so that falls into my eyes.

“You’re safe now,” I whisper, begging the Moon Goddess for it to be true. I have to be.

I hear my friends’ voices in my head, reassuring all of us that we’ll be okay, but that’s not the sound that has me nearly bolting back to the opening. To my right, I hear a sharp whisper.

“Hello.”