A phantasm of darkness was reaching out from the shadows of the nearest seat and holding the candle upright in an eerie grip. The shadow looked like a formless claw, tangible but malleable at a moment's notice.
Infact, every shadow in the place seemed to feel different... more filled and awake even, including my own. I didn't know how, but the owner of the voice seemed to be touching every dark spot on the cathedral.
That sent shivers down my spine, because there were many such places, since everything was black and white now, with only the candles providing light from the prevalent darkness.
"Warden, State your name, and let your presence stand before me." The Chancellor spoke with authority and the shadows seemed to still, before carrying on like nothing happened.
Two things happened infact; firstly, Antoinette appeared on my head and pointed to one of the distant seats, the second last one on the far left side.
A young man was sitting there, his head bowed low and on the bench back, the only thing visible was that he was wearing black and white something and had silver white hair.
The second thing was the Chancellor's face became a cracked scowl when he saw the young man sitting there, then he gave a deep breath and his eyes (figure of speech) grew irritable.
He started to walk to the young man with slow steps, like an eagle approaching approaching a rabbit.
"It is you," The Chancellor spoke indignantly,"Why did you answer my summons?
"Is that not what one does when their essence is being yanked out like heat from a fireplace?" The young man's voice seemed to come from right next to my ear and yet far away all at once.
"But I was calling upon this Vessel's Companion... not you, Pariah." The Chancellor finished quietly and the young man got up and raised his head.
Revulsion fell upon me without warning or mercy. I gasped and back away, a wave of nausea overtaking me like a tsunami. Oh my Glob! I thought with wide eyes and a chugging heart.
The horrendous horrifically harrowing horror!
Who does that!?
I couldn't take it!
It was simply too much for my fragile mind, after everything else, so like a proper lady I rushed to a corner and proceeded to empty my last meal onto the cathedral floor.
"My word! The hollow sacrilege! The insult!" The Chancellor cried out in horror but I was too bent over to give a damn.
Antoinette crawled over to me and floated up my head, moving my hair out of the way with her fingers, to keep it off my vomit.
"Chancellor, she vomited... A Living action." I heard Antoinette speak and that was when the Chancellor stopped his ranting and his eye brows rose up.
"She did... How? Is it possible... She's alive?" The Chancellor asked as I wiped my lip with my back hand.
"Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude but you said you'd bring me my friend Lucas. Where is he?" I asked him then.
That's all I wanted.
"Your friend? Were we not looking for your Dead Companion?" The Chancellor asked me.
"I don't know! I think he's dead, but I don't know anymore. All this crazy stuff, with you, the hands and Companion this and that. I just want my best friend Lucas back, he fell into the red chasm when we were falling in that scary place, then this giant eye stopped us, took one look at him and chugged him away, so mean.
I saw a red glow, thought he was dead but you guys make it sound like anything is possible, and after the night I'm having, I have no idea anymore, it's crazy. All of this is crazy, just crazy. I shouldn't be here, why am I still here? you know what? I'm leaving. I'm gonna go home, and call the police, they'll find him. Yeah, that's what I'll do."
I briskly walked away after bursting my thoughts out like a machine gun. As I left my head was down, even as I passed the young man and Chancellor.
Opening the cathedral doors, I entered into a barren street, unfamiliar and cold, but so was everything I'd seen so far. I just needed to find a police station and call home, then I'd start the search for Lucas.
Alive or not, he was my best friend, I was not giving up.
...
Fifteen minutes later I was walking down an empty street, following the directions I got from an old man wandering around by himself. I would have seriously tried to tell the man to go home and that walking out at night wasn't safe, but I wasn't one to talk. I was an eighteen year old girl walking the streets of an unfamiliar city, wearing a flowing dress that showed a bit of legs.
What was I doing? I had asked myself alot in the past minutes.
I didn't know how to answer that question without getting all kinds of troublesome feelings. I just had to walk on, avoid alleyways, move quickly and never let my guard down.
This road I was on, led the way to the police station, there I'd be able to get information or atleast know where I was. The big buildings made it really clear I wasn't in Oakwood anymore, and I was trying really hard not to imagine how my mom was probably worried about where me and Lucas were.
Ugh, troublesome thoughts!
I shook my head to dispell my thoughts, instead I payed attention to my surroundings, remembering all the stories of the city I'd grown up hearing. Who knew where a drug dealer, crazy hobo or rapist was lurking.
"Actually, now that I think about it, maybe I should have stayed in that church until morning. " I muttered softly, my eyes darting around.
But I couldn't go back after yelling at that Chancellor, Antoinette and that guy on the bench.
"I was hoping you would change your mind sooner rather than later." A feminine voice said next to my ear and I jumped back in fright.
From nothing, a ghostly hand appeared and crawled towards me," Dear, you did not think I would leave you to the fate of the night, did you?"
"Ant... Antoinette?" I looked at the hand as it crawled towards me, and I realised I didn't find it odd anymore.
Well I did, but I just didn't feel cringed as I had when I saw that Chancellor's eyeless sockets or that guys 'face'. Antoinette didn't creep the baloney out of me as before, which was very weird. Should I get my head examined? I wondered thoughtfully. Barely an hour and I felt okay with a ghost hand talking to me.
"Dear, kindly move, this area is a breeding ground for all manner of actions that a lady has no business being around." Antoinette vanished and reappeared in the air next to my shoulder," Return with me to the Chancellor and maybe you will be helped with your search for this Lucas."
"This is so freaky." I said to her," You're a talking hand, asking me to go a church with a man with no eyes. Crazy, so crazy, glob it's crazy. Crazy I'm not that scared of you anymore too!"
"Why would you be scared of me?" Antoinette raised her index finger and pointed at me," You and I are similar, so why should you fear?"
"What do you mean?" I asked her, but she pointed to the road signalling for me to walk and I did as she asked.
"Do you mean to imply when we called you a Vessel and spoke of such, you paid no attention to our words?" She asked me and I blushed in embarassment.
"I did hear it but I was just... thinking about Lucas and everything else was happening so fast. I just fell out of a hole and then hit that lady, then you appeared and I got covered in ghost hands and then that eyeless man, the shadows and that guy who showed up of nowhere... It's just too much. I just want to find my best friend, this crazy stuff is too much."
"Oh, so you were still in shock when you asked the Chancellor to summon your Companion? That explains much, and raises many more questions." Antoinette tapped her fingers as she floated next to me," How about I start with a simple question, a test if you allow."
"Okay, I guess. Just not math, I hate math." I said with a small frown and she tilted her wrist.
"Oh? Very well. No math." She raised one finger," How old are you? Where do you come from? What is your species? Who do you love most?"
"Huh? Those are strange questions? Species? Like biology?" I raised a brow but she just waited for me to speak and I gave a sigh.
"I'm 18 years old, turned 18 a few months back actually. I come from Oakwood, a town in Georgia. Species? I'm human, that's right I guess, since the question is weird. Love most? Well that's a hard one. It's like a tie between my mom and Lucas my best friend, but okay, super duper secret secret secret, It is Lucas. Don't tell okay?"
Antoinette had stopped tapping and was still and silent next to me, I wondered if I had answered wrong and failed. Or was it the Lucas thing? I get that it's weird to love him more than my own mother, it's crazy on paper but I had always felt like that. Lucas was super mega millions of levels important to me, as was my mom, but with him it was... different.
He just was important to me.
"One more question, if you please " Antoinette said softly, almost a whisper," What is... your name?"
"Oh? I'm Sarah, Sarah Bucklehim. What's yours?" I asked her and she started to shake and quiver, before bursting into uproarious laughter. Her mouth appeared on her palm and she guffawed loudly, almost busting a gut, or something like that.
"You spoke your names, without hesitation, fear, or compulsion. Whoever your Companion is, they must be quite brazen and bold to have a Vessel like you, dear. Very much so."
"Thanks, I guess. Hey, now you answer my questions. What's a Vessel and why do you call me that? Also this Companion thing, is it more than friend? I feel like it is. Also, where are we? This city is huge."
"We are in New York city, dear. " Antoinette pointed ahead, the cathedral was a ways ahead. Outside it looked like a modern and traditional structure of faith, encompassing time and a comfortable spot by two streets.
Stone walls of harsh hazel, large doors of dark wood and crosses designed on the walls and the metal roof. Around it was a white fence, with an unlocked gate, that led to a tiny lawn of grass, a paved pathway, with red and blue flowers planted in stone urns and pots around.
"For true answers, you must ask the... Mistress!" Antoinette suddenly shouted in panic and before I knew it, a giant pair of palms closed around me and encased me in darkness.
My gut felt a familiar flash of quizzyness, before I was freed and found myself by another alleyway, similar to the one where I appeared.
"Antoinette? Where are we? Whats- hey, where are you?" I looked around but could not find any sign of the floating hand.
Bang! Slam! Crash! Slam!
"Oh no," I gently swore as I heard the sounds of violence coming from deep within the alley.
I could swear for sure that Antoinette was there, but judging from the noise, she was not alone or having a chat with whoever was there.
What should I do?
I now had to choose between going in to see or running as fast as possible away from there, to a police station, to home and start looking for Lucas. I could leave at that moment, and get back to my life, without the crazy, and find Lucas, wherever he was.
"Ahhhhhh!" A harrowing scream echoed around the walls, and I felt a little knot form in my stomach.
I can't, I thought desperately, I can't just...
I shouldn't.
I won't!
"I'm sorry." I whispered softly and took my first step.
I was heading to the noise, I just hoped Lucas wouldn't have shouted at me for making such a dangerous decision.
Who was I kidding?
He totally would have.
Oh my Glob.