As a warning to those readers who are Catholic or religious, I apologise if some of you are offended by parts of this story. (E.g. Celeste saying the Lord's Prayer whilst killing Zombies, or Virgil's digs at Catholicism.) I just want to assure you all, that my own views and feelings on Christianity are in no way reflected by my characters. However, I do want to say that if you are easily offended when it comes to religion, then please don't read it. I don't want to get flamed to oblivion. Equally as important, don't see this warning then read it anyway, get offended and flame me. I would not appreciate it.
On a lighter note; Enjoy!
And yes, the recent passing of PJP (Bless his soul) had some influence on the story...
P.S. I don't own 'em, I'm just borrowing 'em. Uh, actually... him. I own Celeste! She is mine mine mine mine mine mine mine!
Ahem...
Night in Vatican City, Italy.
Only the faint sounds of sirens in the distance and dogs howling in reply pierced through the silence. Nathaniel shivered and pulled his coat firmer around him. It was almost like... the night was holding it's breath, waiting for something.
He knew he was being stupid. He shook his head and glanced back at the crowd he was leaving behind him; Catholics, well wishers for the dying Pope. People Praying for his soul. However, after a vigil of four days, Nathaniel had had enough. He wasn't as devoted to the Catholic Church as his sister Nathalie.
Turning a corner down the street to his home, he smiled faintly to himself. Even after 20 years, the twins still got jibes about their names. Nathaniel, Nathalie... they may have been twins, but they couldn't possibly be more different. Nathalie was devoted to the Roman Catholic Church, intent on becoming a Nun, hence her determination to stay in St. Peters Square until they had been told whether Pope Matthew had improved.
Nathaniel shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. Personally, he didn't really care. The old coot was going on 90, so it was about time he... you know. God had never done anything to Nathaniel, or more appropriately, for Nathaniel, so he really didn't care about some leader dying. He dimly considered trying once more to go back for his sister, to get her out of the rain, but he knew that wild horses couldn't drag her away from the step of St. Peters.
He sighed and kicked a can into an alley. It rattled along the road, end over end, but suddenly stopped with a dull 'clang'. He heard the wet grind of the road beneath someone's shoes then the sound of the can being crushed. Nathaniel paused.
"Hello?" He called into the darkness, instantly kicking himself. There could have been anyone down there, waiting for some unsuspecting person to pass to steal from... or kill. He winced and shuffled backwards a few steps, then stopped. What was he thinking? He was a footballer!
"Hello?" He called again, though more timidly. There was a low growl, and something started to walk towards him.
Step, drag.
Step, drag.
Nathaniel started to back away again, icy fear creeping through him. His mind raced for explanations; a cat? Too big. A dog? Maybe, but... a wolf? Jeez, he hoped not. Wolves had been spotted wandering into the city from the forests in the hills. One thing he was sure about; it couldn't have been human. It had to be some sort of animal, else why would it growl?
Then again, why was it wearing shoes?
Step, drag.
Step, drag.
Step...
The thing paused.
Nathaniel was now on the opposite side of the road, in front of the local bakers shop. There was a rapid menagerie of horror movie playing through his head. Maybe it was a Zombie? An Alien? A skinless dog from the depths of a secret medical facility that- that's just ridiculous! He told himself shakily.
Without warning, his heel hit the wheel of the wooden cart in front of the window and he momentarily looked down. In a split second, he caught the sound of running, accented by the clicking of nails on the road - like a dog - then a huge jump.
"Arrgh!" Nathaniel dove to the side, arms over his head. His right shoulder hit the road, jarring it for a second. He lay on the sidewalk, waiting for the painful feeling of claws ripping; the tearing, the pain and the...
Nothing.
Opening his eyes to a slit, his heart leapt into his mouth as something furry materialised out of the darkness of the alley... and he laughed.
The little Jack Russell noticed the human and trotted out of the mouth of the alley, licking the human's face, expecting food. After all, humans had food all the time, right?
"You have no idea how much you just scared me, little one." The human chuckled and scratched it behind the ears. The dog gave a lopsided grin and yapped. The human picked himself up off the road and dusted his jacket off. The dog yapped again.
"Oh alright." The human scooped the dog up off the ground, wrinkling his nose as the dog squirmed closer to him, "You'd better not belong to someone. I don't want to be caught for dognapping."
He continued walking down the road. The dog could hear the human's heart slowing down. It snuggled firmer into the human's arms... then stiffened. Unsure, it sniffed the air... and whined.
"What is it?" The human looked down at it, "Are you hungry?"
The dog started to squirm; the human was having trouble holding it. It fell out of the human's arms and raced into another street, cowering under a bin.
"What the-... come back! I thought you liked me!" The human shrugged, "Fine, but I'm going home."
He walked out of sight of the dog, which whined again and pushed its head under a newspaper. The sound of screams shot through the air, making the human jump and look around wildly. Running boots drew nearer to it.
"Hey!" The human was almost bowled over. The other person fell on the stones, getting winded in the process. The dog watched his new human bend down, "Jesus, are you okay, you look-"
"Run!" The young woman dragged herself to her feet. She spun an eye on the corner she'd appeared from. "Why aren't you running?" She made to grab him, but then spun and bolted down the street. She skidded into the street where the dog was hiding. Leaving the dog's new human in the middle of the road, confused,
"What the... Holy Mary, mother of- AAAAAGH-urk!"
A sound much like the tearing of paper split through the old street. The girl - barely an adult - pressed herself against the wall, sinking to her knees and turning black beads in her hand. Her eyes were closed, her lips moving silently. The dog heard his new human gurgle, then hit the road like a sack of flour. Cautiously, it took its head out from under the newspaper, saw the girl... and growled.
Her eyes snapped open, glowing yellow and icy blue. She fell on all fours and held a finger to her lips, her eyes pleading with the dog to stay silent. However, thousands of years of evolution couldn't stop one canine from recognising another. He barked.
The furry head of the young woman head snapped around as it pricked its ears; something in the street was moving. She got up again and ran down the street, her form shifting, blurring... was it speed? She cast another look back at the dog, wolfish eyes terrified. Something growled from around the corner from the dog and the huge black wolf bounded away, vaulting into the wall of a building and digging claws into the concrete like some crazy mix of wolf and spider. It scrambled over the top of a building, heading as far away from St. Peters Cathedral as it could.
The dog cocked its head to the side, relaxing now that the predator had passed, and trotted back to it's human. It was on the road... again. Though this time, the dog was confused when the human didn't scratch it behind the ears like he had before. The dog yapped, hoping to catch the human's attention again. The human didn't move. Hurt and confused, the dog licked the human's cheek. Nothing. The dog whined and wriggled under the human's coat, making use of the fading warmth.
Nathaniel lay with his head to the side on the aged cobblestones, blue eyes staring at the cross fixed to the top of the Cistine Chapel. A small stream of blood fell down his chin, dripping slowly onto the road and slid between the cracks in the stones, headed for lower ground. Following the wolf-girl. Running away.
Escaping.