Chapter 10: Holy and Unholy Things

Ada was never big on religion. She never attended church services, or prayed to the sky. She found it a bit silly; there were so many people in this world, and so many terrible things, having no faith was easier. When she was a child she had attended an all Chinese church with her father, Vincent Wong. Ada remembered the place almost too well; she had been very young when she attended. The ceiling had been very high and powder white, as were the walls. The benches had been made out of a dark wood and creaked of old age when you sat on them. All of this faced a large altar in the front, with statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus on the cross. Ada remembered being so interested in the statues, stepping for the first time into building in her new white dress. The figures evoked so much emotion inside Ada, the looks upon their smooth marble faces showed peace, pain, sorrow, and hope. It was all a morbid mixture of good and evil on one face, so starling to look upon when you are just five years old.

Her father and she had stopped going to church after Ada's mother died in a car accident. Ada still remembered the day they found out, she had only been eight when it happened, and from them on she had to carry that truth the rest of her life.

It had been a sunny Los Angeles afternoon and Ada had been playing in the backyard, sliding down the red slide of her jungle-gym again and again, giggling and screaming as her father glanced at her from over his book. He had taken the day off, saying that the firm he worked for could survive without him for a day. Her father Vincent had been the most sought after lawyer in all of southern California, so it was a big deal that he was not working that day. Ada enjoyed his company, it was different from the nanny she was usually stuck with who had smelt like old cats and plain oatmeal. His strong Chinese face and warm smile was a comfort for her and even more of a comfort after the events that followed a sharp knock on the door a few moments later.

Ada stopped sliding and followed her father into the house, but was told to stop at the end of the hallway. Ada watched as her father moved down the hall, eventually opening the door to reveal two policemen. Ada couldn't hear what they were saying, but she had a feeling from the looks on their faces it wasn't anything good. Ada's father looked back at Ada, tears in his eyes. This had forced Ada to speak; she had never seen her father cry.

"Daddy?"

He turned away and they police men handed him a piece of paper, pink with pictures of roses around the edges, the kind of paper her mother used to write letters. Ada looked as her father opened it and read it quickly, slowly he closed it and whispered something to the police and shut the door. For a few seconds he stood there, starring off into space, and then he leaned against the wall and slumped to the floor. He put his head in his hands and Ada saw as his shoulder shuddered with silent sobs.

"…Daddy…?"

Not a word.

Ada moved down the hall to her father's side and sat on her knees. She put a small hand on his knee and looked at the hands that covered the strong face she loved. She wanted him to look up at her with a big smile on his face and tell her that everything was OK, but his silence made of knot of dread form in her abdomen. Ada watched her father sob for the next few moments, her eyes wide with confusion and fear. What could make her father do this?

Ada was seeing the breaking of a man unfold before her eyes.

Suddenly her father moved his hands from his face, stained with tears, and then he embraced Ada. It was a tight hold; as if he was holding onto her for dear life/ it wasn't until she was older that Ada would realize she had been his buoy in a stormy sea of anguish and pain. Her father cried in Ada's small shoulder, and the knot in Ada's stomach tightened.

"Daddy what's wrong?" Ada asked, on the verge of tears herself.

"She's gone…" his voice mangled from crying.

"Who's gone?" Ada

Ada's father sat up, his face wet and red. The sight almost made Ada cry herself, he was supposed to be the strong one, and Ada was the one who was supposed to cry. He looked into her eyes and fixed her with a look she had never seen before. It was as if he were looking at someone else, the glint in his eyes made no sense to Ada.

"Ada…Mommy is gone…" a tear ran down his cheek.

"Mommy…gone?" She didn't understand what he was saying.

"She went away, and she…she's not coming back" he raised a hand and ran a hand through her jet black hair.

"Where'd she go?" Ada backed away from him, but only slightly.

Her father's mouth opened but no words came from them. He sat there like that for what seemed like ever, leaving Ada's mind to race making up elaborate places her mother could go. Finally her father got up and walked past her, ascending the stairs he looked down at her then turned away. When he entered the upstairs Ada heard his door close and he spent the rest of the night there, letting Ada wallow in her confusion.

Later she finally found out what had happened to her mother; a car crash on a highway, expected suicide. They said the body burned up in the fire started by a gas leak, so her grave was empty, only a headstone. Two letters had been found in a leather case that was in the backseat, one to Ada's father and the other to her. Her father would not let Ada read the one for her, claiming she was too young year after year, until she turned sixteen. Her father had left it on her bed for Ada to find when she was done with her shower. Her father had rushed off to bed after putting there, so she could not ask any question. Slowly Ada had unfolded the pink paper, as if handling something so delicate it could break with the wrong touch. Soon it was open and Ada was reading…

My Dearest Ada,

If you're reading this that means I am no longer with you, and what I wanted to happen did. I imagine your older now, I know your father would not let you read this at such a young age. That's something I greatly admire about your father, he cares for delicate things, and you are his glass butterfly that he dares not let anything happen to you. I want to let you know that I love you very much and never was there a second that you were not in my mind since you were born. I would have loved to see you grow up, become a young women and get married. The thought of not being able to know your grandchildren pains me very much. I needed to do what had to be done, you must know this Ada. I could not go another day living the life I did, you can not imagine. My only regret is that I can not be with you and your father any longer; you two were the only happiness in my life. You brought me so much joy Ada, and I know one day we will see each other again; I will wait forever for you.

Forever loving you,

Mommy

"Ada we have to hurry up."

Leon's voice pulled her from memories of yesteryears. Ada blinked and looked over at him, giving him a nod and picking up her pace. Ada looked ahead; the church was very close now, only about fifty feet. The building was enormous and looked as if it were taken from some gothic painting, with its walls of stone and stained glass windows displaying different Apostles. Ada guessed its location to be somewhere in the middle of town. It made sense if the community was heavily involved in their religion.

"Hold it…" Leon raised his arm up horizontally to stop Ada.

She looked at him and smirked. Did he think she was a child? She couldn't help but laugh at inwardly at Leon and his willingness to be the hero; it was in his nature after all. Evidence to the fact could be seen in the Raccoon incident, when he was adamant about having Ada follow him and for them to stick together.

Leon was looking ahead of them at something, Ada followed his line of vision but saw nothing. She raised an eyebrow at Leon.

"What is it Leon?"

"Do you hear that?"

Ada looked around and stood still, straining to hear anything in the darkness. Leon was drawing his gun very slowly. Ada followed, still not hearing the sound. She got a bit aggravated, standing there and not hearing what Leon was.

Then she heard it, a soft grouchy whisper, as if someone were smothering a blender. Ada blinked, what a weird comparison, but she did not know any other way to describe the sound.

"They're communicating" Ada said in realization.

"Let's shut them up…" Leon pulled the hammer of his gun.

Suddenly he pointed the gun at the nearest house's window and pulled the trigger. A wet splat followed the sound of breaking glass. Ada heard something hit the floor and she guessed it had been a head shot. Damn, Leon really was talented at some things. Before she could give Leon a admiring smile she heard the sound of running footsteps. Ada turned and pointed her Blacktail at three advancing monsters. They spoke as they moved closer and Ada could hear the wet gurgle of blood in their decaying throats. Ada didn't need to look at the sharp objects they brandished to know they wanted to kill. She pulled the trigger and fired at the one in the front. The round hit the creature's chest and stumbled and fell to the ground. Ada pointed the gun quickly at another and fired, hitting the monster's head and watched it as it fell backward, dead. The third suddenly sped up, quicker than it had been running. Ada had no time to fire before it was within striking distance. Her eyes widened, but then a leg shot out from her right and the foe was knocked away, hitting the wall of a house. Ada looked to see Leon lowering his leg and he winked at her.

"You certainly attract a lot of attention" Leon looked at her and smiled.

"I can't help it, it's my charm" Ada tilted her head a bit and returned the smile.

"Charm? Maybe it's the butt?"

Ada looked shocked for the quickest second, but then recovered.

"Perhaps…"

Ada just smiled and started to walk towards the church, purposefully swaying her hips a bit as she walked.

The old church stood tall against the black sky when Sherry and Yoko arrived. The light of the moon illuminated the stained glass windows, giving them an eerie almost evil feel. The faces of the apostles that looked upon them seemed to read of warning and sadness, not the usual look of caring and wisdom. As Sherry looked at them a shiver went down her spine, as if a cold wind chilled her, but there was no wind this night. The stars above looked down at her, sparkling like beacons of hope. She remembered when her family used to go camping, before both her parents delved deep into Umbrella work. They all use to trek down to the lake and sit on the bank, concealed by darkness and warmed by the blankets her mother wrapped around her. There had been thousands, no millions of them, all scattered over the black. Suddenly her father had pointed at a moving light among the stars.

"See that Sherry? It's a satellite moving around the earth. Daddy's work has one and it's floating along with the others."

Back then Sherry had thought the corporation her parents worked for was quite interesting. She was always known as the girl whose parents were actively working on new medicine to help the world in school, but know Sherry knew better now. Umbrella was evil and felt they could play God. The corporation had taken both her parent's life, and left her an orphan. If it wasn't for Claire, Sherry would have either been turned into a zombie, or she would have been vaporized in the nuking of Raccoon City.

Sherry shuddered at the memory of the explosion that shook her world like an earthquake from Hell.

"The door is locked…" Yoko said, looking at her.

Sherry blinked and stepped forward to look at it. Indeed the door was locked, but it was not the case of a simple door lock, it looked as if an object was inserted into a small hole to open it. Sherry sighed and stepped away, grumbling to herself. Raccoon Police Department had been the same way; you needed a key to get into almost every door. The building had been an intricate mess of puzzles that needed to be solved to advance further. Back then it had been a challenge for Sherry to get around the department, almost every door she came across was locked; it was a horrible situation for a girl who wanted to hide.

"Is there another way in?" Yoko asked, looking around.

"We could brake in through the windows." Sherry pointed to the stained glass.

"But this is a church Sherry!" Yoko's eyes widened.

"It's not like people are going to use it anymore. This town is dead…"

Yoko blinked and looked away. Sherry felt awful saying it, but in her heart and mind she knew it was true. There was no hope for this place anymore, it had been overcome by Umbrella's virus and in turn the infected had eliminated any life in the whole place. There must be survivors, Sherry thought, surely some would be able to fight against the horde of undead. They could not be the only ones living in this whole town. Sherry turned and looked behind her, wondering where Leon was and if he had survived. She tightened her grip on the hookshot Leon had given them to escape with. She silently thanked Leon for the escape tool, but felt guilty at the thought that she might have taken his escape as well.

"Sherry!" Yoko whispered sharply.

She looked back at Yoko and saw that she had gotten closer to her. Sherry looked at her, but it was not returned, Yoko was looking at the corner of the Church, between a high stone wall and the part where the building turned into deep darkness. A figure in a white cloak stood there, watching them with its face covered by the white fabric. Sherry stood very still, looking the figure up and down, but it was impossible to see anything other than white cloak. It didn't say a word, except for hold up and arm with a finger that beckoned them toward it. Sherry saw it and raised her eyebrows.

"Like Hell we're coming over! What do you want?"

The figure beckoned again but Sherry did not move. She knew better than that, especially at the present time and place. Her parents taught her not to talk to strangers, and ever since Raccoon that rule had been amplified. Her eyes narrowed and she handed the hookshot to Yoko and then moved a hand into her lab coat. Her fingers tightened around the pistol concealed there, and her thumb pulled back the hammer.

The figure beckoned again, but they both stood in place.

"I said 'What the fuck do you want'?" Sherry's voice grew more commanding this time.

A few moments passed in silence and then the figure started to move toward them very slowly as if it had some walking problem. It wasn't until the figure was close that Sherry noticed it's slightly hunched posture, all signs pointed to the person being elderly, or wounded. Sherry withdrew the gun and the advancing figure stopped for the quickest of moments. This was Sherry's way of showing whatever was coming towards them that she meant business and would shoot to kill if push came to shove.

Then the figure spoke, in a cracked and sharp voice.

"It is not safe here, demons lurk in the shadows…"

Sherry watched the figure look around the courtyard, as if expecting the monsters to jump out at that second.

"Who are—"

"Hell has swallowed the sinners, and filled their bodies with evil. The evil has come to vanquish us all. You must know this!"

Suddenly the figure lashed out and grabbed Sherry's arm, a wrinkly and vein covered hand coming out from the white cloak. The grip was tight and long finger nails scratched her flesh as the cloaked figure held on. Yoko let out a loud gasp and stumbled backward, but Sherry only jumped. She tried to look into the face shadowed by the cloak, but it was simply too dark.

"Follow me, you and your friend! We must find sanctuary inside the church!" the voice was panicked.

Sherry nodded and was pulled toward the church door by the wrist. She almost tripped over her own feet but recovered. Sherry turned her head and motioned for Yoko to follow her. She hesitated for a second and jogged over.

They stopped at the front door and Sherry looked at the figure again.

"We need a key to get in, and I don't know where it is…"

"A key I have young one, sanctuary is but an entrance away."

The figure reached into its robes and pulled out a thing object. Upon further inspection Sherry say that it was a metal cross, which slid into the whole in the door perfectly. Many clicking noises followed and the door opened a bit. Sherry could see light coming from inside, it danced as the wind from outside blew in. She guessed candles, and was not wrong when the door was pulled all the way open. Candles covered almost every surface, except for the four pews all the way to the rear of the church, facing a massive altar. They were both hurried in by the cloaked figure, who turned as soon as they entered and locked the door with the metal cross.

The church was enormous, with high ceilings that were supported by marble columns. It could easily fit at least two hundred people in it, not counting those who stood. The sheer size of it blew Sherry away, from the outside it had not appeared this large. Her eyes fell upon the altar, decorated with a painting of Jesus and his followers, all admiring the savior as he was covered in light. The effect of it all made Sherry think she had stepped back in time. Then the figure spoke, and Sherry was pulled away from the painting.

"Come to the altar, I must pray."

They made their way to the giant altar, and the painting seemed even bigger to Sherry. She could now read the caption under the art piece:

The only light left, is that of our Lord and Savior.

Sherry looked at the figure, who was taking off the hood of the cloak. She stared intently as the old face of a woman was revealed. She was pale and thin, her face sunken in and gaunt. Long black hair was in a single braid, unaffected by the white color that came with age. When she looked at Sherry it was with piercing green eyes that seemed to look into her mind and sense what she was thinking. The woman gave a smile and then moved to the steps that led to a stage, she climbed them and moved before the altar, then she came to her knees and put her hands together in a prayer position. She sat like that for a few moments then, head bowed and lips moving soundlessly. Then she raised her head and Sherry realized her eyes were wet with tears.

This was the power of prayer, the power of having faith in something. Sherry was almost jealous.

"I am the pastor of this church; the Church for Holy Contrition. It is my job to watch over this house of God, to keep it out of the hands of the Devil."

Sherry watched her as she stood up and turned to look at them.

"I've watched the citizens of this town come and go in the church for years, I know most of the faces. It pains me to see them taken over by such evil."

She closed her eyes as if pain had just shot through her whole body.

"The Devil has taken over this town…"

"Mam, it is not the Devil, it's a virus. These people are infected…"

"And why do you think this plague has fallen upon them child? The Devil has come into play here."

Sherry did not argue, it was no use. She had let them come in, and Sherry did not want to be a rude guest. Suddenly she remembered the safe house in the basement, after all they had been through and the appearance of someone alive, Sherry had forgotten all about it.

"Mam…"

"Please, call me Helena my child" she gave Sherry a warm smile.

"Helena," Sherry smiled back "There is a safe house in the basement of this church that I need to get to. We are supposed to meet two others there."

"Others have come for the safe house, and I have shown them to it."

"Others?" Surprise filled her voice and face.

"Yes, all in coats like yours. The entrance to the basement is this way, follow me if you will."

Helena turned toward the altar, and Sherry followed her, Yoko bringing up the rear. Helena stopped at the altar's painting and opened a bible on a pedestal before the painting. Inside the pages were cut away to reveal a hidden button. Sherry watched as Helena pressed it and shut the book. For a few moments nothing happened, but then the painting started to rise slowly, as if it were a projector screen being rolled back up. The wall behind the painting was plain and old, with one wooden door that led deeper into the church. Helena opened the door and stepped down onto a staircase that went below ground, torches alight in their brackets. Sherry followed her, keeping her hand on the wall to keep her balance, the stone stairs were uneven and crumbling. As they ascended deeper Sherry felt a cold wash over her, sending a shiver through her entire body.

They finally reached another door, except this one was metal and a lot younger than the wooden one they had entered. It looked like it didn't belong here, but in some bank in New York. Helena stopped and turned towards them, a smile on her face. She nodded and motioned towards the door.

"In here is your safe house, the others should be inside resting."

Helena put her hand on the metallic handle and slowly turned it.

"I do believe one of them was injured, I hope is doing well…"

Sherry had no time to stop Helena. She was opening the metal door and everything seemed to blur out and speed up ten fold. Something grabbed onto the old woman's hand and her eyes widened. Then the door was flung open to reveal a bloody and brutal scene. The floor was stained with blood and three dead bodies lay on the floor, all with looks of pain on their faces. Sherry knew that they would eventually rise and become one of the undead. The monster pulled Helena toward it and bit into her neck, an ear splitting scream coming from the woman as it ripped away strips of flesh and muscle tissue. Yoko screamed and stumbled back, but Sherry took out her pistol and pointed it at the monster. She squeezed the trigger and the round slammed itself into the creature's head. It crumpled to the floor and Helena fell next to it, blooding soaking through the white cloak, tears running down her face from pain.

Sherry stepped over the dead monster and pointed the gun at each of the bodies' heads. Three gunshots, each in a different skull, all disabling the ability to get back up again; she looked back at Helena, knowing that she was now infected with the same virus. Sherry's head wanted her to raise the gun and put a bullet in her head, but Sherry's heart would not let her. She would when the time came, but just for now Sherry decided to let the woman live, let her think her faith would protect her.

"Those demons…how could they enter a house of God?" She looked at Sherry, bewildered.

"Because I told you they weren't demons." Sherry ejected the clip of the gun, only eleven more bullets.

"Them what could they possibly be?" She snapped at Sherry.

Sherry glanced at her and sighed. She could not blame the old woman for getting a bit angry, after all she had been bitten by a monster; those things were not everyday occurrences. She would have to tell all the gruesome details to the poor woman-of-god, but the question in Sherry's mind was would Helena believe her?

"A week ago an employee from our labs was infected accidentally with a very dangerous virus. He didn't say anything to anyone, instead he went home, to this town. Soon the virus took over his body and he turned into one of the monsters."

Sherry pointed to the dead creature that had bitten Helena.

"From what we gather, he attacked his family and they all became infected. Slowly they each attacked others and the virus was spread through the town as more became infected. The company I worked for thought they had it contained, a big chunk of the town was blocked off and disguised as a quarantine area to control Malaria."

"That's what it was? Everyone in town was suspicious…"

"They had a reason to be," Sherry nodded and continued, "Now you see what the virus has done to the town. Everyone has turned into an infected corpse, capable of infecting the living with just a bite."

Helena's face fell and she looked at the place the monster had bit into. She started to shake with fear and tears came down her cheeks. Sherry felt like holding her, if nothing more than to ease some of the pain that was shooting through her both mentally and physically. She looked so helpless there on the floor in this cold room. They all stood there in silence for a few minuets, Sherry's eyes watching the woman who had shown such kindness to two strangers.

"Kill me" Helena looked at Sherry.

It was something Sherry had thought about it, but she never brought it up. Now that this frail pastor was asking her to it seemed like a disgusting idea, and Sherry found that she could not do it.

"Kill me please, I do not want to hurt others. I do not want to cause so much pain in the eyes of God!"

Sherry shook her head, paralyzed by the begging in the woman's eyes.

"I can't…"

"Do it please! In the name of God!" Helena crawled forward.

The old woman reached out for Sherry's gun but she pulled away from her reach. Sherry looked into her eyes and could see them slowly turning a milky white, and her skin turning a pale grey. She was turning into one of them, and Sherry could still not bring herself to shoot the woman.

There was a sudden gun shot and the 'splat' sound as Helena fell to the floor in a spray of blood, bone, and brain. Blood flecked on Sherry's lab coat, but not enough to worry about. She stood surprised by her sudden death and the sound of the gun shot. Sherry looked up at Yoko, thinking it was she who had done it, but in the doorway to stood Ada Wong lowering her gun. Leon stood right behind her, a look of curiosity on his face.

"Amen…" Ada whispered, but everyone in the room could here it.

A/N: At last an update! I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter and stay tuned for the next one.

Like always, please R&R and tell me what you think.