Chapter Twelve:
Alex and Alexys walked into Cerberus Books with one mission: find Rose Tyler.
At around eleven in the morning the book store was rather quite with only few patrons enjoying the remnants of their breakfast. The holiday cheer mixed with old time ghouls gave that same ambivalent feeling that was had at the Bonfire. The two walked to the counter and took a seat.
Menus appeared on the counter before them with a smile from Dr. Cerberus in his Dracula outfit, "Good morning, will you be dining in or out?"
"We'll be staying in," Alex smiled as he looked down at the special of the day.
Alexys offered the menu back to the man, "I know exactly what I want."
"I love hearing that," he smiled, pulling out a little note pad and pencil, "What'll it be?"
"Chicken fingers and french fries and honey mustard on the side," she grinned.
"And to drink?"
"Oh, right!" she looked around him at the soft drinks waiting and considered if she should get water or what she really wanted.
"That one's a little harder?" he chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess I'll just get a coke."
"Coming up! And for the gentleman?" he looked to Alex.
"I'll have a…"
The door opened then with a light wind which promptly forced Alex and Alexys to turn around. They held in their gasp at the sight of the woman. It was Rose Tyler.
"…her," Alex finished.
Dr. Cerberus laughed, "You'd be surprised how many times I've heard that but she is not on the menu."
Alex rattled off his order which consisted of a grilled cheese and some bruschetta. The doctor left as Rose walked behind the counter. They were surprised to see her in regular clothes and not in some sort of dressed up garb.
Alexys looked to Alex and whispered, "Say something to her."
"What do I say?" he had to stop himself from shouting.
"I don't know! But say something! Fast!" Alexys gestured toward the woman's back.
"I can hear ya talkin'," Rose turned around to face them with their drinks, "And I don't like it. Do I know you two?"
"Ummm…" the two looked at each other. Alex continued, "You look like a friend of ours. I met her in the UK? Named Rose?"
"My name is Briar. And you two don't look familiar. I'm not your mate," she turned back around.
"Wait…are you sure? We haven't seen her in a long long time. She was married to a doctor?" Alexys pressed on.
"Look, I'm not your mate. I don't know any doctors and I'm just trying to do my job here. Alright?"
They froze, unsure of how to respond or what more they could ask of the woman.
"Alright?" she repeated her question.
"Right!" They agreed.
Alexys turned to look at Alex but caught the sight of a necklace around her throat, "You have a crescent moon necklace too?"
"You're going to accuse me of stealing now too," she snapped, "I found this in one of the booths and no one's come back for it. Here, you want it!"
"No, no! I just didn't know anyone else had one. It's from the Astronomy Club," Alexys put up her hands in defense.
"I don't remember asking," with that Rose turned her back and began speaking to another customer in a polite manner.
Dr. Cerberus returned with their food, "Hope you both enjoy. Let me know if you need anything else!"
The two nodded as they looked at their food with a frown, "Will do."
It was clear that Rose Tyler was a dead end but that only raised more questions for them. As they ate their meal they discussed in hushed tones the possibility that they could have all been treated to the Chameleon Arch but if they had then who had Rose's fob watch? In fact, the question arose, who had their fob watch. The more they talked the antsier they became until they just decided they would need to go to the Church of Stillhet and do some investigating there.
They paid for their meal, said a goodbye to Dr. Cerberus, and a "cheerio" to Rose (who did not think it was funny) then went on their way.
Their entire trip had been walked with determination but once they got to the lake and within view of the church it began to falter. Somehow during the day it appeared far more threatening than at night. There was a strange feeling that permeated off of the structure that felt very threatening.
"Do you think it's empty?" Alexys wondered.
Alex squinted, "I don't see any cars."
"Are you ready?" Alexys moved her hands into position.
"I'm ready," Alex completed the double tap.
They surged forward.
It was a terrible attempt at looking casual and they were certain that if anyone were watching the police would be called for fear of suspicious characters. They tried their best to play it off but knew they better resembled Jean Ralphio and Mona Lisa Saperstein than Bonnie and Clyde. The two quickly crossed into the parking lot of the old church and did a quick jog to the back.
Up close the Church was daunting and big and surrounded by heavy thickets of wood. There was a strange smell that reminded them of fire and brimstone. They pondered briefly the realities of magic in their world but knew it could not be so. The Church looked old in its design with an overgrowth of vines that wrapped around from the bell tower to the foundation. It was an off white color thanks to years of weathering but a quick scrub promised to make the Church look beautiful.
"If they're doing so many good deeds for the community why does this place still look like this?" Alexys asked.
"I don't know," Alex shrugged, "I kind of like it."
Alexys glanced around where they stood to make sure it was safe. Behind them sat a lush forest while they stood in tall, overgrown grass. Weeds choked where it appeared a garden had been established. Boarded windows hung a few feet above where they stood and Alexys began to search for something to stand on so that they could look inside.
"Where are you going?" Alex's heart spiked as he watched Alexys walk around the corner.
"I'm just going to look for a garbage can or something to stand on. I'll be right back! If anyone comes just say you were…peeing? I don't know! I'll be right back!" she gave him thumbs up before leaving.
Alex had felt very confident with Alexys at his side but as soon as she left the confidence disappeared. A strange anxiety overwhelmed him as he stood alone. It began at the tips of his toes then crawled up behind him like nails on a chalkboard following the length of his back until it reached the back of his skull. He felt his muscles begin to shiver as the thought of what he had been teasing Alexys with all along came to exist. Could it be the S—
"Someone's here."
Alex had to cover his mouth to stop from screaming but when he saw who it was that spoke he used both hands. Troy and Abed of Troy and Abed in the Morning stood before him. Abed held a camera fixed on Alex while Troy had his cell phone that he used to take sweeping shots of the landscape with.
"State your purpose," Abed never once looked up from the view finder of the camera.
"Uh…me and my cousin are just…hanging out?" Alex's mind came to a blank.
"Oh really? Are you sure it's not because of this!" Troy pulled out a yoyo.
"I can definitely say it's not because of that," he nodded.
Troy looked at what was in his hand and quickly exchanged it for a golden compass, "I meant this!"
"Is that why you're both here?"
"We're getting footage for my website. This episode is going to be about the weird church and why people are starting to wear black now," Abed answered in a matter of fact tone.
"Yeah…do you think the church, the people in black, and the compasses are related?"
"Compasses?" Troy questioned.
"Golden compass, like His Dark Materials. I like it," Abed looked to Troy with a nod as if he confirmed they would start using that name too, "It has to be. They also have to be why the Dean is acting strange and the Inspector Space Time episodes on my computer got erased."
"You said you're with your cousin?" Troy looked around.
"She just went to find something to stand on so we could look inside," he pointed up to the windows.
"Oh, we got this," Troy grinned.
The two worked together to expertly get Abed on Troy's shoulders. In the process Abed had handed Alex his camera and once he was stable reached for it back. The two wobbled together as Troy made comments of switching next time. Abed was serious though. He lifted the camera toward the cracks and angled with view finder in his direction so that he could see.
"Okay, I got the shot," Abed said after a minute.
They repeated the process of Alex holding the camera while Abed and Troy quietly got to the ground. Once on his feet Alex handed the camera back to Abed with the question, "What did you see?"
Abed shut the camera and powered it down then reached for a cigarette in his front pocket and in a calm voice spoke, "I'm deleting the footage. We need to leave immediately. Never return here. Especially at night. Especially not the morning after the Bonfire."
"Is there another Bonfire?" Alex asked but it was too late. Abed began to run away from the Church and Troy was quickly behind him.
"I think I found something," Alexys grunted as she dragged what looked like a decaying old wooden box.
"Great, we need to leave. Right now," Alex grabbed the box and threw it away.
"What! You don't know what I had to do to get that!" she hissed.
Alex grabbed her arm in a show of urgency he never had before, "We need to leave."
Alexys opened her mouth to protest.
"NOW."
The fear Alex had was enough for both of them to run their way back to the Spellman House. They hardly said a word to each other until they were behind the closed doors of their home. The two collapsed against the door and slid down to the ground breathless.
After a few moments Alexys looked to Alex with a shake of her head, "ABED AND TROY?"
"What?" he asked, taking in chunks of air.
"So Jeff, Annie, and Britta weren't enough but you had to," Alexys paused to breathe, "had to meet Abed and Troy too!"
"Alexys we were in danger!"
"If you meet Shirley and Pierce we're done!" she shouted.
Alex's laugh came out as a wheeze, "Deal."
"What do you think he saw?" Alexys pondered, shutting her eyes and leaning her head back against the door.
"Whatever it was…he said he was deleting the footage," Alex shook his head, "It had to be terrifying."
"And not Daleks," Alexys added.
"What? How did you get to that?" he wondered, slowly lifting himself to his feet.
Alexys followed his example as she explained, "Well, he watches Inspector Spacetime. He knows what Blorgons are. Blorgons are variants of Daleks. It had to be something he's never seen…"
"So you're finally considering the S—"
"Sontarans? Never ruled them out. But what I'm really considering is a nap."
Alex chuckled, "Me too. Meet up in…oh…two hours?"
"More like six but we'll see what happens! I was also thinking about going back to the Blue Moon Tavern tonight to see if I can get more information from Dorian," Alexys yawned and stretched her way up the stairs.
Alex followed behind, "I don't like the idea of that. I can end my date a little early with Luke and we can go together.
"I would never dream of doing that to you. We'll talk more when we wake up but speaking of dreams! Have sweet ones!" she waved off as she walked into her room
"You too!"