Chapter 1

He woke in a pool of blood.

Rain pelted him silently as he took in his surroundings. A church stood a few yards away, a monstrosity of marble and granite. A high window of colored glass and stone dominated the space above the door. The window immediately drew his attention; a stone cross, superimposed on an interlocking pattern of circles. As he stood, he noticed the blood and quickly checked himself for wounds, but found none. When satisfied, he walked to the church door and turned the knob.

As the door opened, a rush of warm air spilled out, but to his surprise, he suddenly was chilled to the bone. Hesitantly, he stepped in, and was taken aback by the size of the massive building. High windows of colored glass lined the sidewalls, and each window depicted a biblical scene. A long red rug ran from the door to the main alter, and behind the alter hundreds of white candles burned silently under a monstrous crucifix. The pulpit seemed to stretch away from him, farther and farther, until it seemed like miles to the back wall of the massive room. Disoriented, he sat down, and was startled to hear a voice.

"Who are you?" The voice sounded agitated, almost hysterical.

"I—" He was startled by his own voice, a voice he didn't even recognize, a voice he wouldn't even know if it wasn't coming from him. "I…I don't know. I can't remember." Suddenly a fit of panic hit him. Who am I, He thought. Why don't I know my own name?

"What do you mean, you can't remember? Do you have amnesia or something?" A figure stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, and had sandy blond hair; his eyes were a piercing blue, the kind that looked like they could see through to your soul. He appeared to be a priest and was dressed in all black, except for a white collar. "Where did you come from? How did you get here? Have you seen anyone else out there?" The priest pointed toward the door.

"No, why?" The man replied, and then added. "Who are you anyway?"

"My name is Tyler, Tyler Adames. I am the resident minister of this cathedral." Tyler moved a step closer; placing his hand on the amnesiac's shoulder. "We'll need to give you a name for now, at least until you remember your own. How does Gabriel suit you?" the amnesiac thought for a moment, and then shrugged.

"That works for me." Gabriel said indifferently, confused over the randomness of Tyler's actions and questions, but deciding that it would be best not to voice his concerns.

"Good," Tyler moved to the door and placed a board across two large iron hooks that were built into it. Then he turned, "how is it out there?"

"It's storming." Gabriel said.

"Yes, but did everything look normal?" Tyler looked agitated, as if something was physically burdening him.

"What do you mean normal? I can't remember what normal looks like." Gabriel shook his head in dismay. "What if I never remember anything ever again?"

"Just take it easy, maybe you just need time." Tyler said reassuringly. "Anyway, what I meant about outside was did it look like metal, was the ground metal, like a chain link fence?"

Gabriel looked up, "what do you mean?"

"This morning when I left to come here, something happened. One second I was walking down a normal, crowded street, and then the next second, I was alone on a path made of metal grating. The sky turned black, and the buildings seemed to change, into masses of burnt cement and steel. The wind began to blow softly, but it was a hot, stinking wind, and it made a sound like metal grinding on metal, it sounded like the screaming of a thousand lost souls. I was fright—" Tyler's words were cut off by a horrible sound, a growling rumble that seemed to come from the crucifix over the main alter.

Suddenly, the gigantic crucifix moved, the joints bent and the mouth turned from a frown of pain into a snarl of hatred, and the figure leapt from the cross and crouched like a wild animal, poised to attack. It was still changing as it hurled itself at Gabriel and Tyler, its mouth opened and an earsplitting howl rose from its throat. The Crown of Thorns seemed to flow back, along the curve of its back, like a mane of razors; its teeth grew in length and turned into barbed spears. When the metamorphosis was complete, the once holy figure stood like a demon from hell, a howl issued forth from the well of spears that was its mouth and it leapt at Gabriel.

Gabriel dodged easily, and something in that motion triggered a dormant memory. He had been a fighter once, maybe even a soldier. By the time he was through reveling in the past though, The Crucifix Demon was on the offensive again. He was pinned on his back, and stared into the mouth of the beast that would surely kill him. Its eyes caught his attention; they appeared more intelligent than a mere beast would posses, it almost seemed to understand that he was afraid, and its eyes filled with glee at that prospect. The Crucifix Demon's claws raked across Gabriel's skin, cutting shallow canals that immediately filled with warm blood.

Gabriel didn't even hear the gunshots; he didn't notice that the creature was off of him until he heard Tyler yell. He flipped onto his stomach, and watched as Tyler stood in defiance of the beast, the gun jerking in his hand as he fired. Every bullet hit its mark, Gabriel counted ten, and then it clicked empty, and still the beast approached. Tyler ejected the empty clip and slammed another in, but instead of shooting at the thing that would surely destroy him, he yelled for Gabriel, "take the gun and get away from here, now. Don't worry about me, I'll hold this bastard, just run!" Gabriel caught the gun easily, and turned to run, but hesitated as the first screams sounded. He turned back, and to his surprise, Tyler and the beast were nowhere to be seen.

"Tyler!" Gabriel called. Only the silence of the cathedral answered him. He tried again, and got the same result. Finally he turned and moved toward the door, just then another memory surfaced, a memory of fire, of death, and blood, a memory that left him feeling chilled, a feeling that followed him into the rain as he exited the church.