Sorry, everyone. I lied. Last chapter after this one. I just felt like splitting this up.

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-Chapter 13-

-Confessional-

The chapel was on the farthest side of Hope House. It was a large, square-shaped room with ten wooden pews on each side of the room. The pews were placed directly in the middle of the room, with pillars and archways standing to at the opposite ends of the wooden seats. The front of the chapel was slightly raised and home to a large a wooden altar covered with candles and a thick black book. Behind the altar was a majestic wooden sculpture of gothic design and a large stained glassed window displaying the same woman found in the window of the Assembly Hall. The wall space was shared by several paintings depicting moments in the existence of God, such as man and woman offering up the serpent and reeds, along with several wooden booths that acted as confessionals. It was interesting to Jacob that this was the one room not befouled the same way the rest of the building was. Instead of dirty walls and floors, everything was rather clean.

Jacob found himself in one of the confessionals with nothing to do but wait. He was thrown into the confined space by Pyramid Head and heard the sound of a latch being put into place. Jacob laughed bitterly at the thought of forced confessionals. He also wondered if Jessica had to come here. The confessional was plain and did not contain any type of decoration. He sat on a red padded seat and next to his feet sat a smaller padded cushion to be used when the confessor had to kneel and pray. Typically, confessors should have prayed the second they got into the booth, but Jacob would not give Alexander the satisfaction of doing so. He continued to wait in silence, unable to understand what, if anything, was going on outside the booth. Suddenly, the sound of wood sliding filled the confession booth and Jacob saw a hidden panel open up just to the left of him, revealing a patterned screen. Jacob could see the profile of an older man, who he figured to be Alexander.

"Well, here we are, my son," Alexander said, his voice gentle and voice. "What do you wish to confess?"

"I should be asking you that question, Alexander."

The man laughed softly. "Yes, I guess that's fair. You've never taken what we've given you seriously. I doubt you don't even know the process of confession."

"Guess I fell asleep during that lesson." Jacob couldn't see his face, but with the sudden silence, he assumed Alexander wasn't too pleased.

"All right, Jacob. I'll be your confessor. It won't matter much, but I will answer you honestly."

Jacob leaned forward, gripping both of his hands. He tried to formulate all the questions swirling around his brain.

"Okay. First of all, where are we?"

"We are in Hope House, my son."

"But this is nothing like Hope House. This place reeks of evil. The walls...I've never seen such horrifying combinations of blood and rust. And the students! Why do they look like that!"

"Ah, Jacob. What you see is what I and all the Sisters and Fathers see every waking moment. This is how ugly and terrible the real world is to us. The real world festers with evil by the weaknesses of man."

"Why do you change Hope House like this?"

"That is a rare power only given to a small few. I was graced with the ability with the intent of showing students what the real world is like in order for bend them to God's grace."

"You're forcing the orphans to accept your religion?"

"Of course, my son. It's the only way we can speed up the promise of Paradise. Once many souls understand what reality is, they will express honest and fervent devotion to God. This will show her how strong our need for Paradise is."

"Don't you see anything remotely wrong with that? You're taking innocent children away and forcing them to your will."

"Why should it be wrong? Our goal is to obtain Paradise, a place where all pain, sadness, death, and weakness do not exist. We don't worry about any outside influences impeding our progress. One of the benefits of running a religious orphanage is that these kids have no familial ties. With a few exceptions, the children are brought here and then forgotten."

"What are the exceptions?" Jacob asked, shocked at Alexander's admission.

"Some of the children here, such as Will, have parents who are high members within our Order. They only wish to have their kids brought up with religious influence and to accept God at the right time. You saw Will's time, remember Jacob? At Rosewater? You also saw Jessica's time as well."

"Why was allowed to see that? Why did I pass out and awaken in this alternate reality?"

"Remember, Jacob. This IS reality. But getting to your question, we aren't really sure. It's somewhat an anomaly, really. Needless to say, I was rather surprised to see you at Rosewater. Yes, Jacob I did see you. Your curiosity got the better of you and you made yourself easy to spot. Normally, most children here have no idea what is going on and carry on with their lives. They only see things as we do when we bring them to the faith. Why were you taken to this place when Will and Jessica were taken? Why do your nightmares feature this place? My guess is that it has something to do with your indifference to our ways and instruction. I'm sorry, but your past experiences are unknown even to me, so I cannot truthfully answer that question."

Jacob sank into his seat, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the truths Alexander shared with him. He couldn't believe this place was just a storehouse for souls. That the Fathers and Sisters just bred the students into religious slaves. He couldn't believe that his man, a man he once looked up to was not only in on this evil plan, but was in charge of it.

"Why did you take Jessica?" Jacob said softly.

"It was her time. I apologize, that's a false answer, my son. The truth is that we had to speed up her ascension ahead of time."

"Why?"

"Well, it was because of you?"

"Me? What did I do?"

Alexander let out a long, aggravated sigh. "It was because you found out about that damn seal. The Sister was right to bring you to me. That is not meant for your eyes. I specifically told you not to go around telling anyone about it. What was the first thing you did? You told Jessica. That knowledge should have left your mind the minute you left my office. Needless to say I was very, very disappointed in you. I felt, that since you didn't bother with keeping things to yourself, we couldn't have another student learning of the seal and start asking questions. So, she was dealt with. Largely in part because of your actions.

"It struck me odd that you would let her know, considering how much you cared for her, how much you wanted to protect her. But you put her in danger, Jacob. You valiantly protected her from the Sister creature, you promised you would always protect her. You loved her, Jacob, I could always tell from the interactions between you and her. But then you fouled up by feeding her dangerous knowledge. She had to be taken care of and now she belongs to us. All because of you."

Jacob felt nothing short of terrible. He had doomed Jessica so long ago. He always wanted to look after her, but Alexander was right. It was his fault he lost her in such a terrible way. Jessica, he said to himself, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. When he pulled himself away from his thoughts, he had one final question to ask.

"What is with the seal? Why do you fear it?"

"I fear nothing, my son. My faith in God keeps me safe from any harm. As long as I put faith in Her, I am not afraid of anything. As for the seal, that is not for you to know. And with that, this Confession is over. It is your time Jacob. Prepare yourself and get ready to accept the glorious faith."