David had always loved his whiskey in the evening. Everyday at six, he would settle down on his favorite couch, reach for his Jameson Irish, pour an healthy amount of it in a fist sized glass and lean back to savour the burning pleasure down his throat.
Being a priest was not as easy as most would think. He always said that it was exhausting for him, even after all these years, to guide people toward the Light of God. Most of them did not even deserve his attention that he was comitted to give. Subjects came every day in handful, asking for forgiveness for their sins.
And do it all over again the following week, thinking it was okay as long as they felt sorry for their unholy actions.
He didn't think so.
He cringed as he remembered the past few days. A mother of four came to his confessional, crying all the tears her body had been able to produce, over the sin of her youngest. She had cried and cried, for God to pardon his deviance and attraction to his own gender. David had listened with attention, but himself could barely hold onto his own collected mask. She had asked for advice, and he actually had to take a minute to answer carefully. A priest was to hate no one, and he could not let his own emotions take over.
He had shown her the way, told her about special homes for the underserving. He told her to pray for her son.
But in reality, they were nothing but fools.
Only his touch could cure the disease the Devil had cursed upon this world. Only his godly words had the power to cure the soul. He truly believed men and women were the only attraction that existed, an idea that his father and grand father had screwed into his skull long before he could pray for himself.
But they had been foolish in their devotion, for he alone had been promised the grace of God. He was given a power, a power to change what cannot be.
His little rabbit had been a challenge for him. She had come into his life, and she was nothing but a tiny little thing that loved to drive her parents crazy.
He truly had loved the girl. She was the mirror of his brother. Long, auburn hair and eyes the color of leaves in the dead of summer. Her eyes had drove him up the wall, had awoken a gut wrenching desire that wasn't supposed to be.
He had prayed for hos Savior to save him from those feelings. Oh, had he prayed. He had spent so much time on his knees, they had started to bleed. He had prayed so much, he did not sleep for three days.
And the answer had come to him in the shape of a figureless silhouette in his dreams. God had talked to him, had showed him the way.
He knew what he had to do. His Savior had whispered in his ear, like a mother would her helpless child. David had thanked him for his blessing. He had faith in his wisdom.
Things always happened for a reason.
So when he heard the news about the car accident that has taken both his brother and his wife's lives, he immediatly prayed over the soul of his brother, pleading for God to accept him into his home despite his corrupted child. He could not care less about the wife, for she was a wrench in his eyes. A sarcastic, stubborn, vulgar whore burning in the flames of Hell for all of eternity.
It has barely been a few days when the idea of taking the kid had beem given to him by a social worker. David was a priest and well off. Money was no problem for him, and he was an important member of society. For them, it was only logical that he would be able to tend to his niece.
He had hesitated at first, for fear of loosing control of his animalistic urges. But God's words were still so vivid in his memory, like he had been standing next to him, whispering soothing words in his ear.
He had accepted the child in his home.
She was barely 12, so small and skinny. So fragile, he sensed he could snap her like a twig if he wanted to. Her mouth was luscious, almost shinning. He would follow the curve of her mouth when she talked or licked her lips. Sometime, when she was nervous, she would bite down on her lip and a lightning of arousal would irridiate a burning pain in his gut down to his pelvis,
But he had faith in his Savior. He had to save her from the unholy deviance. And only his touch was able to do so.
The girl was nothing but a shadow of her former self. She had been easy to manipulate. Her mind had been weakened by the horrible loss of the people she loved the most. She was still so naive, to hold onto the only member of her family left.
Yes, it had been to easy to lure her in. She was like a little rabbit, hobbling around in supposed freedom, but always under the watchful eyes of the sly fox.
At first, it was small touches, to let her acclimate to him. She had bore him weird glances, but had shrugged it off in a child like innocence.
His fingers would burst into flame everytime it made contact with her smooth skin. He first thought it was some kind of punishment. But he had discovered he didn't dislike the effect she had on him. She was like a prized gif, offered to him on a silver plate. And he did loved the gif.
The first night he took her as his, the rabbit has turned into jaguar, clawing at him with a fury only the Devil could conjure. It was good, he had told himself with glee. It was the Devil trying to resist his grasp. It only fueled his faith and desires further.
He loved her and he wanted her to be free of this curse that has been placed upon her.
It took much, much patience for him to bless her of his knowledge and holiness.
He had taken her entirely, prayed for The Demon to leave the poor child alone. To free her of this anomaly. But it didn't work.
Of course, the child had played blabbermouth, telling to whoever wanted to hear what David The Priest had done to her.
David laughed softly against his glass. Of course, no one had believed her, for he was The Savior's Hand. He had the healing touch, and he was determined to free her, no matter how many time he had to hit her for this.
It had taken actually a few months to tame the beast. And every night, he continued to pray for her soul to be delivered to Him, supplied to let her join Heaven with her father.
But his patience has thinnied.
He licked his lips to catch one rebel drop from his drink, reminded of her eyes full of fear and pain when he had slashed her eyebrow open.
It hadn't been for the Lord. He had done it of his own conscent, for him and his lust. He had wanted to impose his mark, a constant reminder of his presence.
He had been actually surprised when one morning, he didn't find her in her room.
The windows had been left open, red drapes softly dancing in a breeze.
Of course, he had called the police. Her friends. Checked the neighborhood with a fury that he did not experienced often, and yet, he had to stay put. Control that beast about to explode in his body. He needed to find her. It was his mission to make her pure. It was what God wanted.
Oh, he was going to find her alright. And she was going to pay.
-
This was a bad idea.
September had always been her least favorite month. The sky was gray, the air was cold and people were grumpy. It meant summer was over and school had started again, giving most parents a a well deserved breaks.
But dislike had turned into hate the day her parents died, the 26th of September.
She recalled the crisp mornings and the dry leaves, the excitation of the upcoming horror holiday. The bad puns of her dad and the cooking of her mom.
September was nothing but a bad month and as she made her way toward a particular shed, she felt very lonely.
Her coat had been stolen by a woman who needed it as much as she did. She had left it on a chair at the shelter and when she had come back from the bathroom, the thief was fleeing throught the front door with a very familiar green piece of fabric in her arms. Ellie had considered running after her and giving her piece of her mind, but she was so tired and hungry she didn't think she had the strenght to run.
As she neared the fences of Joel's propriety, she noticed something, or rather she noticed the lack of something. Where had proudly stood big planks of wood, there was now nothing but beaten grass, allowing anyone and anything on the land.
She wanted to be confused, but she was too tired and cold to even think. The air was chilly and draft of wind crept throught her new red flannel and shirt. Her hands were tucked in the pockets of her jeans to keep a little bit of warmth, but there was next to nothing to protect the rest of her shivering body.
The house was the same as last time she had seen it, unmoving and seemingly empty, except for the lone light shinning throught the second floor's window. Ellie furrowed her brow. It was so late, what was he doing up ?Deciding that she didn't care, she made her way toward the old shed. She nervously pushed open the door and was met with an unusual cozy temperature. She flicked open the light and gawked at the sight before her.
The old matress she had previously been sleeping in had been replaced by another one, bigger and compfier, begging for her to jump on it. A medium sized white portable heater had been installed on the floor, illuminating the place with a warm orange glow. Snacks and bottle of water were scattered on the floor, a bit dusty. Ellie wondered just how long it had been there.
"Wow. He really wasn't kidding."
She let go of her bag and kneeled in front of the radiator, skin burning from the sudden switch from cold to hot. Taking more time to take a look around, she noticed a bundle of clean blanckets folded on one of the unused workbench. She worked her way to it and carefully touched the very soft fabric before taking a good whiff out of it. It smelled like soap and lavender. It smelled like home.
Ellie removed her shoes and sat silently on the matress, bouncing carefully as she did so. She blinked and gave it another rebound and before she knew it, she was jumping on it like a kid, hair bobbing with every jump.
"Seems like someone is enjoying herself."
The voice almost made her jump out of the matress in catastrophe. She stopped her movememt, looking at the new apparition like a deer caught in headlights.
"I didn't, I wasn't-"
Joel gave an hearthy laught and eased her worries. He was leaning against the door frame she had left slightly ajar, his dark kaki shir tucked in his faded jeans.
"It's okay, kid."
There was a moment of silence, only broke by the comforting singing of faraway crickets. The teenager cleared her throat and gestured toward the shed.
"What's all this ?"
"Oh, uh, well I've been kinda hoping you'd come around, so uh, I wanted to make it comfortable for you."He explained, a bit uncomfortable.
She looked right at him with suspicious eyes.
"Why?"
The man strocked his beard with a sigh.
"I get that you don't want me around. It's okay. But it'd be nice to have somewhere warm to sleep in at night, wouldn't it ? Well I uh... I say at night but you can stay here whenever. I don't mind. I can even bring a tv, or books-"
"D'you have any clothes?" She asked precipitaly,
His eyebrows shot upward.
"Clothes?" He repeated.
"Yeah, clothes. I mean, you probably don't, since you're, like, a grown ass man, but I still wanted to ask."
He shifted a bit and looked at his feet, seemingly hesitating on something.
"Wait here." He ordered after a few seconds of silence.
He came back a few minutes later with a basket in his hands. Ellie was undoing her hair for comfort, long locks of auburn blanketed her shoulders and arms. Joel looked at her for a moment then handed her the basket.
Ellie dug throught it and took out a few pieces of clothes, going from hoodies and yoga pants to flannels and band t shirt. Most of it was a bit small but it seemed to fit. She frowned at him.
"Are those the clothes of the girl you kidnapped and killed?" She half joked with anxiety.
Joel snickered quietly, head turning to the side in disbelief.
"Again with that. I ain't not some psycho killer."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Killers don't tuck their shirt into their pants."
He looked down at himself in confusion.
"So mind telling me why you have girls' clothes of my size?" Ellie questioned, eyeing on a pink shirt with a judgemental glare.
"They were my daughter's."
His voice had been low and raw. She darted her eyes to him, seeing as he avoided her big round eyes and baby like face.
"Did she left ?"
"She, uh, died a few years back. There, uh, was a shooting in the street back in Texas and she had caught a lost... bullet."
She nodded slowly, realization dawning on her at that moment. It may not be that, but maybe he wanted to help her because he lost his own daughter. That's make sense.
His eyes weren't wet, but they had glazed over as he got lost in his own painful memories. They both went quiet for a minute and Ellie nodded again.
"Okay." She said, voice soft. "Thanks for the clothes, Joel."
"Anytime kiddo. Have yourself a good night now. I'm in the house if you need anything."
He was gone before she could reply. Ellie changed into a pair of yoga pants a simple t shirt and laid back on the mattress, her feet burning under the glow of the radiator.
It has been one hell of a week. She still wasn't sure it happened. It all went so fast, she felt elated and scared.
After her date with Dina and Jesse, they had asked for her phone number. Of course, she didn't have a phone. Truth to be told, at that moment, she had had half a mind to just tell them the truth and run away. But instead, she had opened her stupid mouth and told them she wasn't allowed to have a phone, dad's rule. Ellie had seen just how confused they had been at that statement. Jesse even cringed, hand clutching tightly at his phone. Then Dina had asked how they were going to contact her, because for reasons she couldn't understand, they had liked her company.
There was still time to turn back and leave with dignity.
But she obviously didn't, telling them she had very strict computer time. She had given them a timelaps to join her on her email every day. Jesse had seemed a bit put off but Dina has liked how fucking mysterious she was. Ellie had been sweating bullets all week, spending all her time working from place to place to be able to pay for the computer time and the hundred hang outs the black haired girl had wanted to do. She worked for the pizzeria and cleaned the floor. She had sung a few songs in the subway. She begged in the rich part of the town, which actually made her earn a few dollars. She had also helped Miss Hollers and had helped an older man to cross the street and he had given her a dollars.
She spent all of it on that computer thing and a bit on cheap cereal bar. Her legs were nothinf but stick and every bone was pocking out of her skin.
When Jesse had worried about her well being, she had told them she was often too busy to eat, or she'd forgot. All throught her lies, Dina had looked at her with a indecipherable look on her feature, but hadn't pushed it.
Ellie knew she sucked at lying, so she needed to back up her stories, hence why she had pleaded Joel for some clothes. At least if she was able to show up with more than two sets of clofhes, that'd be great.
Looking around the sed, Ellie found herself imagining it as her own room. She could scavenge for comics and clothes and stuff withour overstuffing her bag.
Her eyes grew heavy and she dozed off, gently rocked by the sound of the cold september wind reverbating on the shed's facade.
-
"Would you mind helping us a bit here, Ellie?"
Ellie looked up from the new diary she had been writting in, eyes round with puzzlement.
Jesse, Dina and herself were settled in a small Cafe situated downtown. The shop was buzzing with activity but it didn't seem to bother the three teenagers.
"Uh?" She asked dumbly.
"I swear El, your head's always up in space." Dina rolled her eyes.
"I love space."
"I know you do dork." She teased with a long smile. Mind helping up with our homework? There's something Jesse and I don't understand. And since you're a nerd..."
Ellie's whole body froze in panic at the plead. Her eyes went wide and her heart skipped a beat. There was no way she was able to help them in any way she sucked at school and had been out of it for a long time now. She mentally cursed herself for that dumb school lie she told them. Should have chosen any other school and just say she sucked at school. Which was true, so that'd be easy to cover up.
But no, she had to say she was from some snobbish school for the genius or whatever. Fucking, dumb Ellie.
"O-okay." She stammered with apprehention, wondering what the fuck she was doing.
Dina went to sit next to her, so close in fact, she was able to smell the pleasing fruity scent of her shampoo, which made her breath hitch.
Body war, irridiated from her like a human blanket.
"Soooo... there, it's the one."
Ellie looked down and was immediatly confused by the mathematical equation written on the paper. She didn't know an equation could be so fucking long it should be illegal. She shifted her eyes from the book to look at the room, asking every God for a way out.
She was just about to ask for a bathroom break first when Jesse slapped his large hand against the table, almost making the redhead jump out of her skin.
"I found it,D! Bring your ass over here!"
I wave of relief washed over Ellie when the girl smiled at his boyfriend and took her seat back. Ellie's heart returned to normal and for a moment, Ellie had feared to go full blown panic attack on them. It was something she had managed to avoid until now and she intended on keeping it that way.
"Ohhh yeah, makes sense now. Jesse, i love you babe. Saved me me from a fucking headache."
Ellie watched as the two kissed languidly, tongues pressed against each other's in an obvious fight for dominance. Ellke adverted her eyes at the display, cheeks red and heart tender.
"Geez, get a room."
Dina actually smiled against the boy's lips and winked at her.
"Now now Red, don't be jealous. There's enough of me for everyone."
"You wish."
"Are there any pretty girl at this school of yours ?" Jesse chimed i, taking a small bite of his blueberry muffin.
Ellie tried to work her memories. After the stupid lie she told them about being a student at Doswell High School, she had spent a great deal of her time in front of it, taking note of everything she was noticing: the color of the uniform and its divergence, the timetable of classes, the overall apparence of the building. She had even dared to walk upon the well cut grass of the courtyard, gawking at a school both her parents would have refused to pay.
And of course, she had observed just how gorgeous boys and girls were at this high school. Fuck, half of them looked like Goddesses and Greek Gods.
"They are." She said simply, sipping at the only thing she could afford:water.
"Have you met any yet?" Dina questioned, a badgering smile stretched on her beautiful lips.
"Guuuuuuyss..." she groaned with a roll of her eyes. " I am not talking about it with you."
She just wanted to avoid any conversation about this school. The less she talked about it, the better.
"How do you even pay for it ? What does your father do ?" Her male friend inquired, pen tapping on his homework paper. " You don't talk much about him."
Because it hurts, she thought.
"Well he was- I mean, he is a firefighter."
"Ohhh, interesting, do you think this is what you want to do later?"
Ellie heard Dina's question, but it took her a moment to answer, actually pondering the question in her head.
"I... don't think so? I see him as some kind of hero, but... I don't know, it doesnt appeal to me."
"Then what do you want to do ?" Dina pressed on, hands in Jesse's, rubbing it softly with her thumb.
"I don't know yet." Try not to die. " And you?" She asked to avoid talking about her.
She shrugged. "Maybe work in a clinic ? But I also love to, like, repair things. My uncle used to scoot around town for scraps to rebuild or repair. Just because he loved having something to do with his hands. He was also a mechanic."
Ellie nodded, "What about you Jesse?"
"Dunno. Probably cop or something."
"You, cop? No way, you're way too laid back." She snorted with a lopsided grin.
The corner of his mouth shot upward.
"You'd be surprised."
"Jesse's actually a real worrywart." The mexican girl explained, closing her book and stuffing it in her duffel bag. "If I don't answer his calls he thinks I'm dead."
"The streets are dangerous." He nudged her in the ribs. "There's gangs and pervs. Heard the Seraphites beat the hell out of a kid the other day."
"Now, where'd'you get that?" Dina didn't seem to believe him.
He shrugged.
"Heard about it by Astrid at school. Her cousin knows someone who's in that gang and news spreaded.
Ellie and Dina both made a face.
"That's a fucking sick thing to do. Did the police get involved?" Ellie asked.
"Weĺl, yes, a bit. But the police here doesn't want to cross the
Seraphites. Between you and me? The Seraphites rules more this town than the damn police Like they're some kind of mafia. There's a lot of bribery going around for the cop to look the other side, you know ? And anyway, the kid's homeless. Cops have better things to do."
Dina gave him a disgusted shake of her head, black curls bouncing in the motion.
"I hate this town. So fucking sick. It's a kid."
" I know, D. There's too much people without a home, these days."
The conversation went on but Ellie wasn't listening anymore, her concerns immediatly drifting to Abby and Lev. She knew they had had close calls with the Seraphites in the past and it made her kind of worried. What if it was Lev?
She started to gather her things.
"Where are you going?" Jesse asked as he watched her pack her things.
"I-I need to go. I have, uh, homework and a paper due for tomorrow. See you guys tomorrow, okay? I'll be waiting outside your school, same time."
"O-oka-" Dina was cut off.
"See you guys later!"
She took off, trying to forget about the tighening in her chest.
She had a bad feeling about this.