Chapter 10 - Out of the Darkness and into the Light

Slowly. Melissa came to. Her head hurt, she felt hungover for the first time in decades. She was cold. Melissa looked around. She wasn't dead. She was still in the clock tower. She could feel her entire body aching. She could hear the light wind slowly wafting through the clock tower. She could also hear her own breathing. It was haggard. Just existing was a struggle now. Melissa had been venom for a long time. Now it was gone she felt alone.

She slowly rolled over. There where she had left her, was Jane. Covered head to toe in black, she looked like a statue.

"I've got to get out of here. Before she…," Melissa mumbled.

She pushed as hard as she could on the floor. Barely managing to get up. She limped slowly towards the staircase. Every step an agonising effort. She used to be able to bound this distance in the blink of an eye. Now she was an old struggling corpse of her former self. Before she went down the stairs she contemplated just staying. Accepting her fate as fast as possible to get it over with. Not have to carry on in this ridiculous skin bag.

No! she thought. I'm a survivor, that's what got me this far. Then she began the long, hard, probably dangerous walk down the stairs. In her current state it wasn't as simple as it should have been. She nearly fell twice. The pains in her joints made her question her decision. Maybe it would just be better to die now. The steps were old and worn, unlevel and not designed for a frail old lady.

Eventually Melissa got to the bottom of the stairs. She walked out into the now cavernous church. This was a new look on life than before. Everything took effort. Effort and time. It was a long way anywhere. And she had limited time. She knew she would come for her… Sooner rather than later.

Melissa hobbled across the stone floor, it felt cold on her naked feet. The most modestly sized door in the room was her aim. Knowing she could barely lift her arms, the pews now looked determinedly heavy and well built. Unlike the little toys she used to throw around. She continued hobbling. Eventually getting to the door. She rapped on it as fast as her arms could manage. She could feel the loose skin in the bottom of her upper arms swing as she did. The thought made her spine quiver slightly. Or was it the cold of the empty church?

There was noise from inside.

The door opened slowly. Behind it peered out the priest who had hurried off at Jane's arrival.

"Please help me," Melissa's voice quivered. A mixture of lack of muscles and desperation.

The priest looked her up and down. Then stared at her whilst thinking of what he could do for this woman. She was clearly distressed. But why was she naked?

"Please, after everything I've done for you." Melissa pleaded.

There was a sudden glow of recognition in the priest's eyes. Followed closely by confusion and horror.

"To me," he managed to get out in shock.

He swiftly disappeared. Closing the door.

"Noooooo," Melissa screamed at the top of her voice. Now not that loud. She coughed. And started hitting the door again.

Melissa looked around, there was nothing for it, naked or not she had to get out. She made for the door.

The cool night air swept around all Melissa's bits. It wasn't cold. But it wasn't an evening to have to have no clothes on. She was nearly jogging now. Her body quickly getting used to have to fully support itself unaided. The rough ground and twigs poked into her feet as she ran. She started to pant with difficulty.

The night was clear. A handful of stars could be seen through the city lights. The trees were silent. As Melissa continued the graves around her were getting newer. She had decided to head away from the main entrance. The old church had slowly filled up the grounds around it with bodies. And the years on the graves were giving Melissa an idea of how close to the edge of the grounds she was. She dared not turn around. Melissa needed to make it as difficult as possible for her to find her. Maybe if she got far enough she would be able to put it off for a couple of days.

A particularly rooty tree took her by surprise. She tripped falling onto her side. In her weak state it hurt like hell. She probably bruised instantly. But she didn't have time to dally. She pushed herself to her feet and continued. Her toe and fingernails were now full of dirt. Her side was covered in dirt. She was pretty sure she had twigs and leaves in her hair. More of a state than she was before. There were cuts in her feet, her muscles were aching, full of lactic acid. Her chest had a stabbing pain in her left side, she raised her arm to put pressure on her chest to attempt to stop it. Obviously it didn't do anything.

As she continued running, to the best of her ability, she finally got to the wall at the edge of the church. It backed onto a park. She clambered onto it. It was only about four foot high. But dragging Melissa's weight up onto the wall took almost all her effort. She scrapped her tits and stomach up to to the top and practically fell over to the other side. Great, more dirt in my hair, Melissa thought. Apparently she wasn't as worried. Being off the church ground had calmed her nerves. She stood up and wiped some of the twigs and dirt off her.

Suddenly from behind her, a blood curdling scream. It wasn't her. But it was terrifying. It lasted about 4 seconds before being cut off in an instant. The sudden silence of Melissa's surroundings sounded like the loudest noise on the planet. It was time to get as far away as possible.

The words were not intended to escape her lips. But in the lonely dark, Melissa couldn't help but talk to herself.

"She is coming"