Silent Gulch Chapter 3
Tucker walked around the outside of the hotel. He was determined to get into the building and find Junior. He guessed it was his maternal instinct, though he didn't want to admit that he had them.
He found a rusted side door that staff would have used to get in. He pushed against the door but found it rusted in place. The door was still his best chance to get in, and he didn't want to give up. He noticed the door was slightly ajar, enough so that he would be able to stick an object into it. He looked around for something to use for leverage. He decided on an old lead pipe that was lying nearby. He jammed it quickly into the opening. He then leaned against the pipe, putting all the force he could on it.
The door came open suddenly with a rusty crack, causing the teal soldier to fall to the ground. He fell onto the dirty tile of the hotel's kitchen floor. He got up and dusted himself off, taking the pipe with him. He didn't know why, but he thought he would need it.
Tucker looked around the kitchen but could find nothing of interest. He then walked out into the dining hall from the kitchen entrance. There were no windows—not that they would help with the fog outside—leaving the dining hall in a kind of creepy light. A few of the wall lights were giving off dull light and it seemed odd. No other lights seemed to work, but they did here. The hall was filled with tables that were set as if guests would be coming down for a meal, though it was obvious that they were never coming. The plates, glasses, and cutlery were all dull and covered with dust.
There was a creak of a door opening and it echoed through dining hall. Tucker looked to the main entrance and spotted the small alien opening the door. "Junior, wait." He took a step toward him.
Junior turned to look at Tucker and the soldier stopped. Something seemed wrong but he couldn't place it. Junior then walked through the door and closed it behind him. Tucker ran to the door and tried to pull it open. It wouldn't budge, even when he pulled with all his might. He looked around the hall for any other doors that he could use.
The only option was to go back to the kitchen. He walked to the double doors that led to the kitchen and pushed. He was shocked to find that they wouldn't move, even though he had entered through them.
He heard an odd slithering sound as if something soggy was being dragged. He turned to see a creature crawling toward him. It had no legs, only a sort of fleshy tail connected to its torso. Its skin was a light gray, like stone. Its arms were thin and long, with sharp, hooked claws on its fingers. It had no face on its head, only a mouth that stretched from its forehead to its chin, perpendicular to a normal mouth. The mouth was filled with jagged teeth that were a sickening yellow.
The creature continued to drag itself toward Tucker, staying flat to the ground. It emitted a growl that caused Tucker to cover his ears in pain. The soldier tried to run, but the door still wouldn't budge and the creature had moved between him and the door to the main hall. The monster was close enough that Tucker could see how hideous the thing was and realized that there was no escape.
He turned to the creature and gripped the pipe in fear. He had never been a fighter and he didn't want to become one now. The monster lifted up its torso and then lunged forward to attack Tucker. The frightened private drew the pipe back and swung in desperation.
~Church~
Church wandered down the streets, not knowing or caring where he was going. Eventually he would meet up with his team and they could get the hell out of the town. He didn't like the feeling of the town at all. It reminded him of a scary movie where all of the inhabitants just disappeared and no one knows why. He wanted nothing more than to just leave right then, but he didn't know the way. At one point he thought he had found the way, but instead he found that the street just broke off into a deep foggy pit.
He came up to a large building that at a time like this would be a blessing. Before him loomed an old-looking church, like the ones that could be found in Italy. It seemed a bit odd for such a building to be in a small town like this, but there it was. Considering that the town felt like it was being haunted by the devil himself, a church would be the ideal place for anyone looking for safety to go.
He walked up to the great archway and looked at the dark oak doors. The doors had an odd symbol carved into them that Church didn't recognize. That was a hard thing for Church to admit to himself. He had studied just about every religion because their ideals amused him. This symbol, though, he did not recognize. It might have been from a local religion, though he wasn't sure. The symbols looked like they had been quickly carved with a knife without any care for precision. He guessed it would still be the safest place in the whole town.
He reached to push the door open, but before he could even touch it, the door swung open as if someone had pulled it open. Church stopped for a moment, expecting to see a face smile and greet him. He stepped into the church and found it completely empty. There was no one who could have opened the door. The air was clear and he found it less threatening than the foggy air of the town.
But he was still a bit uneasy in the church. The air stank of something he couldn't place, though it made his stomach churn. There didn't seem to be anything different about this church than from any other church.
He walked down the middle aisle to the front. There were only three stained glass windows at the head of the church while all the others were regular windows. The candles at the front were melted and looked as though they had been used recently. He walked up to the altar and looked at the surface. He was horrified to find it drenched in blood. He stared at it as he moved around the altar to stand facing the pews. He ran a finger though the blood and found that it was still wet, and worse, it was warm. That meant that whatever had been bleeding had been at the altar not that long ago.
He looked around, hoping to find feathers or fur to prove that the blood was animal blood and not human. Considering the atmosphere outside, he wouldn't have been surprised it if was human blood. He could find no proof and decided to believe that it was animal blood to settle his nerves. He noticed a knife to one side and picked it up carefully. It was dripping with blood and the red liquid accented the patterns etched into the blade. He stared at the blade for a good bit of time, frozen with the idea that it had been used to spill the blood on the altar. Then, without cleaning the blade, he slipped it into his belt, turning his attention back to the altar. For some reason the blade felt heavy at his side as he moved around the altar. There were no symbols or indication of what the blood had been spilled over or if it had been part of a ritual.
He moved around the altar and sat down in one of the pews. He leaned forward, allowing himself a moment to think about what was happening. He had found an odd church that some sort of ritual had recently been performed in, all while in an odd town and split from his team. Things couldn't get much worse, though knowing his luck, they would.
He spotted a book in a slot on the pew before him. He lifted it out suspecting that it was their bible and could give him hints as to what was going on. He opened it up to the first page. The title was not written in English but when he turned to the first page of text it was legible.
He had just started reading when a voice broke the silence nearly scaring him to death. "Are you interested in the path to paradise?"
~Caboose~
Caboose slammed his foot down on the ground. He then waved his right arm around and let out a moan. The sound, though, was muffled by the trashcan on his head. He was trying to look menacing as he walked down the hall stomping his foot with each step. The butter knife in his right hand was not half as scary as he thought it was, although he didn't care. He was trying to make a new friend, though he was failing. He bumped into a wall and then fell to the ground.
Sister walked up behind the blue soldier. "Caboose, is that you?"
Caboose looked around, trying to find the voice. It was hard to hear, but he refused to take the trashcan off his head. "Is that you, Mr. Pointy Head?"
"No, it's me, Sister," the yellow soldier replied with a childish laugh. "Why do you have a trashcan on your head and a butter knife?" She asked.
"I am looking for my second best friend, Mr. Pointy Head. I think he knows where Church is," Caboose replied, standing up.
"Where did you get that butter knife?" she asked, knowing that it was no mystery as to where he got the trashcan.
"I got it from that place where they serve food." Caboose started to walk down the hall again. He continued to thud his feet as he walked down the hall.
Sister decided that she would follow him. She might get to meet this pointy headed guy.