Chapter Three: Zoot's Will

Xandar, Jane and Slade were stunned by what was before them. It looked like some form of a cult, but for what they had no idea. Xandar ducked back down behind the bushes and pulled Jane and Slade with him.

"I think we should get back to the inn and get out of here." He said.

"You go if you want; I want to see what this is about." Slade stated

"So do I." Jane agreed.

"Fine, but at the first sign of trouble we're leaving." Xandar said sounding annoyed.

All three of them peered over the bushes again and watched the sight in front of them. The chanting had stopped and the mass of people were all standing stock still, staring at the man in white waiting for him to speak.

"Last night an unbeliever crept into my room while I was sleeping and tried to kill me with this."

The man held up a dagger, and the crowd gathered below him gasped.

"Yes, they wanted to send me to the next world, so I could be with Zoot. But Zoot, benevolent as he is, came to me in a dream and woke me in time. He said that it wasn't my time to join him, as my work here is unfinished, but that the assassin could join him in the next world so their sins can be forgiven!"

The crowd roared there approval at this and started chanting again.

"ZOOT! ZOOT! ZOOT!"

"I don't like where this is going." Xandar whispered. "We should go now, while they're…"

Xandar stopped in mid sentence as a loud scream pierced the air. He looked to the top of the church's tower and saw a cloaked blue figure holding a struggling girl. He turned back to the white robed man, dreading what he was going to say next.

"She may not know it but her brief moment of madness has granted her an eternity of bliss in the next world with Zoot."

"NO, PLEASE DON'T. I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" The girl screamed.

"Again, Zoot shows his omnipotence. He told me in my dream that the girl would ask to be spared, and that the decision should rest with the Supreme Mother. So, what say you, Supreme Mother?"

The robed man turned to face the women next to him, so did the entire crowd.

"I say that she should be granted the pleasure of joining Zoot in the next world. How else will her soul be saved?" She said, with a deranged smile.

The crowd let out a loud cheer and again chanting broke out. "ZOOT! ZOOT! ZOOT!"

Xandar felt someone move next to him, so he turned to see who it was and saw Jane standing up. He flung out and arm and pulled her back behind the bush. She hit the ground with a force harder then his pull, and he looked across and saw the Slade had pulled her back too.

"Jane, what were you doing?" Xandar asked.

"I was trying to save her. They're going to kill her!" Jane said sounding hysterical. "Why don't you two do something?"

"We can't do anything, Jane." Xandar replied.

"Yes you can, you can go and help her. Or are you both cowards?"

Xandar was about to retort, but for the second time that day a loud scream filled the air, and a dull thud followed shortly after. Xandar knew there was nothing they could do for that girl now. Jane burst into tears. Xandar put his arms around her and hugged her.

"Keep her quiet." Slade whispered. His face was very pale. "You don't want them to hear us do you?"

Xandar glared over at Slade and then turned his attention back to Jane; he patted her gently on the back.

"There's nothing we could have done for her, don't blame yourself." He said softly.

"We…could…have…helped." Jane said between sobs.

"If we'd have done anything the same thing would have happened to us." Xandar explained.

Jane cried into his shoulder. Xandar looked over at, Slade perplexed at what he should do but, Slade just shrugged his shoulders. So instead, Xandar looked over the bushes once again and saw that the crowd of robed figures were heading back into the church.

"Come on, Jane. We're going back to the inn to get our things, and then we're getting out of here." Xandar said.

Jane just nodded her head, tears still streaming down her face. They both turned round and started crawling away from the bush. After a few meters Xandar noticed that there were still only two of them, so he turned back around to face the bush. Slade was still crouched there watching the last of the robed figures entering the church.

"Come on, Slade we don't want to push our luck!" Xandar whispered.

"I'm staying." Slade said.

"What!" Xandar exclaimed.

"I'm going in there." Slade said pointing at the church.

"Are you stupid? Or have you just got a death wish? If you go in there you're going to end up like that girl."

"There's just something that I've got to do."

"Fine, but you're going on your own. We're getting out of here." Xandar said sounding frustrated.

Xandar watched as Slade crawled round the bushes and headed for the church, and then he turned round and headed back to the inn with Jane. As they headed back Xandar's head was so filled with thoughts that it started to ache. Who were those people? Why had they killed that girl? Who was Zoot? What did Slade want to find out so much that he would risk his life for it? All these questions bounced around his head so much that he didn't notice when they reached the inn.

"We're here." Jane said in a dead voice.

"Huh" Xandar said snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, right. Let's get inside."

As they entered the inn, Xandar noticed that, Jane looked a little disorientated. He figured it was because of what they had just been through. He put both hands on her shoulders, guided her over to a chair and placed her on it.

"You wait here." He said gently "I'll go find out what room our things are in, then I can get them and we can leave."

Jane didn't say anything she just stared blankly across the room. Xandar walked over to the bar and got the bartenders attention.

"Which room did you put our things in?" He asked.

"Number two." The bartender replied gruffly "Here's the key." And he shoved a room key into Xandar's hand.

Xandar headed up the stairs looking for room number two. It was the door to his right as he got upstairs. He but the key into the lock and it gave a click as he unlocked it. The door creaked slightly as he pushed it open. He saw his and Jane's rucksacks on the bed. He picked them both up, hoping that the next place they stopped in would be empty, as Jane looked like she needed some time to recover from this ordeal. He went back through the door and was about to close it when, for the third time that day, he heard a loud scream, from downstairs.