"Saul!" He wakes with a sudden start as his sister's voice wakes him from his sleep. Darting around in confusion, Saul watched as the lights on the plane were turned off and the seatbelt sign turned on.
"Mmgh… Sorry, Grace." Rubbing his eyes, Saul sits up in his seat and fastens his seatbelt. Looking out the window, he notices the lights of the city as the plane flew closer to the island. "How long did I sleep?"
"Mmm… 5 hours? We were already close when you fell asleep." Grace explains.
"And how is father?"
"I also had to wake him. Everyone is having a rough flight. It is going to be a drastic time change for us."
Saul let out a yawn, stretching as much as he could in the economy seat next to the aisleway. "I'm already feeling it."
"Saul, I'm hungry." Michael states as he turns around in the seat in front of Saul and frowns at him.
"Michael, sit down properly. We will get some food once we land." Saul sighs in exhaustion as his brother acts younger than his age. "Did you get any sleep, Grace?"
Grace shook her head as she looked out of the window.
"I'm too excited to sleep. I've never been to another country. Let alone an island country."
Saul didn't see any excitement on her face, but her eyes glowed a bit and there was a higher pitch in her voice. It was subtle but he was able to tell that his sister was thrilled to be traveling like this.
Saul had fully woken up by the time the plane landed at the airstrip; the passengers around him standing and shuffling around for their carry-ons as they waited to be let off. Scanning the crowds, Saul counts heads and accounts for all his siblings.
Saul stood patiently as he let all the other passengers around him get off the plane first before following his father at the very end. As soon as he walks out of the plane, he is hit with a gust of humidity that he has never felt before and pushes back the loose strands of hair out of his face. He could already feel the sweat coming from the top of his head as he combed back his thick chocolate hair.
"Wish I could have worn thinner clothing." Saul hears Grace mutter next to him, eyeing the wool turtleneck sweater and the heavy cotton ankle-length skirt she matched it with.
"You just wear too much clothes in general, Grace." Israel voices out before earning a pinch on his cheek.
"It is unladylike to walk around with so much of her skin exposed, especially if she is unmarried." Grace scolds. "You know this well and yet you still call me a prude."
"OW OW!" Israel cries. "Father!"
"That is enough, you two." He simply states in a firm tone, silencing Israel and Grace.
"Father William." A voice calls out to their father and they find a small man waiting at the arrivals gate. "I see you and your family made it to Japan safely. Welcome."
"Father Tadaaki. Thank you for meeting us at the airport." The man bows to the other Father before sidestepping and introducing the rest of them. "This is Saul, my oldest that was able to come. This is Grace, Israel, Michael, and Samson and Rebecca: the twins." They all bow politely as they are all introduced.
"Nice to meet you all. Let me show you to the vehicle." Father Tadaaki pulls the group to the large parking reserves and strolls towards a dark limo with a minimalistic logo of the church's name on the side of it.
"Wow! A limo!" Michael announces at the obvious.
"Michael." Their father gives him a flat look before Tadaaki lets out a little laugh.
"It's alright, Father William. Not many churches own such a luxurious vehicle. We have the pleasure of being in ownership of such a vehicle because of how famous our chaple is."
"It's so fancy!" Samson and Rebecca chime in unison as their eyes sparkled at the vehicle.
"Humble yourselves, would you?" Grace scholds, giving the twins a glare before turning back towards the vehicle. Saul looks back at her from the corner of his eye and finds a small twitch of a smile at the corner of her lips. She definitely was not one to show emotion, but it was a big deal when she does.
Samson and Rebecca weren't able to sit still as the family filled the vehicle. The twins looked and touched every inch of the vehicle as they drove to where they would be staying.
"Well, how fortunate." Father Tadaaki says as he got off the phone.
"Is there something going on at the moment?" Father William asks as he looks over at the man.
"The church just got a request for an exorcism. Should be performed tonight after our arrival. Would you mind joining as an audience?" Tadaaki asks, a line on his lips that barely formed a smile before Father William nods and accepts the proposal and the line opens, revealing yellow and crooked teeth underneath the grin.
"So, your church must get many requests such as those if you asked for my father's help." Saul spoke up, looking towards the Father but not really focusing as he tries to avoid his very showy teeth.
"I believe there is something unholy invading these people. It needs to be put to a stop. This is why I asked for Father William to help us, try to find where this demon is coming from and give the church a bit of a different perspective." Father Tadaaki explains. "Father William is known as a great man back at the mainland, and the church would love to work with a man of such skill."
"We were told that you don't practice vampire executions anymore." Grace states.
Tadaaki shook his head. "It has been many years since the church has last encountered an evil vampire. So the practice died over time. There has been one man in the last decade who hunted them, but he has sadly passed away."
Saul notices the fake saddened expression. Actually, to him it looked to be more dramatized while the Father's eyebrow twitched.
"I highly doubt these demonish encounters have anything to do with vampires, but you can never be sure." The vehicle comes to a halt and the expression on Father Tadaaki's face completely shifts. "Oh, seems that we have arrived. Come. Allow me to show you to where you will be staying."
Father Tadaaki leads the family out of the limo, revealing the back parking lot of the large gothic-style church. Just outside city limits, the church stood dark and ominously in the blue hour of the night, giving Saul some goosebumps as he scans the old fashioned wooden building. It's been a long time since he has last seen something that gave off more grim vibes then a church with an enlightening and pure aura around it.
"Saul," Grace pulls him out of his trace as he stares up at the church, snapping back at his sister when she calls to him, "are you alright?"
Saul could only nod, following the group and keeping his chin pointed away from the building as they walk towards a small two-story cottage.
"It has been a few years since we have last had any guests so it may be a little dusty and outdated, but if there is anything that you need, feel free to ask for it, the church will happily provide it." Father Tadaaki gives them all another smile with his teeth before unlocking the door and turning on the lights to the home.
"Thank you, Father. We will arrange our things and join you in a little bit." Saul's father bows to the priest, watching him leave before scanning the open area of the first story.
"Father, there are 4 bedrooms. How are we going to share?" Michael calls down from the top of the stairs with the twins behind him.
"Grace and Rebecca will be sharing of course. Michael, Isreal, and Samson will share, and you and I will have one to ourselves." Father William states as he shares a glance with Saul before grabbing his bag and heading up the stairs.
Saul enters the room at the end of the hall, finding a single bed parallel from the door to his left facing a wall with a cross hanging in the center of it with a bench and small bookshelf below it. The wall to the right was empty aside for a tall dresser and a wooden clothing bar and shelf next to each other. Across was a large window, facing the wooded surroundings and the rising crescent moon.
Saul closes his eyes for a moment, sending a silent prayer to his brother and mother back on the mainland, hoping for their safety and his mother's safe recovery.
"Saul," he looks back and finds Grace in her habit, "we're going to be heading out soon. Get ready."
"Right," he nods, tossing his bag onto the bed and pulling out his vest from the top of the suitcase.
Saul was the last to meet them at the door, giving his father a nod before proceeding towards the church. Once inside, there seemed to be something heavy sitting in the air of the cathedral, making it hard to breathe for Saul as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He attempted to remind himself that it must have been because of all the recent exorcisms that have been performed here these past few months, but his gut was telling him that it wasn't. Trying to shake off the feeling, he takes in the large stained-glass mural at the front of the church. It was the only thing in the church that didn't seem obsolete. The only light in the church was the rows of candles that lined the inside aisle of the pews and the front of the church. A large cross towered over the pews, standing tall under the stained-glass murals with rose petals scattered all around it. Father Tadaaki and another priest stood in the front discussing something before looking over and waving for them to join them.
"Come. Take a seat. We will begin shortly." Father Tadaaki says enthusiastically, his smile once again cause goosebumps to prickle all over Saul's arms.
The children took a seat in the third row of pews. Saul noticing a girl and an older man and woman on either side of her. She held her head down and looked to be shaken. They spoke Japanese to her, making it impossible for him to understand what they were saying to her, but he could only assume that she was the one that needed this. Father William spoke to the two priests for a moment before Father Tadaaki motions to girl up to the stand. Saul didn't understand what she was saying, but she held herself, crying and talking hysterically. With one hand, she touches her neck, chest, and legs as those the skin in that area was going to hurt her. It didn't look painful but shameful. Then Saul thought: maybe could be having thoughts, this unholy being making her think and having her touch herself in an inappropriate manner.
Father Tadaaki says something to her, making her nod and walk up the platform where a concrete table stood surrounded by candles and crosses. The smell of frankincense became obvious and the Father brought out a censer to hold over the girl as she lies on the table, like a sacrifice.
"So this is where you two have been." Ayato looks back to find Shuu appearing behind them while Laito continues to ogle the girl on the table. "Reiji's been looking for you."
"Let us watch this for a few more minutes. I want to see the end of it." Laito tells his older brother, only taking a quick glance to the side before staring back to the front.
"Are they performing an exorcism?" Shuu asks as he stands at the railing of the balcony, pausing the music and pulling out his earbuds to listen to the priests.
"Laito has been having fun with the girl while she slept. Apparently making religious virgins believe something is making them think horny thoughts has been one of his favorite pastime." Ayato explains, watching the girl as she shakes her head and chanting gibberish like it would make any difference.
Shuu continues to watch silently, taking in the ridiculous scene in front of him. Then, from the corner of his eye, he notices a foreign looking kid turn around in one of the pews and look back at them with a confused expression. He didn't seem to have heard them, but it was as though he felt their presence in the room. Laito brings a finger to his lips, winking at him before the kid turns around and looks towards the front again.
"Now it's getting boring. Guess it's time to head out." Laito stood, stretching his arms and turning his back to the scene of the girl crying at the priest feet and thanking him for saving her.
Ayato nods and follows his brother, disappearing from the church and leaving Shuu on his own. But Shuu kept his eyes at the back of the foreigner's head, trying to get another look at his face before a long minute passed and he felt that it was taking too much of his energy.
Saul takes another look back towards the balcony area, finding it completely empty of anyone and any presence. He shook his head, thinking to himself that it was just the jet lag making him see things, but the image of them made goosebumps ride up his arms.
"Hey, Saul, you aright?" Grace pulls Saul out of another trace, making him look towards her as she stood from the pew.
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Just spacing out. Must be the jet lag." He assures, following the group out and up the aisle to talk to Father Tadaaki.
Saul takes another moment to check the balcony one last time, remembering the three figures that stood there and watched the exorcism happen as though it was a circus.