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Somewhere on this campus, a guy was murdered.Allegedlyby my brother.
I’m not here for a party or a certificate. I’m here to find the truth.
Sucking in a deep breath, I look around the room. Earlier, I was so focused on who was on this floor that I failed to notice there’s an upper level. And the only reason I do is because of the masked figure who disappears from my view just as I glance up.
A masked figure?
Curiosity gets the better of me. With everyone seeming to know who I am and yet doing their best to ignore me, I’m able to cross the room to a closed door in the shadowed corner. Glancing around to make sure no one is looking; I try the handle. Surprisingly, it turns and opens.
Something tells me that despite this, I shouldn’t go through the door, because this is a church, and back there is where the pastor and all the church things are. But if I can’t step through this door, what other doors will I stop myself from crossing the threshold of in the future?
Since no one is paying me any attention, I step through and close the door behind me.
The church is old. Behind this door, the stone corridor suddenly feels like the two-hundred and fifty-something-year-old building it is. Although there are electric lightbulbs suspended at regular intervals along the ceiling, the light is dim.
There’s only a short walk before an archway leads to a spiral staircase. Up would take me to the balcony I saw the masked man on, but the stairway also curves down.
As I’m about to head up, a sound catches my attention, making me pause. It’s a moan, and I can’t work out if its owner is male or female, but if someone is hurt, I can’t just leave them.
Changing my mind, I go down. It’s only one flight of stairs and then I’m in another stone corridor. There are no windows down here, and the lights are even dimmer. I can no longer hear the party on the floor above, but now I can smell the faintest scent of burning, like a candle that’s been snuffed out.
I hurry along the corridor to the first door. There’s a security panel on the wall beside it with glowing digits that feel out of place in this ancient building. As I’m staring at the small display, I realize it’s still flashing.
Placing my hand on the door, just above the handle, I rest my shoulder against it and then shove, using my body weight. The door clicks open, and I stumble inside, acting like I’m drunk, just in case there’s someone in here.
The room is empty.
It’s like I’ve stepped from the past into the future. The room isn’t large. Maybe only three meters deep and four meters long. Across the back wall are two rows of four computer monitors. The four at each end are displaying the inside of the church and the party that’s taking place upstairs. The quality of them is incredible. I can see faces clearly and everything is in color.
“Why does a church need this?” I mutter to myself as I step forward, peering at one of the end screens. The display has been separated into four, giving a clear view of the area around the pop-up bar.
The party seems to be in full swing. It’s only just passed midnight, but I suspect this is something that will go on for most of the night. Stepping to the side, I turn my attention to the four central screens. These are different. Unlike the others, these are in night mode. However, they all seem to be focused on the same room.
I’m not sure what or where the room is. All the other cameras are in the main room of the church, so my best guess is that these are also somewhere in the church—or under it. There are no windows in that room either.
The room is large and rounded. It looks like something out of a horror movie. There are recesses running around the top of the room, and they look big enough to fit a single person inside. There are five or six steps leading up to them, big and made of stone, like the rest of the church. And in the center of the room stands a large stone altar.
Or at least, I think it’s an altar. It’s square, maybe about three or four feet high, but the size of a double bed. Two people could easily lie down on that.
As I’m staring at it, trying to decide if I’ve had too much to drink since my mind is drifting towards sacrifices being performed on that stone, there’s movement on one of the screens.
Through a large doorway, several hooded figures walk in, each carrying a large lit black candle. In almost perfect symmetry, they walk towards the steps of one of the alcoves and use their candles to light the tall candelabras on either side.
The room lights up in a flickering warm glow, then the screens switch from the black and green hued night mode to color.
Each figure is dressed in black with hoods so deep, I can’t see the faces of the few facing a camera. In a silent synchronized movement, they all walk up the steps into an alcove, turning back to face the altar.
“What in the hell is this?” I mutter. This feels like a movie, and I’m half convinced that someone has pressed play on something to mess with me.
And then four more figures walk in. While they’re all wearing robes, their hoods are down. One of them is the girl from the elevator earlier today… what was her name…? Gabrielle?
Her blonde hair is free of the ponytail, hanging in soft curls down her back. The other girl is brunette with a shoulder-length bob. She’s just as pretty as Gabrielle is. The other two people are guys. One has cropped sandy brown hair, and the other has almost eerie pale skin. Of the four, he’s the one with a scowl on his face while the others look… nervous.
The four round the altar in a single file before they ascend to the top of it. There’s no sound in my room, but something must have happened in theirs because all four turn and are looking at one of the figures in the shadowed alcoves. At the same time, all of the hooded figures step forward and pull back their hoods.
I can almost make out if they’re male or female, but every one of them is wearing a mask—like one I’d expect to see at Mardi Gras. They’re cream and gold with lace decorating the edges and covering most of their faces. That’s when I see one—a guy as far as I can tell—whose lips are moving.
Lip reading is not a skill set I’ve learned, so I’ve got no clue what he’s saying, but I can see the smirk on his lips. The four on the altar stare at him, and I watch all but the pale guy swallowing nervously.
