The Church

by Wisdom King

  People here are the same. Every week, it’s the same people going inside the same church doing the same things. It doesn’t come as a surprise, given the place is located on the outskirts. Still, the charisma of the priests and of the ministers is quite notable since they still manage to attract people to their place. Odd.

  Update: I have made an advancement.

  As Kane read through each and every one of the emails, he found no signs of the said “advancements”. Agitated, he flipped back to the first email and ran his eyes over the words once more.

  On the surface, the church looks like every other church – quiet, recluse, and very fundamentalist in nature. During mass, they preach blind adherence to their dogmas and their followers do so willingly without question. As time went on, however, I noticed a pattern. Their words are always laced with anger...as if they’re angry at anyone who tries to oppose them. Even the most fundamentalist person has more respect for the secular world that they do. When you hear them speak, you can just hear the righteous indignation in their voice. They’re like an amplified version of Westboro but without the picket signs.

  The difference between them and basically every other religion I know of is that every Christian religious person can be a fundamentalist but still respect and accept that they are part of a larger collective that won’t always go through with God’s will. The members of The Power Assembly Church of God, however, are borderline fanatics. They talk a big game about “convincing the world of the truth” and even go as far as spewing out threats. It’s astounding how many people still fall for this in this day and age.

  They aren’t the first in history to be so radical. Christianity began killing unbelievers, atheist, agnostics, and the like as early as the 4th century. What makes it worse is that for over a thousand years this was supported by almost all mainstream Christian theology. Almost everyone who followed their doctrine turned a blind eye when people got tortured and shut their ears when they learned that they are dead.

  This, along with the recluse nature of every member of the church, is the very reason why I chose to take a closer look into this. Fanatics are quite known to be violent. If no one bothers to check up on them, it’s only a matter of time before we become a victim of yet another revolt against the system, ironically all in the name of their God.

  He read through the other incomplete messages and files, every message vaguer than the last. He felt like he was reading the diary of a 16-year-old who just discovered that journaling was a thing. This is quite an unusual behavior for Marisol since he’s always known her to be very professional, especially with things like this.

  “Maybe I didn’t know her at all,” Kane muttered to himself.

  “No. Something’s not right.” He thought as he drew a long, weary breath and lay down on the bed. He knew he hadn’t skipped anything because he memorized every single one of the emails and the files by heart. With a yawn, he stretched out his limbs and closed his eyes.

  He was getting bored of the chase if it ever was one. With his phone confiscated, he had nothing to do but read and reread the files he managed to smuggle into the building. Still, even if he read them over a thousand times in a row, nothing will change. He felt like a dog chasing taillights even if he knows he can’t catch it. Clarke didn’t help with that either. On one or two occasions, he tried to slide in a question, but every single attempt he made was intercepted by either a fellow minister or simply Clarke’s eerie ability to just disappear into the halls without him noticing.

  Not only was he bored, he was also feeling abnormally stressed. No one was allowed in or out of the compound, not even the ministers themselves. Vices such as cigarettes and alcohol were also strictly prohibited. On top of that, the church inner circle working members even have a curfew. It was a surprise that some of them even last a day inside. What’s even more surprising is that Kane is one of the ones surviving.

  “If there’s one good thing I can get out of this mission is that I am finally beginning to cut out nicotine.” Agitated, Kane stood up once again and started picking up the papers. It was no use reading them all over again but there’s also no use in throwing them away. After all, that’s as close as he can get to the suspect if there was one.

  As he was filing the papers one by one into the folder, he heard a solid knock on the door. In a rush, he gathered all of the sheets and threw them right under his bed before swinging the door open. Standing there in his black clerical uniform, Clarke Tristen looked at him with his iconic blue eyes. There was not a hint of emotion in them as he looked at Kane.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “You’re supposed to relieve Valdez a few minutes ago.” Kane glanced at his wristwatch and he was right. It was 12:05 AM.

  “Right. Sorry about the 5-minute delay. God knows what would have happened in 5 minutes!” Kane sarcastically remarked as he stepped outside and locked the door behind him, paying no heed to the junior minister standing awestruck at his attitude.

  “Do you know who you’re speaking to, Kane?” Clarke said, grabbing Kane’s collar from behind and pulling him back. “I am above you. Need I remind you of that? I pay you to guard the building and do your job.”

  “And where do you get the money, I wonder?” Kane said, pulling away from his grasp. He stared at the flabbergasted face of the man Marisol had led him to. You left me to work with this pathetic excuse, Mari? “Touchy subject? Too bad I don’t give a rat’s ass.” He said as he walked away.

  In the backyard, Christiano Valdez was dozing off on the porch with the log book resting on the grass in front of him. The church was abnormally punctual for Kane. Even though his shift starts at 12, he always has to report 5 minutes before even though his room is just a two-minute walk from his post. Somehow, in the 10-minute delay, Valdez manages to sneak in a few snoozes before Kane could relieve him.

  Trying his best not to wake the man up, he picked up the log book and signed in. The church was awfully old-fashioned. Kane saw no traces of any gadgets in the compound, not even a radio or a television set. He felt like he went back in time. The only thing remotely modern about it all is the key cards. Each of the personnel and the ministers had a card that served as their key to every room. If you place the card in front of the scanner and it doesn’t click open, that just means that you’re not allowed access to that part of the building.

  The whole estate consisted of five main buildings. The first one - the one he deemed grandest of them all - was the living quarters. It is a two story building made of stone. It stood right in the middle and if you happened to drive in through the gate, it’s the first building you will see. As far as Kane could tell, there are nearly a hundred small rooms, most of which are just empty spaces filled with dust and cobwebs. It has one enormous receiving area in the middle with a huge staircase leading up to the second floor, where some of the ministers slept. On the west side of the building was where most of the activities happen. There’s a small chapel inside the building where some of the people would come in and pray. It also had an office dedicated to some of the higher-ups, but so far as Kane could tell, nothing ever happens in there. The building has its own little kitchen but it has no dining space, save for the few barstools put up around the kitchen island. The building itself could pass off for an abandoned yet beautiful mansion all on its own.

  To the east of that building stood the cafeteria. It was a low building filled with long tables and it had a huge kitchen as well. Compared to the other buildings, this one was a bit tamer when it comes to grandeur. Opposite of that was a building that can only be described by others as a shed. It was two stories high and just a bit smaller than the living quarters. The few windows it had were barred shut and the area itself always seemed so eerily quiet. Sometimes, in the dead of the night, Kane would try to sneak a peek inside the building only to be greeted by darkness. He tried to open it with his key card once but it wouldn’t budge. So far, he noticed that no one came in or out of that building and no one ever talks about
it over the table, which only intrigued him even more.

  The other two buildings were just reserved for storage, according to Father Dennis. In one of the buildings, they stored cars and vans belonging to the church members along with Kane’s old car. The other one was just where they store things for later disposal. To his surprise, he also wasn’t allowed in either of them.

  He set the book down the table and picked the man up in his arms. He felt incredibly light as Kane threw him over his shoulder and walked back inside. He knew Valdez slept somewhere in the East Wing, but the only problem was, he didn’t know which door. So, he took out Valdez’s key card and placed it on every door on the east end of the floor until one finally clicked open. It was already past midnight, and that meant lights out to everyone, even the ones on duty. The hall was quite dark and a there was a very faint glow coming from somewhere below. He couldn’t feel a light switch on the wall so he decided to take one timid step inside.

  To his surprise, his foot fell one step down.

  “That’s a bit odd. I never knew some guys could sleep underground.”

  Carefully, Kane descended the stairs and tried not wake the heavy sleeper on his shoulder. Behind him, he heard the door shut quietly, a feature that he can never seem to get used to.

  Finally, he managed to get to the foot of the staircase without falling. Kane had excellent night vision but he wouldn’t make a point by randomly going down dimly lit stairs while carrying an 110-pound man on his shoulder. But given the circumstances, he didn’t mind carrying Valdez down. After all, the man hasn’t gotten in his way during his first week in the church.

  With his free arm, he felt the walls for a light switch and pressed the first one his fingers got to.

  He nearly dropped Christiano’s sleeping body on the floor when the lights flickered open.

  Chapter 13

  It was a small, dark room with cobwebs forming along the walls. The cold cement floor beneath his feet was cracked and stained in various places. The very air inside smelled old and thick with dust.

  At the far end of the room, there were two computers sitting on top of an old, wooden desk. One of them was turned on, casting a blue-grey shadow across the floor. Valdez was still sleeping soundly on his shoulder so Kane tried his best not to break his slumber as he laid him gently by the foot of the stairs. Judging from the dark bags under his eyes, he must’ve been up since yesterday evening.

  Carrying Valdez all the way here was one simple excuse he has to explore further. A guard sleeping so deeply means Kane is in for a treat in this investigation. Sleeping guards meant dumb guards also.

  Piece of cake.

  It’s been almost a week since he heard from anyone outside the estate, and though he’s known to be a lone wolf, something about that quiet place made him want to run out to the nearest crowded place and hug every single person there. The silence in the estate was deafening and the cluelessness of the guards he worked with bothered every fiber of his being.

  With light feet, he approached the desk, trying not to make a sound. As he neared the computers, he studied the curious image displayed on the monitor.

  It was a dark red rosary, nearly black in color, and it was spinning around and around on top of a dark blue background. The computer had no mouse or keyboard attached to it, making it virtually impossible for him to activate the thing. Then, he saw a white light flashing behind the monitor. It was a scanner – the same scanner that could be found by the doors.

  He flashed a cautious look behind him and saw that Valdez was still deep in his sleep. It was past 12 AM and the only people up are the ones on night duty, which, in the building assigned to him, were only 5 people, including him. He looked at Valdez’s card in his hands and back at the man sleeping soundly behind him.

  “If this worked on the door...I bet this will work on this one too.” Without a doubt in his mind, Kane placed the bar code in front of the scanner. He heard a short, quiet beep as the rosary suddenly disappeared. Slowly, the blue background started to melt into the black.

  “Fuck,” Kane muttered to himself as he slowly backed away from the computer. He was starting to pick up Valdez from the ground when suddenly, the computer booted up again.

  The screen was split into four different sections. From afar, Kane could see a video playing on two of the tiles, while the other two were completely still. As he approached the computer, he saw the images change on the tiles. Now the two of the tiles on top was playing the video, and two on the bottom were completely still images. A few seconds later, the screen changed again, and then everything turned into one still picture, except for one.

  On the bottom left tile, he saw a black man wearing a dark blue uniform slowly approaching what seemed to be an old, wooden desk. Behind him, a man was sleeping by the foot of the stairs. Kane slowly looked up and saw a small crucifix hanging on top of the two computers, looking down on him.

  He felt his heart drop to his stomach.

  “Shit.” He thought as he quickly backed away from the computer and picked up Valdez. He shut the lights and with steady feet, he ran up the stairs as quietly as he could. With his free hand, he slowly opened the door and stuck his head out and saw that the halls were as dark and quiet as they were before.

  Quickly, he hopped out of the room and as he turned around to shut the door, Valdez’s head hits the doorframe with a soft thud. Panicking, Kane closed the door shut and started walking towards the receiving area of the living quarters, just as Valdez started grunting.

  “What the fuck?” He slurred out. He was still hanging over Kane’s shoulder and since the whole place was only lit by the moonlight, all he could see was the white marble floor moving beneath him.

  “You awake, buddy?” Kane said nonchalantly as he slowed down his pace. He gently let the man down from his shoulders and helped him stand up. “Sorry about that. I turned a corner and kinda forgot I was carrying you.” He laughed.

  “Where am I?” Valdez said as he rubbed the sore spot on the side of his head.

  “Well, you’re still here. I saw you sleeping on the porch and I took the liberty of carrying you back to your room.”

  “Gee, thanks, man.” He said as he started walking away. “I owe you big time.”

  “No you don’t... Hey, Chris...” Kane called after him.

  “Yeah?”

  “Why were you even sleeping on the porch, to begin with?” For a few moments, Valdez just stood there with his back towards Kane. He was tiredly leaning on his leg and rubbing the side of his head. After what felt like an eternity, he finally opened his mouth.

  “Guess I’m just tired.” He said before walking away. As Kane was about to do so, he felt something in his hand. He turned around and saw that Valdez was still walking away with his back towards him.

  “Hey, dude!” He called out. As Valdez slowly turned his back, Kane bent over and pretended to pick up the card from the floor. “Is this yours?”

  “Let me see...” He said, slowly walking back to Kane. He studied the card for a little bit before showing it down his chest pocket, which was conveniently unbuttoned.

  “It is. Thanks, man.”

  “No problem.” As Kane walked back down the hall to the backyard, he felt cold, taunting eyes burning through the back of his head. All of them just waiting for him to lose.

  “Marisoli...what have you gotten yourself into?”

  Chapter 14

  That night, Clarke took a long walk down the halls of the east wing of the living quarters after his encounter with Kane. He decided it would be best if he got some air and visit the place where it all began: The Power Assembly Church of God. The same place his mother left him in years ago. And all he could think of as he walked down the moonlit halls was the day he lost yet another person in his life.

  “I know what you’ve been doing.” He said as he crept up from behind Clarke. That day, he forsakes his clerical clothing and decided to go casual, which is quite an unusual sight to see around the plac
e. Clarke looked him straight in the eyes and studied his expressions. After all these years, he still can’t get a hold of what he’s thinking.

  “Excuse me, sir?” He muttered, trying to raise his voice. He was standing on the balcony of the living quarters, watching the afternoon sun sink behind the thick sea of trees that surrounded the estate. It was one of the few things he found lovely around the place.

  “I said, I know what you’ve been doing.” He said, louder this time. He walked over to the railings of the balcony overlooking the vast greenery in front of the whole estate. “That girl you’ve been seeing lately...Marie, was it?”

  Clarke felt all of his muscles tighten at the sound of her name. All of a sudden, he felt his body slowly go numb as he continued.

  “Well, I don’t know if you know this but that...that whore...” He turned around to look at Clarke’s pale face. Clarke tried his best to hide every bit of emotion he had but when you’re facing the Big Guy, every effort to do that proves to be futile time after time. “That whore is using you, son.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”

  “Oh, I think you do.” He took small steps towards Clarke, who was now leaning against the dangerously low railings. “So I had some of the boys do a bit of background check on this ‘Marie’ of yours – you know, just for your own safety – and we found out something quite odd about her. Can you guess what it was?” A sinister smile danced across his thin, dried lips as he watched the boy cower yet again behind a mask of indifference.

  “She’s one of those journalists. You know, the people who ask a lot of questions and sell the answers to some hotshot behind the camera. You see, she’s asking quite a lot of questions about things she shouldn’t be meddling with. You following me?”

  Clarke did not answer.

  “Not talking, huh? Works for me. After all, I just really need you to listen.” He backed away from Clarke and leaned against the railing once again without ever taking his dark cold eyes away from him. “I see a lot of potential in you, boy, and I want to take you under my wing. But before we do that, you have to do one thing for me. Don’t worry, it’s not too hard. Care to ask me what it is?”