The policeman looks at me.

He’s disappointed.

But what did I do?

Rashelle looks at me.

She’s angry.

Where am I?

Saphire looks at me.

He’s sad.

What have I done?

This song…

That voice…

Put me to rest...

***

Ryacell dragged out of bed and felt even more tired than before. He ate breakfast. He changed clothes. He felt a small strain in the back of his head. He dismissed it.

Knock-knock.

Ryacell opened the door. Saphire greeted him. They got in the tin lizzie. They were dropped off at the back of the school. They walked together.

“Did you tell Rashelle?” Saphire asked him.

“No,” Ryacell said, “I...respect your privacy.”

“I know,” Saphire kept a straight face. “I apologize for scaring you the other day.”

“It’s...okay,” Ryacell gulped.

Before Saphire left him by room seven, he warned, “Ryacell, I don’t know what you plan on doing...but keep Rashelle out of it.” He walked on without looking back.

Ryacell didn’t understand.

Ryacell entered the classroom. Jaye and Chloe asked him how he was. Ryacell was fine. Rashelle was doodling. Ryacell was surprised to see her wearing a skirt. It was required. Jaye told him that their class goes to mass every Friday.

The class walked to the chapel all together. Ryacell looked up at the bell tolling. The kids entered. The boys all sat in front of the girls.

The mass started. Ryacell was confused. He followed his classmates. Rashelle observed him with her friends. They thought he was funny. The readings were normal. The gospel was normal. The homily was normal. The prayers and songs were normal. They all kneeled.

“What’s he doin’ now?” Ryacell asked Gavin.

“He’s breaking the bread,” Gavin explained. “Just stay quiet.”

Ryacell couldn’t stay still. His head hurt.

“Is there a bathroom?” he asked Gavin.

“In the back,” Gavin replied.

Ryacell’s ears buzzed. Rashelle watched Ryacell. The priest held up the cup of wine. Ryacell stood up. Everyone stared. Rashelle bit her lip.

Such dull, throbbing pain. Ryacell ran to the back of the church. Confusion. Anxiety. Concern. Rashelle followed him. The doors closed behind them.

Ryacell collapsed against the wall.

“Ryacell!” Rashelle held him up to the bench beside the bathroom entrance . “What happened? Are you sick?”

“No, I just,” Ryacell held his forehead, “need to sleep.”

Ryacell closed his eyes and leaned back. As the choir sang out beyond the doors, something within Rashelle’s chest stirred to guard the small boy with everything and anything. She couldn’t leave him alone.

Amen!

Rashelle sat beside him and placed his head against her shoulder.

Amen!

“Rashelle, please,” he murmured, remembering Saphire. “Go. I’m fine.”

“No,” she whispered. “Sleep.”

Amen!

The congregation stood to join their hands in prayer. As they prayed in unison, Rashelle hummed a gentle tune from her past, a lullaby that sweetly caressed her childhood dreams. It rocked the cradle of memories with melancholic care. So tender. So serene.

But deliver us from evil.

He remembered.

Amen.

Rashelle looked down at Ryacell’s peaceful expression but noticed something seeping out of his right eye — blood.

“Oh my gosh, Ryacell,” Rashelle gasped. Panic shattered through the surreal sight of the crimson drops.

She quickly laid him against the bench as she stood up. Before she could run anywhere for help, a loud roar rang out from beyond the door. Rashelle heard her classmates screaming and didn’t dare peak out. Her mind was a mess, thoughts scrambling against each other, not knowing what to do first. The church shook.

Ryacell awakened. “Rashelle? What’s goin’ on?” He felt the crimson tears against his cheeks and screamed, “What’s happening to me?!”

Rashelle tried to calm him but couldn’t even calm herself down. She ran into the bathroom as the church rumbled, and she grabbed a roll of paper towels.

“Hold these against your eye,” Rashelle told Ryacell.

A strange shriek came from the other side. The screams scattered and faded. Ryacell shivered with dread.

Rashelle tried opening the back exit, but it was locked somehow. She continued, “Ryacell, stay here while I go out and check what’s goin’ on.”

“No, please,” Ryacell stood close to her, “let me go with you.”

Time did not wait for Rashelle to argue with him. She hesitantly nodded her head as they both stepped into the nave of the church.

Silence.

From the back, Rashelle could see that everyone had escaped.

But from what? she wondered.

The windows of the church had shattered and the front pews were in disarray.

Again, the screech howled from the altar. Rashelle and Ryacell snuck behind the pews and crawled towards the only other possible exit. A soft hiss trailed around them, listening. As they crawled, Rashelle watched the reflections of the shattered glass shards. Something was waiting.

With every passing pew, Rashelle prayed they’d be protected. She was hopeful that their path was right, that the sun guided them. She prayed that the guardian angels above kept watch. If everyone truly escaped, she believed that they could too.

But their path was cursed.

Rashelle gasped. The two children shrunk behind the nearest pew. Was she hallucinating? No. She knew what she was looking at from the reflection. It was decayed, beaten, disfigured. Its limbs moved unnaturally. The claws, rugged and long. Its facial features were missing, but it seemed to be seeking out a scent.

Everything Rashelle had believed up until now fractured. The prayers she thought of didn’t give any peace. Knowing that Ryacell was hiding behind her, she felt obligated to be strong. But she wasn’t. She was scared. Lost. She didn’t want to die. She couldn’t die now.

Suddenly, it faced them, and Rashelle quickly turned away. Her heart pounded against her chest. She looked back at Ryacell who was still holding onto his eye. She had to protect him. He couldn’t die.

We’ll make it out…

Everyone is waiting...

Such unfortunate children.

Too quick. Like a serpent baring its fangs, the demon grabbed onto Ryacell’s leg and pulled. Rashelle held onto him with all of her strength.

“Hold on!” Rashelle cried out.

“I’m,” Ryacell grunted, “trying!”

With her free hand, Rashelle grabbed a shard of glass and reached towards the mutation. She stabbed its hand, releasing Ryacell from its grasp. The children dashed towards the exit, but the demon darted in front of them. Once again, it grabbed Ryacell and pushed Rashelle aside. Adrenaline raced through her veins. She grabbed another shard and jumped onto its back, striking it repeatedly like a wild beast. The demon swung itself to the side, throwing Rashelle against a pew. Stress pushed her back up, another shard in hand, and she bolted towards it. The disfiguration clawed at her, but she slid under and quickly slit its wrist. As Ryacell fell, Rashelle caught him, and they rolled to the side.

The demon grabbed Rashelle this time. She yelled to Ryacell, “Run!”

This is it, she thought.

What have I done?

What have I accomplished?

Nothing.

She closed her eyes in acceptance, hoping that Ryacell escaped.

Bang!

Rashelle looked.

Before it could stab her, the demon was shot in the head. It dropped Rashelle, and she quickly scrambled to Ryacell. They both turned to see who shot the demon.

Ryacell knew the man.

Standing near the exit was the policeman with the eyepatch. He walked closer and grinned as if the demon was an unlucky victim. It howled and pounced towards him, but he swiftly dodged to the side and shot again at its chest. The man slid down the aisle as the demon jumped over him. He quickly shot two bullets — one in each shoulder. Before the demon moved another muscle, the policeman did the sign of the cross, paralyzing the demon from where it stood.

The man ambled to it, whistling the familiar lark tune. The demon convulsed. In one final blow, the policeman grabbed its head and slammed it to the ground, kneeling on one knee as he threw his arm down. His hooded cape flew with grace, suspended above for a brief moment, and gently landed against his back.

As the demon disintegrated, Rashelle and Ryacell stared in awe of the man. He looked back at the two kids and smiled.