Chapter 39: I am about to sin

The atmosphere in the store changed when Ellie walked in. She didn't need to do anything extra to get the people in the store wary and seeking ways to save their lives. All she did was look at them, and that did the job.

One by one, they all subtly retreated, crossed the door, and zoomed away as fast as their legs could carry them.

But Ellie was not interested in whatever they were doing or whatever was going on in their heads. Her attention was straight ahead toward the back of the store where she was sure a restroom would be located.

She reached her destination and discovered that the restroom was directly opposite the manager's office. Without thinking twice, she walked into the restroom and immediately searched for the windows. Her hope dwindled when she saw that they were made up of little square openings which her hand would barely fit into.

"Fuck! This can't be happening. Who still designs windows this way?" She cussed out in frustration, kicking at the waste bin beside her leg, sending it flying to the opposite wall, and emptying its contents on the floor.

The noise alerted the manager, a short, middle-aged man with a heavy belly. He came running to the restroom, only to be shocked by what he saw.

He immediately made to retreat, but Ellie grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulling him back.

"I'm sorry. Please, I'm not part of them." The man instantly went down on his knees, bringing his palms together, prayer style.

Ellie's brows pulled together. What was he talking about? Part of who?

"Where's the back door?" Ellie probed, deciding to keep her curiosity at bay for now and focus on the more important things.

Evident confusion registered on the man's face at her question. "Back door? There is no back door."

"How dare you run a store that has only one exit?" Ellie asked again, slapping her forehead, then pulling on her hair.

"Is that a crime?" The man asked, still confused.

"Yes. It's a crime against humanity." Ellie yelled at him, shocking the man for a moment before his eyes narrowed at her.

"Uhm… Who are you and why are you here?" He asked, suddenly realizing her pull was not as strong as he expected, and she was acting and talking strangely.

"Shut up and remain there. I'll make sure you regret coming out of your house today if you stand up." Ellie commanded, shooting him a glare before walking out and going straight to the manager's office.

The door was open, so she just walked in and looked around to spot the manager. Seeing the chairs in there empty, and from the opened door, she suspected he was either not in, or the one she just left speaking with.

Realizing escaping will not be possible in this place, she aborted the plan and moved on to the next mission — finding the brown pouch on the top shelf. In no time, she found it.

Brown, leather pouch, sitting on a round, polished metal plate that was shaped as an hourglass.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice reached her ears from the doorway when she reached out to grab the pouch.

Ellie turned to discover it was the guy she just told not to stand up. He no longer looked like the vulnerable and scared person begging her earlier. He suddenly looked more confident, with an air of arrogance around him.

"Why are people so stubborn? You want to die?" Ellie questioned.

"Who sent you?"

"Your great-grandfather," Ellie answered and shifted her attention back to the pouch. She reached for it again and pulled it out of the plate.

She made for the door once she had it in her hand, and became confused when she saw the man grinning widely. What was funny?

She ignored him and made for the door, surprised he didn't try to stop her or anything of that nature, but a strange sound from where she just walked away from forced her to turn her head around, and what she saw made her miss her step, falling flat on her face just outside the door.

There were ghost-like beings floating out of the metal plate she just took the pouch from. Translucent, with human faces, tails that were swinging to the left and right, and heights a little above her waist level.

They were singing… Or was it crying? Ellie wasn't sure. But they all floated toward her, grabbed her legs, and started to pull her back into the office.

The man was laughing hysterically by now, moving back to his chair and plopping down on it. But he was the least of Ellie's problems.

She snapped from her shocked state, seeing how more of them were coming out of the plate. What the hell were these? They looked like spirits, but she could feel their grip on her legs, and the force of their pull was strong enough that in no time, she was almost already completely pulled into the office.

Grabbing onto the door frame, Ellie stopped herself from moving further. She shook her legs vigorously, kicking as furiously as she could until she got rid of some of the strange things.

But they came right back at her while she was trying to escape.

"Get away from me, you leeches," Ellie yelled at the top of her voice, and noticed that the things paused for a moment before they attacked her again.

So she screamed without words, making them pause as she pushed herself off the ground and started running toward the door. By the time her voice faded, she was already almost at the main entrance.

She didn't bother turning to check if anything followed her. She ran straight toward the car, jumped into the back seat, and shut the door.

"Some things are after me. Go go go." Ellie yelled when she saw the strange creatures coming toward the door.

"The pouch," Storm demanded, chuckling as if he was laughing at an internal joke.

Ellie gave the pouch to him. He dipped his hand in it, collected a little of the contents, which looked like dust, and sprinkled it on the ground

When he did this, the creatures halted at once, both the ones inside and those that successfully made it outside the glass. They faded away, leaving no trace as if they were not there in the first place.

Scared to death with heart racing, Ellie moved her widened eyes from the store, to storm, and them to Seth. The strong urge to scream came over her, as she felt she was on the verge of going insane.

But yet again, she managed to hold it in and keep calm. She didn't know what she had gotten herself into and didn't know how to get herself out, even though she badly wanted out.

Seth finally moved the car. They drove once again in silence until they arrived in front of a church.

Ellie recognized the church. It was the biggest chapel in Alada. He seemed to be serious about going to a confession. What was he going to confess? Do vampires even go to church? Isn't it said that holy water affects them?

"Confession time. We'll go first. You wait here. You'll go when we come out." Storm instructed with his head turned to Ellie, before he shifted his gaze to Seth. "Come with me."

The two of them walked into the church, but Seth's face twisted in befuddlement.

"You know she'll run away right?" He asked, not sure if Storm's head is still in the right state.

"I know. I want her to. Wait here." He instructed with a serious expression and proceeded to the confession box alone.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned... And... I am about to sin." Storm started when he heard the priest enter from the other end.