DECEMBER JANE

December: Ablaze

Ann, Laori, and I were all huddled behind the stage entrance, pressed flat against the wall. Sean was nearing the end of his sermon, the last hymn would play, and James would be back shortly after.

I kept Ann and Laori with me to keep them safe, but now, I needed them safer.

"Okay, listen, guys," I whispered. "I need you in either the lobby or the pews, now."

Laori grabbed my hand. "I can't leave you here," she muttered. "I won't let you do this"

I looked at Ann urgently, who nodded at me in understanding. I looked back at Laori. "You have to leave," I continued. "It isn't safe."

"I can't let you hurt him."

"He'll likely be the one to hurt me." I shook my hand from her grip. "Please, go."

She looked up at me with nervous eyes before Ann grabbed her shoulders and guided her away. Ann gave me a final look of anxiety, too, as she rounded the corner back to the lobby with Laori.

I sat against the wall for another moment, prepared to pounce.

But from a distance, I heard a single gunshot. My heart jumped.

Who had a gun?

I kept myself against the wall as I heard the crowd outside stir. Another one sounded, and people outside began to panic. My hand reached for my own gun in defense.

Soon after the ruckus, James emerged from the doorway.

I jumped forwards and latched myself to his side. He tried to squirm free from my hold, but I held him, snaking my hand into his pocket. First try, I found the page crinkled inside it. I shoved James away and freed myself, landing on the floor with a crash. My body cascaded right into a decorative table, and I knocked a vase over. The fall formed a flood of water, glass, and half-dead flowers on the carpet. James brushed himself off. I quickly stood up and ran out onto the stage.

Everybody was still in the church, grouped into the center, and nobody turned to look at the scene that followed me. I leaped off the stage and ran for the lobby anyways, hearing James' footsteps directly behind me. My bullet wound felt so much worse now. The metal seed still remained planted, digging through my muscle. I pushed my way past the outliers of the pews, tripping over my feet and stumbling on the carpet. Sean shouted something, directed to James, but I'm not confident that either of us heard what he said. I made it to the lobby and slammed myself into the doors, finding that they were locked. I grabbed the handles and shook them, trying to push them open, but they didn't budge. My body whipped around to find James right behind me, standing.

"Give. It. Back," he commanded.

I thought about pulling the gun again, but I decided against it. I couldn't kill him, and I couldn't hurt him. No way.

"I'm doing you a favor," I said. "You have no idea what this thing will do."

He grabbed my shirt and held me against the doors, just as before, and he was surprisingly strong. "I know it belongs to me," he sneered. "I can hear it."

"I can too," I argued, though shocked by his words. "But you haven't seen him. The thing attached to those pages, James. It's worse than any devil you could ever write in your testaments."

"You're wrong."

"How so?"

"I don't have to prove a thing to you."

"Neither do I."

He reached for my hand and clasped it, hard, and considering it was my bad hand, it hurt. My nerves pinched together, and I thought about letting it go. But by some strange willpower, I held it together. He tried prying it from me for at least ten minutes, only stopping at the sounds of a gunshot. I was confused. But then I realized the sounds came from inside the church. James immediately released me once again and ran for the back hall. I watched him run, but when he disappeared, I chased after him, because Laori was back there. Somebody trapped her.