Church of The Damned [Short Story]

VLOG DAY 7

                       It was 3 days after what happened that night, and we don't exactly know if we could stay for long. It's already Saturday, September 21, 2002 and many things have happened. Madison got PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) because of what happened this Tuesday so we decided to let Madison and Candidah home, which will be assisted by Dylan. Only 4 members of the group are left, and all of us are afraid to go outside. Eric opens a bag of chips and passes it around as Angelica turns the camera on.

"It's been a week and Candidah and Madison have been taken home due to trauma. It was kind for Dylan to volunteer in taking them home. These footages are horrible, don't they?" Charlotte said as she watches the live footages taken on day 3.

"We all know that the experience wasn't for the faint of heart," I replied with a hint of concern, "I somehow feel pity for the both of them."

Angelica kneeled down besides Charlotte to watch the footage as well, "But isn't it a bit weird that the woman so desperately wanted to kill us? We barely even knew her and she hated us already from the start."

"Maybe it's from the protection Anna and Dylan have?" Madison asked herself, "But I think there's also something more than just what happened in this footage."

Eric went back to his position, straightened his posture and sighed. He highlighted his brown eyes and leather black jacket, which made me remember that this man in front of me is the school's known bad boy. I thought to myself, is everything he's pulling just a mask? Does he internally not feel any concern for me? He was so nice and appreciative when we first had our conversation, and he was very polite. Was it due to the change of surroundings, or a change of heart? "I watched in a documentary the history of this haunted church, back in the year 1976 was a wedding of a known couple in the city of Baguio. Though, the other lover of the woman killed every attendant in the ceremony. The killer stabbed the bride once and left the bride behind. The bride suffered from psychosis, and that church became an asylum to her. It was said that the woman died from starvation, after so many years. Just as soon as they open the church again after the incident, everyone is haunted by the spirit of the bride. When cars drive past this place, they repeatedly hear the wedding chimes and lights coming from it. But not only do they see lights, hear the chimes and some screaming – but they also see the silhouette of the poor bride. The woman – who created the myth." Eric told us, which gathers everything together. The woman is insane; the ghosts possessed the place itself and aren't silenced because of the incident. Questions may have been answered, but more of them also pop up.

"I've never even heard of this church before, how can you possibly know all of that? I don't think it's featured in a documentary on television before either." I asked Eric as we went downstairs and near the altar. It's been days since we started talking to each other, besides from Charlotte he turned out to be one of my closest friends in the group. I can now feel a bond between us, and I feel comfortable now that we're close. Isn't it surprising how a bad boy could possibly have a heart for a simple woman like me? I've heard his stories, he's heard mine; we're never going to spill it anytime. Some secrets can be kept, but hopefully not this one. I've started to develop concern for him as well, or is it just his 'magic spell'? As soon as I asked, I saw one of those looks again. His look was like the sea, you can say it's just blue and full of beauty but underneath are many hidden treasures; like his eyes staring at me, it's painful but it's also full of hidden emotions. If that makes sense.

"You probably never heard of books, this church was featured in a famous book back then. No copies of the book were found again for each and every copy had to be burned. Luckily, Dylan and I found one, hidden in my house. We used to be close friends as well, but we separated ways due to how we don't have the same interests anymore. We swore though, that we won't tell where we got that information. You're the only one who knows, Anna. Well, even the both of us thought it was a little to no good myth, until I dreamt of it last night." He replied in a soft voice, almost like a whisper. We went outside and saw a large fog, probably due to the cold climate here in Baguio. "You probably dreamt of it because the spirits want you to know something, or cause you kept thinking about what happened last Tuesday." I joke, which made him chuckle, by the way. "Maybe both," He replied. "Just one more week, Anna, we're out of here." Fear managed to climb up on my soul once again – just one more week, of terror.