You didn't know when you'd fallen asleep last night, all you knew when you woke up was that you were still on the couch and still in Jack's arms. The only change was that you'd both laid down, and instead of sitting you were squished between the back of the couch and Jack's chest. As you blinked away the sleep in your eyes, slowly but surely the memories from yesterday came rushing back. The genuine forgiveness, the apologies, the crying. After all of that you must have passed out.
With your current position, you couldn't tell whether Jack had woken up yet or not, and a part of you was afraid to find out. You didn't know what to think after yesterday. Jack saying the words "I forgive you" had definitely reassured you, and him holding you had comforted you more than you could've imagined. A part of you still felt guilty, but at the same time another was doing its best to believe Jack.
Slowly, you raised your gaze to look up at him. Your face felt hot. Now that you weren't sobbing the closeness made you feel a lot more vulnerable. Even looking up, your vision was still obscured by his chest and the fabric of his hoodie. You still couldn't tell if he was awake. His breathing had remained steady, and he hadn't moved since you'd regained consciousness. You shifted, trying to move yourself upwards to get a clearer view of his masked face.
As soon as you moved, Jack glanced down at you. Your eyes went wide, and though you knew he couldn't see it, you were embarrassed by how flustered you were sure you looked.
"Uh... morning." You muttered up at him.
"Morning." Jack said, continuing to stare yet not moving. For a moment the two of you stayed still, arms still around each other and eyes still locked. It didn't last forever though, and soon enough Jack pulled away and sat up.
Immediately you were reintroduced to the coldness of the cabin, but you didn't dare to reattach yourself to him. You were no longer sure where the lines that shouldn't be crossed were. You didn't know if sleeping in each other's arms meant anything more than comfort, and you weren't sure whether it would ever happen again. The thought made you frown, but you couldn't bring yourself to ask anything about it.
Once Jack was out of the way, you stood up from the couch and headed for the kitchen. As you stepped onto the tiled floor, you watched through the window as white flurries floated towards the ground.
"It's snowing..." You said, looking back at Jack for a moment. You moved closer to the window and peered out, seeing the new layer of snow covering the forest floor. There wasn't much so far, you could still see bits of browns and greens poke through the white coat. Behind you, you heard soft footsteps approaching.
Jack walked up beside you with his head turned toward the window. "How much is there?"
"Not much, I don't think it started that long ago." You replied. Jack only nodded, his focus still out at the trees.
You'd momentarily forgotten all about why you'd gone to the kitchen in the first place, that being for food. Instead, you stood gazing out at the snowy forest, watching with Jack as snowflakes danced in the wind. Unintentionally you found yourself leaning towards him, your shoulders brushing just enough for you to not feel cold.
You looked up at him. Jack's mask was still on as it always was, but his hood was down and you could see his messy brown hair that was ruffled from sleeping. He seemed calm, and though you knew he couldn't actually see the snow, he seemed content.
A sudden growl from your impatient stomach reminded you of your hunger. You sighed, backing away from the window and reaching for the plastic bag containing the current food supply. You settled on yet another granola bar and quickly ripped open its packaging. Sinking your teeth into the bar, you were met with the familiar taste of honey-covered oats.
Jack turned away from the window and directed his focus back to you. He didn't say anything for a while, as if he was carefully considering his words. "Do you think taking out the leader will be enough?" The sudden question halted you mid-bite. He had to have been thinking about this all morning.
"I... I'm not sure." You answered truthfully. The two of you didn't know much yet, and while there was a chance the two cults would be similar, there was also a chance it'd be completely different. "If it's only him leading it then maybe, but if it's another committee situation then..."
"That's what I was thinking. Who knows if we'll be able to find that out, though." Jack said, sighing as he crossed his arms. "We'll have to go in at night so no one recognizes your car. It's unlikely we'll be able to see much of how they operate."
"So we're just focusing on Father Krul then, right?"
"Exactly." Jack nodded. "I also think, before anything, we'll need to find the exits in case we get separated."
His words made you shudder. That would be the worst-case scenario, but you couldn't rule it out. There was no telling how many members there were until the two of you got there. Either way, you'd be greatly outnumbered. Especially when all this time it'd mostly been Jack doing the fighting. If it came down to it you'd do your best to help, but that might not be enough. If something happened to Jack you knew you'd stand no chance.
"That's a good idea..." You finally said. Jack sighed, sensing your apprehension. The two of you were getting a little too good at reading each other.
"Of course we'll try not to let that happen, but it's good to have a backup plan." You gave a small nod before he continued. "Besides that, you'll park us a distance away behind some trees, and then we'll enter through a window or back entrance. If that goes well, we'll try to find Father Krul. Got it?"
"Got it."
"If anything goes wrong, we go back to the car and come back another day. Tonight will mainly be about finding where and when he sleeps. If anyone spots us we'll have to run." Jack waited for a reply, but when he got none he continued, "everything will be fine as long as we stay quiet and out of sight."
You hoped he was right.
✦★✦
Night fell. The sky had turned from gray to a deep black that swallowed up every speck of white that had fallen throughout the day. The temperature had dropped even further without the warmth of the sun, ensuring that the snow would continue into tomorrow.
After planning, the rest of the day had been spent mostly watching television and trying to ignore the fear welling in your stomach. It'd gotten more intense with every hour that passed, yet you never voiced your concerns. This last target, Father Krul, was especially dangerous due to the numbers he had on his side. The man had a brand new cult to fight for him, and the confrontation with Carl left you worried that someone would be carrying.
As much as you wanted to tell Jack how scared you were, you knew it was pointless. There was nothing that could be done to soothe you. There was no way to make this less dangerous apart from not going through with it at all. But you knew that wasn't an option. After all of this, after being stalked, after being kidnapped, after driving him from place to place, you knew how dedicated Jack was to his mission. You knew he wouldn't stop until the committee was dead, and you couldn't say you blamed him.
Despite your fear, you knew they were better off dead. They deserved to die after what they did to him. It wasn't that you were afraid to see them killed, you were afraid that something would happen to Jack. It'd been a close call with just Carl and Jack one-on-one, now he had a whole cult to deal with.
You'd gone nearly the whole day with shaky hands and a persistent headache. Now, after hours of waiting, it was time to face the music.
Tugging on a light yet warm jacket, you prepared to leave the cabin. Both you and Jack were dressed in all black and armed with a weapon. He had his scalpel, and you had a decent sized pocket knife you'd found in a drawer in the bedroom. It wasn't much, but it made you feel a little safer.
"Ready?" Jack asked as he finished lacing up his boots.
"As ready as I'll ever be..." You muttered, stuffing your hands into your pockets.
Jack pat your shoulder on his way to the door. As he pulled it open, a cold breeze whistled through the entrance. You could hardly see anything through the darkness, but it seemed like the snow had picked up. Jack walked out first and you shuffled along behind him.
You were thankful you hadn't parked too far away as you climbed into the car and immediately cranked the heat all the way up. Shivering, you pulled the seatbelt across your body before once again setting up the GPS. The church was about forty-five minutes away, but with the snow it'd likely take a bit longer.
Gulping back your anxiety, you set the car into drive and crept towards the exit of the forest. The headlights poked through the darkness and revealed the falling snow that had begun to pile. Your radio was on one of the lowest settings, offering some background music to your thoughts. The vents of your car gradually pumped out more and more hot air until finally your hands started to feel less icy.
Beside you, Jack was sitting straight in his seat with his hands hidden in his pockets. You knew him well enough to assume he was gripping his scalpel. He was nervous too, he was just better at hiding it.
Eventually the lights of the car broke through the tree line and revealed the road out front. You turned right as the GPS instructed and pressed down on the gas pedal until you were close to the speed limit, but not going so fast as to fear the ice would send you spinning into a ditch.
You were doing your best to focus on driving to try and stop yourself from overthinking, but it didn't work for long. Your nerves were eating at you, and your hands had never stopped shaking. You were scared for Jack, you were scared for yourself, and you were scared of what you were going to see when you stepped into the church.
There was a chance you were going to come face to face with people who were just like you. People being manipulated to do horrible things. It'd be like looking into a mirror. Only, instead of seeing yourself, you'd be looking into the eyes of the person you were a year ago. With glazed-over eyes that shined with false hope, and a brain stuffed full of lies about paradise.
Confronting your past so head-on, so literally, had you terrified and full of dread as the ETA ticked down.
Before you knew it, you were almost there. Suddenly you were very aware of every bump, every pothole, every crack the tires of your car rolled over. The music was akin to white noise at this point. Soon you'd have to find a place to park and hide the car. It'd have to be far away enough to not be noticed by the cult, but also close enough to make it a viable escape route.
When you turned onto the road you recognized as the one belonging to the church, you looked side to side for somewhere to stop. You couldn't see much, but your headlights let you see that just up ahead there was a small parted area in the trees. The car crawled forward and once you were off the road you drove as far back as the trees would allow. Turning the car around to face the street, you then positioned it as hidden away as possible.
Finally, you parked the car, turned it off, and exhaled in relief. That was the easy part done, now there was just everything else. Breaking and entering, sneaking around a church full of cultists, locating the cult leader, possibly killing said cult leader. There was a long night ahead of you.
Jack wasted no time exiting the car. As much as your mind was telling you to get out of this situation, you forced yourself to follow him. You knew your job wasn't over yet.
The two of you crossed the street with Jack leading the way. With the lack of streetlights, you were having a hard time seeing much of anything, especially as Jack ventured into the tree line. The trees overhead cast shadows across the cold forest floor, their canopies blocking out any moonlight that had managed to breach the clouds. Dead leaves crunched underfoot with every step you took. With how eerily silent the night was, every sound you made seemed to bounce off the trees and echo back to you.
As your eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, you kept your eyes trained on Jack's silhouette. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, the entire time keeping both of you in the cover of the trees. The two of you kept hidden until reaching the back of the church. The building was shaped similarly to a "T", and from where you stood you could see both a back door as well as windows dotted along the walls. Its white exterior still seemed so bright even without the sun reflecting off of it. The sight of it made you shudder.
Anxiety started to creep back up your spine the longer you stared at the church. Anyone driving by would think it was a normal place of worship, but you knew better. You knew there was a snake among them, whispering in their ears and puppeting their minds. Tugging on their strings to mold them to his will. You knew the thing they worshipped, and it wasn't something with paradise in mind.
Suddenly Jack grabbed your hand, snapping you out of your thoughts. "We're going to run to the back of the building, stay close while I look for a way in." There was only a small field between your current spot and the building, but it still left an opportunity for someone to spot the two of you encroaching on the church. You hardly had the chance to nod before Jack started running.
You stumbled after him for the first few steps before you managed to mostly keep up the pace. Upon arriving, Jack pulled you with him to a section of the wall with no window before stopping in his tracks.
He kept completely silent for a moment before looking down at you. "I don't hear anything. Look through the window of the back door."
You silently agreed and did as you were told. Carefully approaching the door, you squinted as you tried to peer into the church. You couldn't see much initially, the glare blocking your view. You nearly pressed your head against the glass as you leaned closer. It was a hallway. Straight ahead was a set of double doors, most likely leading to the main area of worship. Beside it on either side were branching halls where you assumed the members would stay.
You returned to Jack's side and whispered, "I didn't see anyone, they must be in their rooms."
Jack nodded. "Good, now look through the rest of the windows. See if you can figure out which room is his."
You gulped, but again did as asked. Crouching down and out of sight, you went from window to window looking inside for any sign of Father Krul. The first couple of rooms on the left side of the door were all residential. Without the light on all you could see were general shapes, but even still you gathered the four sets of bunk beds nearly filling the entire room. Eight people to a room, and they were all the same. The last unit appeared to be a storage room, and you breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing it.
So far there were sixteen people, and no sign of the Father. You crept towards the right wing, peeking inside just as you had done with the others. The rooms remained the same, and you counted sixteen more people. The final unit had curtains drawn, leaving the window a useless black square. You hurried back to Jack with what you'd found out.
"There's at least thirty-two people in there, but there might be more." You let out a shaky breath, trying not to let your fear show in your voice. "The last room on the left side looks like storage, but on the right I can't see in. I think he's in there."
"We'll go in through the storage." Jack decided. Once at the window, you stood to the side to give Jack space as he worked to get it open.
You stared down at your shoes. The cold air was thick with anticipation. Your heart was hammering against your chest, beating so hard it was as if it was trying to leap out and run far, far away from this place. Now that you were here, this seemed like such a horrible idea. There were over thirty people inside the building you were about to break into. Being here at this church felt so familiar yet new all at the same time.
You could easily imagine the you from a year ago sleeping in one of those bunk beds. Oblivious and blind to the reality of what they were a part of. And yet here you were. About to break in with Jack in order to get rid of this cult once and for all.
A sudden sharp creak from the window made you look over at Jack. It was open. There was no turning back now.
Jack climbed in first and helped you inside after making sure the room was safe. Shelves filled with various cans and boxes lined the walls. The room smelled of dust, and the only light provided was the moon's that shined in through the still open window. You tightly gripped the knife in your pocket as Jack moved towards the door.
He wrapped his hand firmly around the knob and ever so slowly turned it. Carefully, he pulled it open and paused to listen for anything. The church was dead silent. There was no sign of anyone, and you were holding out hope that they all were asleep and would stay that way.
Just as Jack stepped into the hall, whispers and quiet footsteps erupted from the right wing. Immediately he backed away and pulled the door inwards, leaving it as only a crack.
The voices didn't stay for long, leaving just as soon as they'd come. You heard the doors leading to the central area open and soon the church was silent again.
Jack didn't make a move to leave again, instead looking at you. "I want you to stay here."
"What? Jack no-" You were quickly cut off.
"If Father Krul is at the end of the hall it'll be safer for me to go alone. If something happens, it'll be easier for me to just worry about getting myself out than you as well."
You didn't like this. You didn't like this at all. But he had a point. "Fine."
"If anything goes wrong I want you to run to the car, don't worry about me." With those words, he stepped into the hallway.
At this moment you wanted to take Jack by the shoulders and shake him. So many things could go wrong, and if they did, he expected you to run away and leave him behind. There was no way you were going to do that, and if the two of you got out of here alive you promised to tell him off for it later.
Right now though, you were so worried about him that your anger hardly lasted a few seconds. Once Jack was out of sight you quickly took his place by the door, peeking out as subtly as you could. He was moving slowly down the hall, mostly keeping to the shadows.
Tap
Tap
Tap
His boots made the slightest sound as he walked, but against the silence they almost seemed to echo. As Jack neared the right wing you began to gnaw on your bottom lip. Your hands were still shaking as you gripped the doorknob. He was so close. There hadn't been any more voices, there hadn't been any more stray footsteps. There was no sign of anyone around.
Jack passed the first door.
Then the second.
Finally, he was standing just outside of where you hoped Father Krul was sleeping. Things were going according to plan. Jack was safe, you were safe. This was finally almost over.
Jack reached out his hand for the knob, twisted it, and slowly pushed it open. He paused, listening, and then looked across the hallway right at you.
Something was wrong.
Suddenly the silence was shattered. The door right beside Father Krul's room opened and out walked what looked to be a man dressed in black.
The man didn't seem to realize Jack was out of place at first. "What are you doing out so la-" You saw the man flinch back upon fully seeing Jack. He slowly craned his head back to look up at him, and quickly you saw his face contort into sheer terror as he was met with the two black voids of Jack's mask staring back at him.
He opened his mouth to scream, but Jack acted before he could. Tearing his scalpel from his pocket, Jack grabbed the cultist by his hair and slashed his throat. The man started sputtering and gasping for air, but soon Jack sliced again and the man fell silent. Jack dropped his body to the ground and started to walk towards you.
Just as Jack passed the room another man ran out, clearly having heard the commotion, and tried to hit him with what looked like a baton. Jack managed to dodge and grab the man by the arm, then throwing him across the room. He didn't get up. Soon another two cultists emerged from the room, followed by the next room over also joining the fight.
Your eyes were wide. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Jack was surrounded, and you could only watch as the hallway quickly descended into chaos.
Jack managed to fend off the first few people who attacked him, but now that it was ten against one he started to struggle and his assailants were getting closer and closer.
CRACKLE
A burst of light and a loud noise came from the baton and suddenly Jack let out a roar. The first ZAP hadn't had much effect, but as more and more batons were thrust at Jack his body began to convulse.
They had fucking stun batons. You couldn't breathe. Everything was happening so fast. What had Father Krul done? Why were they so prepared? Why did they all have weapons? What had he been planning?
Just as Jack dropped to his knees, the double doors opened and out walked the snake himself; Father Krul. He was dressed in black robes, contrasting against his pale skin. He was followed by four more cultists, and soon after their entrance the rest of the rooms opened as well. Most of the members looked shocked, if not horrified, of Jack, but Father Krul looked as calm and commanding as ever. A sinister smirk bloomed on his lips as he looked down at his crumbled form.
You followed his gaze and had to hold back a gasp. Jack was being held down by several people, and behind them were even more holding their batons at the ready. Any time he tried to move he was met with another wave of electricity. Guttural growls and snarls left him, but there was little he could do as it was.
"I knew you would come back to us one day, Chernobog." The name that left Father Krul's lips made you feel sick. It was the being they worshipped. He was an evil deity, one who brought about disaster and misfortune, save for his beloved cult of course. The committee had convinced the cultists that by offering him a vessel and allowing him to come to earth, he would lead them to paradise and save them from any suffering he may cause.
You didn't know why anyone had thought summoning Chernobog was a good idea, or why they continued to try. Paradise was never specified, but it was a word that made naive people easy to sway.
A sigh left Father Krul before he pointed at one of his underlings. "You, go get the rope."
A cultist scurried off back into one of the side rooms while the others stayed put trying to keep Jack restrained. Seeing him like this was making old memories play through your head like a disturbing horror movie. You remembered the times he'd tried to escape but inevitably get caught. The times he'd fight back only to get knocked out. The punishments. The rituals. The massacre.
Shaking your head and squeezing your eyes shut, you forced yourself to push those thoughts out of your mind. Now wasn't the time to relive your trauma, now was the time to right wrongs. There wasn't much you could do to help Jack, not when you had a good thirty people against you, but you had to try. You owed Jack that much. Fuck your personal safety, fuck running away. You had to do something and you needed to do it now.
You moved before fully deciding on a game plan. Not bothering to move quietly, you stepped right into plain sight with your measly pocket knife held by your side. Heads quickly turned at the sound of your approaching footsteps. A woman moved to attack, but Father Krul held an arm out to stop her.
The priest hid his emotions well, you knew that, but even still his look of gratitude was almost convincing. "Oh my child, thank you for returning the vessel to us."
Your brows furrowed. "I'm not-"
He cut you off. "Do not be frightened, Y/N." Krul cooed with a kind smile. Your confusion only grew the more he spoke. He actually knew who you were?
"...You remember me?" The cult hadn't been large per se, but you played no special role in it. You figured you were just another face in the crowd to him.
"Of course I remember you, I remember all of my children." He maintained his warm smile as he then regarded the entire group, "worry not, this is not our Lord Chernobog. This man has merely stolen his essence." His words filled you with gut-churning disgust, and you didn't bother to hide the way you felt.
"Jack hasn't done anything!" You yelled. "You fucking sacrificed him! You did this to him!" You wanted Krul to pay. For him to choke on his words as the life drained from his eyes. And at this point, you'd do it yourself.
Before you could try anything, your eyes fell on Jack again. They'd already started tying him up. He was still fighting, but it was clear the constant stream of electricity was taking its toll.
Father Krul sighed thoughtfully. "My child, we all did this to him. Now it's our responsibility to fix this grave error and return what has been lost." His smile grew as he formed eye contact. "Put down the knife, child. There is still room for you here. You may still enter paradise with us."
Your head was spinning. Join them? The idea had gagged you. You stared blankly at Krul as your brain tried to process what had just been said. To rejoin the cult of Chernobog. To walk among their ranks and learn about their goals. It was an offer you couldn't refuse. Your knife clattered to the ground.
"Join us, my child."
"Of course, Father."
We're nearing the end guys, only around three more chapters and an epilogue left 🤧
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