Sorry about the delay everyone (all like 10 of you), I've been very busy with the new job and new life out here in California. That aside, here is post number two for your reading pleasure. I've taken a couple of suggestions this time, and logged some of them away for later. I'm putting the list at the bottom, so they don't act as spoilers.
"Unnngh..." Thomas was beginning to come to.
"That's the usual reaction people have to Exposure." The old man was leaning against a brick wall, in what was probably an alley, but it looked, and smelled, more like a garbage dump. "It's not every day someone has a Puppeteer come after them after all."
Thomas rolled over and his hand landed in something damp and slimy. Then it moved. Thomas fully came to with a start, looking around, and wondering where the coffee shop had gone. With a groan and a hand on his head, Thomas slowly climbed to his feet. "Where are we?"
Benjamin looked around, "We're in the alley a couple of block's down from Joe's. I would've carried you further, but you're not light, and I used up a lot of my energy in that fight. So far I haven't heard anything out of the police this far away, but we should probably get moving. Can you walk?"
"I-I think so..." Thomas shook his head, trying to clear out some of the fuzz. "Where to?"
Benjamin jerked his head towards the entrance to the Alley, "Come on, I know a place where you can clean up and we can get a drink. I suppose I have some explaining to do."
After walking for quite a few blocks... well, more like a mile or two, Thomas and Benjamin ended up in a another alley, facing a worn, green metal door. Thomas wasn't quite sure to expect when he walked through the door, but a Catholic chapel wasn't it.
"This way," the old man said without looking back. "We're almost there." Benjamin led Thomas down a couple of hallways and through a small sanctuary. Thomas couldn't help but note that the inside of the church was much nicer than the outside. "Through here." Benjamin placed his hand on a section of the wall, and pressed in. The wall slid back and inch, and began sliding open. Thomas would never have seen it, even if he was looking.
They entered a room that could only be described as a cross between a chapel and an armory. On one wall hung an ornate cross, made of a polished dark wood, that appeared to have stains on it, as if someone had actually been hung on it. And it looked old… maybe someone had. There was an altar at the foot of the cross with hundred of candles on it, most of them already burned low. On the other two walls of the rectangular room hung racks of weapons and armor, holy water and censers. Thomas stood in the entry, taking it all in. Three hours ago (or more, he wasn't sure how long he was out) he was a mild mannered barista, not living up to his potential. Now he had been the target of a Puppeteer, and been saved by the Battle Pope.
He was broken out of his reverie when Benjamin gestured to a bench next to a rack of crossbow bolts. "Have a seat. I'm sure you have questions, and I will do my best to answer them, but be quick, for we have a lot of work to do."
Even with everything that had happened, Thomas had to ask the question that had been bothering him since he met the old man, "How did you know my name?" Benjamin smiled at him and gestured to his name tag. Thomas's ears turned a little red at that, and he looked at the plastic tag. "Wait… this only has my first name on it. You spoke my full name. What gives man? You said you'd answer my questions."
Benjamin smiled again, "You got me, I just couldn't resist. Thomas, you've been on our list for a while now. Ever since you crossed paths with that Shaper some years ago. We had hoped you would be left alone, that it was an isolated incident, but when it rains it pours. We're not sure why, but that Puppeteer was after you. We'll come back to you in a minute though, anything else?"
"Uh… okay," Thomas nervously scratched at his hair. "Who are you? What is this place?"
"That's a big question, but I'll give you the cliff notes version. This is what is known officially as a Sanctuary, a place for members of the church, and members of other faiths with the same goals, who are actively defending humanity from the tides of darkness. You more than anyone know what is out there, and I'm truly sorry for what happened to you, but know that you are not alone, there are those of us who fight to protect the people who can't protect themselves. Until about 30 years ago, our order, and those like ours were able to keep people like you from finding out about the underside of the coin, the darkness to our light." Benjamin paused for a moment, taking care to light several new candles, crossing himself as he did so.
"Honestly, it's because of the Internet that people have found out that humans are not the dominant species on the planet. There are far too many of us, and we are far to connected for such things to remain hidden. Our only defense is that we are many, and the creatures of the night are few." He shook his head, "But that's not what you asked, is it? I'm sure you've learned that much, looking into what that creature you saw was. Who we are is the militant arm of the Catholic church. Or at least, we were. The church and I had something of a disagreement, and I decided to become self-employed. Several of my fellow warrior-priest came with me, but we are in dire need of help."
"And I'm supposed to be that help? I was barely able to spray water at that creature in the coffee-shop, and I don't even remember doing it." Thomas folded his arms over his chest, in what could almost be described as a pout.
"Do you know what that creature was, Thomas?"
"You said it was called a Puppeteer, right? I can certainly see where it got it's name." Thomas said with a snort.
"You're correct, but not completely. The demon took over the girl in the coffee shop's body, to be sure, but it can only do that with someone with a hole in their soul, it needs something to latch on to. That girl might have looked normal and happy, but there was a part of her that was missing. Perhaps she made a deal, some demons are very fond of that, or perhaps it was trauma. Either way, it was lucky for us. When the creature took a body, I could hurt it. It was simply arrogant in that it would be able to hurt me more. It assumed it could kill me. And without your distraction, it probably could have. Which brings me to the point." He paused for what was obviously, to everyone in the room, dramatic effect. "You acted. You saw everyone else in the coffee shop. They were transfixed. They could no more flee than fight. They couldn't have moved a muscle. That is the real power that a Puppeteer wields. Fear."
"I was crazy scared, I don't know what you're talking about. I barely remember spraying the creature. I just remember the girl going crazy, and then you stabbing her in the heart. Everything else is kind of a blur."
"There are generally two type of reactions to Exposure. The most common, which will most likely occur with everyone at the coffee shop, is denial. Even though people now know these creatures exist, they don't want to believe it when they see it. They will rationalize it away, thinking things like, 'there was a crazy man with a sword that killed that poor girl', when they should think, 'that man just saved our lives.' The other reaction is a sort of mental break. They realize what happened, but they can't process it. Something like that might have happened to that poor girl, leaving a foothold for the Puppeteer. It can happen in wildly varying degrees and might not manifest for years. Or it might cause someone to go on a killing spree. It's impossible to tell." Benjamin had been pacing, as if teaching a class, but he stopped abruptly and looked Thomas in the eye. "There is a third type of reaction, one much more rare. What you did was embrace the fear. You might not realize it, but you were able to experience the horror, process it, and fight back. Your water spout was a baby-step on the road to fighting against these creatures. We need you, and like it or not, there is really no going back. I wounded that creature, but it wanted you. It will be back."
Thomas rocked on his heels at that realization, as if he had been punched in the gut. It was real, all if it was real. Everything that happened to Emily… "Nice recruitment speech, Ben. 'Join us or die', is that it?"
Ben sadly shook his head, "We will not abandon you to them, whatever your decision, we will do what we can to protect you. However, we are not perfect, and the best defense is to teach you to defend yourself. To join us."
Here are the suggestions that I've used, although some of the other ideas I extrapolated from your suggestions and from conversations about the story.
- Benjamin is a ex-Catholic priest.
- The creature can influence a crowd of people
- the name-tag
- Ben explains things :)
For next time (and perhaps a few scenes in the future) we have some doozy's to answer.
- what exactly are these "Demons" or "creatures of darkness"
- what is their origin? are they cthuluean (sp?), are legends and folk lore based on them?
- why is Ben no longer with the church
- who else is on Ben's team
- and the big one, who is Emily, what is a Shaper, and how are they connected?
- oh, and of course, what happens next?
Feel free to offer any suggestions not on this list, or the ones on this list, or anything else. If you notice typos, let me know, it's getting late, and I should be asleep, but I was on a roll. I look forward to hearing from everyone!
