-> Faith <-
-> An Angel's Fall From Grace <-
>"I... I can't let this go on. I have to help him, I'm his teacher. I have an obligation to keep him safe."
>She still has nightmares of her first run-in with the possessed Jonah.
>It was the day of Halloween.
>He came late to school that day wearing a full mask, he didn't say much of anything either.
>Mostly kept his head down and seemed to draw symbols in crayon.
>When it was over and parents and went with their kids, only he remained...
>"Jonah? Jonah dear, classes are over.... Is everything okay?"
>"..."
>"Is everything okay at home Jonah? We can talk about it if you'd li-"
>Jonah seems to mutter something...
>"I... I can't hear what you're saying Jonah."
>"Am i hOlEy nOw mIsS GaBbY?"
>*gasp* "J-jonah! W-what happened to you??"
>"i mAdE SoMe nEw fRiEnDs, ThEy oPeNeD My mInD. aNd nOw? i aM StRoNgEr mIsS GaBbY, nO OnE WiLl hUrT Me aNyMoRe."
>"J-jonah please, you're scaring me..."
>"DoN'T Be sCaReD MiSs gAbBy. I Am sAfE. i cAn kEeP YoU SaFe tOo. YoU CaN BeE StRoNg lIkE Me. JoIn uS MiSs gAbBy, GaRy wOuLd lOvE YoU LiKe hE LoVeS Us."
>Gabby stepped back in fear.
>"Who's Gary?"
>"GaRy iS A NoRmAl hUmAn bEiNg, jUsT LiKe yOu aNd mE. hE ShOwEd mE ThIs sTrEnGtH WaS InSiDe mE AlL AlOnG, i jUsT NeEdEd tO LeT ThEm iN…”
>Gabby considered calling the police, but they wouldn't be of much help. Maybe she could see if any fellow teachers were still here and get them to help.
>She gripped the cross necklace she wore and began to back away from the possessed body of Jonah.
>"WhY ArE YoU LeAvInG Me mIsS GaBby?"
>The demon taunted, as blood red fingers passed through the hole in his head where his face once was. Revealing an arm of something that wasn't human.
>Gabby fled the demonic creature and ran for the exit, she'd look back to see Jonah's body on all fours crawling on the ceiling towards her.
>Barely making it to the exit she slammed the door shut behind her, and propped it shut with a chair as Jonah banged on the door.
>"i cAn hEaR YoU BrEaThInG GaBrIeLlE. . . yOu cAn't eScApE ThE UnSpEaKaBlE!"
>Gabby backed away from the door, her heart pounding in her chest as tears flowed from her eyes. She was gripped by a primordial fear that she had felt only once before.
>Getting away from the door she ran towards her car, getting in and driving away from the building. She drove farther and farther away, before eventually pulling over on the side of the road.
>She put her hands on her face and began to sob, one of her own students was being tortured and tormented by this otherworldly creature, and she believed it was all her fault.
>She would cry for a while in that car, her guilt and fears dripping onto her pants till she began to calm down.
>She took her bag, which she still had in her car, and took out her inhaler before taking a hit of her medicine.
>Quickly her lungs felt lighter, and she could breathe easier, starting up the car again and heading home…

-> --------------------------- <-

>A year passed, Saint Matthew's Sunday School was shut down.
>The public statement on its closure was a freak bear attack, one that led to 5 deaths.
>Gabby knew the real reason, as she was to be their latest sacrifice.
>Her sight was plagued by visions of hooded figures chanting.
>The pounding of drums, accentuated by writhing shadows that bray and shout in languages not meant for the ears of mortal men.
>She feels herself being dragged to an altar by humanoid forms that hoist her upon the cold stone. The thralls stand aside when two new figures enter her vision.
>One the limp figure of Jonah, held aloft in the air by the large red arm of an unnameable horror.
>The other is a hooded figure she hasn't seen before, holding a metal mask and a ritual knife.
>It seems to speak to the crowd in words Gabby could not comprehend. Before placing the mask upon Gabby's face.
>A searing hot pain shot through her whole body as she screamed and jostled about.
>The bite of the knife carved into her head, and in that moment of agonizing pain Gabby awoke from her bed. Awash in a cold sweat, and breathing heavily.
>Another nightmare, she had been having them ever since that day.
-> ---------------------------------------------------- <-
>Gabby had sought out different forms of employment after the incident. She had a few jobs as a babysitter and a substitute teacher in the interim.
>However, those who knew her personally could tell she wasn't the same person she once was.
>She’d visit a shrink and it did seem to help for a while, but there was always lingering guilt that hung like a carrot on a stick.
>Just outside her reach, she’d get so close to being free of it. Only for it to come back.
>One day, she gathered the courage required for her next move.
>She locked the door to her house, entered her car, and drove to the center of her suffering.
>And the embodiment of her failures.
-> ---------------------------------------------------- <-
>The windows were shattered and the entrance barred by planks of wood.
>All over were signs of teenagers and homeless having frequented this place for shelter or a place to dare their friends to enter.
>Gabby stepped in through a window and turned on a flashlight, holding a crucifix close to her heart she traversed the halls of this once honorable place of knowledge and religious belief.
>She found a note within one of the old classrooms.
>”What a steal, whatever caused this place to close down so quickly left a bunch of cash in the charity boxes. With that and the recycling this could be my lucky day.”
>Her heart sank knowing the depths some would turn to for a financial boon, but there were more pressing matters to take care of. Mainly that of the location of Jonah.
>Her every step reminded her of her old job here. The smiling faces of the students as they sat in her class.
>The calmness of the teachers lounge and the liquid ambrosia that was the coffee machine on a particularly stress-filled day.
>All those memories were no more than the dust that floated about the air when Gabby entered her old classroom.
>She saw what remained of an apple a student had gifted her once. Now long past the point of being edible.
>Something caught her eye. Jonah’s old backpack, ransacked of most things except old drawings by the boy.
>Gabby sifted through them to get an idea of what Jonah might have been thinking at the time.
>The images didn't bode well for Jonah, even long before he was being puppeted by a demon.
>Drawings of an adult male figure throwing a bottle at a depiction of the child, of him shouting curses, and holding what seemed to be a belt.
>The art only became more troubling as Jonah was soon depicted being surrounded by darkness, alone in a void.
>The final one sent a shiver down Gabby’s spine, a depiction of Jonah standing next to a figure clad in a red robe…
-> ---------------------------------------------------- <-
>Gabby stumbled away from the pages of children's drawing. Beginning to put some of the pieces together.
>As she backed away, a voice piped up from behind her.
>”G-gabby!”
>She jumped up and turned around holding her crucifix out. “G-get away from me!”
>”W-woah woah calm down Gabby it's just me.”
>The voice was familiar, someone she knew well.
>”F-francis? What are you doing here?”
>”A-ah was tryin’ ta call you but ya never picked up, a-and ah figured you’d be here. Is everything alright Gabby?”
>”Francis… You, you shouldn't be here. It's not safe.”
>”Why not? There's no one parked out here besides you and me.”
>”No, Francis. You need to leave, I have something to do here.”
>”B-but Gabby.”
>”I said no, Francis. I don't want you around here."
>”...A-ahlright, ah’m sorry Gabby. Ah shouldn't have been so pushy.”
>Gabby sighed and put a hand on the man’s shoulder, “It's okay Francis, I know you're worried about me. I’ll be out quick Francis, maybe we can hang out afterwards.”
>”You, you really mean that?”
>”Mhm. Just wait outside and I’ll see you soon.”
>The portly little man smiled and walked out of the derelict classroom. When he was out of earshot Gabby sighed.
>”I’m sorry Francis, but I have to do this alone."