Then, she turned to Koln, smiling at his wardrobe change, "You know, Koln. Those clothes make you look good. But I was thinking, while you were gone, would you like me to order you some clothes, too? Our little mall fiasco tonight left me thinking that maybe it would be better to get the bare essentials shipped to us, rather than venturing out unnecessarily. If we order by 6AM, anything we get will get to us in like 12 hours, I think. Ruby? The offer's open to you, too. If you'd like anything, that is. Hm... maybe I could say, 'Mi credit card es su credit card?' Haha."
^.^ She hoped very much to make all of this mess up to them.
"Thank you Clover. I appreciate that greatly. These clothes are fine for now, unfortunately I have sinned and am no longer worthy of my collar, so the clothes of the lay people is fine for me. What I do need are weapons, but I think public safety may get suspicious if they find a gun cache in your room. However, if there are any chairs about that no one would miss, I could easy snap and fashion their legs into stakes. Still, I would like showing you girls how to operate a firearm, especially you Ruby. Unless automatic rifles make you uncomfortable, then I could train you in the Amish equivalent to a gun: a rock on some string." Koln teasingly smirks, patting Ruby on the head as he lays back on the floor. He places his hat and collar on the nightstand behind him and rolls onto his side, shutting his eyes.
As the day starts, so too does the nightmares...
Koln feels a bright light on the outside of his eyes, along with the feeling that he's being watched. He sits up, opening his eyes, and immediately notices the room now has a strange green glow to it. He then hears a laugh from behind, causing him to stumble and turn, facing the microwave. It is emitting a diabolical green light, and seems to be laughing at him... it is laughing! Koln plugs his ears with his hands, shutting his eyes. "Ah... it is all in my head, I have to fight the insanity! For my friends, I must remain true!" The tension in the room gets deeper as Koln can feel numerous eyes on him. The air gets heavy, making it hard for him to breathe, although he doesn't need to. "STOP IT!" Koln screams at himself. "STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!" over and over again, shaking his head until the laughing stops... his eyes open again, but somehow he must have turned during his fit, for instead of facing the microwave he is now facing the closet.
The door slowly swings open with the expected "creeeaaakkk", and Koln leaps to his feet as a wave of danger comes over him. He balls up his hands and prepares for a fight but all that's behind the closet is darkness. Koln squints, trying to peer behind the curtain of darkness, until he sees the abyss, which stares right back at him. He steps forward slowly as a light flickers in the closet, similar to a roadside lampost. As it stops flickering and powers on, it illuminates the inside, revealing an ordinary doll hanging by it's neck from a rope. Koln steps foward, and as he does the room gets increasingly dark, save for the hanging doll, until it is as if he is standing alone in a void with the mysterious object.
The doll... he cannot put his finger on it, but it seems very familiar, it starts to sway, as if being blown gently by some wind until a second light enters the vision, this being of an angel, or so Koln thinks. The angel is not what one ordinarily thinks an angel to resemble, in fact it's actual description simply cannot be compared to anything earthly, the closest mortal words can describe it is that it was an "illuminating and burning presence of power." Koln can barely keep his eyes on it, but is able to watch as the angel slices the rope, letting the doll fall to the floor, it's head coming away from the rest of it.
At the sight, Koln feels a strangely foreign emotion, fear, unbridled unpredictable ravenous fear that makes him shudder and bring tears to his eyes. He clenches his eyelids together, rubbing them with his knucles to dry them as he sits, doing his best to calm himself. "It's ok, It'll be ok, I am innocent, there is no more danger, God is still in His Heaven."
"Are you okay boy?" Another voice asks, quite gentle and familiar is his tone. Koln's eyes open, and he is now in an ornately decorated church, sitting in a pew at the front row, facing the large wooden statue of the crucified Lord. The church is comfortable and welcoming, despite being dimply lit, from what Koln can gather from inside the church through the painted glass, there seems to be a gloomy overcast outside.
"I said, are you ok? You seem pale, and upset." Koln looks at the man next to him and nods slowly. "Yeah... I am ok, thank you. I am just scared."
The familiar looking man strokes his chin. He is dressed as a priest but wearing a funny looking top hat. He has a small beard, and very sad wide eyes. He seems middle agled, probably in his early forties, and his hands look worn and red, typical of someone who is used to a life of labor... or fighting. "There is no need to be afraid. God is with you, always. You are young, only 17 if my math serves me correctly, but by now they must have told you that you are destined for great things. You are to defeat the unwanted, the demons, the nonbelievers, and the plans that they have made. Never forget, my son, when you grow up you will be the savior of not the righteous but the broken, beaten, sinfull, and even the damned."
The young Koln is awestruck at his words. "Father...er... Sorrry, I am not sure what your name is, I have never seen you before" The man winces as if in pain at what Koln just said, but lets him continue. "How am I supposed to do that? I thought the damned were the enemy too. Whatever the Holy See tells me to fight, I will, that's all there is to it.
"That's fine, long live our good Pope of course. But above all listen to your heart. I have not been able to see you, duty has forced me away, and there are strict rules forbidding me from seeing you, believe it or not. It is funny that you called me 'Father,' I do not think you know how right you are...I will always love you, and be proud of you no matter what. You could never fail me." He says as he takes off his hat, gently placing it on Koln's head.
The young Koln smiles happily, leaning to embrace his father... Koln's eyes shoot open, staring up at the dorm ceiling. It was all a dream... he lets out a deep sigh, curling his knees to his chest, shutting his eyes once again.
