Disguised in a white robe like the other nuns, Aeliana kept her head low as she quietly navigated the corridors of the living quarters and the areas beyond. At some point, Midnight began popping his head up from random shadows like a game of whack-a-mole.
She didn't need words to understand he wanted her to follow.
Guided by the elusive feline, she found herself drifting deeper into a section of the church where the air felt colder and the atmosphere changed.
Gone were the nuns, priests, and acolytes. In their place were rougher men—hard-eyed and scarred, with the same brutish energy as the guards who had stood watch at the church's front gate.
At some point, a small voice in the back of her mind warned that it was probably time to stay out of sight. And not a moment too soon.
Just as she slipped behind some brush, one of the callous-looking men emerged from a corridor, dragging along a woman with a vacant stare and slumped posture. There was no mistaking the grip he had on her—firm, commanding. Not unlike the way a soldier might escort a prisoner of war.
Once they passed, Aeliana scanned the area cautiously. When Midnight gave the signal that the coast was clear, she crept toward the edge of the wall and peeked around the bend.
Her eyes landed on a heavily fortified structure in the distance that looked like a hybrid between a sanctuary and a dungeon. It had grim, narrow windows and iron-bound doors that seemed far too menacing for a place of worship.
"…Valerie, where are you?"
***
The cell stank of damp stone and sweat. Mold clung to the cracks in the wall like it was alive, and somewhere in the distance, water dripped endlessly into a puddle that had no place to go.
Valerie sat curled in the corner, hugging her knees, the thin shift she was forced to wear doing nothing to ward off the chill. Her eyes lifted just enough to scan the cramped space—ashen faces, hollow stares, trembling hands. None of the women here spoke. They didn't have to. The silence was heavier than screams.
Then came the sound they all dreaded.
Tap. Tap. Scrape…
A wooden staff dragged along the bars of the cell with deliberate spite, each clang making the women flinch. One of them whimpered. Valerie gritted her teeth.
The man who appeared wore a crooked grin across a scared face. His eyes scanned the cell like a child picking from a box of bruised sweets. He liked the fear, and breathed it in with evident delight.
"Well, well," he sneered, drawing out the words as he jingled a set of keys in one hand. "Who's ready to be useful today?"
None of them moved.
With a casual twist of his wrist, he unlocked the cell door. It groaned open. He stepped inside like he owned them. "You wench, come here," he said, grabbing a dark-haired girl near the bars.
She resisted, which promptly earned her a slap. The crack of palm on cheek echoed off the walls. The woman whimpered but didn't fight again. Her spirit had been thin to begin with—now it was threadbare.
"That's better," the man cooed mockingly, shoving her toward another guard waiting just outside the cell. "You behave, you might even survive. Maybe."
He laughed.
The second man took her by the arm and disappeared down the corridor. But the one inside the cell wasn't finished.
His gaze slid to Valerie and she stiffened.
He approached slowly, savoring it. When he reached her, he crouched, ignoring her flinch, and reached for her hair. A long ebony lock slipped through his fingers. He raised it to his nose and breathed in. Then he looked her over—her awkward stance, the way she fidgeted, her innocent demeanor and shy, downcast eyes.
Immediately, he knew.
"…Pure," he murmured, eyes lighting up. "You're pure."
Valerie's chest tightened.
The man's smile widened. "Didn't expect a gem like you to wind up in this trash heap along with all the other riffraff. Guess today's my lucky day."
His hand reached out, tracing the air just above her cheek, his fingers twitching with anticipation. "I'll take my time enjoying you before you're ruined by—"
BONGGG!
The man staggered, then collapsed, face down and ass up in the most undignified way imaginable.
Standing behind him—small, breathless, and gripping a cast-iron frying pan like a holy relic—was a lone nun. Her dark brown eyes blinked down at the man she'd just clobbered.
Valerie's eyes widened in disbelief. "…Aeliana?! No way—it's really you?! What are you doing here?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" she replied, tossing the frying pan aside then grabbing the girl by the wrist. "I'm here to get you out. Let's go!"
Valerie scrambled to her feet, exasperated. "You're insane! Just when I think you can't possibly get any more reckless—"
"You're welcome," Aeliana quipped, already tugging her toward the exit.
But Valerie paused. Her eyes drifted back to the man groaning softly on the ground. With a vengeful glint in her eye, she turned, marched back, picked up the frying pan and—
WHACK!
She slammed it down right across the pervert's still-cocked rump.
"Take that, you jerk," she muttered darkly.
Noticing the cell door was wide open, the other women didn't wait—they bolted.
"With all this commotion, it's just a matter of time before it draws attention," Aeliana urged. "We should get going."
"Right!" Valerie gave a quick nod in agreement.
***
Valerie's breaths were ragged, her famished body protesting with every step as she ran alongside her friend. On either side of the stone hallway, cells loomed like tombs. Inside, the gaunt faces of imprisoned women stared through the bars.
Valerie's pace faltered. "We… we can't just leave them here," she panted, glancing around at the faces blurring past. "Not like this…"
All of a sudden, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a fleeting glimpse of a feline and a canine working together to open the locks of the prison cells.
Aeliana glanced back, noticing the same thing. "My friends are already taking care of it," she reassured. "Our priority is to get out of here and tell Haxks what's been happening in this church."
"Haxks?" Valerie huffed, barely keeping up. "Is that… your boyfriend or something?"
Aeliana nearly tripped. "B-Boyfriend?! Of course not!"
The girl frowned accusingly. "By the way, what kind of nun sneaks onto sacred church grounds and breaks into their dungeon anyway?"
Aeliana gave her a deadpan stare. "A concerned friend? Or should I apologize for risking my life to come save you?"
Valerie grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Thank you."
Aeliana allowed herself a small smile. "Thank me after we've escaped this dreadful place."
But the words had barely left her lips when—
HISSSSS~
They heard a sizzling sound ahead. The sound was faint, like a snake warming up to strike.
Both girls slowed instinctively.
There, at the end of the hall, stood a figure blocking the corridor like a fortress of flesh and iron. He was massive. Dark-skinned and broad-shouldered, clad in plate armor augmented with studded spikes. Reptilian horns or bone-like protrusions grew from his brows like warped crowns. And worst of all—his eyelids were sewn shut. So were his lips.
HISSSSS~
Around his thick neck hung an hourglass. Its final grains of sand were trickling slowly into the bottom chamber.
The women who had been freed slowed to a stop. Aeliana clutched Valerie's arm. They were terrified—teeth chattering, limbs trembling—the sheer weight of the man's presence seemed to anchor them in place, shackling their ankles to the floor.
TSSS—TSSS—
The last grain fell.
Then the armored Goliath stirred. He extended a monstrous arm, as if to squash them like overripe fruit. But the moment the threads sealing one eye snapped and he captured the women in a hooded gaze, his arm stilled and the hostility vanished.
In the same beat—
"What's going on here?!" a pompous voice barked.
A priest, draped in lavish white-and-red robes, stormed onto the scene. His expression twisted in disgust the moment his eyes landed on the fleeing women.
The previously unconscious guard—soothing the tender bump on his head—shuffled through the crowd. "There was a prison break," he muttered, gesturing to Aeliana and Valerie. "They attacked me. It was her—the nun."
The priest's face contorted. "You wench! You would dare defy the teachings of the church for this worthless harlot? Guards! Throw them both into the catacombs. Let that be a lesson to the rest of you."
Valerie's blood turned cold. "The catacombs? Wait—no, no!" she cried. "People don't come back from there!"
The priest's lips curled. "Exactly."
Soldiers surrounded them before either could run. Aeliana tried to struggle, but it was useless. Unceremoniously, they were dragged to a sealed trapdoor that was flung open with a rusty creak.
"Wait—please—!" Aeliana started.
Despite her plea, they were tossed in.
They screamed as they fell into the dark.
SPLASH!
Icy water engulfed them.
The shock punched the air from their lungs as they flailed, clothes heavy with water, arms barely pulling them toward the edge before hypothermia took hold.
"A-Aeli—are you okay?" Valerie gasped, her lips trembling as she crawled onto the muddy bank.
"I-I think so," the nun chattered, hugging herself as her teeth knocked together. Her skin was bone-white, her hair soaked and clinging to her neck. "Wh-Where are we?"
Just as she whispered it—
A low growl rumbled from the darkness.
Something ancient stirred. Something massive. Two hungry eyes blinked open like cursed torches in the darkness.
Valerie's hand found Aeliana's, the color draining from their faces.