"Alexander, come help me. Alex? Ale... Al..."
It was around 8 pm when my watch stopped working for some reasons. Just when I realised what was going on around me, my hands were already choking the neck of the person I loved. I could not stop myself. I didn't want to hurt him. But there was no other way. Now that I think about it, have I ever told him that I loved him?
"Alex... what are you dazing around for? there's no time. We have to hurry. "
"Uh.. Oh.. Um.. I don't feel like doing anything. I am so tired. Can we take a break?"
"What? So am I, you bastard. But if you want to get out of this place, we will have to co-operate."
These words belonged to a young, fair woman who was petite and slim, with soft and delicate facial features. Despite her youthful appearance, she behaved older than her age. She was responsible and mentally strong, someone who easily adapted to changing surroundings.
"Kayla, you take this hammer away. I will try unlocking the door. There is some sort of correct code we have to enter."
"But I can't come up with any combinations."
"They were the ones who wanted us to enter this church so they should open it for us. Let's just wait here instead, Alex."
"Hold on.... 1, 3, 7, 12, 50.... hmmm."
"Why are you reciting random numbers, nerd?"
"..."
"Huh, wait. Not so fast."
The door sprang open with a click. The interior couldn't be seen much because of the darkness. So I looked around for a light switch. I used a lighter since neither of our phones was functioning at the moment.
"Hey, how did you know? the right one?"
"I just randomly used 4033 and it opened. Somehow, that was so easy to crack it."
"I don't get it."
"There were four numbers to be entered. I thought about it for a while considering the major biblical numbers: the 12 disciples, the number 3 representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the 7 churches to whom Jesus sent letters in the New Testament. But intuitively, I felt compelled to enter 4033 because 40 is associated with Moses spending 40 days on Mount Sinai, as well as the number of days Jesus fasted while resisting the devil's temptations. And 33 is the age at which Jesus was crucified."
Kayla looked genuinely stunned after seeing me excitedly rambling about something I was passionate about. Then, she replied
"Haha, is that so? I'm an atheist by the way. Who was this Moss guy again?"
I sighed with a hint of disappointed look and told her that I would explain all of it once this was over.
"Why can't you tell me now? Heyyy"
"Shh. Somebody is here."
I haven't known Alexander for a long time, yet from what I observed... he always tightens his fist when he's anxious or uneasy, his eyebrows curve when he's scared. Although he is evidently strong enough to hide what he is feeling, I could always read his expressions.
"Kayla, watch out."
"It is too dark to see anything, dummy."
A cross was thrown over her head and I caught it. Someone is there, I just know it.
"A system message just popped up above the place from where the cross came from. Be wary."
MISSION: 2
Welcome to Saint Rita's Church, dear participants.
Task: confess all your sins to the priest and attend the holy mass to recieve the body and blood of christ to purify yourselves
Failure: defeat the spirits in the red carpet along the centre aisle (death is guaranteed so picking option 1 is highly recommended)
Time limit: 4 hrs (mass will take an additional hour)
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE 🥰🤞
"Eugh. Good luck my ass. What is this bullshit? Why do I have to tell all my secrets to some priest who I don't know. And what will I even get from confessing in the first place? I would rather fight some ghosts instead."
"Isn't that a good thing, Kayla? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We won't ever meet this person again. It's like these people you see once in a airport or the ones you make eye contact with in a transport bus."
"For your information, I have never been to an airport because I have never travelled outside my hometown. Also I would have to be reborn again for making eye contact with some random stranger??? Cause who in the sane mind would do it. That is so creepy, to be honest."
"How did you meet your girlfriend again?"
"In the bus. Fine.... It just happened to be her, okay. Dammit, who would have thought what would happen? It's not like I could predict anything."
Kayla stayed silent after telling me to shut up. Now, I regretted bringing up her deceased lover into our conversation. I didn't know how to change the mood so I began trying different ways to convince her to confess to the priest since we did not have much time left.
As for me, mental preparation was quite a task. It has been a while since I last stepped foot inside a church. I was born and raised in a catholic family. My first love, embarassingly, was also a seminarian, but I am still deeply religious if I say so myself.