Chapter 25: What's In A Name?
I'm left with my anxiety growing through the day, Fred still not having made up her mind by the time the sun is low enough for us to drive around. Not that I blame her, it's a pretty big side effect I just dumped on her.
The first eight churches are nothing more than overgrown messes and the next one is little more than some burnt timber. But when we only have a couple more addresses to check, Fred's eyes light up behind her square frames.
"It's weird for a motor home to be here, right?" My brilliant friend points out the mud covered vehicle in front of the least run down church we've found so far.
"It could just be people trying to save a few bucks...." But even as I make the suggestion, I know it's not right.
They would have been gone first thing in the morning.
While Fred and the melancholy vampire discuss the odds of it being trouble, my eyes scan the dead lawn for any kind of clue.
Why is the lawn dead?
All the other ones we saw had been completely overgrown. But the only thing clinging to life here is a single crab apple tree.
"Something's going on here." Liam points at the disturbingly perfect star of dead plants that takes up most of the churches property.
"I'm kind of disappointed."
We still had two more churches to check. "It's supposed to be the first or last place we check. This just feels wrong."
Chuckling at the comment, Fred reminds me that we did get lost for a while. "This was supposed to be the last one we checked. But you didn't make the left turn on Burch."
Getting out of the car, both of us with an enhanced sense of smell start sniffing. Liam only picks up the general scent of people and I realize how much better my nose is.
I can pick out a few different kinds of soap and while my team gets ready to go into the church, I stop them with a shake of my head. "Wait. One of them didn't go inside with the rest."
It's faint and even another hour would have left me without a trail to follow. But getting earlier lost pays off and we find a blonde girl sitting in a park only a couple blocks from the church.
She looks up when I purposefully snap a stick under my foot.
Looks about the same age as my students.
Her plain white sundress gives her a sort of juvenile appearance and she looks ready to bolt. Wild eyes watch us and so I let Fred take charge of the situation.
"Are you alright?" I hang back with Liam as she makes a slow approach, eventually reaching the wooden picnic table.
"Did he send you to find me?" Terror is intermingled with resignation in the girl's voice.
"We don't know who you are, let alone this 'he'." Confused at the pronoun, Fred keeps her words soft as she presses for more information.
Frantic fingers start drumming on the table as the worried girl tries to decide if we can be trusted. "My name is Sister Sunshine and I thought you wanted to take me back."
"Back to?" I can only assume she means the church but need to make sure.
"Father Caleb and his lies." Sunshine has tears in her eyes as she explains. "He promised we would be forgiven and could have a new start here in Sunnydale. But I don't like the way he looks at us."
We learn about the four girls who apparently decided to go home in the week since the Daughter's of Eve arrived. How Sunshine believes the creepy preacher did something to them and covered it up.
"I found Dewdrop's stuff in the dumpster and knew the Father was lying. But none of the other girls believed me." As she wipes away the tears, I finally know why I recognize her.
Anne!
"We'll handle the creep, don't you worry about that." Only one Caleb I know of and that name is sending off all kinds of alarms.
Though if the First doesn't have the power to touch the world until a champion is brought back... Considering the conversation, my growing smirk is kind of out of place.
Caleb should be nothing more than psychotic human.
I know the plan was to try avoiding any big names noticing me. But if the Powers are going to head this threat off at the pass, I'm not going to argue.
Not like I can really make many more changes just dealing with filler.
"Who are you people?" Sister Sunshine picks up on us being here on purpose and glances between us.
"The real Ghostbusters." The words are out of my mouth before I even consider the bad timing.
It gets a few relieved giggles out of Sunshine and I decide the name could have been worse.
Better than being called the Pin Pals or something even worse that makes reference to my Brachen half.
Though maybe I should have gone with the Bloodhound Gang? I don't think it's in use yet and it makes sense for a seer to use a future band name.
"If we aren't back out in thirty minutes, start a fire and call it in." Fred gives a stiff nod and escorts Sunshine to the Corolla. The whispered good luck feels like it's just for me and I can feel my cheeks heating up.
"Angel and Allen will take care of it, don't wor-" She tries consoling the distraught teen.
"You need to make up your mind about who you want to be." Once the girls are out of earshot, I lead Liam towards the back door of the church. "I'm not wasting my time if you just want to be half a man."
So far I'm the only one he tolerates the name Liam from, with both of my roommates stuck calling him Angel.
It might be easier for the guy. But it's not going to help his social readjustment at all.
"It's just not something I ever considered." He watches for onlookers as I snap the lock with a quick flick of my wrist. "Being treated like a man is something I thought I didn't deserve anymore."
"You fight against your urges every second you exist." I can feel my own instincts telling me to chase after random smells sometimes and can't imagine how much worse it must be for someone cursed. "Apparently that's the bar for being a decent guy."
Liam's nose picks up the same scent of blood and his eyes narrow as we approach the stairs to the basement. "The girls aren't scared. Why?"
"Cult indoctrination is a terrifying thing." He doesn't argue, his face grimacing with more understanding than I want to imagine.
"What's the plan?" Waiting for me to open the door, Liam has his fists clenched with determination to make a positive difference.
"I want this guy alive."
If it's really the same Caleb, I'm bring him to Los Angeles tonight. Let the Watcher's pull every damn secret they can out of the monster.
Blinking at the sudden command, Liam understands I'm not saying everything. "You know something about this guy."
"The thing he worships..." Fear boils inside me and coats my rage with it's toxic essence. "I have no idea how to even approach stopping it."
"That bad?" It seems Liam is better able to handle a hopeless situation.
We follow the smell of blood and it gets strong enough to overpower everything else. When we find the source, the sight has me retching.
The bodies of each girl have been arranged like runes. The blood used to trace symbols on every spare inch of wall.
I'm disgusted with myself for being able to tell it's fresh and Liam takes over the search for clues. "Each apple has a single bite. It must have put them in a trance for the sacrifice."
"But Caleb's not here." I hate stating the obvious and yet I have no idea where the preacher could have gone.
He doesn't move into the vineyard until everyone is fleeing Sunnydale in droves. I highly doubt we'll find him digging.
"Are you sure about that?"
I have no idea how he did it without being noticed. But Caleb is blocking the doorway with a devilish smirk on his face and a bloody knife in one hand.