Nanowrimo: Trigger – Chapter 12

Word Count: To be totaled in next chapter

Chapter 12

 

“Hold on, just hold on!” Claudia stared in her bathroom mirror. Her eyes were normal, but the red smeared down her cheeks was a blaring reminder that just a few moments ago, they had not been. As soon as she had seen the redness she had jumped up and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

She slowly turned the water back on and rinsed her face again.  She didn’t want to look down and see the pink swirling into the drain. She didn’t feel sick or strange at all. The fact that she had begun to cry blood made her want to throw up and scream at the same time.

“Claudia, just let me in there. Are you ok?” Ray had been at the door the whole time. His words were driving her crazy. She didn’t want to think anymore. She didn’t want to have anymore questions. She didn’t want to be sick with some strange disease that made blood come out of her eyes. She just wanted to crawl into her bed, cover her head with her blanket, and never come out again.

She looked up at her reflection again. Her dark brown eyes started back at her. The last traces of blood had been washed away. She looked normal… but tired. She wasn’t sure what her next step should be. She had a meeting set up with Alec in just a short time, but should she be worried? Should she go to a doctor? She wasn’t sure that would help since she didn’t feel anything else wrong with her.

Reluctantly she unlocked the door. Ray tumbled in and grabbed her face, staring into her intensely.

“You’re ok, right? You’re ok?”

He was far more worried than she thought he should be. His blood stained fingertips traced her cheeks before he pulled her into his chest. “You scared the shit out of me. What was that?!”

She pulled her arms around him. His scent was oddly comforting.

“I don’t know. I feel fine. I don’t know what that was. I’m just as freaked out as you are. I… I don’t know what to do. I don’t feel like I need to see a doctor or… anything…”

“What if it happens again? What if it’s serious…?”

Claudia sighed. “I don’t think it is. I just … don’t think…”

Ray pulled away from her. “Ok, then lets at least look it up online before we do anything. If it’s serious, we can find out and we can know.”

He took her hand and led her into the room.

“Go… wash up, and I’ll look it up ok?” Claudia pulled her fingers away from his. She glanced at herself. For some reason, the thought of having blood from her eyes on her skin made her shiver. He nodded and went back to the bathroom. Claudia sat down and looked at the map that had loaded before she had gotten distracted eariler. </span>

She blinked. The place where Alec wanted to meet was close. It was about 15 minutes to drive. She scrolled down to see the businesses in the area. What made her stop was the name of the business that occupied that address. It was a church.

“What… Why does he want to meet there?”

She tried not to think anything about it. She printed the map and proceeded to search for any information regarding bleeding from the eyes.  A lot of information came up, but none of it really seemed relevant to what she had experienced. She heard Ray come into the room and sunk back in her chair as he put his hands on her shoulders.

“Nothing, huh…” His voice was still worried.

“A whole lot of it. I think I’m fine. Maybe it was just… stress. I don’t know. I’m not going to worry about it…”

The printer beeped as the last page of the map slid out into the tray. Ray picked it up and frowned.

“A church? What the hell? Who meets at a church? Are you serious?”

Claudia pulled the paper from his fingers. “It might be safe for me to go alone then…”

“No… don’t even say that.  Claudia, this is just getting more and more strange. I am NOT letting you go alone, I don’t care if you’re going to a church or not.”

“Fine… let’s get dressed then…”

As she turned to find her sweater she saw the shadow of the priest in the hall.

“Father Winslow! Hey!”

He stopped and turned around. His eyes were guarded.

“I’m sorry to intrude, I just wanted to be sure you were ok. I heard Ray calling for you…”

He came into the room, adjusting his shirt in his pants as he walked.

“I’m… I’m fine. Just… some weird stress reaction… but I wanted to know if you knew anything about this church…” Claudia handed the priest the print out and pulled her sweater from the floor. She was pulling it over her head as he began to speak.

“Ah… this is an old Misson. It’s a preserved building from the first settlements here. Monks maintain it and there are monthly services. Some people hold weddings there. Otherwise, it’s just a historical landmark. I’m surprised you don’t know about it…” The priest handed the paper to Ray.

“Well, I’m not that into church, you know that.”

The priest nodded. “So what makes you interested in that old building?”

“Oh… we’re going to meet someone there…”

The priests smile faded from his lips. “Who.”

Claudia looked over. The priest was nervously gripping the rosary in his pocket, the beads softly hitting each other. Claudia could hear it as if it was being amplified.

“Does it matter, really? All of this madness going on, you won’t tell me anything, my mother is a mess, Ed is out doing whatever, and I want answers. So I’m going to meet someone who can give me answers.”

She reached for her shoe and began to put it on. She was trying to dismiss the priest without talking. She was suddenly angry with him. He had information he refused to give her and wanted to know more. She was fed up with everyone knowing more than her.

“I caution you to wait until your mother wakes up.”

“That’s ok, I’ll talk to her when I get home. I’m glad you’re here to keep an eye on her. Come on Ray…” Claudia grabbed her bag and walked by the priest in her doorway. He still looked concerned, but something in her head was blocking out her desire to heed it. Ray shrugged and followed her.

The priest looked after them.

“Lord, protect them…” He whispered as they walked out of sight.