And it provoked this story.
They sought refuge in an abandoned cathedral on the far edge of the city. The rain was falling so hard that none of them could see three feet beyond the ends of their noses, and they were all shivering with cold as they piled into the dilapidated structure. There were holes in the ceiling that allowed a little bit of light -- and rain -- to fall into the building, revealing years of neglect and abandon. The wallpaper barely clung to the walls and was completely missing in some places. Several of the pews were broken, having succumb to the demise brought on by water and mold. A large stain glass mural hung overhead, but was missing several tiles. A lone chandelier barely hung on the ceiling, missing several lights and looking as if the cord it was dangling upon would give way at any moment. The entire structure smelled musty with decay, as if the very place itself were just another rotting corpse. And to an extent, it was.
"This is an awful sad place to take shelter in," the teenaged boy with dirty blonde hair said while wringing out the end of his shirt.
"I know, Daniel, but it was the only place we could find," replied an older boy with pale red hair. His dark eyes scanned the area slowly, both admiring and mourning the lack of care the building had seen.
Daniel looked to the other boy, who was his older brother. "I hope it stops raining soon, Jim. I don't like being here."
"Neither do I," Jim replied.
Nearby, another young man was scoping the facility out as well. He walked over to one of the broken pews and gently brushed his fingertips along it, feeling the splintery wood as if trying to read its history. His blue eyes turned upwards towards one of the holes in the ceiling and he squinted as he looked out of it. The rain still poured down from the opening, resembling a bleeding wound that nobody cared to tend to. It made him feel strangely sad.
The lone female of the group was standing underneath the stain glass mural, looking up into the array of reds, blues, and greens. Her green eyes were slow to blink if they blinked at all, her involuntary responses slowly neglecting to respond. She tightened her hands into fists at her sides, quivering and making a slight sound. She caught the attention of the blue-eyed male, who walked forward and rested his hands upon her shoulders softly.
"Luca, are you okay?" He asked gently, worriedly.
She turned to face him, an empty expression glazed her eyes over into two orbs of milky glass. She neglected to respond.
"Luca?" The boy asked again, gently shaking her.
She blinked and her whole body wracked with a quick shiver as she seemed to return to the surface. "Phil, I have a feeling we're not alone in here."
Phil nodded once, halfway. "I got that feeling, too, but didn't want to say anything. Are you okay?"
"This place resonates sadness and abandon," Luca murmured cryptically.
"Luca..."
The brothers walked over to their friends. "What's going on?" Jim asked.
Phil shook his head with confusion. "I don't know. She's not herself." He looked down for a moment, and then back up. "I think we should leave. I don't like what this place has done to her."
"Don't make me leave," Luca suddenly yelped in a voice that sounded nothing like her own.
The three young men quickly jumped and gazed at the girl. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her body began to shiver violently. Phil's eyes widened in distress and he grasped his girlfriend tightly, shaking her hard. "No!" He cried. "No, Luca! Don't let it take you!"
Don't leave, a voice declared from one of the holes in the ceiling. Please don't leave.
"What's that?" Daniel asked, cowering a little bit and stepping closer to his brother.
I've not had company in so long. Please don't leave now, the voice continued. I've not had a body to inhabit in so long. Please.
Phil's breathing came out in four quick, shallow gasps. His blue eyes blinked a few times, trying to ward off tears of distress. "You let her go," he demanded in a timid voice. "Don't you take my girlfriend from me."
Luca's body stumbled backwards awkwardly, coming to rest against the stain glass mural. Her eyes had turned a glassy black, and the color was lost from her form. A shaky hand rose from its place at her side and reached out towards Phil invitingly.
Play with me, the voice insisted. Please play with me.
Phil stepped back and bit his lip so hard it nearly drew blood. "Let her go," he insisted, his voice wavering. "Please just let her go."
Daniel stepped back as well, several feet back, as if wanting to run for the door and never look back. "What the hell is going on?" He demanded.
Jim smiled sadly. "This building has a spirit, and the spirit has manifested in Luca's body."
"Why are you smiling?" Phil cried angrily. "It's not funny!"
"I didn't say it was, Phil." Jim replied softly, the smile quickly leaving his face. "You see, this spirit is just a lonely soul who has been trapped in its spiritual form for quite some time, and it just wanted to know what it was like to be alive again. To have a body..."
Phil closed his eyes and he yelped, "I don't care! I want my girlfriend back!"
Don't make me leave, the voice insisted. For the first time in so long, I don't feel alone.
"You don't have to stay here," Daniel insisted. "I don't know much about spirits, but I do know that you don't have to stay here."
Jim nodded. "Release our friend, please, and proceed on to the afterworld. You don't have to stay here. You don't have to be alone."
I want to be alive again. I simply wish to live...
"It's time for you to move on," Jim insisted. "It's time for you to go."
Luca's body suddenly stood completely straight, her head turned up towards the ceiling. Her eyes opened wide and every muscle in her body could be seen tightening hard. A strange fog began to drift from her being, floating up through the air and swirling until it took the form of a young woman. The form hovered above Luca for several moments, staring at the boys with a longing sadness in her eyes.
I just want to live, she moaned again. I'll never leave here until I am alive again.
The three boys watched her form slowly turn into mist and fade away into nothingness. Phil ran forward and caught his girlfriend as she swayed and fell forward. He clutched her tightly in his arms, a few tears of distress spilling over from his tightly closed eyes. "Oh, Luca," he whined softly. "Please be okay."
Luca opened her eyes, which were back to their normal green color, and blinked. She then proceeded to grasp at her boyfriend and begin to cry. "She just wanted to live," she whimpered through her tears.
He rocked them both back and forth slowly, nodding his head and holding her tighter. "I know."
"She just wanted to live..." She repeated again.
The brothers walked over and tried to console their two upset friends. None of the four saw the sunlight coming through the holes in the ceiling.
None of them saw the broken figure of the woman reflected in the stain glass mural just behind them.
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