The walk to the church is one undertaken in darkness and quiet and the light from the moon hurts your eyes as if it was the same sunlight you once basked in all those centuries ago. There are others walking with you, bare feet treading briskly through the frost-soaked grass.
Nobody dares break the silence - not before the bells toll and certainly not at night. You all knew you weren't the only inhuman things out after dark and you were on the... safer end of the spectrum. At least, as safe as an immortal soul-consuming being can get.
As the church came into view the ir turned colder and a crisp stillness settled into it. The bells would toll soon and you were all moving too slow to be within a safe range of them. Too close and you risked being drawn into the church never to see the outside again, doomed to wander the endless catacombs forever and too far away risked your eardrums being pierced by the silence.
When the first one began to sprint you all followed suit, trying to ignore the way the frost tore into your bare legs and the wind snarled around you like a pack of wild dogs. You made it to the safe range seconds before the first toll, the ones behind you weren't so lucky.
Thankfully the bells drowned out the sound of their screaming but it didn't stop you from staring at their writhing forms, wanting desperately to look away and being utterly incapable of doing so. It was your warning - do better and run faster next time.
And as the revelry began all you could think of was that there was always a next time.
And next time your luck might run out.
Nobody dares break the silence - not before the bells toll and certainly not at night. You all knew you weren't the only inhuman things out after dark and you were on the... safer end of the spectrum. At least, as safe as an immortal soul-consuming being can get.
As the church came into view the ir turned colder and a crisp stillness settled into it. The bells would toll soon and you were all moving too slow to be within a safe range of them. Too close and you risked being drawn into the church never to see the outside again, doomed to wander the endless catacombs forever and too far away risked your eardrums being pierced by the silence.
When the first one began to sprint you all followed suit, trying to ignore the way the frost tore into your bare legs and the wind snarled around you like a pack of wild dogs. You made it to the safe range seconds before the first toll, the ones behind you weren't so lucky.
Thankfully the bells drowned out the sound of their screaming but it didn't stop you from staring at their writhing forms, wanting desperately to look away and being utterly incapable of doing so. It was your warning - do better and run faster next time.
And as the revelry began all you could think of was that there was always a next time.
And next time your luck might run out.
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