*EDITED

Rebecca felt her heart beating wildly in her chest as she stepped off the toilet from the church, a flash light held into her hand as she entered the church. Madison had come to relieve her and Travis and she took the first move to make it to the church.

Nick wasn't crazy, and she was going to prove it. It couldn't have been in his head, he couldn't have made something like that up. That wasn't who he was. Her phone beeped making her jump as she took it out, a text from Alex popping up.

"Alicia said Madison got to the hospital, when will you be home?"

It wasn't uncommon for him to send her a message when she just suddenly disappeared but this was something she had to do. For Nick. Despite making that promise to him she had to see for herself and for him. As she walked through the threshold of the door she heard another squeak to her left making her adrenaline pump.

As she reached for the door her hand wrapping around the side someone suddenly jumped out grabbing her shoulders and pushing her against the wall. She felt the wind get knocked out of her by the force and a stinging pain in her shoulder as she screamed. However the guy was screaming as well.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" He let her go and rushed through a door slamming it.

"Wait!" She yelled after him before swinging the door open and running after him. "What happened here! Please!" She yelled as she followed him to a set of stairs that she quickly followed him down. He was past the pews and almost to the corner when she reached the bottom of the stairs and in desperation she chased after him.

"Becca!" She heard from inside the church and through her distraction she tripped over something before sliding on the floor and right over something wet. As she lifted herself up she felt her hair stick to the side of her face, the wetness feeling more slimy than wet.

A light shined down on her from the top of the stairs and she held a hand over the top of her head trying to shield her eyes but also get a look at who was here. Who had followed her? "Oh my god." Travis' voice sounded throughout the halls of the church and she felt relief flow through her. "Stay there." He called before the light moved and Travis' footsteps down the stairs sounded out.

"It's slippery." She told him as he reached the last step and as Travis shined his flashlight towards her she took in the sight of her hands and clothes. They were covered in blood and chunks of something she couldn't piece together.

"You're covered in it." He stated the obvious making her nod as she felt her stomach turn slightly, the light was shined over to the puddle of blood and the chunks had been there a smaller puddle seeing as she had smeared some of it with her fall. "What happened here?" He asked and she signed out wiping her hands on the front of her jeans.

"I don't know." She replied shaking her head. She felt more discouraged with the fact that coming here didn't give her any more answers. Just more questions. "I tried to catch this guy but he was too fast." She spoke a slight guilt taking over her tone.

Travis placed his hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her but she sighed out before looking at the ground. The puddle catching her eyes once more. "He knew his way around this place, it's not on you." He spoke and she felt her eyes water.

She just wanted to be able to help Nick. Maybe if he knew something terrible happened at the church he would get clean, maybe it would scare him enough to want to be clean. "He's not crazy. Whatever happened here was awful." She called before pulling her extra flashlight out of her back pocket. She shined it towards the opening of the pews and another puddle of blood was found.

"Look at this one." She called over her shoulder as she stepped closer. "There was a struggle, the puddle isn't as formed to one spot as the one I fell into was." She shined the light over the pews and they both took note of the blood splattered across it, the hand prints smearing against the pew making it look less like a hand and like someone was wiping red paint over the wood.

"We can't tell anyone." Travis spoke and she snapped her head to look at him.

"What are you talking about?" She asked in disbelief. "Nick needs to know what he saw wasn't in his head! The police need to be notified." She stated as she walked closer to him. He sighed heavily before turning around and shinning his light around.

"Listen all of those things are important. Becca think about this. There are no bodies, dead people don't just get up and walk away." He spoke before turning back towards her. "Let's talk more in the truck. I'll give you a ride home." He started walking back the way the two had entered and she hesitated before following him.

Could he have been right? Her phone chimed once more and she took it out of her pocket as she started descending up the stairs.

"Girl where are you? Alex is driving me nuts! Besides it's Monday :) we're supposed to be watching our movies! :("

She felt guilt eat away at her once more at her friends text, that was all true. Monday was Monday movies where her and her roommate had binged movies late into the night since they both had Tuesday off.

This was her putting her life on hold. Again. All because Nick showed back up. Travis helped her climb through the window and as she jumped down he was already waiting for her to move, however as he shined the light down at the ground something shimmering caught her attention.

She bent down picking it up only to feel a small smile fall onto her face. It was the bracelet she had gotten Nick when they were 17. A simple silver chain with a silver R charm placed onto it, he hadn't pawned it or lost it. He held onto it. "What is it?" Travis asked and she enclosed it in her hand feeling her heart fall slightly.

He had ripped it when he was climbing out the window, only causing more turmoil for her. If he had kept it this long and not lost it, not pawned it, then whatever was happening at the church must have been more horrible than she imagined. Maybe people really were eating people. "Nick's bracelet." She told him as she slid through the fence and over to the truck Travis right behind her.

"Hey." He called before she opened the door and he smiled towards her. "Whatever's going on, we'll figure it out. You haven't lost him yet." She let his words resonate before she nodded.

"I lost him a long time ago." She told him as she harshly opened the door and climbed in before shutting the door hard. Travis sighed as he looked towards the sky, what was he going to do with her?

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The ride towards Becca's house was silent, the radio turned down low. As Travis parked in front her house and she reached for the door handle his voice had stopped her. "You didn't lose him." He spoke and she glanced over at him tears welling up in her eyes. "Nick still loves you, you give him strength. Hope." Travis spoke before looking towards her, his eyes soft.

"Everytime Nick comes back he promises to get clean, he promises to do better. Tells me he needs me." Travis smiled and she felt bitterness well up inside of her. "Then he always goes back to the drugs and I lose him all over again. I don't know if this time is different. I hope it is." She spoke taking a deep breath.

"I know that we can't stay silent about the church forever." Travis started before gripping the wheel tightly. "For now let's try to forget it. Take a shower and burn those clothes." He told her and she nodded before opening the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said before closing the door and walking up her porch. The light from the porch light shone down on her making the blood she was covered in more noticeable. Most of it dried like it was caked onto her skin and some of it was still wet. She just wanted to shower and forget about the church for now.

Her mind couldn't stop racing. What happened at the church? Was what Nick saw something that was real? What if only part of it was real and the other part was just the drugs? She opened the door and took off her shoes hearing the TV playing from the living room.

"Where have you been?" She heard Alyssa's voice making her lean against the back of the door.

"It's a long story." She spoke before coming around the corner and her friend shot up on the couch while Alex stood from the chair he was sitting in.

"Becca." He called rushing over but she held her hand out to stop him from touching her.

"It's okay, it's not mine. I'm gonna go get washed up and then I'll come back and explain." She told them before she walked up the stairs and towards the bathroom.

However once inside the shower she stared down at the white floor, the blood being more prominent considering the floor was white. What happened at the church?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alyssa and Alex had followed her outside and as she threw the match into the fire pit they all stood around the fire pit as she burned the clothes she had worn throughout the day, no one had said anything and Alyssa just knew that she was trying to find the words.

"I don't think this flu going around really is just the flu." Rebecca spoke before she looked away from the fire and towards her best friend and her boyfriend. Alex looked away not meeting her eyes while Alyssa just stared.

"What do you mean?" She asked and Rebecca sighed before laying one hand over her forehead, she was stressed out. With everything between Nick her feelings and the church she didn't know what she was feeling.

"I mean that Nick saw some fucked up shit at the church, and whatever it was, something seriously bad happened." She spoke and Alex looked back towards her.

"Is that where you were? The church?" She made eye contact with him and nodded and he breathed out a deep breath. "Why?"

"I had to know. To see for myself. To prove Nick isn't crazy." She spoke and Alyssa sighed out before making eye contact with Alex. She looked back towards Becca and she took a deep breath.

"Becca, the drugs-"

"Have never made him seen people, specially someone he cares for eat another person." She replied wrapping her arms around herself to provide herself some comfort. "Look I was chasing this guy at the church who was screaming at me not to kill him. I slipped and slid into a pile of blood that had chunks of something inside of it. Whatever Nick saw didn't come from the drugs."

Everyone remained silent until Alex spoke. "There's been talk around the station. About the police hiding something from us and the public. Military men have been seen going in and out of the police station, whatever is happening there's more to what's going on. We just don't know what yet." He said and Alyssa nodded crossing her arms.

"Maybe we should all just call out of work for the week. Stay inside so whatever's going around we don't catch. Maybe it's something that makes you crazy and do crazy things to the people around you." She brain stormed and Becca felt a burden fall from her shoulders. Alyssa and Alex were her people.

They were on her and Nicks side.

"We need the money." Alex spoke and Rebecca nodded.

"I don't think it's airborne." Becca said causing both of them to look towards her. "I don't know what's going around but I think if you get something from the people sick inside your body, I think that's how it gets you. If people are eating other people....maybe them injuring you is how you get sick." Alyssa was silent a thoughtful expression on her face before she nodded.

"I think you're right, but going to work puts us all around people. Becca were severs, we interact with people are around people. Alex literally responds to accidents and fires. If all it takes is one sick person to get us sick and put us in a bad situation is it really worth making the money?" She asked and Alex and Rebecca stayed silent.

"I don't know." He spoke bringing their girls attention to him, he was staring into the fire watching Rebecca's clothes burn. "If we're careful we should be okay." He spoke and Becca nodded before looking at her best friend.

"We should go stay with your mom." Alyssa spoke and Becca thought it over however as she was about to deny the thought Alyssa spoke once more. "If we're close with each other we can look out for each other. Besides your mom lives next door to Madison and Alicia, if anything were to happen they'd come help. Just like we'd go help them." She spoke and as Becca was about to deny it once more Alex spoke up.

"Whatever's happening it can't hurt to be closer to those we love. It's a smart move." He spoke and Rebecca let her hands fall to her side as she stared into the fire. Whatever happened at the church was awful, and if she was going to die she'd rather go surrounded by the people she loved, rather than cracked out in some church.

Her necklace seemed to burn her skin as she was once again reminded of Nick. Maybe he was thinking along the same lines, maybe he would get clean this time.

~ 2,403 words!

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