"What!!!" Chris yelped frantically, totally shocked at Henry. It took less than a second for his heart beat to skip up several notches as his brain mentally visualized what sleeping alone in a room meant for four would be like, especially when Mr. Jones was somewhere, searching for his next victim. "You're leaving too?"

Henry burst into a fit of laughter, clutching his stomach as he turned to a goggle-eyed Chris, "dude, just let me be now, I got enough to deal with already."

***

"Exorcism is the religious or spiritual practice of purportedly evicting demons," Chris paused and allowed the lump in his throat move down before he continued reading, "demons or other spiritual entities from a person or an area they are believed to have possessed."

"Is he always..." Mr. Parker looked at the disturbed fellow at the rear of the car through the mirror. "...like this?"

Henry nodded, hoping that his friend would not be too hurt by the open betrayal. The car rumbled as they continued through the sub-urban parts of the city. As students, it wasn't every day you got to see this far away from the school's environment. The roads here were worse, with portholes at almost every corner of the road and the neighborhood in which Professor Parker had them in didn't look the friendliest of all.

"I wonder how he passes my exams!" the professor added, turning into the graveled pathway of a cathedral. For a moment there, Henry only focused on the grinding sound of the tires against rock.

"Exams aren't nearly as scary as ghosts," Chris mumbled. The door clicked and then beeped after all three got off the car. Chris straightened his shirt and then pulled up its sleeves neatly while the gentle breeze flowed around him.

Beyond the fountain at the entrance which quite matched with the landscaping demarcating the compound in two was the towering structure of the church with its pinnacle looking like the well sharpened edge of a cherub's sword. It had high stained windows with paintings on them and the interlocking bricks with which it was built made it look quite gothic.

The two friends gave each other a quick look of confusion the moment Mr. Parker started in the direction of the premises' exit.

"Uhh, shouldn't we be moving in the other direction?" Chris asked while trying to catch up.

"Well we're not, so just follow along," Mr. Parker replied. Henry shrugged, quite unsure of what to say to his friend. As they approached the gates, the statue of Holy Mary holding on to a rosary with her hands together as though praying came in view. Chris noticed his friend's lips move lightly with his gaze fixed at the carved wax as they walked along and he could almost bet it was a Hail Mary.

They soon crossed the road to the stretch of apartment complex at the other side of the road, only then did they wonder if it really was the gravel which they had to make their way through or if truly, the distance from the gate to where the car was parked inside was a long one.

With Mr. Parker ahead, they made their way through the black door with graffiti on it. It came as quite a shocker when they entered and were welcomed by the banging on one of the doors by an aged man who kept yelling something in a strange language.

"The landlord," Mr. Parker whispered to them as they started up the flight of filth filled stairs. Henry giggled before he could talk back.

"Looks like someone's rent's due."

They continued through the stairs till the fourth floor, every now and then having to give way for a grouchy looking fellow to walk through. The walls were filled with graffiti and the air which hung in the air had a strong stench of rotting food, some of which lay around the stairway. All the time, Henry just couldn't help but wonder how on earth Professor Parker had ever gotten to know such a place like this.

Finally, they stopped in front of a grey door on the fourth floor. The professor grabbed the gold colored lion head knocker and struck the door twice. All three waited and when there was no reply, Chris and Henry gave each other a quick glance which Mr. Parker caught. Just as he reached for the knocker again, the door unlocked and an oval shaped head peered through, his eyes ran over them in a flash as if scrutinizing their person before they were finally ushered in.

The apartment was quite larger than you would've thought. It was dimly lit by a spooky looking chandelier; pretty much everything in here looked spooky with various paintings of martyrs and saints hanging around the apartment's wall. There was a large shelf to one side, filled with purple candles and a miniature version of the Holy Mary they had seen at the entrance of the church.

"You're welcome, have a seat." He gestured at the three sofa chairs which surrounded a center table on which a holy bible and a rosary were. "You never told me you'd be coming with guests."

"They've had a firsthand experience," Mr. Parker answered to the man who never seemed like he understood the word 'smile'. Henry had a hard time taking his eyes off the grim expression on the oval shaped face of the man. His pupils were as dark as the shirt he wore and his head, just like his face was barren of any hair.

"I hear you believe you're being haunted," the mysterious looking man asked in a throaty voice.

"Yes," Henry replied with a nod.

"What makes you think so?"

Henry gave a questioning look, first at the man and then to Chris. The question sounded very absurd to him, did Mr. Creeps here think he'd have left the coziness of his hostel room to come sightseeing in this 'wonderful' part of town if everything was fine?

"Uhh...I've been hearing strange noises at night lately and by the time I realize, I'm all alone in the hallway, by myself and I can't explain how it happened," Henry paused for a moment "like something...or someone conjures me."

Mr. Parker cleared his throat momentarily while the man nodded and the turned to Chris, "and you?"

"Well, it's been in my dream," he gulped, "and I watched him killed a guy, actually several guys."

"You both have a connection with it," the man said almost immediately Chris ended, "many times, the victims aren't even aware of this and go on to suffer until it finally happens."

"What's that?" Chris asked.

"Death." The man's eye bore through Chris' with that reply, sending a ripple of cold around his entire body.

"But others have been involved in this besides both of us, I mean like Mr. Edward," Henry said, quite puzzled at the man's explanation.

"You mean there's a connection, between all the various people who've died and those who are-" the Professor pondered, those who are yet to die? "-still alive?"

"Exactly Mr. Parker, unlike humans, the unseen work with a very close motive and they stick to it."

Henry swallowed, hoping his heart beat didn't freak out like Chris' already had at that point.

"But fear not brethren," he said, this time in a more subtle tone, "...do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul..."

"Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body..." the two friends mumbled almost at the same time, completing the omitted portion of the verse.

"Matthew 10:28," Chris mumbled, looking back at the man. Just like the security guard, it was only normal that this guy right here underestimated what Mr. Jones can & had done.

The fellow excused himself from the room for a moment and then returned with a briefcase later on. He blew off the lit candles and spent a moment at the statue of Mary before grabbing the Holy Bible and Rosary beads and leading the way out of the room.

There was a resounding jam of the car's door as they all got in. The air was tight and Mr. Parker pulled down the glasses of all four windows from his end. He wore that same face he often wore when he was quite uneasy and tried making sense out of a situation.

"Want a smoke?" Mr. Parker looked over at the slender stick being offered to him, it seemed like a moment of hesitation but he did accept it anyway.

"Thanks Marcello" Mr. Parker said before revving the car's engine and moving the machine out of the parking space, heading back to school's direction.

"Are you a priest?" Chris asked with uncertainty in his voice as he watched his professor light the stick in his hand, who'd ever thought the man knew what a lighter looked like. Marcello turned back to the two friends at the back of the car, his dark pupils stood out in his pale face.

"Not all Angels dress in white garments," he responded, making Mr. Parker scoff. Henry took another quick look at the statue of Mary as they drove out of the church's premises and deep in his heart, he really hoped that she'd pray for them.

=||=||=
Hello guys, thanks for waiting this long for an update... after a few weeks of being held hostage with the doctor!

Anyway!! We're back and running-away from ghosts ;-)

Please don't forget to add to your Library if you haven't. I'd love to hear your feedback and hey...remember to Vote if you liked this part.