5.

There is a cloud on the horizon ... waiting to send a world deep into an abyss. Its bells ring out not in warning but in declaration. It will have the want to create chasms of hurt, wells of pain and dreams of things which should never see the light of day.

A moment where Majella smith sees Florence Reardon covered in blood and writhing in pain has come to pass. Just by chance they so happened to come together within the entrance area of a rather large hospital. In that moment they came together Majella Smith was hit by the most disturbing of visions, so disturbing it was, and so unprepared for it as she was that it knocked her to the ground.

Florence aids the young lady up off the ground not knowing that a vision of eminent danger has come and passed, nor could she know that that vision is one that relates to her. Thing too now is that even though the vision has passed, the danger itself is still coming. Oddly, aid apparently has arrived before Majella could even get a handle on what was occurring. Aid? A man emanating light seems to have appeared out of nowhere and he is calling himself ... Gabriel ...

Having had a previous vision of Florence all bloodied and in pain, Majella can assume a thing or two but right now is not a time to make assumptions, a danger needs to be avoided if it can be avoided at all. Gabriel, the shining man or Archangel as he has announced himself as being, has told Majella and Florence to come with him. Questions need to be asked but a danger needs to be avoided too so they do accompany this Gabriel fellow and he quickly leads the two ladies to the hospital oratory.

'We should be safe for as long as we are in here ...' Gabriel tells the ladies.

'You what now?' Florence asks while being at a complete loss for what it is that is happening.

'They are coming. We are on hallowed ground and they cannot enter no matter how badly they want to ...'

'Who cannot enter?' Majella asks.

'Demons ... in shadow form.'

'I cannot stay here either ...' Majella says as she looks more than a little uncomfortable.

'Why not?' asks Florence before realizing for herself why not, still, Majella is compelled to explain.

'I am a daughter of Darkness whether I like it or not. No matter my intentions in life, Hallowed ground and I probably will never see eye to eye ...'

Outside they gather, uneasy and restless. Shadows flash by the coloured pane glassed windows and indeed they are many. The sounds too ... screeches and moans ... as if the shadows themselves experience unimaginable pain. The odd thump or three too hits those windows and walls though no matter how they shake or how they may be disturbed, they will stay strong and unpassable.

Majella really cannot stay here. From the moment she entered the oratory she began to feel discomfort. Her body temperature has begun to rise, and it will continue to rise the longer she is in this room. She begins to pace the aisle and an agitation grows. As that agitation grows so does the level of shadow activity.

'I can't stay in here ... I need to go ...' Majella begins to make a move to exit where she has come to be.

'Young lady ...' speaks Gabriel, a protest that never gets to be.

She exits the oratory and the shadows swarm all around. Out from one moment of discomfort and straight into another though perhaps she is more equipped to deal with this one. Digging deep she feels something build from within. Continuing to deepen, continuing to dig down into the bottom of her soul, it is as if she is accessing the deepest chasms of hell. Her fists are clenched, her arms lift, and she reaches out not to retrieve something, rather to offload a power.

Briefly lighting a darkened area, she has fired warning blasts that briefly illuminate what may be close.

Her fists begin to glow. Her wrists rotate so her clenched fingers face upwards. When her hands open ... a fire has been summoned and simply hovers above the palms of her hands. Agitation, anger or whatever is within her, she has called upon something to which, if she knows it or not, she has complete control of. With this control she sends balls of fire hurtling towards every shadow creature there is in the immediate vicinity destroying them all with ease, so much so that it even strikes Gabriel with fear.

A moment passes. It has gone quiet, ever so quiet.

'Is it safe to come out?' asks Florence from within the oratory.

Majella looks all around, amazes at what has happened, amazed at what it is she didn't know she could do. The odd glowing amber or three are falling like snowflakes of fire and other than that there is no fire to speak of. This ability of Majella's will not and has not caused to hospital to catch fire and burn down.

'I think so ...'. Noticing Florence come out of the oratory alone Majella asks 'hey, where is Gabriel?'

Florence turns a three sixty 'I have no idea.'

The two ladies, Majella and Florence are for the moment safe and are not in any need of assistance. Angels and demons, if their kind were not considered before now ... well ... Majella does have a lot to consider. Yeah, a lot to consider indeed, including bouts of anger she had never before experienced, well not quite like this.

This ability of hers, it is not new. She injured Sammy Fontaine with it so if a full control has not been gained quite yet then she may indeed have something to consider. This power or gift, whatever it is, she may even have used it in the moments prior to escaping that asylum like prison she spent time within. The big orderly, he who often harmed her, in that office he took her to ... she saw images of fire ... hell fire no doubt.

Perhaps she summoned those images and in that she summoned a fire within that room, enough of one to give her opportunity, opportunity on that occasion aided by Darkness himself. In the here and now, has Florence become free from the visions Majella had seen of her? Would these shadow demons have harmed her severely if Majella and Gabriel had not been with her? Majella can't help but think ... yeah ... Florence is no longer in danger, nothing more to come anytime soon at least.

'So, what the hell was all that about?'

'It would seem that hell doesn't like you. That could be a good thing.'

'A good thing, huh? If that is a good thing then I probably wouldn't want to imagine what a bad thing might be ...'