The rest of the car ride was peaceful. Downright boring actually, if I'm being honest. 

 The scenery going up island goes something like this: Trees, trees, trees,lake,trees,trees, another lake, more trees...It was beautifully dull. Beefcake tried to get the other guys on the radio a couple times, but all that came back was violent fuzzing noises. He and Curly exchanged a worried look, but no one in the car wanted to say anything. Instead, he turned up the radio and sung along, his voice was raspy and off key, and the look of suffering on Aden's face was almost worth it.

"Hey," I said, keeping my voice low so only Aden could hear it, "is there anyway of contacting someone? I mean, I guess all the phone lines are down. My cell has no reception..." I trailed off as she shook her head. 

"Sorry, I think there are just too many people trying to make calls right now. It will be next to impossible to get through to someone."

My face fell. "Right, I thought so."

"Family members in other provinces or something?" She looked sympathetic.

"My best friend is in Kamloops," I said, chewing on a fingernail anxiously.

"Well, we can probably send someone to check on her when we arrive at the church," Aden said, and I slumped back against the seat in relief.

I took my finger out of my mouth and gave her a wide smile."That would be amazing."

Three more hours of driving with only one break for the bathroom and I felt like a limp noodle. A grumpy and sweaty limp noodle with a sore butt. Finally we pulled into the bottom of an intensely long, winding driveway, and as we climbed upwards I strained to get a look at the building at the top. The church was, to put it nicely, creepy. It was a deep blue color, which began to look black in the fading light, three steeples surrounding the main building, the tallest of which encased a large brass bell. Dark stain glass windows reflected the sunset at us. It reminded me of something out of a gothic novel.

"Wow," I said, and Aden gave me an amused look.

"Quaint, isn't it?"

"More ominous the better," grunted Beefcake. "So long as it keeps the damn Malake away." He glanced back at Morgan. "No offense."

"None taken," she said brightly.

We pulled into a tiny parking lot beside the looming monstrosity. There were three more SUVs parked there already.

"More guys inside?" I guessed.

Beefcake nodded. "The Mawet spared as many of us as he could, but he's still got his hands full mopping up after the big one. I'm hearing it hit every major city worldwide."

"The bridge is thick with souls today," Curly said.

Lovely. I shrugged off a shiver and climbed out of the car, following them up a set of stairs surrounded by the attempts of a Japanese garden. It was overgrown, and the stone bridge over the stream had cracked, pieces of it sat in the water, dark green and slimy with moss.

We entered the church from the side door, which was kind of disappointing. I'd almost expected them to swing open the big double doors to a blast of organ music and the flapping of bat wings.

 Instead, Beefcake took a key from his pocket and unlocked the side door, which swung open with a disappointingly tiny squeak.

The inside of the church was huge, cavernous even. The ceilings were arched and a pair of huge pillars stood at each end of the aisle formed by the pews. Above the alter was a picture of a pissed off looking archangel, one hand pointed out towards us, like he was about to blast away the sinners with lightening. I turned away, my stomach unsettled. This place was grim, solemn and accusing.

"Welcome to the church on the hill," Aden said. "Settle in, we could be here for awhile."

Short chapter but more soon! In the meantime, check out the E. Latimer fan club over on facebook by searching E. Latimer Fan Club! Chat with other readers and share ridiculous book memes, or win awesome swag and see sneak peeks of the 2nd FROST book! Wowza!