Leaving Hammon
As the time of their departure came closer, Veronica's anxiety grew. She couldn't even get a full night's sleep. She would just turn from one side to another until she finally fell into unconsciousness only to be waken up by some stupid nightmare.
Today would be the day they left Hammon and her fears had reached their height. It was accumulating in the past few days, but by the time this day had come, she was feeling terrified.
It was always at the back of her head, a small thought. Something bad was going to happen, but she did not know what.
The nightmares didn't help either. They weren't like the previous supernatural ones, but that didn't make them any less enjoyable.
In each, she witnessed at least one family member die a gruesome death. The worst part was her inability to save them. She could only watch as they lost their lives.
Veronica took a deep, tired breath, then climbed out of her bed and looked around the small room. It was even emptier than before. She had already packed her bag, so the wardrobe was empty except for the lonesome white dress.
She never was a fan of the color white, but when she saw this in a shop weeks ago, she wanted to buy it immediately.
Its chest area was pure white, while the long skirt and arms were a mix of white and yellow. It also had a few flowers embroidered on it, which gave it an elegant beauty.
She also wore Lady Helper on her inner thigh, fully loaded. In a small holster hidden on the back of her skirt was Silent Whisper, her knife. And in the small pocket of the dress, a change swing with each step.
Veronica grabbed the chain, and with a gentle pull, looked at her pocket watch. She opened it and saw the hour hand move past seven. Soon, the bells sounded all over the city.
Before leaving, she looked around the room one more time, then she walked out of the door, never looking back.
The other rooms where guests should've been staying were empty. They had been like that for the past two days. The main room and basement became abandoned, too.
They hadn't been accepting customers in the past few days, so word spread fast about their closing. Veronica looked at the empty cabinets behind the bar, where the alcohol usually was.
The chairs were turned onto the tables, like it was done after each night after closing.
After a long reminiscent sigh, she walked into the kitchen where a few of their packs were. There weren't much. Most of them contained either Ethereal Items, or Materials and even a few Characteristics.
All their clothes and other important property were inside their Relic's special dimension. This gave them much more room to work with, but fear prevented them from storing all their valuables in there.
Jamie and Ann had already gone away for their last day in school, while Sofie, Suze and James were making the final preparations for their departure. The government had already bought the inn, and the money was in one of the bags.
Veronica spent a bit of time in the bathroom, then ate some leftover food, before saying goodbye to her family and travelling to the Unbroken HQ.
She still had to fetch Michael from there, and she also wanted to say goodbye to everyone. From there, they would visit to the Church of Time and say goodbye to Father Martin too.
As she stepped outside, she looked around the empty street. The clouds were gray and as she took her first couple of steps, a light drizzle poured down...
Like the heavens were already weeping for the future...
...
Michael was feeling strange. Leaving behind Hammon didn't quite sit right with him, especially because he would leave his friends to take care of everything.
They were all taking it well, and supporting him, especially after learning about his engagement. The brothers were a bit stumped. They didn't have any time to celebrate the occasion, but they were happy about his 'escape', as they called it.
What was even worse was the calm. In the past two days, nothing happened. No new bombing, no new murder, no new mass shooting. It was like the entire city was bracing itself for something big...
He and everyone else sat inside the recreational room, just waiting. They had nothing else to do, but wait... All of them hated it.
Ted was especially silent, and he kept trying to divine what the Chaotic Order was planning, which was useless. The Lunatic path had a natural strong anti-divination, and it proved impossible to track them down.
Gerald tried to make small talk with Michael, Billie and Cory, but they weren't in the mood to either speak or joke around.
Michael's shift would be over in the early evening. By that time, Veronica would be here too, and from here they would leave together.
Just as he thought of her fiancé, she walked into the recreational room with a similar grim expression as everyone else had.
"Hey, everyone. Still nothing on the Chaotic Order?" she asked out of politeness, but the answer was pretty obvious.
"Nothing. I even asked for permission to use an Item from the basement, but they still haven't written an answer..." Ted's tone was even more empty than usual.
He looked towards Veronica with bloodshot eyes, marking his sleepless nights. Unlike the rest of the group, he never went home in the past few weeks, since the protests had gotten more out of hand.
The conversation, which only had begun, died there and then. Veronica had no intention of continuing, and instead, she sat down next to Michael.
They stayed there in silence for over an hour, when something finally happened...
Rob ––Billie's husband––burst into the room with an urgent telegram in his hand. He placed it down on the table, then quickly left the room.
Veronica leaned in, but only managed to read the words at the top, before Ted snatched it away... 'Emergency Communication to Chapter Leader, Ted Walton!'
The usual emotionless face of Ted had a small grimace on it, which turned worse the more he read.
After less than a minute, he stood up and, while putting on his coat, he informed them of the message...
"The Church of Time is under attack by the cultists! It seems they are preparing some kind of ritual. We can't let it happen! Billie, you run to the other churches and ask for their help too..."
"Gerald and Cory, you are with me. Michael, you stay here and man the HQ..." He was about to continue when Veronica cut in. "And what about me? Father Martin is my friend, and if he's in trouble, I want to help him!"
"Then I will gratefully accept your help. We do not know how many cultists there are, and we need everyone available!"
Veronica nodded and turned back towards Michael. She was about to speak when she saw the last few lines of the telegram, which was placed on the table...
'Thank You for your Work and Sacrifice!
Sincerely,
Saint Katherine'
She wanted to read more, but Ted snatched the message away, and walked out with hurried steps.
Veronica was confused by both the letter and Ted's strange behavior, but at that moment, she didn't have time to think about it.
They all ran after Ted, who was currently heading into the basement. After ascending to the 7th Order, the call of the different Relics and Items wasn't as bad, so she could stand close to it without becoming a mindless zombie.
Michael and Cory stood near too, while Gerald was a lot further away. Billie had already left with the carriage towards the other organizations.
Ted took a few minutes, but eventually he emerged with a couple of different Items and Relics.
Veronica did not know what any of them did, but everyone at the HQ had the Items memorized.
Ted handed a golden cufflink to Gerald. It was shiny, with a sun carved onto its surface.
He then moved to Cory and gave him a weird-looking mask. Its outside had an angry, but also beautiful, face painted on it. With a bit of tremble, Cory took the mask, but didn't put it on.
Finally, Ted walked to Michael and gave him a small Material Box. It had a lock on it, one that didn't have a keyhole, and upon closer inspection, Veronica saw inscriptions on it.
Before letting go of it, Ted gave one last order to Michael...
"No matter what happens, this cannot get into anyone's hand. If this place gets attacked, and you cannot defend it, leave! Nothing else matters inside this building, just this Item! Take this box and give it to the Unbroken in Vindra..."
"Also, don't look inside the box. That could lead to unfortunate events."
He let go of the box and began walking away towards the back door. Cory and Gerald followed close behind, while Veronica lingered next to Michael.
"Guess we are going to be held up for a bit... Be very careful!" said Veronica while going up on her tippy-toes and giving Michael a small peck on his lips.
He then pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear... "Please, come back safely... I love you Veronica..." She smiled with a bit of sadness and gave another peck. "I love you too!"
Then she left the HQ and found the three men waiting for her outside. Ted stared towards the gray clouds, then sighed.
"We will move through the Ethereal Plain, with the Blazing Button Gerald can enter it too!"
This information wasn't a shock to anyone, since otherwise they would never make it there in time. All four of them took one collective deep breath, then they turned on their Mind's Eye.
Veronica's eyes fell on the others and saw their colors. Gerald and Cory were both gray with worry, but strangely enough, Ted was light blue, which meant he was at peace.
Before she could've thought on it more, the buildings and people dissolved into colors...