"Reverend Mother, may I inquire why exactly we're in... This part of town?" Isabella asked her superior hesitantly. The blush on the young nun's face was evident, but she held herself steady. Doing her best to retain proper posture and a clear head, despite the nose wrinkling odors wafting from the alleys. There was trash everywhere, graffiti defacing nearly every wall, and the sound of scurrying rats echoed through the winding streets. Worst of all; the day had begun to fade into dusk, slowly bringing the foul district to life.
"Just Mother, Sister." Reverend Mother corrected, stoic as always. "There's a little tea shop at the end of Moore's Lane which carries my favorite specialty blend." She explained simply. "Though we should hurry before it closes. I'm sure you are more than capable of handling yourself Sister Isabella but please stay close to me."
"Yes Mother Diana." Isabella affirmed, as the two nuns briskly made their way into the depths of the inner city. An ever fading bright orange sky above them.
Isabella took a deep breath as she noticed various... Questionable figures were growing in population.
"Harlots, the lot of them. It really is a shame the Lord's touch is so far away from this place." Mother Diana grumbled. "Here we are, quickly now. We haven't time to waste." The older woman huffed, dragging Isabella into an antique looking building which just so happened to be across the street from a dizzyingly modern looking nightclub that was already in full swing. Isabella's attention has been snagged momentarily by the visage of a woman wearing a pure white outfit, heeled boots that went up to their knees, with garters holding down a sheer fabric dress that was overlaid by a small bustier and-
"Sister Isabella."
"Oh, yes Mother, my apologies." The young woman tried not to show the blush on her face as she rushed up the creaky steps into the shop.
Mother Diana was already sipping some freshly brewed tea while a store clerk gathered an assortment of tea bags into a container for them. Isabella felt a little bit confused, pondering how long she had stood outside staring at that woman if Mother Diana had the time to brew tea.
"Oh, Sister. This is an absolute delight; 'void lily' tea they call it. Why I haven't felt this young in decades." The elder nun sighed with obvious satisfaction. "We'll have to bring enough back for the whole covenant."
Isabella only nodded, feeling oddly disconnected. She felt... As if she were still outside, still gazing upon that woman. "Is there a washroom I could use?" Isabella asked the clerk softly.
"Certainly Sister, just down this hall. Last left on the right." They said pointing towards a hallway obfuscated by a split curtain.
"Thank you, I shouldn't be long." Isabella said, mostly to Mother Diana who didn't really seem to be paying much attention to anything at the moment. Just enjoying their tea, blissfully swaying to the music playing from an old gramophone in the corner.
Isabella sighed and made her way into the hallway through the curtain, finding it unnervingly dark, but there was a light at the very end which was likely her destination. She pressed onwards, careful and slow at first, but began to pick up pace as she became aware of how long the hall truly was.
Isabella stopped in her tracks after realizing the light wasn't getting any closer. Looking back there was nothing but... Darkness.
The nun nervously reached up to slide a lock of fiery red hair behind her ear, before placing a hand over the crucifix she had sewn into the tunic of her habit after first taking her vows only a few months ago. She breathed and closed her eyes, whispering a prayer to the Lord in hopes of finding some solace in this increasingly stressful situation.
When she opened her eyes, Isabella let out a sigh of relief, having found herself standing before the curtain she'd entered through. No longer concerned with finding a washroom, the girl was more than ready to return home to have dinner with her fellowship.
Stepping through the veil, Isabella's heart dropped.
Loud electronic dance music blasted through the air, accompanied by a cacophony of voices all talking over each other, whistles, shouts, and moans. Bright cyan lights dominated the sleek futuristic neon aesthetic of the space, of which was packed full of people.
Isabella began to panic, as the impossible scene before her was absolutely overwhelming. Turning around she found nothing more than a white wall which only furthered her distress. However, beside her was a large window, showing the city block she had traversed barely five minutes ago but from the opposite side of the street.
"Mother Diana!" The nun shouted uselessly at the plane of glass as she watched her Superior strolling along the sidewalk, heading home without her. The Reverend Mother seemed blissfully unaware that she'd forgotten Isabella, bouncing down the street with an almost unnerving vigor.
"Oh my god, is that a nun?!"
Isabella turned around to find a group of scantily clad women gathering around her. "P-please excuse me ladies, I don't... I shouldn't be here, I don't know where I am."
A girl with jet black hair and unnaturally white pupils giggled at Isabella. "You're at VOID silly. Best club anywhere and everywhere."
Another girl who was basically wearing nothing more than a latex bikini clapped excitedly. "Girls! This must be her first time! We totally have to help pop her ch-"
"Hold it Jeannette." Interrupted a tall purple haired woman in an expensive looking latex dress of some kind; she gave off an intense air of authority among the group, "You really are just a regular human nun aren't you?" They questioned with a raised brow.
"I- Yes! I'm not supposed to be here. I have to leave and return to my convent as soon as possible." Isabella explained desperately, her cheeks burning from embarrassment. A few of the women were practically naked, and their lack of shame made it all the more unnerving.
"Too late for that Sister." One of them replied while gesturing to the window behind Isabella, or at least, where the window had been.
Much like the hall she'd entered from, there was no indication that the window existed at all. Only more impossible club space. Isabella nearly screamed but instead her body simply shook with fear.
"Sister, there's a bathroom on the other side of the floor if you need." The purple haired woman explained.
Isabella blinked at her for a moment, feeling uneasy about trusting not only a stranger but some kind of sexual deviant. Still, the holy woman could tell when someone was lying. At least, that's what she had always claimed. The nun just needed to splash some cold water on her face and wake up from this nightmare. "Um, thank you Miss." She muttered, standing there awkwardly before the leering eyes of the girls became too much and she shuffled her way through the least dense parts of the crowd towards what she hoped would be some form of salvation.
