"Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae, et in Iesum Christum, Filium Eius unicum, Dominum nostrum...."
Her voice echoed through the deathly silent church, she knelt at the altar and fingered her rosary beads, saying the Apostles creed, praying to her God for salvation.
"Amen" she finished her prayer and her eyes rose to the figure of Christ on his cross, looming over her like some omnipotent father.
She smiled at his effigy and begun to recite her Hail Marys. One for each section of beads in her hand. Behind her the silent church, silent and dark, lit only by the candles from the altar in front of her. A faint breeze caused them to flicker, she did not wane in her task. The silence of the church at this midnight hour welcoming to her ears, she often wished for silent prayer but instead was forced to listen to her Fathers sermons which seemed to last for hours. It was times like this that she felt closest to God.
She shuffled in her night dress in order to make herself more comfortable, the cushion she was kneeling upon offering her pale youthful legs protection from the harsh stone cobbles of the floor. She often wondered what people would think of her if they knew she crept out of her bed in the Vicarage and came to the church at this late hour to pray in her night clothes?
The door opening behind her caused her chanting to stop, her eyes widened as she heard it close again and slow footsteps behind coming forwards. She was almost too afraid to turn around, maybe it was her Father, finally caught in the act of late night praying. She shivered in fear as she turned and cast her eyes to the figure walking towards her.
His long black coat fell down around his slender body, his eyes seemed dark in the shadows cast from the candle light. He silently walked towards her kneeling figure, she shuffled once more in embarrassment of this stranger seeing her in a state of semi-undress, she attempted to cover her shapely legs from him. He seemed not to notice.
"Don't stop on my behalf" his voice lulled her, it was thick and syrupy as it reached her ears, it felt confident and charming but still it sent a shiver down her spine.
"I'm sorry if I startled you" He continued. "I saw a light and thought it strange that a church should be occupied at this hour. You realise there are some bad people out there?"
She nodded, growing fearful of this man before her, something didn't seem right about him, something under his clothes seemed to shift and change...the darkness seemed to cling to him in a way it didn't with anything else in the room. She shivered again, and thought she detected a smile on his lips when he noticed.
"You shouldn't be alone, not here, not tonight" He spoke softly. As he did he stopped before her and smiled, his teeth seemed to be sharp. "But I guess its too late for that now. Isn't it?"
She begun to stand carefully, her eyes locked onto his, her youthful body barely hidden behind the thin night dress she wore, pure and white. Humour made his dark eyes twinkle. He was handsome but....she felt danger ticking away under the surface. His teeth and eyes scared her, she knew she was in trouble. But didn't know how much. Not yet.
"Where are you going?" He asked. "We were just getting acquainted, I've always wanted a Vicars daughter" His tone sent even more violent shivers down her spine. She had to get out. But he stood in the way of the only exit......unless.
She spun with a quickness that belied her youth and fitness, turning away from the man and running towards the door that led into her Fathers inner sanctum. She reached it and slammed against it hard, praying silently that it was open. Frantically she grabbed the pull ring and turned. Nothing. Locked.
'Shit' she thought, before blushing red with the harshness of the words in her mind. Vaguely she added another Hail Mary to her Rosary, when.....if she ever got to finish it.
She expected to feel his hands upon her, tearing, ripping at her clothes. But nothing came. She turned cautiously, He stood where he had stood before, casually leaning against the pew, as if he had not a care in the world. He exuded amusement. The dangerous shark-like smile had resurfaced and his eyes seemed even darker than before, twinkling in the candle light.
"Locked is it?" He spoke confidently. "It's almost as if I planned it that way, huh?"