003

— mary meeting the divine —

THE CURCH STOOD TALL, LIGHT, TEAL-PAINTED WINDOW SHADES STANDING OUT FROM THE BRICK TEXTURE. The three girls stepped from the car, Rachel staring up at the gold cross on the top window. "A church huh?" Hazel questioned and Rachel simply shrugged in response.

Kory ushed the girls forward, walking across the gravel path towards the large oak doors. Rachel wrung her hands together nervously and Hazel bumped her hip against Rachel's softly. "Don't be so nervous," Hazel whispered, leaning down to Rachel. "Everything will be okay."

Rachel huffed softly, brushing her hair back. "Sure."

Kory reached over the girl's shoulders, pressing the doorbell. Recordings of old church bells echoed from the speakers, ringing through the old brick building.

The old door rattled, and an older woman peaked her head out. "Hello, there. Can I help you..." The old woman trailed off as she looked over the girls standing in front of her. She fixed her small golden glasses and looked up at Kory. "You're back." Her eyes trailed back down, looking at Rachel. "My Lord, it can't be... Is this her? Oh! Look how big you've grown. It's been such a long time my child." Rachel's lips pulled into a tight smile as the woman kept her eyes on her.

Hazel cleared her throat softly and the woman turned her attention towards her. "Can we sit down?" Hazel asked, smiling at the woman.

She nodded and ushered the girls inside. She led them to a compact kitchen and dining area, framed paintings covering the walls and a candelabra in the centre of the table house three lit candles. Kory and Rachel sat on one side of the table, Hazel sitting at the head next to Rachel as the older woman made her way to the kitchen to start the kettle.

A few minutes later the woman sat the teas in front of the others, setting the old kettle between them. "Here you are dear," The woman said, sliding the cup to Hazel.

"It's Hazel, and thank you," Hazel said with a smile.

"Catherine." The woman straightened her robes and sat across from Rachel, sipping the tea. She looked up at Kory who was dragging her nail around the rim of her cup. "You don't remember anything?" Catherine questioned.

Kory shrugged softly, "Not a thing. Only that I was looking for..." Kory's words trailed off as she glanced at Rachel.

"Her," Catherine said in understanding.

Kory hummed in agreement before looking up at Catherine again. "Did I say why?"

Catherine sipped from her cup, humming to herself. "You came here a year ago and said only that she was in danger, that they'd found her," Catherine relayed, her tone slightly jumpy.

"Who had found her?" Hazel asked, setting her cup down.

Catherine shrugged and turned to Kory again. "You only said you just had to find her. And you did." Catherine's smile grew as she looked at Rachel. "And you brought her back to us, right as rain and beautiful as ever." Rachel smiled softly and placed her tea down. "You came to us just as a baby. You and your mother, Melissa. You stayed with us for a while."

Rachel glanced at Hazel; her brows furrowed in confusion. "You knew my mother?"

"Yes," Catherine said nodding. "How is she?" Rachel's eyes dropped and she wrung her hands together. Hazel reached for Rachel's hands, sliding her hand between Rachel's intertwining their fingers. "Oh. Oh, I'm sorry."

"So, do you know why they were here?" Hazel asked.

Catherine smiled, "Your mother was worried about you. She was trying to protect you."

"Protect me from what?" Rachel asked, looking back up at Catherine.

"I cannot say," Catherine spoke softly. She paused for a moment and Rachel nodded. "You don't remember anything about being here, child?"

Rachel looked around, her eyes focussing on the painting on the wall to the left. A large oil painting of a girl on a bed, staring at the gold light emerging from the door to the left. "That, maybe," Rachel muttered, shrugging softly.

"Oh. Mary meeting the Devine. A favourite of mine," Catherine exclaimed proudly, looking up at the painting. "What does Mary see? Can forces we consider purely theological take corporeal form? Do you see a figure in the ether trying to emerge? A man?"

Rachel looked up at the painting and shrugged again. "Not sure."

"What about you child?" Catherine asked, looking at Hazel. "Do you see anything?"

Hazel glanced at the painting and pulled her lips tight, "A light, I guess."

Catherine nodded. "Why don't we try to jog your memory, huh?" Catherine said standing up. "Your old room is still here."

Catherine walked around the table, motioning for the girls to follow her. They followed Catherine to a hall, a dozen people wandering the floor. They started to walk up the stairs, Catherine nodding Rachel and Hazel on. "Your old bedroom is at the end of the hall, dear," Catherine explained, she and Kory lagging behind.

Rachel set off, grabbing Hazel's hand and pulling her down the hall. Hazel looked around, the paintings were perfectly straight, the corners perfectly furnished, tables dusted, flowers blooming and the stained-glass windows colours still unfaded from the sun.

"I don't like this place," Hazel whispered leaning down to Rachel. "It's too... clean." Hazel played with her fingers, spinning the rings she wore.

Rachel shrugged softly, "It's better than being cramped in the car." Hazel chuckled through her nose, letting Rachel run ahead. Catherine walked past Hazel, meeting Rachel at the door.

Kory walked to Hazel's side, looking down at her. "You alright?" Kory asked.

Hazel sighed, an uncomfortable feeling running up her spine. "Somethings wrong with this place," Hazel whispered.

"Hazel!" Rachel shouted, sticking her head out of the doorway. "Come look at this." Hazel looked up at Kory once more before walking wafter Rachel, stepping into the small room. A single bed sat in the centre piled with stuffed animals and blankets, shelves of books, crosses and old toys lined the walls, along with oil paintings.

"Haze," Rachel called. She held out an acoustic guitar, the edges slightly worn to time and the strings coming loose with age. The wood seal had faded leaving the guitar slightly sun faded. "Play something," Rachel insisted.

Hazel moved a stuffed bear from the bed and pulled herself up, sitting the guitar on her legs. Hazel strummed the strings, adjusting them as much to tune as much as she could without snapping them. Hazel stretched out her fingers and strummed a chord. Her eyes focused on the strings under her fingers, the cool metal rough against the pads of her fingers. Her fingers danced across the strings, the melody echoing through the old room.

Rachel leant against her hand, watching her closely, listening to Hazel hum softly. Kory leaned against the doorway, watching them both. Hazel looked up, stopping when she noticed Kory in the doorway.

"What is it?" Kory asked.

"Take on me," Hazel shrugged.

Kory nodded with a smile. "I hate to interrupt but there's someplace I have to check out," Kory said, nodding over her shoulder. "Do you like roller skating?"

❁

RED, BLUE AND PUPLE LIGHTS FLASHED ABOVE THEIR HEAD, THE LUMINESENT PAINT GLOWING LIKE STARS. Hazel and Rachel sat together at a red booth, a plate of chips between them and Hazel slowly sipped a Fanta from too large of a cup. Kory walked back to the girls standing over them. "You should try some," Rachel offered, pushing the curly chips closer.

Kory shook her head, glancing at a girl with Fluro-streaked hair. "Pass. You gonna be long with that?" Kory questioned.

"Rachel ordered a burger and I got a snow cone," Hazel spoke up with a smile pulling the chips closer to her. Kory sighed and looked around before taking a seat, tossing her purse on the table.

Kory sighed, "That cop you told me about in Detroit-"

"Yeah, Dick. What about him?" Rachel asked taking the fries back.

"He's not your father, is he?' Kory questioned.

Rachel quickly shook her head, "No, no. He was just a cop who was trying..." Rachel trailed off, looking down at her food and rolling the salt between her fingers. "It doesn't matter. He didn't really wanna help me anyway."

Kory nodded softly. "Do you know anything about your real father?" Kory wondered, tapping her nails against the tabletop.

"Not much. My mom... Melisa, she never talked about him," Rachel shrugged. "I mean, like, not ever."

Kory hummed and looked away, not pressing the matter any further. Kory looked up at the speakers hanging from the corners of the room and sighed through her nose. "I'm gonna change this music before my head explodes," Kory spoke up, shaking her head as another disco song started to play.

"You should put on some Nirvana," Hazel muttered, wiping the salt off of her hands. "Hey, can we have a change for the arcade?" Hazel asked, pushing away the empty plate. Kory reached into her purse and handed Rachel a few notes.

"Really?" Rachel questioned, flipping it over.

Kory smiled coyly at them. "All I got," Kory shrugged, standing and walking off.

Rachel stood, walking towards the arcade on the other side of the room. Hazel quickly finished her drink and followed her. Rachel raced to a pinball machine, 'HITCHHIKER LANE' displayed in big block letters on top. "Highest score wins?" Rachel challenged.

Hazel nodded, smiling to herself, "You first."

Ten minutes later Rachel had racked up a score of forty-three thousand but continued to miss the jackpot at the top. Hazel laughed to herself Rachel hit the side of the machine as the ball fell through, losing her score again. "It's rigged," Rachel huffed, crossing her arms in defeat.

Hazel chuckled and nudged Rachel out of the way. "I'm gonna get another drink. Don't lose this machine. I will beat it."

"Sure Rache," Hazel hummed. She pulled back the leaver shooting the ball upwards, racking up a high combo almost immediately. Rachel scoffed, curing at Hazel. "You should get my snow cone as well. A treat for the winner."

Rachel laughed at Hazel, turning away, "Whatever."

Hazel laughed softly, focussing her attention back on the game, hitting the buttons on the side and bouncing the ball back up. The game announcer shouted different numbers as Hazel's score climbed higher and higher.

A boy stopped by Hazel's side, his hands nervously toying with his jumbo cup. "Hitchhiker Lane. Nice," The boy said smiling. Hazel smiled and hit the ball upwards again. "Uh, go for the Camera Sinkhole," He instructed, leaning over the machine slightly.

Hazel followed his advice, aiming the ball towards the top right corner. She hit the jackpot, cheering as her score reached seventy thousand. "Holy shit. You're pretty good at this," Hazel laughed, looking up at the boy.

He nodded softly, his green hair, and the white of his jacket glowing Fluro from the UV lights.

"I'm Gar."

"I'm Hazel."

Their words melded together, and they both laughed softly. Hazel hit the ball again before looking up at Gar again. "I like your hair, green suits you."

Gar smiled to himself, toying with the straw of his cup again. "I like your flowers," Gar said, smiling at the small flowers in Hazel's hair.

Hazel laughed softly and looked away from Gar, trying to stop her stomach from flipping. "Look out!" Hazel's eyes shot up to the silver ball racing towards the drop and she smashed her hands against the buttons, catching the ball just in time.

"Nice save," Gar said smiling.

Hazel chuckled, keeping her eyes on the game. "Uh, pretty sure the only reason I saved that was because of you."

"Hey, so the snow cone machines broken so we can-" Rachel stopped, pausing at Hazel's side. "Oh, hi."

Gar waved softly his lips pulled tight. "Uh, this is Rachel, Rachel this Gar," Hazel quickly introduced, looking up for a moment before back at the pinball machine. She got another twenty thousand points before letting the ball drop through.

Gar stepped to the side and Hazel moved with him so Rachel could take over the machine. "No way! You got the jackpot?" Rachel shouted, handing her drink off to Hazel.

"Yeah, but Gar helped though," Hazel smiled, looking up at Gar as she sipped from Rachel's drink. "He's pretty talented."

Rachel hummed softly. "So, you cheated?" Rachel snarked.

Hazel pulled a face at Rachel making Gar chuckle. "No, I only offered advice," Gar spoke up, playing with the straw of his drink.

Hazel nodded, "And it was brilliant advice."

"Hey!" A man called, walking towards the three. "Come on. We're going." Rachel looked up, ignoring the machine shouting 'game over'. Hazel looked up at Kory standing next to the tall, brown-haired man. Kory mouthed 'Detroit' and Hazel nodded.

Rachel scoffed softly. "What are you doing here?" Rachel asked with anger.

"Now is not the time, okay?" Dick snapped, trying to urge Rachel on.

Gar looked at Hazel and she shrugged softly.

"Why are you here?" Rachel snarled.

"Can we talk about this somewhere else? Let's go," Dick ordered, spinning and walking away. Kory nodded and followed after him, Rachel huffing and following as well.

"Uh..." Hazel turned to Gar and shrugged. "It was nice meeting you," Hazel hummed, smiling at Gar before running to catch up with Rachel.

Hazel followed behind Kory, staying close to Dick leading them down the Fluro halls.

"Rachel, we gotta get you somewhere safe," Dick explained, looking back at her.

"Do you know who sent that weird family after her?" Kory questioned, shouting over the music slightly.

Dick furrowed his eyebrows and looked over his shoulder. "Who the hell are you?" Dick snapped, looking at Kory.

"I don't know," Kory answered. "But somehow Rachel's the key to figuring me out."

"Is that why you kidnapped her?"

"She didn't kidnap me," Rachel butted in. "She saved me." Dick shook his head and pushed the door open, and Kory held it open for Rachel and Hazel to walk out.

The clouds had started to turn grey, the wind chilling Hazel slightly. Dick walked through the car park and Rachel rushed up to Dick, leaving Hazel to walk behind them. "How's Dawn? Is she-"

"Rachel-"

"I read what happened online," Rachel went on. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"Who's Dawn?" Kory called walking beside Hazel. Rachel and Dick looked back at her but ignored her question.

Dick stopped and looked down at Rachel. "I can't really talk about this right now, okay? The cops are looking for you. They think you killed your mom," Dick informed.

Kory scoffed, her breath turning foggy, "That's news."

"I may have failed to mention-"

"And they're looking for you too," Dick said suddenly, stopping to look back at Kory. "Assault on multiple officers. Arson. Not to mention kidnapping two kids and assaulting Ms Lillis."

"Like I said, she didn't kidnap us," Rachel snapped glaring at dick. "She saved me. When you didn't."

"Well, that's technically true... Dick," Kory snarked.

"Gee that's a new one," Dick scoffed.

The hairs on Hazel's arms stood and she played with her rings again. "Do you know what happened to Ms Lillis?" Hazel asked, taking a step forward.

Dick paused, sighing through his nose. "She's... in the hospital, they say she's going to be okay," Dick informed, turning away quickly. Hazel let out a sigh of relief and Kory squeezed her shoulder softly.

Rachel looked back at Hazel and Kory. "We're not going without her," Rachel snapped, turning back to Dick.

"What she said," Kory agreed.

Dick huffed, "Can you please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"You left me," Rachel reminded, her tone bitter.

"No, I didn't," Dick sighed.

"You might as well have. You were going to," Rachel countered.

"Rachel, I wasn't."

"I read the note."

"Rachel-"

"You were just gonna leave me like them?" Rachel challenged, throwing her arm out.

"I just needed time to figure things out," Dick defended shrugging softly.

"Stop," Rachel ordered.

Rachel balled her hands into fists and clenched her jaw. "Rachel-"

"Dick stop," Hazel insisted.

Dick glanced at her, and huffed. "Just let me-"

"Stop lying!" Rachel shouted in a distorted voice. The surrounding car windows smashed open, and Hazel threw her arm over her face. The wind whistled around them, and the car's alarms blurred. Black veins ran down Rachel's cheeks, her eyes were black. "I need to go back to the sisters."

Hazel dropped her drink and rested her hands on Rachel's shoulders drawing Rachel's eyes her way. "Hey, breathe okay," Hazel ordered, her eyes glowing green. Rachel took a deep breath the colour fading from her eyes. "You're okay."

Dick looked around at the smashed cars before spinning towards his car. "Okay, come on. Let's go," Dick ordered. Hazel laced her hand with Rachel's, growing vines to connect their fingers and pulled her along to Dick's car.

— gods —