The Ministry Child: Phantomime

Our Old Getaway

Most of my readers know about The Spire Oneshots, this will be from Albany's respective. I'm planning to change parts of it, but I'll include the next two parts of the story too.

The Spire Oneshots are part of my Ghost BC Oneshots. I wrote them before I even began writing The Ministry's Child series.

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Chapter Eighteen!

Our Old Getaway 

March 2022- The Los Angeles Ministry 

The chimes of the old grandfather clock echoed throughout the Ministry, the world outside the unholy church had surrendered to slumber. The hallways were silent, the Clergy were elsewhere. The night was peaceful, but echoing footsteps disturbed the silence of the spiralling stone stairway of the spire. Someone was heading towards the highest part of the Los Angeles Ministry. 

Albany's way was being lit by an old looking lantern she had borrowed from the janitor's closet, her tasks for the day had been completed. It was almost nine o'clock, her date with her lover was several minutes away. The scent of the stairway was welcoming, she had many fond memories of this dark and dank place. Higher and higher she went until finally found the door of her chosen location, it's hinges creaked while she opened the door to the old hideaway from her youthful years. Albany's eyes explored the darkness, the lantern only showed her what it desired. Her voice broke the silence of the room, she was hoping that her lover had arrived early.

" Copia, are you here yet?" She asked.

There was no reply, her lover was nowhere to be seen. A deep sigh escaped Albany's lips, his celebratory dinner must still be ongoing. Holding the lantern in front of her she looked around the room, the moonlight shone through the closed glass doors to the balcony. The room beneath the spire was dusty and unused. Cobwebs hung from the wooden beams above her, it was eerily silent. Boxes, old furniture and paintings covered with dust sheets were stored here. The fluttering of bat wings in the highest parts of the spire caught her attention, but they weren't the only unholy things that lingered in this space.

Albany's gaze soon wandered over to three caskets laid out side by side, their glass lids were covered with black lace sheets. The dead slept here, three Papas side by side. Undisturbed by the living, not many people would entered this place after midnight. Walking forward she approached the balcony doors and unlocked them, she then opened them wide. The cool nights breeze entered the room, she placed the lantern by the door and stepped out onto the balcony. The sounds of the night were soothing, the lights of Los Angeles lit up the skyline. Her hands slipping over the railing Albany's gaze drank in the beauty of the bustling city beyond the walls of the unholy church, it's had been years since she had admired the views of the city she now called her home. The minutes soon passed, there was no sign of Copia. Checking her watch it was now 9:30pm, she was beginning to wonder if he had been waylaid. Papa Nihil and Sister Imperator's celebratory may have been extended, but Mr Saltarian may have somethings to discuss with the newest Papa Emeritus. The creaking of the floorboard from not far behind her caught Albany's attention, but without any warning a wooden bucket bounced off the railing and tumbled over it's edge. Albany didn't have time to react, she immediately covered her eyes and couched by the railing. She was unsure what had just happened, but this random incident had scared her half to death.

Albany remained still with her hands covering her eyes, she dared not look. The echoes of the bucket colliding against the stone wall of the building filled her ears, she soon heard the bucket hitting the ground below the balcony. The spire went silent, the sounds of the distance highway soon returned. Peering through her fingers she saw Copia standing not far away from the doorway, his gaze focused on his fidgeting hands he looked like a child waiting for a scolding. He was dressed in his onstage attire, his face paint was quite daunting in the darkness. Getting to her feet she looked over the balcony's edge, her hands tightly gripping around the railing the ground below her was hidden by the night. She tried to registered what had just happened. She hadn't been expecting that little scare, but this wasn't the first scare she had received from him. He always sneaked up on her when she was unaware of his presence, it was his way of showing affection.