Hostel M2

M2-Part XIII

"What!!!" Chris yelped frantically, totally shocked at Henry. It took less than a second for his heart beat to skip up several notches as his brain mentally visualized what sleeping alone in a room meant for four would be like, especially when Mr. Jones was somewhere, searching for his next victim. "You're leaving too?"

Henry burst into a fit of laughter, clutching his stomach as he turned to a goggle-eyed Chris, "dude, just let me be now, I got enough to deal with already."

***

"Exorcism is the religious or spiritual practice of purportedly evicting demons," Chris paused and allowed the lump in his throat move down before he continued reading, "demons or other spiritual entities from a person or an area they are believed to have possessed."

"Is he always..." Mr. Parker looked at the disturbed fellow at the rear of the car through the mirror. "...like this?"

Henry nodded, hoping that his friend would not be too hurt by the open betrayal. The car rumbled as they continued through the sub-urban parts of the city. As students, it wasn't every day you got to see this far away from the school's environment. The roads here were worse, with portholes at almost every corner of the road and the neighborhood in which Professor Parker had them in didn't look the friendliest of all.

"I wonder how he passes my exams!" the professor added, turning into the graveled pathway of a cathedral. For a moment there, Henry only focused on the grinding sound of the tires against rock.

"Exams aren't nearly as scary as ghosts," Chris mumbled. The door clicked and then beeped after all three got off the car. Chris straightened his shirt and then pulled up its sleeves neatly while the gentle breeze flowed around him.

Beyond the fountain at the entrance which quite matched with the landscaping demarcating the compound in two was the towering structure of the church with its pinnacle looking like the well sharpened edge of a cherub's sword. It had high stained windows with paintings on them and the interlocking bricks with which it was built made it look quite gothic.

The two friends gave each other a quick look of confusion the moment Mr. Parker started in the direction of the premises' exit.

"Uhh, shouldn't we be moving in the other direction?" Chris asked while trying to catch up.

"Well we're not, so just follow along," Mr. Parker replied. Henry shrugged, quite unsure of what to say to his friend. As they approached the gates, the statue of Holy Mary holding on to a rosary with her hands together as though praying came in view. Chris noticed his friend's lips move lightly with his gaze fixed at the carved wax as they walked along and he could almost bet it was a Hail Mary.

They soon crossed the road to the stretch of apartment complex at the other side of the road, only then did they wonder if it really was the gravel which they had to make their way through or if truly, the distance from the gate to where the car was parked inside was a long one.

With Mr. Parker ahead, they made their way through the black door with graffiti on it. It came as quite a shocker when they entered and were welcomed by the banging on one of the doors by an aged man who kept yelling something in a strange language.

"The landlord," Mr. Parker whispered to them as they started up the flight of filth filled stairs. Henry giggled before he could talk back.

"Looks like someone's rent's due."

They continued through the stairs till the fourth floor, every now and then having to give way for a grouchy looking fellow to walk through. The walls were filled with graffiti and the air which hung in the air had a strong stench of rotting food, some of which lay around the stairway. All the time, Henry just couldn't help but wonder how on earth Professor Parker had ever gotten to know such a place like this.