The Vampire's Lady

3: Welcome to the black parade

Oof!

Anya groaned loudly when she landed hard on a solid ground. "Oh, my butt..." She shifted slowly to ease the pressure from it and gave it a gentle rub. She was glad she didn't break a hip or any bone for that matter. The impact just shook her that her body was still trembling from it. She carefully pushed herself up on her knees while continually assessing herself for any injuries. She felt her eyeglasses and backpack on the floor and slung the latter over her shoulders. She managed to stand straight and muttered a prayer of thanks that aside from future bruises below her bum, she was still alive.

Where am I anyway? Well, I think the more appropriate question is... what the hell happened? Wherever she was, it was pitch-black, humid and moldy. She stretched out a hand and tried to reach for anything. She slowly stepped forward and nearly stumbled over large, concrete objects on the floor. She cursed as she tried to blindly avoid them – hearing clanking of metals and thumping of stones against the ground. Am I in the basement of the building?

Finally, Anya felt a wooden wall. She walked to her left, following its path, and after a few moments, she noticed indentations like slits of a doorframe. She ran her fingers all over the panel and found a door knob near her right hip. She quickly turned it and pushed the door open only to close it again when the light from the other side shone directly on her face.

Anya hurriedly wore her eyeglasses and looked outside a second time – and God she hoped she hadn't. Her jaw dropped down. Her body felt like it has grown roots on the floor. Her heart beat wildly, while her breathing stopped momentarily.

Is... is this some kind of a joke?

The holy cross, religious idols, an altar, a priest's ceremonial table and dozens of pews greeted her eyes. She was indeed in a chapel and a priest was even holding a ceremony. Who in their right mind will build a chapel in a basement? She shook her head, took her eyeglasses off and gave it a good clean, hoping that she was just seeing things. But when she put it back on and took another peep outside, everything was still there and she even noticed more oddity.

There were about ten people standing in front of the priest and all of them were wearing old-fashioned – no, ancient – clothes. The men were wearing long tunics with a belt around their hips and ankle-length boots. The women were wearing layered gowns with an apron tied around their hips and a headdress on top of their heads. The men looked like peasants and the women seemed to be servants. They were all bowing their heads low while the priest raised his hand in sync with his prayer.

Anya stifled a gasp when she noticed something in between them. It was formed like a human wrapped tightly with a bloody, white blanket. What the--- She then realized that she was attending a burial ceremony.

The priest poured what seemed to be holy water over the dead, Anya presumed, body. Her head spun more in bewilderment when she took note that the priest was chanting the rights in English, but his accent was different and some of the words he used sounded obsolete from Webster's.

The priest ended the ceremony by making the sign of the cross. The men hovered over the body and started carrying it away from the altar. Anya stepped back inside the dark room when the priest walked past her hiding place and into his private quarters.

"The Count commanded to bury the body immediately."

Anya sneaked a glance outside and saw an elderly woman talking to one of the men.

"Where?"

"In the graveyard at the back of the church."

"What is the cause of this man's death?"