A Whole New World

Sorry

Joey made it back to the entrance of the church, Jim a few feet behind him. Isaac was at the top of the stairs pacing around, biting his thumb. He heard Joey's footsteps, and the very loud clanking of a cane, and turned toward them.

"Oh my gosh. I've been waiting here for five minutes straight wondering where you guys were. I didn't know if..." Isaac's relief faded when he saw Joey's face. Joey turned his face away from Isaac, feeling his way up the stairs.

"Open the door for us, Isaac?" Jim asked.

"Uh... Yeah... sure thing," Isaac said, quickly opening one of the doors to the church and holding it open. "You better wipe your face..." he said as Joey passed him, more or less jokingly. "First impressions are everything, y'know. Don't want them thinking you're some kind of softy or nothin'."

"Thanks." Joey somewhat smiled, wiping his runny nose and puffy eyes. "Wouldn't want them thinking that," he said back, walking through the second set of doors in the inside.

With Isaac and his grandpa behind him, Joey wearily entered the church.

The inside was just over the size of an average house, without the extra walls and floors. The ceiling was tall enough to fit two vertical school buses. Lights from the floor weren't able to reach the very top, leaving many parts of the ceiling in shadow. Tall, vibrant stained glass windows ran along the walls, depicting Christ and other biblical references.

While the outside was made up of moss and stone bricks, the interior was mainly many types of wood: mahogany, oak, and so on.

The nave was made up of two rows of pews that went from the chancel to the doors, roughly ten in each. Each of the pews came equipped with the recent installment of the Bible. In a handful of the pews were blankets and pillows.

The nave was beautifully decorated with potted plants― roses, tulips, and lilies― lining the aisles, and scented candles giving small pockets of light. A colorful, circular rug with patterns that were similar to a kaleidoscope was spread over the floor.

Joey was overwhelmed by the conflicting scent of flowers and the stench of unbridled body odor.

Adjacent to the chancel were stairs that went further down into the church.

There were six people in the upper part of the church. Joey felt their eyes target him, making him the center of attention.

A furtive boy in one of the last pews glanced up at Joey, Jim, and Isaac as they walked in. He sat alone with his arms crossed. His face was dopey with a button nose and small, somber eyes. Wavy, copper hair dressed his head. He wasn't terribly younger than Joey. He checked all the boxes for teenage appearance. The acne was a dead giveaway.

He stole a quick look at the three as they entered, quickly losing interest in the newcomer. His eyelids lowered and he proceeded to lay down in his makeshift bed.

A blonde man with light facial hair sat in one of the pews with a little girl. His wolfish face sported sharp, steely eyes. The girl had similar hair to the man and looked around nine. She was dimpled and catlike. A pink bubble jacket wrapped around her and she had hair that went down to her shoulders. The man wore a brown, leather jacket with a green undershirt. A grey, tweed cap clung to his hair. He sported a permanent scowl and had the stature of someone in his early thirties.

"What did you do?" the man began scolding the girl. He pushed up her left pant leg and revealed a cut and some blood. "I said not to go outside. You have no idea how dangerous it is out there."

"I only went out there for a few minutes," the girl responded, clothed in guilt. "Lauren was watching me. I just tripped. That's all."

The man glared over at Lauren, who was talking to Dante, at the other side of the church.