As they stood in the middle of the large building that looked like a cathedral, the church doctors and Karla were listening to the terrifying chant that could be heard everywhere. It was as if invisible people were singing around them and they were unable to pinpoint their exact location. The voices were deep and women and men partook in the singing.

The voices grew louder since they had climbed the stairs earlier. Down below, they could barely make out the strange noise. By the time they had reached the gigantic building, the voices were loud and clear.

The language they were using in their chant was foreign however, and no one from the group could make out what it was about. Bernard pointed with his index finger to the opposite direction of where the group was standing “What is that?” he said. All of them turned and saw that more stairs led to the top part of the building.

The building was indeed built like a cathedral, but anyone observing it wouldn’t give it that nomenclature. In its large expanse, the building had pillars on the right and left parts. Anyone looking at those tall pillars would think of a church or cathedral’s ails. The middle, bigger and wider, part of the building looked like a nave devoid of chairs where people would gather and sit during ceremonies.

The group was looking at what appeared to be the choir stalls and instead of seeing an organ up in the middle, they saw a strange statue. It appeared to have a humanoid body. It was very tall, taller than a three floors building. It had long legs, and six long arms protruding from its back. Its gigantic hands had six fingers and its long toes appeared to be sharper than claws.

What intrigued them most was the head of the statue, a spherical cage with hexagonal pores all around it. That thing appeared to be of extraordinary nature and may have been worshipped in this building.

As they looked in amazement and terror at the imposing statue, a kidnapper appeared in front of it and looked at them. It must have been patrolling the area upstairs. As soon as it noticed the group’s presence and its fallen comrade on the ground, the kidnapper let out a shout and jumped at them from the balcony.

Karla avoided the slamming attack by a hair’s width. The attack, combined with the kidnappers weight shook the bars that served as ground and the other church doctors lost balance and fell to the ground. Karla was facing the kidnapper alone and any false movement at that moment could mean her death.

The kidnapper was clearly enraged by his fellow’s death and it was ready to unleash its full force against the group. Karla had to buy time while the others regained their composure and joined in. The kidnapper didn’t lose anytime and struck at Karla with its heavy bag which is used to transport the people they manage to beat.

She dodged to the side and instantly had to jump backwards as the kidnapper tried to stab her using its sharp fingers. Although their hands looked humanoid and even had five fingers, their sharpness could be compared to that of claws and could pierce a human body in one strike.

The kidnapper immediately followed Karla’s movement and ran towards her, performing an uppercut with its claws again which left a fresh cut on her right cheek and relieved her of some of her hair. She was struggling alone against that enraged beast and if she didn’t find an opening, she would be on the ground, meeting the fate that she struggled so hard to avoid.

With its right hand which held the kidnapping bag, the beast swung horizontally at Karla, hitting her on the side and sending her rolling on the ground until she hugged a pillar. She heard her bones cracking again and blood filled her mouth.

The kidnapper had broken from its usual slow walk, it was running towards Karla in order to finish her and move towards the others. Karla couldn’t believe that the attacks she had to dodge and the one she took were executed in mere seconds.

All she had to do was buy some time. A few seconds at best so that the others get back on their feet and surround their foe. She looked at the kidnapper who seemed to take an eternity to reach her. She knew that her body wouldn’t listen and her vision had gotten darker. She closed her eyes and waited for the finishing blow to connect.

As the chants in the background became louder, Karla didn’t hear the gunshot that staggered the kidnapper and halted its advance towards her. Arthur had shot it and Bernard and Arnold advanced towards it, each striking at a different knee.

The kidnapper extended its arms on each side, swiping the two away and fought the pain to stand up again. It was in pain but it clearly wanted to take its revenge on the group. It was as if that beast was capable of thought and emotions. Karla opened her eyes to witness the scene in front of her.

Bernard and Arnold were on the ground, struggling to stand up again while the kidnapper ran towards Arthur with shaking knees. The chants seemed to get even louder and it intensified the terror of what was happening to them.

Karla remembered the blood vials and their immediate healing effect. She fumbled in her pockets and took a vial. She injected the blood to invigorate herself and got back on her feet. The kidnapper was swinging violently at Arthur and Karla knew that she had but seconds before he fell to the unending barrage of attacks which were overwhelming him.

With her long sword, she struck at the kidnaper’s knee then avoided a quick swipe of the beast that tried to immediately retaliate. The tall monster finally fell to the ground face first, as its leg was broken. Karla struck down at its head with all the strength she could muster and smashed the beast’s brain. Arthur nodded at her in thanks as he was out of breath and too pale to be able to speak.

The chanting stopped and silence came back. The group gathered and climbed the stairs in silence and went to inspect the strange statue.

“I hope it’s not life size” commented Bernard as he looked at the giant sculpture.

“I just hope it’s not real” said Arthur “We almost died to one kidnapper, let alone this… thing in front of us”.

Arnold was still silent. He looked intently at the statue and didn’t utter a word.