I was sitting alone in a church, with only the flickering of candles for company. My jeans and shirt were ripped, and there was a faint odor of blood on them. I racked my head for the reason I was there and remembered two separate things. First, I was in an accident, and second, I did not die. Shaking on the spot disturb my already tattered clothes. My shredded jeans exposed a horrible scar that stretched the length of my left leg. Touching the scar tissue out of morbid curiosity, I was overwhelmed by my own memories and visions.

*Flashback*

An early Tuesday, woke up at 5:00, got ready by 5:30, and left by 6:00. I ate oatmeal for breakfast on the road; the car was cold but warmed up before I finished my meal. I was parked near a park, ready to get that bread, when *skrrrree* the sound of my car door being scratched to hell and back entered my ears before my eyes or skin could register what had happened. *Wham* Looking away from my car's door, I see the poor bastard's totaled car hitting one of the park's famous trees. His car’s front looked as if it had hit a concrete wall more than wood.

I try shuffling to the other side, huffing at the absurdity of my condition, only to be stopped by the blinding pain in my leg. Looking down, I notice a massive gouge in my leg, with the white of my bones poking through the ripped flesh. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I discover it is coated in blood, slippery to the touch, and difficult to use before dialing an ambulance for myself. The voice of the caller on the other side was acting as my lifeline, telling me how to staunch the bleeding. Unlocking my storage compartment, I pulled out my first aid kit and lamented the lack of bandages. Panicking, I tore off strips of my hoody and liberally applied gauze. That was a mistake.

The pain was burning. My mind clouded as the fire in my bones raged on. I could see through half-closed eyes that I had bled an ungodly amount of blood. I prayed to whatever god was watching me to let me live to see tomorrow, and I was literally blinded with light. Things became hazy after that. With a powerful "whoomph," I crashed into the church floor, kicking up both dust and air out of my lungs. My consciousness began to slip as the noise of the crowds passed me. So, priest? They were dressed in white and black robes. But I couldn’t remember beyond that.

Sitting there, I contemplated what had happened. Rubbing the new scar, I came to three conclusions. The level of medical care here is outstanding; the scar moves as if it were just discolored muscles. I have either been teleported or kidnapped by a religious group. And three, if ones and two are correct, the lack of personnel means there is some amount of security I cannot see. Nodding my head to the beat of my thoughts, I sat there going through all my possessions before getting bored the third time and packing up my stuff and moving.

At that moment, the doors of the church opened like those in a villain movie, with a long creak and all. On the other side, a young priest was struggling to open the thick double doors. I waved at the boy, who noticed me before running away like he had seen a ghost. Look down at myself. I can tell that I don’t look that bad, more like a rice farmer that fought a crane, but I’m sure you could overlook that? While I waited for whatever backup there was, I tried to clean up my hair of any dried blood flakes and shake the dust from my tattered clothes.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Sitting back down, I quirked up my ears until I could hear the very rapid tapping of high heels or stone blocks coming from the open door the boy came from. A minute later I could hear the steps without focusing, and a minute after that I could feel the steps as each step shook the stones under me by a bit. Reaching its crescendo, a giant of a woman entered dressed in the most tight-fitting nuns’ clothes I’ve ever laid my eyes on, opening the towering doors with barely a sweat. Though I believe that was due to the rapid high-heel speed walking she did rather than the castle doors.

Waving like last time, I was met with a high-pitched scream before said nun disappeared. Seeing that this game would continue until the head manager was called, I stood up and took a pillow from one of the pews. Ah, the height of luxury! Though honestly, the pillows are divine; I would believe it if people converted just for them. I added a few more clouds to my pile, repeating my previous actions in the hopes of hearing whoever had grabbed me. Not much, honestly; I couldn’t hear a pin drop, let alone those giant nuns’ footsteps, so I started to do some roleplaying to see how I should act when they return.

On one hand, they did save my life, so they should get some amount of praise; on the other, I was left on the oddly not-cold stone floor with no supervision. Going through the act a couple times, I stopped when I heard the rapid clanking of heels on stone, closer to a horse gallop. Getting myself presentable, I prepared. No amount of planning could have prepared me for the arrival of a larger nun in fancier tight-garb alongside the original nun. She catches my form, waving a little more meekly than before, before depositing the smaller nun and pointing the other way.

I can fell the loud clanking of her footsteps as she walks over, so I try to strike up a conversation with the nun. "Nice to meet you; my name is Ronald Theodore, and how are you, um, this evening?" The lack of natural lighting is throwing my sense of time for a loop. The nun stops at the pews where I've taken the pillows and lifts them up, revealing a large compartment with the largest prayer mat I've ever seen, the size of a sitting room carpet. Taking it out, she promptly closed the hidden compartment, and sat down on her knees.

"I am Head Priestess Angela of the New-Ring religion, and it is a pleasure to meet you as well." Her voice was not as deep as I had expected. "I would welcome you to the church if it were not more your home than mine." She chuckled. "Um, sorry, just two minutes." I rubbed the space between my eyes. "This might come off as a bit rude, but why was I left alone here?" Gesturing to the empty church room. Cocking her head around, she responds. "Two reasons: we wanted to give you space when you awoke, and the second was to give you time to process your emotions."

"Oh, ok." It was one of the possibilities, but I dismissed it because of how low it was. "Thanks, by the way, for the save," I said, pointing to my scared leg. She pursed her lips as she backed away, as if it was going to bite her. "We did no such healing; if we had done it, you would not be sporting such a scar." "Um... then who?" A mystery within a mystery. "Shush your questions for a bit; we have something more important to deal with."

I quirked an eyebrow. "How so?" She says this with a trembling breath. "History."