We both stumbled forward with the force of my shove, sending the hoodie guy and his stack of pizzas to the ground. I braced the wall on the inside and used my cane for support. My knee throbbed angrily, beckoning me to sit down. But I had come so far; I was finally inside.

  "Dude, what the fuck?" The hoodie guy looked up from the ground at me, the upper most pizza smeared to his chest. I ignored him and looked around. It looked just as unassuming as it did from the outside. We stood in a vestibule with old cubbies that used to be for boots and coats before services. Just inside, I could see a hallway that led to the main area where pray was observed.

  The door swung close on it's own and latched closed with a loud mechanical click, that was unusual for the architecture.

  "Hi, sorry, am I interrupting?" The guy in the hoodie said, getting to his feet and pushing the remaining pizza boxes protectively to the side. My eyes connected with his. He glared at me, his stance wide, like he was ready to fight. Looking at him now, he was definitely on the younger looking side.

  "Get out of my way kid." I said, trying to shuffle passed him. He cut me off, with his arms outstretched.

  "This is private property man. You can't be in here." He said firmly. I flashed him my badge and tried to push passed again, but he shoved me back.

  "Kid, I'm a cop, get out of my way." I told him. He shook his head.

  "Even more reason for you not to be in here. You got a warrant?" He smirked.

  "This is an abandoned building. I don't need a warrant. But I could arrest you for trespassing. Are you living here or something?" I pressed passed his arms and into the hallway. He sighed heavily. He tried to step in front of me again, so I put my cane out and tripped him. He wiped out hard.

  "Seriously?" He shouted, holding his elbow.

  I ignored him and walked into the large open space. I ran my hand along dusty, unused pews and looked at the linens draped over other furniture. The statue of Jesus on the cross had been long since broken, it appeared. There were a few candles sitting about, flicking dim light. A single fluorescent light lit the back of the room, casting long shadows to the length down to the sealed front doors. The hoodie guy got up and approached again.

  "Alright Grandpa, enough sight seeing. You have to go now." He said, coming near me. This time I didn't hesitate; I pulled my sidearm and pointed it at his face. The safety was still on, but he didn't know that.

  "Seriously?" He whined. I was surprised that he didn't flinch away or scream. There wasn't any sort of reaction.

  "You're a shitty cop man. Or really, like any typical cop. Fuckin' pigs." He mumbled.

  "Watch your mouth kid." I looked around the room. There had to be something here; a secret tunnel or break-away wall.

  "What are you even looking for? It's an abandoned church. If you're looking for Jesus, he isn't here man." He said, with all the snark of a teenage girl.

  "I said watch it!" I shouted, and finally he flinched, as I motioned with my gun.

  I moved behind the podium, taking my time on the small stair up. I touched everything I could think of, looking for some kind of button or lever. I made sure to keep my gun pointed in the general direction of hoodie guy, who was now sitting in a pew with his arms crossed, occasionally picking pizza off himself.

  "What exactly are you looking for, Detective Callum?" Another voice said, coming from behind the broken statue. I hadn't even thought to look for a back wall. I rolled my eyes at the guy in the grey suit. Except this time he was wearing only a white dress shirt, tucked into his grey slacks and the sleeves rolled up his forearms. His suspenders were crooked.

  "I know what you're hiding here!" I shouted, turning my gun on him, waving it in the air. Just like the hoodie guy, he didn't flinch and it was irritating. I was beginning to feel powerless.

  "If you mean the group of youths waiting on their pizza, then you've caught me." He said casually, leaning against the wall.

  "I know about the secret organizations! I know about the monsters! I know what I saw that day." I shouted, not moving towards him.

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  I watched as he looked passed me at the hoodie guy and motioned for him to move. Hoodie guy stood and and walked around behind me, grabbing the pizzas, to stand beside suit guy.

  "Detective, I'm certain I don't know what you're talking about. But I'm going to have to ask you to lower your weapon." He told me.

  "Cut the crap!" I told him, not backing down.

  He looked at hoodie guy again and nodded behind him. He took the pizzas and disappeared. I stepped forward, moving closer to suit guy. He moved away from the wall and strolled up to stand in front of me. Right in front of my gun. I instinctually clicked the safety off.

  "Remember what happened last time you threatened one of kids, Detective Callum?" He said, pointing down at my cane. "I suggest you lower your weapon, before something worse happens to you."

  I stared at him hard, trying to call his bluff. When he didn't budge, except to slick his hair back, I clicked the safety back on and holstered my gun.

  "I want answers." I growled. He looked at me like I was a disappointing pet, who had just peed on the carpet. He crossed his arms.

  "How about this, ask your questions as I walk you out." He said, grabbing me under the arm and trying to walk me to the door. I pulled away.

  "I'm broken, not old." I snapped. He moved away and bowed his head a bit. I shuffled over to the nearest pew and sat down, pulling my cane up beside me.

  "Or you could start talking now." I said, smirking. Suit guy rubbed his temple and slicked back his hair.

  "Fine. And then you'll get out of my church?" He asked, coming to stand before me. I shrugged and he sighed dramatically.

  "Yes, the monsters are real. All the legends, myth, folklore and even some modern tales of literature are based in reality. Magic exists, the Gods are real. The Order of Vigilance is the thing standing between them and the mortal world you know. Yes, we are everywhere. Now please?" He rambled off, motioning for the side door. I stared at him for a long while, watching the frustration grow in his face.

  "I know all that already." I said, nonchalantly. I watched as his eyebrow twitched. Ch0z3n1 had given me most of that info already. It occurred to me that I technically had the answers. But I wanted cold hard proof. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. I wanted someone to tell me...that I wasn't crazy.

  "I'm confused Detective. What, exactly, do you want from me?" He asked. I looked him over, trying to gauge just want kind of man this guy was. He came off like a sleazy car salesman, but he was clearly protective of these kids living here. Could I trust him?

  "I'm having a monster problem." I told him, which seemed to catch him off guard. He moved to sit on the pew, and I moved my cane. His entire demeanor changed.

  "What kind of monster problem, Detective?" He asked, almost gently.

  "It's called The Guilt. I don't know exactly what it is, but it comes to me, tormenting me. I watched it kill my entire platoon, it killed my family and took my daughter." I tried not to get to emotional as I told him just the basics. He looked at me with concern and sympathy. Even going so far as to put his hand on my shoulder.

  "I have no idea what kind of creature that even is. But I'm sorry it has ruined your life. I can understand how something like that would cause someone to spiral." He told me. I pulled away from his arm.

  "I'm not crazy!" I shouted at him, trying to stand. He patted his arms in the air, trying to calm me.

  "Of course not. If there is anyone who understands, it would be the Order. I know that this can all be confusing. Honestly, it was a lot to take in for me too, all those years ago." He told me. It hadn't occurred to me that at one point, this guy might have just been a regular dude, recruited into a shadow organization, and force to do someone else's bidding.

  "I don't know what to do." I told him, throwing my arms in the air in defeat. He stood from the pew and offered me a hand up. I took it and stood, putting my cane down in front of me.

  "Luckily, I might have some ideas. But I'm going to need something from you first, Detective Callum." He said, dusting his hands off on his pants, and adjusting his clothes.

  "Yea, and what's that?" I asked.

  "I need you to forget about this place. I have people here I need to protect and I can't have you telling everyone you've found some kind of secret base. I don't want you coming in and out of here looking for me and harassing the others that live here." He said, his eyes and tone sharp. I nodded.

  "I get it. You gotta protect your own." I told him. He stared at me hard. "I won't tell anyone."

  "I don't like threatening people Detective, but if you do come back here uninvited, or if you are followed here and it leads to more issues for us, I will find you." He said, with all the seriousness of a heart attack. "Give me your phone."

  I handed him my phone, almost instinctually. I watched him open a new contact page, type in a phone number and hand it back to me.

  "You are only to call me in emergencies. I will send someone to you to try and help with your monster problem." He told me, motioning for the side door again. I nodded, knowing that I had well overstayed my welcome. Then I froze.

  "How do you know where I live?" I asked. Suit guy turned and walked back to the wall behind the broken statue. He flicked a hand in the air, flamboyantly.

  "You aren't the only person capable of investigating threats, Detective. Godspeed." He said, before disappearing from view. My gut told me to follow him. I wanted to know more about this place, and how the organization worked, but he was offering to help, so I let it go. As I walked toward the door, I looked down at my phone.

  "A. Pendragon." I said, reading the name he put in my phone. It had to be some kind of code. It would make sense for a secret organization who killed monsters to use code names from Arthurian lore. When I got to the door, it beeped to unlock and I pushed my way back out into the cold night air.

  I would just have to wait for whatever help this Pendragon guy was going to send, to show up.

  And hope that The Guilt did not return.