Obsidian Order

Clouds of exertion bellowed from the young man's lips in the winter air as his legs made leaps and bounds over slick concrete. Heavy flakes of snow swirled through the streets and skyscrapers. He stumbled on a step, recovering long enough to slide into the doors of St. Patrick's Church in Manhattan. The clamorous thud aroused someone within, the door cracking open to see Jacob Bryant laid out on the narthex.

"Ow... and Hello..", he managed to huff out coarsely. Eyes wide the docent beckoned him inside, offering a disposable face mask from a distance and without hesitation. Even after a year, it still felt strange to have to wear a mask everywhere..

Jacob cleared his throat as he worked to catch his breath, gratefully placing the mask over his nose and mouth with an appreciative nod then anxiously checked his coat pockets. "Is this real life..?", he stammered, eyes wide. He grasped hold of something, fingers exploring the smooth surfaces in disbelief. Was he dreaming?

The docent watched the young man quietly, allowing him to settle as she closed the giant mahogany door behind him. The small statured woman, dressed in black, hair covered by a habit.

"Yes Child.", she smiled behind her mask, eyebrows piqued. Her eyes seemed young, full of vibrant energy. "At least I certainly hope this is real life!", a soft laugh muffled by her mask.

"May I inquire as to why you are running alone during a blizzard in New York without gloves or a hat...or a mask?", her voice strong and soothing as she calmly turned to walk in to the bowels of the cathedral, tidying the pews as she went. "I think we have some in our donation room if you'll follow me." She turned to see Jacob frozen with stillness, mixed emotions swirling in his eyes. Lost in his own mind in attempt to understand what he just experienced.

"Child?"

Jacob stammered. "Oh...Sorry. I-.. ", the male lifted his gaze, the beauty of the cathedral's interior catching him off guard. His eyes sparkled as if an ethereal moment flooded him. Stained glass windows glittered with the reflection of dancing flames from scores of candles precariously placed upon the altar and along several low tables near the ends of the pews. The blizzard obscured the beauty of the twin tall octagonal towers from the outside but the openwork spires leading to the tops were lit and mesmerizingly colorful. As he moved between the pews and highly detailed columns, his eyes fell on the massive organ with a what looked like a thousand pipes leading upwards.

"Come this way.", she chirped softly, gracefully turning to walk the rest of the way down the aisle, curving her gait under an archway and towards another rather large, time stained, wooden door that creaked as she pulled it open.

The room was spacious, dimly lit, with a few tables, a small kitchenette, and a kettle on the burner, gently steaming. The interior of the room was an extension of this architectural dream.

"Tea?", she was already preparing two cups on a table nearest another stained glass window. She plunked the tea bags in to their respective cups. The steaming water began to swirl with an amber color as the tea steeped. She sat down at the table after replacing the kettle..

"Oh- Yes. Thank you so much. The architecture here is beautiful..", he didn't realize how chilled he was until his ears and finger tips began to tingle. Slowly, he eased in to a chair across from her and eagerly inhaled the tea's steam. The woman gently placed a stir stick into his cup and took an even breath.

"Well surely that isn't what brought you here tonight but I do so agree!"

A playful quip from the woman, using a second stir stick to blend contents of her cup. Jacob swallowed thickly, his voice uneven as he began to speak. "I'm...I think I'm being followed...because of this." He hesitantly placed two letter sized envelopes and a small black notebook that appeared weathered with use and oddly eclectic.

Her eyes fell to the contents of the man's pockets being displayed, curiously tilting her head to the side. A moment passed before she probed, "May I..?"

Jacob nodded softly, sliding the small black notebook across the table. Her lithe fingers explored the cover intimately before she sifted through its pages. Several were filled with different languages, all types of entries texturing the pages with unique calligraphy. She rummaged through the pages further, stilled as though something had piqued her interest.

The male shakily unhinged the mask from his ears before he brought the tea to purple hued lips. He held the cup with both of his hands with eyes carefully peered at her.

"There's only one in english..", he stated lowly.

Quietly smiling behind her mask again she reads the page, softly stirring her cup.

"To Be Or Not To Be, The Triplets rang.

The flowing waters of The Lake and Fields of Strawberries; How deep does the rabbit hole really go?

South of Sheep bring Horse drawn Carriages.

In the district of Diamonds where Gods and Titans meet, Past his feet and in the bedding, Neat.

Two thick notes with The Means to Greet

The Obsidian Order."

The woman looked up from her focus on the page, unhinging her mask as well in order to take a quick sip of her tea. "Are you a poet?", she asks inquisitively after replacing her face covering. Jacob shook his head in a slow no, "I just graduated from MIT as an engineer a couple months ago. I moved here to find a job in my field but.. the pandemic isn't providing many options.. so I work at a couple bakeries to try and stay afloat...Baking is a hobby of mine when I'm stressed." He inserted a sheepish smile.

The man fidgets a moment with the tea in his hands, "I was on my way from my overnight job at the Cake Boutique. I cut through Central Park to get to my second job at Modern Bread and Bagel. I follow the green trails because I dig nature more.. came up on the Obelisk and saw some litter strewn over the base of the monument. The book was there."

His shoulders lift in a shrug, "I didn't think anything about it at least for a couple minutes. I looked for a name or number to try and return it, but the only thing in English was that poem. It's a code that led to these.", motioned to the two envelopes. He takes another sip of tea, savoring the non burning warmth it provided now. "Central Park is full of little gems. I haven't explored much since I got here a couple months ago...but I knew about the Shakespeare area not too far from the Obelisk. The Triplets Bridge. Strawberry Fields and The Lake? The Alice in Wonderland plaque. It's all leading South." his eyes transfixed on the book.

"South of Sheep? South of the Sheep Lawn is the Horse drawn carriage station, yeah? So I'm following this like I'm on some kind of treasure hunt. I'm thinking...There's no possible way this could be actually leading me to something but, I figured I'd have fun with it right? But then I started seeing flashes.. it's in the middle of the night and no one else is out and about due to the incoming blizzard; it was so quiet. I felt like I was being watched after I picked up the book and especially once I reached the carriage station after picking apart the code."

The woman leans back in her seat, listening intently with widened eyes. Nodding on occasion, but remaining silent.

He clears his throat before continuing, "The Diamond District has these statues of Prometheus and Atlas at Rockefeller Center...Greek Titans". "Where Gods and Titans Meet?"

Another pause before he continued. "That was the tricky part. Titans are gods, but I didn't think that's what this was talking about. Which led me here...a Titan across from God." Jacob again motioned to the book and envelopes. His voice broke, "Past his feet. The only statue you can get that close to is Atlas..", he reached for one of the envelopes, untucked the lip of it and revealed a banded stack of $100 dollar bills. "Ten...", as if in disbelief still, "Ten thousand dollars in each envelope. Hidden under some dirt in the flower planters under Atlas. I don't know if it's a trap...or.."

Jacob is obviously still shaken and unfeigned about the experience. "Almost as if on cue, the weather whipped up and I saw two hooded figures walking through the snow...and they were moving with a purpose. One looked like they pointed at me and they ran towards me after seeing more flashes of blueish purple light. They didn't make a sound which scared me even more", his brows furrowed in remembrance. The fear and anxiety that flushed his veins with adrenaline then and even to this moment. "I...I just ran. I ran around the block and circled back to the church. I could barely see where I was going, slipped, and crashed in to your door." Another sheepish, forced humor smile crept on to his face.

He nervously re-tucked the envelope lip after several moments of silence then re-directed his gaze to the woman before him who was quite calm even after his drawn out story. Something felt off.

She removes her mask to sip down the rest of her tea, smiling widely. "Well I must congratulate you, My Child.", Everything about this woman seemed genuine and full of love.

"The money is yours.. and thank you for returning my book~."

The lights died; a low hum rumbling the building. Then a familiar blue purple flash flooded the room for an instant, the hair on his neck standing straight up as if he was about to be the victim of a lightning strike.

"Wait-- What?!", Jacob croaked in panic, "WHAT THE F-" He quickly tucked the envelopes back into his coat pockets before scrambling out of the chair to get the hell out. Only moments ago she was calmly seated before him but in the span of him rushing the door she was nowhere in sight. When he threw the wing door open, the empty cathedral bellowed in it's natural acoustics, wind thrashed at the windows. No candles were lit. The altar, empty. Pews, empty...and only darkness stood where he was just captivated by the building's glowing glory minutes before. This isn't right.

"Where the-..", the young man sprinted down the aisle towards the massive mahogany entrance, foot steps boldly strident as the sound danced in the empty space. He threw his entire body weight against the giant door. Dark turned to blinding light. He stumbled out from the building and stared at the winter wonderland before him, piercingly bright with people who went through their typical morning motions. He didn't even get a look from passers-by as he burst through the doors.

People walked by, talked as normal; a high noon sun glaring on the sparkling snow mounds of the urban jungle. What happened to the storm? Squinting.. "How long was I-..?" His phone begins to ring, jarring him visibly. "Hello-..", he held the phone to his ear, still jittered from shock. "YO DUDE YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP FOR YOUR SHIFT BRUH. WHAT THE F--"

"I quit dude." The red button beeped as the call ended.

"..No one is ever going to believe me...But..", he felt in his pocket again. Still there.

The ancient double doors swung wide open behind him. As he spun to meet the sound, three hooded figures extended their arms, silencing his screams as his phone crashed to the granite below, screen shattering. The cumbrous entry way boomed shut, bringing immediate silence.