“Silence!” the priest yelled out. “Is this the way we show respect our lord?”

The crowd grew quiet as Rachel continued to knock people over to make her way to the spiral staircase that led to the pulpit. As she came to the front of the isle, she saw a large rope that cordoned off the area of the guest and the clergy of the church. She saw security guards and police standing at the bottom of the pulpit to ensure that the priest was safe while giving his sermon.

She didn’t care though. She knew she could get past anyone or anything. She ran and jumped over the rope causing quite a stir. The guards leapt into action, holding their rifles out and some leaning to grab her, but she was too quick. She was unstoppable. She outran every guard and police man and found herself at the steps to the pulpit.

She saw two more guards she’d have to outsmart before getting up the stairs. She quickly used mind control on the two of them, having them enter into a trance and step away from the stairs and stop the other guards that were after her. She turned them against their own guards and then made her way up the stairs. She couldn’t believe that it worked so quickly, but didn’t want to jinx it by questioning it.

She ran up the stairs quickly, skipping a step as she went up the spiral and into the top of the pulpit. The priest looked terrified and in shock as she approached him. He put out his hand and covered his face with his robe to protect him. She pushed over the priest as shouts came from the onlookers below.

“No! Lady stop!” people yelled out.

“Save him. Save the priest!” others yelled.

“Intruder! Terrorist!” another person yelled.

Rachel was not fazed by any of it though—she was on a mission and would let nothing stop her now. Not even the NYPD or the intense security guards of St. Patrick’s.

She looked at the altar, where the priest was standing and pushed him out of the way again. Then, he pushed her back, grabbing her by the wrist and holding her tight. Rachel quickly reacted and grabbed his arm and flung him over her body; he landed on the top of the staircase at the entrance to the pulpit.

“What are you doing to me?” the priest yelled.

“Get out of my way!” Rachel said back.

“You’ll be in big trouble, young lady,” the priest replied. “Get down from here this instant.”

“Make me!” Rachel teased him. “What are you going to do about it anyway?”

“It’s not me who will judge you for this. It is our lord and savior,” the priest answered.

With that, Rachel grabbed the priest and lifted him up over her head, then said, “You asked for it!”

Then, she threw him off the pulpit into the crowds of people below. As he flew through the air, he let out a loud scream of panic.

Rachel finally had the pulpit to herself. She rummaged around, throwing things out of the way in search of the Red Amulet.

She remembered where Benji had hid it from the kaleidoscope but when she looked behind the altar it wasn’t there. She couldn’t believe it. She turned the thing upside down and looked in every crack and crevice in the entire pulpit. She even looked under the carpeting that lay on the floor of the pulpit. But nothing. The Red Amulet was nowhere to be found. Rachel let out a scream of anger.

“No!!!!!!!!!” she yelled.

By this time the police had arrived and were charging in. The guard dogs came in, too and started running towards the pulpit where Rachel stood, searching for the Red Amulet. The snarling of the dogs grew louder as they approached her. She didn’t know what to do, she couldn’t let the dogs attack her. She was deathly afraid of this breed of dog. She had an incident with a German Sheppard before, and was scarred from it. She vowed never to be in the same room as one again.

She couldn’t bear it anymore. The dogs were approaching her quickly and they looked mean. They looked at her as if they were going to tear her to shreds any minute. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t find the Red Amulet in the place where Benji had hid it and she only had minutes before she was surely going to die from either gun fire from the police of the attack dogs.

The dogs starting charging up the steps to the pulpit and before she could think, she stood up on the side of the pulpit and leapt into the air, flying around over all the people below who were still screaming in horror at what they were witnessing.

Rachel circled the people a few times and then the shots rang out. She was being fired at by the policemen below.

“Get down here, you thing!” they shouted.

“Land! Land!” they yelled. “If you know what’s good for you, you will surrender!”

“I’ll NEVER surrender!” Rachel yelled. “And I’m not a thing!”

“What are you?” the policemen yelled. “You’re an animal!”

“I’ll never tell you!” Rachel yelled back.

As she flew around the church she continued looking for the amulet. She knew it had to be there somewhere. She thought her bird’s eye perspective would help her find it. She looked down at all the pews, but didn’t see it. She flew above the organ and the choir, but nothing. It was nowhere to be found.

Then, as she dodged the shots, she saw a red light flashing towards her. It was a faint light, but it caught her eye nonetheless. There it was, located in the center of the crucifix that hung proudly at the front of the church. It was a huge cross, and the amulet looked so small against it. She flew over towards the cross and hovered in front of it, staring forcefully at the Red Amulet. She couldn’t believe she’d found it after all that. And she couldn’t believe that she found it in that location, especially since it wasn’t in the pulpit where Benji had hid it.

It was a sheer miracle, she thought to herself. With all the commotion; the dogs, the shots, the people screaming, the priest fight and the police, she still managed to find the Red Amulet. She knew it was meant to be. Now, she had to take it to Benji. She had to get to him quickly. She pulled the Red Amulet out of the center of the cross and put it around her neck. It hung there proudly and she could feel its energy and power seeping into her body. She knew she’d found it and was now able to save Benji’s life for good.

Chapter 16

Rachel fled from St. Patrick’s Cathedral quickly and began her flight to Benji. She knew time was running out and that he would die soon. In fact, she didn’t know if she would make it. She hoped and prayed that when she returned he would still be there where she’d left him but she wasn’t sure. The thought of Benji not being there was eating her up inside. She knew it had taken her longer than she expected to find the Red Amulet, but she finally found it and hoped that she still had time to save Benji. She hoped that it wasn’t too late.

As she flew up the coast, she felt her body growing stronger and more powerful as a result of wearing the Red Amulet. She knew she was not to wear it as jewelry or for any other reason than for protection, but she figured that this was a time when she needed protection. Perhaps that because she was wearing the amulet, she was able to dodge the bullets and dogs in the church. Perhaps it is why she was able to escape the scene unharmed. Perhaps the Red Amulet saved her life? She will never know, but what she did know was that she felt like a new person as a result of having the amulet touch her body.

She was making record time as she soared through the sky on her way to Benji. Then, she spotted the cliff where they’d jumped off of a year ago. She knew she was close to him now. She could feel it in the air. She could sense his presence close to hers. She hoped that it was because he was really near and not because he had died and was not with her in spirit.

She could see the waves crashing against the shore, stronger than she’d ever seen before. It was almost as if a big storm was coming to town. Suddenly the sky grew dark and the rain started beating down on her. She was being flung across the sky by strong gusts of wind. She was scared and thought she was going to have to land and wait out the storm on the ground. Then, she darted through the sky at lightning speed and arrived at the place where she last left Benji.

She knew she had to get inside the cave before the storm brought the water level too high. She worried that the water might enter the cave and flood the entire thing. If that happened she and Benji would surely die.

As she walked through the dark walls of the cave she could hear dripping coming from the stalagmites. She heard her footsteps echoing off the walls of the cave and it actually sent a chill down her spine. She felt scared to be inside the dark cave, wandering around alone.

“Benji!” she yelled out. “Can you hear me? Are you there?”

She waited but there was no response. She didn’t expect him to respond to her since he wasn’t able to speak when she left him a few days ago. She thought it was worth a shot, though, since his condition might have improved while she was gone.

Unfortunately, for Rachel, it was getting darker and darker as she got deeper into the cave. She knew it was going to be completely dark out in a matter of minutes and she had to find Benji and get him outside, to safety. The water was beginning to rise at her feet and she knew it was only a matter of time until the entire cave flooded.

“Benji! I’m coming. I’m here to save you. I love you!” Rachel yelled as she walked quickly around the cave to find him.

As she turned the bend, she spotted his shadow in the distance, still laying lifeless on the ground. She ran over to him and knelt down by his side.

“Benji! Benji!” she said, as she shook his body.

She could see the blood had spilled out even more around him and he was lying in a pool of his own blood. His body looked frail and thin and she didn’t know if he was alive. She put her head to his nose to listen for his breaths but didn’t hear them. She then put her hand on his chest to see if she felt it rise and fall. As she lay her hand there, she waited, quietly for any sign of life. Then, she felt it, a small inhale.

“Thank God! You’re alive! Benji. I’m here. I have the Red Amulet. Can you hear me?” Rachel said, caressing Benji’s face with her hand.

“Benji, I love you. Please, please wake up!”