1 Chapter One - Muddy Hands

It's been decades since the fall of the old world. Mankind brought about his own destruction as predicted by many. Their home, destroyed by the very weapon they created to protect themselves. Now they try to bring it together piece by piece. As the saying goes in the midst of chaos there is always a hero. This time it came in the form of a religion. The Catholic Church, headed by Pope Venimore, built a sanctuary to protect the survivors. The Vatican city, which was formally a small area geographically soon stretched further, almost equal to half a country. The world lost more than half of it's population during the apocalypse. In the midst of physical tragedy, spiritual havoc awakened. With creatures which were only imaginations, nowhere was safer than the Holy Vatican city and it's states. As the creatures grew in numbers and strength, Venimore strengthen his walls with an army known as Seraphs. Named after the highest ranked angels in heaven, they were made of priests highly trained in lethal combat and skilled in various forms of exorcism. Among the lot was the most feared, Sebastian Montez. The man with the most exorcism and demon kills in the history of the Seraphs.

Sebastian looked outside the window as the car drove through the remains of the old world.

"Welcome back Father Montez" a nun smiled at him and took his small suitcase.

"I haven't been ordained yet so Father should be excluded from the name at the moment" Sebastian replied with a smile that touches his eyes.

"Maybe you should rather get used to it since you will soon become one of us. How was you trip? Did you have fun?" a voice said from behind him.

"You know I always have fun Father Crane" he smiled.

They moved forward conversing about his recent mission and how things are moving on in the City.

"Sister Faye, please have my bag delivered to my room" Sebastian directed the nun.

"Father Crane you need to see this" a young man called out making Marcus leave Sebastian on his own.

Turning to continue his walk he bumped into someone. He quickly collected the spilled files from the floor. Rising rather quickly a young lady with raven black hair stood in front of him. She gently adjusted her glasses and took her papers.

"Sorry, I get clumsy sometimes" he apologized in a soft voice.

He walked away before she could utter a word.

"Ah, you must be Miss Andrea Hale. Please have a seat, I have been waiting for you" Venimore said as Andrea entered his room quietly.

"Will you like a glass of water?" he added.

"Thank you His Holiness. I have rather pressing issues" she spoke finally.

"Away with it then" Venimore gestured.

"I have been searching and I'm glad to say that I have found clues which may lead to finding the Last Gospel of Saint John" she explained in a soft tone of delight.

"Interesting. How do we get it then?" Venimore inquired.

"That is the tricky part. The last clue I found is located in swamp" she paused, waiting for him to say something.

"The land of the Golems" he whispered.

Venimore paced the rooms slowly.

"I know your expertise but you will need help. There is only one person I trust to succeed in bringing you back from there" he said smiling.

Venimore sat down and dialled a number on the telephone.

"Put Father Crane on please" he said.

Andrea stood motionlessly observing him.

"Yes Crane. Is Sebastian back from his mission?....Okay ask him to see me right away" he hanged up.

"Was that Father Marcus Crane. The director of operations of the Seraphs?" Andrea inquired.

Venimore nodded in agreement.

"And you asked for a Sebastian?" she asked again, surprising Venimore.

"Yes" he answered briefly then sat on the bed.

"Please don't mind my inquisition but did you request for any Sebastian or the Sebastian, as in Sebastian Montez?" she asked, puzzling Venimore.

"Yes I requested for Sebastian Montez. Do you know each other?" Venimore asked calmly.

"No but I have read all about him" she answered.

"And what did you read?" Venimore inquired more.

"Not much, just that he is the most fearsome seraph to have ever lived. Having over a thousand exorcism and demon kills" she replied excited.

"Well you can know more when you two are working together" Venimore said with a reciprocal smile.

Sebastian walked in without a knock, with the double loud creak of the double doors announcing his presence.

Andrea looked over his shoulders to see if there was anyone behind him. She analysed that he could be one of the Seraphs' new recruit on guard duty.

"You requested my presence His Holiness" Sebastian said with his hands folded behind him.

"Yes Sebastian. Miss Andrea here has a lead that could help us locate the last gospel of Saint John. She will need help retrieving something from the swamps" Venimore explained.

"The Golem land? No one goes there. That place is very dangerous, she won't survive it" Sebastian explained.

"Yes I know. That is why I'm assigning you to her" Venimore whispered.

Andrea stood quietly taking in what she had just discovered.

"I'm the commander of the Seraphs, I don't babysit young ladies" he said.

Venimore noticed Andrea was offended. He walked to Sebastian and placed his hands on his shoulder.

"Our hope of building a new world may lie with this young lady. Our faith is being tested and I believe that we will prevail in the face of darkness. This mission is important for the sake of all humankind that is why you need to lead the charge for Christ" Venimore explained.

Sebastian took his hand and kissed the tip of his ring.

He stood up and made his way towards the exit. Andrea remained where she was. Having no clue of what was going on.

"Are you coming or not? I haven't got all day" Sebastian snapped pulling her from her mixed thoughts.

He stood with Marcus with his arms folded.

"The little miss here has a lead on the last Gospel" Sebastian said with his intense gaze fixed on Andrea.

"Little miss" Andrea whispered rolling her eyes.

"Where are we headed then?" Marcus asked curiously.

"The swamps" he said briefly.

"The Golem land? She can't be serious about this" Marcus said with a trace of fear in his voice.

"Yes. His Holiness has assigned me personally to undertake this mission" he said pressing his lips into a fine line.

"I hate to agree on this but you are the only one who can pull this off" Marcus patted him on the shoulder.

"So when do we leave" Andrea said suddenly.

"You don't give orders here, he does" Sebastian snapped.

"Okay, claws off kitty" she said making Sister Faye and JJ laugh as they approached from behind her.

"Who is the newest member of the syndicate?" JJ asked playfully.

"Guys this is Andrea Hale, Andrea this is JJ and Sister Faye" Marcus introduced.

"You have technically met the best today" JJ added.

"You can fill them in on what you have" Sebastian said walking away.

"I thought we would be heading out now" Andrea said surprised.

"The swamps are dangerous in the day and far dangerous in the night. It will be difficult to kill what you can't see. We will head out tomorrow morning" he said then continued his walk out.

"Aren't you going to listen to us or anything?" she called out.

"I will know what I need to know little miss" he said in a whisper then disappeared from sight.

"Little miss" Andrea weighed the words.

"That's Sebastian being nice. He will come around" Sister Faye said as they walked together.

"I didn't imagine him to be what he is" she said.

"Many imagine him to be different until they meet the real thing" Faye smile at her.

"When I heard about his accomplishments I imagined a man in at least his mid forties. How old is he anyway?" she asked curiously.

"He celebrated his twenty-seventh birthday just three days ago" Faye enlightened her.

"Wow, he is just a year older and he calls me little, he must be really disturbed" she said hoping Faye will shed sone lights on his past.

"All we all know about him is that he performed his first exorcism at the age of twelve and since then he has remained reserved from all others" she paused as they faced each other.

"If you want to know more about him then I suggest you get on the same path with Father Marcus Crane, he is the only one he ever opens up to" she said when they got to the door.

"Thank you" Andrea said.

"My door is next to yours, you can call if you need anything" she added.

"I sure will. Good night Sister Faye" Andrea said then entered her room.

Sebastian opened the door to his room. It looked tidier than he had left it. He knew Faye had it cleaned. He walked straight to his bed and placed is robe on the rack. He fell backwards on the bed hoping to have a good night sleep.

Andrea and Faye walked to the Seraphs' hall the next morning. JJ and Marcus were already waiting for them when they arrived but Sebastian was still missing.

"Where is Father Montez? Won't he be joining us for the discussion?" Andrea asked immediately.

"He is in his training room. Since this mission is vital it is being kept a secret. This way please" Marcus gestured.

The whole crew were surprised when Marcus opened the doors to the huge training room. Sebastian was inside training with a blind fold on. He wore only a black sweatpants with no shirt and was barefooted.

"I count four people, the heavy muscle and robe is Marcus. The slow heartbeat and breadth depicts Faye. The smell of expensive cologne announces JJ. The last one is unsettling" he said turning his ears towards them as Marcus shut the door.

"Yes I have it now, increased heart rate, focused eyes, that can be only one person our little miss" he said taking his blindfold off with a smile.

"He is amused" Andrea sounded surprised by his expression.

"Only Sebastian Montez can identify people with his eyes closed. You will have to teach me how to do that one of these days" Marcus said moving in close.

"Get some clothes on, there are decent souls here" Marcus added when he noticed Andrea still staring at him.

"Sorry Father" he said as he pulled his shirt on.

Andrea wondered how he had all those tattoos but she didn't want to indulge him in any conversation especially in front of the crew.

"So what do we have to know?" JJ asked impatiently from his chair.

"So I was going through some archives books relating to the Last Gospel of Saint John and found a lead. An ancient text buried deep in the swamps after the holy showers of the old world" she explained.

"Okay fair enough" JJ let out a sigh of relief.

"What we are going for will pinpoint the location of a relic that will lead us to the gospel" she added.

"Okay. What do we have JJ?" Sebastian asked leaning against the desk.

Andrea's eyes moved slowly from his fingertips to his shoulder, where some of his tattoos were still visible.

"How do we know what we are looking for?" Sebastian turned to Andrea.

"You wouldn't, that is why I'm coming with you" she said.

"You are so not coming with us. First of all you are a civilian, untrained in any form of combat" he paused.

"I know karate" she defended.

"Oh, I'm impressed. You are still not coming" Sebastian said walking to the center of the room as Andrea followed fast.

"I'm the only person who knows what you are looking for" she added, making him stop midway.

"Okay you can come" he said.

"Really?" she asked with excitement.

"Yes but I will be sure to dig your grave personally when you get killed" he said with no trace of humor on his face.

"What?" she shouted in disbelief.

"Don't worry. He won't let even a hair on your head be touched. He is just messing with you" Marcus assured her with a smile.

"I'm sure he won't" Andrea whispered.

"Get prepared, we leave in ten" Sebastian shouted from across the room.

Andrea wore her black jeans and tight fitting vest and her favourite leather jacket with a pair of matching black boots. Faye wore her trademark nun attire, with her small daggers tightly fitted into it's sleeves.

Marcus wore his Seraph uniform as well as Sebastian. Marcus had his two guns fitted in it with his rosary tired around his left hand. Sebastian had a silver cross hanging from his neck and two swords fitted vertically into his robe with his dark glasses covering his eyes.

The drive to the swamps was quick with Marcus behind the wheels.

Sebastian chuckled as they dragged through the mud.

"Bloody mud" Sebastian said when they entered the old plains.

What used to be an old graveyard.

"Find what you need so we can get out of here" Marcus said with a scared tone.

Andrea walked around trying to pinpoint the exact location of the text.

"This will actually take longer than I imagined" she whispered, letting out a huge sigh.

Andrea eagerly searched for the sign with the help of Faye. Just when she thought they were at the wrong place her eyes locked onto an inscription written in Latin, and it read *DUX FIDELIUM* meaning *GUIDE OF THE FAITHFUL* .

"Here! I found it" she shouted, calling out Sebastian and Marcus.

"Keep it down" Sebastian whispered, signalling her to keep quiet.

Before he could end it there was a loud groan from behind them. Andrea had awakened one of the deadly creatures. The ground shook as it approached them. Andrea had read about the treacherous creatures but never seen one in person. She stood up as Sebastian ran towards them.

"You two get what we came for, Marcus and I will distract the Golem. Hurry, wherever one of these appears, there's bound to be more around" Sebastian said then stood by Marcus.

The air crackled with anticipation as the two, Sebastian wielding two gleaming swords and Marcus with a gun in hand and his rosary in the other faced off against the towering golem. The monster, comprised of solid stone and animated by dark magic, stood defiantly, its eyes glowing with an eerie internal light.With a fierce battle groan, Marcus shot the monster with precision as Sebastian lunged forward, slicing through the air with precision.

The golem, seemingly unfazed, raised its massive stone arm, blocking the strikes

effortlessly. The impact echoed loudly, sending tremors through the ground, but the monster stood firm. Undeterred, Sebastian and Marcus maneuvered with agility,

circled around the golem with calculated steps. Swinging the sword in a dazzling

display of expertise, Sebastian aimed for the golem's vulnerable joints, hoping to find a weakness. Yet, the golem's stone skin proved to be impenetrable, deflecting each strike effortlessly.

The stony monster retaliated, launching a devastating punch in their direction. Sebastian, relying on heightened reflexes, dodged the attack narrowly, the wind grazing against his face. Marcus on the other hand wasn't swift enough as the attack launched him a few paces out into the mud. Seizing the opportunity, Faye quickly joined in, aiming her sharp daggers to the golem's colossal legs. But the golem, fueled by dark magic, seemed impervious to pain. It stomped its massive foot downward, creating shockwaves that rocked the ground. With everyone barely keeping their balance, the monster made it's way towards the vulnerable Andrea, who was still eagerly digging for the text through the mud.

Sebastian, scared of the probable outcome ran towards Andrea. Rolling her away just in time before the angry monster struck. Fueled by rage, Sebastian found new strength, launching a series of rapid strikes, aiming for the golem's weak spots with renewed intensity. With each strike from the three, the golem displayed an unwavering resilience, seemingly unfazed by the assault. Yet, Sebastian refused to give in, fueled by a deep desire to protect those close to him and to succeed in his mission. Amidst the chaos, the crews mind raced, desperately searching for a strategy. Suddenly, inspiration struck in the form of a human. JJ spoke through the earpiece to the crew.

"I found out how to defeat it" he said with racing heartbeats.

"Oh boy, I thought you will never come through. Tell me how to send this dreadful monster back the abyss of hell" Sebastian said with great delight.

"It says here that the only way to defeat a Golem is to strike it with the clay it was made from" JJ whispered through to him.

Glancing upon the fragment of the monster's arm left behind after the heavy blow he spoke to the rest through the hidden microphone in his robe.

"I have a plan but I will need a distraction" Sebastian said calling to the rest.

"We got you, just do what you need to do" Marcus replied and Faye nodded in agreement.

The two ran towards the monster launching a series of attacks. With a masterful

display of acrobatics, Sebastian grabbed the fragment and swiftly leaped onto the golem's arm, using it as a makeshift foothold. Before the golem could react, Sebastian plunged the clay fragment deep into the golem's neck.The golem shuddered violently, its glowing eyes flickering for a moment before slowly dimming. The towering stone creature crumbled to the ground, defeated by Sebastian's unwavering resolve.Exhausted but victorious, Sebastian and the crew stood tall. Though tested by the golem's

formidable strength, Sebastian once again had proven his resilience in the face of danger.

"Are you all okay?" Sebastian asked looking towards the rest.

"We should be asking you that after that stunt you pulled out" Marcus said.

"That was just a piece of cake" he said making all of them laugh.

"Where is Andrea?" Faye asked concerned.

"I'm alive and I got it" she said holding out an old piece of paper tied with a red ribbon.

"I guess your karate didn't stand a chance against the golem" Sebastian teased.

"I hate to spoil your fun but there are a lot of angry golems heading your way about twenty yards out, so I suggest you take to your heels" JJ said through the earpiece.

"We've had a lot of fun but this is the time I tell you my brethren to ran" Marcus said funnily but seriously, making the crew ran as fast as they could for their lives.

They could hear heavy steps behind them as they made their way through the dark forest. Andrea curiously trying to peak a glance at the monsters stumbled upon a stone and twisted an ankle. Her scream made Sebastian stop.

"You've got to be kidding me" he said in disbelief.

He went back and carried her in his arms as he dragged his feet as quickly as he could in the mud. He gently put her in the backseat of the car and quickly climbed besides her as Marcus sped off.

"That went well" JJ said looking at Sebastian who still had Andrea in his arms.

"I will take care of that" Faye said when Sebastian dropped Andrea on her feet suddenly.

"I will see you people later. I need to get some rest" Sebastian said exiting the doors to the training room.

"You people should also rest, I will get back to you after I update Pope Venimore on the progress" Marcus said moving out.

Just then the crew had disbanded into their comfort zones. Andrea was lost in thoughts as JJ sat in the armchair watching Faye bandage her ankle.