Tallah spent the rest of her morning back in her hotel room flipping through the channels. Her mind kept wandering back to that Deacon from earlier and what he’d said about her stalker. Was it really possible that he knew about Waldo? If so, how? She [i]had[/i] always been curious about where the shadow went when he wasn’t busy tailing her, but she never thought he would two-time her for someone else. She looked over at the winged silhouette. He had taken up a pose like “The Thinker” this time, mirroring Tallah’s internal battle.

“Don’t get smart with me,” Tallah said, her voice laden with heavy sarcasm. “This would be so much easier if you just told me where you went. So, how about it?”

No reply.

She thought as much.

Tallah sighed and rolled over in the hotel bed, running her fingers over the soft comforter. She stared up at the ceiling and contemplated visiting that weird religious guy. She personally had nothing against what he might believe, as she was an agnostic, but the fact that he seemed to single her out like that was just bizarre. Perhaps God had sent him some sign to him that told him to help her, after all her half-hearted prayers. Or maybe he was just loony and she was overthinking the whole thing. Nevertheless, she decided to pay him a visit.

Tallah glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. It read 12:24PM. She figured she had enough time to freshen up before she left. Sloppy sweatpants might be okay for a hotel dining room, but she wasn’t about to show up at a church dressed like a hobo.

She showered quickly, straightened her hair, and applied some mascara to her eyelashes. Examining herself in the bathroom mirror, she gave a small nod. Good enough. She dressed in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and slipped on a loose-fitted purple tank top that came down to the middle of her thighs. After some thought, she added a small cross necklace. It was fitting for the occasion.

As she exited the hotel room, Tallah grabbed her purse and peeked at the wall where Waldo had been positioned before. He was gone now, leaving only a bloodstained “Thinker” impression behind. She rolled her eyes, glad that no one else could see his little parting gifts. She would hate to have to clean [i]that[/i] mess up.

---

Tallah found the church without too much trouble, finding the address online and plugging it into her GPS before she left. She parked her car and walked up to the front entrance. It was a pretty normal looking building. Square with a steeple on top and painted entirely white. It was a cute little place, she thought passively. But what was waiting for her inside?

That question was answered when she opened the door and stepped inside. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who decided to pay Billy a visit. Colm and another man from the hotel were already inside, standing next to a table covered with various assorted foods and… other things. She moved closer to examine the odd arrangement. There were a few pasties – okay, so that was normal – but moving down the table, she saw mice and raw meat and other strange things. She looked up from the table to meet Colm’s eye.

“So, we meet again,” Tallah said with a smirk. “You just can’t seem to stay away from me, can you?” She looked at the other man. “Who’s your friend?” She offered him a hand. “Tallah Walker; eighteen; single. I’m sure Colm has told you all about me. We’re good friends from long ago this morning.”