The rain sucked. Not because it made everything cold and wet, but because it made the atmosphere tense and dramatic. That may have been a good thing except for the fact that Elli was literally moments away from discovering truth and history, not to mention one of the world's biggest secrets... and secretly, the Florida native was a sucker for secrets. The nervousness and excitement was so thick in the air that it was almost tangible, like she could reach out and grab some just to toss it in the faces of her companions: Varrina, David, Amis and Malcolm. They weren't [i]friends[/i]... not really. Just acquaintances, all different, but sharing a common goal: to uncover the truth behind the myths of the Guardians. Of course they all had different reasons for doing so, but as long as they shared that common goal, it was enough to bring them together on a trek through some muddy grass under a heavy downpour of rain. 

Elli Fitch kept her gaze downward in an attempt to avoid the splatter of large water droplets on her face. Only donned in black compression capris, a basic white t-shirt, a navy blue, over-sized hooded coat, and an old pair of mud-stained Nikes, she reminded herself that everything would be worth it once they reached the church up ahead. At least, she hoped so. Although she had been part of the group for only almost three years, she too had experienced the bitter taste of false hope and defeat, and she prayed to the good Lord that this day would not be another repeat of those past failures. Adjusting her gun sling that held a .22 handgun, she followed the others and trudged on until Varrina led them to the entrance of an old church. 

From the outside, it was obvious that the building had been abandoned for many years now, and it was in a state of deterioration. Various windows were haphazardly boarded up with wood beams that were now beginning to rot, and vines littered the walls, giving a dirty appearance to the former house of worship.
"The moment is here.... O-our time is now," the eldest girl said, voice shaky with either nervousness, excitement or anticipation... or perhaps all three. But Elli didn't respond. She and the others had heard this statement more than once before, and there was nothing she could say that was appropriate to follow up to the girl's declaration of victory. So she offered a small, unseen smile and followed Varrina across the threshold to victory. Their victory. 

The inside proved to be no better as the air was dingy, the floors were dirty, and darkness swallowed up the far end of the church, leaving nothing but shadows and silhouettes of church decor and a cross near what would have been the altar. But through the crooked arrangement of the pews and the stained-glass windows stained with dirt and grime, it was also obvious that the church had seen much better days and had even been, at one point, beautiful. Her sharp grey eyes roamed the place, finally falling on the figure of a man curled up on the far wall. And right in front of her, Varrina had an arm raised to shoot him. 

David was there before she could intervene, but Elli walked over in quiet motion anyway, placing her index and middle finger on the front sight of the gun, pushing down lightly on the barrel, eyes flicking downward in a quick glance to make sure the safety was still on. "V, we don't even know who that is. Let's not jump the gun here... literally. Besides, this is a sacred place, and I'm sure none of us would enjoy knowing we let you kill an innocent man." She took a couple experimental steps forward and wiped some wet, blonde strands of hair away from her face, confused on what exactly they were supposed to do. "Should we talk to him or...?"