[b]Clack clack clack![/b] The sound was unmistakable; footsteps approaching, stopping just outside of the church. There were quite obviously more than one pair. It could only mean one thing.

[i]Look alive, buddy… They’re here.[/i]

Arlo peeled the lids from his grey irises and rolled them warily towards the direction of the doors, where he could hear a female voice speaking. It had seemed only seconds ago that he had shut his eyes to rest, but it was more likely that he had been drifting in and out of sleep and that some amount of time had already passed since his arrival. But it was probably for the best, the fact that they had found him; he was already sitting in a small pool of his own blood. Best to get it over with, he supposed, instead of prolonging the wait. [i]Oh, yes. It was starting to get a bit boring around here.[/i]

With another twitch of his finger the candles at the altar were extinguished, throwing the interior back into its usual darkness just as the wood was pushed and the intruders stepped over the threshold of his temporary sanctuary. Arlo let his head swing over, and despite the dim lighting from the street, he was able to clearly make out his new companions, five in total: three males and two females. [i]Oi, these idiots are different... Uglier, don’t you think?[/i] The smaller of the two girls had left the others and was stalking towards him, holding what looked like a firearm at her side. Under normal circumstances, he might have chuckled at the sight of her, taking ridiculously slow steps straight to him with an intent to do some damage - a scene straight from a would-be horror film. But he merely watched, silent and somewhat curious, even as the others moved forward to stop her from doing anything rash.

"Don't move. Don't try anything. We're armed. If you answer our questions, we can help you."

A snort of laughter was his response as he began to slowly heave himself up from the floor, back pushing against the wall for support. A clear neglection of instructions, but he didn’t seem fazed by the threat in the slightest. He could only assume that they were here for answers, as they always were, and he wasn’t yet ready to give it to them. “[b]You[/b] help [b]me[/b]?" he chuckled with a little shake of his head, "I take it by your presences here that I am the one that can help you." 

Once he had straightened up, the male gently stretched his neck to the left and let his gaze trail away from the group. "‘Armed’, are you?” he drawled in his rough English cadence, which was clear now that he was speaking to someone other than himself. Without looking back at the motley group he hobbled again towards the altar, still using the wall as a crutch.

At the same time, there was something strange happening within the church. With every step he took, it seemed as if the darkness was slithering around the group, creeping in on them, growing thicker, tangible even, forming a sort of semi-circle that was blocking their way to the doors. It was herding them together, pushing even Amis and David back towards the group, so that in a matter of few moments, they stood in a tidy troop directly across the chapel from where Arlo had stopped on the altar.

Though he was still clutching the wound at his side, his demeanor had changed completely, as if a fire had been reknindled. When he lifted his face again, they would have been startled to see - even through what little light there was now - that two black orbs had replaced his eyes, making him look more like a demon than anything. His expression was serious, but his tone sounded faintly amused as he continued, “Well… I suppose you might have guessed that I am, too.”

Suddenly there was what sounded like a rush of water just beyond the darkness, but instead of growing louder, its volume was becoming more and more muffled, like the church was being submerged underneath the rain. With a jerk of his chin, the barrier of shadows parted like the Red Sea and they could all see that a wall of water had lodged itself into the doorway, fluid and alive, held there as if by some imaginary glass like an aquarium. [i]Atta boy.[/i] The corners of Arlo’s lips might have turned upwards for a second before he lifted a hand and beckoned. Without warning the imaginary glass disappeared, and in came crashing the built-up rain water, rushing over the team like a tidal wave that pushed even the wooden pews askew. It stopped just before the stairs leading up to where Arlo was standing, as if the imaginary glass had transported before him, urging the waters to drain out the way it had come and leaving the floor in puddles.