At the end of the hallway, Woodrow took a left turn and found a door leading into the church's sanctuary. A terrible odor emanated from the mustiness and darkness within the confines of the building. As Woodrow entered the sanctuary, he had to cover his mouth and nose to repel the suffocating smell. The odors of rotting damp wood mingled with the grotesque scent of greasy burnt ashes. The stained windows provided no light, having been covered by wooden sheets of plywood. The only light came from the hallway and the open door through which Woodrow had taken a few steps; total darkness beyond the first row of pews ten feet away.
Woodrow reached out his right hand and found the wall of the sanctuary. The wall framed an aisle, which ran the length of the sanctuary to the front of the church. He felt his way down the aisle in the darkness. His right hand palmed the wall as his feet shuffled and caressed the floor one step at a time.
After walking about ten feet, he tripped over a body.
###
Sam stepped out of the van and walked to the double doors at the entryway to the church. She tugged at the door handles, but they were obviously locked. She listened for any sounds coming from inside. Did she hear her father? He told her to wait at the front door while he entered the church from the back. Where was he?
She checked the windows on both sides of the doors, but they were boarded up. She heard nothing but the cracking noise from the van's engine as it cooled down in the morning breeze. She noticed cobwebs in the upper corners of the small portico encasing the entryway, smiling at the faux sculpted columns holding up the roof. The doors needed paint and the concrete flooring leading to them was cracked in various places. In other words, the church was a typically old and aging Baptist church. Sam had seen many such churches in Texas, so she wasn't that shocked to see such disrepair.
She walked around the left corner of the church but stopped when she heard the front doors of the church begin to open behind her.
"Sam?" Woodrow asked loudly. "Where are you?"
"I'm here."
Woodrow stepped out into the portico and closed the front doors behind him.
"We need to leave," he said.
"Why?" Sam asked. "Did you find anything inside?"
Woodrow walked quickly to the van and sat in the passenger's side. He looked straight ahead through the windshield, saying nothing.
"Dad?" Sam said, walking toward the van. "What's wrong?"
"Let's just go," Woodrow said. "There's nothing here. We need to put some distance between us and this God-forsaken town."
Sam got into the van and looked at her father. She knew he was upset but didn't press him. She started the engine and slowly pulled away from the church. She turned right on the street heading south and quietly drove out of town.
