Michael had been downstairs, organizing the files and of those who were staying here, working on how big the addition was going to to have to be. There were new people arriving every day, and people leaving, and it was hard to keep a constant number in his head. It would, of course, be better to have too many bed than not enough, so he was overestimating in that hope.
It was late, and most everyone was asleep, and the church was filled with quiet, peaceful sounds. The church had always been a peaceful place to Michael, and it was no different in this strange town. Even in another...world? the rituals of mass and prayer were little different than back home, and it gave him a sort of stability that perhaps the others here didn't possess. And he thanked God again that he had been able to find such a place, and that through it he was able to help those who came here alone, afraid, and suffering.
The crash upstairs caused him to drop his pen as his head jerked up towards the ceiling. He jumped to his feet and hurried upstairs, enough of a father not to leave any crash in the dark without investigation. He followed the sound to Valen's room - a boy he'd developed rather mixed feelings about - and threw open the door to find him lying naked on his bed in what appeared to be a great deal of pain and misery.
He hurried to him, not daring to touch him in the fear he would hurt him somehow.