Once Jon and Karyn made it to downtown, they saw a large group of people gathering near the church that was on the corner of Main Street and Sixth Avenue. At the top of the steps leading to the church, Jon saw a familiar face. It was the reverend Jacob (the preacher he had met in the library what now seemed like ages ago) and he was speaking to the crowd. Jon saw that the old man was surprisingly dressed in feminine clothes, though the clothes were extremely modest - he had on a long skirt and a long-sleeved blouse. Apparently the good preacher had decided that if God wanted him to be a woman, he would be a woman. He would be a good, modest, Christian woman, though.
"The angel who visited me this morning," Jacob intoned. "... was dressed in the lascivious fashions of today's youth, but I assure you, my friends, it was only to illustrate a point. She wanted me to see the depravity of our modern world. Had she appeared as a crossdresser or a Hindu or a hippie, the point would have been the same, but God chose to send me my angel in the form of a sweet young woman. She had a grave warning for me, of God's wrath and the impending doom he has planned for this town. You're beginning to see that doom befall our town, not just in the form of this plague of body-switching, but in the form of the fires, the riots, and the confusion that is spreading over this town like a plague of locusts. I had hoped my angel would stay at my side, to help me see through the illusions God has placed over the sinners of this town, but it was not to be. As suddenly as she had appeared, my angel ascended back to heaven in a cloud of glory, leaving me alone to preach the message she had brought to me."
Jon smirked, as he realized that the "angel" Jacob was talking about was none other than Jon himself, in the form of Meagan O'Shea. The preacher had clearly embellished a little upon their meeting, though. Or a lot. Or almost entirely. Jon wondered if Jacob had consciously made up the more mystical elements of their conversation together, or if Jacob truly believed what he was saying. Either way, the story Jacob was telling now was a wild and unbelievable, if inadvertently amusing, story.
Jacob continued to speak, but Jon's attention was diverted elsewhere. He heard a girl yell "Help!" And he turned towards the voice and ran. And Karyn followed.
Down the street a bit, he saw a girl he had never seen before (but dressed as one of the high school cheerleaders) hitting and kicking a girl wearing a very modest and conservative outfit. As he got closer, he recognized the girl getting hit. It was Athena, one of his sister's best friends.
"Hey!" Jon yelled, running over to them. "What do you think you're doing?"
"This devil worshiper has my friend's body," the apparent cheerleader girl said.
Karyn looked down at Athena, but saw a girl she had never seen before. She had bruises and cuts all over her neck, face, and hands.
"That's Athena," Jon said, mostly to Karyn.
"You know her?" the cheerleader girl asked. She looked at him like she was planning to wail on him as well.
"She's my sister's friend. And she might be the only one who can reverse what's happening." Okay, maybe she wasn't the only one, but he believed that she might be able to help.
"Because she's a witch?" she asked. "Witches are evil."
"Maybe. But if there's a chance that you can get your friend back to normal and even yourself, don't you want to at least try?"
The girl looked away for a moment, as she appeared to think it over.
"Listen," Jon said. "Give us a day. If we can't fix things, then ..."
"Fine," she said. "I just want you to know that I hate everything about this, but I'll give you a day. I just want my friend back."
Karyn helped Athena to her feet. She was hurt, but not unable to walk or move. She glared at Ally, then turned around and walked away with Jon and Karyn.
