"That's . . . Where did she go?" asked Esther, standing up unsteadily. Where could she be hiding? Had they taken her with them? she wondered.
Seized by unfortunate thoughts and clueless as to what had happened, Esther approached the closet. The closets that had been open were now firmly shut.
Could she be hiding inside this? Esther thought to herself. Hopeful, she pushed them open. "Ah!" said Esther, gasping as she took a step back.
A sinister-looking giant in a black coat was standing inside the built-in closets that reached to the ceiling. It was one of her attackers!
"Run, Esther!" cried Abel, moving forward as if to push the girl back. His revolver was already pointed at the enemy's head; it was cocked and ready to fire at any time.
The gun didn't fire bullets, though. Instead of pulling the trigger, the priest narrowed his eyes, staring holes through the enemy shadows.
"Father, 1-look out!" said Esther.
"No, it's all right, Esther," said Abel. "These are . . ."
Abel shook his head as he tried to calm Esther. It was the perfect opportunity to attack, but the two giants stood silently without attempting to move. The priest's gun was still aimed, when all of a sudden, amid the strange silence, the black shadow crumpled.
Causing a considerable amount of misty white smoke, the two enemy shadows shrank as they watched. After the smoke cleared, only their overcoats and a large quantity of fine white powder remained on the floor.
"What just happened?" Esther groaned. It was like some terrible dream.
Abel knelt on the floor and dipped his fingers into the pile of ash. He was far calmer than the nun as he investigated the white powder. With a serious expression, he put his fingertip between his lips, indicating that he'd thought of something.
As the priest put the powder on the tip of his tongue, a bible verse flowed from his mouth: '"God, pour fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and completely destroy the towns and people.'" He turned around revealing his stern face and said to the nun holding her breath, '"Then, when Lot's wife disobeyed God's word and looked back, she was turned into a pillar of salt.' Esther, this is salt. It's a pillar of salt."