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Although the front door of the old church was heavily boarded to prevent entry, Joey was pleased to find that the windows were less secure. Some of the wood panels were beginning to rot, and were easily wiggled loose until the green "red" panda (he affectionately used the term "wah" to avoid confusion) had a gap wide enough to squeeze himself through. A small cloud of dust was kicked up where he landed, highlighting faint beams of light shining in through the opening he'd made.

The derelict cathedral had been left in disrepair for what appeared to be decades. It was something of a historic landmark that nobody wanted to care for, on account of the rumors that the church was haunted by the spirits of the dead. Although most would quickly dismiss such claims, there was enough credence to the stories that nobody wished to investigate further. There were numerous documented reports of strange lights in the windows some evenings that couldn't be explained, fueling countless ghost stories.

Joey was among the nonbelievers. Though his love for Halloween was rivaled by few, he didn't buy into the stories. This made it all the easier for him to take his friends up on a dare that turned into a friendly wager. If he could take a picture of himself standing in the church's old bell tower, he'd make an easy $20. Though his friends had teased him about the ghosts that haunted the church at night, he wasn't going to pass up the chance.

Armed with a flashlight, the panda scanned the interior with a long beam that didn't fully penetrate the darkness. Heavy wooden pews were left untouched and surprisingly intact, save for a thick layer of dust that had accumulated. Metal sconces were still mounted to the walls and pillars that supported the open ceiling, though candles were absent. The lectern was in a similar state as the pews. Most of the doors had been barricaded or boarded up, making them impassable. The windows were similarly covered, allowing very little outside light to pass through.

As he walked away from the window and proceeded down the center aisle, small puffs of dust were disturbed by his footsteps, further dispersed by Joey's long, striped tail. Looking around, it appeared Joey may have been the first person to set foot inside the church in years. It was eerily quiet inside, only broken up by the low rustle of an evening breeze, which made some of the wood panels creak ominously.

While Joey was making his way to the back of the church, the shifting light made shadows dance from the old scaffolding that lead up to the bell tower. He briefly paused and turned to face the front, angling his flashlight upward to get a better look at the domed cathedral ceiling. As he was gazing, though, he noticed a flicker of light in the corner of his eye.

"Huh?" Joey turned and blinked, switching his flashlight off for several seconds. He found himself in near-darkness, and as he waited in silence, there was no further flickering or indication of light.

Strange.

Switching the flashlight on again, Joey began making his way toward the old scaffold. Though he felt a twitch of nervousness at the look at it, the steep wood rungs climbing the structure of the bell tower appeared sound. The heavy rope leading up to the bell had long been removed, but the bell itself remained part of the historic structure.

When Joey was shining his flashlight into the interior of the bell that hung over the wooden platform, he saw it again. A dim flicker that he was certain couldn't be caused by his light, as if someone had a candle lit. Once again, it only seemed to last long enough to grab his attention and vanish without a trace. An uneasy feeling began to well up in his stomach, wondering if maybe this wasn't a good idea.

But $20 was $20.

Gathering himself, Joey placed a foot on the first rung of the scaffold and put his weight on it cautiously to ensure it was good. Although the old board creaked beneath his weight, it held fast. Satisfied, he proceeded to climb his way up the bell tower, testing his footing every step of the way to avoid incident. Although the steps groaned beneath him from the lack of upkeep, Joey was able to reach the sturdy platform at the top without issue. He pushed open the trap door with a loud creak and hoisted himself onto the wood deck.

He was greeted by a breathtaking sight. Though the cathedral's windows and doors had been boarded, the open archways of the belfry allowed him a serene view of the city surrounding him. A cool breeze blew through, bringing welcome relief from the stagnant air inside. Reaching up, he placed a hand on the heavily-tarnished brass bell and pushed, but was disappointed to find it had seized in place, the clapper removed.

As he looked out over the town, Joey nearly forgot the one thing he'd come up there to do. Reaching into his pocket, the green wah fished out a cell phone and turned to take a selfie with the tarnished bell, per the agreement. Easy money.

He recalled the photo to ensure it had turned out, then blinked when he noticed a dark shape over his shoulder in the picture. Something was obscuring the city lights. When he turned to look, however, it was absent. He could see clearly in all directions. But there it was on his phone.

"What in the..." Joey trailed off as he glanced around a second time, even peering down the trap door to the scaffold below. Leaning into an open archway, he confirmed that nobody was hiding on the ledges outside of the tower. He appeared to be alone, and there was nowhere to hide in the belfry.

Except.

"Beautiful view, don't you think?" The deep voice was clear as day. And it came from above, not beside the green panda.

"WAH!" Joey flailed and whipped around in surprise. He turned his flashlight toward the ceiling just in time to see an enormous pair of wings unfurl.

The dark shape of a huge bat quickly reached for Joey, causing him to drop his phone and flashlight at the same time. The latter fell through the trapdoor, bounced off a step and sailed to the floor below, shattering to pieces and extinguishing the beam of light. Joey's tail whipped behind him as he was lifted clean off the floor, feet kicking beneath him helplessly.

A pair of huge jaws snapped around the small panda's shoulders as he was dragged upward, hot breath blasting his face before he was squeezed into a slimy, tight passage. He writhed in the constricting embrace, but a heavy swallow dragged his shoulders in and pinned his arms to his body. There was little he could do to prevent himself from being snatched up, legs dangling uselessly below as they kicked.

Wet glrrks filled Joey's ears, mind racing as he came to terms with the fact that this bat was going to eat him alive. Is this how he was going to meet his end? More of his body was being squeezed into the creature's slimy throat with each passing moment. The deep thud of his captor's heart filled his ears as he passed through the bat's chest, strong jaws working their way down his waist. Each tight ripple made him whimper, smooth muscles working in waves to massage him in.

The long, striped panda tail was swishing rapidly through the air now, displaying Joey's panic as his hips were crammed between the bat's jaws and summarily devoured. A slimy tongue wrapped around his thighs, slithering down Joey's legs and squeezing as if to help feed him to the huge creature. The steamy interior briefly grew tighter around his face, only to give way to a more relaxed pouch that was unmistakably sour-smelling. It only took a moment to realize that he was being shoved into the bat's stomach now.

Smooth flesh stretched tightly against Joey's face as he was pushed into the bottom of the gut, soon forced to angle his head and twist to curl up inside. As his legs were effortlessly dragged into the bat's throat, a pair of wings gathered up his feet and shoved them toward drooling jaws. The nimble tongue was quick to wrap up his paws and squeeze them tightly, slathering them in hot, slick drool before the last of the green wah vanished from sight.

A wave of motion carried Joey smoothly the rest of the way down, spilling his body wetly into the large bat and squeezing him into an uncomfortably-tight fetal position. Whimpering at where he now found himself, he immediately pushed both hands and feet into the slimy walls, hoping desperately to find a way out, maybe try and wiggle back up the way he came if he could make the bat spit him up. But as the abdominal muscles closed around him and pulled the bat's stomach against his body, it became clear that someone Joey's size was well-suited for its diet.

The creature's belly produced muted gurgling with the noisy passenger squirming around inside, but it didn't bother him any. Licking its jaws and letting out a wet, gurgling burp, the bat proceeded to cocoon its leathery wings around him once more. Joey could distantly hear a heavy sigh over the wet noises surrounding his body when the walls clenched tightly around him.

"Mmh, always a treat when unsuspecting fools wander into my home," the bat mused quietly. "Saves me the trouble of a hunt." His large ears lightly flicked, listening to the muffled whimpering in his gut while he roosted.

A heavy yawn escaped the bat, tucking his face beneath the bundle of leathery wing to shield his eyes from offending street lights. The trespassing panda had disturbed his rest, and he was perfectly content to resume sleeping while his stomach digested the intruder. His wings tightened when the bat's gut shifted, pushing outward for a moment before another clenched subdued the struggling meal.

"Just relax, little panda. You're mine now, and you'll make a lovely addition to this place."

Joey prayed that he wouldn't find out what that meant, but as his surroundings grew wetter, he knew there were little hope for anything else. He was soaked in drool and steamy, tingling fluids that were beginning to make his surroundings uncomfortable. The lively stomach walls were rolling against his body to smear the contents over him liberally.

The only redeeming part of the situation (if it could even be considered that) was the fact that the bat had burped up most of his air. His head was already feeling heavy, eyes lidding, and growing mental fog was making it difficult to think clearly. Joey could feel his energy fading, but was determined to grope around in the darkness in search of escape. Unfortunately, as the walls closed around him, the desire to let himself succumb to sleep was too strong to ignore.

Even as the stomach walls continued to leak caustic fluids that pooled around Joey, it wasn't long before he felt himself nodding. His head bobbed once, twice, then he reluctantly let himself slip into blissful oblivion, accepting the fact that he would likely not reawaken. A surprising sense of calm settled over him as he drifted off to a chorus of wet gurgling as the bat blissfully digested his meal...

* * * * * * * * * *

Pleasant warmth began to grow as the green panda's consciousness gradually returned to him. Something was beckoning him, rousing him from the deep slumber. The last thing he remembered was fading to darkness in a bat's stomach. He now found himself coming to in a serene green glow that cast its light over the interior of the belfry, gradually fading in intensity.

When Joey finally opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at the smiling face of the same bat that had just consumed him. Or had he? Had Joey been dreaming? He wondered if he had simply hit his head when he was startled by the huge creature.

When Joey placed a hand on the ground to push himself up from his lying position, he was startled to find that his paw lacked the usual green fur, now a skeleton of itself with a glowing outline of his former figure. Upon further inspection, he discovered that his entire body was little more than a living skeleton with an incorporeal shape of the cute green panda that he once was.

Strangely, fear wasn't the response to Joey's discovery. He felt...content, for reasons unknown.

When the bat addressed him, Joey hugged a boney, glimmering panda tail against his chest and managed a glowing blush. "Welcome to your new home, little one. I hope you find it to your liking..."