[Apathy's_Child]

Cut back to the flat where Sol, Miss C & Versus are sitting around the table, inebriated but not yet sloppy. The bottle sits empty between them and Miss C is opening another.

VERSUS: It’s great to see you guys.

SOL: Been a long time, huh?

VERSUS: Sure has.

SOL: [looking at him meaningfully] Two years.

VERSUS: [shrugging evasively] Been busy. Demon numbers’ve been rising, as you know. Which is why you called me.

SOL: Oh, we know it, all right. [pours them all another grimly, steeling to deliver bad news] They got Kontan last month.

VERSUS: [pause] Who is Kontan?

MISS C: Dude who used to troll the demons around here – one who was assigned as our Council contact when Sol and I first moved here? With all the hair?

VERSUS: Aw, with the cheekbones? No way!

MISS C: [sadly] Yep. He’s gone now.

VERSUS: MotherFUCKER. I loved that guy.

MISS C: [wistfully] I know. Total tragedy. He was too fuckin’ pretty to die like that... [shakes herself] But yeah, Kontan’s no more. Some demons attacked him – they found about a pretty corpse’s worth of blood, but the rest of the body was gone. [shrugs] Eh, can’t say I’m surprised. I’d’ve prob’ly taken it with me too...

SOL: [clearing throat as MC’s eyes begin to mist over again] ANYWAY... [looks at Versus, more or less straight, although the whiskey is starting to show] Since you haven’t kept in contact with anyone but us since Mexico [he evades her stare], we should probably fill you in on what’s been happening with us. You might have quit the Council out of nowhere like a freak [looks at him meaningfully], but some big shit is going down. We need you in on this.

VERSUS: [hands up] Hey, you don’t have to sell me here. If it’s demon-related, I’m in. Spill.

SOL: As you know, the demons’ numbers have been increasing – and we also told you why. The End of Days prophecy that’s been brought to the Council’s attention. “When the human race can fall no further, the last Prophet will speak with God’s voice, and the Gates of Hell will open. Demons –“

VERSUS: [impatiently] “Demons will pour forth and the Devil himself will walk the Earth one last time, gathering the souls of damned. When the world has been purged of evil, God will cast Satan back down into Hell along with the wicked, while Paradise reigns above for all eternity.” You told me this part over the phone already. So what are we DOING about it?

SOL: Um, you’re giving me a minute, ‘cause I’m about to tell you some stuff you DON’T know and it’s kind of fucking IMPORTANT. [as he settles back with a huff] The demons have been out in force lately. We aren’t certain why. But what we do know is, they’ve been targeting COUNCIL members. And not just hunters – theology academics, lab geeks... everyone they managed to tie to the Council. Kontan wasn’t the first, or the last.

VERSUS: [eyes clouding over with confusion] Who is Kontan?

MISS C: Pretty. Hair. [snaps like a piranha, grinning sharkishly]

VERSUS: [snapping out of it] Oh yeah. [shakes head, double-taking] Wait - what did you just say, before? The demons managed to hit the COUNCIL? As in, the SUPER-SECRET ORGANISATION fronted by an academic research funding committee, dedicated to the study and eradication of DEMONS? The fuck did they even find you?! People like us live their whole LIVES in hiding!

SOL: [grimly] We don’t know. Until a couple of months ago, no Council member’s security had been breached in over three hundred years. We’re too good at what we do. Thing is though, the demons know about the End of Days prophecy too – so obviously, they’re all fuckin’ gung-ho to overrun the earth when the Gates open. And it’s like they’re getting stronger off their own fervour. They’ve hit us so hard, the Council can barely function – just when the world needs us more than ever, they’ve got us all in freakin’ HIDING. [pause] V, man... everyone’s scared. Including us, and I count myself a fucking hardass. [looks to MC, who is now running her hand over Versus’s shaven head curiously, for agreement – MC nods with equal fervour before resuming her stroking] But here we are... hiding out like some goddamn CIVILIANS. [sits backs and looks at him determinedly] I know something went down on that last gig we did together in Mexico three years ago, right before you quit. And I’m not gonna ask you about it. [holds up hands as he looks away] You don’t wanna share – it’s fine. After the things we’ve seen, I can understand that. [pause] But... you’re still needed here. There are just too fucking many of them - we need all hands on deck here. So you need to make your peace with whatever happened out there in that desert, and help us save the fucking world already. [pause] You remember what we used to say before Mexico? Back when we were young and invincible and stupid as FUCK? [remembering, he finally smirks] You don’t let the world end. Anything else goes. But that’s the one rule you never break.

VERSUS: [somewhat softened at her appeal to their longstanding friendship] World won’t end. Prophecy says GOD ends the world. Since He doesn’t exist, it doesn’t mean a thing. They’re just blowing smoke up each other’s asses.

SOL: [shrugs grimly] I dunno, man. If you don’t need to have angels for demons to be real, then judging by the bodies've been stacking up around here, I’m starting to think maybe you don’t need God to have yourself an Apocalypse.

VERSUS: [thinking] Eh... I guess it WOULD be just our freakin’ luck. [groaning & fisting hands into his eyes] Aww, I am TOO goddamn drunk for this noise.