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Source: collected/011-mortal-steel-episode-6.mp3
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00:00:00.000 Speaker 1 [rock music]
00:00:08.860 Speaker 1 Mortal
00:00:54.800 Speaker 1 Steel. [crows cawing] Please, please don't.
00:01:00.380 Speaker 1 [gasping] Ethan awoke six minutes, 11 seconds
00:01:06.000 Speaker 1 later to the sounds of dying. Not the sounds of fighting because from the look of
00:01:11.800 Speaker 1 it, the fighting was done.
00:01:16.740 Speaker 1 The bodies of Crucifer soldiers littered the street. Many of them were mortally
00:01:21.800 Speaker 1 wounded, but not yet dead. Nobody seemed especially eager to put them out of their
00:01:27.240 Speaker 1 misery either. Small demons, like giant cockroaches with
00:01:32.980 Speaker 1 human heads glued to their backs, were pulling away the ones already dead. Ethan
00:01:38.720 Speaker 1 curled a lip in disgust. There were corpse nests living within Paradise?
00:01:45.220 Speaker 1 The monsters didn't seem to bother the few humans who idled about, though. For their
00:01:50.380 Speaker 1 part, the humans mostly ignored them as well, sometimes even pushing a body toward
00:01:55.600 Speaker 1 the creatures for disposal. Lord in heaven, why did the apocalypse have to be so
00:02:01.560 Speaker 1 revolting? Wouldn't a ray of incinerating light have been more to the point?
00:02:08.139 Speaker 1 A man built like a beanbag chair wrapped around a barrel stepped into view.
00:02:14.100 Speaker 1 Ethan could barely lift his head to take him in.
00:02:18.440 Speaker 2 Hey, holy man's awake.
00:02:21.520 Speaker 1 Dumpit put one hand out to lift him up, but Ethan just shook his head.
00:02:25.980 Speaker 2 Can't, can't stand yet.
00:02:29.760 Speaker 1 His nausea sensors confirmed this for him. He allowed himself to feel the full
00:02:35.680 Speaker 1 experience and not just the data for only a moment before turning it all back off
00:02:41.360 Speaker 1 again. Actually, why was he here at all? He should have
00:02:47.240 Speaker 1 been blown to pieces. His second mind played him an audio message recorded while he
00:02:53.120 Speaker 1 was unconscious.
00:02:54.880 Speaker 3 Ethan, it's Gabriel. We need to talk in person. Erica won't destroy you,
00:03:01.720 Speaker 3 not after what I told her. I'm signing off on your patch remotely. You may disable
00:03:06.700 Speaker 3 your radio. Just promise me you'll return. The stakes are higher than you know.
00:03:13.620 Speaker 1 Ethan queried his second mind.
00:03:16.320 Speaker 3 Did you already apply the patch?
00:03:18.900 Speaker 1 It was difficult to understand the response, which was odd because normally it was
00:03:23.840 Speaker 1 so intuitive. This almost had an edge of emotion to it. Its reply could be
00:03:29.900 Speaker 1 summarized in a single word, "Obviously."
00:03:35.720 Speaker 1 Ethan squinted up at Dumpit.
00:03:38.200 Speaker 2 How are we still alive?
00:03:40.640 Speaker 1 Dumpit struck a heroic pose, then frowned at the bloody clothing stuck on his
00:03:45.200 Speaker 1 fireplace poker foot.
00:03:47.200 Speaker 2 Don't you hate it when that happens? I guess you were sleeping. I don't think I've
00:03:52.400 Speaker 2 ever seen anyone fight like you did. Gets me shaking just thinking what you were
00:03:56.180 Speaker 2 like with arms. Good show there. Yep, once The King showed up, it was all
00:04:02.240 Speaker 2 over, though.
00:04:03.200 Speaker 1 The sun itself got a little dimmer then as a man stepped into Ethan's view.
00:04:08.660 Speaker 1 [stone scraping] [earth rumbling] Where exactly had he come from?
00:04:14.780 Speaker 3 Yes, but they got what they came for. They lost two dozen useless Acolytes and
00:04:20.300 Speaker 3 gained over 100 children. Fresh blood.
00:04:24.880 Speaker 1 The man was not a man, but a demon. Or perhaps somewhere in
00:04:30.260 Speaker 1 between. He shook his head with genuine sadness. Half of his face was
00:04:36.120 Speaker 1 sad anyway. The other half was covered by a plate of bone that grew up from his
00:04:41.520 Speaker 1 collarbone and wrapped around his head. Ethan found that he could only manage a
00:04:47.740 Speaker 1 single word for The Stalker.
00:04:51.140 Speaker 2 You.
00:04:52.240 Speaker 1 The people around The Stalker, Dumpit included, gave him a respectful nod, but
00:04:56.980 Speaker 1 nothing more. They seemed quite comfortable with the disfigured abomination. Chummy
00:05:02.600 Speaker 1 even, which only made Ethan more squeamish. Were these people
00:05:08.420 Speaker 1 under his control? That was at least half the reason he'd been built. Possess could
00:05:13.280 Speaker 1 control regular humans as easy as breathing. Not forever, and not too many,
00:05:19.540 Speaker 1 but that made it very difficult to get an assassin anywhere near them. Dumpit
00:05:24.700 Speaker 1 slapped the creature on the back and laughed.
00:05:27.660 Speaker 2 What happened to the protector anyway? You get tired of outsourcing the fun part?
00:05:31.800 Speaker 1 The Stalker narrowed his one eye. His dark, messy bangs made him look handsome,
00:05:38.080 Speaker 1 but brooding.
00:05:39.600 Speaker 3 I expect our friend here killed it.
00:05:43.320 Speaker 2 Now, what did you do that for? We've been feeding that thing a steady diet of
00:05:46.760 Speaker 2 Crucifer.
00:05:48.000 Speaker 3 I don't play well with demons.
00:05:51.260 Speaker 1 The Stalker glanced back at the bodies pinned to the wall with a rebar spear.
00:05:56.920 Speaker 3 Or anyone, apparently.
00:06:02.084 Speaker 4 You don't remember me?
00:06:06.504 Speaker 4 What?
00:06:07.404 Speaker 1 He smiled, closing the one eye, shaking his head.
00:06:12.544 Speaker 4 Guess I shouldn't be surprised.
00:06:15.324 Speaker 1 The stalker reached forward with his human arm and tapped Ethan's forehead. Warning
00:06:21.024 Speaker 1 alarms blared and threat simulations played automatically.
00:06:24.484 Speaker 4 Who knows how much Ethan Cutter is left in there.
00:06:28.184 Speaker 1 He,
00:06:29.984 Speaker 1 he knew his name? Ethan shook his head and killed the simulations, ignoring
00:06:35.944 Speaker 1 their results. It didn't matter. This creature needed to die.
00:06:43.744 Speaker 1 But more importantly...
00:06:47.944 Speaker 4 I need your help.
00:06:50.144 Speaker 1 The stalker lifted his head to the sky and laughed. It started very
00:06:56.104 Speaker 1 humorous, very human. Then it slowly stretched into something
00:07:02.264 Speaker 1 nasty. Ethan felt a very large hand close around
00:07:08.184 Speaker 1 him.
00:07:08.704 Speaker 4 We call it a pact, Holy Man.
00:07:11.944 Speaker 1 Then he grinned a wild, unholy smile. And
00:07:17.324 Speaker 1 Pastor Ethan Cutter knew this was how good people started down the
00:07:22.984 Speaker 1 path to evil, one necessary step at a time.
00:07:29.304 Speaker 1 He fought the almost irresistible urge to kill this monster. He would have to.
00:07:35.984 Speaker 1 His orders were not subject to this much interpretation, but they could be
00:07:42.424 Speaker 1 delayed. The stalker's execution could wait because there was
00:07:48.444 Speaker 1 someone small and weak that
00:07:54.124 Speaker 1 needed his help.
00:07:57.604 Speaker 1 Mission be damned.
00:07:59.084 Speaker 1 [gentle music]
00:08:12.984 Speaker 1 The bigger boy tried again to take Fleabag's shirt.
00:08:18.104 Speaker 5 I'm not weak.
00:08:20.164 Speaker 1 Seriously, did he think he would just let him have it? It wouldn't fit him anyway.
00:08:25.464 Speaker 5 Give it here.
00:08:27.344 Speaker 1 The bigger boy jerked Fleabag forward by his shirt, [fabric ripping] tearing it.
00:08:33.804 Speaker 1 So Fleabag pulled the weapon from his waistband, the piece of broken metal from Holy
00:08:39.364 Speaker 1 Man's arm blade that had been stuck in the protector. Fleabag slashed the bigger
00:08:44.004 Speaker 1 boy's arm with a quick swipe. It wasn't deep enough to be dangerous, but it was deep
00:08:49.404 Speaker 1 enough to let them know that Fleabag was dangerous.
00:08:54.724 Speaker 1 The other boy stumbled backward, staring in horror at the bright red blood on his
00:09:00.024 Speaker 1 arm. One of the sand hags pounded on their wooden cage with her cane.
00:09:06.224 Speaker 3 No fighting. You will have time enough for that.
00:09:12.324 Speaker 1 Then she turned back to the team of makeshift vehicles, mutated animals, and
00:09:18.404 Speaker 1 people that pulled their train of child prisoners. There had to be
00:09:24.244 Speaker 1 100 other kids in these cages. Fleabag's cage had eight other kids. Most of them
00:09:30.184 Speaker 1 were crying. Why? It's not like that actually solved anything.
00:09:36.744 Speaker 1 A girl with thick glasses scooted up beside Fleabag, but not quite willing to
00:09:42.784 Speaker 1 touch him. She had been one of the crying ones until just now. She looked young
00:09:49.204 Speaker 1 and small, like Drip. Drip had been even smaller than this girl.
00:09:55.804 Speaker 1 Fleabag gave her a confident grin, ignoring the larger boy who was now amongst the
00:10:01.104 Speaker 1 other crying children.
00:10:03.224 Speaker 5 What is that? Part of a magic weapon. It's just a part, though.
00:10:08.384 Speaker 1 Her eyes lit up, and she seemed to forget that she was upset.
00:10:13.084 Speaker 5 Really? Yeah. It's part of Holy Man's arm sword.
00:10:19.624 Speaker 5 Who is Holy Man?
00:10:21.844 Speaker 1 Fleabag smiled again. The other kids in his cage noticed their conversation and
00:10:27.784 Speaker 1 either scooted closer to listen or at least stopped sobbing. Fleabag crossed his
00:10:33.844 Speaker 1 arms and held the shattered blade out in front of them for them all to see.
00:10:38.164 Speaker 5 I'll tell you the story of how I got this. I'll tell you about Holy Man and
00:10:44.164 Speaker 5 how he's going to save us.
00:10:46.964 Speaker 1 That got their attention. Even the bully with the bleeding arm was wrapped up in it
00:10:52.444 Speaker 1 now. Fleabag pointed directly at him.
00:10:56.444 Speaker 5 You're shirtless.
00:10:57.964 Speaker 1 The kid looked at him skeptically, then shrugged. Then Fleabag went around the
00:11:03.684 Speaker 1 cage, pointing at each child, giving them their new
00:11:09.244 Speaker 1 names.
00:11:11.364 Speaker 5 Bottles, Screech, Armpit, Geezer, Rainbow Flakes, Umpire,
00:11:17.724 Speaker 5 Medium Willy, and I'm Cyber Blade.
00:11:22.584 Speaker 5 [clapping]
00:11:25.784 Speaker 1 They nodded, eager for him to tell his story. And just like that,
00:11:32.604 Speaker 1 he had a new name.
00:11:34.184 Speaker 1 [gentle music]
00:11:42.084 Speaker 1 Part eight, Pact.
00:11:48.104 Speaker 1 The stalker's throne room was a security guard's office at the bottom of an
00:11:53.004 Speaker 1 underground parking garage. At first blush, this was an esoteric decision, but
00:11:58.844 Speaker 1 tactically, it was very defensible. The corkscrew path leading down to the office at
00:12:04.504 Speaker 1 the bottom was filled with his scary boys. The mixes of
00:12:09.912 Speaker 1 admiration and loathing on their faces had been an odd combination.
00:12:16.292 Speaker 1 The stalker himself sat sideways on an ornate dining room chair,
00:12:21.732 Speaker 1 apparently brought in to serve as his throne. He had not bothered to remove the
00:12:27.972 Speaker 1 Baywatch poster which still hung on the painted concrete wall above his
00:12:33.912 Speaker 1 throne.
00:12:35.532 Speaker 4 So what? You're just gonna walk in there with one arm and a bad attitude?
00:12:41.632 Speaker 1 One arm.
00:12:42.832 Speaker 4 It's your lucky day. Forgemaster says he can reattach one of them.
00:12:47.512 Speaker 1 That was a pretty lofty title for a man who called himself Dumpit. This
00:12:53.252 Speaker 1 coming from the man whose throne room still smelled like a truck stop bathroom even
00:12:58.972 Speaker 1 30 years after the apocalypse. And no, I'm not a fool.
00:13:05.272 Speaker 1 There was no love between Crucifer and Last Respite at the best of times. Their
00:13:10.392 Speaker 1 communication at this point was limited to messages like, "Cross this line and we
00:13:15.392 Speaker 1 start shooting." Even then, those lines were an ever-changing thing. Ethan wouldn't
00:13:20.992 Speaker 1 make it past the front gate. In his current condition, they'd have no trouble
00:13:26.512 Speaker 1 putting him on a spike as a warning. Not that anyone came within 10 miles of the
00:13:31.592 Speaker 1 place by choice, which was why he had a plan.
00:13:37.732 Speaker 1 I'm going to New Hope first. The stalker sat up straight in his chair.
00:13:43.912 Speaker 4 You're making a tour of my enemies then. Sounds like something I would back.
00:13:49.332 Speaker 1 There's a team of specialists there who can repair me. The stalker did not look
00:13:55.072 Speaker 1 impressed, but what did Ethan care? He was gonna kill the man. He'd just been
00:14:00.832 Speaker 1 bumped down the task list temporarily.
00:14:04.792 Speaker 4 New Hope isn't like Last Respite. Just like Crucifer, they've survived because
00:14:09.592 Speaker 4 they've matched the brutality of a demon invasion. Don't let their polished comm
00:14:14.552 Speaker 4 presentation fool you, Pastor. New Hope makes my spine eater look like
00:14:20.332 Speaker 4 a puppy.
00:14:21.812 Speaker 1 Ethan wasn't sure he bought that story. They were reclusive and aloof, sure, but
00:14:27.832 Speaker 1 they didn't eat spines. There was a difference between allowing evil to
00:14:33.572 Speaker 1 happen and holding the bloody ax. The stalker leaned forward in
00:14:39.432 Speaker 1 his dining chair. His enormous disfigured arm began crawling up the
00:14:45.072 Speaker 1 wall behind him, almost as if he couldn't control it, or
00:14:50.952 Speaker 1 perhaps he couldn't control it all the time.
00:14:55.692 Speaker 4 What will you do if they let you in, only to shake you down for parts and drop your
00:15:00.232 Speaker 4 brain in the dumpster?
00:15:02.512 Speaker 1 I'm open to suggestions.
00:15:05.412 Speaker 4 Humility is a good look on you, Father.
00:15:09.712 Speaker 1 Ethan surrendered motor control of his body to his second mind. Didn't
00:15:15.712 Speaker 1 trust himself to not bury a headbutt into this creature's face. Eh, he would
00:15:21.752 Speaker 1 regenerate, so it's not like it was that big of a deal.
00:15:25.072 Speaker 4 If you wanna take down New Hope and Crucifer, I'm in. We've been fighting a war on
00:15:29.872 Speaker 4 three fronts for years now. Now that Last Respite has finally entered the fray,
00:15:35.212 Speaker 4 well, that changes everything.
00:15:38.672 Speaker 1 Every sentence this creature uttered was information the archbishops would have
00:15:43.752 Speaker 1 killed for. Three fronts.
00:15:48.832 Speaker 1 The stalker put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Two scary boys who'd been
00:15:53.732 Speaker 1 standing outside came in like good little pets.
00:15:59.652 Speaker 4 Gear up. We're taking six elites for a walk. Anyone who survives gets some juice.
00:16:05.212 Speaker 4 And tell the Forgemaster he gets 48 hours to work on the cyborg.
00:16:09.172 Speaker 1 The scary boys practically licked their lips. Whatever they'd been promised, they
00:16:14.532 Speaker 1 craved it. When they left, the stalker and Pastor Ethan Cutter were
00:16:20.612 Speaker 1 alone. The possessed man's entire demeanor changed. He sat
00:16:26.452 Speaker 1 patiently and correctly in his chair. Though the massive arm still
00:16:32.472 Speaker 1 crawled around, feeling for something unknowable.
00:16:37.832 Speaker 4 You really don't remember me?
00:16:41.592 Speaker 1 No.
00:16:42.692 Speaker 4 Bah. It's not like we were friends or anything. Last Respite is a big place. You did
00:16:48.632 Speaker 4 me a solid once.
00:16:50.632 Speaker 1 Ethan sensed an opportunity here. Insight from his human mind, for a
00:16:56.632 Speaker 1 change.
00:16:58.792 Speaker 1 Why? The stalker snorted. They both knew what he was asking.
00:17:05.512 Speaker 1 The possessed man leaned his head back against the chair and looked up at the
00:17:10.972 Speaker 1 ceiling.
00:17:14.552 Speaker 4 I was a Sunday school teacher. Not even. I played songs for the kids. Worked the
00:17:20.152 Speaker 4 walls the rest of the time. Guard duty. I just got tired of
00:17:26.052 Speaker 4 singing songs to smiling kids in the morning and then looking down at starving ones
00:17:30.272 Speaker 4 in the afternoon. I could just barely see their dirty little faces looking up at me.
00:17:36.952 Speaker 1 So you became a monster. The disfigured hand found a cheap particle board
00:17:42.672 Speaker 1 desk. The stalker's face lit with sudden anger and the desk was crushed to dust
00:17:48.212 Speaker 1 between the bulging purple fingers.
00:17:52.612 Speaker 4 I became a king. Why do you think your silly little fortress is still standing?
00:17:58.852 Speaker 4 Why do you think anyone is still alive outside your walls? Me.
00:18:04.552 Speaker 1 He stood and slammed the demonic hand against the floor in a bizarre pantomime of
00:18:09.972 Speaker 1 his human hand.
00:18:12.432 Speaker 4 I'm why.
00:18:14.212 Speaker 1 He collapsed back into the chair Clearly borne down by more than a
00:18:19.948 Speaker 1 physical weight. Well, sharing a body with a demon would do
00:18:25.768 Speaker 1 that. Was Ethan really supposed to believe he'd joined the enemy to
00:18:31.488 Speaker 1 save people? There was very little logic in that, so he changed the
00:18:37.408 Speaker 1 topic. You mentioned a deal.
00:18:41.508 Speaker 4 A pact.
00:18:42.968 Speaker 1 Fine, a pact. What are your terms?
00:18:47.388 Speaker 4 You help me destroy New Hope, Crucifer, and the Mixers.
00:18:52.328 Speaker 1 Ethan's eyebrows went up. Kill two human settlements and take on a rival
00:18:58.028 Speaker 1 demon army? That was a pretty big opening ask. What could possibly be worth all that
00:19:03.748 Speaker 1 trouble? Ethan could just save Fleabag himself. Maybe.
00:19:10.348 Speaker 4 And in return, I'll turn all of my forces and all of my allies against the Southern
00:19:16.268 Speaker 4 Horde.
00:19:17.448 Speaker 1 Ethan stared blankly at the possessed. Why would I trust you?
00:19:23.408 Speaker 4 Because it's not a deal, it's a pact. If I break it, you get my power.
00:19:29.968 Speaker 1 Oh, yeah, that's what he needed. A demonic roommate for his computer.
00:19:36.628 Speaker 1 And if I break it?
00:19:38.708 Speaker 4 Father Cutter, are you considering double-crossing me?
00:19:43.328 Speaker 1 Well, you can't cross the devil. You're already sin incarnate.
00:19:48.608 Speaker 4 I'm not the devil. If you betray me, though, you would get to meet him.
00:19:54.888 Speaker 1 Threats aside, everything up until this moment had just been shuffling deck chairs
00:20:00.468 Speaker 1 around on the Titanic. Ethan might save Fleabag. He might even
00:20:06.428 Speaker 1 carve out some relative safety for a few dozen followers in the outskirts. But
00:20:12.288 Speaker 1 they would all die when the Southern Horde returned. If he could
00:20:18.368 Speaker 1 find a way to stand against that tide, even a cyborg was still just
00:20:24.408 Speaker 1 one person. He needed something else. If there was even the
00:20:30.228 Speaker 1 slightest chance this creature could help, it was worth everything he had.
00:20:36.748 Speaker 1 And with that, he took one more necessary step
00:20:42.808 Speaker 1 down that foreboding path. Fine. I accept your pact,
00:20:49.008 Speaker 1 demon. And he became a little less human.
00:21:06.488 Speaker 1 Archbishop Gabriel sat in his simple robes, in his simple room, and waited for
00:21:12.568 Speaker 1 death. It was a fickle thing, though, apparently unwilling to greet you when you
00:21:17.608 Speaker 1 called it.
00:21:32.948 Speaker 1 The woman seated in the chair across from him looked tired, beyond tired,
00:21:39.408 Speaker 1 visibly fraying at the edges. Bishop Erica Long rubbed at her
00:21:45.148 Speaker 1 temples.
00:21:46.988 Speaker 6 Couldn't you have blackmailed me in some other way?
00:21:51.988 Speaker 1 You would have tortured me for the information. Besides, it's not my life I was
00:21:56.548 Speaker 1 trying to preserve.
00:21:58.008 Speaker 6 I would not have tortured you.
00:22:01.188 Speaker 1 She looked offended at that, more bothered by the insinuation than the torture.
00:22:07.348 Speaker 1 Gabriel waved casually at the door, bolted shut from the outside.
00:22:13.468 Speaker 1 Lucius would then. Erica shrugged in acceptance. Gabriel
00:22:19.428 Speaker 1 himself would have tortured someone for the information he'd stored on the cyborg's
00:22:24.308 Speaker 1 hard drive. In a single stroke of elegant strategy, he'd managed to
00:22:30.208 Speaker 1 turn the cyborg into his own collateral. Last respite would not
00:22:36.028 Speaker 1 touch him.
00:22:39.047 Speaker 6 It's still kind of hard to believe, but
00:22:44.308 Speaker 6 demons were real after all.
00:22:46.808 Speaker 1 Gabriel put a hand out to stall her. He'd gone down this line of thinking himself
00:22:53.368 Speaker 1 long ago. You shouldn't get your hopes up. Don't expect them to be like the stories.
00:22:59.368 Speaker 1 There's no indication that they can or will do anything to help us.
00:23:03.448 Speaker 6 But they're angels, Gabriel. It's in their nature.
00:23:08.168 Speaker 1 Archbishop Gabriel Klein turned away from her, trying to bury
00:23:14.108 Speaker 1 his shame deep, deep down. He could not
00:23:20.048 Speaker 1 voice his terror to her,
00:23:23.428 Speaker 1 couldn't give words to the crimes she was ignorant of.
00:23:28.908 Speaker 1 What would she say if she knew what New Hope had done to the beings
00:23:34.948 Speaker 1 they called angels?
00:23:38.168 Speaker 1 If the angels granted them anything, it would not be aid, but
00:23:44.268 Speaker 1 vengeance. Which was why he prayed that their existence would
00:23:49.908 Speaker 1 remain undiscovered. And if Cyborg No. 4 perished, the
00:23:55.708 Speaker 1 clues leading to them would die with him. For now, he straddled the
00:24:01.528 Speaker 1 dangerous line between keeping their existence buried and keeping Pastor
00:24:07.508 Speaker 1 Cutter alive. If he did actually come back here, though, these
00:24:13.288 Speaker 1 people would dismantle him. And there would be absolutely
00:24:19.368 Speaker 1 nothing Gabriel could do to stop it.
00:24:26.878 Speaker 1 [rock music]
00:25:14.118 Speaker 1 [footsteps] A woman in a simple brown dress led John down the hall. She held his
00:25:18.858 Speaker 1 hand gently, and if the possessed appendage bothered her, she didn't let it show.
00:25:25.178 Speaker 5 Right this way. They're all very excited.
00:25:29.578 Speaker 1 She pushed open the door and John stepped inside. [door closing] His heart was
00:25:33.718 Speaker 1 pounding. [door opening] Could he really do this? Fourteen
00:25:39.698 Speaker 1 kids, ages six to three, sat in a semicircle on the floor. They looked up
00:25:45.658 Speaker 1 at him, then down at his enormous possessed hand.
00:25:51.618 Speaker 1 No smiles. John glanced over at their teacher for support. She gave him
00:25:57.718 Speaker 1 a reassuring nod. So he pulled the acoustic guitar off his back.
00:26:03.678 Speaker 4 Hey, kids. I know you're probably sad about all the other kids, you know, that went
00:26:09.338 Speaker 4 missing.
00:26:10.318 Speaker 1 One of the kids started bawling. The teacher shook her head back and forth
00:26:14.118 Speaker 1 violently, silently mouthing the word no.
00:26:17.698 Speaker 4 Aw, crap.
00:26:19.078 Speaker 1 Then the voice inside his head rumbled to life.
00:26:24.478 Speaker 3 You should crush them
00:26:29.078 Speaker 3 and feed me.
00:26:33.318 Speaker 1 He ignored it, as always.
00:26:37.498 Speaker 4 Which is why I wrote this song for you, to cheer you up.
00:26:43.778 Speaker 3 It would be so easy to kill them all.
00:26:48.078 Speaker 1 John set the guitar gently over his left knee.
00:26:51.458 Speaker 3 How come? Small death.
00:26:56.178 Speaker 1 Then he set his fingers on the frets, getting ready to play something simple,
00:27:02.898 Speaker 1 just a couple chords. He swung his massive possessed hand over the
00:27:08.198 Speaker 1 strings and the bloated purple fingers shattered the body of the
00:27:13.898 Speaker 1 guitar on the very first stroke, reducing the entire guitar
00:27:19.958 Speaker 1 to splinters of wood in his lap. [guitar breaking] John stared down at the pieces
00:27:26.018 Speaker 1 in disbelief.
00:27:27.958 Speaker 3 Feed me.
00:27:32.478 Speaker 1 Then the kid who had been crying just moments before started laughing,
00:27:38.718 Speaker 1 and then another, and another, until the whole class was laughing.
00:27:45.798 Speaker 1 John just shook his head and grinned back at them.
00:27:49.538 Speaker 4 [laughs] Oops