Realistic or Modern Hell on Earth - IC

[Mitheral]

The Demon War was moving with lightning speed and not in a good way. The Undead had come first. Today Jonathan now understood the strategy. The Undead had been used to probe the military and police response. The civilian population had been conditioned to seek shelters or stay at home. Shelters had just made them easy targets. Homes were no real protection.

Jon had begun studying the demons once they arrived. He classified most demons into 4 categories, with a 5th reserved for the demon lords. In truth there were more categories. But this was close enough.

Gargoyles occupied the lowest tier of demons. They were tough and could fly. But they could be killed. But it often took a full clip of ammo to take one down.

Imps were a bit smaller, but smarter and tougher. Like Gargoyles they could fly. But they also used magic and sometimes used weapons.

Next were officially called Greater Imps or Lesser Balrogs. These stood 8 feet tall and could immolate. They could wear armor but almost never did. They could immolate. Some used weapons. Thus far, according to all sources, they couldn’t be harmed. (Not true.) Bullets hit them, but appeared to do nothing. They were sometimes accompanied by hellhounds.

Finally there were Greater Balrogs. They stood 12-15 feet in height and could immolate. Nothing seemed to hurt them. A single Balrog could lay waste to an entire military base. They had been seen standing up to tank rounds without effect. Many used flaming whips, chains and/or swords.

There was also the Demonic Host. These were legions of demons that marched under a military hierarchy. They generally travelled in units numbering in the hundreds. They were individually nearly as tough as gargoyles or imps.

New York City had already fallen under the rule of one of the demon lords. He was known as Ashtaroth and had reportedly taken up residence in the UN building. (Lucifer is reportedly in London.) Manhattan was pretty much lost. Every bridge off the island was manned with demons.

Long Island was going to take a lot longer. But the demons seemed to enjoy this fact. They held nightly hunts as they began to scour the land for humans who didn’t surrender themselves immediately, and punished any who would lend them aid.

**************
Jonathan had taken up refuge in White Plains, NY, just off the interstate. The demons hadn’t cut utilities, so he was able to plug in and conserve fuel. He had found a warehouse not in use and converted it into a temporary base. From there he was able to drop the 5th wheel RV that he was using for his workshop and lab. Truth was that he was supposed to be giving a seminar at the University of NY when the demons had arrived.

Diane had been visiting as a guest of honor at a Comicon. Jon had also planned to attend as a guest himself. Jon and Diane had been penpals for a very long time. One thing they had shared was a love of writing. He had opted for science fiction, mostly backed with very hardcore science. Diane wrote fantasy. Her books were far more successful. To a degree he was a little jealous. But then he had a real career in science as well.

They had also come to NYC to meet up with some friends who were celebrating an 8 year reunion. Years ago those four friends had suffered unimaginable tragedy and loss. They had barely survived. They had gone their separate ways vowing to have a reunion after they had finished college, begun careers, and such.

When things had suddenly gone south Jon had decided to start breaking a few laws regarding the transportation of weapons. The tough part of getting into NYC had been crossing the Hudson River. The I-287 bridge had been guarded by an army of demons, including a Greater Balrog. Jon did the impossible. When he was done there were demon bodies everyone. Some, including the Balrog, were missing heads. The Balrog’s head was all over the interstate in pieces. Evidence for how he did this abounded. There were the remains of a liquid nitrogen tanker that had apparently used as a bomb.

In the end, Jon had taken the Balrog’s sword and whip, plus its right hand. He had also taken its armor. Though, how he had managed to remove the armor from a creature that massed about a ton was a really good question.

********

In the past few days Jon had capitalized on his success. He had recovered Diane, his friends having their reunion, as well as picked up some other humans who hadn’t surrendered to the rule of the demons. He had killed a number of other demons, but his augmented ammunition wasn’t going to last forever unless he went on the offensive or found another source. One man wasn’t going to win this war, not even close.

Sunsmiter RaiAthar

 

[RaiAthar]

This was it, Saff's last stand. He was In the middle of the intersection surrounded by burning automobiles that he had set fire to himself in an effort to draw the attention of hellspawn. More than a dozen corpses of the recently reanimated dead lay before him with their heads smashed in. His breath was heavy; clothing and baseball bat were stained and smeared in the blackish-red ichor. Some of the blood was his own, most of it from the torn calluses on the palms of his hand from wildly swinging his bat, and he was wearing gloves. First his family, then the kids at the youth center ... it was too much to bare. Rather than wallow in self-pity, Saff took to action. When his mind was made up there was really no stopping him. He was now a man with nothing to protect, and that was a man with nothing to loose because his life was already over. He was going to fight until his dying breath. What other choice did he have?

CRACK. Saff swung his bat across the face of a reanimated corpse, tearing it's jaw away from one side. Another crack from his bat sent the lesser hellspawn tumbling down to it's hands and knees. He brought the baseball bat over his head, ready to finish the job. The small creature that was once human looked up at him; he recognized the face. The bat slipped from his fingers, rattled on the ground as it rolled away. Saff fell to his knees and tightly hugged the creature that was once someone he loved despite it clawing at his back and the futile effort to bite into his neck. "It's okay ... Everything is going to be okay ... I forgive you. I just hope you can forgive me." After he said those words, Saff took hold of the creature's head with both hands and snapped it's neck. With care, he laid the body down, kissed it on the forehead. Then he walked over to his bat and picked it back up.

More undead were approaching. There appeared to be a gargoyle among them. Saff wouldn't last much longer; the bat wouldn't last much longer but this was the only thing he knew how to do; the only thing he was ever really good at. Another zombie shambled into the rim of his fighting measure. He side-stepped it and kicked its legs out from underneath it. The bat came down several times on its forehead. On the the fourth strike, the bat snapped into two pieces. Saff turned around and steaked the handle into the open mouth of another walking corpse that was approaching from behind. He quickly drew out his bowie knife and cut into the neck of the steaked creature, then back-leg front kicked it in the sternum to pull away the blade, followed by another another front kick on the pommel of the handle, consequently driving the pointy end out the back of its head. From the corner of his eye, he could see a gargoyle swooping in from the right. He ducked its claws while slashing diagonally upwards at its wing. The blade shattered under the gargoyles skin. The winged beast swung around and was coming in for a second pass. Saff knew he was dead, yet he still stared at the fast approaching creature defiantly while in a fighting stance, ready to go hand-to-hand with a creature he had no chance of defeating.

 

[Sunsmiter]

“Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Ozymandias found her grand announcement to be hilariously funny, chuckling quietly even though there was nothing extremely funny about her sniping a gargoyle from her position on top of a roof while reciting part of the poem of her name, and the part about the metaphor for the ephemeral nature of political power and irony of such achievements, no less. "Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away." she muttered the remaining fragments of the poem under her breath, deciding not to mention the rest of the poem cause, well, it wouldn't be very uplifting of her to do so. But then again, therein lies the irony of the poetry, and it would be a shame to let it rot in silence, no?

Her aim was, to be blunt, perfectly average before the apocalypse came and suddenly such skills came in almost as handy as the way she could point at a so-called Demon Lord and go: "Hey! I know him from X and X poem/book/studies/that one theology class I took in grade 11 cause I was bored!". On the bright side, she probably distracted it if she couldn't headshot it, right? Well, on the less than bright side, it was probably noticing her position on top of the roof when she decided that apparently facing off a mob on zombies that appeared while she was attempting to raid museum #14 wasn't the brightest of plans and skedaddled away to....face off another mob of zombies.

Holy hell, she's been to over a dozen museums on her sudden road trip running from demons and undead that wanted to take a nom out of a particularly squishy archaeologist, occasionally "borrowing" a relic or two(or five once, in her defense they were small and cool and she could fit them into her vehicle), sometimes maybe purposefully squishing a gargoyle with a medieval catapult(perfectly preserved, no less! And c'mon, it was one time). Unfortunately, Ozymandias didn't believe, despite her name's claims of grand power and despair, she could replicate the miracle which let her survive intact the last time. Also, she did not have a catapult with her right now. Defending a museum with multiple ancient medieval weaponry is all fine and good(god, she's been watching Home Alone with her brat nephews too much lately-) but she valued her life much more, thank you very much. As sad as it was having to leave historical elements behind, it would be even sadder if she died too.

 

[Mitheral]

Jon had watched the scene develop with a detached amusement bordering on annoyance. His first guess was that the guy vandalizing the cars was suicidal. Or maybe he was a nihilist. Was that a club the guy was carrying? Then Jon decided to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was setting a trap.

Jon scanned around for signs of intelligence and was a little surprised when he found a little.

“So smart they are dumb,” he murmured.

“What?” Diane asked.

Jon described the sniper position relative to the fires being set. “Sniper positions on top of buildings is poor tactics when the demon patrols all fly. But I guess she was more concerned about the undead. Get Kevin and the others. At least those two have guts. Not sure about sanity. I need one of them to join me sniping. You and the other three to pull rescue duty. Please.”

Soon Jon spotted Diane taking off on her motorcycle. She was followed shortly by a pickup. Behind him he heard Kaylee whispering and gave a mental groan. But he wasn’t going to chastise Xavier for not following instructions. Kaylee just wasn’t combat material.

Instead Jon looked back at Xavier who was taking up position with a 30-06. Xavier didn’t say a word. Jon nodded and amended his plan. “Kaylee you are watching out,” he handed her binoculars. Any demons attack our position, mow ‘em down. Slow is fast; fast is slow. Aim. If you have to choose which of us to save, the priority is you, then Xavier, then me.” He nodded at Xavier.

“What he said. You could already have Xavier junior in there.” Xavier smiled.

Kaylee piped up. “I KNOW. He was trying soooo hard.”

Xavier looked embarrassed as Jon choked up with suppressed laughter. Then Jon got serious. “Okay, focus. Looks like trouble is about to start.”

Jon focused on the gargoyle. It was more a coincidence that the sound from his rifle would reach Saff at the same time as Ozzy’s weapon.

The gargoyle’s head shook violently to one side as a neat hole appeared on each side of it. “In one ear and out the other,” he muttered. Behind him he heard Kaylee whimper a little. “Sorry, maybe not the best thing to say. It bothers me too.”

Kaylee’s frown vanished. “Two more inbound and an imp I think. The imp is holding back and using the buildings for cover.”

******

Diane was arriving right about the time the gargoyle went down. She yelled at Saff. “It’s not going to be alone. At least two more on the way. Hop on!”

Jon saw Diane doing her part and switched his attention to the woman on the roof. How to get her attention? The best idea he came up with was to shoot near her. Waste of ammunition, but he hoped it would instill a feeling of vulnerability enough to get her to seek cover.

“Xavier, those demons do not get to the girl.”

 

[RaiAthar]

Saff did not so much as flinch when he heard the sound of rifle fire from his left and right sides. His focus was fixed on the gargoyle plummeting towards him at lethal speed, yet he did not attempt to evade it. At this point, he honestly didn't know whether or not his actions were fueled by bravado or suicidal intent. As for the winged creature, its body struck the ground, rolling several times before coming to a dead stop at his feet. The collision with the asphalt had broken off one of its horns. He seized the opportunity to scoop up the fractured bone in both hands and mounted the dead gargoyle, or as it turned out, a dying gargoyle. There was a good chance that this gargoyle was at death's door and no longer posed a threat, but that didn't stop Saff from repeatedly stabbing it in the chest, and he didn't stop until its beady, evil eyes rolled back into its fractured skull. He got up, stepped away from the gargoyle's corpse and tossed the horn aside, roaring at the top of his lungs, so loud that it made his own ears ring. Then he looked up at the smoke filled sky, hoping for a sign; a miracle; anything. The sounds of sirens and a fast approaching motorbike did not wake Saff up out of his silent reverie. It was her voice that roused him.

Haggardly, Saff turned to face his would-be rescuer. He was coming off his post-combat 'high'; his breathing was still ragged. "Okay," he said quite dejectedly. The original plan had been to not leave this intersection in one piece or with a heart beat, but something about her voice made him reconsider -there was familiarity in it. Carefully, he sidled onto the back of the motorcycle and wrapped both arms around the lady's waist, leaning his chest in against her back, consequently smearing blood -undead, demon and his own- over her blue denim shirt. "Sorry...about the blood."

 

[Sunsmiter]

"Cheers." Layla wasn't really paying attention, lightly poking the gargoyle's corpse as if she was trying to conduct an autopsy. "And what exactly is going on here?"

 

[Mitheral]

Jon watched as the female sniper moved to leave the rooftop with a sense of relief. And couldn’t have moved at a more urgent time. But his relief was soon crushed as he saw her appear on the pavement headed for where Diane was picking the guy with the club up.

“Don’t walk out in the open,” he muttered.

“I have the one on the right, Xavier called.

“Left,” Jon grumbled. “Wonder if I can time it to drop it on her.”

“Be nice,” Kaylee chided him.

A pair of shots rang out.

Diane wasn’t hanging around. She saw Ozzy’s question and spotted the cavalry coming - Kevin and Chase in the pickup. She didn’t even respond though. Instead she twirled a finger in the air and roar out of the area.

Kevin swerved around just behind Diane after she shot by and came to a sudden halt. Chase looked out and yelled, “Get in!” As if to emphasize her point a gargoyle slammed into the ground. Another shot hit, punching a hole through its head. Whoever these people were, they knew how to take demons down efficiently and effectively.

The imp was a bit more intelligent. It swerved away and put a building behind it. This was a development that needed to be reported. The creature was torn between following and getting more information or just heading back. In the end the imp opted for survival and left the humans alone.

******

By the time the rescue team got back, the sniper group was waiting in his pickup. Jon pulled into a lead position and they drove off. After making several turns to make sure they weren’t being tailed on the ground, they arrived in a block of warehouses. Several had For Lease signs. As they pulled around to the backside of one building, a commercial door at the top of a ramp opened up. The convoy sped into the warehouse and came to a halt. Behind them the door closed.

The warehouse was empty save for a 5th wheel RV. Jon backed his pickup to the RV to hook it up in case they needed to depart quickly. Then he stepped out to join the others.

“Well, I just realized I screwed up. We should have been using different vehicles than our travel vehicles. Hindsight. Let’s hope this goes unnoticed. But we need to alter our modus operandi in the future. Let’s start with introductions. Call me Jon.” Diane was removing her helmet. “That’s Diane. Two with me are Xavier and Kaylee. The other two are Kevin and Chase.”

 

[Sunsmiter]

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Layla Ozymandias Zakaria, that's...someone. If you're asking about my credentials I can confidently tell you I qualify as a history professor. If you're asking about my experiences with demons I can confidently tell you I can recite their impacts upon human history and the development of theology." On the bright side she wouldn't say no to working with others. On the less than bright side her deadpan seriousness wasn't doing social efforts any favor.

 

[RaiAthar]

Prior to living in the shadow of his old man, Saff had a large a list of of past employers. His field of expertise was in the incredibly glamorous realm of general labor. For one reason or another these jobs never lasted more than three years, typically one to two years before moving on to some other low skill endeavor. He never pursued a post secondary education; had been 'apprenticing' as a machinist for nearly two years now with his father -it was nice. The impression he got from the people that rescued him was that they were the cream of the crop, the best-of-the-best-of-the-best with honors type, and they were all younger than him too. He had never even fired a gun. Hell, he was just a regular law-abiding civilian; no criminal record, either. Sure, he was confident he could take on anyone in a street fight, but all that training didn't do him much good in the face of demons and the undead. The pain, blood and sweat in the gym and in the ring, the tears that he never let anyone see...it all seemed like a waste at this point in his life because it was, wasn't it?

When the crew arrived at the wharehouse, Saff got off Diane's bike then walked over to the nearest corner that wasn't out of eyeshot. There he slumped down to the ground with his legs outstretched and back against the wall, staring at a light fixture with a bulb that was flickering every few seconds.

"Peace by unto you..." These word were often followed by: and the mercy and blessing of God. Evidently, Saff no longer believed that he or anyone had the mercy and blessings of God. "...I'm Saff." His eyes were still on the flickering light.

 

[Mitheral]

“... ve Allah'ın rahmeti ve bereketi,” Jon responded to Saff. Seeing no real signs of comprehension, he translated. “...and the mercy and blessing of Allah. I lived in Ankara for a little while. Diane and I were military brats.” He hesitated. He was clearly in charge as far as the rest of his group was concerned, but he seemed to be waiting for them to pitch in and offer some thoughts. But they didn’t. Not yet anyways.

“Okay … Layla, Saff, you may have noticed how fast those demons went down. That’s because we found a way to convert ammo into armor piercing ammo. Not the best way, but it works. You do NOT want to try it with any sort of full automatic weapon. Single fire only. But I have spare weapons. I have a reloader and a small machine shop. Stay or go is up to you. But if you are going to fight the invasion, you need to be armed.

“Second, you should know a little about the undead and demons. Gargoyles are summoned up to multiples of three. Also … they can fly. Sniping from a rooftop against being that patrol from the air is a good way to get trapped on a rooftop. Use cover, maybe a balcony, or bushes on a raised elevation, or a tree with heavy leaves - or backup.

“By my estimate the undead started rising somewhere around last November. Diane thinks it started on Halloween. Before that … pretty much nothing. This is early June. Nearly five months until next Halloween. For now the demons don’t seem interested in attacking the infrastructure - like utilities.

“Danger spots. Morgues and cemeteries, most churches are failing. Many have been abandoned as they were the early targets of the undead. But there are still quite a few left.

“Skeletons and Zombies are unintelligent. They are the dead that have been raised by an evil priest or necromancer. They have to be controlled or given specific instructions - such as killing anything that approaches a building. Ghouls are more like the Walkers of The Walking Dead, but faster and stronger.”

Diane stopped Jon. “That is enough. Lecture break.” The others nodded, barely suppressing smiles.

Jon grumbled, bit nodded. “Fine, fine. Bad habit. I don’t like wasting time.” He shook his head and turned toward his RV. “I’ll be working on some more ammo.”

Diane frowned but turned to Saff and Layla. “You two okay? Jon … “ she sighed.

Chase spoke up. “Don’t apologize for him. He’s right.”

Kevin looked at Chase. “Chase…”

 

[RaiAthar]

Saff had understood the words that Jon had spoken in Arabic -that much and several other common words and phrases he was familiar with. "I can still stand, so I can still fight," he responded to Diane asking if he and Layla were okay. "Though I'm not sure how useful I'll be to your crew... I don't know much about firearms, but I heard somewhere that shotguns are overall more versatile and easier to pick up for beginners." His intuition told him that, Layla, the history professor was in the same 'boat' as him. Naturally, the professor's name piqued Saff's interest. His large, curious eyes fell upon Layla's deadpan serious countenance, "Ozymandias... That's Greek for Ramesses the second... So what do you believe caused the decline of the ancient Egyptian empire?" Saff was just trying to make small-talk, wanting to get his mind off the recent past.

 

[Sunsmiter]

Layla did understand Arabic, although she simply wasn't the most social of persons. "I'll live. I am hardly suited for combat. However...." the professor offered a small smile at the mention. "Yes. Ramesses II, also known as the pharaoh that was mentioned in the Bible as not letting the Jews go. Disney didn't butcher it that badly. Only minorly. From my perspective, it was rather an entire bundle of problems, both economic, political, and social. For one thing, there was a centuries-long drought, economic difficulties, foreign invaders from multiple occupations, as well as political unrest. It was the age of decline, starting with the loss of military power given the lack of access to natural resources. Political conflicts led to the fragmentation of the Egyptian state which led to foreign invaders, and the shifting role of the Pharaohs led to a vacuum that would divide Egypt due to the assassination of Rameses III. The economic disparity additionally began showing its cracks, and since religious leaders controlled 30% of Egypt's land, the distribution was hardly fair. The last two are more in tune with nature, such as the loss of Egyptian climate stability. The Nile, which had been a cornerstone of Egypt, was known for being...fickle. Cold and dry weather devastated the realm due to its low water. To be fair, the low water in the Nile had been always a sign of ruin and I don't mean that by turning into blood. Which is, of course, scientifically impossible, but oh well. And as for my favorite....it would be the hunger and famine due to the Nile. Like many times, poor climate had led to ruin."

 

[RaiAthar]

An affiliative smile formed across Saff's lips at the mention of the river Nile turning into blood because he also believed it to be scientifically impossible and historically inaccurate.

“Sister, I couldn't agree with you more... but you're missing one really important point -the Law of Requital. I'll explain what it means... So, the Law of Requital states that every action of man has consequences and the doer will have to bear them whether he likes them or not. But far more important than the external effect of the action is its effect on the personality of the doer. All actions, however, do not necessarily modify personality. An action which has been performed inadvertently or carelessly has little influence on man's self. But an action performed deliberately for a set purpose or with a high degree of ego-involvement, changes personality for better or for worse. It strengthens or weakens the moral fiber. It furthers or hinders his progress toward self-fulfillment. This distinction between human actions is made by the Quran and is of great importance to the moral life of man. The Law of Requital is specially relevant to the changes in personality which result from the voluntary actions of man. It means that consequences of such actions are inevitably incorporated in the personality of man, adding to or detracting from its power. Man is free to choose for himself the course he likes. Once this discretion has been exercised, his freedom ends. The results are related to the course adopted. He is not free to make one choice and bring about results of another. His every action bears a definite result in accordance with the immutable laws of God.

“Maybe you're wondering why I'm talking about the personality... Well, as a Muslim -and I'm not your average five times a day praying Muslim- I believe the Law of Requital does not only apply to the personality; it also applies to the rise and fall of nations. If ancient Egypt had adopted the straight and balanced path, it could have been prepared to meet and overcome all these difficulties that ultimately led to its downfall. A perfect example of what occurs when the Immutable Laws of Allah are followed is the rise of the Arab world fourteen-hundred years ago and its inevitable collapse after these Absolute Values were no longer adhered to. This is the Law of Requital which works inexorably in the entire universe, including the world of man... Not proselytizing or anything." He lowered his gaze to the ground, feeling slightly embarrassed. "It's just, talking about this helps me to reaffirm my own faith in this apparently God-forsaken world.”

 

[Mitheral]

Diane shook her head ever so slightly. “So the short answer is drought. The rest was either caused by or encouraged by the drought. I’ve studied Egypt, but mainly for its mythology and magic. I write a bit of fantasy and like to do my research. I never really got around to getting too deep in Egyptology though. Hermetic Greek, on the other hand, I am somewhat knowledgeable about. But I doubt that either will do us much good. We are dealing with Catholicism.”

“Don’t underestimate knowledge, nor underestimate its lack. Have you ever seen those bumper stickers that read: “My kid beat up your honor roll student?”” The woman, a stranger to the group, spoke with a soft Persian accent. She stood near Saff even though no one had seen her enter the warehouse. “This is an interesting group Dr Moran has assembled. What I find equally interesting is that half of this group is trying to fight their natural strengths.

“We have Dr Zakaria here, a professor of Egyptology, who was playing Call of Duty. We have Saff, a young man whose faith may be shaken. He has suffered great losses, I suspect, and was willing to face his own demise. I think he should apply his own theology to his recent actions. I mean, is violence wrong? And is it still wrong when it is used against evil?

“We have Diane, Kevin, Chase, Xavier and Kaylee, who would all follow Jon - whose name isn’t really Jon - with faith in his ability to fight any foe. It is a sadly misplaced faith and he knows it. This is his greatest fear.

“But I am remiss. I have yet to introduce myself. I am Shae Nashwa Marwan. I offer my assistance. For Jon’s sake, my skills overlap those of Layla and Diane. I am a silent partner in a few fine restaurants and a nightclub in Boston not far from MIT.”

 

[Sunsmiter]

"My greetings." Zakaria offered a "bow". "That is...quite a bit to ponder. And as for Diane... Ah, Christian theology, for when you just need to start a three-way flame war in your classroom because apparently Jesus said "hate thy neighbour" and love everyone except the gays, the Protestants, the Muslims, the heretics, and literally everyone except yourself. Students are so intelligent," Once more, her sarcastic deadpan made its reaction know.

 

[RaiAthar]

"No, 'violence' or the use of force is not wrong when used against 'evil' or wrongdoers; in fact, it should be used against them if they don't desist in their destructive behavior, otherwise there would be oppression and tumult in the land...which basically sums up the state of the world before Hell literally took over." Saff's gaze did not lift from the floor in front of him as he spoke. The lady, Shae was correct, he had indeed suffered great losses: his family; his friends; and the children at the youth center. "I need to wash up." Saff was covered in blood after-all. "Can anyone tell me where the bathroom is?" His teeth were clenched tightly behind his lips.

 

[Mitheral]

Diane chose to ignore the Christianity persecution drivel. She had heard it so many times that she was finally bored with it. Pots and kettles.

“Hang on Saff. Utilities are on. But this warehouse didn’t come with supplies. No towels. Jon’s RV has a shower though. Problem is, your clothes are a mess too.”

Shae finally moved. “Go ahead and take your shower. Just set your clothes outside. I can clean them up while you get cleaned up.”

Jon had been listening. Layla’s mention of anti Christianity flaming had been pretty annoying. He detested intolerance. But he stayed out of it. Saff’s quasi religious psycho babble also annoyed him. There was some truth to it. But he preferred to deal with hard facts. Demons were invading. They were killing. So he was going to kill and drive them out. Action reaction.

Jon spoke up. “The water supply is limited. And we have nowhere to get rid of waste. If hot water is working there is a small restroom / shower just after you enter the front section. Xavier or Kevin can probably get the heat working. I wasn’t planning to stay here long.”

He held up a set of white towels. “And while you said you weren’t the 5 times a day prayer sort, don’t let us stop you. Mecca is that way,” he pointed. “Diane and I were military brats. I have grown up around a lot of different religions and philosophies.”

(OOC: Shae will return Saff’s clothes in brand new condition when he is ready for them. No explanation offered.)