Hell's Kitchen (DISCONTINUED)

8: So It Begins

Eve (Libidine)

He's here. Oh no.

We're broken from Gabriel's trance. So He can overpower one of us. All seven? Remains to be seen. But that doesn't stop us from remaining still, all terrified to move. For He has returned to us. Cloaked in a suit of glimmering red, jet-black hair sticking up in a styled, vertical fashion. The flicker of emotion on His face as He stands, turning away from Gabriel, returning to its usual expression of cocky leadership. Abigail is the first to rebel:
"Ladies and gentlemen, Brendon Urie has entered the building."
A mutter, that's all. He hears. Raises a hand; closes His thumb and middle finger together. She tries to speak again. Nothing comes out. He rises to His full height, glares at us all. An imposing figure, His gaze tearing away our privacy. He sees all. He knows all. He speaks.
"So... hi."
Such human words for one so powerful. Confusion, rather than fear, now appears to be the shared state amongst us. Before, He talked with almost impossible elegance. Now, he seems almost normal.
"I mean, would have liked a warmer welcome. Though it's pretty warm where I came from- ok, that was awful."
Silence still. Only Stephen murmuring "Meh, not bad." He hears this, smiles. Then a moan of pain from the corner- Gabriel! I rush to him, stroking his forehead. He's not in a good way: bloody, bruised, broken. He peers at me through eyes sealed with blood. Cain did a good job 'persuading' him. Do any of us have medical skills? I look around, seeing the others all fixated on me, Lu ripped from the spotlight. But even He looks concerned once more, resisting the urge to step in. Cain deservedly lays prone on the floor. Still breathing. For now. Lu clears his throat.
"Can I...?" He asks tentatively.
Immediately, I shield him with my body. Then catch a glimpse of my hands, blood-soaked. I relent; stand. He crouches beside him, Gabriel now too weak to resist. Gently, He caresses his face; his body. The marks fade, blood clears. He can see clearly again. A moment of understanding, a shared look between the two. Then he stands, staggers over to the group. We surround him, shielding him. Lu stares at us, as if trying to read the room. Then glances down at Cain, still crumpled by the wall. He does not receive the same treatment. Closer to a snap of His fingers to wake him, followed by a swift kick as Lu strides toward us.
"Well, now we've dealt with the admin," He quips, "time to get down to business. No, that doesn't quite work, does it? Sorry, I'm terribly out of practice. Don't have much opportunity for conversation these days. Lonely, you know?"
Once again, we are speechless. Last time He seemed so eloquent. Trying to impress, I suppose. But now, He could be anyone you pass on the street. Almost as if He is trying to relate. I look around, as subtly as I can manage. We're all analysing Him in our own way: Abigail trying to look into His soul, Isaac preparing a mental powerpoint, Ben fixated on the signet ring sparkling on His hand, Stephen laughing at His one hair flicked out of place. And He knows. Somehow, He can hear our thoughts-
"No, He can't hear our thoughts." Shit- Isaac, don't jump out on us like that. "It's simply-"
"Well, actually..." Lu butts in. "Not word for word, but I've got a pretty decent idea. Go on, psychoanalyse me all you like. You won't get my intentions. All in good time. First, I will be requiring a room. Anybody mind sharing?" Behind me, I feel Gabriel shift uncomfortably. A slight intake of breath, ragged yet determined. No.
"Well, if you insist," I hear. Wait. Stephen? I turn, as do we all, even Lu, to see him pull his body upwards from the couch, stare up at us with almost meaning. "What? It's not like I need a bed. Couch'll do just fine. Or the floor. Or on the breakfast bar. Wherever, really."
Only he could make the Devil lost for words. What an incomprehensible being. Which raises the question: did he notice Gabriel too? I've no idea how obvious he was- after all, I always pick up on his mood. It's become a habit. Stephen, though... I mean, it's not impossible. But the fact he's noticed anybody shocks me. Even the fact he knows Lu is here raises my expectations of him.
The shocked silence of his words hangs for a second; uncomfortably long. Then Lu finds His voice once more, begins to command the room. "That works perfectly, thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I'll need directions. Care to walk me?'
Stephen's burst of confidence has faded through the soft power hidden in His words. "Sure." He bows sarcastically. "Any luggage, Sir? We hotel staff are happy to serve." (Well, almost.) Lu doesn't take it well. You can taste the growl in his mumble of affirmative. He's almost out the door, then there's a noise. A human noise. A groan of pain, a movement causing a muscle to twinge, a bone to creak. Cain. Finally beginning to recover from his wounds. Lu stops. Turns. Remembers.
"You know what, I'll... I'll find the way. If I could get some privacy?"
There's a moment shared between us. Who do we follow? We take the rational choice, leaving the room as quickly as possible, retreating into the safety of our rooms. I see Gabriel hesitate, looking back before pulling himself away. At the door, I get one final glance of Lu, beginning to calmly storm towards Cain's huddled form.
There's nothing we can do.

Stephen (Desidia):
Shit. To pick a word. You could also have crap, damn, piss, or f-
I mean, we knew it was happening. Phone calls never lie. But to see Him there in all his emo glory... you remember why we were so scared.
Against my better nature, I move quickly out of the room. Against their better nature, the others copy. We all freeze in the hallway for a second , wondering what we should do. No clear choice reached in that moment of silence, we spilt. Messily and without direction. Might be symbolism or whatever there, but I couldn't care less. The ones with their analysis and thinking and crap can look into it.
I decide to retreat into a corner. Not to sleep, just somewhere to be. Don't trust heading to my room if tall, dark and Urie is to be staying there (whoever that is. It's Abigail's joke, I'm just doing my impression of Ben: stealing everything, even words).
Unluckily for me, the corner I was aiming for has been taken. Apparently Gabriel couldn't make it into his room without needing a breather. And they call me lazy.
I collapse myself next to him. Hands by his sides, looking a bit out of it. I'd say stoned if any of us had been able to find  drugs in this damned city. How is it so clean? He looks to me for a second, twisting his head towards me: "Thanks."
"For what?"
"You know." He sighs. "Volunteering to give up your room. I was considering it- or expecting Him to ask. Didn't think I'd be able to resist."
"Oh, that." Honestly, that hadn't occurred to me at all. Maybe in the very back of my mind, but on the surface I was being practical. Most days, I don't even make it back to my bed. Though I'm sure Eve's carried me there a few times. "Don't mention it."
He holds the silence. "How much do you know about Lu and I?" He asks. It's gentle, but I can feel the anger.
I wait before replying. "Only what you said, that He violated you or something. "
He mutters under his breath. Something about 'knees ispas'? "Anything else?"
"No. That's all I ever heard-"
"From who?" Yep, there's the anger. Wow, it's like Cain's in the room. Creepy.
I think. "No idea. It was just something we all found out somehow. You know me, I probably heard it in a dream." He grins at that.
"Ok," he says. "It's... sorry. I'm doubting you. It's not that I don't trust you, it's... that I don't trust you."
I don't have the energy to be offended. "No, I get it. But I'll keep my ear to the ground- along with the rest of my body-"
I'm cut off by a scream. One echoing through the apartment, more horrific than any horror film we've seen on our many movie nights.

Cain.