(Of a) Dying Breed

The Sexual Deviant Meets The Masked Freak

Around them, the world faded from the oversaturated hues of Limbo to the muted tones of the human Bellview Pier as the Hunter demon dissolved into Limbo. In the demon's pursuit of Dante, the pier had been utterly wrecked, boards falling into the sea as people tried to find ways around small fires and gaping holes to reach the safety of the mainland.

"Where's Dante?"

Lexi whipped around. Dante had been right behind her but had managed to slip away unseen, used to life on the run. "He was right here..."

Disappointed, Kat reached for her phone to update Vergil, but Lexi stopped her. Vergil didn't need to know that his brother had slipped through their fingers so long as they got him back.

"It's okay, we'll find him. He can't have gone too far." There was no need to worry Vergil over this yet.

Kat hesitated before she nodded and walked briskly to the car. "Let's just find him before someone else does."

Both women scanned the road as Kat slowly drove out of the parking lot. Fingers crossed, they would find him along the only road that led to and from the pier. Luck was on their side. A lone figure walked away from the pier, head down, hands in his pockets, doing his best to make himself invisible as he trudged away from the destruction. Lexi climbed over the center console and into the backseat as Kat put on her hazard lights and pulled over, relief rolling off of her in waves.

Dante stopped, a mix of bone tired and irritated as he sensed their approach.

"Are you okay, Dante?"

He didn't acknowledge them with a glance, "How did you know my name?"

Lexi leaned over the center console, "Our boss knows you. He wants to meet."

He didn't budge. "Please," Kat persisted, "we helped you back there."

Dante finally turned to lean against the car, fixing both women with a glare, "I didn't ask for your help."

Just then, a police car flew by, its siren blaring as it made its way to the pier. Conflict was clear in Dante's eyes; he was weighing his options, trying to choose the lesser of two perceived evils. He made his choice when a second police car passed them, opening the passenger door and sitting stiffly in the passenger seat, his back angled against the door so he could keep an eye on both of them. Lexi was sure that if the backseat had its own doors that he would have preferred to sit there with both of them easily in sight.

Kat pulled a U-turn as Lexi let Vergil know that they had Dante and were on their way home.

"We all know about you, Dante. We're with an organization called The Order. Heard of it?"

"Something to do with that masked freak on the net?"

Lexi chuckled, "That's our boss."

"Wonderful. Can't wait." Dante hadn't shifted his attention from them as Kat drove, but he had relaxed a little more into his seat. He had to be tired, Lexi certainly was. She turned her own attention from Dante to the window, blankly staring at other cars and buildings as they flew by.

When they pulled through the chain-link gate outside of the compound, they sky was dark. Kat ducked under the garage door and scanned herself into the secret entrance.

"The demons are amongst us Dante; they are enslaving mankind. The world is asleep, brainwashed, and helpless." The brick door gave way and Kat smiled over her shoulder at a surprised Dante. "We're fighting back."

Lexi motioned for Dante to follow Kat and closed the door behind them.

She studied Dante's face, his expression indifferent as Kat spun the tale of how The Order was the last and only line of defense that stood between humans and demons. Lexi thought that Dante was handling all of the information well until he snorted, swiping dust off of a bookshelf and rubbing it between his fingers. He was mocking them. The only reason he had come with them at all was because he hadn't wanted to deal with the police when they inevitably caught up to him.