Page 109 - Hunter - The Vigil

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C CHAPTER THREE: HUNTER ORGANIZATIONS
ing! Doesn’t that mean anything to anyone? But a few people
The Enemy
care. They showed you terrible things. And they use your tal-
Beings of magic and fear exist because they are the iniq-
ents to research the signs, so they can destroy them. Some-
uitous servitors of evil. There have always been demons and
times they let you tag along.
magicians — Jesus banished countless demons; Peter faced off
You’re like Saul on the road to Damascus. It happened
against Simon Magus — but now there seem to be more than
one night: a flash of light, the rush of wings, and God’s
ever before.
tremendous voice booming in your ears. You don’t know
No, they must be stopped. The members of the Long
where the tire iron came from, but you beat something —
Night can certainly show mercy: the whole creed comes, after
no, somethings — down. Next thing you know, you walked
all, from the love of a merciful God. A group of Militia might,
into a late-night chapel where all the candles were lit.
for example, kidnap a magician and keep him tied and gagged
The congregation gazed upon you, dripping rain, dripping
in a room, where they preach to him and try to bring him to
blood, and they didn’t freak out. They welcomed you,
repent. If he doesn’t, they’ll burn all his books. If that isn’t
arms wide open.
enough, they may regretfully have to cut out his tongue. And
if that isn’t good enough, they’ll just have to shoot him. Judg- Doctrines
ment comes one way or another. The Long Night really encompasses several smaller
They’re not fools, though. They’re aware that any idiot groups, all of whom have in common the acceleration of
can say he’s turned away from his sins. A warlock says he’s Armageddon.
given it all up and the Long Night lets him go with rejoicing. The Hopeless simply believe they are damned to hell.
Of course, he returns to his conspiracy anew and carries on All have secret sins they can no longer hide: addictions or
with the Devil’s work. But they’re watching, and the moment affairs, or peccadilloes that for someone not from such a
they see him sin again, that’s the end of it. The Long Night strict background would be thought not worthy of guilt or
expects no second chances; it offers none. self-examination. Some bear the taint of the supernatural,
Less human creatures expect no mercy at all. Werewolves perhaps having been used or abused by inhuman forces.
sold their souls to get their skins. Vampires are the damned; And one or two might even have within them the blood
if they weren’t, they wouldn’t be vampires. Demons: they’re of Satan himself. They’re not sure they can ever be saved,
from Hell. They’ve all got to be destroyed. Only if they cease but others can.
to be, only if they’re sent screaming back down to the Devil’s The Faithful believe they are doing God’s work, that God
lap, will the Tribulation end and the Revelation begin. is behind all they do. They are foot soldiers in the first war of

Armageddon. They’re part of the prophecies. The monsters
Hunters
are prolonging the horror while the Long Night aims to cut it
Maybe it was when your son was born, but you sudden-
short, and all are tools of God’s perfect will. He has ordained
ly started looking at the world and thinking that perhaps
that they fi ght.
there were some things to love in it, and that you would do
The Merciful cling to the idea that God is love. They
anything to protect that love. You said as much at church.
preach a doctrine of mercy and redemption, looking for ways
And then the assistant pastor took you aside and had a
to rehabilitate monsters and witches and reclaim the human-
quiet word with you.
ity of monsters who once walked by day. Theirs is the for-
You know you’re mired in sin. You drink, and you don’t
giving Christ, not the sword-bearing Messiah. They devote
want to. You lie, sometimes, too. On top of it all, you’re gay —
themselves to prayer for the lost, and adopt more practical
but the people at church accept you knowing that they’re all
methods, too. They’re the ones who’ll try to return a vampire
marked with iniquity. But God’s given you the chance to make
to humanity by giving her a blood transfusion, or save a were-
it all better. You can cleanse the corruption from your soul by
wolf by feeding him wolfsbane or destroying the creature who
putting the boot on the neck of the monsters and making
bit him. Rumor has it that a small handful of the Merciful
them thank God for the mercy you’re about to deliver. You do
were once vampires, werewolves and witches; cleansed of the
that, and everybody gets a free ride to the Apocalypse. And
taint of evil, they stand together against the darkness.
there’s nothing wrong with that.
Your husband died on the church soup run. Some- Status
thing attacked him, and the police wouldn’t tell you what It’s difficult to get status within the Long Night: most of

the wounds were from when you went to identify the body, their hunters don’t have any idea how many of them there are,
and they wouldn’t do anything about it. No one was caught, and some wouldn’t believe you if you told them there were mem-
and you began to mention it to people. And then someone bers of the Tribulation Militia in Australia or England. Still, the
showed you the proof: photos, accounts, and — the clincher web sites and the word-of-mouth recruitment have created a
— Scriptures that proved the monsters were already there. very loose kind of network. It’s possible, through knowing how
What can you do? to destroy monsters and recruiting more people to the cause, to
You can see all the signs, falling into place. You tell peo- get a sort of reputation among the Long Night.
ple, showing them the notebook you keep with all the signs • You know the idea of the Long Night, and some of
• You know the idea of the Long Night, and some of
and references and cross-references and cuttings, and no one the logic of the theological discourse. You’ve got some
the logic of the theological discourse. You’ve got some
seems to be as interested as they should be. The world is end-
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