A Brief Explanation

"Demon society, as we know it, is a cannibalistic, polluting mass. We don't know where they come from, or how many members it is made up of, but the consequences for humanity could be disastrous should enough of them come through from their home. That's why Jeremiah and the others fight to stop them."

"Jeremy," the man snapped, in a manner that suggested he had told the bird the difference multiple times before.

"Right. That's why they protect the world, to keep it as we know it. Not just on a societal level, but to keep the very foundations of what our world is like as we know them.

"Wait, are you going to kill me?" Evan blurted out after thinking just a little bit. It seemed like that's what they were leading to, however softly they were going to do it. "Because I won't let you try, not without breaking you first."

Jeremy glanced down to where Evan had balled his hands into a fist, before laughing slightly and focusing his view back on the terrain ahead of him. "You're the lowest of the low. Nothing more than a Rodent."

"Even lower," the bird chimed in, much to Evan's annoyance. "I might not be an expert, I am just a spirit after all, but I've seen enough to know, and you're the weakest thing I've ever seen."

"But no, we won't kill you," Jeremy continued. "Not if we don't have a reason to. You're… human, I suppose. On a personality level, I mean. Most Crimson I've ever heard of take over their hosts, eradicating their personalities until the bodies are no longer anything more than an empty vessel, or what's left of the bodies. Given that you haven't tried to kill us, I have no reason to kill you, and I think that I can say the same about the others. But… I'd want you to help us. We'd want you to help us. You have a curse, but that doesn't mean you can't do some good with it."

Despite their relatively kind words and rather friendly behaviour, especially from the bird, Evan still felt apprehensive around them and made sure to keep an eye on them as much as he could. It was a lot to take in, even though they had said little to him, and that definitely played a part in his mistrust of the situation. But even with that, he was unable to stop the smile from spreading over his face. But as quickly as it had came, the smile soon faded.

"Everything alright?" the bird asked, tilting its head as it asked the question.

"Well, how do you… how do you live?"

"We've got an island in the Mediterranean. Discreet, out of the way. Easy for us to exist away from prying eyes."

As the bird answered his questions, Evan saw Jeremy shoot a look at the bird. It was obvious why he was doing it. He trusted Evan about as much as Evan trusted him, and even though he was going with them Jeremy didn't want him knowing too much right away.

"That's not what I mean. How do you get money, food, things like that?" Evan asked.

"We get paid, by the government," Jeremy hesitantly answered. "There's always some guy who knows about the Demons and takes money to pay for us whenever we deal with an incursion. Whatever people do with that, I don't care to know. Any more questions?" he asked, in a tone that suggested that he didn't really want to answer, but that he would if the question was something innocent enough.

"That hammer," Evan said after a while of deliberation. "You said it was from somewhere, or built something somewhere, but it was a place that sounds like it was made up. Either way, it wasn't a place that exists."

"Think of reality like a building. A really tall building," Jeremy said after a long pause, speaking slowly as he chose each of his words carefully. "That's what the world is like. What people would call heaven is the penthouse, and hell is the basement." Once again, he paused for a short while before continuing. "I'm not the best person to ask about something like this. I don't need to know it, all I have to do is fight them."

"I wouldn't be much use to explain it either," the bird said as Evan looked at him, expecting an answer to come from that source. "My experience with reality, it's on a different level to the way that you would be able to perceive it. If I was to try and explain it as it relates to humanity, it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. There's some other people in the main group who would be able to explain it to you better, we've just got to get back to them first."

After being told that, Evan was left with the feeling that he would not find any answers to the questions that were swarming his mind from the two that were with him, and fell silent as a result. Without needing to care about listening to answers, he found his attention drifting to the surroundings.

As they walked through the trees, going deeper and deeper into the darkness that enveloped the area as the sun became blotted out, Evan began to notice a gathering of animals around them. Dark birds swarmed over the trees, their shadows blending in with the dark trunks that they stood before. Others were made of bright colours, and stood out in the area that they were in, as though they were the work of some vandal defacing an otherwise regular looking building.

He happened to glance at those who were with him as he walked, and he could see that they too had noticed the strange gathering that surrounded them. But they didn't seem too concerned about it, and given just how little he knew he decided to trust their judgement. 

More and more joined the group, until Evan found an arm blocking his path that dragged him back to the present of the situation.

"There's something here," Jeremy said, before grabbing at his collar. "I've got something on me, and I might not have a choice but to fight it. Assistance required."