Scene: Hen Tie General. Chief Midori is walking through an isolated ward, to a door heavily guarded by the FBI.]
[He's just received the call that their 'John Doe' is awake, though he not responding to questioning. Chief Midori promised his son he wouldn't interfere with the C'est La Vie gang, but there is nothing to stop him from talking with the only living witness.]
Chief Midori: [to an FBI agent] Is he still awake?
Agent: Affirmative. Though the attack has rendered him either unable or unwilling to talk.
Chief Midori: Give me a few minutes alone with him.
Agent: We've tried interrogating him. He won't say a word.
Chief Midori: Let me try. I've been doing this job a lot longer than you have.
[The FBI moves aside and opens the door for Chief Midori.]
[John Doe is heavily wrapped in bandages, but he is alert and staring at Chief Midori in abject horror.]
[Chief Midori pulls up a chair.]
Chief Midori: Hello. My name is Charles Midori. I'm the chief of police here. How are you feeling?
[John Doe just stares at him like Chief Midori is a cobra getting ready to strike]
Chief Midori: I understand you've been through quite an ordeal. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?
[John Doe nods his head]
Chief Midori: Yes you mind? Or yes, I can ask you some questions?
[John Doe just stares at him]
Chief Midori: Fair enough. But even if you're not ready to talk, perhaps you can help me. I was the one who found you at the campsite. I saw a teenage boy fleeing the scene. I immediately pegged him as a person of interest, but this boy is a close friend of my son's, who assures me his friend was probably just being a Good Samaritan. Was this the case? Was the boy I saw fleeing the scene just trying to help?
[John Doe nods]
Chief Midori: Good…Wait…You aren't lying are you? …Out of fear?... He can't hurt you, you know. I don't expect you to testify so you don't have to lie to protect yourself.
John Doe: [in a creaky voice] I'm not lying. That boy saved my life.
Chief Midori: Good. Thank you. My son will be glad to hear that. Can you tell me what happened?
[John Doe shakes his head]
Chief Midori: Don't worry. Whatever you tell me, I am prepared to believe it. There are strange things that happen in this town...Things that don't happen anywhere else on earth. But that's why you're here? Isn't it? You were running away from your troubles, and someone assured that if you came here, you could disappear without a trace.
[John Doe gives Chief Midori a perplexed look]
Chief Midori: Is that not what happened?
John Doe: You're not even close… [then his eyes widen in comprehension and he looks down] But my wife…my sweet Emily…
[For a minute the room is quiet]
Chief Midori: Tell me about Emily.
[John Doe remains silent for another minute, and then sighs]
John Doe: [winces] Oh, what does it matter? He's going to kill me no matter what I say. Running won't do any good. Fighting it won't do any good. I might as well get my story out before he silences me for forever… Even though you won't believe me, no matter what you say.
Chief Midori: I'll believe you, alright. Who is HE?
John Doe: The man in the cloak.
[Chief Midori waits for him to elaborate]
Chief Midori: Does he have a name?
John Doe: He's the Devil.
Chief Midori: He told you he's the devil?
John Doe: No, I figured that out on my own. He said he was a god, but if he has a name, he wouldn't tell it to us. He said it wasn't important. But then again, I wasn't the one he was interested in.
Chief Midori: Emily?
John Doe: [nods] She had late stage cancer. I took her to the best doctors and they tried everything. Eventually they gave up and told us to focus on making her remaining days as comfortable as possible. But she wanted to live long enough to see our youngest son graduate from college.
[Chief Midori nods solemnly]
John Doe: Then a huge man in a black cloak appeared and overnight, just like that, Emily got better. She could rise from her wheelchair and walk without assistance. But the man in the cloak assured us it was only temporary. Unless we made a deal with him, Emily would go into complete relapse within a week and die shortly afterwards.
[Chief Midori waits, but John Doe is silent again]
Chief Midori: What was the deal he offered?
John Doe: He promised he would rid Emily of her cancer completely, if we agree to travel to Hen Tie, Washington and set up camp within sight of a derelict mansion.
Chief Midori: That's it? He just wanted you to come to Hen Tie to set up a tent?
John Doe: [averts his eyes] No… that wasn't it…he also showed us four pictures…four young men…college-aged, younger than our sons. He didn't tell us their names and he wouldn't let us keep the pictures. But he had us memorize their faces… He told us they were evil demons… If he was to keep his end of the bargain, we were to kill them on sight. If we had the chance. Which he assured us wasn't likely.
Chief Midori: Do you know who these boys are?
John Doe: I told you I did not. But he assured us they were evil creatures who were only posing as human beings to walk among us, and the deal would be nullified if they didn't reveal their true natures to us soon as we attacked.
Chief Midori: And that made the deal acceptable to you?
John Doe: I didn't care, to be honest. I was desperate. Emily is the love of my life. I would have done far worse to bring her to full health…though it appears she didn't feel the same for me.
Chief Midori: Oh? What happened?
John Doe: We came to the campsite, just as instructed. The man in the cloak appeared. He said our time was short. The "Guardians", whoever they were, were already on their way. He ask Emily if she was ready to pledge herself to him. To take an oath of obedience. To rid herself of the cancer to become his seventh…if..if she was ready to offer up her husband as a blood sacrifice to celebrate the occasion.
[He looks at Chief Midori]
John Doe: I did not know of this part of the deal, obviously. But it was pretty clear that she did… How cold she looked when he spoke of it. …she…she was the love of my life and she didn't even hesitate for a second… All those months I cared for her. Feeding her, bathing her…I quit my job and took a lower-paying one, just so she could have her dream of retiring to Florida. And yet she seemed so eager to trade my life for hers… All those years we were married… She must have been so unhappy...
[He looks at Chief Midori who is waiting patiently for him to continue.]
John Doe: As soon as she swore the oath, she turned into…this…thing. It looked like a huge bear, covered in black fur, but it had legs like a lion, and a long tail that came to a sharp point, like it was tipped with metal…She turned into this creature and then she attacked me. Not just her…There…there was more than one of them. They surrounded me and tore at me with their teeth…I blacked out, and the next thing I remember there was a young man crouching over me. My wounds were closing and he told me I was going to be ok…I could hear girls' voices telling him to run. He kept looking over his shoulder, then he ran away, right before I blacked out again.
Chief Midori: Can you describe the man in the cloak?
John Doe: No. He wore a hood, and it hid most of his face. I have a terrible memory for faces, anyway, but his I might have remembered if I saw it.
Chief Midori: What about the four young men? If I brought in an artist do you think you could recreate their likenesses?
John Doe: [shakes his head] No. I told you. I have a terrible memory for faces. I think that's why he chose Emily instead of me to be his seventh.
Chief Midori: Do you know what that means? His seventh?
John Doe: He said he needed seven children. Seven being a lucky number. Once he had seven, he could exact his revenge…These seven creatures tore at me with their fangs, he encouraged them to fed well. I was to be their last meal before the Great Hunt. He wanted them ravenous with hunger when they encountered the first of these demonic youngsters.
Chief Midori: Did he say what he wanted revenge for?
John Doe: All he said he it was an ancient grudge and long overdue.
Chief Midori: And you are certain you can't tell me anything about what these four young men looked like?
John Doe: I could try, but it would do more harm than good. For some reason I seem to always remember what I think people should look like, rather than what they actually look like. I can never even get hair or eye colors right. Until I run into them again. When you leave here, I will remember you looking completely different.
Chief Midori: But you'll know them if you see them?
John Doe: Certainly.
Chief Midori: [hands him a card] And you'll call me if you do?
John Doe: If I'm still alive. I think it would be unlikely.
[A short time later, Chief Midori gets in his squad car and drive away while a large man in a cloak watches from the shadows]
[This went better than the man in the cloak could have hoped.]
[It was a gamble, letting this last one talk, but it paid off well. He could hear the policeman's thoughts. He was congratulating himself on a successful interrogation. How smart he thought he was, succeeding where the FBI had failed.]
[He hadn't learned enough. Hadn't guessed enough. He knew the danger was real, but he didn't know how immediate. He foolishly planned to wait and do nothing until the return of Metalia's firstborn. By then it would be too late. This policemen didn't know enough to interfere with the cloaked figure's plans. Just enough to berate and second-guess himself when those plans came to fruition]
[The father's agony should be exquisite when the first of the young men he would fail to save would turn out to be his own son.]