Part 18: First Playthrough - 3 AM

[MUSIC: Three Eves]





The house creaks, like someone is squeezing it gently, to see how much it can take before it breaks.

We look at Jupiter and we worry. She's even more far away than usual. What do we do? We're expecting her to know. But right now she looks so tired. She just snaps her hairband against her wrist.

And we know.



♀: ...can we?
♃: Sure we can. We can keep waiting. Dawn is three hours away, right?
♃: It'll be here before we know it...
♃: We don't need to know who the devil is.





♃: Come on. You're supposed to agree.
♃: It's a good idea.
♃: Make fun of me then go along with it.
♃: Please.





♆: It's obvious.
♃: I know you know.
♃: I didn't think you were dumb, I just...
♃: ...was hoping.
♀: We can feel it. It's like a moth flapping its wings but
♀: I can feel fingers on my face and my arms and everywhere.
♃: Ahaha.
♃: Gross.
♃: I'm gross.
♃: I feel so distant.
♃: When did it happen? It feels like just a few hours ago everything was fine...
♃: Ha, this always happens.
♃: I always do this, every time





♃: My hairband broke.

[SFX: A horrible sound.]

There is a horrible sound, the terrible noise of splitting and tearing wood. It's sick. The house shivers.

♆: —!
♀: —!

We can't reach her, we can't speak, not in this storm of hands.



♃: You shouldn't touch me.
♃: I wasn't born good.
♃: But I still thought I could be.
♃: You know, I actually liked when the captain talked about how heaven was on merit; as long as you do good things, maybe you can one day be good...
♃: But then they said we don't believe in that anymore and it's only what's in your heart that matters.
♃: Just when I thought I got it right, they changed it.
♃: I can try hard, but I think...
♃: God knows my heart isn't really in it.
♃: And that was my only shot, right?
♃: Mom taught me to not touch others. It's just polite, you know.
♃: And dad taught me not to let others touch me. You gotta protect yourself if you're a girl, you know.
♃: But if it's only what I feel inside that matters, what am I supposed to do?
♃: I can't stop that kind of touch.
♃: So what if I just stopped trying not to, you know?
♃: It feels so strange and weird and bad to stop but I could, I really could, I think?
♃: And how nice would that be.

The humidity is thick with hands. We feel the sweat peeling off of us, and the hands grasping.

The devil comes in heat, not like a chill in the middle of the night. The devil sticks to your skin and seeps in your pores.

The devil licks at your throat, inside, outside, follows you wherever you go.

Even the best kid has the devil inside her.

This is why we are at camp. We are learning this lesson: even the worst kids can get lucky and live while the good kid is doomed just from trying too hard.

We hold each other.

♀: If you can't, if you really can't, Jupiter, then...



♀: We don't care.
♆: You can be like that and it's fine, you know we're like that too right? We feel like that all the time?
♀: We would have just given up, if it wasn't for you.
♃: Y'all are sweet. But don't do that.
♃: I won't be happy if you do.
♃: And I won't let you.
♃: It's wrong to want such a thing, you know that, don't you? So don't do it. I still know that much.
♃: Stop looking up to me.
♀: We don't look up to you.
♆: We never did.



♆: So please—
♃: Don't try to make me feel better.
♃: I want to touch.
♃: I want to be touched.
♃: I want to hurt.
♃: I want to be hurt.
♃: And if you feel the same way, you're as bad as me.
♃: I was hoping you'd say, 'get behind me' or 'I rebuke you' like you're supposed to.
♃: Won't you let me feel like a real devil for a moment?
♆: We don't have to like it.
♀: At least give us that much.