[ferretchucker]

Opening credits roll. Nighttime. Fade to a shot of a crumbling statue. Somebody wearing a torn black cloak is bustling around. Cut to a close up. He has short, messy dark hair and tanned skin. His face is cut slightly and very gaunt. This is Roshiq.The man is positioning a limp body against the base of the statue, making it looks as though it is sitting up. He smiles nervously, as though both horrified and pleased with his work.

Roshiq: Th-there we are. You just died from the sun light, didn't you, Geddy? Died and...

He regards the body, whose skin is dry and cracked.

Roshiq: And you've weathered a bit.

The sound of a twig breaking startles him. He spins around, and over a small ridge spots the slow moving outline of a large dog against the moonlight. The dog stops, realizing it's been spotted and growls.

Roshiq: But. I dealt with you.

His voice becomes harsher as he speaks through gritted teeth.

Roshiq: I got you.

The dog creeps slightly closer keeping low. Roshiq turns his body fully to face the dog. He sniffs the air gently and smiles.

Roshiq: I did get you. Didn't I. Well...come on little doggy.

The dog is only around 20 yards away now.

Roshiq: (Shouting) I said COME ON!

The dog sprints forward, barking loudly as it does so. It bares it's sharp teeth and Roshiq crouches low. The dog leaps into the air, springing off the ground towards him, but Roshiq acts fast. He spins, brining his foot hard into the side of the dog's face. It falls with a quick whine and before it can regain itself Roshiq leaps onto the dog's back, proceeding to hammer his fist into the back of the creature's head. The dog lets out a loud wince on the final, hardest punch, sending it's bloody head hard onto the base of concrete surrounding the statue. Roshiq looks down at the creature and quickly puts his head to it's chest.

Roshiq: Still breathing.

He steps off it and stands perfectly still, then sniffs the air.

Roshiq: Come on, come on, come on...here we go!

Suddenly, the dog's skin gains an ominous white glow. The aura grows. The same thing is happening to Roshiq. He takes a deep breath as his light grows brighter and the dog's dims. At the same time, the dog's skin seems to dry and crack painfully. The light reaches a huge intensity then without warning fades. Roshiq opens his eyes and looks down at the dead dog.

Roshiq: Oh...oh no. OH GOD! What have I done?

He slumps to the ground and begins to weep. Cut to a small dark room with no windows. A desk made of both scrap metal and wood sits in the middle and some tatty office chairs are on either side. V sits on one side as Flayed steps through the crude door. The only light comes from a single bulb dangling from a wire running through the room.

Flayed: About time, too.

V: Well, we couldn't just talk in the hall.

He leans closer and laughs slightly.

V: I know the kind of things you do out there in the wastes, and the last thing I need is the people here frightened.

Flayed: Yeh, still. Did you have to leave me stranded out there for three hours? Nobody would talk to me!

V: Can you blame them?

He has a touch of anger in his voice.

V: A lot of people here still remember you. The way you left. Three years worth of scavenged goods and you ran off with it to god knows where! Who's you give it to? I bet you sold it to the rivermen, didn't you?!

Flayed: Oh...oh I did much better than that. But first...what the hell are you doing here?

V: I was here when you lef-

Flayed: No...here. In this room. How did you become Topdog?

V: Ah! Well...not long after you left a few others followed suit. Took goods and made a run for it. Most of their bodies turned up a few days later but with the goods still gone. It wasn't long before Neverending had a revolt on his hands. Rather than be forced out of his position he honorably agreed to step down. You can still find him most night in the Stalagmite bar; which Friday13thfan took over after that bitch Nella left.

Flayed: So much has changed...

V: Yes...well, it wouldn't seem so sudden if you had just stayed put. We have a nice life here.

Flayed: Whatever, I got bored of this place pretty quick.

V: Bringing me onto my next point. Where on Earth did you get to?

Flayed: Oh, oh god you don't know how good of a pun you set me up for with that last sentence, dude.

V: Just get on with it.

Flayed: Alright, alright...the crap I stole from here was worth a lot to everybody else aswell. People were dying to get their hand on it, but I never got a good enough deal. But then one of the rivermen-

V: HA! Knew it!

Flayed: One of the rivermen told me he could get me up there.

He points up to the ceiling.

V: What?

Flayed: Up there! In the sky. In space! One of those space stations.

V's mouth drops open.

Flayed: One of the rockets was all primed to launch there back one Red Button Day but never left. Radio communications were lost at the base and so nobody was sent to evacuate there. I gave him half my stuff to take me to the base, and the other half was for the keys which he'd cut to get him in.

V: But...but...what? You flew a rocket into space?!

Flayed: Everything was set. Literally, everything. The base worked off Nuclear power so it was all still running. The guy pressed a few buttons and off I went.

V: And he stayed? What was he called?

Flayed: What? Yeh. Said he didn't fancy it. Roshiq, I think he called himself. But anyway, it's true. It's all true. The people up there, the technology they have it all. I drifted in space for a few days when I was picked up by some folk with slanty eyes. Never seen anything like it before in my life! Anyway, I was eventually sent to a space station where they all spoke english. They had computers, they had proper bars with proper alcohol. Everything was clean and comfortable.

V: I...I don't believe this. They're all dead up there! We've tried to send messages.

Flayed: Ah...yes. I found some people and spoke to them in the control room. Nobody believed I was from Earth. Nobody except Captain Dante. Anyway, he told me that they get all the messages but that they never reply. If people on the station believed there was life still on Earth, they'd want to go back. It would waste resources setting up links. People from Earth would want to come to the station and contaminate it.

V is visibly angered.

V: What?!

Somebody bursts into the room. A young man, with worry on his face. The distant sounds of screams echo through the underground halls.

Man: They're attacking sir!

Ending credits roll.