Fallen Nation: Party At The World's End by James Curcio Page B

her shoulder.
    She smiled, but didn’t turn
towards him.
    “ What’s going on in there?” he asked.
    “ This is the point of no return,” she said
cryptically.
    “ For the band?”
    She shook her head, her
bangs dancing across her forehead. “No. There are many paths we can
take. Some bring us closer to ourselves. Some farther away. It’s
rare that one of us stumbles on a path like this one. I can be
completely what I am. I was at that crossroad, when I met you. Now
we’ve taken that step, and there’s no turning back.”
    He nibbled her ear. “Thank
God.”
    “ Boys! Jesus.” She rubbed the back of his head affectionately.
“Oh, this isn’t going to make any sense to you yet. We could have
been like everyone else, but we would have never been able to
become who we really are.”
    “ You’re right,” he said. “I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”
    She finally turned towards
him with a devilish smirk. “Just the way I like it.” She grabbed
the back of his head and kissed him unexpectedly.
    “ Are you kissing my man?” Ariadne stood in front of them with
her arms crossed, but couldn’t maintain the facade when they turned
to her with expressions of mock shock.
    “ Yeah. Wanna fight?” Lilith asked.
    In reply, Ariadne took a
swing. Lilith caught it, and pulled her in for a kiss. Green tea
splashed all over Dionysus’ lap.
    “ Want to finish this for me?” Lilith asked, handing him the
mug. “I need to teach this girl how to fight. That was a terrible left
hook.”
    Dionysus got up to
follow.
     
    “ Private lessons this time, sorry.”
     
     

Chapter Six
     
    It was business-as-usual
inside the studios of the Conservative News Network. In the minutes before they went on air, Melissa
Allbright, their star talking-head of the hour, strutted around
backstage yelling at her personal assistant (the coffee was cold,
and too bitter), popping pills (Prozac 25 mg, Ultram 50mg, Adderall
10 mg, Xanax 1mg, Calcium 500mg), and throwing pencils at the audio
tech (menopause was a bitch).
    Despite all the medication,
it wasn’t until the camera-man reached the silent two...one...of
the countdown that Melissa smiled for the first time that
day.
    “ Good morning. We have a special show for you today. The
members of the controversial rock group Babylon have agreed to join
us live via satellite. They have been blamed with a rash of
domestic terror incidents. I’m going to get some straight answers
out of them about this disturbing new trend. Lilith, Dionysus,
Jesus, and Cody. Welcome to the show.” Melissa’s worn, makeup-caked
face took up the screen. She seemed composed of equal parts botox
and conservative indignation.
    The feed showed the faces
of the group seated inside the Behemoth. Jesus was putting on
lipstick in her reflection on the camera, smearing it around a bit
for effect.
    “ Happy to oblige,” Lilith said, smiling sweetly.
    “ I understand that you are entertainers. Shock rockers like
Marilyn Manson have been scaring money out of audiences for years.
But what you do is different. Don’t you feel any responsibility for
the safety and security of your country?”
    Dionysus jumped in. “I
don’t understand what you’re getting at when you say ‘safety and
security.’”
    “ Look. We are a country at war, and for you to spread your
message of anarchy and sexual perversion – there are real stakes,
here. We need to stand united in defense of freedom.”
    “ I think freedom is doing just fine without our support,”
Dionysus said.
    “ I’m sure many of the viewers today would tell you to get out
of our country, then.”
    Dionysus nodded. “Well, I’m
a musician, not a politician. It’s not my place to create public
policy. But I am still entitled to an opinion, right?”
    Melissa turned to camera 2.
“The Concerned Christian Parents League has charged you with
converting children to Paganism. They’ve accused you of sexual
deviancy with minors. These accusations have