Siren's Pull

[Chuck, to put it delicately- he looks like shit. Warmed-over horse manure. Pale, sweating, shaking, lips chapped, breathing a little labored- he's obviously extremely sick. Despite this, he isn't in a hospital, but his own home. And despite this, he rubs his hands together, licks his lips, and manages to look a little lively.]

Okay, so- [Hold on, coughing.] I've been thinking.

[He backs off a little, revealing something shocking: he's in the wheelchair he was in for three months, that he hasn't touched in almost eight. It's a hover-chair, as some might remember- hovering two feet off the ground. There's an IV drip attached to it, hooked to Chuck's arm.]

I mean... we're all pretty much sick now. People are dying. It's awful. But you know, I think one of the worst things about plagues - [ha ha another horrible, hacking, rough coughing fit!] - fuck, is- the emotional aspect of it, you know? The isolation.

Millions of people died in Europe, but I bet almost none of them wanted to talk about it. Why... why would they. Everyone was suffering the same. Nobody wanted to just whine. But that doesn't mean that all the things bothering us just go away. We don't just lose our albatrosses because we got sick.

They say stress can affect your body. Being stressed or alone can make you die younger.

[You see, Chuck knows what the plague is. Thanks to an extremely helpful angel, he knows how to cure it. He knows He can cure it. It's not like He even has a choice about this- it's more like a calling. An obligation. There has to be a reason He went from healthy to throwing up and passing out within six hours, right? Clearly, Chuck has some shit He feels guilty about. And if there was ever a time to let loose some of that walled-up Power... it'd be now.

After all, they say only God can forgive.]

Maybe it's not the way to go. Maybe one way to help get through this is to not wall ourselves off like that- you know?

I mean, whatever happens... there aren't any new experiences or. or original thoughts. Whatever's tormenting you, there's someone out here who gets it.

There's always someone who can understand.