Talia couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her friend this unhinged. "We are NOT abandoning our mission!"

"No, you're just penciling it in on your day planners between work and soccer practice," Red said, turning on her heels and walking off into the woods. "Tell Jane I went for a walk," she shouted behind her.

Talia was dumbfounded. "Where the hell did that come from?" she asked of the trees.

Red found herself in the worst part of Springfield, an area simply called the Row. She had left the slaughterhouse and just kept walking for hours. Anyone who saw the stunningly beautiful redhead walking through that area with the sun having set would say that she was just asking for trouble. They would've been right.

She had noticed that a lot of the normal paranormal traffic had died down. It had started during the war with the Dark One and its Hellspawn, and the mystical world still seemed to be uneasy. It knew something was up, even if it wasn't sure what the trouble was. Red had been tempted to go to the mine area wear the Elder God was trying to break through. But even in her current state of mind, she thought better of it.

Red wanted a fight and she wanted it bad. She knew she was probably overreacting, but she couldn't help herself. Her blood was boiling in her veins and her mouth was dry. "I need a drink," she told herself.

She found her way to a bar she knew to be seedy and to house unholy elements. Normally, she went there with a crew. She'd never been there solo.

The moment she walked in, she realized that she'd found what she was looking for. Behind the bar was a suave looking man whose face looked concerned when Red came in the door. Red noticed a group of three men in the otherwise deserted establishment sitting at a back table . . . black suits, black gloves and sunglasses indoors.

‘Hellspawn,' she thought with almost sadistic satisfaction.

"Hey, we don't want no trouble in here," the bartender said.

"Get used to disappointment," the redhead said as she closed the door behind her.

Jane had been wandering around the slaughterhouse and pacing the trail between the building and the cave. Talia had told her about Red's explosion and Jane's girlfriend still hadn't returned. On one trip back down the trail, Jane ran into Tarloh and Talia.

"Still nothing?" Talia asked.

"No," Jane whispered. Things had been going so well, except for the looming threat of an apocalypse. Like Talia, Jane hadn't seen this coming at all. She had been so proud that she'd gotten the job, as unimpressive as being a cashier was. She'd wanted to tell Red all about the interview and everything. Now, she was gripping the bright yellow smock she would be wearing and wondering where her lover had gone. “Was there anything else you said? She couldn't have "

They heard footsteps further down the trail and they all turned their heads. Stumbling up the trail was a dark figure. Talia didn't need to see the face . . . she and Tarloh both recognized the scent. And Jane just knew.

"Red?"

“What . . . what're y'all doin’ here?" came Red's voice. But her words were slurred and were tinged with the reek of tequila.

“Sweetie, Jane said, taking a step forward. Red started to topple and Jane's magical hair extended instinctively, catching her girlfriend and pulling her closer to the front of the cave where the lantern could illuminate her.

Red was bleeding from her nose and mouth and from cuts on her arm.

She was heavily bruised and her red leathers were torn. She was also stinking drunk. Her eyes were glazed over and she had a lopsided grin.

"S'okay," Red said absently. "You should . . . should see the other guy... guys."

"Oh God, what happened?" Jane asked, her voice breaking. "What .

"I was patrollin'," Red said. She started to look more agitated. "I was doin' what we're s'pposed to be . . . “ Red's eyes rolled back in her head and she was out, and the only thing that kept her from crashing to the ground was Jane.

The three of them took Red into the cave and placed her on the makeshift bed. Talia looked her friend over.