I recall a time when an old companion of mine was bitten by a snake.
One of those poisonous slitherers, when it sinks its fangs into your flesh it floods your blood with venom loaded with toxins that tear a person apart from the inside out.
We responded quickly; various treatments and salves were applied to try and alleviate the symptoms; to limit the damage.
Ultimately, these interventions failed.
Our attention turned towards an antidote to the poison pulsing through the veins of my comrade. We were lucky to stumble across a man who knew how to produce such an antidote, an elixir that would combat and render the venom inert.
My comrade recovered and made a full recovery from the poison that the snake inflicted upon him. But I knew this was only a temporary solution.
As long as that snake remained out in the wild, free to slither and sink his fangs into any victim it chose, we were never really safe.
So I went in search of that viper, tracking it down to its lair and having cornered it without any means of escape, it was suggested we de-fang the snake to take away it’s threat.
I knew that wouldn’t be enough because a living snake will always find a way to kill.
I cut off that fucking snake’s head and as it’s blood spilled all over the dirt I felt relieved that no-one would ever have to suffer from its menace ever again.
I’ve seen so many “comrades” bitten by a villainous snake.
That viper has slipped his fangs into the flesh of The Slaughterhouse, squeezing it’s toxic venom into the arteries of OSW; the poison breaking apart the very fibres of this world from the inside out.
There was prompt action to try and stop the toxic flow, to assuage the symptoms afflicting the victims. But speed is no asset when a person is applying the wrong solution to a problem.
So that venom kept on poisoning.
Eventually, one did stumble upon an antidote. Alton Whitlock found the antidote to negate the Viper’s toxic influence, to push out the poison and allow for a chance to repair and recover.
Whitlock looks in place to make a full recovery, but not everyone will be as lucky as him while the Head Snake remains out there; a menace free to sink his fangs into new victims.
Antidote isn’t really the answer to stop a snake’s threat.
You have to eliminate the threat from the landscape.
So The Black Hand joins the hunt to find that viper.
I’ve picked up the scent and the tracks leading right to the snake pit.
At Revolt I will infiltrate the viper’s pit and when I have it cornered with no means of escape, I won’t just de-fang the Head Snake.
I will cut off it’s fucking head.
With Viper’s blood OSW will be cleansed and all will repair and recover.
None will ever suffer again.
For the greater good.