2.03 La Noche

The Titlecard.

"La Noche" is the third episode of the second season of Lincoln City, its name translates to "The Night" in Spanish.

## Episode

After only being back in Lincoln City for a month or so, Shane can be seen on holiday with his family in Villamartin, Spain near Alicante - he seems to be in a dizzy state as he moans about nowhere doing decent food in the proximity of their holiday villa, in his delirious state he says to his mum and dad in a very winey way: "I need food, I may just eat this wall or something" he says pointing at a nearby wall in jest.

His parents look at him in confusion for a moment, until he says in a serious tone: "No, no, no, no, no, I'm not joking, I really will eat this wall" he then says: "I need food, I am starving!" to no one in particular, the family soon decide on a restaraunt called Bar 23 however the waiting staff initially refuse entry to the place but soon give in, they say there is a wait on food however as people that arrive after get served, the family decide to simply leave - in the background as they leave a desolate family owned bar called Tilly's can be seen as Shane continues his moan and even targets it at the poor Bar 23 service.

The family are walking down the main street of Villamartin, Shane seems to be in a daze and his parents are worried about him, they soon stop at a local convenience store and get some snacks until they can find some decent food.

Meanwhile over at the bar called Tilly's, which is in an area that looks more building site than actual development, a man called Jason drinks away his day happily, he seems very happy to be the only patron around - he drinks and drinks until he feels like his bladder may explode and rushes to the toilet, he relieves himself but as he looks into the mirror he notices a strange red mark under some of the wallpaper, Jason becomes curious and begins to peel away the wallpaper of the poorly maintained toilet and discovers a strange red almost sigil looking symbol on the old wall, it looks like a circle with an upside down triangle in the middle of it and a cross through it.

Jason goes back to his table and starts to research the symbol on his phone, he finds out that it is a sigil known as the Celtic sigil, which is known in the hunting trade for capturing supernatural monsters however Jason thinks that what he is reading is fake and returns to the bathroom in jest and touches the red sigil however it appears to be wet which disturbs him so he removes his hand with the scent of blood now filling his nostrils - Jason looks at his hand in shock and begins to panic, he then tries to leave the toilet but he cannot as the door won't open as the bartender of Tilly's walks over to the bathroom confused as he believes Jason is drunk however Jason shouts for help continuously until silence falls in the bathroom as in the mirror, as well as Jason's reflection, a pale human with black empty eyes and a grey hooded robe can be seen standing behind Jason, the figure touches Jason's chest causing a white light to fill the bathroom, the bartender is then shocked as the door opens and a white eyed Jason is standing there, he says that he is fine in a very sinister way before grabbing the bartender and dragging him into the bathroom, neither of them re-emerge from the room however as the shutters to Tilly's slam down on their own.

Elsewhere, Shane's family have returned to the villa and have made hot dogs - Shane can be seen eating the one's he was given at a very quick rate, his parents tell him to slow down but Shane eats approvingly saying it is the best thing he has ever tasted in his life in a very calm yet exaggerative way, a few hours later - Shane's mum, dad and brother have retired to their beds for the night and Shane can be seen on his mum's laptop at the villa's dining room table, he googles random stuff just because he can before the lights flicker slightly: "Ok, power surge?" he whispers to himself however he thinks nothing of it and returns to his procastination, he is stopped in his typing by the sound of someone sitting on the couch off to his left, Shane looks at the couch and sees the demon Lamashtu (dressed in his traditional black trenchcoat however underneath he is wearing more casual clothes) watching him - "Hello Shane" Lamashtu says plainly, Shane looks unimpressed and whispers to him in a very snappy tone: "What are you doing here? I'm on holiday, in other words for some time away from the madness of hunting" his tone goes from snappy to just annoyed with Lamashtu's presence as he continues: "You can't just barge in here whenever you feel like it, what if my family saw you?" Lamashtu seems to understand what Shane is saying and nods his head - "I am sorry Shane, I did not mean to disturb you but there is something dangerous in this area, it may be a trap or perhaps a creature of great power, either way I felt I needed to warn you" Shane looks at Lamashtu suspiciously and asks him how he knew about his family's whereabouts, Lamashtu tells him that he picked up "familiar energy" but doesn't elaborate further, Shane seems part annoyed and part intrigued by all this - "So are we in danger?" he asks his former enemy turned ally, Lamashtu does not reply but instead gets up and walks to the kitchen where he grabs a glass of water from the fridge and takes a sip, he then sits back down and tells Shane that he needs to leave the villa as soon as possible, Shane becomes shocked at this and asks Lamashtu: "One way or another, this is a case?" Lamashtu simply nods his head and Shane agrees to help him out but is straight away with a dilemma - "What if my parents see that I've gone missing in the middle of the night? my mum would be beside herself" Lamashtu looks at him in confusion and says: "Well you could always tell her..." Shane is now confused and says: "Are you joking? they don't even know about this whole hunting thing" Lamashtu shakes his head and replies: "No, they do not know anything about the secrets of this world, it is better if they do not find out" to which Shane agrees, Lamashtu then uses a spell he learnt from a spirit guide called Constance whilst explaining to Shane that it will keep everyone in the villa asleep until they return however he backtracks slightly saying: "I think" as Lamashtu teleports both him and Shane to the bar called Tilly's - "This is what brought me here" Lamashtu says showing Shane the bar however Shane jests: "Ooh I know it looks a bit run down but come on..." Lamashtu interrupts: "This isn't funny Shane, everyone here is in danger including YOUR family" Shane seems confused by this and asks: "Why would anyone want to hurt my family? They haven't done anything" Lamashtu sighs and replies: "Do not ask me Shane, I am just telling you what I know, the person or people behind this could be the most powerful creatures in this world, do not underestimate them" Shane nods his head but asks Lamashtu: "Have you not been inside yet? it would explain why you don't know what it is...you seem very unprepared my demonic friend" Lamashtu says nothing as he uses his strength to open the shutters, the two then walk inside to find the place empty.

"It stinks in here" Shane laughs at his own joke, Lamashtu tells him that he knows about his sense of humour and that it is actually a sign of intelligence and not stupidity - "The smell is the smell of death, and we are standing in the heart of it" Lamashtu tells him, Shane seems very disturbed "Well that killed the mood, no pun intended" he says sarcastically whilst looking around the bar, it is dark and gloomy with only a few lights on - "Someone left in a hurry" Shane points out however Lamashtu isn't convinced that anyone ever left as he notices the bathroom door has been knocked slightly off its hinges, he peers in to find signs of a struggle but no people which confuses the demon, he asks Shane for his opinion and Shane also peers in, the struggle appears to have smashed the mirror and caused the sink to be broken as well, Shane walks in and examines the smashed mirror however (like with Jason) the door slams shut on its own causing Lamashtu to bang on the door as he and Shane are now on opposite sides of the door - "It's at times like this I'm hoping this case is just another ghost" he soon feels cold as he turns around to see the same pale human with black empty eyes and a grey hooded robe, Shane's eyes widen with fear as he bangs on the door at a rapid rate shouting at Lamashtu that there's something in the bathroom with him, Lamashtu puts his hands on his head as he tries to think fast - the only solution he finds is to use his inhuman strength to break the door down, the door falls properly off its hinges and then falls on the floor with Lamashtu looking the figure dead in the eyes as it retreats because of Lamashtu's sheer presence, Shane seems alarmed and so does Lamashtu, which is very uncharacteristic for the demon who states: "This entire town isn't safe, I don't know how many people are here but this is almost beyond us."

"What do we do?" Shane asks in a worried tone.

"I don't know" Lamashtu says.

"Maybe it was the ghost" Shane suggests.

"It's not..." Lamashtu says "It's a Soul Eater"

"A what?" Shane asks confused.

"A being loosely from the multiverse, one has moved into this bar and has made a nest meaning something is connecting its nest with this bar" Lamashtu explains "This is the first time I've seen a Soul Eater and I've been living here for hundreds of years, they're incredibly dangerous...the clues in the name I guess, they're practically immortal according to lore."

"They can't be killed?" Shane asks in a concerned tone.

"No" Lamashtu says "I honestly don't know if we can kill one, I've never heard of anyone killing one before."

"But they can be stopped?" Shane asks in a hopeful tone.

"I don't know, we'll have to wait until it comes back again and try to fight it" Lamashtu tells him, Shane seems frustrated at the lack of information however Lamashtu informs him that it will be considered a good case if they both somehow keep their souls in their bodies, this makes Shane jest: "You have a soul?" he says trying not to laugh - "Of course I do" Lamashtu replies sarcastically whilst rolling his eyes, the two begin waiting for the Soul Eater to resurface however Shane theorizes that now it's been "rumbled" it may not show however Lamashtu reminds him that Soul Eaters need souls to survive and can store souls (and sometimes even people if the being is strong enough) in their nests for years, he then points outside and comments: "I can see why it set up shop here, large town and plenty of souls however looks like this bar doesn't get much custom judging by the...interesting...design choices so it may be trapped here hence why we didn't get a good look at it when it attacked you in the bathroom" - Shane responds comically: "That probably sounded better in your head..."

Shane and Lamashtu stand in the bar as Shane tries to figure out how they're going to deal with the Soul Eater, Lamashtu states that he's not sure they can kill one but it should be possible to contain it, the demon enters the bathroom once again and finally discovers the sigil on the wall - "There you are" Lamashtu says to himself as he inspects what he sees as a complete sigil as there are no smudges or gaps in its design, he then takes a small knife from his pocket and begins to trace the outline of the sigil, the Soul Eater reappears and lunges at Lamashtu however he dodges it easily, Lamashtu attempts to draw the creature out of the bathroom however the being is very intelligent and appears to not be at full power and disappears once again.

Meanwhile, Jason and the bartender wake up in a darkened version of Tilly's bar - the pair seem very confused as to how they got here after being out for what they believe to be several hours, they feel mentally drained but are compelled to explore - they soon encounter many people in a single room, they all have black empty eyes (like the Soul Eater) - Jason seems disturbed but asks the bartender if he recognizes them and the bartender explains that they're all people who had visited Tilly's as regulars but never came back out - "The local police weren't much help as they all disappeared without a trace, I guess they all ended up here" suddenly though, the bartender is interrupted as the Soul Eater silently makes its way through the crowd of souls and touches Jason on the chest, Jason falls to the floor and begins to spasm, he awakes with pale white eyes and begins to speak with a strange deeper tone to his voice: "I can keep you safe here, like I did to everyone else, welcome to my nest" Jason then places his hand on the bartender's head and appears to take his soul, the bartender is horrified as he too gains black empty eyes and joins the Soul Eater's collection, the Soul Eater (now possessing Jason) remarks to itself: "I must be more ruthless, to keep the nest sustainable, I must find more souls..."

Back in the real world Tilly's, Lamashtu carves the sigil into a table almost without a care in the world and explains that it is a Celtic sigil trap, he also says in a very relieved way: "Finally...something familiar" as he explains Celtic sigil traps to Shane whilst tracing a small knife along the carved out sigil in the wooden table with great interest; "Celtic sigil traps are sigils that can be used to trap creatures obviously however it doesn't work on just ANYTHING and can only be used in certain situations and are most effective when linked to another trap of the same design like a game of Snap" he then theorizes that the trap was laid by a hunter that came through the area before, meaning the Soul Eater has been here for a while and will not leave until it has consumed what it deems to be enough souls however he repeats that it maybe storing them, all of a sudden the possessed Jason can be seen standing near the bar: "I can't let you trap me" the Soul Eater says through Jason, "Looks like we have a body jumper" Shane says out loud, he then jests: "Also, we're not asking for your permission" causing Lamashtu to stare daggers at Shane who clearly isn't helping his case.

The Soul Eater remains dosile though and begins to explain itself: "I can keep you safe, both of you, forever - if you don't believe me then ask the people that once visited this bar, they're in the nest now and under my protection...completeley safe" Lamashtu isn't buying the creature's story as he tries to verbally poke the creature: "Yes...safe...safe as in you will and probably have already devoured their souls" Lamashtu continues to try to reason with the creature: "Why would you even come here? according to lore, your kind usually hide away in abandoned houses not hives of activity" the Soul Eater explains that it was lured here by the scent of souls and, when it first arrived, it was starving as the previous place it inhabitated was burnt down in a freak accident causing the Soul Eater to simply wander the multiverse for many years aimlessly until it happened upon Tilly's - "So this place is like a last resort for you? an act of desperation as it were" Shane asks the creature however the Soul Eater interrupts him: "You know nothing about me, but I know everything about you and you can't even begin to understand my reasoning" Shane laughs cockily: "Well someone has otherwise they wouldn't have tried to trap you" he says referring to the sigil trap on the bathroom wall, the Soul Eater does not respond to this statement though and once again offers to take them to the nest but is once again met with refusals, "I'm not asking permission" it says launching forward and grabbing both Shane and Lamashtu by the chest, Shane falls to the floor lifeless however Lamashtu strangely remains upright, he seems surprised by this, "What can I say? It must be my lucky day" as a surprised Soul Eater looks on, it quickly uses Jason's body (like it has this whole time) to go back into the bathroom and destroy the sigil however it hesitates: "No...they aren't ready for consumption, they need to be...cooked...and also, one trap is useless" as it once again disappears.

Shane soon wakes up in the Soul Eater's nest, he looks around and comes across several rooms in the darkened, more aesthetically evil, version of Tilly's, he opens one of the doors and repeatedly finds people he knows in distress however whenever he blinks after initially seeing these disturbing events, they disappear just as quickly - he does notice a pot of blood nearby however and takes it believing that, if he gets the chance, he could draw a sigil trap in the nest thus trapping the Soul Eater for eternity, this is a mere theory at this time however as the Soul Eater (now out of Jason's body and back in it's original form) looks on from behind him, the Soul Eater goes to touch Shane on the chest (in order to possess him) however Jason emerges from the darkness and attacks the creature; this allows Shane to quickly take the pot of blood with him so he can draw the other sigil, the Soul Eater soon takes Jason's soul in a rage and chases Shane however it soon stops suddenly and holds its stomach area, it then seemingly has an idea and disappears from view as Shane runs, he soon notices a wall that he can draw the sigil on and begins to draw as, unbeknownst to Shane as he is in a zone of concentration, many lost souls gather behind him.

Back in the real world bar, Lamashtu paces around impatiently feeling powerless to do anything as he looks down at Shane's vacant body, "At least I can get some quiet" he says with a shrug, he heads to the bathroom to check on the original sigil on the wall but it has been destroyed, the Soul Eater is nowhere to be seen however and Lamashtu wonders what this means: "It's severed the connection, this one must be corrected" however as he touches it, the sigil feels wet and it soon goes out of shape due to the hot climate of the Spanish spring deeming it useless much to the annoyance of Lamashtu - "They couldn't put in air conditioning?" he says in an annoyed tone as he watches the sigil melt, he rushes out to see if the sigil he carved into the table is still there, it is however someone can be seen standing over the table and inspecting it, he looks familiar to the demon and has tanned skin and a mop of black hair along with very thick eyebrows - Lamashtu questions his motive however when he looks up she has white eyes, the sign of Soul Eater possession, the Soul Eater uses the unknown man's voice to communicate with Lamashtu: "I found this..." it says referring to it's latest vessel "It was deep in your soul, almost clawing to get out" the Soul Eater says with a chuckle however Lamashtu isn't convinced: "What?...How?" he asks with a shocked tone, the Soul Eater answers him: "It's me, the one you've been waiting for, well...I've been waiting for" it says with a grin, Lamashtu is still in shock that this form he is looking at is from his own soul - "WHAT?" he snaps at the Soul Eater who smiles smugly and continues: "I'm the one who will free you from this place" it says "And the one who will free all of you, I can keep you safe...forever!" Lamashtu lunges at the Soul Eater's new form in a mighty rage but the creature is ready and uses it's new form to fight back, a fist fight ensues between the two and soon Lamashtu is thrown into the bar, he quickly recovers and grapples with the Soul Eater and punching it several times in the face however it just laughs however Lamashtu demands an answer from the creature when he asks: "WHERE DID YOU GET THIS FORM? TRUTHFULLY!" the Soul Eater pauses, seemingly thinking, and replies: "He told me to say this: I was made for this purpose, I am the embodiment of your worst fears, I am the embodiment of your deepest desires, I am the embodiment of your life, your death, your love, your hate, your hopes, your dreams, your nightmares, your soul...I am YOUIR PAST, THE ECHOES OF YOUR TIMELINE AND THE GUY WHO YOU ROBBED OF A PROPER LIFE!" the Soul Eater laughs maniacally and then gains the upper hand in the fight.

Back in the nest, Shane has finished the sigil and is now playing a waiting game - he turns around to see all the lost souls just mindlessly staring at him: "It's awfully crowded in here" he says to himself as he turns back to the sigil, he notices it is now lit and awaiting another one to be activated, Shane says: "I hope this works, this place is...too weird" referring to the Soul Eater's nest as the Soul Eater's mind games seem to continue to torment Shane.

Lamashtu and the Soul Eater continue to grapple with each other, Lamashtu gets a hold of the Soul Eater and smashes it over the back with a wooden chair, the creature takes the blow with little trouble however it is weakened and the two fight in a stalemate, the Soul Eater has the upper hand however when it attacks Lamashtu with a kick which sends him flying into the wall, the bar begins to shake violently as the two creatures fight, Lamashtu (now bleeding thanks to a cut just near his hairline) quickly tries to head for the table with the sigil on it but the Soul Eater grabs him and throws him at the bar again, the unknown girl's white eyes look into Lamashtu's as the Soul Eater speaks menacingly: "You have minutes, I will consume your friend soon, then you will come to the nest yourself..." the Soul Eater says as it looks up at the ceiling with a sinister grin, Lamashtu looks around to see if he can find a weapon however he has nothing so in a last ditch attempt, holds his hand up and blinds the Soul Eater with a fireball - the Soul Eater screams in pain and flails around as it is blinded, Lamashtu then heads over to the table and uses his own blood from his head wound to draw the sigil on the table - just as he is finishing, the Soul Eater regains it's sight and grabs a loose piece of lead pipe from the entrance way of Tilly's and slowly advances: "He wants you to know demon...." it begins to speak "....that your past will haunt you until the day you PERISH..." it says before trying to swing the pipe however Lamashtu completes the sigil in time and it lights up making a pair of sigil's activate due to the one in the nest being activated by Shane.

In the nest, Shane watches as all the lost souls either disappear to their next life, as a ghost, or return to wherever they were before the Soul Eater took them, he too then reawakes in his body as the nest becomes abandoned - he awakes in time to see the Soul Eater and it's new form of the unknown girl, that it allegedly took from Lamashtu, fly backwards at a rapid rate before disappearing as a strange scream of pain echoes around Tilly's - "Is it dead?" Shane asks a somewhat distraught Lamashtu as the sigil on the table is wiped away by the demon, who avoids the question, "It can't come back now, the nest has been sealed off - it's practically dead..." Lamashtu says with a sigh of relief - "You avoided my question" Shane points out but Lamashtu continues to avoid the topic: "I'm not going to talk about it...I don't want to think about it..." Lamashtu says as he then continues: "It's time for you to go back to your family and enjoy your holiday" the demon says with a slight smile "I will stick around for a few more hours to check that everything has been sealed off correctly and I will be on my way...see you when you get home" the demon says with a nod as Shane soon finds himself back in the villa his family are spending their holiday in, he heads straight to bed and tries to sleep however his mind is racing with all the things that happened, he soon falls asleep though and before long, he wakes up stating that his holiday can finally begin properly as he takes a dive into the villa's swimming pool.

## Characters

* Shane
* Lamashtu