Chapter 12

Sebastian

It’s been about 3 hours since Donovan and I wandered back into the offices. I sat at the desk across from him with my head laid on my arms. He had one foot resting on top of his desk with the other stationed on the floor, all while having newspapers in one hand to read and a very strong black coffee in the other. It was obvious by the look on his face that he was beyond frustrated, and the coffee showed how late he planned on staying up to solve this vague riddle Malcolm Middleton gave us.

“What the fuck are we getting ourselves into…?” He said while throwing the paper down on the table, then placing his hand over his face. “Why is everything going to shit the more we try and solve problems out here?”

“I can’t say for sure honestly.”

“Yes you can. You’ve been through this longer than I have, right?”

Possible bait but he wasn’t wrong, but for as long as I’ve been in this I still don’t have the clearest answer as to how these people came into our city. But I do know a few things here and there, so I’ll humor him, just to put his mind as ease. “I’ve met these beings before. Not all of them of course, but a few that happened to be a little up on the ladder in terms of status. They’re pretty scary Don.”

“I can believe that.”

“You got any clues on where to find this guy at?”

“Not at all. It’s like every time they pops up, they magically disappears right before the police show up.”

“If this person is a byproduct of what Mr. Plague made, then he’s definitely gonna be hard to track down.”

“You think he might know a way to get to this psycho?”

Now that was a response I didn’t see coming. The fact that he even suggested to see him was alarming. I can assume deep down that he didn’t want to see him anytime soon, but his determination to catch the deranged burglar out ways his fears right now. “I can assume so,” I said. “Are you trying to go back to the cabin?”

“No, not really, but if talking to him is the only way to get a leg up on where to look next, then it’s best to give him an ear rather than sit around being confused and frustrated.”

I have to hand it to him, jumping into potential danger without a second thought, is really bold and admirable. I’ve done enough of that myself, and didn’t get too far. “I think he’ll call you before you get a chance to call him.”

“Hey Sebastian, who actually did you come in contact with when it comes to these…people?” he asked.

“Well…” Who knew answering this question would be more daunting than it seemed. “…The ones that stood out from the rest were a man named ‘The Interrogator’ and ‘The terminator’. Obviously the latter I mentioned at the bar before.”

“He’s some kind of hit-man something right? Murder-for-hire?”

“Yeah, in a sense. He can do a lot more than just kill, but apparently he’s pricy.”

“So whoever hires him must have a good amount of money behind them.”

“Not entirely. He’s only bought through favors or immediate exchange right then and there if you ever were to hire him.”

“What about this Interrogator  guy? What’s his angle?”

“He’s probably the most dangerous guy I’ve ever met.” That wasn’t a lie either. I’ve only met him once but even in that small time frame of me conversing with him, I could tell he was someone not to be messed with. “I would highly advise against casually talking to him if I were you. He has a certain tactic of getting into your head. Extracting information or confessions is his specialty.”

Don’s face changed from a confident demeanor to a concerned look. “Geez…am I going to meet all of these nightmare induced people…?”

“Yeah, some of them…maybe sooner than you think.”

He looks down towards the floor full of dread and placed his half drunken coffee back on the table. “Wasn’t an answer I would hope to hear…but I understand.”

It really does hurt me to see someone else hurt. I’d prefer to be the one on the other end of the knife if I had the opportunity, but in this case, I have little to no power to save Don. Well shit, I am the one to put him through all of this. “Don’t dwell on it too much.” I said. “We’re gonna find a way to end all of this monotony. We ca-.” Before I could even finish my sentence I noticed Donovan’s head twitch to the side. He put one hand against his left ear out of discomfort and shivered.

“Gah! What the hell?” He shrieked. “Where’s this ringing noise coming from? Do you hear this shit?!”

I didn’t. This means he is most likely getting called by Mr. Plague himself. It couldn’t be the best and worst timing. “Ah crap, looks like you’re about to get your request faster than you think.”

“Wait…is HE contacting me? Like how you said before? Is this how he does it?”

“Yeah, just stay calm and-.” Again, I couldn’t finish my sentence. Don’s body started to slowly disintegrate into the air.

“What the fu-!”

“It’s okay, just stay calm. This happens every time he brings you to wherever he is. Whatever you do, just don’t mention that you talked to Malcolm or me in terms of getting out of this situation.” As I talked, Don looked at me with eyes that showed nothing but assured fear and worry. I didn’t know how to comfort him, no, anybody when it comes to these kinds of things. I myself didn’t even get any slight reassurance when I first fell into this trap.

A couple seconds passed by and Donovan dispersed into nothingness. It’s only right to have a huge amount of concern in this certain situation. I just wished I had some kind of power to help him. I picked up a couple of papers I have yet to look over and began to continue the investigation. “Don, please be careful. Everything is just beginning for us.” It’s a good thing no one was around to see what happened. That would be a slew of question I would need to answer.