Chapter 6: Finding the End

I must have stayed in my room for two weeks, or was it only one? Looking back, it could be what it's like to lose your mind, and who knows, maybe I did. All the food was ordered in, and all I did was research. Every possible lead on every possible corner, I kept looking. I needed to know what those creatures were, and if they were going to come after me. I didn't sleep well, if at all. Not even a gun to calm myself with, the only protection being a signed baseball bat I got as a present on my twelfth birthday. That I got from my Father. The windows were always shut, the door always locked, phone disconnected, and I didn't check the mail. I thought that maybe if no one knew I was there, they couldn't find me. It was childish, but it was also all I had.

My research got little results. No one seemed to know what I was talking about, or I was referred to someone who asked something similar, only to find out they had been missing for some time. Which had begun to happen a lot. People who had been discussing, arguing, boasting... just suddenly stopped. This, of course, would happen occasionally; it was something you got used to. The idea of death. But it was speeding up. In that one week, nineteen people "disappeared". Assuming that at least half were unrelated, that was still about nine people dead. Paranoia had begun to sneak in. The sad part was I was so engrossed with one threat, I forgot about another.

I started looking for a way to my Father. I didn't know why, except I had the feeling that if I ever wanted answers, I'd have to go to him. The Holder of the End is most often talked about and dissected. There is no way to win. A common joke was that it was actually the Holder of The End, not the End. The instructions themselves predict death. Then how did my Father do it? And why face death to get an Object that no one has information about? The idiocy of this bothered me constantly. My Father figured out how to get the most coveted Object of them all, and then became its Holder. Why? The message written on the deck of cards then faded back into my head. Another question. At that time, I could swear my life was nothing but endless questions and no answers. Then there was the knock at my door.

I must have thought I was dreaming, because I actually got up to answer it. But I froze before I got there. The creatures wouldn't knock... would they? In my mental state, I had to consider the question. There was another knock. I waited for a sign. The lights would flicker, black liquid would run down the walls, and all that would be left of me would be bloodstains. There was another knock. It knew I was home. I looked for the bat. Even then, I was aware of the absurdity of my actions and thoughts, but I had learned to live and survive in a world like that, so I prepared for the worst. The last knock came as I peeked through the peephole. All there was outside, was a man in a suit with a briefcase. I dropped the bat as I laughed. Only for a second. I unlocked the door. I would never have answered it, but I let it go. I was so relieved, that no matter what he could be selling I would have bought it. I only realized what I had done after I opened the door. Only after I saw what was written on the man's briefcase.

"Keeping Us Better"

And then the man smiled.

-S