Chapter 7: Only Human

"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you."

It was as if I was some kind of animal, and the man was trying to capture me. I considered all my options. I couldn't run, couldn't hide, maybe I could overpower him. But he read my mind. He told me if he wanted me dead, I'd be dead already. He told me he just wanted to chat, but not here. He told me to follow him to his car, and started for the elevator. I was dumbstruck. I asked him if he thought I was stupid. He told me he knew what Objects I had, who I've been talking to, and what happened to Thomas Reel. He also mentioned that he knew my Father. I grabbed some clothes and followed him. What else could I have done?

I sat with him in the back of his limousine, he told the driver just to drive around in a circle. I asked him who he was. "My name is Louis Rockwell, and I'm the CEO of A.G. Industries." I must have reacted because he told me that he always gets the same reaction when he mentions what he works for. "The slogan should have been 'Keeping Seekers Paranoid,'" he joked. But I didn't laugh. He told me to relax, they weren't planning to do anything to me. Instead, they wanted my help. I told him I wanted questions answered first. "Fair enough."

I asked him what was worse than Holders. He told me that a lot of things were. I asked about the creatures I saw. He told me that those things were one of their main concerns at the moment. That they were trying to figure out what those creatures were, and how to stop them. "So far, we can only predict where they will strike, not when. Just the Object. But I'm sure Mr. Reel told you about that." I said nothing. I asked him what "Keeping Us Better" meant. He said that it meant exactly what it sounded like. I cursed under my breath, wondering why I could never get straight answers. He told me I'd know the truth in time, whether I wanted to or not. I asked him how he knew my Father. He told me that they had worked together for some time, before his disappearance. I asked him if this was what they wanted my help with. He nodded, completely serious now. He told me that he and my Father had found a way to "break the rules", and now they had to clean up the mess my Father made. "You mean you both made," I said. He asked me how well I knew my Father.

The car stopped. We hadn't been making a circle. We were outside a mental health hospital, the only one in town. "We can continue talking inside," he said. I asked him what the hell he meant. He laughed and told me that one of their research labs is built underneath the hospital. "If you want to find us, you just tell the person at reception that you are looking for the Seeker of Holders." I didn't move. "Just a little bit of irony... Are you coming?" I stepped out of the car and said no. He only told me that I'd be back, took a quick look at the sky, and added, "Soon." The limousine had driven off, as Rockwell walked to the front door of the building.

"Just remember who the real monsters are. Those creatures that kill off your fellow Seekers, you need to worry about them, not us. We're only human."

When I got home, the Seeker forums were down. Something that had never happened before. While looking for other information, I found some news that I shouldn't have missed. Throughout the world, there had been power outages. Some scientists explained it as some kind of electromagnetic field passing the earth. I was more interested about the locations. One was going on in the city at that very time. Near where Derrick Todd lives. I got up to grab my stuff and head over when something caught my eye. I looked at the list again. One was where and when I found Thomas Reel. Another happened when I found Clarence Betham. But the first occurred months ago. In a hospital near my old house. The day my Father...

When I got to Derrick Todd's house, there was a streak of black liquid leading up to the broken door.

I walked in.

-S