Richard was furious. Alan had lied to him. The next time he saw Alan, he knew he’d kill him. Wait. Richard stopped and analyzed that last thought. It wasn’t his. IT was roaming more freely now, pulling against ITs weakening chains and trying to assert control. Richard’s momentary lapse into anger gave IT just what IT needed to rear ITs ugly head and plant the murderous thought.

Richard was angry, true, but he didn’t want to kill his friend. Alan had been the only one to believe him. The only one who really understood what was going on in Richard’s head. To kill Alan would be to lose himself to IT. To give himself over to the pure animal rage that fueled ITs bloodlust.

No, Richard didn’t want to kill Alan, but he certainly was upset with him.

Richard cleared the office as quickly as he could. It was easy. There were three guards in the room, one watching security feeds, the other two playing cards in the back. Richard walked in the room and reached out into their minds. It was easy enough, no one’s thoughts were very guarded. He placed a thought in the back of their minds, small, like a seed.

Then he pushed on the rest of their minds, making the seeded thought grow until it became their own. Suddenly, all three needed to use the bathroom. It was the sudden, urgent need that comes after eating too many chili dogs or drinking too much during a football game. The three guards forgot themselves, given over to pure biological necessity, and fought their way out of the room.

Richard smiled and locked the door behind them. He had the office to himself. Free to search the computer for mention of Cari’s name and location. He sat down at the computer and hit the space bar a few times to wake it up. Then he started his search, the old-fashioned way. Read the rest of this story »

Roberts looked at his friend in shock. Questions about the astral plane meant he was stumbling down the bramble-ridden path of the occult. Still, coming from Alan it must be important.

“I know enough to not get involved, but since you’re the one asking, I guess we can head down that road a little bit.”

“I’ve been working on a case lately. I can’t really go into … oh forget it. I’m not supposed to go into details, but I know you won’t betray my confidence.”

The minister was suddenly uncomfortable in his chair. His friend was breaking police confidentiality rules here. It must be important. At the same time, he suddenly wished he was somewhere else. That Alan would turn to someone else for such deep advice. Still, he was here, and he cared a great deal for Alan. Uncomfortable or not, he would help him in any way he could.

“We’d been tracking a pair of killers for some time now. Their M.O. was to case another couple, befriend them, case the inside of their house, then attack in a moment of weakness and kidnap the wife, almost always setting the husband up to take the fall. They’d torture and brutally murder her somewhere nearby by far enough away to avoid suspicion. Lastly, they’d make sure they’d chosen a place rigged for demolition so the city would cover their tracks. In reality, almost the perfect crime.

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“I know you know something, I just don’t know how I know that.”

“Yeah, like that’s not confusing,” Richard replied. Alan had obviously figured things out. He’d been hinting at an interrogation for weeks now, and Richard had been doing everything possible to avoid it – which only made Alan more suspicious. Now he’d finally cornered Richard in his house and was demanding answers.

The forensics were fairly damning, and Richard was shocked at the sheer volume of information Alan had been able to put together. Over the past two hours, Alan had walked Richard through a painstakingly detailed summary of his night at the warehouse. While he had no explanation for how Richard had entered the building, everything from his encounter with John and Cari through his nauseated reawakening was strikingly accurate.

Richard was afraid Alan had figured it out and was here to arrest him. Actually, arresting him would be a relief. If he was incarcerated, maybe he’d be far enough away from the public that no one else would get hurt. Still, IT might escape eventually. Fueled with the evils housed in a typical prison, Richard didn’t want to imagine what IT might do.

No, it would be better for everyone for Richard to not go to prison.

Alan was still standing there with his crime scene photos and investigative notes, waiting for an answer. Richard closed his eyes and took a few breaths.

“OK, but you’re not going to like it.”

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