Chapter 23 Cal

Mystery. 2

The idea or concern something is afoot.

Have you ever had the feeling of anxiousness caused by a need to know more. There are so many things in this world that brings up the strangest questions. But there are also many answers for these individual questions. For a question to hold a single answer is terrifying in of itself.

One of the greatest fear any man, woman, or child can have is the fear of not knowing. If we do not know we are certainly at the dark mercy of ignorance.

In this knowing one thing can lead us to believe some other force is at play. When you thought you knew how to play chess a new player suddenly introduces a whole new piece. Now it is apparent what you knew as truth could have easily been setup to be a lie.

I ran or rather fast walked towards Mr. Mime. Although he's moving slowly he's getting further away. I constantly bump into people on the street. There's suppose to be some tourist here. I heard about it last week from Yona. I don't know. But now i can barely see him. He's gone before i know it. What a disappointment. Though maybe I should drop this whole thing. The spirits and weirdness of the town's history really does seem quite silly. But not only am I curious but I'm invested in this mystery that is Seyuta. Why? Well for one I am being haunted by a strange wraith. I don't know why I'm being haunted but I am. Recently I haven't seen the entity but it doesn't mean it won't come back.

I pull out my phone and call Luca. Luca's a cop now. Well...a detective I guess. His elder brother is the chief of police and the shaman of the Seyuta. That's what I'm assuming anyway considering how he came in to deal with that thing that attacked my brothers and I about a month back. I don't know if that was a spirit or not though...seemed...solid.

As distant as Luca's been recently I've actually spoken to him a good bit for the past few weeks. We are something akin to really good friends now.

The phone rings for a bit until Luca finally picks up.

"Yeah wassup Porter?" He has this chill about him that is smooth. "I know we got that thing later on today. You don't have to remind me." By thing he means my little interview I set up with him at the local bar later on today.

"This is about something else." I start. "I need to know about a home for the elderly in Seyuta."

"Why would you need to know something like that?" He stickered "Planning on early retirement? Then again retirement means you'd have actually worked which we both know you haven't in Seyuta."

"Har har. Real funny." I turn a corner and cut across the street back towards the residential area. Im gonna have to borrow Ryan's car. "Look this isn't some kind joke. Can you or can't you tell me?"

"I mean i can and probably will but I still am curious as to why Seyuta's little ghost hunter is interested in a home for elders." His words were as chilled as always. Sarcasm in every word or is the cynicism. More the ladder than the former.

"I think i can help out with that cold case you guys at the station have." Its a partial lie. I do think it's ghost related but I doubt i has anything to do with old people. Though Luca must've been drinking something on the other end of the line because it sounded like he spit out something when those words left my mouth followed by his coughing.

"What the hell?! Do you mean the one about the missing kids?" He asked but in a hushed whisper.

"Yeah that one."

"Dude how'd you even know about that?" He started, "Oh never mind that. Dude your brother was just assigned that case. He's out now investigating. The chief gave it to him to blindside him but other than that maybe you should talk to Drake about it." That's actually quite interesting that Drake and I are on the same kind of trail. If that's the case and knowing Drake's track record for closing cases, cold or otherwise, I maybe on the right track here. Who da man? I am duh.

"If Drake finds out I'm looking into this he'll freak and that'll be game over. C'mon do a brother a favor here." After about a minute of careful consideration

"Okay fine. But I'm coming too."

"Seriously man c'mon I don't need a babysitter." I complain.

"Yes you do. This is a police matter. I wanna get away from this desk." Luca states. Luca gives me an address to go to. I'm assuming it's the elderly home.

"Dude I Don't have a vehicle." I inform him.

"Ill pick you up. Where are you?"

"Heading towards the park."

"I'll be there in a few." he hangs up. I decide to take my time getting back to the park and instead think about what I'm going to do when I began the investigation with my new partner "Luca". Maybe I can tell him the truth about my thoughts on this so I'm not alone in the dark. Hmm...the Dark. That story now drifts about in my ocean of thoughts. I've never heard any about that kind of story in mythology before. Maybe Greek but not Native American. Actually It seemed quite Asian with its use of involving elements.

"Sitting on the bench I wait for Luca to pick me up. My thoughts still wonder on the Dark and the Black Moon. Why does this seem to correlate with an event I feel I've encountered. A spirit and yet not a spirit. A entity that exist solely for the purpose of chaos. According to Cherokee lore that could be most things from the Under World. Speaking of Cherokee Under World I just want to point out it is absolutely nothing like the Greek Underworld.

In Greece the Underworld is mostly governed. Cherokee Under World. Nope. All that shiz is just loose. Me saying this has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I promise. No. Don't question me. Just keep reading.

Luca picks me up a few minutes later. Its not really that big of a town. Plus he has a car. Lack of traffic makes this a perfect city to jaywalk.

"Hop in kid." Luca gives his signature childish grin.

"Sorry I don't talk to strangers ." I walk away.

"Hey! Come back!"

Now in Luca's car.

We mostly discussed how things were going for our small group. I mentioned here and there about the current state of my family after our encounter with that thing on "Fright Night". He just laughed. There's not much Luca won't laugh at. Then again the day after "Fright Night" I TP'd Luca's house and planted a menthols soda bomb on his front porch. He was totally soaked. But he was a good sport about it. He retaliated. With the same trick no less. Though it wasn't me who fell for the trick it was my poor adventurous brother Ryan. Yeah....I'm not telling that story to fruition. Screw off.

"So what do you think about the missing children and their connection to the home for the elderly?" I ask Luca.

"That's what I was gonna ask you." He doesn't look away from the road. "Didn't you say something about it having a connection yourself? What are your thoughts?"

Well if I'm telling the truth here there is a bit of a connection between elderly people from a home 10 years back and those missing children. This bit of info I got from Ya'no before we ended up not speaking to one another. Thing is no one ever talks about that home. The connection was that the children tended to go to that home to hear old stories from the elders there. But the night of the day they went missing they had not gone to that home even though it was routine for them to do it every day. How many stories did they have I wonder. Must've been wild to have a bunch of toddlers coming back for more.

"Those children use to regularly go to the home-" I'm cut off as I see we are leaving Old Seyuta's City limits. "Where the hell are you taking me Luca?'

He looks at me confused. "We're going to that home. It's in New Seyuta not Old Seyuta. I thought you knew that."

"Why would children commune from one city to another just hear a bunch of stories?" I ask confused myself.

"Because" he begins his answer "ten years ago Old Seyuta didn't have any schools for kids so they have to commune about twenty minutes to the school in New Seyuta.

I want to explode with how I lacked information as public as that. This is how I know I'm wound up tight. I'm also not getting enough sleep so maybe that has something to do with my heavy lack of easy information on the town. Next time if I want to know something I'll ask people to love teaching it at the local schools. Surprisingly enough the library was burned down due to some crazed civil dispute before we moved to this town. And the town records burned with it. Though I believe the Mar has a copy of the town's records. Though I'm sure no one is allowed anywhere near those and copies with definitely be made.

Upon the arrival of New Seyuta I could easily see why business had been booming here. The colossal hospitals of Shade Inc. and the many apparel shops of Red-X makes this large city rich with money competition. Shade Inc. is a multi billion dollar company whose focus lie in all kinds of fields of business but mainly stays on the medical side recently. Red-X is much the same and according to history Red-X has been up and running since the French revolution. Both Companies are similar and yet different. While the CEO of Shade Inc., Dark Shadow, has been pretty public as a party meister, most handsome man in the world, and supplying 3rd world countries with plenty of need based utilities Red-X's CEO has remained Anonymous since it's creation and to this day no one knows the identity of the head. Though there are rumors that not only do Red-X have an assassination unit like the Aluminate but that the first CEO of Red-X is alive to this day and still running the company.

Information like this is vast and murderous for it can ruin one's imagination or fuel it. The mystery of this is that if all of this use to be part of Seyuta and apart of a three part state where is the 3rd city? Was it destroyed? Again how did this all fit in Oklahoma? Whatever it is it seems I may need to discover the mystery of both Old and New Seyuta. More than likely the cities are connected in this strange legend about shamans and spirits and whatnot. Hopefully I can get 2 in 1. I didn't expect to come here but while I'm here I plan on milking this for all its worth.

We arrive at the home for the elderly. Though its not what I expected it to be. Its abandoned.

"We're here." Luca pulls into the old parking lot. We both get out and look at the place for what it is. It's run down. Old. Definitely looks haunted. Though its also big. Three stories big. Like Why?

"This looks like a place you'd see in a horror film." I say dryly.

"Well if it makes you feel any better this place was gonna be used as a set to a horror film but the director got creeped out and left." Luca demonstrates his lack of common sense.

"Why the hell would that make me feel any better Luca?" I turn towards him.

"Well you've been searching for clues on ghost and whatnot so I figured hey he might like the Super Creepy Scary Horror Building." He looks proud.

"Why do you guys call it the Super Creepy Scary Horror Building?" I asked. Again dryly.

"Because that's what Ya'no screamed when she came out of it five years ago. It just stuck."

"Why didn't you tell me this place was closed down? When did it get closed down?" I ask as Luca smoothly draws his flashlight and gun. "Why are you pulling out you gun?"

"Because this place scares the hell outta me." he walks towards the entrance.

"Then why not call for backup when we were in Old Seyuta or something?" I follow him.

"Because your my backup?" He sees the irritated look on my face. "Okay fine. My brother wouldn't let me in on this case. Drake and Carter already got assigned the cold case and I'd just have to relay to them the whereabouts of this hunch of yours."

"Being honest Drake could've probably solve this in his sleep. Why is it that officers never investigated here? Why was this place torn down to begin with?"

"Well the night the kids went missing a mass heart attack killed a lot of the residents here, including the doctors and nurses. Oh by the way this home also served as a private urgent care center for the elderly as well."

What? Huh? How does everyone have a heart attack? I'm not a doctor but that sounds like bull. I mean maybe a chemical could cause the arteries around the heart to seize up but I'm not gonna think on it too much. I'm not a doctor. Then again. Isn't this how mom and dad died?

"Afterwards the city council decided to tear it down. I don't know why. I'll ask Aiden later about it. Anyways." He gestures to the inside of the building. Its dark as hell in there. "Ready when you are."

I muster up the courage and follow him inside.

My lack of sleep caused me to miss out on crucial information here and there. All I can say now is I'm lucky it worked out in the end. Telling Luca about some of this ghost stuff helps a little but I still haven't told him how deep I'm looking into it. And honestly that seems like it can wait until after I deal with whatever is waiting for me on the other side of this open door.

And into the abyss I enter with my trusted friend Luca.

The Mystery draw's me deeper. I need more information so I can determine which answers are true and which ones are lies. The best answer is the only true answer after all. Hopefully I can find out which is which. God I don't wanna go in here.