Demon Seer

by Kurtis Eckstein

  “Michael Thorpe, I presume?” One of the officers asked. He had brown hair that was graying slightly and was very intentional with his posture, having his hand resting on top of his holstered gun.

  “Yes?” Michael was suspicious of the fact they already knew his name.

  “We need you to come with us for questioning.”

  “Am I being arrested?” He wondered out loud.

  The police officer corrected him. “You are being detained for questioning, assuming you come willingly. It would not be in your best interest to turn this into an arrest by resisting, unless you want that to show up on your criminal record for the rest of your life.” Amelia appeared behind him then, catching the officer’s attention. “Amelia Thorpe, we’re bringing you in too.”

  “Why her?” Michael demanded, but before the officer could respond, Amelia did.

  “Hey, if you’re going, then I’m going too!”

  He glanced at her for a second, before realizing it would be safer for them to stay together. They were both in danger now, and even if Amelia could take care of herself, he still didn’t want her to have to fend for herself if both Miriam and Gabriel kept a watch only on him.

  Michael looked back at the officer. “Right…umm, our dad’s going to be home soon. Is someone going to be here to tell him?”

  The cop nodded. “We will be doing a thorough search of the area, and are in the process of securing a warrant to search the house.”

  Michael found himself struggling to not feel nervous. He wasn’t sure why they were here in the first place, but clearly they knew something. And if they were planning to search the property then they would inevitably find the destruction in the back woods.

  Despite the situation, all the police officers seemed calm. After all, on the surface they had way more police than necessary to pick up a couple of teenagers for questioning. However, Michael suddenly noticed a noise in the background that was getting progressively louder.

  It was a helicopter. Then, as if cued by the aircraft, two large military vehicles came speeding down the road and pulled into the driveway, stopping hard.

  Immediately, at least twenty soldiers jumped out of the back quickly going in every direction to secure the perimeter. Four of the soldiers headed straight for them, with guns up. Both Michael and Amelia immediately put their hands in the air, surprised by the sudden change in tension. Both the police officers seemed shocked too as they stood back to get out of the way.

  The first soldier to reach Michael grabbed him by the shirt and tugged him outside, followed by grabbing Amelia’s shoulder to do the same.

  “Take them in!” The leader barked at the officers, before motioning for the other three soldiers to begin quickly searching the house. The guy then began to follow, but the stunned cop addressed him.

  “Hey, we don’t have a warrant yet!”

  The soldier immediately gave him a death glare. “I said take them in, now! We have a possible 10-89, now go!”

  The cop instantly changed his behavior and grabbed Michael by the arm, speaking firmly. “Let’s go – in the car now.” The second officer did likewise to Amelia, placing his hand on her back and pushing her forward.

  They were quickly escorted to one of the cruisers and instructed to position themselves against the hood of the car. Each officer frisked them, checking for weapons, before instructing them to then get in the back.

  As Michael ducked in side, he saw that the worn leather seating showed signs of extensive use over the years. And a metal grate separated them from the front seats. Amelia exchanged a glance with Michael as the door closed behind her, before beginning to buckle her seatbelt. Now Michael really wished he could read her mind, or that she could at least read his, so they could have some form of conversation nonverbally. She probably had a good idea of what was really going on, since she could read everyone’s thoughts who were within roughly three or four feet of her. But as it was, he couldn’t ask her to share.

  Instead, he sat next to her and put on his seatbelt. He then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in against him, feeling glad that she was with him after all.

  The two officers quickly got into the vehicle themselves and then sped off down the road. Michael glanced behind them to see that soldiers were already at the edge of the tree line in their backyard. He hoped Amelia was creative with hiding those pills, because it wouldn’t be good if they found out he was on medicine for radiation poisoning. As long as there was no direct evidence that they were involved in anything, then hypothetically they should be fine.

  As they were driving, they passed their dad on the road on his way home. He of course didn’t see them in the backseat, but it prompted Amelia to pull out her phone to send him a message. Michael glanced at the cops in the front to see if they had noticed, or even cared. But it seemed they were too focused on the road. He then looked down to see what Amelia was saying.

  “We just passed you. We’re in a cop car. No idea what’s going on. They should tell you where they are taking us at the house. Don’t freak out. We’re safe. Love you.”

  After she send the message, she then began typing a second message. However, Michael realized she wasn’t sending it to anyone – she was writing for him to see. “I think they know. I don’t know how, but the soldier had an image of his target – no one we know, but similar. Oh, and the code he used was for a bomb threat. That must be the cover story.” Once he glanced at her, indicating he had read it, she quickly erased the message.

  Michael knew what she meant. The soldier knew he might be face-to-face with a demon, although they clearly had no idea how out-matched they were. They must have captured one on camera after all. That was the only way they could possibly know. But at least it wasn’t Miriam.

  However, how did they know to come to their house? Was it the radiation? Had they pinpointed where the signals were coming from?

  The officer in the passenger seat noticed Amelia had her phone out, so he told her to put it away or else he’d confiscate it. Amelia quickly stuck it in her pocket as she responded. “Sorry, I was just letting my dad know so he doesn’t have a heart attack when he gets home.”

  The officer grunted in response and then went back to ignoring them. Amelia sighed and leaned in to Michael as they continued down the road.

  The rest of the ride to the police station was quiet.

  Chapter 13: Detained

  When they arrived at the police station, Michael and Amelia were quickly escorted through a front lobby into the office area. They got a few glances from some of the people sitting at their desks, but overall no one seemed too interested.

  The officers had them both empty their pockets of all items, including cell phones, before they were then led down a hallway to separate interrogation rooms.

  Both rooms were completely windowless, except for the small window in the doors that were too high to look out easily. They didn’t appear to be exactly soundproof either, although Michael doubted anything quieter than a shout could be heard clearly.

  He was told to sit at a metal table with two seats situated across from each other. The officer then closed the door behind him and Michael found himself alone. He had expected someone to come right in and begin questioning him, but no one did.

  The room didn’t have a clock, so he had no idea what time it was, but it felt like he had been waiting for at least an hour. He knew it had been roughly 5:00 PM when they had left the house, which meant it might be dark in another hour.

  There was a security camera in the corner of the room, so he suspected he was probably being watched. He wondered if this was part of the process – trying to break him down with boredom before questioning him. He wouldn’t be surprised if, after a grueling interrogation, they left him alone again for several more hours before trying again. He had no idea how long they could legally keep him.

  Surprisingly, they hadn’t read off any of his rights yet. Although, he wasn’t sure if they only did that when arrestin
g people. Still, this felt like an arrest even if he wasn’t in handcuffs.

  While he continued to wait for someone to come in, he began wondering how Miriam was responding to all this. Surely, she knew he was here. He imagined she might be grateful for this turn of events, because she had said he was safer around people. Even though he was going to potentially be interrogated about the demons, her top priority was likely keeping him alive.

  After about another hour of sitting there waiting, Michael could tell from the small window in the door that it was dark outside now. The light in the hallway had shifted from a natural yellow coming from the windows in the office down the hall, to an artificial fluorescent lighting.

  He wondered how his dad had reacted to all this. He knew their father must be there by now, possibly being forced to wait in the lobby while his kids got interrogated.

  Just as Michael was beginning to wonder if anyone would ever come in, he finally heard some conversation just outside the door, before it opened.

  Detective Branson, the guy in the suit who had questioned him at school, was coming in. He had a large manila folder, along with that familiar yellow meter that had picked him out of a lineup at school. It was a police officer who he had been talking to. Michael couldn’t see anyone else in the hallway from his vantage point.

  Detective Branson quickly closed the door behind him, before setting down the folder on the table. He then held up the yellow meter, powering it on, and immediately waived it next to Michael. Unlike the slight crackling that had picked him out of the lineup earlier that day, this time the machine sounded like it was going haywire with noise.

  “Thought so,” Branson said as he turned off the meter and sat down in the chair across from Michael. He looked at him hard for a few long seconds.

  Michael decided to use this opportunity to ask about Amelia. “How’s my sister? Did you already release her?”

  The detective continued to give him a hard stare before finally speaking, seeming to ignore the question. “Michael Thorpe, in case you forgot, let me reintroduce myself. I’m detective Branson. I should also probably let you know I’m not a local detective. I’m with the FBI, and you’re being questioned as part of a federal investigation. You have the right to remain silent. However, as I’m sure you are aware, it is in everyone’s best interest if you answer my questions honestly. If you are found to be lying during this interview, you should know it’s a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison.”

  Michael waited for a few seconds to see if he was going to answer his question before re-asking. “And my sister?”

  Detective Branson seemed disapproving of his concern. “Let’s just say that this…” he tapped on the yellow radiation meter, “…didn’t react at all to your sister. Hence, she is now waiting with your father in the lobby.”

  Michael leaned back in his seat sighing. He was glad she was out of the hot seat, although now it was his turn to play dumb. He wondered why the meter hadn’t reacted to his sister. Was it because her psychic abilities inherently protected her? If that was true, then he wished even more that he was like her because then he could be with Miriam without a problem.

  He also realized that his sister would have been fine getting through her interview either way. Because surely reading minds provided a huge advantage to knowing what to say to convince others.

  After a few more seconds of silence, Branson finally opened the folder on the table and began pulling out several large images. The first few were various shots of the destruction in the woods – it really did look like a bomb had gone off. One of them was an aerial shot, which was only possible due to all the fallen trees; it revealed a large area that looked completely barren from the sky, like all the life had been sucked right out of it.

  The detective then looked at him expectantly. “Well?” He asked.

  Michael was confused. “What’s the question? Obviously, I don’t know what happened back there. My sister and I heard a loud noise and went to check it out, but we didn’t see anything.”

  The man eyed him suspiciously. “Why didn’t you report it to the police?”

  “Oh…” Michael hadn’t thought about that. He looked down at the images as he tried to think of an answer. “Well, I mean, why would we? Yeah, it was weird, but we didn’t see anything when we checked it out. I just thought maybe…a tornado had touched down or something. Didn’t seem like something you should call the police about. No one was hurt after all.”

  Branson’s eyes squinted, and he was silent again for a minute. “Look kid, I just want you to know that if you’re in trouble, we can help. We can protect you. But I need you to be honest with me.”

  Michael almost wanted to educate him about how inadept they were to protect anyone, but then immediately realized that would be a grave mistake. Instead, he replied, “I am being honest with you. Why would you think I was in trouble?”

  The detective was silent yet again, and Michael began to become annoyed by how slow this was taking. He wanted the detective to just ask his questions and be done with it. Finally, after a few minutes, Branson spoke again. “Alright, what I’m about to show you is highly classified. Sharing this with anyone is also a federal crime punishable by up to ten years in prison. Do you understand?”

  Michael nodded, unsure of what the detective was going to share with him.

  Branson pulled out another image from the folder, slowly placing it on the table in front of him. Michael looked at the blurry picture, confirming what he had already suspected. They had captured an image of a demon on camera. He knew this must have been the image of what Amelia had seen in the soldier’s mind. The photo was of poor quality, like maybe it came from a low-resolution security camera, but it was undeniable that the humanoid shape in the picture had wings and horns.

  Michael was glad he didn’t recognize the demon, because it would have been difficult for him to have an appropriate reaction if it had been Miriam. He wanted to see her so badly that he probably would have revealed his affection unintentionally. Instead, he looked at it with a blank stare, before leaning forward to look more closely, staring as if in disbelief. He then looked up at the detective. “Is this a joke?” He scoffed.

  Unexpectedly, his interrogator lost his composure. “This is not a joke! This is a matter of national security, and I have good reason to believe you’re involved!”

  “Involved with what?” Michael scoffed again.

  “Involved with this!” Branson held up the image for emphasis. “With these…monsters!”

  “Are you sure someone didn’t just photoshop that?” Michael wondered seriously.

  The detective recomposed himself, giving him a hard look, before replying. “We are sure. We have collected other evidence of their existence beyond this image. It helps that they appear to emit various forms of radiation, allowing us to detect them with more than just pictures. So…” Branson leaned forward as he continued, “…either you’re illegally involved with radioactive material, or else you’ve been exposed to one of these radioactive creatures. Which is it?”

  Michael quickly tried to think about how he would respond if he didn’t know about the demons. How would someone in his shoes react, just finding out that he was being told monsters really did exist? He stared at the man for a few seconds, before slowly softening his expression. “Wait…You’re serious, aren’t you?” He then tried to act like he was beginning to panic at the idea. “This…this is real?”

  Branson slowly nodded in response, as he eyed him suspiciously.

  Michael continued. “And you think one of these things is after me? Is it stalking me?”

  The detective continued to examine him wearily, before responding. “Are you insinuating that you have not had direct contact with one of these creatures?”

  Michael looked at him shocked. “Well, no, of course not! I mean…” He looked back at the image for emphasis. “Would I even still be alive if I had? I’m no expert, but this thing doesn’t look very friendly.�
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  The man immediately agreed with him. “No, it does not. In fact, we suspect that they do in fact kill people.”

  “So then, is there radiation in the woods? Is that why you’re bringing this up?”

  Branson nodded.

  Michael looked at the table in front of him as he began to speak to himself out loud. “Jeez, I can’t believe I almost died. I wonder if I was exposed to radiation when I checked it out. I’m glad I told Amelia to stay back.” He then looked up abruptly. “Oh, do you know if my test results came back yet from earlier?”

  Branson gave him another hard look as he nodded slowly. “Yes…it was negative for any signs of radiation. However…you will probably test positive now, after your recent exposure. You’ll need to be taken to the hospital and be treated immediately. They’ll probably have you shower first thing to get the external radiation off you.”

  “Oh…okay.” Michael wasn’t sure if that was the end of it or not. He sat silently, eyeing the images while Branson continued to stare at him quietly. He knew that most people would probably feel pressured if they were lying, but he had already gotten himself so far into the mindset that he didn’t know anything that he felt relatively calm.

  The staring was still awkward though.

  After a few minutes, he finally decided to try to break the silence. “So, umm, should I be getting to the hospital then?”

  The detective ignored him and kept the silence going for another few minutes. Michael was just beginning to wonder if he had any intention of letting him go soon, when suddenly the lights went out.

  The room was instantly black.

  Startled, Michael felt his heart rate pick up.

  Branson sounded shocked too. “They should have emergency lights installed…why haven’t they come on?” Michael could hear his chair squeaking against the floor in the dark as he got up. “You stay here. We aren’t done yet.” Michael then heard the door open and close.