“OFFICER, HAVE YOU SEEN?”

Officer Hallthorn thrust a laptop out. Officer Kirk scanned the contents briefly.

MISSING GIRL: ANIMAL ABUSER!

INSANE PSYCHOPATH MISSING!

GOVERNMENT TEST GONE WRONG!

“Yes,” Officer Kirk sighed. “I have. Excuse me,” he muttered, trying to squeeze past the massive structure of muscle to get to his office.

Officer Hallthorn didn’t budge. “What are you going to do?” he asked eagerly.

“Ah, well, I’m working on it,” Kirk replied mechanically as he had to the countless other reporters. “Now, excuse me—”

“But—”

“I’m sorry,” Officer Kirk said in a booming voice, “but you’re blocking my door right now. Could you please…” Officer Kirk’s mouth stretched into a smile, almost comically fake.

Officer Hallthorn, suddenly sensing danger, stammered an apology and skittered away. “Oh, Officer Hallthorn,” Kirk called, “take the elevators it’ll be good practice for you.”

Officer Kirk had hardly settled himself before hesitant knocks rapped on the door. Kirk intentionally waited for a few moments, wondering if he should risk meeting Hallthorn again. However, the knocks went silent when they were ignored. Officer Kirk concluded that they couldn’t belong to the persistent Hallthorn who would willingly continue to knock until his knuckles bled.

“Come in,” Kirk said.

The thin, freckled Officer Jake walked in. Despite his height, he always seemed to shrink around his peers. His broad shoulders jutted out awkwardly from the close-fitting blue shirt. “O-officer?” he asked as if Kirk had been the one that summoned him.

Officer Kirk smiled again, but this time it reached his eyes. His cold demeanor melted, instantly setting Officer Jake at ease. “Well?” Officer Kirk welcomed, inviting Jake to tell his story.

“Y-you do know, the woman you told me to watch?” Officer Jake stammered.

“Ah, yes. Marine’s mother, I believe.”

“Yes!” Jake breathed. “Well, I’ve been keeping my eye on her all day, but for the last three days, I’ve never seen her leave the house. I’m getting a little worried. Do you think…you know…these recent conspiracies have become very critical…’

“Are you suggesting suicide?” Officer Kirk asked bluntly.

Jake lowered his head silently.

“Keep watching her,” Officer Kirk instructed. “Come to me if she doesn’t come out for another two days.”

Jake lowered his head again as a nod and walked out. Officer Kirk was left with a furrowed brow.

MRS. LUCIFAY’ S MENTAL HEALTH HAD BEEN DETERIORATING FOR THE LAST THREE DAYS WITHOUT HUMAN CONTACT.

The shock that her child was called a psychopath did not help. The only thing that was stringing her together was the conspiracy theories which she fought relentlessly. Ironically, this was also what was keeping her inside her house.

She had started developing a sort of light phobia. All the lights in the basement were turned off. She refused to go upstairs. She lived like a vampire, surviving only in the darkness.

Unfortunately, there was one very real problem. She had no food left in her supply. Mrs. Lucifay had eaten the last of the canned food in her emergency stock. All the food upstairs had probably already gone bad, and even if she was willing to go search, Mrs. Lucifay doubted she could cook anything edible. All the house chores used to be taken care of by Marine.

Mrs. Lucifay had contemplated not eating at all. But it occurred to her that she was no use to her daughter dead. It was this motivation that drove her to do everything right now.

Food. Mrs. Lucifay had a single-worded way of thinking now. Her mind had to give her body simple commands. Usually, they were work. Sleep. Eat. Move.

Food was a new one and took several seconds of processing to figure out. It involved several sets of smaller commands.

She moved toward the stairs, taking each step slowly. She stood in front of the door upstairs. It was locked on purpose. She fumbled at the lock for a moment, not very sure what she was doing. She moved mechanically to the front door. It didn’t occur to her that she was still dressed in three-day-old clothes. The blinds were clothes, but just enough light peeked through to make her uncomfortable.

With mechanical movement, she reached to open the front door handle.

“OFFICER KIRK! OFFICER KIRK!”

“Yes, Jake?” Officer Kirk replied on the phone, his voice betraying amusement. “You are in your van, right? It’s relatively soundproof. You don’t need to whisper.”

Jake coughed to cover his embarrassment. “Er, yes, Officer.”

“So, I’m assuming that Mrs. Lucifay had made her move?”

“Yes,” Jake subconsciously dropped to a whisper again. “She looks horrible. I don’t think she should be allowed to drive.”

“Is she drunk?”

“No, not that I can see. But her instincts are extremely dull. It takes five seconds for her to take each step. It’s very easy for her to get into an accident. Should I stop her?”

“Is she on the road?”

“She has been sitting in her car for the last five minutes. I don’t know what she’s doing right now. The windows are black.”

Officer Kirk paused to consider the situation. After a moment of hesitation, Officer Kirk sighed. “I wish I could help her, but it would be best not to. Just follow her.”

“Just follow her? Would that be okay? I mean, I don’t want an accident…”

Officer Kirk sighed deeply. “How do I explain this? It’s…it’s like she’s sleepwalking. If you wake her, it will only cause damage. Right now, she’s relying on mostly routine and instinct. That means she’s going somewhere she’s been to. But there’s a high chance that she’d take a wrong turn. I want you to follow her very closely.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good work.”

Officer Kirk hung up the phone.