Chapter 2 - Searching for answers.

"Fuck, nooooooooo! NOOOOO! LILY!"

Seb woke up sweating, heart pounding. He had been dreaming about the fire again. He and Myra had raced to the scene, got out of the car and ran toward the door. As they had got onto the front porch the doorway had collapsed, blocking their only way into the house. They could hear Lily and Juanita screaming but there was nothing they could do – Seb had tried to claw through the wreckage in a futile attempt to get them both out but all he had done was burnt his hands. Myra had grabbed him and pulled him back and was screaming and crying, both at him and the world but Seb wasn't hearing anything. All he could hear were Lily's screams. And the smell. Fuck. THE SMELL. He could smell them both burning alive, smell their home going up in flames; everything that him and Myra had built together all gone in a few fucking heartbeats.

This was one of the main reasons Seb had started drinking, but it had only got worse after Myra had disappeared. In moments like this he wondered why he even bothered living. He was shaking like a crack whore, sweating like a pig and felt so sick that he was sure he would throw up at any moment. Fuck, was this a panic attack?

'Calm yourself Seb' he told himself. 'It's just a damn dream, that shit is in the past and it's going to stay there. Get your breathing under control and take it from there. Calm now.'

After what felt like an eternity, he got his breathing under control and began to feel a semblance of calm. After a few more minutes the panic had gone – but the dream was still looping around in his head.

'Fuck this, I need a drink' he muttered to himself. There was a 24/7 not too far away, he would get himself dressed and go get a bottle. He got himself out of bed slowly, still feeling the aches and pains from being stuck in that tub in the STEM and got dressed. Well if sweatpants, the same motorhead t-shirt and black hoodie counts as dressed. He grabbed his phone and wallet off the kitchen side and headed out, grabbing his keys from his coat as he went. Slipping on some converse and locking the door behind him he wandered slowly down to the 24/7. It went without incident, the guy behind the counter looked as bad as Seb if not worse so he didn't give him any trouble. One time he had refused to serve Seb because he had been wasted and Seb had got a bit mouthy. Thank fuck the guy didn't know he was a detective! Sure enough he would though, once the gagging order got lifted on Beacon. Seb didn't intend on being around for that though.

He got home, unlocked the door and grabbed a glass out of the cabinet. Slumping on the sofa with late night TV sounded like a great idea. Turning the TV on, he poured himself a generous glass and downed it in one. Another one down the hatch, and a few real life cop shows later Seb was snoring on the sofa quite happily, not looking like a man who had just spent an undeterminable length of time trapped inside a lunatics head.

He woke up with the sun in his eyes through the double glass windows that looked out onto the street and into his apartment. Hungry, he didn't even bother cooking – just went and ordered some take out. He didn't care that it was 11AM, he wanted a pizza. Once the delivery guy had been and gone Seb found himself back on the sofa, but without the glass in hand. Instead he had his notebook and pen. What was missing? Ah yes. Coffee. He went to the kitchen and turned on the coffee machine, an heirloom from when Myra was still around. Seb had not been bothered about drinking burnt cheap-ass coffee from the station vending machine but when Myra moved in she had exposed him to the 'ways of the coffee machine' and he hadn't looked back. Still sealed fresh Colombian beans were sitting in the cupboard so into the machine they went. A few minutes later, Seb was back on the sofa with a steaming hot mug of Columbian roast and a case to solve. It felt strangely good knowing that he had a goal, even if it probably was outside the bounds of the law and government in general. Seb had never been too bothered about pushing boundaries to get results but this… this was something different. It was personal and he would get to the bottom of it or fucking die trying!

He wasn't just doing this because he wanted answers though. He knew that he had to keep busy, so that he could try and process what had actually happened without it overloading his brain altogether. Seb was a strong person but he knew that he could crack. But he wasn't going to let this beat him, he knew that much. He continued to write and expand his plan, all the while thinking of the people who he had lost. Myra. Lily. Joseph. Kidman. Connelly. All connected by one man.

He was going to get his answers from the wreckage of the Victoriano Estate no matter what or who stood in his way.

The next week went by in the same pattern – wake up, drink coffee, eat, plan, watch TV. Plan more. Smoke lots. Drink lots. Eat. Shower. Sleep.

The dreams were still there but Seb thought he was coping remarkably well. Ruvik was in his head every night in one way or another; the memories of the torture he had inflicted upon him via the STEM forcing Seb to wake up shaking or crying, sometimes both. But Seb wasn't a wreck, he told himself whenever he had a bad dream that it was just that. The panic attacks got easier to deal with too, and by the sixth night they weren't even that bad. Was he really this strong or was there something waiting to surface? He didn't want to think about it, the momentum he had going was really good and he knew it would get him somewhere. As the days rolled on he began to cook for himself, going out and buying fresh food alongside the cigarettes and whiskey. He debated whether or not to start exercising again but a short jog in the morning air answered that question for him. One thing that did niggle at the back of Seb's mind throughout his planning phase was the fact that his phone hadn't rung once. Home phone or mobile, nobody had contacted him. Not that this was overly strange, mainly because the only person who had rung him regularly was Joseph – and as he was currently MIA it was no wonder that the phone was silent. Then again, it was odd how KCPD hadn't called him in for questioning yet. Not that Seb was enjoying the prospect of getting interrogating by some black tie duo, but he thought they would've caught up to him by now. There must've been a real amount of red tape tied to Beacon if they hadn't thought to call him yet.

Sometimes Connelly would've called, but as he was dead the chances of that happening were slim to none. As Seb was thinking, he remembered that Kidman had also called him at home in recent times, albeit only once. She had called Seb really late about the first case she had been shadowing him and Joseph on. Strange that she had been up taking notes at that time, Seb had thought as he rolled over and tried to get back to sleep after answering Kidman's questions. In hindsight Seb realised just how strange Kidman had been – was she even a police officer? Seb knew that she was involved in this somehow, she had to be. She had turned up after the fire and Myra's disappearance, so she was more than likely linked to either of those. He was going to find out how.

It was on the twelfth day that Seb decided he would set off. He woke up, showered and packed his bag. He wouldn't be gone for more than a few hours but he wanted to be sure he had everything. He packed his own personal pistol – there he no way he would be bringing a weapon that could be traced back to KCPD, and then him on something like this. He holstered it in the same place that Connelly's revolver had sat all that time in the STEM, and that simple action got him thinking about his friend. About his family that would have to live without him now. The thought made tears come to Seb's eyes – he knew he had to pay them a visit soon. He began to feel a wave of emotion build up inside him but he buried it. There was time for grief later. Mind on the task ahead, he told himself. Getting himself back on track, he packed four extra magazines for the pistol at 12 rounds each, plus the full one in the pistol already. He also packed his hunting knife and his & Myra's sawn-off shotgun. She had been insistent that they had one because of their line of work – "for home defence" she had said - and they had made sure it was a decent one too. Metallic, rather light for its size and it packed one heck of a punch. Seb had nearly torn his shoulder out when they test fired it at the range the day they bought it. It took five shells in the chamber, so Seb packed another twenty into the bag alongside the pistol ammo. He threw in a pack of smokes, two lighters and hip flask of his favourite whiskey. More out of habit than anything else he took his mobile off charge and pocketed it. Not that he was expecting any calls – it was in case he needed to make a call out. As an afterthought he packed two bottles of water too, as well as some snacks in case he got hungry. He decided he had better dress like he was on duty despite not even being called in for questioning yet as to avoid suspicion, so he put on his work stuff and wore Myra's coat over the top of it all. Before he left he packed two extra magazines into the inside pocket of the trenchcoat, as well as ten more shot shells scattered throughout the pockets for good measure. The lack of ammo inside the STEM hadn't been a fun thing, and if Seb were to run into any trouble he would want to be prepared. What trouble would be get into though? Surely looking around an abandoned building doesn't require so much ammo… Seb scoffed inwardly at the memory of being caught short in a firefight with many a suspect because his ammo ran out and he had to pick up another weapon instead. Hollywood was wrong, ammo does run out and he was as sure as anything going to make sure that it didn't happen to him today. With one final check of the bag and the apartment he left and locked up, got into his car that KCPD had driven back to his on the first night he had been home and set off out. He drove through the city morning traffic with no sense of urgency – he didn't have to worry about being anywhere at a particular time. He just drove.

Seb knew he had to go to Elk River but he didn't expect to find the mansion there. It was too obvious and besides from what he could recall of Ruvik's memory it wasn't close enough to the town to warrant asking any locals. He figured he would drive through and go around the dirt roads until he came across the mansion; after all there weren't that many roads leading out of Elk River so he just had to follow a process of elimination.

He seemed to drive on autopilot, the car taking him to where he needed to go. Before Seb had realised, he was driving down the main street through Elk River. It was too small a town for the road to be a town centre, the only amenities it had on offer were a torn up old shop, a small diner and a derelict Bank of America that looked like it belonged in the 1920s. As Seb pulled up at the stop light he saw a black sedan sitting out the front of the diner. It was taking up both of the only spaces available for clients – but it wasn't like there was anyone who wanted to use the space. Seb could've counted the vehicles including his that he could see on one hand – it was five. His, the car parked in the diner spaces, a vehicle behind him in the queue and two more old pickup trucks parked further down the street. Just as the light turned green, two figures emerged from the diner. As Seb pulled away he looked at them in his rear view. Two men, one in body armour with an SMG, another in a suit who was blatantly concealing. The suit was on his phone, and the body armour was eating. He looked like he could eat a whole man and still be hungry. This guy was one of the biggest men Seb had ever seen, he easily topped 7' yet he had such a small weapon that it was almost comical. His head was shaved and his mouth was huge. Well it looked huge because he was shoving a whole bagel in at once. The guy in the suit was of average build, but he had the unmistakeable look of someone who thought he was entitled to everything. Asshole. He was still on the phone, and he appeared to be shouting at whoever he was speaking to. As Seb pulled away he couldn't hear but he could very well imagine what he was saying down the phone.

A situation like this wouldn't have struck a normal person as odd, but to Seb it was very odd. First, what were those two goons doing in Elk River? Also, why the weaponry? He made a mental note to be cautious, things already seemed like they could heat up quickly. All the years of being on the force had given Seb a kind of sixth sense when it came to these things. It was like the day Myra got shot by that fleeing suspect – Seb had known it was going to happen but until he had fired a shot at them they couldn't shoot at him. He pulled his gun out of nowhere and got Myra clean through the leg – that gave Seb license to unload on the guy – he was just gutted he had been unlucky and not hit him. How he had known Seb wasn't sure, but he knew to trust his gut in situations like that and it hadn't failed him yet.

Casting his mind away from events past, Seb focused on the road ahead. It was becoming more narrow, with a dirt track leading off to the left and another one slightly up the road to the right. 50/50 chance of success? The left one. Up the track he drove, and the car immediately started groaning. This track wasn't much wider than the vehicle and it was very rocky. Plus the car was old. The hill was also getting steep so Seb took it down into a lower gear and hammered it up the hill as best he could. Eventually the ground flattened out into a clearing. But then the road stopped abruptly just short of the end of the clearing. Seb stopped the car, killed the engine and got out. Leaning on the driver's side door, he grabbed his cigarettes and a lighter and got out his first of the day. He pocketed the packet with the remaining cigarettes in his shirt pocket. He lit his first of the day up and took a long deep drag. This gave Seb a moment so he had a think. Where did he go from here? He could either double back or continue on foot and see what was ahead. His gut instinct was telling him that he had to go ahead, but the trees and the woodland beyond looked eerily like something out the STEM so Seb wasn't overly keen on the idea of going in there. Doubling back would mean turning the car around and nursing it down the hill he had come up to get here which wouldn't be fun.

"Look at yourself, so gripped by indecision, how insane is this?" he muttered to himself between drags. He hadn't been this indecisive before, so why now? In the back of his mind he knew, but he tried his best to ignore it. The fear of walking into that mansion made Seb feel sick inside, knowing what had taken place there - what might still be there. But really, what choice did he have? If he wanted answers he had to get them from somewhere, and the mansion was the only realistic option open to him. He finished up his cigarette and ground it beneath his heel, getting back in the car and parking it out of sight. In case anyone came snooping around, it was better to leave his car somewhere safe and relatively hidden in case he needed to make a quick getaway. Grabbing his bag from where he had left it on the back seat, he slung it over his shoulder and began to walk into the woodland ahead of him. As he began to get deeper into the woods a silence crept over the world, like a blanket blocking out all noise. The only thing Seb could hear was the wind through the trees. It began to get stronger, flapping his trenchcoat around like it was trying to take off from Seb's body. He pulled it tighter around himself and continued walking, the fear rising in his throat steadily. Just as Seb began to think he was lost, he saw ahead that the woodland began to thin out and disappear altogether. With renewed vigour he began to jog toward the edge when suddenly his ankle went out from underneath him. He landed sideways and felt his left ankle twist the wrong way. He lay there in an undignified heap, moaning slightly.

"Oh fuck, could this have started off any better? Ten minutes in and I've already injured myself…"

He got up slowly and tried to put some weight on his left foot. He immediately slumped to the ground again – he was pretty sure he had badly twisted or sprained his ankle. Fucking typical, he thought to himself. Fucking great. As he sat there rubbing his ankle and lamenting at his lack of good fortune, he heard sticks crunching a way back behind him. Not falling –this sounded just like someone was walking on them and snapping them underfoot. He immediately got to his feet, and unsteadily got himself leaning on a nearby tree to support himself, continued listening. The wind was blowing ever so slightly now, much calmer than it had been earlier. On the breeze that drifted downwind to Seb he could hear it clearly now. Someone was walking towards him. He listened more, and heard voices too. They were fuzzy and unclear due to the snapping but Seb knew that they belonged to men. Suddenly, they seemed to stop walking and converse in hushed but still audible tones;

"Fuck me, how much further is it? The mansion can't be that far away, feels like we've been walking this way forever. Fucking trees, creep me out."

"Shut up you wimp. Remember that walking through an area that looks the same seems to make time go slowly. We haven't been going through here for more than five minutes, quit your bitching. We are here to take down Victoriano and apprehend the KCPD Detective Castellanos. We are NOT here to listen to your fucking whining about a nature walk. Either shut up and man up or I will put a bullet or ten into the back of your thick skull and leave you for the wolves. Understand?!"

The silence said everything. Seb waited with baited breath, hoping they would say something else. Luckily, they did.

"Why are we after this guy anyway? I thought he didn't know anything?"

A third voice now joined the conversation, a deep gravelly voice that sounded like it belonged to the de facto leader of the team.

"He might not know anything, but he may suspect something. And that has given the bosses more than enough reason to bring him in. He survived the STEM machine with Victoriano inside it which means he is strong. We will either convert him to our cause or kill him. Either way, he will be reunited with his friends soon enough – the other detective is due to be transferred to our limbic experimentation unit and our agent Kidman is going to be out with the next field team approaching the manor from the other side. The administrator has decided that Castellanos is a threat worth neutralising so that is what we will do. Do you understand, 2?"

"Yes sir, I understand."

"Good, now quit your whining before I let 3 do what he threatened. Okay, 1 – any sign of our man?"

Seb heard a fourth voice now, much younger than the rest.

"No sir, but his tracks look like they're leading right to the eastern side of the manor house, if we keep moving we should catch up with him soon enough."

"Good news indeed." Growled the leader who Seb assumed was number four. "The other team should be in position soon, I'll radio ahead and find out. In the meantime keep moving."

The sound of sticks snapping again told Seb that 1,2 and 3 were on the move but he stayed still. The pain in his ankle forgotten, he crouched and listened to the voice talking on the radio.

"5,6,7 and 8 are all in position and ready to go sir, on your mark."

"Brilliant, said 4. "1,2,3 and 4 are moving up into position now – I want you to take this nice and slow. We don't know what is waiting for us up there but I am not taking any chances. 4 out."

Seb heard the radio squawk once more, and then 4 began moving as well. He stayed still, processing what he had just overheard. First of all, Joseph was alive. Joseph WAS alive, but he was going to be transferred to an experimentation unit to no doubt be used like the patients in the hospital were. The thought of him being one of those poor victims made Seb's blood boil inside him – he wouldn't let that happen. Ever! He began to move, albeit slowly and quietly in the direction he had been heading before, taking care to not make any noise. He was out of the woods but that didn't mean they still wouldn't hear him if he wasn't careful.

As Seb began to move, his mind wandered to Kidman. So, it seemed that she was alive and seemed to be working with this organisation that had Joseph. Somehow it all made sense to Seb now, how she had been so different and strange to him. In his journal he had described her as a 'cold fish' and he had a feeling that she wasn't all she made out to be. Once again he had been proven right. And the fact that she was going to be joining the other field team meant that there were at least eight people with weapons converging on the place he was headed to. But why were they going there? They had mentioned Ruvik like he was still alive and not inside the STEM, but how could that be possible? Seb cast his mind back to the hospital and when he went outside after escaping STEM and remembered – the figure he thought he had seen had been Leslie!

He kicked himself mentally for not remembering sooner. But if Leslie had left the STEM then that meant that inside the STEM when Ruvik had absorbed him… OH FUCK. Seb's head began to throb at the thought of Ruvik's mind inside poor Leslie's body. How would that kid be able to fight him off? He wouldn't! Shit.

"So does that mean that Ruvik… is in this world?!" Seb asked himself in disbelief. He wasn't sure of the answer but the very thought of it made his hair stand on end. The thought of facing off with Ruvik again, powers or no wasn't something he ever wanted to do again. But if Ruvik was being hunted by these people then he wouldn't be long for this world anyway. The chance of him retaining his abilities from the STEM were nil so he wouldn't be much of a threat. Seb continued to move, grateful now for the weight of the backpack on his shoulder. After a few more minutes he saw the wall of the mansion up ahead, all crumbling and derelict. He came to a stop just below the mansions wall and unholstered his pistol. Putting the rucksack on properly, he held his pistol in front of him and slowly began to make his way round to the front of the building. He couldn't see or hear the other team so that meant he way well still be ahead. As he approached the front of the building, he heard voices off to his right. The other team were obviously closer than he thought so he crouched down behind the left side of the fountain as they made their way to the door. Seb looked over the lip of the fountain and observed them.

They were all dressed in black, shiny chrome weapons glinting in the murky light of an overcast afternoon. They were silent, seemed to glide across the stony ground. There were lots of hand signals, and they all moved into position either side of the door. The figure who Seb assumed was the team leader made a fist and slammed it into his thigh and pointed at the door. Another one stood in front of the door and caved in the rotten wood with a powerful kick. After a few more kicks the door was all but hanging off its hinges, and the figure barged into it one last time. There was a brief pause, silence and then a tremendous BOOM!

As the door came off its hinges there was a spectacular explosion from behind the door and it spat out a huge ball of flame, akin to a car exploding with a full tank of fuel. All four figures were immediately consumed by the flames, and they were thrown back. Directly into the fountain where Seb was hiding. Bits of flesh came raining down like water from the sky, and before he could blink the desiccated torso of the man Seb had identified as the leader slammed into the top of the fountain and landed face down. As Seb stood up to take in the horror around him, he felt sick. Blood was everywhere and coated everything with a ruby fluid that looked sticky. There were no screams, as none of the men had survived. There were bits of them everywhere, charred bits of flesh laying on the ground still smoking. Just in front of him lay part of the head of one of the men in black. His skull had been blown wide open, exposing his brain which in turn had bits of wood stuck into it, like shrapnel from a grenade. If he had survived he would've been a complete and utter vegetable. It was a sickening sight, fuck the whole scene was. But it was the smell that disgusted Seb the most. Burning flesh, just like the night of the fire. It made him keel over and throw up what little food he had inside of him. When he had finished retching, he looked over the scene one more time. The bloodied remains of one of the men's helmets was at his feet, and it had red on the side that didn't look like blood. On closer inspection, he realised it was the organisations logo.

It was three stars, to the right of them there was a line going left and then straight down into a point. Below this was written one word – MOBIUS. Where had he heard this word before? He knew he had, but he couldn't be sure. No matter - Another piece of the puzzle put into place. Mobius had Joseph and Mobius was who Kidman was working for. They wanted to somehow kill Ruvik and capture Seb. Everything was connected. Seb took one last look at the scene of utter carnage around him and took a step inside the charred remains of the Victoriano mansion, leaving that world behind and descending yet again into a world of blood, fear and madness. But this time he was going in of his own free will – and he would come out on top. He would find the answers and get what he was looking for, and woe to anyone who was going to try and stand in his way.