I watched for over ten minutes as the arms completed various tasks on Logan. Injecting liquids, drawing blood, and taking different DNA samples. Eventually, Logan stopped fighting. When the arms finally released him, he dropped to the floor, his legs not able to support him. Five more hooded figures came through the open panel, each one carrying a dark bundle. They circled around Logan, and the camera’s angle showed us nothing about what they were doing. When they stepped to the side, Logan was no longer standing in front of me. Instead, there was a demon. A sheath was attached to a cloth belt. One of the hooded figures stepped forward again and slid a shiny, ornate dagger into it. Wonderful. Tell the Elite that it's ready. The hooded figures bowed to the one standing next to me, then filed out of the room. A few moments later, one of the figures came back. They say to send it out, and that the other would know what to say. The figures both left, leaving just me and the demon. So these hooded figures weren’t the Elite. But, if they weren't, then who was? I turned to the demon. Go. Complete your mission. Once it is complete, return to a safe location in your human form. I was the one talking. How did I know to say that? What was the demons ‘mission’? The demon nodded and walked away, down the passage the figures had come in and out of.
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I then walked out of the room, and back into the elevator. The ride down was very similar to the one up: silent, or too loud. I left the Brick and walked down a road I’d never seen before. I walked up to a house I’d never seen before. I don’t know if the house had some kind of significance, or if I picked one at random. I stood outside the front door and looked inside the mailbox. I pulled something out. The envelopes. So this was Alex’s house. How had the envelopes gotten there? Was it the magic of the Elite, or the insanely fast postal service? I put the envelopes back into the mailbox and walked back to Boulevard. I started walking back to my house. When I walked inside, the screen went black again. I sped up the video, but it stayed black until 4:30, when I woke up. I clicked the power button on the computer and stood up, facing Maggie and Sammy. They both were looking at me in a way that made it seem as though a single breeze would make me shatter. “Are you okay, Elias?” Maggie asked softly. I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine?” I still hadn’t fully comprehended what I’d watched. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want it to be true, even though it was. I didn’t want to know that I’d been responsible for turning my own brother into a demon. Logan was a demon, his mind corrupted by the Elite, because of me.
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“Let’s go,” I said. Neither Maggie nor Sammy said anything as we walked out of the archive centre. As we were about to step out the door, Gabe blocked our path. “Do you mind me asking, what were you looking for? Don’t tell my supervisor I asked you that. It’s technically against company policy,” he asked, a smile on his face. I looked from Sammy to Maggie, asking if it was okay if I told Gabe what we’d seen. Maggie shook her head, so I kept my mouth shut. Maggie said, “We do mind, actually. Your supervisor will know by the end of the day.” She brushed past him, and Sammy and I followed. Gabe’s mouth dropped, and it seemed like he was deciding whether or not to say something else.
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Once we were on Boulevard, we stopped. “So what do we do now?” I asked. Or, I started to. I barely got three words out before all of our phones let out a harsh alarm-like noise. I quickly pulled out my phone, as did Maggie and Sammy. There was a notification on the home screen. It took up nearly the entire screen. The alarm stopped when I opened the notification. It brought me to an audio recording with no video. I bit the inside of my lip as I pushed play.
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“This is an emergency message from the Elite,” said a monotone, androgynous voice. “The population of Salef has reached an all-time high, and this has been detrimental to our community. Because of this, we have implemented a device that will keep our growing numbers in control: catching. Catching is small groups circling a creature that has tormented our society for over two centuries. The demons. This problem will be resolved within the week. There is no reason for anxiety regarding the matter. Best of luck to everyone. Please note, anyone under the age of 15 is unable to take part in catching. Further updates will be provided if and when necessary.” The message ended, and I took a slow breath. “We should prepare. Catching is starting again, and the demons won’t wait for anyone.” We walked silently to my house. Just as we walked inside, Sammy said, “How does one exactly prepare for this?” Mariah then walked around a corner, holding a large, dusty book. “I’m so glad you asked."181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXr411IxWu
