Page 93 of Diluted Truths
“He said there were four Advocates? Why four?” I asked.
“He wasn’t clear. He really was so out of it, but kept saying there were four stages and with each stage an Advocate was born.” Oliver slowly sank into his chair as he continued to explain the strange man to me. “He was scared because, and I quote, ‘The first Advocate was prepared.’ This was onlya few weeks ago.”
“You think Jackie is this so-called Advocate?”
“I don’t know what to think, but Griffin clearly thinks this. Can you call him at the asylum, see if he can provide any more information?”
“Yeah.” I looked at the clock on Oliver’s office wall. It was just after eight o’clock, meaning it was eleven at night in New York. “I’ll have to wait until the morning, they’re closed right now. Do you know what this drawing is?”
“Yeah. Jackie showed it to me.”
“This is the emblem of the Cult of Creatio.” I began gesturing to the different sections of the drawing. “We have seen this in every stage of the case thus far. This man you met with, I think he was talking about the Cult’s mission of bringing the end of times. Four Advocates would match up with the four stages of the cult’s plan to bring the end of times.”
“So, it really all is connected?” Oliver asked as he leaned back in his chair.
“I think so, at least in some way,” I said as I continued to study the drawings in front of me. I had spent hours studying this emblem. We had seen it everywhere, and in every instance it was identical. This made me think that if this emblem could be found at every other stage of this case, would we find it somewhere in regards to Jackie’s disappearance?
“We need to go back to her apartment.” I jumped at the sudden intrusion and turned to see Sarah standing in Oliver’s office. I was so caught up in my thoughts I hadn’t heard her enter. “If what you’re saying is correct, and what I have heard about the case, the emblem or drawing or whatever should be found there as well, right?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said as I walked towards my friend. “I’ll drive.”
“Nothing in the kitchen!” Sarah yelled across the apartment. We were being careful to not disturb too much, and place everything back where we found it. Fai wasn’t happy we were coming back here, but I knew that if Jackie’s disappearance was involved with the cult, that emblem would be here… somewhere.
“Same in the bathroom,” Oliver responded as he walked into the bedroom where I had been looking. We were sure there had to be an emblem somewhere in her apartment. However, we were assuming that this is where Jackie had been when she went missing.
“God, I feel like I’ve checked everywhere,” I nearly whispered as I took in my girlfriend’s bedroom. She was very clean, but also very cluttered. There were empty glasses on her nightstand, and singular socks on the ground where Jedi probably had put them. The poor cat was still cowering in Jackie’s office back at Fibonacci Files. “Jedi was under the bed when I found him.”
I layed down trying to see if I could find anything under her bed frame, but once again nothing.
“What are you doing?” Sarah asked as she entered the room and saw me on the floor.
“Jedi was hiding under here, I thought maybe there was something else under here.” I sighed as I stood. “There wasn’t.”
“What about under the rug?” Sarah asked me.
“What?”
“Is there anything under the rug?”
Oliver began to lift the edge of the rug when I heard “Holy shit!” The rug immediately dropped. “Help me move this stuff.” He instructed.
“What did you see?” I stated as I practically threw Jackie’s nightstand off her rug and began to help Oliver move the bed frame into the hall.
“I don’t think this is what Fai meant by don’t touch anything!” Sarah exclaimed with wide eyes as she watched us move the furniture.
Oliver, Sarah and I began to roll up the rug and with each push we unearthed what you would only see in a nightmare.
“How is this even possible?” I stood there, frozen, staring at the emblem scratched into the floorboards under where Jackie’s bed sat. The emblem of the Cult of Creatio. It has to be seven feet in diameter. The emblem was scraped nearly half an inch into the wood, and almost looked to have been scratched on by fingernails.
“Fuck.”
“What are you guys doing?” I turned to see Kai and Theo standing in the doorway.
“When did you get here?” I asked Kai as I slowly stood.
“Now,” he responded. “Please explain what the hell is going on and where the fuck my sister is?”
Missing for Two Days
