JUNE – and The Aeternae - S01 E06

Story 3 years ago

JUNE – and The Aeternae - S01 E06

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 6

DETECTIVE JUNE

June sat in her room waiting patiently for the Microsoft windows 3.0 boot screen to end.

“Finally! This shit is so slow” she said and began clacking the keyboard of her Packard bell 486 computer, the best personal computer anyone her age only dreamed of possessing. Getting such advance computers weren’t much of an issue for her, her father was Patrick Sinclair after all.

She opened up encyclopaedia on the desktop and punch in Trauma caused by radiation. She used the navigation buttons on the keyboard to scroll through the results, but she wasn’t quite satisfied with what she got. She stood up from the chair and picked up her cellphone lying on the bed. She pulled out the antenna, flip open the keypad cover and punched in Dominic’s digits.

“Hello Dominic, are you there?”

“Hey June, what’s up? You just left without saying goodbye.” Dominic said over the phone.

“I’m sorry, I just needed to get something done at home quickly.” June responded.

“We need to see Bran”

“Why?” Dominic asked.

“Oh Dominic! Remember the incident at the cinema?? Rose must have looked, maybe for a second or two. Not too long for her to be totally infected like the rest.”

“Yeah… So?” Dominic asked.

“So, Bran was supposed to be at the counter selling tickets right?”

“Right” Dominic said.

“If he was at the counter selling tickets, how come did he get infected? Scarlett told us he was having the same episodes as rose and he wasn’t even at the cinema, he never knew any shit was even going on. How come is he having the episodes if he didn’t look?” June said.

“Makes a lot of sense. You’re absolutely right! It couldn’t have been possible, he didn’t see the movie.” Dominic responded.

“Yes he didn’t, but somehow he’s suffering just like my best friend is. We need to go see him and ask questions”

“When? I could come over to pick you up and we head to his place if that’s okay?” Dominic said.

“It’s okay, please be quick” She said and hung up. Just then, she recalled she is still grounded. Patrick was around and there was no way she’ll leave the house. The idea of a Dominic magic clone has been too frequent and it’s only a matter of time before she’s exposed. She decided to confront her dad and request to leave the house!

“Hey dad” she said walking up to Patrick who was writing on a large piece of paper.

“Hey honey, how’s Rose doing now?” Patrick said while writing on the paper.

“She’s getting much better. Thanks” June responded.

“Please send my regards, I’ll create time to pay her a visit.” he said still writing heads down. June stood for minutes without any further words from her or Patrick.

“Is there a problem honey?” Patrick asked looking up to her this time.

“Dad, a lot has been happening. My friends really need me, i also wanna help but i can’t do that if I’m not allowed to leave the house” June said looking away from Patrick’s gaze.

“Sweetheart, I just don’t want you getting hurt. Every decision i make is for your own good” Patrick said

“Dad, I know. Please i really can’t stay grounded anymore” June said and held his hands.

“Fine. I’ll have Dylan escort you around? Just in case you need help”

“No dad, I can totally take care of myself. Just trust me please” June said.

“Okay. just be very careful okay? Most importantly, don’t walk at nights” Patrick said and stood up. He hugged June tight and kissed her forehead. Just then, they could hear the sound of a car horn.

“Are you expecting someone?” Patrick asked raising a brow, June rushed upstairs not giving her dad an answer to his question. She picked up her blue jacket and rushed down. Patrick had opened the door already and saw Dominic waiting at the driver’s seat.

Dominic waved from inside but Patrick didn’t wave back.

“is that who…” Patrick was saying as June cut in…

“Bye dad” She said and rushed out, hopped into the seat next to Dominic and closed the door. Dominic sped off while Patrick watched on in anger written all over his face.

**********

Rose sat up in the living room covered in a blanket while watching the new episode of Super Mario world cartoon.

“Here” Scarlett said handing over a glass of freshly pressed orange juice to Rose.

“Thanks” Rose said. Scarlett sat next to her and fixed her gaze on the cartoon, just then, they heard a loud knock on the door.

“Scarlett can you please check who’s at the door” Nicole screamed from the kitchen

“Yes mom” Scarlett responded and stood up to open the door.

“Hello, is this the McCarthy’s home?” A cop asked standing at the door.

“Yes it is” Scarlett responded.

“Good, I have some questions regarding the incident at the Grenville cinema” the cop said as Scarlett ushered him in.

“Who’s it?” Nicole asked coming out of the kitchen to check who it was.

“Hello Mrs McCarthy” The cop chief greeted.

“Hi Mr.. A cop, in my house? Is everything alright?” She asked.

“Sure ma’am. Everything is fine, I just wanna ask your daughter a couple of questions”

“And I’m Larry Forbes, the new Grenville chief police” The cop said

“You’re welcome Mr Larry” Nicole said as she took a seat.

“You must be Roseline right?” Larry Forbes asked turning to Rose’s direction.

“Yes.”

“Good. Please take a look at this photograph, have you seen this person? She has been missing for days and the last place she was seen was at the cinema.” Larry Forbes said handing over a photograph of a girl to rose.

**********

“Your dad doesn’t seem to like me much” Dominic said as he kept his eyes on the road

“What do you mean?” June asked

“I could see it on his face. He was upset, maybe because a boy shows up to pick his daughter. Maybe, I don’t know.”

“It’s nothing Dom. My dad’s always like that with boys around me” June replied as Dominic pulled the car to halt.

“This is his house?” Dom asked

“Yes, that’s Bran’s house.”

“How can you not know this?” June said

“How? I haven’t been here before” Dominic said and shrugged

“You don’t have to! Rose clearly told us he was a neighbour”

“So?”

“So doofus that’s Rose’s house behind us! You drove her home yesterday, remember?”

“Oh shit! You’re absolutely right. I’m such a shit head” Dominic said turning around to confirm June’s statement.

“Yes you are” June said laughing as they got down.

They knocked at Bran’s door waiting for a response. He opened up yawning.

“Are you okay man?” Dominic asked looking at him from head to toe, he was an obvious mess.

“June, Please come in” he said and led them inside.

“Heard you took an arm from your sister?” Dominic said as they sat down in the small cozy living room. June hit his thigh indicating his words were inappropriate.

“I heard about what happened to your sister, how is she?” June asked

“She’s fine, I had sleepless nights at the hospital and you guys are lucky to meet me at home. I was about leaving for the hospital. It was a deep cut, further than that would have made her armless” Bran said

“She’ll be fine” June said

“What can i get you?” Bran asked

“You got any chicken?” Dom said

“We’re absolutely fine. Thanks” June said

“Actually we’re here to ask a few questions”

“About your nightmare and the episodes you’ve been having” June said

“Oh that shit is driving me nuts!” Bran said rubbing his forehead

“I was thinking, those present at the cinema were the only ones affected. You were outside, it shouldn’t have affected you.”

“When the did episodes start and did you by any chance come across the movie while we were inside?” June said

“No June, I did not. The nightmare was two days ago and the episodes followed immediately. I couldn’t figure out what happened to me. but i do recall i was operating on my computer a night before” Bran said scratching his head.

“Your computer?”

“May i see it please?” June said.

“Sure, Follow me” Bran said and stood up leading them to his desk where the computer system was placed on. June took a closer look at it, inspecting every part of the computer. It was quite old, an older model than hers.

“Nothing out of the ordinary” she said. She made a move to turn it on but was stopped by Dominic.

“Don’t!” he said.

“Bran, your ISP where is it coming from?” June asked

“Uhm the same ISP as the cinema’s and literally everyone else in Grenville, octagon telecom” Bran responded as June went behind the computer system to check his Ethernet cable, initials Octagon was written on it to confirm Bran’s claim.

“You’ve been really helpful Bran, thank you so much” June said. Bran escort them out of the door and turned to head back inside but got stopped by June’s words

“Bran, I know what happened at Rose’s, I’ll talk to her. She’ll forgive you” June said smiling while Bran responded with a thumbs up, smiling back.

They got into the car and took their seats

“So i can’t figure out exactly why we came here? All he said made no sense to me” Dominic said

“Yes Dominic, to you.”

“He has given me the best lead so far and i think i know why he had the episodes just like rose” June said

“Really?” Dom said.

“Dominic, the infection wasn’t from the movie. It was from the connection at the cinemas, the connection should be somehow connected to the cinema screen for reasons i haven’t figure out yet.”

“But one thing i know for sure is, what’s getting people killed is not the cinema or the movie, but the connection within the cinema. The Internet service provider! Bran has the same ISP connection as the cinema. Rose does too, I have to warn Scarlett not to access the Internet for now” June said

“Brilliant June! Incredible! But our cellphones aren’t here, I’ll call Rose to tell her about it when i get home” Dominic said

“Better! Don’t you dare forget!” June warned

“Never” he said saluting June while she laughed

“So what now?”

“You take me home” June said.

**********

“I don’t know her or who she is, she only tagged along us to escape from the cinema. She got into my friend’s car but…” Rose said narrating what happened that night to Larry Forbes

“but what?” Larry asked

“The car wouldn’t start, the street lights fluctuated and my friend June suggested the battery might be weak so we all got down to push”

“We were able to get the car starting after the push, we all got in one after the other until it was her turn, she opened the door and…” Rose said

“Please go on” Larry said taking notes

“and this thing grabbed her and took her away in seconds, we couldn’t save her so we left” Rose said to the shock of Nicole and Scarlett

“This thing that grabbed her, what is it?” Larry asked

“I don’t know. It wasn’t visible, we couldn’t see anything” Rose said

“What do you mean it wasn’t visible?” Larry questioned

“It was moving so fast, we could hear its movement like a fast wind. The best i could see was a shadow, it was like a shadow pulled her away” Rose said

“A shadow? Oh come on. An electrocution caused the deaths at the cinema, bad wirings” Larry said and laughed at all what Rose had just narrated.

“I shouldn’t have given in to this interrogation” Rose said and stood up.

“Miss, if an electrocution caused the deaths of those people at the cinema, the young lady should be safe outside because she wasn’t at the cinema anymore. She should be safe just like the rest of you in the car” Larry Forbes said.

“I told you she was the last to get in and it wasn’t an electrocution!” Rose barked.

“Officer, what are you insinuating?” Nicole questioned.

“Your daughter was there when it all happened, it’s very obvious she is a suspect of the young lady’s death” Larry said pointing at Rose who glanced at him furiously.

“Thank you for your time Mrs McCarthy, I’ll be back” Larry said and stood up to take his leave.

**********

Patrick listened attentively to the caller over the retro wall phone.

“Thank you for the quick heads up Mrs McCarthy” he said and hung the phone. Just then, he heard a car noise outside, he figured it was June’s “boyfriend” dropping her off. Shortly June came in.

“June!” He said as June made a turn back from her attempt to climb the stairs.

“Where were you on the night of the cinema attack?” Patrick asked as Doris joined them.

“I was home” June replied

“Don’t lie to me!” Patrick said hitting his fist on a table.

“Do you have an idea of what you’ve done?” Patrick said while Doris watched on.

“Dad i was home, mom can confirm it. I was asleep” June said turning to Doris. Patrick turned to Doris and she nodded in affirmation to June’s claim.

“Then explain to me how you were with Rose that night? Nicole just told me Rose told the cops you were with her and that scum driver you got yourself” Patrick said awaiting June’s response but didn’t get any.

“I figured, you tricked your mother.” Patrick said

“You know this means? A girl is dead, you three are the prime suspects because she was with you when she died”

“We didn’t do it, that thing took her away” June.

“What thing?” He asked

“I don’t know, I didn’t see it but Rose and Dom saw a glimpse of it. They described it to be something like a shadow” June said taking Patrick by shock.

“Are you sure about this?” He asked

“Yes dad. It was so fast, it grabbed her before anyone could even attempt to save her. there was nothing we could do so we had to leave to save ourselves”

“You were at the cinema the night almost hundreds died!” Patrick said

“I’m sorry dad”

“The cops are probably on their way here to ask questions”

“Congratulations honey, you’re grounded for the rest of the year and you mustn’t speak to me about this, do you understand?” Patrick said as June walked out on him and went straight to her room. Patrick knew deep down that the kids were innocent, he is plagued by the guilt of the monsters he has unleashed to the town. June was only grounded for defying his orders.

She got to her room and sat hopelessly, this happens to be the wrong time to be restricted of her movement. Her cellphone rang but she ignored the multiple rings.

**********

“You should start paying for the excessive gas you’ve been burning to showoff to those little pack of hoes you carry around” Scott said obstructing Dominic from entering the house.

“Move!” Dominic warned

“Or what?” Scott sneered.

Dominic threw him off the door without touching him.

“Son of a b---h! I’m so gonna kill you” Scott barked and stood up charging towards Dominic. Scott pulled Dominic’s shirt and made an attempt to punch him as Dominic twisted his wrist with his mind. Scott screamed in pain and hit Dominic in the private region as Dominic dropped to the floor.

“You pathetic piece of shit! you’re nothing without your powers, an empty shit feeding off the luxury he knows nothing about. Daddy’s boy with retards blood in his veins” Scott said as blood dripped down his lips.

Dominic stood up in anger and drew Scott closer, he hung him in the air as the sound of his breaking bones could be heard. Scott cried out loudly and begged for mercy but Dominic was lost in anger.

“Oh my God! Please put him down” Josie rushed out pleading to Dominic who turned deaf ears as Scott cried out loudly. Alexa joined them shortly and they both tried to beg Dominic who doesn’t seem to be aware people were making an attempt to calm him down. Dominic anger grew as the floor began to crack like an earthquake, the cracking continued as he suffered a nosebleed from both nostrils.

“Please Dominic please! Stop this!” Alexa and Josie pleaded crying and holding his legs. He dropped Scott to the ground as Scott grunted in pain, Dominic walked up to him.

“The next time you call my friends names or insult the memory of my late parents, you will wish you were never born” Dominic said to him and walked away.

Dominic got to his room and slammed the door, he hit the bed in anger and knelt down crying. He rubbed off the blood dripping down his nose with a tissue.

**********

June paced up and down her room putting the disagreement she had with her dad behind her, all that mattered to her was Rose’s safety and everyone else. She thought of octagon telecom and their involvement in spreading an infected signal to everyone’s computer system.

She could hear the sound of her dad’s car from downstairs, she checked through her window and saw him driving out. She stood up and head for his room.

“Where are you going baby?” Doris enquired as she met June at the hallway.

“You shouldn’t have disobeyed your dad, i understand getting you grounded is a lot especially at this stage of your life. You want to be independent, I understand that but we just want to keep you safe” Doris said

“It’s fine mom” June said and left Doris in a rush as Doris turned back wondering where she might be rushing to in the house.

June got to her dad’s private room where he keeps special documents and hold special meetings. The door required a pass code and there was no way she could get in without the correct pass code.

“Think June, what digits could daddy merge together that no one will guess right” She said to herself and paced up and down the entrance of the room.

“Our birthdays! Our birthdays! ” She said to herself repeatedly and reached for the pass code buttons.

“His first then mine second” she said to herself again and punched in 1403194211121974 (14/03/1942, 11/12/1974). The door gave out a beep sound indicating access granted, she rushed in and sat on his computer desk, she switched on the computer and navigate the folders. She punched in “Octagon” in the search bar but got nothing. She opened up a document with a title deed of agreement. She pushed the enter key to open but the folder, it was locked and would require a pass code. She punched in the same digits earlier but the computer denied her access indicating pass code incorrect.

“Shit! Daddy wouldn’t use a pass code twice!” she said to herself and run her fingers multiple times non stop on the keyboard and brute-force her way into the folder, bypassing the encryption.

A page opened up displaying a buy out agreement between Octagon Telecom and Sinclair Pharmaceutical.

“A pharmaceutical and telecom company?” She said to herself and read further and got to the part where ownership of satellites changed.

“The satellites from octagon’s previous facility have been moved to Sinclair facility and 40% of the satellites have been mounted on the facility’s grounds” She read as she kept navigating further.

“Change of ownership was signed with Dad’s signature on 12/09/1989” she read out and switched off the system in shock to the new discovery she just made. She stood up and went behind the CPU to check the print on the Ethernet cable connected to the system, initials Octagon IV could be seen on it.

“Daddy installed a private connection here?” She asked herself.

“He wouldn’t allow us use the public connection because he knows it’s not safe.” She said to herself as she could hear footsteps approaching the room, she saw a shadow of Patrick and stood up immediately.