The Seeker

Three: Pizza

Myra showed Holden to the guest bedroom, waiting and ready for him to use for his stay. He typically didn't stay at his client's homes unless requested. Myra had adamantly requested. By the time Myra had shown him around the house and the surrounding property, the sun was 

beginning to set.

"Well, I never was the chef of the year. How about we order a pizza for dinner? There's surprisingly a place up the road that delivers to my house."

"Sure, sounds great," Holden replied. "I'm not picky."

After about an hour, a knock sounded from the front door. Holden headed towards the kitchen to meet Myra. When she entered, she looked terrified.

"What's up? You okay?"

Myra plopped the pizza down on the kitchen island and weightlessly dropped herself onto a bar stool. Holden took a seat next to her and waited.

"The pizza guy...he said...well, he said that while driving up the dirt road to reach the driveway, he saw something. He was shaken pretty badly and didn't tell me much. He said whatever he saw was not a person or an animal; He was sure of it. He made a hasty retreat and couldn't seem to get to his car fast enough after I paid him for the pizza."

Holden took a deep breath. "Paper plates?"

"In the cabinet next to the fridge. There are cokes inside too. And a few beers. Help yourself. I'll have a beer."

Holden grabbed two ice-cold beers and settled back into his seat with the paper plates. He grabbed two slices of pizza.

"What do you think he saw?" Holden asked.

"I truly don't know. I have a sinking feeling it might be whatever the previous owners were trying to keep out with that lock."

Myra and Holden ate their dinner quietly, asking the occasional informal questions to get to know one another a little more.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but I feel like it might be beneficial for me to know. May I ask how your husband came to pass?"

Myra looked down at the counter, anxiously folding her napkin over and over again in her hands. She took a deep breath.

"Yes, I suppose that is something you should know, seeing as you'll be helping me with something here not even I understand. A year ago, my husband went on a trip for his business. He was the chief executive officer of a company working on finding a way to incorporate more herbal and holistic medicines into modern medical practices. He had traveled often for meetings and seminars. After he returned from his last work trip, he fell extremely ill. After a few days of flu-like symptoms, I took him to the hospital. He started declining rapidly and, after being admitted for one night, he passed away. It came as a shock to everyone. The doctors never could give us a solid answer on why Tim passed away. They said it was some rare form of sepsis. The noises and strange occurrences began after he died. I thought at first perhaps it was Tim trying to communicate with me. After a few weeks, I realized it is probably something a bit more sinister."

Holden took a long drink of his beer and set it back down on the counter.

"Well shit, I'm sorry to hear that. How horrible. And now you're dealing with all this nonsense out here while you're alone? I'm going to help you. We'll get this figured out."

Myra held up her beer for a cheers,

"To figuring out what the hell is creeping around my property."

They clinked their beers together and polished them off before Holden headed off to his respective room.